You've got this, we've got this. Now we need to keep the momentum going. Republicans have nothing to offer except the hatred of their old, mentally ill, want-to-be dictator. We will win.
At least now we can have hope. What Kamala has to face is enormous. Will be helping and praying for her to give it back to those racists/misogynists/ as hard as she can. I know she can do it. Take her gloves off and fight fire with fire to save our democracy.
Hope is not a plan. Support Kamala and whomever her VP pick is. Support her by working to get out the vote. Support her financially if you can. Support her with lawn signs and with buttons, bumper stickers, and t-shirts. Show the country the support she has. Show that we have her back as she has ours. Grab the momentum and run with it.
Howard, you can show your support also by correcting the wrong pronunciation of her name. I did that yesterday as I said, "Can't you show some respect?" Respect for anything decent and democratic has been squashed for eight years by Donald Trump.
Also, as Hillary said, time to stop the hand-wringing. My hands have been so "wrung" over the last eight years that they shake in disbelief and anger.
I will be using my wrung hands to clap for Kamala when she rips Donald Trump apart at the debate.
Also, I propose a plan to take a college student under your wing. Each and every one is overwhelmed with college and voting gets complicated. Where do they vote from? School? Home? How do they do it from school if they choose their home district? What if they have exams on that day or the next day that they feel they need to study for? We need to be choosing a day to vote that does not interfere with work or school. Still if you know a college student, take them under your wing and guide them through the voting process. I live in a strong Democratic Community both in the USA and Germany. I will be voting from abroad and as a member of Democrats Abroad I get support in voting. I also supported my daughter in voting from Abroad as a college student. My friends and I at Democrats Abroad will be offering support for voting to college students there too. I will be supporting my family here too to vote while in college, and one who just graduated and started a business. They all plan to vote and know that voting is important, but for youth getting organized can be hard so I will be nagging them at the time to make sure that the prioritize voting on that day. I told my daughter in the spring as she voted from Germany that voting was going to do more to effect her future than attending classes. Since we vote by mail it does not effect us. Also, I noticed that many countries have compulsory voter registration. We should have that too. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2020/10/30/from-voter-registration-to-mail-in-ballots-how-do-countries-around-the-world-run-their-elections/
Yes. I once devised a plan for a home state candidate to win the senate seat he was running for. I found a friend who was sympathetic to the general idealism of democrats. But she was in my opinion not likely to vote. It was a3-way run. Joe Lieberman ran as an independent but really was a republican in values. I would periodically call my friend to chat and casually include the candidate. I called her on Election Day to ask her if she needed a ride but told me she had voted. A few months before, I contacted the manager of the campaign and told him my idea; to reach out to every supporter and ask them to find just one person likely to support him but not vote. In theory, the votes caste could double and his candidate could have won. The manager’s response was, “Why only 1 why not have everyone find 10 people?”
It was at that moment that I realized he didn’t take me seriously. It’s hard to motivate one person let alone 10. His candidate lost and we elected a republican from CT. Joe Lieberman recently died and I don’t wish his spirit I’ll but he was bad for A Erica and he supported the W. Bush invasions that have continued negative repercussions to this day.
Any college student that can not think about how they will vote, in the state they attend school, is in needs more than being taken under some ones wing.
I do not know whether Vice President Harris will win; l certainly hope she does. What I do know is that she is tough, a fighter, and morally rudderred candidate.
Lock him up. LOCK HIM UP. Lock him up. LOCK HIM UP. Lock him up. LOCK HIM UP.
I’m joining a local get out the vote campaign even though Hartford, Connecticut doesn’t need me. I’ll see about traveling long distance to one of those wannabe confederate states on Election Day. Last time I did that was in Florida in 1999.
Starting now help register new Democrats in swing states. FT6 has a database containing 9 million unregistered likely Democrats in swing states. The basis for all digital outreach! FT6 uses every outreach method there is: email, text, phone, geofencing, direct mail, targeted ads, social media storms, postcards, and live voter drives.
I feel you. I just addressed a birthday card and literally couldn't write my own name! Too many years at the keyboard. So sad as I used to love my fountain pens. I can't do joined up writing anymore but I can do block print so that's what I'll do.
I still have mixed feelings about postcards. I get them and always toss them out as junk mail. They're not persuasive but waste paper, time and money, IMHO. I see no evidence of effectiveness.
The org that I write postcards for asks that we print our messages because many people can't read script. (I just took away a whole bunch of excuses for not writing post cards.) Funny thing is, I have a very hard time writing block letters.
Great Britain has set a political campaign time limit of six weeks; Donald Trump has been holding rallies nonstop since 2015. Why? Because he’s a showman and that’s all he has to offer.
Kamala Harris has another four months to deliver the goods. An unfair fight: Trump brings nothing to the table but bombast … Harris is the real deal—honesty and effectiveness.
We've got just a little over 3 months and we all need to get to work! I'm enjoying phone banking and it gives me renewed hope that WE WILL WIN in November! 🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲
David, I am so glad I read your post! For years, I have been trying to find the right word to describe the way Trump "performs" every time he's in front of an audience of more than one (himself).
"Showman" is the word I've been looking for. When he was POTUS --- the worst four years in our history --- whether he was giving a State of the Union address, lying about COVID, or doing anything requiring an actual mature, professional GROWN UP, he has never failed to amaze. And I don't mean that in a nice or kind way.
I can't recall seeing him give a press conference or speech where he took the situation seriously. It WAS about showmanship, and always be, until he takes his last breath.
For those who may have seen the movie "My Cousin Vinny," there's one scene towards the end of the trial where Vinny (Joe Pesci) knows he's won the case. He proudly walks around, arms moving around in the air, boasting like a peacock. Maybe Trump took his inspiration from Vinny.
As far as I'm concerned, Trump is a NOTHING, and all he has to offer is NOTHING.
Meanwhile, I've always been impressed with Kamala Harris. She has more professionalism in the tip of her little finger than Trump could only dream about! We can count on her to put Trump in his place and save our democracy.
Ahh, Dianne, My Cousin Vinny is one of my favorite movies. Just wanted to remind everyone that to his credit, Vinny put his girlfriend Mona Lisa Vito on the stand whose testimony broke the case in Vinny's favor. Women always save the day!
And yes, women ALWAYS save the day! And once Kamala Harris is the new President, SHE will save the day. ------ The likes of which, we've never seen before!!! (Couldn't help myself.)
What Trump has, unfortunately, is the ability to speak to and inspire the darkest components of toxic masculinity, religious blindness and white fear. All Harris has is competence, humor, a hard work ethic, and smarts. None of what she has speaks to MAGA cultists.
We can’t transform those who are in the cult. It’s the undecided voters who need to be convinced that Kamala is better for their future than tfg. She has the dedication, ambition, and intelligence to do the job well. She needs all of us to inform voters of who she is, and has their backs.
True, we can't deprogram cultists before the election, but we can poke tiny holes in their bubble so it can deflate over time, with the goal of improving our society over a generation. I agree with you. There's no way I'll antagonize the majority of my long-time neighbors, but I'll be helpful and supportive of our common interests and stay true to myself.
No question. He can't use his "Gish gallop" technique on her and he hasn't the language skills to hold his own in a REAL debate--not that those set-ups on a broadcast stage are even close to a true debate anyway.
I read that when Pence was approached about being VP he was told by Eric Trump that he would effectively be potus as Donny would be continuing doing his rallies. I hope that's not apocryphal.
DEI is code for the N word. And if anyone says DEI, push back with that fact. The things that worked for them in 2016 are not going to work now. Call them out.
I pushed back yesterday with some dimwit telling me that Harris is only being considered because she's a "minority". I said "That's not true, because she was elected to every job she's ever had", soooooo....
Woukd trump have been offered the Alprentice gig if he hadn’t been a white male? And without tgat TV character, which many Repubs think was real, he’d not become president He’s the one who’s been given everything his whole life. Born on third and thought he hit a triple and all that.
If Harris is a DEI candidate, then so is Vance. He rose through the ranks because of his disadvantaged childhood and given special points for where he came from. (Plus he has no ethical standards having spun 180° from what he said about Trump just a few years ago. He’s got no North Star and is a turncoat flip-flopper heading whatever direction the wind blows.
It is not just Republicans, but supposedly neutral media like the New York Times that apply ad hominems to the candidates, for instance the claim during the 2016 campaign that Hillary Clinton was "not well liked," with absolutely nothing to back it up. Rinse and repeat. They'll do it to Vice President Harris as well. I'm hoping more people see through this rhetorical gambit this time.
I'm absolutely disgusted with most mainstream media right now. The powers that be seem more interested in sensationalism, that gets more clicks, than actual journalism or honest reporting.
It was for me as well. In the end I couldn’t take its persistent Biden stories either. Why him and not the other guy with much much worse to report on.
I was once banned from WaPo after commenting that I would crap on the steps of the Capital when Trump was laid in State. It was a joke but they never removed my permanent ban so I terminated my subscription. But they do have good writers.
It’s sickening to think of him returning to the Capital for any reason at all. All the papers I left have good writers. It’s their owners’ motives I question.
I love Nicole Wallace of MSNBC, but unfortunately the morons who need to hear…don’t. The couple of push backs I’ve read here this morning are excellent! I will use them.
Me, too. It's easy to let disgust and fury take over. But I'm committed to staying focused on facts and rising above any editorializing that passes for journalism. I understand the assignment. :-)
The NY Times ceased being neutral a little over 2 years ago. They are nothing more than the Fox News of print. I canceled my subscription after 25 years of delivery.
The NYT is at fault for helping to push Biden out, but so far they've been positive about Harris. I sensed that they heard and were stung by criticism about their coverage of Biden, but don't expect them to improve until they change their staff.
There was a mass cancellation event due to their coverage of Joe Biden, while not asking the same questions about tfg. It started to affect their bottom line, so they have moderated slightly, but still are unhappy about the fact that Joe wouldn’t give them an exclusive interview.
I have analyzed in depth all 450 House CDs and found only 20 held by republicans that are truly “competitive” this election! Biden actually carried most of them in 2020 but the Rs running for Congress managed to squeak thru or in 2022! The most effective and efficient way to secure a really significant majority going forward is to generously contribute to the most effective tax deductible 501C3 which is run by brilliant Harvard students who are registering hundreds of thousands Community College students & HS seniors only in those truly “competitive” CDs! So please tonight and tomorrow go to www.TurnUp.US and contribute generously, get a full tax deduction and know you are empowering a real defense for Democracy! Thank you!
Ira, I'm impressed with all the research you have done, but given your (quite impressive) background, it's no wonder your analysis deserves an A+. Thanks!
Dianne and everyone else: Most of the Democratic politicians will foolishly spend the contributions everyone on this list sent them on TV commercials, political consultants, and direct mail flyers that 95% of the citizens who received them throw into the trash unopened! What they almost unanimously don’t do is pay ambitious and enthusiastic younger folks to run constant voter registration drives for the senior class at their high schools and all the students at their local Community College based on three currently prevalent issues that matter to most if not all 18 to 29s: protection of abortion rights, banning assault weapons (particularly near or in school) and fighting climate change so that they can have a decent life before they turn 40 years old! Political folks say :”But Ira, young folks don’t vote!” True, only about 35% of younger folks vote!
BUT Statistics prove that 70%+ of younger folks who are registered DO VOTE, particularly when motivated by abortion bans, school shootings and climate change! So www.TurnUp.US needs your tax deductible contributions to register those young voters and the same stats prove that 70% or more of them will vote Democrat from the top of the ballot all the way down!
So that’s why your contribution to nonpartisan TurnUp.US which doesn’t directly support candidates is so important!In order to win this election in those congressional districts that are “truly competitive,” those thousands of new enthusiastic younger voters in each CD will recognize which candidates support abortion protections, gun control and the climate fight! Please help today and tomorrow and pass the word to your family and friends? Www.TurnUP.US and thank you!
Wanda: C3 are prohibited from engaging in representing political parties and political candidates but TurnUp is strictly nonpartisan and addresses abortion as a moral and policy issue as well as guns and climate without supporting any candidates or parties! Perfectly legal! Same would be a C3 which supports gay rights or racial fairness. Registering young women and men in a strictly nonpartisan manner is lawful as a C3 just as if another nonpartisan organization registered voters who believe in banning abortion or promoting gun rights!
Terrific Joyce; please pass it on to your friends!we have so little time left to save our democracy so just imagine what 2,000 or 3,000 extra young voters will accomplish in their congressional district election when they vote in favor of the D challenger against a Republican incumbent in Congress who is adamant in banning most abortions, loves assault weapons and takes bribes from oil companies as he poo-poos the hottest day in HISTORY! Monumental change in the composition of Congress when these newly registered younger women and their families vote to throw that bum out? Please make your contribution to nonpartisan www.TurnUp.US now! Thank you
By the way, each of these 24 key contested House elections were decided by just a few votes in 2022– you can a real difference by helping to register thousands of younger women just in those critical constituencies for instance who legitimately fear what will happen to them when most abortion pills are banned?
Writing postcards constantly…. It’s meditative! I’ve mailed a stack for Sherrod Brown in Ohio and working on Local Elections too… we can all do the work of democracy !
I feel the same way about phone banking! It gives me real hope to talk with real voters and know that they all understand what's at stake if Trump is elected. #YesWeKam!
I know! In 2020 and 2022 I developed carpal tunnel syndrome from writing letters and postcards. I am not looking forward to that again, but we do what we must to preserve our beloved Republic.
I'm just jazzed up! I've been phone banking for Biden for about 7 months, and I am now phone banking for Kamala Harris. I'm speaking with people from all over the US, mostly in swing states, of all different political parties, age groups and demographics. The response I have received from these wonderful people is that they are excited to vote for Kamala Harris. They all said they love Joe, as I do, but a lot of them were relieved that he suspended his campaign for re-election. He's a patriot through and through, unlike that despicable cretin Trump who, frankly, should have been put in jail a long time ago.
Young women might not realize the full extent of the rights they are at risk of losing. Bodily autonomy is basic, but also financial autonomy. Women didn't always have credit or financial security in their own names but were either not on their husbands accounts or listed as secondary. Single women might have had a lawyer represent them as their voice in financial dealings. Women didn't automatically inherit property after the death of husbands. Women had to live within limited opportunities and few had what it took to try to break that "glass ceiling". Hard to imagine? It all begins with personal autonomy, my body, my choice.
I saw the shocking documents on file in the Suffolk County Courthouse, where widow Jacqueline Kennedy filed to claim her husband’s property. She also had to file, if I recall correctly, for custody as Head of Household of her children.
Some if not many men are not going to like this post. There should be a law we women could pass that would put an end to men’s ability to have sex if a woman could not have access to an abortion, contraception, or IVF. Maybe then they would realize how it feels to be denied control over our bodies. Am I being ridiculous? If so apologies to all offended.
Aristophanes wrote the play “Lysistrata” about the Peloponnesian War and the women of the warring city states denying sex to their men in order to stop the war.
You can read more about it by checking Wiki under “Lysistrata”. It will be faster than trying to find it under Aristophanes. Thanks for asking for more info. I had learned about this particular Greek comedy writer 60 years ago as a college freshman. Aristophanes came right up but not the name of the play.
Thanks so much for not kicking me off this substack but I had to share the feeling I have had about how men dominate women, even down to their more fragile body parts, desires to have children or not, and the methods employed for either choice. I wanted to devote myself to my career and traveling, so I chose to teach and forego having children. I have never regretted the choice and now have acquired three couples I call my "pretend children."( I'd like to have a contest to find another name for them.) They are all in their 30's to 50's, are well educated, drug and alcohol free, with excellent careers. Two couples live in Germany and one in my town of Merced, California. I have contact with them often and all six bring me untold joy.
Aren’t they your ‘adopted children’ off the record rather than pretend? Love is thicker than blood and that’s what it sounds like your relationship is with them.
Little known story: Before the women's movement, women were not allowed to sit alone in the lobby of the Park Plaza Hotel. The hotel was concerned about their image, and considered unchaperoned women to be prostitutes, and therefore didn't want them hanging out in the lobby. The story goes that Gloria Steinem sat in their lobby by herself and refused to leave, and the hotel even called the police. I can't quite remember how the story resolved, but I think she eventually left with the police.
I think there's a lot more to be said about pregnancy than has been said in arguing these court cases. First of all, let us assume for a minute it is correct that an embryo has human rights. Is it then the case that the carrier of that embryo has lost her rights because of the presence of that embryo? That seems to be the assumption that the men forcing these laws on us have used. I fail to see why a woman carrying an embryo suddenly has no human rights.
One could argue that in fact an embryo is a parasite. That embryo depends totally on the vitality and sharing of her bodily resources by the woman with the embryo. If the woman wants the embryo that is one thing. If that embryo got there through force against her will, that is another thing. The embryo is not the only entity with rights. The woman has rights.
Surely a woman has the right to have that embryo removed from her when it constitutes a danger to her survival or her other organs or her ability to have future children! No? Think about that! These new abortion laws have definitely interfered with the rights of people carrying fetuses.
And what about the rights of the other children of that woman?
Saying that embryo has 100% rights over their woman is like saying she has become a slave really. She has no rights. She is now owned by the embryo? And then after it is born will then be a person who owns her, a child she must bring up, a child her other children must share with?
If we are going to persist in calling an embryo a "person" (even though it may lack a functional nervous system, for instance, or consist of only a few cells) the discussion about forcing a women to carry and give birth to said embryo, that is giving it full-fledged rights over the woman it is inside of, needs to be recast in terms of resolving the conflict of rights they each have.
I heard someone say the other day that the constitution has no right to abortion written into it. So let me ask this: Where does the constitution say that embryos have rights?
Suppose we all agree an embryo has a soul. Is that what gives an embryo human rights? And at what point in development does the embryo acquire a soul? We don't know that and we will never know that. So anything you say is going to be arbitrary, shaped by your particular beliefs.
How about the P2025 plan to strip voting and other rights from women? Climate impacts of the QOP. On and on. If informed there is no way any thinking person would vote for T/V ticket.
I am so pumped. Haven’t felt this way since President Obama 2008. When we fight, we win! America is worth fighting for. I do not need a 78 year old man telling me what I can or cannot do with my body, with my brain, or with my vote. Nor do I need a so-called “hillbilly” belittling me or marginalizing me because I am a childless cat lady. We are one team, one fight.
So, I thought I'd explore the world of Tim Burchett. He's special:
"Tennessee school shooting response
On March 28, 2023, Burchett responded to the Covenant School shooting, where three nine-year-old students and three staff members were killed in Nashville, by telling reporters: "It's a horrible, horrible situation, and we're not going to fix it. Criminals are gonna be criminals. And my daddy fought in the second world war, fought in the Pacific, fought the Japanese, and he told me, he said, 'Buddy,' he said, 'if somebody wants to take you out, and doesn't mind losing their life, there's not a whole heck of a lot you can do about it.'" Burchett also said he sees no "real role" for Congress in reducing gun violence, other than to "mess things up"."
"2024 Kansas City parade shooting response
After a local D.J. was killed and 22 others were wounded in the 2024 Kansas City parade shooting, Burchett inaccurately identified an adult attendee of the Kansas City rally as the shooter, claiming he was an "illegal alien". Burchett's social media post received 1.4 million views. In March 2024, the falsely identified man sued Burchett for $75,000 in damages."
Right, Marlene!🤑😤 He's up for reelection in November. He doesn't do anything to help the people in Tennessee. He's smug and pretty safe here in our bright red state 😥⁉️ Jane George is running against him. I'm writing postcards and it makes me sad that my state is so damn entrenched.
Me too! I found Blue Wave Postcard Movement. They send mostly pre-printed postcards and pre-printed mailing labels. All I have to write is a couple of sentences. This is so much better for me as I have arthritis in my hands that makes it hard to write legibly or for very long.
I checked out their site and noted that they charge for their postcards. The ones I received were free, but I did have to write a few sentences. My only cost will be postage.
The anti-choice crowd might be able to pretend to have the high moral ground on abortion by claiming that they're 'protecting babies'; but going after IVF exposes their real agenda. You simply can't be pro-family if you're trying to prevent children from being conceived. Claiming that a fertilized egg is a human being with rights has always been a disingenuous way of justifying treating the mother as though she isn't.
And what in the heck is their real rationale for banning contraception? Absolute control of women is my take on it. Kamala is correct, "We're NOT going back!"
Evangelicals (and Catholics) oppose contraception because they don't believe people should be having sex except for procreative reasons. At the extreme end you have the Quiverfull movement where married women essentially stay pregnant. For Evangelical it's all about believing that somehow God micromanages all reproductive issues.
It has always been about power over women by men who have none because they are not real men. Real men love and appreciate real women. Doug Emhoff for example.
You've got this, we've got this. Now we need to keep the momentum going. Republicans have nothing to offer except the hatred of their old, mentally ill, want-to-be dictator. We will win.
At least now we can have hope. What Kamala has to face is enormous. Will be helping and praying for her to give it back to those racists/misogynists/ as hard as she can. I know she can do it. Take her gloves off and fight fire with fire to save our democracy.
Hope is not a plan. Support Kamala and whomever her VP pick is. Support her by working to get out the vote. Support her financially if you can. Support her with lawn signs and with buttons, bumper stickers, and t-shirts. Show the country the support she has. Show that we have her back as she has ours. Grab the momentum and run with it.
Howard, you can show your support also by correcting the wrong pronunciation of her name. I did that yesterday as I said, "Can't you show some respect?" Respect for anything decent and democratic has been squashed for eight years by Donald Trump.
Also, as Hillary said, time to stop the hand-wringing. My hands have been so "wrung" over the last eight years that they shake in disbelief and anger.
I will be using my wrung hands to clap for Kamala when she rips Donald Trump apart at the debate.
LOL the debate he's now desperate to get out of.
This. We fight until we win, and the last votes are counted.
Also, I propose a plan to take a college student under your wing. Each and every one is overwhelmed with college and voting gets complicated. Where do they vote from? School? Home? How do they do it from school if they choose their home district? What if they have exams on that day or the next day that they feel they need to study for? We need to be choosing a day to vote that does not interfere with work or school. Still if you know a college student, take them under your wing and guide them through the voting process. I live in a strong Democratic Community both in the USA and Germany. I will be voting from abroad and as a member of Democrats Abroad I get support in voting. I also supported my daughter in voting from Abroad as a college student. My friends and I at Democrats Abroad will be offering support for voting to college students there too. I will be supporting my family here too to vote while in college, and one who just graduated and started a business. They all plan to vote and know that voting is important, but for youth getting organized can be hard so I will be nagging them at the time to make sure that the prioritize voting on that day. I told my daughter in the spring as she voted from Germany that voting was going to do more to effect her future than attending classes. Since we vote by mail it does not effect us. Also, I noticed that many countries have compulsory voter registration. We should have that too. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2020/10/30/from-voter-registration-to-mail-in-ballots-how-do-countries-around-the-world-run-their-elections/
Yes. I once devised a plan for a home state candidate to win the senate seat he was running for. I found a friend who was sympathetic to the general idealism of democrats. But she was in my opinion not likely to vote. It was a3-way run. Joe Lieberman ran as an independent but really was a republican in values. I would periodically call my friend to chat and casually include the candidate. I called her on Election Day to ask her if she needed a ride but told me she had voted. A few months before, I contacted the manager of the campaign and told him my idea; to reach out to every supporter and ask them to find just one person likely to support him but not vote. In theory, the votes caste could double and his candidate could have won. The manager’s response was, “Why only 1 why not have everyone find 10 people?”
It was at that moment that I realized he didn’t take me seriously. It’s hard to motivate one person let alone 10. His candidate lost and we elected a republican from CT. Joe Lieberman recently died and I don’t wish his spirit I’ll but he was bad for A Erica and he supported the W. Bush invasions that have continued negative repercussions to this day.
Any college student that can not think about how they will vote, in the state they attend school, is in needs more than being taken under some ones wing.
Howard, we can do both: have new hope and support Kamala Harris in as many ways as we can. The two are not mutually exclusive.
She knows what's at stake. I'm sure she'll fight as hard as she can.
I do not know whether Vice President Harris will win; l certainly hope she does. What I do know is that she is tough, a fighter, and morally rudderred candidate.
Lock him up. LOCK HIM UP. Lock him up. LOCK HIM UP. Lock him up. LOCK HIM UP.
I’m joining a local get out the vote campaign even though Hartford, Connecticut doesn’t need me. I’ll see about traveling long distance to one of those wannabe confederate states on Election Day. Last time I did that was in Florida in 1999.
@ Bill Katz
Starting now help register new Democrats in swing states. FT6 has a database containing 9 million unregistered likely Democrats in swing states. The basis for all digital outreach! FT6 uses every outreach method there is: email, text, phone, geofencing, direct mail, targeted ads, social media storms, postcards, and live voter drives.
https://www.fieldteam6.org/
YES!!!
You can also send postcards.
I've signed up to write around 400 postcards, heaven help me.
Me too. WTH have I signed myself up for?!?
Excellent!
Not with my handwriting, lol.
I feel you. I just addressed a birthday card and literally couldn't write my own name! Too many years at the keyboard. So sad as I used to love my fountain pens. I can't do joined up writing anymore but I can do block print so that's what I'll do.
I hear you. Keyboarditis. Just write "VOTE BLUE!" with a Sharpie (not for meteorological purposes, rather a strong and colorful voice of enthusiasm).
Well, I feel really good about pursuing the postcard writing - my penmanship is beautiful and my tech skills are pretty non-existent!
FT6, here I come.
I still have mixed feelings about postcards. I get them and always toss them out as junk mail. They're not persuasive but waste paper, time and money, IMHO. I see no evidence of effectiveness.
The org that I write postcards for asks that we print our messages because many people can't read script. (I just took away a whole bunch of excuses for not writing post cards.) Funny thing is, I have a very hard time writing block letters.
LOL! I've tried and my hand kept reverting to cursive!
Pennsylvania?
#iunderstandtheassignment
exactly!
One presidential candidate is a highly experienced prosecutor and the other is a convicted felon and crotch grabber.
I don’t know whether this is Shakespearean or Gilbert & Sullivan.
I really don’t care, as long as justice prevails.
An adjudicated RAPIST.
I believe the term is actually sexual abuser…but that is just semantics!
The judge said the terminology is technical. She was raped.
Definitely not Rogers and Hammerstein! Thanks for the laugh!😃😃
I’d like to see Lin-Manuel Miranda take it on, though.
I think it's more like a Mel Brooks satire/comedy. The bad guys are so over the top that they are parodies of themselves.
Speaking of parodies of themselves, that’s exactly what “Hulk Hogan the clown” did for Donald Trump at the RNC.
TL Whether it is Mel Brooks or Trumpites living The Onion fantasy articles in real life, I agree that they are a parody of a parody.
Monty Python, but dangerous 😳
Keith…hahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!
It’s time to make the donut’s although I don’t eat donuts anymore.
Wasn’t it great when we coujd eat those? They’re still great, I’m sure, though I haven’t had one in so long.
now I want a donut
Monty Python...
Both?
Great Britain has set a political campaign time limit of six weeks; Donald Trump has been holding rallies nonstop since 2015. Why? Because he’s a showman and that’s all he has to offer.
Kamala Harris has another four months to deliver the goods. An unfair fight: Trump brings nothing to the table but bombast … Harris is the real deal—honesty and effectiveness.
We've got just a little over 3 months and we all need to get to work! I'm enjoying phone banking and it gives me renewed hope that WE WILL WIN in November! 🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲
David, I am so glad I read your post! For years, I have been trying to find the right word to describe the way Trump "performs" every time he's in front of an audience of more than one (himself).
"Showman" is the word I've been looking for. When he was POTUS --- the worst four years in our history --- whether he was giving a State of the Union address, lying about COVID, or doing anything requiring an actual mature, professional GROWN UP, he has never failed to amaze. And I don't mean that in a nice or kind way.
I can't recall seeing him give a press conference or speech where he took the situation seriously. It WAS about showmanship, and always be, until he takes his last breath.
For those who may have seen the movie "My Cousin Vinny," there's one scene towards the end of the trial where Vinny (Joe Pesci) knows he's won the case. He proudly walks around, arms moving around in the air, boasting like a peacock. Maybe Trump took his inspiration from Vinny.
As far as I'm concerned, Trump is a NOTHING, and all he has to offer is NOTHING.
Meanwhile, I've always been impressed with Kamala Harris. She has more professionalism in the tip of her little finger than Trump could only dream about! We can count on her to put Trump in his place and save our democracy.
Carny barker fits his MO and resumée spot on.
Ahh, Dianne, My Cousin Vinny is one of my favorite movies. Just wanted to remind everyone that to his credit, Vinny put his girlfriend Mona Lisa Vito on the stand whose testimony broke the case in Vinny's favor. Women always save the day!
And yes, women ALWAYS save the day! And once Kamala Harris is the new President, SHE will save the day. ------ The likes of which, we've never seen before!!! (Couldn't help myself.)
LOL "the likes of which..." this time will be true!
I loved it when he kept saying, "Are you sure?" as he held her hands.
It's about showmanship because he is a deeply shallow person.
He has always reminded me of The Music Man. But without the music. Carnival barker indeec.
I had been critical of Kamala Harris but no longer. I’m all in.
Welcome aboard, Bill!
What Trump has, unfortunately, is the ability to speak to and inspire the darkest components of toxic masculinity, religious blindness and white fear. All Harris has is competence, humor, a hard work ethic, and smarts. None of what she has speaks to MAGA cultists.
Sigh. So it's up to us to bridge that gap.
We can’t transform those who are in the cult. It’s the undecided voters who need to be convinced that Kamala is better for their future than tfg. She has the dedication, ambition, and intelligence to do the job well. She needs all of us to inform voters of who she is, and has their backs.
True, we can't deprogram cultists before the election, but we can poke tiny holes in their bubble so it can deflate over time, with the goal of improving our society over a generation. I agree with you. There's no way I'll antagonize the majority of my long-time neighbors, but I'll be helpful and supportive of our common interests and stay true to myself.
Amen. That gap needs to end.
I hope Harris will debate Trump. Will Trump chicken out?
No question. He can't use his "Gish gallop" technique on her and he hasn't the language skills to hold his own in a REAL debate--not that those set-ups on a broadcast stage are even close to a true debate anyway.
I read that when Pence was approached about being VP he was told by Eric Trump that he would effectively be potus as Donny would be continuing doing his rallies. I hope that's not apocryphal.
This is probably fake news, I can't see trump asking Pence to be VP. Unless he wanted to hang him in the basement of The White House.....
Um, Pence was his VP for 4 years.
DEI is code for the N word. And if anyone says DEI, push back with that fact. The things that worked for them in 2016 are not going to work now. Call them out.
I pushed back yesterday with some dimwit telling me that Harris is only being considered because she's a "minority". I said "That's not true, because she was elected to every job she's ever had", soooooo....
Woukd trump have been offered the Alprentice gig if he hadn’t been a white male? And without tgat TV character, which many Repubs think was real, he’d not become president He’s the one who’s been given everything his whole life. Born on third and thought he hit a triple and all that.
If Harris is a DEI candidate, then so is Vance. He rose through the ranks because of his disadvantaged childhood and given special points for where he came from. (Plus he has no ethical standards having spun 180° from what he said about Trump just a few years ago. He’s got no North Star and is a turncoat flip-flopper heading whatever direction the wind blows.
I like that “North Star” reference.
Dedication Energy Integrity -- we'll take it!!!!
It is not just Republicans, but supposedly neutral media like the New York Times that apply ad hominems to the candidates, for instance the claim during the 2016 campaign that Hillary Clinton was "not well liked," with absolutely nothing to back it up. Rinse and repeat. They'll do it to Vice President Harris as well. I'm hoping more people see through this rhetorical gambit this time.
I'm absolutely disgusted with most mainstream media right now. The powers that be seem more interested in sensationalism, that gets more clicks, than actual journalism or honest reporting.
Cancel them. Drop your subscription.
Cancelled NYT, WAPO, Guardian. Just done.
I am surprised that you cancelled The Guardian, which is a media main stay for me.
It was for me as well. In the end I couldn’t take its persistent Biden stories either. Why him and not the other guy with much much worse to report on.
I was once banned from WaPo after commenting that I would crap on the steps of the Capital when Trump was laid in State. It was a joke but they never removed my permanent ban so I terminated my subscription. But they do have good writers.
It’s sickening to think of him returning to the Capital for any reason at all. All the papers I left have good writers. It’s their owners’ motives I question.
Done!
Or saving our democracy.
I love Nicole Wallace of MSNBC, but unfortunately the morons who need to hear…don’t. The couple of push backs I’ve read here this morning are excellent! I will use them.
I love John Hellman when he's on her show. She's good but there's so much just repetitive yak, yak, yak now that she's on for 2 hours.
Me, too. It's easy to let disgust and fury take over. But I'm committed to staying focused on facts and rising above any editorializing that passes for journalism. I understand the assignment. :-)
It's horrible. We're going to be hearing a lot of slut-shaming in the next few months. That gives their cult a little tingle in their dead zone.
The NY Times ceased being neutral a little over 2 years ago. They are nothing more than the Fox News of print. I canceled my subscription after 25 years of delivery.
Wordle is the only thing the Times has going for it.
And you can get that for the "cost" of clicking past an ad, with no subscription.
The NYT isn't much better than the Post.
I canceled WAPO, the NYT, the Bulwark and several newsletters. Gives me more money to donate to Harris.
The NYT is at fault for helping to push Biden out, but so far they've been positive about Harris. I sensed that they heard and were stung by criticism about their coverage of Biden, but don't expect them to improve until they change their staff.
There was a mass cancellation event due to their coverage of Joe Biden, while not asking the same questions about tfg. It started to affect their bottom line, so they have moderated slightly, but still are unhappy about the fact that Joe wouldn’t give them an exclusive interview.
Have you seen any stats on the cancellations (including mine)?
No, I’ve just seen large numbers of people saying they canceled their subscriptions within a week.
I have analyzed in depth all 450 House CDs and found only 20 held by republicans that are truly “competitive” this election! Biden actually carried most of them in 2020 but the Rs running for Congress managed to squeak thru or in 2022! The most effective and efficient way to secure a really significant majority going forward is to generously contribute to the most effective tax deductible 501C3 which is run by brilliant Harvard students who are registering hundreds of thousands Community College students & HS seniors only in those truly “competitive” CDs! So please tonight and tomorrow go to www.TurnUp.US and contribute generously, get a full tax deduction and know you are empowering a real defense for Democracy! Thank you!
Ira, I'm impressed with all the research you have done, but given your (quite impressive) background, it's no wonder your analysis deserves an A+. Thanks!
Dianne and everyone else: Most of the Democratic politicians will foolishly spend the contributions everyone on this list sent them on TV commercials, political consultants, and direct mail flyers that 95% of the citizens who received them throw into the trash unopened! What they almost unanimously don’t do is pay ambitious and enthusiastic younger folks to run constant voter registration drives for the senior class at their high schools and all the students at their local Community College based on three currently prevalent issues that matter to most if not all 18 to 29s: protection of abortion rights, banning assault weapons (particularly near or in school) and fighting climate change so that they can have a decent life before they turn 40 years old! Political folks say :”But Ira, young folks don’t vote!” True, only about 35% of younger folks vote!
BUT Statistics prove that 70%+ of younger folks who are registered DO VOTE, particularly when motivated by abortion bans, school shootings and climate change! So www.TurnUp.US needs your tax deductible contributions to register those young voters and the same stats prove that 70% or more of them will vote Democrat from the top of the ballot all the way down!
So that’s why your contribution to nonpartisan TurnUp.US which doesn’t directly support candidates is so important!In order to win this election in those congressional districts that are “truly competitive,” those thousands of new enthusiastic younger voters in each CD will recognize which candidates support abortion protections, gun control and the climate fight! Please help today and tomorrow and pass the word to your family and friends? Www.TurnUP.US and thank you!
The only way for MAGA to "win" is to gerrymander and suppress voting.
The gerrymander part bothers me. We can never put anything past MAGA.
Done, Ira. Your argument for TurnUp is very persuasive!
Many thanks; please pass it on!
I thought 501(C)3 (non-profits) were prohibited from engaging in political activities.
Wanda: C3 are prohibited from engaging in representing political parties and political candidates but TurnUp is strictly nonpartisan and addresses abortion as a moral and policy issue as well as guns and climate without supporting any candidates or parties! Perfectly legal! Same would be a C3 which supports gay rights or racial fairness. Registering young women and men in a strictly nonpartisan manner is lawful as a C3 just as if another nonpartisan organization registered voters who believe in banning abortion or promoting gun rights!
Just donated. Thank you, Ira.
Terrific Joyce; please pass it on to your friends!we have so little time left to save our democracy so just imagine what 2,000 or 3,000 extra young voters will accomplish in their congressional district election when they vote in favor of the D challenger against a Republican incumbent in Congress who is adamant in banning most abortions, loves assault weapons and takes bribes from oil companies as he poo-poos the hottest day in HISTORY! Monumental change in the composition of Congress when these newly registered younger women and their families vote to throw that bum out? Please make your contribution to nonpartisan www.TurnUp.US now! Thank you
By the way, each of these 24 key contested House elections were decided by just a few votes in 2022– you can a real difference by helping to register thousands of younger women just in those critical constituencies for instance who legitimately fear what will happen to them when most abortion pills are banned?
Terrific thank you. Folks, this is a no-brainer! Very very effective and far less expensive than ridiculous tv commercials!
Thanks for the clarification.
Writing postcards constantly…. It’s meditative! I’ve mailed a stack for Sherrod Brown in Ohio and working on Local Elections too… we can all do the work of democracy !
Thanks Joyce
I feel the same way about phone banking! It gives me real hope to talk with real voters and know that they all understand what's at stake if Trump is elected. #YesWeKam!
FT 6 phone banks
https://www.mobilize.us/ft6/?q=phone%20banks&tag_ids=20038
I know! In 2020 and 2022 I developed carpal tunnel syndrome from writing letters and postcards. I am not looking forward to that again, but we do what we must to preserve our beloved Republic.
I like that saying.
I am working on 200 postcards for AZ.
FT 6 postcards.
https://fieldteam6.herokuapp.com/getting_started
I'm just jazzed up! I've been phone banking for Biden for about 7 months, and I am now phone banking for Kamala Harris. I'm speaking with people from all over the US, mostly in swing states, of all different political parties, age groups and demographics. The response I have received from these wonderful people is that they are excited to vote for Kamala Harris. They all said they love Joe, as I do, but a lot of them were relieved that he suspended his campaign for re-election. He's a patriot through and through, unlike that despicable cretin Trump who, frankly, should have been put in jail a long time ago.
Yes and Amen!
Madalyn Murray O’Hair.—-“Two hands working can do more than a thousand clasped in prayer.”
My grandpa use to say, “Get up off your knees and make it happen!”
I love this!!!
Amen! (Pun intended) 😎
Young women might not realize the full extent of the rights they are at risk of losing. Bodily autonomy is basic, but also financial autonomy. Women didn't always have credit or financial security in their own names but were either not on their husbands accounts or listed as secondary. Single women might have had a lawyer represent them as their voice in financial dealings. Women didn't automatically inherit property after the death of husbands. Women had to live within limited opportunities and few had what it took to try to break that "glass ceiling". Hard to imagine? It all begins with personal autonomy, my body, my choice.
I saw the shocking documents on file in the Suffolk County Courthouse, where widow Jacqueline Kennedy filed to claim her husband’s property. She also had to file, if I recall correctly, for custody as Head of Household of her children.
Wow! I didn’t know that.
Some if not many men are not going to like this post. There should be a law we women could pass that would put an end to men’s ability to have sex if a woman could not have access to an abortion, contraception, or IVF. Maybe then they would realize how it feels to be denied control over our bodies. Am I being ridiculous? If so apologies to all offended.
A Greek wrote a play about that very thing.
Please tell me the name of the Play. I never got into Greek writings.
Aristophanes wrote the play “Lysistrata” about the Peloponnesian War and the women of the warring city states denying sex to their men in order to stop the war.
You can read more about it by checking Wiki under “Lysistrata”. It will be faster than trying to find it under Aristophanes. Thanks for asking for more info. I had learned about this particular Greek comedy writer 60 years ago as a college freshman. Aristophanes came right up but not the name of the play.
Thanks so much for not kicking me off this substack but I had to share the feeling I have had about how men dominate women, even down to their more fragile body parts, desires to have children or not, and the methods employed for either choice. I wanted to devote myself to my career and traveling, so I chose to teach and forego having children. I have never regretted the choice and now have acquired three couples I call my "pretend children."( I'd like to have a contest to find another name for them.) They are all in their 30's to 50's, are well educated, drug and alcohol free, with excellent careers. Two couples live in Germany and one in my town of Merced, California. I have contact with them often and all six bring me untold joy.
Aren’t they your ‘adopted children’ off the record rather than pretend? Love is thicker than blood and that’s what it sounds like your relationship is with them.
Little known story: Before the women's movement, women were not allowed to sit alone in the lobby of the Park Plaza Hotel. The hotel was concerned about their image, and considered unchaperoned women to be prostitutes, and therefore didn't want them hanging out in the lobby. The story goes that Gloria Steinem sat in their lobby by herself and refused to leave, and the hotel even called the police. I can't quite remember how the story resolved, but I think she eventually left with the police.
I think there's a lot more to be said about pregnancy than has been said in arguing these court cases. First of all, let us assume for a minute it is correct that an embryo has human rights. Is it then the case that the carrier of that embryo has lost her rights because of the presence of that embryo? That seems to be the assumption that the men forcing these laws on us have used. I fail to see why a woman carrying an embryo suddenly has no human rights.
One could argue that in fact an embryo is a parasite. That embryo depends totally on the vitality and sharing of her bodily resources by the woman with the embryo. If the woman wants the embryo that is one thing. If that embryo got there through force against her will, that is another thing. The embryo is not the only entity with rights. The woman has rights.
Surely a woman has the right to have that embryo removed from her when it constitutes a danger to her survival or her other organs or her ability to have future children! No? Think about that! These new abortion laws have definitely interfered with the rights of people carrying fetuses.
And what about the rights of the other children of that woman?
Saying that embryo has 100% rights over their woman is like saying she has become a slave really. She has no rights. She is now owned by the embryo? And then after it is born will then be a person who owns her, a child she must bring up, a child her other children must share with?
If we are going to persist in calling an embryo a "person" (even though it may lack a functional nervous system, for instance, or consist of only a few cells) the discussion about forcing a women to carry and give birth to said embryo, that is giving it full-fledged rights over the woman it is inside of, needs to be recast in terms of resolving the conflict of rights they each have.
I heard someone say the other day that the constitution has no right to abortion written into it. So let me ask this: Where does the constitution say that embryos have rights?
Suppose we all agree an embryo has a soul. Is that what gives an embryo human rights? And at what point in development does the embryo acquire a soul? We don't know that and we will never know that. So anything you say is going to be arbitrary, shaped by your particular beliefs.
Interesting perspective
How about the P2025 plan to strip voting and other rights from women? Climate impacts of the QOP. On and on. If informed there is no way any thinking person would vote for T/V ticket.
“Hope is a good thing, and no good thing ever dies.” - The Shawshank Redemption, Stephen King
"May you live in interesting times" From a fortune cookie received in 1957. Indeed🤭
I am so pumped. Haven’t felt this way since President Obama 2008. When we fight, we win! America is worth fighting for. I do not need a 78 year old man telling me what I can or cannot do with my body, with my brain, or with my vote. Nor do I need a so-called “hillbilly” belittling me or marginalizing me because I am a childless cat lady. We are one team, one fight.
Yeee Cat Lady.
If you read Connie Schultz, either on her Substack or on Facebook, she has a hilarious column today on childless cat ladies.
So, I thought I'd explore the world of Tim Burchett. He's special:
"Tennessee school shooting response
On March 28, 2023, Burchett responded to the Covenant School shooting, where three nine-year-old students and three staff members were killed in Nashville, by telling reporters: "It's a horrible, horrible situation, and we're not going to fix it. Criminals are gonna be criminals. And my daddy fought in the second world war, fought in the Pacific, fought the Japanese, and he told me, he said, 'Buddy,' he said, 'if somebody wants to take you out, and doesn't mind losing their life, there's not a whole heck of a lot you can do about it.'" Burchett also said he sees no "real role" for Congress in reducing gun violence, other than to "mess things up"."
"2024 Kansas City parade shooting response
After a local D.J. was killed and 22 others were wounded in the 2024 Kansas City parade shooting, Burchett inaccurately identified an adult attendee of the Kansas City rally as the shooter, claiming he was an "illegal alien". Burchett's social media post received 1.4 million views. In March 2024, the falsely identified man sued Burchett for $75,000 in damages."
He seems nice. 😤
Apostate comes to mind. *sigh
"Love one another" isn't for the faint of heart
Right, Marlene!🤑😤 He's up for reelection in November. He doesn't do anything to help the people in Tennessee. He's smug and pretty safe here in our bright red state 😥⁉️ Jane George is running against him. I'm writing postcards and it makes me sad that my state is so damn entrenched.
He’s special alright, he broadcasts how stupid he is, unbelievable isn’t it.
Busy today writing postcards to get potential voters to vote. It’s worth the writer’s cramp.
Me too! I found Blue Wave Postcard Movement. They send mostly pre-printed postcards and pre-printed mailing labels. All I have to write is a couple of sentences. This is so much better for me as I have arthritis in my hands that makes it hard to write legibly or for very long.
Sky, I'm glad you found that. Arthritis has not been kind to my body, especially my hands.
I checked out their site and noted that they charge for their postcards. The ones I received were free, but I did have to write a few sentences. My only cost will be postage.
Did the cards you received have the scan code imbedded on the card?
Ditto, Ginni!
The anti-choice crowd might be able to pretend to have the high moral ground on abortion by claiming that they're 'protecting babies'; but going after IVF exposes their real agenda. You simply can't be pro-family if you're trying to prevent children from being conceived. Claiming that a fertilized egg is a human being with rights has always been a disingenuous way of justifying treating the mother as though she isn't.
And what in the heck is their real rationale for banning contraception? Absolute control of women is my take on it. Kamala is correct, "We're NOT going back!"
Twofold purpose: #1 is of course control of women. #2 might be, more babies=more wage slaves and more cannon fodder.
Evangelicals (and Catholics) oppose contraception because they don't believe people should be having sex except for procreative reasons. At the extreme end you have the Quiverfull movement where married women essentially stay pregnant. For Evangelical it's all about believing that somehow God micromanages all reproductive issues.
It has always been about power over women by men who have none because they are not real men. Real men love and appreciate real women. Doug Emhoff for example.
Correct and that is why so many women of all ages, shapes, sizes and colors are so pissed and motivated!!
Yes hope. Energy. Democracy. Future. Kamala. Thank you Joe.
So well said. Sigh.
Brought tears to my eyes.