Many of my friends are going to keep track of prices of things that their acquaintances have complained are too expensive starting in January, 2025 so that they can counter the expected lies about Trump conquering inflation.
They are also going to get a head start on postcards for 2026.
Many of my friends are going to keep track of prices of things that their acquaintances have complained are too expensive starting in January, 2025 so that they can counter the expected lies about Trump conquering inflation.
They are also going to get a head start on postcards for 2026.
I’m doing same and snapped a picture of a campaign sign in AZ saying, “Trump low prices, Kamala high prices”. Going to post each month on 4 items, eggs, milk, bread, crackers
You can show that to trumpets, but they will deny the truth of it. If prices don’t go down and tariffs cause higher prices, it won’t be his fault. It will be [fill in the blank]’s fault, most likely either Biden or Dems.
Agreed. I was working monitoring the ballot box on Election Day when this Republican woman working her table was preaching the Trump is our Savior speech.
I asked if I could ask her a question which she agreed. My first question was what she thought about Trump saying if elected he would be a dictator on day 1. Her response, “He never said that”. I said “Yes he did during an interview on Fox News. I was watching it at the time”. And you know where the conversation went from there. ~ Do you think Trump is sharing government secrets with Putin? No, Putin is another strong leader Trump needs to work with. Do you think Trump slept with Stormy Daniel’s? No, because she signed a NDA? Honestly, that response threw me for a loop. And finally when I asked her if she read Project 2025, she said she was aware of it. Then when I asked her about Trump using that as his playbook for this administration, her response was “He knows nothing about it”. I was shocked to see the effects of brain washing in real time.
At the end of the night when she got into her older car and drove away, the Universe (or my 3rd cup of coffee) reminded me of an article I read earlier about Auto Zone announcing they are already preparing for the Trump Tariffs and will be increasing their prices by almost 40%. That $5.00 light bulb just became $20 for the Trump Cheerleader.
But I don’t know if they are even going to realize what is coming is their fault. She asked me if I was better off during the Trump administration and I said no. It was COVID people were dying and Trump was lying telling people to drink bleach. I guess brain washing affects long term memory?
Maureen, I’m finding it curiously fascinating to engage MAGA with the same questions you raise, one at a time as I get the same nonsense you got. One of them questioned my facts as mere opinions that have been debunked
I started a barrage of video clips of Trump saying what I said he said. They either view the clips and go silent, or they don’t view cuz they fear “headexplody”
There exists an uncurious, illogical, undereducated and defiant mass of people who somehow get through life on the edges of a reality that of their own imaginations. The sequel to 1984 has to be “2024, You Willingly Obeyed”
I worked for many years as a Poll Worker in NYS. First thing, before the polls opened we posted signs 150 feet from the entrance stating that it is illegal to campaign in any manner at the polling site. This is especially true for Poll Workers and we were expected to monitor one another in this regard. If a voter had a problem a representative of both parties were required to assist the voter simultaneously. Your co-worker should have been removed from the site.
I think your experience confirms a conclusion of mine: When people talk about issues, they are most often rationalizing a decision already made on some other (often un-thought) grounds. Also, remember that all of us—including you and me—tend to reject facts that conflict with prior beliefs.
Check your math on the $5 light bulb if it goes up by 40%. Ten percent of $5.00 is fifty cents. . .
It is true that we will notice the tariffs. We certainly noticed when inflation was running 9%.
Before federal income tax was instituted in 1913, the government was paid for with tariffs. Now, thanks to Trump, we will pay income tax as well as the tariffs, too. His 2017 tax cut went mostly to the wealthy and corporations. We’ll see if it will be different this time, but I don’t expect it to be.
No, of course they won’t. If one is willing to give up personal agency in exchange for not having to think, then as soon as fox says it’s Biden’s fault, so saieth the Lord.
I am surprised you could talk politics at all during polling. I know they had the two BIG bosses one from each party. I just happened to know who the republican was because he had run for office in our town. A few people made some comments about how important this election was, but no one mentioned a candidate. I would give myself an Olympic Gold medal for keeping my mouth shut since I am a very avid democrat-because of research and totally against trump policies.
I did read, in another substack, that some retailers were already raising prices in anticipation of the coming tariffs. So that info will need to get out there as well, lest people think the rising prices are Biden's fault.
Do we get the impression this was all coordinated between the republicans & the corporations in order to convince trump's voters that he's always right? He learned well from Orban.
Prices on food will, I expect, rise, possibly exponentially, soon. Climate change and Republicans’ failure to recognize it and recommend price controls and some rationing of meat, will lead to the very rise in prices voters voted against.
Virginia, I am a gardener of many years in the Willamette Valley in Oregon and I can attest to climate change. I now have an olive tree that produces olives although I haven't done anything with them. In 2020 the wine crop was partially ruined by wildfire smoke and we have lots of wineries all over the valley and elsewhere. We try to buy local produce and always buy local meat. I am editing my garden helper's book which about gardening and sustainability. It is beautiful, but it will never happen when people like death star are in charge. She is also naive about politics and is one of those people who do not understand the politics is the art of the possible. Yesterday she had posted something about imperialism, capitalism, and revolution. No revolution is going to happen unfortunately and we will go on to destroy the planet. i understand where she is coming from and she is also gay which is one of those groups who are going to suffer mightily.
Trying to persuade a Trumpster/Trumpet with facts and reason is as useless as using the same with Muslims and Christians. Their beliefs are not based on facts and reason. They are "lost souls." The only recourse, if there is still one open, is to outvote them.
You forgot the Zionists. The MOST insane set of arrogant destructive beliefs they are putting into law. That, our taxes are supporting! Looks like this will be the start of WW3.
Anybody who believes in "god" could believe in anything.
I was curious where the cash goes that is paid on tariffs .
"Tariffs are taxes on foreign goods. These goods are produced in their home country and transported across the ocean. It’s only upon arrival at their destination that the tariff, or tax, is collected.
So Americans who will be paying inflated prices will be putting more tax money into the US General Fund. This will raise the retail price on all imported goods subject to tariffs. I wonder how many Trump voters know that.
Donald pretends he doesn’t know it. Tariffs are really a federal sales tax. The revenue can then be used to pay for the tax cuts the wealthy and corporations will be given. But Social Security and Medicare will still be underfunded, so benefits will need to be reduced, because it wouldn’t be fair to the wealthy to expect them to contribute more, because they are so awesome. Or something.
MLM. I was on a thread last night where the person (white male) among a bunch of grieving women said everything will be OK and it's just fear mongering. I did take him on and one point he said 2025 wasn't going to happen because both death star and JD had denied it. Just wow. Later on in the same thread was a lady who belonged to a Christian group who were praying that death star would lose. When he didn't, several gave up their faith because God had not answered their prayers . Double wow.
Just met one of my Trumpy neighbors tonight walking. She asked how I was, and I said grateful to live in such a beautiful spot and hopeful that he is able to make things better for all Americans. She said that it was a historic momentous election. I said she had 67 Million votes. She tossed it off and I asked if she thought that wasn't a large #. The answer was NO as she walked on. For others today like my long-time latina esthetician, we hugged after I said I was hopeful that he would make things better for all of us. It's a process.
That may well be true for some of the trump's minions; however, when the reality of dollars and cents hits the road, it's going to be very difficult, even for them, to deny the truth of what is happening in front of their faces, that is, for most of them. I was shopping through Costco this afternoon and thought to myself, if Trump is simply left alone, what are the chances that he would shoot himself in the foot. Let him hang himself with his own tariff rope and see how tight the knot gets. And then, here's another thought: I'd like to think that Trump may soften a bit since he's won commandingly. He lost the popular vote the 1st time around and was essentially saved by the electoral college; he then lost the second time around, but now, the third time, won handily in both categories of election methodology. Can it be possible that he has now satisfied his own ego and therefore can afford to let so much of his anger and authoritarianism go? I'm still at Costco; I'd better pay attention to the cash Register before I charge myself twice for what I bought. 🤦🤦
One thing’s for sure. I’m going to the Congo to find a beautiful female Bonobo and marry her and have a blended inter-species family. I’m getting the hell out of the human race.
Good idea, Bill, wish we Hubris sapiens (as I now call us) had a much greater % of Bonobo DNA….perhaps we’d be less hostile and more cooperative & take much better care of all that our “pale blue dot” contains.
How about posting the prices by schools and churches?
Or along fence rows in rural areas where the MAGAs are thick.
We also need to file petitions to revoke 501(c)3 status of churches that are political whether they support Trump or anyone. It's time we bring their hypocrisy out in the open. Check out https://ffrf.org. This is the Freedom From Religion Foundation. We also need to shop judges for any litigation. Biden has nominated around 215 Federal judges. We need to use the courts to uphold the Constitution. The Supreme Court has limited capacity to hear cases so we need to use the Federal Courts to stand up to the Trump administration and the radical Republican state governments.
This organization you mention is one that Ronald Reagan’s son, Ron Reagan, belongs to. He is an atheist, actually calls himself “an unabashed atheist who is not afraid of dying in hell”. Don’t know if you have seen the commercials he’s made but he praises young folks for abandoning their religions and getting away from Christian Nationalists.
Happy FFRF member here. They have a show on TV on Sunday mornings, and publish a newspaper with current events and court battles in support of separation of church and state.
Wonderful and important organization. I wish that I could give them more of my money. If I won a very large lottery, I would almost immediately put a good portion of my winnings into this organization which is trying to maintain civilization against the depredations of religion.
FFRF, although I agree with its message(s), is not going to move the needle. MOF, any increased presence of FFRF would work to decrease our chances of wading out of this hellish mess we are now in. Atheism is anethema to the people who just did what they did to our nation. Same can be said of increased LGBTQ rights. And to a certain extent abortion rights. Progressives have now seen what can happen in a country of religious and/or greedy ignoramuses who do not understand or choose not to even try to understand the full nature of today's issues. We have to figure out how to break through to such an electorate, and trying to convince them that there is no god in which to rely on nor a heaven to hope for (however factual) is going to get us nowhere. Nowhere. The German people woke up eventually to the evil of Hitler, but look what it took. Millions dead, a Eurorpe in tatters. I fear it is going to take some real harm to all of us for them to wake up.
I agree. And what kind of disaster will it take for the oblivious to wake up to the scientific consensus that our profligate use of fossil fuels is very rapidly - unnaturally rapidly - heating the surface of this planet? How many deaths from excessive heat? How many crop failures? How much damage from storms intensified by the horribly warmed ocean temperatures?
Just imagine taking away church’s’ status as tax exempt and then what the current Supreme Court would decide? We know their agenda. Even before the current justices, the SC allowed Hobby Lobby to not cover contraception for its employees. That’s like disallowing employees from buying pork if their employer was Jewish or Muslim.
With 6 Supreme Court justices supported by the cultish Opus Dei group (Leonard Leo, a leader, provided the names for Trump), they would be hard pressed to put their personal biases aside and find for the Constitution.
See Project25. And look up what Trump’s BFF and invited guest at Mar-a-Lago, Viktor Orbán has been doing in Hungary.
“On 3 April 2022, Viktor Orbán won his fourth straight election with his fourth straight supermajority in parliament that allows him to amend the constitution at will. This essay traces how he managed to do that. Orbán’s skillful use of the war in Ukraine and his major expansion of social benefits right before the election were important in that victory. But even more crucial were the rules of the game that Orbán established after his election victory in 2010, rules that have been constantly modified as the opposition has tried to work around the barriers that those rules erected. Hungary has already been demoted from democracy to autocracy by all democracy raters. This essay shows precisely why those rankings are right. As long as Orbán retains complete control over the rules that govern elections, he can remain in power indefinitely.”
I think the point Heather was trying to make above, with her references to rising state opposition, even by many Republican officials, to Trump’s proposed mass detainment of individuals, is that America is more likely to fall apart by state secession before it ever becomes a full on autocracy like Hungary. If Trump and Musk go on to try to deploy the US military against their own people by force majeure they will only be able to do that if they successfully split the military into those loyal to their rebel MAGA v those loyal to the US Constitution. Then they will find themselves in a full on civil war and good luck with politically delivering Project 2025 or anything else in such a chaotic and bloody arena.
I get the feeling that neither the complexities of US state history and its peoples or its federal and state legal guardrails are familiar territory to the self proclaimed twin geniuses of Trump & Musk.
As all Heather's readers know, (but I just can't help but not get it out of my mind),over the next year or 2 or 3 years,when positive economic results start showing with regards to what Biden implemented Trump will take all the credit and trumpians will say Trump did it. 🤨
That's what the MSM have been doing for the past four years. It's basic journalism - something newsrooms have abdicated in favour of criticizing Kamala's economic policies and support of transgender kids.
Good idea, Kevin. Why not make a website where you can update prices? Websites like Weebly are free and easy to use. Then you and others can send people the link. Maybe you and Julie Morrison could do it together?
A note from the little state of Vermont: We are among the developers of lab-grown meat, an alternative I hope will stop the slaughter. But Susan, one criticism from the right-wing/MAGA is that we are elitists in our pursuit of political and social correctness, especially if it crushes a livelihood such as cattle ranching. Of course, you are right, but offering an alternative is more helpful than prohibitions.
The marketing sleight of hand is to reduce the weight of the package but keep the same price!!! Example 12 oz bacon package same price as yesteryear’s pound of bacon; cereal boxes reduced content by several ounces but keep same price!
Love the word used to describe this: “Shrinkflation” (like an old Saturday Night Live bit “sniglets”, or the joining to two words to describe something. [One of my faves being “destinasia”, or “I forgot why I walked into this room”….something I do from time to time.]
We saw that sign all over NC when we visited in Oct. Simple minded. That and most Fox chyrons translate directly to "our guy good; your lady bad". Caveman-stupid. Yet it works for many.
Good idea, Julie. Why not make a website where you can continually update prices? Websites like Weebly are free and easy to use. Then you and others can send people the link. Maybe you and Kevin Robbins could do it together?
I would add butter to the list. Yesterday on "Morning Joe," there was a discussion of the price of butter which seemed to vary from about $7.00 to the $2-$3 range.
The consumer can willingly pay $7.00 for Kerrygold butter which is really the most delicious butter or pay way less for store brands and other producers. That is choice. What is more troubling is “ shrinkflation” on the shelves. Bacon at the same price but now 12 ounces instead of a pound or 12 ounces of pasta instead of a pound at the same price. But this is just a nit aIn the big picture altho I think we should keep tabs on inflation for sure. But real food price inflation.
Why? Do your friends really believe there will be another election? I mean , one that isn’t some kind of performative farce that would make even Orban blush?
Mike, As someone, through her local chapter, who already has signed on to the Resistance Movement launched yesterday by Indivisible Founder Ezra Levin in a Zoom call with some 100 grassroots organizers, I would urge none of us presume in advance there won’t be another free and fair election. Quoting from Lesson One in Timothy Snyder’s On Tyranny: “Most of the power of authoritarianism is freely given.”
@Barbara Jo Krieger So glad someone else was on that awesome call! Just a minor correction: there were 220 progressive groups involved. Quite uplifting.
Tammy, Regrettably, I wasn’t on the call. I only learned about it when meeting with my local chapter. Suffice it to say, for the past couple of years we trained ourselves and acquired the knowledge to exert, I dare say, a formidable (regrettably insufficient) impact on battleground races up and down the ballot. Now we’re poised to shift gears and learn how to contribute to the resistance.
It was recorded and they are starting training meetings tomorrow. I was on for a couple of hours and then needed to tend to pets, etc. but will finish listening tomorrow. One thing stood out, well, a lot of things did...Black women are in CHARGE! Heads of unions, the head of the NEA. Awesome people leading. I walked away with a new mantra from Becky Pringle: "We do not consent!" Very inspiring.
I was on that call also, and had to sign off after three hours. It was a so inspiring! Rep. Pramila Jayapal and Rep. Jamie Raskin spoke as well as countless others, the heads of Public Citizen and Move on and Indivisible. Yes, over 200 organizations! The host, Ash-Lee Woodard-Henderson did a brilliant job of leading us throughout the evening, highlighting what each speaker contributed. Judith Leblanc, a Movement Elder, was wonderful as well. They all were! "Mobilize" was the name of the event and it sure is happening. I am so encouraged by what I heard last night. So many people stepping up to the plate to be trained to hold gatherings all over America. The resistance has begun! We do not consent! I'm not sure of the final count, but I know there were over 150,000 people on the call.
Also: https://weareworthfightingfor.org/ had a video stream last night with (I swear they said it more than once, so I wasn’t mid-hearing it) *over 100,000* rsvps. I believe you can go to their website to watch it.
Swing Left. It focuses energies where it counts … getting the Democratic bite out in swingable districts. We don’t do work in red or blue dominated districts. And we never talk with Republicans, whose minds are illogical and immovable.
I got Timothy's call but was too overloaded with yadda yadda and medical follow ups. I'm right there wth you, Barb, but we have to catch up on our sleep and talk to our selves. We have time and too much useless ego driven BS is spewing everywhere. I'll be here with all of you serious folks.
Ransom, I agree we must take care of ourselves and one another. I suppose for me part of that care includes educating myself regarding what resistance actually entails.
Resistance is helped a lot when the wife of your state Attorney General is elected to Congress. The CA AG is Rob Bonta; his spouse is MIA BONTA.
MIA BONTA was just elected to CA Congressional District 18 with over 77% of the Vote. CA 18 has a long, long history of resistance going back to Civil Rights battles, the Vietnam War, the battle against AIDS (thank you that young 1980's AIDS activist Rachel Maddow) & the full spectrum of Women's health matters. MIA will be a very, very strong voice.
Thank you for that information; we lived in far northern CA until 10 years ago, always thankful for its “blueness”, esp now. I will follow Congresswomen Bonta now!
and let them try to shove a national wide ban on women's reproductive rights. All of the referendums on this topic have had majority wins, excepting Florida, which got 57%, just shy of the supermajority 60% Florida alone imposes on this one. Despite voters supporting these referendums, many of them voted for Trump anyway....
I fail to understand their reasoning on this….so they don’t like trump on abortion but everything else is okey-dokey?? Talk about voting against your interests…
And there is the reason we got here. Believing for just a moment that there will be another election is absurd. Snyder’s on Tyranny was the warning of what it looks like and how to avoid Tyranny. A WARNING of what HAS now happened.
We aren’t fighting to KEEP anything because it is gone. Tim need to write - “So you lost your democracy, what to do now for Dummies”
When I say, “The Archivist Needs to get the Bill of Rights and the Constitution and put them somewhere safe!” I mean it.
I think most of us here on this board are going to get a first-hand view of what it was like to be a German citizen in the 1930's who wasn't a Jew, Communist, homosexual, Gypsy, or Nazi.
I agree. And I am disappointed that HCR seems to be the only person amongst the journalists on the left (NYTimes columnists and Morning Joe, among others) not willing to acknowledge that Trump won "fair and square", thanks to the law that permits unlimited contributions to PACS. He didn't win; we lost. And it was appropriate to recognize and accept where we fell short.
Face it. There's a 'red sea' out there that is totally fed up with "black lives matter; End Asian Hate; LGBTQ+abcdefg; Shariah Law; Political Correctness; 'Assault weapon stigmas; wearing of burkas and face coverings; and stupid speed limits." All "libtard lunacy" in their unadulterated view. Their view. And, they clearly shellacked our ass. And, so far it appears the voting seems to have been valid. So, the overwhelming majority sees us as the problem. More childish behavior on our part isn't going to help. And, where are all the people who have benefitted from our efforts? Did they vote? Hell no.
Good morning, MR. You are right. While advocating for disadvantaged people, we have earned the title "Elitist." I think I will spend my left-wing energy on reframing, i.e., making statements of positivity rather than "don't be a racist, sexist, anti-trans. It has really turned people off.
were just two ways to get to the call and the follow up. Within a couple of hours there were sign-ups for close to 10,000 community gatherings across the nation.
Indevisible is on the mark. I've been with them for a while. Swing Left and Field Team Six have massive data bases to reach people to turn out. They all know each other.
Steve, I should have clarified when I wrote “signed on” I meant our local chapter, aware Ezra was zooming with other grassroots organizers, had agreed to contact Ezra for marching orders.
While I expect various groups (for example, Substack communities including Jessica Craven “Chop Wood, Carry Water,” Simon Rosenberg “Hopium Chronicles”, and Robert Hubbell “Today’s Edition Newsletter”) will be active in the emerging Resistance Movement, due both to my local connections and my understanding Ezra already is laser-focused, I have chosen Indivisible as my launch.
Welcome to the Resistance! Indivisible Twin Cities was a godsend this past election. Tough slog for me to go back to being really active in politics in retirement but a terrific group of well-organized folks. Your knowledge of law will be a great addition. Thanks for joining. All hands on deck!
Barbara Jo and Tammy, a neighbor mentioned that a friend from a swing state disparaged the cards and door knocking by people who would never be in her neighborhood if they weren’t asking for her vote. Since you may have the ear of the Indivisible leaders, please suggest that we do door knocking between elections—just 10 houses each to establish a relationship with the voters. We could ask what would be priorities if they were voting today and what actions they’d like to see their politicians take to fix things. With years of in-person polling, we’d have very valuable information for our candidates to address the issues and it wouldn’t be from just the people who like to participate in polls. Plus, when we ask those people to vote, we’d have the personal relationship so they’d be much more likely to listen to us.
Many agree and reported. When writing postcards many of us reported how the message we were writing wouldn’t have resonated with us were we receiving them, either. We feel heard now. More listening, more personal contact. Top on my mind is too many small, disconnected groups doing the same thing…need to be connected. EVERYONE onboard that we take a breath, a quick one, and get back to work. We need to be strong helpers when the rubber meets the road…when those who voted for this realize…. What is that moment going to be? The one that causes one to literally take to the streets?
Carole, can you get on FaceBook and ask that question? I think you'd find at least one person that way. I know there are like-minded folks in Helena, Missoula, Bozeman, Butte, Billings and elsewhere. I used to live in Froid in the far northeastern corner of the state. It sounds like you are isolated, and it's a big state. I know you can find companions on this journey!
I agree Mike. I haven't resigned myself to living in an authoritarian state, yet, because it's too heartbreaking to allow my mind to go there. But, I am a history buff and a realist. With the oligarchs at his side, and the free press silenced, this is not looking good for us. Too many people kept the "it can't happen here" mentality when we still had several avenues to fight it. The congress is his, and they have already said they are preparing to restart their ininvestigations, beginning with Hunter Biden. I'm sure they will leave the plan for the Cheney's, Clinton's & Obama's until after he takes power. 2025 is going to be an extremely difficult year for us to watch.
They will not leave. Even when they go after them, there are many in this country who will not tolerate that and that roar will be heard. News travels much faster than Hilter’s time. Proving they are criminals will be very difficult and then the base can really see,if they go after them, they will come after me. There will be push back. And if any one of them suddenly disappears or dies suspiciously Americans are still watching. Please don’t forget what HCR just provided clearly, there are strong Dem Governors in very populated states with influence. So my message is stop giving up already and prepare to defend.
Let's remember that only 30% of eligible voters voted for the grifter, and many who voted for the narcissist are oblivious and misinformed but they don't buy into many of the policies of MAGA and Project 2025, especially the more extreme ones. The MAGA crowd hates each other and is a back-stabbing bunch. I expect chaos and inefficiency. We are not alone.
I want them to deny trump the pleasure of going after them. Interesting (and terrifying) that the Obamas are at the very top of his enemies list.
I know narcissists and how they operate. Right now he is on a narcissist's high. In a few months he will need another fix for his sick ego. This is when the rage will set in and the retributions begin. Miller and Bannon will stoke this because they are mentally ill and practice cruelty.
I'll be happy to think and act against him in any way I can. But, understand the traditional avenues of fighting will be gone. We won't even be permitted to peacefully protested, let alone publish critical thought pieces that critize him. Let's not forget he told us to just vote one more time and then we won't ever have to vote again. That was our most effective weapon of all and we just gave it up.
I saw a comment yesterday online saying that Biden should resign now. Kamala will become President and can declare martial law and arrest Trump for his many criminal acts. The new Supreme Court Executive Permission should cover her acts nicely.
Please do not put words in my mouth. Do not twist what I said to support your position. I am far, far from wanting to play word salad games today. And I can't stand emojis.
Technically Hitler staged a coup in the Reichstag and as the Leader of the majority he snuck in to Chancellorship by threat not vote.
But the German people swooned in delight of his threatening revenge for getting stabbed in the back by world Jewry and losing WWI.
America has stronger institutions and state powers to resist being incorporated into pogroms.
I think well informed Stoicism, faith in existing institutions and reliance of Trump’s aversion to mass protests and low ratings to dilute the impending disasters..
Christopher Colles, while I understand your snark in this comment, and I even hear your frustration seeping through, we are all trying to process through this Mindfuck. Trying to clarify concrete actions to take going forward is what I read everyone trying to do, with what scrap of sanity they are holding onto at the moment.
Because it matters, please get that MILLIONS of Americans just worked their butts off to elect Harris/Walz. We gave our all. Snark and a big “I told you so” is the last thing we need.
We are regrouping. But we need a minute because we are bleeding. I was on a Zoom call last night with 100,000+ folks talking about next steps. We’ll be resisting. In the meantime, Christopher, head over to Threads and look at the Thread Emotional Support Canadians just as one example of people who don’t live here sending love and support to Americans. That helped me understand that folks around the world are concerned and willing to support us. Not kick us when we are already down.
Like MLRGRMI, I understand your snark. There’s truth in it.
Not today. Offer concrete solutions or just pat us on the back. We’re aren’t done yet. But snark won’t help anything. If we’re still focused on minutiae in six months, have at it.
It is something we can do. Doing something, even something small, helps. You cannot roll up your sleeves if you’re wringing your hands. This is scary stuff. The thought of “governance “ by fear, hate, lies , and greed is beyond terrifying. But fear and vengeance are their game. If we buy into this we lose once more.
I totally hear you on this, but I do believe a lot of his low info (deliberately) voters voted because of grocery prices being higher than precovid, since they don’t look beyond themselves.
And as long as everyone stays mad and engaged we have a chance, any fight is a worthy one.
It's interesting that anyone's upset about grocery prices being higher than 4 years ago when it's quite typical for grocery prices to go up regularly just like everything else. And with bird flu on top of Covid, eggs are $5/dozen instead of $3/dozen, etc.
If we think that...we give up. We need to keep our eyes open and take a page out of their book....jam up EVERY thing we can. It will require a different kind of work. It will require everyone to take action....we can do it!
I read that retailers are already starting to mark up prices in anticipation of tariffs. In other words, price gouging at a minimum and cartel collusion at the worst.
Yes, it's true. I went to the grocery store yesterday after work and was , I can't say surprised anymore, but disgusted by several items that jumped in price from last week. Blueberries that were $4.99/quart are now $7.99/quart. Milk jumped from $2.79/gallon to $3.09/gallon. Spaghetti sauce went from .99/jar to $1.29/jar.
This was at Wegmans in DeWitt NY. Both the milk and spaghetti sauce were store brand. I should be clear, the difference is not because of a weekly ad, they don't offer weekly discounts.
I think we should make a stand with pricing like we did with gas prices -- we know price gouging when we see it. We can buy something else or do something else with our money, including saving it for a better price once retailers need to sell something. Fewer dollars chasing goods makes goods cheaper.
From Mother Jones: Why did DJT Win In 2024?: Wealth inequality.
There is little that leaves people as pissed off and frustrated as the feeling that no matter how hard they work, they can’t ever seem to get ahead. And this feeling has been slowly festering since the 1980s, when Ronald Reagan and his cadre of supply-side economists launched the first salvos in what would become the great fucking-over of the American middle and working classes.
he frustration was evident in something two very different women in two very different states told me on the very same day in 2022 for a story on how America spends hundreds of
billions of dollars a year subsidizing retirement plans mostly for rich people: “I’m going to have to work until I die.”
The great fucking-over commenced with President Reagan’s gutting of unions and the wealth-friendly tax cuts he signed into law in 1981 and 1986. The trend continued with George W. Bush’s tax cuts in 2001 and 2003, and culminated with the Trump tax cuts of 2017—which, like all of those other Republican initiatives, failed to generate the degreee of growth and prosperity the supply-siders promised. They did, however, make the rich richer as wages stagnated and the middle class shriveled.
We talk a lot about income inequality, but wealth and income are different beasts. Income is what pays your bills. Wealth is your security—and in that regard, most American families are just not feeling sufficiently secure.
Elon Musk is now building an absolutely Massive A.I. Facility.... A.I. is now starting to displace many Knowledge Workers... Elon Absolutely Has No Hesitation In Firing People... It is Elon's Fevered Opium Dream to Shred the U.S. Government....
I suspect Musk does not see himself shredding anything. He was raised in a wealthy white family in apartheid South Africa. I was there for a few months back in 1978 with a production team attempting to revive the all Black musical about a famous Soweto boxer called King Kong. It gave me an insight into the political complexities on the ground as well as a take on privileged white families like the Musks.Culturally the family have all the hallmarks of being old style British imperialists. Complete with unquestioned prejudices of both race and class. Perceiving the world as being a constant battle between other imperialists but taking for granted that everyone else outside their class are menial worthless nobodies. So his contempt and cruelty towards his workers is a given. However, they do not see themselves as racist because they will have no trouble with any race if they are of the same wealthy caste that they come from. I do not believe Musk or Murdoch (another British Empire Nepo baby) are capable of understanding the lived historical complexities of the Enlightenment egalitarianism of America.
A very clear analysis.i have watched how America has defined and divided itself by wealth since the 1980s. I’m going to spend much of today rereading Timothy Snyder’s On Freedom.it is helping me better understand what’s happening. Also, my folks were from Ohio and were smart, decent, sensible people who valued education highly. I was delighted to learn that Timothy Snyder also grew up in Ohio.. A welcome contrast to Vance and Jordan.
Thanks Monnina.... Reagan, who was a Faux Populist started this latest Cultural War with his Worship of the Trappings of Wealth... I remember the 1980's as the 'Greed Is Good' Decade... The 1980's were DJT's Peak... Now because of the Democrat's abandonment of those that Work For A Living, we have a 2nd DJT Admin... This change in DNC was begun by Clinton, and furthered by Obama... DJT has picked up this seething by watching FOX News... DJT is a self-centered Nihilist that worships $$$... We do indeed have 2nd Gilded Age... The Oligarch's now want to openly Rule-The-World, and be wORSHIPPED for their SuperHuman Brilliance...
I've been saying pretty much the same thing for several years now. I really think that we Dems did this to ourselves. There is a lot of hard data to support the notion that since Reagan, there has been a pretty effective war waged against the least well off in the U.S.
There have been many contributing factors, which include the loss of defined benefit plans; the rise in the cost of higher education; free trade shifted a lot of small firm manufacturing jobs over seas; the EPA's changing policies on CAFE standards have disadvantaged the domestic auto industry (a very complex story); the trend in almost every industry to try to get consumers into some sort of subscription service which is just awful in terms of its impact on household budgets and the capacity for discretionary spending; targeted advertising has become way too effective for household budget management; this list can go on.
Through all of this, Dems have been largely silent on the economic devastation, with the major exception of some valiant efforts to reign in healthcare costs. Then there has been the rhetoric that has poured acid into these economic wounds. When people are angry, they become mad at the world, and we have largely responded by saying mean things in return. Perhaps the worst was Hillary's gaffe about the deplorables, but Kamala's gaffe about not being able think of anything that should have been done differently was almost as bad. At the everyday grass roots levels we tend to counter hate speech with vitriol of our own, when when a little calming empathy about the underlying economic rage that drives it would be more effective.
Most of the hurt the Dems are feeling this week are from self inflicted wounds. And, if you look at the any of the several maps of the distribution of wealth, education, median household income, median home prices, etc. by state, they all pretty much mirror Tuesday's electoral vote map. There is a painful reality to the epithet that the Rs throw at Dems when they call us elitist. The data supports their perceptions. And just to underscore the point, there were plenty of Trump signs on the recent picket lines at Boeing. That would have been unthinkable a few decades ago.
Oh, and one of the more common recent slogans among Dems needs to be reconsidered in the light of total economy. Since when does anyone have a right to the services of a lower (meaning economically less well off) class of people? The elitist shoe fits a lot better than we would like.
If the old coalition is ever to be rebuilt and the Dems are to ever regain governing leadership, then our approach and rhetoric must change, and fast.
Stop with the Dem vitriol. Repubs have done enough of that for decades. Joe was the hero for working class. Repubs are evil, Dems are imperfect. Bottom line.
JD: spot on! Dems not recognizing how deep racism and misogyny go should be a huge issue. However, how the reps exploit the grievances of the working class in a totally unfair way cannot be minimized. Add to it the outside influences of disinformation and you end up with what we have.
Not only that, but so-called Democrat administrations have been often hampered by Republican Congresses, barely getting through skeletons of their original proposals and then seeing those proposals get smaller and smaller budgets.
It's still difficult to believe that people can be so evil that they take an oath to uphold the Constitution and simultaneously act against it, that they could hate so much that they promoted evil thinking and actions -- violence and fraud and cruelty. The lure of capitalism and evangelicalism led to the poisoned prize. It feels like family members did something evil....
I think you're on to something here. Starting the Clinton dems went all in on courting corporate money. and this is where we have arrived. What baffles me is that the repubs are actually doing their best to transfer massive wealth upward while stoking the rage of the working folks, and convincing them it's all the fault of the dems - mind boggling...
Agreed. The Democrat elite fail to understand the working class situation. Start with the free trade acts. Disaster for millions as all better paying jobs vanished and gutted communities. Textile industry in NC, steel in Midwest, auto—- the list goes on. Plus the bailout of banks BUT not homeowners in the Lehman Bros etc meltdown. The list is almost endless.
Many mistakes including not calling out the repubs when they lie but that alone is a 24/7 job. The other is the lack of education and critical thinking. People have shut down and would rather binge some crap on line rather then learning the truth.
I think this is true, but it requires some analysis. The hatred is nuanced and not uniform. Hatred of any kind tends to stem from pain. This is not universal, but it is common enough that we should focus more on the causes than the symptoms. All that Dems need is about a 5% shift in voting behavior to get back in the saddle. And realistically, something along the lines of 10-20% should be achievable. A little more empathy and a lot of focused messaging on that should do the trick. Think of FDR's fireside chats. It's hard to ignore the vitriol coming our way, but if we are to survive this, that is exactly what is required. The urge to respond in kind is powerful. We need to work super hard to not fall into that trap.
Careful to not blame the victims. The shock of the meltdown was sufficient to allow Republicans to change the subject so their policies didn't get the scrutiny or judgement they deserved. Yes, Democrats were weak -- and divided, as usual, by the factions who seem to insist that all grievances are equal and must be dealt with simultaneously -- but weakness is the victim's condition. Evil took advantage, deliberately, of the situation they created to sabotage efforts to recover. Remember the Republican refusal to increase the budget....
There is a group called Braver Angels that is committed to facilitating dialogue between people of opposing views. I’ve just started checking them out since they kept popping up on my radar. Are doing interesting work including developing listening skills which we all need right now.
The huge problem is the working poor have no knowledge of the history of what was done to them or by who...This is the problem we faced and failed to communicate...
NO NO NO. They know exactly WHO you are and they want no part of it.
No one wants a loud mouth sanctimonous leftist talking down to them and calling them a racist or sexist if they don't vote the right way.
They don't need you to "EXPLAIN" history to them. They know that butter costs $7 when it used to cost $3.
They don't want 25% inflation, millions streaming across the border. They don't want billions spent on stupid wars, and they don't want men showering with their daughters.
THey completely get your condescending attitude and they let you know how felt about it on Tuesday. They gave you the middle finger.
What in the hell are you talking about. Focus like a laser.
Since 2020 Gasoline is 35.9%
Groceries are up 25.8%
Housing (rent) is up 26%
You cant lie or bullshit your way out of facts. Don’t try and pass some psuedo intellectual idea as truth. It just makes you look like a phony and an idiot.
*Apache, I've not read 'Mother Jones' recently. Is your post a 'copy and paste' of an article by them ? It's plainly an overview summary of the main problem to my mind, but not broken down into contributing failures. Do you have a link for this ? Thanks....
The grocery chains are owned by only a few businesses in this country. They made billions of dollars in profits over the previous year this past year. This tells me that they are artificially inflating prices to control the outcome of this election. If this is true, they can now lower prices, exponentially having made a fortune last year.
I used to share this perception, and to an extent it is valid. But, there is another reality. Supply chains are the major driver of costs for grocers and other retailers. Even for the smaller chains or one-offs, they have to deal with a large supply chain services provider. AG is an example, but there are a couple others. As long as there are four or five major grocery supply chain operators, there is significant competition in this area of cost.
There is another unpleasant reality about the nature of supply chain costs. Large producers also have a significant cost advantage. This actually tends to result in lower prices at the point of retails sales. This reality has been devastating for small town America. I once heard a right leaning economist make the observation that small towns have become obsolete because of consolidation in the food production businesses. We liberals like to argue for healthier choices from small producers, organic everything, and so on. Those are all fine arguments with solid supporting data, so long as that data ignores cost. In terms of our messaging on these topics, we really have come across as being blind to the cost and personal finance issues faced by less well off.
The fact is, inflation numbers do not help our cause when gas and other basics have such high costs. That the administration can only do so much about those higher costs also does not help.
1. Low inflation doesn't matter if prices stay high.
2. The administration CAN do "something" about high prices. But Old Guard Corporate Democrats won't do anything because it means going after the corporate elite.
3. The Democrats lost because of the Corporate Old Guard like Biden, Pelosi, Obama, Clyburn, Schumer and more. Their arrogance and stupidity resulted in this disaster.
Inflation lie was shred bare by less than 3% rate due to Biden’s miraculous management that rebounded the dismal economy from the amoral creature’s 4 years!
When supermarket prices increase, the magas will whale ‘it’s not orange man’s fault’!
Great beginning of resistance. But we should also organize a protest against our legal system that has allowed a criminal to be President, criminal including Jan 6 insurrection.
To be sure, the incoming POTUS' minions are encouraging firms to raise prices fast and furious, so they will show in the inflation numbers in Nov/Dec. -- therefore nominally on Biden's watch. That will then be the baseline for the incoming "administration." Companies get a few extra months of egregious profits before new tariff and other anti-consumer actions are put in place.
They've already credited Trump's win with the rise in the stock market. He gets the credit, but -- it seems -- not any blame. 'Course he screams like a baby when he gets any kind of bad press.... The press act like parents who don't want to discipline their child.
I have already noticed that the prices of some items have returned to their pre-inflation prices.
Also, during inflation butter went from 456 grams per "pound" package to 400 grams (I bake using a metric scale). At least some brands have returned to 456 grams.
That’s terrific. Simon Rosenberg is going to use the term opposition rather than resistance going forward. We are the loyal opposition. We’ve got work to do.
Out of curiousity, that is a good idea. I might do just that. My husband went to put gas in his old Toyota van that he had been using to GOTV - and just when he finished, the gas prices went UP. There you go.
Many of my friends are going to keep track of prices of things that their acquaintances have complained are too expensive starting in January, 2025 so that they can counter the expected lies about Trump conquering inflation.
They are also going to get a head start on postcards for 2026.
I’m doing same and snapped a picture of a campaign sign in AZ saying, “Trump low prices, Kamala high prices”. Going to post each month on 4 items, eggs, milk, bread, crackers
I’d thought of doing that with eggs, milk and gasoline. Should be widely posted. Maybe one of MSNBC shows or late night comedy would carry it.
Sounds great. But we know those who voted for this debacle don’t watch MSNBC or late night comedy shows. Put this stuff where they can see it.
You can show that to trumpets, but they will deny the truth of it. If prices don’t go down and tariffs cause higher prices, it won’t be his fault. It will be [fill in the blank]’s fault, most likely either Biden or Dems.
Agreed. I was working monitoring the ballot box on Election Day when this Republican woman working her table was preaching the Trump is our Savior speech.
I asked if I could ask her a question which she agreed. My first question was what she thought about Trump saying if elected he would be a dictator on day 1. Her response, “He never said that”. I said “Yes he did during an interview on Fox News. I was watching it at the time”. And you know where the conversation went from there. ~ Do you think Trump is sharing government secrets with Putin? No, Putin is another strong leader Trump needs to work with. Do you think Trump slept with Stormy Daniel’s? No, because she signed a NDA? Honestly, that response threw me for a loop. And finally when I asked her if she read Project 2025, she said she was aware of it. Then when I asked her about Trump using that as his playbook for this administration, her response was “He knows nothing about it”. I was shocked to see the effects of brain washing in real time.
At the end of the night when she got into her older car and drove away, the Universe (or my 3rd cup of coffee) reminded me of an article I read earlier about Auto Zone announcing they are already preparing for the Trump Tariffs and will be increasing their prices by almost 40%. That $5.00 light bulb just became $20 for the Trump Cheerleader.
But I don’t know if they are even going to realize what is coming is their fault. She asked me if I was better off during the Trump administration and I said no. It was COVID people were dying and Trump was lying telling people to drink bleach. I guess brain washing affects long term memory?
I’m terrified about what is to come.
Maureen, I’m finding it curiously fascinating to engage MAGA with the same questions you raise, one at a time as I get the same nonsense you got. One of them questioned my facts as mere opinions that have been debunked
I started a barrage of video clips of Trump saying what I said he said. They either view the clips and go silent, or they don’t view cuz they fear “headexplody”
There exists an uncurious, illogical, undereducated and defiant mass of people who somehow get through life on the edges of a reality that of their own imaginations. The sequel to 1984 has to be “2024, You Willingly Obeyed”
I worked for many years as a Poll Worker in NYS. First thing, before the polls opened we posted signs 150 feet from the entrance stating that it is illegal to campaign in any manner at the polling site. This is especially true for Poll Workers and we were expected to monitor one another in this regard. If a voter had a problem a representative of both parties were required to assist the voter simultaneously. Your co-worker should have been removed from the site.
I think your experience confirms a conclusion of mine: When people talk about issues, they are most often rationalizing a decision already made on some other (often un-thought) grounds. Also, remember that all of us—including you and me—tend to reject facts that conflict with prior beliefs.
Check your math on the $5 light bulb if it goes up by 40%. Ten percent of $5.00 is fifty cents. . .
It is true that we will notice the tariffs. We certainly noticed when inflation was running 9%.
Before federal income tax was instituted in 1913, the government was paid for with tariffs. Now, thanks to Trump, we will pay income tax as well as the tariffs, too. His 2017 tax cut went mostly to the wealthy and corporations. We’ll see if it will be different this time, but I don’t expect it to be.
Sorry, but the bulb would be $7.00, not $20.00. I get your point though
No, of course they won’t. If one is willing to give up personal agency in exchange for not having to think, then as soon as fox says it’s Biden’s fault, so saieth the Lord.
I am surprised you could talk politics at all during polling. I know they had the two BIG bosses one from each party. I just happened to know who the republican was because he had run for office in our town. A few people made some comments about how important this election was, but no one mentioned a candidate. I would give myself an Olympic Gold medal for keeping my mouth shut since I am a very avid democrat-because of research and totally against trump policies.
Maureen. me too!
You seem baffled by the concept of “joke.” Well, I suppose humor is one of the many things that progressivism deems to be…problematic.
Exactly! Meanwhile chump enterprises will reap billions annually! BILLIONS!
I did read, in another substack, that some retailers were already raising prices in anticipation of the coming tariffs. So that info will need to get out there as well, lest people think the rising prices are Biden's fault.
Do we get the impression this was all coordinated between the republicans & the corporations in order to convince trump's voters that he's always right? He learned well from Orban.
Prices on food will, I expect, rise, possibly exponentially, soon. Climate change and Republicans’ failure to recognize it and recommend price controls and some rationing of meat, will lead to the very rise in prices voters voted against.
Virginia, I am a gardener of many years in the Willamette Valley in Oregon and I can attest to climate change. I now have an olive tree that produces olives although I haven't done anything with them. In 2020 the wine crop was partially ruined by wildfire smoke and we have lots of wineries all over the valley and elsewhere. We try to buy local produce and always buy local meat. I am editing my garden helper's book which about gardening and sustainability. It is beautiful, but it will never happen when people like death star are in charge. She is also naive about politics and is one of those people who do not understand the politics is the art of the possible. Yesterday she had posted something about imperialism, capitalism, and revolution. No revolution is going to happen unfortunately and we will go on to destroy the planet. i understand where she is coming from and she is also gay which is one of those groups who are going to suffer mightily.
Trump campaigned on tariffs on all imports. Does “all” include food, produce? I haven’t checked, but do we get any bananas from Puerto Rico?
Trying to persuade a Trumpster/Trumpet with facts and reason is as useless as using the same with Muslims and Christians. Their beliefs are not based on facts and reason. They are "lost souls." The only recourse, if there is still one open, is to outvote them.
You forgot the Zionists. The MOST insane set of arrogant destructive beliefs they are putting into law. That, our taxes are supporting! Looks like this will be the start of WW3.
Anybody who believes in "god" could believe in anything.
I was curious where the cash goes that is paid on tariffs .
"Tariffs are taxes on foreign goods. These goods are produced in their home country and transported across the ocean. It’s only upon arrival at their destination that the tariff, or tax, is collected.
In the United States, this means a custom official collects the fee from the American business or American customer and that fee then goes to the U.S. Treasury." https://www.abc10.com/article/news/who-pays-for-tariffs-and-where-does-the-money-go/103-cba331c8-7c83-41a0-966e-080214addaed
So Americans who will be paying inflated prices will be putting more tax money into the US General Fund. This will raise the retail price on all imported goods subject to tariffs. I wonder how many Trump voters know that.
Donald pretends he doesn’t know it. Tariffs are really a federal sales tax. The revenue can then be used to pay for the tax cuts the wealthy and corporations will be given. But Social Security and Medicare will still be underfunded, so benefits will need to be reduced, because it wouldn’t be fair to the wealthy to expect them to contribute more, because they are so awesome. Or something.
MLM. I was on a thread last night where the person (white male) among a bunch of grieving women said everything will be OK and it's just fear mongering. I did take him on and one point he said 2025 wasn't going to happen because both death star and JD had denied it. Just wow. Later on in the same thread was a lady who belonged to a Christian group who were praying that death star would lose. When he didn't, several gave up their faith because God had not answered their prayers . Double wow.
Project 2025 has already started....The SCOTUS: No choice for women, and No crime if "official act' by POTUS.
That is what he will say. In reality this time around he can say nothing. It's the middle class problem
Just met one of my Trumpy neighbors tonight walking. She asked how I was, and I said grateful to live in such a beautiful spot and hopeful that he is able to make things better for all Americans. She said that it was a historic momentous election. I said she had 67 Million votes. She tossed it off and I asked if she thought that wasn't a large #. The answer was NO as she walked on. For others today like my long-time latina esthetician, we hugged after I said I was hopeful that he would make things better for all of us. It's a process.
That may well be true for some of the trump's minions; however, when the reality of dollars and cents hits the road, it's going to be very difficult, even for them, to deny the truth of what is happening in front of their faces, that is, for most of them. I was shopping through Costco this afternoon and thought to myself, if Trump is simply left alone, what are the chances that he would shoot himself in the foot. Let him hang himself with his own tariff rope and see how tight the knot gets. And then, here's another thought: I'd like to think that Trump may soften a bit since he's won commandingly. He lost the popular vote the 1st time around and was essentially saved by the electoral college; he then lost the second time around, but now, the third time, won handily in both categories of election methodology. Can it be possible that he has now satisfied his own ego and therefore can afford to let so much of his anger and authoritarianism go? I'm still at Costco; I'd better pay attention to the cash Register before I charge myself twice for what I bought. 🤦🤦
Likely will be Obama's fault.
How about the bugles, trombones, and French horns? What’s their take on tariffs…?
One thing’s for sure. I’m going to the Congo to find a beautiful female Bonobo and marry her and have a blended inter-species family. I’m getting the hell out of the human race.
Good idea, Bill, wish we Hubris sapiens (as I now call us) had a much greater % of Bonobo DNA….perhaps we’d be less hostile and more cooperative & take much better care of all that our “pale blue dot” contains.
Barbara Keating -- Thank you for "Hubris sapiens"!! You deserve some sort of Pulitzer prize for that one!
Fight fight fight.
I think that would be good for you Bill. However. Bonobos should make a law banning mating with the most destructive animal on the planet.
I would suggest in front of their houses but there are too many of them..🫣
if trump wants to be like other authoritarians, he’ll put an end to any public opposition
How about posting the prices by schools and churches?
Or along fence rows in rural areas where the MAGAs are thick.
We also need to file petitions to revoke 501(c)3 status of churches that are political whether they support Trump or anyone. It's time we bring their hypocrisy out in the open. Check out https://ffrf.org. This is the Freedom From Religion Foundation. We also need to shop judges for any litigation. Biden has nominated around 215 Federal judges. We need to use the courts to uphold the Constitution. The Supreme Court has limited capacity to hear cases so we need to use the Federal Courts to stand up to the Trump administration and the radical Republican state governments.
This organization you mention is one that Ronald Reagan’s son, Ron Reagan, belongs to. He is an atheist, actually calls himself “an unabashed atheist who is not afraid of dying in hell”. Don’t know if you have seen the commercials he’s made but he praises young folks for abandoning their religions and getting away from Christian Nationalists.
Happy FFRF member here. They have a show on TV on Sunday mornings, and publish a newspaper with current events and court battles in support of separation of church and state.
That commercial breaks me up every time. I am with him, despite his contemptible father.
Yes, I heard Ron Reagan Jr.s commercials a lot during the last couple of months.
Wonderful and important organization. I wish that I could give them more of my money. If I won a very large lottery, I would almost immediately put a good portion of my winnings into this organization which is trying to maintain civilization against the depredations of religion.
Yes, yes, one of my pet peeves is the flagrant misuse of the church's exempt status.
FFRF, although I agree with its message(s), is not going to move the needle. MOF, any increased presence of FFRF would work to decrease our chances of wading out of this hellish mess we are now in. Atheism is anethema to the people who just did what they did to our nation. Same can be said of increased LGBTQ rights. And to a certain extent abortion rights. Progressives have now seen what can happen in a country of religious and/or greedy ignoramuses who do not understand or choose not to even try to understand the full nature of today's issues. We have to figure out how to break through to such an electorate, and trying to convince them that there is no god in which to rely on nor a heaven to hope for (however factual) is going to get us nowhere. Nowhere. The German people woke up eventually to the evil of Hitler, but look what it took. Millions dead, a Eurorpe in tatters. I fear it is going to take some real harm to all of us for them to wake up.
I agree. And what kind of disaster will it take for the oblivious to wake up to the scientific consensus that our profligate use of fossil fuels is very rapidly - unnaturally rapidly - heating the surface of this planet? How many deaths from excessive heat? How many crop failures? How much damage from storms intensified by the horribly warmed ocean temperatures?
Just imagine taking away church’s’ status as tax exempt and then what the current Supreme Court would decide? We know their agenda. Even before the current justices, the SC allowed Hobby Lobby to not cover contraception for its employees. That’s like disallowing employees from buying pork if their employer was Jewish or Muslim.
Cathy,
With 6 Supreme Court justices supported by the cultish Opus Dei group (Leonard Leo, a leader, provided the names for Trump), they would be hard pressed to put their personal biases aside and find for the Constitution.
But as Timothy Snyder says “Don’t obey in advance”
His cronies will, make no mistake. They are ready
They been getting ready for years.
Indeed they have, already got our media cowed.
How?
See Project25. And look up what Trump’s BFF and invited guest at Mar-a-Lago, Viktor Orbán has been doing in Hungary.
“On 3 April 2022, Viktor Orbán won his fourth straight election with his fourth straight supermajority in parliament that allows him to amend the constitution at will. This essay traces how he managed to do that. Orbán’s skillful use of the war in Ukraine and his major expansion of social benefits right before the election were important in that victory. But even more crucial were the rules of the game that Orbán established after his election victory in 2010, rules that have been constantly modified as the opposition has tried to work around the barriers that those rules erected. Hungary has already been demoted from democracy to autocracy by all democracy raters. This essay shows precisely why those rankings are right. As long as Orbán retains complete control over the rules that govern elections, he can remain in power indefinitely.”
https://www.journalofdemocracy.org/articles/how-viktor-orban-wins/
I think the point Heather was trying to make above, with her references to rising state opposition, even by many Republican officials, to Trump’s proposed mass detainment of individuals, is that America is more likely to fall apart by state secession before it ever becomes a full on autocracy like Hungary. If Trump and Musk go on to try to deploy the US military against their own people by force majeure they will only be able to do that if they successfully split the military into those loyal to their rebel MAGA v those loyal to the US Constitution. Then they will find themselves in a full on civil war and good luck with politically delivering Project 2025 or anything else in such a chaotic and bloody arena.
I get the feeling that neither the complexities of US state history and its peoples or its federal and state legal guardrails are familiar territory to the self proclaimed twin geniuses of Trump & Musk.
The game plan, they made it clear. The rules have changed.
There are no new ideas just new players.
https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/film/annexation-of-austria-1?fbclid=IwY2xjawGasVBleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHYJ07J5dDc5rSRwiPJL77nBdwaSsxqnlE4KUoo6EAaGRnkp3914cpjiS5w_aem_GVT2PZ6Um0hT1mG7f68_0w&sfnsn=mo
Expect the same here....😪
🤬
He is planning to make school teachings more "patriotic". Like slavery was a good thing.
How many of us will obey in advance?
As all Heather's readers know, (but I just can't help but not get it out of my mind),over the next year or 2 or 3 years,when positive economic results start showing with regards to what Biden implemented Trump will take all the credit and trumpians will say Trump did it. 🤨
Omg- I had the same thought about tracking the cost of food and gas! Can we do a Facebook page??
Count me in
Can someone find out where to track individual items in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) food group index?
That's what the MSM have been doing for the past four years. It's basic journalism - something newsrooms have abdicated in favour of criticizing Kamala's economic policies and support of transgender kids.
TV news stations should post the increases with the Dow Jones avg
Good idea, Kevin. Why not make a website where you can update prices? Websites like Weebly are free and easy to use. Then you and others can send people the link. Maybe you and Julie Morrison could do it together?
.
Have you considered including a pound of hamburger and yellow onions?
Sure, but people really need to stop eating beef. Huge contributor to our climate problem globally
I do not eat anything that nurses her babies.
A note from the little state of Vermont: We are among the developers of lab-grown meat, an alternative I hope will stop the slaughter. But Susan, one criticism from the right-wing/MAGA is that we are elitists in our pursuit of political and social correctness, especially if it crushes a livelihood such as cattle ranching. Of course, you are right, but offering an alternative is more helpful than prohibitions.
I understand your concern and position on meat consumption. The majority of Americans still eat meat daily
I keep a flock of chickens(30)...so maybe I'll include the price of feed.
Great idea!
All meats will increase in price. The meat packing companies will lose their employees.
No, Trump's plan is to fill those jobs with minors... project 2025
Hear that McDonalds?
Maybe include the price of beer.
The marketing sleight of hand is to reduce the weight of the package but keep the same price!!! Example 12 oz bacon package same price as yesteryear’s pound of bacon; cereal boxes reduced content by several ounces but keep same price!
No, it's to reduce the size and RAISE the price. It makes me so damned mad.
Love the word used to describe this: “Shrinkflation” (like an old Saturday Night Live bit “sniglets”, or the joining to two words to describe something. [One of my faves being “destinasia”, or “I forgot why I walked into this room”….something I do from time to time.]
I loved sniglets! I used to have the book.
~ 'Waftic' when the smoke of a campfire always drifts towards you, no matter where you sit.
I work in a grocery store and I've noticed most products are reducing the content weight/ size while increasing the cost
Toilet paper?
I'm sure prices across the country vary for the same products. It would be interesting to compare these products prices.
Excellent idea, Jenn! And Doritos, moon pies, RC Cola!
We saw that sign all over NC when we visited in Oct. Simple minded. That and most Fox chyrons translate directly to "our guy good; your lady bad". Caveman-stupid. Yet it works for many.
My daughter posted a very good reel yesterday by a young, southern male comedian she follows. He really nailed it.
Trae Crowder? He's great.
Susan, what is the name of the comedian?
Should add cat food to the list because that is what some seniors will be eating after trump/musk "save" our Social Security.
great idea.
Good idea, Julie. Why not make a website where you can continually update prices? Websites like Weebly are free and easy to use. Then you and others can send people the link. Maybe you and Kevin Robbins could do it together?
I would add butter to the list. Yesterday on "Morning Joe," there was a discussion of the price of butter which seemed to vary from about $7.00 to the $2-$3 range.
The consumer can willingly pay $7.00 for Kerrygold butter which is really the most delicious butter or pay way less for store brands and other producers. That is choice. What is more troubling is “ shrinkflation” on the shelves. Bacon at the same price but now 12 ounces instead of a pound or 12 ounces of pasta instead of a pound at the same price. But this is just a nit aIn the big picture altho I think we should keep tabs on inflation for sure. But real food price inflation.
You might add peanut butter, rice and beans as that’s what we’ll soon be depending on.
I’ve seen those signs😡
👍😄
Excellent!
Why? Do your friends really believe there will be another election? I mean , one that isn’t some kind of performative farce that would make even Orban blush?
Mike, As someone, through her local chapter, who already has signed on to the Resistance Movement launched yesterday by Indivisible Founder Ezra Levin in a Zoom call with some 100 grassroots organizers, I would urge none of us presume in advance there won’t be another free and fair election. Quoting from Lesson One in Timothy Snyder’s On Tyranny: “Most of the power of authoritarianism is freely given.”
@Barbara Jo Krieger So glad someone else was on that awesome call! Just a minor correction: there were 220 progressive groups involved. Quite uplifting.
Tammy, Regrettably, I wasn’t on the call. I only learned about it when meeting with my local chapter. Suffice it to say, for the past couple of years we trained ourselves and acquired the knowledge to exert, I dare say, a formidable (regrettably insufficient) impact on battleground races up and down the ballot. Now we’re poised to shift gears and learn how to contribute to the resistance.
It was recorded and they are starting training meetings tomorrow. I was on for a couple of hours and then needed to tend to pets, etc. but will finish listening tomorrow. One thing stood out, well, a lot of things did...Black women are in CHARGE! Heads of unions, the head of the NEA. Awesome people leading. I walked away with a new mantra from Becky Pringle: "We do not consent!" Very inspiring.
I was on that call also, and had to sign off after three hours. It was a so inspiring! Rep. Pramila Jayapal and Rep. Jamie Raskin spoke as well as countless others, the heads of Public Citizen and Move on and Indivisible. Yes, over 200 organizations! The host, Ash-Lee Woodard-Henderson did a brilliant job of leading us throughout the evening, highlighting what each speaker contributed. Judith Leblanc, a Movement Elder, was wonderful as well. They all were! "Mobilize" was the name of the event and it sure is happening. I am so encouraged by what I heard last night. So many people stepping up to the plate to be trained to hold gatherings all over America. The resistance has begun! We do not consent! I'm not sure of the final count, but I know there were over 150,000 people on the call.
The plan is “whether you like it or not.”
Do you have the link to the recording?
Tammy, please share the link to that call.
How does one find out about local resistance Movements? I live in very very red MT in a very very red county. My heart is broken , my spirit is close.
Start with Indivisible (indivisible.org). There will be more as orgs have time to regroup.
Also: https://weareworthfightingfor.org/ had a video stream last night with (I swear they said it more than once, so I wasn’t mid-hearing it) *over 100,000* rsvps. I believe you can go to their website to watch it.
Swing Left. It focuses energies where it counts … getting the Democratic bite out in swingable districts. We don’t do work in red or blue dominated districts. And we never talk with Republicans, whose minds are illogical and immovable.
I got Timothy's call but was too overloaded with yadda yadda and medical follow ups. I'm right there wth you, Barb, but we have to catch up on our sleep and talk to our selves. We have time and too much useless ego driven BS is spewing everywhere. I'll be here with all of you serious folks.
Ransom, I agree we must take care of ourselves and one another. I suppose for me part of that care includes educating myself regarding what resistance actually entails.
Resistance is helped a lot when the wife of your state Attorney General is elected to Congress. The CA AG is Rob Bonta; his spouse is MIA BONTA.
MIA BONTA was just elected to CA Congressional District 18 with over 77% of the Vote. CA 18 has a long, long history of resistance going back to Civil Rights battles, the Vietnam War, the battle against AIDS (thank you that young 1980's AIDS activist Rachel Maddow) & the full spectrum of Women's health matters. MIA will be a very, very strong voice.
Thank you for that information; we lived in far northern CA until 10 years ago, always thankful for its “blueness”, esp now. I will follow Congresswomen Bonta now!
It is nice to see we have State leaders who will not surrender without a fight.
and let them try to shove a national wide ban on women's reproductive rights. All of the referendums on this topic have had majority wins, excepting Florida, which got 57%, just shy of the supermajority 60% Florida alone imposes on this one. Despite voters supporting these referendums, many of them voted for Trump anyway....
This is what happened in MT , the pro women's right 128 was passed but all the others initiatives failed.
Exactly Frank, many Floridians voted for both reproductive choice and Republicans. Utterly self defeating, but, this is how Florida rolls these days.
I fail to understand their reasoning on this….so they don’t like trump on abortion but everything else is okey-dokey?? Talk about voting against your interests…
Carol, a friend said that many of her friends voted for abortion rights but placed grocery prices above abortion and voted for Trump
And there is the reason we got here. Believing for just a moment that there will be another election is absurd. Snyder’s on Tyranny was the warning of what it looks like and how to avoid Tyranny. A WARNING of what HAS now happened.
We aren’t fighting to KEEP anything because it is gone. Tim need to write - “So you lost your democracy, what to do now for Dummies”
When I say, “The Archivist Needs to get the Bill of Rights and the Constitution and put them somewhere safe!” I mean it.
I think most of us here on this board are going to get a first-hand view of what it was like to be a German citizen in the 1930's who wasn't a Jew, Communist, homosexual, Gypsy, or Nazi.
I agree. And I am disappointed that HCR seems to be the only person amongst the journalists on the left (NYTimes columnists and Morning Joe, among others) not willing to acknowledge that Trump won "fair and square", thanks to the law that permits unlimited contributions to PACS. He didn't win; we lost. And it was appropriate to recognize and accept where we fell short.
Nothing fair and square about it. The election was a diversion. Putin’s war was on social media. We missed it.
..... Again.
Face it. There's a 'red sea' out there that is totally fed up with "black lives matter; End Asian Hate; LGBTQ+abcdefg; Shariah Law; Political Correctness; 'Assault weapon stigmas; wearing of burkas and face coverings; and stupid speed limits." All "libtard lunacy" in their unadulterated view. Their view. And, they clearly shellacked our ass. And, so far it appears the voting seems to have been valid. So, the overwhelming majority sees us as the problem. More childish behavior on our part isn't going to help. And, where are all the people who have benefitted from our efforts? Did they vote? Hell no.
Good morning, MR. You are right. While advocating for disadvantaged people, we have earned the title "Elitist." I think I will spend my left-wing energy on reframing, i.e., making statements of positivity rather than "don't be a racist, sexist, anti-trans. It has really turned people off.
That is the question: why didn’t they vote?
Please share a link to this resistance movement. Thank you.
@Steve Brant, https://weareworthfightingfor.org/
https://indivisible.org/
were just two ways to get to the call and the follow up. Within a couple of hours there were sign-ups for close to 10,000 community gatherings across the nation.
Indevisible is on the mark. I've been with them for a while. Swing Left and Field Team Six have massive data bases to reach people to turn out. They all know each other.
Thank you
Steve, I should have clarified when I wrote “signed on” I meant our local chapter, aware Ezra was zooming with other grassroots organizers, had agreed to contact Ezra for marching orders.
While I expect various groups (for example, Substack communities including Jessica Craven “Chop Wood, Carry Water,” Simon Rosenberg “Hopium Chronicles”, and Robert Hubbell “Today’s Edition Newsletter”) will be active in the emerging Resistance Movement, due both to my local connections and my understanding Ezra already is laser-focused, I have chosen Indivisible as my launch.
Welcome to the Resistance! Indivisible Twin Cities was a godsend this past election. Tough slog for me to go back to being really active in politics in retirement but a terrific group of well-organized folks. Your knowledge of law will be a great addition. Thanks for joining. All hands on deck!
Hey Steve, I'm following as best I can. We will all stick together and pull off the actions necessary. Good sleep will help. We have time.
They will play hardball. Who will be the first resister to fall out of a high rise window. Oh, that can’t happen here? Really…
I appreciate your perspective. However, Tim Snyder is likely to be put in prison. That’s the reality of this. The evidence is everywhere.
Heather is in danger too.
Oh God. We must resist!
Exactly. I was on that call…
Barbara Jo and Tammy, a neighbor mentioned that a friend from a swing state disparaged the cards and door knocking by people who would never be in her neighborhood if they weren’t asking for her vote. Since you may have the ear of the Indivisible leaders, please suggest that we do door knocking between elections—just 10 houses each to establish a relationship with the voters. We could ask what would be priorities if they were voting today and what actions they’d like to see their politicians take to fix things. With years of in-person polling, we’d have very valuable information for our candidates to address the issues and it wouldn’t be from just the people who like to participate in polls. Plus, when we ask those people to vote, we’d have the personal relationship so they’d be much more likely to listen to us.
Many agree and reported. When writing postcards many of us reported how the message we were writing wouldn’t have resonated with us were we receiving them, either. We feel heard now. More listening, more personal contact. Top on my mind is too many small, disconnected groups doing the same thing…need to be connected. EVERYONE onboard that we take a breath, a quick one, and get back to work. We need to be strong helpers when the rubber meets the road…when those who voted for this realize…. What is that moment going to be? The one that causes one to literally take to the streets?
Blindly following Trump is like joining a suicide pact. I’m opposing and resisting. I like keeping track of prices.that’s tangible and easily done.
Yes, keep on building momentum.
I’m reading this book now. Where can I join the Resistance Movement?
Does anyone else live in MT & interested in this group?? Of resistance?
Carole, can you get on FaceBook and ask that question? I think you'd find at least one person that way. I know there are like-minded folks in Helena, Missoula, Bozeman, Butte, Billings and elsewhere. I used to live in Froid in the far northeastern corner of the state. It sounds like you are isolated, and it's a big state. I know you can find companions on this journey!
I agree Mike. I haven't resigned myself to living in an authoritarian state, yet, because it's too heartbreaking to allow my mind to go there. But, I am a history buff and a realist. With the oligarchs at his side, and the free press silenced, this is not looking good for us. Too many people kept the "it can't happen here" mentality when we still had several avenues to fight it. The congress is his, and they have already said they are preparing to restart their ininvestigations, beginning with Hunter Biden. I'm sure they will leave the plan for the Cheney's, Clinton's & Obama's until after he takes power. 2025 is going to be an extremely difficult year for us to watch.
I would imagine the Obamas, Clintons, Cheneys and others will leave the Country. In fact I hope they do.
Imagine that.. former presidents living in exile.. Jesus Christ.. I hate him and his supporters
They will not leave. Even when they go after them, there are many in this country who will not tolerate that and that roar will be heard. News travels much faster than Hilter’s time. Proving they are criminals will be very difficult and then the base can really see,if they go after them, they will come after me. There will be push back. And if any one of them suddenly disappears or dies suspiciously Americans are still watching. Please don’t forget what HCR just provided clearly, there are strong Dem Governors in very populated states with influence. So my message is stop giving up already and prepare to defend.
Let's remember that only 30% of eligible voters voted for the grifter, and many who voted for the narcissist are oblivious and misinformed but they don't buy into many of the policies of MAGA and Project 2025, especially the more extreme ones. The MAGA crowd hates each other and is a back-stabbing bunch. I expect chaos and inefficiency. We are not alone.
I am signing off of this for a few days. People are stressed and making wild predictions.
Take Care everyone.
They won’t but should
I hope so too!
I want them to deny trump the pleasure of going after them. Interesting (and terrifying) that the Obamas are at the very top of his enemies list.
I know narcissists and how they operate. Right now he is on a narcissist's high. In a few months he will need another fix for his sick ego. This is when the rage will set in and the retributions begin. Miller and Bannon will stoke this because they are mentally ill and practice cruelty.
I don’t think they will leave, too much invested here ..maybe wishful thinking but I just can’t see it.
It is not wishful thinking. I love and respect these people and what they have done for America. I don't want to see them harmed.
Don’t give up in advance. I don’t care how hopeless it looks. Thanks to all who are determined to resist. Thanks for info. Sharing.
Joe should pardon his son.
I didn’t think he would or could, but really, what is there to lose now? Anybody else on your pardon list?!
Let's steel ourselves, think deep and ahead, think how to organize and what to do, and start to prepare. Act!!
I'll be happy to think and act against him in any way I can. But, understand the traditional avenues of fighting will be gone. We won't even be permitted to peacefully protested, let alone publish critical thought pieces that critize him. Let's not forget he told us to just vote one more time and then we won't ever have to vote again. That was our most effective weapon of all and we just gave it up.
😢
I saw a comment yesterday online saying that Biden should resign now. Kamala will become President and can declare martial law and arrest Trump for his many criminal acts. The new Supreme Court Executive Permission should cover her acts nicely.
The Supreme Court included in their decision that it is their prerogative to decide which things qualify for immunity....
You said it, realist.
Adolf Hitler was voted in democratically in Germany in the 1930's....... and you are going to monitor grocery prices.
Hitler was voted in on the price of bread. He blamed the Jews for the high prices.
Trump blamed the Democrats for the high price of eggs and blamed Hispanics.
Trump ran a campaign based, word for word, at times from Hitler.
Exactly Barbara. I think you got the point. 🙂
1939 is too late to monitor the price of bread in Germany.
Please do not put words in my mouth. Do not twist what I said to support your position. I am far, far from wanting to play word salad games today. And I can't stand emojis.
Barbara, I don't have a position and I don't do word salad.
You agreed with me. Ok, Hitler used bread, Trump used eggs, but we agree.
Project 2025 will take 180 days and they have been recruiting for two years.
Technically Hitler staged a coup in the Reichstag and as the Leader of the majority he snuck in to Chancellorship by threat not vote.
But the German people swooned in delight of his threatening revenge for getting stabbed in the back by world Jewry and losing WWI.
America has stronger institutions and state powers to resist being incorporated into pogroms.
I think well informed Stoicism, faith in existing institutions and reliance of Trump’s aversion to mass protests and low ratings to dilute the impending disasters..
Study Tim Snyder’s On Tyranny.
I so hope you are right Hap.
That the institutions and state powers of the US can hold up to the gutting planned for January and the ensuing 180 days.
It looks well planned and well funded to me.
Let's go with well informed Stoicism.
Christopher Colles, while I understand your snark in this comment, and I even hear your frustration seeping through, we are all trying to process through this Mindfuck. Trying to clarify concrete actions to take going forward is what I read everyone trying to do, with what scrap of sanity they are holding onto at the moment.
Yes mltgrmi,
I see that maybe my snark is out of place.
I am very glad I do not live in the USA, I am sorry and I feel for you all.
Because it matters, please get that MILLIONS of Americans just worked their butts off to elect Harris/Walz. We gave our all. Snark and a big “I told you so” is the last thing we need.
We are regrouping. But we need a minute because we are bleeding. I was on a Zoom call last night with 100,000+ folks talking about next steps. We’ll be resisting. In the meantime, Christopher, head over to Threads and look at the Thread Emotional Support Canadians just as one example of people who don’t live here sending love and support to Americans. That helped me understand that folks around the world are concerned and willing to support us. Not kick us when we are already down.
Like MLRGRMI, I understand your snark. There’s truth in it.
Not today. Offer concrete solutions or just pat us on the back. We’re aren’t done yet. But snark won’t help anything. If we’re still focused on minutiae in six months, have at it.
Not today.
Thanks, Sheila B. We must grieve before we pick up our lives and move forward, never back.
It is something we can do. Doing something, even something small, helps. You cannot roll up your sleeves if you’re wringing your hands. This is scary stuff. The thought of “governance “ by fear, hate, lies , and greed is beyond terrifying. But fear and vengeance are their game. If we buy into this we lose once more.
My sentiments. Exactly.
I totally hear you on this, but I do believe a lot of his low info (deliberately) voters voted because of grocery prices being higher than precovid, since they don’t look beyond themselves.
And as long as everyone stays mad and engaged we have a chance, any fight is a worthy one.
It's interesting that anyone's upset about grocery prices being higher than 4 years ago when it's quite typical for grocery prices to go up regularly just like everything else. And with bird flu on top of Covid, eggs are $5/dozen instead of $3/dozen, etc.
😢
If we think that...we give up. We need to keep our eyes open and take a page out of their book....jam up EVERY thing we can. It will require a different kind of work. It will require everyone to take action....we can do it!
Because we are going to insist on it, are organized, and going to get more organized….
White Rose, one more time
I completely understand why you're asking this question. It's a valid one I believe
I read that retailers are already starting to mark up prices in anticipation of tariffs. In other words, price gouging at a minimum and cartel collusion at the worst.
Yes, it's true. I went to the grocery store yesterday after work and was , I can't say surprised anymore, but disgusted by several items that jumped in price from last week. Blueberries that were $4.99/quart are now $7.99/quart. Milk jumped from $2.79/gallon to $3.09/gallon. Spaghetti sauce went from .99/jar to $1.29/jar.
This was at Wegmans in DeWitt NY. Both the milk and spaghetti sauce were store brand. I should be clear, the difference is not because of a weekly ad, they don't offer weekly discounts.
Marking it up now can put the blame on Biden??
Yes. It will be the theme for as long as they can get away with it, and longer.
I like the idea of documenting prices of certain items, starting with yesterday’s observations!
Not really. Marking prices up starting now gets a jump on the bottom line.
I think we should make a stand with pricing like we did with gas prices -- we know price gouging when we see it. We can buy something else or do something else with our money, including saving it for a better price once retailers need to sell something. Fewer dollars chasing goods makes goods cheaper.
From Mother Jones: Why did DJT Win In 2024?: Wealth inequality.
There is little that leaves people as pissed off and frustrated as the feeling that no matter how hard they work, they can’t ever seem to get ahead. And this feeling has been slowly festering since the 1980s, when Ronald Reagan and his cadre of supply-side economists launched the first salvos in what would become the great fucking-over of the American middle and working classes.
he frustration was evident in something two very different women in two very different states told me on the very same day in 2022 for a story on how America spends hundreds of
billions of dollars a year subsidizing retirement plans mostly for rich people: “I’m going to have to work until I die.”
The great fucking-over commenced with President Reagan’s gutting of unions and the wealth-friendly tax cuts he signed into law in 1981 and 1986. The trend continued with George W. Bush’s tax cuts in 2001 and 2003, and culminated with the Trump tax cuts of 2017—which, like all of those other Republican initiatives, failed to generate the degreee of growth and prosperity the supply-siders promised. They did, however, make the rich richer as wages stagnated and the middle class shriveled.
We talk a lot about income inequality, but wealth and income are different beasts. Income is what pays your bills. Wealth is your security—and in that regard, most American families are just not feeling sufficiently secure.
Elon Musk is now building an absolutely Massive A.I. Facility.... A.I. is now starting to displace many Knowledge Workers... Elon Absolutely Has No Hesitation In Firing People... It is Elon's Fevered Opium Dream to Shred the U.S. Government....
I suspect Musk does not see himself shredding anything. He was raised in a wealthy white family in apartheid South Africa. I was there for a few months back in 1978 with a production team attempting to revive the all Black musical about a famous Soweto boxer called King Kong. It gave me an insight into the political complexities on the ground as well as a take on privileged white families like the Musks.Culturally the family have all the hallmarks of being old style British imperialists. Complete with unquestioned prejudices of both race and class. Perceiving the world as being a constant battle between other imperialists but taking for granted that everyone else outside their class are menial worthless nobodies. So his contempt and cruelty towards his workers is a given. However, they do not see themselves as racist because they will have no trouble with any race if they are of the same wealthy caste that they come from. I do not believe Musk or Murdoch (another British Empire Nepo baby) are capable of understanding the lived historical complexities of the Enlightenment egalitarianism of America.
A very clear analysis.i have watched how America has defined and divided itself by wealth since the 1980s. I’m going to spend much of today rereading Timothy Snyder’s On Freedom.it is helping me better understand what’s happening. Also, my folks were from Ohio and were smart, decent, sensible people who valued education highly. I was delighted to learn that Timothy Snyder also grew up in Ohio.. A welcome contrast to Vance and Jordan.
Thanks Monnina.... Reagan, who was a Faux Populist started this latest Cultural War with his Worship of the Trappings of Wealth... I remember the 1980's as the 'Greed Is Good' Decade... The 1980's were DJT's Peak... Now because of the Democrat's abandonment of those that Work For A Living, we have a 2nd DJT Admin... This change in DNC was begun by Clinton, and furthered by Obama... DJT has picked up this seething by watching FOX News... DJT is a self-centered Nihilist that worships $$$... We do indeed have 2nd Gilded Age... The Oligarch's now want to openly Rule-The-World, and be wORSHIPPED for their SuperHuman Brilliance...
I've been saying pretty much the same thing for several years now. I really think that we Dems did this to ourselves. There is a lot of hard data to support the notion that since Reagan, there has been a pretty effective war waged against the least well off in the U.S.
There have been many contributing factors, which include the loss of defined benefit plans; the rise in the cost of higher education; free trade shifted a lot of small firm manufacturing jobs over seas; the EPA's changing policies on CAFE standards have disadvantaged the domestic auto industry (a very complex story); the trend in almost every industry to try to get consumers into some sort of subscription service which is just awful in terms of its impact on household budgets and the capacity for discretionary spending; targeted advertising has become way too effective for household budget management; this list can go on.
Through all of this, Dems have been largely silent on the economic devastation, with the major exception of some valiant efforts to reign in healthcare costs. Then there has been the rhetoric that has poured acid into these economic wounds. When people are angry, they become mad at the world, and we have largely responded by saying mean things in return. Perhaps the worst was Hillary's gaffe about the deplorables, but Kamala's gaffe about not being able think of anything that should have been done differently was almost as bad. At the everyday grass roots levels we tend to counter hate speech with vitriol of our own, when when a little calming empathy about the underlying economic rage that drives it would be more effective.
Most of the hurt the Dems are feeling this week are from self inflicted wounds. And, if you look at the any of the several maps of the distribution of wealth, education, median household income, median home prices, etc. by state, they all pretty much mirror Tuesday's electoral vote map. There is a painful reality to the epithet that the Rs throw at Dems when they call us elitist. The data supports their perceptions. And just to underscore the point, there were plenty of Trump signs on the recent picket lines at Boeing. That would have been unthinkable a few decades ago.
Oh, and one of the more common recent slogans among Dems needs to be reconsidered in the light of total economy. Since when does anyone have a right to the services of a lower (meaning economically less well off) class of people? The elitist shoe fits a lot better than we would like.
If the old coalition is ever to be rebuilt and the Dems are to ever regain governing leadership, then our approach and rhetoric must change, and fast.
Stop with the Dem vitriol. Repubs have done enough of that for decades. Joe was the hero for working class. Repubs are evil, Dems are imperfect. Bottom line.
JD: spot on! Dems not recognizing how deep racism and misogyny go should be a huge issue. However, how the reps exploit the grievances of the working class in a totally unfair way cannot be minimized. Add to it the outside influences of disinformation and you end up with what we have.
Nailed it
Not only that, but so-called Democrat administrations have been often hampered by Republican Congresses, barely getting through skeletons of their original proposals and then seeing those proposals get smaller and smaller budgets.
Obstruction in ways that Dems were never prepared for. Remember what Mitch said about Obama. It became de rigueur long before that though.
It's still difficult to believe that people can be so evil that they take an oath to uphold the Constitution and simultaneously act against it, that they could hate so much that they promoted evil thinking and actions -- violence and fraud and cruelty. The lure of capitalism and evangelicalism led to the poisoned prize. It feels like family members did something evil....
I think you're on to something here. Starting the Clinton dems went all in on courting corporate money. and this is where we have arrived. What baffles me is that the repubs are actually doing their best to transfer massive wealth upward while stoking the rage of the working folks, and convincing them it's all the fault of the dems - mind boggling...
The republicans have mastered messaging. They have punchy lines. Dems have complex sentences and no zing. So the message is a mess.
Messaging = propaganda
Agreed. The Democrat elite fail to understand the working class situation. Start with the free trade acts. Disaster for millions as all better paying jobs vanished and gutted communities. Textile industry in NC, steel in Midwest, auto—- the list goes on. Plus the bailout of banks BUT not homeowners in the Lehman Bros etc meltdown. The list is almost endless.
Many mistakes including not calling out the repubs when they lie but that alone is a 24/7 job. The other is the lack of education and critical thinking. People have shut down and would rather binge some crap on line rather then learning the truth.
Yes!
Is this a joke, media research showed 90% positive coverage for Harris
and 85% negative coverage for Trump.
The leftist media cheerleading didn't work. Just like FAKE polls didn't work.
You don't have a messaging problem, YOU HAVE A CORE values problem.
Americans HATED the product.
I think this is true, but it requires some analysis. The hatred is nuanced and not uniform. Hatred of any kind tends to stem from pain. This is not universal, but it is common enough that we should focus more on the causes than the symptoms. All that Dems need is about a 5% shift in voting behavior to get back in the saddle. And realistically, something along the lines of 10-20% should be achievable. A little more empathy and a lot of focused messaging on that should do the trick. Think of FDR's fireside chats. It's hard to ignore the vitriol coming our way, but if we are to survive this, that is exactly what is required. The urge to respond in kind is powerful. We need to work super hard to not fall into that trap.
Wow angry much…
Careful to not blame the victims. The shock of the meltdown was sufficient to allow Republicans to change the subject so their policies didn't get the scrutiny or judgement they deserved. Yes, Democrats were weak -- and divided, as usual, by the factions who seem to insist that all grievances are equal and must be dealt with simultaneously -- but weakness is the victim's condition. Evil took advantage, deliberately, of the situation they created to sabotage efforts to recover. Remember the Republican refusal to increase the budget....
There is a group called Braver Angels that is committed to facilitating dialogue between people of opposing views. I’ve just started checking them out since they kept popping up on my radar. Are doing interesting work including developing listening skills which we all need right now.
The huge problem is the working poor have no knowledge of the history of what was done to them or by who...This is the problem we faced and failed to communicate...
NO NO NO. They know exactly WHO you are and they want no part of it.
No one wants a loud mouth sanctimonous leftist talking down to them and calling them a racist or sexist if they don't vote the right way.
They don't need you to "EXPLAIN" history to them. They know that butter costs $7 when it used to cost $3.
They don't want 25% inflation, millions streaming across the border. They don't want billions spent on stupid wars, and they don't want men showering with their daughters.
THey completely get your condescending attitude and they let you know how felt about it on Tuesday. They gave you the middle finger.
Nope. Thanks to the ruination of education and elevation of Dunning Kruger “experts” they can’t recognize propaganda from truth
What in the hell are you talking about. Focus like a laser.
Since 2020 Gasoline is 35.9%
Groceries are up 25.8%
Housing (rent) is up 26%
You cant lie or bullshit your way out of facts. Don’t try and pass some psuedo intellectual idea as truth. It just makes you look like a phony and an idiot.
*Apache, I've not read 'Mother Jones' recently. Is your post a 'copy and paste' of an article by them ? It's plainly an overview summary of the main problem to my mind, but not broken down into contributing failures. Do you have a link for this ? Thanks....
Hello D4N... It is a Copy & Paste of the Gist of the Article... It appeared Wednesday... I
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2024/11/why-donald-trump-won-election-white-house/
Here is something else to keep track of:
https://meidasnews.com/video/trumps-93-campaign-promises
And 60% tariffs will certainly NOT be applied for another edition of the trump bible or some other grifter's item
The grocery chains are owned by only a few businesses in this country. They made billions of dollars in profits over the previous year this past year. This tells me that they are artificially inflating prices to control the outcome of this election. If this is true, they can now lower prices, exponentially having made a fortune last year.
I used to share this perception, and to an extent it is valid. But, there is another reality. Supply chains are the major driver of costs for grocers and other retailers. Even for the smaller chains or one-offs, they have to deal with a large supply chain services provider. AG is an example, but there are a couple others. As long as there are four or five major grocery supply chain operators, there is significant competition in this area of cost.
There is another unpleasant reality about the nature of supply chain costs. Large producers also have a significant cost advantage. This actually tends to result in lower prices at the point of retails sales. This reality has been devastating for small town America. I once heard a right leaning economist make the observation that small towns have become obsolete because of consolidation in the food production businesses. We liberals like to argue for healthier choices from small producers, organic everything, and so on. Those are all fine arguments with solid supporting data, so long as that data ignores cost. In terms of our messaging on these topics, we really have come across as being blind to the cost and personal finance issues faced by less well off.
Dream on, Susan. Prices never decrease significantly. Customers are always stuck at the bottom of the seesaw.
The only thing that makes prices decrease is lack of demand. Covid was a shining example of that.
The fact is, inflation numbers do not help our cause when gas and other basics have such high costs. That the administration can only do so much about those higher costs also does not help.
1. Low inflation doesn't matter if prices stay high.
2. The administration CAN do "something" about high prices. But Old Guard Corporate Democrats won't do anything because it means going after the corporate elite.
3. The Democrats lost because of the Corporate Old Guard like Biden, Pelosi, Obama, Clyburn, Schumer and more. Their arrogance and stupidity resulted in this disaster.
Substantial hourly wage increases is what offsets high price levels.
And what did YOU do to protect democracy? Assign blame? Or did you work your privileged fingers to the bone as many of us did? Asking for a friend.
oh, good grief!
Inflation lie was shred bare by less than 3% rate due to Biden’s miraculous management that rebounded the dismal economy from the amoral creature’s 4 years!
When supermarket prices increase, the magas will whale ‘it’s not orange man’s fault’!
Sadly, I don't think they care about the truth. These are people who believed Haitians were eating pets, and Democrats caused hurricanes.
Great beginning of resistance. But we should also organize a protest against our legal system that has allowed a criminal to be President, criminal including Jan 6 insurrection.
They will find a way to blame dems...
Big Yellow Taxi
https://youtu.be/94bdMSCdw20?si=-mSicnF27ZHWhw-a
To be sure, the incoming POTUS' minions are encouraging firms to raise prices fast and furious, so they will show in the inflation numbers in Nov/Dec. -- therefore nominally on Biden's watch. That will then be the baseline for the incoming "administration." Companies get a few extra months of egregious profits before new tariff and other anti-consumer actions are put in place.
They've already credited Trump's win with the rise in the stock market. He gets the credit, but -- it seems -- not any blame. 'Course he screams like a baby when he gets any kind of bad press.... The press act like parents who don't want to discipline their child.
I have already noticed that the prices of some items have returned to their pre-inflation prices.
Also, during inflation butter went from 456 grams per "pound" package to 400 grams (I bake using a metric scale). At least some brands have returned to 456 grams.
That’s terrific. Simon Rosenberg is going to use the term opposition rather than resistance going forward. We are the loyal opposition. We’ve got work to do.
Out of curiousity, that is a good idea. I might do just that. My husband went to put gas in his old Toyota van that he had been using to GOTV - and just when he finished, the gas prices went UP. There you go.