Yesterday was a bad day for extremism in the United States of America. In Ohio, voters enshrined the right to abortion in the state constitution; in Kentucky, voters reelected Governor Andy Beshear, a Democrat, for another four-year term; in Pennsylvania, voters put Democrat Daniel McCaffery, who positioned himself as a defender of abortion rights, on the state supreme court; in Rhode Island, Gabe Amo, a former Biden staffer who emphasized his experience in the Biden White House, won an open seat in the House of Representatives to become Rhode Island’s first Black member of Congress; and nationwide, right-wing Moms4Liberty and anti-transgender-rights school board candidates tended to lose their races.
SUCH a great day!!! And quotes of the day (after):
“Women don’t want to die for Mike Johnson’s religious beliefs.” —Molly Jong-Fast
And from Jessica Valenti:
"I wish I was the kind of person who wins gracefully. Really, I do. But when you spend a year writing about raped children being denied care and women forced to carry doomed pregnancies to term, you tend to lose your magnanimity.
So to every Republican politician who tried to keep voters from having a say on abortion, and to every anti-choice activist who worked to keep women under the government’s thumb:
God bless you and Jessica Valenti. I spent all of yesterday absolutely floating with vindication and am not sorry.
Considering the press coverage: I am happy that the pundits have figured out the face-slappingly eye-rollingly hair-on-end obvious fact that reproductive rights matters to everyone, is a paramount concern and isn't just, like, a trend, gurl! But I am frustrated that they *still* are not fully grasping that it is not *just* the damn abortion bans that are driving up Demicratic turnout. It is so much more than that.
Dobbs was the straw that broke the camel's back. It was the apex and culmination of the Christian-fundamentalist-nativist-nationalist madness that the Republican party has spent most of our lifetimes cultivating in our population for their own divisive ends. It was the moment that everything else became sharply clarified for a lot of people who were not previously willing to see the personal, visceral danger of these peoples' agenda of open authoritarianism on their lives. The threats to democracy are NOT abstract, nor are you immune from their effects, and the danger is not just stemming from Von Tweeto but the party as a whole. When folks hear about an abortion ban it sets off a little *ping* in their brain that "Oh yeah, AND ALSO the book banning, and the telling people what to wear, and the gay bashing, and the open carry rifles (my kid has a clear backpack now!), and the insurrection, and the Nazi marches, and the forced family separation, and the million dead from Covid because you wouldn't wear a damn mask, and oh God I guess these people are all truly insane and maybe the extra 60 cents at Starbucks isn't the biggest problem after all!"
Ronna McDaniel was on the news saying how the party needs to make it clear how they value exceptions and nuance, and need to demonstrate "compassion" through more "pregnancy centers" and "viable adoption." Ugh. Lady, you are NOT GETTING IT. There is no nuance here. It is the 21st Century. Adults have sex. Having sex is FINE. Sometimes a woman gets pregnant, doesn't want to be a Mom yet. That is FINE. Get over it. That woman doesn't feel like spending a year of her life having her body put through hell and then the rest of her life knowing the kid she gave up is wandering out there, when the alternative is a SIMPLE COMMON MEDICAL PROCEDURE that removes some cells and lets her get on with her own destiny. Kindly stop shoving your hateful medieval judgement you learned from your magic book up her uterus.
Fuck you, we win.
Edit: Oh, and progressives ALSO have better ideas than the reactionaries about putting more money in the pockets of regular people. That too! (That isn't new, though.)
And stop defining zygotes as babies. All cells have potential but many fall short. Republicans fall short of that reach for humanity every day. Just like in 2012, when they heard the same advice “need a change of message,” they doubled-down and hugged right. And the money flowed in. Ronna McDaniel will NEVER get it. It’s power, pure and simple. One thing is for sure, the zealots will never admit defeat. Neither can we.
Jeri (and Will): Yes! AND stop defining women's bodily autonomy as only abortion. The issues having to do with women regaining legal control over their bodies is far more vast than that. What we need is ERA. And we also need to demand that this Christofascist focus on the "fault" of women for getting pregnant when they have intercourse be corrected. Pregnancy cannot happen without a (wait for it: I beat this drum on a regular basis) PENIS being involved. And yet all these white boyz are convinced that somehow their insertion of their favorite organ into a woman's vagina is not the problem. What I love is the fact that the book burning morons are being hoist on their own petard. My motto for years has been "Never EVER mess with librarians." We have to begin at the bottom and work through the system methodically. The Democratic machine is terrible at this, but it could be that we have some momentum.
"We have to begin at the bottom and work through the system methodically. The Democratic machine is terrible at this, but it could be that we have some momentum"
Thank you for this. I am chair of a local Dem committee, and on the county exec committee. You caught the Dem problem spot on. I have worked with groups, both political and non-political, for decades, and I know that people need to feel part of the process. But over and over again I hear people complaining that the only time they hear from the Dem party is when they want money. This is pretty much the truth. So I set out to give people in my committee a sense of having a voice and agency, knowing that they would take that out into the community to others. Yesterday, I was informed at county meeting in no uncertain words that the party is about raising money for in-state candidates, period. Yeah, we need the money, because we don't have the anonymous PACS the Republicans do. But before people give money, they have to feel like the organization hears them and is responsive to them. So while I will keep on chairing and toeing the line, I want to offer outside "work-sessions" for the folks in my committee who want to actually DO something to ensure we get the voters out, not just here, but in our neighbor states where close races WILL determine whether we have a functioning Congress. The old days of just having big event fund-raisers just don't cut it anymore. We want democracy back, and we want to be part of it- including our own political party.
I've experienced exactly what you're saying. As a result, every time I get an email from the DSCC or DNC or other establishment Washington-based Democratic group, if a text I type STOP and if a phone call I tell them to forget it, I never give money over the phone.
As we get into 2024 I'll donate to individual candidates - all Dems of course - but won't ever pay the overhead of institutionalized and out of touch Democratic groups in D.C.
I love you work to create a New Democratic Party. The old way is why we are in the fix we are in.(it’s not just that the gop went nuts). I want my support and action to be a part of that new bottom up rebuilding. I want us to win AND make a positive difference! Thank You Annie for chairing your local Dem committee. Here’s wishing you get better leadership higher up.
I think they are working on it at the national level. Keep in mind that each state has its own Dem organization and by-laws, and that, I think, is where the significant move toward change must happen. Also keep in mind that people all up and down are doing the best they can. We are almost all volunteers; the few staff we are able to hire are not well-paid for the level of work they do- and they do work hard. Nobody goes into this without a sense of commitment. It's just that people burn out, and new people tend to pick up on what they have seen, so old ways of doing things get perpetuated. Change takes time, and it's often hard. I believe that the amazing grass-roots activity outside the party the past several years will be one of the big drivers for change in the Democratic party. It already is a new Democratic Party. And the proof is the amazing results in recent elections. We each can do some small thing that will make a difference. One of the big ones is getting the media to pay attention to the important things. Write letters to journalists to let them know when they are off, but as important- let them know when they've done a good job. Best way to create change.
Yes! There is no pregnancy without a penis! 50% of the genetic makeup of each child belongs to the father. So, my suggestion to the pro-life extremists is that for every child born, the biological father is financially responsible for the child’s food, housing, clothing, healthcare, education through college, sports, etc. Let’s put that on the ballot along side their draconian anti-abortion bills. That’s only fair. The truth is, they don’t give a damn for those babies once they’re born. And they prove that by cutting SNAP and Medicaid benefits to poor women and children. This isn’t about being pro-life and it never was. It’s about keeping women powerless second class citizens.
Ramasmarmy was telling some reporter before the debate that the answer to abortion was "male sexual responsiblity." Which on a certain level is acknowledging the obvious that immaculate conception isn't suuuuuper common, but really is just another way of saying that the acceptable solution is to stop having sex, which is not going to happen and doesn't need to happen, because *adults have sex,* and always have and always will, and there is nothing WRONG with having sex whenever you want with another consenting adult, and the idea that you need to live with the "consequences" and "take responsibility" for having sex, like it is some grave weighty life choice you are making is goddamn ludicrous to everyone who knows what goddamn century it is.
Rami is dubiously offering a red herring. No doubt more male sexual activity responsibility would solve a LOT of world problems, but abortion will always be necessary health care. Responsible people get unwantedly pregnant. Responsible people have obstectric crisises that abortions will medically remedy. Pregnancy - even when resulting from responsible action - is still -and always will be- dicey business. Leave the decision where it should most responsibly be: with the pregnant person and the medical professional chosen to accept help from. NONE of this stops other women or men from chosing how to act personally. If you are against abortion, don’t get one. Or don’t have sex with someone who will get pregnant. Nothing is stopping someone from exercising their personal choice to carry their pregnancy to term. Nothing. As well, Nothing should stop a pregnant person from making the personal choice that is best for the pregnant person.
Susan, you must not live in a state like Missouri. Where the Dem machine is so afraid of losing their comfy relationship with the neofascists they won't support progressive candidates. Where they are fielding a primary opponent who wants to get rid of Cori Bush, probably one of the most remarkable Congresswomen around. Where they deliberately sank the nomination of a viable candidate in the last senatorial race (Lucas Kunce, who is now running to run against Hawley) in favor of a completely incompetent candidate whose only claim to fame was that she was a beer heiress with ties to St. Louis. And then lied about Lucas in order to primary him out of the picture. Where, outside of KC where I live and where we bleed blue, the Dem machine won't support their own electorate in favor of maintaining what piddly power or influence they have. Dem machine doesn't mean Democratic voter. Dem machine is the organization that ceded the grassroots to the Reaganites. That allowed the neofascists and Christofascists to take over local government. That is interested mostly in maintaining its own institutional power. Machines are all corrupt. I am interested in voters. In people. In pushing against the whole machine politics situation. Ironically, although Biden has been a team player most of his life, hhe has been out ahead of his own party for years--including as VP--in ways that the Dem machine has found objectionable. Why do you think they are being so coy? Talking about replacing him? Not amplifying his message?
Sorry for the screed but I just can't let this one go. I have never EVER voted for a Republican--and I remember and liked John Lindsey. But I won't call myself a member of the Democratic Party (except perhaps in Will Rogers's famous phrase: "I don't belong to an organized political party. I'm a Democrat") because I have been abandoned by the machine more times than I have been supported.
Thank you Linda! I am a lifelong Democrat, and I know it is important for us to call out the corruption in our own Party. I never give to the DCCC or the DSCC precisely because, as you said, they so often support candidates who are acceptable to corporate donors rather than those who really work for us.
That said, I have yet to see a Republican candidate who really gives a d@mn about real people, so I will continue to support Dems. Of MY choice.
Thank you for elucidating (is that a word?!) the situation in MO.....it’s bad enough fighting our enemies, but our “friends”? It must be doubly depressing
Wow...I'd like to copy your message and send to some friends in NY who are so frustrated with the NY Dem. machine. Would that be ok?
I'm encouraged by the young folks, especially women, I see who are truly progressive and working hard at the grass roots level. Old Dems will die out (I'm 78, and I'm sure of this!) so we have to keep fighting the good fight and supporting these young folk. Blessings,
Thank you for this post. Around here it is the more progressive people who are often Bernie bots and believe the label socialist can win who have dissed Biden. i don't hear that so much now, so maybe a few of them have reformed.
Have you heard Michael Moore’s podcasts about blue dots in a red state? His tips made sense to me, tho I live in NM which is blue, although there are a lot of MAGAs here….
Susan, the people doing the most effective work right now are the kitchen table Democrats: all the people writing postcards, making calls, going to the local town hall meetings, reaching out, showing up. We do need the organization of the party to pull it all together, but they let us down at the local level if all they do is constantly ask for money. In recent times, the most effective fund-raising has been for small amounts. I don't mind getting asks from candidates, because it costs to run a campaign. But it's pretty off-putting to be asked to give without being given a sense of why, and of being given the sense that We the People have no role in the process other than as money raisers.
First...I'm a radically independent moderate, I've voted for candidates and positions supported by both D and R.
Second...regarding the D. When they had the majority, when they had the House, the Senate and POTUS they did NOT pass the legislation that many of us want:
- right to reproductive control
- proper gun control
- right to register and vote
I think I see the R party self imploding on abortion and guns and extreme extremists, and am hoping to see D's have success in local, state and national elections in 2024.
Will the D's have enough discipline and self-control to advance the legislation that the MAJORITY of Americans (members of D and R and INDEPENDENTS) want?
"Will the D's have enough discipline and self-control to advance the legislation that the MAJORITY of Americans (members of D and R and INDEPENDENTS) want?"
I think it is key to remember that there is no particular amount of "self-discipline and control" that can mind-magic any given egotistical Senator into going along with the plan, especially when they feel they stand to be rewarded for NOT doing so, and if you have literally no people to lose then that is that. 273/275 Dems voting the same way (99.5% agreement) is pretty freaking "disciplined". Too bad those 2 were in the wrong place. If that doesn't happen next time, then all these nice things will happen next time.
Nicely put. It's been woman' fault since Eve. I recently read Gilgamesh and found out it was a woman (a temple prostitute) who spoiled Enkido's natural ways and made him a human so he could pal around with Gilgamesh who wasn't exactly a good ruler. I will give the ancient writers kudos though for not beating around the bush and telling exactly what happened. No euphemisms.
I have seen bits of whole Christian seminars based around the message that women need to keep themselves chaste because they have no idea how hard it is for men to control themselves when women are alluring, essentially laying the shame and responsibility for "sin" in the world at women for not keeping *themselves* oppressed enough.
I found it offensive as a man, though, because I have absolutely no problem keeping my business in my pants upon seeing a nice lady specimen, and I don't need any help from her (or Jesus) to not be a creep, thank you very much.
Love this, Will. On Christmas Eve we listen at 7am to the Readings and Carols from King's College Chapel, Cambridge. I love it, except the first bit about the Garden of Eden. Available, btw at 7amPST Christmas Eve on all classical.org to stream.
I find the work of Dr. Kristin Kobes du Mez very interesting. She is the author of a book Jesus and John Waynehttps://www.google.com/search?q=Kristin+kobes+du+mez&sca_esv=581440190&tbm=vid&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwio1oOQrruCAxXfjokEHWLiDN0Q_AUoBHoECAMQBg&biw=2219&bih=1051&dpr=2#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:41264421,vid:nLBgAimpnKs,st:0
Thanks for saying this Will. I have long been perplexed (and angry) that some theocratic countries keep women home-bound, shrouded head-to-toe when outdoors and “controlled” by men because-- what?—the men can’t control their urges? That screams to me of “moral weakness” and lack of self-agency….poor darlings, so sad & silly! Sometime ago I read The Power by Naomi Alderman, a fiction thought-experiment about the male/female power dynamic…an interesting read & btw was one of Obama’s favorite reads for 2017 (also NYT’s Book Review one of 10 best for 2017). I am grateful that for my trip-round-the-sun I landed in a relatively free society, if still somewhat misogynistic. And I hope to see the ERA finally passed before I shuffle off to star dust.
This summer my goal was to read as many banned books as possible ( including several children's books). To honest some I wouldn't care for in a high school. I think there would be other books which would cove the topic. The Handmaid's Tale and the Giver affected me the most. My general impression is they don't like anything that presents a possible authoritarian tendencies. Any thing LBGTQ is definitely out even if no sex is mentioned. and why is Where the Wild Things Are on the list?
Right on about the zygotes, Jeri. I've never seen any R sobbing over the more than 40% of zygotes that never take and get flushed down toilets all over the world every day. That's REALITY. Don't tell me those clumps of cells have souls.
If they cared about babies, they would CARE ABOUT BABIES, and children, and the damaged vets, and the immigrants who could contribute to our society, and... Well, I could go on and on.
How can you say you value all life when it is a zygote in utero but not when it is a Black man on death row for the same things white men get away with?
This is true, but you don't even have to go that far! They think that the life of a fully functioning women should cede its own exercise of free will the second an unformed zygote appears.
They clearly value some of "all lives" more than others.
Girls and women are sinners, and the men are just bystanders. NOT. Glad I have known some wonderful men or I could be a hater. I'm a hater of hypocrisy instead.
What is a soul? This much we know: all bodies are temporary no matter in what stage of development. If a soul is the point where the body plugs in to life, and the body dies, life is not the poorer for it.
Those right wing extremists are NOT the ones protecting life. Women and girls are suffering emotional trauma and dying because the Republican Taliban is practicing medical care without a license. The Republican Taliban voted to increase child poverty and wants to cut Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, SNAP, and every social safety net program while letting their legacy children into college and keeping kids with few financial resources out.
The ONLY good Republicans are pushing up daisies. Right on Harry Truman.
So many have been traitors for decades. The Coup of 1933 was the first I heard of. But not the last. Things that never made it into our history books. No wonder DeSatan wants to "protect" us from what republicans have done to our democracy. Now Santorum says it out loud.
Here in Ohio, the Republicans changed the wording of the Issue 1 amendment on the ballot, substituting “unborn child” for the word “fetus”, I suppose thinking fewer people would vote for that. Our issue wasn’t just about abortion. It includes the right to contraception, infertility treatment, and miscarriage care. It also forbids the state from punishing those who either seek abortions or help those seeking them.
While I’m thrilled that both Issues 1 and 2 passed, I find it pretty awful that turnout was less than 50% for such an important election. I get that that’s high for an off year, and all we voted for were a couple of magistrates, school board (and thank god our far right crazy lost), and our two issues, but ugh! Come on people, vote!
Had a conversation with my grand girl who seemed to think that since she uses contraception for other than birth control, she would be safe. Disabused her of that notion. It matters not. Also told her that things might not always be in her control. My ex bff has three daughters and one d-in-l. All were raped as teens, two working in restaurants, one at Oxford during a semester abroad, and one at college. None reported it. Shocking to me, but apparently more common than any know. Yet girls and/or women wear the Scarlett Letter.
My Mom was pregnant 13 times. She has 2 children. She wanted more, but that is life. Miscarriage is common and devastating, and she is the strongest person I know. I am so glad that she didn't have to think about what state she was living in while going through that near-decade of trying, and anyone who thinks it is ok for a woman having to consider such a thing in such a situation deserves an express ride to the very particular neighborhood in Hades.
My wife was 1 for 6. Two of those were in Missouri and one in Nebraska. She nearly died on one of them that happened when abortion was legal in those states.
If a woman in those states had miscarriages at the same point in their pregnancies that my wife did, there is a good chance they would die if this happened now.
I haven't spent time in Ohio since the 2002 election, but at that time, I noticed that daytime NPR always focused on music in the day time and all the news was pushed into the evenings, whereas in New York City, you could get NPR news all day long. I was volunteering for a group sponsored by George Soros (no demon in my book) rather than the Kerry campaign, but it seemed to me that some timely news would have been helpful, because the Republican narrative was out there unchallenged.
We’re seeing it play out now… “Within MAGA Republicans’ refusal to admit that their far-right positions are unpopular is a disdain for those voters who disagree with them.”
Sounds like the unnamed official in the George W. Bush administration who said “(you’re) in what we call the reality-based community,' which he defined as people who 'believe that solutions emerge from your judicious study of discernible reality.' [...] 'That's not the way the world really works anymore,' he continued. 'We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality.”
Otherwise known as "alternative facts." Yep, W and Dickie were great at creating their own reality. We suffer mightily for their insanity today. W laughingly said "You can fool some of the people all of the time, and those are the ones you want to concentrate on." Chump signed on and here we are.
Don't forget W. had a lot of help from Karl Rove, who, if I'm not mistaken, first used the term reality-based community. And no, in reality, Saddam Hussein did not have weapons of mass destruction, and we've been paying for it ever since.
Zealots or true believers of any ilk never admit defeat because they would have to give up the essence of themselves....the idea that only they have the truth and the hatred and disdain for anyone else who doesn't. It's a horrible way to go through life in my opinion, but we find it all over the world in various guises.
I think we can mostly thank death star for giving haters and in your face folks carte blanche to do this. Also I find that society in general is much less civil in everyday life.
The fact is, the Bible says the soul does not enter a body until the first breath is taken; these evangelical extremists have no biblical evidence for their stance against a woman’s rights.
Well said. It is the zealous quest of power. But the fervor is driven or rationalized by an irrational sense of rightness. And it's a sense that self-justifies immoral and unethical actions. It's frightening.
5 1/2 months for a baby to be able to survive outside the women. Something like 90+% abortions are done before 13 weeks. No one is ripping, screaming live babies from anyone.
But that's the lie the right-wing nut cult is pushing. I think chump actually said that. Worse than that, they think that no egg should go unfertilized. Birth control is as evil as abortion at any time. But sperm, just let it flood the land. Insanity rules the fools and has since God was a baby.
Great post, Will. You are so right about that "ping" setting off the remembrance of all those other oppressions. I think the thing is, forced birth is a constantly looming horror that affects more than half the population ALL THE TIME, so it galvanizes more people faster. And also, as HCR has often pointed out - Dobbs TOOK AWAY a Constitutional right. That is a five alarm fire.
Yes, things were looking pretty bleak, but nothing should tarnish the positivity of these elections. The message is clear. One of my favorite lines of this newsletter:
"As Greg Sargent noted in the Washington Post, right-wing culture wars appear to be losing their potency as opponents emphasize American principles."
No, Will, the anger will NOT subside…I have kept mine since the mid-60’s based on personal pre-Roe experience & that branded my advocation for reproductive bodily autonomy on my soul. For women the thrum of danger lives just beneath our skin, always—even when ones’ childbearing days are past . We do not forget.
And there is a potential link to so very many babies born with syphilis and lack of reproductive care. There have been increasing numbers for a decade but up 32% last year. Unforeseen consequences of the anti abortion movement and ruling of the Supreme Court.
It’s not well enough known..those figures! Rural care especially and in poor states is shocking ! Thanks Ally for doubling that fact.
WE need to focus on incentives for health care revamped , another Biden from the bottom up approach.. the tops echelons are evident , sorely needing hauled up by the short hairs and restructured equality.
Just another in the long list of us awakening , rolling up our sleeves, and holding those elected accountable for addressing long overdue inadequacies.
Will, thank you for info on GOP plan to push “ pregnancy centers” and “viable adoption”. Adoption should not be messaged as the answer.
My oft repeated rant.⬇️ ( Thanks for kindly “listening”.)
A woman or child who faces a pregnancy, included one that is forced or traumatic, may have the option to: 1)carry the pregnancy to term, or,2) have a medical procedure to terminate the pregnancy. Some may have absolutely no say in the decision,including those who have been human-trafficked.
Fetuses cannot be adopted. Adoption is an option only once there is a living child as birth mothers have rights up to and after birth.. If a person carries a pregnancy to term, even if this decision was not freely chosen, the decision is to :1)parent the child, or,2) relinquish the child for adoption.
Many birth mothers who suffer the life-long trauma of relinquishment,as well as adoptees, should not be used as political pawns.
And “Right To Lifers”, please stop telling adoptees they should be grateful they weren’t aborted. This “pro-life” gaslighting only serves to promote a false equivalence.
If these right to lifers want to stop abortion and rather the pregnant woman give up the baby up for adoption , what about all those kids that are in orphanages now ! I don't see these kids being adopted by these right to life people ! I just see them bullying pregnant women !! There is no care after the baby is born, daycares are expensive and not enough of them ! Medical insurance is thru the roof and people go into bankruptcy because of these issues !! So the repugnants don't give a rat's ass about the people but care only about their wealthy donors and keeping their evangelical asshats happy , so expect more bullshittery come from the douche bag repugnants !!
Kimberlee, quite some years ago my sister was accompanying a friend to a Planned Parenthood clinic & there was a protest outside. Miffed, my sister walked over to a fellow holding a particularly offensive sign…she asked him how many adopted kids he was raising…crickets…”I thought so” she said & advised him to walk the talk or shut up.
So maybe RBG's death broke the dam, her last great act might have been to ignite the fight just in time for the 2020/2022 elections. For without her death could they have so brazenly taken a right away? Could McConnell have been so brazenly hypocritical to make a supreme court appointment and not let the voters decide and ignore Obama's appointment? While I'm contemplating how the world can be reshaped by unexpected or by what may appear to be untimely events leading to calamity, including the dump of Hillary's emails, COVID etc, (because there is a good chance that without both events the horror of the four years of Trump might be now with Xi and Putin running wild). Also, while I'm thinking a little mystically about all this, is there any chance McConnell could be accused and prosecuted for failing to uphold the Constitution for blocking Obama's ability to appoint a justice? Is Tuberville doing the same thing by exploiting a weakness?
I haven't heard any mention here of the Front Line exposure of McConnell. I saw it on Utah PBS, so I can't imagine that it wasn't aired everywhere. It was chilling to see how the little boy with polio developed into a consummate high school politician and with seeming ease moved from a moderate Republican into a tool of the far right.
There is also the matter of fomenting an insurrection 2021, and all of its concomitant crimes.
Reproductive rights are the focus now because it is really the largest issue facing us today. Access to safe, legal reproductive healthcare is only a small part of the financial, legal, physical, social, and spiritual aspects of women's lives under threat today. Republicans have made it very clear where they stand on all these issues. Make no mistake, this is really an existential threat to our culture.
The only arguably more existential threat is global warming and the tandem issue of climate inequity. Should Republicans regain control of the country those in charge of mitigating this threat will be the petrochemical oligarchs who brought us here in the first place. I no longer separate the Republican party into MAGA and non-MAGA camps (the media seems to make a sport of 'moderate Republican' sightings - kind of like bird watchers and the Ivory
Billed Woodpecker), as it seems to be long past the time (the weeks after 1/6/21) when, if the will was really there, they could have rid themselves of DT and his minions.
Steve, what is mostly flying under the radar is how human impact, not just climate change (tho it’s all interconnected), but use of chemicals, plastics & toxic environmental degradation is affecting fertility (primarily sperm production) and is increasingly, subtly, altering the physical expression of sex organs in babies. Hard to know the eventual outcome of this “forced evolution” of our species.
Thank you, Will, for this excellent post outlining the many reasons the party of death has it wrong. I find it interesting that they still do not get it at least in their public pronouncements although their attempt to suppress the vote tells me that they in fact do because they know they have nothing to offer. In the hopes that death star who aided and abetted this mess and gave carte blanche to people to be awful loses his assets and goes to jail.
the magic book doesn't even condemn abortion. on the contrary it instructs how to do it with poison (as a punishment and prevention of scary extramarital breeding!)
Based on ancient writings on the subject, it is told there was a very effective abortifacient herb (aka poison) growing wild but it was over harvested (!) to extinction (learned this in a series of herbalism classes but can’t recall the source material). Obviously must have been quite popular.
Does she not realize that there are over 100,000 children in foster care? and the republicans want to cut social services. Maybe the pro life people should adopt or take in a foster child. I read an article about how bipartisan committees are being formed to address needs of all the extra babies to be born. What the ----what about the ones who are here now? Repubs have lots of toys to play with, toss them aside, and now want new ones.
Perhaps you/Valenti might consider "We have just begun to fight!" as opposed to the proposed quote?
As an old guy who, yes, has used profanity after whacking myself with some tool, not winning the lottery, watching rain fall on a recently cut hayfield and the like.....I do mostly try to limit the use of the word since, to my old guy ears, it sounds too much like modern America. Crass, profane and, well, kinda "low" as Michele Obama might say.
In general, I try to use language for the situation at hand.
"We" have not won. "We" had a good day. And? I can tell you.
I have just begun to fight, and, my energy IS focused and I know who to fight and a bit more about how now than when I started involvement two years back. My eyes are open to the Republican Party now.
Just something to think about Ms. Sokoloff. I do like the sentiment though.
But maybe, considering the import of the moment and the more-than-understandable fury that many of our citizens are experiencing, just maybe usage of an uncouth syllable is not a problem worth addressing but instead an objectively harmless catharsis fully warranted.
Catharsis fully understood and accepted here. Your humor too.
thanks!
But, I think we are at the front end of the fight, we have not won, and it is a long slog ahead.
Lastly, given the growing number of voices openly expressing, on various public forums like News Max, Fox News and Pravda, that "Democracy is not how you run a country".
We have a real fight ahead.
I had dinner and a beer with a long time Republican Friend this past Tuesday. In that conversation:
1) he voiced full throated support for Israel's bombing campaign in Gaza.
2) indicated that the Palestinians "deserve to be oppressed".
3) said: "Democracy is failing in the US and the Communists need tossed out" and WE need to run the country.
He knows I was once a Republican and he knows I no longer am. He is totally OK telling me, after only one beer, that we need to ditch democracy.
Today, he is the same guy.
I have just begun to fight Ms. Sokoloff. Because, the fight is coming to me.
Mike, your friend is saying essentially, “the will of the voters is fine until its not, democracy is fine as long as “WE” get to use power and greed and legalese to override it, that Freedom is not for everyone, but rather for people who earn it AGREEING WITH US”. When espousing that a group of people “deserve”to be oppressed, he basically checks every definition of a racist soul. He’s you who he is. I’m confident you believe him
The problem that I have with this (among many) is “how did this willingness to openly embrace the idea that prejudice and caste type superiority is in line with purported American values and Constitution language, unfold?”
I know you’re gonna tell me our history shows its always been lurking under a rock, but now its a badge of honor. How many people walk around boasting “I’m a bully, its the American way!!!”; but this is where we are today. This is now normalized and without shame
I used to be paradoxically heartened when I heard some neo-Nazi deny that the Jewish Holocaust ever happened. After all, their words at least showed that they considered genocide something to be ashamed of. Now, I think they are coming to embrace it.
Dave, “how did this willingness to openly embrace the idea that prejudice and caste type superiority is in line with purported American values and Constitution language, unfold?”
I think the presence of people who claim superiority is something like an evolved trait in EVERY human. I have met way too many people who have told me that they are:
1. Genetically superior because of x, y, z. (yes, one of our family friends, even today, will still tell me this after 20 years of me sneezing BS every time).
2. Smarter than average.
3. Stronger than average.
4. More attractive then average.
5. Closer to God than X.
Dave, you name it, humans think it when it comes to being superior.
The inner perception of "I am superior" just must be an evolved trait. Everyone thinks they are better than everyone else.
Mike, if you are ever in Michigan, we should bbq some burgers and have a beer, the worldview that I get from you aligns quite similar to mine. I have never thought that my condition was superior to others, just different. The only thing I think I’m really good at is music and I ain’t no Woody Guthrie
There’s a difference between self confidence in one’s own abilities and perspective vs exhibiting an aura of superiority. There’s always someone smarter, quicker, stronger….. so what? We, you and I, are in a battle of values with people who demonstrate none. Its hard not to feel a “little” better than the average bloak
Mike S - "Ms. Sokoloff, Perhaps you/Valenti might consider 'We have just begun to fight!' as opposed to the proposed quote?"
Will, from Cal - "But maybe, considering the import of the moment and the more-than-understandable fury and many of our citizens are experiencing, just maybe usage of an uncouth syllable is not a problem worth addressing but instead an objectively harmless catharsis fully warranted."
Not "worth addressing" mainly because that word has become so common that it has lost any meaning. Did Ms. Valenti really offer to have sex with her opponent or would, indeed, have "We have just begun to fight!" been more appropriate... and more effective?
My therapist tells me swearing is a sign of higher intelligence. And I swear like a mother fucker. My Italian grandmother's swear words are floating in space somewhere. They were poetry. It would bring a tear to your eye. I miss her.
Then I must be a genius. Damn, these days I can only rave to myself though. When I was young, I didn’t understand the need. Now they are like old friends. Can’t fathom that it’s a sign of intelligence though, just frustration to the core of my being regarding the Nazi cult which calls itself the Republican Party.
Funny story about swearing. When my youngest was 3, I was driving him to preschool when he said to me in his sweet little voice, “Mommy, I have to tell you something.” Expecting something cute like I love you, or I want pumpkin pie for supper. I said, “Sure, Sweetie.” He told me, “I just love to cuss!”
As we pulled into the church parking lot where his preschool/daycare was located, I had a brief moment where I laughed, sobered up and said, “Don’t do it in school.” He said, “I know, I won’t.”
He’s 35 now and makes a great living as a truck driver for one of the bigger dairy companies in our area. Who didn’t see that coming?
Someone I knew gave their kids the rule that it is ok to swear, but it is not ok to swear *at people.* That seemed reasonable to me, and I adopted it for myself. But boy is it difficult sometimes.
I tried that, too, but I've been called out by my daughter and by step-son, so I try to bite my tongue, even though it took me decades to learn to swear.
Lisa, there was just an article yesterday in I think the WaPo about children swearing more these days - it cites studies of swearing being empowering. If that's true, the 5 YO is close to superhero status....
I recently finished writing a novel where much of the action is inside a high school. I asked my hs teacher daughter for a few contemporary slang terms.. She told me that slang is mercurial, and IF I ever get the (fucking? LOL) thing printed, it would be out of date. Also that slang is spawned by TikTok now, and it is often regional as well.
Had she any thoughts as to what word(s) I could use that wouldn't hopelessly date my work? She said that they all--boys and girls--use "fuck" liberally.
Let me tell you, from the stories she relates, many of these kids are far from geniuses.
I think this is the thing that Stephen King is masterful at. When you read his older novels, he absolutely nails the dialogue of the day. It’s evocative.
I tried to explain to my 75-yo Dad the other day the difference between "extra" and "basic" and why neither is desirable, and had to add the caveat that this may already be out of date since I left college a few years ago and aren't on "the Gram." Today's lesson was in how being a "drip" is no longer something to avoid, but having "drip" is now something to attain. Same with "dope." Language is fun.
I think the thing with "fuck" is at this point in vernacular English it has attained the same versatility as "damn," but still maintains a greater sense of "naughtiness." So a lot of middle school kids would of course overuse it all the time because they think it makes them seem adult and rebellious and in-control when amongst the other middle school kids. Then you get older and realize it has no emphasis if you overuse. So swearier adults might be smarter, but swearier kids are almost always dumb showboats.
I think you're right about the versatility/naughtiness combo. It's being incredibly overused in streaming right now. I just quit watching another series because characters were saying it literally dozens of times per episode. That's just way too distracting.
My Italian husband is completely fluent in English, almost without an accent despite coming here as an adult. But he almost never swears in English. His Italian curses are long, imaginative, and funny.
In English we swear about sex and excrement. Italians tend to swear about penises, testicles, and religion. I don’t often hear women swearing in Italian. I cannot imagine what your Italian grandmother swore about!
She taught me how to say, fuck you in Italian. That and cooking out of a box was a sin. She swore about everything. She was 5ft tall and 4ft wide. She was brawler. She never backed down. Everybody says I'm just like her. I love it!
Apparently my Norwegian great grandmother was known both for her eccentricity and her incredible swearing capability. Norwegians don't have "bad words" per se. About the worst word they say is "fæn", which means "hell" (sort of) and is used like we use "fuck". They get VERY creative with their swearing, like the Irish do.
It is fascinating how in different countries and cultural contexts - even other English-speaking ones! - the effect of certain swears is so different. In the UK, "bloody" is a mild swear, while in the US people will ask if you need to go to the doctor. In the UK/Ireland/Australia, c*nt merely is a strong swear that can be used playfully outside of polite company, while in the US it seems to hit like a brutal slur. F*g in the US actually IS a slur, while in the UK it is a thing you order from behind the counter.
I’m pretty fluent in Italian, and I don’t know how to say fuck you! Feel free to teach me! Vaffanculo maybe? Which obviously translates a bit differently.
I wish I was fluent in Italian. It's a beautiful language. My great grandfather's name was Pasquale Santini. They came here around 1890. I wish I would've tapped her brain for more stories. Too busy playing with my 21 cousins.
Weekly visits back in the day to my Italian-born aunts and uncles; all gathered around the dinner table to gossip. Your posts make me wish I sat with them instead of playing with all my cousins!
Hey, "fuck" is my favorite angry word! I find it so very versatile!
I told my kids when they were teenagers that they could swear all they wanted to, that they are just good old Anglo-Saxon words that society made a pact to be horrified by, but they damn well better have a good vocabulary to support those swear words!! :D
Mine too. I even have my Pandemic dish towels that say, 'oh, the fuckery'. The other half of my family is full Irish. We didn't have a snowballs chance in hell from not swearing.🤣 We have a few dumb ones that went through the Florida school system. The rest are pretty bright though.
Hi Mike - I always appreciate your posts, and I'm not much of a swearer myself. But here's something for you to think about: You seem to be more disturbed by Valenti's use of the word "fuck" than by her citing the actual rape of children.
Will has expressed it very well, below. This female fury is going to flare up in catharsis. (Personally, I've written a six-book series about women who are taking their fury out on oppressive and predatory men by doing a whole lot more than swearing, and so far the catharsis of it has kept me from killing anyone. So far...)
Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Multiply by half the population and that’s a lot of pissed off women, even considering the ones who subscribe to second class status.
Same here, I remember the joy of seeing Obama inaugurated, and the immediate fear of reaction of my old party plotting to make him a one term President by any means they could imagine. I'd seen enough by 1996 when I realized the disgusting Newt Gingrich/Frank Luntz GoPac memo "Language: A Key Mechanism of Control" was not going to be rejected, indeed it seemed to really start to take off, and repeatedly returned to no matter how badly they lost any election.
They truly do want to Rule instead of Represent, and we have to keep adapting to their greater efforts following each loss.
I too am a reformed mop (my old party). (I love that and will use it in the future if you don't mind.)
Fascists Rule as you said. They feel the 1st amendment gives them the right to lie about everything and the 2nd amendment allows them to kill the children they say have a right to be born.
Frank and Newt used Rupert to “Goebbels” our population. Watched it happen to the smartest woman I ever knew. Thank you for that memo ref., I’m sure the Tea Party cretins used it to kneecap Obama from day one.
So hard not to call them what they are proud to be, we can celebrate our good day, but they have not reflected and changed anything. Abortion rights will never be on a ballot in Texas. As Santorum said, democracy is no way to run a country. Or something like that. Results of an election mean nothing to them. They think the cult should speak for all of America. They fight against the majority. I say FU, we will roar.
Mike, you say many good things, but I have a quibble with you schooling Ms. Solokoff about her use of language. Let her have one, you know? She was just venting, and she doesn’t do that very often!
Mike, as a 60-year-old woman, I read this advice like a man telling a woman to smile more (with or without the added clause of "so you'll be more attractive) or other phrases along those lines. You may not have intended your comment in this way, but it sounds condescending to women in my opinion, telling us how to feel, how upset we have a right to be, and how to express it.
What a great way to start my day - again!. Two excellent quotes, and a declaration of victory my two 30-something daughters would heartily approve!! But there is more good news that folks here would appreciate.
The only thing I had to vote on yesterday was school board. I was at the polls by 8:30am and was frankly surprised to see that 303 people put their ballots into the machine before me. With only school board elections to consider, I could only hope folks would take the time to read up on the candidates and get to the polls.
There were ten candidates on the ballot. Four of the ten were endorsed by Moms for Liberty. !
The four candidates endorsed by the local teachers union won.
I’m trained as a journalist. Spent my career in communications and fundraising for environmental nonprofits. Don’t use profanity very often in my writing.
Moms for Liberty’s politics are dangerous if not downright fascist.
Since I don’t use the B word when talking/writing about other women, “Fuck you, we win” felt like a great compromise. Thank you. 😎
Alexandra, when the pro-life persons decide that the government should force people to donate bone marrow and blood to save lives, I’ll believe them that preventing abortions is not about disregarding a woman’s choice whether or not she wants to put her health at risk to carry a baby to term. It’s obviously a combination of punishment for women for having sex coupled with the idea that only women should sacrifice their health to save lives.
Alexandra, thanks for posting Jessica Valenti's remarks. I try but I can't put myself into the thought processes of the American Taliban's concept of what a female human being is. It's as though females have no brains, no feelings, no say in what happens to their own persons. Forcing a woman to carry to term a fetus that is already dead, or to compel a 10-year old girl who is impregnated by a rapist to carry the pregnancy to term are for reasons beyond my comprehension. What are they thinking?
Richard, I appreciate your reference to the "American Taliban." But given the view of women held by those who hold to contorted conceptions of their own power and righteousness, I call "Christian" Nationalists the "Christian Taliban."
Melinda, "Christian Taliban" instead of "American Taliban" - I agree, it is closer to the point. Mixed in with it are elements of the KKK - White Protestant supremacy. Have you read Timothy Egan's book yet, "A Fever in the Heartland," about the rise of the KKK in the Midwest in the 1920's? Griping and it casts a strong beam of light onto what the MAGA Republicans are.
Richard, thanks for the book recommendation. Strangely relevant to today, in high school (oh so many decades ago!) I did a research paper for a history class on the rise of the KKK in Indiana in the 1920s. It was most illuminating and, sadly, it is time to revisit that history.
I didn't read the book, but saw the History Channel's (when they still WERE about history) documentary on it. VERY eye opening. I'll have to look for the book.
I rarely speak from a feelings-based perspective. They are too évanescent, too empty of content to be of much worth. Today is an exception.
The last week has felt like having a bucket of cold water dumped over one’s head, only to warm up and then have to endure another one. The Times/Siena poll was devastating for Americans who work hard to see democracy survive at a moment when it is teetering. The consolation in that poll could only come when it was teased out by a fine-toothed comb, and at that it was thin gruel. It seems that Kennedy might take votes away from Trump. Wow.
Then we find out that the Democrats are split over Israel/Hamas, with 22 of them joining with Republicans to censure Rashida Tlaib. American has been showered with massive protests over the government’s seemingly intractable support of Israel. Biden, as if he needed to hear the news, learns that he is seeing the youth run away from him as if he was leprous, and even the Black vote appears up for grabs.
Now I happen to believe that Biden’s position on the conflict is deeply nuanced. What has been said by Blinken and other of his representatives behind closed doors is the antidote to what we hear in public. He and the protesters are closer by far than they know. It could hardly be otherwise - he loathes Netanyahu and the path he has taken Israel down.
Bidenomics is reflexively unpopular with the loud crowd. It’s an awful name, true, but the better he does for America the more he is hated. You just can’t argue with that wooden-headedness. It’s worthy of Mike Johnson.
Behind the scenes the Democratic political class is wringing its collective hands desperately trying to conjure up a plan for Biden to be skipped aside.
There is some solace in the votes on Tuesday. Republicans were taken to the woodshed in an almost unparalleled way. Locally those results will endure. At the national level they will be forgotten by Friday.
But here I come to my persistent gut feeling. I cannot help but believe that a year from now the Democrats will win the Presidency resoundingly. The smashing of Trump looks like it won’t happen in the primaries. But after that, the air is going out of the balloon. By Election Day we won’t be asking whether he’ll lose. The question will be how badly.
Believe! Believe! Believe!
But act as if you don’t. One more year of fighting at the ballot box will do it. Trump and the Republicans are a driving a dump truck overloaded with liabilities. The American system will hold. And America will be strengthened.
Give what you can. Do what you can. Your energy will be infectious.
Another Beau OTFC for a different viewpoint on the nature of diplomacy and how what you hear said in the media may be part of a wider strategy that is going on behind the scenes. Does Biden want Bibi to distance himself from war crimes? Yes. Is Bibi likely to do it? Not if he has to appease the far right nationalistic members of his coalition. So time for some pressure from people in Congress so Biden can say, Look it's not up to just me, Congress has to approve the funding. If Bibi wants the military aid he will have to take that step back.
As Beau says, diplomacy is about power and leverage. Biden is on the side of protecting as many lives as he can and getting aid to innocent Palestinians as quickly as he can while keeping the conflict from expanding. He also knows how to exert leverage and, more to the point, unlike Trump, he does not need to have a purported win. There is much that you see like that with Heather's post on solving the immigration crisis that went on behind the scenes, out of sight, and totally under the radar of the media.
At some point we have to remember that Joe has a pretty damn good track record of making good stuff happen. And, as a bonus, he doesn't need to tell you how great he is while he's doing it. A major change from the previous administration.
The “poster” is actually a stencil made of thin wood (think of a stiff wood veneer) that I purchased in 2019 from my a local independent bookstore; it (a Susan Sontag quote) and another I have (“Think before you speak, read before you think”—Fran Lebowitz quote) are, per the label, from The “Bad Citizen” Graffiti Stencil folk. Haven’t used them as stencils yet, but did look up temporary chalk spray “paint” in case I ever want to deploy them! The “bad citizen” moniker comes from 1997 Don DeLillo (The New Yorker) “We’re writing against what power represents, and often what government represents…In that sense, if we are bad citizens, we are doing our job.” Not unlike John Lewis’ “good trouble” me thinks.
These are religious issues that our founders intended us to be free of. Those who insist we be slaves to some celestial god who punished us in death live in a dangerous fantasy world apart from reality. As life on a hostil planet, spinning and racing around an insignificant galaxy becomes more challenging, we need better foresight and good judgement than that. Tell these "righteous" people we don't have time for their BS.
Absolutely! And when you say "religious issues that our founders intended us to be free of" I hear an excellent description of the First Amendment ". In addition to that, Jefferson and other founders made it clear that there was to be a "wall between religion and the government ". But our Speaker wants to tear down that wall, and rule with his Bible, as if it were The Constitution. Well thank you Mr. Johnson, for showing us exactly what you are. It's no wonder that people are calling in the Christian Taliban.
For some reason I am unable to like this so here is my like❤️
I think Molly Jong-Fast’s “Women don’t want to die for Mike Johnson’s religious beliefs” should be on billboards, tee shirts and posters! Let’s keep the winning going.
Thank you, you’re well excepted. However, no one‘s mentioning how ignorant the senators and Congress people are about health wellness women’s affairs. I wouldn’t take my body and give it to a hack any day, and they are acting like voting like hacks.
The radical extremists are defeating themselves. This is as it should and must be.
The American People are us. They are smart, thoughtful and joyful. When they encounter a problem they deal with it and once they are convinced that a new path represents a better way they take it. There is very little that each of us need do beyond voting our conscience and trying to be a better version of ourselves. This is not an easy route to take it’s actually quite challenging since it requires remaining calm when some people are losing it.
The Republicans are finished. They have been on a long march towards a time and place that never existed in America and never will. So, yes... it’s nice to see the various democratic victories in the 2023 election because the majority of the American People are able to express their views and beliefs where it really counts: the ballot box. I personally believe 2024 will be an even better showing for the democrats who run and get the privilege to represent the majority of Americans who embrace and love the foundational and progressive values of our democracy.
I personally believe 2024 will be the last election we will ever have if republicans cheat their way back in. And some states are well on the way to “rule rather than represent.”
Either of you could be right. All I know is that we are at a very strange point in history, and this next year is likely to be like an extreme rollercoaster ride. So hang on, and be prepared for anything. I hope we come out on the other side okay.
As do I. Planning to take money out of savings to donate to the best fighters. Resources took a hit so I will do all I can. It's an investment in the future for my grands and everybody else's grands.
I really hope you are right, because there is such an enormous amount of money behind these people who, as Jeri puts it, want to "rule rather than represent". The billionaires behind this have no love for democracy: rules made by the people are in their way of getting even richer than they already are. And they will do everything they can to destroy democracy once and for all, and install an authoritarian rule instead.
Yes, many of the big money people are pretty bad; some aren’t. The power of our democracy is in each of us. Those who fail to understand that…particularly the very rich, understand this very well. This is in part why they fear effective and fair regulation so much. Good government helps to keep things fair. Career politicians like Biden get this very well and so do many of the people who serve on a local zoning board or who work in your municipal building doing such important jobs as managing building permits or collecting taxes.
They'll fall better and faster with a good strong push! And wouldn't you just love to hear Kamala declare this next Inauguration Day "Fuck You, We Won!"
Democracy's future, ironically, will depend on its present.
Today, American democracy is threatened by US Congressional Republicans, extremist right-wing media including Fox News, and social media (X and Truth Social,) morbidly rich mega-donors and wealthy Corporations, the former guy, red state congresses and judiciary, SCOTUS majorities, Evangelicals and Christian Nationalists, misogynists, election, vaccine and climate change deniers, anti-abortionists, anti-LGBTQ "patriots," anti-immigrant, anti-Semites and other racists, white supremacists, gun-toting Second Amendment militia, (Proud Boys, Oath Keepers,) red state Governor "banners," (CRT, DEI, SEL, Disney, drag shows, books, trans healthcare,) Moms for Liberty, and Artificial Intelligence-using foreign nationals mis- and disinformation campaigns.
Their "Job One" will be to destroy American democracy by encouraging voter suppression and purges, gerrymandering, and voter intimidation, including through violence, (using firearms if necessary,) and stochastic terrorism.
Voting will be very important in '24, to the extent "permitted" by those with power, and their supporters, who'd rather we didn't.
Obviously we have a lot of work to do to stay on the right side of the razor's edge our democracy and freedoms are teetering on throughout the next year. But give us A DAY, will ya? Recharging by celebrating the wins along the way is essential!
Thanks David. That’s a pretty depressing list of threats and depressingly accurate and important. So I will add, ALL voting is important especially the primaries. 30% turnouts are common in primaries. That’s how we end up with the big spenders like tfg manbaby who then became the front runner. Let’s keep them off the ballot in the first place and send a strong message that we seriously care about democracy.
It sounds interesting and worth exploring. My worry would be that polls become even more important. Tfg is the "front runner" without any primaries or debating. Msm headlining the NYT poll that for question of swing state voters the sample was about 200 for some questions and 600 for other questions. Questions repeated tfg's nasty words in some cases. But if it happens, they should get rid of the electoral college too.
I was going to write my own thoughts but this is so well said that I really have nothing to add, except that it’s Thursday, celebrating is over, time to roll up our sleeves and work to win bigly in ‘24.
You have paid attention to the threats against us all. Never doubt that they are real and can aim in any direction at will. Celebrate but look in your rear-view mirror.
No offense intended here, but now the you have shown us your bad list, can you show us your good list, too? If you don’t have a good list, better start compiling one, you know what I mean?
Yes, BUT, these election results bing a harbinger of hope. Things had gotten so bad that one couldn't pick whose mouth-spewing-bile was worse, Mike Johnson's or Rick Santorum's. My glass is getting fuller. I'm seeing people crawling out of hibernation from under their rock. And yes, SOMETHING has got to be done about the ethics of this Supreme Court....
Yesterday really made me happy here in VA. And more good news that was reported nowhere: maybe some of y'all saw the Boogaloo Bois protest at the preschool in some nowhere town in VA. That was us, and it was about the school board craziness and extremism. It's been so bad here that a bunch of militia folks brought guns to a school board meeting on school property and made threats, the whole thing got locked down, they got charged by the sheriff's and hence the protest. But WE VOTED THEM ALL OUT ON TUESDAY. Even though we're more red than purple. The people have had enough of this chaos and they showed up and fixed it. So now our kids get a functional school board. One that still leans conservative but a far cry from what the extremists wanted. And that's despite the HUGE budget their ringleader had vs some of the competition whose campaign signs were handwritten with sharpies. It's a good day here.
Yay, Allie!!! (Doing a victory dance). Reading your account, I feel like I’m watching a basketball game in which one team has outrageously fouled the other team without penalties and then the bloodied team won the game by continuing to fight! Please let them know that we salute them.
There was also a story about a rural county (Yolo) in CA (sort of near Sacramento) who protested and rallied against Moms for Liberty about library books and (sorry, can’t remember all the details) won! It did my heart good. (I went to college in Sacramento, and YOLO County at the time was farming and very conservative with a large Hispanic population)
Congratulations! What a great effort you put forth for the kids!!!
We had four Moms for Liberty candidates running for school board here in my district. Thankfully,
the candidates endorsed by the local teachers union were elected!
No books will be banned, LGBTQ groups in the schools will not be cancelled, and actual American history will continue to be taught here. My late husband, a middle school shop teacher, is resting peacefully today.
Thank you for resisting those who would trash public education and our freedom to learn!
Further to dealing with Extremists, today there were another 4 criminal convictions of J6 Insurrectionists bringing the current total to over 1100 guilty pleas or convictions.
The 4 new convicts are from Southern California: 1 from Temecula, 2 from Lake Elsinore & 1 from Menifee.
I have a growing bad feeling about convicting all these people who decided to believe the then President of the Unites States when he told them that the election was stolen and they had to fight for America and then sent them on to the Capital.
I was lucky to have had the good fortune to be able to discern when a con man is conning me MOST of the time.
But, those people were conned by a long time con man and?
The guy who orchestrated the ENTIRE event remains at large, raging at a judge over his property values.
Trump has NOT been arrested for January 6. Trump has not been arrested for ANYTHING.
This fundamental injustice bothers me more each day.
Those are for other crimes. Admittedly, the Georgia case involves attempting to alter the election results. His federal indictment is regarding his treatment of classified information.
I believe that there exists proof that fpotus did materially foment and encourage the insurrection at the Capitol on January 6, and that there are persons currently seated in Congress who were active participants in the effort to prevent the peaceful transition of power. That eventual indictment and trial must take place.
Well, it is not as if it is a new phenomenon for 100 grubby low-level neighborhood wiseguys to go down before the mob boss starts getting circled in earnest.
Mike. I hear you. But karma always happens. Sometimes it just takes too long. Now you have heard 50% of my entire "religious" philosophy :)
The real orchestra conductors are the oligarchs. Kochs, Crows, Mercers, Leos, etc.
I see "45" as more of a puppet. And his public humiliation and financial destruction is unfolding very slowly but inexorably - right before our eyes. Ironically, it is the State of NY and the State of Georgia that may do the most damage to the "ultimate con man".
BTW, will the rain ruin your hay? Nothing worse than peeling off a moldy flake when feeding the critters.
Bannon is finally, after much delay, due in court this month re his jail sentence appeal. This is small potatoes compared to what he was charged with & pardoned for by TFFG.
This year, we could get a fourth cutting! Except it has rained so much it’s never dry enough to cut. The hay field is amazing right now. I’ve been taking my boys out to graze and they’re all business about the lovely grass. I’ve never seen it like this in November.
Crossing their T’s and dotting I’s are loophole assurances that when patience prevails the verdict will be a solid....GUILTY. Whether the die hards still wine , blame, and lie ???? will seal further wins. And SOOOOO hopefully prove a long Democrat peace providing political party putting balance and equality back - for the even longer fight - our world ,our earth , our children deserve it.
Hold their feet to the fire sisters, brothers. ☮️🫶🔑🗝️ to ⚖️
Ma'am, Officer House from the Grammar Police is here to offer a gentle observation. It is true that the word "Republican" is both a noun and an adjective. The word "Democrat" is a noun and the word "Democratic" is an adjective. Utilizing "Democrat" as an adjective was started by Rush Windbag about the time he created the term "feminazi" and is used as a pejorative by MAGAts (and many former Republicans, who I now refer to as RepubliQans or Republican'ts, but I digress).
In time, the dictionary folks may change and authorize the use of the word "Democrat" as an adjective, but as yet, every time someone refers to the "Democrat Party" I cringe.
My profounds Ally , I am probably a lot worse offender OFTEN , my husband proof reads - not often enough - but assuredly gave me two M C Laudi ..the ropes ( multiple) now hold heavy drapes open during warm weather ( we close down areas in winter …hunkering down we fondly named it).
I would send a bunch of apologies ahead were that possible but if only for a laugh because trying to correct well worn patterns is at this age …well …as I wrote on my Calculus final (DECADES AGO) “ …..I’ll try…”
Ha! I am math phobic ever since enduring math trauma courtesy of one jr high school teacher…nice guy, terrible teacher. Destroyed my budding interest & apparent ability (which is why they moved me to this “advanced” class) in mathematics. Will never really know how it impacted my life’s trajectory, but it’s been a wild & wonderful ride nonetheless!
Mike, I understand all paragraphs of your Comment:
as to followers that "decided to believe" --- in the forward of HCR's new book HCR cited the exact percentage of German citizens, 36.8, in 1932 that voted for Hitler's election to 'Chancellor' fueled by grievances based on false history. Hitler's end came as suicide & self immolation.
At this week's civil trial of what's left in the rubble of the Trump Organization tfg's rants specifically admitted both criminsl intent, mens rea & many criminal acts, mens actus. Judge Enngoron will explain further in the Court's findings of fact & that will be the end of "The Deal" in New York city & state.
I expect the same in the criminal cases as the macabre passion play ends & the curtain falls.
I get it. I really do. But he's as slippery as an eel. As long as he's behind bars by be election day, I'll be okay with that. There will be conspiracy theories no matter how it goes down. We'll just have to deal with it.
(Off-topic: Next time any of y'all dust off ye olde Monopoly set from the closet, do NOT do the thing where you put the fees in the middle of the board and they are awarded to the next person who lands on Free Parking! I have no idea how this got started, and am amazed at how many people do it! It is not in the rulebook, ruins the emphasis on strategy by introducing a windfall of pure luck, and exacerbates the flaw of the game by making it take even longer! Oh, and if you don't want to buy a property you MUST auction it to someone, otherwise the beginning is just people going round and round. People forget that part too. Okay, I've said my piece.)
Ah, you read the rules. Lol. Don’t forget to remind everyone to pay interest on the property they’ve mortgaged; somehow us 8 year olds didn’t wanna do the math🤷♂️
I actually did pay interest on the mortgages! I really was that precocious! My Mom taught me the trick of taking the last zero off for 10%. When I landed on the Income Tax space I would usually get the pocket calculator and insist upon finding my actual net worth, rather than paying the flat fee and moving on. That always goes over really well with the other people at the table lol.
When I was a freshman in college, Texas Instruments came out with the first pocket calculator. You had to buy one to keep up. Sine Cosine, square root and the battery life was suspect
As kids, we had no interest in playing Monopoly with any other math than making change
I remember someone coming up with that idea when I was a kid. Seemed like a fun way to spice up the game. I can see why it gained popularity.
But it's the same illogical appeal of the windfall theory - people playing the lottery - with almost zero chance of winning. Voluntary taxation. But folks just love the "long shot" dream. Not me.
"In a conversation on the right-wing cable show Newsmax, former senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) complained that young people turned out because there were “sexy things” on the ballot like abortion and marijuana. He warned: “[P]ure democracies are not the way to run a country.” "
The most telling quote of all--and the demeaning implication that voters are not smart enough to think for themselves. As Beau OTFC says, they don't want to represent they want to rule
Wise Georgia, that is one of the quotes from this letter that I highlight and save for the election not far away, eg., "He warned: “[P]ure democracies are not the way to run a country.” "
It reminds me of that quote from David Frum.... "if conservatives become convinced that they cannot win democratically, they will not abandon conservatism, they will abandon democracy”. Basically what we are seeing happening on the far right right now.
Georgia, I posted a nearly identical comment about Beau before I came upon this! SO TRUE!! I think this is the message that needs to get put out there. Perhaps I am naïve, but I have heard Right leaning voters be all about "MY RIGHTS". I think at least a few might respond negatively to being told that "their betters" (as Beau facetiously refers to the MAGA) will decide what is good for them.
There are a lot of folks here to watch his daily clips. He also has another channel which is a longer format--30 minutes or so--called "The Roads with Beau". This comes out about once a week, also worth seeking out.
Yesterday was a good day for Democracy and the GQP is running scared with NO idea why it happened and how they could become more appealing to the American people who are not part of their cult.
In the wake if them drowning in this newest "Blue Wave" our representative in Michigan, Bill Huizenga, sent out an official note and survey about the "investigation" of financial wrongdoings by President Biden. It was an inflammatory note about "alleged" payments to him from his brother. So, they have subpoenaed James Biden and of course Hunter too....This is how they will deal with their defeats! No ideas, no new plan for making our lives better, no working on substantive solutions...just throw some dirt and see if it sticks! What a bunch of losers! In 2024, it will be time to VOTE all of them OUT!!!!!
Huizenga needs to pay attention to the fact that in the city of Holland, in his district, every single extremist running for mayor and city council lost on Tuesday, and by substantial margins. (Turnout was fairly low, though; we need to get more of "us" to the polls.)
Not so much in the city itself; still true in townships and rural areas of Ottawa county. But last year, extremists/anti-maskers/Christian nationalists won the Republican primaries and therefore took the majority of seats on the county commission. They have been making a royal mess of everything, and people are paying attention.
You are so right. We live in St. Joe and our town has swung Democratic in the last couple elections but the rural areas around us are still very conservative Republican. On Tuesday we elected 3 progressives to our city council. Although the election is non-partisan all three were endorsed by the Democratic Party. Lots of work to do this coming year!
Hi Colette ! Huizenga..... that name rings a cracked bell in my mind; His surname. There was corporate raider / vulture by that surname, Wayne Huizenga (now passed) who among other things owned the Miami Dolphins football team and a Miami luxury golf course... I'm wondering if he might be related (?). Crazy billions of dollars in that family. Well, anyway, I hope you can find your local tribe of like minds and collectively, repeatedly call out your truths together lest they single you out for bully target practice, one of their other well worn tools - identify, isolate, badger and bully. Collectively, stay focused and on point; the 'main' point. - "Mr. 'Z' or whoever, "What is your curative plan ? What evidence in your past illustrates your commitment to said course of action" ? (if 'Z' stays on point and actually has 'a plan' - quite typically they don't ) I could go on with the whole maga playbook I've dissected, but you have as much grey matter as I do, if not more ! The important thing is to study and dissect the maga playbook and don't wander onto the political back alley alone; these people - in the maga leadership, are vicious and have zero scrupples and honor.
Heather, I watched your interview with Katie Couric last night and want to highlight a brief exchange you had. She made a comment that sounded a bit despairing. You responded by saying that people follow you because you offer historical context and provide a model that can move us all forward. I couldn't find it to quote you, but it reminded me that Joe Biden has the same message, he believes in democracy, and inspires us with his clarity. You both have a handle on the history of our times, and a clear vision of what can move us forward. It is a positive message. You are not selling propaganda, your message is grounded, with an option that we can get through this. Journalists report the drama, you provide context and a model to lean on and believe in... I'm not sure she got that. But your readers do.
I saw that interview you speak of, and yes, that was a great suggestion Gi ! I've written to Biden in the same vein. Among countless others, I reached out to Stephen Colbert, who I absolutely adore, to suggest he invite HCR. Perhaps if many others did, his people might get attracted; at the end of any day, I am only small i, and have no 'juice' so to speak. It's really frustrating to write to and attract the attention of any level of "it" people isn't it... (?) For example, here * we have precious few elected reps of my persuasion; so few now that one can count them on one hand. One in particular attracted my attention when he first got elected to his current position *; in fact I followed him before he was elected to his high perch. What attracted me wasn't only what he said, but what he actually did and voted for and against - in most all cases, his votes and positions mirrored mine near identically, and consistently throughout his rise in the political world. The problem is, that now that he's in the position to be helpful in a meaningful way, you are barred from "any" access by countless filters, barriers, etc., that are prohibitive unless one is an "it" persona, or luckily somehow on the "A" list of donors, patrons, etc. I've tried countless ways and got nothing but frustration, anger, and resentments, all of which I deplore carrying around in my soul. Being a life long amateur scholar *(oopsie) of history, economics, politics, etc., I've since the early 80's recognized what's 'really' been going on in our country; at first just suspicions, then as time went on I found that by some dumb luck, I was correct more often than not, and that it was all not some rolling confirmation bias' of my own making. *edit out* Anyway, you have a most unusual name Gi; I've only known one Gigi my entire long life. I'm curious..... do you have brothers named John and Scott ? Ah well; onward. Salute'
D4N, are you talking about Sherrod Brown? I’ve donated to him, and get invited to events where he will speak frequently. I’m not a high dollar donor, I’ve maybe donated $100 a couple of times. Maybe try that route? Do you need help from your rep? I think members of the House might be more responsive to requests for help, and definitely see that as part of their jobs.
My state of Ohio reps and U.S. congressional reps are all repubs - definitely not worth even an outreach from my experience. The nature of my issues are kryptonite to gop'ers, except as fodder to beat up dems even more. I can't favor that, even at the risk of my own suffering. Is what it is; finding a path to accepting my lot is my chore; that my spouse suffers owing to all involved is the toughest thing for me, that just will not go down. I have needed assistance - it's not forthcoming from any angle. The greater shame is that the dialogue, lessons learned and more from that which I could share, would indeed make great campaign fodder. I don't think I'm deluding myself in those conclusions either; I've bounced them off others. Onward...
Au Contraire KR. Thank you; for alerting me. I'm so comfortable here among like minds that I can get into too relaxed of a stream of consciousness that can be careless. By nature, I'm blunt; a thing I daily work at tempering the edges of.
Your comparison of HCR and President Biden is apt, as the message of each reinforces the other. Their power is the power of truly patriotic, community-building language, promoting our common cause as citizens, dedicated to the principles of our Republic and its magnificent Declaration. They lead not as would-be autocrats, ayatollahs or zealots, but simply as fellow citizens. They exhort us to rise to the occasion, be well informed and fully committed, to preserve the very best of our Republic, while fearlessly confronting our failures, free of excessive pride and unfounded fear. In that mode, there is no anger, rancor, intimidation or fear, only an ardent admiration of and dedication to what binds, heals and makes more perfect our union.
", former senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) complained that young people turned out because there were 'sexy things' on the ballot like abortion and marijuana. He warned: '[P]ure democracies are not the way to run a country.' "
It would be illuminating to hear what Santorum thinks a "(p)ure democracy is? One over which plutocrats and theocrats have no veto?
Santorum desires a "country" or "government" where the dumbest, least capable, most likely to lose, least accomplished,
White Men born to money do whatever they want to whomever they want much like Slave Owners were in the South.
Corporations are the current instantiation of the former Slave Plantation. Corporations are run by, usually, one of the dumbest white males on earth BUT with the capability to crawl relentlessly at the feet or ass of other white men to rise up.
Santorum desires a corporation type of government where one white man is kissing another white man's ass all the way up the power hierarchy and where the only skill necessary is pucker power.
THAT is what he desires and it already exists in America as a model: Corporations.
I think Tuberville took Santorum’s spot in the Senate as most stupid. If memory serves, sometimes it doesn’t, he was TFG’s original pick for Secretary of Energy. He didn’t know what the job was really until after he accepted. He thought he was going to go around the world selling our oil.
Mike, I am reminded of the time Santorum was in Congress. I cannot recall the specific decision that was made, but I believe it was in the "anti Gay" department. There was a suggestion in that community regarding the naming of a post-coital residual "Santorum", which was absolutely priceless. I am trying to adhere to community standards. I'd describe it more directly on TC's TAFM, but not here.
Outside of the It Gets Better Project, Dan Savage's most savage moment.
According to Wiki: "In September 2011, Santorum asked Google to remove the definition from its search engine index. Google refused, responding that the company does not remove content from search results except in very limited circumstances."
Humph. Just another example of the Christaliban attempting to erase American culture and history. Spread it around! (The truth, that is. Not the "santorum," obviously.)
I don't think authoritarians are necessarily unintelligent, and any skills they possess can make them even more dangerous. That said, it is astonishing how many managers of one sort or another are just plain lousy ant their job, and are protected from above, the shadow dynamic being political (whose will rules?) as opposed to loyalty to a company or even the county, let alone universal, unalienable rights).
I think the key to authoritarian set-ups is exerting control as opposed to influence,over others. Absolute, unaccountable power that most certainly corrupts. Abuse of power is my definition of corruption. Slavery is it most extreme form. Strange that a society that in substantive ways was conceived in liberty and mindful of equality would also embrace it. Around the planet there seem to be those, even among those disadvantaged by it, who desire for stratified, authoritarian control, opposed by those who struggle to share power and a supportive environment.
History amply illustrates how sociopathic corporations can become when when unrestrained by boundaries set by and for an overarching protective and just democratic society. In my view, it is not that incorporation and private enterprise is inherently incompatible with a free and just society, it is a matter of keeping first things first and fiercely maintaining a civilized society, with liberty and justice for all.
I'd like to think that it is good for voters going into 2024 to have the tenacious Republican leadership in Ohio vow that they will keep fighting against Issue 1. It will remind them who they should be voting for when the time comes.
Also, I am glad for the clarification that Reeves being reelected may have been tied to one county of voters whose officials ran out of ballots.
Yes, Lynell, except. Except because our state is so profoundly gerrymandered that those people will continue to win elections. Our statewide races show us to be much less red than we appear, yet our (illegal) districts will keep delivering for Republicans. And of course, blue Ohioans tend to be concentrated in our cities, while the less populated rural areas are indeed quite red.
Another Ohioan here, just noting that another citizen initiative is in the works to create a citizens apportionment board. I hope that issue will be able to be considered in next year's election, so we won't be gerrymandered any longer!
Hi KR; yet another Ohioan here. Count me all in, for as much as I can do, limited as I am by disabilities. I've admired what was done in Michigan. I hope for a tad more thought out solution here. You know for sure that 'forces opposed' will not stop thinking of angles around fixes already in place elsewhere. Staying ahead of 'them' and persuading like minded democrats, independents, and republicans will be part and parcel for long term success. Even some percentage of the hard core 'Rumpers might be converted or at least tempered if democrats, independents, and we can get our messaging right for a change - and that's all dependent on someone, anyone being successful in getting the democrats that matter or could matter, to listen to suggestions for a change, as opposed to thinking as they do that only "they" have the education, moxie, streets smarts, etc., for solutions. I've personally only found firewalls and barriers to reaching those elected who should actually own a modicom of humility, but alas, do not. My own personal experience with the democrat party fills me with nothing but anger and resentment. Those experiences have me on the ledge of denouncing them and becoming purely an independent ! I mean hell, reaching them is like trying to climb a greased rope ! Consider this: I've been reaching out to one in particular * - and he lives locally enough I could bang on his door and know where that door's at ! Think I could access him, even briefly ? Hell no ! Only 'they' and their assistants, degreed, etc., have the answers - but do please send your money and listen only to me as I speechify. Damn them ! Then, in their group thinks, they sit around pondering how it's all gone so far off the rails; why do the maga crowd of hardcores still support TFG - how please... in God's name does that even happen ??!!! It's really pretty damn simple and elementary dear ponderers. Will you listen is the question. (rant temporarily over... lol).
That’s interesting. I’m a pretty avid letter writer to my reps, both in Congress and in the statehouse. While it’s often slow, I’ve gotten a response 100% of the time, even from the Republicans. It’s often a form letter that at best comes close to talking about my question, with maybe a final paragraph tacked on. It’s terrible that you can’t get even that.
I don’t really consider myself a democrat, but I haven’t (and won’t) voted for a Republican in ages. The Democratic Party isn’t perfect. But it’s a bastion of hope against autocracy, and I will continue voting for democrats.
Yep. I'm hoping that Beau of the Fifth Column does a clip to expound upon that. He had a lot of viewers and his numbers are growing. From his comments on his clips, he's got a lot of the MAGA watching. Maybe something will make them think.
Morning, Ally!! I didn't quite get the story about the running out of ballots until reading Heather's clear explanation of it.
Quite a lively discussion going on here on the substack. I used to read these comments closer in time to their posting, but then got in the habit of tending to household chores instead. Maybe I should go back to letting my house stay messy!
I'm lucky. I'm usually up at 5:30-6:00 and have an hour and a half of uninterrupted time before the household gets up. I can sometimes come back and look at subsequent comments, but not always.
Oddly, your train of thought is exactly a thing I've mused ever since TFG got elected; that in some back-handed sort of way, it might all turn out to be wake up calls on countless levels, that require persistent awakenings to, long after we're all gone. Much like.... was it Franklin who mused, "We've created a Republic, if 'you' can keep it." (?) So, my wonder has been if this shall all be and ever become a generational 'wake up call' long overdue.
Yes, D4N, as Heather so notes in the title of her new book: "Democracy Awakening." She reminds us in her book that we have been challenged throughout our history by forces wanting to tear it down, and that it has been ordinary Americans who have stood up to save it. And, yes, Franklin is quoted as saying, we have a Republic if we can keep it. It's our job as ordinary Americans to constantly ensure that we do, indeed, keep it!
Yes it is. I've been all in, even when I'm down. I'd love to read her books - all of them of them ! I have adored her knowledge and sharing nature for much longer than most herein. Cheers Lynell !
Reasonable people are leaving the Republican party because of the extremists not because of the ‘perceived’ weakness of the moderates. Those of us who believe in democracy and true freedom outnumber the extremists and we will continue to win. Have hope!
I’m expecting McConnell to exit any day now. Although, I think he deserves everything he’s getting. He’s been complicit in all this coming to pass. Imagine getting to end of your life and finally realizing everything you’ve done your whole life was completely wrong.
Bravo for all of the Democratic victories. It has been clear since the overturning of Roe v Wade that women and the youth vote are turning out in greater numbers to reclaim or protect reproductive rights that every woman should have. As for MTG, her base is the bottom of a triangle that is upside down. It will be natural for it to fall over and right itself to the real base, which is the majority who do not want abortion restrictions, right wing policies, and in the next election, if the policies are trotted out, and we ignore that the mainstream press is trying to pressure Biden out of office by claiming he is too old, because they are all despicable ageists, even thought their ownership is largely old. According to this article, these 15 billionaires own most of the US news media.
Rupert Murdoch is 92, and just turned over News Corp to his son Lachlin who is 52. He was not relegated to the dust at 80. Michael Bloomberg of Bloomberg News is 81, and not sounding like he is retiring any time soon. Donald Newhouse of Advance Publications is 94 years old. Atlanta Journal Constitution is owned by the Cox Family, but run by Andrew Morse who is 49. He just took over a couple of years ago from Jim Kennedy, who was 73 at the time, and survived a bout with cancer. Jeff Bezos is 59, making him 21 years younger than Biden. With his earnings he could retire now, but instead he is getting involved in space exploration. John Henry of the Boston Globe is 74. Sheldon Adelson of the Las Vegas Review Journal died 2 years ago at the age of 89. J Keith Moyer, who runs it now is 71, so 9 years younger than Biden. Joe Mansueto of Morningstar is a relative youngster at 67. Mortimer Zuckerman of US News and World Report, and New York Daily News is 86. Barbey Family of the Village Voice has the relatively young Peter Barbey at 65. Stanley Hubbard of Hubbard Broadcasting is 90. Patrick Soon Shiong of Tribune Broadcasting is 71. Carlos Slim Helu, largest share owner of NYT is 83. Warren Buffett of Berkeshire Hathaway owning several small newspapers is 93. Viktor Vekselberg foreign part owner of the Gawker is 66. So, there you have it. Of these 15 owners or part owners of US news media, 6 are older than Biden, yet the mainstream press only discusses his age, and how he is doing in polls, and does virtually nothing to explain his policies, and how they affect ordinary people. Given that Biden's Inflation Reduction Act is not understood by most Americans, it needs to be broken up piece by piece and explained. However, abortion does not need to be explained, and clearly social issues can outweigh others when people see how it affects their daily lives.
Well done Linda ! We all need to beat the drum and repeat this anti - agism lesson over and over again, in any outlet we can access. Yes Joe is older; but he's also far, far wiser for those years, especially where it comes to 'how to succeed in Washington' quite obviously if perhaps only to us. We have to be louder, more persistent, and aggressive than the naysayers, including the broadcast media. There's enough of us here to flood broadcast networks and social networks with our message, which is what the maga crowd has done with success. Besides being illegal and antithetical to our American ways and laws, age is an asset worth capitalizing on to use their favorite word. No single president does it all; we here 'know' that. They Congress, the Senate, and the courts to contend with. Joe's success has to be the team he was able to attract, assemble, and retain; no one single man is capable of juggling all those balls and expertise himself. Somewhere therein is the message to my mind. **edit in- I also have to add that I think, having followed and supported Biden as long as I have, he has another unique superpower that I have advocated: Joe, at his core, is a "people person" that really truly loves and relishes 'people' and mixing it up with them, despite their foibles, being no fool. Joe, in a word, is "real".
Agreed! I have been trying to explain to people that wisdom requires age. One can be smart, but to be wise you need life experience. Joe Biden has that in spades! The press cannot really find bad things to say about Joe Biden, at least not the mainstream press, a man who seems happily married, with a loving family, and having the best interests of the country at heart. The only thing they can come up with is his age, and trying to convince us that we are worried about it. Warren Buffett's only worry about Biden's age is that he will live too long and run the USA for another 4 years, because Buffett does not want to pay any taxes. At 93, Buffett knows that Joe Biden's age being a worry is not more so than any president. The only worrisome thing is to put MAGA Mikey Johnson in line for the presidency.
Brilliant Linda ! Buffett and Charlie Munger are 2 more fine exemplars of age competency ! All be it in a far different discipline/ art / science. The arts and science of governing in a functional democracy are no less, just a different in the more difficult ways of relating, hearing, seeing, compromising with "people", which is "messy", 'cuz people in general are "messy." Which is why governing can't be run like a business as the gop'ers are fond of peddling. We humans will always be messy and no balance sheet is or will ever be capable of reflecting and representing, much less ruling / governing. That's a window into Buffett and Munger too; numbers are far easier to deal with. "All that" and more applies to the frequent over used canards about balancing the federal budget as well. There 'must' be a source of remedy when the people or the states are hamstrung, yet have catastrophes that "must" be addressed of last resort: hurricanes, tornado's, flooding, aging destitute populations, etc., etc.
Mississippians must rise up in opposition! I’m certain there is much more to that story that needs to be uncovered. Not enough ballots? Why? Who’s responsible for that error or was it done deliberately? Shine a light here. Spotlight Report!
Dems have never pulled the crap of their best dirty tricksters, to my knowledge. Daniel Segretti, Lee Atwater, And yes, brainy Frank Luntz. And all those who gleefully sign on.
In general, the great mass of folks there are far too busy trying with degrees of futility to make ends meet day to day. *Which begs a question of my mind: whom is carrying on the work of the Carter Center democracy advocacy missions ? Jimmy and Rosalyn committed their lives to supporting democracy, fair elections world wide ! In that we are coming to resembling a banana republic, we need that help and expertise here in the U.S. I'm gonna' inquire as to how I might help them.... Anyone else ?
Here’s more ammo for everyone concerning women’s freedom and access to health care. Idaho girl and guardian under arrest for traveling to Oregon. Some of those political fear ads have come true.
While I am constantly amazed by the disregard republicans have for the American people, I am convinced that they are expecting to win the presidency in 2024. Then the disregard won’t matter as they will simply take away the American people’s voice.
Jean Burns, I see it that way too. That they are full on saying the truth out loud because they expect to win. Has me a little concerned, about what do they know that I don't. What other nefarious thing/s do they have in the works to steal the election?
I used to think that they would respect an opposition position. All the while, they were plotting and planning strategies to negate any Dem progress. I remember Ted Kennedy working with W and I was appalled. I had already learned that they would use and abuse any cooperation. Indeed they did.
I remember when Texas was a wonderful place to live. I also remember 1994 when Rove foisted W on the state and idiots flocked to the hate. Rove also made Christian churches arms of the repub party in 2006. He should be tarred and feathered.
Leonard Leo's The Free to Learn Action Program took a hit because the Moms From Hell lost big. Leo is trying to do to education what he did with the Supreme Court. A Bible in every classroom.
If any book should be banned it would be the Old Testament. So much hate, violence, misogyny and cruelty.
But, when a book is banned it almost always becomes popular. Too late for the Old Testament. Almost every Christian owns one, but few have ever read. The Southern Baptists would have to make a 180 if they had to base their religion on the New Testament only.
Gary, hold on there about the Old Testament. It offers (as does the New Testament) not just hate but multiple images for God. Why? Because it is words written by humans who have been in-spired (read as: in-breathed. . . filled with spirit. . . in-spirited). Sometimes they let their desire for revenge shroud the love that God wants them to express. I would love to extol the wisdom of all the books of the OT: the prophets and the marvels of the earliest characters like Abraham, Moses, Rachel, Deborah, etc., the insights of Proverbs and more. Yet, we would be impoverished were the OT to be banned–– even if for the Psalms alone.
The Psalms speak of genuine human emotion (anger, disgust, despair, shame) and also of great joy (rescue, comfort, freedom, love). It is the hymnbook of the ancient Hebrew people. Here's real human fury about what in our heart-of-hearts people wish to do to enemies: "Happy shall they be who take your little ones and dash them against the rock!"– Ps 137 (We are watching this today in Israel/Gaza and elsewhere.)
And here is a statement of need, imaging God as an eagle: "Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me under the shadow of your wings." – Ps 17 (the plight of refugees)
And here is release from pain, speaking to God who "makes me lie down in green pastures and leads me beside still waters. . . you prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. . ." – Ps 23 (There's loving comeuppance, eh?)
When we read/pray the Psalms, we are not always reading (praying/singing) about our own feelings or situation. Instead, we are reminded of what others in our world are undergoing, and we are caring for them. The Psalms bring into our presence all the needs of the world, and we are better off when we acknowledge reality.
Points taken Melinda and I appreciate your defense of the OT.
My disdain is not against the Bible or the OT as much as it is against the MAGAs that spew hate and are unkind. They ignore Christ's teachings and want to ban abortion even though the Bible only has one reference to abortion. And that lesson was about when a priest can condone an abortion.
I don't believe in banning any book, but if the CINOs ban hundreds of other books, then the OT should also be banned.
Thanks for your note, Gary. More background information is always good to have. I agree with disapproval of literal, unintelligent, untrained, simplistic interpretations of scripture. They are way too easy and mostly (always?) wrong. For example, the Bible does not say "God helps those who help themselves," although we hear that from some folks in defense of not caring for the poor. The phrase "choose life" does not refer to anti-abortion ideas, but it's convenient for some folks to take it that way. It's an uphill struggle to keep fighting off the ill-informed.
As a former bookstore owner in Butte, Montana, for ten years in the 1980s, I would put together a window display every year of banned books from the shelves in the store. There were always many, and the Bible (as a whole) was always one of the books.
Banning books seems to be a double edged sword. You would know better than me, but it seems that when a book is banned, it becomes appealing to many readers unfamiliar with the work. I have read Slaughterhouse 5 a few times usually after I see it on a banned book list.
Bless you for being a bookstore owner and for displaying the banned books. I can only imagine the stories you could tell relating to banned books. Thanks for the additional context as well.
You're right again. I learned at Booksellers' School (sponsored by the American Booksellers Association) that "all publicity is good publicity." A banned book gets the kind of attention the people who like book banning did not want. Hah!
Every 15 or 16 year old gets interested in religion, those big picture questions-where do we go when we die? What is my place in the universe? Right vs wrong, etc. A section on comparative religion in sophomore history, social studies, or English would help. When I was teaching Psychology and Art classes in a community college in Michigan, it was astounding to me how many of these bright, motivated young people would say things like, “”Buddhism” or “Hinduism” or “Taoism” or “Islam”is a made up religion.” Ignorance like that causes problems in the world.
I see that David H follows you. David is very wise and knows some very useful Bible quotes. Psalms was always my favorite Old Testament book. It was freshman Philosophy that helped me to challenge my beliefs and think for myself. I believe that every major religion was started for good reason and has value. I've discovered that there is such a thing as secular value. We are free to believe what we want.
Yes, in this free democracy we are all free to believe what we want, up to the line where our belief leads us to treat some other with less that the same regard we ourselves expect. That is the line which the extremists in the Republican Party, do not admit they have crossed. Until one of them get’s carried away and says something out loud, like Rick Santorum did yesterday. (This is the Yahoo News quote-sorry I can’t get an actual link to work).
“Thank goodness that most of the states in this country don't allow you to put everything on the ballot because pure democracies are not the way to run a country,” he said. Rick Santorum actually said, “Pure democracy is no way to run a country." Really. Please ask all your politicians to comment on this.
I agree, except that the Rick Santorum quote is wrong. I don't have the correct quote handy. He is an idiot and an ass and what he said was much worse. Actually the part you show here is the kernel of truth that he accidentally got technically correct. We are a democratic republic and a representative democracy. Only the original Greek democracy is a perfect democracy because everyone gets one vote. We have a system of checks and balances designed to make it fair. Sorry I don't remember the quote.
I found another quote but it only makes Santorum look more ridiculous. There's no telling what he meant by pure democracy. He's famous for foot in mouth quotes. I wouldn't lose any sleep over it.
SUCH a great day!!! And quotes of the day (after):
“Women don’t want to die for Mike Johnson’s religious beliefs.” —Molly Jong-Fast
And from Jessica Valenti:
"I wish I was the kind of person who wins gracefully. Really, I do. But when you spend a year writing about raped children being denied care and women forced to carry doomed pregnancies to term, you tend to lose your magnanimity.
So to every Republican politician who tried to keep voters from having a say on abortion, and to every anti-choice activist who worked to keep women under the government’s thumb:
'Fuck you, we win.' "
God bless you and Jessica Valenti. I spent all of yesterday absolutely floating with vindication and am not sorry.
Considering the press coverage: I am happy that the pundits have figured out the face-slappingly eye-rollingly hair-on-end obvious fact that reproductive rights matters to everyone, is a paramount concern and isn't just, like, a trend, gurl! But I am frustrated that they *still* are not fully grasping that it is not *just* the damn abortion bans that are driving up Demicratic turnout. It is so much more than that.
Dobbs was the straw that broke the camel's back. It was the apex and culmination of the Christian-fundamentalist-nativist-nationalist madness that the Republican party has spent most of our lifetimes cultivating in our population for their own divisive ends. It was the moment that everything else became sharply clarified for a lot of people who were not previously willing to see the personal, visceral danger of these peoples' agenda of open authoritarianism on their lives. The threats to democracy are NOT abstract, nor are you immune from their effects, and the danger is not just stemming from Von Tweeto but the party as a whole. When folks hear about an abortion ban it sets off a little *ping* in their brain that "Oh yeah, AND ALSO the book banning, and the telling people what to wear, and the gay bashing, and the open carry rifles (my kid has a clear backpack now!), and the insurrection, and the Nazi marches, and the forced family separation, and the million dead from Covid because you wouldn't wear a damn mask, and oh God I guess these people are all truly insane and maybe the extra 60 cents at Starbucks isn't the biggest problem after all!"
Ronna McDaniel was on the news saying how the party needs to make it clear how they value exceptions and nuance, and need to demonstrate "compassion" through more "pregnancy centers" and "viable adoption." Ugh. Lady, you are NOT GETTING IT. There is no nuance here. It is the 21st Century. Adults have sex. Having sex is FINE. Sometimes a woman gets pregnant, doesn't want to be a Mom yet. That is FINE. Get over it. That woman doesn't feel like spending a year of her life having her body put through hell and then the rest of her life knowing the kid she gave up is wandering out there, when the alternative is a SIMPLE COMMON MEDICAL PROCEDURE that removes some cells and lets her get on with her own destiny. Kindly stop shoving your hateful medieval judgement you learned from your magic book up her uterus.
Fuck you, we win.
Edit: Oh, and progressives ALSO have better ideas than the reactionaries about putting more money in the pockets of regular people. That too! (That isn't new, though.)
And stop defining zygotes as babies. All cells have potential but many fall short. Republicans fall short of that reach for humanity every day. Just like in 2012, when they heard the same advice “need a change of message,” they doubled-down and hugged right. And the money flowed in. Ronna McDaniel will NEVER get it. It’s power, pure and simple. One thing is for sure, the zealots will never admit defeat. Neither can we.
Jeri (and Will): Yes! AND stop defining women's bodily autonomy as only abortion. The issues having to do with women regaining legal control over their bodies is far more vast than that. What we need is ERA. And we also need to demand that this Christofascist focus on the "fault" of women for getting pregnant when they have intercourse be corrected. Pregnancy cannot happen without a (wait for it: I beat this drum on a regular basis) PENIS being involved. And yet all these white boyz are convinced that somehow their insertion of their favorite organ into a woman's vagina is not the problem. What I love is the fact that the book burning morons are being hoist on their own petard. My motto for years has been "Never EVER mess with librarians." We have to begin at the bottom and work through the system methodically. The Democratic machine is terrible at this, but it could be that we have some momentum.
"We have to begin at the bottom and work through the system methodically. The Democratic machine is terrible at this, but it could be that we have some momentum"
Thank you for this. I am chair of a local Dem committee, and on the county exec committee. You caught the Dem problem spot on. I have worked with groups, both political and non-political, for decades, and I know that people need to feel part of the process. But over and over again I hear people complaining that the only time they hear from the Dem party is when they want money. This is pretty much the truth. So I set out to give people in my committee a sense of having a voice and agency, knowing that they would take that out into the community to others. Yesterday, I was informed at county meeting in no uncertain words that the party is about raising money for in-state candidates, period. Yeah, we need the money, because we don't have the anonymous PACS the Republicans do. But before people give money, they have to feel like the organization hears them and is responsive to them. So while I will keep on chairing and toeing the line, I want to offer outside "work-sessions" for the folks in my committee who want to actually DO something to ensure we get the voters out, not just here, but in our neighbor states where close races WILL determine whether we have a functioning Congress. The old days of just having big event fund-raisers just don't cut it anymore. We want democracy back, and we want to be part of it- including our own political party.
I've experienced exactly what you're saying. As a result, every time I get an email from the DSCC or DNC or other establishment Washington-based Democratic group, if a text I type STOP and if a phone call I tell them to forget it, I never give money over the phone.
As we get into 2024 I'll donate to individual candidates - all Dems of course - but won't ever pay the overhead of institutionalized and out of touch Democratic groups in D.C.
BRAVA Annie!!!!!!!!!!! You give me hope.
I love you work to create a New Democratic Party. The old way is why we are in the fix we are in.(it’s not just that the gop went nuts). I want my support and action to be a part of that new bottom up rebuilding. I want us to win AND make a positive difference! Thank You Annie for chairing your local Dem committee. Here’s wishing you get better leadership higher up.
I think they are working on it at the national level. Keep in mind that each state has its own Dem organization and by-laws, and that, I think, is where the significant move toward change must happen. Also keep in mind that people all up and down are doing the best they can. We are almost all volunteers; the few staff we are able to hire are not well-paid for the level of work they do- and they do work hard. Nobody goes into this without a sense of commitment. It's just that people burn out, and new people tend to pick up on what they have seen, so old ways of doing things get perpetuated. Change takes time, and it's often hard. I believe that the amazing grass-roots activity outside the party the past several years will be one of the big drivers for change in the Democratic party. It already is a new Democratic Party. And the proof is the amazing results in recent elections. We each can do some small thing that will make a difference. One of the big ones is getting the media to pay attention to the important things. Write letters to journalists to let them know when they are off, but as important- let them know when they've done a good job. Best way to create change.
Yes! There is no pregnancy without a penis! 50% of the genetic makeup of each child belongs to the father. So, my suggestion to the pro-life extremists is that for every child born, the biological father is financially responsible for the child’s food, housing, clothing, healthcare, education through college, sports, etc. Let’s put that on the ballot along side their draconian anti-abortion bills. That’s only fair. The truth is, they don’t give a damn for those babies once they’re born. And they prove that by cutting SNAP and Medicaid benefits to poor women and children. This isn’t about being pro-life and it never was. It’s about keeping women powerless second class citizens.
Ramasmarmy was telling some reporter before the debate that the answer to abortion was "male sexual responsiblity." Which on a certain level is acknowledging the obvious that immaculate conception isn't suuuuuper common, but really is just another way of saying that the acceptable solution is to stop having sex, which is not going to happen and doesn't need to happen, because *adults have sex,* and always have and always will, and there is nothing WRONG with having sex whenever you want with another consenting adult, and the idea that you need to live with the "consequences" and "take responsibility" for having sex, like it is some grave weighty life choice you are making is goddamn ludicrous to everyone who knows what goddamn century it is.
Rami is dubiously offering a red herring. No doubt more male sexual activity responsibility would solve a LOT of world problems, but abortion will always be necessary health care. Responsible people get unwantedly pregnant. Responsible people have obstectric crisises that abortions will medically remedy. Pregnancy - even when resulting from responsible action - is still -and always will be- dicey business. Leave the decision where it should most responsibly be: with the pregnant person and the medical professional chosen to accept help from. NONE of this stops other women or men from chosing how to act personally. If you are against abortion, don’t get one. Or don’t have sex with someone who will get pregnant. Nothing is stopping someone from exercising their personal choice to carry their pregnancy to term. Nothing. As well, Nothing should stop a pregnant person from making the personal choice that is best for the pregnant person.
I guess that birth control is out of the question in some states. Even crossing the state is a no no (one of the southern states-Mississippi I think)
very well said
Funny comment, Linda. Never say the Democratic machine is terrible, ok? Please? Democrats are the loves of my life right now.
Susan, you must not live in a state like Missouri. Where the Dem machine is so afraid of losing their comfy relationship with the neofascists they won't support progressive candidates. Where they are fielding a primary opponent who wants to get rid of Cori Bush, probably one of the most remarkable Congresswomen around. Where they deliberately sank the nomination of a viable candidate in the last senatorial race (Lucas Kunce, who is now running to run against Hawley) in favor of a completely incompetent candidate whose only claim to fame was that she was a beer heiress with ties to St. Louis. And then lied about Lucas in order to primary him out of the picture. Where, outside of KC where I live and where we bleed blue, the Dem machine won't support their own electorate in favor of maintaining what piddly power or influence they have. Dem machine doesn't mean Democratic voter. Dem machine is the organization that ceded the grassroots to the Reaganites. That allowed the neofascists and Christofascists to take over local government. That is interested mostly in maintaining its own institutional power. Machines are all corrupt. I am interested in voters. In people. In pushing against the whole machine politics situation. Ironically, although Biden has been a team player most of his life, hhe has been out ahead of his own party for years--including as VP--in ways that the Dem machine has found objectionable. Why do you think they are being so coy? Talking about replacing him? Not amplifying his message?
Sorry for the screed but I just can't let this one go. I have never EVER voted for a Republican--and I remember and liked John Lindsey. But I won't call myself a member of the Democratic Party (except perhaps in Will Rogers's famous phrase: "I don't belong to an organized political party. I'm a Democrat") because I have been abandoned by the machine more times than I have been supported.
Thank you Linda! I am a lifelong Democrat, and I know it is important for us to call out the corruption in our own Party. I never give to the DCCC or the DSCC precisely because, as you said, they so often support candidates who are acceptable to corporate donors rather than those who really work for us.
That said, I have yet to see a Republican candidate who really gives a d@mn about real people, so I will continue to support Dems. Of MY choice.
Thank you for elucidating (is that a word?!) the situation in MO.....it’s bad enough fighting our enemies, but our “friends”? It must be doubly depressing
the "Democratic" National Committee
is a Private Corporation and is
'democratic' in name Only:
.
they're vastly Too com-
fortable to Afflict the
Comfortable and
Comfort the
Afflicted.
Wow...I'd like to copy your message and send to some friends in NY who are so frustrated with the NY Dem. machine. Would that be ok?
I'm encouraged by the young folks, especially women, I see who are truly progressive and working hard at the grass roots level. Old Dems will die out (I'm 78, and I'm sure of this!) so we have to keep fighting the good fight and supporting these young folk. Blessings,
Thank you for this post. Around here it is the more progressive people who are often Bernie bots and believe the label socialist can win who have dissed Biden. i don't hear that so much now, so maybe a few of them have reformed.
There are not enough 'Likes' for me to express my appreciation for your comments Linda.
I see. Thank you for the history from your neck of the woods and also your point of view.
Have you heard Michael Moore’s podcasts about blue dots in a red state? His tips made sense to me, tho I live in NM which is blue, although there are a lot of MAGAs here….
Mayor John Lindsay was the only Republican I ever voted for.
Wow! Thank you for these clear examples of the failings of the Democratic Machine. I did not understand the complaints until I read your post here!
Spot on. It is like watching a Trojan Horse. The R's infiltrated. Corporate agents.
Linda I am with you. And Mr Rogers.
Susan, the people doing the most effective work right now are the kitchen table Democrats: all the people writing postcards, making calls, going to the local town hall meetings, reaching out, showing up. We do need the organization of the party to pull it all together, but they let us down at the local level if all they do is constantly ask for money. In recent times, the most effective fund-raising has been for small amounts. I don't mind getting asks from candidates, because it costs to run a campaign. But it's pretty off-putting to be asked to give without being given a sense of why, and of being given the sense that We the People have no role in the process other than as money raisers.
Thank you, Annie.
First...I'm a radically independent moderate, I've voted for candidates and positions supported by both D and R.
Second...regarding the D. When they had the majority, when they had the House, the Senate and POTUS they did NOT pass the legislation that many of us want:
- right to reproductive control
- proper gun control
- right to register and vote
I think I see the R party self imploding on abortion and guns and extreme extremists, and am hoping to see D's have success in local, state and national elections in 2024.
Will the D's have enough discipline and self-control to advance the legislation that the MAJORITY of Americans (members of D and R and INDEPENDENTS) want?
"Will the D's have enough discipline and self-control to advance the legislation that the MAJORITY of Americans (members of D and R and INDEPENDENTS) want?"
I think it is key to remember that there is no particular amount of "self-discipline and control" that can mind-magic any given egotistical Senator into going along with the plan, especially when they feel they stand to be rewarded for NOT doing so, and if you have literally no people to lose then that is that. 273/275 Dems voting the same way (99.5% agreement) is pretty freaking "disciplined". Too bad those 2 were in the wrong place. If that doesn't happen next time, then all these nice things will happen next time.
Nicely put. It's been woman' fault since Eve. I recently read Gilgamesh and found out it was a woman (a temple prostitute) who spoiled Enkido's natural ways and made him a human so he could pal around with Gilgamesh who wasn't exactly a good ruler. I will give the ancient writers kudos though for not beating around the bush and telling exactly what happened. No euphemisms.
I have seen bits of whole Christian seminars based around the message that women need to keep themselves chaste because they have no idea how hard it is for men to control themselves when women are alluring, essentially laying the shame and responsibility for "sin" in the world at women for not keeping *themselves* oppressed enough.
I found it offensive as a man, though, because I have absolutely no problem keeping my business in my pants upon seeing a nice lady specimen, and I don't need any help from her (or Jesus) to not be a creep, thank you very much.
Love this, Will. On Christmas Eve we listen at 7am to the Readings and Carols from King's College Chapel, Cambridge. I love it, except the first bit about the Garden of Eden. Available, btw at 7amPST Christmas Eve on all classical.org to stream.
I find the work of Dr. Kristin Kobes du Mez very interesting. She is the author of a book Jesus and John Waynehttps://www.google.com/search?q=Kristin+kobes+du+mez&sca_esv=581440190&tbm=vid&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwio1oOQrruCAxXfjokEHWLiDN0Q_AUoBHoECAMQBg&biw=2219&bih=1051&dpr=2#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:41264421,vid:nLBgAimpnKs,st:0
Thanks for saying this Will. I have long been perplexed (and angry) that some theocratic countries keep women home-bound, shrouded head-to-toe when outdoors and “controlled” by men because-- what?—the men can’t control their urges? That screams to me of “moral weakness” and lack of self-agency….poor darlings, so sad & silly! Sometime ago I read The Power by Naomi Alderman, a fiction thought-experiment about the male/female power dynamic…an interesting read & btw was one of Obama’s favorite reads for 2017 (also NYT’s Book Review one of 10 best for 2017). I am grateful that for my trip-round-the-sun I landed in a relatively free society, if still somewhat misogynistic. And I hope to see the ERA finally passed before I shuffle off to star dust.
You rock, Linda, telling it like it is!
This summer my goal was to read as many banned books as possible ( including several children's books). To honest some I wouldn't care for in a high school. I think there would be other books which would cove the topic. The Handmaid's Tale and the Giver affected me the most. My general impression is they don't like anything that presents a possible authoritarian tendencies. Any thing LBGTQ is definitely out even if no sex is mentioned. and why is Where the Wild Things Are on the list?
Right on about the zygotes, Jeri. I've never seen any R sobbing over the more than 40% of zygotes that never take and get flushed down toilets all over the world every day. That's REALITY. Don't tell me those clumps of cells have souls.
If they cared about babies, they would CARE ABOUT BABIES, and children, and the damaged vets, and the immigrants who could contribute to our society, and... Well, I could go on and on.
How can you say you value all life when it is a zygote in utero but not when it is a Black man on death row for the same things white men get away with?
This is true, but you don't even have to go that far! They think that the life of a fully functioning women should cede its own exercise of free will the second an unformed zygote appears.
They clearly value some of "all lives" more than others.
It is the ultimate irony, Jeri, that Rs cannot give a fig about living humans. They only have plans to matters worse for ordinary people.
It's not babies. It's CONTROL of women.
Read somewhere - you can tell Democrats by the people they want to help. You can tell republicans by the people they want to hurt.
Absolutely.
AMEN!!!
"Don't
tell me those
clumps of cells have souls."
.
those who love
to proclaim 'Corporations
are too People!' keep using
that term. they haven't a Clue
what a Soul is or there'd Never
BE any more Executions. Zygotes
.
are
NOT
"Babies."
Dig it. Zygotes are not babies, baby.
&
Corps're
NOT Peeps.
oh
and
EVERY
Sperm
Is Sacred.
.
so let's
have some*
Ceremonies
for those that
Don't Make It.
.
*Mandatory!
Girls and women are sinners, and the men are just bystanders. NOT. Glad I have known some wonderful men or I could be a hater. I'm a hater of hypocrisy instead.
hate the Hipocrisy
AND Hate the
Patriarchy:
.
Women
hold Up
1/2 the Sky.
Man-datory, man. Eschew the idle unless your name is Eric.
Hahahaha…I see what you did there Les!
What is a soul? This much we know: all bodies are temporary no matter in what stage of development. If a soul is the point where the body plugs in to life, and the body dies, life is not the poorer for it.
I see the soul as a useful word for the awareness of right and wrong, as used by Tolstoy.
Those right wing extremists are NOT the ones protecting life. Women and girls are suffering emotional trauma and dying because the Republican Taliban is practicing medical care without a license. The Republican Taliban voted to increase child poverty and wants to cut Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, SNAP, and every social safety net program while letting their legacy children into college and keeping kids with few financial resources out.
The ONLY good Republicans are pushing up daisies. Right on Harry Truman.
So many have been traitors for decades. The Coup of 1933 was the first I heard of. But not the last. Things that never made it into our history books. No wonder DeSatan wants to "protect" us from what republicans have done to our democracy. Now Santorum says it out loud.
I'm ready for my closeup, Mr. MAGA.
Right on, JennSH!
Here in Ohio, the Republicans changed the wording of the Issue 1 amendment on the ballot, substituting “unborn child” for the word “fetus”, I suppose thinking fewer people would vote for that. Our issue wasn’t just about abortion. It includes the right to contraception, infertility treatment, and miscarriage care. It also forbids the state from punishing those who either seek abortions or help those seeking them.
While I’m thrilled that both Issues 1 and 2 passed, I find it pretty awful that turnout was less than 50% for such an important election. I get that that’s high for an off year, and all we voted for were a couple of magistrates, school board (and thank god our far right crazy lost), and our two issues, but ugh! Come on people, vote!
Had a conversation with my grand girl who seemed to think that since she uses contraception for other than birth control, she would be safe. Disabused her of that notion. It matters not. Also told her that things might not always be in her control. My ex bff has three daughters and one d-in-l. All were raped as teens, two working in restaurants, one at Oxford during a semester abroad, and one at college. None reported it. Shocking to me, but apparently more common than any know. Yet girls and/or women wear the Scarlett Letter.
Jeri, how heartbreaking. It makes my blood boil.
Mine too
Thank you KR for mentioning miscarriages and the danger to women who want their pregnancy to be viable but have to terminate it.
KR, thanks for sharing the "inclusions" of contraception and miscarriage care.
My Mom was pregnant 13 times. She has 2 children. She wanted more, but that is life. Miscarriage is common and devastating, and she is the strongest person I know. I am so glad that she didn't have to think about what state she was living in while going through that near-decade of trying, and anyone who thinks it is ok for a woman having to consider such a thing in such a situation deserves an express ride to the very particular neighborhood in Hades.
My wife was 1 for 6. Two of those were in Missouri and one in Nebraska. She nearly died on one of them that happened when abortion was legal in those states.
If a woman in those states had miscarriages at the same point in their pregnancies that my wife did, there is a good chance they would die if this happened now.
Fuck you Alito and the other CINOs on the USSC.
❤️
The prospect of the Handsmaid’s Tale coming to life feels too real.
It’s no longer a movie/book it’s a movement ....
And DYING....
***Applause for GOTV, Democrats Awakening ❤️😉, voting, donating, holding onto tried and truth , ACKNOWLEDGING our errors and corrective action.***
I haven't spent time in Ohio since the 2002 election, but at that time, I noticed that daytime NPR always focused on music in the day time and all the news was pushed into the evenings, whereas in New York City, you could get NPR news all day long. I was volunteering for a group sponsored by George Soros (no demon in my book) rather than the Kerry campaign, but it seemed to me that some timely news would have been helpful, because the Republican narrative was out there unchallenged.
That is still true.
We’re seeing it play out now… “Within MAGA Republicans’ refusal to admit that their far-right positions are unpopular is a disdain for those voters who disagree with them.”
Sounds like the unnamed official in the George W. Bush administration who said “(you’re) in what we call the reality-based community,' which he defined as people who 'believe that solutions emerge from your judicious study of discernible reality.' [...] 'That's not the way the world really works anymore,' he continued. 'We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality.”
Otherwise known as "alternative facts." Yep, W and Dickie were great at creating their own reality. We suffer mightily for their insanity today. W laughingly said "You can fool some of the people all of the time, and those are the ones you want to concentrate on." Chump signed on and here we are.
Don't forget W. had a lot of help from Karl Rove, who, if I'm not mistaken, first used the term reality-based community. And no, in reality, Saddam Hussein did not have weapons of mass destruction, and we've been paying for it ever since.
I’ll never forget Rove. Texas went to hell when he foisted W on the state. I told off more than a few people who defended that WMD crap.
'We're an empire now,
and when we act, we
create our own reality.”
.
with a Ginormous
Assist from Rupert 'Uncle
Snoopy' Mudroach, killer of
Democracies planet-wide and
his FOX facts-FREE teevee: ''the
Scum also rises.'' --Hunter S Thompson
and don't forget the Koch Kleptocrats and their $15 billion spent on psyops games, like creating the Tea Party in the shadows.
when your Empire
rests on the same
Fossil Fuels that
are Destroying
the Planet you
GOTTA Work
at undermin-
ing Democ-
racy & the
Kochs are
Experts
in that
field.
Omg, did that really happen?! So bad to be in a “reality-based community”!
Zealots or true believers of any ilk never admit defeat because they would have to give up the essence of themselves....the idea that only they have the truth and the hatred and disdain for anyone else who doesn't. It's a horrible way to go through life in my opinion, but we find it all over the world in various guises.
So true, but in my long life, I have never experienced the "out in the open" viciousness that exists today in our "tolerant country/"
I think we can mostly thank death star for giving haters and in your face folks carte blanche to do this. Also I find that society in general is much less civil in everyday life.
So true
The fact is, the Bible says the soul does not enter a body until the first breath is taken; these evangelical extremists have no biblical evidence for their stance against a woman’s rights.
Well said. It is the zealous quest of power. But the fervor is driven or rationalized by an irrational sense of rightness. And it's a sense that self-justifies immoral and unethical actions. It's frightening.
That self-righteousness identifies dangerous zealots who want to control your life
5 1/2 months for a baby to be able to survive outside the women. Something like 90+% abortions are done before 13 weeks. No one is ripping, screaming live babies from anyone.
But that's the lie the right-wing nut cult is pushing. I think chump actually said that. Worse than that, they think that no egg should go unfertilized. Birth control is as evil as abortion at any time. But sperm, just let it flood the land. Insanity rules the fools and has since God was a baby.
Great post, Will. You are so right about that "ping" setting off the remembrance of all those other oppressions. I think the thing is, forced birth is a constantly looming horror that affects more than half the population ALL THE TIME, so it galvanizes more people faster. And also, as HCR has often pointed out - Dobbs TOOK AWAY a Constitutional right. That is a five alarm fire.
Yes, things were looking pretty bleak, but nothing should tarnish the positivity of these elections. The message is clear. One of my favorite lines of this newsletter:
"As Greg Sargent noted in the Washington Post, right-wing culture wars appear to be losing their potency as opponents emphasize American principles."
"Will voters still care in a year's time, or will the anger subside as other issues come into the picture?"
I DON'T KNOW, WILL EVERY WOMAN IN AMERICA STOP HAVING HER PERIOD EVERY SINGLE MONTH? PRETTY CONSISTENT REMINDER OF THIS "ISSUE", WOULDN'T YA SAY?
No, Will, the anger will NOT subside…I have kept mine since the mid-60’s based on personal pre-Roe experience & that branded my advocation for reproductive bodily autonomy on my soul. For women the thrum of danger lives just beneath our skin, always—even when ones’ childbearing days are past . We do not forget.
And there is a potential link to so very many babies born with syphilis and lack of reproductive care. There have been increasing numbers for a decade but up 32% last year. Unforeseen consequences of the anti abortion movement and ruling of the Supreme Court.
The US stats scream for better health care period.
Included in that is maternal care, post partum care.
The US stats regarding health care are abysmal. The US stats regarding pregnancy and birth care are worse than that.
It’s not well enough known..those figures! Rural care especially and in poor states is shocking ! Thanks Ally for doubling that fact.
WE need to focus on incentives for health care revamped , another Biden from the bottom up approach.. the tops echelons are evident , sorely needing hauled up by the short hairs and restructured equality.
Just another in the long list of us awakening , rolling up our sleeves, and holding those elected accountable for addressing long overdue inadequacies.
Thanks again….EVERYONE 💙☮️🫶
Will, thank you for info on GOP plan to push “ pregnancy centers” and “viable adoption”. Adoption should not be messaged as the answer.
My oft repeated rant.⬇️ ( Thanks for kindly “listening”.)
A woman or child who faces a pregnancy, included one that is forced or traumatic, may have the option to: 1)carry the pregnancy to term, or,2) have a medical procedure to terminate the pregnancy. Some may have absolutely no say in the decision,including those who have been human-trafficked.
Fetuses cannot be adopted. Adoption is an option only once there is a living child as birth mothers have rights up to and after birth.. If a person carries a pregnancy to term, even if this decision was not freely chosen, the decision is to :1)parent the child, or,2) relinquish the child for adoption.
Many birth mothers who suffer the life-long trauma of relinquishment,as well as adoptees, should not be used as political pawns.
And “Right To Lifers”, please stop telling adoptees they should be grateful they weren’t aborted. This “pro-life” gaslighting only serves to promote a false equivalence.
Very well said, thank you!
If these right to lifers want to stop abortion and rather the pregnant woman give up the baby up for adoption , what about all those kids that are in orphanages now ! I don't see these kids being adopted by these right to life people ! I just see them bullying pregnant women !! There is no care after the baby is born, daycares are expensive and not enough of them ! Medical insurance is thru the roof and people go into bankruptcy because of these issues !! So the repugnants don't give a rat's ass about the people but care only about their wealthy donors and keeping their evangelical asshats happy , so expect more bullshittery come from the douche bag repugnants !!
Kimberlee, quite some years ago my sister was accompanying a friend to a Planned Parenthood clinic & there was a protest outside. Miffed, my sister walked over to a fellow holding a particularly offensive sign…she asked him how many adopted kids he was raising…crickets…”I thought so” she said & advised him to walk the talk or shut up.
So maybe RBG's death broke the dam, her last great act might have been to ignite the fight just in time for the 2020/2022 elections. For without her death could they have so brazenly taken a right away? Could McConnell have been so brazenly hypocritical to make a supreme court appointment and not let the voters decide and ignore Obama's appointment? While I'm contemplating how the world can be reshaped by unexpected or by what may appear to be untimely events leading to calamity, including the dump of Hillary's emails, COVID etc, (because there is a good chance that without both events the horror of the four years of Trump might be now with Xi and Putin running wild). Also, while I'm thinking a little mystically about all this, is there any chance McConnell could be accused and prosecuted for failing to uphold the Constitution for blocking Obama's ability to appoint a justice? Is Tuberville doing the same thing by exploiting a weakness?
Odd, Martha, how all this heady acquired power has gone straight to their gonads & IMHO made big dicks of them all….just sayin’.
I haven't heard any mention here of the Front Line exposure of McConnell. I saw it on Utah PBS, so I can't imagine that it wasn't aired everywhere. It was chilling to see how the little boy with polio developed into a consummate high school politician and with seeming ease moved from a moderate Republican into a tool of the far right.
I will look for it here on our PBS streaming. That sounds interesting. Thank you for the direction.
I love your comments, Will. And today it’s like you are inside my 70 year old brain. Except you say it better.
Cheri, 74 here & totally agree…Will is chill!!!
Great post. You made my day. I wish you were on the MSM.
Preach it Will!
There is also the matter of fomenting an insurrection 2021, and all of its concomitant crimes.
Reproductive rights are the focus now because it is really the largest issue facing us today. Access to safe, legal reproductive healthcare is only a small part of the financial, legal, physical, social, and spiritual aspects of women's lives under threat today. Republicans have made it very clear where they stand on all these issues. Make no mistake, this is really an existential threat to our culture.
The only arguably more existential threat is global warming and the tandem issue of climate inequity. Should Republicans regain control of the country those in charge of mitigating this threat will be the petrochemical oligarchs who brought us here in the first place. I no longer separate the Republican party into MAGA and non-MAGA camps (the media seems to make a sport of 'moderate Republican' sightings - kind of like bird watchers and the Ivory
Billed Woodpecker), as it seems to be long past the time (the weeks after 1/6/21) when, if the will was really there, they could have rid themselves of DT and his minions.
Steve, what is mostly flying under the radar is how human impact, not just climate change (tho it’s all interconnected), but use of chemicals, plastics & toxic environmental degradation is affecting fertility (primarily sperm production) and is increasingly, subtly, altering the physical expression of sex organs in babies. Hard to know the eventual outcome of this “forced evolution” of our species.
Thank you, Will, for this excellent post outlining the many reasons the party of death has it wrong. I find it interesting that they still do not get it at least in their public pronouncements although their attempt to suppress the vote tells me that they in fact do because they know they have nothing to offer. In the hopes that death star who aided and abetted this mess and gave carte blanche to people to be awful loses his assets and goes to jail.
Cheeto von Tweeto
Perfect comment, Will.
the magic book doesn't even condemn abortion. on the contrary it instructs how to do it with poison (as a punishment and prevention of scary extramarital breeding!)
Based on ancient writings on the subject, it is told there was a very effective abortifacient herb (aka poison) growing wild but it was over harvested (!) to extinction (learned this in a series of herbalism classes but can’t recall the source material). Obviously must have been quite popular.
Edit: Found this https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silphium#:~:text=Silphium%20had%20a%20remarkably%20narrow,that%20led%20to%20its%20extinction.
Rethugs vowing to double down is an added bonus. Dobbs is the gift that keeps on giving. What irony!
Does she not realize that there are over 100,000 children in foster care? and the republicans want to cut social services. Maybe the pro life people should adopt or take in a foster child. I read an article about how bipartisan committees are being formed to address needs of all the extra babies to be born. What the ----what about the ones who are here now? Repubs have lots of toys to play with, toss them aside, and now want new ones.
YES, a resounding YES!!
Ms. Sokoloff,
Perhaps you/Valenti might consider "We have just begun to fight!" as opposed to the proposed quote?
As an old guy who, yes, has used profanity after whacking myself with some tool, not winning the lottery, watching rain fall on a recently cut hayfield and the like.....I do mostly try to limit the use of the word since, to my old guy ears, it sounds too much like modern America. Crass, profane and, well, kinda "low" as Michele Obama might say.
In general, I try to use language for the situation at hand.
"We" have not won. "We" had a good day. And? I can tell you.
I have just begun to fight, and, my energy IS focused and I know who to fight and a bit more about how now than when I started involvement two years back. My eyes are open to the Republican Party now.
Just something to think about Ms. Sokoloff. I do like the sentiment though.
Mike, I appreciate you here. We all do.
But maybe, considering the import of the moment and the more-than-understandable fury that many of our citizens are experiencing, just maybe usage of an uncouth syllable is not a problem worth addressing but instead an objectively harmless catharsis fully warranted.
Just my m@+h=rf#○k!ng 2 cents.
:-)
Catharsis fully understood and accepted here. Your humor too.
thanks!
But, I think we are at the front end of the fight, we have not won, and it is a long slog ahead.
Lastly, given the growing number of voices openly expressing, on various public forums like News Max, Fox News and Pravda, that "Democracy is not how you run a country".
We have a real fight ahead.
I had dinner and a beer with a long time Republican Friend this past Tuesday. In that conversation:
1) he voiced full throated support for Israel's bombing campaign in Gaza.
2) indicated that the Palestinians "deserve to be oppressed".
3) said: "Democracy is failing in the US and the Communists need tossed out" and WE need to run the country.
He knows I was once a Republican and he knows I no longer am. He is totally OK telling me, after only one beer, that we need to ditch democracy.
Today, he is the same guy.
I have just begun to fight Ms. Sokoloff. Because, the fight is coming to me.
Mike, your friend is saying essentially, “the will of the voters is fine until its not, democracy is fine as long as “WE” get to use power and greed and legalese to override it, that Freedom is not for everyone, but rather for people who earn it AGREEING WITH US”. When espousing that a group of people “deserve”to be oppressed, he basically checks every definition of a racist soul. He’s you who he is. I’m confident you believe him
The problem that I have with this (among many) is “how did this willingness to openly embrace the idea that prejudice and caste type superiority is in line with purported American values and Constitution language, unfold?”
I know you’re gonna tell me our history shows its always been lurking under a rock, but now its a badge of honor. How many people walk around boasting “I’m a bully, its the American way!!!”; but this is where we are today. This is now normalized and without shame
Your response him must have been vexing
I used to be paradoxically heartened when I heard some neo-Nazi deny that the Jewish Holocaust ever happened. After all, their words at least showed that they considered genocide something to be ashamed of. Now, I think they are coming to embrace it.
Like I said, a badge of Honor; similar to AR15 lapel pins
Dave, “how did this willingness to openly embrace the idea that prejudice and caste type superiority is in line with purported American values and Constitution language, unfold?”
I think the presence of people who claim superiority is something like an evolved trait in EVERY human. I have met way too many people who have told me that they are:
1. Genetically superior because of x, y, z. (yes, one of our family friends, even today, will still tell me this after 20 years of me sneezing BS every time).
2. Smarter than average.
3. Stronger than average.
4. More attractive then average.
5. Closer to God than X.
Dave, you name it, humans think it when it comes to being superior.
The inner perception of "I am superior" just must be an evolved trait. Everyone thinks they are better than everyone else.
Mike, if you are ever in Michigan, we should bbq some burgers and have a beer, the worldview that I get from you aligns quite similar to mine. I have never thought that my condition was superior to others, just different. The only thing I think I’m really good at is music and I ain’t no Woody Guthrie
There’s a difference between self confidence in one’s own abilities and perspective vs exhibiting an aura of superiority. There’s always someone smarter, quicker, stronger….. so what? We, you and I, are in a battle of values with people who demonstrate none. Its hard not to feel a “little” better than the average bloak
And me, and all who hold our freedoms dear. No exceptions
Hey! Don’t diss my favorite word!
Great f#@%king post Will!
Mike S - "Ms. Sokoloff, Perhaps you/Valenti might consider 'We have just begun to fight!' as opposed to the proposed quote?"
Will, from Cal - "But maybe, considering the import of the moment and the more-than-understandable fury and many of our citizens are experiencing, just maybe usage of an uncouth syllable is not a problem worth addressing but instead an objectively harmless catharsis fully warranted."
Not "worth addressing" mainly because that word has become so common that it has lost any meaning. Did Ms. Valenti really offer to have sex with her opponent or would, indeed, have "We have just begun to fight!" been more appropriate... and more effective?
"Did Ms. Valenti really offer to have sex with her opponent[?]"
I dunno Ron, when I say I call bullshit on this, am I actually warning you not to step in excrement originating from a male bovine?
Acceptable Will , thanks for your support. 🫶 I’d emphasize that by making another word politically more appropriate ..it’s even sexy 😉😉☮️
My therapist tells me swearing is a sign of higher intelligence. And I swear like a mother fucker. My Italian grandmother's swear words are floating in space somewhere. They were poetry. It would bring a tear to your eye. I miss her.
Then I must be a genius. Damn, these days I can only rave to myself though. When I was young, I didn’t understand the need. Now they are like old friends. Can’t fathom that it’s a sign of intelligence though, just frustration to the core of my being regarding the Nazi cult which calls itself the Republican Party.
Maybe you are.
Funny story about swearing. When my youngest was 3, I was driving him to preschool when he said to me in his sweet little voice, “Mommy, I have to tell you something.” Expecting something cute like I love you, or I want pumpkin pie for supper. I said, “Sure, Sweetie.” He told me, “I just love to cuss!”
As we pulled into the church parking lot where his preschool/daycare was located, I had a brief moment where I laughed, sobered up and said, “Don’t do it in school.” He said, “I know, I won’t.”
He’s 35 now and makes a great living as a truck driver for one of the bigger dairy companies in our area. Who didn’t see that coming?
Yeah, I told my girls they could swear, just not at school and not in front of Grandma and Grandpa! :D
Someone I knew gave their kids the rule that it is ok to swear, but it is not ok to swear *at people.* That seemed reasonable to me, and I adopted it for myself. But boy is it difficult sometimes.
I tried that, too, but I've been called out by my daughter and by step-son, so I try to bite my tongue, even though it took me decades to learn to swear.
That's priceless, Karen! This article also said that kids are really good at code switching. Your son obviously knew how at 3!
What a story!
Lisa, there was just an article yesterday in I think the WaPo about children swearing more these days - it cites studies of swearing being empowering. If that's true, the 5 YO is close to superhero status....
I recently finished writing a novel where much of the action is inside a high school. I asked my hs teacher daughter for a few contemporary slang terms.. She told me that slang is mercurial, and IF I ever get the (fucking? LOL) thing printed, it would be out of date. Also that slang is spawned by TikTok now, and it is often regional as well.
Had she any thoughts as to what word(s) I could use that wouldn't hopelessly date my work? She said that they all--boys and girls--use "fuck" liberally.
Let me tell you, from the stories she relates, many of these kids are far from geniuses.
Slang is hard to get right in fiction! Too much is really annoying. Hope you do get a publishing deal for it!
I think this is the thing that Stephen King is masterful at. When you read his older novels, he absolutely nails the dialogue of the day. It’s evocative.
Thank you. I have come to have even greater respect for authors, as writing the "fucking" thing is merely the tip of the iceberg! ;-D
I tried to explain to my 75-yo Dad the other day the difference between "extra" and "basic" and why neither is desirable, and had to add the caveat that this may already be out of date since I left college a few years ago and aren't on "the Gram." Today's lesson was in how being a "drip" is no longer something to avoid, but having "drip" is now something to attain. Same with "dope." Language is fun.
I think the thing with "fuck" is at this point in vernacular English it has attained the same versatility as "damn," but still maintains a greater sense of "naughtiness." So a lot of middle school kids would of course overuse it all the time because they think it makes them seem adult and rebellious and in-control when amongst the other middle school kids. Then you get older and realize it has no emphasis if you overuse. So swearier adults might be smarter, but swearier kids are almost always dumb showboats.
I think you're right about the versatility/naughtiness combo. It's being incredibly overused in streaming right now. I just quit watching another series because characters were saying it literally dozens of times per episode. That's just way too distracting.
That's funny. My grandkids certainly feel empowered.
So happy for this chuckle. Thank you!
Lowell George wrote “Eloquent profanity rolls right off my tongue”. Roll Um Easy---Little Feat
If what you say about intelligence and swearing is true, then I must be a genius
https://youtu.be/b7TLnRThxL0?si=cKqLy6JyyQgV0lIK
Love your playlists here!
My Italian husband is completely fluent in English, almost without an accent despite coming here as an adult. But he almost never swears in English. His Italian curses are long, imaginative, and funny.
In English we swear about sex and excrement. Italians tend to swear about penises, testicles, and religion. I don’t often hear women swearing in Italian. I cannot imagine what your Italian grandmother swore about!
She taught me how to say, fuck you in Italian. That and cooking out of a box was a sin. She swore about everything. She was 5ft tall and 4ft wide. She was brawler. She never backed down. Everybody says I'm just like her. I love it!
Apparently my Norwegian great grandmother was known both for her eccentricity and her incredible swearing capability. Norwegians don't have "bad words" per se. About the worst word they say is "fæn", which means "hell" (sort of) and is used like we use "fuck". They get VERY creative with their swearing, like the Irish do.
It is fascinating how in different countries and cultural contexts - even other English-speaking ones! - the effect of certain swears is so different. In the UK, "bloody" is a mild swear, while in the US people will ask if you need to go to the doctor. In the UK/Ireland/Australia, c*nt merely is a strong swear that can be used playfully outside of polite company, while in the US it seems to hit like a brutal slur. F*g in the US actually IS a slur, while in the UK it is a thing you order from behind the counter.
I’m pretty fluent in Italian, and I don’t know how to say fuck you! Feel free to teach me! Vaffanculo maybe? Which obviously translates a bit differently.
I wish I was fluent in Italian. It's a beautiful language. My great grandfather's name was Pasquale Santini. They came here around 1890. I wish I would've tapped her brain for more stories. Too busy playing with my 21 cousins.
Yep!
Weekly visits back in the day to my Italian-born aunts and uncles; all gathered around the dinner table to gossip. Your posts make me wish I sat with them instead of playing with all my cousins!
Hey, "fuck" is my favorite angry word! I find it so very versatile!
I told my kids when they were teenagers that they could swear all they wanted to, that they are just good old Anglo-Saxon words that society made a pact to be horrified by, but they damn well better have a good vocabulary to support those swear words!! :D
Mine too. I even have my Pandemic dish towels that say, 'oh, the fuckery'. The other half of my family is full Irish. We didn't have a snowballs chance in hell from not swearing.🤣 We have a few dumb ones that went through the Florida school system. The rest are pretty bright though.
Floriduh
Hi Mike - I always appreciate your posts, and I'm not much of a swearer myself. But here's something for you to think about: You seem to be more disturbed by Valenti's use of the word "fuck" than by her citing the actual rape of children.
Will has expressed it very well, below. This female fury is going to flare up in catharsis. (Personally, I've written a six-book series about women who are taking their fury out on oppressive and predatory men by doing a whole lot more than swearing, and so far the catharsis of it has kept me from killing anyone. So far...)
Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Multiply by half the population and that’s a lot of pissed off women, even considering the ones who subscribe to second class status.
Same here, I remember the joy of seeing Obama inaugurated, and the immediate fear of reaction of my old party plotting to make him a one term President by any means they could imagine. I'd seen enough by 1996 when I realized the disgusting Newt Gingrich/Frank Luntz GoPac memo "Language: A Key Mechanism of Control" was not going to be rejected, indeed it seemed to really start to take off, and repeatedly returned to no matter how badly they lost any election.
They truly do want to Rule instead of Represent, and we have to keep adapting to their greater efforts following each loss.
Rule instead of represent. Need a bumper sticker. As good as “when republicans win, we all lose.”
I too am a reformed mop (my old party). (I love that and will use it in the future if you don't mind.)
Fascists Rule as you said. They feel the 1st amendment gives them the right to lie about everything and the 2nd amendment allows them to kill the children they say have a right to be born.
Thanks for the great quotes today Professor.
MOPs certainly more descriptive than GOP. Grand no more.
For sure. Maybe Grumpy old Party? But I like MOPs
Wish they were grumpy. They were and are Machiavellian manipulators, master class...
Frank and Newt used Rupert to “Goebbels” our population. Watched it happen to the smartest woman I ever knew. Thank you for that memo ref., I’m sure the Tea Party cretins used it to kneecap Obama from day one.
GOTV is working. Hello Freeport Maine , 🗣️this ex-MAINAH still loves ya 🫶 .
Waking up to the threat took some time,staying a course FOR THE PEOPLE is and will be winning results , so proud to be ‘a part of..’ CONGRATULATIONS 💙
So hard not to call them what they are proud to be, we can celebrate our good day, but they have not reflected and changed anything. Abortion rights will never be on a ballot in Texas. As Santorum said, democracy is no way to run a country. Or something like that. Results of an election mean nothing to them. They think the cult should speak for all of America. They fight against the majority. I say FU, we will roar.
Mike, you say many good things, but I have a quibble with you schooling Ms. Solokoff about her use of language. Let her have one, you know? She was just venting, and she doesn’t do that very often!
Mike, as a 60-year-old woman, I read this advice like a man telling a woman to smile more (with or without the added clause of "so you'll be more attractive) or other phrases along those lines. You may not have intended your comment in this way, but it sounds condescending to women in my opinion, telling us how to feel, how upset we have a right to be, and how to express it.
add me to the "Nope, couldn't disagree more" column.
What a great way to start my day - again!. Two excellent quotes, and a declaration of victory my two 30-something daughters would heartily approve!! But there is more good news that folks here would appreciate.
The only thing I had to vote on yesterday was school board. I was at the polls by 8:30am and was frankly surprised to see that 303 people put their ballots into the machine before me. With only school board elections to consider, I could only hope folks would take the time to read up on the candidates and get to the polls.
There were ten candidates on the ballot. Four of the ten were endorsed by Moms for Liberty. !
The four candidates endorsed by the local teachers union won.
Fuck you, we win!
Sheila, that's excellent! Thank you for reporting. Moms for Liberty my ass. (I've decided I can swear today. Tomorrow it's back to asterisks.)
I’m trained as a journalist. Spent my career in communications and fundraising for environmental nonprofits. Don’t use profanity very often in my writing.
Moms for Liberty’s politics are dangerous if not downright fascist.
Since I don’t use the B word when talking/writing about other women, “Fuck you, we win” felt like a great compromise. Thank you. 😎
Great quotes, Alexandra! Thanks for highlighting.
Alexandra, when the pro-life persons decide that the government should force people to donate bone marrow and blood to save lives, I’ll believe them that preventing abortions is not about disregarding a woman’s choice whether or not she wants to put her health at risk to carry a baby to term. It’s obviously a combination of punishment for women for having sex coupled with the idea that only women should sacrifice their health to save lives.
Alexandra, thanks for posting Jessica Valenti's remarks. I try but I can't put myself into the thought processes of the American Taliban's concept of what a female human being is. It's as though females have no brains, no feelings, no say in what happens to their own persons. Forcing a woman to carry to term a fetus that is already dead, or to compel a 10-year old girl who is impregnated by a rapist to carry the pregnancy to term are for reasons beyond my comprehension. What are they thinking?
Richard, I appreciate your reference to the "American Taliban." But given the view of women held by those who hold to contorted conceptions of their own power and righteousness, I call "Christian" Nationalists the "Christian Taliban."
Melinda, "Christian Taliban" instead of "American Taliban" - I agree, it is closer to the point. Mixed in with it are elements of the KKK - White Protestant supremacy. Have you read Timothy Egan's book yet, "A Fever in the Heartland," about the rise of the KKK in the Midwest in the 1920's? Griping and it casts a strong beam of light onto what the MAGA Republicans are.
Richard, thanks for the book recommendation. Strangely relevant to today, in high school (oh so many decades ago!) I did a research paper for a history class on the rise of the KKK in Indiana in the 1920s. It was most illuminating and, sadly, it is time to revisit that history.
I didn't read the book, but saw the History Channel's (when they still WERE about history) documentary on it. VERY eye opening. I'll have to look for the book.
The book will not disappoint you, Karen. Guaranteed.
I've got the Kindle version on hold at the library. Thanks!
"Christian Wahhabi" works, too.
My new mantra: Fuck you, we win!
I rarely speak from a feelings-based perspective. They are too évanescent, too empty of content to be of much worth. Today is an exception.
The last week has felt like having a bucket of cold water dumped over one’s head, only to warm up and then have to endure another one. The Times/Siena poll was devastating for Americans who work hard to see democracy survive at a moment when it is teetering. The consolation in that poll could only come when it was teased out by a fine-toothed comb, and at that it was thin gruel. It seems that Kennedy might take votes away from Trump. Wow.
Then we find out that the Democrats are split over Israel/Hamas, with 22 of them joining with Republicans to censure Rashida Tlaib. American has been showered with massive protests over the government’s seemingly intractable support of Israel. Biden, as if he needed to hear the news, learns that he is seeing the youth run away from him as if he was leprous, and even the Black vote appears up for grabs.
Now I happen to believe that Biden’s position on the conflict is deeply nuanced. What has been said by Blinken and other of his representatives behind closed doors is the antidote to what we hear in public. He and the protesters are closer by far than they know. It could hardly be otherwise - he loathes Netanyahu and the path he has taken Israel down.
Bidenomics is reflexively unpopular with the loud crowd. It’s an awful name, true, but the better he does for America the more he is hated. You just can’t argue with that wooden-headedness. It’s worthy of Mike Johnson.
Behind the scenes the Democratic political class is wringing its collective hands desperately trying to conjure up a plan for Biden to be skipped aside.
There is some solace in the votes on Tuesday. Republicans were taken to the woodshed in an almost unparalleled way. Locally those results will endure. At the national level they will be forgotten by Friday.
But here I come to my persistent gut feeling. I cannot help but believe that a year from now the Democrats will win the Presidency resoundingly. The smashing of Trump looks like it won’t happen in the primaries. But after that, the air is going out of the balloon. By Election Day we won’t be asking whether he’ll lose. The question will be how badly.
Believe! Believe! Believe!
But act as if you don’t. One more year of fighting at the ballot box will do it. Trump and the Republicans are a driving a dump truck overloaded with liabilities. The American system will hold. And America will be strengthened.
Give what you can. Do what you can. Your energy will be infectious.
Believe!
Believe! Believe! Believe!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gT-mWwaxl2E
Another Beau OTFC for a different viewpoint on the nature of diplomacy and how what you hear said in the media may be part of a wider strategy that is going on behind the scenes. Does Biden want Bibi to distance himself from war crimes? Yes. Is Bibi likely to do it? Not if he has to appease the far right nationalistic members of his coalition. So time for some pressure from people in Congress so Biden can say, Look it's not up to just me, Congress has to approve the funding. If Bibi wants the military aid he will have to take that step back.
As Beau says, diplomacy is about power and leverage. Biden is on the side of protecting as many lives as he can and getting aid to innocent Palestinians as quickly as he can while keeping the conflict from expanding. He also knows how to exert leverage and, more to the point, unlike Trump, he does not need to have a purported win. There is much that you see like that with Heather's post on solving the immigration crisis that went on behind the scenes, out of sight, and totally under the radar of the media.
At some point we have to remember that Joe has a pretty damn good track record of making good stuff happen. And, as a bonus, he doesn't need to tell you how great he is while he's doing it. A major change from the previous administration.
Sentence for sentence, I think you’re bang on. Thanks for the read.
Beautiful, Eric, thank you. I BELIEVE.
Eric, I have a small poster on my front porch which reads: “Courage is as contagious as fear”. Let’s make it so!
Beautiful.
Make it bigger. :)
The “poster” is actually a stencil made of thin wood (think of a stiff wood veneer) that I purchased in 2019 from my a local independent bookstore; it (a Susan Sontag quote) and another I have (“Think before you speak, read before you think”—Fran Lebowitz quote) are, per the label, from The “Bad Citizen” Graffiti Stencil folk. Haven’t used them as stencils yet, but did look up temporary chalk spray “paint” in case I ever want to deploy them! The “bad citizen” moniker comes from 1997 Don DeLillo (The New Yorker) “We’re writing against what power represents, and often what government represents…In that sense, if we are bad citizens, we are doing our job.” Not unlike John Lewis’ “good trouble” me thinks.
These are religious issues that our founders intended us to be free of. Those who insist we be slaves to some celestial god who punished us in death live in a dangerous fantasy world apart from reality. As life on a hostil planet, spinning and racing around an insignificant galaxy becomes more challenging, we need better foresight and good judgement than that. Tell these "righteous" people we don't have time for their BS.
Aaron,
Absolutely! And when you say "religious issues that our founders intended us to be free of" I hear an excellent description of the First Amendment ". In addition to that, Jefferson and other founders made it clear that there was to be a "wall between religion and the government ". But our Speaker wants to tear down that wall, and rule with his Bible, as if it were The Constitution. Well thank you Mr. Johnson, for showing us exactly what you are. It's no wonder that people are calling in the Christian Taliban.
corr. it not in
👏 thanks to all who stay at this wheel of rights , CONGRATULATIONS🫶
I’d love to repost this comment.
Of course! Jessica Valenti has a Substack that you can restack, too.
Thank you
Simply perfect.
For some reason I am unable to like this so here is my like❤️
I think Molly Jong-Fast’s “Women don’t want to die for Mike Johnson’s religious beliefs” should be on billboards, tee shirts and posters! Let’s keep the winning going.
Thank you, you’re well excepted. However, no one‘s mentioning how ignorant the senators and Congress people are about health wellness women’s affairs. I wouldn’t take my body and give it to a hack any day, and they are acting like voting like hacks.
Thank you, Jessica Valenti, for this: https://www.theverge.com/2022/11/3/23435111/early-pregnancy-abortion-tiktok-social-media-images
About time!!
"Yesterday was a bad day for extremism in the United States of America."
We can do this . . . let's keep the defeat of right wing extremism going!!
Just gotta love that first sentence of today’s Letter… 😉
The radical extremists are defeating themselves. This is as it should and must be.
The American People are us. They are smart, thoughtful and joyful. When they encounter a problem they deal with it and once they are convinced that a new path represents a better way they take it. There is very little that each of us need do beyond voting our conscience and trying to be a better version of ourselves. This is not an easy route to take it’s actually quite challenging since it requires remaining calm when some people are losing it.
The Republicans are finished. They have been on a long march towards a time and place that never existed in America and never will. So, yes... it’s nice to see the various democratic victories in the 2023 election because the majority of the American People are able to express their views and beliefs where it really counts: the ballot box. I personally believe 2024 will be an even better showing for the democrats who run and get the privilege to represent the majority of Americans who embrace and love the foundational and progressive values of our democracy.
I personally believe 2024 will be the last election we will ever have if republicans cheat their way back in. And some states are well on the way to “rule rather than represent.”
KD, Jeri,
Either of you could be right. All I know is that we are at a very strange point in history, and this next year is likely to be like an extreme rollercoaster ride. So hang on, and be prepared for anything. I hope we come out on the other side okay.
As do I. Planning to take money out of savings to donate to the best fighters. Resources took a hit so I will do all I can. It's an investment in the future for my grands and everybody else's grands.
Nice turn of phrase: "rule rather than represent." Thanks for that.
Stolen from Jim Young, Freeport, ME
I really hope you are right, because there is such an enormous amount of money behind these people who, as Jeri puts it, want to "rule rather than represent". The billionaires behind this have no love for democracy: rules made by the people are in their way of getting even richer than they already are. And they will do everything they can to destroy democracy once and for all, and install an authoritarian rule instead.
Yes, many of the big money people are pretty bad; some aren’t. The power of our democracy is in each of us. Those who fail to understand that…particularly the very rich, understand this very well. This is in part why they fear effective and fair regulation so much. Good government helps to keep things fair. Career politicians like Biden get this very well and so do many of the people who serve on a local zoning board or who work in your municipal building doing such important jobs as managing building permits or collecting taxes.
"This is in part why they fear effective and fair regulation so much"
Exactly! It hinders them in simply doing as they please, and being able to (mis)treat people in the ways they please.
"The radical extremists are defeating themselves"
They'll fall better and faster with a good strong push! And wouldn't you just love to hear Kamala declare this next Inauguration Day "Fuck You, We Won!"
Get out the vote: BLUE WAVE 2024!!
Yes, it brought a big smile to my lips and a temporary calmness over my body.
We stand proudly winning ....AND THE WORLD WATCHES US ...leading the cause for freedom, and equality, and putting autocracy down.
Democracy's future, ironically, will depend on its present.
Today, American democracy is threatened by US Congressional Republicans, extremist right-wing media including Fox News, and social media (X and Truth Social,) morbidly rich mega-donors and wealthy Corporations, the former guy, red state congresses and judiciary, SCOTUS majorities, Evangelicals and Christian Nationalists, misogynists, election, vaccine and climate change deniers, anti-abortionists, anti-LGBTQ "patriots," anti-immigrant, anti-Semites and other racists, white supremacists, gun-toting Second Amendment militia, (Proud Boys, Oath Keepers,) red state Governor "banners," (CRT, DEI, SEL, Disney, drag shows, books, trans healthcare,) Moms for Liberty, and Artificial Intelligence-using foreign nationals mis- and disinformation campaigns.
Their "Job One" will be to destroy American democracy by encouraging voter suppression and purges, gerrymandering, and voter intimidation, including through violence, (using firearms if necessary,) and stochastic terrorism.
Voting will be very important in '24, to the extent "permitted" by those with power, and their supporters, who'd rather we didn't.
Tomorrow is at least in part the outcome of what we did today.
Always true, it seems
Oy very gevalt, David!
Obviously we have a lot of work to do to stay on the right side of the razor's edge our democracy and freedoms are teetering on throughout the next year. But give us A DAY, will ya? Recharging by celebrating the wins along the way is essential!
Thanks David. That’s a pretty depressing list of threats and depressingly accurate and important. So I will add, ALL voting is important especially the primaries. 30% turnouts are common in primaries. That’s how we end up with the big spenders like tfg manbaby who then became the front runner. Let’s keep them off the ballot in the first place and send a strong message that we seriously care about democracy.
Recently heard of effort to replace primaries. (final Five Voting) and it sounds like a good plan to me. Any info appreciated.
https://www.rcvresources.org/
Ranked choice voting resource.
https://www.maine.gov/sos/cec/elec/upcoming/rankedchoicefaq.html
Maine ran its 2022 election for governor with it.
I’m ready.
It sounds interesting and worth exploring. My worry would be that polls become even more important. Tfg is the "front runner" without any primaries or debating. Msm headlining the NYT poll that for question of swing state voters the sample was about 200 for some questions and 600 for other questions. Questions repeated tfg's nasty words in some cases. But if it happens, they should get rid of the electoral college too.
I was going to write my own thoughts but this is so well said that I really have nothing to add, except that it’s Thursday, celebrating is over, time to roll up our sleeves and work to win bigly in ‘24.
You have paid attention to the threats against us all. Never doubt that they are real and can aim in any direction at will. Celebrate but look in your rear-view mirror.
No offense intended here, but now the you have shown us your bad list, can you show us your good list, too? If you don’t have a good list, better start compiling one, you know what I mean?
Yes, BUT, these election results bing a harbinger of hope. Things had gotten so bad that one couldn't pick whose mouth-spewing-bile was worse, Mike Johnson's or Rick Santorum's. My glass is getting fuller. I'm seeing people crawling out of hibernation from under their rock. And yes, SOMETHING has got to be done about the ethics of this Supreme Court....
Probabilistic terrorism?
Yesterday really made me happy here in VA. And more good news that was reported nowhere: maybe some of y'all saw the Boogaloo Bois protest at the preschool in some nowhere town in VA. That was us, and it was about the school board craziness and extremism. It's been so bad here that a bunch of militia folks brought guns to a school board meeting on school property and made threats, the whole thing got locked down, they got charged by the sheriff's and hence the protest. But WE VOTED THEM ALL OUT ON TUESDAY. Even though we're more red than purple. The people have had enough of this chaos and they showed up and fixed it. So now our kids get a functional school board. One that still leans conservative but a far cry from what the extremists wanted. And that's despite the HUGE budget their ringleader had vs some of the competition whose campaign signs were handwritten with sharpies. It's a good day here.
Yay, Allie!!! (Doing a victory dance). Reading your account, I feel like I’m watching a basketball game in which one team has outrageously fouled the other team without penalties and then the bloodied team won the game by continuing to fight! Please let them know that we salute them.
CONGRATS, ALLIE!!! There is nothing more American than that. So inspiring.
Here I was feeling all high and mighty for my couple hours of phone banking into VA from my bedroom...
That's important work too! We definitely had some strong grassroots efforts going on.
Most excellent, Allie!👏
congratulations!
There was also a story about a rural county (Yolo) in CA (sort of near Sacramento) who protested and rallied against Moms for Liberty about library books and (sorry, can’t remember all the details) won! It did my heart good. (I went to college in Sacramento, and YOLO County at the time was farming and very conservative with a large Hispanic population)
Carol,
WOW! I missed that story. Thank you!
Carol, now if this would just spread a bit north to Shasta county to mitigate the harm being enacted there. Fingers crossed.
Do you live there?! I worked for the county 27 years, things have certainly changed.
I should have checked your profile first, I see Humboldt County! My sister worked in social services there way back in the ‘70’s.
Congratulations! What a great effort you put forth for the kids!!!
We had four Moms for Liberty candidates running for school board here in my district. Thankfully,
the candidates endorsed by the local teachers union were elected!
No books will be banned, LGBTQ groups in the schools will not be cancelled, and actual American history will continue to be taught here. My late husband, a middle school shop teacher, is resting peacefully today.
Thank you for resisting those who would trash public education and our freedom to learn!
Allie, glad to hear your good news. Guns & threats at a school board meeting? This just goes to show how out of control things have gotten.
Yeah, as much as it feels unbelievable it's also almost unsurprising. But it's good to have the community push back and say enough is enough.
So happy for you. Hard fought battles are the most difficult and the wins are the sweetest.
Same here in Loudoun, minus the militia. Congrats.
Awesome news! I textbanked for Loudoun the last few weeks so great to hear that good prevailed!
Amen, Allie...
Further to dealing with Extremists, today there were another 4 criminal convictions of J6 Insurrectionists bringing the current total to over 1100 guilty pleas or convictions.
The 4 new convicts are from Southern California: 1 from Temecula, 2 from Lake Elsinore & 1 from Menifee.
Go to Jail fo not pass Mar-a-Lago.
Bryan,
I have a growing bad feeling about convicting all these people who decided to believe the then President of the Unites States when he told them that the election was stolen and they had to fight for America and then sent them on to the Capital.
I was lucky to have had the good fortune to be able to discern when a con man is conning me MOST of the time.
But, those people were conned by a long time con man and?
The guy who orchestrated the ENTIRE event remains at large, raging at a judge over his property values.
Trump has NOT been arrested for January 6. Trump has not been arrested for ANYTHING.
This fundamental injustice bothers me more each day.
He was arrested in Georgia and is under indictment elsewhere. The rule of law is sometimes frustrating but must prevail.
Those are for other crimes. Admittedly, the Georgia case involves attempting to alter the election results. His federal indictment is regarding his treatment of classified information.
I believe that there exists proof that fpotus did materially foment and encourage the insurrection at the Capitol on January 6, and that there are persons currently seated in Congress who were active participants in the effort to prevent the peaceful transition of power. That eventual indictment and trial must take place.
Right on, Gail!
Well, it is not as if it is a new phenomenon for 100 grubby low-level neighborhood wiseguys to go down before the mob boss starts getting circled in earnest.
Mike. I hear you. But karma always happens. Sometimes it just takes too long. Now you have heard 50% of my entire "religious" philosophy :)
The real orchestra conductors are the oligarchs. Kochs, Crows, Mercers, Leos, etc.
I see "45" as more of a puppet. And his public humiliation and financial destruction is unfolding very slowly but inexorably - right before our eyes. Ironically, it is the State of NY and the State of Georgia that may do the most damage to the "ultimate con man".
BTW, will the rain ruin your hay? Nothing worse than peeling off a moldy flake when feeding the critters.
Karma. Yusef Salaam, convicted member of the Central Park 5 who was just elected in Harlem, reminded his audience that (45) called for his death in a full page NYT ad after the murder. Now Yusef has been elected to public office while the former is on trial. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/08/nyregion/yusef-salaam-elected-central-park-five.html?unlocked_article_code=1.80w.vt-K.JNcUftKosSp_&smid=em-share
That is a lovely and ironic juxtaposition of two men in public office.
Just deserts are being served!
You leave out Stone and Bannon who are still running around spreading evil.
Bannon is finally, after much delay, due in court this month re his jail sentence appeal. This is small potatoes compared to what he was charged with & pardoned for by TFFG.
This year, we could get a fourth cutting! Except it has rained so much it’s never dry enough to cut. The hay field is amazing right now. I’ve been taking my boys out to graze and they’re all business about the lovely grass. I’ve never seen it like this in November.
Crossing their T’s and dotting I’s are loophole assurances that when patience prevails the verdict will be a solid....GUILTY. Whether the die hards still wine , blame, and lie ???? will seal further wins. And SOOOOO hopefully prove a long Democrat peace providing political party putting balance and equality back - for the even longer fight - our world ,our earth , our children deserve it.
Hold their feet to the fire sisters, brothers. ☮️🫶🔑🗝️ to ⚖️
Ma'am, Officer House from the Grammar Police is here to offer a gentle observation. It is true that the word "Republican" is both a noun and an adjective. The word "Democrat" is a noun and the word "Democratic" is an adjective. Utilizing "Democrat" as an adjective was started by Rush Windbag about the time he created the term "feminazi" and is used as a pejorative by MAGAts (and many former Republicans, who I now refer to as RepubliQans or Republican'ts, but I digress).
In time, the dictionary folks may change and authorize the use of the word "Democrat" as an adjective, but as yet, every time someone refers to the "Democrat Party" I cringe.
My profounds Ally , I am probably a lot worse offender OFTEN , my husband proof reads - not often enough - but assuredly gave me two M C Laudi ..the ropes ( multiple) now hold heavy drapes open during warm weather ( we close down areas in winter …hunkering down we fondly named it).
I would send a bunch of apologies ahead were that possible but if only for a laugh because trying to correct well worn patterns is at this age …well …as I wrote on my Calculus final (DECADES AGO) “ …..I’ll try…”
Thanks for your great point!
🫶
Calculus final??? Glad I never had to confront one of those. Real numbers vex me, I cannot imagine what imaginary numbers would do!!!
Ha! I am math phobic ever since enduring math trauma courtesy of one jr high school teacher…nice guy, terrible teacher. Destroyed my budding interest & apparent ability (which is why they moved me to this “advanced” class) in mathematics. Will never really know how it impacted my life’s trajectory, but it’s been a wild & wonderful ride nonetheless!
Ally,
What!? I thought it was a modified Shakespeare quote! 😉. But seriously, that's why I know keep a Thesaurus handy. Grammerly is helpful too.
Mike, I understand all paragraphs of your Comment:
as to followers that "decided to believe" --- in the forward of HCR's new book HCR cited the exact percentage of German citizens, 36.8, in 1932 that voted for Hitler's election to 'Chancellor' fueled by grievances based on false history. Hitler's end came as suicide & self immolation.
At this week's civil trial of what's left in the rubble of the Trump Organization tfg's rants specifically admitted both criminsl intent, mens rea & many criminal acts, mens actus. Judge Enngoron will explain further in the Court's findings of fact & that will be the end of "The Deal" in New York city & state.
I expect the same in the criminal cases as the macabre passion play ends & the curtain falls.
Trump has been indicted in Georgia. He’s #P011535809
And Stone and Bannon are still running around doing evil.
Mike S,
I get it. I really do. But he's as slippery as an eel. As long as he's behind bars by be election day, I'll be okay with that. There will be conspiracy theories no matter how it goes down. We'll just have to deal with it.
Go directly. Do not collect top secret documents.
Stiff your lawyer for $200.
(Off-topic: Next time any of y'all dust off ye olde Monopoly set from the closet, do NOT do the thing where you put the fees in the middle of the board and they are awarded to the next person who lands on Free Parking! I have no idea how this got started, and am amazed at how many people do it! It is not in the rulebook, ruins the emphasis on strategy by introducing a windfall of pure luck, and exacerbates the flaw of the game by making it take even longer! Oh, and if you don't want to buy a property you MUST auction it to someone, otherwise the beginning is just people going round and round. People forget that part too. Okay, I've said my piece.)
Ah, you read the rules. Lol. Don’t forget to remind everyone to pay interest on the property they’ve mortgaged; somehow us 8 year olds didn’t wanna do the math🤷♂️
I actually did pay interest on the mortgages! I really was that precocious! My Mom taught me the trick of taking the last zero off for 10%. When I landed on the Income Tax space I would usually get the pocket calculator and insist upon finding my actual net worth, rather than paying the flat fee and moving on. That always goes over really well with the other people at the table lol.
When I was a freshman in college, Texas Instruments came out with the first pocket calculator. You had to buy one to keep up. Sine Cosine, square root and the battery life was suspect
As kids, we had no interest in playing Monopoly with any other math than making change
I applaud your attention to the rules
I remember someone coming up with that idea when I was a kid. Seemed like a fun way to spice up the game. I can see why it gained popularity.
But it's the same illogical appeal of the windfall theory - people playing the lottery - with almost zero chance of winning. Voluntary taxation. But folks just love the "long shot" dream. Not me.
No Monopoly fan, people going around and around, yep
Interesting how a game of Monopoly ends when 1 player can't make money any more because everyone else is bankrupt.
Thanks, Bryan, hadn't heard that very satisfying news yet!
"In a conversation on the right-wing cable show Newsmax, former senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) complained that young people turned out because there were “sexy things” on the ballot like abortion and marijuana. He warned: “[P]ure democracies are not the way to run a country.” "
The most telling quote of all--and the demeaning implication that voters are not smart enough to think for themselves. As Beau OTFC says, they don't want to represent they want to rule
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQ4BScJ-Nqg
Wise Georgia, that is one of the quotes from this letter that I highlight and save for the election not far away, eg., "He warned: “[P]ure democracies are not the way to run a country.” "
Rick Santorum is a fool... said by a once Republican old lady from Pennsylvania...
Beau is great! Thanks for sharing, Georgia!
It takes a remarkable level of cluelessness to refer to abortion as "sexy."
It reminds me of that quote from David Frum.... "if conservatives become convinced that they cannot win democratically, they will not abandon conservatism, they will abandon democracy”. Basically what we are seeing happening on the far right right now.
Georgia, I posted a nearly identical comment about Beau before I came upon this! SO TRUE!! I think this is the message that needs to get put out there. Perhaps I am naïve, but I have heard Right leaning voters be all about "MY RIGHTS". I think at least a few might respond negatively to being told that "their betters" (as Beau facetiously refers to the MAGA) will decide what is good for them.
Rick Santorum is a fool. Said by a onetime Republican old lady from Pennsylvania...
Thanks for the link to Beau Georgia. First time I've heard/seen him.
There are a lot of folks here to watch his daily clips. He also has another channel which is a longer format--30 minutes or so--called "The Roads with Beau". This comes out about once a week, also worth seeking out.
Thanks for that. He referenced "the other channel" and I hadn't heard there were two!
Highly recommend following him as well!
He’s just dust in the wind, Georgia.
Yesterday was a good day for Democracy and the GQP is running scared with NO idea why it happened and how they could become more appealing to the American people who are not part of their cult.
In the wake if them drowning in this newest "Blue Wave" our representative in Michigan, Bill Huizenga, sent out an official note and survey about the "investigation" of financial wrongdoings by President Biden. It was an inflammatory note about "alleged" payments to him from his brother. So, they have subpoenaed James Biden and of course Hunter too....This is how they will deal with their defeats! No ideas, no new plan for making our lives better, no working on substantive solutions...just throw some dirt and see if it sticks! What a bunch of losers! In 2024, it will be time to VOTE all of them OUT!!!!!
Huizenga needs to pay attention to the fact that in the city of Holland, in his district, every single extremist running for mayor and city council lost on Tuesday, and by substantial margins. (Turnout was fairly low, though; we need to get more of "us" to the polls.)
That is fantastic and Holland has always been so conservative!
Not so much in the city itself; still true in townships and rural areas of Ottawa county. But last year, extremists/anti-maskers/Christian nationalists won the Republican primaries and therefore took the majority of seats on the county commission. They have been making a royal mess of everything, and people are paying attention.
You are so right. We live in St. Joe and our town has swung Democratic in the last couple elections but the rural areas around us are still very conservative Republican. On Tuesday we elected 3 progressives to our city council. Although the election is non-partisan all three were endorsed by the Democratic Party. Lots of work to do this coming year!
Definitely!
The dirty tricks are ingrained, sadly
Hi Colette ! Huizenga..... that name rings a cracked bell in my mind; His surname. There was corporate raider / vulture by that surname, Wayne Huizenga (now passed) who among other things owned the Miami Dolphins football team and a Miami luxury golf course... I'm wondering if he might be related (?). Crazy billions of dollars in that family. Well, anyway, I hope you can find your local tribe of like minds and collectively, repeatedly call out your truths together lest they single you out for bully target practice, one of their other well worn tools - identify, isolate, badger and bully. Collectively, stay focused and on point; the 'main' point. - "Mr. 'Z' or whoever, "What is your curative plan ? What evidence in your past illustrates your commitment to said course of action" ? (if 'Z' stays on point and actually has 'a plan' - quite typically they don't ) I could go on with the whole maga playbook I've dissected, but you have as much grey matter as I do, if not more ! The important thing is to study and dissect the maga playbook and don't wander onto the political back alley alone; these people - in the maga leadership, are vicious and have zero scrupples and honor.
Thank you so much D4N! Point well taken and great advice!
Heather, I watched your interview with Katie Couric last night and want to highlight a brief exchange you had. She made a comment that sounded a bit despairing. You responded by saying that people follow you because you offer historical context and provide a model that can move us all forward. I couldn't find it to quote you, but it reminded me that Joe Biden has the same message, he believes in democracy, and inspires us with his clarity. You both have a handle on the history of our times, and a clear vision of what can move us forward. It is a positive message. You are not selling propaganda, your message is grounded, with an option that we can get through this. Journalists report the drama, you provide context and a model to lean on and believe in... I'm not sure she got that. But your readers do.
I have written to Joe Biden several times to suggest that he do regular interviews with HCR. He was so animated in their interview last year.
Great Idea Gigi!!!👍🏽
I saw that interview you speak of, and yes, that was a great suggestion Gi ! I've written to Biden in the same vein. Among countless others, I reached out to Stephen Colbert, who I absolutely adore, to suggest he invite HCR. Perhaps if many others did, his people might get attracted; at the end of any day, I am only small i, and have no 'juice' so to speak. It's really frustrating to write to and attract the attention of any level of "it" people isn't it... (?) For example, here * we have precious few elected reps of my persuasion; so few now that one can count them on one hand. One in particular attracted my attention when he first got elected to his current position *; in fact I followed him before he was elected to his high perch. What attracted me wasn't only what he said, but what he actually did and voted for and against - in most all cases, his votes and positions mirrored mine near identically, and consistently throughout his rise in the political world. The problem is, that now that he's in the position to be helpful in a meaningful way, you are barred from "any" access by countless filters, barriers, etc., that are prohibitive unless one is an "it" persona, or luckily somehow on the "A" list of donors, patrons, etc. I've tried countless ways and got nothing but frustration, anger, and resentments, all of which I deplore carrying around in my soul. Being a life long amateur scholar *(oopsie) of history, economics, politics, etc., I've since the early 80's recognized what's 'really' been going on in our country; at first just suspicions, then as time went on I found that by some dumb luck, I was correct more often than not, and that it was all not some rolling confirmation bias' of my own making. *edit out* Anyway, you have a most unusual name Gi; I've only known one Gigi my entire long life. I'm curious..... do you have brothers named John and Scott ? Ah well; onward. Salute'
D4N, are you talking about Sherrod Brown? I’ve donated to him, and get invited to events where he will speak frequently. I’m not a high dollar donor, I’ve maybe donated $100 a couple of times. Maybe try that route? Do you need help from your rep? I think members of the House might be more responsive to requests for help, and definitely see that as part of their jobs.
My state of Ohio reps and U.S. congressional reps are all repubs - definitely not worth even an outreach from my experience. The nature of my issues are kryptonite to gop'ers, except as fodder to beat up dems even more. I can't favor that, even at the risk of my own suffering. Is what it is; finding a path to accepting my lot is my chore; that my spouse suffers owing to all involved is the toughest thing for me, that just will not go down. I have needed assistance - it's not forthcoming from any angle. The greater shame is that the dialogue, lessons learned and more from that which I could share, would indeed make great campaign fodder. I don't think I'm deluding myself in those conclusions either; I've bounced them off others. Onward...
I’m sorry.
Au Contraire KR. Thank you; for alerting me. I'm so comfortable here among like minds that I can get into too relaxed of a stream of consciousness that can be careless. By nature, I'm blunt; a thing I daily work at tempering the edges of.
Your comparison of HCR and President Biden is apt, as the message of each reinforces the other. Their power is the power of truly patriotic, community-building language, promoting our common cause as citizens, dedicated to the principles of our Republic and its magnificent Declaration. They lead not as would-be autocrats, ayatollahs or zealots, but simply as fellow citizens. They exhort us to rise to the occasion, be well informed and fully committed, to preserve the very best of our Republic, while fearlessly confronting our failures, free of excessive pride and unfounded fear. In that mode, there is no anger, rancor, intimidation or fear, only an ardent admiration of and dedication to what binds, heals and makes more perfect our union.
Montesquieu, my current bestie, calls it virtue. A Republic only works when leaders have virtue.
Yes! Thanks for articulating what was in my head Tom… 😉
Indeed, we do, Penny.
WTH, Katie. Tell it like it is
", former senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) complained that young people turned out because there were 'sexy things' on the ballot like abortion and marijuana. He warned: '[P]ure democracies are not the way to run a country.' "
It would be illuminating to hear what Santorum thinks a "(p)ure democracy is? One over which plutocrats and theocrats have no veto?
He is a self righteous white nationalist that should just go away!
He's a Dominionist.
Yes JL; all that from such a paragon of virtue as Santorum ... blech !
JL,
Santorum desires a "country" or "government" where the dumbest, least capable, most likely to lose, least accomplished,
White Men born to money do whatever they want to whomever they want much like Slave Owners were in the South.
Corporations are the current instantiation of the former Slave Plantation. Corporations are run by, usually, one of the dumbest white males on earth BUT with the capability to crawl relentlessly at the feet or ass of other white men to rise up.
Santorum desires a corporation type of government where one white man is kissing another white man's ass all the way up the power hierarchy and where the only skill necessary is pucker power.
THAT is what he desires and it already exists in America as a model: Corporations.
I think Tuberville took Santorum’s spot in the Senate as most stupid. If memory serves, sometimes it doesn’t, he was TFG’s original pick for Secretary of Energy. He didn’t know what the job was really until after he accepted. He thought he was going to go around the world selling our oil.
He replaced Jeff Sessions as an Alabama senator.
I know.
Mike, I am reminded of the time Santorum was in Congress. I cannot recall the specific decision that was made, but I believe it was in the "anti Gay" department. There was a suggestion in that community regarding the naming of a post-coital residual "Santorum", which was absolutely priceless. I am trying to adhere to community standards. I'd describe it more directly on TC's TAFM, but not here.
Outside of the It Gets Better Project, Dan Savage's most savage moment.
According to Wiki: "In September 2011, Santorum asked Google to remove the definition from its search engine index. Google refused, responding that the company does not remove content from search results except in very limited circumstances."
Humph. Just another example of the Christaliban attempting to erase American culture and history. Spread it around! (The truth, that is. Not the "santorum," obviously.)
Excellent!!
< https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campaign_for_the_neologism_%22santorum%22 >
wiki to the rescue!
Lol Ally....
I don't think authoritarians are necessarily unintelligent, and any skills they possess can make them even more dangerous. That said, it is astonishing how many managers of one sort or another are just plain lousy ant their job, and are protected from above, the shadow dynamic being political (whose will rules?) as opposed to loyalty to a company or even the county, let alone universal, unalienable rights).
I think the key to authoritarian set-ups is exerting control as opposed to influence,over others. Absolute, unaccountable power that most certainly corrupts. Abuse of power is my definition of corruption. Slavery is it most extreme form. Strange that a society that in substantive ways was conceived in liberty and mindful of equality would also embrace it. Around the planet there seem to be those, even among those disadvantaged by it, who desire for stratified, authoritarian control, opposed by those who struggle to share power and a supportive environment.
History amply illustrates how sociopathic corporations can become when when unrestrained by boundaries set by and for an overarching protective and just democratic society. In my view, it is not that incorporation and private enterprise is inherently incompatible with a free and just society, it is a matter of keeping first things first and fiercely maintaining a civilized society, with liberty and justice for all.
Isn't he the guy who proclaimed that America had nothing and was built from scratch only after the Europeans arrived?
I'd like to think that it is good for voters going into 2024 to have the tenacious Republican leadership in Ohio vow that they will keep fighting against Issue 1. It will remind them who they should be voting for when the time comes.
Also, I am glad for the clarification that Reeves being reelected may have been tied to one county of voters whose officials ran out of ballots.
Yes, Lynell, except. Except because our state is so profoundly gerrymandered that those people will continue to win elections. Our statewide races show us to be much less red than we appear, yet our (illegal) districts will keep delivering for Republicans. And of course, blue Ohioans tend to be concentrated in our cities, while the less populated rural areas are indeed quite red.
Another Ohioan here, just noting that another citizen initiative is in the works to create a citizens apportionment board. I hope that issue will be able to be considered in next year's election, so we won't be gerrymandered any longer!
Will look for a postcarding event on your behalf for this, Kathleen!
The petition language is still getting approved, but hopes are high! Thanks in advance for any help you can give!
Let’s hope the third time is the charm! This is definitely worth supporting - I think it’s how Michigan cured their gerrymandering problem. Thank you.
Just read Kathleen's comment below. Hope to see this initiative get on board for you!
Hi KR; yet another Ohioan here. Count me all in, for as much as I can do, limited as I am by disabilities. I've admired what was done in Michigan. I hope for a tad more thought out solution here. You know for sure that 'forces opposed' will not stop thinking of angles around fixes already in place elsewhere. Staying ahead of 'them' and persuading like minded democrats, independents, and republicans will be part and parcel for long term success. Even some percentage of the hard core 'Rumpers might be converted or at least tempered if democrats, independents, and we can get our messaging right for a change - and that's all dependent on someone, anyone being successful in getting the democrats that matter or could matter, to listen to suggestions for a change, as opposed to thinking as they do that only "they" have the education, moxie, streets smarts, etc., for solutions. I've personally only found firewalls and barriers to reaching those elected who should actually own a modicom of humility, but alas, do not. My own personal experience with the democrat party fills me with nothing but anger and resentment. Those experiences have me on the ledge of denouncing them and becoming purely an independent ! I mean hell, reaching them is like trying to climb a greased rope ! Consider this: I've been reaching out to one in particular * - and he lives locally enough I could bang on his door and know where that door's at ! Think I could access him, even briefly ? Hell no ! Only 'they' and their assistants, degreed, etc., have the answers - but do please send your money and listen only to me as I speechify. Damn them ! Then, in their group thinks, they sit around pondering how it's all gone so far off the rails; why do the maga crowd of hardcores still support TFG - how please... in God's name does that even happen ??!!! It's really pretty damn simple and elementary dear ponderers. Will you listen is the question. (rant temporarily over... lol).
That’s interesting. I’m a pretty avid letter writer to my reps, both in Congress and in the statehouse. While it’s often slow, I’ve gotten a response 100% of the time, even from the Republicans. It’s often a form letter that at best comes close to talking about my question, with maybe a final paragraph tacked on. It’s terrible that you can’t get even that.
I don’t really consider myself a democrat, but I haven’t (and won’t) voted for a Republican in ages. The Democratic Party isn’t perfect. But it’s a bastion of hope against autocracy, and I will continue voting for democrats.
Agree.
Yep. I'm hoping that Beau of the Fifth Column does a clip to expound upon that. He had a lot of viewers and his numbers are growing. From his comments on his clips, he's got a lot of the MAGA watching. Maybe something will make them think.
Wow, Miselle. IMO Beau is just the guy who can reach the MAGA crowd.
Good points, and good morning, Lynell!
One, predominantly democratic county, running out of ballots. Hmmmmm
Morning, Ally!! I didn't quite get the story about the running out of ballots until reading Heather's clear explanation of it.
Quite a lively discussion going on here on the substack. I used to read these comments closer in time to their posting, but then got in the habit of tending to household chores instead. Maybe I should go back to letting my house stay messy!
I'm lucky. I'm usually up at 5:30-6:00 and have an hour and a half of uninterrupted time before the household gets up. I can sometimes come back and look at subsequent comments, but not always.
Yes, Lynell...that’s it.
Oddly, your train of thought is exactly a thing I've mused ever since TFG got elected; that in some back-handed sort of way, it might all turn out to be wake up calls on countless levels, that require persistent awakenings to, long after we're all gone. Much like.... was it Franklin who mused, "We've created a Republic, if 'you' can keep it." (?) So, my wonder has been if this shall all be and ever become a generational 'wake up call' long overdue.
Yes, D4N, as Heather so notes in the title of her new book: "Democracy Awakening." She reminds us in her book that we have been challenged throughout our history by forces wanting to tear it down, and that it has been ordinary Americans who have stood up to save it. And, yes, Franklin is quoted as saying, we have a Republic if we can keep it. It's our job as ordinary Americans to constantly ensure that we do, indeed, keep it!
Yes it is. I've been all in, even when I'm down. I'd love to read her books - all of them of them ! I have adored her knowledge and sharing nature for much longer than most herein. Cheers Lynell !
Cheers to you, D!
Reasonable people are leaving the Republican party because of the extremists not because of the ‘perceived’ weakness of the moderates. Those of us who believe in democracy and true freedom outnumber the extremists and we will continue to win. Have hope!
I’m expecting McConnell to exit any day now. Although, I think he deserves everything he’s getting. He’s been complicit in all this coming to pass. Imagine getting to end of your life and finally realizing everything you’ve done your whole life was completely wrong.
Science has yet to find evidence that reptiles are capable of self-reflection.
Well, said.
🤣🤣🤣
Now, to get a paper towel and clean my laptop...
Thanks, Will.
He realizes nothing…
Could be
See no sign that he regrets even one of his horrid efforts to tip the scales to Republican power for the forseeable future.
McConnell has that vacant look now of someone who is not quite sure where he is, or what is happening around him. Who is in line to replace him?
Judging by current GOP decisions, Tuberville.
Bravo for all of the Democratic victories. It has been clear since the overturning of Roe v Wade that women and the youth vote are turning out in greater numbers to reclaim or protect reproductive rights that every woman should have. As for MTG, her base is the bottom of a triangle that is upside down. It will be natural for it to fall over and right itself to the real base, which is the majority who do not want abortion restrictions, right wing policies, and in the next election, if the policies are trotted out, and we ignore that the mainstream press is trying to pressure Biden out of office by claiming he is too old, because they are all despicable ageists, even thought their ownership is largely old. According to this article, these 15 billionaires own most of the US news media.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/katevinton/2016/06/01/these-15-billionaires-own-americas-news-media-companies/
Rupert Murdoch is 92, and just turned over News Corp to his son Lachlin who is 52. He was not relegated to the dust at 80. Michael Bloomberg of Bloomberg News is 81, and not sounding like he is retiring any time soon. Donald Newhouse of Advance Publications is 94 years old. Atlanta Journal Constitution is owned by the Cox Family, but run by Andrew Morse who is 49. He just took over a couple of years ago from Jim Kennedy, who was 73 at the time, and survived a bout with cancer. Jeff Bezos is 59, making him 21 years younger than Biden. With his earnings he could retire now, but instead he is getting involved in space exploration. John Henry of the Boston Globe is 74. Sheldon Adelson of the Las Vegas Review Journal died 2 years ago at the age of 89. J Keith Moyer, who runs it now is 71, so 9 years younger than Biden. Joe Mansueto of Morningstar is a relative youngster at 67. Mortimer Zuckerman of US News and World Report, and New York Daily News is 86. Barbey Family of the Village Voice has the relatively young Peter Barbey at 65. Stanley Hubbard of Hubbard Broadcasting is 90. Patrick Soon Shiong of Tribune Broadcasting is 71. Carlos Slim Helu, largest share owner of NYT is 83. Warren Buffett of Berkeshire Hathaway owning several small newspapers is 93. Viktor Vekselberg foreign part owner of the Gawker is 66. So, there you have it. Of these 15 owners or part owners of US news media, 6 are older than Biden, yet the mainstream press only discusses his age, and how he is doing in polls, and does virtually nothing to explain his policies, and how they affect ordinary people. Given that Biden's Inflation Reduction Act is not understood by most Americans, it needs to be broken up piece by piece and explained. However, abortion does not need to be explained, and clearly social issues can outweigh others when people see how it affects their daily lives.
Thanks for this run down Linda. “Do as I say, not as I do” is their mantra.
Glory, thank you. Propaganda is skewed, who knew?
Well done Linda ! We all need to beat the drum and repeat this anti - agism lesson over and over again, in any outlet we can access. Yes Joe is older; but he's also far, far wiser for those years, especially where it comes to 'how to succeed in Washington' quite obviously if perhaps only to us. We have to be louder, more persistent, and aggressive than the naysayers, including the broadcast media. There's enough of us here to flood broadcast networks and social networks with our message, which is what the maga crowd has done with success. Besides being illegal and antithetical to our American ways and laws, age is an asset worth capitalizing on to use their favorite word. No single president does it all; we here 'know' that. They Congress, the Senate, and the courts to contend with. Joe's success has to be the team he was able to attract, assemble, and retain; no one single man is capable of juggling all those balls and expertise himself. Somewhere therein is the message to my mind. **edit in- I also have to add that I think, having followed and supported Biden as long as I have, he has another unique superpower that I have advocated: Joe, at his core, is a "people person" that really truly loves and relishes 'people' and mixing it up with them, despite their foibles, being no fool. Joe, in a word, is "real".
Agreed! I have been trying to explain to people that wisdom requires age. One can be smart, but to be wise you need life experience. Joe Biden has that in spades! The press cannot really find bad things to say about Joe Biden, at least not the mainstream press, a man who seems happily married, with a loving family, and having the best interests of the country at heart. The only thing they can come up with is his age, and trying to convince us that we are worried about it. Warren Buffett's only worry about Biden's age is that he will live too long and run the USA for another 4 years, because Buffett does not want to pay any taxes. At 93, Buffett knows that Joe Biden's age being a worry is not more so than any president. The only worrisome thing is to put MAGA Mikey Johnson in line for the presidency.
Brilliant Linda ! Buffett and Charlie Munger are 2 more fine exemplars of age competency ! All be it in a far different discipline/ art / science. The arts and science of governing in a functional democracy are no less, just a different in the more difficult ways of relating, hearing, seeing, compromising with "people", which is "messy", 'cuz people in general are "messy." Which is why governing can't be run like a business as the gop'ers are fond of peddling. We humans will always be messy and no balance sheet is or will ever be capable of reflecting and representing, much less ruling / governing. That's a window into Buffett and Munger too; numbers are far easier to deal with. "All that" and more applies to the frequent over used canards about balancing the federal budget as well. There 'must' be a source of remedy when the people or the states are hamstrung, yet have catastrophes that "must" be addressed of last resort: hurricanes, tornado's, flooding, aging destitute populations, etc., etc.
How many votes were not cast in Mississippi? I find that situation incredibly sad and terribly scary.
Mississippians must rise up in opposition! I’m certain there is much more to that story that needs to be uncovered. Not enough ballots? Why? Who’s responsible for that error or was it done deliberately? Shine a light here. Spotlight Report!
Dirty tricks is the Repub mantra
Yep; all's fair in love, war, and politics. blech !
Dems have never pulled the crap of their best dirty tricksters, to my knowledge. Daniel Segretti, Lee Atwater, And yes, brainy Frank Luntz. And all those who gleefully sign on.
Correct Jeri. My point exactly, clever lady.
Being old and having a good memory has a downside..
I can’t believe they will accept the results as they stand. They need to redo the entire election there.
In general, the great mass of folks there are far too busy trying with degrees of futility to make ends meet day to day. *Which begs a question of my mind: whom is carrying on the work of the Carter Center democracy advocacy missions ? Jimmy and Rosalyn committed their lives to supporting democracy, fair elections world wide ! In that we are coming to resembling a banana republic, we need that help and expertise here in the U.S. I'm gonna' inquire as to how I might help them.... Anyone else ?
Me too!
“Never interrupt your enemy when he’s making mistakes.” -Napoleon
I love that quote! Thank you Ted.
D’s can attack the issues.
Here’s more ammo for everyone concerning women’s freedom and access to health care. Idaho girl and guardian under arrest for traveling to Oregon. Some of those political fear ads have come true.
https://open.substack.com/pub/jessica/p/idahos-first-abortion-trafficking?r=44kjm&utm_medium=ios&utm_campaign=post
While I am constantly amazed by the disregard republicans have for the American people, I am convinced that they are expecting to win the presidency in 2024. Then the disregard won’t matter as they will simply take away the American people’s voice.
"...disregard republicans have for the American people..." Thanks for saying the quiet part out loud, Jean.
Jean Burns, I see it that way too. That they are full on saying the truth out loud because they expect to win. Has me a little concerned, about what do they know that I don't. What other nefarious thing/s do they have in the works to steal the election?
I don’t think it’s what they know; I think it’s arrogance.
MLMinET, thanks, good point, it could be or maybe both. You're making me feel a little better.
Both
They have been busy and will never rest in their quest for dominance. View from Red Giant Texas. No time to rest…
Jeri Chilcott, agree, tyrants never rest, they may lie in wait, but they never rest. Their obsession for power or profit is relentless.
I used to think that they would respect an opposition position. All the while, they were plotting and planning strategies to negate any Dem progress. I remember Ted Kennedy working with W and I was appalled. I had already learned that they would use and abuse any cooperation. Indeed they did.
Jeri Chilcutt, yes it's quite sad, that some people's narrow focus in life is manipulate, control, and exploit.
So true! And how your state sunk from having the great Ann Richardson to the reprehensible Greg Abbott shows what damage these evil people can do.
I remember when Texas was a wonderful place to live. I also remember 1994 when Rove foisted W on the state and idiots flocked to the hate. Rove also made Christian churches arms of the repub party in 2006. He should be tarred and feathered.
Rather, they are expecting to steal the Presidency in 2024, as they expected to in 2020. They know full well they cannot win it.
They likely see it as the best, and maybe last, chance to gain the power to rule us all. They will stop at nothing…. We can’t either
Leonard Leo's The Free to Learn Action Program took a hit because the Moms From Hell lost big. Leo is trying to do to education what he did with the Supreme Court. A Bible in every classroom.
Republicans protect property, Democrats protect people.
If any book should be banned it would be the Old Testament. So much hate, violence, misogyny and cruelty.
But, when a book is banned it almost always becomes popular. Too late for the Old Testament. Almost every Christian owns one, but few have ever read. The Southern Baptists would have to make a 180 if they had to base their religion on the New Testament only.
Gary, hold on there about the Old Testament. It offers (as does the New Testament) not just hate but multiple images for God. Why? Because it is words written by humans who have been in-spired (read as: in-breathed. . . filled with spirit. . . in-spirited). Sometimes they let their desire for revenge shroud the love that God wants them to express. I would love to extol the wisdom of all the books of the OT: the prophets and the marvels of the earliest characters like Abraham, Moses, Rachel, Deborah, etc., the insights of Proverbs and more. Yet, we would be impoverished were the OT to be banned–– even if for the Psalms alone.
The Psalms speak of genuine human emotion (anger, disgust, despair, shame) and also of great joy (rescue, comfort, freedom, love). It is the hymnbook of the ancient Hebrew people. Here's real human fury about what in our heart-of-hearts people wish to do to enemies: "Happy shall they be who take your little ones and dash them against the rock!"– Ps 137 (We are watching this today in Israel/Gaza and elsewhere.)
And here is a statement of need, imaging God as an eagle: "Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me under the shadow of your wings." – Ps 17 (the plight of refugees)
And here is release from pain, speaking to God who "makes me lie down in green pastures and leads me beside still waters. . . you prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. . ." – Ps 23 (There's loving comeuppance, eh?)
When we read/pray the Psalms, we are not always reading (praying/singing) about our own feelings or situation. Instead, we are reminded of what others in our world are undergoing, and we are caring for them. The Psalms bring into our presence all the needs of the world, and we are better off when we acknowledge reality.
Points taken Melinda and I appreciate your defense of the OT.
My disdain is not against the Bible or the OT as much as it is against the MAGAs that spew hate and are unkind. They ignore Christ's teachings and want to ban abortion even though the Bible only has one reference to abortion. And that lesson was about when a priest can condone an abortion.
I don't believe in banning any book, but if the CINOs ban hundreds of other books, then the OT should also be banned.
Thanks for your note, Gary. More background information is always good to have. I agree with disapproval of literal, unintelligent, untrained, simplistic interpretations of scripture. They are way too easy and mostly (always?) wrong. For example, the Bible does not say "God helps those who help themselves," although we hear that from some folks in defense of not caring for the poor. The phrase "choose life" does not refer to anti-abortion ideas, but it's convenient for some folks to take it that way. It's an uphill struggle to keep fighting off the ill-informed.
As a former bookstore owner in Butte, Montana, for ten years in the 1980s, I would put together a window display every year of banned books from the shelves in the store. There were always many, and the Bible (as a whole) was always one of the books.
Banning books seems to be a double edged sword. You would know better than me, but it seems that when a book is banned, it becomes appealing to many readers unfamiliar with the work. I have read Slaughterhouse 5 a few times usually after I see it on a banned book list.
Bless you for being a bookstore owner and for displaying the banned books. I can only imagine the stories you could tell relating to banned books. Thanks for the additional context as well.
You're right again. I learned at Booksellers' School (sponsored by the American Booksellers Association) that "all publicity is good publicity." A banned book gets the kind of attention the people who like book banning did not want. Hah!
The Pharisees would be shocked.
lol Jeri !
Every 15 or 16 year old gets interested in religion, those big picture questions-where do we go when we die? What is my place in the universe? Right vs wrong, etc. A section on comparative religion in sophomore history, social studies, or English would help. When I was teaching Psychology and Art classes in a community college in Michigan, it was astounding to me how many of these bright, motivated young people would say things like, “”Buddhism” or “Hinduism” or “Taoism” or “Islam”is a made up religion.” Ignorance like that causes problems in the world.
NOES,
I see that David H follows you. David is very wise and knows some very useful Bible quotes. Psalms was always my favorite Old Testament book. It was freshman Philosophy that helped me to challenge my beliefs and think for myself. I believe that every major religion was started for good reason and has value. I've discovered that there is such a thing as secular value. We are free to believe what we want.
Yes, in this free democracy we are all free to believe what we want, up to the line where our belief leads us to treat some other with less that the same regard we ourselves expect. That is the line which the extremists in the Republican Party, do not admit they have crossed. Until one of them get’s carried away and says something out loud, like Rick Santorum did yesterday. (This is the Yahoo News quote-sorry I can’t get an actual link to work).
“Thank goodness that most of the states in this country don't allow you to put everything on the ballot because pure democracies are not the way to run a country,” he said. Rick Santorum actually said, “Pure democracy is no way to run a country." Really. Please ask all your politicians to comment on this.
I agree, except that the Rick Santorum quote is wrong. I don't have the correct quote handy. He is an idiot and an ass and what he said was much worse. Actually the part you show here is the kernel of truth that he accidentally got technically correct. We are a democratic republic and a representative democracy. Only the original Greek democracy is a perfect democracy because everyone gets one vote. We have a system of checks and balances designed to make it fair. Sorry I don't remember the quote.
I found another quote but it only makes Santorum look more ridiculous. There's no telling what he meant by pure democracy. He's famous for foot in mouth quotes. I wouldn't lose any sleep over it.
What he meant, I am pretty sure, is that one man, one vote, only works is you limit the voting to a certain sort of man.