I have one wish. Would we all stop looking for a fall guy or gal? Too many people fell for the bright, shiny objects. It's hard to fight against carny magic with honest, to the point sobering solutions. Where's the glamor?
I'm looking towards to the 2026 elections. I trust the illusion of the bright, shiny object will be badly tarnished and corroded by then and the reality of 21st century fascism will have sunk in.
Agree. The finger pointing , the blame game needs to stop and someone(s) in the party need to get on a stategy that takes all that happened into account.
While everyone is scrambling to tell us what Kamala or Biden did or didn't do to make the outcome of the election swing towards Trump, we need to be getting our ducks in a row and working through (and living by example) what the Democrats and Democrat-adjacent voters truly want the future of this country to be and crafting plans to achieve our goals. Most of all, we need to learn from the Republicans how to get our fellow travelers to adhere to important talking points and frame them to fit their constituents, campaigns, and circumstances. And while many pundits are finding fault with how and what the Harris-Walz campaign did or didn't do and if those things were right or wrong, maybe it was simply the power of the cult, the media sanewashing Donny's speeches, and a world view shaped by the lens of Fox News and social media that favored Trump. It shouldn't have been hard to choose between between a positive, experienced, forward-moving candidate and a befuddled, narcissistic old man bent on revenge and chaos. Unfortunately, it was just too hard for many.
"It shouldn't have been hard to choose between...." And so many so-called "influencers"---Oprah, Swift, Beyonce, LeBron, Generals Kelly, Mattis, and Milley, and many prominent Republicans--pointing the way toward Harris. We really need to figure out what those who supported Trump were selecting for. Is it always about the prices for groceries, gas, and rent (which a president is almost powerless to affect)? What is precisely the value(s) that Trump voters thought they would be getting when they pulled his lever? Or, if they were voting against something, we need to know that, too, in order to have a chance to pull out of this nose dive.
Fred... I have written many times about my brother who "likes" T. I don't know if he is full MAGA, but it's concerning. He is a very smart, educated man. He lives in a small community in the Sierra Nevada foothills. I was surprised when I saw the California map of Representatives ... except for the coast it's all red. I digress. When I asked my brother why he likes T, he said "because he's honest" ???. I asked him how he felt about the Documents Case... he said "everybody does it".
My brother has a big need to belong. It controls his life and has led him down some very questionable paths. The bottom line is, he will do, say, believe anything to belong. If he started thinking for himself again... he would have to move and find a new community. I think it's easier to believe what his is told to believe. My feeling is that most MAGA are not that different than my brother. BTW... my other brother and I don't understand why is like this.
focussing on the particular ( your brother) here reveals the general truth... I believe this, it sounds right. Wanting to belong is a driving force... being needed. Trump is nothing without his supporters... which he really does not care about.
That has been my experience with friends who would otherwise vote Democrat and would be progressive, but somehow need to fit in with a demographic, and even within their own families. It's befuddling!
I think it had less to do with women (although the GQP is extremely misogynistic in the main) and more to do with the grievance, "woke" ideas, and racism. The motto on the Right is "I've got mine, so screw you."
Fred, I’m so so sorry to believe this, but I think many opted for a criminal WHITE MAN with obvious dementia over a brilliant, capable, experienced BLACK WOMAN.
I've heard it over the years, I know it has something to do with a method of voting, but I've never seen any ballot that you pull a lever on. I've poked holes with a special stick, but mostly I've filled in ovals. Is this some old east coast thing? I'm 79 and been voting since I was 21, but never seen a lever.
California, my home state, had punchcards. I tried to vote after I moved to New York for a few years in the late 70's. The poling place had machines with metal levers, that, for the life of me I couldn't figure out. It was my version of a hanging chad.
The Dems need to focus on a long term strategy to regain a majority; the Rs were able, since the mid-80s, to stay on point, slowly gaining power in every red state & some blue/purple ones.
The biggest issue, IMHO, is that “We the People” have lost our constitutional power: Citizen’s United has open the door to unrestricted influence, made elected politicians dependent on corporate $$$ & thereby accountable to the special interests, not to their constituents. Profits increase, pleasing investors but the Middle Class workers are being left out entirely. Our current system of government is beholden to multinational corporations. But none of this will happen in our immediate future if ever…🇺🇸
For help getting our ducks in a row and messaging our vision for an equitable, multiracial democracy where everyone is included and valued, check out the work of the Research Collaborative https://researchcollaborative.org/
We also have to face up to the possibility that there may not be elections in 2026, or ever again. I realize that sounds more than a bit alarmist, but why would the Republicans allow for elections when they've gotten everything they've ever wanted now?
Marla, When I and my local Indivisible chapter committed to being part of founder Ezra Levin’s nationwide resistance vision, we did so with Timothy Snyder’s Lesson One from On Tyranny foremost in mind.
Snyder writes: “1. Do not obey in advance. Most of the power of authoritarianism is freely given. In times like these, individuals think ahead about what a more repressive government will want, and then offer themselves without being asked. A citizen who adapts in this way is teaching power what it can do.”
For what it’s worth, a group of women who, since this past Wednesday, were growing increasingly anxious now feel increasingly more empowered.
Barbara, Is stating the possibility of what the future could look like and asking questions about how to address those possibilities “obeying in advance”?
I just want to get clear on this because this is the 2nd post I’ve seen where someone has made a comment about whether or not Trump can prevent us from electing a new President in 4 years and been responded to in a way that suggests this is defeatism or hyperbole. With that prior comment someone replied reminding us that our elections are controlled by states and I found that helpful.
I do not see questioning and learning about what this administration can and cannot do as obeying in advance.
It seems important to think about where our strengths will be most helpful. Joining the League of Women Voters might be something folks can do that are worried about our future elections. Also the ACLU has worked very hard to keep our elections free and fair:
I joined the LWV and I believe they are powerless. They are nonpartisan so have no ability to influence local, state or federal elections. I give to you Issue1 in Ohio, an amendment to end gerrymandering. The LWV led the effort to pass this amendment and they failed miserably. Led mostly by older women they lack vision and more importantly, they lack the ability to fight.
Just as there needs to be major changes in our leadership at the federal and state levels, we need radical changes at a grassroots level level. We can no longer keep doing the same thing over and over.
Sheri, I think there are things LWV does very well, like candidate forums. But, I share your view that fighting isn’t one of them. I do take exception to your characterization of older women. I have been a political fighter since I was about 12, I have no plans to stop now at 72. Neither do many of my peers. Glad to be in the fight with you.
Just like anything it will only be as effective as the energy being put into it. Sounds like they need an infusion of youth and energy. Yes, they are nonpartisan but that is necessary for them to be a force that keeps voting free and fair, which the fascists will continue to try to attack because they can’t win on their policies.
LWV where I live in Kansas City, Kansas is terrible. Average age is 75. Most of these women are lovely people, but completely out of touch with 18+ women today. I did not renew my membership because it wasn't the right fit for me.
Almost all of whom fell in line with MAGA. Are there enough of the “traditional” GOP around to move it to its former principles or will they call in line now for fear of midterms? Financial retribution from Party dollars? Who will lead that wing?
The entire Republican Party lived in fear of trump when he was out of office, completely threw away any semblance of integrity as they rushed to bend the knee. Now that he will be president again and has made clear he will use all branches of government to go after anyone who opposes him (think prosecution, public harassment, constant IRS audits, primary-ing them in upcoming elections, freezing them out of assignments in Congress), don’t expect any heroes to suddenly develop a backbone. I think the GOP is too far gone to be resurrected.
I think we will have Congressional elections in 2026, but yes, 2028 is in the air. Sometime between now and then, we should also plan on having a President Vance. He will get there because IQ45 ate one too many Big Macs, or because they use Article 25.
Vance is reprehensible and extremely weak. He has been Peter Theil's pawn but I wouldn't trust him to keep that "loyalty," in his short rather cowardly life, he has had more changes in allegiances than a leopard has spots. He can be bought.
Absolutely! As soon as they can trump will be gone. GOP just needed him to get his angry cult voters to get them back into the WH. When they no longer need him or are able to control him Vance will be prez. Maybe it will be a little better we can only hope!
I don't think they'll use Article 25 because MAGAts see Trump as chosen and delivered by God. I've seen posts from people I know who are thanking God for delivering him.
If he dies from natural causes, they will have a hero. If he dies from an assassination attempt, they will have a martyr, and it will be attributed to the democrats, who then become the enemy and possibly scapegoat.
I hear you. But if Trump can't deliver the strong man promises, and if they think Vance can, they will remove him. This is a cult of self-serving people.
It starts now from my perspective. There will be another WI SCOTUS seat coming up in early 2025, VA statewide elections are next year also so the fight to protect women’s rights and take back the governorship in VA will be 2025. A lot of work to do starting now even here in CT: prepping and spreading the word about the repro hotline set up by our AG.
We definitely aren’t waiting to organize and resist
That has been the response in my head every time I read someone write, “well, there’s the midterms.” I don’t believe we will see any normal election cycle for a long while. They are drunk on power and will reframe the entire government to suit their will.
1. Fear. Baked into the amygdala. Fear of "the other". Trump's commercials invoked the Jungian collective subconscious. Most effective ad: girls' sports.
2, Salesmanship. Psyops can make an Alaskan buy snow water. 90% voted contrary to their own economic and physical health. Why would someone on SSI (or any government benefit) vote to cut it.? Hispanics and Moslems supported a guy who will deport them -- even if they are citizens. During his administration he was working on "denaturalization."https://immpolicytracking.org/media/documents/ACLU_Fact_Sheet_on_Denaturalization.pdf
Agree Ally. Solomon's links on Syops are spot-on. The tenor of agit-prop messaging has changed. 'Watch what they do not what the say ....'
2025 Starts Today: The new mode was evident this weekend: as Nikki Haley got the "thank you for your service" treatment but, get out the hell out. ELISE (not Lisa) STEFANIK will be the Ambassador to the United Nations. Update: Confirmed.
My question is will they even bother with the court system? I saw an interview a while ago with an official on the border saying that this whole quest of deporting millions is just not physically possible with the personnel they have! I'm guessing that that issue hasnt occurred to the future "people in charge". Really, the actual physical probability of this is a bit different than their "speechifying". IF on the other hand, they are just going to DO IT - without all that legal hassle? Well?
I know the guy (Homan) that is going to be in charge - saw an interview with him and hes scary. I dont doubt the whole P-25 thing but I do think an awful lot of this rhetoric is going to be a bit different when the dog actually gets his teeth into the car.
Some smart lawyer should form a legal coalition and perform a trump stall technique over deportation. The idiots helping Trump managed to delay insurrection and treason etc charges long enough for him to regain power, a smart one ought to be able to beat that!
Patricia people are drowning in malicious propaganda from a handful of very evil and extremely wealthy men. Propaganda is effective and has been studied over history and much written about it. Our problem is that with the all latest technology and Citizen’s United we have no guardrails between free speech and propaganda.
Oh, heavens, Christy. Do you mean regulating free speech. Why, America has been a champion of unregulated free speech since its founding. Of course the founders inserted the First Amendment to insure that citizens could not be jailed for criticizing the government, you know, like King George might do. Then again, the founders probably didn't mean to protect people like Alex Jones, Breitbart, Bannon, et al. Nor did they foresee the squalid cess pit of the Internet and the ironically called "social media". My, my, they really should have been more prescient. Those pesky 1930s Germans had the same free speech policy and Joseph Goebbels took full advantage. Only after 60+ million deaths later and Europe in ruins they decided to institute hate speech laws. They currently seem to be a working democracy. Of course, I fully expect the new administration do some attacks on free speech but probably not in the same manner as many of us would have it.
“founders probably didn't mean to protect people like Alex Jones, Breitbart, Bannon, et al. Nor did they foresee the squalid cess pit of the Internet and the ironically called "social media".”
Right??
Pretty sure even the unschooled genius Ben Franklin with his key and his kite couldn’t foresee actual evil human voices being carried into everyone’s homes telling them to hate so and so because of a so and so made up lie!! When Ivana told us the orange turd studied Hitler’s SPEECHES, maybe more people should have paid attention?? Ya think?? 👍🏽👍🏽
Also the huge right wing propaganda that is everywhere in the U S. So much misinformation being pushed by these people just out to fill their own pockets!
Daniel- psy ops work when they are part of a well-funded conspiracy. Psy ops feed the amygdala and thus override the prefrontal cortex, leading to deficits in executive functioning: which includes inability to change plans when new information is available and inability to control fear and anger. Plus, let’s not forget that anger causes a rush of dopamine, an addictive high that makes people feel powerful. That’s a pretty potent psychological operation. Even educated and intelligent people can be impacted.
At least I prefer that explanation to the fact that voters would choose any old, demented, criminal white man over a talented, experienced, patriotic Black-Asian woman. If I totally believe that, this election will have broken me.
Yes! We can do this! We all need to be alert & keep actively involved in both our local and national politics. Many of the people who voted for tfg don't really like him or believe in him. They were swayed at some level by the horrendously slanted/untrue ads. The truth of the right's agenda will be apparent soon and we need to be ready to react.
💯💯 agree about blaming, but want to be clear that we should use our best and clear thinking to understand what got us here. Every Trump supporter I heard interviewed were clearly listing “talking points” and could not go deeper into their reasons. In rural areas we are swimming in a cesspool of disinformation/propaganda. Propaganda has been very successful and they will only double down on it. If you think the finding out part is going to wake folks up, I very much want folks to understand, just like these fascists have done throughout, the finding out part will get blamed on Democrats and will be believed. That is not going to change anyone’s mind. The more pain they experience the more anger and fear and the stronger limbic connection they will have to their fuhrer.
We need a plan and best way forward to interrupt the propaganda and resultant cult.
“Steven Hassan possesses a deep understanding Donald Trump’s power and control over the MAGA people and the larger Republican Party. He has been warning for at least eight years that Donald Trump is not a normal politician, but instead the leader of an extremely dangerous authoritarian personality cult. Hassan’s conclusion is not hyperbole or “partisanship”. It is based on the pattern of facts and the collective psychology and behavior that Donald Trump and his MAGA people have exhibited during the last nine years and beyond.”
“Ultimately, Hassan warns that Donald Trump and his MAGA movement’s power will be very difficult to break because Trumpism is part of a much larger project, one that has been decades in the making by the Republicans and the larger right-wing and other malign actors to end America’s multiracial pluralistic democracy.
‘You have been warning about the power of Donald Trump and what you describe as his MAGA cult since the beginning of this crisis back in 2016 and 2015. How are you making sense of this all?’
We're in a lot of trouble. Trump did a great amount of damage to the country when he was in power. The judges he appointed are still there. The other institutions Trump and MAGA have captured are still working on his behalf. The global antidemocracy alliance, centered on Vladimir Putin, is still supporting Trump and wants to see him return to power. Trumpism is not something out of the blue. This has been a process taking place over decades. There are so many right-wing extremists all over this country, on the state and local level, in Christian fundamentalist churches and organizations, think tanks, universities, etc. etc. who are advancing the authoritarian cause.
We all have an unconscious bias when we're trying to understand human behavior, to look at the individual's disposition instead of the social influence in the context. This is well-documented in social psychology. Outsiders look at cults like the MAGA movement and conclude that its members are stupid and dumb and gullible. That is not the case. Most of them are just vulnerable and are under the undue influence of an antisocial leader and his influencers across the right-wing echo chamber.”
What we need now is everyone’s best thinking in how to get our democracy back without bloodshed. If they can steal it out from under us we should be able to use our imaginations and intelligence to reclaim it???
Not a time for panic or flailing about with rhetoric and trying to blame others. We are all on this planet together and we are stronger if we appreciate everyone’s strengths and work together to overcome.
Hold up our strengths instead of looking for weaknesses. The opposition needs no help in finding our weaknesses. Let’s figure this out. 🙏
Others have pointed out that many incumbent governments have been voted out in the inflationary wake of covid. Many Americans apparently believed they were better off in 2020 than they are now. Memories can be short, and this may favour Dems in 2 years time.
And if Mitch “Respecter of Invented Principles” McConnell does away with the filibuster in the mean time, so much the better in the long run. It’s high time that your federal legislative sclerosis ended, so that elected governments could govern and not be held to ransom by the likes of Ted Cruz
And those living in states where their representatives can be both critical and repulsive, e.g. Ohio's 4th with the contemptible Jim Jordan, can help us all by running top notch alternatives to them in 2026.
Thank you. Kamala was a great candidate. Ran a fabulous campaign. Volunteers worked very hard. Joe has been an incredible President. Let's not blame anyone but our collective inability to realize that 51% of our fellow citizens are evil, cruel, misogynist, and racist.
Ouch! By 2026, trump will have changed the whole system. No need to vote anymore as he will have crowned himself big boss forever. Voting will be banned. Fascism and corruption everywhere. Dark times ahead. So sad. Fuck maga and gop.
The best we can hope for is that their incompetence and flawed ideology will be so apparent in two years time that they will badly lose the mid-terms. Of course they will try to fix them, but two years is not a long time.
States run elections. Focus on your local elections. Get Dems elected. Figure our ways to counter all the egregious lying propaganda people are watching/hearing/reading 24/7.
Carol-Ann: Legal AF just noted that the President-elect is currently trying to get The Senate to sign off on a recess for 10 days so they can elect many more Judges into position for his regime.
Tyrone: I think the recess was so that he can install Cabinet members without Senate approval. He asked no appointments before Jan 20 so he could keep the judicial vacancies, but until Jan 20 the Republicans are not in charge of the Senate, so that’s the one opportunity Democrats have to fill those vacancies.
Not looking for a fall guy or gall, looking to understand what is going on in my country and my world. I am living in Germany and my contractor said to me today that Elon Musk bought the election with around 500 million, and stands to make many billions from this investment. So, I really appreciated this analogy by Prof. Timothy Snyder. It is a take off on Gilligan's Island, a sitcom from the 1970s, called Oligarch's Island.
I am also reading about democracy to understand better what we can do. This article from the Journal of Democracy is on research about Backsliding Democracies like ours.
I agree, Mike, we can hope he 'Can't Destroy' the evidence against him, but I fear that for the short time he will inhabit the White House that is exactly what he will do -or how much he will share with his good bud, Vladomir Putin.
While we may never get our hands on the papers at Mar-a-Lago, I suspect that the data they contain is now at least 4 years old and that actions have been taken to render the secrets they contain inoperable.
Henceforth, any information stored digitally outside your personal physical domain will be at risk of disappearing. Many are already beginning to download from “the cloud“ anything of any value.
You’ll get there. Do what you need to keep the ptsd from flaring too high. I have it from my military service & have learned to not fight it, do what helps you bring in grace & strength and it will ease down. Fighting it makes it stronger. Sometimes - I realize this might sound weird or silly - I find it helpful to say something like this to the ptsd “so it’s you again, okay, been there, done that, I see you & know you’re there”. Sounds silly but it can help. I wish you well.
I feel exactly the same way, Ellen. I refuse to watch any network or national news or read them on my computer/phone. I do not use social media so I am safe there. It makes me very anxious and fills me with dread. But I am reading most of my Substack subscriptions and a few podcasts (including #Sistersinlaw - my most favorite! If it’s too much, I stop reading. I have felt compelled to take care of myself right now. But I will be volunteering at my Synagogue’s gift shop periodically and will get back to politics soon.
No." I would love it if it were any other sitting president, but President Biden has earned this finality to his decades of overwhelmingly good public service. I’m not saying he was always right, or there weren’t the occasional really stinky times, but overall, he has redeemed himself for the most part and I don’t think anyone can doubt the measure or heart of his public service. He truly has been in it to serve the public and been here long enough to learn from his mistakes and become what I believe him to be, the “wise elder statesman”.
Absolutely love this idea. The only thing I am not sure about with it, though, is whether it would impact the ability to get important work done that requires that 51st vote as a tie breaker.
My greatest fear also Tri Train. The human cost will be greatest. Economic equally devastating for the US. Racial profiling will put non-white people, immigrants or not, at risk.
Too since he will be sworn in on MLK Day, does a President have the power to, on that platform, eliminate a national holiday?
Yes, I am connected with the local Dems. (in a very red county at that). We are fleeing to our best friends home for a few days. And walking outside helps a lot.
You’re right, Joyce, I feel despair. I know I am supposed to hold positive thoughts but it is so hard to do so because I reflect back on my own parents lives of fleeing Nazism. This is exactly how Hitler began to convincing Germans to hate Jews, gays, the disabled, and gypsies. They turned their heads when their neighbors were being rounded up and put in cattle cars to meet their doom. Babies were thrown to the ground right in front of their mothers as my mother’s brother observed in Berlin. tremendous disdain is felt towards her Jewish Nazi, Stephen Miller, for his first round of snatching babies from their parent’s arms. If given permission, he will undoubtedly do it again in record speed and with more hatred in his being.
The only saving grace right now is that Newsom and other Democratic governors are forming a somewhat coalition to make certain these deportations do not occur but can they hold the fascist forces back and for how long? What happens to Black men and women? They have already received texts from Putineers stating that they better be prepared to “pick cotton”? Heartbreaking and HORRENDOUS!!
Once I get out of this blinding fog, I am locking arms with every man, woman, and child who wants to thrive, to live. I will be volunteering again. I promise you that.
First, a huge, warm embracing hug to you to thank you for posting and sharing your fear and your pain and your history. No wonder it is hard…how could it be anything else? So thank you for sharing your history, not only for you, but for those of us who can only be allies, who may come under scrutiny some other way but need to know what is at stake in starkest terms and for those closest to harm.
Newsom’s AG has been preparing legal arguments for months as well as Newsom’s work as Governor, so yes, there are some lights out there in the fog. And hey Marlene? If push comes to shove…get you and yours up here to just west of PDX…not too far driving for you no matter where you are in CA. We are a sanctuary church. We have a place for you. With a synagogue close by.
I have utmost respect for Jamie Raskin. However indicating that Kamala’s campaign failed to provide any meaningful solutions for working class US citizens is grossly erroneous. https://kamalaharris.com/issues/
It was the pervasive alt right media with its All Points Bulletins steeped in lying, slandering and denigrating the campaign and Democrats. They made Progressives an evil word when it is a plan with real policies to fulfill democracies promise of a government by and for the people!
I hear you. Admittedly the analysis of what didnt work wasnt my focus, it was what to do next and given that it will be better for people not to stew in fear and instead have some pragmatic actions was why i posted the link.
I think others posted this too. Great admiration for Raskin who should really be on the Supreme Court. I get it…R’s invoke fear. That’s their main tactic they have always used except they were successful when they didn’t uphold the Impeachment (twice) and they ripped kids away. Thanks for sending it though.
I adore Jamie Raskin but the guy doing the interview is an absolute jerk. Until media folks start addressing the problem with lying and extreme propaganda and their own culpability in failing to inform voters with the knowledge they need to make good choices for themselves and their families, I’m not having it. Period! Ugh!
That you Jen. Time for me to get off the Bench. I'm not retired but only "inactive". I already talked to the State Bar. Today is as good as any to put my spikes back on.
I was bemoaning not having chosen law as a career and someone suggested a paralegal training (I’m getting close to 70 but still ready to work) since last Tuesday I have been mulling that thought over. All hands on deck??
My parents fled Nazi Europe in the late 1930s, too--from different countries. I have intergenerational trauma from this, which made Harris's loss trigger my heightened anxiety/sense of doom. I am getting back my resilience and feeling less off balance.
Stephen Miller is a self hating Jew for sure. His parents must be cringing with embarrassment, I would be if he were my son.
I'll be volunteering, too, and donating time and money.
Ellen, tonight my family & I watched the powerful PBS documentary "Letters from BRNO" meaning Brno, Czechoslovakia circa 1933-1941.
"Letters from BRNO" is narrated by KAREN KRUGER the daughter of ERIKA TURKL who as a child was put on one of the 1939 refugee "Winton Trains" that transported young Czech Jewish children from Nazi controlled BRNO, Czechoslovakia through 6 stops to England.
KAREN inherited the voluminous family's detailed historical record carefully translating the handwritten Czech & typewritten German revealing an era her mother would never speak 1 word about. Important human history for all of us.
My understanding is that the West LA family of Stephen Miller has disowned him since his notorious days that at high school in Santa Monica. The aryan transformation of Stephen Miller is now complete as Miller has been appointed the chief White House contact for the 2025 deportation of immigrants.
On the positive side, the current Governor of Massachusetts & former MA AG, is the formidable MAURA HEALEY. Governor HEALEY is a strong believer in U.S. naturalization Citizenship of any person born in the United States. So the children of Ukrainian refugees born in the United States and/or the the ninos of Mexican workers who labor in the Agribusiness fields of California are not "illegals" as a matter of law.
My mother did not talk about her experiences in Vienna until she was 85 years old. She will be 101 tomorrow--she is living a long life as an act of revenge against the Nazis that chased her and her family out of Austria. She is receiving monthly social security payments from the Austrian gov't. And all of her descendants down to her great grands have the ability to attain Austrian citizenship--and most of us have.
I live in Pennsylvania, and we have a wonderful Dem governor, Josh Shapiro.
OH MY! Mazel Tov to your precious mother and give her a big hug from me! My father came from Poland and my mom, from Berlin. My dad spoke and understood a little French, Hebrew, English (when he got here), German, and Yiddish. My mother spoke inverted English, German, Yiddish, and read Hebrew. Not once did either one of them speak to us in their languages. I only learned how to count to ten in German and my dad taught my sister and I “ Father, Son, Holy Ghost” in Polish, a language he never knew. His village only had spoken Hebrew and Yiddish. My sister and I could get German citizenship, as well as my daughters also, but I believe the requirement is that you have to speak it. Funny thing is that my parents always thought their secrets in speaking Yiddish to one another deterred us from learning what was said. We figured it out! :) *Sidenote*: My mother received restitution from Germany until the day she died. I also have both of my parents passports and letters written to and from my mother’s father and mother which my uncle translated into English. I can’t get through them all…too painful. Intergenerational trauma is what i have and so do my daughters.
Thank you! Mom isn't thrilled to be living this long--she lead a large life and now is essentially bedridden. She voices the wish to 'move' (as she calls 'die') often. My parents, too, spoke German around us kids and we got the gist of what they were saying. That intergenerational trauma thing--man, everyone has anxiety/depression in the family.
Thank you Joyce! We are better than the "useful idiot" and honestly, I don't want to meet stupid people where they are. I want the promise of moving forward with all that we are capable of. Let them meet us where we are!
I have decided to keep reading my favorite substacks like this one. However, I’m taking a minimum of two weeks off from ALL corporate media where pundits are now trying to find blame in the Dem party, Harris campaign, Biden, Harris etc. They can go to H. I need a break before joining new efforts to end this nightmare.
People were constantly drenched with a fire hose of lies and they believed them. They were told that the economy is bad and that the country is on the verge of depression. It isn’t true, but they believed it. That’s how they won. It wasn’t the campaign. It was people eager to believe what they were hearing and too lazy to fact check.
And the failure of news sources to emphasize the facts. Truth matters. In addition to being the only president who attacked the Capitol, he is the only convicted felon to become president. He’s cheated on all 3 of his wives and broken all 10 commandments. Justice matters.
The fact that all of us were able to see clearly just who he is, and that a simple majority of voters chose to either ignore it, or weren’t able to see what was in front of their eyes, says a lot about us and our education system. I truly thought we were better than that, I was wrong. 🙏
Dick, let’s not blame our education system. Let’s get more concerned and critical about the utter failure of corporate media, 28 years of Murdoch, and other billionaire propagandists.
Indeed, the Unelected have WAY too much power and authority -- and that includes everyone from Elon Musk to Clarence Thomas. And nothing they have done has elicited a response from Democrats. How HAPPY are tyrants today!
I'm thinking we should stop saying he won a majority because it makes it seem like a majority of 330 million and it was only 7 of 33. And I think we need to be specific about this so as not to help normalize it or indicate it is a legitimate end. (I too thought we were better; I too was wrong. But so were half of us, or more.)
I would like to see the results of a study of this election. Trump promised some surprises including secrets that he and Johnson had. He also told people that they didn’t need to vote because he had the numbers. Then the election results showed that 10,000 people didn’t vote??? This after the massive turnout at all of Harris’ rallies? If it smells like a rat…
Election results show 10 to 12 million votes less for Kamala than Biden and that made the difference. Trump "won" with one million LESS than he got in 2020.
It does smell, esp given his remarks and his incomprehensible non-campaign. He ACTED like "the fix was in" and since he is always about projection, one has to think "the fix might have been in...again...." So yes there is argument for finding this election highly suspect. As usual, Republicans have been putting in place their "victories" while Democrats played by the rules and lost.
Do we think for a minute the Democrats will fight back? I don't. They have sleep walked us into this, as much as anyone has. Biden has been a very successful president in some ways and an abject failure at Trump-proofing America, imho.
Most people who are honest assume that the opponent is honest too.
And there is the assumption of innocence. The bomb scares occurred in democratic leaning ridings. Found to be Russian by the FBI, these bomb scares fraudulently supported a Republican win.
He was saying that little boys were going to school in the morning and coming home as little girls. If people believe something that ridiculous, there’s no hope for them. Apparently they ran tons of anti-trans ads in Pennsylvania.
I can't take it either. No more blame game..nor can I see Trump's face or hear of his horrors yet. We will need to be strong and positive and just refuse to follow or accept anti democratic acts! Not sure how yet but no capitulating.
Years ago I saw a sign on a church marquee "some day they'll give a war and no one will come." I think that may be the approach. Just say No.
I am so disappointed that tffg has been invited to the White House. I hoped we would have a couple months to mourn and get ready for the idiocracy. Votes have not been certified and hopefully the method of cheating will be exposed.
The Dems are always so damned quick to want to play nice! Even when they are putting us all, and themselves, and the Republic, in harm's way! It's what I like least about them. They give it all away without a fight! Republicans have known that forever. And Voila!
Maybe we need to take back the Republican Party... (where are those emojis...)
Good luck taking back the Republican party. I will be changing my registration to independent, no hope now of sane people who value the truth regaining control of it. No sense being a Democrat, as you said they forgot Barry Goldwater's quote: "Extremism in defense of liberty is no vice."
I'm also unaffiliated (since Colorado voted to let unaffiliated vote in primaries -- you pick one and can't split votes but you get both ballots to choose from. I've been both parties and probably voted a third party once or twice all to no avail.
But I'm thinking it's easier to take a party structure than to create one. In any case, I was hoping for a Kamala prez and a Liz A.G. and now my dream is maybe a Liz prez (no, I won't agree on policy much) and a Kamala A.G. -- I think that would take the help of a majority of actual conservatives to pull off. Maybe we should start a Blue Dog Party of centrists of both persuasions. Policy doesn't seem as big an issue when you're fighting for your literal life and future.
Well, we either find a way to resist or we sit down and wait to be killed.
If there are brave ones willing to lead a resistance, as in preparing to stand
against the red tide and preparing to remove part of the cancer in two years at the ballot box again, then I must stand with them somehow. There is a Bible verse somewhere about not being defeated when it looks like evil is winning. The Republican Party no longer exists. But it's framework does. And a LOT of Republicans do. Though a new COALITION party might be easier. Just LOOK at the coalition brought together in 90 days. We need to be locking arms despite policy preferences imho.
I have wondered how you are doing. I’m glad you have family and your precious creatures for love and support. I doubt we’ll ever meet but I’m right there with you & everyone here who doesn’t want to live in a fascist led theocracy. I’m very appreciative of the work you do but feel free to take time off if you need to in order to recharge. We’ll be here. All my best.
I have a lot of uncivilized thoughts which i won't share here. I'm sure everyone else has their share of those, as well.
What I will share is an avid impatience for those who want to take radical immediate actions... like dumping everything and leaving the country immediately. Or like refusing to ever speak to a relative who voted for the orange pustule or his minions. That's as destructive as what we're responding to and does no one any good. Sharing the content of sarcastic meme isn't light hearted it's destructive. Making sure everyone gets the latest crazed rumor isn't "sharing", it's destructive. We can't fix this today, but we can make it worse by pretending it's not serious and life changing. Fear is real but it's only absolute if we throw our mental hands up and run away. Instead, let's be sad mad and confused and just sit with the feelings. They will change. Slowly confusion will solidify into solid thoughts and then we have a chance to make rational choices, based in fact and not memes and inflated worry. Meanwhile we can rely on those whom we know are kind and thoughtful, and cry our tears, scream our rage into the sky where we cannot cause another any more pain or damage.
There is so much to be informed if before we even know what a good step will be. We need to gather ourselves be with those who wish to organize in legal and talk ways, learn what we don't know and move forward with knowledge and foresight of the aim and intention to renew and rebuild this democracy. Hold onto the real stuff. Go right through the middle of this with trusted others. Don't shy away from self- examination. Make small changes. Feel the real feelings. The ones that change you for the better. This is a huge job. Let's not let ourselves be lazy about how we approach the future.
The first few days after the election results, I was numb with disbelief that we were going to have T as President again. The next few days I was angrier than I have ever been. Now, I am letting the reality of what is ahead sink in. I can't watch CNN if Scott Jennings is on. His smirk and condescending attitude just raises my blood pressure. I am saddened to realize that some of the newscasters are softening their comments. It is happening.
I plan to carefully watch as the new regime begins. Speak with friends, and, like minded people, and, try my best to restore democracy!!
I am ashamed of my country right now, and part of my self-care is taking down memorabilia of my military service and decades of work in the federal court system, including photos of my dear judges and staff. Looking at that stuff really bothers me now and triggers me in ways that I do not understand. I think it is the realization that the rule of law that we spent (I am retired now) and in many cases continue to spend and the oath that we all took to support and defend the Constitution is meaningless, that it does not apply to the one who would just as soon stomp it on the ground and will do his best to make that action a reality. I feel so bad that they all have to go to work in the future and look at the picture of that orange monster and his sidekick every.single.day in the courthouse and treat it with respect.
I hope to be. but am worried...right now who is able to thwart trusk ? courts, who stands in the way of trusk moving the gold to maralardo ? courts.
marshall law is declared due to immigrant numbers, blah blah all courts are suspended until we whatever. musk is already saying the fed should be under the executive branch.....
First step is to round up young, enthusiastic, energetic, candidates for local offices and help them run for office at the lowest level. Do all the things we were willing to do for Harris but at a much lower level. Dilute the Red with Blue. Flush future candidates out of the neighborhoods and into the limelight. They are out there. Our job is to find them, fund them, elect them. Turn politics into a Blue blanket to cover the entire country. We already know how to do that. It worked for Harris. Just not enough to counter the lies.
There are still many questions that need to be asked and answered about this election. Many people are reporting their ballots are not registered, or they were marked as returned but never sent. Some were registered and voted, but their state website doesn’t show them having voted. Others voted early in person but there is no record that they were registered when in fact, they were said to be registered when they were in the polling place and had their ballots counted. No Repub in the last 40 years has won the popular vote. Strangely 45 spoke repeatedly about not needing any votes, in fact he told people in his rallies he already had enough votes. And there is a high degree of suspicion that 45 could have won all the swing states. Especially in democratic strongholds. And there was a discrepancy of 15million votes between this election and what Biden received in 2020.
Today I saw a video post in which Rachel Maddox has raised some of these questions herself. Finally we saw later today that the Harris campaign was quietly working toward a recount.
I’m no conspiracy theory person. I need facts and I want the truth. No matter what. But unless a recount happens to verify at the very least, the swing states, I’m not convinced. This election was too much of an upset and too critical to our survival as a country not to make absolutely certain it actually reflects the will of the voters. This is the least we can do. After all, 45 had them recount Georgia 3 times. And they’ve had 4 years to work on how to get a win.
I totally agree! I’m not into conspiracies, I simply don’t trust that Americans are THAT ignorant. I don’t trust a desperate lying conman and felon facing multiple felony trials and a federal prison cell where he’ll take his last breath to have actually won, especially the popular vote. He’s never been popular before and he’s done nothing to improve his popularity, in fact, he’s gotten much, much worse. More revolting, disgusting and unhinged. Who would actually vote for that??? What’s done in the dark always comes into light. Don’t you know there are thousands of people working on that “win” right now. Quietly but determined.
Freedom makes a huge requirement of every human being. With freedom comes responsibility. For the person who is unwilling to grow up, the person who does not want to carry his own weight, this is a frightening prospect.
___Eleanor Roosevelt
Freedom is nothing but a chance to be better.
Albert Camus
I would like to be remembered as a person who wanted to be free... so other people would be also free.
This evening, I read an excerpt from Alexei Navalny’s memoir, and these words leapt out at me: “We must do what they fear — tell the truth, spread the truth. This is the most powerful weapon against this regime of liars, thieves, and hypocrites. Everyone has this weapon. So make use of it.” These words from Navalny about the Putin’s regime must be heeded in America for what is to come. Onward!
I’m finally paying attention enough to think about what happened, and does anybody really believe that Trump won every swing state and the popular vote? If something seems too good to be true it probably is. I hope somebody is taking a detailed look at the election results because something feels very wrong here!
No, I do not believe it, Rich. Haven't from the beginning. The vote counts came in too fast. Makes no sense! I also fervently hope our intelligence is working on finding the truth. But what happens after that is anyone's guess. These are certainly unprecedented times!
I am worried about Federal employees leaving their jobs voluntarily, making it easier and faster to replace them with Trump loyalists. Every position vacancy is an opportunity for them. Staying in your job under a regime you despise isn't a sign of weakness, it's a form of resistance.
The choice they have is quitting in advance or waiting until they are fired. Best that they wait to be fired. As Tim Snyder warns, ‘don’t obey in advance.’
I’m a retired federal employee. When hired, you take an oath to the Constitution. I don’t think he can just decide to alter that. I wonder what Joyce or other legal experts thank. Have you heard anyone address that?
Thanks, Joyce. It’s damn hard to reconcile all of this. I’m currently in Mexico and have no plans to return except for meds and doc appointments. I’ll be looking for new docs here. I hope your message and strength will help keep people focused on what needs to be done. I’m done with the USA.
We lost to a white Christian Nationalist corporation shepherded by Oligarchs, supported by wholly owned media networks/podcasters, and a stolen Supreme Court with Justices who blatantly lied at their Confirmation Hearings. I give you the 2024 Republican Corporation, LLC (Lies, Lawlessness, and Cruelty).
I have one wish. Would we all stop looking for a fall guy or gal? Too many people fell for the bright, shiny objects. It's hard to fight against carny magic with honest, to the point sobering solutions. Where's the glamor?
I'm looking towards to the 2026 elections. I trust the illusion of the bright, shiny object will be badly tarnished and corroded by then and the reality of 21st century fascism will have sunk in.
We will not fail. Hard work is good work.
Agree. The finger pointing , the blame game needs to stop and someone(s) in the party need to get on a stategy that takes all that happened into account.
While everyone is scrambling to tell us what Kamala or Biden did or didn't do to make the outcome of the election swing towards Trump, we need to be getting our ducks in a row and working through (and living by example) what the Democrats and Democrat-adjacent voters truly want the future of this country to be and crafting plans to achieve our goals. Most of all, we need to learn from the Republicans how to get our fellow travelers to adhere to important talking points and frame them to fit their constituents, campaigns, and circumstances. And while many pundits are finding fault with how and what the Harris-Walz campaign did or didn't do and if those things were right or wrong, maybe it was simply the power of the cult, the media sanewashing Donny's speeches, and a world view shaped by the lens of Fox News and social media that favored Trump. It shouldn't have been hard to choose between between a positive, experienced, forward-moving candidate and a befuddled, narcissistic old man bent on revenge and chaos. Unfortunately, it was just too hard for many.
"It shouldn't have been hard to choose between...." And so many so-called "influencers"---Oprah, Swift, Beyonce, LeBron, Generals Kelly, Mattis, and Milley, and many prominent Republicans--pointing the way toward Harris. We really need to figure out what those who supported Trump were selecting for. Is it always about the prices for groceries, gas, and rent (which a president is almost powerless to affect)? What is precisely the value(s) that Trump voters thought they would be getting when they pulled his lever? Or, if they were voting against something, we need to know that, too, in order to have a chance to pull out of this nose dive.
Fred... I have written many times about my brother who "likes" T. I don't know if he is full MAGA, but it's concerning. He is a very smart, educated man. He lives in a small community in the Sierra Nevada foothills. I was surprised when I saw the California map of Representatives ... except for the coast it's all red. I digress. When I asked my brother why he likes T, he said "because he's honest" ???. I asked him how he felt about the Documents Case... he said "everybody does it".
My brother has a big need to belong. It controls his life and has led him down some very questionable paths. The bottom line is, he will do, say, believe anything to belong. If he started thinking for himself again... he would have to move and find a new community. I think it's easier to believe what his is told to believe. My feeling is that most MAGA are not that different than my brother. BTW... my other brother and I don't understand why is like this.
focussing on the particular ( your brother) here reveals the general truth... I believe this, it sounds right. Wanting to belong is a driving force... being needed. Trump is nothing without his supporters... which he really does not care about.
"Wanting to belong". That's it, to a T.
Whoa! I think we have the same brother! Except mine lives in the NC Appalachian mountains.
Trump IS honest about his corruption and contempt for checks and balances.
the big lie, it is said ( I forget who just said it) is not believed because it's too big, too preposterous, to be believed.
That has been my experience with friends who would otherwise vote Democrat and would be progressive, but somehow need to fit in with a demographic, and even within their own families. It's befuddling!
They were selecting: power over women (misogyny) + white supremacy (racism). That's all. Nothing else. We fool ourselves to think otherwise.
I think it had less to do with women (although the GQP is extremely misogynistic in the main) and more to do with the grievance, "woke" ideas, and racism. The motto on the Right is "I've got mine, so screw you."
Let's not forget the billionaires who gave us jdv, the supreme corruptors, and spineless dems.
Fred, I’m so so sorry to believe this, but I think many opted for a criminal WHITE MAN with obvious dementia over a brilliant, capable, experienced BLACK WOMAN.
I think it's "all of the above" for this multiple choice question!!!!
So, what are we going to do, now? Further alienation and violence will just make it all WORSE. We need to outsmart them and reach folks somehow.
The “somehow” is the $64,000 question. I keep thinking billboards they have to drive past, but I think Clear Channel owns most of them!
Amen. That is where our focus should be.
What is this "pull the lever" phrase about?
I've heard it over the years, I know it has something to do with a method of voting, but I've never seen any ballot that you pull a lever on. I've poked holes with a special stick, but mostly I've filled in ovals. Is this some old east coast thing? I'm 79 and been voting since I was 21, but never seen a lever.
California, my home state, had punchcards. I tried to vote after I moved to New York for a few years in the late 70's. The poling place had machines with metal levers, that, for the life of me I couldn't figure out. It was my version of a hanging chad.
LOL!
The Dems need to focus on a long term strategy to regain a majority; the Rs were able, since the mid-80s, to stay on point, slowly gaining power in every red state & some blue/purple ones.
The biggest issue, IMHO, is that “We the People” have lost our constitutional power: Citizen’s United has open the door to unrestricted influence, made elected politicians dependent on corporate $$$ & thereby accountable to the special interests, not to their constituents. Profits increase, pleasing investors but the Middle Class workers are being left out entirely. Our current system of government is beholden to multinational corporations. But none of this will happen in our immediate future if ever…🇺🇸
Citizens United turned us into an oligarchy. Just what Justices Roberts, Thomas and Alito wanted.
For help getting our ducks in a row and messaging our vision for an equitable, multiracial democracy where everyone is included and valued, check out the work of the Research Collaborative https://researchcollaborative.org/
I just clicked and sent myself the link!
Thank you!
Agree. Thanks!
Well-said!!
So true. The blame game is so unhelpful.
I will end my finger pointing. Biden will now enjoy his remaing years watching the ocean waves rise and fall, not unlike politicians themselves.
We also have to face up to the possibility that there may not be elections in 2026, or ever again. I realize that sounds more than a bit alarmist, but why would the Republicans allow for elections when they've gotten everything they've ever wanted now?
They're positioned to run the table. They will.
Marla, When I and my local Indivisible chapter committed to being part of founder Ezra Levin’s nationwide resistance vision, we did so with Timothy Snyder’s Lesson One from On Tyranny foremost in mind.
Snyder writes: “1. Do not obey in advance. Most of the power of authoritarianism is freely given. In times like these, individuals think ahead about what a more repressive government will want, and then offer themselves without being asked. A citizen who adapts in this way is teaching power what it can do.”
For what it’s worth, a group of women who, since this past Wednesday, were growing increasingly anxious now feel increasingly more empowered.
In solidarity,
Barbara
Barbara, Is stating the possibility of what the future could look like and asking questions about how to address those possibilities “obeying in advance”?
I just want to get clear on this because this is the 2nd post I’ve seen where someone has made a comment about whether or not Trump can prevent us from electing a new President in 4 years and been responded to in a way that suggests this is defeatism or hyperbole. With that prior comment someone replied reminding us that our elections are controlled by states and I found that helpful.
I do not see questioning and learning about what this administration can and cannot do as obeying in advance.
It seems important to think about where our strengths will be most helpful. Joining the League of Women Voters might be something folks can do that are worried about our future elections. Also the ACLU has worked very hard to keep our elections free and fair:
https://www.aclu.org/court-cases?issue=voting-rights.
It helps my anxiety to find like minded folks and issues to work towards ensuring our freedoms.
💙🇺🇸
I joined the LWV and I believe they are powerless. They are nonpartisan so have no ability to influence local, state or federal elections. I give to you Issue1 in Ohio, an amendment to end gerrymandering. The LWV led the effort to pass this amendment and they failed miserably. Led mostly by older women they lack vision and more importantly, they lack the ability to fight.
Just as there needs to be major changes in our leadership at the federal and state levels, we need radical changes at a grassroots level level. We can no longer keep doing the same thing over and over.
Sheri, I think there are things LWV does very well, like candidate forums. But, I share your view that fighting isn’t one of them. I do take exception to your characterization of older women. I have been a political fighter since I was about 12, I have no plans to stop now at 72. Neither do many of my peers. Glad to be in the fight with you.
Just like anything it will only be as effective as the energy being put into it. Sounds like they need an infusion of youth and energy. Yes, they are nonpartisan but that is necessary for them to be a force that keeps voting free and fair, which the fascists will continue to try to attack because they can’t win on their policies.
https://www.impact.upenn.edu/league-of-women-voters-maine/
LWV where I live in Kansas City, Kansas is terrible. Average age is 75. Most of these women are lovely people, but completely out of touch with 18+ women today. I did not renew my membership because it wasn't the right fit for me.
I love this. Don't obey in advance is excellent advice to give to friend who are giving up from exhaustion and sadness
Sadly, however, many in power obeyed in advance and now will continue to fall in line.
That would be the entire Republican leadership of this country.
Almost all of whom fell in line with MAGA. Are there enough of the “traditional” GOP around to move it to its former principles or will they call in line now for fear of midterms? Financial retribution from Party dollars? Who will lead that wing?
The entire Republican Party lived in fear of trump when he was out of office, completely threw away any semblance of integrity as they rushed to bend the knee. Now that he will be president again and has made clear he will use all branches of government to go after anyone who opposes him (think prosecution, public harassment, constant IRS audits, primary-ing them in upcoming elections, freezing them out of assignments in Congress), don’t expect any heroes to suddenly develop a backbone. I think the GOP is too far gone to be resurrected.
Thanks Christie. I’m tired of being stereotyped due to my age.
AMEN!
I think we will have Congressional elections in 2026, but yes, 2028 is in the air. Sometime between now and then, we should also plan on having a President Vance. He will get there because IQ45 ate one too many Big Macs, or because they use Article 25.
I have said this all along. Vance was the plan. Trump was merely the first step.
Vance is reprehensible and extremely weak. He has been Peter Theil's pawn but I wouldn't trust him to keep that "loyalty," in his short rather cowardly life, he has had more changes in allegiances than a leopard has spots. He can be bought.
Roberta, that’s what I thought. Peter Thiel’s plan when he bought Vance’s election. Scary.
Absolutely! As soon as they can trump will be gone. GOP just needed him to get his angry cult voters to get them back into the WH. When they no longer need him or are able to control him Vance will be prez. Maybe it will be a little better we can only hope!
I don't think they'll use Article 25 because MAGAts see Trump as chosen and delivered by God. I've seen posts from people I know who are thanking God for delivering him.
If he dies from natural causes, they will have a hero. If he dies from an assassination attempt, they will have a martyr, and it will be attributed to the democrats, who then become the enemy and possibly scapegoat.
Felonious is Never my president and never my hero!
I hear you. But if Trump can't deliver the strong man promises, and if they think Vance can, they will remove him. This is a cult of self-serving people.
Except Musk has more money that the billionaire who supports Vance. That will tell you who will be running America, Inc.
We have a lot of preparation to do to be ready for the 2026 elections. It will start in January.
It starts now from my perspective. There will be another WI SCOTUS seat coming up in early 2025, VA statewide elections are next year also so the fight to protect women’s rights and take back the governorship in VA will be 2025. A lot of work to do starting now even here in CT: prepping and spreading the word about the repro hotline set up by our AG.
We definitely aren’t waiting to organize and resist
Good point.
That has been the response in my head every time I read someone write, “well, there’s the midterms.” I don’t believe we will see any normal election cycle for a long while. They are drunk on power and will reframe the entire government to suit their will.
The next goal for the Strumpf party will be to co-opt the military. They will go after any general who criticized him, and promote "loyal" generals.
We can solve problems without declaring/assigning blame.
I don't think there is one reason, it's many small things that turned the election his way.
I'm sorry, be we are victims of psyops. Russian involvement should be investigated ASAP. Same for Musk. The Philadelphia case should just be a start. https://phillyda.org/news/phila-das-office-statement-on-federal-judge-remanding-suit-against-america-pac-elon-musk-to-pa-state-court-in-philadelphia/
1. Fear. Baked into the amygdala. Fear of "the other". Trump's commercials invoked the Jungian collective subconscious. Most effective ad: girls' sports.
2, Salesmanship. Psyops can make an Alaskan buy snow water. 90% voted contrary to their own economic and physical health. Why would someone on SSI (or any government benefit) vote to cut it.? Hispanics and Moslems supported a guy who will deport them -- even if they are citizens. During his administration he was working on "denaturalization."https://immpolicytracking.org/media/documents/ACLU_Fact_Sheet_on_Denaturalization.pdf
3 Maybe the proletariat are really "lumpen."
Daniel, this is one of the most cogent nuggests I've read about this situation.
PsyOps, Disinformation, the willing consumption of anything that feeds a person's beliefs regardless of its veracity. All of that.
Agree Ally. Solomon's links on Syops are spot-on. The tenor of agit-prop messaging has changed. 'Watch what they do not what the say ....'
2025 Starts Today: The new mode was evident this weekend: as Nikki Haley got the "thank you for your service" treatment but, get out the hell out. ELISE (not Lisa) STEFANIK will be the Ambassador to the United Nations. Update: Confirmed.
We are already the laughing stock….
My question is will they even bother with the court system? I saw an interview a while ago with an official on the border saying that this whole quest of deporting millions is just not physically possible with the personnel they have! I'm guessing that that issue hasnt occurred to the future "people in charge". Really, the actual physical probability of this is a bit different than their "speechifying". IF on the other hand, they are just going to DO IT - without all that legal hassle? Well?
I know the guy (Homan) that is going to be in charge - saw an interview with him and hes scary. I dont doubt the whole P-25 thing but I do think an awful lot of this rhetoric is going to be a bit different when the dog actually gets his teeth into the car.
@ Maggie Frazier. Profit oriented.
Some say that Trump looks forward to incarcerating as many people as possible to the benefit of the private jail industry. That he gets a piece of the action is within the realm of possibilities. Before he would deport illegals he'll "concentrate" them. https://www.cnbc.com/2024/11/11/private-prison-stocks-jump-on-trump-appointment-of-immigration-hardliner-tom-homan.html Reminds me of internal exile, gulags.....
I did see that - and yeah - I think so too.
Some smart lawyer should form a legal coalition and perform a trump stall technique over deportation. The idiots helping Trump managed to delay insurrection and treason etc charges long enough for him to regain power, a smart one ought to be able to beat that!
No, we are victims of ourselves. What's that old line....we have met the enemy and it is us. They hvae gotten their "bloodless revolution".
Patricia people are drowning in malicious propaganda from a handful of very evil and extremely wealthy men. Propaganda is effective and has been studied over history and much written about it. Our problem is that with the all latest technology and Citizen’s United we have no guardrails between free speech and propaganda.
Oh, heavens, Christy. Do you mean regulating free speech. Why, America has been a champion of unregulated free speech since its founding. Of course the founders inserted the First Amendment to insure that citizens could not be jailed for criticizing the government, you know, like King George might do. Then again, the founders probably didn't mean to protect people like Alex Jones, Breitbart, Bannon, et al. Nor did they foresee the squalid cess pit of the Internet and the ironically called "social media". My, my, they really should have been more prescient. Those pesky 1930s Germans had the same free speech policy and Joseph Goebbels took full advantage. Only after 60+ million deaths later and Europe in ruins they decided to institute hate speech laws. They currently seem to be a working democracy. Of course, I fully expect the new administration do some attacks on free speech but probably not in the same manner as many of us would have it.
“founders probably didn't mean to protect people like Alex Jones, Breitbart, Bannon, et al. Nor did they foresee the squalid cess pit of the Internet and the ironically called "social media".”
Right??
Pretty sure even the unschooled genius Ben Franklin with his key and his kite couldn’t foresee actual evil human voices being carried into everyone’s homes telling them to hate so and so because of a so and so made up lie!! When Ivana told us the orange turd studied Hitler’s SPEECHES, maybe more people should have paid attention?? Ya think?? 👍🏽👍🏽
Also the huge right wing propaganda that is everywhere in the U S. So much misinformation being pushed by these people just out to fill their own pockets!
AND here are the great and wonderful social media top dogs proving exactly what they are, just another Lindsey Graham!
https://popular.info/p/the-corporate-insurrection-of-2024?utm_campaign=email-half-post&r=b9ign&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
💯💯💯
Daniel- psy ops work when they are part of a well-funded conspiracy. Psy ops feed the amygdala and thus override the prefrontal cortex, leading to deficits in executive functioning: which includes inability to change plans when new information is available and inability to control fear and anger. Plus, let’s not forget that anger causes a rush of dopamine, an addictive high that makes people feel powerful. That’s a pretty potent psychological operation. Even educated and intelligent people can be impacted.
At least I prefer that explanation to the fact that voters would choose any old, demented, criminal white man over a talented, experienced, patriotic Black-Asian woman. If I totally believe that, this election will have broken me.
The Hartford Courant published an article by a reporter who interviewed students at a local college to find out how they voted.
One young man said he was concerned about being able to afford a house after he graduated so he voted for Trump.
He voted for Trump instead of the candidate who proposed $25,000 in assistance for first-time home buyers.
What explains that? Disinformation? Stupidity? Low information? As I recall, housing was not an issue in the campaign.
If that was his issue, why didn’t he inform himself? Just mind boggling!
I am so disappointed in the masses of uninformed people voting. They seem to have no idea of what Trump really is!
Carole: they will find out. Or maybe not, since they only pay attention to Rightwing propaganda. Anyway, buyer’s remorse will be too little too late.
And how did he get into university with such a complete lack of critical thinking ability?
YES.
Yes! We can do this! We all need to be alert & keep actively involved in both our local and national politics. Many of the people who voted for tfg don't really like him or believe in him. They were swayed at some level by the horrendously slanted/untrue ads. The truth of the right's agenda will be apparent soon and we need to be ready to react.
💯💯 agree about blaming, but want to be clear that we should use our best and clear thinking to understand what got us here. Every Trump supporter I heard interviewed were clearly listing “talking points” and could not go deeper into their reasons. In rural areas we are swimming in a cesspool of disinformation/propaganda. Propaganda has been very successful and they will only double down on it. If you think the finding out part is going to wake folks up, I very much want folks to understand, just like these fascists have done throughout, the finding out part will get blamed on Democrats and will be believed. That is not going to change anyone’s mind. The more pain they experience the more anger and fear and the stronger limbic connection they will have to their fuhrer.
We need a plan and best way forward to interrupt the propaganda and resultant cult.
“Steven Hassan possesses a deep understanding Donald Trump’s power and control over the MAGA people and the larger Republican Party. He has been warning for at least eight years that Donald Trump is not a normal politician, but instead the leader of an extremely dangerous authoritarian personality cult. Hassan’s conclusion is not hyperbole or “partisanship”. It is based on the pattern of facts and the collective psychology and behavior that Donald Trump and his MAGA people have exhibited during the last nine years and beyond.”
“Ultimately, Hassan warns that Donald Trump and his MAGA movement’s power will be very difficult to break because Trumpism is part of a much larger project, one that has been decades in the making by the Republicans and the larger right-wing and other malign actors to end America’s multiracial pluralistic democracy.
‘You have been warning about the power of Donald Trump and what you describe as his MAGA cult since the beginning of this crisis back in 2016 and 2015. How are you making sense of this all?’
We're in a lot of trouble. Trump did a great amount of damage to the country when he was in power. The judges he appointed are still there. The other institutions Trump and MAGA have captured are still working on his behalf. The global antidemocracy alliance, centered on Vladimir Putin, is still supporting Trump and wants to see him return to power. Trumpism is not something out of the blue. This has been a process taking place over decades. There are so many right-wing extremists all over this country, on the state and local level, in Christian fundamentalist churches and organizations, think tanks, universities, etc. etc. who are advancing the authoritarian cause.
We all have an unconscious bias when we're trying to understand human behavior, to look at the individual's disposition instead of the social influence in the context. This is well-documented in social psychology. Outsiders look at cults like the MAGA movement and conclude that its members are stupid and dumb and gullible. That is not the case. Most of them are just vulnerable and are under the undue influence of an antisocial leader and his influencers across the right-wing echo chamber.”
https://www.salon.com/2024/08/01/expert-steve-hassan-the-silencing-of-critics-is-crucial-to-authoritarian-control/
What we need now is everyone’s best thinking in how to get our democracy back without bloodshed. If they can steal it out from under us we should be able to use our imaginations and intelligence to reclaim it???
Not a time for panic or flailing about with rhetoric and trying to blame others. We are all on this planet together and we are stronger if we appreciate everyone’s strengths and work together to overcome.
Hold up our strengths instead of looking for weaknesses. The opposition needs no help in finding our weaknesses. Let’s figure this out. 🙏
Others have pointed out that many incumbent governments have been voted out in the inflationary wake of covid. Many Americans apparently believed they were better off in 2020 than they are now. Memories can be short, and this may favour Dems in 2 years time.
And if Mitch “Respecter of Invented Principles” McConnell does away with the filibuster in the mean time, so much the better in the long run. It’s high time that your federal legislative sclerosis ended, so that elected governments could govern and not be held to ransom by the likes of Ted Cruz
And those living in states where their representatives can be both critical and repulsive, e.g. Ohio's 4th with the contemptible Jim Jordan, can help us all by running top notch alternatives to them in 2026.
Thank you. Kamala was a great candidate. Ran a fabulous campaign. Volunteers worked very hard. Joe has been an incredible President. Let's not blame anyone but our collective inability to realize that 51% of our fellow citizens are evil, cruel, misogynist, and racist.
Ouch! By 2026, trump will have changed the whole system. No need to vote anymore as he will have crowned himself big boss forever. Voting will be banned. Fascism and corruption everywhere. Dark times ahead. So sad. Fuck maga and gop.
Unfortunately, I believe that we have voted in our last election. I hope I am wrong.
The best we can hope for is that their incompetence and flawed ideology will be so apparent in two years time that they will badly lose the mid-terms. Of course they will try to fix them, but two years is not a long time.
But will there even be midterms, let alone an election in 2026??
States run elections. Focus on your local elections. Get Dems elected. Figure our ways to counter all the egregious lying propaganda people are watching/hearing/reading 24/7.
Carol-Ann: Legal AF just noted that the President-elect is currently trying to get The Senate to sign off on a recess for 10 days so they can elect many more Judges into position for his regime.
Tyrone: I think the recess was so that he can install Cabinet members without Senate approval. He asked no appointments before Jan 20 so he could keep the judicial vacancies, but until Jan 20 the Republicans are not in charge of the Senate, so that’s the one opportunity Democrats have to fill those vacancies.
Tutone not Tyrone. Damn autocorrect.
SO well put, thank you!
Not looking for a fall guy or gall, looking to understand what is going on in my country and my world. I am living in Germany and my contractor said to me today that Elon Musk bought the election with around 500 million, and stands to make many billions from this investment. So, I really appreciated this analogy by Prof. Timothy Snyder. It is a take off on Gilligan's Island, a sitcom from the 1970s, called Oligarch's Island.
https://open.substack.com/pub/snyder/p/oligarchs-island?r=f0qfn&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
I am also reading about democracy to understand better what we can do. This article from the Journal of Democracy is on research about Backsliding Democracies like ours.
https://www.journalofdemocracy.org/articles/misunderstanding-democratic-backsliding/
Carol-Ann - thank you for that! I’m tired of the Democrats’ circular firing squad!
I hope he can’t destroy any of the evidence in his Federal cases. What a catastrophe this has been for the rule of law.
I agree, Mike, we can hope he 'Can't Destroy' the evidence against him, but I fear that for the short time he will inhabit the White House that is exactly what he will do -or how much he will share with his good bud, Vladomir Putin.
While we may never get our hands on the papers at Mar-a-Lago, I suspect that the data they contain is now at least 4 years old and that actions have been taken to render the secrets they contain inoperable.
May folks listed as spies and assets and informants be safe.
Yes.
Henceforth, any information stored digitally outside your personal physical domain will be at risk of disappearing. Many are already beginning to download from “the cloud“ anything of any value.
I can’t read commentary or anything suggested without feeling anxious. These
Election results have triggered my 2016 PTSD.
Resilience runs in my family and I know it is lurking. I need time.
You’ll get there. Do what you need to keep the ptsd from flaring too high. I have it from my military service & have learned to not fight it, do what helps you bring in grace & strength and it will ease down. Fighting it makes it stronger. Sometimes - I realize this might sound weird or silly - I find it helpful to say something like this to the ptsd “so it’s you again, okay, been there, done that, I see you & know you’re there”. Sounds silly but it can help. I wish you well.
Lived experience is often a psychic salve. Thank you Kasumii ~
Thank you, Kasumi.
Think of it like the Rain Man - an old familiar brother that has some goofy things it does when stressed.
I feel exactly the same way, Ellen. I refuse to watch any network or national news or read them on my computer/phone. I do not use social media so I am safe there. It makes me very anxious and fills me with dread. But I am reading most of my Substack subscriptions and a few podcasts (including #Sistersinlaw - my most favorite! If it’s too much, I stop reading. I have felt compelled to take care of myself right now. But I will be volunteering at my Synagogue’s gift shop periodically and will get back to politics soon.
#SistersInLaw first ? Answer: Joe should resign and make Kamala the first female Pres and she should publish the Equal Right Amendment! BRILLIANT!
No." I would love it if it were any other sitting president, but President Biden has earned this finality to his decades of overwhelmingly good public service. I’m not saying he was always right, or there weren’t the occasional really stinky times, but overall, he has redeemed himself for the most part and I don’t think anyone can doubt the measure or heart of his public service. He truly has been in it to serve the public and been here long enough to learn from his mistakes and become what I believe him to be, the “wise elder statesman”.
Absolutely love this idea. The only thing I am not sure about with it, though, is whether it would impact the ability to get important work done that requires that 51st vote as a tie breaker.
Hmmm… could Joe make Kamala President the day before Inauguration Day?
After all the judges are confirmed!
Plus, all the Trump 47 bling would be rendered obsolete since he would now be 45 & 48!
Speaking of synagogues, I’m very concerned about minority group members being sent to camps. I mean, we’ve certainly seen it here before.
My greatest fear also Tri Train. The human cost will be greatest. Economic equally devastating for the US. Racial profiling will put non-white people, immigrants or not, at risk.
Too since he will be sworn in on MLK Day, does a President have the power to, on that platform, eliminate a national holiday?
Me too. We really are in this together.
Amen, Ellen. Me too.
Don't forget to breathe. To be of any use to the future, take care of yourself.
I had 2016 flashbacks all night Tuesday.
I’m with you, Ellen.
❣️🙏🤧❣️
Absolutely, find like minded friends and small projects to work on. Do you have a local chapter of league of woman voters?
Yes, I am connected with the local Dems. (in a very red county at that). We are fleeing to our best friends home for a few days. And walking outside helps a lot.
💙💙🤩🇺🇸💙💙
Hey Ellen,
Take a look at these links and see if they might be helpful:
Pups4Patriots
https://www.americanhumane.org/initiative/service-dogs-for-veterans-and-first-responders-pups4patriots/
K9s For Warriors
https://k9sforwarriors.org/
Assistance Dogs International
https://assistancedogsinternational.org/main/looking-for-an-assistance-dog/
You’re right, Joyce, I feel despair. I know I am supposed to hold positive thoughts but it is so hard to do so because I reflect back on my own parents lives of fleeing Nazism. This is exactly how Hitler began to convincing Germans to hate Jews, gays, the disabled, and gypsies. They turned their heads when their neighbors were being rounded up and put in cattle cars to meet their doom. Babies were thrown to the ground right in front of their mothers as my mother’s brother observed in Berlin. tremendous disdain is felt towards her Jewish Nazi, Stephen Miller, for his first round of snatching babies from their parent’s arms. If given permission, he will undoubtedly do it again in record speed and with more hatred in his being.
The only saving grace right now is that Newsom and other Democratic governors are forming a somewhat coalition to make certain these deportations do not occur but can they hold the fascist forces back and for how long? What happens to Black men and women? They have already received texts from Putineers stating that they better be prepared to “pick cotton”? Heartbreaking and HORRENDOUS!!
Once I get out of this blinding fog, I am locking arms with every man, woman, and child who wants to thrive, to live. I will be volunteering again. I promise you that.
WE will stand together. We must.
First, a huge, warm embracing hug to you to thank you for posting and sharing your fear and your pain and your history. No wonder it is hard…how could it be anything else? So thank you for sharing your history, not only for you, but for those of us who can only be allies, who may come under scrutiny some other way but need to know what is at stake in starkest terms and for those closest to harm.
Newsom’s AG has been preparing legal arguments for months as well as Newsom’s work as Governor, so yes, there are some lights out there in the fog. And hey Marlene? If push comes to shove…get you and yours up here to just west of PDX…not too far driving for you no matter where you are in CA. We are a sanctuary church. We have a place for you. With a synagogue close by.
Awwww…Joni…Thanks a bunch!💕
I found this helpful: https://therealnews.com/rep-raskin-trumps-administration-will-create-a-climate-of-fear-and-intimidation-to-govern-dont-let-them
I have utmost respect for Jamie Raskin. However indicating that Kamala’s campaign failed to provide any meaningful solutions for working class US citizens is grossly erroneous. https://kamalaharris.com/issues/
It was the pervasive alt right media with its All Points Bulletins steeped in lying, slandering and denigrating the campaign and Democrats. They made Progressives an evil word when it is a plan with real policies to fulfill democracies promise of a government by and for the people!
I hear you. Admittedly the analysis of what didnt work wasnt my focus, it was what to do next and given that it will be better for people not to stew in fear and instead have some pragmatic actions was why i posted the link.
I think others posted this too. Great admiration for Raskin who should really be on the Supreme Court. I get it…R’s invoke fear. That’s their main tactic they have always used except they were successful when they didn’t uphold the Impeachment (twice) and they ripped kids away. Thanks for sending it though.
You know how I know I'm old? I knew Jamie Raskin's mother. She was a lovely woman, and he's certainly worthy of plenty of admiration.
I agree!
I adore Jamie Raskin but the guy doing the interview is an absolute jerk. Until media folks start addressing the problem with lying and extreme propaganda and their own culpability in failing to inform voters with the knowledge they need to make good choices for themselves and their families, I’m not having it. Period! Ugh!
Again, my point in posting it was primarily for Raskin’s suggestions for action not his analysis which presently arent helpful
The only way out is through. You'll feel despair. We all do. And then it passes, we're through for now, then comes hooe and energy, and for me, Rage.
It's very energizing.
And then comes the despair again.
It's like that. Be there for those who are in that part of the cycle, as we we help you when you're down.
In this together indeed.
That you Jen. Time for me to get off the Bench. I'm not retired but only "inactive". I already talked to the State Bar. Today is as good as any to put my spikes back on.
I was bemoaning not having chosen law as a career and someone suggested a paralegal training (I’m getting close to 70 but still ready to work) since last Tuesday I have been mulling that thought over. All hands on deck??
OH BRYAN…YAY!!!
I think that if you can find things to do that might help the situation it will greatly reduce the despair.
My parents fled Nazi Europe in the late 1930s, too--from different countries. I have intergenerational trauma from this, which made Harris's loss trigger my heightened anxiety/sense of doom. I am getting back my resilience and feeling less off balance.
Stephen Miller is a self hating Jew for sure. His parents must be cringing with embarrassment, I would be if he were my son.
I'll be volunteering, too, and donating time and money.
Ellen, tonight my family & I watched the powerful PBS documentary "Letters from BRNO" meaning Brno, Czechoslovakia circa 1933-1941.
"Letters from BRNO" is narrated by KAREN KRUGER the daughter of ERIKA TURKL who as a child was put on one of the 1939 refugee "Winton Trains" that transported young Czech Jewish children from Nazi controlled BRNO, Czechoslovakia through 6 stops to England.
KAREN inherited the voluminous family's detailed historical record carefully translating the handwritten Czech & typewritten German revealing an era her mother would never speak 1 word about. Important human history for all of us.
My understanding is that the West LA family of Stephen Miller has disowned him since his notorious days that at high school in Santa Monica. The aryan transformation of Stephen Miller is now complete as Miller has been appointed the chief White House contact for the 2025 deportation of immigrants.
On the positive side, the current Governor of Massachusetts & former MA AG, is the formidable MAURA HEALEY. Governor HEALEY is a strong believer in U.S. naturalization Citizenship of any person born in the United States. So the children of Ukrainian refugees born in the United States and/or the the ninos of Mexican workers who labor in the Agribusiness fields of California are not "illegals" as a matter of law.
My mother did not talk about her experiences in Vienna until she was 85 years old. She will be 101 tomorrow--she is living a long life as an act of revenge against the Nazis that chased her and her family out of Austria. She is receiving monthly social security payments from the Austrian gov't. And all of her descendants down to her great grands have the ability to attain Austrian citizenship--and most of us have.
I live in Pennsylvania, and we have a wonderful Dem governor, Josh Shapiro.
OH MY! Mazel Tov to your precious mother and give her a big hug from me! My father came from Poland and my mom, from Berlin. My dad spoke and understood a little French, Hebrew, English (when he got here), German, and Yiddish. My mother spoke inverted English, German, Yiddish, and read Hebrew. Not once did either one of them speak to us in their languages. I only learned how to count to ten in German and my dad taught my sister and I “ Father, Son, Holy Ghost” in Polish, a language he never knew. His village only had spoken Hebrew and Yiddish. My sister and I could get German citizenship, as well as my daughters also, but I believe the requirement is that you have to speak it. Funny thing is that my parents always thought their secrets in speaking Yiddish to one another deterred us from learning what was said. We figured it out! :) *Sidenote*: My mother received restitution from Germany until the day she died. I also have both of my parents passports and letters written to and from my mother’s father and mother which my uncle translated into English. I can’t get through them all…too painful. Intergenerational trauma is what i have and so do my daughters.
Thank you! Mom isn't thrilled to be living this long--she lead a large life and now is essentially bedridden. She voices the wish to 'move' (as she calls 'die') often. My parents, too, spoke German around us kids and we got the gist of what they were saying. That intergenerational trauma thing--man, everyone has anxiety/depression in the family.
*not her*. should be *the*
Thank you Joyce! We are better than the "useful idiot" and honestly, I don't want to meet stupid people where they are. I want the promise of moving forward with all that we are capable of. Let them meet us where we are!
Well said!
I have decided to keep reading my favorite substacks like this one. However, I’m taking a minimum of two weeks off from ALL corporate media where pundits are now trying to find blame in the Dem party, Harris campaign, Biden, Harris etc. They can go to H. I need a break before joining new efforts to end this nightmare.
People were constantly drenched with a fire hose of lies and they believed them. They were told that the economy is bad and that the country is on the verge of depression. It isn’t true, but they believed it. That’s how they won. It wasn’t the campaign. It was people eager to believe what they were hearing and too lazy to fact check.
And the failure of news sources to emphasize the facts. Truth matters. In addition to being the only president who attacked the Capitol, he is the only convicted felon to become president. He’s cheated on all 3 of his wives and broken all 10 commandments. Justice matters.
The fact that all of us were able to see clearly just who he is, and that a simple majority of voters chose to either ignore it, or weren’t able to see what was in front of their eyes, says a lot about us and our education system. I truly thought we were better than that, I was wrong. 🙏
Dick, let’s not blame our education system. Let’s get more concerned and critical about the utter failure of corporate media, 28 years of Murdoch, and other billionaire propagandists.
Indeed, the Unelected have WAY too much power and authority -- and that includes everyone from Elon Musk to Clarence Thomas. And nothing they have done has elicited a response from Democrats. How HAPPY are tyrants today!
I'm thinking we should stop saying he won a majority because it makes it seem like a majority of 330 million and it was only 7 of 33. And I think we need to be specific about this so as not to help normalize it or indicate it is a legitimate end. (I too thought we were better; I too was wrong. But so were half of us, or more.)
I would like to see the results of a study of this election. Trump promised some surprises including secrets that he and Johnson had. He also told people that they didn’t need to vote because he had the numbers. Then the election results showed that 10,000 people didn’t vote??? This after the massive turnout at all of Harris’ rallies? If it smells like a rat…
Election results show 10 to 12 million votes less for Kamala than Biden and that made the difference. Trump "won" with one million LESS than he got in 2020.
It does smell, esp given his remarks and his incomprehensible non-campaign. He ACTED like "the fix was in" and since he is always about projection, one has to think "the fix might have been in...again...." So yes there is argument for finding this election highly suspect. As usual, Republicans have been putting in place their "victories" while Democrats played by the rules and lost.
Do we think for a minute the Democrats will fight back? I don't. They have sleep walked us into this, as much as anyone has. Biden has been a very successful president in some ways and an abject failure at Trump-proofing America, imho.
Most people who are honest assume that the opponent is honest too.
And there is the assumption of innocence. The bomb scares occurred in democratic leaning ridings. Found to be Russian by the FBI, these bomb scares fraudulently supported a Republican win.
He was saying that little boys were going to school in the morning and coming home as little girls. If people believe something that ridiculous, there’s no hope for them. Apparently they ran tons of anti-trans ads in Pennsylvania.
Lanie--I couldn't agree more. Your fire hose image was perfect.
I can't take it either. No more blame game..nor can I see Trump's face or hear of his horrors yet. We will need to be strong and positive and just refuse to follow or accept anti democratic acts! Not sure how yet but no capitulating.
Years ago I saw a sign on a church marquee "some day they'll give a war and no one will come." I think that may be the approach. Just say No.
I am so disappointed that tffg has been invited to the White House. I hoped we would have a couple months to mourn and get ready for the idiocracy. Votes have not been certified and hopefully the method of cheating will be exposed.
The Dems are always so damned quick to want to play nice! Even when they are putting us all, and themselves, and the Republic, in harm's way! It's what I like least about them. They give it all away without a fight! Republicans have known that forever. And Voila!
Maybe we need to take back the Republican Party... (where are those emojis...)
Good luck taking back the Republican party. I will be changing my registration to independent, no hope now of sane people who value the truth regaining control of it. No sense being a Democrat, as you said they forgot Barry Goldwater's quote: "Extremism in defense of liberty is no vice."
I'm also unaffiliated (since Colorado voted to let unaffiliated vote in primaries -- you pick one and can't split votes but you get both ballots to choose from. I've been both parties and probably voted a third party once or twice all to no avail.
But I'm thinking it's easier to take a party structure than to create one. In any case, I was hoping for a Kamala prez and a Liz A.G. and now my dream is maybe a Liz prez (no, I won't agree on policy much) and a Kamala A.G. -- I think that would take the help of a majority of actual conservatives to pull off. Maybe we should start a Blue Dog Party of centrists of both persuasions. Policy doesn't seem as big an issue when you're fighting for your literal life and future.
Hard for me to see a way to resist now that the Republican party has become just as, or more comfortable spreading lies than telling the truth.
Well, we either find a way to resist or we sit down and wait to be killed.
If there are brave ones willing to lead a resistance, as in preparing to stand
against the red tide and preparing to remove part of the cancer in two years at the ballot box again, then I must stand with them somehow. There is a Bible verse somewhere about not being defeated when it looks like evil is winning. The Republican Party no longer exists. But it's framework does. And a LOT of Republicans do. Though a new COALITION party might be easier. Just LOOK at the coalition brought together in 90 days. We need to be locking arms despite policy preferences imho.
Thank you for these encouraging words.
I have wondered how you are doing. I’m glad you have family and your precious creatures for love and support. I doubt we’ll ever meet but I’m right there with you & everyone here who doesn’t want to live in a fascist led theocracy. I’m very appreciative of the work you do but feel free to take time off if you need to in order to recharge. We’ll be here. All my best.
I have a lot of uncivilized thoughts which i won't share here. I'm sure everyone else has their share of those, as well.
What I will share is an avid impatience for those who want to take radical immediate actions... like dumping everything and leaving the country immediately. Or like refusing to ever speak to a relative who voted for the orange pustule or his minions. That's as destructive as what we're responding to and does no one any good. Sharing the content of sarcastic meme isn't light hearted it's destructive. Making sure everyone gets the latest crazed rumor isn't "sharing", it's destructive. We can't fix this today, but we can make it worse by pretending it's not serious and life changing. Fear is real but it's only absolute if we throw our mental hands up and run away. Instead, let's be sad mad and confused and just sit with the feelings. They will change. Slowly confusion will solidify into solid thoughts and then we have a chance to make rational choices, based in fact and not memes and inflated worry. Meanwhile we can rely on those whom we know are kind and thoughtful, and cry our tears, scream our rage into the sky where we cannot cause another any more pain or damage.
There is so much to be informed if before we even know what a good step will be. We need to gather ourselves be with those who wish to organize in legal and talk ways, learn what we don't know and move forward with knowledge and foresight of the aim and intention to renew and rebuild this democracy. Hold onto the real stuff. Go right through the middle of this with trusted others. Don't shy away from self- examination. Make small changes. Feel the real feelings. The ones that change you for the better. This is a huge job. Let's not let ourselves be lazy about how we approach the future.
Hang in. For real. Xo
The first few days after the election results, I was numb with disbelief that we were going to have T as President again. The next few days I was angrier than I have ever been. Now, I am letting the reality of what is ahead sink in. I can't watch CNN if Scott Jennings is on. His smirk and condescending attitude just raises my blood pressure. I am saddened to realize that some of the newscasters are softening their comments. It is happening.
I plan to carefully watch as the new regime begins. Speak with friends, and, like minded people, and, try my best to restore democracy!!
Agree about Jennings. He is odious.
Same here. Fury has replaced disappointment!
I am ashamed of my country right now, and part of my self-care is taking down memorabilia of my military service and decades of work in the federal court system, including photos of my dear judges and staff. Looking at that stuff really bothers me now and triggers me in ways that I do not understand. I think it is the realization that the rule of law that we spent (I am retired now) and in many cases continue to spend and the oath that we all took to support and defend the Constitution is meaningless, that it does not apply to the one who would just as soon stomp it on the ground and will do his best to make that action a reality. I feel so bad that they all have to go to work in the future and look at the picture of that orange monster and his sidekick every.single.day in the courthouse and treat it with respect.
don't worry about that....all courts will be closed.
just wrong Patricia
I hope to be. but am worried...right now who is able to thwart trusk ? courts, who stands in the way of trusk moving the gold to maralardo ? courts.
marshall law is declared due to immigrant numbers, blah blah all courts are suspended until we whatever. musk is already saying the fed should be under the executive branch.....
So, just wrong, I hope so.
You're violent
Not helpful
Others don't care what you think. Take care of yourself the way you want and let others do the same.
First step is to round up young, enthusiastic, energetic, candidates for local offices and help them run for office at the lowest level. Do all the things we were willing to do for Harris but at a much lower level. Dilute the Red with Blue. Flush future candidates out of the neighborhoods and into the limelight. They are out there. Our job is to find them, fund them, elect them. Turn politics into a Blue blanket to cover the entire country. We already know how to do that. It worked for Harris. Just not enough to counter the lies.
You must take care of yourself, and those lovely chickens. Let’s focus on the good stuff, like we are in this together, Joyce! Thank you! ❤️
There are still many questions that need to be asked and answered about this election. Many people are reporting their ballots are not registered, or they were marked as returned but never sent. Some were registered and voted, but their state website doesn’t show them having voted. Others voted early in person but there is no record that they were registered when in fact, they were said to be registered when they were in the polling place and had their ballots counted. No Repub in the last 40 years has won the popular vote. Strangely 45 spoke repeatedly about not needing any votes, in fact he told people in his rallies he already had enough votes. And there is a high degree of suspicion that 45 could have won all the swing states. Especially in democratic strongholds. And there was a discrepancy of 15million votes between this election and what Biden received in 2020.
Today I saw a video post in which Rachel Maddox has raised some of these questions herself. Finally we saw later today that the Harris campaign was quietly working toward a recount.
I’m no conspiracy theory person. I need facts and I want the truth. No matter what. But unless a recount happens to verify at the very least, the swing states, I’m not convinced. This election was too much of an upset and too critical to our survival as a country not to make absolutely certain it actually reflects the will of the voters. This is the least we can do. After all, 45 had them recount Georgia 3 times. And they’ve had 4 years to work on how to get a win.
I totally agree! I’m not into conspiracies, I simply don’t trust that Americans are THAT ignorant. I don’t trust a desperate lying conman and felon facing multiple felony trials and a federal prison cell where he’ll take his last breath to have actually won, especially the popular vote. He’s never been popular before and he’s done nothing to improve his popularity, in fact, he’s gotten much, much worse. More revolting, disgusting and unhinged. Who would actually vote for that??? What’s done in the dark always comes into light. Don’t you know there are thousands of people working on that “win” right now. Quietly but determined.
Freedom makes a huge requirement of every human being. With freedom comes responsibility. For the person who is unwilling to grow up, the person who does not want to carry his own weight, this is a frightening prospect.
___Eleanor Roosevelt
Freedom is nothing but a chance to be better.
Albert Camus
I would like to be remembered as a person who wanted to be free... so other people would be also free.
___Rosa Parks
Albert Camus stoped the use of the guillotine in France with his pen. ✍🏻
Still I Rise
Maya Angelou
1928 –2014
You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I’ll rise.
Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
’Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.
Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I’ll rise.
Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops,
Weakened by my soulful cries?
Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don’t you take it awful hard
’Cause I laugh like I’ve got gold mines
Diggin’ in my own backyard.
You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I’ll rise.
Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I’ve got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?
Out of the huts of history’s shame
I rise
Up from a past that’s rooted in pain
I rise
I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.
From And Still I Rise by Maya Angelou. Copyright © 1978 by Maya Angelou. Reprinted by permission of Random House, Inc.
This evening, I read an excerpt from Alexei Navalny’s memoir, and these words leapt out at me: “We must do what they fear — tell the truth, spread the truth. This is the most powerful weapon against this regime of liars, thieves, and hypocrites. Everyone has this weapon. So make use of it.” These words from Navalny about the Putin’s regime must be heeded in America for what is to come. Onward!
and he's dead.
Wrong again Patricia Alexei Nalvany was murdered. Comprendo? That means intentionally put to death. M1!
I’m finally paying attention enough to think about what happened, and does anybody really believe that Trump won every swing state and the popular vote? If something seems too good to be true it probably is. I hope somebody is taking a detailed look at the election results because something feels very wrong here!
No, I do not believe it, Rich. Haven't from the beginning. The vote counts came in too fast. Makes no sense! I also fervently hope our intelligence is working on finding the truth. But what happens after that is anyone's guess. These are certainly unprecedented times!
People in government keep saying our elections are secure. Like, they want us to shut up about it.
I am worried about Federal employees leaving their jobs voluntarily, making it easier and faster to replace them with Trump loyalists. Every position vacancy is an opportunity for them. Staying in your job under a regime you despise isn't a sign of weakness, it's a form of resistance.
Not sure they'll have a choice. Trump has vowed to replace them and their devotion to America with sycophants loyal to him.
The choice they have is quitting in advance or waiting until they are fired. Best that they wait to be fired. As Tim Snyder warns, ‘don’t obey in advance.’
Yes, I am concerned about that as well in the federal courts.
until they demand a signed oath of loyalty to the fuhrer.
I’m a retired federal employee. When hired, you take an oath to the Constitution. I don’t think he can just decide to alter that. I wonder what Joyce or other legal experts thank. Have you heard anyone address that?
Thanks, Joyce. It’s damn hard to reconcile all of this. I’m currently in Mexico and have no plans to return except for meds and doc appointments. I’ll be looking for new docs here. I hope your message and strength will help keep people focused on what needs to be done. I’m done with the USA.
We lost to a white Christian Nationalist corporation shepherded by Oligarchs, supported by wholly owned media networks/podcasters, and a stolen Supreme Court with Justices who blatantly lied at their Confirmation Hearings. I give you the 2024 Republican Corporation, LLC (Lies, Lawlessness, and Cruelty).