My impression is that a lot of political experts and other commenters are conflating winning a debate with winning an election. People might agree that Harris won the debate, but they still might vote for Trump. And there are thousands of potential voters who like his lies and like that he lies and then lies about his lies.
My impression is that a lot of political experts and other commenters are conflating winning a debate with winning an election. People might agree that Harris won the debate, but they still might vote for Trump. And there are thousands of potential voters who like his lies and like that he lies and then lies about his lies.
Trump is absurdly, pathetically, desperately "running from prison," as George Conway says. He's desperate to regain power, to hang on to his money, and to not be "the loser" he's always mocked.
We still have to get out the vote, especially to urge people to vote for Democrats up and down the ballot. America will do better and be better with a Democratic president and Congress. Onward!
"We still have to get out the vote" - damn right - especially as we will be running against the Electoral College as well as trump. Marginal wins are not good enough - we have to roll over them like a tank.
I so wish the importance of controlling Congress would come up in every speech and post that Dems around the country do with the caveat that none of the promises Harris is making will be possible if voters don't vote Democratic all the way down their ballots. People are too inclined to split their tickets so one party doesn't dominate, and that's how we've ended up with the "do nothing Congress" we've got.
and two parties that could talk to each other and compromise for the sake of the country. "Compromise" doesn't mean "Doing what you must because the other party is threatening a shut down. . ."
Let's see what happens with the icky cr the felon has insisted they offer. Johnson called off the vote, so maybe he/they know it's a non starter. Maybe they're afraid of consequences on Nov 5 if they do shut it down. Maybe they're looking for ways to make it worse. The kool aid is flowing, so there's no telling what horror they're cooking up. Let's just hope it isn't cat stew.
JD. Agree. I never split my ticket anymore, not even a local R who is OK. Yes, we must get out the vote and hopefully, blue will be overwhelming. In answer to those posts before yours....However, people can enjoy the fact that she stomped him because there is cause for optimism now and being charged up makes it easier for people to do what is necessary in terms of the vote. I also had a dope try to challenge me when I posted that the Springfield story was false. He hadn't read the article he posted and astoundingly admitted that he hadn't after I called him on it.
My sister-in-law posted the fake video of VP Harris looking like she was stumbling over her words a few weeks ago to show incompetance. She at least acknowledged my reply which cited a news article (Times or Post can't remember) that proves that was AI fakery. That fake stuff spreads like wildfire on social media, it's like the weeds you are trying to eradicate in your garden that comes back no matter what you do.
Trump says "never admit" so there is hope for that person. I have voted for a few Republicans at the state level. One of which the state party claimed they wanted to impeach for certifying a Democrat in a close election. That was pre-MAGA,
The Republican Party, the party of Dwight David Eisenhower, is dead. Reagan began the process of smothering it to death. Trump and the oligarchs applied the fatal squeeze. The party that once was the Republican Party is now the MAGA Party. Again, I recommend HCR's book, "How the South Won the Civil War."
Ticket-splitting survived as a viable option in my state of Massachusetts through the first two decades of the 21st century. Gov. Charlie Baker (R) was elected to his 2nd term in 2018. He decided not to run for a 3rd in 2022, possibly because the MA GOP had by then gone so MAGA that he might not have survived the primary. So now every statewide elective office is held by a Democrat. (I could go on about how awful our Democratic-supermajority state legislature is but I'll save that for another time.)
yes. One answer to the final question that Trump asked - 'if you have all these good ideas, why haven't you done them for the past 3 1/2 years" - is that Congress would not let them because Republicans blocked everything they could. (Another answer is that they DID a lot of good things, particularly when Pelosi was House Leader - things that have brought a ton of new private investment to US industry, and that Republicans who voted against the measures are now taking credit for.)
Also, Harris isn’t the president. How many VPs have set policy? She made it clear that she isn’t Joe Biden. As others have pointed out, the House could not even decide on a Speaker so they were obstructing any legislation. Harris should have emphasized that we are a republic not a monarchy, and all problems need to be solved by negotiation. It was Trump who said the president just needs to sign a piece of paper. He once said that a president just has to think it to make it so. He’s finally learning that he doesn’t have that power.
Old.....I also wondered about how much he thought VPs set policy. All his did was kiss his rear until the moment when he actually did the right thing. He is running against Harris now, but he wants to pretend he is running against Biden.
You could ask the same question of Trump. What did he do during his 4-year term in office? Of course, the first part of that question - "if you have all these good ideas" - is moot, since he didn't talk about any.
I feel that Kamala missed the opportunity to make the point that the Pandemic adversely affected nations world-wide and through it all the U.S. economy was the envy of the world (according to the WSJ) and that our inflation rate was among the lowest. It's all relative.
Well, as usual, he played it both ways. He (rightly) said a Dem president couldn't get abortion protections passed with a 50/50 Congress, then blamed her for not getting "her" priorities accomplished in 3.5 years. These are the kinds of contradictory comments he doesn't get called on. Of course now that the SCOTUS has proclaimed him above the law, he won't need to bother with Congress. I'm sure his role model, Orban, can help with him the steps to take control.
State and local Dem leaders are taking that up now that the Harris campaign is on track; but Harris herself have to reiterate that she needs a working governmental majority to achieve her goals for the country.
Yes. I don't know why that isn't happening. Without the trifecta, the Harris presidency will be hamstrung unless she, like Biden, issues executive orders, but that's a sorry way to have to govern.
Please don't forget the states!! I'm in Ohio, and the criminals are running the facilities here. Rooting them out on the State's level is JUST as important!
Yes Daniel. I am in Florida and the fascists are the nightmare we witness everyday, banning books, attempting to dominate the whole education system. Yes, the state's too. Let's bring Democracy back to America.
John, I've often said Ohio is the fascists laboratory. Once 'they' find out how to get away with it here, the fascists then take it to the other states and implement. To states like Florida, Idaho, Arkansas, etc, etc. It is here that it must be stopped, before it can metastasize federally.
I grew up in northeastern Ohio, and it used to be full of union steelworkers and heavily Democratic. The economy crashed when steel went down and got worse with the Reagan recession, and those of us starving folk who were able to leave did. I am appalled at who and what is left.
Throwing over the brilliant Tim Ryan for the shillbilly was astonishingly dumb.
Our elected County Dem Central Committee and County Dem Women's Club are sending out 7500 postcards supporting our 3 School Board candidates. It used to be a non-partisan race but the Repubs made it partisan in the last couple of elections!
In war, politics, and sports: one does not ease up when the opponent is on the ropes. And especially in this case, there is absolutely no substitution for a political knock-out. He and Vance need to be sent packing to whatever they wish to do after their loss: permanently!! In DJT's case, it may well be the incarceration he well deserves.
Still writing postcards for TonyTheDemocrat who sends addresses for House races. Have written hundreds to voters in counties in Florida. Recommending everyone who can “do something.” At 90, writing postcards is what I can do
I was glad to see three VMAs promoting voter registration tonight. Also Taylor Swift mentioned it at the end of her acceptance speech (Video of the year) and got a big cheer from the crowd.
Under the radar are folk who aren't yet registered. Millions still trend Democratic. A few minutes after Taylor Swift endorsed, more than 300,000 registered, virtually all new Democrats. FT 6 has sent more than 12 million texts to these folks. It normally takes 3 "touches" before they register. Need more phone calls and canvassing. FT 6 phone bank to FL and PA today. Time is fleeting. Do something!
Yes, it really does matter to get out more of the usual "submerged" electorate, people who rarely or never vote. We're talking maybe 50% of the electorate.
Unfortunately, data shows most trend MAGA, but FT6 has identified and contacted with millions who trend Democratic. Time is short. In Florida, last day is Oct. 7. In some states, we turn into a pumpkin next week.
One guy like you, Frank, has the capacity to enlist dozens who will support Democrats up and down the ballot.
The more of "your own disposition" you can get out the better, but whoever is getting out the vote more will earn some goodwill regardless. Unfortunately, I'm Canadian, so all i can do is wish you well. I think there are "at least a few" Canadian on Heather's channel!
Thanks for your support! Others have suggested you can call but if I receive a call from a Canadian phone number I'm certainly not picking up. Toll prices are higher too IIRC when calling from Canada when I was there a few years ago. Just keep believing in America!
Bad experience with snail mail. 3 weeks from mailing in TX, not yet arrived in CO. Corrupting influence of DeJoy? Not sitting well for mail-in ballots.
Agree-it’s not good enough to win the popular vote. HRCs 2016 run is a perfect example. And we cannot risk the vote getting thrown to SCOTUS. Al Gore’s run is another perfect example. We The People need to save our democracy by voting for Harris/Walz. Not voting or a write in vote is not an option. Let’s get this right and do it to protect our freedoms and the freedoms of future generations,
I had the sense that this was occurring. UGGG. Small focus groups on CNN and elsewhere of undecided voters *seem to be leaning toward Vice President Harris. Those who say they prefer Trump were already leaning towards Trump.
People are really hung up on the economy.
Presidents Trump and Biden likely forestalled the collapse of the economy coming out of COVID by sending out all those checks; the resultant inflation came from ramping up the money supply to keep the economy afloat. A spat of inflation was a small price to pay for averting another Great Depression.
🤭
EDIT: busted. This comment, above, has focussed upon macro-economic causes for inflation only; that focus is too narrow. As observed by Frank Loomer et al. there are micro-economic -- or situation-specific -- factors presenting an opportunity to companies to charge what the market will bear. The macro-&-micro factors combined for a double-whammy. That the inflation rate is already coming down discernibly is heartening.
We have proven many times this CAN be addressed. Name them, boycott, and call out the management. The CEO decision making is primary fault..America CAN ( and I repeat HAS shown the upper leadership by UNITING and boycotting).
The ‘doing it for the shareholders ‘ got to stop…this is misinformation at its highest level. As a nation we WANT to work for the whole..that’s what equality/leveling the playing field means.
People ARE seeing this more clearly…profits can still be a goal but commensurate with consistent. As we invent better ways to provide the ‘I costs’ to provide lower.
Research and development are costs built into any system . The truths of profit sharing are NOT buy backs nor the current CEO margins to worker wages - shareholders are the elite …do I need to explain any further?
The pie , the leveling is better divided , that’s real sharing, making ‘divided’ a good word , furthering a better world, and reverse this false set of values twisted for far too long. I have no objection to people getting wealthy but not by duping, dumbing, or ads saturating BS ,false claims, or deviant tactics ie known contaminants lead,nicotine,glycosphate ,polluting wastes, yada yada..
Yes we need to clean up our act. And that covers a lot of territory. We CAN be thankful for a stark 9 ? year lesson…what the clean up costs are never get started by bitchin’ , they start by acknowledging and elbow grease.
And it takes our village. Our gang 🫶
💙💙VOTE BLUE THROUGH AND THROUGH. LETS.STOP.THIS.COUP.💙💙
Boycotts can be useful, but hard to apply enough pressure against conglomerates that have huge market shares. Electing anti-trust minded officials is essential. We were winning that battle once, and were collectively bamboozled into throwing it away. We learned it twice, if you count crony tax favoritism for the East India Company that sparked the Boston Tea party.
The COVID Plague that Cost Over 1,000,000 American Lives was Abetted by DJT's Incompetence... I believe that in April 2020, DJT became 'Bored' with it, and said that DJT took no Responsibility for it... If there is another Presidential Debate, Kamala should Hammer DJT on it... Maybe DJT's Cult Members will Realize that their Lives are Meaningless to DJT...
Exactly. And that should be pointed out when asked, "Were you better off four years ago?" Four years ago DJT was shooting bleach up his ass or telling you to. Let us remember four years ago: 2020!
Remembering accurately (it helps to record it) is history. Much has been said (as we all know) about the benefits of learning from history, even long ago, let alone the recent past. People are saying "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me."
That's how he handles everything. Ignoring what he has no clue or desire to work/fix a problem. If he is not in personal danger of something, he doesn't care about any one else. It's just who he has and always will be
In April 2020 there was the news that Blacks and Hispanics were dying of COVID at higher rates than whites. Not Trump’s pressing concern after that. Jared came up with the idea of blaming the governors of blue states.
Our death per capita figures were terrible compared to nations with far fewer resources. Trump and his party played politics with sensible precautions against a heartless, invasive enemy. The Corona virus is a piece of work, but it lacks legs. We collectively were fools to lend it any more of them than was unavoidable. We also cracked it code, and are fools if we fail to use it against it.
COVID hit the Indigenous Nations the Hardest... Sean Penn, when he learned that there is a Horrible Shortage Of Potable Water on the Big Rez, he personally supplied Trucks of Fresh Water to the Big Rez... The DJT's Admin Principals that allowed the COVID Disaster have shown their Black Hearts... No Wonder The Black Siths Love Them... The 1,000,000+ American Dead Have Been Disappeared....
Yes, I’ve heard people say ,’well don’t always blame the pandemic’. It’s part of the equation , and a significant one, was and still is for the whole world. Some countries of lesser ability take far longer to bounce back, recover, as Covid taught us there ARE Long Term Affects. Some countries are more vulnerable just as the poor are first to see mishaps. Leveling the playing field.Just gotta love that term..it’ll pan out but it takes time ..and our world …America..has become short on patient, compromise, greed, attention spans.
I see as do many coming on board Harris has the focus to do this…her background taught her well..the rich raised and isolated/coddled who often laud the decisions down havent the first clue often what the barrio is or needs…
If you're not on a mobile device, the three dots to the right of the "like" line are an edit function. I know you cannot edit from an Apple device... I will sometimes go back on my laptop to correct.
Naomi Klein wrote an interesting thesis on the "Shock Doctrine", using crises to justify anti-public changes. The "GOP" playacts imaginary crises and ignores real ones to that effect.
Ned, how do we recoup the same 2 years of higher prices we paid? Does the price of beef ever go back down, regardless of the reason for the hike? I’ve never found the reduction in price!
I wish they would talk more about the Stock Buy Back figures in the article as in the chart above the following:
"...Most companies also put some of their profits into stock buyback programs that juiced the stocks’ value, enriching investors and executives, instead of using the profits to help keep consumer prices down. McDonald’s, for example, spent over $5bn on buybacks in recent years as it raised prices on some items by several dollars.
Overall, companies have “relied more and more on pricing tricks to satisfy investors”, said Bilal Baydoun, director of policy and research at Groundwork Collaborative, a progressive thinktank.
“When you abuse your outsized market power and the vulnerability of consumers after a once-in-a-century economic crisis to jack up prices – yes, that’s profiteering,” Baydoun said.
Records show many companies’ sales volumes are down but profits are still increasing. This suggests prices, not increased demand, are driving inflation, said a University of Massachusetts economist, Isabella Weber..."
That is why 'big-by-G-D' government may be required to represent collective bargaining power. Since I have lost almost all of my money -- please do not ask; embarrassing as it is -- my views have, predictably begun to shift. While the values remain largely the same, my question these days: ¿To whom do these resources belong? There is dirt on both sides of the street.
yes, and this is what those suffering from the "poor economy" blame on Biden - but it's the corporate greed monsters.......who have caused all of this "economic woe". - look at their stock market profits!!!!
Here in Florida, where greed goes unchecked, people blame the high costs in the Biden Administration, not the greedy oligarchs who have bought and paid for Desantis.
Who (DeSantis) throws away money like a madman. See FIU and his stupid immigration compound, plus his election police and brown shirts. Meanwhile my wind insurance (Citizens) has gone through the roof and will increase up to 47% next year.
I think of some of the greedy oligarchs as "Buy Back Bandits" endlessly ratcheting up their equity share of everything profitable at the expense of the increasing numbers of citizens and workers that can't begin to match the percentage of savings, buying power, or accumulating wealth.
This is why I think Vice President Harris seeking a tax on unstruck stock options given as part of compensation makes sense. Control the micro-incentives.
I'm not an expert but know of a few people that just missed the boat having to wait 6 months for the selling window to open on their holdings. One had a great looking tech application that had his valued at $400 million (if the government chose it instead of a less likely competitor). It seems that dropped to the price of a house in the Bay area a few days before he could sell.
I'm convinced they had, like other inventors I knew, a great design but a better one came out just before they could get to the market. Good work, but someone else had something better before they knew it. The good thinkers still get hired by other companies, but don't hit the jackpots like their new bosses do (looking at Elon, here).
Then there is Trump who looks to be getting set for another of his well deserved financial disasters according to:
"...The date on which former President Donald Trump is eligible to offload shares in his social media company is rapidly approaching—though when it finally comes, it’s likely to offer far less of a treasure than it was earlier this year...
...The company’s latest prospectus filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission outlines three factors that would trigger the lock-up period to conclude: The end of the first six months of DJT stock trading as its own entity, Trump Media shares trading above $12 for any 20 of 30 trading sessions beginning Aug. 23, or a transaction, like a merger, in which all shareholders have the opportunity to trade in their Trump Media holdings at the same price.
That means the earliest possible date Trump can sell is Sept. 19 if Trump Media shares remain above the $12 threshold, not a guarantee with a $17 share price Friday, and the latest his selling window would open is Sept. 25, the end of the opening six-month period of DJT’s direct public listing..."
It's already down 80% (so far), making me think he should have waited until after the window opened before debating Kamala, he probably could have found some suckers before the debate, but who would buy now?
Should I feel sorry for other investors?
Sometimes when people keep asking for it, they get what they deserve (something my great grandmother taught me).
Remember JL, pandemic supply chain inflation was global. Shortages simply drive up prices, this of course is old fashioned marketplace, found everywhere on this planet. With things more settled, inflation is now generally in the 3% range. Unemployment is overall 3-4%, about as close to "full employment" as you can get, with real wages edging ahead of inflation the past year or so.
Fantastic point. This type of inflation -- for example, for construction materials -- is often high but localized in coastal areas whacked by massive hurricanes.
Classic inflation was a factor, but it seems to me that corporations are increasingly gaming the system. Take some of the screw-ups that we were in the news post the pandemic due to staff shortages, not (from what I have read) because new hires were not available, but because companies wanted to accept increased business without adding staff. Shrinkflation pre-dates the pandemic, but has been on a roll since. And in my experience, at least overall, prices have not come down as better equilibrium has been established even if the rate of price rise has dropped. Also, I strongly suspect "real wages" figure is pretty unevenly shared in the real world. I am not net better off financially tha pre-pandemic, but I'm retired. I suspect a good many full time workers are in the same boat.
Here's something from Forbes....Of course real wage increases are unevenly shared. I have no theory of how modern capitalism works other than to think oligopolies and monopolies tend to set things more to their advantage than otherwise. btw they've been around a long time. If i also hear you rightly, global pandemic inflation was a giant corporate conspiracy, right? https://www.forbes.com/sites/johngoodman/2024/08/30/the-greed-theory-of-inflation/
Hear hear! Hamburger was $2 a pound higher Monday at Publix than at Food Lion in Virginia, and was not on sale. I find the same kind of difference in Florida, where Winn Dixie is much lower. (Keys) I’ve had to become much more aware post pandemic.
It is easy to raise prices when there is no competition. As for food prices most people have limited choice for groceries. With a couple of major chains to choose from. Easy for them to raise prices.
One of the things that's most striking is the fact that almost no one in America seems aware of how Biden's economic policy has been practically the only success story in the world following the trail of damage left by Covid.
It is more than understandable that the Covid episode should have left people traumatized and still more aware of their own pain than of the freedom brought by recovery and survival, but the blind darkness of people's worm's eye view and the well-nigh total absence of a bird's eye view feel very, very strange when viewed from just about anywhere else in the world, where people have had to put up with the hard effects of superannuated economic policies, at worst, medieval torments like those visited on Britain by 45-day-wonderwoman Liz Dross...
The only people whose dominance -- ultradominance -- has been marginally threatened by the Biden-Harris presidency are the greed-fuelled gaggle of billion and trillionaires enriched at the expense of 99.99% of the population.
They'll do their damnedest to stymie any and all efforts by Harris-Walz and the 99.99% to resist the suicidal force of all-powerful oligarchic tyranny.
(And if you don't know what that means, look at Project 2025. Then look at Putin's Russia...)
Failure to explain or to provide context really bugs me.
On the pet-eating conspiracy and troubles in Springfield, Ohio, PBS brought some context.
1) If you were suspicious about your pets disappearing, which would you contact first? Your local authorities or your U.S. Senator (J.D. Vance)?
2) Springfield has had a sizeable, rapid increase in population. With more people, the city’s resources are stretched thin. A strain on public services would exist whether the new arrivals were from Haiti or somewhere else.
Someone suggested another stupid thing that Trump believed and I suggested making a list of stupid things Trump believes that we should compile and send to the Harris campaign and the Lincoln Project to troll him, and his followers. This should definitely be on that list.
I read an article in the Columbus, Ohio newspaper that Governor DeWine called out the national guard because of congestion owing to immigrants not knowing local traffic laws or customs. Not the kind of slurs made by Team Cur.
I agree they are powerful, Peter - but not "all powerful."
Have you ever seen a house when termites have been at it?
Termites have a bad rep - but we need to copy them. Nibble and nibble away until the rule of the oligarchs start to crack.
I'm sure when Harris wins, a lot of things will go on the same - but even Elon the Invincible has to die one day, and by then some progress will have been made. Maybe not much - but enough to lift some lives. and to ensure some safety under the law. There is an awfully long way to go, things that should have been done fifty years ago still need to be put into place. But if we don't see it ourselves, our grandchildren can. And they can carry on the fight as well.
Trump keeps saying "MAGA" - but America has never been truly great for all it's citizens - even the First Nations had their problems, they didn't call themselves "One Nation." And the horrific conditions some of the later immigrants lived in took a long time to even begin being addressed. So, "Patience and Perseverance!"
I agree, we older Americans had nothing given to us, we worked hard and saved our money to purchase items we needed. Today, I see people buying things on credit cards that they can't afford to pay for at the end of the month. Personal debts are a problem. People think they should have everything they like. Probably 50% of the stuff never gets used at all. There is a big difference between what you need and what you want. What I'm saying is, to many people want it fixed today and don't realize we are in it for the long game. America is perfect and she is constantly evolving. Patience and Perseverance! Stay a player...
Thank you, Patty, thank you Lady Emsworth, I had wanted to add that, while we have all seen rising grocery (and many other) prices, we react to our difficulties here and now... but turning around the economy of a huge country or ship takes time -- even without mutineers on the bridge and in the engine room... and we want instant gratification...
Three jobs and still hard to get by? Is that the kind of living-to-work treadmill you're talking of, Ned McDoodle?
And fearing to fall ill lest you lose your job...
The kind of compulsive and compulsory workaholism that makes for built-in inefficiencies, an unhappy workforce, an unhappy society. Unhappy, but too busy trying to keep afloat to become a threat to those who count...
Peter, you will understand this all too well: Americans have ridiculously short memories and are easily triggered by stupid nonsense to work against their own self interest. As an historian, it is my job to remember, to comment, to remember more, to comment more. Second fact: the MAJORITY of Americans have ceded their political power because they fail to vote, especially in local elections and midterms. And they do so with a certain level of insouciance that is alarming. This is why we have these [plural expletive deleted] who are in charge of local governance: they were voted in by a small minority of eligible voters and reflect only the wind tunnel that is between their ears. This is why corruption is rampant because the corporations that a certain senator from Utah described as "people" can dominate the political climate. Unless and until Americans start remembering, and start acting on those memories, we will be in this constant vacillation between the forces of evil and the forces of pragmatism (I can't really call them the forces of "good" because the pragmatic option says feed people, educate them, treat them with kindness, be tolerant and equitable and those are all things that should be no-brainers but apparently are not).
The second fact you post articulates what I have felt for a long, long time. Failing to vote locally is something that just stuns me. All politics is local, and if you don't participate, you lose your local control. As for what follows your sentence utilizing one of my favorite words (insouciance), my usual reference is "preferred colorful metaphor" or "profanity, vulgarity or blasphemy of your choosing". I love you use of "plural expletive deleted" and my just add that to my arsenal of acceptable usage of profanity.
Not sure I agree. Americans are harried and scrambling to keep a decent standard of living in place for their families. Many voters did not forget Senator / Secretary Clinton remark, reeking of entitlement to the presidency (i.e., the "basket of deplorables").
Thank you , Peter, for bringing attention to the collective amnesia we’re experiencing throughout American society, from MSM to seemingly informed people. Everything is measured by how people “feel “ about the economy, etc, no mention of what the world experienced, not even a mention of cargo ships in the harbor in LA for months with no one to unload them. Our news is presented in such an insular way with no comparison of other countries suffered much worse than the USA. President Biden saved this country from a disaster.
Fear and diminishing prospects -- or the perception thereof -- can have an unpleasant impact upon people's views and behaviors. Perhaps, President Harris could appeal directly to M.A.G.A.s by saying, in effect: "Many of you all feel screwed over. We get that. Here is why you have a better deal with us than with candidate Trump . . . ."
I think, people don't understand how limited the federal government is in improving their lives....it can only take a broad sweep. When people say their lives have not improved under Biden-Harris, the response should be, because your state governor and legislators decide on the day to day matters that affect you.
I could list a minimum of 10 laws enacted by the state of Texas that assure citizens are more at risk for gun violence, school shootings will continue, corporations can continue to turn our environment into a cesspool of polluted water and air, women will die seeking reproductive health care, and the power grid providers profit is guarded over people services.
Let's use that as a response to people saying Biden/Harris haven't fixed their problems.
True that. That will go a long way why President Harris's approval ratings will be in the forties by 2026. This legis-centric governance needs to be explained to people.
I thought she was the worst of those who thought like Grover Norquist as in no new taxes, steep tax cuts for for everyone, and especially corporations .
Sorry, Jim, I don't usually descend to that, but this lady and her politics were so caricatural -- about as two-dimensional and as sentient as a think-tank spreadsheet -- that I've never managed to call her by her proper name...
I can understand, I just wish we could have dumped Trump as quickly (7 weeks) as the British dumped her (10 days of which delay was the 10 day mourning period for Queen Elizabeth II).
When I read of healthcare institutions trampling the Hippocratic Oath underfoot by engaging in the automatic infliction on innocents of extraordinarily cruel and unusual extrajudicial punishments, I am surprised that more Americans do not react by voting for MAGA or for any anti-system crazies.
After all, this is even madder, even more cruel and irresponsible than the tales cooked up by MAGA madmen. Worse, it isn’t imaginary, it is actually happening.
Now, if we read Letters from an American, it is better to know and understand both the light America has brought into the world and her deepest shadows. Only armed with such knowledge can John and Jane Doe become citizens worthy of the Republic.
America’s ingrained cruelty was imported from Europe’s and other continents’ most brutal societies and visited on others, especially those least able to defend themselves, then re-exported worldwide as what a certain general termed “collateral damage”; the (alas) inevitable—but always resistible—abuse of overwhelming material power. One aspect of this is the absurd and pernicious belief, shared by Nazis and the tyrants of every age and culture as well as by the Holy Inquisition, that by destroying men’s bodies one destroys their ideas. On the contrary, this spreads, strengthens and perpetuates the evil that they do. We must be deliberately blind not to see just this awful reality all around us at this very moment—Nazi crimes and criminals arising again in the unlikeliest places.
Most readers here are decent, intelligent, responsible people with hearts in the right place and I am sure there will be among you jurists, doctors, nurses, hospital administrators who can take up causes like that in the Mother Jones report and make the seats of those responsible so hot that they’ll jump smartly to their duty.
The task may seem impossible, yet… is not our duty clear, as individuals, as communities, to work tirelessly to cure our town, our state, our country of their endemic diseases and bring in their place health and happiness?
Project2025 is essentially re-cycled Reaganism extended to some new issues emerging after 1988; but Reaganism with a "sh*titude' of kulturkampf, at least per my rather cursory reading. The problem is Reaganism is exhausted like the New Deal was in the mid-to-late 1970s. Take it from a former Republican pre-disposed toward kultur-drumpfing two generations ago (i.e., me).
I think Harris needs to address agriculture. It has a chapter in project 2025, which my DA Book club is reading and discussing next week. I understand that farmers would like to hear themselves discussed, and no one is. I doubt they will be reading Project 2025, but Harris has the opportunity to take the lead on this. I saw a farmer interviewed in a German documentary, who is in Georgia. This was filmed after Harris announced, and he said he is undecided until he hears what each party has to say on farming. I did not hear it discussed at all in the debate. So, he is going to be no further along.
I was thinking that too, but it might be reassuring to farmers, that if Trump loses the Harris and Walz ticket is thinking of them and they are part of the plan to keep our nation secure. I have written this to the White House and the Harris Walz campaign as well. Maybe more people could write to them about it.
Yes, each issue needs to be addressed with clear possible solutions. Could the discussion of each issue , like agriculture, be covered exclusively for a number of days giving the media no other talking points. Then move to the next issue with extensive coverage. Voters want to learn HOW the problems that we all agree on can begin to be solved.
Also, emphasis must be on a Congress that can do the work of finding compromise. The Congress is the where the action happens!!
Great idea - except it seems to me the media make up their OWN talking points. See the coverage of Joe's "dementia" - and the bare mention of trump's insanity. Agriculture's not very exciting - who clicks on farm stock prices? But a pimple on Kamala's nose? Now THAT'S a whole different story. . .
I read today in the Substack What Did Joe Biden Do Today, that a meeting was convened with the Dept. of Agriculture, the EPA and other stakeholders to discuss how to support farmers, ranchers and foresters in using green methods to do their work.
Linda W, beware agriculture as many (most?) "farmers" who have survived financially have done so by becoming corporate level mega-farmers running huge herds of cows often running to the thousands, all in stanchions throughout the day and night. As we drove by a nearby mega-barn my daughter dubbed it's multiple barns "cowschwitz."
It's definitely not "most" farmers. The 2022 Census of Agriculture says that 64% of farms in the U.S. are less than 140 acres in size. And fully two-thirds of all farms earn less than $25,000 per year from sales.
We had some former professionals (at least one finance type, I believe) from Disney's Imagineering who found the sometimes too severe top down rules stifling enough to refer to the former work place as "Mouseschwitz."
On the other hand we had one of our best engineers go there as we downsized after the Cold War ended. He had three young children and he had to take them around to all sorts of amusement parks (not just Disney's), as part of his job evaluating competition and developing new ideas. I couldn't imagine a better post Cold War career when he let us know how his new job was going.
John, since my husband comes from multigenerational farming family in Germany, I have always been interested in what is going on with farming. My mom also comes from multigenerational farming families, although her father was a city dweller, and did not farm. My husband did not find chickens romantic at all since he grew up with 9000 of them and had to help. It was not a corporate farm as the name implies, because it was a family farm. I don't know if they hired help to harvest, but I know that when it comes to harvesting my husband's cousin hires help. He has a big place and people come from Romania to help. Usually it is a family of 3. They live in an apartment that is part of the farm house. What is commonly grown in our area of Germany (that is his and my mom's) are wheat and sugar beets. I have had joy of running my hand through freshly harvested wheat that is warm, and has just come out of the harvester. It feels wonderful like grains of sand do. A former friend's family also grew rapeseed here in Germany. A lot of our friends here in the city I live in, come from farms, so there is a respect for farming and a connection to it.
As a kansas row-crop farm operator, I’ll say not all farming is what you describe. You have to understand that raising animals and growing plants are two types of farm operation. Running a dairy operation not the same as what I do, and to succeed you have to raise what your local market will buy. And I’d bet the number of farm operations in upstate NY that involve “mega barns” is quite a small part of the ag spectrum. I’ve not visited upstate NY, but if you check your state ag department stats you'd discover a thriving viticulture industry, berry and fruit and nut orchards, greenhouse vege growers, and on and on.
Also, farms that are owned by “trusts” are not usually in the “corporate agri-industry” bucket, it is just a family ownership structure. similarly, not all corporations are “big ag” monsters.
In my rural community, I have seen a surprising number of Trump signs in front of farms and farmhouses. I don't get it. Has Trump ever visited a farm? Does he talk about agriculture? I doubt it. It could be an opportunity for Harris, IF they will listen.
Ellen, I am saying this too. Can you please write to her campaign. I did today, and I also wrote the contact email at the White House asking her to articulate agricultural plans.
Harry S Truman : Say, Rose, there's a story going around about me these days. It says that some old party hen is supposed to have cornered Bess at some party, and said, "Mrs. Truman, isn't there anything you can do to get the President to stop using the word 'manure'?" And Bess is supposed to have replied, "It took me forty years to get him to use that word!"
Another version was her asking to get him to use "fertilizer" instead of manure.
You are on my page Linda. I AM a farmer . This is a whole different world..farmers..a world gone -from individual families squeezed out, a whole generation lost numbers of what ‘raising yer own’ entails to Big Ag. And stands for the bigger picture ..perhaps better than any other ‘in essence’ of leveling that playing field.
Patricia, you are then well placed to either ask Harris and Walz to articulate farm policy and to give them advice on this. As I wrote above, I wrote to her today about it, and I think she should hear from more people. I just suggested that if supermarkets are gouging people, they are probably stiffing farmers too. I am married into a German farming family. That is, while my husband does not farm anymore, he did growing up, and his parents did, and his cousins do or did, and aunts and uncles on both sides of the family did. In fact, my mother-in-law went to Farm housewife school at 15 along with her sister, because Germans like to make all things in life a mixture of practice and theory. In any case, at one point, several of nieces and nephews did not want to take over his mother's birth family farm, and so then cousins get asked. In fact, my mother-in-laws family farm, which is one of the farms my daughter has grown up visiting all her life, was on offer to my daughter. But she did not want to farm or be a farm wife. She knows little about it, other than the play aspects, but we asked her. One of her male cousins who had a runty pig as a pet when he was in middle school, was interested. He may get that farm which is just a wonderful place. Another cousin has gone to agriculture school and is taking over the family farm, after doing a practicum year at 2 other farms, and one in Estonia. That is so. he gets exposed to something different than his dad knows. So, when German farmers were driving tractors in protest to some new green energy requirements, it was the news all over the EU, and it changed the timeline for conversion. I was watching a dairy farmer on the news in our area in Germany talking about how he cannot raise his prices much more or the consumers will just not buy milk. Food is heavily subsidized in Germany, and since it is the stuff of life, I am willing to pay the producers well to produce. We know how danger it is when ADM owns all of the farms, and then decides to experiment with our food production, and squeeze everyone out. Given that there is an antimonopoly mood, with Lina Khan at the helm taking on big Tech, perhaps big Ag should be affected too. My mom, who is also German grew up with many relatives having been farmers, and during WWII she and her siblings were sent to live with aunts and uncles on farms for a couple of years to get them out of the cities where the bombs were more likely to kill them. Her favorite aunts and uncles were on farms. So, the family farm is important to the production of food, one of our most important industries. I was discussing yesterday with some friends, that I was surprised to find the my Blue State was asking to lower the age at which children can work, but it was pointed out to me that Illinois is a big farming state so this makes sense.
Yes. And Peter makes a good following point ( climate change) as currently we are struggling in the most severe drought ever hauling water for critters even more encompassing ( I’m a big picture realist) for the wildlife including insects. There are so many connecting points here , thanks and I will write sister Kamala. I have a whole world of sisters 😌 ( and brothers).
We work WITH the government NRCS and local ASCS extensively..they.are.great.
Circular recycling needs a careful ear and focus with waste rampant,by far too many, and hunger is just pure neglect . No rant. Just needs focus. Us who went back to the land are now few but being a farm wife is a compliment, yes hard work, but healthy, challenging, holistic, even spiritual. Learning how to is an every day still humble adventure. One brilliant young lady remarked we were ‘far out’ meaning -to her (we laughed) as she meant ..the distance from McDonalds)!
The Amish and we know several (German heritage ) stand out in application to farmer’s to the inner fiber. Work ethic! Our children don’t want to farm, had enough of that! but they all have great work ethics😉👏.
Circular technology a new term , and innovation is needed . Production here on the farm uses composting extensively, collecting our own water ,passive and some as affordable new solar, it all is sort of old fashion in principle. Landfills need a thorough revision.
The established hierarchy plays ‘us’ ..but a lot of ownership needs ‘admitting’… ONLY WHEN WE ALLOW IT. There’s a certain portion in every society who can’t fend for themselves, they need cared for. The rest need to pick up after themselves , put on their big ‘boy’ pants.
And there’s the continued vigilance needed, always voting, paying attention to who and how those elected represent us.
This election is a critical point ..we here ALL know that..because if we neglect it …it will take far more years to correct than I have and likely my children too.
Patricia, you might like this film I watched last night. This is a family from Belgium who bought an abandoned farm in France, and started developing it as their home and farm. It is in English. https://youtu.be/kMXBQ6DtO4o?si=W1NARVHJuX7gSb5m
I’ll make one more point hopefully…not everyone needs to farm. EVERYONE can produce. EVERYONE ,with a few exceptions ,can contribute ,in their own gifted way , to the whole.
Just seeing this Ned. It’s a technical answer - % stuff is data upon data compiled and usually outdated by the time it’s printed . So in general I’d not say inaccurate but far more complicated than any article could present. While shareholders, as it states know it’s high risk the farmers ..actual hands on deck know ..sometimes you win and sometimes you loose and you work twice as hard on the losing years! I’ve heard the stories of farming 10K acres during a drought just as many tears shed as those farming 200 acres . Insuring crops is out of reach for many . And insurance company tend to pay shareholders a lot more than the farm does.
It’s in yer blood or not. And from the mass losses over the last 100/70 years of farmland the kids ( including my own) went to the tech world or sold out .
To grow your own , share, and maybe enough to partner with the local farmers market is , can be done. The larger farms need immigrants to work it (and they are amazing) . And, corporate management, the waste/practices are often not best . There’s definite room for small farms , growing up not acreage ( as in vertical farming) for most crops, and composting techniques for managing our waste better/safely.
I should travel through farm country and learn a thing or two. I have known a few offspring "come to the city" from farming families. I like them. They tend to be intellectually more self-reliant than the city mice like me.
Excellent point, all the more so against a background of climate change, ecological disaster and the great corporate contribution to long-term desertification. Exhaust the soil, then move on...
Corporate greed is responsible for current US prices, not inflation. Harris calls it out, but people won't get it without further explanation and constant repetition. The US's inflation rate is lower than all of Europe, but our prices are lower because corporations aren't economic terrorists here (Portugal).
Prices and tariffs need to be explained. That is true in Germany too of things like food, which is also inflated right now. I read an article on price fixing with grocery stores worse in Austria than Germany, but there is some attempt to control these algorithms.
YES Linda W, someone needs to explain tariffs to our former president who STILL doesn't seem to understand who actually pays the increased price arising from a tariff! Kinda like how he imagined Mexico would pay for his absurd wall.
The importer pays the tariff, which is then added to the consumer price. I want to know where the tariff money goes, after the importer pays it. Does it go somewhere in the U.S. Treasury? Gosh, if it does, then as Trump implies, it can cover the cost of the tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations. What a clever way to get consumers to subsidize benefits to the wealthy, meanwhile paying federal, state, and local taxes as usual.
John, I think we should make a list of all the absurd things that Trump thinks, has thought (ie Haitians eating cats and dogs in Ohio), and send it to The Lincoln Project and the Harris campaign so they can use it to troll him. I love the Mexican wall one. So true! How about he thought Kamala can only be Indian or Black, but not both.
Ned, quite the truism. Keeping an economy afloat is much easier than raising a sunken ship. Inflation is indeed a small price to pay. The average American only sees the inflation part, not the “saving of the ship”
That inflation was global. Interesting that American politicians studiously avoid that fact. I guess because it somehow makes them seem weak, or a cop out. US is top economic performer now mainly likely because of all the stimulus spending working its way through the economy. Otherwise, politicians generally overclaim responsibility for economic performance, either blaming or taking credit. A bit of smoke and mirrors I would say. When I read the business news, how often do you think this kind of attribution comes up? Almost zilch.
A lot of economists agree that manufacturing and supply chain disruptions were the biggest factors in inflation. (Fewer goods available when there is new money in the economy means higher prices for goods). And don’t gorget the scarcity in the service economy. It was a lot harder to see lawyers, accountants, dentists, doctors, designers, architects, and mechanics during Covid. A lot of these folks raised their prices/fees, and those higher prices never came back down.
Most manufacturers reduced their product lines, and most have not re-expanded them. You can see this most easily in the grocery store.
What we all learned in high school is that a mix of fewer goods and services in the economy, combined with an increase in the money supply, yields inflation. Inflation comes down slowly as either demand slackens or one of those factors change.
But high prices on the other hand come down chiefly because of increased competition. We have unfortunately blunted that tool over the past 30 years by allowing far too much consolidation in the economy.
I agree about averting another Great Depression! Do not forget the supply chain problems. And corporate price gouging. The stimulus checks as the sole cause, or even the main cause of inflation, is a Republican talking point. Inflation was a worldwide condition which did not originate with stimulus checks in the U.S.
Frank Loomer has a really insightful comment on what you are saying; please scroll up. On the money supply: Maco-Econ. 102: too many dollars chasing too few goods.
The Tragedy of this, is if you listen to Mary Trump, DJT has always been a Cowardly Bully from Early Childhood... Internally, DJT never developed from there... DJT met more than his Match in Kamala... A Professional Prosecutor... Being a Mediocre Person, DJT builds an Empire of Delusions within himself, and Projects that to his Minions... DJT is a Delusional Person who believes in his own Delusions... His Followers have become Cultists...
Heather said on a podcast that "Trump doesn't get America. He doesn't understand what America is all about." I think that nails it and perfectly expresses the MAGA mindset. For me, that was an aha moment of clarifying who Trump and the magats are. This nugget of reality should be highlighted by the Harris Walz campaign--and all state and local Democratic campaigns. And amplified on social media!! :)
Does America remember what America is all about. All my life I was proud that people from all over came and made a country out of so many complexities. It took decades, even centuries but we turned into Americans. When chump says to save our America, he is spouting crap, like the “make America Great Again” slogan. Just jingoism, spewed by a carnival barker. Sad that so many fell for the pap. Who said there is a sucker born every minute. The purveyor of the freak shows. And that’s what the chump rallies are…
Agreed. DJT, aided and abetted by the press, has succeeded in untethering his magat followers from reality. We have a lot of work to connect them to reality and American values again.
But, Trump does get a certain part of America, the part that he is well able to manipulate. That is the grievance crowd, upset because things are changing in the USA, as we reach a more pluralistic society that is a goal of democracy. According to this essay, they are getting what they want from him, which is from a Reader comment by Robert Ritchie in Joyce Vance’s Substack on Sept 9, 2024
The Cult of Opposition: Understanding the Psychology Behind Trump’s Supporters
In modern political discourse, the relationship between leaders and their supporters often reflects a symbiotic exchange—one of mutual benefit. Typically, a leader provides tangible improvements to the supporters’ lives, who in turn offer their allegiance. However, Donald Trump's presidency introduced a paradigm shift that baffled many analysts. A significant portion of Trump’s base does not measure his success by what he does *for* them, but rather by what he does against those they consider adversaries. This phenomenon raises a critical question: why do Trump's supporters define his success not by policy achievements or personal benefit but by his ability to antagonize perceived enemies? In this research paper, we explore the psychology, sociocultural factors, and communication strategies behind this phenomenon, offering a deep dive into the mechanisms that sustain this unwavering loyalty.
The Psychology of "Othering"
At the heart of this dynamic lies a fundamental psychological concept known as *othering.* Othering refers to the process of creating a division between "us" and "them," where "them" are people deemed different or antagonistic to one's own group. Social identity theory posits that individuals derive part of their self-worth from their membership in groups (Tajfel & Turner, 1979). When Trump attacks certain groups—be they immigrants, Democrats, or marginalized communities—his supporters feel that their in-group (conservative, predominantly white Americans) is being validated. The "other," typically those outside their cultural or political bubble, becomes a target of scorn and aggression. By constantly positioning himself against these groups, Trump reassures his supporters that they are on the winning side of a cultural war.
This is where the success metrics diverge from typical political calculations. Success, in the eyes of Trump's supporters, is not rooted in economic growth or policy achievements, but in the symbolic victories won over those they disdain. Trump’s antagonistic rhetoric serves as a rallying cry for a base that measures success by how effectively he torments the "other."
Fear as a Unifying Emotion
The divisiveness Trump exploits is not built solely on disdain for others but on deep-rooted fear. Research has shown that political conservatism often correlates with heightened fear responses (Hibbing, Smith, & Alford, 2014). These fears manifest in concerns over demographic changes, perceived threats to cultural identity, and economic anxiety—particularly in the wake of globalization and immigration. For Trump’s base, he offers not only validation of their fears but also an outlet for their anxiety: the vilification of outsiders.
By acting against these outsiders—whether through harsh immigration policies, vilification of the media, or incendiary tweets targeting "leftist elites"—Trump provides a sense of catharsis to his supporters. It’s not about building bridges or creating new opportunities; it’s about protecting their identity and keeping perceived threats at bay. In their minds, Trump’s success is defined by his defense of the status quo against forces of change.
The Appeal of a Strongman
This dynamic is exacerbated by the allure of authoritarian leadership, often characterized by a leader who promises protection and order while silencing dissent. Trump's rhetoric—filled with hyperbole, aggressive language, and dismissive attitudes toward political correctness—resonates deeply with those who feel disempowered by societal changes. Studies have shown that authoritarian personalities are drawn to leaders who project strength and offer simple, binary solutions to complex problems (Feldman, 2003). Trump’s combative style against the "other" fits neatly into this framework.
In this context, Trump is seen as the protector, someone who will go to any length to defend his supporters from external threats. His aggressive behavior—though often condemned by critics—is perceived by his base as a strength. In their eyes, his relentless attacks on groups like the media, the "deep state," or racial minorities are evidence of his success as a leader willing to do whatever it takes to secure their safety and identity.
The Role of Media and Propaganda
An essential factor in maintaining this dynamic is the role of right-wing media in amplifying Trump’s actions *against* others while downplaying or ignoring any lack of substantive achievements. Fox News, Breitbart, and other conservative outlets often frame Trump’s attacks on immigrants, liberals, and the media as necessary battles in a larger cultural war. Through selective reporting, these outlets reinforce the idea that Trump’s presidency is less about improving the lives of his supporters through policy and more about the symbolic victories he achieves through opposition to their perceived enemies.
Trump himself understood the power of media manipulation, often stoking controversy to keep his name in the headlines. As noted by philosopher Hannah Arendt, in authoritarian regimes, propaganda serves to simplify the world into friend versus foe (Arendt, 1951). By keeping the public focused on his skirmishes against the "other," Trump ensured that his base remained engaged and energized, even when his policies provided little material benefit to their lives.
The Social Contract of Aggrievement
This relationship between Trump and his supporters can be understood as a kind of *social contract of aggrievement.* While traditional politicians offer economic benefits, infrastructure improvements, or social programs, Trump offers emotional validation. His base, particularly those who feel marginalized by economic shifts or demographic changes, finds solace in his outward displays of aggression. His ability to provoke outrage in the "other" reassures them that they are still relevant in a world they fear is changing too fast.
Interestingly, this contract does not require Trump to follow through on traditional metrics of success like job creation or healthcare reform. His supporters are not primarily concerned with how he improves their lives directly. Instead, they focus on how he reinforces their worldview—one where they are under constant attack and where Trump is their defender. This emotional satisfaction creates a loyalty that transcends policy, rooted instead in the shared sense of grievance and resentment.
Conclusion: A Loyalty That Transcends
In understanding Trump’s success, it is critical to recognize the unique metrics by which his supporters measure his achievements. His base does not primarily seek economic relief or policy victories; they seek validation of their fears and grievances. By acting *against* the "other," Trump provides emotional and psychological sustenance that traditional political figures often fail to deliver. His success, therefore, lies in his ability to symbolize and enact opposition rather than constructively improve the lives of his supporters. As long as Trump continues to antagonize those perceived as threats, his base will remain loyal, even in the absence of tangible benefits.
In the end, the tormenting of the "others" does more than sustain them—it defines them.
A lot of the Predatory Social Structure was established by European Second Sons that Immigrated seeking their Fortunes... DJT is literally a 'Second Son', who from Early Childhood Craves Attention....
I thought it was interesting the way she responded to him - more like a therapist than a debater. "Tell me what you think about that. . . uh-huh. . . and how does that make you feel?"
And it all came pouring out. . .she didn't have to argue with him, she just led him on to vomit on his own shiny cuban heels. . .
If you read Timothy Snyder's book The Road to Unfreedom you will see that the lying is a conscious premeditated strategy, coupled with other specific strategies, to confuse and manipulate people and disassociate them from reality so that they rely on loyalty instead of reason. It's a deeply disturbing and important book and explains the phenomenon of schizo fascism being promulgated by Putin.
I think Trumps lies because it's a lifelong stately, and he was born rich enough to get away with it. Republicans dusted off Joe McCarthy's strategy with Nixon and Reagan, it worked so well they now back Trump. Relying on loyalty instead of reason qualifies the modern GOP as a cult, but while some cult leaders by believe the tripe they peddle, others are deliberate manipulators. The latter built fascism.
“EAT LESS KITTENS,” the billboards say. “Vote Republican!”
Arizona’s Republican Party announced Tuesday that it had designed about a dozen of the billboards in the Phoenix area in response to false claims shared by some top Republicans that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, were eating Americans’ pets. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, who plans to visit Arizona on Thursday, amplified those claims at an ABC News debate on Tuesday, despite police telling local news outlets that there was no evidence of anyone eating pets. " https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/arizona-gop-billboards-implore-voters-to-eat-less-kittens/ar-AA1qqe4d
This crap has real, breathing victims, and could get someone killed. Thats fine with the "GOP".
And it's time for Democrats to reach out to the Haitian community as real, breathing people, and ask (rhetorically) if at long last, Republicans have NO decency. Maybe make a billboard of it.
I also read this in Prof. Ruth Ben Ghiat, another historian who is an expert on fascism's book Strongmen. I read the European version. It was written during Trump's term in office and he is included in as a fascist. I think I was not fully cognizant of everything he was doing, but this book helped me to understand his techniques, which I saw on display in the debate, even to intelligent, reasonable people he seemed off his game. What he did that fits fascist strategies, which has nothing to do with debating and everything to do with getting his message out there, is he repeated some ideas which are cues to his audience. He repeated that immigrants are overrunning the country and doing scary things--which is a consistent theme, he repeated that abortion is happening after babies are born--which is a consistent theme, and he repeated that crime is up--which is a consistent theme, and he repeated that she was militarily weak--which is a consistent theme, and he repeated that there are transgendered surgeries happening in schools--which is a consistent theme. If people can believe the lies and specious claims of Q-Anon, they will believe anything he tells them. Remember a caravan of trucks went to the border to stop the millions coming over illegally and saw absolutely no one, and ended up picking a fight with locals. I just think as a fascist, he repeats tropes, a playbook that Goebbels and Hitler used because no matter what is said, people start believing things if they hear them often enough. A lot of his audience is primed to believe him too.
Yes but it’s extremely expensive, luxury brand, facial clay. We need enough of an electoral sweep to have a working majority in Congress for many reasons. Court reform is near the top, to prevent them from blocking all the rest.
Agreed..the margin of effort rather than error. It is some consolation to hear rumblings of discontent within the Republican party. The down ballot swing state republican candidates must be wearing their shoes on the other foot than after the June debate when they were gleefully prancing around so sure footed.
Be very careful with your wording here. BEFORE the June 27 debate, we were heading for a Democratic electoral disaster. A 180 followed by another 180 puts you back on your original course. I hope that isn't what you meant.
A topic for another time, but one of the deepest of American problems is the degree to which a polished TV presentation as more bearing on a candidates fate than wisdom and record. We really saw that come to fruition with Carter VS Reagan. I wonder how Lincoln reborn would do in current circumstances. Two minutes to present a long-chain thought looks more like "Speedating" than a job interview.
TV is also why Sen. Hollings said years ago that due to the cost of campaigning: " So we go over to the building and call for money and obviously we only can give attention to that. We don't have time for each other. We don't have time for constituents, except for the givers. Somebody ought to tell the truth about that."
I agree, and want to hear someone reporting on the Electoral college and how things stand, because we know Trump is not trying to win the popular vote, just get his voters out, by keeping them inflamed at immigrants and losing power and White privilege.
Well, Harris did call him out during the debate for ordering Republicans not to vote for the immigration bill which would addressed a lot of our problems at the border. She needs to do it more often.
Fortunately it appears Mike Johnson despite being a fascist Republican is definitely enjoying his term as Speaker and may not be thrilled to give it up if the GOP loses the House. It looks like he may not allow the government to shut down, at least not before the election. And by that time it may be too late.
I am heartened by the Taylor Swift endorsement that led to more than 330,000 new voters registering. These are likely young people who often sit out elections. It's us old folks who are reliable voters. So, as long as these newly registered voters who are Swifties actually get to the polls vote, I have hope. Plus, just read that Liz Cheney will actually be campaigning in person for Harris. Cheney is clearly keeping her promise to work to stop Trump. Few know better than Cheney, who he really is.
Bill Luntz, whom Heather cited, said that he thought the debate would sink Trump in the overall popular vote, but thought with the swing states being statistically tied, even if Kamala got a 4% overall advantage, that is still within the margin of error, and Trump could win, a repeat more or less of 2016.
So true. The 2016 election was decided by less than 250,000 votes out of 135 million, all in the six swing states that went for Trump. Mostly those same votes swung the other way in 2020. Even if harris picks up many more popular votes, if most of those votes come in places like California, New York and even Texas (yes because even picking up a million votes in Texas won't help her WIN Texas!), she could still EASILY lose the electoral votes in the swing states by a whisker and thus lose the election. We need to win Michigan, Wisconsin and above all Pennsylvania to guarantee a victory by a razor thin electoral majority. Of course winning Arizona and Georgia would be great but without Pennsylvania, it may not be enough.
LaurieOregon - "And there are thousands of potential voters who like his lies and like that he lies and then lies about his lies."
In recent days, journalists have scrutinized the accuracy of Trump's statements during the debate, proving them lies. However, such falsehoods have not seemed to harm him; on the contrary, they appear to have been advantageous. These untruths bolster his authority by compelling subordinates to concur that reality is whatever the person in power declares it to be.
Supporters are faced with a choice: to compromise their integrity or their grasp on reality. Once they consent to a deliberate falsehood, it becomes increasingly difficult to dispute subsequent lies, as doing so would require admitting to previous instances of acquiescence.
It is cognitively almost impossible for someone to like what VP Harris said so much that they know she won the debate and then turn around and vote for trump. It is akin to really liking chocolate ice cream and then order dirt to eat. This is a meme type of thinking cooked up by the trump folks.
No, your "it is cognitively almost impossible" statement is the kind of head in the sand thinking that caused people to wake up on November 8 2016 and go "WTF happened???" Those people absolutely exist and they will still vote for Trump, many of them. Complacency is the enemy of victory. It has happened before and WILL happen again if we allow this kind of thinking to put down our guard.
You may "sincerely doubt it" but it can (and has) happened before. Don't think it can't happen again.
Instead of pondering our impressions and worst scenario thinking we follow people like this:
"After tonight’s debate there should be no doubt – no room for discussion – Kamala Harris is the only candidate in this race who is ready to be President.
I am once again urging everyone to roll up their sleeves and DO SOMETHING – phone bank, knock on doors, talk to any and everyone you know and urge them to vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. Every vote will matter in what will be a close race. We cannot afford to have anyone sitting on the sidelines. There’s simply too much at stake.
"My impression is that a lot of political experts and other commenters are conflating winning a debate with winning an election. People might agree that Harris won the debate, but they still might vote for Trump."
"My impression" and "People might " This is head in the sand thinking Sir.
It is smart politics to take the win when it comes along and build on that momentum.
I invite you to consider one of the leading political strategists in the Country, Simon Rosenberg. He is long on data and short on impressions. This is where I get my head in the sand thinking from:
"As I wrote yesterday I think we entered the debate in a far stronger electoral position than Republicans. We got a remarkable amount of very good polling yesterday. The VP strengthened her already strong hand last night, and more than ever before, I would much rather be us than them.
Kamala Harris had a plan last night and she executed on it. She had a job to do and she did it. She succeeded because she was clearly incredibly well prepared, and in that clear evidence of her preparation she also signaled to us that she was prepared to take on her next big job, as the 47th President of the United States of America.
Friends, sometimes things are complicated in politics. Sometimes they are simple. What happened last night was simple - she kicked his ass, and in the process generated powerful moments which will continue to give voters important information about her and him for many days and weeks to come. It was another remarkable moment in what has been one of the most remarkable and impressive political campaigns in our lifetimes."
Funny you should quote Rosenberg LOL. He is hardly an independent source of critique (but I expect you already know this). its interesting to that you quote his comment about the "great polling data" we've taken in while so many others on here are claiming how FALSE all the poling data is. ROFLMAO I tend to take neither side, I look at the polling data independently and draw my. Own conclusions.
Rosenberg is also a very biased source favoring Silicon Valley capitalist Democrats over more progressive Democrats (at least he gets the Democrat part right).
Rosenberg said in 1999, "Our problem as a party is that the biggest source of our venture capital now comes from labor, which is a group that's becoming less and less important, and representing less and less of a percentage of American voters. [...] We have to replace labor's investment in the party with investment from another source, and hopefully from a source that's growing." I.e. he favored the growing dominance of the Bill Clinton neolib wing of the party (which got us Bush II and Trump I.)
You are welcome to consider him a source to quote but it doesn't make my positions false or wrong. Even he apparently had realized some of the "errors" of his earlier positions, as he recently closed the NDN (New Democratic Network) which is now considered passe.
Scrolling forward 25 years here is a look at what Simon Rosenberg is doing these days. This is from his Substack site Hopium. There are a lot of solid activist opportunities.
Hard Work Is Good Work. And We Are Going TO Win! - Our community has been busting it’s ass on elections all across the country since I launched Hopium in March of last year, but our most important work is the work we are going to do now in these final two months. This section spells out my recommendations on where you can put your time and money, and of course you are free to volunteer and donate beyond what we are doing here. We are still a start up here at Hopium, and while we are now more than 110,000 proud patriots, I want to remain narrow and focused on the places where I think your money and time can make the biggest difference. That’s why we’ve focused on non-incumbent open seat and challengers races and the Presidential race of course.
I am particularly excited about new Thursday night calling and postcarding events for the House candidates most likely to turn red seats to blue ones and flip the House this November. We’ve had a great turnout, we get a lot of work done and have lots of fun. Join us! It’s where the cool kids spend their Thursday nights!!!!!!
In the coming days, as we get in more data about our new electoral landscape, I will be updating my recommendations. For background, here’s my post on the strategy behind our candidate and state party endorsements, including our Presidential battleground “check” and “checkmate” strategy. Sign up to call or postcard for Mondaire Jones (NY-17) at tonight’s Winning The House Thursday. These events have been well-attended and fun - join us if you can!
Contribute, volunteer and win with the Hopium community today:
Harris-Walz!!!!!! - 1,045,000 raised, $1m goal - Donate | Volunteer | Merch | The Harris-Walz YouTube Channel - Friends, we are now over $1m raised for Harris-Walz, our House candidates and our three “checkmate” states - so amazing all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Winning The House - $1,037,000 raised, $1.5m goal - Donate | Volunteer | Learn More | Sign Up For Our Thursday Night Winning The House Calling and Postcarding Series. Watch our recent discussion with Leader Hakeem Jeffries. To go deeper watch one of our interviews with our great candidates - Janelle Bynum (OR-5), George Whitesides (CA-27), Kirsten Engel (AZ-06) Will Rollins (CA-41), Laura Gillen (NY-04), Rudy Salas (CA-22), Josh Riley (NY-19), Tony Vargas (NE-02), Adam Gray (CA-13), Sue Altman (NJ-07) and Mondaire Jones (NY-17).
North Carolina - $452,000 raised, $500,000 goal - Donate | Volunteer | Learn More | Be sure to watch my interview with NC Dem Chair Anderson Clayton
Arizona/Ruben Gallego - $354,000 raised, $400,000 goal - Donate | Volunteer | Learn More | Be sure to watch my interview with Ruben Gallego
Nebraska/Blue Dot - $165,000 raised, $200,000 goal- Donate | Volunteer | Learn More | Be sure to watch my interview with NE Dem Chair Jane Kleeb - and note for those who are focused on the Nebraska Senate race money into the NE Dem Party supports that race too. for elections listed.
Hard Work Is Good Work. And We Are Going TO Win! - Our community has been busting it’s ass on elections all across the country since I launched Hopium in March of last year, but our most important work is the work we are going to do now in these final two months. This section spells out my recommendations on where you can put your time and money, and of course you are free to volunteer and donate beyond what we are doing here. We are still a start up here at Hopium, and while we are now more than 110,000 proud patriots, I want to remain narrow and focused on the places where I think your money and time can make the biggest difference. That’s why we’ve focused on non-incumbent open seat and challengers races and the Presidential race of course.
I am particularly excited about new Thursday night calling and postcarding events for the House candidates most likely to turn red seats to blue ones and flip the House this November. We’ve had a great turnout, we get a lot of work done and have lots of fun. Join us! It’s where the cool kids spend their Thursday nights!!!!!!
In the coming days, as we get in more data about our new electoral landscape, I will be updating my recommendations. For background, here’s my post on the strategy behind our candidate and state party endorsements, including our Presidential battleground “check” and “checkmate” strategy. Sign up to call or postcard for Mondaire Jones (NY-17) at tonight’s Winning The House Thursday. These events have been well-attended and fun - join us if you can!
Contribute, volunteer and win with the Hopium community today:
Harris-Walz!!!!!! - 1,045,000 raised, $1m goal - Donate | Volunteer | Merch | The Harris-Walz YouTube Channel - Friends, we are now over $1m raised for Harris-Walz, our House candidates and our three “checkmate” states - so amazing all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Winning The House - $1,037,000 raised, $1.5m goal - Donate | Volunteer | Learn More | Sign Up For Our Thursday Night Winning The House Calling and Postcarding Series. Watch our recent discussion with Leader Hakeem Jeffries. To go deeper watch one of our interviews with our great candidates - Janelle Bynum (OR-5), George Whitesides (CA-27), Kirsten Engel (AZ-06) Will Rollins (CA-41), Laura Gillen (NY-04), Rudy Salas (CA-22), Josh Riley (NY-19), Tony Vargas (NE-02), Adam Gray (CA-13), Sue Altman (NJ-07) and Mondaire Jones (NY-17).
North Carolina - $452,000 raised, $500,000 goal - Donate | Volunteer | Learn More | Be sure to watch my interview with NC Dem Chair Anderson Clayton
Arizona/Ruben Gallego - $354,000 raised, $400,000 goal - Donate | Volunteer | Learn More | Be sure to watch my interview with Ruben Gallego
Nebraska/Blue Dot - $165,000 raised, $200,000 goal- Donate | Volunteer | Learn More | Be sure to watch my interview with NE Dem Chair Jane Kleeb - and note for those who are focused on the Nebraska Senate race money into the NE Dem Party supports that race too.
All good points! I would add that his ONLY hope of getting out of his bad situation is to give up this political bent and get back to what he was better at doing: Cheating others out of their money faster than you can spend it. Good luck, donald!
As a life-long democratic ticket voter, who has soured on the Dems due to their wholesale abandoning of their former values, I would like to point out that Vice President Harris told as many lies as Trump did during the debate, but was not fact-checked by the moderators the way he was. I will vote for Trump because he has embraced the policies of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and will give RFK a platform from which to do his work of cleaning up the corruption in our government, ending the foreign wars and addressing the chronic disease epidemic in our country that is bankrupting us and disabling our children at an alarming rate. These are the values that Democrats used to have before they joined up with Big Pharma, Big Ag and the Military Industrial Complex, and started censoring anybody who said something they didn't like.
It the Republicans are gaslighting, telling lies and being nasty, we're not getting any better from the Democrats. Many of our worst impressions of Trump are based on lies and distortions. I urge you to read what Jenna McCarthy has to say about this.
My impression is that a lot of political experts and other commenters are conflating winning a debate with winning an election. People might agree that Harris won the debate, but they still might vote for Trump. And there are thousands of potential voters who like his lies and like that he lies and then lies about his lies.
Trump is absurdly, pathetically, desperately "running from prison," as George Conway says. He's desperate to regain power, to hang on to his money, and to not be "the loser" he's always mocked.
We still have to get out the vote, especially to urge people to vote for Democrats up and down the ballot. America will do better and be better with a Democratic president and Congress. Onward!
"We still have to get out the vote" - damn right - especially as we will be running against the Electoral College as well as trump. Marginal wins are not good enough - we have to roll over them like a tank.
Not only in the Electoral College, in the Senate, above all in the House.
I so wish the importance of controlling Congress would come up in every speech and post that Dems around the country do with the caveat that none of the promises Harris is making will be possible if voters don't vote Democratic all the way down their ballots. People are too inclined to split their tickets so one party doesn't dominate, and that's how we've ended up with the "do nothing Congress" we've got.
Splitting the ticket was only a good idea (if it ever was), when there were two competent parties. Ain’t the case no mo
and two parties that could talk to each other and compromise for the sake of the country. "Compromise" doesn't mean "Doing what you must because the other party is threatening a shut down. . ."
Thar's called "capitulation". Compromise is cooperative. Republicans live to bully.
Threats are a sure sign that the party is NOT the one to vote for
Let's see what happens with the icky cr the felon has insisted they offer. Johnson called off the vote, so maybe he/they know it's a non starter. Maybe they're afraid of consequences on Nov 5 if they do shut it down. Maybe they're looking for ways to make it worse. The kool aid is flowing, so there's no telling what horror they're cooking up. Let's just hope it isn't cat stew.
JD. Agree. I never split my ticket anymore, not even a local R who is OK. Yes, we must get out the vote and hopefully, blue will be overwhelming. In answer to those posts before yours....However, people can enjoy the fact that she stomped him because there is cause for optimism now and being charged up makes it easier for people to do what is necessary in terms of the vote. I also had a dope try to challenge me when I posted that the Springfield story was false. He hadn't read the article he posted and astoundingly admitted that he hadn't after I called him on it.
My sister-in-law posted the fake video of VP Harris looking like she was stumbling over her words a few weeks ago to show incompetance. She at least acknowledged my reply which cited a news article (Times or Post can't remember) that proves that was AI fakery. That fake stuff spreads like wildfire on social media, it's like the weeds you are trying to eradicate in your garden that comes back no matter what you do.
I haven't had that luck with any of the MAGAts on my feed. Sigh.
I think that it was essential that Kamala "stomp" Trump. She (we) needed that credibility to persuade fence-sitters.
Trump says "never admit" so there is hope for that person. I have voted for a few Republicans at the state level. One of which the state party claimed they wanted to impeach for certifying a Democrat in a close election. That was pre-MAGA,
The lies they tell are the most egregious and unbelievable, but believed by cult nuts and passed on by greedy bastards
The Republican Party, the party of Dwight David Eisenhower, is dead. Reagan began the process of smothering it to death. Trump and the oligarchs applied the fatal squeeze. The party that once was the Republican Party is now the MAGA Party. Again, I recommend HCR's book, "How the South Won the Civil War."
The Atlantic has a wonderful cover showing death star driving a
horse drawn hearse toward the Capitol Building with an elephant in it.
Ticket-splitting survived as a viable option in my state of Massachusetts through the first two decades of the 21st century. Gov. Charlie Baker (R) was elected to his 2nd term in 2018. He decided not to run for a 3rd in 2022, possibly because the MA GOP had by then gone so MAGA that he might not have survived the primary. So now every statewide elective office is held by a Democrat. (I could go on about how awful our Democratic-supermajority state legislature is but I'll save that for another time.)
Currently, I never vote Repub.
JD, at the very least, a current candidate in the Republican Party has stated that they support Trump.
One?
yes. One answer to the final question that Trump asked - 'if you have all these good ideas, why haven't you done them for the past 3 1/2 years" - is that Congress would not let them because Republicans blocked everything they could. (Another answer is that they DID a lot of good things, particularly when Pelosi was House Leader - things that have brought a ton of new private investment to US industry, and that Republicans who voted against the measures are now taking credit for.)
Also, Harris isn’t the president. How many VPs have set policy? She made it clear that she isn’t Joe Biden. As others have pointed out, the House could not even decide on a Speaker so they were obstructing any legislation. Harris should have emphasized that we are a republic not a monarchy, and all problems need to be solved by negotiation. It was Trump who said the president just needs to sign a piece of paper. He once said that a president just has to think it to make it so. He’s finally learning that he doesn’t have that power.
Old….this is another tell. In Project 2025, he WOULD have that type of power, Constitution be damned.
Old.....I also wondered about how much he thought VPs set policy. All his did was kiss his rear until the moment when he actually did the right thing. He is running against Harris now, but he wants to pretend he is running against Biden.
You could ask the same question of Trump. What did he do during his 4-year term in office? Of course, the first part of that question - "if you have all these good ideas" - is moot, since he didn't talk about any.
But he'll have a beautiful plan in two weeks!
I feel that Kamala missed the opportunity to make the point that the Pandemic adversely affected nations world-wide and through it all the U.S. economy was the envy of the world (according to the WSJ) and that our inflation rate was among the lowest. It's all relative.
Too nuanced for most Americans.
Chump did diddily squat for four years.
Well, as usual, he played it both ways. He (rightly) said a Dem president couldn't get abortion protections passed with a 50/50 Congress, then blamed her for not getting "her" priorities accomplished in 3.5 years. These are the kinds of contradictory comments he doesn't get called on. Of course now that the SCOTUS has proclaimed him above the law, he won't need to bother with Congress. I'm sure his role model, Orban, can help with him the steps to take control.
State and local Dem leaders are taking that up now that the Harris campaign is on track; but Harris herself have to reiterate that she needs a working governmental majority to achieve her goals for the country.
Yes. I don't know why that isn't happening. Without the trifecta, the Harris presidency will be hamstrung unless she, like Biden, issues executive orders, but that's a sorry way to have to govern.
Yes! So do I! It isn’t enough to win the presidency we have to win Congress otherwise nothing will get done!
Sadly, this is very true.
So so true!
Please don't forget the states!! I'm in Ohio, and the criminals are running the facilities here. Rooting them out on the State's level is JUST as important!
Yes Daniel. I am in Florida and the fascists are the nightmare we witness everyday, banning books, attempting to dominate the whole education system. Yes, the state's too. Let's bring Democracy back to America.
John, I've often said Ohio is the fascists laboratory. Once 'they' find out how to get away with it here, the fascists then take it to the other states and implement. To states like Florida, Idaho, Arkansas, etc, etc. It is here that it must be stopped, before it can metastasize federally.
And TX
I grew up in northeastern Ohio, and it used to be full of union steelworkers and heavily Democratic. The economy crashed when steel went down and got worse with the Reagan recession, and those of us starving folk who were able to leave did. I am appalled at who and what is left.
Throwing over the brilliant Tim Ryan for the shillbilly was astonishingly dumb.
All the more amazing that Sherrod Brown knows how to find and reassure his voters!
Mailing 500 postcards to Ohio to remind registered Ohioans to VOTE.
Thanks to turnoutpac.org/postcards
Our elected County Dem Central Committee and County Dem Women's Club are sending out 7500 postcards supporting our 3 School Board candidates. It used to be a non-partisan race but the Repubs made it partisan in the last couple of elections!
I've got 200 going out today! Thank you, Rachel
Astonishing numbers you and Rachel are reaching!
Indeed….. we are a complex country… amazing and “this forum” of communicating is gloriously remarkable…. thank you!
In war, politics, and sports: one does not ease up when the opponent is on the ropes. And especially in this case, there is absolutely no substitution for a political knock-out. He and Vance need to be sent packing to whatever they wish to do after their loss: permanently!! In DJT's case, it may well be the incarceration he well deserves.
Still writing postcards for TonyTheDemocrat who sends addresses for House races. Have written hundreds to voters in counties in Florida. Recommending everyone who can “do something.” At 90, writing postcards is what I can do
And please do not forget the importance of state and local elections.
🙌👏YES!
Thank you Heather, your sanity and principle support mine
XX
Exactly. It’s much harder to steal a landslide.
I was glad to see three VMAs promoting voter registration tonight. Also Taylor Swift mentioned it at the end of her acceptance speech (Video of the year) and got a big cheer from the crowd.
300,000 Swifties registered within a few minutes.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/over-300000-people-visit-taylor-swift-link-register-vote-rcna170740
https://www.fieldteam6.org/all-volunteer-ops/volunteer
Wow!!!
How sad that they waited to register to vote after an entertainer committed to a candidate.
🌊💙🇺🇸💙🇺🇸💙🌊
@Lady Emsworth
We can sweep.
Under the radar are folk who aren't yet registered. Millions still trend Democratic. A few minutes after Taylor Swift endorsed, more than 300,000 registered, virtually all new Democrats. FT 6 has sent more than 12 million texts to these folks. It normally takes 3 "touches" before they register. Need more phone calls and canvassing. FT 6 phone bank to FL and PA today. Time is fleeting. Do something!
https://www.mobilize.us/ft6/?q=phone%20banks&tag_ids=20038
Yes, it really does matter to get out more of the usual "submerged" electorate, people who rarely or never vote. We're talking maybe 50% of the electorate.
Unfortunately, data shows most trend MAGA, but FT6 has identified and contacted with millions who trend Democratic. Time is short. In Florida, last day is Oct. 7. In some states, we turn into a pumpkin next week.
One guy like you, Frank, has the capacity to enlist dozens who will support Democrats up and down the ballot.
https://www.fieldteam6.org/fund-the-mission
The more of "your own disposition" you can get out the better, but whoever is getting out the vote more will earn some goodwill regardless. Unfortunately, I'm Canadian, so all i can do is wish you well. I think there are "at least a few" Canadian on Heather's channel!
Thanks for your support! Others have suggested you can call but if I receive a call from a Canadian phone number I'm certainly not picking up. Toll prices are higher too IIRC when calling from Canada when I was there a few years ago. Just keep believing in America!
You can call.
As Daniel said, you can call!
Sent FT6 a small donation (via snail mail) yesterday for Patriots Day.
Bad experience with snail mail. 3 weeks from mailing in TX, not yet arrived in CO. Corrupting influence of DeJoy? Not sitting well for mail-in ballots.
.
absolutely! USPS has been ruined. We need to get people to vote in person as soon as early voting starts.
😢
Agree-it’s not good enough to win the popular vote. HRCs 2016 run is a perfect example. And we cannot risk the vote getting thrown to SCOTUS. Al Gore’s run is another perfect example. We The People need to save our democracy by voting for Harris/Walz. Not voting or a write in vote is not an option. Let’s get this right and do it to protect our freedoms and the freedoms of future generations,
🌊💙🌊💙🌊💙
Yes ma’am 😣💪 VOTE DEMOCRATIC 🇺🇸
Lady, absolutely!!!!!
I had the sense that this was occurring. UGGG. Small focus groups on CNN and elsewhere of undecided voters *seem to be leaning toward Vice President Harris. Those who say they prefer Trump were already leaning towards Trump.
People are really hung up on the economy.
Presidents Trump and Biden likely forestalled the collapse of the economy coming out of COVID by sending out all those checks; the resultant inflation came from ramping up the money supply to keep the economy afloat. A spat of inflation was a small price to pay for averting another Great Depression.
🤭
EDIT: busted. This comment, above, has focussed upon macro-economic causes for inflation only; that focus is too narrow. As observed by Frank Loomer et al. there are micro-economic -- or situation-specific -- factors presenting an opportunity to companies to charge what the market will bear. The macro-&-micro factors combined for a double-whammy. That the inflation rate is already coming down discernibly is heartening.
While I think that true, there is plenty of Greedflation in the mix, oligarchical, omnivorous conglomerates, raising prices because the can.
And record corporate profits are a direct result of the greedflation.
Yes, I think the record profits are like, "what came first, the chicken or the egg." It makes me sick!
"Reganomics": Open season on worker/consumers.
And this needs to be highlighted. And the ways it can be addressed.
Yes Linda, thanks for mentioning.
We have proven many times this CAN be addressed. Name them, boycott, and call out the management. The CEO decision making is primary fault..America CAN ( and I repeat HAS shown the upper leadership by UNITING and boycotting).
The ‘doing it for the shareholders ‘ got to stop…this is misinformation at its highest level. As a nation we WANT to work for the whole..that’s what equality/leveling the playing field means.
People ARE seeing this more clearly…profits can still be a goal but commensurate with consistent. As we invent better ways to provide the ‘I costs’ to provide lower.
Research and development are costs built into any system . The truths of profit sharing are NOT buy backs nor the current CEO margins to worker wages - shareholders are the elite …do I need to explain any further?
The pie , the leveling is better divided , that’s real sharing, making ‘divided’ a good word , furthering a better world, and reverse this false set of values twisted for far too long. I have no objection to people getting wealthy but not by duping, dumbing, or ads saturating BS ,false claims, or deviant tactics ie known contaminants lead,nicotine,glycosphate ,polluting wastes, yada yada..
Yes we need to clean up our act. And that covers a lot of territory. We CAN be thankful for a stark 9 ? year lesson…what the clean up costs are never get started by bitchin’ , they start by acknowledging and elbow grease.
And it takes our village. Our gang 🫶
💙💙VOTE BLUE THROUGH AND THROUGH. LETS.STOP.THIS.COUP.💙💙
Boycotts can be useful, but hard to apply enough pressure against conglomerates that have huge market shares. Electing anti-trust minded officials is essential. We were winning that battle once, and were collectively bamboozled into throwing it away. We learned it twice, if you count crony tax favoritism for the East India Company that sparked the Boston Tea party.
I wonder if these companies are trying to re-coup two years of lost profits instead of accepting the pandemic as an anomaly and moving on.
The COVID Plague that Cost Over 1,000,000 American Lives was Abetted by DJT's Incompetence... I believe that in April 2020, DJT became 'Bored' with it, and said that DJT took no Responsibility for it... If there is another Presidential Debate, Kamala should Hammer DJT on it... Maybe DJT's Cult Members will Realize that their Lives are Meaningless to DJT...
Exactly. And that should be pointed out when asked, "Were you better off four years ago?" Four years ago DJT was shooting bleach up his ass or telling you to. Let us remember four years ago: 2020!
Remembering accurately (it helps to record it) is history. Much has been said (as we all know) about the benefits of learning from history, even long ago, let alone the recent past. People are saying "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me."
That's how he handles everything. Ignoring what he has no clue or desire to work/fix a problem. If he is not in personal danger of something, he doesn't care about any one else. It's just who he has and always will be
Four-year olds are not empathic. The diapered Trump balloon and the catsup on the White House dining room wall should be well-remembered.
I remember that
In April 2020 there was the news that Blacks and Hispanics were dying of COVID at higher rates than whites. Not Trump’s pressing concern after that. Jared came up with the idea of blaming the governors of blue states.
Our death per capita figures were terrible compared to nations with far fewer resources. Trump and his party played politics with sensible precautions against a heartless, invasive enemy. The Corona virus is a piece of work, but it lacks legs. We collectively were fools to lend it any more of them than was unavoidable. We also cracked it code, and are fools if we fail to use it against it.
COVID hit the Indigenous Nations the Hardest... Sean Penn, when he learned that there is a Horrible Shortage Of Potable Water on the Big Rez, he personally supplied Trucks of Fresh Water to the Big Rez... The DJT's Admin Principals that allowed the COVID Disaster have shown their Black Hearts... No Wonder The Black Siths Love Them... The 1,000,000+ American Dead Have Been Disappeared....
It depends in part on the reporting practices of the nations.
Yes, I’ve heard people say ,’well don’t always blame the pandemic’. It’s part of the equation , and a significant one, was and still is for the whole world. Some countries of lesser ability take far longer to bounce back, recover, as Covid taught us there ARE Long Term Affects. Some countries are more vulnerable just as the poor are first to see mishaps. Leveling the playing field.Just gotta love that term..it’ll pan out but it takes time ..and our world …America..has become short on patient, compromise, greed, attention spans.
I see as do many coming on board Harris has the focus to do this…her background taught her well..the rich raised and isolated/coddled who often laud the decisions down havent the first clue often what the barrio is or needs…
Greed is part of the equation..proof read Pat!
If you're not on a mobile device, the three dots to the right of the "like" line are an edit function. I know you cannot edit from an Apple device... I will sometimes go back on my laptop to correct.
I knew what you meant, Pat. With my editing skills, people show me a lot of patience.
Naomi Klein wrote an interesting thesis on the "Shock Doctrine", using crises to justify anti-public changes. The "GOP" playacts imaginary crises and ignores real ones to that effect.
I suspect that may be part of it, Ned. Not all of it, however.
Ned, how do we recoup the same 2 years of higher prices we paid? Does the price of beef ever go back down, regardless of the reason for the hike? I’ve never found the reduction in price!
Oh, Anne Marie, I am not justifying what happened here. I am trying to see how corporations rationalized inflating these proces.
“The companies’ net profits are up by a median of 51% since just prior to the pandemic, and in one case as much as 950%.”
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/jul/26/food-price-inflation-corporate-profit
I wish they would talk more about the Stock Buy Back figures in the article as in the chart above the following:
"...Most companies also put some of their profits into stock buyback programs that juiced the stocks’ value, enriching investors and executives, instead of using the profits to help keep consumer prices down. McDonald’s, for example, spent over $5bn on buybacks in recent years as it raised prices on some items by several dollars.
Overall, companies have “relied more and more on pricing tricks to satisfy investors”, said Bilal Baydoun, director of policy and research at Groundwork Collaborative, a progressive thinktank.
“When you abuse your outsized market power and the vulnerability of consumers after a once-in-a-century economic crisis to jack up prices – yes, that’s profiteering,” Baydoun said.
Records show many companies’ sales volumes are down but profits are still increasing. This suggests prices, not increased demand, are driving inflation, said a University of Massachusetts economist, Isabella Weber..."
That is why 'big-by-G-D' government may be required to represent collective bargaining power. Since I have lost almost all of my money -- please do not ask; embarrassing as it is -- my views have, predictably begun to shift. While the values remain largely the same, my question these days: ¿To whom do these resources belong? There is dirt on both sides of the street.
Greedflation, indeed. But shrinkflation drives me nuts - same sized packaging but less contents. More for the landfill.
This ^
yes, and this is what those suffering from the "poor economy" blame on Biden - but it's the corporate greed monsters.......who have caused all of this "economic woe". - look at their stock market profits!!!!
Here in Florida, where greed goes unchecked, people blame the high costs in the Biden Administration, not the greedy oligarchs who have bought and paid for Desantis.
Who (DeSantis) throws away money like a madman. See FIU and his stupid immigration compound, plus his election police and brown shirts. Meanwhile my wind insurance (Citizens) has gone through the roof and will increase up to 47% next year.
Demagogy can be expsensive.
I think of some of the greedy oligarchs as "Buy Back Bandits" endlessly ratcheting up their equity share of everything profitable at the expense of the increasing numbers of citizens and workers that can't begin to match the percentage of savings, buying power, or accumulating wealth.
I live for these quips Jim..’Buy Back Bandits’ 👏🤣
This is why I think Vice President Harris seeking a tax on unstruck stock options given as part of compensation makes sense. Control the micro-incentives.
I'm not an expert but know of a few people that just missed the boat having to wait 6 months for the selling window to open on their holdings. One had a great looking tech application that had his valued at $400 million (if the government chose it instead of a less likely competitor). It seems that dropped to the price of a house in the Bay area a few days before he could sell.
I'm convinced they had, like other inventors I knew, a great design but a better one came out just before they could get to the market. Good work, but someone else had something better before they knew it. The good thinkers still get hired by other companies, but don't hit the jackpots like their new bosses do (looking at Elon, here).
Then there is Trump who looks to be getting set for another of his well deserved financial disasters according to:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2024/09/06/when-can-donald-trump-sell-djt-stock-heres-what-to-know-as-truth-social-hits-new-lows/
"...The date on which former President Donald Trump is eligible to offload shares in his social media company is rapidly approaching—though when it finally comes, it’s likely to offer far less of a treasure than it was earlier this year...
...The company’s latest prospectus filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission outlines three factors that would trigger the lock-up period to conclude: The end of the first six months of DJT stock trading as its own entity, Trump Media shares trading above $12 for any 20 of 30 trading sessions beginning Aug. 23, or a transaction, like a merger, in which all shareholders have the opportunity to trade in their Trump Media holdings at the same price.
That means the earliest possible date Trump can sell is Sept. 19 if Trump Media shares remain above the $12 threshold, not a guarantee with a $17 share price Friday, and the latest his selling window would open is Sept. 25, the end of the opening six-month period of DJT’s direct public listing..."
It's already down 80% (so far), making me think he should have waited until after the window opened before debating Kamala, he probably could have found some suckers before the debate, but who would buy now?
Should I feel sorry for other investors?
Sometimes when people keep asking for it, they get what they deserve (something my great grandmother taught me).
No one likes to admit (s)he is a Keynesian; but that discredited and out-of-fashion school of economics may have saved us.
I've been saying this all along. I like the word Greedflation.
Remember JL, pandemic supply chain inflation was global. Shortages simply drive up prices, this of course is old fashioned marketplace, found everywhere on this planet. With things more settled, inflation is now generally in the 3% range. Unemployment is overall 3-4%, about as close to "full employment" as you can get, with real wages edging ahead of inflation the past year or so.
Fantastic point. This type of inflation -- for example, for construction materials -- is often high but localized in coastal areas whacked by massive hurricanes.
Also Insurance rates (if they can find any).
Classic inflation was a factor, but it seems to me that corporations are increasingly gaming the system. Take some of the screw-ups that we were in the news post the pandemic due to staff shortages, not (from what I have read) because new hires were not available, but because companies wanted to accept increased business without adding staff. Shrinkflation pre-dates the pandemic, but has been on a roll since. And in my experience, at least overall, prices have not come down as better equilibrium has been established even if the rate of price rise has dropped. Also, I strongly suspect "real wages" figure is pretty unevenly shared in the real world. I am not net better off financially tha pre-pandemic, but I'm retired. I suspect a good many full time workers are in the same boat.
Here's something from Forbes....Of course real wage increases are unevenly shared. I have no theory of how modern capitalism works other than to think oligopolies and monopolies tend to set things more to their advantage than otherwise. btw they've been around a long time. If i also hear you rightly, global pandemic inflation was a giant corporate conspiracy, right? https://www.forbes.com/sites/johngoodman/2024/08/30/the-greed-theory-of-inflation/
Publix grocery store is higher priced than all other stores in my Florida area. Corporate greed is the cause of inflation.
Hear hear! Hamburger was $2 a pound higher Monday at Publix than at Food Lion in Virginia, and was not on sale. I find the same kind of difference in Florida, where Winn Dixie is much lower. (Keys) I’ve had to become much more aware post pandemic.
Wow. Now that is bad. In Alabama, I was a loyal Publix shopper. Preying on customer loyalty perhaps.
They do have great customer service.
Definitely!
JL Yokes
It is easy to raise prices when there is no competition. As for food prices most people have limited choice for groceries. With a couple of major chains to choose from. Easy for them to raise prices.
One of the things that's most striking is the fact that almost no one in America seems aware of how Biden's economic policy has been practically the only success story in the world following the trail of damage left by Covid.
It is more than understandable that the Covid episode should have left people traumatized and still more aware of their own pain than of the freedom brought by recovery and survival, but the blind darkness of people's worm's eye view and the well-nigh total absence of a bird's eye view feel very, very strange when viewed from just about anywhere else in the world, where people have had to put up with the hard effects of superannuated economic policies, at worst, medieval torments like those visited on Britain by 45-day-wonderwoman Liz Dross...
The only people whose dominance -- ultradominance -- has been marginally threatened by the Biden-Harris presidency are the greed-fuelled gaggle of billion and trillionaires enriched at the expense of 99.99% of the population.
They'll do their damnedest to stymie any and all efforts by Harris-Walz and the 99.99% to resist the suicidal force of all-powerful oligarchic tyranny.
(And if you don't know what that means, look at Project 2025. Then look at Putin's Russia...)
This is indicative of Corporate media failure at the highest levels.
More like submission than failure.
And in too many ways we have all -- however unintentionally -- been complicit.
Failure to explain or to provide context really bugs me.
On the pet-eating conspiracy and troubles in Springfield, Ohio, PBS brought some context.
1) If you were suspicious about your pets disappearing, which would you contact first? Your local authorities or your U.S. Senator (J.D. Vance)?
2) Springfield has had a sizeable, rapid increase in population. With more people, the city’s resources are stretched thin. A strain on public services would exist whether the new arrivals were from Haiti or somewhere else.
Someone suggested another stupid thing that Trump believed and I suggested making a list of stupid things Trump believes that we should compile and send to the Harris campaign and the Lincoln Project to troll him, and his followers. This should definitely be on that list.
". . . . I suggested making a list of stupid things Trump believes that we should compile and send to the Harris campaign . . . ."
Full-time job. 😉
I read an article in the Columbus, Ohio newspaper that Governor DeWine called out the national guard because of congestion owing to immigrants not knowing local traffic laws or customs. Not the kind of slurs made by Team Cur.
Was the Ohio national guard acting as traffic officers to supplement those in Springfield?
I agree they are powerful, Peter - but not "all powerful."
Have you ever seen a house when termites have been at it?
Termites have a bad rep - but we need to copy them. Nibble and nibble away until the rule of the oligarchs start to crack.
I'm sure when Harris wins, a lot of things will go on the same - but even Elon the Invincible has to die one day, and by then some progress will have been made. Maybe not much - but enough to lift some lives. and to ensure some safety under the law. There is an awfully long way to go, things that should have been done fifty years ago still need to be put into place. But if we don't see it ourselves, our grandchildren can. And they can carry on the fight as well.
Trump keeps saying "MAGA" - but America has never been truly great for all it's citizens - even the First Nations had their problems, they didn't call themselves "One Nation." And the horrific conditions some of the later immigrants lived in took a long time to even begin being addressed. So, "Patience and Perseverance!"
I agree, we older Americans had nothing given to us, we worked hard and saved our money to purchase items we needed. Today, I see people buying things on credit cards that they can't afford to pay for at the end of the month. Personal debts are a problem. People think they should have everything they like. Probably 50% of the stuff never gets used at all. There is a big difference between what you need and what you want. What I'm saying is, to many people want it fixed today and don't realize we are in it for the long game. America is perfect and she is constantly evolving. Patience and Perseverance! Stay a player...
Thank you, Patty, thank you Lady Emsworth, I had wanted to add that, while we have all seen rising grocery (and many other) prices, we react to our difficulties here and now... but turning around the economy of a huge country or ship takes time -- even without mutineers on the bridge and in the engine room... and we want instant gratification...
Excellent analogy, Peter.
Not sure I agree. Perhaps people are not making enough money to make ends meet.
Three jobs and still hard to get by? Is that the kind of living-to-work treadmill you're talking of, Ned McDoodle?
And fearing to fall ill lest you lose your job...
The kind of compulsive and compulsory workaholism that makes for built-in inefficiencies, an unhappy workforce, an unhappy society. Unhappy, but too busy trying to keep afloat to become a threat to those who count...
Peter, you will understand this all too well: Americans have ridiculously short memories and are easily triggered by stupid nonsense to work against their own self interest. As an historian, it is my job to remember, to comment, to remember more, to comment more. Second fact: the MAJORITY of Americans have ceded their political power because they fail to vote, especially in local elections and midterms. And they do so with a certain level of insouciance that is alarming. This is why we have these [plural expletive deleted] who are in charge of local governance: they were voted in by a small minority of eligible voters and reflect only the wind tunnel that is between their ears. This is why corruption is rampant because the corporations that a certain senator from Utah described as "people" can dominate the political climate. Unless and until Americans start remembering, and start acting on those memories, we will be in this constant vacillation between the forces of evil and the forces of pragmatism (I can't really call them the forces of "good" because the pragmatic option says feed people, educate them, treat them with kindness, be tolerant and equitable and those are all things that should be no-brainers but apparently are not).
The second fact you post articulates what I have felt for a long, long time. Failing to vote locally is something that just stuns me. All politics is local, and if you don't participate, you lose your local control. As for what follows your sentence utilizing one of my favorite words (insouciance), my usual reference is "preferred colorful metaphor" or "profanity, vulgarity or blasphemy of your choosing". I love you use of "plural expletive deleted" and my just add that to my arsenal of acceptable usage of profanity.
Not sure I agree. Americans are harried and scrambling to keep a decent standard of living in place for their families. Many voters did not forget Senator / Secretary Clinton remark, reeking of entitlement to the presidency (i.e., the "basket of deplorables").
"WIND TUNNEL BETWEEN THE EARS."
Memorable description.
Apart from you-know-who, they usually have plenty of hair, a bright toothy rictus screwed onto their faces and baldness under the skull.
Thank you , Peter, for bringing attention to the collective amnesia we’re experiencing throughout American society, from MSM to seemingly informed people. Everything is measured by how people “feel “ about the economy, etc, no mention of what the world experienced, not even a mention of cargo ships in the harbor in LA for months with no one to unload them. Our news is presented in such an insular way with no comparison of other countries suffered much worse than the USA. President Biden saved this country from a disaster.
Fear and diminishing prospects -- or the perception thereof -- can have an unpleasant impact upon people's views and behaviors. Perhaps, President Harris could appeal directly to M.A.G.A.s by saying, in effect: "Many of you all feel screwed over. We get that. Here is why you have a better deal with us than with candidate Trump . . . ."
You are 109% right on all points.
Reading the ‘comments’ gives me HOPE!!!! Thank YOU ALL!!!!!
I think, people don't understand how limited the federal government is in improving their lives....it can only take a broad sweep. When people say their lives have not improved under Biden-Harris, the response should be, because your state governor and legislators decide on the day to day matters that affect you.
I could list a minimum of 10 laws enacted by the state of Texas that assure citizens are more at risk for gun violence, school shootings will continue, corporations can continue to turn our environment into a cesspool of polluted water and air, women will die seeking reproductive health care, and the power grid providers profit is guarded over people services.
Let's use that as a response to people saying Biden/Harris haven't fixed their problems.
True that. That will go a long way why President Harris's approval ratings will be in the forties by 2026. This legis-centric governance needs to be explained to people.
I'm wondering if you meant Liz Truss as in at: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-62750866
I thought she was the worst of those who thought like Grover Norquist as in no new taxes, steep tax cuts for for everyone, and especially corporations .
Sorry, Jim, I don't usually descend to that, but this lady and her politics were so caricatural -- about as two-dimensional and as sentient as a think-tank spreadsheet -- that I've never managed to call her by her proper name...
I can understand, I just wish we could have dumped Trump as quickly (7 weeks) as the British dumped her (10 days of which delay was the 10 day mourning period for Queen Elizabeth II).
Read, mark:
https://www.motherjones.com/criminal-justice/2024/09/drug-test-pregnancy-pennsylvania-california/?utm_source=mj-newsletters&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily-newsletter-09-12-2024 =
When I read of healthcare institutions trampling the Hippocratic Oath underfoot by engaging in the automatic infliction on innocents of extraordinarily cruel and unusual extrajudicial punishments, I am surprised that more Americans do not react by voting for MAGA or for any anti-system crazies.
After all, this is even madder, even more cruel and irresponsible than the tales cooked up by MAGA madmen. Worse, it isn’t imaginary, it is actually happening.
Now, if we read Letters from an American, it is better to know and understand both the light America has brought into the world and her deepest shadows. Only armed with such knowledge can John and Jane Doe become citizens worthy of the Republic.
America’s ingrained cruelty was imported from Europe’s and other continents’ most brutal societies and visited on others, especially those least able to defend themselves, then re-exported worldwide as what a certain general termed “collateral damage”; the (alas) inevitable—but always resistible—abuse of overwhelming material power. One aspect of this is the absurd and pernicious belief, shared by Nazis and the tyrants of every age and culture as well as by the Holy Inquisition, that by destroying men’s bodies one destroys their ideas. On the contrary, this spreads, strengthens and perpetuates the evil that they do. We must be deliberately blind not to see just this awful reality all around us at this very moment—Nazi crimes and criminals arising again in the unlikeliest places.
Most readers here are decent, intelligent, responsible people with hearts in the right place and I am sure there will be among you jurists, doctors, nurses, hospital administrators who can take up causes like that in the Mother Jones report and make the seats of those responsible so hot that they’ll jump smartly to their duty.
The task may seem impossible, yet… is not our duty clear, as individuals, as communities, to work tirelessly to cure our town, our state, our country of their endemic diseases and bring in their place health and happiness?
Great points, Peter!
Project2025 is essentially re-cycled Reaganism extended to some new issues emerging after 1988; but Reaganism with a "sh*titude' of kulturkampf, at least per my rather cursory reading. The problem is Reaganism is exhausted like the New Deal was in the mid-to-late 1970s. Take it from a former Republican pre-disposed toward kultur-drumpfing two generations ago (i.e., me).
I think Harris needs to address agriculture. It has a chapter in project 2025, which my DA Book club is reading and discussing next week. I understand that farmers would like to hear themselves discussed, and no one is. I doubt they will be reading Project 2025, but Harris has the opportunity to take the lead on this. I saw a farmer interviewed in a German documentary, who is in Georgia. This was filmed after Harris announced, and he said he is undecided until he hears what each party has to say on farming. I did not hear it discussed at all in the debate. So, he is going to be no further along.
Maybe better for Governor Walz to address since Minnesota is an agro-state.
I was thinking that too, but it might be reassuring to farmers, that if Trump loses the Harris and Walz ticket is thinking of them and they are part of the plan to keep our nation secure. I have written this to the White House and the Harris Walz campaign as well. Maybe more people could write to them about it.
Especially when you remember what trump's tariffs did to the farming community last time.
Soya bean, anybody?
Trump had to bail them out, though not enough to make up for their losses.
Realize that the family farm and Big Ag have different agendas.
Yes, each issue needs to be addressed with clear possible solutions. Could the discussion of each issue , like agriculture, be covered exclusively for a number of days giving the media no other talking points. Then move to the next issue with extensive coverage. Voters want to learn HOW the problems that we all agree on can begin to be solved.
Also, emphasis must be on a Congress that can do the work of finding compromise. The Congress is the where the action happens!!
"Giving the media no other talking points."
Great idea - except it seems to me the media make up their OWN talking points. See the coverage of Joe's "dementia" - and the bare mention of trump's insanity. Agriculture's not very exciting - who clicks on farm stock prices? But a pimple on Kamala's nose? Now THAT'S a whole different story. . .
Vote blue and get rid of the "do nothing Congressional people"
I read today in the Substack What Did Joe Biden Do Today, that a meeting was convened with the Dept. of Agriculture, the EPA and other stakeholders to discuss how to support farmers, ranchers and foresters in using green methods to do their work.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/09/12/readout-of-white-house-department-of-agriculture-and-environmental-protection-agency-roundtable-on-financing-climate-smart-agriculture/
I am not reading about this elsewhere though. Again, corporate media fails us.
Linda W, beware agriculture as many (most?) "farmers" who have survived financially have done so by becoming corporate level mega-farmers running huge herds of cows often running to the thousands, all in stanchions throughout the day and night. As we drove by a nearby mega-barn my daughter dubbed it's multiple barns "cowschwitz."
It's definitely not "most" farmers. The 2022 Census of Agriculture says that 64% of farms in the U.S. are less than 140 acres in size. And fully two-thirds of all farms earn less than $25,000 per year from sales.
Seems that corporate farms are a small share of farm-land; I am surprised. I may be mis-interpreting these data.
https://acretrader.com/learn/farmland-investing/who-owns-farmland
We had some former professionals (at least one finance type, I believe) from Disney's Imagineering who found the sometimes too severe top down rules stifling enough to refer to the former work place as "Mouseschwitz."
On the other hand we had one of our best engineers go there as we downsized after the Cold War ended. He had three young children and he had to take them around to all sorts of amusement parks (not just Disney's), as part of his job evaluating competition and developing new ideas. I couldn't imagine a better post Cold War career when he let us know how his new job was going.
John, since my husband comes from multigenerational farming family in Germany, I have always been interested in what is going on with farming. My mom also comes from multigenerational farming families, although her father was a city dweller, and did not farm. My husband did not find chickens romantic at all since he grew up with 9000 of them and had to help. It was not a corporate farm as the name implies, because it was a family farm. I don't know if they hired help to harvest, but I know that when it comes to harvesting my husband's cousin hires help. He has a big place and people come from Romania to help. Usually it is a family of 3. They live in an apartment that is part of the farm house. What is commonly grown in our area of Germany (that is his and my mom's) are wheat and sugar beets. I have had joy of running my hand through freshly harvested wheat that is warm, and has just come out of the harvester. It feels wonderful like grains of sand do. A former friend's family also grew rapeseed here in Germany. A lot of our friends here in the city I live in, come from farms, so there is a respect for farming and a connection to it.
That is an awesome adaptation of a murder hole.
that's a pretty brilliant name!
As a kansas row-crop farm operator, I’ll say not all farming is what you describe. You have to understand that raising animals and growing plants are two types of farm operation. Running a dairy operation not the same as what I do, and to succeed you have to raise what your local market will buy. And I’d bet the number of farm operations in upstate NY that involve “mega barns” is quite a small part of the ag spectrum. I’ve not visited upstate NY, but if you check your state ag department stats you'd discover a thriving viticulture industry, berry and fruit and nut orchards, greenhouse vege growers, and on and on.
Also, farms that are owned by “trusts” are not usually in the “corporate agri-industry” bucket, it is just a family ownership structure. similarly, not all corporations are “big ag” monsters.
In my rural community, I have seen a surprising number of Trump signs in front of farms and farmhouses. I don't get it. Has Trump ever visited a farm? Does he talk about agriculture? I doubt it. It could be an opportunity for Harris, IF they will listen.
Ellen, I am saying this too. Can you please write to her campaign. I did today, and I also wrote the contact email at the White House asking her to articulate agricultural plans.
Where do I write?
Here is the White House Contact Email for VP Harris.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/vicepresident/
Here is the Harris campaign email.
https://kamalaharris.com/contact-us/
Either one or both.
Perhaps Governor Walz ought to speak to them and let them know they get a better deal with the Democrats.
DJT is a City Boy... His Only Manual Labor Is Swinging A Golf Club!!!
He sure throws a lot of mouth manure though.
Temptation got me this time, inspired by a memory of a quote like the following from https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073053/characters/nm0926235
Harry S Truman : Say, Rose, there's a story going around about me these days. It says that some old party hen is supposed to have cornered Bess at some party, and said, "Mrs. Truman, isn't there anything you can do to get the President to stop using the word 'manure'?" And Bess is supposed to have replied, "It took me forty years to get him to use that word!"
Another version was her asking to get him to use "fertilizer" instead of manure.
You are on my page Linda. I AM a farmer . This is a whole different world..farmers..a world gone -from individual families squeezed out, a whole generation lost numbers of what ‘raising yer own’ entails to Big Ag. And stands for the bigger picture ..perhaps better than any other ‘in essence’ of leveling that playing field.
Thank you.
Patricia, you are then well placed to either ask Harris and Walz to articulate farm policy and to give them advice on this. As I wrote above, I wrote to her today about it, and I think she should hear from more people. I just suggested that if supermarkets are gouging people, they are probably stiffing farmers too. I am married into a German farming family. That is, while my husband does not farm anymore, he did growing up, and his parents did, and his cousins do or did, and aunts and uncles on both sides of the family did. In fact, my mother-in-law went to Farm housewife school at 15 along with her sister, because Germans like to make all things in life a mixture of practice and theory. In any case, at one point, several of nieces and nephews did not want to take over his mother's birth family farm, and so then cousins get asked. In fact, my mother-in-laws family farm, which is one of the farms my daughter has grown up visiting all her life, was on offer to my daughter. But she did not want to farm or be a farm wife. She knows little about it, other than the play aspects, but we asked her. One of her male cousins who had a runty pig as a pet when he was in middle school, was interested. He may get that farm which is just a wonderful place. Another cousin has gone to agriculture school and is taking over the family farm, after doing a practicum year at 2 other farms, and one in Estonia. That is so. he gets exposed to something different than his dad knows. So, when German farmers were driving tractors in protest to some new green energy requirements, it was the news all over the EU, and it changed the timeline for conversion. I was watching a dairy farmer on the news in our area in Germany talking about how he cannot raise his prices much more or the consumers will just not buy milk. Food is heavily subsidized in Germany, and since it is the stuff of life, I am willing to pay the producers well to produce. We know how danger it is when ADM owns all of the farms, and then decides to experiment with our food production, and squeeze everyone out. Given that there is an antimonopoly mood, with Lina Khan at the helm taking on big Tech, perhaps big Ag should be affected too. My mom, who is also German grew up with many relatives having been farmers, and during WWII she and her siblings were sent to live with aunts and uncles on farms for a couple of years to get them out of the cities where the bombs were more likely to kill them. Her favorite aunts and uncles were on farms. So, the family farm is important to the production of food, one of our most important industries. I was discussing yesterday with some friends, that I was surprised to find the my Blue State was asking to lower the age at which children can work, but it was pointed out to me that Illinois is a big farming state so this makes sense.
Yes. And Peter makes a good following point ( climate change) as currently we are struggling in the most severe drought ever hauling water for critters even more encompassing ( I’m a big picture realist) for the wildlife including insects. There are so many connecting points here , thanks and I will write sister Kamala. I have a whole world of sisters 😌 ( and brothers).
We work WITH the government NRCS and local ASCS extensively..they.are.great.
Circular recycling needs a careful ear and focus with waste rampant,by far too many, and hunger is just pure neglect . No rant. Just needs focus. Us who went back to the land are now few but being a farm wife is a compliment, yes hard work, but healthy, challenging, holistic, even spiritual. Learning how to is an every day still humble adventure. One brilliant young lady remarked we were ‘far out’ meaning -to her (we laughed) as she meant ..the distance from McDonalds)!
The Amish and we know several (German heritage ) stand out in application to farmer’s to the inner fiber. Work ethic! Our children don’t want to farm, had enough of that! but they all have great work ethics😉👏.
Circular technology a new term , and innovation is needed . Production here on the farm uses composting extensively, collecting our own water ,passive and some as affordable new solar, it all is sort of old fashion in principle. Landfills need a thorough revision.
The established hierarchy plays ‘us’ ..but a lot of ownership needs ‘admitting’… ONLY WHEN WE ALLOW IT. There’s a certain portion in every society who can’t fend for themselves, they need cared for. The rest need to pick up after themselves , put on their big ‘boy’ pants.
And there’s the continued vigilance needed, always voting, paying attention to who and how those elected represent us.
This election is a critical point ..we here ALL know that..because if we neglect it …it will take far more years to correct than I have and likely my children too.
Thanks Linda I’ll write Kamala AND Tim tonight.
💙💙VOTING BLUE WITH YOU LETS STOP THIS COUP💙💙
Patricia, you might like this film I watched last night. This is a family from Belgium who bought an abandoned farm in France, and started developing it as their home and farm. It is in English. https://youtu.be/kMXBQ6DtO4o?si=W1NARVHJuX7gSb5m
I’ll make one more point hopefully…not everyone needs to farm. EVERYONE can produce. EVERYONE ,with a few exceptions ,can contribute ,in their own gifted way , to the whole.
Thank you!!
https://acretrader.com/learn/farmland-investing/who-owns-farmland
Are these data accurate or am I getting them wrong?
Just seeing this Ned. It’s a technical answer - % stuff is data upon data compiled and usually outdated by the time it’s printed . So in general I’d not say inaccurate but far more complicated than any article could present. While shareholders, as it states know it’s high risk the farmers ..actual hands on deck know ..sometimes you win and sometimes you loose and you work twice as hard on the losing years! I’ve heard the stories of farming 10K acres during a drought just as many tears shed as those farming 200 acres . Insuring crops is out of reach for many . And insurance company tend to pay shareholders a lot more than the farm does.
It’s in yer blood or not. And from the mass losses over the last 100/70 years of farmland the kids ( including my own) went to the tech world or sold out .
To grow your own , share, and maybe enough to partner with the local farmers market is , can be done. The larger farms need immigrants to work it (and they are amazing) . And, corporate management, the waste/practices are often not best . There’s definite room for small farms , growing up not acreage ( as in vertical farming) for most crops, and composting techniques for managing our waste better/safely.
Few farmers are rich…very few.
My tuition check is in the mail. 😉🤝😊
I should travel through farm country and learn a thing or two. I have known a few offspring "come to the city" from farming families. I like them. They tend to be intellectually more self-reliant than the city mice like me.
Excellent point, all the more so against a background of climate change, ecological disaster and the great corporate contribution to long-term desertification. Exhaust the soil, then move on...
Yes... That is why the Dark Siths want to Move-2-Mars...
Corporate greed is responsible for current US prices, not inflation. Harris calls it out, but people won't get it without further explanation and constant repetition. The US's inflation rate is lower than all of Europe, but our prices are lower because corporations aren't economic terrorists here (Portugal).
I agree. I think people just care that stuff costs more and it's easy to blame the incumbent and not look more deeply.
Prices and tariffs need to be explained. That is true in Germany too of things like food, which is also inflated right now. I read an article on price fixing with grocery stores worse in Austria than Germany, but there is some attempt to control these algorithms.
YES Linda W, someone needs to explain tariffs to our former president who STILL doesn't seem to understand who actually pays the increased price arising from a tariff! Kinda like how he imagined Mexico would pay for his absurd wall.
Great point that could have been a subtle pin prick in the debate if applied at just the right moment.
The importer pays the tariff, which is then added to the consumer price. I want to know where the tariff money goes, after the importer pays it. Does it go somewhere in the U.S. Treasury? Gosh, if it does, then as Trump implies, it can cover the cost of the tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations. What a clever way to get consumers to subsidize benefits to the wealthy, meanwhile paying federal, state, and local taxes as usual.
John, I think we should make a list of all the absurd things that Trump thinks, has thought (ie Haitians eating cats and dogs in Ohio), and send it to The Lincoln Project and the Harris campaign so they can use it to troll him. I love the Mexican wall one. So true! How about he thought Kamala can only be Indian or Black, but not both.
Another Trump-doesnt-know-what-he’s-talking-about list?
The incompetency list is amazing!
Ned, quite the truism. Keeping an economy afloat is much easier than raising a sunken ship. Inflation is indeed a small price to pay. The average American only sees the inflation part, not the “saving of the ship”
And they are skewered on the economy. No good deed goes unpunished.
That inflation was global. Interesting that American politicians studiously avoid that fact. I guess because it somehow makes them seem weak, or a cop out. US is top economic performer now mainly likely because of all the stimulus spending working its way through the economy. Otherwise, politicians generally overclaim responsibility for economic performance, either blaming or taking credit. A bit of smoke and mirrors I would say. When I read the business news, how often do you think this kind of attribution comes up? Almost zilch.
A lot of economists agree that manufacturing and supply chain disruptions were the biggest factors in inflation. (Fewer goods available when there is new money in the economy means higher prices for goods). And don’t gorget the scarcity in the service economy. It was a lot harder to see lawyers, accountants, dentists, doctors, designers, architects, and mechanics during Covid. A lot of these folks raised their prices/fees, and those higher prices never came back down.
Most manufacturers reduced their product lines, and most have not re-expanded them. You can see this most easily in the grocery store.
What we all learned in high school is that a mix of fewer goods and services in the economy, combined with an increase in the money supply, yields inflation. Inflation comes down slowly as either demand slackens or one of those factors change.
But high prices on the other hand come down chiefly because of increased competition. We have unfortunately blunted that tool over the past 30 years by allowing far too much consolidation in the economy.
Amen to that!
Since I live in both the US and the EU, Germany to be specific, I can attest to the commonality of economic problems.
I agree about averting another Great Depression! Do not forget the supply chain problems. And corporate price gouging. The stimulus checks as the sole cause, or even the main cause of inflation, is a Republican talking point. Inflation was a worldwide condition which did not originate with stimulus checks in the U.S.
How about supply interruption, blaming those checks was easy but there is something called supply and demand.
Frank Loomer has a really insightful comment on what you are saying; please scroll up. On the money supply: Maco-Econ. 102: too many dollars chasing too few goods.
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/M2SL#:~:text=Download,2024%2012:02%20PM%20CDT
Unfortunately Trump gets credit for the checks he made sure to put his name on and Biden gets none, but he takes the hit for all of the inflation.
The Tragedy of this, is if you listen to Mary Trump, DJT has always been a Cowardly Bully from Early Childhood... Internally, DJT never developed from there... DJT met more than his Match in Kamala... A Professional Prosecutor... Being a Mediocre Person, DJT builds an Empire of Delusions within himself, and Projects that to his Minions... DJT is a Delusional Person who believes in his own Delusions... His Followers have become Cultists...
Heather said on a podcast that "Trump doesn't get America. He doesn't understand what America is all about." I think that nails it and perfectly expresses the MAGA mindset. For me, that was an aha moment of clarifying who Trump and the magats are. This nugget of reality should be highlighted by the Harris Walz campaign--and all state and local Democratic campaigns. And amplified on social media!! :)
Does America remember what America is all about. All my life I was proud that people from all over came and made a country out of so many complexities. It took decades, even centuries but we turned into Americans. When chump says to save our America, he is spouting crap, like the “make America Great Again” slogan. Just jingoism, spewed by a carnival barker. Sad that so many fell for the pap. Who said there is a sucker born every minute. The purveyor of the freak shows. And that’s what the chump rallies are…
Agreed. DJT, aided and abetted by the press, has succeeded in untethering his magat followers from reality. We have a lot of work to connect them to reality and American values again.
So much bull Schitt to shovel
But, Trump does get a certain part of America, the part that he is well able to manipulate. That is the grievance crowd, upset because things are changing in the USA, as we reach a more pluralistic society that is a goal of democracy. According to this essay, they are getting what they want from him, which is from a Reader comment by Robert Ritchie in Joyce Vance’s Substack on Sept 9, 2024
The Cult of Opposition: Understanding the Psychology Behind Trump’s Supporters
In modern political discourse, the relationship between leaders and their supporters often reflects a symbiotic exchange—one of mutual benefit. Typically, a leader provides tangible improvements to the supporters’ lives, who in turn offer their allegiance. However, Donald Trump's presidency introduced a paradigm shift that baffled many analysts. A significant portion of Trump’s base does not measure his success by what he does *for* them, but rather by what he does against those they consider adversaries. This phenomenon raises a critical question: why do Trump's supporters define his success not by policy achievements or personal benefit but by his ability to antagonize perceived enemies? In this research paper, we explore the psychology, sociocultural factors, and communication strategies behind this phenomenon, offering a deep dive into the mechanisms that sustain this unwavering loyalty.
The Psychology of "Othering"
At the heart of this dynamic lies a fundamental psychological concept known as *othering.* Othering refers to the process of creating a division between "us" and "them," where "them" are people deemed different or antagonistic to one's own group. Social identity theory posits that individuals derive part of their self-worth from their membership in groups (Tajfel & Turner, 1979). When Trump attacks certain groups—be they immigrants, Democrats, or marginalized communities—his supporters feel that their in-group (conservative, predominantly white Americans) is being validated. The "other," typically those outside their cultural or political bubble, becomes a target of scorn and aggression. By constantly positioning himself against these groups, Trump reassures his supporters that they are on the winning side of a cultural war.
This is where the success metrics diverge from typical political calculations. Success, in the eyes of Trump's supporters, is not rooted in economic growth or policy achievements, but in the symbolic victories won over those they disdain. Trump’s antagonistic rhetoric serves as a rallying cry for a base that measures success by how effectively he torments the "other."
Fear as a Unifying Emotion
The divisiveness Trump exploits is not built solely on disdain for others but on deep-rooted fear. Research has shown that political conservatism often correlates with heightened fear responses (Hibbing, Smith, & Alford, 2014). These fears manifest in concerns over demographic changes, perceived threats to cultural identity, and economic anxiety—particularly in the wake of globalization and immigration. For Trump’s base, he offers not only validation of their fears but also an outlet for their anxiety: the vilification of outsiders.
By acting against these outsiders—whether through harsh immigration policies, vilification of the media, or incendiary tweets targeting "leftist elites"—Trump provides a sense of catharsis to his supporters. It’s not about building bridges or creating new opportunities; it’s about protecting their identity and keeping perceived threats at bay. In their minds, Trump’s success is defined by his defense of the status quo against forces of change.
The Appeal of a Strongman
This dynamic is exacerbated by the allure of authoritarian leadership, often characterized by a leader who promises protection and order while silencing dissent. Trump's rhetoric—filled with hyperbole, aggressive language, and dismissive attitudes toward political correctness—resonates deeply with those who feel disempowered by societal changes. Studies have shown that authoritarian personalities are drawn to leaders who project strength and offer simple, binary solutions to complex problems (Feldman, 2003). Trump’s combative style against the "other" fits neatly into this framework.
In this context, Trump is seen as the protector, someone who will go to any length to defend his supporters from external threats. His aggressive behavior—though often condemned by critics—is perceived by his base as a strength. In their eyes, his relentless attacks on groups like the media, the "deep state," or racial minorities are evidence of his success as a leader willing to do whatever it takes to secure their safety and identity.
The Role of Media and Propaganda
An essential factor in maintaining this dynamic is the role of right-wing media in amplifying Trump’s actions *against* others while downplaying or ignoring any lack of substantive achievements. Fox News, Breitbart, and other conservative outlets often frame Trump’s attacks on immigrants, liberals, and the media as necessary battles in a larger cultural war. Through selective reporting, these outlets reinforce the idea that Trump’s presidency is less about improving the lives of his supporters through policy and more about the symbolic victories he achieves through opposition to their perceived enemies.
Trump himself understood the power of media manipulation, often stoking controversy to keep his name in the headlines. As noted by philosopher Hannah Arendt, in authoritarian regimes, propaganda serves to simplify the world into friend versus foe (Arendt, 1951). By keeping the public focused on his skirmishes against the "other," Trump ensured that his base remained engaged and energized, even when his policies provided little material benefit to their lives.
The Social Contract of Aggrievement
This relationship between Trump and his supporters can be understood as a kind of *social contract of aggrievement.* While traditional politicians offer economic benefits, infrastructure improvements, or social programs, Trump offers emotional validation. His base, particularly those who feel marginalized by economic shifts or demographic changes, finds solace in his outward displays of aggression. His ability to provoke outrage in the "other" reassures them that they are still relevant in a world they fear is changing too fast.
Interestingly, this contract does not require Trump to follow through on traditional metrics of success like job creation or healthcare reform. His supporters are not primarily concerned with how he improves their lives directly. Instead, they focus on how he reinforces their worldview—one where they are under constant attack and where Trump is their defender. This emotional satisfaction creates a loyalty that transcends policy, rooted instead in the shared sense of grievance and resentment.
Conclusion: A Loyalty That Transcends
In understanding Trump’s success, it is critical to recognize the unique metrics by which his supporters measure his achievements. His base does not primarily seek economic relief or policy victories; they seek validation of their fears and grievances. By acting *against* the "other," Trump provides emotional and psychological sustenance that traditional political figures often fail to deliver. His success, therefore, lies in his ability to symbolize and enact opposition rather than constructively improve the lives of his supporters. As long as Trump continues to antagonize those perceived as threats, his base will remain loyal, even in the absence of tangible benefits.
In the end, the tormenting of the "others" does more than sustain them—it defines them.
A lot of the Predatory Social Structure was established by European Second Sons that Immigrated seeking their Fortunes... DJT is literally a 'Second Son', who from Early Childhood Craves Attention....
I thought it was interesting the way she responded to him - more like a therapist than a debater. "Tell me what you think about that. . . uh-huh. . . and how does that make you feel?"
And it all came pouring out. . .she didn't have to argue with him, she just led him on to vomit on his own shiny cuban heels. . .
This is so true. We can’t waste time asking ourselves “why does he lie”. It’s simple, he is delusional, he really does believe his own lies.
If you read Timothy Snyder's book The Road to Unfreedom you will see that the lying is a conscious premeditated strategy, coupled with other specific strategies, to confuse and manipulate people and disassociate them from reality so that they rely on loyalty instead of reason. It's a deeply disturbing and important book and explains the phenomenon of schizo fascism being promulgated by Putin.
I think Trumps lies because it's a lifelong stately, and he was born rich enough to get away with it. Republicans dusted off Joe McCarthy's strategy with Nixon and Reagan, it worked so well they now back Trump. Relying on loyalty instead of reason qualifies the modern GOP as a cult, but while some cult leaders by believe the tripe they peddle, others are deliberate manipulators. The latter built fascism.
“EAT LESS KITTENS,” the billboards say. “Vote Republican!”
Arizona’s Republican Party announced Tuesday that it had designed about a dozen of the billboards in the Phoenix area in response to false claims shared by some top Republicans that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, were eating Americans’ pets. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, who plans to visit Arizona on Thursday, amplified those claims at an ABC News debate on Tuesday, despite police telling local news outlets that there was no evidence of anyone eating pets. " https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/arizona-gop-billboards-implore-voters-to-eat-less-kittens/ar-AA1qqe4d
This crap has real, breathing victims, and could get someone killed. Thats fine with the "GOP".
And it's time for Democrats to reach out to the Haitian community as real, breathing people, and ask (rhetorically) if at long last, Republicans have NO decency. Maybe make a billboard of it.
I also read this in Prof. Ruth Ben Ghiat, another historian who is an expert on fascism's book Strongmen. I read the European version. It was written during Trump's term in office and he is included in as a fascist. I think I was not fully cognizant of everything he was doing, but this book helped me to understand his techniques, which I saw on display in the debate, even to intelligent, reasonable people he seemed off his game. What he did that fits fascist strategies, which has nothing to do with debating and everything to do with getting his message out there, is he repeated some ideas which are cues to his audience. He repeated that immigrants are overrunning the country and doing scary things--which is a consistent theme, he repeated that abortion is happening after babies are born--which is a consistent theme, and he repeated that crime is up--which is a consistent theme, and he repeated that she was militarily weak--which is a consistent theme, and he repeated that there are transgendered surgeries happening in schools--which is a consistent theme. If people can believe the lies and specious claims of Q-Anon, they will believe anything he tells them. Remember a caravan of trucks went to the border to stop the millions coming over illegally and saw absolutely no one, and ended up picking a fight with locals. I just think as a fascist, he repeats tropes, a playbook that Goebbels and Hitler used because no matter what is said, people start believing things if they hear them often enough. A lot of his audience is primed to believe him too.
Concise truth.
Trump will be facing a pile of personal accountability if he fails to become der fuhrer, I doubt that even Team $COTUS can fix it for him.
SCOTUS has mud on their face after what appears to be Leonard Leo's "purchase" of Justice Thomas's tie-breaking vote in favor of Citizens United.
They recognize no mud, it’s just fancy make up, like chump
Do they spray it on him in the morning? You can sometimes see the marks of googles.
He looks like a clown, and is one. Costs a mint I’m sure
Yes but it’s extremely expensive, luxury brand, facial clay. We need enough of an electoral sweep to have a working majority in Congress for many reasons. Court reform is near the top, to prevent them from blocking all the rest.
I suspect that the public were billed at least a hundred thousand dollars for his for cans of Trump® Brand "Presidential Orange".
Rest assured they will try. Unless, of course, he becomes irrelevant
“Trump is absurdly, pathetically, desperately "running [to stay out] from prison,"….”
Agreed..the margin of effort rather than error. It is some consolation to hear rumblings of discontent within the Republican party. The down ballot swing state republican candidates must be wearing their shoes on the other foot than after the June debate when they were gleefully prancing around so sure footed.
It's interesting that the June 27 debate with Biden made the race do a 180, and the September 10 debate with Harris made the race do another 180.
I hope Trump enjoyed his 75 days on top.
Be very careful with your wording here. BEFORE the June 27 debate, we were heading for a Democratic electoral disaster. A 180 followed by another 180 puts you back on your original course. I hope that isn't what you meant.
Good point. To clarify, (hopefully,) any rising enthusiasm (if any) for Biden took a nosedive on Jun 27.
Any rising enthusiasm for Trump since then took a nosedive on Sept 10.
Math was never my strong suit.
David, my brother from another mother!!
Ally! My sister from another Mister!
(I'm also not good at clever repertoire. )
A topic for another time, but one of the deepest of American problems is the degree to which a polished TV presentation as more bearing on a candidates fate than wisdom and record. We really saw that come to fruition with Carter VS Reagan. I wonder how Lincoln reborn would do in current circumstances. Two minutes to present a long-chain thought looks more like "Speedating" than a job interview.
TV is also why Sen. Hollings said years ago that due to the cost of campaigning: " So we go over to the building and call for money and obviously we only can give attention to that. We don't have time for each other. We don't have time for constituents, except for the givers. Somebody ought to tell the truth about that."
It's a big part of the billionaires' edge.
I agree, and want to hear someone reporting on the Electoral college and how things stand, because we know Trump is not trying to win the popular vote, just get his voters out, by keeping them inflamed at immigrants and losing power and White privilege.
Well, Harris did call him out during the debate for ordering Republicans not to vote for the immigration bill which would addressed a lot of our problems at the border. She needs to do it more often.
and now Trump wants to shut down the government and not extend funding -- she should spell out what that means to everyday Americans.
Fortunately it appears Mike Johnson despite being a fascist Republican is definitely enjoying his term as Speaker and may not be thrilled to give it up if the GOP loses the House. It looks like he may not allow the government to shut down, at least not before the election. And by that time it may be too late.
Repetition is part of learning, whether mapping reality or incorporating utter crap.
MSNBC does a good job on this periodically, even breaking out red and blue counties in swing states with Steve Kornaki.
"Master Race".
I am heartened by the Taylor Swift endorsement that led to more than 330,000 new voters registering. These are likely young people who often sit out elections. It's us old folks who are reliable voters. So, as long as these newly registered voters who are Swifties actually get to the polls vote, I have hope. Plus, just read that Liz Cheney will actually be campaigning in person for Harris. Cheney is clearly keeping her promise to work to stop Trump. Few know better than Cheney, who he really is.
Laurie, I agree. We can’t make any assumptions that we have won the race!
Bill Luntz, whom Heather cited, said that he thought the debate would sink Trump in the overall popular vote, but thought with the swing states being statistically tied, even if Kamala got a 4% overall advantage, that is still within the margin of error, and Trump could win, a repeat more or less of 2016.
So true. The 2016 election was decided by less than 250,000 votes out of 135 million, all in the six swing states that went for Trump. Mostly those same votes swung the other way in 2020. Even if harris picks up many more popular votes, if most of those votes come in places like California, New York and even Texas (yes because even picking up a million votes in Texas won't help her WIN Texas!), she could still EASILY lose the electoral votes in the swing states by a whisker and thus lose the election. We need to win Michigan, Wisconsin and above all Pennsylvania to guarantee a victory by a razor thin electoral majority. Of course winning Arizona and Georgia would be great but without Pennsylvania, it may not be enough.
LaurieOregon - "And there are thousands of potential voters who like his lies and like that he lies and then lies about his lies."
In recent days, journalists have scrutinized the accuracy of Trump's statements during the debate, proving them lies. However, such falsehoods have not seemed to harm him; on the contrary, they appear to have been advantageous. These untruths bolster his authority by compelling subordinates to concur that reality is whatever the person in power declares it to be.
Supporters are faced with a choice: to compromise their integrity or their grasp on reality. Once they consent to a deliberate falsehood, it becomes increasingly difficult to dispute subsequent lies, as doing so would require admitting to previous instances of acquiescence.
[Gift Link]
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/11/podcasts/transcript-ezra-klein-harris-trump-debate-reaction.html?unlocked_article_code=1.KE4.OEYF.ic4YJzFlwgFN&smid=url-share
We also have to be vigilant about Republican efforts to deligitimize the election results.
I sincerely doubt this.
It is cognitively almost impossible for someone to like what VP Harris said so much that they know she won the debate and then turn around and vote for trump. It is akin to really liking chocolate ice cream and then order dirt to eat. This is a meme type of thinking cooked up by the trump folks.
No, your "it is cognitively almost impossible" statement is the kind of head in the sand thinking that caused people to wake up on November 8 2016 and go "WTF happened???" Those people absolutely exist and they will still vote for Trump, many of them. Complacency is the enemy of victory. It has happened before and WILL happen again if we allow this kind of thinking to put down our guard.
You may "sincerely doubt it" but it can (and has) happened before. Don't think it can't happen again.
Instead of pondering our impressions and worst scenario thinking we follow people like this:
"After tonight’s debate there should be no doubt – no room for discussion – Kamala Harris is the only candidate in this race who is ready to be President.
I am once again urging everyone to roll up their sleeves and DO SOMETHING – phone bank, knock on doors, talk to any and everyone you know and urge them to vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. Every vote will matter in what will be a close race. We cannot afford to have anyone sitting on the sidelines. There’s simply too much at stake.
Get involved today at go.KamalaHarris.com."
Michelle Obama
"My impression is that a lot of political experts and other commenters are conflating winning a debate with winning an election. People might agree that Harris won the debate, but they still might vote for Trump."
"My impression" and "People might " This is head in the sand thinking Sir.
It is smart politics to take the win when it comes along and build on that momentum.
I invite you to consider one of the leading political strategists in the Country, Simon Rosenberg. He is long on data and short on impressions. This is where I get my head in the sand thinking from:
"As I wrote yesterday I think we entered the debate in a far stronger electoral position than Republicans. We got a remarkable amount of very good polling yesterday. The VP strengthened her already strong hand last night, and more than ever before, I would much rather be us than them.
Kamala Harris had a plan last night and she executed on it. She had a job to do and she did it. She succeeded because she was clearly incredibly well prepared, and in that clear evidence of her preparation she also signaled to us that she was prepared to take on her next big job, as the 47th President of the United States of America.
Friends, sometimes things are complicated in politics. Sometimes they are simple. What happened last night was simple - she kicked his ass, and in the process generated powerful moments which will continue to give voters important information about her and him for many days and weeks to come. It was another remarkable moment in what has been one of the most remarkable and impressive political campaigns in our lifetimes."
Simon Rosenberg
Funny you should quote Rosenberg LOL. He is hardly an independent source of critique (but I expect you already know this). its interesting to that you quote his comment about the "great polling data" we've taken in while so many others on here are claiming how FALSE all the poling data is. ROFLMAO I tend to take neither side, I look at the polling data independently and draw my. Own conclusions.
Rosenberg is also a very biased source favoring Silicon Valley capitalist Democrats over more progressive Democrats (at least he gets the Democrat part right).
Rosenberg said in 1999, "Our problem as a party is that the biggest source of our venture capital now comes from labor, which is a group that's becoming less and less important, and representing less and less of a percentage of American voters. [...] We have to replace labor's investment in the party with investment from another source, and hopefully from a source that's growing." I.e. he favored the growing dominance of the Bill Clinton neolib wing of the party (which got us Bush II and Trump I.)
You are welcome to consider him a source to quote but it doesn't make my positions false or wrong. Even he apparently had realized some of the "errors" of his earlier positions, as he recently closed the NDN (New Democratic Network) which is now considered passe.
Scrolling forward 25 years here is a look at what Simon Rosenberg is doing these days. This is from his Substack site Hopium. There are a lot of solid activist opportunities.
Hard Work Is Good Work. And We Are Going TO Win! - Our community has been busting it’s ass on elections all across the country since I launched Hopium in March of last year, but our most important work is the work we are going to do now in these final two months. This section spells out my recommendations on where you can put your time and money, and of course you are free to volunteer and donate beyond what we are doing here. We are still a start up here at Hopium, and while we are now more than 110,000 proud patriots, I want to remain narrow and focused on the places where I think your money and time can make the biggest difference. That’s why we’ve focused on non-incumbent open seat and challengers races and the Presidential race of course.
I am particularly excited about new Thursday night calling and postcarding events for the House candidates most likely to turn red seats to blue ones and flip the House this November. We’ve had a great turnout, we get a lot of work done and have lots of fun. Join us! It’s where the cool kids spend their Thursday nights!!!!!!
In the coming days, as we get in more data about our new electoral landscape, I will be updating my recommendations. For background, here’s my post on the strategy behind our candidate and state party endorsements, including our Presidential battleground “check” and “checkmate” strategy. Sign up to call or postcard for Mondaire Jones (NY-17) at tonight’s Winning The House Thursday. These events have been well-attended and fun - join us if you can!
Contribute, volunteer and win with the Hopium community today:
Harris-Walz!!!!!! - 1,045,000 raised, $1m goal - Donate | Volunteer | Merch | The Harris-Walz YouTube Channel - Friends, we are now over $1m raised for Harris-Walz, our House candidates and our three “checkmate” states - so amazing all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Winning The House - $1,037,000 raised, $1.5m goal - Donate | Volunteer | Learn More | Sign Up For Our Thursday Night Winning The House Calling and Postcarding Series. Watch our recent discussion with Leader Hakeem Jeffries. To go deeper watch one of our interviews with our great candidates - Janelle Bynum (OR-5), George Whitesides (CA-27), Kirsten Engel (AZ-06) Will Rollins (CA-41), Laura Gillen (NY-04), Rudy Salas (CA-22), Josh Riley (NY-19), Tony Vargas (NE-02), Adam Gray (CA-13), Sue Altman (NJ-07) and Mondaire Jones (NY-17).
North Carolina - $452,000 raised, $500,000 goal - Donate | Volunteer | Learn More | Be sure to watch my interview with NC Dem Chair Anderson Clayton
Arizona/Ruben Gallego - $354,000 raised, $400,000 goal - Donate | Volunteer | Learn More | Be sure to watch my interview with Ruben Gallego
Nebraska/Blue Dot - $165,000 raised, $200,000 goal- Donate | Volunteer | Learn More | Be sure to watch my interview with NE Dem Chair Jane Kleeb - and note for those who are focused on the Nebraska Senate race money into the NE Dem Party supports that race too. for elections listed.
Hard Work Is Good Work. And We Are Going TO Win! - Our community has been busting it’s ass on elections all across the country since I launched Hopium in March of last year, but our most important work is the work we are going to do now in these final two months. This section spells out my recommendations on where you can put your time and money, and of course you are free to volunteer and donate beyond what we are doing here. We are still a start up here at Hopium, and while we are now more than 110,000 proud patriots, I want to remain narrow and focused on the places where I think your money and time can make the biggest difference. That’s why we’ve focused on non-incumbent open seat and challengers races and the Presidential race of course.
I am particularly excited about new Thursday night calling and postcarding events for the House candidates most likely to turn red seats to blue ones and flip the House this November. We’ve had a great turnout, we get a lot of work done and have lots of fun. Join us! It’s where the cool kids spend their Thursday nights!!!!!!
In the coming days, as we get in more data about our new electoral landscape, I will be updating my recommendations. For background, here’s my post on the strategy behind our candidate and state party endorsements, including our Presidential battleground “check” and “checkmate” strategy. Sign up to call or postcard for Mondaire Jones (NY-17) at tonight’s Winning The House Thursday. These events have been well-attended and fun - join us if you can!
Contribute, volunteer and win with the Hopium community today:
Harris-Walz!!!!!! - 1,045,000 raised, $1m goal - Donate | Volunteer | Merch | The Harris-Walz YouTube Channel - Friends, we are now over $1m raised for Harris-Walz, our House candidates and our three “checkmate” states - so amazing all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Winning The House - $1,037,000 raised, $1.5m goal - Donate | Volunteer | Learn More | Sign Up For Our Thursday Night Winning The House Calling and Postcarding Series. Watch our recent discussion with Leader Hakeem Jeffries. To go deeper watch one of our interviews with our great candidates - Janelle Bynum (OR-5), George Whitesides (CA-27), Kirsten Engel (AZ-06) Will Rollins (CA-41), Laura Gillen (NY-04), Rudy Salas (CA-22), Josh Riley (NY-19), Tony Vargas (NE-02), Adam Gray (CA-13), Sue Altman (NJ-07) and Mondaire Jones (NY-17).
North Carolina - $452,000 raised, $500,000 goal - Donate | Volunteer | Learn More | Be sure to watch my interview with NC Dem Chair Anderson Clayton
Arizona/Ruben Gallego - $354,000 raised, $400,000 goal - Donate | Volunteer | Learn More | Be sure to watch my interview with Ruben Gallego
Nebraska/Blue Dot - $165,000 raised, $200,000 goal- Donate | Volunteer | Learn More | Be sure to watch my interview with NE Dem Chair Jane Kleeb - and note for those who are focused on the Nebraska Senate race money into the NE Dem Party supports that race too.
All good points! I would add that his ONLY hope of getting out of his bad situation is to give up this political bent and get back to what he was better at doing: Cheating others out of their money faster than you can spend it. Good luck, donald!
Took the ‘pathetic ‘word right out of my mouth Laurie. Nothing else needs said.
As a life-long democratic ticket voter, who has soured on the Dems due to their wholesale abandoning of their former values, I would like to point out that Vice President Harris told as many lies as Trump did during the debate, but was not fact-checked by the moderators the way he was. I will vote for Trump because he has embraced the policies of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and will give RFK a platform from which to do his work of cleaning up the corruption in our government, ending the foreign wars and addressing the chronic disease epidemic in our country that is bankrupting us and disabling our children at an alarming rate. These are the values that Democrats used to have before they joined up with Big Pharma, Big Ag and the Military Industrial Complex, and started censoring anybody who said something they didn't like.
It the Republicans are gaslighting, telling lies and being nasty, we're not getting any better from the Democrats. Many of our worst impressions of Trump are based on lies and distortions. I urge you to read what Jenna McCarthy has to say about this.
https://jennasside.rocks/p/is-trump-as-bad-as-the-left-believes