While I agree that America is not Donald Trump, America has shown it's true colors and they are not pretty. Shockingly, I think we are still living in the backlash of the Obama presidency. And this whole thing around so-called "educated elites" is infuriating too. As our education standards have bottomed out, our local communities make worse and worse choices for their own lives and the lives of their children. They believe any BS they see on the Internet, tell each other, or listen to from conmen like DJT. They want "freedom" but only for those who agree with them and don't like anyone who doesn't look like them. I am grateful for the fact that my parents and my community gave me the tools to be a critical thinker, to see good in those who are good and gave me the brains to put myself in a decent standard of living. If we come out the other side of this having not destroyed ourselves and our country, I'll be grateful for that too
I do appreciate and agree with you and also am grateful that my education in a midwestern state, growing up on a small farm, having great hardworking and loving parents provided me with the opportunity to chose to use critical thinking and education as a tool to weed out the reality TV lies and misinformation!
I will not apologize for getting my education. I was the youngest and the first to get my degree and masters!
Continued: Kamala couldn’t have been more down to earth! She provided hope and competency for ALL Americans! I’m thankful that she stepped up to the plate, took the realm and ran for the Presidency! Her hands were somewhat tied due to still being the Vice President under Biden and his old school by-partisan playbook! She was his partner in getting things done for the American people and being the Vice President means you follow the President’s lead! She played her role very respectfully, probably as well or better than any other Vice President . In my opinion, she did not vary from the President’s policy out of total respect! She was overly subjected to criticism, distrust, and called “ elite” because of a comment regarding Goldman Sachs!
She was judged because our country is very racist and misogynistic! She never made her campaign about gender and race! She was and is our most compassionate, competent, smart, deserving, intelligent, hard working , educated, qualified, and deserving candidate to be our President and Commander and Chief!
I don’t think of myself as an elite because of my education! When I was a little girl , I knew I wanted to go to college and be independent! I belied that I needed an education to be independent and have the ability to work and help my partner to provide for our family! It took a lot of hard work, drive, energy , and sacrifice to earn my degrees. My education did not change my values ! They are the same as I learned from my family and my education “ that all people are equal”!
I’m 77 years old, have just gone through a knee replacement during this devastating disappointment election of traitor trump, and will continue until the day that I die to fight for ALL freedoms!
You make a good point that should be emphasized in our public discussion. Getting an education takes hard work and sacrifice. Mainstream media often gives the impression that college students spend all their time sitting in protest encampments, but they actually have to spend hours and hours reading and studying to earn that degree. During that time, most forgo the financial security of full-time employment.
Sandra, Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours! And best wishes for speedy healing of your knee. I so admire your spirit -- it will serve you well during your knee rehab. Stay strong. We're in this together!!
Well said! I read an article a few years ago, that focused on the cost of Kamala Harris', clothing and jewelry! Another article commented on the cost of OAC's haircut and style! No matter how smart, accomplished or talented a woman is, someone will criticize some aspect of her appearance.
Some people are so empty and unhappy (thank the corporatocracy for that, for pushing people to feel eternally unsatisfied unless they're getting more, more, more) that they would complain about the rope they're being hung with.
I am left wondering what is their definition of “elite”?. Or does their definition change according to the situation? Does “elite” really mean “those in power”? “those that make you follow laws”? What do they mean?
Precisely... it's name calling. They define who is "elite", i.e. not them. They are actually elite all the whole conning that they are not. It's so transparent. We need to find a way to counter the name-calling.
I'm almost 79 and I'm right there with you! I waited till I was 40 to return to college. As a result, both of my girls are college graduates. I am not just angry about the election I am embarrassed and so very disappointed in my fellow Americans. Oh, and terrified.
She lost because she APPEARED to abandon the 99% to the rapist-pedophile convicted felon who OBVIOUSLY IS REPULSED by them. I don't get it either . . .
Yes, the drumpf GOP ran a vicious and criminally libelous campaign and again demonstrated that crime does pay for a time. The moral high ground caves beneath such depravity. They have zero scruples, and cruelty is their currency. Only when the pain from loss becomes excruciating for drumpf voters will they jump ship, or maybe they would just choose death by denial.
Sadly, you are right, Dennis. They will inflict pain on most Americans, and then they will look for scapegoats. Wee should avoid making it easy for them.
Dennis, there were other "influences" besides any high moral ground: Complicit media, a 0 as AG, and (sadly) a President who didn't boot said 0 out of office as soon as it became clear 0 wasn't going to do a damn thing to bring Trump to justice.
Every finished project that received money from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act should have required a sign next to it that said “Thanks Joe”. Maybe people would have seen what the Biden admin was doing.
Blue state Secession must be used as a cudgel to beat back the new ownership of tge US by the extremely close election, where we are now owned by greedy vindictive Billionaires and corporations. These are addicts to money and power.
Write to Blue state Governors to band together and become a new vision of tge US. Bernie Sanders vision was 70% supported. No need to become victims to these sick addicts.
We would not send our Blue state federal monies to Green, Trumpty who will punish us. We need a new fourth estate. New courts who follow law. Write Biden to publish the ERA as an amendment passed.
If we don't push back in a Blue wave, we will suffer and our government will be eaten alive from the inside out. A bum from Orbán taking over? What do you want?
The Inflation Reduction Act failed to deliver to millions of voters struggling to pay their bills. Trump, like Biden, promises to solve the problem, which he cannot. We must think hard to find real solutions.
Acknowledged is that the IRA was insufficient to significantly factor into the election. Yet from that to conclude that good governance that benefits the people is impossible is incorrect.
Many of the benefits have yet to even take effect, for example reductions in medication costs for Medicare patients were designed to roll out on a schedule. It was in the bill that some of those cost reductions only take effect in 2025.
Janice. I agree. We have shown our true colors and they ain’t pretty. I thought we were better. But we are a nation that believes trump should be our leader.
We are a nation that restricts women’s autonomy. We are a nation that despite its separation of church and state has governors putting bibles and bibles study in the classrooms….. not history of world religions but brainwashing for christianity. We have dumbed down our people and now denounce and denigrate those of us with an education. I will watch in horror as the dear leader and his clown car of a cabinet oligarchs (plus musk and Vivek) begin their process of balancing the budget while giving more tax breaks and less oversight to his lackeys….. all lining up at trump’s feed trough.
Our citizens have been brainwashed into believing only one UGLY ANGRY OLD man. trump. It boggles the mind.
Pat, We are not doomed. We are under "a darkening cloud," but it is not so dark that we cannot see. The millions of volunteers who worked tirelessly on Kamala's campaign are still here. Some few continued to be on the ground even on Wednesday morning, November 6th, organizing, planning, mobilizing, anticipating. Grief is a necessary process when there is loss. I am in grief, taking care of myself, horrified while keeping an eye on the oozing cancer on our democracy, and triaging what needs the most attention. As in November of 2016, I am taking my time to review which organizations will best amplify my voice and my intentions going forward, and exploring how much of my resources I can prudently put out to support them. I had been on the phone for Wisconsin Democrats continuously since last January, mobilizing voters. There will be a very important election in Wisconsin on April 1st to replace a liberal judge who is retiring from the State Supreme Court leaving the balance of power up for grabs. In January, following the holidays, I expect the WisDems to announce phone banks in that effort which I know I will prioritize and show up to continue to help them blue the state. Although I am disappointed that we were not able to get Kamala over the line in Wisconsin, we did flip 14 seats in the Wisconsin State Legislature, pealing back the almost veto-proof majority in the State Senate. And I do believe that the zillions of phone calls we made got Tammy Baldwin over the line against an onslaught of unethical ads about how she doesn't live in Wisconsin, but in New York with her girlfriend, etc. !!! That we have been defeated in this battle is true. Rebecca Solnit says that hope is an action. We must find a way to not despair. We must pick ourselves up when we are ready, and maximize our energy, resources and collectivity to hold the line, regain what is lost, and rebuild a renewed and strengthened democracy.
Donna, if the Muslims in Wisconsin had voted for Kamala she would have carried Wisconsin. But they didn't, They had to give the finger to Biden, in their words, "regardless of the consequences, same in Michigan and Pennsylvania
Trump's pro-Israel Cabinet Picks Upset Muslims Who Voted for Him
'Trump won because of us,' said one of the founders of Muslims for Trump, 'and we're not happy with his Secretary of State pick and others' From Haaretz
Cyrano, not only did Trump warn everyone, we already had 4 years of seeing daily that he doesn't care. And yet 3M more people voted for him now than in 2020.
I understand your anger. I woke up feeling very bad, angry and scared this morning. But this is still the United States of America. We are exercising our First Ammendment right to free speech and political debate at this very moment. We will overcome this! We will hold the orange blight accountable! I have faith. It's less than a month since the election. We need a little more time to recover from the shock and gather our wits.
The orange blight will implode, he is overstepping and over estimating his actual power and of course his intelligence. We have to make sure that he takes the oligarchs and corporate money down with him!
Pat, I agree about our true colors. But imo the nation doesn't believe Trump should be Pres. They were willing to let him be Pres. rather than accept a woman of color -- an abdication, not a confirmation.
Imo that's wishful thinking, Victor. They had 4 years to come to their senses and managed to put on their rose-colored glasses on Nov. 5. When they feel the pain, they'll whine and moan.
I agree with you 100%, Janice. An extremely large segment of our population is in love with entertainment and sport personalities, read trash newspapers and magazines, prefers violent movies or those with explicit sex, doesn’t make any effort to be well informed about the men and women governing our nation, render honors to a true con man. I could go on and on, but you summarized it better.
I am an 86 year old immigrant that achieved the American dream (with 8 children all successful professionals) and my heart is broken by what I have witnessed during the past decade. Education is the answer —- unquestionably.
I think too many people in this country want to go back to the 1940s, if not the 1840s. They want to go back to the days when women, "coloreds," and the poor "knew their places." When women were kept "barefoot and pregnant." When we had segregated bathrooms, water fountains, and facilities. I've been told that right to my face by proud, ignorant, racist whites in my area. When birth control of any kind was unlawful.
Actually, our moneyed elites are pining for the 1440s. They may not have the moated castles, but they do have gated communities. And private security in place of liveried attendants. And they do have a weak king who will be powerless to restrain their depredations. So they'll be able to fight among themselves for an even greater share of power.
True, James, but in the meantime they are hurting the disadvantaged, as they always have. Their most powerful weapon right now is white middle class anxiety.
Reading in this week's New Yorker about the latest Texas forced-birth atrocities, I share your dismay. Pro-choice has been REDUCED to pleading "worst case" scenarios, which does not change forced-birthers one iota. We need to accept this and plan accordingly.
With the college enrollment numbers showing 60% women we are soon to see a female wave surge into government. My hope is that I live long enough to see our country and society become all it can be because of female leadership. What an example for the rest of world inhabitants. I believe as the USA rolls so will the rest of the world.
May I suggest you read "The Tyranny of Merit " and other works by Michael Sandel?
Is it lacking in brains that puts so many people in our country in an indecent standard of living? is it really the fault of employees that their corporate overlords underpay them, do not provide adequate benefits or job security? Why are so many people doing poorly financially in this country? Are you really part of an intellectual elite? Maybe you are.
Happy Thanksgiving, Professor Reich! to answer your question, i am thankful to live on this gorgeous planet. i never tire of looking at and studying her wonderful creations. i am grateful for BOOKS. there are so many wonderful brilliant books out there and they give me great joy. and yet, although i read almost constantly, the only thing that saddens me is that i'll never read them all. i am grateful for all my friends online (that's the only place i have any friends, alas) who collectively, are always there to share their experiences and recipes, to encourage when i'm feeling down, to share their witty and pithy comments and observations that make me laugh, and to chat about whatever. and yes, bob, don't let me forget; i am grateful for you, your colleagues and the others (staff?) who bring your words of wisdom and insight to me daily. i try to only comment when i have something to add to the conversation, or when you ask a question of us, as you did today, but i am ever so grateful that you take the time to talk to me (us) and that despite being retired, you have not stopped teaching. you are my sensei. thank you!
GrrlScientist, I am thankful for YOU!! I look forward to your comments every time I get on here, and share your feeling about books. I wish you and Peggy Freeman and a good handful of others on here all lived on my block so we could talk a blue streak, share books and save this beautiful planet. Happy, Happy, Happy Thanksgiving!
PA Citizen Instructions for Hand-Recount Challenges
Still. A Hammer.
STEPHEN SPOONAMORE
NOV 28
In my Duty to Warn letter I outlined the impossibility of the results coming matching human voting. There were a lot of indications a machine was outputting the results. My first-pass calculations were not perfect, but it turns out they were pretty F-ing close. Below is a complete spread sheet of PA by county. Multiple additional states will be coming out shortly. If you voted in a PA County with a drop-off ratio over 2%. Please find the form below to involve hand-recounts. It requires 3 voters from the same precinct to make the request. My friend Lulu Friestad is making a TiKToK with the steps outlines. I will add it as soon as she posts.
Sadly, it appears Harris will be doing nothing. Only she can make it happen at scale. But any PA precinct with three voters can get a hand-recount. It will answer what exactly is making these numbers so ... ahistorical.
PA VOTER RECOUNT REQUESTS
These are the county canvas final dates.Voters have 5 days after final county numbers to have 3 voters file a recount request in their election precinct. That means many of the challenge windows will close THIS WEEKEND. Others early next week.
Cross reference to this spreadsheet to see drop-off by county
Please post this google form today to have people sign up in PA to make the recount request.
When I was young and I entered a bookstore or library i found it very frustrating that I had not read all the books there. Now that I am older I realize the vast majority are not worth reading.
Robert, first of all Happy Thanksgiving to everyone on your end. You are so right; Trump is not America. Here is my take on the NIH and the opinion offered from that front. A bad virus is like a good woman, both are totally unpredictable. You can't force a disease to fall into a specific pattern, herd immunity is an idea not an objective. What if the theory suggested by the head of the NIH has no level of immunity that would find favor in the eyes of the ignorant people who have no real conception of medical science. The day will come when a virus hits our species that has no social cure, and it will travel through us like the one that wiped out the dinosaurs. The lockdown was a worthy concept considering we had no idea of what we were dealing with at the time. We must stop finding fault with efforts initiated to help our kind, not to harm it. Ignorance can cause more harm than the virus itself. Everything employed in an effort to combat what we were faced with was done out of necessity not stupidity. People aren't wild animals; herd immunity is what Mother Nature relies upon to keep her children healthy. We as humans, look to logic and science, not ignorance. Trump should have tried out his idea behind that disinfectant thing, the entire country would have been better off.
Robert, I am grateful for your wise council and insight, for Heather and all the staff at Inequality Media and for the existence of Substack and forums like it that enable us that are progressive and creative in our thinking to have an uncensored forum to connect and create a worldwide community.
Those of us who have “retired“ from years of political activism will have to once more pick up our flags of protest and assist the citizens of this country to make sense of what is about to happen and provide leadership for a new movement coming in into the next decade. We cannot forget how dark the period was during the McCarthy era, or how powerless we felt as the Vietnam War continued to escalate. Participating in the anti-war movement was possibly of the biggest life-changing activities that I have been involved in for it gave me a feeling of true empowerment and also gave me a trajectory for the rest of my life. Those of us who consider ourselves to be “retired” should now consider ourselves to be “repurposed” rather than retired. You are a shining example of someone who may have left the teaching profession as a salaried professor, but you are by no means retired. In fact, the energy and activity you have demonstrated in the past few years, urges myself to try to follow your energetic example.
PA Citizen Instructions for Hand-Recount Challenges
Still. A Hammer.
STEPHEN SPOONAMORE
NOV 28
In my Duty to Warn letter I outlined the impossibility of the results coming matching human voting. There were a lot of indications a machine was outputting the results. My first-pass calculations were not perfect, but it turns out they were pretty F-ing close. Below is a complete spread sheet of PA by county. Multiple additional states will be coming out shortly. If you voted in a PA County with a drop-off ratio over 2%. Please find the form below to involve hand-recounts. It requires 3 voters from the same precinct to make the request. My friend Lulu Friestad is making a TiKToK with the steps outlines. I will add it as soon as she posts.
Sadly, it appears Harris will be doing nothing. Only she can make it happen at scale. But any PA precinct with three voters can get a hand-recount. It will answer what exactly is making these numbers so ... ahistorical.
PA VOTER RECOUNT REQUESTS
These are the county canvas final dates.Voters have 5 days after final county numbers to have 3 voters file a recount request in their election precinct. That means many of the challenge windows will close THIS WEEKEND. Others early next week.
Cross reference to this spreadsheet to see drop-off by county
Please post this google form today to have people sign up in PA to make the recount request.
Marlo I smell a rotten fish. A mere five hours after the polls closed, while they were still counting. Kamala rushed to the phone to congratulate Trump, then to the microphone to announce her concession.
I don’t believe she is the rotten fish. I think Trump and company is. Everything about him is corrupt. As I said before, he will stop at nothing to win. “During the 2024 campaign, Trump shook down every one of his current appointees, seeking large donations with the understanding that they’d be in line for big jobs in the Trump administration.
Elon Musk’s tab was $200 million. Stephen Bessent’s hedge fund donated at least $6 million.” ~ Robert Reich
Voting was so gerrymandered, the likes of which we have yet to uncover. Same with machine counting according to people who know. I am certain no man will bother to save the 51%. We must save ourselves and reach for creative solutions. You boys enjoy your sense of 'being right'.
Really??? Bunkerboy is EXCEPTIONALLY predictable: he is TERRIFIED of women and non-white Americans and will show it. He DESPISES the 99% and will show visible disgust and/or discomfort around Us. If something LOOKS bad, it's 130,000% worse.
marisa--What I said was meant to be humorous, what you said is terrifying. You said two years, do you know something the rest of us don't. Because as things stand it's 4 years of spelling Rolaids as a form of relief.
marisa--I see 24 other members also misunderstood the English I was using. Sad, it seems in almost every instance people are willing to follow blindly what someone has put before them. If any of my friends are out there, they understand I would never belittle women. If you feel that I am, you need a course in self-correction. Judge not!
Donald, I always enjoy your posts but honestly, I've never thought of myself as being anything like a bad virus before. The New Yorker has a feature called "Block That Metaphor," where they quote silly analogies. I think yours belongs there, but I get your point. 😀😀😀😀 Happy Thanksgiving!
Paula--I don't believe the problem even exists. The only comparison I drew was both entities were unpredictable. I never said women were like a bad virus.
Hodgins, you’re on my block, too! You just made me laugh out loud twice, I can always count on you being highly intelligent but a little rascally as well. Happy Thanksgiving! P.S. I agree on every point.
Thank you, Professor Reich, On this we are in total agreement. If we Democratic and democracy and Constitution loving people in all 50 States stick together and refuse to lower ourselves to a dictatorship, theocratic or otherwise, we will win back our Country and maybe some time soon we'll not only take our Country back but learn to appreciate the United States and all its citizens as valued human beings.
I’m all in Fay😉 I am an American Indian, a tax payer, and a Senior Citizen totally dependent on SS. I am old enough to know right from wrong. Can anyone make me feel less anxious about someone doing wrong found guilty. My biggest worry is am I going to have enough money to buy my propane, food utilities rent. Yet I look around me and I see a person who has been charged with crimes 34+ crimes was tried had a jury trial was convicted the next step for this individual is serve his time for the crime. RIGHT? HONESTLY!
What I find most outrageous about your situation is that the sacrifice benefits those who could easily pay their tases if they weren't hoarding their wealth. One less yacht or private plane. One less extravagant vacation. One less killer investment. Trump won't even account for the money being thrown at him already for his transition, even though the law requires it.
Thanksgiving blessings to all. I was struck by the Kentucky decision not to fund K-12 schools outside of the public system. Doing so is a classic ploy to privatize public education. There is one pot of money for education. If you take money out of that pot and give it to private schools, there is less money to sustain public schools. Public schools inevitably must make cuts in programs and services making them weaker and less effective. Standard test scores drop. There's not enough money for increased wages. Teachers start to leave. Class size increases. This sets the basis for the argument that private education is superior to public education leading to more cuts. Before you know it, public education disappears. Private schools are free to set tuition fees so the cost of K12 school increases, pricing access to education out of reach for more and more families. It's right out of playbook for transferring public services into private hands by stealth. Parents must be active at the school board setting to prevent this from happening.
Here in New York City, it was just revealed that one in eight students was homeless at some point during the year. While it's true that we don't have enough affordable housing, I wonder if the numbers don't also reflect the dwindling number of students in public schools, the others having been siphoned off by private, charter and religious schools. We used to have the strongest public schools in the nation at a time when immigration was very high. It's possible, and we were better off then.
Definitely possible. There is not enough public education money available in governments to allow even $1.00 go to profit instead of to education. Public dollars are meant for public services, period. Governments have one job and one job only with respect to education: fund public schools, not private schools, not charter schools, not religious schools.
At the beginning of this school year, I read that the Kansas City metro had 3000 homeless students.
A few years ago, while registering students to vote, I met a young woman who wanted to register but had no permanent address. She had been couch surfing for some time. She had to return to class so we didn’t have time to research how to get her registered. I’ve asked about that situation and, so far, have not found an answer. Can homeless people resister to vote?
Thanks Paula. I had looked into homeless shelters but they only allowed the people staying there to use their mailing address. She was not staying there. My state appears to require a residential address, not just a mailing address. I need to find out more. A job for later.
I don't know if Voteriders can help you. They assist people with identification for voting. They might know what to do about people without addresses too. Good luck!
My sister and I will volunteer today at Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen. I find it hart to live in a trump fascist country with a corrupt Supreme Court and the sicko people trump has chosen to run the country. I miss Kamala and Tim so much.
I love Biden and his family too, including Hunter.
PA Citizen Instructions for Hand-Recount Challenges
Still. A Hammer.
STEPHEN SPOONAMORE
NOV 28
In my Duty to Warn letter I outlined the impossibility of the results coming matching human voting. There were a lot of indications a machine was outputting the results. My first-pass calculations were not perfect, but it turns out they were pretty F-ing close. Below is a complete spread sheet of PA by county. Multiple additional states will be coming out shortly. If you voted in a PA County with a drop-off ratio over 2%. Please find the form below to involve hand-recounts. It requires 3 voters from the same precinct to make the request. My friend Lulu Friestad is making a TiKToK with the steps outlines. I will add it as soon as she posts.
Sadly, it appears Harris will be doing nothing. Only she can make it happen at scale. But any PA precinct with three voters can get a hand-recount. It will answer what exactly is making these numbers so ... ahistorical.
PA VOTER RECOUNT REQUESTS
These are the county canvas final dates.Voters have 5 days after final county numbers to have 3 voters file a recount request in their election precinct. That means many of the challenge windows will close THIS WEEKEND. Others early next week.
Cross reference to this spreadsheet to see drop-off by county
Please post this google form today to have people sign up in PA to make the recount request.
The closer I think to home, the more thankful I get. Broad thinking about the global political/military battles, our pending federal government, and sometimes even the shortsighted nature of our county government in rural Virginia, does not inspire. The forest does. The birds, deer, and squirrels I saw yesterday do. My family, all at home, does. That will be the focus today. Tomorrow we can work on the problems. Have a good thanksgiving.
That is so lovely. I have been thinking similarly about the next two to four years. Things feel very dark right now, but the light will return, if we can be the light, each in our own tiny yet profound ways. Thank you so much!!
David Snider, oh thank you so much for your reminder, "the light will return, if we can be the light, each in our own tiny yet profound ways." Your words were so eloquent. Just what I needed --- I'm grateful for you.
As I read the two paragraphs devoted exclusively to stunning gains in Wisconsin I was reminded that Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Ben Wikler is being considered for DNC Chair. Last night I received a text from a friend about Wikler. It read:
“[Wikler]…is a vote-getting guru, very strategically plugged in on the ground and online, believes in going door to door talking and *listening* to folks on every street in every neighborhood all year long every year,…[Wikler] would infuse new ideas, vision, and energy into an old institution desperately in need of them.”
I plan on learning what I can do to help get Wikler appointed DNC Chair. I hope others will join me.
If you have seen the Netflix documentary “The Great Hack”, you know we are up against companies like Cambridge Analytica. The democrats need someone that understands that.
Addicted billionaires and corporations to money and power have won this round closely despite all their lies and gerrymandering. We need a countervailing force.
It will take more than door knocking as Midwest says. Unless Dems get smarter about the modes of communicating our hallowed "message", whatever the message is, we will struggle. We need to communicate at scale year round. And of course we need to listen.
PA Citizen Instructions for Hand-Recount Challenges
Still. A Hammer.
STEPHEN SPOONAMORE
NOV 28
In my Duty to Warn letter I outlined the impossibility of the results coming matching human voting. There were a lot of indications a machine was outputting the results. My first-pass calculations were not perfect, but it turns out they were pretty F-ing close. Below is a complete spread sheet of PA by county. Multiple additional states will be coming out shortly. If you voted in a PA County with a drop-off ratio over 2%. Please find the form below to involve hand-recounts. It requires 3 voters from the same precinct to make the request. My friend Lulu Friestad is making a TiKToK with the steps outlines. I will add it as soon as she posts.
Sadly, it appears Harris will be doing nothing. Only she can make it happen at scale. But any PA precinct with three voters can get a hand-recount. It will answer what exactly is making these numbers so ... ahistorical.
PA VOTER RECOUNT REQUESTS
These are the county canvas final dates.Voters have 5 days after final county numbers to have 3 voters file a recount request in their election precinct. That means many of the challenge windows will close THIS WEEKEND. Others early next week.
Cross reference to this spreadsheet to see drop-off by county
Please post this google form today to have people sign up in PA to make the recount request.
The members of Christian nationalist communities are mainly sheep who blindly follow their leaders. The leaders of those movements KNOW everything there is to know about Trump -- including how unfit he is. But he's been a vehicle for them to get to this point.
Trump could EASILY be dispensed from the scene once he takes office and then their REAL plan will go into place.
This is movement closely tied to Zionist Israel -- and the fascists in Israel are ecstatic over Trump's win.
People here are sheep too. Just a different ram. We need a countervailing force- threaten Blue state secession and keep our federal monies in blue states. No leadership out of DC. Throwing us to the wolves.
Christian Zionism differs from Jewish Zionism. The basis of Christian Zionism is antisemitism.. Jewish Zionists are quite aware, but welcome it because of Christian tourism and support fot the state of Israel.
Americans have completely deluded themselves about this -- and it's driving us closer to world war 3. From a completely religious Jew .. Rabbi Yaakov Shapiro.
"How Christian Evangelicals Created Jewish Zionism"
Here's hoping that other readers don't fall into Farrar's septic tank of willful stupidity.
Farrar states that Rabbi Shapiro has "their own agenda. "
LOL... As an orthodox rabbi, Shapiro is primarily concerned with fulfilling the 613 mitzvot given by HaShem to the tribes of Israel at the foot of Mount Sinai. That was the Creator's "agenda."
Theodore Herzl was the founder of the Zionist movement, not Christians, but Christians, end time Christians, have jumped in on the movement. The orthodox settlers, dispossessing Palestinians are rabid Zionists, and anyone who opposes Zionism is called an antisemite
Actually I am Thomas. Sorry about your "extremely well documented Link" but this is knowledge I have had since the 1970's and also here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zionism. Your link is from a disinfo source
It is said that the two blue bars at top and bottom of the Israel flag stand for the Nile and Euphrates. I do believe that the Jews are entitled to an ethnostate, afterall Muslims have 57 of them, and they have a right to defend themselves, and attack those who would genocide them.
Thank you for this piece. It gives me some hope for the future beyond the next 4 nightmare years that there are those diligently working behind the scenes to return America to sanity.
Happy Thanksgiving, Professor Reich and the rest of you here. And thank you for the positive message. As my favorite cheerleader says in Lord of the Rings during his and Frodo's darkest hour:
"I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn’t. They kept going. Because they were holding on to something."
Frodo: "What are we holding onto, Sam?"
Sam: "That there’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo… and it’s worth fighting for.”
While I agree that America is not Donald Trump, America has shown it's true colors and they are not pretty. Shockingly, I think we are still living in the backlash of the Obama presidency. And this whole thing around so-called "educated elites" is infuriating too. As our education standards have bottomed out, our local communities make worse and worse choices for their own lives and the lives of their children. They believe any BS they see on the Internet, tell each other, or listen to from conmen like DJT. They want "freedom" but only for those who agree with them and don't like anyone who doesn't look like them. I am grateful for the fact that my parents and my community gave me the tools to be a critical thinker, to see good in those who are good and gave me the brains to put myself in a decent standard of living. If we come out the other side of this having not destroyed ourselves and our country, I'll be grateful for that too
I do appreciate and agree with you and also am grateful that my education in a midwestern state, growing up on a small farm, having great hardworking and loving parents provided me with the opportunity to chose to use critical thinking and education as a tool to weed out the reality TV lies and misinformation!
I will not apologize for getting my education. I was the youngest and the first to get my degree and masters!
I believed that Kamala couldn’t
Continued: Kamala couldn’t have been more down to earth! She provided hope and competency for ALL Americans! I’m thankful that she stepped up to the plate, took the realm and ran for the Presidency! Her hands were somewhat tied due to still being the Vice President under Biden and his old school by-partisan playbook! She was his partner in getting things done for the American people and being the Vice President means you follow the President’s lead! She played her role very respectfully, probably as well or better than any other Vice President . In my opinion, she did not vary from the President’s policy out of total respect! She was overly subjected to criticism, distrust, and called “ elite” because of a comment regarding Goldman Sachs!
She was judged because our country is very racist and misogynistic! She never made her campaign about gender and race! She was and is our most compassionate, competent, smart, deserving, intelligent, hard working , educated, qualified, and deserving candidate to be our President and Commander and Chief!
I don’t think of myself as an elite because of my education! When I was a little girl , I knew I wanted to go to college and be independent! I belied that I needed an education to be independent and have the ability to work and help my partner to provide for our family! It took a lot of hard work, drive, energy , and sacrifice to earn my degrees. My education did not change my values ! They are the same as I learned from my family and my education “ that all people are equal”!
I’m 77 years old, have just gone through a knee replacement during this devastating disappointment election of traitor trump, and will continue until the day that I die to fight for ALL freedoms!
Happy Thanksgiving to ALL Americans!
You make a good point that should be emphasized in our public discussion. Getting an education takes hard work and sacrifice. Mainstream media often gives the impression that college students spend all their time sitting in protest encampments, but they actually have to spend hours and hours reading and studying to earn that degree. During that time, most forgo the financial security of full-time employment.
Sandra, Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours! And best wishes for speedy healing of your knee. I so admire your spirit -- it will serve you well during your knee rehab. Stay strong. We're in this together!!
Racism, misogynism, and xenophobia are the canvas upon which Fox News created Donald Trump, an image of itself, a bad caricature of America.
Well said! I read an article a few years ago, that focused on the cost of Kamala Harris', clothing and jewelry! Another article commented on the cost of OAC's haircut and style! No matter how smart, accomplished or talented a woman is, someone will criticize some aspect of her appearance.
Some people are so empty and unhappy (thank the corporatocracy for that, for pushing people to feel eternally unsatisfied unless they're getting more, more, more) that they would complain about the rope they're being hung with.
I hope we are placing more value on character content v. skin color.
And that slices both ways. I am a white female and I do not feel guilty.
I am left wondering what is their definition of “elite”?. Or does their definition change according to the situation? Does “elite” really mean “those in power”? “those that make you follow laws”? What do they mean?
Elite: Those who recognize Trump for the fatal parasite he is.
The beauty of political talk is that terms are so broad in meaning that people can talk to one another without saying much at all.
You nailed it. The definition changes according to the situation. It's like the word "regime" which we use to define any government we don't like.
Precisely... it's name calling. They define who is "elite", i.e. not them. They are actually elite all the whole conning that they are not. It's so transparent. We need to find a way to counter the name-calling.
Thank you Sandra! I couldn’t agree more. I hope you heal up quickly and are moving around soon. Wishing you a happy and relaxing day today. ❤️
Well said!
I'm almost 79 and I'm right there with you! I waited till I was 40 to return to college. As a result, both of my girls are college graduates. I am not just angry about the election I am embarrassed and so very disappointed in my fellow Americans. Oh, and terrified.
I hope you’re recovering well from your surgery. You make excellent sense.
And the thugs called her a DEI hire, thanks MSM. Let continue to deny their clicks and drop them like they're hot 🔥. Especially faux news.
She lost because she APPEARED to abandon the 99% to the rapist-pedophile convicted felon who OBVIOUSLY IS REPULSED by them. I don't get it either . . .
I think she lost because the GOP have a better propaganda machine and no ethical or moral boundaries
Yes, the drumpf GOP ran a vicious and criminally libelous campaign and again demonstrated that crime does pay for a time. The moral high ground caves beneath such depravity. They have zero scruples, and cruelty is their currency. Only when the pain from loss becomes excruciating for drumpf voters will they jump ship, or maybe they would just choose death by denial.
Sadly, you are right, Dennis. They will inflict pain on most Americans, and then they will look for scapegoats. Wee should avoid making it easy for them.
Amazingly and unfortunately, I have seen members of my own family follow the latter course.
Dennis, there were other "influences" besides any high moral ground: Complicit media, a 0 as AG, and (sadly) a President who didn't boot said 0 out of office as soon as it became clear 0 wasn't going to do a damn thing to bring Trump to justice.
Every finished project that received money from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act should have required a sign next to it that said “Thanks Joe”. Maybe people would have seen what the Biden admin was doing.
Good point, Midwest. Imo Trump would have done so (remember how the first set of Covid stimulus checks were delayed so he could sign them?)
The other side to this is that the propaganda is received by vulnerable minds... and there is no counter, no pushback that is effective.
Midwest - Bingo!
Blue state Secession must be used as a cudgel to beat back the new ownership of tge US by the extremely close election, where we are now owned by greedy vindictive Billionaires and corporations. These are addicts to money and power.
Write to Blue state Governors to band together and become a new vision of tge US. Bernie Sanders vision was 70% supported. No need to become victims to these sick addicts.
We would not send our Blue state federal monies to Green, Trumpty who will punish us. We need a new fourth estate. New courts who follow law. Write Biden to publish the ERA as an amendment passed.
If we don't push back in a Blue wave, we will suffer and our government will be eaten alive from the inside out. A bum from Orbán taking over? What do you want?
BaaaaaBaaaa BaaaaaBaaa are we all sheep?
Leave already. Keep your promise.
The Inflation Reduction Act failed to deliver to millions of voters struggling to pay their bills. Trump, like Biden, promises to solve the problem, which he cannot. We must think hard to find real solutions.
Total BS. Are you a Russian bot??
Acknowledged is that the IRA was insufficient to significantly factor into the election. Yet from that to conclude that good governance that benefits the people is impossible is incorrect.
Many of the benefits have yet to even take effect, for example reductions in medication costs for Medicare patients were designed to roll out on a schedule. It was in the bill that some of those cost reductions only take effect in 2025.
Janice. I agree. We have shown our true colors and they ain’t pretty. I thought we were better. But we are a nation that believes trump should be our leader.
We are a nation that restricts women’s autonomy. We are a nation that despite its separation of church and state has governors putting bibles and bibles study in the classrooms….. not history of world religions but brainwashing for christianity. We have dumbed down our people and now denounce and denigrate those of us with an education. I will watch in horror as the dear leader and his clown car of a cabinet oligarchs (plus musk and Vivek) begin their process of balancing the budget while giving more tax breaks and less oversight to his lackeys….. all lining up at trump’s feed trough.
Our citizens have been brainwashed into believing only one UGLY ANGRY OLD man. trump. It boggles the mind.
WE ARE DOOMED.
Pat, We are not doomed. We are under "a darkening cloud," but it is not so dark that we cannot see. The millions of volunteers who worked tirelessly on Kamala's campaign are still here. Some few continued to be on the ground even on Wednesday morning, November 6th, organizing, planning, mobilizing, anticipating. Grief is a necessary process when there is loss. I am in grief, taking care of myself, horrified while keeping an eye on the oozing cancer on our democracy, and triaging what needs the most attention. As in November of 2016, I am taking my time to review which organizations will best amplify my voice and my intentions going forward, and exploring how much of my resources I can prudently put out to support them. I had been on the phone for Wisconsin Democrats continuously since last January, mobilizing voters. There will be a very important election in Wisconsin on April 1st to replace a liberal judge who is retiring from the State Supreme Court leaving the balance of power up for grabs. In January, following the holidays, I expect the WisDems to announce phone banks in that effort which I know I will prioritize and show up to continue to help them blue the state. Although I am disappointed that we were not able to get Kamala over the line in Wisconsin, we did flip 14 seats in the Wisconsin State Legislature, pealing back the almost veto-proof majority in the State Senate. And I do believe that the zillions of phone calls we made got Tammy Baldwin over the line against an onslaught of unethical ads about how she doesn't live in Wisconsin, but in New York with her girlfriend, etc. !!! That we have been defeated in this battle is true. Rebecca Solnit says that hope is an action. We must find a way to not despair. We must pick ourselves up when we are ready, and maximize our energy, resources and collectivity to hold the line, regain what is lost, and rebuild a renewed and strengthened democracy.
Donna, if the Muslims in Wisconsin had voted for Kamala she would have carried Wisconsin. But they didn't, They had to give the finger to Biden, in their words, "regardless of the consequences, same in Michigan and Pennsylvania
Trump's pro-Israel Cabinet Picks Upset Muslims Who Voted for Him
'Trump won because of us,' said one of the founders of Muslims for Trump, 'and we're not happy with his Secretary of State pick and others' From Haaretz
Trump warned all voters that he does not care about them, he just wants your vote. You head it. If you elected him, you get your choice.
Cyrano, not only did Trump warn everyone, we already had 4 years of seeing daily that he doesn't care. And yet 3M more people voted for him now than in 2020.
Citation of above https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/2024-11-17/ty-article/trumps-pro-israel-cabinet-picks-upset-muslims-who-voted-for-him/00000193-39b4-dcd3-a3b7-bdbfa2250000?utm_source=mailchimp&utm_medium=Content&utm_campaign=daily-brief&utm_content=ef36d27152
William, I wonder who Muslims for Trump thought he'd pick for top cab. posts.
They didn't think. Emotional people react without thinking.
Which by the way is what advertising is all about.
Well said!
I understand your anger. I woke up feeling very bad, angry and scared this morning. But this is still the United States of America. We are exercising our First Ammendment right to free speech and political debate at this very moment. We will overcome this! We will hold the orange blight accountable! I have faith. It's less than a month since the election. We need a little more time to recover from the shock and gather our wits.
The orange blight will implode, he is overstepping and over estimating his actual power and of course his intelligence. We have to make sure that he takes the oligarchs and corporate money down with him!
To succeed you need to have real solutions to real problems. Trump doesn't.
The only "We" with which I agree is the last one. However, I so (sadly) agree with your meaning.
Pat, I agree about our true colors. But imo the nation doesn't believe Trump should be Pres. They were willing to let him be Pres. rather than accept a woman of color -- an abdication, not a confirmation.
People will come to their senses when they feel the pain.
That’s why Trump won. They felt pain under Biden.
Imo that's wishful thinking, Victor. They had 4 years to come to their senses and managed to put on their rose-colored glasses on Nov. 5. When they feel the pain, they'll whine and moan.
I agree with you 100%, Janice. An extremely large segment of our population is in love with entertainment and sport personalities, read trash newspapers and magazines, prefers violent movies or those with explicit sex, doesn’t make any effort to be well informed about the men and women governing our nation, render honors to a true con man. I could go on and on, but you summarized it better.
I am an 86 year old immigrant that achieved the American dream (with 8 children all successful professionals) and my heart is broken by what I have witnessed during the past decade. Education is the answer —- unquestionably.
Education in what, exactly?
What a question, David. I would strongly but humbly suggest that the answer is in google or in any AI chat.
I would strongly suggest that you’re seeking “education” using propaganda. I would make a rude noise In response.
I think too many people in this country want to go back to the 1940s, if not the 1840s. They want to go back to the days when women, "coloreds," and the poor "knew their places." When women were kept "barefoot and pregnant." When we had segregated bathrooms, water fountains, and facilities. I've been told that right to my face by proud, ignorant, racist whites in my area. When birth control of any kind was unlawful.
Color me green with disgust.
Actually, our moneyed elites are pining for the 1440s. They may not have the moated castles, but they do have gated communities. And private security in place of liveried attendants. And they do have a weak king who will be powerless to restrain their depredations. So they'll be able to fight among themselves for an even greater share of power.
True, James, but in the meantime they are hurting the disadvantaged, as they always have. Their most powerful weapon right now is white middle class anxiety.
Kick 'em when they're down. And keep 'em there.
Reading in this week's New Yorker about the latest Texas forced-birth atrocities, I share your dismay. Pro-choice has been REDUCED to pleading "worst case" scenarios, which does not change forced-birthers one iota. We need to accept this and plan accordingly.
Yeah, those unborn children won’t kill themselves! /s
Greg B
With the college enrollment numbers showing 60% women we are soon to see a female wave surge into government. My hope is that I live long enough to see our country and society become all it can be because of female leadership. What an example for the rest of world inhabitants. I believe as the USA rolls so will the rest of the world.
Where were the women on Nov. 5, M J?
Jan C
Super good question!
I often ask myself when in post election thoughts where the hell are more than half of the eligible voters?
Perhaps the population will view voter participation more seriously after the 47 mob gets the wreaking crew in place and starts demolition.
Maybe there are women who *directly oppose you*, because they feel that you are actually *wrong*.
The Obama backlash continues…
Sounds like blame the black guy to me.
What arrogance; presuming to know what other peoples’ “best interests” are, better than they do.
May I suggest you read "The Tyranny of Merit " and other works by Michael Sandel?
Is it lacking in brains that puts so many people in our country in an indecent standard of living? is it really the fault of employees that their corporate overlords underpay them, do not provide adequate benefits or job security? Why are so many people doing poorly financially in this country? Are you really part of an intellectual elite? Maybe you are.
This was good, very good! You said everything I have been saying. Friend, you speak my mind.
Happy Thanksgiving, Professor Reich! to answer your question, i am thankful to live on this gorgeous planet. i never tire of looking at and studying her wonderful creations. i am grateful for BOOKS. there are so many wonderful brilliant books out there and they give me great joy. and yet, although i read almost constantly, the only thing that saddens me is that i'll never read them all. i am grateful for all my friends online (that's the only place i have any friends, alas) who collectively, are always there to share their experiences and recipes, to encourage when i'm feeling down, to share their witty and pithy comments and observations that make me laugh, and to chat about whatever. and yes, bob, don't let me forget; i am grateful for you, your colleagues and the others (staff?) who bring your words of wisdom and insight to me daily. i try to only comment when i have something to add to the conversation, or when you ask a question of us, as you did today, but i am ever so grateful that you take the time to talk to me (us) and that despite being retired, you have not stopped teaching. you are my sensei. thank you!
Happy Thanksgiving, GrrlScientist!
thank you, peggy. happy thanksgiving to you, too.
It’s no sin to be born with a wooden spoon in our mouths- and it is an honor to have persevered in our lives to try to make the world a better place.
Absolutely!
GrrlScientist, I am thankful for YOU!! I look forward to your comments every time I get on here, and share your feeling about books. I wish you and Peggy Freeman and a good handful of others on here all lived on my block so we could talk a blue streak, share books and save this beautiful planet. Happy, Happy, Happy Thanksgiving!
thank you, elizabeth, and i am thankful for you, too. like a welcome port in a storm, every friend is important to me.
and incidentally ... we could start a book club (zoom?) maybe ?
Yes, indeed, a book club is a fabulous idea! How do we go about setting one up? My e-mail is lizdean13@hotmail.com.
PA Citizen Instructions for Hand-Recount Challenges
Still. A Hammer.
STEPHEN SPOONAMORE
NOV 28
In my Duty to Warn letter I outlined the impossibility of the results coming matching human voting. There were a lot of indications a machine was outputting the results. My first-pass calculations were not perfect, but it turns out they were pretty F-ing close. Below is a complete spread sheet of PA by county. Multiple additional states will be coming out shortly. If you voted in a PA County with a drop-off ratio over 2%. Please find the form below to involve hand-recounts. It requires 3 voters from the same precinct to make the request. My friend Lulu Friestad is making a TiKToK with the steps outlines. I will add it as soon as she posts.
Sadly, it appears Harris will be doing nothing. Only she can make it happen at scale. But any PA precinct with three voters can get a hand-recount. It will answer what exactly is making these numbers so ... ahistorical.
PA VOTER RECOUNT REQUESTS
These are the county canvas final dates.Voters have 5 days after final county numbers to have 3 voters file a recount request in their election precinct. That means many of the challenge windows will close THIS WEEKEND. Others early next week.
Cross reference to this spreadsheet to see drop-off by county
Please post this google form today to have people sign up in PA to make the recount request.
https://forms.gle/aZhTAtHYEkafAe4n7
Once you have three voters, the TikTok will have a link to 24/7 online Notary. You will then have to hand-deliver the challenge to your local BOE.
Save some democracy while you prep your Turkey.
https://open.substack.com/pub/spoonamore/p/pa-citizen-instructions-for-hand?r=24p296&utm_medium=ios
Happy Thanksgiving, GrrlScientist! I always enjoy reading your posts.
thank you, paula! happy thanksgiving to you, too. and i'm most pleased that you follow my comments.
When I was young and I entered a bookstore or library i found it very frustrating that I had not read all the books there. Now that I am older I realize the vast majority are not worth reading.
true, but there is still a vast mountain of books that ARE worth reading, that far outnumber the reading days allotted to us.
Robert, first of all Happy Thanksgiving to everyone on your end. You are so right; Trump is not America. Here is my take on the NIH and the opinion offered from that front. A bad virus is like a good woman, both are totally unpredictable. You can't force a disease to fall into a specific pattern, herd immunity is an idea not an objective. What if the theory suggested by the head of the NIH has no level of immunity that would find favor in the eyes of the ignorant people who have no real conception of medical science. The day will come when a virus hits our species that has no social cure, and it will travel through us like the one that wiped out the dinosaurs. The lockdown was a worthy concept considering we had no idea of what we were dealing with at the time. We must stop finding fault with efforts initiated to help our kind, not to harm it. Ignorance can cause more harm than the virus itself. Everything employed in an effort to combat what we were faced with was done out of necessity not stupidity. People aren't wild animals; herd immunity is what Mother Nature relies upon to keep her children healthy. We as humans, look to logic and science, not ignorance. Trump should have tried out his idea behind that disinfectant thing, the entire country would have been better off.
Robert, I am grateful for your wise council and insight, for Heather and all the staff at Inequality Media and for the existence of Substack and forums like it that enable us that are progressive and creative in our thinking to have an uncensored forum to connect and create a worldwide community.
Those of us who have “retired“ from years of political activism will have to once more pick up our flags of protest and assist the citizens of this country to make sense of what is about to happen and provide leadership for a new movement coming in into the next decade. We cannot forget how dark the period was during the McCarthy era, or how powerless we felt as the Vietnam War continued to escalate. Participating in the anti-war movement was possibly of the biggest life-changing activities that I have been involved in for it gave me a feeling of true empowerment and also gave me a trajectory for the rest of my life. Those of us who consider ourselves to be “retired” should now consider ourselves to be “repurposed” rather than retired. You are a shining example of someone who may have left the teaching profession as a salaried professor, but you are by no means retired. In fact, the energy and activity you have demonstrated in the past few years, urges myself to try to follow your energetic example.
PA Citizen Instructions for Hand-Recount Challenges
Still. A Hammer.
STEPHEN SPOONAMORE
NOV 28
In my Duty to Warn letter I outlined the impossibility of the results coming matching human voting. There were a lot of indications a machine was outputting the results. My first-pass calculations were not perfect, but it turns out they were pretty F-ing close. Below is a complete spread sheet of PA by county. Multiple additional states will be coming out shortly. If you voted in a PA County with a drop-off ratio over 2%. Please find the form below to involve hand-recounts. It requires 3 voters from the same precinct to make the request. My friend Lulu Friestad is making a TiKToK with the steps outlines. I will add it as soon as she posts.
Sadly, it appears Harris will be doing nothing. Only she can make it happen at scale. But any PA precinct with three voters can get a hand-recount. It will answer what exactly is making these numbers so ... ahistorical.
PA VOTER RECOUNT REQUESTS
These are the county canvas final dates.Voters have 5 days after final county numbers to have 3 voters file a recount request in their election precinct. That means many of the challenge windows will close THIS WEEKEND. Others early next week.
Cross reference to this spreadsheet to see drop-off by county
Please post this google form today to have people sign up in PA to make the recount request.
https://forms.gle/aZhTAtHYEkafAe4n7
Once you have three voters, the TikTok will have a link to 24/7 online Notary. You will then have to hand-deliver the challenge to your local BOE.
Save some democracy while you prep your Turkey.
https://open.substack.com/pub/spoonamore/p/pa-citizen-instructions-for-hand?r=24p296&utm_medium=ios
Marlo I smell a rotten fish. A mere five hours after the polls closed, while they were still counting. Kamala rushed to the phone to congratulate Trump, then to the microphone to announce her concession.
I don’t believe she is the rotten fish. I think Trump and company is. Everything about him is corrupt. As I said before, he will stop at nothing to win. “During the 2024 campaign, Trump shook down every one of his current appointees, seeking large donations with the understanding that they’d be in line for big jobs in the Trump administration.
Elon Musk’s tab was $200 million. Stephen Bessent’s hedge fund donated at least $6 million.” ~ Robert Reich
I think that is criminal.
Robert states voting would make the difference. It did not. Time for a countervailing force.
Voting was so gerrymandered, the likes of which we have yet to uncover. Same with machine counting according to people who know. I am certain no man will bother to save the 51%. We must save ourselves and reach for creative solutions. You boys enjoy your sense of 'being right'.
Vicki--Robert was right, voting does make a difference but in order for it to show up on the scorecard ignorance needs to be put to bed.
Does it make sense to you that Trump didn’t get 50% of the vote but won ALL SEVEN swing states? When has THAT happened before?
I think Stephen Spoonamore is onto something. Read his Substack. It makes sense there was involvement in the election.
A hand recount in the swing states would tell the TRUTH.
How can people be so naive, knowing what a cheating, lying, criminal Trump is?
Well-said
You lost me at "women are unpredictable..." You will see an unpredictable man leading the country for the next two years.
Really??? Bunkerboy is EXCEPTIONALLY predictable: he is TERRIFIED of women and non-white Americans and will show it. He DESPISES the 99% and will show visible disgust and/or discomfort around Us. If something LOOKS bad, it's 130,000% worse.
Happy Thanksgiving!!!
That evil one is 100% transactional. Anything is for sale including the health and welfare of all our citizens.
You’re really invested in thinking that people are scared of you, rather than mocking you, aren’t you?
Daniel--I said the virus was unpredictable as well as women. That is all.
marisa--What I said was meant to be humorous, what you said is terrifying. You said two years, do you know something the rest of us don't. Because as things stand it's 4 years of spelling Rolaids as a form of relief.
marisa--I see 24 other members also misunderstood the English I was using. Sad, it seems in almost every instance people are willing to follow blindly what someone has put before them. If any of my friends are out there, they understand I would never belittle women. If you feel that I am, you need a course in self-correction. Judge not!
Trump is hardly unpredictable. You can always count on him and his goons to do their worst when it comes to supporting the common good.
Sorry, Donald. My mistake. I think I was responding to Marisa’s comment.
ILene--I never said anything about Trump.
marisa--Since when did being unpredictable equate to anything bad?
Bite the bird for me, for I have no teeth.
No baby food??? That's what I would do.;)
A COVIDiot in the wild.
Donald, I always enjoy your posts but honestly, I've never thought of myself as being anything like a bad virus before. The New Yorker has a feature called "Block That Metaphor," where they quote silly analogies. I think yours belongs there, but I get your point. 😀😀😀😀 Happy Thanksgiving!
Paula--I don't believe the problem even exists. The only comparison I drew was both entities were unpredictable. I never said women were like a bad virus.
Transitive property, Donald. I'm just funning you.
Paula--It sounds relatively similar to the distributive property.
Hodgins, you’re on my block, too! You just made me laugh out loud twice, I can always count on you being highly intelligent but a little rascally as well. Happy Thanksgiving! P.S. I agree on every point.
Thank you, Professor Reich, On this we are in total agreement. If we Democratic and democracy and Constitution loving people in all 50 States stick together and refuse to lower ourselves to a dictatorship, theocratic or otherwise, we will win back our Country and maybe some time soon we'll not only take our Country back but learn to appreciate the United States and all its citizens as valued human beings.
I’m all in Fay😉 I am an American Indian, a tax payer, and a Senior Citizen totally dependent on SS. I am old enough to know right from wrong. Can anyone make me feel less anxious about someone doing wrong found guilty. My biggest worry is am I going to have enough money to buy my propane, food utilities rent. Yet I look around me and I see a person who has been charged with crimes 34+ crimes was tried had a jury trial was convicted the next step for this individual is serve his time for the crime. RIGHT? HONESTLY!
....and NOT serving time in the White House.
Kendeth, I too wonder about how Trump, with his many convictions, never serves time? It makes the rest of us cynical about "justice".
What I find most outrageous about your situation is that the sacrifice benefits those who could easily pay their tases if they weren't hoarding their wealth. One less yacht or private plane. One less extravagant vacation. One less killer investment. Trump won't even account for the money being thrown at him already for his transition, even though the law requires it.
YES!
Well said, Fay!
Thanksgiving blessings to all. I was struck by the Kentucky decision not to fund K-12 schools outside of the public system. Doing so is a classic ploy to privatize public education. There is one pot of money for education. If you take money out of that pot and give it to private schools, there is less money to sustain public schools. Public schools inevitably must make cuts in programs and services making them weaker and less effective. Standard test scores drop. There's not enough money for increased wages. Teachers start to leave. Class size increases. This sets the basis for the argument that private education is superior to public education leading to more cuts. Before you know it, public education disappears. Private schools are free to set tuition fees so the cost of K12 school increases, pricing access to education out of reach for more and more families. It's right out of playbook for transferring public services into private hands by stealth. Parents must be active at the school board setting to prevent this from happening.
Here in New York City, it was just revealed that one in eight students was homeless at some point during the year. While it's true that we don't have enough affordable housing, I wonder if the numbers don't also reflect the dwindling number of students in public schools, the others having been siphoned off by private, charter and religious schools. We used to have the strongest public schools in the nation at a time when immigration was very high. It's possible, and we were better off then.
Definitely possible. There is not enough public education money available in governments to allow even $1.00 go to profit instead of to education. Public dollars are meant for public services, period. Governments have one job and one job only with respect to education: fund public schools, not private schools, not charter schools, not religious schools.
At the beginning of this school year, I read that the Kansas City metro had 3000 homeless students.
A few years ago, while registering students to vote, I met a young woman who wanted to register but had no permanent address. She had been couch surfing for some time. She had to return to class so we didn’t have time to research how to get her registered. I’ve asked about that situation and, so far, have not found an answer. Can homeless people resister to vote?
When 10% of the American population owns 60% of all the wealth in the country, why are there people who are homeless?
Yes! https://vote.gov/guide-to-voting/unhoused
Thanks Paula. I had looked into homeless shelters but they only allowed the people staying there to use their mailing address. She was not staying there. My state appears to require a residential address, not just a mailing address. I need to find out more. A job for later.
https://thebeaconnews.org/stories/2024/09/04/how-to-get-id-to-vote-if-homeless-missouri/
https://www.lwv.org/blog/empowering-unhoused-and-housing-insecure-voters
I don't know if Voteriders can help you. They assist people with identification for voting. They might know what to do about people without addresses too. Good luck!
It's all part of the plan to disinvest in public goods in all areas and create a permanent class of economically subservient coercible "slaves'.
My sister and I will volunteer today at Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen. I find it hart to live in a trump fascist country with a corrupt Supreme Court and the sicko people trump has chosen to run the country. I miss Kamala and Tim so much.
I love Biden and his family too, including Hunter.
What a beautiful thing to share with your sister, Elena! I hope both of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
💗
PA Citizen Instructions for Hand-Recount Challenges
Still. A Hammer.
STEPHEN SPOONAMORE
NOV 28
In my Duty to Warn letter I outlined the impossibility of the results coming matching human voting. There were a lot of indications a machine was outputting the results. My first-pass calculations were not perfect, but it turns out they were pretty F-ing close. Below is a complete spread sheet of PA by county. Multiple additional states will be coming out shortly. If you voted in a PA County with a drop-off ratio over 2%. Please find the form below to involve hand-recounts. It requires 3 voters from the same precinct to make the request. My friend Lulu Friestad is making a TiKToK with the steps outlines. I will add it as soon as she posts.
Sadly, it appears Harris will be doing nothing. Only she can make it happen at scale. But any PA precinct with three voters can get a hand-recount. It will answer what exactly is making these numbers so ... ahistorical.
PA VOTER RECOUNT REQUESTS
These are the county canvas final dates.Voters have 5 days after final county numbers to have 3 voters file a recount request in their election precinct. That means many of the challenge windows will close THIS WEEKEND. Others early next week.
Cross reference to this spreadsheet to see drop-off by county
Please post this google form today to have people sign up in PA to make the recount request.
https://forms.gle/aZhTAtHYEkafAe4n7
Once you have three voters, the TikTok will have a link to 24/7 online Notary. You will then have to hand-deliver the challenge to your local BOE.
Save some democracy while you prep your Turkey.
https://open.substack.com/pub/spoonamore/p/pa-citizen-instructions-for-hand?r=24p296&utm_medium=ios
The closer I think to home, the more thankful I get. Broad thinking about the global political/military battles, our pending federal government, and sometimes even the shortsighted nature of our county government in rural Virginia, does not inspire. The forest does. The birds, deer, and squirrels I saw yesterday do. My family, all at home, does. That will be the focus today. Tomorrow we can work on the problems. Have a good thanksgiving.
Beautifully said, Wayne! Happy Thanksgiving!
That is so lovely. I have been thinking similarly about the next two to four years. Things feel very dark right now, but the light will return, if we can be the light, each in our own tiny yet profound ways. Thank you so much!!
David Snider, oh thank you so much for your reminder, "the light will return, if we can be the light, each in our own tiny yet profound ways." Your words were so eloquent. Just what I needed --- I'm grateful for you.
Back at you, thanks for your kind words!
Oh, will it? Ask those in Eastern Europe, Orbans country, Turkey, Russia, Ukraine, Gaza. Quit the Pollyanna.
As I read the two paragraphs devoted exclusively to stunning gains in Wisconsin I was reminded that Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Ben Wikler is being considered for DNC Chair. Last night I received a text from a friend about Wikler. It read:
“[Wikler]…is a vote-getting guru, very strategically plugged in on the ground and online, believes in going door to door talking and *listening* to folks on every street in every neighborhood all year long every year,…[Wikler] would infuse new ideas, vision, and energy into an old institution desperately in need of them.”
I plan on learning what I can do to help get Wikler appointed DNC Chair. I hope others will join me.
If you have seen the Netflix documentary “The Great Hack”, you know we are up against companies like Cambridge Analytica. The democrats need someone that understands that.
Addicted billionaires and corporations to money and power have won this round closely despite all their lies and gerrymandering. We need a countervailing force.
Possible countervailing forces:
a worsening economy under Trump and pissed voters
deteriorating climate costs and pissed voters (too early perhaps)
a pandemic and botched response
WW3
what else?
Barbara, as a lifetime Wisconsin resident I am with you. Ben is a dependable spoiler to the rampant GOP legislators here.
It will take more than door knocking as Midwest says. Unless Dems get smarter about the modes of communicating our hallowed "message", whatever the message is, we will struggle. We need to communicate at scale year round. And of course we need to listen.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving from Australia, Robert!!! 🤗🤗🤗🦃🦃🦃
Enjoy your Thanksgiving form Ohio
#labor #auspol
Happy Thanksgiving Robert!! The work will be there tomorrow. Enjoy the day!
PA Citizen Instructions for Hand-Recount Challenges
Still. A Hammer.
STEPHEN SPOONAMORE
NOV 28
In my Duty to Warn letter I outlined the impossibility of the results coming matching human voting. There were a lot of indications a machine was outputting the results. My first-pass calculations were not perfect, but it turns out they were pretty F-ing close. Below is a complete spread sheet of PA by county. Multiple additional states will be coming out shortly. If you voted in a PA County with a drop-off ratio over 2%. Please find the form below to involve hand-recounts. It requires 3 voters from the same precinct to make the request. My friend Lulu Friestad is making a TiKToK with the steps outlines. I will add it as soon as she posts.
Sadly, it appears Harris will be doing nothing. Only she can make it happen at scale. But any PA precinct with three voters can get a hand-recount. It will answer what exactly is making these numbers so ... ahistorical.
PA VOTER RECOUNT REQUESTS
These are the county canvas final dates.Voters have 5 days after final county numbers to have 3 voters file a recount request in their election precinct. That means many of the challenge windows will close THIS WEEKEND. Others early next week.
Cross reference to this spreadsheet to see drop-off by county
Please post this google form today to have people sign up in PA to make the recount request.
https://forms.gle/aZhTAtHYEkafAe4n7
Once you have three voters, the TikTok will have a link to 24/7 online Notary. You will then have to hand-deliver the challenge to your local BOE.
Save some democracy while you prep your Turkey.
https://open.substack.com/pub/spoonamore/p/pa-citizen-instructions-for-hand?r=24p296&utm_medium=ios
It absolutely blows my mind that criminal madman trump is the Christians’ idea of a leader.
It’s because they are not really Christians.
The members of Christian nationalist communities are mainly sheep who blindly follow their leaders. The leaders of those movements KNOW everything there is to know about Trump -- including how unfit he is. But he's been a vehicle for them to get to this point.
Trump could EASILY be dispensed from the scene once he takes office and then their REAL plan will go into place.
This is movement closely tied to Zionist Israel -- and the fascists in Israel are ecstatic over Trump's win.
People here are sheep too. Just a different ram. We need a countervailing force- threaten Blue state secession and keep our federal monies in blue states. No leadership out of DC. Throwing us to the wolves.
Christian Zionism differs from Jewish Zionism. The basis of Christian Zionism is antisemitism.. Jewish Zionists are quite aware, but welcome it because of Christian tourism and support fot the state of Israel.
Americans have completely deluded themselves about this -- and it's driving us closer to world war 3. From a completely religious Jew .. Rabbi Yaakov Shapiro.
"How Christian Evangelicals Created Jewish Zionism"
https://www.committinghighreason.com/how-christian-evangelicals-created-jewish-zionism/
Here's hoping that other readers don't fall into Farrar's septic tank of willful stupidity.
Farrar states that Rabbi Shapiro has "their own agenda. "
LOL... As an orthodox rabbi, Shapiro is primarily concerned with fulfilling the 613 mitzvot given by HaShem to the tribes of Israel at the foot of Mount Sinai. That was the Creator's "agenda."
Theodore Herzl was the founder of the Zionist movement, not Christians, but Christians, end time Christians, have jumped in on the movement. The orthodox settlers, dispossessing Palestinians are rabid Zionists, and anyone who opposes Zionism is called an antisemite
You are not dealing from knowledge or facts. Anyone listening to the EXTREMELY well-documented link will see that instantly.
Actually I am Thomas. Sorry about your "extremely well documented Link" but this is knowledge I have had since the 1970's and also here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zionism. Your link is from a disinfo source
It is said that the two blue bars at top and bottom of the Israel flag stand for the Nile and Euphrates. I do believe that the Jews are entitled to an ethnostate, afterall Muslims have 57 of them, and they have a right to defend themselves, and attack those who would genocide them.
William, thank you for making the distinction,
https://www.committinghighreason.com/how-christian-evangelicals-created-jewish-zionism/
Thank-you for you! Happy Thanksgiving
Thank you for this piece. It gives me some hope for the future beyond the next 4 nightmare years that there are those diligently working behind the scenes to return America to sanity.
Happy Thanksgiving, Professor Reich and the rest of you here. And thank you for the positive message. As my favorite cheerleader says in Lord of the Rings during his and Frodo's darkest hour:
"I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn’t. They kept going. Because they were holding on to something."
Frodo: "What are we holding onto, Sam?"
Sam: "That there’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo… and it’s worth fighting for.”
Thank you. I totally agree with everything you said Robert.