Your subscription is worth every penny. You are very much up to date with the news and have the ability to explain it fully and clearly for all to understand. Thank you. We’re in this together. Oh, I almost forgot about the glorious chickens.
Here's an idea. Democrats can do an act of civil disobedience. The Orange Menace will be talking at the joint session of Congress on Tues, March 4th. Imagine if Dem elites had the spine to, one by one, stand up and turn their backs with each lie he tells. Soon, they'd all be standing, Taking A Stand, against this hostile take-over and the President who Would be King. I have no faith that Schumer, or Jefferies and their ilk would take the lead in this. But perhaps Chris Murphy? AOC? Jasmine Crockett? So many others who are ready to act. The spineless need to get out of the way and let those who can make something happen, do it. Now. This is an opportunity to take the narrative back.
Thanks Joyce, for all you do to be a voice for Democracy!
Actually, I would suggest a chorus of all Congressional Democrats shout "YOU LIE!" every time the POTUS* opens his mouth. * POTUS stands for the "Putin of the United States."
Don't forget, tomorrow is the National Economic Boycott. Don't buy anything (except from small local non-MAGA retailers and restaurants). Let's demonstrate the Power of the People with the Power of our Pocket!
Specially Macron. Sir Kier Starmer had to be more careful. He was walking a very thin line as Britain, due to Russian interference had Brexit, the first step towards weakening the EU. Not having the EU as support and just being a small island, he couldn’t afford to call out several of his lies as there were so many. He knew he had to grovel and flattter him with an invitation from King Charles. All of this was agreed by his goverment-not so much the Tories-. No big mistakes were made by him. Whatever agreements Trump made the Brits know not to count on them as they know he’s a lying machine and a spokesman for Putin.
You mean, specifically, Joe Davis, R-SC, 2009 interrupting President Obama.
I met him once. A friend of mine, the Gov of WA, was at the time a House member from "the Microsoft District". He was sponsoring legislation to expand blood donation programs. Like, who's against donating and receiving blood?
Well, the GOP liked it so much, they stole it! Someone from the Speaker's office came to a meeting in Jay Inslee's office and said: we're going to steal (Jay's) bill and give it to Joe. As a Democrat bill it's got no chance so we think if we give it to Joe.... He continued, we can pass it and he will have a law under his name.
Jay was a good sport, so he felt whatever will pass the bill let's go for it. So he let the GOP have his own bill! (You will see, even the GOP's thieving is incompetent.)
Then I looked next to this guy speaking; what I thought was a sack of rice in a suit was Joe!
(Historical note: a nephew of Jefferson Davis, both from Mississippi, was a militia colonel when his regiment was doing garrison duty in Richmond. Jeff detailed Joe into his office of president, and basically, Joe Davis carried papers between Unc's office and the Congress. Just before the invasion to Gettysburg, Jeff thought a little nepotism wouldn't hurt. He put Joe's name in for promotion to Brigadier General and that congress actually protested: (simulated reaction follows) Hey we know this guy, he's the one carrying your messages! No Way, Jeff!
(Jeff put his foot down and the rebel Congress figures, ok, we tried. BG Joe Davis and his new brigade not only gets sent on the invasion, but another set of incompetent generals Lee had appointed are above Joe in his chain of command. Division head Henry Heth and brand-new corps commander Ambrose Hill are the first to attack just outside Gettysburg. PS they did it in disobeyance of Lee's order not to attack until he says so! Joe's now at the head of 4 regiments and they botch their attack when Joe doesn't know how to lead them.)
(The lesson: if you see the name Joe Davis, especially in the former CSA, do not get near him.)
2009's Joe Davis was unable to win the blood donation bill with his own party behind him! At least he found his voice in the next session. Wrong place, wrong time, wrong message (YOU LIE!).
Things gotta get better: now we have a former college first baseman (a star, he says) as 45/47. He never forgets a slight he pretends he suffered but can't remember which of his athletic feet had the bone spurs.
Poor Zelenskyy. From what I can tell, he hasn't had bone spurs, and as far as I can guess from the lengths of Cyrillic-type and English names, Volodymyr does not = Joe.
Ditto! As a country we're economically illiterate. Maybe we can balance our checkbooks (if we still use checks) and manage our household accounts but that's about it. I call Big Money -- which includes big businesses and the uber-wealthy -- the unelected fourth branch of government. The Citizens United decision made it official: corporations are people too. At present Big Money controls the legislative, executive, and judiciary branches, so it's no surprise that they're making out like bandits.
The very law that Joyce reveres is being decimated daily. The lower courts rule on the subject of presidential immunity not existing, only to have the highest court make up the doctrine of presidential immunity. Citizens United, Shelby v Holder which gutted the Voting Rights Act. John Roberts participated in the opinions that GUTTED existing law, and now he has done it again. The Constitution and the Impoundment Act say the current regime’s actions are illegal. So what does Roberts do? He ignores that law and issues a stay. The rule of law is and has been under assault since Roberts, Thomas, and Alito were placed on the court, to say nothing of the dubious circumstances under which Gorsuch and Barrett came onto the Court. If the Court ignores the law, why shouldn’t others?!
Have never regretted my paid subscription and your price is lower than almost every other Substack. A whole year of Civil Discourse for a tank and a 1/4 of gas or 10 lattes or 12 ice cream cones! Well worth it!
Good lord, doesn't Thrifty Drug stores still sell ice cream cones for under $1?
Aside: Okay, I haven't been to a Thrifty Drug in at least 5 years, they may not even EXIST anymore for all I know, but they SHOULD exist, if for no other reason than their inexpensive ice cream cones!
Well he apparently got rid of pennies, if he keeps it up and inflation takes off, we won't need 5¢, 10¢, 25¢ or 50¢ either! Maybe we won't even need $1 bills!
I haven't seen (or thought about) a Thrifty Drug since I left California at the beginning of 1989. I never knew they had inexpensive ice cream cones. Those stores were something we could depend on back then.
OMG, in 1989 they had triple dip cones for $.50! And the ice cream was pretty darn good too! The cones sucked, but hey, still a pretty damn good deal when Baskin Robbins was already charging $2+ for a triple dip!
Hey Jon, if you have the Rite-Aid store chain near you, they may have the Thrifty ice cream brand as they took over the Thrifty store chain back in the day.
When I was in kindergarten my favorite book was “Bobble Had a Nickel”. It was a story about the many ways he could spend his nickel, and one of them was “an ice cream cone”. It was published in 1946. I recently found it online at a used book store and bought it for my great grandson. After considering all of his options, Bobbie spent his nickel on a carousel ride!
What's even more disgusting --- if anything to do with these corrupt clowns can be more disgusting --- is that both Demento and Muck said (to Hannity in an interview no less) that no conflict of interest would ever happen. "I would recuse," Muck said. One lies and the other swears to it. Apparently the bromance can be explained by Demento believing anyone whose business has not filed for bankruptcy six times must be a genius and capable of anything.
U.S. Rep. David Min (D-Calif.), along with several other House Democrats, introduced a bill to repeal Trump’s Jan. 20 executive order that created DOGE.
Min said he introduced the BAD DOGE Act to “rein in the blatantly illegal and unconstitutional activities of Elon Musk and DOGE.”
A District Judge John Bates a George W. Bush appointee has ruled that "DOGE" "must provide a representative to testify under oath about the White House task force's structure, authority & activities".
Yes, I saw that interview as well. It is disgusting. It's insulting and maddening that they think Americans aren't smart enough to see that they're not only "not recusing", they're helping themselves to billions of taxpayer dollars by engaging in self-dealing in plain sight. The issue isn't that we don't know what we're seeing. We certainly do. It's that, at this juncture, we don't know how to rectify it as swiftly as they're able to act - and solely with a court system - that they may decide to ignore at some point. It's not hopeless, though. The republican legislators in purple states/districts (and in some red ones too?) know they've jeopardized their reelection because of (1) their huge $880 billion cut in Medicaid, as well as, (2) standing by, passively, while being paid by taxpayers who are seeing musk ransack federal agencies and terminate those employees' jobs, and (3) abandoning, betraying, and bullying Ukraine, while becoming an ally to Russia and abandoning NATO. They also know they're going to have serious reelection issues because of their angry republican voters crowding their townhalls loudly jeering at their inadequate "party line" responses, knowing they're being filmed for national viewing.
There were angry townhalls in 2017 when trump and the republicans tried their best to vote against Obama Care. Dems gained control of the House in 2018. All we need is one house to take back some control. Midterms are in November, nine months to go, we can do this. Their crookedness is on public display and being publicly noted, see below.
It would be lovely to see more people calling out Trump and Musk for their lies and deception. I loved it when Macron interrupted Trump to correct Trump and then Janet Mills, Governor of Maine, said ‘see you in court’ to Trump when Trump threatened to cut off federal funding to Maine.
It happened again today, when the UK Prime Minister was at the White House and Trump again lied about the NATO countries all getting their "loan money to Ukraine back while the US got nothing". The PM interrupted the Clown in Chief to correct him on that score. As Lawrence O'Donnell said tonight, Trump was the laughing stock of the world again.
I also loved Macron politely grabbing trump's arm to get his attention and interrupting trump's lying. Unfortunately, trump neutralizes the interruption then starts repeating his lie again. Also, I love how hard Macron squeezes trump's hand when they shake hands. I read that a previous Macron handshake left indentations for several seconds on trump's hand. That's gotta be downright painful. I like how Macron serves it right back at trump times three.
What really disgusted me was Trump's body language when Macron was speaking. The wiggling of the hand to say "maybe, maybe not." In addition to everything else that's wrong with Trump, he never learned manners or decorum. He is such an embarrassment!
The DNC with its resources needs to reach out to heavy social media platforms that can get the message out to a wider audience in a way that shows the dangers that we are ALL being subjected to.
First, I learn much from your analysis and encouragement about how to keep our heads above water during this time.
However, I disagree with your and others' opinion that it was public groundswell against Matt Gaetz that made it so he is not AG.
I truly believe he was never seriously being considered for AG. If he was, he would have stayed in his House seat as the other House members did until right before they were sworn in given the slim majority the GOP has in the House.
It was always going to be Pam Biondi. The nomination of and immediate resignation of Gaetz was to try to prevent the report on him from being released (the rumor is that he was considering a run for Governor or Senator in 2028 - neither of which is likely now).
It wasn't public groundswell. We haven't hit that point yet where public groundswell will make a difference. But we need to. And fast.
I'm not sure I agree with you about why Matt Gaetz left. I think there was both a lot of groundswell and the fact that he didn't want the ethics report about him to be released. I think that's also why he gave up the house seat he had just been re-elected to.
Agreed except that there was a groundswell…of opposition from his fellow members of Congress. The guy had so many enemies in Congress that they killed his nomination. We the people did not kill his nomination. We the people appear to be unable to either kill or stop any of this runaway train to authoritarianism. Even the rancorous town halls happening now won’t do it. I’m glad Joyce is keeping up a good show, but I have inundated my two Senators and my representative with phone calls and emails, and so far I’ve gotten zero responses and no votes to stop the nominees from being confirmed. The word disheartening doesn’t even begin to describe it. And to top it all off, I’ve now got a new Republican mayor with a TPUSA trained lackey trying to steal money from our library system to plug a hole in the budget for police raises, filling potholes and other things he can’t pass a separate tax for. They want to kill a dedicated tax we’ve supported for 30 years (under 3 Democrat mayors) and move the money into the general fund so they can do whatever they want with it. So it’s turtles all the way down. Yay me.
I have sent numerous emails to my two Senators and representative as well. Crickets. No response. I remind them their oath of office is to the Constitution not the president. No response from any of them. In a small state where I know all three it’s frustrating. But I keep writing and emailing. If there were town halls I’d show up but I can’t find where any are scheduled. Grrrrrr
I agree, I think Gaetz was just a pure, calculated distraction. Are there plenty of Republicans who openly hate his guts and would not have voted for him, absolutely! The administration knew that and I think he probably agreed to get thrown under the bus , thinking as Cheryl suggested that he would get a pass and a pat on the head like a good dog.
Unified and unifying symbolic gestures matter. I'm sure our friends in Canada, Europe, and especially Ukraine would like to see such a gesture, regardless of the words spoken from the front of the room.
Democrats, Republicans, Independents, and anyone else are welcome.
FAA ATC: WARNING WILL ROBINSON! (stocky robot with flailing arms!)
Musk's involvement must be stopped YESTERDAY!
Aviation relies on redundant systems for safety. Relying on StarLink for all ATC communications is the stupidest idea I have heard in years. What happens to our airspace when Putin has Musk turn off StarLink to the US the way they are threatening Ukraine?
ATC relies on experienced, professional controllers. The undermanning caused by decisions excused by COVID have caused most facilities to be undermanned with mandatory overtime that destroys family life and motivation. Musk's call for retired controllers to return is no fix; it would require FAA physicals and retraining with an organization that will now fire you on a whim. Only the desperate will heed the call.
Well, as a card carrying private pilot, on this one I would point out that while there are redundant systems, there is only one provider of those systems right now to the FAA (Verizon). Switching to Starlink, assuming they also provided redundant systems, wouldn't be an issue for me in the abstract, no different than any other single source provider of vital services. However, the way this is being done is clearly corrupt and THAT is what bothers me about it.
Jon, I agree. I will bet most pilots would not mind seeing the performance stats on the Verizon provided system rather than just taking Starlinks assh*le CEO word on its performance.
And the visuals on yesterday's Clown Cabinet meeting are astonishing. There is no question who is the dominant figure there, and it ain't DJT. Nobody with the self-respect to say, "Sit down, shut up, and dress appropriately to show respect to our President." DJT is definitely PINO
I'm very happy to be a subscriber. I'd like to support more Substack voices (and I do, some), but I just don't have time to keep up with all the great blogs out there! I like the video/audio updates, because I can often listen to those while I work.
And THAT is my biggest issue: Lack of Time!! I'm nearing retirement, but I still work full-time, luckily remotely. For a variety of reasons, my job has been particularly busy (60 hour weeks) for the past several months, and looks to continue so into the future. I love my job, and feel lucky to have it. But. It's. Exhausting. It's extremely hard to find the time or energy to make calls or write postcards. It's frustrating, and hopefully things will change and I'll have more time. For now, I'm at least keeping myself educated, and I give thanks for Joyce, Heather, Robert, Simon, TC, as well as MeidasTouch for keeping me informed.
Well, we are at February 28th and the 24 Hour Economic Blackout !!
Do not make any purchases. Do not shop online, or in-store. Do not use Credit or Debit Cards.
Do your local shopping on Saturday!
Joyce .... it is OK to feed the chickens!!
If we disrupt the economy for just ONE day, it sends a powerful message. The point of the exercise is to give this administration a swift and noticeable kick in the economics!! It should be a demonstration of solidarity and 'rebuke'!
Give Elno top marks for chutzpah...naked self-dealing and corruption right in the open! In fact, with the SEC dropping lawsuits against crypto-bros AFTER they bought positions in tRump's World Liberty Financial (WLF) outfit, sending millions of dollars straight into tRump's pockets, at least Musk is offering a product, rather than just simple bribery, so there's that.
I hope that there are Congressmen or staffers who read Civil Discourse and also have both a conscience and a memory of how things used to be. Billionaires were rich, and thanks to Roberts' Citizens United ruling, congressional seats could be bought and paid for. But still, flagrant awarding of lucrative governmental contracts to oneself was pretty hard and pretty rare. But under Trump, the reins of decency have been loosened and greed has been let loose like in the 1890s. The GOP Senate has sold the other 99% of us down the river.
I don't know if my congresswoman reads Civil Discourse, but I know that she is honest and does everything she can for the people she represents. She will put out legislation for anything she sees a need for.
Mine are all Republicans. However, I write them daily and all say they are concerned about Trump's lies about Putin and the Ukraine.
We have more Hispanics per square inch than anyplace else in the US. We need help to pressure the House to flip. All politics is local.
E.G. How can Cuban Americans support deportation of other Cuban Americans? Other Hispanics similarly situated?
The 3 amigos House members here benefitted from DEI, in some cases Cuban Adjustment Act and most of their consituents are Democrats. We have over a million people here with valid humanitarian visas who may be in jeopardy.
178 Venezuelan migrants were detained this month in Guantanamo Bay --
"But a Miami Herald review of 18 cases found that six of the migrants appear to have no previous record, and an additional five were only charged with illegal entry into the U.S. and sentenced to time served. Several were detained during scheduled appointments with border authorities for those seeking asylum or legal entry, relatives of detainees said, or never spent time in the U.S. outside of detention. Only two were convicted of felonies – one for illegal reentry into the U.S. and the other for conspiracy to transport undocumented immigrants. Another faced felony charges for driving undocumented passengers and evading arrest but wasn’t convicted."
First, as one other commentor said it’s not DOGE, it’s dog-ie. And Joyce, why are you still taking Uber? The CEO gave $1 million personally to Trump’s campaign and the company Uber gave another $1 million to Trump. Everybody needs to switch to Lyft immediately.
Your subscription is worth every penny. You are very much up to date with the news and have the ability to explain it fully and clearly for all to understand. Thank you. We’re in this together. Oh, I almost forgot about the glorious chickens.
Absolutely agree! First read in the morning to get centered for the day…
The chickens and Tofu are the best part! we can revel in their beauty and forget about humans. Animals rock.
Here's an idea. Democrats can do an act of civil disobedience. The Orange Menace will be talking at the joint session of Congress on Tues, March 4th. Imagine if Dem elites had the spine to, one by one, stand up and turn their backs with each lie he tells. Soon, they'd all be standing, Taking A Stand, against this hostile take-over and the President who Would be King. I have no faith that Schumer, or Jefferies and their ilk would take the lead in this. But perhaps Chris Murphy? AOC? Jasmine Crockett? So many others who are ready to act. The spineless need to get out of the way and let those who can make something happen, do it. Now. This is an opportunity to take the narrative back.
Thanks Joyce, for all you do to be a voice for Democracy!
Democrats show up but then walk out when musk or trump start speaking. Remember when Pelosi tore up trump's written comments the first time around.
OOh I like that idea even better. But then I come back to reality.
Actually, I would suggest a chorus of all Congressional Democrats shout "YOU LIE!" every time the POTUS* opens his mouth. * POTUS stands for the "Putin of the United States."
Don't forget, tomorrow is the National Economic Boycott. Don't buy anything (except from small local non-MAGA retailers and restaurants). Let's demonstrate the Power of the People with the Power of our Pocket!
Speaking of lies, did you see the French and the British Prime Ministers each stop Trump when he lied - I front of the press ! Classic stuff !
Look it up.
Yes Yes! and a shout out to the Governor of Maine. You talked back to him and you can see the surprise.
Specially Macron. Sir Kier Starmer had to be more careful. He was walking a very thin line as Britain, due to Russian interference had Brexit, the first step towards weakening the EU. Not having the EU as support and just being a small island, he couldn’t afford to call out several of his lies as there were so many. He knew he had to grovel and flattter him with an invitation from King Charles. All of this was agreed by his goverment-not so much the Tories-. No big mistakes were made by him. Whatever agreements Trump made the Brits know not to count on them as they know he’s a lying machine and a spokesman for Putin.
This needs to happen more on tv with out people.
I like this one. Reminds when that ass rep from the south said "you lie," and he was not censured by fellow members and should have!
You mean, specifically, Joe Davis, R-SC, 2009 interrupting President Obama.
I met him once. A friend of mine, the Gov of WA, was at the time a House member from "the Microsoft District". He was sponsoring legislation to expand blood donation programs. Like, who's against donating and receiving blood?
Well, the GOP liked it so much, they stole it! Someone from the Speaker's office came to a meeting in Jay Inslee's office and said: we're going to steal (Jay's) bill and give it to Joe. As a Democrat bill it's got no chance so we think if we give it to Joe.... He continued, we can pass it and he will have a law under his name.
Jay was a good sport, so he felt whatever will pass the bill let's go for it. So he let the GOP have his own bill! (You will see, even the GOP's thieving is incompetent.)
Then I looked next to this guy speaking; what I thought was a sack of rice in a suit was Joe!
(Historical note: a nephew of Jefferson Davis, both from Mississippi, was a militia colonel when his regiment was doing garrison duty in Richmond. Jeff detailed Joe into his office of president, and basically, Joe Davis carried papers between Unc's office and the Congress. Just before the invasion to Gettysburg, Jeff thought a little nepotism wouldn't hurt. He put Joe's name in for promotion to Brigadier General and that congress actually protested: (simulated reaction follows) Hey we know this guy, he's the one carrying your messages! No Way, Jeff!
(Jeff put his foot down and the rebel Congress figures, ok, we tried. BG Joe Davis and his new brigade not only gets sent on the invasion, but another set of incompetent generals Lee had appointed are above Joe in his chain of command. Division head Henry Heth and brand-new corps commander Ambrose Hill are the first to attack just outside Gettysburg. PS they did it in disobeyance of Lee's order not to attack until he says so! Joe's now at the head of 4 regiments and they botch their attack when Joe doesn't know how to lead them.)
(The lesson: if you see the name Joe Davis, especially in the former CSA, do not get near him.)
2009's Joe Davis was unable to win the blood donation bill with his own party behind him! At least he found his voice in the next session. Wrong place, wrong time, wrong message (YOU LIE!).
Things gotta get better: now we have a former college first baseman (a star, he says) as 45/47. He never forgets a slight he pretends he suffered but can't remember which of his athletic feet had the bone spurs.
Poor Zelenskyy. From what I can tell, he hasn't had bone spurs, and as far as I can guess from the lengths of Cyrillic-type and English names, Volodymyr does not = Joe.
I agree. I have heard this idea elsewhere. But alas the spineless will always be spineless.
ECONOMIC BOYCOTT TODAY! NO PURCHASES, NADA.
I love that -- one by one -- a back turned for each lie. That's wonderful. Can you get this idea to Jasmine Crockett?
Good idea !
Ann, brilliant!
My mantra : “NEVER GIVE IN! NEVER GIVE UP!
I just wish more Americans paid attention to how they are being screwed by BUSINESSES everywhere.
Ditto! As a country we're economically illiterate. Maybe we can balance our checkbooks (if we still use checks) and manage our household accounts but that's about it. I call Big Money -- which includes big businesses and the uber-wealthy -- the unelected fourth branch of government. The Citizens United decision made it official: corporations are people too. At present Big Money controls the legislative, executive, and judiciary branches, so it's no surprise that they're making out like bandits.
Citizens United is one of the worst decisions ever by the Supreme Court.
Yep. It's right up there with Dred Scott v. Sandford and Plessy v. Ferguson -- and those were both in the 19th century.
The very law that Joyce reveres is being decimated daily. The lower courts rule on the subject of presidential immunity not existing, only to have the highest court make up the doctrine of presidential immunity. Citizens United, Shelby v Holder which gutted the Voting Rights Act. John Roberts participated in the opinions that GUTTED existing law, and now he has done it again. The Constitution and the Impoundment Act say the current regime’s actions are illegal. So what does Roberts do? He ignores that law and issues a stay. The rule of law is and has been under assault since Roberts, Thomas, and Alito were placed on the court, to say nothing of the dubious circumstances under which Gorsuch and Barrett came onto the Court. If the Court ignores the law, why shouldn’t others?!
You’re correct,Susanna.
Guess it’s time to impeach these overlords!
We can't impeach them, but we can tax the hell out of them, cut way back on their government handouts, and boycott them whenever possible.
You are correct, Susanna. Haste and butterfingers make a mess of most anything.
or at least understood the concept and practice.
If only!!
Got to pressure Republicans. https://jerryweiss.substack.com/p/remove-impeach-impeach
Picket. Sit in. Call. Write.
Have never regretted my paid subscription and your price is lower than almost every other Substack. A whole year of Civil Discourse for a tank and a 1/4 of gas or 10 lattes or 12 ice cream cones! Well worth it!
Good lord, doesn't Thrifty Drug stores still sell ice cream cones for under $1?
Aside: Okay, I haven't been to a Thrifty Drug in at least 5 years, they may not even EXIST anymore for all I know, but they SHOULD exist, if for no other reason than their inexpensive ice cream cones!
Jon, in Trump’s America nothing is a $1, oh maybe one egg is!
Well he apparently got rid of pennies, if he keeps it up and inflation takes off, we won't need 5¢, 10¢, 25¢ or 50¢ either! Maybe we won't even need $1 bills!
I'll still need, for the time being, those change denominations to play MahJongg. 😳
Me, too. I need the 1's for the Couples golf league. It's $10 to
For how long, one wonders.
I haven't seen (or thought about) a Thrifty Drug since I left California at the beginning of 1989. I never knew they had inexpensive ice cream cones. Those stores were something we could depend on back then.
OMG, in 1989 they had triple dip cones for $.50! And the ice cream was pretty darn good too! The cones sucked, but hey, still a pretty damn good deal when Baskin Robbins was already charging $2+ for a triple dip!
Hey Jon, if you have the Rite-Aid store chain near you, they may have the Thrifty ice cream brand as they took over the Thrifty store chain back in the day.
Last time I was in a Thrifty, cones were a nickel. How old am I?? You do the math. :))
When I was in kindergarten my favorite book was “Bobble Had a Nickel”. It was a story about the many ways he could spend his nickel, and one of them was “an ice cream cone”. It was published in 1946. I recently found it online at a used book store and bought it for my great grandson. After considering all of his options, Bobbie spent his nickel on a carousel ride!
I'm only 73 LOL... not sure I can do that math! :-)
I agree!! Civil Discourse is a great source of news about what's happening...well documented and to the point. Thank you, Joyce!
What's even more disgusting --- if anything to do with these corrupt clowns can be more disgusting --- is that both Demento and Muck said (to Hannity in an interview no less) that no conflict of interest would ever happen. "I would recuse," Muck said. One lies and the other swears to it. Apparently the bromance can be explained by Demento believing anyone whose business has not filed for bankruptcy six times must be a genius and capable of anything.
Draconian Oligarch Guts Everything
DOGE - pronounced "DOUCHE"
Also can be pronounced DOG-IE since it's just a little powerless doggy deferring to its master.
Per Democracy Docket:
U.S. Rep. David Min (D-Calif.), along with several other House Democrats, introduced a bill to repeal Trump’s Jan. 20 executive order that created DOGE.
Min said he introduced the BAD DOGE Act to “rein in the blatantly illegal and unconstitutional activities of Elon Musk and DOGE.”
https://min.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-dave-min-introduces-bill-repeal-executive-order-creating-doge?utm_source=Democracy+Docket+Newsletters&utm_campaign=89eba0c684-20250227_DailyDocket_LF&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-9812d8a903-602144118&mc_cid=89eba0c684
A District Judge John Bates a George W. Bush appointee has ruled that "DOGE" "must provide a representative to testify under oath about the White House task force's structure, authority & activities".
BAD DOGGEE.
I pronounce it DODGY.
That’s what I’ve been calling it - Doggie!!!!!
We say Dodgey, like dodge the law. Doggie is a diminutive and fond sounding. 😳
You're in good company with Heather Cox Richardson on her Facebook Chats.
Or dodgy
Yes, I saw that interview as well. It is disgusting. It's insulting and maddening that they think Americans aren't smart enough to see that they're not only "not recusing", they're helping themselves to billions of taxpayer dollars by engaging in self-dealing in plain sight. The issue isn't that we don't know what we're seeing. We certainly do. It's that, at this juncture, we don't know how to rectify it as swiftly as they're able to act - and solely with a court system - that they may decide to ignore at some point. It's not hopeless, though. The republican legislators in purple states/districts (and in some red ones too?) know they've jeopardized their reelection because of (1) their huge $880 billion cut in Medicaid, as well as, (2) standing by, passively, while being paid by taxpayers who are seeing musk ransack federal agencies and terminate those employees' jobs, and (3) abandoning, betraying, and bullying Ukraine, while becoming an ally to Russia and abandoning NATO. They also know they're going to have serious reelection issues because of their angry republican voters crowding their townhalls loudly jeering at their inadequate "party line" responses, knowing they're being filmed for national viewing.
There were angry townhalls in 2017 when trump and the republicans tried their best to vote against Obama Care. Dems gained control of the House in 2018. All we need is one house to take back some control. Midterms are in November, nine months to go, we can do this. Their crookedness is on public display and being publicly noted, see below.
See this link for the conflicts for trump: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/01/17/us/politics/trump-conflicts-of-interest.html
These are the musk conflicts:
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/11/us/politics/elon-musk-companies-conflicts.html
All I can say here is one ***huge*** LOL!
It would be lovely to see more people calling out Trump and Musk for their lies and deception. I loved it when Macron interrupted Trump to correct Trump and then Janet Mills, Governor of Maine, said ‘see you in court’ to Trump when Trump threatened to cut off federal funding to Maine.
It happened again today, when the UK Prime Minister was at the White House and Trump again lied about the NATO countries all getting their "loan money to Ukraine back while the US got nothing". The PM interrupted the Clown in Chief to correct him on that score. As Lawrence O'Donnell said tonight, Trump was the laughing stock of the world again.
I also loved Macron politely grabbing trump's arm to get his attention and interrupting trump's lying. Unfortunately, trump neutralizes the interruption then starts repeating his lie again. Also, I love how hard Macron squeezes trump's hand when they shake hands. I read that a previous Macron handshake left indentations for several seconds on trump's hand. That's gotta be downright painful. I like how Macron serves it right back at trump times three.
What really disgusted me was Trump's body language when Macron was speaking. The wiggling of the hand to say "maybe, maybe not." In addition to everything else that's wrong with Trump, he never learned manners or decorum. He is such an embarrassment!
The DNC with its resources needs to reach out to heavy social media platforms that can get the message out to a wider audience in a way that shows the dangers that we are ALL being subjected to.
Good idea.
But, where is the DNC?
And our elected Democrats?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53geB5z5vy0
First, I learn much from your analysis and encouragement about how to keep our heads above water during this time.
However, I disagree with your and others' opinion that it was public groundswell against Matt Gaetz that made it so he is not AG.
I truly believe he was never seriously being considered for AG. If he was, he would have stayed in his House seat as the other House members did until right before they were sworn in given the slim majority the GOP has in the House.
It was always going to be Pam Biondi. The nomination of and immediate resignation of Gaetz was to try to prevent the report on him from being released (the rumor is that he was considering a run for Governor or Senator in 2028 - neither of which is likely now).
It wasn't public groundswell. We haven't hit that point yet where public groundswell will make a difference. But we need to. And fast.
I'm not sure I agree with you about why Matt Gaetz left. I think there was both a lot of groundswell and the fact that he didn't want the ethics report about him to be released. I think that's also why he gave up the house seat he had just been re-elected to.
Agreed except that there was a groundswell…of opposition from his fellow members of Congress. The guy had so many enemies in Congress that they killed his nomination. We the people did not kill his nomination. We the people appear to be unable to either kill or stop any of this runaway train to authoritarianism. Even the rancorous town halls happening now won’t do it. I’m glad Joyce is keeping up a good show, but I have inundated my two Senators and my representative with phone calls and emails, and so far I’ve gotten zero responses and no votes to stop the nominees from being confirmed. The word disheartening doesn’t even begin to describe it. And to top it all off, I’ve now got a new Republican mayor with a TPUSA trained lackey trying to steal money from our library system to plug a hole in the budget for police raises, filling potholes and other things he can’t pass a separate tax for. They want to kill a dedicated tax we’ve supported for 30 years (under 3 Democrat mayors) and move the money into the general fund so they can do whatever they want with it. So it’s turtles all the way down. Yay me.
I have sent numerous emails to my two Senators and representative as well. Crickets. No response. I remind them their oath of office is to the Constitution not the president. No response from any of them. In a small state where I know all three it’s frustrating. But I keep writing and emailing. If there were town halls I’d show up but I can’t find where any are scheduled. Grrrrrr
I agree, I think Gaetz was just a pure, calculated distraction. Are there plenty of Republicans who openly hate his guts and would not have voted for him, absolutely! The administration knew that and I think he probably agreed to get thrown under the bus , thinking as Cheryl suggested that he would get a pass and a pat on the head like a good dog.
Thank you, as always, Joyce.
JUST 5 DAYS LEFT TIL THE STATE OF THE UNION TURN YOUR BACK INITIATIVE
One way to stay active is to realize there are just five days left to call and write to your Senators and Representative and demand that they stand and turn their backs during next week's (March 4) State of the Union Address. Resources for doing so are here: https://healingamericasnarratives.com/march-4-2025-state-of-the-union-turn-your-back-initiative/
Unified and unifying symbolic gestures matter. I'm sure our friends in Canada, Europe, and especially Ukraine would like to see such a gesture, regardless of the words spoken from the front of the room.
Democrats, Republicans, Independents, and anyone else are welcome.
Yes, call your congress person.
Tell them to turn their backs to Trump!
Please support Joyce!!
FAA ATC: WARNING WILL ROBINSON! (stocky robot with flailing arms!)
Musk's involvement must be stopped YESTERDAY!
Aviation relies on redundant systems for safety. Relying on StarLink for all ATC communications is the stupidest idea I have heard in years. What happens to our airspace when Putin has Musk turn off StarLink to the US the way they are threatening Ukraine?
ATC relies on experienced, professional controllers. The undermanning caused by decisions excused by COVID have caused most facilities to be undermanned with mandatory overtime that destroys family life and motivation. Musk's call for retired controllers to return is no fix; it would require FAA physicals and retraining with an organization that will now fire you on a whim. Only the desperate will heed the call.
Well, as a card carrying private pilot, on this one I would point out that while there are redundant systems, there is only one provider of those systems right now to the FAA (Verizon). Switching to Starlink, assuming they also provided redundant systems, wouldn't be an issue for me in the abstract, no different than any other single source provider of vital services. However, the way this is being done is clearly corrupt and THAT is what bothers me about it.
Jon, I agree. I will bet most pilots would not mind seeing the performance stats on the Verizon provided system rather than just taking Starlinks assh*le CEO word on its performance.
And the visuals on yesterday's Clown Cabinet meeting are astonishing. There is no question who is the dominant figure there, and it ain't DJT. Nobody with the self-respect to say, "Sit down, shut up, and dress appropriately to show respect to our President." DJT is definitely PINO
And did you see the photo showing him falling asleep during Muskolini’s oration?’
No I didn’t. Thanks for alerting me.
I'm very happy to be a subscriber. I'd like to support more Substack voices (and I do, some), but I just don't have time to keep up with all the great blogs out there! I like the video/audio updates, because I can often listen to those while I work.
And THAT is my biggest issue: Lack of Time!! I'm nearing retirement, but I still work full-time, luckily remotely. For a variety of reasons, my job has been particularly busy (60 hour weeks) for the past several months, and looks to continue so into the future. I love my job, and feel lucky to have it. But. It's. Exhausting. It's extremely hard to find the time or energy to make calls or write postcards. It's frustrating, and hopefully things will change and I'll have more time. For now, I'm at least keeping myself educated, and I give thanks for Joyce, Heather, Robert, Simon, TC, as well as MeidasTouch for keeping me informed.
Denise, good on you! You’re doing what you can do. Hope you get some peaceful rest tonight. 😴
Well, we are at February 28th and the 24 Hour Economic Blackout !!
Do not make any purchases. Do not shop online, or in-store. Do not use Credit or Debit Cards.
Do your local shopping on Saturday!
Joyce .... it is OK to feed the chickens!!
If we disrupt the economy for just ONE day, it sends a powerful message. The point of the exercise is to give this administration a swift and noticeable kick in the economics!! It should be a demonstration of solidarity and 'rebuke'!
JOIN US!!
Give Elno top marks for chutzpah...naked self-dealing and corruption right in the open! In fact, with the SEC dropping lawsuits against crypto-bros AFTER they bought positions in tRump's World Liberty Financial (WLF) outfit, sending millions of dollars straight into tRump's pockets, at least Musk is offering a product, rather than just simple bribery, so there's that.
I hope that there are Congressmen or staffers who read Civil Discourse and also have both a conscience and a memory of how things used to be. Billionaires were rich, and thanks to Roberts' Citizens United ruling, congressional seats could be bought and paid for. But still, flagrant awarding of lucrative governmental contracts to oneself was pretty hard and pretty rare. But under Trump, the reins of decency have been loosened and greed has been let loose like in the 1890s. The GOP Senate has sold the other 99% of us down the river.
I don't know if my congresswoman reads Civil Discourse, but I know that she is honest and does everything she can for the people she represents. She will put out legislation for anything she sees a need for.
Good for your congress woman!
Send her a note of appreciation
Mine are all Republicans. However, I write them daily and all say they are concerned about Trump's lies about Putin and the Ukraine.
We have more Hispanics per square inch than anyplace else in the US. We need help to pressure the House to flip. All politics is local.
E.G. How can Cuban Americans support deportation of other Cuban Americans? Other Hispanics similarly situated?
The 3 amigos House members here benefitted from DEI, in some cases Cuban Adjustment Act and most of their consituents are Democrats. We have over a million people here with valid humanitarian visas who may be in jeopardy.
178 Venezuelan migrants were detained this month in Guantanamo Bay --
"But a Miami Herald review of 18 cases found that six of the migrants appear to have no previous record, and an additional five were only charged with illegal entry into the U.S. and sentenced to time served. Several were detained during scheduled appointments with border authorities for those seeking asylum or legal entry, relatives of detainees said, or never spent time in the U.S. outside of detention. Only two were convicted of felonies – one for illegal reentry into the U.S. and the other for conspiracy to transport undocumented immigrants. Another faced felony charges for driving undocumented passengers and evading arrest but wasn’t convicted."
2 of the 3 had been Dems.
Read more at: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/immigration/article300729484.html#storylink=cpy
First, as one other commentor said it’s not DOGE, it’s dog-ie. And Joyce, why are you still taking Uber? The CEO gave $1 million personally to Trump’s campaign and the company Uber gave another $1 million to Trump. Everybody needs to switch to Lyft immediately.