Donald John Trump has lived a life without consequence. He has never been held accountable throughout his lifetime for his misdeeds. He is one horrible shit show and it’s time for the American people to make him irrelevant. Vote
Because in my redredredred town, there are “people” sitting in cars all around the most convenient ballot drop boxes watching whoever walks up to drop a ballot in, I am taking my completed ballot into the county recorder’s office tomorrow. It has never felt so good to vote! 🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊
🤬🤬🤬 That's voter intimidation and whoever is doing that is/are no better than sewer scum.
I am a ballot clerk for our little town and we are not anticipating anything violent, but we are quite prepared to call the county Sheriff should we observe ANY untoward activity that could potentially be intimidating to voters or people planning to vote.
Which is great, if you happen to have a sheriff who is truly dedicated to his/her job and laws, rather than the politics of supporting republicans and trump. Our sheriff and most deputies don't take Democrats' complaints seriously, because... liberals.
Yes, that may be unfortunately true in Arizona. Our population is much smaller and Sheriffs have to answer to the citizens here...and many of them, Dem and Repub alike, often know the Sheriff personally. It's harder to hide bigotry and racism in a small town or a smaller population.
Time to call in the Pro-Democracy...Pro freedom to vote militas to stand by and protect those that honor the constiturion and rule of law. Allow the handicapped, LGBQ, gay, immigrants to vote in peace and safety. F-MAGA!!
Interesting that they intimidate anybody who chooses to drop their ballot in the box early. How do they know how that individual has cast their vote. Either one will never be intimidated by anyone standing around a box to drop my ballot off. Let them try.
Reader/Writer, Brava for you because that’s supposed to frighten you away.
Makes me really mad and a bit frightened now as well even living in a supposed Blue state. I hope to go join our Dems tomorrow at key junctions with signs; back of my mind is as you might imagine, will there be someone who passes with more than violent epithets? 🙏🏼
Yes, I think it is probably illegal to intimidate voters. Not sure how well it can be enforced if they are sitting in cars or standing around watching. The intimidators are hoping for a reaction.
I plan to look them in the eye with an extremely blank expression. I want to convey an attitude of, “I see you. Your presence means nothing.”
When I was (much) YOUNGER, I joined anti-war protests. People often sat in cars watching us or strolled by, scowling. I raised my camera and took their photo. Nothing disrupted their gawking and menacing like "going on the record."
I suggested just that to the “postcards to swing states” and got an immediate response not to mail them too early and to mail on the designated day to increase their impact. They even showed live stats as to postcard delivery times.
I suggest following the directions for whatever group you're writing with. I've been writing with Postcards to Voters since Doug Jones ran in 2017. Their standard instructions are to mail within three days of receiving the addresses. P.S. Some of us are writing to support down-ballot candidates running in swing districts in non-swing states.
I don’t understand why Biden kept DeJoy as head of the Post Office. The man has done everything in his power to screw with Mail-in ballots. I’m dropping my ballot into my local ballot box. Vote Blue!!
DeJoy's in power through a board that cannot be superseded, and he knows it. However, board membership has time limits. Biden just appointed Val Demmings to the board, and he will do the same for the next vacancies until...
We voted in NY this week - absentee. I've sent off my letters to Michigan voters and am about to mail my postcards to GA voters. Just got a few more postcards to write and send. Mailing early is a good idea. I was told to wait until the 15th on the postcards, but, as they are going to Georgia, perhaps I should mail them today.
Living in a MAGA dream world frequently has no consequences in a country that is big, prosperous, and incredibly safe. Until the real world impinges on that dream world with the force of a hurricane. Dream worlds are sweet places, but they can come with a big downside.
I am concerned that the While House is referring people to trusted sources instead of specific places to get information because the people who are confused already don't know good sources to get information.
I can tell you what you are wondering about don the con is of the ‘mind’ that he can be your weatherman, your doctor, your foreign relations and so much more. Inject bleach that would clean the body yes dear leader I will thank you may I give you money?
Also, developmentally, I am used to moving third graders beyond it. In the beginning of the year, one has several third graders who like to blurt out things like someone could come from outer space and make whatever we are saying is not likely to happen, happen. That is developmentally appropriate. My job then is to question how this ties into what we are talking about. When adults have this sort of magical thinking, that is not developmentally appropriate. And yes, it is a refusal to deal with reality, and perhaps a loss of contact with reality.
We Jews are not safe in America anymore. I am not even religious but I have great disdain for the Jewish extremists who embrace this criminal. In CA our focus has mostly been on earthquakes but now, it’s wildfires and insurance rates that are through the roof. My heart is with everyone who had to endure Milton and Helene. To lose a home that held your precious memories is awful. To lose a child, a relative, a friend is devastating.
We shall not listen to this Hilteresque rhetoric that’s on repeat. This is what Adolf did and ad nauseam until the German people were worn out. He’s got his crazy ignorant followers but we have Kamala, Tim, Obama, Liz, Kinzinger, Joe, Jill, Michele, etc.. Let’s stomp their asses!!
Don’t forget down-ballot races - for House and Senate. If either chamber goes Republican, as polls imply and recent history shows American voters prefer, it’ll be a tough four years … and 2028 will be at least as nerve wracking as 2024. Support Democrats in close races! Kamala should be promoting them all.
Steve, Of course there are more of us than them, just like there was in 2016, but with the stupid, electoral college that doesn't mean sh** in this crazy country. I am nervous as hell. I am starting to believe that the majority of men will not vote for a female president. God I hope that I am wrong!
I understand your anxiety and I suggest you check into Hopium Chronicles here on Substack by Simon Rosenberg. His mantra is Do More, Worry Less. He's not just hoping, but he's hoping with a plan to do the work, and he is providing opportunities for us to do the work which will ensure DEMS win. He is a 30+ year DEM strategist who was part of the Clinton White House, and he has strong connections in the Harris Campaign; he's known her for 20 years. He is very optimistic as he studies the authentic polls (there are lots of junk polls out there designed to make it look like TFG is winning and to discourage us), and he is one of 2 people (Tom Bonier being the other) who said up front that the polls in 2022 predicting a huge RED WAVE would be wrong; turns out he and Tom were correct. Since Dobbs, DEMS have been over-performing polls and have won special elections for open seats at the US and state levels and have won ballot initiatives. As a lifelong worrier, I find his analysis (along with that of Joyce here, and Heather Cox Richardson) to be not only comforting, but energizing to go win this election of our lifetimes. In a talk yesterday, he said about all the lies being pumped out and the disinformation being purposefully being spewed, "Narrow your election information diet to that which is grounded in reality." Hope this helps.
Jayne I already read the those substacks that you have kindly suggested to me. and a few others like Jeff Tiedrich. Good thing that I am a fast reader as it is hard to keep up. Another blog writer that comes out every Friday is called The Shower Cap Blog. He is really very good and provides links to every point that he makes. I am nervous, but not stressed, because I have been studying the Urantia Book Revelation for 55 years, and I understand the whole history of this planet ( I am talking from the very beginning of the Life Implantation) and many civilizations have come and gone. The first humans evolved one million years ago and it has been one struggle after another since then
. This election is just a drop in the bucket, but it is our bucket, and I hope this male dominated country is willing to be ruled by a female president rather than by a selfish, lying sack of you know what. Thanks for your concern but I have seen the whole brochure of where we are headed on this journey after our short mortal trial in the flesh, and I am literally "dying" to get there because there will not be souls like evil Trump to deal with. Only healthy souls get re-personalized. The soul only grows when we feed it with truth, beauty and goodness. So in the big picture we are going to be OK, no matter how this damn election turns out.
Steve, would you mind being more specific concerning who or what is wrong? We in the US do live in a very patriarchal society. Obama was just speaking about that yesterday.
That’s been on my mind lately— if the Senate flips red (as NYT keeps predicting) and House doesn’t change, it’ll be a miserable four years for Harris. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that her energy and momentum may have enough to spill over into other areas.
November 5 (Guy Fawkes Day) will be the Great American IQ Test. However the blood of the American people has already been so contaminated by MAGA morons that I fear the country will fail the test miserably.
Yes! I recently wrote for two congressional candidates in NY state. Before that were one in AZ and one in NE. Am about to start writing for one in MI. The rot in the US system long predates Trump, and as Joyce notes, recovery is a long-term, all-hands-on-deck project.
Who knew we’d see an election where AOC and Dick Cheney and George Will are all voting for Kamala. I hear she’s peeling off 7% of republicans who voted for Trump in 2020, whereas the felon is only seeing a 3% shift toward him of people who voted for Biden in 2020. Good sign. 70% of republican women disagree with the sup ct overturning Roe. I’m hoping in the privacy of the voting booth casting their secret ballot more than a 7% defection from Trump will end the disgraceful Trump tyrant wanna be’s hold on the GOP.
The Bulwark says that if the election were held today, Trump would win just 45 percent of those who backed Haley in the GOP primary while 36 percent said they’d back Harris according to the survey of 781 registered Republicans and independents conducted by the new Democratic-leaning polling outfit Blueprint.
Detestable Orange Donable Lector wants to wear us all out with his "Orange Jet Stream of Bullshit"...We all know better and when the going gets tough we get going..........Maggots live in the sewer and we live in the sunshine and breezy clouds. We all stand together against the Diaper Claud Rapist!!
I'm in the CO mountains and our insurance rates are out of control. Our town is building a new firehouse to replace an old outdated one and the firehouse can't get approved for insurance! There isn't a forest in the middle of town, and the new firehouse will be next to the old one and still, they can't get approved for insurance coverage. Just Crazy
Which means we will need FEMA now more than ever. The government will become property insurers as well as health insurers if that industry keeps this up.
You can’t make this stuff up!!! Stranger than fiction. Former Pres Ronald Reagan (the anti Soviet Cold War ender) is rolling over in his repubkican grave because of trump’s love affair with Putin and brazenwillingness to sell out Ukrainian democracy. So Shameful - but Trump has no shame “gene”…
tRump isn't very creative... he only knows how to project. If he says someone has done something that is bad usually he's done it. If he says he's done something good, he's usually taking credit for something someone else has done.
We need new legislation that penalizes yelling fire.. not sure how that could be written, but its unconscionable that anyone can cause so much harm and actually endanger peoples lives with impunity, who are just doing the good work of public service without being held accountable for that harm. It just so so wrong
Anyone who is a felon should not be eligible to run for any public office, including President of the US. This man has violated all the norms of running for office and got away with it. He knows no bottom.
I wonder if hurricane victims who believed Trump could sue him for whatever fema money they didn’t ask for as damages plus pain/suffering/emotional distress?
You know D.O. Olson if people are that stupid to believe Trump when he says that FEMA is going to steal their homes, then you know what, they deserve to not get help. They may have to learn the hard way who to believe and how to recognize a bold faced lie!
I simply do not understand how national polls can say the race is tied. The news about and comments from Trump are becoming more damning by the day. Am I living in some sort of parallel universe?
I am with you - it is appalling. And so very sad that so many "Americans" are so brainwashed by the fat-ass orange clown. What does that even say about our country?
If Kamala were a white male with her same strong experience and charisma, and from the Midwest or south (not CA), it wouldn’t be this close. Still I’d rather be us than them now… though the implicit racial and misogynistic biases in our society mean it’s time to put the pedal to the metal and finish strong over the next 27 days!!!! We shall overcome!
We all might be. It seems the worse he is, the greater his number of supporters. The former so called Republican Party could have eliminated him many time, but they seem afraid of him. There are things worse than being reelected, like losing your dignity!
Hard to believe that people are suicidal about democracy. Americans are standing waist deep in lies and are in denial. The water of lies are rising at an alarming rate and the boat of democracy is taking on water.
Yes Laurie, we are living in a parallel reality. Those of us that have rejected the Lucifer Manifesto and those who have embraced it. Even though the Rebellion took place two hundred and fifty thousands years ago, this planet still suffers from that event. Even though the Local Creator Son gave us his Spirit Of Truth two thousand + years ago. He gave us that so we would always know what is true and what is false, many people still chose to embrace lies and evil. The strangest part is that the Christian Nationalists are the most likely ones believing evil Trump.
For those who want to understand the parallel reality/universe you might want to read the true story of what happened in this section of the universe a long time ago, if so try checking out The Urantia Book at www.urantia.org
It is the latest life ring that we have been thrown to upstep our civilization. Though it is not for everyone. One has to have an open mind.
The problems we are experiencing come from mixing religion and government. We should reject that no matter what our beliefs are. Government is about this life and doing good here and now. The afterlife is personal and individual. Believe what you want, but deal with the here and now with full hearts and love of humanity.
Jeri, The Urantia text is not a religion, it is a philosophy. Doing good and in the here and now and love sound pretty religious to me, but also a very good philosophy. Few people on this planet are willing to read a 2,000 page text. I absolutely believe in the separation of church and state. I was addressing Laurie's comment about a parallel reality. I do live in the here & now and that is why every decision I make, including voting for a good person or an evil person is both a philosophic and a spiritual decision, which It sure is in this election!
If he loses, yank his passport and intercept his plane at the air strip so he can’t escape justice as a fugitive. If you don’t think he will try to flee the country. I believe you would be mistaken.
Robert, the only problem with forcing Trump to stay here, we will have to listen to years more of his lying, blathering, whining, his loud ignorant mouth. I would almost wish he would go somewhere else and be their pain in the ass. We have wasted so much money and resources on him as well as emotional health.
Alcatraz. It would only need a minimal staff and he could have McDonald's served to him for every meal. Which I think would be cheaper than a kitchen staff.
Frankly, I might prefer it if he got on his plane and left for country that will have him. It would be less expensive — no more secret service in or out of jail, no more wasted time with endless court appeals, and no more taking up air time with his belly aching. Good riddance.
If he’s successful exiting the country, more money would have to be spent tracking him down, and the coward would go likely to a country (probably the one beginning with the letter “R”) with which we have no extradition agreement. From there he would launch a propaganda campaign and there would be no way to squelch it. Better to keep him here and argue in court for a gag order. No matter what, MAGA would likely resort to violence and terror incited by his dangerous idiot sons. Driving MAGA to defeat is going to be an unavoidable mess because it has metastasized to so many people. First we must defeat him at the polls and after that it will still be a struggle.
I agree. I fear that my grandchildren will be dealing with Trump’s carnage long after I and he are both gone. It will take generations to restore faith in our civic institutions, if that is even possible.
I don't know, Susan. I've always suspected that his alliance with Putin is the promise of a planet with two kings, with one in charge of the western hemisphere, and the other in charge of the eastern... working together to crush democracy and freedom worldwide. Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. trump is nothing more than a useful tool to Putin, and we know what Vlad does when he's done with someone...
Ooh! Another opportunity for defenestration!!! (The planet with two kings scenario is interesting, but I don't think Putin would value trump if he lost the election.)
In Agent Orange's mind, Democrats are Stalinist demons attempting to persecute the last Righteous American. One thing you can say about Trump, this man believes in himself like no one ever has.
If he loses, arrest him. After a no bail incarceration awaiting trial, we can stall and stall and stall. Maybe he’ll die in prison awaiting trial. It’ll be the most patriotic act he’ll ever do. Saving taxpayers money for not having long drawn out trials.
Joyce, I wanted to thank you for often mentioning the need for poll observers. On Sunday I’ll fly from CA to Atlanta GA for a month to lend my experience as seasoned attorney and longtime campaigner to the GA dem party Voter Protection program. I’m a former Mayor of Menlo Park who’s now 65 (but not yet ready to retire. (I'm Chief Counsel Regulatory for Pacific Gas & Electric Company working on accelerating the transition to a decarbonized NorCal economy through electrification using renewable energy sources/batteries/hydroelectric dams, and our 2 nuclear facilities, plus behavior change). My caseload is now in a waiting period such that I can be gone a month. My protégée associates (whom I jokingly call my “daughters-in-Law”) will get more practice handling things by themselves for a month, as they’ll have to once I actually retire (perhaps fall 2026?). But I’ll be “on call” each evening after the Cobb County early voting station I’ll be observing closes at 7pm if they want guidance.
I’ve done three online trainings for poll observers/ballot monitors including how to escalate “incidents” to the regional boiler room of ace GA elections experts using LBJ the app dem lawyers nationwide will be using to track patterns in real time so we can adjust/learn. The program is pretty well organized, though I had to arrange my own housing. (Our cousin in Marietta GA networked with friends from her synagogue to line up guest rooms).
I’ll be curious to hear whether the DNC’s lawsuit challenging Election Board’s “MAGA-3” newly invented requirement each polling place must, each evening, hand count the number of ballots cast that day before they’re sealed into boxes to go to the county tabulation center. If it’s not expunged, we poll observers might be up later than 7pm each day of voting in addition to the normal 7am - 7pm hours… sheesh
(You just can’t make this stuff up…)
Anyways, thanks to you and others having said so, I went ahead and made this happen. I also recruited 6 other attorney friends to go from CA to other swing states: AZ, NV, MI, and PA. It’s not too late for others reading this to do so too!!!!!
Indeed I pray we’ll be seeing thousands more Dem attorneys volunteering in each key state to make sure chaos can’t be sown without certified witnesses and good advocates for upholding voting rights to stand up firmly and peacefully for what’s right.
With deep gratitude to you for inspiring me…let me know if you have any useful advice or intel, as well as if I can do anything to help you.
Thanks Gail, I have been wondering about this very issue over the last three days as my panic about the aftermath of Nov 5 has increased, probably exacerbated because i feel so removed living in Sweden. A former attorney in the US, I did a course for election observers in Venice a few years back and think I understand what you are up against. The kicker is, when I did that course, we hadn’t gone through Jan 6. The US was seen as a gold star example of fair and efficient elections.
Thank you! I'll be working a 4-day polling shift Nov 2-5 here in LA County. As the pharmacist said when I got my flu and covid shots, "Good Karma to all of you."
The fact that anyone can grow up to be President is a cherished American beleif or myth and it has always been a point of pride in this experiment in representative government but the current situation in which a defective individual not fit to be the town dog cathcher is a candidate for the office makes me wonder if there should be some test required to run for the office, al least some proof of sanity.
Trump in his racism, misogyny, xenophobia, and more has certainly bamboozled a lot of the American people. Who knew so many otherwise "normal" people could be so easily brought into the clutches of a man who has no empathy for anyone, cares nothing for the people and tells them so, except for their votes, though. Trump has no skills beyond those of a con artist, and he is an artist, able to con so many people. His lies are enormous, but believed by so many. Unfortunately, misogyny is Trump's best deal. He loathes women unless they are doing his bidding, and a lot of women are willing to do his bidding, but it is unclear why. We the People have a lot to do to help this nation recover from Republican wanton hatred, fearmongering, well, evil. Trump is just the current leader of the pack, not the cause of such evil. He needs to be voted off the island!
The folks in western North Carolina most severely impacted by Helene had no lived experience about how FEMA helps out in a hurricane. Thus, they were absolutely virgin ground for rumors. People who live in coastal TX or anywhere along the Gulf Coast would be much better informed.
And this is exactly why his lies are so reprehensible. People who are vulnerable are being preyed upon by Trump and the MAGA Congressional Leaders from these states. This should be unlawful, and these people should be forced to return to the crime scene and offer a full public confession. All of their names should be removed from the ballots in their state. Freedom of speech should not apply to fleecing the citizens of our country in order to destroy our democracy.
Right now, an individual can sue for defamation, and a company can sue for defamation. Perhaps we can pass legislation that enables the citizenry at large or bring a class action to sue for damages resulting from disinformation. Because of the ridiculous speed at which disinformation can be spread on the Internet, this might be a change that must be made. I'd like to toss this ball to some good legal minds and see what they think.
On further thought, one of the problems with using legal curbs on disinformation is that most of the people who spread it are people of average or low income. They don't have the money to repay the damage they do.
One reason that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) can't intervene is that many of the people who spread disinformation are not selling a product. There is no trade to regulate.
On the other hand, I'd love to see the FTC come down very hard on people who sell quack cures for medical problems.
I’d like to see a big overhaul at the FTC and an overhaul of the FTC rules regarding the dissemination of disinformation. We have to see if there is political will to get this done.
Sounds like a good idea, but our corporation minded SCOTUS has made class-action suits much more difficult to prosecute - one more ill effect we’re stuck with.
Kathleen, you are right about the ignorance of hurricane challenges by people who don't experience hurricanes, but to listen to an ignorant jerk for one's information about the government help they are getting and can get is beyond comprehension, just stupid, and I don't use that word lightly.
Kathleen, I am not sure Trump sounds like those folks in Western NC and Eastern TN. He does look like them, though and blurts out a lot of lies. I hope that is not what they are used to. Reagan was another con artist whose acting trained him to say some appalling things in a grandfatherly voice so people bought the racist classist BS whole.
I actually won't call it stupid, but it certainly is naive. I go through life in terror of what I don't know— about the fields in which I my knowledge is insufficient to make wise judgments. These folks trust good ol’ boys who sound like themselves rather than the government.
This attitude toward the government goes back to Reagan, who used to stress that the government is always the problem and never the solution. Direct quote from Reagan: “I think you all know that I've always felt the nine most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the Government, and I'm here to help.” He said this repeatedly.
Don't kid yourself. There are plenty of folks on TX gulf coast who have no appreciation for FEMA, despite how many times they may have been helped by that kind of "socialism". I can't even tell you how many, "I have family in NC, and FEMA isn't there!" claims I've read on social media from Houstonians. I seriously believe the orange koolaid runs in their bloodstreams 🙄
And, ¿Bilgewater and the Dolphin are the best my erstwhile Party can do?
Too bad that Huck Finn and Jim are not around. But wait -- they are.
From the popular and recently published novel about Jim from Percival Everett.
This exchange captures our time perfectly as the Huck and Jim discuss the two con-men.
Jim: ". . . . May be they get tarred and feathered. I don't know."
Huck: "That seems right awful."
Jim: ". . . . But they was stealin' from dem folk. Tellin' lies lak dey was. . . ."
Huck: "Yes, but them people liked it, Jim. Did you see their faces? They had to know them was lies, but they wanted to believe. What do you make of that?"
Jim: "Folks be funny lak dat. Dey take the lies dey want and throws away the truths dat scares 'em."
It will be a long, long way back to "normality", as tRumpism has exposed a deep flaw in the "American experiment", as tens of millions of people flock to his deranged messages, and foreign interests are exploiting this congenital weakness that has plagued this country almost since its founding: the attraction of crackpots, conspiracists, religious scammers, know-nothings of all stripes - the entire menagerie - to segments of the population at any time of America's relatively short history.
But tRump's skill has been in uniting this disparate collection of "weirdos" under one banner, aided by online influences abroad, to form the MAGA movement, and even if tRump disappears tomorrow, his acolytes will rise to the occasion to carry MAGAism forward, let's for god's sake not delude ourselves about this. The fragility of American democracy had been thoroughly demonstrated, and it behooves ALL of us, despite the weariness, despite the never-ending crescendos of lies and torment, to crack on, and at least forestall the dystopian tRumpist nightmare by keeping HIM out of office, and let the courts- *eventually* - deal with his serial criminalities.
The lying has to stop, pure and simple. It must be called out at every opportunity, no matter who is doing the lying. I am waiting for any type of media personalities to challenge those who lie by using fact based evidence, similar to what has to be presented in a court of law. Sad it has come to this. I think I am going to have to ask my doctor for a Prozac prescription before every pharmacy in the nation runs out of it!
Donald John Trump has lived a life without consequence. He has never been held accountable throughout his lifetime for his misdeeds. He is one horrible shit show and it’s time for the American people to make him irrelevant. Vote
Voted early💙💙💙💙💙💙!!!
Because in my redredredred town, there are “people” sitting in cars all around the most convenient ballot drop boxes watching whoever walks up to drop a ballot in, I am taking my completed ballot into the county recorder’s office tomorrow. It has never felt so good to vote! 🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊
🤬🤬🤬 That's voter intimidation and whoever is doing that is/are no better than sewer scum.
I am a ballot clerk for our little town and we are not anticipating anything violent, but we are quite prepared to call the county Sheriff should we observe ANY untoward activity that could potentially be intimidating to voters or people planning to vote.
Which is great, if you happen to have a sheriff who is truly dedicated to his/her job and laws, rather than the politics of supporting republicans and trump. Our sheriff and most deputies don't take Democrats' complaints seriously, because... liberals.
Yes, that may be unfortunately true in Arizona. Our population is much smaller and Sheriffs have to answer to the citizens here...and many of them, Dem and Repub alike, often know the Sheriff personally. It's harder to hide bigotry and racism in a small town or a smaller population.
Sheriffs here in AZ are generally VERY far right wing.
Time to call in the Pro-Democracy...Pro freedom to vote militas to stand by and protect those that honor the constiturion and rule of law. Allow the handicapped, LGBQ, gay, immigrants to vote in peace and safety. F-MAGA!!
Interesting that they intimidate anybody who chooses to drop their ballot in the box early. How do they know how that individual has cast their vote. Either one will never be intimidated by anyone standing around a box to drop my ballot off. Let them try.
I’m taking a break. Later.
Sounds like voter intimidation to me. Could you report it anonymously?
Reader/Writer, Brava for you because that’s supposed to frighten you away.
Makes me really mad and a bit frightened now as well even living in a supposed Blue state. I hope to go join our Dems tomorrow at key junctions with signs; back of my mind is as you might imagine, will there be someone who passes with more than violent epithets? 🙏🏼
Sounds like we should ask for United Nations observers.
I think that is a very intelligent suggestion Mary Ellen.
Honestly, they wouldn’t intimidate me. I’d waltz right on up, drop my ballot in, turn around & wave at them all & take a giant bow!
Voter intimidation at its worst, pardon me for thinking this is illegal. Right?
Yes, I think it is probably illegal to intimidate voters. Not sure how well it can be enforced if they are sitting in cars or standing around watching. The intimidators are hoping for a reaction.
I plan to look them in the eye with an extremely blank expression. I want to convey an attitude of, “I see you. Your presence means nothing.”
When I was (much) YOUNGER, I joined anti-war protests. People often sat in cars watching us or strolled by, scowling. I raised my camera and took their photo. Nothing disrupted their gawking and menacing like "going on the record."
Take your cell phone out; take a photo
I think this was the most gratifying ballot I have ever cast. Still wearing my sticker.
That’s my plan. Everyone check your voter registration.
Mailed in today!
My AZ early ballot was in my mailbox today (Thursday). I voted it and returned it to an official dropbox. All today.
Also I have written 110 postcards to swing state voters in MICHIGAN. I WILL MAIL THEM next week.
Mail them now please. They are going to take a long time to get there thanks I to Louis DeJoy.
DeJoy has got to go!
I suggested just that to the “postcards to swing states” and got an immediate response not to mail them too early and to mail on the designated day to increase their impact. They even showed live stats as to postcard delivery times.
I got a postcard here in Ohio mailed from California in 5 days.
I suggest following the directions for whatever group you're writing with. I've been writing with Postcards to Voters since Doug Jones ran in 2017. Their standard instructions are to mail within three days of receiving the addresses. P.S. Some of us are writing to support down-ballot candidates running in swing districts in non-swing states.
Yes. Or take them in personally. Or vote early in person. Please vote as early as you can in whatever form is available to you.
Instructions from Postcards to Swing States gave a date specific. I will mail them that date.
I don’t understand why Biden kept DeJoy as head of the Post Office. The man has done everything in his power to screw with Mail-in ballots. I’m dropping my ballot into my local ballot box. Vote Blue!!
DeJoy's in power through a board that cannot be superseded, and he knows it. However, board membership has time limits. Biden just appointed Val Demmings to the board, and he will do the same for the next vacancies until...
Many of these are follow-up postcards. We're not supposed to jump the gun. They're timed.
We voted in NY this week - absentee. I've sent off my letters to Michigan voters and am about to mail my postcards to GA voters. Just got a few more postcards to write and send. Mailing early is a good idea. I was told to wait until the 15th on the postcards, but, as they are going to Georgia, perhaps I should mail them today.
Thank You, Laurie!
Sending 200 postcards to Swing State PA today!
Sending 20 a day to Ohio for Sherrod Brown
Steve Muratore, I just mailed postcards from here in VA to women voters in Yuma. We truly ARE all in this together!
I have 200 to mail! Go, go, go, go, go! :)
Thank You, Steve!
Living in a MAGA dream world frequently has no consequences in a country that is big, prosperous, and incredibly safe. Until the real world impinges on that dream world with the force of a hurricane. Dream worlds are sweet places, but they can come with a big downside.
If Trump wins again there will be no more NOAA and no more national weather bureau. (Apparently no news is good news, until it isn't.) This is detailed in Project 2025, along with them removing all references to climate change. I wonder if they will even report on hurricanes approaching anymore. The news probably won't be allowed to report any negative consequences. Again, Project 2025 has a Christian Nationalist agenda, and there is a lot of magical thinking that goes along with that along with the vicious sexism and racism. The German News DW which reports in English reported on the US disinformation campaign about the storm, since many Europeans are stranded in Florida too. https://www.dw.com/en/ahead-of-us-elections-disinformation-on-hurricanes-spiralling/a-70459827?maca=en-newsletter_en_bulletin-2097-xml-newsletter&at_medium=Newsletter&at_campaign=EN%20-%20Daily%20Bulletin&at_dw_language=en&at_number=20241010&r=67371142376962691&lid=3143791&pm_ln=269615
I am concerned that the While House is referring people to trusted sources instead of specific places to get information because the people who are confused already don't know good sources to get information.
I can tell you what you are wondering about don the con is of the ‘mind’ that he can be your weatherman, your doctor, your foreign relations and so much more. Inject bleach that would clean the body yes dear leader I will thank you may I give you money?
Linda, I see that you are familiar with the term "magical thinking" as well. I wish more people understood what this is.
Yes, Magical Thinking, ( a psych term and coping mechanism) has many downsides...reality being one of them.
Also, developmentally, I am used to moving third graders beyond it. In the beginning of the year, one has several third graders who like to blurt out things like someone could come from outer space and make whatever we are saying is not likely to happen, happen. That is developmentally appropriate. My job then is to question how this ties into what we are talking about. When adults have this sort of magical thinking, that is not developmentally appropriate. And yes, it is a refusal to deal with reality, and perhaps a loss of contact with reality.
A wonderful explanation Linda!
Voted Thursday in Michigan. Great feeling!
GO BLUE FULL BALLOT
🩵💙🩵💙🩵💙🩵
We Jews are not safe in America anymore. I am not even religious but I have great disdain for the Jewish extremists who embrace this criminal. In CA our focus has mostly been on earthquakes but now, it’s wildfires and insurance rates that are through the roof. My heart is with everyone who had to endure Milton and Helene. To lose a home that held your precious memories is awful. To lose a child, a relative, a friend is devastating.
We shall not listen to this Hilteresque rhetoric that’s on repeat. This is what Adolf did and ad nauseam until the German people were worn out. He’s got his crazy ignorant followers but we have Kamala, Tim, Obama, Liz, Kinzinger, Joe, Jill, Michele, etc.. Let’s stomp their asses!!
Don’t forget down-ballot races - for House and Senate. If either chamber goes Republican, as polls imply and recent history shows American voters prefer, it’ll be a tough four years … and 2028 will be at least as nerve wracking as 2024. Support Democrats in close races! Kamala should be promoting them all.
History does NOT suggest that will happen. There are FAR more of US than there are of them. Get people to the polls!
Steve, Of course there are more of us than them, just like there was in 2016, but with the stupid, electoral college that doesn't mean sh** in this crazy country. I am nervous as hell. I am starting to believe that the majority of men will not vote for a female president. God I hope that I am wrong!
I understand your anxiety and I suggest you check into Hopium Chronicles here on Substack by Simon Rosenberg. His mantra is Do More, Worry Less. He's not just hoping, but he's hoping with a plan to do the work, and he is providing opportunities for us to do the work which will ensure DEMS win. He is a 30+ year DEM strategist who was part of the Clinton White House, and he has strong connections in the Harris Campaign; he's known her for 20 years. He is very optimistic as he studies the authentic polls (there are lots of junk polls out there designed to make it look like TFG is winning and to discourage us), and he is one of 2 people (Tom Bonier being the other) who said up front that the polls in 2022 predicting a huge RED WAVE would be wrong; turns out he and Tom were correct. Since Dobbs, DEMS have been over-performing polls and have won special elections for open seats at the US and state levels and have won ballot initiatives. As a lifelong worrier, I find his analysis (along with that of Joyce here, and Heather Cox Richardson) to be not only comforting, but energizing to go win this election of our lifetimes. In a talk yesterday, he said about all the lies being pumped out and the disinformation being purposefully being spewed, "Narrow your election information diet to that which is grounded in reality." Hope this helps.
Jayne I already read the those substacks that you have kindly suggested to me. and a few others like Jeff Tiedrich. Good thing that I am a fast reader as it is hard to keep up. Another blog writer that comes out every Friday is called The Shower Cap Blog. He is really very good and provides links to every point that he makes. I am nervous, but not stressed, because I have been studying the Urantia Book Revelation for 55 years, and I understand the whole history of this planet ( I am talking from the very beginning of the Life Implantation) and many civilizations have come and gone. The first humans evolved one million years ago and it has been one struggle after another since then
. This election is just a drop in the bucket, but it is our bucket, and I hope this male dominated country is willing to be ruled by a female president rather than by a selfish, lying sack of you know what. Thanks for your concern but I have seen the whole brochure of where we are headed on this journey after our short mortal trial in the flesh, and I am literally "dying" to get there because there will not be souls like evil Trump to deal with. Only healthy souls get re-personalized. The soul only grows when we feed it with truth, beauty and goodness. So in the big picture we are going to be OK, no matter how this damn election turns out.
How is this any different from the kind of thinking that leads to "Democrats control the weather?" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Urantia_Book
I am confident that in this you ARE wrong.
I am not the only one who is worried.
"Former president suggests some in the Black community are uncomfortable voting for a woman and are coming up with excuses."
Steve, would you mind being more specific concerning who or what is wrong? We in the US do live in a very patriarchal society. Obama was just speaking about that yesterday.
Thanks.
Who's wrong? Jayne M.? The Hopium Chronicles? Marian Hughes?
That’s been on my mind lately— if the Senate flips red (as NYT keeps predicting) and House doesn’t change, it’ll be a miserable four years for Harris. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that her energy and momentum may have enough to spill over into other areas.
November 5 (Guy Fawkes Day) will be the Great American IQ Test. However the blood of the American people has already been so contaminated by MAGA morons that I fear the country will fail the test miserably.
Remember, remember the 5th of November. I hope we will make some good memories this year.
Yes! I recently wrote for two congressional candidates in NY state. Before that were one in AZ and one in NE. Am about to start writing for one in MI. The rot in the US system long predates Trump, and as Joyce notes, recovery is a long-term, all-hands-on-deck project.
Who knew we’d see an election where AOC and Dick Cheney and George Will are all voting for Kamala. I hear she’s peeling off 7% of republicans who voted for Trump in 2020, whereas the felon is only seeing a 3% shift toward him of people who voted for Biden in 2020. Good sign. 70% of republican women disagree with the sup ct overturning Roe. I’m hoping in the privacy of the voting booth casting their secret ballot more than a 7% defection from Trump will end the disgraceful Trump tyrant wanna be’s hold on the GOP.
Don't trust polls. Only ONE counts.
The Bulwark says that if the election were held today, Trump would win just 45 percent of those who backed Haley in the GOP primary while 36 percent said they’d back Harris according to the survey of 781 registered Republicans and independents conducted by the new Democratic-leaning polling outfit Blueprint.
Detestable Orange Donable Lector wants to wear us all out with his "Orange Jet Stream of Bullshit"...We all know better and when the going gets tough we get going..........Maggots live in the sewer and we live in the sunshine and breezy clouds. We all stand together against the Diaper Claud Rapist!!
I'm in the CO mountains and our insurance rates are out of control. Our town is building a new firehouse to replace an old outdated one and the firehouse can't get approved for insurance! There isn't a forest in the middle of town, and the new firehouse will be next to the old one and still, they can't get approved for insurance coverage. Just Crazy
That is NUTS!! Insurance companies are monopolies.
Which means we will need FEMA now more than ever. The government will become property insurers as well as health insurers if that industry keeps this up.
Meanwhile while he occupied our White House Don-old did divert money from FEMA. His hypocrisy knows no end.
https://www.verifythis.com/article/news/verify/donald-trump/trump-administration-diverted-fema-disaster-funds-immigration-ice-fact-check/536-814bb634-4d14-4463-a77f-b2f304320d33?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR3HwZyJfC7Go_aosGKHygKh5o0lvbrRcUwBbcEUvfBZltbloNGMziHeSLA_aem_YmRG74C0iUV5aZXNuLuk4A
...and he diverted covid testing apparatus to Putin ...
Again - this should have been a large-font headline in the NYT and WaPo. Instead of rubbish about Harris and McDonalds.
You can’t make this stuff up!!! Stranger than fiction. Former Pres Ronald Reagan (the anti Soviet Cold War ender) is rolling over in his repubkican grave because of trump’s love affair with Putin and brazenwillingness to sell out Ukrainian democracy. So Shameful - but Trump has no shame “gene”…
His depravity is boundless, too.
It’s his usual projection - blaming others for the very things he did/does/wants to to.
Sherrie, and Trump's lying has no end or limit of any kind either.
tRump isn't very creative... he only knows how to project. If he says someone has done something that is bad usually he's done it. If he says he's done something good, he's usually taking credit for something someone else has done.
His blatant hypocracy is a way of reminding us of his impunity—that he can say and do anything he wants to anyone with no consequences whatsoever.
No consequences…? there are already 43 cracks on the plank he’s walking. If we prevail in Nov, his full consequences are yet to come
We need new legislation that penalizes yelling fire.. not sure how that could be written, but its unconscionable that anyone can cause so much harm and actually endanger peoples lives with impunity, who are just doing the good work of public service without being held accountable for that harm. It just so so wrong
Anyone who is a felon should not be eligible to run for any public office, including President of the US. This man has violated all the norms of running for office and got away with it. He knows no bottom.
I agree. How could our forefathers miss excluding felons from being candidates?
Agreed..seems like common sense
I wonder if hurricane victims who believed Trump could sue him for whatever fema money they didn’t ask for as damages plus pain/suffering/emotional distress?
You know D.O. Olson if people are that stupid to believe Trump when he says that FEMA is going to steal their homes, then you know what, they deserve to not get help. They may have to learn the hard way who to believe and how to recognize a bold faced lie!
I can’t agree. Our govt helps all, and should.
Did you know, in Australia it is illegal to do a Nazi Hitler salute? I was pleased to learn that.
How will we know who they are? I'd rather them show themselves so we can get a good look.
I simply do not understand how national polls can say the race is tied. The news about and comments from Trump are becoming more damning by the day. Am I living in some sort of parallel universe?
I am with you - it is appalling. And so very sad that so many "Americans" are so brainwashed by the fat-ass orange clown. What does that even say about our country?
If Kamala were a white male with her same strong experience and charisma, and from the Midwest or south (not CA), it wouldn’t be this close. Still I’d rather be us than them now… though the implicit racial and misogynistic biases in our society mean it’s time to put the pedal to the metal and finish strong over the next 27 days!!!! We shall overcome!
Yay Hopium!
We all might be. It seems the worse he is, the greater his number of supporters. The former so called Republican Party could have eliminated him many time, but they seem afraid of him. There are things worse than being reelected, like losing your dignity!
Hard to believe that people are suicidal about democracy. Americans are standing waist deep in lies and are in denial. The water of lies are rising at an alarming rate and the boat of democracy is taking on water.
Well said and quite poetic
Yes Laurie, we are living in a parallel reality. Those of us that have rejected the Lucifer Manifesto and those who have embraced it. Even though the Rebellion took place two hundred and fifty thousands years ago, this planet still suffers from that event. Even though the Local Creator Son gave us his Spirit Of Truth two thousand + years ago. He gave us that so we would always know what is true and what is false, many people still chose to embrace lies and evil. The strangest part is that the Christian Nationalists are the most likely ones believing evil Trump.
For those who want to understand the parallel reality/universe you might want to read the true story of what happened in this section of the universe a long time ago, if so try checking out The Urantia Book at www.urantia.org
It is the latest life ring that we have been thrown to upstep our civilization. Though it is not for everyone. One has to have an open mind.
He that has an ear...............
The problems we are experiencing come from mixing religion and government. We should reject that no matter what our beliefs are. Government is about this life and doing good here and now. The afterlife is personal and individual. Believe what you want, but deal with the here and now with full hearts and love of humanity.
Jeri, The Urantia text is not a religion, it is a philosophy. Doing good and in the here and now and love sound pretty religious to me, but also a very good philosophy. Few people on this planet are willing to read a 2,000 page text. I absolutely believe in the separation of church and state. I was addressing Laurie's comment about a parallel reality. I do live in the here & now and that is why every decision I make, including voting for a good person or an evil person is both a philosophic and a spiritual decision, which It sure is in this election!
The only polls that count are the ones where ya go to vote on election day 😎
Don't believe the polls. Like statistics, they can be skewed to favor your position or candidate
If he loses, yank his passport and intercept his plane at the air strip so he can’t escape justice as a fugitive. If you don’t think he will try to flee the country. I believe you would be mistaken.
Robert, the only problem with forcing Trump to stay here, we will have to listen to years more of his lying, blathering, whining, his loud ignorant mouth. I would almost wish he would go somewhere else and be their pain in the ass. We have wasted so much money and resources on him as well as emotional health.
Not if he’s locked up in solitary with no means of accessing media. This should have happened Jan 7, 2021
I agree, Michele. I would have loved to see that. And still would.
How many years would it take to get him there?
Alcatraz. It would only need a minimal staff and he could have McDonald's served to him for every meal. Which I think would be cheaper than a kitchen staff.
Agreed
It's a conundrum.
Frankly, I might prefer it if he got on his plane and left for country that will have him. It would be less expensive — no more secret service in or out of jail, no more wasted time with endless court appeals, and no more taking up air time with his belly aching. Good riddance.
If he’s successful exiting the country, more money would have to be spent tracking him down, and the coward would go likely to a country (probably the one beginning with the letter “R”) with which we have no extradition agreement. From there he would launch a propaganda campaign and there would be no way to squelch it. Better to keep him here and argue in court for a gag order. No matter what, MAGA would likely resort to violence and terror incited by his dangerous idiot sons. Driving MAGA to defeat is going to be an unavoidable mess because it has metastasized to so many people. First we must defeat him at the polls and after that it will still be a struggle.
I agree. I fear that my grandchildren will be dealing with Trump’s carnage long after I and he are both gone. It will take generations to restore faith in our civic institutions, if that is even possible.
I feel like Tevye the milkman reading you and Ruth - “You’re right. On the other hand, you’re right too.”
MAGA would have nothing to riot about, if he left the U.S. voluntarily. I'd hope that all his fans would follow him straight to Russia!
He’s not going to Russia. Too cold. Dubai or Saudi I suspect; someone we don’t have an extradition treaty with and somewhere he already has a “home.”
But do you think putin would accept him after he loses? He is just as transactional as trump.
I don't know, Susan. I've always suspected that his alliance with Putin is the promise of a planet with two kings, with one in charge of the western hemisphere, and the other in charge of the eastern... working together to crush democracy and freedom worldwide. Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. trump is nothing more than a useful tool to Putin, and we know what Vlad does when he's done with someone...
Ooh! Another opportunity for defenestration!!! (The planet with two kings scenario is interesting, but I don't think Putin would value trump if he lost the election.)
No, unless he’s delusional enough to think Trump could still harm America from over there.
Although he might arrest him, as payback for failing, and to piss off his groupies. He’d like having a US President in his prison.
Interesting thought…
Good points, Ruth!
He did say if he lost he was moving to Venezuela! They can have him!
In Agent Orange's mind, Democrats are Stalinist demons attempting to persecute the last Righteous American. One thing you can say about Trump, this man believes in himself like no one ever has.
If he loses, arrest him. After a no bail incarceration awaiting trial, we can stall and stall and stall. Maybe he’ll die in prison awaiting trial. It’ll be the most patriotic act he’ll ever do. Saving taxpayers money for not having long drawn out trials.
His bail should be revoked on Election Day. Let him wait in the slammer for his sentence.
Put him in Alcatraz, all alone. Just him
Joyce, I wanted to thank you for often mentioning the need for poll observers. On Sunday I’ll fly from CA to Atlanta GA for a month to lend my experience as seasoned attorney and longtime campaigner to the GA dem party Voter Protection program. I’m a former Mayor of Menlo Park who’s now 65 (but not yet ready to retire. (I'm Chief Counsel Regulatory for Pacific Gas & Electric Company working on accelerating the transition to a decarbonized NorCal economy through electrification using renewable energy sources/batteries/hydroelectric dams, and our 2 nuclear facilities, plus behavior change). My caseload is now in a waiting period such that I can be gone a month. My protégée associates (whom I jokingly call my “daughters-in-Law”) will get more practice handling things by themselves for a month, as they’ll have to once I actually retire (perhaps fall 2026?). But I’ll be “on call” each evening after the Cobb County early voting station I’ll be observing closes at 7pm if they want guidance.
I’ve done three online trainings for poll observers/ballot monitors including how to escalate “incidents” to the regional boiler room of ace GA elections experts using LBJ the app dem lawyers nationwide will be using to track patterns in real time so we can adjust/learn. The program is pretty well organized, though I had to arrange my own housing. (Our cousin in Marietta GA networked with friends from her synagogue to line up guest rooms).
I’ll be curious to hear whether the DNC’s lawsuit challenging Election Board’s “MAGA-3” newly invented requirement each polling place must, each evening, hand count the number of ballots cast that day before they’re sealed into boxes to go to the county tabulation center. If it’s not expunged, we poll observers might be up later than 7pm each day of voting in addition to the normal 7am - 7pm hours… sheesh
(You just can’t make this stuff up…)
Anyways, thanks to you and others having said so, I went ahead and made this happen. I also recruited 6 other attorney friends to go from CA to other swing states: AZ, NV, MI, and PA. It’s not too late for others reading this to do so too!!!!!
Indeed I pray we’ll be seeing thousands more Dem attorneys volunteering in each key state to make sure chaos can’t be sown without certified witnesses and good advocates for upholding voting rights to stand up firmly and peacefully for what’s right.
With deep gratitude to you for inspiring me…let me know if you have any useful advice or intel, as well as if I can do anything to help you.
Your political “sister-in-Law,”
Gail Slocum
Gail.slocum@pge.com
415 515-2892
Thank you from Atlanta!!!
Thanks Gail, I have been wondering about this very issue over the last three days as my panic about the aftermath of Nov 5 has increased, probably exacerbated because i feel so removed living in Sweden. A former attorney in the US, I did a course for election observers in Venice a few years back and think I understand what you are up against. The kicker is, when I did that course, we hadn’t gone through Jan 6. The US was seen as a gold star example of fair and efficient elections.
Thank you! I'll be working a 4-day polling shift Nov 2-5 here in LA County. As the pharmacist said when I got my flu and covid shots, "Good Karma to all of you."
The fact that anyone can grow up to be President is a cherished American beleif or myth and it has always been a point of pride in this experiment in representative government but the current situation in which a defective individual not fit to be the town dog cathcher is a candidate for the office makes me wonder if there should be some test required to run for the office, al least some proof of sanity.
Perhaps presidential candidates should have to take the same test as those who apply for citizenship.
I’d laugh out loud if it weren’t so sad
Absolutely! Citizenship test. Mental competency test. Psych Profiles. Tax returns. This isn't beanbag!
My mom would have smacked the lot of them...for lying. I keep thinking where's their civil discourse?
Trump in his racism, misogyny, xenophobia, and more has certainly bamboozled a lot of the American people. Who knew so many otherwise "normal" people could be so easily brought into the clutches of a man who has no empathy for anyone, cares nothing for the people and tells them so, except for their votes, though. Trump has no skills beyond those of a con artist, and he is an artist, able to con so many people. His lies are enormous, but believed by so many. Unfortunately, misogyny is Trump's best deal. He loathes women unless they are doing his bidding, and a lot of women are willing to do his bidding, but it is unclear why. We the People have a lot to do to help this nation recover from Republican wanton hatred, fearmongering, well, evil. Trump is just the current leader of the pack, not the cause of such evil. He needs to be voted off the island!
I’d like to have him lose the electoral college but stay on the island to face all the charges and pay his debt to society
Gail, even some of us non-attorneys feel the same way. I want to see him in prison in solitary confinement. For life.
The folks in western North Carolina most severely impacted by Helene had no lived experience about how FEMA helps out in a hurricane. Thus, they were absolutely virgin ground for rumors. People who live in coastal TX or anywhere along the Gulf Coast would be much better informed.
And this is exactly why his lies are so reprehensible. People who are vulnerable are being preyed upon by Trump and the MAGA Congressional Leaders from these states. This should be unlawful, and these people should be forced to return to the crime scene and offer a full public confession. All of their names should be removed from the ballots in their state. Freedom of speech should not apply to fleecing the citizens of our country in order to destroy our democracy.
Right now, an individual can sue for defamation, and a company can sue for defamation. Perhaps we can pass legislation that enables the citizenry at large or bring a class action to sue for damages resulting from disinformation. Because of the ridiculous speed at which disinformation can be spread on the Internet, this might be a change that must be made. I'd like to toss this ball to some good legal minds and see what they think.
On further thought, one of the problems with using legal curbs on disinformation is that most of the people who spread it are people of average or low income. They don't have the money to repay the damage they do.
One reason that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) can't intervene is that many of the people who spread disinformation are not selling a product. There is no trade to regulate.
On the other hand, I'd love to see the FTC come down very hard on people who sell quack cures for medical problems.
I’d like to see a big overhaul at the FTC and an overhaul of the FTC rules regarding the dissemination of disinformation. We have to see if there is political will to get this done.
FTC or FCC? Seems to me it would more likely be the latter that should be involved in this issue.
Sounds like a good idea, but our corporation minded SCOTUS has made class-action suits much more difficult to prosecute - one more ill effect we’re stuck with.
Kathleen, you are right about the ignorance of hurricane challenges by people who don't experience hurricanes, but to listen to an ignorant jerk for one's information about the government help they are getting and can get is beyond comprehension, just stupid, and I don't use that word lightly.
Kathleen, I am not sure Trump sounds like those folks in Western NC and Eastern TN. He does look like them, though and blurts out a lot of lies. I hope that is not what they are used to. Reagan was another con artist whose acting trained him to say some appalling things in a grandfatherly voice so people bought the racist classist BS whole.
Agreed.
I actually won't call it stupid, but it certainly is naive. I go through life in terror of what I don't know— about the fields in which I my knowledge is insufficient to make wise judgments. These folks trust good ol’ boys who sound like themselves rather than the government.
This attitude toward the government goes back to Reagan, who used to stress that the government is always the problem and never the solution. Direct quote from Reagan: “I think you all know that I've always felt the nine most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the Government, and I'm here to help.” He said this repeatedly.
I love all the anti-government folks who are on the government payroll, with benefits that they deny the rest of us.
Don't kid yourself. There are plenty of folks on TX gulf coast who have no appreciation for FEMA, despite how many times they may have been helped by that kind of "socialism". I can't even tell you how many, "I have family in NC, and FEMA isn't there!" claims I've read on social media from Houstonians. I seriously believe the orange koolaid runs in their bloodstreams 🙄
Trump drumpfs America. ¡Liar, liar . . . Vance on fire!
And, ¿Bilgewater and the Dolphin are the best my erstwhile Party can do?
Too bad that Huck Finn and Jim are not around. But wait -- they are.
From the popular and recently published novel about Jim from Percival Everett.
This exchange captures our time perfectly as the Huck and Jim discuss the two con-men.
Jim: ". . . . May be they get tarred and feathered. I don't know."
Huck: "That seems right awful."
Jim: ". . . . But they was stealin' from dem folk. Tellin' lies lak dey was. . . ."
Huck: "Yes, but them people liked it, Jim. Did you see their faces? They had to know them was lies, but they wanted to believe. What do you make of that?"
Jim: "Folks be funny lak dat. Dey take the lies dey want and throws away the truths dat scares 'em."
Samuel Clemons calls out Trump’s go to move — a lying one trick pony
I loooooooove "James"! And "Trees" is chilling.
It will be a long, long way back to "normality", as tRumpism has exposed a deep flaw in the "American experiment", as tens of millions of people flock to his deranged messages, and foreign interests are exploiting this congenital weakness that has plagued this country almost since its founding: the attraction of crackpots, conspiracists, religious scammers, know-nothings of all stripes - the entire menagerie - to segments of the population at any time of America's relatively short history.
But tRump's skill has been in uniting this disparate collection of "weirdos" under one banner, aided by online influences abroad, to form the MAGA movement, and even if tRump disappears tomorrow, his acolytes will rise to the occasion to carry MAGAism forward, let's for god's sake not delude ourselves about this. The fragility of American democracy had been thoroughly demonstrated, and it behooves ALL of us, despite the weariness, despite the never-ending crescendos of lies and torment, to crack on, and at least forestall the dystopian tRumpist nightmare by keeping HIM out of office, and let the courts- *eventually* - deal with his serial criminalities.
The lying has to stop, pure and simple. It must be called out at every opportunity, no matter who is doing the lying. I am waiting for any type of media personalities to challenge those who lie by using fact based evidence, similar to what has to be presented in a court of law. Sad it has come to this. I think I am going to have to ask my doctor for a Prozac prescription before every pharmacy in the nation runs out of it!
As has been said ad infinitum, this is an election about character.
We can do this!