It’s almost the end of 2023 and because it was, in many ways, a long and tiresome year, I’m going to engage in a brief moment of pettiness, disclosing the dumbest things I heard this year from the party of Trump.
I will have more to say later on other dumb Republican remarks, but let me first answer the question about why Democrats move to, not flea to, but move to red states. As a lifelong Democratic and Social Justice activist, I moved to the Texas Hill Country because it is populated by lots of great people who need help fixing this broken red state. We ain't there yet but we are working on it and will get there. Does that answer the question?
I laughed out loud. I know a nice 1,750 sq ft modernized 72 year old GI Bill house behind the neighborhood post office loading dock here in Encino Park in the western SFV that's for sale for only $1,350,000. Monthly payments at an 8% mortgage are only $18,000/month after 20% down. I only pay $2,200/month for an unmodernized 72 year old GI bill house in my Leave It To Beaver neighborhood and thank goodness for my paid subscribers at TAFM or I'd be homeless as a successful author. (those houses were $7,500 total in 1949)
I lived and worked in the Missouri political system for 22 years. When I retired I moved to North Carolina, a state where there is hope and my efforts are not futile. I needed a blue circle for my own wellbeing.
I give you props for doing that. I was fortunate that my parents removed me from Texas when I was young enough that whatever it is in the water that fucks people up hadn't affected me yet. And I managed to leave Colorado at 18 before whatever was there back then kicked in. I was back there in Texas in 1968, dealing with the goat ropers of Killeen with their shotguns in the window racks of their pick'm up trucks and the Wallace bumper stickers, and I was glad as hell to leave in 1969 and I won't be back. I have nothing but respect for my old Austin comrades like Alice Embree and Thorne Dreyer who are still there fighting the good fight and not giving up. I'll send them money but I like living in my little SoCal neighborhood where nothing whatsoever ever happens. Driving around Texas for a year with a loaded and cocked .45 under the driver's seat was enough.
Funny that you mentioned shotgun racks! When my son was in high school, our part of the county was not as over-populated as is now. No one thought twice about the parking lot being almost half-filled with pick-up trucks equipped with gun racks in their back windows. In fact, the school was nicknamed "Shotgun High."
Fifteen or 20 miles away was another high school nicknamed "Corn Field High" because that's all you saw in the area. But I digress.
Count your blessings that nothing much happens in your neighborhood!!!
I was on military duty in “ damnbama” in the late 80’s. Shotgun racks, confederate flags, and the burning down of an AIDs hospice made it clear that I was in the place at the wrong time. The hateful small group leader would spit tobacco into a Coke can, while he sat st the back of the room.
If you were a "lifer," you more than likely had at least one deployment to a hostile country. Even if you served only in The Land of the Round Doorknob, it's pretty sad to discover that you'd be assigned to an area that never quite grew up and thrived on hatred and discrimination. Hopefully, things have changed since then.
That's not surprising to me. Still, it's sad. I worked for the Army and Air Force during "Vietnam," and as the years went by, couldn't help but feel the tension in the offices at times. I was naive, so I never understood it until that war finally ended and I saw how those who returned were not treated (or respected) like the returnees from Desert Storm. It was like their service was ignored.
A lot of people tend to forget that many of the recruits (including my husband) were too young to vote but not too young to serve. I apologize to Barry McGuire for stealing that line from "Eve of Destruction."
I am in Kentucky and everyone I knew had a gun rack in their trucks back in the 60’s and 70’s. Most of those guns were either shotguns or 22 caliber rifles- not machine guns.
I’m from central California and we did plenty of hunting with guns as I was growing up but we were sternly trained about gun safety, etc. Lots of gun owners understand/support difference. I would vote to drop 100% of gun use now if it would stop one school massacre or stop the need to do “shooter drills” at schools.
I lived in SoCal and wish I’d stayed. Of course then you could live 3 blocks from the beach in redondo on a bench chemists salary.
Now I live in Colorado with a panoramic view of the Front Range and Boebert wants to represent me in Congress. As if Ken Buck wasn’t dumb enough. I had Jason Crow until the redistricting, no idea why the impartial folks who decided it thought this suburban neighborhood had more in common with the pig farmers out in Very Western Kansas, er, eastern Colorado.
It was decided that way to nullify or counter your votes. We lived in a sorta poor area in NY (by Suffern). We were gerrymandered with some area of the Bronx. The only time this didn't matter was when we all did voted for positions in our village.
So Boebert moving to District 4 (CO) is SO entertaining, getting slammed by Rs in D4 for even attempting to enter primary race. But...if D 3 R’s select a moderate R in primaries (not a MAGA) I think Adam might have a major challenge.
Same! So fortunate my parents were forced to leave for a job transfer in ‘74
Moved to the valley in SoCal! Glorious childhood 🙌 unfortunately, it was too late for my boomer siblings-they’ve since moved back and are mAgATs..we don’t talk anymore 😐
Agree Judy! I’ve traveled all over, love seeing new places but returning to California always reminds me how fortunate we are to live in such a big beautiful,diverse, thriving state. I was raised being told in school that only 1 person in 4 (25%!) was born in California; the other 75% were migrating groups from other states. We welcomed new comers to our state! So different from what I hear from states I visit being upset about Californians moving to their states🤣 I let them know we dealt with it in California, are stronger for it ( IMO) and it all works out challenges and all.
Wow. Seeing Thorne Dreyer’s name in your post brought the 60s back in a rush. I was at UT from 65-70, active in SDS and the Committee to End the War. A Philosophy major tormented by John Silber and his running dog lackey Bill “Mr Virtue “ Bennett. Those were some days, all right. But I won’t go back either.
I suspect we may have met back there in 1968-69. I was one of the people running The Oleo Strut Coffeehouse in Killeen, outside Fort Hood. Thorne's still raising hell. He has a radio/podcast every Friday. He had been having a bad time in Houston after losing his mother and a relationship, so a rescue mission was formed back in 2008 and they brought him back to Austin. It's hard to believe that Alice Embree is now a "retired person" from staff at UT. She and Jeff Shero were the people who got me into SDS back in 1966 when they came up to Colorado and wanted to meet the only anti-war Vietnam Vet on a campus there at the time. She wrote a very interesting memoir, "Voice Lessons."
One more point of convergence. I worked in the business for more than 20 years, first with CBS in NYC, then on Fairfax, then Viacom at Studio City. Proud (former) member of WGAw. A hyphenate.
Well, we're closer than thought. It's funny, everyone I run across from back then went on to do Important Things. And those of us who really believed in what we were doing never stopped believing.
Oh Lordy, more names from the past. I remember Jeff well. I always thought of Jeff as rather dashing and Thorne as the brooding poet type. Another in that group whose name escapes me just now was shot and killed at his job in a convenience store in what I always believed was an assassination. That caused me to decamp for San Francisco for several months in ‘67-68. I went to SFO heading for DNC Chicago that summer after Bobby was killed but my girl talked me out of it so we went back to Austin. Fuck! I missed Woodstock because of the same chick. But she gave me two beautiful daughters, so there’s that.
BTW. I probably chained myself to a gate not far from your coffeehouse during a sit in at Ft Hood once.
As a native Californian I Ended up in Texas for 35 years and mainly Houston until 2011. That is when Texas was rapidly going very red. I was Able to return to northern CA. At that time. Another good friend left Houston during the pandemic and landed in Co. I practiced women's health care in Houston, the awful and draconian changes for women in Texas are Awful. My son still lives in Texas. It is a mind killer what can happen to men there.
I went to Houston for 1-1/2 years to work on space station freedom (remember that? it was canceled) just in time for Shrub to take over from Anne Richards in what I saw as an underhanded attack campaign. It was also my first exposure to right wing radio in the form of Rush Limbaugh. I liked Houston in general. I was politically immature.
I sure hope you moved to the Texas Hill Country for stronger reasons than changing the minds of folks. "A man convinced against his will, is of the same opinion still." "A woman convinced against her will...there is no such thing."
I explain to people all the time that it is not about changing the minds of anyone, it is about recruiting, educating, organizing, and motivating non-voters - those not currently engaged. There are plenty of people willing to get engaged and make a difference without trying to convince stubborn fools to shhange their minds.
Without Joyce Vance access I cannot imagine where we would be. She brings us brilliantly educated interpretations and information about the most important news of the day. If I read nothing else but Joyce on a daily basis, I know I have read a factual explanation of the most important news.
Check out this nonprofit started to support activists “flee” from blue to indigo parts of the US: “With MoveIndigo, you can choose an amazing location to live AND be a game changer at the ballot box!”
I’m in Arizona. Originally from NY. My husband from MD wants us to be the reason the state goes from purple to blue. It’s a great thought but sometimes....... frankly, it’s lonely.
You just need to find a few others who are hiding in the weeds and start organizing them. Remember the most essential element to making a difference is being engaged. If you leave the field open only to others you are surrendering your seat at the table when decisions are made. Being a difference maker requires engagement.
I’m an artist not in politics. My husband is also an artist. I don’t want to say that the arts are of the Democratic Party, but most Republicans I’ve found need some warming up. I taught ballet and for the last 12 years ran a florist shop with my husband. Lots of conversation and the Trump years had people too frightened to talk about him openly. We were a safe place. More ways to be blue than to be in politics trying to get signatures.
On the other side, the push to make my area (Sedona and the verde valley) tourism and retirement, did nothing to help my original move. I had thoughts of making dance more accessible. A group fought for it for a time, and in the 90’s we were successful for a time. The push is to expand Phoenix and Phoenix recreation has taken over. It’s seeming neither republican nor Democratic in nature. Just tourism.
I visit my granddaughter and her family quite a bit in the Phoenix area. Maricopa Dems have been a model to me for what can happen in red states. I’ve kinda “ adopted” the state politically bc I got sick seeing all the djt flags and MAGA banners everywhere on my trips over there; and those scrappy Dems won!!! So impressive. They work hard now on hanging on to it. You might want to consider getting involved in youth voter registration for their High Schools: CEBV (https://www.cebv.us/)( with The Civic Centers help) has a goal of eventually having 100% of AZ highschools registering their students to vote.
Art and students work really well together IMHO. 🙏🏻
Thank you for the information. I’m in Yavapai County. At this time I’m retired and a bit immune compromised around the edges. I have ties to the local dem community.🙏
Glad to hear about your local Dem community! Simon’s Hopium Chronicles resources really saved me from getting overwhelmed by all the gloom and doom! Now I just plan and work and read about people like you who want to see our Democracy saved! I don’t mean to be pushy or intrude with my opinion; I just care about Az so much bc I have family there and I so respect their determination and amazing successes in flipping their elections to a blue win. Bit by bit….all my best, Irene
Guy walks into a bar in College Station, asks the bartender for a longneck Pearl. When he gets it he asks the bartender, "Would you like to hear an Aggie joke?"
The bartender draws himself up and says "You see that large gentleman over there at the pool table? He is an Aggie! You see that other large gentleman over to that table? He is an Aggie! And I - I am an Aggie! Now, sir, knowing that, do you still want to tell us your Aggie joke?"
The guy drains the Pearl, sets it down, pulls out a fiver and drops it on the bar. "Nah, it wouldn't funny, having to explain it three times." And walks out. :-)
Bruce, I moved here for a job in the early 80's and generally thought Texas was beautiful but goofy, with dark seams of racism and cruelty in its fabric. That changed recently as the increasing polarization within the country started showing up in Texas.
I'm still friendly to everyone, but the pool of potential true friends has shrunk. Younger family members have decided to escape to blue states rather than raise families here. It's a shame, since we need their votes to throw out the stupid yahoo's in the state capital.
Texas has great potential. It has the elements to be a leading centrist thought leader for the country, with its brain trust that is second to none. It's got multiple climate and terrain zones that are unique and beautiful, and managing rationally would set an example for others to follow. It's worth fighting for the Texas the US needs.
A study of the voting results over the last 10 decades show that Texas has not always been on the far right. There have been some good Democrats and Republicans from there. You have a good chance of being successful. I wish you well.
The "good Democrats" from 50 years ago - almost all racist scum - are the "good Republicans" today. They're all Southernists. But the "good people" in Texas really are, because it's harder to be a "good person" in Texas.
The saddest thing in all of this is that there are Americans who agree with them. And vote for them. Our fellow Americans are to blame for these crazy nut jobs in office. Thank you Joyce for all you do to open the doors to educating all of us. Just love your MSNBC gigs!
Yes, there are some Americans who do go along with the right wing's racism, xenophobia, etc., but they are not solely to blame for the nut jobs in office. Don't overlook the fact that the right wing has been working hard to suppress votes and voters and to seize power through gerrymandering and other illegitimate means.
Yeah! I agree about the MSNBC gigs :) . But there's always a bit more in the posting. It could be a chicken or a German Shepherd or a cat, so I check the articles for pictures first :)
On the media yesterday, in rural PA (I'm in the outskirts of a PA city), one 78 year-old man said rumpf will just be dictator for a day. I wanted to ream the dude. I'm close enough in age to the guy that he's just ignorant. In 2015, I was at a deli dept in a large store. An old man came out to assist me and said, "Lock her up." I don't remember what I did but I knew what he walk talking about.
I'm your age, too, and afraid to go out of the house these days. Too many gun-toting neighbors (many of whom are not even teenagers yet) and their parents who still have torn and faded Trump/Pence bumper stickers on their cars or trucks.
If some creep said "Lock her up," either I'd pass out from fright or grab my cell phone and try to dial 911 with my shaky hands.
The problem is laughing at them may cause unpredictable results. We just don't know anymore. I think I could've laughed at the old guy to make his head spin. But it's too late. I am planning on seeing my Latino neighbor and hope to talk to her to see if she understands what's happening now. Last time we talked was probably summer or spring of 2019.
I live in a suburb of Rochester, NY and I refuse to go downtown because of the gun violence. And in another nearby suburb, the day after Christmas there was a melee in a local shopping mall involving at least 150 teenagers. A similar incident occurred at a mall in Buffalo on the same day. Something's going on that we can't see.
Dianne, Where are you (state)? The old dude (which feels strange due to my own age) was at a large Ingles market in Asheville. It was 2015. He worked in the hot food area. I kept away from him after that. But, there were two cashiers I befriended (loosely). One was pro umpf and this was way new to me so I started shopping elsewhere and the few times I went back, I just avoided both people.
Sherri, I'm in Virginia, in an area that seems to be pretty red. Years ago, when my husband and I and our college friends would go door-to-door to campaign for candidates for US Senate all the way down to City Treasurer, we had bumper sticker on our cars and wore white plastic straw-looking hats everywhere we went. What's ironic about all of this was it was in the late 60's ....... and not one of us was old enough to vote (that was when 21 was the minimum age)! The guys were able to go to Vietnam, but that's another story for another place and time.
It's such a shame nowadays, because you NEVER know what kind of "nut-job" you'll be next to at a stoplight.
Are you talking about Asheville, NC? Beautiful area back in 2004. Reading comments from others about their cities and towns, makes me think that all of us --- we ARE definitely in this together, literally and figuratively --- just HAVE to do our part, or regret the consequences for a very long time.
p.s. It was nice of you befriend those cashiers at the Ingles market. Sounds like "the old dude" must have taken his job in the hot food area quite seriously, thinking that HE was hot. I'll never look at a taco or burrito the same way!
My dad had jobs around and in DC, so folks lived in Fairfax and moved to MD. But in those days I really don't remember VA as being so red. In 2011/12, a college classmate in Bristol, VA told me what was going on with fox broadcasting was part of the basic cable network package. She (supported and campaigned for McAuliffe) saw how much lying was going on back then and was concerned about the effects. That helped me so when Sinclair Broadcasting and fox sort of merged (I've forgotten the details) in 2018, I flipped. But it all worked.
Yes, Dianne, Asheville - that shiny blue dot that seems to have expanded in a red sea that surrounds it. It was beautiful and it likely still is but not for us. We missed diversity and Asheville did a great job of hiding it. I also turned 18 in college (first year in Bristol, VA) and remember that first absentee proud and voted for McGovern :) in spite of his VP. I knew enough about Nixon not to. vote for him
The Republican Attorney General who inserts himself in decisions between a woman and her medical practitioner by threatening to sue the doctor and the facility for appropriate treatment of a woman with a non-viable pregnancy. Or refusing to consider an abortion for a 10-year-old victim of rape.
When I consider Texas Republicans, I'm reminded of an old "Texanism" about what they "needed" that allegedly was a defense against a murder charge. They're all rabid skunks and the only thing you can do with a rabid skunk is "put it down." (Actually, comparing a rabid skunk to a Texas Republican is an insult to rabid skunks)
Here is my advice - Do not ignore the power of kindness. I go out of my way to show kindness to all, even those who may hold views contrary to my own. I try to always call people by name, many service and low wage workers wear name tags. It is easy to call them by name, say please and thank you. Give someone a hand when you see they need it or it might help. There are dozens of opportunities every day to make someone else smile. Don't miss those opportunities and you will be surprised what a difference it makes.
Every time I read or hear mention that Trump's dumb, stupid or they blame his comments on his age, I want to pull my hair out. He KNOWS what he's doing. He's always in control, though he pretends not to be.
Each time he opens that big mouth and says these horrible things, it's not in jest. He's as serious as can be, and that's what the MAGAs absolutely love about him!!! It violates the First Commandment. (Not talking about the First Amendment, although he dreams of excuses about people violating that one against him.)
He’s diaphanous, so it’s much more fragile than it seems. ALL his power is derived from the people (his instruments of terror) he incites to believe his lies. Those people hold the power and Himself claims it as his own. Himself is the Orchestra Conductor Extraordinaire.
I agree. I’d only add, he’s a slob. I apologize for the personal attack (lol, but really) I don’t say it lightly. Slovenly, smelly and unconcerned about it. Literally thinks he doesn’t stink.
I will have more to say later on other dumb Republican remarks, but let me first answer the question about why Democrats move to, not flea to, but move to red states. As a lifelong Democratic and Social Justice activist, I moved to the Texas Hill Country because it is populated by lots of great people who need help fixing this broken red state. We ain't there yet but we are working on it and will get there. Does that answer the question?
I'm impressed. You truly are an activist.
I have a friend who lives in Arizona for the same reason.
I'm *in* Arizona. Any homes for sale in the state they left?
I laughed out loud. I know a nice 1,750 sq ft modernized 72 year old GI Bill house behind the neighborhood post office loading dock here in Encino Park in the western SFV that's for sale for only $1,350,000. Monthly payments at an 8% mortgage are only $18,000/month after 20% down. I only pay $2,200/month for an unmodernized 72 year old GI bill house in my Leave It To Beaver neighborhood and thank goodness for my paid subscribers at TAFM or I'd be homeless as a successful author. (those houses were $7,500 total in 1949)
Can you image writing a check for $18,000 each month, just to have a place to live? With a "magnificent view" of the loading dock of the post office?
Think I'll stay on this side of the Mississippi River for now.
Oh, you can look out the living room window and see the crest of the Santa Monicas, whattaya mean "no view"?? :-)
Ooops! We haven't been to California in decades, and that was around Lake Tahoe.
I'd love to live in a Leave It To Beaver kind of neighborhood.
The people who buy those homes ($1 million to $4 million+) generally pay cash. Signed retired MA Realtor.
I lived and worked in the Missouri political system for 22 years. When I retired I moved to North Carolina, a state where there is hope and my efforts are not futile. I needed a blue circle for my own wellbeing.
And we’re working to make it “ Bluer” in 2024 Leslie. I’m excited and hopeful for NC!
Rooting for you (and working for Democracy) from central California!
I give you props for doing that. I was fortunate that my parents removed me from Texas when I was young enough that whatever it is in the water that fucks people up hadn't affected me yet. And I managed to leave Colorado at 18 before whatever was there back then kicked in. I was back there in Texas in 1968, dealing with the goat ropers of Killeen with their shotguns in the window racks of their pick'm up trucks and the Wallace bumper stickers, and I was glad as hell to leave in 1969 and I won't be back. I have nothing but respect for my old Austin comrades like Alice Embree and Thorne Dreyer who are still there fighting the good fight and not giving up. I'll send them money but I like living in my little SoCal neighborhood where nothing whatsoever ever happens. Driving around Texas for a year with a loaded and cocked .45 under the driver's seat was enough.
Funny that you mentioned shotgun racks! When my son was in high school, our part of the county was not as over-populated as is now. No one thought twice about the parking lot being almost half-filled with pick-up trucks equipped with gun racks in their back windows. In fact, the school was nicknamed "Shotgun High."
Fifteen or 20 miles away was another high school nicknamed "Corn Field High" because that's all you saw in the area. But I digress.
Count your blessings that nothing much happens in your neighborhood!!!
I was on military duty in “ damnbama” in the late 80’s. Shotgun racks, confederate flags, and the burning down of an AIDs hospice made it clear that I was in the place at the wrong time. The hateful small group leader would spit tobacco into a Coke can, while he sat st the back of the room.
First of all, thank you for your service.
If you were a "lifer," you more than likely had at least one deployment to a hostile country. Even if you served only in The Land of the Round Doorknob, it's pretty sad to discover that you'd be assigned to an area that never quite grew up and thrived on hatred and discrimination. Hopefully, things have changed since then.
They have changed. They've gotten worse.
That's not surprising to me. Still, it's sad. I worked for the Army and Air Force during "Vietnam," and as the years went by, couldn't help but feel the tension in the offices at times. I was naive, so I never understood it until that war finally ended and I saw how those who returned were not treated (or respected) like the returnees from Desert Storm. It was like their service was ignored.
A lot of people tend to forget that many of the recruits (including my husband) were too young to vote but not too young to serve. I apologize to Barry McGuire for stealing that line from "Eve of Destruction."
I am in Kentucky and everyone I knew had a gun rack in their trucks back in the 60’s and 70’s. Most of those guns were either shotguns or 22 caliber rifles- not machine guns.
I’m from central California and we did plenty of hunting with guns as I was growing up but we were sternly trained about gun safety, etc. Lots of gun owners understand/support difference. I would vote to drop 100% of gun use now if it would stop one school massacre or stop the need to do “shooter drills” at schools.
I agree. No hunters I know use an AR15 to hunt.
I agree.
You must have been in Florida. My husband remembers the same thing about gun racks in every pick up truck herein Florida not so very long ago.
I lived in SoCal and wish I’d stayed. Of course then you could live 3 blocks from the beach in redondo on a bench chemists salary.
Now I live in Colorado with a panoramic view of the Front Range and Boebert wants to represent me in Congress. As if Ken Buck wasn’t dumb enough. I had Jason Crow until the redistricting, no idea why the impartial folks who decided it thought this suburban neighborhood had more in common with the pig farmers out in Very Western Kansas, er, eastern Colorado.
It was decided that way to nullify or counter your votes. We lived in a sorta poor area in NY (by Suffern). We were gerrymandered with some area of the Bronx. The only time this didn't matter was when we all did voted for positions in our village.
So Boebert moving to District 4 (CO) is SO entertaining, getting slammed by Rs in D4 for even attempting to enter primary race. But...if D 3 R’s select a moderate R in primaries (not a MAGA) I think Adam might have a major challenge.
Same! So fortunate my parents were forced to leave for a job transfer in ‘74
Moved to the valley in SoCal! Glorious childhood 🙌 unfortunately, it was too late for my boomer siblings-they’ve since moved back and are mAgATs..we don’t talk anymore 😐
Agree Judy! I’ve traveled all over, love seeing new places but returning to California always reminds me how fortunate we are to live in such a big beautiful,diverse, thriving state. I was raised being told in school that only 1 person in 4 (25%!) was born in California; the other 75% were migrating groups from other states. We welcomed new comers to our state! So different from what I hear from states I visit being upset about Californians moving to their states🤣 I let them know we dealt with it in California, are stronger for it ( IMO) and it all works out challenges and all.
Wow. Seeing Thorne Dreyer’s name in your post brought the 60s back in a rush. I was at UT from 65-70, active in SDS and the Committee to End the War. A Philosophy major tormented by John Silber and his running dog lackey Bill “Mr Virtue “ Bennett. Those were some days, all right. But I won’t go back either.
I suspect we may have met back there in 1968-69. I was one of the people running The Oleo Strut Coffeehouse in Killeen, outside Fort Hood. Thorne's still raising hell. He has a radio/podcast every Friday. He had been having a bad time in Houston after losing his mother and a relationship, so a rescue mission was formed back in 2008 and they brought him back to Austin. It's hard to believe that Alice Embree is now a "retired person" from staff at UT. She and Jeff Shero were the people who got me into SDS back in 1966 when they came up to Colorado and wanted to meet the only anti-war Vietnam Vet on a campus there at the time. She wrote a very interesting memoir, "Voice Lessons."
One more point of convergence. I worked in the business for more than 20 years, first with CBS in NYC, then on Fairfax, then Viacom at Studio City. Proud (former) member of WGAw. A hyphenate.
Well, we're closer than thought. It's funny, everyone I run across from back then went on to do Important Things. And those of us who really believed in what we were doing never stopped believing.
Oh Lordy, more names from the past. I remember Jeff well. I always thought of Jeff as rather dashing and Thorne as the brooding poet type. Another in that group whose name escapes me just now was shot and killed at his job in a convenience store in what I always believed was an assassination. That caused me to decamp for San Francisco for several months in ‘67-68. I went to SFO heading for DNC Chicago that summer after Bobby was killed but my girl talked me out of it so we went back to Austin. Fuck! I missed Woodstock because of the same chick. But she gave me two beautiful daughters, so there’s that.
BTW. I probably chained myself to a gate not far from your coffeehouse during a sit in at Ft Hood once.
Happy New Year. It’s gonna be a hell of a ride.
Yeah, I remember the assassination. His widow is a powerful presence today in the Austin left.
As a native Californian I Ended up in Texas for 35 years and mainly Houston until 2011. That is when Texas was rapidly going very red. I was Able to return to northern CA. At that time. Another good friend left Houston during the pandemic and landed in Co. I practiced women's health care in Houston, the awful and draconian changes for women in Texas are Awful. My son still lives in Texas. It is a mind killer what can happen to men there.
Welcome to Texas! We need you! Signed, a Houstonian.
I went to Houston for 1-1/2 years to work on space station freedom (remember that? it was canceled) just in time for Shrub to take over from Anne Richards in what I saw as an underhanded attack campaign. It was also my first exposure to right wing radio in the form of Rush Limbaugh. I liked Houston in general. I was politically immature.
I sure hope you moved to the Texas Hill Country for stronger reasons than changing the minds of folks. "A man convinced against his will, is of the same opinion still." "A woman convinced against her will...there is no such thing."
I explain to people all the time that it is not about changing the minds of anyone, it is about recruiting, educating, organizing, and motivating non-voters - those not currently engaged. There are plenty of people willing to get engaged and make a difference without trying to convince stubborn fools to shhange their minds.
Without Joyce Vance access I cannot imagine where we would be. She brings us brilliantly educated interpretations and information about the most important news of the day. If I read nothing else but Joyce on a daily basis, I know I have read a factual explanation of the most important news.
Check out this nonprofit started to support activists “flee” from blue to indigo parts of the US: “With MoveIndigo, you can choose an amazing location to live AND be a game changer at the ballot box!”
https://www.moveindigo.org/
Not heard of this one before. Will check it out. Thanks!
I’m in Arizona. Originally from NY. My husband from MD wants us to be the reason the state goes from purple to blue. It’s a great thought but sometimes....... frankly, it’s lonely.
You just need to find a few others who are hiding in the weeds and start organizing them. Remember the most essential element to making a difference is being engaged. If you leave the field open only to others you are surrendering your seat at the table when decisions are made. Being a difference maker requires engagement.
I’m an artist not in politics. My husband is also an artist. I don’t want to say that the arts are of the Democratic Party, but most Republicans I’ve found need some warming up. I taught ballet and for the last 12 years ran a florist shop with my husband. Lots of conversation and the Trump years had people too frightened to talk about him openly. We were a safe place. More ways to be blue than to be in politics trying to get signatures.
On the other side, the push to make my area (Sedona and the verde valley) tourism and retirement, did nothing to help my original move. I had thoughts of making dance more accessible. A group fought for it for a time, and in the 90’s we were successful for a time. The push is to expand Phoenix and Phoenix recreation has taken over. It’s seeming neither republican nor Democratic in nature. Just tourism.
Hi Gari,
I visit my granddaughter and her family quite a bit in the Phoenix area. Maricopa Dems have been a model to me for what can happen in red states. I’ve kinda “ adopted” the state politically bc I got sick seeing all the djt flags and MAGA banners everywhere on my trips over there; and those scrappy Dems won!!! So impressive. They work hard now on hanging on to it. You might want to consider getting involved in youth voter registration for their High Schools: CEBV (https://www.cebv.us/)( with The Civic Centers help) has a goal of eventually having 100% of AZ highschools registering their students to vote.
Art and students work really well together IMHO. 🙏🏻
Thank you for the information. I’m in Yavapai County. At this time I’m retired and a bit immune compromised around the edges. I have ties to the local dem community.🙏
Glad to hear about your local Dem community! Simon’s Hopium Chronicles resources really saved me from getting overwhelmed by all the gloom and doom! Now I just plan and work and read about people like you who want to see our Democracy saved! I don’t mean to be pushy or intrude with my opinion; I just care about Az so much bc I have family there and I so respect their determination and amazing successes in flipping their elections to a blue win. Bit by bit….all my best, Irene
Find and support "Secular AZ". They are *really* on the ball in opposing theocracy here.
Thanks.
happy to have you here, Bruce. I am in BCS, home of Tx Aggies.
Guy walks into a bar in College Station, asks the bartender for a longneck Pearl. When he gets it he asks the bartender, "Would you like to hear an Aggie joke?"
The bartender draws himself up and says "You see that large gentleman over there at the pool table? He is an Aggie! You see that other large gentleman over to that table? He is an Aggie! And I - I am an Aggie! Now, sir, knowing that, do you still want to tell us your Aggie joke?"
The guy drains the Pearl, sets it down, pulls out a fiver and drops it on the bar. "Nah, it wouldn't funny, having to explain it three times." And walks out. :-)
Bruce, I moved here for a job in the early 80's and generally thought Texas was beautiful but goofy, with dark seams of racism and cruelty in its fabric. That changed recently as the increasing polarization within the country started showing up in Texas.
I'm still friendly to everyone, but the pool of potential true friends has shrunk. Younger family members have decided to escape to blue states rather than raise families here. It's a shame, since we need their votes to throw out the stupid yahoo's in the state capital.
Texas has great potential. It has the elements to be a leading centrist thought leader for the country, with its brain trust that is second to none. It's got multiple climate and terrain zones that are unique and beautiful, and managing rationally would set an example for others to follow. It's worth fighting for the Texas the US needs.
A study of the voting results over the last 10 decades show that Texas has not always been on the far right. There have been some good Democrats and Republicans from there. You have a good chance of being successful. I wish you well.
The "good Democrats" from 50 years ago - almost all racist scum - are the "good Republicans" today. They're all Southernists. But the "good people" in Texas really are, because it's harder to be a "good person" in Texas.
When you see a mess you don't just walk away from it. Smile and get busy trying to clean it up.
Pettiness? Not in the least bit. It is after all what they are saying. Sunshine, the best disinfectant.
Your effort is truly activism in action. I wish you success, and thank you.
Good luck to you! You’re right though. Change starts at the grass roots level.
Not petty in the least. It is after all what they said. Sunshine, the best disinfectant.
The saddest thing in all of this is that there are Americans who agree with them. And vote for them. Our fellow Americans are to blame for these crazy nut jobs in office. Thank you Joyce for all you do to open the doors to educating all of us. Just love your MSNBC gigs!
Yes, there are some Americans who do go along with the right wing's racism, xenophobia, etc., but they are not solely to blame for the nut jobs in office. Don't overlook the fact that the right wing has been working hard to suppress votes and voters and to seize power through gerrymandering and other illegitimate means.
And just plain old lyin’ their booties off!
The only way they can stay in power is to cheat. Now that they have cheated to stack the court, it will be harder to stop them.
It's been going on for a long time. McConnell is one of the worst offenders.
We MUST vote out the republican party to start back on the good foot.
Yes!
But they can suppress the vote because they have been elected into office!
Rally everyone you can to vote them out in November.
But none the less Dems need to run candidates in every election and give them support.
Not really, because Gerrymandering creates districts for guaranteed Republican wins with only a primary election to face and often not even that.
Yeah! I agree about the MSNBC gigs :) . But there's always a bit more in the posting. It could be a chicken or a German Shepherd or a cat, so I check the articles for pictures first :)
Or knitting needles.
On the media yesterday, in rural PA (I'm in the outskirts of a PA city), one 78 year-old man said rumpf will just be dictator for a day. I wanted to ream the dude. I'm close enough in age to the guy that he's just ignorant. In 2015, I was at a deli dept in a large store. An old man came out to assist me and said, "Lock her up." I don't remember what I did but I knew what he walk talking about.
I'm your age, too, and afraid to go out of the house these days. Too many gun-toting neighbors (many of whom are not even teenagers yet) and their parents who still have torn and faded Trump/Pence bumper stickers on their cars or trucks.
If some creep said "Lock her up," either I'd pass out from fright or grab my cell phone and try to dial 911 with my shaky hands.
Just laugh at them. And walk away. It’s all bluff
The problem is laughing at them may cause unpredictable results. We just don't know anymore. I think I could've laughed at the old guy to make his head spin. But it's too late. I am planning on seeing my Latino neighbor and hope to talk to her to see if she understands what's happening now. Last time we talked was probably summer or spring of 2019.
I live in a suburb of Rochester, NY and I refuse to go downtown because of the gun violence. And in another nearby suburb, the day after Christmas there was a melee in a local shopping mall involving at least 150 teenagers. A similar incident occurred at a mall in Buffalo on the same day. Something's going on that we can't see.
Our lives have gotten smaller. Gadzooks, Rochesters ... There's no place safe.
Even the burbs, Sherri.
Dianne, Where are you (state)? The old dude (which feels strange due to my own age) was at a large Ingles market in Asheville. It was 2015. He worked in the hot food area. I kept away from him after that. But, there were two cashiers I befriended (loosely). One was pro umpf and this was way new to me so I started shopping elsewhere and the few times I went back, I just avoided both people.
Sherri, I'm in Virginia, in an area that seems to be pretty red. Years ago, when my husband and I and our college friends would go door-to-door to campaign for candidates for US Senate all the way down to City Treasurer, we had bumper sticker on our cars and wore white plastic straw-looking hats everywhere we went. What's ironic about all of this was it was in the late 60's ....... and not one of us was old enough to vote (that was when 21 was the minimum age)! The guys were able to go to Vietnam, but that's another story for another place and time.
It's such a shame nowadays, because you NEVER know what kind of "nut-job" you'll be next to at a stoplight.
Are you talking about Asheville, NC? Beautiful area back in 2004. Reading comments from others about their cities and towns, makes me think that all of us --- we ARE definitely in this together, literally and figuratively --- just HAVE to do our part, or regret the consequences for a very long time.
p.s. It was nice of you befriend those cashiers at the Ingles market. Sounds like "the old dude" must have taken his job in the hot food area quite seriously, thinking that HE was hot. I'll never look at a taco or burrito the same way!
My dad had jobs around and in DC, so folks lived in Fairfax and moved to MD. But in those days I really don't remember VA as being so red. In 2011/12, a college classmate in Bristol, VA told me what was going on with fox broadcasting was part of the basic cable network package. She (supported and campaigned for McAuliffe) saw how much lying was going on back then and was concerned about the effects. That helped me so when Sinclair Broadcasting and fox sort of merged (I've forgotten the details) in 2018, I flipped. But it all worked.
Yes, Dianne, Asheville - that shiny blue dot that seems to have expanded in a red sea that surrounds it. It was beautiful and it likely still is but not for us. We missed diversity and Asheville did a great job of hiding it. I also turned 18 in college (first year in Bristol, VA) and remember that first absentee proud and voted for McGovern :) in spite of his VP. I knew enough about Nixon not to. vote for him
The Republican Attorney General who inserts himself in decisions between a woman and her medical practitioner by threatening to sue the doctor and the facility for appropriate treatment of a woman with a non-viable pregnancy. Or refusing to consider an abortion for a 10-year-old victim of rape.
Virtually all of the Republican statewide office-holders in Texas are failures as human beings.
When I consider Texas Republicans, I'm reminded of an old "Texanism" about what they "needed" that allegedly was a defense against a murder charge. They're all rabid skunks and the only thing you can do with a rabid skunk is "put it down." (Actually, comparing a rabid skunk to a Texas Republican is an insult to rabid skunks)
I was thinking the same thing. Two of the biggest reasons I'd never want to live in Texas: Abbott and Cruz.
Here is my advice - Do not ignore the power of kindness. I go out of my way to show kindness to all, even those who may hold views contrary to my own. I try to always call people by name, many service and low wage workers wear name tags. It is easy to call them by name, say please and thank you. Give someone a hand when you see they need it or it might help. There are dozens of opportunities every day to make someone else smile. Don't miss those opportunities and you will be surprised what a difference it makes.
Wow you’re on a roll today
gotta set the end-of-year record. :-)
You can get shots for rabies.
We should be able to find a dozen qualifying Matthew Kacsmaryk quotes.
At least a dozen!
S
but that is not "dumb." It is intentional and mean.
True.
Every time I read or hear mention that Trump's dumb, stupid or they blame his comments on his age, I want to pull my hair out. He KNOWS what he's doing. He's always in control, though he pretends not to be.
Each time he opens that big mouth and says these horrible things, it's not in jest. He's as serious as can be, and that's what the MAGAs absolutely love about him!!! It violates the First Commandment. (Not talking about the First Amendment, although he dreams of excuses about people violating that one against him.)
He’s diaphanous, so it’s much more fragile than it seems. ALL his power is derived from the people (his instruments of terror) he incites to believe his lies. Those people hold the power and Himself claims it as his own. Himself is the Orchestra Conductor Extraordinaire.
No, that might be Georg Solti, or Arturo Toscanini, or Duke Ellington.
Conductor of doom, Les.
Ja. I'm hearing The Sorcerer's Apprentice.
I agree. I’d only add, he’s a slob. I apologize for the personal attack (lol, but really) I don’t say it lightly. Slovenly, smelly and unconcerned about it. Literally thinks he doesn’t stink.