I ask you Sincerely who would you prefer your children to grow up to be like, Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. our 46th President or Donald John Trump the 45th and former President ?
I know many of you feel like the Government has let you down and you want to protest. If you think Trump is going to straighten it out and make it better for you, you are sadly mistaken. He’s a one man demolition expert! He can and will destroy our Democracy.
As voters we have the power to change our country. As Patriots we must support our Government and vote in people who will take the oath of office and mean it. They are there to work for ALL OF US not the billionaires and corporate executives!
I listened to a 17 minute podcast from February 9, 2018 called The Resistance Report with Robert Reich “Divide and Conquer”. So much of that podcast is still true today!
Knew of Trump in the 90s and he was a deadbeat loser, going belly up and stifing others yet his nonthinking fans love him for that. Used to work out with a wrestller in the 60s and Trump fans are like pro wrestling fans, not very educated.
I would agree with the pro wrestling anology. Not well educated, well 51% of people 25 and up have little education, thats 89 million people. I fit into the above category and took offense at the deplorables comment back in 2016 and voted for Trump. Dont push the "uneducated" away as a voting block. They make up 26% of the population. We need everyone we can get to stop Trump and to recover the house for the Dems. I think messaging is a big part of the Dems problem. If they pushed even half of what Robert Reich or even Bernie Sanders talks about youd see populism of a non autocratic sort.
90% of GenZs voted for Democrats in 2022. The young people also ignore polls. They are our hope and future. They are also angry and voting at higher numbers than any other generation when turning 18!
I live in Tennessee and lost my state representative in November through gerrymandering. My new idiot is a liar and went on national tv to support TN actions.
My son also lost his representative in the US House when the GQP split Nashville into three parts polluted with rural folk.
Since the Covenant shooting, our governor (who lost a close friend) has done a 180 in support of gun control, but his party won’t have it.
I live in Memphis, which is the red-headed step child of the state. We are blue as is Nashville. Too many red neck farmers have diluted our voices. This state sucks!
Need to get Dolly Parton, Kenny Chesney, etc involved. East Tennessee is almost entirely poor yet Republican. Taylor Swift is one of the most influential Democrats the past two election cycles. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qRpDw3LZgM
We moved to TN in 2017 - Davidson County. We used to have a "D" represent us in the House but gerrymandering by the Repub's left us with no representation. We will move back to WA when the g'kids grow up -can't wait.
Just one thing, Joyce. You lost me at "polluted with rural folk." This is a sweeping dismissal of a group of people, and it's exactly how the fascists want you to think. I'm a "rural folk" with a master's degree retired from a successful publishing career. I know a lot of rural folk just like me. I also know rural folk who are, as they say, "the salt of the Earth." They're smart, they know how to get by, and we'll be begging them to feed us when the apocalypse arrives.
I am so disappointed in Prof. Reich's piece today I can hardly write. Of course his passionate warnings are admirable. But after about 25 paragraphs cataloging Trump outrages (again), what does he call for?
"Speak out against..." "Demand accountability..." "Condemn the media..." or my favorite, "Urge election officials to refuse to put him on the ballot" (oh yeah, that'll happen). How about what we can actually do today?!!
Hey, the Republic is burning! It's long past time to be yelling "Fire!". We need people to be climbing ladders and turning on the hoses.
As Prof. Reich says, "The Danger is Now". So we must act now. We need to hand a stinging defeat to the MAGA extremists who sit on influential committees in the House of Representatives. That is the front line where our defenses have already been breached.
The Trumpian fascists Mr. Reich refers to are precisely the ones (acting through their puppet Speaker McCarthy) solely repsonsible for pushing America to the brink of default. And if not stopped, MAGA and McCarthy will be further empowered to bring about a government shutdown in the Fall.
And that is where you and I can take action today, without even leaving our desks. We need to flood the phone lines and mailboxes of these eleven moderate Republicans:
John Curtis (UT-3), Ashley Hinson (IA-2), Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-1), David Joyce (OH 14), Victoria Spartz (IN-5), Don Bacon (NE-2), Mike Gallagher (WI-8), Andrew Garbarino (NY-2), Nancy Mace (SC-1), Dan Newhouse (WA-4), and David Valadao (CA-21
Because there is no alternative, a bipartisan majority (likely to include some or all of the above) will necessarily emerge in the House to pass a debt ceiling increase. When that happens, that same majority must take the next step:
Remove Kevin McCarthy from the Speakership and replace him with a moderate Republican who owes nothing to the MAGA extremists.
This is a moment of maximum vulnerablility for both Mr. McCarthy and MAGA. They must be stopped, right here and right now! You can help! Learn more here:
There is a real ongoing effort to make more poorly educated citizens. This is what happens when books are banned, some subjects criminalized, teachers and librarians are harassed, colleges are super expensive, the educated are mocked, school board meetings are raucous, ....I can go on and on. We heard him say it, “I like the uneducated “. The uneducated can be manipulated, follow the crowd, are not equipped to be critical thinkers. The uneducated vote against their interests.
One of the first things dictatorships do is silence the educated and teachers. Not just in Nazi Germany, but all over the world.
Another thing they do is ask the less educated who the smart people are, then they round us up in a field and shoot us in the head. This comes later. Right now would be too soon.
Both Lex Luther and Superman represent centralized power, ie great wealth/power, I would say Conservative Billionaire vs Liberal Billionaire. Neither of which can fix our current problem. Our movement can benefit from a centralized figure to rally around but that is at odds with the idea of decentralizing power. So how do we have a person to rally around without conferring to them too much power? Woof, I dont know the answer to that one.
Bill R ; We have President Biden, who has considerable power, doesn't he? add to that, Jack Smith, Letitia James, Alvin Bragg and Fani Lewis. We have Senators who are investigating the 'Supreme Court' scandals. Justice has been slower than it should be, but it is in process. CNN is on the hot seat.There could be more defamation lawsuits too: Now against media promoting tRump's lies against his successful accuser. Stand by.
Yeap, the hypothetical was superman. The equivalent liberal in our world would be Bezos, Bloomberg or Gates. I am a hard pass on billionaries fixing the main issue. They can only work on symptoms because they dont want to give up their power.
I'd like to hear details of history surrounding that decision to invoke Martial Law. Mr. Reich is able and elderly, but not old enough to give us his personal wisdom of experience about it, I believe.
14th amendment should work in Blue states. What happens when x amount of states dont except a candidate as legitimate, obviously then there would be a problem if the supreme leader won the electoral college. Then who would be considered "rebelling?" Obviously Red states couldnt 14th amendment back, but that doesnt mean their state houses couldnt pull some gerry mandered majority rulings crap to deny the legitimacy if Biden won. It would need to be blue and some red states 14th amendment action to work.
You read the Constitution of the United States. Their original idea of the presidency was that it was more like the status of a temporary government bureaucrat than of its Chief (except for the armed forces). Actually, militaristic rightwing dictatorship represents either the accomplishment of, or a regression to, the fourth paradigm. In this case, most of the world is in regression mode. It's good-bye to the (usually short-lived) fifth paradigm. It was a fantastic party, and it happens once or twice every thousand years; it never lasts longer than a few generations because the fourth paradigm is overloaded with real, material weight, carrying heavy gravity. It's hard for five to stay alive and thrive. I can only hope that in the future we'll have village learning environments, safer children, and Lincolnesque village communities. This heavenly wish is for five to finally break through and find its rightful place in our culture. Think, make friends, and love like a pentagon. Link a handful of pentagons together and what does it make? ("It makes the whole damn village.")
As you obviously know there is a big difference in being uneducated and being just plumb ignorant. The uneducated can take a positive step toward being educated. You obviously have and it shows. The ignorant can have degrees up the wazoo and nothing in the world can or will ever change their minds. Add to this bunch those who will forever be finding grievances with the world over something totally out of their control. They’re the ones looking for a strong man or authoritarian rule because they don’t have a clue about how that form of government works.
Perhaps this is cherry picking. To prove your point I know of 3 friends, relatives who are MAGA. One has a high school diploma, one has an associates and the other a masters degree. I've had the best luck talking with the high school diploma guy as he is the worst off economically. Associates thinks Elon Musk is a goal to aspire too and we all just need to work harder, the Masters Degree is a Christian National, him I havent even attempted.
Exactly the same. Its like we are all students that need to be schooled and arent allowed to have our own opinions. You know exactly why I havent tried with that one.
People I know who voted for Trump: one high school education; two with associate degrees; one RN degree; 6 with college degrees; 2-4 with MBA's; one with MA; one with PhD. and one MD.
Idealism was what drove many of the founders of this country. Getting the Constitution ratified though was where idealism and reality butted heads. The big question of slavery arose. Compromises were made ad the can got kicked down the road, probably until this country ceases to exist because no one wants to face the consequences of those compromises. When we fail to grow we stagnate and die.
I have a first cousin that has multiple degrees from multiple universities in medicine and is a psychologist now, but up until a few years ago he always came to me to do his income taxes. I was a bookkeeper for a very small business for 15 years in addition to my regular job. I guess he must have thought i was more qualified than him for doing income taxes.. go figure.
I also fit into the ‘not well educated’ category, having only a high school education, but I abhor Trump. Having traveled extensively throughout the country I find that it’s not uneducated people, but rather rural people who are the Trump Devotees and ‘cult’ followers.
Valuable observation. It appears to be true all over the world. This urban-rural divide suggests that what we learn early in life carries more weight than what we learn in college.
I think the low income from family farms with the domination of monopolies setting the prices they are willing to pay for meat is causing the problem. Urban Dems have no clue about it nor try to address the issue. So rural voters go elsewhere.
Yes, I hate to admit I've seen this myself, driving over the countryside. However, there are many properties that don't advertise Trump. Nor do they fly American flags. As liberals, we need to fly the American flag. The rural countryside is rife with them, along with old withering Trump flags and signs. We're allowing what's left of the Republican party to abscond with the flag that's supposed to fly for all Americans. Does this happen in your neighborhood?
I kind of fit in to '' not well educated'' as i have a high school education and less than 1 year of Tech college but at least i do have an above average IQ. I actually hate and despise Donald TUMP with a white hot rage. I live in a rural area of NW Georgia and the insanity around me is astounding. One TUMP lover that knows i am a hard core Democrat tried to keep me from going down the dirt/gravel road he lives on just before the Presidential election in 2020. The road is owned by the county, but he says it's his road. I just kept going down the road and gave him a ''go to hell'' look. He hasn't tried that stunt anymore with me, and goes to show that these MAGA fanatics are just cowards and they will back down if you stand up to their sorry, no good. fascist beliefs. He flies a big TUMP sign on a flagpole along with an American flag. He is nothing but a big greasy lard bag just like TUMP is. He is a huge TUMP cult follower and so is his scumbag wife.
Bill Reitz ; I agree that low rating 'uneducated' voters is not a great idea. I have 84 college credits, but no degree. I also read a lot and have some 'street smarts'. I may even have considered voting for tRump when he lifted talking points from the very popular (and deservedly so) Bernie Sanders. Bernie has had many voters in Vermont, where his political career got going, who were dyed in the wool Republicans, He turned a rural red state into a purple/blue state, because he is that good. So let's not be 'hoity' about whether a voter is 'college educated'. The Dems were too focused on 'the money' and here we are! tRump paid attention, (even though he did not deliver!), and brags that the 'Republicans now have the working class". We are smarter than that! He doesn't pay!
I wanted to vote for Bernie in 2016 and 2020. He was denied the ticket - much better than the corporate Democrats Clinton and Biden; however, I would vote for Freddie the Freeloader over Trump.
Im no fan of the superdelegates and all these votes that dont represent voters in Dem primaries. Part of why Bernie bowed out. Guess I will find out what thats all about this coming election. My neighbors wife,
and my friend shes passed now had met Hillary personally when she visited the PBA she worked at. She said Hillary seemed completely fake. Part of one of reasons I voted against her. In retrospect that was bad, Trump was worse than a corporate democrat. After reading Robert Reichs The System, Who rigged it and how we fixed it and Anand Ghirdarhadas both showed that Clintons both got sucked into the corporate democrat idea. We can fix problems with private business! No you cant it only creates bigger problems then attempts to bandaid the symptoms of those problems. Fix the laws so business cant take advantage as much as it does.
I wrote a piece for my local paper: "In love with Bernie—In line with Biden" Although I've been totally excited about Sanders' perspective, the year Biden announced I fell right in line. We needed at that moment, someone who was deeply experienced throughout the entire government over a 50+-year career. Trump pushed out some of the furniture, and rearranged the rest of it. We needed what has amounted to a quasi-restoration to Regular Order. We needed to keep the government running as we're used to expecting it to be run, and Biden with his experience and grit has been the man to do it.
Just like an abused girlfriend or spouse staying in an abusive relationship. MAGAs who are used to abuse in their lives feel that the MAGA movement which focuses on abuse, othering and superioity is comfortable. So they don't leave. Are they idiots? Are they ignorant? Or are the majority of them decent folks in an abusive relationship?
They are also surrounded by friends, family relatives, and their community that are all brainwashed into groupthink. If they even try to debate or go against what those around them say they lose their support system and would be ostracized, and the price to pay for individual thought is too much to pay, and they wouldn't survive without their community if they went against what those around them think, and believe.
You know, you just gave me a thought I hadn't had before. It's very likely that everyone's craving community, because our natural instincts are to live and love in groups of about 35 people, plus a small amount of acquaintance with overlapping groups. I am living where what I describe above is the norm, and I feel safer in the broadly-cast community I've discovered, and joined two decades ago. Not everyone has such a community, and these are the vulnerable ones; they can't thrive or move forward without this basic human need being met. When such people get corralled into a cult, the overwhelming power of belonging to a community, at last, makes it highly necessary to defend it, in every way they can think of, including the lies that get included in their subsequent mission statements. We all need to form our own village learning environments, in order to weather the coming storms. The children will be safer with us, than in school. We'll make good friends with all the teachers we continue to pay, who keep track of what our kids are learning, and who guide them into the next part of that.
Tom; if you are responding to me, please note that I CONSIDERED voting for him ; until I got a load of some facts; for instance; he bilked students in Trump University, he abused a charity by using the funds in a way that was fraudulent. He abused women. Even raping his wife while pulling her hair. I heard the tape about grabbing them by the p#$$y, and much more. He talked about s#!t#ole countries and called residents of Detroit 'stupid' , because they would not vote for him. His racist statements caused attacks on Black and Brown people. He is an uncool face, for sure!
It appears as my comments have put you on the defensive. Which goes to my whole point of not putting 86 million voting age voters on the defensive by disparaging them. I take responsibility for my vote and I regret voting for him greatly. I do not take offense at your comment.
You are absolutely correct. Do not disparage any voter because they vote differently than you do. CNN should give an hour of rebuttal to someone on the liberal team. And maybe some of these corporate leaders can see where our country is headed if Trump prevails and quit their massive donations to his defense and campaign. Come on people! We’re better than just money driven fools, aren’t we? aren’t we?
Your previous comment about voting for Trump because the "deplorables" comment offended you confused me because you go on to seemingly support Bernie (btw, I will support Bernie, his policies, and candidates like him until the day I die). Yes or no...did you support Bernie in the primaries in 2016?
As I was an independent at the time I could not vote in the primaries. I didnt know that much about Bernie until after 2016. I would and can vote in the Dem primaries now. My beliefs I wear on my sleeve. Pro Robert Reich, Pro Bernie, Anand Ghiradahadas, anti-billiomaire/rich corporation influence pedling, pro election reform.
Completely agree here, Bill. We need every vote to right the ship and quite frankly, the Democrats platform is better for all, including those with less education. I'm still amazed that Democrat's policies find such resistance from the very groups that would benefit. If we point out the Democratic party's policy stances that help the folks that Trump currently has entranced, some may discover they've been voting against their interests, vote blue and cast a vote to help themselves instead. We won't win them all but we may win some. We're all in this together, regardless of how much schooling we've had and we need every oar rowing in the direction of progress.
Thanks Sandra B. There are more of us out here sharing more core beliefs than we often feel, or networks would have us believe. If the misled and misinformed feel empowered to share their views, which have been repeatedly disproved since Gipper rolled them out to the masses, we should have confidence pointing to policies that worked and the positive effects they've had on everyday people.
Thank you, Mr Reitz for making the distinction between "uneducated" and "unwilling or unable to learn" (or, more bluntly, "stupid"). The resentment that disdain instills is a weapon that Criminal Defendant Trump uses to his advantage.
Despite (or maybe because of) my Master's degree, I'm respectful of the fact that much, maybe most, of human progress through the centuries occurred without the benefit of universities. And also without the baleful influence of variously biased mass media -- our most ubiquitous teaching tool.
Thank you. The people who are hurting are the middle class and the poor. Trying to play the less poor than thow game is like the pot calling the kettle black. Fighting is exactly what the people and corporations with money/power want us to do. I feel safe in assuming that most everyone on this substack is of the income level where the rich share $99 for every $100 of GDP and we all share a $1. Fighting over table scraps makes no sense. Its better to appeal to all groups in our income bracket equally. Every vote counts. Covid seemed to perfect Silo'ing of information and groups as shown by the MAGA resilience in 2022. If we cant figure out how to recruit certain groups the best we can do is not piss them off.
Really? You were butt hurt by the word deplorable when your guy says grab em by the pussy, mocks a disabled reporter on National tv and you’re offended by the word deplorable?? Are you fucking kidding me? You’re exactly what’s wrong with this country. You’re a fucking hypocrite who has the thinnest skin on this earth
I think the course of events that you have stated is a little out of order. Back in 2016 none of the things you mentioned were known at least not publically. I would say that the hostility you are registering was not caused by me but by other influences or perceived wrongs you have experienced (albeit recently from the CNN Town hall). You wouldnt be the first person to be pissed about that as am I. A good book to read that may help you is "Prisoners of hate: The Cognitive Bias of Anger, Hostility, and Violence" by Aaran T Beck. It has helped me to recognize when I am offended by what a person did, not because they were trying to offend me but because I thought they were.
We have to remember that undereducated doesn't mean "stupid." Bernie Sanders appeared on a Fox town hall and gained a standing ovation (Hillary Clinton refused to appear on one). Sanders met Fox viewers where they were instead of insulting them, and he was able to win them over. The Democrats have to remember this and do the same in 2024.
I saw through Trump in the ‘80’s. People Magazine did a sparkle piece on Donald and Ivana as the new genius real estate developer and wife as up and coming A listers of New York society. Surely paid for by Fred Trump. He wanted them to be the “face” of his companies. So, I started paying attention to what The Trumps were up to.
Fred was stupid enough to hand Donald any power. All it took was two sentences out of his mouth, and legitimate investors knew he had no idea what he was talking about. In a few short years, it was evident to the financial community Trump was an thug. A mob-boss wanna be and only Fred and Ivana were capable of hold him back for a short while. Unable to borrow money from any US banks, Donald went looking elsewhere for financial backing and willingly to work with strings attached.
Bingo! A Useful Idiot lands in Putin’s lap.
His personal behavior is that of a rutting ram with deep seated emotional mommy and daddy issues. I’m sure Marla Maples was the last thing Vladimir had in mind when she insisted they marry over her pregnancy, even though the nuptials took place after Tiffany’s birth.
Melania pulled Donald back in the fold, but she needed an anchor baby. Another child for Donald where marriage was an after the fact occasion.
Ivanka...just eewwee.
Hadn’t thought of Trump for years until Obama showed up and Trump mumbled something about running for POTUS. By the time Trump was hemorrhaging money, Vlad and dark money knew what they had, a talented no brain who could convince a certain audience of mediocre education and chips on their shoulders that they’ve been had. And dark money poured from Republicans, oligarchs and American wealthy fascists corporations. Hence the weird counterintuitive notion of why are the billionaires AND the blue color deprived of constitutional protections like voting rights living in highly gerrymandered states with poor education, healthcare, opportunity for higher education and wages backing the same guy??
Sorry to go on, but this shows how old I am and that I can clearly recall an article I read in the ‘80’s that alerted my deep down defenses that I was reading about a predator. It was almost like a premonition that was sent out from the truth of the Earth itself.
I agree. Only it was Fred who sold his soul to the mob already shortly after WWII. They (Italian mob) owned Don from the day he was born, just like the Russian mob has its hands on his kids now. The money Don handled hardly ever was his own.
Yeah, during the first few months Trump was in office he often spoke exactly like he’s an Italian mobster. It wasn’t obvious while he was campaigning, but he let his guard down after
The GOP base believes it is defending the country from attack. Notice I didnt say Democracy. As devotees of the supreme leader would rather have him in power than Democracy. This belief is enforced by constant lies and sound bites by the GOP and compicit media outlets (now including CNN).
Joyce ; I have a customer who is a retired corporate contractor. He told me that tRump is known to not pay construction workers for their work. It's known throughout the industry.
He’s known to not pay anyone. This was a computer leasing company. He leased equipment to run his casino and refused to pay for it. When my husband told him he was starting the paperwork to repossess the equipment and close his casino, Trump paid; however, he was rude and condescending every step of the way. Believe it or not, Weismann was the “nice guy” who he was able to reason with. 😂😂
*sigh* Sadly I've seen this before. Screw over a lot of people and fight really hard not to pay and a lot of folks will just eat it. Have some business that gets through but charge an arm and a leg for it and use low quality parts. The "thriving business" can be used to gain more clientelle who will be robbed in a pyramid scheme format. As the money runs out staty up a new scheme. Eventually the bill comes due. If it wasnt for whatever criminality connections he has hed be penniless by now. A schmo like us doing it loses everything.
Mine, too! The company my husband represented was in the casino players card business. You know, his bankrupt casinos...where people give you money and you give them nothing...
Jim Jordan is a well educated wrestler. Goebbels was fairly well educated. Much depends on the kind of education you get, and educations starts at home, in early childhood. Parochialism is hard to overcome.
I would like our children to grow up in states that limit guns, give women freedom to control their own bodies, who teach real American history, where voting rights are protected, where LBGTQ+ people are not victimized, where gerrymandering is outlawed. That is only going to happen if the 29 states controlled by the Republicans become bipartisan or Democrat.
Migration of people from California (a very liberal state) in order are Texas, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, Washington and Colorado. The states of North and South Dakota, Wyoming, and Montana have no jobs to offer people. Native Americans vote Democrat all of the time.
And SSI and other governmental benefits are portable. In the south, many argue that Blacks should leave states like South Carolina and TN and change the demographics of N. Carolina, GA, AL, MS.
I do not know the voting laws in many of these states but if they are Red than I can assume that the Native Americans are possibly not being allowed to vote as easily as white folks. California is not the center of the universe it is the most populous state in the country. People are leaving that state and immigrating to other western states. The Dakotas are not the place people are moving to.
I like the suggestion that blacks from S. and N . Carolina's, TN. Should move to GA, AL, MI.
Actually the rich are moving here (Baghdad By the Sea) and to places like Austin , Texas from California. Just because people haven't relocated to the Dakotas is because they don't know as much about them. Once upon a time, North Dakota was extremally progressive. There was a farm/labor coalition. Now, controlled by extreme right wingers.
North Dakota's economy started to boom about eight years ago due to advances in hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, and by 2014 it had the fastest growing economy in the nation. Created boom towns. Started to diversify. Population ballooned to 779,094, a nearly 16% jump since 2010. https://www.axios.com/2018/10/18/america-surprise-economic-powerhouse-north-dakota
The reason I highlight the Dakotas and Wyoming is that they have small populations. DC, which doesn't have a vote in Congress, has a bigger population than the state of Wyoming. More displaced Puerto Ricans living in say, Connecticut, than the number of Republicans in Wyoming that control 2 Senate votes.
I appreciate the term "catastrophizing" used in the following piece. I also think Sharpton is exactly right: https://youtu.be/1An20_2n418 We've been wringing our hands over CNN and >voluntarily< giving ol' Tweety more attention, of late, when we should in fact be focusing on issues such as: https://youtu.be/iRWZg7LuqlQ In order to beat ol' Tweety, we >must< beat his supporters, for whom he is the lightning rod. His supporters are the "pyramid" upon which ol' Tweety sets like a capstone. They're the atmosphere that buoy's up his "hot air balloon!" He's >not< the real problem. He's the symptom. He's the puke we upchuck after swallowing poison.
My thoughts exactly. What horrified me about the CNN Trump spectacle was to see how his supporters behaved. I believe it WAS in the interest of democracy to show that. It only becomes propaganda if CNN fails to show the other candidates or continues to prop up only Trump. However I do agree its scary times and our democracy is in peril. At age 70ish this is the least safe I have ever felt in my own country.
I've had that feeling also, 80ish. This is the first tiNe I've ever had the experience of wondering when my Trump neighbors will start breaking my windows, being a famous (around here) supporter of Biden (from the day he first announced he was running). On a busy rural corner with a marque-size Biden sign. Then I noticed it was Trump all way down the 15-mile road to town, even 10 months after he lost the election. My reaction has been to fade back, if I still can do that. AND, in response to the first part of your paragraph above, think of all the flak the American Civil Liberties Union caught when they defended Nazi's having a parade in Washington, DC, several decades ago. By this same type of rationale, which I think is valid, the ALCU wanted us to see the Nazi's for what they are, and they wanted American fairness to prevail, because it was more important to uphold that, than it was to worry that Nazi's might recruit a few misguided souls.
>That's< why I didn't get hyper-critical of CNN in the recent discussion. I took criticism from one person that Anderson Cooper was just telling us what we've known since '16. Perhaps >we're< not the target audience Cooper's trying to remind. Remember the attention span and memory of the general public! Jury's still out on CNN in my mind. I'm thinking of the CNN journalists who have not yet been canned and have made no secret of their opinion of CNN's new management policies. Since the way I consume CNN journalists doesn't require I have cable access, I can be more selective about who I listen to and when I listen to them, while I'm not yet convinced Anderson Cooper, for example, has sold out to "the dark side."
But don't forget: what drives public attention is what they hear about in the news. For example, in the Media Bias Fact Check, one of the metrics is what kind news an outlet publishes - what public issues does it raise with the news they report. So the media attention span isn't so important as how it intends to direct the public attention, while the public tends to forget about what hasn't been reported in a while. In that respect, the media attention span and memory is a bit of a canard. They know what they're doing. They know what they want people to know, and more importantly, what they want the public to forget about. Go out and ask someone on the street to tell you who Rodney King is and see what kind of response you get, for example. Indeed, the public can be expected to keep track of only so much. That's part of the rationale behind representative democracy in the first place.
Aw DZK, ; I forget stuff all the time, except the things that really matter. Those I never forget! If the media I'm watching, reading or listening to drop the ball ; I'm not buying it. " If you tell a lie, everything you say is a lie".
Rodney King was a Black victim of a severe beating by a gang of out-of-control cops, in Los Angels or thereabouts. Early 1990s or late '80s. He said, "Can't we all just get along?"
Our brains prioritize the most important things. Rodney King is an important figure, but not as pressing as someone more currently in the news. There is only so much room in my 'rolodex'.
DZK ; I have learned to avoid news sources that do not report about or address things I care about. That is why I did not watch CNN. that is why I fast forwarded through Ari Melber's Friday show, on MSNBC, that featured Republicans and ' ex - Republicans'. I guess they are making a stab at centrism or, God forbid in this present environment, 'bipartisanism'. I fast forwarded their asses after listening for a few minutes. The topics and comments did not even come close! 'CNN ism?!' Joe Scarborough was a host. Hmmmm.
DZK ; it is true that it's difficult to keep our eyes on all the balls tossed in the air and bouncing and rolling around. Ideally, our representatives, with some support, could help us stay on message and get legislation that the majority wants/needs. In the present, highly inflated but unsuccessful reality; voters don't get much, even when they donate more than they can afford. Votes should not cost so much. High rollers should not be in the process.
Yes, register more young voters. Also talk to them and find out what they do or do not know about democracy and what a treasure it is. I have been amazed in some discussions with seniors at the 'top of their class' who cannot name the three branches of our government. This is more than tragic.
Thanks for the heads up. That first link has changed. It's changed in my history, as well. Either someone has hacked it, or the YouTube links aren't as reliable as one might assume. I'll see if I can track down the original and fix it, but I'll avoid posting naked links in the future. Thanks again.
I've tracked down and fixed that first link now. The rest are OK, but that first one going bad turned what followed into gibberish! FYI: That first link is:
Agree wholeheartedly Mr. Olson. Democratic need to stop all the whining about President Biden's age as the former president is only a few years youngers. Voters absolutely have the power to change and keep this democracy the way it needs to be. I also firmly believe that white Americans can be more focused in speaking out about the racial, homophobic and other injustices. The minority Republican base is very vocal about wanting to go back to the days where they felt only white male Americans had rights that only pertained to them. White women decided they had as much to these inalienable rights as men and that meant rights pertaining to reproductive decisions over their own bodies. Come on Americans, those of us who are sick of the Republican base making all the noise need to rise up and be just as vocal.
And remember ALSO: WHO has been THE most achomplished president since FDR? [sic] The morbidly obese dummy who bungled the economy and EVERYTHING else? Or the man who IN TWO YEARS passed THE biggest climate legislation in HISTORY and still found time to try to smooth over the previous presidents 130,000+ mistakes? I wonder . . .
A question I continue to ask about republicans is, why do the symptoms of mental illness look like leadership qualities to them. I believe that Trump is deserving of our pity, because no one gets that messed up unless someone along the way worked hard at messing him up. Again to the question of why do the symptoms of mental illness look like leadership qualities to the republicans. I beseech them to ask that question of each other. In 1933 the Germans did not ask that question. Today we know that they should have.
Eddie Borden: Actually, when I was a girl in school, I did receive the understanding, somehow, that Hitler was "mad", meaning crazy. The 1950s had a very narrow selection of words defining mental illness. We knew schizophrenic, and psychopathic. Most of the other labels didn't become common in conversation until at least 30 years later. Paranoid and narcissistic were more specific than the earlier terminology. I was first heard saying, "Donald Trump is a "narcissistic psychopath" back in 2015, right after he came down the escalator. Yes, to what you describe above "someone along the way worked hard at messing him up." That would be Fred the fascist. Military school didn't help; it just confined the raging beast, temporarily. We ignored all the letters from the psychiatric community that were liberally circulated right after Trump was sworn in.
"We" didn't get unregistered voters that trend Democratic registered and out to vote in states like Florida and Ohio. On election day, here in Baghdad By the Sea Black registered voters did not show up as expected. The DNC wrote off FL and Ohio.
Incompetence permitted Republicans to win House seats in blue states like NY and CA.
I wonder if the trend of shooting people ringing doorbells would inhibit canvassers who want to help get out the vote? Is going out into the streets to send a message a good idea? Even voting could get scary!
Daniel Solomon ; I can't help but wonder how many registered Democrats are confused and convinced that their votes will not matter. As we have seen ; mainstream media is not too far away from FOX and Newsmax et al. Many times I have heard pundits tell us that a particular desired change will not happen that Democrats or the hated 'progressives' want. I remember years ago when there was the stolen election that brought us Bush (W). Voters were complaining about the Electoral College. A particularly unlikeable commentator assured viewers that "The Electoral College will be ended on "the 12th of never", reminding us of an old Johnny Mathis song. I wanted to smack him! He seemed to relish being the messenger of such unwanted "news"! This type of 'journalism' has got to end!
True. But the question is not whether Biden is the role model or Trump. Trump is not a role model in any way.
The question is rather if e. g. Liz Warren would be a better role model. Tbc Pelosi already did too little to protect America from Fascism, the Biden admin waited 1½ years before starting the most important task before them to protect the US from insurrectionists.
Biden always talks about healing but fails to understand that healing requires justice first. Biden is disenfranchising victims of Trump in favor of a treacherous quiet. Biden must face protest from the left to drive him towards the centre. Even before the 2020 election, I said (on Twitter) that the Biden admin would need to be pushed again and again to get more than the bare minimum. (Did they really need to let Manchin decide what people need?).
To me it seems clear that the people behind CNN (probably Malone) want Trump to win the election. The program was propaganda. It wasn’t for ratings. It wasn’t to “make news “. The CNN journalists who discussed the show, some negatively, were props and cover for what was a deliberate attempt to help make TFG win and harder for the indictments coming down the pike to matter. (They will be called divisive and dangerous and attempts to silence a candidate.). Murdoch’Fox and now Malone’s CNN are political operations.
I feel the same way about The Count of Mount of Crisco. And the current state of politics all over the world. It really is Stranger Than Fiction and either the world has gone insane...or I have.
Right on the money...We just need to initiate an effective program but to do so...we need an audience of like minded individuals such as those following Robert, Judd, Brian and others. If interested...let me know...I have been in touch with Judd but he isn't interested in getting back into the fray of the battle...he is comfortable doing the research having been burned by the politicians before for trying to act. Tried to get Ro ert to respond but I think he has the same issue and is comfortable attempting to warn people of the impending danger. We know how the danger and we know where it emminates from...we just need to address it head on.
Henry: :Effective program." Get more flies with honey than vinegar.
Maybe an animated show....didn't Robert meet Homer Simpson?
According to Nielson and other ratings, "NFL Sunday Night Football" was the most watched TV show in the United States in the 2021/2022 season, with roughly 18.14 million viewers. "NFL Thursday Night Football" ranked second with approximately 15.4 million viewers.
Unfortunately on cable Tucker Carlson Tonight remains No. 1 by a substantial margin, averaging 443,000 from the measurement in Q1 2023. The Five remained in second (357,000) with Hannity (317,000), Jesse Watters Primetime (304,000) and Gutfeld! (301,000) rounding out the top five.
I agree on the importance of mobilizing, but this time, we must focus on the real enemy: the corporations and wealthy individuals behind all of this. Let's stop pretending the problem is elected officials, who are mostly just doing what they are told, attacking targets selected by lobbyists and pretending to care about whatever will rally their frothing, easily manipulated supporters. America's problem is that its citizens refuse to learn the real lesson year after year:
Politicians are the distraction. Corporations that write the script and the legislation and direct the spectacle that passes for genuine discourse must be stopped. We must economically threaten the wealthy titans and firms spearheading all of this. THAT is who we must protest, who we must call out in the press and online and in person, who we must stop to have any future at all.
What the majority wants can't be realized through the current system. As in the 1960s with the civil rights and antiwar movements, we may have to resort to organized civil disobedience. It may be the only way to overcome the new methods of voter suppression and the outright defiance of the laws by corporations that were passed to regulate them and protect the public.
Opposition to corporate control of our government, media, economy & society must become much more massive, unified & well-organized than it has been until now.
Daniel Solomon ; I totally agree! The money that is running our politicians ; the billionaires who buy the courts and the media 'news' are the enemies of Democracy, America, and the World!
Republicans can easily be voted out of office. It's realistic and relatively easy to vote them out. With a Democrat majority, other FAILS can be much more easily addressed as well e.g. Overturn Citizens United
Maryk, one would think voting Republicans out of office should be easy enough, but with gerrymandering, voter suppression, voter role purging (nearly always going after people of color who often vote Democratic), and the rest, that is not so easy. That is particularly hard when the media fawns over Republican candidates and their loud-mouthed insults, lies, and dysinformation. I am not sure how we break through this when more restrictive voting laws are passed by states all the time. I thought Republicans could be shamed into voting for the John Lewis Voting Act and the other bills in the last two years, but the filibuster and Mitch McConnell's loyalty to himself and stopping anything that would help anyone but his rich white friends kept that from happening. I don't know where we go as we get closer to the 2024 election. The Supreme Court has decided that ignoring the Constitution works so well for them, they will just keep doing it. The 6 conservatives on the Court are OK with ditching the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and maybe even the Civil Rights Act of 1964 just because it works for white supremacists and Republicans in general. The Sc Conservative ethics violations, which are severe, will keep happening because those folks know they can't be stopped by anyone even though their role in the Constitution is hardly mapped out at all. I don't know where we need to go from here, but I know there are a lot of people out there like Prof. Reich who do know, so I am regularly looking for their input.
Swingleft.org today, get out the 30% or so of voters who didn't bother to vote in 2020.
Republicans can't be shamed. And they aren't 'folks', they are thieves: taking public assets as fast as they can.
Republicans are also a minority, their positions are not acceptable to most Americans - - 30% of whom do not vote.
It's relatively easy to get voters out when opposition positions are as extremist as Republicans are: Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, civil rights, paying bills... It's a looon list!
The fact that Republicans are willing to cause US default will throw America into a depression should be enough
I wouldn't say that getting voters out is exactly easy, but it is do-able, and there is an army out there getting out the vote. Tomorrow's mayoral primary in Philadelphia is crucial; long time activist and progressive Helen Gym pulled out ahead of the pack in a poll on Friday. Another crucial election tomorrow for PA state house, candidate Heather Boyd whose election will make or brake Governor Shapiro's ability to veto, link: https://events.democrats.org/event/560871/
I agree, Maryk, I am not interested in convincing republicans. When we get voters to the polls, we get progressives elected, one vote at a time.
THIS brings me to my BIGGEST BITCH!! Why, WHY do we have elections at different times throughout the year?? We in Ohio KNOW why! Because studies have shown Republicans that far fewer people vote in August, or May, and therefore, the pigs can belly-up to the trough virtually unopposed. THIS is what needs to stop!! NO MORE SPECIAL ELECTIONS!! One day per year; and NOT in November!! Make it during a time when the weather is good - maybe late September, or around now, in mid to late May. But ONE PER YEAR, regardless. And make it a national day off, and a requirement. You didn't vote this year? Sorry, but we cannot renew your driver's license. Didn't vote? No discounts on your Medicare Part D for you. THIS is how we foster change in this country. We make it a National Day of Voting, come one, come all. Help your elderly neighbor get to the polls. Whatever we need to do to get everyone involved. Sorry about the length of this rant, but this is something that has bothered me since I was a kid. And it's SO SIMPLE!!
No apologies necessary for ranting, Daniel. It's sadly true and crazy. It would be sane and efficient if we were to arrange one single Election Day. However, as we have lemons, let's make lemonade. Sometimes there are office holders who resign at odd times and the positions have to be refilled necessitating special elections any time of the year. And some locations purposely put their elections at a time that nothing else distracting is going on, like the Virginia state elections that occur in odd/off years like '23. I actually prefer that so I can focus my attention on it instead of having to juggle everything at once. I appreciate that you care so much.
Seems to me that these special elections are an unnecessary extra expense. Plan better to make sure voting needs to happen no more than once a year (plus primary).
And I agree Election Day in November should be a holiday.
Be very careful about the use and beliefs about minorities. Take a look at the world. Look at how many countries are controlled by minorities and if that minority attaches itself to a religion, there is no hope.
I'm starting to see through the so called "balanced" both-side-ism even on the PBS NewsHour. How can you equate and give equal time and validity to Republicans that still support the Big Lie by not censoring those in their party that continue to push this disproven narrative.
Eileen, alas, I began noticing what I think of as "the fall of PBS news" about a decade ago. They used to have the 2 debaters presenting their points of view each Friday night which I found very interesting. bit by bit, I started seeing that Ted Cruz's nonsense in the Senate got at least as much coverage as President Obama's trip abroad or a speech he gave somewhere. I did write to them about it, but of course, the fake balancing act only increased as the 2016 election approached. For me, when Gwen Ifle passed, I found myself watching less often. I had found her the anchor of reason on the show. I had once been an every-nighter. Trump and his loud insulting ignorant mouth ranted on nearly every broadcast while we kept being reminded about Hillary Clinton's emails and the Ben Gazi hearings droned on with nothing new learned. Those hearings were put out there alongside Trump's general ignorance for weeks at a time. Judy Woodruf (not sure of the spelling) seemed to me to be more and more snarky. I couldn't see her expression as I am blind, but I heard her tone of voice. She presented Trump as though he had something enormous to offer and Clinton as an afterthought or something. It is hard to remember my exact feelings from back then. Clinton had done a lot to improve life for a lot of people: education in Arkansas, attempted to get an honest universal healthcare program put together (sabotaged by Republicans, of course), and served NY well as Senator. Yet, she was allowed to be maligned by Trump who had done nothing positive for anyone but himself, ever. That's when I left "The News Hour." I have not been back often. I will stop by occasionally to see if the level of coverage has improved. I think it has a bit, but not enough for me to move back in their direction. I wish I knew what we could do about this intense media bias that steadily pushes this nation rightward. The "right" has nothing positive to offer anyone, just like their cult leader yet get covered as though their hostage-taking is the fault of Democrats who just won't negotiate with Little Kevvy and his crew. That is just nuts! I keep hearing that in NPR too. I am guessing the same hand that screwed with "The News Hour" also is working on NPR too. I just saw a documentary on Clarence Thomas which was a milktoast version of Thomas's career from a pathetic childhood to the Supreme Court and rushing past his bad behavior all along. It even seemed to show him as the injured party in his Senate hearing for the Court. That, too was PBS. What a mess!
Yes, I watched that Frontline on Clarence and his wife. I will never forget how Anita Hill was treated and her testimony was ignored when the senate seated Thomas on the Supreme Court right before our very eyes. It was so hard to watch and here we are but the fight continues to right the ship.
Ruth Sheets ; I don't know if a consumer boycott of the companies that advertise on CNN would help to send a message; but if it is large enough it might. "Turn on, tune in and drop out" was effective when millions of young and old just stopped buying crappy food and things like Nestle products because they were aggressively trying to undermine breastfeeding with their formula marketing, even in maternity wards. Pressure on Monsanto and other companies poisoning our food chain made a difference in the quality of what we eat today, and educated the public. The gun problem speaks for itself. I would like to see President Biden use his executive powers as Commander in Chief to end the carnage in this domestic war against the human citizens, especially the women, who are more than half the population. He is currently a sitting President in a war situation. Our enemy is poised to get back in power. There should be NO ELECTION! until the criminals are brought to justice! No More 'Pardons' of those with whom tRump has been Complicit! The media is helping and giving comfort to the enemy!
No repubs can't be easily voted out of office. They have used many ways to take control of the voting districts including the way boundaries are drawn. Only God knows how many people they have paid off to get their way.
If only things were that simple! Come to my neck of the woods (central/southwest "red" Virginia) and see how "easily" Republicans are voted out of office! Like Never!
Tim - I'd take your friends & neighbors individually aside and remind them that NO ONE can see how they vote -- in the voting booth or mail-in ballot. No one has to disclose how they voted. So if suddenly a much larger number of Dem votes come in, well "quelle suprise". It may take more than one election to turn over a district or state, but a showing that there are "blue" voters out there, plus a reminder that no one will know how you vote, should be a good start,
Interesting point. I am one of those "secret blues", but most of the 'blue" voters are Black folks here. The "red" voters that I know have very deeply held biases, and it may not be possible to shake them loose no matter what. They have such distrust of government and especially Democratic Party government.
Ian, I agree with your assessment of the power of the wealthy corporations. It is true We the People allowed them to gain such enormous power. It is hard to make changes, though since the Congressional and state legislature puppets are OK with having their strings pulled to vote for just what those corporate puppet masters want. Maybe we need more members of Congress to point out what is happening (a few do) what is going on and just how many lobbyists are in Washington, constantly badgering members of Congress to do what they want and can even threaten them if they don't go along. I recently heard that Republicans are encouraging really rich guys to run for office because they can essentially buy their own campaign and have a free ride in Congress or state legislatures. That should never be allowed. It seems to me no candidate should be able to pour more money into his/her campaign than what any individual citizen should be able to contribute, and that should be no more than a couple of thousand dollars. We the People could demand these reforms, but candidates will just laugh in our faces because by the time they get to being a serious candidate for office, they are pretty aware of how the game is played and if they "play their cards right," they can stay in Congress for life with little to no effort, lots of power, and more money pouring in than they can count. NOT OK!
O yeah Loafergirl. We need RFK, Jr !! 🙃🤯Check out Vivek Ramaswamy (from a recent Seattle Times article): "After intense study of the Constitution, Ramaswamy said he believes that the awesome powers of the presidency would allow him to abolish the Education Department “on Day 1,” part of an assault on the “administrative state” . . . ." This same dude thinks RFK, Jr would make a great running mate. Spare us, please!
Neither Ramaswamy or RFK Jr are going to be viable candidates. Both are as bad as the MAGA on issues. They could be spoilers perhaps, but any sane Dem would not vote for either of them!
Having as many truth-tellers as possible in those halls is certainly helpful. However, the more important thing is for us to realize that we already know how to win. The pandemic just revealed it all too clearly. As workers and consumers, we don't even need all of us to be on board, just enough of us. The power of relatively small groups to put a company at risk by withholding their labor and purchases is what we need to wield...again. COVID forced us to do so and look what happened. All of a sudden, people were called essential. Firms lived or died by whether the damn facilities staff showed up let alone those doing sales, customer service, etc.
We need to call out those companies funding the worst politicians and policies and start by making an example of one of them. Just one to get things started and serve as a warning to others, and if they don't get in line, we tank another. Destroy their brand, boycott them, stand in front of their stores, guilt their customers and workers into staying away.....and on and on.
Ian: yes, just 'voting with our wallets' could have an effect, if there are enough numbers of participants in a boycott. Standing in front of stores could be risky these days though.
So how do we as individuals and/or groups "economically threaten the wealthy titans and firms"? What specific steps do we take to "focus on the real enemy," practically speaking? Please explain how "focus" translates into productive action. I ask because it is commonplace for progressives and anti-Capitalist advocates to insist that we must get rid of the corporations/corporate power that pull the strings of willing politicians. Yet almost all of us buy the products and services the corporations sell, so what leverage do we have to "threaten" them?
My business, United Poultry Concerns, is an animal rights organization. In this business it is commonplace to assert that we (society) must get rid of "factory farming." Great idea. The question is: How do we get rid of animal factories as long as the bottom line of animal agribusiness is Profits and Profitable given that consumers buy their products and our elected officials support animal agribusiness by voting taxpayer subsidies in the billions of dollars to agribusiness which is a Huge Lobby in Washington, DC. This Lobby includes all of the farmed-animal trade associations. the feed-mill industry, the pharmaceutical industry, the animal experimentation industry funded by our taxes via NIH, USDA, etc.) and all allied corporations including the Restaurant/food retail associations. Does this surprise anyone? If so, one reason is that the media do not report it. We might almost say that the mainstream media is itself a major agribusiness Lobbyist!
Disgustingly, the Biden Administration sided with the Pork Industry against a California Voter Initiative that, in 2018, voted for a minimal requirement for "egg-laying" hens, "veal" calves, and mother pigs to be able to MOVE their bodies just enough to be able to turn around in their cages, crates, and confinement stalls. The pork industry fought back, and the case went to the Supreme Court which voted 5 to 4 last week to uphold the CA law, based not particularly on any kindness or compassion for the suffering, immobilized hens, calves, and mother pigs, but for States Rights.
People say, "Get rid of the Corporations! "Get rid of the Politicians." Excellent ideas. But if we buy the corporations' products and services and politicians are motivated first and foremost by getting elected and reelected, how do we accomplish our goals in specific, concrete ways? What direct, personal EFFECTIVE actions do we take along with casting our votes, contacting our Members of Congress, organizing street protests?
volunteer with LWV and register voters, do voter education.
support orgs doing the work
Roberts of course voted against based on interstate commerce law. God forbid anything that could hindrance big business. If one pushed interstate commerce law to the max then states would have no say in so many things that impact their state's citizens. It's an interesting topic. There has to be some national standardization if we are to have viable workable commerce. I think you could say MSM is de facto lobbyist for big corp generally, speaking in aggregate.
George Carlin did a monologue titled the American Dream in 2009. This excerpt is spot on: "Forget the politicians. They are irrelevant. The politicians are put there to give you the idea that you have freedom of choice. You don’t. You have no choice! You have OWNERS! They OWN YOU. They own everything. They own all the important land. They own and control the corporations. They’ve long since bought, and paid for the Senate, the Congress, the state houses, the city halls, they got the judges in their back pockets and they own all the big media companies, so they control just about all of the news and information you get to hear. They got you by the balls.
They spend billions of dollars every year lobbying, lobbying, to get what they want. Well, we know what they want. They want more for themselves and less for everybody else, but I’ll tell you what they don’t want:
They don’t want a population of citizens capable of critical thinking. They don’t want well informed, well educated people capable of critical thinking. They’re not interested in that. That doesn’t help them. Thats against their interests.
Thats right. They don’t want people who are smart enough to sit around a kitchen table and think about how badly they’re getting fucked by a system that threw them overboard 30 fucking years ago. They don’t want that!"
There's more, but this part is exactly what you are saying, and it's 2023.
I agree. The corporations and fatcats are destroying the nation. The fatcats have organized media networks and lobbyists and leveraged Christian nationalism. They want a weak central government, and the Republican legislators want "freedom" so they can deal corruptly without hindrance. I am hopeful that Lina Khan and crew will finally bring antitrust suits in the near term. I am hopeful DOJ is going to do something soon. The ultimate remedy is the people themselves who do not seem to realize their civil obligations or the threats to themselves. Why would they ? Many more elected Dems at national level need to get aggressive and act like they understand the stakes.
The remedies that Reich offers are mostly to no avail for me. My elected officials at state and Federal level are all Republicans. Of whom do I demand that Trump be held accountable ? I could write to the Whitehouse. There are plenty of letters to the editor of the Post Dispatch that say that already. I have sworn off of CNN. I am registering many young voters. Maybe Reich et al can lead a targeted boycott against the worse corporate offenders- like an oil company. I have not called out Edward Jones who donates to my Republican Representative. That is something I should probably do in various ways, which i have done in the past. This has largely become an infowar which Dems nationally seem challenged in waging competently.
Well, I love this idea in theory. In practice, I just don't think it's realistic. Activism...sustained, targeted activism is so taxing and time-consuming, and I honestly believe one of the major failures of Democratic voters is holding onto this pipe dream that if they just protest enough and send enough email, their elected official will change their mind. I believe we have to have ask some tough questions about efficiencies. Knowing that we just cant do everything, that there are just so many people willing to do anything....where must we direct our efforts? What's the greatest ROI? To me, history has settled that debate: it's the corporations and donors and lobbyists...the ones pulling the strings.
May 15, 2023·edited May 15, 2023Liked by Robert Reich
You can say anything in America. Anything at all. Go ahead. Say it.
Except for one thing and one thing only. There is one thing that no one dare say.
Never, ever, ever criticize the economic system of capitalism. Ever.
Never ask, "Why do a few men such as Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates and Elon Musk have trillions of dollars while half the population (160 million Americans) live in or close to poverty?"
Why are the super wealthy (who so often obtain their wealth by nefarious means such as cheating their work force of a decent wage) not taxed at a reasonable rate as they were in the 1950s and 60s?
America is an oligarchy. It is not a democracy. Elections at the federal level are basically a sham.
I've admired and respected your work for decades, Dr. Reich. But why will no one (neither you nor anyone else) speak this fundamental truth?
PS Why has the federal minimum wage been stuck at $7.25 for about 15 years now? What happened to Biden's campaign pledge to raise the minimum wage? Who can live on that paltry sum? Is this not slavery by another name? After all the chattel slave owner, having paid good money for his "property" (sic) made an effort to keep him or her alive, housed and fed, however poorly. The wage slave owner doesn't care if his "slaves" live or die. There are always more lined up at the factory gate.
I agree. In my opinion, democratic capitalism is an oxymoron. As Michael Moore said in his Sunday substack, there is no democracy without economic democracy.
We have been taught that unregulated capitalism is THE freedom that drives our democracy!
That, in fact, unregulated capitalism is a synonym for democracy... I know many people who actually believe that supply/demand is analogous to Gravity! This is why ANY AND ALL constructive criticism of our economic system is UnAmerican and blasphemy!!!
Remember: the New Deal was an "artificial" interruption for the "natural" progression of an economic system that would have "fixed" itself and gotten us out of the Great Depression...
Amen. As I remind people all of the time....Occupy was crushed by BOTH parties. Once the Dems were done using the movement to dig them out of the hole Obama dug by letting Wall St get away with tanking the economy again, which allowed Romney to become a serious opponent, they crushed the whole movement. March for lives, against guns, for women and science.....but you bring up the money and how thing really work....that's when you learn who our supposed representatives really work for.
I recently read how Adolf Hitler became Chancellor of Germany. There were several political maneuverings by President Hindenburg. None of them worked very well to keep Hitler out of this office. Finally he was appointed to that office as they thought that they could control him. We all know the rest of the story.
Many hands contributed to his rise to power. Such is the workings of the republicans in this country. The Lincoln Project is pushing to eradicate not just Trump but Trumpism. I hope they succeed.
We are seeing republicans passing off the attempted coup as no big deal. In some countries around the world, this coup attempt would have been taken seriously. It would have been greeted with lethal force to the participants.
Michael, Yep, that is the way Fascism arose in Germany. The reason the extreme opposition to the coup attempt didn't happen here was that it was mostly white men involved. I know people don't like to hear it or think about it, but if it had been Black Americans staging such an event (or Jews staging one in Germany), there would have been blood on the floor, a lot of it. White men often get a free pass in our society because they are seen as the default setting for American. Of course, the title of "white" keeps changing and including more people whose skin is at least sort of white, but the approval must come from the Germanic/Anglo contingent. I suspect the next group to be included is white Cubans. They have been waiting for over 60 years for that. In gratitude, they will support Republicans to the death, and some already do and are entering the ranks of white supremacist groups. We have the warning of Germany to learn from, but alas, sometimes people choose to learn nothing. Admittedly, they are being carefully distracted with trans hatred, book banning, taking over curricula, anti-abortion crap, voter suppression, and more, but human beings have brains that can see beyond the nonsense if the desire is there. For Republicans and their independent white friends, the desire is not there.
For many Americans, we’ve been living a sort of caste American dream, not the American dream, and be we Republicans or Democrats, many of us never got out of high school and only a small margin managed to gain a college or university degree and for an even smaller few go on to achieve something other than a generational continuance of our place in our caste real-life realities. Many installments to this forum and the ongoing fourteen-week course on wealth and inequality show that the tea kettle has been whistling for a long time. Today’s read asking for the reader to act is fine, but given some in the audience in last week’s CNN TH and DH rhetoric of his personal reality spin, how the hell without all of those who say they believe in democracy, hold power and wealth, have influence, and can afford to enter the fray and walk away no matter the outcome, are really going to answer today’s call to action. (Top Democrats in W-DC and the rich and powerful Democratic voters likely don’t read this forum in high numbers)
Right, despite all the fuss the right makes about Ashley Babbitt's death, what is so remarkable to me is the restraint of the police defending the Capitol from the hordes of attackers. Planners, colluders, supporters, instigators & defenders of the attempt to overturn the election would've long ago been expelled if we had a normal response.
Judy Woodward of the PBS Newshour interviewed one of the Capital policemen after the coup attempt. He said that he was one of 4 policemen standing in front of the capital facing the onrushing crowd. He said that had they opened fire, they would surely have been killed along with many others as there were many assault rifles and other weapons being carried by members of the crowd. That is when they decided to simply try to contain the crowd as best as they could. It was an eye opening interview.
Had there been 100 or so National Guard troops in front of the capital that day at the beginning of this whole thing, In my view, there would not be any doubt who the perpetrators were.
Hong Wu of the Ming dynasty had a way of dealing with this. Not saying we should applaud Hong Wu. I am saying defense of democracy by dealing severely with those who would destroy it is defensible.
Trump is a lying fascist, a Goebbels without the intellect. For that reason alone, it is imperative to indict him and indict him quickly for his felonies, starting with the Georgia shakedown. Pussy grabbing charges don't cut it. Once convicted of a single felony he cannot run.
Next, the DNC needs to field a slew of liberal policies that will appeal to the 70% of Americans who are not nuts.
Michael, you are so right. Now, how do we get the fire lit under the folks in Georgia and Garland at the DOJ. Had Trump been just any other citizen who had broken the law the way he did, the person would already have been indicted, possibly convicted by now. I keep hearing how methodical Garland is, but methodical should not mean, do nothing to progress the indictment process. I know his special whatever should have gotten sufficient evidence by this point, so why is nothing happening. I suspect they are hoping they can keep the nothing going into next year when they can say, "too bad, it is an election year and we have a rule that says blah blah blah!"
You are expressing what the democratic party should be shouting from the rooftops every day.
One of the things that has me very worried is that Biden and his administration are far too complacent in the face of the ever increasing threat of "Trumpian fascism."
Trump's fascism is real, while the democrats seem to believe that what the Biden Administration has accomplished and what it aspires to achieve will have voters magically flocking to vote for them in 2024.
But this is far from the case, especially with the end of the pandemic safety net programs hurting many (which should have been established years prior), the Federal Reserve continuing to punished workers with ongoing rate hikes, and the DOJ still too scared to hold Trump accountable for his treason.
There is only one political party capable of saving this country from another disastrous Trump presidency in 2024 and that's the democratic party.
But if the Biden Administration takes voters for granted, as democrats have done in the past, this country is doomed.
Perfect rebuttal. Any future moderator confronting Trump has to be right back at him. In HIS FACE with the labels he has earned. Traitor. seditionist . Grifter. Don’t call him Mr President. He hasn’t earned the title . In fact, the majority of Americans never voted him into office. Remind Donald of the fact. And remind his audience/. And remind Americans that it is okay to reject the sad spectacle Donny has made of our democracy. Time to treat him with the contempt he has earned when confronting his lies and percersion. Tell him to his face he is CONTEMPTIBLE and that is the way history will remember him.
Keith Olbermann was correct that even Edward R. Murrow couldn't have rebutted Trump's storm of continuous lies. A moderator would have to be able to turn off his microphone in order to fact check and rebut, or else tape him and pause to rebut. If he doesn't agree to the format, don't allow him on the air.
Gloria, and, one of the things we know for sure, Trump may agree to a format, but will never follow it. He simply can't. He is so used to getting away with whatever he does and says, he can't see that any rules relate to him, so he breaks them and usually, with impunity.
Good point. That's why his microphone has to be turned off and on. But he would never agree to that or he would walk off the set the first time his mic was turned off.
Gloria, Yep, Baby Donnie would probably walk off stage once he figured out he was shut off, but it might take him a while and it probably would be a good thing if the moderator said something intelligent like, "I guess Mr. Trump can't handle truth in any form. That's too bad for his supporters who think they are hearing truth from him. They haven't been hearing truth from Donald Trump in years."
The problem, as I see it, is that the moderator of the various "debates" and "townhalls" that Trump has been involved in let him go on over his time, saying whatever he wants, lying with impunity, insulting the moderator and anyone else he doesn't like. Trump's microphone should have been immediately cut off when he put out one of his lies like "the 2020 election was rigged" or "I won the popular vote - twice" or "the January 6th event was just tourists or patriots, etc. The audience should be instructed to be silent unless they are the one specifically asking a question. I would have liked the moderator to say "You know, sir, that was a lie" or "That lie has been disproven years ago, let's move on." Avoid things like "You have just insulted me. Is that the best you can do, insult women who ask you questions about your behavior?" or You were found liable which means a jury of your peers believe you raped her. Besides insulting her, can you explain why this jury believed her?" or some other questions that could be pertinent but an open door to a lying, cheating narcissist like Trump. Asking for his reaction to the jury's decision gets us nowhere. Of course Trump would lie and claim they were just out to get him. Ask questions that force him to answer directly, not go off on a rant. The rant should get a turned off mic. In short, Trump should never have an hour and more to spew his lies and dysinformation. When a person lies in public over 30,000 times in 4 years, something is wrong with that person and his hold on reality. Don't give that person any kind of platform because you know he is going to lie and in the case of last Wednesday's fiasco, put out as many lies as he can in the period he is given while trying to "charm" the crazy audience who like Trump's lies as much as he does. CNN didn't want that kind of serious "townhall" because it would have made sense, people might have seen a bit more of ?Trump's ignorance and unwillingness to be informed about anything except how he can lie more effectively. Can't have that!
DeSantis, Repubs passed laws last week that allows any medical provider (except ER), that's doc, nurse, anasthesiologist, lab tech, etal And insurers to refuse service to anyone based on their "religious, moral or ethics beliefs". Waited for Potus, Dems response. Silence.
Also passed, effective Jun 1, dystopian immigrant law. Even includes LEO taking DNA, Hospitals have to ask for proof of citizenship. Employers lose license, and more. Felony charges if you give undocumented a ride or help. The day it passed, construction sites, roofing sites, agricultural, hospitality - became silent after workers fled. A few mumbles, but from the top, Silence.
Enablers are delusional to the danger they put themselves in sometimes, but danger to others, they never do. I'm looking at Dem's actions or lack of it more and more as enabling. To hear they were "delighted" that a major media outlet platformed a traitor to everything and everyone Americans hold confirms whatever you call their refusal to recognize the current danger or act to prevent it.
Corporations - the ones who seem to be in charge, care only about money. Perhaps nationwide strikes & boycotts, not protests, are a people's remedy. I don't see them caring one hoot if we protest. But they do seem to blow a gasket if they show a $10 loss in their quarterly reports. I just don't see complaining to Dems anymore will bring about a different result.
OK, I sent emails or web forms to my CA Secretary of State, my State Assembly member and my State Senator. Didn't think you would mind me plagiarizing you, Bob! Below:
Assemblymember xxxxxx,
Please consider passing legislation to refuse to put Donald Trump on the CA ballot — under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which bars anyone from holding office who, having taken an oath to support the Constitution, has engaged in an insurrection against the United States.
It is now democracy versus authoritarianism. There can be no compromise. And there must not be silence.
Several years ago, in the lead up to the 2016 election, I was walking my dog past my neighbor's yard. I was shocked to see a Trump sign on his lawn. We talked over the years, and I felt we were of a like mind, politically. I eventually asked the neighbor why the sign? He told me, politely, that America was on the wrong track and wanted change. The sign reappeared in 2020.
Two months ago, I saw this neighbor had a huge, used pick-up truck sitting in his driveway. My neighbor, his wife and son already own five cars, before the truck appeared. I asked him about the truck. I was hoping he would say, oh, I'm into off-roading (or whatever it's called). Instead, he said, "I'm ready to do my part to change America."
Trucks, guns, lies, riots. I've decided that it's a piece of the plan to take over our country. We're still litigating the Civil War that didn't really end in the 1860's.
at I can to
Folks, if my formerly mild-mannered neighbor has changed course, I'm at a loss as to what I can do -- except vote. I live in Delaware -- a state that has reliably voted Democratic in national elections. There are small signs, though, this might be changing.
I have no idea where Trumpism is going, but I do know that I have to do what I can for as long as I can to try to save the US from fascism. My parents didn't immigrate from the UK so I can take a pass on defending what they thought was -- and I still think is -- important.
Alarm bells are ringing in the UK. Today, we have the eighth "National Conservatism Conference" (NatCon) opening for three days. Speakers will include the extreme right wing of the Tory party, your very own J.D. Vance, and many others who espouse subjects such as "replacement ". There will be anti-vaxxers, supporters of the Hungarian PM Viktor Orban, who promotes White Christian Nationalism, and many others with views that used to be kept quiet. Thanks in large part to Loser 45, it's now OK to to tell lies openly and frequently, to denigrate "others" . Our Home Secretary, a daughter of immigrants, who is "dreaming" of sending those who have entered our country in small boats and so forth (because there are *no other* routes for safe asylum seeking) to Rwanda, a country noted for its appalling human rights record. She has referred to them as "swarms". A famous ex-footballer and now renowned sports pundit Gary Lineker was castigated for saying that our government was "using the rhetoric of Germany in the 30's" was absolutely right.
Exactly right, Robert. Trump is an evil force trying to destroy our democracy. The good people of this country must fight or we will be like Nazi Germany. Trump is following Joseph Goebbels strategy to a T: Tell a lie. Make it big. Keep repeating it and people will believe it. With Trump and the current Republican Party, we will no longer be the leader of the free world.
To all My Fellow Americans:
I ask you Sincerely who would you prefer your children to grow up to be like, Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. our 46th President or Donald John Trump the 45th and former President ?
I know many of you feel like the Government has let you down and you want to protest. If you think Trump is going to straighten it out and make it better for you, you are sadly mistaken. He’s a one man demolition expert! He can and will destroy our Democracy.
As voters we have the power to change our country. As Patriots we must support our Government and vote in people who will take the oath of office and mean it. They are there to work for ALL OF US not the billionaires and corporate executives!
I listened to a 17 minute podcast from February 9, 2018 called The Resistance Report with Robert Reich “Divide and Conquer”. So much of that podcast is still true today!
Mr. Reich, you are a very wise man. Thank You
Knew of Trump in the 90s and he was a deadbeat loser, going belly up and stifing others yet his nonthinking fans love him for that. Used to work out with a wrestller in the 60s and Trump fans are like pro wrestling fans, not very educated.
I would agree with the pro wrestling anology. Not well educated, well 51% of people 25 and up have little education, thats 89 million people. I fit into the above category and took offense at the deplorables comment back in 2016 and voted for Trump. Dont push the "uneducated" away as a voting block. They make up 26% of the population. We need everyone we can get to stop Trump and to recover the house for the Dems. I think messaging is a big part of the Dems problem. If they pushed even half of what Robert Reich or even Bernie Sanders talks about youd see populism of a non autocratic sort.
90% of GenZs voted for Democrats in 2022. The young people also ignore polls. They are our hope and future. They are also angry and voting at higher numbers than any other generation when turning 18!
Out in force when the Justins got expulsed and then reinststed at the Tennesee capitol. That was a wonder to behold.
I live in Tennessee and lost my state representative in November through gerrymandering. My new idiot is a liar and went on national tv to support TN actions.
My son also lost his representative in the US House when the GQP split Nashville into three parts polluted with rural folk.
Since the Covenant shooting, our governor (who lost a close friend) has done a 180 in support of gun control, but his party won’t have it.
I live in Memphis, which is the red-headed step child of the state. We are blue as is Nashville. Too many red neck farmers have diluted our voices. This state sucks!
Need to get Dolly Parton, Kenny Chesney, etc involved. East Tennessee is almost entirely poor yet Republican. Taylor Swift is one of the most influential Democrats the past two election cycles. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qRpDw3LZgM
We moved to TN in 2017 - Davidson County. We used to have a "D" represent us in the House but gerrymandering by the Repub's left us with no representation. We will move back to WA when the g'kids grow up -can't wait.
Just one thing, Joyce. You lost me at "polluted with rural folk." This is a sweeping dismissal of a group of people, and it's exactly how the fascists want you to think. I'm a "rural folk" with a master's degree retired from a successful publishing career. I know a lot of rural folk just like me. I also know rural folk who are, as they say, "the salt of the Earth." They're smart, they know how to get by, and we'll be begging them to feed us when the apocalypse arrives.
Inbred idiots
Joyce ; Better to vote than buy an AR-15!
A friend owns one and says it is fun to shoot. “Fun” is not a good reason to allow these on the streets.
My M-79 grenade launcher was more fun than my M-16.
Even my former NRA member relatives don't like the NRA.
Yeah, sure, I’ll bet dynamite sticks are fun to throw also.
I am so disappointed in Prof. Reich's piece today I can hardly write. Of course his passionate warnings are admirable. But after about 25 paragraphs cataloging Trump outrages (again), what does he call for?
"Speak out against..." "Demand accountability..." "Condemn the media..." or my favorite, "Urge election officials to refuse to put him on the ballot" (oh yeah, that'll happen). How about what we can actually do today?!!
Hey, the Republic is burning! It's long past time to be yelling "Fire!". We need people to be climbing ladders and turning on the hoses.
As Prof. Reich says, "The Danger is Now". So we must act now. We need to hand a stinging defeat to the MAGA extremists who sit on influential committees in the House of Representatives. That is the front line where our defenses have already been breached.
The Trumpian fascists Mr. Reich refers to are precisely the ones (acting through their puppet Speaker McCarthy) solely repsonsible for pushing America to the brink of default. And if not stopped, MAGA and McCarthy will be further empowered to bring about a government shutdown in the Fall.
And that is where you and I can take action today, without even leaving our desks. We need to flood the phone lines and mailboxes of these eleven moderate Republicans:
John Curtis (UT-3), Ashley Hinson (IA-2), Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-1), David Joyce (OH 14), Victoria Spartz (IN-5), Don Bacon (NE-2), Mike Gallagher (WI-8), Andrew Garbarino (NY-2), Nancy Mace (SC-1), Dan Newhouse (WA-4), and David Valadao (CA-21
Because there is no alternative, a bipartisan majority (likely to include some or all of the above) will necessarily emerge in the House to pass a debt ceiling increase. When that happens, that same majority must take the next step:
Remove Kevin McCarthy from the Speakership and replace him with a moderate Republican who owes nothing to the MAGA extremists.
This is a moment of maximum vulnerablility for both Mr. McCarthy and MAGA. They must be stopped, right here and right now! You can help! Learn more here:
www.FeathersOfHope.net or JerryWeiss.Substack.com
.
We need to flood the phone lines and mailboxes of donors (manufacturers and bankers) to those sobs.
I suggest that people ask the government to allow voting on Saturday Sunday Monday and Tuesday so everyone can vote no matter what job they do.
8000,000 new voters Gen Z in 2024!!
There is a real ongoing effort to make more poorly educated citizens. This is what happens when books are banned, some subjects criminalized, teachers and librarians are harassed, colleges are super expensive, the educated are mocked, school board meetings are raucous, ....I can go on and on. We heard him say it, “I like the uneducated “. The uneducated can be manipulated, follow the crowd, are not equipped to be critical thinkers. The uneducated vote against their interests.
One of the first things dictatorships do is silence the educated and teachers. Not just in Nazi Germany, but all over the world.
True DK Brooklyn ; It was illegal to educate slaves.
Your last paragraph should have an example, like starting with Florida. It gets worse every day.
He actually said, "I love the poorly educated!" Trouble is, they believed him...
Unfortunately, you are right
Another thing they do is ask the less educated who the smart people are, then they round us up in a field and shoot us in the head. This comes later. Right now would be too soon.
Republicans support Lex Luther in a world without Superman.
Both Lex Luther and Superman represent centralized power, ie great wealth/power, I would say Conservative Billionaire vs Liberal Billionaire. Neither of which can fix our current problem. Our movement can benefit from a centralized figure to rally around but that is at odds with the idea of decentralizing power. So how do we have a person to rally around without conferring to them too much power? Woof, I dont know the answer to that one.
Bill R ; We have President Biden, who has considerable power, doesn't he? add to that, Jack Smith, Letitia James, Alvin Bragg and Fani Lewis. We have Senators who are investigating the 'Supreme Court' scandals. Justice has been slower than it should be, but it is in process. CNN is on the hot seat.There could be more defamation lawsuits too: Now against media promoting tRump's lies against his successful accuser. Stand by.
Yeap, the hypothetical was superman. The equivalent liberal in our world would be Bezos, Bloomberg or Gates. I am a hard pass on billionaries fixing the main issue. They can only work on symptoms because they dont want to give up their power.
The US Constitution has an answer to that, and it worked well for over two hundred years. The separation of powers is one of its mechanisms.
If the separation of powers is actually followed.
The 14th Amendment is one way. Martial Law is another. Lincoln did it in 1861 and save the Union.
I'd like to hear details of history surrounding that decision to invoke Martial Law. Mr. Reich is able and elderly, but not old enough to give us his personal wisdom of experience about it, I believe.
14th amendment should work in Blue states. What happens when x amount of states dont except a candidate as legitimate, obviously then there would be a problem if the supreme leader won the electoral college. Then who would be considered "rebelling?" Obviously Red states couldnt 14th amendment back, but that doesnt mean their state houses couldnt pull some gerry mandered majority rulings crap to deny the legitimacy if Biden won. It would need to be blue and some red states 14th amendment action to work.
Ans. Anybody who could beat Randy Savage.
No Superman in WWE.
Macho man is coming! Misogynistic, believed his lies and with an orange tint. Definitely a good simily for the supreme leaders current resurgence.
You read the Constitution of the United States. Their original idea of the presidency was that it was more like the status of a temporary government bureaucrat than of its Chief (except for the armed forces). Actually, militaristic rightwing dictatorship represents either the accomplishment of, or a regression to, the fourth paradigm. In this case, most of the world is in regression mode. It's good-bye to the (usually short-lived) fifth paradigm. It was a fantastic party, and it happens once or twice every thousand years; it never lasts longer than a few generations because the fourth paradigm is overloaded with real, material weight, carrying heavy gravity. It's hard for five to stay alive and thrive. I can only hope that in the future we'll have village learning environments, safer children, and Lincolnesque village communities. This heavenly wish is for five to finally break through and find its rightful place in our culture. Think, make friends, and love like a pentagon. Link a handful of pentagons together and what does it make? ("It makes the whole damn village.")
tRump puts Lex Luthor in the shade, he's so awful! He also is not a cartoon! Hopefully, more voters than ever will see this and actually vote!
Lex was racist and anti immigrant to extremes. Not a bad simily.
Very apt simile
As you obviously know there is a big difference in being uneducated and being just plumb ignorant. The uneducated can take a positive step toward being educated. You obviously have and it shows. The ignorant can have degrees up the wazoo and nothing in the world can or will ever change their minds. Add to this bunch those who will forever be finding grievances with the world over something totally out of their control. They’re the ones looking for a strong man or authoritarian rule because they don’t have a clue about how that form of government works.
Perhaps this is cherry picking. To prove your point I know of 3 friends, relatives who are MAGA. One has a high school diploma, one has an associates and the other a masters degree. I've had the best luck talking with the high school diploma guy as he is the worst off economically. Associates thinks Elon Musk is a goal to aspire too and we all just need to work harder, the Masters Degree is a Christian National, him I havent even attempted.
My brother with two degrees is similar. There is no discussion where he will yield the floor. He Must rule.
Exactly the same. Its like we are all students that need to be schooled and arent allowed to have our own opinions. You know exactly why I havent tried with that one.
That NEVER means he's intelligent.
People I know who voted for Trump: one high school education; two with associate degrees; one RN degree; 6 with college degrees; 2-4 with MBA's; one with MA; one with PhD. and one MD.
SPW; The idealists want simple, at any cost, it seems. Democracy is messy. No guts, no glory!
Idealism was what drove many of the founders of this country. Getting the Constitution ratified though was where idealism and reality butted heads. The big question of slavery arose. Compromises were made ad the can got kicked down the road, probably until this country ceases to exist because no one wants to face the consequences of those compromises. When we fail to grow we stagnate and die.
I have a first cousin that has multiple degrees from multiple universities in medicine and is a psychologist now, but up until a few years ago he always came to me to do his income taxes. I was a bookkeeper for a very small business for 15 years in addition to my regular job. I guess he must have thought i was more qualified than him for doing income taxes.. go figure.
My cousin i referred to is a gay male, and also a TUMP cult follower. I rarely speak to him any longer because he LOVES TUMP.
I’m sorry for your loss.
I also fit into the ‘not well educated’ category, having only a high school education, but I abhor Trump. Having traveled extensively throughout the country I find that it’s not uneducated people, but rather rural people who are the Trump Devotees and ‘cult’ followers.
Valuable observation. It appears to be true all over the world. This urban-rural divide suggests that what we learn early in life carries more weight than what we learn in college.
I think the low income from family farms with the domination of monopolies setting the prices they are willing to pay for meat is causing the problem. Urban Dems have no clue about it nor try to address the issue. So rural voters go elsewhere.
Yes, I hate to admit I've seen this myself, driving over the countryside. However, there are many properties that don't advertise Trump. Nor do they fly American flags. As liberals, we need to fly the American flag. The rural countryside is rife with them, along with old withering Trump flags and signs. We're allowing what's left of the Republican party to abscond with the flag that's supposed to fly for all Americans. Does this happen in your neighborhood?
I kind of fit in to '' not well educated'' as i have a high school education and less than 1 year of Tech college but at least i do have an above average IQ. I actually hate and despise Donald TUMP with a white hot rage. I live in a rural area of NW Georgia and the insanity around me is astounding. One TUMP lover that knows i am a hard core Democrat tried to keep me from going down the dirt/gravel road he lives on just before the Presidential election in 2020. The road is owned by the county, but he says it's his road. I just kept going down the road and gave him a ''go to hell'' look. He hasn't tried that stunt anymore with me, and goes to show that these MAGA fanatics are just cowards and they will back down if you stand up to their sorry, no good. fascist beliefs. He flies a big TUMP sign on a flagpole along with an American flag. He is nothing but a big greasy lard bag just like TUMP is. He is a huge TUMP cult follower and so is his scumbag wife.
And have little or no access to broadband and perhaps a different mentality than city slickers.
Thank God we have Laura Kelly who is trying to be as bi-partisan as possible in the very red State of Kansas.
Bill Reitz ; I agree that low rating 'uneducated' voters is not a great idea. I have 84 college credits, but no degree. I also read a lot and have some 'street smarts'. I may even have considered voting for tRump when he lifted talking points from the very popular (and deservedly so) Bernie Sanders. Bernie has had many voters in Vermont, where his political career got going, who were dyed in the wool Republicans, He turned a rural red state into a purple/blue state, because he is that good. So let's not be 'hoity' about whether a voter is 'college educated'. The Dems were too focused on 'the money' and here we are! tRump paid attention, (even though he did not deliver!), and brags that the 'Republicans now have the working class". We are smarter than that! He doesn't pay!
I wanted to vote for Bernie in 2016 and 2020. He was denied the ticket - much better than the corporate Democrats Clinton and Biden; however, I would vote for Freddie the Freeloader over Trump.
Im no fan of the superdelegates and all these votes that dont represent voters in Dem primaries. Part of why Bernie bowed out. Guess I will find out what thats all about this coming election. My neighbors wife,
and my friend shes passed now had met Hillary personally when she visited the PBA she worked at. She said Hillary seemed completely fake. Part of one of reasons I voted against her. In retrospect that was bad, Trump was worse than a corporate democrat. After reading Robert Reichs The System, Who rigged it and how we fixed it and Anand Ghirdarhadas both showed that Clintons both got sucked into the corporate democrat idea. We can fix problems with private business! No you cant it only creates bigger problems then attempts to bandaid the symptoms of those problems. Fix the laws so business cant take advantage as much as it does.
I wrote a piece for my local paper: "In love with Bernie—In line with Biden" Although I've been totally excited about Sanders' perspective, the year Biden announced I fell right in line. We needed at that moment, someone who was deeply experienced throughout the entire government over a 50+-year career. Trump pushed out some of the furniture, and rearranged the rest of it. We needed what has amounted to a quasi-restoration to Regular Order. We needed to keep the government running as we're used to expecting it to be run, and Biden with his experience and grit has been the man to do it.
Dunning Kruger effect. #idiots that don't know they are
Just like an abused girlfriend or spouse staying in an abusive relationship. MAGAs who are used to abuse in their lives feel that the MAGA movement which focuses on abuse, othering and superioity is comfortable. So they don't leave. Are they idiots? Are they ignorant? Or are the majority of them decent folks in an abusive relationship?
They are also surrounded by friends, family relatives, and their community that are all brainwashed into groupthink. If they even try to debate or go against what those around them say they lose their support system and would be ostracized, and the price to pay for individual thought is too much to pay, and they wouldn't survive without their community if they went against what those around them think, and believe.
You know, you just gave me a thought I hadn't had before. It's very likely that everyone's craving community, because our natural instincts are to live and love in groups of about 35 people, plus a small amount of acquaintance with overlapping groups. I am living where what I describe above is the norm, and I feel safer in the broadly-cast community I've discovered, and joined two decades ago. Not everyone has such a community, and these are the vulnerable ones; they can't thrive or move forward without this basic human need being met. When such people get corralled into a cult, the overwhelming power of belonging to a community, at last, makes it highly necessary to defend it, in every way they can think of, including the lies that get included in their subsequent mission statements. We all need to form our own village learning environments, in order to weather the coming storms. The children will be safer with us, than in school. We'll make good friends with all the teachers we continue to pay, who keep track of what our kids are learning, and who guide them into the next part of that.
Corporate media WILL NOT ALLOW DEMS TO SPEAK!
Marj KJ ; especially those like Bernie or Robert Reich, who have facts and are not afraid to tell them without apology.
You voted for Donald Trump because you're insecure about how uneducated you are? Wow.
Tom; if you are responding to me, please note that I CONSIDERED voting for him ; until I got a load of some facts; for instance; he bilked students in Trump University, he abused a charity by using the funds in a way that was fraudulent. He abused women. Even raping his wife while pulling her hair. I heard the tape about grabbing them by the p#$$y, and much more. He talked about s#!t#ole countries and called residents of Detroit 'stupid' , because they would not vote for him. His racist statements caused attacks on Black and Brown people. He is an uncool face, for sure!
It appears as my comments have put you on the defensive. Which goes to my whole point of not putting 86 million voting age voters on the defensive by disparaging them. I take responsibility for my vote and I regret voting for him greatly. I do not take offense at your comment.
You are absolutely correct. Do not disparage any voter because they vote differently than you do. CNN should give an hour of rebuttal to someone on the liberal team. And maybe some of these corporate leaders can see where our country is headed if Trump prevails and quit their massive donations to his defense and campaign. Come on people! We’re better than just money driven fools, aren’t we? aren’t we?
Most of us are better. Some have more money than brains or ethics.
YES to a rebut on CNN. Put Joe Biden at the podium and surround him with all his high profile supporters.!!! One hour!!!!
Thank you being inclusive Lorna. Its the only way forward.
Your previous comment about voting for Trump because the "deplorables" comment offended you confused me because you go on to seemingly support Bernie (btw, I will support Bernie, his policies, and candidates like him until the day I die). Yes or no...did you support Bernie in the primaries in 2016?
As I was an independent at the time I could not vote in the primaries. I didnt know that much about Bernie until after 2016. I would and can vote in the Dem primaries now. My beliefs I wear on my sleeve. Pro Robert Reich, Pro Bernie, Anand Ghiradahadas, anti-billiomaire/rich corporation influence pedling, pro election reform.
Completely agree here, Bill. We need every vote to right the ship and quite frankly, the Democrats platform is better for all, including those with less education. I'm still amazed that Democrat's policies find such resistance from the very groups that would benefit. If we point out the Democratic party's policy stances that help the folks that Trump currently has entranced, some may discover they've been voting against their interests, vote blue and cast a vote to help themselves instead. We won't win them all but we may win some. We're all in this together, regardless of how much schooling we've had and we need every oar rowing in the direction of progress.
C. Jacobs: I like the way you're thinking.
Thanks Sandra B. There are more of us out here sharing more core beliefs than we often feel, or networks would have us believe. If the misled and misinformed feel empowered to share their views, which have been repeatedly disproved since Gipper rolled them out to the masses, we should have confidence pointing to policies that worked and the positive effects they've had on everyday people.
Hell yeah
The gloves are coming off. That’s a good thing.
Thank you, Mr Reitz for making the distinction between "uneducated" and "unwilling or unable to learn" (or, more bluntly, "stupid"). The resentment that disdain instills is a weapon that Criminal Defendant Trump uses to his advantage.
Despite (or maybe because of) my Master's degree, I'm respectful of the fact that much, maybe most, of human progress through the centuries occurred without the benefit of universities. And also without the baleful influence of variously biased mass media -- our most ubiquitous teaching tool.
Thank you. The people who are hurting are the middle class and the poor. Trying to play the less poor than thow game is like the pot calling the kettle black. Fighting is exactly what the people and corporations with money/power want us to do. I feel safe in assuming that most everyone on this substack is of the income level where the rich share $99 for every $100 of GDP and we all share a $1. Fighting over table scraps makes no sense. Its better to appeal to all groups in our income bracket equally. Every vote counts. Covid seemed to perfect Silo'ing of information and groups as shown by the MAGA resilience in 2022. If we cant figure out how to recruit certain groups the best we can do is not piss them off.
Really? You were butt hurt by the word deplorable when your guy says grab em by the pussy, mocks a disabled reporter on National tv and you’re offended by the word deplorable?? Are you fucking kidding me? You’re exactly what’s wrong with this country. You’re a fucking hypocrite who has the thinnest skin on this earth
I think the course of events that you have stated is a little out of order. Back in 2016 none of the things you mentioned were known at least not publically. I would say that the hostility you are registering was not caused by me but by other influences or perceived wrongs you have experienced (albeit recently from the CNN Town hall). You wouldnt be the first person to be pissed about that as am I. A good book to read that may help you is "Prisoners of hate: The Cognitive Bias of Anger, Hostility, and Violence" by Aaran T Beck. It has helped me to recognize when I am offended by what a person did, not because they were trying to offend me but because I thought they were.
We have to remember that undereducated doesn't mean "stupid." Bernie Sanders appeared on a Fox town hall and gained a standing ovation (Hillary Clinton refused to appear on one). Sanders met Fox viewers where they were instead of insulting them, and he was able to win them over. The Democrats have to remember this and do the same in 2024.
I saw through Trump in the ‘80’s. People Magazine did a sparkle piece on Donald and Ivana as the new genius real estate developer and wife as up and coming A listers of New York society. Surely paid for by Fred Trump. He wanted them to be the “face” of his companies. So, I started paying attention to what The Trumps were up to.
Fred was stupid enough to hand Donald any power. All it took was two sentences out of his mouth, and legitimate investors knew he had no idea what he was talking about. In a few short years, it was evident to the financial community Trump was an thug. A mob-boss wanna be and only Fred and Ivana were capable of hold him back for a short while. Unable to borrow money from any US banks, Donald went looking elsewhere for financial backing and willingly to work with strings attached.
Bingo! A Useful Idiot lands in Putin’s lap.
His personal behavior is that of a rutting ram with deep seated emotional mommy and daddy issues. I’m sure Marla Maples was the last thing Vladimir had in mind when she insisted they marry over her pregnancy, even though the nuptials took place after Tiffany’s birth.
Melania pulled Donald back in the fold, but she needed an anchor baby. Another child for Donald where marriage was an after the fact occasion.
Ivanka...just eewwee.
Hadn’t thought of Trump for years until Obama showed up and Trump mumbled something about running for POTUS. By the time Trump was hemorrhaging money, Vlad and dark money knew what they had, a talented no brain who could convince a certain audience of mediocre education and chips on their shoulders that they’ve been had. And dark money poured from Republicans, oligarchs and American wealthy fascists corporations. Hence the weird counterintuitive notion of why are the billionaires AND the blue color deprived of constitutional protections like voting rights living in highly gerrymandered states with poor education, healthcare, opportunity for higher education and wages backing the same guy??
Sorry to go on, but this shows how old I am and that I can clearly recall an article I read in the ‘80’s that alerted my deep down defenses that I was reading about a predator. It was almost like a premonition that was sent out from the truth of the Earth itself.
I was there in NYC, too. As you say, "just eewwee"
me to
I agree. Only it was Fred who sold his soul to the mob already shortly after WWII. They (Italian mob) owned Don from the day he was born, just like the Russian mob has its hands on his kids now. The money Don handled hardly ever was his own.
Yeah, during the first few months Trump was in office he often spoke exactly like he’s an Italian mobster. It wasn’t obvious while he was campaigning, but he let his guard down after
he was installed in the WH.
Socio-pathological sadists, anyway.
The GOP base believes it is defending the country from attack. Notice I didnt say Democracy. As devotees of the supreme leader would rather have him in power than Democracy. This belief is enforced by constant lies and sound bites by the GOP and compicit media outlets (now including CNN).
He tried to screw a company my husband represented in the ‘80s.
Joyce ; I have a customer who is a retired corporate contractor. He told me that tRump is known to not pay construction workers for their work. It's known throughout the industry.
He’s known to not pay anyone. This was a computer leasing company. He leased equipment to run his casino and refused to pay for it. When my husband told him he was starting the paperwork to repossess the equipment and close his casino, Trump paid; however, he was rude and condescending every step of the way. Believe it or not, Weismann was the “nice guy” who he was able to reason with. 😂😂
*sigh* Sadly I've seen this before. Screw over a lot of people and fight really hard not to pay and a lot of folks will just eat it. Have some business that gets through but charge an arm and a leg for it and use low quality parts. The "thriving business" can be used to gain more clientelle who will be robbed in a pyramid scheme format. As the money runs out staty up a new scheme. Eventually the bill comes due. If it wasnt for whatever criminality connections he has hed be penniless by now. A schmo like us doing it loses everything.
Mine, too! The company my husband represented was in the casino players card business. You know, his bankrupt casinos...where people give you money and you give them nothing...
And his filthy casino failed.I can just imagine how many times the 'house' won and scammed the players.He's vile.
Jim Jordan is a well educated wrestler. Goebbels was fairly well educated. Much depends on the kind of education you get, and educations starts at home, in early childhood. Parochialism is hard to overcome.
And A LOT of Dunning Kruger effect. Idiots.
I would like our children to grow up in states that limit guns, give women freedom to control their own bodies, who teach real American history, where voting rights are protected, where LBGTQ+ people are not victimized, where gerrymandering is outlawed. That is only going to happen if the 29 states controlled by the Republicans become bipartisan or Democrat.
Come to Michigan. We voted to have women in control of their bodies, and governor
Whitmer is a real badass. This state even has bonus money. We need to work on the
gun stuff, but we are headed in the right direction. Right now Michigan is Democratic.
Yes I know, the people saw how dangerous the far right was in the state and they made a change. We need this to happen in 29 states in 2023.
Y’all have worked and have done a fine job. Congratulations Now, keep it that way.
Happy to hear it!
If about a million Democrats move to the Dakotas and Wyoming, and if the Native Americans become Democrats, everything can change.
Or D.C. and/or Puerto Rico acquire statehood.
This is HOW they can get statehood.
Enough Puerto Ricans living in the states because no SSI in PR, could change everything by relocating. . https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-usa/2022/04/puerto-ricans-decry-scotus-decision-denying-them-social-security-benefits
And don't forget about the part of Minnesota I call "East Dakota."
Migration of people from California (a very liberal state) in order are Texas, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, Washington and Colorado. The states of North and South Dakota, Wyoming, and Montana have no jobs to offer people. Native Americans vote Democrat all of the time.
You don't know the Native American vote -- especially in the Dakotas. I have met many tribal leaders, up close and in person, who are Republicans. Historically Democrats opposed Native American citizenship. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/29/opinion/north-dakota-senate-native-american-voters.html Many Native Americans refuse to vote.
Here in Florida, the Seminoles/Miccosukee are mostly Republican -- due to gambling.
California is not the center of the universe. Actually the economies of Wyoming and North Dakota are doing well. Consider Oklahoma - more Native Americans per square inch than any other state. Native Americans in office are all Republicans. https://cole.house.gov/media/press-releases/cole-becomes-longest-serving-native-american-house
And SSI and other governmental benefits are portable. In the south, many argue that Blacks should leave states like South Carolina and TN and change the demographics of N. Carolina, GA, AL, MS.
I do not know the voting laws in many of these states but if they are Red than I can assume that the Native Americans are possibly not being allowed to vote as easily as white folks. California is not the center of the universe it is the most populous state in the country. People are leaving that state and immigrating to other western states. The Dakotas are not the place people are moving to.
I like the suggestion that blacks from S. and N . Carolina's, TN. Should move to GA, AL, MI.
Actually the rich are moving here (Baghdad By the Sea) and to places like Austin , Texas from California. Just because people haven't relocated to the Dakotas is because they don't know as much about them. Once upon a time, North Dakota was extremally progressive. There was a farm/labor coalition. Now, controlled by extreme right wingers.
North Dakota's economy started to boom about eight years ago due to advances in hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, and by 2014 it had the fastest growing economy in the nation. Created boom towns. Started to diversify. Population ballooned to 779,094, a nearly 16% jump since 2010. https://www.axios.com/2018/10/18/america-surprise-economic-powerhouse-north-dakota
The reason I highlight the Dakotas and Wyoming is that they have small populations. DC, which doesn't have a vote in Congress, has a bigger population than the state of Wyoming. More displaced Puerto Ricans living in say, Connecticut, than the number of Republicans in Wyoming that control 2 Senate votes.
I appreciate the term "catastrophizing" used in the following piece. I also think Sharpton is exactly right: https://youtu.be/1An20_2n418 We've been wringing our hands over CNN and >voluntarily< giving ol' Tweety more attention, of late, when we should in fact be focusing on issues such as: https://youtu.be/iRWZg7LuqlQ In order to beat ol' Tweety, we >must< beat his supporters, for whom he is the lightning rod. His supporters are the "pyramid" upon which ol' Tweety sets like a capstone. They're the atmosphere that buoy's up his "hot air balloon!" He's >not< the real problem. He's the symptom. He's the puke we upchuck after swallowing poison.
A little more relevant to my point: https://youtu.be/ZDfmyHRDyFs
Even more to the point: https://youtu.be/y2z7laSKVW8 Don't let the separation of powers language obscure the "checks and balances" reality.
To follow-up on checks and balances and beating his MAGA-Confederate base: https://youtu.be/EzTr7AdwS6A
And I couldn't possibly make >this< point better than ol' Randy does: https://youtu.be/R2M5ZeJSZHM LOL!
And now a view from the White House: https://youtu.be/cuNwM1zM0gk
My thoughts exactly. What horrified me about the CNN Trump spectacle was to see how his supporters behaved. I believe it WAS in the interest of democracy to show that. It only becomes propaganda if CNN fails to show the other candidates or continues to prop up only Trump. However I do agree its scary times and our democracy is in peril. At age 70ish this is the least safe I have ever felt in my own country.
I've had that feeling also, 80ish. This is the first tiNe I've ever had the experience of wondering when my Trump neighbors will start breaking my windows, being a famous (around here) supporter of Biden (from the day he first announced he was running). On a busy rural corner with a marque-size Biden sign. Then I noticed it was Trump all way down the 15-mile road to town, even 10 months after he lost the election. My reaction has been to fade back, if I still can do that. AND, in response to the first part of your paragraph above, think of all the flak the American Civil Liberties Union caught when they defended Nazi's having a parade in Washington, DC, several decades ago. By this same type of rationale, which I think is valid, the ALCU wanted us to see the Nazi's for what they are, and they wanted American fairness to prevail, because it was more important to uphold that, than it was to worry that Nazi's might recruit a few misguided souls.
>That's< why I didn't get hyper-critical of CNN in the recent discussion. I took criticism from one person that Anderson Cooper was just telling us what we've known since '16. Perhaps >we're< not the target audience Cooper's trying to remind. Remember the attention span and memory of the general public! Jury's still out on CNN in my mind. I'm thinking of the CNN journalists who have not yet been canned and have made no secret of their opinion of CNN's new management policies. Since the way I consume CNN journalists doesn't require I have cable access, I can be more selective about who I listen to and when I listen to them, while I'm not yet convinced Anderson Cooper, for example, has sold out to "the dark side."
DZK ; Remember the attention span and memory of the media!
But don't forget: what drives public attention is what they hear about in the news. For example, in the Media Bias Fact Check, one of the metrics is what kind news an outlet publishes - what public issues does it raise with the news they report. So the media attention span isn't so important as how it intends to direct the public attention, while the public tends to forget about what hasn't been reported in a while. In that respect, the media attention span and memory is a bit of a canard. They know what they're doing. They know what they want people to know, and more importantly, what they want the public to forget about. Go out and ask someone on the street to tell you who Rodney King is and see what kind of response you get, for example. Indeed, the public can be expected to keep track of only so much. That's part of the rationale behind representative democracy in the first place.
Aw DZK, ; I forget stuff all the time, except the things that really matter. Those I never forget! If the media I'm watching, reading or listening to drop the ball ; I'm not buying it. " If you tell a lie, everything you say is a lie".
Rodney King was a Black victim of a severe beating by a gang of out-of-control cops, in Los Angels or thereabouts. Early 1990s or late '80s. He said, "Can't we all just get along?"
Our brains prioritize the most important things. Rodney King is an important figure, but not as pressing as someone more currently in the news. There is only so much room in my 'rolodex'.
DZK ; I have learned to avoid news sources that do not report about or address things I care about. That is why I did not watch CNN. that is why I fast forwarded through Ari Melber's Friday show, on MSNBC, that featured Republicans and ' ex - Republicans'. I guess they are making a stab at centrism or, God forbid in this present environment, 'bipartisanism'. I fast forwarded their asses after listening for a few minutes. The topics and comments did not even come close! 'CNN ism?!' Joe Scarborough was a host. Hmmmm.
DZK ; it is true that it's difficult to keep our eyes on all the balls tossed in the air and bouncing and rolling around. Ideally, our representatives, with some support, could help us stay on message and get legislation that the majority wants/needs. In the present, highly inflated but unsuccessful reality; voters don't get much, even when they donate more than they can afford. Votes should not cost so much. High rollers should not be in the process.
Indeed. That's >exactly< what some here seem to forget!
I am waiting and waiting for CNN’s announcement as to the date and time of Haley’s and Hutchinson’s town halls. 🤨
Spend more time registering younger voters.
Yes, register more young voters. Also talk to them and find out what they do or do not know about democracy and what a treasure it is. I have been amazed in some discussions with seniors at the 'top of their class' who cannot name the three branches of our government. This is more than tragic.
Please at least give the titles of the YouTube videos along with the links.
Thanks for the heads up. That first link has changed. It's changed in my history, as well. Either someone has hacked it, or the YouTube links aren't as reliable as one might assume. I'll see if I can track down the original and fix it, but I'll avoid posting naked links in the future. Thanks again.
I've tracked down and fixed that first link now. The rest are OK, but that first one going bad turned what followed into gibberish! FYI: That first link is:
WATCH MORNING JOE HIGHLIGHTS MAY 15 MSNBC:
https://youtu.be/iRWZg7LuqlQ
(I'm not shouting the title. That's how I distinguish between video links and document links.)
I'll keep all this in mind when I post links in the future.
Agree wholeheartedly Mr. Olson. Democratic need to stop all the whining about President Biden's age as the former president is only a few years youngers. Voters absolutely have the power to change and keep this democracy the way it needs to be. I also firmly believe that white Americans can be more focused in speaking out about the racial, homophobic and other injustices. The minority Republican base is very vocal about wanting to go back to the days where they felt only white male Americans had rights that only pertained to them. White women decided they had as much to these inalienable rights as men and that meant rights pertaining to reproductive decisions over their own bodies. Come on Americans, those of us who are sick of the Republican base making all the noise need to rise up and be just as vocal.
And remember ALSO: WHO has been THE most achomplished president since FDR? [sic] The morbidly obese dummy who bungled the economy and EVERYTHING else? Or the man who IN TWO YEARS passed THE biggest climate legislation in HISTORY and still found time to try to smooth over the previous presidents 130,000+ mistakes? I wonder . . .
A question I continue to ask about republicans is, why do the symptoms of mental illness look like leadership qualities to them. I believe that Trump is deserving of our pity, because no one gets that messed up unless someone along the way worked hard at messing him up. Again to the question of why do the symptoms of mental illness look like leadership qualities to the republicans. I beseech them to ask that question of each other. In 1933 the Germans did not ask that question. Today we know that they should have.
Eddie Borden: Actually, when I was a girl in school, I did receive the understanding, somehow, that Hitler was "mad", meaning crazy. The 1950s had a very narrow selection of words defining mental illness. We knew schizophrenic, and psychopathic. Most of the other labels didn't become common in conversation until at least 30 years later. Paranoid and narcissistic were more specific than the earlier terminology. I was first heard saying, "Donald Trump is a "narcissistic psychopath" back in 2015, right after he came down the escalator. Yes, to what you describe above "someone along the way worked hard at messing him up." That would be Fred the fascist. Military school didn't help; it just confined the raging beast, temporarily. We ignored all the letters from the psychiatric community that were liberally circulated right after Trump was sworn in.
The problem is, for all of you calling for votes...we’ve worked hard on that very thing but our votes don’t count
Beverly Hill ; Enough of "our votes" counted in the last two elections, in spite of all the gaming and gerrymandering and fake 'news'.
"We" didn't get unregistered voters that trend Democratic registered and out to vote in states like Florida and Ohio. On election day, here in Baghdad By the Sea Black registered voters did not show up as expected. The DNC wrote off FL and Ohio.
Incompetence permitted Republicans to win House seats in blue states like NY and CA.
I wonder if the trend of shooting people ringing doorbells would inhibit canvassers who want to help get out the vote? Is going out into the streets to send a message a good idea? Even voting could get scary!
Daniel Solomon ; I can't help but wonder how many registered Democrats are confused and convinced that their votes will not matter. As we have seen ; mainstream media is not too far away from FOX and Newsmax et al. Many times I have heard pundits tell us that a particular desired change will not happen that Democrats or the hated 'progressives' want. I remember years ago when there was the stolen election that brought us Bush (W). Voters were complaining about the Electoral College. A particularly unlikeable commentator assured viewers that "The Electoral College will be ended on "the 12th of never", reminding us of an old Johnny Mathis song. I wanted to smack him! He seemed to relish being the messenger of such unwanted "news"! This type of 'journalism' has got to end!
We've had voter preclusion for many years. Democrats here are intimidated. I've written about BLM here several times. WHAT IDIOTS. Gave Florida away. https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/andres-oppenheimer/article252849463.html
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/black-lives-matter-faces-backlash-statement-cuba-protest-rcna1438
Beverly Hill; So that is your take. What do you have to say? Anything constructive, or are you just a critic of positive facts?
20 minutes of unrelated attention to a naked display of musical and technical genius: https://youtu.be/krLYZmPRtnc
A little artistic relief!
Yowza! (except for the damn ads)
Where can I find the podcast “Divide and Conquer”. I am retired and want a blueprint for where to put my energies.
True. But the question is not whether Biden is the role model or Trump. Trump is not a role model in any way.
The question is rather if e. g. Liz Warren would be a better role model. Tbc Pelosi already did too little to protect America from Fascism, the Biden admin waited 1½ years before starting the most important task before them to protect the US from insurrectionists.
Biden always talks about healing but fails to understand that healing requires justice first. Biden is disenfranchising victims of Trump in favor of a treacherous quiet. Biden must face protest from the left to drive him towards the centre. Even before the 2020 election, I said (on Twitter) that the Biden admin would need to be pushed again and again to get more than the bare minimum. (Did they really need to let Manchin decide what people need?).
Protest to be even more important than I thought.
WTF? I must not be awake yet. Either that or I suffered a stroke in my sleep and lost the ability to comprehend language.
Maybe I need more coffee.
Maybe I think that I'M making sense but what I've just written is gibberish.
Help me out here please!
To me it seems clear that the people behind CNN (probably Malone) want Trump to win the election. The program was propaganda. It wasn’t for ratings. It wasn’t to “make news “. The CNN journalists who discussed the show, some negatively, were props and cover for what was a deliberate attempt to help make TFG win and harder for the indictments coming down the pike to matter. (They will be called divisive and dangerous and attempts to silence a candidate.). Murdoch’Fox and now Malone’s CNN are political operations.
Yes, myself not being in the prime of cognition in the middle of the night, am also having trouble comprehending what I just read.
P.S.
I feel the same way about The Count of Mount of Crisco. And the current state of politics all over the world. It really is Stranger Than Fiction and either the world has gone insane...or I have.
Paula ; It's gibberish. I won't request more either.
Paula Dean ; Lots of "double think" and "double talk" out there now, it seems. It can make a head spin.
Right on the money...We just need to initiate an effective program but to do so...we need an audience of like minded individuals such as those following Robert, Judd, Brian and others. If interested...let me know...I have been in touch with Judd but he isn't interested in getting back into the fray of the battle...he is comfortable doing the research having been burned by the politicians before for trying to act. Tried to get Ro ert to respond but I think he has the same issue and is comfortable attempting to warn people of the impending danger. We know how the danger and we know where it emminates from...we just need to address it head on.
Henry: :Effective program." Get more flies with honey than vinegar.
Maybe an animated show....didn't Robert meet Homer Simpson?
According to Nielson and other ratings, "NFL Sunday Night Football" was the most watched TV show in the United States in the 2021/2022 season, with roughly 18.14 million viewers. "NFL Thursday Night Football" ranked second with approximately 15.4 million viewers.
Unfortunately on cable Tucker Carlson Tonight remains No. 1 by a substantial margin, averaging 443,000 from the measurement in Q1 2023. The Five remained in second (357,000) with Hannity (317,000), Jesse Watters Primetime (304,000) and Gutfeld! (301,000) rounding out the top five.
Your AI needs to be rebooted; it's decompensating.
In response to "Power Corrupts"
Power corrupts:
Most effective for mass depression is probably cognitive behavioral therapy. https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/cognitive-behavioral-therapy/about/pac-20384610
On an individual basis, medications.
WTF?
I agree on the importance of mobilizing, but this time, we must focus on the real enemy: the corporations and wealthy individuals behind all of this. Let's stop pretending the problem is elected officials, who are mostly just doing what they are told, attacking targets selected by lobbyists and pretending to care about whatever will rally their frothing, easily manipulated supporters. America's problem is that its citizens refuse to learn the real lesson year after year:
Politicians are the distraction. Corporations that write the script and the legislation and direct the spectacle that passes for genuine discourse must be stopped. We must economically threaten the wealthy titans and firms spearheading all of this. THAT is who we must protest, who we must call out in the press and online and in person, who we must stop to have any future at all.
What the majority wants can't be realized through the current system. As in the 1960s with the civil rights and antiwar movements, we may have to resort to organized civil disobedience. It may be the only way to overcome the new methods of voter suppression and the outright defiance of the laws by corporations that were passed to regulate them and protect the public.
Opposition to corporate control of our government, media, economy & society must become much more massive, unified & well-organized than it has been until now.
Jaime Ramirez ; It would be helpful to see a list of companies advertising on CNN so we know who to boycott.
"The real enemies" are Republican donors like the NRA, the Federalist Society, etc.
Any candidate who supported the big lie and insurrections are ACTUAL enemies.
Daniel Solomon ; I totally agree! The money that is running our politicians ; the billionaires who buy the courts and the media 'news' are the enemies of Democracy, America, and the World!
One way is to support workers trying to unionize, demand anti-trust, union busting and anti-labor tactics be prosecuted.
Boycott Starbucks whose management doesn't negotiate fairly with workers and is guilty of union busting.
Republicans can easily be voted out of office. It's realistic and relatively easy to vote them out. With a Democrat majority, other FAILS can be much more easily addressed as well e.g. Overturn Citizens United
Maryk, one would think voting Republicans out of office should be easy enough, but with gerrymandering, voter suppression, voter role purging (nearly always going after people of color who often vote Democratic), and the rest, that is not so easy. That is particularly hard when the media fawns over Republican candidates and their loud-mouthed insults, lies, and dysinformation. I am not sure how we break through this when more restrictive voting laws are passed by states all the time. I thought Republicans could be shamed into voting for the John Lewis Voting Act and the other bills in the last two years, but the filibuster and Mitch McConnell's loyalty to himself and stopping anything that would help anyone but his rich white friends kept that from happening. I don't know where we go as we get closer to the 2024 election. The Supreme Court has decided that ignoring the Constitution works so well for them, they will just keep doing it. The 6 conservatives on the Court are OK with ditching the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and maybe even the Civil Rights Act of 1964 just because it works for white supremacists and Republicans in general. The Sc Conservative ethics violations, which are severe, will keep happening because those folks know they can't be stopped by anyone even though their role in the Constitution is hardly mapped out at all. I don't know where we need to go from here, but I know there are a lot of people out there like Prof. Reich who do know, so I am regularly looking for their input.
Swingleft.org today, get out the 30% or so of voters who didn't bother to vote in 2020.
Republicans can't be shamed. And they aren't 'folks', they are thieves: taking public assets as fast as they can.
Republicans are also a minority, their positions are not acceptable to most Americans - - 30% of whom do not vote.
It's relatively easy to get voters out when opposition positions are as extremist as Republicans are: Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, civil rights, paying bills... It's a looon list!
The fact that Republicans are willing to cause US default will throw America into a depression should be enough
I wouldn't say that getting voters out is exactly easy, but it is do-able, and there is an army out there getting out the vote. Tomorrow's mayoral primary in Philadelphia is crucial; long time activist and progressive Helen Gym pulled out ahead of the pack in a poll on Friday. Another crucial election tomorrow for PA state house, candidate Heather Boyd whose election will make or brake Governor Shapiro's ability to veto, link: https://events.democrats.org/event/560871/
I agree, Maryk, I am not interested in convincing republicans. When we get voters to the polls, we get progressives elected, one vote at a time.
THIS brings me to my BIGGEST BITCH!! Why, WHY do we have elections at different times throughout the year?? We in Ohio KNOW why! Because studies have shown Republicans that far fewer people vote in August, or May, and therefore, the pigs can belly-up to the trough virtually unopposed. THIS is what needs to stop!! NO MORE SPECIAL ELECTIONS!! One day per year; and NOT in November!! Make it during a time when the weather is good - maybe late September, or around now, in mid to late May. But ONE PER YEAR, regardless. And make it a national day off, and a requirement. You didn't vote this year? Sorry, but we cannot renew your driver's license. Didn't vote? No discounts on your Medicare Part D for you. THIS is how we foster change in this country. We make it a National Day of Voting, come one, come all. Help your elderly neighbor get to the polls. Whatever we need to do to get everyone involved. Sorry about the length of this rant, but this is something that has bothered me since I was a kid. And it's SO SIMPLE!!
No apologies necessary for ranting, Daniel. It's sadly true and crazy. It would be sane and efficient if we were to arrange one single Election Day. However, as we have lemons, let's make lemonade. Sometimes there are office holders who resign at odd times and the positions have to be refilled necessitating special elections any time of the year. And some locations purposely put their elections at a time that nothing else distracting is going on, like the Virginia state elections that occur in odd/off years like '23. I actually prefer that so I can focus my attention on it instead of having to juggle everything at once. I appreciate that you care so much.
Seems to me that these special elections are an unnecessary extra expense. Plan better to make sure voting needs to happen no more than once a year (plus primary).
And I agree Election Day in November should be a holiday.
Be very careful about the use and beliefs about minorities. Take a look at the world. Look at how many countries are controlled by minorities and if that minority attaches itself to a religion, there is no hope.
It ain't easy at all.
What Republicans threaten this country with today: https://twitter.com/FareedZakaria/status/1657816020063514626
Enjoy
I'm starting to see through the so called "balanced" both-side-ism even on the PBS NewsHour. How can you equate and give equal time and validity to Republicans that still support the Big Lie by not censoring those in their party that continue to push this disproven narrative.
Eileen, alas, I began noticing what I think of as "the fall of PBS news" about a decade ago. They used to have the 2 debaters presenting their points of view each Friday night which I found very interesting. bit by bit, I started seeing that Ted Cruz's nonsense in the Senate got at least as much coverage as President Obama's trip abroad or a speech he gave somewhere. I did write to them about it, but of course, the fake balancing act only increased as the 2016 election approached. For me, when Gwen Ifle passed, I found myself watching less often. I had found her the anchor of reason on the show. I had once been an every-nighter. Trump and his loud insulting ignorant mouth ranted on nearly every broadcast while we kept being reminded about Hillary Clinton's emails and the Ben Gazi hearings droned on with nothing new learned. Those hearings were put out there alongside Trump's general ignorance for weeks at a time. Judy Woodruf (not sure of the spelling) seemed to me to be more and more snarky. I couldn't see her expression as I am blind, but I heard her tone of voice. She presented Trump as though he had something enormous to offer and Clinton as an afterthought or something. It is hard to remember my exact feelings from back then. Clinton had done a lot to improve life for a lot of people: education in Arkansas, attempted to get an honest universal healthcare program put together (sabotaged by Republicans, of course), and served NY well as Senator. Yet, she was allowed to be maligned by Trump who had done nothing positive for anyone but himself, ever. That's when I left "The News Hour." I have not been back often. I will stop by occasionally to see if the level of coverage has improved. I think it has a bit, but not enough for me to move back in their direction. I wish I knew what we could do about this intense media bias that steadily pushes this nation rightward. The "right" has nothing positive to offer anyone, just like their cult leader yet get covered as though their hostage-taking is the fault of Democrats who just won't negotiate with Little Kevvy and his crew. That is just nuts! I keep hearing that in NPR too. I am guessing the same hand that screwed with "The News Hour" also is working on NPR too. I just saw a documentary on Clarence Thomas which was a milktoast version of Thomas's career from a pathetic childhood to the Supreme Court and rushing past his bad behavior all along. It even seemed to show him as the injured party in his Senate hearing for the Court. That, too was PBS. What a mess!
Yes, I watched that Frontline on Clarence and his wife. I will never forget how Anita Hill was treated and her testimony was ignored when the senate seated Thomas on the Supreme Court right before our very eyes. It was so hard to watch and here we are but the fight continues to right the ship.
Ruth Sheets ; I don't know if a consumer boycott of the companies that advertise on CNN would help to send a message; but if it is large enough it might. "Turn on, tune in and drop out" was effective when millions of young and old just stopped buying crappy food and things like Nestle products because they were aggressively trying to undermine breastfeeding with their formula marketing, even in maternity wards. Pressure on Monsanto and other companies poisoning our food chain made a difference in the quality of what we eat today, and educated the public. The gun problem speaks for itself. I would like to see President Biden use his executive powers as Commander in Chief to end the carnage in this domestic war against the human citizens, especially the women, who are more than half the population. He is currently a sitting President in a war situation. Our enemy is poised to get back in power. There should be NO ELECTION! until the criminals are brought to justice! No More 'Pardons' of those with whom tRump has been Complicit! The media is helping and giving comfort to the enemy!
No repubs can't be easily voted out of office. They have used many ways to take control of the voting districts including the way boundaries are drawn. Only God knows how many people they have paid off to get their way.
If only things were that simple! Come to my neck of the woods (central/southwest "red" Virginia) and see how "easily" Republicans are voted out of office! Like Never!
Tim - I'd take your friends & neighbors individually aside and remind them that NO ONE can see how they vote -- in the voting booth or mail-in ballot. No one has to disclose how they voted. So if suddenly a much larger number of Dem votes come in, well "quelle suprise". It may take more than one election to turn over a district or state, but a showing that there are "blue" voters out there, plus a reminder that no one will know how you vote, should be a good start,
Interesting point. I am one of those "secret blues", but most of the 'blue" voters are Black folks here. The "red" voters that I know have very deeply held biases, and it may not be possible to shake them loose no matter what. They have such distrust of government and especially Democratic Party government.
Do you know Maui activist Buck Joiner?
Ian, I agree with your assessment of the power of the wealthy corporations. It is true We the People allowed them to gain such enormous power. It is hard to make changes, though since the Congressional and state legislature puppets are OK with having their strings pulled to vote for just what those corporate puppet masters want. Maybe we need more members of Congress to point out what is happening (a few do) what is going on and just how many lobbyists are in Washington, constantly badgering members of Congress to do what they want and can even threaten them if they don't go along. I recently heard that Republicans are encouraging really rich guys to run for office because they can essentially buy their own campaign and have a free ride in Congress or state legislatures. That should never be allowed. It seems to me no candidate should be able to pour more money into his/her campaign than what any individual citizen should be able to contribute, and that should be no more than a couple of thousand dollars. We the People could demand these reforms, but candidates will just laugh in our faces because by the time they get to being a serious candidate for office, they are pretty aware of how the game is played and if they "play their cards right," they can stay in Congress for life with little to no effort, lots of power, and more money pouring in than they can count. NOT OK!
We need Bernie! Then we need to change the power structure of the government to reflect the original intent of constitution by the framers!
We have Bernie. He is a beacon illuminating the shady corners, vote by vote. We are in process; there's no toggle switch.
Disagree, RFK Jr...Bernie is just too left
O yeah Loafergirl. We need RFK, Jr !! 🙃🤯Check out Vivek Ramaswamy (from a recent Seattle Times article): "After intense study of the Constitution, Ramaswamy said he believes that the awesome powers of the presidency would allow him to abolish the Education Department “on Day 1,” part of an assault on the “administrative state” . . . ." This same dude thinks RFK, Jr would make a great running mate. Spare us, please!
Neither Ramaswamy or RFK Jr are going to be viable candidates. Both are as bad as the MAGA on issues. They could be spoilers perhaps, but any sane Dem would not vote for either of them!
Sure, I get it but Loafergirl was offering up RFK, Jr as a reasonable alternative to Bernie. Wasn't dabbling in the sanity aspect of it all -- lol.
Having as many truth-tellers as possible in those halls is certainly helpful. However, the more important thing is for us to realize that we already know how to win. The pandemic just revealed it all too clearly. As workers and consumers, we don't even need all of us to be on board, just enough of us. The power of relatively small groups to put a company at risk by withholding their labor and purchases is what we need to wield...again. COVID forced us to do so and look what happened. All of a sudden, people were called essential. Firms lived or died by whether the damn facilities staff showed up let alone those doing sales, customer service, etc.
We need to call out those companies funding the worst politicians and policies and start by making an example of one of them. Just one to get things started and serve as a warning to others, and if they don't get in line, we tank another. Destroy their brand, boycott them, stand in front of their stores, guilt their customers and workers into staying away.....and on and on.
Ian: yes, just 'voting with our wallets' could have an effect, if there are enough numbers of participants in a boycott. Standing in front of stores could be risky these days though.
So how do we as individuals and/or groups "economically threaten the wealthy titans and firms"? What specific steps do we take to "focus on the real enemy," practically speaking? Please explain how "focus" translates into productive action. I ask because it is commonplace for progressives and anti-Capitalist advocates to insist that we must get rid of the corporations/corporate power that pull the strings of willing politicians. Yet almost all of us buy the products and services the corporations sell, so what leverage do we have to "threaten" them?
My business, United Poultry Concerns, is an animal rights organization. In this business it is commonplace to assert that we (society) must get rid of "factory farming." Great idea. The question is: How do we get rid of animal factories as long as the bottom line of animal agribusiness is Profits and Profitable given that consumers buy their products and our elected officials support animal agribusiness by voting taxpayer subsidies in the billions of dollars to agribusiness which is a Huge Lobby in Washington, DC. This Lobby includes all of the farmed-animal trade associations. the feed-mill industry, the pharmaceutical industry, the animal experimentation industry funded by our taxes via NIH, USDA, etc.) and all allied corporations including the Restaurant/food retail associations. Does this surprise anyone? If so, one reason is that the media do not report it. We might almost say that the mainstream media is itself a major agribusiness Lobbyist!
Disgustingly, the Biden Administration sided with the Pork Industry against a California Voter Initiative that, in 2018, voted for a minimal requirement for "egg-laying" hens, "veal" calves, and mother pigs to be able to MOVE their bodies just enough to be able to turn around in their cages, crates, and confinement stalls. The pork industry fought back, and the case went to the Supreme Court which voted 5 to 4 last week to uphold the CA law, based not particularly on any kindness or compassion for the suffering, immobilized hens, calves, and mother pigs, but for States Rights.
People say, "Get rid of the Corporations! "Get rid of the Politicians." Excellent ideas. But if we buy the corporations' products and services and politicians are motivated first and foremost by getting elected and reelected, how do we accomplish our goals in specific, concrete ways? What direct, personal EFFECTIVE actions do we take along with casting our votes, contacting our Members of Congress, organizing street protests?
volunteer with LWV and register voters, do voter education.
support orgs doing the work
Roberts of course voted against based on interstate commerce law. God forbid anything that could hindrance big business. If one pushed interstate commerce law to the max then states would have no say in so many things that impact their state's citizens. It's an interesting topic. There has to be some national standardization if we are to have viable workable commerce. I think you could say MSM is de facto lobbyist for big corp generally, speaking in aggregate.
The class war never stops. It only hides under "civil discourse" for a while.
George Carlin did a monologue titled the American Dream in 2009. This excerpt is spot on: "Forget the politicians. They are irrelevant. The politicians are put there to give you the idea that you have freedom of choice. You don’t. You have no choice! You have OWNERS! They OWN YOU. They own everything. They own all the important land. They own and control the corporations. They’ve long since bought, and paid for the Senate, the Congress, the state houses, the city halls, they got the judges in their back pockets and they own all the big media companies, so they control just about all of the news and information you get to hear. They got you by the balls.
They spend billions of dollars every year lobbying, lobbying, to get what they want. Well, we know what they want. They want more for themselves and less for everybody else, but I’ll tell you what they don’t want:
They don’t want a population of citizens capable of critical thinking. They don’t want well informed, well educated people capable of critical thinking. They’re not interested in that. That doesn’t help them. Thats against their interests.
Thats right. They don’t want people who are smart enough to sit around a kitchen table and think about how badly they’re getting fucked by a system that threw them overboard 30 fucking years ago. They don’t want that!"
There's more, but this part is exactly what you are saying, and it's 2023.
I agree. The corporations and fatcats are destroying the nation. The fatcats have organized media networks and lobbyists and leveraged Christian nationalism. They want a weak central government, and the Republican legislators want "freedom" so they can deal corruptly without hindrance. I am hopeful that Lina Khan and crew will finally bring antitrust suits in the near term. I am hopeful DOJ is going to do something soon. The ultimate remedy is the people themselves who do not seem to realize their civil obligations or the threats to themselves. Why would they ? Many more elected Dems at national level need to get aggressive and act like they understand the stakes.
The remedies that Reich offers are mostly to no avail for me. My elected officials at state and Federal level are all Republicans. Of whom do I demand that Trump be held accountable ? I could write to the Whitehouse. There are plenty of letters to the editor of the Post Dispatch that say that already. I have sworn off of CNN. I am registering many young voters. Maybe Reich et al can lead a targeted boycott against the worse corporate offenders- like an oil company. I have not called out Edward Jones who donates to my Republican Representative. That is something I should probably do in various ways, which i have done in the past. This has largely become an infowar which Dems nationally seem challenged in waging competently.
We can and MUST do BOTH AT THE SAME TIME!
Well, I love this idea in theory. In practice, I just don't think it's realistic. Activism...sustained, targeted activism is so taxing and time-consuming, and I honestly believe one of the major failures of Democratic voters is holding onto this pipe dream that if they just protest enough and send enough email, their elected official will change their mind. I believe we have to have ask some tough questions about efficiencies. Knowing that we just cant do everything, that there are just so many people willing to do anything....where must we direct our efforts? What's the greatest ROI? To me, history has settled that debate: it's the corporations and donors and lobbyists...the ones pulling the strings.
We must call out both elected officials and CEOs.
Yes!!!
You can say anything in America. Anything at all. Go ahead. Say it.
Except for one thing and one thing only. There is one thing that no one dare say.
Never, ever, ever criticize the economic system of capitalism. Ever.
Never ask, "Why do a few men such as Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates and Elon Musk have trillions of dollars while half the population (160 million Americans) live in or close to poverty?"
Why are the super wealthy (who so often obtain their wealth by nefarious means such as cheating their work force of a decent wage) not taxed at a reasonable rate as they were in the 1950s and 60s?
America is an oligarchy. It is not a democracy. Elections at the federal level are basically a sham.
I've admired and respected your work for decades, Dr. Reich. But why will no one (neither you nor anyone else) speak this fundamental truth?
PS Why has the federal minimum wage been stuck at $7.25 for about 15 years now? What happened to Biden's campaign pledge to raise the minimum wage? Who can live on that paltry sum? Is this not slavery by another name? After all the chattel slave owner, having paid good money for his "property" (sic) made an effort to keep him or her alive, housed and fed, however poorly. The wage slave owner doesn't care if his "slaves" live or die. There are always more lined up at the factory gate.
https://www.rt.com/business/576098-uk-gig-workers-low-wages/
I agree. In my opinion, democratic capitalism is an oxymoron. As Michael Moore said in his Sunday substack, there is no democracy without economic democracy.
There is no such thing as a democracy under capitalism. No money, you literally die isn't a system. It's murder.
We have been taught that unregulated capitalism is THE freedom that drives our democracy!
That, in fact, unregulated capitalism is a synonym for democracy... I know many people who actually believe that supply/demand is analogous to Gravity! This is why ANY AND ALL constructive criticism of our economic system is UnAmerican and blasphemy!!!
Remember: the New Deal was an "artificial" interruption for the "natural" progression of an economic system that would have "fixed" itself and gotten us out of the Great Depression...
REALLY?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
yeah it's a religion.
Amen. As I remind people all of the time....Occupy was crushed by BOTH parties. Once the Dems were done using the movement to dig them out of the hole Obama dug by letting Wall St get away with tanking the economy again, which allowed Romney to become a serious opponent, they crushed the whole movement. March for lives, against guns, for women and science.....but you bring up the money and how thing really work....that's when you learn who our supposed representatives really work for.
I believe he wrote a column last week about the problems with corporations profiteering from the pandemic.
"We may have democracy, or we may have wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both." Louis Brandeis
You are actually RIGHT ON!!!! Have we become deaf, blind, and yes we have become DUMB as in STUPID!
It's NOT capitalism, it's the rich getting RICHER, and the poor getting POORER!!
I recently read how Adolf Hitler became Chancellor of Germany. There were several political maneuverings by President Hindenburg. None of them worked very well to keep Hitler out of this office. Finally he was appointed to that office as they thought that they could control him. We all know the rest of the story.
Many hands contributed to his rise to power. Such is the workings of the republicans in this country. The Lincoln Project is pushing to eradicate not just Trump but Trumpism. I hope they succeed.
We are seeing republicans passing off the attempted coup as no big deal. In some countries around the world, this coup attempt would have been taken seriously. It would have been greeted with lethal force to the participants.
Michael, Yep, that is the way Fascism arose in Germany. The reason the extreme opposition to the coup attempt didn't happen here was that it was mostly white men involved. I know people don't like to hear it or think about it, but if it had been Black Americans staging such an event (or Jews staging one in Germany), there would have been blood on the floor, a lot of it. White men often get a free pass in our society because they are seen as the default setting for American. Of course, the title of "white" keeps changing and including more people whose skin is at least sort of white, but the approval must come from the Germanic/Anglo contingent. I suspect the next group to be included is white Cubans. They have been waiting for over 60 years for that. In gratitude, they will support Republicans to the death, and some already do and are entering the ranks of white supremacist groups. We have the warning of Germany to learn from, but alas, sometimes people choose to learn nothing. Admittedly, they are being carefully distracted with trans hatred, book banning, taking over curricula, anti-abortion crap, voter suppression, and more, but human beings have brains that can see beyond the nonsense if the desire is there. For Republicans and their independent white friends, the desire is not there.
For many Americans, we’ve been living a sort of caste American dream, not the American dream, and be we Republicans or Democrats, many of us never got out of high school and only a small margin managed to gain a college or university degree and for an even smaller few go on to achieve something other than a generational continuance of our place in our caste real-life realities. Many installments to this forum and the ongoing fourteen-week course on wealth and inequality show that the tea kettle has been whistling for a long time. Today’s read asking for the reader to act is fine, but given some in the audience in last week’s CNN TH and DH rhetoric of his personal reality spin, how the hell without all of those who say they believe in democracy, hold power and wealth, have influence, and can afford to enter the fray and walk away no matter the outcome, are really going to answer today’s call to action. (Top Democrats in W-DC and the rich and powerful Democratic voters likely don’t read this forum in high numbers)
Right, despite all the fuss the right makes about Ashley Babbitt's death, what is so remarkable to me is the restraint of the police defending the Capitol from the hordes of attackers. Planners, colluders, supporters, instigators & defenders of the attempt to overturn the election would've long ago been expelled if we had a normal response.
Judy Woodward of the PBS Newshour interviewed one of the Capital policemen after the coup attempt. He said that he was one of 4 policemen standing in front of the capital facing the onrushing crowd. He said that had they opened fire, they would surely have been killed along with many others as there were many assault rifles and other weapons being carried by members of the crowd. That is when they decided to simply try to contain the crowd as best as they could. It was an eye opening interview.
Had there been 100 or so National Guard troops in front of the capital that day at the beginning of this whole thing, In my view, there would not be any doubt who the perpetrators were.
Hong Wu of the Ming dynasty had a way of dealing with this. Not saying we should applaud Hong Wu. I am saying defense of democracy by dealing severely with those who would destroy it is defensible.
That's right! It's called SEDITION, PEOPLE!!! SEDITION!!!!
Trump is a lying fascist, a Goebbels without the intellect. For that reason alone, it is imperative to indict him and indict him quickly for his felonies, starting with the Georgia shakedown. Pussy grabbing charges don't cut it. Once convicted of a single felony he cannot run.
Next, the DNC needs to field a slew of liberal policies that will appeal to the 70% of Americans who are not nuts.
Michael, you are so right. Now, how do we get the fire lit under the folks in Georgia and Garland at the DOJ. Had Trump been just any other citizen who had broken the law the way he did, the person would already have been indicted, possibly convicted by now. I keep hearing how methodical Garland is, but methodical should not mean, do nothing to progress the indictment process. I know his special whatever should have gotten sufficient evidence by this point, so why is nothing happening. I suspect they are hoping they can keep the nothing going into next year when they can say, "too bad, it is an election year and we have a rule that says blah blah blah!"
I am s 97 year old woman who has loved this country and the democracy for which it stands all my life until Trump
became President. Now I am frightened by this man who lacks decency and honor. Thank you, Mr. Reich for telling
American voters what we must do to save our country from Trump.
Thank you, Dr. Reich.
You are expressing what the democratic party should be shouting from the rooftops every day.
One of the things that has me very worried is that Biden and his administration are far too complacent in the face of the ever increasing threat of "Trumpian fascism."
Trump's fascism is real, while the democrats seem to believe that what the Biden Administration has accomplished and what it aspires to achieve will have voters magically flocking to vote for them in 2024.
But this is far from the case, especially with the end of the pandemic safety net programs hurting many (which should have been established years prior), the Federal Reserve continuing to punished workers with ongoing rate hikes, and the DOJ still too scared to hold Trump accountable for his treason.
There is only one political party capable of saving this country from another disastrous Trump presidency in 2024 and that's the democratic party.
But if the Biden Administration takes voters for granted, as democrats have done in the past, this country is doomed.
Perfect rebuttal. Any future moderator confronting Trump has to be right back at him. In HIS FACE with the labels he has earned. Traitor. seditionist . Grifter. Don’t call him Mr President. He hasn’t earned the title . In fact, the majority of Americans never voted him into office. Remind Donald of the fact. And remind his audience/. And remind Americans that it is okay to reject the sad spectacle Donny has made of our democracy. Time to treat him with the contempt he has earned when confronting his lies and percersion. Tell him to his face he is CONTEMPTIBLE and that is the way history will remember him.
Keith Olbermann was correct that even Edward R. Murrow couldn't have rebutted Trump's storm of continuous lies. A moderator would have to be able to turn off his microphone in order to fact check and rebut, or else tape him and pause to rebut. If he doesn't agree to the format, don't allow him on the air.
Gloria, and, one of the things we know for sure, Trump may agree to a format, but will never follow it. He simply can't. He is so used to getting away with whatever he does and says, he can't see that any rules relate to him, so he breaks them and usually, with impunity.
Good point. That's why his microphone has to be turned off and on. But he would never agree to that or he would walk off the set the first time his mic was turned off.
Gloria, Yep, Baby Donnie would probably walk off stage once he figured out he was shut off, but it might take him a while and it probably would be a good thing if the moderator said something intelligent like, "I guess Mr. Trump can't handle truth in any form. That's too bad for his supporters who think they are hearing truth from him. They haven't been hearing truth from Donald Trump in years."
The problem, as I see it, is that the moderator of the various "debates" and "townhalls" that Trump has been involved in let him go on over his time, saying whatever he wants, lying with impunity, insulting the moderator and anyone else he doesn't like. Trump's microphone should have been immediately cut off when he put out one of his lies like "the 2020 election was rigged" or "I won the popular vote - twice" or "the January 6th event was just tourists or patriots, etc. The audience should be instructed to be silent unless they are the one specifically asking a question. I would have liked the moderator to say "You know, sir, that was a lie" or "That lie has been disproven years ago, let's move on." Avoid things like "You have just insulted me. Is that the best you can do, insult women who ask you questions about your behavior?" or You were found liable which means a jury of your peers believe you raped her. Besides insulting her, can you explain why this jury believed her?" or some other questions that could be pertinent but an open door to a lying, cheating narcissist like Trump. Asking for his reaction to the jury's decision gets us nowhere. Of course Trump would lie and claim they were just out to get him. Ask questions that force him to answer directly, not go off on a rant. The rant should get a turned off mic. In short, Trump should never have an hour and more to spew his lies and dysinformation. When a person lies in public over 30,000 times in 4 years, something is wrong with that person and his hold on reality. Don't give that person any kind of platform because you know he is going to lie and in the case of last Wednesday's fiasco, put out as many lies as he can in the period he is given while trying to "charm" the crazy audience who like Trump's lies as much as he does. CNN didn't want that kind of serious "townhall" because it would have made sense, people might have seen a bit more of ?Trump's ignorance and unwillingness to be informed about anything except how he can lie more effectively. Can't have that!
DeSantis, Repubs passed laws last week that allows any medical provider (except ER), that's doc, nurse, anasthesiologist, lab tech, etal And insurers to refuse service to anyone based on their "religious, moral or ethics beliefs". Waited for Potus, Dems response. Silence.
Also passed, effective Jun 1, dystopian immigrant law. Even includes LEO taking DNA, Hospitals have to ask for proof of citizenship. Employers lose license, and more. Felony charges if you give undocumented a ride or help. The day it passed, construction sites, roofing sites, agricultural, hospitality - became silent after workers fled. A few mumbles, but from the top, Silence.
Enablers are delusional to the danger they put themselves in sometimes, but danger to others, they never do. I'm looking at Dem's actions or lack of it more and more as enabling. To hear they were "delighted" that a major media outlet platformed a traitor to everything and everyone Americans hold confirms whatever you call their refusal to recognize the current danger or act to prevent it.
Corporations - the ones who seem to be in charge, care only about money. Perhaps nationwide strikes & boycotts, not protests, are a people's remedy. I don't see them caring one hoot if we protest. But they do seem to blow a gasket if they show a $10 loss in their quarterly reports. I just don't see complaining to Dems anymore will bring about a different result.
Careful! Your satirical reply sounds so realistic, some people may actually think you really believe that nonsense!
OK, I sent emails or web forms to my CA Secretary of State, my State Assembly member and my State Senator. Didn't think you would mind me plagiarizing you, Bob! Below:
Assemblymember xxxxxx,
Please consider passing legislation to refuse to put Donald Trump on the CA ballot — under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which bars anyone from holding office who, having taken an oath to support the Constitution, has engaged in an insurrection against the United States.
It is now democracy versus authoritarianism. There can be no compromise. And there must not be silence.
Thank you - Al
Several years ago, in the lead up to the 2016 election, I was walking my dog past my neighbor's yard. I was shocked to see a Trump sign on his lawn. We talked over the years, and I felt we were of a like mind, politically. I eventually asked the neighbor why the sign? He told me, politely, that America was on the wrong track and wanted change. The sign reappeared in 2020.
Two months ago, I saw this neighbor had a huge, used pick-up truck sitting in his driveway. My neighbor, his wife and son already own five cars, before the truck appeared. I asked him about the truck. I was hoping he would say, oh, I'm into off-roading (or whatever it's called). Instead, he said, "I'm ready to do my part to change America."
Trucks, guns, lies, riots. I've decided that it's a piece of the plan to take over our country. We're still litigating the Civil War that didn't really end in the 1860's.
at I can to
Folks, if my formerly mild-mannered neighbor has changed course, I'm at a loss as to what I can do -- except vote. I live in Delaware -- a state that has reliably voted Democratic in national elections. There are small signs, though, this might be changing.
I have no idea where Trumpism is going, but I do know that I have to do what I can for as long as I can to try to save the US from fascism. My parents didn't immigrate from the UK so I can take a pass on defending what they thought was -- and I still think is -- important.
Alarm bells are ringing in the UK. Today, we have the eighth "National Conservatism Conference" (NatCon) opening for three days. Speakers will include the extreme right wing of the Tory party, your very own J.D. Vance, and many others who espouse subjects such as "replacement ". There will be anti-vaxxers, supporters of the Hungarian PM Viktor Orban, who promotes White Christian Nationalism, and many others with views that used to be kept quiet. Thanks in large part to Loser 45, it's now OK to to tell lies openly and frequently, to denigrate "others" . Our Home Secretary, a daughter of immigrants, who is "dreaming" of sending those who have entered our country in small boats and so forth (because there are *no other* routes for safe asylum seeking) to Rwanda, a country noted for its appalling human rights record. She has referred to them as "swarms". A famous ex-footballer and now renowned sports pundit Gary Lineker was castigated for saying that our government was "using the rhetoric of Germany in the 30's" was absolutely right.
So glad you wrote this! We all need to speak up loudly for democracy in every way we can everywhere we can!
Exactly right, Robert. Trump is an evil force trying to destroy our democracy. The good people of this country must fight or we will be like Nazi Germany. Trump is following Joseph Goebbels strategy to a T: Tell a lie. Make it big. Keep repeating it and people will believe it. With Trump and the current Republican Party, we will no longer be the leader of the free world.
PRINT THIS OUT AND PLACE ON EVERY COFFEE TABLE MARKED "MUST READ".
I am with you 100%