466 Comments

It is extraordinary for any political party to set out to exclude 50% of voters (women), but it is even more extraordinary that so many women will STILL vote for Trump, Vance and the Misogynist Party!

Ladies, I really think you need to have a word with your mothers, sisters, cousins, female friends, workmates and colleagues, and find out what's going on!

And maybe then tell us guys because I, for one, really, REALLY don't get it!

Expand full comment

I truly believe many men will demand tveir wives vote Trump under threat of physical and psychological violence. Sick, evil America

Expand full comment

those men cannot go in to the voting booth with their wives... ANY man who demands their wife vote for trump or any other rethugnikkkan, well, she needs to find an attorney and rid herself of this THUG.

Expand full comment

I don't think that domestic abuse explains most of Trump voters who are of the female oersuasion. I think women for Trump have the same sense of cultural and economic distress as their men. They think it is manly to pose with an AR 15. They experience their own and his disaffection from the work place. Many women ARE truly antiabortion rights, anti gender politics and they don't feel it is anti-woman. It's "pro-life." Sadly they have experienced the kind of gross sexual grabbing and groping Trump is unashamed about..they don't like it but they have normalized it as a kind of unpleasant thing guys do that you have to stand up to, not whine about.

I don't get it. But that's the closest I can get to trying to understand women Trumpers.

Expand full comment

Sounds about right Miriam. And keep in mind - conservative women are like conservative men, who get their news from Fox et al. They are largely shielded from Trump's behavior towards women, and what they do hear of is spun into something far from reality. I live in the south, and I think post election polling will show most southern white women will have voted Trump. Successful propaganda along with subservience to the husband with a good sprinkling of southern style hyper-Christianity makes it so. Not to mention racism and the long cultivated attitude that a woman's place is in the home (not the White House).

Expand full comment

the South never got over losing the Civil War, and retain their terrible racism at a high level.

Expand full comment

A high level - agreed. No other area of the nation is as bad. However, let's not let other parts of the country off the hook. Racism is a thing everywhere. I believe that an element of this southern brand of racism is that freed slaves, and then their progeny basically stayed put. That is why there are such large black populations in the south today. Strife between southern whites and blacks after the civil war and during the times of Jim Crow was especially gruesome then, with whites firmly believeing the "negro" were supposed to be enslaved, and now that they weren't are now a danger, and resentment among blacks against whites grew accordingly. Fueled, BTW, with the notion that blacks were no longer enslaved technically, yet practically they still were. And as in war, there is retribution for all actions and inactions, tit for tat, eye for an eye. And in the south especially we are still seeing that more than other parts of the nation. Southern whites bristle at the outward black styles and other subtle statements that say "we are different from you, and BTW fu_k you". I believe that as a retaliation, we see today southern styles like bald heads with full beards, camoflage clothing, big pick up trucks, holstered pistols hanging from belts, big Trump flags waving frantically from the beds of speeding 4WD pick up trucks, and other things meant to emulate more terrorist times. And blacks bristle at the lingering disadvantages they must experience, even if not so outwardly obvious. They still suffer from poverty levels unlike whites, and this resentful mindset is largely responsible for increased crime rates black-on-white or black-on-black and other social issues that blacks suffer through. And this further concerns whites, who take their children out of public schools out of unfounded concerns about their safety or quality of education, and fork over the bucks required for private school, even further increasing tensions. And of course this crime makes southern whites even more resentful and importantly gun crazy, filling gun lockers with AR-15's.

Think I will stop with that. I could go on. No wonder Trump is so popular with southern whites. He is taking advantage of the US's original sin.

Expand full comment
founding

@ James. I think you have it right - even Southern women, and Christian women, are not as subservient as some would assess. They actually come to their own decisions, as misinformed or uninformed as any man.

Expand full comment

I’m a Southern woman, and assure everyone here that I, and every woman I know , make our own decisions. Just because we live below the Mason Dixon line, does not mean we’re subservient.

Expand full comment

So, so sad, not to say tragic …

Expand full comment

You expanded on the topic better than I was going to.

Thanks

Expand full comment

white women, white supremacy.

Expand full comment

not all women are lovable.

Expand full comment

Neither are men

Expand full comment

Trump loves blondes.

Expand full comment

She can then tell her monster, "oh sure I voted for him, dear."

Expand full comment

That's what I did when my husband asked me to vote for Ted Cruz 12 years ago. I am able to share this because I'm a widow now.

Expand full comment

Yet all too many women will do as the husband commands, especially with mail in voting.

And as regards divorce, many people are afraid of going it alone, especially if they have children,or like many women , have never worked and rely on their man.

Marriage was, at one time, about the only career choice for females, and today it is still a career choice option. Bride catalogs are a profit making enterprise.

But not just women. I know a man, whose wife thought he was cheating on him, and he was, beat him with the handle of a hammer. She was convicted but freed with the restriction of staying away from him for 10 years.

He was scared, so he said, he had never been alone as an adult, he eventually took her back and they moved three counties away, to escape the prying eyes of the law.

He just couldn't live alone, and apparently neither could she.

Expand full comment

He beats me, that means he cares! Not too long ago it was believed in Russia that a caring man should beat his wife and children to teach them discipline. Little Stalin was beaten by both parents, a Georgian tradition. Maintaining discipline by physical means is how cruel authoritarians are created. Some of them may be in your local police force.

Expand full comment

Some in my local police force? Authoritarianism is what draws them to be a cop.

Where else can one obtain the authority, legally, to bully.?

And when they die driving drunk, they are given military style funerals, with bagpipes and ceremony and demand that the local government honor and recognize them.

Where as real hero's in the military are buried almost anonymously.

Expand full comment

There needs to be additional safeguards in the election process to flag offenses like this. I wont say how but there is a fully legal way that a person intimidating another person could stand in the privacy booth with that person. That is a loophole that needs to be closed.

Expand full comment

William, that is a possibility I have thought about as well. If a woman is living in fear of her partner, she may feel she has to do what he says. It is very sad. We simply cannot let these sick, misogynist gain control! Vote blue, America, up and down the ballot!

Expand full comment
Nov 2Liked by Robert Reich

I am not sure if you remember but Joe Biden had the support and the Vote of suburban women besides the black community and we all know the result !

It will not be so much different this time around!

A woman living with an authoritarian and abusive husband knows really well how to keep her sanity without having to "do" what he is demanding of her.

I can almost "taste" the sweet Victory for Democracy and Freedoms for so many people living in USA and implicit around the World 🌎🙏

Expand full comment

Roxana, you are so right! Beautiful and comforting words! Thank you!

Expand full comment

Roxanna, I was going to say something trite, like "why do women live with abusive men", but then I recall that I had a history of living with abusive women.,it was my fault, I thought I was responsible and that I could fix it.

It took years to realize that I couldn't. I can't fix someone else, and I am not responsible for the behavior of others,only myself.

Expand full comment

where do YOU live? Around here it's still happy wife, happy life. I don't control anything, and don't try. No handmaidens here.

Expand full comment

Subjugation of women is as old as Eve. Religions teach it and cultures reinforce it. Women are conditioned to be vulnerable and to fear the risk of taking responsibility for their own lives. It’s a gene changer in my lifetime to have no quotas for professional programs and so many women with do ms t opportunities to make contributions to so it as a whole. It will the time to isolate and expertise to eliminate the ‘fear of flying’.

Expand full comment

Can’t edit to clean this up.

Expand full comment

did you try clicking on the three little horizontal dots in far right across from the "share" option?

Expand full comment

I agree, and there is a lot riding on how many women will really defy their husbands, fathers, brothers etc. and secretly vote Kamala.

And indeed how many will do so, and then get punished for looking guilty about it!

Expand full comment

Yes. The evil male will look women in the eyes, see the truth, and beat them. Police included

Expand full comment

Or beat them just in case! It would be interesting to track the reported cases of domestic violence after the election.

Expand full comment

Or the police just laugh in your face like so many did to me.

Expand full comment

Women must organize. Have you noticed that now even the Vatican is listening to women?

Expand full comment

DIVORCE, STILL LEGAL

Expand full comment

Many women have adapted their responses to be pleasing. They have been taught how to fly under the radar so the men aren’t suspicious. Socialization and upbringing.

Expand full comment

I'm really interested in the number of high-level,, elected gop officials who've been hard-core sycophantin' for the orange menace for YEARS who will secretly vote for Kamala...... so SAD we'll never know..

Expand full comment

DIVORCE, still an legal option. NO ABUSE.

Expand full comment

Have you ever gotten a divorce from an abuser? If you leave a narcissist your life is in danger. You may be stalked. Your name and reputation dragged through the mud. Go through protracted litigation costing the victims so much money. The children will be stuck in a horrible custody battle. Most victims are financially and psychologically designated in the divorce process. The courts don’t care. A lot of victims stay in abusive relationships because they don’t want to have to go through all of this.

Expand full comment

Those abusive types who demand their wives vote for trump, are NOT allowed in the voting booth. As a former Board member of a Program / shelter for women (and children) who were abused by their spouse/partner... Contact local UNITED WAY office and get the phone number/address of the nearest domestic violence shelter and speak with them. If you need to be "safe" from an abuser (physical as well as emotional (VERBAL abuse that also makes one feel "less than" is NEVER appropriate or ok for ANY reason. The shelter can give you tips to keep you safe and can help in other ways, if needed.

Expand full comment

Kudos to you. That voting booth should be available to all and the privacy of it is a RIGHT.

Use that freedom to choose whomever you want...hoping that choice will be Harris/Walz and everyone else on the Democratic ballot.

Expand full comment

Or become homeless

Expand full comment

I wonder how many controlling husbands demand that their wives sit down in front of the men and mark their ballots as per husband directives, then hand the ballot over to said husband, who mails it himself... There may even be wives who willingly give their ballots to their husbands to fill out/mail....

Expand full comment

It is very hard to dissimulate. I have family experience, not intimate relationship, but the fanatics are hyper-sensitive to the slightest hint of "not-on-board." All he has to do is keep her home for a few days.

Expand full comment

so he keeps her a PRISONER and NOT "allow her to" to exercise her RIGHT to VOTE? There are shelters and programs for victims of domestic violence (physical and emotional abuse)

Expand full comment

I love your passion, but not voting would be trivial to what the women you care about need to cope with.

Expand full comment

Many have Stockholm Syndrome.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AM-b8P1yj9w

I had the very first spousal abuse case in Pa. The wife was hospitalized. About ten days later I got a call ''I still love him."

Expand full comment

Love is a very powerful emotion. It is created by chemical changes in the brain, and it lasts years. Most of us know that the abuser likely was abused himself;hence we pity him and may feel guilt if we abandon him. Professional counseling is necessary in such situations.

Expand full comment

It’s not that easy. No most shelters are full and that aren’t that many people will take victims, with children or pets. It may be dangerous. So many women die because you don’t educate yourself on the truth.

Expand full comment

The abuser is likely to isolate his victim. It imperative for people to maintain social connections.

Expand full comment

Blocked?

Expand full comment

An abusive man is most likely someone who is experiencing or has experienced abuse himself. Ask him about his work and childhood.

Expand full comment

What world do you live in? Women have jobs, drivers' licenses, their own money, and divorce lawyers.

Expand full comment

I’ve lived it. I still am. It’s not easy and to say so is very insulting. You’re blaming the victim. Why don’t you ask a different question. Why won’t he stop?

Expand full comment

You speak the TRUTH and the person does NOT understand the issue of domestic abuse. It's not only physical, it's verbal, financial and emotional. The person does not understand that some abusers demand the woman turn over her paycheck and if she doesn't comply, a beating and isolating her from family and friends... the abusers are ALL about power and control.sometimes it happens very subtly over a period of time....

Expand full comment

Ask him about his work and childhood. He is scapegoating you. Don't become isolated.

Expand full comment

Please understand that men do not have the same psychological conditioning or the same socioeconomic constrains. Men get a free pass. Women don’t. And they know it.

Expand full comment

Not all women... and even those who ARE able to work and drive can be tightly controlled by their husbands..

Expand full comment

However, I believe that some of these women who actually go to polling places will find they cannot vote for Trump. I want to also point out that those who, like Nate Silver, think that the Trump polls are undercounted because people don't want it "known" they will vote Trump is more than irrelevant because the reality is that in purple and red areas, people are daily intimidated and threatened if they don't love Trump. If the MAGA brahmins realized how much secret polling hurts Trump (and the fascist vote) they would be either championing allowing husbands into the booth with their wives, or else insisting that mail in ballots be filled in with everyone in the family sitting down at the kitchen table and voting as one! (And I'm sure some MAGA types do just that)

Expand full comment

It has occurred to me that much of the early voting may be to avoid the MAGA crazies waiting outside polling offices over this weekend, and even women voting early and in secret before their menfolk get to block them.

Expand full comment

Sayz a guy in France.

Expand full comment

Ok, so that makes me wrong? Or does the opinion of a guy sensible enough to live in a sane country not count?

You are getting very boring, Daniel. Why don't you just ignore me and get back to your..... whatever it is you do when you're not trolling other people.

Expand full comment

Thank you. I’m presently in France partly because being in the US is no longer safe for me. If you look at every element for asking for refuge status I qualify. I would qualify if I was coming into the US. France has been a Godsend to me. I’ve never been treated with the type of compassion I never got in the US. Yes, please, go off and do whatever

Expand full comment

Troll.

Expand full comment

yet, there is no way the husband can ever KNOW.

Expand full comment

Unless he makes the wife fill hers out in front of him (OR he does hers FOR her) then mails it himself....

Expand full comment

Alternative lives, as a 73 y/p woman I can tell you the power of growing up in religious home that taught that like Ruth in the bible a woman’s place was to follow her husband, If you read many religious texts they are based on paternalistic,patriarchal stories. My culture told me I was second class. There were no sports for girls. All the money went to the all important boys sports, We could only be cheerleaders. Dating was more of boys locker room talk of who was able to conquer a girl and get laid. There was little discussion of getting to know each other and respect each other in a relationship. TV shows like The Donna Reed Show, Leave it to Beaver, Happy Days, Ozzie and Harriet, and more, all depict a woman at home usually a little ditzy with a tolerant yet wiser man as the head of the household and the one to have the last say, Spousal rape was not acknowledged until 1993. A man was the king of his castle and women knew their place. I had six years of home ec. I won a merit scholarship to college, but no one told me it was money. As a young woman I couldn’t get a bank account or a loan without a father or husband to co-sign, I was definitely groomed to be a Stepford wife. It took me too many years before deeply questioning this conditioning. Even in our language the words he or men are often used and women are supposed to assume they are included. Better to remind women that they are to be silent and know there place. The same conditioning told boys that to be a man was to subjugate a woman, So when our churches, our language, our TV shows and advertising, our school experiences all reinforce this model of male superiority, this belief system will not be overcome quickly. Much of the work from Alice:Paul to Gloria Steinem and so many others has helped to make this change. The progress that was made in the 60’ and 70’s has caused a huge backlash from men and women who are afraid of having their core belief system challenged. This is the belief system that they were given from birth as to what reality is, Belief systems take courage to look at and I am afraid that many just don’t have the ego strength to do that,

Expand full comment

Good comments Linda. Being four years older than you I agree that the culture always skews toward men. Lucky for me and my brother ours was not a religious family and my Mother always worked as an accountant or office manager for years until she started her own business. Always a strong willed and a very smart person she had the full support from my Dad for anything she wanted to do. I remember my Mom taking me with her to vote when I was in grade school. I seem to remember they were big fans of Adlai Stevenson so it was probably 1956. Remember the voting booths with the levers and the curtain that pulled shut for privacy? That was the one we used. She and my Dad (FDR people) always told us "when it comes to helping and respecting working people, the worst Democrat is always better than the best Republican". I started voting in 1968, and not for Nixon. I have always found their admonition to hold true. P.S. Remember when a girl in high school would get pregnant and have to leave school? They never kicked the boy out. He was allowed to finish and graduate! Hope for better times and Vote Blue. Cheers... GH

Expand full comment
founding

@Linda. You have very well given a lay person's description of social inculcation. It's real according to those who study this. But another thing is going on that was brought up by Lahanas-Calderon in the coffee klatch - social media has created a new channel for social inculcation, within which parents and communities are replaced by "influencers" and fanatics. We are in for a couple of scary decades while society figures out how to have "our better angels" contribute more to social (media) inculcation of this and the next generation.

Expand full comment

I hear what you say, and I'm old enough to have been brought up with those rules in England too, albeit not in a religious family and in a seriously multicultural city.

I fear Trump has actually brought out something deep seated and long-hidden in American society, not just that the coastal city-dweller's modern agenda is a million miles from the conservative rural agenda, but that many people in those same cities, not just men, still hark back to a past time, and the apparent simplicity and certainties of past rules and social structures. And yes, religion too.

I have said before that Trump has let the genie out of the bottle, and there are queues of wannabe dictators that will now realise that if they follow the Trump playbook, but with more intelligence and fewer cock-ups, then there is an American electorate ready to vote you into power. People like Vance, for example.

This election is existential, but it certainly is NOT the last word. Even if Harris wins the vote, even if Trump and the Republicans fail to overturn it, even if the planned insurrections are quashed by loyal security services, then all the same crap will be happening in 4 years time, and for a very simple reason - 50% of Americans still seem to want to vote for it!

Expand full comment
founding

@ old French bloke. I think you are right that the movement behind Trump does not need Trump - they will find a willing populist wanna be dictator. Something that gives hope, if Harris wins this time the odds are heavily stacked that she will win next time due to advantages of incumbency and the likelihood that many of the grievances that drive Trump voters will have been mitigated, at least to some extent, after four years of a rational presidency and administration.

Expand full comment

We cannot overlook the oligarchy which has slowly but surely crept into the scene, then, emboldened by Citizens United, taken over. Far too many greedy billionaires in a race to see whose youknowwhat is bigger than the others' are controlling our elections, and doing so simply in order to control legislation that enables even more unfettered corporate greed. For the past month as we've watched the orange conman completely disintegrate, I've thought Peter Thiel would end up controlling the country. Yes, Vance has been salivating over trump's decline but we all know he's incapable of doing any aspect of the presidency, and would probably allow his longtime mentor, Thiel to "advise" him. And now Musk is vying with Theil for the head role. Of course, Vlad is right in there to "help" any "shadow" govt because, let's face it, he's an expert at taking control and never relinquishing it. So, yes. Even if Harris wins this time and even the next, there are plenty of "strong" (eye roll) men who will NEVER let up in running everything...... including the Project 2025 "master" minds. We're in for some very troubling times that may never be eliminated..

Expand full comment

This is one of the reasons why Republicans want to abolish public education.

Expand full comment

Now that brain power has replaced muscle power women can look to a brighter future.

Expand full comment

Father Knows Best, too.

Expand full comment

Like. Sticks in my (female) craw that women didn't get the right to start with until 1920. (for Pete's Sake!) 50 years after ex-slaves who happened to have penises at least were authorized on paper.

Expand full comment

@ Mmerose. If Trump vowed to restore Roe v Wade and support Medicare for all, he'd still be a raving lunatic, con man, rapist, convict, incompetent to stand trial, let alone get a security clearance.

Expand full comment

Look up his diagnosis:

Malignant Narcissist AXIS ll Cluster B-4

There really are no meds for this cluster-f--k of disorders.

He is certifiable and belongs in a locked psych ward.

Expand full comment

Hopefully she will win. and then? The country better start giving major psych evals to anyone who is serious about running for office.

and I'm not referring to the MAN, WOMAN, PERSON, CAMERA, TV eval my mum at age 89 took to live in assisted living independently.

45 was groomed from an early age to be a Con.

When has he done anything for anyone unless

"there's something in it for him?"

Expand full comment

True, but a Savior no more.

Expand full comment

Hmmm... Just to clarify, does that count as Voting Envy or Penis Envy?

Just an old bloke trying to keep up with the latest psycofads. 😬

Expand full comment

No penis envy… we have brains and we use them!

Expand full comment

Hmmm.... If I were braver, I might answer 'sometimes' to that last bit. As it is, I'll shut the f*ck up as I'm too scared of all those intelligent women on this blog that are voting for Kamala!

🐥🐥🐥

Expand full comment

Well, darn, I guess if a girl likes that she can vote, she kind of envies a penis just in case! (But I don't hold it against ya, bloke.)

Expand full comment

Good answer!

And penises do come with a list of other advantages too! Higher salaries, more promotions, far less criticism from others, getting away with lower standards of behaviour,......... the list goes on and on.

Oh yes, it's good to be a bloke! 😬

Expand full comment

Tall, too. Tall is good.

Expand full comment

Oy! Yeah, that, too!

BUT, short is OK, also.

Expand full comment

So you are a woman AND you're short? Wow, what a bummer!

What does your therapist say about all that?

🤣

Expand full comment

Yeah tall is good and taller is better.

Expand full comment

HA-ha-ha-ha! Touche … OH, maybe no touche. No touchie. Too funny, though.

Expand full comment

Mmerose, Women were chattel.

Expand full comment

In a lot of places they still are. If a political candidate says they have to vote for their candidate against her wishes. Then we’re still chattel.

Expand full comment

Writing to you from Portugal. One of my friends here (she is from the US) was in Tomar, a rather small town in the centre of the country. She posted on fb a photo of a balcony in Tomar with an Australian flag and a Trump/Vance poster. She was shocked. Most of the comments to her post (from Portuguese and Americans) also expressed shock. But one of her Portuguese friends defiantly criticised her for posting her comment and claimed that no republican would make a similar comment about a Harris/Waltz poster. Everyone else challenged her but this woman stood firm. She will not benefit directly from a Trump win and yet she seems to have joined the cult. And it is incomprehensible to me and to the others who commented on her post. Here, we are all (at least most of us) very worried about another Trump presidency - we won't be directly impacted by the misogyny or lack of health care, but.... Ukraine, world economy , NATO... I really REALLY don't get it either!

Expand full comment

I definitely agree. Since the US news media very rarely brings up global politics. Trump would be a disaster for the world

Expand full comment

Australia, S. Africa, USA--apartheid.

Expand full comment

its the media hijacking and stoking alot of pre-existing resentments and intolerances and creating new ones as well. Many of these people are just living in a different information world than you and I that then directs their feelings.

Expand full comment

I don’t get it, either. I’ve never been able to understand the anti-Women’s-Rights cadre of females. There’s some serious, serious brain-washing done to get that reaction from an ostensibly intelligent woman {Amy Coney Barrett comes to mind — the Handmaiden judge …}. Gad.

Expand full comment
Nov 2·edited Nov 2

Pat Goudey OBrien, I look at it like people can be very skilled, intelligent, and clever in certain areas but not wise. Wisdom is just as important because it determines what a person does with their gifts. The person you mentioned lacks wisdom because it was kept from her. Those who so strongly conditioned her, did not do so to impart wisdom and empower her as a female, but to create her in their own image to service their own egos.

Expand full comment

Do you think the US Education System is compliant in this, M Tree? There are a good many US students moving here these days ( I tutor maths) and I have found that many of them struggle with the conceptual approach to learning and their parents don't understand that the students are expected to think, not parrot. This is great in terms of keeping me busy but disappointing to realise that (and I do know it isn't universal) the approach there is not wisdom-prone.

Expand full comment

Callie Roth Welstead, I'm curious what country you live in and what grade level students you are tutoring?

I'm not sure if my defintion of wisdom fits in with your query, but I suppose it does play a role in the background. To me, wisdom, is that which doesn't come from ego but from the heart, from love. It springs from the truth that we are all created equal, that our divine human value is unchanging, and that each person, no matter their actions, deserves dignity. Wisdom takes intentional practice and humility of the heart. It is hard for us humans to be wise, especially in every situation and moment. And some humans rarely act from wisdom.

I do have some thoughts on education that have impacted the student learning.

*portions of curriculums have been pushed down to lower grades, so what I was taught in 5th grade is now being taught in 3rd grade, where not all students are developmentally ready for abstract concepts

*curriculums have also went far and wide, rather than deeply enough for mastery due to the time constraints of teaching far and wide

*:some school districts' administrators and their department heads follow academia theory rather than the experiential of their classroom teachers. (I suspect the administrators/dept heads are coming from ego not wisdom.)

*textbook publishers reflect all of the above

*k-12 schools, colleges training teachers, after-school tutoring programs, teacher education for best practices for teaching math, etc, teacher salaries, etc. are all underfunded and/or misguided. Republicans here have been at war with education for about 40 years. Their goal is to undermine and sabotage so citizens will become so angry and disillusioned with public education that they will support the Republicans completely killing it (as is their platform for this election - close the Dept of Educatiion at the federal level)They have slashed federal funding to k-12 and colleges. We rank at the bottom with. our peer nations for the amount of federal (national) funding.for our nation's schools.. States led by Republicans have also defunded education in their states. In addition, they have led an all out publuc attacks on teachers for decades so many parents no longer see teachers as partners but as enemies. Teachers are overworked, underpaid, and demoralized. Many veteran teachers have left. Leaving gaping holes where new, nexperienced teachers are not getting the mentors they and their students deserve.

*Are any of your students coming from charter schools?. Courts have deemed charter schools are public schools. But they are not; they are for profit schools who choose their students, not all are welcome. Even though taxpayers fund the the charter schools from the public education fund, the for profit charter schools are not required to meet the same scrutiny or standards as public schools. There is little to no oversight.

Although, my list isn't exhaustive, I hope I have given you some insight into our challenges. :-)

Expand full comment

Hi M Tree. I live and teach in Portugal. Every student here must take a course in Philosophy in secondary school because it is thought that they need to know how to think things through and make good judgements. I teach secondary school - that's grades 6 - 12. I no longer teach in a school - I give private lessons. But I spent many years in schools here. Last year, when one of my students here prepared to take the American SAT just to see how she did, we found the maths test to be equivalent to a Grade 8-9 test here and one that mostly tested pattern recognition. When I sent my friend who teaches in the US copies of our culminating exams, she was gobsmacked. There is also the much publicised information on what small percentage of Americans can find other countries on the map. A lack of global awareness can lead to misunderstanding and distrust. I don't know how wisdom thrives in that kind of atmosphere. We also suffer here from low salaries and with the recent influx of wealthy newcomers, the cost of housing has risen out of the reach of many Portuguese - so I think we have this in common with where you are.

Expand full comment

Callie Roth Welstead, Philosophy in high school sounds like a good idea. As your friend, I'm gobsmacked that our math are so inferior to yours. This is why global conversations are so important --- we have so much to learn from one another. I'm with you also on the importance of knowing our world. Our Republican politicians here, turn people inward-looking as they scream about globalists like one of the Dems big donors being an evil globalist. Who knew, it was bad to look or go beyond your shore?

Sorry, your people are being hurt and driven out by unaffordable housing costs too. When I was a child, several families immigrated from Portugal and settled in my small town. They integrated well into our community, the adults worked alongside our parents at local businesses and their children went to school with us. I never saw any discrimination toward them. Although, it probably did happen somewhat. They were and are good people.

Expand full comment

Bingo. I have been thinking over the past year about the need for some kind of philosophy courses in high school and/or middle school as a way of addressing what people often talk about: the need for critical thinking. This would be dovetailed with their science studies in particular. But much depends on particular circumstances.

Expand full comment

we don't value education as a country compared to other nations. We could start there as to why this is. Is our ratio of noise (bullshit) to signal higher than other develped nations? Not sure how one would measure that. Many of the values people profess to hold they do not. The people consequently, to the extent they are aware, feel hollow. This is always true but at times the dichotomy is very bad. I'm thinking of communism and how people experienced it in USSR late cold war before the collapse.

Expand full comment

steve reed, that's a great point. Robert Reich has talked about the demise of our beliefs in the common good. I think people still value education, but some only value it for their children. Republican politicians today obviously feel this way.

You reminded me of a conversation I had this summer while traveling outside of the US. A couple struck up a conversation about our politics. At some point in the conversation, one mentioned how the Republicans were always talking about how they really love the military service people and asked if that were true. I told her no. It was BS. It's just a marketing strategy. They vote against funding for health services for them. It's the Democratic Party who seeks to appropriate funding and promote policies to help our military. The Dems aren't perfect but the Republicans obstruct good things for our service people all the time.

Expand full comment

and their egos were shaped by the tribe to which they belong.

Expand full comment

Victor Kamendrowsky, I think of us being shaped more by our institutions (family, government, church, education, etc) and the communities in which we grow up. Maybe tribes would mean factions within our institutions and communities.

Expand full comment

Yes, M Tree. The Republican Party, an institution, has been taken over by individuals with a tribal identity; the same appears to have happened to SCOTUS, a fundamental institution. The authors of Project 2025 seek to change the very constitution of the country. They have a tribal identity, and Donald Trump is their tribal leader. They want to control all our institutions, the family included. They are totalitarian fascists., and they threaten us with violence,

Expand full comment

Victor Kamendrowsky, well said!

Expand full comment

I have met a couple of Trump-supporting women; they are older and their reasons are pure Faux News rationalizations. There is no law against women who oppose women's rights, although maybe there should be, LOL

All the co-ed I have met are Harris supporters. All the male students are trumpsters. I tell the women not to date any trumpsters.

Expand full comment

ALRA. I've discussed this with my wife. She says it is the Stockholm Syndrome and/or the fact that many women perceive that their bread is better buttered by supporting and promoting the patriarchy. I've know a few like that in my day, they were antifeminist until their husband left them for a younger or different model.

The Boeberts, the ACB, the Virginia Foxx's, the MTG, are all reaping rewards for playing a supporting role. Double for black MAGA females like Candace Owns, and the few faces I have seen in adoring MAGAt crowds.

House slaves, Malcom X called them.

Expand full comment

William - That is a very interesting take on the issue. There are certainly many correlations between Stockholm and subservient wives.

I am reminded of woman I knew through work, here in France. An intelligent and attractive woman, she had been a Personal Assistant for a high powered exec in Paris. Her husband of 20 years was regularly violent towards her, and once when she turned up for work with a black eye and bruised face, my then-wife and I offered her a room and sanctuary to her as she sued for divorce and reported her husband to the police, which she was doing. About a month later, she simply disappeared with no note or word, and a few days later found she had returned to her husband 'because she still loved him', she said.

It was a stark lesson to me, firstly never to assume, and next not to get involved in other people's family lives. Each to their own.

I suppose if we say that women have the right to their freedom to make their own choices and be free of such abuse, then we must also accept that women also have the choice to accept such abuse?

Yet that said, when I have spoken frankly with such women then every time they say their fathers abused their mothers, and so it was "normal family life". And I suspect the males that perpetrate such abuse would say the same of their fathers. Which means that their children will continue the normalisation of abusive behaviour.

Expand full comment

Alt, you did the right thing, and I am sorry that you regret it now.

Expand full comment

No regrets at all. I have had an amazing life (and still am!). The only thing is that sometimes one has to be older before one realises how damned great it all was!

🙂

Expand full comment

There are many forms of abuse, physical and psychological. Men and women can be psychologically abused. For instance a woman constantly accusing her husband of infidelity because she is insecure.And a man the same. Not all abuse leaves visible marks.

Basic military training is grounded in abuse. Once a Marine always a Marine is drilled into their heads by abuse. It manifests in our identities.

In some form It seems Stockholm Syndrome has captured most everyone,

Expand full comment

The secret is to alternate abuse with care. The soldier who is abuse is also praised and glorified for accepting it. The person who is tortured one day and is shown compassion the next can become enslaved by the abuser. Over time the personality of the victim is transformed and can be destroyed.

Expand full comment

On this you are correct.

For three years I was a drill sergeant and used punishment, then praise to condition the troops, but unconsciously, every used the same training method.

Wow/

Expand full comment

Then I consider myself very fortunate. No military service because I grew up in post-was Britain, no university (until my late 30's) to mould my opinions, and I had already realised by age 19 that I was better suited to working for myself. So I chased my own dreams (and occasionally nightmares) ever since, with both great successes and sometimes failures in perhaps roughly equal measure. As Kipling once proposed, I try hard to treat both imposters the same. Still working on that one! 🙂

As an American Marine, you probably still think I'm the one that missed out!

Expand full comment

Not a Marine ALRA, my Dad was, and my ex step son. I did have 26 years in special ops, and they have the same mentality. I wouldn't say you missed out, but frankly it was a cloistered society, the social life was built around the people with whom you worked, for me and my team, we didn't pay much attention to the news. The oil embargo of 73 had no effect or inconvenience on me.

I will say this, I endured and survived and having done so I rest comfortably in my old age with a decent military pension and social security. Thanks to a law, my military retirement does not offset my social security as it does for many others, who have other retirement incomes which offset their social security., and I also have Tricare for life, as does my spouse, which is a secondary insurance to take up the 20% that Medicare doesn't cover.

Expand full comment

A small recompense for serving and risking your life, I 'd say.

Expand full comment

We have an epidemic of female obesity, a sure sign of frustration.

Expand full comment

I am not sure obesity can be tied to frustration. We have an epidemic of obesity period.

We don't eat healthy nor do we exercise., we eat processed foods, fast foods, junk foods, the food we eat is killing us and causing health problems. Worst is simple carbs, things made with refined flour. Wheat with wheat germ (complex carb) takes longer to digest, simple carbs increase spikes in blood glucose,and in some, leaky gut syndrome..

Using self as an example. I have never been a big eater, I've always ate to live, and scoffed at people who live to eat.

One day in 2006 while on my daily bicycle ride, I looked down and noticed this bulge in my stomach. Scared I made an appointment with someone who turned out to be my PCP. She took one look at me and said "syndrome X, insulin resistant" because I carried the fat high, not down low like a pot belly gut, the fat was resricted to my upper abdomen, not arms,legs and then I remembered my mother and aunts, they were the same. It is genetic passed down via mitochondrial DNA. Mothers pass it on,not fathers.

I received nutrition classes, and modified my eating habits, but not enough. I gained 80 lbs. Finally in February I had it. I drastically cut my caloric intake and what I ate, also added Berbine to my morning regimen.

In no time at all I lost 40 lbs, then hit a plateu, and have been there for six months, I eat my first meal between 10 and 12, and it is a low calorie, low carb, low sugar protein bar.

I am eating dinner as I type this it is the same as last night, and the night before, a zucchini, cucumber, onion, tomato salad with olive oil and apple cider vinegar and marjoram. and I am not losing weight, in fact i have gained weight at 5'8"I was down to 177 lbs in Jul and have slowly crept up to 190 lbs this morning and trying like hell to hold on.

My body doesn't want to give up the fat.

As I said, I eat to live,, not vice versa. When I was a child, I was hoping that someone would invent a pill, to save me the trouble of eating.

One thing though, probably most important of all, my blood glucose stays in the insulin resistant range, and not into the diabetic range, once in a while it drops down into the normal range.

At 85, and a cancer survivor, I get complete blood panels every six months, and a diabetic check up every six months. My blood panels and urine check are all normal, as is my blood pressure, even though I am emphysemic, I still perform chores including weed whipping.

Point is obesity is not caused, necessarily, by frustration or over eating.

My wife is obese, but has, many times, lost tremendous amounts of weight almost overnight, She eats as light as I eat, but when she returns to normal eating patterns,she gains back every bit of weight she lost. We don't eat cookies, cake none of that stuff, though she does eat ice cream.

Oh and I snack on olives and pickles, I have a salt tooth, not a sweet tooth.

Expand full comment

Here in rural central Virginia, many women are conservative Christians and vote Republican for cultural reasons, especially opposition to abortion. Some have told me that they dislike Trump but cannot vote for Harris.

Expand full comment

It's not just women. The younger the voter the more likely they are to "lie" about who they are planning to vote for. Only six percent of boomers "lie" about their voting behavior. That's because we grew up during times when we felt safer about our rights. Younger voters don't feel as safe. https://www.axios.com/2024/10/30/election-gen-z-voting-lies?utm_source=pocket-newtab-en-us&fbclid=IwY2xjawGTcCFleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHf8s7jp3kq30aFwdFnlbFblC-apz1GAI_RXlyEZGSHk-t5wyXFH1cykawg_aem_7jj_z_VyLK4s_iTopuIp5Q

Expand full comment

I am reminded of a country western song from about 25 years ago- Brooks and Dunn or somebody like that. The refrain was" some girls like men like me, some don't". But the song was about a good hearted cowboy with little but a horse and a bottle of whiskey. Donald Trump is not that guy. I would describe women that vote for him or think he's charming as behind the evolutionary curve

Expand full comment

It is like the woman who just voted for the first time since her husband died, some women are slaves to their husbands!

Expand full comment

Women can be white christian nationalists too. There's one in my family circle.

Expand full comment

Its astonishing to me that even Trump's Campaign Manager is a 67 yo woman -- Susie Wiles. She sounds very smart and savvy -- so how can she work in such a toxic environment!

Expand full comment

Perhaps the intellectual challenge? Once in a lifetime opportunity!

Expand full comment

cause she gets the money!

Expand full comment

No women that I know are voting for the knuckleheads.

Expand full comment

it's extraordinary that ANYONE votes maga. They are the real RINOS

Expand full comment

Right wing propanada states that babies are being murdered after birth. If this were real I could see many women fighting against it. Its a good smoke screen to bodily automany being taken away. I even heard an indignation that womens rights were being violated by allowing abortion. A common projection/deflection argument of MAGA against the argument for womens rights using the words of womens rights against itself. This is the propaganda I have been hearing from 3 MAGA women I have spoken to personaly.

Expand full comment

There is, sadly, no known cure for stupidity.

Expand full comment

Trump Contagian is strong and the propaganda "machine" that supports him is well funded. The 1st step is silencing his voice via jail time. Then the next step is dismantling the money that funds the corresponding propaganda.

Expand full comment

I agree. But I wonder about the greater malaise - why 50% of Americans (and a much higher percentage of white men) consider Trump and Trumpism a realistic and viable alternative to democracy and the Constitution.

Harris and Walz, if elected and allowed to serve by the Supreme Court, have just 4 years to work that out and fix it, before the next election in 2024 becomes a rerun, but next time with Vance instead of Trump. And Vance is a MUCH smarter guy!

Expand full comment

Correction it was 1 MAGA woman and 2 independents.

Expand full comment
Nov 2Liked by Robert Reich

May it translate into a landslide win for blue!

Expand full comment

I think it will, Charles Buer. Ever since the Madison Square Garden Hate Rally, I have been much calmer, much less worried about the outcome of this election. That rally, combined with the daily shocking reports of new tRumpist outrage, have erased any plausable deniability about who/what tRump is. Only American Neo Nazis and racists still support him. I am shocked at how many of those we have, but I believe they are in the minority.

Expand full comment

I’m feeling better myself, but still apprehensive. I don’t trust trump or his cronies.

Expand full comment

Oh, I am absolutely sure we will have to go through a gauntlet of MAGA obstacles before this is over, and even after it's over! These dangerously determined Project 2025 people will just move the date forward and keep working. It will take some time before we can see the results of Harris-Walz leadership, even if we have a slight majority in the House and Senate.

Expand full comment

LAST DAY TO REGISTER IN NORTH CAROLINA

BYOP Josh Stein. https://www.fieldteam6.org/free-byop-textbanks

MassText 2 pm eastern. https://www.mobilize.us/ft6/

Ballot curing website. https://www.fieldteam6.org/ballot-curing

Expand full comment

I think this election has been a wake up call for women across the country. Older women like me are getting so much more involved not because I will live in the new world that much longer but because I lived in the world where women had to fight for every ounce of respect and every freedom. I am doing it for my five granddaughters and my five grandsons all of whom are young adults just entering college or the world of work and marriage at some point. I am committed to ensuring we have more women at every level of government. I am seeing fewer women getting elected in our state of SC and we have to change that and quickly. We are losing ground.

Expand full comment

What a great Coffee Klatch! I loved it! Thank you, Professor Reich, Heather Lofthouse and Michael Lahanas-Calderon, for keeping me sane during this campaign and election cycle! I have proudly cast my vote for Kamala Harris/Tim Walz and have been busy talking, talking, talking to people. I have been driving voters to the polls and I won't give up until Tuesday, November 5! I have been on this earth for 72 years and I have to say, I'm afraid I grew use to being able to make decisions for my own health care and my body. I enjoyed reading whatever I wanted to read and being with whoever I wanted to be with. I was quite active in the 60s and watched my heroes like John F. Kennedy, Bobby Kennedy, Martin Luther King, John Lewis and so many others make a huge difference to our lives. I never dreamed the very rights that we have taken for granted could be taken away just like that! My daughter is gay and has been with her partner 25+ years. I am worried for them and I think that is why I have been so active during this election cycle. I want my children, grandchildren and on down the line to be able to enjoy the rights, freedoms and liberties I have enjoyed during my lifetime. My mother had five children and four stepchildren and we were all girls! She was a strong woman and taught every one of us to be independent. She would tell us, "You don't need a man to tell you what to do. Think for yourself. A man should be your partner and you work together to make your lives good." Apparently, I got the independent part right, but I was abysmal at working with my partners. I've had two marriages. The first was good and we remain friends, the second was a narcissist who behaved much like the orange man. Needless to say, we do not keep in touch! I hope the women out there know their vote is theirs and theirs alone. No man has any right to tell you what to do. Thank you again for a great Coffee Klatch! Onward and blue!

Expand full comment

I can't believe how similar your story is to mine! Except that I have a gay/transgender son, and my first marriage ended with my husband's death - my second was with the first man who showed an interest afterward, and he turned out to be a psychotic meth addict(I believed he was just a bipolar artist and poet who needed a sane partner - haha). I was a hippie back in the 60's, and had the same heroes. I'm actually far more politically active now. Maybe because I have the time to be.

Women like us are the backbone of women's rights and saving Democracy. ☮️💙🇺🇸

Expand full comment

So true, Paula! The weight of it all can sometimes bring you down, but we must do every single thing we can to save our Democracy for our kids, grandkids and on down the line. Onward and blue!

Expand full comment

I’m your same age but I was raised by two feminist parents, mom and dad. I thought the way I was raised was normal. It’s incomprehensible to me that women obey their husband’s directive of who to vote for. WTH???

My parents always talked about elections very seriously and each made up their own minds of how to vote.

I’m watching the early voting results and it looks like Harris/Walz are definitely ahead. I’m feeling more optimistic now that there are data available.

Expand full comment

Peggy Freeman, thanks for sharing!

Expand full comment

Your mother was a true hero. Lucky you!

Expand full comment

Thank you, Victor, I agree. My mom was the greatest! I guess all kids say that about their mom, but mine was a beautiful wonder to me! I miss her every single day. I think to myself, if she were alive today, she would be right there with me doing everything she could to ensure Kamala wins the election. In my mind, Victor, she really was my true hero. Thank you!

Expand full comment

You are welcome, Peggy. Keep writing!

Expand full comment

“The better I get to know Republican men, the more I find myself loving dogs.”

- after Charles de Gaulle

Expand full comment

So sad. Men are raised by parents of both sexes, mostly (?). Culture plus education. I submit that the most relevance of your comment is running in packs. I saw a "focus group" interview earlier today where it seemed to me the young white blue-collar guys were most intent on knowing nothing. Taking no sides. Whatever their dog pack.

Expand full comment

In a world of seriously bad new, even existential crises, I think being a young person is nowadays SO onerous and scary that i suspect many, many young people simply try to block out and ignore all the news on wars, genocide, accelerating climate crises, economic collapse, Peak Fossils, and yes, a possible Trump presidency.

If I think back to the 1960's and the Vietnam War, the spin-off was the hippy, flower power revolutionary movement by those that wanted to reject an entire American culture. I wonder if we may see something similar soon - a rejection of mainstream capitalism, careers, politics and education, and a self-sufficiency movement back to the land?

Expand full comment

We are seeing it now- post Covid rejection of striving for “career advancement”, employees demanding their off time be undisturbed by work and seeking a better work/life balance. The younger generations aren’t lazy- they just reject being slaves to misogynistic corporate tyranny.

Expand full comment

My kids are 33 and 36 and they are so fed up with 'being slaves to corporate tyranny.' My daughter is starting her own business at 33. My son is doing all he can to get financially stable enough to leave his current position with a major health care network that seems to prioritize making their employees feel like nothing but faceless cogs in the giant wheel. His company just took away two of the previous (long term) allotted vacation days and two sick days. What?!?! I am very sad at the world my children are inheriting.

Expand full comment

I trust they are voting.

Expand full comment

and then some wonder why people don't want to have children.

Expand full comment

Like. (can't) Just whoever preserve us from "back to the land" means today .

Expand full comment

Professor Reich, Heather Lofthouse and Michael Lahanas-Calderon: I voted "more women will vote for Kamala" in your poll. but I could have voted that more activist women could be awakened (because i am certain this will be the long-term outcome).

one thing that has jumped out at me is the value of education to change the futures of all these disenfranchised people out there. college, trade school and continuing education are, in my opinion, essential to being a productive and contributing member of society who is not "left behind" or impoverished. because of this, i think ALL HIGHER EDUCATION MUST BE FREE for citizens and dreamers. this would require a huge revamp of american economic policy, but at the same time, it would help preserve democracy, increase equality, increase the tax base, and safeguard the country's economy. i just cannot see any other comprehensive way to truly fix this gigantic mess that america finds itself facing.

Expand full comment
Nov 2·edited Nov 2Liked by Robert Reich

Thank you Bob, Heather, and Michael. And Michael has been a great addition, bringing in the really younger point of view. I am concerned, but not worried about the election.

I am more concerned about the outright sabotage, burning ballot boxes and mail boxes and burglarizing post offices in rural areas. I am disappointed that the Federal Government hasn't been as out front and prepared. Between blabbermouth trumpscum, evil mush, j.devil vance, and Project 2025 we have had sufficient warning that they would go down kicking, screaming, and violently all the way.

I agree, Heather, I do believe women will save the day. But I don't think young men with or without college degrees are quite as stupid as some people think they are. The "macho" non-thinkers, yes, But the younger men of my acquaintance are all pro Harris/Walz.

Thank you for offering a Coffee Klatch on Tuesday, I will certainly tune in.

Expand full comment
Nov 2Liked by Robert Reich

Totally agree, Michael's points were especially valuable this morning.

Expand full comment

the election and post-election interference will be very well organized and planned. back around 10/23, someone posted a link to the PBS documentary about Michael Flynn

https://frontlinetv.com/michael-flynn-s-holy-war-full-documentary

Expand full comment
Nov 2Liked by Robert Reich

Really enjoyed watching Coffee Klatch this morning. Wish everyone could see it. I'll be watching Tues night (I hope) at midnight Eastern time. What makes me mad is reading about the young pregnant woman in Texas who died after going to 3 hospitals and not treated til too late because doctors are fearful of being charged as criminals. As a retired nurse who used to care for OB emergencies in critical care occasionally, this is beyond insanity. Cruel and inhumane.

Expand full comment

Thank you for your service, Kathy.

Because nursing is like being a Frontline soldier.

Expand full comment
Nov 2Liked by Robert Reich

Towards the end of the klatch, Robert speaks to "not knowing the results" of the election on Tuesday night.

Speaking from Georgia, our election officials -- interviewed this week (including Raffensperger) -- are extremely confident that they will have the results for our state by 11PM that night.

Should Harris win, that would be an incredible rush of confidence for that evening.

With few exceptions, I have tremendous faith in the goodwill of Governor Kemp and other other Georgia officials involved. That single point alone has relieved a lot of stress.

Expand full comment

Non-MAGA Republicans desperate cry for help. They can’t stop MAGA so begging voters to end their misery by voting Harris/Walz in.

Expand full comment
Nov 2Liked by Robert Reich

Thank you, Robert, Heather and Michael, for this Klatch!

Expand full comment

The Republican Party is linked at the hip to Evangelical Christians. Unfortunately , they have forgotten the true lessons of Christianity and have morphed into America’s Christian Taliban. Women fit into this new Christian Taliban in the same manner as the Muslim Taliban.

It’s just a matter of time before they will be the mandatory wearing of the Burqa. God help us all.

Expand full comment

On the contrary..I personally think that's a matter of time before more women will revolt and leave the abusive households! The more it is talked about in the public social / mainstream media the better!!

Women need to know that there's LIFE beyond the abuse and control 🙏❤️

Expand full comment

That is exactly what I’m praying for on Election Day. I’m praying for a Blue wave of women voters who care about their children and grandchildren. Thank God most women are “nesters” and put family first.

Expand full comment
Nov 2Liked by Robert Reich

Michael's clear-thinking commentary is valuable - good to see him as a future leader in America - WE HOPE!

Dr. Reich - - like you, I am frightened. Post-election violence, and the 'never surrender' mentality, is worrisome and a sad possibility.

Expand full comment

Thank you for including Michael Lahanas-Calderón this morning! What a fabulous show! Great idea to have the views of the younger generation. I hope we see more of this.

Expand full comment

About the Poll... Other: more women will vote for Harris (This is what I believe). My hope is that most women and men will vote for Harris.

Expand full comment
Nov 2Liked by Robert Reich

You guys are the main folks I'm staying with! I'm so glad you'll be with us on Election Day evening. I hope you will be with us LIVE.

Expand full comment