Tonight, a limited letter tied tightly to today’s news because I am wiped out from the hours I’ve been keeping. Hoping to have my batteries back into the green by the weekend. In a secret vote by the House Republican Conference today, Representative Steve Scalise (R-LA) won the race to become the Republican candidate for speaker of the House of Representatives, beating out Representative Jim Jordan (R-OH) by 113 to 99.
While many commentators describe Russia as falling apart due to the strain of fighting Ukraine much much longer than Putin thought they would, I see the USA as falling apart politically because the GOP is now a domestic terrorist organization. And if the USA falls apart politically, that means no aid for Ukraine or Israel... which means the USA will be laughed at when Biden says "We lead the world".
The American news industry's failure to report on the truth as to what the GOP has become is a parallel disaster I wish more commentators would talk about.
"the USA will be laughed at" -- as it was under Trump.
And, yes, the mainstream media's obsession with "both sides" is driving me insane -- what the GOP is doing is absolutely not what anyone on "the other side" is doing. Journalism as a whole is failing America very badly right now.
Yes. Not an either/or but both in my opinion. ProPublica’s deep dive into Supreme Court corruption has born fruit- Clarence Thomas recused himself finally when his former law clerk’s suit reached the Court. We need more journalism like that from the fourth estate!
Sometimes media does the right thing. We have a couple online entities here in Salem that do a good job of reporting political news. The local rag is a Gannett joke. The both sides thing has to go. Death star is both corrupt and senile. He should not be near any political office. And the R party does not govern at all. All they give us is chaos and death.
Maybe a small grape, but when John Castro (TX-R) filed sue to have Trump removed from the ballot, the USSC said he lacked standing. Where was the USSC on the Mifepristone case? Talk about lacking standing in both courts that heard the case.
Anyway, Clarence recusing himself once in 32 years isn't exactly a pattern of doing the right thing.
You are correct. But the proximity of ProPublica’s articles on Supreme Court’s corruption to Thomas’s recusal seems pertinent to me. The attention those articles drew to the Court’s lack of true ethical gift reporting standards has been noticed by the justices - who have complained roundly about being “targeted.” Yes only one recusal. Would Thomas have recused himself had ProPublica not published such a damning article? No one can say. Just my opinion that there is a connection. Could be wrong.
It is also about the need to educate Americans in English. We don't listen well and the average vocabulary is woefully underdeveloped. Many Americans don't know what the words "Elite Opinion Media" use mean. When I was growing up the newspaper wrote articles targeted to an individual with an 8th-grade education. I am a university-educated individual and at times they throw a word my way that I'm not quite sure about. We also are not talking about the "local TV channel media" who are usually so time-limited that they are just able to report facts, but unfortunately, local color is not always nuanced. There are programs that are looking to backfill civics. We need ones to backfill the vocabulary of political discourse. This is never more evident than in the movement to ban books that are "sexually explicit" (this is an entirely different problem). The extreme clumsiness was demonstrated when they tried to ban/remove from the bookshelves of libraries the book by an author whose last name was "Gay". Of course, that clumsiness doesn't extend to any of the other books on the "sexually explicit" book list (sarcasm). We don't know the difference between adult sexuality and child advocacy. How do we judge what is "sexually explicit" and what is arming our children for the world they live in?
We have a local school district that is having problems with their policy on "controversial issues" in which teachers have practically have to sign in blood what is in the lesson. This district (Greater Albany) got rid of without cause a very good superintendent (who was just appointed head of the Teachers Standards and Practices Commission) because she was too inclusive, this after wing nuts were elected to the board. One of my ex-colleagues is now super and it will be interesting to see what exactly he does beyond the speech for the news. I always smile when I think of him because this is the guy in his interview with us who said there was no history he didn't know.
Well, the interview remark did cause two of us to look at each other and slightly smile. I wanted to ask him some arcane bit of English history. I think he was a pretty good teacher and he taught econ, so more power to him. However, this is the same person who came to a high school faculty meeting and told them how awful they were and how everybody hated them. Maybe he had a hairbrush problem that day.
They have been playing hardball for decades as we Dems foolishly tried to find common ground. We have to turn out for EVERY election from now on and vote Blue. From dogcatcher to President.
And not enough money, which will happen (as one example) to Social Security in 10 years and will require a 20 percent reduction in benefits payments to the elderly, is killing Americans.
journalism has always been a problem.. The first news publications were based on the premise 'if it bleeds, it leads'.. Something we inherited from William Randolph Hearst. In otherwords, if it's sensational it becomes the top headline.
Those very few control the media. And the media should never have allowed that if they wished to remain a free press. If the media exposed those wealthy control freaks they would lose much of their control.
Nancy, most of us also neglected to boycott their products. The environmentally conscious alternative shoppers, engineers, designers, hou-nzme-it, have probably contributed most to any possibility we have of overcoming our challenges. They have thought about safety and health in the future more than dollars.
Marj, this is my thought exactly. Most of our troubles can be traced back to our very own oligarchs, aided by many of us who never bother to analyze our dilemmas and rethink our prejudices.
ProPublica is doing the type of hardnosed, deep dive investigations that spur the WP and NYT to do their jobs without the bet hedging “both sides” free advertising that the TrumpGOP gets
Then who in the Post is supporting their bothsideism as Bezos stands by and just watches. I just quit my subscription with the Post. I could no longer support the horrible headlines or bothsideism. I was a long time subscriber. I quit the NYT last year for the same reason. $$$ has infiltrated our free press to our country’s demise. I subscribe to ProPublica and the Atlantic and other better sources of news. It’s a shame what has happened to our major newspapers. Trump will shut them down if he becomes POTUS becayse he will remember the articles that once exposed him for the charlatan he is - and bothsideism isn’t loyal enough for him. I won’t shed a tear because they will have helped him get that power - no different than Fox actually in the end.
She’s certainly not helping it. But then we don’t know what Bezos fave her as a goal for her salary - more money or better journalism. Well, they lost my subscription and hope others like me quit the paper, too. That paper is being run into the ground by bothsideism - no longer the Truth paper it once was.
The R's allegedly return to DC today, Thursday. The McCarthy clone, Scalise, still needs 217 Votes which means only six (6) votes for a "governing Coalition" of some design could take control of a 'Jeffries House'. OTHER FACTORS: Some vote "present", Santos is expelled from Congress, House Rule changes. This quorum will not be Congress under "Robert's Rules of Order'.. R's far from Electing anyone Speaker. Take over now.
I suspect the media is trying to "play it safe". That undermines the moral impulse to get truth to fact. We have morphed into a world where "there are good people on both sides" has become that "safe" place. Fear of taking a bold stand or being sued has set the standard of journalistic reportage.
I agree. That’s why I read Substack. Government by chaos and stupidity isn’t working. Both dangerous and frustrating in the extreme. I feel like the entire world is being held hostage to the Stupid Club just now.
Robert Reich has an excellent column today on how "strong men", like Nitwityahoo in Israel, (or tRUMP here) focus on loyalty for appointments, focus on themselves and end up with incompetent government. Which, apparently, results in being overrun during military attack if what we saw in Israel is any good data.
Nitwityahoo was sound asleep at the wheel (for years) while Hamas spent one year planning and then hours and hours, in one day, disabling all of Israel's weakened "Security Systems" and took out the single (I mean only one) cell center that controlled communications to ALL of the video and audio surveillance at the "Wall" that "protects" Israel from Hamas. Then, with the surveillance knocked out brought in, yep, EARTH MOVERS to push down the fences. Who concentrates ALL communications into one cell tower? Probably one of Nitwityahoo's relatives or buddies.
Reich's title if you want to read it is:
"The horrible price of lies, paranoia, and distrust
Netanyahu (renamed here to Nitwityahoo), tRUMP, and Pukin have all weakened their nations.
A vote for a strong man is a vote for chaos. But, apparently, we humans are attracted to bullies without a brain.
Agreed, Blinken is a major contributer to the building up of peace and productive relationships with the USA worldwide. He doesn't have time to be President. Plus his family has sacrificed themselves as well.... for the hard work of "world-peace"......a dream always worth working towards!
In mentioning Blinken....there is also Sullivan and countless unnamed other heros who do not seek personal glory but work 24/7 to BUILD RELATIONSHIPS NOT DESTROY THEM!!!
Emily Pfaff, "there is also Sullivan and countless unnamed other heros who do not seek personal glory but work 24/7 to BUILD RELATIONSHIPS NOT DESTROY THEM!!!"
That cannot repeated enough to thank all government officials who, without recognition, are working so hard to do the correct thing.
Blinken is a diplomat. I've not seen the kind of diverse experience to govern at the presidential level. Do you have a link describing his background beyond the State Department?
Secretary Blinken has excellent credentials, besides being smart and a proponent of the democratic process. You can check him out more here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antony_Blinken
I REALLY like Blinken as an executive, on many levels. But does he have the political centrist instincts and stubbornness that Biden has shown? How would he work with the obstructionist Congress we keep hauling into office?
The demons of retaining excellent diplomatic relations with countries/individuals with whom we disagree in action. Biden has not only called Bibi a friend, he clearly articulated that Israel needed to follow international rules of war. Same speech. Wowsa in my opinion!
Keep them close and hold them accountable (or at least try to hold them accountable.)
That is diplomatic "speak" for I have to work with this guy. Not long ago, Biden was having scheduling difficulties preventing a direct meeting. They are very different on many levels. One crucial difference is that Biden is open to ideas from people he disagrees with and can compromise.
Well you just explained why I could never be a diplomat. From the developed countries, Putin, Xi, Erdogan, and now Netanyahu, all began by improving their respective countries' infrastructure and economies before becoming autocrats. When their drug of choice becomes power, they are willing to cling to it at all costs and their country starts going down the tubes. So hats off to Biden. I would for sure trip and say something like, "and here's my good friend the snake."
He’s blunt with him about their disagreements. It’s like old days in the US, Democrats and Republicans. It’s diplomacy. Biden is both president and diplomat with 40 years of experience (and more).
My husband yesterday was telling me about the one place that a controlled the communications. It seems to be arrogance, complacency, and being embroiled in the chaos created by Bibi. I read an interesting piece yesterday which I think was written by an Israeli which counted up the ways of why he was angry and Bibi made the list very early. We have also seen what nepotism can do here with death star and his criminal family....may they lose all their assets in the NY trial.
Why I can no longer watch more than 5 minutes of network news. PBS, maybe a tad longer, and BBC for 30. The Sunday news shows have been a joke for decades. Our free press has become a joke, with a few notable exceptions.
I stopped watching Sunday shows months ago. That they gave airtime with no pushback to lies and made up stories was too much. Journalism has become so bad now. Look at the inane questions thrown by the media to both R and D politicians. Most seem young who are NOT getting schooled on good journalism by their bosses. Looks like they’re told go out there to get as many clicks as you can with any bizarre question you can ask. Educating the public is obviously no longer the goal of major and once great news agencies.
Poor excuse for journalism; I think that is why chump started out vilifying them. On the defensive, they two-sides everything, instead of calling the lying bastards out.
Shame is that both NYT and WaPost started out with stories exposing all his filth. Then ultimately submitted to his MAGA followers _nehuch is now helping to destroy our country.
Been so dismayed, actually shocked, at how timid they are about calling them what they are proud to be. It’s not like they are hiding anymore. If either one, or someone with a decent rep, would have a series on Project 2025, maybe one part a day, it might have the impact of the Pentagon Papers. Instead it is ignored for the most part. From where I sit, anyway…
I wouldn’t blame it all on the Fourth Estate, as I think that they - the main stream media - have been more than making up for their failures following 911 and during the Bush Administration. The democrats and the Democratic Party must learn to be more vocal ... the fight to save our democracy requires - NO, demands - more than a pillow or a knife in this fight ... it’s past time to bring out the big guns and stop - please excuse my language - “pussy footing” around. Republicans seam to easily know how to and always seem to be signing from the same hymn book when they criticize us ... they are loud and in unison.
Democrats must learn to educate and motivate; that is not the job of or for the news media ... think about the continuous almost 40-year period when Democrats maintained control of the U.S. House of Representatives. Think about the big landslide vote that elected LBJ ... recall which political party was in control of the executive branch of our nation’s government when we entered the Great Depression ... and the Great Recession. Life is in constant change, so very things are worth conserving or need to be ... we need to concentrate and distinguish what needs or should be conserved versus what needs to be changed so as to keep up and not hinder growth and progression. The one thing that that I can easily agree with Ronald Reagan on is: “Progress is our most important product” ... Oohh, thanks GE!
True that Dems have a messaging problem, but my disgust with MSM started when they followed Rupert down the entertainment for big bucks rabbit hole. It was gradual but so obvious as to cause apoplexy. The thing I hate most about Reagan was his importation of Rupert and the goal to replace Walter Cronkite with bull Schitt. I don’t give them a pass.
The R's are loud and in unison because they do not have an independent thought amongst them. They are only interested in their reelection, which impacts their wallets. They have been raising money off of the most outrageous pronouncements, tRump being a prime example.
As for the Great Depression and the Great Recession happening during Republican administrations, many years ago I read an article in US News and World Report that stated that voting for a Republican for President was tantamount to voting FOR a recession. (Emphasis mine) That meant that Republican policies were going to HURT average people. What kind of people intentionally hurt others??!!
This is where I wish I could post a graphic about economic recessions and expansions in America since 1856. The years are on X axis and the 12 months of a single year is on the Y axis so that recessions of less than a year are plotted as a shorter vertical line.
In words, before the liberal consensus starting in 1940s, the time the US economy spent in recession was frequent, longer, and looks like more than 50% of the time in the graphic. Economic cycles were short-lived booms (averaging 41 months) followed by longer busts. The chart is mainly red, indicating time in recession. People expected the Boom/Bust cycle and stock market speculation reflected it. So did the despair and suicides following the 1929 crash.
Starting with the Liberal Consensus in the 1940s, thechart looks flipped; expansions grew longer (48 months) but recession time far shorter and less frequent. Before the great Recession under Bush, the expansion was 128 months...the longest in history. The graphic is more blue, showing mostly expansion with a few streaks of recession, most of those lasting less than a full year.
In short, the Liberal Consensus built an far better world.
The information came from the National Board of Ecoonomic Research, which can be found at https://www.nber.org.
Yet somehow the American public is majority convinced that GOP has better economic stewardship than the Dems. Is there some history on that, Barbara? The same imbalance persists even under the Biden administration.
Yes, there is. I heard it described as the 2 Santas explanation.
Movement Conservatives knew that the American public liked the benefits they got from Democratic government investing in roads, safety, education, research, housing, and job creation. The claimed that people liked these "gifts" from an interventionist government acting like Santa Claus.
But Republicans didn't like the level of taxes or regulations on business that were required for those benefits. So they started talking a LOT about debt and deficits. And for a household, it makes sense that you cannot spend more than you earn. They argued that government should function like a for-profit business.
They obscured the fact that both the wealthy and the poor saw their wealth rise during the liberal consensus.
When Movement Conservatives regained the presidency... in a manner amply described by Heather using racial and classist narratives plus mythology about rugged individualism, and a small amount of treason by negotiating with Lebanon behind Carter's back to delay the release of hostages... Republicans hugely cut taxes as their Santa gift to their voters (mostly to their donors.) Unsurprisingly, total revenues went down. So they literally reprogrammed the computers tracking revenue. AND they tripled the deficit, which goosed the economy in the short term enough that they could claim that "Trickle Down Economics" actually works. My parents still believe that that it does. They therefore claimed that citizens could have all the benefits they were now accustomed to government providing, AND not have to pay for it.
So Republicans turned themselves into the 2 Santa party. The first gift is a tax cut. To them, "Tax Cuts" are the answer to everything.
The second gift is "freedom" from government interference coupled with a false economy that is propped up by deficit spending just long enough that by the time it crashes they are at the end of their term.
Then during the recessions, as Democrats strive to recover the economy, Republicans call for cuts to the democratic "gifts" like social security. Because it's better if Republicans can force Democrats to make all the cuts, removing democrats from Santa status completely. (Tax and Spend)
The problem, of course, is that Santa isn't real. Republicans have long ago left the reality based community.
According to Politifact, Republican presidents since Ronald Reagan have exploded deficits, while Democrats have brought deficits down. Reagan sent the deficit from $70 billion to $175 billion. George H.W. Bush took it to $300 billion. Bill Clinton—with help from Bush’s willingness to raise taxes—got the deficit to zero. George W. Bush took it back up to $1.2 trillion with unfunded wars. Barack Obama cut that back to $600 billion while also recovering the economy from the Great Recession of 2008. Trump added $400 billion to the deficit, first (and primarily) from a $2 trillion tax cut for the wealthy and for corporations, then from pandemic spending. Biden decreased the deficit by $350 billion in 2020, while also massively rebooting the economy after the Covid Pandemic. In 2021, Biden and the democrats posted the largest ever decline in the federal deficit: $1.4 trillion.
And it's even better when they can force Democrats to cut their own benefit programs to "pay for it."
At the same time, they tried to eliminate all the safety measures and social measures they could get away with in the name of "Freedom!"
When they got into office with Reagan, they cut the top income rates, but continued spending, tripling the deficit
That is a useful chart showing GDP, but not as visual as the one I saved as a screenshot. Because mine shows months as well as years, it is more immediately visual. What is good about your GDP chart though is that it shows the level of economic contraction, which was often fairly slight. Not all recessions are as impactful as the Great Depression! However, the Boom-Bust cycle speaks to the impact of consistency and reliability on the business cycle. Interest rates are NOT driven by wages, and I don't believe they should be jacked up to combat inflation by creating a recession on the backs of the poor and Middle classes who suffer from high rates. Uncertainty is what drives inflation, and the Boom-Bust cycle.
I think it’s amazingly difficult to educate those who wish to be stupid.
I’ve been thinking about lies and liars (because of a personal situation, but it applies). It is hard for a liar to convince people of a lie if they don’t want to believe it. But tell a lie people are thirsty for and you’ve not only convinced them they were right all along, you’re the only one who understands them.
Sadly I observe, people prefer to be a part of the group than stand up for the truth. Most of these folks prefer to pick and choose areas of reality behind which they strongly unite.
I never thought the American population would fall for empty liers.....not after fighting wars for freedom.....but here we are.
I don't think “people” wish to be stupid. Being informed is not only hard work, it also requires a base of knowledge and understanding to hang new facts on. Most people don't have the tools to navigate a complicated world, so they grab onto what puts them at ease. If you can't read a map, follow the directions of the gps robot if you want to get from here to there. The cacophony of the so-called developed world is overwhelming. It's essential to try to find something simple to maintain some semblance of sanity. People who want others to do what they want use/rely on propaganda to move minds, thereby bypassing all those confusing facts that don't have a context for interpretation and assimilation. Sure, some people are lazy, but many if not most are doing the best they can with what they have. Maybe we have to improve our (what we think is ‘good’) propaganda. I sure do remember being bombarded with it as a kid growing up in the 40s and 50s!
Cognitive bias, in this case, built around "trusted authorities", something in many areas we mostly all look to, given how relative little each of us know, despite so much of the "I am smarter" syndrome. It's called piggy backing, I guess. Social creature that we are!
Automatic “angels among us” firefighters for example. My ex husband, always believed although the most profoundly wicked liar I’ve ever met.
You nailed it. Like my financial adviser person, or sometimes I invoke my credibility as a scientist. Where is the line between expertise and abuse? One still needs critical thinking.
Another "tricky" mental mode, certainly acquired by experience and effort, and, as before, needed "trusted authorities" eg introductory modern empirical science/(etc) evidentiary standards .... or Michael Shermer's eSkeptic programs and magazines, he's a guy who flipped from pure fundamentalist religious belief to modern empiricism with a bite.
Doug, I have done there a few times in the past as well as I just checked after reading your suggested reply. I note that there is a delete option along with the other two being “share link to comment” or “hide comment” ... am I missing something?
I was wrong about the location. Go to your comment, look below it for the "like" "comment" "share" buttons. To the right of that are 3 dots -- click, select "edit" (or "delete".)
I would love to see our nation's newspapers print something like this on their opinion pages and I am suggesting this to my two local papers, the Orlando Sentinel and the Lakeland Ledger:
Think of something that you just read that you believe is true . . . .
1. How SURE are you that it's true? (0-100%)
2. What is the SOURCE of the belief?
3. Honestly, how reliable is the source?
4. Do you have a motivation/inclination to believe it is true/false?
5. How could you FIGURE OUT if it's true or not?
6. How would you FEEL if you were WRONG?
7. What facts would CHANGE YOUR MIND?
[this is a work in progress so I welcome input from others.]
Richard, I have seen that several times in different location. I sometimes use this when sparring with my MAGAt friends. One of them told me, flat out, that if fpotus said it was true, he would believe it. That is the only thing that would make him change his mind.
Critical thinking does not come naturally (except in the wild animal world where self-deception could quickly lead to death) because, at least in part, we are controlled by confirmation biases. How else to explain belief in virgin births, life after death, an angel dictating words to an illiterate desert dweller who 24 years later repeats it word for word? None of that is credible, yet about 3 billion on earth believe it, and some are not without being well "educated."
These are wonderful questions. I applaud your effort and encourage you and each of us to do something to make sure Joe Biden is relected as President of the U.S.A!!!! Your concern for our freedoms and for our fellow citizens is evident . I would encourage that each of us do what we can to encourage the use of inquiry and thought processes acquired through wise council and independent thinking as well as bravery to stand up for truth ..... which means sometimes leaving "the group" and standing alone for truth and freedom.
I find the act of inquiry...the use of DIFFERENT RELIABLE SOURCES extremely challenging for many. Many listen to the same news reporting from the same source day after day, year after year. The information is reinforced when they go to worship.
Notice that our former President has been accused and found guilty of crimes and more trials are to come...for him and for his family. He is still the leading candidate for the Republican Party .... to be voted for President of the USA AGAIN!!!!
As President, he refused to listen to major medical authorities regarding actions to deal with the COVID outbreak. He disrupted all relationships with our friends and allies world wide. AND STILL citizens of the USA and Christian citizens want to vote him in again????
Trump lead the chaotic invasion of the U.S. Capital and attack on leaders of our government because he did not win the prior Presidential election!!!! Putin loved it. He was laughing at us and the lies we are willing to believe and the choices we are making as a country that has had a history of leadership in the free world. What a disgrace as a free Democracy, Trump instigated!!!! And yet....he is the leading Republican candidate!!! What a national disgrace!!!! What a slap in the face to the men and women who have lived and died in war that we may live in a free nation.
Look at the chaos created even now by the Republican Party with the situation in our military!!! What else do Americans need to see before they say, "Enough is enough!!!!"
OK, I am still working on a suggested guideline for newspapers to include on their opinion pages. I welcome suggestions to make the suggestions better.
A Guide to Readers reading articles on the Opinion Pages:
1. Do you believe most of an article that you just read is true?
2. How sure are you that it is true (0-100%)?
3. Do you have a motivation/inclination to believe that it is true/false?
4. If so, why? What is it?
5. Can you maintain doubt about its truth or falsity until you have more information?
6. Are you able to admit to yourself that your initial belief was wrong, i.e., over-coming confirmation bias, if subsequent facts or reasoning are more compelling?
It's clear to me that the MAGA R's want our Democracy to fail by whatever means so they can have an autocracy. They think they will be part of the hierarchy if they stick with tfg as the head. They will do anything they can to create chaos to destroy our Democratic system of government all for the love of money and power. I remain hopeful that the criminal indictment’s will cut off the head of this vicious self serving snake called MAGA.
The Dems MUST find a progressive, ELECTABLE candidate to replace Biden. Booker seems to be the best bet, but does he have the name recognition?
And while I've been screaming for multiple, viable parties for years; it looks like we may finally be getting it. No idea how that's going to effect this nightmare. As long as Trump & Kennedy don't get in, I can likely live with the results.
NO ONE in this country could have devised the Second New Deal (Bidenomics), without having the wisdom and historical context of ... Joe Biden. He took the core of Bernie Sanders and ushered it through an evenly divided Senate, with VP Harris being the deciding vote. The inequities of capitalism in his upbringing, along with the social justice teachings of Catholicism ,have left a marked impression on the character and soul of Joe Biden.
America needs more Biden, and not another young, prettier face. This is finally the time for a true, elder statesmen. This is the time for the White elder which America has never had. I must say this because Black America has provided many, many elders and crones.
Thank you, Frederick. I concur. This is no time to be hunting around for a young statesperson to be trained — nor is it necessary. (Cory Booker has great promise, but he’s not ready this round.) I would not have believed it, but Biden is the best there is at this most pivotal moment in our history. Let’s embrace what we have in a proven statesman. And make sure WE talk up his gifts and the Dems assets in our own communities and circles.
Also, I believe, Frederick, you meant to write Black American CRONE, as in Wise Woman.
I’m with you on Biden. Thank God we have an elder statesman who understands the world, it’s leaders and has lived through past disasters, like what the world is facing now.
IMHO, yes indeed Carole, this is how I understand wisdom, through lived experiences turned lessons. I also think wisdom pertains to the human condition, on an archetypal level (which encompasses that common to all people)
Thank You Frederick ... I am glad to see that you and I and at least 85 other - at this point in time - see and recognize that that best candidate for the position of POTUS in the next presidential election is “sleepy Joe” or “dark Brandon” or whatever nickname one wants to give him - Joe Biden!!!
The “Biden is too old” track is a manufactured “news quip” designed to create distraction from his formidable accomplishments
The man who garnered the support for his ideas and got them through Congress is “just old enough to create the vision using the “wisdom of age” to implement
WHY do the dems need to replace Biden? Unless of course you speaking of 2028, but you'd presumably not have used the word replaced, but succeed. And in the modern era at least, 3rd parties have always served as upsetters, siphoning from one main party or the other. Then you say you don't want DT or RFK jr. I'm not sure what you want, but right now Joe Biden is our guy, and his accomplishments, especially given a very narrow D House in the first 2 years, have been nothing short of spectacular. And I look forward to #47 being a woman, although I'd take Booker if it came down to that.
That is not going to happen. Biden has a solid performance to date. Our country doesn’t suddenly throw away a solid POTUS midstream especially with the jaws of fascism at our throats. Best you get united against the fascists and help save our democracy.
I love President Biden, but if it came to electing a different person, Hakeem Jeffries would be a good choice for POTUS. If Hakeem Jeffries could be the Speaker of the House, that would be the best case scenario.
I disagree with you. I think it is the role of the media to inform in a democracy, and currently the bar is set really low here in the US. Our mainstream press is not informing, they are partially informing, and they are creating news as well. Their polling is doing that. The mainstream US media is woefully uncritical of Trump, preferring to report selective facts. He is under less scrutiny from mainstream press than Biden, although he is a criminal former president who is behind the moves of all of the Republican members of the House, and yet he is hardly given a critical eye. For example, when is the last time the mainstream press reported that Trump is old, and seems to lack mental faculties to do the job or any job other than fomenting chaos and dissent? Have they really driven home how treasonous his actions are? Have they really looked at his crooked financial dealings? Given his defacto position as leader of the Republican Party, he should be examined in greater detail, and the mainstream press, which is owned by Oligarchs might appear free, but is it really? NO IT IS NOT! So, are they participating in our democracy? NO THEY ARE NOT! Are they critically examining the speaker of the house position? NO THEY ARE NOT! An occasional reporter might say something, but for the most part, we are getting a reporting on events, that requires one to inform oneself, so the mainstream press is not doing its job. It is why I am increasingly following Substack writers like Professors Richardson and Vance, and others, and then reading more foreign press. I still subscribe to a few US mainstream national, local and community publications. I know what good quality reporting is, and I have to search to find it, it is not par for the course. That is not how things should be in a democracy.
The Dems, even now, constantly overestimate the American voter. How many voters are playing attention to the current Republican terrorists in Congress?
The Rs don’t have a united front, they have the spineless, the ruthless, and the terrorists who want to destroy our government.
Sorry, but the existence of MSM was to hold office holders accountable to the public. When they don’t do so, they’re not doing their job. Between the misinformed bad headlines on stories and the bothsideism run amok they are not educating the public as to what is really happening.
Can Dems do a better job of messaging? Of course. But the MSM doesn’t cover it when they do. Nor have they covered Joe’s successes as successes. They mostly don’t cover them at all. Trump or other MAGAs just have to perform another over-the-top lie and it is 24/7 news - and not shown as how bizarre or as the lie it is while Joe’s good news is on page 20 or not shown at all on network news. Trump and MAGA get constant FREE press. And that free press isn’t to expose their lies, but just repeat it - giving it credence. Where is the Dem’s free press equivalent? Nowhere. You’d think the current POTUS would get more press than a lunatic candidate. But then the MSM needs to entertain rather than inform its audience in today’s world. Murdoch said clearly when he established Fox that he was creating a tabloid network to entertain the public. And Fox lawyers (in court) describe Fox as an entertainment network and no reasonable person should think they are telling truths. The rest of MSM is now following their lead - for $$$$$$ and nothing else.
$$$$ has taken over our politics, media, schooling, military, sports and all other aspects of our lives to the detriment of each. THAT’s what is frustrating the average citizen.
I'm with you that the Democrats need to do more. They have a lot to learn IMHO about being effective in how they communicate with the public. But the Founding Fathers created Freedom of the Press for a reason. If the Democrats say the GOP is bad, the GOP can say "That's politics". The news industry is supposed to be the independent check on lies and authoritarianism. It's supposed to be the "referee" in the political game. And it's NOT doing its job. It's letting too many bad pitches be recorded as strikes!
Your point that the Republican Party is a terrorist organization may see a bit extreme to some. But while it still pretends to follow rules, it’s alliegance to the terrorist-in-chief emboldens citizens not so constrained. Yesterday I was waiting for an oil change, and struck up a conversation with a man who said he was a financial analyst ( whatever that is), although is was 9am, he was obese, tattooed, in shorts and had a sad wispy girl in tow. Hey, thought it would be interesting to get his take on the stock market, as it wasn’t behaving the way I expected in light of the war in Israel. He told me the Jews were propping it up, that I was clearly a lefty and didn’t know how to protect my myself and my family. That felt very much like a threat to me, and for what?
This kind of stuff would never have been even remotely possible in the past. The refusal of our most deliberative bodies to even talk to each other, much less accommodate different opinions, is the true trickle down Ronnie was taking about. They actually are leading, but in a very dangerous direction..
You cannot reason with unreasonable people. Apparently, you can no longer have casual conversation with them, either. I had an experience waiting in a pharmacy line that was mind bending. In that case I chose not to engage, and simply stood with my back to him. Fortunately for the ex cop in me, I could watch him in the cctv monitor over the counter.
We also need to return to the time when the FCC required every media company's news operation to be run as a Non Profit Business Unit. I do not think enough people know that giving the public a news program was originally a requirement by the FCC for granting entertainment companies permission (a license) to use the "public airways". In other words, the American people own the airways. And news programs were the price companies like NBC paid to have use of them. At some point (probably when Reagan was POTUS), this dividing line went away. News broadcasts were permitted to make a profit just like all the other programming on TV. News now had to "entertain" us not just give us the news. Things have not been the same since.
I wish Biden and other presidents before him would stop with "we lead the world" and similar refrains. They are arrogant, hubristic (if that's a word), and set "the world" against us. No single country should "lead the world". Better for all to be serious and responsible citizens of the world. America has a lot to offer, but we very serious baggage in our history, to which we are adding big time right now.
Be well, Heather and dream sweetly that three or four republicans will be grow a real backbone and let Hakeem glide into the speakership so we can get on with the business all of the house was elected to do instead of this nit picky shenanigans...we’ll, I can dream
What it would take to make the dream a reality. The House has 435 voting seats. Two seats are currently vacant. Hence 217 for a majority.
There are 221 Republicans and 212 Democrats. For a Jeffries win that would require 5 Republican "crossovers" to vote for Jeffries to make it 216 R to 217D , or 10 Republicans to be absent or voting present "nonvoters" effectively lowering the total to 423 and making it 211 R to 212 D, or some mix of crossovers and nonvoters with 2 "nonvoters" equaling one crossover.
What is meaningful to me about yesterday's action is that in spite of Trump's endorsement of Jordan he did not get the mantle in the secret vote and the conference rules change was voted down forcing the vote to the House floor. That is a sign to me that self-preservation is starting to change some Republican minds about whether aligning with Trump is a winning re-election strategy for them personally.
What is also interesting is that the count was 111 for Scalese vs 99 for Jordan on the secret ballot. That totals only 210 votes. One report that I saw said that 3 of Scalese's votes came from non-voting delegates--from Puerto Rico , Guam and Samoa.
That makes only 108+ 99 = 207 Republican representatives who voted on the secret conference ballot. Who are the 14 "non-voters" in that vote, and what are their plans during the floor vote?
Thanks for the look at the guts of the process. Still, if there are 4 repubs with a backbone, I will scream hallelujah. But counting on them is something I gave up on long ago.
We can't count on them, but we need at least a minimally functioning House and this is probably the only way to get one, There will be a lot of horse trading that will have to occur but Jeffries is smart, and with Pelosi sticking around to provide consultations and insight into the Republican vulnerabilities there is a shot at getting the necessary through as long as progressives understand that there is frequently only going to be a half a loaf on their priorities until the next election. And in the current situation half a loaf is better than starvation. The key is that Jeffries has to keep caucus discipline and can't afford protest votes from the progressive wing, and I say this as a progressive.
In a different world, I would probably be more progressive than any in congress. As it is, I live in the real world and appreciate any sane thought. Thank you, realism is necessary, like it or not.
Excellent analysis, Georgia, thank you! As for "self-preservation" kicking in, it's unfortunate but probably true that this is the only thing driving the Republicans in the House these days, the Reps having previously flushed both Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger down the crapper for showing even a modicum of principle. And while I know many here will strongly disagree, let's not kid ourselves; the Democratic establishment isn't that much better. What a pack of jackals our professional political class has become! And the Fourth Estate is definitely in a late "lame duck" condition. The only sources worth reading any more are HCR, her peers, and comments from intelligent readers like yourself. Thank you, again.
I know this is off topic per HCR’s letter tonight, but having just rendered my opinion that the Democratic establishment isn’t much better than the Republicans, I feel kind of obligated to render a shining example. So here it is: The good old boys (and a few good old girls) of the DNC are ramming yet another unpopular candidate down our throats – again. Seems that if you aren’t a card carrying member of their exclusive little country club, you know, the one with the super delegates and all, you aren’t going to get a chance to run as a D on their ticket. And yet, in the face of incomprehensibly horrific potential consequences, they are doing it – again!
Joe Biden is simply too old and worn out to run for another term in 2024. He has accomplished a great deal in the face of formidable odds in his first term as president, He should be proud and we should be grateful, but it’s taken its toll and it shows. Anyone my age (I’m 80) that watched him shuffle away from that podium after his speech addressing the Israeli– Gaza crisis on Wednesday has to have winced knowing how he felt. Frankly, I’ll be surprised if he isn’t pushing a walker by this time next year; you can see it in the deterioration of his gait, if you want to call it that, which is in noticeable decline.
Folks, loyalty, gratitude, sentimentality, whatever is motivating the minority of likely Democratic voters that support a second Biden run, is NOT sufficient reason to bet all our marbles on a person of his age. I know, I know, there’s dear old Aunt Sally who was still square dancing and playing 18 holes of golf twice a week at 97 while publishing op-eds in the New York Times. And for every Aunt Sally there are 11 Uncle Ralphs in assisted living facilities and 214 other Uncle Ralphs that didn’t even make it to 87. And it doesn’t help matters that even less popular Kamala Harris, who wears the perpetual expression of someone who has just been sucking on a lemon, is Joe’s running mate and likely successor.
If we don’t get our collective heads out of the sand and enlist at least one viable, younger, qualified candidate to run on the Democratic ticket for president in 2024, there is a very, very real possibility that we are going to end up with a second Donald Trump presidency. And if THAT happens my friends, we are truly, truly fucked.
I too am 81. Look at all the younger R who demonstrate their lack of understand & depth to govern. Bloated X has the same disability of age & is in far far greater impairment in all aspects, especially his pathology mentally. I have met people younger than I who are more physically unable that I am. I see the gait in the Pres & even if he is using a walker, it is his mind & understanding & wisdom& experience he brings to this fraught time. He also has the wisdom to surround himself with knowledgeable & capable people. Like a previous comment pointed out, X & Net appoint flunkies. Yes he is old and as so many have pointed out, what us "older" people think of as old is not as impaired was it once was. Tell that to Bernie SandersNow I have to get ready for some Pickleball!
Quote: Frankly, I’ll be surprised if he isn’t pushing a walker by this time next year
(Wasn't FDR in a wheelchair?)
Another quote: Kamala Harris, who wears the perpetual expression of someone who has just been sucking on a lemon
(So much wrong with that, I don't know where to start)
Some Aunt Sally's and Uncle Ralph's are sour old people who cannot deal with the world and the disappointment they have at realizing their lives have been of no consequence.
Other Aunt Sally's and Uncle Ralph's laugh in the face of overt ageism, which sometimes even comes from their peer group.
Thank you Miselle for pointing out FDR’s wheelchair! I’ve been waiting for someone old enough to have lived then to point that out BUT it was not to be. It could also be true and I’m not sure, but did anyone ever care about that? Wheelchairs do not aid a crippled mind but neither do they hinder a clear thinking, experienced wizened mind.
Some time back I mentioned a truth which I truly believe, that there is no short cut to experience. Trust that President Biden has surrounded himself with a very capable group of individuals in many important roles. He has accomplished so much in such a short time but he did not do it alone. I believe he Can do it again and in the process, many of those supporting him are getting experience that will support all of us in the future, not just this election cycle. President Biden has my vote if I was asked today and I am encouraging those around me to take into consideration what I’ve just shared with anyone still reading all of this very insightful commentating.
Heather you are my number 1 go-to for excellent information and others that I read on Substack very often quote you. Thank you for your time and for your wisdom. Even President has interviewed you.
Pat, I'm 67, so I didn't live through any of his administration. I had a solid STEM education in hs (and college) in the 70s, so I have often felt my history knowledge to be lacking. Heather has helped a great deal, as have the reading suggestions of what I call the "LFAA Bookclub"
I read the superb book by Doris Kerns Goodwin "No Ordinary Time" about Franklin and Eleanor. FDR was not perfect, but it seems that he surrounded himself with good advisors, one of them being his wife, Eleanor. She was not a physically attractive person (as apparently, some people feel about Kamala) but her heart was always for the people.
Thank you, Pat, for expressing exactly what I was thinking. FDR ably led the US through oppressively troubled times from his wheelchair, Kamala (already very intelligent) is learning at our leader's side, and a whole crew of intelligent advisors are leaning in to assist. Come up with a comparable team and we'll consider it. Who do you suggest?
Miselle, you have entirely missed my point, intentionally or otherwise. I am not an ageist, I am a realist. I have no idea how old you are, but if you're anywhere near my age and honest you will acknowledge that you do not perform either physically or mentally at the age of 80 on the level you did at 40. (And kindly refrain from thinly veiled assaults by implying I am one of the "sour old people who cannot deal with the world and the disappointment they have at realizing their lives have been of no consequence") when I point out this inconvenient fact.
I further pointed out that, while one of our two main political parties is comprised of idiots and sociopaths, the other is dominated by an elite class of aging, ossified establishment hacks (or younger, ambitious hacks that aspire to that exalted status) that systematically disregard the will of their own voters. With regard to Kamala Harris, her expression speaks for itself, and from virtually everything I've read in what I would consider unbiased reporting, her personality behind the curtain pretty much matches her expression. Uninspiring is too weak a word. Finally, embedded in my comment is the proposition that, in a nation of 330 million, we not only can but must do better in selecting our presidential candidates, or the end is in sight. It doesn't take a huge intellect to recognize that while sky diving may be statistically safer than driving your car to the market, intentionally jumping out of a perfectly good airplane is a stupid idea. And we are rolling the dice with our country's very survival here.
I like numbers, especially numbers that point out something I hadn't noticed before. Thanks for that. Still, I don't hold out much hope for "the 14". McCarthy committed political suicide just to fund the government for 6 weeks. Cheney and Kinzinger were both primarried out of office for telling the truth. The fact that abler candidates than Scalese or Jordan have not emerged also speaks volumes. The 14 will vote, but not for Jeffries.
None of the Republicans have to vote for Jeffries for him to win. They simply have to be absent or vote present, and in fact, thinking about it further, they could vote for any Republican who is nowhere close to getting 212, say Liz Cheney as a proxy "placeholder" candidate--in which case they have a fig leaf that says--I did not vote for a Democrat, but in good conscience I could not vote for Scalise (or Jeffries or Trump) for the good of the country. It is a fig leaf that may work in those 18 districts that Biden won. And if that is what it takes to get us to the next election of the House so be it. And let's make sure Democrats have a majority in both Houses in the next Congress with the MAGA insurrectionists getting booted.
Beau of the Fifth Column in a clip yesterday reported rumor that at least one GOP would flip to Jeffries. He has also discussed the dilemma of GOP House reps in states that went for Biden. It looks suspicious to me that perhaps Jeffries just might get it.
I am even more convinced that Republicans in Congress are intentionally weakening the military and State Department by blocking key appointments at an especially perilous time.
What’s their true motive? Weaken Biden, of course. Gain leverage as hostage takers? Sure. But there’s something else afoot here. While I abhor conspiracy theories, it’s hard not to wonder whether dark forces are at play.
I don't think the Rs have a clue what they would really do if they actually got unilateral power across all three branches of government. It would be awful, no doubt, but even they don't actually know what they'd do with it...
You are so right about this, Jeri, and thanks for bringing this up. Project 2025 is frightening and yet so many are unaware of it nor is there much concern about it among the mainstream media. But wait! MSM is the corporation owned by billionaires and billionaire conglomerates. Take ABC which is owned by Disney thus we have Goofy and Cinderella telling us who to vote for. ABC news programs recuse themselves constantly citing their connection via Disney ownership to stories they air.
As for Project 2025 they are busy pouring money into state governments as part of their plan to return us to the Christian life of the 1950’s. So if the Republicans don’t buy the presidency, don’t think that they’re done.
It isn't "...return us to the Christian life of the 1950"s". It is to create a white Christian nationalist autocracy/kleptocracy and institute an American taliban.
I don't want to find out. But yes, power at ANY cost, so long an they can palm off the bill to others, though there could be some honest to goodness conspiracies in the mix. Putin's not just having a laugh.
Michael, While I am as distrustful and concerned as everyone on this site, I believe we make a serious error if we don’t primarily focus on our side. To that end, as 2024 approaches, I submit, as I have in the past, that Democrats need to focus more on their pro-worker agenda—$15 hourly minimum wage, paid family and medical leave, the child tax credit, affordable, quality childcare, universal health care, investments in housing, in eldercare, and more—all of which have received zero Republican support. Moreover, we must stay vigilant as to the decisive leadership this moment demands from Joe Biden and the Party-at-large, particularly when Donald Trump is fueling hate and division. Leadership must go to where the trouble is in this country, the trouble that Donald Trump is stoking, the trouble that Donald Trump is making worse, and grapple first-hand with the despair Trump / Trumpism is hyping. Contrary to Trump who presents himself as a savior, Democrats have to show an alternate, admittedly arduous, path that seeks to work on legitimate issues and grievances, particularly for those who doubt that Democrats care about the wreckage of their dreams. If Democrats do these things well, we might not have to live with four more years of Trump or the subjugation of the will of the majority to minority rule.
Dems go high, as they scrape the bottom. How is that working for us? Great question, Dr. Phil. We’ve had the answer for a spell now. Keep doing the same thing, same result. The working stiffs where I am are Dem haters first and foremost. Propaganda works. How much more proof do we need.
Jeri, If a modicum of Democratic successes in 2018, 2020, and 2022 are any indication, then, perhaps, subscribing to the actions I call for could supersede the propaganda just enough to render Trump’s and GOP efforts to subvert the public will increasingly unlikely.
Not likely in Texas but I have hope for other states. Sadly, Texas and Florida have cheated more than most, passing laws that would have made Nazis proud. I so hope you are right, I agree the fight must go on.
Democrats seem a little bolder again, and some of their work is working; but I still year of a credible and appealing (as well as cautionary) vision to contrast with Trumptopia. And I want the Democrats to have more of substance to say to younger voters. The latter are burdened with our follies and need to be heard, and need to be offered more evidence of us hearing them.
An anti-Harper poster a saw in Canada a few years back: Harper's countenance and the slogan "Just Say "No" To Bullies".
Love that poster, Need a bumper sticker and a tee.
BTW, Joe and Dems have done an incredible job and it has penetrated not at all with the “anybody besides Dems” (and even some of them piss on him). Who will tell the tale?
I have to admit being a media culture ignoramus. I'm not on Facebook (although my wife is, so I see some of it), I was never on Twitter even before it was Xed out. I hate commercial TV, so I miss some things. Overall I have an impression that the Plutocrats have managed to keep their narratives in the public's awareness far better than progressives, and the media, when it is not just chasing dollars, is often led by the nose. We recall iconic lines from some of JFK's speeches, but not I think, from Biden's, though HCR has highlighted some material worthy of history books. How do you package and promote those ideas so they "stick"? Partly by repetition, which works for charlatans too, but is part of communication.
And Democrats need to attack, not with lies and smears as Republicans do, but as emotional adults do, with prosecutorial accuracy. That's happening now in the courts (SCOTUS not withstanding) but also in the "court of public opinion". I'm hoping to see the sort of cognitive dissonance so vividly displayed if you contrast the RNC's official statement about " Democrat-led persecution of ordinary citizens engaged in in legitimate political discourse" laid over actual video of the event.
J L, I agree on both points, first, that Democratic messaging needs to be far more targeted on disqualifying the opposition and, second, that Democrats are not nearly focused enough on the issues that matter most to young voters, without whom we can’t win elections in 2024 or ever.
And, we have not done a great job of leaving the world better than we found it. Threads, even waves of progress continue, but a lot of what we are bequeathing is pretty messed up. We need fresh perspectives on that.
Agreed, though, admittedly, my top priority is contributing, in every way I can, to rescuing a democracy so polarized it is in danger of becoming paralyzed. Everything else hinges on our succeeding.
Paralyzed or replaced. I agree. What I am saying is I think that the perspectives of of the young deserve more consideration. The rate of younger voters is increasing but still lags older voters. It would help if they felt they had a seat at the (politcal) table.
I agree that "Dark forces are at play"! Putin and his followers in our own country are trying to weaken us to allow a dictatorship and put Trump in as their patsy/stooge. I pray I am wrong.....
Weaken for “strong man” chump to hand us over to Putin. I remember Helsinki. Chump could not still threaten us without mega bucks from his billionaire buds. Wouldn’t be surprised if one was Elon, who is an admirer and has the bucks to burn, as well as the X megaphone. Yep, it’s hard not to wonder, where are Woodward and Bernstein…
Completely agree. Musk, like almost any billionaire, doesn’t like rules that he didn’t made up, because these hinder him in becoming even more rich. That’s why the billionaires want to get rid of democracy, THEY want to make the rules, and don’t want to follow rules that were made by the people. Thus, they pursue the same goal as Putin, who wants to go back to the “era of the strong man”. Dump is the ideal hand puppet to achieve this in the USA, because he believes himself to be a “strong man”, and wants to kiss up to his idol, Big Daddy Putin.
Yes … useful idiot that he is! Appeal to his malignant narcissism is all that’s needed. How such a twisted person appeals to so many is scary. They walk among us.
“ "[We'll signal that] unless this is done, there's going to be a government shutdown. Biden's gonna be forced to shut down the government and to really light a fire under these investigative apparatuses [GOP probes] which are not going fast enough, particularly [Representative Jim] Jordan's [investigation] into the weaponization of government and judiciary," Bannon said.”
Heather, this jumped out at me: “It is astonishing that a major U.S. political party is considering either man to become the second in line for the presidency. “ I feel speechless, I am losing sleep these last few days. I guess you are too. Please have a restoring rest and know how much you mean to each and everyone of us.
One of them should be in jail for aiding and abetting crimes against students in his sphere of responsibility, and both should be out of office under the insurrection rule. Why is my hard earned money going to pay their salaries when they are determined to damage the institutions that my taxes should be used to sustain? Astonishing is certainly one reaction I have! Thanks for high-lighting Dr. Richardson’s delightful use of understatement, Elizabeth.
How to we get Senator Chuck Shumer to bring forward the military nominees ONE-BY-ONE for confirmation? He did it for 3 other positions, and Tuberville stated he would not object to such a process. Yes--it is cumbersome, but it would work. Even if they confirmed 25-50 a day, things would move and we would be less vulnerable.
Methinks the Senate needs our help! I plan on sending Tommy Tuberville a postcard asking him to release his hold on our military personnel. It would be awesome if you, Heather's readers, would join me in doing the same. One postcard, one stamp is all it takes. Do I think it will change the Senator's mind? Not likely. But imagine the flood of postcards we send from all over the country landing in his mailbox!
Senator Tommy Tuberville
455 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
Of course, you can say whatever you want, but my script will be along these lines:
"You won, Senator! Now, kindly turn our military personnel back over to We, the People. We need them."
I've left messages with my senators asking that the one-senator hostage taking (because that's what it is, holding the whole country hostage to feed their petty little egos) be removed permanently. 🤞
I meant remove the ability of one senator to block votes on a nominee. Though if there was a vote to remove Tuberville, or Cruz, or Paul, I'd be in total favor!
Jay Kuo addressed this a couple of days ago in his Substack column, Status Kuo:
“A note here: We should not place blame for the vacancies on the Democratic leadership. Without a Senate rule change, which there aren’t the votes to pass because of Sens. Manchin and Sinema, there is currently no way around the holds but to slog through votes one by one. But this would be to the detriment of other critical Senate business including passage of the budget. Such a move would reward and encourage the obstructionists and lead to more such behavior, while also preventing the Democrats from controlling the legislative agenda and confirming judges. That kind of derailment is precisely what the obstructionists want to see happen.”
A rules change is definitely needed, but can’t happen now as you indicated. I think the Senate could devote one hour a day (maybe even 30 min--how many could they approve?) to pushing through these confirmations, while the other business continues. If the Senators are forced to “slog through”--perhaps they’ll be more willing to vote for a rules change at the right time, having “suffered” this tedious task. National security and military readiness are important.
Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries would be a magnificent Speaker of the House, one the country desperately needs right now. Aren’t there even six honest, courageous Republicans who care enough about the good of the country to vote for him? How did the rules get so twisted that the GOP terrorist organization is allowed to so blithely strangle us?
That sounds about right. Somehow, I still feel my testosterone level is stable even without reading Hawley's book on masculinity. The jokes make themselves up even mentioning his "book", don't they?
Pinocchio Santos, implying that he is going to stand on principles is hysterically funny.
And thanks Heather, for the chilling reminder that the newly elected House Majority Leader will only be a couple steps away from the presidency. The current choices are downright awful. I am hoping for a miracle.
Don't lose any sleep M Tree. President Biden is in good health both mentally and physically. Even if the worst should happen, Kamala Harris was excellent as Attorney General in California, she is very intelligent, well versed in the law and a good leader.
But universally dissed by MSM, sadly. As to Joe and Kamala, no good deed(s) go unpunished. Both should be lauded every single day for what they pulled us through.
Women don’t really count in America. Here either, as it seems, given the lack of evidence that people here remember we have a VP who can continue the Biden Administration successes and shore up weaknesses.
The articles in the Atlantic (yesterday) and the New York Times (today) are doing their best to point our that our VP has no vision for the country and blah, blah, blah. The media is doing their best to discredit her it seems. Speaking of vision, what is the GOP vision for the US, other than destroying it?
Victoria, that is part and parcel defining what Project 25 wants to reestablish. If you aren't a white male christian cisgendered heterosexual, you got/get nothin'.
Fay Reid, such frightening times, I appreciate your reminder to ease my fear. Helping each other to buoy our hope and think rationally about our fears is so important at this time. Thank you so much!
As hard as this may be to read, I knew I had to. Gifting (now that The Atlantic is allowing this). Personally, I like her. I know people who have been in the room with her when she was a Senator. Smart as a whip they say and works very hard.
Thanks Dr Richardson, as always. Get some rest and the batteries charged up. The days ahead will require clarity and strength...and your voice peels true across the land.
Watching the world stage these last few days, hearing questions emerging about the direct involvement of Iran in the Gaza invasion, and thinking about Putin's bland response to it, has made me wonder about a possible long term involvement in this by the Wagner Group. The quantity of weapons and the sophistication of the operation seems disproportionate to what might have been expected. Russia has much to gain from an unstable Middle East. We are seeing this play out in the US Congress where resolute decisions need to be made regarding funding for both Ukraine and Israel.
This is a good listen. Obama's former foreign policy guy Ben Rhodes. Essentially Hamas was surprised at its success which is attributable to Bebe 'Trump with a yamaka' Netanyahu's incompetence and conniving. Bebe was trying to weaken Palestinian Authority and encourage Hamas as a political counterweight to avoid a 2 state solution and justify taking over West Bank, where the guards from Gaza border had been moved, enabling the attack. https://crooked.com/podcast/whats-next-for-israel-and-gaza/
Thank you, Professor. Please make yourself the priority - rest.
Unbelievably, the sleaze appears to be rising to the top of the GOP power structure.
Is this who Americans want to be? I certainly hope not.
The New Republic held a STOP TRUMP SUMMIT today (Wednesday) with a collection of prominent luminaries. The recorded live stream is available on YouTube.
Let us ponder the idea that the United States of America could be legally dismantled from within.
As a republic, we lack a legal remedy that would enable the citizens of our nation to overrule the legal political gamesmanship of the small nucleus of our government.
Maybe somebody will figure out a way to make it profitable for American democracy to prevail.
Maybe somebody will figure out how to ensure a dignified life for every American citizen.
Maybe we will figure out how to work together to help everybody rise up out of poverty.
Think about all the wars we've been in, or at least the wars that were not our fault, and think about all of the good people who fought and died in those wars, fighting to keep America going, fighting to preserve the existence of this nation.
If we are no longer a democratic nation, then we are no longer the United States of America, and our Constitution will be torn asunder, and all will be lost. The relic elements of the Grand Old Party appear to believe that the rest of us will be willing to live under minority rule. They fail to remember the lesson we gave to King George of England.
Which should we prefer, to be governed by a few rich people and their corporations -- or our poorly-educated fellow citizens? I, for one, would prefer to be governed by my fellow citizens, in a democratic society with a universal franchise.
We need majority rule. Surely that was the intention of the founders of our nation. Voting should be easy and fair. We need to be able to trust each other. We need to persist in our long-standing pursuit of happiness -- for all citizens.
That would be nice but it is not clear the US ever had that or that the founders intended majority rule as a key to their newly formed and novel "Republican government".
John Adams Massachusetts Constitution, completed in 1780 DID propose a tripartite, balanced, government with the "consent of the people".
However, "the people" were white men. Probably even in John Adams excellent and reasoned mind, "the people" were white men.
Not women, not blacks, not Native Americans.
So, the USA has never been majority rule and it is not now.
“In the United States today the object is to center and increase the power of those who control organized wealth and they seek to prove to Americans that no other system is so successful in human progress. But instead of leaving proof of this to free investigation of science, the reports of a free press, and the discussion of the public platform, today in the United States, organized wealth owns the press and chief news gathering organs and is exercising increased control over the schools and making public discussion and even free thinking difficult and often impossible.”
W.E.B DuBois (1868-1963) From Special War Edition in the Atlantic Magazine (1915)
That was more than 100 years ago-we’re far down the road of what DuBois called “despotic democracy”
Mike, I just had a picture pop into my head that, if I were an artist, I could turn into a single panel political cartoon. 'Tis a founding father who has stepped on a wad of gum that represents women, Blacks, and Indigenous people. Said founding father is walking towards "that shining city on the hill" but cannot get there because we're all stuck to his shoe keeping him from attaining all that is "rightfully his".
These (in the ink above) are the five (5) U.S. Presidents who were elected to office even though they did not win the popular vote! So David, it is apparent that today and through the November 2024 election, the democrats need to educate and attempt to motivate the voting electorate of democrats and independents - and especially those in the swing states!!!
I deleted my original post here. Rethinking it. Independent thinkers need to conjure up a memorable public narrative. Perhaps on the order of Paine's Common Sense. A New Common Sense.
I have a few quick stream of consciousness thoughts tonight, as I contemplate taking the gaspipe after the Dodgers went out not with a bang but a whimper to the Diamondbacks tonight.
Initially, Steve Scalise, as bad as he is, is infinitely preferable to the execrable Jim Jordan.
Secondly, is it more than coincidental that the former Party of Lincoln has held up the ambassador posts to both Israel and Egypt, the two countries receiving the most American financial/military aid by far?!? Is this a "follow the money" scenario we should alert the good folk at Pro Publica to?
Thirdly, why do we need to fund the Israeli military leviathan even more than we have already, so as to defeat a militia/terrorist wing from the decimated ghetto of Gaza that doesn't have an air force, tanks, sophisticated artillery, etc.,???
The political news isn't getting any better and i feel sick about it, i also feel sick about the Atlanta Braves that appear to be going out with a whimper also after a 10-2 beat down by the Phillies. October is my favorite month of the year, but this October has been lousy thus far. I do agree with you Daniel, Steve Scalise is really bad, but Gym Jordan is much worse.
My sports experience has been a disappointment this whole year. My favorite football team, the Green Bay Packers hasn't did very well so far this season, and my favorite baseball team just got dumped out of the playoffs. The Atlanta Braves. They had the best win percentage in the league in the regular season, and choked again in the post season. I will call them, ''The Atlanta Chokers'' Pathetic!!
While many commentators describe Russia as falling apart due to the strain of fighting Ukraine much much longer than Putin thought they would, I see the USA as falling apart politically because the GOP is now a domestic terrorist organization. And if the USA falls apart politically, that means no aid for Ukraine or Israel... which means the USA will be laughed at when Biden says "We lead the world".
The American news industry's failure to report on the truth as to what the GOP has become is a parallel disaster I wish more commentators would talk about.
Rest up, Heather! Thanks for all you do!
"the USA will be laughed at" -- as it was under Trump.
And, yes, the mainstream media's obsession with "both sides" is driving me insane -- what the GOP is doing is absolutely not what anyone on "the other side" is doing. Journalism as a whole is failing America very badly right now.
Is it journalism that is failing America or a few very wealthy citizens owning the media the issue?
Yes. Not an either/or but both in my opinion. ProPublica’s deep dive into Supreme Court corruption has born fruit- Clarence Thomas recused himself finally when his former law clerk’s suit reached the Court. We need more journalism like that from the fourth estate!
Sometimes media does the right thing. We have a couple online entities here in Salem that do a good job of reporting political news. The local rag is a Gannett joke. The both sides thing has to go. Death star is both corrupt and senile. He should not be near any political office. And the R party does not govern at all. All they give us is chaos and death.
Who is "death star"? Do you have something against using proper names?
Death star is DJT and I never say his name.
Maybe a small grape, but when John Castro (TX-R) filed sue to have Trump removed from the ballot, the USSC said he lacked standing. Where was the USSC on the Mifepristone case? Talk about lacking standing in both courts that heard the case.
Anyway, Clarence recusing himself once in 32 years isn't exactly a pattern of doing the right thing.
You are correct. But the proximity of ProPublica’s articles on Supreme Court’s corruption to Thomas’s recusal seems pertinent to me. The attention those articles drew to the Court’s lack of true ethical gift reporting standards has been noticed by the justices - who have complained roundly about being “targeted.” Yes only one recusal. Would Thomas have recused himself had ProPublica not published such a damning article? No one can say. Just my opinion that there is a connection. Could be wrong.
I think you are probably correct about Clarence and ProPublica. But, he'll never admit it.
Always been the case. A.J. Liebling said that the presss is free only to the man who owns one.
It is also about the need to educate Americans in English. We don't listen well and the average vocabulary is woefully underdeveloped. Many Americans don't know what the words "Elite Opinion Media" use mean. When I was growing up the newspaper wrote articles targeted to an individual with an 8th-grade education. I am a university-educated individual and at times they throw a word my way that I'm not quite sure about. We also are not talking about the "local TV channel media" who are usually so time-limited that they are just able to report facts, but unfortunately, local color is not always nuanced. There are programs that are looking to backfill civics. We need ones to backfill the vocabulary of political discourse. This is never more evident than in the movement to ban books that are "sexually explicit" (this is an entirely different problem). The extreme clumsiness was demonstrated when they tried to ban/remove from the bookshelves of libraries the book by an author whose last name was "Gay". Of course, that clumsiness doesn't extend to any of the other books on the "sexually explicit" book list (sarcasm). We don't know the difference between adult sexuality and child advocacy. How do we judge what is "sexually explicit" and what is arming our children for the world they live in?
We have a local school district that is having problems with their policy on "controversial issues" in which teachers have practically have to sign in blood what is in the lesson. This district (Greater Albany) got rid of without cause a very good superintendent (who was just appointed head of the Teachers Standards and Practices Commission) because she was too inclusive, this after wing nuts were elected to the board. One of my ex-colleagues is now super and it will be interesting to see what exactly he does beyond the speech for the news. I always smile when I think of him because this is the guy in his interview with us who said there was no history he didn't know.
Chuckles are sometimes all we can summon.
Well, the interview remark did cause two of us to look at each other and slightly smile. I wanted to ask him some arcane bit of English history. I think he was a pretty good teacher and he taught econ, so more power to him. However, this is the same person who came to a high school faculty meeting and told them how awful they were and how everybody hated them. Maybe he had a hairbrush problem that day.
The R's play a long game: read ProPublica's excellent report on Leonard Leo for starters
https://www.propublica.org/article/we-dont-talk-about-leonard-leo-supreme-court-supermajority
They have been playing hardball for decades as we Dems foolishly tried to find common ground. We have to turn out for EVERY election from now on and vote Blue. From dogcatcher to President.
I think it also matters just who those very wealthy citizens are. But many who are involved are not necessarily citizens.
Like, let's talk about where Hamas' weapons are coming from. It's not Iran.
Yes. Money is killing America!
And not enough money, which will happen (as one example) to Social Security in 10 years and will require a 20 percent reduction in benefits payments to the elderly, is killing Americans.
journalism has always been a problem.. The first news publications were based on the premise 'if it bleeds, it leads'.. Something we inherited from William Randolph Hearst. In otherwords, if it's sensational it becomes the top headline.
Marj,
Bingo! The media’s overlords are in the drivers’ seats.
Those very few control the media. And the media should never have allowed that if they wished to remain a free press. If the media exposed those wealthy control freaks they would lose much of their control.
Thank you, for better targeting. And now can anyone name those few wealthy "citizens"? Maybe they have dual citizenship?
For rxample, who is that very obscure Chicago businessman put Leo in charge of a newly formed $1.6 billion trust —
Both.
BINGO!
Nancy, most of us also neglected to boycott their products. The environmentally conscious alternative shoppers, engineers, designers, hou-nzme-it, have probably contributed most to any possibility we have of overcoming our challenges. They have thought about safety and health in the future more than dollars.
Marj, this is my thought exactly. Most of our troubles can be traced back to our very own oligarchs, aided by many of us who never bother to analyze our dilemmas and rethink our prejudices.
Support ProPublica
Jeff Bezos is not my favorite person, but hasn't he left WaPo's journalists alone?
ProPublica is doing the type of hardnosed, deep dive investigations that spur the WP and NYT to do their jobs without the bet hedging “both sides” free advertising that the TrumpGOP gets
ProPublica is doing yeoman's work. They work off of subscriptions. If you can, please subscribe.
Vote with your donations
Then who in the Post is supporting their bothsideism as Bezos stands by and just watches. I just quit my subscription with the Post. I could no longer support the horrible headlines or bothsideism. I was a long time subscriber. I quit the NYT last year for the same reason. $$$ has infiltrated our free press to our country’s demise. I subscribe to ProPublica and the Atlantic and other better sources of news. It’s a shame what has happened to our major newspapers. Trump will shut them down if he becomes POTUS becayse he will remember the articles that once exposed him for the charlatan he is - and bothsideism isn’t loyal enough for him. I won’t shed a tear because they will have helped him get that power - no different than Fox actually in the end.
Sally Buzbee, the editor of WaPo, has ruined that newspaper.
She’s certainly not helping it. But then we don’t know what Bezos fave her as a goal for her salary - more money or better journalism. Well, they lost my subscription and hope others like me quit the paper, too. That paper is being run into the ground by bothsideism - no longer the Truth paper it once was.
I've been a WaPo reader for decades, and I'm frankly surprised that he has allowed as much independence as he has.
Thank You Patricia; he certainly has!
My thought exactly.
The R's allegedly return to DC today, Thursday. The McCarthy clone, Scalise, still needs 217 Votes which means only six (6) votes for a "governing Coalition" of some design could take control of a 'Jeffries House'. OTHER FACTORS: Some vote "present", Santos is expelled from Congress, House Rule changes. This quorum will not be Congress under "Robert's Rules of Order'.. R's far from Electing anyone Speaker. Take over now.
I suspect the media is trying to "play it safe". That undermines the moral impulse to get truth to fact. We have morphed into a world where "there are good people on both sides" has become that "safe" place. Fear of taking a bold stand or being sued has set the standard of journalistic reportage.
I agree. That’s why I read Substack. Government by chaos and stupidity isn’t working. Both dangerous and frustrating in the extreme. I feel like the entire world is being held hostage to the Stupid Club just now.
Robert Reich has an excellent column today on how "strong men", like Nitwityahoo in Israel, (or tRUMP here) focus on loyalty for appointments, focus on themselves and end up with incompetent government. Which, apparently, results in being overrun during military attack if what we saw in Israel is any good data.
Nitwityahoo was sound asleep at the wheel (for years) while Hamas spent one year planning and then hours and hours, in one day, disabling all of Israel's weakened "Security Systems" and took out the single (I mean only one) cell center that controlled communications to ALL of the video and audio surveillance at the "Wall" that "protects" Israel from Hamas. Then, with the surveillance knocked out brought in, yep, EARTH MOVERS to push down the fences. Who concentrates ALL communications into one cell tower? Probably one of Nitwityahoo's relatives or buddies.
Reich's title if you want to read it is:
"The horrible price of lies, paranoia, and distrust
Netanyahu (renamed here to Nitwityahoo), tRUMP, and Pukin have all weakened their nations.
A vote for a strong man is a vote for chaos. But, apparently, we humans are attracted to bullies without a brain.
Having watched Sec. of State Antony Blinken in action, I would vote for him for POTUS in a heartbeat.
Richard,
Agreed, Blinken is a major contributer to the building up of peace and productive relationships with the USA worldwide. He doesn't have time to be President. Plus his family has sacrificed themselves as well.... for the hard work of "world-peace"......a dream always worth working towards!
In mentioning Blinken....there is also Sullivan and countless unnamed other heros who do not seek personal glory but work 24/7 to BUILD RELATIONSHIPS NOT DESTROY THEM!!!
Emily Pfaff, "there is also Sullivan and countless unnamed other heros who do not seek personal glory but work 24/7 to BUILD RELATIONSHIPS NOT DESTROY THEM!!!"
That cannot repeated enough to thank all government officials who, without recognition, are working so hard to do the correct thing.
Blinken is a diplomat. I've not seen the kind of diverse experience to govern at the presidential level. Do you have a link describing his background beyond the State Department?
Secretary Blinken has excellent credentials, besides being smart and a proponent of the democratic process. You can check him out more here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antony_Blinken
I REALLY like Blinken as an executive, on many levels. But does he have the political centrist instincts and stubbornness that Biden has shown? How would he work with the obstructionist Congress we keep hauling into office?
I think he's in the right place. The presidency (if one cares to execute it properly) requires a different set of skills.
Great insight. Bibi probably gave the contract to a friend or bribe given. It’s sickening. Corruption breeds destruction
Excellent analysis. So I ask you, how can Biden look straight into the cameras and talk about "my good friend Bibi?"
The demons of retaining excellent diplomatic relations with countries/individuals with whom we disagree in action. Biden has not only called Bibi a friend, he clearly articulated that Israel needed to follow international rules of war. Same speech. Wowsa in my opinion!
Keep them close and hold them accountable (or at least try to hold them accountable.)
Also reference Saudi Arabia.....bet that one hurt just as much.
Good catch, Kathy. Yes, come back to the negotiation table. The Sauds might actually agree that Israel is here to stay!!
That is diplomatic "speak" for I have to work with this guy. Not long ago, Biden was having scheduling difficulties preventing a direct meeting. They are very different on many levels. One crucial difference is that Biden is open to ideas from people he disagrees with and can compromise.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/20/politics/joe-biden-benjamin-netanyahu-lula-da-silva/index.html
Well you just explained why I could never be a diplomat. From the developed countries, Putin, Xi, Erdogan, and now Netanyahu, all began by improving their respective countries' infrastructure and economies before becoming autocrats. When their drug of choice becomes power, they are willing to cling to it at all costs and their country starts going down the tubes. So hats off to Biden. I would for sure trip and say something like, "and here's my good friend the snake."
Just like when the congress critters say" my friends on the other side of the aisle"
He’s blunt with him about their disagreements. It’s like old days in the US, Democrats and Republicans. It’s diplomacy. Biden is both president and diplomat with 40 years of experience (and more).
Mike YES!!!!
My husband yesterday was telling me about the one place that a controlled the communications. It seems to be arrogance, complacency, and being embroiled in the chaos created by Bibi. I read an interesting piece yesterday which I think was written by an Israeli which counted up the ways of why he was angry and Bibi made the list very early. We have also seen what nepotism can do here with death star and his criminal family....may they lose all their assets in the NY trial.
Why I can no longer watch more than 5 minutes of network news. PBS, maybe a tad longer, and BBC for 30. The Sunday news shows have been a joke for decades. Our free press has become a joke, with a few notable exceptions.
Once again: support ProPublica
Need to add them, thank you
I stopped watching Sunday shows months ago. That they gave airtime with no pushback to lies and made up stories was too much. Journalism has become so bad now. Look at the inane questions thrown by the media to both R and D politicians. Most seem young who are NOT getting schooled on good journalism by their bosses. Looks like they’re told go out there to get as many clicks as you can with any bizarre question you can ask. Educating the public is obviously no longer the goal of major and once great news agencies.
Poor excuse for journalism; I think that is why chump started out vilifying them. On the defensive, they two-sides everything, instead of calling the lying bastards out.
Shame is that both NYT and WaPost started out with stories exposing all his filth. Then ultimately submitted to his MAGA followers _nehuch is now helping to destroy our country.
Been so dismayed, actually shocked, at how timid they are about calling them what they are proud to be. It’s not like they are hiding anymore. If either one, or someone with a decent rep, would have a series on Project 2025, maybe one part a day, it might have the impact of the Pentagon Papers. Instead it is ignored for the most part. From where I sit, anyway…
Yes, and I read several of those few notable exceptions every day.
I wouldn’t blame it all on the Fourth Estate, as I think that they - the main stream media - have been more than making up for their failures following 911 and during the Bush Administration. The democrats and the Democratic Party must learn to be more vocal ... the fight to save our democracy requires - NO, demands - more than a pillow or a knife in this fight ... it’s past time to bring out the big guns and stop - please excuse my language - “pussy footing” around. Republicans seam to easily know how to and always seem to be signing from the same hymn book when they criticize us ... they are loud and in unison.
Democrats must learn to educate and motivate; that is not the job of or for the news media ... think about the continuous almost 40-year period when Democrats maintained control of the U.S. House of Representatives. Think about the big landslide vote that elected LBJ ... recall which political party was in control of the executive branch of our nation’s government when we entered the Great Depression ... and the Great Recession. Life is in constant change, so very things are worth conserving or need to be ... we need to concentrate and distinguish what needs or should be conserved versus what needs to be changed so as to keep up and not hinder growth and progression. The one thing that that I can easily agree with Ronald Reagan on is: “Progress is our most important product” ... Oohh, thanks GE!
True that Dems have a messaging problem, but my disgust with MSM started when they followed Rupert down the entertainment for big bucks rabbit hole. It was gradual but so obvious as to cause apoplexy. The thing I hate most about Reagan was his importation of Rupert and the goal to replace Walter Cronkite with bull Schitt. I don’t give them a pass.
The R's are loud and in unison because they do not have an independent thought amongst them. They are only interested in their reelection, which impacts their wallets. They have been raising money off of the most outrageous pronouncements, tRump being a prime example.
As for the Great Depression and the Great Recession happening during Republican administrations, many years ago I read an article in US News and World Report that stated that voting for a Republican for President was tantamount to voting FOR a recession. (Emphasis mine) That meant that Republican policies were going to HURT average people. What kind of people intentionally hurt others??!!
This is where I wish I could post a graphic about economic recessions and expansions in America since 1856. The years are on X axis and the 12 months of a single year is on the Y axis so that recessions of less than a year are plotted as a shorter vertical line.
In words, before the liberal consensus starting in 1940s, the time the US economy spent in recession was frequent, longer, and looks like more than 50% of the time in the graphic. Economic cycles were short-lived booms (averaging 41 months) followed by longer busts. The chart is mainly red, indicating time in recession. People expected the Boom/Bust cycle and stock market speculation reflected it. So did the despair and suicides following the 1929 crash.
Starting with the Liberal Consensus in the 1940s, thechart looks flipped; expansions grew longer (48 months) but recession time far shorter and less frequent. Before the great Recession under Bush, the expansion was 128 months...the longest in history. The graphic is more blue, showing mostly expansion with a few streaks of recession, most of those lasting less than a full year.
In short, the Liberal Consensus built an far better world.
The information came from the National Board of Ecoonomic Research, which can be found at https://www.nber.org.
Yet somehow the American public is majority convinced that GOP has better economic stewardship than the Dems. Is there some history on that, Barbara? The same imbalance persists even under the Biden administration.
Yes, there is. I heard it described as the 2 Santas explanation.
Movement Conservatives knew that the American public liked the benefits they got from Democratic government investing in roads, safety, education, research, housing, and job creation. The claimed that people liked these "gifts" from an interventionist government acting like Santa Claus.
But Republicans didn't like the level of taxes or regulations on business that were required for those benefits. So they started talking a LOT about debt and deficits. And for a household, it makes sense that you cannot spend more than you earn. They argued that government should function like a for-profit business.
They obscured the fact that both the wealthy and the poor saw their wealth rise during the liberal consensus.
When Movement Conservatives regained the presidency... in a manner amply described by Heather using racial and classist narratives plus mythology about rugged individualism, and a small amount of treason by negotiating with Lebanon behind Carter's back to delay the release of hostages... Republicans hugely cut taxes as their Santa gift to their voters (mostly to their donors.) Unsurprisingly, total revenues went down. So they literally reprogrammed the computers tracking revenue. AND they tripled the deficit, which goosed the economy in the short term enough that they could claim that "Trickle Down Economics" actually works. My parents still believe that that it does. They therefore claimed that citizens could have all the benefits they were now accustomed to government providing, AND not have to pay for it.
So Republicans turned themselves into the 2 Santa party. The first gift is a tax cut. To them, "Tax Cuts" are the answer to everything.
The second gift is "freedom" from government interference coupled with a false economy that is propped up by deficit spending just long enough that by the time it crashes they are at the end of their term.
Then during the recessions, as Democrats strive to recover the economy, Republicans call for cuts to the democratic "gifts" like social security. Because it's better if Republicans can force Democrats to make all the cuts, removing democrats from Santa status completely. (Tax and Spend)
The problem, of course, is that Santa isn't real. Republicans have long ago left the reality based community.
According to Politifact, Republican presidents since Ronald Reagan have exploded deficits, while Democrats have brought deficits down. Reagan sent the deficit from $70 billion to $175 billion. George H.W. Bush took it to $300 billion. Bill Clinton—with help from Bush’s willingness to raise taxes—got the deficit to zero. George W. Bush took it back up to $1.2 trillion with unfunded wars. Barack Obama cut that back to $600 billion while also recovering the economy from the Great Recession of 2008. Trump added $400 billion to the deficit, first (and primarily) from a $2 trillion tax cut for the wealthy and for corporations, then from pandemic spending. Biden decreased the deficit by $350 billion in 2020, while also massively rebooting the economy after the Covid Pandemic. In 2021, Biden and the democrats posted the largest ever decline in the federal deficit: $1.4 trillion.
And it's even better when they can force Democrats to cut their own benefit programs to "pay for it."
At the same time, they tried to eliminate all the safety measures and social measures they could get away with in the name of "Freedom!"
When they got into office with Reagan, they cut the top income rates, but continued spending, tripling the deficit
Some of that sounds a little familiar. Thanks for the explanation, and here's a John Hartmann article from Salon a few years back. https://www.salon.com/2018/02/12/thom-hartmann-how-the-gop-used-a-two-santa-clauses-tactic-to-con-america-for-nearly-40-years_partner/#:~:text=In%201976%2C%20he%20rolled%20out,largesse%20of%20the%20federal%20government.
Barbara thanks, here’s a link to a similar chart/graph that reflects the economic patterns that you’ve referenced: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/graph/fredgraph.png?g=1a1H1
That is a useful chart showing GDP, but not as visual as the one I saved as a screenshot. Because mine shows months as well as years, it is more immediately visual. What is good about your GDP chart though is that it shows the level of economic contraction, which was often fairly slight. Not all recessions are as impactful as the Great Depression! However, the Boom-Bust cycle speaks to the impact of consistency and reliability on the business cycle. Interest rates are NOT driven by wages, and I don't believe they should be jacked up to combat inflation by creating a recession on the backs of the poor and Middle classes who suffer from high rates. Uncertainty is what drives inflation, and the Boom-Bust cycle.
Thanks, Jim.
“What kind of people intentionally hurt others??!!” ... Those that are callous, selfish and greedy!!!
I think it’s amazingly difficult to educate those who wish to be stupid.
I’ve been thinking about lies and liars (because of a personal situation, but it applies). It is hard for a liar to convince people of a lie if they don’t want to believe it. But tell a lie people are thirsty for and you’ve not only convinced them they were right all along, you’re the only one who understands them.
Jen,
Sadly I observe, people prefer to be a part of the group than stand up for the truth. Most of these folks prefer to pick and choose areas of reality behind which they strongly unite.
I never thought the American population would fall for empty liers.....not after fighting wars for freedom.....but here we are.
I never thought my daughter would believe my lying ex husband but here we are.
It’s always personal somehow.
Jen, that hurts in ways I cannot imagine. I am so sorry; and you're right, it is always personal.
And you always seem to be kind…..heart warming to observe….
Where did Trump learn his lies? His father, the strong man in his life.
Ouch! Wrap yourself in warm thoughts coming your way.
I don't think “people” wish to be stupid. Being informed is not only hard work, it also requires a base of knowledge and understanding to hang new facts on. Most people don't have the tools to navigate a complicated world, so they grab onto what puts them at ease. If you can't read a map, follow the directions of the gps robot if you want to get from here to there. The cacophony of the so-called developed world is overwhelming. It's essential to try to find something simple to maintain some semblance of sanity. People who want others to do what they want use/rely on propaganda to move minds, thereby bypassing all those confusing facts that don't have a context for interpretation and assimilation. Sure, some people are lazy, but many if not most are doing the best they can with what they have. Maybe we have to improve our (what we think is ‘good’) propaganda. I sure do remember being bombarded with it as a kid growing up in the 40s and 50s!
Cognitive bias, in this case, built around "trusted authorities", something in many areas we mostly all look to, given how relative little each of us know, despite so much of the "I am smarter" syndrome. It's called piggy backing, I guess. Social creature that we are!
Automatic “angels among us” firefighters for example. My ex husband, always believed although the most profoundly wicked liar I’ve ever met.
You nailed it. Like my financial adviser person, or sometimes I invoke my credibility as a scientist. Where is the line between expertise and abuse? One still needs critical thinking.
Another "tricky" mental mode, certainly acquired by experience and effort, and, as before, needed "trusted authorities" eg introductory modern empirical science/(etc) evidentiary standards .... or Michael Shermer's eSkeptic programs and magazines, he's a guy who flipped from pure fundamentalist religious belief to modern empiricism with a bite.
You have to hand it to the guy, that had to be an enormous effort. Maybe he should sit down w Amy Comey Barrett.
Please overlook the grammatical errors; it’s in the dark of night and didn’t proofread as adequately as I should have.
Your comment is editable -- look for the 3 dots in the upper right corner, click and select edit (IIRC).
Doug, I have done there a few times in the past as well as I just checked after reading your suggested reply. I note that there is a delete option along with the other two being “share link to comment” or “hide comment” ... am I missing something?
I was wrong about the location. Go to your comment, look below it for the "like" "comment" "share" buttons. To the right of that are 3 dots -- click, select "edit" (or "delete".)
I would love to see our nation's newspapers print something like this on their opinion pages and I am suggesting this to my two local papers, the Orlando Sentinel and the Lakeland Ledger:
Think of something that you just read that you believe is true . . . .
1. How SURE are you that it's true? (0-100%)
2. What is the SOURCE of the belief?
3. Honestly, how reliable is the source?
4. Do you have a motivation/inclination to believe it is true/false?
5. How could you FIGURE OUT if it's true or not?
6. How would you FEEL if you were WRONG?
7. What facts would CHANGE YOUR MIND?
[this is a work in progress so I welcome input from others.]
Richard, I have seen that several times in different location. I sometimes use this when sparring with my MAGAt friends. One of them told me, flat out, that if fpotus said it was true, he would believe it. That is the only thing that would make him change his mind.
Critical thinking does not come naturally (except in the wild animal world where self-deception could quickly lead to death) because, at least in part, we are controlled by confirmation biases. How else to explain belief in virgin births, life after death, an angel dictating words to an illiterate desert dweller who 24 years later repeats it word for word? None of that is credible, yet about 3 billion on earth believe it, and some are not without being well "educated."
Richard,
These are wonderful questions. I applaud your effort and encourage you and each of us to do something to make sure Joe Biden is relected as President of the U.S.A!!!! Your concern for our freedoms and for our fellow citizens is evident . I would encourage that each of us do what we can to encourage the use of inquiry and thought processes acquired through wise council and independent thinking as well as bravery to stand up for truth ..... which means sometimes leaving "the group" and standing alone for truth and freedom.
I find the act of inquiry...the use of DIFFERENT RELIABLE SOURCES extremely challenging for many. Many listen to the same news reporting from the same source day after day, year after year. The information is reinforced when they go to worship.
Notice that our former President has been accused and found guilty of crimes and more trials are to come...for him and for his family. He is still the leading candidate for the Republican Party .... to be voted for President of the USA AGAIN!!!!
As President, he refused to listen to major medical authorities regarding actions to deal with the COVID outbreak. He disrupted all relationships with our friends and allies world wide. AND STILL citizens of the USA and Christian citizens want to vote him in again????
Trump lead the chaotic invasion of the U.S. Capital and attack on leaders of our government because he did not win the prior Presidential election!!!! Putin loved it. He was laughing at us and the lies we are willing to believe and the choices we are making as a country that has had a history of leadership in the free world. What a disgrace as a free Democracy, Trump instigated!!!! And yet....he is the leading Republican candidate!!! What a national disgrace!!!! What a slap in the face to the men and women who have lived and died in war that we may live in a free nation.
Look at the chaos created even now by the Republican Party with the situation in our military!!! What else do Americans need to see before they say, "Enough is enough!!!!"
OK, I am still working on a suggested guideline for newspapers to include on their opinion pages. I welcome suggestions to make the suggestions better.
A Guide to Readers reading articles on the Opinion Pages:
1. Do you believe most of an article that you just read is true?
2. How sure are you that it is true (0-100%)?
3. Do you have a motivation/inclination to believe that it is true/false?
4. If so, why? What is it?
5. Can you maintain doubt about its truth or falsity until you have more information?
6. Are you able to admit to yourself that your initial belief was wrong, i.e., over-coming confirmation bias, if subsequent facts or reasoning are more compelling?
It's clear to me that the MAGA R's want our Democracy to fail by whatever means so they can have an autocracy. They think they will be part of the hierarchy if they stick with tfg as the head. They will do anything they can to create chaos to destroy our Democratic system of government all for the love of money and power. I remain hopeful that the criminal indictment’s will cut off the head of this vicious self serving snake called MAGA.
The Dems MUST find a progressive, ELECTABLE candidate to replace Biden. Booker seems to be the best bet, but does he have the name recognition?
And while I've been screaming for multiple, viable parties for years; it looks like we may finally be getting it. No idea how that's going to effect this nightmare. As long as Trump & Kennedy don't get in, I can likely live with the results.
NO ONE in this country could have devised the Second New Deal (Bidenomics), without having the wisdom and historical context of ... Joe Biden. He took the core of Bernie Sanders and ushered it through an evenly divided Senate, with VP Harris being the deciding vote. The inequities of capitalism in his upbringing, along with the social justice teachings of Catholicism ,have left a marked impression on the character and soul of Joe Biden.
America needs more Biden, and not another young, prettier face. This is finally the time for a true, elder statesmen. This is the time for the White elder which America has never had. I must say this because Black America has provided many, many elders and crones.
Thank you, Frederick. I concur. This is no time to be hunting around for a young statesperson to be trained — nor is it necessary. (Cory Booker has great promise, but he’s not ready this round.) I would not have believed it, but Biden is the best there is at this most pivotal moment in our history. Let’s embrace what we have in a proven statesman. And make sure WE talk up his gifts and the Dems assets in our own communities and circles.
Also, I believe, Frederick, you meant to write Black American CRONE, as in Wise Woman.
Agreed. What happened to the concept of the wise-elder-statesman?
Point well taken, SLWeston. Yes, I actually do not know if there is a croan, but I'll fix my spelling error.
Amen Frederick
I’m with you on Biden. Thank God we have an elder statesman who understands the world, it’s leaders and has lived through past disasters, like what the world is facing now.
Is this not part of the indigenous culture as well, the wisdom that comes from experiences that one can only have by getting old
IMHO, yes indeed Carole, this is how I understand wisdom, through lived experiences turned lessons. I also think wisdom pertains to the human condition, on an archetypal level (which encompasses that common to all people)
Thank You Frederick ... I am glad to see that you and I and at least 85 other - at this point in time - see and recognize that that best candidate for the position of POTUS in the next presidential election is “sleepy Joe” or “dark Brandon” or whatever nickname one wants to give him - Joe Biden!!!
Thanks Jim. Yes, we have found our tribe.
The “Biden is too old” track is a manufactured “news quip” designed to create distraction from his formidable accomplishments
The man who garnered the support for his ideas and got them through Congress is “just old enough to create the vision using the “wisdom of age” to implement
WHY do the dems need to replace Biden? Unless of course you speaking of 2028, but you'd presumably not have used the word replaced, but succeed. And in the modern era at least, 3rd parties have always served as upsetters, siphoning from one main party or the other. Then you say you don't want DT or RFK jr. I'm not sure what you want, but right now Joe Biden is our guy, and his accomplishments, especially given a very narrow D House in the first 2 years, have been nothing short of spectacular. And I look forward to #47 being a woman, although I'd take Booker if it came down to that.
I'd be more than thrilled with a Whitmer - Booker grand tour de force for 2028-2036
That is not going to happen. Biden has a solid performance to date. Our country doesn’t suddenly throw away a solid POTUS midstream especially with the jaws of fascism at our throats. Best you get united against the fascists and help save our democracy.
I love President Biden, but if it came to electing a different person, Hakeem Jeffries would be a good choice for POTUS. If Hakeem Jeffries could be the Speaker of the House, that would be the best case scenario.
It appears my point wasn't well communicated, I'm not concerned about his age, but about his pre-Regan republican politics. WE NEED A PROGRESSIVE.
Jim, you write: "The democrats and the Democratic Party must learn to be more vocal , , , ,"
Absolutely true. Instead of "going high when they go low," we need to go direct.
I disagree with you. I think it is the role of the media to inform in a democracy, and currently the bar is set really low here in the US. Our mainstream press is not informing, they are partially informing, and they are creating news as well. Their polling is doing that. The mainstream US media is woefully uncritical of Trump, preferring to report selective facts. He is under less scrutiny from mainstream press than Biden, although he is a criminal former president who is behind the moves of all of the Republican members of the House, and yet he is hardly given a critical eye. For example, when is the last time the mainstream press reported that Trump is old, and seems to lack mental faculties to do the job or any job other than fomenting chaos and dissent? Have they really driven home how treasonous his actions are? Have they really looked at his crooked financial dealings? Given his defacto position as leader of the Republican Party, he should be examined in greater detail, and the mainstream press, which is owned by Oligarchs might appear free, but is it really? NO IT IS NOT! So, are they participating in our democracy? NO THEY ARE NOT! Are they critically examining the speaker of the house position? NO THEY ARE NOT! An occasional reporter might say something, but for the most part, we are getting a reporting on events, that requires one to inform oneself, so the mainstream press is not doing its job. It is why I am increasingly following Substack writers like Professors Richardson and Vance, and others, and then reading more foreign press. I still subscribe to a few US mainstream national, local and community publications. I know what good quality reporting is, and I have to search to find it, it is not par for the course. That is not how things should be in a democracy.
The Dems, even now, constantly overestimate the American voter. How many voters are playing attention to the current Republican terrorists in Congress?
The Rs don’t have a united front, they have the spineless, the ruthless, and the terrorists who want to destroy our government.
Sorry, but the existence of MSM was to hold office holders accountable to the public. When they don’t do so, they’re not doing their job. Between the misinformed bad headlines on stories and the bothsideism run amok they are not educating the public as to what is really happening.
Can Dems do a better job of messaging? Of course. But the MSM doesn’t cover it when they do. Nor have they covered Joe’s successes as successes. They mostly don’t cover them at all. Trump or other MAGAs just have to perform another over-the-top lie and it is 24/7 news - and not shown as how bizarre or as the lie it is while Joe’s good news is on page 20 or not shown at all on network news. Trump and MAGA get constant FREE press. And that free press isn’t to expose their lies, but just repeat it - giving it credence. Where is the Dem’s free press equivalent? Nowhere. You’d think the current POTUS would get more press than a lunatic candidate. But then the MSM needs to entertain rather than inform its audience in today’s world. Murdoch said clearly when he established Fox that he was creating a tabloid network to entertain the public. And Fox lawyers (in court) describe Fox as an entertainment network and no reasonable person should think they are telling truths. The rest of MSM is now following their lead - for $$$$$$ and nothing else.
$$$$ has taken over our politics, media, schooling, military, sports and all other aspects of our lives to the detriment of each. THAT’s what is frustrating the average citizen.
I'm with you that the Democrats need to do more. They have a lot to learn IMHO about being effective in how they communicate with the public. But the Founding Fathers created Freedom of the Press for a reason. If the Democrats say the GOP is bad, the GOP can say "That's politics". The news industry is supposed to be the independent check on lies and authoritarianism. It's supposed to be the "referee" in the political game. And it's NOT doing its job. It's letting too many bad pitches be recorded as strikes!
Your point that the Republican Party is a terrorist organization may see a bit extreme to some. But while it still pretends to follow rules, it’s alliegance to the terrorist-in-chief emboldens citizens not so constrained. Yesterday I was waiting for an oil change, and struck up a conversation with a man who said he was a financial analyst ( whatever that is), although is was 9am, he was obese, tattooed, in shorts and had a sad wispy girl in tow. Hey, thought it would be interesting to get his take on the stock market, as it wasn’t behaving the way I expected in light of the war in Israel. He told me the Jews were propping it up, that I was clearly a lefty and didn’t know how to protect my myself and my family. That felt very much like a threat to me, and for what?
This kind of stuff would never have been even remotely possible in the past. The refusal of our most deliberative bodies to even talk to each other, much less accommodate different opinions, is the true trickle down Ronnie was taking about. They actually are leading, but in a very dangerous direction..
You cannot reason with unreasonable people. Apparently, you can no longer have casual conversation with them, either. I had an experience waiting in a pharmacy line that was mind bending. In that case I chose not to engage, and simply stood with my back to him. Fortunately for the ex cop in me, I could watch him in the cctv monitor over the counter.
We desperately need the Fairness Doctrine reinstated. That would solve a lot of the problems.
We also need to return to the time when the FCC required every media company's news operation to be run as a Non Profit Business Unit. I do not think enough people know that giving the public a news program was originally a requirement by the FCC for granting entertainment companies permission (a license) to use the "public airways". In other words, the American people own the airways. And news programs were the price companies like NBC paid to have use of them. At some point (probably when Reagan was POTUS), this dividing line went away. News broadcasts were permitted to make a profit just like all the other programming on TV. News now had to "entertain" us not just give us the news. Things have not been the same since.
This I did not know. And I completely agree. Another example of the right being determined to monetize every possible thing.
"Who cares if it hurts our country? For a while there we had excellent returns on our investment."
Well Hell!!! THAT'S a thought I never had!
I wish Biden and other presidents before him would stop with "we lead the world" and similar refrains. They are arrogant, hubristic (if that's a word), and set "the world" against us. No single country should "lead the world". Better for all to be serious and responsible citizens of the world. America has a lot to offer, but we very serious baggage in our history, to which we are adding big time right now.
The plain unvarnished truth spoken here. Thank you, Steven.
steve YES
Be well, Heather and dream sweetly that three or four republicans will be grow a real backbone and let Hakeem glide into the speakership so we can get on with the business all of the house was elected to do instead of this nit picky shenanigans...we’ll, I can dream
What it would take to make the dream a reality. The House has 435 voting seats. Two seats are currently vacant. Hence 217 for a majority.
There are 221 Republicans and 212 Democrats. For a Jeffries win that would require 5 Republican "crossovers" to vote for Jeffries to make it 216 R to 217D , or 10 Republicans to be absent or voting present "nonvoters" effectively lowering the total to 423 and making it 211 R to 212 D, or some mix of crossovers and nonvoters with 2 "nonvoters" equaling one crossover.
What is meaningful to me about yesterday's action is that in spite of Trump's endorsement of Jordan he did not get the mantle in the secret vote and the conference rules change was voted down forcing the vote to the House floor. That is a sign to me that self-preservation is starting to change some Republican minds about whether aligning with Trump is a winning re-election strategy for them personally.
What is also interesting is that the count was 111 for Scalese vs 99 for Jordan on the secret ballot. That totals only 210 votes. One report that I saw said that 3 of Scalese's votes came from non-voting delegates--from Puerto Rico , Guam and Samoa.
That makes only 108+ 99 = 207 Republican representatives who voted on the secret conference ballot. Who are the 14 "non-voters" in that vote, and what are their plans during the floor vote?
https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/house-speaker-race-10-11-23/index.html
Thanks for the look at the guts of the process. Still, if there are 4 repubs with a backbone, I will scream hallelujah. But counting on them is something I gave up on long ago.
We can't count on them, but we need at least a minimally functioning House and this is probably the only way to get one, There will be a lot of horse trading that will have to occur but Jeffries is smart, and with Pelosi sticking around to provide consultations and insight into the Republican vulnerabilities there is a shot at getting the necessary through as long as progressives understand that there is frequently only going to be a half a loaf on their priorities until the next election. And in the current situation half a loaf is better than starvation. The key is that Jeffries has to keep caucus discipline and can't afford protest votes from the progressive wing, and I say this as a progressive.
In a different world, I would probably be more progressive than any in congress. As it is, I live in the real world and appreciate any sane thought. Thank you, realism is necessary, like it or not.
Excellent analysis, Georgia, thank you! As for "self-preservation" kicking in, it's unfortunate but probably true that this is the only thing driving the Republicans in the House these days, the Reps having previously flushed both Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger down the crapper for showing even a modicum of principle. And while I know many here will strongly disagree, let's not kid ourselves; the Democratic establishment isn't that much better. What a pack of jackals our professional political class has become! And the Fourth Estate is definitely in a late "lame duck" condition. The only sources worth reading any more are HCR, her peers, and comments from intelligent readers like yourself. Thank you, again.
I know this is off topic per HCR’s letter tonight, but having just rendered my opinion that the Democratic establishment isn’t much better than the Republicans, I feel kind of obligated to render a shining example. So here it is: The good old boys (and a few good old girls) of the DNC are ramming yet another unpopular candidate down our throats – again. Seems that if you aren’t a card carrying member of their exclusive little country club, you know, the one with the super delegates and all, you aren’t going to get a chance to run as a D on their ticket. And yet, in the face of incomprehensibly horrific potential consequences, they are doing it – again!
Joe Biden is simply too old and worn out to run for another term in 2024. He has accomplished a great deal in the face of formidable odds in his first term as president, He should be proud and we should be grateful, but it’s taken its toll and it shows. Anyone my age (I’m 80) that watched him shuffle away from that podium after his speech addressing the Israeli– Gaza crisis on Wednesday has to have winced knowing how he felt. Frankly, I’ll be surprised if he isn’t pushing a walker by this time next year; you can see it in the deterioration of his gait, if you want to call it that, which is in noticeable decline.
Folks, loyalty, gratitude, sentimentality, whatever is motivating the minority of likely Democratic voters that support a second Biden run, is NOT sufficient reason to bet all our marbles on a person of his age. I know, I know, there’s dear old Aunt Sally who was still square dancing and playing 18 holes of golf twice a week at 97 while publishing op-eds in the New York Times. And for every Aunt Sally there are 11 Uncle Ralphs in assisted living facilities and 214 other Uncle Ralphs that didn’t even make it to 87. And it doesn’t help matters that even less popular Kamala Harris, who wears the perpetual expression of someone who has just been sucking on a lemon, is Joe’s running mate and likely successor.
If we don’t get our collective heads out of the sand and enlist at least one viable, younger, qualified candidate to run on the Democratic ticket for president in 2024, there is a very, very real possibility that we are going to end up with a second Donald Trump presidency. And if THAT happens my friends, we are truly, truly fucked.
I too am 81. Look at all the younger R who demonstrate their lack of understand & depth to govern. Bloated X has the same disability of age & is in far far greater impairment in all aspects, especially his pathology mentally. I have met people younger than I who are more physically unable that I am. I see the gait in the Pres & even if he is using a walker, it is his mind & understanding & wisdom& experience he brings to this fraught time. He also has the wisdom to surround himself with knowledgeable & capable people. Like a previous comment pointed out, X & Net appoint flunkies. Yes he is old and as so many have pointed out, what us "older" people think of as old is not as impaired was it once was. Tell that to Bernie SandersNow I have to get ready for some Pickleball!
Ah yes, pickleball...what a great equalizer eh?! I too am playing this morning with “older” people!
Quote: Frankly, I’ll be surprised if he isn’t pushing a walker by this time next year
(Wasn't FDR in a wheelchair?)
Another quote: Kamala Harris, who wears the perpetual expression of someone who has just been sucking on a lemon
(So much wrong with that, I don't know where to start)
Some Aunt Sally's and Uncle Ralph's are sour old people who cannot deal with the world and the disappointment they have at realizing their lives have been of no consequence.
Other Aunt Sally's and Uncle Ralph's laugh in the face of overt ageism, which sometimes even comes from their peer group.
Thank you Miselle for pointing out FDR’s wheelchair! I’ve been waiting for someone old enough to have lived then to point that out BUT it was not to be. It could also be true and I’m not sure, but did anyone ever care about that? Wheelchairs do not aid a crippled mind but neither do they hinder a clear thinking, experienced wizened mind.
Some time back I mentioned a truth which I truly believe, that there is no short cut to experience. Trust that President Biden has surrounded himself with a very capable group of individuals in many important roles. He has accomplished so much in such a short time but he did not do it alone. I believe he Can do it again and in the process, many of those supporting him are getting experience that will support all of us in the future, not just this election cycle. President Biden has my vote if I was asked today and I am encouraging those around me to take into consideration what I’ve just shared with anyone still reading all of this very insightful commentating.
Heather you are my number 1 go-to for excellent information and others that I read on Substack very often quote you. Thank you for your time and for your wisdom. Even President has interviewed you.
Pat, I'm 67, so I didn't live through any of his administration. I had a solid STEM education in hs (and college) in the 70s, so I have often felt my history knowledge to be lacking. Heather has helped a great deal, as have the reading suggestions of what I call the "LFAA Bookclub"
I read the superb book by Doris Kerns Goodwin "No Ordinary Time" about Franklin and Eleanor. FDR was not perfect, but it seems that he surrounded himself with good advisors, one of them being his wife, Eleanor. She was not a physically attractive person (as apparently, some people feel about Kamala) but her heart was always for the people.
Thank you, Pat, for expressing exactly what I was thinking. FDR ably led the US through oppressively troubled times from his wheelchair, Kamala (already very intelligent) is learning at our leader's side, and a whole crew of intelligent advisors are leaning in to assist. Come up with a comparable team and we'll consider it. Who do you suggest?
Miselle, you have entirely missed my point, intentionally or otherwise. I am not an ageist, I am a realist. I have no idea how old you are, but if you're anywhere near my age and honest you will acknowledge that you do not perform either physically or mentally at the age of 80 on the level you did at 40. (And kindly refrain from thinly veiled assaults by implying I am one of the "sour old people who cannot deal with the world and the disappointment they have at realizing their lives have been of no consequence") when I point out this inconvenient fact.
I further pointed out that, while one of our two main political parties is comprised of idiots and sociopaths, the other is dominated by an elite class of aging, ossified establishment hacks (or younger, ambitious hacks that aspire to that exalted status) that systematically disregard the will of their own voters. With regard to Kamala Harris, her expression speaks for itself, and from virtually everything I've read in what I would consider unbiased reporting, her personality behind the curtain pretty much matches her expression. Uninspiring is too weak a word. Finally, embedded in my comment is the proposition that, in a nation of 330 million, we not only can but must do better in selecting our presidential candidates, or the end is in sight. It doesn't take a huge intellect to recognize that while sky diving may be statistically safer than driving your car to the market, intentionally jumping out of a perfectly good airplane is a stupid idea. And we are rolling the dice with our country's very survival here.
https://twitter.com/iamsheabutta/status/1712144217093329153
I like numbers, especially numbers that point out something I hadn't noticed before. Thanks for that. Still, I don't hold out much hope for "the 14". McCarthy committed political suicide just to fund the government for 6 weeks. Cheney and Kinzinger were both primarried out of office for telling the truth. The fact that abler candidates than Scalese or Jordan have not emerged also speaks volumes. The 14 will vote, but not for Jeffries.
None of the Republicans have to vote for Jeffries for him to win. They simply have to be absent or vote present, and in fact, thinking about it further, they could vote for any Republican who is nowhere close to getting 212, say Liz Cheney as a proxy "placeholder" candidate--in which case they have a fig leaf that says--I did not vote for a Democrat, but in good conscience I could not vote for Scalise (or Jeffries or Trump) for the good of the country. It is a fig leaf that may work in those 18 districts that Biden won. And if that is what it takes to get us to the next election of the House so be it. And let's make sure Democrats have a majority in both Houses in the next Congress with the MAGA insurrectionists getting booted.
Makes sense. More sense than I've seen from the Republican Caucus since last January. I very much hope you are right.
Astute Georgia.
Beau of the Fifth Column in a clip yesterday reported rumor that at least one GOP would flip to Jeffries. He has also discussed the dilemma of GOP House reps in states that went for Biden. It looks suspicious to me that perhaps Jeffries just might get it.
Thank You!
I am even more convinced that Republicans in Congress are intentionally weakening the military and State Department by blocking key appointments at an especially perilous time.
What’s their true motive? Weaken Biden, of course. Gain leverage as hostage takers? Sure. But there’s something else afoot here. While I abhor conspiracy theories, it’s hard not to wonder whether dark forces are at play.
Could it be as simple as "power at any cost"?
And then the question is: what will the dog actually do when it finally catches this car?
Sean, then the answer is: Mayhem and Deconstruction, followed by all of the no-good, horrible, very bad days that we can and cannot imagine....
Well, yes, kind of my (unspoken) point.
I don't think the Rs have a clue what they would really do if they actually got unilateral power across all three branches of government. It would be awful, no doubt, but even they don't actually know what they'd do with it...
The Heritage Society knows well. Project 2025. The congressional idiots don’t but the money does.
You are so right about this, Jeri, and thanks for bringing this up. Project 2025 is frightening and yet so many are unaware of it nor is there much concern about it among the mainstream media. But wait! MSM is the corporation owned by billionaires and billionaire conglomerates. Take ABC which is owned by Disney thus we have Goofy and Cinderella telling us who to vote for. ABC news programs recuse themselves constantly citing their connection via Disney ownership to stories they air.
As for Project 2025 they are busy pouring money into state governments as part of their plan to return us to the Christian life of the 1950’s. So if the Republicans don’t buy the presidency, don’t think that they’re done.
https://youtu.be/9k3UvaC5m7o?si=6Sd9blMuKZnErI6u
It isn't "...return us to the Christian life of the 1950"s". It is to create a white Christian nationalist autocracy/kleptocracy and institute an American taliban.
Don't forget ALEC
Consolidate their power, that's for sure. Their wealthy backers are sure they can weather the disaster in their Bond-villain compounds.
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2022/sep/04/super-rich-prepper-bunkers-apocalypse-survival-richest-rushkoff
Exactly; consolidate.
https://youtu.be/9k3UvaC5m7o?si=6Sd9blMuKZnErI6u
Republicans have a minute by minute plan for unilateral power. Absolutely chilling:
Oh I think they absolutely know what they will do with it. Too many of us underestimate the evil genius of Steve Bannon.
And Thomas Hartmann wrote about this just today!! 🤩🤩
https://hartmannreport.com/p/why-trump-and-the-gop-are-burning-6d6
I don't want to find out. But yes, power at ANY cost, so long an they can palm off the bill to others, though there could be some honest to goodness conspiracies in the mix. Putin's not just having a laugh.
https://youtu.be/9k3UvaC5m7o?si=6Sd9blMuKZnErI6u
THIS
Michael, While I am as distrustful and concerned as everyone on this site, I believe we make a serious error if we don’t primarily focus on our side. To that end, as 2024 approaches, I submit, as I have in the past, that Democrats need to focus more on their pro-worker agenda—$15 hourly minimum wage, paid family and medical leave, the child tax credit, affordable, quality childcare, universal health care, investments in housing, in eldercare, and more—all of which have received zero Republican support. Moreover, we must stay vigilant as to the decisive leadership this moment demands from Joe Biden and the Party-at-large, particularly when Donald Trump is fueling hate and division. Leadership must go to where the trouble is in this country, the trouble that Donald Trump is stoking, the trouble that Donald Trump is making worse, and grapple first-hand with the despair Trump / Trumpism is hyping. Contrary to Trump who presents himself as a savior, Democrats have to show an alternate, admittedly arduous, path that seeks to work on legitimate issues and grievances, particularly for those who doubt that Democrats care about the wreckage of their dreams. If Democrats do these things well, we might not have to live with four more years of Trump or the subjugation of the will of the majority to minority rule.
Dems go high, as they scrape the bottom. How is that working for us? Great question, Dr. Phil. We’ve had the answer for a spell now. Keep doing the same thing, same result. The working stiffs where I am are Dem haters first and foremost. Propaganda works. How much more proof do we need.
Jeri, If a modicum of Democratic successes in 2018, 2020, and 2022 are any indication, then, perhaps, subscribing to the actions I call for could supersede the propaganda just enough to render Trump’s and GOP efforts to subvert the public will increasingly unlikely.
Not likely in Texas but I have hope for other states. Sadly, Texas and Florida have cheated more than most, passing laws that would have made Nazis proud. I so hope you are right, I agree the fight must go on.
Democrats seem a little bolder again, and some of their work is working; but I still year of a credible and appealing (as well as cautionary) vision to contrast with Trumptopia. And I want the Democrats to have more of substance to say to younger voters. The latter are burdened with our follies and need to be heard, and need to be offered more evidence of us hearing them.
An anti-Harper poster a saw in Canada a few years back: Harper's countenance and the slogan "Just Say "No" To Bullies".
Love that poster, Need a bumper sticker and a tee.
BTW, Joe and Dems have done an incredible job and it has penetrated not at all with the “anybody besides Dems” (and even some of them piss on him). Who will tell the tale?
I have to admit being a media culture ignoramus. I'm not on Facebook (although my wife is, so I see some of it), I was never on Twitter even before it was Xed out. I hate commercial TV, so I miss some things. Overall I have an impression that the Plutocrats have managed to keep their narratives in the public's awareness far better than progressives, and the media, when it is not just chasing dollars, is often led by the nose. We recall iconic lines from some of JFK's speeches, but not I think, from Biden's, though HCR has highlighted some material worthy of history books. How do you package and promote those ideas so they "stick"? Partly by repetition, which works for charlatans too, but is part of communication.
And Democrats need to attack, not with lies and smears as Republicans do, but as emotional adults do, with prosecutorial accuracy. That's happening now in the courts (SCOTUS not withstanding) but also in the "court of public opinion". I'm hoping to see the sort of cognitive dissonance so vividly displayed if you contrast the RNC's official statement about " Democrat-led persecution of ordinary citizens engaged in in legitimate political discourse" laid over actual video of the event.
J L, I agree on both points, first, that Democratic messaging needs to be far more targeted on disqualifying the opposition and, second, that Democrats are not nearly focused enough on the issues that matter most to young voters, without whom we can’t win elections in 2024 or ever.
And, we have not done a great job of leaving the world better than we found it. Threads, even waves of progress continue, but a lot of what we are bequeathing is pretty messed up. We need fresh perspectives on that.
Agreed, though, admittedly, my top priority is contributing, in every way I can, to rescuing a democracy so polarized it is in danger of becoming paralyzed. Everything else hinges on our succeeding.
Paralyzed or replaced. I agree. What I am saying is I think that the perspectives of of the young deserve more consideration. The rate of younger voters is increasing but still lags older voters. It would help if they felt they had a seat at the (politcal) table.
I agree that "Dark forces are at play"! Putin and his followers in our own country are trying to weaken us to allow a dictatorship and put Trump in as their patsy/stooge. I pray I am wrong.....
Well, they do love dictators.
Michael: "it’s hard not to wonder whether dark forces are at play".
Well, if American billionaires with ties to Russia (like Trump) are not dark forces, then, I don't know what is. So?
Answer: Yes. Dark forces are at play. One dark force was President from 2016 to 2020.
You cannot ignore the fact that Trump wields power in the Republican party. That is not a conspiracy theory.
His base is formidable, though I do see some cracking.
But the billionaire backing is more formidable
Why?
Carole
The sequences here are confusing.
I can't work out what the "why" refers to.
Can you specify?
I think some of the following comments clarified my why especially re X being a Putin puppet
Weaken for “strong man” chump to hand us over to Putin. I remember Helsinki. Chump could not still threaten us without mega bucks from his billionaire buds. Wouldn’t be surprised if one was Elon, who is an admirer and has the bucks to burn, as well as the X megaphone. Yep, it’s hard not to wonder, where are Woodward and Bernstein…
Completely agree. Musk, like almost any billionaire, doesn’t like rules that he didn’t made up, because these hinder him in becoming even more rich. That’s why the billionaires want to get rid of democracy, THEY want to make the rules, and don’t want to follow rules that were made by the people. Thus, they pursue the same goal as Putin, who wants to go back to the “era of the strong man”. Dump is the ideal hand puppet to achieve this in the USA, because he believes himself to be a “strong man”, and wants to kiss up to his idol, Big Daddy Putin.
No argument here
I believe, yes, there are dark forces at play and Steve Bannon is the play-maker.
Dark Forces have been buying our leadership since before Hillary had email, but especially now when putin is desparate.
Indeed, as an implosion seems imminent so that the friends of Putin can attempt another coup and deliver us to him.
Chump stands ready
Yes … useful idiot that he is! Appeal to his malignant narcissism is all that’s needed. How such a twisted person appeals to so many is scary. They walk among us.
indeed they do, sad to say
Absolutely. Deconstruction of the administrative state. Steve Bannon took control of the GOP back in 2016.
https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2017/03/30/politics/trump-bannon-administrative-state/index.html
And in 2023 he’s still at it:
“ "[We'll signal that] unless this is done, there's going to be a government shutdown. Biden's gonna be forced to shut down the government and to really light a fire under these investigative apparatuses [GOP probes] which are not going fast enough, particularly [Representative Jim] Jordan's [investigation] into the weaponization of government and judiciary," Bannon said.”
https://www.newsweek.com/steve-bannon-declares-full-war-against-administrative-state-1807512
Thomas Hartmann is on it!!!
https://hartmannreport.com/p/why-trump-and-the-gop-are-burning-6d6
Heather, this jumped out at me: “It is astonishing that a major U.S. political party is considering either man to become the second in line for the presidency. “ I feel speechless, I am losing sleep these last few days. I guess you are too. Please have a restoring rest and know how much you mean to each and everyone of us.
One of them should be in jail for aiding and abetting crimes against students in his sphere of responsibility, and both should be out of office under the insurrection rule. Why is my hard earned money going to pay their salaries when they are determined to damage the institutions that my taxes should be used to sustain? Astonishing is certainly one reaction I have! Thanks for high-lighting Dr. Richardson’s delightful use of understatement, Elizabeth.
And Gym Jordan is in office only due to an extremely gerrymandered district.
How I long for the time when my own personal demons seemed more important . Now my sleepless nights revolve around things far away and very near.
This. Thanks, Elisabeth, for writing my thoughts. Bless you.
Thnx Elisabeth.
How to we get Senator Chuck Shumer to bring forward the military nominees ONE-BY-ONE for confirmation? He did it for 3 other positions, and Tuberville stated he would not object to such a process. Yes--it is cumbersome, but it would work. Even if they confirmed 25-50 a day, things would move and we would be less vulnerable.
Methinks the Senate needs our help! I plan on sending Tommy Tuberville a postcard asking him to release his hold on our military personnel. It would be awesome if you, Heather's readers, would join me in doing the same. One postcard, one stamp is all it takes. Do I think it will change the Senator's mind? Not likely. But imagine the flood of postcards we send from all over the country landing in his mailbox!
Senator Tommy Tuberville
455 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
Of course, you can say whatever you want, but my script will be along these lines:
"You won, Senator! Now, kindly turn our military personnel back over to We, the People. We need them."
I've left messages with my senators asking that the one-senator hostage taking (because that's what it is, holding the whole country hostage to feed their petty little egos) be removed permanently. 🤞
That's a solution, Marg. I didn't know they could remove him.
I meant remove the ability of one senator to block votes on a nominee. Though if there was a vote to remove Tuberville, or Cruz, or Paul, I'd be in total favor!
Rats; for a minute there I thought you were on to something!
Thanks for the clarification, Marg.
I emailed him.
Go to his website and tell him to start getting it gone!
Jay Kuo addressed this a couple of days ago in his Substack column, Status Kuo:
“A note here: We should not place blame for the vacancies on the Democratic leadership. Without a Senate rule change, which there aren’t the votes to pass because of Sens. Manchin and Sinema, there is currently no way around the holds but to slog through votes one by one. But this would be to the detriment of other critical Senate business including passage of the budget. Such a move would reward and encourage the obstructionists and lead to more such behavior, while also preventing the Democrats from controlling the legislative agenda and confirming judges. That kind of derailment is precisely what the obstructionists want to see happen.”
A rules change is definitely needed, but can’t happen now as you indicated. I think the Senate could devote one hour a day (maybe even 30 min--how many could they approve?) to pushing through these confirmations, while the other business continues. If the Senators are forced to “slog through”--perhaps they’ll be more willing to vote for a rules change at the right time, having “suffered” this tedious task. National security and military readiness are important.
Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries would be a magnificent Speaker of the House, one the country desperately needs right now. Aren’t there even six honest, courageous Republicans who care enough about the good of the country to vote for him? How did the rules get so twisted that the GOP terrorist organization is allowed to so blithely strangle us?
Clear concise thinking/writing
No Kristin, I do not believe so😞
They won't vote for a Democrat, because they're the "enemy," having been brainwashed by Republicans past and right-wing media to demonize them.
I wonder, though, if those half dozen might be willing to vote "present," giving Jeffries a majority of votes.
Sadly, Kristin, my answer is "no" to your first question. The answer to your second question is "Citizens United".
Tuberville and Aqua Buddha need termination. Rand Paul is even more unserious than Teddie Cruz, which is hard to believe.
Where does Bambi Trotting Josh Hawley fit on the unserious scale, TC?!?
Slightly below Paul, Cruz and Tuberville. Another one there for the camera time on Faux.
That sounds about right. Somehow, I still feel my testosterone level is stable even without reading Hawley's book on masculinity. The jokes make themselves up even mentioning his "book", don't they?
What about the American Iago, Tom Cotton?!?
Somebody should have fragged Cotton when he was in the Army.
He even won the vote for Most Likely To Be Fragged By His Own Men.
Boy, did they miss an opportunity.
Ha!!!
Pinocchio Santos, implying that he is going to stand on principles is hysterically funny.
And thanks Heather, for the chilling reminder that the newly elected House Majority Leader will only be a couple steps away from the presidency. The current choices are downright awful. I am hoping for a miracle.
Don't lose any sleep M Tree. President Biden is in good health both mentally and physically. Even if the worst should happen, Kamala Harris was excellent as Attorney General in California, she is very intelligent, well versed in the law and a good leader.
But universally dissed by MSM, sadly. As to Joe and Kamala, no good deed(s) go unpunished. Both should be lauded every single day for what they pulled us through.
Women don’t really count in America. Here either, as it seems, given the lack of evidence that people here remember we have a VP who can continue the Biden Administration successes and shore up weaknesses.
The articles in the Atlantic (yesterday) and the New York Times (today) are doing their best to point our that our VP has no vision for the country and blah, blah, blah. The media is doing their best to discredit her it seems. Speaking of vision, what is the GOP vision for the US, other than destroying it?
I read that, too. Somehow it's all about personality when it comes to women.
And appearance.
Does our Constitution include women as having equal reights? I think not...if you are a male literalist.
Victoria, that is part and parcel defining what Project 25 wants to reestablish. If you aren't a white male christian cisgendered heterosexual, you got/get nothin'.
Enthusiastic second to that, Fay - thanks!
Fay Reid, such frightening times, I appreciate your reminder to ease my fear. Helping each other to buoy our hope and think rationally about our fears is so important at this time. Thank you so much!
As hard as this may be to read, I knew I had to. Gifting (now that The Atlantic is allowing this). Personally, I like her. I know people who have been in the room with her when she was a Senator. Smart as a whip they say and works very hard.
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2023/11/kamala-harris-vice-presidency-2024-election-biden-age/675439/?utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share
M, Ohhhh, the irony!
And he did it with a straight face.
The tragedy is that Santos is the model of the average republican legislator if they win....
Gus Koch (GA), yes, I agree. You are speaking the truth!
"Scalise didn't call me so I am not voting for him" Na na na na na nah. What a middle school snowflake
Barbara (NJ), right, everything is egoic and therefore, transactional. No geniune concern for anyone. Nothing and no one beyond self.
Yep, lol time with that one.
Thanks Dr Richardson, as always. Get some rest and the batteries charged up. The days ahead will require clarity and strength...and your voice peels true across the land.
Watching the world stage these last few days, hearing questions emerging about the direct involvement of Iran in the Gaza invasion, and thinking about Putin's bland response to it, has made me wonder about a possible long term involvement in this by the Wagner Group. The quantity of weapons and the sophistication of the operation seems disproportionate to what might have been expected. Russia has much to gain from an unstable Middle East. We are seeing this play out in the US Congress where resolute decisions need to be made regarding funding for both Ukraine and Israel.
Yes, very clear in my view.
Russia and Iran are swapping weaponry.
This is becoming world war.
My worst nightmare--World War with the USA in a very vulnerable state due to the current reign of chaos.
Mr Wagner resuscitated and wearing a turban?
Hamas didn’t manufacture those 200+ missiles in little hidden Gaza workshops.
Much like Israel probably did not manufacture its advance missiles now being used to kill civilians in Gaza.
Absolutely true. War by proxy.
"I sell guns to the Arabs, I sell dynamite to the Jews." Tim Hardin, "Smugglin' Man"
This is a good listen. Obama's former foreign policy guy Ben Rhodes. Essentially Hamas was surprised at its success which is attributable to Bebe 'Trump with a yamaka' Netanyahu's incompetence and conniving. Bebe was trying to weaken Palestinian Authority and encourage Hamas as a political counterweight to avoid a 2 state solution and justify taking over West Bank, where the guards from Gaza border had been moved, enabling the attack. https://crooked.com/podcast/whats-next-for-israel-and-gaza/
Bibi is the Trojan horse outsmarting himself.
Thanks for that link - powerful stuff.
That's what I suspected instinctively.
Take care of yourself Heather, you are very important to us. 💙
Here, Here ... Yes she is!!!
Take care. Your "short" letter is long enough.
Thank you, Professor. Please make yourself the priority - rest.
Unbelievably, the sleaze appears to be rising to the top of the GOP power structure.
Is this who Americans want to be? I certainly hope not.
The New Republic held a STOP TRUMP SUMMIT today (Wednesday) with a collection of prominent luminaries. The recorded live stream is available on YouTube.
Bottom line: organize and vote.
Let’s keep this energy, this thinking moving into Action
Heather Cox Richardson the letter hits all the low points of yesterday's events. Thank you. Now rest Professor ⭐
YES! REST. Don't do nuttin, heah?
Let us ponder the idea that the United States of America could be legally dismantled from within.
As a republic, we lack a legal remedy that would enable the citizens of our nation to overrule the legal political gamesmanship of the small nucleus of our government.
Maybe somebody will figure out a way to make it profitable for American democracy to prevail.
Maybe somebody will figure out how to ensure a dignified life for every American citizen.
Maybe we will figure out how to work together to help everybody rise up out of poverty.
Think about all the wars we've been in, or at least the wars that were not our fault, and think about all of the good people who fought and died in those wars, fighting to keep America going, fighting to preserve the existence of this nation.
If we are no longer a democratic nation, then we are no longer the United States of America, and our Constitution will be torn asunder, and all will be lost. The relic elements of the Grand Old Party appear to believe that the rest of us will be willing to live under minority rule. They fail to remember the lesson we gave to King George of England.
Which should we prefer, to be governed by a few rich people and their corporations -- or our poorly-educated fellow citizens? I, for one, would prefer to be governed by my fellow citizens, in a democratic society with a universal franchise.
We need majority rule. Surely that was the intention of the founders of our nation. Voting should be easy and fair. We need to be able to trust each other. We need to persist in our long-standing pursuit of happiness -- for all citizens.
Excellent post.
"We need majority rule."
That would be nice but it is not clear the US ever had that or that the founders intended majority rule as a key to their newly formed and novel "Republican government".
John Adams Massachusetts Constitution, completed in 1780 DID propose a tripartite, balanced, government with the "consent of the people".
However, "the people" were white men. Probably even in John Adams excellent and reasoned mind, "the people" were white men.
Not women, not blacks, not Native Americans.
So, the USA has never been majority rule and it is not now.
“In the United States today the object is to center and increase the power of those who control organized wealth and they seek to prove to Americans that no other system is so successful in human progress. But instead of leaving proof of this to free investigation of science, the reports of a free press, and the discussion of the public platform, today in the United States, organized wealth owns the press and chief news gathering organs and is exercising increased control over the schools and making public discussion and even free thinking difficult and often impossible.”
W.E.B DuBois (1868-1963) From Special War Edition in the Atlantic Magazine (1915)
That was more than 100 years ago-we’re far down the road of what DuBois called “despotic democracy”
Mike, I just had a picture pop into my head that, if I were an artist, I could turn into a single panel political cartoon. 'Tis a founding father who has stepped on a wad of gum that represents women, Blacks, and Indigenous people. Said founding father is walking towards "that shining city on the hill" but cannot get there because we're all stuck to his shoe keeping him from attaining all that is "rightfully his".
Ally,
A very apt political cartoon indeed. I am trying to picture John Adams walking along with a bit of gum on his shoe right now.
:-)
😉
https://www.history.com/news/presidents-electoral-college-popular-vote
These (in the ink above) are the five (5) U.S. Presidents who were elected to office even though they did not win the popular vote! So David, it is apparent that today and through the November 2024 election, the democrats need to educate and attempt to motivate the voting electorate of democrats and independents - and especially those in the swing states!!!
I deleted my original post here. Rethinking it. Independent thinkers need to conjure up a memorable public narrative. Perhaps on the order of Paine's Common Sense. A New Common Sense.
Nice musing
Recharge those valuable batteries, Heather.
I have a few quick stream of consciousness thoughts tonight, as I contemplate taking the gaspipe after the Dodgers went out not with a bang but a whimper to the Diamondbacks tonight.
Initially, Steve Scalise, as bad as he is, is infinitely preferable to the execrable Jim Jordan.
Secondly, is it more than coincidental that the former Party of Lincoln has held up the ambassador posts to both Israel and Egypt, the two countries receiving the most American financial/military aid by far?!? Is this a "follow the money" scenario we should alert the good folk at Pro Publica to?
Thirdly, why do we need to fund the Israeli military leviathan even more than we have already, so as to defeat a militia/terrorist wing from the decimated ghetto of Gaza that doesn't have an air force, tanks, sophisticated artillery, etc.,???
Inquiring minds want to know
The political news isn't getting any better and i feel sick about it, i also feel sick about the Atlanta Braves that appear to be going out with a whimper also after a 10-2 beat down by the Phillies. October is my favorite month of the year, but this October has been lousy thus far. I do agree with you Daniel, Steve Scalise is really bad, but Gym Jordan is much worse.
My sad sports experience is the New York Liberty having the most horrendous shooting percentage I have seen in a long, long time.
My sports experience has been a disappointment this whole year. My favorite football team, the Green Bay Packers hasn't did very well so far this season, and my favorite baseball team just got dumped out of the playoffs. The Atlanta Braves. They had the best win percentage in the league in the regular season, and choked again in the post season. I will call them, ''The Atlanta Chokers'' Pathetic!!
Daniel, make that "the excretable Jim Jordan....
Your lips to God's ears, Gus!!
Completely agree with you.