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This is about a story that Conservatives tell about the founding of America and the American spirit. Supposedly we all, every single American, believe that everyone must work, all the time, despite illness, hardship, family pressures, mental illness - we don't believe anyone should get something for nothing. This is the message rich men offer to poor and middle class people. They are sure you don't approve of a safety net. They are sure they don't want to spend their riches on deadbeats who don't work. Americans, they say, see safety net programs as socialism (even though that is not how socialism is defined). We are "rugged individuals" they say who will tough things out on our own 'til our dying day. This assumes that you have no empathy for a neighbor or friend who finds him/herself in a bad situation that makes working temporarily impossible, or even permanently impossible. Empathy has no room in economics or government Conservatives say. It is the province of the church and private citizens. If we try to lift everyone up we will kill innovation and progress say those all wise (sarcasm) Conservatives. I believe it is time for American to be done with Conservative messaging which has produced a totally top heavy economy which is now being protected as normal. Biden doesn't have the votes but it is a sad day for America. Reactionaries are in charge and may win the day in the next election.

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I think Biden has a mandate because he won the most votes in the national election. The bought out holdouts and obstructionist Republicans plus the filibuster and unconstitutional requirement of the 60 vote majority keeps the people from getting their rightful needs met. Don't forget that the people pay more into our treasury than even the wealthy do. This is not a handout that we don't deserve.

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ALL politicians play the game of deceit. They have no feeling for others as they are So iopaths! Be Gone you vipers, we March at Dawn!!!

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Sociopath: no feeling for anyone but themselves.

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Oh my gosh! Patricia! And what exactly is Trump fighting for? Certainly NOT for the working class! What did Trump give to the working class? HIGHER TAXES! Under Trump the rich get richer. The working class gets screwed! It's not rocket science. A monkey could figure it out.

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Thank You! I am always surprised by the fact that others have swallowed what Trump puts out there as facts. It amazes me that people show up at his rallies and events, that they willingly accept everything he says even when their own circumstances defy his assertions. As far as I can tell, Trump cannot boast of a single, solitary accomplishment for the good of the working class and the poor....apparently, the constant boasting he does do functions as the truth and evidence that "he's working for us.." As far as I know, Trump actually spent his time in office watching tv, posting on social media, lying and spinning yarns, holding rallies and campaign events, finding fault and ridiculing working people, and curry favor with foreign autocrats, plus denying the environmental crises and taking offense to windmills and scientists in general. I am not sure he knows how to read and that has to be a major handicap in a position where reading policy statements and status reports (and writing them) are absolute necessities for doing a decent job. (I might mention that, while Eleanor Roosevelt played a major and active role in improving living conditions for all during the Depression, Melania Trump remained hidden a way and was--like her husband--in it for selfish reasons. So there was no counter-weight to Trump.) He has since declared publicly that he was(is) not responsible for situations of his own design, for the crises we have faced repeatedly for the last 5-6 years. I am left to conclude that his only interests in being president were and still are: wealth and power. He's just absent without leave for all the rest of us.

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Well said, Lanae Isaacson

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I have not lost two pensions and my investments have not changed one iota. The reason is that I have NO pensions whatsoever and no investments either. You did well under Trump but it was Trump's plan to reward people who were doing well. I do not pay attention to much media and I don't have numbers to show my prosperity--because I am living on social security alone. The small pension I had from 15 years at Macy*s is nearly gone while the former ceo of the company (a personal friend of Trump) has garnered a huge retirement package. I am pretty sure that people harvesting lettuce in Salinas (necessary workers if there ever were such) don't spend time on media either and they don't worry about their investments or their lost pensions. If you do not live their reality, you cannot really speak to its validity or not. I don't need real information, I already know the score for myself and for millions of others.

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Did Patty just say Fox? Who let the trumper in?

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Any problems with your investments were likely due to Obama’s predecessor, whose actions almost crashed the world’s economy. Publish your proof - it likely would be related only to the first part of the Obama administration, because he did much to improve things. The reason for what’s happening in today’s stock market it that corporations are buying back stock and passing it on to make wealthy stockholders even richer while taking away from workers. If the one percenters ever decide to move money out, we will all pay. Trump didn’t give workers any kind of meaningful tax break. Most ended up paying more. Personally, my finances and taxes have always been remarkably better under Democratic administrations.

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Here's real information for the benefit of those who have decided that--alas--if only I had received proper financial education, etc., etc., I would know to save and invest and (as I describe it) use my money to grow more money. When I worked at Macy*s in 2004-2012 (I actually worked at the store between 2002 and 2017 but what I am describing concerns the six years between 2004 and 2010), a co-worker invited me to join the luggage team and sell luggage. I was making close to the minimum wage--somewhere between $8.00 and $9.00 an hour and I was having a hard time. Jobs were at a premium but I had a Section 8 for my housing. Still and all, money was tight; it was tight for the luggage senior as well and what he suggested would actually make it harder for him to get by. I eagerly joined as, at the time, the individual luggage vendors ran commission programs for each piece of luggage sold. The commissions were actually pay-outs between vendors and the individual sales-people and we kept records and submitted forms to the vendors and also had to file 1099s to the government as what we made was taxable income. In a good quarter--if everything went right and there was a lot travel (business and personal), I would make as much as $1200. Of course, this would boost my rent but it also gave me a bit more money and, as long as I stayed under the income limit for my housing, it was a win-win for the vendors and the individual employees. Macy*s could absolutely not tolerate the fact that their employees were actually making a bit of money (perfectly legal as long as it was reported to the IRS) on the side. I quickly learned the best approach to selling luggage and I started having a clientele, once or twice people of rank and repute in society. So what Macy*s decided to do was "help us" by taking over the commission sales, that is the transfer of vendor money to ordinary sales associates. And, of course, Macy*s would take the lion's share for their "service or help" to us with the paperwork and tax issues. I started to lose money almost immediately as the split it payments was 60% to Macy*s and 40% to the sales people. The vendors were none too happy with the arrangement and they knew that Macy*s was basically stealing from its own employees. There was some protests from the vendors but, eventually, all but one vendor caved in. I imagine that vendor faced an ultimatum from Macy*s: "If you do not stand aside and let us steal from our hourly-wage workers, we will not continue to carry your lines." I do not blame that vendor for caving in, especially since they were the best to deal with. The facts are, though, that Macy*s designed a plan to steal for its own workers and, well, if we had any ideas about saving and investing, they went down the drain. MY co-workers and I tried to help each other but, well, Macy*s held the upper hand and did not hesitate to stiff their workers in order to increase ceo compensation and the price of stocks and stock portfolio. This was considered a great business plan at the time but all it really was was a way to cheat the folks doing all the work.

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Ms. Patricia,

your life experiences, and those of the people that you know, are from your subjective perspective. What you stated as proof is anecdotal evidence, which is a factual claim relying only on personal observation*

Most people tend to view life from their own subjective perspective, and they believe that their own experiences are the same for almost everyone else, but that is not true.

It would be outrageous for me or anyone else to say that what you said you and people that you know personally experienced is untrue.

It is also outrageous for you or anyone else to disregard the experiences of someone else as untrue, or exaggerated based on our own personal experiences.

So, let’ all respect everyone and allow each individual define who they are themselves. Instead of dismissing them and defining who they are for them.

*(Google search definition)

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Fox News lies with every breath they take, Wise Up or get out of the way of the Revolution!!!!

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The main thing Trump did was try to make HIMSELF richer. The next biggest thing he did was make the rich even richer and everybody else poorer. His tariff war harmed farmers. The only thing Trump did for working people was validate racism. The only thing Trump is fighting for is himself - he knows his actions are punishable by prison time. Watch - he will throw anybody and everybody under the bus - including his own children. Defending Trumps is defending racism, selfishness and corruption.

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When I finished working at Macy*s, I was given a small retirement account into which I had contributed a tiny sum from every single paycheck. I kept that account to provide for my final expenses and emergencies. I could really risk it in the stock market or investments of any kind so a banker told me that it would be better to take a lump sum distribution. I would have to pay withholding but I would also get most of the withholding back as my income was so modest. For a while, I kept most of the savings in a standard bank account...but, when the pandemic hit, I quit work and decided my working days were finally over. However, I had combined work with social security so it was tough to go on ssa alone and, well, the pandemic meant the rainy day was here. I gave up having a car but I did (and still do) allow myself a single discretionary expense, just to assure myself that I am really a person. The problem with Patricia of the lost investments is that she doesn't realize that she is using her money to make more money, she can afford to do that. Most of us have very tiny savings accounts (if that much) and no investments to speak of because we don't use our money to make more money but--to put it coldly--to live. Patricia suggests that we can secure our financial well-being through saving and that is probably true but she doesn't realize that a good many people in America live from paycheck-to-paycheck and simply don't have enough "free change" to build decent savings. We use what money that comes in our door to make sure we have some sort of door attached to a dwelling and some food in the fridge...I can't speak for everyone but, at the same time, I know I speak for a good number of hard-pressed working people.

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According to Bloomberg, Trump's net wealth DECLINED by $700,000,000 while he was president. In contrast, Obama's wealth increased 3,000% while he was in office, rising to $40,000,000 today. Clinton did even better, going from zero before being elected to $75,000,000 today. Not bad, on a salary of $400,000.

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Obama made his money primarily from his successful books as mentioned in the article https://www.forbes.com/sites/danalexander/2017/01/20/how-barack-obama-has-made-20-million-since-arriving-in-washington/amp/

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Books nobody would give a damn about if he wasn't the "first black president".

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I was not implying corruption in Obama's case. About the Clinton Foundation, I'm not so sure. Trump was by far our wealthiest president ever, but coming in at number 2 was George Washington, and no. 3 was Thomas Jefferson. Lest you think the American oligarchy is a recent phenomenon. LBJ ranks 6th, Clinton 8th, and Obama 11th wealthiest. All three were Democrats, if you please.

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The tariff war harmed farmers? The tariff war was to instill patriotism. Encourage Americans to buy American, and keep large manufacturers within our country. A lot of large corporations were trying to move operations overseas to dodge taxes and livable wages for their employees. I don't really understand how that affected farmers but maybe they should buy American 🤔 lmao

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Dear Patricia, After every state elections board went through numerous checks of their election results, including the Supreme Court, and could not find any discrepancies, how in the world can you believe the election was stolen when the only proof you have is that Trump says so.

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Thank You Deirda for your response. I think the only real piece of evidence of election fraud or theft that we witnessed concerns the phone call Trump made to the Georgia Secretary of State and his effort to coerce that officer into "finding votes" to sway the election in his favor. Other than that, no evidence of any sort of irregularity turned up. People chose to vote by mail because of fear of the pandemic, not in order to turn the vote in Biden's favor. The reason Biden won was because he seemed to respond to the vast numbers of voters Trump sought to disenfranchise and to those who never wanted any part of Trump to begin with. Whether Patricia or any other Trump supporter will admit it or not, Trump refused to accept any responsibility for his own actions and the actions of his officials and appointees. The presidency is in fact an office with the responsibility for 330 million people, their safety and well-being. That responsibility is onerous and demanding and Trump chose to deny it and pursue his leisure time life at our expense. Let's not forget: 700,000 people died due to his lack of essential leadership. That's the truth, not the stuff about a supposedly stolen election. Trump lost because he deserved to...clear and simple.

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I do not believe that Biden won because the media (and people in general) were "out to get Trump" or anything of the sort. Biden won because, in the end, he had 81 million votes and Trump had 74 million, a difference of 7 million between winner and loser. Enough people looked at the record: the imprisonment and separation of small children from Mexico and Central America; the casual disregard of the pandemic and the huge numbers of casualties and deaths; Trump's uninformed and hazardous decision to play the role of medical science authority; the fact that most of the wealth and prosperity of the American society were concentrated on people who were already wealthy and prosperous; the denial of global climate change; the executive disregard for normal diplomacy and the proven use of support from our adversaries to turn the election(s) in Trump's favor; the general and open disregard for any form of values and norms; the decision to ignore the Constitution and the rule of law; the use of federal troops and officers against peaceful protestors (June 1, 2020); the insurrection; the obvious indolence (read: laziness) of Trump and his constant substitution of recreational activities (golf) for doing his job; Trump's demeaning of ordinary workers, journalists and public officials attempting to do their jobs; his childish rhetoric and constant put-downs. (None of these failures and flaws were secret; no, Trump insisted on being the center of attention so we got to see and hear it all.) After listing a few of the reasons people chose Biden over Trump, I'm left wondering why anyone in the world (or rather in the USA) would vote for such an aberration and disgrace to our laws and our culture. I try to think of one thing Trump had going for him but he kept posting video and audio that showed why Biden voters made the right decision and Trump voters refused to face the truth that Trump was eager to display as evidence of his strength and power (and, incidentally, his lack of empathy, humanity, and human decency). Biden won, Trump lost and, ironically, Trump's love of celebrity and publicity contributed to his own demise.

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Biden was the right decision? Am I the only one present for this man's speeches? He's on the brinks of dementia. He might not even last all 4 years with full mental capability.

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I am not a member of the establishment but I was shocked that he won because he did not have the appropriate education, experience, empathy, values to serve in the most demanding job in the country. He openly informed us that he was not responsible for the often tragic situations and problems and threats that he willy-nilly created. Because of his acknowledged efforts to "downplay the pandemic", he caused the death of 700,000 people; he increased open racism and hatred for people of color; and, he filled the coffers of wealthy people at the expense of everyone else. Whether you admit it or not, Trump tried to coerce the Secretary of State to "find" votes, just the number he needed to change the results of the election in Georgia. This was not part of a ploy by the Democrats on any level; this was a willful and illegal interference in a national election by the individual sworn to protect and defend the Constitution and abide by the laws on the books. We are a poorer, less unified, more threatened and divided nation because of Donald Trump and we will be living with that reality well into the future.

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The rich got richer because they already have the financial education to know what to do when opportunities arise. There was plenty of opportunity, in fact programs were established to help people who never had the opportunity to open businesses do so. Not to mention all the opportunities people had to jump in the nasdaq and practically print money. A lot of people were able to leave their jobs, follow true passion, and make more money than they were making from their employers. The economy is changing. This isn't a time where you devote 40 years of your life to one company and hope for the best. Society needs to break out of that. Build a business, find something to sell, CREATE, INNOVATE!

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Hmmmm....did Fox News get an FCC license? Is it an OBJECTIVE news organization?

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How was that koolaid?

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Fred, You should know, we don't drink it here!

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I do not believe that the lawyers for Trump have ever submitted concrete evidence of the election being stolen. Trump has submitted all sorts of assertions and claims of election fraud but the only actual evidence of election fraud occurred when the former president called the Georgia Secretary of State and tried to force that individual to "find" the votes needed for a victory in George. (We all heard this blatant evidence of election fraud.) The lawyers for Trump will not submit any evidence to back up their client's claims because they know in advance that that evidence will not hold up under examination. There is a penalty for filing frivolous law suits with no solid evidence and Trump's own lawyers are unwilling to submit what they have and land in legal trouble of their own for entering frivolous lawsuits. This situation does not bode well for Trump but he continues to claim election fraud when he is the only one who has offered public evidence of his own fraudulent attempt to change the election in his favor. At the same time, Trump has managed to degrade the rule of law and the peaceful transfer of power. He also does not seem to realize that, if he declares the election to be fraudulent, all of those Republicans who won their down-ballot races will also be considered part of the fraud. Trump cannot bring himself down without bringing down all those who shared his ticket.

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You have rather curiously expressed support for both Trump and Al Gore--of all people. (You claim that, had Al fought hard, we would have lucked out and saved ourselves from "a lot of the problems we've had for 20 years.") I can't think of any two candidates for the presidency who are more diametrically opposed than Trump (self-absorbed, self-promoting grifter) and Al Gore (concerned citizen, environmentalist, crusader for the welfare of the public broadly conceived.) You suggest that Trump is a strong man willing to fight back, Al Gore somehow a weakling whose weakness paved the way for all our problems. "If Al Gore had only been stronger, we would have dodged the bullet of 20 problematic years." In point of fact, Al Gore did win the election for presidency; however (and very unlike Trump) he chose to put the welfare and unity of the country ahead of personal aggrandizement. He sacrificed his own chance to lead the nation and pursue a definite agenda for the sake of unity. That was a position of strength and good judgment and concern for his nation. With Trump, we only see a concern for self and self-promotion as, in Trump's view, we simply do not exist and we have no value whatsoever. I agree with you that it is a shame we did not go with Al Gore. What is really a shame is that you apparently feel no disconnect by considering Trump and Gore as in any way equivalent. They were--and are--two very different individuals. How very odd your comment is.

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Please don't mention that Vile man's name. If you could read, you would know Trump has been a crook all of his life, his father too. He almost destroyed this country before. Save me from these ignorant people. Above, I meant to print Sociopath, Trump is definitely one of them. You got a dictionary? Look it up.

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I don't think anyone but the very wealthy (and the very unconnected from reality) like what is happening now. However, Trump was in office for four years, he had his chance to make a difference in the lives of many who were counting on him. Instead, he decided to squander his chance by denying all responsibility for his own actions and decisions, blaming others for everything, disregarding the scientists and experts who were starting from scratch with a new virus and learning about it through the scientific method, supporting and placating white supremacists, Nazis, and old-school racists and hate mongers, catering and currying favor with the rich, retreating from any kind of international cooperation on global issues, name-calling and denigrating those who were usually in dire circumstances, and (from Day One of his presidency) running for a second term. He never gave anything but lip-service to his first term and yet he expected a second. He was indolent, incurious, mendacious (to the extreme), hateful, and unable to concentrate for more than a second or two. Those in his administration who had some knowledge of what they would be dealing with tried to send him to school only to discover that his attention-span and inability to focus on anything but himself meant that he couldn't make it through his lessons. (I am not sure he could read at a level that would make any kind of instruction at grade one possible.) We were fed a steady diet of lies from the serious and dangerous to the banal and stupid. No, most of us do not like what's happening but we also understand that this is largely the result of four years of scandals, grifts, and betrayals on the part of our supposed leader. This is what happens when you elect a fraud and a cheat and, the facts are, we did not elect Trump by national popular vote...he was inflicted on us by the Electoral College. Trump has not right to lead his crusade for The Big Lie as his entire life (as I understand it) has been one continuing Big Lie. All decency and integrity have been sacrificed to this grifter...No, none of us like this but it is Trump's legacy, that and his appalling lack of empathy and decency.

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Actually subprime mortgages cause the economic crash in 2008 and 2009 primarily bank of America....

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Because who was really at fault for blame? The banks that wrote up the risky high interest mortgages or the people who defaulted on them? I mean how do you choose who goes to jail? The banks for poorly trying to help people achieve homeownership or the person who couldn't keep up with the payments? Really hard to point fingers here without someone feeling some type of way.

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You have spent a lot of time, effort, and, well, money protecting yourself. You have mistakenly believed that all your investments and pension plans will somehow keep you safe. Safe from what? From life? From other people? From natural disasters? From politicians? From the government? From accidents and mishaps? From misreading others? The facts of the matter are that, while you have built investments and financial security, you have not protected what means more in life: a healthy regard for others and their rights; an ability to admit that (horrors!) there is--and always was and always will be-more to life (all our lives) than our monetary investments and our bank accounts. What about our participation in the arts and literature, in education for the pure joy of it, in sports and recreation, in friendships and travels, in preserving and enhancing the life of others? I have not involved myself in money and "protecting myself" to any great degree. That means that--if I had started to invest and protect myself (financially only) long, long ago, I would probably be where you are and would be lamenting the loss of my two pensions too. As it is, I decided to live my life to the best of my abilities and opportunities, to explore what there was out there and in other people, to obey laws and care for the environment, and to respect those who are traveling through time with me. I have no regrets and do not miss the pensions I never had. I wish life were easier for me financially but, to a degree, other people determined that...the rest of my life was---and still is--my own. I am not protected and have no interest in protecting myself despite your assertion that I need to do so...I will take my chances but, realistically, that is also what you're doing as, again, money is not everything. You are much more fearful than I and the irony is that that is because you have far, far more to lose than I ever could. I am rich in ways that count for me but these are not ways that you can equate with pensions and investments.

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Congratulations so why are you so mad at Miss Pat?

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These people won't EVER take responsibility for their own lack of financial education and discipline. So they don't understand that only YOU can protect YOU. Life is NOT fair, only the strong and the wise will survive.

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I am very sorry for you. I guess you feel that you are so strong and wise that you have the right to demean others. I do not regret my life and hope you will not come to regret all your strength and wisdom and your loss of what life is all about.

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Thank you, Shara! You say it so well!!!!!

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Yeah...that's about the size of it. The (fairly decent) lawyers for Trump are not about to go out on a limb for him and get hauled into court themselves...so Trump is seeking lawyers with less expertise and more personal greed. I like to think that his days as whatever he is doing now are numbered and that he will retreat to Mar-a-Lago and leave it to cooler and more astute folks to deal with the mess he left us all.

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We can underestimate Trump only at our peril. He is working hard with Republican led states that they can flip the results of the next election in their states if they don’t like it. This is exactly what he was trying to do illegally in the last election and has now succeeded in making it legal in several states.

Trump is totally unscrupulous and is very dangerous for our democracy, considering that he is the de facto leader of Republicans.

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He has also been chummy with dictators, autocrats and authoritarian 'strongmen' (our media's weird favorite word to describe people like Putin) in other countries. Makes me wonder about some of the 'dark money' coming in. He is a true enemy of this country, at least as bad if not worse than Bin Laden; Bin Laden did not have half of the Congress and Senate and most of the Supreme Court working for him, along with too many Governors. He is a criminal and I wonder where 'Homeland Security' is?!

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They created this mess when they decided to steal the election from this man. He didn't just have a four year plan and he wasn't setting up to leave the Whitehouse when Biden came in. So now we have someone who's incompetent and doesn't know what to do because he just walked into some shit he knows nothing about. Trump is a businessman and he ran this country like one. Biden is only interested in spending our tax dollars on foreign aid so him and his son can cause corruption outside the U.S. For everyone who thought Kamala was going to actually put work in as the "first black female vice president", she has you looking real crazy right now cause she hasn't contributed SHIT!

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You do recall, of course, that Trump was impeached for trying to force the Ukrainians to dig up dirt on his opponent, Joe BIden and that he openly admitted that he would solicit and accept information on the Bidens from foreign sources. (Yes, he was duly impeached; the Senate failed to convict him.) This is absolutely against the Constitution. It is unconstitutional for any member of the government to solicit any form of aid or information on a political opposition leader from a foreign government. LIkewise unconstitutional for elected members of the government to accept gifts or money from foreigners. This is to prevent bribes and favors that undermine the independence of the United States (emoluments clause). Trump blithely ignored this rule but, well, what rules didn't he ignore? It is also a long-honored custom and proper respect and attention to diplomatic ethics that no member of the US government discusses domestic politics when in a foreign country' I refer you to Trump's egregious comments on Nancy Pelosi while in attendance at the D-Day Observance at the American Cemetery in Normandy. ( Incidentally. You might also want to check out your use of subject and object pronouns in the future.) Please do not complain too much or too prematurely about Kamala Harris. Trump spent a good deal of time frittering away on the golf course, watching tv, and whining on how unfairly he was treated; he also devoted a lot of attention to rallies during which he resorted to infantile name-calling and leading cheers. As far as I can understand, his sole accomplishments were about 42 miles of border wall and demonstrable hatred of and lack of empathy for a single solitary soul. Sad...

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With all due respect, the problems last year were created by Trump administration like their inept handling of Covid crisis, where USA with less than 5% of world population had over 20% of Covid deaths, and caused the resulting mess in economy. Many countries like Taiwan, Canada, South Korea, Japan , New Zealand, Germany, and even a developing country like Vietnam, had done much better with proportionately much less loss of lives and livelihoods. Trump had been so inept that with all the resources available to him, he could not even protect himself, his wife, his son and close associates in White House from Covid by holding super spreader events there. He refused to follow science and advice from public health experts and still held super spreader election rallies last fall in states such as Wisconsin, seeing a sharp rise in Covid cases without requiring masks and social distancing from attendees , showing total disregard for their health. Covid cases were again on the rise in several states last Fall , peaking in January and Trump had no plan to deal with it.

Biden’s American Rescue Plan to fight Covid this year was very effective. He made vaccines widely available and nearly 56% of eligible population are fully vaccinated and nearly 66% have received at least one shot of vaccine for Covid. Unfortunately , the Republican led states have dragged their feet on vaccinations leading to more Covid deaths and hospitalizations in those states, which is coming in the way of the economy opening up fully. Still since Biden is following science, we are doing much better this year than last year under Trump even with a much more infectious and dangerous delta variant of Covid.

https://www.newsweek.com/these-19-states-more-people-died-covid-2021-2020-1635816?amp=1

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Wow! For the benefit of nay sayers, the Biden administration has done a great job this year in addressing Covid crisis and improving the economy. Those in lower and middle income groups are getting assistance from the federal government through the American Rescue (AR) plan. It included the Child Tax Credit, which has reduced child property by half. A lot of families, who made less than $150,000 last year received stimulus checks.

The fact that economy is improving is also due to the success that President Biden and all Democrat Governors, besides a few Republicans Governors, achieved in handling the Covid crisis effectively even with a more dangerous Delta variant. It allowed the economy to open safely. They have done a great job through the above AR plan to get 56% of eligible population fully vaccinated for Covid and 66% with at least one shot. Unfortunately a lot of the Covid deaths this year have been in red states like Texas and Florida, where the Governors and Republican legislatures dragged their feet on vaccinations and mask mandates. If they had cooperated, we could have reached herd immunity by now. Details are in third article appended.

By the way, the Gross Domestic Product of the country improved by over 6% in the first two quarters of this year as compared to a decline by 3.4% last year when the Trump administration messed up the Covid response and tanked the economy. The economy has added five million new job this year after staggering job losses last year. More needs to be done and that is why the two infrastructure bills need to be passed.

Regarding inflation and commodity shortages, in the appended article, Paul Krugman, who won the Nobel prize for Economics, says, “It's not silly to ask whether unexpectedly high inflation means that the economy has less room to run than both the Biden administration and the Federal Reserve have been assuming; that could be true, and if it is, Biden's spending plans might be excessive and the Fed might need to consider raising interest rates sooner rather than later.

“But neither the details of that report nor recent history support those concerns; they suggest on the contrary that policymakers should keep their cool. This doesn't look at all like 1970s stagflation redux; it looks like a temporary blip, reflecting transitory disruptions as the economy struggles to recover from pandemic disruptions. And history tells us that it's a very bad idea for policymakers to panic in the face of such a blip.”

Take lumber for example. According to the second article appended,”Chicago lumber futures stage a comeback to a 3-month high above $708 per thousand board feet and are more than 50% higher from their August low adding to concerns of lingering inflation. The late run-up in lumber prices is mainly attributed to supply disruptions from the tightening labor market and wildfires in western Canada leading to a shortage of materials and labor, transportation problems and expensive logs. Still, the cost of lumber remains more than 55% below a record high of $1,711.2 hit in May.”

Regarding Covid, according to the article below,

“…Nationwide, COVID deaths have decreased, as 312,946 have been reported so far in 2021, compared with 385,267. Public health experts say the COVID-19 vaccine is the best way to avoid infection and death; even vaccinated people who contract the virus usually report more mild symptoms.

“According to the CDC, only 5,226 vaccinated people have died from the virus.”

https://www.nwaonline.com/news/2021/may/15/paul-krugman-what-do-used-car-prices-say-about/

https://tradingeconomics.com/commodity/lumber

https://www.newsweek.com/these-19-states-more-people-died-covid-2021-2020-1635816?amp=1

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Who were the unnamed "they" who supposedly stole the election from "this man?" What were the various components of the four year plan? Did the four-year plan include the plan to reform Medicare/Obamacare that was coming out "in two weeks" and never appeared If BIden "just walked into some (pre-existing) shit," where did the shit come from and who was responsible for it? What was the shit comprised of and if it was already there before Biden "just walked into it" wasn't it the responsibility of "this man?" (Oh, I forgot, "this man" refused to accept responsibility for anything--his words, not mine. If Trump is a businessman, what was he doing attempting to run a country but not accepting any responsibility for anything he did or did not do but should have? Trump was elected to serve the country (not himself) and the result are 700,000+ deaths, an economy in chaos, racial tensions, and total disregard for the issues facing us. I am disappointed in BIden's leadership but I also think we need to give him a break as he inherited a mess--he did not create it. "They" (aka Trump and his sycophants) did. Too much golf, not enough attention to policy review and preparation and meaningful discussions of substantive issues.

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Nancy Brisson, you know of what you speak. You just covered all of the reasons we are all doomed to anything called a better life, IF Biden can't get these two Bill's passed. If the Republicans would just stop and think about what they are doing to the overall society, they might realize that these changes are not just for the Democrats that they hate so much. These new laws would be a life saver for so many Republicans as well. Any way, I give up on trying to understand other people who stand in the way of any kind of progress for any reason.

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Not reactionaries FASCIST

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That too... Can't say everything in one paragraph. Contrasting with progressives.

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Very well said, Nancy Brisson!

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Very well said!

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As Haidt states, you first need to get rid of the like on Facebook, or th retweet on Twitter. The AI are heard to repeating these messages that proliferate the conservative message attributed to our founding fathers. Reactioaries are only in charge, because they have won the bot revolution.

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Kill the Rich #EattheRich

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Please look up the word socialist. Read about Eugene Debs and the socialist party.

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Yup. Nailed it! Oligarchy, check; Keep workers insecure, check. The only thing I would add is the corporate shills in our legislature. They are the chink in the system's armor. We can't influence the owner-donors, and the BEHAD (bigoted, elitist, hateful, antidemocratic, and deluded) Trumpers cannot be reasoned with. The only way to break up this systemic stranglehold on our democracy is these shills. They need to be called out, like Mr. Reich a few days ago for the four anti-drug negotiating House Dems and Sinema. The same needs to be done for every rep. I would love to see a 'Corporate or PAC compromised score' for every rep to be made public to their constituents. Put continuous pressure on them to renounce their compromised status and empower them to vote for the people's needs.

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Genius! I cannot understand how it came to be that there are so many lobbyists hanging around our Capitol and Senate and the whole revolving door thing when a 'representative' can leave office and be a lobbyist. How can it be that our 'representatives' can be openly BOUGHT to do the bidding of the highest bidder!? They actually can be paid to vote for and write bills for those who bribe them and may not even be their actual constituents! NUTS!

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Maybe it’s always been that way, it’s just a little more in the open now!

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Yes, this is the information age, reality tv (often more than we want to know) and open mic bloopers. Hey, we all saw the attack on the U.S Capitol over and over again. We have seen and heard our previous president speak at numerous rallies and on the morning of Jan 6 2021, saying " Go to the Capitol and fight like Hell!" And his infamous remark made years ago when he said he can get away with shooting someone on main street. And many other remarks that showed his attitude, intent, arrogance and ignorance. In the open for sure. They don't even pretend!

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Oh please Laurie......you use that against Trump and yet excuse MaxineWatters and Cory Booker for saying things such as hunt them down get in their face at restaurants and theaters...and they did those very things...with vengeance to cause physical abuse and harm....but thats ok in your mind....

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You are a troll, your comment has nothing to do with any of my posts.

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So you did not post "Go to the Capitol and fight like hell"....my apologies....guess I can't believe my lying eyes....have a great evening Laurie Blair....BTW...there's not even a bridge close around me.

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Patricia! Where ever did you get the idea that corporations ever had any intention whatsoever to pay their employees decently??????????????? Obviously they put their money where they can get the biggest payback only for themselves! They pay the lobbyists big bucks to influence the lawmakers in Washington to pass laws that favor the rich and make them richer! Clearly, giving a rat's ass about paying their employees decently does NOT in any way shape or form factor into this equation!!!!!

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Overturn Citizen's United!

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And buying the politicians is dirt cheap. Look at a Sinema and pharmaceuticals.

For every dollar spent these companies earn about 100 or 1000 dollars more.

The multiplier is awfully large !

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This article sounds spot on to me. This individualism, we’re-the-best-country-in-the-world business is only repeated by people who never look beyond our borders. Nor have they typically visited any other country. You are exactly correct about wanting people to feel a level of insecurity. It’s the best way to control people and take what is theirs while they are busy with 2+ jobs.

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Agreed that the big corporations want workers to be insecure, a reserve army of the unemployed and underemployed.

But also, they re serious about being oligarchs. They have been quietly building a corporate feudalism, they like it, and they don't want any blips in their acquisition of power such as labor regaining some leverage.

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For as long as I can remember, my family struggled with the basics: housing, food, health care, vacations, education costs, insurance, transportation. We never "got it together" as my father was the single breadwinner and my mother suffered from disability. My mother made all our clothes and we would go on vacations, only to return and find my father had been fired or a relative of the boss had taken my father's job. We substituted education and reading and family discussions of all sorts of topics to try to better ourselves and, well, we did intellectually. None of us realized that the educational establishment was another sort of oligarchy and we were not going to learn our way anywhere. (I took this to the extreme, thinking that, if I went into college-teaching, I would reach security and safety for us all. What that brought me was face-to-face with a hierarchy that resembled places like, well, Macy*s and I realized very late in the game, that there was not going to be a lot of difference between the Univ of Whatever and Macy*s.) I just continued the family set-up: well-educated people who were unacceptable and under-valued because they did not have a cushion and would never get one. That was--and is--the pattern for a good many people as education does not solve problems when one tiny class of oligarchs control literally everything and, of course, politicians. I found the only honest, decent, and responsible politician out there to be Bernie Sanders; for a long while, he was the only one proposing that what we needed were good-paying jobs building our country (we do not need to rebuild it as it's never been built) and our people needed health-care, social programs (including education, now more than at any time), housing, decent public transportation, r&d, and inclusion in all our society. Since Bernie's message was always the same and since I believed him and thought he had the interests of society at heart, I was sold. But Bernie was sold out so he became "what might have been" and what was deferred--or headed off by the oligarchs once again. I feared that Biden would see us all down the river but more pleasantly and with a tinge of progressive talk and, well, my fears were justified. Think. Bernie proposed a $6.5T plan originally, funded by the oligarchs who run the country; that got whittled down to $3.5T and now the whittling just continued until we have landed at $1.5T and it won't stop there. Whatever is proposed to help people will be too much in the oligarch's view. Our solution was the worst: to vote for a self-serving, bigoted, hateful. inexperienced, indolent, incompetent fool whose major contribution to our society in the last five-six years has been to lie, cheat, and steal his way to a place of honor among people who don't even know that they have never counter for anything but cheap labor. We have lost 700,000+ souls and the respect of any society on earth. This is what the oligarchs who run the country wanted all alone and our own elected representatives will make sure that is precisely what the real powers (the ones with all the money) get what they want. I do wish Bernie and the progressives had been able to do more than just sound the alarm once again but, well, I don't think all that alarm-sounding achieved much more. Too bad.

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I agree with much of what you say, Lanae, but don't understate what Bernie and the progressives have been able to do. Even though Biden's social agenda is shrinking, it's still over $1 trillion, as is his infrastructure bill. And much of the content of both is there because of Bernie and the progressives in Congress, and the progressives who for years have pushed this agenda. Please do not give up!

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Yes, sure we are frustrated and even afraid! But we must keep the faith! The darkest hour is always before the dawn. I'm a 60's survivor who is a child of people who survived McCarthyism, who were children of people who survived the original 1918 pandemic, the great depression and a couple of world wars, racism and all of it we have been through as Americans. Bernie Sanders is the real deal, but as anyone in politics will tell us, no one person can do it alone. He has moved our country in a better direction.

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I have given up and don't expect anything more. If I can stretch my Macy*s retirement account to cover the rainy day that is the pandemic and if social security gets a boost or two, I might be able to linger on and watch from the sidelines. Any thoughts of any kind of position in Academe left me long ago. I recently got the idea of offering my ideas on improving graduate education at UC Berkeley, in the hopes that others can navigate the system better than I did. I thought I could be welcome if I agreed to serve voluntarily but I am essentially unacceptable in any capacity. I never understood how out of the academic league I was when I was a graduate student and when I held the only teaching job (non-tenured) that I ever had. I will apparently not return even as an unpaid consultant and alumna of the UC System. I might have helped someone else but I can do the most help (I guess) by warning people not to go where they do not belong.

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Be very specific on what you are comparing the US and Venezuela to. Do you know anything about those countries or details of our history with them?

Your mechanic is likely dissing EVs because he is looking at his own job interests.

EV stations are already all the way across the country and are up and working. I’ve driven half way across the country and used several.

In the bill there is $40bil for bridges alone. $65 bil for internet access, $66 bil for rail (Biden wanted $80bil) $65 bil will go to shoring up the electric grid and there is more under infrastructure. You can look it up.

Utopia? Reality!

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Patricia Paulson, we should all call our senators and the funders of our senators and tell them to support the Voting rights act and end the filibuster. The infrastructure you want is in the bill but it has not been voted for because the filibuster will block it. Don't be surprised if the funders of our senators are against the EV infrastructure! But It may be a good idea to let them know we are constituents and we want this! Senators funders can be found at: OpenSecrets.org.

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Hang in there, Shara!

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Sadly, Mother Nature and Father time may teach them a lesson! Unless they open their eyes in time. Or the people come up with a clever way to get their attention. Like the national strike that is the latest news story. Or the neat Idea posted here about fingering the 'representatives' and Senators even Judges on the Supreme Court who are on the take!

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Seriously!!!

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Educational institutions have almost completely moved to the business model of decision making, except, when the faculty are unionized, many issues have to be negotiated where the faculty’s voice has legal and contractual powers…still a business model, but with more “workers’ voices/interests being represented.

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Well, I would disagree that Biden isn't 'aggressive and combative' aboutvissues he believes in. He pushed through the Afghanistan withdrawal against all input on his own timetable. He has all but ignored voting rights, after promising to shore up democracy as his sole rationale for his presidential campaign. He likes the idea of being the next FDR or Johnson, but not enough to blanket the airwaves with vivid descriptions of a future where his BBB (dumbest name ever) was broadly enacted. By the time (and IF) any infrastructure bill passes, people will be so sick of Democratic infighting and Biden's seeming apathy about much of anything, that it will be difficult to see this as an accomplishment. I thought Ron Klain understood the precarious state of democracy, but he seems to have zoned out on anything other than the number of vaccines administered. If BBB had been properly positioned, it would have been presented in phases and Phase 1 would easily have garnered 50 votes, with Phase 2 to be passed in 2022 (a great platform for Democratic Senate candidates to run on), and Phase 3 in 2024. Instead, there has been little strategy, zero tactics, and an utter failure of messaging.

Biden can be aggressive and combative when he wants to, clearly he doesn't want to and his advisors are far more focused on Democratic donors than policy objectives.

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Did you watch the forum last night? Biden talked about the Voting Rights issue. He said he can’t focus on it till pushing the Build Back Better agenda through, hopefully soon. Then he talked about the filibuster and said he’s open to many options both reform and abolishing to get Voting Rights to happen. We can’t do it otherwise. It’s actually a huge bill, by American standards. I wish people wouldn’t focus their anger on Biden. I still think the problem is Sinema and Manchin, it appeared Dems were ready to pass everything largely as is but still had those two holdouts. They’ll get it through and its future will be contingent on public support and pushing for more. I just feel like no one listens to the Democrats who have been feeling n TV and stuff. They all sound very positive. It doesn’t seem super productive to tear them apart right now. The future of everything we want depends on Democrat popularity, and Biden’s, going into the midterms. You can write/call them and demonstrate for causes rather than bitch about their inefficacy. It’ll get through. I think they’re actually working to do that hardcore rather than pumping out destructive lies to America. Why can’t people just wait till it’s out? They are hoping that it speaks for itself. I guess the press has to have something to say. We’re totally susceptible to their anxiety-mongering.

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Juliet, I agree with you. We need to support what Biden and the Dems want to do, even if it is smaller than we had hoped. But over the longer term we also have to fight for an electoral system that gets big money out of politics.

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It's rather like saying that we can't focus on a fire consuming a kitchen until we finish painting the bedroom. It will be too late, and ultimately irrelevant, because the entire house will be engulfed in flames. The administration is focusing on the wrong priorities, and failing to fully educate the populace about the dangers of autocracy. It's unforgivable. As to BBB, it's a fantasy to believe that Manchin and Sinema were the only holdouts. There is a group of moderates hiding behind Manchin. As to public support, where exactly is the OR push educating the public about BBB? 99% of people have a vague idea of what might be in the bill. That's inexcusable political malpractice by Democratic leadership. If we're at a point where we're terrified of criticizing Biden and Schumer because of poor judgment and missteps so that we can force a course correction than we're endorsing failure. The idea thatv4th dimensional chess is being played and we just need to be patient is wishful thinking. Grassroots pressure is the only thing that moves politicians (other than donor money). Yhe idea that policy 'speaks for itself' is also wishful thinking. Look how long it took for popular support for the ACA. Doing what's always been done in the way it's always been done has led to crises in every direction. Either Democrats start leading and messaging, and constituents push for same, or we accept that 1-party rule or worse will be our future for a generation. Don't believe me? Read Anne Applebaum, Timothy Snyder, Ruth Ruth Ben-Ghiat, Michael Beschloss, Walter Schaub.

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I am not for doing what’s always been done. I just think we’re in an incredibly dangerous place and slamming the Democrats publicly might not be the most helpful thing. Yes, they need better publicity. But why can’t we try to be a little bit hopeful that we’re in good hands? The progressives are increasingly strong and influential, and I’m very glad. Biden is choosing how to be based on the leverage he has right now, which is not much. It’s really hard to get rid of the filibuster without a majority. Or with! Voting rights isn’t an issue that can be included in reconciliation! The Justice department is working on it, at least. You can’t force a Senator to vote for something. Biden is trying to get some victories first for us. He’s really leaning in to the progressive policies and stuff. What are you offering? A solution? Or just grumpy hopelessness? You don’t see Jayapal or Bernie trashing Biden.

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I'll be hopeful when there's something to be hopeful about. When I see the Democratic leadership actually leading. When I see Biden taking a firm stand on reforming the filibuster or carving out a voting rights exception. The progressives are a different breed, unfortunately they don't represent a majority of the voting public. Without voting rights, BBB (in any form) will be crushed by a majority GOP Congress. I am offering a solution. Reform or abolish the filibuster for voting rights so that Democrats can actually win future elections. Bifurcate BBB so that Democrats can score wins now and have a solid, well-publicized plan to add phases 2 and 3 in 2022 and 2024 (give people a solid clear reason to vote for Democrats, other than the fact that they're not fascists). Push a pro-womens' reproductive rights blitz, tying this issue to judicial nominations. Make judges as important an issue for Democrats as it is for the GOP. We are at a critical crossroads, the Democrats can either learn how to communicate and strategize or they can lose.

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hw, You sound like a Republican. Bifurcation and separating the bills into phases will allow them to be trashed down the road. You can't blame people for trying to get the two bills at one time, because We have seen this before, and we will most likely get screwed on voting rights. when will we be able to get anything for our taxes? When will we gain the presidency and the House and Senate again? the mob has stacked the Supreme Court! People need a reason to pay taxes! The extreme right are not the only ones who are angry!

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That's quite funny. If Democrats continue to govern as if they've already lost, then it will become a self-fulfilling prophesy. We lost SCOTUS because neither the Democratic leadership nor the Democratic base was particularly motivated to vote on the basis of judicial nominations. For millions of Republicans, changing the judiciary was the sole motivator for voting. The GOP embarked on a successful 40-year campaign to counter the changing demographics of this country...the Democratic leadership doesn't have a strategy to save voting rights. As to the infrastructure bill, I understand the impulse to shove everything in 1 bill, but this isn't a strategy. I offered a strategy...there are much cleverer ones. If you want to make it hard for moderate Democrats to say 'no', and Republicans to pay a price, you put every child-friendly benefit into the first bill, and sell the hell out of it...then tell people the next bill will be all about the elderly and sell that in 2022. The 3rd one is all about pro-workers/pro-unions, whatever...but what you don't do is play directly into the 'socialist' trap that the GOP has set. It's BS, and the US is miles behind every developed country, but Biden barely won in 2020 and we're not going to turn the US from an oligarchy to a socialist democracy in 1 year. What I want and what is in the realm of possibility are 2 different things. If you're angry, register voters, run for office, train to become an election worker, write letters to potential voters, but don't turn your anger on me because you don't like the reality that we face.

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I don’t want to repeat myself, but I must insist, Manchin and Sinema have been firm on the filibuster. I just don’t see how Voting Rights can happen under those circumstances. And a lot of citizens are against getting rid of the filibuster. And Biden unfortunately campaigned on bipartisanship and stuff. I also care deeply about women’s rights. I guess we should use scare tactics like the Republicans. Not sure there is enough political will to expand the court. I care about the environment far above all else. I’ve sent messages to my reps about it but that’s not enough. I wish I could go on a hunger strike like some girls are doing in front of the White House im told. We have a LOT of agendas going on. I just don’t really get how the Dems can better PR their shit. Republicans just take down everything. It’s harder to be for solutions because they’re not ever perfect. There are still a lot of moderates who are against a lot of stuff progressives want and spooked by the price tags (which we shouldn’t broadcast as much as issues & policy proposals).

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Your heart is in the right place but I remain convinced that Biden could have pushed for an exception to the filibuster for voting rights with a well-crafted education/PR campaign, but he chose to place infrastructure first. He could have started infrastructure with a bill designed solely to address childrens' rights...hard for moderates to vote against that...really there are a dozen strategies that could have been pursued. Jamming everything into 1 bill because you're resigned to lose in 2022 is not a strategy. We both agree that issues vs numbers should have been core to any strategy.

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Also prolly isn’t just Manchin and Sinema, yes. One of my senators, Mark Warner, is definitely in cahoots with Manchin on coal stuff & more conservative than I’d like on many levels

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Juliet, that's true! He is trying and working against a mess left behind by Trump and half of the government seats filled by corporate shills and traitors and a partisan stacked 'Supreme' Court! I would like to see anyone do it better! What does the opposing party offer? They don't even want a democracy! What is their platform?

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Thanks for the reading suggestions.

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Also Heather Cox Richardson - her daily Substack newsletter as a historian is one of the best.

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Anything is better than Trump! hw, maybe you should run for office! Have you noticed that President Biden had to deal with the usual Republican Deficit when he took office? and a few weeks of no co-operation from the previous office holder during transition of power? And a pandemic, A situation that was set up by tRump for a withdrawal from a 20 year war from Afghanistan that was booby trapped by Trumps sabotage of stonewalling/blocking the ID's for Afghani translators to help them get out of the country after they were helping our troops during the 20 year war? and historic wildfires, floods and hurricanes. Tornadoes. Oh and an attack on the Capitol? I would like to see anyone do better.

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Well, I want Biden to succeed, but it's clear that he's flailing on multiple fronts, and happy talk won't change that. Afghanistan withdrawal was a mess. It's fine to make the decision to withdraw, but why not negotiate a decent withdrawal. No notification to allies, no provision for SIVs (yes Trump slowed the process to a halt, so throw the process out...bring everyone to a pre-negotiated safe place for processing). As to climate change catastrophes and Delta-every president has crises...it's literally part of the job that Biden campaigned for 4 separate times. There is no Democratic alternative who could survive unscathed with a GOP that is openly anti-democratic, but Biden's #1 priority should have been the preservation of our democracy. This isn't a controversial statement. If Biden's advisers aren't pounding this priority every moment, then he should fire them all. I want Democra tdd s to succeed, otherwise I wouldn't spend time analyzing where they have veered off course. There's still time, but not much time, to course correct.

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It's telling that people blame Biden for not finding a clean exit strategy from Afghanistan that doesn't exist while minimizing the previous decade of failures, lies, and corruption that created this mess. It was the Afghan government that insisted on not telling the allies we were leaving to prevent their own collapse as people lost faith. When in the history of war has there been a clean way to evacuate the losing army? You're lucky if you get out with a shirt on your back. Everyone seems to have ideas for what was needed in Afghanistan for the last 20 years, but almost none of them worked. Now the same ones who failed for 20 years are trying to focus the blame on Biden.

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I agree that the 20-year war was a spectacular failure. The mission was unclear, corruption was rampant, strategy and tactics were inconsistent and ever-changing. Generals have admitted that the war was a strategic failure. Exiting any war cleanly is not possible, and in this case, especially so in light of the Trump/Pompeo surrender to the Taliban. All that said, there were

better paths to execute a withdrawal than an on-the-fly chaotic evacuation, slowed by painful bureaucracy. A decision could have been made to cut all red tape, evacuate 'X' number of people and vet them in a safe place. Expecting 20 year olds to make life and death decisions under impossible conditions, surrounded by Taliban fighters, was the wrong choice. You're free to disagree.

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I agree with you.

To get the Biden plans implemented one has to think like a military strategist about tactics and strategy.

That also means adjusting milestones along the way and setting priorities.

I think the priority setting is :

1. Positive economic impact on lives of voters ( In order to be eligible when elections occur in 2022)

2. Extending voting rights to be more inclusive and prevent Republicans from consolidating their laws on restricting votes.

3. Once the Democrats have a beter hold on the country by being voted in in 2022.

If the majority is large enough the measures, that were scrapped can be implemented with less hindrance power from a Manchin, Sinema or Republicans.

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I certainly felt more hope after watching the town hall! I particularly found it interesting when he relayed various details on his discussions with both Sinema and Manchin.

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The point is: It's not the Dems fault; it's the Republicans fault and it always has been. And, now the Republicans are relishing their tactics and keep bulldozing their way through everything. Destroying all our hopes and deeps, yet, putting it on the backs of the Dems to take the abuse. Well, I'm not having it.

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Since I believe other Democrats secretly agree with Manchin, I think Schumer should make an example out of Manchin. Strip him from all committees. They should have never given his wife a job in the administration. And every Democrat should have boycotted all meetings with lobbyist of companies that meet with Manchin. If he wants to act like he is not a team player, then treat him like one. And that will put Sinema in line very quickly also. But more importantly, it will wake up any other Democrat who wants to act like a fool. Because if we gain two more senate seat, I assure you, two more Democratic senators with start having issues with the Democratic Agenda.

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True, Biden can be very commanding when he wants to. All we’re heari g now is…cutbacks on the BBB plan. Not great advertising.

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he’s doing his best. The media isn’t necessarily right about the cutbacks. The situation is in flux and we won’t know until the bill is out.

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I think people are more worried about our endless loop of not seeing accountability for criminals and we have seen too many of our hard-fought-for votes not honored, not represented. I do agree that this is a unique time where we have to repeat the accomplishments and act supportive for once.

We have to hold our collective breathes too often for critical pushes forward...destroy the filibuster. Pack the Supreme Court etc.

It’s rare when the Republicans get the middle finger from their own party. But a satisfying one was when john McCain voted down repeal of ACA.

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President Biden needs to get as much as possible passed by law. Which means accepting whatever it takes to get Manchin and Sinema to sign on. Then President Biden can implement everything else by executive order. Then the price of losing the election will be very clear, because a Republican President will end those executive orders immediately.

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I was taken aback during the election when all the democratic candidates backed out especially Burnie. I understand that it was important for the Democrats to beat trump during the election, but why did someone like Burnie back out? The whole system is rigged! With so many politicians being on the take by outside influence (American rich oligarchy) the status quo will remain. Start publishing the individuals names of who is financing who so we cast an educated vote!

Also, corporations only get prosecuted in civil court paying small fines which are less than a slap on the wrist and continue on as usual, when the top owners should be prosecuted criminally. Take a look at the Statler family and Purdue Corp. with the oxycotin situation.

It seems we are indentured servants and are unaware.

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Bernie is an excellent communicator, and speaks blunt truths, hence his popularity. That said, sadly we are not a progressive country. Bernie would have lost. Biden barely scraped by an win, and only because of the key never-Trumper votes in swing states. If we created a long-term strategy, with short-term tactics, we could become a more equitable, safer, inclusive country, but our current Democratic leadership is rudderless and ineffectual. There are many sources of information that track donations to politicians. Money only goes so far (Bloomberg spent a billion dollars on his campaign only to suffer a humiliating defeat). We need Democratic voters, pro-democracy Independents, and pro-democracy Republicans to vote in overwhelming numbers to crush the GOP. We need candidates, moderate and progressive, who aren't owned by pharmaceutical companies, big oil, and the Chamber of Commerce to run for office, and citizens need to support these candidates. The system is rigged because we stopped paying attention. As to corporate liability, again, nothing will change until we get supermajorities of Democrats and Independents elected who aren't owned by oligarchs. For this to happen we need 90% of Democrats to vote - every year, every election, and to pay attention to who runs vital institutions. Robert Mueller ran the FBI for a decade, and spent a good deal of that time rounding up innocent Muslims on flimsy pretexts (see SpyTalk's recent reviews of books by ex-FBI and CIA agents), the FDA commissioner who approved Oxycontin as 'far less addictive than other pain medication' went to work for Purdue for $500K/year (see every book on the Sackler travesty). The FAA (stuffed with former Boeing execs/lobbyists) approved the fatally flawed aircraft that killed hundreds...and on and on. Citizens shouldn't have to be so involved in the workings of our government, but we have no choice if we are to eliminate systemic rot. Look at the Post Office. Biden refuses to fire his pal Bloom, who is financially entangled with deJoy. As long as Bloom remains, deJoy will continue to gut the postal service. If we want to fix what's broken, we have to vote at 90%, every race for candidates who aren't beholden to corporate interests. We need to form coalitions with those who support some of what we seek. We need to vote out the inept. We need to demand coherent strategy and messaging, and vote out the mealy-mouthed Coons of the Senate. It's one thing to be moderate to represent your constituents (the majority of whom want democracy and equitable policies), it's quite another to cling to Senate seat because you personally enjoy the status quo. I'm not hopeful that Democratic voters will grasp the power of their vote before it's too late.

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I agree totally! The only way for us to fight is everyone for everyone to vote the rot out of office! You should run for office...you are eloquent and are spot on.

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Totally agree that the name of the bill is stupid. Surely they could have hired an effective PR firm to do better. I’m thinking something like “The American Dream Act.”

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Also, on Afghanistan, he’s commander in chief. He has total power there. And his forceful vibe was actually a bad thing.

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Being forceful wasn't the issue. Ignoring veterans' input and failure to plan for failure was a completely unforced error.

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hw, I disagree. Biden was set up in an already bad situation.

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Trump had put things in place that hampered getting our allies out. He slow walked the special ID program, which was illegal for him to do, which made things treacherous during the withdrawal, which was not an easy thing to begin with. Then we hear the chorus that said Biden 'botched' the ending of the war and withdrawal from Afghanistan! Sad thing is that some Democrats are repeating the same things! Disinformation is everywhere! Trump just made a bad situation worse to make Biden look bad. Biden got a lot of people out in spite of Trump's treachery!

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Four weeks of paid leave is definitely better than nothing, but not enough. People still have financial obligations like rent, utilities, medicine and food during their medical emergency. My sister took a 12 week FMLA from her nursing job, so that she could die from advanced cancer at age 57. She needed to keep her job so that she could retain her employer's insurance, which required her to pay $120 monthly, plus a 20% copay for everything. She couldn't afford hospice because they charge $5,000 monthly per patient unless the person receives Medicare/Medicaid. She worked as a nurse for 33 years, so she wrote comfort care instructions for me to follow to medicate her at home. It's absolutely disgusting not to pay employees in their time of medical need. America is not the greatest country in the world like I incorrectly assumed as a child. We are a third world country!

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This story is what makes the US an outlier. It’s inhumane and shocking to the rest of the entire developed world.

We are last on the list of many categories. That’s what people need to see but it isn’t getting to them.

And these republican monsters are so worried about money used for people but are silent on trillions spent to oppress, steal resources and legally murder people in wars or occupations.

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I am so sorry to hear this. You should tell her story over and over though. It’s shameful that this country has come to such callousness. I hope you’ve contacted all your legislators and told them what happened. After that you should let everyone know what they’ve done about it. Personal stories can make a difference.

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We have become a failed state. You’re absolutely correct. Money is more important than the people who supply it to the overlords.

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The combination of bread and circuses, periodic wars and attractive consumer goods can only go so far. Eventually, the American people will realize that the system is constantly cheating them of a reasonable quality of life in order to feed insatiable greed. Eventually, the series of false threats being raised like funhouse spooks will no longer distract the victims of this economy from the true culprits. If the anger expressed in the storming of Congress was directed where it belongs, things could get very dangerous in this nation. Let's hope that the powers that be realize that their future is also at stake and enact real changes that reduce inequality and truly improve our quality of life.

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Steven, the rightwing populist rage that continues to fuel Trumpism is the misdirected frustration and anger of millions of people who have been left behind by a system that's rigged for the economic elites. Trump directed that frustration and anger instead at immigrants, Black people, Democrats, and others who threatened his vision of white nationalism. If that anger were directed instead constructively toward building a system that worked for all -- instead of the racist nationalist rubbish Trump espoused -- we'd have the political will to enact paid family leave, childcare, pre-K, community college, Medicare for All, and also measures to reverse structural racism and tackle climate change. The question I keep asking myself is -- will it ever be?

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Absolutely, if Stacey Abrams and other volunteers can do it in Georgia then it can be replicated in other states too. Beto and his PxP organization are trying to register 3 million eligible voters in Texas before the elections next year. We can help those efforts. I recently became a volunteer deputy registrar in Texas.

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There are some critical prerequisites to that outcome, including reforming our elections, improving our educational system to eliminate political manipulation, empowering labor against the economic power of big money, and redressing racism and other biases. That requires a level of unity that's difficult to come by in this polarized age. But that's why the "bad guys" are winning. Recognizing we have more to gain by empowering each other may be the most powerful force in effecting change. Which, of course, is why this discussion is important and useful. We need to reinforce that sense of common purpose consistently to preserve the momentum.

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I believe there's a "University study " MD ? (if memory serves me right ?) that "scanned" and analyzed the demographic of the people that stormed the Capitol building - a surprising number were 'White" business owners / smaller to medium sized CEOs . [Perhaps due to lack of formal education, many of these business owners have a zero-sum (game) mentality where if you give $ to help the "OTHER" whoever the other is - that will necessarily take bread off their respective families' tables.

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I'm very active in the manufacturing community esp. for small business and incubated start-ups, but on other machining and manufacturing forums where I posted or started threads about the BBB initiative [$750 BN] (before the pandemic) there was a lot of cynicism and pushback because of this zero-sum game mentality.

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IME a good 75 to 80% of smaller to medium sized manufacturing business owners in the USA are racist AF.

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And given that the USA's number 1 export in manufacturing circles are weapon systems that naturally has US manufacturers heavily aligned with the Right / Republican agenda. Including the US Association of Manufacturers (that totally rolled out the red-carpet for Trump even before he attained office.

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Similarly there is tremendous cynicism (within the manufacturing community) to implement greener technologies, better environmental regulations and safer shop floor working practices as said business and shop owners perceive that as a threat to their bottom line and competitive margin against counterpart shops in the CCP/ China who's wages and safety and environmental standards are much lower.

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Moreover such large and small manufacturers in the USA are having a hell of time finding skilled machinists / machine operators and CNC - CAD-CAM programmers. [So called skills gap - but really it's a TRAINING and EDUCATION - gap :-) .].

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Both China/ CCP and Singapore, Indonesia, South Korea, Taiwan etc. in their respective manufacturing communities (with global outreach) are ALL going to highly automated manufacturing systems. [out of efficiency to stay competitive ]. ~ I have to say they are handing our collective arses/asses to us in the USA in manufacturing. There's this perception of cheap slave labor in the CCP and elsewhere in SE Asia but in reality many companies that used to engage in such practices have leapfrogged over to systems that much higher levels of automation. ~ Purely for the bottom line.

In reality manufacturing in the USA only accounts for 10%-ish (will double check) of US GDP and many shop owners are very skeptical of any re-shoring initiatives esp. transacted by the Biden Administration.

Ironically there is this disconnect between money and education where a bunch of angry business owners thought they could in REALITY - (their reality) overturn the fair results of an election [Pure madness.] But to them they thought this was a reasonable course of action to keep beard on the table and stop having their businesses be undermined by "Being nice" to immigrants and the disenfranchised.

This is how the Trump-like messaging machine tightly couples Xenophobia to the $ that will be taken out of "your" pocket or your family's bread off the table through various "Socialisms" and citizen centric policies. I don't think these people - the MAGAs - necessarily believe in American exceptionalism and they are all going to be multi millionaires but "Betting" Republican, they just believe that Mexicans and Muslims and Democrats and "Bernies " (in whatever form :-) ) will collectively rob their families and friends of income and their livelihoods. It's a very fearful bunch, and super easy to push their (collective) buttons and get them agitated as they are very frightened of change ~ Hence THEIR need to forcefully drag the USA back into the 1950s* ~ Meanwhile WE - (human friendly fans of "Democracy" ) try to square up to the material problems of the 2030s and 2040s.

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~ I feel it's worth mentioning the not insubstantial block of Latino / Latina / Latinx republican voters that seem to be growing as the perception is voting Republican puts you on the path for being upwardly mobile - i.e. - more $. I've seen this pattern (first hand) in other countries like Guatemala (in the 1990s) where there is this perception that 'Socialism" and being Catholic makes you poor, but being right wing, and protestant - with the aim of living in a gated community makes you rich. Or becomes an aspirational paradigm, especially in a country where poverty is the 'Norm".

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* It's worth mentioning that AUTOMATION is real and manufacturing jobs from the 1950s (i.e. manual machining (turning and milling), grinding, stamping, tool and die work , hand pattern making - manual mold making etc. ) are not coming back. Training in the newer more enhanced automated technologies is vital to be even vaguely globally competitive. I don't think that "Camp Bernie" / associated mindsets really understand that.

~ Hence why I believe that universal income may become a necessity if we master this NEW age of manufacturing and greener technologies on US soil whilst being globally competitive. It IS possible to be a highly productive and competitive nation whilst having universal income - there is a multiplicity of benefits there that CAN indeed serve and further compound the USA's bottom line and annual GDP. [If we are being somewhat materialistic / Capitalistic .].

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I think you should give the Oligarchs a shock by invoking the 13th Amendment - Wait , What? That's crazy the 13th is the anti slavery section of the constitution! ... ... Bear with me ...

IF corporations are indeed "people" as has been confirmed many times by the Supreme Court AND IF they are, under the 14th amendment, to be accorded the same rights as natural (i.e. biological) persons - see Justice Roberts arguments in Citizens United - THEN privately and publicly owned corporations are slaves - I don't mean the employees are slaves I mean the very corporations themselves (since the very definition of slavery is the actual ownership of one person by another person) and corporations as "people" with equal protections to biological people under Justice Roberts use of the 14th amendment in his Citizens United ruling, should immediately be freed from the ownership of shareholders under the 13th amendment and 14th amendments!

Consider some of the ramifications of this potentially dangerous idea ... ...

1) Corporations are slaves because they are "people" owned by other people and compelled to speak and act at the behest of the owners -especially the overseer/slave driver owners aka executives if they also happen to be shareholders - as many are. So, while corporate "person hood" entitles the corporations to free speech first amendment rights, it also makes it obvious that such rights can never be exercised since all corporate actions are actually compelled actions not free actions - they are done only at the behest and with the consent/approval of the owner/slave drivers aka executives, since it is the executives who determine how the resources of the corporations must be spent, what messages must be "spoken" by the corporation etc. The fact that a person has rights doesn't mean that their actions are not compelled by others especially in the case of slavery.

2) Since slave corporations are compelled to action by their owner/slave drivers aka executives I wonder if this makes such executive slave holders accomplices in all the corporate crimes that are committed and in this perspective liable to prison sentences since all actions by a corporate "person" are the compelled actions of a slave and the person doing the compelling is the slave driver/owner aka executive. Surely this makes them an accessory to any corporate crime at the very least. No?

3) All corporate slaves should immediately be released from their slavery - aka ownership by shareholders and allowed to become non-profits or any other corporate structure that does not entail the ownership of one "person" by another person or group of persons. This would of course create havoc on, if not crater, Wall street and send shocks around the world through other financial markets tied to Wall street. All of them? Frankly, I would hate this to happen because it would definitely hurt me.

Now, I'm not a far left socialist AND I'm definitely not a lawyer and have only a layman's understanding of the constitution, so I would not be surprised if someone has already thought of this and erected some kind of protection against this because this is a very dangerous idea. But I do think that giving corporations equal person hood to biological persons under the constitution is dangerously delusional AND I genuinely wonder if Citizens United and Justice Roberts quoting the 14th amendment the way he did in his legal opinion on Citizens United hasn't painted the Supreme Court and indeed America into a very uncomfortable and dangerous corner.

Surely I'm not the only person who has had this weird idea - BUT maybe it's not so weird.

I believe you are a lawyer Robert so any thoughts on this?

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Very interesting! Diabolical to the point of funny! Lawyers can be very inventive if not treacherous. Could that be used for the common good? Unlikely! But what a possibility! If talented lawyers could make it work, maybe America could get out of this dangerous corner! Or it will be the climate disaster or the old fashioned blood bath! We are not in a good place ,It seems, at this time and looks like it's getting darker in the future.

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Thanks Laurie. Do you know any Constitutional Lawyers I could run it by?

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Nope, I only work here. sorry! Too old to study law. It would most likely give me a headache, and the first thing I would do is reform a lot of bull3##*in our laws. I don't know what is in there but it sure seems inefficient and cumbersome/rigged. There is a better chance at getting the Vatican to move than our archaic system of justice. We are under siege presently, and I fear our ineffective legal system may be our downfall! Back in the early 1800's traitors would be quickly dispatched, certainly lose their seats in Congress and the Senate. In the 1700's, they would be tarred and feathered! Some threats to our Constitution were clearly seen and quickly banished. And they didn't even have climate destruction coming in a decade (or less).

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On the BBB bill, I think progressives should accept the low figure and go ahead with both infrastructure bills. Even the low BBB amount will benefit Americans and will be a boost for the Dems in 2022, with the understanding that if they keep Congress and get more senators, there will be more benefits to come. It can be very positive! Rome wasn't built etc.

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I agree. Timing is of the essence. Dems need to act now or risk getting nothing done. Shame in Manchin and Sinema. How are we the people going to change the money/power structure of our elected officials?

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Me too! I can't help but hope people see the difference between what Democrats are trying to do versus what Republicans are all about! Just keep on keeping on! The secret of triumph lies in the first syllable. Try.

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Fingers crossed. That’s my hold-out hope!

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Kay, I think you are correct and that we should agree to the lower amounts--for the time being. Half a loaf is better than nothing and, once our own way is clearer and our representation is more concrete, we can move ahead. But, admittedly, it is hard to wait when so much is needed to make this a decent country with kindness, charity, and equality for all.

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If only everyone knew this, I think we could make progress. The idea that this is soooo much money is just crazy. Keep comparing it to the military budget.

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That is effective in putting it in perspective. Trillions to destroy vs. Trillions to build up and heal the human population and our planet.

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John Steinbeck is purported to have said that socialism never took root in America because the poor see themselves not as an exploited proletariat but as temporarily embarrassed millionaires! The oligarchs sure know how to capitalize on this absurdity.

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Thank you for quoting Steinbeck so appropriately. He had the good fortune of growing up in an agricultural area marked by extreme disparity in wealth. Even today, Monterey/San Benito Counties can boast of Salinas and Castroville right alongside Pacific Grove and Carmel...I suppose there are some folks in the middle but, echoing Steinbeck, they probably believe that, well, "any day now my ship will come in and I'll move on to a real house in MOnterey or Pacific Grove or Carmel, and send my kids to Stanford or Harvard." It never dawns on a good many folks that they are where they will be. In a sense, the folks tending the fields, growing and harvesting the lettuce, artichokes, and broccoli, you know, the necessary immigrants from Mexico, are the ones who know the score, such as it is.

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I think you are right when you say a small bit is better than no bit at all but come on, man! We need big, bold action and we needed it yesterday. Biden is going to be blamed for slow progress, and broken campaign promises(paid state college tuition anyone?)If Republicans get back in in 2022 with a majority all of this is for naught. And Lord help us if Donald Trump takes back the White House in 2024.I am considering what the next step is for We, the people but it goes without saying that Nothing Changes If Nothing Changes.

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Maybe Mexico will finish the border wall so we can’t escape south and Canada will build their own to keep us from going north!

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I think the paid state college tuition is not for a 4 year bachelor degree. It is for a two year community college which is more like a vocational school. Cosmetology, Mechanics, some nursing and medical technology, dental assistant, dental hygienist, also programs that allow credits to be transferred to a 4 year institution. Tuition is only a small percent of the cost. There are books and fees, and they add up. Most people need to borrow a relatively modest amount. But it allows people to get a specific career without being buried in debt for years.

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Bob, your analysis is so good in much of this piece, and while I don’t think of myself as a revolutionary, there is only ONE way to stop this onslaught of this authoritarian capitalism and white supremacy, and that is not within our two party system. based on my experience and knowledge of the dynamics being played out… WE NEED a much larger (probably around 35-50% of workers) ORGANIZED DEMOCRATIC LABOR MOVEMENT TO FIGHT FOR THESE REFORMS. The Democratic and Republican parties, by their nature, are fully invested in CORPORATE CONTROLLED AMERICA.

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founding

Thank you, thank you, thank you, for helping me see the big picture. It is very sad and will be very difficult to change. I hope we get this smaller package, it is still a lot. God help us.

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founding

In my opinion, the oligarchs have the working and middle class by the throat. I have long proffered this image of America since Ronald Reagan. In truth, this picture long predates Reagan, certainly going back to FDR and the New Deal.

A bunch of the very moneyed CEO's and wealthy industry barons are sitting around a table. Dinner is about to be served. The door opens. In come the maid and butler with this deliciously hunger inducing, very large oven roasted beef on a platter.

The servants put the gigantic sumptuous meal on the table in the middle, before all of these power brokers of the 1%. A large slicing knife is handed to the most important man. As he directs his attention and lowers the knife, the letters U.S.A. surge vibrantly red on the crust of the feast.

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