One of the reasons that moneyed interests succeed in exploiting white anger is because those same rich guys and corporations have used media and political populism to deflect that anger away from themselves. Harris and Walz are right to propose policies that explicitly benefit those who are angry - that will do some good. But the next step, most importantly, is to get people to see that the real exploiters are the new oligarchs, the new robber barons!
Unfortunately, it was the first of a continuous string of bad decisions by the Roberts Court. Many of its decisions do not appear to be based on precident nor on the Constitution. I believe this Court has descended to the level of *Worst of All Time.* it has finally passed the Taney Court on its way down.
Benjamin and Carolyn, I am so glad your comments have made it to the top of the stack. If Trump and down ticket Republicans win it will be because of the vast sums of money that will be poured into their campaigns by the real bullies who will utilize their vast wealth to purchase the election for the candidates that will destroy any restraints on their ability to become the oligarchs that are the ones who will run the country from behind the scenes. A Republican win will be more than a political disaster, it will be an economic disaster that will so impoverish what remains of the middle class that the loss of purchasing power will lead us to finally focus all on the true roots of the demise of democracy, capitalism run amuck.
As we come into the next financial collapse caused by the rising oligarch class amassing all the wealth we will finally have to confront the power behind the “bullies.” Capitalism has degraded itself to no longer be the system that delivers on promises to the middle class, it is becoming the cudgel of the bullies.
Personally I take the unpopular stance that capitalism cannot be “saved.” If we wish to change the corrupt political and justice system we must reform the economic system on which all of this rests, the outmoded and corrupted economic system of capitalism. If Trump and the Republicans win or steal this election, it will be proof that it is an election purchased by the upcoming oligarchs. A functioning democracy must stand on a base of a democratic economic system otherwise known as “Economic Democracy.” We can no longer depend on a greed based economic system to bring us true democracy.
Elon Musk is the perfect “Poster Child” for those now coming into unlimited political power. Why else would he invest 45 million a month into the campaign of an obviously mentally deranged candidate? It is because he plans to control him. Look how quickly Trump changed his position on the future of electric cars! Remember Trump’s offer to the petroleum industry. "Give me a billion dollars and in return i will remove all environmental regulations.” In other words, the EPA is for sale to the highest bidder.
Musk, Trump and others of their kind, put them all on an island somewhere they cannot escape and do no harm, for they are doing plenty of harm to people, the bunch are a sorry or poor excuse for the word called humanity, for they have none! and all mighty dollar is their God
Could not agree more, Marc. If the Dems win in November, they have to summon the will to abolish the connection between big money and political outcomes. If they don't, we'll be fighting the oligarchs forever.
As just one example, it's obscene that our government is contracted with any private individual (a guy by the name of Elon Musk) to provide communication services. Capitalists should never have that kind of hold on us collectively.
Elon Musk also has a monopoly on reliable space travel, satellite, launching for both US companies and companies abroad, as well as electric car charging networks. With Starlink being the only reliable Internet constellation, providing coverage to 102 countries, he is definitely gaining a stranglehold on the population at large here and abroad. He is writing the playbook for a new American oligarchy. Capitalism is simply his steppingstone.
I appreciate your clarity. Most of my adult life has been a fruitless attempt to convince others of the fundamental truth of your statement. It seems to me that most voters hope to "save capitalism from itself" rather than utilize a people before profits economic system.
A.I.-Will-Change-Everything... The Confluence of A.I., Robotics, and Quantum Computing is Frightening... Mankind, Society, will have to evolve to avoid Disaster... The Dark Techno-Siths are investing heavily into it in order to Control It... Do you think that they have the General Welfare In Mind? Tune In To The Evolution Of Tech Warfare In Ukraine To Get A Foretaste... I agree that the Roberts Court is among the Worst, and DJT is devolving into a Rotting Puppet of the Dark Siths... He Dances To The Tune Of $$$... As Bob Dylan once said, Money Doesn't Talk, It Swears....
Capitalism has given us technological progress and economic growth. The growth has become malignant, nowhere more so than in the military industrial complex. The American middle class wants national greatness--apparently at any cost.
I think you meant "greatness" to be in quotes, Victor, because proving we can dominate any other country that doesn't give us our way, to the tune of some 800 bases scattered across the globe, and untold billions sunk into weaponry, isn't greatness, IMO. It's the height of folly, stealing from average citizens to satisfy military profiteers.
You are right, Charles. The current composition of SCOTUS has been the greatest accomplishment of the Conservative Revolution launched by Newt Gingrich in the 1990s. Project 2025 is the continuation of that revolution of the Right.
...and make sure to vote a Blue down ballot, otherwise we won't see meaningful reform of the money-corrupted system, scandalous SCOTUS, programs focused on rebuilding the hollowed out middle class, protection of the environment, etc.
It is my fervent hope, that President Harris does not fall prey to the same pressures and forces that resulted in Bill Clinton signing the repeal of Glass Steagal and other neo liberal, homophobic and racist legislation like the Omnibus Crime Bill, Defense of Marriage Act, Don't ask don't tell., not to mention the neo liberal NAFTA, GATT and Telecommunications act of 1996.
I'm right there with you, William. Although Bill and Hillary have been unabashed corporate creatures for many decades, so Bill's actions weren't surprising. Harris needs to walk the trust-busting, fighting-for-the-little-guy talk.
Yes she does Denise and she needs the opportunity, trash talking her and Walz only helps Trump. Now if she shows different colors after the election, then it is time to let loose the hounds
I am waiting to see if she replaces Merrick Garland, if she does there is hope and sign of change. If she doesn't than all we have done is slowed the inexorable march towards a fascist Republic.
She had better replace him. She just has to. We can no longer tolerate such inaction & incompetence in the DOJ. We never should have, especially at this critical time.
I've said for years that once a candidate gets to a certain point in the election all outside money needs to be prohibited and each candidate can only use a government stipend and no more. The playing field needs to be level. Big money should not be allowed to buy an election. Nor interfere in any way. If they want to contribute in needs to go that stipend and be given out equally and anonymously. Misleading ads and lies need to be held as criminal acts. The penalty could be smaller stipend pay outs.
The only problem is that the people to correct this are the people who want the big money. Just like term limits, never going to happen because they won't cut off their nose to spite their face. Bummer but true.
You are partially correct. AS I recall, about 20 plus years ago it was on the ballot. The people voted for it and it passed on the ballot. Then it never happened. Just like all the disappearing good ideas. That being said we still can have term limits. It starts at the ballot box. Unfortunately, the American people as a whole don't understand what power they have. If the did we would have an honest government free of self serving criminals only interested in what they can get for themselves. Not what's good for all. "Re- Elect NO One." should be the catch phrase this year and for every election hence forth.
I repeat this suggestion: All campaign-related messaging should be defined as a public service and candidates should be able to make their announcements ("commercials") free of charge. They can hire and pay production contractors to compose their announcements, but media should not charge them to broadcast. This takes some of the money-making thrill away from the media. Also, there should be an increase in program-length broadcasts such as town halls, debates, etc., and a decrease in "sound bite" announcements.
yes and its Big Money that is trying to shut down independent journalists and whistleblowers like Assange [finally free after how many years?] and now Richard Medhurst.
"The Obama's and Biden's WH persecution and incarceration of Julian Assange established a dangerous precedent for the criminalization of journalism.
While Assange was finally freed this year, we see the rotten fruit of that campaign emerging in the recent, unjustifiable arrest of independent journalist Richard Medhurst.
Medhurst is a dual Syrian-British citizen and one of the foremost independent journalists covering the genocide in Gaza. He has been a powerful advocate for Palestine and a relentless truthteller. Last week he was arrested for his journalism under the UK’s Terrorism Act – an unbelievably dangerous law passed in the Tony Blair era...
The UK arrest of Richard Medhurst bears all the hallmarks of Obama’s record-breaking persecution of whistleblowers and journalists using our country’s century old Espionage Act...
Just before he was taken into custody, Medhurst publicly criticized the Terrorism Act and its use in silencing dissent over Israel’s atrocities in Gaza. A few hours later he boarded a flight back home to the UK, and was arrested on arrival...
“They arrested me—not detained—they arrested me under Section 12 of the Terrorism Act of 2000 and accused me of allegedly 'expressing an opinion or belief that is supportive of a prescribed organization,' but wouldn't explain what this meant.” Richard Medhurst
The same class of .... elites who stood on the DNC stage last week in Chicago proclaiming themselves the “party of freedom” and welcoming an “era of joy” also aided and abetted Barack Obama’s war on journalists and whistleblowers. In fact, in one of his last acts as president mere days before handing the reins of power over to Donald Trump, Barack Obama signed Executive Order 12333 speed running the distribution of mass surveillance data collected by the NSA to the FBI, DEA, and Homeland Security.
Fascism is alive and well in America, and it has a welcome home in both major parties.
...Kamala Harris pledged a militant crackdown on asylum seekers at the border and maintaining our military powers as “the most lethal fighting force in the world” – promising unlimited, unconditional weapons for a genocidal apartheid state."
Exactly Ben ! Only now the oli's & rb's hide behind corporate laws, structure and citizenship. THE REASON Citizens United, corporate citizenship HAS to go ! Our democracy has morphed into a corptocracy !
Just as per the ruling by the not so Supreme Court, that Corporations Are People, these uber wealthy never have enough and they have for a long time, found a party, the grand ole poo party and an ever so willing corrupt Supreme Court of utter stench, to do their dirty work, but hear us overlords, for I speak for the many when I say, enough of your crap. we're not taking it anymore!
❤Reich❤:"...around 1980, progress stopped. The bullies began taking over."
In 1978 Americans "repeated the brainwashing" of murderous Purdue Pharma 2.3 Billion times... once for each Purdue anxiety pill they consumed. Valium was the most
prescribed medication for 13 years... Americans thought they were upgrading to a superior technology from the science of anxiety that REQUIRES THE DISCOMFORT OF FACING YOUR FEARS... discomfort Reich faced and as Reich followed by "assaulting" his classmate😁😁😁. For a ten year old Reich in 1968... THE VERY NEXT YEAR THE FIRST ANXIETY PILL WAS ANNOUNCED BY PURDUE AND REICH WOULD HAVE BEEN TOLD BY THERAPISTS TO PAY THE BULLY AND TAKE A VALIUM ( thus both Purdue and the Therapist have a customer for LIFE... and Reich would have LEARNED HELPLESSNESS)
When Reich realized his pills and therapy failed... he would have been approached by one of three Americans who are Evangelical (evangelize means "get the word out" and requires FACING THE FEAR OF REJECTION). Reich would have dedicated his life to Jesus and Reagan and OVERTURNING ROE🤔😱😝😨😁😁😁😁❤
You are merely exhibiting that mental illness Is a chimera to be cured by pulling up one’s big boy or big pants and taking a hike. Big Pharma has spent years and millions to produce psychotropic drugs that have been used successfully by millions but we still have a long way to go with services and medications for the seriously mentally ill.
Trump is smarter (or a better con man) than Democrats and pundits think. Even his own handlers don't fully understand. Trump won't propose policies because his base is not motivated by policies. They are motivated by grievance, hate, fear, resentment, quirky theories of "constitutional sheriffs", tax avoidance, xenophobia (replacement theory), extreme religiosity (Christian nation) and straight up racism. Obviously these themes won't play well in a debate with Harris; let's see if that tangerine twatwaddle will even show up...
@Victor. Maybe. But I think those "policies" are a part of the "bait" that moneyed interests use to attract voters. Most of the policies are "give aways" to the robber barons, corporations and tax avoiders. I can't be sure that Trump's base even knows what is in Project 2025, or implications for their lives.
There is a theory that tells us the voter votes for a candidate like themselves.
So: an adulterer, a failed entrepreneur and felon, a tax evader, a xenofobe, someone who does not discriminate between truth and lie. Is that his voter base?
Or: is the relation between Trump and his voters determined by the scars of his upbringing and the need for parental support and praise?
@Tom. I am a political scientist by training. I have a theory called "Reciprocal Hegemony". The main sense of this is that politicians and particularly populists do not lead their supporters. Rather, these personality types are good at detecting and emulating the sentiments that occur in the populace. Trump just spews it back to them what they want to hear. This dynamic CAN be used to lead; first get their attention by spewing back their sentiments. Second, draw them along a line of thinking that does not depart too sharply from what they want to believe. Third, implement permission structures and rewards for those who adopt the new posture. The permission structures are just what you see from Trump's campaign - constant reinforcement. But in Trump's case, no movement away from the base. The rewards are putting people in visible positions, people who reflect the new sentiments. In Trump's case you don't see this either as his choices either reflect back on the base's worst sentiments or parrot his spewing faithfully.
Benjamin, we are collegues: I studied in Amsterdam and graduated in the seventies. My efforts did not give me a better understanding though. Why is this moron attracting millions of voters? Why is any rational argument useless?
If you have any study suggestions, please help me....
@Tom. I don't have all the answers. I can share how my thoughts are running. There is a lot of work being done on the genetic contribution to people's political and cultural leanings. People who vote for Trump share behavioral traits such as anxiety over strangers, fear of the unknown, reduced altruism towards less-known people (described in the literature as "others"), high religiosity, and so forth. This is not just in the United States as it is a human phenomenon that you see around the world in terms of movements trying to re-capture a "happy past" that never existed. In the United States people with these traits tend to adopt neo-confederate attitudes - they reject large parts of what the majority thinks is the "American Way". The scary part is that these people are still there whether Trump is there anymore or not. We will need to find humane and democratic means of soothing those who are afraid, resentful and angry. I think the new Democratic platform of economic benefits will go some distance in the right direction and thereby peel off some of the "not so extreme" people in the Trump coalition.
Yes, economic benefits- fed, sheltered, clothed people not living on the edge will lower the temperature of anger & resentment. A lot of folks are generous by nature, if they have the means, which makes for a better community.
Or they grew up Repukelican and now only get their "facts" from fox-fake-news,
"news"max, or "The First" on TV along with "social" online posts. Look who "panhandlers" in northern FL vote for...that's just the beginnings of their reach.
They don’t simply USE the media, they OWN the media. Owning the media offers them exponentially more power by manipulating the “news”. This is most likely why Musk stole Twitter. And why Trump began his own social media platform. We need to understand this. And we need to correct this.
Indeed, and it's called distraction by pitting people against each other, while the oligarchs divvy up the spoils and is why these same uber stinking segment of ultra wealthy will still want to vote for Trump, the wannabe dictator, because as long as they get their wish list items of zero taxes (will mean gutting programs that help average people) and no real regulations to speak of(which means a poisoned planet of death, disease and destruction), then their ok with it and in them you will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy
@Laurie. Yes, I wish I would have mentioned that. Many people we would consider nice and ordinary at home go to work where they then wreak humongous damage on the natural world and/or on their fellow citizens.
"It is a fight that began to take shape in 1968 when Nixon won the presidency, that became bellicose after 1980 when Ronald Reagan took office."
Which is why every time I hear the words "I'm a proud Reaganite" I want to throw up. They never say, "I'm a proud Nixonite," but it's really the same thing.
Michael, I expect it’s no coincidence that the Heritage Foundation, in the late 70s, produced “The Leadership Mandate,” a precursor to “Project 2025.” I understand the Reagan Administration adopted some 60% of it.
Nixon won in 1968 in large part because the southern states had switched their allegiance from Democrats to Republicans in the wake of Civil Rights. The Heritage Foundation was formed in his second term, with the contradictory aims of promoting free enterprise by limiting government. This is standing Adam Smith on his head. Smith promoted strong government to keep the markets free, by what we would now call anti-trust and monopoly busting, along with the collection of taxes.
Taxes serve the dual purpose of 1) preventing anyone getting so rich that they can buy the government in the pursuit of monopoly (Elon are you listening?) and 2) promoting the public good by providing stuff that the capitalist has no interest in, stuff we would call infrastructure, like schools, roads, bridges, etc.
When the Heritage Foundation preaches "freedom" run a mile. What they mean is freedom of the plutocrats to exploit.
As for Reagan, well, he was just a convenient horse's ass.
Michael, good insights. Reagan was one of those guys who saw himself as far smarter, more powerful, and more righteous than most people and a lot of folks bought the BS, and we all paid a lot for it. Then, he surrounded himself with a bunch of sycophants who knew just how to use Reagan's persona to exploit the system: Trickle-down nonsense, Iran-Contra, "Welfare Queens," single-handedly bringing down the USSR, and instituting his "morning in America," etc. For me it's hard to know who's tampering was worse, Nixon's or Reagan's. I'm leaning toward Reagan because Nixon at least started the EPA, got Title IX on the board, and made high-level contact with China and the USSR (not sure if the last was positive or negative in the long run).
Ruth, when anyone starts telling me how great Reagan was, I tell them he was a 2 bit actor who couldn't act well and couldn't govern this country any better!
Peggy, my sister who was a talent agent always said that Reagan's best acting job was playing president. She was right. He had no clue, but could memorize the lines and put them out here with conviction that he may or may not have had because with actors, sometimes it is unclear. He certainly permitted the Heritage Klan to work on disrupting our democracy for the people while giving themselves and their friends all kinds of rights and privileges they didn't deserve. Not a great presidency, but so many of our people had no clue what was going on and believed the actor rather than their own eyes and pocket books. Now they complain that it is the Democrats' fault, but the Dems in Congress were just doing what the people told them they wanted and Dems in congress were believing they were following the plan of the democracy and the constitution while they were being duped and played by a bunch of con men who had their own personal welfare in mind. We the People don't seem to learn things and hold the knowledge for very long, do we?
And that was what the Republicans wanted. Robber-baron types have been scratching and clawing their way back ever since the Great Depression and the New Deal policies of Franklin Roosevelt. Look how often they have exploited people’s tendency to idolize actors — not real heroes or patriots, but PRETEND ones whom people idolized because of the roles they played, and whom people confused with those roles. Especially beginning with Reagan, the Republican Party has done that many times, and now has used Trump, crazy as he is, in the same way. And many people go for it. To their own loss, and the detriment of the nation. They have watched the movie, THAT’S the guy they want as their leader.
And so we continue to be conned, manipulated exploited and scammed, while the ones doing the conning, manipulation, exploitation and scamming take their Ill-gotten gains to the bank, and accrue power.
So true, Judith! I guess they picked the orange man because of the movie 'Godfather'. I'm through with their attempts to con, manipulate, exploit and scam us. Vote blue, America!
Oh, he had the reputation as a Grade B actor, but once he became President he showed what a great actor he actually was, fooling lots of people into thinking he was a competent president. The entertainer Trump had much the same effect.
Nixon was a man with an actual intellect who was involved in the {messed up} governing of his administration. Reagan, I am convinced, was a pawn. For a segment of his time in office, he had dementia. He was reported to spend many afternoons napping. The Heritage Foundation set the agenda and ran things behind the scenes and from down in the White House basement. I think Reagan was the Nixonite’s response to the downfall of Nixon. Ronnie was someone they could influence and control. And they did.
Pat, unfortunately, there are quite a few similarities between Reagan and Trump. Intellectually, Reagan had it over Trump, but Trump was a better schemer. Reagan was a better grandpa figure, but both seemed like old men with few skills who enraptured a bunch of people who should have known better.
Both had dementia. Different symptoms, but definitely not all there. Reagan could stick to his script. Trump loses track and goes off on his own streams of consciousness.
Pat, you are right about Reagan, but he has almost been deified even by Democrats, probably trying to find a Republican president they could actually say they "liked." Most people have no idea of what the Heritage Klan were doing behind the scenes under Reagan who had no clue, as long as he had his Nancy, a bunch of sycophants who would go along with whatever he wanted and people who hung on his every actor's word. Reagan's "team" knew what was happening to Reagan by 1984, but ran him anyway and he won by a big margin because Grandpa Ronnie was just who they needed to get them through the morass of 1980s life, not realizing that Reagan and his friends had created a whole lot of that morass. What they were permitted to do to this nation still hangs on in so many ways. I am hoping Harris and Walz will be able to break through at least some of it to a brighter future, that is if we have much of one since Republicans still can't say "global warming is real and we need to do something serious, life-changing to stop it." Hey, many Democrats can't say that either, but far far fewer.
I personally blame Reagan for the turn the nation took which brings us to where we are now. I thought back then that most people could SEE the direction Reaganomics would lead us in, and would surely reject that direction pretty quickly. Up to that point, we had been headed toward worker-management joint decision-making in the workplace, decent pay for workers, strong environmental regulation, strong civil rights laws, excellence in education, a strong social security system. All that changed with Reagan.
Maybe with this election we can continue to move back toward the track we were on before we were so rudely interrupted. Forget Trump ever happened, or make him an object lesson. We have to guard against our own worst natures, realize how susceptible we humans are to manipulation and exploitation, and hope to repair the damage that has been done by those who would divide and exploit.
Victor, officially Reagan was not a war criminal, but there was Iran-contra which was a kind of war crime, and the Contra did a lot of damage to the people of Central America and a lot of people died, and we funded their killing squads. So, I guess it depends on how one defines "war crimes."
And Reagan's treachery to get into power in the first place, sabotaging the peace talks Carter was holding with Iranian President Beni-Sadr to release the hostages by going behind Carter's back & convincing the ayatollah Khomeini not to release the hostages until Reagan was inaugurated. Iran-Contra proceeded from there.
Drugs for weapons enabled by the likes of William Barr was not good either. They all got away with it, too. Look at the gun manufacturers, the NRA and it's operators. The fact is that no lawsuits can be brought against these manufacturers. The latest bump stock debacle by the Extreme court. Plenty evil going around still. And Barr still has his law license. and his buddies Ollie North
and former president of the NRA, Wayne Robert LaPierre Jr. and 5 others. got away with it. He was able to step down this year, and walk away, with a civil suit against him. Under Attorney General, Wiiliam Barr's advice, President George H. W. Bush in 1992 pardoned six officials involved in the Iran–Contra affair. Barr became attorney general for the second time in 2019. And he helped snuff the Mueller report. He still has his law license. Pardon power is still there , waiting to give crooks liars and traitors/criminals an off ramp, so they can screw US and those in other countries with impunity. Just google William Barr and see how long he has enabled corruption at the top.
Sad but true, Ruth. We should never forget that RR had blood on his hands. Nixon killed tens of thousands with his carpet bombing of Cambodia. This is how authoritarians behave.--narrow minded themselves, they trust in force alone.
Tom, you are right about the awareness problem, but that is so much due to our poor media coverage and that government is not taught in schools and is only an elective in colleges. Citizens of a democracy need to understand how the intersection of government and the people works and schools are so wrapped up in math and reading that everything else just passes on by until at best, middle school where science is thrown in along with some social studies. Children need to be learning about our society from the time they are really little, say, first grade: following basic rules, consequences for breaking rules, taking care of property including their own, learning who the president is and what the president does, and some other basic information that can be taught along with reading and math or within reading and math. If educators/teachers were involved in making more of the curriculum decisions rather than legislatures, politicians, partisan hacks, we could have some really good programs to help inform our young people. Even community classes for adults and teens would be great to help them learn about how our government works and how that impacts them. It could be done.
It’s all about the rich not wanting to pay taxes to help the less fortunate- the rich forget where they came from in most instances ( not all were born with a silver spoon in their mouth)
The ones who inherited money in my view are the biggest problem. When you earn the money at least one can consider them as having accomplished something. When someone inherits money it is likely they are anointed as having smarts because they have money. Which is no evidence of success but, merely being lucky. They often believe they are smart which is also no evidence of actually being smart.
Taxes are not "to help the less fortunate," although some use of taxes will have that benefit, but the beauty of paying taxes, of having a FAIR system of taxation is the same idea that underlies "e pluribus unum" and "we're all in this together" and "to form a more perfect union." It is the understanding and acceptance of RESPONSIBILITY as a CITIZEN of the country to build, maintain, improve, protect, clean, develop, pay bills, etc. to be a RESPONSIBLE and HONEST and patriotic CITIZEN.
t.Rump is NONE of that. The practice and praise for avoiding/evading paying taxes, i.e. our fair share, is another con-game played by far too many.
Michael, Thank you for writing. Your commentary aligns perfectly with data from the Economic Policy Institute, which notes from 1947-73 real family income growth for the lowest fifth was 116.1% and 84.8% for the top fifth. Conversely, from 1973-2000 the lowest fifth was 12.1% while the top fifth was 66.9%. The disproportionality in subsequent years trends increasingly more grotesque.
Great research and statistics. I would like to learn more from you. Good yo see it put this way. This should be part of campaign statistics. It certainly adds to my understanding of many parts of my lifetime!
Thank you for supplying facts and information. And they are even worse than I thought. I instinctively knew in 1975 that beneath the ying and yang of everyday politics some kind of tectonic shift had happened in our nation, but I lacked the intellect to express it. We have been sliding downhill ever since.
Thanks Bob for writing. Presuming Dems win up and down the ballot, let’s hope we’re on the cusp of a modicum of social and economic justice for increasing numbers of people today who feel overwhelmed and marginalized by institutionally oppressive forces largely beyond their individual control.
Just one quibble, Michael. Many capitalists ARE interested in roads and bridges, along with other infrastructure, because they need those things to make their money (that is, those who aren't simply financial manipulators). It's just that they think they shouldn't have to pay for that infrastructure. Let the serfs pay for it.
Good analysis, Michael, but RR was no "horse's ass." He was an extraordinary speaker and story teller, and he was bought. JD Vance and Trump are playing a similar role.
Right Barb. There was in '71 the Powell Memo as well. You know all about that; we've chatted before. The Reagan administration just shifted the whole shebang into a higher gear so to speak. I actually think the real formative years for all that's happened began with their despise of FDR policies, which were highly inflammatory to our corporate godlings. (Godlings is my made up word. Prediction: Within 5 years it will make it to Scrabble acceptability. Lol).
Henceforth I will attempt to use godling(s) whenever I play Scrabble, just as Jerry Garcia insisted Truckin was a real word when he played against an unconvinced Dave Letterman.
It probably is - " Truckin" was originally a dance move. There are several theories about where it came from, but the most likely is that it was invented in Harlem during the late 1920's."
@D4N, To underscore your reference to FDR, I was about to post data I wound up posting as a reply to Michael Hutchinson. I imagine you are quite familiar with the figures.
Post away Barbara, include a link to me if possible. What I've learned about you is that you may be wonkier than I am (-; I always seem to gain a different detail or angle from your inputs. Thanks for that... always. Brava !
@D4N, If you scroll up, you’ll find data from the Economic Policy Institute I posted as a reply to Michael Hutchinson. While the figures tell a story with which you’re quite familiar, the numbers nonetheless are quite stark.
I would add, given the substance of your posts, that a kind word from you really means something.
Reagan took us the from the largest lender country in the world to the largest debtor nation during his terms. It is he who said deficits do not matter and GOOPers ran with that until a democrat was elected.
"I'm a proud Reaganite" sounds a bit religious. Like "I'm a proud Christian". Both pledge faith in a dead guy. Read Christopher Hitchens' "God is not Great: How Religion Spoils Every thing".
plus,Reagan's famous 11th commandment,'thou shalt not speak iIl of a fellow republican',was formulated after he won-in the '76 primaries,he viciously and vociferously attacked Gerald Ford,probably contributing to Ford's defeat-loyal,indeed!!
All this Reagan chatter makes me wonder how bright he was?
Reagan was an actor who loved stage central and the bright lights. He adored White men with lots of money! Social climber, anyone? Nancy was the extreme in that department!
Ronald Reagan, a sub 'B' actor, was deeply indebted to GE; look it up. Reagan paid back his fiddler. I guess it could be said he was 'loyal' to them and their positions.
The two days in our history that changed how we develop was the day Reagan took office and 9/11.
We are now mostly a group of people that reacts in fear instead of using the brains we were given. PS: The day they elected Richard Nixon, my father stated “I can’t believe they voted that crook into office”.
Nixon & Reagan were very similar in how they affected people. Nixon was as maleficent outwardly as he was inside, while Reagan put a jocular face on the evil policies he implemented.
"Iran-Contra" anyone. And even before elected he unlawfully negotiated with the Ayatollah re US hostages. For that he clearly should've been prosecuted.
--Please forgive the post, for it doesn't belong. I'll remove it if asked to do so. It contains something I just had to share. During the Democratic convention there were several members of the Republican party who spoke out on the dangers of reelecting Donald Trump. In one speech Adam Kinzinger blistered Trump with a volley of truths that would have meant so much if only the MAGA crowd could have heard what Adam had to say. Out of curiosity I tuned into Fox News just to see how they were handling a Republican who speaks the truth. That channel "muted" Adam's entire speech and put an interview with some dweeb on, in its place. You could see Mr. Kinzinger in the upper right-hand portion of the screen but they reduced the size of his image so reading his lips was next to impossible. Fox is so despicable they run from the truth and hide behind a fat guy who cheats at golf. No wonder they don't win any Emmy Awards, not a single one. Read those tea leaves.
I know someone else who doesn’t back down from bullying and her name is Kamala Harris! Trump knows that she will belittle him during the debate so he is already looking for a way to escape from Kamala’s condemnation!
I have wondered whether Trump will chicken out of the debate with Kamala using some excuse, or whether his ego won't let him, so he'll go in and get flattened (I hope).
I have this feeling Donold may chicken out. He's started demanding the mics only be turned on when the candidate is answering a question (a la the last debate with Biden), and it's evidently a sticking point in the negotiations for the Sep 10 debate.
And that's one of the many reasons I respect and support VP Harris! She knows and understands that "taking the high road" isn't a really successful strategy in the long run when it comes to dealing with bullies. And she, like many others, is also not afraid to occasionally "punch a bully in the nose" to let the bully know she's not going to allow anyone to push her or her fellow Americans around anymore!
“Which makes her just as stupid”. Look smart ass. It was DJT that dropped out of the Paris accord so you can chose either the road ti hell or a chance to make a difference. Harris represents that chance. Take your argument to a broader audience. This is neither the forum nor the opportunity for your doom and gloom speech. Staying at home or voting for Trump is NOT going to help.
John: This is definitely the forum to take our concerns regarding a Harris administration. We ARE the broader audience and will consider it our responsibility to hold a Harris administration accountable just as we did the Biden administration. If that is considered "gloom and doom" so be it. And oh let's not intrude on our moments of joy by remembering the thousands of Palestinians that have died and are dying as our Biden administration unconditionally sends billions of dollars to a corrupt criminal Netanyahu government that has no interest whatsoever in stopping the carnage.
It's not a zero-sum situation, John. Being critical of something Harris does or doesn't do isn't the same as supporting the orange one. It's quite possible to disapprove of a Harris policy and also be anti-tRump.
While I don't think Harris is stupid (except possibly in terms of eventual outcomes, which would make her short-sighted), I don’t think she'll stand up to Big Corp or the MIC, either. The trillions that are being funneled to the Pentagon are the elephant in the room that neither party will touch.
He called her stupid without supporting it with a known fact. You might want to suggest to Mr. High that it’s not a “zero sum game” since he proclaimed that Kamala is stupid. I have only criticized his characterization of
I agree that the environment is of great concern. I take issue with Mr. High’s characterization of Kamala as “stupid”. So I exercise my right to call him out. He ‘s just trolling as he has done many times before. His commentary is completely off topic. As a matter of common sense, he could have posted his video link without the ad hominem attack which was baseless.
And if you want to dissuade voters, be prepared for the road to hell with Trump. Consider it not an interruption of my joy but throwing out the good in favor of the perfect just as the Bernie Bros did in 2016.
Both parties have capitulated, Susan. See: continued subsidies to Big Oil; poison pills in Biden's omnibus legislation, such as options to privatize infrastructure; continued privatization of Medicare; and so on.
I agree completely that we have to get money out of elections. We also have to make lobbying by corporations and organizations illegal, where there is any quid pro quo.
Oh, I agree! I didn’t mean to imply otherwise. Dems
wind up taking corporate money because they have to. But republicans have made taking corporate money (bribes) central to how they govern. (bribes & kickbacks have been normalized by the GOP. If legislation interferes with corporations’ ability to make obscene profits, republicans will always vote against it. Dems still recognize that things like regulations are necessary. But my fear is they may
Umm....I don't think Dems have to take money any more than Repubs have to. It's all the same trough. Bob Menendez is as much a grifter as anybody on the other side of the aisle.
Thank you Tom High. Watching the TED talk was both positive and positively terrifying. The speaker gave possible conclusions for winning the time war against Global disaster. I know we can make the turn… however, watching only American political discourse brings on the positively terrifying. Are we willing and mature enough as a nation to put not only our “Democracy above greed and corruption.. but more seriously, can we care more about the planet we live on and finally know that without it being a healthy planet…. Nothing , got that? Nothing is more important. And if we don’t do that, then Nothing is what the homo sapien will be.
I. Still don’t understand why Trump hasn’t been convicted of the many criminal cases against him.. he is a major felon. He’s also too old and takes drugs. He makes no sense when he speaks. He loves dictatators. He’s a frightening dangerous jerk. I don’t get it.
Can’t wait till September 10th(if the creep shows up) and September 27th for his sentencing (though he’ll probably try one of his usual evasive legal maneuvers). Most of all, I absolutely cannot wait until I never, ever (like NEVER) have to see that ugly orange mug topped by a bleach blonde beaver pelt gorilla glued to the top of his bald pate! (Did I say never?)
He owns some judges and knows how to have his minions do bad things to people. Like Hitler, who had his SS brownshirts who terrorized citizens into fearful submission.
I’m still enjoying your previous comment coining the term Harrisite. You are very clever, David. I’m trying to think of something for Tim, but only Walzer comes to mind. A bit lame compared to your wit I’m afraid.
Katherine, what’s wrong with Walzer (or waltzer)? Walzer will waltz our way into better government. Remember, originally the Viennese waltz was a fast, energetic dance.
I understand the frustration. As an attorney, (though not a criminal attorney) I can say that Trump & his attorneys have exploited every procedural loophole they could find or create in order to drag things out. Delay almost always benefits the defendant.
Also, since Trump is an ex-president with millions of supporters, judges aren’t really treating him as they would treat other defendants. That’s very apparent in the documents case in Judge Cannon’s court in
Florida.
Because of who he is, because he whines and distorts every little thing to his supporters, and because said supporters like to issue death threats and/or show up at peoples’ homes to harass them
& their family members, judges are being more cautious. Even people who work with the judge
have been threatened. So, it would actually be
irresponsible to put innocent people at risk. Any other defendant would have been taken to jail long ago. It’s not fair that he gets special treatment, but it’s necessary as a practical matter.
One more thing—The trials that took place before
the hush money case were civil matters, not criminal matters. The hush money case that found him guilty of 34 felonies & for which he hasn’t yet been sentenced, is the 1st criminal trial. The business fraud case & the sexual assault case were civil
law matters, meaning his penalty is to fork over a lot of money—both are being appealed. Trump has 3 additional criminal matters pending.
What you write Robert goes for Europe as well. But we haven't yet arrived at the stage of hope that someone will turn around the course of rampant populism used by the oligarchy to enlarge & keep their power. That's why the UK elections and now the US elections are filling me with hope that we, in Europe, will follow the example and kick back extreme right populism back to the fringes of society.
PeDupre, I hope for you. We in America are fighting back very hard. As Kamala has said and the rest of us constantly message, "We will NOT go back". It has been a hard decade for so many of us and frankly, we are sick of it. We are hoping for a giant blue wave in November that will wash these loud obnoxious MAGA nuts back into the sewers where they belong! Keep fighting for what you know is right! Vote blue, America!
And to add to my reply (I was to quick with the "post" button 😃). What really gives hope (and is different with previous democratic campaigns I think) is the number of normal people that donate, often for the first time. This must count for something.
That does count for a lot when normal people are donating to Democrats for the very first time. It is an indication that finally there is someone who can take the helm of the Democracy ship and set it on the right course! It is encouraging and exciting! Vote blue, America!
I believe in the power of the positive. And the vibes you get from Kamala & Tim + the perfectly executed campaign must result in the blue wave you are talking about Peggy. I surely hope so and know I'm not the only one over here.
It is so heartwarming to know that people in other countries are cheering us on, PeDupre! I, too, am a big believer in the power of the positive. Kamala and Tim have that in spades! Forget the blue wave, look for a blue tsunami!
I remember the popular bully in my elementary school was a nobody by middle school, and then the popular bully in my middle school was a nobody by high school. In each case, like the younger Professor Reich dropping his lunchbox before declaring enough was enough, someone stood up to the bully and ended their tyrannical reign.
Bullies inherently lack courage, so they create a protected reality where virtually no one stands up to them. Conversely, those willing to risk taking a stand against the bully are the ones that neutralize them.
Thankfully, Kamala is courageously motivated to stand up to Trump the Bully and will neutralize him, debates or no debates.
David, I think you are right about Harris being courageously motivated to face the bully. I also think she understands the bully and can poke him at vulnerable points. I accidentally stopped a bully by repeating a comment someone has said about him, just as a joke. His friends picked up on it and he was embarrassed by them. He stopped picking on me and my friends after that. I hadn't meant to do harm, but the outcome was what we needed. He turned out to be a really good guy throughout the remainder of his life. Maybe Kamala Harris can point out some vulnerability in Trump that will let some of his cult see what/who he really is. He will never become a "good guy" but maybe he will lose some of his followers to the truth presented by the bully-buster, Harris.
"Since Joe Biden passed the torch to Kamala Harris, Trump has been on the defensive. But make no mistake: He became president by exploiting the anger of millions of white working-class Americans who for decades have been economically and culturally bullied by corporate executives, Wall Street, and upper middle-class urban professionals."
I REALLY wish that people would stop referring to Trump as "president" (at the very least, the word MUST be bracketed in quotation marks). He was NEVER president. From documents uncovered and cited by Robert Muller, the whistleblower Reality Winner and Trump's own Director of National Intelligence, the former Indiana Senator Dan Coats, Russia interfered with the 2016 election to the point that they may have manipulated voter rolls and vote counts in those states, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan that all polls had Hillary Clinton winning, and which she "lost" by only a hair.
The presidency, moreover, pays a salary of $400,000 a year and comes with an expense account of $50,000 per year. The law, therefore, defines it as a thing of value. Whether Trump colluded with Russia (collusion is a principle in antitrust law, not criminal law; conspiracy is a major part of criminal law) is irrelevant; irrespective of whether Trump actually did conspire with Russia, or knew of its activities on his behalf: if he accepted the presidency, with its four-year-compensation of $1.8 million, he was the receiver of stolen property, an entirely separate crime, one with no statute of limitations, since it is an ongoing crime as long as the unauthorized individual is in possession of the stolen property, and I think that this can be proved in court.
For the sake of accuracy, then, in lieu of employing the title "president," I really must insist that locutions such as "[Trump] became president by exploiting the anger of millions..." be replaced by the far more accurate...entered the White House by exploiting...or words to that effect -- because enter it he did, profaning every square inch he trod and sullying the sir he breathed.
Never mind his illegal election interference that resulted in 34 felony convictions, and between that and the Electoral College, there is no way he would have ever won the election (he lost the popular vote by 3 million). It fries my brain that he continues to receive any honor at all, much less a salary and secret service protection, as a result.
Avie, I cringe when anyone refers to trump a president. The people NEVER elected him. He should be referred to as Felon trump if anything. I always referred to trump as the White House Occupant from the minute he took the office. And his lunatic supporters had the audacity to say, calling him a felon was unacceptable! Huh? That’s the truth. I frankly don’t care what ANY felon-rapist supporter has to say.
Today’s letter mentions “dividing the rest of us into warring factions so we don’t look upward to see where most power and wealth have gone.” Many in America and beyond would agree with that. Did the shift to where we’re at happen when Reagan came to power? Please choose any of the many documentaries out there. It doesn’t take long to see that there is plenty of blame to go around regarding the globally rich using the wealth earned by preparation and opportunity (some call it luck) to then go on to do whatever it takes to increase their wealth and avoid pesky things like paying adequate tax on the money going to them. Harris/Walz are the only sane ticket running regarding Democracy in America. Many of us will vote ASAP for the Democratic Party ticket. However, the question remains for millions of us at the bottom rungs of the economic ladder: What is in it for us? The elephant in the room is how the financial balance will be restored so that so many of us have a living wage. Things like both parties support not taxing tips it bunk. What many of us want to see is how, if successful with winning the election, the Democrats plan to further what many see as evident, and that is getting a nationwide minimum living wage (20$+) established and getting both the corporations and the rich to pay like the rest of us (feeling tax pain and angst). Taxing the corporations and the rich in America to provide funding for education, health care, infrastructure, etc., is a major problem. Even if the Democrats take back the house majority, 50/50 that, it’s doubtful they will get a margin big enough to garnish victory in a vote on controversial issues such as equitable taxation. Go Democrats, win first, then let’s see what can be done, if anything, to right the wrongs imposed by those with more than they’d ever need to show those with not enough to sustain themselves so that we all may have the hope, joy, and prosperity we all need to unite the nation again. Gooday
Henry, I think most people do ask themselves the question when they vote, "what's in it for me?" Unfortunately, it is, at least on the Republican side, not about income, housing, fair treatment in the workplace, tax reform. It is often who is going to stop THOSE people, the ones who scare me, the ones who don't look or act like me, the ones who say the same kinds of negative things that I want to say. There have been a couple of Republican presidential candidates who did not personify those racist misogynistic, homo/transphobic, xenophobic tendencies: Bob Dole (as far as I can tell) and John McCain. Even Daddy Bush was racist. It's not clear what Baby Bush was beyond inexperienced, unmotivated to do the right thing, and not particularly curious about anything.
RHH, While I presume the bully to whom you are referring is Netanyahu, I would advise our elected officials heed the words of Minnesota uncommitted delegate Dan Englehart, who so aptly expressed, “It’s weird to say ceasefire and keep sending the fire.”
Gloria, As much as I agree that Netanyahu has reason to want to help Trump, I’m most bothered, that were it not for our continued flow of arms to Netanyahu, he could not continue his assault on Gaza.
I find that Americans who want to defend the indefensible lay ALL the problem on one person -- in this case, Netanyahu. But a very large percentage of Israel's citizens strongly support what Netanyahu is doing. Israel is running rape and torture centers, I just saw a clip from Israeli TV where the commentator was defending these centers and their tactics.
Another top official in Israel's government has called for the mass starvation of all of Gaza's people -- calling it a moral thing.
Thomas, Admittedly, I waffled a bit around whether expressly to name Netanyahu or to say Israel. I chose the former because I knew Israelis were not monolithic on Gaza or much of anything else for that matter.
Not all Israelis are Zionists. (The religious Jews who Zionists call "ultra-orthodox" are extremely anti-Zionist.)
There's a very interesting video just released by a YouTuber named "Indie Nile" called "Leaving the Cult of Zion!sm." Former Zionist Israelis give their testimonies on how they'd been deceived all their lives. (The exclamation point in the title reflects the actual name, for search purposes.)
Thomas, Thanks for the reference. I’ll view it when I get home this evening. Meantime, your comment invoked how too often anti-Zionism gets conflated with antisemitism.
A founder of Zionism, Theodor Hertzl, put it this way: "The anti-Semites will become our most dependable friends, the anti-Semitic countries our allies " Zionism DEPENDS on anti-Semitism.
I hear you Robert, however, I don't feel Trump is your standard Bullie. I feel the bullies I've met chose to be mean, for one reason or another. With Trump, there is no option, the man is a moronic thug and that is just who he is. That feeling you described is a Democratic Tsunami, and its coming.
The quality (not character) of the bullying is the issue: how would you feel if *you* were someone with a disability being mocked for existing in his general vicinity? (Or, indeed, with the misfortune to be of some other characteristic that His butt-Holiness had deemed insufficiently majoritarian; safe to be yourself?)
The fact of his flaunting not only public record - but in the information age, of all things - shows a contempt for not just standards but any semblance of boundaries which *all* Americans are not only entitled to - but often find themselves having to struggle to establish, i.e. where justice & equity are slow in coming. (In short: it's not just an anti-government bully; it's an un-American lack of character full of bullying behavior!)
What's your plan that you have often stated for "channeling Taylor Swift"? She had plenty of time to fly back from her London concert and appear at the DNC on Thurs.
The important thing for me is : never lose hope. We survived trump. It was not easy, but then we had Biden. I already bought the champaigne to toast Kamala. I look forward to the future with anticipation and joy.
Hope is a wonderful thing. However, we cannot take her victory for granted. We’ve gotta work hard to come up with huge margins against the other side since we know they’re working hard on suppressing our votes. #HarrisWalz2024!
I completely agree. we need as a society to stop prioritizing money over community and culture. somewhat ironically, this will only happen when everyone has a fairer shot at economic success. you only think about community more, and money less, when you have some level of economic security.
Yes - we didn’t improve our national debt under Trump - republicans made it worse with tax cuts to the wealthy - what do MAGAS think “ provide for the common defense and promote the general welfare” means?
Excellent piece, Robert Reich. Thank you very much for sharing it and all your great insights here with us. And so sorry you were bullied so often. Some people can be so mean.
The single-issue zealots, missing the forest for a tree, and trolls are commenting early. trump, who probably would approve of nuking Gaza, loves them.
Tom, are you high? Or just a bot? So please tell: who has your vote, if not HarrisWalz?
We make change incrementally in the real, adult world. We don’t want a French Revolution scenario here, so incremental improvement by choosing the better party is your only choice, if you want a voice.
Secure the Democrat trifecta, then work like hell to change it. We can only work change from within a position of established authority given us by the voters.
We won’t stop with electing Dems up and down ballot- we’ll change the party after we secure our mandate. Don’t think we’ll be satisfied with the current state of the party.
I’m a socialist too, and (if you’re human) I feel your pain and frustration.
He's high as the proverbial kite. Stein? The Russian substitute? The one who called for a recoun in 2016, disappeared then reappeared at Putin's table?
Newsweek
RFK Jr. Out, Jill Stein Staying In: Double Boost for Trump
And we never really hear your plans, just your criticisms.
But I do believe you are real, after your comments today. Really passionate, really caring and prolly really young. That part comes through loud and clear.
It’s tangible policy and planning that I want to hear you explain: exactly how is this gonna work now? Vote for Stein and do what?
One of the reasons that moneyed interests succeed in exploiting white anger is because those same rich guys and corporations have used media and political populism to deflect that anger away from themselves. Harris and Walz are right to propose policies that explicitly benefit those who are angry - that will do some good. But the next step, most importantly, is to get people to see that the real exploiters are the new oligarchs, the new robber barons!
We need to get Big Money out of politics. The Citizens United decision was one of the worst ever.
Unfortunately, it was the first of a continuous string of bad decisions by the Roberts Court. Many of its decisions do not appear to be based on precident nor on the Constitution. I believe this Court has descended to the level of *Worst of All Time.* it has finally passed the Taney Court on its way down.
Benjamin and Carolyn, I am so glad your comments have made it to the top of the stack. If Trump and down ticket Republicans win it will be because of the vast sums of money that will be poured into their campaigns by the real bullies who will utilize their vast wealth to purchase the election for the candidates that will destroy any restraints on their ability to become the oligarchs that are the ones who will run the country from behind the scenes. A Republican win will be more than a political disaster, it will be an economic disaster that will so impoverish what remains of the middle class that the loss of purchasing power will lead us to finally focus all on the true roots of the demise of democracy, capitalism run amuck.
As we come into the next financial collapse caused by the rising oligarch class amassing all the wealth we will finally have to confront the power behind the “bullies.” Capitalism has degraded itself to no longer be the system that delivers on promises to the middle class, it is becoming the cudgel of the bullies.
Personally I take the unpopular stance that capitalism cannot be “saved.” If we wish to change the corrupt political and justice system we must reform the economic system on which all of this rests, the outmoded and corrupted economic system of capitalism. If Trump and the Republicans win or steal this election, it will be proof that it is an election purchased by the upcoming oligarchs. A functioning democracy must stand on a base of a democratic economic system otherwise known as “Economic Democracy.” We can no longer depend on a greed based economic system to bring us true democracy.
Elon Musk is the perfect “Poster Child” for those now coming into unlimited political power. Why else would he invest 45 million a month into the campaign of an obviously mentally deranged candidate? It is because he plans to control him. Look how quickly Trump changed his position on the future of electric cars! Remember Trump’s offer to the petroleum industry. "Give me a billion dollars and in return i will remove all environmental regulations.” In other words, the EPA is for sale to the highest bidder.
Musk, Trump and others of their kind, put them all on an island somewhere they cannot escape and do no harm, for they are doing plenty of harm to people, the bunch are a sorry or poor excuse for the word called humanity, for they have none! and all mighty dollar is their God
Elon Musk has become too powerful He will be brought down. The question is, at what cost?
I see you and Marc anticipated my comment about Musk, Victor. I think we're all correct in recognizing his danger.
Could not agree more, Marc. If the Dems win in November, they have to summon the will to abolish the connection between big money and political outcomes. If they don't, we'll be fighting the oligarchs forever.
As just one example, it's obscene that our government is contracted with any private individual (a guy by the name of Elon Musk) to provide communication services. Capitalists should never have that kind of hold on us collectively.
Elon Musk also has a monopoly on reliable space travel, satellite, launching for both US companies and companies abroad, as well as electric car charging networks. With Starlink being the only reliable Internet constellation, providing coverage to 102 countries, he is definitely gaining a stranglehold on the population at large here and abroad. He is writing the playbook for a new American oligarchy. Capitalism is simply his steppingstone.
@Marc Nevas
I appreciate your clarity. Most of my adult life has been a fruitless attempt to convince others of the fundamental truth of your statement. It seems to me that most voters hope to "save capitalism from itself" rather than utilize a people before profits economic system.
Spot on, Jerry!
A.I.-Will-Change-Everything... The Confluence of A.I., Robotics, and Quantum Computing is Frightening... Mankind, Society, will have to evolve to avoid Disaster... The Dark Techno-Siths are investing heavily into it in order to Control It... Do you think that they have the General Welfare In Mind? Tune In To The Evolution Of Tech Warfare In Ukraine To Get A Foretaste... I agree that the Roberts Court is among the Worst, and DJT is devolving into a Rotting Puppet of the Dark Siths... He Dances To The Tune Of $$$... As Bob Dylan once said, Money Doesn't Talk, It Swears....
Indeed!
Capitalism has given us technological progress and economic growth. The growth has become malignant, nowhere more so than in the military industrial complex. The American middle class wants national greatness--apparently at any cost.
I think you meant "greatness" to be in quotes, Victor, because proving we can dominate any other country that doesn't give us our way, to the tune of some 800 bases scattered across the globe, and untold billions sunk into weaponry, isn't greatness, IMO. It's the height of folly, stealing from average citizens to satisfy military profiteers.
Denise, thank you for your reply. You make a very important point.
https://www.politico.com/story/2016/12/trump-clinton-campaign-fundraising-totals-232400
Indeed, a Supreme Court, with big the words above that say, " "FOR SALE" and so is our democracy, to the highest bidder
You are right, Charles. The current composition of SCOTUS has been the greatest accomplishment of the Conservative Revolution launched by Newt Gingrich in the 1990s. Project 2025 is the continuation of that revolution of the Right.
for years now I've been calling them the UN Supreme Court
based on what facts?
The "Supreme" Court has certainly not supported the Constitution.
Ahh the Taney court and Dred Scott decision… horrible…
First Win The Election (FWTE)
There will be time enough for feeling and understanding after we win the election.
First things first November is right around the corner We Can Do This…
...and make sure to vote a Blue down ballot, otherwise we won't see meaningful reform of the money-corrupted system, scandalous SCOTUS, programs focused on rebuilding the hollowed out middle class, protection of the environment, etc.
It is my fervent hope, that President Harris does not fall prey to the same pressures and forces that resulted in Bill Clinton signing the repeal of Glass Steagal and other neo liberal, homophobic and racist legislation like the Omnibus Crime Bill, Defense of Marriage Act, Don't ask don't tell., not to mention the neo liberal NAFTA, GATT and Telecommunications act of 1996.
I'm right there with you, William. Although Bill and Hillary have been unabashed corporate creatures for many decades, so Bill's actions weren't surprising. Harris needs to walk the trust-busting, fighting-for-the-little-guy talk.
She will need good security.
Yes she does Denise and she needs the opportunity, trash talking her and Walz only helps Trump. Now if she shows different colors after the election, then it is time to let loose the hounds
No sign I see of any of those things happening in a Harris/Walz administration, fortunately.
I am waiting to see if she replaces Merrick Garland, if she does there is hope and sign of change. If she doesn't than all we have done is slowed the inexorable march towards a fascist Republic.
She had better replace him. She just has to. We can no longer tolerate such inaction & incompetence in the DOJ. We never should have, especially at this critical time.
Oh ofc not! She w/the spine of steel, etc.
I've said for years that once a candidate gets to a certain point in the election all outside money needs to be prohibited and each candidate can only use a government stipend and no more. The playing field needs to be level. Big money should not be allowed to buy an election. Nor interfere in any way. If they want to contribute in needs to go that stipend and be given out equally and anonymously. Misleading ads and lies need to be held as criminal acts. The penalty could be smaller stipend pay outs.
The only problem is that the people to correct this are the people who want the big money. Just like term limits, never going to happen because they won't cut off their nose to spite their face. Bummer but true.
You are partially correct. AS I recall, about 20 plus years ago it was on the ballot. The people voted for it and it passed on the ballot. Then it never happened. Just like all the disappearing good ideas. That being said we still can have term limits. It starts at the ballot box. Unfortunately, the American people as a whole don't understand what power they have. If the did we would have an honest government free of self serving criminals only interested in what they can get for themselves. Not what's good for all. "Re- Elect NO One." should be the catch phrase this year and for every election hence forth.
Yes, misleading ads are not free speech. Not if they are based on lies, and provoke violence either.
Carolyn, Bingo!
I repeat this suggestion: All campaign-related messaging should be defined as a public service and candidates should be able to make their announcements ("commercials") free of charge. They can hire and pay production contractors to compose their announcements, but media should not charge them to broadcast. This takes some of the money-making thrill away from the media. Also, there should be an increase in program-length broadcasts such as town halls, debates, etc., and a decrease in "sound bite" announcements.
yes and its Big Money that is trying to shut down independent journalists and whistleblowers like Assange [finally free after how many years?] and now Richard Medhurst.
"The Obama's and Biden's WH persecution and incarceration of Julian Assange established a dangerous precedent for the criminalization of journalism.
While Assange was finally freed this year, we see the rotten fruit of that campaign emerging in the recent, unjustifiable arrest of independent journalist Richard Medhurst.
Medhurst is a dual Syrian-British citizen and one of the foremost independent journalists covering the genocide in Gaza. He has been a powerful advocate for Palestine and a relentless truthteller. Last week he was arrested for his journalism under the UK’s Terrorism Act – an unbelievably dangerous law passed in the Tony Blair era...
The UK arrest of Richard Medhurst bears all the hallmarks of Obama’s record-breaking persecution of whistleblowers and journalists using our country’s century old Espionage Act...
Just before he was taken into custody, Medhurst publicly criticized the Terrorism Act and its use in silencing dissent over Israel’s atrocities in Gaza. A few hours later he boarded a flight back home to the UK, and was arrested on arrival...
“They arrested me—not detained—they arrested me under Section 12 of the Terrorism Act of 2000 and accused me of allegedly 'expressing an opinion or belief that is supportive of a prescribed organization,' but wouldn't explain what this meant.” Richard Medhurst
The same class of .... elites who stood on the DNC stage last week in Chicago proclaiming themselves the “party of freedom” and welcoming an “era of joy” also aided and abetted Barack Obama’s war on journalists and whistleblowers. In fact, in one of his last acts as president mere days before handing the reins of power over to Donald Trump, Barack Obama signed Executive Order 12333 speed running the distribution of mass surveillance data collected by the NSA to the FBI, DEA, and Homeland Security.
Fascism is alive and well in America, and it has a welcome home in both major parties.
...Kamala Harris pledged a militant crackdown on asylum seekers at the border and maintaining our military powers as “the most lethal fighting force in the world” – promising unlimited, unconditional weapons for a genocidal apartheid state."
Jill Stein, 8/28/24
Citizens United is a pointless distraction at the moment.
Right on
Exactly Ben ! Only now the oli's & rb's hide behind corporate laws, structure and citizenship. THE REASON Citizens United, corporate citizenship HAS to go ! Our democracy has morphed into a corptocracy !
Just as per the ruling by the not so Supreme Court, that Corporations Are People, these uber wealthy never have enough and they have for a long time, found a party, the grand ole poo party and an ever so willing corrupt Supreme Court of utter stench, to do their dirty work, but hear us overlords, for I speak for the many when I say, enough of your crap. we're not taking it anymore!
Deflection with lots and lots of money power.
Indeed, deflect and distract, the oldest game in the book
❤Reich❤:"Trump has channeled that anger .... He has encouraged his followers to feel powerful..."... after they were taught how to feel powerless..
Corporations colluded to teach LEARNED HELPLESSNESS as documented here:
https://youtu.be/psebm9RJDvU?si=XnyfrjA0zy5bXdxm&t=150
...by UC Professor ❤Lakoff,❤ etc
❤BLACK robES MATTER ❤
any Californian* can send any Sheriff to serve court papers on any bully.**
Law requires every county to teach how to sue bullies.❤
31 of 58 counties offer free mediation that's75-85% successful.❤
*of the poorest half of Californians
**to sue them
❤Reich❤:"...around 1980, progress stopped. The bullies began taking over."
In 1978 Americans "repeated the brainwashing" of murderous Purdue Pharma 2.3 Billion times... once for each Purdue anxiety pill they consumed. Valium was the most
prescribed medication for 13 years... Americans thought they were upgrading to a superior technology from the science of anxiety that REQUIRES THE DISCOMFORT OF FACING YOUR FEARS... discomfort Reich faced and as Reich followed by "assaulting" his classmate😁😁😁. For a ten year old Reich in 1968... THE VERY NEXT YEAR THE FIRST ANXIETY PILL WAS ANNOUNCED BY PURDUE AND REICH WOULD HAVE BEEN TOLD BY THERAPISTS TO PAY THE BULLY AND TAKE A VALIUM ( thus both Purdue and the Therapist have a customer for LIFE... and Reich would have LEARNED HELPLESSNESS)
When Reich realized his pills and therapy failed... he would have been approached by one of three Americans who are Evangelical (evangelize means "get the word out" and requires FACING THE FEAR OF REJECTION). Reich would have dedicated his life to Jesus and Reagan and OVERTURNING ROE🤔😱😝😨😁😁😁😁❤
You are merely exhibiting that mental illness Is a chimera to be cured by pulling up one’s big boy or big pants and taking a hike. Big Pharma has spent years and millions to produce psychotropic drugs that have been used successfully by millions but we still have a long way to go with services and medications for the seriously mentally ill.
Trump is smarter (or a better con man) than Democrats and pundits think. Even his own handlers don't fully understand. Trump won't propose policies because his base is not motivated by policies. They are motivated by grievance, hate, fear, resentment, quirky theories of "constitutional sheriffs", tax avoidance, xenophobia (replacement theory), extreme religiosity (Christian nation) and straight up racism. Obviously these themes won't play well in a debate with Harris; let's see if that tangerine twatwaddle will even show up...
Props for "tangerine twatwaddle," Ben!
What a Lotta hoochie coochie.😅
tRump does not have very much substance under all that grievance. But he knows where the money comes from, and does their bidding.
Trump's base is motivated by the policies embodied in Project 2025.
@Victor. Maybe. But I think those "policies" are a part of the "bait" that moneyed interests use to attract voters. Most of the policies are "give aways" to the robber barons, corporations and tax avoiders. I can't be sure that Trump's base even knows what is in Project 2025, or implications for their lives.
They 'just' wanna "win"! I bet most of them have no idea of what life would be like even for them. Under their beloved l'eader'.
There is a theory that tells us the voter votes for a candidate like themselves.
So: an adulterer, a failed entrepreneur and felon, a tax evader, a xenofobe, someone who does not discriminate between truth and lie. Is that his voter base?
Or: is the relation between Trump and his voters determined by the scars of his upbringing and the need for parental support and praise?
@Tom. I am a political scientist by training. I have a theory called "Reciprocal Hegemony". The main sense of this is that politicians and particularly populists do not lead their supporters. Rather, these personality types are good at detecting and emulating the sentiments that occur in the populace. Trump just spews it back to them what they want to hear. This dynamic CAN be used to lead; first get their attention by spewing back their sentiments. Second, draw them along a line of thinking that does not depart too sharply from what they want to believe. Third, implement permission structures and rewards for those who adopt the new posture. The permission structures are just what you see from Trump's campaign - constant reinforcement. But in Trump's case, no movement away from the base. The rewards are putting people in visible positions, people who reflect the new sentiments. In Trump's case you don't see this either as his choices either reflect back on the base's worst sentiments or parrot his spewing faithfully.
Benjamin, we are collegues: I studied in Amsterdam and graduated in the seventies. My efforts did not give me a better understanding though. Why is this moron attracting millions of voters? Why is any rational argument useless?
If you have any study suggestions, please help me....
@Tom. I don't have all the answers. I can share how my thoughts are running. There is a lot of work being done on the genetic contribution to people's political and cultural leanings. People who vote for Trump share behavioral traits such as anxiety over strangers, fear of the unknown, reduced altruism towards less-known people (described in the literature as "others"), high religiosity, and so forth. This is not just in the United States as it is a human phenomenon that you see around the world in terms of movements trying to re-capture a "happy past" that never existed. In the United States people with these traits tend to adopt neo-confederate attitudes - they reject large parts of what the majority thinks is the "American Way". The scary part is that these people are still there whether Trump is there anymore or not. We will need to find humane and democratic means of soothing those who are afraid, resentful and angry. I think the new Democratic platform of economic benefits will go some distance in the right direction and thereby peel off some of the "not so extreme" people in the Trump coalition.
Yes, economic benefits- fed, sheltered, clothed people not living on the edge will lower the temperature of anger & resentment. A lot of folks are generous by nature, if they have the means, which makes for a better community.
It could help to see everyone doing better.including the Disaffected.
Maybe you should direct your question to anthropologists.
Or they grew up Repukelican and now only get their "facts" from fox-fake-news,
"news"max, or "The First" on TV along with "social" online posts. Look who "panhandlers" in northern FL vote for...that's just the beginnings of their reach.
They don’t simply USE the media, they OWN the media. Owning the media offers them exponentially more power by manipulating the “news”. This is most likely why Musk stole Twitter. And why Trump began his own social media platform. We need to understand this. And we need to correct this.
@Todd. And one of the ways is to re-activate the FCC and get rid of that Section 230 rule that protects online platforms from regulation.
First Win The Election (FWTE)
There will be time enough for feeling and understanding after we win the election.
First things first November is right around the corner We Can Do This…
Good Focus Citizen J!
Yes, we can!
Indeed, and it's called distraction by pitting people against each other, while the oligarchs divvy up the spoils and is why these same uber stinking segment of ultra wealthy will still want to vote for Trump, the wannabe dictator, because as long as they get their wish list items of zero taxes (will mean gutting programs that help average people) and no real regulations to speak of(which means a poisoned planet of death, disease and destruction), then their ok with it and in them you will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy
@Jon. And they excuse themselves that it's just business or that they deserve it.
Thier the ones, that feel truly entitled, so if it means screwing the littel guy or the planet, then the more the merrier
The "one who dies with the most toys wins syndrome".
Indeed
Or they live in denial.
@Laurie. Yes, I wish I would have mentioned that. Many people we would consider nice and ordinary at home go to work where they then wreak humongous damage on the natural world and/or on their fellow citizens.
That too.
Benjamin, some, if not most, of these "new oligarchs" detest Trump. We must win them over!
@Victor. Yes! You see some movement along those lines. Fingers crossed this momentum builds!
Are you white an angry?
That is an incoherent sentence.
Is your's a serious question?
"It is a fight that began to take shape in 1968 when Nixon won the presidency, that became bellicose after 1980 when Ronald Reagan took office."
Which is why every time I hear the words "I'm a proud Reaganite" I want to throw up. They never say, "I'm a proud Nixonite," but it's really the same thing.
Michael, I expect it’s no coincidence that the Heritage Foundation, in the late 70s, produced “The Leadership Mandate,” a precursor to “Project 2025.” I understand the Reagan Administration adopted some 60% of it.
Nixon won in 1968 in large part because the southern states had switched their allegiance from Democrats to Republicans in the wake of Civil Rights. The Heritage Foundation was formed in his second term, with the contradictory aims of promoting free enterprise by limiting government. This is standing Adam Smith on his head. Smith promoted strong government to keep the markets free, by what we would now call anti-trust and monopoly busting, along with the collection of taxes.
Taxes serve the dual purpose of 1) preventing anyone getting so rich that they can buy the government in the pursuit of monopoly (Elon are you listening?) and 2) promoting the public good by providing stuff that the capitalist has no interest in, stuff we would call infrastructure, like schools, roads, bridges, etc.
When the Heritage Foundation preaches "freedom" run a mile. What they mean is freedom of the plutocrats to exploit.
As for Reagan, well, he was just a convenient horse's ass.
Michael, good insights. Reagan was one of those guys who saw himself as far smarter, more powerful, and more righteous than most people and a lot of folks bought the BS, and we all paid a lot for it. Then, he surrounded himself with a bunch of sycophants who knew just how to use Reagan's persona to exploit the system: Trickle-down nonsense, Iran-Contra, "Welfare Queens," single-handedly bringing down the USSR, and instituting his "morning in America," etc. For me it's hard to know who's tampering was worse, Nixon's or Reagan's. I'm leaning toward Reagan because Nixon at least started the EPA, got Title IX on the board, and made high-level contact with China and the USSR (not sure if the last was positive or negative in the long run).
Ruth, when anyone starts telling me how great Reagan was, I tell them he was a 2 bit actor who couldn't act well and couldn't govern this country any better!
He learned his lines and said them. He had no more idea of government or economics than a ten year old. (He called his wife "Mommy")
That reference to what he called his wife makes me a little queasy. It's like when Pence calls his wife 'Mother'.
Peggy, my sister who was a talent agent always said that Reagan's best acting job was playing president. She was right. He had no clue, but could memorize the lines and put them out here with conviction that he may or may not have had because with actors, sometimes it is unclear. He certainly permitted the Heritage Klan to work on disrupting our democracy for the people while giving themselves and their friends all kinds of rights and privileges they didn't deserve. Not a great presidency, but so many of our people had no clue what was going on and believed the actor rather than their own eyes and pocket books. Now they complain that it is the Democrats' fault, but the Dems in Congress were just doing what the people told them they wanted and Dems in congress were believing they were following the plan of the democracy and the constitution while they were being duped and played by a bunch of con men who had their own personal welfare in mind. We the People don't seem to learn things and hold the knowledge for very long, do we?
Not unless it is taught at home. Schools shied away from "controversy", or anything serious about politics or government. So who knew?.
You are right, Ruth. We do not learn lessons we should the first time. We have a tendency to repeat mistakes when we should know better.
We the people want national greatness, and in the 1980s we were divided over the issue.
And that was what the Republicans wanted. Robber-baron types have been scratching and clawing their way back ever since the Great Depression and the New Deal policies of Franklin Roosevelt. Look how often they have exploited people’s tendency to idolize actors — not real heroes or patriots, but PRETEND ones whom people idolized because of the roles they played, and whom people confused with those roles. Especially beginning with Reagan, the Republican Party has done that many times, and now has used Trump, crazy as he is, in the same way. And many people go for it. To their own loss, and the detriment of the nation. They have watched the movie, THAT’S the guy they want as their leader.
And so we continue to be conned, manipulated exploited and scammed, while the ones doing the conning, manipulation, exploitation and scamming take their Ill-gotten gains to the bank, and accrue power.
So true, Judith! I guess they picked the orange man because of the movie 'Godfather'. I'm through with their attempts to con, manipulate, exploit and scam us. Vote blue, America!
Oh, he had the reputation as a Grade B actor, but once he became President he showed what a great actor he actually was, fooling lots of people into thinking he was a competent president. The entertainer Trump had much the same effect.
So true, Jaime!
He knew his script, at least until the end.
Nixon was a man with an actual intellect who was involved in the {messed up} governing of his administration. Reagan, I am convinced, was a pawn. For a segment of his time in office, he had dementia. He was reported to spend many afternoons napping. The Heritage Foundation set the agenda and ran things behind the scenes and from down in the White House basement. I think Reagan was the Nixonite’s response to the downfall of Nixon. Ronnie was someone they could influence and control. And they did.
Pat, unfortunately, there are quite a few similarities between Reagan and Trump. Intellectually, Reagan had it over Trump, but Trump was a better schemer. Reagan was a better grandpa figure, but both seemed like old men with few skills who enraptured a bunch of people who should have known better.
You have called it like it is, Ruth, in both posts — so clearly so!
Just becausecyou can does not mean you should. His handlers and the Heritage "people" did whatever the Hell they wanted.
Both had dementia. Different symptoms, but definitely not all there. Reagan could stick to his script. Trump loses track and goes off on his own streams of consciousness.
TRump is shrewd and very greedy.
Pat, you are right about Reagan, but he has almost been deified even by Democrats, probably trying to find a Republican president they could actually say they "liked." Most people have no idea of what the Heritage Klan were doing behind the scenes under Reagan who had no clue, as long as he had his Nancy, a bunch of sycophants who would go along with whatever he wanted and people who hung on his every actor's word. Reagan's "team" knew what was happening to Reagan by 1984, but ran him anyway and he won by a big margin because Grandpa Ronnie was just who they needed to get them through the morass of 1980s life, not realizing that Reagan and his friends had created a whole lot of that morass. What they were permitted to do to this nation still hangs on in so many ways. I am hoping Harris and Walz will be able to break through at least some of it to a brighter future, that is if we have much of one since Republicans still can't say "global warming is real and we need to do something serious, life-changing to stop it." Hey, many Democrats can't say that either, but far far fewer.
I personally blame Reagan for the turn the nation took which brings us to where we are now. I thought back then that most people could SEE the direction Reaganomics would lead us in, and would surely reject that direction pretty quickly. Up to that point, we had been headed toward worker-management joint decision-making in the workplace, decent pay for workers, strong environmental regulation, strong civil rights laws, excellence in education, a strong social security system. All that changed with Reagan.
Maybe with this election we can continue to move back toward the track we were on before we were so rudely interrupted. Forget Trump ever happened, or make him an object lesson. We have to guard against our own worst natures, realize how susceptible we humans are to manipulation and exploitation, and hope to repair the damage that has been done by those who would divide and exploit.
Reagan : 'the Gipper'. All the TV shows had happy endings. Things seemed so simple and safe, for some.
I'd go with Raygun Ronnie as the most destructive. Anti-Medicare raygun or mccartyist Nixon from the 50s and early 60s is a tough debate.
Nixon was a war criminal. Reagan was not.
Victor, officially Reagan was not a war criminal, but there was Iran-contra which was a kind of war crime, and the Contra did a lot of damage to the people of Central America and a lot of people died, and we funded their killing squads. So, I guess it depends on how one defines "war crimes."
And Reagan's treachery to get into power in the first place, sabotaging the peace talks Carter was holding with Iranian President Beni-Sadr to release the hostages by going behind Carter's back & convincing the ayatollah Khomeini not to release the hostages until Reagan was inaugurated. Iran-Contra proceeded from there.
Drugs for weapons enabled by the likes of William Barr was not good either. They all got away with it, too. Look at the gun manufacturers, the NRA and it's operators. The fact is that no lawsuits can be brought against these manufacturers. The latest bump stock debacle by the Extreme court. Plenty evil going around still. And Barr still has his law license. and his buddies Ollie North
and former president of the NRA, Wayne Robert LaPierre Jr. and 5 others. got away with it. He was able to step down this year, and walk away, with a civil suit against him. Under Attorney General, Wiiliam Barr's advice, President George H. W. Bush in 1992 pardoned six officials involved in the Iran–Contra affair. Barr became attorney general for the second time in 2019. And he helped snuff the Mueller report. He still has his law license. Pardon power is still there , waiting to give crooks liars and traitors/criminals an off ramp, so they can screw US and those in other countries with impunity. Just google William Barr and see how long he has enabled corruption at the top.
Sad but true, Ruth. We should never forget that RR had blood on his hands. Nixon killed tens of thousands with his carpet bombing of Cambodia. This is how authoritarians behave.--narrow minded themselves, they trust in force alone.
Tom, you are right about the awareness problem, but that is so much due to our poor media coverage and that government is not taught in schools and is only an elective in colleges. Citizens of a democracy need to understand how the intersection of government and the people works and schools are so wrapped up in math and reading that everything else just passes on by until at best, middle school where science is thrown in along with some social studies. Children need to be learning about our society from the time they are really little, say, first grade: following basic rules, consequences for breaking rules, taking care of property including their own, learning who the president is and what the president does, and some other basic information that can be taught along with reading and math or within reading and math. If educators/teachers were involved in making more of the curriculum decisions rather than legislatures, politicians, partisan hacks, we could have some really good programs to help inform our young people. Even community classes for adults and teens would be great to help them learn about how our government works and how that impacts them. It could be done.
Yes, yes and YES!
It’s all about the rich not wanting to pay taxes to help the less fortunate- the rich forget where they came from in most instances ( not all were born with a silver spoon in their mouth)
The ones who inherited money in my view are the biggest problem. When you earn the money at least one can consider them as having accomplished something. When someone inherits money it is likely they are anointed as having smarts because they have money. Which is no evidence of success but, merely being lucky. They often believe they are smart which is also no evidence of actually being smart.
Taxes are not "to help the less fortunate," although some use of taxes will have that benefit, but the beauty of paying taxes, of having a FAIR system of taxation is the same idea that underlies "e pluribus unum" and "we're all in this together" and "to form a more perfect union." It is the understanding and acceptance of RESPONSIBILITY as a CITIZEN of the country to build, maintain, improve, protect, clean, develop, pay bills, etc. to be a RESPONSIBLE and HONEST and patriotic CITIZEN.
t.Rump is NONE of that. The practice and praise for avoiding/evading paying taxes, i.e. our fair share, is another con-game played by far too many.
Michael, Thank you for writing. Your commentary aligns perfectly with data from the Economic Policy Institute, which notes from 1947-73 real family income growth for the lowest fifth was 116.1% and 84.8% for the top fifth. Conversely, from 1973-2000 the lowest fifth was 12.1% while the top fifth was 66.9%. The disproportionality in subsequent years trends increasingly more grotesque.
I'm willing to bet that if you looked at growth of income in the top 0.1% the disparity would be even more grotesque.
Michael, I agree. I just happened to post figures that were close at hand that underscored trends.
Great research and statistics. I would like to learn more from you. Good yo see it put this way. This should be part of campaign statistics. It certainly adds to my understanding of many parts of my lifetime!
@KPez, In response to your kind words, here are EPI’s figures for 2000-05: Lowest fifth -7.8%; Top fifth -0.9%.
That was mostly Bush Jr. before the Great Recession.
Thank you for supplying facts and information. And they are even worse than I thought. I instinctively knew in 1975 that beneath the ying and yang of everyday politics some kind of tectonic shift had happened in our nation, but I lacked the intellect to express it. We have been sliding downhill ever since.
Thanks Bob for writing. Presuming Dems win up and down the ballot, let’s hope we’re on the cusp of a modicum of social and economic justice for increasing numbers of people today who feel overwhelmed and marginalized by institutionally oppressive forces largely beyond their individual control.
“A hippie is someone who looks like Tarzan, walks like Jane and smells like Cheetah.”,
Ronald Reagan, 1968.
Har-har-har-har-har! The same snappy patter you still hear today on Fox News when Republicans try to be funny.
Spot on Smokey; Snappy wisecracks move one high up on the maga meter, don'tcha' know..
Bravo Michael !
Just one quibble, Michael. Many capitalists ARE interested in roads and bridges, along with other infrastructure, because they need those things to make their money (that is, those who aren't simply financial manipulators). It's just that they think they shouldn't have to pay for that infrastructure. Let the serfs pay for it.
Good analysis, Michael, but RR was no "horse's ass." He was an extraordinary speaker and story teller, and he was bought. JD Vance and Trump are playing a similar role.
Vance is an extraordinary speaker? I guess I missed his greatest hits.
Gotta disagree, Victor. Being an extraordinary speaker and storyteller and being a horse's ass aren't mutually exclusive. Just ask Bill Clinton.
You nailed it, Mike.
Right Barb. There was in '71 the Powell Memo as well. You know all about that; we've chatted before. The Reagan administration just shifted the whole shebang into a higher gear so to speak. I actually think the real formative years for all that's happened began with their despise of FDR policies, which were highly inflammatory to our corporate godlings. (Godlings is my made up word. Prediction: Within 5 years it will make it to Scrabble acceptability. Lol).
Henceforth I will attempt to use godling(s) whenever I play Scrabble, just as Jerry Garcia insisted Truckin was a real word when he played against an unconvinced Dave Letterman.
Can’t invent on electronic Scrabble, but there are so many weird (and heretofore unknown) words already, it’s probably in play already.
Shucks...
It probably is - " Truckin" was originally a dance move. There are several theories about where it came from, but the most likely is that it was invented in Harlem during the late 1920's."
https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=truckin%27 worth a try in Scrabble, at any rate! ;o)
Lol ! You're my kind of human Randy. Bravo !
@D4N, To underscore your reference to FDR, I was about to post data I wound up posting as a reply to Michael Hutchinson. I imagine you are quite familiar with the figures.
Post away Barbara, include a link to me if possible. What I've learned about you is that you may be wonkier than I am (-; I always seem to gain a different detail or angle from your inputs. Thanks for that... always. Brava !
@D4N, If you scroll up, you’ll find data from the Economic Policy Institute I posted as a reply to Michael Hutchinson. While the figures tell a story with which you’re quite familiar, the numbers nonetheless are quite stark.
I would add, given the substance of your posts, that a kind word from you really means something.
D4N, I like that word! corporate godlings. Very appropriate!
Don't forget Newt! He fanned the flames and helped launch what we are seeing today!
Or Grover Norquist, the anti-taxer.
Oh yes; another 'pot stirring' professional.
Absolutely. He was all in, and a professional grenade thrower to boot.
Cannot believe that Newt was that important? What a blow-hard actor!
And Reagan is the one who turned back taxes for the wealthy..and that is when we started going into debt
So you’re saying we were debt free until then?
Reagan took us the from the largest lender country in the world to the largest debtor nation during his terms. It is he who said deficits do not matter and GOOPers ran with that until a democrat was elected.
I'm a proud Harrisite.
"I'm a proud Reaganite" sounds a bit religious. Like "I'm a proud Christian". Both pledge faith in a dead guy. Read Christopher Hitchens' "God is not Great: How Religion Spoils Every thing".
Seems to extend all the way forward to Ronald Rump (and probably back to Barry's Goldwater too); "kaboom".
plus,Reagan's famous 11th commandment,'thou shalt not speak iIl of a fellow republican',was formulated after he won-in the '76 primaries,he viciously and vociferously attacked Gerald Ford,probably contributing to Ford's defeat-loyal,indeed!!
All this Reagan chatter makes me wonder how bright he was?
Reagan was an actor who loved stage central and the bright lights. He adored White men with lots of money! Social climber, anyone? Nancy was the extreme in that department!
Ronald Reagan, a sub 'B' actor, was deeply indebted to GE; look it up. Reagan paid back his fiddler. I guess it could be said he was 'loyal' to them and their positions.
Agreed he was a pawn and knew little of sensible policy or the common good.
See above Mike .. or wherever my comment landed to JA.
The two days in our history that changed how we develop was the day Reagan took office and 9/11.
We are now mostly a group of people that reacts in fear instead of using the brains we were given. PS: The day they elected Richard Nixon, my father stated “I can’t believe they voted that crook into office”.
Nixon & Reagan were very similar in how they affected people. Nixon was as maleficent outwardly as he was inside, while Reagan put a jocular face on the evil policies he implemented.
....mind the GENERATIONAL gap, good friend....
Nixon was a war criminal (and a domestic one, too), Reagan was not.
"Iran-Contra" anyone. And even before elected he unlawfully negotiated with the Ayatollah re US hostages. For that he clearly should've been prosecuted.
--Please forgive the post, for it doesn't belong. I'll remove it if asked to do so. It contains something I just had to share. During the Democratic convention there were several members of the Republican party who spoke out on the dangers of reelecting Donald Trump. In one speech Adam Kinzinger blistered Trump with a volley of truths that would have meant so much if only the MAGA crowd could have heard what Adam had to say. Out of curiosity I tuned into Fox News just to see how they were handling a Republican who speaks the truth. That channel "muted" Adam's entire speech and put an interview with some dweeb on, in its place. You could see Mr. Kinzinger in the upper right-hand portion of the screen but they reduced the size of his image so reading his lips was next to impossible. Fox is so despicable they run from the truth and hide behind a fat guy who cheats at golf. No wonder they don't win any Emmy Awards, not a single one. Read those tea leaves.
You speak the truth, Donald!
Donald, erasing someone is bullying! Thank you for sharing.
I know someone else who doesn’t back down from bullying and her name is Kamala Harris! Trump knows that she will belittle him during the debate so he is already looking for a way to escape from Kamala’s condemnation!
I have wondered whether Trump will chicken out of the debate with Kamala using some excuse, or whether his ego won't let him, so he'll go in and get flattened (I hope).
My fondest wish is for Kamala to wipe up the floor with that pathetic piece of garbage!
I have this feeling Donold may chicken out. He's started demanding the mics only be turned on when the candidate is answering a question (a la the last debate with Biden), and it's evidently a sticking point in the negotiations for the Sep 10 debate.
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/trump-threatens-pull-harris-debate-162929254.html
Start early, Donald! Kamala is about to arrive!!
Bring it on, Kamala!
And that's one of the many reasons I respect and support VP Harris! She knows and understands that "taking the high road" isn't a really successful strategy in the long run when it comes to dealing with bullies. And she, like many others, is also not afraid to occasionally "punch a bully in the nose" to let the bully know she's not going to allow anyone to push her or her fellow Americans around anymore!
“Which makes her just as stupid”. Look smart ass. It was DJT that dropped out of the Paris accord so you can chose either the road ti hell or a chance to make a difference. Harris represents that chance. Take your argument to a broader audience. This is neither the forum nor the opportunity for your doom and gloom speech. Staying at home or voting for Trump is NOT going to help.
John: This is definitely the forum to take our concerns regarding a Harris administration. We ARE the broader audience and will consider it our responsibility to hold a Harris administration accountable just as we did the Biden administration. If that is considered "gloom and doom" so be it. And oh let's not intrude on our moments of joy by remembering the thousands of Palestinians that have died and are dying as our Biden administration unconditionally sends billions of dollars to a corrupt criminal Netanyahu government that has no interest whatsoever in stopping the carnage.
It's not a zero-sum situation, John. Being critical of something Harris does or doesn't do isn't the same as supporting the orange one. It's quite possible to disapprove of a Harris policy and also be anti-tRump.
While I don't think Harris is stupid (except possibly in terms of eventual outcomes, which would make her short-sighted), I don’t think she'll stand up to Big Corp or the MIC, either. The trillions that are being funneled to the Pentagon are the elephant in the room that neither party will touch.
Funneled? Appropriated is the correct term. Yes they are well funded, but perhaps you and Mr High are just naive.. or trolls.
He called her stupid without supporting it with a known fact. You might want to suggest to Mr. High that it’s not a “zero sum game” since he proclaimed that Kamala is stupid. I have only criticized his characterization of
I agree that the environment is of great concern. I take issue with Mr. High’s characterization of Kamala as “stupid”. So I exercise my right to call him out. He ‘s just trolling as he has done many times before. His commentary is completely off topic. As a matter of common sense, he could have posted his video link without the ad hominem attack which was baseless.
And if you want to dissuade voters, be prepared for the road to hell with Trump. Consider it not an interruption of my joy but throwing out the good in favor of the perfect just as the Bernie Bros did in 2016.
Tom, elected politicians back down from corporate power in order to get elected. The only way to fix it
is to remove money from the equation. I’m not talking about half-assed campaign finance reform.
I’m talking about funding all federal elections with
public money. In fact, it should be an item in every
national budget. If any private money is allowed,
the bullies will find a way to exploit it. We will lose
our democracy unless we eliminate the source of corruption.
What used to be a prosperous middle class in the 50s and 60s has steadily deteriorated as more &
more money was accommodated by our system.
It’s now at the point where one of our two political
parties has completely capitulated, successfully
manipulating their supporters with emotion and scapegoating the other party. But they can only
successfully do that for a finite period of time. We
now know what they’re doing and how they’re
doing it.
Both parties have capitulated, Susan. See: continued subsidies to Big Oil; poison pills in Biden's omnibus legislation, such as options to privatize infrastructure; continued privatization of Medicare; and so on.
I agree completely that we have to get money out of elections. We also have to make lobbying by corporations and organizations illegal, where there is any quid pro quo.
Oh, I agree! I didn’t mean to imply otherwise. Dems
wind up taking corporate money because they have to. But republicans have made taking corporate money (bribes) central to how they govern. (bribes & kickbacks have been normalized by the GOP. If legislation interferes with corporations’ ability to make obscene profits, republicans will always vote against it. Dems still recognize that things like regulations are necessary. But my fear is they may
not be able to hold out much longer.
Umm....I don't think Dems have to take money any more than Repubs have to. It's all the same trough. Bob Menendez is as much a grifter as anybody on the other side of the aisle.
Thank you Tom High. Watching the TED talk was both positive and positively terrifying. The speaker gave possible conclusions for winning the time war against Global disaster. I know we can make the turn… however, watching only American political discourse brings on the positively terrifying. Are we willing and mature enough as a nation to put not only our “Democracy above greed and corruption.. but more seriously, can we care more about the planet we live on and finally know that without it being a healthy planet…. Nothing , got that? Nothing is more important. And if we don’t do that, then Nothing is what the homo sapien will be.
I. Still don’t understand why Trump hasn’t been convicted of the many criminal cases against him.. he is a major felon. He’s also too old and takes drugs. He makes no sense when he speaks. He loves dictatators. He’s a frightening dangerous jerk. I don’t get it.
@ Elena. 34 felony convictions. Sentencing September 18.
Can’t wait till September 10th(if the creep shows up) and September 27th for his sentencing (though he’ll probably try one of his usual evasive legal maneuvers). Most of all, I absolutely cannot wait until I never, ever (like NEVER) have to see that ugly orange mug topped by a bleach blonde beaver pelt gorilla glued to the top of his bald pate! (Did I say never?)
18th, not 27th for his sentencing (l’ll be glad, if nothing else, not hold any of his “dates” in my head!).
Never !!
Daniel, I’m looking forward to the sentencing.
Super Bowl Day!?!
He hasn't been convicted because he's the fArtful Dodger.
He owns some judges and knows how to have his minions do bad things to people. Like Hitler, who had his SS brownshirts who terrorized citizens into fearful submission.
I’m still enjoying your previous comment coining the term Harrisite. You are very clever, David. I’m trying to think of something for Tim, but only Walzer comes to mind. A bit lame compared to your wit I’m afraid.
Katherine, what’s wrong with Walzer (or waltzer)? Walzer will waltz our way into better government. Remember, originally the Viennese waltz was a fast, energetic dance.
The best I've got is Walzinian.
Sounds like "Parasite". Not a good association. Fox News would turn it around.
Yeah, I thought about the similarity with Parasite as soon as I hit Post. Oh well, have at it, Fox News.
Yeah, fuck it. Greg Gutfeld will come up with some lame bullshit no matter what.
I understand the frustration. As an attorney, (though not a criminal attorney) I can say that Trump & his attorneys have exploited every procedural loophole they could find or create in order to drag things out. Delay almost always benefits the defendant.
Also, since Trump is an ex-president with millions of supporters, judges aren’t really treating him as they would treat other defendants. That’s very apparent in the documents case in Judge Cannon’s court in
Florida.
Because of who he is, because he whines and distorts every little thing to his supporters, and because said supporters like to issue death threats and/or show up at peoples’ homes to harass them
& their family members, judges are being more cautious. Even people who work with the judge
have been threatened. So, it would actually be
irresponsible to put innocent people at risk. Any other defendant would have been taken to jail long ago. It’s not fair that he gets special treatment, but it’s necessary as a practical matter.
One more thing—The trials that took place before
the hush money case were civil matters, not criminal matters. The hush money case that found him guilty of 34 felonies & for which he hasn’t yet been sentenced, is the 1st criminal trial. The business fraud case & the sexual assault case were civil
law matters, meaning his penalty is to fork over a lot of money—both are being appealed. Trump has 3 additional criminal matters pending.
Thank you for the clarification, Susan.
The coherence in tribalism comes from fear and anger. Trump is a tribal chieftain.
Not fair to implicate drugs (those substances - under the right circumstances - could really help people!)...
= D
What you write Robert goes for Europe as well. But we haven't yet arrived at the stage of hope that someone will turn around the course of rampant populism used by the oligarchy to enlarge & keep their power. That's why the UK elections and now the US elections are filling me with hope that we, in Europe, will follow the example and kick back extreme right populism back to the fringes of society.
PeDupre, I hope for you. We in America are fighting back very hard. As Kamala has said and the rest of us constantly message, "We will NOT go back". It has been a hard decade for so many of us and frankly, we are sick of it. We are hoping for a giant blue wave in November that will wash these loud obnoxious MAGA nuts back into the sewers where they belong! Keep fighting for what you know is right! Vote blue, America!
And to add to my reply (I was to quick with the "post" button 😃). What really gives hope (and is different with previous democratic campaigns I think) is the number of normal people that donate, often for the first time. This must count for something.
That does count for a lot when normal people are donating to Democrats for the very first time. It is an indication that finally there is someone who can take the helm of the Democracy ship and set it on the right course! It is encouraging and exciting! Vote blue, America!
I believe in the power of the positive. And the vibes you get from Kamala & Tim + the perfectly executed campaign must result in the blue wave you are talking about Peggy. I surely hope so and know I'm not the only one over here.
It is so heartwarming to know that people in other countries are cheering us on, PeDupre! I, too, am a big believer in the power of the positive. Kamala and Tim have that in spades! Forget the blue wave, look for a blue tsunami!
Aka “MAGAt’s” (like the fly larvae).
I remember the popular bully in my elementary school was a nobody by middle school, and then the popular bully in my middle school was a nobody by high school. In each case, like the younger Professor Reich dropping his lunchbox before declaring enough was enough, someone stood up to the bully and ended their tyrannical reign.
Bullies inherently lack courage, so they create a protected reality where virtually no one stands up to them. Conversely, those willing to risk taking a stand against the bully are the ones that neutralize them.
Thankfully, Kamala is courageously motivated to stand up to Trump the Bully and will neutralize him, debates or no debates.
David, I think you are right about Harris being courageously motivated to face the bully. I also think she understands the bully and can poke him at vulnerable points. I accidentally stopped a bully by repeating a comment someone has said about him, just as a joke. His friends picked up on it and he was embarrassed by them. He stopped picking on me and my friends after that. I hadn't meant to do harm, but the outcome was what we needed. He turned out to be a really good guy throughout the remainder of his life. Maybe Kamala Harris can point out some vulnerability in Trump that will let some of his cult see what/who he really is. He will never become a "good guy" but maybe he will lose some of his followers to the truth presented by the bully-buster, Harris.
Kamala needs to punch Trump in the nose.
She already has “punched him in the nose” and he is crying all over his truth social media. Baaaaw.
Even though it wouldn't be right, I would truly love to see it! Hahahahahaha! Thanks, David, I needed a good laugh this morning!
Figuratively, please.
Metaphorically!
IDK, the idea sure sounds really good! Except he’s being protected by OUR tax dollars in the form of the Secret Service, bloody fools that we are!
In Texas they would say, "You want my lunch money??? COME AND TAKE IT!"
"Since Joe Biden passed the torch to Kamala Harris, Trump has been on the defensive. But make no mistake: He became president by exploiting the anger of millions of white working-class Americans who for decades have been economically and culturally bullied by corporate executives, Wall Street, and upper middle-class urban professionals."
I REALLY wish that people would stop referring to Trump as "president" (at the very least, the word MUST be bracketed in quotation marks). He was NEVER president. From documents uncovered and cited by Robert Muller, the whistleblower Reality Winner and Trump's own Director of National Intelligence, the former Indiana Senator Dan Coats, Russia interfered with the 2016 election to the point that they may have manipulated voter rolls and vote counts in those states, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan that all polls had Hillary Clinton winning, and which she "lost" by only a hair.
The presidency, moreover, pays a salary of $400,000 a year and comes with an expense account of $50,000 per year. The law, therefore, defines it as a thing of value. Whether Trump colluded with Russia (collusion is a principle in antitrust law, not criminal law; conspiracy is a major part of criminal law) is irrelevant; irrespective of whether Trump actually did conspire with Russia, or knew of its activities on his behalf: if he accepted the presidency, with its four-year-compensation of $1.8 million, he was the receiver of stolen property, an entirely separate crime, one with no statute of limitations, since it is an ongoing crime as long as the unauthorized individual is in possession of the stolen property, and I think that this can be proved in court.
For the sake of accuracy, then, in lieu of employing the title "president," I really must insist that locutions such as "[Trump] became president by exploiting the anger of millions..." be replaced by the far more accurate...entered the White House by exploiting...or words to that effect -- because enter it he did, profaning every square inch he trod and sullying the sir he breathed.
Never mind his illegal election interference that resulted in 34 felony convictions, and between that and the Electoral College, there is no way he would have ever won the election (he lost the popular vote by 3 million). It fries my brain that he continues to receive any honor at all, much less a salary and secret service protection, as a result.
I think there already is an Amendment to the Constitution that may make the Electoral College unconstitutional.
Avie, I cringe when anyone refers to trump a president. The people NEVER elected him. He should be referred to as Felon trump if anything. I always referred to trump as the White House Occupant from the minute he took the office. And his lunatic supporters had the audacity to say, calling him a felon was unacceptable! Huh? That’s the truth. I frankly don’t care what ANY felon-rapist supporter has to say.
Today’s letter mentions “dividing the rest of us into warring factions so we don’t look upward to see where most power and wealth have gone.” Many in America and beyond would agree with that. Did the shift to where we’re at happen when Reagan came to power? Please choose any of the many documentaries out there. It doesn’t take long to see that there is plenty of blame to go around regarding the globally rich using the wealth earned by preparation and opportunity (some call it luck) to then go on to do whatever it takes to increase their wealth and avoid pesky things like paying adequate tax on the money going to them. Harris/Walz are the only sane ticket running regarding Democracy in America. Many of us will vote ASAP for the Democratic Party ticket. However, the question remains for millions of us at the bottom rungs of the economic ladder: What is in it for us? The elephant in the room is how the financial balance will be restored so that so many of us have a living wage. Things like both parties support not taxing tips it bunk. What many of us want to see is how, if successful with winning the election, the Democrats plan to further what many see as evident, and that is getting a nationwide minimum living wage (20$+) established and getting both the corporations and the rich to pay like the rest of us (feeling tax pain and angst). Taxing the corporations and the rich in America to provide funding for education, health care, infrastructure, etc., is a major problem. Even if the Democrats take back the house majority, 50/50 that, it’s doubtful they will get a margin big enough to garnish victory in a vote on controversial issues such as equitable taxation. Go Democrats, win first, then let’s see what can be done, if anything, to right the wrongs imposed by those with more than they’d ever need to show those with not enough to sustain themselves so that we all may have the hope, joy, and prosperity we all need to unite the nation again. Gooday
Henry, I think most people do ask themselves the question when they vote, "what's in it for me?" Unfortunately, it is, at least on the Republican side, not about income, housing, fair treatment in the workplace, tax reform. It is often who is going to stop THOSE people, the ones who scare me, the ones who don't look or act like me, the ones who say the same kinds of negative things that I want to say. There have been a couple of Republican presidential candidates who did not personify those racist misogynistic, homo/transphobic, xenophobic tendencies: Bob Dole (as far as I can tell) and John McCain. Even Daddy Bush was racist. It's not clear what Baby Bush was beyond inexperienced, unmotivated to do the right thing, and not particularly curious about anything.
Completely agree, but the big elephant in the room is still Gaza. Will that bullying continue?
RHH, While I presume the bully to whom you are referring is Netanyahu, I would advise our elected officials heed the words of Minnesota uncommitted delegate Dan Englehart, who so aptly expressed, “It’s weird to say ceasefire and keep sending the fire.”
Will we see a ceasefire in Gaza one hour after the polls close in November?
Gloria, As much as I agree that Netanyahu has reason to want to help Trump, I’m most bothered, that were it not for our continued flow of arms to Netanyahu, he could not continue his assault on Gaza.
I guess since Biden has halted weapons to Israel your post makes sense?
Brad, Though in May Biden paused a shipment of weapons to Israel, he continues to fund and send bombs.
Not pointing at you here...
I find that Americans who want to defend the indefensible lay ALL the problem on one person -- in this case, Netanyahu. But a very large percentage of Israel's citizens strongly support what Netanyahu is doing. Israel is running rape and torture centers, I just saw a clip from Israeli TV where the commentator was defending these centers and their tactics.
Another top official in Israel's government has called for the mass starvation of all of Gaza's people -- calling it a moral thing.
Thomas, Admittedly, I waffled a bit around whether expressly to name Netanyahu or to say Israel. I chose the former because I knew Israelis were not monolithic on Gaza or much of anything else for that matter.
Not all Israelis are Zionists. (The religious Jews who Zionists call "ultra-orthodox" are extremely anti-Zionist.)
There's a very interesting video just released by a YouTuber named "Indie Nile" called "Leaving the Cult of Zion!sm." Former Zionist Israelis give their testimonies on how they'd been deceived all their lives. (The exclamation point in the title reflects the actual name, for search purposes.)
Thomas, Thanks for the reference. I’ll view it when I get home this evening. Meantime, your comment invoked how too often anti-Zionism gets conflated with antisemitism.
A founder of Zionism, Theodor Hertzl, put it this way: "The anti-Semites will become our most dependable friends, the anti-Semitic countries our allies " Zionism DEPENDS on anti-Semitism.
I hear you Robert, however, I don't feel Trump is your standard Bullie. I feel the bullies I've met chose to be mean, for one reason or another. With Trump, there is no option, the man is a moronic thug and that is just who he is. That feeling you described is a Democratic Tsunami, and its coming.
The quality (not character) of the bullying is the issue: how would you feel if *you* were someone with a disability being mocked for existing in his general vicinity? (Or, indeed, with the misfortune to be of some other characteristic that His butt-Holiness had deemed insufficiently majoritarian; safe to be yourself?)
The fact of his flaunting not only public record - but in the information age, of all things - shows a contempt for not just standards but any semblance of boundaries which *all* Americans are not only entitled to - but often find themselves having to struggle to establish, i.e. where justice & equity are slow in coming. (In short: it's not just an anti-government bully; it's an un-American lack of character full of bullying behavior!)
Americans can be an example to the rest of the world. We cannot prevent all bullies around the world from despicable acts.
We only have so much influence. Let us start here at home.
We have a window of opportunity to register new Democrats. Make a blue tsunami.
Early voting starts Sept 26 in Pa, registration ends October 7 in Florida. We need volunteers, especially in phone banking.
https://www.fieldteam6.org/
What's your plan that you have often stated for "channeling Taylor Swift"? She had plenty of time to fly back from her London concert and appear at the DNC on Thurs.
1. https://actionnetwork.org/events/swifties-for-kamala-kickoff-call
2. If you check out the news, she is contemplating suing Trump. The news is more effective than advertising. E,g. https://newrepublic.com/post/185242/trump-ai-taylor-swift-images-response-sue
3. On her social media, Swifties can comment. Link to https://voterizer.org/
Yes, success is popular. Who does not want to live in a free and fair Country where everyone has a chance to live decently?
The important thing for me is : never lose hope. We survived trump. It was not easy, but then we had Biden. I already bought the champaigne to toast Kamala. I look forward to the future with anticipation and joy.
Eva Foreman
Hope is a wonderful thing. However, we cannot take her victory for granted. We’ve gotta work hard to come up with huge margins against the other side since we know they’re working hard on suppressing our votes. #HarrisWalz2024!
And no matter what, they’ll first claim it was rigged and then it was stolen!
That's a good tip. The price of champagne is going to skyrocket. I'm going to stock up.
I completely agree. we need as a society to stop prioritizing money over community and culture. somewhat ironically, this will only happen when everyone has a fairer shot at economic success. you only think about community more, and money less, when you have some level of economic security.
Yes - we didn’t improve our national debt under Trump - republicans made it worse with tax cuts to the wealthy - what do MAGAS think “ provide for the common defense and promote the general welfare” means?
Excellent piece, Robert Reich. Thank you very much for sharing it and all your great insights here with us. And so sorry you were bullied so often. Some people can be so mean.
Yes, Robert, you became a mensch at 10 years of age.
The single-issue zealots, missing the forest for a tree, and trolls are commenting early. trump, who probably would approve of nuking Gaza, loves them.
I bet trump would not nuke Gaza ; he envisions some lovely beachside hotels, and mansions.
The default is Fascism.
Tom, are you high? Or just a bot? So please tell: who has your vote, if not HarrisWalz?
We make change incrementally in the real, adult world. We don’t want a French Revolution scenario here, so incremental improvement by choosing the better party is your only choice, if you want a voice.
Secure the Democrat trifecta, then work like hell to change it. We can only work change from within a position of established authority given us by the voters.
We won’t stop with electing Dems up and down ballot- we’ll change the party after we secure our mandate. Don’t think we’ll be satisfied with the current state of the party.
I’m a socialist too, and (if you’re human) I feel your pain and frustration.
But you have to vote, man. Don’t throw that away.
He's high as the proverbial kite. Stein? The Russian substitute? The one who called for a recoun in 2016, disappeared then reappeared at Putin's table?
Newsweek
RFK Jr. Out, Jill Stein Staying In: Double Boost for Trump
Good choice dude/s.
Tommy Tom Talking That Trash.
You exist to amuse and you are DAMN GOOD at your job. Thank you for your service TommyTom. TTYL.
Well said.
Putin paying by the word? Musk?
And don't forget the biggest one of all Mr High. You!
Oh Tom…I read it already and it is a superficial gloss.
Please grow wiser and read more broadly.
We know all about how terrible capitalism and government are, we’re just advocating for a strategic stepwise plan to solve the issues you highlight.
These really are the important issues, and you need to revise your tactics: ally with us to get the trifecta, then we can get to work.
This is a long game and the next step is winning big in Roevember 🌊🐋
Thank you if you’re real
And we never really hear your plans, just your criticisms.
But I do believe you are real, after your comments today. Really passionate, really caring and prolly really young. That part comes through loud and clear.
It’s tangible policy and planning that I want to hear you explain: exactly how is this gonna work now? Vote for Stein and do what?