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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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…
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!
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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'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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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’!
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.
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.
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.
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.
Thank you, Heather. An early night! From what you report and from what we've been hearing and reading, it's possible that many of Trump's campaign promises will be difficult, if not impossible, to keep. at least immediately. That would be lovely. Out of our shock and disappointment emerge hope and resistance.
Mim the ones that concern me in Project 2025 is that the first month they plan to shake up the Intelligence Community and the Department of Defense by replacing the leadership. This is frightening. Is the US now a client state of Russia? That is my concern. I don't know how one can resist this.
I am in Spain and I know someone who worked in American intelligence. She told me that as soon as Trump was elected, the EU, Australia, and many other countries have onvoked a strategy to not share any information that could be damaging if leaked, as Trump is a leaker and Putin fan. Obviously, within the EU, there are probably also measures to exclude Orban, but I am not privy to them.
That is so good to hear. The Intelligence Achilles heel, as ever, might be here in Northern Ireland. It has a huge military Intelligence apparatus largely unchanged since the dirty war. It also shares a border and police intelligence with an EU country as well as to a British state that is entirely politically and economically allied to the present US administration. Add to this mix, years of neglect by the UK government allowing an exponential rise in armed loyalist paramilitaries and an ongoing working and training partnership with Netanyahu’s Mossad. If Putin or any other hostile player wanted an easy soft spot to apply pressure on the EU, the fire keg of Northern Ireland, as presently chaotically politically and socially constituted, is a hostage to fortune.
Trump is Putin’s puppet. He wants his hotel in Moscow. This isn’t about making America great again . It is about tightening the noose of the oligarchs around our collective necks.
The national security risk (both Trump and Elon revere Putin and are in communication with him) is what scares me the most.
Dan Coats (Former NSA in Trump administration) said on the record with Bob Woodward (see Newsweek article 10-20-24) that he suspects Trump is being blackmailed by Putin. (easily google the article) Why doesn't our current administration keep us safe from such things? Don't we have the best military intelligence in the world??
When the WSJ pubished an article about three weeks ago that it was found Musk had been asked by Putin (as a "favor to China") to withhold Starlink communications tech from Taiwan, I thought that would be 'stop the presses" moment, and it was barely discussed
Rachael devoted the first part of her show last Monday night (the day before the election) to musk and all of his putin connections along with his top secret projects for the US government. He is letting the russians use Starlink to fight the Ukrainians not the other way around which is our policy. For our national security he needs to be removed from all of his companies that contract with our government. He turned off Starlink over Taiwan as a favor to putin to curry favor with China. And now he’s the insipid one’s best friend. Absolutely nothing about this is good, unless you think putin controlling our government is a good thing. I am not confused about russia I carry a piece of their iron in my leg, and for the most part I do know how to punctuate. 🤬
I read an article tonight that Trump's "advisors" are wanting him to bypass Federal background checks for security clearance on the people Trump appoints...that had me thinking of foreign operatives working inside the White House. Very concerning
Musk already has a seat at the table. Not only is he an Uber rich South African immigrant who controls rural internet through Starlink, he's also a foreign national who has Putin on speed dial and did mess with Ukrainian Starlink service as a favor to Putin. Our allies are wise to withhold information because Musk and maybe Trump will share it with our adversaries like Putin.
THey do not care. If they did, Trump would not be entering a second term. It's got to be money & power, and billionaires like Musk have an unlimited amount of money. And so does Putin, although he hides it, he's one of the wealthiest in the world.
I don’t think the Rs care. Like so much of our transactional society, money and material success are what matters. We have all been complicit in this and the indecency and inequality of those choices are catching up with us now. Values count, but not in the world of the oligarchs.
That is the plan. Trump is Putin's boy. But let us not go off the deep end. It will take time and there are many of us who will be standing up to it all.
Is the US now a client state of Russia? No. The US is now subservient to Russia. Chump must pay up. P2025 already has picked the leaders of DOJ and Defense so not much lag time.
Well in P2025 the say a month to figure out who goes where, and a month is a long time to have a gap in your intelligence or military leadership. The difference between being a client state and subservient is semantics. Since P2025 also says gathering intel on our NATO allies and not sharing with them, I was glad to read someone responding to a comment that countries are guarding their intel. Trump is not trusted to keep it. So, there we go. Hello ISIS. Hello White Supremacists.
“A hard circle to square”? Nah. Blame it on the Dems. Does the economy crash because of Trump’s tariffs? Blame it on the Dems. Poor rural families get no food support because of Musk’s cuts? Blame it on the Dems. I mean, instead of blaming Trump’s victory on the real culprit, Outin, who gave him the American election in exchange for Ukraine and Poland, everyone is blaming the Dems. Works every time, and the billionaire-owned media happily sings along with this tune. Rump, Musk and Vance will never be called to hold account and face justice for what they have done and will do.
Damn, Dutch Mike, you read my mind. The Dem bashing and the Dems bashing each other is pathetic. Focus people. Dems guilty of still thinking it’s politics as usual. Repubs allied with Putin and Putin won. Wake up. It’s Polonium Tea time, not a blame game.
Wish it were that simple. I have posted this ad nauseam, but one more time. “I used to rig card games for a living. I’d watch people sit down and lose everything, again and again. But they didn’t lose because they “played by the rules” but we didn’t. They lost because it wasn’t a game. It just looked like one. Democrats think it’s a game.” Posted on T years ago by Derek DelGaudio. After 2012, repubs stopped pretending and went all in on win, no matter what it takes. Rupert and the tea party had already set the stage, and the “Star” materialized like magic. We all missed it, especially the Putin connection.
It maybe a cultural thing. Remember the title of Jack Welch' book? "Winning". That's all that counts, regardless of the costs, the havoc that is wreaked and the principles that were sacrificed.
Good point. Shifting blame is one of their favorite games. They never take responsibility for their messes. They have been programmed from birth to believe someone else will pick up after them. Time to get up and face the day.
When you see it happening in your state it is not hard to see it happening nation wide. What is the difference between defeatism & realism? Water is wet & rocks are hard.
He did it before—lied and didn’t deliver (Mexico will pay for the wall) and I this election Latinos and women still voted for him, two of his targets. “Yes sir. More please.”
We need to worry about his enablers, he will soon become incompetent probably well within his term of office, then they will have the power. They will shield that reality from the public and the MSM will remain clueless. So we just elected a shell of a human to be our president, the puppet masters will not take long to get their hands on the strings, as long as he lives they will be in control, and we didn’t elect any of them. Biden can put a permanent stop to this, he has immunity and his end is coming soon anyhow, but I don’t know if he has the iron will to act on it. It would put the nation into turmoil, but we are going to be put into turmoil starting on 20 January anyway. A year from now after we have watched our government be dismantled in front of our eyes, and WWIII looms on the horizon, will we wish Joe Biden had acted, search your hearts, and look your children or grandchildren in the eyes and try to think what to say to them, as they are about to be fed into the cauldron.
Those orders have already been prepared by the Project 2025 team and there is the E-signature, which means the people working for him will use it in his name. Interesting choice of Chief of Staff. As the job has been written in Project 2025 that person is the gatekeeper and will have much more real power than the VP. See chapter one of Project 2025, White House Office.
He couldn’t pass an infrastructure bill first time around and he’ll have less competent people both in the WH and Congress. No Ryan or McConnell this time.
Kevin Robbins, couldn't pass Infrastructure bills because R's never want to. It's spending for the people. They just want to take credit when D's pass it. And ruthlessness, abject corruption, and desire for cruelty are the greatest of motivators.
They have been training people to take over agencies as advertised in Project 2025. The long list of people who composed the game plan are ready to go & implement while T plays golf
The Trump '47 presidency was purchased with lots of money from a few people, and lots of lies and deceit. He made lots of promises in 2016 that were never kept. 2024 will be no different. What worries me is the obligations he now has to the few who contributed a lot. Mostly this will involve giving large sections of the economy to those who will treat it like a source of extractive wealth - extracted from We the People. This will ruin the economy in fairly short order and lead to a 2008 style depression, and Russian style corruption.
And THIS TIME, I hope that mainstream media will HAMMER these facts out on the evening news with as much enthusiasm as they did for every Biden gaffe!
As I commented above, NOW is a prime opportunity for an alternate to Twitter to come out!
I am praying that some new social media site ,that will not let Russians overwhelm it, comes into development and EVERY SINGLE DEMOCRAT leaves Musk and joins it.
Thank you for your tireless documentation and historical context, ever more important as we careen into disorienting and potentially cruel days ahead. I know that action plans and healing words are not always the purview of historians (though you do so implicitly with your reporting and analysis), so please allow me to share this cathartic post I struggled to type earlier today. Maybe it will give you some solace and direction, too, amid this disorienting mess:
I thought Newsom's leadership and proactive plans to shore up California before the frontal assault from the new federal government were strong. We are going to need his backbone, and California to keep leading the U.S. as the defacto powerhouse it is.
I think there is a good chance the Draconian cuts to social spending will change some minds before 2026. Anyone else need a hug today?
All Californians Attention: There will be a ZOOM with Governor NEWSOM tomorrow at 4:00 PM Pacific to deal with protecting Californian rights. The event will also be on the YouTube Platform. I had to sign up at but, that was easy.
Separately, Governor NEWSOM is convening a Special Session of the CA Legislature specifically to pass additional legislation as needed "to protect California values, including civil rights, our homes, our bodies, our thoughts, and or our associations from invasion by government(s) and/or corporate interests".
Recall that since 1972 CA has an express right of Privacy in our STATE constitution. See article 1, Section for a list of the protected inalienable rights.
PS: Our California Senator Elect is constitutional law professor, ADAM SCHIFF.
I’m trying to access the link for the Zoom call but nothing is showing up. I also googled Newsom Zoom but that not working either. Do you have a more direct link?
Gavin Newsom - All Californians Attention: There will be a ZOOM with Governor NEWSOM tomorrow at 4:00 PM Pacific to deal with protecting Californian rights. The event will also be on the YouTube Platform.
I hope more states follow his lead. Has anyone heard anything about it? I heard Illinois issued a similar statement. Getting ready to defend freedoms against Trump.
Hey, I got to see Obama speak here in Philly, Bruce play, and almost got to see Kamala on election eve but had to get my daughter home on a school night, and the lines to get in were really, really long, full of like-minded people.
Well, thank God there is at least one on the Democrat side that is doing something in response, instead of just sobbing and moaning and taking a posture of subordination to Trump and his MAGA minions.
Our Maura Healey is standing up for us. Equality in Constitution since the 2000s and several sanctuary cities, some close by. This is what has to happen, and there's still time.
Yes. I liked Illinois Governor Pritzker's declaration: “You come for my people,” Mr. Pritzker said at a news conference, “you come through me.”
And it is good that the newly elected Governor of my state (Washington), Bob Ferguson, has been preparing for this by closely examining Plan 2025. He's been the state's Attorney General for a number of years, so he'd be a formidable foe should it come to legal action.
I am so glad we retired from Wisconsin to Portland. People can criticize Portland but we're pretty darn blue. And tolerant. And have all Dems in our statewide offices. Plus, Washington above us and California below us!
I was very happy to see that the three west coast states formed a solid blue block. There are some folks in the eastern parts of our respective states who wish it were otherwise, but they are welcome to pull up stakes and move on over to Idaho.
They are working class who don’t know or feel their power outside of a traditional family (patriarchal) structure. We need to help them, not blame them….
No, it’s also the wealthy while women who voted for him. They like the tax cuts for rich people (which definitely will happen), the idea of deporting immigrants (because they like the idea of dominating other people and they can’t follow the thread to see that they will be affected by this), they don’t care about prices because they can afford to pay them so don’t give a crap about tariffs (if they even know what they are), have private health insurance and can’t wait to not have to support the ACA (and haven’t considered their own current or future preexisting conditions), and have their kids in private school and so don’t care about public education but are also thrilled they might be able to use public funds for their private schools. They also know that if they or their daughters need an abortion, they have the wherewithal to travel abroad to get it. Believe me, these are my people. It’s why so many of them move to Florida. So they can take advantage of all the ways that state makes life easier for rich people and harder for everyone else. It’s gross but it’s who we are now.
Yes. I get it. I saw footage of women in Florida saying shit like “yay, daddy is home”. Ayiyi. 8000 years of patriarchy creates a lot of baked in codependent powerlessness (and selfishness, laziness among rich white women who will throw their sisters of color under the bus.)
Beth, you have described so well the people I encounter in Florida, and it's why I have to get out of this state! When I moved here 10 years ago, I did not have a clue what I was getting myself into! I simply cannot relate to these people, who are always very pleasant to me, until I reveal that I am not like them, and then they pleasantly avoid me. It's such a weird place to live.
Not just working class white women…I know many who attach themselves to wealthy, older men because they think that will keep them safe. I have family members who treat it like a sport…finding the richest man and making it their “job” to be arm candy. Cold hearted to the core…racist and selfish.
That is beyond disgusting. I’m going to go join the Network NOVA Friday Power Lunch that starts at noon ET. “Bad ass women getting things done.”Not Trump voters.
Dr. McCormick, you might be interested in reading from a Substack neighbor here - in regard to all the human capital we need for our Climate emergency.
Getting busy with helping to clean our environment will be therapeutic for our soul, and President Biden created government incentives for new green jobs.
Workers need day care for children and eldercare. The U.S. has jobs ready - our nation needs us to get busy.
Check out Dr Julio Friedmann, here on Substack - and through his company, Carbon Direct
JULIO FRIEDMANN - SEP 25, 2024
The Hard Stuff is hard, but we ignore The Work involved at our peril. on Substack
…
Carbon Capture Opportunities and Limits - Andy Revkin Q&A with Julio Friedmann
I honor that you heed, “Physician, heal thyself”. Thank you for the link. I found your words, ideas and suggestions quite valuable to mull over. I subscribed. I am delighted to see you follow Dr Eric Topol. Your mixture of wisdom, humor and explanation of tear pathophysiology intrigues me. Please accept a big gentle bear hug and pass it along. Might you consider writing an Rx for Dr Richardson giving her permission from us, to occasionally take off more than on e day of writing ? Her selection of Buddy’s photos say a thousand words in themselves. We do not want to wear her out. ❤️🩹🩹🌎
That’s where their hostile takeover of the judiciary will come into its own. Absolute and presumptive immunity leave a lot of room for mischief in the New World Order.
The victory at Midway turned on one very clever fellow in the Naval Intel who figured out thru a simple ruse what the intended target was of the enemy fleet. Midway island. Even with knowing their intentions, it was still a close run thing. We suffered losses in the Coral Sea engagement leading up to Midway. We've got to be purposeful, resolute, clear eyed and clever going forward is what I'm saying here.
I have been thinking that clever, quiet, maybe even subversive is the way to go. We’ve spent so much time running around screaming with our hands flapping in the air at every outrage. It’s time to get stealthy and strategic. But we don’t have the discipline or the organization for that.
I, unfortunately, live in republican Florida. 🍊🤡will never be my president. I will no longer watch tv news. My news source will be these wonderful daily letters Heather so kindly writes for us.
Thanks for the additional endorsement of The American Prospect. That got my attention. I joined with my email, name, and the pre-checked selected newsletters. I looked at the supporting options, and I was about to do that. I thought I might read a few newsletters to get to know what is offered better. That will mainly determine which level of support I will consider, as in which tier.
Same! He's never been my president and never will be. I'm in Oregon and it seems like the whole left coast copies each other at times and so Washington and Oregon, I'm sure, will probably follow California's lead.
Hello! Fellow Oregonian. Ran into a young man at the grocery store yesterday and we commiserated about the election. He had JUST relocated here from Florida, seeking a blue state! We'll see much of this in the coming months and years - migrants to the west coast.
Hello back! I think we will too. I grew up in Montana and gtfo in my early 20s and headed west, been here ever since (I’m 51). I would never leave here and go back there or any red state for that matter.
I have wanted to move to a blue state for a long time. I grew up in OK and lived in TX from 1989 - early 2023; I moved back to OK after my dad passed away to tend to the family home and figure out what to do next. I have made it all these years in these states and am ready to live in and among more like-minded people. I am also considering making an international move. It's only me, and I don't have to take into consideration a family. I'm too wrecked still to be devising many plans; when I am better, I can begin to look into options. If not, I must dig deeper into living the "bury my head in the sand" life and sticking to myself. Then again, there are pleasant things around this town, and day-to-day life will be livable, just not as accessible. Life in the red state is soul-sucking, even if the cost of living is less.
Kathy - I’m sorry about your dad. I too have contemplated moving overseas but isn’t that what they want? If a good chunk of us leave it just makes it easier for them. I’m in no state of mind to be making big decisions right now either. I waffle between wanting to join the resistance and wanting to throw my hands up, tell America we had a good run, and leave. Take care and do what you need to do.
I doubt that Trump cares about keeping promises. He will just continue lying.
I hope Democrats flood media with news about prices. And when Republicans start attacking Social Security I hope democrats will grow spines and take to the streets - en mass. The days of just sending a donation are over. We will have to get up and commit our bodies to the cause.
Unfortunately, we have found out that media is not responsible, and T supporters only watch Fox News -- therefore, the truth will never reach their ears. For democracy to thrive, we need to get rid of Fox by holding it accountable. I don't know why there hasn't been several class action lawsuits against Fox. Hit them where it counts .... money.
I'm not thinking about the MAGA heads. I'm thinking of the young, the black, the latino, the women voters that recently have voted for Trump and other Republicans.
Democrats need to flood Democrat friendly media first and then get it into corporate media.
That's exactly the process Republicans have used so successfully.
I'm afraid those who voted for Trump are not in the space to hear any Democrat messages. They live in a world of the Fox propaganda network 24/7 and right wing social media that riles them up. They get an adrenaline rush out of hearing Trump's bullying, and that keeps them coming back. The only winning media that Republicans have is a propaganda channel that feeds them fear and anger. Democrats don't have that. I don't know how Democrats compete with that. But messaging is important. The DNC is terrible at branding.
The reality of prices won't matter to them. Trump will blame any poor outcomes on the Democrats. His supporters are not logical, not critical thinkers. They only want the entertainment that Trump gives them.
We are critical thinkers. They are not. It's hard for us to understand them because they are not motivated by the same things we are.
People in Republican states have been voting against their own best interests for decades. They won't wake up.
Critical thinking in education is what is needed. It's a long game, and the Republicans don't support education. Republicans in power want to dumb down the electorate, because that way the electorate will be easier to manipulate.
Americans are stupid, really stupid. If you are here reading HCR, you are informed. They are not. It's like trying to grab the attention of children. Trump is the circus they want.
The democrat party has the resources to start their own media outlet deal. it is not insurmountable to do so. The DNC leadership simply will not do it. There it is.
The DNC is a dinosaur. Time for them to step aside.
Think of all the entertainment talent the Democratic party has, such as Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, etc. That is likely to draw young people. Maybe work positive messaging into their songs. Republicans have hate and racism and bullying, but the Democrats can have fun and the natural high of doing good for others — that may be the key to catch the short attention span of America’s electorate.
I have disconnected from 98% of social media and "news" channels. There are 3 sources left because I want to have a life now (you, dear Ms. Richarson, are my #1 source). The shock to me of this election has totally helped me disconnect al lot from my phone and computer.
"the stock prices of private prison companies GEO Group and CoreCivic have soared since Trump’s election." Not joking: I think I'm going to be sick. HORROR SHOW!! (Re Powell's statement: "Not permitted under the law", I guess he didn't get the memo from SCOTUS that the President can do whatever he wants to do, and to heck with laws.)
Elon Musk while born in South Africa, emigrated to Canada--as his mother is/was a Canadian citizen. Curiously, he has a top security clearance via the Dept of Defense or through a presidential approval. Either way, the Department of Defense depends upon SpaceX to put their satellites into space. Musk is no innocent bystander with Putin and Trump and obviously has a conflict of interest in US government dealings. It's best not to lose track of Elon as he has no ones' interest at heart but his own. There's of course the possilbity that at some point Trump and Elon and maybe even Peter Thiel will fall out as the world stage is not big enough for all those egos.
The America we knew, the exceptionalism we believed in, and our forefathers spilled their blood for at home and on foreign soil died this week. The popular American vote was for a dictator under the influence of a foreign power. I feel despair for the deeply held values Americans just turned their backs on, our position in the world, and the international leadership we were once known for. The matrix of lies and disinformation known as social media and Fox News are the Quislings of our time. And may God help Ukraine as well as NATO -- they're going to need it. New world order, indeed.
Nothing died this week! Thomas Jefferson (while Sec. of State) told President George Washington that Alexander Hamilton (Sec. of Treasury) was plotting (with England) to overthrow the government while Jefferson was also drafting (clandestinely) articles of succession that circulated in the Virginia Statehouse. Winston Churchill is said to have observed that, “Americans always do the right thing—after exhausting all other alternatives.”
The sad thing? Most Trump voters I encounter have NO IDEA there's any relationship between Putin and Trump. And they want to abandon Ukraine and NATO. So no help there.
I haven’t decided just what I will do - to give you a sense of my age, I’ll say I was born on VJ day. But one thing I WON’T do is spend one dime on ANYTHING connected with Elon Musk. He’s in many ways more reprehensible than DJT ( whom I shall refer to as Pvt. Bone Spurs from now on). As someone who came of age during the Vietnam War, I feel particular disdain for a draft dodger, especially one whose daddy colluded in this deception. Part of me wishes Vice President Harris could have hammered on the fact that PBS is a loser: Trump steaks? The Apprentice? Trump University? Trump football team? Trump airline? He even managed to mess up a casino in Atlantic City! And the company was thrown out of managing a hotel in Panama. I think I’ll make a daily practice of watching Full Frontal’s “Trump in Scotland” episode. Possibly I shall also join the League of Women Voters - it could lead to greater things.
I once swore I wouldn't buy anything foreign-made. I had to resort to buying everything from Goodwill, Salvation Army, and garage sales until I couldn't even find U.S.-made items at those places. I finally broke down when I badly needed socks and underwear. We may not have a choice concerning what is available.
Under these difficult circumstances, this letter is comforting. I agree that much of his campaign promises will fail. It’s the chipping away at our Democracy that scares the hell out of me.
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
You seem baffled by the concept of “joke.” Well, I suppose humor is one of the many things that progressivism deems to be…problematic.
Maureen. me too!
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.
Exactly! Meanwhile chump enterprises will reap billions annually! BILLIONS!
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.
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?
That is what he will say. In reality this time around he can say nothing. It's the middle class problem
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.
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!
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.
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?
Yes, yes, one of my pet peeves is the flagrant misuse of the church's exempt status.
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??
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?
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 keep a flock of chickens(30)...so maybe I'll include the price of feed.
Hear that McDonalds?
All meats will increase in price. The meat packing companies will lose their employees.
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.
Toilet paper?
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.
great idea.
Should add cat food to the list because that is what some seniors will be eating after trump/musk "save" our Social Security.
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.
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?
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.
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…
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.
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.
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?
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 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.
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…
Yes, keep on building momentum.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
😢
You said it, realist.
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.
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.
My sentiments. Exactly.
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.
😢
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.
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.
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.
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.
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…
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.
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 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!
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.
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’!
Big Yellow Taxi
https://youtu.be/94bdMSCdw20?si=-mSicnF27ZHWhw-a
Sadly, I don't think they care about the truth. These are people who believed Haitians were eating pets, and Democrats caused hurricanes.
They will find a way to blame dems...
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.
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.
Please share info so others can contribute to their efforts!
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.
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.
Thank you, Heather. An early night! From what you report and from what we've been hearing and reading, it's possible that many of Trump's campaign promises will be difficult, if not impossible, to keep. at least immediately. That would be lovely. Out of our shock and disappointment emerge hope and resistance.
Mim the ones that concern me in Project 2025 is that the first month they plan to shake up the Intelligence Community and the Department of Defense by replacing the leadership. This is frightening. Is the US now a client state of Russia? That is my concern. I don't know how one can resist this.
I am in Spain and I know someone who worked in American intelligence. She told me that as soon as Trump was elected, the EU, Australia, and many other countries have onvoked a strategy to not share any information that could be damaging if leaked, as Trump is a leaker and Putin fan. Obviously, within the EU, there are probably also measures to exclude Orban, but I am not privy to them.
Sounds like a good call on their part
That is so good to hear. The Intelligence Achilles heel, as ever, might be here in Northern Ireland. It has a huge military Intelligence apparatus largely unchanged since the dirty war. It also shares a border and police intelligence with an EU country as well as to a British state that is entirely politically and economically allied to the present US administration. Add to this mix, years of neglect by the UK government allowing an exponential rise in armed loyalist paramilitaries and an ongoing working and training partnership with Netanyahu’s Mossad. If Putin or any other hostile player wanted an easy soft spot to apply pressure on the EU, the fire keg of Northern Ireland, as presently chaotically politically and socially constituted, is a hostage to fortune.
Meaning we will be less safe. And so will our allies. Can NATO survive without us
Can we survive without NATO?
America becomes untrustworthy again.
Trump is Putin’s puppet. He wants his hotel in Moscow. This isn’t about making America great again . It is about tightening the noose of the oligarchs around our collective necks.
The national security risk (both Trump and Elon revere Putin and are in communication with him) is what scares me the most.
Dan Coats (Former NSA in Trump administration) said on the record with Bob Woodward (see Newsweek article 10-20-24) that he suspects Trump is being blackmailed by Putin. (easily google the article) Why doesn't our current administration keep us safe from such things? Don't we have the best military intelligence in the world??
When the WSJ pubished an article about three weeks ago that it was found Musk had been asked by Putin (as a "favor to China") to withhold Starlink communications tech from Taiwan, I thought that would be 'stop the presses" moment, and it was barely discussed
WHAT IS HAPPENING ?!?!?
We have no real press. They are corporate press agency's.
Rachael devoted the first part of her show last Monday night (the day before the election) to musk and all of his putin connections along with his top secret projects for the US government. He is letting the russians use Starlink to fight the Ukrainians not the other way around which is our policy. For our national security he needs to be removed from all of his companies that contract with our government. He turned off Starlink over Taiwan as a favor to putin to curry favor with China. And now he’s the insipid one’s best friend. Absolutely nothing about this is good, unless you think putin controlling our government is a good thing. I am not confused about russia I carry a piece of their iron in my leg, and for the most part I do know how to punctuate. 🤬
The administration can't help, when the Extreme Court is protecting this felon.
I collaboration of the ignorance of religion with the mendacity of oligarchy.
The peons easily manipulated.
I read an article tonight that Trump's "advisors" are wanting him to bypass Federal background checks for security clearance on the people Trump appoints...that had me thinking of foreign operatives working inside the White House. Very concerning
Criminal negligence.
Musk already has a seat at the table. Not only is he an Uber rich South African immigrant who controls rural internet through Starlink, he's also a foreign national who has Putin on speed dial and did mess with Ukrainian Starlink service as a favor to Putin. Our allies are wise to withhold information because Musk and maybe Trump will share it with our adversaries like Putin.
Not a lot we can do about that except hope that the R's in Congress are paying attention...if they even care.
They aren’t.
THey do not care. If they did, Trump would not be entering a second term. It's got to be money & power, and billionaires like Musk have an unlimited amount of money. And so does Putin, although he hides it, he's one of the wealthiest in the world.
Putin is probably the wealthiest person in the world. The details of his wealth are less well known than that of Musk.
It they cared, they would have impeached him. Trump would be in jail.
I don’t think the Rs care. Like so much of our transactional society, money and material success are what matters. We have all been complicit in this and the indecency and inequality of those choices are catching up with us now. Values count, but not in the world of the oligarchs.
They do not
That is the plan. Trump is Putin's boy. But let us not go off the deep end. It will take time and there are many of us who will be standing up to it all.
Is the US now a client state of Russia? No. The US is now subservient to Russia. Chump must pay up. P2025 already has picked the leaders of DOJ and Defense so not much lag time.
Well in P2025 the say a month to figure out who goes where, and a month is a long time to have a gap in your intelligence or military leadership. The difference between being a client state and subservient is semantics. Since P2025 also says gathering intel on our NATO allies and not sharing with them, I was glad to read someone responding to a comment that countries are guarding their intel. Trump is not trusted to keep it. So, there we go. Hello ISIS. Hello White Supremacists.
We have become a danger to the world. They learned, we didn’t
“A hard circle to square”? Nah. Blame it on the Dems. Does the economy crash because of Trump’s tariffs? Blame it on the Dems. Poor rural families get no food support because of Musk’s cuts? Blame it on the Dems. I mean, instead of blaming Trump’s victory on the real culprit, Outin, who gave him the American election in exchange for Ukraine and Poland, everyone is blaming the Dems. Works every time, and the billionaire-owned media happily sings along with this tune. Rump, Musk and Vance will never be called to hold account and face justice for what they have done and will do.
Damn, Dutch Mike, you read my mind. The Dem bashing and the Dems bashing each other is pathetic. Focus people. Dems guilty of still thinking it’s politics as usual. Repubs allied with Putin and Putin won. Wake up. It’s Polonium Tea time, not a blame game.
Exactly. If you're playing a game of chess and your opponent keeps punching you in the face, it may be time to stop trying to play by the rules.
Wish it were that simple. I have posted this ad nauseam, but one more time. “I used to rig card games for a living. I’d watch people sit down and lose everything, again and again. But they didn’t lose because they “played by the rules” but we didn’t. They lost because it wasn’t a game. It just looked like one. Democrats think it’s a game.” Posted on T years ago by Derek DelGaudio. After 2012, repubs stopped pretending and went all in on win, no matter what it takes. Rupert and the tea party had already set the stage, and the “Star” materialized like magic. We all missed it, especially the Putin connection.
It maybe a cultural thing. Remember the title of Jack Welch' book? "Winning". That's all that counts, regardless of the costs, the havoc that is wreaked and the principles that were sacrificed.
Good point. Shifting blame is one of their favorite games. They never take responsibility for their messes. They have been programmed from birth to believe someone else will pick up after them. Time to get up and face the day.
Dutch Mike, you bring to mind the often heard phrase of yore: “Thanks Obama”
Trump may have no intention of fulfilling most of them. It is the promises that he will seek to implement that worry me.
The Department of Education seems to be a gonner.
Gee don’t accept it before it happens. No defeatism!
When you see it happening in your state it is not hard to see it happening nation wide. What is the difference between defeatism & realism? Water is wet & rocks are hard.
😞
Let's hope many of them will be resistible.
How many of them are actually do-able?
It's harder to blame Democrats for screwups on one's own watch.
Obviously he promises a lot that is BS, like all the pre-election claims that somehow Mexico would pay for his wall. He forgot to ask Mexico about it.
He did it before—lied and didn’t deliver (Mexico will pay for the wall) and I this election Latinos and women still voted for him, two of his targets. “Yes sir. More please.”
He won’t forget revenge. Putin has the expertise
We need to worry about his enablers, he will soon become incompetent probably well within his term of office, then they will have the power. They will shield that reality from the public and the MSM will remain clueless. So we just elected a shell of a human to be our president, the puppet masters will not take long to get their hands on the strings, as long as he lives they will be in control, and we didn’t elect any of them. Biden can put a permanent stop to this, he has immunity and his end is coming soon anyhow, but I don’t know if he has the iron will to act on it. It would put the nation into turmoil, but we are going to be put into turmoil starting on 20 January anyway. A year from now after we have watched our government be dismantled in front of our eyes, and WWIII looms on the horizon, will we wish Joe Biden had acted, search your hearts, and look your children or grandchildren in the eyes and try to think what to say to them, as they are about to be fed into the cauldron.
Perhaps I missed what Biden would do if he has the courage. Would you mind clarifying?
Indeed. How many promises can he keep on Day !?
I fear that he will have his 'staff' prepare oodles of executive orders that he will sign one by one on Day 1 under the disbelieving eyes of the press
Those orders have already been prepared by the Project 2025 team and there is the E-signature, which means the people working for him will use it in his name. Interesting choice of Chief of Staff. As the job has been written in Project 2025 that person is the gatekeeper and will have much more real power than the VP. See chapter one of Project 2025, White House Office.
She came up with the “swift boat” crap against Kerry, didn’t she? What a lovely woman. 😒
That's not a good prospect, Marli, but you may be right.
They were all prepared by the Heritage Foundation months ago, all he has to do is sign them.
He couldn’t pass an infrastructure bill first time around and he’ll have less competent people both in the WH and Congress. No Ryan or McConnell this time.
Kevin Robbins, couldn't pass Infrastructure bills because R's never want to. It's spending for the people. They just want to take credit when D's pass it. And ruthlessness, abject corruption, and desire for cruelty are the greatest of motivators.
The flip side is that there are no dems to blame for anything now.
He will ALWAYS blame the Dems. Always. Even when we are not in office. And his people will believe anything, we already know that.
I don't really think they'd be concerned about passing an infrastructure bill or any other bill that will directly help the people with anything.
Maybe pork to certain friends.
They have been training people to take over agencies as advertised in Project 2025. The long list of people who composed the game plan are ready to go & implement while T plays golf
We'll see. Hopefully none.
Betsy he will have the rest of his life and Vances' to fulfill them.
How many lies can he tell in a minute?
Project 2025 told us
The Trump '47 presidency was purchased with lots of money from a few people, and lots of lies and deceit. He made lots of promises in 2016 that were never kept. 2024 will be no different. What worries me is the obligations he now has to the few who contributed a lot. Mostly this will involve giving large sections of the economy to those who will treat it like a source of extractive wealth - extracted from We the People. This will ruin the economy in fairly short order and lead to a 2008 style depression, and Russian style corruption.
😢then💪🏽
And THIS TIME, I hope that mainstream media will HAMMER these facts out on the evening news with as much enthusiasm as they did for every Biden gaffe!
As I commented above, NOW is a prime opportunity for an alternate to Twitter to come out!
I am praying that some new social media site ,that will not let Russians overwhelm it, comes into development and EVERY SINGLE DEMOCRAT leaves Musk and joins it.
Thank you for your tireless documentation and historical context, ever more important as we careen into disorienting and potentially cruel days ahead. I know that action plans and healing words are not always the purview of historians (though you do so implicitly with your reporting and analysis), so please allow me to share this cathartic post I struggled to type earlier today. Maybe it will give you some solace and direction, too, amid this disorienting mess:
https://mccormickmd.substack.com/p/hope-action-and-tears-in-devastating
I thought Newsom's leadership and proactive plans to shore up California before the frontal assault from the new federal government were strong. We are going to need his backbone, and California to keep leading the U.S. as the defacto powerhouse it is.
I think there is a good chance the Draconian cuts to social spending will change some minds before 2026. Anyone else need a hug today?
I'm so proud of my state - California. I'll take the hug... with a fist bump.
Got that right David 👊🏻.
All Californians Attention: There will be a ZOOM with Governor NEWSOM tomorrow at 4:00 PM Pacific to deal with protecting Californian rights. The event will also be on the YouTube Platform. I had to sign up at but, that was easy.
Google for NEWSOM ZOOM or generally www.ca.gov.ca.gov....
Separately, Governor NEWSOM is convening a Special Session of the CA Legislature specifically to pass additional legislation as needed "to protect California values, including civil rights, our homes, our bodies, our thoughts, and or our associations from invasion by government(s) and/or corporate interests".
Recall that since 1972 CA has an express right of Privacy in our STATE constitution. See article 1, Section for a list of the protected inalienable rights.
PS: Our California Senator Elect is constitutional law professor, ADAM SCHIFF.
California, here we come!
Need music? 🎶Going to California🎶 ... great Cover by Sierra Eagleson ... Sierra Hull too.
I’m trying to access the link for the Zoom call but nothing is showing up. I also googled Newsom Zoom but that not working either. Do you have a more direct link?
I found a link that works:
Gavin Newsom - All Californians Attention: There will be a ZOOM with Governor NEWSOM tomorrow at 4:00 PM Pacific to deal with protecting Californian rights. The event will also be on the YouTube Platform.
https://act.gavinnewsom.com/event/organizing-events/87/signup/?akid=&source=sms_stw_akf_ds_vol_eb_20241107_na_na_b3_final_na
Thank you Kristin!
Pray for those of us who live in supermajority red states who have no governor (or any national representative for that matter) to support us.
That works. Thank you. I just RSVP'd to attend the event. I'm on the East Coast.
this link did not work…
I hope more states follow his lead. Has anyone heard anything about it? I heard Illinois issued a similar statement. Getting ready to defend freedoms against Trump.
Me Too on both counts, the pride for my home State of California and our good Governor Gav, and I'm open to a hug, along with a terrorist fist bump
Obama-esque on the fist bump OK?
:)
I haven’t been able to watch the news and I am thankful for your letters! Thank you, Dr Richardson.
Me either and intend to stay that way. There are just a few sources I trust—very few—and I am limiting myself.
Hey, I got to see Obama speak here in Philly, Bruce play, and almost got to see Kamala on election eve but had to get my daughter home on a school night, and the lines to get in were really, really long, full of like-minded people.
Well, thank God there is at least one on the Democrat side that is doing something in response, instead of just sobbing and moaning and taking a posture of subordination to Trump and his MAGA minions.
Our Maura Healey is standing up for us. Equality in Constitution since the 2000s and several sanctuary cities, some close by. This is what has to happen, and there's still time.
Not just Newsom...check the NYT link above...
Yes. I liked Illinois Governor Pritzker's declaration: “You come for my people,” Mr. Pritzker said at a news conference, “you come through me.”
And it is good that the newly elected Governor of my state (Washington), Bob Ferguson, has been preparing for this by closely examining Plan 2025. He's been the state's Attorney General for a number of years, so he'd be a formidable foe should it come to legal action.
I am so glad we retired from Wisconsin to Portland. People can criticize Portland but we're pretty darn blue. And tolerant. And have all Dems in our statewide offices. Plus, Washington above us and California below us!
I was very happy to see that the three west coast states formed a solid blue block. There are some folks in the eastern parts of our respective states who wish it were otherwise, but they are welcome to pull up stakes and move on over to Idaho.
Democratic.
Yes…after two days of mourning, I realize that I have to get on with it. I just found out that 53% of white women voted for Trump.
Eleanor - The R women appear to be just as empty headed as the R men. Remember that there were women against the suffragette movement. SMH.
And the ERA.
They are working class who don’t know or feel their power outside of a traditional family (patriarchal) structure. We need to help them, not blame them….
No, it’s also the wealthy while women who voted for him. They like the tax cuts for rich people (which definitely will happen), the idea of deporting immigrants (because they like the idea of dominating other people and they can’t follow the thread to see that they will be affected by this), they don’t care about prices because they can afford to pay them so don’t give a crap about tariffs (if they even know what they are), have private health insurance and can’t wait to not have to support the ACA (and haven’t considered their own current or future preexisting conditions), and have their kids in private school and so don’t care about public education but are also thrilled they might be able to use public funds for their private schools. They also know that if they or their daughters need an abortion, they have the wherewithal to travel abroad to get it. Believe me, these are my people. It’s why so many of them move to Florida. So they can take advantage of all the ways that state makes life easier for rich people and harder for everyone else. It’s gross but it’s who we are now.
Yes. I get it. I saw footage of women in Florida saying shit like “yay, daddy is home”. Ayiyi. 8000 years of patriarchy creates a lot of baked in codependent powerlessness (and selfishness, laziness among rich white women who will throw their sisters of color under the bus.)
Beth, you have described so well the people I encounter in Florida, and it's why I have to get out of this state! When I moved here 10 years ago, I did not have a clue what I was getting myself into! I simply cannot relate to these people, who are always very pleasant to me, until I reveal that I am not like them, and then they pleasantly avoid me. It's such a weird place to live.
Not just working class white women…I know many who attach themselves to wealthy, older men because they think that will keep them safe. I have family members who treat it like a sport…finding the richest man and making it their “job” to be arm candy. Cold hearted to the core…racist and selfish.
And when the old dude discards them for a younger version, they hope it will be with enough $$$ to be ok.
Or they'lll be young enough for the corpse of Rupert.
Yes. I think you’re right….
Some are stupid, I know them
😌 thanks for the first chuckle in two days Jeri!
They are hard to come by, are they not. My g daughter said so. “How can people be so stupid.”
😫
Where the he#l were my fellow white women for Harris???
Where the h#ll were my fellow white women for Harris???
That is beyond disgusting. I’m going to go join the Network NOVA Friday Power Lunch that starts at noon ET. “Bad ass women getting things done.”Not Trump voters.
I read your post from earlier today and found it very helpful. I printed it out for myself and family. thank you.
I could use a hug, Dr. Ryan, despite little hints of optimism I've begun to feel. I'll give one back to you.
Group hug, Mim!
Dr. McCormick, you might be interested in reading from a Substack neighbor here - in regard to all the human capital we need for our Climate emergency.
Getting busy with helping to clean our environment will be therapeutic for our soul, and President Biden created government incentives for new green jobs.
Workers need day care for children and eldercare. The U.S. has jobs ready - our nation needs us to get busy.
Check out Dr Julio Friedmann, here on Substack - and through his company, Carbon Direct
JULIO FRIEDMANN - SEP 25, 2024
The Hard Stuff is hard, but we ignore The Work involved at our peril. on Substack
…
Carbon Capture Opportunities and Limits - Andy Revkin Q&A with Julio Friedmann
https://youtu.be/QCn5vl6zouA?si=3POQgYvklKDeG_8n
There is such a need for manufacturing and technical engineers, that includes new opportunities for trade, prosperity and environmental redress.
Neighbors helping neighbors. Communities sponsoring students for education, including all ages and mitigation working groups.
Absolutely, thank you! Will check this out tomorrow night
Dr M, I read your excellent piece. Thank you. It helped a bit.
I honor that you heed, “Physician, heal thyself”. Thank you for the link. I found your words, ideas and suggestions quite valuable to mull over. I subscribed. I am delighted to see you follow Dr Eric Topol. Your mixture of wisdom, humor and explanation of tear pathophysiology intrigues me. Please accept a big gentle bear hug and pass it along. Might you consider writing an Rx for Dr Richardson giving her permission from us, to occasionally take off more than on e day of writing ? Her selection of Buddy’s photos say a thousand words in themselves. We do not want to wear her out. ❤️🩹🩹🌎
Reading your SubStack link was the “hug” I needed….thank you.
Very nice post / essay on your page Dr.
I think we all need hugs today and I’m sending some to all of you 😊
“Not permitted under law” will be the new norm.
That’s where their hostile takeover of the judiciary will come into its own. Absolute and presumptive immunity leave a lot of room for mischief in the New World Order.
Shudder ... "New World Order."
Nobody should be surprised - it was printed on the money!
Shudder indeed.
November 5th was Democracy’s Pearl Harbor. Let’s get ready for Midway.
Let's get ready for the 2026 midterms!
We’ve got a Governor’s race coming up here in NJ and in VA next year, so we will have to get into high gear if we want to keep NJ blue and flip VA.
Already workin on it
The victory at Midway turned on one very clever fellow in the Naval Intel who figured out thru a simple ruse what the intended target was of the enemy fleet. Midway island. Even with knowing their intentions, it was still a close run thing. We suffered losses in the Coral Sea engagement leading up to Midway. We've got to be purposeful, resolute, clear eyed and clever going forward is what I'm saying here.
I have been thinking that clever, quiet, maybe even subversive is the way to go. We’ve spent so much time running around screaming with our hands flapping in the air at every outrage. It’s time to get stealthy and strategic. But we don’t have the discipline or the organization for that.
Strategy. With a capital S! First and foremost. A sound strategy, executed properly, almost always wins the day.
Glad to see my California is not going to roll over and play dead.
He wasn’t my president before and will not be mine now.
I, unfortunately, live in republican Florida. 🍊🤡will never be my president. I will no longer watch tv news. My news source will be these wonderful daily letters Heather so kindly writes for us.
Here are two other news sources that are well researched and reliable. Not "hair on fire" sources.
Brian Tyler Cohen
https://www.youtube.com/@briantylercohen
The American Prospect
https://prospect.org
And an article calling for Democrats to abandon mainstream media
https://prospect.org/politics/2024-11-07-time-for-democrats-abandon-mainstream-media/
Please support The American Prospect! Great minds here! AND they are not beholden to an oligarch!
Thanks for the additional endorsement of The American Prospect. That got my attention. I joined with my email, name, and the pre-checked selected newsletters. I looked at the supporting options, and I was about to do that. I thought I might read a few newsletters to get to know what is offered better. That will mainly determine which level of support I will consider, as in which tier.
Me too.
Good on Ya!!
Thanks for the referral. I read one article already at prospect.org and signed up for. Newsletters. I need other sources of information.
I live in MT & have not watched the news for a good week.
I was saddened to see Jon Tester lost his race. My parents still live there but I never go back. I’m sure they voted for him for a third time. 😔
Same! He's never been my president and never will be. I'm in Oregon and it seems like the whole left coast copies each other at times and so Washington and Oregon, I'm sure, will probably follow California's lead.
Hello! Fellow Oregonian. Ran into a young man at the grocery store yesterday and we commiserated about the election. He had JUST relocated here from Florida, seeking a blue state! We'll see much of this in the coming months and years - migrants to the west coast.
Hello back! I think we will too. I grew up in Montana and gtfo in my early 20s and headed west, been here ever since (I’m 51). I would never leave here and go back there or any red state for that matter.
I have wanted to move to a blue state for a long time. I grew up in OK and lived in TX from 1989 - early 2023; I moved back to OK after my dad passed away to tend to the family home and figure out what to do next. I have made it all these years in these states and am ready to live in and among more like-minded people. I am also considering making an international move. It's only me, and I don't have to take into consideration a family. I'm too wrecked still to be devising many plans; when I am better, I can begin to look into options. If not, I must dig deeper into living the "bury my head in the sand" life and sticking to myself. Then again, there are pleasant things around this town, and day-to-day life will be livable, just not as accessible. Life in the red state is soul-sucking, even if the cost of living is less.
Kathy - I’m sorry about your dad. I too have contemplated moving overseas but isn’t that what they want? If a good chunk of us leave it just makes it easier for them. I’m in no state of mind to be making big decisions right now either. I waffle between wanting to join the resistance and wanting to throw my hands up, tell America we had a good run, and leave. Take care and do what you need to do.
It's hard to not feel numb, and hide under my covers, but you give me hope to fight, Professor Richardson. Thank you.
I've had 2 pajama days and ate all the leftovers in the fridge. That is my sack cloth and ashes, I guess. I'm up and running now though.
I doubt that Trump cares about keeping promises. He will just continue lying.
I hope Democrats flood media with news about prices. And when Republicans start attacking Social Security I hope democrats will grow spines and take to the streets - en mass. The days of just sending a donation are over. We will have to get up and commit our bodies to the cause.
Unfortunately, we have found out that media is not responsible, and T supporters only watch Fox News -- therefore, the truth will never reach their ears. For democracy to thrive, we need to get rid of Fox by holding it accountable. I don't know why there hasn't been several class action lawsuits against Fox. Hit them where it counts .... money.
I'm not thinking about the MAGA heads. I'm thinking of the young, the black, the latino, the women voters that recently have voted for Trump and other Republicans.
Democrats need to flood Democrat friendly media first and then get it into corporate media.
That's exactly the process Republicans have used so successfully.
I'm afraid those who voted for Trump are not in the space to hear any Democrat messages. They live in a world of the Fox propaganda network 24/7 and right wing social media that riles them up. They get an adrenaline rush out of hearing Trump's bullying, and that keeps them coming back. The only winning media that Republicans have is a propaganda channel that feeds them fear and anger. Democrats don't have that. I don't know how Democrats compete with that. But messaging is important. The DNC is terrible at branding.
The reality of prices won't matter to them. Trump will blame any poor outcomes on the Democrats. His supporters are not logical, not critical thinkers. They only want the entertainment that Trump gives them.
We are critical thinkers. They are not. It's hard for us to understand them because they are not motivated by the same things we are.
People in Republican states have been voting against their own best interests for decades. They won't wake up.
Critical thinking in education is what is needed. It's a long game, and the Republicans don't support education. Republicans in power want to dumb down the electorate, because that way the electorate will be easier to manipulate.
Americans are stupid, really stupid. If you are here reading HCR, you are informed. They are not. It's like trying to grab the attention of children. Trump is the circus they want.
The democrat party has the resources to start their own media outlet deal. it is not insurmountable to do so. The DNC leadership simply will not do it. There it is.
The DNC is a dinosaur. Time for them to step aside.
Think of all the entertainment talent the Democratic party has, such as Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, etc. That is likely to draw young people. Maybe work positive messaging into their songs. Republicans have hate and racism and bullying, but the Democrats can have fun and the natural high of doing good for others — that may be the key to catch the short attention span of America’s electorate.
Yes. Thanks, Cathy, for a ray of hope.
Two, well, 4 words: Mayor Pete on Faux
Tell me more about that.
Many of us admire his ability to cut to the chase and get a message across when rudely interviewed by Fox News.
I have disconnected from 98% of social media and "news" channels. There are 3 sources left because I want to have a life now (you, dear Ms. Richarson, are my #1 source). The shock to me of this election has totally helped me disconnect al lot from my phone and computer.
Yep, cannot look or listen to any Repub ever again.
Me too! I deleted my fb account. Can u share your other sources?
Trump doesn't care about laws.
He revels in his lawlessness. It’s a laugh line at his cult gatherings.
"the stock prices of private prison companies GEO Group and CoreCivic have soared since Trump’s election." Not joking: I think I'm going to be sick. HORROR SHOW!! (Re Powell's statement: "Not permitted under the law", I guess he didn't get the memo from SCOTUS that the President can do whatever he wants to do, and to heck with laws.)
I laughed at that too. Although not a bit funny…
Not "too". I wasn't laughing. (Not meaning to be rude.)
Elon Musk while born in South Africa, emigrated to Canada--as his mother is/was a Canadian citizen. Curiously, he has a top security clearance via the Dept of Defense or through a presidential approval. Either way, the Department of Defense depends upon SpaceX to put their satellites into space. Musk is no innocent bystander with Putin and Trump and obviously has a conflict of interest in US government dealings. It's best not to lose track of Elon as he has no ones' interest at heart but his own. There's of course the possilbity that at some point Trump and Elon and maybe even Peter Thiel will fall out as the world stage is not big enough for all those egos.
"..... world stage is not big enough for all those egos." Well observed and stated as I see it Marg.
They've clashed before.
The America we knew, the exceptionalism we believed in, and our forefathers spilled their blood for at home and on foreign soil died this week. The popular American vote was for a dictator under the influence of a foreign power. I feel despair for the deeply held values Americans just turned their backs on, our position in the world, and the international leadership we were once known for. The matrix of lies and disinformation known as social media and Fox News are the Quislings of our time. And may God help Ukraine as well as NATO -- they're going to need it. New world order, indeed.
Nothing died this week! Thomas Jefferson (while Sec. of State) told President George Washington that Alexander Hamilton (Sec. of Treasury) was plotting (with England) to overthrow the government while Jefferson was also drafting (clandestinely) articles of succession that circulated in the Virginia Statehouse. Winston Churchill is said to have observed that, “Americans always do the right thing—after exhausting all other alternatives.”
First time around, Trump's incompetence in handling the pandemic is estimated to have killed 400,000 Americans. That is a tough marker to exceed!
He’s just getting started.
He will and that will be a drop in the bucket, Putin will help…
He also supposedly said “the best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.” Jordan Klepper would agree.
The sad thing? Most Trump voters I encounter have NO IDEA there's any relationship between Putin and Trump. And they want to abandon Ukraine and NATO. So no help there.
Ignorance is ignoring the facts. The shallowness of the rational of their votes is astounding ! Democracy was on the table not eggs .
You summed it up for me. Exactly. Those who disagree only have to wait. It won’t be long.
I haven’t decided just what I will do - to give you a sense of my age, I’ll say I was born on VJ day. But one thing I WON’T do is spend one dime on ANYTHING connected with Elon Musk. He’s in many ways more reprehensible than DJT ( whom I shall refer to as Pvt. Bone Spurs from now on). As someone who came of age during the Vietnam War, I feel particular disdain for a draft dodger, especially one whose daddy colluded in this deception. Part of me wishes Vice President Harris could have hammered on the fact that PBS is a loser: Trump steaks? The Apprentice? Trump University? Trump football team? Trump airline? He even managed to mess up a casino in Atlantic City! And the company was thrown out of managing a hotel in Panama. I think I’ll make a daily practice of watching Full Frontal’s “Trump in Scotland” episode. Possibly I shall also join the League of Women Voters - it could lead to greater things.
Not just ONE casino, but THREE(!) bankrupted! A total FAILURE!
I once swore I wouldn't buy anything foreign-made. I had to resort to buying everything from Goodwill, Salvation Army, and garage sales until I couldn't even find U.S.-made items at those places. I finally broke down when I badly needed socks and underwear. We may not have a choice concerning what is available.
I was born 7 days after Pearl Harbor. I am seriously considering re locating to WA state. We moved from the Seattle area to red state of MT.
God bless you Heather. I appreciate your history lessons side by side with current events.
I’m still exhausted from his first term and his insurrection.
Lucia - Me, too.
Under these difficult circumstances, this letter is comforting. I agree that much of his campaign promises will fail. It’s the chipping away at our Democracy that scares the hell out of me.
Haven’t you noticed that Repubs have played the long game, and plan to keep what they have cheated to get. Ad long as Putin approves.