As I am writing this, the House is a little over 12 hours away from a vote on Jim Jordan for Speaker. The media is filled with coverage of the “never Jordan’s” who are caving to the pressure of tactics of Hannity and company calling for his listeners to hound their Representatives who have indicated they won’t support Jordan. “Jordan inches closer to Speakership”— Reading the coverage, you get a sickening underlying feeling of inevitability. At best, there is a sense that Democratic strategists are spending their time focused solely on how they could use a Jordan speakership in campaigns to take back the House. They are blind to what is directly in front of their eyes in the near term. The article in Axios (cited below) is a prime example.
Where is the coverage that should be, MUST BE, out there over Jordan’s voting record? It is an absolute guide to what this man will do to destroy democracy if he is elected Speaker and is two heartbeats away from the Presidency.
Where are the editorials in the mainstream media about the dangers Jordan poses?
Where is an impassioned Joe Biden speaking to the nation? Where is Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi, Hakeem Jeffries? The horror of the Hamas attack on Israel has sucked up all of the media's
oxygen. In the New York Times, the Jordan recap was the 5th story down on the left and not an editorial in sight.
Perhaps we all need a reminder. This quote from the National World War II Museum might jog our collective memory:
By 1932, the Nazis were the largest political party in the Reichstag. In January of the following year, with no other leader able to command sufficient support to govern, President Paul von Hindenburg appointed Hitler chancellor of Germany.
Different political structures, but the tipping point is control of the Legislative agenda. Fifteen months of Jordan controlling the legislative agenda with the help of the radical right Committee chairs installed by McCarthy will damage by obstruction.
It doesn’t matter that Jordan-approved legislation would not pass the Senate or be vetoed by Biden, that those checks and balances are in place. It also goes the other way; Jordan would now be given his own veto power and can simply stop the wheels of government by gutting funding.
Don’t for an instant think he wouldn’t do it. Cue the man who says, “Only I can save you.”
Georgia, thanks for mustering the outrage to spell that out so clearly. Stopping the wheels of government is exactly what extremists have convinced low-information Rs that's what they want. This is dire.
I concur with Georgi, and Alexandra with the following caveat---
I have long held that the Hitler analogy is too simplistic and an undue shortcut to avoid a deeper discussion. I still do. I think that irrespective of the objective damage done to our institutions, discourse and political culture by the barbarians led by the Seditionist Sociopath and the Murdochian Ministry of Mendacity, and the pusillanimous pissants like Jordan following in their wake, we still have a deep enough reservoir of democratic values, and cultural heterogeneity to prevent the type of slide from Weimar Republic to Nazi autocracy.
Having said that, I feel that Georgia's explanation is akin to the nuclear doomsday clock, and we are all indeed dangling a bit further out over the precipice.
1) Family separation started under OBAMA. They housed children in CAGES.
There was no outrage then.
You are a phony. You only care when it becomes a political weapon.
2) There was no finding of fact in this case because the BIDEN administration settled the lawsuit. This is a joke. You settle a lawsuit against the previous administration with
no trial, no finding of fact, and then claim this is proof they were wrong.
BTW can you name the LAW you claim the Trump administration broke?
3) Asylum is LEGAL if you do it at a PORT of ENTRY. Coming in ANY OTHER WAY isillegal.
You can't come across a river, open border, through a fence et cetera. THAT's illegal.
4) The BIDEN Administration is violating federal law with catch and release.
5) Family separation IS LEGAL and happens all the time. If you drive drunk for example and get pulled over, you are going to be legally separated from your children. Commit murder, get separated. Spousal abuse, get separated. Virtually every crime involving custody includes family separation.
Your moral outrage is disgusting. I've come to realize that all of your posts are never about the issue. Democrats refused to go the border. Biden and Harris refused to go to the border. They don't give a damn about the children. Its always about you. The narcissistic need to virtue signal. Americans hate BIDEN border policy. That's why he is building the wall now. Do you have any opinion on that? Hell no. That would take away from your sanctimony.
BTW - You can't spin the claim by leftist media that Obama didn't separate families
Jeh Johnson, DHS secretary under the Obama administration, told NPR earlier this month that he couldn’t say that family separations “never happened” during his tenure. “
There were a few families separated under Obama (activists like me used to call him the Deporter-in-Chief), but in no way was it a deliberate and wide-spread policy such as took place under Trump. Trump's policy was a whole different universe of cruelty.
James replies to a comment that had nothing to do with child separation. He just comes on these posts to troll and constantly besmirch Democrats. The comment that he replied to from Georgia had to do with Jordan and his speakership. Also his statement that Biden and Harris have not visited the southern border is just not true.
James misses the point, that just because family separation is legal in certain cases doesn't mean that we should encourage it or do it needlessly. He misses all nuance by ignoring that there was a spike in unaccompanied minors coming to the US at certain points under Obama as well.
Additionally, the Biden and Trump policies are pretty similar on the southern border. It's just the rhetoric that is different. Biden is building a portion of the wall that was also already previously approved and budgeted under Trump, and I think most American's including people on this blog only support legal immigration and would like to support more avenues for that. Nothing is all of nothing.
Thanks PhillyT. I get a little lost in these threads, with replies to replies to replies. I had typed a much longer reply but can also identify trolling. Not worth the effort. Have a good one.
That is a joke. If you drive drunk and the police separate you from your child, IS THAT DELIBERATE? Is it cruel? Hell No. The parent who BROKE the law is responsible.
There isn't an ounce of contempt for OBAMA's action's by the left. Its proof that everything is political, and moral grandstanding.
If Heather gave a damn about the"children" she would demand Biden go to the border. She ask for volunteers. She would raise money. She would lobby states for change.
Of course there is no of that. Instead its just phony do nothing narcissicism. Its so obvious and transparent that its a joke.
The writer does not appreciate the fact that laws are made by Congress and that Congress’ failure to act on immigration, abortion, and on health insurance is an explanation for many concerns of which he complains. Please note that Congress under Trump attempted to impeach Trump twice, and that the judges under the federal system are appointed for life.
Why don’t people have the courage to choose Republican leaders who have not been indicted four times and filed for bankruptcy for his companies four times?
You think the Roger Stone methodology of attack, attack, attack and deny, deny, deny will change minds in this comment section. You are sorely mistaken.
Do you know what you call a wall that has been breached over 4000 times? Trump's part of the border wall. Easy-peasy.
I'm guessing you aren't aware that under TFFG there were fewer border agents working for Uncle Sam than when Obama left office. Oops. Know anyone who wants to relocate their family and move to Lordsburg, NM for $60,000 a year? Yeah, I didn't think so. I hear the schools their are really good.
I suspect you also aren't aware that 3 times as many undocumented people enter the US from Canada than from Mexico. Yeah, that ain't Biden's fault.
And TFFG's Republican buddy Devin Nunes's family farm in Iowa has undocumented workers on the farm according to Esquire magazine. Heck, TFFG probably has undocumented workers in many of his businesses.
So run along now James. Hopefully you won't be back anytime soon with your BS.
1) Heather claimed that in a lawsuit "Ms. L. v. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement" that the (Trump administration) policy broke a number of U.S. laws—seeking asylum is legal, and taking children away from their parents without cause is not
This claim is dishonest and inaccurate.
1) because the BIDEN administration settled the lawsuit without a trial or a finding of facts, she tried to claim this was proof that TRump administration had broken the law. BTW Heather NEVER cited "laws that were broken"
2) She was wrong on the claim that asylum is LEGAL. Asylum is ONLY LEGAL
if its done at a PORT of ENTRY. NOWHERE ELSE
8 U.S. Code § 1325 - Any alien who (1) enters or attempts to enter the United States at any time or place other than as designated by immigration officers, or (2) eludes examination or inspection by immigration officers, or (3) attempts to enter or obtains entry to the United States by a willfully false or misleading representation
3) She was wrong when she claimed that family separation is illegal. ANY PERSON committing a crime is eligible for family separation. If you drive drunk and are arrested YOU WILL BE SEPARATED from your children if they are in the car. Its dishonest to claim this violates a law. IT DOESN"T. If you violate
8 U.S. Code § 1325 you are eligible for arrest.
4) Her post is dishonest in its moralizing. Family separation occurred under OBAMA.
Deal with what I wrote. BTW Heather NEVER corrects her mistakes. These are clear and dishonest mistakes.
James a posts both misinformation & disinformation on LFAA in violation of the 2023:Terms of Use but refuses to submit to ADT at JAMS SF that can handle Reader liability matters.
1) You don't cite a single example of disinformation. Because there aren't any.
EVERY WORD I wrote is true. You know it. I'm guessing your belief its untrue simply because I say it is. Well in the words of Christopher Hitchens
"That which is asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence."
2) Instead you whine like a leftist baby. I'm sure in every totalitarian regime there is someone like you threaten any dissenting opinions they don't like.
3) YOU ARE THE DISINFORMATION. By lying about my posts you are pushing disinformation.
4) Worse of all you are too stupid to realize that SUBSTACK was founded exactly because of people like you. Totalitarians who want to censor and cancel
My fantasy is that a handful of Republicans will vote along with the Democrats and elect Hakeem Jeffries as Speaker.
It is unlikely – most fantasies are – but these are dire times and if ever a handful of Republicans might find the courage to do the right thing, now is that time.
That's what I've been hoping for too even if it is very unlikely, almost a Utopian dream. If just 6 Republicans could have some courage to form a coalition with Democrats that will actually try to function as an actual legislative group instead of this ineffectual stalemate, sabotage, obstruction and constant brinkmanship from the MAGA cons/Republicans.
I've even mentioned it to other people in conversation. Not just thinking it, but saying it out loud. There used to be something called bipartisanship, it's not too much to ask for really.
The fact that Jordan’s terrorist tactics could co-opt the morality of 55 Republicans, but we are having trouble finding 6 who would save the rules-based order by aligning with Democrats is a dire commentary on the state of our Union.
It is dire, Maureen, but I hold on to the hope that there are Ds negotiating with moderate Rs in secret, to avoid the repercussions from their names being made public. Avoidance of threats of violence may not be completely possible, but it seems prudent to me, at least for the present, until the names come out in the vote. The Tangerine Terrorist brooks no disobedience. Gag orders be damned. I’m not yet without hope.
RDooley, I like your fantasy but, less fanciful but, still a long shot is D's voting for the Interim Speaker, Patrick McHenry (R-BC-10) to get a working Speaker in position.
With Biden going to Israel then a meeting in Jordan Thursday, Jim Jordan, Ohio, would be 3rd in Line for President raising intense security issues.
Gym Jordan's first tactic is outing his Opponents. D's must fight back Buckle up.
Exactly. But instead we have plenty of people saying all 200+ Democrats should vote for some non-existent “moderate” Republican rather than 5 or 6 Republicans voting for Jeffries.
The lack of courage in the Republican party, aside from a few exceptions like Liz Cheney, is part of the problem. I imagine there are 5 people in that party who would vote for Jeffries. Spineless? Afraid of being different and targeted? Maybe. In fact they show a distinct lack of integrity.
It's the fear of being "primaried" on the right and the fear of losing campaign funds from the R party. Not to mention the loss of a cushy, powerful job.
The reality is they would be bullied and threatened by the magnuts led by the great orange pumpkin LiarCheat who defends his first and second amendment rights and has yet to pay his taxes. Can’t he be jailed for that? 🎃💩🤡
You make a good point--Yamface wants all the privileges (and then some, as he seems to believe that not only Presidents but those running for President, are above the law) of the Constitution--for himself, of course...no one else--but refuses to bother with the responsibilities of supporting the Constitution by obeying the rules and laws set forth by that same document.
Why are we still stuck in the same rut we were in when McCarthy was being defeated time after time? The Democrats are acting as bad as the Republicans. It is the job of both groups to do the country's business not be GD cheerleaders for their parties. These fantasies are what gives the nuts room to maneuver and steal governments. How many Republicans has Jeffries asked if they would vote with the Democrats to support a Republican like Cheney or Kinzinger? I don't know but if he hasn't asked a 200 of them he's not doing the job the American people elected him to do.
“Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition, to wit: There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect.”— Frank Wilhoit
Conservatives conserve; they don’t destroy. There is NOTHING CONSERVATIVE (except their salaries and perks) about the leadership in the current Republican “Party.”
The left destroys everything it touches. It raison-de-etre is the "de-construction"
of America with some post modern Marxist paradise.
My proof?
Immigrants aren't streaming to America for leftist values they are coming for conservative values.
- Right to individual freedom
- Freedom of religion
- Right to defend yourself
- low taxes
- low government regulation
- right educate your children the way you choose
- family values
No one is coming to America thinking I'd love the government to tax me at 80%, tell me how to raise my children, tell how to run my business, break my family apart, et cetera.
The MSM is absolutely complicit in ignoring the danger posed by a Jordan speakership, and in not trumpeting the conspicuously craven behavior of whatever Republican opposition to Jordan remains in the House. These people, the so called remaining principled House Republicans, are showing themselves to be absolutely cowardly and self serving by buckling under the threat of being "primaried", and rags like the NYT are assisting by ignoring the obvious. This news should have been headlined, yet it gets fourth rate coverage! It almost tempts one to entertain yet another conspiracy theory regarding our media. Does it all come down to the corrupting influence of money?
They probably are, Jane, but then again, so have been the judiciary, yet somehow manage to muster the courage to do their jobs. There's only one way to deal with the element that relies on intimidation, and that's to call them on it and nail them to the wall when they're caught at it.
Is it general cowardice? If yes, a group of brave ones, if such exist, could get together and publish a piece in WAPO, put their names on it, and ask for police protection for all. Or are they terrified of the Capitol police because of their traitorous behavior?
I think all this death threat stuff is more media BS than anything else. I've been writing weekly letters to the local paper condemning Trump and everything and almost everyone associated with him in our very red VA district and getting published almost every time. I've never had a negative response from any citizen but many positive ones.
Michael, before you dismiss the death threats, read this reporting of an annual number of 500 threats per year—it echoes reports from other sources. I’m glad that you’re able to publish in your local paper without repercussions—keep it up.
With all the guns available and the craziness following (or during) Covid, fear is multiplied. The MSM has to balance reporting threats so as not to amplify them. Has anyone watched a Trump rally, or even part of one? Does any of you live with someone who believes the doctored films of the president or former speaker Pelosi that makes them look drunk or stupid? The amount of propaganda on the web is staggering and terrifying. Good thing Goebbels didn’t have the web. If he had perhaps none of US would be here now! (Exaggeration, but he is the father of what we get with Trump.
Neither do I, but I happen to know an Eastern Polish immigrant who does. It’s very sad. Too much childhood exposure to Communist propaganda in that very conservative part of Poland that has been part of Russia more than once.
Yes,I agree.The media is complicit in all of this.They normalized ( and continue to normalize)Trump and now they are doing it with Jordan.Just chatting about him as if he is another legislator vying for a position when he is in fact a traitor and participated in Trump’s violent coup.We are marching, maybe goose stepping, toward fascism and it is all too sickening.
Speaking of the MSM, one highlight: Professor Heather Cox Richardson's "Democracy Awakening" was listed as #4 on the NY Times Nonfiction Best Seller list on Sunday. Congratulations to HCR and thank you to all LFAA subscribers for pre-ordering this vital book.
There's something repulsive and abnormal about that weak-eyed man who persists in wearing a shirt but no suit coat. Are we supposed to admire his shoulders and think he's just come from the gym? He's actually very short, I noticed in a picture of him beside someone else.
I believe we should try not to judge on appearances, but on words and actions. The lack of a suitcoat or height shouldn't matter -- his anti-democratic and anti-government stances do.
Worry about his admiration for thugs like Trump and disdain for anyone he can push around. To me he would have been happy to be in charge of any of the Nazi death camps or Stalin's gulags. That's what we should be concerned about.
In my comments I pointed this out. Only one group keeps advocating for more POTUS power - conservatives. Can you imagine if the democrats just took the Project 2025 proposal and decided to implement it?
Agree with most, but we the MSM... well there is no single "MSM"- they are news rooms and editors sitting around a desk assembling the list of stories for the 5pm newscast or the evening edition. And most of the MSM is like WNBC in NYC where most of the stories are breezy local news, some little more than press releases.
It helps to know the sources to trust for important and accurate information. RSN gathers some of the best as it has for years. And these days Timothy Snyder (historian of Russia and Eastern Europe) appears on MSNBC and publishes regularly. If you’re learning law (Trump made me do it!🤣), don’t miss Lawrence Tribe, Dean of Constitutional Law (ret.) at Harvard. The good I have from this debacle is learning more American history, being grateful for the teacher who told her students that she would come back to haunt us if we didn’t vote in every election we would be entitled to vote in, and the skill to recognize good sources.
I wonder if Jordan is offering to not shutdown the government, pass a bill authorizing money for both Israel and Ukraine, and admit Biden won the 2020 election. But then promises, promises...... unless someone can hold him to them.
Like the MAGA crowd doesn't need Fox News Corp to dictate what they think? I'd love to live in your world, James. Unfortunately it's a fantasy. Welcome to The real world, in which opinions in the aggregate are very much formed by the media.
Steven Colbert had the proper reaction to making the announcement in his monologue that Jim Jordan might become speaker: he gagged as if he had thrown up in his throat. My sentiments, exactly.
As of last night, he was as close as McCarthy was just before the damn boke to secure his election. When it comes to party, the GOP will cave, to hell with the country.
That's the pattern. But maybe, just maybe, a half dozen of these GOP doubters will put country over career. There is a life after politics - it's usually lucrative.
Drinking my optimistic coffee today. But I could be wrong. It happens all the time.
Like the optimistic part, but I am not counting on it. The GOP has continually been moving this direction, 45 just accelerated what the Tea Party started. Wonder if the Kochs have any regrets.
Hell no! They’ve been working on this their whole lives. Like Trump, learned at father’s knee. Any American who worked for both Stalin and Hitler in the 1930’s is suspect and Kochs’ father is proven guilty by his sons.
Now if those dozen Republicans would be joined by 200+ Democrats in voting for someone (of EITHER party or even of NO party) who respects the rule of law and the Constitution we would be getting somewhere.
I’m with you 100 percent! When American democracy dies (and I think there’s an even chance that it will), written on its tombstone will be “The news media thought it was a horse race”. Only Rachel Maddow is sounding the alarm so far as best I can tell. Last night she said “Would a Speaker Jordan allow the House to certify the results of the 2024 election if Biden beats Trump?” I don’t think he would. We are in great danger, and the mainstream press is STILL treating 2024 likes it’s “Democrats v Republicans” instead of “democracy v authoritarianism”. God help us all.
AND !! , Our LORD ! , HAVE MERCY !, on Us, ALL !..... . AND !, People, of FAITH ! ,,,,,,,,, STAND !! ( The ONLY VOTE !, that WILL Count, in 2024, is: 'GODS WILL !! , WILL, Be DONE !' )
Prequel: An American Fight Against Fascism Hardcover
"Rachel Maddow traces the fight to preserve American democracy back to World War II, when a handful of committed public servants and brave private citizens thwarted far-right plotters trying to steer our nation toward an alliance with the Nazis."
“History Doesn't Repeat Itself, but It Often Rhymes” – Mark Twain.
So, too, does Heather Cox Richardson’s brilliant new book, Democracy Awakening, cite the 1930s as a treacherous era for our nation. Dr. Richardson also refers to the roiling 1850s as another time the United States slammed into and survived massive threat.
Couldn’t resist an opportunity to promote the work of this invaluable History Cartographer From Maine, Mr. Stayton.
Me too. Tom Nichols wrote 2 books, The Death of Expertise and Our Own Worst Enemy . The information is there, but the right wing has worked to destroy any belief in expertise so when warning are provided, they are discarded as untrue.
In an article from last week's New Yorker about the ultra conservative Christian rights group Alliance Defending Freedom and the successful years-in-the-making role it played in overturning Roe and its new battle against the LGBTQ+ and trans communities, one understands in a chilling way how the Republican party has turned its back on playing by the rules. ADF has so infiltrated the American legal system that several members of SCOTUS take their cues from the organization in rulings. Last fall, ADF teamed up with two prominent congressmen, Jordan and Scalise, to host a reception for newly elected lawmakers. Reading those words and seeing that House Republicans selected the same two people to replace former House speaker McCarthy is more than a coincidence. The media seem to be covering these issues but need to connect all of the dots for its readers.
A few months ago my reading got clogged and I set aside Tim Snyders “Road to Unfreedom.”
Sunday I resumed my study of it and yesterday encountered my and many highlighted about the theories of Ivan Ilyich:
“Like all immorality, eternity politics begins by making an exception for itself. All else in creation might be evil, but I and my group are good, because I am myself and my group is mine.”
Which describes Jordan and the Republicans.
They seek not just the control of the House but seizure of the nation.
It all is similar to the tactics Adolf Hitler and Goerring stumbled into to grasp Dictatorship.
And very sad to say the I/We are Right and all the others are Very Wrong/Evil has been around a long time. It's embedded in Christianity if you just trouble to read the scriptures.... Jews promoted this.... Islam carried on faithfully. Not just these religions. How many "women" have complained about their male spouses always being right? etc not that the problem isn't found all over.
There is still the Constitution, Article 6. Section 1 and Amendment 14, Section 4. All we need is some Congress persons with the courage and sense to invoke the Constitution. After all what can we lose?
Article I, section 5 of the United States Constitution provides that "Each House [of Congress] may determine the Rules of its proceedings, punish its members for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds, expel a member."
Perhaps in 2025 if Democrats win overwhelming. Although I am not sure what the potentially violent consequences would be. Right now it would take 289 to expel Santos or Jordan or Boebert or Taylor Greene.
I don't like that Rule, but I do appreciate your reply Georgia. I gather it requires 2/3 vote. I disagree with those 2/3 and 3/4 votes needed as this inevitably leads to "tyranny of the minority" even when most of the Country favors the subject on which the Congress is voting. In the late 18th/early 19th centuries it undoubtedly made sense since so very few were enfranchised - in the beginning only landed white men could either vote or hold office. Even when the vote "expanded" all they left off was the 'landed'. Today when every citizen has the right to vote being controlled by the minority feels stifling.
Amending the Constitution for anything is impossible today. I really like my Governor, Gavin Newsom, but he has been trying to collect money to amend the second amendment to put more teeth in it. I refuse to back him on this useless project. We can't even pass ERA, which is pretty innocuous, how on earth could we pass a sane and sensible gun amendment. Besides, the Second Amendment in its entirety does give the right to control. I really do not understand why the legislators don't read the Constitution and pass legislation accordingly instead of writing the legislation to appease their donors.
The issue is simple; there is no amount of logic or history or shaming or any other normal or legal form of opposition that will change the minds of the MAGA true believers whose minds are made up regardless of fact. The only answer is to get enough of those who understand what American was and is meant to be to the voting booths in 2024 to both stymie Trump and toss his myrmidons out of the House and the Senate.
If Jordan becomes speaker does anyone honestly believe that congress will certify presidential votes in 2024 if DJT loses? What is happening in congress is the continuation of the coup that was started on 1/6.
I agree James although… the popular vote doesn’t count. If it were not for the electoral college and gerrymandering I would feel more optimistic. That doesn’t mean I won’t vote from a passionate place on my soul!
HCR hypocritically touts the fake "rules-based international order," ignoring our illegal invasion of Iraq, our abuse of a U.N. resolution to go after regime change in Libya (turning that country into a chaotic "failed state"), and our ongoing illegal presence in eastern Syria, stealing their oil.
The hypocritical HCR also ignores Israel's ongoing flouting of United Nations resolutions regarding the occupied West Bank.
John, how about not tagging in on a post with a comment that is irrelevant to this particular thread of discussion and start your own new thread? Happy to see what you have to say that is relevant. But starting a stub here that will attract people who will heartily disagree with you will disrupt the flow of productive discussion.
I think John has a point. His comment has relevance to this thread, as discussion of the RBIOR became a significant component of it, following the initial foray into border separation of families. Too often, imo, the ‘productive discussion’ here turns into groupthink.
To Heather's overall thread, absolutely. To this sub-thread that I started on the Speaker election not at all.
One of the things that I wish we were able to do on Substack is collapse sub-threads or stubs so that we can see the structure and flow of commentary on the topics we are interested in, especially when responding to long detailed posts like LFAA which cover many issues and weave them together. I think it would also give a more equitable hearing to voices of people who post later in the day so you could find them more easily.
Agreed. Drives me nuts sometimes trying to find a comment that I scrolled through on the first pass and then later wanted to reply to, only to have it be ‘lost’ in the landslide.
One of the message boards I occasionally visit just posts the first 6-7 words of a comment/reply. Much easier to get a thread/stub picture, and zero in on points of interest, than in this format.
When I was teaching and I would have my kids do group lab reports on collaborative projects part of the grade was on the structure of the online discussion and how well they organized it. It also gave me a good idea of who was participating and how well they understood the material and how they could teach and constructively critique each other. It taught a great deal about critical thinking and logic and building supporting arguments and defending points of view. That seems to have mostly disappeared in today's political discourse. Wish it would grow back. Substack has the potential to make that happen with a few tweaks.
One thing on someone commenting on your post is to click on your message and you'll see all replies. Another if use your browser search for your own name or key phrase. Not perfect, but helps.
> One of the things that I wish we were able to do on Substack is collapse sub-threads or stubs so that we can see the structure and flow of commentary on the topics we are interested in
In the web view you can. Click on the bar to the left of a post and it'll collapse to that level. It's not perfect, but better than nothing.
The Android app (and probably iOS app) lack that feature. I read on my phone, but only in the browser for this reason.
It doesn't matter that Jordan has not passed a single bill in 16 years.
It doesn't matter that his OSU scandal has been treated as old news.
It doesn't matter that he helped orchestrate J6
It does matter he's one of Trump's golden boys.
What does matter to Republicans that voting for him is a win-win situation.
If you're in a safe red district voting for Jordan will get you re-elected.
If you're in a district Biden won, voting for Jordan may cost you your set but it will get you a cushy lobbyist job that pays even more and has better perks.
What matters for the rest of us is Jordan as Speaker put him in the same hot seat as McCarthy. He can play his government shutdown games but eventually the government has to be funded, this is his very inconvenient truth. The only way out is to strike a deal with Democrats who are rock solidly unified.
There's no other way out. Democracy will survive but it will be messy and nerve-racking.
I really wish I could agree. But with the majority and as Speaker all he needs to do is pass funding bills that are the absolute minimum to keep parts of the government open. Bipartisan and Democratic bills will never get out of committee and discharge petitions will never get enough votes. He just needs to have his caucus fall in line and not lose more than 4. He will sell it to the base and the media. as fiscal responsibility The vulnerable Republicans will vote for what ever he proposes because they they too realize they can't vote against funding the government at any level. He will not need a single Democratic vote and he will never cross the aisle to ask for one. Then he will move to expunge Trump's impeachments.
No, he'll eventually cave to big finance, big defense and big blowback. If what you say is a viable strategy it would already have been used in past shutdown situations.
You've committed yourself to accepting minority rule, that's buying into the media group think.
Jordan is already programmed to do what big business wants because that is where all of the dark money funding the Republicans comes from--lower corporate taxes and less regulation and lower taxes on the 1% and anti-labor measures. He is already programmed to give big defense what it wants, massive funding for Israel, and probably Ukraine because it is the one bone he will throw to the factions in the party that want that, but he personally doesn't want that and neither does Trump. He won't be caving to anything, he will be implementing. He'll do things like write a bill that makes big cuts in funding for the IRS and FDA, and State Department programs that provide humanitarian aid and social safety net for programs. The spending bills will go to conference to reconcile with Senate versions but Jordan won't give an inch. It will be lowest common denominator and Biden won't be able to veto it because he will get the blowback for shutting out the lights.
Tusk and company will have to undo 8 years of authoritarian activity. They have only taken a very important first step in defeating their demons.
If he wins the speakership I am not sure that there will be blowback until the Republicans lose in the coming election. He is a "legislative terrorist" and destroyer, quoting from Boehner whom Jordan gutted as speaker and is one who should know. And once Jordan has all the power of Speaker there is no way the man won't use it unless, of course, he is vacated and the whole process starts over. But I don't think any Republican in the House would go through that again because it would dig them into a deeper hole for re-election.
The Republican Party is a minority party in Congress and the country as a whole. Where they are in the majority that state or city is a shit show on a good day. If he shuts down the government for so long that it starts hurting his corporate overlord's bottom line, he will get in line and he will need Democrats to do it and what was good for Kevin will be good for Jim.
This thread is turning into a doom-scroll. You want to be a nattering nabob of negativity it's your free speech right. For me I'm dropping the mic and checking out of this infinite loop to the bottom. It's making me want to slip into a hot tub with a straight razor (not literally).
“Never” is a completely fungible (!) word in the Republican vocabulary since Trump. Here’s what it can mean:
1.
Never. “I will ‘never’ give up my right to change my mind without embarrassment.
2.
Rarely. “I will ‘never’ do anything that might, if discovered, lead to a painful court case against me.
3.
Often. I will never support anything unless it might offend my dear friends in the House.
4.
Always. I will never put my personal interest ahead of the public good.
Choose your ‘never’ folks for today’s vote for a legislative terrorist. These guys are going to choose Jordan and then claim they had it worked out all along. More fools we.
Heather, thank you for outing the bullies both here and abroad. It’s a shame that so many Congress Critters in swing districts are willing to sell our country down the river for a few months of being employed. We need to watch which vulnerable representatives (from blue districts) vote for Jordan and do our best to see that their cowardice costs them their seats.
Yes,Jeri,I agree with you.We are waiting to vote all of these cowards out in 2024 but if things continue to move as they are, we may never get that election.
This is my fear as well. 2024 could very well be too late. The damage that could be done with Jordan as Speaker may be too much to overcome. As sitting President, if the government shuts down and funding is stopped for crucial programs, the fallout to our economy will hit Americans’ pocketbooks hard and President Biden will be blamed. Also, as Speaker, Jordan will become 1 of the gang of 8. He will have the security clearances to access national security secrets and daily briefings that Trump hasn’t had access to since leaving office. Being beholden to Trump, whom I have no doubt he would share information with, Jordan would be a national security threat. Especially at a time when the situation in the Middle East has the real potential to draw other countries into the Israel-Hamas conflict, and with the ongoing war in Ukraine.
We both agree on this. What can the American people who are paying attention to all of this do? We cannot sit by and watch all of this unfold without taking action. I made a few calls yesterday but it is going to take more than calling to stop this nightmare from happening.
A Jordan speakership dooms Ukraine; and thoroughly threatens our participation in NATO as he'll try to cut off the funds. It's a massive win for Putin.
I think it is important to give Biden credit here. he and his administration are probably figuring out how to govern with whoever is the House Speaker....they did with McCarthy.
I noticed the headline in this morning's Columbus Dispatch, which called him a "brawler" in Congress. As if having a "brawler" in Congress is like having an "enforcer" on a hockey team. Sheesh. Talk about normalizing.
And the Dispatch has been critical of Jordan before. I don't understand why the media doesn't get that this stuff is far from normal.
The news is full of them—it remains to be seen if they continue to be as spineless when he refuses to bring a bill funding aid to Ukraine to the floor.
Ya gotta luv those Family Values people... as long as you're in the right family, that is.
Separating children from their parents brings to mind what, to me, was probably the most cruel, the ugliest, practice of slave owners in America. Yet Americans in the 21st century endorse this horrible policy, call themselves patriots. and wear little American flag lapel pins. And loudly extol "Family Values!"
Not just the children. A mother's heartbreak from having her child taken from her to who-knows-where for who-knows-how-long, maybe forever, is impossible to measure.
Heather, I feel some hope that the children who were so mercilessly torn from the arms of their families, will soon have some resolution. Their lives and those of their parents have been damaged forever, but reuniting them is a path to healing. Thank you for this wonderful letter, packed with information and sanity. Lucian Truscott IV has a terrific article about the Gaza invasion, not yet launched, but keeping us all in tension. When will humans ever stop killing each other? Thank you, dear Heather, for keeping us sane amidst complete insanity!
The scale and severity of damage to the families torn apart for political reasons is a crime against humanity, and must be recognized for what it is in a very public way.
We wonder how, amidst the founders passionate philosophies of liberation, could slavery be tolerated, much less defended. Slavery was regarded as "normal", and many horrors of other sorts have persisted when cloaked in that excuse for passivity. 'Normal" is only what we grow accustomed to, not necessarily what is right.
Exactly, you named the 3 that are principally responsible for the separation of those children from their families, if there is a Hell, and I personally believe that there is such a place, those 3 already have reservations. What they did was despicable, our language lacks words that adequately describe the wrong they knowingly committed against the most innocent among us. If you believe in the sublime balance of our universe there will be Hell to pay.
Sorry, JL, but how about Angola and the US slave labor gulag, blessed by the Constitution and used with a will by police and judges turned purveyors of black slaves?
Thrilled about the election in Poland, devastated about the election in Aotearoa New Zealand, horrified to the core by the possibility that "political terrorist" (so apt) Gym Jordan might actually get the Speakership.
Look to Maduro's Venezuela, where opposition parties aren't even allowed to have their candidates on the same ballot as the ruling party and are barred from using the official polling stations.
Thanks, Bill.Already called my Freedom Caucus Rep (an exercise in futility) so will be making calls this morn.
⬇️
“ Here’s a non-comprehensive list of Republicans who are either opposed to Jordan, will vote for someone else or haven’t made their position clear. CNN’s Haley Talbot has a useful list as well.
The nos: Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (Fla.) won’t vote for Jordan. MDB, as he’s referred to, is close to Scalise. MDB was put off by how Jordan treated the Louisiana Republican.
Rep. Ken Buck (Colo.) has been turned off by Jordan’s questioning of President Joe Biden’s 2020 victory. Buck told Jordan that he was a no during a one-on-one meeting Monday night, the Colorado Republican said on CNN. Rep. John Rutherford (Fla.) said he’s casting his vote for McCarthy.
Rep. Don Bacon (Neb.) said he’ll vote for McCarthy on the first ballot. Bacon also left open the possibility that he could vote for someone else on a later ballot. Rep. Victoria Spartz (Ind.) said she doesn’t like the process and signaled she’d vote against Jordan. Spartz, however, changes her positions frequently.
Rep. Mike Lawler (N.Y.) said he’ll vote for McCarthy. But Lawler also said he won’t be the deciding vote against Jordan. Rep. Carlos Gimenez (Fla.) is still backing McCarthy.
Rep. Mike Kelly (Pa.) is voting for Scalise. Kelly introduced a resolution that would elect Speaker Pro Tem Patrick McHenry through Nov. 17, when government funding runs out.
Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (Iowa) said she’s undecided but privately suggested she’s a no. In the closed party meeting Monday night, MMM went down a list of members who criticized her and other Republicans and complained about the pressure tactics employed by Jordan’s allies. Miller-Meeks said Jordan did nothing to stop the attacks. Jordan reminded Miller-Meeks that he’d visited her district twice.
The undecideds or undeclared: Rep. David Joyce (Ohio) has been cool to Jordan’s candidacy, although it will be very hard to vote against an Ohioan for speaker. Reps. Steve Womack (Ark.), Blake Moore (Utah), Jen Kiggans (Va.), Lori Chavez-DeRemer (Ore.), Andrew Garbarino (N.Y.) and Juan Ciscomani (Ariz.) have yet to say how they’ll vote.
Rep. Jake Ellzey (Texas) declined to comment Monday night on how he’ll vote. Ellzey, a former Navy fighter pilot, strongly opposes government shutdowns. Jordan voted against the CR to avoid an Oct. 1 shutdown.
Reps. Nick LaLota and Anthony D’Esposito of New York are still undecided.”
he is promising whatever they want to secure their vote. The man has no spine until he has power and then he will tell them bug off. He is a little man with a Napoleon complex.
This is another incredible piece outlining the importance and hope for saving Democracy, as well as the incredible loss of integrity, reason and sanity of the Republican Party. Thank you.
Heather’s focus on the ‘rule of law’ brings to mind the Sherlock Holmes mystery in which the failure of a dog to bark was a crucial clue.
For much of the past 15 years Netanyahu has postured as the ‘rule of law’ in Israel. His ruthless politics was based on
1) his assuring Jewish Israelis squeaky tight military protection;
2)supporting the right wing and, especially, the Ultra Orthodox, in shaping a less-and-less democratic Israel; and
3) treating Israeli Arabs and, especially, Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, with disdain and draconian rule.
The savage attack by Hamas terrorists resulted in the slaughter of many hundred Israeli citizens, the taking of almost 200 hostages, and an immediate Israel military and intelligence debacle for which Netanyahu should be held personally responsible.
Immediately Netanyahu responded by declaring war on Gaza. Under the guise of destroying Hamas, he cut off power, food, snd water to 2,000,000 Gaza Palestinians and commenced air attacks. He also mobilized 360,000 military reservists and gave every indication that a large Israeli Defense Force was on the cusp of mounting a powerful invasion. He also told Palestinians to flee to southern Gaza.
So far this invasion has not occurred. There has been wide spread concern about the humanitarian impacts of such an invasion, how this could affect the hostages, and what might be the outcome after weeks of tunnel-by-tunnel fighting.
What I find notable is how Netanyahu has seemed quiet in recent days. A temporary ‘war cabinet’ has been formed, with scant details available to the public. US SecState Blinken has twice visited Israel.
Netanyahu, who loathes President Biden, has had long conversations with the American president, who, quite remarkably, is scheduled to visit Israel this Wednesday.
It’s unclear who is in charge. The fact that Netanyahu has not been barking in recent days suggests to me that, below the surface, there have been some systematic changes in Israel’s power and policy structure.
Personally, as international diplomacy is swirling, I shall watch keenly what Netanyahu does (and doesn’t do).
Bibi and chump were like Siamese twins. I imagine they still are underneath all the blather. To say that this mess is a surprise is like saying that the chump cult was a shock to us. Both have been in the works for more years than the MSM let on. Where is our 4th estate?
Thank you for the insight Keith. Regarding Netanyahu, NPR ran an interview with a senior former Israeli general who laid the ENTIRE Hamas attack at Netanyahu's feet. Robert Reich also, in a different way, laid the attack at Netanyahu's feet (through incompetent government the security apparatus flagged).
So, perhaps your analysis presages Netanyahu's exit? Definitely, Yahoo is not a peacemaker in any way and leaving him "in charge" of Israel could result in a widespread war in the Middle East as Muslim countries conclude that the US is supporting a country that is totally ignoring the "rules based order" in its response to the Hamas attack.
Listening to that former general yesterday, I felt it possible he could find himself prosecuted for his refusal to listen to intelligence and his firing of the head of national security for bringing him news he didn’t want to hear or have made public to weaken. I do believe he is going down. Hope Trump is watching.
What immediately comes to mind is Netanyahu's formation of an 'emergency unity government' with opposition leader Gantz and, along with defense minister Gallant, a war cabinet. Perhaps the dog is quiet because there is so much to do, and it must be done with the whole pack, or not get done at all.
A classic from the fascist playbook: don’t like the rules? Ignore them, and invent rules of your own.
I don’t know if the US can follow Poland’s example. The Polish experienced first-hand what it’s like when a fascist regime invades your country; Americans haven’t. Plus, in my opinion, in the US, money rules - and it doesn’t like to BE ruled…
This sobering article from Politico points to how hard it will be to remove the malign influences of the authoritarian Law and Justice party in Poland, and how following the rules for forming a new government can be subverted by still in place Andrzej Duda, who is a former member of Law and Justice.
Substitute in "the United States" for "Poland "in the article in terms of the institutions that already have been packed with far right loyalists and you have a frightening look at what the not too distant future here could be.
“I just never saw a guy who spent more time tearing things apart—never building anything, never putting anything together.” ___ John Boehner
From beginning to end, in today's Letter HCR portrays how 'leaders' in our country and beyond have separated children from their families and, including from acts by Putin to Hamas, have been working to tear us apart. The Letter begins about how we may be brought together... most of all by being together. The Letter ends with, 'Rebuilding democracy will be neither fast nor easy...' We've learned how hard it is.
We must not give up because together we will not be torn apart, and we can endure.
As long as we allow Fox News to promulgate full blown, highly developed, lies all day long every day and then well into the evening with the "opinion" talking heads, Democracy will continue to flag here.
My wife had dinner with a "friend" the other night that was so completely unaware of Biden's accomplishments that my wife was shocked. Yep, this person answered that she only watches Fox News after my wife outlined some of Biden's accomplishments.
But, it won't change the woman. She will remain blindly ignorant led their by Fox News.
Those people who are NOT blessed with some form of critical thinking capability (well more than half of America) are very attracted to Fox News because of the confidence and certainty with which those nuts present themselves.
Just like the incompetent in the work place who fronts confidence and gets promoted even though incompetent, humans are drawn to certainty and confidence, (well, the dumb ones, and, those are the majority).
Anyway, if we allow Fox News to persist, the probability that American Democracy will fall is very high.
Fox News isn't going anywhere fast. But it will slowly fade as it's audience dies off. Cable TV is soon to be a relic. Two and one half whole generations don't use cable TV for news. They use those big screens for entertainment.
I say all this (again) as encouragement and an offering of hope. :)
It is our difficult job to provide our voices, clear and consistent and often. What is your wife's name, Mike S? What about your wife spending more time with her friend, listening, telling stories and, perhaps, forming a bond. May you gather with a couple of friends to select tapes, stories, personal accounts and share your work with others? It is challenging to create ways to be with neighbors and colleagues, when it is easier to talk about 'them' and be in a funk about how difficult it is these days. I live how difficult it is and know how hard it is to adopt a few new and good habits.
I have some far right neighbors who choose to not discuss politics with. I wouldn't want to be a dinner guest and have tRump and Fox tapes be forced upon me.
Though we have never actually SAID we wouldn't discuss these things, it years ago was after she crossed the street to talk to me whilst I gardened, and she starting talking about the "horde" of Mexicans coming that I looked her straight in the face and reminded her that my son-in-law, grand children, and daughter-in-law were of Hispanic descent. The realization that sprung on her face--I wish I could say it was amusing, but it was not.
Fern, my wife does spend time with this person but it is not easy to be friends with someone who is nasty, insulting and living in Fox world. One might say it is a waste of otherwise useful time.
Mike S., I totally get where your wife is coming from. You make points when you get the chance, but most of the time it rarely moves the needle, and the most you hope for is that there may be another chance. Proselytizing is not an endearing friendship quality. Usually that rips the friendship apart or creates the wall-never-to-be-breached situation, where you are left to talk about the weather and safe family updates, but nothing of substance. And that’s only if you dearly want to keep the friend through this horrible mindf*ck-time we are living in. Bravo to your wife for chiming in when she saw a clear space to do that.
Thank you for your response, Mike S. I was sorry to read '...it is a waste of otherwise useful time'. Maybe, they like one another through all their differences.
Great to see you, ka. You came out with the sun. My comment about our voices was mostly questions or ideas. Some of us have a bit a time and enjoy working with others
and trying out some ways of sharing our stories. Cheers!
Hi Fern, it really is a challenge to patiently accept and embrace the views of people who seem more attached to their blinders and habitual denial than showing enough courage and integrity to look beyond deeply instilled beliefs and fear based ignorance to acknowledge critical truths ... cognizant of the need to 'take my own inventory' and challenge my own assumptions, while I understand the choice for self preservation, I have little or no patience with people who overlook and justify severe violations because it is just too dangerous or inconvenient to confront ... so important to communicate where possible ... not always effective to change peoples' minds and hearts ... it turns out to be demanding, often frustrating work ... here in the threshing grounds of human existence where destinies are determined by choices we make and consequences that ensue ... I have to trust we all learn in time - though it may take many re-turnings of the composting soils of our lives ... peace and love through it all, my friend.
By the way, slightly off topic (but not) I would appreciate, if you (and Mike also) have time, could look at the latest post on the "Energy Matters" page - in the comment section, I have listed some links that contain complex legal language that makes no sense to me ... with your research skills, maybe you could look it over and distill the meaning and salient points therein ... maybe leave a comment sharing your observations - and share accordingly ... I think it is deeply important to address openly and not brush it aside ... I am not exactly tech savvy, and still have not figured out how to network through the Substack system (or otherwise!)
It is morning here, ka, so, good morning! Thank you for thinking that I may be helpful in deciphering the language. I feel overloaded and don't know when I could start, perhaps, this weekend and will be in touch if, when and with something I may have understood.
Human brains can be just like computers - Garbage in, Garbage Out - trademark of autocrats throughout history. People like Heather are a threat to autocrats.
The behavior of trump administration to the immigrants crossing the southern border was inhumane, monstrous and a permanent blight on America. There is no justification, then, now, or ever, for ripping children from the arms of their parents, housing them in cages, and abusing both the children and their parents. Only Hitler loving nazis would approve. Trump should be tried in World Court for this unforgivable crime against humanity.
If Jordan is elected Speaker of the House, we might as well close the House down until January 3, 2025. Why waste time and money supporting those fascist destroyers so mainstream media can make more millions streaming the do-nothing ranting and raving of the MAGAs like lunatics in a now closed asylum. If there are any real Republicans left who want to convene with Democrats to elect a capable, intelligent, speaker and legislate, fine. But I, for one object to spending another cent paying those braying jackasses.
I'm glad Biden, Blinken, and Harris are touring the Middle East in an effort to tamp down the furor there. We do have to stand by our commitment to Israel, but not to Netanyahu, The World Community, UN and NATO need to haul the leaders of Hamas and Hezbolah into International Court an lock them away for a very long time. (Along with Trump and Putin) We need peace and a commitment to mitigate the Climate crisis - which threatens equally, every country o Earth. It's past time to control the out of their minds maniacs, to save the rest of us. Wars of aggression are a wasteful, unnecessary distraction from the real work that needs to be done.
Whoa - Are Biden, Harris AND Blinken all traveling to the middle east at the same time? That sounds like a horrible plan, with Jordan possibly waiting in the wings? Who is making such plans? Jordan? Trump?
More democracy in action, where inaction is one word:
Louisiana selected a governor in a primary; a Republican, he is said to have garnered 52% of the vote. What was not said is that the turnout was 36%, of 77% who were ‘qualified’ ( registered under restrictive conditions ) to vote.
14% is the result. 14% of potential voters picked this governor. Appalling is not a strong enough word.
14% is not democratic. Calling it 52% is staggeringly depressing, for me, all day.
The wealthiest people in this country, and the world, need a functioning representative democratic republic, with an independent objective swift judiciary, more than the rest of us. Look up ‘defenestration’ Where are they?
The news softballs all this horror. The cult nuts are constant, consistent, and comfortable with Nazi tactics. Besides who is on “dancing with the stars” this week…
First, most of the black folks in LA are AFRAID to go near a voting booth since that might bring some night time visitors to their homes. Plus, most blacks are working jobs that do not allow them time off during the day to vote. Plus, they cannot afford to lose money to vote.
Second, many white folks are very poor in LA as well BUT, they work 12 hour shifts as well with no paid time off.
By the time you add up all the people who cannot vote because they are WORKING and all the people who cannot vote because of FEAR then you have 14% of the elites left over and who do they vote for?
Give up on that. Why I gave up on religion. Too many arses have escaped being struck by lightening as they prove that humanity is not a universal characteristic of humans.
Thanks for the disclaimer. Sadly, satire died in 2016 when Trump descended that damn escalator -- now even the most absurd parodies too closely mimic reality. I think we need to call out anyone, especially on "our" side, who even seems to applaud violent solutions, for that way leads to Gaza.
Elizabeth, I missed the post you deleted. Please bear with my long-winded stories here. Story One:There is a silly movie where our cowboy hero, Tom Selleck, hires out to a big outfit in Australia, owned by Allan Rickman, (reason enough to watch, just to see him chew up the scenery), and there is a girl, packs of ravenous dingos, wronged Australian indigenous people, fabulous scenery, and what not. Our hero is a sharp-shooter with a long rifle, but when it turns out the varmints he was hired to reduce are the “wild” Australians, our hero revolts. Our villain goes off the deep end. At some point Rickman asks Selleck if he knows how to use a handgun. “Never had much use for one,” Selleck replies. Rickman proceeds to set up a shootout between our hero and himself, and, spoiler alert, looses. As he lays dying, Rickman complains to Selleck. Our hero says, “I said I never had much use for handguns. Never said I didn’t know how to use one.” Story Two: One time my boss, female, immediate supervisor, female, and I were headed to a conference a couple hundred miles away. We all got up early, bundled up, and prepared for this long drive through cold, windy but not a real storm yet weather down from Wyoming into Colorado My boss was driving, and forty miles outside of town, as the gusts of wind were pushing the mid-sized sedan all over the road, she said,”I forgot to check the pressure in my tires before we left. I hope this is just the wind, since I don’t know how to change a tire.” My supervisor says, “Me neither, I always let my husband do it.” Always a master at ingratiating myself with my betters, I said, “Well, I know how to change a tire if you have the right equipment in the car. You both drive cars every day. Why would you choose helpless incompetence instead of learning how to do the simplest sorts of maintenance on these vehicles?” Crickets, no conversation for quite some time, no flat tire, the conference turned out to be quite entertaining.
Cranky point of stories: I hope you have taken a firearm safety course and enough firearms training so you can be less in awe of some idiot waving a gun around, who clearly doesn’t really know what he is doing, and even more clear about why you will never own one.
I have a tale of two different German experiences right now. Most of the people who I am around here in Germany would be called progressives. However, even so, I am hearing from many the idea that they increasingly feel that how many immigrants they accept reaches its limits. So the intolerance for immigrants is growing. There is a lot of concern also about Islamic terrorists, although one should be equally concerned about the White Supremacist terrorists here. At the same time there is a huge shortage of workers in every industry. I have been seeing a lot of master craftsmen with African apprentices, so there is hope that we will see more diversity in workers in the building trades, which are suffering huge shortages. A big complaint is people moving here who then do not learn intelligible German (many from Asian countries), and then the complaint is those who do not learn perfect German. However, at the same time these people are leading financially successful lives. For a native English speaker German is a level 2 difficulty, whereas Chinese and Arabic are considered a level to be on a level 5 difficulty. I don't know what their difficulty is for Germans, but tonally for the Arabic speaker it is easier to speak German than the Chinese speaker. Still, there is a lot to learn and many from both language groups successfully speak very good German.
I wish that all of the people who are complaining, such as a friend who is a teacher, would have to go somewhere and live where they do not speak the language. Most of the people I hear complaining are monolingual anyway. None of them speak another language fluently. That is part of why they place such dependence of others speaking German. Language is a huge part of being able to integrate into a new system, particularly one as bureaucratic at the German one.
My second story is of a former American colleague and her Canadian husband who moved to Germany this year, as she is now teaching at a DOD school. Neither of them speak German, but they have rented a house off base (which is a 10 minute bike ride to the base school, and a 10 minute bike ride to the Day Care they have for their 4 children). It is because of their 4 children under the age of 6, that they moved to Germany. They looked at the cost of college in the USA, and knew from me that it is tuition free here in Germany, and they decided that even though they don't speak the language they would raise their children here, and have them go to German schools so that they could speak well enough to go to University here. While it took them 1.5 months to find a house, and now they get to register themselves here, which means they can collect child money from the government, which means 1000€ additional they are adjusting. Their oldest children ages 5 and twins aged 3, are in the child care, and they have to pay 70€ a month for each of them, but that basically covers the cost of food, which she tells me is wonderful. It is filled with locally sourced organic fruits and veggies, and lots of legumes and on one day a week they have Fish. While this might sound strange as a diet, it is accommodating a variety of diets, including Halal and vegan. Her husband has to accompany their now 10 month old to the daycare, and the child is only allowed there an hour a day, even though she has been in full time day care since she was 3 months old, because they don't normally let in children under 2. For children 3 and over the childcare is basically free, except for the food fees, which I assume are on a sliding scale. They will be sending their children to German public schools, which have their problems, but everyone goes, and hardly anyone goes to private schools, and then on to trades, and other specialized work, or to German university. So, they can put their money to saving for a house, since they will not have to save it for university. However, neither of them speaks any German. She has not had time to learn, though I have pointed her to some online courses, and he is getting more exposure in his hour a day in the child care with his youngest. I think they have to hire someone for the rest of the day, so he, who works at home can get their work done. If the people they encounter resent their not speaking German, they have not heard about it. She tells me that at a recent birthday party their sons went to, all of the parents made effort to speak English to them. Also, the DOD is taking care of them, so they have the best of both worlds right now. Of course, this can all change, and if Trump gets elected, who knows if the DOD will have schools in Germany anymore, or any bases. All I know is that people here are belt tightening, but they get a lot of government support with it. I am unsympathetic to European complaints of immigrants coming from North African and African countries, because many of their countries benefitted from colonizing and exploiting Africa, and got wealthy from their exports and enslavement of the local people they were colonizing.
After WWII many of them benefitted from the US Marshall plan, again in a country where some of our wealth has come from the backs of slaves, Native Americans, and the exploitation of others. I think more Americans need to try to live in other countries. A lot of Germans do live in other countries, like the USA, which is a fairly easy country to adapt to, because the cultures are similar, and many are multilingual. Our schools should do more to ensure that is true of American students as well. It is useful right in the USA. The situation in the Middle East is going to lead to much movement of people, probably mostly to Arabic speaking countries, who are on overload too, and to the USA, Canada, Europe and South America. Both the EU and the USA are currently a crapshoot, for how someone will be received. I think that it is a pretty good bet that there are still many, many communities in the USA which will be welcoming even though the resources are not there. Part of this is congress' inability to address immigration with a plan. Jim Jordan is one of those people who will further these problems. Right now in Chicago I am reading that people are sleeping in police stations, and in tents outside the police stations, which still led to two immigrants getting shot, and being terrified of their living circumstances. Shelters are limited, and need to be increased. Not sure why certain spaces are not being offered, but will be asking both the governor and the mayor about that. I have an immigrant parent and spouse, and many, many friends. All of them brought skills and heart to the USA. While our friends are mostly university professionals, so they have their own path to coming to the USA, and also agency to go elsewhere if things are not to their liking, those are not the only professions in the USA that have a worker demand. We, like Europe have an aging population and need to have new people coming in, in contrast to the Republican plan to just force women to breed to make up those differences, and then remove child labor protection laws. I would like to see our government inviting Palestinians and Israeli's to live in the USA and Europe, but there is no guarantee of safety in either place with the Antisemitism and Islamophobia they can face in both regions. Getting shot and killed is an American reality that we need to address too. However, currently there are not rockets being aimed at our cities, and that might just be enough of a difference to make it attractive. Sometimes moving is not giving up, but opening up to new possibilities. I hope that Jim Jordan does not become the speaker of the house and that we get bipartisan leadership there, so that we can move forward and that includes helping our allies, taking care of our own (we need military and diplomatic appointments to go forward) and developing a plan to help us address the legal immigration of people to the USA.
Thank you for this. How informative for all of us. I so admire the German people for owning their history and Vowing to make the future a better place. Immigration problems will not go away. I see immigrants as a solution rather than the evil that repubs see. The wolf at the door is home grown and as vicious as any enemy has ever been. We have created this monster and we have to kill it. Sadly, it has grown exponentially and may devour it’s creator…
My daughter is studying in Berlin. Her semester fees were 319 or 329 €. I forget, in a large part because a 10€ difference does not matter. They are different in different states, but in Niedersachsen with the highest in the country, they might be around 433€. With it she gets discounts, and a semester pass on all public transportation. She can also upgrade to a Germany ticket for the year. That gets her around the entire country on trains that are not fast, or flex, so regional, and all public in every city in Germany. We already bought her such a pass, and it is 49€ a month. I have it too, being carless here. You have to have a bank account to get it, and then it is automatically renewed, most of us have it on our phones, just in case someone checks (called controlling it) which has happened to me 3 times in the past year, and then if you want to cancel, you just have to do so by the 10th of the previous month. That being said, I have been back and forth to Berlin quite a few times, and there has regularly been a train snafu, or delay. Not so that it prevented me from going back and forth, but enough that apparently Switzerland feels that it might cancel German trains from running in Switzerland because they are messing up their precise schedule. Something they say they are working on, but is an effect of some years of disinvestment. Still, it has reduced reliance on cars, and there tend to be train cars for bikes, so that is convenient too. Local public is so convenient. For one, if you are in a wheelchair they do regular trainings to teach people how to get on and off of the buses and streetcars. They sit fairly low to the ground, so going on and off in a wheel chair is not some lengthy process, but relatively quick and smooth. People get out of the way for the areas of the buses and trams that are designed for either wheelchairs, the elderly, buggies and strollers, or bikes. So, most children are riding around in comfortable buggies, not car seats attached to buggies, and their parents get on and off with them easily, because the bus/tram bottom is about curb height. The seating in that area is flipped up and easy to get around in, but can be pushed down and sat on if no one needs it. Food here is really well subsidized, although other things are not. All students in Berlin can get university cafeteria (Mensa) cards, which you load with money, and then can eat at any Mensa in the city. Energy costs are high, so lots of people look for places with "warm rent" which includes utilities and often internet. There is a housing shortage, particularly in cities where lots of people want to live and work. Still, you would probably pay more your first year here than later on, once you know how to find a place. There are lots of videos in English of people finding apartments in Germany, and they would be helpful to watch. It is good to have options, and while right now it takes 5 years to get citizenship, which ties to the length of time that you are allowed to work here after graduating from university here, they are discussing moving it to 3. Also, I think it is a golden passport country, but not the cheapest. Still, the universities are good, and my daughter, who likes learning, likes all of her classes and instructors. She is also in class with people from all over the world, with many from Ukraine and Russia, who get along according to her. With its central location it is easy to travel to other countries in Europe as well, and with the train pass one can go to other cities for the day, or overnight as one wishes. The job market is not great, but I don't work here, but have had jobs offered to me. Being bilingual is a plus for many things. My daughter has taken the overnight train from Paris to Vienna with her eleventh grade exchange class this past summer, and that seems to be a form of getting around that is convenient, fully booked, expanding in offerings, and something to do to avoid flying around. So, there is work on carbon reduction here too.
Growing intolerance for immigrants is happening at the same time as climate change is increasing the need for people to migrate. It's a perfect storm darkening the horizon. I'm sad to hear that this intolerance is growing in progressive European countries as well as here.
"In 2017, former Republican House speaker John Boehner told journalist Tim Alberta: “Jordan was a terrorist as a legislator going back to his days in the Ohio House and Senate…. A terrorist. A legislative terrorist.” In 2021, he clarified: “I just never saw a guy who spent more time tearing things apart—never building anything, never putting anything together.”
Speaker material? Sounds more like a member of Hamas.
"[T]oday’s Republican Party: its extremist leaders no longer believe that rules apply to them."
I don't f'ing CARE what they "believe." After Biden wins in '24, and Trump's 91 charges slog their way through the US Justice System, today's Republican Party may find those "beliefs" challenged in US courts of LAW.
Will we still have a country in Nov 2024. I can’t survive til then with no paycheck. Most can’t even imagine what it will be like, yet. Any jackass can burn down a barn (in a nanosecond), but it takes time and skill to build one. Shout out to Sam Rayburn, when Texas had a government for the people.
To those who thought up the idea and publicly rationalized the action to rip children from the safety of their parents arms, 5.500. children you traumatized (and families), of which you were so haphazard you didn't even respect the U.S. citizenship of 290 of these children. Such cruelty! Is your depraved need for feeling superior to those with brown skin or your need to use them as pawns to get power, so insane that you take pleasure in traumatizing children? Children? Thankfully, the current administration who is not insanely cruel, worked to reunite the children and families, who you saw as your enemy and so didn't care if you kept records on them.. 85 children are still lost to their families. None of you should have the power to inflict pain and suffering on so many people again.
Could DNA not be collected for those children (everywhere), whose families are unaccounted for, and run through geneology banks to help find their families? Cannot imagine it has not already been done? Still no matches?
Julia Marie Sheehan, good thinking and I agree it probably has already been done. The families looking for their children are probably not in a dna database because it would most likely be cost prohibitive for them. I hope they will all be reunited, as soon as possible. No expense should be spared by adults to do what's right for these children.
As I am writing this, the House is a little over 12 hours away from a vote on Jim Jordan for Speaker. The media is filled with coverage of the “never Jordan’s” who are caving to the pressure of tactics of Hannity and company calling for his listeners to hound their Representatives who have indicated they won’t support Jordan. “Jordan inches closer to Speakership”— Reading the coverage, you get a sickening underlying feeling of inevitability. At best, there is a sense that Democratic strategists are spending their time focused solely on how they could use a Jordan speakership in campaigns to take back the House. They are blind to what is directly in front of their eyes in the near term. The article in Axios (cited below) is a prime example.
Where is the coverage that should be, MUST BE, out there over Jordan’s voting record? It is an absolute guide to what this man will do to destroy democracy if he is elected Speaker and is two heartbeats away from the Presidency.
Where are the editorials in the mainstream media about the dangers Jordan poses?
Where is an impassioned Joe Biden speaking to the nation? Where is Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi, Hakeem Jeffries? The horror of the Hamas attack on Israel has sucked up all of the media's
oxygen. In the New York Times, the Jordan recap was the 5th story down on the left and not an editorial in sight.
Perhaps we all need a reminder. This quote from the National World War II Museum might jog our collective memory:
By 1932, the Nazis were the largest political party in the Reichstag. In January of the following year, with no other leader able to command sufficient support to govern, President Paul von Hindenburg appointed Hitler chancellor of Germany.
Different political structures, but the tipping point is control of the Legislative agenda. Fifteen months of Jordan controlling the legislative agenda with the help of the radical right Committee chairs installed by McCarthy will damage by obstruction.
It doesn’t matter that Jordan-approved legislation would not pass the Senate or be vetoed by Biden, that those checks and balances are in place. It also goes the other way; Jordan would now be given his own veto power and can simply stop the wheels of government by gutting funding.
Don’t for an instant think he wouldn’t do it. Cue the man who says, “Only I can save you.”
https://www.axios.com/2023/10/16/democrats-jim-jordan-speakers-campaign-ads
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/16/us/politics/jordan-speakership-holdouts.html
https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/how-did-adolf-hitler-happen
Georgia, thanks for mustering the outrage to spell that out so clearly. Stopping the wheels of government is exactly what extremists have convinced low-information Rs that's what they want. This is dire.
The U.S. is on the brink of disaster. Gold could very well be the safest investment right now.
Whoa, Richard, that IS dire.
Stock market is tumbling.
Looks as though Jim Jordan will not become Speaker. So, perhaps not dire yet.
I concur with Georgi, and Alexandra with the following caveat---
I have long held that the Hitler analogy is too simplistic and an undue shortcut to avoid a deeper discussion. I still do. I think that irrespective of the objective damage done to our institutions, discourse and political culture by the barbarians led by the Seditionist Sociopath and the Murdochian Ministry of Mendacity, and the pusillanimous pissants like Jordan following in their wake, we still have a deep enough reservoir of democratic values, and cultural heterogeneity to prevent the type of slide from Weimar Republic to Nazi autocracy.
Having said that, I feel that Georgia's explanation is akin to the nuclear doomsday clock, and we are all indeed dangling a bit further out over the precipice.
THIS POST IS A NEW LOW.
You facts are all wrong and dishonest.
1) Family separation started under OBAMA. They housed children in CAGES.
There was no outrage then.
You are a phony. You only care when it becomes a political weapon.
2) There was no finding of fact in this case because the BIDEN administration settled the lawsuit. This is a joke. You settle a lawsuit against the previous administration with
no trial, no finding of fact, and then claim this is proof they were wrong.
BTW can you name the LAW you claim the Trump administration broke?
3) Asylum is LEGAL if you do it at a PORT of ENTRY. Coming in ANY OTHER WAY isillegal.
You can't come across a river, open border, through a fence et cetera. THAT's illegal.
4) The BIDEN Administration is violating federal law with catch and release.
5) Family separation IS LEGAL and happens all the time. If you drive drunk for example and get pulled over, you are going to be legally separated from your children. Commit murder, get separated. Spousal abuse, get separated. Virtually every crime involving custody includes family separation.
Your moral outrage is disgusting. I've come to realize that all of your posts are never about the issue. Democrats refused to go the border. Biden and Harris refused to go to the border. They don't give a damn about the children. Its always about you. The narcissistic need to virtue signal. Americans hate BIDEN border policy. That's why he is building the wall now. Do you have any opinion on that? Hell no. That would take away from your sanctimony.
BTW - You can't spin the claim by leftist media that Obama didn't separate families
Jeh Johnson, DHS secretary under the Obama administration, told NPR earlier this month that he couldn’t say that family separations “never happened” during his tenure. “
There were a few families separated under Obama (activists like me used to call him the Deporter-in-Chief), but in no way was it a deliberate and wide-spread policy such as took place under Trump. Trump's policy was a whole different universe of cruelty.
This is true. The facts are here: https://www.factcheck.org/2018/06/did-the-obama-administration-separate-families/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIuOmN3J_9gQMVnR-tBh1ymgEEEAAYASAAEgKUPvD_BwE
James replies to a comment that had nothing to do with child separation. He just comes on these posts to troll and constantly besmirch Democrats. The comment that he replied to from Georgia had to do with Jordan and his speakership. Also his statement that Biden and Harris have not visited the southern border is just not true.
Backup is here:
https://www.npr.org/2021/06/25/1009939218/harris-is-visiting-the-southern-border-after-trying-to-keep-the-focus-away-from-
https://www.texastribune.org/2023/01/08/joe-biden-border-visit-el-paso/
James misses the point, that just because family separation is legal in certain cases doesn't mean that we should encourage it or do it needlessly. He misses all nuance by ignoring that there was a spike in unaccompanied minors coming to the US at certain points under Obama as well.
Additionally, the Biden and Trump policies are pretty similar on the southern border. It's just the rhetoric that is different. Biden is building a portion of the wall that was also already previously approved and budgeted under Trump, and I think most American's including people on this blog only support legal immigration and would like to support more avenues for that. Nothing is all of nothing.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-65574725
Thanks PhillyT. I get a little lost in these threads, with replies to replies to replies. I had typed a much longer reply but can also identify trolling. Not worth the effort. Have a good one.
Thanks for refuting the lying commenter. He loves to troll and HCR's substack, most unfortunately, seems to be a favorite bridge to lurk under.
Deliberate?
That is a joke. If you drive drunk and the police separate you from your child, IS THAT DELIBERATE? Is it cruel? Hell No. The parent who BROKE the law is responsible.
There isn't an ounce of contempt for OBAMA's action's by the left. Its proof that everything is political, and moral grandstanding.
If Heather gave a damn about the"children" she would demand Biden go to the border. She ask for volunteers. She would raise money. She would lobby states for change.
Of course there is no of that. Instead its just phony do nothing narcissicism. Its so obvious and transparent that its a joke.
The writer does not appreciate the fact that laws are made by Congress and that Congress’ failure to act on immigration, abortion, and on health insurance is an explanation for many concerns of which he complains. Please note that Congress under Trump attempted to impeach Trump twice, and that the judges under the federal system are appointed for life.
Why don’t people have the courage to choose Republican leaders who have not been indicted four times and filed for bankruptcy for his companies four times?
Don't you have a bridge under which you can return to your troll-hood somewhere?!?
Welcome back James. We didn't miss you.
You think the Roger Stone methodology of attack, attack, attack and deny, deny, deny will change minds in this comment section. You are sorely mistaken.
Do you know what you call a wall that has been breached over 4000 times? Trump's part of the border wall. Easy-peasy.
I'm guessing you aren't aware that under TFFG there were fewer border agents working for Uncle Sam than when Obama left office. Oops. Know anyone who wants to relocate their family and move to Lordsburg, NM for $60,000 a year? Yeah, I didn't think so. I hear the schools their are really good.
I suspect you also aren't aware that 3 times as many undocumented people enter the US from Canada than from Mexico. Yeah, that ain't Biden's fault.
And TFFG's Republican buddy Devin Nunes's family farm in Iowa has undocumented workers on the farm according to Esquire magazine. Heck, TFFG probably has undocumented workers in many of his businesses.
So run along now James. Hopefully you won't be back anytime soon with your BS.
I reported him. Who needs this s**t??? Thank you, Gary, for your great comment.
What is wrong with you people. ONE MORE TIME
1) Heather claimed that in a lawsuit "Ms. L. v. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement" that the (Trump administration) policy broke a number of U.S. laws—seeking asylum is legal, and taking children away from their parents without cause is not
This claim is dishonest and inaccurate.
1) because the BIDEN administration settled the lawsuit without a trial or a finding of facts, she tried to claim this was proof that TRump administration had broken the law. BTW Heather NEVER cited "laws that were broken"
2) She was wrong on the claim that asylum is LEGAL. Asylum is ONLY LEGAL
if its done at a PORT of ENTRY. NOWHERE ELSE
8 U.S. Code § 1325 - Any alien who (1) enters or attempts to enter the United States at any time or place other than as designated by immigration officers, or (2) eludes examination or inspection by immigration officers, or (3) attempts to enter or obtains entry to the United States by a willfully false or misleading representation
3) She was wrong when she claimed that family separation is illegal. ANY PERSON committing a crime is eligible for family separation. If you drive drunk and are arrested YOU WILL BE SEPARATED from your children if they are in the car. Its dishonest to claim this violates a law. IT DOESN"T. If you violate
8 U.S. Code § 1325 you are eligible for arrest.
4) Her post is dishonest in its moralizing. Family separation occurred under OBAMA.
Deal with what I wrote. BTW Heather NEVER corrects her mistakes. These are clear and dishonest mistakes.
James a posts both misinformation & disinformation on LFAA in violation of the 2023:Terms of Use but refuses to submit to ADT at JAMS SF that can handle Reader liability matters.
House Speaker Vote Now 1:45 pm Eadtern; JEFFRIES 212, Jordan 200. Both short of 217. 20 R's voted against the Seditionist Jordan.
As usual your stupidity is legendary.
1) You don't cite a single example of disinformation. Because there aren't any.
EVERY WORD I wrote is true. You know it. I'm guessing your belief its untrue simply because I say it is. Well in the words of Christopher Hitchens
"That which is asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence."
2) Instead you whine like a leftist baby. I'm sure in every totalitarian regime there is someone like you threaten any dissenting opinions they don't like.
3) YOU ARE THE DISINFORMATION. By lying about my posts you are pushing disinformation.
4) Worse of all you are too stupid to realize that SUBSTACK was founded exactly because of people like you. Totalitarians who want to censor and cancel
anyone who leaves the leftist orthodoxy.
Just out of curiosity, what did you think about hero Stephen Miller's plan to arial bomb boats carrying migrants?
Sure SOUNDS NAZI/REPUGLICAN ! ( Open UP AUSchWITZ AGAIN ! MR STEVE !!)
What a disgusting post.
ALL the ANTI-SEMITISM is coming from the left. How dare you invoke Auschwitz to make a cheap political point. You are disgraceful
Mr. James. A
I. Am a BELIEVER, in The SAME GOD ! , OF Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob !, because of the New
COVANANT, Of Our. LORD/GOD !
JESUS CHRIST !
I Have been 'Inhearited' In !, By
Our LORDS PROMISES !
SO !, ' My. Statemnt' is ONLY.DIRECTED, AT. THOSE!, Who
Fester. UNedifying. EVIL !, to
THOSE !, WHO !
Are. Supposed to BE !, Our
Brothers !
I in My HEART !, ....ABHOR !!, ANY
EVIL ! EVIL, Propigatrd The SHOAH
EVIL!, PROPIGATES NEGatisim,
HATE !, PURE. LYING! POWER
HUNGER! And. MAMMONITE-ISIM !
HAMAS,! is EVIL!, in The FLESH !
IT IS. 'TAKING. OUT' INOCENT. LIVES!
On. ALL SIDES !
WAR !, ......IS LITERAL. HELL !
( James A, ....Have YOU !, Been ?
....IN ?, a WAR ??!!, [ PLEASE !,
Answer. Me !] )
And, May, Our God!, CONTINUE,
to. Bless, You !
Your point? Why am I obligated to defend Stephen Miller? My post was aimed
at the factual inaccuracies in Heather post.
My fantasy is that a handful of Republicans will vote along with the Democrats and elect Hakeem Jeffries as Speaker.
It is unlikely – most fantasies are – but these are dire times and if ever a handful of Republicans might find the courage to do the right thing, now is that time.
That's what I've been hoping for too even if it is very unlikely, almost a Utopian dream. If just 6 Republicans could have some courage to form a coalition with Democrats that will actually try to function as an actual legislative group instead of this ineffectual stalemate, sabotage, obstruction and constant brinkmanship from the MAGA cons/Republicans.
I've even mentioned it to other people in conversation. Not just thinking it, but saying it out loud. There used to be something called bipartisanship, it's not too much to ask for really.
The fact that Jordan’s terrorist tactics could co-opt the morality of 55 Republicans, but we are having trouble finding 6 who would save the rules-based order by aligning with Democrats is a dire commentary on the state of our Union.
It is dire, Maureen, but I hold on to the hope that there are Ds negotiating with moderate Rs in secret, to avoid the repercussions from their names being made public. Avoidance of threats of violence may not be completely possible, but it seems prudent to me, at least for the present, until the names come out in the vote. The Tangerine Terrorist brooks no disobedience. Gag orders be damned. I’m not yet without hope.
And on the state of the republican Party.
RDooley, I like your fantasy but, less fanciful but, still a long shot is D's voting for the Interim Speaker, Patrick McHenry (R-BC-10) to get a working Speaker in position.
With Biden going to Israel then a meeting in Jordan Thursday, Jim Jordan, Ohio, would be 3rd in Line for President raising intense security issues.
Gym Jordan's first tactic is outing his Opponents. D's must fight back Buckle up.
Exactly. But instead we have plenty of people saying all 200+ Democrats should vote for some non-existent “moderate” Republican rather than 5 or 6 Republicans voting for Jeffries.
Excellent point!
I believe in the possibility of the improbable too. Despite so much proof that it is reverie…
The lack of courage in the Republican party, aside from a few exceptions like Liz Cheney, is part of the problem. I imagine there are 5 people in that party who would vote for Jeffries. Spineless? Afraid of being different and targeted? Maybe. In fact they show a distinct lack of integrity.
It's the fear of being "primaried" on the right and the fear of losing campaign funds from the R party. Not to mention the loss of a cushy, powerful job.
Or maybe Ghislaine Maxwell doesn't habe anything in them...
R. Dooley - It is the BEST fantasy and how can we not hope? People have stepped up to the plate throughout history.
The reality is they would be bullied and threatened by the magnuts led by the great orange pumpkin LiarCheat who defends his first and second amendment rights and has yet to pay his taxes. Can’t he be jailed for that? 🎃💩🤡
You make a good point--Yamface wants all the privileges (and then some, as he seems to believe that not only Presidents but those running for President, are above the law) of the Constitution--for himself, of course...no one else--but refuses to bother with the responsibilities of supporting the Constitution by obeying the rules and laws set forth by that same document.
YEAH ! The Ultimate MANGOWANKER ! , NEEDS !, to be SILENCED !
My dream too! It's a damn the torpedoes moment and anything is possible. I hope that opportunity wins over danger giving Jeffries a chance to lead.
Why are we still stuck in the same rut we were in when McCarthy was being defeated time after time? The Democrats are acting as bad as the Republicans. It is the job of both groups to do the country's business not be GD cheerleaders for their parties. These fantasies are what gives the nuts room to maneuver and steal governments. How many Republicans has Jeffries asked if they would vote with the Democrats to support a Republican like Cheney or Kinzinger? I don't know but if he hasn't asked a 200 of them he's not doing the job the American people elected him to do.
“Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition, to wit: There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect.”— Frank Wilhoit
Conservatives conserve; they don’t destroy. There is NOTHING CONSERVATIVE (except their salaries and perks) about the leadership in the current Republican “Party.”
Do you think any of the Republican Congresscritters will donate their paychecks during the time there is no Speaker?
No, I don’t.
The left destroys everything it touches
Here is their list:
1) The family
2) The Border
3) Race Relations
4) Modern Culture
5) Child Innocence
6) Gender
7) Education
The left destroys everything it touches. It raison-de-etre is the "de-construction"
of America with some post modern Marxist paradise.
My proof?
Immigrants aren't streaming to America for leftist values they are coming for conservative values.
- Right to individual freedom
- Freedom of religion
- Right to defend yourself
- low taxes
- low government regulation
- right educate your children the way you choose
- family values
No one is coming to America thinking I'd love the government to tax me at 80%, tell me how to raise my children, tell how to run my business, break my family apart, et cetera.
The MSM is absolutely complicit in ignoring the danger posed by a Jordan speakership, and in not trumpeting the conspicuously craven behavior of whatever Republican opposition to Jordan remains in the House. These people, the so called remaining principled House Republicans, are showing themselves to be absolutely cowardly and self serving by buckling under the threat of being "primaried", and rags like the NYT are assisting by ignoring the obvious. This news should have been headlined, yet it gets fourth rate coverage! It almost tempts one to entertain yet another conspiracy theory regarding our media. Does it all come down to the corrupting influence of money?
It’s not a leap to consider that Rs who oppose Jordan are getting very explicit death threats to themselves and family.
They probably are, Jane, but then again, so have been the judiciary, yet somehow manage to muster the courage to do their jobs. There's only one way to deal with the element that relies on intimidation, and that's to call them on it and nail them to the wall when they're caught at it.
Yes, but their death threats are coming from their own voters, which shows not only their cowardice in losing an election but their losing to the mob.
Bravo LeMoine. Or Brava? Not sure of your gender 😊
I'm a dude, Jennifer. The name translates to "the monk". Parental abuse ;-)
And why are they not reporting them? One might think they might be using the DOJ to put a stop to it.
Is it general cowardice? If yes, a group of brave ones, if such exist, could get together and publish a piece in WAPO, put their names on it, and ask for police protection for all. Or are they terrified of the Capitol police because of their traitorous behavior?
Interesting thought.
The Trumplican's have a warped sense of freedom as they are not free to oppose their rulers - a perfect example of Orwelian Doublespeak.
it’s naive to believe this is not happening.
I think all this death threat stuff is more media BS than anything else. I've been writing weekly letters to the local paper condemning Trump and everything and almost everyone associated with him in our very red VA district and getting published almost every time. I've never had a negative response from any citizen but many positive ones.
Michael, before you dismiss the death threats, read this reporting of an annual number of 500 threats per year—it echoes reports from other sources. I’m glad that you’re able to publish in your local paper without repercussions—keep it up.
https://rollcall.com/2023/09/21/capitol-police-agents-strained-to-probe-increasing-threats-against-lawmakers/
With all the guns available and the craziness following (or during) Covid, fear is multiplied. The MSM has to balance reporting threats so as not to amplify them. Has anyone watched a Trump rally, or even part of one? Does any of you live with someone who believes the doctored films of the president or former speaker Pelosi that makes them look drunk or stupid? The amount of propaganda on the web is staggering and terrifying. Good thing Goebbels didn’t have the web. If he had perhaps none of US would be here now! (Exaggeration, but he is the father of what we get with Trump.
I believe you.....that is why I dont watch such propaganda.
Neither do I, but I happen to know an Eastern Polish immigrant who does. It’s very sad. Too much childhood exposure to Communist propaganda in that very conservative part of Poland that has been part of Russia more than once.
NO its a leap of faith. Do you have any proof? Of course not. Because its an incredibly irresponsible comment to make.
https://abcnews.go.com/amp/Politics/republicans-voted-jordan-speaker-threatened-harassed/story?id=104140363
https://apnews.com/article/house-speaker-jim-jordan-threats-54eeecef0188edfcb9903e45019f190f
Yes,I agree.The media is complicit in all of this.They normalized ( and continue to normalize)Trump and now they are doing it with Jordan.Just chatting about him as if he is another legislator vying for a position when he is in fact a traitor and participated in Trump’s violent coup.We are marching, maybe goose stepping, toward fascism and it is all too sickening.
Speaking of the MSM, one highlight: Professor Heather Cox Richardson's "Democracy Awakening" was listed as #4 on the NY Times Nonfiction Best Seller list on Sunday. Congratulations to HCR and thank you to all LFAA subscribers for pre-ordering this vital book.
Also number 4 Jen the LA Times!
ALL ! of Our LORDS BLESSINGS !! , to Heather ! , and Buddy !!
There's something repulsive and abnormal about that weak-eyed man who persists in wearing a shirt but no suit coat. Are we supposed to admire his shoulders and think he's just come from the gym? He's actually very short, I noticed in a picture of him beside someone else.
I believe we should try not to judge on appearances, but on words and actions. The lack of a suitcoat or height shouldn't matter -- his anti-democratic and anti-government stances do.
" WHAT Comes, From The abundance, Of THE HEART, PROCEEDETH, To THE TONGUE ! ( paraphrase ) "
So was Napoleon…
🤣
Worry about his admiration for thugs like Trump and disdain for anyone he can push around. To me he would have been happy to be in charge of any of the Nazi death camps or Stalin's gulags. That's what we should be concerned about.
He uses his coat-less look to call attention to himself. Or just being contrary.
Yes. I noticed.
VERY EMPTY EYES! = No SOUL ,,,,,,,
In my comments I pointed this out. Only one group keeps advocating for more POTUS power - conservatives. Can you imagine if the democrats just took the Project 2025 proposal and decided to implement it?
Agree with most, but we the MSM... well there is no single "MSM"- they are news rooms and editors sitting around a desk assembling the list of stories for the 5pm newscast or the evening edition. And most of the MSM is like WNBC in NYC where most of the stories are breezy local news, some little more than press releases.
It helps to know the sources to trust for important and accurate information. RSN gathers some of the best as it has for years. And these days Timothy Snyder (historian of Russia and Eastern Europe) appears on MSNBC and publishes regularly. If you’re learning law (Trump made me do it!🤣), don’t miss Lawrence Tribe, Dean of Constitutional Law (ret.) at Harvard. The good I have from this debacle is learning more American history, being grateful for the teacher who told her students that she would come back to haunt us if we didn’t vote in every election we would be entitled to vote in, and the skill to recognize good sources.
AT This 'SEASON' , of Our TIME, THE " MAMMONITES !" , are 'SET' , in Their PLACE , ....... BY , " I AM ! " Read: DANIEL , Chapter 4, Verse 17 AMEN !
I wonder if Jordan is offering to not shutdown the government, pass a bill authorizing money for both Israel and Ukraine, and admit Biden won the 2020 election. But then promises, promises...... unless someone can hold him to them.
Complicit? Is this joke?
This is democracy. The voters will decide what they want. If they decide they don't like the governing class they will render their verdict.
BTW they don't need to NY TIMES to decide.
Like the MAGA crowd doesn't need Fox News Corp to dictate what they think? I'd love to live in your world, James. Unfortunately it's a fantasy. Welcome to The real world, in which opinions in the aggregate are very much formed by the media.
yes
Steven Colbert had the proper reaction to making the announcement in his monologue that Jim Jordan might become speaker: he gagged as if he had thrown up in his throat. My sentiments, exactly.
I just read the https://punchbowl.news/
"Jordan is in trouble" is today's headline. I don't think he has the votes. As many as a dozen GOP Reps say they will vote no. He can't afford five.
Fingers and toes crossed.
As of last night, he was as close as McCarthy was just before the damn boke to secure his election. When it comes to party, the GOP will cave, to hell with the country.
That's the pattern. But maybe, just maybe, a half dozen of these GOP doubters will put country over career. There is a life after politics - it's usually lucrative.
Drinking my optimistic coffee today. But I could be wrong. It happens all the time.
Like the optimistic part, but I am not counting on it. The GOP has continually been moving this direction, 45 just accelerated what the Tea Party started. Wonder if the Kochs have any regrets.
Hell no! They’ve been working on this their whole lives. Like Trump, learned at father’s knee. Any American who worked for both Stalin and Hitler in the 1930’s is suspect and Kochs’ father is proven guilty by his sons.
Now if those dozen Republicans would be joined by 200+ Democrats in voting for someone (of EITHER party or even of NO party) who respects the rule of law and the Constitution we would be getting somewhere.
I’m with you 100 percent! When American democracy dies (and I think there’s an even chance that it will), written on its tombstone will be “The news media thought it was a horse race”. Only Rachel Maddow is sounding the alarm so far as best I can tell. Last night she said “Would a Speaker Jordan allow the House to certify the results of the 2024 election if Biden beats Trump?” I don’t think he would. We are in great danger, and the mainstream press is STILL treating 2024 likes it’s “Democrats v Republicans” instead of “democracy v authoritarianism”. God help us all.
AND !! , Our LORD ! , HAVE MERCY !, on Us, ALL !..... . AND !, People, of FAITH ! ,,,,,,,,, STAND !! ( The ONLY VOTE !, that WILL Count, in 2024, is: 'GODS WILL !! , WILL, Be DONE !' )
Add this new book from Rachel Maddow:
Prequel: An American Fight Against Fascism Hardcover
"Rachel Maddow traces the fight to preserve American democracy back to World War II, when a handful of committed public servants and brave private citizens thwarted far-right plotters trying to steer our nation toward an alliance with the Nazis."
“History Doesn't Repeat Itself, but It Often Rhymes” – Mark Twain.
I for one am tired of the rhymes.
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/prequel-rachel-maddow/1143843502
https://www.amazon.com/Prequel-American-Fight-Against-Fascism/dp/0593444515
So, too, does Heather Cox Richardson’s brilliant new book, Democracy Awakening, cite the 1930s as a treacherous era for our nation. Dr. Richardson also refers to the roiling 1850s as another time the United States slammed into and survived massive threat.
Couldn’t resist an opportunity to promote the work of this invaluable History Cartographer From Maine, Mr. Stayton.
Me too. Tom Nichols wrote 2 books, The Death of Expertise and Our Own Worst Enemy . The information is there, but the right wing has worked to destroy any belief in expertise so when warning are provided, they are discarded as untrue.
Fascist aspirations was hardly American. It was international.
In an article from last week's New Yorker about the ultra conservative Christian rights group Alliance Defending Freedom and the successful years-in-the-making role it played in overturning Roe and its new battle against the LGBTQ+ and trans communities, one understands in a chilling way how the Republican party has turned its back on playing by the rules. ADF has so infiltrated the American legal system that several members of SCOTUS take their cues from the organization in rulings. Last fall, ADF teamed up with two prominent congressmen, Jordan and Scalise, to host a reception for newly elected lawmakers. Reading those words and seeing that House Republicans selected the same two people to replace former House speaker McCarthy is more than a coincidence. The media seem to be covering these issues but need to connect all of the dots for its readers.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/10/09/alliance-defending-freedoms-legal-crusade
A few months ago my reading got clogged and I set aside Tim Snyders “Road to Unfreedom.”
Sunday I resumed my study of it and yesterday encountered my and many highlighted about the theories of Ivan Ilyich:
“Like all immorality, eternity politics begins by making an exception for itself. All else in creation might be evil, but I and my group are good, because I am myself and my group is mine.”
Which describes Jordan and the Republicans.
They seek not just the control of the House but seizure of the nation.
It all is similar to the tactics Adolf Hitler and Goerring stumbled into to grasp Dictatorship.
It’s clearly the creation of unfreedom.
And very sad to say the I/We are Right and all the others are Very Wrong/Evil has been around a long time. It's embedded in Christianity if you just trouble to read the scriptures.... Jews promoted this.... Islam carried on faithfully. Not just these religions. How many "women" have complained about their male spouses always being right? etc not that the problem isn't found all over.
There is still the Constitution, Article 6. Section 1 and Amendment 14, Section 4. All we need is some Congress persons with the courage and sense to invoke the Constitution. After all what can we lose?
Article I, section 5 of the United States Constitution provides that "Each House [of Congress] may determine the Rules of its proceedings, punish its members for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds, expel a member."
Perhaps in 2025 if Democrats win overwhelming. Although I am not sure what the potentially violent consequences would be. Right now it would take 289 to expel Santos or Jordan or Boebert or Taylor Greene.
I don't like that Rule, but I do appreciate your reply Georgia. I gather it requires 2/3 vote. I disagree with those 2/3 and 3/4 votes needed as this inevitably leads to "tyranny of the minority" even when most of the Country favors the subject on which the Congress is voting. In the late 18th/early 19th centuries it undoubtedly made sense since so very few were enfranchised - in the beginning only landed white men could either vote or hold office. Even when the vote "expanded" all they left off was the 'landed'. Today when every citizen has the right to vote being controlled by the minority feels stifling.
I agree but amending the Constitution, as every woman in America certainly appreciates, is not an easy thing, unfortunately.
UPDATED
On second thought if electing a Speaker required a two thirds majority we wouldn't be in the situation we are in now.
Cuts both ways. So I guess I have to say I agree in some cases
Amending the Constitution for anything is impossible today. I really like my Governor, Gavin Newsom, but he has been trying to collect money to amend the second amendment to put more teeth in it. I refuse to back him on this useless project. We can't even pass ERA, which is pretty innocuous, how on earth could we pass a sane and sensible gun amendment. Besides, the Second Amendment in its entirety does give the right to control. I really do not understand why the legislators don't read the Constitution and pass legislation accordingly instead of writing the legislation to appease their donors.
Good point, Fay. Could it be that most of them can't understand the archaic language?
Do you know why the Senate is not expelling Menendez?
The issue is simple; there is no amount of logic or history or shaming or any other normal or legal form of opposition that will change the minds of the MAGA true believers whose minds are made up regardless of fact. The only answer is to get enough of those who understand what American was and is meant to be to the voting booths in 2024 to both stymie Trump and toss his myrmidons out of the House and the Senate.
If Jordan becomes speaker does anyone honestly believe that congress will certify presidential votes in 2024 if DJT loses? What is happening in congress is the continuation of the coup that was started on 1/6.
I agree James although… the popular vote doesn’t count. If it were not for the electoral college and gerrymandering I would feel more optimistic. That doesn’t mean I won’t vote from a passionate place on my soul!
The popular vote will count if there are enough of them.
In my soul, not on
Love the fact that myrmex means "ant" in Gk. Gives me a way to de-size Trump's followers, including Jordan.
"Ants" in Dutch are "mieren". I wonder how that connection came about?
They understood the human condition really well.
Thank you, James, you taught me a new word. I thought perhaps you intended to write "minions", amd had to look up 'myrmidons'.
Thank you. Here are the separated links which have run together in your comment.
https://www.axios.com/2023/10/16/democrats-jim-jordan-speakers-campaign-ads
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/16/us/politics/jordan-speakership-holdouts.html
Thank you.
HCR hypocritically touts the fake "rules-based international order," ignoring our illegal invasion of Iraq, our abuse of a U.N. resolution to go after regime change in Libya (turning that country into a chaotic "failed state"), and our ongoing illegal presence in eastern Syria, stealing their oil.
The hypocritical HCR also ignores Israel's ongoing flouting of United Nations resolutions regarding the occupied West Bank.
John, how about not tagging in on a post with a comment that is irrelevant to this particular thread of discussion and start your own new thread? Happy to see what you have to say that is relevant. But starting a stub here that will attract people who will heartily disagree with you will disrupt the flow of productive discussion.
I think John has a point. His comment has relevance to this thread, as discussion of the RBIOR became a significant component of it, following the initial foray into border separation of families. Too often, imo, the ‘productive discussion’ here turns into groupthink.
To Heather's overall thread, absolutely. To this sub-thread that I started on the Speaker election not at all.
One of the things that I wish we were able to do on Substack is collapse sub-threads or stubs so that we can see the structure and flow of commentary on the topics we are interested in, especially when responding to long detailed posts like LFAA which cover many issues and weave them together. I think it would also give a more equitable hearing to voices of people who post later in the day so you could find them more easily.
As Beau says "Just a thought."
Agreed. Drives me nuts sometimes trying to find a comment that I scrolled through on the first pass and then later wanted to reply to, only to have it be ‘lost’ in the landslide.
One of the message boards I occasionally visit just posts the first 6-7 words of a comment/reply. Much easier to get a thread/stub picture, and zero in on points of interest, than in this format.
When I was teaching and I would have my kids do group lab reports on collaborative projects part of the grade was on the structure of the online discussion and how well they organized it. It also gave me a good idea of who was participating and how well they understood the material and how they could teach and constructively critique each other. It taught a great deal about critical thinking and logic and building supporting arguments and defending points of view. That seems to have mostly disappeared in today's political discourse. Wish it would grow back. Substack has the potential to make that happen with a few tweaks.
One thing on someone commenting on your post is to click on your message and you'll see all replies. Another if use your browser search for your own name or key phrase. Not perfect, but helps.
I wish that we could thumbs down and/or block comments from certain people.
You mean silo censor? Like Facebook?
> One of the things that I wish we were able to do on Substack is collapse sub-threads or stubs so that we can see the structure and flow of commentary on the topics we are interested in
In the web view you can. Click on the bar to the left of a post and it'll collapse to that level. It's not perfect, but better than nothing.
The Android app (and probably iOS app) lack that feature. I read on my phone, but only in the browser for this reason.
Wow! Thank you so much !!!! I've been clicking on the picture dots which just takes me to people's bio bits.
Georgia, I agree completely.
Why are you here?
All the things you mention here, she has addressed before. So who is the hypocrite now?
Laughing at the butt hurt Bernie boy.
Hahahahahaha.
For Republicans:
It doesn't matter that Jordan has not passed a single bill in 16 years.
It doesn't matter that his OSU scandal has been treated as old news.
It doesn't matter that he helped orchestrate J6
It does matter he's one of Trump's golden boys.
What does matter to Republicans that voting for him is a win-win situation.
If you're in a safe red district voting for Jordan will get you re-elected.
If you're in a district Biden won, voting for Jordan may cost you your set but it will get you a cushy lobbyist job that pays even more and has better perks.
What matters for the rest of us is Jordan as Speaker put him in the same hot seat as McCarthy. He can play his government shutdown games but eventually the government has to be funded, this is his very inconvenient truth. The only way out is to strike a deal with Democrats who are rock solidly unified.
There's no other way out. Democracy will survive but it will be messy and nerve-racking.
I really wish I could agree. But with the majority and as Speaker all he needs to do is pass funding bills that are the absolute minimum to keep parts of the government open. Bipartisan and Democratic bills will never get out of committee and discharge petitions will never get enough votes. He just needs to have his caucus fall in line and not lose more than 4. He will sell it to the base and the media. as fiscal responsibility The vulnerable Republicans will vote for what ever he proposes because they they too realize they can't vote against funding the government at any level. He will not need a single Democratic vote and he will never cross the aisle to ask for one. Then he will move to expunge Trump's impeachments.
No, he'll eventually cave to big finance, big defense and big blowback. If what you say is a viable strategy it would already have been used in past shutdown situations.
You've committed yourself to accepting minority rule, that's buying into the media group think.
I'm glad Heather thinks outside that box and so glad to see the country of Poland putting into action what it takes to defeat it. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/10/poland-parliamentary-election-autocracy-tusk/675656/
Not sure which minority you are talking about.
Jordan is already programmed to do what big business wants because that is where all of the dark money funding the Republicans comes from--lower corporate taxes and less regulation and lower taxes on the 1% and anti-labor measures. He is already programmed to give big defense what it wants, massive funding for Israel, and probably Ukraine because it is the one bone he will throw to the factions in the party that want that, but he personally doesn't want that and neither does Trump. He won't be caving to anything, he will be implementing. He'll do things like write a bill that makes big cuts in funding for the IRS and FDA, and State Department programs that provide humanitarian aid and social safety net for programs. The spending bills will go to conference to reconcile with Senate versions but Jordan won't give an inch. It will be lowest common denominator and Biden won't be able to veto it because he will get the blowback for shutting out the lights.
Tusk and company will have to undo 8 years of authoritarian activity. They have only taken a very important first step in defeating their demons.
If he wins the speakership I am not sure that there will be blowback until the Republicans lose in the coming election. He is a "legislative terrorist" and destroyer, quoting from Boehner whom Jordan gutted as speaker and is one who should know. And once Jordan has all the power of Speaker there is no way the man won't use it unless, of course, he is vacated and the whole process starts over. But I don't think any Republican in the House would go through that again because it would dig them into a deeper hole for re-election.
The Republican Party is a minority party in Congress and the country as a whole. Where they are in the majority that state or city is a shit show on a good day. If he shuts down the government for so long that it starts hurting his corporate overlord's bottom line, he will get in line and he will need Democrats to do it and what was good for Kevin will be good for Jim.
This thread is turning into a doom-scroll. You want to be a nattering nabob of negativity it's your free speech right. For me I'm dropping the mic and checking out of this infinite loop to the bottom. It's making me want to slip into a hot tub with a straight razor (not literally).
Have a good day, good night.
Bingo.
There were 50 or so “Never Jordans” on Friday.
“Never” is a completely fungible (!) word in the Republican vocabulary since Trump. Here’s what it can mean:
1.
Never. “I will ‘never’ give up my right to change my mind without embarrassment.
2.
Rarely. “I will ‘never’ do anything that might, if discovered, lead to a painful court case against me.
3.
Often. I will never support anything unless it might offend my dear friends in the House.
4.
Always. I will never put my personal interest ahead of the public good.
Choose your ‘never’ folks for today’s vote for a legislative terrorist. These guys are going to choose Jordan and then claim they had it worked out all along. More fools we.
Heather, thank you for outing the bullies both here and abroad. It’s a shame that so many Congress Critters in swing districts are willing to sell our country down the river for a few months of being employed. We need to watch which vulnerable representatives (from blue districts) vote for Jordan and do our best to see that their cowardice costs them their seats.
Wish we had time
Yes,Jeri,I agree with you.We are waiting to vote all of these cowards out in 2024 but if things continue to move as they are, we may never get that election.
This is my fear as well. 2024 could very well be too late. The damage that could be done with Jordan as Speaker may be too much to overcome. As sitting President, if the government shuts down and funding is stopped for crucial programs, the fallout to our economy will hit Americans’ pocketbooks hard and President Biden will be blamed. Also, as Speaker, Jordan will become 1 of the gang of 8. He will have the security clearances to access national security secrets and daily briefings that Trump hasn’t had access to since leaving office. Being beholden to Trump, whom I have no doubt he would share information with, Jordan would be a national security threat. Especially at a time when the situation in the Middle East has the real potential to draw other countries into the Israel-Hamas conflict, and with the ongoing war in Ukraine.
We both agree on this. What can the American people who are paying attention to all of this do? We cannot sit by and watch all of this unfold without taking action. I made a few calls yesterday but it is going to take more than calling to stop this nightmare from happening.
A Jordan speakership dooms Ukraine; and thoroughly threatens our participation in NATO as he'll try to cut off the funds. It's a massive win for Putin.
I think it is important to give Biden credit here. he and his administration are probably figuring out how to govern with whoever is the House Speaker....they did with McCarthy.
Tx and others have been working hard to make sure that they win, no matter what voters want. It’s real, not a threat
I live in Ohio where our local news continues to normalize Gym. There is no sense of urgency here where there should be panic.
I noticed the headline in this morning's Columbus Dispatch, which called him a "brawler" in Congress. As if having a "brawler" in Congress is like having an "enforcer" on a hockey team. Sheesh. Talk about normalizing.
And the Dispatch has been critical of Jordan before. I don't understand why the media doesn't get that this stuff is far from normal.
We should all be in panic mode. The brawler is as bad as chump. Both bullies
Yes,I agree with you once again.Having Jordan as Speaker will be like having Trump as Speaker by-proxy.
What kind of people have been elected who are so spineless/cowardly? They are ok with JJJJ as House Speaker. Wow!!!
JJJJ = Jacket-less Jackass Jim Jordan. To know anything about him is to loath him, he is as anti-American as any adversary.
The news is full of them—it remains to be seen if they continue to be as spineless when he refuses to bring a bill funding aid to Ukraine to the floor.
Ya gotta luv those Family Values people... as long as you're in the right family, that is.
Separating children from their parents brings to mind what, to me, was probably the most cruel, the ugliest, practice of slave owners in America. Yet Americans in the 21st century endorse this horrible policy, call themselves patriots. and wear little American flag lapel pins. And loudly extol "Family Values!"
Hypocricy is too kind a word.
It's treating those children like dogs. Expendable. I'm very pleased there will be things done to make up for it....but, the damage is forever.
Not just the children. A mother's heartbreak from having her child taken from her to who-knows-where for who-knows-how-long, maybe forever, is impossible to measure.
Absolutely! It's a parent's worst nightmare. I was going to include the Mothers but I think some were snatched away from fathers, older brothers....
Heather, I feel some hope that the children who were so mercilessly torn from the arms of their families, will soon have some resolution. Their lives and those of their parents have been damaged forever, but reuniting them is a path to healing. Thank you for this wonderful letter, packed with information and sanity. Lucian Truscott IV has a terrific article about the Gaza invasion, not yet launched, but keeping us all in tension. When will humans ever stop killing each other? Thank you, dear Heather, for keeping us sane amidst complete insanity!
The scale and severity of damage to the families torn apart for political reasons is a crime against humanity, and must be recognized for what it is in a very public way.
We wonder how, amidst the founders passionate philosophies of liberation, could slavery be tolerated, much less defended. Slavery was regarded as "normal", and many horrors of other sorts have persisted when cloaked in that excuse for passivity. 'Normal" is only what we grow accustomed to, not necessarily what is right.
"A shrewd victor will, if possible, always present his demands to the vanquished in installments." -Mein Kampf
All should read where the republicans get their ideas
J L - Yes, crimes against humanity. It's time to hold those responsible: Trump, Sessions, and especially that weasel Stephen MIller.
Exactly, you named the 3 that are principally responsible for the separation of those children from their families, if there is a Hell, and I personally believe that there is such a place, those 3 already have reservations. What they did was despicable, our language lacks words that adequately describe the wrong they knowingly committed against the most innocent among us. If you believe in the sublime balance of our universe there will be Hell to pay.
Sorry, JL, but how about Angola and the US slave labor gulag, blessed by the Constitution and used with a will by police and judges turned purveyors of black slaves?
Compare with China's Uyghur gulag...
Thrilled about the election in Poland, devastated about the election in Aotearoa New Zealand, horrified to the core by the possibility that "political terrorist" (so apt) Gym Jordan might actually get the Speakership.
Look to Maduro's Venezuela, where opposition parties aren't even allowed to have their candidates on the same ballot as the ruling party and are barred from using the official polling stations.
https://www.npr.org/2023/10/16/1206256546/the-maduro-regime-is-disrupting-the-oppositions-efforts-before-venezuelas-electi
I wonder if we'll see similar moves by the MAGAns in the name of "election integrity," or some such transparent nonsense.
That's transparently what tffg wants.
I like “tffg” even if it’s a typo. Much better than the mild “tfg”
Not a typo! You'll find others here adding the heartfelt extra "f."
Count on it. We’ll be the Nazis with the bomb.
I just read the https://punchbowl.news/
"Jordan is in trouble" is today's headline. I don't think he has the votes. As many as a dozen GOP Reps say they will vote no. He can't afford five.
Thanks, Bill.Already called my Freedom Caucus Rep (an exercise in futility) so will be making calls this morn.
⬇️
“ Here’s a non-comprehensive list of Republicans who are either opposed to Jordan, will vote for someone else or haven’t made their position clear. CNN’s Haley Talbot has a useful list as well.
The nos: Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (Fla.) won’t vote for Jordan. MDB, as he’s referred to, is close to Scalise. MDB was put off by how Jordan treated the Louisiana Republican.
Rep. Ken Buck (Colo.) has been turned off by Jordan’s questioning of President Joe Biden’s 2020 victory. Buck told Jordan that he was a no during a one-on-one meeting Monday night, the Colorado Republican said on CNN. Rep. John Rutherford (Fla.) said he’s casting his vote for McCarthy.
Rep. Don Bacon (Neb.) said he’ll vote for McCarthy on the first ballot. Bacon also left open the possibility that he could vote for someone else on a later ballot. Rep. Victoria Spartz (Ind.) said she doesn’t like the process and signaled she’d vote against Jordan. Spartz, however, changes her positions frequently.
Rep. Mike Lawler (N.Y.) said he’ll vote for McCarthy. But Lawler also said he won’t be the deciding vote against Jordan. Rep. Carlos Gimenez (Fla.) is still backing McCarthy.
Rep. Mike Kelly (Pa.) is voting for Scalise. Kelly introduced a resolution that would elect Speaker Pro Tem Patrick McHenry through Nov. 17, when government funding runs out.
Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (Iowa) said she’s undecided but privately suggested she’s a no. In the closed party meeting Monday night, MMM went down a list of members who criticized her and other Republicans and complained about the pressure tactics employed by Jordan’s allies. Miller-Meeks said Jordan did nothing to stop the attacks. Jordan reminded Miller-Meeks that he’d visited her district twice.
The undecideds or undeclared: Rep. David Joyce (Ohio) has been cool to Jordan’s candidacy, although it will be very hard to vote against an Ohioan for speaker. Reps. Steve Womack (Ark.), Blake Moore (Utah), Jen Kiggans (Va.), Lori Chavez-DeRemer (Ore.), Andrew Garbarino (N.Y.) and Juan Ciscomani (Ariz.) have yet to say how they’ll vote.
Rep. Jake Ellzey (Texas) declined to comment Monday night on how he’ll vote. Ellzey, a former Navy fighter pilot, strongly opposes government shutdowns. Jordan voted against the CR to avoid an Oct. 1 shutdown.
Reps. Nick LaLota and Anthony D’Esposito of New York are still undecided.”
he is promising whatever they want to secure their vote. The man has no spine until he has power and then he will tell them bug off. He is a little man with a Napoleon complex.
Thanks for posting this information.
Fingers crossed ...
This is another incredible piece outlining the importance and hope for saving Democracy, as well as the incredible loss of integrity, reason and sanity of the Republican Party. Thank you.
Heather’s focus on the ‘rule of law’ brings to mind the Sherlock Holmes mystery in which the failure of a dog to bark was a crucial clue.
For much of the past 15 years Netanyahu has postured as the ‘rule of law’ in Israel. His ruthless politics was based on
1) his assuring Jewish Israelis squeaky tight military protection;
2)supporting the right wing and, especially, the Ultra Orthodox, in shaping a less-and-less democratic Israel; and
3) treating Israeli Arabs and, especially, Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, with disdain and draconian rule.
The savage attack by Hamas terrorists resulted in the slaughter of many hundred Israeli citizens, the taking of almost 200 hostages, and an immediate Israel military and intelligence debacle for which Netanyahu should be held personally responsible.
Immediately Netanyahu responded by declaring war on Gaza. Under the guise of destroying Hamas, he cut off power, food, snd water to 2,000,000 Gaza Palestinians and commenced air attacks. He also mobilized 360,000 military reservists and gave every indication that a large Israeli Defense Force was on the cusp of mounting a powerful invasion. He also told Palestinians to flee to southern Gaza.
So far this invasion has not occurred. There has been wide spread concern about the humanitarian impacts of such an invasion, how this could affect the hostages, and what might be the outcome after weeks of tunnel-by-tunnel fighting.
What I find notable is how Netanyahu has seemed quiet in recent days. A temporary ‘war cabinet’ has been formed, with scant details available to the public. US SecState Blinken has twice visited Israel.
Netanyahu, who loathes President Biden, has had long conversations with the American president, who, quite remarkably, is scheduled to visit Israel this Wednesday.
It’s unclear who is in charge. The fact that Netanyahu has not been barking in recent days suggests to me that, below the surface, there have been some systematic changes in Israel’s power and policy structure.
Personally, as international diplomacy is swirling, I shall watch keenly what Netanyahu does (and doesn’t do).
Bibi and chump were like Siamese twins. I imagine they still are underneath all the blather. To say that this mess is a surprise is like saying that the chump cult was a shock to us. Both have been in the works for more years than the MSM let on. Where is our 4th estate?
Good question Jeri
Dick Could the 4th estate be our Fifth Column?
Thank you for the insight Keith. Regarding Netanyahu, NPR ran an interview with a senior former Israeli general who laid the ENTIRE Hamas attack at Netanyahu's feet. Robert Reich also, in a different way, laid the attack at Netanyahu's feet (through incompetent government the security apparatus flagged).
So, perhaps your analysis presages Netanyahu's exit? Definitely, Yahoo is not a peacemaker in any way and leaving him "in charge" of Israel could result in a widespread war in the Middle East as Muslim countries conclude that the US is supporting a country that is totally ignoring the "rules based order" in its response to the Hamas attack.
Listening to that former general yesterday, I felt it possible he could find himself prosecuted for his refusal to listen to intelligence and his firing of the head of national security for bringing him news he didn’t want to hear or have made public to weaken. I do believe he is going down. Hope Trump is watching.
Sue
Oh it was sad,
oh it was sad,
it was sad when that old shit went down.
Haridim and little Bibis,
itty bitty bastards lost their lives,
it was sad when old Bibi went down.
What immediately comes to mind is Netanyahu's formation of an 'emergency unity government' with opposition leader Gantz and, along with defense minister Gallant, a war cabinet. Perhaps the dog is quiet because there is so much to do, and it must be done with the whole pack, or not get done at all.
Maybe he wants to get out of the bulls eye alone…
The head of Shin Bet has taken responsibility for Israel’s blindness to what was coming. Netanyahu has not. I doubt he will.
Thanks, Keith. I always appreciate your knowledge,insight and experience.
A classic from the fascist playbook: don’t like the rules? Ignore them, and invent rules of your own.
I don’t know if the US can follow Poland’s example. The Polish experienced first-hand what it’s like when a fascist regime invades your country; Americans haven’t. Plus, in my opinion, in the US, money rules - and it doesn’t like to BE ruled…
This sobering article from Politico points to how hard it will be to remove the malign influences of the authoritarian Law and Justice party in Poland, and how following the rules for forming a new government can be subverted by still in place Andrzej Duda, who is a former member of Law and Justice.
Substitute in "the United States" for "Poland "in the article in terms of the institutions that already have been packed with far right loyalists and you have a frightening look at what the not too distant future here could be.
https://www.politico.eu/article/5-takeaways-poland-election-donald-tusk-jaroslaw-kaczynski/
They have Trojan Horses galore, as do we
Yep. The fascists and the billionaires played their games well...
And I see no let up
It's a hard fight, against Big Money...
The rich get richer and the poor get poorer. My momma's favorite saying.
yes the circumstances are different enough that we cannot follow, but we can learn.
“I just never saw a guy who spent more time tearing things apart—never building anything, never putting anything together.” ___ John Boehner
From beginning to end, in today's Letter HCR portrays how 'leaders' in our country and beyond have separated children from their families and, including from acts by Putin to Hamas, have been working to tear us apart. The Letter begins about how we may be brought together... most of all by being together. The Letter ends with, 'Rebuilding democracy will be neither fast nor easy...' We've learned how hard it is.
We must not give up because together we will not be torn apart, and we can endure.
As long as we allow Fox News to promulgate full blown, highly developed, lies all day long every day and then well into the evening with the "opinion" talking heads, Democracy will continue to flag here.
My wife had dinner with a "friend" the other night that was so completely unaware of Biden's accomplishments that my wife was shocked. Yep, this person answered that she only watches Fox News after my wife outlined some of Biden's accomplishments.
But, it won't change the woman. She will remain blindly ignorant led their by Fox News.
Those people who are NOT blessed with some form of critical thinking capability (well more than half of America) are very attracted to Fox News because of the confidence and certainty with which those nuts present themselves.
Just like the incompetent in the work place who fronts confidence and gets promoted even though incompetent, humans are drawn to certainty and confidence, (well, the dumb ones, and, those are the majority).
Anyway, if we allow Fox News to persist, the probability that American Democracy will fall is very high.
Freedom of speech has morphed into freedom to lie without consequences. Long ago, Fox should have been sued into oblivion.
1st and 2nd amendments no longer have a responsibility connection.
Say what you want
Buy all the guns and ammo you want with no training
Fox News isn't going anywhere fast. But it will slowly fade as it's audience dies off. Cable TV is soon to be a relic. Two and one half whole generations don't use cable TV for news. They use those big screens for entertainment.
I say all this (again) as encouragement and an offering of hope. :)
Here’s hoping Bill.
Here is an org trying to do something about fox, among other actions: https://www.mediaanddemocracyproject.org/fcc-license-renewal-challenge
Thank you
It is our difficult job to provide our voices, clear and consistent and often. What is your wife's name, Mike S? What about your wife spending more time with her friend, listening, telling stories and, perhaps, forming a bond. May you gather with a couple of friends to select tapes, stories, personal accounts and share your work with others? It is challenging to create ways to be with neighbors and colleagues, when it is easier to talk about 'them' and be in a funk about how difficult it is these days. I live how difficult it is and know how hard it is to adopt a few new and good habits.
I have some far right neighbors who choose to not discuss politics with. I wouldn't want to be a dinner guest and have tRump and Fox tapes be forced upon me.
Though we have never actually SAID we wouldn't discuss these things, it years ago was after she crossed the street to talk to me whilst I gardened, and she starting talking about the "horde" of Mexicans coming that I looked her straight in the face and reminded her that my son-in-law, grand children, and daughter-in-law were of Hispanic descent. The realization that sprung on her face--I wish I could say it was amusing, but it was not.
BTW, a few days later she apologized.
Fern, my wife does spend time with this person but it is not easy to be friends with someone who is nasty, insulting and living in Fox world. One might say it is a waste of otherwise useful time.
Mike S., I totally get where your wife is coming from. You make points when you get the chance, but most of the time it rarely moves the needle, and the most you hope for is that there may be another chance. Proselytizing is not an endearing friendship quality. Usually that rips the friendship apart or creates the wall-never-to-be-breached situation, where you are left to talk about the weather and safe family updates, but nothing of substance. And that’s only if you dearly want to keep the friend through this horrible mindf*ck-time we are living in. Bravo to your wife for chiming in when she saw a clear space to do that.
I hope she won’t be getting an invitation to Thanksgiving dinner!
Thank you for your response, Mike S. I was sorry to read '...it is a waste of otherwise useful time'. Maybe, they like one another through all their differences.
Who has time, Fern? So many don't even have time for themselves or their own families and close friends. It's the time of the Kali Yuga ...
Wishing Well,
ka
Great to see you, ka. You came out with the sun. My comment about our voices was mostly questions or ideas. Some of us have a bit a time and enjoy working with others
and trying out some ways of sharing our stories. Cheers!
Hi Fern, it really is a challenge to patiently accept and embrace the views of people who seem more attached to their blinders and habitual denial than showing enough courage and integrity to look beyond deeply instilled beliefs and fear based ignorance to acknowledge critical truths ... cognizant of the need to 'take my own inventory' and challenge my own assumptions, while I understand the choice for self preservation, I have little or no patience with people who overlook and justify severe violations because it is just too dangerous or inconvenient to confront ... so important to communicate where possible ... not always effective to change peoples' minds and hearts ... it turns out to be demanding, often frustrating work ... here in the threshing grounds of human existence where destinies are determined by choices we make and consequences that ensue ... I have to trust we all learn in time - though it may take many re-turnings of the composting soils of our lives ... peace and love through it all, my friend.
By the way, slightly off topic (but not) I would appreciate, if you (and Mike also) have time, could look at the latest post on the "Energy Matters" page - in the comment section, I have listed some links that contain complex legal language that makes no sense to me ... with your research skills, maybe you could look it over and distill the meaning and salient points therein ... maybe leave a comment sharing your observations - and share accordingly ... I think it is deeply important to address openly and not brush it aside ... I am not exactly tech savvy, and still have not figured out how to network through the Substack system (or otherwise!)
Thanks in advance ..., ka
It is morning here, ka, so, good morning! Thank you for thinking that I may be helpful in deciphering the language. I feel overloaded and don't know when I could start, perhaps, this weekend and will be in touch if, when and with something I may have understood.
May I give you a hug?
Been saying this since mid-90’s. Then watched MSM follow Rupert’s model. We are whistling in the wind. Clue: Rupert is still running things
Human brains can be just like computers - Garbage in, Garbage Out - trademark of autocrats throughout history. People like Heather are a threat to autocrats.
The behavior of trump administration to the immigrants crossing the southern border was inhumane, monstrous and a permanent blight on America. There is no justification, then, now, or ever, for ripping children from the arms of their parents, housing them in cages, and abusing both the children and their parents. Only Hitler loving nazis would approve. Trump should be tried in World Court for this unforgivable crime against humanity.
If Jordan is elected Speaker of the House, we might as well close the House down until January 3, 2025. Why waste time and money supporting those fascist destroyers so mainstream media can make more millions streaming the do-nothing ranting and raving of the MAGAs like lunatics in a now closed asylum. If there are any real Republicans left who want to convene with Democrats to elect a capable, intelligent, speaker and legislate, fine. But I, for one object to spending another cent paying those braying jackasses.
I'm glad Biden, Blinken, and Harris are touring the Middle East in an effort to tamp down the furor there. We do have to stand by our commitment to Israel, but not to Netanyahu, The World Community, UN and NATO need to haul the leaders of Hamas and Hezbolah into International Court an lock them away for a very long time. (Along with Trump and Putin) We need peace and a commitment to mitigate the Climate crisis - which threatens equally, every country o Earth. It's past time to control the out of their minds maniacs, to save the rest of us. Wars of aggression are a wasteful, unnecessary distraction from the real work that needs to be done.
Whoa - Are Biden, Harris AND Blinken all traveling to the middle east at the same time? That sounds like a horrible plan, with Jordan possibly waiting in the wings? Who is making such plans? Jordan? Trump?
I know Blinken is already there. I have not heard where Harris is or whether she is going, too. I'd like to think she would not go.
More democracy in action, where inaction is one word:
Louisiana selected a governor in a primary; a Republican, he is said to have garnered 52% of the vote. What was not said is that the turnout was 36%, of 77% who were ‘qualified’ ( registered under restrictive conditions ) to vote.
14% is the result. 14% of potential voters picked this governor. Appalling is not a strong enough word.
14% is not democratic. Calling it 52% is staggeringly depressing, for me, all day.
The wealthiest people in this country, and the world, need a functioning representative democratic republic, with an independent objective swift judiciary, more than the rest of us. Look up ‘defenestration’ Where are they?
best luck to US -- b.rad
The news softballs all this horror. The cult nuts are constant, consistent, and comfortable with Nazi tactics. Besides who is on “dancing with the stars” this week…
Brad,
First, most of the black folks in LA are AFRAID to go near a voting booth since that might bring some night time visitors to their homes. Plus, most blacks are working jobs that do not allow them time off during the day to vote. Plus, they cannot afford to lose money to vote.
Second, many white folks are very poor in LA as well BUT, they work 12 hour shifts as well with no paid time off.
By the time you add up all the people who cannot vote because they are WORKING and all the people who cannot vote because of FEAR then you have 14% of the elites left over and who do they vote for?
Yep. Nazi's.
I keep hoping Jordan will be guest of honor in a single-car fatality there in DC.
Give up on that. Why I gave up on religion. Too many arses have escaped being struck by lightening as they prove that humanity is not a universal characteristic of humans.
LOL, well said, Jeri!
My thoughts, EXACTLY.
Please don't do that.
Only kidding....kind of....I will never own any gun.
Thanks for the disclaimer. Sadly, satire died in 2016 when Trump descended that damn escalator -- now even the most absurd parodies too closely mimic reality. I think we need to call out anyone, especially on "our" side, who even seems to applaud violent solutions, for that way leads to Gaza.
Dirk, I removed the post. Thank you for your comment.
Elizabeth, I missed the post you deleted. Please bear with my long-winded stories here. Story One:There is a silly movie where our cowboy hero, Tom Selleck, hires out to a big outfit in Australia, owned by Allan Rickman, (reason enough to watch, just to see him chew up the scenery), and there is a girl, packs of ravenous dingos, wronged Australian indigenous people, fabulous scenery, and what not. Our hero is a sharp-shooter with a long rifle, but when it turns out the varmints he was hired to reduce are the “wild” Australians, our hero revolts. Our villain goes off the deep end. At some point Rickman asks Selleck if he knows how to use a handgun. “Never had much use for one,” Selleck replies. Rickman proceeds to set up a shootout between our hero and himself, and, spoiler alert, looses. As he lays dying, Rickman complains to Selleck. Our hero says, “I said I never had much use for handguns. Never said I didn’t know how to use one.” Story Two: One time my boss, female, immediate supervisor, female, and I were headed to a conference a couple hundred miles away. We all got up early, bundled up, and prepared for this long drive through cold, windy but not a real storm yet weather down from Wyoming into Colorado My boss was driving, and forty miles outside of town, as the gusts of wind were pushing the mid-sized sedan all over the road, she said,”I forgot to check the pressure in my tires before we left. I hope this is just the wind, since I don’t know how to change a tire.” My supervisor says, “Me neither, I always let my husband do it.” Always a master at ingratiating myself with my betters, I said, “Well, I know how to change a tire if you have the right equipment in the car. You both drive cars every day. Why would you choose helpless incompetence instead of learning how to do the simplest sorts of maintenance on these vehicles?” Crickets, no conversation for quite some time, no flat tire, the conference turned out to be quite entertaining.
Cranky point of stories: I hope you have taken a firearm safety course and enough firearms training so you can be less in awe of some idiot waving a gun around, who clearly doesn’t really know what he is doing, and even more clear about why you will never own one.
I have a tale of two different German experiences right now. Most of the people who I am around here in Germany would be called progressives. However, even so, I am hearing from many the idea that they increasingly feel that how many immigrants they accept reaches its limits. So the intolerance for immigrants is growing. There is a lot of concern also about Islamic terrorists, although one should be equally concerned about the White Supremacist terrorists here. At the same time there is a huge shortage of workers in every industry. I have been seeing a lot of master craftsmen with African apprentices, so there is hope that we will see more diversity in workers in the building trades, which are suffering huge shortages. A big complaint is people moving here who then do not learn intelligible German (many from Asian countries), and then the complaint is those who do not learn perfect German. However, at the same time these people are leading financially successful lives. For a native English speaker German is a level 2 difficulty, whereas Chinese and Arabic are considered a level to be on a level 5 difficulty. I don't know what their difficulty is for Germans, but tonally for the Arabic speaker it is easier to speak German than the Chinese speaker. Still, there is a lot to learn and many from both language groups successfully speak very good German.
https://effectivelanguagelearning.com/language-guide/language-difficulty/
https://www.businessinsider.de/wissenschaft/welche-sprachen-leicht-und-schwer-fuer-deutsche-muttersprachler-zu-lernen-sind-2018-2/
I wish that all of the people who are complaining, such as a friend who is a teacher, would have to go somewhere and live where they do not speak the language. Most of the people I hear complaining are monolingual anyway. None of them speak another language fluently. That is part of why they place such dependence of others speaking German. Language is a huge part of being able to integrate into a new system, particularly one as bureaucratic at the German one.
My second story is of a former American colleague and her Canadian husband who moved to Germany this year, as she is now teaching at a DOD school. Neither of them speak German, but they have rented a house off base (which is a 10 minute bike ride to the base school, and a 10 minute bike ride to the Day Care they have for their 4 children). It is because of their 4 children under the age of 6, that they moved to Germany. They looked at the cost of college in the USA, and knew from me that it is tuition free here in Germany, and they decided that even though they don't speak the language they would raise their children here, and have them go to German schools so that they could speak well enough to go to University here. While it took them 1.5 months to find a house, and now they get to register themselves here, which means they can collect child money from the government, which means 1000€ additional they are adjusting. Their oldest children ages 5 and twins aged 3, are in the child care, and they have to pay 70€ a month for each of them, but that basically covers the cost of food, which she tells me is wonderful. It is filled with locally sourced organic fruits and veggies, and lots of legumes and on one day a week they have Fish. While this might sound strange as a diet, it is accommodating a variety of diets, including Halal and vegan. Her husband has to accompany their now 10 month old to the daycare, and the child is only allowed there an hour a day, even though she has been in full time day care since she was 3 months old, because they don't normally let in children under 2. For children 3 and over the childcare is basically free, except for the food fees, which I assume are on a sliding scale. They will be sending their children to German public schools, which have their problems, but everyone goes, and hardly anyone goes to private schools, and then on to trades, and other specialized work, or to German university. So, they can put their money to saving for a house, since they will not have to save it for university. However, neither of them speaks any German. She has not had time to learn, though I have pointed her to some online courses, and he is getting more exposure in his hour a day in the child care with his youngest. I think they have to hire someone for the rest of the day, so he, who works at home can get their work done. If the people they encounter resent their not speaking German, they have not heard about it. She tells me that at a recent birthday party their sons went to, all of the parents made effort to speak English to them. Also, the DOD is taking care of them, so they have the best of both worlds right now. Of course, this can all change, and if Trump gets elected, who knows if the DOD will have schools in Germany anymore, or any bases. All I know is that people here are belt tightening, but they get a lot of government support with it. I am unsympathetic to European complaints of immigrants coming from North African and African countries, because many of their countries benefitted from colonizing and exploiting Africa, and got wealthy from their exports and enslavement of the local people they were colonizing.
https://www.blackpast.org/global-african-history/partition-africa/
After WWII many of them benefitted from the US Marshall plan, again in a country where some of our wealth has come from the backs of slaves, Native Americans, and the exploitation of others. I think more Americans need to try to live in other countries. A lot of Germans do live in other countries, like the USA, which is a fairly easy country to adapt to, because the cultures are similar, and many are multilingual. Our schools should do more to ensure that is true of American students as well. It is useful right in the USA. The situation in the Middle East is going to lead to much movement of people, probably mostly to Arabic speaking countries, who are on overload too, and to the USA, Canada, Europe and South America. Both the EU and the USA are currently a crapshoot, for how someone will be received. I think that it is a pretty good bet that there are still many, many communities in the USA which will be welcoming even though the resources are not there. Part of this is congress' inability to address immigration with a plan. Jim Jordan is one of those people who will further these problems. Right now in Chicago I am reading that people are sleeping in police stations, and in tents outside the police stations, which still led to two immigrants getting shot, and being terrified of their living circumstances. Shelters are limited, and need to be increased. Not sure why certain spaces are not being offered, but will be asking both the governor and the mayor about that. I have an immigrant parent and spouse, and many, many friends. All of them brought skills and heart to the USA. While our friends are mostly university professionals, so they have their own path to coming to the USA, and also agency to go elsewhere if things are not to their liking, those are not the only professions in the USA that have a worker demand. We, like Europe have an aging population and need to have new people coming in, in contrast to the Republican plan to just force women to breed to make up those differences, and then remove child labor protection laws. I would like to see our government inviting Palestinians and Israeli's to live in the USA and Europe, but there is no guarantee of safety in either place with the Antisemitism and Islamophobia they can face in both regions. Getting shot and killed is an American reality that we need to address too. However, currently there are not rockets being aimed at our cities, and that might just be enough of a difference to make it attractive. Sometimes moving is not giving up, but opening up to new possibilities. I hope that Jim Jordan does not become the speaker of the house and that we get bipartisan leadership there, so that we can move forward and that includes helping our allies, taking care of our own (we need military and diplomatic appointments to go forward) and developing a plan to help us address the legal immigration of people to the USA.
Thank you for this. How informative for all of us. I so admire the German people for owning their history and Vowing to make the future a better place. Immigration problems will not go away. I see immigrants as a solution rather than the evil that repubs see. The wolf at the door is home grown and as vicious as any enemy has ever been. We have created this monster and we have to kill it. Sadly, it has grown exponentially and may devour it’s creator…
Hey. With that story as a boost I might decide to move to Germany!!
My daughter is studying in Berlin. Her semester fees were 319 or 329 €. I forget, in a large part because a 10€ difference does not matter. They are different in different states, but in Niedersachsen with the highest in the country, they might be around 433€. With it she gets discounts, and a semester pass on all public transportation. She can also upgrade to a Germany ticket for the year. That gets her around the entire country on trains that are not fast, or flex, so regional, and all public in every city in Germany. We already bought her such a pass, and it is 49€ a month. I have it too, being carless here. You have to have a bank account to get it, and then it is automatically renewed, most of us have it on our phones, just in case someone checks (called controlling it) which has happened to me 3 times in the past year, and then if you want to cancel, you just have to do so by the 10th of the previous month. That being said, I have been back and forth to Berlin quite a few times, and there has regularly been a train snafu, or delay. Not so that it prevented me from going back and forth, but enough that apparently Switzerland feels that it might cancel German trains from running in Switzerland because they are messing up their precise schedule. Something they say they are working on, but is an effect of some years of disinvestment. Still, it has reduced reliance on cars, and there tend to be train cars for bikes, so that is convenient too. Local public is so convenient. For one, if you are in a wheelchair they do regular trainings to teach people how to get on and off of the buses and streetcars. They sit fairly low to the ground, so going on and off in a wheel chair is not some lengthy process, but relatively quick and smooth. People get out of the way for the areas of the buses and trams that are designed for either wheelchairs, the elderly, buggies and strollers, or bikes. So, most children are riding around in comfortable buggies, not car seats attached to buggies, and their parents get on and off with them easily, because the bus/tram bottom is about curb height. The seating in that area is flipped up and easy to get around in, but can be pushed down and sat on if no one needs it. Food here is really well subsidized, although other things are not. All students in Berlin can get university cafeteria (Mensa) cards, which you load with money, and then can eat at any Mensa in the city. Energy costs are high, so lots of people look for places with "warm rent" which includes utilities and often internet. There is a housing shortage, particularly in cities where lots of people want to live and work. Still, you would probably pay more your first year here than later on, once you know how to find a place. There are lots of videos in English of people finding apartments in Germany, and they would be helpful to watch. It is good to have options, and while right now it takes 5 years to get citizenship, which ties to the length of time that you are allowed to work here after graduating from university here, they are discussing moving it to 3. Also, I think it is a golden passport country, but not the cheapest. Still, the universities are good, and my daughter, who likes learning, likes all of her classes and instructors. She is also in class with people from all over the world, with many from Ukraine and Russia, who get along according to her. With its central location it is easy to travel to other countries in Europe as well, and with the train pass one can go to other cities for the day, or overnight as one wishes. The job market is not great, but I don't work here, but have had jobs offered to me. Being bilingual is a plus for many things. My daughter has taken the overnight train from Paris to Vienna with her eleventh grade exchange class this past summer, and that seems to be a form of getting around that is convenient, fully booked, expanding in offerings, and something to do to avoid flying around. So, there is work on carbon reduction here too.
Growing intolerance for immigrants is happening at the same time as climate change is increasing the need for people to migrate. It's a perfect storm darkening the horizon. I'm sad to hear that this intolerance is growing in progressive European countries as well as here.
"In 2017, former Republican House speaker John Boehner told journalist Tim Alberta: “Jordan was a terrorist as a legislator going back to his days in the Ohio House and Senate…. A terrorist. A legislative terrorist.” In 2021, he clarified: “I just never saw a guy who spent more time tearing things apart—never building anything, never putting anything together.”
Speaker material? Sounds more like a member of Hamas.
"But therein lies the heart of today’s Republican Party: its extremist leaders no longer believe that rules apply to them. "
"[T]oday’s Republican Party: its extremist leaders no longer believe that rules apply to them."
I don't f'ing CARE what they "believe." After Biden wins in '24, and Trump's 91 charges slog their way through the US Justice System, today's Republican Party may find those "beliefs" challenged in US courts of LAW.
Will we still have a country in Nov 2024. I can’t survive til then with no paycheck. Most can’t even imagine what it will be like, yet. Any jackass can burn down a barn (in a nanosecond), but it takes time and skill to build one. Shout out to Sam Rayburn, when Texas had a government for the people.
David Sea (such a beautiful name...), I am with you. I don’t effing CARE either what the know nothings “believe”.
To those who thought up the idea and publicly rationalized the action to rip children from the safety of their parents arms, 5.500. children you traumatized (and families), of which you were so haphazard you didn't even respect the U.S. citizenship of 290 of these children. Such cruelty! Is your depraved need for feeling superior to those with brown skin or your need to use them as pawns to get power, so insane that you take pleasure in traumatizing children? Children? Thankfully, the current administration who is not insanely cruel, worked to reunite the children and families, who you saw as your enemy and so didn't care if you kept records on them.. 85 children are still lost to their families. None of you should have the power to inflict pain and suffering on so many people again.
Could DNA not be collected for those children (everywhere), whose families are unaccounted for, and run through geneology banks to help find their families? Cannot imagine it has not already been done? Still no matches?
Julia Marie Sheehan, good thinking and I agree it probably has already been done. The families looking for their children are probably not in a dna database because it would most likely be cost prohibitive for them. I hope they will all be reunited, as soon as possible. No expense should be spared by adults to do what's right for these children.