“It’s been a tradition for more than half a century that the major party candidates for president sit down with 60 Minutes in October,” host Scott Pelley said to the camera last night before 60 Minutes aired an interview with Vice President Kamala Harris.
The proposals to help seniors in their homes is common sense overdue. First, it is the humane thing to do. Second, it is the cheaper thing to do compared to the warehousing of old people.
Kudos to Harris for presenting a plan. For most us in the "sandwich" ... it is a DUH!
We are the richest nation to have ever existed in the history of humanity. And yet we struggle to care for our elders, punish working families and make the rich richer every day.
Time to search the world - looking for examples of problem solving. Child care, elder care, Healthcare in general are all addressed with less expense and stress in more mature and functional nations. We could learn. But instead we proclaim that we are exceptional. OY.
I agree. I am one of those sandwich generation women. My mom, who lives in the US, is living in a senior residence and has been recently diagnosed with Alzheimers. My daughter and I are mainly living in Germany. If I cannot straighten things out with my mom's long term care, which is not responding to me, I am considering bringing her to Germany. It will not be easy though. But, it is cheaper here and the government does more care subsidization. For example, I was told there is an agency that will assess one's home for what will need to be done to retrofit it to the needs of one's parents, and then there is money to pay for or help pay for that, depending on one's income. While there is generally not enough child care in Germany, although that can vary depending on where on lives, the care that is provided is paid for. In some areas there is maybe a fee for the food, but otherwise it is subsidized, and also each family gets 250€ a month per child from the government, which more than covers any child care costs.
Most European countries have some form of this. The US is unique in believing that the individual should find their own solutions instead of their being a Social Contract whose goal if to improve the quality of life for all.
Any care in the US provided by the government is considered “socialism” by many. We need to get over this misconception of socialism (disinformation once again by the wealthy !). It’s compassionate capitalism where the strong support the weak.
Joseph, If we retake the House and hold the Senate and the Presidency, we can advance this legislation with zero Republican support. To clarify, currently, 49 Democratic Senators support some version of filibuster reform, be it through resuscitating the talking filibuster or through carve-outs. Either way, the reform, presuming we have 50 Democratic Senators and a Democratic VP to cast the tie-breaking vote, ultimately would allow legislation to move to the floor for discussion and an up or down majority vote.
I would note that diminishing minority control in the Senate over the will of the majority, while not my sole reason for being in this fight, is a major factor.
"some version of filibuster reform, be it through resuscitating the talking filibuster or through carve-outs"
The whole "carve-out" idea is plainly ridiculous, because there is no way to say one thing deserves a carve-out but not another thing without deeply offending people in your coalition who value that. Can you imagine Senate Democrats saying "OK, abortion rights are SO IMPORTANT we will make an exception for that"... but then not doing the same for gun control? Goodbye, youth movement. Or the Equality Act? Goodbye, LGBT voters. Or police reform? Goodbye, black voters. Or the PRO Act? Goodbye, union voters. Or raising the minimum wage? Goodbye, all voters who aren't rich. The Senators know this. Everyone knows this.
The key change that has to happen here is that we can no longer have an arbitrary minority of Senators be allowed to perpetually block a vote from ever occurring on things the majority of the public clearly wants. Any rule change that still allows this to happen is useless. Until 51 votes makes a yes instead of 60 (which is NOT IN THE CONSTITUTION) then we are just beating around the bush. The Senators know this. Everyone knows this.
Will, My understanding, while we currently have 49 Democratic Senators who support filibuster reform, is that we don’t have nearly as many who support abolishing the filibuster. I wish we did. That said, I expect a carve-out would be reserved for rights so fundamental that they are preservative of every other right—voting rights for example. Otherwise, I expect we would see a resuscitation of the speaking filibuster, which both would resuscitate the Senate as a more deliberative body than the House while also eventually allowing legislation to move to the floor for debate and an up or down majority vote.
I'm not so sure about that. As a matter of fact, I'm pretty certain it is not true. I think they all know that it has to go the first time they get a chance or they will not get another chance. Getting and keeping a Senate majority takes several cycles.
Just try to imagine voters defying all the pundits again, delivering the first female President to the White House and handing a slim trifecta to Democrats only for them to say "Yeah, I know we ran on restoring the basic rights and human dignity that Christian nationalists and corrupt billionaires are stripping from you, and we now have the votes to actually do what we promised... but we're going to hold out until you give us 52 Senators instead of 50! We just need a little more confidence! Keep dying for a little while longer, women of reproductive age in the South!" The backlash would be like nothing you have ever seen in your life.
@MisTBlu, I very much appreciate the reminder. I would note, when first presented, I had been a fan of Norm Ornstein’s proposal that the Senate shift the burden from the majority, requiring 60 Senators to end debate, to the minority, requiring 41 to continue it. Still, I would link this shift in burden to resuscitating the talking filibuster 1) to return the Senate to its roots as a more deliberative body and 2) to ensure the legislation ultimately moved to the floor for an up or down majority vote.
Manchin is really a Republican, left over from when Democrats were able to win elections in W Virginia (before FOX or Rush Limbaugh polluted the airwaves).
Patricia, Manchin, though no longer relevant, is hardly the only Senator opposed to ending the filibuster. Moreover, Harris, who makes clear nearly every day she seeks consensus which she understands entails compromise, would likely work with the Senate to reach agreement on the sorts of filibuster reforms I noted in my original comment.
Sinema and Manchin were the holdouts. They are both "retiring" this year, and that is not a coincidence, as their refusal in the name of "protecting bipartisanship" (read: my fundraising friends) was correctly viewed as betrayal by the rest of the party than rendered them both persona non grata. Manchin may have had *some* justification, given the politics of his state, but Sinema is the classic example of someone trying to outplay everyone who end up playing themselves instead. Girl, bye.
Her seat is in Arizona, which is competitive again this year and we have a very strong candidate in Ruben Gallego. Debbie Stabenow from Michigan is also retiring, so we must replace her with Elissa Slotkin. (Neither of them faced a competitive primary, so I am certain conversations with Schumer have taken place where he extracted a guarantee neither will be another Sinema in exchange for an easy road to the nomination.) Otherwise, our job is to make sure every other one of our incumbents who voted to remove the filibuster for Voting Rights in 2018 stays right where they are. That means Jacky Rosen in Nevada, Tammy Baldwin in Wisconsin, and Bob Casey in Pennsylvania need to come along with a Harris victory and Sherrod Brown in Ohio and Jon Tester in Montana need to outperform the top of the ticket as they have done in the past. In Maryland, Hogan will give Alsobrooks a close race rather than the walk she would have had otherwise, but she is heavily favored. I know some people are throwing out other names, but trust me, unless Harris ends up in a historic landslide we don't have room to expand the map otherwise, although if you want to help out someone in your own state obviously God bless. I do think all of our incumbents are very strong in comparison to their competitors and the more vulnerable ones are being underestimated.
I think 51 currently is Testa and I agree we only need 50 plus Walz but with wins in FL, NE, and maybe even TX we are on our way to kill if not modify filibuster; I worked in the senate years ago for Paul Simon!
Ira, Keeping in mind we need only 50 (with a Democratic VP casting the tie-breaking vote) and in no particular order: 1) Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) [btw, Sinema (I-AZ) is not seeking reelection]; 2) Colin Allred (D-TX) ; 3) Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (D-FL); and 4) Dan Osborn (D-NE).
Additionally, if we’re not to lose our seat in Maryland, Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD) must win her race against former popular Governor Larry Hogan (R-MD). I would note Alsobrooks is mighty impressive. Moreover, it should be noted that Jon Tester (D-Montana) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) are in competitive races to hold their seats.
Barbara Jo: Optimistic and clearly possible certainly in Md, AZ, NE (really important & doable; I’ve been helping Dan), not sure about Fl until today as floods will take away millions of R votes in western Fl, GA, and NC; was sure before flood about NC and the power of the Black campaign in GA (Warnock twice and even Ossoff!) when they elected Ossoff it signals a new day in GA for federal statewide elections!!
No they won't, but if we forced our high school students to do a year or even a semester abroad, they would be exposed to other ways of doing things. It could be tied to a comparison of governments while they are in their host country. It was super informative for my daughter and her exchange partner to spend half a year in each other's home country's and schools, even though my daughter, being a dual German-US citizen was generally familiar with a similar culture, from going each year to Germany. She also went to Poland on a school trip with the class and to France and Spain. Just the culture of the students planning in committee the trip, which was tied to arts and architecture studies, so a heavy schedule of visiting museums and sites on their trip to Paris and Barcelona, and taking the sleeping train. To Poland they went for Holocaust Remembrance, which they had been studying that semester. The greater independence of students was a cultural shift that some cannot handle. My friend, whose son went to my daughter's school, had an exchange for half a year in Germany last year when he was in 10th grade, and this summer and beginning of the fall he had an exchange in Norway. There are so many countries in this world, and it would be great to get our next generation of leaders to visit and see other ways of doing things, so that they see it in practice, and it is not just a foreign idea to them.
An excellent idea exposing young people to other cultures and systems. After 2 years of college, emphasis on cultural anthropology and three years of military getting lucky and working in intelligence Communications my eyes were opened. It would be so nice if our high schools would incorporate a requirement to study our own government system. So a requirement of our own government and then a year of Exchange in other countries would be a real Plus to our future leaders. Compared with other countries we do not reward our teachers sufficiently I am completely in favor of promoting a student exchange program, while offering greater compensation to our teachers also instituting a program that helped our own student understand civics and our own form of government.
I have long felt that this would be a fantastic way to help Americans be less insular and more aware of other ways of organizing society. And it would be relatively inexpensive. A bit like the study abroad programs for college students but it would be wonderful if it could be more egalitarian and available to students from all backgrounds.
We need a mandatory civil service internship after High School to facilitate what Linda is suggesting. Many families concern is far removed from International travel albeit grand, at this stage in our countey.
Victoria, I love this idea. Germany has been big on sending youth out on gap years after they finish school, and have a whole program set up, generally to either work in childcare or senior care. A friend of our's daughter went to Israel for half a year, and is fluent now in spoken Hebrew. Another friend's daughter spent half a year in Tibet, half a year in Nicaragua, again working in child care. This and living with families teaches about culture. My daughter's class went on a trip to Costa Rica, where they helped with a community center. They painted it. She lived with a family, and still communicates with them. Their 5 year old son, who has asthma just like her, but not the access to health care or medicines, has to lie down when he is having breathing difficulties. She saw this and learned what the health care was like in the village. She has inhalers to help her when she has difficulties and knows when to use them. She also has regular doctor access. I have Mormon neighbors whose children all took 2 years off to do service trips. They had to earn the money for it themselves too. One went to South Korea, sisters went at different times to Brazil, another one went to Chile. Another to the Dominican Republic. While they are supposed to do missionary work, they also get to live in another culture and understand it. The mom of one had been to Israel. The dad of another did East LA. My daughter also went in 8th grade to the Navajo reservation where she learned about weaving, but also helped build an addition to a house, and dig irrigation for this family. These trips have broadened her horizons and increased her self confidence.
Here is a Gap year program for American students in Germany.
Also, German college students are encouraged to do a semester or year abroad as undergraduates or even graduates. Typically in a country that relates to what you are studying if it can. My husband studied in Greece for a year in Graduate school. That is why he speaks modern Greek. It helps in restaurants where friendly service is even friendlier.
Yeah, we know. Which is why we need to do it without them.
This idea that a political party can be voted into the minority in all branches of government and yet still have veto power over any change in policy is literally unheard of in any other advanced democracy, as it is patently absurd on its face. It is the single reason nothing ever gets done and the Repubs never have the incentive to get their act together. When you get voted out, it means the public has chosen a winner in the battle of ideas, and they were not yours. You need to get back on the same page with the public, and until you do you shall not possess the power that is solely the public's to give.
The filibuster makes all of this impossible. Its current form fundamentally breaks democracy and breeds nihilism in its participants. It must go, plain and simple.
I also agree with her plan for seniors it is long overdue. Seniors deserve to die with dignity toward the latter part of their years. Home health care is a right. In Demark, people pay nothing for health care. In my opinion, we should have health care for all.
“ Deepa Shivaram of NPR noted that a relatively large percentage of middle-aged and older women remain undecided in this race and Harris’s plan speaks to their needs.”
That is phenomenal to me. I ask my self, how can any woman in America be undecided in this election? Perhaps the vulnerability to a con is far greater than I realize.
I just watched the 60 Minutes interviews with Harris and Walz. Because Trump refuses to submit to any meaningful interview, all we have is Harris in the hot seat; pressed by the interviewer to answer his questions more fully.
I challenge CBS to use the better part of an hour to show clips from Trump's rallies so that voters can see how seriously deranged he is. If Trump won't submit to an interview, let the words from his rallies speak for him!
I present to you all... a 20-something voter's honest thought process (mine) while watching the 60 Minutes segment, presented James Joyce stream-of-consciousness style.
What even is 60 Minutes? (I've forgotten it existed.) Like, the show is 60 Minutes long? Isn't that most shows? It seems too long and yet also too short. Oh right, it's that Sunday Night thing Granny used to watch. I miss her. OK, focus. Why is this literal clock ticking at me? I forgot clocks could tick. Is Jack Bauer going to pop out at me? No, it's this guy sitting on a chair. I have no idea who this man is. Why is he all alone on this chair? Does he not have any friends? "She's been a candidate for two months and the honeymoon is over." How exactly did Man in Chair determine this? Is there a scientific agency that measures honeymoon periods, like those people trying to figure out if we are in the Anthropocene? Why is he so serious? At this point I'm used to everyone on video beginning with "Hey Guys, it's your boy [insert name like Cody or Blake], and here's what we've got for you today! Smash that like and subscribe button!" I'm confused. Does Man in Chair not want me to like him? (His name is apparently Bill.) It's a commercial already. Where is the "Skip Ad" button on this screen? There isn't one. That's the pits! OK, Kamala is finally here. Looking good in purple, gurl! Oh Lord, it's Israel time already. Y'all know she can't straight-up answer these questions without destabilizing the entire world, right Bill? She's not going to share state secrets. WAIT WAIT WHOA her lips are moving but I can't hear what her answer is because Bill is narrating in voiceover what her answer is instead? WTF?!? Do they do that on this show? Why would I want your version of what I can hear myself? "How are you going to pay for that?" Congress is gonna do it if you give her the right Congress, dumbass. WAIT WAIT WHOA did he just literally say "In the real world..."??? Is he literally mansplaining CONGRESS to the actual Vice President right now??? Oh thank God, she just straight up told him he was wrong to his face. "25% of voters say they don't know you. Why don't they trust you yet?" She is polling at 48-50% in almost all polls, so that's a whole heck of a lot of us who are apparently voting for someone we "don't know." Does this guy get that his serious face doesn't make him sound less dumb, or that question less insulting to voters? We're on to FRACKING again. Again. She isn't going to ban fracking! Changing your mind when presented with new information means you are reasonable. Why are people pretending like it's not? Do they want this to be the new "her emails?" It's not gonna be "her emails." Let it go "You have a gun, but have you fired it?" How badly did he have to restrain himself from adding "Shouldn't you be careful, little lady?" Wait... IT'S OVER? I learned nothing from this! Is this why no one knows anything about anything? At least here is Coach Walz! "Is there anything you two disagree on?" Oh for CRYING OUT LOUD, another question no reasonable person will answer! What's next, "how many of your wife's clothes does she look fat in?" Wait... IT'S OVER? Here's Liz Cheney! Why does Liz Cheney have as much speaking time as the VP choice? Bill and Kamala are now walking in some random hallway. Are they gonna bother telling me what this hallway is? Wait... IT'S OVER? There must have been more questions asked, right? **Goes to Google.** Oh, here they are! Ugh, these are shallow and repetitive as well. Why are they calling this a "grilling"? And why were her other interviews "friendly"? These were the same questions on MSNBC, the redhead lady on that channel just wasn't so damn superior about it. How many people still watch this? Apparently it is still about 8 million per week, after being on for half a century. Wait... how many people listen to "Call Her Daddy"? Apparently, it is about 2 million per week after about 5 years.
I can only conclude that I shall not cry when the dinosaurs finally die out.
I have been watching 60 minutes for most of my adult life. It is not entertainment tv and I am disgusted by your commentary. At least they try to present fact-checked information. “Call Her Daddy” is not on my radar, dinosaur that I am. How about not pissing off people who still have one foot in a world that you denigrate. While you make some good points, your smirks are telling and insulting.
The 60 Minutes interview was very biased. Still trying to normalize Trump! A convicted felon running for president. Harris has policies and solutions. His rallies show his policies which are threats, retribution, all lego-centered. Media money....
Julie, Contrary to viewing the interview as “biased,” I dare say I view the time-honored 60 Minute interviews every four years for presidential candidates as an opportunity to show one can withstand critical scrutiny. Frankly, I both appreciated how Harris held up and also how Whitaker was intent on underscoring that Trump backed out once he had learned he would be fact-checked. Given that the matter of fact-checking was an issue in the past two debates and now on 60 Minutes, in my view, the story that needs amplifying is that, in contrast to Harris who showed she could handle a cross, neither Trump nor Vance, by their own admission, could submit to this type of vetting. While said story would not win over any MAGAts, it clearly could affect increasing numbers of so-called moderates.
I don't agree with Julie that it was biased in the way that she is characterizing it, which seems a little knee-jerk. However, the interview was a "win" for Harris/Walz only in the sense that a) the other guys forfeited by not showing up at game time, and b) she managed to get through it without punching Whitaker in the face.
As someone who is not of the demographic that has the reverence for the "time-honored" tradition of this interview and only watched to see what the fuss was about, I was just so taken aback by how vapid it genuinely seemed. Not on the part of the candidate, by on the part of the program. To my mind, there was no "critical scrutiny" here at all, at least not of the kind I find useful. All the questions were either designed to allow her to give no clear answer at all without causing damage, or were asking her to explain other unnamed people's perceptions of her own supposed shortcomings. Look, I'm voting for the lady regardless, but if the interviewer had actually **picked some of her policy positions** and really made her drill down on them, that would have been a legitimate test of know-how I would like to have seen her pass. Instead we got vague admonishments about how "realistic" they might be or how people might not "feel" they "know" the "details" yet. She danced around it all well - she's a smart lady and knew what was coming - but what a cheat for viewers interested to see actual scrutiny of what actually matters to us, rather than a facsimile of "scrutiny" connoted simply by the presence of a furrowed brow.
Will, Suffice it to say, part of the brilliance of this week’s media blitz is its recognizing the necessity of engaging both with traditional and with new media. I suppose I’m asking you to trust my assertion that, typically, Baby Boomers resonate to candidates who show they can handle a cross.
Well, everyone has their own impressions on these things, and I certainly don't wish for my providing mine to sound like it is invalidating someone else's. I guess I just struggle to see how this rises to the level of Harris proving she "can handle a cross" relative to all the other ways she has already proven that, and my Boomer Dad thought the questions were pretty embarrassing too. But if others thought it was illuminating then I'm glad, because the more votes for my candidate the better, obviously!
Will, My views mostly stem from my trusting Harris and her team likely anticipated the nature and type of questions Whitaker would ask and concluded her replies would be an important piece of the conversations emerging from this week’s media blitz.
Kathaleen, While candidates don’t get to choose the questions, they can do themselves a great deal of good when they can retain integrity while their words and deeds are subject to critical scrutiny.
Let's hope that Kamala wins Decisively in November 2024, and is Inaugurated on January 20th, 2025... Bear in Mind, 'The President-Proposes-And-Congress-Deposes'... One of the Advantages that Joe Biden had being President, is that he could work with narrow margins in both Houses since he was a creature of the Senate so long....
I am sure Kamala learned alot from president Biden. She is seasoned and focused. There is no doubt in my mind she will be a strong leader for this country and the people.
Hello Patricia... The more that I watch her in Interviews, the more I like Kamala... She is giving a tremendous Interview with Steven Colbert right now... She is shouldering a Tremendous Load Of Hope right now... She is also in the Difficult position of being on the Biden Team., she can't be Independent yet.. We can hope that she can get Congressional Help with her new initiatives....
Mainstream media is worried about the same thing that Republicans who were originally opposed to Trump are. They are afraid to alienate the Trump base. They are burned by the Trump branding as fake news, however absurd, and need the viewer numbers to sell ads and stay afloat. They don’t want to seem biased against Trump, so the rules are different for him. Meanwhile, they treat Kamala Harris and Tim Waltz with the standard traditional scrutiny. Corporate media leadership needs to think about what a free press will look like if Trump is elected and how culpable they will be if they continue to treat him with kid gloves. He will never be their friend. Look how he handled press conferences when he was President. They won’t even be in the room.
They re also afraid of losing advertising dollars of his base plus moderate Rs who still vote for him out of lifelong habit and concern for Democratic tax increases on business plus individual ownership of most MSM are solidly big business Rs!
Call them names and they will cower. Puke. What the hell is our media made of. What stories would you like, Mr. asswipe Please don’t insult us again. Oh. I see, we just have to follow Rupert down the Foxhole. Excuse us. We seem to have lost our balls somewhere. But our bottom line looks good.
“Bill Whitaker, who drew the assignment, asked questions that were very obvious, and that were sometimes very leading. For example, he grilled Harris on her economic plan, observing that it would add $3 trillion to the deficit over the next 10 years, and demanding to know how she would pay for that. What that question overlooks is that EVERY president of the last century has added to the deficit, almost invariably at a rate greater than Harris' plan would.”
I would make the argument that the questions - while poor - were not actually "obvious." The obvious questions to ask, in my mind, would be based on obvious issues that obviously affect everyone in the country.
"You have proposed a ban or grocery price gouging. Can you explain to our viewers by what mechanism that would actually work, and how that would be different from the 'price controls' that your opposition is claiming it would amount to?"
"We have seen the ravages of climate change yet again this hurricane season, but you have not touched on that as much as your predecessor. Do you intend to continue carrying out his policies of incentives, or do you think we should go even further?"
...and so forth. "How will you pay for this stuff, especially if Congress doesn't feel like being nice?" isn't an obvious question as much as an infuriatingly obtuse one. The answers are "I'm a Democrat, so tax raises on corporations are my jam!" and "Well, if I don't have a good Congress we're all sh!t outta luck, now aren't we?" and we all know those are the answers without Harris having to say a word. Yet she somehow still had to find the words to say it, and viewers were left poorer.
I'm just trying to imagine Walter Cronkite asking LBJ "What makes you think you can expand elder care when Congress has not done it yet?" like Whitaker just asked Harris. Patronizing and infuriating doesn't begin to cover it.
P.S. Even if she did NOT entirely pay for her investments (which she obviously needs to, as the debt is already absurd), per reports today it would add less debt by trillions and trillions than her opponent's plan, which we all know he has no intention of paying for at all. So the broadcast and cable interviewers can stuff it with the repetition of the whole "irresponsibly spending Democrat" canard, because at this point they are simply misleading people, full stop.
I think you’re right about most of this, but the fear of the debt is mostly a rightwing canard. They live on complaining about it, but they’re the assholes who run it up, and it’s never kept us from continuing to have the strongest economy in the world.
The rubes and boobies, all 74 million of them, to the last man or woman, sincerely believe thst they will soon win the lottery and be obscenely wealthy, and they don’t want to pay taxes on their newfound wealth. Honest to God! That’s the way these POS’s “think.”
"Socialism never took root in America because the poor see themselves not as an exploited proletariat but as temporarily embarrassed millionaires." - Ronald Wright
"If you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best colored man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he'll empty his pockets for you." - Lyndon Johnson
It's truly AMAZING the nice things we could have - and I mean the absolutely insane bounty of nice things for absolutely everyone - without adding a penny to debt...
… if we just got on board with the idea that asking someone to have four yachts instead of five was not some sort of perverse sin.
I would argue that it was not only UN-substantive, but actively insulting and irresponsible. The questions were all personality-based, not policy-based. He's been asked in every interview about misspeaking or fibbing or whatever about where exactly he was in China God knows how many years ago. This is something that affects literally zero people in the entire USA, and he's already publicly apologized, so at this point we can only conclude it is a purposeful attempt to paint someone with a lifelong commitment to public service as untrustworthy (Thou shalt not have told a tall tale ever or thou shalt be disqualified!). Meanwhile, neither person on the other ticket could be bothered to appear at all because they are currently too busy purposefully spreading conspiracies about the response to a natural disaster that has left countless injured and homeless.
As a Medicare recipient, I've been generally happy with my coverage, but I've been waiting for Bernie's Medicare for All to be enacted. I like Harris' addition of eyes and ears and mouth to Medicare since I pay out of pocket for my bifocal contact lenses and my dental bills. I'm waiting for good quality hearing aids to be free. I'm voting BLUE so that I won't have to wait too much longer.
I'm 100% for universal healthcare. Harris's ideas are not all I think we need, but they're a step in the right direction instead of Trump's huge step back. I was denied heath insurance when I was in my early 20's because of an asthma medication I had just been prescribed. Today, I would have still been on my dad's excellent, union-negotiated health insurance in the first place. I racked up credit card debt to pay out of pocket for healthcare that plagued my credit rating for many years. Now I'm 50, unmarried, and unable to start the business I'd love to go into because I can't afford to leave my job and my health insurance.
I need *a lot* of healthcare, and I have a really good plan. I'm sure I could, but I fear it would be worse coverage for more money. But I haven't really looked or run the numbers. I probably should. It's just a hard thing to leave. I wonder how many people don't start businesses because of healthcare and how much stronger our economy would be if not only the wealthy could take risks. And thinking about people who stay in abusive marriages and domestic situations because they would otherwise lose their health insurance literally keeps me up at night. The ACA does a lot of good, especially in protecting people with existing health care needs and covering young adults longer on their parents' insurance (if they have it), but changing insurance often means changing providers and having gaps in coverage. I don't know what I would do if my entire healthcare team suddenly became out-of-network. For-profit healthcare and insurance is simply amoral. I'm glad that Medicare is at least starting to negotiate drug prices. Americans are being taken advantage of by the pharmaceutical companies and the Congress Critters in their pockets. But getting money out of politics is a whole other (and necessary) conversation.
That's really sad. I'm sorry that you had to go through all of that. On a lighter note do you happen to be a childless cat or dog lady? If so, that might be the reason you are unhappy. I don't mean to make fun of your situation, really I don't, but the statement just seems to fit in with what is going on with the republican VP candidate. I"m sure that is what he would say!
I'm not sure about Harris, but it's part of Bernie's plan, and it's included in the 2023 Medicare for All Act that Pramila Jayapal and Debbie Dingell introduced in the House. From Google: "The Medicare for All Act builds upon and expands Medicare to provide comprehensive benefits to every person in the United States. This includes primary care, vision, dental, prescription drugs, mental health, substance abuse, long-term services and supports, reproductive health care, and more." So tell your Rep and your Senator to sign on as co-sponsors.
Maria, I understand Woodward's tease, the last Putin-Trump telephone talk was in January 2024. Bob W is holding trump cards pun intended. Woodward's book title is "War". More to come.
Tune in to Lawrence O'Donnell on Monday night; Bob Woodward is his guest. Let's see what Bob is holding.
Per Jeff Stein's 'Spy Talk' today & barring any technical difficulties, "the NSA has almost certainly monitored" the Bromance calls.
Happy Birthday, Heather and congrats on making it another year basking in the sun’s rays! So we know Trump is a total sleaze and all of these recent goodies just prove that he is the devil incarnate. Mitch McConnell held that title until today because Trump literally sold his soul to Vladimir. Benedict Arnold never was punished for spying for the Brits. The French jailed him for a short time but he continued his dastardly deeds. Trump could have been a hero but he took the forked road because he saw a pot of gold that he wanted to get his hands on. I want his hands and wrists cuffed so that he can experience what he really deserves, rotting in a prison cell until death do us part.
Some of the most memorable "debates" I've seen are debates where there's an empty chair where the candidate who chose not to show up would ordinarily be sitting. I'm hoping that the single-person debate will take place, and Trump's absence will speak volumes.
I genuinely think part of the reason that the Georgia Senate races that sealed the positive fate of much of Biden's agenda went the right way was the debates. Perdue did so poorly against Ossoff in the first that he actually refused to show up for the second one that had already been scheduled. Wonder of wonders, the debate organizers actually decided to go forward with just Ossoff onstage next to another lectern with no one behind it. Ossoff agreed to submit to a solo grilling in which he got twice as many tough questions as he would have before, and the bet he made on himself paid off. Local audiences saw a young impressive guy firing back answer after answer and excoriating his scandal-trapped opponent, who couldn't answer back because he was a ghost. When Loeffler faced off against Warnock, she was so out of her depth that she ended up repeating the same talking points about the supposed threat of socialism in a robot voice while looking straight ahead as if under some sort of creepy hypnosis, while Warnock turned on his sermon skills and ran rings around her while looking like the most decent prophet of goodwill, which in turn just made her attacks even more flat.
Hey, the unique nature of the dual race and surge of support after Biden beat the odds in November would probably have carried the day regardless. But the contrast on those two stages between the people who either literally didn't show up or barely did, versus two people who didn't just show up but SHOWED UP could not have been lost on people.
Betsy, here is JD Vance in an interview with the hosts from “All-In” sucking up softball questions to JD Vance. Nothing mentioned about Trump’s Project 2025, Roe vs Wade, bribing the SCOTUS, the bias with Media. Its like JD’s Republican Fan Club.
🥳🥳🥳 Then that same batch of hosts from ‘All In’ podcast are trying to trip up an interview with Mark Cuban, but he’s too quick for them — and Mark’s got only GOOD Attributes for HARRIS and fumbles for TRUMP. Mark Cuban’s GREAT Audio Podcast link >>>
My late mother had a plan that included a long-term home health care aide. As my mother got older and frailer, Mildred helped her with the shopping and some cooking and various other small tasks. When I applied for the same type of insurance, I was denied at least partly since I'm a cancer survivor and have scoliosis. I never got to decide whether the cost was prohibitive since my applications for coverage were denied by several different insurance plans. None of my potential "disabilities" is currently disabling, but they may well be at some point. If Harris succeeds in adding long-term home health care coverage to Medicare, what a blessing that will eventually be for millions of us.
The cost of long-term healthcare insurance is outrageous. I live in Virginia, where the State Corporation Commission governs insurance and utilities. The SCC approved the high long-term care insurance rates because, a rep told me, they didn't want the insurer (Genworth) to stop providing insurance, which Genworth threatened to do when it guessed wrong on people living longer. Would love it if Harris as president addresses this issue. Won't help me, but it might help future generations.
When we have Medicare for All, they can't threaten to stop insuring us because we will have excluded them from the game. May you have a long and healthy life, John, but may long-term care be available, whether you need it or not.
Hillary’s emails were a non-starter from the beginning. Another lie foisted on us by Trump, the media (including legit news organizations and newspapers of record), the FBI, and elements of the military. “Quaint” doesn’t seem like the right word.
It came across the Wires today: "Former President Donald Trump has spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin as many as seven times since leaving the White House, according to reporting from a new book by journalist Bob Woodward."... I don't think it was about Hurricanes in Florida ;-) ... Additionally, "The conversations cover a period before and after Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, a NATO ally the Biden administration has spent billions of dollars to support."... Didn't Putin place a Bounty on American Troops in Afghanistan during DJT's Presidency? Allegedly, the Trump Organization, and DWAC, the predecessor of the Ticker 'DJT', has been floated by Russian Money... Seems that Putin is trying to Maximize his Investment... More To Come...
Man, I hope that the tRump supporters here in the NC Hurricane Helene area, start to think. The misinformation has been terrible, and Repubs refuse to admit the lies; they spew falsehood after falsehood. But now that the relief response is more and more visible, I'm hoping that a few of them have a change of heart. I was at a restaurant on Saturday night in a city we escaped to, and there was tRump on CNN. His entire rally was about him. Not one word about the people suffering from the cataclysmic storm. And stupid CNN showed the entire rally! I tried not to look at the TV screen, bec it made me So angry! I'm praying that people begin to see the light. I'm praying one good thing to come out of the devastation is that people see the emperor has no clothes.
Drove from the airport home today (70 miles) in central NC and saw only a handful of Trump signs (outside of the rash in front of a gun store). Note that I saw several groupings of Republican local election signs; quite a number of these included Robinson signs but only 1 or 2 had Trump signs. If Trump is less popular than Robinson, he's in trouble.
Maybe. But I have been wondering what else The Orange One has up his sleeve. He’s had plenty of time to wallow in his own pettiness. I agree that he doesn’t plan to play fair.
the public is getting ugly on Biden / Harris because they are avoiding talking about the war(s) in Middle East and Ukraine. Trump could gain many voters and lets hope this doesn’t happen.
To be frank, the fact anyone is still telling themselves this story about what is going on is preposterous. The public is not "getting ugly" toward Harris, or she wouldn't be currently ahead in polling, early vote, grassroots funding, and volunteers. No survey shows foreign policy as top issue for most Americans this year, and it rarely ever is. If it was, there is no serious trust advantage for 45 on these issues. Literally today, the Uncommitted movement is encouraging their people to back Harris, considering the alternative. https://thehill.com/policy/international/4922430-uncommitted-group-back-harris/
It's okay to disagree about the policy stance of any given administration or candidate. What is not okay is to create a false narrative of how the rest of the country is reacting in order to make your own reaction seem more justified. Please own your opinion without projecting it onto "the Public," which has shown no signs of agreeing with it.
I hear what you’re saying, but Will, the backlash about the war is not my POV. I’m supporting Harris/Walz, and only when I started researching why US Voters would still vote for Trump, did I start reading repetitive directions about the war. Believe me, I hope our positive work to win blue is successful.
Love how Heather concludes with the striking difference between a "theatrical move" and "reality."
Trouble is, how Trump, Putin, their Iranian mullahs, Netanyahu, and many U.S. billionaires know they can keep the U.S. divided, in class war, and paranoid about easily manipulable phantoms because -- thankfully for the dictators and autocrats -- the world's worst can rejoice in the U.S. now long having many of the world's worst schools.
Tens of millions -- all MAGA-land -- lap up all the lies the orange felon, Vance, and all the other Republican accomplices keep dishing out. None of these tens of millions went to any school to learn any respect for human pain in "others" but, instead, never to see "others" except as the mass group threats and danger abstractions by which our demagogues demagogue.
Can educator Tim Walz speak to this mortal rending of the American fabric? Can anyone?
Yeah. It’s hard to think of a worse government than that of
Texas. Well, maybe Florida. Probably the rest of the Confederacy plus Oklahoma and Idaho, too, but they’re low population, so they can’t do as much damage.
Remember, too, Rex -- those states you mention -- where the former enslavers ruled:
All have zero respect for their teachers. And as the former enslavers in their day ruled, so today do the corporate textbook packagers and their fellow cohorts of standardized testing.
Neuter all. Package all. All to profit the nihilist classes.
Details in Diane Ravitch, "The Language Police" (2003).
For the Finns, Rex, pay had nothing to do with it.
Their concerns were 1) getting only the best college grads as teachers and 2) making sure the teachers then made all decisions -- no bureaucrats, politicians, religious nut jobs, or standardized testers in the scene at all.
A National Program of National Service would work Wonders... Better to learn how to Fight Forest Fires, and perform other Natural Disaster Cleanup together, then to fight each other...
I'm thinking 17-year-olds. Maybe six-week stinks of mostly on-site work/participation, with a small classroom component in both forestry and natural disaster clean-up, as you mention, plus more choices from hospital work, elder care, cafeteria and other food prep, crop harvesting, orchard care, small child daycare, commercial fishing, furniture care, and various horticulture trades.
All Excellent Fields of Endeavor... I talk to a lot of People that feel that their Young Sons are Lost... Just Sit Home, and Play Video Games... Better to get out and make Real Friends from different parts of the USA....
Re immigrant issues, in the 1930s 900 Jews fled Europe on the ship the Saint Louis. The people were not permitted entry into the US and had to return to Europe where many were killed. Is that the way our country treats people leaving home and family to escape from death? Do immigrants from Europe have better genes than anyone else? How would the Saint Louis story be received today?
I was a sandwich generation mom, daughter and full time employee. Add to that - i was a single mom for the last year of my mom’s life. I honestly don’t know how I managed, reeling from task to task to task. Exhausted and overwhelmed don’t describe it - and navigating the search for a decent nursing home was brutal.
Medicare funding for health care is a no brainer in my opinion. It is way cheaper than a nursing home, and it is often comforting to those whose health is frail but manageable, to remain in familiar surroundings. I cared for my husband who had ALS at home until the last three weeks. It was tough but better than giving him completely over to the care of strangers.
I have no idea how anyone could even think that voting for a MAGA Republican could be a good idea. Soulless monsters, the lot of them. Endlessly grateful to my fellow Americans who are working so diligently to get out the vote!
I saw an image online the other day that featured photos of the last several Presidents next to bold letters listing each one's "biggest scandal." In went as thus:
Reagan/Bush Sr.: Iran-Contra affair
Clinton: Got a blow job
Bush Jr.: Invaded Middle East under false pretenses
Obama: Wore a tan suit
Tr*mp: Attempted violent overthrow of democracy in own country
Biden: Was old
It ended by asking "Do Republican voters have the memory of a goldfish?" and I thought "hey, you don't need to do goldfish like that!"
The proposals to help seniors in their homes is common sense overdue. First, it is the humane thing to do. Second, it is the cheaper thing to do compared to the warehousing of old people.
Kudos to Harris for presenting a plan. For most us in the "sandwich" ... it is a DUH!
We are the richest nation to have ever existed in the history of humanity. And yet we struggle to care for our elders, punish working families and make the rich richer every day.
Time to search the world - looking for examples of problem solving. Child care, elder care, Healthcare in general are all addressed with less expense and stress in more mature and functional nations. We could learn. But instead we proclaim that we are exceptional. OY.
I agree. I am one of those sandwich generation women. My mom, who lives in the US, is living in a senior residence and has been recently diagnosed with Alzheimers. My daughter and I are mainly living in Germany. If I cannot straighten things out with my mom's long term care, which is not responding to me, I am considering bringing her to Germany. It will not be easy though. But, it is cheaper here and the government does more care subsidization. For example, I was told there is an agency that will assess one's home for what will need to be done to retrofit it to the needs of one's parents, and then there is money to pay for or help pay for that, depending on one's income. While there is generally not enough child care in Germany, although that can vary depending on where on lives, the care that is provided is paid for. In some areas there is maybe a fee for the food, but otherwise it is subsidized, and also each family gets 250€ a month per child from the government, which more than covers any child care costs.
Most European countries have some form of this. The US is unique in believing that the individual should find their own solutions instead of their being a Social Contract whose goal if to improve the quality of life for all.
How shocking. We think the Marlboro Man will ride up on his trusty steed and fix things. Oh wait, he killed himself with cigarettes.
Or that Betty Crocker woman should be able to be a generic Mother multi task problem solver for all as Marlboro Man rides off to manly adventures.
Yes, we're exceptional alright. But not in a good way, some days.
Any care in the US provided by the government is considered “socialism” by many. We need to get over this misconception of socialism (disinformation once again by the wealthy !). It’s compassionate capitalism where the strong support the weak.
I consider the tax cuts corporations get socialism. Just sayin'!
In the most inhumane way…
Exactly. Let us look into the waste of Corporate Socialism!
republicons will never get behind this.
Joseph, If we retake the House and hold the Senate and the Presidency, we can advance this legislation with zero Republican support. To clarify, currently, 49 Democratic Senators support some version of filibuster reform, be it through resuscitating the talking filibuster or through carve-outs. Either way, the reform, presuming we have 50 Democratic Senators and a Democratic VP to cast the tie-breaking vote, ultimately would allow legislation to move to the floor for discussion and an up or down majority vote.
I would note that diminishing minority control in the Senate over the will of the majority, while not my sole reason for being in this fight, is a major factor.
I certainly hope this would happen, 27 days there’s still alot of work to do 👍
"some version of filibuster reform, be it through resuscitating the talking filibuster or through carve-outs"
The whole "carve-out" idea is plainly ridiculous, because there is no way to say one thing deserves a carve-out but not another thing without deeply offending people in your coalition who value that. Can you imagine Senate Democrats saying "OK, abortion rights are SO IMPORTANT we will make an exception for that"... but then not doing the same for gun control? Goodbye, youth movement. Or the Equality Act? Goodbye, LGBT voters. Or police reform? Goodbye, black voters. Or the PRO Act? Goodbye, union voters. Or raising the minimum wage? Goodbye, all voters who aren't rich. The Senators know this. Everyone knows this.
The key change that has to happen here is that we can no longer have an arbitrary minority of Senators be allowed to perpetually block a vote from ever occurring on things the majority of the public clearly wants. Any rule change that still allows this to happen is useless. Until 51 votes makes a yes instead of 60 (which is NOT IN THE CONSTITUTION) then we are just beating around the bush. The Senators know this. Everyone knows this.
Will, My understanding, while we currently have 49 Democratic Senators who support filibuster reform, is that we don’t have nearly as many who support abolishing the filibuster. I wish we did. That said, I expect a carve-out would be reserved for rights so fundamental that they are preservative of every other right—voting rights for example. Otherwise, I expect we would see a resuscitation of the speaking filibuster, which both would resuscitate the Senate as a more deliberative body than the House while also eventually allowing legislation to move to the floor for debate and an up or down majority vote.
We are on our way; see my replies before yours! You state it convincingly but it will take 52 or 53 to give them confidence to abolish it!
I'm not so sure about that. As a matter of fact, I'm pretty certain it is not true. I think they all know that it has to go the first time they get a chance or they will not get another chance. Getting and keeping a Senate majority takes several cycles.
Just try to imagine voters defying all the pundits again, delivering the first female President to the White House and handing a slim trifecta to Democrats only for them to say "Yeah, I know we ran on restoring the basic rights and human dignity that Christian nationalists and corrupt billionaires are stripping from you, and we now have the votes to actually do what we promised... but we're going to hold out until you give us 52 Senators instead of 50! We just need a little more confidence! Keep dying for a little while longer, women of reproductive age in the South!" The backlash would be like nothing you have ever seen in your life.
We get a trifecta, the filibuster goes.
I agree that 52 or 53 gets it done!
I'd really like someone to implement Norm Ornstein's ideas about the filibuster. This is 3-years old but still very relevant. https://wapo.st/3Y1SzeG
@MisTBlu, I very much appreciate the reminder. I would note, when first presented, I had been a fan of Norm Ornstein’s proposal that the Senate shift the burden from the majority, requiring 60 Senators to end debate, to the minority, requiring 41 to continue it. Still, I would link this shift in burden to resuscitating the talking filibuster 1) to return the Senate to its roots as a more deliberative body and 2) to ensure the legislation ultimately moved to the floor for an up or down majority vote.
Barbara Jo - as I read his proposal, he foresees a return to the talking filibuster.
Manchin said he wouldn't support Harris because she wanted to get rid of the filibuster.
Manchin is really a Republican, left over from when Democrats were able to win elections in W Virginia (before FOX or Rush Limbaugh polluted the airwaves).
Exactly. I call him a Republican (wolf) in Democrat's clothing (sheep). Same with Kristin Sinema. Glad they are both gone from the party.
You hit that nail on the head
Patricia, Manchin, though no longer relevant, is hardly the only Senator opposed to ending the filibuster. Moreover, Harris, who makes clear nearly every day she seeks consensus which she understands entails compromise, would likely work with the Senate to reach agreement on the sorts of filibuster reforms I noted in my original comment.
Barbara Jo: who is the 50th and 51st currently: Sinema and ??
Sinema and Manchin were the holdouts. They are both "retiring" this year, and that is not a coincidence, as their refusal in the name of "protecting bipartisanship" (read: my fundraising friends) was correctly viewed as betrayal by the rest of the party than rendered them both persona non grata. Manchin may have had *some* justification, given the politics of his state, but Sinema is the classic example of someone trying to outplay everyone who end up playing themselves instead. Girl, bye.
Her seat is in Arizona, which is competitive again this year and we have a very strong candidate in Ruben Gallego. Debbie Stabenow from Michigan is also retiring, so we must replace her with Elissa Slotkin. (Neither of them faced a competitive primary, so I am certain conversations with Schumer have taken place where he extracted a guarantee neither will be another Sinema in exchange for an easy road to the nomination.) Otherwise, our job is to make sure every other one of our incumbents who voted to remove the filibuster for Voting Rights in 2018 stays right where they are. That means Jacky Rosen in Nevada, Tammy Baldwin in Wisconsin, and Bob Casey in Pennsylvania need to come along with a Harris victory and Sherrod Brown in Ohio and Jon Tester in Montana need to outperform the top of the ticket as they have done in the past. In Maryland, Hogan will give Alsobrooks a close race rather than the walk she would have had otherwise, but she is heavily favored. I know some people are throwing out other names, but trust me, unless Harris ends up in a historic landslide we don't have room to expand the map otherwise, although if you want to help out someone in your own state obviously God bless. I do think all of our incumbents are very strong in comparison to their competitors and the more vulnerable ones are being underestimated.
I think 51 currently is Testa and I agree we only need 50 plus Walz but with wins in FL, NE, and maybe even TX we are on our way to kill if not modify filibuster; I worked in the senate years ago for Paul Simon!
Paul Simon? Gosh, that's special! Did he let you call him Al?
**ducks out of the way of flying tomatoes**
Al? Huh?
Ira, Keeping in mind we need only 50 (with a Democratic VP casting the tie-breaking vote) and in no particular order: 1) Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) [btw, Sinema (I-AZ) is not seeking reelection]; 2) Colin Allred (D-TX) ; 3) Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (D-FL); and 4) Dan Osborn (D-NE).
Additionally, if we’re not to lose our seat in Maryland, Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD) must win her race against former popular Governor Larry Hogan (R-MD). I would note Alsobrooks is mighty impressive. Moreover, it should be noted that Jon Tester (D-Montana) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) are in competitive races to hold their seats.
Barbara Jo: Optimistic and clearly possible certainly in Md, AZ, NE (really important & doable; I’ve been helping Dan), not sure about Fl until today as floods will take away millions of R votes in western Fl, GA, and NC; was sure before flood about NC and the power of the Black campaign in GA (Warnock twice and even Ossoff!) when they elected Ossoff it signals a new day in GA for federal statewide elections!!
Ira, I’m thrilled you’re helping Dan, who has a real shot at unseating two-term Republican Senator Deb Fischer.
We need a sweep, half-assed won’t do.
JD, Since I’m not sure I know what you mean, I would need clarification in order to reply.
No they won't, but if we forced our high school students to do a year or even a semester abroad, they would be exposed to other ways of doing things. It could be tied to a comparison of governments while they are in their host country. It was super informative for my daughter and her exchange partner to spend half a year in each other's home country's and schools, even though my daughter, being a dual German-US citizen was generally familiar with a similar culture, from going each year to Germany. She also went to Poland on a school trip with the class and to France and Spain. Just the culture of the students planning in committee the trip, which was tied to arts and architecture studies, so a heavy schedule of visiting museums and sites on their trip to Paris and Barcelona, and taking the sleeping train. To Poland they went for Holocaust Remembrance, which they had been studying that semester. The greater independence of students was a cultural shift that some cannot handle. My friend, whose son went to my daughter's school, had an exchange for half a year in Germany last year when he was in 10th grade, and this summer and beginning of the fall he had an exchange in Norway. There are so many countries in this world, and it would be great to get our next generation of leaders to visit and see other ways of doing things, so that they see it in practice, and it is not just a foreign idea to them.
An excellent idea exposing young people to other cultures and systems. After 2 years of college, emphasis on cultural anthropology and three years of military getting lucky and working in intelligence Communications my eyes were opened. It would be so nice if our high schools would incorporate a requirement to study our own government system. So a requirement of our own government and then a year of Exchange in other countries would be a real Plus to our future leaders. Compared with other countries we do not reward our teachers sufficiently I am completely in favor of promoting a student exchange program, while offering greater compensation to our teachers also instituting a program that helped our own student understand civics and our own form of government.
I have long felt that this would be a fantastic way to help Americans be less insular and more aware of other ways of organizing society. And it would be relatively inexpensive. A bit like the study abroad programs for college students but it would be wonderful if it could be more egalitarian and available to students from all backgrounds.
We need a mandatory civil service internship after High School to facilitate what Linda is suggesting. Many families concern is far removed from International travel albeit grand, at this stage in our countey.
Victoria, I love this idea. Germany has been big on sending youth out on gap years after they finish school, and have a whole program set up, generally to either work in childcare or senior care. A friend of our's daughter went to Israel for half a year, and is fluent now in spoken Hebrew. Another friend's daughter spent half a year in Tibet, half a year in Nicaragua, again working in child care. This and living with families teaches about culture. My daughter's class went on a trip to Costa Rica, where they helped with a community center. They painted it. She lived with a family, and still communicates with them. Their 5 year old son, who has asthma just like her, but not the access to health care or medicines, has to lie down when he is having breathing difficulties. She saw this and learned what the health care was like in the village. She has inhalers to help her when she has difficulties and knows when to use them. She also has regular doctor access. I have Mormon neighbors whose children all took 2 years off to do service trips. They had to earn the money for it themselves too. One went to South Korea, sisters went at different times to Brazil, another one went to Chile. Another to the Dominican Republic. While they are supposed to do missionary work, they also get to live in another culture and understand it. The mom of one had been to Israel. The dad of another did East LA. My daughter also went in 8th grade to the Navajo reservation where she learned about weaving, but also helped build an addition to a house, and dig irrigation for this family. These trips have broadened her horizons and increased her self confidence.
Here is a Gap year program for American students in Germany.
https://www.germany.info/us-en/welcome/language-study-research/gapp/1306010
Also, German college students are encouraged to do a semester or year abroad as undergraduates or even graduates. Typically in a country that relates to what you are studying if it can. My husband studied in Greece for a year in Graduate school. That is why he speaks modern Greek. It helps in restaurants where friendly service is even friendlier.
Yeah, we know. Which is why we need to do it without them.
This idea that a political party can be voted into the minority in all branches of government and yet still have veto power over any change in policy is literally unheard of in any other advanced democracy, as it is patently absurd on its face. It is the single reason nothing ever gets done and the Repubs never have the incentive to get their act together. When you get voted out, it means the public has chosen a winner in the battle of ideas, and they were not yours. You need to get back on the same page with the public, and until you do you shall not possess the power that is solely the public's to give.
The filibuster makes all of this impossible. Its current form fundamentally breaks democracy and breeds nihilism in its participants. It must go, plain and simple.
Because the nursing home lobby is powerful in every state. My mother fought this battle over 40 years ago, God rest her soul.
Yet nursing homes in rural areas are rapidly becoming unviable.
Of course not , greed comes first with them and people come last.
The 1% wound pull their support.
National Research Council can appoint a committee to do a comparative study of the government healh care program for select wealthy countries.
I also agree with her plan for seniors it is long overdue. Seniors deserve to die with dignity toward the latter part of their years. Home health care is a right. In Demark, people pay nothing for health care. In my opinion, we should have health care for all.
And then there is this tidbit from HCR’s letter:
“ Deepa Shivaram of NPR noted that a relatively large percentage of middle-aged and older women remain undecided in this race and Harris’s plan speaks to their needs.”
That is phenomenal to me. I ask my self, how can any woman in America be undecided in this election? Perhaps the vulnerability to a con is far greater than I realize.
We are pitied in Western Europe for our state of things, in particular our taxation of the working class.
I just watched the 60 Minutes interviews with Harris and Walz. Because Trump refuses to submit to any meaningful interview, all we have is Harris in the hot seat; pressed by the interviewer to answer his questions more fully.
I challenge CBS to use the better part of an hour to show clips from Trump's rallies so that voters can see how seriously deranged he is. If Trump won't submit to an interview, let the words from his rallies speak for him!
I present to you all... a 20-something voter's honest thought process (mine) while watching the 60 Minutes segment, presented James Joyce stream-of-consciousness style.
What even is 60 Minutes? (I've forgotten it existed.) Like, the show is 60 Minutes long? Isn't that most shows? It seems too long and yet also too short. Oh right, it's that Sunday Night thing Granny used to watch. I miss her. OK, focus. Why is this literal clock ticking at me? I forgot clocks could tick. Is Jack Bauer going to pop out at me? No, it's this guy sitting on a chair. I have no idea who this man is. Why is he all alone on this chair? Does he not have any friends? "She's been a candidate for two months and the honeymoon is over." How exactly did Man in Chair determine this? Is there a scientific agency that measures honeymoon periods, like those people trying to figure out if we are in the Anthropocene? Why is he so serious? At this point I'm used to everyone on video beginning with "Hey Guys, it's your boy [insert name like Cody or Blake], and here's what we've got for you today! Smash that like and subscribe button!" I'm confused. Does Man in Chair not want me to like him? (His name is apparently Bill.) It's a commercial already. Where is the "Skip Ad" button on this screen? There isn't one. That's the pits! OK, Kamala is finally here. Looking good in purple, gurl! Oh Lord, it's Israel time already. Y'all know she can't straight-up answer these questions without destabilizing the entire world, right Bill? She's not going to share state secrets. WAIT WAIT WHOA her lips are moving but I can't hear what her answer is because Bill is narrating in voiceover what her answer is instead? WTF?!? Do they do that on this show? Why would I want your version of what I can hear myself? "How are you going to pay for that?" Congress is gonna do it if you give her the right Congress, dumbass. WAIT WAIT WHOA did he just literally say "In the real world..."??? Is he literally mansplaining CONGRESS to the actual Vice President right now??? Oh thank God, she just straight up told him he was wrong to his face. "25% of voters say they don't know you. Why don't they trust you yet?" She is polling at 48-50% in almost all polls, so that's a whole heck of a lot of us who are apparently voting for someone we "don't know." Does this guy get that his serious face doesn't make him sound less dumb, or that question less insulting to voters? We're on to FRACKING again. Again. She isn't going to ban fracking! Changing your mind when presented with new information means you are reasonable. Why are people pretending like it's not? Do they want this to be the new "her emails?" It's not gonna be "her emails." Let it go "You have a gun, but have you fired it?" How badly did he have to restrain himself from adding "Shouldn't you be careful, little lady?" Wait... IT'S OVER? I learned nothing from this! Is this why no one knows anything about anything? At least here is Coach Walz! "Is there anything you two disagree on?" Oh for CRYING OUT LOUD, another question no reasonable person will answer! What's next, "how many of your wife's clothes does she look fat in?" Wait... IT'S OVER? Here's Liz Cheney! Why does Liz Cheney have as much speaking time as the VP choice? Bill and Kamala are now walking in some random hallway. Are they gonna bother telling me what this hallway is? Wait... IT'S OVER? There must have been more questions asked, right? **Goes to Google.** Oh, here they are! Ugh, these are shallow and repetitive as well. Why are they calling this a "grilling"? And why were her other interviews "friendly"? These were the same questions on MSNBC, the redhead lady on that channel just wasn't so damn superior about it. How many people still watch this? Apparently it is still about 8 million per week, after being on for half a century. Wait... how many people listen to "Call Her Daddy"? Apparently, it is about 2 million per week after about 5 years.
I can only conclude that I shall not cry when the dinosaurs finally die out.
Very good.
Your summary is superb!
Excellent, Will.
Yes, I agree. I thought Bill was hard on Kamala and was rude. But she handled it like a pro.
I have been watching 60 minutes for most of my adult life. It is not entertainment tv and I am disgusted by your commentary. At least they try to present fact-checked information. “Call Her Daddy” is not on my radar, dinosaur that I am. How about not pissing off people who still have one foot in a world that you denigrate. While you make some good points, your smirks are telling and insulting.
Wasn’t the concept of “stream of consciousness” coined by psychologist and philosopher William James?
The 60 Minutes interview was very biased. Still trying to normalize Trump! A convicted felon running for president. Harris has policies and solutions. His rallies show his policies which are threats, retribution, all lego-centered. Media money....
Julie, Contrary to viewing the interview as “biased,” I dare say I view the time-honored 60 Minute interviews every four years for presidential candidates as an opportunity to show one can withstand critical scrutiny. Frankly, I both appreciated how Harris held up and also how Whitaker was intent on underscoring that Trump backed out once he had learned he would be fact-checked. Given that the matter of fact-checking was an issue in the past two debates and now on 60 Minutes, in my view, the story that needs amplifying is that, in contrast to Harris who showed she could handle a cross, neither Trump nor Vance, by their own admission, could submit to this type of vetting. While said story would not win over any MAGAts, it clearly could affect increasing numbers of so-called moderates.
I don't agree with Julie that it was biased in the way that she is characterizing it, which seems a little knee-jerk. However, the interview was a "win" for Harris/Walz only in the sense that a) the other guys forfeited by not showing up at game time, and b) she managed to get through it without punching Whitaker in the face.
As someone who is not of the demographic that has the reverence for the "time-honored" tradition of this interview and only watched to see what the fuss was about, I was just so taken aback by how vapid it genuinely seemed. Not on the part of the candidate, by on the part of the program. To my mind, there was no "critical scrutiny" here at all, at least not of the kind I find useful. All the questions were either designed to allow her to give no clear answer at all without causing damage, or were asking her to explain other unnamed people's perceptions of her own supposed shortcomings. Look, I'm voting for the lady regardless, but if the interviewer had actually **picked some of her policy positions** and really made her drill down on them, that would have been a legitimate test of know-how I would like to have seen her pass. Instead we got vague admonishments about how "realistic" they might be or how people might not "feel" they "know" the "details" yet. She danced around it all well - she's a smart lady and knew what was coming - but what a cheat for viewers interested to see actual scrutiny of what actually matters to us, rather than a facsimile of "scrutiny" connoted simply by the presence of a furrowed brow.
Will, Suffice it to say, part of the brilliance of this week’s media blitz is its recognizing the necessity of engaging both with traditional and with new media. I suppose I’m asking you to trust my assertion that, typically, Baby Boomers resonate to candidates who show they can handle a cross.
Well, everyone has their own impressions on these things, and I certainly don't wish for my providing mine to sound like it is invalidating someone else's. I guess I just struggle to see how this rises to the level of Harris proving she "can handle a cross" relative to all the other ways she has already proven that, and my Boomer Dad thought the questions were pretty embarrassing too. But if others thought it was illuminating then I'm glad, because the more votes for my candidate the better, obviously!
Will, My views mostly stem from my trusting Harris and her team likely anticipated the nature and type of questions Whitaker would ask and concluded her replies would be an important piece of the conversations emerging from this week’s media blitz.
Maybe the inquisition would suit you.
Well done!
no mention by CBS of Project 2025
Kathaleen, While candidates don’t get to choose the questions, they can do themselves a great deal of good when they can retain integrity while their words and deeds are subject to critical scrutiny.
Let's hope that Kamala wins Decisively in November 2024, and is Inaugurated on January 20th, 2025... Bear in Mind, 'The President-Proposes-And-Congress-Deposes'... One of the Advantages that Joe Biden had being President, is that he could work with narrow margins in both Houses since he was a creature of the Senate so long....
I am sure Kamala learned alot from president Biden. She is seasoned and focused. There is no doubt in my mind she will be a strong leader for this country and the people.
Hello Patricia... The more that I watch her in Interviews, the more I like Kamala... She is giving a tremendous Interview with Steven Colbert right now... She is shouldering a Tremendous Load Of Hope right now... She is also in the Difficult position of being on the Biden Team., she can't be Independent yet.. We can hope that she can get Congressional Help with her new initiatives....
Mainstream media is worried about the same thing that Republicans who were originally opposed to Trump are. They are afraid to alienate the Trump base. They are burned by the Trump branding as fake news, however absurd, and need the viewer numbers to sell ads and stay afloat. They don’t want to seem biased against Trump, so the rules are different for him. Meanwhile, they treat Kamala Harris and Tim Waltz with the standard traditional scrutiny. Corporate media leadership needs to think about what a free press will look like if Trump is elected and how culpable they will be if they continue to treat him with kid gloves. He will never be their friend. Look how he handled press conferences when he was President. They won’t even be in the room.
They re also afraid of losing advertising dollars of his base plus moderate Rs who still vote for him out of lifelong habit and concern for Democratic tax increases on business plus individual ownership of most MSM are solidly big business Rs!
Call them names and they will cower. Puke. What the hell is our media made of. What stories would you like, Mr. asswipe Please don’t insult us again. Oh. I see, we just have to follow Rupert down the Foxhole. Excuse us. We seem to have lost our balls somewhere. But our bottom line looks good.
60 Minutes interview was DC Press Corpse bullshit. Surprise surprise.
For example, courtesy of today’s electoral-vote.com blog:
“Bill Whitaker, who drew the assignment, asked questions that were very obvious, and that were sometimes very leading. For example, he grilled Harris on her economic plan, observing that it would add $3 trillion to the deficit over the next 10 years, and demanding to know how she would pay for that. What that question overlooks is that EVERY president of the last century has added to the deficit, almost invariably at a rate greater than Harris' plan would.”
I would make the argument that the questions - while poor - were not actually "obvious." The obvious questions to ask, in my mind, would be based on obvious issues that obviously affect everyone in the country.
"You have proposed a ban or grocery price gouging. Can you explain to our viewers by what mechanism that would actually work, and how that would be different from the 'price controls' that your opposition is claiming it would amount to?"
"We have seen the ravages of climate change yet again this hurricane season, but you have not touched on that as much as your predecessor. Do you intend to continue carrying out his policies of incentives, or do you think we should go even further?"
...and so forth. "How will you pay for this stuff, especially if Congress doesn't feel like being nice?" isn't an obvious question as much as an infuriatingly obtuse one. The answers are "I'm a Democrat, so tax raises on corporations are my jam!" and "Well, if I don't have a good Congress we're all sh!t outta luck, now aren't we?" and we all know those are the answers without Harris having to say a word. Yet she somehow still had to find the words to say it, and viewers were left poorer.
I'm just trying to imagine Walter Cronkite asking LBJ "What makes you think you can expand elder care when Congress has not done it yet?" like Whitaker just asked Harris. Patronizing and infuriating doesn't begin to cover it.
P.S. Even if she did NOT entirely pay for her investments (which she obviously needs to, as the debt is already absurd), per reports today it would add less debt by trillions and trillions than her opponent's plan, which we all know he has no intention of paying for at all. So the broadcast and cable interviewers can stuff it with the repetition of the whole "irresponsibly spending Democrat" canard, because at this point they are simply misleading people, full stop.
I think you’re right about most of this, but the fear of the debt is mostly a rightwing canard. They live on complaining about it, but they’re the assholes who run it up, and it’s never kept us from continuing to have the strongest economy in the world.
I never figured out the crowd appeal of tax cuts for the rich.
The rubes and boobies, all 74 million of them, to the last man or woman, sincerely believe thst they will soon win the lottery and be obscenely wealthy, and they don’t want to pay taxes on their newfound wealth. Honest to God! That’s the way these POS’s “think.”
"Socialism never took root in America because the poor see themselves not as an exploited proletariat but as temporarily embarrassed millionaires." - Ronald Wright
"If you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best colored man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he'll empty his pockets for you." - Lyndon Johnson
My favorite LBJ quote
Neither could Will Rogers in 1932 when he skewered “trickle down” as a scam
And her answer was appropriate; restore the massive Trump tax cuts for billionaires to pay for her humane social program!
It's truly AMAZING the nice things we could have - and I mean the absolutely insane bounty of nice things for absolutely everyone - without adding a penny to debt...
… if we just got on board with the idea that asking someone to have four yachts instead of five was not some sort of perverse sin.
The Walz interview segment was shorter but more substantive. In general, these days it doesn't pay to get your hopes up with televised McNews.
I would argue that it was not only UN-substantive, but actively insulting and irresponsible. The questions were all personality-based, not policy-based. He's been asked in every interview about misspeaking or fibbing or whatever about where exactly he was in China God knows how many years ago. This is something that affects literally zero people in the entire USA, and he's already publicly apologized, so at this point we can only conclude it is a purposeful attempt to paint someone with a lifelong commitment to public service as untrustworthy (Thou shalt not have told a tall tale ever or thou shalt be disqualified!). Meanwhile, neither person on the other ticket could be bothered to appear at all because they are currently too busy purposefully spreading conspiracies about the response to a natural disaster that has left countless injured and homeless.
Indeed
To candidate Trump: turn on the lights, your party's over.
As a Medicare recipient, I've been generally happy with my coverage, but I've been waiting for Bernie's Medicare for All to be enacted. I like Harris' addition of eyes and ears and mouth to Medicare since I pay out of pocket for my bifocal contact lenses and my dental bills. I'm waiting for good quality hearing aids to be free. I'm voting BLUE so that I won't have to wait too much longer.
I'm 100% for universal healthcare. Harris's ideas are not all I think we need, but they're a step in the right direction instead of Trump's huge step back. I was denied heath insurance when I was in my early 20's because of an asthma medication I had just been prescribed. Today, I would have still been on my dad's excellent, union-negotiated health insurance in the first place. I racked up credit card debt to pay out of pocket for healthcare that plagued my credit rating for many years. Now I'm 50, unmarried, and unable to start the business I'd love to go into because I can't afford to leave my job and my health insurance.
Check to see if you can get ACA insurance. My son got it and has a medical history.
I need *a lot* of healthcare, and I have a really good plan. I'm sure I could, but I fear it would be worse coverage for more money. But I haven't really looked or run the numbers. I probably should. It's just a hard thing to leave. I wonder how many people don't start businesses because of healthcare and how much stronger our economy would be if not only the wealthy could take risks. And thinking about people who stay in abusive marriages and domestic situations because they would otherwise lose their health insurance literally keeps me up at night. The ACA does a lot of good, especially in protecting people with existing health care needs and covering young adults longer on their parents' insurance (if they have it), but changing insurance often means changing providers and having gaps in coverage. I don't know what I would do if my entire healthcare team suddenly became out-of-network. For-profit healthcare and insurance is simply amoral. I'm glad that Medicare is at least starting to negotiate drug prices. Americans are being taken advantage of by the pharmaceutical companies and the Congress Critters in their pockets. But getting money out of politics is a whole other (and necessary) conversation.
That's really sad. I'm sorry that you had to go through all of that. On a lighter note do you happen to be a childless cat or dog lady? If so, that might be the reason you are unhappy. I don't mean to make fun of your situation, really I don't, but the statement just seems to fit in with what is going on with the republican VP candidate. I"m sure that is what he would say!
I am a childless (not by choice) dog and cat lady. But I would be a dog and cat lady even if I'd had kids.
I didn't see in Heather's letter dental being mentioned. That coverage would be great if true.
I'm not sure about Harris, but it's part of Bernie's plan, and it's included in the 2023 Medicare for All Act that Pramila Jayapal and Debbie Dingell introduced in the House. From Google: "The Medicare for All Act builds upon and expands Medicare to provide comprehensive benefits to every person in the United States. This includes primary care, vision, dental, prescription drugs, mental health, substance abuse, long-term services and supports, reproductive health care, and more." So tell your Rep and your Senator to sign on as co-sponsors.
Glad you wrote today. Happy Birthday, and hope your spaghetti and spice cake were as good as they sounded!
And we all know deep in our hearts that what we do not yet know is much worse than what Woodward reveals.
Maria, I understand Woodward's tease, the last Putin-Trump telephone talk was in January 2024. Bob W is holding trump cards pun intended. Woodward's book title is "War". More to come.
Tune in to Lawrence O'Donnell on Monday night; Bob Woodward is his guest. Let's see what Bob is holding.
Per Jeff Stein's 'Spy Talk' today & barring any technical difficulties, "the NSA has almost certainly monitored" the Bromance calls.
Well, thank god for that!
Happy Birthday, Heather and congrats on making it another year basking in the sun’s rays! So we know Trump is a total sleaze and all of these recent goodies just prove that he is the devil incarnate. Mitch McConnell held that title until today because Trump literally sold his soul to Vladimir. Benedict Arnold never was punished for spying for the Brits. The French jailed him for a short time but he continued his dastardly deeds. Trump could have been a hero but he took the forked road because he saw a pot of gold that he wanted to get his hands on. I want his hands and wrists cuffed so that he can experience what he really deserves, rotting in a prison cell until death do us part.
Benedict Donald
👍👍💥😎
Some of the most memorable "debates" I've seen are debates where there's an empty chair where the candidate who chose not to show up would ordinarily be sitting. I'm hoping that the single-person debate will take place, and Trump's absence will speak volumes.
Yeah. Like that Clint Eastwood one.
I genuinely think part of the reason that the Georgia Senate races that sealed the positive fate of much of Biden's agenda went the right way was the debates. Perdue did so poorly against Ossoff in the first that he actually refused to show up for the second one that had already been scheduled. Wonder of wonders, the debate organizers actually decided to go forward with just Ossoff onstage next to another lectern with no one behind it. Ossoff agreed to submit to a solo grilling in which he got twice as many tough questions as he would have before, and the bet he made on himself paid off. Local audiences saw a young impressive guy firing back answer after answer and excoriating his scandal-trapped opponent, who couldn't answer back because he was a ghost. When Loeffler faced off against Warnock, she was so out of her depth that she ended up repeating the same talking points about the supposed threat of socialism in a robot voice while looking straight ahead as if under some sort of creepy hypnosis, while Warnock turned on his sermon skills and ran rings around her while looking like the most decent prophet of goodwill, which in turn just made her attacks even more flat.
Hey, the unique nature of the dual race and surge of support after Biden beat the odds in November would probably have carried the day regardless. But the contrast on those two stages between the people who either literally didn't show up or barely did, versus two people who didn't just show up but SHOWED UP could not have been lost on people.
Betsy, here is JD Vance in an interview with the hosts from “All-In” sucking up softball questions to JD Vance. Nothing mentioned about Trump’s Project 2025, Roe vs Wade, bribing the SCOTUS, the bias with Media. Its like JD’s Republican Fan Club.
🤨Link for YouTube >>>
‘JD Vance | All-In Summit 2024’
https://youtu.be/eMxcM3ZcVmM?si=kGk1kRjGU2NgZj0h
🥳🥳🥳 Then that same batch of hosts from ‘All In’ podcast are trying to trip up an interview with Mark Cuban, but he’s too quick for them — and Mark’s got only GOOD Attributes for HARRIS and fumbles for TRUMP. Mark Cuban’s GREAT Audio Podcast link >>>
Listen on Apple Podcasts:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/all-in-with-chamath-jason-sacks-friedberg/id1502871393?i=1000671718715
My late mother had a plan that included a long-term home health care aide. As my mother got older and frailer, Mildred helped her with the shopping and some cooking and various other small tasks. When I applied for the same type of insurance, I was denied at least partly since I'm a cancer survivor and have scoliosis. I never got to decide whether the cost was prohibitive since my applications for coverage were denied by several different insurance plans. None of my potential "disabilities" is currently disabling, but they may well be at some point. If Harris succeeds in adding long-term home health care coverage to Medicare, what a blessing that will eventually be for millions of us.
The cost of long-term healthcare insurance is outrageous. I live in Virginia, where the State Corporation Commission governs insurance and utilities. The SCC approved the high long-term care insurance rates because, a rep told me, they didn't want the insurer (Genworth) to stop providing insurance, which Genworth threatened to do when it guessed wrong on people living longer. Would love it if Harris as president addresses this issue. Won't help me, but it might help future generations.
When we have Medicare for All, they can't threaten to stop insuring us because we will have excluded them from the game. May you have a long and healthy life, John, but may long-term care be available, whether you need it or not.
Hillary’s emails seem quaint
Hillary’s emails were a non-starter from the beginning. Another lie foisted on us by Trump, the media (including legit news organizations and newspapers of record), the FBI, and elements of the military. “Quaint” doesn’t seem like the right word.
How ‘bout a Nothing Burger?
It came across the Wires today: "Former President Donald Trump has spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin as many as seven times since leaving the White House, according to reporting from a new book by journalist Bob Woodward."... I don't think it was about Hurricanes in Florida ;-) ... Additionally, "The conversations cover a period before and after Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, a NATO ally the Biden administration has spent billions of dollars to support."... Didn't Putin place a Bounty on American Troops in Afghanistan during DJT's Presidency? Allegedly, the Trump Organization, and DWAC, the predecessor of the Ticker 'DJT', has been floated by Russian Money... Seems that Putin is trying to Maximize his Investment... More To Come...
Trump is what we would call slackers in our workforce “brown-nosing” dictators. Same with the bribes he’s probably giving SCOTUS…
Fact-checking has kept Trump out of an interview. Let's hope it can keep him out of the Oval Office.
For sure it should.
In a self-respecting world, facts would wash away the "Republican" agenda like a firehose trained on a sand castle.
Your birthday?!! How wonderful! Happy birthday; happy year to come. You are cherished by many.
Not to equate a hurricane with an election, but do you sense a blue wave about to sweep over the electoral landscape?
Man, I hope that the tRump supporters here in the NC Hurricane Helene area, start to think. The misinformation has been terrible, and Repubs refuse to admit the lies; they spew falsehood after falsehood. But now that the relief response is more and more visible, I'm hoping that a few of them have a change of heart. I was at a restaurant on Saturday night in a city we escaped to, and there was tRump on CNN. His entire rally was about him. Not one word about the people suffering from the cataclysmic storm. And stupid CNN showed the entire rally! I tried not to look at the TV screen, bec it made me So angry! I'm praying that people begin to see the light. I'm praying one good thing to come out of the devastation is that people see the emperor has no clothes.
Drove from the airport home today (70 miles) in central NC and saw only a handful of Trump signs (outside of the rash in front of a gun store). Note that I saw several groupings of Republican local election signs; quite a number of these included Robinson signs but only 1 or 2 had Trump signs. If Trump is less popular than Robinson, he's in trouble.
I sense a civil war if tRump doesn't win. He doesn't plan to win fair and square.
Maybe. But I have been wondering what else The Orange One has up his sleeve. He’s had plenty of time to wallow in his own pettiness. I agree that he doesn’t plan to play fair.
the public is getting ugly on Biden / Harris because they are avoiding talking about the war(s) in Middle East and Ukraine. Trump could gain many voters and lets hope this doesn’t happen.
To be frank, the fact anyone is still telling themselves this story about what is going on is preposterous. The public is not "getting ugly" toward Harris, or she wouldn't be currently ahead in polling, early vote, grassroots funding, and volunteers. No survey shows foreign policy as top issue for most Americans this year, and it rarely ever is. If it was, there is no serious trust advantage for 45 on these issues. Literally today, the Uncommitted movement is encouraging their people to back Harris, considering the alternative. https://thehill.com/policy/international/4922430-uncommitted-group-back-harris/
It's okay to disagree about the policy stance of any given administration or candidate. What is not okay is to create a false narrative of how the rest of the country is reacting in order to make your own reaction seem more justified. Please own your opinion without projecting it onto "the Public," which has shown no signs of agreeing with it.
I hear what you’re saying, but Will, the backlash about the war is not my POV. I’m supporting Harris/Walz, and only when I started researching why US Voters would still vote for Trump, did I start reading repetitive directions about the war. Believe me, I hope our positive work to win blue is successful.
Love how Heather concludes with the striking difference between a "theatrical move" and "reality."
Trouble is, how Trump, Putin, their Iranian mullahs, Netanyahu, and many U.S. billionaires know they can keep the U.S. divided, in class war, and paranoid about easily manipulable phantoms because -- thankfully for the dictators and autocrats -- the world's worst can rejoice in the U.S. now long having many of the world's worst schools.
Tens of millions -- all MAGA-land -- lap up all the lies the orange felon, Vance, and all the other Republican accomplices keep dishing out. None of these tens of millions went to any school to learn any respect for human pain in "others" but, instead, never to see "others" except as the mass group threats and danger abstractions by which our demagogues demagogue.
Can educator Tim Walz speak to this mortal rending of the American fabric? Can anyone?
I was an adult when I finally learned more about Reconstruction than "carpet-baggers and scalawags" because of my Texas-approved history books.
Yeah. It’s hard to think of a worse government than that of
Texas. Well, maybe Florida. Probably the rest of the Confederacy plus Oklahoma and Idaho, too, but they’re low population, so they can’t do as much damage.
Remember, too, Rex -- those states you mention -- where the former enslavers ruled:
All have zero respect for their teachers. And as the former enslavers in their day ruled, so today do the corporate textbook packagers and their fellow cohorts of standardized testing.
Neuter all. Package all. All to profit the nihilist classes.
Details in Diane Ravitch, "The Language Police" (2003).
Yes. Zero respect of teachers and pretty close to zero pay.
For the Finns, Rex, pay had nothing to do with it.
Their concerns were 1) getting only the best college grads as teachers and 2) making sure the teachers then made all decisions -- no bureaucrats, politicians, religious nut jobs, or standardized testers in the scene at all.
A National Program of National Service would work Wonders... Better to learn how to Fight Forest Fires, and perform other Natural Disaster Cleanup together, then to fight each other...
Very much agreed, Apache.
I'm thinking 17-year-olds. Maybe six-week stinks of mostly on-site work/participation, with a small classroom component in both forestry and natural disaster clean-up, as you mention, plus more choices from hospital work, elder care, cafeteria and other food prep, crop harvesting, orchard care, small child daycare, commercial fishing, furniture care, and various horticulture trades.
All Excellent Fields of Endeavor... I talk to a lot of People that feel that their Young Sons are Lost... Just Sit Home, and Play Video Games... Better to get out and make Real Friends from different parts of the USA....
Its called the California Conservation Corps in California
Re immigrant issues, in the 1930s 900 Jews fled Europe on the ship the Saint Louis. The people were not permitted entry into the US and had to return to Europe where many were killed. Is that the way our country treats people leaving home and family to escape from death? Do immigrants from Europe have better genes than anyone else? How would the Saint Louis story be received today?
The Saint Louis story is told & documented in detail on the 3rd Floor of the Holocaust Museum in DC.
I was a sandwich generation mom, daughter and full time employee. Add to that - i was a single mom for the last year of my mom’s life. I honestly don’t know how I managed, reeling from task to task to task. Exhausted and overwhelmed don’t describe it - and navigating the search for a decent nursing home was brutal.
Medicare funding for health care is a no brainer in my opinion. It is way cheaper than a nursing home, and it is often comforting to those whose health is frail but manageable, to remain in familiar surroundings. I cared for my husband who had ALS at home until the last three weeks. It was tough but better than giving him completely over to the care of strangers.
I have no idea how anyone could even think that voting for a MAGA Republican could be a good idea. Soulless monsters, the lot of them. Endlessly grateful to my fellow Americans who are working so diligently to get out the vote!
While reading this I was thinking, "The right went ape-s**t because Obama wore a tan suit.
I saw an image online the other day that featured photos of the last several Presidents next to bold letters listing each one's "biggest scandal." In went as thus:
Reagan/Bush Sr.: Iran-Contra affair
Clinton: Got a blow job
Bush Jr.: Invaded Middle East under false pretenses
Obama: Wore a tan suit
Tr*mp: Attempted violent overthrow of democracy in own country
Biden: Was old
It ended by asking "Do Republican voters have the memory of a goldfish?" and I thought "hey, you don't need to do goldfish like that!"