New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, a member of both the Democratic Party and the Democratic Socialists of America, began his victory speech last night with a nod to Eugene V.
Thank you, Heather, for repeating what Mamdani said. His speech was simply profound and magnificent. This young man has a dynamic personality which I hope does not get marred while he enters the political spectrum. I personally felt very drawn to him and his rhetoric. My sister lives in Manhattan and voted early for him. At first, she was a little taken aback by Mamdani but then began to embrace his ideas. I felt the joy New Yorkers felt last night but also those in Virginia and New Jersey. Quite a trifecta for the East Coast!
I am proud of being a Californian which gave me the opportunity to vote YES on Prop 50. I am here to fight fire with fire and go out every chance I get with my signs and being with like-minded people to push back against authoritarianism.
Mamdani is part of a recent movement in politics that refuses to sit quietly playing defense while demonizers paint caricatures and forcefully try to shove them into a little box not of their own making.
After Michelle and Barack Obama got to the White House (even before), they realized they had to be the ones to control their own scripts, rather than allow nefarious people with agendas a mile long to get there first. I doubt any First Family before them had to figure this out as quickly, or as forcefully as they did. Going after Michelle in particular, the fright-wing did everything they could to re-cast her as ‘that angry black woman’, a fist-bumping, secret Muslim-loving, terrorist-sympathizing, unpatriotic, Afro-sporting she-demon who secretly hated her own country. Their goal wasn’t just to turn her into a fraud, but into an alien — a clown prop with exaggerated body parts in a haunted house tour built for easily-frightened children in search of bogeymen to titter and scream at.
And her husband? That secret Muslim atheist who dared to sport a tan suit, a lover of French mustard, that socialist determined to rip you from your guns and your private doctor like a scheming ob-gyn forcing you to submit to a Caesarian against your will?
It was why Kamala Harris so often repeated her mother’s words on the campaign trail — ‘don’t let other people tell you who you are; you tell THEM who you are.’
Because New York isn’t South Carolina, that dog would never hunt much. The City is too diverse, too smart, too tough — too busy and too focused for that kind of stupid shit. More than half the City looked past a demonizing label to vote for a real man, rather than a caricature Tucker Carlson would have worked hard to fashion.
May his refusal to play a dumb game inspire those everywhere who won’t allow others to shove them into a box somebody else built for them and insist they crawl into. Time for us all to be too focused to play that ridiculous, artificial game a minute longer.
It makes me sick how misinformation spreads, and still people today paint Michelle Obama as the she-devil, and that viral spread of vile and racist misinformation was really a phenomenon that never could’ve happened 30 years ago. I love the Internet but it is not always our friend. I hate liars.
I have always been amazed at the vile things said about Michelle. Obviously, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and I've certainly known people who by conventional "standards" were considered highly attractive although their inner ugly self shown through to me. But to me, Michelle is a very attractive woman. She's on the current cover of People, and I'm sure the bigots all over the country are incensed as they stand in the grocery line and see it.
Nobody's is incensed. They just see her as she is-a Black women with no real abilities who whines and complains as she sips cocktails at the finest restaurants.
Thirty years ago Reagan was promoting the meme that Black women were Welfare Queens. This damn GOP party has racism baked into its core. They have spent decades refining that language and it has worked for them. It’s time for us to define a brother/sisterhood of inclusion - and mean it.
You are so right Marge. I am so sick of the GOP and trump and all their hatred and putting billionaires over everyone. Reading Mamdani's speech was like a breath of fresh air. Let us not forget what he said. This is OUR country and OUR democracy.
The racial dog-whistle that became a bull-horn. Finally, not just Democrats but many "just people" are realizing how horribly they've been manipulated by the GOP. They've pushed too far, too hard and too cruelly.
Reagan started the lie about the Black Welfare Queen back in January, 1976 during his first presidential run. The woman, Linda Taylor, was convicted of welfare fraud. Her fraud amounted to $8,000 over several years. Reagan made it sound as though there were millions of these "welfare queens" stealing us blind. That was a lie. Reagan started the war on the Middle Class in 1981, a war that the wealthy have won hands down, stripping $40 trillion out of the American economy and jeopardizing the chances that Americans now in their 30's, 40's and 50's will not be getting Social Security and Medicare, or in any amount that matters.
Yes Richard, having a 'chosen one' to use as some sort of an example continues & is so bad! Even when the person's real story is reported on, there are never any apologies. Bid bunch of gutter bullies!
Heather has often written about Reagan and the Machine, the coalition of various conservative miseries, for which he was the "acceptable" face. "The Great Communicator" (ick, really) wasn't able to destroy American culture and society all by himself. Anyone remember Phyllis Schlafly? And yes, it is time and past to make American society into what it should be - diverse, inclusive, equitable, educated, sensible, practical, respectful, honorable, decent, compassionate, helpful, neighborly, etc., to all our neighbors.
I am elated at the victories we have experienced. I am concerned about the need for local and state political leaders to become more active in issuing restraining orders to law enforcement on the actions of the Jack-booted thugs if ICE. This needs to be addressed in states across the nation.
So you think ICE and law enforcement are the enemies? The only people who fear and hate them are people who have committed crimes or are in the country illegally. What other crimes should we ignore or not prosecute?
Yes!!! She is whip-smart and a clear visionary human being…art and fashion..love and compassion, she and Jill were a wonderful and powerful force of real power…culture, society, thinking, caring, making it better— ‘Get-er-done!’
As they did with Hillary Clinton before her. Hillary would have had a much better result in 2016 if so many people "didn't like her" - after 25 years of poisonous lies about her by the Republicans.
I thought I taught my kids better, but my adult son has been corrupted or confused online, and now he’s scared of vaccines and thinks Hillary Clinton is terrible. I asked him for one concrete reason for him to dislike Hillary, and nobody can think of a legitimate reason. It’s all bullshit. It’s just not right.
Republicans did a good job spreading that misinformation unfortunately.
For the endlessly curious, the internet is a godsend. But it's also a perfect vehicle for confirmation bias. Want to believe the world is flat? Want to believe up is down and down is up? The internet will deliver "facts" to satisfy any belief. Unfortunately, those without strong critical thinking skills—regardless of formal education—are most vulnerable to clinging to BS that justifies their biases.
There are people who really do believe the earth is flat, and I will never understand that ridiculousness. There was a group on Facebook called “Christians against dinosaurs” and I kept thinking they were trolling everybody but I think they’re serious; they think that early Christians lived with dinosaurs.
A Christian once told me that the dinosaur bones were placed in the ground to fool the scientists.
I don’t understand how anyone could be so stupid. Religion trips them up. Religious folks are frequently the victims in online scams because they will believe everything. My devout little brother lost $180,000 to a sex scam. Many Christians are very greedy.
Michelle Obama is always well received and respected on Colberts show and deservedly so. No more going high she is in it for the fight, and we need her and Barack.
Christine, yes all human inventions have two sides. I view that as part of reality. And if some people can use something for nefarious purposes, they will.
I am with you! While there are some very convenient uses for the internet, the whole thing is out of control. Most companies I deal with no longer even pretend to care about hearing from their paying customers if there is a problem with the goods or services that those companies sell. Now we are connected(after listening to several minutes of completely irrelevant “information”) to an AI bot who usually ends up telling you to basically fuck off. I have taken to using this internet to find out who the CEOs of these companies are and where they are headquartered and writing them to tell them how offensive their use of AI is to their customers, and that they should hire human beings to interact with the public.
I hammer this home to all my doctors offices every time I go,and if more people did it we might bring back some civility and sanity to the business world.
The drawing I saw that summed it up very well was a person listening on the phone to a recording saying "Your call is important to us. Please hold the line until it is no longer important to you."
I need to add to this: There is a program on HBO/max that depicts a man driven totally nuts by this ubiquitous use of the internet to deny responsibility, disguise the people running the "company" and make it impossible to find out who and what any company really is. It is called "The Chair". Worth watching. We are not alone in being fed up with corporations acting like we do not have rights. Cost of living is an issue, but this is what keeps us all frustrated and angry all the time because they act like their customers are stupid pains in the ass, and do not deserve any respect.
I just finished a "golden age" British mystery, "The Franchise Affair." In it, a young girl accuses two upper-middle-class women (who live in a village) of kidnapping and beating her. It was published in 1948, and a large part of the book is about the harassment of the two women before their trial, including irate and unhinged letters (calling one of the women a foreigner as she had dark hair), young men from the local "big" city going to the house to throw rocks, break windows, and graffiti the walls. So I think the problem now is that ignorance and hatred are easier to spread with the internet, social media, etc.
Rupert and clones were vicious as was chump. In Texas, threats were posted on wall at a gun shop I went into. Secret Service did a good job to keep him alive. That story may someday get told unless the P2025 crowd rules. So say I. Mamdani needs protection so I hope Dem lawmakers and the pundits get on his train.
They are all afraid of Mamdani, the MAGAs, FOX and the corporate media and the establishment Democrats. He could be the new order and Schumer, Cuomo and the others don't want to change. Imagine if Mamdani had been mayor in 2024. His charisma may have put Kamala over the the top. Bernie has welcomed him into the tent and it would be my hope that he can woo Gen-Z, Gen-X and the millennial into the tent as well.
Mamdani has been hammering on affordability as have many other Democrats. Trump is the king and only cares about making the rich richer and starving the poor.
The GOP wants slave labor and has refused for over 15 years to consider increasing the Federal minimum wage. Affordability is not only keeping inflation in tow but increasing wages for the working class.
"Mamdani has been hammering on affordability as have many other Democrats."
Yes, Gary. And it is working!
For a long time we have heard about "economic justice" from Bernie and then AOC. They and others were considered "radical lefties" or extremists. I call all that BS. We have had Senator Chris Murphy speaking about the "big tent" of affordability for months. Finally, the idea that all Americans should have an affordable life is mainstreaming.
Let's learn from the MAGA strategists - find your message and repeat it endlessly. Affordability as an issue is universal. No left, no right, just Americans suffering while the rich get richer.
I was chatting about extremism with someone recently. They were saying "both sides are extremists - I'm in the middle." I asked what issues of the "left" they considered extreme.
Food security?
Housing?
Health care?
Clean water and air?
Addressing the Climate catastrophe?
Sex trafficking and pedophilia?
Good education for every kid?
A living wage?
Answer: "I think we need to work on all that."
Me: "Then you, my friend, must be a mainstream right down the middle of common sense and fairness and basic human rights - lefty extremist."
The Democrat values and policies are at the center of common sense and fairness. Communists and Fascists are extremists. We are NOT. Putin and Nazis (wherever they live) are extremists. We are not.
The resistance is coalescing around affordability. Two "moderate" women won governorships! A Muslim 34 year old won the mayorship of NYC. Keep the tent big!
I still have Warren for President materials - bumper stickers. My first choice back then. Sadly, her message wasn't received or it was ignored. She has been fighting for economic justice forever. What a fine president she would have been.
But even our state wouldn't back her...
If she were younger, I would support her again for POTUS.
By helping our neighbors we are showing them that the us and them is everyone that isn't an oligarch or a Trump sucker and the Oligarchs and Trump's family and alt-right Fascists.
My new mantra is "No more Billionaires." Most of them seem to be tone deaf as to what is happening in this country.
I'd like to see our culture stop admiring morbid wealth. I see some young people who have adopted a minimalist existence not by necessity but by choice--and it should be by choice. By this, I mean, my son makes a good salary, but he and our daughter in law choose to not fall into the trap of purchasing every single gadget that comes on the market. My niece and her husband have chosen to gift their children experiences over things. My daughter had to explain to me what "fast fashion" was, and her lip curled as she explained.
Though not a particular fan of her music, I admire Billie Eilish for telling the uber wealthy to give their money away.
And I truly wonder with Trump and so many others--what amount of money is enough?
Yay Bill. I think I would have slapped that person. Gave you that label based on 'common sense & fairness'? Oh boy. Hope that someone never needs to ask for any kind of help.
When one has long subscribed to a bigoted view of “the other” and invested deeply in it, one doesn’t concede defeat easily, if at all.
Adam Kinzinger said today he had talked with some Repubs (congressional I believe) who are “dispirited” about Tuesday’s results and who recognize the shutdown is hurting them but don’t have a way out. They can’t “back down” because to 47 that would be “losing,” which is the equivalent of self-administered death. These dumbass Rs didn’t believe hitching your wagon to 47 meant you were never your own boss again.
Most of my MAGA neighbors are very kind people and generous as well. However, most of them were born, raised and lived within 25 miles of where they were born. Our little town of about 2000 residents is almost all caucasian and not very worldly. By working all over the country and internationally, not only have I met, but I have also worked with and played with people from all over the world. Much of my cultural literacy I have gained from interacting with people of color and religion.
It's much easier to be bigoted when you get your "news" from Fox and far-right sources and your circle of acquaintances is so limited.
I wonder if our fellow commentor here, Phil Bala, will see this:
COLLEGE "woke" me. It's where I first made my first friend of color, where I met the first openly gay person I knew, where I studied alongside students from all over the world.
Surprise surprise! We all were struggling to learn and achieve. Many of us had student loans and jobs. The only person I knew who paid for college outright was, sadly, able to do so as they lost both of their parents in a fatal car accident and inherited the family assets.
Mamdani has given us an estimate of what it takes to win. He had 100,000 activists on the street canvassing to spread his message and get out the vote. That’s a little over 1% of the population of the city. There are perhaps 30 states where a similar effort has a chance to bring similar results. The population of those states is roughly 250 million, so so we need roughly 2.5 million activists in the trenches, starting now and working right up to election day in November, 2026 (and beyond, to keep it going until we kick their butts back down into the gooey sludge from which the emerged in 1980). For perspective, that’s about a quarter of the No Kings protesters. We need 2.5 million working activists, starting now, to get the governance the decent people of the US deserve (the indecent people, too, but they won’t like it as much).
About halfway through this Meidas Touch clip, there is a presentation of Trump's symptoms.
By the way, Leavitt rattles off facts about his recent physical exam, she dropped a line that made me go "whoa": she mentioned he had a "D-Dimer" test done. THAT IS NOT A ROUTINE TEST, I know, because I used to perform them! It's a test looking for breakdown of a BLOOD CLOT.
The noisy ones will fight each other over the remains.
The silent ones will liquidate their holdings in the stock market.
And come January 2027 the "tech bros" will see their position will be one of survival in the face of new political realities and possibilities of impeachment.
Add a litte secret advice for the rest of us who have retirement investments. Reduce your positions in anything that relates to the stock market. ASAP.
Companies that underpay workers who then qualify for SNAP are essentially subsidized by taxpayers—corporate welfare that Republicans readily accept. Yet these same Republicans despise the "lazy poor people of color" receiving SNAP benefits, ignoring an inconvenient truth: these recipients are working; they simply can't earn a living wage. This is justice, the Republican way.
And many of the large corporations like Walmart and The Home Depot are 2nd or 3rd generation companies. Are there any Waltons that give a fuck about anyone but themselves?
I said that yesterday--not that they care about poor people, but the fact that reportedly 25% of their revenue comes from SNAP should make them care, if only for their bottom line.
Home Depot, along with numerous other publicly traded companies, is actually owned by several private equity companies who give a fuck only about share price.
I totally agree, I as well mentioned corporations feeding at the federal government trough. I believe it was one of Professer Richardson's YouTube podcasts about health insurance and the ACA. I mentioned why is it necessary for the taxpayer basically to subsidize health insurance premiums? The problem lies with the greed of the entire health industry charging astronomical costs for providing services. The pharmaceutical companies are at fault here too. Why should other countries see that universal health is a human right and not a for profit industry. We dont have universal health because they don't want to get paid less. The ACA was as close as we got, but at what expense? Using our tax dollars to enrich the already rich corporations. Again, welfare for the rich.
Old nurse here who understands how very expensive research & development are but, most health plans have these middle managers who play God deciding who gets medical tests & procedures. THEY need to not be allowed in the health care industry.
sure is Harv.., and the fact that none of the hardships endured by the "hard-working people" within that group (the lazy people etc) are causing 'them' any real dis-comfort makes them feel 'so justified' in what they are saying or voting for. Ahhh..cherissstalmighty.., there is no end! $#^&@$$!
We can all do something to protect Mamdani and his moral sentiment. We can make a habit of pointing out that The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759) was written by Adam Smith, that the book’s name is the founding principle of the economic system we call capitalism, and that capitalism works because, and only because, it rests on that bedrock foundation.
If we define communism as the belief that capitalism is the opposite of capitalism, and I can’t think of a better definition, then Zoran Mamdani, AOC, and Bernie Sanders are capitalists whereas Milton Friedman, Jamie Dimon, and Karl Marx are a bunch of damn commies.
We need to make sure the "affordability" issue isn't one of cutting prices, which in many cases relfect actual costs. The reason things aren't affordable is that the corporate types hoard, and their shareholders applaud not paying a living wage. The market loves layoffs.
Time to reframe. The people who matter are stakeholders, not shareholders.
One of the many lessons I learned from owning a business was that if you pay people above market and treat them like you want to be treated then you will have better associates AND happier customers.
One of the indicators of happy employees and a good working environment is turnover rate. For the 10 years, my company was in business our worst year for turnover was 5% or 8 employees that year. For the first 5 years our turnover rate was 0%.
Many companies have turnover rates that are over 100%. If you can't figure out why your employees aren't sticking around, you shouldn't own your own business.
I don't like this but this is the truth as I and many others have lived it in these United States. It is well past time to live for The People instead.
The problem is going to be delivering on these promises. It is going to be an uphill battle to make these oligarchs give up one cent of their wealth for the common good. And the population of this country wants results right now. This kind of refocus in government takes time and resolve, and I am not sure the American voters are really pragmatic enough to stick with this program. Mamdani’s promises are wonderful,but are they achievable in this generation?
They're you go, dividing the party. While I support Mamdani, he didn't endorse Kamala or Biden. In fact, he suggested the "Blank Ticket" in last years primary. Shumer did not endorse Cuomo and was reticent to support an avowed Socialist. I don't agree with it but I'm not going to villify Shumer like many progressives do, forgetting how important he was during the first two years of Biden's term when shit got done because progressives and "establishment" Democrats worked together. That's how it works!
I have an opinion on why they are afraid of Mamdani. I don't think it's because he's Muslim either, although some will hate him for that. I believe it's because for the first time the far left has come up with a candidate who is young, vibrant, obviously brilliant, and millions rallied for him. Sanders made a mistake in calling himself a Democratic Socialist because too many people were afraid of the word "Socialist", plus, he was a bit long in the tooth and, this is just my opinion, became less likeable as the campaign went on. His surrogates were hideous and the Bernie Bros. alienated more voters than they attracted. But Bernie's ideas were good - just not him.
Mamdani, like AOC, share the ideas but not the attitudes.
So, the young who yearned for a candidate who would take us farther left found one in Mamdani and if he's as smart as he seems and doesn't do something stupid, he could become governor, or Senator, and then keep on going.
Don't be too hard on establishment Democrats. Without us, Mamdani wouldn't be Mayor of NYC. I think you mean billionaire Democrats, not the Dems like me - regular people.
Mandani has as big or even a bigger target on him as did MLK and it’s Trump’s fixing him in the crosshairs of every bigot and racist wannabe great white Christian hero in the country. He needs all the physical protection the city can provide. And then there are the MAGAs in congress who are threatening to drag him before every possible committee. He should welcome the opportunity to chew them up and spit them out.
John.., I think Mamdani is safe. He isn't connected to the 'pedo ring' which clearly surrounds Dear Leader. Conspiracy theories aside. Hard data exists. This is not Henry the 8th or Catherrine the Great history, buried deep. This 'clown & friends' is real-time stuff. The obfuscation of 'fact' is indeed visible as day. You and I are right here in the audience and can look each other in the eye. The people who need protection are the people privileged to the "hard data" and the keepers of the cache(s) of evidence which 'exist'. We have honorable people here. A simple example would be book publishers who choose not to publish a book rather than risk the expense of defending the case in court. Who loses? We do/or they do. My hope is that 'the Democratic Party' can coalesce into a real "team" capitalizing on facts, but even more, on things that really matter in the scheme of things. That is simply quantifying problems. I hope Mayor Mamdani can do that.
They want the corporate and billionaires' money...we need to get money out of politics and get back to elected officials representing we the people not lining their own pockets and having a war chest to take with them when they retire.
As a Democrat, I have to say , the party doesn't listen to the people anymore. They seem to just want to push whoever they think turn it is. It time for them to start listening or it's time for us to start a new party for working class people.
This has been the case. For sure. But I listened to Hakeem Jeffries last night. He sounded a bit like Mamdani. Affordability was repeated several times. I think the train is headed in the direction of economic populism, fairness, justice for all Americans. Most Democrat politicians will jump on a winning train. Or be left at the station.
I left the Dem party when the DNC (looking at you, Debbie Wasserman-Schultz) screwed over Bernie to nominate Hillary (I’m not a Hillary-hater, I just think the country had had enough of the Clintons and corporate Dems). I’ve been independent ever since and won’t rejoin the Dem party.
Patty..,? A "party"? Where? You bringing the chips? I'll bring some Moxie (soda) and some Allagash White. Who'se bringing the firearms? Better give the ATF a call, we'll probably need some tobacco to light it.
Welp Loree, you might just have identified what exists of a "Democratic Party". Does such exist? Is it a 'team'? You seen one? I've seen the Republican Football Team (RNC) AKA Republican Party. So far they could be accused of kicking ass and taking names; fighting crime in the cities; and forcing our military to 'get in shape'. My my.., what's wrong with that.., one might ask? Hard pills to swallow. Trouble is they are being fed to us with a glass of drain-cleaner and we're choking on it. We need to hit that Whitehouse with a firehose.
One of the very best of your many insightful comments. Corporate Democrats, take heed. Note that Schumer not only didn’t endorse Mamdani, the winner of the primary, he wouldn’t say how he voted. Contrast that to the courage of Mamdani, who said directly to Trump, to thunderous cheers, “ Turn the volume up.”
What would also give many Democrats heart and confidence right now is if Schumer would step down and allow one of the Senators who have been speaking up and who projects strength instead of the image of a doddering, letter writing, reading his notes, pretending this is normal politics, ineffective leader.
Patty, I also have been thrilled that the Speaker has been called (I believe it was in this thread not long ago) "Trump's Little Johnson." Thank you to whomever came up with that one!
i used the name Howdy Doody to describe Mike Johnson on this thread. However I did not coin the phrase, I saw it on facebook and thought it fit. I'll say it again and again "Howdy Doody Mike go back to work and swear in Adelita Grijalva.
I just read the comment below "trumps little johnson". Both work for me.
Emergency Prayer Circle Formed After New York Elects Socialist Mayor
“Republicans are scrambling to redefine socialism before anyone notices it means fixing potholes and funding schools.”
Ted Cruz sprinted onto Sean Hannity’s set at Fox News, declaring that this election night amounted to a “disaster” for conservatives and that the new mayor, Zohran Mamdani, was not just a friendly progressive but a “communist jihadist,” a “full-on communist,” and “the face of the Democrat party.” His voice trembled somewhere between outrage and performance art, which, for Cruz, is often the same thing.
Meanwhile, Republican strategists are scrambling to redefine socialism before anyone notices it means things like fixing potholes and funding schools. Cruz doubled down, warning that New York’s election was proof that America is “sliding into socialism,” all while quietly cashing his government paycheck and enjoying his taxpayer-funded health insurance... https://essayx.substack.com/p/emergency-prayer-circle-formed-after
Absolutely agree with you, ICTT. But I think the Obama administration was kind of the perfect example of the (malign) narrative influencing the approach. While Michelle fumed, Barack prevaricated, backed away from saying things that needed saying for fear of being labeled an "angry Black man," and allowed the Dem machine to ride roughshod over what could have been a liberating policy. It also took Biden coming forward (without authorization, by the way) for Obama to finally drop his opposition to LGBTQ+ marriage equality, which he was totally mimsy about because straight Black people, especially those who claim to be Christians, are extremely homophobic. It was one of the most frustrating things to witness, for me at least, and the result was a trouncing at the midterms that led to the shitshow we have now. I think if Obama had been a more forceful president, especially in his second term, we would not have had to deal with the likes of Foghorn Leghorn McConnell.
I too resented the pragmatist approach although I did understand it. What I loved about Obama was his moral compass and seeming integrity. I felt he was a good family man with a capacity for empathy.
I agree--he and Michelle exemplify what it means to be a political family that values, um, "values." And their kids are terrific, too. I have seen the Dems go from LBJ-powerhouse (yes, he was an asshole but he was also effective) to timid as all getout in the last 60 years. It's kind of pathetic.
You make fair points. I actually think the stress was always worse for Michelle. He wasn’t the one who burst into tears when Marine One left the White House in 2017 and cried for 30 minutes straight out of pure exhaustion. I do think he was privately mortified not be be cast as ‘the angry black man.’
I agree: Michelle was the kind of target that the Rethuglicans love: one who cannot fight back in public. Remember that awful, racist, insulting New Yorker cover? And any number of references to her bare arms? There was a great piece about her new book in The Guardian yesterday: definitely worth the read. I also found her memoirs far more interesting than Barack's heavy-handed tome. And he even admitted she outsold him . . .
“I doubt any First Family before them had to figure this out as quickly, or as forcefully as they did.” They are very intelligent people and had a front row seat to everything Hillary endured to keep her away from power. I’m quite certain they knew full well what they were getting into. Maybe Mr. had to have a touch of denial to get him thru, but the Mrs. saw thru that glass clearly!!!
A great speech, we pray, is followed by great determination, because the hounds of hate and white supremacy are already sharpening their teeth. The first round in a 15 round match has gone to Mamdani, now he must have great support to win the bout. His well funded opponents are hollow shells of indecency and bigotry surrounded by their money. May they be forced to sit on their assets as their only comfort.
"Secret Muslim atheist" who also attended the church where Jeremiah Wright was the pastor. The pastor who preached the "God damn America" sermon. I have to say that there was much truth in what he preached. Our chickens have certainly come home to roost in the years since his sermons.
Newsom joked right up until voting day that it never once occurred to the Orange Senescence that he’d face real resistance. “He thought we’d all just join hands and sing, or maybe write an op-ed in the LA Times.” He gambled on California (and the country) not being in an op-ed moment by November 4, and he was right. He also got very skillful people to frame the issues, organize the campaign. package the debate and raise the funds accordingly. Not just balls, but skill, and attention to the details.
He’s also one of the few who’s figured out that trolling the Beast really does drive it completely bonkers. The Beast wants us to live within stupid caricatures — long past time to flip the script and shove those caricatures right back up the gander’s fat ass.
Pay attention, because these are exactly the kind of skilled chops needed to win the presidency in this bizarre new age we now find ourselves in. He’s far from alone to figure this all out, but he’s the one who got a flying start when it truly mattered.
Side note, ICTT, but also related and a bit under the radar; here in Virginia we elected a Democratic supermajority in the House. We’ve got 11 Congressional districts that the state legislature will be looking at to reconfigure. Coupled with what California may do in this regard, the 5 measly additional seats the dictator’s water boy in Texas delivered will be more than neutralized. I’m not a fan of having to do this, but if these fascist assholes want to fuck with the system, we’ll meet them right where they live.
Until all states use independent commissions for redistricting, no one should. Republicans were happy to allow the commissions in democratic lead states, but have refused to allow in their own. Time to play the game.
“He also got very skillful people to frame the issues, organize the campaign. package the debate and raise the funds accordingly. Not just balls, but skill, and attention to the details.” Just like with Mamdani, it took guts, savvy, courage, and hard work.
Yup. I think the taint of "couchfucker" will forever stain Vance, who isn't well loved anyhow.
Fellow commentor here (Dale) took my challenge and created a "Truth o Meter" for Johnson, although that is too kind as I suggested a "LIE O METER". In a podcast, Heather mentioned that Johnson blushes when he lies. I'd really like to see that point go viral and hammer him, to the point he becomes flustered as he KNOWS people are looking at what degree of redness he is displaying.
(Besides leaving messages on his phone that he sold his soul to Satan, I've included messages along the lines of his subconscious fighting back by his "tell" of blushing.)
And for those of us entrenched in red states (like Florida for me), these victories inspired a hope we haven’t felt in oh, so long. We, the people are stronger together than these Nazis. We fight!
There are so many FL people who will be malnourished before the admin. gets around to restoring assistance; too many ER visits for things easily cared for in a docs office. Feed & clothe the children? Not on your governor's dime! Damn! Waiting to see a rebellion in FL. Won't visit until De Santis is long gone.
Newsom wasn't worried at all - he knew for weeks that Prop 50 would easily pass. The reason he kept asking for donations (and the reason he was asking for as little as $3) was to build his donor list for his 2028 run for the presidency.
We finally get turn out and people complain about fundraising that happens in all parties because our system runs on millions of dollars. Complain about the system not the party.
Yes, Janis - “the system” is very important to understand and expose. Yes, politicians and political parties keep begging for money, but where does that money go? DUH - the MEDIA!
Which is the point. The parties and candidates get the word out. It also goes to set up campaign staff members and volunteers and offices but media costs are the highest.
The right wing side is funded by billionaires so everything they say brings them more money, except for the little RW people who spend their time spouting nonsense. Wouldn’t it be great if we could actually get money from Soros? Ha ha.
Yup, that is why I turned to writing postcards, which mostly is on our own dime. At least then I know my money is going towards a particular candidate. But boy--"buyer's remorse" for writing cards for Fetterman!!!
I've posted messages to his phone line reminding him of how his date tattoos were supposedly a reminder of gun deaths under his mayoral administration. I asked if he'd ink the date that democracy died in the USA??
Yeah, I had a former sergeant who has consumed the MAGA Kool-Aid ask me some question about Fetterman as a Democrat, and why didn't more Democrats follow him. Sigh.
The American voter looks like an ATM to politicians today. Our voices are not heard; the politicians are ineffective and keep repeating the same mistakes which we are supposed to fund. Never mind the cushy life they live while we struggle. They are consumed with being reelected.
Well duh. Reelection is the basis of their job. No votes no job. They need money to run. Change the system if you don’t like it. Don’t penalize the candidates.
Elon has billions to give and NO ONE to stop him. We have to work smarter to defeat the oligarchs plus we need to "out" the oligarchs whose main goal is to get other billionaires elected. Plus, we need to fight negativity, cruelty and hate with positivity, inclusivity and love. Isn't that one of the Mamdani's lessons?
We need at maximum age limit for politicians, but we also need money limits. If they have $1 million or more, they will never understand the problems of regular people. Let’s vote them all out.
I can’t even imagine never being broke. They don’t understand and they don’t care.
It is virtually impossible to win election or reelection at the Federal level in the US without spending a million or more. And there are hundreds of billionaires that have the means to buy an election.
I didn’t hear Mamdani’s speech, I only read Heather’s article. But it’s refreshing to read a speech where there’s a lot of “you” and “we, us” instead of a steady gush of “I, me, me”. And no verbal masturbation, either.
I watched his speech live in my bed in Maryland. The last time I cried at a political acceptance speech was on November 4, 2008. I have needed a good cry for a long time. Mamdani can't run for president, but the Democrats better be watching and emulating him.
Yep. My daughter and I sat on the couch watching and cried tears of joy. We so much hope but he bailed out the rich folks and didn’t do so much (that I know of for poor folks.
I too, became very emotional. 100,000 volunteers knocked on doors and canvassed for him. People of all ages, of all walks of life told the world that there was this guy who believed in them, who wanted to make their lives better. How can you not fall in love with him??
It's the talking and talking and talking and talking and talking and that happens. Politicians fall in love with the sound of their own voice. Put them in front of a microphone and it's Katie bar the door. My mind goes numb. Hakeem Jeffries is a mess at this. The Democratic Party loves to do this. And they aren't really saying anything. I saw AOC doing this the other day and was sad to see this happen because I really admire what she and Bernie have been doing.
Hi Barbara, it seems to me that Jeffries has read the tea leaves. He was interviewed on PBS last evening. The questions were partisan but his answers were about addressing the needs of the people overall.
Dang it! I hate when I go to paste something in and I inadvertently tap the blue enter arrow.
“Well, we don't view this shutdown as something that should be assessed through a partisan lens. We're fighting hard to make life better for the American people,”
"“Well, we don't view this shutdown as something that should be assessed through a partisan lens. We're fighting hard to make life better for the American people,” Why Not? Stop playing so white bread. It is the Republicans' fault. Own the moment!
Huh Uh. How? When? This comment of Jeffries tells me zero.
1. How are you going to end the shutdown?
2. How are you going to protect the vote in 2026 & 2028?
I likewise saw Jefferies on PBS NewsHour, and thought the same thoughts. He’s getting better, but he sounds like he’s reading from a Teleprompter. Lots of boilerplate and no authenticity nor passion.
My sense is that the way to address all of those questions is to appeal to a broader base that includes a lot of folks who could care less about whether the candidate is a Republican or a Democrat and who is to blame. The shutdown is just another one among a string—a pattern that both parties have used. The broader base is the answer. The broader base is where the votes are. The majority of people want what the Democrats are holding out for, so addressing those needs without labeling them Democrat offers a way in for swing voters who voted for Trump. The dividing line is shifting to economic class.
We are in a coup here in America. Democracy is hanging by a thread as the fascists in the White House, the House and Senate continue to systematically dismantle our form of Government and strip Americans of the means to live a decent life.
There are no appeals left in this. We gather a strong base like Mamdani did, stake out a focused agenda and send a crystal clear message.
The broader base theory is dead. It waters down the message and you end up standing for nothing and no one.
We should never have an option to "shut down the government", period. A president should not have that ability. How stupid. How about we freeze Congress and Senator pay/compensation/gym-use, and staff/limo.., for a minimum of 60 days - NO backpay, plus they forfeit retirement. We the people should do that! They work for all of us, and are not doing the job they are paid to do. Simple.
Lowering food prices? C'mon..., prices will come down on their own once we have re-established a stable, coherent, civil-manner, honorable form of government. Gerrymandering is all one would be doing if one went out there to 'lower" food prices. Like, what're ya gonna do 'subsidize' skinless chicken thighs organically grown? Wanna keep subsidizing ethanol to lower the price of gas? GMAB.
And yet, they seem to get just as trounced by their own team if they talk less. Go figure. Could it be that criticizing every single thing Democrats do or don’t do de-energizes the democratic base? It could be. How about we try encouragement for a change.
We are in the process of redefining how the Democratic Party, how Democracy works and how we want it to work for us. I highly recommend you listen to Dr. Richardson's podcast Politics Chat today
Thanks, Barbara. I’m fully informed and on board with redefining how the party and our democracy works for ordinary Americans. There will be no going back to so-called “normal” times. There can only be going ahead to a society that can deliver liberty and justice for all.
I just don’t think constantly trashing our own side is strategically effective.
Thanks for the link. The residents of NYC give me hope. I live in Florida, where you can be arrested for setting foot on a road or highway to protest anything. On No Kings Day, protestors mostly stood on roadsides with their signs.
DeSantis' Florida sucks. Wish us luck in voting his people out.
Back in about 2016, I typed those exact words in a Yahoo comment, and got snotty remarks and many, many thumbs down.
I saw a report that claimed as much as 40% of Yahoo comments are paid foreign influencers and/or bot written. So, if you engage, you are merely talking to a bot.
Yeah, if they were Americans. Unfortunately New York City try to get on Americans to vote noncitizens to vote and 90% of the people here who seem to be supposedly informed had no clue really sad.
Tuesday's results,if nothing else, absolutely showed how unpopular your president Trump and MAGA have become. Just check the results across VA to see how red districts moved blue. Democrats did not do this in VA. It was Replicans and Indepedent votes
What you will come to understand is that Americans don't like blithely taking food away from 42 million Americans in need or sending masked goons out to arrest a whole lot of innocent brown skinned people or cancelling critical, life saving medical research and on and on. The GOP is trying to sell an agenda of cruelty. American voters are tired of it.
I think you also thought I needed help with math or map reading. I think you should consider::
Our election system requires votes by people not by average or land mass. If you expanded the blue areas by their populations they would take up the majority of the red/blue map.
Oh, and you ignored the comment I made about the New York City government attempting to allow illegals to vote.
I like to use empathy it’s the best weapon. Can you imagine if the Republicans went to who Foreign country and got four 5 million people who committed to vote Republican and brought them into the country and any means they could and then they get them to try to vote.
Empathy usually works but I think you’re too far gone.
Time will tell but based on history what you guys love so much New York is gonna soon look like San Francisco… more crime, more poverty, more hopelessness, more debt, and deficit.
Either you don’t understand English or you are really. Slooooooooowww upstairs. Well, if you wanna rejigger the United States have at it. Lmao. Add that to your list of hopelessness.
I’m actually reading this in an utter shock, dismay, and disbelief that you actually think what’s happening is reality? you think that the Republicans are not paying snap benefits because they don’t want to?
I’m gonna say this very slowly, and in my finest English.
The Democrats need to say only three letters and snap benefits get paid now read that slowly a dozen times maybe it’ll get through your head
The word is yes if the Democrats say yes, then the government opens, and all the snap benefits get paid. I can’t make it any more clear to you that the only people that are stopping the snap benefits from being paid are the people keeping the government closed and those people are not the Republicans they are the Democrats. Unless you don’t know the difference between the word no and the word yes then there’s the problem.
During the Biden administration, Republicans voted 13 times to keep the government open even though they disagreed with Biden’s policies now the Democrats have kept the government closed 13 times. I think it’s actually more now. No, as I’m fluent in Spanish, both written and oral if you’d like me to translate that into Spanish for you, I could do that
Regarding our election system I’m actually laughing at you really hard and I’m sorry. Anytime you want to use the word if please feel free to do so, but you can’t do that in the real world because that’s the Democratic specialty if if, and if one that’s not reality and it won’t be reality any time in our lifetime
I will once again send you the map if you’d like to see it that’s factually the way the electoral system works in this country unless you’re from Zorbon. and you don’t know that.
So “ IF AWAY” all you’d like. Perhaps when the drugs wear off, you’ll realize that all your apps butts and ends don’t apply. And then reality waves in and all the Democrats have to do is say yes.
So yes, you do need help with the map and math because you want to reinvent math and you want to change the map of the United States electoral system. Be my guest. Yikes.
The Empire Votes Back: How Democrats Can Ride New York’s New Dawn
“Mamdani didn’t just win an election, he rewired the emotional current of democracy.”
The victory of Zohran Mamdani in New York City is not a mere local upset. It is a full-throated wake-up call to the Democratic Party: momentum is shifting, agency is rising, and the old politics of hesitation are losing grip. With his embrace of working-people language and his audacious first victory speech, Mamdani tells us what the next chapter could look like—and Democrats should pay very close attention... https://essayx.substack.com/p/the-empire-votes-back-how-democrats
One line that will grab the attention of the off-White House will be the conflict instigated among working people. That will be viewed as Marxism. It is not. Crush the canard.🖕⛓️😠
While my politics is moderate-conservative, I would have, enthusiastically, voted for Mr Mamdani. We must try new ideas, new approaches; time for perseverance, not pusillanimity.🗽⚗️⚖️
One key outcome of yesterday: Mayor-elect Mamdani decisively defeated Andrew Cuomo. Time for the oldsters to move on from power into mentoring wisdom. It is no longer our world. Mr Mamdani is both Muslim and Hindu; a promising background for conciliatory liberalism.🫱🏻🫲🏼💖🙏🏾
Just this morning, I heard on NPR that there will be a challenge to California’s redistricting effort. There’s always going to be someone who will embrace his own corrupt form of power to disengage for what the people voted. Hang on, California. The challenge will be based on … get this… grounds of discrimination. Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely!
I felt it here in WA as well. Was such a great speech and that feeling of hope was familiar. It had been gone for quite a while. Felt good to wake up yesterday with so much hope and excitement (despite the time change!)
There wasn’t anything from Maine to California. There was a little tiny strip on the East Coast and a strip on the West Coast and everything red in between
You keep listening to the delusions of your party, where New York City had 2 million more Democrats registered and Republicans in Virginia and New Jersey had 1.7 million more Democrats registered than Republicans. Ooooopsie.
There’s gonna be a lot of people live in New York, starting with the wealthy.
There’s already half 1 million people a year leaving California.
Yeah, Russell, I think these are going to be rough years for Poor Rick. Every time he shows up here, he sounds so lonely and desperate and angry. He claims to be wise and intelligent, even though he dangles his participles all over the place - and, therefore, as he is dangling, he sounds a bit like President Trump - jumbled and confused. (The only difference between P Rick and P Trump is that P Rick is “voice-texting” and P Trump is just “voicing.”) Oh, well, he is wealthy enough to seek comfort and peace of mind - somewhere!
Treasury secretary Scott Bessent recently referred to Trump's effusions as 'truth-posting'. I somehow don't think it's going to catch on.
Rick does like to boast about his wealth as though it were representative of the economic strength of the nation. I find it extraordinarily selfish and insensitive to do this when so many American families and vulnerable people are suffering because of Trump's policies.
Yo Rick.., you AI conquistador.., ride your bike over to Red Square, the little cafe'. "Shura" near the left entrance to Lubyanka. We'll share some piroshki..., so golden crispy with dill and onion filling.., umm umm ummm. They take Visa or American Express. WHAT!!!? You're declined? Ogalastrovia#%$&&^@$%!!
Well look who woke up upside down? The Democrat party is substantially closer to being Russian than the Republican party, and I am not a member of either. Ooooops. And in fact, New York City, just proved that.
Most of you need a new crystal ball or a new Ouija board or more medication
And by the way, the Russia hoax was just that so was a hunter laptop story, so is the declining mental capacity of the worst president in history!
I have nothing to do with AI, although I am interested in grokapedia from what I hear, that will replace the biased Wikipedia, and will trounce it to death
In the meantime, I don’t know what’s causing your illusion/delusion , but if I were you I would try to get outside a little bit get some fresh air. I doubt it will clear your head, but it needs to get a glimpse of reality.
Well, Lori, let me ask you this… Miss Internet. Were you aware that the city of New York tried to get 800,000 noncitizens to vote. ? I’ll just make it one simple question…. then we can get down to More nuts and bolts of what I don’t know !! By the way, not that this evidence makes me understand the world however, I’ve been to 128 country scene 80% of the worlds most famous historical sites I’ve been to all 50 states. So I’ve had a little bit of exposure to life. Et tu bruté.
I’ll wait for an answer that will never come. But you should be a little bit more aware of life. As well as recent history
New York City tried to get 800,000 non-citizens to vote and the only thing that stopped. It was the Supreme Court of New York get that through your head and I won’t bother you again. But you should look it up because it’s true.
I don’t want to reply to you because you mean nothing to me. Why should I waste my time? I don’t care what you think. I won’t ever reply to you again though.
You really are full of shit and I want you to leave me alone. I will never reply to you again. I don’t care what you say and I don’t care what you think I just want you to leave me alone. Before I go to your boss and get you fired. If you even have a boss.
Following our blue wave, we can all still feel: heh, heh, heh.
Health. Education. Housing.
Dems from now till November ’26 mid-terms please all stress these as priorities.
Health means one system of excellent care for all Americans. No more private insurance company tens of thousands whose only job is to find more ways to deny coverage – so CEOs coast in more salary and bonus millions.
Education means having a panel look at how U.S. schools allowed a situation where an entire political party for years only deferred to obvious, highest-level criminality and cruelty. And deferred to the billionaire classes. Allow on this panel no one associated with the for-profit testing industry. Let this panel also consider ways to enact nationwide, high quality childcare, too.
Housing, for our American middleclass and working-class long pent-up needs.
The many good candidates for next year’s mid-terms may stress issues key to local needs. But, for nationwide needs, one voice. Health. Education. Housing.
"The first is freedom of speech, and expression—everywhere in the world.
The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way—everywhere in the world.
The third is freedom from want—which, translated into world terms, means economic understandings which will secure to every nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants—everywhere in the world.
The fourth is freedom from fear—which, translated into world terms, means a world-wide reduction of armaments to such a point and in such a thorough fashion that no nation will be in a position to commit an act of physical aggression against any neighbor—anywhere in the world. "
We need to convince the oligarchs that having only $100,000,000 dollars instead of $100 billion is still enough to retain power.
I love what Billie Eilish did and said. She was "only" worth $44 million and gave away 1/4 of it. They don't have to give it away. They can increase the wages of their workers so they can afford child care and feed and house their families.
When I sold my company in 1999 I was paying an average of $45/hour. The least paid person was making $15/hour. Plus we offered a robust benefits package to ALL employees.
Many of Heather's army are on fixed incomes and cannot afford to pay for rent, food and energy. We need to help them as well.
No, GJ, we need to abolish oligarchy entirely and without mercy. And what we need to do to preserve our victory -- if indeed we win this war -- is make certain that the ecogenocidal malignancies of capitalism and capitalists are excised forever. Only then can we protect ourselves, our children and their descendants from oligarchic re-metastasis of the Evil that besets us today.
Loren, have you read or listened to "Goliath's Curse" by Luke Kemp. We finished listening to it last night. In the Epilogue Kemp outlines many steps that can be taken to defeat the Goliath which is controlled by the Oligarchs. He suggests 1) limiting wealth of an individual to $10 million, 2) provide a worldwide minimum wage (or monthly stipend), 3) limiting CEO and management pay to 5 times that of the lowest paid employee and many other suggestions.
Have not; did not know of it until your citation, for which many thanks as it is now most assuredly on my reading list. (Boycotting Amazon as best I can, I'll find a seller via BookFinder (and almost certainly beat Amazon's rip-off price too.) . Again thanks.
I just spent some time in Stockbridge, MA. At the Norman Rockwell museum, I saw the paintings that illustrate this speech by FDR. They are an inspiration to behold.
Cleo, me, too! It's quite a lovely museum and the docent we walked around with made the visit all the better.
I'm kind of a geek with things like this--I get a genuine thrill at seeing objects that were owned by people I admire. I loved the Lennon "artifacts" at the R&R HoF. At the Rockwell Museum, you can get pretty darn close to the paintings, and I was excited to be able to make out actual individual brushstrokes.
Anyone who has the opportunity to visit there truly should not pass it up.
Miselle...Belated, forcibly delayed thanks for yesterday's assertion that "hostess" is indeed a term of affirmation and respect, which is precisely how I intended it. (I was writing to thank you when Barbara Mullen blocked me and somehow disappeared the entire thread -- your comment included -- this after I politely suggested that given the hatred of males she and her supporters express, they should petition Ms. Richardson to create a subdivision of this website that requires irrefutable proof of femaleness for access and participation. Her blockage -- duplicated by at least one of her disciples -- is an implicit threat to any male who dares disagree with her, and thus serves that segregated-website purpose.) Hence I recognize the courageousness of your comment, for which both another thank-you and a grateful salute.)
Perchance you've seen me get involved in other squabbles on here as well. I am very concerned that infighting harms us all, and even suspect that there are some on here who are being paid to sow discontent.
I don't always agree with everything said, and yet, I can accept other's opinions as long as they are not insulting. I think you and I might have had disagreements as well!
I attended IIT in the mid 70s--trust me, a female there had to be a feminist or they'd get eaten alive! I am very much a feminist, and yet, I still like (and call some of my friends) "ladies". I wonder if Heather was a gentleman and you said "host"--would she be upset by that?
I would hate to block Barbara because she often has good points. I believe she has hinted at past traumas which might influence her judgement, which is entirely understandable. I think us "long timers" on the comment section have come to know many of the others so well, or more likely, we've seen enough to believe we know each other well. And that sense of familiarity can cause misunderstanding, as emails can especially do.
You said hostess and sent off your post. Barbara read it and reacted negatively before you could have a chance to explain what you meant. If you two spoke in real time, I bet you'd both end up feeling seen, and feeling better.
And I hope you see that your 40 day shutdown did nothing accomplished nothing all that did was hurt Americans most in need. And now that a couple of Democrats have come to their senses now you’ll be able to sit down and negotiate issues. No guarantee as to how they’re gonna come out and there’s a lot of thoughts out there so at least they’ll be some conversation in the right direction and that’s what opening up the government just did which is what I’ve been saying for 39 days.
You have that now you just don’t recognize it because you’re so partisan
And so hateful. Did you not just have two no Kings marches without repression in countries that have kings you’re not allowed to do that or you get your head cut off Ooooops. And the Republicans are ready to open the government, but the Democrats refuse so who’s denying freedom dignity, respect, compassion, and diversity when all these people need snaps are not getting it because of them.
Thank you, JL. Very well stated. And #1 - Freedom of speech!! Essential to our democracy and the world. Freedom of the press. Integrity, Honesty, Truth.
FDR's Four Freedoms. Thank you, J.L. Graham, for citing them; that's why I gave you a "like." But please attribute them, so that those amongst us who are too young and/or dis-educated by neoliberal, Ayn-Randified schools will get a proper glimpse of one of the many reasons Franklin Delano Roosevelt was, by far, the 20th Century's greatest U.S. President -- and maybe twinned with Lincoln as our greatest presidents of all time.
Hey Lauren, how do you do this again? Let me see if I have this Right.
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. All you did is put the government to sleep for 40 days and got nothing for it and you never were gonna get anything for it and you only even press the issue even further once you thought it was exciting that BLUE states voted for BLUE candidates. Woopdidoo.
I think that went over most peoples heads here. And for those where it didn’t go over some peoples heads, at least they realize that it is totally meaningless in today’s society. Freedom from want what the hell is that?
If you want, freedom from want go live in a socialist country. Or in a fourth world player that doesn’t have any positive impact on the planet whatsoever
I would agree that President Roosevelt was the greatest President after the nineteenth century.
The greatest President of my life-time was President Gerald Ford.
The most under-rated is a tie between President Jimmy Carter, and President William Howard Taft,
The most tragic president is a three-way tie among President Lyndon Johnson (for going off the rails with the ghastly war in Viêt Nam); President Richard Nixon (with his tragic flaw); and, President Barack Obama (for the G.O.P. denied him the opportunity every President should have of greatness).
The over-rated president is a tie between President Bill Clinton and President Ronald Reagan.
Not hard to determine the worst President since 1900. Trump has done one good thing for my home-state of Pennsylvania. PA's only President, James Buchanan, has been promoted out of last place.
Well, you prefer perfectly describe the Trump administration, so thank you for finally waking up. I didn’t convinced Google to shut up, take down any contradictory messages. The media decided to shut up and not talk about Bidens malfunction, one after another. And look what it cost you
I am amazed why day after day you involve yourself in something that doesn’t affect you….. or have anything to do with you other than America’s dominance in the world. Oh and by the way, Mike one of my best friends graduated concordia university and donated $1 million to the university itself.
And I attended the event I don’t know what happened to you in your life to make you hate so badly and so irrationally, but I hope you find a cure.
The two top executives just resigned over two stories that everybody here swallowed Whole when was that Trump actually was recorded as saying please if you’re gonna protest, protest, peacefully, and some other omissions in that particular speech and as well omitted and twisted certain other stories regarding Israel. And here’s what a long-term BBC anchor… and he only touched the surface as to why they left.
A longtime BBC anchor said the majority of board members who control the British broadcaster feel it has "a problem of institutional bias reflected in the coverage" of President Donald Trump.
The BBC has been engulfed in criticism over a BBC Panorama documentary about Trump’s Jan. 6, 2021, speech that he delivered before the riot at the U.S. Capitol. Critics say the documentary was misleading because it omitted Trump urging supporters to protest peacefully, and the BBC director-general Tim Davie and BBC News and Current Affairs chief Deborah Turness both stepped down in recent days amid the growing controversy.
And you read these journals, such as the Atlantic and such as the Washington Post and the Heather report like they’re the Bible and they are anything but.
Omissions or common avoiding a topic on a day where Trump had a major win is common and they give you half truths no truths or avoid the subject entirely
Well, more great news for America. US stock funds push gains to 12% for the year. See you guys always talk about the negatives, ignoring all the good stuff. I know you’re suffering through making all that money especially for your retirement funds. I feel badly for you.
Couple more no kings protests that’ll be 15% as each time you protested, the day after, the market… went up substantially. Border is closed. Six peace deals made… 400 billion coming into this country lowering the deficit. Crime being pushed down by increased enforcement. 2 1/2 million illegals have now gone home. And you guys are still complaining.
You should give Obama a call and ask him why he put a deadline on the subsidies for the ACA as of December of this year. 14% of the population of America have the ACA the other 86% are asking why they don’t get subsidies too. ? Hmmmm. That’s a pretty good question actually… looks like there are many reasons for Thanksgiving this year.
Are you familiar with concordia University? He helped about 20 students get a scholarship in Canada that’s what I mean about you haters doesn’t matter what good people do you still only know how to hate what a pity. There is an idiot that owns the rights and runs over 2000 restaurants. The fucking idiot. You are so lost why don’t you just mind your own business instead of embarrassing yourself every time you post something out of ignorance
Phil, I would throw away the crystal ball and destroy that Ouija board. First generation, American, and proud of it. The only thing that hurts was and I read a lot of the things I read here people that hate America people can’t support America. you know there was an interesting post done by CNN about six months ago. I’ll highlight it and the next person in case people don’t want to read too far because it causes them too much pain to see the truth
Well, I’m gonna post this for you but then I’m gonna post it where there is at least 500 other people that get a chance to see it.
You just stepped in it big time when you said ignorance is bliss. Let me show you ignorance is bliss UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL. and it doesn’t get any better/worse.
In my living room, I have a flag that is 4 foot wide and 3 foot long. It’s the American flag.
And this particular flag is made up of the names in the stripes of THAT flag of the 2996 victims of the tragedy of 911….. perpetrated by a group of Muslim America haters
And on Monday, the ignorant, stupid, MISGUIDED , and I have no other term to use that would profoundly describe what just happened in New York.
The people of New York just elected one of the mental jihadists … one of the anti-Semitic perpetrators of the disaster of 911 in the very city where they just voted him in as mayor
It doesn’t get any dumber than that it doesn’t get more ignorant than that And that’s the city of New York today. A man that stated he supported a global Jihad….
After Tuesday, Rick, one would think you would slink away back to your cave. Biden’s “malfunctions “ as you call it, are minuscule to the monumental disasters caused by Trump !!
Do you know how much states and cities and counties were spending on illegals? California alone spent over 30 billion and that’s only the money we know about there was a lot of other money buried in the Medicaid cases that were manipulated into Medicaid so as to be covered.
We have spent over $100 billion on just hearding up illegals. Money that could’ve been spent a lot better on American citizens who are homeless hungry impoverished or sick that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Look at the effort and expense that we have to do now with ice and all our immigration services just to strum out what happened here with the illegals you’re probably unaware, but I mentioned it another post that Bill Clinton deported over 10 million illegals you didn’t dad and I didn’t say a thing Barack Obama Obama deported almost 4,000,000 and only 25% of them got due process. Look it up yourself.
That’s the main problem right now we’ve closed the border despite AOC and Harris and Mayor is saying it would take legislation in a couple of years to do it and Trump did it in 75 days 2 1/2 million have now been sent away or voluntarily gone,… smart people to have left voluntarily.
And are you aware of all the American citizens that have been killed raped or trafficked by the illegals you should probably look up that stat and be thankful that it wasn’t one of your family members like your daughter that was one of those victims. Like the mother of five who was raped and murdered by illegal with a criminal record
So you can go spew on about your nonsense bottom line is if you can name me some things that Biden did that were good. You might happen to one of your dreams, but it didn’t happen in reality. He keeps talking about our touting infrastructure but none of that happened. Either Buttigieg was supposed to build a whole army of electric buses and he built two to the tune of $8 billion. He was also supposed to spread a series of electrical charging stations around the entire country with a budget of another 8 to 10,000,000,000 and didn’t do that either.
Biden actually did nothing for America except ruin it.
And the things that you’ve named that Trump have no impact on your life whatsoever no negative impact for sure and this country and the economy are back on top so you have a choice you can be remain a hating zealot and be angry and have medical issues because of your anger or you could realize that Trump is doing a great job for America and only nine months and has three more years and change to go to even do more Closing the border bringing in a lot of revenue, drilling for oil so we don’t have to be dependent upon anyone else arresting, illegals, and criminals increasing the wealth of businesses, and I mentioned in one of my past posts about the latest economic news and reports all positive so I don’t know where your hate comes from but it’s very unfortunate that you are a one-sided character
I would love to hear your change of heart if one of your family members died of fentanyl or was raped or trafficked or killed and see what you think then Cause that’s exactly what’s been happening and it wouldn’t be happening if they wouldn’t have come in in the first place
If you want to increase the number of people coming into our country, tell your congress person to increase the annual limit to legal immigration… otherwise you’re willfully ignorant. Like many people here sad.
by the way, what would Tuesday have to do with anything? Do you think Tuesday was a defining moment ? Blue states voted for blue leaders. Anything else you wanna know? And I’ve already mentioned it to a number of other people New York has probably three to one deregistered Democrats to Republicans between Virginia and New Jersey have 1.7 more million registered Democrats than Republicans so what’s the surprise? The surprise would’ve been if a republican won.
Other than that, nothing happened other than New York is going to be a change entity and not necessarily for the better. But 75% of the promises that were made for New York City will never come to pass
Joan, are you actually trying to denyBiden’s disasters? maybe you missed it the man was non compos mentis for about two years.
And why would I slink away? Trump is still dealing with about 6 1/2 million or so of Biden‘s malfunctions or did you just get out of bed?
Not to mention the $180 billion of gasoline he poured on the war in Ukraine to kill 200,000 more people and you think that’s OK. What happened to you? Oh merciful Ones. Biden aided in the killing of 200,000 additional human beings and that’s OK with you instead of trying to find peace . That’s how demented you are. Not to mention 100s of billions of dollars spent on illegals versus taking care of our homeless are sick and our needy.
I don’t know what passes for news in your circles, but it certainly isn’t news.
I would love to hear you list the Trump malfunctions.
And I have asked 67 of your colleagues here for the following admission information and have yet to get a rational response keep in mind I said, rational. Please give me a list of Trump’s monumental disasters. This is gonna be good.
Finally , Please list five of Trump’s policies that have negatively affected YOUR LIFE PERSONALLY.
Well, I’m gonna post this for you but then I’m gonna post it where there is at least 500 other people that get a chance to see it.
You just stepped in it big time when you said ignorance is bliss. Let me show you ignorance is bliss UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL. and it doesn’t get any better/worse.
In my living room, I have a flag that is 4 foot wide and 3 foot long. It’s the American flag.
And this particular flag is made up of the names in the stripes of THAT flag of the 2996 victims of the tragedy of 911….. perpetrated by a group of Muslim America haters
And on Monday, the ignorant, stupid, MISGUIDED , and I have no other term to use that would profoundly describe what just happened in New York.
The people of New York just elected one of the mental jihadists … one of the anti-Semitic perpetrators of the disaster of 911 in the very city where they just voted him in as mayor
It doesn’t get any dumber than that it doesn’t get more ignorant than that And that’s the city of New York today. A man that stated he supported a global Jihad….
I don’t dream like I told you, Leslie and you’re worthless meaningless one sentence posts are eliciting your lack of knowledge I’m just about every Jermaine topic under the sun having to do with this administration or our government. But don’t worry if you think I’m dreaming tell you what I’m dreaming about that’s gonna come true unless you kill him Trump’s got another three years and four months that’s not a dream to you, but it is to every single person that voted for him.
So what do you think now that the government shutdown ended which should’ve never begun. And the Democrats came out empty-handed, except punishing Americans, who were most in need. Putting our Traffic safety in peril and not paying our military that defend this country. Good call there JL.
Phil, I'd argue that "Economy" needs also to be stressed equally, while recognizing that each of the three things you mention have economic implications. We mustn't ignore the importance that the economy was as an issue in '24, and it remains so.
But we can address the economy through the lenses of health care, education, and housing.
The U.S. has the most costly health care in the world -- all because its purpose isn't to care for people's health, but to keep up the perversity of profit margins for private insurers. For the profit to keep piling up there, they must keep denying health care -- rachet up the cruelties.
Education, if it stressed any humanities (or civics) could see the massive damages from our currently grossly-perverted "health care" system. So many of our arts report on the damages to people all across the map. But our elites don't even begin to come close to seeing any of this. Education has taught other priorities, and certainly not human ones. For instance, biz ed -- by far the biggest major in all "higher" ed -- has three times the majors of all those in all the fields of health combined.
Mercantilism, commercialism, and quasi-monopoly corporate culture have become so ascendant that housing, too, shows the captivity of the rest of us to the vultures and predators. They -- cynical and vulgar elites on top -- ensure only luxury housing has gotten built in American over recent decades. For the middleclass and working-class? Nada. Zilch.
Hello Phil.... This was an Excellent Speech by Mamdani... I wish him luck, Mamdani could be pointing the Way to the Future... I expect that Mamdani will encounter great resistance from DJT, the GOP, and the DNC Democrats... Chuck Schumer, and Hakeem Jeffries did not back Mamdani.... Eugene Debs was a Democratic Socialist as well... Regards Medicine, one of my Nieces is a Thoracic Surgeon licensed to Practice Medicine in Germany, Switzerland, and the USA... The German System is interesting... It is Universal Healthcare for all... It is run by non-Profits that bid Competitively... They have to meet High-Standards... One can still get Private Treatment if one desires.... The Swiss System is similar... Both Countries have longer lifespans, and Healthier Populations... Both Countries spend less per capita for Healthcare than the USA... Is this Democratic Socialism in Action.?...
Years ago I had the good fortune to attend a speech by Kurt Vonnegut.
He said that he used to be a Democrat but now he is a socialist. I have always been a fan of his mostly because he is so incredibly creative. He looks at every situation from a different perspective. His personal life was a train wreck which may be part of the reason he was such a good writer.
As I have gotten older, I too have become a socialist.
I loved his book called”Player Piano”. For many years it was my favorite book. Every time I see something being done robotically or AI, I think of that book.
Jeffries used to be able to PREACH. Someone-- I forget who, but I think it was Lawrence O'Donnell -- made a good point about Schumer, at least relative to Mamdani. He said that Schumer has to thread a path between New Yorkers who embraced Mamdani and the Dem Senators up for reelection (or candidates for the position) in states where Mamdani is perceived as far too leftist. The overall point is that Dems have a diverse party, and must craft its message to appeal to each segment.
I will say this about Schumer (and I've not been a big fan, believe me): he has managed to hold his caucus together as best he can with the current shutdown, having learned his lesson last spring. That could change as soon as today, with my state's (NH) 2 Senators appearing to work towards an end to the shutdown via negotiating for a promise.
Hello J L... I hope that You Jest... Contemporary Germany, and Switzerland are Democratic Republics... Higher Education is essentially free if you can get admitted to their Schools... They are not perfect, no Country is...
I don't think that perfect exists, at least in regard to humans. A math professor told us that there is no all inclusive perfect system, even in math (Godel etc.) and invoked the image of a too-small blanket, that if you manage to pull it over to cover one area, you expose another. I think that we, the people are also like that with respect to perfection, only more so.
And yes, my tongue gets stuck in my cheek. I don't even think that the ideals of communism are inherently evil, but I don't see it scaling up to work except in small communities. At least so far, it has tended to manifest as totalitarian tyranny, which is ugly no matter what ideological spin you put on it.
Rather than what is judged to be "left" or "right", I am interested in what, on a basis of evidence, is the best available social arrangement to deliver fundamental human rights, and liberty and justice for all. My hope is that with wisdom (which includes some awareness of history) and compassion, we will build on what has worked before, and also make it up as we go. If it's a government that's of, by, and for the people, then that's our prerogative. The pursuit of Truth and Justice is likely, at it's best, to always be a work in progress.
"It is run by non-Profits that bid Competitively... They have to meet High-Standards..."
I have read that in some cases the public's legally guaranteed access to information about certain governmental functions is voided when those function are contracted out; because the rights of companies to withhold information trumps the public's right to know.
A New Yorker and former member of the City’s working press exiled by gentrification in 1986, I listened to Zorhan Mamdani's speech last night with something approaching exaltation. Not only was I fiercely proud of my birthplace and intellectual motherland; I saw it as at the beginning of a defiant return to the realm James Baldwin honored as "Another Country" -- that is, the progressive antithesis of those parts of this nation wherein prideful ignorance and Christonazi malignancy are (and probably always will be) the defining characteristics.
But there is more than the potential emergence of a genuine alternative to MAGATry to celebrate in Mamdani's triumph. His citation of Eugene Debs is a summons to the True Left -- Industrial Workers of the World, Communists, Trotskyists, independent Marxians -- all of us who have who have been maliciously denied representation by the pseudo-left pretenders who turned the post-New-Deal/post-JFK Democratic Party into an instrument of betrayal. The underlying dynamic implicit in the Debs reference is the re-creation of the United Front that made the New Deal possible. For the City at least, it may thus be truly the dawn of a new era, with its potential perhaps exceeding that of the John Lindsay years.
Can Mamdani become another FDR? I believe that is indeed his potential within the progressive states. I also believe Christonazi theocracy -- its anti-Islamic bigotry no doubt enforced by RepubliKlan violence -- will not only prohibit his popularity in the reactionary states, but force the progressive states ever closer to secession. Meanwhile he will have to prove himself by fulfilling his promises to the Five Boroughs -- which means he will have to overcome (or more likely transcend) a powerful anti-Gotham faction in Albany, the state capital – a challenge made all the more difficult by the fact NYC is the largest non-home-rule city in the nation. And having publicly challenged Trump, he will need bodyguards of at least British Special Air Service or old-time Soviet Spetsnaz quality to protect him from assassination.
Phil...We disagree on secession, and I would add “prices of necessities” to your list of “lenses,” but I liked you as thanks and in overall agreement. Apropos secession, as I often disclose, I lived most of the first quarter of my 85 years in the Ku Klux South; also, I lived in rural Washington state for 18 years. In the South c. 1963-64 I was thrice targeted by would-be killers for my Civil Rights activism. In rural Washington c. 1986-2004, I achieved mutually respectful companionship with most neighbors, but was relentlessly harassed by the approximately 40 percent who were fanatical proto-Christonazis. They vandalized my house and gardens and somehow – no doubt from fellow zealots in law enforcement – got my unlisted phone number to send me anonymous death threats. Thus I know as absolute certainty their (infinite) hatefulness ensures they cannot (ever) be converted to progressive values. Thus too the 31 states they have conquered and now control will (always) be deadly enemies of the progressive states, which means secession – reinforced by mutual defense pacts with overseas allies – is the progressive states’ only hope for survival.
But, sadly, that is not the only barrier to our victory. The most dangerous weapon possessed by those Democrats you properly damn as a “moneyed, educated” anti-working-class “elite” is identity politics, the divisive toxicity of which we witnessed yesterday in the unprecedented deluge of unmitigatedly hateful abuse hurled at me for (respectfully) referring to Ms. Richardson as our “hostess.” One of my abusers demonstrated the same induced ignorance that fosters MAGAT hatefulness when she labeled “hostess” a “pejorative” – though it is (nowhere) so dictionary-defined. As I said, anti-male identity-politics is one of the key reasons we have a Christonazi Führer rather than a President in the White House. It is also a big part of what destroyed Occupy from within. Above all else, it serves the ruling class by guaranteeing we of the 99.999 Percent can never achieve the disciplined solidarity essential to overthrow the oligarchy. And as we saw yesterday, those elitist identity-politics Democrats we both correctly recognize as Vichy-like MAGAT enablers will do everything in their considerable power to prevail.
These things have been priorities to some extent for 80+ years until saint reagan followed Spiro with positive polarization. Lord, the cost of being cult stupid, people. WOKE rules
Exactly my point, Phil. Economy is a throughline connecting your points but is also the source of the biggest disappointment Trump 2 has been to his voters who were promised cheaper eggs on Day 1. Remind them of this -- mercurial tariff policy, deportation of workers engaged in various production (farm, food, etc) and service industries, etc etc. have resulted in higher prices.
And focus on the economy is so much more than the stock index. Exchange of money enables much of the collaboration that builds and maintains our society, and it's just plain nuts to claim that something so important cannot be wisely regulated or planned. It's not an exact science, but we are most likely to experience liberty and security by creating and defending safe places for community and commerce. Liberty in law.
Good post, Phil. You have your priorities in order. Despite what the MAGATs and their herders claim, we are indeed all in this together. Basic health care for all our people should be a priority of our government. When people at the bottom of the income scale are healthier, they can contribute more to our society. When people in the middle are driven into poverty by excessive insurance rates, we all suffer. Keeping the lower and middle classes productive makes our society and our country better, and wealthier. Immiseration is not cost-effective. Those who want private insurance and can afford to pay for it, fine.
Hey, they have that in Canada they have it in England. They have it in Russia. They have it in places like Sweden. There is nobody despite your protestations to the country that is keeping you here. Do you want your government to take care of your healthcare? There are many places you can go.
Well, my wife and her entire family are from Canada ans are many of our friends who have dual citizenship and have chosen to United States wisely.
And Mike, maybe you didn’t hear me I’m not interested in what you think Nor should you be interested in what I think. What should I say about Canada? Canada is not in my thoughts….but in fact I was hoping that the World Series would have ended differently.
Dicky, take a breath. Stop hyperventilating. It was just an American election. People are just exercising their right to choose. Hang onto your uninformed opinions, it is your right, even if you are wrong.
Well, aren’t we cute. What makes you think I’m hyperventilating? You are correct. It was just an election and people have a right to choose…. so you’re two for two difference is I don’t have uninformed opinions I back up my opinions with Facts and evidence. If you would like to delineate why my opinion is uninformed, I would love to hear it.
Here are the facts: in New York cit Registered Democrats outnumber
Republicans by a million or more. Same goes in Virginia and jersey where the numbers are 1 million in one state go to 700,000 in the other. Same goes for California. Sounds pretty informed to me.
The reason I’m not hyperventilating I’m actually looking forward to seeing the results of the devastation in New York City coming very soon to a red state near you…. so I’m not hyperventilating I’m gonna be patient. History repeating itself, and we will be watching….live.
Well, more great news for America. US stock funds push gains to 12% for the year. See you guys always talk about the negatives, ignoring all the good stuff. I know you’re suffering through making all that money especially for your retirement funds. I feel badly for you.
Couple more no kings protests that’ll be 15% as each time you protested, the day after, the market… went up substantially. Border is closed. Six peace deals made… 400 billion coming into this country lowering the deficit. Crime being pushed down by increased enforcement. 2 1/2 million illegals have now gone home. And you guys are still complaining.
You should give Obama a call and ask him why he put a deadline on the subsidies for the ACA as of December of this year. 14% of the population of America have the ACA the other 86% are asking why they don’t get subsidies too. ? Hmmmm. That’s a pretty good question actually… looks like there are many reasons for Thanksgiving this year.
Your "team" has had the ball for the past 10 months. The great majority of Americans just gave your team and it cruel agenda a grade and it was F-. And your stooge leaders are running around pretending there's no there there; they'll just stick with the hate". Good luck. That will get your team an F-- in 2026.
Well, I’m gonna post this for you but then I’m gonna post it where there is at least 500 other people that get a chance to see it.
You just stepped in it big time when you said ignorance is bliss. Let me show you ignorance is bliss UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL. and it doesn’t get any better/worse.
In my living room, I have a flag that is 4 foot wide and 3 foot long. It’s the American flag.
And this particular flag is made up of the names in the stripes of THAT flag of the 2996 victims of the tragedy of 911….. perpetrated by a group of Muslim America haters
And on Monday, the ignorant, stupid, MISGUIDED , and I have no other term to use that would profoundly describe what just happened in New York.
The people of New York just elected one of the mental jihadists … one of the anti-Semitic perpetrators of the disaster of 911 in the very city where they just voted him in as mayor
It doesn’t get any dumber than that it doesn’t get more ignorant than that And that’s the city of New York today. A man that stated he supported a global Jihad….
You also might wanna work on your math. But here let me help you.
Have you by chance look at a map of the United States? It’s got blue butt stains on either coast. And other than that is red to the middle, except for some measles, outbreaks and small splotches elsewhere maybe I should send it to you.
Here’s one by the New York Times. I’ll send you a couple more which will get you seeing red. lol
That's pretty pathetic, Rick. Your side just got butt-hurt in an election, so you send us maps of results from last year's election!
Also, you guys love to cope by showing geographic maps with huge deaths of red in places where few people live. I have nothing against rural folk but the last time I checked, we count votes by people, not by square miles.
On the other hand, this map (https://www.12onyourside.com/2025/11/03/interactive-map-virginia-election-results/) shows population of Virginia by the size of the dots. Notice how all those red ones are teensy-weensy compared with the big blue ones, so you can properly visualize how Republicans got their asses kicked on Tuesday.
Hey Bob, let me tell you a little bit about this election and maybe you’ll wake the F up
Well, I’m gonna post this for you but then I’m gonna post it where there is at least 500 other people that get a chance to see it.
You just stepped in it big time when you said ignorance is bliss. Let me show you ignorance is bliss UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL. and it doesn’t get any better/worse.
In my living room, I have a flag that is 4 foot wide and 3 foot long. It’s the American flag.
And this particular flag is made up of the names in the stripes of THAT flag of the 2996 victims of the tragedy of 911….. perpetrated by a group of Muslim America haters
And on Monday, the ignorant, stupid, MISGUIDED , and I have no other term to use that would profoundly describe what just happened in New York.
The people of New York just elected one of the mental jihadists … one of the anti-Semitic perpetrators of the disaster of 911 in the very city where they just voted him in as mayor
It doesn’t get any dumber than that it doesn’t get more ignorant than that And that’s the city of New York today. A man that stated he supported a global Jihad….
Bob, that’s an interesting analysis that you just did. The reason I sent you a map about last year’s election is to wreck. Remind you of how the country feels not just three blue states and one blue city. And if you want to drool over your party’s win…. have at it.
2 million more people in New York City are registered Democrats than Republicans if a Republican would have won that would’ve been a surprise. Alas, you voted for a what he calls a Democratic socialist but he plays like a communist and it’s gonna be very interesting to see how that’s gonna run because there’s already been Articles online on X and even on TV of realtors in Florida already getting bombarded with calls of people from New York ready to go to Florida as one example
There were 1.7 million more registered democratic voters in Virginia and New Jersey…than there are Republicans. So are you pretty good in math? Some people are saying that the people in Virginia are racist. How about that one? Lol. I don’t believe that, but they outnumber Republicans by 1 million voters. So if you wanna have a wet dream thinking you want something big go ahead have your moment of glory.
By the way, did you seem to remember that Trump won that state?
And you guys are supposed to be the people of history why don’t you check out how Virginia votes at the first post election opportunity. Happens every time.
Not to mention that the agenda that both candidates pretended to run on was pretty much and it’s highlights a Maga agenda tough on crime agenda and since when do any Democrats run on a tough crime agenda ?
They run on a no cash bale. They run on a catch and release, etc.
by the way, when you say, I got my butt hurt you don’t read a lot of my post I suppose…. First of all I’m not a party Zelle it like many of you. Losers are sticking to one party no matter how well they do no matter their platform no matter how horrible their politics. And I feel the same way about the Republicans from time to time just like I did during Bill Clinton’s term when I voted for Bill Clinton twice because he was the guy and he did a great job except for three major flaws. He was a great president bringing this country together versus Obama, who tore this country apart and Biden, who didn’t even know he was alive.
There was nothing surprising that happened in Virginia or New Jersey. The surprise was the ignorance of the people in New York voting for a democratic socialist, dragging your party even further left than before.
Many levelheaded people are gonna be watching New York to see that he won’t be able to produce 25% of the promises that he made because he won’t have the money. He won’t have the wealth because they’re all leaving if they can. Wouldn’t surprise me at some point in time if the major stock index started to leave and major networks started to leave.
Crime will be a problem poverty will still be a problem and pretty much nothing will be resolved in New York over the next term of office
I’m not put off one bit in the least and I was actually pulling for Manami to win because I know what the outcome is gonna be because it’s been that way for a couple thousand years socialism just doesn’t work and what it produces eventually is communism.
So if you’d like to feel good about yesterday, you have every right to do so you won your elections. I didn’t lose any of mine. They were lost before the election started, regardless of who ran. I would’ve loved to see what would happen if Glenn Youngkin would have run again. That would’ve been interesting. But essentially in New York, the communist socialist ran unopposed. Let me repeat that Mamdani ran unopposed
Sliwa well should’ve gotten out of that contest a year ago. And Como did enough damage during Covid to be a non-entity. So relish the day relish the time enjoy your win. Nothing will change in Virginia and New Jersey, but New York will be a scary place not only will the rich flea, but tourism will eventually die if they try to exact the new mayors policies
Hey Merrill, do you pay much attention to facts or reality? What what cruel agenda are you referring to? I would love to hear the five Trump policies that are negatively affecting your life and you will be victim number 69 congratulations. Five Trump policies negatively affect affecting your life on a daily basis and to you personally.
And obviously you don’t read. Blue states. Blue states just elected blue leaders. What a shock. New York City has 2 million more registered Democrats than Republicans. New Jersey and Virginia have 1.7 million more registered Democrat Democrats than Republicans. If every single Republican in the state voted for the Republican candidate, they still could not win. The only way they could win is if they impacted Democrats to vote republican… so drown in your demented analysis of yesterday’s or Monday’s elections. The only surprise would’ve been if a Republican one in blue states.
In the meantime, feast your eyes on what’s going to happen in New York that’s gonna be very disappointing for you and for all the voters that voted for Mondo when he won’t be able to keep any of the promises that he made And to all the self deprecating Jews, who just voted an antisemite into office
For 56 years now, Colette, I've been reading the books of Wendell Berry.
Many here know -- and love -- him. He argues against farming in the giant, polluting, unhealthy corporate iterations it has taken. And he argues -- beautifully -- for some version of some return to more local produce, more family farms.
This has knock-down benefits. Affordability, for instance, gets twisted in corporate culture, because all of that chemical-laced, sugar-and-corn-syrup-added "food" also appears on the wrong side of our health ledgers. Enormous hidden costs there.
If we had more local sources, could rely more on family farms, we'd have those additional jobs, rather than the industrial behemoths of profit above all else. We'd also save on our health costs.
My wife has Ménière's disease and she requires a very low sodium diet. Therefore, we grow much of our own food and rarely eat at restaurants. Fortunately, one of our neighbors sells organic vegetable seedlings from his flat bed trailer every year. My sister-in-law tends the gardens and we end up donating much of the produce to the local food bank rather than throwing it away.
I've been reading and admiring your comments for some time. I want to ask a question.
Is it wrong to view the American health system as a rort?
"Rort" is one of my favorite Australian words.
The reason it's a rort --
The premiums most of us pay to the health-insurance industry, including to the hordes of brokers,* are essentially a tax.
This quasi-tax does yield some benefit. Doctors and nurses and EMTs and hospital staff get paid. However, a huge proportion of it goes to people who are paid to shuffle money around and, as you say, to deny claims. They provide no real value to anyone but themselves, except that our perverse system has created an artificial need for them.
Back to that Australian term, rort. Health-insurance premiums are collected from large numbers of people for a beneficial public purpose, hardly distinguishable from a tax. Too much of that money goes to private actors who pretend to provide a service. And in a more rational system, such as prevails in most advanced countries, that service would not be necessary at all.
That is a classic rort.
Do you agree? Am I oversimplifying?
*brokers -- revealing word in this context, no? In a single-payer system, why would we need brokers to help consumers locate and evaluate advantageous health-care plans in the marketplace?
The corporate, for-profit "health" industry status quo is indeed a rort (a scam), Vince.
But, too, pretty much all the corporate U.S. belongs to same scam billionaires.
A class of Americans well-grounded in humanities, who stand for values opposite our moneyed elites? Not in the purview of U.S. schools under the sway of testing only.
The interesting question for me comes down to whether health-care is a necessity or a human right. If the former, the rot of the 'rort', if proven as a tort, must be redressed as it is a corrupt business practice. If the latter, any insurance premiums are a tax, so . . . ¿why should the American people be paying taxes, arguably inflated, to the private sector?🖕
To me, health-care is a necessity, not a right. For example, refrigerators are now a necessity, conferring health benefits by preventing people from eating rotting food. But one would not describe possession of one as a right. This question is one that the larger society has to answer. It seems pretty clear that momentum is building to declare, once and for all, that health-care is a human right.⚖️
So, my view aside, let us get on with making it a right in order to expand and defend human rights in our country.🫱🏻🫲🏼
Many Congressional Republicans privately admit Trump is nuts.
I keep posting. According to Congressman Eric Swalwell (D-CA) Trumpepstein may cause an "Epstein bomb" causing over 100 Republican members to "jailbreak" from Trump.
Yes, Daniel - eventually, House Republicans are going to have to decide whether to vote to release the Epstein files or to NOT release them or vote PRESENT. GOP - Guardians of Pedophiles.
I keep sharing this, because the insurance grift in healthcare goes far deeper than just the surface company you pay premiums to. There are many layers in it, please take a look and share.
One little gem: did you know the diagnostic codes are a patented thing held by the AMA?
I agree with you regarding the focus for 26 and 28- in the 2024 election it seemed that the party was trying to address too many issues- and while they were all important, I think they confused and overwhelmed people. Honing in on these three key issues will allow candidates to deliver a clear and concise message to the voters, one that will resonate after the chaos of Trump/Vance!
Diane, I like your reasoning and the problem that I see every single day is that Heather is nothing but negative. And when you’re that negative you don’t see what you’re supposed to see you only see what comes from one side of the aisle from the left eye and from the left ear and you’re not giving your readers the whole story and this is constant with her.
Excellent focus. As for the testing industrial complex, I am a licensed psychologist in Pennsylvania. For my first three years I gave tests and discovered that these tests benefited the test makers. Sadly I wonder how many kids I helped to put a label on and into a box.
Everyone just assumed measuring IQ in standard and standardized ways was just an extra layer of insight.
That it stressed seeing rationality largely in terms of group-fit, and coherence by abstracted or numerical measures mostly may not have suspiciously been doing any harm, not by itself, not if that vision was just another extra measure.
Maybe, too, it prioritized skills more applicable to our college-bound, where by going into silos (academic departments, as a rule isolated from each other) everyone more or less specialized. No harm in that? Or didn't anyone notice the neutering effect also going on, also growing. Even though Diane Ravitch did a slam dunk on that in her 2003 "The Language Police."
The kicker, by design (hello, Powell memo, and all its far right and money-centric foundations): we neglected to see testing's growth in light of the humanities disappearing from curricula.
I am a child of the 60s like so many of Heather’s readers. I remember the hope and inspiration I felt listening to MLK, JFK, RFK, Malcolm. And I remember the grief when they left early. I so hope Mamdani has good security. Not trying to be Debbie Downer here, but with old hopes refreshed old pain is remembered.
I have to apologize to you Phil. I posted something this morning where I wanted to give you credit for your previous post. Unfortunately, I referred to you as Paul Bella…I wished I could find the post so I could correct it, but no luck. I also wish I could blame it on my lack of before posting it but, it was just a stupid error. I’m sorry!
So did you see what your blue wave just got you there phil? Nada.zilch. Nothing. But you may have ended Chuck Schumer’s career which was probably over anyway All you did and then further try to do even worse, was punish Americans punish hungry Americans punish the military., punish the average citizen who can’t afford food.
In the meantime, you’ve probably incited democratic radicals to riot and try to see more power and pull them even farther to the left, which would be worse for America.
So now the government’s gonna be open and now they’ll be some negotiation which I’ve been saying to all of you all along
Blue wave. Looks like Tidy bowl. Same color…. One flush and it’s gone. So you’ll have to meet reality. Three more years and three more months of reality.
Well, I’m gonna post this for you but then I’m gonna post it where there is at least 500 other people that get a chance to see it.
You just stepped in it big time when you said ignorance is bliss. Let me show you ignorance is bliss UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL. and it doesn’t get any better/worse.
In my living room, I have a flag that is 4 foot wide and 3 foot long. It’s the American flag.
And this particular flag is made up of the names in the stripes of THAT flag of the 2996 victims of the tragedy of 911….. perpetrated by a group of Muslim America haters
And on Monday, the ignorant, stupid, MISGUIDED , and I have no other term to use that would profoundly describe what just happened in New York.
The people of New York just elected one of the mental jihadists … one of the anti-Semitic perpetrators of the disaster of 911 in the very city where they just voted him in as mayor
It doesn’t get any dumber than that it doesn’t get more ignorant than that And that’s the city of New York today. A man that stated he supported a global Jihad….
Keep up the pressure! Not just on republicans, but democrats for accepting and understanding the need for Mamdani.
I added a calendar on my spreadsheet so we can target our calls/letters/emails/faxes to flood offices in an organized manner.
Use/share this spreadsheet (bit.ly/Nokings) as a resource to call/email/write members of Congress, the Cabinet and news organizations. Call. Write. Email. Protest. Unrelentingly. We deserve better ❤️🩹🤍💙
Reach out (beyond your own) to as many in the Senate and House as you can. All of this is bigger than “I only represent my constituents” issues.
And they need to communicate to the people about what they are doing and how it will help them.
A few weeks ago, I attended a fundraiser for the Maine Senate Democrats. All of the Senate leadership was there and I learned about their agenda. The bottom line was they are stressing affordability. Who knew?
And Chuck Schumer dares to be a New Yorker. Mr. Stronly Worded Letter should be banished to a memory care facility in the Catskills, on his own dime. He and many other Dem sellouts, who got us here over the decades, do not deserve the lifetime health care WE pay for.
Mamdani did something almost no recent American political candidate has done: He held his own party accountable to the voters. The party operatives, the usual privileged suspects, their flying monkey stooges, and their monied enablers were so enraged that they worked and they spent... and spent and spent---millions to try to undercut this campaign.
And on November 4, the citizens voters were neither bribed nor shamed nor intimidated nor fooled. They rose up and held their party operatives accountable too. Citizens are now aware of their capacity to do so and win because they just did it. Voters everywhere are hungry beyond starving for such accountability.
That's the plan Ed. It's hard to keep up after losing everything in the fire, and I'm a bit messed up, but even if it looks like the ship is sinking, you can't watch the water rise.
You dive down in and plug the fucking hole! Close the valve on the sea water cooling line that broke. Whatever it takes.
Kick your friends in the butt and get them MOVING!!
I repeat, Dem leaders need to follow the people. They are proving the point of a NOVA show from years ago about the effectiveness of leadership. The people on the ground connecting with each other is more effective than top down control. Also works for geese, and in all kinds of ways. I’d like to see that show again, it was a revelation.
They rotate in the lead and take turns. The formation is cooperative. Dems should learn that the head goose makes it easier for the others by breaking wind resistance.
The Democratic older politicians have been bought and sold by special interest groups as much as the Republicans have. Schumer needs to go. Pelosi needs to go. Jeffries needs to go. We need not necessarily younger voices but fresher voices who haven't been bought yet.
Sumer is not a damn sell out and all of you are American sell outs and thank goodness most of you will die off as stuck in the mud dead plants. If you watch New York City decay, all the wealth Will flee, all the tax dollars go away, and all the promises will remain unkept. Nobody will want to visit New York… prime will go up prices will rise. The stench will increase and it’s going to be the most beautiful self deprecating scene in America for a long time.
It’s supposed to say Schumer and I hoping that you’re intelligent enough to see that. I love when you guys focus on spelling versus context. Punctuation versus context. Everything else but context
Well, if momdani keeps his promise, crime will go up and Police will go away. I voice text everything and it’s always context over form.
Watching the big Apple, falter is going to be a dual edged sword. Both positive and negative will come for it…. It’s implosion Will be greeted by those who said I told you so. But it’s continue to decay and attempt to live to what the electric will be in abysmal failure. There’s your history, lesson, Leslie. It’s been happening for thousands of years. People never learn even those Jews that voted against their own best interest in New York
It is possible to offer context as well as the right punctuation, grammar, and spelling. Clear communication is easier to understand. We all do our best.
That’s true but I voice text and I respond to many people on Manny side so I don’t have time to correct it but apparently you caught the gist. which is the most important thing. If you’d like to correct my paper and grade me, please feel free.
Wait a minute did you say on the government that sounds a little bit like oh I’m sorry a little bit unlike capitalism. Lmao. There are 2 million more liberals in New York City than Republicans, so is there any surprise not only was there no candidate in New York City but there was no opposition in New York City either. all of us are going to sit in watching splendor house the U-Haul trucks leave the city the wealth leaves the city the businesses die because this guy thinks government can do a better job
I’ll never forget Reagan’s statement. I’m from the government and I’m here to help. Omg.
Differences between me and you Leslie which are great… I don’t dream I live and I live my dreams I don’t dream my dreams. Just got back from a month vacation after having seen my 120th country almost all the historical sites worth seeing AND all 50 states. That’s not dreaming pal that’s living
Been married longer than 95% of the folks on the planet had a good modicum of financial success working my ass off for years to take to earn it and now enjoying every moment of freedom here in America, and under trumps administration, well, the most of you here, or miserable, angry, whining, complaining with your useless protests in a battle where your own party is not even protecting you. Certainly there are mistakes made on both sides from a voter perspective. But I will tell you from experience and talking to people worldwide all Democrats are the most stuck in the mud unwilling to budge human beings on the planet and that’s why they are where they are right now. I’ve been an independent for 45 years maybe a few more order for Bill Clinton twice. Love my life I’m in good health couldn’t be any happier
I wish you the same, but it’s not gonna happen for you until you get out of the mud
Sounds like a typical boomer who made good off the markets when Democrats were in office and now thinks he can take credit for it all while everyone who suffers is dirt beneath his feet.
I love you people who guess about someone else’s life… its pretty interesting but embarrassingly wrong. . I lived in a furnished apartment the first 24 years of my life. And work my way up from the from the bottom all the way to the top
I’m a boomer who made good through 50 years of hard work and leadership WORLDWIDE. . At one point was the leader of the marketing arm of what are the largest fast feeders in the world AND bought a business Started out with one entity and ended up with 41 entities and took great care of every employee even had a retirement plan for a fast food business, which is unheard of…
One fast food manager earned $40,000 in the retirement account after 10 years IN my employ when I sold that business.
I’d stay out of the mind reading business if I were you.
I do believe the Democrats are not an office now and the market continues to hit all time records all three major indices.
So when you come out with comments like that, you’re nothing more than a Close minded, zealot…. And I’ve been an independent voter for 45 years…. Unlike many democratic prostitutes that aren’t clear exactly why they are supporting their party, other than they don’t wanna hear alternative ideas. By the way, your party is at the lowest approval rating. It’s been in 50 years and you might want to wonder why.
The last president was an embarrassment to the world and almost every single field and while president for a year and a half and a vegetable for the balance they actually threw them under a bus after raising $25 million for him the week before. What did they put in its place? A worthless candidate, with zero accomplishments, her whole life who blew $2 billion and 90 days. In addition to blowing other things. Oooooops.
Nicole Wallace wore a sweater during last evening's MSNBC's broadcast covering the election results which said "Politics is not a spectator sport".
How so very true -- it is the civic duty of every person eligible to vote to actually do so. It is a precious right that we stand to lose if apathy rules.
You can think of democracy like brushing your teeth. If you stop engaging in it, your teeth rot and fall out of your head. Message to all those caught in the cyber-world of make-believe — there’s no app for that. You have to brush your own teeth, floss your own gums, haul your own ass to the polls — and yes, you better make sure your signature, initials and voting card matches the one the registrar has for you lest you lose your right to be a citizen because some asshole out there doesn’t like your race, your background, your politics or your gender identification.
In the words of an old labor song — “you’ve gotta go down and join the union, you’ve got to join it by yourself…ain’t nobody here can join it for you, you’ve gotta go down and join it BY YOURSELF.”
Let's not forget Nicole Wallace was Jeb Bush's press secretary in 1999-2000 and did all she could to stop the recount in 2000 and push the election to GW Bush. She was rewarded with a job in GW Bush's administration. She doesn't sound like someone who believes in democracy, or at least she didn't until it became convenient for her.
If you think it’s “convenient” for her to appear on TV, day after day, navigating threats to her and her family while dissecting the bullshit of MAGAWorld, you need to have your own head examined.
She is actually one of the few mainstream journalists who have held the line against Trump -- and I think her earlier experiences as part of the GOP have fueled that. Whereas Tapper and others equivocate, she has actually been terrific. Not sure when you last watched her, but it's worth it to give her another look.
I live her show!!! She gives me hope. I also loved Jim Acosta on CNN but he got squeezed out for consistently making Trump accountable. I join him on Substack now…
I watch her show every day, it’s 2 hrs with the best guests in TV. I’m a former repugnantkin as well, one of the basket of deplorable’s, I like Nicole am firmly committed to helping the democrats win up and down any ballot. It doesn’t matter who you voted for in the past, who do you stand with today is what is important. Nicole leaves no doubt who she’s with.
She has readily admitted to her part in promoting the Republican agenda. But she had an awakening that moved her to the left and made her both a never Trumper and a firm Democrat.
Please stop with division and unforgiveness. It is insidious and useless. Many, many people in this country have changed their view of politics as the Republicans Party began its descent into MAGA.
Absolutely, Barbara. As a very young woman, I (as a Democrat) had the privilege of working at HUD in the Ford Administration, under then-Secretary Carla Hills, one of the most brilliant managers in history. She was all business: "no nonsense, no politics, get the job done." In that position, I met several Republicans I admired, and with whom I remain friends to this day...and while some remain "nominal" Republicans, NOT ONE OF THEM voted for Trump! My own (now-late) dad was a Midwest Republican who called Trump "that bum," and voted 3rd Party in 2016, but when to his surprise & horror, Trump won, said "I'll never make that mistake again," and voted for Biden in 2020. My point is, we shd not conflate "traditional" Republicans with MAGA...maybe it's b/c I'm a center-left Democrat (not a lefty), but I think it's important to have center-right Republican views in the mix. As you say, we have a country to unite, and I think we'd have a better chance of doing that if we tried to find common ground, recognizing that we'll never be in total agreement about everything...rather than demanding "ideological purity" and throwing brickbats at each other.
Agree we need to come together but the Repub party caused immeasurable damage before its descent into MAGA: anti-climate, anti-environment, climate change denial, needless wars esp in Iraq where hundreds of thousands of people died. I'm all for forgiveness when people take responsibility and publicly apologize and seek to make amends, but I haven't seen any of that with these people.
I didn't say join hands with the Republicans. I said Wallace has changed. How do you know Wallace and others haven't issued statements on change of heart? Why should they apologize? Politics has vastly changed. A healthy person is able to change views and see things in a different light. Calling others "these people" is dangerous. Who does that sound like?
Michael, it is my experience, both personally and observationally, that people who "see the light" and abandon their former sodalities are the most effective messengers to warn others of the harms created by those groups. No one is more qualified to attack the weaknesses of a group than a former "insider."
The Bulwark has been a leading critical force against Donald and his party. The entire staff and most of their guests are former Republicans.
I consider myself a worthy opponent and critic of evangelicalism because I was born and raised in the evangelical culture. I can quote chapter and verse of every source of their wrong-headed dogma and point out the harms they create.
Agree with your perspective but it doesn't seem like those who have seen the light have taken responsibility for the damage they caused, including several talking heads we see on MSNBC, such as Nicolle Wallace, Steve Schmidt and Michael Steele. Hundreds of thousands of people died in the Iran and Afghan wars when they knew WMDs didn't exist, and their denial of climate change and gifts to the oil/gas/coal and other extraction industries have doomed the planet. They should be held to some account. BTW, Dick Cheney came out against Trump at the end too, should we be ok with him now?
Michael, I think "judgement" and "justice" are too often used interchangeably. The fact is that all of us have a past that we're not entirely proud of. So none of us is in a position to decide who gets to move forward beyond their failures and who doesn't.
It's unfortunate that "grace" has taken on a religious connotation because one doesn't need to be religious to be gracious. Each of us needs and should extend grace, which might be defined as "permission to move on in a better direction."
When deciding how we should respond to someone who does an about-face, we have to consider their motivation on a case-by-case basis. To compare and contrast, I think Wallace renounced her affiliation with the GOP because it represents bad policy and bad morality. I can't see her ever returning to the party. By contrast, Cheney criticized Donald because he is damaging the Republican brand, not because he rejected Republican values. His daughter is not a lot different, which is why I appreciate her role in the J6 investigation, but she should never hold office again. I think people who lionize her aren't thinking straight.
I did not know much about Mamdani but the negative comments of others. I listened to his speech. He is a very powerful speaker and hits a chord about fairness. We have not had that for quite some time. I hope he does well, other counties have adopted a more caring system than us, such as Sweden. We have too much money at the top of the food chain. Taxes on the wealthy need to go up considerably. Enough of their ballrooms and the Louis XVI attitude!
Sweden is open and Russia is open. You can pick for com passiveness, or you can pick for communist control you’re not gonna have passiveness here. U-Haul is selling 75% of its trucks to New York… that’s the rumor
As the proverbial 'eternal optimist' I admit to my tendency to see things through rose-colored glasses. But it's hard to see this political earthquake in NY – augmented by astoundingly positive results from coast to coast – as anything other than revolutionary. The feeling of *finally* busting through the iron grip of Trump and his MAGA politics of divisiveness and cruelty and corruption is palpable. And to see this breakthrough symbolized and enabled by an immigrant Muslim democratic socialist in the country's beating heart of capitalism is simply breathtaking. So yes, optimism is the order of the day at long last. I could go on and on. This is beyond exciting. Onward to a renewed America!
Every county in Virginia bled red from the inside out, as the blue pushed from deep within. Every single one, including the rubiest-reddest ones. I can’t even think when something like that ever happened before.
HST knew long ago that republicans objected to everything that helped all the people and blathered socialism as the worst smear. Maybe democratic socialism can come out of the closet since “for all the people” is what government is supposed to be about.
Recent scientific research on aging has shown that it accelerates at different ages (about 45, at 60 and again at 78). This puts Trump in a high risk category for dementia. But from the recordings that I have seen, he doesn’t show significant memory loss, confusion, communication and language problems, difficulty with daily tasks, etc. - major symptoms of dementia. But this is apparently because mainstream media doesn’t show it. Yesterday Times Radio interviewed psychologist/psychotherapist, Dr. John Gartner, who presented a trove of information on the signs of Trump’s dementia (The smoking gun’ that points to Trump’s cognitive decline | Psychologist analyses Trump - YouTube)(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OtO-cypKmY). Dr. Gartner is a licensed and 35 year practicing, Ph.D. clinical psychologist, former professor at John’s Hopkins Medical School, founder of “Duty to Warn”, collector of 41,000 signatures of psychiatrists and mental health providers on a letter warning of Trump’s mental unfitness that was sent to Congress, contributor to: World Mental Health Coalition, “The More Dangerous Case Of Donald Trump”, 40 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Warn Anew, edited by Bandy Lee, MD, MDIV, 2024, ISBN 979-8-9900533-7-3, etc..
If you are unfamiliar with the symptoms and behavior of a narcissistic personality disorder (which is also subject to the effects of aging), there is a short video on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8K8iyiN-HQ) by a popular, licensed, Ph.D., clinical psychologist, Dr. Les Carter, that clearly explains in layman’s terms what happens when a person with a narcissistic personality disorder ages. You can view it for free and decide for yourself if you think this explains much of Trump’s behavior. I recommend it as the best one I have found, and I have no affiliation with Les Carter or John Gartner.
Frankly I don’t think we need doctors and psychiatrists to tell us that DJT does not behave in a rational coherent manner. I think it’s irrelevant whether it’s dementia, or any one of a number of other diseases and syndromes that result in the kind of word salad and incoherent thinking he frequently exhibits when off script. The reality is simply that he is unstable and incompetent and he is not the one governing and making decisions. He has no idea what he does - recent case in point pardoning a man with whom he was completely unfamiliar and couldn’t answer why he pardoned him. It’s more scary to me that he is the puppet of very scary and dangerous people who are in fact the ones actually running the government.
I can’t figure out why people bother to tell others to “read so and so about dementia” as though it’s not obvious to anyone not totally self-lobotomized that nobody’s home at the White House. The little baby shits in his diapers while various Dowager Empresses, rooms of eunuchs and pretenders to the throne yank their little strings this way and that, pretending they’re not really there.
Nobody’s home in the House either, as Little Bobblehead runs from his duties. And you can bet not a single Republucan Schmuck-Senator stood up to him this morning or said one PEEP to counteract or contradict his snarling, vicious, delusional, idiotic lies.
Kakistocracy both by absentia and dementia. A country is a terrible thing to waste, indeed.
Unfortunately there are people who think Trump and his sycophants are doing the best job ever and continue to give him money and their votes. There is one who wrote a comment just below yours. They don’t understand that they are being lied to and given mis and dys-information. One of the antidotes for this is to provide them with proven facts and explanations of the motivations of the people who are deceiving them. Unfortunately we know from the psychologists that this isn’t going to work for Trump and the toadies that are advising him. Much of Trump’s behavior corresponds to what the experts (Carter and Gartner) describe as the behavioral characteristics of a malignant narcissistic personality disorder and not to anything his sycophants tell him to do. Thank you for the reply.
It also does not work to point out the mis and dis information (and the lies) to MAGA followers. They reply with a resounding "nu-uh" and "I don't believe that".
“The Cult of Trump: A Leading Cult Expert Explains How The President Uses Mind Control” by Steven Hassan. He has a Master’s degree and a Ph.D. in psychology and has published several books on cults, in which he advocates for exit deprograming (from the cult). He describes mind control tactics by the cult leader including rhetoric to promote a “us vs them” mentality, demands for ego stroking and loyalty with shunning of anyone who questions his behavior and an uncanny ability of the leader to detect and manipulate the vulnerabilities of the members of his cult so that he gains power.
Agree totally. Miller Vought etc are running the show and they are evil as all hell. Trump is just the figurehead mouthpiece who embarrasses the US with everything he does and says so the evil ones can lurk in the background and push their P2025 agenda while we all fuss over trumps idiotic behavior. It’s their plan and we fall for it.
I also agree with Dr Gartner's assessment of Trump's narcissism. But I do believe he has dementia. People with dementia can have lucid or somewhat lucid conversations, but only occasionally.
Yes. I also had a parent and a grandmother who were afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease. I understand. Grieving the loss of a parent is something that never completely goes away. You have my sincere condolences and I hope you find peace.
And I agree that Trump probably has dementia. My post wasn’t meant to imply otherwise. Thank you for your reply.
Thanks for the kind wishes, but I made peace with my mother's disease years ago. She didn't have Alzheimers, but another kind of dementia, perhaps Lewy Body. She alternated between sounding like herself and living in the past and horrible delusions. Her "reality" was not a happy place!
There are eight types of dementia, each with their own signs. I've resisted saying that Trump has a form of the disease but lately I've come round to seeing that more and more he exhibits subtle signs that he's not playing with a full deck. One of the best demonstrations of this is the cheery British woman who reads the transcripts of his speeches in their entirety.
Gartner is certainly convincing. I was watching an expert in cults called Dr Hassan on the Daily Beast who had once been in the Moonies but managed to escape. His discussion about Trump's rusted on supporters as members of a cult was very interesting - https://youtu.be/95g_GlWdMRE?si=a0XYLSRzwaS9rx5b
Yes, I agree. I have one of Hassan’s published books. Hopefully his writing and talks will have an impact in getting MAGA members to realize they are in a cult. Thank you for the comment.
Fred, apparently, you have not seen many recordings of Donald. He definitely has exhibited all the symptoms of dementia, including memory loss, confusion and aphasia. You will not find those "slips" on corporate media because they're edited out to make him appear coherent.
Donald's purple hand and occasional disappearances suggest he is being treated for something, but the White House (what's left of it) is keeping mum about his condition.
You know Fred every time you post I get a kick out of you. You have no brain on your right side of your head other than supposedly the right side controls the left. You just had a president who lost his mind the day he took office and you step there and you stood there and you supported him. Desoto how blindly ignorant you could be when it comes to politics.
What you’re describing right there on the button are the voters of New York City! And many of us are going to feel horrible about the outcome, but as I say many times life with you exceptions is a do it yourself proposition. So the voters have nobody to blame but themselves
A rousing, inspiring, speech by Mr. Mamdani which focused on the power of unity and a clear call to action. Reminded me of President Obama’s oratory. Well done, NYC!
Tonight New York remembered that democracy is a verb. When people reclaim authorship, power redistributes itself, and the long night of oligarchy begins to fade.
Democracy is never blind—it simply refuses to be bought. New York did not forget itself tonight; it remembered that participation, not exclusion, is what keeps the Republic alive. When people act as authors of their own future, the counterfeit arguments of fear lose their market value.
If democracy is never blind, how the hell did anybody in their right mind would vote for Joe Biden never mind the first time but willing to do it again???
You are in denial the people in denial don’t recognize it themselves
Then, perhaps you remember that in November 2024 people acted as authors of their own future, and one in election for the second time with the same name behind it. Why would you be complaining now? Oooops
Yes, there’s a slight flaw in your argument. And how realistic is your statement when there’s 2 to 3 times as many Democrats living there as there are Republicans? Just your numbers answers your question about participation. If every single eligible Republican in New York, voted for someone other than momDonnie, it wouldn’t make a difference. There’s your flawed argument, and In a nutshell. The exact same thing happened in New Jersey, Virginia, and California Republicans were substantially outnumbered by millions. Truthfully, it was no surprise… the surprise would’ve been had any Republicans won there.
But you are right New York did not forget itself it’s been a democratic strong hold for many many decades, despite having a really good once Republican mayor once or twice to tried to straighten it out… Giuliani was probably one of your best. And Bloomberg started out pretty good, but then buckled to pressure. He did just like Schwarzenegger and California started out great guns and then decided that 32 ounce soda was too big for the average person to make her own decision about. Lololol.
What you’re talking about it’s not democracy. What you’re talking about. Is farsightedness or nearsightedness and once people are either and they can’t change that’s when democracy is fraught with mistakes along with bad decisions.
Time will tell in New York, but I can tell you they’ll be some pretty strong suffering for a while and it won’t be by the people who live elsewhere.
People are suffering right across your country, Rick and they're blaming Trump and the Republicans. That's what the polls show and now it's been reflected in elections as well. It's the writing on the wall for Trump and he still doesn't get it because he's too busy with his stupid ballroom. Suck it up.
3 1/2 more years Leslie. Despite what happens in the midterms. And what will be interesting is if Trump decides as I said to resign his presidency nine months short of his term handed over without an election to Vance that elections going to be very interesting
The goals Mamdani has set will be difficult to achieve, and the people who have risen to elect him have got to continue working because they must be part of the solution. It’s the start of genuine agency at work in American democracy and New York City is leading the way. But now, now, is the time for action. Now is the time for perseverance.
I hope that we can all take his words forward. "Authoritarian governments do not fear violence. They fear symbols. They fear hope. They fear dissent — because protests question inevitability. A single act of defiance, even one small enough to be crushed by force, punctures the illusion that obedience is unanimous. Regimes built on control depend on the appearance of consent; when people fill the streets, that fiction collapses. Protest does not need to topple a government to shake it — it only needs to remind citizens that power is not a law of nature. That the regime is not eternal. That its authority persists only so long as people believe resistance is futile.
In this sense, every banner, every chant, every defiant frog, every silent vigil is a crack in the wall of inevitability. This is why autocrats respond so fiercely to dissent: not because they fear overthrow, but because they fear awakening. The fear is not of chaos; it is of courage becoming contagious."
Well, they were now be in authoritarian government in New York so I hope you’re happy. The wealthy won’t be you won’t have any money to pay for what he promises.
There is a surge in the dialogue that I hear more of as we come to the realization that Democracy is winning. That surge is the call to Push. Push for more than we have dared to while being ground down by the Bigpockets. It’s no accident that sounds like pickpockets. Our push is to enhance the dreams of well being in healthcare for every one. Living wages for all those who have been surviving on the economic fringe. A push to make life a manageable task again. Voices are saying we can make this push, that the way forward is in hand.
What I heard in Mamdani speech were echos of the words Obama used to inspire us. Hope and change. My educational career ended in 2011. For most of my career since the 80’s through the 90’s I was concerned about the future of our country based on some of the values that some of my students had. But something shifted after 9/11. I began to hope that this would be the generation that would save us. Mamdani is part of this generation. After hearing his words this boomer feels like I can breathe again.
Carol, interesting...my 46-year-old daughter (one of those ppl who loves NYC to the depth or her being: heart, soul, blood & bone) texted me after Mamdani's speech to say "he tried to sound like Obama, but not...came across as shrill, arrogant & angry." She fears Zohran's a narcissistic con-man, using NYC as a platform like ppl use Instagram, tik-tok, etc. But worse, she fears that he, as a 34-year-old with zero experience in managing anything, or any experience in NYC government, won't have a clue as to how to do things like pick up the trash/snow. To cite Herb Kliner, a previous commentor, "Winning is easy [my daughter wd add "especially if you offer free everything for everybody"]; governing is hard." Well...I guess we'll see...in the meantime my daughter & I (and her almost-11-year-old daughter) are far more excited about Abigail Spanberger & Mikie Sherrill...it is they who shd be lionized as the future of the Democratic Party...it is they who make this Boomer, Gen X daughter & Alpha granddaughter feel like we can breathe again. They aren't remotely as eloquent as Obama (sorry Z, no one is), but they don't pretend...they roll-up-their-sleeves & do the work...and that's what gives us hope.
New Yorker (I actually live in the Kensington neighborhood Mamdani cited), 78 years old. I was initially concerned about his lack of experience.
I have never seen a campaign with so much discipline. Mamdani was never off-message in his one year of campaigning. He has many wonderful New Yorkers with experience in his camp. He has inspired many New Yorkers to get involved. He has every opportunity to thrive in his job as mayor.
Hi former close neighbor & fellow Boomer! I'm 76, and lived In Ditmas Park from 1979-2009, serving on the Board of our neighborhood association for 25 of those years, and as its President or Co-President for almost 20; also served on the local Community Board for several years. So, like you, I was INVOLVED big-time, and devoted thousands of hours to working with City agencies/officials to address myriad local issues...so I learned who the "responsive" civil servants & elected officials were...the ppl who shared my interest in "getting things done," regardless that the tasks weren't glamourous or headline-grabbing. I certainly never dealt directly with a Mayor during those years...but the Mayors choose the Commissioners who choose the assistants, etc., who set the tone for the career staff (with whom I primarily dealt). We also lucked into Marty Markowitz, who served as our State Senator for @ 20 years, before becoming Brooklyn Borough President...a guy who was all about constituent service & as a result of our work together, became a personal friend. (I wanted HIM to run for Mayor...I don't mean this year, but when he was a bit younger). I do hope you're right that Mamdani will hire experienced, "can-do" professionals, who care about service-delivery...b/c I'd like to downsize from my DC house & move back to NYC...if I can afford it, LOL. In the meantime, nice to "meet" you & have the benefit of your fellow-Brooklyner outlook.
I beg to differ with your daughter. I watched Mamdani's speech and disagree that he sounded arrogant & angry. He spoke constantly about " you" and "us", never about himself, until the section where he thanked his parents and his wife. There was nothing arrogant in his thanking his workers and all the workers who went door to door for him.
Do yourself a favor and watch his speech on YouTube. You will see and hear that Mamdani sounded the very opposite of "arrogant and angry". He was very positive and forward looking. Now I worry that some crazed right winger will take a shot at him. He will need constant protection.
I did listen, but was underwhelmed. Cd be partially an age-bias thing...I swooned over Obama's speeches, but he's 12 years younger than I am, not 12 years younger than my daughter...notwithstanding that he (Mamdani) cited Eugene Debs, which may have been his effort to throw a "posy" to old Boomers/Red-Diaper babies? Maybe he thinks we went to school with Debs?
The anti-Mamdani folks are shrill, arrogant, and angry - or silent as most democratic leaders were. He couldn’t be worse than Eric Adams…. Cuomo governed, but…
Monimaca, I was once a 32-year-old with zero experience in managing anything who was given the opportunity to create, staff and manage a corporate advertising office for a regional retailer. The stores we served posted unprecedented sales increases. The ads we submitted in juried global competitions consistently won First and Second Place awards. Those achievements weren't mine; they were the achievements of the outstanding team I hired. My expertise wasn't producing the best advertising. My expertise was recognizing extraordinary talent and turning it loose to conquer the challenges we faced – together.
There is no reason Mamdani can't do the same at NYC's city hall.
Me too, sort of. I was 31 years old when I took over a program at NYC's housing agency (HPD), which everyone said was "doomed to fail." But we succeeded...thanks, as you say, to the "team" I assembled (I literally dragged one of my staff recruits out of the ladies' room & twisted her arm). But as proud as I was at my own management skills & ability to "spot" talent (which I didn't even know I possessed), I also learned how complex NYC is. Never wd have occurred to me to think that b/c I cd do that job, I cd run the city...if anything, my experience was sobering...taught me the opposite. So kudos to you for your great success in corporate retail advertising...and I hope you've gone on to run one of the companies you represented?
"Agency in our democracy." As the White House is our house, this country is our home. We must never forget that and always remember that there are those who want to take it from us.
Why? A CNN Poll Reports That Trump's Approval Has Plummeted to 37%.
Have you noticed an increasingly obvious pattern of Trump threatening or actually engaging in warfare against foreign countries or on the high seas whenever he suffers a public humiliation?
The idea of taking the country to war to distract the public from heinous acts or public humiliations was Trump's brainstorm right after his public humiliation on June 14 when the draft dodger-in-chief got the military parade he deserved.
June 14, 2025 was billed as the military parade to end all parades, which would lead to the glorification of Donald Trump on his 79th birthday as The Master of the Universe, which would even transcend his claim that he "rules the country and the world".
As we all know, the line of straggly soldiers slovenly marching out of step with a proud display of indifference was a huge fiasco, and a total humiliation to Trump.
So was it then a mere coincidence that at that very moment, he just happened to do a quick turn-around, reject the assessment of his own intelligence organizations and tell Iran and the world that unless Iran agrees to "unconditional surrender", the U.S. would join in Israel's attack on Iran, which is exactly what Trump ordered?
Did it work? You bet it did. It took the entire world's attention off the egg on Trump's face and onto the question of whether he was leading us into a nuclear war.
Since then, a long list of domestic political setbacks for Trump and his menagerie of political clowns and servile politicians became increasingly interspersed with threats of invading Venezuela, Mexico, and also of doggedly blowing up and murdering 60-61 people in 13-15 boats on the high seas off Latin and South America who were suspected of being drug traffickers, regardless of whether women or children were on board.
Have all these brutal attacks, threats of invasions, and sending one of our huge aircraft carriers into the waters off the coast of South America distracted the America people from the Trump family's huge grifting campaigns, Trump's demolition of the East Wing of the White House to build a ballroom to host his billionaire contributors, his use of blackmail to force the Democrats to vote for his bill to reduce medical care for the lower and middle classes, and from the efforts of the vast majority of Americans to force the opening of the Epstein files to the light of day?
Not exactly, but with CNN reporting today that Trump's approval rating has plummeted to an all-time low of 37%, Trump needs another big distraction, like another war.
And sending our paratroopers into Nigeria by portraying himself as The Last Great Crusader leading a Holy War against the infidels who are allegedly persecuting Christians in Nigeria is just what his MAGA cult and evangelical followers will eat up.
Our new Department of War, headed by a former celebrity newscaster and TV host, stands ready, willing and able to launch our military forces against whomever Trump has the sudden urge to attack
We may be missing the point that trump wants to start a war to distract from his failed presidency. It’s partially that, however take note how many times trump brings up the insurrection act. If they start a war, then voting goes out the window. If we cannot flip the House, we have fewer options to hold this megalomaniac accountable.
Your points Margaux are well taken. Trump is of the opinion that the First Amendment does not protect dissent or any criticism of "The Crown" which Trump considers treason and which would contribute to his ploy to invoke the Insurrection Act. Only recently (October 30, 2025) it was reported that "Donald Trump lashed out at Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer for calling his Asia trip a 'total dud,' labeling the remarks 'almost treasonous.'"
His attempts to “rile up the rubes” may fall a bit flat with those receiving their new health insurance quotes. I can only hope that his brand of populism is being exposed as an empty vessel. Love your writing. 👏
L.D., this is my thought as well….Venezuela? War ships are amassing and the attacks on small alleged “drug boats” continue. Rhetoric and threats of war from this administration are in the air.
Thank you, Heather, for repeating what Mamdani said. His speech was simply profound and magnificent. This young man has a dynamic personality which I hope does not get marred while he enters the political spectrum. I personally felt very drawn to him and his rhetoric. My sister lives in Manhattan and voted early for him. At first, she was a little taken aback by Mamdani but then began to embrace his ideas. I felt the joy New Yorkers felt last night but also those in Virginia and New Jersey. Quite a trifecta for the East Coast!
I am proud of being a Californian which gave me the opportunity to vote YES on Prop 50. I am here to fight fire with fire and go out every chance I get with my signs and being with like-minded people to push back against authoritarianism.
Mamdani is part of a recent movement in politics that refuses to sit quietly playing defense while demonizers paint caricatures and forcefully try to shove them into a little box not of their own making.
After Michelle and Barack Obama got to the White House (even before), they realized they had to be the ones to control their own scripts, rather than allow nefarious people with agendas a mile long to get there first. I doubt any First Family before them had to figure this out as quickly, or as forcefully as they did. Going after Michelle in particular, the fright-wing did everything they could to re-cast her as ‘that angry black woman’, a fist-bumping, secret Muslim-loving, terrorist-sympathizing, unpatriotic, Afro-sporting she-demon who secretly hated her own country. Their goal wasn’t just to turn her into a fraud, but into an alien — a clown prop with exaggerated body parts in a haunted house tour built for easily-frightened children in search of bogeymen to titter and scream at.
And her husband? That secret Muslim atheist who dared to sport a tan suit, a lover of French mustard, that socialist determined to rip you from your guns and your private doctor like a scheming ob-gyn forcing you to submit to a Caesarian against your will?
It was why Kamala Harris so often repeated her mother’s words on the campaign trail — ‘don’t let other people tell you who you are; you tell THEM who you are.’
Because New York isn’t South Carolina, that dog would never hunt much. The City is too diverse, too smart, too tough — too busy and too focused for that kind of stupid shit. More than half the City looked past a demonizing label to vote for a real man, rather than a caricature Tucker Carlson would have worked hard to fashion.
May his refusal to play a dumb game inspire those everywhere who won’t allow others to shove them into a box somebody else built for them and insist they crawl into. Time for us all to be too focused to play that ridiculous, artificial game a minute longer.
It makes me sick how misinformation spreads, and still people today paint Michelle Obama as the she-devil, and that viral spread of vile and racist misinformation was really a phenomenon that never could’ve happened 30 years ago. I love the Internet but it is not always our friend. I hate liars.
Did you see Michelle Obama on Colbert the other night? She is wonderful. The audience gave her a standing ovation.
Wasn’t she fabulous? She is smart, beautiful, confident and sassy. Oh, and she’s black. A perfect five-fecta. No wonder bigots get so mad.
I have always been amazed at the vile things said about Michelle. Obviously, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and I've certainly known people who by conventional "standards" were considered highly attractive although their inner ugly self shown through to me. But to me, Michelle is a very attractive woman. She's on the current cover of People, and I'm sure the bigots all over the country are incensed as they stand in the grocery line and see it.
Nobody's is incensed. They just see her as she is-a Black women with no real abilities who whines and complains as she sips cocktails at the finest restaurants.
Great review of her newest book in The Guardian as well
five-fecta ✅
Thirty years ago Reagan was promoting the meme that Black women were Welfare Queens. This damn GOP party has racism baked into its core. They have spent decades refining that language and it has worked for them. It’s time for us to define a brother/sisterhood of inclusion - and mean it.
You are so right Marge. I am so sick of the GOP and trump and all their hatred and putting billionaires over everyone. Reading Mamdani's speech was like a breath of fresh air. Let us not forget what he said. This is OUR country and OUR democracy.
There are days when I feel the need to shower & use a scrub brush to remove all the shit & hatred & meanness from what I read or see on the news.
The racial dog-whistle that became a bull-horn. Finally, not just Democrats but many "just people" are realizing how horribly they've been manipulated by the GOP. They've pushed too far, too hard and too cruelly.
Reagan started the lie about the Black Welfare Queen back in January, 1976 during his first presidential run. The woman, Linda Taylor, was convicted of welfare fraud. Her fraud amounted to $8,000 over several years. Reagan made it sound as though there were millions of these "welfare queens" stealing us blind. That was a lie. Reagan started the war on the Middle Class in 1981, a war that the wealthy have won hands down, stripping $40 trillion out of the American economy and jeopardizing the chances that Americans now in their 30's, 40's and 50's will not be getting Social Security and Medicare, or in any amount that matters.
Yes Richard, having a 'chosen one' to use as some sort of an example continues & is so bad! Even when the person's real story is reported on, there are never any apologies. Bid bunch of gutter bullies!
Heather has often written about Reagan and the Machine, the coalition of various conservative miseries, for which he was the "acceptable" face. "The Great Communicator" (ick, really) wasn't able to destroy American culture and society all by himself. Anyone remember Phyllis Schlafly? And yes, it is time and past to make American society into what it should be - diverse, inclusive, equitable, educated, sensible, practical, respectful, honorable, decent, compassionate, helpful, neighborly, etc., to all our neighbors.
Reagan, like T, was someone who thrived on being in front of a camera. Smooth, smiling, well- groomed. They are both thieves of dreams & hope. Sick.
Well said, Lynn!
AMEN, Marge!! AMEN!
Ellen, yes, an ovation that went on and on! And she was wonderful indeed!
Yup, that was super refreshing!!
I am elated at the victories we have experienced. I am concerned about the need for local and state political leaders to become more active in issuing restraining orders to law enforcement on the actions of the Jack-booted thugs if ICE. This needs to be addressed in states across the nation.
So you think ICE and law enforcement are the enemies? The only people who fear and hate them are people who have committed crimes or are in the country illegally. What other crimes should we ignore or not prosecute?
OMG!!! Be still my heart!!! Just who we needed to see and hear!!!!
Yes!!! She is whip-smart and a clear visionary human being…art and fashion..love and compassion, she and Jill were a wonderful and powerful force of real power…culture, society, thinking, caring, making it better— ‘Get-er-done!’
Nope and thank you for telling me. I can look that up and hopefully watch it.
It makes me sick how Republicans misinformation has made them treat her like the she-devil.
As they did with Hillary Clinton before her. Hillary would have had a much better result in 2016 if so many people "didn't like her" - after 25 years of poisonous lies about her by the Republicans.
I thought I taught my kids better, but my adult son has been corrupted or confused online, and now he’s scared of vaccines and thinks Hillary Clinton is terrible. I asked him for one concrete reason for him to dislike Hillary, and nobody can think of a legitimate reason. It’s all bullshit. It’s just not right.
Republicans did a good job spreading that misinformation unfortunately.
Well deserved!
As she whined about how awful it all is-and she is worth millions-why listen to her?
Why listen to you I think is a question most of us are asking ourselves about now. Have you seen her credentials? How do they stack up next to yours?
Go take a nap Laurie. Geez!
For the endlessly curious, the internet is a godsend. But it's also a perfect vehicle for confirmation bias. Want to believe the world is flat? Want to believe up is down and down is up? The internet will deliver "facts" to satisfy any belief. Unfortunately, those without strong critical thinking skills—regardless of formal education—are most vulnerable to clinging to BS that justifies their biases.
One of the best shirts I've seen: NASA Emblem with the earth in the background: "Round. We checked."
HA! Love it!
Good representation regarding some people's very strange beliefs!
There are people who really do believe the earth is flat, and I will never understand that ridiculousness. There was a group on Facebook called “Christians against dinosaurs” and I kept thinking they were trolling everybody but I think they’re serious; they think that early Christians lived with dinosaurs.
A Christian once told me that the dinosaur bones were placed in the ground to fool the scientists.
I don’t understand how anyone could be so stupid. Religion trips them up. Religious folks are frequently the victims in online scams because they will believe everything. My devout little brother lost $180,000 to a sex scam. Many Christians are very greedy.
Michelle Obama is always well received and respected on Colberts show and deservedly so. No more going high she is in it for the fight, and we need her and Barack.
I personally think the internet is the worse thing ever invented right after the cell phone. It’s a sewer!
Parts of it are. Just like everything else, it has two sides. Because of it, we are here together, aren't we?
Christine, yes all human inventions have two sides. I view that as part of reality. And if some people can use something for nefarious purposes, they will.
I am with you! While there are some very convenient uses for the internet, the whole thing is out of control. Most companies I deal with no longer even pretend to care about hearing from their paying customers if there is a problem with the goods or services that those companies sell. Now we are connected(after listening to several minutes of completely irrelevant “information”) to an AI bot who usually ends up telling you to basically fuck off. I have taken to using this internet to find out who the CEOs of these companies are and where they are headquartered and writing them to tell them how offensive their use of AI is to their customers, and that they should hire human beings to interact with the public.
I hammer this home to all my doctors offices every time I go,and if more people did it we might bring back some civility and sanity to the business world.
The drawing I saw that summed it up very well was a person listening on the phone to a recording saying "Your call is important to us. Please hold the line until it is no longer important to you."
I need to add to this: There is a program on HBO/max that depicts a man driven totally nuts by this ubiquitous use of the internet to deny responsibility, disguise the people running the "company" and make it impossible to find out who and what any company really is. It is called "The Chair". Worth watching. We are not alone in being fed up with corporations acting like we do not have rights. Cost of living is an issue, but this is what keeps us all frustrated and angry all the time because they act like their customers are stupid pains in the ass, and do not deserve any respect.
I just finished a "golden age" British mystery, "The Franchise Affair." In it, a young girl accuses two upper-middle-class women (who live in a village) of kidnapping and beating her. It was published in 1948, and a large part of the book is about the harassment of the two women before their trial, including irate and unhinged letters (calling one of the women a foreigner as she had dark hair), young men from the local "big" city going to the house to throw rocks, break windows, and graffiti the walls. So I think the problem now is that ignorance and hatred are easier to spread with the internet, social media, etc.
So why are you here?
If some people had a bare ounce of the integrity Michelle has, they wouldn't be supporting the 'other' side Loree.
Rupert and clones were vicious as was chump. In Texas, threats were posted on wall at a gun shop I went into. Secret Service did a good job to keep him alive. That story may someday get told unless the P2025 crowd rules. So say I. Mamdani needs protection so I hope Dem lawmakers and the pundits get on his train.
They are all afraid of Mamdani, the MAGAs, FOX and the corporate media and the establishment Democrats. He could be the new order and Schumer, Cuomo and the others don't want to change. Imagine if Mamdani had been mayor in 2024. His charisma may have put Kamala over the the top. Bernie has welcomed him into the tent and it would be my hope that he can woo Gen-Z, Gen-X and the millennial into the tent as well.
Mamdani has been hammering on affordability as have many other Democrats. Trump is the king and only cares about making the rich richer and starving the poor.
The GOP wants slave labor and has refused for over 15 years to consider increasing the Federal minimum wage. Affordability is not only keeping inflation in tow but increasing wages for the working class.
"Mamdani has been hammering on affordability as have many other Democrats."
Yes, Gary. And it is working!
For a long time we have heard about "economic justice" from Bernie and then AOC. They and others were considered "radical lefties" or extremists. I call all that BS. We have had Senator Chris Murphy speaking about the "big tent" of affordability for months. Finally, the idea that all Americans should have an affordable life is mainstreaming.
Let's learn from the MAGA strategists - find your message and repeat it endlessly. Affordability as an issue is universal. No left, no right, just Americans suffering while the rich get richer.
I was chatting about extremism with someone recently. They were saying "both sides are extremists - I'm in the middle." I asked what issues of the "left" they considered extreme.
Food security?
Housing?
Health care?
Clean water and air?
Addressing the Climate catastrophe?
Sex trafficking and pedophilia?
Good education for every kid?
A living wage?
Answer: "I think we need to work on all that."
Me: "Then you, my friend, must be a mainstream right down the middle of common sense and fairness and basic human rights - lefty extremist."
The Democrat values and policies are at the center of common sense and fairness. Communists and Fascists are extremists. We are NOT. Putin and Nazis (wherever they live) are extremists. We are not.
The resistance is coalescing around affordability. Two "moderate" women won governorships! A Muslim 34 year old won the mayorship of NYC. Keep the tent big!
Yes, affordability! I have been working my arse off for 55 years and although I made an okay life for myself I seldom can afford extras.
Every time I think there may be enough for a little splurge - boom! another price increase.
Elizabeth Warren was right years ago the first time she said "The system is rigged".
I still have Warren for President materials - bumper stickers. My first choice back then. Sadly, her message wasn't received or it was ignored. She has been fighting for economic justice forever. What a fine president she would have been.
But even our state wouldn't back her...
If she were younger, I would support her again for POTUS.
You were under paid.
By helping our neighbors we are showing them that the us and them is everyone that isn't an oligarch or a Trump sucker and the Oligarchs and Trump's family and alt-right Fascists.
My new mantra is "No more Billionaires." Most of them seem to be tone deaf as to what is happening in this country.
I'd like to see our culture stop admiring morbid wealth. I see some young people who have adopted a minimalist existence not by necessity but by choice--and it should be by choice. By this, I mean, my son makes a good salary, but he and our daughter in law choose to not fall into the trap of purchasing every single gadget that comes on the market. My niece and her husband have chosen to gift their children experiences over things. My daughter had to explain to me what "fast fashion" was, and her lip curled as she explained.
Though not a particular fan of her music, I admire Billie Eilish for telling the uber wealthy to give their money away.
And I truly wonder with Trump and so many others--what amount of money is enough?
Yay Bill. I think I would have slapped that person. Gave you that label based on 'common sense & fairness'? Oh boy. Hope that someone never needs to ask for any kind of help.
When one has long subscribed to a bigoted view of “the other” and invested deeply in it, one doesn’t concede defeat easily, if at all.
Adam Kinzinger said today he had talked with some Repubs (congressional I believe) who are “dispirited” about Tuesday’s results and who recognize the shutdown is hurting them but don’t have a way out. They can’t “back down” because to 47 that would be “losing,” which is the equivalent of self-administered death. These dumbass Rs didn’t believe hitching your wagon to 47 meant you were never your own boss again.
Most of my MAGA neighbors are very kind people and generous as well. However, most of them were born, raised and lived within 25 miles of where they were born. Our little town of about 2000 residents is almost all caucasian and not very worldly. By working all over the country and internationally, not only have I met, but I have also worked with and played with people from all over the world. Much of my cultural literacy I have gained from interacting with people of color and religion.
It's much easier to be bigoted when you get your "news" from Fox and far-right sources and your circle of acquaintances is so limited.
I wonder if our fellow commentor here, Phil Bala, will see this:
COLLEGE "woke" me. It's where I first made my first friend of color, where I met the first openly gay person I knew, where I studied alongside students from all over the world.
Surprise surprise! We all were struggling to learn and achieve. Many of us had student loans and jobs. The only person I knew who paid for college outright was, sadly, able to do so as they lost both of their parents in a fatal car accident and inherited the family assets.
Mamdani has given us an estimate of what it takes to win. He had 100,000 activists on the street canvassing to spread his message and get out the vote. That’s a little over 1% of the population of the city. There are perhaps 30 states where a similar effort has a chance to bring similar results. The population of those states is roughly 250 million, so so we need roughly 2.5 million activists in the trenches, starting now and working right up to election day in November, 2026 (and beyond, to keep it going until we kick their butts back down into the gooey sludge from which the emerged in 1980). For perspective, that’s about a quarter of the No Kings protesters. We need 2.5 million working activists, starting now, to get the governance the decent people of the US deserve (the indecent people, too, but they won’t like it as much).
47 isn't long for this world. When will they get a clue?
With the congestive heart failure, and likely kidney failure, which goes along with it, and dementia, he won't matter soon. Then what will they do?
https://youtu.be/HKg8SvsyzjE
About halfway through this Meidas Touch clip, there is a presentation of Trump's symptoms.
By the way, Leavitt rattles off facts about his recent physical exam, she dropped a line that made me go "whoa": she mentioned he had a "D-Dimer" test done. THAT IS NOT A ROUTINE TEST, I know, because I used to perform them! It's a test looking for breakdown of a BLOOD CLOT.
Any other medical people catch that one?
Vance is licking his chops. Ugh.
Jen, they will use him as long as they can prop him up. I want his death to be public because I think the cabal will hide it for as long as they can.
"Then what will they do"
The noisy ones will fight each other over the remains.
The silent ones will liquidate their holdings in the stock market.
And come January 2027 the "tech bros" will see their position will be one of survival in the face of new political realities and possibilities of impeachment.
Add a litte secret advice for the rest of us who have retirement investments. Reduce your positions in anything that relates to the stock market. ASAP.
ML, I'm sure there are some sleepless nights happening. Wonder how many families are trying to get their spouses to unhitch from that wagon?
Companies that underpay workers who then qualify for SNAP are essentially subsidized by taxpayers—corporate welfare that Republicans readily accept. Yet these same Republicans despise the "lazy poor people of color" receiving SNAP benefits, ignoring an inconvenient truth: these recipients are working; they simply can't earn a living wage. This is justice, the Republican way.
And many of the large corporations like Walmart and The Home Depot are 2nd or 3rd generation companies. Are there any Waltons that give a fuck about anyone but themselves?
I said that yesterday--not that they care about poor people, but the fact that reportedly 25% of their revenue comes from SNAP should make them care, if only for their bottom line.
GJ, I've only heard of one female Walton member who has used $ for good.
Home Depot, along with numerous other publicly traded companies, is actually owned by several private equity companies who give a fuck only about share price.
I totally agree, I as well mentioned corporations feeding at the federal government trough. I believe it was one of Professer Richardson's YouTube podcasts about health insurance and the ACA. I mentioned why is it necessary for the taxpayer basically to subsidize health insurance premiums? The problem lies with the greed of the entire health industry charging astronomical costs for providing services. The pharmaceutical companies are at fault here too. Why should other countries see that universal health is a human right and not a for profit industry. We dont have universal health because they don't want to get paid less. The ACA was as close as we got, but at what expense? Using our tax dollars to enrich the already rich corporations. Again, welfare for the rich.
I am a capitalist and beliieve that the healthcare industry should NOT be a for profit industry!!!!!
note: As a capitalist for capitalism to survive wealth MUST be redistributed!!!
Old nurse here who understands how very expensive research & development are but, most health plans have these middle managers who play God deciding who gets medical tests & procedures. THEY need to not be allowed in the health care industry.
This message needs to be headlines!!
sure is Harv.., and the fact that none of the hardships endured by the "hard-working people" within that group (the lazy people etc) are causing 'them' any real dis-comfort makes them feel 'so justified' in what they are saying or voting for. Ahhh..cherissstalmighty.., there is no end! $#^&@$$!
We can all do something to protect Mamdani and his moral sentiment. We can make a habit of pointing out that The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759) was written by Adam Smith, that the book’s name is the founding principle of the economic system we call capitalism, and that capitalism works because, and only because, it rests on that bedrock foundation.
If we define communism as the belief that capitalism is the opposite of capitalism, and I can’t think of a better definition, then Zoran Mamdani, AOC, and Bernie Sanders are capitalists whereas Milton Friedman, Jamie Dimon, and Karl Marx are a bunch of damn commies.
We need to make sure the "affordability" issue isn't one of cutting prices, which in many cases relfect actual costs. The reason things aren't affordable is that the corporate types hoard, and their shareholders applaud not paying a living wage. The market loves layoffs.
Time to reframe. The people who matter are stakeholders, not shareholders.
One of the many lessons I learned from owning a business was that if you pay people above market and treat them like you want to be treated then you will have better associates AND happier customers.
One of the indicators of happy employees and a good working environment is turnover rate. For the 10 years, my company was in business our worst year for turnover was 5% or 8 employees that year. For the first 5 years our turnover rate was 0%.
Many companies have turnover rates that are over 100%. If you can't figure out why your employees aren't sticking around, you shouldn't own your own business.
Indeed! Obtaining and training employees is quite expensive. And unhappy employees often will cause the business to lose customers.
I don't like this but this is the truth as I and many others have lived it in these United States. It is well past time to live for The People instead.
The problem is going to be delivering on these promises. It is going to be an uphill battle to make these oligarchs give up one cent of their wealth for the common good. And the population of this country wants results right now. This kind of refocus in government takes time and resolve, and I am not sure the American voters are really pragmatic enough to stick with this program. Mamdani’s promises are wonderful,but are they achievable in this generation?
And most of them don’t feel empathy or shame.
They're you go, dividing the party. While I support Mamdani, he didn't endorse Kamala or Biden. In fact, he suggested the "Blank Ticket" in last years primary. Shumer did not endorse Cuomo and was reticent to support an avowed Socialist. I don't agree with it but I'm not going to villify Shumer like many progressives do, forgetting how important he was during the first two years of Biden's term when shit got done because progressives and "establishment" Democrats worked together. That's how it works!
I have an opinion on why they are afraid of Mamdani. I don't think it's because he's Muslim either, although some will hate him for that. I believe it's because for the first time the far left has come up with a candidate who is young, vibrant, obviously brilliant, and millions rallied for him. Sanders made a mistake in calling himself a Democratic Socialist because too many people were afraid of the word "Socialist", plus, he was a bit long in the tooth and, this is just my opinion, became less likeable as the campaign went on. His surrogates were hideous and the Bernie Bros. alienated more voters than they attracted. But Bernie's ideas were good - just not him.
Mamdani, like AOC, share the ideas but not the attitudes.
So, the young who yearned for a candidate who would take us farther left found one in Mamdani and if he's as smart as he seems and doesn't do something stupid, he could become governor, or Senator, and then keep on going.
Don't be too hard on establishment Democrats. Without us, Mamdani wouldn't be Mayor of NYC. I think you mean billionaire Democrats, not the Dems like me - regular people.
Mandani has as big or even a bigger target on him as did MLK and it’s Trump’s fixing him in the crosshairs of every bigot and racist wannabe great white Christian hero in the country. He needs all the physical protection the city can provide. And then there are the MAGAs in congress who are threatening to drag him before every possible committee. He should welcome the opportunity to chew them up and spit them out.
(Digression: I haven’t seen the name “Haluska” in a while. Popular last name where I grew up.)
John.., I think Mamdani is safe. He isn't connected to the 'pedo ring' which clearly surrounds Dear Leader. Conspiracy theories aside. Hard data exists. This is not Henry the 8th or Catherrine the Great history, buried deep. This 'clown & friends' is real-time stuff. The obfuscation of 'fact' is indeed visible as day. You and I are right here in the audience and can look each other in the eye. The people who need protection are the people privileged to the "hard data" and the keepers of the cache(s) of evidence which 'exist'. We have honorable people here. A simple example would be book publishers who choose not to publish a book rather than risk the expense of defending the case in court. Who loses? We do/or they do. My hope is that 'the Democratic Party' can coalesce into a real "team" capitalizing on facts, but even more, on things that really matter in the scheme of things. That is simply quantifying problems. I hope Mayor Mamdani can do that.
They are fools if they don’t, it seems like that big shots in the Democratic party are either stupid or complicit or maybe just distracted or lazy.
They want the corporate and billionaires' money...we need to get money out of politics and get back to elected officials representing we the people not lining their own pockets and having a war chest to take with them when they retire.
As a Democrat, I have to say , the party doesn't listen to the people anymore. They seem to just want to push whoever they think turn it is. It time for them to start listening or it's time for us to start a new party for working class people.
This has been the case. For sure. But I listened to Hakeem Jeffries last night. He sounded a bit like Mamdani. Affordability was repeated several times. I think the train is headed in the direction of economic populism, fairness, justice for all Americans. Most Democrat politicians will jump on a winning train. Or be left at the station.
Let's hope the pendulum swings!
I left the Dem party when the DNC (looking at you, Debbie Wasserman-Schultz) screwed over Bernie to nominate Hillary (I’m not a Hillary-hater, I just think the country had had enough of the Clintons and corporate Dems). I’ve been independent ever since and won’t rejoin the Dem party.
As long as you vote Democratic, works for me. There's room in our big tent.
(And btw, Bronwyn, nice to meet you, too! That made me smile!)
Patty..,? A "party"? Where? You bringing the chips? I'll bring some Moxie (soda) and some Allagash White. Who'se bringing the firearms? Better give the ATF a call, we'll probably need some tobacco to light it.
Is Moxie still sold in grocery stores, Alex?
OMG alex, I'd almost forgotten Moxie soda. my late Mom's favorite drink (Yankee born). I have an empty can in my china cabinet...
Complicit and beholden. I hope this wakes them up and shakes them up a bit.
Welp Loree, you might just have identified what exists of a "Democratic Party". Does such exist? Is it a 'team'? You seen one? I've seen the Republican Football Team (RNC) AKA Republican Party. So far they could be accused of kicking ass and taking names; fighting crime in the cities; and forcing our military to 'get in shape'. My my.., what's wrong with that.., one might ask? Hard pills to swallow. Trouble is they are being fed to us with a glass of drain-cleaner and we're choking on it. We need to hit that Whitehouse with a firehose.
I'd like to help with the firehose- just to wash the shit & smell out of OUR HOUSE!
The dems would be fools not too.
One of the very best of your many insightful comments. Corporate Democrats, take heed. Note that Schumer not only didn’t endorse Mamdani, the winner of the primary, he wouldn’t say how he voted. Contrast that to the courage of Mamdani, who said directly to Trump, to thunderous cheers, “ Turn the volume up.”
What would also give many Democrats heart and confidence right now is if Schumer would step down and allow one of the Senators who have been speaking up and who projects strength instead of the image of a doddering, letter writing, reading his notes, pretending this is normal politics, ineffective leader.
Schumer is played out and should retire.
ICTT, I love your comments! I'm borrowing "fright-wing" with full credit to you, thank you!
I also love whoever named Mike Johnson Howdy Doody
Patty, I also have been thrilled that the Speaker has been called (I believe it was in this thread not long ago) "Trump's Little Johnson." Thank you to whomever came up with that one!
i used the name Howdy Doody to describe Mike Johnson on this thread. However I did not coin the phrase, I saw it on facebook and thought it fit. I'll say it again and again "Howdy Doody Mike go back to work and swear in Adelita Grijalva.
I just read the comment below "trumps little johnson". Both work for me.
Same here. Also, "Squeaker of the House".
Agree Ann: ‘fright-wing’. Brilliant once again.
Emergency Prayer Circle Formed After New York Elects Socialist Mayor
“Republicans are scrambling to redefine socialism before anyone notices it means fixing potholes and funding schools.”
Ted Cruz sprinted onto Sean Hannity’s set at Fox News, declaring that this election night amounted to a “disaster” for conservatives and that the new mayor, Zohran Mamdani, was not just a friendly progressive but a “communist jihadist,” a “full-on communist,” and “the face of the Democrat party.” His voice trembled somewhere between outrage and performance art, which, for Cruz, is often the same thing.
Meanwhile, Republican strategists are scrambling to redefine socialism before anyone notices it means things like fixing potholes and funding schools. Cruz doubled down, warning that New York’s election was proof that America is “sliding into socialism,” all while quietly cashing his government paycheck and enjoying his taxpayer-funded health insurance... https://essayx.substack.com/p/emergency-prayer-circle-formed-after
Wonderful…
Ted Cruz is like a character from "Eddington".
Exactly. He’s what happens when intellect loses its moral compass.
Absolutely agree with you, ICTT. But I think the Obama administration was kind of the perfect example of the (malign) narrative influencing the approach. While Michelle fumed, Barack prevaricated, backed away from saying things that needed saying for fear of being labeled an "angry Black man," and allowed the Dem machine to ride roughshod over what could have been a liberating policy. It also took Biden coming forward (without authorization, by the way) for Obama to finally drop his opposition to LGBTQ+ marriage equality, which he was totally mimsy about because straight Black people, especially those who claim to be Christians, are extremely homophobic. It was one of the most frustrating things to witness, for me at least, and the result was a trouncing at the midterms that led to the shitshow we have now. I think if Obama had been a more forceful president, especially in his second term, we would not have had to deal with the likes of Foghorn Leghorn McConnell.
I too resented the pragmatist approach although I did understand it. What I loved about Obama was his moral compass and seeming integrity. I felt he was a good family man with a capacity for empathy.
I agree--he and Michelle exemplify what it means to be a political family that values, um, "values." And their kids are terrific, too. I have seen the Dems go from LBJ-powerhouse (yes, he was an asshole but he was also effective) to timid as all getout in the last 60 years. It's kind of pathetic.
You make fair points. I actually think the stress was always worse for Michelle. He wasn’t the one who burst into tears when Marine One left the White House in 2017 and cried for 30 minutes straight out of pure exhaustion. I do think he was privately mortified not be be cast as ‘the angry black man.’
I agree! The MAGA attacked Obama for his policies, they attacked Michelle for her physical appearance!
I agree: Michelle was the kind of target that the Rethuglicans love: one who cannot fight back in public. Remember that awful, racist, insulting New Yorker cover? And any number of references to her bare arms? There was a great piece about her new book in The Guardian yesterday: definitely worth the read. I also found her memoirs far more interesting than Barack's heavy-handed tome. And he even admitted she outsold him . . .
Linda, I wish my upper arms were in the great shape Michelle's are. I'd be wearing sleeveless everything!
Very well said. 👏🏼👏🏼
"Fright-wing" is the perfect description of what the GOP and MAGA do.
⬆️⬆️⬆️
Well said!!
Did you see Colbert’s interview with her? She was terrific!
Yes, and yes!
She was a knockout.
“I doubt any First Family before them had to figure this out as quickly, or as forcefully as they did.” They are very intelligent people and had a front row seat to everything Hillary endured to keep her away from power. I’m quite certain they knew full well what they were getting into. Maybe Mr. had to have a touch of denial to get him thru, but the Mrs. saw thru that glass clearly!!!
“ It’s not what they call you, it’s what you answer to “. W.C. Fields
It's, Excellent post delineating how Rs try to undermine someone who does not fit their idea of a leader.
A great speech, we pray, is followed by great determination, because the hounds of hate and white supremacy are already sharpening their teeth. The first round in a 15 round match has gone to Mamdani, now he must have great support to win the bout. His well funded opponents are hollow shells of indecency and bigotry surrounded by their money. May they be forced to sit on their assets as their only comfort.
White supremacy left the building decades ago. Only racists bring it up
So get yourself a mirror
"Secret Muslim atheist" who also attended the church where Jeremiah Wright was the pastor. The pastor who preached the "God damn America" sermon. I have to say that there was much truth in what he preached. Our chickens have certainly come home to roost in the years since his sermons.
Here Here! ICTT.
Thank you!!
It was very moving to see all his young supporters finally able to see a reason to hope and embrace democracy.
Ding ding ding ding Sandra. Make the tent bigger by giving the young more inspirational leaders that spread hope and love instead of hate and despair.
Likewise my friend. We ALL did it. We blew Gavin away even. He inspired us, of corse, but he was worried to the bitter end, asking for contributions.
We blew everyone away.
Newsom joked right up until voting day that it never once occurred to the Orange Senescence that he’d face real resistance. “He thought we’d all just join hands and sing, or maybe write an op-ed in the LA Times.” He gambled on California (and the country) not being in an op-ed moment by November 4, and he was right. He also got very skillful people to frame the issues, organize the campaign. package the debate and raise the funds accordingly. Not just balls, but skill, and attention to the details.
He’s also one of the few who’s figured out that trolling the Beast really does drive it completely bonkers. The Beast wants us to live within stupid caricatures — long past time to flip the script and shove those caricatures right back up the gander’s fat ass.
Pay attention, because these are exactly the kind of skilled chops needed to win the presidency in this bizarre new age we now find ourselves in. He’s far from alone to figure this all out, but he’s the one who got a flying start when it truly mattered.
Side note, ICTT, but also related and a bit under the radar; here in Virginia we elected a Democratic supermajority in the House. We’ve got 11 Congressional districts that the state legislature will be looking at to reconfigure. Coupled with what California may do in this regard, the 5 measly additional seats the dictator’s water boy in Texas delivered will be more than neutralized. I’m not a fan of having to do this, but if these fascist assholes want to fuck with the system, we’ll meet them right where they live.
“ if these fascist assholes want to fuck with the system, we’ll meet them right where they live.”
RIGHT
ON
JOHN
‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️
💥💥💥💥💥
Yo "Girl".., hahaha. Looks like a real "FAFO" challenge. Rock on!
Until all states use independent commissions for redistricting, no one should. Republicans were happy to allow the commissions in democratic lead states, but have refused to allow in their own. Time to play the game.
Those of us outside Virginia are still exuberantly applauding what your state did!
Ditto👍
Blue dot in a very red Virginia coastal district. I can only hope that redistricting will show my House member the door!
“He also got very skillful people to frame the issues, organize the campaign. package the debate and raise the funds accordingly. Not just balls, but skill, and attention to the details.” Just like with Mamdani, it took guts, savvy, courage, and hard work.
Yup. I think the taint of "couchfucker" will forever stain Vance, who isn't well loved anyhow.
Fellow commentor here (Dale) took my challenge and created a "Truth o Meter" for Johnson, although that is too kind as I suggested a "LIE O METER". In a podcast, Heather mentioned that Johnson blushes when he lies. I'd really like to see that point go viral and hammer him, to the point he becomes flustered as he KNOWS people are looking at what degree of redness he is displaying.
(Besides leaving messages on his phone that he sold his soul to Satan, I've included messages along the lines of his subconscious fighting back by his "tell" of blushing.)
That blush is his christian soul being burned up.
Oh, I love that. Every time I see it I will snap it or save it. Thanks!
Yup Miselle, it’s nearly impossible to cover up a blush.
This is new info for me; I treasure it. Thank you!
It really can be done!
And will continue so.
And for those of us entrenched in red states (like Florida for me), these victories inspired a hope we haven’t felt in oh, so long. We, the people are stronger together than these Nazis. We fight!
There are so many FL people who will be malnourished before the admin. gets around to restoring assistance; too many ER visits for things easily cared for in a docs office. Feed & clothe the children? Not on your governor's dime! Damn! Waiting to see a rebellion in FL. Won't visit until De Santis is long gone.
Yes! It's called connecting with the voters and listening to their concerns.
Finally.
Newsom wasn't worried at all - he knew for weeks that Prop 50 would easily pass. The reason he kept asking for donations (and the reason he was asking for as little as $3) was to build his donor list for his 2028 run for the presidency.
We finally get turn out and people complain about fundraising that happens in all parties because our system runs on millions of dollars. Complain about the system not the party.
Yes, Janis - “the system” is very important to understand and expose. Yes, politicians and political parties keep begging for money, but where does that money go? DUH - the MEDIA!
Which is the point. The parties and candidates get the word out. It also goes to set up campaign staff members and volunteers and offices but media costs are the highest.
The right wing side is funded by billionaires so everything they say brings them more money, except for the little RW people who spend their time spouting nonsense. Wouldn’t it be great if we could actually get money from Soros? Ha ha.
Keine gut Tat bleibt ungrestraft
None of them ever stop asking after you give. Just opens floodgates that I have to close
Yup, that is why I turned to writing postcards, which mostly is on our own dime. At least then I know my money is going towards a particular candidate. But boy--"buyer's remorse" for writing cards for Fetterman!!!
I did that too, seems like Fetterman is mole or plant. Traitor in my book.
I've posted messages to his phone line reminding him of how his date tattoos were supposedly a reminder of gun deaths under his mayoral administration. I asked if he'd ink the date that democracy died in the USA??
Yeah, I had a former sergeant who has consumed the MAGA Kool-Aid ask me some question about Fetterman as a Democrat, and why didn't more Democrats follow him. Sigh.
Fetterman is the one democrat my aunt loves…of course 🙄
"Delete".
The American voter looks like an ATM to politicians today. Our voices are not heard; the politicians are ineffective and keep repeating the same mistakes which we are supposed to fund. Never mind the cushy life they live while we struggle. They are consumed with being reelected.
Well duh. Reelection is the basis of their job. No votes no job. They need money to run. Change the system if you don’t like it. Don’t penalize the candidates.
The right wing is supported by billionaires, Getting paid to spread bullshit propaganda.
We really did, RR!!🎉
And a Texan heard his call and gave. Wish I had a couple mil to contribute.
Elon has billions to give and NO ONE to stop him. We have to work smarter to defeat the oligarchs plus we need to "out" the oligarchs whose main goal is to get other billionaires elected. Plus, we need to fight negativity, cruelty and hate with positivity, inclusivity and love. Isn't that one of the Mamdani's lessons?
We need at maximum age limit for politicians, but we also need money limits. If they have $1 million or more, they will never understand the problems of regular people. Let’s vote them all out.
I can’t even imagine never being broke. They don’t understand and they don’t care.
It is virtually impossible to win election or reelection at the Federal level in the US without spending a million or more. And there are hundreds of billionaires that have the means to buy an election.
This Washingtonian did; too!! 😊
I didn’t hear Mamdani’s speech, I only read Heather’s article. But it’s refreshing to read a speech where there’s a lot of “you” and “we, us” instead of a steady gush of “I, me, me”. And no verbal masturbation, either.
I watched his speech live in my bed in Maryland. The last time I cried at a political acceptance speech was on November 4, 2008. I have needed a good cry for a long time. Mamdani can't run for president, but the Democrats better be watching and emulating him.
I felt the same joyous relief, like on Nov 4, 2008.
Yep. My daughter and I sat on the couch watching and cried tears of joy. We so much hope but he bailed out the rich folks and didn’t do so much (that I know of for poor folks.
I too, became very emotional. 100,000 volunteers knocked on doors and canvassed for him. People of all ages, of all walks of life told the world that there was this guy who believed in them, who wanted to make their lives better. How can you not fall in love with him??
You can listen to Mamdani's victory speech on YouTube. It's very inspiring.
It's the talking and talking and talking and talking and talking and that happens. Politicians fall in love with the sound of their own voice. Put them in front of a microphone and it's Katie bar the door. My mind goes numb. Hakeem Jeffries is a mess at this. The Democratic Party loves to do this. And they aren't really saying anything. I saw AOC doing this the other day and was sad to see this happen because I really admire what she and Bernie have been doing.
Hi Barbara, it seems to me that Jeffries has read the tea leaves. He was interviewed on PBS last evening. The questions were partisan but his answers were about addressing the needs of the people overall.
Dang it! I hate when I go to paste something in and I inadvertently tap the blue enter arrow.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/voters-sent-washington-a-message-to-put-everyday-americans-first-jeffries-says
“Well, we don't view this shutdown as something that should be assessed through a partisan lens. We're fighting hard to make life better for the American people,”
"“Well, we don't view this shutdown as something that should be assessed through a partisan lens. We're fighting hard to make life better for the American people,” Why Not? Stop playing so white bread. It is the Republicans' fault. Own the moment!
Huh Uh. How? When? This comment of Jeffries tells me zero.
1. How are you going to end the shutdown?
2. How are you going to protect the vote in 2026 & 2028?
3. What are you doing to lower food prices?
I likewise saw Jefferies on PBS NewsHour, and thought the same thoughts. He’s getting better, but he sounds like he’s reading from a Teleprompter. Lots of boilerplate and no authenticity nor passion.
My sense is that the way to address all of those questions is to appeal to a broader base that includes a lot of folks who could care less about whether the candidate is a Republican or a Democrat and who is to blame. The shutdown is just another one among a string—a pattern that both parties have used. The broader base is the answer. The broader base is where the votes are. The majority of people want what the Democrats are holding out for, so addressing those needs without labeling them Democrat offers a way in for swing voters who voted for Trump. The dividing line is shifting to economic class.
We are in a coup here in America. Democracy is hanging by a thread as the fascists in the White House, the House and Senate continue to systematically dismantle our form of Government and strip Americans of the means to live a decent life.
There are no appeals left in this. We gather a strong base like Mamdani did, stake out a focused agenda and send a crystal clear message.
The broader base theory is dead. It waters down the message and you end up standing for nothing and no one.
We should never have an option to "shut down the government", period. A president should not have that ability. How stupid. How about we freeze Congress and Senator pay/compensation/gym-use, and staff/limo.., for a minimum of 60 days - NO backpay, plus they forfeit retirement. We the people should do that! They work for all of us, and are not doing the job they are paid to do. Simple.
OK. Yes, that all needs to be addressed.
Lowering food prices? C'mon..., prices will come down on their own once we have re-established a stable, coherent, civil-manner, honorable form of government. Gerrymandering is all one would be doing if one went out there to 'lower" food prices. Like, what're ya gonna do 'subsidize' skinless chicken thighs organically grown? Wanna keep subsidizing ethanol to lower the price of gas? GMAB.
Corporate greed prohibits lower prices, tariffs harm prices, climate change affects prices, farmers giving way to agri-business affects prices.....
And yet, they seem to get just as trounced by their own team if they talk less. Go figure. Could it be that criticizing every single thing Democrats do or don’t do de-energizes the democratic base? It could be. How about we try encouragement for a change.
We are in the process of redefining how the Democratic Party, how Democracy works and how we want it to work for us. I highly recommend you listen to Dr. Richardson's podcast Politics Chat today
Thanks, Barbara. I’m fully informed and on board with redefining how the party and our democracy works for ordinary Americans. There will be no going back to so-called “normal” times. There can only be going ahead to a society that can deliver liberty and justice for all.
I just don’t think constantly trashing our own side is strategically effective.
Do you admire this? I heard Mike Johnson tell us that out of a population of 8 million, only one million voted for Mamdani
Verbal masturbation —love this term. 🤣
Governor-elect Mamdani's speech is worth watching in full.
https://youtu.be/nfdUn9H4gjA?si=g51Z4NPSUJjp7Cb5
Thanks for the link. The residents of NYC give me hope. I live in Florida, where you can be arrested for setting foot on a road or highway to protest anything. On No Kings Day, protestors mostly stood on roadsides with their signs.
DeSantis' Florida sucks. Wish us luck in voting his people out.
Among many foul and odious views of America, Trump/MAGA have been avatars claiming the death of America as the great melting pot.
Tuesday, New Yorkers relit the beacon on the Statue of Liberty and it's sacred "melting pot" message
".Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
Americans everywhere. WELCOME BACK!
Back in about 2016, I typed those exact words in a Yahoo comment, and got snotty remarks and many, many thumbs down.
I saw a report that claimed as much as 40% of Yahoo comments are paid foreign influencers and/or bot written. So, if you engage, you are merely talking to a bot.
I gave up reading them.
We are actually a salad. We don't want to melt everyone down to be the same. We want to be all together and unique.
Yeah, if they were Americans. Unfortunately New York City try to get on Americans to vote noncitizens to vote and 90% of the people here who seem to be supposedly informed had no clue really sad.
Rick
Tuesday's results,if nothing else, absolutely showed how unpopular your president Trump and MAGA have become. Just check the results across VA to see how red districts moved blue. Democrats did not do this in VA. It was Replicans and Indepedent votes
What you will come to understand is that Americans don't like blithely taking food away from 42 million Americans in need or sending masked goons out to arrest a whole lot of innocent brown skinned people or cancelling critical, life saving medical research and on and on. The GOP is trying to sell an agenda of cruelty. American voters are tired of it.
I think you also thought I needed help with math or map reading. I think you should consider::
Our election system requires votes by people not by average or land mass. If you expanded the blue areas by their populations they would take up the majority of the red/blue map.
Oh, and you ignored the comment I made about the New York City government attempting to allow illegals to vote.
I like to use empathy it’s the best weapon. Can you imagine if the Republicans went to who Foreign country and got four 5 million people who committed to vote Republican and brought them into the country and any means they could and then they get them to try to vote.
Empathy usually works but I think you’re too far gone.
Time will tell but based on history what you guys love so much New York is gonna soon look like San Francisco… more crime, more poverty, more hopelessness, more debt, and deficit.
Either you don’t understand English or you are really. Slooooooooowww upstairs. Well, if you wanna rejigger the United States have at it. Lmao. Add that to your list of hopelessness.
I’m actually reading this in an utter shock, dismay, and disbelief that you actually think what’s happening is reality? you think that the Republicans are not paying snap benefits because they don’t want to?
I’m gonna say this very slowly, and in my finest English.
The Democrats need to say only three letters and snap benefits get paid now read that slowly a dozen times maybe it’ll get through your head
The word is yes if the Democrats say yes, then the government opens, and all the snap benefits get paid. I can’t make it any more clear to you that the only people that are stopping the snap benefits from being paid are the people keeping the government closed and those people are not the Republicans they are the Democrats. Unless you don’t know the difference between the word no and the word yes then there’s the problem.
During the Biden administration, Republicans voted 13 times to keep the government open even though they disagreed with Biden’s policies now the Democrats have kept the government closed 13 times. I think it’s actually more now. No, as I’m fluent in Spanish, both written and oral if you’d like me to translate that into Spanish for you, I could do that
Regarding our election system I’m actually laughing at you really hard and I’m sorry. Anytime you want to use the word if please feel free to do so, but you can’t do that in the real world because that’s the Democratic specialty if if, and if one that’s not reality and it won’t be reality any time in our lifetime
I will once again send you the map if you’d like to see it that’s factually the way the electoral system works in this country unless you’re from Zorbon. and you don’t know that.
So “ IF AWAY” all you’d like. Perhaps when the drugs wear off, you’ll realize that all your apps butts and ends don’t apply. And then reality waves in and all the Democrats have to do is say yes.
So yes, you do need help with the map and math because you want to reinvent math and you want to change the map of the United States electoral system. Be my guest. Yikes.
A change is coming.
The Empire Votes Back: How Democrats Can Ride New York’s New Dawn
“Mamdani didn’t just win an election, he rewired the emotional current of democracy.”
The victory of Zohran Mamdani in New York City is not a mere local upset. It is a full-throated wake-up call to the Democratic Party: momentum is shifting, agency is rising, and the old politics of hesitation are losing grip. With his embrace of working-people language and his audacious first victory speech, Mamdani tells us what the next chapter could look like—and Democrats should pay very close attention... https://essayx.substack.com/p/the-empire-votes-back-how-democrats
Thanks Marlene! It’s been an exciting day 💙
I came across this piece by Josh Johnson, from Daily Show fame. He discusses Mamdani. It’s uplifting and entertaining…worth watching 😊
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTMpC3pP9/
Thank you for helping with Prop 50!! We in NY are so grateful!!
Here is the Mayor-elects twenty-five minute speech. https://www.c-span.org/program/campaign-2025/zohran-mamdani-election-night-victory-speech/668370 🙏🏾😇✌🏼
One line that will grab the attention of the off-White House will be the conflict instigated among working people. That will be viewed as Marxism. It is not. Crush the canard.🖕⛓️😠
While my politics is moderate-conservative, I would have, enthusiastically, voted for Mr Mamdani. We must try new ideas, new approaches; time for perseverance, not pusillanimity.🗽⚗️⚖️
One key outcome of yesterday: Mayor-elect Mamdani decisively defeated Andrew Cuomo. Time for the oldsters to move on from power into mentoring wisdom. It is no longer our world. Mr Mamdani is both Muslim and Hindu; a promising background for conciliatory liberalism.🫱🏻🫲🏼💖🙏🏾
Just this morning, I heard on NPR that there will be a challenge to California’s redistricting effort. There’s always going to be someone who will embrace his own corrupt form of power to disengage for what the people voted. Hang on, California. The challenge will be based on … get this… grounds of discrimination. Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely!
As it should be! ❣️
Well said Marlene Lerner-Bigley. Me too.
I felt it here in WA as well. Was such a great speech and that feeling of hope was familiar. It had been gone for quite a while. Felt good to wake up yesterday with so much hope and excitement (despite the time change!)
Funny, NY and CA. I wrote last night that the images of the lines in CA and the crowd listening to Mamdani are emblazoned in my mind. Thank you voters
from Maine to CA, across the country. And I’m in VA - with 13 new delegates to our General Assembly!!!!
There wasn’t anything from Maine to California. There was a little tiny strip on the East Coast and a strip on the West Coast and everything red in between
You keep listening to the delusions of your party, where New York City had 2 million more Democrats registered and Republicans in Virginia and New Jersey had 1.7 million more Democrats registered than Republicans. Ooooopsie.
There’s gonna be a lot of people live in New York, starting with the wealthy.
There’s already half 1 million people a year leaving California.
I think it’s time for people like you to move to Russia we will be happy in your element
Ha, ha! You got well and truly stuffed didn't you, Rick? Go and sob somewhere else.
Yeah, Russell, I think these are going to be rough years for Poor Rick. Every time he shows up here, he sounds so lonely and desperate and angry. He claims to be wise and intelligent, even though he dangles his participles all over the place - and, therefore, as he is dangling, he sounds a bit like President Trump - jumbled and confused. (The only difference between P Rick and P Trump is that P Rick is “voice-texting” and P Trump is just “voicing.”) Oh, well, he is wealthy enough to seek comfort and peace of mind - somewhere!
Treasury secretary Scott Bessent recently referred to Trump's effusions as 'truth-posting'. I somehow don't think it's going to catch on.
Rick does like to boast about his wealth as though it were representative of the economic strength of the nation. I find it extraordinarily selfish and insensitive to do this when so many American families and vulnerable people are suffering because of Trump's policies.
🙄
I'm sure you will - whenever you wake up...
Note how the dude seems to think that Russia is still red?
That Rick Sender, is such a goddam idiot.
That's the infamous "John Baron!"
He keeps coming back . . .
Like a cockroach!
Well they're certainly in the red.
Yo Rick.., you AI conquistador.., ride your bike over to Red Square, the little cafe'. "Shura" near the left entrance to Lubyanka. We'll share some piroshki..., so golden crispy with dill and onion filling.., umm umm ummm. They take Visa or American Express. WHAT!!!? You're declined? Ogalastrovia#%$&&^@$%!!
Well look who woke up upside down? The Democrat party is substantially closer to being Russian than the Republican party, and I am not a member of either. Ooooops. And in fact, New York City, just proved that.
Most of you need a new crystal ball or a new Ouija board or more medication
And by the way, the Russia hoax was just that so was a hunter laptop story, so is the declining mental capacity of the worst president in history!
I have nothing to do with AI, although I am interested in grokapedia from what I hear, that will replace the biased Wikipedia, and will trounce it to death
In the meantime, I don’t know what’s causing your illusion/delusion , but if I were you I would try to get outside a little bit get some fresh air. I doubt it will clear your head, but it needs to get a glimpse of reality.
Try this on for size. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2024_United_States_presidential_election_results_map_by_county_including_flips.svg
it’s too bad you don’t understand the real world, but because we have the Internet now, there is no excuse for being so wrong.
You don’t know nothin’
Well, Lori, let me ask you this… Miss Internet. Were you aware that the city of New York tried to get 800,000 noncitizens to vote. ? I’ll just make it one simple question…. then we can get down to More nuts and bolts of what I don’t know !! By the way, not that this evidence makes me understand the world however, I’ve been to 128 country scene 80% of the worlds most famous historical sites I’ve been to all 50 states. So I’ve had a little bit of exposure to life. Et tu bruté.
I’ll wait for an answer that will never come. But you should be a little bit more aware of life. As well as recent history
Here’s my opinion: I don’t give a shit what you say. But I replied.
You just don’t understand the real world. You have been fed a line of shit and you ate it right up. Bye-bye now.
New York City tried to get 800,000 non-citizens to vote and the only thing that stopped. It was the Supreme Court of New York get that through your head and I won’t bother you again. But you should look it up because it’s true.
You gotta just love the people that put out a few words and then disappear into nothingness because they don’t wanna hear the truth.
That’s all I do is live in the real world I don’t believe in anything that’s said, I believe in anything I actually experience and live.
You could be number 71 Mamie five Trump policies that are negatively affecting your life currently and personally. I’ll be waiting
I don’t want to reply to you because you mean nothing to me. Why should I waste my time? I don’t care what you think. I won’t ever reply to you again though.
To simplify it so you can understand it: leave me the hell alone.
You really are full of shit and I want you to leave me alone. I will never reply to you again. I don’t care what you say and I don’t care what you think I just want you to leave me alone. Before I go to your boss and get you fired. If you even have a boss.
Following our blue wave, we can all still feel: heh, heh, heh.
Health. Education. Housing.
Dems from now till November ’26 mid-terms please all stress these as priorities.
Health means one system of excellent care for all Americans. No more private insurance company tens of thousands whose only job is to find more ways to deny coverage – so CEOs coast in more salary and bonus millions.
Education means having a panel look at how U.S. schools allowed a situation where an entire political party for years only deferred to obvious, highest-level criminality and cruelty. And deferred to the billionaire classes. Allow on this panel no one associated with the for-profit testing industry. Let this panel also consider ways to enact nationwide, high quality childcare, too.
Housing, for our American middleclass and working-class long pent-up needs.
The many good candidates for next year’s mid-terms may stress issues key to local needs. But, for nationwide needs, one voice. Health. Education. Housing.
"The first is freedom of speech, and expression—everywhere in the world.
The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way—everywhere in the world.
The third is freedom from want—which, translated into world terms, means economic understandings which will secure to every nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants—everywhere in the world.
The fourth is freedom from fear—which, translated into world terms, means a world-wide reduction of armaments to such a point and in such a thorough fashion that no nation will be in a position to commit an act of physical aggression against any neighbor—anywhere in the world. "
We need to convince the oligarchs that having only $100,000,000 dollars instead of $100 billion is still enough to retain power.
I love what Billie Eilish did and said. She was "only" worth $44 million and gave away 1/4 of it. They don't have to give it away. They can increase the wages of their workers so they can afford child care and feed and house their families.
When I sold my company in 1999 I was paying an average of $45/hour. The least paid person was making $15/hour. Plus we offered a robust benefits package to ALL employees.
Many of Heather's army are on fixed incomes and cannot afford to pay for rent, food and energy. We need to help them as well.
NO MORE BILLIONAIRES!!!
As today Tesla is considering making Musk a trillionaire. What the actual fuck?!?!?!
He didn’t even work there most of this year and their stock is in the toilet. 😳
He's got an "in" with the government.
No, GJ, we need to abolish oligarchy entirely and without mercy. And what we need to do to preserve our victory -- if indeed we win this war -- is make certain that the ecogenocidal malignancies of capitalism and capitalists are excised forever. Only then can we protect ourselves, our children and their descendants from oligarchic re-metastasis of the Evil that besets us today.
Loren, have you read or listened to "Goliath's Curse" by Luke Kemp. We finished listening to it last night. In the Epilogue Kemp outlines many steps that can be taken to defeat the Goliath which is controlled by the Oligarchs. He suggests 1) limiting wealth of an individual to $10 million, 2) provide a worldwide minimum wage (or monthly stipend), 3) limiting CEO and management pay to 5 times that of the lowest paid employee and many other suggestions.
Have not; did not know of it until your citation, for which many thanks as it is now most assuredly on my reading list. (Boycotting Amazon as best I can, I'll find a seller via BookFinder (and almost certainly beat Amazon's rip-off price too.) . Again thanks.
Well said, you and FDR
I just spent some time in Stockbridge, MA. At the Norman Rockwell museum, I saw the paintings that illustrate this speech by FDR. They are an inspiration to behold.
Cleo, me, too! It's quite a lovely museum and the docent we walked around with made the visit all the better.
I'm kind of a geek with things like this--I get a genuine thrill at seeing objects that were owned by people I admire. I loved the Lennon "artifacts" at the R&R HoF. At the Rockwell Museum, you can get pretty darn close to the paintings, and I was excited to be able to make out actual individual brushstrokes.
Anyone who has the opportunity to visit there truly should not pass it up.
We had a wonderful docent, too. My husband is an artist and he loved all the intricate brush strokes also.
Miselle...Belated, forcibly delayed thanks for yesterday's assertion that "hostess" is indeed a term of affirmation and respect, which is precisely how I intended it. (I was writing to thank you when Barbara Mullen blocked me and somehow disappeared the entire thread -- your comment included -- this after I politely suggested that given the hatred of males she and her supporters express, they should petition Ms. Richardson to create a subdivision of this website that requires irrefutable proof of femaleness for access and participation. Her blockage -- duplicated by at least one of her disciples -- is an implicit threat to any male who dares disagree with her, and thus serves that segregated-website purpose.) Hence I recognize the courageousness of your comment, for which both another thank-you and a grateful salute.)
Loren,
Perchance you've seen me get involved in other squabbles on here as well. I am very concerned that infighting harms us all, and even suspect that there are some on here who are being paid to sow discontent.
I don't always agree with everything said, and yet, I can accept other's opinions as long as they are not insulting. I think you and I might have had disagreements as well!
I attended IIT in the mid 70s--trust me, a female there had to be a feminist or they'd get eaten alive! I am very much a feminist, and yet, I still like (and call some of my friends) "ladies". I wonder if Heather was a gentleman and you said "host"--would she be upset by that?
I would hate to block Barbara because she often has good points. I believe she has hinted at past traumas which might influence her judgement, which is entirely understandable. I think us "long timers" on the comment section have come to know many of the others so well, or more likely, we've seen enough to believe we know each other well. And that sense of familiarity can cause misunderstanding, as emails can especially do.
You said hostess and sent off your post. Barbara read it and reacted negatively before you could have a chance to explain what you meant. If you two spoke in real time, I bet you'd both end up feeling seen, and feeling better.
And thank YOU for the thank you.
Miselle...Thank you for the response. Loren.
JL. I pray for the same. Freedom, Dignity, Respect, Compassion and Diversity for All❤️
And I hope you see that your 40 day shutdown did nothing accomplished nothing all that did was hurt Americans most in need. And now that a couple of Democrats have come to their senses now you’ll be able to sit down and negotiate issues. No guarantee as to how they’re gonna come out and there’s a lot of thoughts out there so at least they’ll be some conversation in the right direction and that’s what opening up the government just did which is what I’ve been saying for 39 days.
You have that now you just don’t recognize it because you’re so partisan
And so hateful. Did you not just have two no Kings marches without repression in countries that have kings you’re not allowed to do that or you get your head cut off Ooooops. And the Republicans are ready to open the government, but the Democrats refuse so who’s denying freedom dignity, respect, compassion, and diversity when all these people need snaps are not getting it because of them.
Thank you, JL. Very well stated. And #1 - Freedom of speech!! Essential to our democracy and the world. Freedom of the press. Integrity, Honesty, Truth.
FDR's Four Freedoms. Thank you, J.L. Graham, for citing them; that's why I gave you a "like." But please attribute them, so that those amongst us who are too young and/or dis-educated by neoliberal, Ayn-Randified schools will get a proper glimpse of one of the many reasons Franklin Delano Roosevelt was, by far, the 20th Century's greatest U.S. President -- and maybe twinned with Lincoln as our greatest presidents of all time.
Hey Lauren, how do you do this again? Let me see if I have this Right.
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. All you did is put the government to sleep for 40 days and got nothing for it and you never were gonna get anything for it and you only even press the issue even further once you thought it was exciting that BLUE states voted for BLUE candidates. Woopdidoo.
At least now, Congress can make progress
I think that went over most peoples heads here. And for those where it didn’t go over some peoples heads, at least they realize that it is totally meaningless in today’s society. Freedom from want what the hell is that?
If you want, freedom from want go live in a socialist country. Or in a fourth world player that doesn’t have any positive impact on the planet whatsoever
I would agree that President Roosevelt was the greatest President after the nineteenth century.
The greatest President of my life-time was President Gerald Ford.
The most under-rated is a tie between President Jimmy Carter, and President William Howard Taft,
The most tragic president is a three-way tie among President Lyndon Johnson (for going off the rails with the ghastly war in Viêt Nam); President Richard Nixon (with his tragic flaw); and, President Barack Obama (for the G.O.P. denied him the opportunity every President should have of greatness).
The over-rated president is a tie between President Bill Clinton and President Ronald Reagan.
Not hard to determine the worst President since 1900. Trump has done one good thing for my home-state of Pennsylvania. PA's only President, James Buchanan, has been promoted out of last place.
Well, you prefer perfectly describe the Trump administration, so thank you for finally waking up. I didn’t convinced Google to shut up, take down any contradictory messages. The media decided to shut up and not talk about Bidens malfunction, one after another. And look what it cost you
this is incoherent
Rick Sender is always saying stupid shit..it’s probably because he’s a fuckin idiot
I am amazed why day after day you involve yourself in something that doesn’t affect you….. or have anything to do with you other than America’s dominance in the world. Oh and by the way, Mike one of my best friends graduated concordia university and donated $1 million to the university itself.
And I attended the event I don’t know what happened to you in your life to make you hate so badly and so irrationally, but I hope you find a cure.
I don’t give a fuck, who or what your best friend did
Why doncha fuck off Sender?
The two top executives just resigned over two stories that everybody here swallowed Whole when was that Trump actually was recorded as saying please if you’re gonna protest, protest, peacefully, and some other omissions in that particular speech and as well omitted and twisted certain other stories regarding Israel. And here’s what a long-term BBC anchor… and he only touched the surface as to why they left.
A longtime BBC anchor said the majority of board members who control the British broadcaster feel it has "a problem of institutional bias reflected in the coverage" of President Donald Trump.
The BBC has been engulfed in criticism over a BBC Panorama documentary about Trump’s Jan. 6, 2021, speech that he delivered before the riot at the U.S. Capitol. Critics say the documentary was misleading because it omitted Trump urging supporters to protest peacefully, and the BBC director-general Tim Davie and BBC News and Current Affairs chief Deborah Turness both stepped down in recent days amid the growing controversy.
And you read these journals, such as the Atlantic and such as the Washington Post and the Heather report like they’re the Bible and they are anything but.
Omissions or common avoiding a topic on a day where Trump had a major win is common and they give you half truths no truths or avoid the subject entirely
Well, more great news for America. US stock funds push gains to 12% for the year. See you guys always talk about the negatives, ignoring all the good stuff. I know you’re suffering through making all that money especially for your retirement funds. I feel badly for you.
Couple more no kings protests that’ll be 15% as each time you protested, the day after, the market… went up substantially. Border is closed. Six peace deals made… 400 billion coming into this country lowering the deficit. Crime being pushed down by increased enforcement. 2 1/2 million illegals have now gone home. And you guys are still complaining.
You should give Obama a call and ask him why he put a deadline on the subsidies for the ACA as of December of this year. 14% of the population of America have the ACA the other 86% are asking why they don’t get subsidies too. ? Hmmmm. That’s a pretty good question actually… looks like there are many reasons for Thanksgiving this year.
Are you familiar with concordia University? He helped about 20 students get a scholarship in Canada that’s what I mean about you haters doesn’t matter what good people do you still only know how to hate what a pity. There is an idiot that owns the rights and runs over 2000 restaurants. The fucking idiot. You are so lost why don’t you just mind your own business instead of embarrassing yourself every time you post something out of ignorance
Please note, Mike, he (or she) is just one of a Kremlin team.
Phil, I would throw away the crystal ball and destroy that Ouija board. First generation, American, and proud of it. The only thing that hurts was and I read a lot of the things I read here people that hate America people can’t support America. you know there was an interesting post done by CNN about six months ago. I’ll highlight it and the next person in case people don’t want to read too far because it causes them too much pain to see the truth
Yeah, a bit word-salad-y. A sign of dementia, or it this case, failing lead contacts.
Well, I’m gonna post this for you but then I’m gonna post it where there is at least 500 other people that get a chance to see it.
You just stepped in it big time when you said ignorance is bliss. Let me show you ignorance is bliss UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL. and it doesn’t get any better/worse.
In my living room, I have a flag that is 4 foot wide and 3 foot long. It’s the American flag.
And this particular flag is made up of the names in the stripes of THAT flag of the 2996 victims of the tragedy of 911….. perpetrated by a group of Muslim America haters
And on Monday, the ignorant, stupid, MISGUIDED , and I have no other term to use that would profoundly describe what just happened in New York.
The people of New York just elected one of the mental jihadists … one of the anti-Semitic perpetrators of the disaster of 911 in the very city where they just voted him in as mayor
It doesn’t get any dumber than that it doesn’t get more ignorant than that And that’s the city of New York today. A man that stated he supported a global Jihad….
He said he supported a GLOBAL INTIFADA……
You might wanna realize that not understanding clarity is a sign of dimentia on your side, Steve.
If it’s incoherent, then you’re simply out of touch.
After Tuesday, Rick, one would think you would slink away back to your cave. Biden’s “malfunctions “ as you call it, are minuscule to the monumental disasters caused by Trump !!
Do you know how much states and cities and counties were spending on illegals? California alone spent over 30 billion and that’s only the money we know about there was a lot of other money buried in the Medicaid cases that were manipulated into Medicaid so as to be covered.
We have spent over $100 billion on just hearding up illegals. Money that could’ve been spent a lot better on American citizens who are homeless hungry impoverished or sick that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Look at the effort and expense that we have to do now with ice and all our immigration services just to strum out what happened here with the illegals you’re probably unaware, but I mentioned it another post that Bill Clinton deported over 10 million illegals you didn’t dad and I didn’t say a thing Barack Obama Obama deported almost 4,000,000 and only 25% of them got due process. Look it up yourself.
That’s the main problem right now we’ve closed the border despite AOC and Harris and Mayor is saying it would take legislation in a couple of years to do it and Trump did it in 75 days 2 1/2 million have now been sent away or voluntarily gone,… smart people to have left voluntarily.
And are you aware of all the American citizens that have been killed raped or trafficked by the illegals you should probably look up that stat and be thankful that it wasn’t one of your family members like your daughter that was one of those victims. Like the mother of five who was raped and murdered by illegal with a criminal record
So you can go spew on about your nonsense bottom line is if you can name me some things that Biden did that were good. You might happen to one of your dreams, but it didn’t happen in reality. He keeps talking about our touting infrastructure but none of that happened. Either Buttigieg was supposed to build a whole army of electric buses and he built two to the tune of $8 billion. He was also supposed to spread a series of electrical charging stations around the entire country with a budget of another 8 to 10,000,000,000 and didn’t do that either.
Biden actually did nothing for America except ruin it.
And the things that you’ve named that Trump have no impact on your life whatsoever no negative impact for sure and this country and the economy are back on top so you have a choice you can be remain a hating zealot and be angry and have medical issues because of your anger or you could realize that Trump is doing a great job for America and only nine months and has three more years and change to go to even do more Closing the border bringing in a lot of revenue, drilling for oil so we don’t have to be dependent upon anyone else arresting, illegals, and criminals increasing the wealth of businesses, and I mentioned in one of my past posts about the latest economic news and reports all positive so I don’t know where your hate comes from but it’s very unfortunate that you are a one-sided character
I would love to hear your change of heart if one of your family members died of fentanyl or was raped or trafficked or killed and see what you think then Cause that’s exactly what’s been happening and it wouldn’t be happening if they wouldn’t have come in in the first place
If you want to increase the number of people coming into our country, tell your congress person to increase the annual limit to legal immigration… otherwise you’re willfully ignorant. Like many people here sad.
by the way, what would Tuesday have to do with anything? Do you think Tuesday was a defining moment ? Blue states voted for blue leaders. Anything else you wanna know? And I’ve already mentioned it to a number of other people New York has probably three to one deregistered Democrats to Republicans between Virginia and New Jersey have 1.7 more million registered Democrats than Republicans so what’s the surprise? The surprise would’ve been if a republican won.
Other than that, nothing happened other than New York is going to be a change entity and not necessarily for the better. But 75% of the promises that were made for New York City will never come to pass
Joan, are you actually trying to denyBiden’s disasters? maybe you missed it the man was non compos mentis for about two years.
And why would I slink away? Trump is still dealing with about 6 1/2 million or so of Biden‘s malfunctions or did you just get out of bed?
Not to mention the $180 billion of gasoline he poured on the war in Ukraine to kill 200,000 more people and you think that’s OK. What happened to you? Oh merciful Ones. Biden aided in the killing of 200,000 additional human beings and that’s OK with you instead of trying to find peace . That’s how demented you are. Not to mention 100s of billions of dollars spent on illegals versus taking care of our homeless are sick and our needy.
I don’t know what passes for news in your circles, but it certainly isn’t news.
I would love to hear you list the Trump malfunctions.
And I have asked 67 of your colleagues here for the following admission information and have yet to get a rational response keep in mind I said, rational. Please give me a list of Trump’s monumental disasters. This is gonna be good.
Finally , Please list five of Trump’s policies that have negatively affected YOUR LIFE PERSONALLY.
Oh Ricky, go away. You are dreaming again...
Well, I’m gonna post this for you but then I’m gonna post it where there is at least 500 other people that get a chance to see it.
You just stepped in it big time when you said ignorance is bliss. Let me show you ignorance is bliss UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL. and it doesn’t get any better/worse.
In my living room, I have a flag that is 4 foot wide and 3 foot long. It’s the American flag.
And this particular flag is made up of the names in the stripes of THAT flag of the 2996 victims of the tragedy of 911….. perpetrated by a group of Muslim America haters
And on Monday, the ignorant, stupid, MISGUIDED , and I have no other term to use that would profoundly describe what just happened in New York.
The people of New York just elected one of the mental jihadists … one of the anti-Semitic perpetrators of the disaster of 911 in the very city where they just voted him in as mayor
It doesn’t get any dumber than that it doesn’t get more ignorant than that And that’s the city of New York today. A man that stated he supported a global Jihad….
He said he supported a GLOBAL INTIFADA……
here’s a happy dream for you
https://substack.com/app-link/post?publication_id=247761&post_id=178046140&utm_source=post-email-title&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=9kiid&token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjoxNjA3MzY1MywicG9zdF9pZCI6MTc4MDQ2MTQwLCJpYXQiOjE3NjIzNjI3NzMsImV4cCI6MTc2NDk1NDc3MywiaXNzIjoicHViLTI0Nzc2MSIsInN1YiI6InBvc3QtcmVhY3Rpb24ifQ.tJj6AaP1jv0klIPrW3OcVd_OvZ74QenjxxcAjg06S7Q
I don’t dream like I told you, Leslie and you’re worthless meaningless one sentence posts are eliciting your lack of knowledge I’m just about every Jermaine topic under the sun having to do with this administration or our government. But don’t worry if you think I’m dreaming tell you what I’m dreaming about that’s gonna come true unless you kill him Trump’s got another three years and four months that’s not a dream to you, but it is to every single person that voted for him.
🙄
Yawn.
Hooray, J. L.! I still tingle at the vid. https://youtu.be/qrNDwyj4u1w?t=9
EDIT P.S.: a healthy peace-time life is identified as a (collective) human right. The question boils down to: ¿whose resources are these anyways?
So what do you think now that the government shutdown ended which should’ve never begun. And the Democrats came out empty-handed, except punishing Americans, who were most in need. Putting our Traffic safety in peril and not paying our military that defend this country. Good call there JL.
Freedom from want? wtf is that? Maybe you just woke up there but we’re always the defenders not the offenders
Phil, I'd argue that "Economy" needs also to be stressed equally, while recognizing that each of the three things you mention have economic implications. We mustn't ignore the importance that the economy was as an issue in '24, and it remains so.
Quite so, Doug.
But we can address the economy through the lenses of health care, education, and housing.
The U.S. has the most costly health care in the world -- all because its purpose isn't to care for people's health, but to keep up the perversity of profit margins for private insurers. For the profit to keep piling up there, they must keep denying health care -- rachet up the cruelties.
Education, if it stressed any humanities (or civics) could see the massive damages from our currently grossly-perverted "health care" system. So many of our arts report on the damages to people all across the map. But our elites don't even begin to come close to seeing any of this. Education has taught other priorities, and certainly not human ones. For instance, biz ed -- by far the biggest major in all "higher" ed -- has three times the majors of all those in all the fields of health combined.
Mercantilism, commercialism, and quasi-monopoly corporate culture have become so ascendant that housing, too, shows the captivity of the rest of us to the vultures and predators. They -- cynical and vulgar elites on top -- ensure only luxury housing has gotten built in American over recent decades. For the middleclass and working-class? Nada. Zilch.
Hello Phil.... This was an Excellent Speech by Mamdani... I wish him luck, Mamdani could be pointing the Way to the Future... I expect that Mamdani will encounter great resistance from DJT, the GOP, and the DNC Democrats... Chuck Schumer, and Hakeem Jeffries did not back Mamdani.... Eugene Debs was a Democratic Socialist as well... Regards Medicine, one of my Nieces is a Thoracic Surgeon licensed to Practice Medicine in Germany, Switzerland, and the USA... The German System is interesting... It is Universal Healthcare for all... It is run by non-Profits that bid Competitively... They have to meet High-Standards... One can still get Private Treatment if one desires.... The Swiss System is similar... Both Countries have longer lifespans, and Healthier Populations... Both Countries spend less per capita for Healthcare than the USA... Is this Democratic Socialism in Action.?...
Years ago I had the good fortune to attend a speech by Kurt Vonnegut.
He said that he used to be a Democrat but now he is a socialist. I have always been a fan of his mostly because he is so incredibly creative. He looks at every situation from a different perspective. His personal life was a train wreck which may be part of the reason he was such a good writer.
As I have gotten older, I too have become a socialist.
A socialists or a social democrat?
Socialism has specific meanings, the ones the rest of America understands. Are you sure you want Socialism? Or the social democratic Nordic system?
Nordic System. After visiting Norway,Sweden and Denmark I realized the US is no longer a first world country
I'm wondering the same, Gary.
Kurt’s preface to Slaughter House 5 is such a great gem of writing.
Have you read his short story that was in "Welcome to the Monkey House" Harrison Bergeron.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harrison_Bergeron
It's been adapted for the screen several times and it often comes into my head.
I loved his book called”Player Piano”. For many years it was my favorite book. Every time I see something being done robotically or AI, I think of that book.
Same
It is way past time for Schumer to go. And Jeffries is so lukewarm and uninspiring.
Jeffries used to be able to PREACH. Someone-- I forget who, but I think it was Lawrence O'Donnell -- made a good point about Schumer, at least relative to Mamdani. He said that Schumer has to thread a path between New Yorkers who embraced Mamdani and the Dem Senators up for reelection (or candidates for the position) in states where Mamdani is perceived as far too leftist. The overall point is that Dems have a diverse party, and must craft its message to appeal to each segment.
I will say this about Schumer (and I've not been a big fan, believe me): he has managed to hold his caucus together as best he can with the current shutdown, having learned his lesson last spring. That could change as soon as today, with my state's (NH) 2 Senators appearing to work towards an end to the shutdown via negotiating for a promise.
"Both Countries have longer lifespans, and Healthier Populations... Both Countries spend less per capita for Healthcare..."
Communism from the pit of hell. Ask any billionaire.
Hello J L... I hope that You Jest... Contemporary Germany, and Switzerland are Democratic Republics... Higher Education is essentially free if you can get admitted to their Schools... They are not perfect, no Country is...
I don't think that perfect exists, at least in regard to humans. A math professor told us that there is no all inclusive perfect system, even in math (Godel etc.) and invoked the image of a too-small blanket, that if you manage to pull it over to cover one area, you expose another. I think that we, the people are also like that with respect to perfection, only more so.
And yes, my tongue gets stuck in my cheek. I don't even think that the ideals of communism are inherently evil, but I don't see it scaling up to work except in small communities. At least so far, it has tended to manifest as totalitarian tyranny, which is ugly no matter what ideological spin you put on it.
Rather than what is judged to be "left" or "right", I am interested in what, on a basis of evidence, is the best available social arrangement to deliver fundamental human rights, and liberty and justice for all. My hope is that with wisdom (which includes some awareness of history) and compassion, we will build on what has worked before, and also make it up as we go. If it's a government that's of, by, and for the people, then that's our prerogative. The pursuit of Truth and Justice is likely, at it's best, to always be a work in progress.
Make America Better.
"It is run by non-Profits that bid Competitively... They have to meet High-Standards..."
I have read that in some cases the public's legally guaranteed access to information about certain governmental functions is voided when those function are contracted out; because the rights of companies to withhold information trumps the public's right to know.
Oh my yes never thought of that. So much work has been contracted out and then comes the issues of NDAs.
The usual term in Europe is "social democracy" but yeah, pretty much. <g>
Because they are different things.
Technically it's social democracy in action, a different animal.
The Canadian system would have a better chance of acceptance in a federalist system such as ours.
A New Yorker and former member of the City’s working press exiled by gentrification in 1986, I listened to Zorhan Mamdani's speech last night with something approaching exaltation. Not only was I fiercely proud of my birthplace and intellectual motherland; I saw it as at the beginning of a defiant return to the realm James Baldwin honored as "Another Country" -- that is, the progressive antithesis of those parts of this nation wherein prideful ignorance and Christonazi malignancy are (and probably always will be) the defining characteristics.
But there is more than the potential emergence of a genuine alternative to MAGATry to celebrate in Mamdani's triumph. His citation of Eugene Debs is a summons to the True Left -- Industrial Workers of the World, Communists, Trotskyists, independent Marxians -- all of us who have who have been maliciously denied representation by the pseudo-left pretenders who turned the post-New-Deal/post-JFK Democratic Party into an instrument of betrayal. The underlying dynamic implicit in the Debs reference is the re-creation of the United Front that made the New Deal possible. For the City at least, it may thus be truly the dawn of a new era, with its potential perhaps exceeding that of the John Lindsay years.
Can Mamdani become another FDR? I believe that is indeed his potential within the progressive states. I also believe Christonazi theocracy -- its anti-Islamic bigotry no doubt enforced by RepubliKlan violence -- will not only prohibit his popularity in the reactionary states, but force the progressive states ever closer to secession. Meanwhile he will have to prove himself by fulfilling his promises to the Five Boroughs -- which means he will have to overcome (or more likely transcend) a powerful anti-Gotham faction in Albany, the state capital – a challenge made all the more difficult by the fact NYC is the largest non-home-rule city in the nation. And having publicly challenged Trump, he will need bodyguards of at least British Special Air Service or old-time Soviet Spetsnaz quality to protect him from assassination.
No secession from the progressive states, Loren.
That is, no danger of that if Dems field a full slate of candidates in all the red states, too, and really talk with people.
Biggest danger is that the money side of the Dem party again writes off huge parts of America as beneath them, the moneyed, "educated" elites.
Phil...We disagree on secession, and I would add “prices of necessities” to your list of “lenses,” but I liked you as thanks and in overall agreement. Apropos secession, as I often disclose, I lived most of the first quarter of my 85 years in the Ku Klux South; also, I lived in rural Washington state for 18 years. In the South c. 1963-64 I was thrice targeted by would-be killers for my Civil Rights activism. In rural Washington c. 1986-2004, I achieved mutually respectful companionship with most neighbors, but was relentlessly harassed by the approximately 40 percent who were fanatical proto-Christonazis. They vandalized my house and gardens and somehow – no doubt from fellow zealots in law enforcement – got my unlisted phone number to send me anonymous death threats. Thus I know as absolute certainty their (infinite) hatefulness ensures they cannot (ever) be converted to progressive values. Thus too the 31 states they have conquered and now control will (always) be deadly enemies of the progressive states, which means secession – reinforced by mutual defense pacts with overseas allies – is the progressive states’ only hope for survival.
But, sadly, that is not the only barrier to our victory. The most dangerous weapon possessed by those Democrats you properly damn as a “moneyed, educated” anti-working-class “elite” is identity politics, the divisive toxicity of which we witnessed yesterday in the unprecedented deluge of unmitigatedly hateful abuse hurled at me for (respectfully) referring to Ms. Richardson as our “hostess.” One of my abusers demonstrated the same induced ignorance that fosters MAGAT hatefulness when she labeled “hostess” a “pejorative” – though it is (nowhere) so dictionary-defined. As I said, anti-male identity-politics is one of the key reasons we have a Christonazi Führer rather than a President in the White House. It is also a big part of what destroyed Occupy from within. Above all else, it serves the ruling class by guaranteeing we of the 99.999 Percent can never achieve the disciplined solidarity essential to overthrow the oligarchy. And as we saw yesterday, those elitist identity-politics Democrats we both correctly recognize as Vichy-like MAGAT enablers will do everything in their considerable power to prevail.
Christonazi! What a great term!
Thank you!
These things have been priorities to some extent for 80+ years until saint reagan followed Spiro with positive polarization. Lord, the cost of being cult stupid, people. WOKE rules
Exactly my point, Phil. Economy is a throughline connecting your points but is also the source of the biggest disappointment Trump 2 has been to his voters who were promised cheaper eggs on Day 1. Remind them of this -- mercurial tariff policy, deportation of workers engaged in various production (farm, food, etc) and service industries, etc etc. have resulted in higher prices.
T
And focus on the economy is so much more than the stock index. Exchange of money enables much of the collaboration that builds and maintains our society, and it's just plain nuts to claim that something so important cannot be wisely regulated or planned. It's not an exact science, but we are most likely to experience liberty and security by creating and defending safe places for community and commerce. Liberty in law.
Good post, Phil. You have your priorities in order. Despite what the MAGATs and their herders claim, we are indeed all in this together. Basic health care for all our people should be a priority of our government. When people at the bottom of the income scale are healthier, they can contribute more to our society. When people in the middle are driven into poverty by excessive insurance rates, we all suffer. Keeping the lower and middle classes productive makes our society and our country better, and wealthier. Immiseration is not cost-effective. Those who want private insurance and can afford to pay for it, fine.
Hey, they have that in Canada they have it in England. They have it in Russia. They have it in places like Sweden. There is nobody despite your protestations to the country that is keeping you here. Do you want your government to take care of your healthcare? There are many places you can go.
Your government clearly isn't taking care of healthcare - that's the whole point of the shutdown you idiot.
Hey Rick.. don’t open your stupid mouth about Canada.. you don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about.
Well, my wife and her entire family are from Canada ans are many of our friends who have dual citizenship and have chosen to United States wisely.
And Mike, maybe you didn’t hear me I’m not interested in what you think Nor should you be interested in what I think. What should I say about Canada? Canada is not in my thoughts….but in fact I was hoping that the World Series would have ended differently.
Dicky, take a breath. Stop hyperventilating. It was just an American election. People are just exercising their right to choose. Hang onto your uninformed opinions, it is your right, even if you are wrong.
Well, aren’t we cute. What makes you think I’m hyperventilating? You are correct. It was just an election and people have a right to choose…. so you’re two for two difference is I don’t have uninformed opinions I back up my opinions with Facts and evidence. If you would like to delineate why my opinion is uninformed, I would love to hear it.
Here are the facts: in New York cit Registered Democrats outnumber
Republicans by a million or more. Same goes in Virginia and jersey where the numbers are 1 million in one state go to 700,000 in the other. Same goes for California. Sounds pretty informed to me.
The reason I’m not hyperventilating I’m actually looking forward to seeing the results of the devastation in New York City coming very soon to a red state near you…. so I’m not hyperventilating I’m gonna be patient. History repeating itself, and we will be watching….live.
Yes you are you’re all in this together all 14% of you lost radicals. Who are wandering aimlessly in useless rhetoric?
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...
Well, more great news for America. US stock funds push gains to 12% for the year. See you guys always talk about the negatives, ignoring all the good stuff. I know you’re suffering through making all that money especially for your retirement funds. I feel badly for you.
Couple more no kings protests that’ll be 15% as each time you protested, the day after, the market… went up substantially. Border is closed. Six peace deals made… 400 billion coming into this country lowering the deficit. Crime being pushed down by increased enforcement. 2 1/2 million illegals have now gone home. And you guys are still complaining.
You should give Obama a call and ask him why he put a deadline on the subsidies for the ACA as of December of this year. 14% of the population of America have the ACA the other 86% are asking why they don’t get subsidies too. ? Hmmmm. That’s a pretty good question actually… looks like there are many reasons for Thanksgiving this year.
🙄
Hey Rick
Your "team" has had the ball for the past 10 months. The great majority of Americans just gave your team and it cruel agenda a grade and it was F-. And your stooge leaders are running around pretending there's no there there; they'll just stick with the hate". Good luck. That will get your team an F-- in 2026.
Well, I’m gonna post this for you but then I’m gonna post it where there is at least 500 other people that get a chance to see it.
You just stepped in it big time when you said ignorance is bliss. Let me show you ignorance is bliss UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL. and it doesn’t get any better/worse.
In my living room, I have a flag that is 4 foot wide and 3 foot long. It’s the American flag.
And this particular flag is made up of the names in the stripes of THAT flag of the 2996 victims of the tragedy of 911….. perpetrated by a group of Muslim America haters
And on Monday, the ignorant, stupid, MISGUIDED , and I have no other term to use that would profoundly describe what just happened in New York.
The people of New York just elected one of the mental jihadists … one of the anti-Semitic perpetrators of the disaster of 911 in the very city where they just voted him in as mayor
It doesn’t get any dumber than that it doesn’t get more ignorant than that And that’s the city of New York today. A man that stated he supported a global Jihad….
He said he supported a GLOBAL INTIFADA……
You also might wanna work on your math. But here let me help you.
Have you by chance look at a map of the United States? It’s got blue butt stains on either coast. And other than that is red to the middle, except for some measles, outbreaks and small splotches elsewhere maybe I should send it to you.
Here’s one by the New York Times. I’ll send you a couple more which will get you seeing red. lol
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/us/elections/2024-election-map-precinct-results.html
Here’s one more for your delight sleep well
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2024_United_States_presidential_election_results_map_by_county_including_flips.svg
That's pretty pathetic, Rick. Your side just got butt-hurt in an election, so you send us maps of results from last year's election!
Also, you guys love to cope by showing geographic maps with huge deaths of red in places where few people live. I have nothing against rural folk but the last time I checked, we count votes by people, not by square miles.
On the other hand, this map (https://www.12onyourside.com/2025/11/03/interactive-map-virginia-election-results/) shows population of Virginia by the size of the dots. Notice how all those red ones are teensy-weensy compared with the big blue ones, so you can properly visualize how Republicans got their asses kicked on Tuesday.
Hey Bob, let me tell you a little bit about this election and maybe you’ll wake the F up
Well, I’m gonna post this for you but then I’m gonna post it where there is at least 500 other people that get a chance to see it.
You just stepped in it big time when you said ignorance is bliss. Let me show you ignorance is bliss UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL. and it doesn’t get any better/worse.
In my living room, I have a flag that is 4 foot wide and 3 foot long. It’s the American flag.
And this particular flag is made up of the names in the stripes of THAT flag of the 2996 victims of the tragedy of 911….. perpetrated by a group of Muslim America haters
And on Monday, the ignorant, stupid, MISGUIDED , and I have no other term to use that would profoundly describe what just happened in New York.
The people of New York just elected one of the mental jihadists … one of the anti-Semitic perpetrators of the disaster of 911 in the very city where they just voted him in as mayor
It doesn’t get any dumber than that it doesn’t get more ignorant than that And that’s the city of New York today. A man that stated he supported a global Jihad….
He said he supported a GLOBAL INTIFADA……
Bob, that’s an interesting analysis that you just did. The reason I sent you a map about last year’s election is to wreck. Remind you of how the country feels not just three blue states and one blue city. And if you want to drool over your party’s win…. have at it.
2 million more people in New York City are registered Democrats than Republicans if a Republican would have won that would’ve been a surprise. Alas, you voted for a what he calls a Democratic socialist but he plays like a communist and it’s gonna be very interesting to see how that’s gonna run because there’s already been Articles online on X and even on TV of realtors in Florida already getting bombarded with calls of people from New York ready to go to Florida as one example
There were 1.7 million more registered democratic voters in Virginia and New Jersey…than there are Republicans. So are you pretty good in math? Some people are saying that the people in Virginia are racist. How about that one? Lol. I don’t believe that, but they outnumber Republicans by 1 million voters. So if you wanna have a wet dream thinking you want something big go ahead have your moment of glory.
By the way, did you seem to remember that Trump won that state?
And you guys are supposed to be the people of history why don’t you check out how Virginia votes at the first post election opportunity. Happens every time.
Not to mention that the agenda that both candidates pretended to run on was pretty much and it’s highlights a Maga agenda tough on crime agenda and since when do any Democrats run on a tough crime agenda ?
They run on a no cash bale. They run on a catch and release, etc.
by the way, when you say, I got my butt hurt you don’t read a lot of my post I suppose…. First of all I’m not a party Zelle it like many of you. Losers are sticking to one party no matter how well they do no matter their platform no matter how horrible their politics. And I feel the same way about the Republicans from time to time just like I did during Bill Clinton’s term when I voted for Bill Clinton twice because he was the guy and he did a great job except for three major flaws. He was a great president bringing this country together versus Obama, who tore this country apart and Biden, who didn’t even know he was alive.
There was nothing surprising that happened in Virginia or New Jersey. The surprise was the ignorance of the people in New York voting for a democratic socialist, dragging your party even further left than before.
Many levelheaded people are gonna be watching New York to see that he won’t be able to produce 25% of the promises that he made because he won’t have the money. He won’t have the wealth because they’re all leaving if they can. Wouldn’t surprise me at some point in time if the major stock index started to leave and major networks started to leave.
Crime will be a problem poverty will still be a problem and pretty much nothing will be resolved in New York over the next term of office
I’m not put off one bit in the least and I was actually pulling for Manami to win because I know what the outcome is gonna be because it’s been that way for a couple thousand years socialism just doesn’t work and what it produces eventually is communism.
So if you’d like to feel good about yesterday, you have every right to do so you won your elections. I didn’t lose any of mine. They were lost before the election started, regardless of who ran. I would’ve loved to see what would happen if Glenn Youngkin would have run again. That would’ve been interesting. But essentially in New York, the communist socialist ran unopposed. Let me repeat that Mamdani ran unopposed
Sliwa well should’ve gotten out of that contest a year ago. And Como did enough damage during Covid to be a non-entity. So relish the day relish the time enjoy your win. Nothing will change in Virginia and New Jersey, but New York will be a scary place not only will the rich flea, but tourism will eventually die if they try to exact the new mayors policies
Huge swathes of red, darn autocorrect.
Hey Merrill, do you pay much attention to facts or reality? What what cruel agenda are you referring to? I would love to hear the five Trump policies that are negatively affecting your life and you will be victim number 69 congratulations. Five Trump policies negatively affect affecting your life on a daily basis and to you personally.
And obviously you don’t read. Blue states. Blue states just elected blue leaders. What a shock. New York City has 2 million more registered Democrats than Republicans. New Jersey and Virginia have 1.7 million more registered Democrat Democrats than Republicans. If every single Republican in the state voted for the Republican candidate, they still could not win. The only way they could win is if they impacted Democrats to vote republican… so drown in your demented analysis of yesterday’s or Monday’s elections. The only surprise would’ve been if a Republican one in blue states.
In the meantime, feast your eyes on what’s going to happen in New York that’s gonna be very disappointing for you and for all the voters that voted for Mondo when he won’t be able to keep any of the promises that he made And to all the self deprecating Jews, who just voted an antisemite into office
I agree but would also add, food security and that means affordability and jobs.
For 56 years now, Colette, I've been reading the books of Wendell Berry.
Many here know -- and love -- him. He argues against farming in the giant, polluting, unhealthy corporate iterations it has taken. And he argues -- beautifully -- for some version of some return to more local produce, more family farms.
This has knock-down benefits. Affordability, for instance, gets twisted in corporate culture, because all of that chemical-laced, sugar-and-corn-syrup-added "food" also appears on the wrong side of our health ledgers. Enormous hidden costs there.
If we had more local sources, could rely more on family farms, we'd have those additional jobs, rather than the industrial behemoths of profit above all else. We'd also save on our health costs.
My wife has Ménière's disease and she requires a very low sodium diet. Therefore, we grow much of our own food and rarely eat at restaurants. Fortunately, one of our neighbors sells organic vegetable seedlings from his flat bed trailer every year. My sister-in-law tends the gardens and we end up donating much of the produce to the local food bank rather than throwing it away.
Damn, that might put RFKJ out of business and MAHA with no need for lunacy.
Mr Balla:
I've been reading and admiring your comments for some time. I want to ask a question.
Is it wrong to view the American health system as a rort?
"Rort" is one of my favorite Australian words.
The reason it's a rort --
The premiums most of us pay to the health-insurance industry, including to the hordes of brokers,* are essentially a tax.
This quasi-tax does yield some benefit. Doctors and nurses and EMTs and hospital staff get paid. However, a huge proportion of it goes to people who are paid to shuffle money around and, as you say, to deny claims. They provide no real value to anyone but themselves, except that our perverse system has created an artificial need for them.
Back to that Australian term, rort. Health-insurance premiums are collected from large numbers of people for a beneficial public purpose, hardly distinguishable from a tax. Too much of that money goes to private actors who pretend to provide a service. And in a more rational system, such as prevails in most advanced countries, that service would not be necessary at all.
That is a classic rort.
Do you agree? Am I oversimplifying?
*brokers -- revealing word in this context, no? In a single-payer system, why would we need brokers to help consumers locate and evaluate advantageous health-care plans in the marketplace?
\Vince S
The corporate, for-profit "health" industry status quo is indeed a rort (a scam), Vince.
But, too, pretty much all the corporate U.S. belongs to same scam billionaires.
A class of Americans well-grounded in humanities, who stand for values opposite our moneyed elites? Not in the purview of U.S. schools under the sway of testing only.
The interesting question for me comes down to whether health-care is a necessity or a human right. If the former, the rot of the 'rort', if proven as a tort, must be redressed as it is a corrupt business practice. If the latter, any insurance premiums are a tax, so . . . ¿why should the American people be paying taxes, arguably inflated, to the private sector?🖕
To me, health-care is a necessity, not a right. For example, refrigerators are now a necessity, conferring health benefits by preventing people from eating rotting food. But one would not describe possession of one as a right. This question is one that the larger society has to answer. It seems pretty clear that momentum is building to declare, once and for all, that health-care is a human right.⚖️
So, my view aside, let us get on with making it a right in order to expand and defend human rights in our country.🫱🏻🫲🏼
I think we all benefit from having healthy neighbors, Ned.
As we do from having neighbors well-enough educated to participate in community life.
Many Congressional Republicans privately admit Trump is nuts.
I keep posting. According to Congressman Eric Swalwell (D-CA) Trumpepstein may cause an "Epstein bomb" causing over 100 Republican members to "jailbreak" from Trump.
Massive Congressional visits November 18.
https://www.instagram.com/flare.usa/p/DP_mdOyjdiG/
Visit CongressionalRepublicans.
https://www.mobilize.us/indivisible/event/851451/
I think that if we play our cards right, many can be convinced by the election outcome to come forward.
Yes, Daniel - eventually, House Republicans are going to have to decide whether to vote to release the Epstein files or to NOT release them or vote PRESENT. GOP - Guardians of Pedophiles.
Thank you for this insight and information, Daniel. The cowardice of the representatives of my erstwhile Party confounds me to no end.
I keep sharing this, because the insurance grift in healthcare goes far deeper than just the surface company you pay premiums to. There are many layers in it, please take a look and share.
One little gem: did you know the diagnostic codes are a patented thing held by the AMA?
https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/monopoly-round-up-obamacare-is-cooked?r=dw0lk
That's funny, that's good, Jen -- this "little gem" you note.
I agree with you regarding the focus for 26 and 28- in the 2024 election it seemed that the party was trying to address too many issues- and while they were all important, I think they confused and overwhelmed people. Honing in on these three key issues will allow candidates to deliver a clear and concise message to the voters, one that will resonate after the chaos of Trump/Vance!
And what message is that Diane? Lol.
That is the issue- something that smarter minds than mine need to focus on
Diane, I like your reasoning and the problem that I see every single day is that Heather is nothing but negative. And when you’re that negative you don’t see what you’re supposed to see you only see what comes from one side of the aisle from the left eye and from the left ear and you’re not giving your readers the whole story and this is constant with her.
HEH, indeed
Excellent focus. As for the testing industrial complex, I am a licensed psychologist in Pennsylvania. For my first three years I gave tests and discovered that these tests benefited the test makers. Sadly I wonder how many kids I helped to put a label on and into a box.
I think everybody took for granted testing, Gjay.
Everyone just assumed measuring IQ in standard and standardized ways was just an extra layer of insight.
That it stressed seeing rationality largely in terms of group-fit, and coherence by abstracted or numerical measures mostly may not have suspiciously been doing any harm, not by itself, not if that vision was just another extra measure.
Maybe, too, it prioritized skills more applicable to our college-bound, where by going into silos (academic departments, as a rule isolated from each other) everyone more or less specialized. No harm in that? Or didn't anyone notice the neutering effect also going on, also growing. Even though Diane Ravitch did a slam dunk on that in her 2003 "The Language Police."
The kicker, by design (hello, Powell memo, and all its far right and money-centric foundations): we neglected to see testing's growth in light of the humanities disappearing from curricula.
I am a child of the 60s like so many of Heather’s readers. I remember the hope and inspiration I felt listening to MLK, JFK, RFK, Malcolm. And I remember the grief when they left early. I so hope Mamdani has good security. Not trying to be Debbie Downer here, but with old hopes refreshed old pain is remembered.
My thoughts as well. No matter who the individual, no matter what party or group they represent violence is never the answer.
I have to apologize to you Phil. I posted something this morning where I wanted to give you credit for your previous post. Unfortunately, I referred to you as Paul Bella…I wished I could find the post so I could correct it, but no luck. I also wish I could blame it on my lack of before posting it but, it was just a stupid error. I’m sorry!
Due to things on my schedule here, Colette, I'm tardy in getting to most responses.
Due, too, to innate things in me, I may compete very well for being champion of stupid errors!
Yes, we need Universal Free Healthcare, no more aspiring to only Medicare for All!
Well Sheila they have that in Canada Great Britain and even in Russia and it’s a free country. No one says you have to stay here.
So did you see what your blue wave just got you there phil? Nada.zilch. Nothing. But you may have ended Chuck Schumer’s career which was probably over anyway All you did and then further try to do even worse, was punish Americans punish hungry Americans punish the military., punish the average citizen who can’t afford food.
In the meantime, you’ve probably incited democratic radicals to riot and try to see more power and pull them even farther to the left, which would be worse for America.
So now the government’s gonna be open and now they’ll be some negotiation which I’ve been saying to all of you all along
Blue wave. Looks like Tidy bowl. Same color…. One flush and it’s gone. So you’ll have to meet reality. Three more years and three more months of reality.
Well, I’m gonna post this for you but then I’m gonna post it where there is at least 500 other people that get a chance to see it.
You just stepped in it big time when you said ignorance is bliss. Let me show you ignorance is bliss UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL. and it doesn’t get any better/worse.
In my living room, I have a flag that is 4 foot wide and 3 foot long. It’s the American flag.
And this particular flag is made up of the names in the stripes of THAT flag of the 2996 victims of the tragedy of 911….. perpetrated by a group of Muslim America haters
And on Monday, the ignorant, stupid, MISGUIDED , and I have no other term to use that would profoundly describe what just happened in New York.
The people of New York just elected one of the mental jihadists … one of the anti-Semitic perpetrators of the disaster of 911 in the very city where they just voted him in as mayor
It doesn’t get any dumber than that it doesn’t get more ignorant than that And that’s the city of New York today. A man that stated he supported a global Jihad….
He said he supported a GLOBAL INTIFADA……
Keep up the pressure! Not just on republicans, but democrats for accepting and understanding the need for Mamdani.
I added a calendar on my spreadsheet so we can target our calls/letters/emails/faxes to flood offices in an organized manner.
Use/share this spreadsheet (bit.ly/Nokings) as a resource to call/email/write members of Congress, the Cabinet and news organizations. Call. Write. Email. Protest. Unrelentingly. We deserve better ❤️🩹🤍💙
Reach out (beyond your own) to as many in the Senate and House as you can. All of this is bigger than “I only represent my constituents” issues.
Dem leaders need to follow the people
And they need to communicate to the people about what they are doing and how it will help them.
A few weeks ago, I attended a fundraiser for the Maine Senate Democrats. All of the Senate leadership was there and I learned about their agenda. The bottom line was they are stressing affordability. Who knew?
Record lines, real results. New Yorkers reminded the rest of us who owns the government.
And Chuck Schumer dares to be a New Yorker. Mr. Stronly Worded Letter should be banished to a memory care facility in the Catskills, on his own dime. He and many other Dem sellouts, who got us here over the decades, do not deserve the lifetime health care WE pay for.
Mamdani did something almost no recent American political candidate has done: He held his own party accountable to the voters. The party operatives, the usual privileged suspects, their flying monkey stooges, and their monied enablers were so enraged that they worked and they spent... and spent and spent---millions to try to undercut this campaign.
And on November 4, the citizens voters were neither bribed nor shamed nor intimidated nor fooled. They rose up and held their party operatives accountable too. Citizens are now aware of their capacity to do so and win because they just did it. Voters everywhere are hungry beyond starving for such accountability.
There is no force stronger than “We the People” when they are informed, motivated, and united. It is, and always has been, a mistake to sell us short,
They were afraid they could soon be out of work. Perhaps now they will be.
We cab not only hope…we can plan to make it happen.
That's the plan Ed. It's hard to keep up after losing everything in the fire, and I'm a bit messed up, but even if it looks like the ship is sinking, you can't watch the water rise.
You dive down in and plug the fucking hole! Close the valve on the sea water cooling line that broke. Whatever it takes.
Kick your friends in the butt and get them MOVING!!
https://bsky.app/profile/sandieglo.bsky.social/post/3m4viw5tf4s2n
...and I really will support primarying them all out.
I will know we are winning democracy when Spell Check doesn't autocorrect Mamdani to Mandarin.
https://thegrayzone.substack.com/p/zionist-extremist-group-celebrates?publication_id=474765&post_id=178017952&isFreemail=true&r=rdp7&triedRedirect=true
And it took more courage to do that than I see in our elected politicians. Standing up to AIPAC takes spine.
I repeat, Dem leaders need to follow the people. They are proving the point of a NOVA show from years ago about the effectiveness of leadership. The people on the ground connecting with each other is more effective than top down control. Also works for geese, and in all kinds of ways. I’d like to see that show again, it was a revelation.
geese?
They rotate in the lead and take turns. The formation is cooperative. Dems should learn that the head goose makes it easier for the others by breaking wind resistance.
And MAGA follows Trump who is literally breaking wind.
Sorry, I couldn't resist that. And actually, I get tired of the constant references to Trump's incontinence.
But no sharing the load, except for raking in money
The Democratic older politicians have been bought and sold by special interest groups as much as the Republicans have. Schumer needs to go. Pelosi needs to go. Jeffries needs to go. We need not necessarily younger voices but fresher voices who haven't been bought yet.
Pelosi just announced she is not running again. It’s a start
Excellent! Now Schumer.
Agree. He needs to go.
"...yet" The sentence should have stopped after ..bought. We don't want any boufgt politicians.
Sumer is not a damn sell out and all of you are American sell outs and thank goodness most of you will die off as stuck in the mud dead plants. If you watch New York City decay, all the wealth Will flee, all the tax dollars go away, and all the promises will remain unkept. Nobody will want to visit New York… prime will go up prices will rise. The stench will increase and it’s going to be the most beautiful self deprecating scene in America for a long time.
You looking at the backside of your eyelids again, Ricky? Go back to sleep.
Neither is Winter.
It’s supposed to say Schumer and I hoping that you’re intelligent enough to see that. I love when you guys focus on spelling versus context. Punctuation versus context. Everything else but context
Well, if momdani keeps his promise, crime will go up and Police will go away. I voice text everything and it’s always context over form.
Spelling vs. context? Dream, dream, dream...
Watching the big Apple, falter is going to be a dual edged sword. Both positive and negative will come for it…. It’s implosion Will be greeted by those who said I told you so. But it’s continue to decay and attempt to live to what the electric will be in abysmal failure. There’s your history, lesson, Leslie. It’s been happening for thousands of years. People never learn even those Jews that voted against their own best interest in New York
It is possible to offer context as well as the right punctuation, grammar, and spelling. Clear communication is easier to understand. We all do our best.
That’s true but I voice text and I respond to many people on Manny side so I don’t have time to correct it but apparently you caught the gist. which is the most important thing. If you’d like to correct my paper and grade me, please feel free.
Momdani?
🙄
Who government is ostensibly of, by and for.
Wait a minute did you say on the government that sounds a little bit like oh I’m sorry a little bit unlike capitalism. Lmao. There are 2 million more liberals in New York City than Republicans, so is there any surprise not only was there no candidate in New York City but there was no opposition in New York City either. all of us are going to sit in watching splendor house the U-Haul trucks leave the city the wealth leaves the city the businesses die because this guy thinks government can do a better job
I’ll never forget Reagan’s statement. I’m from the government and I’m here to help. Omg.
You really ARE having bad dreams today. Hard to see the election results all around the country? Take a pill and go to sleep, Ricky.
Differences between me and you Leslie which are great… I don’t dream I live and I live my dreams I don’t dream my dreams. Just got back from a month vacation after having seen my 120th country almost all the historical sites worth seeing AND all 50 states. That’s not dreaming pal that’s living
Been married longer than 95% of the folks on the planet had a good modicum of financial success working my ass off for years to take to earn it and now enjoying every moment of freedom here in America, and under trumps administration, well, the most of you here, or miserable, angry, whining, complaining with your useless protests in a battle where your own party is not even protecting you. Certainly there are mistakes made on both sides from a voter perspective. But I will tell you from experience and talking to people worldwide all Democrats are the most stuck in the mud unwilling to budge human beings on the planet and that’s why they are where they are right now. I’ve been an independent for 45 years maybe a few more order for Bill Clinton twice. Love my life I’m in good health couldn’t be any happier
I wish you the same, but it’s not gonna happen for you until you get out of the mud
How is it possible for a person so widely travelled to be so completely stupid? It's a mystery to me.
🙄
Sounds like a typical boomer who made good off the markets when Democrats were in office and now thinks he can take credit for it all while everyone who suffers is dirt beneath his feet.
I love you people who guess about someone else’s life… its pretty interesting but embarrassingly wrong. . I lived in a furnished apartment the first 24 years of my life. And work my way up from the from the bottom all the way to the top
I’m a boomer who made good through 50 years of hard work and leadership WORLDWIDE. . At one point was the leader of the marketing arm of what are the largest fast feeders in the world AND bought a business Started out with one entity and ended up with 41 entities and took great care of every employee even had a retirement plan for a fast food business, which is unheard of…
One fast food manager earned $40,000 in the retirement account after 10 years IN my employ when I sold that business.
I’d stay out of the mind reading business if I were you.
I do believe the Democrats are not an office now and the market continues to hit all time records all three major indices.
So when you come out with comments like that, you’re nothing more than a Close minded, zealot…. And I’ve been an independent voter for 45 years…. Unlike many democratic prostitutes that aren’t clear exactly why they are supporting their party, other than they don’t wanna hear alternative ideas. By the way, your party is at the lowest approval rating. It’s been in 50 years and you might want to wonder why.
The last president was an embarrassment to the world and almost every single field and while president for a year and a half and a vegetable for the balance they actually threw them under a bus after raising $25 million for him the week before. What did they put in its place? A worthless candidate, with zero accomplishments, her whole life who blew $2 billion and 90 days. In addition to blowing other things. Oooooops.
Nicole Wallace wore a sweater during last evening's MSNBC's broadcast covering the election results which said "Politics is not a spectator sport".
How so very true -- it is the civic duty of every person eligible to vote to actually do so. It is a precious right that we stand to lose if apathy rules.
You can think of democracy like brushing your teeth. If you stop engaging in it, your teeth rot and fall out of your head. Message to all those caught in the cyber-world of make-believe — there’s no app for that. You have to brush your own teeth, floss your own gums, haul your own ass to the polls — and yes, you better make sure your signature, initials and voting card matches the one the registrar has for you lest you lose your right to be a citizen because some asshole out there doesn’t like your race, your background, your politics or your gender identification.
In the words of an old labor song — “you’ve gotta go down and join the union, you’ve got to join it by yourself…ain’t nobody here can join it for you, you’ve gotta go down and join it BY YOURSELF.”
Requires some gumption and some energy.
And so does life itself.
Oh! I thought her sweater said "Democracy is not a spectator sport."
Yes, to be precise: "Democracy isn't a spectator sport."
Yes, I wrote it incorrectly, monimaca -- I meant to go back and correct it but I fell asleep! Thanks for pointing it out.
Wasn't sure I had it right either (I was getting groggy, and Nicolle's hair covered half her shirt); at first I thought it said "momacracy." LOL.
Let's not forget Nicole Wallace was Jeb Bush's press secretary in 1999-2000 and did all she could to stop the recount in 2000 and push the election to GW Bush. She was rewarded with a job in GW Bush's administration. She doesn't sound like someone who believes in democracy, or at least she didn't until it became convenient for her.
If you think it’s “convenient” for her to appear on TV, day after day, navigating threats to her and her family while dissecting the bullshit of MAGAWorld, you need to have your own head examined.
She is actually one of the few mainstream journalists who have held the line against Trump -- and I think her earlier experiences as part of the GOP have fueled that. Whereas Tapper and others equivocate, she has actually been terrific. Not sure when you last watched her, but it's worth it to give her another look.
I live her show!!! She gives me hope. I also loved Jim Acosta on CNN but he got squeezed out for consistently making Trump accountable. I join him on Substack now…
I watch her show every day, it’s 2 hrs with the best guests in TV. I’m a former repugnantkin as well, one of the basket of deplorable’s, I like Nicole am firmly committed to helping the democrats win up and down any ballot. It doesn’t matter who you voted for in the past, who do you stand with today is what is important. Nicole leaves no doubt who she’s with.
She has readily admitted to her part in promoting the Republican agenda. But she had an awakening that moved her to the left and made her both a never Trumper and a firm Democrat.
Maybe she “woke” up. Would seem to be the case.
Uh, Ms. Wallace AND Steve Schmidt renounced the GOP long ago.
Good on both of them!
Please stop with division and unforgiveness. It is insidious and useless. Many, many people in this country have changed their view of politics as the Republicans Party began its descent into MAGA.
We have a Country to unite.
Absolutely, Barbara. As a very young woman, I (as a Democrat) had the privilege of working at HUD in the Ford Administration, under then-Secretary Carla Hills, one of the most brilliant managers in history. She was all business: "no nonsense, no politics, get the job done." In that position, I met several Republicans I admired, and with whom I remain friends to this day...and while some remain "nominal" Republicans, NOT ONE OF THEM voted for Trump! My own (now-late) dad was a Midwest Republican who called Trump "that bum," and voted 3rd Party in 2016, but when to his surprise & horror, Trump won, said "I'll never make that mistake again," and voted for Biden in 2020. My point is, we shd not conflate "traditional" Republicans with MAGA...maybe it's b/c I'm a center-left Democrat (not a lefty), but I think it's important to have center-right Republican views in the mix. As you say, we have a country to unite, and I think we'd have a better chance of doing that if we tried to find common ground, recognizing that we'll never be in total agreement about everything...rather than demanding "ideological purity" and throwing brickbats at each other.
Agree we need to come together but the Repub party caused immeasurable damage before its descent into MAGA: anti-climate, anti-environment, climate change denial, needless wars esp in Iraq where hundreds of thousands of people died. I'm all for forgiveness when people take responsibility and publicly apologize and seek to make amends, but I haven't seen any of that with these people.
I didn't say join hands with the Republicans. I said Wallace has changed. How do you know Wallace and others haven't issued statements on change of heart? Why should they apologize? Politics has vastly changed. A healthy person is able to change views and see things in a different light. Calling others "these people" is dangerous. Who does that sound like?
Michael, it is my experience, both personally and observationally, that people who "see the light" and abandon their former sodalities are the most effective messengers to warn others of the harms created by those groups. No one is more qualified to attack the weaknesses of a group than a former "insider."
The Bulwark has been a leading critical force against Donald and his party. The entire staff and most of their guests are former Republicans.
I consider myself a worthy opponent and critic of evangelicalism because I was born and raised in the evangelical culture. I can quote chapter and verse of every source of their wrong-headed dogma and point out the harms they create.
PS: I appreciate your use of the word sodalities, it's a word we don't often see these days but is perfect here.
Agree with your perspective but it doesn't seem like those who have seen the light have taken responsibility for the damage they caused, including several talking heads we see on MSNBC, such as Nicolle Wallace, Steve Schmidt and Michael Steele. Hundreds of thousands of people died in the Iran and Afghan wars when they knew WMDs didn't exist, and their denial of climate change and gifts to the oil/gas/coal and other extraction industries have doomed the planet. They should be held to some account. BTW, Dick Cheney came out against Trump at the end too, should we be ok with him now?
Michael, I think "judgement" and "justice" are too often used interchangeably. The fact is that all of us have a past that we're not entirely proud of. So none of us is in a position to decide who gets to move forward beyond their failures and who doesn't.
It's unfortunate that "grace" has taken on a religious connotation because one doesn't need to be religious to be gracious. Each of us needs and should extend grace, which might be defined as "permission to move on in a better direction."
When deciding how we should respond to someone who does an about-face, we have to consider their motivation on a case-by-case basis. To compare and contrast, I think Wallace renounced her affiliation with the GOP because it represents bad policy and bad morality. I can't see her ever returning to the party. By contrast, Cheney criticized Donald because he is damaging the Republican brand, not because he rejected Republican values. His daughter is not a lot different, which is why I appreciate her role in the J6 investigation, but she should never hold office again. I think people who lionize her aren't thinking straight.
I did not know much about Mamdani but the negative comments of others. I listened to his speech. He is a very powerful speaker and hits a chord about fairness. We have not had that for quite some time. I hope he does well, other counties have adopted a more caring system than us, such as Sweden. We have too much money at the top of the food chain. Taxes on the wealthy need to go up considerably. Enough of their ballrooms and the Louis XVI attitude!
Ditto
Sweden is open and Russia is open. You can pick for com passiveness, or you can pick for communist control you’re not gonna have passiveness here. U-Haul is selling 75% of its trucks to New York… that’s the rumor
One thing about dreams. They are much like rumors. Go back to sleep, Ricky.
🙄
As the proverbial 'eternal optimist' I admit to my tendency to see things through rose-colored glasses. But it's hard to see this political earthquake in NY – augmented by astoundingly positive results from coast to coast – as anything other than revolutionary. The feeling of *finally* busting through the iron grip of Trump and his MAGA politics of divisiveness and cruelty and corruption is palpable. And to see this breakthrough symbolized and enabled by an immigrant Muslim democratic socialist in the country's beating heart of capitalism is simply breathtaking. So yes, optimism is the order of the day at long last. I could go on and on. This is beyond exciting. Onward to a renewed America!
Every county in Virginia bled red from the inside out, as the blue pushed from deep within. Every single one, including the rubiest-reddest ones. I can’t even think when something like that ever happened before.
HST knew long ago that republicans objected to everything that helped all the people and blathered socialism as the worst smear. Maybe democratic socialism can come out of the closet since “for all the people” is what government is supposed to be about.
Recent scientific research on aging has shown that it accelerates at different ages (about 45, at 60 and again at 78). This puts Trump in a high risk category for dementia. But from the recordings that I have seen, he doesn’t show significant memory loss, confusion, communication and language problems, difficulty with daily tasks, etc. - major symptoms of dementia. But this is apparently because mainstream media doesn’t show it. Yesterday Times Radio interviewed psychologist/psychotherapist, Dr. John Gartner, who presented a trove of information on the signs of Trump’s dementia (The smoking gun’ that points to Trump’s cognitive decline | Psychologist analyses Trump - YouTube)(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OtO-cypKmY). Dr. Gartner is a licensed and 35 year practicing, Ph.D. clinical psychologist, former professor at John’s Hopkins Medical School, founder of “Duty to Warn”, collector of 41,000 signatures of psychiatrists and mental health providers on a letter warning of Trump’s mental unfitness that was sent to Congress, contributor to: World Mental Health Coalition, “The More Dangerous Case Of Donald Trump”, 40 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Warn Anew, edited by Bandy Lee, MD, MDIV, 2024, ISBN 979-8-9900533-7-3, etc..
If you are unfamiliar with the symptoms and behavior of a narcissistic personality disorder (which is also subject to the effects of aging), there is a short video on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8K8iyiN-HQ) by a popular, licensed, Ph.D., clinical psychologist, Dr. Les Carter, that clearly explains in layman’s terms what happens when a person with a narcissistic personality disorder ages. You can view it for free and decide for yourself if you think this explains much of Trump’s behavior. I recommend it as the best one I have found, and I have no affiliation with Les Carter or John Gartner.
Frankly I don’t think we need doctors and psychiatrists to tell us that DJT does not behave in a rational coherent manner. I think it’s irrelevant whether it’s dementia, or any one of a number of other diseases and syndromes that result in the kind of word salad and incoherent thinking he frequently exhibits when off script. The reality is simply that he is unstable and incompetent and he is not the one governing and making decisions. He has no idea what he does - recent case in point pardoning a man with whom he was completely unfamiliar and couldn’t answer why he pardoned him. It’s more scary to me that he is the puppet of very scary and dangerous people who are in fact the ones actually running the government.
I can’t figure out why people bother to tell others to “read so and so about dementia” as though it’s not obvious to anyone not totally self-lobotomized that nobody’s home at the White House. The little baby shits in his diapers while various Dowager Empresses, rooms of eunuchs and pretenders to the throne yank their little strings this way and that, pretending they’re not really there.
Nobody’s home in the House either, as Little Bobblehead runs from his duties. And you can bet not a single Republucan Schmuck-Senator stood up to him this morning or said one PEEP to counteract or contradict his snarling, vicious, delusional, idiotic lies.
Kakistocracy both by absentia and dementia. A country is a terrible thing to waste, indeed.
ICTT, I like that turn of phrase: Kakistocracy both by absentia and dementia.
Well done.
Unfortunately there are people who think Trump and his sycophants are doing the best job ever and continue to give him money and their votes. There is one who wrote a comment just below yours. They don’t understand that they are being lied to and given mis and dys-information. One of the antidotes for this is to provide them with proven facts and explanations of the motivations of the people who are deceiving them. Unfortunately we know from the psychologists that this isn’t going to work for Trump and the toadies that are advising him. Much of Trump’s behavior corresponds to what the experts (Carter and Gartner) describe as the behavioral characteristics of a malignant narcissistic personality disorder and not to anything his sycophants tell him to do. Thank you for the reply.
It also does not work to point out the mis and dis information (and the lies) to MAGA followers. They reply with a resounding "nu-uh" and "I don't believe that".
It's a cult.
Yes.
“The Cult of Trump: A Leading Cult Expert Explains How The President Uses Mind Control” by Steven Hassan. He has a Master’s degree and a Ph.D. in psychology and has published several books on cults, in which he advocates for exit deprograming (from the cult). He describes mind control tactics by the cult leader including rhetoric to promote a “us vs them” mentality, demands for ego stroking and loyalty with shunning of anyone who questions his behavior and an uncanny ability of the leader to detect and manipulate the vulnerabilities of the members of his cult so that he gains power.
Sound familiar?
Absolutely!!
Agree totally. Miller Vought etc are running the show and they are evil as all hell. Trump is just the figurehead mouthpiece who embarrasses the US with everything he does and says so the evil ones can lurk in the background and push their P2025 agenda while we all fuss over trumps idiotic behavior. It’s their plan and we fall for it.
Precisely 🎯
I also agree with Dr Gartner's assessment of Trump's narcissism. But I do believe he has dementia. People with dementia can have lucid or somewhat lucid conversations, but only occasionally.
My mother had it.
Yes. I also had a parent and a grandmother who were afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease. I understand. Grieving the loss of a parent is something that never completely goes away. You have my sincere condolences and I hope you find peace.
And I agree that Trump probably has dementia. My post wasn’t meant to imply otherwise. Thank you for your reply.
Thanks for the kind wishes, but I made peace with my mother's disease years ago. She didn't have Alzheimers, but another kind of dementia, perhaps Lewy Body. She alternated between sounding like herself and living in the past and horrible delusions. Her "reality" was not a happy place!
My husband afflicted for 15 years and was never as nuts as chump.. also, Rupert never shows him to the Fox masses. Hasn’t for 15 years. Way past time.
There are eight types of dementia, each with their own signs. I've resisted saying that Trump has a form of the disease but lately I've come round to seeing that more and more he exhibits subtle signs that he's not playing with a full deck. One of the best demonstrations of this is the cheery British woman who reads the transcripts of his speeches in their entirety.
The dementia symptoms of trump are not subtle. They are full-blown and getting worse.
Gartner is certainly convincing. I was watching an expert in cults called Dr Hassan on the Daily Beast who had once been in the Moonies but managed to escape. His discussion about Trump's rusted on supporters as members of a cult was very interesting - https://youtu.be/95g_GlWdMRE?si=a0XYLSRzwaS9rx5b
Yes, I agree. I have one of Hassan’s published books. Hopefully his writing and talks will have an impact in getting MAGA members to realize they are in a cult. Thank you for the comment.
Yup. That has been passed around a bit, but MSM will never touch the truth.
Fred, apparently, you have not seen many recordings of Donald. He definitely has exhibited all the symptoms of dementia, including memory loss, confusion and aphasia. You will not find those "slips" on corporate media because they're edited out to make him appear coherent.
Donald's purple hand and occasional disappearances suggest he is being treated for something, but the White House (what's left of it) is keeping mum about his condition.
I'm firmly convinced he's been and is being used as a Trojan Horse to accomplish Russell Vought's and Stephen Miller's most insane agendas.
You know Fred every time you post I get a kick out of you. You have no brain on your right side of your head other than supposedly the right side controls the left. You just had a president who lost his mind the day he took office and you step there and you stood there and you supported him. Desoto how blindly ignorant you could be when it comes to politics.
🙄
Do you engage any part of your brain before posting?
A Narcissist's "Stupid And Proud Of It" Syndrome - YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sa268I5uWj4
What you’re describing right there on the button are the voters of New York City! And many of us are going to feel horrible about the outcome, but as I say many times life with you exceptions is a do it yourself proposition. So the voters have nobody to blame but themselves
Lmao. Poor Freddy. I hope you’re enjoying your fishbowl of psycho babble, but you’re gonna drown in it i’m afraid
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...
A rousing, inspiring, speech by Mr. Mamdani which focused on the power of unity and a clear call to action. Reminded me of President Obama’s oratory. Well done, NYC!
Tonight New York remembered that democracy is a verb. When people reclaim authorship, power redistributes itself, and the long night of oligarchy begins to fade.
Actually, Robert tonight, New York remember that democracy is blind in New York City
Specially when they tried to get 800,000 noncitizens to vote that’s how blind it is
Democracy is never blind—it simply refuses to be bought. New York did not forget itself tonight; it remembered that participation, not exclusion, is what keeps the Republic alive. When people act as authors of their own future, the counterfeit arguments of fear lose their market value.
If democracy is never blind, how the hell did anybody in their right mind would vote for Joe Biden never mind the first time but willing to do it again???
You are in denial the people in denial don’t recognize it themselves
Then, perhaps you remember that in November 2024 people acted as authors of their own future, and one in election for the second time with the same name behind it. Why would you be complaining now? Oooops
Yes, there’s a slight flaw in your argument. And how realistic is your statement when there’s 2 to 3 times as many Democrats living there as there are Republicans? Just your numbers answers your question about participation. If every single eligible Republican in New York, voted for someone other than momDonnie, it wouldn’t make a difference. There’s your flawed argument, and In a nutshell. The exact same thing happened in New Jersey, Virginia, and California Republicans were substantially outnumbered by millions. Truthfully, it was no surprise… the surprise would’ve been had any Republicans won there.
But you are right New York did not forget itself it’s been a democratic strong hold for many many decades, despite having a really good once Republican mayor once or twice to tried to straighten it out… Giuliani was probably one of your best. And Bloomberg started out pretty good, but then buckled to pressure. He did just like Schwarzenegger and California started out great guns and then decided that 32 ounce soda was too big for the average person to make her own decision about. Lololol.
What you’re talking about it’s not democracy. What you’re talking about. Is farsightedness or nearsightedness and once people are either and they can’t change that’s when democracy is fraught with mistakes along with bad decisions.
Time will tell in New York, but I can tell you they’ll be some pretty strong suffering for a while and it won’t be by the people who live elsewhere.
People are suffering right across your country, Rick and they're blaming Trump and the Republicans. That's what the polls show and now it's been reflected in elections as well. It's the writing on the wall for Trump and he still doesn't get it because he's too busy with his stupid ballroom. Suck it up.
🙄
NEVER trust what you hear in a dream, Ricky...
3 1/2 more years Leslie. Despite what happens in the midterms. And what will be interesting is if Trump decides as I said to resign his presidency nine months short of his term handed over without an election to Vance that elections going to be very interesting
🙄
🙄
The goals Mamdani has set will be difficult to achieve, and the people who have risen to elect him have got to continue working because they must be part of the solution. It’s the start of genuine agency at work in American democracy and New York City is leading the way. But now, now, is the time for action. Now is the time for perseverance.
Perseverance furthers.
I think the message is --
Be patient
Be persistent
Prevail!
\Vince S
I hope that we can all take his words forward. "Authoritarian governments do not fear violence. They fear symbols. They fear hope. They fear dissent — because protests question inevitability. A single act of defiance, even one small enough to be crushed by force, punctures the illusion that obedience is unanimous. Regimes built on control depend on the appearance of consent; when people fill the streets, that fiction collapses. Protest does not need to topple a government to shake it — it only needs to remind citizens that power is not a law of nature. That the regime is not eternal. That its authority persists only so long as people believe resistance is futile.
In this sense, every banner, every chant, every defiant frog, every silent vigil is a crack in the wall of inevitability. This is why autocrats respond so fiercely to dissent: not because they fear overthrow, but because they fear awakening. The fear is not of chaos; it is of courage becoming contagious."
https://open.substack.com/pub/danismart/p/the-boy-who-wouldnt-break-and-the?r=1c5095&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
Dani:
I've been asking, "What are they afraid of?"
That's a pretty convincing answer. Thank you!
\Vince S
Excellent answer. No act of defiance is ever wasted.
Well, they were now be in authoritarian government in New York so I hope you’re happy. The wealthy won’t be you won’t have any money to pay for what he promises.
🙄
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...
There is a surge in the dialogue that I hear more of as we come to the realization that Democracy is winning. That surge is the call to Push. Push for more than we have dared to while being ground down by the Bigpockets. It’s no accident that sounds like pickpockets. Our push is to enhance the dreams of well being in healthcare for every one. Living wages for all those who have been surviving on the economic fringe. A push to make life a manageable task again. Voices are saying we can make this push, that the way forward is in hand.
Stop the acceleration of totalitarianism. Continue the momentum, wrest it away from chump. U-turn for the freight train
What I heard in Mamdani speech were echos of the words Obama used to inspire us. Hope and change. My educational career ended in 2011. For most of my career since the 80’s through the 90’s I was concerned about the future of our country based on some of the values that some of my students had. But something shifted after 9/11. I began to hope that this would be the generation that would save us. Mamdani is part of this generation. After hearing his words this boomer feels like I can breathe again.
Carol, interesting...my 46-year-old daughter (one of those ppl who loves NYC to the depth or her being: heart, soul, blood & bone) texted me after Mamdani's speech to say "he tried to sound like Obama, but not...came across as shrill, arrogant & angry." She fears Zohran's a narcissistic con-man, using NYC as a platform like ppl use Instagram, tik-tok, etc. But worse, she fears that he, as a 34-year-old with zero experience in managing anything, or any experience in NYC government, won't have a clue as to how to do things like pick up the trash/snow. To cite Herb Kliner, a previous commentor, "Winning is easy [my daughter wd add "especially if you offer free everything for everybody"]; governing is hard." Well...I guess we'll see...in the meantime my daughter & I (and her almost-11-year-old daughter) are far more excited about Abigail Spanberger & Mikie Sherrill...it is they who shd be lionized as the future of the Democratic Party...it is they who make this Boomer, Gen X daughter & Alpha granddaughter feel like we can breathe again. They aren't remotely as eloquent as Obama (sorry Z, no one is), but they don't pretend...they roll-up-their-sleeves & do the work...and that's what gives us hope.
New Yorker (I actually live in the Kensington neighborhood Mamdani cited), 78 years old. I was initially concerned about his lack of experience.
I have never seen a campaign with so much discipline. Mamdani was never off-message in his one year of campaigning. He has many wonderful New Yorkers with experience in his camp. He has inspired many New Yorkers to get involved. He has every opportunity to thrive in his job as mayor.
I am thrilled to contemplate NYC’s future.
Hi former close neighbor & fellow Boomer! I'm 76, and lived In Ditmas Park from 1979-2009, serving on the Board of our neighborhood association for 25 of those years, and as its President or Co-President for almost 20; also served on the local Community Board for several years. So, like you, I was INVOLVED big-time, and devoted thousands of hours to working with City agencies/officials to address myriad local issues...so I learned who the "responsive" civil servants & elected officials were...the ppl who shared my interest in "getting things done," regardless that the tasks weren't glamourous or headline-grabbing. I certainly never dealt directly with a Mayor during those years...but the Mayors choose the Commissioners who choose the assistants, etc., who set the tone for the career staff (with whom I primarily dealt). We also lucked into Marty Markowitz, who served as our State Senator for @ 20 years, before becoming Brooklyn Borough President...a guy who was all about constituent service & as a result of our work together, became a personal friend. (I wanted HIM to run for Mayor...I don't mean this year, but when he was a bit younger). I do hope you're right that Mamdani will hire experienced, "can-do" professionals, who care about service-delivery...b/c I'd like to downsize from my DC house & move back to NYC...if I can afford it, LOL. In the meantime, nice to "meet" you & have the benefit of your fellow-Brooklyner outlook.
I beg to differ with your daughter. I watched Mamdani's speech and disagree that he sounded arrogant & angry. He spoke constantly about " you" and "us", never about himself, until the section where he thanked his parents and his wife. There was nothing arrogant in his thanking his workers and all the workers who went door to door for him.
Do yourself a favor and watch his speech on YouTube. You will see and hear that Mamdani sounded the very opposite of "arrogant and angry". He was very positive and forward looking. Now I worry that some crazed right winger will take a shot at him. He will need constant protection.
I did listen, but was underwhelmed. Cd be partially an age-bias thing...I swooned over Obama's speeches, but he's 12 years younger than I am, not 12 years younger than my daughter...notwithstanding that he (Mamdani) cited Eugene Debs, which may have been his effort to throw a "posy" to old Boomers/Red-Diaper babies? Maybe he thinks we went to school with Debs?
Agree. Watch Governor-elect Mamdani's speech in full.
https://youtu.be/nfdUn9H4gjA?si=g51Z4NPSUJjp7Cb5
The anti-Mamdani folks are shrill, arrogant, and angry - or silent as most democratic leaders were. He couldn’t be worse than Eric Adams…. Cuomo governed, but…
Give him a go…
Insightful and very well said.
Monimaca, I was once a 32-year-old with zero experience in managing anything who was given the opportunity to create, staff and manage a corporate advertising office for a regional retailer. The stores we served posted unprecedented sales increases. The ads we submitted in juried global competitions consistently won First and Second Place awards. Those achievements weren't mine; they were the achievements of the outstanding team I hired. My expertise wasn't producing the best advertising. My expertise was recognizing extraordinary talent and turning it loose to conquer the challenges we faced – together.
There is no reason Mamdani can't do the same at NYC's city hall.
Me too, sort of. I was 31 years old when I took over a program at NYC's housing agency (HPD), which everyone said was "doomed to fail." But we succeeded...thanks, as you say, to the "team" I assembled (I literally dragged one of my staff recruits out of the ladies' room & twisted her arm). But as proud as I was at my own management skills & ability to "spot" talent (which I didn't even know I possessed), I also learned how complex NYC is. Never wd have occurred to me to think that b/c I cd do that job, I cd run the city...if anything, my experience was sobering...taught me the opposite. So kudos to you for your great success in corporate retail advertising...and I hope you've gone on to run one of the companies you represented?
The snakiness of your last sentence was an unfortunate choice.
Snaky? Hmmm...reality bites?
"Agency in our democracy." As the White House is our house, this country is our home. We must never forget that and always remember that there are those who want to take it from us.
JAA Dude, they are taking it from us. Bit by bit.
IT'S TIME TO GO TO WAR AGAIN!
THIS TIME IT'S NIGERIA!
Why? A CNN Poll Reports That Trump's Approval Has Plummeted to 37%.
Have you noticed an increasingly obvious pattern of Trump threatening or actually engaging in warfare against foreign countries or on the high seas whenever he suffers a public humiliation?
The idea of taking the country to war to distract the public from heinous acts or public humiliations was Trump's brainstorm right after his public humiliation on June 14 when the draft dodger-in-chief got the military parade he deserved.
June 14, 2025 was billed as the military parade to end all parades, which would lead to the glorification of Donald Trump on his 79th birthday as The Master of the Universe, which would even transcend his claim that he "rules the country and the world".
As we all know, the line of straggly soldiers slovenly marching out of step with a proud display of indifference was a huge fiasco, and a total humiliation to Trump.
So was it then a mere coincidence that at that very moment, he just happened to do a quick turn-around, reject the assessment of his own intelligence organizations and tell Iran and the world that unless Iran agrees to "unconditional surrender", the U.S. would join in Israel's attack on Iran, which is exactly what Trump ordered?
Did it work? You bet it did. It took the entire world's attention off the egg on Trump's face and onto the question of whether he was leading us into a nuclear war.
Since then, a long list of domestic political setbacks for Trump and his menagerie of political clowns and servile politicians became increasingly interspersed with threats of invading Venezuela, Mexico, and also of doggedly blowing up and murdering 60-61 people in 13-15 boats on the high seas off Latin and South America who were suspected of being drug traffickers, regardless of whether women or children were on board.
Have all these brutal attacks, threats of invasions, and sending one of our huge aircraft carriers into the waters off the coast of South America distracted the America people from the Trump family's huge grifting campaigns, Trump's demolition of the East Wing of the White House to build a ballroom to host his billionaire contributors, his use of blackmail to force the Democrats to vote for his bill to reduce medical care for the lower and middle classes, and from the efforts of the vast majority of Americans to force the opening of the Epstein files to the light of day?
Not exactly, but with CNN reporting today that Trump's approval rating has plummeted to an all-time low of 37%, Trump needs another big distraction, like another war.
And sending our paratroopers into Nigeria by portraying himself as The Last Great Crusader leading a Holy War against the infidels who are allegedly persecuting Christians in Nigeria is just what his MAGA cult and evangelical followers will eat up.
Our new Department of War, headed by a former celebrity newscaster and TV host, stands ready, willing and able to launch our military forces against whomever Trump has the sudden urge to attack
We may be missing the point that trump wants to start a war to distract from his failed presidency. It’s partially that, however take note how many times trump brings up the insurrection act. If they start a war, then voting goes out the window. If we cannot flip the House, we have fewer options to hold this megalomaniac accountable.
Your points Margaux are well taken. Trump is of the opinion that the First Amendment does not protect dissent or any criticism of "The Crown" which Trump considers treason and which would contribute to his ploy to invoke the Insurrection Act. Only recently (October 30, 2025) it was reported that "Donald Trump lashed out at Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer for calling his Asia trip a 'total dud,' labeling the remarks 'almost treasonous.'"
His attempts to “rile up the rubes” may fall a bit flat with those receiving their new health insurance quotes. I can only hope that his brand of populism is being exposed as an empty vessel. Love your writing. 👏
Thanks Gail.
L.D., this is my thought as well….Venezuela? War ships are amassing and the attacks on small alleged “drug boats” continue. Rhetoric and threats of war from this administration are in the air.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/trinidad-and-tobago-military-on-alert-amid-us-venezuela-tensions/articleshow/125102167.cms
Venezuela is asking other countries to provide support to protect itself against the US:
https://www.newsweek.com/putin-russia-venezuela-nuclear-capable-missiles-trump-oreshnik-10992202
Your reporting is great, wish Rupert agreed. Scream it from the rooftops…
Thanks JDinTX