Today, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) backed down from his obstructionism, agreeing to let the Democrats raise the debt ceiling by a simple majority rather than by the 60 votes they needed when the Republicans kept filibustering their bills.
Here's the letter I wrote to Senator manchin this afternoon after he talked about not wanting an "Entitlement" country. Dear Senator Manchin, I disagree with your characterization of non-millionaires getting "entitlements". As far as I can see all the "entitlements" are going to the millionaires and billionaires including you. The real problem is income disparity which is hollowing out the middle class with everything going to shareholders that don't need it! Trickle down economics doesn't work especially when the entitled rich class and corporations get a huge tax cut with NO incentive to share that with their employees and workers. Also, social security is NOT an entitlement. I paid the maximum into social security for decades. I expect now to get the return on my investment. The government isn't give it to me. I earned it and invested in it. It is now time my ROI! In the 1950s a family could live reasonably well on one income. Now it takes two to just get by. And, no one has considered that a quarter of that meager income is going to child care. These aren't entitlements we're talking about. This is the oligarchic kleptocracy stealing from the middle class to give to the rich. This will bring down capitalism over time because you are taking away buying power from the consumers, the middle class. So, stop the entitlements to the billionaires and end corporate welfare so that the majority of citizens will be able to earn enough for a life of well-being. This will reduce the need for government to provide a social safety net. Please get your thinking straight on all this! And, get out of the way of the Build Back Better bill and start leading on fixing income disparity. Unless, of course, like the Republicans you've been bought by your donors and choose to ignore your constituents!!! You seem a good guy who is interested in the lives of West Virginians but you need to reframe where the entitlements are going. Thank you for considering my viewpoint. It is CRITICAL!! The Senate rules need revising because all these stupid political games need to end. Catherine Learoyd
I've pointed out many times that 100 ordinary citizens may buy 100 cars, but one millionaire probably won't buy 100 cars. Same for houses, refrigerators, clothes, and college educations. I suppose American capitalists think that opening up new markets in Asia and Africa is going to make up the shortfall when American consumers are too impoverished to buy their goods, but then there are the transportation costs. And they're not exactly paying their Asian and African workers a living wage, either, are they?
Exactly! The question that has bothered me for years is, don't the upper crusties realize that by killing off the middle class and sqeezing down the purchasing power of the minimum wage (or less) workers they are killing off the very source of their vast riches?
The only decent answer I can come up with is, 1) The rich extend us high interest credit to continue to buy the cars and washing machines, and 2) the American middle and working class people have a spirit that will find a way -- two and three jobs, barter economy, whatever -- to make it and survive. This is an incredible over-simplification, but it will do until the right one finds it's way into my head!
Take a look out West in the areas around Yellowstone and the other Parks. The "middle class" (service workers) can no longer afford to live near the areas they work in. There is almost no affordable housing for them. They either drive long distances to & from work or are unable to work. Because these areas are now the "in" places for second homes or mansions of millionaires or people with high incomes that work from home (zoom). I do wonder what will happen when the "upper classes" no longer have the people necessary to take care of their "needs".
I find it abhorrent that we have legislators that believe the way to inscent behaviors by the poor is to deny or withhold benefits from them and the way to inscent rich people is to give them more. These same people who believe in this ethos proclaim their religiosity. I believe they have more in common with the money changers and faithless Pharasees Jesus decried than the teachings they claim to uphold.
They have no idea what Jesus taught and his concern for the poor and disdain for the rich and the hypocritical. My mantra to these people who are always waving the flag and spouting their Christianity is that: you are not a patriot; you are not a Christian; you are not even a decent person.
BruceC, I agree with you. Also, I believe that many of these folk who claim to be Christian want our democracy to disappear and be turned into an autocracy.
I wonder if theirs is another misinterpretation of the Parable of the Talents - where two servants invested and doubled their master’s talents. The misinterpretation being that the parable is often misunderstood to be about money, which IMHO, misses the point.
You're not telling Senator Manchin anything he doesn't already know. He is the way he is because probably as the only West Virginia elected official who isn't a Republican, he knows that if he fully behaved like a Democrat, he would not be in office. But he and Senator Sinema aren't so much of the problem as are the Republicans in Congress. Sometimes I feel like sticking a bumper sticker on my car reading "Republicans are Evil," which HCR certainly paints them as being today. I won't do that since it would result in my tires being slashed and my car being "keyed." But that doesn't make them any less evil. How about a skywriting campaign with that message? Some of their supporters are so gullible that they might look up and think it was a message from Above.
This would be a job for the Democratic National Committee to manage, which means it probably won't get done. It probably would irriatate Manchin and Sinema. Only way for it to happen would be if some millionaires got involved.
There's a company in California which does it, called "The Skywriters." Google them. I see where the anti-abortion people do this in Australia.
There are some far-right, evangelical Christians who have contended that the Pandemic and Covid is a message and punishment from God for our sins. While this would not be my own view, if true, it seems amazing that Conservatives and the anti-vax folks are not getting the message yet. I am not sure writing it in the sky could make it any more clear than continuing to publish the statistics daily in the newspapers who it is that is in hospital ICUs and dying from Covid. Maybe we need 40 days and nights of rain and a consequent flood or turning a few of them into pillars of salt to get the point across. Never mind, we have already had the floods and wildfires burning this year and that still does not seem to have gotten their attention.
They believe Jesus/God will protect them. As I have said many times the virus doesn't care what people believe or anything else human....except as a host. I had an ex-classmate post a meme that said the CA fires were because some people carried signs that said they were atheists. We had just had terrible fires here in Oregon and I did remind her that those people mostly agree with her politically and are often fundamentalists. She did back down, but her excuse (I posted it to show how absurd this is) was BS and a flat out lie.
Hmmm, God sending wildfires to object to signs? And here I thought it was those Jewish space lasers that crazy bitch from Georgia told us about. Wow, some people sure think God can be a real SOB. Must be that Old Testament God. Can't be that New Testament loving, compassionate, caring God, you know, the God letting over 250,000 children a year die from malaria in Africa. Don't get me started. I will be on a rant all day long.
It is amazing and she meant every word of it, but she wouldn't want to be educated like I am because she would have actually be a patriot, a Christian, and a decent person. And here I thought the NT God and Jesus were all about love.
Stephan, how would we prepare them? With truffles? They would probably like that but why waste a good fungus....As a vegan, I would eat the truffles and you could have all the meat....
As words matter, there’s entitlement and then there’s entitlement. How Manchin meant it was not clear to me. How Bernie Sanders explained it to Rachel Maddow was beautiful common sense and is what most of us here are endorsing as supports for productive and quality life for average people that pays off with positive feedback into the socioeconomic system.
Government programs such as Medicare and Social Security are our social safety net and are in fact entitlements by federal law. “The Social Security Retirement Program is an example of a contributory program.”
Our anger becomes righteously directed at the psychological construct of entitlement that people use to presume their special treatment. This becomes particularly problematic when factions enact their sense of entitlement through political minority power grabs (Republican Party and trumpers), financial exploitation to maximize profit (corporations), and tax evasion (Pandora Papers).
If you haven’t already listened to HCR and Joanne Freeman’s Now and Then podcast of 10/05/2021 on “Split Party Politics,” it’s a worthwhile 50 minutes to spend on the topic of past and present sense of entitlement expressed through political party power grabs.
You are so right with everything you said here Cathy, But Joe knows exactly what he is doing, and he knows he’s being disingenuous!!! It’s just that there are certain “ Fringe “ benefits being provided for him to take the positions he is taking, and he isn’t the only one taking these sorts of “ Benefits “!!!! Of course , I don’t know why I’m saying this as I’m sure you already know this…."..
Whatever comments you may choose to offer here, please… based on what Heather has written tonight and in all previous nights… if you have a local election cycle going in your area:
Get Involved. Send some texts, make some phone calls, drop some literature, give some money.
Nothing cooking in your neck of the woods? (1) lucky you! (2) VA & NJ still need help reaching potential voters — volunteer with Postcards to Voters.
We are all discouraged. We are all pooped. We are all tuning off radio/TV/Internet — in droves!! It’s not just you. BUT we can’t. Don’t be discouraged. Use your righteous, well-informed, historically contextualized anger and get back to work! We have a country to save. Donald Trump will NOT be my president ever again, dammit!
“The bombshell that AT&T bankrolled One America News (OANN) has a lot of folks screaming #BoycottATT!
A lot of people who need to know may not see it on social media. Here's a texting tool that'll help you get word out to friends & fam. Please share! Note that the tool only works when you open the link on your phone.“
Thank you Ellie for alerting everyone to AT&T. JUST Switched from AT&T to T-Mobile. While T-Mobile is owned by a German company and contributes to Republicans, including a few who voted to not certify the election, AT&T tops Republican donor lists. And, now finding out about OANN is icing on that rotten cake. My dollars will no longer be filling their coffers. Next up: dismantling my FB accounts. ❤️🤍💙
Hey, Lynell. My local Indivisible group (GA 10) uses FB as well. This is a real dilemma for me. I think I could read their posts but not participate if I got out (I do neither right now); but I don't know that for a fact.
I sure wish HCR and Indivisible would leave FB but I understand the kind of problems it would create for them during times like these, and so many people who are being reached might not be able to follow them to a new app. So I will continue to boycott FB with the exception of HCR and Indivisible, of course.
Hey, Gus. Yes, it's a dilemma. Back when I was working, though I had FB, I was too busy to engage. Then started back up again last year during pandemic and especially to follow happenings related to George Floyd murder. My "friends" are like-minded so it was easy to post and get posts. My husband keeps up with his relatives (and mine, too!) and "long-lost friends" from his home island through FB. His posts consist of pics of horses and Caribbean beaches, and recipes! He never responds to anything political.
Even if you open a Facebook page they invade your privacy. You don’t need to have an account. That’s the reason I never open Facebook no matter how tempting it is.
I thought so. Sometimes when checking my mail I accidentally hit a link to FB (I have a kind of palsy left over from a stroke in 2017, among other leftovers; and my mail is jammed with FB links). It is horrible! The pop-ups, the adds every few lines of someone's comments, the vitriol in general and from my family (they're all trmprs). The more you boycott, the more links they put in your email. Everyone tells me to get a new email account and I agree, but I would need to spend a week updating all of my absolutely legitimate contacts. A stupendous prospect....
Same. Mint Mobile also uses T-Mobile as well as I believe Republic Wireless. I left AT&T years ago when I learned they were members of ALEC. I’m right behind you on leaving Facebook.
This was a disgusting revelation. I have a US AT&T wireless number I maintain for US banking. On my next trip to the US I will port to another carrier.
T Mobile is okay, Verizon is so big now they don't really care about customer service, and BEWARE, they don't back up what the franchise stores sell, or promise you. I was with Verizon for 12 years, happy with the coverage anyway, until I had a problem....
Great article, but don't just think in terms of cell phones. They support OAN and Newsmax and without them both stations would fold. If you have Direct TV, that's another way to go after AT&T.: A Reuters review of court records shows the role AT&T played in creating and funding OAN, a network that continues to spread conspiracy theories about the 2020 election and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Oh, I am wishing I weren’t with AT&T for my cell service but they have the most reliable service where I am and we depend on one phone line for work. My contract is up next month and I am already shopping.
Lynell, see my reply to Pam Peterson nearby. In short, T Mobile yes, Verizon NO. But if you have to use Verizon for coverage. DON'T buy from a franchise store, even if you have to travel a ways. And everybody, BACK UP YOUR DATA!
Ellie, thanks for this, I had no idea. One question though, different carriers use AT&T lines. My carrier is Cricket and I believe it uses AT&T lines. Am I supporting AT&T indirectly?
Diane, I can't answer that. You may want to read up on the two, start with Wikipedia. See who their subsidiaries/partners are and what other holdings they have. Also, see who the most reliable provider is for your area. The reference section of the Wikipedia articles may be helpful for deeper dives.
Yes, I continue to do the postcards but looking for a message to holler from the rooftops about what the Infrastructure bill and the social network bill will do for Americans. The voting rights bills needs a slogan, a message that shows up in local bars and baseball crowds and in front of broken down bridges and on the faces of those who are losing faith in the right to vote. Where is the march for voting rights? Am I missing it?
You have it! (1) Lead with values. (2) Talk about the outcomes. (3) Highlight the popularity (the contents are WILDLY popular). (4) Name the villains/their tactics. (5) Call to Action/Demands.
What does that look like? Try this in your bullhorn:
No matter what we look like or where we come from, we value our freedom. The freedom to make a good living, to have great care and quality education for our kids, affordable meds for our families, and clean air and water for generations to come. That's why 70% of Americans support the Build Back Better Act. But today, a handful of politicians doing the bidding of corporations and billionaires profiting off this pandemic, want to block this bill to create good jobs, expand childcare, fund schools, make meds more affordable and protect our air and water. They hope to turn us against the courageous representatives fighting to deliver what Americans favor, just so they can keep letting their donors dodge taxes, pollute, and block our
freedom to thrive. By joining together, we can demand that the leaders we elected make the Build Back Better Act law now and make this a place where all of us have the freedom to thrive, no exceptions.
"BBB | FREEDOM TO THRIVE — Less Policy/Politics. More Meaning . We need to change the discussion around the Build Back Better Act. Current commentary is alienating even the most ardent activists. So...what do we do?
First, stop taking about pricetag, negotiation, yachts, or donors. Start talking about what people will experience when the Build Back Better Act is passed. Anand Giridharadas talks about this brilliantly in this must read article in TheInk. We need to show the world we want to create and draw a picture of how life can change under the proposed law.
We must show how life would look if we had the freedom to thrive."
Sample Messages:
"Imagine being a 10 year old kid who has never drunk a clean glass of water from the tap, and having your first sip of clear, healthy water."
"Don't you want to be able to go to the pharmacy to pick up your meds and not have to ration either the meds or your food for the month? Do you fill that eyeglass prescription you've had for 10 years but haven't been able to afford?" #BuildBackBetter
"What would it be like to watch your child's first smile? Be able to work and support your family while your kid attends universal pre-K? Be able to go to community college because you no longer have to go into debt to get this education?" #BuildBackBetter
Our weekly focus groups are frightening reminders of the parallels of taking our policy (and process) talk out in public. Surge voters (ones hardest to keep/turnout midterm) have zero clue what’s in BBB.
Yes! Stop overthinking and over explaining. And talk about how every recent Democratic administration has had to fix the economy after repubs wrecked it with their tax cuts for the wealthy. "Too big to fail" Bush. Nixon and Raygun.
Why are the Dems always so bad at messaging? Stop with the inane gobbledygook bullshit corporate-speak and talk like real people. Oh yes and aim at the 10-12-year-old vocabulary level. Somebody buy these folks a subscription to Grammarly. Rant off.
Kathy, I have been thinking along those lines for a while now, hoping that some gifted song writer would materialize. There is a long proud tradition of social justice songs in this country. Paul Robeson, Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, NWA, etc, etc. Where are such people now? Maybe we can work on slogans.
Actually Peter Yarrow is right in the progressive mix — writing, encouraging. So is Sting. So is Arturo O’Farrill. So is Renee Fleming! Music that appeals to a spectrum of humming activists.
We need to hire Frank Luntz, the republicans used his words to make Schitt smell like roses for decades. Oops, he only uses words to lie and mislead. Orwell might be Democrats best messenger
Working with postcards for VA voters this month! Been donating in earnest since June. Dem Paul Siker up against a very red incumbent for Delegate in my District 33.
Morning, Lynell! I've been donating in earnest as well, but haven't done the postcard thing. How do I get started? I know it is a bit late for the elections in VA, but I'm willing to try! And, we have the BBB to write about!
Not too late. Sign up here: https://postcardstovoters.org/. You’ll get cards and instructions with tested language to use. But times scarce, so go do it this am
"If the instructions that came with your postcards to Virginia & New Jersey said to mail them on Oct. 25, please mail them on Oct. 21 instead. If you need more time to finish all the postcards, it's OK to mail those you can't finish by Oct. 21 as late as Oct. 25 — the vast majority of them will still arrive in time, even from the West Coast. This change is in response to USPS's new delivery standards, which will add 1-2 days for long-distance mail.
"For those of you whose instructions said to mail your postcards to voters on Oct. 4, please do your best to mail them today!
"Finally, we still have 650,000 postcards left for Virginia & New Jersey! It's not too late to write more. Just order here and we'll ship them to you as quickly as possible. The last day to order is Sunday, Oct. 10."
Well said! Get involved locally. It helps. It is amazing how local issues are a mirror of state and federal ones. Think our defense budget is big enough and not enough is given for healthcare? Look at your municipality’s police department and public health budgets and lo and behold they look a lot like your state’s and the U.S. Too much toward violence and not enough toward the well being of the citizenry. Start banging on the doors locally.
Oh, McTurtle, McTurtle, you are such a vicious little fiend! How you can sleep at night is beyond me! You and Nero are quite a pair -- playing your fiddles while Rome burns!
"There is one major takeaway from this manufactured crisis: McConnell was willing to come right to the verge of burning the nation down to get his way. In the end, he stopped just before the sparks became an inferno, but it was much too close for comfort."
Thank you, District Judge Pitman for saving the day by temporarily blocking S.B.8 in Texas! Your wisdom is greatly appreciated and sorely needed to dampen the GOP's sordid agenda.
My deepest gratitude to you, dear Professor, for bringing such clarity to the end of this day.
Rowshan, I adore you, but alas Murderous Moscow Mitch has no trouble sleeping at night. Soulless death-eater that he is, he suffers not. The only thing that will make him blink is getting voted out of office. And if we all don't rally and ensure that 2022 is a Dem victory where any political fight can happen, we will see what havoc he and his venomous minions can wreak. Unfortunately, the responsibility is now ours: we have to bring out the vote and overwhelm the Forces of Evil.
I guess I knew that, Linda. I just try to keep him human to quell my own nightmares! Thank you for pulling me back into reality, my friend ❣️I am and will continue to fight the GOP all the way to rack and ruin! We've got this!
Further to District Court Judge Robert Pittman's federal court action; the Court has ordered all "public-facing court websites [to post] a visible, easy-to-understand instruction to the public S.B. 8 [vigilante] lawsuits will not be accepted by Texas courts."
Kathy, before the Judge's decision, 22 States had filed "Friend-of-the Court" Briefs in support of the Judge;s position along with the District of Colubia and the Attorney General of the State of North Carolina. The Judge followed the Rule of Law steadfastly.
McConnell figured out that he was going to be blamed for destroying our financial standing in the world
It wouldn’t surprise me to learn that his wife’s connection to China shipping magnates created a back channel where Chinese officials, fearing a collapse of their most important commercial market, had a Dutch Uncle talk with Mitch
Plus I think he was concerned that if he pushed the Democrats too hard, they would start talking about the filibuster. The filibuster is the key to McConnells power. Without that he is nothing.
I’m just glad that the Biden team is pressing the point that Trump ran up huge bills during his reign. Even Biden himself used Trump’s name and not just “the previous administration.” It’s about time.
If the Democrats will stop acting like the high school student council members they were, and stop playing political tiddly-winks, they might notice what really happened today. McConnell DID NOT back down out of any worry over blowing up the world over our debt default. Once the announcement came, there were several R senators who said what McConnell was protecting by dropping the fight was the filibuster. Today Democrats actually got serious about a carve-out for the debt ceiling - and if they did that, they would not be able to go to the rest of their constituencies that have "issues at hand" that could be resolved if the filibuster wasn't there, and say "you have to understand, this was...." and go into their high school student council song and dance defending the filibuster. If they carve it out for this, that's a big "crack in the dam."
There's a solution to not having to kowtow to Manchin (who is at least a Democrat) and that political hippy-dippy with the weird sartorial sense (who is a Naderite/Green, in other words a serious political hippy-dippy - out to "speed the revolution" by "increasing the contradictions") - that the fact that there are 20 Republican senators up next year, and three of those seats are "open" due to retirements. Anti-Trumpers are majorities in all those states, if you get them to vote. And the whackadoodles the Trump Party is putting up are easy to campaign against as embarrassing whackadoodles, if the Democrats just put up a sane person who can string 10 words together that make sense - and make certain the candidate knows that you don't bring a cucumber to a gunfight.
As my old boss used to say "You can do what you want, when you have the votes."
TC: Yep, yep, yep. The only thing we have the ability to do is bring in the votes. Now is not the time for complacency. The Forces of Evil are amassing. Dem candidates have to be strategic to the max when it comes to the conspiracy-hollering whackos against whom they will be campaigning. A good example: when the issue is raised, ask the effers a simple question: "Would you please define what you think Critical Race Theory is?" And another: "What is a fetus?" It's pretty much guarantee that they cannot answer either question. I have other leading questions if anyone wants them!
For those of us who lived through the McCaskill-Aiken campaign in Missouri (he died of cancer a few days ago. I don't mourn him--he would have destroyed my ability to be covered in my own cancer treatment): Claire played it perfectly. As soon as Toddy-boy revealed he did not understand how reproductive systems work--especially those of women--she went in for the kill. Those are the kinds of moments we need to accumulate.
And tie those votes to our values (admittedly up for discussion), and in your face messaging at ballgames, and in front of bridges that are collapsing, and even at horse races......
Messaging at other sporting events such as college football as well. If a college football game can be made to stretch into 4 hours there's plenty of time for Dems to buy an ad or two and air during the interminable commercial breaks.
"If the Democrats will stop acting like the high school student council members ...The popular pastime of knocking Democrats as inept always amazes me.
History will show the work Democratic Administrations have accomplished in decades of cleaning up the disasters the Republican Administrations have wrought.
Also. The Democrats won the White House, Senate and House in an election year fraught with DeJoy working to suppress mail in voting, COVID (for gosh sakes) and a writhing, raging sea of misinformation.
It serves no purpose, and actually hurts the Democratic Party, when people fall into the habit of knocking Democrats. Ever see the Republicans do this?
TC, Are you forgetting about Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren to name a few? What about how the democratic political landscape in being inoculated with new life?
'Are We Entering a New Political Era?'
'The neoliberal order seems to be collapsing. A generation of young activists is trying to insure that it’s replaced by progressive populism, not by the fascist right.'
Bowman was running to replace Eliot Engel, who represented southern Westchester and the North Bronx in Congress. Since being elected, in 1988, Engel had breezed through fifteen reëlection campaigns, usually without serious competition. But he was a seventy-three-year-old white man whose constituents were relatively young and racially diverse. He was also a moderate Democrat—militarily and monetarily hawkish, and a recipient of numerous corporate donations—in an increasingly progressive district. Seeing an opportunity, Justice Democrats had encouraged Bowman, a middle-school principal in his forties and an avid supporter of the Black Lives Matter and environmental-justice movements, to run a long-shot primary campaign against Engel. “I identify as an educator and as a Black man in America,” he said in a video interview with the Intercept. “But my policies align with those of a socialist”—grin, shrug—“so I guess that makes me a socialist.”
The mission of Justice Democrats is to push for as much left-populist legislation as Washington will accommodate, with the understanding that what Washington will accommodate is a function, in part, of who gets elected. The group recruits progressives, many of them “extraordinary ordinary people” with no political experience, to run primary campaigns against some of the most powerful people in Congress. In its first effort, in 2018, it ran dozens of candidates on shoestring budgets. All of them lost, except one—Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez—but she turned out to be a potent validation of the group’s model. Today, the Justice Democrats-aligned faction in Congress includes about ten members,
depending on how you count (New Yorker) Link below.
A lot is happening. To play catchup, one source is the article in The New Yorker, quoted above.
Once again, I find that I have little to offer on the body of today's LFAA. I am grateful for those with expertise in the realm of the debt crisis for their input.
I really enjoyed hearing Bernie Sanders (and I have never uttered those words before) reaching the end of his rope with Manchin and Sinema, finally asking (and I paraphrase) "just what DO you want, specifically?"
It isn't enough to say "I want less". Tell us what you want to cut. Period.
I am also thrilled that the DoJ asked for an injunction in Texas.
I am with you on Bernie asking Manchin and Sinema want they want and be specific. They aren't answering because they can't say why they are being obstructive....they are in thrall to selfish greedy people.
Before all the world, Sinema behaves as if she is bipolar. I think she is ill, seriously. Her outfits, self-aggrandizement, swings of mood and behavior...et al are not just a Britney Spears wanna be. But then, Frump was way out there, too.
Wow, just wow. Talk about pillaging our country. McConnell is the very worst kind of human being and I sure hope the lot of them meet their karma soon. Thank goodness for Biden and team!
FWIW, TC is referring to "Little Steven" Van Zandt, who recently went viral in an interview re: talking straight about the predations by and threats from the RWNJs.
Don't think for a moment that WE don't have LEADERS. Enjoy some time with Bernie.
‘BERNIE SANDERS just spent 15 minutes lambasting Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema for holding up the Democrats' reconciliation bill, accusing them of 'sabotage'’
‘Sanders unleashes on Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema: The Vermont independent is ready to fight for the $3.5 trillion infrastructure package — and, in a fiery 15-minute press conference, he lashed out at the moderates holding back the spending plan. Sanders directed most of his ire toward Manchin, who he said was doing something "inexcusable" by being vague about the climate policies he supported.’
‘Key quote: "Two people do not have the right to sabotage what 48 want, what the president of the United States wants. That, to me, is wrong," Sanders told reporters’
‘Manchin responded later: He said Sanders wanted an "entitlement society." (Indsider)
'In particular, Sanders targeted Manchin’s view on the role that the government should play when it comes to health care, child care and other programs, criticizing the senator’s comments uttered hours earlier that he “did not believe that we should turn our society into an entitlement society.”
“Is protecting working families and cutting childhood poverty an entitlement?” Sanders asked. After rattling off similar rhetorical questions, he concluded: “Perhaps most importantly, does Senator Manchin not believe what the scientists are telling us, that we face an existential threat regarding climate change?” (Washington Post) See link below:
'When you've got the support of the majority of the American people, the Democratic House and Senate caucus, and when you've got the support of the president — this is not some 50-50 deal.'
'Two people cannot stand in the way of delivering for the working people of this country.'
Bernie Sanders
@BernieSanders
'The pharmaceutical industry is spending millions and millions of dollars on misleading ads, swarming Capitol Hill with their lobbyists to convince lawmakers that it's a-okay for you to continue to pay the highest prices on earth for your prescriptions — NO MORE.
Bernie Sanders'
@BernieSanders
·
Oct 5
'I get a little tired of Republicans telling me and telling you that we "can't afford it" when we talk about investing in the needs of working class people. You ever hear those people say we "can't afford it" when it comes to giving a billionaire another tax break? OF COURSE NOT!
Bernie Sanders'
@BernieSanders
·
Oct 5
'We have the real possibility of creating unprecedented public policy which stands up for working families, the elderly, the children, the sick, and the poor — and defeats the greed of powerful special interests and the billionaire class — but only if we fight for it.'
@BernieSanders
Oct 5
'For a very long time, American exceptionalism has meant being the only major country not to guarantee a single day of paid family and medical leave. I believe it's time we change our national priorities and guarantee paid leave to our people.'
@BernieSanders
·
Oct 4
'The vast majority of the American people want us to:
- substantially lower prescription drug costs
- expand Medicare to cover dental, vision, and hearing
- expand home health care
- make child care affordable
- lead the world in the fight against climate change
Let's get it done.'
Links to Bernie's Press Conference and conversation with Rachel Maddow below:
Loved listening to Bernie yesterday.... Was it Rachel Maddow? Interestingly enough, she also had Timothy Snyder on for a minute or two. His description of how we continue on with a democracy that allows challenged voting and more insurgencies to become commonplace made me think again of Nazi Germany.
Yes, it was Rachel. Timothy Snyder's 'Thinking about...' is now going through the Lessons in his book Tyranny. I highly recommend it. Link below. Cheers!
I have to say that Bernie was brilliant on Rachel last night. He certainly hit on all of the points that we are exhausted and angry about. Manchin and Sinema never tell the media/us what exactly they are unhappy with the plan. All we know is that they want the price tag lowered and that’s it! Infuriating and frustrating
Marlene, Listening to Bernie with Rachel last night was like watching the longed for burst of reality, finally, a powerful proclamation on behalf of the American People. Marlene it was a socio-political high, and I had just received by third booster, hours before. Bernie and U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman's near-total abortion ban in Texas (temporarily) closed a great day.
He has supported Biden in a way I never thought was possible for him. To me this is masterful leadership......to allow others to step up to the plate when it is their turn and I saw Bernie hit a home run last nite.
I would prefer the testimony of mice leaving the sinking ship. Why owe loyalty to Trump when he no longer has power and would put any one of them under the bus without a moments hesitation. Don't the four blind mice realize that??? -- Jail time is too easy, but better than nothing (esp if it is 20 years!).
Before going to sleep last night I heard ""Mitch McConnell will allow Democrats to use normal procedures to pass an emergency debt limit extension AT A FIXED DOLLAR AMOUNT," He hasn't given up entirely. He is still trying to stop the social infrastructure bill from being passed via reconciliation. His offer is meaningless. Schumer needs to bring it to the vote and let Republicans vote NO or he needs to carve this vote OUT of the filibuster on the basis that PAYING THE BILLS must be voted on because it is procedural and the responsibility of both parties to actually vote on it. IT is not part a new bill or act on the President's wish list, the same goes for the Supreme Court and voting rights. Republicans must be put on the record and these three issues should not be filibustered EVER.
What do you all think about Bernie Sanders calling on Manchin and Sinema to state publicly exactly what provisions of the Build Back Better bill they want to reduce and why?
His comments intrigued me. It was clearly time for a new approach to get things moving. Not negotiating in good faith with your own caucus, especially considering the stakes and tiny margin, is not going to be forgotten. Manchin might finally get serious. Sinema? All the trappings of a lost-cause head case. She's clearly out of her depth. It's remarkable that a Democratic U.S. senator will likely do damage we might never overcome.
Thanks for this newsy tidbit (I hadn't heard yet). When the press simple covers the size of the package ($3.5T, $2.3T, $1.5T, etc) the provisions of the BBB bill are lost in the sound bites. All the provisions of the package are popular with Dems (and many are popular with Republicans), so forcing Manchin and Sinema to get specific will be difficult as it then appears as a take-away from likely voters.
Ultimately we must confront the question of whether we will be a democratic country that supports the principle of majority rule determined by free and fair elections or if we will allow a minority to rule through a government autocrat. This fundamental question is at the foundation of every policy controversy currently being contested at local, state, and federal levels. I believe it is time to confront this issue openly and forthrightly. This can begin with a decision on changing Senate rules to totally eliminate the filibuster. I understand the idea that the filibuster is thought to protect the minority from the flaw designed into the Senate by equal representation by each state regardless of it's relative share of the U.S. population. Yes, this flaw and its impact as well on the electoral college is a serious defect in the design of our democracy. But the filibuster is not an adequate solution to overcome this flaw. Eliminating the filibuster will not correct the defect it supposedly addresses but it is a start, and we must begin somewhere. So, lets stop debating about where to begin correcting the flaws in the design of our democracy and pull on that thread. We have to start somewhere to unravel the mess that is minority rule. It is inconsistent with the very idea of democracy.
Agreed which is why some voters in some states have adopted an independent redistricting commission requirement. California voters did so in 2008. A quick search indicates there are 6 other states also have independent commissions; these require an equal number of Dems & Republicans plus one or more Independent voters. I was pleased to see that Arizona does have an independent commission - 2 D+ 2 R +1 I for a total of five commissioners.
Bruce, And that is the heart of the problem. Frankly, I'm not sure our 'leadership' (on both sides of the aisle) has the character and moral standing to confront the issue.
Charlie — I wager it is we who will have to show them their spine. Those who wish to stay in the electoral arena WILL have to respond, ultimately, to their erstwhile voters, if not their entire constituency.
We need to think carefully about term limits. There are many legislators who have spent long years in Congress serving the interests of their constituents and our country well. I am not so sure I want to give up on continuing to have those folks serving in Congress. I do think we need to carefully consider the issue of qualifications for elected officials to run and continue to serve. I also think we need serious reforms to campaign finance laws and disclosures. And, let's not forget better controls on government ethics including limitations on serving as lobbyists either before or after government service. I would place all of these above term limits in importance. Except for the Supreme Court where I strongly believe in removing the idea of "lifetime" appointments. The only effective measure for the removal of someone from a Supreme Court position should be more thoughtful than simply waiting for them to die.
Here's my concern about having "many legislators who have spent long years in Congress serving the interests of their constituents and our country well":
At what point do we open the door wider to new blood? Do we do it so slowly and incrementally that new-comers have to struggle to get and maintain a foot hold? How many of our current members of Congress hang on for decades? Decades? That. Is. Insanity. Both parties have developed and participate in a huge re-election machine – it's an industry unto itself and it's destroying us. As gross as this sounds, both chambers are functioning like clogged toilets waiting for the Roto Rooter Man to come and remove all the crap that's packed in the pipes. Until that happens we are stuck with fetid toilet water spilling all over the floor. Term limits would help keep the pipes clean and running smoothly.
Absolutely agree about controls around ethics in government including limits on lobbying both before and after taking office.
I also whole heartedly agree that the Supreme Court needs to be term limited. We are in a terrible pickle that could likely have been avoided with term limits.
A couple of days ago, I participated in a Letter to the Editor workshop with Common Cause. You might be interested in using this LTE tool to write to local papers about eliminating the filibuster. https://www.commoncause.org/filibusterlte/ Enter your zip code to begin. The tool finds your local papers (or if not you can search). Common Cause suggested we should identify ourselves (what city are you from?), tell why passing the Freedom to Vote Act is important, and either "thank your Senators" for their support, or say why you think they need to vote "Yes". The point is, if they need to eliminate the filibuster, then they must do this so that we can continue to have a democracy. Would you please give it a try? Your senators' staff will count the number of Yes/No and add to their totals. This took me less than an hour!
Bruce, I have a question with reference to the issue you raised earlier concerning free and fair elections in our country. 'Ultimately we must confront the question of whether we will be a democratic country that supports the principle of majority rule determined by free and fair elections or if we will allow a minority to rule through a government autocrat. This fundamental question is at the foundation of every policy controversy currently being contested at local, state, and federal levels. I believe it is time to confront this issue openly and forthrightly.' Bruce, naturally, the electoral college and partisan redistricting are major obstructions to reform. Another enormous hurdle is the financing of elections. Will it not be time, in the near future, to marshal a robust national campaign aimed at finance reform - I know, devilishly difficult to get done for obvious reasons? A couple of caveats: first passing the necessary national voting rights bills this year, followed by Democrats improving their number in the senate and house (midterm election results). Under those conditions, why not a marshal a campaign, with strong public support, after examining the best routes to pursue and succeed in this endeavor. The subject is not in my wheelhouse and it may not be in yours. It is hypothetical with a couple of rosy and, perhaps, unrealistic caveats. As I was writing this the hard facts and the undemocratic aspects of our country knocked against every word.
You ask great questions and raise important points and the resources for research are excellent.
My post was to make the point that we must start somewhere. I hope you will forgive the oft-spoken metaphor "That a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." There is much that must be accomplished to achieve the progressive society we wish to have. However, it can best be achieved by beginning the journey where we are now. Minority rule is present in so many forms and in so many places from local city councils, and school boards, county commissions, state legislatures, and, of course, at the federal level. The tyranny of minority rule whether by a benevolent monarch or evil and incompetent autocrat is contrary to the entire idea of democracy "of and for the people." In order to accomplish anything, in order to begin our journey, we need to take that first step. If someone has a better idea about what that first step might be, I am certainly prepared to listen. However, I think the time to start the journey is now, and ending the filibuster rules in the Senate is both achievable and a motivating symbolic place to begin.
Another thought, when Howard Dean was chairman of the DNC, he wanted to recruit, train and grow the party around the country. That goal did not continue I think it is one of the projects for the party to reignite. Trained young democrats need to be living in red and purple states, groups of them, It's not a quick fix, but the rural - urban divide needs to be addressed.
Bruce, After brief reflection, I think my response to you was a tad too strong. Your very polite response to my query and carefully worded position seemed delicate given what we are facing. There is a whole lot mess in our system, so my considered opinion favors working on a several critical fronts. I'm with you about taking a methodical approach.
...and working to get this country to turn toward democracy requires a lot more that taking one step at a time. Intel, FBI, etc., also need top to bottom review.
I agree that the filibuster must be eliminated, but addressing how money, step by step, is the primary reason for the corruption of our system. It has to be the primary objective of the democracy movement. The country will continue to decline whether or not the filibuster is eliminated. How much money is being used to drastically reduce or kill the human infrastructure bill; keep prescription drugs sky high and continue to thwart addressing Climate Control? Who funded the control the state legislatures in red states? Who is finding the disinformation on Fox and Facebook? Who is funding the hatred and social disorder? Why is our economic system so imbalanced? Who's funding autocracy? From beginning to end, if Dark Money is not addressed America will get darker and ....
How is it that the Senate Minority Leader is the most powerful person in the United States Government? Given this fine point, we are already an Autocracy. It just hasn't been formally called that...yet.
I'm watching Bidens polls cascading down as the GOP cheer. I've been reading a fairly consistent 38%.
The GOP are getting everything they want and frankly worked hard to get. I wish the tables were turned.
I spent yesterday at the Oncologist having various testing and consults. I sat next to a woman who was having similar testing as I was. We spoke the typical "Oncologist waiting area" conversations, the weather, "how cold it always is in here" and where did this year go. No one ever discusses the elephant in the room. After an uncomfortable silence, she said " I have never been so afraid in my life". I thought she was referring to why she was here. No, she said "I really thought after Biden won, life would be better. I'm terrified what the next thing is the GOP will and can do to us". As our conversation unrolled, I discovered that she was a History Professor at one of the local Universities. She used to bring her sons to the museum I'm Director at. She also is a daily reader of Letters from an American. Small world.
McConnell will perform this same song and dance in the matter of weeks. In the meantime, he will bolster his followers to gain ever more momentum. I think we know where this is going.
Chance meetings like that are the feast of life. To be in the position the two of you are in (I know of what I speak) and to be able to have that conversation about what is really scary is simply wonderful. I hope that the both of you have the most positive outcomes that could come from your respective situations.
This is where we need to be reaching out with our fear as well as what Biden's American Help bills can do. Thank you for sharing this conversation and wishing well to you.
Here's the letter I wrote to Senator manchin this afternoon after he talked about not wanting an "Entitlement" country. Dear Senator Manchin, I disagree with your characterization of non-millionaires getting "entitlements". As far as I can see all the "entitlements" are going to the millionaires and billionaires including you. The real problem is income disparity which is hollowing out the middle class with everything going to shareholders that don't need it! Trickle down economics doesn't work especially when the entitled rich class and corporations get a huge tax cut with NO incentive to share that with their employees and workers. Also, social security is NOT an entitlement. I paid the maximum into social security for decades. I expect now to get the return on my investment. The government isn't give it to me. I earned it and invested in it. It is now time my ROI! In the 1950s a family could live reasonably well on one income. Now it takes two to just get by. And, no one has considered that a quarter of that meager income is going to child care. These aren't entitlements we're talking about. This is the oligarchic kleptocracy stealing from the middle class to give to the rich. This will bring down capitalism over time because you are taking away buying power from the consumers, the middle class. So, stop the entitlements to the billionaires and end corporate welfare so that the majority of citizens will be able to earn enough for a life of well-being. This will reduce the need for government to provide a social safety net. Please get your thinking straight on all this! And, get out of the way of the Build Back Better bill and start leading on fixing income disparity. Unless, of course, like the Republicans you've been bought by your donors and choose to ignore your constituents!!! You seem a good guy who is interested in the lives of West Virginians but you need to reframe where the entitlements are going. Thank you for considering my viewpoint. It is CRITICAL!! The Senate rules need revising because all these stupid political games need to end. Catherine Learoyd
I've pointed out many times that 100 ordinary citizens may buy 100 cars, but one millionaire probably won't buy 100 cars. Same for houses, refrigerators, clothes, and college educations. I suppose American capitalists think that opening up new markets in Asia and Africa is going to make up the shortfall when American consumers are too impoverished to buy their goods, but then there are the transportation costs. And they're not exactly paying their Asian and African workers a living wage, either, are they?
Exactly! The question that has bothered me for years is, don't the upper crusties realize that by killing off the middle class and sqeezing down the purchasing power of the minimum wage (or less) workers they are killing off the very source of their vast riches?
The only decent answer I can come up with is, 1) The rich extend us high interest credit to continue to buy the cars and washing machines, and 2) the American middle and working class people have a spirit that will find a way -- two and three jobs, barter economy, whatever -- to make it and survive. This is an incredible over-simplification, but it will do until the right one finds it's way into my head!
Take a look out West in the areas around Yellowstone and the other Parks. The "middle class" (service workers) can no longer afford to live near the areas they work in. There is almost no affordable housing for them. They either drive long distances to & from work or are unable to work. Because these areas are now the "in" places for second homes or mansions of millionaires or people with high incomes that work from home (zoom). I do wonder what will happen when the "upper classes" no longer have the people necessary to take care of their "needs".
I find it abhorrent that we have legislators that believe the way to inscent behaviors by the poor is to deny or withhold benefits from them and the way to inscent rich people is to give them more. These same people who believe in this ethos proclaim their religiosity. I believe they have more in common with the money changers and faithless Pharasees Jesus decried than the teachings they claim to uphold.
They have no idea what Jesus taught and his concern for the poor and disdain for the rich and the hypocritical. My mantra to these people who are always waving the flag and spouting their Christianity is that: you are not a patriot; you are not a Christian; you are not even a decent person.
BruceC, I agree with you. Also, I believe that many of these folk who claim to be Christian want our democracy to disappear and be turned into an autocracy.
They want an autocratic theocracy.
And when they get that, they'll discover that freedom of religion is whatever the autocrats say it is....
Exactly. Such shortsighted foolishness.
Great comment. But how about "motivate" or "encourage" instead of "inscent"
BruceC, "Preach it, Brother.!"
I wonder if theirs is another misinterpretation of the Parable of the Talents - where two servants invested and doubled their master’s talents. The misinterpretation being that the parable is often misunderstood to be about money, which IMHO, misses the point.
Excellent. Time for term limits. Dark money is erasing Democracy. Excellent Reframe on who is receiving entitlements.
You're not telling Senator Manchin anything he doesn't already know. He is the way he is because probably as the only West Virginia elected official who isn't a Republican, he knows that if he fully behaved like a Democrat, he would not be in office. But he and Senator Sinema aren't so much of the problem as are the Republicans in Congress. Sometimes I feel like sticking a bumper sticker on my car reading "Republicans are Evil," which HCR certainly paints them as being today. I won't do that since it would result in my tires being slashed and my car being "keyed." But that doesn't make them any less evil. How about a skywriting campaign with that message? Some of their supporters are so gullible that they might look up and think it was a message from Above.
Where do I chip in?
This would be a job for the Democratic National Committee to manage, which means it probably won't get done. It probably would irriatate Manchin and Sinema. Only way for it to happen would be if some millionaires got involved.
There's a company in California which does it, called "The Skywriters." Google them. I see where the anti-abortion people do this in Australia.
They are the party of death.
There are some far-right, evangelical Christians who have contended that the Pandemic and Covid is a message and punishment from God for our sins. While this would not be my own view, if true, it seems amazing that Conservatives and the anti-vax folks are not getting the message yet. I am not sure writing it in the sky could make it any more clear than continuing to publish the statistics daily in the newspapers who it is that is in hospital ICUs and dying from Covid. Maybe we need 40 days and nights of rain and a consequent flood or turning a few of them into pillars of salt to get the point across. Never mind, we have already had the floods and wildfires burning this year and that still does not seem to have gotten their attention.
"A man (or woman) hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest...lie,lie,lie..." Simon and Garfunkel
Paul and Art. Oh yeah...
They believe Jesus/God will protect them. As I have said many times the virus doesn't care what people believe or anything else human....except as a host. I had an ex-classmate post a meme that said the CA fires were because some people carried signs that said they were atheists. We had just had terrible fires here in Oregon and I did remind her that those people mostly agree with her politically and are often fundamentalists. She did back down, but her excuse (I posted it to show how absurd this is) was BS and a flat out lie.
Hmmm, God sending wildfires to object to signs? And here I thought it was those Jewish space lasers that crazy bitch from Georgia told us about. Wow, some people sure think God can be a real SOB. Must be that Old Testament God. Can't be that New Testament loving, compassionate, caring God, you know, the God letting over 250,000 children a year die from malaria in Africa. Don't get me started. I will be on a rant all day long.
I’m a lifelong believer and not only do I get your point, I believe God does too. We believers know how our God views hypocrites.
It is amazing and she meant every word of it, but she wouldn't want to be educated like I am because she would have actually be a patriot, a Christian, and a decent person. And here I thought the NT God and Jesus were all about love.
If it doesn't happen to them, it doesn't happen.
Hilarious!
🤣
Well said! I hope that his office gets flooded with such letters and emails, esp from his constituents.
Hear! Hear! Well done! I hope he reads your letter and takes it to heart.
Brilliant letter, Cathy.
Robert Reich has an excellent piece in The Guardian on why Democrats find it so hard to raise taxes on the .1%. Oh, and he points out that raising the income tax rate on 'millionaires and billionaires' is disingenuous, at best, since they don't get their income from wages, but from capital gains. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/sep/18/house-democrats-tax-billionaires-biden-social-policy
Tax wealth, not just income.
Eat the rich
Stephan, how would we prepare them? With truffles? They would probably like that but why waste a good fungus....As a vegan, I would eat the truffles and you could have all the meat....
Nah, just feed them to the dogs.
Ala Elizabeth Warren....
Exactly.
As words matter, there’s entitlement and then there’s entitlement. How Manchin meant it was not clear to me. How Bernie Sanders explained it to Rachel Maddow was beautiful common sense and is what most of us here are endorsing as supports for productive and quality life for average people that pays off with positive feedback into the socioeconomic system.
https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/-it-s-not-a-50-50-deal-sanders-critical-of-manchin-sinema-obstructing-popular-will-122964549928
Government programs such as Medicare and Social Security are our social safety net and are in fact entitlements by federal law. “The Social Security Retirement Program is an example of a contributory program.”
http://federalsafetynet.com/entitlement-programs.html
Our anger becomes righteously directed at the psychological construct of entitlement that people use to presume their special treatment. This becomes particularly problematic when factions enact their sense of entitlement through political minority power grabs (Republican Party and trumpers), financial exploitation to maximize profit (corporations), and tax evasion (Pandora Papers).
If you haven’t already listened to HCR and Joanne Freeman’s Now and Then podcast of 10/05/2021 on “Split Party Politics,” it’s a worthwhile 50 minutes to spend on the topic of past and present sense of entitlement expressed through political party power grabs.
https://cafe.com/now-and-then/split-party-politics/
Appreciate this so much
Well said, Catherine!
Love it!
You are so right with everything you said here Cathy, But Joe knows exactly what he is doing, and he knows he’s being disingenuous!!! It’s just that there are certain “ Fringe “ benefits being provided for him to take the positions he is taking, and he isn’t the only one taking these sorts of “ Benefits “!!!! Of course , I don’t know why I’m saying this as I’m sure you already know this…."..
Wish he had eyes and ears
Thank you for these good insights.
Excellent on who really gets entitlements.
Whatever comments you may choose to offer here, please… based on what Heather has written tonight and in all previous nights… if you have a local election cycle going in your area:
Get Involved. Send some texts, make some phone calls, drop some literature, give some money.
Nothing cooking in your neck of the woods? (1) lucky you! (2) VA & NJ still need help reaching potential voters — volunteer with Postcards to Voters.
We are all discouraged. We are all pooped. We are all tuning off radio/TV/Internet — in droves!! It’s not just you. BUT we can’t. Don’t be discouraged. Use your righteous, well-informed, historically contextualized anger and get back to work! We have a country to save. Donald Trump will NOT be my president ever again, dammit!
And while we’re at it, how are folks feeling about their AT&T plans?
https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-oneamerica-att/
“The bombshell that AT&T bankrolled One America News (OANN) has a lot of folks screaming #BoycottATT!
A lot of people who need to know may not see it on social media. Here's a texting tool that'll help you get word out to friends & fam. Please share! Note that the tool only works when you open the link on your phone.“
https://twitter.com/nickknudsenus/status/1445888197276299267?s=21
Thank you Ellie for alerting everyone to AT&T. JUST Switched from AT&T to T-Mobile. While T-Mobile is owned by a German company and contributes to Republicans, including a few who voted to not certify the election, AT&T tops Republican donor lists. And, now finding out about OANN is icing on that rotten cake. My dollars will no longer be filling their coffers. Next up: dismantling my FB accounts. ❤️🤍💙
Heather uses FB for her chats. Since last year, it's the only reason I go there.
Hey, Lynell. My local Indivisible group (GA 10) uses FB as well. This is a real dilemma for me. I think I could read their posts but not participate if I got out (I do neither right now); but I don't know that for a fact.
I sure wish HCR and Indivisible would leave FB but I understand the kind of problems it would create for them during times like these, and so many people who are being reached might not be able to follow them to a new app. So I will continue to boycott FB with the exception of HCR and Indivisible, of course.
Hey, Gus. Yes, it's a dilemma. Back when I was working, though I had FB, I was too busy to engage. Then started back up again last year during pandemic and especially to follow happenings related to George Floyd murder. My "friends" are like-minded so it was easy to post and get posts. My husband keeps up with his relatives (and mine, too!) and "long-lost friends" from his home island through FB. His posts consist of pics of horses and Caribbean beaches, and recipes! He never responds to anything political.
Please check my reply to Sharon nearby, thanks.
Even if you open a Facebook page they invade your privacy. You don’t need to have an account. That’s the reason I never open Facebook no matter how tempting it is.
I thought so. Sometimes when checking my mail I accidentally hit a link to FB (I have a kind of palsy left over from a stroke in 2017, among other leftovers; and my mail is jammed with FB links). It is horrible! The pop-ups, the adds every few lines of someone's comments, the vitriol in general and from my family (they're all trmprs). The more you boycott, the more links they put in your email. Everyone tells me to get a new email account and I agree, but I would need to spend a week updating all of my absolutely legitimate contacts. A stupendous prospect....
Same. Mint Mobile also uses T-Mobile as well as I believe Republic Wireless. I left AT&T years ago when I learned they were members of ALEC. I’m right behind you on leaving Facebook.
This was a disgusting revelation. I have a US AT&T wireless number I maintain for US banking. On my next trip to the US I will port to another carrier.
I was driving when I listened to that report. Almost ran off the road.
So glad you didn’t!
Don't do that! Running off the road, that is....
I intend to leave AT&T tomorrow. Had read about this yesterday, but haven't had time to get to the store.
T Mobile is okay, Verizon is so big now they don't really care about customer service, and BEWARE, they don't back up what the franchise stores sell, or promise you. I was with Verizon for 12 years, happy with the coverage anyway, until I had a problem....
Talked with my daughter yesterday about needing to go change carriers ASAP. Disgusting doesn’t begin to describe their behavior. Thanks Ellie.
Sending it. I changed carriers last year. Whew.
Great article, but don't just think in terms of cell phones. They support OAN and Newsmax and without them both stations would fold. If you have Direct TV, that's another way to go after AT&T.: A Reuters review of court records shows the role AT&T played in creating and funding OAN, a network that continues to spread conspiracy theories about the 2020 election and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ditched ATT a while back, didn’t know they had turned traitor for years.
OHHH! Thanks Ellie. Posted.
Oh, I am wishing I weren’t with AT&T for my cell service but they have the most reliable service where I am and we depend on one phone line for work. My contract is up next month and I am already shopping.
I'm with AT&T, too, Sharon. Very stressed to have to make a change, but hoping to get guidance here on who best to switch to.
Lynell, see my reply to Pam Peterson nearby. In short, T Mobile yes, Verizon NO. But if you have to use Verizon for coverage. DON'T buy from a franchise store, even if you have to travel a ways. And everybody, BACK UP YOUR DATA!
Thanks, Gus. This is so helpful!
Ellie, thanks for this, I had no idea. One question though, different carriers use AT&T lines. My carrier is Cricket and I believe it uses AT&T lines. Am I supporting AT&T indirectly?
Diane, piggybacking is very common. Here is a Wikipedia article update 5 October, 2021, that will tell you who piggybacks off whom.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_mobile_virtual_network_operators
Very helpful, thank you. Since I’m going to change, which carrier is less harmful, Verizon or T Mobile?
Diane, I can't answer that. You may want to read up on the two, start with Wikipedia. See who their subsidiaries/partners are and what other holdings they have. Also, see who the most reliable provider is for your area. The reference section of the Wikipedia articles may be helpful for deeper dives.
Thank you, Daria...Morning!!
🌷 very good afternoon to you, Lynell!
And you, dear friend! Head-spinning day today!
I'm shocked, just shocked I say /s
Yes, I continue to do the postcards but looking for a message to holler from the rooftops about what the Infrastructure bill and the social network bill will do for Americans. The voting rights bills needs a slogan, a message that shows up in local bars and baseball crowds and in front of broken down bridges and on the faces of those who are losing faith in the right to vote. Where is the march for voting rights? Am I missing it?
You have it! (1) Lead with values. (2) Talk about the outcomes. (3) Highlight the popularity (the contents are WILDLY popular). (4) Name the villains/their tactics. (5) Call to Action/Demands.
What does that look like? Try this in your bullhorn:
No matter what we look like or where we come from, we value our freedom. The freedom to make a good living, to have great care and quality education for our kids, affordable meds for our families, and clean air and water for generations to come. That's why 70% of Americans support the Build Back Better Act. But today, a handful of politicians doing the bidding of corporations and billionaires profiting off this pandemic, want to block this bill to create good jobs, expand childcare, fund schools, make meds more affordable and protect our air and water. They hope to turn us against the courageous representatives fighting to deliver what Americans favor, just so they can keep letting their donors dodge taxes, pollute, and block our
freedom to thrive. By joining together, we can demand that the leaders we elected make the Build Back Better Act law now and make this a place where all of us have the freedom to thrive, no exceptions.
As suggested by More Perfect Democracy:
"BBB | FREEDOM TO THRIVE — Less Policy/Politics. More Meaning . We need to change the discussion around the Build Back Better Act. Current commentary is alienating even the most ardent activists. So...what do we do?
First, stop taking about pricetag, negotiation, yachts, or donors. Start talking about what people will experience when the Build Back Better Act is passed. Anand Giridharadas talks about this brilliantly in this must read article in TheInk. We need to show the world we want to create and draw a picture of how life can change under the proposed law.
We must show how life would look if we had the freedom to thrive."
Sample Messages:
"Imagine being a 10 year old kid who has never drunk a clean glass of water from the tap, and having your first sip of clear, healthy water."
"Don't you want to be able to go to the pharmacy to pick up your meds and not have to ration either the meds or your food for the month? Do you fill that eyeglass prescription you've had for 10 years but haven't been able to afford?" #BuildBackBetter
"What would it be like to watch your child's first smile? Be able to work and support your family while your kid attends universal pre-K? Be able to go to community college because you no longer have to go into debt to get this education?" #BuildBackBetter
Thanks, Ellie, for examples of messaging that can actually fit on a postcard.
Rock on, Warriors! and here's sage advice about the message to holler from two experts, Anat Shenker-Osorio agreeing with Anand Giridharadas:
https://twitter.com/anatosaurus/status/1445767955602554894?s=20
Anat Shenker-Osorio @anatosaurus
Our weekly focus groups are frightening reminders of the parallels of taking our policy (and process) talk out in public. Surge voters (ones hardest to keep/turnout midterm) have zero clue what’s in BBB.
As ever: sell the brownie not the recipe.
https://twitter.com/AnandWrites/status/1445760331779751942
TwitterTwitter | Yesterday at 8:08 AM
Anand Giridharadas @ The.Ink @AnandWrites
Process talk is suffocating American democracy.
Talk about the actual thing.
Talk about teeth and eyes and ears and air and water and daycares and colleges.
Abolish the jargon of "reconciliation" and "tracks." Speak like a person.
Yes! Stop overthinking and over explaining. And talk about how every recent Democratic administration has had to fix the economy after repubs wrecked it with their tax cuts for the wealthy. "Too big to fail" Bush. Nixon and Raygun.
Why are the Dems always so bad at messaging? Stop with the inane gobbledygook bullshit corporate-speak and talk like real people. Oh yes and aim at the 10-12-year-old vocabulary level. Somebody buy these folks a subscription to Grammarly. Rant off.
Try listening to Bernie, Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Amy Klobuchar, Gavin Newsom, Barney Frank, Robert Reich, Tammy Duckworth, Beto O’Rourke, Cory Booker, Maxine Waters, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Nancy Pelosi, Pramila Jayapal, Katie Porter, Debbie Dingell, Cori Bush... their voices carry.
Anat and her colleagues Mike & Jiggy are my renewal fuel - their research is invaluable - and 💯💯💯 to Ellie’s points here!
Kathy, I have been thinking along those lines for a while now, hoping that some gifted song writer would materialize. There is a long proud tradition of social justice songs in this country. Paul Robeson, Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, NWA, etc, etc. Where are such people now? Maybe we can work on slogans.
Actually Peter Yarrow is right in the progressive mix — writing, encouraging. So is Sting. So is Arturo O’Farrill. So is Renee Fleming! Music that appeals to a spectrum of humming activists.
Unfortunately, Yarrow was convicted of sex with a 14-year-old. See “Personal” section:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Yarrow
What songs by these artists? Thanks.
Create all of these in your community.
We need to hire Frank Luntz, the republicans used his words to make Schitt smell like roses for decades. Oops, he only uses words to lie and mislead. Orwell might be Democrats best messenger
Working with postcards for VA voters this month! Been donating in earnest since June. Dem Paul Siker up against a very red incumbent for Delegate in my District 33.
33 is going to be close… my sister is just east of Leesburg! Thank you Lynell! Keep going!
Morning, Lynell! I've been donating in earnest as well, but haven't done the postcard thing. How do I get started? I know it is a bit late for the elections in VA, but I'm willing to try! And, we have the BBB to write about!
Not too late. Sign up here: https://postcardstovoters.org/. You’ll get cards and instructions with tested language to use. But times scarce, so go do it this am
Hey, Alexander. I was slow to go myself. Here's one I signed up with specific to Virginia and New Jersey (Progressive Turnout Project): https://www.mobilize.us/mobilize/event/414113/
I received this followup email from them:
"If the instructions that came with your postcards to Virginia & New Jersey said to mail them on Oct. 25, please mail them on Oct. 21 instead. If you need more time to finish all the postcards, it's OK to mail those you can't finish by Oct. 21 as late as Oct. 25 — the vast majority of them will still arrive in time, even from the West Coast. This change is in response to USPS's new delivery standards, which will add 1-2 days for long-distance mail.
"For those of you whose instructions said to mail your postcards to voters on Oct. 4, please do your best to mail them today!
"Finally, we still have 650,000 postcards left for Virginia & New Jersey! It's not too late to write more. Just order here and we'll ship them to you as quickly as possible. The last day to order is Sunday, Oct. 10."
You got three days left!
Just ordered my second batch of 200 postcards.
Yay🥳🖋📫
Wow, you be awesome, Marcy!
Well said! Get involved locally. It helps. It is amazing how local issues are a mirror of state and federal ones. Think our defense budget is big enough and not enough is given for healthcare? Look at your municipality’s police department and public health budgets and lo and behold they look a lot like your state’s and the U.S. Too much toward violence and not enough toward the well being of the citizenry. Start banging on the doors locally.
Those doorway conversations are usually the most insightful and interesting! Only been shooed away once🏃🏽♀️
Andy Kim in New Jersey. One of the best voices. Running in Red Distict. FUI
SO great! Sent 150 handwritten postcards yesterday to NJ potential voters!
DAMN, Leslie of KS, you go, grrrrrl!! You fired me up this morning. Thank you!
I have been heavy on VA.
Thank you
Oh, McTurtle, McTurtle, you are such a vicious little fiend! How you can sleep at night is beyond me! You and Nero are quite a pair -- playing your fiddles while Rome burns!
"There is one major takeaway from this manufactured crisis: McConnell was willing to come right to the verge of burning the nation down to get his way. In the end, he stopped just before the sparks became an inferno, but it was much too close for comfort."
Thank you, District Judge Pitman for saving the day by temporarily blocking S.B.8 in Texas! Your wisdom is greatly appreciated and sorely needed to dampen the GOP's sordid agenda.
My deepest gratitude to you, dear Professor, for bringing such clarity to the end of this day.
Rowshan, I adore you, but alas Murderous Moscow Mitch has no trouble sleeping at night. Soulless death-eater that he is, he suffers not. The only thing that will make him blink is getting voted out of office. And if we all don't rally and ensure that 2022 is a Dem victory where any political fight can happen, we will see what havoc he and his venomous minions can wreak. Unfortunately, the responsibility is now ours: we have to bring out the vote and overwhelm the Forces of Evil.
I guess I knew that, Linda. I just try to keep him human to quell my own nightmares! Thank you for pulling me back into reality, my friend ❣️I am and will continue to fight the GOP all the way to rack and ruin! We've got this!
Further to District Court Judge Robert Pittman's federal court action; the Court has ordered all "public-facing court websites [to post] a visible, easy-to-understand instruction to the public S.B. 8 [vigilante] lawsuits will not be accepted by Texas courts."
I really liked this part.
Kathy, before the Judge's decision, 22 States had filed "Friend-of-the Court" Briefs in support of the Judge;s position along with the District of Colubia and the Attorney General of the State of North Carolina. The Judge followed the Rule of Law steadfastly.
McConnell figured out that he was going to be blamed for destroying our financial standing in the world
It wouldn’t surprise me to learn that his wife’s connection to China shipping magnates created a back channel where Chinese officials, fearing a collapse of their most important commercial market, had a Dutch Uncle talk with Mitch
Plus I think he was concerned that if he pushed the Democrats too hard, they would start talking about the filibuster. The filibuster is the key to McConnells power. Without that he is nothing.
Do it Dems
Bingo! But that conversation has now started and grown beyond a mere whisper. I think the Genie is out of the bottle.
Spot on.
I’m just glad that the Biden team is pressing the point that Trump ran up huge bills during his reign. Even Biden himself used Trump’s name and not just “the previous administration.” It’s about time.
The graphic rendition: "Jen Psaki brilliantly destroys Trump and McConnell with a single graph"
https://twitter.com/BuffyWicks/status/1444461515847786497?s=20
👍
God that must stick in his craw to utter that name
If the Democrats will stop acting like the high school student council members they were, and stop playing political tiddly-winks, they might notice what really happened today. McConnell DID NOT back down out of any worry over blowing up the world over our debt default. Once the announcement came, there were several R senators who said what McConnell was protecting by dropping the fight was the filibuster. Today Democrats actually got serious about a carve-out for the debt ceiling - and if they did that, they would not be able to go to the rest of their constituencies that have "issues at hand" that could be resolved if the filibuster wasn't there, and say "you have to understand, this was...." and go into their high school student council song and dance defending the filibuster. If they carve it out for this, that's a big "crack in the dam."
There's a solution to not having to kowtow to Manchin (who is at least a Democrat) and that political hippy-dippy with the weird sartorial sense (who is a Naderite/Green, in other words a serious political hippy-dippy - out to "speed the revolution" by "increasing the contradictions") - that the fact that there are 20 Republican senators up next year, and three of those seats are "open" due to retirements. Anti-Trumpers are majorities in all those states, if you get them to vote. And the whackadoodles the Trump Party is putting up are easy to campaign against as embarrassing whackadoodles, if the Democrats just put up a sane person who can string 10 words together that make sense - and make certain the candidate knows that you don't bring a cucumber to a gunfight.
As my old boss used to say "You can do what you want, when you have the votes."
TC: Yep, yep, yep. The only thing we have the ability to do is bring in the votes. Now is not the time for complacency. The Forces of Evil are amassing. Dem candidates have to be strategic to the max when it comes to the conspiracy-hollering whackos against whom they will be campaigning. A good example: when the issue is raised, ask the effers a simple question: "Would you please define what you think Critical Race Theory is?" And another: "What is a fetus?" It's pretty much guarantee that they cannot answer either question. I have other leading questions if anyone wants them!
For those of us who lived through the McCaskill-Aiken campaign in Missouri (he died of cancer a few days ago. I don't mourn him--he would have destroyed my ability to be covered in my own cancer treatment): Claire played it perfectly. As soon as Toddy-boy revealed he did not understand how reproductive systems work--especially those of women--she went in for the kill. Those are the kinds of moments we need to accumulate.
And tie those votes to our values (admittedly up for discussion), and in your face messaging at ballgames, and in front of bridges that are collapsing, and even at horse races......
Yes!!
Messaging at other sporting events such as college football as well. If a college football game can be made to stretch into 4 hours there's plenty of time for Dems to buy an ad or two and air during the interminable commercial breaks.
Billboards…
But Stalin thought that who counted the votes was the critical metric. Republicans bought in to this hook, line, and sinker
"If the Democrats will stop acting like the high school student council members ...The popular pastime of knocking Democrats as inept always amazes me.
History will show the work Democratic Administrations have accomplished in decades of cleaning up the disasters the Republican Administrations have wrought.
Also. The Democrats won the White House, Senate and House in an election year fraught with DeJoy working to suppress mail in voting, COVID (for gosh sakes) and a writhing, raging sea of misinformation.
It serves no purpose, and actually hurts the Democratic Party, when people fall into the habit of knocking Democrats. Ever see the Republicans do this?
TC, Are you forgetting about Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren to name a few? What about how the democratic political landscape in being inoculated with new life?
'Are We Entering a New Political Era?'
'The neoliberal order seems to be collapsing. A generation of young activists is trying to insure that it’s replaced by progressive populism, not by the fascist right.'
Bowman was running to replace Eliot Engel, who represented southern Westchester and the North Bronx in Congress. Since being elected, in 1988, Engel had breezed through fifteen reëlection campaigns, usually without serious competition. But he was a seventy-three-year-old white man whose constituents were relatively young and racially diverse. He was also a moderate Democrat—militarily and monetarily hawkish, and a recipient of numerous corporate donations—in an increasingly progressive district. Seeing an opportunity, Justice Democrats had encouraged Bowman, a middle-school principal in his forties and an avid supporter of the Black Lives Matter and environmental-justice movements, to run a long-shot primary campaign against Engel. “I identify as an educator and as a Black man in America,” he said in a video interview with the Intercept. “But my policies align with those of a socialist”—grin, shrug—“so I guess that makes me a socialist.”
The mission of Justice Democrats is to push for as much left-populist legislation as Washington will accommodate, with the understanding that what Washington will accommodate is a function, in part, of who gets elected. The group recruits progressives, many of them “extraordinary ordinary people” with no political experience, to run primary campaigns against some of the most powerful people in Congress. In its first effort, in 2018, it ran dozens of candidates on shoestring budgets. All of them lost, except one—Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez—but she turned out to be a potent validation of the group’s model. Today, the Justice Democrats-aligned faction in Congress includes about ten members,
depending on how you count (New Yorker) Link below.
A lot is happening. To play catchup, one source is the article in The New Yorker, quoted above.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/05/31/are-we-entering-a-new-political-era
Once again, I find that I have little to offer on the body of today's LFAA. I am grateful for those with expertise in the realm of the debt crisis for their input.
I really enjoyed hearing Bernie Sanders (and I have never uttered those words before) reaching the end of his rope with Manchin and Sinema, finally asking (and I paraphrase) "just what DO you want, specifically?"
It isn't enough to say "I want less". Tell us what you want to cut. Period.
I am also thrilled that the DoJ asked for an injunction in Texas.
I am with you on Bernie asking Manchin and Sinema want they want and be specific. They aren't answering because they can't say why they are being obstructive....they are in thrall to selfish greedy people.
Before all the world, Sinema behaves as if she is bipolar. I think she is ill, seriously. Her outfits, self-aggrandizement, swings of mood and behavior...et al are not just a Britney Spears wanna be. But then, Frump was way out there, too.
Wow, just wow. Talk about pillaging our country. McConnell is the very worst kind of human being and I sure hope the lot of them meet their karma soon. Thank goodness for Biden and team!
It will help if the Democrats follow Little Steven's advice last week and "stop playing tiddly winks while the other side foments treason."
Little Steven is — Bannon? Miller? Mnuchin? They are all POSs.
FWIW, TC is referring to "Little Steven" Van Zandt, who recently went viral in an interview re: talking straight about the predations by and threats from the RWNJs.
All of the above. Couldn't find a worse group of Stevens.
Democrats are nice people???
Yes, they are - a blessing and a curse. Simultaneously.
Where does the curse part come in?
We're too nice – we don't fight with our claws out and our fangs bared.
Don't think for a moment that WE don't have LEADERS. Enjoy some time with Bernie.
‘BERNIE SANDERS just spent 15 minutes lambasting Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema for holding up the Democrats' reconciliation bill, accusing them of 'sabotage'’
‘Sanders unleashes on Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema: The Vermont independent is ready to fight for the $3.5 trillion infrastructure package — and, in a fiery 15-minute press conference, he lashed out at the moderates holding back the spending plan. Sanders directed most of his ire toward Manchin, who he said was doing something "inexcusable" by being vague about the climate policies he supported.’
‘Key quote: "Two people do not have the right to sabotage what 48 want, what the president of the United States wants. That, to me, is wrong," Sanders told reporters’
‘Manchin responded later: He said Sanders wanted an "entitlement society." (Indsider)
'In particular, Sanders targeted Manchin’s view on the role that the government should play when it comes to health care, child care and other programs, criticizing the senator’s comments uttered hours earlier that he “did not believe that we should turn our society into an entitlement society.”
“Is protecting working families and cutting childhood poverty an entitlement?” Sanders asked. After rattling off similar rhetorical questions, he concluded: “Perhaps most importantly, does Senator Manchin not believe what the scientists are telling us, that we face an existential threat regarding climate change?” (Washington Post) See link below:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/biden-agenda-sanders-manchin-senate-democrats/2021/10/06/96fdee98-26e3-11ec-a6ad-9ee7deda7f34_story.html
BERNIE on Twitter:
'When you've got the support of the majority of the American people, the Democratic House and Senate caucus, and when you've got the support of the president — this is not some 50-50 deal.'
'Two people cannot stand in the way of delivering for the working people of this country.'
Bernie Sanders
@BernieSanders
'The pharmaceutical industry is spending millions and millions of dollars on misleading ads, swarming Capitol Hill with their lobbyists to convince lawmakers that it's a-okay for you to continue to pay the highest prices on earth for your prescriptions — NO MORE.
Bernie Sanders'
@BernieSanders
·
Oct 5
'I get a little tired of Republicans telling me and telling you that we "can't afford it" when we talk about investing in the needs of working class people. You ever hear those people say we "can't afford it" when it comes to giving a billionaire another tax break? OF COURSE NOT!
Bernie Sanders'
@BernieSanders
·
Oct 5
'We have the real possibility of creating unprecedented public policy which stands up for working families, the elderly, the children, the sick, and the poor — and defeats the greed of powerful special interests and the billionaire class — but only if we fight for it.'
@BernieSanders
Oct 5
'For a very long time, American exceptionalism has meant being the only major country not to guarantee a single day of paid family and medical leave. I believe it's time we change our national priorities and guarantee paid leave to our people.'
@BernieSanders
·
Oct 4
'The vast majority of the American people want us to:
- substantially lower prescription drug costs
- expand Medicare to cover dental, vision, and hearing
- expand home health care
- make child care affordable
- lead the world in the fight against climate change
Let's get it done.'
Links to Bernie's Press Conference and conversation with Rachel Maddow below:
Bernie's Press Conference 10/06/21
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDAAlhIh2Xc
Bernie Talk with Rachel Maddow 10/06/21
https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/-it-s-not-a-50-50-deal-sanders-critical-of-manchin-sinema-obstructing-popular-will-122964549928
Loved listening to Bernie yesterday.... Was it Rachel Maddow? Interestingly enough, she also had Timothy Snyder on for a minute or two. His description of how we continue on with a democracy that allows challenged voting and more insurgencies to become commonplace made me think again of Nazi Germany.
Yes, it was Rachel. Timothy Snyder's 'Thinking about...' is now going through the Lessons in his book Tyranny. I highly recommend it. Link below. Cheers!
https://snyder.substack.com/
I like that he created a “picture” book of Tryanny.
I have to say that Bernie was brilliant on Rachel last night. He certainly hit on all of the points that we are exhausted and angry about. Manchin and Sinema never tell the media/us what exactly they are unhappy with the plan. All we know is that they want the price tag lowered and that’s it! Infuriating and frustrating
Marlene, Listening to Bernie with Rachel last night was like watching the longed for burst of reality, finally, a powerful proclamation on behalf of the American People. Marlene it was a socio-political high, and I had just received by third booster, hours before. Bernie and U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman's near-total abortion ban in Texas (temporarily) closed a great day.
Truly, Fern…a great day!
He has supported Biden in a way I never thought was possible for him. To me this is masterful leadership......to allow others to step up to the plate when it is their turn and I saw Bernie hit a home run last nite.
Proud to say that I live in Bernie's state!!
At last his staying in his wheelhouse and not entering into the abortion issue, which he considers a "distraction."
If Meadows, Bannon, Scavino, and Patel decide to defy their subpoenas to impress Donnie, I hope those in charge stick to these facts:
“……contempt of Congress earns a year of prison time; obstruction of Congress, five years; and obstruction of justice, 20 years….,”
I would prefer the testimony of mice leaving the sinking ship. Why owe loyalty to Trump when he no longer has power and would put any one of them under the bus without a moments hesitation. Don't the four blind mice realize that??? -- Jail time is too easy, but better than nothing (esp if it is 20 years!).
They have a plan by now. Let’s see what it is, and let the committee crush it.....
... what if prison is where the majority of their 'troops' are quartered ...?
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️Rack em up and Make My Day !
Before going to sleep last night I heard ""Mitch McConnell will allow Democrats to use normal procedures to pass an emergency debt limit extension AT A FIXED DOLLAR AMOUNT," He hasn't given up entirely. He is still trying to stop the social infrastructure bill from being passed via reconciliation. His offer is meaningless. Schumer needs to bring it to the vote and let Republicans vote NO or he needs to carve this vote OUT of the filibuster on the basis that PAYING THE BILLS must be voted on because it is procedural and the responsibility of both parties to actually vote on it. IT is not part a new bill or act on the President's wish list, the same goes for the Supreme Court and voting rights. Republicans must be put on the record and these three issues should not be filibustered EVER.
Adam Jetelson suggested the Dems propose a bajillion dollar debt limit. Love it.
So exhausted by these anti-American GQP folks. It's hard to believe any of them can see their own reflections.
What do you all think about Bernie Sanders calling on Manchin and Sinema to state publicly exactly what provisions of the Build Back Better bill they want to reduce and why?
His comments intrigued me. It was clearly time for a new approach to get things moving. Not negotiating in good faith with your own caucus, especially considering the stakes and tiny margin, is not going to be forgotten. Manchin might finally get serious. Sinema? All the trappings of a lost-cause head case. She's clearly out of her depth. It's remarkable that a Democratic U.S. senator will likely do damage we might never overcome.
Thanks for this newsy tidbit (I hadn't heard yet). When the press simple covers the size of the package ($3.5T, $2.3T, $1.5T, etc) the provisions of the BBB bill are lost in the sound bites. All the provisions of the package are popular with Dems (and many are popular with Republicans), so forcing Manchin and Sinema to get specific will be difficult as it then appears as a take-away from likely voters.
I saw that on TRMS last night. It is a valid question.
Ultimately we must confront the question of whether we will be a democratic country that supports the principle of majority rule determined by free and fair elections or if we will allow a minority to rule through a government autocrat. This fundamental question is at the foundation of every policy controversy currently being contested at local, state, and federal levels. I believe it is time to confront this issue openly and forthrightly. This can begin with a decision on changing Senate rules to totally eliminate the filibuster. I understand the idea that the filibuster is thought to protect the minority from the flaw designed into the Senate by equal representation by each state regardless of it's relative share of the U.S. population. Yes, this flaw and its impact as well on the electoral college is a serious defect in the design of our democracy. But the filibuster is not an adequate solution to overcome this flaw. Eliminating the filibuster will not correct the defect it supposedly addresses but it is a start, and we must begin somewhere. So, lets stop debating about where to begin correcting the flaws in the design of our democracy and pull on that thread. We have to start somewhere to unravel the mess that is minority rule. It is inconsistent with the very idea of democracy.
Stop allowing current state legislators to make their own gerrymandered election district maps every 10 years. It is NOT right!
Agreed which is why some voters in some states have adopted an independent redistricting commission requirement. California voters did so in 2008. A quick search indicates there are 6 other states also have independent commissions; these require an equal number of Dems & Republicans plus one or more Independent voters. I was pleased to see that Arizona does have an independent commission - 2 D+ 2 R +1 I for a total of five commissioners.
Sounds much better.
Bruce, And that is the heart of the problem. Frankly, I'm not sure our 'leadership' (on both sides of the aisle) has the character and moral standing to confront the issue.
Charlie — I wager it is we who will have to show them their spine. Those who wish to stay in the electoral arena WILL have to respond, ultimately, to their erstwhile voters, if not their entire constituency.
Charlie, I agree. Both sides of the aisle need a serious house cleaning and reset. One of the first things that needs to happen is term limits.
We need to think carefully about term limits. There are many legislators who have spent long years in Congress serving the interests of their constituents and our country well. I am not so sure I want to give up on continuing to have those folks serving in Congress. I do think we need to carefully consider the issue of qualifications for elected officials to run and continue to serve. I also think we need serious reforms to campaign finance laws and disclosures. And, let's not forget better controls on government ethics including limitations on serving as lobbyists either before or after government service. I would place all of these above term limits in importance. Except for the Supreme Court where I strongly believe in removing the idea of "lifetime" appointments. The only effective measure for the removal of someone from a Supreme Court position should be more thoughtful than simply waiting for them to die.
Here's my concern about having "many legislators who have spent long years in Congress serving the interests of their constituents and our country well":
At what point do we open the door wider to new blood? Do we do it so slowly and incrementally that new-comers have to struggle to get and maintain a foot hold? How many of our current members of Congress hang on for decades? Decades? That. Is. Insanity. Both parties have developed and participate in a huge re-election machine – it's an industry unto itself and it's destroying us. As gross as this sounds, both chambers are functioning like clogged toilets waiting for the Roto Rooter Man to come and remove all the crap that's packed in the pipes. Until that happens we are stuck with fetid toilet water spilling all over the floor. Term limits would help keep the pipes clean and running smoothly.
Absolutely agree about controls around ethics in government including limits on lobbying both before and after taking office.
I also whole heartedly agree that the Supreme Court needs to be term limited. We are in a terrible pickle that could likely have been avoided with term limits.
How many two-year terms should Nancy Peolosi, or John Lewis have been limited to?
Just to pick a couple of examples
A couple of days ago, I participated in a Letter to the Editor workshop with Common Cause. You might be interested in using this LTE tool to write to local papers about eliminating the filibuster. https://www.commoncause.org/filibusterlte/ Enter your zip code to begin. The tool finds your local papers (or if not you can search). Common Cause suggested we should identify ourselves (what city are you from?), tell why passing the Freedom to Vote Act is important, and either "thank your Senators" for their support, or say why you think they need to vote "Yes". The point is, if they need to eliminate the filibuster, then they must do this so that we can continue to have a democracy. Would you please give it a try? Your senators' staff will count the number of Yes/No and add to their totals. This took me less than an hour!
Bruce, I have a question with reference to the issue you raised earlier concerning free and fair elections in our country. 'Ultimately we must confront the question of whether we will be a democratic country that supports the principle of majority rule determined by free and fair elections or if we will allow a minority to rule through a government autocrat. This fundamental question is at the foundation of every policy controversy currently being contested at local, state, and federal levels. I believe it is time to confront this issue openly and forthrightly.' Bruce, naturally, the electoral college and partisan redistricting are major obstructions to reform. Another enormous hurdle is the financing of elections. Will it not be time, in the near future, to marshal a robust national campaign aimed at finance reform - I know, devilishly difficult to get done for obvious reasons? A couple of caveats: first passing the necessary national voting rights bills this year, followed by Democrats improving their number in the senate and house (midterm election results). Under those conditions, why not a marshal a campaign, with strong public support, after examining the best routes to pursue and succeed in this endeavor. The subject is not in my wheelhouse and it may not be in yours. It is hypothetical with a couple of rosy and, perhaps, unrealistic caveats. As I was writing this the hard facts and the undemocratic aspects of our country knocked against every word.
The following basic sources may be of interest:
https://www.law.berkeley.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Campaign-Finance-Reform-Revisited.-National-Affairs.-Winter-2019.pdf
https://www.aclu.org/issues/free-speech/campaign-finance-reform
https://www.brennancenter.org/issues/reform-money-politics
https://elizabethwarren.com/plans/campaign-finance-reform
Fern:
You ask great questions and raise important points and the resources for research are excellent.
My post was to make the point that we must start somewhere. I hope you will forgive the oft-spoken metaphor "That a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." There is much that must be accomplished to achieve the progressive society we wish to have. However, it can best be achieved by beginning the journey where we are now. Minority rule is present in so many forms and in so many places from local city councils, and school boards, county commissions, state legislatures, and, of course, at the federal level. The tyranny of minority rule whether by a benevolent monarch or evil and incompetent autocrat is contrary to the entire idea of democracy "of and for the people." In order to accomplish anything, in order to begin our journey, we need to take that first step. If someone has a better idea about what that first step might be, I am certainly prepared to listen. However, I think the time to start the journey is now, and ending the filibuster rules in the Senate is both achievable and a motivating symbolic place to begin.
Another thought, when Howard Dean was chairman of the DNC, he wanted to recruit, train and grow the party around the country. That goal did not continue I think it is one of the projects for the party to reignite. Trained young democrats need to be living in red and purple states, groups of them, It's not a quick fix, but the rural - urban divide needs to be addressed.
Bruce, After brief reflection, I think my response to you was a tad too strong. Your very polite response to my query and carefully worded position seemed delicate given what we are facing. There is a whole lot mess in our system, so my considered opinion favors working on a several critical fronts. I'm with you about taking a methodical approach.
...and working to get this country to turn toward democracy requires a lot more that taking one step at a time. Intel, FBI, etc., also need top to bottom review.
I agree that the filibuster must be eliminated, but addressing how money, step by step, is the primary reason for the corruption of our system. It has to be the primary objective of the democracy movement. The country will continue to decline whether or not the filibuster is eliminated. How much money is being used to drastically reduce or kill the human infrastructure bill; keep prescription drugs sky high and continue to thwart addressing Climate Control? Who funded the control the state legislatures in red states? Who is finding the disinformation on Fox and Facebook? Who is funding the hatred and social disorder? Why is our economic system so imbalanced? Who's funding autocracy? From beginning to end, if Dark Money is not addressed America will get darker and ....
Thank you Heather.
How is it that the Senate Minority Leader is the most powerful person in the United States Government? Given this fine point, we are already an Autocracy. It just hasn't been formally called that...yet.
I'm watching Bidens polls cascading down as the GOP cheer. I've been reading a fairly consistent 38%.
The GOP are getting everything they want and frankly worked hard to get. I wish the tables were turned.
I spent yesterday at the Oncologist having various testing and consults. I sat next to a woman who was having similar testing as I was. We spoke the typical "Oncologist waiting area" conversations, the weather, "how cold it always is in here" and where did this year go. No one ever discusses the elephant in the room. After an uncomfortable silence, she said " I have never been so afraid in my life". I thought she was referring to why she was here. No, she said "I really thought after Biden won, life would be better. I'm terrified what the next thing is the GOP will and can do to us". As our conversation unrolled, I discovered that she was a History Professor at one of the local Universities. She used to bring her sons to the museum I'm Director at. She also is a daily reader of Letters from an American. Small world.
McConnell will perform this same song and dance in the matter of weeks. In the meantime, he will bolster his followers to gain ever more momentum. I think we know where this is going.
Be safe, be well.
Chance meetings like that are the feast of life. To be in the position the two of you are in (I know of what I speak) and to be able to have that conversation about what is really scary is simply wonderful. I hope that the both of you have the most positive outcomes that could come from your respective situations.
Thank you Ally.
This is where we need to be reaching out with our fear as well as what Biden's American Help bills can do. Thank you for sharing this conversation and wishing well to you.
Linda, I'm keeping you in my heart. I'm so glad you were able to connect with someone at your oncologist's office who was on the same wavelength.🌷
Thank you Daria. I appreciate that. It was nice to connect with someone yesterday that I was on the same page with.
and you Linda get well, stay well!
Yes, this hill we are going down is getting steeper by the minute!!.,