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 kept score because I believe in accountability. This isn’t all of the things, it’s just a sampling. There isn’t time or room for all of them. But here are some of my least-favorites.
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.
Where to even begin? The level of disinterest in governance, facts, and the law by many in the GOP is both disheartening and frightening. People like Marjorie Taylor-Greene and Lauren Boebart, not to mention Tuberville, Comer, etc. are in Congress for the sole purpose of getting attention and their names and faces in the media. They don't care and don't want to learn about governing. Trump wasn't the first to do this, just the loudest and most obnoxious. It's the embrace of and pride in willful ignorance, and the disdainful attitude that these folks have for everyone, including their constituents, that gives a lie to every "policy" their party puts forth. It's a constant parade of performative a$$holery on the taxpayer's dime. If theses people were not in elected offices, I'd like to think they would have been fired long before their first few weeks were up.
I love your sentence enhancer (assholery) and just wanted to warn you that I fully intend on stealing (and using) it!
I was just thinking that MY next job should be in congress. They can be there and not do a damn thing AND STILL GET PAID! They don't work all year, have plenty of breaks where they go back to their home state, and obviously there's no criteria for knowing anything about government, procedures, laws, or even just basic courtesy. Where do I sign up?
You chose very significant quotes! I can add many more, but, we keep hearing the same ones from DJT. He is the winner for repetitions. Will this ever end. I have set a goal,(resolution) that I will not die before all the Trump cronies, including DJT, have been found guilty and faced punishment! Hopefully, I won't have to wait forever! Happy New Year! 😊
I’m almost 77. I got a DJT “dammit doll” for Christmas. I plan to use it when I need to slam things, and for good measure, putting pins in it for extra ooomph!
I make DJT pin cushions and mine is so full of pins and needles that it's hard to see him. The pleasure I get every day when I sew and get to insert even more sharp objects in him is simply divine!
you forgot to put in the "$$" instead of the s's... Which is the more accurate description of these so called MAGA politicians... the siren of the grifters. a$$holes
Thank you for being so generous with your invention! Now I won't have to worry about any copyright infringement or the like when I use it. Good to know!
I'd like to think one can't copyright a word. I read Groucho Marx on the time he was being sued by Warner Brothers for the movie title A Night in Casablanca. Warners felt their movie title Casablanca gave them the right to sue. The Marx Brothers countetsued on the use of the word Brothers in Warner Brothers, since the Marx Brothers predated them. (I'm not sure the claim was true, but in any case) Warners dropped their suit.
I admire Stephen King's ability to use "fuck" in a sentence. Truly a creative genius. Next in line, however, would have to be TC in LA! I really enjoy his rants on Substack. (I find I don't have to say a single swear word after reading TC, as he's used them all, very effectively.)
Fuck is a good solid word, and I'm at the point where I don't even consider saying "damn" or "fuck" to be swearing. - just descriptive of the situation.
Yes, I am with you, Wondering Woman!! I call them "sentence enhancers" which I got from someone commenting on YouTube, on a discussion about swearing. And, in my sentences, they ARE enhancers. (and are often used as adjectives or verbs)
Jane, you are absolutely correct, but since this whole forum was about republicans, I didn't think I needed to clarify that I was discussing them, not democrats. I stand corrected.
Same!! And apparently you don’t have to be physically (or mentally) able to do the job!! You can be wheeled around unable to speak or have a coherent thought! I’m thinking this is my retirement “2nd act” Great medical, pension and you don’t have to do a damn thing!!!!!
Oh Joyce, I am so distressed but I still believe in the goodness of the MAJORITY OF AMERICANS. I was at a dinner last night and out of six guests I was the only person who held this view. The invitees are all Dems but they all said America is doomed if Trump survives because most Americans are ignorant, too many are evil and too many have been corrupted. I said no, the majority of the people are good, just like Obama said. They said, no that was six years ago and things are different now. I kept saying no, I truly believe MOST Americans want what is right, want freedom, want goodness. They were very nice to me but said they were sorry they didn’t agree. I left the party and stayed up for hours after. Today I still say I believe in the MAJORITY of Americans! I go back and re-read Obama’s speeches and say, YES! The goodness can’t have totally evaporated in six years! Yeah, of course Trump is poison but by God he hasn’t poisoned all of us!!!! We need to stand up when push comes to shove and say: Hell no Trump!
Don't forget how well funded the right wing is. To the oligarchs, chaos doesn't matter. Unregulated business, disbelief in climate change, demolished social safety net, low or no taxes; all are their political planks. The methodology is only the icing on the cake for their goals.
I think chaos matters a lot to them; it is intended. The essence of making people believe in authoritarian leaders is making them scared. Now that heaven and hell in the afterlife doesn't work so well, they just make hell here: unsafe working conditions, economic stress, (over)reported violence, unaffordable medical care, social injustice..... Democracy means everybody takes responsibility. If things go wrong, it feels safer to have an autocrat to blame.
The spade work for the present era was being done by the far right for many years, including during Obama's presidency. See Nancy MacLean's "Democracy in Chains." It may seem like the transformation in American society has happened overnight, but it's been long in the making.
I do think there are many Americans (right and left) who want freedom and democracy to thrive. But at present, the deliberate chaos and corruption of MAGA is making impossible civil discourse which is vital to democracy - and that is just what MAGA wants.
Hello Sally. I agree with you.. most people want what's right and abortion is going to be the big issue. Ask people where they get their information - what they watch/read. MSM is owned by corporations not interested in what we are interested in. The truth is there is a YUUGE grass roots movement and we are woke to the challenge. Not like in 2016. So many, many groups and organizations have come into existence, I'm a Substack reader etc and ignore TV. And shore up yourself with Hopium!
Same! But I have adult children who are disenfranchised by the current system! I worry they are giving up! I constantly encourage participation and to vote blue, but I’m not sure they believe me 😢
I deeply sympathize with this, going back and forth on my concerns about exactly this. It worries me to watch my Catholic friends desperately veer like stumbling drunks into supporting Haley--I wonder how they are reacting to the latest proof she is just a rank opportunist who would throw Democracy over for her ambitions. It worries me to see folks claim we need a third-party candidate such as Never Trumpers who panicked about the polls and are now parroting the "Biden is too old" crap, while Trump sits in a diaper and wanders through his dementia-laden speeches.
It worries me listening to younger folks (almost all of them Young Turk types, because men don't have to worry about having their bodily autonomy taken away, so they can merrily afford chaos and anarchy) speak of kicking Democracy to the curb because "the system just doesn't work", discussing voting for socialist candidates that will never win.
I'm all for nearly every program the Republicans claim is 'socialist' like Social Security, common sense national healthcare including mental health, gun control, hell, even UBI, but good Lord, voting for one of the socialist candidates is absolute insanity. I point out to my Young Turks a short investigation of the backgrounds of the candidates shows they are quite literally funded by Putin. Unfortunately, our socialist party is horribly weak. And refusing to vote or throwing down a vote for a third-party candidate is a vote for Trump, period. Own that fact, I tell these young friends.
But I also think there is a HUGE push by the right to make us despair, to depress us, to drag down Democracy by dismissing and disrespecting and underestimating it. To make us fail to trust one another to do the right thing. All the signs are there: the hyping up of bad news, performative anxiety, frantic waving of hands, running around thumping, thumping, thumping drums with the same depressing messages over and over.
When people repeat themselves too often, across a wide spectrum of media, I get suspicious. I smell disinformation being pumped sneakily through the sewers. Like beating up water into a froth, Wanna-Be dictators like to keep people off balance, they want to raise the subtle stink of fear everywhere.
Underneath, though, there is nothing really going on. Our Democratic currents, even though slightly disrupted and occasionally detoured into tributaries, are still flowing, slowly cleaning out toxins. Gravity is still doing its relentless job of sweeping the nonsense down and out to sea--okay, granted that will kill a lot of fish, but we'll deal with that once we get these idiots out of power on our land.
I try to remind myself of that. I may be wrong, of course, but I fight the despair because I don't want to panic and play into their hands.
I hate saying it, but one of Obama's biggest problems was his naivete. It goes with the fact that his "community organizing experience" was running voter sign-ups, the lowest level of community organizing activity.
That was not the way that I understood (or perhaps misunderstood) the comment. I took it as a metaphor rather than a statement about political parties. I apologize if I caused some confusion, as it seems that I did.
These folks have ALWAYS been here! They have just now been told it’s “OK” to say your worst thoughts/feelings out loud and create laws to enforce them 🤬
I’m not even sure of the actual quote, but it has been a belief of mine, that if you look for the good in people you will find it! We need to be searching for that and connecting on that level to promote kindness and healing. Sadly, I may also believe Trump is the exception to the rule. But I still mete out hope that there are misguided good people among the MAGA sheep.
How much I'd like to have the slack to feel that way, look for and share the kindness. There is no slack, though. I could turn the other cheek until I perish from the blows if that would do any good. But no, the fish would simply throw the hook and move on to the next victim. I've never believed in running from a fight. Leaving the problem for someone else to solve, that's cowardly.
I’m pretty much with you. I think the trumpets, oh, funny spellcheck, meant “Trumpers” , are vocal. Many anti trumpets are equally vocal. The vast silent sea of people just can’t stand him and anything going on round “him”. They will vote for anyone but him. That’s also a problem potentially if Biden has people designed to siphon off votes, like Dean Phillips. Keep him on radar.
IRONY: If the alt-right gets their authoritarian government, it will within three years take away their precious guns. With all the "vermin" in the new Freedom Camps, the new Freedom States of America will declare no further need for an armed citizenry. Those who object will join the vermin.
These idiots don't understand that it's the liberals who are protecting their rights (because that's what liberals do...).
I said this exact thing a while ago: "Trump supporters THINK they'll get their power back by voting for the orange scourge.... What they will actually get is their worst nightmare." I wrote this on a substack comment section of Robert Reich two days ago.
They may (or may not) see it before three years. Somehow, they seem to think that Trump actually CARES about them. If he's re-elected, they will almost immediately know that he doesn't. He will have gotten what he wants from them and will ignore their whining and complaining from then on. What on EARTH has pointed to the idea that Trump loyalty is a two-way street? It's as predictable as the sunrise. There will be no "thank you" rallies like he did in 2017, no grand speeches about the "forgotten" men and women of his "movement." There will only be what his minions like Steve Bannon and Stephen Miller want to see happen. At first, it will be all about the MAGA "bread-and-butter" issues like immigration and rounding up asylum-seekers in camps before they're deported, and then outlawing trans medical treatments, then reining in the media to their liking, and then eventually they'll come for the guns. Yeah, you're right -- probably three years until then. But ALL the signs will be there for anyone to see them well before then. But MAGAs won't. They'll just be all excited that they got a $100 gift card to Walmart for turning in their rifles, because Trump will protect them. Then the proverbial sh*t hits the fan. And before anything else, I WILL have a bottle of Schadenfreude Red on ice.
So true, Dan. The useful idiots who follow the orange traitor and his ilk forget, or are just too stupid to realize, they will lose all their rights along with the rest of us. Then you'll really hear them howl and complain.
It is the message I try to explain when I encourage people to register and vote against the republicans, before that right goes away.
These are all talking points and what is with the democrats they are silent. When do we learn. The Democrats think that this is a pillow fight. It is full out nuclear war and start fighting for democracy. Thanks Joyce, it’s not petty Joyce, you are ringing the Old North Church Bell.
With respect, Jamie Raskin, Hakeem Jeffries and AOC, among many, have fired back - and been roundly criticized by, wait for it, Republicans, for not being collegial or worse, being rude. Really?
The media covers the cat fight between Boebert and MTG on the floor of the House and completely misses Republican attacks on: voting rights, democracy, healthcare for women, the need for action on the climate, the need for continuing to fund the government in a timely way, the need to actually work on legislation (least productive Congress! ) veterans medical care, holding up hundreds of military appointments, holding up equal numbers of diplomatic appointments, the millions of dollars wasted on fake “investigations” into Hunter Biden, a fake impeachment process without ANY evidence and keeping George Santos as a Representative with mounds of evidence of his grift, corruption and lies. I could go on.
I agree that Democrats need to bring it. I just wish death threats wouldn’t follow such action. Regardless, we need to get and stay LOUD!!! Just also need to be more media savvy about it!
I keep getting reminded of the old joke that when there's a gunfight coming, Democrats arrive with three bottles of chilled Chardonnay and a nice cheese plate. And a 245-page issues memorandum.
I keep hoping and assuming that Democrats are going to make a BIG SPLASH in messaging after the first of the year. I'm giving them until January 8th, and if nothing happens, will then start screaming about it.
I think Trump opened the door and allowed some people to say all the hateful, stupid things they've been wanting to say for some time. I think Trump and the Tea Party candidates were elected just because they say hateful, stupid things. But, I also think that is a minority of people in the US. We shouldn't ignore what they say, but we also shouldn't amplify it. I really like the way that Joyce gives us the facts and the implications without rhetoric or hysterics. I also really like that this community is called Civil Discourse. There's a lot of people who are not engaged in civil discourse but we can make our voices heard over the din of their chaos. Happy New Year!!
I know that's true, because too many of the morons I went to school with back in Denver were saying that crap when they were teenagers, and I am sure most of them never stopped.
Hey TC! We're neighbors. I live in Lake Balboa and I also own on of those 1.something million dollar, 70 year old houses. Mine was built in 1951. It's hard to make direct eye contact with new neighbors when I calculate what they're paying to live next to riff raff like me!!!
“We need a national divorce. We need to separate by red states and blue states…...”
Read this, it’s pretty funny. (Fwiw it’s not mine, I found it somewhere on the web awhile back).
————-
“Red States Want to Secede? Go Ahead. Make Our Day.
But be careful what you wish for. Here's how it could go down, and it might not be so pretty for you after all is said and done.
We would get the West Coast, all of the Northeast and the upper Midwest.
You would get Texas, Oklahoma and all the former slave states.
We would keep Hawaii too, the foreign country with warm water and beautiful beaches where Barack Hussein Obama was born without a birth certificate.
You can have Alaska and stare at Russia from your front porches.
To be fair, we may have to split up some states.
You get North Florida. We get South Florida. After all, what would you want with all those gay people in South Beach and old Jews in Miami?
We get North Virginia. You get South Virginia. To be fair, we'll let you keep the University of Virginia. Go Cavaliers! Plus you need at least one place to educate some leaders who believe in science.
But Austin, Atlanta and New Orleans get to be their own Blue city/states, sort of like West Berlin before the Wall came down. We'll even pay to move the capital of Texas from Austin to W's hometown of Midland, where as one native recently put it, "There used to be one Democrat in town, but I think she died".
We might even merge with Canada. That way we get single-payer healthcare, solvent banks, the Royal Canadian Mounties, and Ryan Gosling (eat your hearts our Red-nation women).
To sum up briefly:
We get Bruce Springsteen, Jay Z and Beyonce. You get Ted Nugent and Meatloaf.
Plus Willie Nelson gets to park his bus anywhere he likes in the Blue America.
We get Elizabeth Warren. You get Todd Aiken. (Hey, we'll even keep Chris Christie. He's too large to move, anyway.)
We get the Statue of Liberty. You get OpryLand.
We get the New York Philharmonic. You get the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
We get Oprah. You get Paula Deen.
And Blue America will have an easy repatriation policy for the ancestors of slaves still stuck in the former Confederate states, as well as a path to citizenship for undocumented workers and their children from both Red and Blue America who have worked hard/studied hard and put down roots. We'll even have a 21st century version of "40 acres and a mule" with education, job training and work at a fair wage for those who need it. (But here's a warning: good luck getting your crops picked, your kids asses wiped, and your pools cleaned without a bunch of low-paid undocumented workers.)
We get 85 percent of America's venture capital and entrepreneurs.
You get backwoods crystal meth labs.
We get Intel, Microsoft and Apple. You get WorldCom.
We get Harvard. You get Ole' Miss.
We get two-thirds of the tax revenue. You get to pay your fair share for once.
Speaking of all those federal taxes you love to hate. Most of it comes from us and goes to you. So stop talking nonsense about how "It's our money, not the government's money". Of the 19 states that send more money to Washington than they get back in benefits, 14 are Blue. And of 31 states that get more money back from the Feds than they pay in taxes, 23 are Red. It's not your money. It's our f**cking money. So from here on out, you can pay for your own damn roads and bridges.
Which state do you think has the lowest divorce rate? It's Taxachusetts, the first state to recognize gay marriage. Think that's some aberration? How about this? 9 of the 10 lowest divorce rates are in the Blue states. And where are the highest divorce rates? 10 of the top 10 are Red.
But gay people getting married is going to ruin the family for you? Seems like you're ruining it pretty well on your own.
So we get a bunch of happy families, straight and gay. You get a bunch of single moms and deadbeat dads.
With the Blue States in hand we will have firm control of 80 percent of the country's fresh water, more than 90 percent of the pineapple and lettuce, 92 percent of the nation's fresh fruit, 95 percent of America's quality wines (you can serve Texas wines at state dinners) 90 percent of all cheese, 90 percent of the high tech industry, all living redwoods, sequoias and condors, all the Ivy and Seven Sister schools plus Stanford, Cal Tech, UC Berkeley, and MIT.
With the Red States you will have to cope with 88 percent of all obese Americans and their projected health care costs, 92 percent of all US mosquitoes, nearly 100 percent of the tornadoes, 90 percent of the hurricanes, 99 percent of all Southern Baptists, virtually 100% of all televangelists, Rush Limbaugh, and Bob Jones University.
So, as we said at the start. You want to secede? Go ahead. Make our Day. But be careful what you wish for. You might not be so happy if you actually got it. If you ask nicely, we might even take you back.”
What happens to Purple states, like NV? How do we keep HBCU’s? Do Native Americans get true sovereignty to self-govern? (Also, Red states get Kid Rock.)
I'm writing this PRIOR to reading the comments, so forgive me if someone else has already mentioned it...but, my Least Favorite Thing that any republican has said, EVER, would have to be:
"Thoughts and prayers" AFTER EVERY SCHOOL SHOOTING!
I find Johnson’s delusional comments very disturbing and I am holding my breath as to how he gets us through January 2024. Not sure he’ll make it through.
i believe it will sprain my brain to allow my neurons to remember and regurgitate specific examples....... and yet i totally agree that it is important to call each and every one of these out WHEN THEY HAPPEN, with direct, clearly descriptive language (please, no more use of the word "chilling". we are so far beyond chilling, we are into horrifying, vicious, and illegal.)
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.
The people who buy those homes are not people at all, they are LLCs channeling dark money.
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.
He stinks, in more ways than one.
True. Intentional, mean, but still stupid and dumb.
Yep. This was going to be mine. Will have to think of another.
That Rep. AG and Ken Paxton in TX need to be sued for practicing medicine without a license.
Right? It’s so disgusting!! What a Trump-wanna-be!! I’m sure he’d be a prime pick for TFG’s cabinet 🤬
Where to even begin? The level of disinterest in governance, facts, and the law by many in the GOP is both disheartening and frightening. People like Marjorie Taylor-Greene and Lauren Boebart, not to mention Tuberville, Comer, etc. are in Congress for the sole purpose of getting attention and their names and faces in the media. They don't care and don't want to learn about governing. Trump wasn't the first to do this, just the loudest and most obnoxious. It's the embrace of and pride in willful ignorance, and the disdainful attitude that these folks have for everyone, including their constituents, that gives a lie to every "policy" their party puts forth. It's a constant parade of performative a$$holery on the taxpayer's dime. If theses people were not in elected offices, I'd like to think they would have been fired long before their first few weeks were up.
I love your sentence enhancer (assholery) and just wanted to warn you that I fully intend on stealing (and using) it!
I was just thinking that MY next job should be in congress. They can be there and not do a damn thing AND STILL GET PAID! They don't work all year, have plenty of breaks where they go back to their home state, and obviously there's no criteria for knowing anything about government, procedures, laws, or even just basic courtesy. Where do I sign up?
As the inventor of "assholery," it's open source. :-)
You chose very significant quotes! I can add many more, but, we keep hearing the same ones from DJT. He is the winner for repetitions. Will this ever end. I have set a goal,(resolution) that I will not die before all the Trump cronies, including DJT, have been found guilty and faced punishment! Hopefully, I won't have to wait forever! Happy New Year! 😊
My mother is 94, lives in Florida and feels the same way. She is hanging on to vote for Biden
Wishing her the best of health and a sunny election day. May DeSantis and his ilk along with the big Cheeto go down in defeat.
I’m almost 77. I got a DJT “dammit doll” for Christmas. I plan to use it when I need to slam things, and for good measure, putting pins in it for extra ooomph!
I make DJT pin cushions and mine is so full of pins and needles that it's hard to see him. The pleasure I get every day when I sew and get to insert even more sharp objects in him is simply divine!
I have one from 2017. My daughter bought it for me, for the sake of my mental health.
That's a new one to me. Why not inject another salvo right now?
you forgot to put in the "$$" instead of the s's... Which is the more accurate description of these so called MAGA politicians... the siren of the grifters. a$$holes
Indeed. In deeed.
Good point. I will do that from now on.
Thank you for being so generous with your invention! Now I won't have to worry about any copyright infringement or the like when I use it. Good to know!
Wish I could take credit...probably thanks to a reader at Wonkette, the nasty vile little snark mob on Substack where I hang out a lot.
Wonkette wishes. You were reading the dread TCinLA, here on Substack. :-)
I'd like to think one can't copyright a word. I read Groucho Marx on the time he was being sued by Warner Brothers for the movie title A Night in Casablanca. Warners felt their movie title Casablanca gave them the right to sue. The Marx Brothers countetsued on the use of the word Brothers in Warner Brothers, since the Marx Brothers predated them. (I'm not sure the claim was true, but in any case) Warners dropped their suit.
I saw it first in a Stephen King book, years ago, along with "fuckery."
I admire Stephen King's ability to use "fuck" in a sentence. Truly a creative genius. Next in line, however, would have to be TC in LA! I really enjoy his rants on Substack. (I find I don't have to say a single swear word after reading TC, as he's used them all, very effectively.)
Fuck is a good solid word, and I'm at the point where I don't even consider saying "damn" or "fuck" to be swearing. - just descriptive of the situation.
Yes, I am with you, Wondering Woman!! I call them "sentence enhancers" which I got from someone commenting on YouTube, on a discussion about swearing. And, in my sentences, they ARE enhancers. (and are often used as adjectives or verbs)
Perhaps I too saw it there and then forgot that I did.
My favorite in that vein is "yes your assholiness!"
Your assteemed assholiness
Ahhh, now I have a new one to add to my growing list of sentence enhancers. I hadn't heard this, BUT I LOVE IT!! Thanks, Steve!
Tell that to our Democractic congress people.
They work their asses off!
Agreed, but we are talking about the "say anything, do nothing" party.
They just need bigger red hats to say it.
Jane, you are absolutely correct, but since this whole forum was about republicans, I didn't think I needed to clarify that I was discussing them, not democrats. I stand corrected.
And benefits for life!
Same!! And apparently you don’t have to be physically (or mentally) able to do the job!! You can be wheeled around unable to speak or have a coherent thought! I’m thinking this is my retirement “2nd act” Great medical, pension and you don’t have to do a damn thing!!!!!
You are right! The medical and pension parts I completely forgot about!!
I would also like to sign up please. We’ll have to run as Republicans though. 🤢😂
You can be a Manchen for the Republicans, a proud impediment.
Yes, absolutely! The democrats actually work.
And it seems MTG is on track to win again in North Georgia. Her dem challenger is too nice. Mtg just sticks in my craw, as they say.
Oh Joyce, I am so distressed but I still believe in the goodness of the MAJORITY OF AMERICANS. I was at a dinner last night and out of six guests I was the only person who held this view. The invitees are all Dems but they all said America is doomed if Trump survives because most Americans are ignorant, too many are evil and too many have been corrupted. I said no, the majority of the people are good, just like Obama said. They said, no that was six years ago and things are different now. I kept saying no, I truly believe MOST Americans want what is right, want freedom, want goodness. They were very nice to me but said they were sorry they didn’t agree. I left the party and stayed up for hours after. Today I still say I believe in the MAJORITY of Americans! I go back and re-read Obama’s speeches and say, YES! The goodness can’t have totally evaporated in six years! Yeah, of course Trump is poison but by God he hasn’t poisoned all of us!!!! We need to stand up when push comes to shove and say: Hell no Trump!
Don't forget how well funded the right wing is. To the oligarchs, chaos doesn't matter. Unregulated business, disbelief in climate change, demolished social safety net, low or no taxes; all are their political planks. The methodology is only the icing on the cake for their goals.
I think chaos matters a lot to them; it is intended. The essence of making people believe in authoritarian leaders is making them scared. Now that heaven and hell in the afterlife doesn't work so well, they just make hell here: unsafe working conditions, economic stress, (over)reported violence, unaffordable medical care, social injustice..... Democracy means everybody takes responsibility. If things go wrong, it feels safer to have an autocrat to blame.
The GQP is wearing down the young people! They have no housing, bad wages, no unions and they’re in debt!
They are ”checking out” and it’s dangerous!!
You said it.
The spade work for the present era was being done by the far right for many years, including during Obama's presidency. See Nancy MacLean's "Democracy in Chains." It may seem like the transformation in American society has happened overnight, but it's been long in the making.
I do think there are many Americans (right and left) who want freedom and democracy to thrive. But at present, the deliberate chaos and corruption of MAGA is making impossible civil discourse which is vital to democracy - and that is just what MAGA wants.
Hello Sally. I agree with you.. most people want what's right and abortion is going to be the big issue. Ask people where they get their information - what they watch/read. MSM is owned by corporations not interested in what we are interested in. The truth is there is a YUUGE grass roots movement and we are woke to the challenge. Not like in 2016. So many, many groups and organizations have come into existence, I'm a Substack reader etc and ignore TV. And shore up yourself with Hopium!
Same! But I have adult children who are disenfranchised by the current system! I worry they are giving up! I constantly encourage participation and to vote blue, but I’m not sure they believe me 😢
I get most of my news on Substack and YouTube these days too. msnbc is increasingly in the rear view as well.
I deeply sympathize with this, going back and forth on my concerns about exactly this. It worries me to watch my Catholic friends desperately veer like stumbling drunks into supporting Haley--I wonder how they are reacting to the latest proof she is just a rank opportunist who would throw Democracy over for her ambitions. It worries me to see folks claim we need a third-party candidate such as Never Trumpers who panicked about the polls and are now parroting the "Biden is too old" crap, while Trump sits in a diaper and wanders through his dementia-laden speeches.
It worries me listening to younger folks (almost all of them Young Turk types, because men don't have to worry about having their bodily autonomy taken away, so they can merrily afford chaos and anarchy) speak of kicking Democracy to the curb because "the system just doesn't work", discussing voting for socialist candidates that will never win.
I'm all for nearly every program the Republicans claim is 'socialist' like Social Security, common sense national healthcare including mental health, gun control, hell, even UBI, but good Lord, voting for one of the socialist candidates is absolute insanity. I point out to my Young Turks a short investigation of the backgrounds of the candidates shows they are quite literally funded by Putin. Unfortunately, our socialist party is horribly weak. And refusing to vote or throwing down a vote for a third-party candidate is a vote for Trump, period. Own that fact, I tell these young friends.
But I also think there is a HUGE push by the right to make us despair, to depress us, to drag down Democracy by dismissing and disrespecting and underestimating it. To make us fail to trust one another to do the right thing. All the signs are there: the hyping up of bad news, performative anxiety, frantic waving of hands, running around thumping, thumping, thumping drums with the same depressing messages over and over.
When people repeat themselves too often, across a wide spectrum of media, I get suspicious. I smell disinformation being pumped sneakily through the sewers. Like beating up water into a froth, Wanna-Be dictators like to keep people off balance, they want to raise the subtle stink of fear everywhere.
Underneath, though, there is nothing really going on. Our Democratic currents, even though slightly disrupted and occasionally detoured into tributaries, are still flowing, slowly cleaning out toxins. Gravity is still doing its relentless job of sweeping the nonsense down and out to sea--okay, granted that will kill a lot of fish, but we'll deal with that once we get these idiots out of power on our land.
I try to remind myself of that. I may be wrong, of course, but I fight the despair because I don't want to panic and play into their hands.
I second that.
I hate saying it, but one of Obama's biggest problems was his naivete. It goes with the fact that his "community organizing experience" was running voter sign-ups, the lowest level of community organizing activity.
I agree with you, but I don't see any reason to leave the party.
There isn't an alternative that might be successful.
Why would you want to stick with the party? You’re wanting to stick with the Republican Party? Why?
?
That was not the way that I understood (or perhaps misunderstood) the comment. I took it as a metaphor rather than a statement about political parties. I apologize if I caused some confusion, as it seems that I did.
That’s ok. I re read and well, no matter. It can all twist one up.
As long as you see the Republicans, as being the ones to go away for a good long while, the rest is gravy. Happy New Year!
These folks have ALWAYS been here! They have just now been told it’s “OK” to say your worst thoughts/feelings out loud and create laws to enforce them 🤬
TFG is a scourge on humanity!!
I’m not even sure of the actual quote, but it has been a belief of mine, that if you look for the good in people you will find it! We need to be searching for that and connecting on that level to promote kindness and healing. Sadly, I may also believe Trump is the exception to the rule. But I still mete out hope that there are misguided good people among the MAGA sheep.
How much I'd like to have the slack to feel that way, look for and share the kindness. There is no slack, though. I could turn the other cheek until I perish from the blows if that would do any good. But no, the fish would simply throw the hook and move on to the next victim. I've never believed in running from a fight. Leaving the problem for someone else to solve, that's cowardly.
I’m pretty much with you. I think the trumpets, oh, funny spellcheck, meant “Trumpers” , are vocal. Many anti trumpets are equally vocal. The vast silent sea of people just can’t stand him and anything going on round “him”. They will vote for anyone but him. That’s also a problem potentially if Biden has people designed to siphon off votes, like Dean Phillips. Keep him on radar.
IRONY: If the alt-right gets their authoritarian government, it will within three years take away their precious guns. With all the "vermin" in the new Freedom Camps, the new Freedom States of America will declare no further need for an armed citizenry. Those who object will join the vermin.
These idiots don't understand that it's the liberals who are protecting their rights (because that's what liberals do...).
I said this exact thing a while ago: "Trump supporters THINK they'll get their power back by voting for the orange scourge.... What they will actually get is their worst nightmare." I wrote this on a substack comment section of Robert Reich two days ago.
I read it there as well. Hear hear. 🫡
Loud and clear.
They may (or may not) see it before three years. Somehow, they seem to think that Trump actually CARES about them. If he's re-elected, they will almost immediately know that he doesn't. He will have gotten what he wants from them and will ignore their whining and complaining from then on. What on EARTH has pointed to the idea that Trump loyalty is a two-way street? It's as predictable as the sunrise. There will be no "thank you" rallies like he did in 2017, no grand speeches about the "forgotten" men and women of his "movement." There will only be what his minions like Steve Bannon and Stephen Miller want to see happen. At first, it will be all about the MAGA "bread-and-butter" issues like immigration and rounding up asylum-seekers in camps before they're deported, and then outlawing trans medical treatments, then reining in the media to their liking, and then eventually they'll come for the guns. Yeah, you're right -- probably three years until then. But ALL the signs will be there for anyone to see them well before then. But MAGAs won't. They'll just be all excited that they got a $100 gift card to Walmart for turning in their rifles, because Trump will protect them. Then the proverbial sh*t hits the fan. And before anything else, I WILL have a bottle of Schadenfreude Red on ice.
There may be token thank-yous, but what of it? Here's your gold plated watch, now get lost, get the picture?
Wow, nailed it. Touché, Dan! It’s amazing how short-sighted these folks are in embracing fascism when they feel it will benefit them.
Ignorance is bliss...for fascists!! 🤬
So true, Dan. The useful idiots who follow the orange traitor and his ilk forget, or are just too stupid to realize, they will lose all their rights along with the rest of us. Then you'll really hear them howl and complain.
It is the message I try to explain when I encourage people to register and vote against the republicans, before that right goes away.
Useful idiots are way higher on the tree than MAGA rally goers.
Amen!
Profound.
💯
These are all talking points and what is with the democrats they are silent. When do we learn. The Democrats think that this is a pillow fight. It is full out nuclear war and start fighting for democracy. Thanks Joyce, it’s not petty Joyce, you are ringing the Old North Church Bell.
Christopher I can’t agree with you more. Biden is the only one who fights fire with fire!
With respect, Jamie Raskin, Hakeem Jeffries and AOC, among many, have fired back - and been roundly criticized by, wait for it, Republicans, for not being collegial or worse, being rude. Really?
The media covers the cat fight between Boebert and MTG on the floor of the House and completely misses Republican attacks on: voting rights, democracy, healthcare for women, the need for action on the climate, the need for continuing to fund the government in a timely way, the need to actually work on legislation (least productive Congress! ) veterans medical care, holding up hundreds of military appointments, holding up equal numbers of diplomatic appointments, the millions of dollars wasted on fake “investigations” into Hunter Biden, a fake impeachment process without ANY evidence and keeping George Santos as a Representative with mounds of evidence of his grift, corruption and lies. I could go on.
I agree that Democrats need to bring it. I just wish death threats wouldn’t follow such action. Regardless, we need to get and stay LOUD!!! Just also need to be more media savvy about it!
Ad Adam Schiff to that list. He is a good man on the team. And smart.
There are many on the side of justice, the law and the Constitution.
LET'S GET LOUD! ALL OF US!
And win at the polls in November!
Well written. ❤️🤍💙
Sort of. Biden fights bombast with results.
I'd put Kamala in there, along with Raskin, Jeffries, J Crockett, Schiff, Fetterman, and a few others. Just need more voices in that choir!
I keep getting reminded of the old joke that when there's a gunfight coming, Democrats arrive with three bottles of chilled Chardonnay and a nice cheese plate. And a 245-page issues memorandum.
Joe, boot out your incompetent timid messaging ppl, hire Donny Deutsch and start Brandin', Brandon!
Forget hiring Donny Deutsch, hire Rick Wilson.
I keep hoping and assuming that Democrats are going to make a BIG SPLASH in messaging after the first of the year. I'm giving them until January 8th, and if nothing happens, will then start screaming about it.
"Do you have a least favorite things a Republican said or did this year?"
Republicans who took credit for Biden’s efforts in their districts after having voted against them while in Congress.
I think Trump opened the door and allowed some people to say all the hateful, stupid things they've been wanting to say for some time. I think Trump and the Tea Party candidates were elected just because they say hateful, stupid things. But, I also think that is a minority of people in the US. We shouldn't ignore what they say, but we also shouldn't amplify it. I really like the way that Joyce gives us the facts and the implications without rhetoric or hysterics. I also really like that this community is called Civil Discourse. There's a lot of people who are not engaged in civil discourse but we can make our voices heard over the din of their chaos. Happy New Year!!
I know that's true, because too many of the morons I went to school with back in Denver were saying that crap when they were teenagers, and I am sure most of them never stopped.
Hey TC! We're neighbors. I live in Lake Balboa and I also own on of those 1.something million dollar, 70 year old houses. Mine was built in 1951. It's hard to make direct eye contact with new neighbors when I calculate what they're paying to live next to riff raff like me!!!
email me: tcinla1311-at-sbcglobal-dot-net. Let's have coffee down at the Town Center Starbucks. We riff-raff need to be in contact. :-)
Put "Fellow Joyce Vance riff-raff" in the header so I don't dump it with the trash.
Grew up in the valley! My parents paid $72K for their $1m home in 1974!!!
They are passed now...I get it!
As for MTG and her twitter (?) post:
“We need a national divorce. We need to separate by red states and blue states…...”
Read this, it’s pretty funny. (Fwiw it’s not mine, I found it somewhere on the web awhile back).
————-
“Red States Want to Secede? Go Ahead. Make Our Day.
But be careful what you wish for. Here's how it could go down, and it might not be so pretty for you after all is said and done.
We would get the West Coast, all of the Northeast and the upper Midwest.
You would get Texas, Oklahoma and all the former slave states.
We would keep Hawaii too, the foreign country with warm water and beautiful beaches where Barack Hussein Obama was born without a birth certificate.
You can have Alaska and stare at Russia from your front porches.
To be fair, we may have to split up some states.
You get North Florida. We get South Florida. After all, what would you want with all those gay people in South Beach and old Jews in Miami?
We get North Virginia. You get South Virginia. To be fair, we'll let you keep the University of Virginia. Go Cavaliers! Plus you need at least one place to educate some leaders who believe in science.
But Austin, Atlanta and New Orleans get to be their own Blue city/states, sort of like West Berlin before the Wall came down. We'll even pay to move the capital of Texas from Austin to W's hometown of Midland, where as one native recently put it, "There used to be one Democrat in town, but I think she died".
We might even merge with Canada. That way we get single-payer healthcare, solvent banks, the Royal Canadian Mounties, and Ryan Gosling (eat your hearts our Red-nation women).
To sum up briefly:
We get Bruce Springsteen, Jay Z and Beyonce. You get Ted Nugent and Meatloaf.
Plus Willie Nelson gets to park his bus anywhere he likes in the Blue America.
We get Elizabeth Warren. You get Todd Aiken. (Hey, we'll even keep Chris Christie. He's too large to move, anyway.)
We get the Statue of Liberty. You get OpryLand.
We get the New York Philharmonic. You get the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
We get Oprah. You get Paula Deen.
And Blue America will have an easy repatriation policy for the ancestors of slaves still stuck in the former Confederate states, as well as a path to citizenship for undocumented workers and their children from both Red and Blue America who have worked hard/studied hard and put down roots. We'll even have a 21st century version of "40 acres and a mule" with education, job training and work at a fair wage for those who need it. (But here's a warning: good luck getting your crops picked, your kids asses wiped, and your pools cleaned without a bunch of low-paid undocumented workers.)
We get 85 percent of America's venture capital and entrepreneurs.
You get backwoods crystal meth labs.
We get Intel, Microsoft and Apple. You get WorldCom.
We get Harvard. You get Ole' Miss.
We get two-thirds of the tax revenue. You get to pay your fair share for once.
Speaking of all those federal taxes you love to hate. Most of it comes from us and goes to you. So stop talking nonsense about how "It's our money, not the government's money". Of the 19 states that send more money to Washington than they get back in benefits, 14 are Blue. And of 31 states that get more money back from the Feds than they pay in taxes, 23 are Red. It's not your money. It's our f**cking money. So from here on out, you can pay for your own damn roads and bridges.
Which state do you think has the lowest divorce rate? It's Taxachusetts, the first state to recognize gay marriage. Think that's some aberration? How about this? 9 of the 10 lowest divorce rates are in the Blue states. And where are the highest divorce rates? 10 of the top 10 are Red.
But gay people getting married is going to ruin the family for you? Seems like you're ruining it pretty well on your own.
So we get a bunch of happy families, straight and gay. You get a bunch of single moms and deadbeat dads.
With the Blue States in hand we will have firm control of 80 percent of the country's fresh water, more than 90 percent of the pineapple and lettuce, 92 percent of the nation's fresh fruit, 95 percent of America's quality wines (you can serve Texas wines at state dinners) 90 percent of all cheese, 90 percent of the high tech industry, all living redwoods, sequoias and condors, all the Ivy and Seven Sister schools plus Stanford, Cal Tech, UC Berkeley, and MIT.
With the Red States you will have to cope with 88 percent of all obese Americans and their projected health care costs, 92 percent of all US mosquitoes, nearly 100 percent of the tornadoes, 90 percent of the hurricanes, 99 percent of all Southern Baptists, virtually 100% of all televangelists, Rush Limbaugh, and Bob Jones University.
So, as we said at the start. You want to secede? Go ahead. Make our Day. But be careful what you wish for. You might not be so happy if you actually got it. If you ask nicely, we might even take you back.”
This is great.
Thank you! Had to save this.
Pure Gold, George! So glad to know I'm in Northern Virginia!
OMG! For once, I'm at a loss for words.
What happens to Purple states, like NV? How do we keep HBCU’s? Do Native Americans get true sovereignty to self-govern? (Also, Red states get Kid Rock.)
Native Americans get their lands, with severe consequences any incursions, Blue or Red.
Let them secede; they just don’t get the land. Just GO!
Or not.
Send this letter to every red state, George.
And, thanks for re-posting this!!
I'm writing this PRIOR to reading the comments, so forgive me if someone else has already mentioned it...but, my Least Favorite Thing that any republican has said, EVER, would have to be:
"Thoughts and prayers" AFTER EVERY SCHOOL SHOOTING!
And, I forget who said it, but we need AK 47s the shoot prairie dogs.
THIS.
OMG
We do not have enough time left for an exhaustive list of dumb things from that group.
You are SO right...not in this lifetime, anyway!
I'm afraid I cannot pick out a favorite individual drop from an ocean of stupid.
LMAO
Lol!! Bravo!
Good one
House Speaker Mike Johnson compared himself to Moses, leading the GOP conference — and America -- through the parted waters of the Red Sea.
You can't make this stuff up!
I find Johnson’s delusional comments very disturbing and I am holding my breath as to how he gets us through January 2024. Not sure he’ll make it through.
If is not the Red Sea. He leads them through a tsunami of shit. Unfortunately we are dragged along behind them.
i believe it will sprain my brain to allow my neurons to remember and regurgitate specific examples....... and yet i totally agree that it is important to call each and every one of these out WHEN THEY HAPPEN, with direct, clearly descriptive language (please, no more use of the word "chilling". we are so far beyond chilling, we are into horrifying, vicious, and illegal.)
Horrifying is right.
“Persistent rot” is a good way to put it.