There once was a woman who cut an inch or two off the ends of a ham every time she baked a ham. Her young daughter was curious about this and about wasting those bits of ham. Eventually, the young girl asked her mother why she cut off the ends of the ham before putting the ham in the oven. The mother looked surprised at the question and said that that's the way she learned to bake ham from her mother. So the next time she saw her grandmother the young girl asked why she cut the ends off the ham before baking. Slowly, the grandmother began to smile. She said, "Oh, yes. I always did that. You see, we lived in a small house and had a very small stove. I had to do that, otherwise the ham wouldn't fit in the oven."
The filibuster reminds me of that family's "tradition" of cutting off the ends of the ham -- it is a tradition that has long out lived any purpose it may have had in the past. Today it only serves to continue to enable the tyranny of the minority over the majority. It long past time for Senators Manchin and Sinema to wake wake up to the realities of politics today and help end the filibuster
I'm cynical enough to believe that Manchin and Sinema enjoy their power trip and time in the spotlight. If logic applied to either of them, it would have worked by now. Let's hope our "better angels" can knock some sense into them.
I hope at some point they realize that Saving Democracy is more important than Saving the Filibuster. I'm usually an optimist but feel pessimistic on this. However, President Biden is a master at legislative influence and that gives me some hope. We could use LBJ right now.
Yes, Cathy. LBJ would break an arm or two. Biden is doing the usual, and not showing his hand. I would like to be a fly on the wall when he lays those cards down.
My only moment of pause and reflection about the ditching the filibuster would be the very real possibility of Republicans managing to wheedle their way back into gaining a simple majority in the Senate, and then what THEY would do if there was a filibuster-proof Senate. There would be no stopping them. It is a sort of "careful what you wish for" moment to look at a possible down side. (Slimeball McConnell has even hinted at such.) If I was confident Democrats could hold on to, or even increase, their majority in the Senate I'd be really gung-ho to ditch the thing. Should the unthinkable happen and Democrats once again become the minority party in the Senate (and the House), we would need every tool in the toolbox to stop them pushing through their agendas. Just a thought...
Me too. So they should do whatever they can while they still have power. I also fully realize that nothing will sway Manchin. How is he not a republican? He walks like one, talks like one.
He's trying to have it both ways, but he's kind of a quasi "blue-dog" Democrat from the past, á la former WV Sen. Robert Byrd. The way the political landscapes have shifted around him means, for all intents and purposes, he's essentially what one might call a moderate Republican. Definitely DINO. However, my instincts tell me he also does it to curry favour with conservative donors in WV. At some point he may very well have to "put up or shut up" if he's going to continue to call himself a Democrat.
Abolishing the filibuster is the only way to have any future for the Democratic Party, and Democracy in this country. With the filibuster Republicans can and will prevent any federal legislation for fair elections. They will allow the states to codify voter restrictions leading to Republican victories starting in 2022 and going forward. At that point Democrats won't be able to do anything to stop them. And the moment the Republicans feel thwarted by the need for 60 votes in the Senate they will eliminate the filibuster. So hanging onto it now with the hope that in the future the filibuster will give a Democratic Senate minority input and some control over legislation is naive. Republicans have shown their true colors. The only option at this point is get rid of it and have about 18 months with Democratic control to guarantee fair elections. Which even then will be difficult due to gerrymandering and dark money.
Please, I'm NOT saying "hang on to it", and no, I don't think it's "naive" to be mindful of the risk. Like you, I believe the 400-some-odd days of Democratic rule in a filibuster-less Senate could be groundbreaking and lead to, among other things, guaranteeing equal voting rights across the board. THAT right there IS worth the risk. I'm just being "devil's advocate" and spelling out the risk of scrapping it and what the down side might conceivably be. That's all. I'm all for doing away with it. However, that thought does make me a little uneasy about the future. Besides, if we f**k up and lose the Senate majority, the Republicans may do the job and abolish the filibuster for us. Then, look out.
I believe everyone here is aware of the risks of a Democratic Senate minority with no filibuster. The issue is with a Democratic Senate majority with no filibuster much more can be done to increase the odds that Dems will retain and perhaps increase their majority. The way things stand Dems will be in the minority after January 2023 and sooner rather than later the filibuster will be a thing of the past. Better to get some benefits NOW.
If the republicans get a simple majority in the senate and see a need to do away with the filibuster they will, or they’ll modify it to suit their needs, like they did for the judgeships just a short time ago!!!
Okay, Bruce we'll lose the ability to hold free and fair elections. We'll keep those 'Darkies' down, lose the mid-terms and the 2024 presidential election. What will you then reflection upon? Won't it be obvious?
The most recent Deconstructed podcast with Ryan Grimm provides all the particulars you need to know in trying to understand Joe Manchin's "Wash-Rinse-Repeat" strategy. His guest is a native West Virginian expert on Joe and his entire family.
It’s become a familiar pattern for West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin: first, announce your opposition to a Biden legislative priority. Second, extract some concessions on the theory that this will attract Republican support. Finally, announce that you’ve had a change of heart and can support the bill, which is of course meaningless since the longed for Republican votes never materialize and no floor vote ever happens. Now Manchin appears to be doing the same old dance with Biden’s budget plan. Whatever the merits of this political strategy, it has certainly turned Manchin into the and most talked-about Senator among DC pundits. But who is he really, and what do West Virginians think of him? West Virginia native Stephen Smith, founder of West Virginia Can’t Wait, joins Ryan Grim to discuss his state’s senior senator.
Thanks so much, Christopher. I've been hoping that this is the case, but this will allow me to sleep tonight. Of course, tomorrow could be another story. Any ideas in Kirsten Sinema? I'll watch the podcast in a few.
I've been guilty plenty of times of assuming I knew how some politician "worked", but having been wrong so many times taught me to rely less on my instincts and more on the facts.
We are drowning in good information but it takes some digging (and luck) to find it.
I'm not quite sure what you are getting at. Are you taking me to task for merely "reflecting" on a possible--or theoretical--downside of jettisoning the filibuster and what might mean should Republicans regain control of the Senate? I detest the filibuster and would like nothing more than to see it done away with, but, as with anything, there are risks, ESPECIALLY with razor-thin majorities like the Democrats currently have. In the short-term, yes, Democrats could enact things that are very long overdue, but my concern is down the road even further. Republicans, with a possible Senate majority and then without a filibuster, could then turn around and UNDO everything Democrats have enacted. If I remember correctly, Heather has even alluded to this possible scenario. We could be back to square one. It is simply something to bear in mind. Please do not assume I am pro-filibuster. I'm certainly not. It's the timing I'd question. I'm merely concerned with a possible negative side-effect of ditching the filibuster right now, when the majority in the Senate could go either way. If after elections in '22 we ended up with, say, even a 52-48 split in the Senate, I'd feel much more comfortable ditching the damned thing. If we ditched it now, then lost the Senate majority in '22, we could potentially--POTENTIALLY--be screwed. I'm merely pointing this out.
You're correct - it's a calculated risk. However, if we're thwarted by our own "conservative" senators, and can't pass the voting rights legislation and are unable to undo voter nullification legislation here in Georgia and elsewhere, we're screwed by that! Damned if we do, and damned if we don't.
"Damned if we do, and damned if we don't." Exactly. That is another bottom line to what I was saying initially. There could be some magnificent gains in the short term, but long term...there's a risk of them being undone. I think it might be worth taking the risk, but as I said, I'd feel more comfortable taking that risk if we had more of a guarantee of holding on to a Senate majority. It's soooooooo close right now.
Bruce, I understand. Not only is our margin razor-thin, but we have at least two senators who are iffy, at best. It's so frustrating to think that Manchin is holding his breath, still trying to convince 10 Republicans to agree to something that will likely hurt their party's chances in upcoming elections. He has to know the risks to our democracy if he won't at least agree to a carveout. If the midterms don't put us completely out of control, we might be able to build our majorities to a more comfortable level.
If we are so concerned with eliminating the filibuster for fear of what the republicans will do seems to me to be even more reason to get rid of it so as to get the voting rights act passed, the sooner the better so as to stand a chance of having a fair election in 2022, where as if we keep fooling around the republicans will have more chance at rigging the elections so we never will get the majority again, so it seems to me we have nothing to lose, and everything to gain by doing away with the filibuster, and the sooner the better!!!
Bruce, I suggest that you reread today's Letter. I cannot assume that you are acquainted with legislative bills passed by the Republican Party controlled state legislatures or the Republican Party's refusal to approve a national Commission to investigate the 1/6 attempted insurrection. There is much more on the record from which to learn that the Republican Party has morphed into the Trump Party and all that implies.
Do you have reason to believe that Joe Manchin will be able to bring 10 Republicans to a voting rights bill, which conforms to his parameters? There haven't been any signs that I am aware of which would encourage such an outcome. We will know shortly. If not Bruce, do you still think you'll be hesitant about changing or abolishing the filibuster?
I believe that todays Letter makes it very clear how imminent the treat to our Democracy is, A perusal of the Brennan Center for Justice for unbiased information about bills passed to suppress voting and possibly subvert election results may be of interest to you. Its link is below. The following excerpt was copied from the Brennan Center For Justice's site:
'As many state legislatures conclude their regular sessions, the full impact of efforts to suppress the vote in 2021 is coming into view.'
'Between January 1 and July 14, 2021, at least 18 states enacted 30 laws that restrict access to the vote.footnote1_o8u7qg41 These laws make mail voting and early voting more difficult, impose harsher voter ID requirements, and make faulty voter purges more likely, among other things. More than 400 bills with provisions that restrict voting access have been introduced in 49 states in the 2021 legislative sessions.'
'The new laws restricting voting access are not created equal. For example, four of these laws are mixed, meaning they also contain pro-voter policies (IN S.B. 398, KY H.B. 574, LA H.B. 167, OK H.B. 2663). Other restrictions are narrower in their scope (e.g., NV S.B. 84, UT H.B. 12). Three states have enacted broad omnibus voter suppression laws this year (GA S.B. 202, FL S.B. 90, IA S.F. 413), while Arkansas, Montana, and Arizona all passed multiple restrictive voting laws (Arkansas and Montana passed four such laws each and Arizona passed three).'
'This wave of restrictions on voting — the most aggressive we have seen in more than a decade of tracking state voting laws — is in large part motivated by false and often racist allegations about voter fraud.'
'Congress has the power to stem the tide. The For the People Act, passed by the House and now awaiting action in the Senate, would mitigate the effect of many state-level restrictions. And the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act would protect voters by preventing new discriminatory laws from being implemented.'
There may be more new state voting laws still to come this year. Active regular legislative sessions continue in California, Massachusetts, Michigan, North Carolina, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. And Maine’s special legislative session is ongoing.'
'Texas lawmakers in particular appear poised to enact additional restrictive voting legislation this year. During the 30-day special session that began in Austin on July 8, state lawmakers introduced a slew of restrictive voting proposals, including two omnibus bills (S.B. 1 and H.B. 3) containing numerous anti-voter provisions.'
Fern, I read and comprehended Heather's letter very well, thank you.
"I cannot assume that you are acquainted with legislative bills passed by the Republican Party controlled state legislatures or the Republican Party's refusal to approve a national Commission to investigate the 1/6 attempted insurrection." Oh, I'm VERY well acquainted with bills passed by legislatures both in Texas AND here. I'm living it. Their repercussions keep me awake at night. Please do not infer, because I am playing "devil's advocate" that I don't believe these affronts to democracy are dire. They are. As for T***p, we'll see...I'm starting to wonder if his brand might be losing some lustre with some Republicans. The 420-something days between now and the '22 midterms is an eternity in politics. Anything can happen and just very well might.
"Do you have reason to believe that Joe Manchin will be able to bring 10 Republicans to a voting rights bill, which conforms to his parameters?" No. Joe Manchin is a fool.
"If not Bruce, do you still think you'll be hesitant about changing or abolishing the filibuster?" FFS, Fern, I was just expressing a possible--POSSIBLE--drawback there might be down the road in the future. I'm concerned about the timing, in light of the thinnest of margins we have right now in the Senate. We could very easily lose the majority. If we had a greater majority, even of 2 votes, I'd feel safer doing away with it. I just can't escape the feeling that if we scrap it NOW, we might then for the next 2-4 years lose the only tool left to us to stop Republicans from ramming through their own even more outrageous stuff, AND tearing down everything Democrats had just passed. Suppose for the sake of argument we scrap the filibuster now. Suppose the Republicans win a majority. Suppose they then, with a slim majority, are able to UNDO every single thing the Democrats just enacted. Do you seriously think they wouldn't??
As I said below, it--sacking the filibuster so we can save this democracy--is a risk that we almost HAVE to take. It is vitally important. All the stuff you posted above from the Brennan Center I totally understand and am deeply concerned about. All I was saying from the outset of this whole exchange, Fern, is to be mindful of that risk. Some people seem oblivious that it even exists. I'm not saying "don't take the risk". Just be aware that we could very easily end up being in the position--in '22--needing to use the very tool we've railed against to ourselves save this democracy from being turned into a smoking ruin. It underlines even more the importance of our turning out in droves, as never before, and making a resolute statement in '22 AND '24 that we ARE the majority, and ditch the stupid filibuster for good.
As always, I think you and I agree far more than not!
I don’t understand your concern about the filibusters ability to stop the republicans if they regain the simple majority as don’t think for a minute that they won’t do away with the filibuster if they see where it will get in their way. Because they WILL do away with it if they see fit to, or modify it to their liking, after all, we saw Mitch do it for their Supreme Court picks, and other judgeships!!!
So don’t think for a minute that they won’t do it again......
Bruce, I agree that all possibilities must be considered in order to make the best decisions going forward. You're well-informed and thorough, and I respect your opinions and analysis. Also, I trust Biden to make the proper decision in the end. As Christopher commented above, Manchin just might finish dancing and make the decision, and the rest can be decided later on.
Shall I refrain from using 'FFS' in my reply to you? It's hardly the most pressing question at hand but impossible to ignore. I knew what you consider to be the risks in modifying or doing away with the filibuster five decades before subscribing to LFAA. I believe that there is no choice but to so. Perhaps, our difference is smaller than I have interpreted to be. In that sense, I accept your last sentence as the resolution to our exchange.
The primary purpose of the filibuster was always maintaining white supremacy. Its original purpose, when devised by John C Calhoun, was to block any interference with enslavers.
I'd heard this one as cutting the ends of the turkey drumsticks, but same version of "we've always done it" with the "why" being "I had no other way and this is hopeless tradition"
I'd rather just modify the rules for the filibuster and start passing ALL the legislation we need to get passed without having to pretend Manchin is an ally. I don't trust him and we don't have forever.
It's not just you, Gary. I think this dance with Manchin and Sinema is all a charade. Manchin has too many good reasons -- both political and personal -- to keep any legislation with teeth from passing the Senate. I'm sure he enjoys being lobbied by the fossil-fuel industry, and he knows he cannot get re-elected without GOP votes in WVA.
I have not studied Sinema, so I do not know how independent a thinker she is, or what it might take to get her to give up the filibuster. There is some chance she might take her cue from Manchin, I suppose.
But the bottom line is that the Trumped up GOP knows it is fighting for its survival and has decided to stake its fate on state-level control of voting and the Supreme Court rescuing them when they over-reach (as they have with the Texas anti-abortion travesty).
The GOP will never pass ANY Democratic legislation that might interrupt or even slow down their continuing attempt to consolidate minority rule, commonly known as a coup d'etat. This is act 2 of the Jan. 6th insurrection by other -- and more clever -- means. The bastards think they can smell victory.
At this point our nation's only hope is that the filibuster will be weakened sufficiently to permit passage of serious voting rights legislation. So when Manchin's hopeless attempt to find 60 Senators willing to pass such legislation fails, barring some sort of miracle, we will be back to square one with only 12 months before the midterm elections.
Then we will have only massive voter turn-out and massive million-person protest demonstrations between us and disaster.
The only voters rights legislation that could find 10 Republicans would be one with no teeth. Something everyone could vote for and then go home bragging that they were bipartisan and defended democracy.
This legislation is the grand contest between good and evil, common sense and derangement, honor and dishonor, fairness and purpose-driven inequality.
The Infrastructure bills are highly important but mostly relate to the commonweal. The American Rescue Plan Act took steps to ameliorate the specific havoc wreaked by Covid.
The voting bills are aimed directly at the soul of America. They are vital to America’s survival as a democracy and to its moral standing in the world. They have roots that go back 400 years.
And two senators seek to seize their fifteen minutes of fame.
It’s tempting to say that America was not designed to work this way. But it was exactly so designed. And where it wasn’t explicitly drawn up to be the prototype for all that Rube Goldberg imagined, it has been adjusted to correct in such a way that the gears can once again be clogged.
Usually America, which is so profoundly blessed in so many ways, can shrug off the failures of its government to, you know, govern.
Very rarely however there is a moment where America is in extremis and its government can not fail without the direst of consequences.
It is there now. Professor Cox Richardson sounded the most sombre of alarms this morning.
Eric, you've captured our predicament perfectly and succinctly, and I sincerely hope that we can rise to the occasion and save ourselves and our imperfect union. Thank you.
The "heroes" are among us. We can't give up. If the worst happens, I guess I'll be comforted by the fact that I qualify as elderly, and probably won't have to suffer the consequences for a long time. Meanwhile, fingers crossed, and just keep fighting.
Well stated, and correct from where I sit. Like you, I believe that the Trumpers continue spouting their "gospel" even they know it's a lie. They're desperate to win, and they know that the truth won't get them there. It has to be lies, voter suppression, and intimidation. For starters, gut the filibuster.
The other strong sense I have is that millions of Americans are now realizing they hitched their wagon to the wrong star. The vaccine refuseniks are getting shriller and more desperate as they realize, that in at least this area, they are losing, but for a few states which don’t have mandates and are surging towards their own defining moment.
We are all selfish, and being deprived of restaurants, football games, concerts, and perhaps jobs takes away the right to scratch those itches. The refuseniks can feel the implacable squeeze of mandates, even as they cannot feel the deaths and hospitalizations of people who have the same impulses as they do.
This is a battle they will not win. People, governments and businesses of common sense are squeezing the vise.
I do think that the long term outlook for Covid carnage will rapidly diminish in the next few months - unless another variant, highly transmissible and indifferent to our current vaccines, arises.
My fear at that point would be that the rage of people, who perceive themselves both righteous and vanquished, will be incandescent. It will become second “Lost Cause” in American history, and then who knows what will happen?
It is very hard for me to see a path where America, as a re-unified nation moves again into what Churchill described as the “broad, sunlit uplands”.
Oh, I'm afraid we won't see a reunified "broad, sunlit uplands" any time soon. The best we can hope for is Biden's legislation passing and his vaccine requirements being effective, your "millions of Americans realizing they've hitched their wagon to the wrong star," and the rest of us being re-energized by this close call. Dire times, indeed.
Yes, I agree fully. But there has to some sort of end game. Are you to live in a world with no resolution, constantly bubbling tension, boycotts and other forms of protest, slicker manipulation of the public, diminishing returns from education, periodic shock waves, increased isolation among already isolated people and on and on…with only Netflix and public scandal to divert. To me this way lies madness
There must be reconciliation. But from where and how I’m damned if I can see.
Conditions are never static. As one situation resolves, attitudes change, and we face a different dynamic. We have to fix what is currently possible, and that might change some hearts. Your reference to isolation points to another component of our current situation. The pandemic has kept most of us isolated for almost two years, and that's not mentally healthy for anyone. Just by requiring vaccination for millions and testing for the refuseniks should put a dent in the virus and ease the emotional and physical strain for many. What you seem to be seeing is an apocalyptical scenario, and I think that's extreme. Of course, that's a possibility, but I prefer to think of the devastation that WWII caused over much of the world, homes and lives ruined, but eventually cities were rebuilt and the human race recovered. We're nowhere near that kind of devastation, so I have hope that things will improve, especially with intelligent, compassionate leadership that we now have. If nothing else, more than half of us are fairly sane and not sociopathic. Perhaps others will join us if we no longer have a modern-day Hitler doppelganger with a megaphone haranguing daily.
I'm not a patient person, but I've lived long enough to see terribly thorny situations resolve, and that's what I hope for now. There are plenty of intelligent people working on today's dilemmas.
We are seeing the attempts at "seeding" already with people with ties to groups such as the Proud Boys,the Oath Keepers, etc running for local offices and school boards. Sadly as you note we are now required to be ever more vigilant as the creep to power has begun in earnest.
Let's be on the lookout for these 'wolves in sheep's' clothing on school boards, PTA, and within local lndivisible groups. How do we go about exposing them, often our neighbors?
This is what has been happening in my town - a suburb of Chicago. First it was the school board meetings where they would decide the mask mandates for schools. We were inundated with right wingers who were not from our town and the school boards caved and did not institute a mask mandate. Thankfully, our Governor (Pritzker (D)) instituted a statewide mask mandate days before school began. We also are having an ongoing debate about the "Thin Blue Line" flag being used by our police department. Several village meetings have been held to get community input and people who are not from our town have come to inject chaos into those meetings (general disruptive behavior and bullying). This town is 68% Blue so none of this adds up and I hope it is not a harbinger of things to come.
I myself am greatly in support of a modification of the filibuster that allows senators to delay the vote on a bill for as long as they can make relevant arguments and cogently answer questions while experiencing the distractions and stressors typical of 24 hours in the life of an unmarried underaged mother of color.
We don’t have the votes in the senate to do it.. what we need is a blue tidal wave in 2022, take a few senate seats away from the Republicans and make Manchin irrelevant. If the R’s keep behaving like they are now, they will help us do it, in spite of gerrymandering. Gotta get a big enough wave going.
To do that, we have to work on every elected office in every state. Take that right out of their own playbook. It’s been working for them very well so far, ever since Gingrich and those boys thunk it up....like a steam roller in Jackson County GA, and so many others right up to the state level. We can start now, it’s a long game.
We in mostly blue Oregon have seen a focused attack on our school boards by right wing folks. Our local board averted a take over, but many haven't. As Gus reminds us, we have to examine and work on every race.
Especially the governors. Playing the “long game” Rethuglican governors have appointed right wing, Federalist Society judges that have allowed radical laws to stay in place. In Florida, after one judge ruled against DeathSantis’ mask mandate, the higher court kept it in place. People have not given enough thought to the judges.
Gus, I find it interesting that we are all blaming Manchin for being a stick in the mud, but is Sinema any more malleable than Manchin? Convincing one but not the other will get us nowhere. I'm wondering if we men are indulging in a sexist stereotype here. I think I may be...
If they can carve out the filibuster to vote for new SCOTUS justices, 9 in number, surely a carve-out for millions of voters is just as worthy. Just a thought.
Gary I’m with you. Today’s GOP would modify the rules and pass whatever they wanted. Or Moscow Mitch would simply not consider legislation. I cannot get past how nice the democrats want to play. Really? 9 months into a term and they want to play nice? Screw being nice. Where has that gotten the party? Get the voting rights bill and the infrastructure bill passed. Protect voting rights, get them to the polls, and get our country working with infrastructure spending.
Here I go again: Why are we allowing seditionists power in our government right now? BS. Why are they given power to vote on legislation AT ALL? It really, really pisses me off more and more that my taxes support their seditionist payroll. I follow the rules of our country, and I pay my taxes because I care about others. These idiots should be taken out of legislative duties and not allowed to vote on anything, in the least, until they have answered for sedition against our government in a non-partisan court. Am I just a crazy harper out here in the wilderness?
Wouldn't it be wonderful if MTG, Gaetz, Brooks, Gosar, Jordan, and the rest were not only removed, but also jailed? Just might change the balance of the House and Senate? OK, I'm delirious.
Nope. Similar thoughts and frustrations here, too. Even in professional sports which has its tax dodging weirdness in the NFL (501c3 if I have that close to correct?) players are suspended when accusations of “improprieties” come to light and are being investigated.
One thing is for sure, Laurie. If the Republicans retake the Senate, the Filibuster is gone. Never would they allow Democrats to block anything they want.
McConnell already removed the filibuster from judgeships, and threw out the home-state-senator approval custom. Nothing the radical right cares about can be filibustered, now. It only blocks the Dems.
Late Friday, we received an email detailing our history outline for next week to celebrate “Freedom Week”. Each day the social studies teachers are to study something that is an original document of our founding fathers as they intended it. I ran into one teacher that said they’ve completely gutted the social studies and it’a dummied down to nothing. Books were carted off, textbooks sent into storage, canceled subscription to Scholastic News for Kids. Nothing current events. A newsletter type publication from the state is all the extra content they’ve been given to supplement with. It was sprung on us so suddenly that principals had an emergency meeting about next week. And to help make it “fun” we have things like crazy hair day and silly sock day type activities all week. Our school board has been flipped by I guess the best way to describe it is originalists. I’m left speechless. Wow! Texas needs adult supervision immediately! Those teachers that said they didn’t like to get involved with politics are starting to ask what can we do? Hello! Vote! If we still can that is!
You have drawn a weird and otherworldly picture. I know to believe you, yet it is also unimaginable. Denise, with a quiet touch, you have described the campaign to erase memory and turn children into playful morons. I am very sorry that you are going through it - that we are going through it. I am grateful that you have let us know and hope that you will continue to keep a record. We are seeing firsthand what can happen to people.
I try not to overstep the facts with my personal take. Since I don’t teach history I’m just looking inward from a somewhat outsider perspective. We are told that teachers can’t initiate a discussion on current events and we cannot give our opinion. But students have freedom of speech and can discuss these things among themselves. Other worldly is a great descriptor!
Texas today sounds just like Russia today where, with approaching elections, subjects -- more serfs than citizens -- now have one single right left: to do what they're told.
Sorry -- two rights:
1. to do what they're told;
2. to keep any thoughts to themselves.
Be grateful to your Sovereign Lord Abbott and humbly thank him for allowing you to breathe (and to prevent others from doing so using traditional arguments -- smart steel and lead).
My son taught middle school history is Denver CO. to a mainly Hispanic population. Although he wasn't facing this ban on teaching real history, he did approach it in a way that was not directly teaching it...only teaching the children to discern for themselves. His first unit last year was to study, in depth, the Pledge of Allegiance. Study the vocabulary, the meaning, read it out loud, to each other, to the class, quite a few times. In the end he asked them if they should in fact say the Pledge every day. He asked for an anonymous vote...well, you can imagine what the majority answer was:)
The Dream, the flight of imagination vs. the immense walls, built to prevent that ideal Republic, the pitfalls dug to entrap those who would rise to the challenge.
When in a hole, stop digging. Then... look up.
We constantly underrate the power of imagination, we grossly underrate it. Could not the Pledge be pronounced with mindfulness that these words represent a shared Dream, that of Pastor Luther King, that of "We Shall Overcome".
We look at the top of the pit, at that faraway edge, we look hard at the wall, at the tough climb that await us, all together we pledge ourselves to climb out, to overcome, to give that flag, that Republic, real meaning.
Oh, I think all of that was discussed, remember these are 6th graders, still learning to discern and often thinking more in black and white then in technicolor dreaming....You are correct I think it can be looked at from that perspective, however I think it's flip side can also stand out to those who feel they are not equal.
We were read the new house bill that doesn’t allow us to teach anything but whitewashed history. In that house bill it is now law students must pledge allegiance to our one true Republic. So maybe that will be Texas one day. I’m wondering why that hasn’t already been challenged.
Denise, you inspired me to do a quick internet search this morning, leading me to discover Texas is not unique. The Texas law on Freedom Week appears to be the brainchild of the founder of a group called The Patriot Academy (https://www.patriotacademy.com/about/celebrate-freedom-week/), which offers the language of the Texas law as model legislation. According to the website, Florida, Georgia West Virginia, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Kansas have also adopted it. The Academy also offers multiple opportunities to participate in boot camps, remote learning courses, conferences and other events to educate not just youth but people of all ages on these principles, including a Constitutional Defense course offering eight hours of ‘intellectual’ training accompanied by 16 hours of firearms instruction. The website is slick, expensive, and well designed. Whoever is behind it is obviously smart, organized and very well funded. The enemy within is an extremely dangerous one.
Fred, I just looked at that website. Sounded pretty good — in theory. Then I saw the “Store.” Most prominent: “Biblical Citizenship in Modern America.” Only $79.97 on DVDs.” Then “What Would the Founding Fathers Think?” on sale for $12. Guess I’d better take a break; my coffee isn’t settling real well in my digestive tract. 🤢
Yep. The statements on the main page make them sound downright rational, but as you scroll into the bowels of this web site the religious, right-wing, gun-totin’ agenda becomes clear. The very design of this site is cleverly engineered to draw people into a dark place—to the point where they advocate overthrowing Biden with the 25th Amendment.
We cannot advocate strongly enough for the accurate teaching of American history so future generations won’t be angry, as we have been as adults, for not having been taught the whole story.
Daria, I sawand accepted your apology. I replied “No problem.” This thread is moving so quickly answers are sometimes separated from questions by intervening posts. You and I are fine!
OMG!! I just browsed multiple pages of this site and feel sick to my stomach. The map shows "legislation pending" in California so I've just emailed my California Senate & Assembly members bringing this to their attention since the map at the above-named website indicates "Legislation Pending" in California. My state Senator is also the Speaker of the Senate so I hope she'll spread the word in the event there really is an effort to pass such legislation - seems unlikely to succeed in a state as blue as California but one can take no chances.
Did those of you who looked at the site look at the Press Kit page? There's a photo of Rick Green, Founder of the Patriot Academy, with a link to download a copy. Is he expecting people to frame it and display it in their homes? BTW, contents of the Press Kit page itself is deeply disturbing. https://www.patriotacademy.com/press/
It gets more and more disturbing. Fern, you're probably wise - I'm feeling great anxiety as I process what they're teaching, essentially armed takeover. https://www.patriotacademy.com/mediakit/
The new school board members and the restraining order on our district had some national organization backing them. I was told a lot of money was sunk into that election, for a local school board position! Probably the same group.
This is a huge find about The Patriot Academy behind Freedom Week legislation for state sponsored far right pseudo-Christian propaganda. Follow the money. Anyone find who funds them?
Ellie, I have not been able to find out who funds the Academy but I did find that founder Rick Green has definitely taken a stand on masks. I could barely read through it but forced myself to do so so I could see if it was worth sharing with the people here. It’s sort of is, but I suspect that it will make almost everyone here as angry as it makes me. This is from the website.
“COVID19 NOTICE: After much research and study of the science, the data, and the virus, Rick has chosen to “Live Not By Lies.” While there are many opinions about masks and other non-pharmaceutical interventions, there is only one set of actual facts. The masks are nothing more than virtue signaling at best, symbols of control at worst, and unquestionably causing more health risk and harm than good. Rick’s conscience will not let him participate in the perpetuation of the greatest fraud on the American people that has ever occurred. The deaths, psychological damage, economic destruction, and societal division created by the fiasco of the government response (NOT by the virus) has gone on too long and Rick passionately opposes anything that continues to encourage people to live by dehumanizing fear and prevent the basic human interaction needed for a functioning society. Therefore, if speaking at your event requires covid testing, contact tracing, masking, or any other unwarranted ‘protocol,’ Rick will be unable to participate.”
What a shame not to have him spreading his lies. …
I can't find who their deep pockets are but they've been around since 2003 and have been hooked up with David Barton and Wallbuilders since at least then. The fact that they have 3 & 5 day Constitutional Defense Courses, weapons training paired with their interpretation of the Constitution, is a huge red flag along with their inroads into school curriculums.
Scrolling through articles I've saved on Twitter, I see the Texas legislature has been sneaking in these attacks on democracy through education curriculum for years. More Hitler Youth tactic:
"In the you-can’t-make-up-this-stuff department, here’s what the Republican Party of Texas wrote into its 2012 platform as part of the section on education:
Knowledge-Based Education – We oppose the teaching of Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) (values clarification), critical thinking skills and similar programs that are simply a relabeling of Outcome-Based Education (OBE) (mastery learning) which focus on behavior modification and have the purpose of challenging the student’s fixed beliefs and undermining parental authority.
Yes, you read that right. The party opposes the teaching of “higher order thinking skills” because it believes the purpose is to challenge a student’s “fixed beliefs” and undermine “parental authority.”
Ellie, my mother taught in Montgomery County, Maryland in the 60s and 70s. I remember her discussing the heavy influence the State of Texas had on textbooks used throughout the country. Two of the most influential people in the movement, from the early 1960s onward, were Norma & Mel Gabler. In August 1982, Frank Edward Piasecki presented his doctoral dissertation about the Gablers influence on textbook content at the University of North Texas titled:
Norma and Mel Gabler: The Development and Causes of Their Involvement Concerning the Curricular Appropriateness of School Textbook Content
Bottom line, Texas has been meddling in public education for a very long time and have been successful due to the sheer volume of textbooks the State of Texas buys on an annual basis. Below is a link to his complete dissertation.
What motivated the Gablers, from Texas Monthly, 1982:
"Norma and Mel Gabler entered the field of textbook reform twenty years ago, after their son Jim came home from school disturbed at discrepancies between the 1954 American history text his eleventh-grade class was using and what his parents had taught him. The Gablers compared his text to history books printed in 1885 and 1921 and discovered differences. “Where can you go to get the truth?” Jim asked."
Because obviously, new information about history never crop up in the span of decades, right?
Wow. Texas reactionaries as a driver of public school textbooks across the country. So much for separation of church and state. And "textbook riots in Kanawha County, West Virginia?"
Sara T, you and Daria are both the rockin' researchers of the day! FYI a group of HCR Substackers has formed to turn good discussion into good grassroots activism. For more info, email:
Ellie, I was invited quite some time ago to join. I declined because I live outside the US and am unable to participate in various activities like postcard and phone banking. I am able, however, to research. If you think that's something relevant to HH's purpose, let me know. Thanks for the kudos.
We are in a battle for the hearts and minds for either democracy or autocracy. And we are only now learning the depth and breadth of the battle front--our youth for the past 18 years being shaped by the far right and now incrementally but rapidly being reinforced by state legislation over school curriculum.
The Patriot Academy was founded in 2003 to inculcate youth with reactionary pseudo-Christian values to then grow up and go into politics. Here we are 18 years later, a full generation later, with Texas Freedom Week legislation. Echo of history...
“How the Hitler Youth Turned a Generation of Kids into Nazis”
“In January 1933, there were 50,000 members of the Hitler Youth. By the end of the year, there were more than 2 million…in 1936, they banned all youth groups—including the Boy Scouts—and forced members to become part of the Hitler Youth instead. Jewish children were banned from participation…
Children who had been saturated in Nazi ideology for years made obedient, fanatical soldiers. Eventually, those soldiers became younger and younger. Starting in 1943, all boys 17 and older were forced to serve in the military.”
Fred, I add you with Sara T and Daria to the list of rockin' researchers of the day! FYI a group of HCR Substackers has formed to turn good discussion into good grassroots activism. For more info, email:
We have an association and that’s the place to start. Walking out with very little cohesion or support means losing my certification and retirement. We need to sue Abbott and TEA’s Mike Morath. To be clear, teaching is rough and things similar to this controlling subject and content has always been apart of it. Just now it’s out in the open and everyone is getting a glimpse of the big picture.
Students, young people learning, "[D]o not shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate". See, the 1969 SCOTUS ' ruling in Tinker vs. Des Moines Independent Community School District. Mary Beth Tinker was 13 Years old in 1969 when her rights were vindicated.
Thank you Denise, I realized the focus of your specific, real-time, scenario. My comment was aimed at hopefully expanding the Community discussion to the full context of what is happening in schools across the Country now. The issues are not limited to a Student's freedom of expression but to Life itself given the Delta Data since August 2, 2021 . My older sister is a semi-retired History Teacher & she has educated me over the years on the limitations on quality Teaching.
The difficulty is those children today who are inculcated with this 'fake history' from Grade 1 on up will not have any idea that history is different from what they've been allowed to learn.
That's of course why i said "massive" as solidarity amongst teachers and the "muscle" of the association, which is there to protect its members, are essential. Otherwise, if you really want to get around their seeming stupidity blocking teaching the world as it is the offer you the possibility of generating discussion. Without stating your own opinion (as professionally in such circumstances we often don't) you can use the power of the "question" and the summary to guide the students to relevant discovery of reality and the interrelation of fact and myth.
Ah! Socratic questioning. Which would allow students to research and find out the truth of history for themselves. The have access to everything. They can weigh it all out. Developing critical thinking skills-- most important thing teachers can teach. Montessori elementary and high school education is independent research oriented. Teach the kids to fish, and to discern what they catch-- truth or fiction? This might pave the wave for truly independent thinkers. Teachers need to learn the questions to ask, and then ask the hell out of them. It will also make education a lot more interesting than reading books written by the victors.
Walking out would not change the already-adopted legislation to control what's taught. They'll just replace anyone who walked out with teachers who believe as the right wing does.
Good question. I will ask at the UEA meeting and my Democratic women’s club. You could find out if it’s happening in your state. Call your representatives and write letters. It seems to be spreading.
There have been some slow changes to increase teacher pay state wide. We were told that it is response to the increase in teacher voting turn out. For the presidential election, a big group of teachers went together for early voting. I don’t know how the special election will go in Southlake. But teachers are getting more involved.
From the Frontline website: "Reporting tips can be sent to frontlinetips@wgbh.org. You can also connect with many of our reporters and leadership team on Twitter."
It’s as if the Taliban has seized control of the Texas school board. Will they be segregating the girls next so they can be taught only the domestic arts? And they’re heading for Florida.
I think the kool-aid has taken effect, they are crazed with the thought that at long last the evil sinners who are not evangelical right will never have control of their children's brains or bodies in any way (P.S. This is not a jab at Christianity, only at the radicalization of it.)
Denise, it's a wonder that teachers are needed at all in TX. Just give the kids unlimited recess! I am sorry that you and your colleagues must be subject to the dumbing down of history.
Friday, September 17, is Constitution Day. A federal law was passed in 2004, mandating that every school and college that receives any federal funding must teach about the Constitution in that day. It was inserted into a massive spending bill by Sen. Robert Byrd, who was frustrated by the ignorance of Americans about history and this document. Interesting how this has been morphed into garbage.
Today I was thinking that there should be a National Day to highlight all the lies and deceptions that were run on us after 9/11. Talk about morphing a terror attack on ME and Mine into a oil, land, money, power-grab! What should it be named?
I agree with most of what HCR writes, but regarding the country becoming a one party nation I must disagree. I've always felt that Republican controlled state legislatures were taking an enormous risk in passing voter suppression laws--that risk being it would ignite a tidal wave of Democratic voter turnout. A pissed off voter will do anything to vote. Keep in mind, Republican voters would also be restricted, although the harm would mostly be on the Democratic side.
The best way to level the voting playing field, of course, is to abolish the Electoral College. We no longer live in an age in which it takes a month to travel across the country. We are one nation, under God, right? If Republicans instead of Democrats most always won the popular vote it would have been dead and buried long ago. And the best way to cleanse our legislative democracy is to banish the filibuster. It's basically a tool for cheaters.
In the last election, with a pandemic raging and no vaccines, voters here in Georgia and elsewhere turned out in record numbers to oust Trump. I believe that, because these draconian voter suppression and nullification laws have been put in place in so many states, and now the anti-abortion/vigilante abomination in Texas has been enacted, there will be another round of PO'd voters out in '22. Granted, I could be much too optimistic, but I think it will happen. You're correct that the Electoral College must be abolished, and the filibuster, as well. The derangement that is the right wing needs to be handled.
I was, too. I saw entire families at the polls. One particular group - 40-ish Black couple, with an elderly relative in a wheelchair, all masked and holding their absentee ballots, ready to surrender them and not chance USPS/Louis DeJoy trashing them. They braved long lines, a raging pandemic that they knew could treat them even worse than hostile whites ever had, because at the end of the day, they were determined to make a difference - and they did. We can do the same. I'm angry and will put that to good use.
Absolutely, which proves that TFG didn't conceive of his wicked schemes alone. He's incapable of finding his way out of Brooklyn without a guide, and he was "guided" into the White House and a blueprint was drawn to enable his destructive stay there. Putin helped, but there were others much closer to home.
The voters can turn out all they want. The Republicans intend to nullify election results through their Legislative bodies and Elector appointments. This is the really scary part.
It should be called voter suppression AND nullification.
These voter nullification schemes are the only thing that explain why the radical right politicians are so calm about seeing tens of thousands of their supporters die of covid for lack of getting vaccines.
The January 6 coup attempt really never ended. What we are seeing is a rolling extended coup attempt by Republicans to establish a one Party rule in the United States. Of course they are calm. They say anything they want. They do anything they want. They could care less about voters, free and fair elections or a Democracy.
Unfortunately this is not crazy conspiracy theory thinking. I have learned all this from non main stream media.
Electoral College almost WAS abolished, bipartisan support, maybe in the late ‘50s? ( i should never open my mouth if actual facts arent popping outta there.)
Abolishing the Electoral College would be an improvement but would no stop white minority rule. The Senate would still be controlled by 17% of the electorate, the House weakened by gerrymandering, the Supreme Court dominated by racist, trickledown Republican appointees, and 30+ state legislatures dominated by permanent, gerrymandered Republican control.
Just remember, though, that Biden won with all that you've described. Voter nullification, though, is the frightening part that doesn't seem to be getting enough attention.
Another thing that concerns me is that many of the R led legislatures have been passing bills that allow guns to be carried ANYWHERE (and frequently without permits) even schools and polling places. Some have gone so far as to forbid local/state police from enforcing any Federal gun laws-as they have done in NH. Can I imagine, Proud Boys showing up in militia gear carrying AR 15s outside polling places as a means to implicitly intimidate voters? I can. There are some states that forbid weapons @ polling places but not many.
Barbara, I'm also very concerned about the proliferation of bills allowing unfettered gun possession. Militia groups are already a threat, and these laws make it easier for them to show up anywhere to intimidate or threaten.
Yes. Abolishing (or getting around (a la NPVIC) the Electoral College would stabilize the presidency, but that’s not enough. If the Republicans had won the House majority in 2018, they might well have reversed the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.
J. P. Morgan: “The first thing is character…before money or anything else. Money can not buy it….A man I do not trust could not get money from me for all the bonds in Christendom.”
When I created international bond ratings at Moody’s Investors Service and later was responsible for rating the credit of corporate and sovereign bonds and commercial paper worldwide, I adhered to Morgan’s character maxim.
Trump’s character is despicable. In his 1987 ghostwritten ART OF THE DEAL, Trump boasted of his scummy business practices. This business ‘tycoon’ was responsible for six major bankruptcies in which he screwed his bankers and investors, while salvaging massive personal tax credits from the wreckage. He spoke proudly of how he stiffed contractors and suppliers from whom he had requested services. If you had a handshake deal with Trump, you would be advised to count your fingers.
The Trump Organization is a Mafioso family business. The Don demanded total loyalty from his Mafioso mobsters, which he never reciprocated. When Michael Cohen, Trump’s major hit man, called Trump a “conman” and a “cheat,” The Don called Cohen a “rat.”
Trump, an over-the-top carnival barker, boisterously inflated the Trump brand. Like July 4th fireworks, he produced a massive flash and a glitter shower that fluttered impotently to the ground. Trouble brewed before he lost the 2020 presidential election. [Yes, Virginia, Trump lost.] It got far worse after his White House semi-residency. The Manhattan District Attorney empaneled a grand jury that pursued possible criminal and civil Trump Organization peccadilloes. Other jurisdictions were digging through Trump garbage. The IRS, where Trump had been fighting a lien of $100+ million for a decade, circled like a vulture.
Trump was in a pack of trouble. His future and even his freedom, depended on the take-a-bullet-for-the-boss loyalty of his Mafiosos. Rumors spread that one or more in his inner sanction was contemplating singing like a canary to avoid the cage.
A restless Trump launched another spectacular scam. Playing a Machiavellian game of will-he-or-won’t-he-run-for president in 2024 [HE WON’T], The Don launched staccato funding appeals to his cult. There was nothing subtle in his demands. The money must go directly into his pocket. The Don has so far collected tributes of over $200 million.
The beat goes on. One shouldn’t be distracted by sleight of hand and unabashed lying. Trump’s legacy will be the damage he has done to his gullible associates, his foot soldiers, and to our country.
Hi Keith. Trust is all. If you have it then difficulties can be worked out...like one-page Japanese contracts. Deutsche Bank learned the hard way about Trump........or were just as venal as he. Probably both.
Venal. I worked at the bank that Deutsche acquired that did Trump's funding. We, at least, took collateral and punished him for default. He offered his properties as chattel, but we took his yacht and docked it outside our headquarters for him to look at during negotiations. His biggest complaint was that we hurt his sex life; without the Yacht dating was miniscule like his *mushroom*).
I laughed, you made me laugh Daniel. Can this be true? Your created the comic page for this day on 9/11. I am in most happy disbelief. If only Ed Gorey were here to draw it!
Trump was notorious for petting up as collateral properties that he had pledged before, were in default, or seriously overvalued. HE'D Hock HIS OWN FAMILY. His treatment of his brother, in cahoots with his father led directly to his suicide. I used a car garage here, and the attendant told me that his brother would come in in tears...from Donald and Fred's treatment.
There is documentary evidence (some 'bankers' speak' there) attesting (more 'bankers' speak') that his noodle (hardly vulgar, I agree) is MUSHROOM SHAPED.
I am appalled that so many Americans trusted (trust) this modern-day Jabba The Hutt. Ah, Deutsche Bank,, fools rush in where angels fear to tread. That no New York bank would deal with Trump should have been a clue.Not the Deutsche that I visited in Frankfurt long ago.
As precise an account as I've read. Damage, not only to America but to posterity, to the planet.
Proof that, given a power base as vast as America, even an idiot can outdo Genghis Khan, Stalin and Hitler.
Consider the immeasurable responsibility of the American citizen in the light of this hard-to-grasp reality. And the scale of the universal threat posed by the current GOP conspiracy, designed to achieve, without swastikas and suchlike, the takeover desired by Hitler's financiers...
'...in the light of this hard-to-grasp reality.' Yes, Peter, I see it have seen it deeply, felt it early and yet cannot grasp it. I believe it and, yet, cannot believe it. The damage of damage while living.
I remember hearing about one family owned business that did work for him. They had been in business 86 yrs. He didn’t pay them. Played the long game with Atty. and they went under and lost the business.But you made me LOL ! about the handshake .No kidding there.Good read.Tried and tried to tell Ppl this. I got thrown away.Advise : The smart don’t need it and the Ignorant don’t want it. TFG new business model . Cha-Ching $ !
He intentionally hired undocumented workers for his construction projects so he could easily stiff them. Then he brought in the mob people to threaten and intimidate.
Someone should make a film—a farce—out of exemplary trumpery episodes, such as the Great Man admiring the work he’d just refused to pay for…
Strange that New Yorkers should have known all about him, yet he could pull the wool over the eyes of half the country… The Bible-bashers of all people… “Foolish and senseless people, who have eyes but do not see, who have ears but do not hear”.
We did know but not what was underneath the hood. An exterior of self-portrayals, betrayals, braggadocio, business failures, hogging the spotlight and snubbed by the upper-class -- a clown, a buffoon, a most colorful cartoon character fool. That's what we knew, not of the evil at the root.
When a guy takes his wife and children on a ski vacation and his mistress ( Marla Maples ) what would you call that ? The women some how end up outside in front of cameras tongue slapping each other . Honestly can’t remember if the kids saw and heard but my guess they did.And he was there of course. Who does that ! Cowards who let women fight their battles. Now that is Evil !
I’m a stranger, yet while the extravagant behavior may have succeeded in distracting attention, surely all the in-crowd knew, lawyers, business people, politicians, officials, as well as many, many of the “little people” who’d experienced him at first hand? Especially people in the building and related trades. Silent, of course, those who’d been bought…
And how about that full-page “Bring Back The Death Penalty” ad in 1989 fanning the flames of hatred with rather obvious political ambition on show? Resurrected by the man himself not that long ago…
Some of this is obvious—relations between property speculators and the mob are well known by now. After all, the phenomenon isn’t limited to New York City, it’s worldwide. And the upper end of it is the one that counts for most, that’s where the proceeds of every form of crime get laundered and crooks are magically transformed into “respectable” businessmen…
His family has ties to the Mob for 4 generations (that I know of), starting with his grandfather's bordello. His father Fred was a part of the NYC Italian Mob morphing into the International Russian Syndicate.
I believe with a 100% of my being that Melania was an Epstein girl. I found a real old Vanity Fair article that said she was Modeling in Paris in 1996 at the age of ….18 of course ? There’s one picture of Drump with Epstein, his Girlfriend and Mel. They have her face all Maked up.To me she looks 14-15 yrs old.But if she was 18 in 1996, makes her born in 1978 and only 43 now.Which they have her older per her Bio ? There was much talk back in the day that some of those girls on the Lolita Express were as young as 12.The Model business was the ‘Cover up ‘.My only guess is some of the girls were from poor families ?Now they can’t find Epstein’s g/f ? Marla knows all about that time I bet ya.
He was "installed" and is not loner in this travesty against our democracy. He is just the monkey "they" put out front and turned into the uncontrollable King Kong. But it might have taken this kind of ridiculous situation for America to truly WAKE UP. That democracy takes a lot of work and nurturing love to be maintained. Otherwise, mafiosos slide in easily because we have been lulled for too long. Thank our Stars (flag theme today) that these seditionists are so flagrant and bold. We know who the enemies of democracy are. We need some very stiff behavior modification, immediately.
Thanks, Keith. That's pretty much it in a hand basket. He preyed on the gullible for his own benefit and is still doing so. Yet we only have ourselves to blame. He who opens his mouth in a shit storm must swallow it.
Marcy My fuzzy crystal ball says that he will be dragged into at least one trial and have to pay scads. I don’t see an orange jumper suit, but I haven’t had a second cup of coffee. I am ready to find a slammer with a golf course, if that would accelerate Trump getting a prison number.
I was thinking about a Netflicks series where Former Oresident Trump is taken into the white house by President Biden who feels sorry for him and Trump plots every series to Be the President again but is always caught up in lies and restricted
to his room where he emails Kim Jung Un , and friends like Putin, and his Republican groupies. President Biden and First Lady Biden try to help him and feel he needs love just like his evil friends,
However well you say it Keith; spell out the evil spread to some and many again and again; clear the air with scents and sounds and sights for which we long; sing your song of history of poetry and noble deeds, of learning and mastery, of courage and good fellowship, of love and play and kindness; please teach us more and more of that.
Let us all sing out to the heavens, get out the vote, support our candidates, national, state, and local, and don’t let those bastards get us down. Venceramos!
So the future of democracy comes down to Joe Manchin. He will be the difference between Republican one-party despotism and what we fought for in the Revolutionary War and Civil War. The Democrat who voted for Trump-supported bills 50.4% of the time. The Democrat who voted for Gorsuch and Kavanaugh. The Democrat who voted for most of Trump's cabinet nominees.
Forgive me if I pour another glass of wine and contemplate whether I will sleep.
I have some empathy for Joe Manchin, who was a popular governor and now senator (narrow margin for re-election last time) in A West Virginia which voted 68% Trump in 2020. Joe is a shrewd conservative Democrat. I would not wish to play high stakes poker with him. He is the 50th Dem in the Senate. If he ran in 2024 he would not seem favored to win. If he didn’t win, the Republicans would turn this Senate seat.
Of course Joe is endeavoring to carry pumpkins on both shoulders. He opposed HR1 which a comprehensive voter reform bill, saying that it wouldn’t pass the Senate. At the same time, he expressed support for the more modest John Lewis voting bill. I sense a strong personal conviction. I have a slim hope that Joe might weaken the filibuster over voting rights. On the $3.5 trillion human infrastructure bill, I could see him kicking and screaming before voting for a $2.5+/- trillion bill.
Keith, The 'slim hope' in your mind seems connected to the odds of retaining an American Democracy. In addition to dealing with the filibuster, awakening American citizens seems imperative. While difficult to do during the pandemic, with strong outreach, media messaging and a long string of athletes and performers we might ring the Liberty Bell. Perhaps, the Democratic Party needs awakening most of all.
Tyehimba Jess on "We Real Cool" by Gwendolyn Brooks
"We Real Cool" is the poem so many of us know from grade school: the Seven (that sacred number of the seeker, the thinker, the mysterious) at the Golden Shovel (the shovel be golden but be ready to dig your grave). Them lounging streetcornerwise in our consciousness under some flickered neon of mannish-boy dream. A Chicago/Detroit/Harlem/St. Louis/L.A./Gary/... corner. Someplace where the rhyme is always as good as the reason, anyplace where the cost of gin is precious enough to thin but solemn enough to pour on the sidewalk for the departed, anyplace where the schools are overcrowded and underfunded and black and brown enough to not really miss the Seven, who were underperforming on the standardized tests and had been diagnosed as ADD or BDD status anyway. Anyplace where sin gets hymned out—straitlaced into storefront chapels on Sunday mornings—but sewn back into Saturday night doo-wopped breakbeats, finger-snapped shuffles of promise.
We know the Seven. Know them like our neighbor's boy gone bloodied to bullets. Like our cousins nodded off into prison terms or hyped into the ground. Like our brothers gone homeless. Like our fathers gone missing. Like ourselves when we look in the blurry mid-morning mirror. One for every day of the week, one for each of our deadly sins. One waiting around the bend of each American corner. We stand in the June of our lives and try to sing it all the way through each season, always ending each line on the word that brings us together as much as it pivots us into new revelations: We. We. We. We. We. We. We.
Fern I have no idea what you spent you’re life doing ? But to say you are a vessel of knowledge is an understatement . Honestly Google Search should hire you. You just amaze me.You are one of the smartest women I don’t know. Likewise though so many on this Site.In my whole lifetime, and it’s been long. Being in Flori-Duh ! from the age of 10 I can count maybe on both hands people who are smarter than a 5 th grader that I have crossed paths with. I’m sure it shows. It gives me hope that there are others out there in this Dysfunction Junction of a Country that we have a chance, Democracy has a chance to survive this Madness. When I was on Facebook reading HCR I knew of my so called friends before TFG that only a couple read this site. Go and figure right ! Thank you and all who contribute. Should have done this along time ago. But better late then never.❤️
Nice to hear from you Marcia. Your reference to “malfunction junction” suggests your from the Tampa Bay Area, as am I.
This conversation often feels like a master class where most students are smarter than me. It forces me to stretch intellectually, a very good exercise for a 73 year old brain. Thank you all.
😂 I see you’re from NYC.I started out in Elmira. I’m pretty sure you’ve seen a fair amount to be an expert on the subject. I’m in Fl,we have more then our fair share Daniel.
Being from NYC was left me heartbroken in many ways by our current state of affairs. Most folks here knew Trump to be EXACTLY WHAT HE HAS SHOWN HIMSELF TO BE. It is like knowing what war will bring, but having no way to prevent it.
Except now the provocateurs of war are some of our own states.
"Tyehimba Jess was born in Detroit, Michigan, and earned a BA from the University of Chicago and an MFA from New York University. He is the author of Olio (Wave Books, 2016), winner of the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, and leadbelly (Wave Books, 2005), winner of the 2004 National Poetry Series. Jess has received a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, a Provincetown Fine Arts Work Center Fellowship, and a Whiting Award. He is the poetry and fiction editor of African American Review and an associate professor of English at the College of Staten Island."
So accomplished and coming out of Detroit MI. I was so impressed with Amanda Gorman at Pres. Biden’s Inauguration also. I still go back and watch and listen to it.
And I just was Re: Amanda Gorman @ Pres. Biden Inauguration “ The Hill We Climb. “ I still go back and listen and watch her. She’s going places as well.
I never tire of her rhythms, not to mention the inspiration of her words. Much like the pieces Fern posted, and Daria expanded upon. Not only does the reading list get longer, it gets rearranged. Love this community!
Joe Manchin, senator from WVA, a coal state, has taken large campaign donations from the Koch’s of KS/OK/TX PAC, u know the oil & gas refining states… so I don’t hold my breath for him to come through for anything other than more coal, more oil, more gas, and more Climate Change, more destructive weather, and more human displacement and continued climate tragedies.
I have to agree with you Ted. But after yesterday I’m fired up. Manchin can’t harsh my buzz just yet! Put him in the ring with Joe Biden, and they will have to carry him out. Manchin is in it for the money, and the President is in it for the country. I think both of them have proven who they are working for quite well.
[This would make for a good Now & Then discussion]
Opinion: Robert E. Lee was a stone-cold loser
Opinion by Dana Milbank
<snip>
Robert E. Lee was a stone-cold loser.
No general in U.S. history was defeated as unequivocally and as totally as Lee. For all his supposed strategic skill, his army was entirely destroyed. One-quarter of those who served under him were killed, and an additional half were wounded or captured. He was a traitor to the United States who killed more U.S. soldiers than any other enemy in the nation’s history, for the supremely evil cause of slavery. To boot, he was a cruel enslaver and a promoter of white supremacy until his death.
It is ridiculous that, in the year 2021, these simple truths are in dispute. But here we are.
As the massive statue of Lee and his horse finally came down this week from its pedestal in Richmond, former president Donald Trump, the unquestioned leader of the Republican Party, penned an impassioned defense of the Confederate commander. It was ugly in its embrace of the themes that have powered white supremacists for generations. It was also fake history.
And all sharers of subscription-based information...some of us are on fixed incomes and parsing every penny. From my perspective, tis good to know that these articles/conversations/investigations exist, and am rather judicious about where my few dollars go. There are times when a cavalier attitude toward paid subscriptions (as in 'just get a sub') evidences privilege that the writer may well not recognize.
Much appreciation to those of you who post the gift link on this forum. Please know it is truly a gift.
I too am on a fixed income. I forego a cable TV bill to be able to support folks like Heather and have access to WaPo and NYT no matter how shitty they can be. I keep those subs mostly for access to the daily opinion pages. For TV watching everything is streamed or over-the-air.
I don't assume anything about anyone else's financial situation nor would I be "cavalier". I'd never noticed the "Gift" link before and will try to use it in the future if available.
I'm locked out of many links throughout the week, especially on Twitter, but know that if a story has merit, it's going to be reported on by an outlet with no paywall.
What appalls me almost more than the actions of the Republiqan party as they enact such horrible voter restriction laws is the eagerness with which it is lapped up by those professing and demonstrating their fundamental belief in the big lie. I am stunned at the number of people that I thought that were well educated, decently informed, and basically good people that have bought into this hook, line, sinker, pole, reel, and boat.
"I believe that partisan voting legislation will destroy the already weakening binds of our democracy, and for that reason, I will vote against the For the People Act." - Joe Manchin
A quick read of Manchin's June 6th opinion piece in the Charleston Gazette Mail shows just how unprincipled he is - he's willing to allow states to enact destructive, hyper-partisan voting legislation that weakens the "binds of democracy" - using the laughable excuse that he's serving the people of West Virginia. He's doing no such thing but pandering to his corporate donors. 88.47% of Joe Manchin's campaign contributions during 2017-2022 time frame come from out of state donors.
Senator Manchin represents fewer people than a small segment of LA or NYC. His influence is WAY out of proportion. In other words, the senate is an anachronism and should be dissolved. But of course it won’t, so next best idea to address how it kills every single attempt at helpful governing is dump the filibuster—another relic from Jim Crow. Come on Dems, do something bold enough to meet the moment!
The concept of equal representation in the Senate and proportional representation in the House is not an anachronism. The fault lies with the capping of the number of Representatives at 435. Doing so made sense, because having that body continue to grow as our population grew would have made the size unmanageable. So how do we reapportion that number of seats to provide equal representation? Or add a few more to help?
I originally objected to abolishing the filibuster, but have come to recognize how it has been misused. At the very least, we need to revert to the original form, requiring Senators to stand and speak on the subject at hand or respond to on topic questions, we would eliminate much of its current power. I don’t see any of the current loudmouths being willing or capable of doing that for long. Otherwise it appears that we really need to abolish it.
However difficult, despair is a feeling to acknowledge but to not let govern one's actions, which must be to continue to make our voices heard, as HCR says.
Thanks for posting this link, Ellie Kona. I listened with interest this morning, especially the final five minutes. I believe that this is the source of your encouragement "to continue to make our voices heard."
Starting at 37:11, HCR acknowledges that the substack Letters from an American do not “tell me what to do” (a complaint she hears frequently), because that is not the purpose of these letters; rather, they are intended as an historical record of events of our times in the light of our history. “Here,” she says, referring to the Facebook talk, “is much more about what one can do, and it is time to stand up for our right to be heard in our democracy, [for] our votes to be counted” (38:37). Furthermore, she states that “for me, everything comes down to whether or not we get to choose our leaders”(39:22).
Perhaps the note of hope that Ellie Kona heard was HCR’s affirmation that “when people are presented with the facts and [have a chance to make their voices heard, they make good decisions, … at the end of the day the ball always moves forward in a good direction”(39:40).
My paraphrase on the action encouraged by HCR in this last five minutes of the talk: Use your voices for the vote, to insure that all of our voices can continue to be heard.
Patrice, When I am having feelings of despair I like to listen to El Pueblo unido jamas sera venito The People United Will Never Be Defeated. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rd6clK9s7mY/watch?v=Cuzl_QTBlWI It is a Chilean Revolutionary song. I heard about it from a Professor Emeritus of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, who I played chamber music with. He called one day and said I should attend a concert at New England Conservatory because he thought the piano composition being performed was the finest piano composition of the twentieth century. I went and it sure how a powerful impact on me. Frederick Rzewski wrote an incredible work based on the People United theme. It consisted of six sets of 6 variations. Each set had five variations representing the open hand and the 6th was a combination of the five -- the hand in a fist. The theme at the beginning is full of enthusiasm, naivete and strength. The variations in a lot of different styles from minimalist to jazz take you through the revolutionary fight the struggle and the loss of compatriots. The final return of the theme at the end starts a bit quieter now with the maturity of experience but still with hope and finally greater defiance. Here is the composer playing his own composition. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJZ09-Wl8Ps It's a long complicated piece but I grew to love it and it structure. I even arranged it for a string quintet (2 violins, viola, cello and bass) -- again the hand brought together into the fist. Never give up!
Thanks for posting this, Cathy. I'll not listen to the Rzewski piece now or I'll never sleep. I did listen to El Pueblo unido jamas sera venito...inspiring and uplifting.
"¡El pueblo unido jamás será vencido! Thanks for the correction. It was about 2 a.m. My fingers type what they want these days and my old brain isn't paying attention. Frustrating to not have a young brain any more.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FNPsnCZQj0 This shows the score and has a great index of the variations in the description (show more...) This isn't for the casual listener. It's an hour long and very contemporary in places. Thank you for the correction: "¡El pueblo unido jamás será vencido!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FNPsnCZQj0 This shows the score and has a great index of the variations in the description (show more...) This isn't for the casual listener. It's an hour long and very contemporary in places.
Thank you. I just watched it twice, the second time because I realized I could turn on subtitles. My reading Spanish is sufficient to understand the lyrics despite some odd auto-generated transcriptions. The line that sticks with me is "El pueblo vencera". May that be true for us here in the U.S. as well.
Only 10% of the colonists fought for Independence. Most sat on the sudelines. The rest fought fir the king. Be part of the 10% Fight posting truth on their twitter lies. Call them out in local papers opinion polls with links to facts, form a group of like minds and invite those on the other side - on those undecided - to join you for discussions. Create your own videos and post on twitter, Instagram, and fb. If our democracy is lost it will be because of those sitting on the sideline
No just a little archaic in expression. I particularly liked "Sudelines" as Sud in French means south! "Fir" wouldn't be out of place phonetically in certain accents and colloquial usage.
😂🤣 "Fir" for sure. When I was very young we lived in Tennessee. My mother (both parents true Californians) was brushing my hair, and I said, "Aouch Mama. Thaet herts ma haer." She was beside herself.
To echo the Fern Love that Marcia Rockvegas voiced Fern, I’d like to expand that to Appreciation for our NYCers here in Heather’s Herd! On this particular day, the past, and the future, many of you New Yorkers continue to represent the GOOD that is this country.
Thank you, Fern, Daniel, and all who choose against hate!
Like Iago in Shakespeare's Othello, I can picture Manchin proudly revealing: "I am not what I am." But what he thinks he is -- a manipulator, par excellence -- causes his own downfall. May Manchin face the same fate in the not too distant future, with Sinema coming a close second!
There once was a woman who cut an inch or two off the ends of a ham every time she baked a ham. Her young daughter was curious about this and about wasting those bits of ham. Eventually, the young girl asked her mother why she cut off the ends of the ham before putting the ham in the oven. The mother looked surprised at the question and said that that's the way she learned to bake ham from her mother. So the next time she saw her grandmother the young girl asked why she cut the ends off the ham before baking. Slowly, the grandmother began to smile. She said, "Oh, yes. I always did that. You see, we lived in a small house and had a very small stove. I had to do that, otherwise the ham wouldn't fit in the oven."
The filibuster reminds me of that family's "tradition" of cutting off the ends of the ham -- it is a tradition that has long out lived any purpose it may have had in the past. Today it only serves to continue to enable the tyranny of the minority over the majority. It long past time for Senators Manchin and Sinema to wake wake up to the realities of politics today and help end the filibuster
You said with grace and humor what I am shouting in anger to myself: Ditch the filibuster already!
I'm cynical enough to believe that Manchin and Sinema enjoy their power trip and time in the spotlight. If logic applied to either of them, it would have worked by now. Let's hope our "better angels" can knock some sense into them.
Absolutely correct, Nancy. So frustrating. And the filibuster is so steeped in historic racism and civil oppression. Grrrr
I hope at some point they realize that Saving Democracy is more important than Saving the Filibuster. I'm usually an optimist but feel pessimistic on this. However, President Biden is a master at legislative influence and that gives me some hope. We could use LBJ right now.
Yes, Cathy. LBJ would break an arm or two. Biden is doing the usual, and not showing his hand. I would like to be a fly on the wall when he lays those cards down.
I pray he has a Royal Flush!
I'd pay a lot to see some of them to be "flushed" one way or another. . . .
Of course they love the spotlight—
As we say in Georgia, you damn right!
My only moment of pause and reflection about the ditching the filibuster would be the very real possibility of Republicans managing to wheedle their way back into gaining a simple majority in the Senate, and then what THEY would do if there was a filibuster-proof Senate. There would be no stopping them. It is a sort of "careful what you wish for" moment to look at a possible down side. (Slimeball McConnell has even hinted at such.) If I was confident Democrats could hold on to, or even increase, their majority in the Senate I'd be really gung-ho to ditch the thing. Should the unthinkable happen and Democrats once again become the minority party in the Senate (and the House), we would need every tool in the toolbox to stop them pushing through their agendas. Just a thought...
Republicans will get rid of the filibuster when it's convenient for them. They don't need Democrats doing it for them.
THAT'S what I'm afraid of.
Me too. So they should do whatever they can while they still have power. I also fully realize that nothing will sway Manchin. How is he not a republican? He walks like one, talks like one.
He's trying to have it both ways, but he's kind of a quasi "blue-dog" Democrat from the past, á la former WV Sen. Robert Byrd. The way the political landscapes have shifted around him means, for all intents and purposes, he's essentially what one might call a moderate Republican. Definitely DINO. However, my instincts tell me he also does it to curry favour with conservative donors in WV. At some point he may very well have to "put up or shut up" if he's going to continue to call himself a Democrat.
As we have seen them do many times.
Abolishing the filibuster is the only way to have any future for the Democratic Party, and Democracy in this country. With the filibuster Republicans can and will prevent any federal legislation for fair elections. They will allow the states to codify voter restrictions leading to Republican victories starting in 2022 and going forward. At that point Democrats won't be able to do anything to stop them. And the moment the Republicans feel thwarted by the need for 60 votes in the Senate they will eliminate the filibuster. So hanging onto it now with the hope that in the future the filibuster will give a Democratic Senate minority input and some control over legislation is naive. Republicans have shown their true colors. The only option at this point is get rid of it and have about 18 months with Democratic control to guarantee fair elections. Which even then will be difficult due to gerrymandering and dark money.
Please, I'm NOT saying "hang on to it", and no, I don't think it's "naive" to be mindful of the risk. Like you, I believe the 400-some-odd days of Democratic rule in a filibuster-less Senate could be groundbreaking and lead to, among other things, guaranteeing equal voting rights across the board. THAT right there IS worth the risk. I'm just being "devil's advocate" and spelling out the risk of scrapping it and what the down side might conceivably be. That's all. I'm all for doing away with it. However, that thought does make me a little uneasy about the future. Besides, if we f**k up and lose the Senate majority, the Republicans may do the job and abolish the filibuster for us. Then, look out.
I believe everyone here is aware of the risks of a Democratic Senate minority with no filibuster. The issue is with a Democratic Senate majority with no filibuster much more can be done to increase the odds that Dems will retain and perhaps increase their majority. The way things stand Dems will be in the minority after January 2023 and sooner rather than later the filibuster will be a thing of the past. Better to get some benefits NOW.
Sadly, Yup....on all points. But if we get that 400 days, we would have it made for 22 and 24 -- and a fair fight after that? Worth a shot.
If the republicans get a simple majority in the senate and see a need to do away with the filibuster they will, or they’ll modify it to suit their needs, like they did for the judgeships just a short time ago!!!
Okay, Bruce we'll lose the ability to hold free and fair elections. We'll keep those 'Darkies' down, lose the mid-terms and the 2024 presidential election. What will you then reflection upon? Won't it be obvious?
The most recent Deconstructed podcast with Ryan Grimm provides all the particulars you need to know in trying to understand Joe Manchin's "Wash-Rinse-Repeat" strategy. His guest is a native West Virginian expert on Joe and his entire family.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/deconstructed/id1354611827
Podcast blurb:
It’s become a familiar pattern for West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin: first, announce your opposition to a Biden legislative priority. Second, extract some concessions on the theory that this will attract Republican support. Finally, announce that you’ve had a change of heart and can support the bill, which is of course meaningless since the longed for Republican votes never materialize and no floor vote ever happens. Now Manchin appears to be doing the same old dance with Biden’s budget plan. Whatever the merits of this political strategy, it has certainly turned Manchin into the and most talked-about Senator among DC pundits. But who is he really, and what do West Virginians think of him? West Virginia native Stephen Smith, founder of West Virginia Can’t Wait, joins Ryan Grim to discuss his state’s senior senator.
Thanks so much, Christopher. I've been hoping that this is the case, but this will allow me to sleep tonight. Of course, tomorrow could be another story. Any ideas in Kirsten Sinema? I'll watch the podcast in a few.
Sinema is to Manchin what Graham was to McCain.
You can quote mean that one.
"me on" said the spelling moron.
Good work, Christopher. Will this reach the reluctant Bruce? Reaching to the root!
I've been guilty plenty of times of assuming I knew how some politician "worked", but having been wrong so many times taught me to rely less on my instincts and more on the facts.
We are drowning in good information but it takes some digging (and luck) to find it.
Thanks FERN. ;-)
I'm not quite sure what you are getting at. Are you taking me to task for merely "reflecting" on a possible--or theoretical--downside of jettisoning the filibuster and what might mean should Republicans regain control of the Senate? I detest the filibuster and would like nothing more than to see it done away with, but, as with anything, there are risks, ESPECIALLY with razor-thin majorities like the Democrats currently have. In the short-term, yes, Democrats could enact things that are very long overdue, but my concern is down the road even further. Republicans, with a possible Senate majority and then without a filibuster, could then turn around and UNDO everything Democrats have enacted. If I remember correctly, Heather has even alluded to this possible scenario. We could be back to square one. It is simply something to bear in mind. Please do not assume I am pro-filibuster. I'm certainly not. It's the timing I'd question. I'm merely concerned with a possible negative side-effect of ditching the filibuster right now, when the majority in the Senate could go either way. If after elections in '22 we ended up with, say, even a 52-48 split in the Senate, I'd feel much more comfortable ditching the damned thing. If we ditched it now, then lost the Senate majority in '22, we could potentially--POTENTIALLY--be screwed. I'm merely pointing this out.
You're correct - it's a calculated risk. However, if we're thwarted by our own "conservative" senators, and can't pass the voting rights legislation and are unable to undo voter nullification legislation here in Georgia and elsewhere, we're screwed by that! Damned if we do, and damned if we don't.
"Damned if we do, and damned if we don't." Exactly. That is another bottom line to what I was saying initially. There could be some magnificent gains in the short term, but long term...there's a risk of them being undone. I think it might be worth taking the risk, but as I said, I'd feel more comfortable taking that risk if we had more of a guarantee of holding on to a Senate majority. It's soooooooo close right now.
Bruce, I understand. Not only is our margin razor-thin, but we have at least two senators who are iffy, at best. It's so frustrating to think that Manchin is holding his breath, still trying to convince 10 Republicans to agree to something that will likely hurt their party's chances in upcoming elections. He has to know the risks to our democracy if he won't at least agree to a carveout. If the midterms don't put us completely out of control, we might be able to build our majorities to a more comfortable level.
If we are so concerned with eliminating the filibuster for fear of what the republicans will do seems to me to be even more reason to get rid of it so as to get the voting rights act passed, the sooner the better so as to stand a chance of having a fair election in 2022, where as if we keep fooling around the republicans will have more chance at rigging the elections so we never will get the majority again, so it seems to me we have nothing to lose, and everything to gain by doing away with the filibuster, and the sooner the better!!!
Bruce, I suggest that you reread today's Letter. I cannot assume that you are acquainted with legislative bills passed by the Republican Party controlled state legislatures or the Republican Party's refusal to approve a national Commission to investigate the 1/6 attempted insurrection. There is much more on the record from which to learn that the Republican Party has morphed into the Trump Party and all that implies.
Do you have reason to believe that Joe Manchin will be able to bring 10 Republicans to a voting rights bill, which conforms to his parameters? There haven't been any signs that I am aware of which would encourage such an outcome. We will know shortly. If not Bruce, do you still think you'll be hesitant about changing or abolishing the filibuster?
I believe that todays Letter makes it very clear how imminent the treat to our Democracy is, A perusal of the Brennan Center for Justice for unbiased information about bills passed to suppress voting and possibly subvert election results may be of interest to you. Its link is below. The following excerpt was copied from the Brennan Center For Justice's site:
'As many state legislatures conclude their regular sessions, the full impact of efforts to suppress the vote in 2021 is coming into view.'
'Between January 1 and July 14, 2021, at least 18 states enacted 30 laws that restrict access to the vote.footnote1_o8u7qg41 These laws make mail voting and early voting more difficult, impose harsher voter ID requirements, and make faulty voter purges more likely, among other things. More than 400 bills with provisions that restrict voting access have been introduced in 49 states in the 2021 legislative sessions.'
'The new laws restricting voting access are not created equal. For example, four of these laws are mixed, meaning they also contain pro-voter policies (IN S.B. 398, KY H.B. 574, LA H.B. 167, OK H.B. 2663). Other restrictions are narrower in their scope (e.g., NV S.B. 84, UT H.B. 12). Three states have enacted broad omnibus voter suppression laws this year (GA S.B. 202, FL S.B. 90, IA S.F. 413), while Arkansas, Montana, and Arizona all passed multiple restrictive voting laws (Arkansas and Montana passed four such laws each and Arizona passed three).'
'This wave of restrictions on voting — the most aggressive we have seen in more than a decade of tracking state voting laws — is in large part motivated by false and often racist allegations about voter fraud.'
'Congress has the power to stem the tide. The For the People Act, passed by the House and now awaiting action in the Senate, would mitigate the effect of many state-level restrictions. And the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act would protect voters by preventing new discriminatory laws from being implemented.'
There may be more new state voting laws still to come this year. Active regular legislative sessions continue in California, Massachusetts, Michigan, North Carolina, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. And Maine’s special legislative session is ongoing.'
'Texas lawmakers in particular appear poised to enact additional restrictive voting legislation this year. During the 30-day special session that began in Austin on July 8, state lawmakers introduced a slew of restrictive voting proposals, including two omnibus bills (S.B. 1 and H.B. 3) containing numerous anti-voter provisions.'
These laws have been passed, Bruce.
https://www.brennancenter.org/
Fern, I read and comprehended Heather's letter very well, thank you.
"I cannot assume that you are acquainted with legislative bills passed by the Republican Party controlled state legislatures or the Republican Party's refusal to approve a national Commission to investigate the 1/6 attempted insurrection." Oh, I'm VERY well acquainted with bills passed by legislatures both in Texas AND here. I'm living it. Their repercussions keep me awake at night. Please do not infer, because I am playing "devil's advocate" that I don't believe these affronts to democracy are dire. They are. As for T***p, we'll see...I'm starting to wonder if his brand might be losing some lustre with some Republicans. The 420-something days between now and the '22 midterms is an eternity in politics. Anything can happen and just very well might.
"Do you have reason to believe that Joe Manchin will be able to bring 10 Republicans to a voting rights bill, which conforms to his parameters?" No. Joe Manchin is a fool.
"If not Bruce, do you still think you'll be hesitant about changing or abolishing the filibuster?" FFS, Fern, I was just expressing a possible--POSSIBLE--drawback there might be down the road in the future. I'm concerned about the timing, in light of the thinnest of margins we have right now in the Senate. We could very easily lose the majority. If we had a greater majority, even of 2 votes, I'd feel safer doing away with it. I just can't escape the feeling that if we scrap it NOW, we might then for the next 2-4 years lose the only tool left to us to stop Republicans from ramming through their own even more outrageous stuff, AND tearing down everything Democrats had just passed. Suppose for the sake of argument we scrap the filibuster now. Suppose the Republicans win a majority. Suppose they then, with a slim majority, are able to UNDO every single thing the Democrats just enacted. Do you seriously think they wouldn't??
As I said below, it--sacking the filibuster so we can save this democracy--is a risk that we almost HAVE to take. It is vitally important. All the stuff you posted above from the Brennan Center I totally understand and am deeply concerned about. All I was saying from the outset of this whole exchange, Fern, is to be mindful of that risk. Some people seem oblivious that it even exists. I'm not saying "don't take the risk". Just be aware that we could very easily end up being in the position--in '22--needing to use the very tool we've railed against to ourselves save this democracy from being turned into a smoking ruin. It underlines even more the importance of our turning out in droves, as never before, and making a resolute statement in '22 AND '24 that we ARE the majority, and ditch the stupid filibuster for good.
As always, I think you and I agree far more than not!
Bruce, I see you taking the high road here and I admire your restraint. Well done, friend.
I don’t understand your concern about the filibusters ability to stop the republicans if they regain the simple majority as don’t think for a minute that they won’t do away with the filibuster if they see where it will get in their way. Because they WILL do away with it if they see fit to, or modify it to their liking, after all, we saw Mitch do it for their Supreme Court picks, and other judgeships!!!
So don’t think for a minute that they won’t do it again......
Bruce, I agree that all possibilities must be considered in order to make the best decisions going forward. You're well-informed and thorough, and I respect your opinions and analysis. Also, I trust Biden to make the proper decision in the end. As Christopher commented above, Manchin just might finish dancing and make the decision, and the rest can be decided later on.
Shall I refrain from using 'FFS' in my reply to you? It's hardly the most pressing question at hand but impossible to ignore. I knew what you consider to be the risks in modifying or doing away with the filibuster five decades before subscribing to LFAA. I believe that there is no choice but to so. Perhaps, our difference is smaller than I have interpreted to be. In that sense, I accept your last sentence as the resolution to our exchange.
Edit: 3rd paragraph, 'threat' for treat. What a difference a letter makes.
Fran, submitting your comment to a Letter to the Editor in various newspapers would be fitting, along with Sara's below comment.
Feel free to share. I think I got this from my mother-in-law years ago, but can’t be sure. I’m confident it’s in public domain by now.
I read a similar story in Reader's Digest back in the 60s.
This is brilliant.
The primary purpose of the filibuster was always maintaining white supremacy. Its original purpose, when devised by John C Calhoun, was to block any interference with enslavers.
Right out of "Kill Switch" The definitive, exhaustive history of the filibuster!
Brilliant analogy, Fran, for the crack of dawn. I'm awake!
I'd heard this one as cutting the ends of the turkey drumsticks, but same version of "we've always done it" with the "why" being "I had no other way and this is hopeless tradition"
A story like this coule appeal to Senator Manchin. I hope he hears it.
Good point. Down home West Virginia boy that he claims to be.
I agree!
I'd rather just modify the rules for the filibuster and start passing ALL the legislation we need to get passed without having to pretend Manchin is an ally. I don't trust him and we don't have forever.
But I guess that's just me...
It's not just you, Gary. I think this dance with Manchin and Sinema is all a charade. Manchin has too many good reasons -- both political and personal -- to keep any legislation with teeth from passing the Senate. I'm sure he enjoys being lobbied by the fossil-fuel industry, and he knows he cannot get re-elected without GOP votes in WVA.
I have not studied Sinema, so I do not know how independent a thinker she is, or what it might take to get her to give up the filibuster. There is some chance she might take her cue from Manchin, I suppose.
But the bottom line is that the Trumped up GOP knows it is fighting for its survival and has decided to stake its fate on state-level control of voting and the Supreme Court rescuing them when they over-reach (as they have with the Texas anti-abortion travesty).
The GOP will never pass ANY Democratic legislation that might interrupt or even slow down their continuing attempt to consolidate minority rule, commonly known as a coup d'etat. This is act 2 of the Jan. 6th insurrection by other -- and more clever -- means. The bastards think they can smell victory.
At this point our nation's only hope is that the filibuster will be weakened sufficiently to permit passage of serious voting rights legislation. So when Manchin's hopeless attempt to find 60 Senators willing to pass such legislation fails, barring some sort of miracle, we will be back to square one with only 12 months before the midterm elections.
Then we will have only massive voter turn-out and massive million-person protest demonstrations between us and disaster.
But hey, let's try to stay upbeat!
You’re right.
The only voters rights legislation that could find 10 Republicans would be one with no teeth. Something everyone could vote for and then go home bragging that they were bipartisan and defended democracy.
SOS with high stakes politics. 😩
This legislation is the grand contest between good and evil, common sense and derangement, honor and dishonor, fairness and purpose-driven inequality.
The Infrastructure bills are highly important but mostly relate to the commonweal. The American Rescue Plan Act took steps to ameliorate the specific havoc wreaked by Covid.
The voting bills are aimed directly at the soul of America. They are vital to America’s survival as a democracy and to its moral standing in the world. They have roots that go back 400 years.
And two senators seek to seize their fifteen minutes of fame.
It’s tempting to say that America was not designed to work this way. But it was exactly so designed. And where it wasn’t explicitly drawn up to be the prototype for all that Rube Goldberg imagined, it has been adjusted to correct in such a way that the gears can once again be clogged.
Usually America, which is so profoundly blessed in so many ways, can shrug off the failures of its government to, you know, govern.
Very rarely however there is a moment where America is in extremis and its government can not fail without the direst of consequences.
It is there now. Professor Cox Richardson sounded the most sombre of alarms this morning.
Eric, you've captured our predicament perfectly and succinctly, and I sincerely hope that we can rise to the occasion and save ourselves and our imperfect union. Thank you.
Thank you Nancy. I am hoping that a hero arises, as so happens in your history.
If America is lost, I fear that many democracies will teeter or at least be coarsened, mine included.
These will be a fateful several weeks.
The "heroes" are among us. We can't give up. If the worst happens, I guess I'll be comforted by the fact that I qualify as elderly, and probably won't have to suffer the consequences for a long time. Meanwhile, fingers crossed, and just keep fighting.
Well stated, and correct from where I sit. Like you, I believe that the Trumpers continue spouting their "gospel" even they know it's a lie. They're desperate to win, and they know that the truth won't get them there. It has to be lies, voter suppression, and intimidation. For starters, gut the filibuster.
The other strong sense I have is that millions of Americans are now realizing they hitched their wagon to the wrong star. The vaccine refuseniks are getting shriller and more desperate as they realize, that in at least this area, they are losing, but for a few states which don’t have mandates and are surging towards their own defining moment.
We are all selfish, and being deprived of restaurants, football games, concerts, and perhaps jobs takes away the right to scratch those itches. The refuseniks can feel the implacable squeeze of mandates, even as they cannot feel the deaths and hospitalizations of people who have the same impulses as they do.
This is a battle they will not win. People, governments and businesses of common sense are squeezing the vise.
I do think that the long term outlook for Covid carnage will rapidly diminish in the next few months - unless another variant, highly transmissible and indifferent to our current vaccines, arises.
My fear at that point would be that the rage of people, who perceive themselves both righteous and vanquished, will be incandescent. It will become second “Lost Cause” in American history, and then who knows what will happen?
It is very hard for me to see a path where America, as a re-unified nation moves again into what Churchill described as the “broad, sunlit uplands”.
Oh, I'm afraid we won't see a reunified "broad, sunlit uplands" any time soon. The best we can hope for is Biden's legislation passing and his vaccine requirements being effective, your "millions of Americans realizing they've hitched their wagon to the wrong star," and the rest of us being re-energized by this close call. Dire times, indeed.
Yes, I agree fully. But there has to some sort of end game. Are you to live in a world with no resolution, constantly bubbling tension, boycotts and other forms of protest, slicker manipulation of the public, diminishing returns from education, periodic shock waves, increased isolation among already isolated people and on and on…with only Netflix and public scandal to divert. To me this way lies madness
There must be reconciliation. But from where and how I’m damned if I can see.
Conditions are never static. As one situation resolves, attitudes change, and we face a different dynamic. We have to fix what is currently possible, and that might change some hearts. Your reference to isolation points to another component of our current situation. The pandemic has kept most of us isolated for almost two years, and that's not mentally healthy for anyone. Just by requiring vaccination for millions and testing for the refuseniks should put a dent in the virus and ease the emotional and physical strain for many. What you seem to be seeing is an apocalyptical scenario, and I think that's extreme. Of course, that's a possibility, but I prefer to think of the devastation that WWII caused over much of the world, homes and lives ruined, but eventually cities were rebuilt and the human race recovered. We're nowhere near that kind of devastation, so I have hope that things will improve, especially with intelligent, compassionate leadership that we now have. If nothing else, more than half of us are fairly sane and not sociopathic. Perhaps others will join us if we no longer have a modern-day Hitler doppelganger with a megaphone haranguing daily.
I'm not a patient person, but I've lived long enough to see terribly thorny situations resolve, and that's what I hope for now. There are plenty of intelligent people working on today's dilemmas.
We can do it. See comments above about what happens when voters get mad.
The Benedict Arnold bought-and-soldier in the game...
We are seeing the attempts at "seeding" already with people with ties to groups such as the Proud Boys,the Oath Keepers, etc running for local offices and school boards. Sadly as you note we are now required to be ever more vigilant as the creep to power has begun in earnest.
Let's be on the lookout for these 'wolves in sheep's' clothing on school boards, PTA, and within local lndivisible groups. How do we go about exposing them, often our neighbors?
This is what has been happening in my town - a suburb of Chicago. First it was the school board meetings where they would decide the mask mandates for schools. We were inundated with right wingers who were not from our town and the school boards caved and did not institute a mask mandate. Thankfully, our Governor (Pritzker (D)) instituted a statewide mask mandate days before school began. We also are having an ongoing debate about the "Thin Blue Line" flag being used by our police department. Several village meetings have been held to get community input and people who are not from our town have come to inject chaos into those meetings (general disruptive behavior and bullying). This town is 68% Blue so none of this adds up and I hope it is not a harbinger of things to come.
I myself am greatly in support of a modification of the filibuster that allows senators to delay the vote on a bill for as long as they can make relevant arguments and cogently answer questions while experiencing the distractions and stressors typical of 24 hours in the life of an unmarried underaged mother of color.
We don’t have the votes in the senate to do it.. what we need is a blue tidal wave in 2022, take a few senate seats away from the Republicans and make Manchin irrelevant. If the R’s keep behaving like they are now, they will help us do it, in spite of gerrymandering. Gotta get a big enough wave going.
To do that, we have to work on every elected office in every state. Take that right out of their own playbook. It’s been working for them very well so far, ever since Gingrich and those boys thunk it up....like a steam roller in Jackson County GA, and so many others right up to the state level. We can start now, it’s a long game.
This is started. Boots kn ground in GA. Walk the Walk working at local level. Google to learn more. And Stacy Abrams too
On it here too!
We in mostly blue Oregon have seen a focused attack on our school boards by right wing folks. Our local board averted a take over, but many haven't. As Gus reminds us, we have to examine and work on every race.
Same in Colorado
...and NH
Especially the governors. Playing the “long game” Rethuglican governors have appointed right wing, Federalist Society judges that have allowed radical laws to stay in place. In Florida, after one judge ruled against DeathSantis’ mask mandate, the higher court kept it in place. People have not given enough thought to the judges.
Gus, I find it interesting that we are all blaming Manchin for being a stick in the mud, but is Sinema any more malleable than Manchin? Convincing one but not the other will get us nowhere. I'm wondering if we men are indulging in a sexist stereotype here. I think I may be...
Or, someday, we will find out how Manchineel is being blackmailed. A common Tr$+/ian tactic from the past.
Absolutely, like the elder Forbes and the Fortune 500. And so many others. Also a common mob tactic. Very effective!
Something is compelling Manchin, that's for sure-- and it's not love for country....
"Something is compelling Manchin, that's for sure-- and it's not love for country...."
When people get rich (eg richly powerful), it's not by accident.
Manchin is very very conservative. He shares a lot of values with traditional Republicans.
Count on their continued behavior.
If they can carve out the filibuster to vote for new SCOTUS justices, 9 in number, surely a carve-out for millions of voters is just as worthy. Just a thought.
At least then the US Senate start's to have an everso faint taint of democracy
JJ BRINGING it home. 100%.
I love this imagery!
If only they could walk a day in those shoes…
At the rate they're going, they will and so will all their decendents.
Considering the fact that none of these Rs has ANY comprehension of that experience - imagine how short & sweet THAT filibuster would be, right?
I agree with you but sadly Gus Koch (comment below) is correct
lol
Gary I’m with you. Today’s GOP would modify the rules and pass whatever they wanted. Or Moscow Mitch would simply not consider legislation. I cannot get past how nice the democrats want to play. Really? 9 months into a term and they want to play nice? Screw being nice. Where has that gotten the party? Get the voting rights bill and the infrastructure bill passed. Protect voting rights, get them to the polls, and get our country working with infrastructure spending.
Here I go again: Why are we allowing seditionists power in our government right now? BS. Why are they given power to vote on legislation AT ALL? It really, really pisses me off more and more that my taxes support their seditionist payroll. I follow the rules of our country, and I pay my taxes because I care about others. These idiots should be taken out of legislative duties and not allowed to vote on anything, in the least, until they have answered for sedition against our government in a non-partisan court. Am I just a crazy harper out here in the wilderness?
Nope. Not the crazy harper. Each and every one of those congressional insurrectionists needs to be removed.
Yesterday
It might even give us the majority we need....
That they are even allowed to remain legislators has disturbed me from Jan. 6 to this day.
Holding my breath to find out what the Select Committee reveals. I think it will be big.
Hope it comes rapidly...we need information and actions.
Wouldn't it be wonderful if MTG, Gaetz, Brooks, Gosar, Jordan, and the rest were not only removed, but also jailed? Just might change the balance of the House and Senate? OK, I'm delirious.
Hmmm.. maybe I will write to Biden, Harris and the DOJ. They have not heard from me. Can everyone do that?
Nope. Similar thoughts and frustrations here, too. Even in professional sports which has its tax dodging weirdness in the NFL (501c3 if I have that close to correct?) players are suspended when accusations of “improprieties” come to light and are being investigated.
We're out here with you!
Ah, voices!! Love not feeling like I am just an echo of my own voice! Thanks, Gus!
One thing is for sure, Laurie. If the Republicans retake the Senate, the Filibuster is gone. Never would they allow Democrats to block anything they want.
Exactly, Stuart. And if Republicans traditionally won the popular vote the Electoral College would be gonzo.
McConnell already removed the filibuster from judgeships, and threw out the home-state-senator approval custom. Nothing the radical right cares about can be filibustered, now. It only blocks the Dems.
Good point.
I'm with you
No it’s not just you
And me.
Nope. You have lots of company.
If not kingpin, Kingmaker in the one-party state...
Late Friday, we received an email detailing our history outline for next week to celebrate “Freedom Week”. Each day the social studies teachers are to study something that is an original document of our founding fathers as they intended it. I ran into one teacher that said they’ve completely gutted the social studies and it’a dummied down to nothing. Books were carted off, textbooks sent into storage, canceled subscription to Scholastic News for Kids. Nothing current events. A newsletter type publication from the state is all the extra content they’ve been given to supplement with. It was sprung on us so suddenly that principals had an emergency meeting about next week. And to help make it “fun” we have things like crazy hair day and silly sock day type activities all week. Our school board has been flipped by I guess the best way to describe it is originalists. I’m left speechless. Wow! Texas needs adult supervision immediately! Those teachers that said they didn’t like to get involved with politics are starting to ask what can we do? Hello! Vote! If we still can that is!
You have drawn a weird and otherworldly picture. I know to believe you, yet it is also unimaginable. Denise, with a quiet touch, you have described the campaign to erase memory and turn children into playful morons. I am very sorry that you are going through it - that we are going through it. I am grateful that you have let us know and hope that you will continue to keep a record. We are seeing firsthand what can happen to people.
Mexico will be grateful for the wall at this rate.
Thank god for a satirist among us. Cheers, Susan.
I didnt lnow i was a satirist. To
me, thats just reality. But someone else said so this week too, so the vote isin your favor.
Especially as Americans paid for it. On whom is the joke considering Trump's stated aim of making the Mexicans pay?
And they may gladly pay for it.
It is no coincidence that my exit plan is to the other side of the wall.
I try not to overstep the facts with my personal take. Since I don’t teach history I’m just looking inward from a somewhat outsider perspective. We are told that teachers can’t initiate a discussion on current events and we cannot give our opinion. But students have freedom of speech and can discuss these things among themselves. Other worldly is a great descriptor!
Texas today sounds just like Russia today where, with approaching elections, subjects -- more serfs than citizens -- now have one single right left: to do what they're told.
Sorry -- two rights:
1. to do what they're told;
2. to keep any thoughts to themselves.
Be grateful to your Sovereign Lord Abbott and humbly thank him for allowing you to breathe (and to prevent others from doing so using traditional arguments -- smart steel and lead).
My son taught middle school history is Denver CO. to a mainly Hispanic population. Although he wasn't facing this ban on teaching real history, he did approach it in a way that was not directly teaching it...only teaching the children to discern for themselves. His first unit last year was to study, in depth, the Pledge of Allegiance. Study the vocabulary, the meaning, read it out loud, to each other, to the class, quite a few times. In the end he asked them if they should in fact say the Pledge every day. He asked for an anonymous vote...well, you can imagine what the majority answer was:)
Food for thought.
The Dream, the flight of imagination vs. the immense walls, built to prevent that ideal Republic, the pitfalls dug to entrap those who would rise to the challenge.
When in a hole, stop digging. Then... look up.
We constantly underrate the power of imagination, we grossly underrate it. Could not the Pledge be pronounced with mindfulness that these words represent a shared Dream, that of Pastor Luther King, that of "We Shall Overcome".
We look at the top of the pit, at that faraway edge, we look hard at the wall, at the tough climb that await us, all together we pledge ourselves to climb out, to overcome, to give that flag, that Republic, real meaning.
Oh, I think all of that was discussed, remember these are 6th graders, still learning to discern and often thinking more in black and white then in technicolor dreaming....You are correct I think it can be looked at from that perspective, however I think it's flip side can also stand out to those who feel they are not equal.
Sorry, Question Mark after the word Overcome...
We were read the new house bill that doesn’t allow us to teach anything but whitewashed history. In that house bill it is now law students must pledge allegiance to our one true Republic. So maybe that will be Texas one day. I’m wondering why that hasn’t already been challenged.
Body language & hand signals can convey a lot of information. Good & bad.
Denise, you inspired me to do a quick internet search this morning, leading me to discover Texas is not unique. The Texas law on Freedom Week appears to be the brainchild of the founder of a group called The Patriot Academy (https://www.patriotacademy.com/about/celebrate-freedom-week/), which offers the language of the Texas law as model legislation. According to the website, Florida, Georgia West Virginia, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Kansas have also adopted it. The Academy also offers multiple opportunities to participate in boot camps, remote learning courses, conferences and other events to educate not just youth but people of all ages on these principles, including a Constitutional Defense course offering eight hours of ‘intellectual’ training accompanied by 16 hours of firearms instruction. The website is slick, expensive, and well designed. Whoever is behind it is obviously smart, organized and very well funded. The enemy within is an extremely dangerous one.
Fred, I just looked at that website. Sounded pretty good — in theory. Then I saw the “Store.” Most prominent: “Biblical Citizenship in Modern America.” Only $79.97 on DVDs.” Then “What Would the Founding Fathers Think?” on sale for $12. Guess I’d better take a break; my coffee isn’t settling real well in my digestive tract. 🤢
Yep. The statements on the main page make them sound downright rational, but as you scroll into the bowels of this web site the religious, right-wing, gun-totin’ agenda becomes clear. The very design of this site is cleverly engineered to draw people into a dark place—to the point where they advocate overthrowing Biden with the 25th Amendment.
We cannot advocate strongly enough for the accurate teaching of American history so future generations won’t be angry, as we have been as adults, for not having been taught the whole story.
Hmmm. I don't think you looked at the website very carefully. It is scary as F.
What’s so scary is that’s it’s written to seem so wholesomely “American” to most readers. Wolf brilliantly disguised in sheep’s clothing.
Wrapping themselves in the American Flag is the whole con.
daria, my emoji was meant to relay that the whole thing turns my stomach. Scary — nay, odious — things do that to me. Sorry I wasn’t clear!
Your emoji was clear, Sara. These times are full of strange and sometimes terrifying messages, it can make it difficult to see straight.
Sorry I misunderstood!!!!
Daria, no problem.
https://www.patriotacademy.com/constitutional-defense-course/ Firearms training and indoctrination in Pahrump NV.
From the website:
Patriot Academy has a proven track record of excellence through a simple four part strategy:
Train students to understand and influence government policy with a Biblical worldview
Demonstrate the principles of ethical, servant leadership from the Founding Fathers’ perspective
Teach the political process and essential leadership skills through intense hands-on training
Inspire students to be salt and light in every area of society and culture
Judith, all I can say is Yuck.
Now if only the Democratic Party had a plan for American students as powerful as this, but for the good of our country.
daria, et al., my emoji was meant to relay that the whole thing turns my stomach. Scary — nay, odious — things do that to me. Sorry I wasn’t clear!
Please, I made an error and misunderstood your post. I apologized and can do no more than that.
Daria, I sawand accepted your apology. I replied “No problem.” This thread is moving so quickly answers are sometimes separated from questions by intervening posts. You and I are fine!
Good! Thanks.
OMG!! I just browsed multiple pages of this site and feel sick to my stomach. The map shows "legislation pending" in California so I've just emailed my California Senate & Assembly members bringing this to their attention since the map at the above-named website indicates "Legislation Pending" in California. My state Senator is also the Speaker of the Senate so I hope she'll spread the word in the event there really is an effort to pass such legislation - seems unlikely to succeed in a state as blue as California but one can take no chances.
Did those of you who looked at the site look at the Press Kit page? There's a photo of Rick Green, Founder of the Patriot Academy, with a link to download a copy. Is he expecting people to frame it and display it in their homes? BTW, contents of the Press Kit page itself is deeply disturbing. https://www.patriotacademy.com/press/
It gets more and more disturbing. Fern, you're probably wise - I'm feeling great anxiety as I process what they're teaching, essentially armed takeover. https://www.patriotacademy.com/mediakit/
When life is too truly terrible, truly
I cannot go there.
Thank you for this list:
Texas
Florida
Georgia
West Virginia
Tennessee
Arkansas
Oklahoma
Kansas
No family vacation travel to these places.
Need to protect my children from bad influences.
The new school board members and the restraining order on our district had some national organization backing them. I was told a lot of money was sunk into that election, for a local school board position! Probably the same group.
Whether you have children in public school or not, it is currently SO IMPORTANT TO VOTE IN SCHOOL BOARD ELECTIONS!!!
This is a huge find about The Patriot Academy behind Freedom Week legislation for state sponsored far right pseudo-Christian propaganda. Follow the money. Anyone find who funds them?
Ellie, I have not been able to find out who funds the Academy but I did find that founder Rick Green has definitely taken a stand on masks. I could barely read through it but forced myself to do so so I could see if it was worth sharing with the people here. It’s sort of is, but I suspect that it will make almost everyone here as angry as it makes me. This is from the website.
“COVID19 NOTICE: After much research and study of the science, the data, and the virus, Rick has chosen to “Live Not By Lies.” While there are many opinions about masks and other non-pharmaceutical interventions, there is only one set of actual facts. The masks are nothing more than virtue signaling at best, symbols of control at worst, and unquestionably causing more health risk and harm than good. Rick’s conscience will not let him participate in the perpetuation of the greatest fraud on the American people that has ever occurred. The deaths, psychological damage, economic destruction, and societal division created by the fiasco of the government response (NOT by the virus) has gone on too long and Rick passionately opposes anything that continues to encourage people to live by dehumanizing fear and prevent the basic human interaction needed for a functioning society. Therefore, if speaking at your event requires covid testing, contact tracing, masking, or any other unwarranted ‘protocol,’ Rick will be unable to participate.”
What a shame not to have him spreading his lies. …
Sara, As terrifying this info is it importantly tells us more about what we are confronting. Thank you.
I can't find who their deep pockets are but they've been around since 2003 and have been hooked up with David Barton and Wallbuilders since at least then. The fact that they have 3 & 5 day Constitutional Defense Courses, weapons training paired with their interpretation of the Constitution, is a huge red flag along with their inroads into school curriculums.
Scrolling through articles I've saved on Twitter, I see the Texas legislature has been sneaking in these attacks on democracy through education curriculum for years. More Hitler Youth tactic:
"In the you-can’t-make-up-this-stuff department, here’s what the Republican Party of Texas wrote into its 2012 platform as part of the section on education:
Knowledge-Based Education – We oppose the teaching of Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) (values clarification), critical thinking skills and similar programs that are simply a relabeling of Outcome-Based Education (OBE) (mastery learning) which focus on behavior modification and have the purpose of challenging the student’s fixed beliefs and undermining parental authority.
Yes, you read that right. The party opposes the teaching of “higher order thinking skills” because it believes the purpose is to challenge a student’s “fixed beliefs” and undermine “parental authority.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/texas-gop-rejects-critical-thinking-skills-really/2012/07/08/gJQAHNpFXW_blog.html
Ellie, my mother taught in Montgomery County, Maryland in the 60s and 70s. I remember her discussing the heavy influence the State of Texas had on textbooks used throughout the country. Two of the most influential people in the movement, from the early 1960s onward, were Norma & Mel Gabler. In August 1982, Frank Edward Piasecki presented his doctoral dissertation about the Gablers influence on textbook content at the University of North Texas titled:
Norma and Mel Gabler: The Development and Causes of Their Involvement Concerning the Curricular Appropriateness of School Textbook Content
Bottom line, Texas has been meddling in public education for a very long time and have been successful due to the sheer volume of textbooks the State of Texas buys on an annual basis. Below is a link to his complete dissertation.
https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc331488/m1/1/
What motivated the Gablers, from Texas Monthly, 1982:
"Norma and Mel Gabler entered the field of textbook reform twenty years ago, after their son Jim came home from school disturbed at discrepancies between the 1954 American history text his eleventh-grade class was using and what his parents had taught him. The Gablers compared his text to history books printed in 1885 and 1921 and discovered differences. “Where can you go to get the truth?” Jim asked."
Because obviously, new information about history never crop up in the span of decades, right?
https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/the-guardians-who-slumbereth-not/
The Gablers, a short overview
https://www.liquisearch.com/mel_and_norma_gabler
Wow. Texas reactionaries as a driver of public school textbooks across the country. So much for separation of church and state. And "textbook riots in Kanawha County, West Virginia?"
Daria, you are the rockin' researcher of the day!
Ellie, I only had enough time to get this far this afternoon. This might be a starting point for whois behind the Academy. https://christiancommunityconnect.com/blog/patriot-academy
Sara T, you and Daria are both the rockin' researchers of the day! FYI a group of HCR Substackers has formed to turn good discussion into good grassroots activism. For more info, email:
heathersherd@gmail.com
Ellie, I was invited quite some time ago to join. I declined because I live outside the US and am unable to participate in various activities like postcard and phone banking. I am able, however, to research. If you think that's something relevant to HH's purpose, let me know. Thanks for the kudos.
We are in a battle for the hearts and minds for either democracy or autocracy. And we are only now learning the depth and breadth of the battle front--our youth for the past 18 years being shaped by the far right and now incrementally but rapidly being reinforced by state legislation over school curriculum.
The Patriot Academy was founded in 2003 to inculcate youth with reactionary pseudo-Christian values to then grow up and go into politics. Here we are 18 years later, a full generation later, with Texas Freedom Week legislation. Echo of history...
“How the Hitler Youth Turned a Generation of Kids into Nazis”
“In January 1933, there were 50,000 members of the Hitler Youth. By the end of the year, there were more than 2 million…in 1936, they banned all youth groups—including the Boy Scouts—and forced members to become part of the Hitler Youth instead. Jewish children were banned from participation…
Children who had been saturated in Nazi ideology for years made obedient, fanatical soldiers. Eventually, those soldiers became younger and younger. Starting in 1943, all boys 17 and older were forced to serve in the military.”
https://www.history.com/news/how-the-hitler-youth-turned-a-generation-of-kids-into-nazis
Ok, my nightmares will not stop now. I’m sure our National intelligence community is all over this, right???
Fred, I add you with Sara T and Daria to the list of rockin' researchers of the day! FYI a group of HCR Substackers has formed to turn good discussion into good grassroots activism. For more info, email:
heathersherd@gmail.com
Maybe Tic Tox will go after them. One can hope.
Horrors
I passed this information onto a friend in my Democratic women’s group. Thanks for that! Very disturbing stuff and is popping up all over the Nation!
I took a look at that. Pretty scary stuff. The Biblical Citizenship class! Wow. Thanks for the link.
Most scary.
Time to Resist. Massive refusal by the teachers is the only way. Walk out. Then sue the board for dereliction of duty to educate.
We have an association and that’s the place to start. Walking out with very little cohesion or support means losing my certification and retirement. We need to sue Abbott and TEA’s Mike Morath. To be clear, teaching is rough and things similar to this controlling subject and content has always been apart of it. Just now it’s out in the open and everyone is getting a glimpse of the big picture.
Students, young people learning, "[D]o not shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate". See, the 1969 SCOTUS ' ruling in Tinker vs. Des Moines Independent Community School District. Mary Beth Tinker was 13 Years old in 1969 when her rights were vindicated.
The students have freedom of speech in this scenario. It’s teachers that aren’t allowed to teach.
Thank you Denise, I realized the focus of your specific, real-time, scenario. My comment was aimed at hopefully expanding the Community discussion to the full context of what is happening in schools across the Country now. The issues are not limited to a Student's freedom of expression but to Life itself given the Delta Data since August 2, 2021 . My older sister is a semi-retired History Teacher & she has educated me over the years on the limitations on quality Teaching.
The difficulty is those children today who are inculcated with this 'fake history' from Grade 1 on up will not have any idea that history is different from what they've been allowed to learn.
That's of course why i said "massive" as solidarity amongst teachers and the "muscle" of the association, which is there to protect its members, are essential. Otherwise, if you really want to get around their seeming stupidity blocking teaching the world as it is the offer you the possibility of generating discussion. Without stating your own opinion (as professionally in such circumstances we often don't) you can use the power of the "question" and the summary to guide the students to relevant discovery of reality and the interrelation of fact and myth.
Ah! Socratic questioning. Which would allow students to research and find out the truth of history for themselves. The have access to everything. They can weigh it all out. Developing critical thinking skills-- most important thing teachers can teach. Montessori elementary and high school education is independent research oriented. Teach the kids to fish, and to discern what they catch-- truth or fiction? This might pave the wave for truly independent thinkers. Teachers need to learn the questions to ask, and then ask the hell out of them. It will also make education a lot more interesting than reading books written by the victors.
It sounds like teaching accurate history, current events and critical thinking have become subversive acts.
Wondering what HCR will have to say about this!
Walking out would not change the already-adopted legislation to control what's taught. They'll just replace anyone who walked out with teachers who believe as the right wing does.
How can we help?
Good question. I will ask at the UEA meeting and my Democratic women’s club. You could find out if it’s happening in your state. Call your representatives and write letters. It seems to be spreading.
Yes. I taught Public School for years. Spent most of my time fighting parents.
I wanted their children to be better than they were.
It'd be great, Denise, if you could convince at least some of those teachers to vote. An uphill climb for you, I'm sure. Keep us posted.
There have been some slow changes to increase teacher pay state wide. We were told that it is response to the increase in teacher voting turn out. For the presidential election, a big group of teachers went together for early voting. I don’t know how the special election will go in Southlake. But teachers are getting more involved.
Denise. I wobder if there was some way to contact Frontline. This is a national story
From the Frontline website: "Reporting tips can be sent to frontlinetips@wgbh.org. You can also connect with many of our reporters and leadership team on Twitter."
It’s as if the Taliban has seized control of the Texas school board. Will they be segregating the girls next so they can be taught only the domestic arts? And they’re heading for Florida.
That is what it looks like from where I stand.
Talk with your parents and teacher organization and ask NEA to file unfair labor practices against the State Of
Texas. Control of thinking was by a founding father Mao Zedong. Texans need to vote and support their teachers.
I think the kool-aid has taken effect, they are crazed with the thought that at long last the evil sinners who are not evangelical right will never have control of their children's brains or bodies in any way (P.S. This is not a jab at Christianity, only at the radicalization of it.)
And the age old corruption of all religion. Time to turn over the money tables again.
Denise, it's a wonder that teachers are needed at all in TX. Just give the kids unlimited recess! I am sorry that you and your colleagues must be subject to the dumbing down of history.
It would have led me to homeschool if it’d happened when my kids were school aged.
Indoctrination and propaganda require Indoctrinators and Propogandists.
Given the average GOP voter, this dumbing down process has been going on for a long time.
Horrific.
Frightening !
Friday, September 17, is Constitution Day. A federal law was passed in 2004, mandating that every school and college that receives any federal funding must teach about the Constitution in that day. It was inserted into a massive spending bill by Sen. Robert Byrd, who was frustrated by the ignorance of Americans about history and this document. Interesting how this has been morphed into garbage.
Today I was thinking that there should be a National Day to highlight all the lies and deceptions that were run on us after 9/11. Talk about morphing a terror attack on ME and Mine into a oil, land, money, power-grab! What should it be named?
Hitler tactics. They worked.
Until they didn't. Heavy price paid by everyone involved.
Is this a statewide maneuver, Denise??? This is nothing short of SHOCKING!
But they will get mad...
...if you treat them like they treat you.
No political voice for you,
Only them.
The Politburo School Board had declared it.
That is just stunning. And horrible.
I agree with most of what HCR writes, but regarding the country becoming a one party nation I must disagree. I've always felt that Republican controlled state legislatures were taking an enormous risk in passing voter suppression laws--that risk being it would ignite a tidal wave of Democratic voter turnout. A pissed off voter will do anything to vote. Keep in mind, Republican voters would also be restricted, although the harm would mostly be on the Democratic side.
The best way to level the voting playing field, of course, is to abolish the Electoral College. We no longer live in an age in which it takes a month to travel across the country. We are one nation, under God, right? If Republicans instead of Democrats most always won the popular vote it would have been dead and buried long ago. And the best way to cleanse our legislative democracy is to banish the filibuster. It's basically a tool for cheaters.
In the last election, with a pandemic raging and no vaccines, voters here in Georgia and elsewhere turned out in record numbers to oust Trump. I believe that, because these draconian voter suppression and nullification laws have been put in place in so many states, and now the anti-abortion/vigilante abomination in Texas has been enacted, there will be another round of PO'd voters out in '22. Granted, I could be much too optimistic, but I think it will happen. You're correct that the Electoral College must be abolished, and the filibuster, as well. The derangement that is the right wing needs to be handled.
Amen, Nancy. Your keyboard to God’s ear(s).
Good morning, little Mary Sunshine. Your vision is one I remember, and we need to do more before election days roll around...
Yes, demonstrate, work with candidates, and deluge our representatives to get action.
Deranged like 'Foxes', unfortunately.....(sorry).
Seriously though, Nancy, I was amazed by my fellow Georgians last November and January. Simply speechless and all filled up!
I was, too. I saw entire families at the polls. One particular group - 40-ish Black couple, with an elderly relative in a wheelchair, all masked and holding their absentee ballots, ready to surrender them and not chance USPS/Louis DeJoy trashing them. They braved long lines, a raging pandemic that they knew could treat them even worse than hostile whites ever had, because at the end of the day, they were determined to make a difference - and they did. We can do the same. I'm angry and will put that to good use.
Absolutely, which proves that TFG didn't conceive of his wicked schemes alone. He's incapable of finding his way out of Brooklyn without a guide, and he was "guided" into the White House and a blueprint was drawn to enable his destructive stay there. Putin helped, but there were others much closer to home.
The voters can turn out all they want. The Republicans intend to nullify election results through their Legislative bodies and Elector appointments. This is the really scary part.
It should be called voter suppression AND nullification.
These voter nullification schemes are the only thing that explain why the radical right politicians are so calm about seeing tens of thousands of their supporters die of covid for lack of getting vaccines.
The January 6 coup attempt really never ended. What we are seeing is a rolling extended coup attempt by Republicans to establish a one Party rule in the United States. Of course they are calm. They say anything they want. They do anything they want. They could care less about voters, free and fair elections or a Democracy.
Unfortunately this is not crazy conspiracy theory thinking. I have learned all this from non main stream media.
It's being done out in the open.
The “fine print” so many don’t bother to read before signing.
Electoral College almost WAS abolished, bipartisan support, maybe in the late ‘50s? ( i should never open my mouth if actual facts arent popping outta there.)
Ah yes 1969-70. ALMOST
Yes. The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.
Love it!
Love and focused anger will win this thing, I am certain.
I focus on the television and scream on a regular basis. If that's not enough, I can do more. Thanks.
Abolishing the Electoral College would be an improvement but would no stop white minority rule. The Senate would still be controlled by 17% of the electorate, the House weakened by gerrymandering, the Supreme Court dominated by racist, trickledown Republican appointees, and 30+ state legislatures dominated by permanent, gerrymandered Republican control.
Just remember, though, that Biden won with all that you've described. Voter nullification, though, is the frightening part that doesn't seem to be getting enough attention.
Another thing that concerns me is that many of the R led legislatures have been passing bills that allow guns to be carried ANYWHERE (and frequently without permits) even schools and polling places. Some have gone so far as to forbid local/state police from enforcing any Federal gun laws-as they have done in NH. Can I imagine, Proud Boys showing up in militia gear carrying AR 15s outside polling places as a means to implicitly intimidate voters? I can. There are some states that forbid weapons @ polling places but not many.
Barbara, I'm also very concerned about the proliferation of bills allowing unfettered gun possession. Militia groups are already a threat, and these laws make it easier for them to show up anywhere to intimidate or threaten.
Yes. Abolishing (or getting around (a la NPVIC) the Electoral College would stabilize the presidency, but that’s not enough. If the Republicans had won the House majority in 2018, they might well have reversed the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.
I have no doubt, based on the cretins that are shameless in demonstrating the depths of their willingness to cheat and steal.
TRUMP’S LEGACY WILL BE A TRAGEDY OF THE GULLIBLE
J. P. Morgan: “The first thing is character…before money or anything else. Money can not buy it….A man I do not trust could not get money from me for all the bonds in Christendom.”
When I created international bond ratings at Moody’s Investors Service and later was responsible for rating the credit of corporate and sovereign bonds and commercial paper worldwide, I adhered to Morgan’s character maxim.
Trump’s character is despicable. In his 1987 ghostwritten ART OF THE DEAL, Trump boasted of his scummy business practices. This business ‘tycoon’ was responsible for six major bankruptcies in which he screwed his bankers and investors, while salvaging massive personal tax credits from the wreckage. He spoke proudly of how he stiffed contractors and suppliers from whom he had requested services. If you had a handshake deal with Trump, you would be advised to count your fingers.
The Trump Organization is a Mafioso family business. The Don demanded total loyalty from his Mafioso mobsters, which he never reciprocated. When Michael Cohen, Trump’s major hit man, called Trump a “conman” and a “cheat,” The Don called Cohen a “rat.”
Trump, an over-the-top carnival barker, boisterously inflated the Trump brand. Like July 4th fireworks, he produced a massive flash and a glitter shower that fluttered impotently to the ground. Trouble brewed before he lost the 2020 presidential election. [Yes, Virginia, Trump lost.] It got far worse after his White House semi-residency. The Manhattan District Attorney empaneled a grand jury that pursued possible criminal and civil Trump Organization peccadilloes. Other jurisdictions were digging through Trump garbage. The IRS, where Trump had been fighting a lien of $100+ million for a decade, circled like a vulture.
Trump was in a pack of trouble. His future and even his freedom, depended on the take-a-bullet-for-the-boss loyalty of his Mafiosos. Rumors spread that one or more in his inner sanction was contemplating singing like a canary to avoid the cage.
A restless Trump launched another spectacular scam. Playing a Machiavellian game of will-he-or-won’t-he-run-for president in 2024 [HE WON’T], The Don launched staccato funding appeals to his cult. There was nothing subtle in his demands. The money must go directly into his pocket. The Don has so far collected tributes of over $200 million.
The beat goes on. One shouldn’t be distracted by sleight of hand and unabashed lying. Trump’s legacy will be the damage he has done to his gullible associates, his foot soldiers, and to our country.
Hi Keith. Trust is all. If you have it then difficulties can be worked out...like one-page Japanese contracts. Deutsche Bank learned the hard way about Trump........or were just as venal as he. Probably both.
Venal. I worked at the bank that Deutsche acquired that did Trump's funding. We, at least, took collateral and punished him for default. He offered his properties as chattel, but we took his yacht and docked it outside our headquarters for him to look at during negotiations. His biggest complaint was that we hurt his sex life; without the Yacht dating was miniscule like his *mushroom*).
I laughed, you made me laugh Daniel. Can this be true? Your created the comic page for this day on 9/11. I am in most happy disbelief. If only Ed Gorey were here to draw it!
Trump was notorious for petting up as collateral properties that he had pledged before, were in default, or seriously overvalued. HE'D Hock HIS OWN FAMILY. His treatment of his brother, in cahoots with his father led directly to his suicide. I used a car garage here, and the attendant told me that his brother would come in in tears...from Donald and Fred's treatment.
"Petting up" the collateral sounds kinda creepy to me.
'Creepy' describes the whole sordid affair.
Daniel this is macabre -- more than I can bear.
I haven't scratched the surface yet. Sorry about your sensibilities though. Don't want to upset anyone with these.
Wow, Daniel! I’m kinda loving this mental image!
He HAS gotten away with a lot, but not everything. Some could hurt him and did. He played in nyc, where 'players' get hurt.
What, Daniel? An inside look at bankers' humor? Yeah! Cool!
In one of the many places I come from, they called it a "noodle", as in: "Don't dip your noodle in the wrong pot" Hardly vulgar at all.
There is documentary evidence (some 'bankers' speak' there) attesting (more 'bankers' speak') that his noodle (hardly vulgar, I agree) is MUSHROOM SHAPED.
Not a good look
And probably motivates much of his behavior.
Aberrant, huh.
Aberrantissimo.
🤣
I am appalled that so many Americans trusted (trust) this modern-day Jabba The Hutt. Ah, Deutsche Bank,, fools rush in where angels fear to tread. That no New York bank would deal with Trump should have been a clue.Not the Deutsche that I visited in Frankfurt long ago.
As precise an account as I've read. Damage, not only to America but to posterity, to the planet.
Proof that, given a power base as vast as America, even an idiot can outdo Genghis Khan, Stalin and Hitler.
Consider the immeasurable responsibility of the American citizen in the light of this hard-to-grasp reality. And the scale of the universal threat posed by the current GOP conspiracy, designed to achieve, without swastikas and suchlike, the takeover desired by Hitler's financiers...
'...in the light of this hard-to-grasp reality.' Yes, Peter, I see it have seen it deeply, felt it early and yet cannot grasp it. I believe it and, yet, cannot believe it. The damage of damage while living.
I remember hearing about one family owned business that did work for him. They had been in business 86 yrs. He didn’t pay them. Played the long game with Atty. and they went under and lost the business.But you made me LOL ! about the handshake .No kidding there.Good read.Tried and tried to tell Ppl this. I got thrown away.Advise : The smart don’t need it and the Ignorant don’t want it. TFG new business model . Cha-Ching $ !
He intentionally hired undocumented workers for his construction projects so he could easily stiff them. Then he brought in the mob people to threaten and intimidate.
Someone should make a film—a farce—out of exemplary trumpery episodes, such as the Great Man admiring the work he’d just refused to pay for…
Strange that New Yorkers should have known all about him, yet he could pull the wool over the eyes of half the country… The Bible-bashers of all people… “Foolish and senseless people, who have eyes but do not see, who have ears but do not hear”.
https://youtu.be/xu8u9ZbCJgQ
My Favorite Predictions:
"And everybody knows that the Plague is coming
Everybody knows that it's moving fast"
"Everybody knows the scene is dead
But there's gonna be a meter on your bed
That will disclose
What everybody knows
And everybody knows that you're in trouble
Everybody knows what you've been through"
We did know but not what was underneath the hood. An exterior of self-portrayals, betrayals, braggadocio, business failures, hogging the spotlight and snubbed by the upper-class -- a clown, a buffoon, a most colorful cartoon character fool. That's what we knew, not of the evil at the root.
When a guy takes his wife and children on a ski vacation and his mistress ( Marla Maples ) what would you call that ? The women some how end up outside in front of cameras tongue slapping each other . Honestly can’t remember if the kids saw and heard but my guess they did.And he was there of course. Who does that ! Cowards who let women fight their battles. Now that is Evil !
Marcia, I've pulled down the blinds.
I’m a stranger, yet while the extravagant behavior may have succeeded in distracting attention, surely all the in-crowd knew, lawyers, business people, politicians, officials, as well as many, many of the “little people” who’d experienced him at first hand? Especially people in the building and related trades. Silent, of course, those who’d been bought…
And how about that full-page “Bring Back The Death Penalty” ad in 1989 fanning the flames of hatred with rather obvious political ambition on show? Resurrected by the man himself not that long ago…
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/18/nyregion/central-park-five-trump.html
Some of this is obvious—relations between property speculators and the mob are well known by now. After all, the phenomenon isn’t limited to New York City, it’s worldwide. And the upper end of it is the one that counts for most, that’s where the proceeds of every form of crime get laundered and crooks are magically transformed into “respectable” businessmen…
His family has ties to the Mob for 4 generations (that I know of), starting with his grandfather's bordello. His father Fred was a part of the NYC Italian Mob morphing into the International Russian Syndicate.
The circle of corruption well expressed, Peter.
Thanks, Fern. Daniel Friedman has just spelled this out…
I saw something of this kind of thing elsewhere in the world. I’d rather not have, but it was instructive.
Snubbed by every single decent person once he started entrapping young girls.
I believe with a 100% of my being that Melania was an Epstein girl. I found a real old Vanity Fair article that said she was Modeling in Paris in 1996 at the age of ….18 of course ? There’s one picture of Drump with Epstein, his Girlfriend and Mel. They have her face all Maked up.To me she looks 14-15 yrs old.But if she was 18 in 1996, makes her born in 1978 and only 43 now.Which they have her older per her Bio ? There was much talk back in the day that some of those girls on the Lolita Express were as young as 12.The Model business was the ‘Cover up ‘.My only guess is some of the girls were from poor families ?Now they can’t find Epstein’s g/f ? Marla knows all about that time I bet ya.
He was "installed" and is not loner in this travesty against our democracy. He is just the monkey "they" put out front and turned into the uncontrollable King Kong. But it might have taken this kind of ridiculous situation for America to truly WAKE UP. That democracy takes a lot of work and nurturing love to be maintained. Otherwise, mafiosos slide in easily because we have been lulled for too long. Thank our Stars (flag theme today) that these seditionists are so flagrant and bold. We know who the enemies of democracy are. We need some very stiff behavior modification, immediately.
Mobster's version of Descartes' "I think, therefore I am":
"I crap on you, therefore I am."
As bad, as plain as that.
Thanks, Keith. That's pretty much it in a hand basket. He preyed on the gullible for his own benefit and is still doing so. Yet we only have ourselves to blame. He who opens his mouth in a shit storm must swallow it.
And even if not he himself, his spawn are also trouble.
So, since you are clearly knowledgeable, will he be indicted and, please God, jailed?
Marcy My fuzzy crystal ball says that he will be dragged into at least one trial and have to pay scads. I don’t see an orange jumper suit, but I haven’t had a second cup of coffee. I am ready to find a slammer with a golf course, if that would accelerate Trump getting a prison number.
Yes please.
I was thinking about a Netflicks series where Former Oresident Trump is taken into the white house by President Biden who feels sorry for him and Trump plots every series to Be the President again but is always caught up in lies and restricted
to his room where he emails Kim Jung Un , and friends like Putin, and his Republican groupies. President Biden and First Lady Biden try to help him and feel he needs love just like his evil friends,
L Wilhelm, your series feels as a nighttime story, a fairytale part German and American
'...a gory fairytale part German and American.
Notable is that JP Morgan and Bond Rating Agencies seem clean when compared to Trump.
However well you say it Keith; spell out the evil spread to some and many again and again; clear the air with scents and sounds and sights for which we long; sing your song of history of poetry and noble deeds, of learning and mastery, of courage and good fellowship, of love and play and kindness; please teach us more and more of that.
Let us all sing out to the heavens, get out the vote, support our candidates, national, state, and local, and don’t let those bastards get us down. Venceramos!
So the future of democracy comes down to Joe Manchin. He will be the difference between Republican one-party despotism and what we fought for in the Revolutionary War and Civil War. The Democrat who voted for Trump-supported bills 50.4% of the time. The Democrat who voted for Gorsuch and Kavanaugh. The Democrat who voted for most of Trump's cabinet nominees.
Forgive me if I pour another glass of wine and contemplate whether I will sleep.
There's also Sinema to be dealt with.
I have some empathy for Joe Manchin, who was a popular governor and now senator (narrow margin for re-election last time) in A West Virginia which voted 68% Trump in 2020. Joe is a shrewd conservative Democrat. I would not wish to play high stakes poker with him. He is the 50th Dem in the Senate. If he ran in 2024 he would not seem favored to win. If he didn’t win, the Republicans would turn this Senate seat.
Of course Joe is endeavoring to carry pumpkins on both shoulders. He opposed HR1 which a comprehensive voter reform bill, saying that it wouldn’t pass the Senate. At the same time, he expressed support for the more modest John Lewis voting bill. I sense a strong personal conviction. I have a slim hope that Joe might weaken the filibuster over voting rights. On the $3.5 trillion human infrastructure bill, I could see him kicking and screaming before voting for a $2.5+/- trillion bill.
Keith, The 'slim hope' in your mind seems connected to the odds of retaining an American Democracy. In addition to dealing with the filibuster, awakening American citizens seems imperative. While difficult to do during the pandemic, with strong outreach, media messaging and a long string of athletes and performers we might ring the Liberty Bell. Perhaps, the Democratic Party needs awakening most of all.
We Real Cool
Gwendolyn Brooks - 1917-2000
THE POOL PLAYERS.
SEVEN AT THE GOLDEN SHOVEL.
We real cool. We
Left school. We
Lurk late. We
Strike straight. We
Sing sin. We
Thin gin. We
Jazz June. We
Die soon.
Tyehimba Jess on "We Real Cool" by Gwendolyn Brooks
"We Real Cool" is the poem so many of us know from grade school: the Seven (that sacred number of the seeker, the thinker, the mysterious) at the Golden Shovel (the shovel be golden but be ready to dig your grave). Them lounging streetcornerwise in our consciousness under some flickered neon of mannish-boy dream. A Chicago/Detroit/Harlem/St. Louis/L.A./Gary/... corner. Someplace where the rhyme is always as good as the reason, anyplace where the cost of gin is precious enough to thin but solemn enough to pour on the sidewalk for the departed, anyplace where the schools are overcrowded and underfunded and black and brown enough to not really miss the Seven, who were underperforming on the standardized tests and had been diagnosed as ADD or BDD status anyway. Anyplace where sin gets hymned out—straitlaced into storefront chapels on Sunday mornings—but sewn back into Saturday night doo-wopped breakbeats, finger-snapped shuffles of promise.
We know the Seven. Know them like our neighbor's boy gone bloodied to bullets. Like our cousins nodded off into prison terms or hyped into the ground. Like our brothers gone homeless. Like our fathers gone missing. Like ourselves when we look in the blurry mid-morning mirror. One for every day of the week, one for each of our deadly sins. One waiting around the bend of each American corner. We stand in the June of our lives and try to sing it all the way through each season, always ending each line on the word that brings us together as much as it pivots us into new revelations: We. We. We. We. We. We. We.
Fern I have no idea what you spent you’re life doing ? But to say you are a vessel of knowledge is an understatement . Honestly Google Search should hire you. You just amaze me.You are one of the smartest women I don’t know. Likewise though so many on this Site.In my whole lifetime, and it’s been long. Being in Flori-Duh ! from the age of 10 I can count maybe on both hands people who are smarter than a 5 th grader that I have crossed paths with. I’m sure it shows. It gives me hope that there are others out there in this Dysfunction Junction of a Country that we have a chance, Democracy has a chance to survive this Madness. When I was on Facebook reading HCR I knew of my so called friends before TFG that only a couple read this site. Go and figure right ! Thank you and all who contribute. Should have done this along time ago. But better late then never.❤️
Nice to hear from you Marcia. Your reference to “malfunction junction” suggests your from the Tampa Bay Area, as am I.
This conversation often feels like a master class where most students are smarter than me. It forces me to stretch intellectually, a very good exercise for a 73 year old brain. Thank you all.
72 here. No,I’m East Coast. But the whole Country has gone crazy.
The whole country has NOT gone crazy.
Just the crazy parts.
😂 I see you’re from NYC.I started out in Elmira. I’m pretty sure you’ve seen a fair amount to be an expert on the subject. I’m in Fl,we have more then our fair share Daniel.
Being from NYC was left me heartbroken in many ways by our current state of affairs. Most folks here knew Trump to be EXACTLY WHAT HE HAS SHOWN HIMSELF TO BE. It is like knowing what war will bring, but having no way to prevent it.
Except now the provocateurs of war are some of our own states.
So good to see you...not even a whisper smarter than thee...the power together is we.
You are a poet to me, Marcia.
About Tyehimba Jess:
"Tyehimba Jess was born in Detroit, Michigan, and earned a BA from the University of Chicago and an MFA from New York University. He is the author of Olio (Wave Books, 2016), winner of the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, and leadbelly (Wave Books, 2005), winner of the 2004 National Poetry Series. Jess has received a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, a Provincetown Fine Arts Work Center Fellowship, and a Whiting Award. He is the poetry and fiction editor of African American Review and an associate professor of English at the College of Staten Island."
https://poets.org/poet/tyehimba-jess
So accomplished and coming out of Detroit MI. I was so impressed with Amanda Gorman at Pres. Biden’s Inauguration also. I still go back and watch and listen to it.
WE THE PEOPLE, ALL OF US THIS TIME!
May we hold this torch high until our last breath!
WOWZER, Fern, What a piece this is! Thank you for it. Going to look for more after I read it another couple of times.
And I just was Re: Amanda Gorman @ Pres. Biden Inauguration “ The Hill We Climb. “ I still go back and listen and watch her. She’s going places as well.
I never tire of her rhythms, not to mention the inspiration of her words. Much like the pieces Fern posted, and Daria expanded upon. Not only does the reading list get longer, it gets rearranged. Love this community!
Wow, Fern. Brav-oh!! Thank you for this.
With you Penelope...
Joe Manchin, senator from WVA, a coal state, has taken large campaign donations from the Koch’s of KS/OK/TX PAC, u know the oil & gas refining states… so I don’t hold my breath for him to come through for anything other than more coal, more oil, more gas, and more Climate Change, more destructive weather, and more human displacement and continued climate tragedies.
I have to agree with you Ted. But after yesterday I’m fired up. Manchin can’t harsh my buzz just yet! Put him in the ring with Joe Biden, and they will have to carry him out. Manchin is in it for the money, and the President is in it for the country. I think both of them have proven who they are working for quite well.
You describe well the reasons I think of Manchin as a spy within the Dem's caucus. He cannot be trusted.
He’s Koch’s rat.
A rat's rat.
How far down does that go?
Is there a rat's rat's rat's rat's rat's rat?
Where does it stop?
Where's the extermination team?
Where — the Mongrol Hoard?
I suspect Manchin is helping the GOP run out the clock on voter rights.
Among other things....
[This would make for a good Now & Then discussion]
Opinion: Robert E. Lee was a stone-cold loser
Opinion by Dana Milbank
<snip>
Robert E. Lee was a stone-cold loser.
No general in U.S. history was defeated as unequivocally and as totally as Lee. For all his supposed strategic skill, his army was entirely destroyed. One-quarter of those who served under him were killed, and an additional half were wounded or captured. He was a traitor to the United States who killed more U.S. soldiers than any other enemy in the nation’s history, for the supremely evil cause of slavery. To boot, he was a cruel enslaver and a promoter of white supremacy until his death.
It is ridiculous that, in the year 2021, these simple truths are in dispute. But here we are.
As the massive statue of Lee and his horse finally came down this week from its pedestal in Richmond, former president Donald Trump, the unquestioned leader of the Republican Party, penned an impassioned defense of the Confederate commander. It was ugly in its embrace of the themes that have powered white supremacists for generations. It was also fake history.
</snip>
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/09/10/robert-e-lee-statue-richmond-trump-history/
Here's a gifted link to the story: https://wapo.st/3A5zvz9
Never noticed the gifted link. Will be sure to use it in the future. Thanks, Christopher.
much appreciated!
Thank you! Great article!
h/t Annette D!
Now and Then did just that. Look up the Episode : Treason
I have a subscription. Thanks
Requires a subscription.
I believe WaPo, like NYT, allows a certain number of freebies, if not then sorry. Posting the whole story isn’t advised afaik.
If you have a digital subscription, you can “gift” a story. Look for the little gift box and click on that. Then you get a link that can be shared.
Or were you referring to the podcast Now & Then which is worth more than the price of admission. ;-). As for WaPo, your mileage might vary.
Dear Mr. Johnson,
And all sharers of subscription-based information...some of us are on fixed incomes and parsing every penny. From my perspective, tis good to know that these articles/conversations/investigations exist, and am rather judicious about where my few dollars go. There are times when a cavalier attitude toward paid subscriptions (as in 'just get a sub') evidences privilege that the writer may well not recognize.
Much appreciation to those of you who post the gift link on this forum. Please know it is truly a gift.
Peace,
Kim
I too am on a fixed income. I forego a cable TV bill to be able to support folks like Heather and have access to WaPo and NYT no matter how shitty they can be. I keep those subs mostly for access to the daily opinion pages. For TV watching everything is streamed or over-the-air.
I don't assume anything about anyone else's financial situation nor would I be "cavalier". I'd never noticed the "Gift" link before and will try to use it in the future if available.
I'm locked out of many links throughout the week, especially on Twitter, but know that if a story has merit, it's going to be reported on by an outlet with no paywall.
WaPo...I limit my subscriptions to HCR but like to view sources suggested by those in this forum.
Here's a freebie link thanks to Annette D.. https://wapo.st/3A5zvz9
How tragic that there are members of Congress who need an incentive to vote for a Voting Rights bill. We value making a deal more than doing right.
"members of Congress who need an incentive to vote"
They make Wall Street look pure.
And I was there for 30 years.
I understand completely. Academic wasn't much better, but in a different way.
What appalls me almost more than the actions of the Republiqan party as they enact such horrible voter restriction laws is the eagerness with which it is lapped up by those professing and demonstrating their fundamental belief in the big lie. I am stunned at the number of people that I thought that were well educated, decently informed, and basically good people that have bought into this hook, line, sinker, pole, reel, and boat.
"I am stunned at the number of people that I thought that were well educated, decently informed, and basically good people"
These are BAD people, some of whom are educated and informed. Yes BAD just the same.
(I will, when free time presents itself, explain how and why some people are bad. It is not a judgement on my part. It is factual and explainable.
That they were in a place where they could believe the garbage, then I think perhaps you're right.
"I believe that partisan voting legislation will destroy the already weakening binds of our democracy, and for that reason, I will vote against the For the People Act." - Joe Manchin
A quick read of Manchin's June 6th opinion piece in the Charleston Gazette Mail shows just how unprincipled he is - he's willing to allow states to enact destructive, hyper-partisan voting legislation that weakens the "binds of democracy" - using the laughable excuse that he's serving the people of West Virginia. He's doing no such thing but pandering to his corporate donors. 88.47% of Joe Manchin's campaign contributions during 2017-2022 time frame come from out of state donors.
https://www.wvgazettemail.com/opinion/op_ed_commentaries/joe-manchin-why-im-voting-against-the-for-the-people-act/article_c7eb2551-a500-5f77-aa37-2e42d0af870f.html
https://www.opensecrets.org/members-of-congress/joe-manchin/geography?cid=N00032838&cycle=2022&type=I
🤬 I'm sick of Manchin running the show. He clearly is a rethuglican in dem clothing.
Once a Congress critter takes an oligarch’s money, the critter devolves into a rat. And the rat just gets fat and fatter.
🤬🤬
As always Ted, Follow the $$$. We're not talking about who they are now, just haggling over the price.
As I read the above, the same exact thought...in sheep's clothing.
Senator Manchin represents fewer people than a small segment of LA or NYC. His influence is WAY out of proportion. In other words, the senate is an anachronism and should be dissolved. But of course it won’t, so next best idea to address how it kills every single attempt at helpful governing is dump the filibuster—another relic from Jim Crow. Come on Dems, do something bold enough to meet the moment!
Sara, your comment would look good in a Letter to the Editor, especially as to Manchin.
The concept of equal representation in the Senate and proportional representation in the House is not an anachronism. The fault lies with the capping of the number of Representatives at 435. Doing so made sense, because having that body continue to grow as our population grew would have made the size unmanageable. So how do we reapportion that number of seats to provide equal representation? Or add a few more to help?
I originally objected to abolishing the filibuster, but have come to recognize how it has been misused. At the very least, we need to revert to the original form, requiring Senators to stand and speak on the subject at hand or respond to on topic questions, we would eliminate much of its current power. I don’t see any of the current loudmouths being willing or capable of doing that for long. Otherwise it appears that we really need to abolish it.
It's difficult not to despair of our country surviving.
However difficult, despair is a feeling to acknowledge but to not let govern one's actions, which must be to continue to make our voices heard, as HCR says.
https://fb.watch/7X-wme6E4v/
Thanks for posting this link, Ellie Kona. I listened with interest this morning, especially the final five minutes. I believe that this is the source of your encouragement "to continue to make our voices heard."
Starting at 37:11, HCR acknowledges that the substack Letters from an American do not “tell me what to do” (a complaint she hears frequently), because that is not the purpose of these letters; rather, they are intended as an historical record of events of our times in the light of our history. “Here,” she says, referring to the Facebook talk, “is much more about what one can do, and it is time to stand up for our right to be heard in our democracy, [for] our votes to be counted” (38:37). Furthermore, she states that “for me, everything comes down to whether or not we get to choose our leaders”(39:22).
Perhaps the note of hope that Ellie Kona heard was HCR’s affirmation that “when people are presented with the facts and [have a chance to make their voices heard, they make good decisions, … at the end of the day the ball always moves forward in a good direction”(39:40).
My paraphrase on the action encouraged by HCR in this last five minutes of the talk: Use your voices for the vote, to insure that all of our voices can continue to be heard.
Patrice, When I am having feelings of despair I like to listen to El Pueblo unido jamas sera venito The People United Will Never Be Defeated. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rd6clK9s7mY/watch?v=Cuzl_QTBlWI It is a Chilean Revolutionary song. I heard about it from a Professor Emeritus of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, who I played chamber music with. He called one day and said I should attend a concert at New England Conservatory because he thought the piano composition being performed was the finest piano composition of the twentieth century. I went and it sure how a powerful impact on me. Frederick Rzewski wrote an incredible work based on the People United theme. It consisted of six sets of 6 variations. Each set had five variations representing the open hand and the 6th was a combination of the five -- the hand in a fist. The theme at the beginning is full of enthusiasm, naivete and strength. The variations in a lot of different styles from minimalist to jazz take you through the revolutionary fight the struggle and the loss of compatriots. The final return of the theme at the end starts a bit quieter now with the maturity of experience but still with hope and finally greater defiance. Here is the composer playing his own composition. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJZ09-Wl8Ps It's a long complicated piece but I grew to love it and it structure. I even arranged it for a string quintet (2 violins, viola, cello and bass) -- again the hand brought together into the fist. Never give up!
Try also Bella Ciaou.....an Italian song for anti-fascist revolutionary workers! To be sung out loud and together.....with fervour!
Una mattina mi sono alzato
O bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao
Una mattina mi sono azalto
E ho trovato l'invasor
O partigiano, portami via
O bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao
O partigiano, portami via
Ché mi sento di morir
E se io muoio da partigiano
O bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao
E se io muoio da partigiano
Tu mi devi seppellir
E seppellire lassù in montagna
O bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao
E seppellire lassù in montagna
Sotto l'ombra di un bel fior
Tutte le genti che passeranno
O bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao
E le genti che passeranno
Mi diranno "che bel fior"
È questo il fiore del partigiano
O bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao
È questo il fiore del partigiano
Morto per la libertà
È questo il fiore del partigiano
Morto per la libertà
In English
One morning I awakened,
oh bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao! (Goodbye beautiful)
One morning I awakened
And I found the invader.
Oh partisan carry me away,
oh bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao
oh partisan carry me away
Because I feel death approaching.
And if I die as a partisan,
oh bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao
and if I die as a partisan
then you must bury me.
Bury me up in the mountain,
oh bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao
bury me up in the mountain
under the shade of a beautiful flower.
And all those who shall pass,
oh bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao
and all those who shall pass
will tell me "what a beautiful flower."
This is the flower of the partisan,
oh bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao
this is the flower of the partisan
who died for freedom
In English ..
https://www.oprahdaily.com/entertainment/tv-movies/a28785300/bella-ciao-lyrics-meaning/
Unidad! ✊🏻✊🏼✊🏽✊🏾✊🏾
Thanks for posting this, Cathy. I'll not listen to the Rzewski piece now or I'll never sleep. I did listen to El Pueblo unido jamas sera venito...inspiring and uplifting.
VENCIDO -- excuse the editor's bad habit... There's another, more subtle Spanish saying to bear in mind after any lost battle:
The defeated are defeated, the victor is lost.
But the victor writes the history!
Unless you're in Texas....
Gracias. I copied from Cathy's post directly and obviously did not self edit.
Given where you're fortunate enough to write from, Daria, I never doubted that... Maybe same for Cathy.
Proofreader's disease...
"¡El pueblo unido jamás será vencido! Thanks for the correction. It was about 2 a.m. My fingers type what they want these days and my old brain isn't paying attention. Frustrating to not have a young brain any more.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FNPsnCZQj0 This shows the score and has a great index of the variations in the description (show more...) This isn't for the casual listener. It's an hour long and very contemporary in places. Thank you for the correction: "¡El pueblo unido jamás será vencido!
Thank you. Wow.
That sounds fascinating! I will book some time to give it the attention it deserves.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FNPsnCZQj0 This shows the score and has a great index of the variations in the description (show more...) This isn't for the casual listener. It's an hour long and very contemporary in places.
Thank you!
Listening as I continue to read comments.
Thank you!
Thank you. I just watched it twice, the second time because I realized I could turn on subtitles. My reading Spanish is sufficient to understand the lyrics despite some odd auto-generated transcriptions. The line that sticks with me is "El pueblo vencera". May that be true for us here in the U.S. as well.
Only 10% of the colonists fought for Independence. Most sat on the sudelines. The rest fought fir the king. Be part of the 10% Fight posting truth on their twitter lies. Call them out in local papers opinion polls with links to facts, form a group of like minds and invite those on the other side - on those undecided - to join you for discussions. Create your own videos and post on twitter, Instagram, and fb. If our democracy is lost it will be because of those sitting on the sideline
Crap. Needed to proofread😊
good laughter. just another time to know that substack needs an edit function for those of us who post.
Seriously!
No just a little archaic in expression. I particularly liked "Sudelines" as Sud in French means south! "Fir" wouldn't be out of place phonetically in certain accents and colloquial usage.
😂🤣 "Fir" for sure. When I was very young we lived in Tennessee. My mother (both parents true Californians) was brushing my hair, and I said, "Aouch Mama. Thaet herts ma haer." She was beside herself.
Hilarious! Your phonetic spelling is perfect-- the several syllable-izing of single syllable words is so southern. I can just see your Mom's face!
🤣
It's always darkest before the dawn.
Bright day here in NYC.
Did I mention Fashion Week?
Thanks for the sunny report, Daniel!
To echo the Fern Love that Marcia Rockvegas voiced Fern, I’d like to expand that to Appreciation for our NYCers here in Heather’s Herd! On this particular day, the past, and the future, many of you New Yorkers continue to represent the GOOD that is this country.
Thank you, Fern, Daniel, and all who choose against hate!
Yes, this year's look is legs that go on forever.
The Black and Asian fashion-lovers wore Go-Go boots to contrast their skin color.
White fashion-lovers stuck with Grecian sandals.
Fun City, where Style and un-Style meet as lovers.
Also watch "Even the Rain"
Like Iago in Shakespeare's Othello, I can picture Manchin proudly revealing: "I am not what I am." But what he thinks he is -- a manipulator, par excellence -- causes his own downfall. May Manchin face the same fate in the not too distant future, with Sinema coming a close second!
Manchin is what he is. We see him as he is.