Thank you. The best comment under the post. The entire world order is changing and republican lawmakers are busy making laws preventing household appliances joining the modern world to own the libs.
Yes, such tiny little minds they have. Such a shame for them to waste their minuscule mental capacity on preventing the conservation of water and energy.
What is absolutely ridiculous about this nonsense is that manufacturers want to have standards in the ballpark of what they are producing for other countries…will they continue to design top loaded inefficient machines for America consumers who are on wells rather than paying for their water through municipalities?
And to think I was once permanently banned for commenting on the Washington Post for suggesting I would crap on the front steps of the Capital one day when Trump is waked inside. I went on to suggest that CNN would get a wide angle of my crapping before Capital police rushed me. May that day arrive ASAP.
Bill, I am also banned permanently from the WAPO for calling someone a troll after they "trolled" multiple columns over several weeks. I wish I had been banned for being more creative.
If a Trump supporter needs to use your bathroom, will they use a water-saving one?
Manufacturers who have invested in producing energy saving products are not going to stop & lose those investments. Although I guess we could go back to wood stoves, washboards and outhouses. Some of that would definitely keep women in the kitchen.
Ironic that a House of Representatives likely to be in Trump's corner meddles in efficient laundering while the Trumpster himself efficiently laundered dirty soviet monies in the late 1990s as the comeback kidiot. As for the loose Bannon -- rogue armadillo out of control.
While Counsellor Vance draws an interesting parallel to '1984', with the onset of the 'whack-pack' -- thank you, Jimmy Kimmel, one of the few poli-wonks whom I trust https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kiv_gdDfckg -- 'Jabberwocky' by Lewis Carol also comes to mind.
Wonder what will happen to those supporters when Trump fails to do even a fraction of what he’s promised to do, when prices rise because of tariffs, when more women die because their healthcare isn’t important, and when federal disaster aid isn’t available to then because Trump thinks the state they live in isn’t sufficiently loyal to him. And BTW, Brannon is exactly the kind of person who should be in jail for the fraud he’s committed.
Sadly, nothing good will happen to those supporters when trump's evil promises materialize. Never mind the price of eggs and other basic goods - More astounding to me is that they do not seem to remember that trump didn't mind or care that 1.1M people died during his first reign due to his inability to deal with the pandemic. With his current choice of terribly unqualified candidates for government who will do his dirty work (he will NOT get his hands dirty) maybe some of the supporters finally get an epiphany.
This (the people who died during the pandemic because of his inaction) has always seemed to me like such an egregious failure, but no one talks about it. What will happen if there’s a 9/11 or worse or another pandemic with these unqualified people running things? I dread to think. And I’m glad I got a new washing machine this year before the standards go down!!!
Susan, this always stunned me too. The way Trump mishandled and politicized Covid led to hundreds of thousands of unnecessary deaths. I will never get over that. But his voters ignored that. The GOP ignored that. The legacy news ignored that. It almost became a badge of honor. I feel like I live in a different world sometimes
Helen, there is no doubt in my mind that more people are going to die. Especially if RFK gets in. But regardless of that, under the Trump administration, there will be many needless deaths. Kids who aren't vaccinated. Older people who come in contact with those kids. People who no longer have health insurance. I wouldn't be surprised if people start dying of starvation. Homeless people will be freezing to death at a higher rate than they are now. And there has now been a documented case of human transmission of bird flu. But the people who will be "running" our country won't care. And the worst part is, the people who will have the most power are those we didn't even elect. Trump is more of a puppet now than he was the first time around.
Helen, you are not alone in your different world. I live in MA, so am lucky to have so many of like mind around, but still no one talks about Trump and the pandemic.
I think that the impact of those deaths was somewhat blunted by the expectation that deaths would be higher because of the contagious nature of COVID and because we didn’t know much about it at first. But certainly everything about how the Trump administration handled it - from ignoring the previous administration’s plans for just such a contingency to having Jared message “doctor friends” on Facebook to search for PPE - was a giant clusterfuck. It’s easy to ignore that when it didn’t happen to you and there continue to be conspiracy theories about the origin of the virus and vaccinations.
I remember very well the morgue trucks, the exhausted hospital staff, the absurd resistance to standard public health contagion practices (masks to protect the spread of the virus to the most vulnerable, hand washing,etc) due to the willful ignorance & resistance of the MAGA folks…..
The continued resistance to science, expertise & education is already being reinforced by absurd Cabinet & agency picks. Can we survive the coming four years with enough energy & faith to reclaim & rebuild this Country…..it will ignorance prevail as it did in this election? 🙏
That is exactly the right question to ask: all the people who either voted for the turd or didn't vote at all, thinking that everything was going to be fine, are in for a terrible shock. Cutting Medicare, Social Security, FEMA, etc. would produce LOTS of extra cash to line the pockets of the already-obscenely-rich broligarchs, which is the point, isn't it? Create a corrupt machine to feed dollars to the rich and starve the poor, the sick, the veterans, the elderly, and the kids. What a way to express contempt for the next generations coming up as citizens: let them all know that they are lower than shit.
And to think that even Taylor Swift couldn’t save the nation from the cretins who voted for the monster. My only advice is to not spend any money on anything and the sooner the economy goes down the sheet hole on his watch the better.
Exactly. From what I've read, one of the main factors in trump's vote count was young men. I rather doubt that guys 18 to 30 really care about the price of eggs. They just didn't like (or were told that they wouldn't like) some woman in charge of anything.
I had a sticker shock when I bought a new bottle of canola oil. Just for fun I read up on the reasons for the steep rise in price. Long story short: global climate disasters - fires, drought, flooding- severely affected the seed oil market which is central to all manufactured foods. Why isn't this kind of information front and center in our news? I guess it's easier to believe the maga line: It's Biden's fault!
But if Trump were in charge, he would have prevented the chicken deaths! Just like he protected people during the early COVID days. (Don’t test, it will spook the stock market. Etc., etc., etc.)
Josh Marshall of TALKING POINTS MEMO asked readers in red Congressional districts to call their rep’s office and ask their position on cutting Medicare/SS by “hundreds of millions.”
Try this number: 202-234-3121. It was posted here yesterday as an easier way to get your representative to "pick up". Just ask for your representative or congressional district.
The only thing they expect from Trump is lower prices on gasoline and groceries and for him to "secure the border."
Keep in mind that in four years as President, he never did a single thing to make America great. All he did was to roll back a few EPA regulations and surround himself with unqualified people or criminals.
When your main goal as President is to enrich yourself and your billionaire friends and to undo everything Obama and Biden have accomplished in the previous four years that doesn't leave you much time to do anything else.
As I’ve said a million times here, JBiden (SNL style) was asleep at the border for his first three years and please don’t tell me he wasn’t because he was and he lost the independent vote on this one issue.
When Kristen Welker asked if he could guarantee that prices would not go up after the imposition of tariffs he replied: "I can't guarantee anything" Oh brother.
She missed many opportunities to correct his outright lies! Poor journalism! He said so many outright false things about the democrats, the border, immigrants and crime. He just makes up shit as he goes along. Unfortunately, when media does not call it out when he says it, people THINK he knows what he’s talking about. Sad, sad, sad…
He didn’t do most of the stuff he whined about in his prior term. Building the wall? Yeah about what, 50 miles of it? Mexico pays? Pfft, infrastructure week? Hah!
So why did they vote for him again anyway? Not for any logical reason
because, as con artists go, the orange traitor has had a lifetime of practice and has made fools of those who voted for him. Suckers. That's what he thinks of Americans.
Those loyal to a traitor to the Constitution will suffer because of it. The real tragedy is that those who will be in the positions of power don't care if the 'loyal' start dying in great numbers...they have achieved the goal of 'taking over the government' and the death of those 'peasants' is just a shame. The taxes of those left will rise to continue to support those who don't work for it. That orange traitor will die while in the White House, and doesn't give a shit what happens when he is gone.
How many years did the people of Syria have to deal with the subhuman treatment of the Assad family? 50 plus years? Now that that nightmare is over, take a look at the pictures of those returning to their homes from exile....nothing but rubble and uncertainty.
This is what is in store for America unless powerful people start defending the country instead of cowering to an authoritarian asshole who simply does not care.
Biden still has time to make a mad dash to arresting the traitors Trump, Bannon and Stone. Will he? I hope so, but I also hope that we don't get hit with nuclear holocaust these next four years. I have no choice but to fight. J621 is my battle cry. I have the iron-on letters and numbers and I just got the cap. I am gonna press it on the cap and I am gonna wear it. Tagging the battle cry is not beyond me either.
Yes, Syria looks a good deal like Lebanon and even more like Gaza! But thats ok, I guess. I do have to wonder tho - who is Israel going to "defend" itself from next!
We already know that there will be continuous disasters - floods, draught, etc. Every President has had a crisis during their term. Considering how Trump handled COVID, we are assured that he'll blow the next one and we'll suffer. I'm once again stocking my pantry.
Fox News will tell them to blame Mexico/Mexicans for the price of groceries, ungodliness of women for their poor health, and the "Biden deep state" for failure of response to natural disasters. 75% of my family are MAGA and, yes, I still talk to them. Scary but enlightening.
Joyce, your work is a beacon in the chaos. While Bannon may have aimed to ‘flood the zone with bullshit,’ your Democracy Index promises to drain it with clarity and focus. Thanks for helping us keep our eyes on the big picture.
I'd like to see an accountability day, too, but not in the way Bannon means it! Thank you for the work you are doing. I look forward to hearing more about The Democracy Index.
Joyce, I just wanted to express my very deep appreciation for all your. hard work to keep us informed and on the Democracy Index, in addition to your teaching and writing schedule. You are invaluable; please take good care of yourself! You are a voice of clarity in the chaos of the orange turd's and his turdettes' creation.
What troubles me most is that on election day, people voted against democracy and against the idea that all men are created equal as described in the Declaration of Independence. Millions of others voted against democracy by not voting at all.
Most people who voted for him did so because they only watched FOX and got their information there. It was all lies, all day, every day. They believed every word. They were told the exact opposite of what was truthful, the reverse of what was actually happening. That is why there were so many references to Orwell's 1984. Do you supposed any of those people have ever read 19843 or knew what was in it? Propaganda works. We get fed a steady diet every night on TV. Buy this car and you will be popular, people will envy you, you will be free........blah, blah, blah. The American way. Doesn't work.
Perhaps you saw the news last night that Rupert Murdoch was restrained by a court from passing along his entire empire to the son who would guarantee that it remained solidly on the right.
This is exactly why for years now I’ve been mentally screaming that we need to return The Fairness Doctrine in reporting. That plus reinstating Citizens United would go a long way towards fixing things. A girl can hope, right?
It should be remembered that the Declaration of Independence said, "all MEN are created equal" and did not include women. Black slaves were only 3/5 included and poverty-stricken people in pre-revolutionary America were hardly equal to the men who wrote the Declaration.
Yes. My point was that the OP said people voting for Trump were voting against the Declaration and I was just pointing out that in fact they were in a sense voting FOR what the founders actually said.
They have been voting against their own well-being since Reagan. Rupert Murdoch is only interested in making more money (hard to believe, but true) and he gets that through sensationalizing the information. That's why the newspapers he owns were called "rags" -- they were not serious papers. For over 40 years, maybe longer, the right has been slowly working underneath the system to cause it to crumble. It worked. We must find a way to make all of this more obvious to the people who think Trump is going to "help" them. He's not.
Addendum: people did not vote because for themselves and their families, things are not OK for them. The economy prospers , but they have to cope with a lower standard of living. There is a two step answer to all our problems: 1. Take the money out of politics. 2. Tax the rich and the corporations ( like they were taxed in the 1960’s.)
Hopefully without TULSI GABBARD as the Director of National Intelligence.
Jen Psaki interviewed Dan De Luce along with the spokesperson of the Syrian Emergency Task Force, SETF, Mouaz Moustafa, who outlined 3 additional trips Tulsi took to Syria including 2014, 2015 & 2018 in addition to the infamous 2017 trip.
The interview detailed careful steps taken by House Armed Services Committee, HASC, staff to protect the identity of a Syrian defector, code named "Caesar" who testified at a closed 2020 House Armed Services Committee hearing wearing a blue cloak around his body. This was the defector, "Caesar", who was the person responsible for the publication of 1000's of photos of Assad's torture & murders during the Syrian Civil War.
Jen's interview went on to confirm that "very possibly" Assad's maintained intelligence files detailing the activities of Agit-Prop assets of the Assad regime.
Tulsi Gabbard looks to have a difficult nomination road ahead but, at least there will be no chemical weapon bombings.
Tuesday Morning: Gabbard was talking to Senators yesterday 12/9 - working the Refs.
I liked this newsletter about some of the small things. You are right, we can't become overwhelmed by focusing on too many of the small things, but this small dive into that territory was good!! Thank you as always!!
I still can't/won't watch MSNBC or any other version of news. I watch the local news, and stay on Mastodon or Blue Sky or Facebook. So, I stay in the know via all of those places. Back to Pickleball tomorrow. My Christmas shopping is basically done. With Social Security possibly being stolen by a certain cretin soon-to-be President again, I will either have to go back to work or start a life of crime, which means I'll have to become a Republican. I yield back my time while I still can.
I know what you mean, who will hire me at 75?! I don't want to work although if forced I will. I'm a widow now, of course I no longer receive my late husbands Social Security and lost my pension money in 2008. Anyways, been selling his tools to pay for new tires for my older car. I am scared really, what will happen to us when we no longer have Social Security? President Musk, sounds like he is the one in charge, doesn't care about us, he has so much and always had, we are nothing to him. If anyone has any idea's for those of us who are facing this, losing Social Security I mean, what can we do? Should I take my savings out? Appreciate any suggestions.
Hi Gloria... I know what you mean. I'm in the same quandary. Personally I'm planning on selling my mutual funds and putting them in a CD or money market account. Seems safer... maybe for the time being. I am looking for other options, but I have no ideas beyond what I just stated.
Good to hear that someone else is trying to plan for the future when it is so unsure. My FIL and I have been taking about what to do with what little savings we have. I admit I'm not very savvy re CD's for instance and trying to learn. I've thought about just taking my small savings out and hiding it! Dealing with my husband's death and all that comes with it, has done a "number" on my thinking I guess. Due to this, I am not very optimist about president Musk, or Trump and what they will do to us. Thanks for your ideas and I wish the best for us all.
Gaetz, Hegseth, Kushner, Patel, Musk, RFK Jr., Bannon—Trump picks what America needs. Add to that the Liberty & Laundry Act … no wonder the world looks at us with such respect and awe.
So would Grandpa "born and raised in Kallstadt, Germany, in what was then the Kingdom of Bavaria, Trump immigrated to the United States in 1885. In 1891, he began speculating in real estate in Seattle. During the Klondike Gold Rush, he moved to the Yukon and made his fortune by operating a restaurant and a brothel for miners in Whitehorse.[2][3]
In 1901, Trump returned to Kallstadt and married Elisabeth Christ. As he had purportedly immigrated to the United States in order to evade conscription, the Bavarian Government stripped him of his citizenship in 1905. Consequently, he returned to the United States with his family."
So washing machines join gas stoves, showers, and toilets as objects to own the libs. What tiny minds they have.
Thank you. The best comment under the post. The entire world order is changing and republican lawmakers are busy making laws preventing household appliances joining the modern world to own the libs.
Yes, such tiny little minds they have. Such a shame for them to waste their minuscule mental capacity on preventing the conservation of water and energy.
And lowering their own electric bills.
And what they ignore is that they will suffer when the consequences of their actions start rolling in. Unfortunately, so will we.
As Tom Nichols has said, "We are not a serious nation,"
What is absolutely ridiculous about this nonsense is that manufacturers want to have standards in the ballpark of what they are producing for other countries…will they continue to design top loaded inefficient machines for America consumers who are on wells rather than paying for their water through municipalities?
And to think I was once permanently banned for commenting on the Washington Post for suggesting I would crap on the front steps of the Capital one day when Trump is waked inside. I went on to suggest that CNN would get a wide angle of my crapping before Capital police rushed me. May that day arrive ASAP.
Bill, I am also banned permanently from the WAPO for calling someone a troll after they "trolled" multiple columns over several weeks. I wish I had been banned for being more creative.
I’m proud. Now if I one day follow up and do it , I’ll be more prideful. Stand back and stand by.
Gentemen, did you forget who owns the post ?
I'll join you!
Little adolescents playing gotcha. Pathetic and juvenile
If a Trump supporter needs to use your bathroom, will they use a water-saving one?
Manufacturers who have invested in producing energy saving products are not going to stop & lose those investments. Although I guess we could go back to wood stoves, washboards and outhouses. Some of that would definitely keep women in the kitchen.
Isnt that really the whole point? Putting "others" in their places?
Which cycle do you use to launder money?
Ironic that a House of Representatives likely to be in Trump's corner meddles in efficient laundering while the Trumpster himself efficiently laundered dirty soviet monies in the late 1990s as the comeback kidiot. As for the loose Bannon -- rogue armadillo out of control.
While Counsellor Vance draws an interesting parallel to '1984', with the onset of the 'whack-pack' -- thank you, Jimmy Kimmel, one of the few poli-wonks whom I trust https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kiv_gdDfckg -- 'Jabberwocky' by Lewis Carol also comes to mind.
Nancy, and what disregard Republicans have for this nation, our environment, and the planet we all call home, well, except maybe Musk.
Wonder what will happen to those supporters when Trump fails to do even a fraction of what he’s promised to do, when prices rise because of tariffs, when more women die because their healthcare isn’t important, and when federal disaster aid isn’t available to then because Trump thinks the state they live in isn’t sufficiently loyal to him. And BTW, Brannon is exactly the kind of person who should be in jail for the fraud he’s committed.
Sadly, nothing good will happen to those supporters when trump's evil promises materialize. Never mind the price of eggs and other basic goods - More astounding to me is that they do not seem to remember that trump didn't mind or care that 1.1M people died during his first reign due to his inability to deal with the pandemic. With his current choice of terribly unqualified candidates for government who will do his dirty work (he will NOT get his hands dirty) maybe some of the supporters finally get an epiphany.
This (the people who died during the pandemic because of his inaction) has always seemed to me like such an egregious failure, but no one talks about it. What will happen if there’s a 9/11 or worse or another pandemic with these unqualified people running things? I dread to think. And I’m glad I got a new washing machine this year before the standards go down!!!
Susan, this always stunned me too. The way Trump mishandled and politicized Covid led to hundreds of thousands of unnecessary deaths. I will never get over that. But his voters ignored that. The GOP ignored that. The legacy news ignored that. It almost became a badge of honor. I feel like I live in a different world sometimes
Helen, there is no doubt in my mind that more people are going to die. Especially if RFK gets in. But regardless of that, under the Trump administration, there will be many needless deaths. Kids who aren't vaccinated. Older people who come in contact with those kids. People who no longer have health insurance. I wouldn't be surprised if people start dying of starvation. Homeless people will be freezing to death at a higher rate than they are now. And there has now been a documented case of human transmission of bird flu. But the people who will be "running" our country won't care. And the worst part is, the people who will have the most power are those we didn't even elect. Trump is more of a puppet now than he was the first time around.
Helen, you are not alone in your different world. I live in MA, so am lucky to have so many of like mind around, but still no one talks about Trump and the pandemic.
Good move re: new washing machine! Congrats!
I think that the impact of those deaths was somewhat blunted by the expectation that deaths would be higher because of the contagious nature of COVID and because we didn’t know much about it at first. But certainly everything about how the Trump administration handled it - from ignoring the previous administration’s plans for just such a contingency to having Jared message “doctor friends” on Facebook to search for PPE - was a giant clusterfuck. It’s easy to ignore that when it didn’t happen to you and there continue to be conspiracy theories about the origin of the virus and vaccinations.
I remember very well the morgue trucks, the exhausted hospital staff, the absurd resistance to standard public health contagion practices (masks to protect the spread of the virus to the most vulnerable, hand washing,etc) due to the willful ignorance & resistance of the MAGA folks…..
The continued resistance to science, expertise & education is already being reinforced by absurd Cabinet & agency picks. Can we survive the coming four years with enough energy & faith to reclaim & rebuild this Country…..it will ignorance prevail as it did in this election? 🙏
That is exactly the right question to ask: all the people who either voted for the turd or didn't vote at all, thinking that everything was going to be fine, are in for a terrible shock. Cutting Medicare, Social Security, FEMA, etc. would produce LOTS of extra cash to line the pockets of the already-obscenely-rich broligarchs, which is the point, isn't it? Create a corrupt machine to feed dollars to the rich and starve the poor, the sick, the veterans, the elderly, and the kids. What a way to express contempt for the next generations coming up as citizens: let them all know that they are lower than shit.
And to think that even Taylor Swift couldn’t save the nation from the cretins who voted for the monster. My only advice is to not spend any money on anything and the sooner the economy goes down the sheet hole on his watch the better.
Not sure I agree with you. Millions of people are going to suffer, regardless.
One way or another. So let’s make it worse. But in my plan, you save money.
Climate change didn’t seem to be a voting issue for most. Price of eggs, it is claimed, was. Although consumer spending was robust.
The voting issue combo was racist sexism. Period. “Eggs” were the red herring, so to speak.
Exactly. From what I've read, one of the main factors in trump's vote count was young men. I rather doubt that guys 18 to 30 really care about the price of eggs. They just didn't like (or were told that they wouldn't like) some woman in charge of anything.
And, it turns out that the price of eggs is due to bird flu! Not dems inflation.....
I had a sticker shock when I bought a new bottle of canola oil. Just for fun I read up on the reasons for the steep rise in price. Long story short: global climate disasters - fires, drought, flooding- severely affected the seed oil market which is central to all manufactured foods. Why isn't this kind of information front and center in our news? I guess it's easier to believe the maga line: It's Biden's fault!
But if Trump were in charge, he would have prevented the chicken deaths! Just like he protected people during the early COVID days. (Don’t test, it will spook the stock market. Etc., etc., etc.)
Josh Marshall of TALKING POINTS MEMO asked readers in red Congressional districts to call their rep’s office and ask their position on cutting Medicare/SS by “hundreds of millions.”
I can’t get mine to answer.
Try this number: 202-234-3121. It was posted here yesterday as an easier way to get your representative to "pick up". Just ask for your representative or congressional district.
I reached the office with no issues…just can’t get them to give me an answer…still working it:-)
The only thing they expect from Trump is lower prices on gasoline and groceries and for him to "secure the border."
Keep in mind that in four years as President, he never did a single thing to make America great. All he did was to roll back a few EPA regulations and surround himself with unqualified people or criminals.
When your main goal as President is to enrich yourself and your billionaire friends and to undo everything Obama and Biden have accomplished in the previous four years that doesn't leave you much time to do anything else.
“When you’re the president, they just let you do it.”
As I’ve said a million times here, JBiden (SNL style) was asleep at the border for his first three years and please don’t tell me he wasn’t because he was and he lost the independent vote on this one issue.
When Kristen Welker asked if he could guarantee that prices would not go up after the imposition of tariffs he replied: "I can't guarantee anything" Oh brother.
She missed many opportunities to correct his outright lies! Poor journalism! He said so many outright false things about the democrats, the border, immigrants and crime. He just makes up shit as he goes along. Unfortunately, when media does not call it out when he says it, people THINK he knows what he’s talking about. Sad, sad, sad…
He can guarantee he’ll be an uninformed, greedy, grifting asshole, that’s for sure.
He didn’t do most of the stuff he whined about in his prior term. Building the wall? Yeah about what, 50 miles of it? Mexico pays? Pfft, infrastructure week? Hah!
So why did they vote for him again anyway? Not for any logical reason
He ran to keep himself out of prison, that much is very clear.
Based on what we've seen so far, I don't think he had to worry about that.
because, as con artists go, the orange traitor has had a lifetime of practice and has made fools of those who voted for him. Suckers. That's what he thinks of Americans.
I still hear people say he didn't take a salary, he gave up everything to be pres., he's so caring. Glass bowls (cf Carolyn Hax, WAPO) all of them.
Those loyal to a traitor to the Constitution will suffer because of it. The real tragedy is that those who will be in the positions of power don't care if the 'loyal' start dying in great numbers...they have achieved the goal of 'taking over the government' and the death of those 'peasants' is just a shame. The taxes of those left will rise to continue to support those who don't work for it. That orange traitor will die while in the White House, and doesn't give a shit what happens when he is gone.
How many years did the people of Syria have to deal with the subhuman treatment of the Assad family? 50 plus years? Now that that nightmare is over, take a look at the pictures of those returning to their homes from exile....nothing but rubble and uncertainty.
This is what is in store for America unless powerful people start defending the country instead of cowering to an authoritarian asshole who simply does not care.
Biden still has time to make a mad dash to arresting the traitors Trump, Bannon and Stone. Will he? I hope so, but I also hope that we don't get hit with nuclear holocaust these next four years. I have no choice but to fight. J621 is my battle cry. I have the iron-on letters and numbers and I just got the cap. I am gonna press it on the cap and I am gonna wear it. Tagging the battle cry is not beyond me either.
Yes, Syria looks a good deal like Lebanon and even more like Gaza! But thats ok, I guess. I do have to wonder tho - who is Israel going to "defend" itself from next!
We already know that there will be continuous disasters - floods, draught, etc. Every President has had a crisis during their term. Considering how Trump handled COVID, we are assured that he'll blow the next one and we'll suffer. I'm once again stocking my pantry.
Fox News will tell them to blame Mexico/Mexicans for the price of groceries, ungodliness of women for their poor health, and the "Biden deep state" for failure of response to natural disasters. 75% of my family are MAGA and, yes, I still talk to them. Scary but enlightening.
Not only Bannon in jail but Kris Kobach who was the attorney for the Build the Wall scam. And, he is the current Attorney General of Kansas. SMH
What will happen is Dumpty will blame Hillary, Obama and Biden and the Rubes will believe it, that's what will happen.
Joyce, your work is a beacon in the chaos. While Bannon may have aimed to ‘flood the zone with bullshit,’ your Democracy Index promises to drain it with clarity and focus. Thanks for helping us keep our eyes on the big picture.
🙏🏼
Well said, Peter.
Thank you, Joyce!
I am looking forward to the Democracy Index.
I'd like to see an accountability day, too, but not in the way Bannon means it! Thank you for the work you are doing. I look forward to hearing more about The Democracy Index.
“Steve Bannon, washing machines”—does anyone recall the old (black-and-white) TV show Queen for a Day?
HAHAHAHAHHAAA
Whew! thanks--we needed that!
Yep I do!
Yep. "Wouldn't YOU! like to be Queen for a Day?" Applause sign pulsates.
Joyce, I just wanted to express my very deep appreciation for all your. hard work to keep us informed and on the Democracy Index, in addition to your teaching and writing schedule. You are invaluable; please take good care of yourself! You are a voice of clarity in the chaos of the orange turd's and his turdettes' creation.
Thank you Joyce. Again and again I am grateful for endurance and dedication as a light and inspiration
What troubles me most is that on election day, people voted against democracy and against the idea that all men are created equal as described in the Declaration of Independence. Millions of others voted against democracy by not voting at all.
Most people who voted for him did so because they only watched FOX and got their information there. It was all lies, all day, every day. They believed every word. They were told the exact opposite of what was truthful, the reverse of what was actually happening. That is why there were so many references to Orwell's 1984. Do you supposed any of those people have ever read 19843 or knew what was in it? Propaganda works. We get fed a steady diet every night on TV. Buy this car and you will be popular, people will envy you, you will be free........blah, blah, blah. The American way. Doesn't work.
Perhaps you saw the news last night that Rupert Murdoch was restrained by a court from passing along his entire empire to the son who would guarantee that it remained solidly on the right.
I read about it in the NYT 🙏
This is exactly why for years now I’ve been mentally screaming that we need to return The Fairness Doctrine in reporting. That plus reinstating Citizens United would go a long way towards fixing things. A girl can hope, right?
Exactly! 100%
Some of my relatives voted for him. I am appalled that they have been sucked into the Big Lie. They were raised better than that.
It should be remembered that the Declaration of Independence said, "all MEN are created equal" and did not include women. Black slaves were only 3/5 included and poverty-stricken people in pre-revolutionary America were hardly equal to the men who wrote the Declaration.
That is what MAGA would like to return to.
Yes. My point was that the OP said people voting for Trump were voting against the Declaration and I was just pointing out that in fact they were in a sense voting FOR what the founders actually said.
They have been voting against their own well-being since Reagan. Rupert Murdoch is only interested in making more money (hard to believe, but true) and he gets that through sensationalizing the information. That's why the newspapers he owns were called "rags" -- they were not serious papers. For over 40 years, maybe longer, the right has been slowly working underneath the system to cause it to crumble. It worked. We must find a way to make all of this more obvious to the people who think Trump is going to "help" them. He's not.
Sensationalism is not new with Murdoch. Hearst did the same widely before WW2. Others before him. Murdoch just did it in our era.
The problem on election day 2024 was the 13 million Dems who did not bother to vote.
Addendum: people did not vote because for themselves and their families, things are not OK for them. The economy prospers , but they have to cope with a lower standard of living. There is a two step answer to all our problems: 1. Take the money out of politics. 2. Tax the rich and the corporations ( like they were taxed in the 1960’s.)
Was it because Kamala is a non white female? Do they Want to see millions deported? How big a factor is GAZA? Just asking, I have no clue.
77 million people voted for this. The only ones who will end up happy are the billionaires.
Not even them. I am in Pompeii now where we have been numerous times. Every time I see Vesuvious, I remind myself, the richs went under the ashes too.
Thank you so much for keeping us informed. Sadly, I know we are facing chaos and cruelty in the days and years to come.
Hopefully without TULSI GABBARD as the Director of National Intelligence.
Jen Psaki interviewed Dan De Luce along with the spokesperson of the Syrian Emergency Task Force, SETF, Mouaz Moustafa, who outlined 3 additional trips Tulsi took to Syria including 2014, 2015 & 2018 in addition to the infamous 2017 trip.
The interview detailed careful steps taken by House Armed Services Committee, HASC, staff to protect the identity of a Syrian defector, code named "Caesar" who testified at a closed 2020 House Armed Services Committee hearing wearing a blue cloak around his body. This was the defector, "Caesar", who was the person responsible for the publication of 1000's of photos of Assad's torture & murders during the Syrian Civil War.
Jen's interview went on to confirm that "very possibly" Assad's maintained intelligence files detailing the activities of Agit-Prop assets of the Assad regime.
Tulsi Gabbard looks to have a difficult nomination road ahead but, at least there will be no chemical weapon bombings.
Tuesday Morning: Gabbard was talking to Senators yesterday 12/9 - working the Refs.
Hopefully those intelligence files get public really soon. Hoping for the best for Syrians in NOT Assad's Syria but in their Syria.
One should have some intelligence before becoming director of it.
I liked this newsletter about some of the small things. You are right, we can't become overwhelmed by focusing on too many of the small things, but this small dive into that territory was good!! Thank you as always!!
I still can't/won't watch MSNBC or any other version of news. I watch the local news, and stay on Mastodon or Blue Sky or Facebook. So, I stay in the know via all of those places. Back to Pickleball tomorrow. My Christmas shopping is basically done. With Social Security possibly being stolen by a certain cretin soon-to-be President again, I will either have to go back to work or start a life of crime, which means I'll have to become a Republican. I yield back my time while I still can.
I know what you mean, who will hire me at 75?! I don't want to work although if forced I will. I'm a widow now, of course I no longer receive my late husbands Social Security and lost my pension money in 2008. Anyways, been selling his tools to pay for new tires for my older car. I am scared really, what will happen to us when we no longer have Social Security? President Musk, sounds like he is the one in charge, doesn't care about us, he has so much and always had, we are nothing to him. If anyone has any idea's for those of us who are facing this, losing Social Security I mean, what can we do? Should I take my savings out? Appreciate any suggestions.
Hi Gloria... I know what you mean. I'm in the same quandary. Personally I'm planning on selling my mutual funds and putting them in a CD or money market account. Seems safer... maybe for the time being. I am looking for other options, but I have no ideas beyond what I just stated.
Good to hear that someone else is trying to plan for the future when it is so unsure. My FIL and I have been taking about what to do with what little savings we have. I admit I'm not very savvy re CD's for instance and trying to learn. I've thought about just taking my small savings out and hiding it! Dealing with my husband's death and all that comes with it, has done a "number" on my thinking I guess. Due to this, I am not very optimist about president Musk, or Trump and what they will do to us. Thanks for your ideas and I wish the best for us all.
Remember, millions of MAGA-voting Rubes are also social security beneficiaries. There's the saving factor.
Pickleball is a saving grace in these times, pickle on!
Gaetz, Hegseth, Kushner, Patel, Musk, RFK Jr., Bannon—Trump picks what America needs. Add to that the Liberty & Laundry Act … no wonder the world looks at us with such respect and awe.
Or—shock and awe, as in wth is going on over there?
What IS going on here ? rfk jr seems to be not the only one with a worm in his brain.
RFK Jr's worm starved to death.
Ha Ha
Not to be petty, but Steve Bannon should try a washing machine!
Steve Brannon needs a flea dip. Looks like he’s been sleeping on a bus bench. Or under one.
I’ve always wanted to disinfect him. Reminds me of the Baron in the previous Dune movie.
his state is a reflection of his mental illness
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA and maybe some acne control ointment!
Not acne. Gin blossoms.
Really! Even if it's coal powered.
What is Trump's biggest talent? It's scaring people.
He blows clouds of toxic terror gas out of his pie hole. A bit of it actually comes true. Most of it is just to shred your nerves.
https://kathleenweber.substack.com/p/the-mouth-that-roars
Roy Cohn would be proud of his student.
So would Grandpa "born and raised in Kallstadt, Germany, in what was then the Kingdom of Bavaria, Trump immigrated to the United States in 1885. In 1891, he began speculating in real estate in Seattle. During the Klondike Gold Rush, he moved to the Yukon and made his fortune by operating a restaurant and a brothel for miners in Whitehorse.[2][3]
In 1901, Trump returned to Kallstadt and married Elisabeth Christ. As he had purportedly immigrated to the United States in order to evade conscription, the Bavarian Government stripped him of his citizenship in 1905. Consequently, he returned to the United States with his family."
So he was married to Christ? No wonder the grandson is so arrogant; probably thinks his every action is justified by God.
Drumpf? Wasn’t that the original family name?