Today the focus is on the Senate and whether it will pass the bill the House passed last week to establish an independent commission to investigate the January 6 insurrection. Thirty-five Republicans joined the Democrats in voting to create the commission.
The most poignant words from your close examination of yesterday's primary story come from a Republican whose weighty ethical standards throw the GOP scales of justice totally off kilter.
"Murkowski told Gladys Sicknick, āIām heartsick that you feel you need to advocate to members of Congress that we stand up and say the truth is hard but the truth is necessary.'"
I, too, am heartsick especially by the behavior of the GOP, in particular, that of the Senate Minority Leader, whose corruption and sense of right and wrong singularly belong in a medieval sewer system! He should be not be a leader of any organization that comprises human beings.
That said, the Democrats should toughen up. As nice and clever as Schumer can be, he is being far too "nice." I've called my senators. Will you? Can't we reach across the aisle for an insurrection? Once again, I wonder, what are we teaching our children about ethics, morals, patriotism, treason, and the value of an ugly truth which we witnessed with our own eyes, and which, members of Congress escaped from by the skin of their teeth.
Rowshan, I agree. I suspect that the senate "leadership" is stuck between the Scylla of Joe "I'm just a garden-variety megalomaniac" Manchin and the Charybdis of the White House's reluctance to demonize the Ghastly Obstructionists as they should. However, I got a very interesting email from the Biden PR machine yesterday that, for the very first time, was far more direct about calling out the Repugnicans for mendacity, double-dealing, and fraud. apparently Paul Ryan thinks he can come back from the wilderness of irrelevance as well: he has been speechifying against Trumpism. Of course, he has about as much legitimacy as a Zoom background, and about as much depth, but I found that interesting this morning as well.
So perhaps the worm is starting to turn. But Manchin is still one of the most appalling specimens of ostriches I have ever witnessed . . .
My Senators, Marco Rubio and Rick Scott, refused to meet with Gladys Sicknick. Nor did they authorize staff to do so. Admittedly, I have backed into this information based on their names being conspicuously absent in the news of those who did. When I have written them on important issues in the past, and I include Rep. John Rutherford here, their response is filled with the same lies as Faux News. They are spreading the lies! My response to these lies gets no reply. Florida's Senators belong alongside McConnell in that Medieval Sewer System.
Copy that. I have written multiple letters to Scott, Rubio and my congressman Bilirakis. They are not just unresponsive, they often send me replies that try to justify their unjustifiable positions. Getting rid of them all, and DeSantis, is my priority now.
Please, all three of you! They don't read letters. They just count them, pro and con. The problem is not Floriduh's Senators and Governor. It is the people who, against their own interests, repeatedly vote for them. Maybe it's due to the number of retirees in Floriduh who view everything through a rear-view window focused on the 1950's and 60's, maybe it's their proximity to so many rednecks still bitter about losing the Civil War and limited to putting rebel flags on their pickups or maybe it's just the sun affecting their brains.
Or perhaps itās because so many retirees who move here have no vested interest in this state. Their families and loyalties remain in the state they left. They move here for sunshine, low taxes and affordable housing. They vote their pocketbooks and long for the mythical 1950s.
Prime example is "the Villages" near Ocala. They love their Medicare and Social Security benefits, ignoring the fact that the Party for whom they always vote was never a supporter of these programs.
Yes. So true. I work for these Uber rich folk who are completely insulated from experiencing what working and people of color experience. I was reading through a Florida āDept of Employment Opportunityā FB page and there are a lot of hurting people who have lost their jobs and canāt find work that pays a living wage. Now that Florida has joined the other red states in cutting off unemployment benefits, the pain is going to get worse. These are the people we need to tap into to get out and vote in the next election.
Manchin's behavior is what one would expect of the only Democrat elected statewide in an otherwise totally Republican state. Selectively, he supports issues which economically affect his very loyal employed and retired voting base but otherwise avoids taking progressive positions for which he would be criticized. His criticism of McConnell asking Republican Senators not to support a January 6 commission is safe since that is not an economic issue, and bolsters his Democratic majority credentials, vulnerable because of his continued support of the filibuster. If the Democrats pick up a few Senate seats in 2022, Manchin will no longer be a problem for them.
Linda, hearing the phrase, āradical woke leftā coming out of Ryanās mouth yesterday during a clip of his comeback speech made the group of us watching it immediately look at each other and start laughing.... hard. The fact that there are Repubs crawling out of holes and politicking once again by criticizing Repubs for moral ineptitude at voting against Commission and then ripping into Bidenās āleftist socialist agendaā is just another example of how the wheels of justice moving so slowly mentioned earlier is how this Trump stage with a āZoom backgroundā is still in prime time 6 months after the election. When he lost. And all the questions like āwho gave or authorized the tours a couple days beforeā that were not answered within a few weeks of the insurrection gives hope to those now 5 months later that they can still cover it up and keep the big stage, the seat of our government intact.
Morning, Rowshan!! I must say, you do have a way with words! "...belong in a medieval sewer system! He should be not be a leader of any organization that comprises human beings."
I have contacted my Senators, too. Easy for me since both are on board.
Always looking for a silver lining, I'm thinking, so what. Let's have a January 6 Commission that's not bipartisan. If nothing else, the Democrats don't have to be restricted to ending the Commission on December 31, 2021. The investigation can go well into 2022.
A good point, Lynell. I think we have to fight fire with fire although I've never thought sinking to the level of the opposition a good idea before! I'm going to write to my senators.
Rowshan, I love you but I would warn you that "medieval sewer systems" (I know about this stuff: medieval toilets are one of the things I write about!) were also the DRINKING WATER SYSTEMS. So throwing the despicables in the sewer would essentially poison us all. This is why the rich people in cities lived upriver: their waste flowed downstream to where the poor people lived--and the abbatoirs were also located.
A better mental image for me is stuffing them all into the Cloaca Maxima (the Great Drain) of the Roman sewer system. Of course, it, too, drained into the Tiber but at least it would actually have collected all the detritus of Roman life into one place.
Just a little medieval material culture for y'all on a holiday weekend. . . š¤£
The Medieval Sewer System you describe is the Mississippi River in modern times when the ppl of New Orleans have higher rates of certain cancers due to drinking all the chemicals dumped in it from upriver. We haven't learned much since the Dark Ages.
It's still an issue in Rome--and most other cities on rivers all over the world. We have befouled all of our water systems, perhaps irretrievably. It's criminal.
Linda love you, too, but your description is precisely why I described "the behavior of the GOP, in particular, that of the Senate Minority Leader, whose corruption and sense of right and wrong singularly belong in a medieval sewer system!" He depicts himself as belonging in the cleanest areas with the lords, but actually bathes in the dirtiest sections. But, yes, the Cloaca Maxima will do nicely, too! ššThank you for the name, Cloaca Maxima, the Greatest Sewer!! The best name possible for M.McC. et al. You're a gem!
Thank Rowshan! I love the name too--especially because the Latin word cloaca refers not only to the sewer but also (colloquially) its contents. So Cloaca Maxima also means "The Biggest S***"!!
Wouldn't that be "The Biggest S***h***"? Definition of 'cloaca' (so appropriate in this context) is " The common cavity that serves as the opening for the intestinal, genital, and urinary tracts in many vertebrates, including amphibians, reptiles, birds, monotremes, and some fishes." [From Wordnik]
Dear Lady, with your extensive knowledge of medieval sewer systems, I am curious about your field of knowledge. Medieval sewer systems and the Cloaca Maxima! Always something learn here!
Medieval toilets and sewer systems are of enduring interest to my students--and I spend a lot of time doing research on medieval castles in the UK and Ireland and so I get a lot of practice identifying and exploring them. There are also a bunch of etymological peculiarities with the transposing of Latin words into English. For instance, in my youth "cloakroom" was a polite term for toilet. What people didn't know is that it wasn't nice at all: it was an Anglicization of cloaca, so a "cloakroom" was quite literally the (ahem) room! Similar things happened with the French term for a toilet--"garderobe"--which became "wardrobe" in English because initial g and w were interchangeable in medieval French. Interestingly, I suspect that C. S. Lewis, despite his medievalist credentials, was unaware of this when he titled the first Narnia book The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Or perhaps he was very aware of it and it was an inside joke for his Inklings pals. . .
Sorry: being a medievalist means being an uber-nerd. Especially on Fridays!
LOL! Brings back memories of the "cloakrooms" in my long ago elementary school...where errant students were sent to ponder their crimes and await their thrashing. (This dates me, I know.)
So your studies of toilets must have included the Vespasiano or public urinal introduced to Rome in 74 AD by Emperor Vespasian. They look convenient to me, at least for men.
Thanks, Linda. This makes a truly delightful aside -- thank you! I didn't know the etymology of cloakroom (obvious, after the event) but I did know about the Cloaca Maxima -- so many things about Rome are fascinating. Some scenes from a historical novel I translated (IMPRIMATUR by Monaldi & Sorti) take place in the great sewer.
Otherwise, it's been only those scenes with Orson Welles in THE THIRD MAN or Wajda's great war film KANAL, with the Polish resistance fighting in the sewers under Warsaw... And it would have been better not to walk too close to the walls of some castles. Not just boiling oil...
Glad you are an uber-nerd! In my travels around Europe I've seen and endured some places that seem to be stuck in Medieval sewer systems. Sorry to digress from posts about our political 'shit show'. But always fascinating things to learn here on LFAA. TY
Janet W. - But what does "take off the gloves mean" when there is a 50/50 split in the Senate? What do you suggest as "take off the gloves" actions that the Biden Administration should take?
You do understand that is not currently possible without a cha ge in position by Manchin and Sinema, right? And, Manchin said as recently as yesterday that he would not vote to do away with the filibuster.
Related, I think, to the malaise we are in, the mass shooting epidemic. They should have a concurrent investigation on just what is wrong with the national psyche that would lead to the Trump cult, and the number of people who are so angry and unhappy they would commit suicide and mass murder. This is related. There is a nation despair that has been building since the 80's, I think. It has to do with too much of the economy built on service jobs instead of jobs that really fulfill. Too many people feel like they are going nowhere.
In the 80ās I attended an IBM workshop which included a message from their CEO. He IMPLORED the American workforce, parents and higher education to retool our existing workforce and to provide businesses like theirs with educated professionals and a skills-trained workforce ready to support the next generation(s) of jobs. Technology was going to obliterate much of the workforce as we knew it - he practically BEGGED parents to give them the workforce they desperately needed.
Looking at our workforce since thenā¦..so disappointing his words donāt seem to have resonated.
Everyone doesnāt need to hold degrees - but they do need to be prepared with MARKETABLE SKILLS in order to provide for themselves.
3 years ago I watched a high school graduate obtain an AutoCAD certification from a community college - took her 18 mos. She then walked into a transportation engineering firm, got a job, now at 22 yo makes 90k and just bought 10 acres with her partner to live onā¦..her employer let her take her job with her and work remotely 500 miles away.
That IBM presidentā¦..sure knew what he was talking aboutā¦..30 YEARS AGO
But, it is not just a matter of providing for oneself. Service jobs are not all low pay. It is a matter of having something more than just an occupation. You have to have a reason to think what you are spending your time on is worth it. I actually think there is too much emphasis on what will make money. Too little emphasis on what do graduates feel is worth spending their time doing. I feel that part of the national depression is poor balance between what jobs make money, and what is worth doing.
Amen to that! As a former teacher, I loved teaching young children and considered it a calling. At the time (1970ās) had I been married with a child, we would have qualified for food stamps! My husband, an engineer, made twice what l did right out of college. To need a degree for a job, then to be paid less than babysitter wages is insulting!
That's the word I was looking for. A calling. It is important to allow kids to search for their true calling, and not pressure them to try to predict what will lead to financial success in 20 years, because nobody can predict that.
In my eclectic work history, which gravitated to human services work, I actually moved from one job to another that paid less, but I felt more rewarding to my sense of service. I have been disappointed in friends who moved out of human services work to make more money in corporate businesses. (My lowest paying job was room & board in a commune running a Free Clinic in 1970. It was most rewarding.)
But I have noticed the lack of understanding, indeed respect in America, for those who choose to devote their lives to unrewarding tasks like remedial education or caring for the handicapped. What's wrong with them that they should want to do that?
Plainly, the only thing that brings respect is money. Therefore ALL those who serve society need to be properly trained and paid.
My mantra for decades has been: swap the budgets for the Departments of Education and Defense. We could completely change the entire system and also get rid of the military-industrial complex (and their insane upcharges to the federal government) in one fell swoop. It would wipe out student debt, subsidize R&D, provide equity in education, give all teachers a living wage, and make it possible to create a better society without resorting to weapons of war.
This is not an area that I follow closely--I didn't know how NH funds their public schools. But Mass funds via property taxes, and I ***think*** most places do.
I spent 29 years working as an administrative assistant (what used to be called a secretary) doing payroll part of the time, working as an admin. asst to project managers, etc. The last time I was looking for employment - one of the requirements was a degree. Somehow I managed for 29 years being gainfully employed with a HS degree - it gave me a "profession" - perhaps not by some standards, but by mine. I always felt doing a good job WAS the job. I really dont think the lack of a college education caused me to miss out. I do agree, Jenn, teachers deserve to be paid for what they do - and THEN allow them to do it!
It can be a big job. My father was chairman of econ at Tufts for a number of years. But he used to say that the real chairman as the woman who was admin assistant, and he meant it. She kept the department's business going.
I worked as a Cad drafter for 30 years I hated it. I feel I wasted my life. My father didn't believe in liberal arts. If you do not have an interest in engineering, no matter how well it pays, you are wasting your time going in that direction. That is what all those who push for vocational education miss. I actually feel the solution is to move away from that. Too much emphasis on trying to guess what will the demand be in the future, and too little on liberal arts, which allows adaptation to change by creating more flexible thought. Joe the Plumber, if you remember him, has no knowledge of history, and he voted for Trump.
I'll bet if you look into who all these Trump cultists and gun nuts and mass shooters are, generally, they are not in poverty. So when I mentioned "service jobs" above, it doesn't get my thought across. These people are going nowhere because they don't have a "calling" toward a fullfilling use of their life on Earth.
Tamara, telling your story here might very well be seen by parents and help them understand how important it is to take their child's real interests and talents to heart and provide the right educational opportunities. My dad wanted me to go into Computer Science. That was the only course of study he would help me with financially. I was 19. I refused, saved up my money, went to Europe and never, ever regretted that decision. And I ended up doing something I love, NOT computers!
Sorry, Tamara - there you touched a nerve. "Joe the plumber" was a caricature to put it mildly. He did more to damage vocational training than any lack of education! Good grief, how many people assumed he was typical of others in that profession (and yes, it IS a profession!) My dad worked most of his life - thru an apprenticeship then owning his own plumbing and heating business as the single employee of that business - working his whole life in that business. So frankly, holding that moron up as typical? No.
Mike Rowe stands up for vocational jobs. Even has a scholarship program if you agree to his contract. Granted he leans right & some of the scholarship money comes from Koch Bros....but I agree that a lot of the "trades" pay as well or better than "degree" jobs at a fraction of the student cost.
Same. Many years during my career in public education, I advocated for as much emphasis on vocational educ as there continued to be for a college preparatory path.
I believe the key change lies in portfolio development starting with students in middle school. Shifting focus to student responsibility and awareness of what a student must do to achieve a vocational goal and then to begin working and tracking skills towards that goal.
So many ways that public education can help in the retooling of the work force that you mention, VermontGirl.
If we do not convey the respect to a young student who is taught how to develop that calling to something and then taught the skills necessary to pursue it but instead decide which students must be pushed to college and which āonly averageā students or socioeconomically disadvantaged children can maybe hope for a āvocationalā job, we are not educating....we are
I totally agree. Most don't know themselves what they can do when they are in highschool, or what they might become interested in later. One huge barrier is the corporate mindset that you need extensive training to make any change later on, no matter how broad your education is, and, the computerized job application system tends to worsen it. I am glad to be out of it, now. I hate Linked in and all the current stuff people have to go through.
Not exactly. In general companies fund apprenticeships through working student programs, not the taxpayers.
All students take classes like foreign language and higher math that prepare them to take college entrance exams. At about age 16, though their paths may seem clear, they can still choose.
Also, once they pass their working student phase custodians sweeping the floor at BMW have about the same paid vacation time, and better access to health care, and education for their children as US public school teachers.
I was furious with our then governor (now U.S. Energy Secretary) who insisted EVERY student had to go to COLLEGE so we would have workers for the techy businesses she was attracting to the state. Highschool graduation standards were "elevated" requiring 4 years of math (and, no, business math didn't count), foreign language and so on. The degradation of very talented vocational workers was infuriating, and bad for our economy as well. I was not surprised when tRump found a following here
My roofer worked as a roofing apprentice on summer jobs, when he was working his way through the MBA Program of the Wharton School, U of Penn. After graduating, he realized he LIKED roofing and now owns and runs a very successful regional business. I am so glad to be reading all these great comments about technical skills/education that can lead to great jobs. When you need a plumber, you NEED a plummer!
Vermontgirl57 - The issue I have with the IBM message is that education is important only as part of the mechanism established to produce workers in whichever area BigBiz currently needs them and to equate a meaningful life with how much money one earns. These two (capitalist?) beliefs have been responsible for dragging the deeper meaning of culture, society, and democracy toward oblivion.
Yes, in the early 70's I met with a white, male, college counselor, once. He counseled that I should focus on being a teacher or secretary, or even better he suggested, I should just get married and have a family (barefoot, pregnant and in the kitchen). I was so angry I could barely speak. Each degree I received, and each business I have opened, I secretly flipped him the bird.
When I was in high school, not too many years behind you, I wanted to be an architect. But I was told girls didnāt become architects. I minored in math in college, but my major was in education because, after all, I was destined to be a teacher (or a nurse, but since I couldnāt stomach seeing blood that was not an option).
I got a second degree in math. Mainly just because it is interesting. Pure math is. I remember my father saying at the time, "why don't you just be glad you're not pregnant with 6 kids". He never understood why I didn't like drafting, or want to be an engineer or a secretary. Because that was what everyone did that he knew. And, he didn't understand wanting anything beyond just making a secure living.
my main aspiration in the 70's, I think, was just not to be a secretary, because it was such a demeaning job, just watch those Carol Burnett Mrs Wiggens sketches. I certainly never fit into any of those above aspirations.
My last job under different titles, Office Mgr. & Admin Assistant, was basically Secretary. It was fulfilling and not demeaning, I had creative input into the agency.
My late husband was a middle school shop teacher. He sang this same tune for the entire 34 years in which he taught. In his last two years, they all but eliminated shop class as an option. Not everyone is capable of pursuing a four year degree but more importantly, we need carpenters, plumbers, electricians and, for the 21st century, wind turbine and solar panel technicians and mechanics among other skilled labor. But education costs money and taxes are the bane of most Republicans. Ugh. Thank heavens Betsy DeVos is outta there! Time to retool education!
When I campaigned for a school board seat last year in my district, my platform focused on the need to transform the āarchitectureā of the public school system from where it began to the changing relevance of where it is. Such an opportunity presented itself with how the pandemic suddenly changed the structure of delivery. All caught unaware and unprepared.
The panic prevented many from correcting course and on an intense political battle to āgetting it back to the same.ā
Public education is big corporate business. The rules donāt work for all. Especially the children.
I wear my middle school decision to buck the system in 1970 to take shop (gasp! Sheās a girl she needs home EC) as a badge of honor. My shop teacher was ecstatic to have me and definitely influenced my ability jump into any need that arises in my personal and professional life - LOVED that guy!
Right on re: BD!
PS. I got kicked out of Sunday school at 6 yo for asking too many āscientificā questions - also a badge of honorš
Cannot imagine any girl back in the mid to late 50s who would dare to take shop! And I HATED home ec - felt it was a waste of time. But it was what it was back then. Sounds like it improved (slightly) in the 70s.
My father was an MIT educated mechanical engineer and could fix and build anything so I got "shop" at home! I took home EC in high school . . . Over the years I made my business suits (I took on the male of the species in the investment world), window treatments, couch cushions, ski clothes, baby quilts, stuffed animals, and of course most recently, masks Didn't learn all that in school but learned enough to take on any project without intrepidation which is really the point of any class. Frankly shop, home ec, and personal finance should be a requirement for all students throughout the K-12 curriculum! I'll get off my soapbox now :)
My dad has his own plumbing/heating business and also could fix & DO anything! I did a lot of sewing when my kids were small - their clothes, curtains etc., BUT still feel home ec back was pretty much worthless (for me). Stay on your soapbox, Janet! Its a really good place to be.
At my high school in southern Maine back in the late 50s/early 60s, I was in College Prep. There were other "levels" kids were in: Home Economics, Shop, etc. Shop was looked down upon by so many people. Our parents and the "upper classes" whose kids were in College Prep. And today education in the USA has been largely reduced to STEM. There is no room for shop, home economics, the other M (Music), Civics, or the rest of the arts. Also, after high school, there are a plenty of education schools of many types, and even relatively less expensive colleges on may attend. The rich schools, such as Harvard, MIT, YALE, and all the other Ivy league schools, Stanford, and the like mostly have the kids from rich families who pay the tuition, room & board.
Actually, Richard, I think you might be mistaken about the Ivy generalization. I was pleased to see that Brown took the brave step of going to needs blind admissions and guaranteeing they'd find the money for everyone they admitted.
Not everyone is capable of being a carpenter, plumber, electrician or solar panel technician. We must change the warped mindset that smart people go to college and dumb ones work with their hands.
My husband is cheering from the beyond, MaryPat. His goal, if anything, was to make certain most of his students could operate certain tools such as a power drill, saw or sander, with confidence, along with learning how to finish a project. He thought everyone should understand how to do simple home repairs like fixing the toilet, installing a fire alarm or the like. Some of his best students turned out to be kids simple bored with the usual or kinestetic learners that needed to do something with their hands besides text the person next door (!). Once engaged, he would offer food treats, baseball cards and other small bribes to those who "thought outside the box." To see the faces of those students gaining confidence was amazing!
Sheila, That is a wonderful story of a life well-lived. What a treasure of a teacher! Teachers with the ability to find the 'wiggle room' with students, to find the way each student learns, have a great gift. Those kids were so lucky. I wouldn't be surprised if your husband isn't remembered as the best teacher some of them ever had.
Completely agree! Just consider the huge part of the brain connected to the thumb grip; barren land to a lot of people. I spent 40 years as an architect working about 80% of my time as a craftsman.
Shop and home ec teach so many useful things . . . calculus -which I dropped- :) ..... not so much! And, yes thank goodness DeVos is gone! Just another trump disaster.
Yes, it's all about the infrastructure, yet Republican Congress people don't want to invest in it. It is obvious that infrastructure jobs are not just engineers and CEOs.
That IBM president sounds as if he has no interest in funding the training of his own employees and wants the US taxpayer to do it for him.
Expecting public education and parents to predict the needs of arcane, ever-changing business practices is a headline-getting trap flogged by Chambers of Commerce nationwide. Only the operations/planning team at a given business knows what it needs.
These are the same people who have been demoralizing humanities teachers and reducing history classes down to a nubbin since 1980. I hold this attitude directly responsible for the struggle with civic responsibility and critical decision-making we face today.
Businesses realized they could push school boards and administrators about the time tenure in public high schools evaporated. This is not a coincidence.
This has been my understanding all along too Tamara, but, last night
HCR retweeted an interview that refutes many of our assumptions about who participated in the insurrection. It asserts the āgreat replacement theoryā is the motivating factor and the breakdown of participants is quite surprising: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dskVval50AE
And to add to what Professor Pape told us, we need to have assault weapons banned from public use. AR15 and other assault weapons are not used for killing dear and other animals. The only animals assault weapons are used for are human beings and to kill them. Our government must ban their use immediately. Of course, since we are told that assault weapons are the biggest sellers in the gun market, there are probably millions of them in the hands of those folks Professor Pape speaks.
Early in Pape's talk, he mention usual suspects. That immediately reminded me of the film "The Usual Suspects," in which the Kevin Spacey character name "Verbal" says "The greatest trick the devil ever told the world was convincing us he didn't exist."
That is interesting. Rand Paul certainly would fit into that picture. My area is rural, and the local who went to the insurrection and who was arrested, and awaiting trial was from a prosperous family, but he, himself, was not part of their cooling and heating business, but, instead, owned a car repair establishment. I believe he had quite a few employees. He had a lot of weapons, and ranted a lot on facebook and in letters to the local paper, which is what resulted in his arrest; he was making threats, and admitted to being at the insurrection, but not entering the building. I think one or two of those who plotted to kidnap our governor last summer also come from this area.
To be a criminal offender on January 6, all one would need to do would be to go onto the capitol grounds that had been restricted to the public. You did not have to enter the building to be violating the law. As for these relatively well off offenders, most of them could afford to take off and go to D.C. Most folks who have little income must remain in their towns or cities in order to work for the meager wages their lousy employers pay. And to think that many of them voted for #45 believing that he had helped them. Such B.S.!
I should also say, my county voted for Trump, and has very little diversity. But, most of the letters to the paper this year have been anti Trump, and I believe the editorial slant has become more balanced recently. It used to be very conservative.
Also, the researcher in the video says that now the risk of suicide terrorists is zero- is he talking about bombers in the mideast? Most of there recent mass shootings here have ended in the shooter killing himself. There has to be some reason a CEO or a doctor would claim that minorities are usurping his rights - while he sees black men lynched by cops all the time! Cause or symptom? Do they REALLY think they are being replaced?
Itās getting harder for mediocre white students to gain admission to first rate universities. And letās not forget the constant drum beat of Fox News, Newsmax, and talk radio. It seems to me this is the origin of much fear.
Service Jobs are the only thing that cannot be outsourced. Paying a living wage for these Service jobs will soothe the workers, meanwhile, the billionaires fear they might slide into millionaire status, so they seem hysterical in my book.
Service jobs cannot be outsourced, but it is probable that they can be automated out of existence. We have more workers than the economy needs to function.
And we import a million-plus immigrants annually, which we have been doing since the early '90s. We need to greatly reduce immigration, for workers to be able to get better wages. Big Biz GOPers such as the Koch brothers, and Zuckerberg with his fwd.us have supported mass immigration to keep wages depressed.
So youāre anti-immigration? Who do you think will pick those strawberries and vegetables that cannot be mechanically harvested? or clean those vacation places you expect to be in tiptop condition? or work in the broiling hot sun to reroof your house? Certainly not a college grad - or even many whites, whether dropouts or educated! I grew up on a cotton farm and my parents had us 6 kids working in the field after school and in the summers alongside immigrants. My dad wanted all of us to go to college; 5 of us earned our degrees and 1 used HS business skills to work because she refused to go to college (she, too, was successful and happy with job choice). Not everyone is degree oriented and job skills taught in the 1950s were useful. I was the only one to pursue a degree in education and I was saddened as schools gradually dropped non-college career job training. I have no proof, but it seems to me that was the beginning of more dropouts from high schools. Skills training can encourage thinking and problem solving which can be carried over into careers. Automation isnāt always a good idea. And we need immigrants to do the work most whites donāt want to do.
I am absolutely NOT anti-immigration. But the US has been undergoing a population explosion for most of my life, and while the main contributor used to be native increase, now it's immigration. It turned during the last 30 years, during which time we added 83 million (four New York State equivalents), slightly more than half of which was due to mass immigration. I'd be fine with a couple of hundred thousand annually.
There are no jobs that Americans won't do. But the whole point of mass immigration, from the GOP's point of view is to maintain an oversupply of cheap labor to keep wages down. The wages of meat packers used to run as high as $50/hr (inflation adjusted) during the '80s. Now they're minimum, under atrocious conditions. Similar with construction. Other low/no-skilled wages have simply stagnated.
The author suggests that by paying attention to population growth, the US could lead the rest of the world to do the same, and provide support where appropriate. I would also suggest that by crafting well designed policy initiatives we could do even more to end the disgraceful waste in our consumer economy and abuse of our ecosystem. (Assuming our government at some point begins to function again.)
The wage issue is also critical. Importing workers to do dangerous and difficult jobs not only depresses wages, but is only one degree removed from involuntary servitude.
"...the US has been undergoing a population explosion for most of my life..." That's true for my life as well. I remember when the U.S. population was half of what it is today.
"There are no jobs that Americans won't do." Yes, I believe that as well. It all depends on the wages. Wages should rise for the poor farm workers when the labor pool is not overwhelmed with desperate immigrants who will work for any wage, thus lowering the wages for American citizens who desperately need those jobs. (Strawberries may cost a few cents more but at least increased wages can stabilize that work force and be more humane.)
As the government reviews its immigration policy, it should consider what our relationships are with the countries immigrants are fleeing from, and how that contributes to immigrants fleeing from their native countries. As long as the U.S. continues to overthrow democratic governments and support brutally repressive military dictatorships, immigrants will flow our way en masse. As long as those dictatorships promise to be anti-communist, we will give them weapons of destruction and turn a blind eye to the brutality they inflect on their own citizens. (For those people wishing to see examples of what forces people to flee from their native countries. watch the film "Missing" about Chile with Jack Lemon; or the film "Salvador" about the brutality of Reagan's El Salvador.
When my father had dementia, we had a tremendous young woman caregiver. She excelled at her job, had great kindness and cared for our whole family. I used to give her 'gifts' because her working wage was no where near what it should have been for such a highly skilled and dedicated professional.
True & the current "typical" opinion of Repubs seems to be "stop the extra unemployment payments" and all these people who have been "making money hand over fist" during this time by actually getting a living wage - will meekly go back to work providing service!
They are. Going through Evil Geniuses by Kurt Anderson right now. Statistics rich, running through the a century or so, he makes the case that we are at a cross roads between seeing the working class situation just get even worse or make recognize that a NEW New Deal is required to right the ship of rampant inequality. For instance, one small data point that caught my eye...the average hourly wage of a "non boss" worker was
There are two reasons the republicans do not support the formation of a commission...1) they are pandering to trump and mcconnell for their own re-election bids and 2) they were directly involved in the insurrection and are guilty of attempting to overthrow the government.
That the mother of Officer Sicknick felt compelled to come to the Capitol to speak for justice for her son and others (reminiscent of the Sandy Hook parents for gun control legislation, BLM, and so many others) is simply beyond the pale and gut wrenching. republicans have (not so metaphorically) put a knee to her neck and to all Americans. I too cannot breathe.
We no longer live in a democracy. We are smack in the middle of republicans attempting to set up a dictatorship with madmen at the helm and they are getting away with it. It is like watching a train wreck in slow motion - similar to a Hitchcock movie where the viewer knows what is going to happen to the victim and canāt prevent it - psychological terror. Furthermore, the whole world is watching. What a pathetic (albeit dangerous) group. There really arenāt enough words to describe how disgusting and evil these people are .... they are soulless.
Question....canāt a ācommissionā be taken out of the political arena and done another way. For the life of me I cannot get my head around January 6th will not be investigated because a āhandful of senators canāt pass legislationā (Eve of Destruction). This unto itself is criminal.
Regarding the ongoing criminal investigations of trump and indictments of the terrorists, people rationalize long delays as the wheels of justice move slowly. However, in this case the delay has allowed the traitors to continue to regroup, exert their control, rally the troops, and maintain control of the government ..... no consequences; they are operating with impunity.
This may be armchair generalship at its very worst, yet, as an outside observer, I find myself wondering:
- Since we are faced with crime and the principal criminal suspects have opted to use and abuse their residualābut still considerableāpolitical power to block proper investigation of major crimes TO WHICH THE ENTIRE WORLD IS WITNESS;
- Since, in other words, a huge caucus of those representing the American people in Congress have blatantly broken and are continuing to break their oath to uphold the Constitution;
- Since, then, the United States of America is apparently being prevented by the main suspects from either investigating or prosecuting persons who have engaged in sedition and, possibly, treason;
- Since a purely criminal investigation by the FBI of the January 6th insurrection might be construed by political adversaries as biased;
WHY NOT ARRANGE for the FBI to be joined by an international team of expert forensic investigators, including police specialists like Scotland Yard, with the highest professional reputation, to examine the matter and report its findings to the Justice Department?
Where thereās a will thereās a way and, while it will be embarrassing to bring in foreign experts, damage to the influence and, consequently, the international power of the United States will be terminally damaged if the crimes we have all seen perpetrated are not investigated and duly prosecuted.
I only asked.
Prima facie, (even disregarding blatant countrywide action at state level to fix forthcoming elections) does not continuing action to prevent proper investigation of the January 6th insurrection in itself constitute sedition?
No way in hell, Peter. Inviting international oversight or investigations would ignite a political conflagration.
There will continue to be criminal investigations and the Democrats could have their own investigation, but, all lack the ālegitimacyā of a ābipartisanā investigation. Quotes because I canāt imagine anything legitimate or bipartisan coming from Republicans at this moment.
My life and that of millions everywhere was marked for good by the shock of President Kennedy's assassination -- I remember exactly where I was and how I learned of it, when a Canadian diplomat friend was called to the telephone and told us the president had been shot and he must go at once to his embassy...
All that followed only made the horror far worse. My confidence in and respect for the United States suffered lasting damage.
This time the damage will be far worse unless those guilty at the highest level are arraigned and dealt with.
I am drawing attention to America's apparent inability to deal with the highest crimes and to the ongoing betrayal of the country by those with the greatest reputation for draping themselves in the flag.
Will any of the Senators in question wake up to their most basic duty to their country and put America's interests before their own and the supposed interests of their party?
I totally agree. No Peter. It is madness that you suggest. The fact that you suggest Scotland Yard already indicates preference. It has been difficult enough establishing the ābipartisanā commission being voted on today.
This conspiracy must be beheaded. Until its leaders are where they should be no one and nowhere on the planet will be safe. Foreigners have no vote, practically no influence (except the worst kind, exercised by rivals or enemies) and you are bound to dislike our comments on your affairs.
Yet the truth is, your affairs are ours, too. Like the poor in too many cities, the rest of the world lives downstream of America. We in Europe, for instance, are directly affected by America's actions in the Middle East and Afghanistan, especially the ongoing after-effects of the second Gulf War.
Mention of Scotland Yard referred solely to technical expertise. I love England but am utterly ashamed of what has become of the country and its unthinking subservience towards America's worst, nastiest, most mendacious and corrupt administrations, in particular the last one. Just look at the current shambles, the lies, the dishonesty, the systematic cheating... Remind you of anything?
The brilliant idea expressed in today's thread is for citizens to fund and set up an investigation. Anything to shame the conspirators and their backers.
Another mad proposal? Sometimes people need to get mad and bring pressure to bear. It is in any case all as nothing when compared to the mass madness and the ingrown racism besetting the land. Thank goodness I'm in touch with proud, upright, confident and very lucid Americans. And that includes many the Professor and many in this community.
If you are waiting for good will to prevail, be on the lookout for icicles poking up from hell. The Republican Party as it is currently configured does not have any good will. Their only āgoodā is what will play to their political advantage. They are not the party of Lincoln. That party began its death throes with Nixonās Southern Strategy, maybe before. Republican, Democrat are only words. The wealthy with BIG money are not interested in the government working on anyoneās behalf but theirs. When the Rās are in power, they only concern themselves with maintaining that power, no matter what.
Meanwhile, Memorial Day is coming up. How many men and women have died for this country, only to have Republicans piss it all away for their own selfish gain.
A reminder about Memorial Day is an excellent approach to Republican senators who are all, they believe, patriots. The Capitol Hill switchboard has automated and live operators and you can reach any senator by giving their state. It takes a minute to leave a message. Mitchās mailbox has been full and inoperable. (202) 224-3121
I wanted to scream, watching that fucking moron Manchin saying he didn't want to "vote to destroy the government" by getting rid of the filibuster. Getting rid of it is the only way he'll see any of that "bipartisanship" he thinks is so important. He's one West Virginia mule in bad need of being hit upside his head with a 2X4 to get his attention.
I feel the same way about McConnell. Why the hell do we allow him to serve-- he is nothing but pure obstructionist to our Democracy. How does he get away with things like-- "personal favor" stunts. Haul him out and dump him back into Kentucky and then investigate his actions and holdings thoroughly.
What Manchin knows is that the political pendulum is in constant motion. Come 2022 who knows which party will have the majority in the Senate?
In 2013 Obama/Reed modified the filibuster so that Obama could appoint his liberal federal judges with no Republican input. That short term gain lead to long term pain when the Republicans were, once again, in the Senate majority. In the long run, the Obama/Reed decision cost the Democrats the loss of the grandest prize of them all; the Supreme Court.
When Trump was president, time and again, he pressured McConnell to eliminate , or modify, the filibuster. McConnell refused. Can you imagine the extent of the damage Trump could have done if the Democrats didnāt have the filibuster to control him?
Trump did a lot of damage to our government in ways that required no Senate or House votes. All the dangerous ā termitesā he put in place throughout the various agencies, undermining the agenciesā missions, acting secretaries, etc. The list is endless. Where else does a group hamstring its own operation and purpose with something like the filibuster?Filibuster comes from a term meaning sabotage.
This is no swing of the pendulum. The crooks have loaded all their weighty lies to one side to prevent it from ever swinging again. Stuck in the abyss of deplorability
So he and his cohort write a plea to his Republican colleagues: āWe implore our Senate Republican colleagues to work with us to find a path forward on a commission to examine the events of January 6,ā which fell on deaf ears. I hope he realizes his Republican colleagues are playing him. Or is he playing the Democrats?
Like many of the readers here, I find Manchin's "wish" for bipartisanship just that....a wish which can never come true as long as the evil McTurtleneck continues to ask for "personal favors". That man is so outwardly nasty/evil that it makes me sick that no one seems to be calling him out on his stunts. May he rot in the deepest, darkest depths of hell.
January 6 is referred to in America as an insurrection which sought to prevent the peaceful transfer of power after a lawful election whose validity was confirmed by approximately 60 courts, many of which were filled with judges appointed by Trump. When the insurrectionists got inside the Capitol, many looked for the boxes containing the electoral ballots, likely to destroy them - such action, they believed, would prevent the peaceful transfer of power, so that Trump would remain President.
In fact, the riot at the Capital on January 6 constituted an attempted coup dāetat.
In other countries where, for example, during an attempted a coup dāetat, the insurrectionists seize the television and radio studios to broadcast that there has been a coup and a change of power.
On January 6, our President aided, abetted, incited and encouraged an organized group of conspiracists whom he convinced to believe the election was stolen - the āBig Lieā that Trump won the election. The Big Lie was comparable to what happened in Germany after World War I, which Hitler used to mobilize the masses in the 30s.
How could America allow such a mad man with the space to do this.
Call it what it was, but in reality January 6 was an attempted coup ādāetat which occurred in our Capitol, the seat of our Republic, broadcast live on CNN.
We must have looked like the banana republics we used to mock in America.
Imagine how low we must look to the world, to allow others to mock us, even Xi and Putin.
I hope Trump winds up in an orange suit, but even if not convicted, hopefully, he will be tarnished forever, never able to set foot in the Oval Office.
Joe Biden is a decent man, but truly he had a low bar to overcome as Trump behaved like a low grade cockroach, sort of what you might find in one of his hotels.
Were there communications between participants of the coup and members of Congress? Who gave the tours of the Capitol building on January 5? Were these tourists participants or in communication with members of the coup? Who were members of the network of activists who committed the treasonous invasion of the Capitol? Of course, being a member or having association is not a crime, but this discovery may put a final kabash on any further suspicious and illegal activities of all participants in this rise of extremism in our country. This is a list which immediately comes to my mind.
All good questions and there are surely many more. Why not a simple police inquiry or internal congressional inquiry? In fact, why are these question not already answered? What does a public spectacle add? A public spectacle, perhaps?
The value of the 911 Commission was the changes that were made to prevent further attacks. The same would be true for a Jan 6th Commission. We need to know how to prevent another capital breech, otherwise Jan 6th was a dress rehearsal.
The proposed bipartisan commission is a trap for Dems because of the end of year sunset provision. Inevitably, the Republicans will challenge subpoenas and judicial resolution of these claims will likely still be pending in 2022. A House select committee with no sunset provision, or a much later one, will allow for a more thorough review of the facts.
This will give them the opportunity to ditch the sunset provision which the Republicans insisted on, for obvious reasons, itās going to take a lot longer than 6 months to discover all of the insipid tentacles the liar in chief nurtured. Would not a presidential commission composed of former national players, from both parties, with impeccable reputations and the power of the subpoena and no sunset š clause preventing a full investigation, work just as well? I want to see everyone involved have to testify under oath with the certainty of a prison sentence if they donāt, other than the gallows, which might prove useful here, a long time in prison tends to focus the mind.
"A House select committee with no sunset provision, or a much later one, will allow for a more thorough review of the facts." And, ironically, continue into 2022, a situation McC doesn't want to happen. I like it.
A Warren type panel, not this composition, is needed. This show will never produce a shred of credible evidence! Let the Justice department investigate and most importantly Prosecute! Enough with McConnellās whining and posturing! What a sad state our government is in with this malcontent wielding so much power!
Finding "ten good people" among the senate GOP is probably as futile as Abraham's plea to spare Sodom and Gomorrah if ten good people could be found...
Let's break out of the mold. Wholly unsurprising. Isn't it? McConnell's "just say no" to anything suggesting he and his are part of and response-able for and of the "whole?" He was invited and declined. So drop him. Ignore him. Toothless Schumer, a pansy. Nice guy among demented, frightened, corporatized fools and traitors who've been busy "creating their own reality.(Google Karl Rove).
Democrats must investigate. Ignore the traitors.
Compose an investigative committee of willing legislators regardless of party (except those traitors who voted against the legitimacy of the peoples' vote) and the Deans of 10 of the most prestigious USA law schools. Or 5 Deans and 5 Nobel Laureates. Or some mix of Legislators and Outstanding Civic Leaders and/or Outstanding Scientists and/or 5 presidents (past and/or present) of the League of Women Voters who are also attorneys. Categorically, no CEOs allowed. Any such commission must operate free of corporate influence.
I had heard yesterday that "go whichever way the wind blows me" Susan Collins will vote for the commission. That the party that refused to believe any of the findings of the investigations that they launched into the Benghazi affair and Hilary Clinton's email server use thinks they have the moral high ground here is laughable. They are indeed terrified that their complicity will come to light. Since they are afraid of what such an investigation will uncover I can almost guarantee that they are going to be in need of fresh underwear if the DOJ gets involved. It is well past time for Biden to quit observing Marquis of Queensbury rules and use some MMA moves.
Roger that Pamela. After a few more days of theatre, we'll see a House Select Committee way in. Get ready for a summer (and probably Fall) of witnesses, interviews, unstoppable punditry, and a Benghazi-like show. The problem for Mitch and Company is that they will lose control of the narrative and this will stretch into the 2022 campaign season. The longer this drags out the worse the consequences for all those involved. But, oh wait, could it be that's what they are afraid of? (He asks in his best Columbo voice).
Wow. Lot packed in here. Heard John Meacham interviewed by Oprah. He quoted St Augustine, early church historian. ā A nation is a multitude of beings United by the commonness of their love.ā What do we love? ā¤ļø What unites us in love? What would we die for to save? Who are we? What do we love ā our children. That the children of the officers killed or injured felt grief or fear? That our children saw grown men and women threaten and kill their brothers and sisters in hopes of perpetuating a lie? Could we not unite on the love of our children and desire to leave them with a solid example of how people can work together to protect and defend truth? That we even have to have the conversation, much less a partisan disagreement, is insane.
What do we love? That is a question to ask in all of this. We are damaging the structure and function of the developing brains of our children with the racism, poverty, toxic stress, insecure attachment (because we make moms go back to work at sometimes lifeless jobs (all work is honorable) making $7.50 an hour and leaving their babies with strangers. What do we love? The idea that we could work toward a more perfect Union is lofty. We need to start walking the walk and value ourselves so we value āothersā so we want truth for all. Rambling. But believe lack of regard for the truth stems from separation from self and āothers.ā Letās flood the Capitol with moms with babes in arms and stop lawmakers in the hallways and have them hold a baby for five minutes and really connect, if possible, with the innocence they hold. That is what we love. The promise of creating a better world for our children. A better world is built on truth, connection. Right now we must build on the truths and connections we have and create them for all. Rambling. Bottom line? When we forget our humanity we forget what we love. Unity based on what we love - our children and leaving them a better world - is the job of the folks we elect. https://www.pacesconnection.com/blog/a-new-short-film-breaking-the-cycle-reclaiming-our-humanity Share this film. It has some answers. Hugs and peace and rest when youāre tired. Eat when youāre hungry. Care for yourself and youāre caring for us all. Our culture has been sidetracked by concern for the GDP instead of the well-being of our people. When we base our success on the material, we come up with leaders who are not about truth but about defending the material and not humanity. Thatās where we are. Watch the video. Send it to our leaders and policy makers. And flood the Capitol with babies and have those folks hold one every day. Maybe that would change things. Maybe not. Weād want the Capitol to be a safe place to bring our children. That day it was not.
Our ladder has been leaned against the wrong wall for a long time. This moment is am exquisitely painful and pointed reminder of that. Peace!
āOur ladder has been leaned against the wrong wall for a long time.ā Yes indeed. Climbing the wall of individual wealth instead of mutual prosperity has left many disconnected and empty. Looking for meaning in all the wrong places.
You know, it made me think about yesterdayās stream when there was so much discord present. I get so much from this community reaching out to each other. I donāt like when there are obvious threatening attempts to divide us.
Discord is a powerful adversary. I pray for vigilance towards cooperation, tolerance, community, and love.
Christine, Your message calling for cooperation, tolerance, a sense of community and love among subscribers participating in the forum is apt at any time. There are bound to be differences and feelings from admiration to annoyance that subscribers have about one another. I had two uncomfortable interactions with a couple of subscribers yesterday. After reflection, I am not sure about my response in one of the communications. 'Dicord' (disagreement) does not necessary lead to a negative result; another perspective, more knowledge and reconsideration of a position are also among possible resolutions. Your warning, however, led me to believe that I did not think long enough before responding. I could have been more helpful and less critical. Thank you, Christine.
Fabulous Fern. You are always helpful, even when you are critical. That strengthens and smoothes the strands of the cord.
Discord, like yesterday, frays it. Itās comments from some that pose as different opinion but contain sarcasm and repugnance in the ether of the message.
Lately I have been feeling that its time to stop focusing on the anger and incredulity of the actions on the Right and start focusing on our action. Are we going to stand by and let the Right overthrow our democracy? Are we going to grudgingly live in the dystopian world they would rule? I feel like I'm watching a tsunami wave coming at us, and rather than bitching about the destruction its going to cause, we would be better served to take that energy and run for Higher Ground. The way it stands now, Joe BIden will be the last Democratic president and the US will be comprised of predominantly red states with a sprinkling of blue states under assault. We have very little time left and to spend it just criticizing the Right is futile.
And lets face it, WE ARE THE MAJORITY!
We also have to face the scientifically proven fact that conservative and progressive/liberal brains are wired differently. So expecting the Right to see the Light is neurologically/physically impossible! And thats OK! Why this is happening and happening now, I can't answer. But biologically we (Repub. & Dems) are programmed to not experience the world in the same way and expecting a return to "normal" whatever that was, is unreasonable. That ship sailed.
Where we need to put our efforts is to determine how we can live according to our values and ideals that is immune to the conservative assault on our democracy. Maybe we simply write a new modern Constitution that this time includes women, POC and the various forms of gender expression, AND the natural environment. That declaration alone states the vision and draws a line in the sand that THIS is who we are and it is our determination to live in a more just and equitable world. It gives us this single symbol to galvanize and unite us- humans need a symbol! Bec right now us progressives are not unified into a single movement. There are the Indivisible folks, DNC, LGBT, Planned Parenthood, Envir Legal Defense Fund, BLM, NAACP, MoveOn and the list of progressive groups go on! By holding the conviction and courage of the past colonial visionaries, we too can abolish the king and live in a new world!
Lets come up with solutions. As I was writing this, the idea of writing a new Constitution spontaneously came up. But its not a bad idea. Its a great first step and every journey begins with that first step. How this is going to play out, what this is going to look like, I have NO idea. But sometimes things just unfold, the process gets revealed, the solutions present themselves. And God damn it! Its better to fight for justice than it is to watch the slaughter.
Look I'm nobody. I'm quiet. I live a small little life. I don't even have a FB page! But I have this deep urge to DO SOMETHING!! I only have my heart and my conviction. I don't know how to write a constitution, create a universal symbol or get a nation of people to engage in an idea! I can barely get my friends to agree on a book club date. But I'm feeling this urgency that the door is closing and the time to act is now.
Is there anyone out there who is feeling the same way or am I alone?
Was writing this post an act of futility?
Ugh! I'm tired of feeling despair......................
KM, Right there with you. I think it's time to put our big boys/girls' pants on and face up to the fact that our current form of US governance is beyond dysfunctional. It's life-threatening.
I'm all for the new US Constitution idea. I know that scares the bejeebus out of a lot of people. Last week or so someone posted a really neat set of 'principles to be embodied' in a new Constitution. I can't find it now. So if anyone picks up this thread and can locate that pls re-post it as a way to start a sane discussion.
Folks, it's like this. The future is pulling us forward. We can either get on the Futures Bus and drive it, or stand by the roadside and get run over. Our choice. I'm on the bus.
I don't see how we are going to get to 60 Senators in support of the commission . I would recommend Democrats going forward with input from the 2 Senators who do support the commission.
"Republicans are saying that they donāt want the commission because theyāre afraid it will hurt them in the 2022 midterm elections." - HCR
Republicans are afraid the findings of the commission will hurt them, and frankly, that's just desserts for a party that has completely abandoned any sense of decency and ethics in favor of a cult alike slavishness to one man's insanity. Yes, the racism, bigotry, and inequality were pervasive before Trump landed the presidency, but the spread of venom was far less concentrated and organised - fewer people felt they had permission to attack their neighbors or the grocery clerk. The findings of a 1/6 commission should lay bare the involvement of any member of Congress, aide or associate. It should be a truth commission of the highest order. It should expose every action by every person complicit in the uprising and strip them of their duties and future ability to run for a federal office.
And damn right it should hurt them in the 2022 midterms. Hugely.
The most poignant words from your close examination of yesterday's primary story come from a Republican whose weighty ethical standards throw the GOP scales of justice totally off kilter.
"Murkowski told Gladys Sicknick, āIām heartsick that you feel you need to advocate to members of Congress that we stand up and say the truth is hard but the truth is necessary.'"
I, too, am heartsick especially by the behavior of the GOP, in particular, that of the Senate Minority Leader, whose corruption and sense of right and wrong singularly belong in a medieval sewer system! He should be not be a leader of any organization that comprises human beings.
That said, the Democrats should toughen up. As nice and clever as Schumer can be, he is being far too "nice." I've called my senators. Will you? Can't we reach across the aisle for an insurrection? Once again, I wonder, what are we teaching our children about ethics, morals, patriotism, treason, and the value of an ugly truth which we witnessed with our own eyes, and which, members of Congress escaped from by the skin of their teeth.
Rowshan, I agree. I suspect that the senate "leadership" is stuck between the Scylla of Joe "I'm just a garden-variety megalomaniac" Manchin and the Charybdis of the White House's reluctance to demonize the Ghastly Obstructionists as they should. However, I got a very interesting email from the Biden PR machine yesterday that, for the very first time, was far more direct about calling out the Repugnicans for mendacity, double-dealing, and fraud. apparently Paul Ryan thinks he can come back from the wilderness of irrelevance as well: he has been speechifying against Trumpism. Of course, he has about as much legitimacy as a Zoom background, and about as much depth, but I found that interesting this morning as well.
So perhaps the worm is starting to turn. But Manchin is still one of the most appalling specimens of ostriches I have ever witnessed . . .
My Senators, Marco Rubio and Rick Scott, refused to meet with Gladys Sicknick. Nor did they authorize staff to do so. Admittedly, I have backed into this information based on their names being conspicuously absent in the news of those who did. When I have written them on important issues in the past, and I include Rep. John Rutherford here, their response is filled with the same lies as Faux News. They are spreading the lies! My response to these lies gets no reply. Florida's Senators belong alongside McConnell in that Medieval Sewer System.
Copy that. I have written multiple letters to Scott, Rubio and my congressman Bilirakis. They are not just unresponsive, they often send me replies that try to justify their unjustifiable positions. Getting rid of them all, and DeSantis, is my priority now.
I have experienced the same. Very disappointing experience writing Florida senators.
Please, all three of you! They don't read letters. They just count them, pro and con. The problem is not Floriduh's Senators and Governor. It is the people who, against their own interests, repeatedly vote for them. Maybe it's due to the number of retirees in Floriduh who view everything through a rear-view window focused on the 1950's and 60's, maybe it's their proximity to so many rednecks still bitter about losing the Civil War and limited to putting rebel flags on their pickups or maybe it's just the sun affecting their brains.
Or perhaps itās because so many retirees who move here have no vested interest in this state. Their families and loyalties remain in the state they left. They move here for sunshine, low taxes and affordable housing. They vote their pocketbooks and long for the mythical 1950s.
Prime example is "the Villages" near Ocala. They love their Medicare and Social Security benefits, ignoring the fact that the Party for whom they always vote was never a supporter of these programs.
Yes. So true. I work for these Uber rich folk who are completely insulated from experiencing what working and people of color experience. I was reading through a Florida āDept of Employment Opportunityā FB page and there are a lot of hurting people who have lost their jobs and canāt find work that pays a living wage. Now that Florida has joined the other red states in cutting off unemployment benefits, the pain is going to get worse. These are the people we need to tap into to get out and vote in the next election.
Ditto. Now Iāve been put on Senator Scottās newsletter list. Disgusting, but, I allow it to continue so I know what heās up too.
Yup. My experience also. Itās disgusting.
Love your phrasing, Linda, as much as the points you make. ā...as much legitimacy as a Zoom backgroundā āIām stealing that one.
I love that one too. I am also going to steal it. Thank you, Linda.
me too!
Manchin's behavior is what one would expect of the only Democrat elected statewide in an otherwise totally Republican state. Selectively, he supports issues which economically affect his very loyal employed and retired voting base but otherwise avoids taking progressive positions for which he would be criticized. His criticism of McConnell asking Republican Senators not to support a January 6 commission is safe since that is not an economic issue, and bolsters his Democratic majority credentials, vulnerable because of his continued support of the filibuster. If the Democrats pick up a few Senate seats in 2022, Manchin will no longer be a problem for them.
Linda, hearing the phrase, āradical woke leftā coming out of Ryanās mouth yesterday during a clip of his comeback speech made the group of us watching it immediately look at each other and start laughing.... hard. The fact that there are Repubs crawling out of holes and politicking once again by criticizing Repubs for moral ineptitude at voting against Commission and then ripping into Bidenās āleftist socialist agendaā is just another example of how the wheels of justice moving so slowly mentioned earlier is how this Trump stage with a āZoom backgroundā is still in prime time 6 months after the election. When he lost. And all the questions like āwho gave or authorized the tours a couple days beforeā that were not answered within a few weeks of the insurrection gives hope to those now 5 months later that they can still cover it up and keep the big stage, the seat of our government intact.
Brilliant response, Linda!
Love your response, Linda!
Love your response, Linda!
These responses were not showing up, so I rewrote them. Guess I shouldn't have done so .š¤£š¤£š¤£š¤£
Morning, Rowshan!! I must say, you do have a way with words! "...belong in a medieval sewer system! He should be not be a leader of any organization that comprises human beings."
I have contacted my Senators, too. Easy for me since both are on board.
Always looking for a silver lining, I'm thinking, so what. Let's have a January 6 Commission that's not bipartisan. If nothing else, the Democrats don't have to be restricted to ending the Commission on December 31, 2021. The investigation can go well into 2022.
A very good morning to you, Lynell, and thank you! My senators are on board too, but I figure that a wee nudge never hurt anyone. š
A solid commission of well-respected, NDP senators, including M & R, will be worth its weight in gold. Let's go for it!
A good point, Lynell. I think we have to fight fire with fire although I've never thought sinking to the level of the opposition a good idea before! I'm going to write to my senators.
Rowshan, I love you but I would warn you that "medieval sewer systems" (I know about this stuff: medieval toilets are one of the things I write about!) were also the DRINKING WATER SYSTEMS. So throwing the despicables in the sewer would essentially poison us all. This is why the rich people in cities lived upriver: their waste flowed downstream to where the poor people lived--and the abbatoirs were also located.
A better mental image for me is stuffing them all into the Cloaca Maxima (the Great Drain) of the Roman sewer system. Of course, it, too, drained into the Tiber but at least it would actually have collected all the detritus of Roman life into one place.
Just a little medieval material culture for y'all on a holiday weekend. . . š¤£
The Medieval Sewer System you describe is the Mississippi River in modern times when the ppl of New Orleans have higher rates of certain cancers due to drinking all the chemicals dumped in it from upriver. We haven't learned much since the Dark Ages.
It's still an issue in Rome--and most other cities on rivers all over the world. We have befouled all of our water systems, perhaps irretrievably. It's criminal.
Linda love you, too, but your description is precisely why I described "the behavior of the GOP, in particular, that of the Senate Minority Leader, whose corruption and sense of right and wrong singularly belong in a medieval sewer system!" He depicts himself as belonging in the cleanest areas with the lords, but actually bathes in the dirtiest sections. But, yes, the Cloaca Maxima will do nicely, too! ššThank you for the name, Cloaca Maxima, the Greatest Sewer!! The best name possible for M.McC. et al. You're a gem!
Thank Rowshan! I love the name too--especially because the Latin word cloaca refers not only to the sewer but also (colloquially) its contents. So Cloaca Maxima also means "The Biggest S***"!!
Wouldn't that be "The Biggest S***h***"? Definition of 'cloaca' (so appropriate in this context) is " The common cavity that serves as the opening for the intestinal, genital, and urinary tracts in many vertebrates, including amphibians, reptiles, birds, monotremes, and some fishes." [From Wordnik]
š¶āØš¤£šš¤£šāØš¶ Couldn't be more perfect, now could it?!
That McConnell's three daughters are all estranged from him says it all.
Daddy Dearest?
Just the same thought, Linda.
So... it's Senator Mitch McCloaca...
Dear Lady, with your extensive knowledge of medieval sewer systems, I am curious about your field of knowledge. Medieval sewer systems and the Cloaca Maxima! Always something learn here!
Medieval toilets and sewer systems are of enduring interest to my students--and I spend a lot of time doing research on medieval castles in the UK and Ireland and so I get a lot of practice identifying and exploring them. There are also a bunch of etymological peculiarities with the transposing of Latin words into English. For instance, in my youth "cloakroom" was a polite term for toilet. What people didn't know is that it wasn't nice at all: it was an Anglicization of cloaca, so a "cloakroom" was quite literally the (ahem) room! Similar things happened with the French term for a toilet--"garderobe"--which became "wardrobe" in English because initial g and w were interchangeable in medieval French. Interestingly, I suspect that C. S. Lewis, despite his medievalist credentials, was unaware of this when he titled the first Narnia book The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Or perhaps he was very aware of it and it was an inside joke for his Inklings pals. . .
Sorry: being a medievalist means being an uber-nerd. Especially on Fridays!
Nerd away Linda! It's fascinating
LOL! Brings back memories of the "cloakrooms" in my long ago elementary school...where errant students were sent to ponder their crimes and await their thrashing. (This dates me, I know.)
So your studies of toilets must have included the Vespasiano or public urinal introduced to Rome in 74 AD by Emperor Vespasian. They look convenient to me, at least for men.
I saw an absolutely monumental one in the nearby island of Kos, with facilities for 90 people...
How about the row of 36 marble loos in Ephesus? It's more than likely that St. Paul made use of them at some point in time.
Thanks, Linda. This makes a truly delightful aside -- thank you! I didn't know the etymology of cloakroom (obvious, after the event) but I did know about the Cloaca Maxima -- so many things about Rome are fascinating. Some scenes from a historical novel I translated (IMPRIMATUR by Monaldi & Sorti) take place in the great sewer.
Otherwise, it's been only those scenes with Orson Welles in THE THIRD MAN or Wajda's great war film KANAL, with the Polish resistance fighting in the sewers under Warsaw... And it would have been better not to walk too close to the walls of some castles. Not just boiling oil...
Glad you are an uber-nerd! In my travels around Europe I've seen and endured some places that seem to be stuck in Medieval sewer systems. Sorry to digress from posts about our political 'shit show'. But always fascinating things to learn here on LFAA. TY
Love it!
The Friday Flush
I love it!
I agree... the democrats need to take off the gloves. Long overdue.
Janet W. - But what does "take off the gloves mean" when there is a 50/50 split in the Senate? What do you suggest as "take off the gloves" actions that the Biden Administration should take?
How about getting rid of the filibuster?
You do understand that is not currently possible without a cha ge in position by Manchin and Sinema, right? And, Manchin said as recently as yesterday that he would not vote to do away with the filibuster.
Related, I think, to the malaise we are in, the mass shooting epidemic. They should have a concurrent investigation on just what is wrong with the national psyche that would lead to the Trump cult, and the number of people who are so angry and unhappy they would commit suicide and mass murder. This is related. There is a nation despair that has been building since the 80's, I think. It has to do with too much of the economy built on service jobs instead of jobs that really fulfill. Too many people feel like they are going nowhere.
In the 80ās I attended an IBM workshop which included a message from their CEO. He IMPLORED the American workforce, parents and higher education to retool our existing workforce and to provide businesses like theirs with educated professionals and a skills-trained workforce ready to support the next generation(s) of jobs. Technology was going to obliterate much of the workforce as we knew it - he practically BEGGED parents to give them the workforce they desperately needed.
Looking at our workforce since thenā¦..so disappointing his words donāt seem to have resonated.
Everyone doesnāt need to hold degrees - but they do need to be prepared with MARKETABLE SKILLS in order to provide for themselves.
3 years ago I watched a high school graduate obtain an AutoCAD certification from a community college - took her 18 mos. She then walked into a transportation engineering firm, got a job, now at 22 yo makes 90k and just bought 10 acres with her partner to live onā¦..her employer let her take her job with her and work remotely 500 miles away.
That IBM presidentā¦..sure knew what he was talking aboutā¦..30 YEARS AGO
But, it is not just a matter of providing for oneself. Service jobs are not all low pay. It is a matter of having something more than just an occupation. You have to have a reason to think what you are spending your time on is worth it. I actually think there is too much emphasis on what will make money. Too little emphasis on what do graduates feel is worth spending their time doing. I feel that part of the national depression is poor balance between what jobs make money, and what is worth doing.
Amen to that! As a former teacher, I loved teaching young children and considered it a calling. At the time (1970ās) had I been married with a child, we would have qualified for food stamps! My husband, an engineer, made twice what l did right out of college. To need a degree for a job, then to be paid less than babysitter wages is insulting!
That's the word I was looking for. A calling. It is important to allow kids to search for their true calling, and not pressure them to try to predict what will lead to financial success in 20 years, because nobody can predict that.
In my eclectic work history, which gravitated to human services work, I actually moved from one job to another that paid less, but I felt more rewarding to my sense of service. I have been disappointed in friends who moved out of human services work to make more money in corporate businesses. (My lowest paying job was room & board in a commune running a Free Clinic in 1970. It was most rewarding.)
LOVED my free clinic work! 1972. Many of those clinics are now Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), with excellent federal $backing..
Education is THE key to the country's future.
But I have noticed the lack of understanding, indeed respect in America, for those who choose to devote their lives to unrewarding tasks like remedial education or caring for the handicapped. What's wrong with them that they should want to do that?
Plainly, the only thing that brings respect is money. Therefore ALL those who serve society need to be properly trained and paid.
My mantra for decades has been: swap the budgets for the Departments of Education and Defense. We could completely change the entire system and also get rid of the military-industrial complex (and their insane upcharges to the federal government) in one fell swoop. It would wipe out student debt, subsidize R&D, provide equity in education, give all teachers a living wage, and make it possible to create a better society without resorting to weapons of war.
YES!!
Teaching needs to be financed nationally rather than through property taxes. Teachers need to be well paid, and well trained. Finland is a good model.
David Holzman- I take it you're referring to the way NH funds their public schools. Is it done that way in MA as well?
This is not an area that I follow closely--I didn't know how NH funds their public schools. But Mass funds via property taxes, and I ***think*** most places do.
I spent 29 years working as an administrative assistant (what used to be called a secretary) doing payroll part of the time, working as an admin. asst to project managers, etc. The last time I was looking for employment - one of the requirements was a degree. Somehow I managed for 29 years being gainfully employed with a HS degree - it gave me a "profession" - perhaps not by some standards, but by mine. I always felt doing a good job WAS the job. I really dont think the lack of a college education caused me to miss out. I do agree, Jenn, teachers deserve to be paid for what they do - and THEN allow them to do it!
It can be a big job. My father was chairman of econ at Tufts for a number of years. But he used to say that the real chairman as the woman who was admin assistant, and he meant it. She kept the department's business going.
Yeah - I guess I (and others) wore several "hats". Your dad sounds like a very sharp man - who knew enough to give credit where it was due!
I worked as a Cad drafter for 30 years I hated it. I feel I wasted my life. My father didn't believe in liberal arts. If you do not have an interest in engineering, no matter how well it pays, you are wasting your time going in that direction. That is what all those who push for vocational education miss. I actually feel the solution is to move away from that. Too much emphasis on trying to guess what will the demand be in the future, and too little on liberal arts, which allows adaptation to change by creating more flexible thought. Joe the Plumber, if you remember him, has no knowledge of history, and he voted for Trump.
I'll bet if you look into who all these Trump cultists and gun nuts and mass shooters are, generally, they are not in poverty. So when I mentioned "service jobs" above, it doesn't get my thought across. These people are going nowhere because they don't have a "calling" toward a fullfilling use of their life on Earth.
But Joe the Plumber was told in school he was too stupid to be anything else, then tRump came along and told him he was great.
Mary Pat - see my comment above!
Tamara, telling your story here might very well be seen by parents and help them understand how important it is to take their child's real interests and talents to heart and provide the right educational opportunities. My dad wanted me to go into Computer Science. That was the only course of study he would help me with financially. I was 19. I refused, saved up my money, went to Europe and never, ever regretted that decision. And I ended up doing something I love, NOT computers!
Sorry, Tamara - there you touched a nerve. "Joe the plumber" was a caricature to put it mildly. He did more to damage vocational training than any lack of education! Good grief, how many people assumed he was typical of others in that profession (and yes, it IS a profession!) My dad worked most of his life - thru an apprenticeship then owning his own plumbing and heating business as the single employee of that business - working his whole life in that business. So frankly, holding that moron up as typical? No.
Mike Rowe stands up for vocational jobs. Even has a scholarship program if you agree to his contract. Granted he leans right & some of the scholarship money comes from Koch Bros....but I agree that a lot of the "trades" pay as well or better than "degree" jobs at a fraction of the student cost.
Same. Many years during my career in public education, I advocated for as much emphasis on vocational educ as there continued to be for a college preparatory path.
I believe the key change lies in portfolio development starting with students in middle school. Shifting focus to student responsibility and awareness of what a student must do to achieve a vocational goal and then to begin working and tracking skills towards that goal.
So many ways that public education can help in the retooling of the work force that you mention, VermontGirl.
This is what they do in Europe!
If we do not convey the respect to a young student who is taught how to develop that calling to something and then taught the skills necessary to pursue it but instead decide which students must be pushed to college and which āonly averageā students or socioeconomically disadvantaged children can maybe hope for a āvocationalā job, we are not educating....we are
clearly aiding and abetting the system.
I totally agree. Most don't know themselves what they can do when they are in highschool, or what they might become interested in later. One huge barrier is the corporate mindset that you need extensive training to make any change later on, no matter how broad your education is, and, the computerized job application system tends to worsen it. I am glad to be out of it, now. I hate Linked in and all the current stuff people have to go through.
Yes!
Not exactly. In general companies fund apprenticeships through working student programs, not the taxpayers.
All students take classes like foreign language and higher math that prepare them to take college entrance exams. At about age 16, though their paths may seem clear, they can still choose.
Also, once they pass their working student phase custodians sweeping the floor at BMW have about the same paid vacation time, and better access to health care, and education for their children as US public school teachers.
https://www.glassdoor.com/Salary/BMW-Group-Other-Salaries-EI_IE3460.0,9_DEPT1017.htm
I was furious with our then governor (now U.S. Energy Secretary) who insisted EVERY student had to go to COLLEGE so we would have workers for the techy businesses she was attracting to the state. Highschool graduation standards were "elevated" requiring 4 years of math (and, no, business math didn't count), foreign language and so on. The degradation of very talented vocational workers was infuriating, and bad for our economy as well. I was not surprised when tRump found a following here
My roofer worked as a roofing apprentice on summer jobs, when he was working his way through the MBA Program of the Wharton School, U of Penn. After graduating, he realized he LIKED roofing and now owns and runs a very successful regional business. I am so glad to be reading all these great comments about technical skills/education that can lead to great jobs. When you need a plumber, you NEED a plummer!
Vermontgirl57 - The issue I have with the IBM message is that education is important only as part of the mechanism established to produce workers in whichever area BigBiz currently needs them and to equate a meaningful life with how much money one earns. These two (capitalist?) beliefs have been responsible for dragging the deeper meaning of culture, society, and democracy toward oblivion.
Dreams of the Class of 1963.
From my Yearbook, Mid-Western High School, I compiled the one-word aspirations of the 534 graduating Seniors. Mine was 1 of 2 "Writer"
Of the 274 Males - 38 Engineers, 31 College, 20 Armed Services, 12 Accountant, 12 Teacher, 9 Architect, 8 Draftsman, 4 Electronic Tech.
Of the 260 Females - 89 Secretary, 34 Teacher, 12 Beautician, 12 Nurse, 10 College, 9 Housewife, 5 Model.
Yes, in the early 70's I met with a white, male, college counselor, once. He counseled that I should focus on being a teacher or secretary, or even better he suggested, I should just get married and have a family (barefoot, pregnant and in the kitchen). I was so angry I could barely speak. Each degree I received, and each business I have opened, I secretly flipped him the bird.
Way to go!
When I was in high school, not too many years behind you, I wanted to be an architect. But I was told girls didnāt become architects. I minored in math in college, but my major was in education because, after all, I was destined to be a teacher (or a nurse, but since I couldnāt stomach seeing blood that was not an option).
I got a second degree in math. Mainly just because it is interesting. Pure math is. I remember my father saying at the time, "why don't you just be glad you're not pregnant with 6 kids". He never understood why I didn't like drafting, or want to be an engineer or a secretary. Because that was what everyone did that he knew. And, he didn't understand wanting anything beyond just making a secure living.
Financial security was my father's basic interest as well.
Women barely had the right to a credit card then.
my main aspiration in the 70's, I think, was just not to be a secretary, because it was such a demeaning job, just watch those Carol Burnett Mrs Wiggens sketches. I certainly never fit into any of those above aspirations.
My last job under different titles, Office Mgr. & Admin Assistant, was basically Secretary. It was fulfilling and not demeaning, I had creative input into the agency.
I am sure it can be. But, in the 70's, I saw it as the way Carol Burnett portrayed the job in her sketches.
My late husband was a middle school shop teacher. He sang this same tune for the entire 34 years in which he taught. In his last two years, they all but eliminated shop class as an option. Not everyone is capable of pursuing a four year degree but more importantly, we need carpenters, plumbers, electricians and, for the 21st century, wind turbine and solar panel technicians and mechanics among other skilled labor. But education costs money and taxes are the bane of most Republicans. Ugh. Thank heavens Betsy DeVos is outta there! Time to retool education!
When I campaigned for a school board seat last year in my district, my platform focused on the need to transform the āarchitectureā of the public school system from where it began to the changing relevance of where it is. Such an opportunity presented itself with how the pandemic suddenly changed the structure of delivery. All caught unaware and unprepared.
The panic prevented many from correcting course and on an intense political battle to āgetting it back to the same.ā
Public education is big corporate business. The rules donāt work for all. Especially the children.
I wear my middle school decision to buck the system in 1970 to take shop (gasp! Sheās a girl she needs home EC) as a badge of honor. My shop teacher was ecstatic to have me and definitely influenced my ability jump into any need that arises in my personal and professional life - LOVED that guy!
Right on re: BD!
PS. I got kicked out of Sunday school at 6 yo for asking too many āscientificā questions - also a badge of honorš
Bravo, VermontGirl!!
Cannot imagine any girl back in the mid to late 50s who would dare to take shop! And I HATED home ec - felt it was a waste of time. But it was what it was back then. Sounds like it improved (slightly) in the 70s.
My father was an MIT educated mechanical engineer and could fix and build anything so I got "shop" at home! I took home EC in high school . . . Over the years I made my business suits (I took on the male of the species in the investment world), window treatments, couch cushions, ski clothes, baby quilts, stuffed animals, and of course most recently, masks Didn't learn all that in school but learned enough to take on any project without intrepidation which is really the point of any class. Frankly shop, home ec, and personal finance should be a requirement for all students throughout the K-12 curriculum! I'll get off my soapbox now :)
My dad has his own plumbing/heating business and also could fix & DO anything! I did a lot of sewing when my kids were small - their clothes, curtains etc., BUT still feel home ec back was pretty much worthless (for me). Stay on your soapbox, Janet! Its a really good place to be.
At my high school in southern Maine back in the late 50s/early 60s, I was in College Prep. There were other "levels" kids were in: Home Economics, Shop, etc. Shop was looked down upon by so many people. Our parents and the "upper classes" whose kids were in College Prep. And today education in the USA has been largely reduced to STEM. There is no room for shop, home economics, the other M (Music), Civics, or the rest of the arts. Also, after high school, there are a plenty of education schools of many types, and even relatively less expensive colleges on may attend. The rich schools, such as Harvard, MIT, YALE, and all the other Ivy league schools, Stanford, and the like mostly have the kids from rich families who pay the tuition, room & board.
Actually, Richard, I think you might be mistaken about the Ivy generalization. I was pleased to see that Brown took the brave step of going to needs blind admissions and guaranteeing they'd find the money for everyone they admitted.
Not everyone is capable of being a carpenter, plumber, electrician or solar panel technician. We must change the warped mindset that smart people go to college and dumb ones work with their hands.
My husband is cheering from the beyond, MaryPat. His goal, if anything, was to make certain most of his students could operate certain tools such as a power drill, saw or sander, with confidence, along with learning how to finish a project. He thought everyone should understand how to do simple home repairs like fixing the toilet, installing a fire alarm or the like. Some of his best students turned out to be kids simple bored with the usual or kinestetic learners that needed to do something with their hands besides text the person next door (!). Once engaged, he would offer food treats, baseball cards and other small bribes to those who "thought outside the box." To see the faces of those students gaining confidence was amazing!
This kinesthetic learner would have loved your husband's classes!!!
Count me in!
Sheila, That is a wonderful story of a life well-lived. What a treasure of a teacher! Teachers with the ability to find the 'wiggle room' with students, to find the way each student learns, have a great gift. Those kids were so lucky. I wouldn't be surprised if your husband isn't remembered as the best teacher some of them ever had.
-(Sweden)
Completely agree! Just consider the huge part of the brain connected to the thumb grip; barren land to a lot of people. I spent 40 years as an architect working about 80% of my time as a craftsman.
Shop and home ec teach so many useful things . . . calculus -which I dropped- :) ..... not so much! And, yes thank goodness DeVos is gone! Just another trump disaster.
Yes, it's all about the infrastructure, yet Republican Congress people don't want to invest in it. It is obvious that infrastructure jobs are not just engineers and CEOs.
That IBM president sounds as if he has no interest in funding the training of his own employees and wants the US taxpayer to do it for him.
Expecting public education and parents to predict the needs of arcane, ever-changing business practices is a headline-getting trap flogged by Chambers of Commerce nationwide. Only the operations/planning team at a given business knows what it needs.
These are the same people who have been demoralizing humanities teachers and reducing history classes down to a nubbin since 1980. I hold this attitude directly responsible for the struggle with civic responsibility and critical decision-making we face today.
Businesses realized they could push school boards and administrators about the time tenure in public high schools evaporated. This is not a coincidence.
If Congress won't vote to authorize an Independent Commission to investigate Jan. 6th, then a Citizen's Committee should form to investigate.
This has been my understanding all along too Tamara, but, last night
HCR retweeted an interview that refutes many of our assumptions about who participated in the insurrection. It asserts the āgreat replacement theoryā is the motivating factor and the breakdown of participants is quite surprising: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dskVval50AE
And to add to what Professor Pape told us, we need to have assault weapons banned from public use. AR15 and other assault weapons are not used for killing dear and other animals. The only animals assault weapons are used for are human beings and to kill them. Our government must ban their use immediately. Of course, since we are told that assault weapons are the biggest sellers in the gun market, there are probably millions of them in the hands of those folks Professor Pape speaks.
Early in Pape's talk, he mention usual suspects. That immediately reminded me of the film "The Usual Suspects," in which the Kevin Spacey character name "Verbal" says "The greatest trick the devil ever told the world was convincing us he didn't exist."
That is interesting. Rand Paul certainly would fit into that picture. My area is rural, and the local who went to the insurrection and who was arrested, and awaiting trial was from a prosperous family, but he, himself, was not part of their cooling and heating business, but, instead, owned a car repair establishment. I believe he had quite a few employees. He had a lot of weapons, and ranted a lot on facebook and in letters to the local paper, which is what resulted in his arrest; he was making threats, and admitted to being at the insurrection, but not entering the building. I think one or two of those who plotted to kidnap our governor last summer also come from this area.
To be a criminal offender on January 6, all one would need to do would be to go onto the capitol grounds that had been restricted to the public. You did not have to enter the building to be violating the law. As for these relatively well off offenders, most of them could afford to take off and go to D.C. Most folks who have little income must remain in their towns or cities in order to work for the meager wages their lousy employers pay. And to think that many of them voted for #45 believing that he had helped them. Such B.S.!
I should also say, my county voted for Trump, and has very little diversity. But, most of the letters to the paper this year have been anti Trump, and I believe the editorial slant has become more balanced recently. It used to be very conservative.
Also, the researcher in the video says that now the risk of suicide terrorists is zero- is he talking about bombers in the mideast? Most of there recent mass shootings here have ended in the shooter killing himself. There has to be some reason a CEO or a doctor would claim that minorities are usurping his rights - while he sees black men lynched by cops all the time! Cause or symptom? Do they REALLY think they are being replaced?
F (false) E (evidence) A (appearing) R (real)
Itās getting harder for mediocre white students to gain admission to first rate universities. And letās not forget the constant drum beat of Fox News, Newsmax, and talk radio. It seems to me this is the origin of much fear.
Thank You. I shared this source.
WOW.
Service Jobs are the only thing that cannot be outsourced. Paying a living wage for these Service jobs will soothe the workers, meanwhile, the billionaires fear they might slide into millionaire status, so they seem hysterical in my book.
Service jobs cannot be outsourced, but it is probable that they can be automated out of existence. We have more workers than the economy needs to function.
And we import a million-plus immigrants annually, which we have been doing since the early '90s. We need to greatly reduce immigration, for workers to be able to get better wages. Big Biz GOPers such as the Koch brothers, and Zuckerberg with his fwd.us have supported mass immigration to keep wages depressed.
https://americancompass.org/the-commons/worker-power-loose-borders-pick-one/
So youāre anti-immigration? Who do you think will pick those strawberries and vegetables that cannot be mechanically harvested? or clean those vacation places you expect to be in tiptop condition? or work in the broiling hot sun to reroof your house? Certainly not a college grad - or even many whites, whether dropouts or educated! I grew up on a cotton farm and my parents had us 6 kids working in the field after school and in the summers alongside immigrants. My dad wanted all of us to go to college; 5 of us earned our degrees and 1 used HS business skills to work because she refused to go to college (she, too, was successful and happy with job choice). Not everyone is degree oriented and job skills taught in the 1950s were useful. I was the only one to pursue a degree in education and I was saddened as schools gradually dropped non-college career job training. I have no proof, but it seems to me that was the beginning of more dropouts from high schools. Skills training can encourage thinking and problem solving which can be carried over into careers. Automation isnāt always a good idea. And we need immigrants to do the work most whites donāt want to do.
I am absolutely NOT anti-immigration. But the US has been undergoing a population explosion for most of my life, and while the main contributor used to be native increase, now it's immigration. It turned during the last 30 years, during which time we added 83 million (four New York State equivalents), slightly more than half of which was due to mass immigration. I'd be fine with a couple of hundred thousand annually.
There are no jobs that Americans won't do. But the whole point of mass immigration, from the GOP's point of view is to maintain an oversupply of cheap labor to keep wages down. The wages of meat packers used to run as high as $50/hr (inflation adjusted) during the '80s. Now they're minimum, under atrocious conditions. Similar with construction. Other low/no-skilled wages have simply stagnated.
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/08/trumps-invasion-was-a-corporate-recruitment-drive/596230/?fbclid=IwAR2JdrMMGUzyX8loirtx6bB_oi8xn6Ct1foUQZlsG6Hc7vgFVBeMeRi6Uas
Iām glad youāre reintroducing this topic for discussion. The points you and the links youāve provided make are worth considering, and I would emphasize more the global aspects of this issue, which are included in this link you shared the other day. https://thehill.com/opinion/energy-environment/553003-climate-change-requires-population-stabilization-for-america
The author suggests that by paying attention to population growth, the US could lead the rest of the world to do the same, and provide support where appropriate. I would also suggest that by crafting well designed policy initiatives we could do even more to end the disgraceful waste in our consumer economy and abuse of our ecosystem. (Assuming our government at some point begins to function again.)
The wage issue is also critical. Importing workers to do dangerous and difficult jobs not only depresses wages, but is only one degree removed from involuntary servitude.
I agree. And, I am not anti-immigrant.
"...the US has been undergoing a population explosion for most of my life..." That's true for my life as well. I remember when the U.S. population was half of what it is today.
"There are no jobs that Americans won't do." Yes, I believe that as well. It all depends on the wages. Wages should rise for the poor farm workers when the labor pool is not overwhelmed with desperate immigrants who will work for any wage, thus lowering the wages for American citizens who desperately need those jobs. (Strawberries may cost a few cents more but at least increased wages can stabilize that work force and be more humane.)
As the government reviews its immigration policy, it should consider what our relationships are with the countries immigrants are fleeing from, and how that contributes to immigrants fleeing from their native countries. As long as the U.S. continues to overthrow democratic governments and support brutally repressive military dictatorships, immigrants will flow our way en masse. As long as those dictatorships promise to be anti-communist, we will give them weapons of destruction and turn a blind eye to the brutality they inflect on their own citizens. (For those people wishing to see examples of what forces people to flee from their native countries. watch the film "Missing" about Chile with Jack Lemon; or the film "Salvador" about the brutality of Reagan's El Salvador.
My problem is overpopulation, not immigration. If native increase were the major cause, I'd be wanting reduced procreation.
Happening, Dude:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/dec/30/us-population-growth-census-2020
Your premise is oppositional.
Service jobs can be very fulfilling, if they were also RICHLY filled. Raise more than the minimum wage, to a generous and RESPECTFUL wage.
When my father had dementia, we had a tremendous young woman caregiver. She excelled at her job, had great kindness and cared for our whole family. I used to give her 'gifts' because her working wage was no where near what it should have been for such a highly skilled and dedicated professional.
True & the current "typical" opinion of Repubs seems to be "stop the extra unemployment payments" and all these people who have been "making money hand over fist" during this time by actually getting a living wage - will meekly go back to work providing service!
They are. Going through Evil Geniuses by Kurt Anderson right now. Statistics rich, running through the a century or so, he makes the case that we are at a cross roads between seeing the working class situation just get even worse or make recognize that a NEW New Deal is required to right the ship of rampant inequality. For instance, one small data point that caught my eye...the average hourly wage of a "non boss" worker was
There are two reasons the republicans do not support the formation of a commission...1) they are pandering to trump and mcconnell for their own re-election bids and 2) they were directly involved in the insurrection and are guilty of attempting to overthrow the government.
That the mother of Officer Sicknick felt compelled to come to the Capitol to speak for justice for her son and others (reminiscent of the Sandy Hook parents for gun control legislation, BLM, and so many others) is simply beyond the pale and gut wrenching. republicans have (not so metaphorically) put a knee to her neck and to all Americans. I too cannot breathe.
We no longer live in a democracy. We are smack in the middle of republicans attempting to set up a dictatorship with madmen at the helm and they are getting away with it. It is like watching a train wreck in slow motion - similar to a Hitchcock movie where the viewer knows what is going to happen to the victim and canāt prevent it - psychological terror. Furthermore, the whole world is watching. What a pathetic (albeit dangerous) group. There really arenāt enough words to describe how disgusting and evil these people are .... they are soulless.
Question....canāt a ācommissionā be taken out of the political arena and done another way. For the life of me I cannot get my head around January 6th will not be investigated because a āhandful of senators canāt pass legislationā (Eve of Destruction). This unto itself is criminal.
Regarding the ongoing criminal investigations of trump and indictments of the terrorists, people rationalize long delays as the wheels of justice move slowly. However, in this case the delay has allowed the traitors to continue to regroup, exert their control, rally the troops, and maintain control of the government ..... no consequences; they are operating with impunity.
This may be armchair generalship at its very worst, yet, as an outside observer, I find myself wondering:
- Since we are faced with crime and the principal criminal suspects have opted to use and abuse their residualābut still considerableāpolitical power to block proper investigation of major crimes TO WHICH THE ENTIRE WORLD IS WITNESS;
- Since, in other words, a huge caucus of those representing the American people in Congress have blatantly broken and are continuing to break their oath to uphold the Constitution;
- Since, then, the United States of America is apparently being prevented by the main suspects from either investigating or prosecuting persons who have engaged in sedition and, possibly, treason;
- Since a purely criminal investigation by the FBI of the January 6th insurrection might be construed by political adversaries as biased;
WHY NOT ARRANGE for the FBI to be joined by an international team of expert forensic investigators, including police specialists like Scotland Yard, with the highest professional reputation, to examine the matter and report its findings to the Justice Department?
Where thereās a will thereās a way and, while it will be embarrassing to bring in foreign experts, damage to the influence and, consequently, the international power of the United States will be terminally damaged if the crimes we have all seen perpetrated are not investigated and duly prosecuted.
I only asked.
Prima facie, (even disregarding blatant countrywide action at state level to fix forthcoming elections) does not continuing action to prevent proper investigation of the January 6th insurrection in itself constitute sedition?
No way in hell, Peter. Inviting international oversight or investigations would ignite a political conflagration.
There will continue to be criminal investigations and the Democrats could have their own investigation, but, all lack the ālegitimacyā of a ābipartisanā investigation. Quotes because I canāt imagine anything legitimate or bipartisan coming from Republicans at this moment.
No, obviously, I understood this. But...
My life and that of millions everywhere was marked for good by the shock of President Kennedy's assassination -- I remember exactly where I was and how I learned of it, when a Canadian diplomat friend was called to the telephone and told us the president had been shot and he must go at once to his embassy...
All that followed only made the horror far worse. My confidence in and respect for the United States suffered lasting damage.
This time the damage will be far worse unless those guilty at the highest level are arraigned and dealt with.
I am drawing attention to America's apparent inability to deal with the highest crimes and to the ongoing betrayal of the country by those with the greatest reputation for draping themselves in the flag.
Will any of the Senators in question wake up to their most basic duty to their country and put America's interests before their own and the supposed interests of their party?
This is a slow-burning coup d'Ć©tat.
I totally agree. No Peter. It is madness that you suggest. The fact that you suggest Scotland Yard already indicates preference. It has been difficult enough establishing the ābipartisanā commission being voted on today.
Seems you didn't read my follow-up, Christine, just above what you wrote now.
Sometimes mad ideas jolt minds in which views have grown too solid. And... I have been scared of the "slow-burning coup d'Ć©tat" since long before January 5th. America has become very frightening. Now, it's very like the first half hour after awakening from a terrible nightmare, when the horror is still upon you...
This conspiracy must be beheaded. Until its leaders are where they should be no one and nowhere on the planet will be safe. Foreigners have no vote, practically no influence (except the worst kind, exercised by rivals or enemies) and you are bound to dislike our comments on your affairs.
Yet the truth is, your affairs are ours, too. Like the poor in too many cities, the rest of the world lives downstream of America. We in Europe, for instance, are directly affected by America's actions in the Middle East and Afghanistan, especially the ongoing after-effects of the second Gulf War.
Mention of Scotland Yard referred solely to technical expertise. I love England but am utterly ashamed of what has become of the country and its unthinking subservience towards America's worst, nastiest, most mendacious and corrupt administrations, in particular the last one. Just look at the current shambles, the lies, the dishonesty, the systematic cheating... Remind you of anything?
The brilliant idea expressed in today's thread is for citizens to fund and set up an investigation. Anything to shame the conspirators and their backers.
Another mad proposal? Sometimes people need to get mad and bring pressure to bear. It is in any case all as nothing when compared to the mass madness and the ingrown racism besetting the land. Thank goodness I'm in touch with proud, upright, confident and very lucid Americans. And that includes many the Professor and many in this community.
Seems like I did read it.
Pardon the misplaced "many".
Janet, you Are spot on!!!!
But, I STILL have Faith AND Hope, that GOOD WILL PREVAIL!!!šš
If you are waiting for good will to prevail, be on the lookout for icicles poking up from hell. The Republican Party as it is currently configured does not have any good will. Their only āgoodā is what will play to their political advantage. They are not the party of Lincoln. That party began its death throes with Nixonās Southern Strategy, maybe before. Republican, Democrat are only words. The wealthy with BIG money are not interested in the government working on anyoneās behalf but theirs. When the Rās are in power, they only concern themselves with maintaining that power, no matter what.
". . . . done another way." WOW! Brilliant! Any ideas out there?
That was so articulately said! Letter to the editor?
So what do we do about this?
It's mind boggling!
Meanwhile, Memorial Day is coming up. How many men and women have died for this country, only to have Republicans piss it all away for their own selfish gain.
A reminder about Memorial Day is an excellent approach to Republican senators who are all, they believe, patriots. The Capitol Hill switchboard has automated and live operators and you can reach any senator by giving their state. It takes a minute to leave a message. Mitchās mailbox has been full and inoperable. (202) 224-3121
I wanted to scream, watching that fucking moron Manchin saying he didn't want to "vote to destroy the government" by getting rid of the filibuster. Getting rid of it is the only way he'll see any of that "bipartisanship" he thinks is so important. He's one West Virginia mule in bad need of being hit upside his head with a 2X4 to get his attention.
I feel the same way about McConnell. Why the hell do we allow him to serve-- he is nothing but pure obstructionist to our Democracy. How does he get away with things like-- "personal favor" stunts. Haul him out and dump him back into Kentucky and then investigate his actions and holdings thoroughly.
Mitch McConnell is soulless and spineless. He flip flops for the Don, for power, for money. He has zero integrity. I think he is pure evil.
What Manchin knows is that the political pendulum is in constant motion. Come 2022 who knows which party will have the majority in the Senate?
In 2013 Obama/Reed modified the filibuster so that Obama could appoint his liberal federal judges with no Republican input. That short term gain lead to long term pain when the Republicans were, once again, in the Senate majority. In the long run, the Obama/Reed decision cost the Democrats the loss of the grandest prize of them all; the Supreme Court.
When Trump was president, time and again, he pressured McConnell to eliminate , or modify, the filibuster. McConnell refused. Can you imagine the extent of the damage Trump could have done if the Democrats didnāt have the filibuster to control him?
Be careful with this one.
Trump did a lot of damage to our government in ways that required no Senate or House votes. All the dangerous ā termitesā he put in place throughout the various agencies, undermining the agenciesā missions, acting secretaries, etc. The list is endless. Where else does a group hamstring its own operation and purpose with something like the filibuster?Filibuster comes from a term meaning sabotage.
Removing ātermitesā is much easier than eliminating legislation passed by the Congress and signed by the President.
McConnell knew very well that the pendulum was always in motion. He foresaw the day coming when he would be the Minority Leader.
Be careful you donāt get hit by the pendulum like Obama did.
Agree. Circumstance has changed, but timing remains everything.
Wow. You're right, Jenn! Thanks.
https://www.etymonline.com/word/filibuster
This is no swing of the pendulum. The crooks have loaded all their weighty lies to one side to prevent it from ever swinging again. Stuck in the abyss of deplorability
So he and his cohort write a plea to his Republican colleagues: āWe implore our Senate Republican colleagues to work with us to find a path forward on a commission to examine the events of January 6,ā which fell on deaf ears. I hope he realizes his Republican colleagues are playing him. Or is he playing the Democrats?
I think the latter.
Like many of the readers here, I find Manchin's "wish" for bipartisanship just that....a wish which can never come true as long as the evil McTurtleneck continues to ask for "personal favors". That man is so outwardly nasty/evil that it makes me sick that no one seems to be calling him out on his stunts. May he rot in the deepest, darkest depths of hell.
My only satisfaction here is that I know the law of karma will out in the end. Sometimes it just takes longer than I would wish.
Does anyone know if the White House has a woodshed?
I'll bet Joe would know how to wield a 2x4.
Joe could probably build the woodshed...
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January 6 is referred to in America as an insurrection which sought to prevent the peaceful transfer of power after a lawful election whose validity was confirmed by approximately 60 courts, many of which were filled with judges appointed by Trump. When the insurrectionists got inside the Capitol, many looked for the boxes containing the electoral ballots, likely to destroy them - such action, they believed, would prevent the peaceful transfer of power, so that Trump would remain President.
In fact, the riot at the Capital on January 6 constituted an attempted coup dāetat.
In other countries where, for example, during an attempted a coup dāetat, the insurrectionists seize the television and radio studios to broadcast that there has been a coup and a change of power.
On January 6, our President aided, abetted, incited and encouraged an organized group of conspiracists whom he convinced to believe the election was stolen - the āBig Lieā that Trump won the election. The Big Lie was comparable to what happened in Germany after World War I, which Hitler used to mobilize the masses in the 30s.
How could America allow such a mad man with the space to do this.
Call it what it was, but in reality January 6 was an attempted coup ādāetat which occurred in our Capitol, the seat of our Republic, broadcast live on CNN.
We must have looked like the banana republics we used to mock in America.
Imagine how low we must look to the world, to allow others to mock us, even Xi and Putin.
I hope Trump winds up in an orange suit, but even if not convicted, hopefully, he will be tarnished forever, never able to set foot in the Oval Office.
Joe Biden is a decent man, but truly he had a low bar to overcome as Trump behaved like a low grade cockroach, sort of what you might find in one of his hotels.
If it was an attempted coup dāĆ©tat it was pretty pathetic, no? What more is there to discover?
Were there communications between participants of the coup and members of Congress? Who gave the tours of the Capitol building on January 5? Were these tourists participants or in communication with members of the coup? Who were members of the network of activists who committed the treasonous invasion of the Capitol? Of course, being a member or having association is not a crime, but this discovery may put a final kabash on any further suspicious and illegal activities of all participants in this rise of extremism in our country. This is a list which immediately comes to my mind.
All good questions and there are surely many more. Why not a simple police inquiry or internal congressional inquiry? In fact, why are these question not already answered? What does a public spectacle add? A public spectacle, perhaps?
Aren't a lot of these questions being answered in the investigation and arrests of those who should have all been arrested and indicted on Jan. 6?
The value of the 911 Commission was the changes that were made to prevent further attacks. The same would be true for a Jan 6th Commission. We need to know how to prevent another capital breech, otherwise Jan 6th was a dress rehearsal.
Discharge and/or annul any legislator who voted against the legitimacy of the peoples' choice for president.
The proposed bipartisan commission is a trap for Dems because of the end of year sunset provision. Inevitably, the Republicans will challenge subpoenas and judicial resolution of these claims will likely still be pending in 2022. A House select committee with no sunset provision, or a much later one, will allow for a more thorough review of the facts.
This will give them the opportunity to ditch the sunset provision which the Republicans insisted on, for obvious reasons, itās going to take a lot longer than 6 months to discover all of the insipid tentacles the liar in chief nurtured. Would not a presidential commission composed of former national players, from both parties, with impeccable reputations and the power of the subpoena and no sunset š clause preventing a full investigation, work just as well? I want to see everyone involved have to testify under oath with the certainty of a prison sentence if they donāt, other than the gallows, which might prove useful here, a long time in prison tends to focus the mind.
"A House select committee with no sunset provision, or a much later one, will allow for a more thorough review of the facts." And, ironically, continue into 2022, a situation McC doesn't want to happen. I like it.
Interesting, thanks fir sharing this.
A Warren type panel, not this composition, is needed. This show will never produce a shred of credible evidence! Let the Justice department investigate and most importantly Prosecute! Enough with McConnellās whining and posturing! What a sad state our government is in with this malcontent wielding so much power!
Unfortunately, the Warren Commission was distinctly less than convincing.
Disagree.
I suspect their findings led to Russia, thus squashed I order to preventWWIII!
Finding "ten good people" among the senate GOP is probably as futile as Abraham's plea to spare Sodom and Gomorrah if ten good people could be found...
Let's break out of the mold. Wholly unsurprising. Isn't it? McConnell's "just say no" to anything suggesting he and his are part of and response-able for and of the "whole?" He was invited and declined. So drop him. Ignore him. Toothless Schumer, a pansy. Nice guy among demented, frightened, corporatized fools and traitors who've been busy "creating their own reality.(Google Karl Rove).
Democrats must investigate. Ignore the traitors.
Compose an investigative committee of willing legislators regardless of party (except those traitors who voted against the legitimacy of the peoples' vote) and the Deans of 10 of the most prestigious USA law schools. Or 5 Deans and 5 Nobel Laureates. Or some mix of Legislators and Outstanding Civic Leaders and/or Outstanding Scientists and/or 5 presidents (past and/or present) of the League of Women Voters who are also attorneys. Categorically, no CEOs allowed. Any such commission must operate free of corporate influence.
I had heard yesterday that "go whichever way the wind blows me" Susan Collins will vote for the commission. That the party that refused to believe any of the findings of the investigations that they launched into the Benghazi affair and Hilary Clinton's email server use thinks they have the moral high ground here is laughable. They are indeed terrified that their complicity will come to light. Since they are afraid of what such an investigation will uncover I can almost guarantee that they are going to be in need of fresh underwear if the DOJ gets involved. It is well past time for Biden to quit observing Marquis of Queensbury rules and use some MMA moves.
Roger that Pamela. After a few more days of theatre, we'll see a House Select Committee way in. Get ready for a summer (and probably Fall) of witnesses, interviews, unstoppable punditry, and a Benghazi-like show. The problem for Mitch and Company is that they will lose control of the narrative and this will stretch into the 2022 campaign season. The longer this drags out the worse the consequences for all those involved. But, oh wait, could it be that's what they are afraid of? (He asks in his best Columbo voice).
"Oh, I have just one more question..." (using my best Columbo voice)
It is nearing past the time to be playing nice with bipartisanship as a goal. Take off the kid gloves, and go barehand.
Wow. Lot packed in here. Heard John Meacham interviewed by Oprah. He quoted St Augustine, early church historian. ā A nation is a multitude of beings United by the commonness of their love.ā What do we love? ā¤ļø What unites us in love? What would we die for to save? Who are we? What do we love ā our children. That the children of the officers killed or injured felt grief or fear? That our children saw grown men and women threaten and kill their brothers and sisters in hopes of perpetuating a lie? Could we not unite on the love of our children and desire to leave them with a solid example of how people can work together to protect and defend truth? That we even have to have the conversation, much less a partisan disagreement, is insane.
What do we love? That is a question to ask in all of this. We are damaging the structure and function of the developing brains of our children with the racism, poverty, toxic stress, insecure attachment (because we make moms go back to work at sometimes lifeless jobs (all work is honorable) making $7.50 an hour and leaving their babies with strangers. What do we love? The idea that we could work toward a more perfect Union is lofty. We need to start walking the walk and value ourselves so we value āothersā so we want truth for all. Rambling. But believe lack of regard for the truth stems from separation from self and āothers.ā Letās flood the Capitol with moms with babes in arms and stop lawmakers in the hallways and have them hold a baby for five minutes and really connect, if possible, with the innocence they hold. That is what we love. The promise of creating a better world for our children. A better world is built on truth, connection. Right now we must build on the truths and connections we have and create them for all. Rambling. Bottom line? When we forget our humanity we forget what we love. Unity based on what we love - our children and leaving them a better world - is the job of the folks we elect. https://www.pacesconnection.com/blog/a-new-short-film-breaking-the-cycle-reclaiming-our-humanity Share this film. It has some answers. Hugs and peace and rest when youāre tired. Eat when youāre hungry. Care for yourself and youāre caring for us all. Our culture has been sidetracked by concern for the GDP instead of the well-being of our people. When we base our success on the material, we come up with leaders who are not about truth but about defending the material and not humanity. Thatās where we are. Watch the video. Send it to our leaders and policy makers. And flood the Capitol with babies and have those folks hold one every day. Maybe that would change things. Maybe not. Weād want the Capitol to be a safe place to bring our children. That day it was not.
Our ladder has been leaned against the wrong wall for a long time. This moment is am exquisitely painful and pointed reminder of that. Peace!
āOur ladder has been leaned against the wrong wall for a long time.ā Yes indeed. Climbing the wall of individual wealth instead of mutual prosperity has left many disconnected and empty. Looking for meaning in all the wrong places.
Yes Diane. Characteristic of caste system.
Thank you Carey. A lovely start to the weekend. This comes from website that popped up here last week.
https://www.pacesconnection.com
You know, it made me think about yesterdayās stream when there was so much discord present. I get so much from this community reaching out to each other. I donāt like when there are obvious threatening attempts to divide us.
Discord is a powerful adversary. I pray for vigilance towards cooperation, tolerance, community, and love.
Christine, Your message calling for cooperation, tolerance, a sense of community and love among subscribers participating in the forum is apt at any time. There are bound to be differences and feelings from admiration to annoyance that subscribers have about one another. I had two uncomfortable interactions with a couple of subscribers yesterday. After reflection, I am not sure about my response in one of the communications. 'Dicord' (disagreement) does not necessary lead to a negative result; another perspective, more knowledge and reconsideration of a position are also among possible resolutions. Your warning, however, led me to believe that I did not think long enough before responding. I could have been more helpful and less critical. Thank you, Christine.
Fabulous Fern. You are always helpful, even when you are critical. That strengthens and smoothes the strands of the cord.
Discord, like yesterday, frays it. Itās comments from some that pose as different opinion but contain sarcasm and repugnance in the ether of the message.
Thank you, teacher Christine. Virtue is essential aspect of civil society.
Manchin believes that there could be āten good peopleā in the Republican Party? Itās tragic that the number is apparently far fewer.
Manchin's āten good peopleā is political speech, a sop to his nominal party
Lately I have been feeling that its time to stop focusing on the anger and incredulity of the actions on the Right and start focusing on our action. Are we going to stand by and let the Right overthrow our democracy? Are we going to grudgingly live in the dystopian world they would rule? I feel like I'm watching a tsunami wave coming at us, and rather than bitching about the destruction its going to cause, we would be better served to take that energy and run for Higher Ground. The way it stands now, Joe BIden will be the last Democratic president and the US will be comprised of predominantly red states with a sprinkling of blue states under assault. We have very little time left and to spend it just criticizing the Right is futile.
And lets face it, WE ARE THE MAJORITY!
We also have to face the scientifically proven fact that conservative and progressive/liberal brains are wired differently. So expecting the Right to see the Light is neurologically/physically impossible! And thats OK! Why this is happening and happening now, I can't answer. But biologically we (Repub. & Dems) are programmed to not experience the world in the same way and expecting a return to "normal" whatever that was, is unreasonable. That ship sailed.
Where we need to put our efforts is to determine how we can live according to our values and ideals that is immune to the conservative assault on our democracy. Maybe we simply write a new modern Constitution that this time includes women, POC and the various forms of gender expression, AND the natural environment. That declaration alone states the vision and draws a line in the sand that THIS is who we are and it is our determination to live in a more just and equitable world. It gives us this single symbol to galvanize and unite us- humans need a symbol! Bec right now us progressives are not unified into a single movement. There are the Indivisible folks, DNC, LGBT, Planned Parenthood, Envir Legal Defense Fund, BLM, NAACP, MoveOn and the list of progressive groups go on! By holding the conviction and courage of the past colonial visionaries, we too can abolish the king and live in a new world!
Lets come up with solutions. As I was writing this, the idea of writing a new Constitution spontaneously came up. But its not a bad idea. Its a great first step and every journey begins with that first step. How this is going to play out, what this is going to look like, I have NO idea. But sometimes things just unfold, the process gets revealed, the solutions present themselves. And God damn it! Its better to fight for justice than it is to watch the slaughter.
Look I'm nobody. I'm quiet. I live a small little life. I don't even have a FB page! But I have this deep urge to DO SOMETHING!! I only have my heart and my conviction. I don't know how to write a constitution, create a universal symbol or get a nation of people to engage in an idea! I can barely get my friends to agree on a book club date. But I'm feeling this urgency that the door is closing and the time to act is now.
Is there anyone out there who is feeling the same way or am I alone?
Was writing this post an act of futility?
Ugh! I'm tired of feeling despair......................
KM, Right there with you. I think it's time to put our big boys/girls' pants on and face up to the fact that our current form of US governance is beyond dysfunctional. It's life-threatening.
I'm all for the new US Constitution idea. I know that scares the bejeebus out of a lot of people. Last week or so someone posted a really neat set of 'principles to be embodied' in a new Constitution. I can't find it now. So if anyone picks up this thread and can locate that pls re-post it as a way to start a sane discussion.
Folks, it's like this. The future is pulling us forward. We can either get on the Futures Bus and drive it, or stand by the roadside and get run over. Our choice. I'm on the bus.
Thanks Charlie! I hope we can somehow find those principles. Do you remember some of them?
Unfortunately not. It just seemed so commonsensical and laid out in bullet points,, no legalese.
KM Buckley, You are speaking for most Americans. Your call is clear. It felt so good to hear it. Please continue.
Absolutely with you.
I don't see how we are going to get to 60 Senators in support of the commission . I would recommend Democrats going forward with input from the 2 Senators who do support the commission.
"Republicans are saying that they donāt want the commission because theyāre afraid it will hurt them in the 2022 midterm elections." - HCR
Republicans are afraid the findings of the commission will hurt them, and frankly, that's just desserts for a party that has completely abandoned any sense of decency and ethics in favor of a cult alike slavishness to one man's insanity. Yes, the racism, bigotry, and inequality were pervasive before Trump landed the presidency, but the spread of venom was far less concentrated and organised - fewer people felt they had permission to attack their neighbors or the grocery clerk. The findings of a 1/6 commission should lay bare the involvement of any member of Congress, aide or associate. It should be a truth commission of the highest order. It should expose every action by every person complicit in the uprising and strip them of their duties and future ability to run for a federal office.
And damn right it should hurt them in the 2022 midterms. Hugely.
Like not alike