I have run out of pejorative terms for the Republican Party. I'm tired.
Idiotic drivel from the mouth of the former president is to be expected; you can't say he's been inconsistent. To have his idiocy endorsed, even sanctified, and thus elevated to rationality in the minds of too many, by people in power who really do know better, every single day, has left me bone-weary, and stumbling into run-on sentences. (My god! Stop! Right now!)
I'm going to do lawn work today, and maybe take a walk on my favorite woods trail. I startled a black bear the other day. He fled from me on a dead run. I'm getting scary in my old age.
Yeah, who can blame that bear for running like that??? After all, you are kind of a crusty old fart!!! Lol….. As far as these republicans are concerned, these are supposed to be half way intelligent people, but obviously , they are just plain to stupid to know shame when they see it, or practice it!!!
Sounds a lot like "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it any more!" It's an older quote but it still works; it may be especially effective if enough of us send it to our currently elected politicos and make it clear that it will not stop until they demonstrate a rational and thoughtful concern for the governance of this country.
I share your exhaustion. I'm going to have another water color lesson this afternoon and try to unwind. It's hard to stop the voices in my head, though. They are busily shouting your very words: My god! Stop! Right now!
It was difficult to hear Manchin lecture Liberals about having an “entitlement mentality”, while he had a fundraiser with the monopoly man (Koch). Did Koch get a lecture about his “entitlement mentality”? I think not. To top it off his hypocrisy on the subject, Manchin’s daughter, Heather Bresch, the former president and CEO of the drugmaker Mylan, used her “entitlement mentality” to inflate her resume with an unearned MBA. She also used that same “entitlement mentality” to work directly with the CEO of Pfizer to keep prices of the company's EpiPen product artificially high. Did Heather ever get a lecture about her “entitlement mentality”? I think not. By accusing Liberals of having an “entitlement mentality”, Manchin is victim blaming and projecting. While not illegal, it’s a disgusting display of hypocrisy.
I loved it when WVU exposed Bresch's MBA to be a lie. And don't forget Heather B's mother, Gayle Manchin, another piece of work.
"After Gayle Manchin took over the National Association of State Boards of Education in 2012, she spearheaded an unprecedented effort that encouraged states to require schools to purchase medical devices that fight life-threatening allergic reactions.
The association’s move helped pave the way for Mylan Specialty, maker of EpiPens, to develop a near monopoly in school nurses’ offices. Eleven states drafted laws requiring epinephrine auto-injectors. Nearly every other state recommended schools stock them after what the White House called the "EpiPen Law" in 2013 gave funding preference to those that did.
The CEO of Mylan then, and now, was Heather Bresch. Gayle Manchin is Heather Bresch’s mother."
The entire Manchin family is dishonest and corrupt to the core.
Worse. For herself only. That's why she aggressively progressed "upward", turning herself from a Nader Green Party fighter to the egotistic brat we see today.
HCR, thank you for finally being the one to refer to the right-wing menaces Manchin and Sinema as "conservative Democrats." Every time I hear them referred to as "moderate" by the media I want to scream.
I am planning on writing to my congressperson today--Emmanuel Cleaver II, who is a lion in the House--to ask him to get the "progressives" in line with what the Dems need to win this damn thing. I am entirely sympathetic to their plans but their tactics--fighting within the party and playing games that, like Manchin and Sinema in the Senate, make it possible for the Would-Be Autocrats to vilify them and prevent reasonable legislation from progressing--are immature and unhelpful. As always, I must point out that perfection is the enemy of the good. As long as the Dems are eating themselves alive, we will not have any kind of power in Congress even when we have a majority.
In other news: [1] The three congresswomen (including MO's Cori Bush) who described their abortions in front of their colleagues are, to my mind, the bravest women in Congress. I have been in the same shoes as they; I have made the same decisions. I do not regret them for one second but I know how difficult the decisions women always have to weigh are. And I detest men who sit back in their complacence and smugness because they do not suffer the same kind of existential crisis when they impregnate women. We need to prosecute men who impregnate women against their will (and I am not just talking about rape here: I am talking about the inevitable power difference between men and women in sexual situations in which women are vulnerable to becoming pregnant when they do not want to be) because they are the real perpetrators of unwanted pregnancies.
[2] Most of you are not keeping track of a little news item that I and my medievalist colleagues have been following for quite a while, but which the NY Times finally reported on this morning: that Yale U's "Vinland Map" is a fake, dating probably from the late 1920s. There are much better articles on it than the one in the Times this morning, in large part because they buried the real meaning behind the forgery: it was designed to enhance the standing of northern European white people at the expense of both indigenous First Nations people and southern Europeans at a time when whiteness was being associated very significantly with people from northern Europe. Note the date of the forgery: the rise of fascism and Nazism, the re-invention of the KKK, the backlashes against suffrage all were contemporary to the invention of this fake map. And also, the all-too-typical misuse of the term "Viking" is super annoying to those of us who have been teaching our students for decades that it is actually a verb and a job description, not an ethnic identity. People of all kinds went "a-viking"; it is not exclusive to people of Scandinavian heritage. And is not gender-specific either.
This has me laughing out loud this morning-there was a long and somewhat heated discussion of the Vinland map forgery issue on my deck last night and the nefarious ideas behind it. Several neighbors had gathered; we were celebrating having successfully cleared tons of downed trees and debris from our yards after last week’s tornado. When one of them attempted to explain that viking was a verb, my neighbor’s 13 year old son said; “What do you mean? They play football.” When we were finally able to stop laughing, the neighborhood Historian of all things Scandinavian took the time to explain the Vinland map case more thoroughly to George. Made for a good transition to talking about gerrymandering and why the hell the weather remains so warm and dry in Minnesota at the end of September. Sigh. I would love for Congress to pass the Build back better legislation but if we don’t address voting rights, all will be lost. I’m as liberal as they come but compromise is necessary. Grrrrr.
The funniest part, from my perspective, is that the neighbor who brought up the subject is Native American. She subscribes to NYT and is fascinated by the history of racism and fascism-for obvious reasons. Watching her lead that discussion meant I got to see the reaction of those I know to be Republicans. Lovely to watch em squirm!
Linda, We have different perspectives about the elected 'progressive' democrats in the party. They are democrats. They are fighting for the safety net which was torn into shreds by the Republican Party over the past 40 years. They are fighting to address Climate Change as it absolutely needs to be dealt with. They are fighting for economic security of American Families, Women, Children and the Elderly, who have not been supported by this county. I found it very enlightening to read the Rolling Stones article about the rich efforts being made to kill the bill. Heather provided a link to it. The Manchins and Sinemas are not representing the vast majority of the American people and to compare them to the 'progressives' seemed inappropriate. Progressives playing the same 'games' as Manchin and Sinema? They are not playing games.
Yes!! Without the progressives standing firm we would get little of anything from the corporatocracy. We need a strong stand for what we value. Pelosi and Biden have said over and over this IS the PROCESS. We all need deadlines to get hard things done. So what if they go over their self imposed deadline. I’m anxious for a result but I’m so proud we finally have representatives in Congress who won’t get run over by the freaking corporate bullies.
Christy, I more than liked your comment that now begins this chain. Most of the progressives feel what has been happening; they and their families, friends, neighbors, etc., know what it's like to live with economic insecurity, not to be able to afford healthcare, decent housing -- you know the drill. When I begin to count how they've been robbed and they is we -- I lose my calm. May more dedicated, skillful and determined, progressive public servants be elected in '22, '24... and on we go.
And as I understand it, this is Biden’s agenda they are standing firm on and the TWO grossly problematic senators involved are the ones beholden to their donors.
"As long as the Dems are eating themselves alive, we will not have any kind of power in Congress even when we have a majority."
Linda, THIS! We are watching ourselves dissolve in a vat of acid. Once there is one party, authoritarian rule will Dems in Congress finally wake up and say "Oh shit!"? And I mean Dems across the spectrum, not just progressives or moderates.
1. I don't know that I'd have the courage to stand up in front of an assembled body, Congress or elsewhere, and discuss the choices I've made with regards to abortion. These three women are remarkable. The decision making process is one of the most difficult and painful I've ever been confronted with. I also agree that it's time men are made to accept responsibility, including prosecution and imprisonment, for impregnating a woman against her will.
2. I can't say I'm surprised by the Vinland Map Hoax. I'm only sorry that it's taken this long for the map to be exposed as a fake.
I believe it was this omitted passage that HCR had alluded to in her chat yesterday when she pointed out how the issue of slavery would be a nonstarter for the slave-owning southern states who would not sign on to the Declaration of Independence had it been included:
"He has waged cruel war against human nature itself, violating it’s most sacred rights of life & liberty in the persons of a distant people who never offended him, captivating & carrying them into slavery in another hemisphere, or to incur miserable death in their transportation thither. This piratical warfare, the opprobrium of infidel powers; is the warfare of the Christian king of Great Britain. Determined to keep open a market where MEN should be bought & sold he has prostituted his negative for suppressing every legislative attempt to prohibit or to restrain this execrable commerce: and that this assemblage of horrors might want no fact of distinguished die, he is now exciting those very people to rise in arms among us, and to purchase that liberty of which he has deprived them, by murdering the people upon whom he also obtruded them: thus paying off former crimes committed against the liberties of one people, with crimes which he urges them to commit against the lives of another." Note that this link is identified as "Not Secure." http://alexpeak.com/twr/doi/change/
Heather also pointed out that our nation has been grappling with this issue since then (for approx. 245 years).
My point is, right or wrong, the stubbornness of who we call the Progressive Democrats IMO mirrors what happened back in 1776 as well as many other instances throughout our history, where people have basically been told they must compromise in order to win on the bigger picture but once the bigger picture has "won," we can focus on their (the Progressives') concerns later. Trouble is "later" never seems to happen.
While I lean heavily on the side of the bigger picture, I understand the passion of those dang Progressives.
Thank you, Linda, for your comment today. Aside from the abortion issue, ignorance (lack of factual knowledge) keeps me from commenting about the rest of what you so eloquently stated.
I appreciate that the Democrats are role modeling how a democracy should work. The hard work of doing something for our country while the fascists are only capable of calling our courageous military heroes names.
Thanks for all of this, including the news of the three Congresswomen describing their abortions. I've been pro-choice since I understood the issues, probably age 14. (My beloved 9th grade chemistry teacher later became the first head of NARAL.) A handful of people close to me have had abortions, and I'm grateful they were available.
I will look into that forgery with great interest. In fourth grade, we studied the Norse of the Viking era, in a superb class at the local quaker school, giving me a lifelong interest.
I wish that they hadn’t called it the $3.5 trillion infrastructure bill. I found the follow article from DCReport helpful in understanding the cost of the bill:
How $3 a Day Can Buy America a Rich Future
David Cay JohnstonBy DAVID CAY JOHNSTONSeptember 21, 20216 Mins Read
Making Sense of Big, Scary Budget Numbers
How much would you be willing to invest for a better future for yourself, today’s youngsters and beyond?
Would you be willing to invest $3 a day?
That’s more than the gross upfront cost of President Joe Biden’s human infrastructure bill.
Sadly, that’s not how news reports describe the American Families Plan. Across the board, our major news organizations cite a big, scary and ultimately meaningless number: $3.5 trillion.
To grasp what a huge and meaningless number that is, imagine putting matches to dollars bills. If you lit one greenback per second it would take 110,985 years to burn all that money.
Folks who make at least $100,000 per day would bear 86% of the cost of Biden’s human infrastructure plan.
But the Biden plan money won’t be consumed; it will be invested.
When our Air Force planes and Navy ships burn kerosene and marine diesel fuel, tax dollars used to buy that fuel are shot out as exhaust. That’s tax dollars consumed.
Biden’s plan adds value, making each dollar invested today worth more dollars in the future by increasing incomes, creating private-sector jobs, increasing more business profits and raising more tax dollars as the economy grows.
Human Scale v. Big, Scary Numbers
At DCReport, we try to make numbers human scale. That means we start with the big, scary and incomprehensible $3.5 trillion gross cost and divide by 10 because the money would be spent over a decade.
Next, we divide the $350 billion per year by 332.8 million Americans as of this writing. Then we divide that by 365 days to get $2.88 per day per American ($11.52 for the iconic family of four).
And how much is $2.88? It was less than the average price of a cup of coffee in 2019. Gourmet coffee shops that year charged on average $4.24 per cup.
Most Would Pay Nothing
Now the best news: That $2.88 per day won’t cost you a penny if you make less than $165,600, analysis by the Tax Policy Center shows. Years of experience have demonstrated that its computer model reliably forecasts the costs and benefits of tax policy changes.
Biden’s plan would reduce federal taxes for eight out of 10 households. The poorest 48 million households would pay $620 less in taxes. That means the poorest Americans would enjoy a 4% increase in their after-tax income. That’s the equivalent of two extra weeks of pay each year.
Families making $91,800 to $165,600 would pay on average $120 less in federal taxes. It’s not much, but also it’s not a tax increase.
Now consider people on the 80th to 89th rungs of the income ladder, people who make $165,600 to $243,000 in total income. Their taxes would go up, but by just $420 on average, less than half the price of a cup of coffee per day.
The Richest Pay
The burden for the Biden human infrastructure plan would fall overwhelmingly on the 120,000 highest income households in America, people whose annual income ranges from $3.6 million to several billion dollars annually.
The folks who make at least $100,000 per day would bear 86% of the cost of Biden’s human infrastructure plan. They were also the primary beneficiaries of the Trump 2017 tax cuts, repeating a quarter of the tax savings. This is more like a take back of a tax favor financed with borrowed money than a tax increase.
Yes, we have Americans whose annual incomes are in the billions of dollars. One example: Larry Ellison collects almost $1.8 billion a year in dividends from Oracle, the company he launched in 1977 with a federal government contract. And that’s far from all of Ellison’s income.
How the Richest Benefit
The top one in a thousand households would also reap huge benefits from the Biden human infrastructure plan, making them even wealthier over time.
The richest among us would benefit because America will be investing in a better educated, more productive workforce not burdened by student debt, which holds back the formation of families, home buying and all the spending that goes with furnishing and setting up a family domicile.
A more productive workforce with more after-tax income means most would have more money to spend on the goods and services offered by the wealthiest families and the businesses they invest in, own control. Voila, government policy that helps the many also makes the already rich richer while making the creation of new riches more likely.
How Most Americans Benefit
My life is an example of how taxpayer investments in citizens more than pay for themselves. The $8,960 that federal taxpayers invested in my college and postgraduate education over seven years under the War Orphans Educational Assistance Act has been paid back many times over in federal income taxes. Indeed, the inflation-adjusted value of that taxpayer investment in me was paid back in full just from taxes on royalties from Perfectly Legal, the first book in my award-winning trilogy on the American economy.
More broadly, one of the smartest if not the smartest federal investment ever was the GI Bill, officially the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944. The GI Bill is what enabled a Seattle grocer’s son named Bill Gates to become a lawyer and, in turn, give his son the money that launched Microsoft with jobs that poured money into federal coffers.
The GI Bill doubled the number of college degree holders in 10 years and resulted in more education, higher incomes, and less poverty. And this was despite the racist and sexist details of the GI Bill that kept many Black Americans and women who served from participating. The Biden plan has no such barriers, though once enacted, DCReport will scrutinize the final legislation looking for any subtle discriminatory features that Congress may slip in.
When Republicans and a handful of Democrats declare that they will vote against the American Families Plan, here is what they are really saying, you should:
pay higher taxes
not get as much in benefits as you could for those taxes
pay higher prices for prescription drugs
endure more medical bills
have your pockets drained to pay for childcare and eldercare
Irrational Tax Hatred
And why? Because the ideological and irrational anti-tax crowd, which denounce all new taxes as bad, wants to ensure that the already best-off Americans can have more now instead of the more prosperous future we could all enjoy.
We would be a poor country today but for massive taxpayer investments in the future like the GI Bill and the related War Orphans Act. The way to think about human infrastructure is that it’s not spending, like lo those fossil fuels consumed by military planes and ships, but an investment in a better and all-around wealthier American future.
At a gross cost of $2.88 per day, the American Families Plan is a bargain. At a net cost of less than zero, only fools would say no.
David Cay Johnston
David Cay Johnston is the Editor-in-Chief of DCReport. He is an investigative journalist and author, a specialist in economics and tax issues, and winner of the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for Beat Reporting.
Why, oh why, can't the Dem message-makers craft a condensed version of these facts? Hire the agency the Lincoln Project utilizes, hand them these bullet points and request both a 30 second and 1 minute version. Our opponents, most of whom might not read the above (too long), surely would be shocked at what the GOP is obstructing.
They need to start wearing loafers instead of high-top boots. But the time they get through lacing them up, whatever the R's have said has been around the world three times.
For as long as I can remember, Democrats have been incapable of learning this most fundamental lesson. They are trying to do enormous good for the nation, but their efforts are lost without succinct messaging that encapsulates the benefits. Where is the comprehensive blitz with Lincoln-Project-like PR campaigns that JP references? Why are the two infrastructure bills given names that mean nothing to most people? It's a maddening failure of party leadership.
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 You nailed it, when this bill is looked at honestly it’s a no brainer. The only risk that I see is that people don’t take the time to read and fully understand what you have just written.
I have a list of of all the major newspapers across the country who I wrote letters to editor to during pre election. I will send them URL, thank you Marlene!
Thank you for posting this insightful article. Seems the Koch empire is doing a brilliant job of distorting the facts on this legislation. I keep sending money to candidates for the 2022 election but fear that the table will be so tilted by then, that we won't be able to make a difference. I am reading a sci-fi novel called Ministry for the Future, Kim Stanley Robinson, that addresses the problems of the current paradigm for a collapse of the biosphere and civilization and how that course might be changed.
"In contrast, though, Congress spends very little time discussing the defense budget, which, at its current rate, would cost $7.78 trillion over the next ten years. That amount is significantly higher than the defense spending of any other nation in the world. In 2020, the U.S. spent $778 billion on defense, making up 39% of our overall spending."
One of the most important sentences I have read in the last five years. In this sentence lies the "rub" so to speak.
7.78 Trillion dollars and no Republican OR Democrat is challenging that number or trying to reduce military spending to do infrastructure.
IF corruption were not driving American "Democracy" there would be loud cries to shrink that fantastical military budget and move the money to useful infrastructure projects. New schools. Roads that can actually be driven. High speed rail.
But, the truth is, corruption IS driving American "Democracy". All of the military contractors have paid off all of our congressional representatives so that they get their funding.
And guess what? Military spending is SOCIALISM. Companies on the welfare dole. Their employees all welfare recipients.
Last but not least: When was the last time you heard of or saw a military contractor employee was/is was Black? Hispanic?
Those companies are bastions of white segregation no matter what their career websites show as the header photograph.
It is time for America to stop funding welfare for useless planes that never fly, useless wars we never win, and lazy government paid employees who never deliver.
That makes me want to Vomit ! Couldn’t finish reading it. How dare they show such DISHONOR to those you gave their lives for us .They should be stripped of All Benefits. 60K of my peers died and it was NOT for 19 punks to follow a Con off the Democracy Cliff ! What is wrong with these Traitors ! They should be punished Quickly and Severe ! Lock Them Up !
I’m sorry Marcia. I can’t imagine how hard it is for veterans and their families, who have lived thru combat and experienced those losses to learn of the number of vets that were in that mix.
This is a subject I am not informed of beyond what I can find based on my curiosity, but I do hope, as Elizabeth Warren has said on many issues we have to “think very differently”. It is time to reflect and respect and change.
“Professional military education has a unique role to play in changing the military’s response to extremism. As the United States, and thus the military’s recruiting pool, diversifies, senior officers will find themselves leading a force that increasingly looks very different from them — at least until minority retention issues are solved within the officer corps as well. These officers will need to know how to build trust in politically divisive times without simply relying on hackneyed tropes like “we all bleed green.” They will continue having to address personnel issues involving extremism, sexual assault, suicide, and religion. Just in the last year, we have seen the force deal with the murder of Spc. Vanessa Guillen and the Fort Hood report, the death of George Floyd, and subsequent revelations about discrimination in the Air Force, not to mention the participation of multiple active-duty military members in the Jan. 6 insurrection. When professional military education denies its students the opportunity to thoroughly discuss and debate these problems in an informed way, we do a disservice to the force that reverberates for a generation.“
That was a long read. Which appears to fundamentally doesn’t appear to be working out so well. Over the last 5 yrs let’s just say TFG ratcheted up some. His base have children who I know for sure are going to become members of the branches of our Military. Now I am not highly educated. But I did come from Ppl that had common logic. The phrase “ An ounce of prevention is always better than a Pound of cure. I think from first application for enlistment, and I have know idea what all it takes to get into our Military ? But be it test, surveys, quiz's perhaps writing essays ? You could figure out who were going to be you’re problem children. They were raised all their life with people who are what these ‘Stand Down’s ‘ are about. I personally know some. You will only waste $ and time to Try an Educate Them in Thinking Differently.As the other saying goes, It’s in their DNA said by them . So maybe the ineffective , costly Stand Down days aren’t the answer. Oh ! Could that be a reason why a select group doesn’t want Critical Race Theory taught in our schools or anywhere for that matter. Why yes it is !
Marcia, the link is focused on actions requested by the Biden admin just since the 1/6 attack on our Capitol and yes the article is critical of the the stand down that was ordered with suggestions for improvement. In just a cursory dive into the subject there are steps taken to screen out extremists from our military but that is more difficult to do for civilian contractors for obvious reasons. There is so much work to do in every aspect. We will be decades before fully realizing how deep this fascist element scarred our democracy.
In answer to your question, when I worked at Raytheon in 1998, there were enough Hispanic employees for one Spanish language lunch table. That’s more than I saw at software companies in Cambridge 20 years later.
I agree that the military budget needs to be closely examined and trimmed accordingly (although we all know that won't happen), but I also think that a very large percentage of that money needs to be kept for the men & women who are defending this country.
Those people should be paid a real life 'living wage' (none of this $15/hr BS); be provided with housing that is more than a concrete barracks situation, and have support programs/systems for the families; be given access to high quality health care (one that includes mental health, because dear God, they certainly need it after fighting a war or living under the stress of potential war), and VA hospitals that are well-funded, clean, and are dedicated to actually providing health care in a timely manner.
The monies should also go towards programs that assist them in making the transition from being in the military to civilian life, in providing childcare, and continuing education (college, trade school, etc.). I'm sure there are other things that I've missed that is greatly needed.
That is the least we can do for those in the military who are putting their lives & mental health on the line to protect this country.
The military should NOT be a stepping stone to private contractor big bucks for doing the same job our soldiers do for quadruple the salary. If we need more soldiers, raise their pay and or institute the draft. Is all the dough we pay private contractors (mercenaries by any other name) even included in our "military" budget?
Serious question because I truly don't understand the whole Israel thing.
Someone called me an antisemite because I questioned why we send billions of dollars to them, especially to fix their missile system. Do we send that much money to every country?
While I support Israel for many reasons, the US government has mostly helped Israel to defend itself because Israel has been the only functioning democracy in the Middle East. It has been our only reliable ally there for a long time.
The problem is that their democracy isn't functioning anymore, and we now see what happens with a political party (the Likud) founded by admirers of Mussolini who were willing to work with SS secret agents against the British even after Kristalnacht.
I look at Israel today and I remember what a friend in graduate school told me. He was a Sabra, had been a platoon commander in the company that liberated the Wailing Wall in 1967. He told me how they were there, worshiping, and he heard the Company Commander: "Help us, God - we won!" When the Israeli government didn't stop the Kach Krazies (all Americans) from getting into the West Bank, they signed the death warrant for Israel as any sort of moral compass to the world. What they have now is essentially religious-based apartheid and a government of crypto-fascists who admire Trump.
Like our United States, Israel is a country I love very much, at the same time that I am distressed by the political power of the far right disguised as some sort of center-right.
What is disturbing, though, is the fact that a good many evangelicals couldn't care less about Israel's security or security in the Middle East. They support Israel because they believe doing so is their Golden Ticket into heaven. Period.
Thank you, Joan, for this reply to Beth. As one totally ignorant about the Middle East (as in not having much fact-based knowledge to speak with authority!) your explanation informs me immensely.
Talk about "special relationship"! I thought that was supposed to exist between the GB and the US. That term could certainly be applied to the relationship of Israel and the US.
I want to give a shout out for the Senate’s 51-50 confirmation of Robert Chopra as head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), which might otherwise be lost in media coverage of this Congressional meltdown. Chopra worked hand-in-glove with Senator Warren to create this unprecedented consumer protection agency which recovered nearly $12 billion for about 27 million consumers in its first five years.
Under Trump there was a concerned effort to emasculate, then abolish, CFPB. Now with President Biden’s strong support and the Republicans kicking and screaming, Senator Warren’s child is again full throat in protecting consumers’ rights.
As the street fight over two major infrastructure bills continues, personally I would trade one for a successful John Lewis voting law. Unless this Manchin-supported bill can be passed, perhaps with some finagling of the filibuster, at the state level Republicans will succeed in making the right to vote a Republican-granted privilege, putting a Republican thumb on the election results in 2022 and subsequently.
On what basis do you think there could be a trade between Build Back Better and an effective enough national voting acts bill? The Republicans are adamantly opposed to both; a national voting act bill is crucial for Democracy and both are vital for the Democratic Party, Biden's presidency and the American people.
FERN I am not speaking of a ‘trade,’ rather my personal priorities. I remember that Manchin, when he opposed the initial draft voting bill, recommended the John Lewis draft saying that it was imperative. Whatever happens to the human infrastructure bill, I recall discussion that it would be possible to carve off part of the filibuster to permit the JohnLewis voting bill to pass. Am I grasping at straws? YES, because the federal voting bill is so imperative to counter Republican skullduggery.
I agree about the absolute necessary of passing an effective enough national voting bill. I just don't believe that there is a single straw to grasp from the Republicans. It is the Democrats who have to get their house in order, a tough job under the big tent with different coalitions.
Kathy, I do not see a trading opportunity. The Republicans, building trade contractors and everyone else are in favor of the smaller - roads and bridges, etc. - infrastructure bill, so no trade there. The BUILD BACK BETTER is absolutely necessary -- the Money Men and Republican Party - great friends of fossil fuels are fighting it and spending accordingly to kill the bill. Do the Republicans want national voting rights bill passed? They have been passing voter suppression and suppression like the demons they are. Where's the trade?
Keith, Chopra's confirmation as head of the CFPB is of the utmost importance to all consumers regardless of party. Many don't understand the importance and relevance of the Bureau until they are impacted directly by unequal credit and lending practices, debt collection violations and more.
I agree, one successful John Lewis voting law will pave the way for a stronger electorate over all and, therefore, the ability for all citizens to make their voices heard on all matters. Everything having to do with politics is a dog fight right now. It's essential that we concentrate serious effort on solidifying the right to vote. As you say, "Unless this Manchin-supported bill can be passed, perhaps with some finagling of the filibuster, at the state level Republicans will succeed in making the right to vote a Republican-granted privilege, putting a Republican thumb on the election results in 2022 and subsequently." We are already at the point where, in many states, decisions are being forced on residents by the Republican party. We cannot get to a point where we are out of options, (I think of Hungary among other countries).
I was right. I found no mention of Mr. Chopra being named, 51-50 in the Senate, head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Once again Heather has highlighted a significant occasion that the ‘breathless’ media has overlooked. Heather, you are our national treasure!
“More progressive Democrats, led by Pramila Jayapal (WA), who chairs the Congressional Progressive Caucus, believe the Democrats were elected to pass laws that help ordinary Americans who have felt unrepresented by Republicans.”
When I read this line, I can honestly say that I have never felt really felt represented in government until Progressives came along. That they’re fighting for plans to help working families - Men & Women, but which would primarily help women, just blows my mind.
My mother worked in & out of the home when my youngest sibling was in elementary school in the 1980’s. She worked so damned hard. Looking back, I think she did it because my parents marriage was on it’s last legs and with no work history to put on a resume (on top of no college degree), she knew she would have been in seriously big trouble as a single parent, likely working multiple jobs and feeling overwhelmed & guilty about her children, while my father would have been fine, but frustrated about having to clean his home & feed himself. She never had the opportunity to support herself because she died a few years later. I chose not to marry.
I look at what Republicans are doing, starting with ending a woman’s right to choose to continue a pregnancy and know it’s not going to end there. Ending access to abortion is a train wreck for women, especially low & middle income women, married or not. They didn’t even have the decency to put programs in place to mitigate the consequences before taking this action in Texas.
No, Republicans aren’t going to end there. They’re going to continue to push so that women are in their proper place, in the home and under men’s thumbs, without doing anything to protect the women just like before, which is why women preferred to have decent ways to support themselves outside the home in the first place. They’ll mess with birth control access, access to higher education & job training, and civil rights protections, etc., to push women out of the workforce.
I pose this task & question to all who think it is better for women to go back to being home with their parents until they’re married and then be housewives, staying out of the workforce:
For a whole month, look at all the men you know very carefully.
-Observe how they treat women (family members, friends, employers & women in authority, co-workers, female employees, neighbors, strangers, etc.).
-Observe how they treat people in general. Are they considerate of their neighbors, are they tolerant of others, do they listen to other people’s opinions, etc.
-Observe how they treat their pets. Are they cared for by others and just get the fun parts? Do they consider them pests to be ignored except when they feel like giving attention? Are they abusive? Do they treat animals/pets like beings deserving of consideration?
After you have done all this, I want you to ask yourself with all seriousness, whether or not you would willingly put yourself at their mercy for the rest of your life.
If the answer is no, then please protect women’s rights to control their own bodies and their destinies. Perhaps join #WomensMarch2021 Saturday October 2, 2021 in your area.
Women’s abilities to live independently is also important for any women who do want to live with fathers and husbands their whole lives. The very fact that it’s a choice changes the conditions in which people live.
As I mentioned above, growing up without a father, my mother always counseled her girls about being independent of a man's income because you never know when death will change everything.
I answer yes to your questions. Men I know are respectful, caring, hard-working, generous, emotionally present, and fair. My husband and I are both going to the Women's March tomorrow. I hope you meet some decent men at some point. Your mother's story is heart-wrenching and all too common.
You answered “yes”, but would you impose that life on all females regardless of their situations and choices? Because not every man should be in a position of authority of anyone.
Your argument is sound. The book “Three Cups of Tea” springs to mind. Well documented that funding in poor countries that goes to women, not men, produces dramatically greater contributions to education and social welfare. Men usually burn the money on alcohol and sodas. Women spend funds on schooling and health for their children. I’m sorry about your bad experience with male authority figures, if that is indeed the case, unfortunately that’s a widespread problem. Do women need to be independent and have their own resources? HELL YES.
This is not about my bad experience with a male authority figure or about men as individuals, it’s with the idea that I and other women could potentially lose the right to be treated as individuals and lose rights & control over our own bodies, and destinies, just because our souls are housed in female forms. No one should have to be organized into certain roles in life because of their sex, skin color, etc. It is just plain wrong.
PS: In my suggested task to observe how men treat women & girls, I neglected to include spouses, girlfriends, & daughters. Since my post was basically them in mind, (like the most important items on my shopping list) of course I forgot to include them. 🤦🏻♀️
Lisa, my heart goes out to you as you look back on your Mom’s difficult life. No adult should ever be at the mercy of another. That kind of power imbalance is inherently corrosive.
The current treatment of women, and in particular pregnant women, by the Taliban is a stark warning of how quickly “protection” turns into subjugation and suffering.
But just think, in the US, not so long ago girls and women who became pregnant outside of marriage were sent away to another family member or sent to a "home for unwed mothers" for the duration of the pregnancy. We, in the US, were closed minded about all aspects of reproductive health and pregnancy for a very long time. Men have had a disproportionate role deciding the "fate" of women and do to this day. Gaining control over our own bodies is more than a battle it is a war we need to win.
Oh, gosh, you're so right, Daria. The idea of getting pregnant out of wedlock was horrifying. In those days it was always the girl's fault, never the boy's. At all cost, the boy's future had to be protected.
My parents marriage was typical. It wasn’t abusive. Sometimes relationships fail because both parties grew apart. That’s what happened to them. That’s life. Marriages do have their bad times and it’s also hard on those that love them and witness it like their children.
The person with the greatest potential to support themselves in the event the marriage doesn’t last has more power.
That has changed a little in the last few decades as courts have had to offer palimony to husbands when the wife has the greater ability to support herself on her own.
When women work in the home (meaning caring for the home and it’s inhabitants) as well as outside of the home at a “real job” (term used with much sarcasm), there’s usually no one to step in and fill in the gaps. Generally the husband’s responsibilities don’t change, just the wife’s.
I don’t know if people misinterpreted my description or just never witnessed the reality of a classic housewife-turned-working mom. It’s hard to do both jobs successfully without getting help from other people to fill in the gaps.
At least now that the real split in the Democratic Party has been once again revealed for all to see in the delayed votes on the infrastructure packages, they have at least the time to hunker down and ensure passage into law of the essential Voting Rights Bills on which the two parts have formally agreed. It would seem to me to be a little more strategically important at this time. When death is staring you in the face, have courage...first ensure survival and then deal with the issues of "succour" afterwards rather that being suckered into your own suicide by nicety and overwheaning respect for outdated, undemocratic rules.
This is challenging for those of us who lean towards perfectionism and want it all, but I agree, voting is THE most important issue in our country at this very moment. We need a very focused energy to fight this.
It also illustrates the difference between Republicans and Democrats. Republicans walk in lock step with one another because they are focused on winning no matter what. Democrats are chaotic and have trouble doing anything, even when they are in the majority in Congress.
In reality they are not a majority as they are a coalition of 2 different parties without an agreed agenda. Chaos and failure are therefore normal. The Republicans are thus the largest force in both houses and in the absence of agreement between the opposing minorities, they dominate the preceedings.
Claudia, I think it's because of who Democrats represent -- that diverse class of people who come from all walks of life -- that we have "chaos." For the R's it's easy to be in lockstep as they have a very narrow class of people who they represent. At least this is my guess.
On the split within the DEMS, supplementing Stuart Attwell's comment: it's all very well to characterize broadly what "progressive" and "moderates" claim to stand for, but we need ALSO to consider which states or districts the respective folks represent. The vast majority of "progressives" come from safe DEM seats, and are not willing to consider that such seats alone do not constitute a majority of the House OR the Senate. Many "progessives" appear to think, mistakenly, that their (clear) majorities are the majority, period. The loss of 13 House seats in 2020 should have been a signal to them that this is not the case. Blame it on gerrymandering if you want, or - perhaps more correctly, on mixed-loyalty suburban districts that have been tossups for decades: the "moderates" who represent those districts are not wrong to fear that their seats will go to the REPS in 2022 if the REPS get away with their current "socialism!" messaging, which claims (wrongly) that the 3,5 trillion dollar "soft infrastructure" package will be financed by still more borrowing, when in fact it will be financed by taking back some of the tax gifts DT awarded to REP doners. The best way to get both "wings" of the DEMS to sing from the same page might be to get the right messaging clear, simple, and out there - to tell folks straight up what the bill is designed to do and how it will benefit them, individually.
Why does everything have to come down to threats and adverse fighting?
I'm so incredibly sick of all of this bullshit.
When I was in the grocery store last night, I walked past a woman who was still wearing her hospital uniform. We are having a classic pissing match between the unvaccinated Heathcare workers and the hospitals. It's sickening the number of nurses and hospital workers who refuse to be vaccinated. Those that refuse will be terminated and denied unemployment. I wholeheartedly agree with this action.
To the point, I asked this nurse if she was vaccinated. She faintly smiled and said "yes, I am" and looked down to the floor. I patted her shoulder and thanked her for her commitment to her profession. She looked up at me with tears streaming down her face and said, " thank you, you have no idea how much that means to me." Here in Syracuse NY we are demeaning the Healthcare workers who are vaccinated. It's a pretty f*cked up City, isn't it.
I don't ever remember feeling so bad for someone who did the right thing.
Linda! I sent a prayer of light to the nurse you supported in that encounter. And to you. To me, it is not about “what we have become” as much as I know “who we truly are”.
Close to where my Roots are. Was first Schooled in Catholic school. We were not Even allowed to say the word ‘Hate ‘ in relationship to a person. Only a thing. Like if you’re car wouldn’t start you could Hate you're car. If you made the fatal mistake of saying to another child “ I hate you ! “ you were in deep, deep yogurt ! We could say we disliked what a person did. But never ever the ‘H’ word. My how times have changed.
So let this sink in: Republicans are opposed to helping the Afghans who they complained we were not being removed from Afghanistan fast enough. Republicans don't support fighting the pandemic through vaccinations. And Republicans don't support vigorous consumer protection.
But wasn't it exciting to read that they failed on those three issues?
I don't think they know what they believe. They are simply doing every-single-thing in their power to destroy our current government and replace it with ... with ... What exactly? Trump?!! How will that fix anything for anyone at all??
It’s back-to-the-1800s. Back to whites in power. Back to men in power. Back to oppression if not outright violence against anyone who isn’t white and male. Back to Old World Society. Back to the days when the whites and the men controlled everything. Authoritarian leaders are slaveowners in different guise, that’s why Orange Dayglo approves of them. Republicans have turned into the Fascist Party of America. These days they have more in common with the Taliban and the NSDAP than with most of America. They oppose anything non-white. They oppose anything non-male. They oppose anything that isn’t rooted in past society. Racist and sexist society.
Republicans voting against aid for Afghans evacuated by the U.S. perfectly encapsulates who they are. Incinsere sniveling hypocrites. They trashed Biden, claiming he didn't do enough to help Afghans leave, then won't help them resettle here. Many of them never hesitate to talk about their deep Christian faith. But apparently, they've never read the New Testament or simply ignore its teachings. Such a despicable lot lacking in basic human morals.
As I've said before, they don't govern but play-act the roles as members of Congress. There needs to be a new awards show. "And the Oscar for Best Faux Outrage goes to..."
Thanks, Lynn. I read her letter 8 hours ago. My memory isn't what it used to be. I'll read it again to put it in context with your and Bill's comments..."she said sheepishly!"
Sickening what 45 spews forth to his followers, and disheartening that running this country falls along party lines rather than what's most helpful for this country and its people. Still I will continue trying to make a difference locally, and if enough individuals can also find the time to take action, there's still a chance we could save our democracy.
Ngl though, tonight's Letter makes me fear we might not succeed.
If "spending $3.5 trillion on human infrastructure" provides people with hope to pursue life, liberty, and happiness, then bring on the "entitlements."
Yes, instead of acting like it is a bad thing, we need to just respond with "yes, we are looking out for people, not corporations or stockholders" Yay us.
Time to ignore that bastard and focus on the dark money train funding him....somehow all his years as the great businessman (who specialized in bankruptcies and jilting the workers who contracted with him) has gilded his gray matter with expertise about
"horrible assaults, and sex crimes", and the ins and outs of immigration. Whaaaa? Why - ever -
Typical projection. He thinks everyone else is committing the same crimes he is, though he doesn't view them as crimes unless someone else is committing them.
There are the old standbys, depending on context, like Racist-in-Chief, Sexist-in-Chief, Donny Dipshit, One-Term Loser, etc.
And then of course, if you’re feeling passionate and particularly peeved, there’s scumbag, mofo, shit-for-brains, ratf—ker, et al. When he was still in the oval office, it was hard not to feel strongly.
“The first is about how the Democrats should interpret their victory in 2020. “
Two races. President and Congress.
Biden won by just over 7 million votes because he was not Trump. Any candidate, other than Sanders, could have beaten Trump.
Democrats lost 13 seats in the House.
Perhaps a rejection of the policies of the Democratic Party. Perhaps some Republicans were so disgusted with Trump that they voted for Biden but couldn’t bring themselves to vote for the policies of the Democratic Party. Lots of speculation on that one.
Stacy Abrams personally delivered the Senate. 👏🏻👏🏻
Stacey Abrams led a well organized and strategic movement to register and educate legitimate voters in Georgia and to bring support from thousands of voters outside the state who supported the vote and donated $ for Warnock and Ossoff campaigns.
Credit her voice and leadership. She would be the first to say, no one voice supersedes another’s vote in this country. And we must not allow one person, such as the former president, to deliver any election.
I am glad that Cotton was unsuccessful in his bid to amend the bull to stop aid for Afghan refugees. The Dems won that hand. Now, we wait and see if Manchin’s revised bill persuades any Repubs to come over to the “lighter side”. I have many doubts.
How TFG still gets any mention or airtime is beyond me. The least we hear about him, the better. Quite frankly, I only want to read his obituary.
I have run out of pejorative terms for the Republican Party. I'm tired.
Idiotic drivel from the mouth of the former president is to be expected; you can't say he's been inconsistent. To have his idiocy endorsed, even sanctified, and thus elevated to rationality in the minds of too many, by people in power who really do know better, every single day, has left me bone-weary, and stumbling into run-on sentences. (My god! Stop! Right now!)
I'm going to do lawn work today, and maybe take a walk on my favorite woods trail. I startled a black bear the other day. He fled from me on a dead run. I'm getting scary in my old age.
Don't sell yourself short. You were probably plenty scary back in the day too!
This is just great, Ralph. Now all you have to do is comb through all the hearts and comments you received in reply!
Welcome to the Crusty Old Fart Brigade. I think the4re's a couple battalions of them here. :-)
At least, not to mention quite a few Grumpy Old Gits.
😂
I hear ya. You have expressed my thoughts very well.
Yeah, who can blame that bear for running like that??? After all, you are kind of a crusty old fart!!! Lol….. As far as these republicans are concerned, these are supposed to be half way intelligent people, but obviously , they are just plain to stupid to know shame when they see it, or practice it!!!
Most of them make it half way to intelligence, it's the balance that's missing and that's what hurts.
Sounds a lot like "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it any more!" It's an older quote but it still works; it may be especially effective if enough of us send it to our currently elected politicos and make it clear that it will not stop until they demonstrate a rational and thoughtful concern for the governance of this country.
I share your exhaustion. I'm going to have another water color lesson this afternoon and try to unwind. It's hard to stop the voices in my head, though. They are busily shouting your very words: My god! Stop! Right now!
Use your scariness with the MOP (Me Only Party)!
🌷❤🌷Ralph, please have a peaceful day.
😂 We all feel ya ! But thanks for the laughs.
I'd call it "burn-out". same thing as the fatigue you express so well. A walk in the woods with my dog sounds like a great idea.
Succinctly, excellently said. Right there with you.
Hold the line! Don’t give up, don’t give them that much power.
You are not alone.
Great post Ralph. I agree completely.
It was difficult to hear Manchin lecture Liberals about having an “entitlement mentality”, while he had a fundraiser with the monopoly man (Koch). Did Koch get a lecture about his “entitlement mentality”? I think not. To top it off his hypocrisy on the subject, Manchin’s daughter, Heather Bresch, the former president and CEO of the drugmaker Mylan, used her “entitlement mentality” to inflate her resume with an unearned MBA. She also used that same “entitlement mentality” to work directly with the CEO of Pfizer to keep prices of the company's EpiPen product artificially high. Did Heather ever get a lecture about her “entitlement mentality”? I think not. By accusing Liberals of having an “entitlement mentality”, Manchin is victim blaming and projecting. While not illegal, it’s a disgusting display of hypocrisy.
I loved it when WVU exposed Bresch's MBA to be a lie. And don't forget Heather B's mother, Gayle Manchin, another piece of work.
"After Gayle Manchin took over the National Association of State Boards of Education in 2012, she spearheaded an unprecedented effort that encouraged states to require schools to purchase medical devices that fight life-threatening allergic reactions.
The association’s move helped pave the way for Mylan Specialty, maker of EpiPens, to develop a near monopoly in school nurses’ offices. Eleven states drafted laws requiring epinephrine auto-injectors. Nearly every other state recommended schools stock them after what the White House called the "EpiPen Law" in 2013 gave funding preference to those that did.
The CEO of Mylan then, and now, was Heather Bresch. Gayle Manchin is Heather Bresch’s mother."
The entire Manchin family is dishonest and corrupt to the core.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2016/09/20/family-matters-epipens-had-help-getting-schools-manchin-bresch/90435218/
Daria, you are one helluva investigative journalist...thanks and Morning!!
Morning, Lynell! Thanks for your very kind words.🌷
WOW! Thus needs to be front page news, again, and again.
This is why we distrust our government, SO many get rich quick schemes that stink to high heaven.
Lynn, you're right, it should be. But it's not. Sad.
I don’t know why Manchin calls himself a Democrat, unless he has in mind old southern white planter-style Democrat.
Bingo! I wonder what the pay rates are for the people who work in the coal mines in which he has partial ownership.
No matter what their pay rate, there's a death sentence attached - black lung for the miners and environmental ruin for all of us.
Mystery solved, Jenn...thanks!
Family history for Manchin was helping others who needed it. Times have changed??
Manchin and sinema are CLEARLY covering their own ugly asses now. Yes! We elected democrats to vote for democratic bills. DUH!
Toss a few shekels to the Primary Sinema PAC.
https://primarysinema.com
I thought I saw Marjorie TG ranting about primarying Sinema with a more far rightist. The Primary Sinema PAC is progressives.
https://theweek.com/politics/1005526/kyrsten-sinema-is-already-facing-primary-pressure-in-arizona
Speaking of MTG, there’s more trouble brewing in Georgia:
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2021/09/new-georgia-pols-further-right-than-marjorie-taylor-greene.html
Me too
I just did. Thanks for the link.
Sinema’s previous progressives are fighting with her now. She’s not the candidate they rallied for. She has spat in their faces.
DINO?
Worse. For herself only. That's why she aggressively progressed "upward", turning herself from a Nader Green Party fighter to the egotistic brat we see today.
Buzz words and phrases used as pejorative shorthand is nothing new. It's preaching to the choir.
HCR, thank you for finally being the one to refer to the right-wing menaces Manchin and Sinema as "conservative Democrats." Every time I hear them referred to as "moderate" by the media I want to scream.
I am planning on writing to my congressperson today--Emmanuel Cleaver II, who is a lion in the House--to ask him to get the "progressives" in line with what the Dems need to win this damn thing. I am entirely sympathetic to their plans but their tactics--fighting within the party and playing games that, like Manchin and Sinema in the Senate, make it possible for the Would-Be Autocrats to vilify them and prevent reasonable legislation from progressing--are immature and unhelpful. As always, I must point out that perfection is the enemy of the good. As long as the Dems are eating themselves alive, we will not have any kind of power in Congress even when we have a majority.
In other news: [1] The three congresswomen (including MO's Cori Bush) who described their abortions in front of their colleagues are, to my mind, the bravest women in Congress. I have been in the same shoes as they; I have made the same decisions. I do not regret them for one second but I know how difficult the decisions women always have to weigh are. And I detest men who sit back in their complacence and smugness because they do not suffer the same kind of existential crisis when they impregnate women. We need to prosecute men who impregnate women against their will (and I am not just talking about rape here: I am talking about the inevitable power difference between men and women in sexual situations in which women are vulnerable to becoming pregnant when they do not want to be) because they are the real perpetrators of unwanted pregnancies.
[2] Most of you are not keeping track of a little news item that I and my medievalist colleagues have been following for quite a while, but which the NY Times finally reported on this morning: that Yale U's "Vinland Map" is a fake, dating probably from the late 1920s. There are much better articles on it than the one in the Times this morning, in large part because they buried the real meaning behind the forgery: it was designed to enhance the standing of northern European white people at the expense of both indigenous First Nations people and southern Europeans at a time when whiteness was being associated very significantly with people from northern Europe. Note the date of the forgery: the rise of fascism and Nazism, the re-invention of the KKK, the backlashes against suffrage all were contemporary to the invention of this fake map. And also, the all-too-typical misuse of the term "Viking" is super annoying to those of us who have been teaching our students for decades that it is actually a verb and a job description, not an ethnic identity. People of all kinds went "a-viking"; it is not exclusive to people of Scandinavian heritage. And is not gender-specific either.
This has me laughing out loud this morning-there was a long and somewhat heated discussion of the Vinland map forgery issue on my deck last night and the nefarious ideas behind it. Several neighbors had gathered; we were celebrating having successfully cleared tons of downed trees and debris from our yards after last week’s tornado. When one of them attempted to explain that viking was a verb, my neighbor’s 13 year old son said; “What do you mean? They play football.” When we were finally able to stop laughing, the neighborhood Historian of all things Scandinavian took the time to explain the Vinland map case more thoroughly to George. Made for a good transition to talking about gerrymandering and why the hell the weather remains so warm and dry in Minnesota at the end of September. Sigh. I would love for Congress to pass the Build back better legislation but if we don’t address voting rights, all will be lost. I’m as liberal as they come but compromise is necessary. Grrrrr.
History education occurs everywhere! That is a fabulous story.
I agree. We cannot have our Unicorn; we must get voting rights in order to have a Democracy.
The funniest part, from my perspective, is that the neighbor who brought up the subject is Native American. She subscribes to NYT and is fascinated by the history of racism and fascism-for obvious reasons. Watching her lead that discussion meant I got to see the reaction of those I know to be Republicans. Lovely to watch em squirm!
“They play football.” Hahahahahahahaha. Great story, Sheila. So glad effort to clear all debris from tornado was successful.
United!
Linda, We have different perspectives about the elected 'progressive' democrats in the party. They are democrats. They are fighting for the safety net which was torn into shreds by the Republican Party over the past 40 years. They are fighting to address Climate Change as it absolutely needs to be dealt with. They are fighting for economic security of American Families, Women, Children and the Elderly, who have not been supported by this county. I found it very enlightening to read the Rolling Stones article about the rich efforts being made to kill the bill. Heather provided a link to it. The Manchins and Sinemas are not representing the vast majority of the American people and to compare them to the 'progressives' seemed inappropriate. Progressives playing the same 'games' as Manchin and Sinema? They are not playing games.
Yes!! Without the progressives standing firm we would get little of anything from the corporatocracy. We need a strong stand for what we value. Pelosi and Biden have said over and over this IS the PROCESS. We all need deadlines to get hard things done. So what if they go over their self imposed deadline. I’m anxious for a result but I’m so proud we finally have representatives in Congress who won’t get run over by the freaking corporate bullies.
Christy, I more than liked your comment that now begins this chain. Most of the progressives feel what has been happening; they and their families, friends, neighbors, etc., know what it's like to live with economic insecurity, not to be able to afford healthcare, decent housing -- you know the drill. When I begin to count how they've been robbed and they is we -- I lose my calm. May more dedicated, skillful and determined, progressive public servants be elected in '22, '24... and on we go.
'and they is we' -- and they ARE we!
And as I understand it, this is Biden’s agenda they are standing firm on and the TWO grossly problematic senators involved are the ones beholden to their donors.
Thank you for being a teacher of actual history and not invented conservative nonsense. It was never an easy job but it’s vital now to teach truth.
"As long as the Dems are eating themselves alive, we will not have any kind of power in Congress even when we have a majority."
Linda, THIS! We are watching ourselves dissolve in a vat of acid. Once there is one party, authoritarian rule will Dems in Congress finally wake up and say "Oh shit!"? And I mean Dems across the spectrum, not just progressives or moderates.
1. I don't know that I'd have the courage to stand up in front of an assembled body, Congress or elsewhere, and discuss the choices I've made with regards to abortion. These three women are remarkable. The decision making process is one of the most difficult and painful I've ever been confronted with. I also agree that it's time men are made to accept responsibility, including prosecution and imprisonment, for impregnating a woman against her will.
2. I can't say I'm surprised by the Vinland Map Hoax. I'm only sorry that it's taken this long for the map to be exposed as a fake.
Amen, amen, to your number 1 point.
I believe it was this omitted passage that HCR had alluded to in her chat yesterday when she pointed out how the issue of slavery would be a nonstarter for the slave-owning southern states who would not sign on to the Declaration of Independence had it been included:
"He has waged cruel war against human nature itself, violating it’s most sacred rights of life & liberty in the persons of a distant people who never offended him, captivating & carrying them into slavery in another hemisphere, or to incur miserable death in their transportation thither. This piratical warfare, the opprobrium of infidel powers; is the warfare of the Christian king of Great Britain. Determined to keep open a market where MEN should be bought & sold he has prostituted his negative for suppressing every legislative attempt to prohibit or to restrain this execrable commerce: and that this assemblage of horrors might want no fact of distinguished die, he is now exciting those very people to rise in arms among us, and to purchase that liberty of which he has deprived them, by murdering the people upon whom he also obtruded them: thus paying off former crimes committed against the liberties of one people, with crimes which he urges them to commit against the lives of another." Note that this link is identified as "Not Secure." http://alexpeak.com/twr/doi/change/
Heather also pointed out that our nation has been grappling with this issue since then (for approx. 245 years).
My point is, right or wrong, the stubbornness of who we call the Progressive Democrats IMO mirrors what happened back in 1776 as well as many other instances throughout our history, where people have basically been told they must compromise in order to win on the bigger picture but once the bigger picture has "won," we can focus on their (the Progressives') concerns later. Trouble is "later" never seems to happen.
While I lean heavily on the side of the bigger picture, I understand the passion of those dang Progressives.
Thank you, Linda, for your comment today. Aside from the abortion issue, ignorance (lack of factual knowledge) keeps me from commenting about the rest of what you so eloquently stated.
I appreciate that the Democrats are role modeling how a democracy should work. The hard work of doing something for our country while the fascists are only capable of calling our courageous military heroes names.
Read this just yesterday. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/medieval-map-of-north-america-identified-as-20th-century-forgery-180978751/
Thanks for the update on the Vinland Map. I am not at all surprised at the reason and timing.
Thanks for all of this, including the news of the three Congresswomen describing their abortions. I've been pro-choice since I understood the issues, probably age 14. (My beloved 9th grade chemistry teacher later became the first head of NARAL.) A handful of people close to me have had abortions, and I'm grateful they were available.
I will look into that forgery with great interest. In fourth grade, we studied the Norse of the Viking era, in a superb class at the local quaker school, giving me a lifelong interest.
I wish that they hadn’t called it the $3.5 trillion infrastructure bill. I found the follow article from DCReport helpful in understanding the cost of the bill:
How $3 a Day Can Buy America a Rich Future
David Cay JohnstonBy DAVID CAY JOHNSTONSeptember 21, 20216 Mins Read
Making Sense of Big, Scary Budget Numbers
How much would you be willing to invest for a better future for yourself, today’s youngsters and beyond?
Would you be willing to invest $3 a day?
That’s more than the gross upfront cost of President Joe Biden’s human infrastructure bill.
Sadly, that’s not how news reports describe the American Families Plan. Across the board, our major news organizations cite a big, scary and ultimately meaningless number: $3.5 trillion.
To grasp what a huge and meaningless number that is, imagine putting matches to dollars bills. If you lit one greenback per second it would take 110,985 years to burn all that money.
Folks who make at least $100,000 per day would bear 86% of the cost of Biden’s human infrastructure plan.
But the Biden plan money won’t be consumed; it will be invested.
When our Air Force planes and Navy ships burn kerosene and marine diesel fuel, tax dollars used to buy that fuel are shot out as exhaust. That’s tax dollars consumed.
Biden’s plan adds value, making each dollar invested today worth more dollars in the future by increasing incomes, creating private-sector jobs, increasing more business profits and raising more tax dollars as the economy grows.
Human Scale v. Big, Scary Numbers
At DCReport, we try to make numbers human scale. That means we start with the big, scary and incomprehensible $3.5 trillion gross cost and divide by 10 because the money would be spent over a decade.
Next, we divide the $350 billion per year by 332.8 million Americans as of this writing. Then we divide that by 365 days to get $2.88 per day per American ($11.52 for the iconic family of four).
And how much is $2.88? It was less than the average price of a cup of coffee in 2019. Gourmet coffee shops that year charged on average $4.24 per cup.
Most Would Pay Nothing
Now the best news: That $2.88 per day won’t cost you a penny if you make less than $165,600, analysis by the Tax Policy Center shows. Years of experience have demonstrated that its computer model reliably forecasts the costs and benefits of tax policy changes.
Biden’s plan would reduce federal taxes for eight out of 10 households. The poorest 48 million households would pay $620 less in taxes. That means the poorest Americans would enjoy a 4% increase in their after-tax income. That’s the equivalent of two extra weeks of pay each year.
Families making $91,800 to $165,600 would pay on average $120 less in federal taxes. It’s not much, but also it’s not a tax increase.
Now consider people on the 80th to 89th rungs of the income ladder, people who make $165,600 to $243,000 in total income. Their taxes would go up, but by just $420 on average, less than half the price of a cup of coffee per day.
The Richest Pay
The burden for the Biden human infrastructure plan would fall overwhelmingly on the 120,000 highest income households in America, people whose annual income ranges from $3.6 million to several billion dollars annually.
The folks who make at least $100,000 per day would bear 86% of the cost of Biden’s human infrastructure plan. They were also the primary beneficiaries of the Trump 2017 tax cuts, repeating a quarter of the tax savings. This is more like a take back of a tax favor financed with borrowed money than a tax increase.
Yes, we have Americans whose annual incomes are in the billions of dollars. One example: Larry Ellison collects almost $1.8 billion a year in dividends from Oracle, the company he launched in 1977 with a federal government contract. And that’s far from all of Ellison’s income.
How the Richest Benefit
The top one in a thousand households would also reap huge benefits from the Biden human infrastructure plan, making them even wealthier over time.
The richest among us would benefit because America will be investing in a better educated, more productive workforce not burdened by student debt, which holds back the formation of families, home buying and all the spending that goes with furnishing and setting up a family domicile.
A more productive workforce with more after-tax income means most would have more money to spend on the goods and services offered by the wealthiest families and the businesses they invest in, own control. Voila, government policy that helps the many also makes the already rich richer while making the creation of new riches more likely.
How Most Americans Benefit
My life is an example of how taxpayer investments in citizens more than pay for themselves. The $8,960 that federal taxpayers invested in my college and postgraduate education over seven years under the War Orphans Educational Assistance Act has been paid back many times over in federal income taxes. Indeed, the inflation-adjusted value of that taxpayer investment in me was paid back in full just from taxes on royalties from Perfectly Legal, the first book in my award-winning trilogy on the American economy.
More broadly, one of the smartest if not the smartest federal investment ever was the GI Bill, officially the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944. The GI Bill is what enabled a Seattle grocer’s son named Bill Gates to become a lawyer and, in turn, give his son the money that launched Microsoft with jobs that poured money into federal coffers.
The GI Bill doubled the number of college degree holders in 10 years and resulted in more education, higher incomes, and less poverty. And this was despite the racist and sexist details of the GI Bill that kept many Black Americans and women who served from participating. The Biden plan has no such barriers, though once enacted, DCReport will scrutinize the final legislation looking for any subtle discriminatory features that Congress may slip in.
When Republicans and a handful of Democrats declare that they will vote against the American Families Plan, here is what they are really saying, you should:
pay higher taxes
not get as much in benefits as you could for those taxes
pay higher prices for prescription drugs
endure more medical bills
have your pockets drained to pay for childcare and eldercare
Irrational Tax Hatred
And why? Because the ideological and irrational anti-tax crowd, which denounce all new taxes as bad, wants to ensure that the already best-off Americans can have more now instead of the more prosperous future we could all enjoy.
We would be a poor country today but for massive taxpayer investments in the future like the GI Bill and the related War Orphans Act. The way to think about human infrastructure is that it’s not spending, like lo those fossil fuels consumed by military planes and ships, but an investment in a better and all-around wealthier American future.
At a gross cost of $2.88 per day, the American Families Plan is a bargain. At a net cost of less than zero, only fools would say no.
David Cay Johnston
David Cay Johnston is the Editor-in-Chief of DCReport. He is an investigative journalist and author, a specialist in economics and tax issues, and winner of the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for Beat Reporting.
Why, oh why, can't the Dem message-makers craft a condensed version of these facts? Hire the agency the Lincoln Project utilizes, hand them these bullet points and request both a 30 second and 1 minute version. Our opponents, most of whom might not read the above (too long), surely would be shocked at what the GOP is obstructing.
My continuing frustration with Democrats— they fail at messaging. Tragic situation really
They need to start wearing loafers instead of high-top boots. But the time they get through lacing them up, whatever the R's have said has been around the world three times.
No, they need very pointed high-heels to get their message across.
For as long as I can remember, Democrats have been incapable of learning this most fundamental lesson. They are trying to do enormous good for the nation, but their efforts are lost without succinct messaging that encapsulates the benefits. Where is the comprehensive blitz with Lincoln-Project-like PR campaigns that JP references? Why are the two infrastructure bills given names that mean nothing to most people? It's a maddening failure of party leadership.
I totally agree! $3.5 trillion sets off sirens in most people’s brains who are already running on just emotion.
We primates have brains designed more for grabbing strong forest canopy branches than grasping large abstract numbers.
JP, I have been thinking the exact same thing. The Democrats sans Manchin and
Sinema need to have a much better promotion plan i.e. better advertising.
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 You nailed it, when this bill is looked at honestly it’s a no brainer. The only risk that I see is that people don’t take the time to read and fully understand what you have just written.
Yes, it’s a fantastic investment bill.
The URL for this brilliant piece is:
https://www.dcreport.org/2021/09/21/how-3-a-day-can-buy-america-a-rich-future/
Write to your newspapers and to your reps!
I have a list of of all the major newspapers across the country who I wrote letters to editor to during pre election. I will send them URL, thank you Marlene!
Finally. Looks like some Republicans and Dem’s need to catch up on some reading . Thank you !
Thank you for posting this insightful article. Seems the Koch empire is doing a brilliant job of distorting the facts on this legislation. I keep sending money to candidates for the 2022 election but fear that the table will be so tilted by then, that we won't be able to make a difference. I am reading a sci-fi novel called Ministry for the Future, Kim Stanley Robinson, that addresses the problems of the current paradigm for a collapse of the biosphere and civilization and how that course might be changed.
Thank you. Perhaps we can send this to our Congressional Reps.
I tweeted this link to Manchin and Sinema, with a not-so-subtle comment. Perhaps one of their aides will give it a glance.
Ellen, I’m not on Twitter. Can you tweet URL to Lincoln Project. They may have probably already read it.
Absolutely!
Thanks so much!
FYI a group of HCR Substackers has formed to support grassroots activism for democracy. For more info, email:
heathersherd@gmail.com
Lindsay. Such a great idea! I wish major newspapers across the country would run it.
Let’s send it to them!
Thanks for this Angela.
Thanks, Angela!
"In contrast, though, Congress spends very little time discussing the defense budget, which, at its current rate, would cost $7.78 trillion over the next ten years. That amount is significantly higher than the defense spending of any other nation in the world. In 2020, the U.S. spent $778 billion on defense, making up 39% of our overall spending."
One of the most important sentences I have read in the last five years. In this sentence lies the "rub" so to speak.
7.78 Trillion dollars and no Republican OR Democrat is challenging that number or trying to reduce military spending to do infrastructure.
IF corruption were not driving American "Democracy" there would be loud cries to shrink that fantastical military budget and move the money to useful infrastructure projects. New schools. Roads that can actually be driven. High speed rail.
But, the truth is, corruption IS driving American "Democracy". All of the military contractors have paid off all of our congressional representatives so that they get their funding.
And guess what? Military spending is SOCIALISM. Companies on the welfare dole. Their employees all welfare recipients.
Last but not least: When was the last time you heard of or saw a military contractor employee was/is was Black? Hispanic?
Those companies are bastions of white segregation no matter what their career websites show as the header photograph.
It is time for America to stop funding welfare for useless planes that never fly, useless wars we never win, and lazy government paid employees who never deliver.
And apparently the fascists war hawks within the military are happy to create an anti-Democratic culture to support their sedition of democratic administrations. https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/31/us/capitol-riot-arrests-active-military-veterans-soh/index.html
That makes me want to Vomit ! Couldn’t finish reading it. How dare they show such DISHONOR to those you gave their lives for us .They should be stripped of All Benefits. 60K of my peers died and it was NOT for 19 punks to follow a Con off the Democracy Cliff ! What is wrong with these Traitors ! They should be punished Quickly and Severe ! Lock Them Up !
I’m sorry Marcia. I can’t imagine how hard it is for veterans and their families, who have lived thru combat and experienced those losses to learn of the number of vets that were in that mix.
This is a subject I am not informed of beyond what I can find based on my curiosity, but I do hope, as Elizabeth Warren has said on many issues we have to “think very differently”. It is time to reflect and respect and change.
“Professional military education has a unique role to play in changing the military’s response to extremism. As the United States, and thus the military’s recruiting pool, diversifies, senior officers will find themselves leading a force that increasingly looks very different from them — at least until minority retention issues are solved within the officer corps as well. These officers will need to know how to build trust in politically divisive times without simply relying on hackneyed tropes like “we all bleed green.” They will continue having to address personnel issues involving extremism, sexual assault, suicide, and religion. Just in the last year, we have seen the force deal with the murder of Spc. Vanessa Guillen and the Fort Hood report, the death of George Floyd, and subsequent revelations about discrimination in the Air Force, not to mention the participation of multiple active-duty military members in the Jan. 6 insurrection. When professional military education denies its students the opportunity to thoroughly discuss and debate these problems in an informed way, we do a disservice to the force that reverberates for a generation.“
https://warontherocks.com/2021/07/education-against-extremism-suggestions-for-a-smarter-stand-down/
That was a long read. Which appears to fundamentally doesn’t appear to be working out so well. Over the last 5 yrs let’s just say TFG ratcheted up some. His base have children who I know for sure are going to become members of the branches of our Military. Now I am not highly educated. But I did come from Ppl that had common logic. The phrase “ An ounce of prevention is always better than a Pound of cure. I think from first application for enlistment, and I have know idea what all it takes to get into our Military ? But be it test, surveys, quiz's perhaps writing essays ? You could figure out who were going to be you’re problem children. They were raised all their life with people who are what these ‘Stand Down’s ‘ are about. I personally know some. You will only waste $ and time to Try an Educate Them in Thinking Differently.As the other saying goes, It’s in their DNA said by them . So maybe the ineffective , costly Stand Down days aren’t the answer. Oh ! Could that be a reason why a select group doesn’t want Critical Race Theory taught in our schools or anywhere for that matter. Why yes it is !
Marcia, the link is focused on actions requested by the Biden admin just since the 1/6 attack on our Capitol and yes the article is critical of the the stand down that was ordered with suggestions for improvement. In just a cursory dive into the subject there are steps taken to screen out extremists from our military but that is more difficult to do for civilian contractors for obvious reasons. There is so much work to do in every aspect. We will be decades before fully realizing how deep this fascist element scarred our democracy.
I totally agree. The privatization of our military is sickening. WAY past time to open up this discussion!
In answer to your question, when I worked at Raytheon in 1998, there were enough Hispanic employees for one Spanish language lunch table. That’s more than I saw at software companies in Cambridge 20 years later.
I agree that the military budget needs to be closely examined and trimmed accordingly (although we all know that won't happen), but I also think that a very large percentage of that money needs to be kept for the men & women who are defending this country.
Those people should be paid a real life 'living wage' (none of this $15/hr BS); be provided with housing that is more than a concrete barracks situation, and have support programs/systems for the families; be given access to high quality health care (one that includes mental health, because dear God, they certainly need it after fighting a war or living under the stress of potential war), and VA hospitals that are well-funded, clean, and are dedicated to actually providing health care in a timely manner.
The monies should also go towards programs that assist them in making the transition from being in the military to civilian life, in providing childcare, and continuing education (college, trade school, etc.). I'm sure there are other things that I've missed that is greatly needed.
That is the least we can do for those in the military who are putting their lives & mental health on the line to protect this country.
The military should NOT be a stepping stone to private contractor big bucks for doing the same job our soldiers do for quadruple the salary. If we need more soldiers, raise their pay and or institute the draft. Is all the dough we pay private contractors (mercenaries by any other name) even included in our "military" budget?
Well said. Where are the cuts for a war we are no longer fighting?
To the "Contractors?"
Serious question because I truly don't understand the whole Israel thing.
Someone called me an antisemite because I questioned why we send billions of dollars to them, especially to fix their missile system. Do we send that much money to every country?
While I support Israel for many reasons, the US government has mostly helped Israel to defend itself because Israel has been the only functioning democracy in the Middle East. It has been our only reliable ally there for a long time.
The problem is that their democracy isn't functioning anymore, and we now see what happens with a political party (the Likud) founded by admirers of Mussolini who were willing to work with SS secret agents against the British even after Kristalnacht.
I look at Israel today and I remember what a friend in graduate school told me. He was a Sabra, had been a platoon commander in the company that liberated the Wailing Wall in 1967. He told me how they were there, worshiping, and he heard the Company Commander: "Help us, God - we won!" When the Israeli government didn't stop the Kach Krazies (all Americans) from getting into the West Bank, they signed the death warrant for Israel as any sort of moral compass to the world. What they have now is essentially religious-based apartheid and a government of crypto-fascists who admire Trump.
Like our United States, Israel is a country I love very much, at the same time that I am distressed by the political power of the far right disguised as some sort of center-right.
exactly right.
What is disturbing, though, is the fact that a good many evangelicals couldn't care less about Israel's security or security in the Middle East. They support Israel because they believe doing so is their Golden Ticket into heaven. Period.
Yes, they're fine with all the Jews who don't recognize Jeebus when he returns as The Messiah being thrown in "the fiery pit."
Thank you, Joan, for this reply to Beth. As one totally ignorant about the Middle East (as in not having much fact-based knowledge to speak with authority!) your explanation informs me immensely.
Yes, thanks Joan for this insight ! But my question is….what happens when our functioning ? democracy is no longer ? Who will be our allies then ??😔
Amen
Right there with you.Another situation where those Right Wing Christians In Name Only. Would never ask “ What would Jesus Do ? “.
Talk about "special relationship"! I thought that was supposed to exist between the GB and the US. That term could certainly be applied to the relationship of Israel and the US.
I meant Homeland Security being the next big chunk out of the Budget Pie.
Great comment.
I want to give a shout out for the Senate’s 51-50 confirmation of Robert Chopra as head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), which might otherwise be lost in media coverage of this Congressional meltdown. Chopra worked hand-in-glove with Senator Warren to create this unprecedented consumer protection agency which recovered nearly $12 billion for about 27 million consumers in its first five years.
Under Trump there was a concerned effort to emasculate, then abolish, CFPB. Now with President Biden’s strong support and the Republicans kicking and screaming, Senator Warren’s child is again full throat in protecting consumers’ rights.
As the street fight over two major infrastructure bills continues, personally I would trade one for a successful John Lewis voting law. Unless this Manchin-supported bill can be passed, perhaps with some finagling of the filibuster, at the state level Republicans will succeed in making the right to vote a Republican-granted privilege, putting a Republican thumb on the election results in 2022 and subsequently.
On what basis do you think there could be a trade between Build Back Better and an effective enough national voting acts bill? The Republicans are adamantly opposed to both; a national voting act bill is crucial for Democracy and both are vital for the Democratic Party, Biden's presidency and the American people.
FERN I am not speaking of a ‘trade,’ rather my personal priorities. I remember that Manchin, when he opposed the initial draft voting bill, recommended the John Lewis draft saying that it was imperative. Whatever happens to the human infrastructure bill, I recall discussion that it would be possible to carve off part of the filibuster to permit the JohnLewis voting bill to pass. Am I grasping at straws? YES, because the federal voting bill is so imperative to counter Republican skullduggery.
I agree about the absolute necessary of passing an effective enough national voting bill. I just don't believe that there is a single straw to grasp from the Republicans. It is the Democrats who have to get their house in order, a tough job under the big tent with different coalitions.
Great point.......do you suggest a trade?
Kathy, I do not see a trading opportunity. The Republicans, building trade contractors and everyone else are in favor of the smaller - roads and bridges, etc. - infrastructure bill, so no trade there. The BUILD BACK BETTER is absolutely necessary -- the Money Men and Republican Party - great friends of fossil fuels are fighting it and spending accordingly to kill the bill. Do the Republicans want national voting rights bill passed? They have been passing voter suppression and suppression like the demons they are. Where's the trade?
correction: '...voter suppression and subversion bills..."
Keith, Chopra's confirmation as head of the CFPB is of the utmost importance to all consumers regardless of party. Many don't understand the importance and relevance of the Bureau until they are impacted directly by unequal credit and lending practices, debt collection violations and more.
I agree, one successful John Lewis voting law will pave the way for a stronger electorate over all and, therefore, the ability for all citizens to make their voices heard on all matters. Everything having to do with politics is a dog fight right now. It's essential that we concentrate serious effort on solidifying the right to vote. As you say, "Unless this Manchin-supported bill can be passed, perhaps with some finagling of the filibuster, at the state level Republicans will succeed in making the right to vote a Republican-granted privilege, putting a Republican thumb on the election results in 2022 and subsequently." We are already at the point where, in many states, decisions are being forced on residents by the Republican party. We cannot get to a point where we are out of options, (I think of Hungary among other countries).
I was right. I found no mention of Mr. Chopra being named, 51-50 in the Senate, head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Once again Heather has highlighted a significant occasion that the ‘breathless’ media has overlooked. Heather, you are our national treasure!
“More progressive Democrats, led by Pramila Jayapal (WA), who chairs the Congressional Progressive Caucus, believe the Democrats were elected to pass laws that help ordinary Americans who have felt unrepresented by Republicans.”
When I read this line, I can honestly say that I have never felt really felt represented in government until Progressives came along. That they’re fighting for plans to help working families - Men & Women, but which would primarily help women, just blows my mind.
My mother worked in & out of the home when my youngest sibling was in elementary school in the 1980’s. She worked so damned hard. Looking back, I think she did it because my parents marriage was on it’s last legs and with no work history to put on a resume (on top of no college degree), she knew she would have been in seriously big trouble as a single parent, likely working multiple jobs and feeling overwhelmed & guilty about her children, while my father would have been fine, but frustrated about having to clean his home & feed himself. She never had the opportunity to support herself because she died a few years later. I chose not to marry.
I look at what Republicans are doing, starting with ending a woman’s right to choose to continue a pregnancy and know it’s not going to end there. Ending access to abortion is a train wreck for women, especially low & middle income women, married or not. They didn’t even have the decency to put programs in place to mitigate the consequences before taking this action in Texas.
No, Republicans aren’t going to end there. They’re going to continue to push so that women are in their proper place, in the home and under men’s thumbs, without doing anything to protect the women just like before, which is why women preferred to have decent ways to support themselves outside the home in the first place. They’ll mess with birth control access, access to higher education & job training, and civil rights protections, etc., to push women out of the workforce.
I pose this task & question to all who think it is better for women to go back to being home with their parents until they’re married and then be housewives, staying out of the workforce:
For a whole month, look at all the men you know very carefully.
-Observe how they treat women (family members, friends, employers & women in authority, co-workers, female employees, neighbors, strangers, etc.).
-Observe how they treat people in general. Are they considerate of their neighbors, are they tolerant of others, do they listen to other people’s opinions, etc.
-Observe how they treat their pets. Are they cared for by others and just get the fun parts? Do they consider them pests to be ignored except when they feel like giving attention? Are they abusive? Do they treat animals/pets like beings deserving of consideration?
After you have done all this, I want you to ask yourself with all seriousness, whether or not you would willingly put yourself at their mercy for the rest of your life.
If the answer is no, then please protect women’s rights to control their own bodies and their destinies. Perhaps join #WomensMarch2021 Saturday October 2, 2021 in your area.
Women’s abilities to live independently is also important for any women who do want to live with fathers and husbands their whole lives. The very fact that it’s a choice changes the conditions in which people live.
As I mentioned above, growing up without a father, my mother always counseled her girls about being independent of a man's income because you never know when death will change everything.
Exactly.
I answer yes to your questions. Men I know are respectful, caring, hard-working, generous, emotionally present, and fair. My husband and I are both going to the Women's March tomorrow. I hope you meet some decent men at some point. Your mother's story is heart-wrenching and all too common.
I’m glad you’re surrounded by good men.
You answered “yes”, but would you impose that life on all females regardless of their situations and choices? Because not every man should be in a position of authority of anyone.
Your argument is sound. The book “Three Cups of Tea” springs to mind. Well documented that funding in poor countries that goes to women, not men, produces dramatically greater contributions to education and social welfare. Men usually burn the money on alcohol and sodas. Women spend funds on schooling and health for their children. I’m sorry about your bad experience with male authority figures, if that is indeed the case, unfortunately that’s a widespread problem. Do women need to be independent and have their own resources? HELL YES.
This is not about my bad experience with a male authority figure or about men as individuals, it’s with the idea that I and other women could potentially lose the right to be treated as individuals and lose rights & control over our own bodies, and destinies, just because our souls are housed in female forms. No one should have to be organized into certain roles in life because of their sex, skin color, etc. It is just plain wrong.
PS: In my suggested task to observe how men treat women & girls, I neglected to include spouses, girlfriends, & daughters. Since my post was basically them in mind, (like the most important items on my shopping list) of course I forgot to include them. 🤦🏻♀️
Oopsie poopsie, as Heather would say. I took your original comment to include all.
It did include all women, but I still stated categories and left out significant ones :-)
Not important. You’re talking to smart people. We filled in the blanks.
Lisa, my heart goes out to you as you look back on your Mom’s difficult life. No adult should ever be at the mercy of another. That kind of power imbalance is inherently corrosive.
The current treatment of women, and in particular pregnant women, by the Taliban is a stark warning of how quickly “protection” turns into subjugation and suffering.
But just think, in the US, not so long ago girls and women who became pregnant outside of marriage were sent away to another family member or sent to a "home for unwed mothers" for the duration of the pregnancy. We, in the US, were closed minded about all aspects of reproductive health and pregnancy for a very long time. Men have had a disproportionate role deciding the "fate" of women and do to this day. Gaining control over our own bodies is more than a battle it is a war we need to win.
I remember those times too well. Yes, we need to settle this once and for all.
Oh, gosh, you're so right, Daria. The idea of getting pregnant out of wedlock was horrifying. In those days it was always the girl's fault, never the boy's. At all cost, the boy's future had to be protected.
My parents marriage was typical. It wasn’t abusive. Sometimes relationships fail because both parties grew apart. That’s what happened to them. That’s life. Marriages do have their bad times and it’s also hard on those that love them and witness it like their children.
The person with the greatest potential to support themselves in the event the marriage doesn’t last has more power.
That has changed a little in the last few decades as courts have had to offer palimony to husbands when the wife has the greater ability to support herself on her own.
When women work in the home (meaning caring for the home and it’s inhabitants) as well as outside of the home at a “real job” (term used with much sarcasm), there’s usually no one to step in and fill in the gaps. Generally the husband’s responsibilities don’t change, just the wife’s.
I don’t know if people misinterpreted my description or just never witnessed the reality of a classic housewife-turned-working mom. It’s hard to do both jobs successfully without getting help from other people to fill in the gaps.
At least now that the real split in the Democratic Party has been once again revealed for all to see in the delayed votes on the infrastructure packages, they have at least the time to hunker down and ensure passage into law of the essential Voting Rights Bills on which the two parts have formally agreed. It would seem to me to be a little more strategically important at this time. When death is staring you in the face, have courage...first ensure survival and then deal with the issues of "succour" afterwards rather that being suckered into your own suicide by nicety and overwheaning respect for outdated, undemocratic rules.
It's also called "being perfect is the enemy of being good".
This is challenging for those of us who lean towards perfectionism and want it all, but I agree, voting is THE most important issue in our country at this very moment. We need a very focused energy to fight this.
Well said, Stuart. I agree that we must at all costs pass voting rights legislation. All the rest depends on it.
It also illustrates the difference between Republicans and Democrats. Republicans walk in lock step with one another because they are focused on winning no matter what. Democrats are chaotic and have trouble doing anything, even when they are in the majority in Congress.
In reality they are not a majority as they are a coalition of 2 different parties without an agreed agenda. Chaos and failure are therefore normal. The Republicans are thus the largest force in both houses and in the absence of agreement between the opposing minorities, they dominate the preceedings.
Are you saying we, like the Germans, have a coalition government? Might work.
yes but first in Germany comes the program negotiations...not after! Hence its not working.
Claudia, I think it's because of who Democrats represent -- that diverse class of people who come from all walks of life -- that we have "chaos." For the R's it's easy to be in lockstep as they have a very narrow class of people who they represent. At least this is my guess.
Good point
This.
On the split within the DEMS, supplementing Stuart Attwell's comment: it's all very well to characterize broadly what "progressive" and "moderates" claim to stand for, but we need ALSO to consider which states or districts the respective folks represent. The vast majority of "progressives" come from safe DEM seats, and are not willing to consider that such seats alone do not constitute a majority of the House OR the Senate. Many "progessives" appear to think, mistakenly, that their (clear) majorities are the majority, period. The loss of 13 House seats in 2020 should have been a signal to them that this is not the case. Blame it on gerrymandering if you want, or - perhaps more correctly, on mixed-loyalty suburban districts that have been tossups for decades: the "moderates" who represent those districts are not wrong to fear that their seats will go to the REPS in 2022 if the REPS get away with their current "socialism!" messaging, which claims (wrongly) that the 3,5 trillion dollar "soft infrastructure" package will be financed by still more borrowing, when in fact it will be financed by taking back some of the tax gifts DT awarded to REP doners. The best way to get both "wings" of the DEMS to sing from the same page might be to get the right messaging clear, simple, and out there - to tell folks straight up what the bill is designed to do and how it will benefit them, individually.
Thank you Heather.
Why does everything have to come down to threats and adverse fighting?
I'm so incredibly sick of all of this bullshit.
When I was in the grocery store last night, I walked past a woman who was still wearing her hospital uniform. We are having a classic pissing match between the unvaccinated Heathcare workers and the hospitals. It's sickening the number of nurses and hospital workers who refuse to be vaccinated. Those that refuse will be terminated and denied unemployment. I wholeheartedly agree with this action.
To the point, I asked this nurse if she was vaccinated. She faintly smiled and said "yes, I am" and looked down to the floor. I patted her shoulder and thanked her for her commitment to her profession. She looked up at me with tears streaming down her face and said, " thank you, you have no idea how much that means to me." Here in Syracuse NY we are demeaning the Healthcare workers who are vaccinated. It's a pretty f*cked up City, isn't it.
I don't ever remember feeling so bad for someone who did the right thing.
What have we become?
Be safe. Be well.
Linda! I sent a prayer of light to the nurse you supported in that encounter. And to you. To me, it is not about “what we have become” as much as I know “who we truly are”.
United.
Indeed.
Yes, the refusers are often loud and abusive. They have no shame.
Close to where my Roots are. Was first Schooled in Catholic school. We were not Even allowed to say the word ‘Hate ‘ in relationship to a person. Only a thing. Like if you’re car wouldn’t start you could Hate you're car. If you made the fatal mistake of saying to another child “ I hate you ! “ you were in deep, deep yogurt ! We could say we disliked what a person did. But never ever the ‘H’ word. My how times have changed.
Thank you, Linda Bailey. May you be safe and well, too.
So let this sink in: Republicans are opposed to helping the Afghans who they complained we were not being removed from Afghanistan fast enough. Republicans don't support fighting the pandemic through vaccinations. And Republicans don't support vigorous consumer protection.
But wasn't it exciting to read that they failed on those three issues?
Let’s be clear. We don’t know what the repubs actually believe; their puppetmaster has spoken and they have voted.
I don't think they know what they believe. They are simply doing every-single-thing in their power to destroy our current government and replace it with ... with ... What exactly? Trump?!! How will that fix anything for anyone at all??
It’s back-to-the-1800s. Back to whites in power. Back to men in power. Back to oppression if not outright violence against anyone who isn’t white and male. Back to Old World Society. Back to the days when the whites and the men controlled everything. Authoritarian leaders are slaveowners in different guise, that’s why Orange Dayglo approves of them. Republicans have turned into the Fascist Party of America. These days they have more in common with the Taliban and the NSDAP than with most of America. They oppose anything non-white. They oppose anything non-male. They oppose anything that isn’t rooted in past society. Racist and sexist society.
Republicans voting against aid for Afghans evacuated by the U.S. perfectly encapsulates who they are. Incinsere sniveling hypocrites. They trashed Biden, claiming he didn't do enough to help Afghans leave, then won't help them resettle here. Many of them never hesitate to talk about their deep Christian faith. But apparently, they've never read the New Testament or simply ignore its teachings. Such a despicable lot lacking in basic human morals.
As I've said before, they don't govern but play-act the roles as members of Congress. There needs to be a new awards show. "And the Oscar for Best Faux Outrage goes to..."
Yes! 3 hits in a row was exciting to read, then the rest of the story was revealed.....
Uh, I missed what story I should be reading. Could you advise?
Lol just the rest of Heather's letter was what I was referring to...
Thanks, Lynn. I read her letter 8 hours ago. My memory isn't what it used to be. I'll read it again to put it in context with your and Bill's comments..."she said sheepishly!"
Sickening what 45 spews forth to his followers, and disheartening that running this country falls along party lines rather than what's most helpful for this country and its people. Still I will continue trying to make a difference locally, and if enough individuals can also find the time to take action, there's still a chance we could save our democracy.
Ngl though, tonight's Letter makes me fear we might not succeed.
We must persist.
If "spending $3.5 trillion on human infrastructure" provides people with hope to pursue life, liberty, and happiness, then bring on the "entitlements."
For the regular folks....not just the wealthy, entitled people.
As I said so inartfully the other day, "Let the spending begin!" Thanks, Paula.
Yes, instead of acting like it is a bad thing, we need to just respond with "yes, we are looking out for people, not corporations or stockholders" Yay us.
Well said, Paula! The Dems in Congress should adopt your simply eloquent statement.
Time to ignore that bastard and focus on the dark money train funding him....somehow all his years as the great businessman (who specialized in bankruptcies and jilting the workers who contracted with him) has gilded his gray matter with expertise about
"horrible assaults, and sex crimes", and the ins and outs of immigration. Whaaaa? Why - ever -
use his name in print?
Well, he definitely IS an expert on "horrible assaults, and sex crimes".
Isn’t it ironic yet fitting that he demands that Repub legislators legislate his very own crimes.
Typical projection. He thinks everyone else is committing the same crimes he is, though he doesn't view them as crimes unless someone else is committing them.
😂😂🤣🤣
Many thoughtful writers avoid that dishonored name by using the epithet “TFG”.
Small letters, though. He doesn't rate capitals
Orange Dayglo. Mango. Pumpkin hair. The Jerk.
There are the old standbys, depending on context, like Racist-in-Chief, Sexist-in-Chief, Donny Dipshit, One-Term Loser, etc.
And then of course, if you’re feeling passionate and particularly peeved, there’s scumbag, mofo, shit-for-brains, ratf—ker, et al. When he was still in the oval office, it was hard not to feel strongly.
I do!
“The first is about how the Democrats should interpret their victory in 2020. “
Two races. President and Congress.
Biden won by just over 7 million votes because he was not Trump. Any candidate, other than Sanders, could have beaten Trump.
Democrats lost 13 seats in the House.
Perhaps a rejection of the policies of the Democratic Party. Perhaps some Republicans were so disgusted with Trump that they voted for Biden but couldn’t bring themselves to vote for the policies of the Democratic Party. Lots of speculation on that one.
Stacy Abrams personally delivered the Senate. 👏🏻👏🏻
Stacey Abrams led a well organized and strategic movement to register and educate legitimate voters in Georgia and to bring support from thousands of voters outside the state who supported the vote and donated $ for Warnock and Ossoff campaigns.
Credit her voice and leadership. She would be the first to say, no one voice supersedes another’s vote in this country. And we must not allow one person, such as the former president, to deliver any election.
I am glad that Cotton was unsuccessful in his bid to amend the bull to stop aid for Afghan refugees. The Dems won that hand. Now, we wait and see if Manchin’s revised bill persuades any Repubs to come over to the “lighter side”. I have many doubts.
How TFG still gets any mention or airtime is beyond me. The least we hear about him, the better. Quite frankly, I only want to read his obituary.
I’ve written a two-word one: “At last.”
“…the bull to stop aid for Afghan refugees…” hahaha. A double entendre?