Today, on the anniversary of the creation of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in 1914, the FTC and 17 state attorneys general sued Amazon for using “a set of interlocking anticompetitive and unfair strategies to maintain its monopoly power.” The FTC and the suing states say “Amazon’s actions allow it to stop rivals and sellers from lowering prices, degrade quality for shoppers, overcharge sellers, stifle innovation, and prevent rivals from fairly competing against Amazon.”
I loved Obama then and now, but I worried about how he would deal with the bullies, since he would have the need to protect his family. Biden’s kids are grown and on their own for better or worse, and Biden isn’t so focused on making a better world, as on saving the world we know and need to survive the next century. Biden knows the bullies better than they know themselves, which is why he is able to run rings around them.
It wasn’t just his family victimized by racist bullies. The back lash against unarmed black men by law enforcement has been horrifying. I can’t imagine anyone with a heart and mind as brilliant as former POTUS Obama not feeling the weight of that burden
and the gruesome cruelty of the murders at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, killing nine people including pastor and state senator Clementa Pinckney…
And yet, the Repugs are bullying Hunter. Not that he hasn't earned the DOJ investigations, but Repugs are pushing beyond all justice in hopes of hurting President Biden.
I don't think it's working. There just isn't any evidence of Joe as being connected with any of Hunter's business dealing gs. Of Course, lack of evidence doesn't stop MAGAts.
My husbands next op-ed in the Summit (CO) Daily News:
"Big-game hunting season in Summit County has begun and will end sometime in October, depending upon the type of animal hunted and the weapon utilized. In this regard, the literate elk, deer, moose and bear are put on notice as to when the time to lay low and avoid the humans falls on the calendar.
Those in Washington D.C. do not have the luxury of a calendared big-game hunting season, as it occurs all year long, every minute of every day. And no one in the swamps of D.C. is being hunted more than a man named Hunter. Why is Hunter being hunted? Well, for several reasons, including pending criminal charges related to gun and tax issues.
Hunter is a lawyer and an elite one at that (he went to Yale Law School; can’t get more Ivy-league snobby than a Yale Law School softball team stocked with alumni like Bill and Hillary Clinton, current Supreme Court Justices Thomas, Alito, Kavanaugh, and Sotomayer, and our very own Senator Bennet. And based upon a unanimous vote, Senator Josh “run from the riot after raising a fist in protest” Hawley will not be invited even though he technically qualifies as a
graduate).
Hunter is also a drug addict and like many drug addicts did some very bad things while under the influence of various chemicals. He didn’t even last one day as a member of the U.S. Navy reserves before testing positive to cocaine and being discharged. He managed to stay married for 24 years even though his relationships to drugs, prostitutes and exotic dancers deprived the family of money to pay legitimate household expenses. Before his divorce was finalized, he was involved in a two-year relationship with his brother’s widow. To say that Hunter had and continues to have some serious demons, legal and otherwise, would be an understatement. Yet, relationships and payoffs to sex workers, while a political liability as recently as the twentieth century, is now considered a rite of passage, at least to some major-party candidates. You simply brag and move on.
Hunter is also good at making money. He managed to land prestigious positions at a major bank and seats on the boards of two foreign companies (in China and Ukraine, adding to the intrigue). Coincidentally (of course, this is Washington remember), his father happened to be a very high-ranking elected U.S. official who received large campaign donations from the major bank where his son was hired. The family made sure that they never discussed business with each other so as to afford no possibility of any ethics or other corruption charges. Maybe they didn’t. At a minimum it must have made for some very quiet family dinners.
However, Hunter is not being hunted because he made money off of shady business deals, as thankfully for the elite success is often measured by how shady and lucrative the deal can be, yet still be legal. To date, there is no evidence of any undisclosed payments to his family, including Dad. And if making money off of shady business deals becomes a crime, especially for friends and family of those at the top of the political food chain, I would start to run if my name was Jared, Eric or Junior.
Hunter is also being charged with crimes in two separate Federal criminal cases. The first case involves three counts relating to gun charges (two counts where he allegedly lied on an application to purchase a Colt revolver and one count of possession of said revolver by a drug addict). He has plead not guilty and is being vocally supported by nearly all Republican members of Congress in his opposition to these likely unconstitutional gun laws. Or not. Even though there is no prohibition in the Second Amendment to a drug addict owning a revolver and also no application form required for which there could be any lie, not a single Republican is supporting Hunter. Even though Hunter and Justice Thomas, who wrote the recent majority
opinion requiring courts to look back to the time of the passage of the amendment in rendering decisions concerning the constitutionality of firearm restrictions, are on the same page, no one else on the right seems to be. Why not?
Hunter is also being charged with not filing his income tax returns and/or not paying his income taxes due on time. Imagine that- a drug addict decides to spend his money on drugs and sex workers instead of paying his income tax obligations. Who would have thought? He has managed to pay all his taxes, with penalties and interest, albeit late. Again, no Republican support in Congress even though their current political leader has said that not paying taxes “makes me smart.” Why are no Republicans standing up and declaring this to be another “witch hunt,” as there is no way the Department of Justice prosecutes a drug addict for a misdemeanor tax offense unless he is being singled out.
So, who is really hunting Hunter and why? The Democrats are keeping mum, even though many would likely hope that Hunter and Dad ride off into the sunset, never to be heard from again. It must therefore be the Republicans, now hoping to hold the country to a high moral standard. No more jobs because of who you know. No more shady business deals. The laws now apply to everyone and just because you are rich and/or famous is no longer a loophole. If only this was the case. If only."
Excellent! I wonder what percentage of Republican (and, let’s be fair: Democrat) Senators and Representatives have never paid their taxes late - or, more likely, never cheated on their taxes and paid nothing. My guess? About none. And how many have lied on a gun application? Some. These are the same yahoos who want to abolish regulations- except for their opponents.
While I was an auditor I was surprised the people that came to the office with the state declared no penalty for paying back taxes owed. I thought everyone paid their taxes. LOL.
Dear Becky, although the editorial is a bit subtle for many Americans (substance abuse, including drugs, alcohol, and fattening foods), I’m glad to have read it, even though I would not like to lose Joe Biden at this juncture.
Hunter is a classic example of a life affected by tragedy. At the age of 3, his mother and younger sister were killed in a traffic accident (neither driver found to be at fault), his older brother suffered multiple broken bones and Hunter suffered a fractured skull and traumatic brain injury. As he grew up, his older brother, Beau, seemed to be the golden child who cast a long shadow over him. Hunter made numerous questionable decisions in his life, possibly a consequence of the brain injury when he was 3. This does not excuse him from the consequences of his actions -- not paying taxes, possessing a gun, whatever. But he should not be treated more harshly than others who commit the same acts because of who his father is.
Fran, I so agree. There are a lot of famous and influential people out there whose children have had drug/alcohol problems. I believe Gandhi had an alcoholic son. Wasn't there something someone once said about "He who is without sin, throw the first stone"?
Ah, yes. If only.... Ref. the widespread corruption, case in point: the Congressional insider trading. Large number of cases indicated or proven; well over a hundred recent cases, as I recall, and there seems to be roughly an even number of violators in both parties. Couple of feeble excuses to try and justify it--one from a democrat and one from a republican. How can young people--or anyone for that matter--believe Congress to be honorable if reps. and sens. pay lip service to the issue and then just keep on keepin' on? Some large fortunes have been made by congressmen involved in it.
Well done. I had a rather colorful brother-in-law who often used a phrase that I think would fit the Republicans to a tee just now: "They are as useful as tits on a bull." And there is sure a lot of bull out there.
Has Joe made any comment about the republicans on a witch hunt? He seems to me to be trying to stay above the fray with Hunter as well as the charges against trump. Now the republicans are claiming the DOJ is political when he, too, is trying to stay clear by assigning someone else to do the prosecuting. Isn't Hunter's people all republican appointed. These people are not happy unless they have not only the whole pie but it has to be the flavor they want.
President Biden was elected fairly by We the People and he is working for and fighting for We the People and democracy. He and Obama made a beautiful team and gave heart and hope to so many. Let's honor them both by beating MAGA by a landslide. I'm tired of being bullied. When President Biden got into office, I was waiting for him to pull a Ralphie (like Ralphie did in The Christmas Story). Now I realize it is up to all of us, everywhere, to become Ralphies and collectively rid ourselves of MAGA. No one leader can do it alone. We have to face this existential threat head-on. As President Biden put it so well, "The one word that sums up America is possibility."
So true. Yet the news reports (nearly constantly— even MSNBC just today) that “Biden is too old”, and that the Democrats should run a younger candidate. Folks seem to want some kind of star power to sweep them off their feet. Well, be careful what you wish for. A younger President is not necessarily a better President. If only the information of his accomplishments could be more widely known. By the way, every person in the so-called “Freedom Caucus” is “young”.
Yes, I wish the American people and the media could get past this ageist BS and recognize that they have a president who is well on his way to making life better for the people by respecting democratic principles and instituting economic fair play. Please let the man--and the team he has built around him--keep building this better future over the next 5 years. Vote blue!
And even his beautiful and whip smart Vp is starting to look more presidential now that she’s leading a task force on gun laws. She had a great inton PBS from her alma mater—the Morehouse college.
Liz Ayer, Nyc/MA -- Indeed VP Harris is whip smart! The interview on PBS News Hour with Geoff Bennett last night was really great! She shone/shined with such intelligence, grace and deep confidence -- the kind of confidence that doesn't have to prove anything to anyone. (I noticed that they stood up for the entire interview.)
I say "shone" is correct, because it's what I learned in primary school back in the sixties, but "shined" is preferred, because that's what the word would be if "to shine" were a regular verb. I approve of the new trend towards regular forms, but "shined" still looks wrong to me!
The other thing the media seems to be doing is itching for a fight within the Democrats, more drama, higher ratings. Split the party and see more anguish, more fundraising. On top of it all, the media tycoons and anti-democratic forces demoralizing the citizenry with all the stupidity of infighting and personal attacks. We the People must demand better, see through the despotic forces endangering our democracy, and rise up through the muck with our own backbones and our own Values emphasizing Freedom and Responsibility.
Right and Gavin Newsome with his Hollywood good looks seems poised to jump in after his debate on Fox with DeSantis. Americans have always been suckers for beauty and youth. If we don’t have Biden for 4 more years —we will all be the worser!
Gavin is an interesting potential, I’d like to hear more how he has managed Californias issues according to them...it’s a large and diverse population ( such as is our America) . Managing a diverse pop is #1 need for anyone of Presidential possibility.
Currently the people in greatest need are getting a promising boost , as Biden’s focus shores up the worst hit sector-the middle class.
The bargaining chips on my table are:
1) Uber-Rich -their taxes back to ‘fair’ . There’s no doubt they’ll have their puppets baulk .
2) Oversight committees need ‘buckle down basics’ ie no rich folks getting funds allocated for ....
3) Campaign finances need across the board cap
4) Lobbyist ...only one to represent anything.
5) Wall Street absolved...like did you just hear them scream !!🤣🤣🤣
6) Term Limits on:
a) subsidies
b) political positions
c) judgeships
7) CEO caps <10x their lowest paid employee..detecting another scream ?
The Blue Tsunami is gaining momentum, thanks for the work..so proud of this effort.
We ‘ll need to ramp up notch by notch , doubting the diabolical divisions different either.
Let’s welcome our youth vote and enthuse those so long ,often purposefully, neglected...that’s a strong audience to talk points- we need to hear from them..
a lot on our plate to accomplish , we.can.do.this.
One Newsome story concerns me…I live in NJ and know little about him. The story: As I understand it, he promoted a major water desalination project for LA. Ocean water would be desalinated, and wastewater, including sewage would be cleaned, too. The organics in the wastewater would have helped fuel the process, cutting costs significantly. The project died. Newsome couldn’t get it done.
I think one of the reasons for opposing the de-sal project is that the current methods dump the salt back into the ocean, which is a disaster for any coastal sea life. Now if they could figure out a way to get lithium out of the salt (and not put it in the ocean) then a desalinization plant would be an awesome solution to multiple problems!
Juanita Smith, I know that’s a concern, but analyses I’ve read indicate that is not the case when the wastes are properly dispersed. Israel, for example, recycles 96% of its wastewater and gets 80% of its drinking water from desalination (these figures are several years old). They disperse their distribution of salts and other contaminants and do ongoing testing of the related ecosystem. Consider the amount dispersed compared with the total regional volume: it’s tiny. Another concern is cost, but IMO, we should be paying the real cost for water, not a subsidized price.
Yes, environmental impact must be tested and monitored. I assume real, high-quality estimations could be made, but these things usually become politicized, and misinformation is then blasted fact.
Virginia Witmer, as I wrote, I haven’t closely followed this, but have to wonder, what were Californians not ready for? I suspect it was more about misinformation. California and the entire region are facing severe water shortages. The impact will be financial, too. What will happen to the economy when farmers don’t have enough water? How about real estate prices? And health: Water from depleted aquifers is more likely to be tainted with contaminants, like arsenic. Californians can pay now or pay later.
Patricia Davis, I think Juanita Smith is correct that concerns for desalination’s byproducts disposal would hurt the environment. I don’t know the details or history. However, it’s difficult to know what’s behind the banner messages. Could there have been an ulterior motive? But as you said, desalination is used all over the world, and newer methods cut costs a lot, like using the input water’s organic matter to help fuel the desalination process. Sometimes, we need to take risks to solve a crisis, and water access is becoming a crisis.
I read about him in the NYTIMES every morning— they follow the huge amount of politics going on around all at the same time in that very large state that’s still Blue!
He’ll be a contender soon I believe, have to keep a closer eye on him I reckon. Right now focus is on waking the sleepers up and getting our voters active .
Newsome is interesting. To his credit, he us committed to supporting Biden in 2024, but it sure looks to me like he's prepping for a run in 2028. I like the way he speaks up in interviews, whether friendly or hostile. He can be a big help to the Biden campaign. I do feel some concern over the size of his ego. I know it takes a healthy ego to run fir the Presidency, but too much can be limiting and destructive. He's git a spine though, and too many Dems don't seem to have much.
a Dems focus group (all women) recently chorused Biden was too old, but when asked to vote vs TOG, equally chorused,"Biden!" almost a shout. You're right on the ageism coverage. The questions need to be coupled. Compared to the ravings of TOG, Biden is clarion sane, clear and oh so with it.
If ONLY this would translate into poll results reflecting this, including if not especially handling the economy. I personally don't get it. Is there a broad populist conspiracy against the Dems which is baked in? Has the GOP been that good at brainwashing the general public?
The Foreword of HCR's new book explains the reason why pretty clearly. It is the big lie that propelled a joke of a politician into the Fascist Fuehrer in the 1930's and is at work now propelling a joke of a politician into a threat to the American Republic and to all of humanity. He has his "base" and they identify with his lies because it is easier to believe those lies than the truth. He must be defeated once and for all. Or, sorry Ben Franklin, we weren't able to "keep it" (the Republic).
The dark web is far more powerful than most of us can believe. Not only is it encouraging assassinations, but it also encourages suicides and general depression and disorganization.
Young, callow and stupid I’ll go with old and wise. Ageism is a real problem In our society. We are wasting social capital and knowledge. Our brains have been hijacked by X twitter and tik tok.
Nothing stops you from writing letters and to the editor protesting the unfair, illogical and just plain biased coverage of Joe Biden, especially compared to Trump. (Think about how a minor verbal stumble by the President is headline news, while Trump’s constant imbecilities are largely ignored.). Almost every day I post a comment in NYT pointing out the disparity in treatment. Eventually, if there are enough protests and comments, the editors of responsible outlets will change course.
I have written letters to the editor and responded in the comments section to these articles. However, nothing seems to stop them from this constant drumbeat!
Does anyone know how to communicate with news anchors? I sent a FB message to Alex Witt (MSNBC) out of sheer disgust at the attention to Biden's age and also just to see if it would garner a response. Nothing so far. How can we get through to them to tell them to stop it and focus on policies, programs, values, accomplishments?
I’ve tried looking on line but it seems impossible. Several weeks ago I wanted to draw attention to the abhorrent project2025, as it needs much more media coverage.
At the height of the pandemic, a bicycle shop owner told me, "what we have is what you want" , when I was looking for parts to upgrade my bike. Supply chains were severely limited then. He was right , by golly. The red seat and the wonky pedals worked out fine. I learned a lesson then regarding form and function, and how that interplay works in everyday life. The angel you know, versus the angel you don't know kind of thing with President Joe. People like to have something to complain about. Somehow, it gives them a sense of relevance and purpose. If Ol' Joe gives you the BLUES, dig it!
Jim, so correct. While we do have our trolls on this forum, there are intelligent, well meaning discussions where one of those in the debate is a fervent progressive. Nothing Biden does is "enough" and I think of an astute clip from "Beau of the Fifth Column" when he remarked that progress doesn't come in leaps and bounds, it's by slowly chipping away.
I've observed that sometimes, the progressive debater on the discussions here can be just as stubborn in their beliefs as a MAGA.
I agree. Why this hang up about his age? Do you want an intelligent, forward thinking, mature man, who’s been around the block, or a nut case, megalomaniac, who’s a few years younger. Biden has done & is doing a fantastic job. I didn’t even want him as my 1st choice. I’m very glad we got him. These media people have blinders on. They’re hung up on spin & glam. What are they, teenagers?!
I sent an email to the "Morning Joe" producers complaining about their unending whining about Joe's age (Biden not Morning). I asked them to compare the accomplishments of Trump's cabinet and Congress to Biden's.
I shudder to think how bad the Trump administration would have been had any of his cabinet actually tried to do something. Most of them did everything they could to tear down their departments.
And then look at how well the Dept. of Interior are led as well as many others. And many of the departments shed hundreds of veteran employees when Trump's people were heading the departments.
It seems the MSM runs on negativity. So, we are all well aware of the TfG negatives. In the interest of “fairness” it was imperative that something “negative” was found about President Biden. It’s a bit sick.
And isn’t it so much easier to parrot “polls” than to do some real investigative journalism re: the accomplishments of the administration. We are not well served.
Really? Looking at the polling, 60% of Democrats want to can Biden. Why? Because he
is a boat anchor. Inept, stupid, and a liability every direction you turn. If he isn't lying about his personal history, or tripping over his own feet, he is tap dancing around the family criminal enterprise. Sending a crack addict son to be the bag man isn't probably the smartest choice.
The ABC poll paints a terrible picture. 75% of respondents are unhappy with the economy. Unlike Biden's idiot staff who claimed inflation was "transitory", the current
economic picture isn't. Raising interest rates 500% over the last year is having the desired effect. Its choking the economy, slowing consumer spending, hurting corporate earnings, and slamming the brakes on lending.
We are likely to see a recession in Q4 2023 or Q1 2024. How bad it will be is open to question.
BTW 45% of the respondents said that they are worse off under Biden and that number will grow over the next 6 months. Those respondents favored Trump 81-29%.
So, No Americans don't want a younger or older President, they want a competent one.
They are tired of the effects of inflation, open borders, and wasted spending on needless wars.
These days Trump looks a whole better and the polling shows it.
If you truly want to live in the country Donald Trump would try to create if he were re-elected, you don't need to wait for 2024. You could move to a place which is already that country - say Russia, China, North Korea, or Hungary. Go for it!
You are delusional. Who do you think you are fooling?
There is a thing called history. Trump was president for 4 years. Leftists
pull this crap every time a Republican wins. They said the same thing about
Reagan, Bush, Bush Jr, and Trump. If the Nikki Haley were the nominee you would say the same thing. Its a cliche, and its stupid.
On the other hand, leftists hate free speech, individual choices, and LOVE big government.
Proof? Who wants to take away your gun? Censor your speech? Digitize the currency? Use the force of the FBI/CIA against its political rivals and citizens?
You've apparently failed to read Trump's plans for his next presidency. Or you have, and you approve. Either way, his and his myrmidons plans stand for themselves. I don't need to add a thing. I repeat my invitation.
You are delusional. Look at the latest ABC Poll- Trump 51% Biden 42%.
Even worse 75% of respondents are unhappy with the economy. 45% of respondents
say they are worse off and those voters favor Trump 81-29%.
60% of Democrats polled want to dump Biden.
You are delusional. Keep recycling your cliches! You obviously can't think your way out of a paper bag. This is de-rigueur for Leftist.
Just show you how stupid your claim is WHAT do the Chinese, Russians, and North Koreans have in common they ARE ALL LEFTISTS. They want government control of your speech, your money, your gun, and children. Just like the Biden administration.
James A--this is the last time I will engage with you. You are bordering on troll status here on the forum. I don't know how long you've been reading/commenting--fairly recently I believe, and I suspect that like others before you, you will disappear.
You are welcome to post whatever you want, but you chose a single outlier poll to support the beliefs you already held. You're barking up the wrong tree if you are trying to convert anyone here.
I suspect that you will indignantly attempt to refute me, generally it seems like calling everyone delusional is your best retort. (Which, trust me on this one, the majority here is laughing at you.) Any other readers who are indeed finding James A's fury amusing, I welcome you to comment. Then, everyone--don't feed him.
I'm far happier with somebody who "walks the walk" rather than "talks the talk." You can't eat soaring, inspiring rhetoric. I love Obama, but I will never ever vote for someone so naive and inexperienced as he was; by the time he figured out where the men's room was in the White House, his employees (Rahm Emanuel first and foremost) had FUBARed the situation "beyond all recognition."
Methinks Biden has had a meticulous approach to dealing with any issue. He knows where to hit the nail and commits himself with an openness and logicality that appeals to the concerned. He is open to ideas that serve everyone equally. He doesn't sugar-coat. Alongside this, Biden has religiously stick to his campaign promises of the Bottom-up, Middle out by funding small businesses, cutting off break-tax for big corporations and billionaires, curbing monopolistic tendencies which pose unfair competition, and protecting the rights of the workers. America is lucky to have him.
For sure we’re lucky to have Biden for our President— what he has is so many years of experience, he’s a decent and gracious man who rose from working class Scranton and he has Jill.
Yes, indeed. A really talented, well educated, experienced team that work from a place of intelligence, knowledge and international savvy. Adults with a 21st century world view.
From Blinken to Khan. Joe knows how to pick them. And he knows how to pick people who know how to pick people. That is a wise person's tool kit.
I agree TC! I am sooo pleased at what I’ve seen from Joe Biden. His agenda is exactly what America needs right now, and his nuanced approach is masterful. His occasional gaffes makes you wince, but look at the entire body of work and it’s exceptional.
Being Vice President to Obama afforded him the opportunity to observe the perils of timidity and avoid the potholes. He’s a better President for it!
"by the time he figured out where the men's room was in the White House, his employees (Rahm Emanuel first and foremost) had FUBARed the situation "beyond all recognition."
TC, that must be why 40 MILLION people now have insurance who previously did not? Yes? Because of Obama's naivete??
Let us all be honest. Obama had the audacity to run for President as a black man in a country where that is anathema. But, guess what? He did and he won TWICE.
40 MILLION people are now able to access the lousy American health care system for a lower cost. Yes, Obama care DID result in my own premiums being raised, which was not advertised as part of the deal, but, guess what?? I can afford that and don't mind a bit.
Obama did make two mistakes: He doubled down on that mess in Iraq that Bush started and he supported "transgender" access in bathrooms which, in Public Schools, is a veritable nightmare because adolescent human males could have (and would have) just put a dress on to go into the girls bathroom for fun. What a mess IF that "executive order" had ever been actually implemented (most schools ignored that "order and appropriately I might add). His approach in Iraq was probably Hillary's recommendation, another Clinton mess.
But, Obama was a GREAT President. He gave optimism and hope to many, many, many Americans who needed that optimism. Me included.
Obama was not naïve and naivete did not stop legislation under Obama's second term.
Mitch McConnel's fundamentally evil, hateful nature stopped legislation and court appointments. An old white man from Kentucky where, undoubtedly, in Mitch's mind, "blacks know their place".
Why did Mitch block everything? Because Obama was BLACK. Not because he was naïve.
TC, why be so disrespectful of such a giant in American history? What do you gain by writing such a nasty sentence? Or, maybe you have just been in Amurca so long talking about a black man as President in such disrespectful terms seems normal and acceptable to you?
To me, Obama is one of the greatest Presidents in history. Maybe THE greatest.
Mike, I agree with almost everything you said, but you have a blind spot when it comes to trans people, especially trans girls and women, who are NOT boys/men in dresses, a right wing battle cry just as harmful as calling Blacks “lazy” or gay people “perverts.” As a psychologist who has worked with trans folks over 30 years and knows the medical and psychological literature in this area, I say this with scientific certainty and with love, because I respect your comments 99% of the time. Trans rights are human rights and Obama was right on this. People in general were starting to understand this when the Republicans discovered that trans bashing was a winning political wedge issue.
Agree completely, Maureen. Also teenage boys aren’t likely to just put on a dress to go in the girls bathroom. First, most boys don’t care that much. Second, many boys wouldn’t want to be seen in a dress. Third, those kids know each other and know who the boys vs trans females are. Finally, for the most part, at least at my kids’ high school, they are somewhat protective of vulnerable students. There are always jerks, sure, but that’s true at every age group. My kids’ HS has also gone to individual stalls that go floor to ceiling with an open sink area so there aren’t gendered bathrooms.
I think all "rest rooms" should be relabeled from "men" and "women" to "People". Too many of us are still living in a sexually obesessed fantasy world. Most people get excited about this subject for no logical reason.
So I'm a straight guy. I go into a rest room. Honestly, I don't want to be observed doing my business and I don't want to watch anyone else regardless of sex or sexual orientation. I just gotta pee! Give me some privacy, a sink that works well and a towel dispenser by the door.
.. .and soap?... don't men use soap? I ask because when I need to skip to the loo and the women's room doesn't have toilet paper or soap, I can count on finding some in the mens room to snitch. To me, sexuality is a health and safety issue.
We use it a lot with regard to our horses - when they do something really stupid and you manage to quietly calm them down and stay on, you’ll get a “tactfully ridden” from the judge 😂. It’s a great word!
Maureen, Mike wasn't talking about trans kids. He was talking about "normal" boys who would put on a dress just to go into the girl's bathroom.
I think that we need to get rid of gender segregated bathrooms; European countries have and it works just fine. If space is a consideration, then utilize an open door access and single floor to ceiling stalls. Mark two of them (I'm gonna say closest to the door) with a "urinal" sign and put urinals in them) and have the rest of them be commodes. Our local senior center did that and it really works just fine.
First of all, and with respect, please please please don't refer to boys who identify with their birth-assigned sex as "normal." I don't think I need to go into why, and I don't think you were trying to make a point about what is abnormal and abnormal. but this is what we sometimes do, unconsciously. We are all drenched in thinking of sex/gender as a binary, and I have learned over many years of experience that it is not. Second, boys/men who are bent on being predatory do not need to put on feminine clothing to do so. Third, girls wear boy-style clothing all the time, but we are so misogynistic as a society, without even realizing it, that we only persecute trans feminine birth-assigned boys for this. And I do mean persecute. To require a socially transitioned transgirl (birth assigned male) to use the boys' bathroom usually ends up in them preferring to hold it in all day.
As the mom of a trans daughter, I thank you for your advocacy, Maureen. I get too upset to be an effective advocate. I see it not as a bathroom issue, which is just salacious, but as an issue of my daughter’s fundamental safety and right to exist as she chooses. Pretending it’s about bathrooms and protecting women is a cover for discrimination.
Maureen, points taken. It is why I put quotation marks around normal. And yes, your observation that MtF are far more ostracized than FtM transitions is very accurate. What you describe in this post is far, far more detailed than was my intent in replying to Mike S.
Maureen. You may be correct. The trans issue is very far afield from my knowledge base.
But. I did not bash anyone who claims the trans label. I carefully avoided doing that.
I just gave one possible consequence of forcing rules on public schools.
I went to public school. Some days are just a free for all. Allowing adolescent humans that are born with male sex, to enter a bathroom, in public school, for those born female sex, for any reason, is not a good idea.
There may, indeed, be a small fraction of humans born as male sex who are somehow girls. I do not know.
I don’t know what bathroom they should use. Work it out with the school.
Mike, I took your post exactly as you meant it (I think). I just did a quick scan to see how many trans folks I know; admittedly, most of the ones I know are female to male. I suspect that is because I am a (lavender) card carrying lesbian and know a lot of folks in that community. I got to 14 in the 30 seconds or so I pondered the question, and I am sure if I were on my second cup of coffee there might be more.
I will say that I have, on several occasions, used a men's room stall to pee. I present enough as "not a woman" to not get any side glances. I get far more examination, not just side glances, using the women's restroom.
As an old widow, I feel like a prey animal around men. Myself, I feel female but nutral about anyone else: I'm simply not interested in anything to do with sex. Since 90% of violent crimes are perpetrated by men, I want the protection of privacy when i expose my private parts.
Unfortunately, the "one possible consequence" you chose is a red herring and has been used successfully to keep trans folk from being able to use public restrooms without fear of violence.
Cisgendered boys who want to victimize girls will do so no matter which bathrooms trans kids are using. There is nothing stopping them from putting on dresses to gain access to girls' space whether or not trans girls are allowed in those spaces, precisely *because* boys in dresses are not trans girls. Especially in schools, the communities around them know this!
This whole scenario arises from the trope of trans folk as sexual predators, an image that has no basis in observed reality but arises from fear and ignorance.
You say that the trans issue is far afield from your knowledge base yet you make sure we know your uninformed opinions anyway. Next time, maybe take a look at at what people who do know this topic have to say.
I'm too close to this topic to continue a conversation because I am busy fighting for my life as a nonbinary transgendered disabled senior: my culture would seemingly just as soon see me dead since I cannot work and am about as queer as they come. But Julia Serrano is a trans woman who is also a scientist and writes extremely well on trans politics. She can be found all over the internet; the first places I would look are:
Cordelia Fine writes about the myth of biological sex. I don't know if she writes online but she has two books that are entertaining and extremely enlightening if you have never questioned the equation of two broad groupings of genitalia with two very narrowly-defined sexes. I have read her "Delusions of Gender", and the follow-up, "Testosterone Rex" is on my reading list.
If you start with either of these, you will find a wealth of references to others who have studied and lived this "issue".
If you want to try something you might not understand the first time through, Sandy Stone's work can be a lot of fun, but without the history behind it, it may be hard to follow. She's here, though--maybe others reading this would enjoy her work: https://sandystone.com/
Erik, thank you for the reading suggestions! I’m always on the lookout so I can be a better mom to my daughter. And a better citizen and ally. I appreciate it.
I certainly agree that most people have little knowledge or empathy for diverse gender identities and that is what engenders fear, even among transgender people themselves, who commonly internalize transphobia.
Mike, I never thought you were trans bashing. That is a Republican strategy that seemed to work, when abortion and gay marriage fizzled. Sometimes a shameful political strategy attracts support, and sometimes a righteous one, like supporting trans rights, can be twisted into a losing strategy by focusing on misinformed or misleading claims.
I think you're not giving props to Nancy Pelosi, who did the heavy lifting.
The truth is, within a month of Obama taking office in 2009, it was clear tto anyone who knew who was who that he was following the advice of the "establishment" about who to bring into the Cabinet and White House, which did not bode well. A president's only as good as his staff. When Obama brought in Rahm Emanuel, it didn't surprise me that that POS did two things right off: he fired Howard Dean from the DNC and got rid of the 50-state strategy, and he decommissioned Obama For America. Those were the two things most responsible for Obama's success and the fact he had a 60-vote Senate (no filibusters) to work with for two years. But killing the organization that took the fight everywhere - Dean's DNC team - and shutting down the grassroots organization just when the GOP started creating their astroturf Tea Party were two knockout punches. That and the fact that Obama's stint as a "community organizer" signing up voters wasn't the experience he needed. He failed to understand (if he read) Alinsky's "Reveille for Radicals", particularly the first rule: "The REAL FIGHT begins AFTER you win the election." Obama himself has admitted his lack of experience and that he really didn't clearly see the political realities until after the 2011 shutdown after the tea party election. Unfortunately, letting Emanuel run things "traditionally" meant not firing up the base and getting out the vote of 2008 and not campaigning everywhere, just in "winnable" seats. The result was the red wave, the loss of the 60-vote margin in the Senate, and the Republicans controlling the majority of the redistricting - leading directly to the past 12 years we have spent trying to dig our way out of a hole we stumbled into, thanks to Emanuel, the worst Democrat of the past 50 years and unfortunately Obama's good Chicago buddy. Without that 60-vote Senate margin Dean gave him, and Pelosi in the House steering things with the majority she lost because of Emanuel's BS, Obama could have wanted Obamacare in one hand and pissed in the other, and it's certain which would have filled up first.
Don't forget the world economy was in free fall when Obama took office. Agree with they way he dealt with this or not (quantitative easing, essentially printing money to rescue large financial organizations from their own greed - and the rest of us from them), it was not the action of a naive, politically inexperienced President. Can you imagine what the would-be Putins of the world would have been able to do if the global economy was allowed to tank in 2007/2008?
Obama's catering to the big financial institutions was a continuation of what Congress and Bush had already started. In 2007 Bush/Congress had printed $700 Million bucks and handed it over to Wall Street. Handing out welfare to a bunch of rich white people did not sit well with me at all, and, I did not like it when Bush started that process in late 2007. Not one bit.
But, let us imagine that Obama had just let the economy tank so that people would remember what "Republican Policy" had wrought (that policy: legalization of derivatives in 2001 which became "mortgage backed securities" that were worthless in 2007).
IF Obama had just let the entire economy die, HE would have been blamed because Americans are, honestly, not smart enough to associate something that happened in 2001 (Republican legalization of gambling called "derivatives") with a Great Depression in 2008. Most Americans don't even know that derivatives were legalized in 2001 under Bush/Republicans.
Then, Obama would have gone down in history as the cause of that Great Depression. Why do that? Obama knows Americans. They want free stuff.
So, he gave them, especially the rich white folks on Wall Street, what they wanted.
Agree that Obama was up against a wall. He HAD to act. The LOANS to the auto companies which were repaid with interest were brilliant. The gifts to major banking institutions could have been loans. American tax payers could have profited in the long run.
And...one way to have saved that economy was to have bailed out the homeowners who had been suckered into those insanely corrupt mortgages. That would have fed money directly into the economy. We did it with Covid. We could have done it then.
I will always be a huge fan of Obama the leader. Obama the man. But he allowed Wall Streeters to guide his financial policies and he really thought he could overcome McConnells brazen bigotry. Obama should have pushed through Merrick Garlands membership on SCOTUS using whatever means possible. Instead he trusted the devil.
All that being said, I would vote for Barack Obama again in a heartbeat. His decency is indisputable. His posture on the international stage was something to be proud of. I love the guy.
I too have never quite forgiven President Obama for letting the financial institutions get away scot-free while so many citizens were badly hurt, but I too would vote for him again. But first we MUST re-elect President Biden.
McCain was against allowing banks to securitize their loan portfolios.
The bank and big auto bailouts were necessary as a result, just like the bills passed by Democrats in response to the economic collapse caused by the pandemic. Biden’s plan to build the economy from the bottom up to the middle out provides, if ultimately successful, a stabilizing force against such shocks.
I too liked (or should I say valued) what Obama attempted and achieved. The total record, great, not to be distracted by what he didn't try harder to do or knew how to get in the negotiations with Congress and his party. I thought at the time that the deal he struck with John Bohrner, to allow the temporary tax cuts to the wealthy to become permanent in order to avoid a government shut down, was ill-advised. Looking back, that was one of the bigger losses as it became a great reason for the Republicans to believe they can get the whole loaf of demand bread and not negotiate in good faith, as is happening. A precedent was established which I think is still paying off for the party of the 1-percenters. My vote would be for him, a seasoned president and was for Mr Biden because of his record as Obama's smart and savy sidekick through all eight years. My vote for Mr Biden is now guaranteed because Joe is delivering what he promised and will do so throughout his next term without tweaking an important agenda in order to cater to the sectors who want a younger stud with a fast tongue and a surface understanding of what is in and the big picture that he, Ms Harris, and their administration are delivering for Americans. I want the two there to finish what they started; the turn back to a progressive and viable America for all it's many factions into the future. They are leading America domestically and internationally into a future where American democracy and our version of capitalism will flourish. There is no Truman or LBJ waiting in the wings to bring this ship of state to port, cargo and passengers safe. What I fear more than Trump is the Democrats coming up with a more perfect solution all dressed up and ready for prom in a competition for the minds and hearts of the nation that are actually at stake and where the alternative candidates are Ignorance and Evil in 2024. Joe and Kamala got to finish what they started. Sadly, changing asses is an old tradition for Democrats and fearful single issue (e.g., age, poll numbers) liberals in races involving stallions.
Mike S--this ol' lady did not really fathom the idea of a unisex bathroom, until I actually saw and used one this past summer at Niagara Falls! Their newly opened visitors center bathroom at first confused me--obviously two entrances, neither marked as to sex. I cautiously ventured in, and discovered the the stalls were solid doors, at most a gap of 1/2" at the floor, and easily about 8' fall. Once inside, the edges had no peekable gaps whatsoever.
The sink area was separate, one wall lined with fold down changing tables. I admit, it did seem a bit strange to be at a sink, washing hands next to a man.
You crack me up, Mike S! Always enjoy your comments and stories, and admire how when someone might disagree, you are more than civil. If only the GOP was like that!!
There might have been a few juvenile delinquents attempting to enter girls’ rooms. If they were treated like those who set fires to school property their transgressions would quickly end.
Giving in to oppression, bullying, and serious adolescent behavior is never the answer.
I would have preferred Hillary Clinton, but given the choice between McCain (2008) and Romney (2012) and Obama, I would still vote for Obama. Abstaining is not an option.
Absolute fact on voting for Obama. I was against Hillary in 2008 and 2016 because I didn't want to go through the great Clinton Hunt again (voted for her in 2016). I have a feeling if she'd won in 2016 that the Republicans would have REALLY gummed up the works for four years - no approval of any appointments and a likely impeachment at the first opportunity. It would have made such a mess that low-info voters wouldn't vote Democratic for ten years.
Fortunately I think the Democrats learned their lesson about experience being necessary. I put a clothespin on my nose and voted for Clinton in 2016 because of Trump, and would vote for the Energizer Bunny if it was running against Trump. Hopefully his "great health" will solve our problems and terminate him sooner rather than later. The massive fatal myocardial infarction in front of the MAGts mid-rant, the fatal hamberder, choking on a pink Starburst, whatever. Make America Truly Great Again.
Yes. And when campaigning for Clinton, I found that commiserating with potential voters about having to hold my nose to vote for her actually helped bring some 'never ever' voters around to voting for her.
Hillary lost because Hillary's judgement, over the years of being in politics, was just so obviously flawed. Just look at the long wavelength mess in Syria because of her recommendations around funding and weapons sales to the "rebels" (a bunch of bloodthirsty nuts) in that country that have, coupled with the government, destroyed the entire country and created one of the largest human diaspora's in human history.
She also lost because, on an open mike, she referred to Americans as "deplorables".
She also lost because nobody in America wanted to see Bill Clinton chasing teenagers around the White House again.
All those things about Hillary Clinton are true. But more importantly she was running against Donald Trump.
Enough Republican voters held their noses to elect Trump, and win the Supreme Court. Enough potential Democrats indulged in purity tests, pipe dreams, and Pied Pipers to elect Trump and give racist right wing religious extremists the Supreme Court.
Voting is not an exercise in personal expression, it is an exercise in strategic self discipline to gain power.
"Nobody to vote for in 2016. That hurt Clinton more than Trump."
Sufficient numbers of Republican voters knew a Trump administration was worth voting for. As was winning the Supreme Court.
A Hillary Clinton administration was worth voting for. As was saving the Supreme Court.
What hurts America more than Trump is American citizens who miss the point of voting. (And Mitch McConnell and Leonard Leo who never miss a chance to destroy American democracy.)
Mike S, have you forgotten that the Syrian "rebels" were initially protesting Assad regime policies as part of the broader Arab Spring protests across the Middle East? Have you forgotten the Obama administration's success in destroying much of Syria's chemical weapons stockpiles? The refugee issue was caused by Russian puppet Assad, not by arming initially peaceful protests who were being brutally firebombed.
Have you forgotten how Trump vacated a US base in Syria that was protecting "rebels" and fighting ISIS, allowing the genocide to grow?
And your hard-on for Bill's piccadilloes is interesting.
It seems like you swallow Russian propaganda whole.
I saw a mention yesterday that it’s become obvious we got the order wrong.
Had it been Biden-Obama in 2008 it would have provided an experienced Obama in 2016.
But maybe this works better. Too many Americans think 80 years is old. At the same time medical. Science has produced conditions that. If you reach 80 then 100 years is likely.
But Joe Biden is returning power to the people leaving the Right to wither away.
Being that I am 2 years younger than Biden and at the top of my career professionally (one that requires a lot of "brain usage"), while many in my field are burned out and retired, you're as old as you feel like you are and as old as what you can do.
In Iowa, we get amazing and early access to presidential candidates. Like you, I found Obama's rhetoric appealing, but I wanted more specifics into the "how." In the end, Obama did pretty well given the forces arrayed against him like the powerful McConnell who vowed to make him a one term president, but I do like experience along with idealism.
It’s interesting that when we seek the the advice of doctors, lawyers, or accountants the first thing we look at is their experience and expertise. Yet, we want term limits on politicians. We believe experience in other professions and pursuits makes individuals more suitable for governing, (running a for profit business is just the right training for making political decisions).
These myths are propagated by those who don’t want government to function so that they may do what they wish without those pesky regulations.
Never forget -- an old white guy has a lot more room to maneuver than a young black man.
Obama took a Heritage Foundation plan to improve healthcare and watched the same Republicans who touted it call him a communist.
He nominated Merrick Garland -- whose name has been suggested by Orrin Hatch -- only to watch Republicans sit on the nomination because "he was a radical."
Obama spent eight years trying to unite the country with his policies even as conservatives divided it because of the color of his skin.
I used to joke that Obama was a disappointment because he refused to do the one thing that would have solved the problem.
He refused to give a speech informing the country that everyone HAS to breathe -- everyone no matter what race or sex or economic class still has to regularly breathe in and out.
My bet was Republicans would start passing out 6-8 minutes later. 😁
James, Regrettably, one only has to consider that Bernie Sanders is a year older than Biden to accept how age and rhetorical acumen can get conflated. To that end, I submit that Biden’s inability to take full advantage of the bully pulpit places further demands on all of us to insure he holds the White House and that Democrats up and down the ballot win their races in the General.
It’s interesting how my own views have evolved as I see through Biden just how much experience and wisdom can make a difference. I loved Obama but he simply lacked the tools that Biden has, and it made a critical difference in setting the table we have to deal with today. It’s possible that not even Biden had the tools yet during their administration to stave off what has happened since then. But he sure is doing it now.
Biden has a long history of being Progressive. His progressiveness is not a surprise to me, it is when he is not progressive that I am surprised. I suggested that UAW workers get a big discount on e-cars, which will make them more of the everyman car, and not just for the elite. I also suggest that they be prizes in all sorts of shows and raffles, like cars used to be on game shows. Right now I have no car in Europe, and do not need one, and if I were to get one it would be electric. I would never get a Tesla though. My child has grown up knowing the brands that I don't like and who they represent and who those people are. There is no backsliding when one has taken these sorts of stands for good reason when your children know what the significance is. I have signed a petition saying UAW workers should not do a photo shoot with Trump, who is having a TERRIBLE, HORRIBLE, NO GOOD,VERY BAD DAY! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hukeHQah4U
This terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day is going to turn into a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad election day too.
Biden has the experience needed to be an effective president and the True Grit. He is doing an excellent job by all important measures. Our justice system is living up to its symbol of “Blind Justice”. As Judge Engoron so wittily said when he quoted Chico Marx’s line from “Duck Soup” .... loved it.
It's very worth remembering that when Obama came into office, he immediately had a global economic crisis to contend with. He also inherited nearly three decades of neoliberal governance (I'm including the Clinton presidency in this, though it had a better track record than what came either before or after). Biden followed the disastrous Trump term, to be sure, but he was also backed by an electorate that was at least beginning to wake up, and 1/6 made it clear what the Republicans were up to. So they both need to be seen in the context of their respective times. But I agree: Biden has more than risen to the occasion, and exceeded my expectations for sure. Don't forget he's a union guy!
Let's face it...MSM is echoing trump's repeating claims of 'feeble Joe', sleepy Joe' 'senile old Joe'. Why aren't there headlines 'crooked. grifter, crazy trump'. I'll take older and wise over crooked and crazy any day.
Not to mention if it's trump and Biden again in 2024, what is different than 2020...trump has committed treason, been found guilty of rape, been indicted numerous times, threatened to kill his political enemies, ordered his MAGAites to shut down the gov't., lost most of his business 'EMPIRE', threathened judges, jurist, prosecutors, witnesses, etc., kissed Putin's a*s, and re-upped with the devil. And all Biden has done has been a great president...working for America day-in and day-out, moving our country forward out of the quagmire of the trump presidency. Gee...who would I vote for???
Yeah, Obama had a a certain naivete'. He thought that if he showed that he wasn't going to, 'paint the White House Black' , he would get more support from the middle and the right. But they screwed him anyway. He's still an awesome politician who is on a planet by himself !
Biden has ...how many decades of experience?? 8 years with Obama. Obama was and is a gift to the country. But, Biden is President now, under even worse circumstances, given horrible Trump and Trump supporters. We are lucky he's devoting his last years to us.
I opine that JFK's rhetoric served to smooth the way for LBJ's accomplishments. The same might be said of Obama and Biden. That said, Kennedy's recklessness during the Cuban Missile Crisis remains a sore point with this Historian.
I remain confident the majority membership of the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations will support my assessment. I was also in the United States Army at the time, it was personal for me and my friends.
Yeah, it wasn’t personal for me; I was just hiding under my desk in elementary school during ‘duck and cover’ drills. I’m sure the Historians of American Foreign Relations are just as susceptible to governmental propaganda as is the average American citizen. Define Kennedy’s recklessness, in comparison to that of the CIA, Curtis LeMay, members of Congress, etc. re. Cuba. This should be good, Mr. Confidence Man.
William F. Buckley had a stock rejoinder for such occasions, viz. "I find it difficult to refrain from insulting your intelligence by avowing you really believe what you just said."
Bless your heart. The best you can do to respond to a request for evidence of Kennedy’s ‘recklessness’ is to regurgitate a pithy quote from an ex-CIA blowhard? Stop digging, you’re embarrassing yourself.
Thank you, Joe, and the FTC for a return to sanity in the corporate world. We can all see what Amazon's been doing for years now - stiffing third party sellers, in some cases reproducing their products to undercut them on price and give us crappier products, overcharging, upping the cost of Amazon Prime and then finding excuses not to honor the components of it (i.e. shipping things late), putting their workers in dangerous work situations, paying them crap wages and treating them like slaves, and all the other things that TR and FDR fought so hard against. Go get Bezos! Make him pay for a change!
For decades I have been lamenting the lack of anti-trust actions against these mega corporations. No, monopolies are not good, no matter what big business says. I would like the too big to fail banks to be next, along with the handful of big media corporations that own so many tv, radio and news outlets. Thank you Joe Biden.
I find it most fascinating that the Biden administration has in effect launched a two pincer war against economic consolidation and inequality. One is the reinvigoration of the FTC and the dusting off the cobwebs of the Sherman and Clayton Anti-Trust Acts by empowering the wonderful Lina Khan to go after Amazon, as well as the Google in the trial already underway. The other arm of this pincer movement is more diffuse and symbolic at present, but will hopefully bear legal and policy fruit in the near future. That would be his clear support of Labor during this year of the strike (Viva la Huelga!).
It is truly amazing that no American President prior to today has ever marched on a picket line.
I am sure ole George Pickett, he of the famous Confederate charge at Gettysburg that when repulsed turned the course of the Civil War in favor of the Union, would be flabbergasted to hear that an American President walked the line derived from his name.
Imagine what Biden can accomplish in a new term with Democrats controlling both houses of Congress. That's why the Republicans are desperate enough to trying just about anything to prevent this.
Good one Daniel. I am just a few comments in and I see the potential of having great discussions. I just love scrolling the comments. I learn more each time and have developed interesting exchanges with very sharp people over the past years.
Let’s wonder how many of our presidents actually raised themselves up from the working class_I think Lincoln and Andrew Jackson would be two—maybe Grant.
While it's focus is mostly on his death, Candice Millard's book "Destiny of the Republic" is one of the best books I've ever read! It's reads like a page-turner novel---a book to turn "only fiction" readers into readers of non-fiction!
Miselle....I read Candice Millard's bio of Garfield and have read several of her books.
You are correct about the info concerning his drawn out and painful death from an asassin's bullet and infection he received at the hands of the attending physician during his Presidency.
I did enjoy reading everything about his life....family surviving a fire in the back country of Ohio when he was young....the importance of education from his mom.
His survival during a storm while working on a boat....not knowing how to swim.....believing there must be a purpose for his future.
Garfield was a Union officer during the Civil War.
I had the same thought as I read this letter this morning. I would like to see the FTC go after the cable companies, Comcast, T-Mobile, Verizon, AT&T, etc. For years they have controlled the costs and accesses to how people receive their internet, TV coverage and phones. They appear to compete on the surface but I think it is only on the surface. And why is it when you drive down any given road and there are several different gas stations (all different brands) all of them have the same or similar price? There are so many other companies that should also be scrutinized.
The loss of Borders was especially sad for me and many others. Hopefully Biden will keep doing those things TFG would never do, like showing up on a picket line.
I literally would not have the authorial career I am enjoying right now if not for Borders. We used to go to ours regularly, and I always checked out the military aviation history shelves. One time, a young clerk saw me there (had seen me many times) and recommended a new book that had just come in. I looked it over and liked what I saw, and bought it. When I read it, I found a story in it I knew well, having written the story originally in Flight Journal. It had a footnote number that I looked up, and there I was, the footnote! A couple weeks later I ran across the author on a discussion forum, and sent a private email thanking him. He responded and introduced me to the late Eric Hammel, who had published the book. We got along like gangbusters and he pushed me to write "Fabled Fifteen," and the rest is history. You can't do that at Amazon.
You can't TOUCH anything on Amazon, let alone have something on a shelf jump out at you, like WOW! No developing relationships. No new friends. No warm comfortable spaces. No reading room for Heather to read from and talk about her new book.......
That's a great story, TC, and no you certainly cannot do that at Amazon. If I may inquire, do you recall where that Borders was located? I reside in Los Angeles as well and remember some of the interesting Borders stores
For a large chain, Borders was pretty good, but they and B&N put so many great independents out of business and for that i will never forgive them. Vroman's in Pasadena is one of the few left. A loving patron bought Children's Book World in Westwood, just to save it.
I stopped bying from Amazon years ago because they are poison. They kill what we love and deprive us of the experience of LOOKING for book. I hope they get their ass kicked hard.
I have a copy of an old Flight Journal that printed a story my Dad wrote about getting shot down while he was a Flying Tiger. Not many of those old guys left to tell the stories.
You're so right. Literally, the last one alive is Bud Anderson from the 357th - 101 last May. When I wrote "I Will Run Wild" and did the chapter The Tigers of Burma (AVG), I realized all four of them I knew (Eric Shilling, Charles Older, Tex Hill, R.T. Smith) were long gone. Same thing when I wrote "Clean Sweep" - all the guys except Bud were gone. Steve Pisanos was the last, in 2016.
What I meant about "you can't do that at Amazon" is you can't do it online like that. Amazon will recommend 20 books "you may like" based on an order, but not one in particular, like that kid did because he'd read it and liked it.
During my eight years in Ann Arbor, Borders was my second home. I loved that store so much. I remember worrying that expansion would kill it, and so it did. Not that it wouldn’t have happened anyway. But that store was special.
I will go out on a limb here. I used Amazon when is was just a book store. Amazon is the poster child for the multi monopolies . It has taken advantage of a broken system of non regulation. I live in a rural area & to find items there are no vendors even traveling between several towns. I buy local when I can but too often traveling between stores, items are not available. I am not a prime member bc 2 day service in not available to me & the tv programs are not worth the price. I have 90% of the time have had excellent service & great return policy from Amazon. They were a life line during covid. Their IT department far exceeds others like that @ United Health Care( a very dysfunctional system). So in going after Amazon, dont throw the baby out with the bath water & look @ other big systems, such as for profit health care companies.
Carole, isn't what you describe exactly the point of going after Amazon? Your rural residence should provide opportunity for small business enterprise, but the strength of the mega corporations to undercut competition is precisely why you feel - and BTW, even where I live, a small city of 50K I encounter lack of choice - you must use their services. Like you, I have availed myself of Amazon's services more and more, as fewer and fewer alternative options are available.
I live in even a smaller community. I use the resources available. There is not one Apple Store in MT for instance so to get service either I drive 5+hr or as in the past use a local service that was not competent. It was even worse during covid. I am not saying that Amazon does not need reining in, along with a multitude of others, but from my experience they give a better quality of service than other abusers, like UnitedHealth Care that is less competent with my well being
Glad to hear that someone is trying to contain Amazon. As a primary care doctor it would be my nightmare to find myself working in a retail medical office run by… Amazon?! What kind of country allows such an absurdly sprawling monopoly to invade our grocery stores, music, books, streaming shows, and examining rooms?
As they state on their website:
“Amazon and One Medical have teamed up to make it easier to get exceptional primary care. Most major insurance plans accepted.”
Exceptional primary care has increasingly become an oxymoron as family docs like me are squeezed from all angles, 25% of the healthcare workforce has left, and primary care doctor shortages are projected to be around 20,000 nationally in the next 10 years.
Does Amazon based primary care sound as haunting to you as it does to me?
Well, no matter what happens to Amazon, or the Trump family Ponzi scheme, I’m thinking my Substack medical writing might just save my soul ☺️
Yes, I'm haunted by the same spectre and so long as we're trapped in the third-party, for-profit payor system, doctors are going to be commodified and enslaved by private equity firms and insurers. Worse, I predict that within 10 year an AI program will be given prescribing authority for "simple" conditions. Good luck, Doctor. (I think lawyers are going to be hit by a similar crunch when litigants start using Chat-GPT to represent themselves.)
As a fellow physician, I'm feeling your pain. It was really difficult in psychiatry with managed care before the parity laws passed. Now, insurers don't bother us much, having learned psychiatrists are harder to herd than cats. Primary care is the practice getting squeezed the most at the moment - you couldn't pay me enough to do your job.
That does seem to be the trend. Wal-Marts all have Pharmacies. Wallgreens are opening primary care offices in their stores, retail medical care chains such as Convenient MD and Village Medical are opening everywhere. All claiming to offer care at a lower price. All are crappy places to work (I spoke to an MD at one of these places who said he had not had a pay raise in 5 years). The best offer so-so care, but at far lower rates than can be found in more traditional medical settings. I've noticed that, in medicine, competition does lower prices, but it also lowers quality even more. I do not think medicine and capitalism work well together, but I cannot suggest an alternative, either.
I have to add a comment in favor of Walmart pharmacies. Nearly 20 years ago when I went on Medicare I opted not to sign up for Bush’s Part D drug option, as did my older husband. ( He was forced a couple of years ago to sign up and pay the penalty because of all the RX’s he is currently taking...for good reasons.) I still need to go online and research costs at various pharmacies for what I need. Walmart is often the one of choice. What I have experienced there is a most personable, caring staff that greet me by name, that don’t fill some called-in RX’s when the prices are ridiculously high and instead call me, that when I bring in same immediately inform me of cost. They have given me the same small town experience that I had growing up in Redondo Beach. Medicine and medical care are outrageously expensive. Without Medicare and, yes, United Healthcare plan, we would not have been able to be functioning as well as we are.
It's not Amazon which is failing to approve creation of any more government-supported residency positions at American Academic medical centers; it's congress failing to adequately address the growing shortage of doctors! The growing preference of our for-profit healthcare system is "mid-level" practitioners like Nurse-Practitioners (N-Ps) because, like Amazon, they can be paid less.
I couldn’t believe this latest either.... controlling healthcare so it is continuing to be just Big Business.
Where are our representatives???? Oh, right getting their mental health check-ups at Amazon prime .
I told United Health Care on their survey: “I got more care at the gas station, and it was self serve”!
Now Kaiser has a new hospital and it so reminds me of Kennedy Airport it is mind boggling. People running from here to there looking for their gate, and their doctor’s name on huge screens . Everything done on the computer. No one really sees anyone of us. No wonder doctors are quitting. They are starting to get their pilots’ licenses.
Oh, wait... I think Amazon bought up the airports.
Ryan, how you find the time to write and read as much as you obviously do is amazing to me.
I had a difficult confusing time recovering from COVID (a story for another day) but in May, my primary (who I've been going to for 32 years) spent an HOUR with me. Truly listened to the myriad concerns I had. Recently, I had a follow up to that visit. He spent 35 minutes with me.
When we finished up, I sincerely thanked him and told him he's a great doctor. Since he isn't that much younger than me, I worry about who I'll see when he retires and I grow ever older.
Thanks for that compliment - and I certainly wish I had more time to be better read, but I do cram in as much as I can, and cutting the cable cord decades ago has helped. I do try to be efficient, but it is so nice to turn off the clock with patients (especially the last appointment of the day if I don't have to run) and practice/listen the way we should and want to! Glad you had a positive visit, your primary sounds great.
She started her practice the same year I got health insurance through the county. She'd been my doc for 20 years when she discovered my breast cancer in a routine physical exam. Given that I was lax (at best) at self-exams, I doubt I would be here today. She retired during Covid. During the last exam I had with her, she told me their firm had signed with United Health Care, and that she was now being limited in what she could provide to patients. She had been castigated for taking 45 minutes to talk with an elderly woman about drug interdictions and not "burning off 3 warts for 3 different kids." She really bemoaned the switch to United Health.
Exactly accurate Gary; the flock doesn't have any understanding whatever on how economics, civics actually work in the real world. They actually rely on the interpretations by their 'strong men / women' that make all sorts of hollow promises to them. Snake oil salesmen..... there always existed a certain percentage of folks > 20 -30 % who would always be desperate enough to buy 'snake oil' , otherwise snake oil salesmen would have disappeared; it was lucrative enough, and apparently still sells today. A pathetic human condition reality, even yet today.
Here you have it right Jeri... deluded, uneducated, naive, and self centered; that describes the bulk of the common flock who strangely seem to vote against their own self interest. Pundits have wondered about just that seeming anomaly. I never have wondered. I lived among and grew up with that sort of crowd. I choose the words uneducated and naive, because I can forgive them for what they don't know. I treat them like I see them, with empathy as I would have for a small children. Try it; you'll find some peace, and the correct places for anger and hot derision. Brava Jeri !
My family and friend MAGAts are not stupid, some more ignorant than others, but my ex-bff is as smart as they come. Hubby requires all family to be repubs, and they are smart and educated. It’s all emotional, not intellectual.
Biden has turned out to be a much better president than I envisioned. His stance with the union workers versus the planned visit of TFG with non-union workers (and added fans) at a non-union auto parts manufacturer says it all. Biden’s administration is correctly going after Amazon with monopoly charges; Amazon is doing exactly what other monopolies have done in the past—gradually paying the suppliers (the independent sellers) less while charging the buyers more because they’re the only game in town.
I got the book on audible, and it is fabulous to hear her speak the book.
One of the first lines that was so striking was “more democracies or lost in the ballot box and not by bullets.“ (I may have forgotten the last part but for sure it was. They are lost in the ballot box. So frightening how she describes what happened in Germany as a blueprint for what is happening now.
I agree with you that these are dangerous times and am so grateful to have discovered Heather and this great community. Enjoy the book! Audible version must be great!
When Mitch McConnell, and the Supreme Court, show that they are sick and tired of the Far Right's shenanigans, this is a good sign that the jig is up. It doesn't mean the wounded bear will stop thrashing and clawing, but it is a sure indication we're getting close.
Thanks for this great substack this evening with everything else that is going on in your life. Congratulations on that! Such a powerful summary of what is going Great in this country---with Biden's powerful leadership and example (wow--walking a picket line and standing with labor---let's sing a few songs....)....with the counterpoint of the Big Losers: the GOP, Kevin Mc, and Trump dragging the country DOWN. Time to get to work on post cards, phone banks, etc.....
Seems a pretty good day in a year of craziness. America may actually end the year with a functional government that proves capable of regulating corporations rather than being run by them.
What most struck me reading today’s LFAA is that the consolidation of industries starting in the 80s mirrored the consolidation of corporations controlling a majority of U.S. media. Specifically, in 1983, that number was 50: in 1987, it was 29; in 1990, 21; in 1992 14; in 1997, 10; in 2000, 6; in 2004, 5. ( Source: Ben H. Bagdikian The New Media Monopoly, 2004) I would be remiss were I not also to note that at 2022 90% of the media was controlled by just 6 corporations: AT&T, CBS, Comcast, Disney, Newscorp, and Viacom.
Plainly stated, two+ decades of media deregulation have enabled a small handful of huge conglomerates to own the majority of films, music, television, radio, books, newspapers, magazines, and important Internet sites. Drawing a parallel to the consolidation of industries, the impact of this consolidation on fairness, accuracy, and diversity in the media poses equally serious risks to a democratic society.
Thanks for posting this, and note that the 2004 reference, nearly 20 years old, confirms how long this has been ongoing. It happened on the watch of and with the support of both parties.
I've seen in reading that the six corporations are owned by just six families (I've not fact checked this). These decades have recorded a descent into a true corporatist oligarchy. We are way past "serious risks." For all practical purposes our democracy, what's left of it, is indeed in chains.
In 2023, this corporate media decides which candidates to promote, which to black out, and communicating the corporate messages it wants citizens to receive and polarizing them to divide them and alienate them from one another in every way possible. Meanwhile, factions in both parties seem openly working to get rid of the last vestiges of independent sources of investigative reporting.
This shutdown, I fear, will be like none other. The rabid Republicans see themselves as revolutionaries hell-bent on dismembering the federal government. They care nothing about the suffering they will unleash. If they manage to hobble the economy, it's a great victory in their demented minds. What better way to hurt Biden's re-election chances.
The cliché "cooler heads will prevail," always bandied about during previous shutdowns, looks to be a fantasy. The small gang about to wreak havoc is a cruel minority exercising power the electorate didn't grant. That it is able to wield so much clout is one of the nation's greatest political failings and runs counter to specific constitutional language.
But here we are — and all in the face of such great progress by the president and other Democrats.
Michael, Though I could be wrong, I believe that narrow margin of persuadable Independents and, I dare say, moderate Republicans needed for the White House and Democrats up and down the ballot to prevail in 2024 will see through far-right extremist machinations and pin blame for the shutdown on Republicans, not Biden. I would note my comment is not meant to minimize the suffering a shutdown would unleash. Nonetheless, my remarks are meant not to allow us to get distracted from the most pressing issue at-hand—promptly doing all we can now that early voting has started in Virginia to help bank as many early votes as possible that, in my view, offers our best shot at flipping the State House and holding the State Senate. Additionally, I would be remiss were I not to note that said outcome also would level a much needed repudiation of Virginia’s current governor.
Barbara Jo, Is there any kind of national GOTV for Virginia dems and indies, say from Vote Forward?
I feel deeply that our efforts helped win the AZ and GA recent elections; thought the VA vote this year is simply for state houses - THE most important bodies for public policies on the local level!!
Given that tfg values his image as a successful and self-made businessman more than his kids, I expect he will fight like a cornered tiger over the NY ruling, which exposes him as a fraud. Remember when he made very clear to Mueller looking into his finances was crossing a red line?
Kevin McCarthy wants to be known as Speaker of the House, period, his constituents and the country be damned. He will undoubtedly go down as the worst Speaker in history. Part of me wants to feel sorry for this poor excuse of a public servant, but most of me wants the country to pull a full Howard Beale and scream from the windows “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore!”.
What a wonderful surprise President Biden has turned out to be, a far better progressive in action than Obama if less rhetorically.
I loved Obama then and now, but I worried about how he would deal with the bullies, since he would have the need to protect his family. Biden’s kids are grown and on their own for better or worse, and Biden isn’t so focused on making a better world, as on saving the world we know and need to survive the next century. Biden knows the bullies better than they know themselves, which is why he is able to run rings around them.
It wasn’t just his family victimized by racist bullies. The back lash against unarmed black men by law enforcement has been horrifying. I can’t imagine anyone with a heart and mind as brilliant as former POTUS Obama not feeling the weight of that burden
and the gruesome cruelty of the murders at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, killing nine people including pastor and state senator Clementa Pinckney…
And yet, the Repugs are bullying Hunter. Not that he hasn't earned the DOJ investigations, but Repugs are pushing beyond all justice in hopes of hurting President Biden.
I don't think it's working. There just isn't any evidence of Joe as being connected with any of Hunter's business dealing gs. Of Course, lack of evidence doesn't stop MAGAts.
My husbands next op-ed in the Summit (CO) Daily News:
"Big-game hunting season in Summit County has begun and will end sometime in October, depending upon the type of animal hunted and the weapon utilized. In this regard, the literate elk, deer, moose and bear are put on notice as to when the time to lay low and avoid the humans falls on the calendar.
Those in Washington D.C. do not have the luxury of a calendared big-game hunting season, as it occurs all year long, every minute of every day. And no one in the swamps of D.C. is being hunted more than a man named Hunter. Why is Hunter being hunted? Well, for several reasons, including pending criminal charges related to gun and tax issues.
Hunter is a lawyer and an elite one at that (he went to Yale Law School; can’t get more Ivy-league snobby than a Yale Law School softball team stocked with alumni like Bill and Hillary Clinton, current Supreme Court Justices Thomas, Alito, Kavanaugh, and Sotomayer, and our very own Senator Bennet. And based upon a unanimous vote, Senator Josh “run from the riot after raising a fist in protest” Hawley will not be invited even though he technically qualifies as a
graduate).
Hunter is also a drug addict and like many drug addicts did some very bad things while under the influence of various chemicals. He didn’t even last one day as a member of the U.S. Navy reserves before testing positive to cocaine and being discharged. He managed to stay married for 24 years even though his relationships to drugs, prostitutes and exotic dancers deprived the family of money to pay legitimate household expenses. Before his divorce was finalized, he was involved in a two-year relationship with his brother’s widow. To say that Hunter had and continues to have some serious demons, legal and otherwise, would be an understatement. Yet, relationships and payoffs to sex workers, while a political liability as recently as the twentieth century, is now considered a rite of passage, at least to some major-party candidates. You simply brag and move on.
Hunter is also good at making money. He managed to land prestigious positions at a major bank and seats on the boards of two foreign companies (in China and Ukraine, adding to the intrigue). Coincidentally (of course, this is Washington remember), his father happened to be a very high-ranking elected U.S. official who received large campaign donations from the major bank where his son was hired. The family made sure that they never discussed business with each other so as to afford no possibility of any ethics or other corruption charges. Maybe they didn’t. At a minimum it must have made for some very quiet family dinners.
However, Hunter is not being hunted because he made money off of shady business deals, as thankfully for the elite success is often measured by how shady and lucrative the deal can be, yet still be legal. To date, there is no evidence of any undisclosed payments to his family, including Dad. And if making money off of shady business deals becomes a crime, especially for friends and family of those at the top of the political food chain, I would start to run if my name was Jared, Eric or Junior.
Hunter is also being charged with crimes in two separate Federal criminal cases. The first case involves three counts relating to gun charges (two counts where he allegedly lied on an application to purchase a Colt revolver and one count of possession of said revolver by a drug addict). He has plead not guilty and is being vocally supported by nearly all Republican members of Congress in his opposition to these likely unconstitutional gun laws. Or not. Even though there is no prohibition in the Second Amendment to a drug addict owning a revolver and also no application form required for which there could be any lie, not a single Republican is supporting Hunter. Even though Hunter and Justice Thomas, who wrote the recent majority
opinion requiring courts to look back to the time of the passage of the amendment in rendering decisions concerning the constitutionality of firearm restrictions, are on the same page, no one else on the right seems to be. Why not?
Hunter is also being charged with not filing his income tax returns and/or not paying his income taxes due on time. Imagine that- a drug addict decides to spend his money on drugs and sex workers instead of paying his income tax obligations. Who would have thought? He has managed to pay all his taxes, with penalties and interest, albeit late. Again, no Republican support in Congress even though their current political leader has said that not paying taxes “makes me smart.” Why are no Republicans standing up and declaring this to be another “witch hunt,” as there is no way the Department of Justice prosecutes a drug addict for a misdemeanor tax offense unless he is being singled out.
So, who is really hunting Hunter and why? The Democrats are keeping mum, even though many would likely hope that Hunter and Dad ride off into the sunset, never to be heard from again. It must therefore be the Republicans, now hoping to hold the country to a high moral standard. No more jobs because of who you know. No more shady business deals. The laws now apply to everyone and just because you are rich and/or famous is no longer a loophole. If only this was the case. If only."
Excellent! I wonder what percentage of Republican (and, let’s be fair: Democrat) Senators and Representatives have never paid their taxes late - or, more likely, never cheated on their taxes and paid nothing. My guess? About none. And how many have lied on a gun application? Some. These are the same yahoos who want to abolish regulations- except for their opponents.
While I was an auditor I was surprised the people that came to the office with the state declared no penalty for paying back taxes owed. I thought everyone paid their taxes. LOL.
Dear Becky, although the editorial is a bit subtle for many Americans (substance abuse, including drugs, alcohol, and fattening foods), I’m glad to have read it, even though I would not like to lose Joe Biden at this juncture.
I like Joe Biden. We the People elected him and rejected his predecessor. He is doing good work for the American people. Let's work with him.
Hunter is a classic example of a life affected by tragedy. At the age of 3, his mother and younger sister were killed in a traffic accident (neither driver found to be at fault), his older brother suffered multiple broken bones and Hunter suffered a fractured skull and traumatic brain injury. As he grew up, his older brother, Beau, seemed to be the golden child who cast a long shadow over him. Hunter made numerous questionable decisions in his life, possibly a consequence of the brain injury when he was 3. This does not excuse him from the consequences of his actions -- not paying taxes, possessing a gun, whatever. But he should not be treated more harshly than others who commit the same acts because of who his father is.
Fran, I so agree. There are a lot of famous and influential people out there whose children have had drug/alcohol problems. I believe Gandhi had an alcoholic son. Wasn't there something someone once said about "He who is without sin, throw the first stone"?
Ah, yes. If only.... Ref. the widespread corruption, case in point: the Congressional insider trading. Large number of cases indicated or proven; well over a hundred recent cases, as I recall, and there seems to be roughly an even number of violators in both parties. Couple of feeble excuses to try and justify it--one from a democrat and one from a republican. How can young people--or anyone for that matter--believe Congress to be honorable if reps. and sens. pay lip service to the issue and then just keep on keepin' on? Some large fortunes have been made by congressmen involved in it.
Well done. I had a rather colorful brother-in-law who often used a phrase that I think would fit the Republicans to a tee just now: "They are as useful as tits on a bull." And there is sure a lot of bull out there.
"Of course, lack of evidence doesn't stop MAGAts". Brilliant. I also thing it is how you spell "Benghazi".
Has Joe made any comment about the republicans on a witch hunt? He seems to me to be trying to stay above the fray with Hunter as well as the charges against trump. Now the republicans are claiming the DOJ is political when he, too, is trying to stay clear by assigning someone else to do the prosecuting. Isn't Hunter's people all republican appointed. These people are not happy unless they have not only the whole pie but it has to be the flavor they want.
President Biden was elected fairly by We the People and he is working for and fighting for We the People and democracy. He and Obama made a beautiful team and gave heart and hope to so many. Let's honor them both by beating MAGA by a landslide. I'm tired of being bullied. When President Biden got into office, I was waiting for him to pull a Ralphie (like Ralphie did in The Christmas Story). Now I realize it is up to all of us, everywhere, to become Ralphies and collectively rid ourselves of MAGA. No one leader can do it alone. We have to face this existential threat head-on. As President Biden put it so well, "The one word that sums up America is possibility."
Read Mary Trump on Donald:
https://open.substack.com/pub/marytrump/p/whats-worse-than-worst?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=5jvwf
Wow. She really nailed it. He is one dangerous, crazy SOB.
Excellent. Thank you for sharing this.
So true. Yet the news reports (nearly constantly— even MSNBC just today) that “Biden is too old”, and that the Democrats should run a younger candidate. Folks seem to want some kind of star power to sweep them off their feet. Well, be careful what you wish for. A younger President is not necessarily a better President. If only the information of his accomplishments could be more widely known. By the way, every person in the so-called “Freedom Caucus” is “young”.
Yes, I wish the American people and the media could get past this ageist BS and recognize that they have a president who is well on his way to making life better for the people by respecting democratic principles and instituting economic fair play. Please let the man--and the team he has built around him--keep building this better future over the next 5 years. Vote blue!
And even his beautiful and whip smart Vp is starting to look more presidential now that she’s leading a task force on gun laws. She had a great inton PBS from her alma mater—the Morehouse college.
saw that interview - so impressed with the VP .
Really I'm Actually quite GRATEFUL for the type of President and VP in charge now.
VOTE VOTE VOTE
Liz Ayer, Nyc/MA -- Indeed VP Harris is whip smart! The interview on PBS News Hour with Geoff Bennett last night was really great! She shone/shined with such intelligence, grace and deep confidence -- the kind of confidence that doesn't have to prove anything to anyone. (I noticed that they stood up for the entire interview.)
"shone/shined"—Haha!
Either is correct except when speaking of, say, polishing silverware or shining shoes, in which case "shined" is the correct word.
https://www.thesaurus.com/e/grammar/shined-or-shone/
or
https://www.grammarflex.com/posts/to-shine-is-it-shined-or-shone
Or just continue to use "shone/shined"!
I say "shone" is correct, because it's what I learned in primary school back in the sixties, but "shined" is preferred, because that's what the word would be if "to shine" were a regular verb. I approve of the new trend towards regular forms, but "shined" still looks wrong to me!
She went to Howard in DC. Morehouse is men-only.
She seemed so nervous doing that interview. I hope she succeeds.
“Inton PBS”. Please clarify.
Inton = interview on, I think?
That's what I understood it to mean.
Kamala was interviewed yesterday evening on PBS.
Intro?
The other thing the media seems to be doing is itching for a fight within the Democrats, more drama, higher ratings. Split the party and see more anguish, more fundraising. On top of it all, the media tycoons and anti-democratic forces demoralizing the citizenry with all the stupidity of infighting and personal attacks. We the People must demand better, see through the despotic forces endangering our democracy, and rise up through the muck with our own backbones and our own Values emphasizing Freedom and Responsibility.
Right and Gavin Newsome with his Hollywood good looks seems poised to jump in after his debate on Fox with DeSantis. Americans have always been suckers for beauty and youth. If we don’t have Biden for 4 more years —we will all be the worser!
Gavin is an interesting potential, I’d like to hear more how he has managed Californias issues according to them...it’s a large and diverse population ( such as is our America) . Managing a diverse pop is #1 need for anyone of Presidential possibility.
Currently the people in greatest need are getting a promising boost , as Biden’s focus shores up the worst hit sector-the middle class.
The bargaining chips on my table are:
1) Uber-Rich -their taxes back to ‘fair’ . There’s no doubt they’ll have their puppets baulk .
2) Oversight committees need ‘buckle down basics’ ie no rich folks getting funds allocated for ....
3) Campaign finances need across the board cap
4) Lobbyist ...only one to represent anything.
5) Wall Street absolved...like did you just hear them scream !!🤣🤣🤣
6) Term Limits on:
a) subsidies
b) political positions
c) judgeships
7) CEO caps <10x their lowest paid employee..detecting another scream ?
The Blue Tsunami is gaining momentum, thanks for the work..so proud of this effort.
We ‘ll need to ramp up notch by notch , doubting the diabolical divisions different either.
Let’s welcome our youth vote and enthuse those so long ,often purposefully, neglected...that’s a strong audience to talk points- we need to hear from them..
a lot on our plate to accomplish , we.can.do.this.
💙💙VOTE💙💙
One Newsome story concerns me…I live in NJ and know little about him. The story: As I understand it, he promoted a major water desalination project for LA. Ocean water would be desalinated, and wastewater, including sewage would be cleaned, too. The organics in the wastewater would have helped fuel the process, cutting costs significantly. The project died. Newsome couldn’t get it done.
I think one of the reasons for opposing the de-sal project is that the current methods dump the salt back into the ocean, which is a disaster for any coastal sea life. Now if they could figure out a way to get lithium out of the salt (and not put it in the ocean) then a desalinization plant would be an awesome solution to multiple problems!
Juanita Smith, I know that’s a concern, but analyses I’ve read indicate that is not the case when the wastes are properly dispersed. Israel, for example, recycles 96% of its wastewater and gets 80% of its drinking water from desalination (these figures are several years old). They disperse their distribution of salts and other contaminants and do ongoing testing of the related ecosystem. Consider the amount dispersed compared with the total regional volume: it’s tiny. Another concern is cost, but IMO, we should be paying the real cost for water, not a subsidized price.
Yes, environmental impact must be tested and monitored. I assume real, high-quality estimations could be made, but these things usually become politicized, and misinformation is then blasted fact.
Possible?
Thank you for the story. Remembering vaguely having seen it and found unsurprising that even Californians weren’t ready for it.
Virginia Witmer, as I wrote, I haven’t closely followed this, but have to wonder, what were Californians not ready for? I suspect it was more about misinformation. California and the entire region are facing severe water shortages. The impact will be financial, too. What will happen to the economy when farmers don’t have enough water? How about real estate prices? And health: Water from depleted aquifers is more likely to be tainted with contaminants, like arsenic. Californians can pay now or pay later.
Was there ever an explanation? It’s working in other seaside countries, though not sure of the holistic affect, and solar driven I believe.
Patricia Davis, I think Juanita Smith is correct that concerns for desalination’s byproducts disposal would hurt the environment. I don’t know the details or history. However, it’s difficult to know what’s behind the banner messages. Could there have been an ulterior motive? But as you said, desalination is used all over the world, and newer methods cut costs a lot, like using the input water’s organic matter to help fuel the desalination process. Sometimes, we need to take risks to solve a crisis, and water access is becoming a crisis.
I read about him in the NYTIMES every morning— they follow the huge amount of politics going on around all at the same time in that very large state that’s still Blue!
He’ll be a contender soon I believe, have to keep a closer eye on him I reckon. Right now focus is on waking the sleepers up and getting our voters active .
Newsome is interesting. To his credit, he us committed to supporting Biden in 2024, but it sure looks to me like he's prepping for a run in 2028. I like the way he speaks up in interviews, whether friendly or hostile. He can be a big help to the Biden campaign. I do feel some concern over the size of his ego. I know it takes a healthy ego to run fir the Presidency, but too much can be limiting and destructive. He's git a spine though, and too many Dems don't seem to have much.
a Dems focus group (all women) recently chorused Biden was too old, but when asked to vote vs TOG, equally chorused,"Biden!" almost a shout. You're right on the ageism coverage. The questions need to be coupled. Compared to the ravings of TOG, Biden is clarion sane, clear and oh so with it.
"Biden is clarion sane." Period. There is no comparison. Only a lot of work to be done between now and November 2024.
If ONLY this would translate into poll results reflecting this, including if not especially handling the economy. I personally don't get it. Is there a broad populist conspiracy against the Dems which is baked in? Has the GOP been that good at brainwashing the general public?
Don't worry about polls: it's the vites that count.
Sorry... votes.
Remember the Russians and possibly the Chinese bots are working night and day online to weaken US.
The Foreword of HCR's new book explains the reason why pretty clearly. It is the big lie that propelled a joke of a politician into the Fascist Fuehrer in the 1930's and is at work now propelling a joke of a politician into a threat to the American Republic and to all of humanity. He has his "base" and they identify with his lies because it is easier to believe those lies than the truth. He must be defeated once and for all. Or, sorry Ben Franklin, we weren't able to "keep it" (the Republic).
that only works to the extent predilections already exist in the American public.
The dark web is far more powerful than most of us can believe. Not only is it encouraging assassinations, but it also encourages suicides and general depression and disorganization.
Young, callow and stupid I’ll go with old and wise. Ageism is a real problem In our society. We are wasting social capital and knowledge. Our brains have been hijacked by X twitter and tik tok.
Mick Jagger is the same age as Biden. I don't see anyone saying that he's too old to continue recording. ;)
Amen! I’m 63 and to me President Biden seems, well, presidential.
I am 84, not "Presidential", but my brain works fine.
Nothing stops you from writing letters and to the editor protesting the unfair, illogical and just plain biased coverage of Joe Biden, especially compared to Trump. (Think about how a minor verbal stumble by the President is headline news, while Trump’s constant imbecilities are largely ignored.). Almost every day I post a comment in NYT pointing out the disparity in treatment. Eventually, if there are enough protests and comments, the editors of responsible outlets will change course.
I have written letters to the editor and responded in the comments section to these articles. However, nothing seems to stop them from this constant drumbeat!
For myself, I don’t expect results overnight. And I figure it will take a lot of people complaining to effect change. But I do what I can.
Does anyone know how to communicate with news anchors? I sent a FB message to Alex Witt (MSNBC) out of sheer disgust at the attention to Biden's age and also just to see if it would garner a response. Nothing so far. How can we get through to them to tell them to stop it and focus on policies, programs, values, accomplishments?
I’ve tried looking on line but it seems impossible. Several weeks ago I wanted to draw attention to the abhorrent project2025, as it needs much more media coverage.
At the height of the pandemic, a bicycle shop owner told me, "what we have is what you want" , when I was looking for parts to upgrade my bike. Supply chains were severely limited then. He was right , by golly. The red seat and the wonky pedals worked out fine. I learned a lesson then regarding form and function, and how that interplay works in everyday life. The angel you know, versus the angel you don't know kind of thing with President Joe. People like to have something to complain about. Somehow, it gives them a sense of relevance and purpose. If Ol' Joe gives you the BLUES, dig it!
Jim, so correct. While we do have our trolls on this forum, there are intelligent, well meaning discussions where one of those in the debate is a fervent progressive. Nothing Biden does is "enough" and I think of an astute clip from "Beau of the Fifth Column" when he remarked that progress doesn't come in leaps and bounds, it's by slowly chipping away.
I've observed that sometimes, the progressive debater on the discussions here can be just as stubborn in their beliefs as a MAGA.
Annie Weeks - By the way, every person in the so-called “Freedom Caucus” is “young”.
Yes, just imagine Lauren Boebert or Margery Taylor Green as the President.
Ewww. What a nightmare.
Gag. I am just up and already sick to my stomach with the thought of Gunslinger Groper or Gangrene.
I agree. Why this hang up about his age? Do you want an intelligent, forward thinking, mature man, who’s been around the block, or a nut case, megalomaniac, who’s a few years younger. Biden has done & is doing a fantastic job. I didn’t even want him as my 1st choice. I’m very glad we got him. These media people have blinders on. They’re hung up on spin & glam. What are they, teenagers?!
I sent an email to the "Morning Joe" producers complaining about their unending whining about Joe's age (Biden not Morning). I asked them to compare the accomplishments of Trump's cabinet and Congress to Biden's.
I shudder to think how bad the Trump administration would have been had any of his cabinet actually tried to do something. Most of them did everything they could to tear down their departments.
And then look at how well the Dept. of Interior are led as well as many others. And many of the departments shed hundreds of veteran employees when Trump's people were heading the departments.
Right on... and those youngsters don’t have even 1/16 of an ounce of the wisdom that President Biden has!!!
It seems the MSM runs on negativity. So, we are all well aware of the TfG negatives. In the interest of “fairness” it was imperative that something “negative” was found about President Biden. It’s a bit sick.
And isn’t it so much easier to parrot “polls” than to do some real investigative journalism re: the accomplishments of the administration. We are not well served.
Really? Looking at the polling, 60% of Democrats want to can Biden. Why? Because he
is a boat anchor. Inept, stupid, and a liability every direction you turn. If he isn't lying about his personal history, or tripping over his own feet, he is tap dancing around the family criminal enterprise. Sending a crack addict son to be the bag man isn't probably the smartest choice.
The ABC poll paints a terrible picture. 75% of respondents are unhappy with the economy. Unlike Biden's idiot staff who claimed inflation was "transitory", the current
economic picture isn't. Raising interest rates 500% over the last year is having the desired effect. Its choking the economy, slowing consumer spending, hurting corporate earnings, and slamming the brakes on lending.
We are likely to see a recession in Q4 2023 or Q1 2024. How bad it will be is open to question.
BTW 45% of the respondents said that they are worse off under Biden and that number will grow over the next 6 months. Those respondents favored Trump 81-29%.
So, No Americans don't want a younger or older President, they want a competent one.
They are tired of the effects of inflation, open borders, and wasted spending on needless wars.
These days Trump looks a whole better and the polling shows it.
If you truly want to live in the country Donald Trump would try to create if he were re-elected, you don't need to wait for 2024. You could move to a place which is already that country - say Russia, China, North Korea, or Hungary. Go for it!
*You are feeding a troll*
And...
You are delusional. Who do you think you are fooling?
There is a thing called history. Trump was president for 4 years. Leftists
pull this crap every time a Republican wins. They said the same thing about
Reagan, Bush, Bush Jr, and Trump. If the Nikki Haley were the nominee you would say the same thing. Its a cliche, and its stupid.
On the other hand, leftists hate free speech, individual choices, and LOVE big government.
Proof? Who wants to take away your gun? Censor your speech? Digitize the currency? Use the force of the FBI/CIA against its political rivals and citizens?
My friend YOUR LOGIC is 100% projection.
You've apparently failed to read Trump's plans for his next presidency. Or you have, and you approve. Either way, his and his myrmidons plans stand for themselves. I don't need to add a thing. I repeat my invitation.
You are delusional. Look at the latest ABC Poll- Trump 51% Biden 42%.
Even worse 75% of respondents are unhappy with the economy. 45% of respondents
say they are worse off and those voters favor Trump 81-29%.
60% of Democrats polled want to dump Biden.
You are delusional. Keep recycling your cliches! You obviously can't think your way out of a paper bag. This is de-rigueur for Leftist.
Just show you how stupid your claim is WHAT do the Chinese, Russians, and North Koreans have in common they ARE ALL LEFTISTS. They want government control of your speech, your money, your gun, and children. Just like the Biden administration.
Dream on!
James A--this is the last time I will engage with you. You are bordering on troll status here on the forum. I don't know how long you've been reading/commenting--fairly recently I believe, and I suspect that like others before you, you will disappear.
You are welcome to post whatever you want, but you chose a single outlier poll to support the beliefs you already held. You're barking up the wrong tree if you are trying to convert anyone here.
I suspect that you will indignantly attempt to refute me, generally it seems like calling everyone delusional is your best retort. (Which, trust me on this one, the majority here is laughing at you.) Any other readers who are indeed finding James A's fury amusing, I welcome you to comment. Then, everyone--don't feed him.
Why did you engage at all???
Waste of space.
I'm far happier with somebody who "walks the walk" rather than "talks the talk." You can't eat soaring, inspiring rhetoric. I love Obama, but I will never ever vote for someone so naive and inexperienced as he was; by the time he figured out where the men's room was in the White House, his employees (Rahm Emanuel first and foremost) had FUBARed the situation "beyond all recognition."
Methinks Biden has had a meticulous approach to dealing with any issue. He knows where to hit the nail and commits himself with an openness and logicality that appeals to the concerned. He is open to ideas that serve everyone equally. He doesn't sugar-coat. Alongside this, Biden has religiously stick to his campaign promises of the Bottom-up, Middle out by funding small businesses, cutting off break-tax for big corporations and billionaires, curbing monopolistic tendencies which pose unfair competition, and protecting the rights of the workers. America is lucky to have him.
For sure we’re lucky to have Biden for our President— what he has is so many years of experience, he’s a decent and gracious man who rose from working class Scranton and he has Jill.
And Biden has his incredible team.
Yes, indeed. A really talented, well educated, experienced team that work from a place of intelligence, knowledge and international savvy. Adults with a 21st century world view.
From Blinken to Khan. Joe knows how to pick them. And he knows how to pick people who know how to pick people. That is a wise person's tool kit.
that's the "secret sauce" which keeps any good government running and developing policy
Yes! They all understand government - ins, outs, ups, downs, purpose - and governing.
Yes!
I agree TC! I am sooo pleased at what I’ve seen from Joe Biden. His agenda is exactly what America needs right now, and his nuanced approach is masterful. His occasional gaffes makes you wince, but look at the entire body of work and it’s exceptional.
Being Vice President to Obama afforded him the opportunity to observe the perils of timidity and avoid the potholes. He’s a better President for it!
You're right. He shows that "experience matters."
But remember ONE gaffe, negates 10 positives (or more, depending on who is reporting)... which seems to be a strange built in dynamic of our culture-
with our local Gov., one complaint totally outweighs any support. It's sad and weird.
Morning Joe keeps bringing up Trumps dysfunctional gaffes, quite a laugh.
"by the time he figured out where the men's room was in the White House, his employees (Rahm Emanuel first and foremost) had FUBARed the situation "beyond all recognition."
TC, that must be why 40 MILLION people now have insurance who previously did not? Yes? Because of Obama's naivete??
Let us all be honest. Obama had the audacity to run for President as a black man in a country where that is anathema. But, guess what? He did and he won TWICE.
40 MILLION people are now able to access the lousy American health care system for a lower cost. Yes, Obama care DID result in my own premiums being raised, which was not advertised as part of the deal, but, guess what?? I can afford that and don't mind a bit.
Obama did make two mistakes: He doubled down on that mess in Iraq that Bush started and he supported "transgender" access in bathrooms which, in Public Schools, is a veritable nightmare because adolescent human males could have (and would have) just put a dress on to go into the girls bathroom for fun. What a mess IF that "executive order" had ever been actually implemented (most schools ignored that "order and appropriately I might add). His approach in Iraq was probably Hillary's recommendation, another Clinton mess.
But, Obama was a GREAT President. He gave optimism and hope to many, many, many Americans who needed that optimism. Me included.
Obama was not naïve and naivete did not stop legislation under Obama's second term.
Mitch McConnel's fundamentally evil, hateful nature stopped legislation and court appointments. An old white man from Kentucky where, undoubtedly, in Mitch's mind, "blacks know their place".
Why did Mitch block everything? Because Obama was BLACK. Not because he was naïve.
TC, why be so disrespectful of such a giant in American history? What do you gain by writing such a nasty sentence? Or, maybe you have just been in Amurca so long talking about a black man as President in such disrespectful terms seems normal and acceptable to you?
To me, Obama is one of the greatest Presidents in history. Maybe THE greatest.
Mike, I agree with almost everything you said, but you have a blind spot when it comes to trans people, especially trans girls and women, who are NOT boys/men in dresses, a right wing battle cry just as harmful as calling Blacks “lazy” or gay people “perverts.” As a psychologist who has worked with trans folks over 30 years and knows the medical and psychological literature in this area, I say this with scientific certainty and with love, because I respect your comments 99% of the time. Trans rights are human rights and Obama was right on this. People in general were starting to understand this when the Republicans discovered that trans bashing was a winning political wedge issue.
Agree completely, Maureen. Also teenage boys aren’t likely to just put on a dress to go in the girls bathroom. First, most boys don’t care that much. Second, many boys wouldn’t want to be seen in a dress. Third, those kids know each other and know who the boys vs trans females are. Finally, for the most part, at least at my kids’ high school, they are somewhat protective of vulnerable students. There are always jerks, sure, but that’s true at every age group. My kids’ HS has also gone to individual stalls that go floor to ceiling with an open sink area so there aren’t gendered bathrooms.
I think all "rest rooms" should be relabeled from "men" and "women" to "People". Too many of us are still living in a sexually obesessed fantasy world. Most people get excited about this subject for no logical reason.
So I'm a straight guy. I go into a rest room. Honestly, I don't want to be observed doing my business and I don't want to watch anyone else regardless of sex or sexual orientation. I just gotta pee! Give me some privacy, a sink that works well and a towel dispenser by the door.
Exactly. Europe, with its all gender restrooms, is way ahead of the US on this.
Agreed, Bill.
.. .and soap?... don't men use soap? I ask because when I need to skip to the loo and the women's room doesn't have toilet paper or soap, I can count on finding some in the mens room to snitch. To me, sexuality is a health and safety issue.
All correct, Stacey.
Maureen, thank you for writing this. You said it better and more tactfully than I could have.
Thank you for using the word "tact". It's been sooooo loooong since I've heard anyone use that word.
We use it a lot with regard to our horses - when they do something really stupid and you manage to quietly calm them down and stay on, you’ll get a “tactfully ridden” from the judge 😂. It’s a great word!
Maureen, Mike wasn't talking about trans kids. He was talking about "normal" boys who would put on a dress just to go into the girl's bathroom.
I think that we need to get rid of gender segregated bathrooms; European countries have and it works just fine. If space is a consideration, then utilize an open door access and single floor to ceiling stalls. Mark two of them (I'm gonna say closest to the door) with a "urinal" sign and put urinals in them) and have the rest of them be commodes. Our local senior center did that and it really works just fine.
First of all, and with respect, please please please don't refer to boys who identify with their birth-assigned sex as "normal." I don't think I need to go into why, and I don't think you were trying to make a point about what is abnormal and abnormal. but this is what we sometimes do, unconsciously. We are all drenched in thinking of sex/gender as a binary, and I have learned over many years of experience that it is not. Second, boys/men who are bent on being predatory do not need to put on feminine clothing to do so. Third, girls wear boy-style clothing all the time, but we are so misogynistic as a society, without even realizing it, that we only persecute trans feminine birth-assigned boys for this. And I do mean persecute. To require a socially transitioned transgirl (birth assigned male) to use the boys' bathroom usually ends up in them preferring to hold it in all day.
As the mom of a trans daughter, I thank you for your advocacy, Maureen. I get too upset to be an effective advocate. I see it not as a bathroom issue, which is just salacious, but as an issue of my daughter’s fundamental safety and right to exist as she chooses. Pretending it’s about bathrooms and protecting women is a cover for discrimination.
Maureen, points taken. It is why I put quotation marks around normal. And yes, your observation that MtF are far more ostracized than FtM transitions is very accurate. What you describe in this post is far, far more detailed than was my intent in replying to Mike S.
Ally, you beat me to it. I just replied to Mike S above and related my first experience using a unisex bathroom at the Niagara Falls visitor center.
Maureen. You may be correct. The trans issue is very far afield from my knowledge base.
But. I did not bash anyone who claims the trans label. I carefully avoided doing that.
I just gave one possible consequence of forcing rules on public schools.
I went to public school. Some days are just a free for all. Allowing adolescent humans that are born with male sex, to enter a bathroom, in public school, for those born female sex, for any reason, is not a good idea.
There may, indeed, be a small fraction of humans born as male sex who are somehow girls. I do not know.
I don’t know what bathroom they should use. Work it out with the school.
Mike, I took your post exactly as you meant it (I think). I just did a quick scan to see how many trans folks I know; admittedly, most of the ones I know are female to male. I suspect that is because I am a (lavender) card carrying lesbian and know a lot of folks in that community. I got to 14 in the 30 seconds or so I pondered the question, and I am sure if I were on my second cup of coffee there might be more.
I will say that I have, on several occasions, used a men's room stall to pee. I present enough as "not a woman" to not get any side glances. I get far more examination, not just side glances, using the women's restroom.
Possibly because women consider men a threat in a women's bathroom.
Ally. A few times at the baseball stadium I see women in the men’s room. Nobody minds. :)
Oh Ally! My hair is so short, I can relate to this!
As an old widow, I feel like a prey animal around men. Myself, I feel female but nutral about anyone else: I'm simply not interested in anything to do with sex. Since 90% of violent crimes are perpetrated by men, I want the protection of privacy when i expose my private parts.
Unfortunately, the "one possible consequence" you chose is a red herring and has been used successfully to keep trans folk from being able to use public restrooms without fear of violence.
Cisgendered boys who want to victimize girls will do so no matter which bathrooms trans kids are using. There is nothing stopping them from putting on dresses to gain access to girls' space whether or not trans girls are allowed in those spaces, precisely *because* boys in dresses are not trans girls. Especially in schools, the communities around them know this!
This whole scenario arises from the trope of trans folk as sexual predators, an image that has no basis in observed reality but arises from fear and ignorance.
You say that the trans issue is far afield from your knowledge base yet you make sure we know your uninformed opinions anyway. Next time, maybe take a look at at what people who do know this topic have to say.
I'm too close to this topic to continue a conversation because I am busy fighting for my life as a nonbinary transgendered disabled senior: my culture would seemingly just as soon see me dead since I cannot work and am about as queer as they come. But Julia Serrano is a trans woman who is also a scientist and writes extremely well on trans politics. She can be found all over the internet; the first places I would look are:
https://juliaserano.substack.com/
https://juliaserano.medium.com/
Cordelia Fine writes about the myth of biological sex. I don't know if she writes online but she has two books that are entertaining and extremely enlightening if you have never questioned the equation of two broad groupings of genitalia with two very narrowly-defined sexes. I have read her "Delusions of Gender", and the follow-up, "Testosterone Rex" is on my reading list.
If you start with either of these, you will find a wealth of references to others who have studied and lived this "issue".
If you want to try something you might not understand the first time through, Sandy Stone's work can be a lot of fun, but without the history behind it, it may be hard to follow. She's here, though--maybe others reading this would enjoy her work: https://sandystone.com/
And a link to her "The Empire Strikes Back: A Posttranssexual Manifesto", is on this page: https://sandystone.com/empire-strikes-back.html
Erik, thank you for the reading suggestions! I’m always on the lookout so I can be a better mom to my daughter. And a better citizen and ally. I appreciate it.
I certainly agree that most people have little knowledge or empathy for diverse gender identities and that is what engenders fear, even among transgender people themselves, who commonly internalize transphobia.
Mike, I never thought you were trans bashing. That is a Republican strategy that seemed to work, when abortion and gay marriage fizzled. Sometimes a shameful political strategy attracts support, and sometimes a righteous one, like supporting trans rights, can be twisted into a losing strategy by focusing on misinformed or misleading claims.
I think you're not giving props to Nancy Pelosi, who did the heavy lifting.
The truth is, within a month of Obama taking office in 2009, it was clear tto anyone who knew who was who that he was following the advice of the "establishment" about who to bring into the Cabinet and White House, which did not bode well. A president's only as good as his staff. When Obama brought in Rahm Emanuel, it didn't surprise me that that POS did two things right off: he fired Howard Dean from the DNC and got rid of the 50-state strategy, and he decommissioned Obama For America. Those were the two things most responsible for Obama's success and the fact he had a 60-vote Senate (no filibusters) to work with for two years. But killing the organization that took the fight everywhere - Dean's DNC team - and shutting down the grassroots organization just when the GOP started creating their astroturf Tea Party were two knockout punches. That and the fact that Obama's stint as a "community organizer" signing up voters wasn't the experience he needed. He failed to understand (if he read) Alinsky's "Reveille for Radicals", particularly the first rule: "The REAL FIGHT begins AFTER you win the election." Obama himself has admitted his lack of experience and that he really didn't clearly see the political realities until after the 2011 shutdown after the tea party election. Unfortunately, letting Emanuel run things "traditionally" meant not firing up the base and getting out the vote of 2008 and not campaigning everywhere, just in "winnable" seats. The result was the red wave, the loss of the 60-vote margin in the Senate, and the Republicans controlling the majority of the redistricting - leading directly to the past 12 years we have spent trying to dig our way out of a hole we stumbled into, thanks to Emanuel, the worst Democrat of the past 50 years and unfortunately Obama's good Chicago buddy. Without that 60-vote Senate margin Dean gave him, and Pelosi in the House steering things with the majority she lost because of Emanuel's BS, Obama could have wanted Obamacare in one hand and pissed in the other, and it's certain which would have filled up first.
Obama was hamstrung by the Republicans from his first day in office. There is no excuse for their wretched behavior.
True. And he should have expected it and planned accordingly.
TC. A very informative and well written short history. I learned a bit and understand your perspective better.
Obama definitely had a lot to learn and made mistakes.
But. The Republicans treated him like dirt on their feet. And? He still got stuff done.
What do “experienced” Republicans do?
Cut taxes on the rich.
I will take Ibana any day.
I will too. I just wish I was a member of the Keeping Their Eye On The Ball Party.
Don't forget the world economy was in free fall when Obama took office. Agree with they way he dealt with this or not (quantitative easing, essentially printing money to rescue large financial organizations from their own greed - and the rest of us from them), it was not the action of a naive, politically inexperienced President. Can you imagine what the would-be Putins of the world would have been able to do if the global economy was allowed to tank in 2007/2008?
Steve,
Obama's catering to the big financial institutions was a continuation of what Congress and Bush had already started. In 2007 Bush/Congress had printed $700 Million bucks and handed it over to Wall Street. Handing out welfare to a bunch of rich white people did not sit well with me at all, and, I did not like it when Bush started that process in late 2007. Not one bit.
But, let us imagine that Obama had just let the economy tank so that people would remember what "Republican Policy" had wrought (that policy: legalization of derivatives in 2001 which became "mortgage backed securities" that were worthless in 2007).
IF Obama had just let the entire economy die, HE would have been blamed because Americans are, honestly, not smart enough to associate something that happened in 2001 (Republican legalization of gambling called "derivatives") with a Great Depression in 2008. Most Americans don't even know that derivatives were legalized in 2001 under Bush/Republicans.
Then, Obama would have gone down in history as the cause of that Great Depression. Why do that? Obama knows Americans. They want free stuff.
So, he gave them, especially the rich white folks on Wall Street, what they wanted.
Agree that Obama was up against a wall. He HAD to act. The LOANS to the auto companies which were repaid with interest were brilliant. The gifts to major banking institutions could have been loans. American tax payers could have profited in the long run.
And...one way to have saved that economy was to have bailed out the homeowners who had been suckered into those insanely corrupt mortgages. That would have fed money directly into the economy. We did it with Covid. We could have done it then.
I will always be a huge fan of Obama the leader. Obama the man. But he allowed Wall Streeters to guide his financial policies and he really thought he could overcome McConnells brazen bigotry. Obama should have pushed through Merrick Garlands membership on SCOTUS using whatever means possible. Instead he trusted the devil.
All that being said, I would vote for Barack Obama again in a heartbeat. His decency is indisputable. His posture on the international stage was something to be proud of. I love the guy.
I would vote for him again too.
I too have never quite forgiven President Obama for letting the financial institutions get away scot-free while so many citizens were badly hurt, but I too would vote for him again. But first we MUST re-elect President Biden.
McCain was against allowing banks to securitize their loan portfolios.
The bank and big auto bailouts were necessary as a result, just like the bills passed by Democrats in response to the economic collapse caused by the pandemic. Biden’s plan to build the economy from the bottom up to the middle out provides, if ultimately successful, a stabilizing force against such shocks.
Well said Jerry.
I too liked (or should I say valued) what Obama attempted and achieved. The total record, great, not to be distracted by what he didn't try harder to do or knew how to get in the negotiations with Congress and his party. I thought at the time that the deal he struck with John Bohrner, to allow the temporary tax cuts to the wealthy to become permanent in order to avoid a government shut down, was ill-advised. Looking back, that was one of the bigger losses as it became a great reason for the Republicans to believe they can get the whole loaf of demand bread and not negotiate in good faith, as is happening. A precedent was established which I think is still paying off for the party of the 1-percenters. My vote would be for him, a seasoned president and was for Mr Biden because of his record as Obama's smart and savy sidekick through all eight years. My vote for Mr Biden is now guaranteed because Joe is delivering what he promised and will do so throughout his next term without tweaking an important agenda in order to cater to the sectors who want a younger stud with a fast tongue and a surface understanding of what is in and the big picture that he, Ms Harris, and their administration are delivering for Americans. I want the two there to finish what they started; the turn back to a progressive and viable America for all it's many factions into the future. They are leading America domestically and internationally into a future where American democracy and our version of capitalism will flourish. There is no Truman or LBJ waiting in the wings to bring this ship of state to port, cargo and passengers safe. What I fear more than Trump is the Democrats coming up with a more perfect solution all dressed up and ready for prom in a competition for the minds and hearts of the nation that are actually at stake and where the alternative candidates are Ignorance and Evil in 2024. Joe and Kamala got to finish what they started. Sadly, changing asses is an old tradition for Democrats and fearful single issue (e.g., age, poll numbers) liberals in races involving stallions.
Excellent point about the precedent Obama set.
Mike S--this ol' lady did not really fathom the idea of a unisex bathroom, until I actually saw and used one this past summer at Niagara Falls! Their newly opened visitors center bathroom at first confused me--obviously two entrances, neither marked as to sex. I cautiously ventured in, and discovered the the stalls were solid doors, at most a gap of 1/2" at the floor, and easily about 8' fall. Once inside, the edges had no peekable gaps whatsoever.
The sink area was separate, one wall lined with fold down changing tables. I admit, it did seem a bit strange to be at a sink, washing hands next to a man.
In case anyone might wonder--no, there are no urinals in there.
What? A bathroom without urinals??
What is the world coming to? What kind of bathroom does not force everyone into a lineup along the wall?
Heresy!
😊😊
You crack me up, Mike S! Always enjoy your comments and stories, and admire how when someone might disagree, you are more than civil. If only the GOP was like that!!
😊
Clearly they have redone the bathrooms of my past where all the guys are lined up, side by side, along the wall.
Sounds like a privacy step up!
There might have been a few juvenile delinquents attempting to enter girls’ rooms. If they were treated like those who set fires to school property their transgressions would quickly end.
Giving in to oppression, bullying, and serious adolescent behavior is never the answer.
I would have preferred Hillary Clinton, but given the choice between McCain (2008) and Romney (2012) and Obama, I would still vote for Obama. Abstaining is not an option.
Absolute fact on voting for Obama. I was against Hillary in 2008 and 2016 because I didn't want to go through the great Clinton Hunt again (voted for her in 2016). I have a feeling if she'd won in 2016 that the Republicans would have REALLY gummed up the works for four years - no approval of any appointments and a likely impeachment at the first opportunity. It would have made such a mess that low-info voters wouldn't vote Democratic for ten years.
Likely would have been four years of Benghazi. Still better than chump’s destruction derby.
Sadly too damn true.
I still think Trey Goudy and Jason Chaffetz are as evil as anything around today. Made up BS. Made me admire HRC more than i had before
Abstaining is Not an option...agreed! Our vote is our voice.
"I love Obama, but I will never ever vote for someone so naive and inexperienced as he was;"
Not even if they were running against a Trump?
I will 'never ever vote for somebody who' is in part why Hillary lost and Trump won.
Fortunately I think the Democrats learned their lesson about experience being necessary. I put a clothespin on my nose and voted for Clinton in 2016 because of Trump, and would vote for the Energizer Bunny if it was running against Trump. Hopefully his "great health" will solve our problems and terminate him sooner rather than later. The massive fatal myocardial infarction in front of the MAGts mid-rant, the fatal hamberder, choking on a pink Starburst, whatever. Make America Truly Great Again.
Whew. ThankYou.
Yes. And when campaigning for Clinton, I found that commiserating with potential voters about having to hold my nose to vote for her actually helped bring some 'never ever' voters around to voting for her.
TC, I think I love you!😘
Hillary lost because Hillary's judgement, over the years of being in politics, was just so obviously flawed. Just look at the long wavelength mess in Syria because of her recommendations around funding and weapons sales to the "rebels" (a bunch of bloodthirsty nuts) in that country that have, coupled with the government, destroyed the entire country and created one of the largest human diaspora's in human history.
She also lost because, on an open mike, she referred to Americans as "deplorables".
She also lost because nobody in America wanted to see Bill Clinton chasing teenagers around the White House again.
All those things about Hillary Clinton are true. But more importantly she was running against Donald Trump.
Enough Republican voters held their noses to elect Trump, and win the Supreme Court. Enough potential Democrats indulged in purity tests, pipe dreams, and Pied Pipers to elect Trump and give racist right wing religious extremists the Supreme Court.
Voting is not an exercise in personal expression, it is an exercise in strategic self discipline to gain power.
lin,
I voted for Hillary Clinton. Without hesitation. However, Hillary Clinton herself is the reason she lost. Not people who did not vote for her.
Many people who would have voted, just did not bother. Nobody to vote for in 2016. That hurt Clinton more than Trump.
"Nobody to vote for in 2016. That hurt Clinton more than Trump."
Sufficient numbers of Republican voters knew a Trump administration was worth voting for. As was winning the Supreme Court.
A Hillary Clinton administration was worth voting for. As was saving the Supreme Court.
What hurts America more than Trump is American citizens who miss the point of voting. (And Mitch McConnell and Leonard Leo who never miss a chance to destroy American democracy.)
Everyone overlooked SANDERS! Now, the DEMS are echoing his campaign ideas...HMMM!
I too held my nose and voted for Clinton. There was never an option.
Mike S, have you forgotten that the Syrian "rebels" were initially protesting Assad regime policies as part of the broader Arab Spring protests across the Middle East? Have you forgotten the Obama administration's success in destroying much of Syria's chemical weapons stockpiles? The refugee issue was caused by Russian puppet Assad, not by arming initially peaceful protests who were being brutally firebombed.
Have you forgotten how Trump vacated a US base in Syria that was protecting "rebels" and fighting ISIS, allowing the genocide to grow?
And your hard-on for Bill's piccadilloes is interesting.
It seems like you swallow Russian propaganda whole.
Lucky for Obama that Pelosi got Obamacare over the goal line he needed her political smarts
He did!
I saw a mention yesterday that it’s become obvious we got the order wrong.
Had it been Biden-Obama in 2008 it would have provided an experienced Obama in 2016.
But maybe this works better. Too many Americans think 80 years is old. At the same time medical. Science has produced conditions that. If you reach 80 then 100 years is likely.
But Joe Biden is returning power to the people leaving the Right to wither away.
Being that I am 2 years younger than Biden and at the top of my career professionally (one that requires a lot of "brain usage"), while many in my field are burned out and retired, you're as old as you feel like you are and as old as what you can do.
In Iowa, we get amazing and early access to presidential candidates. Like you, I found Obama's rhetoric appealing, but I wanted more specifics into the "how." In the end, Obama did pretty well given the forces arrayed against him like the powerful McConnell who vowed to make him a one term president, but I do like experience along with idealism.
I love Obama too, and he said that with every difficult decision made with his team, Biden was always the last person to leave the room.
It’s interesting that when we seek the the advice of doctors, lawyers, or accountants the first thing we look at is their experience and expertise. Yet, we want term limits on politicians. We believe experience in other professions and pursuits makes individuals more suitable for governing, (running a for profit business is just the right training for making political decisions).
These myths are propagated by those who don’t want government to function so that they may do what they wish without those pesky regulations.
It's like he's been reading Bernie's books.
Never forget -- an old white guy has a lot more room to maneuver than a young black man.
Obama took a Heritage Foundation plan to improve healthcare and watched the same Republicans who touted it call him a communist.
He nominated Merrick Garland -- whose name has been suggested by Orrin Hatch -- only to watch Republicans sit on the nomination because "he was a radical."
Obama spent eight years trying to unite the country with his policies even as conservatives divided it because of the color of his skin.
I used to joke that Obama was a disappointment because he refused to do the one thing that would have solved the problem.
He refused to give a speech informing the country that everyone HAS to breathe -- everyone no matter what race or sex or economic class still has to regularly breathe in and out.
My bet was Republicans would start passing out 6-8 minutes later. 😁
Why not an Executive Order requiring everyone to breathe? Maybe issue it the day before Election Day.
🤣
James, Regrettably, one only has to consider that Bernie Sanders is a year older than Biden to accept how age and rhetorical acumen can get conflated. To that end, I submit that Biden’s inability to take full advantage of the bully pulpit places further demands on all of us to insure he holds the White House and that Democrats up and down the ballot win their races in the General.
It’s interesting how my own views have evolved as I see through Biden just how much experience and wisdom can make a difference. I loved Obama but he simply lacked the tools that Biden has, and it made a critical difference in setting the table we have to deal with today. It’s possible that not even Biden had the tools yet during their administration to stave off what has happened since then. But he sure is doing it now.
Biden has a long history of being Progressive. His progressiveness is not a surprise to me, it is when he is not progressive that I am surprised. I suggested that UAW workers get a big discount on e-cars, which will make them more of the everyman car, and not just for the elite. I also suggest that they be prizes in all sorts of shows and raffles, like cars used to be on game shows. Right now I have no car in Europe, and do not need one, and if I were to get one it would be electric. I would never get a Tesla though. My child has grown up knowing the brands that I don't like and who they represent and who those people are. There is no backsliding when one has taken these sorts of stands for good reason when your children know what the significance is. I have signed a petition saying UAW workers should not do a photo shoot with Trump, who is having a TERRIBLE, HORRIBLE, NO GOOD,VERY BAD DAY! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hukeHQah4U
This terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day is going to turn into a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad election day too.
Biden has the experience needed to be an effective president and the True Grit. He is doing an excellent job by all important measures. Our justice system is living up to its symbol of “Blind Justice”. As Judge Engoron so wittily said when he quoted Chico Marx’s line from “Duck Soup” .... loved it.
But he can be. He’s white. As I live in a racist city, the importance of being white or not is palpable.
It's very worth remembering that when Obama came into office, he immediately had a global economic crisis to contend with. He also inherited nearly three decades of neoliberal governance (I'm including the Clinton presidency in this, though it had a better track record than what came either before or after). Biden followed the disastrous Trump term, to be sure, but he was also backed by an electorate that was at least beginning to wake up, and 1/6 made it clear what the Republicans were up to. So they both need to be seen in the context of their respective times. But I agree: Biden has more than risen to the occasion, and exceeded my expectations for sure. Don't forget he's a union guy!
That can be part of the magic of overcoming stuttering. Less talk, more listening and doing.
Let's face it...MSM is echoing trump's repeating claims of 'feeble Joe', sleepy Joe' 'senile old Joe'. Why aren't there headlines 'crooked. grifter, crazy trump'. I'll take older and wise over crooked and crazy any day.
Not to mention if it's trump and Biden again in 2024, what is different than 2020...trump has committed treason, been found guilty of rape, been indicted numerous times, threatened to kill his political enemies, ordered his MAGAites to shut down the gov't., lost most of his business 'EMPIRE', threathened judges, jurist, prosecutors, witnesses, etc., kissed Putin's a*s, and re-upped with the devil. And all Biden has done has been a great president...working for America day-in and day-out, moving our country forward out of the quagmire of the trump presidency. Gee...who would I vote for???
Yeah, Obama had a a certain naivete'. He thought that if he showed that he wasn't going to, 'paint the White House Black' , he would get more support from the middle and the right. But they screwed him anyway. He's still an awesome politician who is on a planet by himself !
Biden has ...how many decades of experience?? 8 years with Obama. Obama was and is a gift to the country. But, Biden is President now, under even worse circumstances, given horrible Trump and Trump supporters. We are lucky he's devoting his last years to us.
I opine that JFK's rhetoric served to smooth the way for LBJ's accomplishments. The same might be said of Obama and Biden. That said, Kennedy's recklessness during the Cuban Missile Crisis remains a sore point with this Historian.
Kennedy’s recklessness? That’s rich. The Dulles brothers thank you for your sycophancy.
I remain confident the majority membership of the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations will support my assessment. I was also in the United States Army at the time, it was personal for me and my friends.
Yeah, it wasn’t personal for me; I was just hiding under my desk in elementary school during ‘duck and cover’ drills. I’m sure the Historians of American Foreign Relations are just as susceptible to governmental propaganda as is the average American citizen. Define Kennedy’s recklessness, in comparison to that of the CIA, Curtis LeMay, members of Congress, etc. re. Cuba. This should be good, Mr. Confidence Man.
William F. Buckley had a stock rejoinder for such occasions, viz. "I find it difficult to refrain from insulting your intelligence by avowing you really believe what you just said."
Bless your heart. The best you can do to respond to a request for evidence of Kennedy’s ‘recklessness’ is to regurgitate a pithy quote from an ex-CIA blowhard? Stop digging, you’re embarrassing yourself.
". . . reads better in the original catsup." That's brilliant.
". . . reads better in the original catsup."
[renews subscription]
Lol.... I adored that quip !
Here in Pa, it's "ketchup."
Well, Pa needs to catch up. : )
😂🤣😂
I love it! I needed a laugh!
Thank you, Joe, and the FTC for a return to sanity in the corporate world. We can all see what Amazon's been doing for years now - stiffing third party sellers, in some cases reproducing their products to undercut them on price and give us crappier products, overcharging, upping the cost of Amazon Prime and then finding excuses not to honor the components of it (i.e. shipping things late), putting their workers in dangerous work situations, paying them crap wages and treating them like slaves, and all the other things that TR and FDR fought so hard against. Go get Bezos! Make him pay for a change!
For decades I have been lamenting the lack of anti-trust actions against these mega corporations. No, monopolies are not good, no matter what big business says. I would like the too big to fail banks to be next, along with the handful of big media corporations that own so many tv, radio and news outlets. Thank you Joe Biden.
You and me both, Jack.
I find it most fascinating that the Biden administration has in effect launched a two pincer war against economic consolidation and inequality. One is the reinvigoration of the FTC and the dusting off the cobwebs of the Sherman and Clayton Anti-Trust Acts by empowering the wonderful Lina Khan to go after Amazon, as well as the Google in the trial already underway. The other arm of this pincer movement is more diffuse and symbolic at present, but will hopefully bear legal and policy fruit in the near future. That would be his clear support of Labor during this year of the strike (Viva la Huelga!).
It is truly amazing that no American President prior to today has ever marched on a picket line.
I am sure ole George Pickett, he of the famous Confederate charge at Gettysburg that when repulsed turned the course of the Civil War in favor of the Union, would be flabbergasted to hear that an American President walked the line derived from his name.
Imagine what Biden can accomplish in a new term with Democrats controlling both houses of Congress. That's why the Republicans are desperate enough to trying just about anything to prevent this.
Good one Daniel. I am just a few comments in and I see the potential of having great discussions. I just love scrolling the comments. I learn more each time and have developed interesting exchanges with very sharp people over the past years.
Me too! I finally cancelled my NYT overpriced subscription because I learn more here!
I only have NYT for my husband’s obsession with Spelling Bee!
Thanks much, Ranson, and welcome aboard to the Good Ship "Commentary scrolling".
Heather's LFAA is most welcome is it not?
Let’s wonder how many of our presidents actually raised themselves up from the working class_I think Lincoln and Andrew Jackson would be two—maybe Grant.
Liz.....and President Garfield...find a good read about his life.
While it's focus is mostly on his death, Candice Millard's book "Destiny of the Republic" is one of the best books I've ever read! It's reads like a page-turner novel---a book to turn "only fiction" readers into readers of non-fiction!
Miselle....I read Candice Millard's bio of Garfield and have read several of her books.
You are correct about the info concerning his drawn out and painful death from an asassin's bullet and infection he received at the hands of the attending physician during his Presidency.
I did enjoy reading everything about his life....family surviving a fire in the back country of Ohio when he was young....the importance of education from his mom.
His survival during a storm while working on a boat....not knowing how to swim.....believing there must be a purpose for his future.
Garfield was a Union officer during the Civil War.
He was a great person of character.
I would add Mizzou's Harry Truman to that list, and of course, a certain controversial President from SoCal, Richard Milhouse Nixon
Daniel, thanks...you are correct. I really enjoy history. I will find a biography of Harry Truman.
Daniel, LOVE the historical word derivation for picket line! Thank you!
YW John, and thank you for the kind words.
I had the same thought as I read this letter this morning. I would like to see the FTC go after the cable companies, Comcast, T-Mobile, Verizon, AT&T, etc. For years they have controlled the costs and accesses to how people receive their internet, TV coverage and phones. They appear to compete on the surface but I think it is only on the surface. And why is it when you drive down any given road and there are several different gas stations (all different brands) all of them have the same or similar price? There are so many other companies that should also be scrutinized.
We are paying 5k a year more on average, HCR reports, due to monopolies. Insane.
Yes, it is.
Every monopolistic struggle ends with the worst company winning. Barnes & Noble over Borders, CVS over Sav-On, the list goes on.
The loss of Borders was especially sad for me and many others. Hopefully Biden will keep doing those things TFG would never do, like showing up on a picket line.
I literally would not have the authorial career I am enjoying right now if not for Borders. We used to go to ours regularly, and I always checked out the military aviation history shelves. One time, a young clerk saw me there (had seen me many times) and recommended a new book that had just come in. I looked it over and liked what I saw, and bought it. When I read it, I found a story in it I knew well, having written the story originally in Flight Journal. It had a footnote number that I looked up, and there I was, the footnote! A couple weeks later I ran across the author on a discussion forum, and sent a private email thanking him. He responded and introduced me to the late Eric Hammel, who had published the book. We got along like gangbusters and he pushed me to write "Fabled Fifteen," and the rest is history. You can't do that at Amazon.
You can't TOUCH anything on Amazon, let alone have something on a shelf jump out at you, like WOW! No developing relationships. No new friends. No warm comfortable spaces. No reading room for Heather to read from and talk about her new book.......
That's a great story, TC, and no you certainly cannot do that at Amazon. If I may inquire, do you recall where that Borders was located? I reside in Los Angeles as well and remember some of the interesting Borders stores
For a large chain, Borders was pretty good, but they and B&N put so many great independents out of business and for that i will never forgive them. Vroman's in Pasadena is one of the few left. A loving patron bought Children's Book World in Westwood, just to save it.
I stopped bying from Amazon years ago because they are poison. They kill what we love and deprive us of the experience of LOOKING for book. I hope they get their ass kicked hard.
Northridge Mall up in the SFV.
I have a copy of an old Flight Journal that printed a story my Dad wrote about getting shot down while he was a Flying Tiger. Not many of those old guys left to tell the stories.
There is also no Amazon to be AT!
You're so right. Literally, the last one alive is Bud Anderson from the 357th - 101 last May. When I wrote "I Will Run Wild" and did the chapter The Tigers of Burma (AVG), I realized all four of them I knew (Eric Shilling, Charles Older, Tex Hill, R.T. Smith) were long gone. Same thing when I wrote "Clean Sweep" - all the guys except Bud were gone. Steve Pisanos was the last, in 2016.
What I meant about "you can't do that at Amazon" is you can't do it online like that. Amazon will recommend 20 books "you may like" based on an order, but not one in particular, like that kid did because he'd read it and liked it.
During my eight years in Ann Arbor, Borders was my second home. I loved that store so much. I remember worrying that expansion would kill it, and so it did. Not that it wouldn’t have happened anyway. But that store was special.
Home Depot’s cabinets over MEGA Cabinets.
For profit health care companies like UHC
I will go out on a limb here. I used Amazon when is was just a book store. Amazon is the poster child for the multi monopolies . It has taken advantage of a broken system of non regulation. I live in a rural area & to find items there are no vendors even traveling between several towns. I buy local when I can but too often traveling between stores, items are not available. I am not a prime member bc 2 day service in not available to me & the tv programs are not worth the price. I have 90% of the time have had excellent service & great return policy from Amazon. They were a life line during covid. Their IT department far exceeds others like that @ United Health Care( a very dysfunctional system). So in going after Amazon, dont throw the baby out with the bath water & look @ other big systems, such as for profit health care companies.
Carole, isn't what you describe exactly the point of going after Amazon? Your rural residence should provide opportunity for small business enterprise, but the strength of the mega corporations to undercut competition is precisely why you feel - and BTW, even where I live, a small city of 50K I encounter lack of choice - you must use their services. Like you, I have availed myself of Amazon's services more and more, as fewer and fewer alternative options are available.
Also in a small community that is very very red, some retailers are flat out trump supporters & I will not spend my $$ with them.
Yes, a challenge here too! Used to be swing state, now ruby red.
I live in even a smaller community. I use the resources available. There is not one Apple Store in MT for instance so to get service either I drive 5+hr or as in the past use a local service that was not competent. It was even worse during covid. I am not saying that Amazon does not need reining in, along with a multitude of others, but from my experience they give a better quality of service than other abusers, like UnitedHealth Care that is less competent with my well being
Yes. I have to agree that both access and service have propelled Amazon to the top. It's hard to live far from choice.
Glad to hear that someone is trying to contain Amazon. As a primary care doctor it would be my nightmare to find myself working in a retail medical office run by… Amazon?! What kind of country allows such an absurdly sprawling monopoly to invade our grocery stores, music, books, streaming shows, and examining rooms?
As they state on their website:
“Amazon and One Medical have teamed up to make it easier to get exceptional primary care. Most major insurance plans accepted.”
Exceptional primary care has increasingly become an oxymoron as family docs like me are squeezed from all angles, 25% of the healthcare workforce has left, and primary care doctor shortages are projected to be around 20,000 nationally in the next 10 years.
Does Amazon based primary care sound as haunting to you as it does to me?
Well, no matter what happens to Amazon, or the Trump family Ponzi scheme, I’m thinking my Substack medical writing might just save my soul ☺️
Yes, I'm haunted by the same spectre and so long as we're trapped in the third-party, for-profit payor system, doctors are going to be commodified and enslaved by private equity firms and insurers. Worse, I predict that within 10 year an AI program will be given prescribing authority for "simple" conditions. Good luck, Doctor. (I think lawyers are going to be hit by a similar crunch when litigants start using Chat-GPT to represent themselves.)
As a fellow physician, I'm feeling your pain. It was really difficult in psychiatry with managed care before the parity laws passed. Now, insurers don't bother us much, having learned psychiatrists are harder to herd than cats. Primary care is the practice getting squeezed the most at the moment - you couldn't pay me enough to do your job.
Thanks for the validation - but what if I offered you 100 million dollars a year like what they are paying soccer stars in Saudi Arabia?
1 month and then I'd retire like a fat cat!
That does seem to be the trend. Wal-Marts all have Pharmacies. Wallgreens are opening primary care offices in their stores, retail medical care chains such as Convenient MD and Village Medical are opening everywhere. All claiming to offer care at a lower price. All are crappy places to work (I spoke to an MD at one of these places who said he had not had a pay raise in 5 years). The best offer so-so care, but at far lower rates than can be found in more traditional medical settings. I've noticed that, in medicine, competition does lower prices, but it also lowers quality even more. I do not think medicine and capitalism work well together, but I cannot suggest an alternative, either.
I have to add a comment in favor of Walmart pharmacies. Nearly 20 years ago when I went on Medicare I opted not to sign up for Bush’s Part D drug option, as did my older husband. ( He was forced a couple of years ago to sign up and pay the penalty because of all the RX’s he is currently taking...for good reasons.) I still need to go online and research costs at various pharmacies for what I need. Walmart is often the one of choice. What I have experienced there is a most personable, caring staff that greet me by name, that don’t fill some called-in RX’s when the prices are ridiculously high and instead call me, that when I bring in same immediately inform me of cost. They have given me the same small town experience that I had growing up in Redondo Beach. Medicine and medical care are outrageously expensive. Without Medicare and, yes, United Healthcare plan, we would not have been able to be functioning as well as we are.
Whew! Sometimes I am glad I'm an old fart. I might not have to go through that crap. Then again, I might live long enough to suffer it Gaaa.
It is getting frightening for sure. I 'll have to check out your Substack. My wife and I have Dr, friends who sing a similar song.
It's not Amazon which is failing to approve creation of any more government-supported residency positions at American Academic medical centers; it's congress failing to adequately address the growing shortage of doctors! The growing preference of our for-profit healthcare system is "mid-level" practitioners like Nurse-Practitioners (N-Ps) because, like Amazon, they can be paid less.
...and Physician Assistants (PAs).
Exactly Dr.McCormick,
I couldn’t believe this latest either.... controlling healthcare so it is continuing to be just Big Business.
Where are our representatives???? Oh, right getting their mental health check-ups at Amazon prime .
I told United Health Care on their survey: “I got more care at the gas station, and it was self serve”!
Now Kaiser has a new hospital and it so reminds me of Kennedy Airport it is mind boggling. People running from here to there looking for their gate, and their doctor’s name on huge screens . Everything done on the computer. No one really sees anyone of us. No wonder doctors are quitting. They are starting to get their pilots’ licenses.
Oh, wait... I think Amazon bought up the airports.
Ryan, how you find the time to write and read as much as you obviously do is amazing to me.
I had a difficult confusing time recovering from COVID (a story for another day) but in May, my primary (who I've been going to for 32 years) spent an HOUR with me. Truly listened to the myriad concerns I had. Recently, I had a follow up to that visit. He spent 35 minutes with me.
When we finished up, I sincerely thanked him and told him he's a great doctor. Since he isn't that much younger than me, I worry about who I'll see when he retires and I grow ever older.
Thanks for your always enlightening posts.
Thanks for that compliment - and I certainly wish I had more time to be better read, but I do cram in as much as I can, and cutting the cable cord decades ago has helped. I do try to be efficient, but it is so nice to turn off the clock with patients (especially the last appointment of the day if I don't have to run) and practice/listen the way we should and want to! Glad you had a positive visit, your primary sounds great.
A good primary care doc saved my life.
She started her practice the same year I got health insurance through the county. She'd been my doc for 20 years when she discovered my breast cancer in a routine physical exam. Given that I was lax (at best) at self-exams, I doubt I would be here today. She retired during Covid. During the last exam I had with her, she told me their firm had signed with United Health Care, and that she was now being limited in what she could provide to patients. She had been castigated for taking 45 minutes to talk with an elderly woman about drug interdictions and not "burning off 3 warts for 3 different kids." She really bemoaned the switch to United Health.
".... they can do this to YOU!” " Yes, if your a criminal, they can and should do this to you. What a twit...
His MAGAts think he will make them rich also, deluded and ignorant, as they send him their last dime. Only a cult…
It seems like many of them think the economy is a zero sum game. If they get theirs or the Democrats lose theirs, then they are happy.
They don't care that the 1% and the corporations make more in a year than a small city. Or that Trump cut their tax rate by 10-16%.
Exactly accurate Gary; the flock doesn't have any understanding whatever on how economics, civics actually work in the real world. They actually rely on the interpretations by their 'strong men / women' that make all sorts of hollow promises to them. Snake oil salesmen..... there always existed a certain percentage of folks > 20 -30 % who would always be desperate enough to buy 'snake oil' , otherwise snake oil salesmen would have disappeared; it was lucrative enough, and apparently still sells today. A pathetic human condition reality, even yet today.
They are stupid and ignorant, but only evil can explain their actions
Here you have it right Jeri... deluded, uneducated, naive, and self centered; that describes the bulk of the common flock who strangely seem to vote against their own self interest. Pundits have wondered about just that seeming anomaly. I never have wondered. I lived among and grew up with that sort of crowd. I choose the words uneducated and naive, because I can forgive them for what they don't know. I treat them like I see them, with empathy as I would have for a small children. Try it; you'll find some peace, and the correct places for anger and hot derision. Brava Jeri !
My family and friend MAGAts are not stupid, some more ignorant than others, but my ex-bff is as smart as they come. Hubby requires all family to be repubs, and they are smart and educated. It’s all emotional, not intellectual.
I love tat Jeri — MAGAts!
😂
Love the book.
Biden has turned out to be a much better president than I envisioned. His stance with the union workers versus the planned visit of TFG with non-union workers (and added fans) at a non-union auto parts manufacturer says it all. Biden’s administration is correctly going after Amazon with monopoly charges; Amazon is doing exactly what other monopolies have done in the past—gradually paying the suppliers (the independent sellers) less while charging the buyers more because they’re the only game in town.
I always feel like I am an adult in the real world again after reading your columns.
I ordered Democracy Awakening on audible.
Just received my book and started it! Fantastic!!!⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Mine was delivered by Amazon...
Mine too.
Got my two copies y’day, too. One for me and one for my son with the B.A. in history.
I got the book on audible, and it is fabulous to hear her speak the book.
One of the first lines that was so striking was “more democracies or lost in the ballot box and not by bullets.“ (I may have forgotten the last part but for sure it was. They are lost in the ballot box. So frightening how she describes what happened in Germany as a blueprint for what is happening now.
I agree with you that these are dangerous times and am so grateful to have discovered Heather and this great community. Enjoy the book! Audible version must be great!
Yes, it is next up for me too.
When Mitch McConnell, and the Supreme Court, show that they are sick and tired of the Far Right's shenanigans, this is a good sign that the jig is up. It doesn't mean the wounded bear will stop thrashing and clawing, but it is a sure indication we're getting close.
Thanks for this great substack this evening with everything else that is going on in your life. Congratulations on that! Such a powerful summary of what is going Great in this country---with Biden's powerful leadership and example (wow--walking a picket line and standing with labor---let's sing a few songs....)....with the counterpoint of the Big Losers: the GOP, Kevin Mc, and Trump dragging the country DOWN. Time to get to work on post cards, phone banks, etc.....
Seems a pretty good day in a year of craziness. America may actually end the year with a functional government that proves capable of regulating corporations rather than being run by them.
And it looks like Heather and Ryan Grim from The Intercept see the day in similar ways.
https://theintercept.com/2023/09/26/government-shutdown-house-republicans/
...while being shut down?!!
The plot thickens, Trump ill be held accountable and Biden will win going away.
May it be so.
We must work to make it so.
From your lips to God's ears...
Please God
Amazing you could get this out tonight after your wonderful interview with Magna in Boston this evening!
What most struck me reading today’s LFAA is that the consolidation of industries starting in the 80s mirrored the consolidation of corporations controlling a majority of U.S. media. Specifically, in 1983, that number was 50: in 1987, it was 29; in 1990, 21; in 1992 14; in 1997, 10; in 2000, 6; in 2004, 5. ( Source: Ben H. Bagdikian The New Media Monopoly, 2004) I would be remiss were I not also to note that at 2022 90% of the media was controlled by just 6 corporations: AT&T, CBS, Comcast, Disney, Newscorp, and Viacom.
Plainly stated, two+ decades of media deregulation have enabled a small handful of huge conglomerates to own the majority of films, music, television, radio, books, newspapers, magazines, and important Internet sites. Drawing a parallel to the consolidation of industries, the impact of this consolidation on fairness, accuracy, and diversity in the media poses equally serious risks to a democratic society.
Thanks for posting this, and note that the 2004 reference, nearly 20 years old, confirms how long this has been ongoing. It happened on the watch of and with the support of both parties.
I've seen in reading that the six corporations are owned by just six families (I've not fact checked this). These decades have recorded a descent into a true corporatist oligarchy. We are way past "serious risks." For all practical purposes our democracy, what's left of it, is indeed in chains.
In 2023, this corporate media decides which candidates to promote, which to black out, and communicating the corporate messages it wants citizens to receive and polarizing them to divide them and alienate them from one another in every way possible. Meanwhile, factions in both parties seem openly working to get rid of the last vestiges of independent sources of investigative reporting.
This shutdown, I fear, will be like none other. The rabid Republicans see themselves as revolutionaries hell-bent on dismembering the federal government. They care nothing about the suffering they will unleash. If they manage to hobble the economy, it's a great victory in their demented minds. What better way to hurt Biden's re-election chances.
The cliché "cooler heads will prevail," always bandied about during previous shutdowns, looks to be a fantasy. The small gang about to wreak havoc is a cruel minority exercising power the electorate didn't grant. That it is able to wield so much clout is one of the nation's greatest political failings and runs counter to specific constitutional language.
But here we are — and all in the face of such great progress by the president and other Democrats.
Michael, Though I could be wrong, I believe that narrow margin of persuadable Independents and, I dare say, moderate Republicans needed for the White House and Democrats up and down the ballot to prevail in 2024 will see through far-right extremist machinations and pin blame for the shutdown on Republicans, not Biden. I would note my comment is not meant to minimize the suffering a shutdown would unleash. Nonetheless, my remarks are meant not to allow us to get distracted from the most pressing issue at-hand—promptly doing all we can now that early voting has started in Virginia to help bank as many early votes as possible that, in my view, offers our best shot at flipping the State House and holding the State Senate. Additionally, I would be remiss were I not to note that said outcome also would level a much needed repudiation of Virginia’s current governor.
Barbara Jo, Is there any kind of national GOTV for Virginia dems and indies, say from Vote Forward?
I feel deeply that our efforts helped win the AZ and GA recent elections; thought the VA vote this year is simply for state houses - THE most important bodies for public policies on the local level!!
Let’s not ignore the egotism of McCarthy trying to save his own a-- and dealing with the Devil to do it.
But one wonders with their slim majority what lunatic fringe insurrectionist scum would take his place among the spineless House majority.
President Biden joins auto worker strikers.
A New York justice dissolves The Trump Organization.
McCarthy’s House Raucus Caucus is having a hissy fit that will close down the United States government.
Anti trust suit targets Amazon.
What a marvelous day for the official launching of Heather’s DEMOCRACY AWAKENING Notes on the State of America.
Given that tfg values his image as a successful and self-made businessman more than his kids, I expect he will fight like a cornered tiger over the NY ruling, which exposes him as a fraud. Remember when he made very clear to Mueller looking into his finances was crossing a red line?
YES!!
Kevin McCarthy wants to be known as Speaker of the House, period, his constituents and the country be damned. He will undoubtedly go down as the worst Speaker in history. Part of me wants to feel sorry for this poor excuse of a public servant, but most of me wants the country to pull a full Howard Beale and scream from the windows “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore!”.
If only...
I’d actually love to punch him in his handsome face just to wake him up—and I’ve never punched anybody