In the next four years we will be witnessing unprecedented efforts to transition our democracy into a kleptocracy. The definition of kleptocracy is: “A society or system ruled by people who use their power to steal their country's resources.” As the slide into kleptocracy becomes more visible I think we will see a profound awakening of the one third of the electorate who did not even bother to vote. We will also see a profound awakening of the DNC who totally missed the boat on this election by pandering to those who finance the DNC.
With the blatant efforts to appoint a cabinet of those who would facilitate such a transition to kleptocracy, the one third of the American electorate that barely voted Trump and MAGA into office are in for a big awakening. The vision that Trump has been hawking to those who see themselves as patriots to democracy are in for a reckoning of epic proportions. Many of these people depend on social security and medicare to even put food on the table, pay a rapidly increasing rent and get some form of medical care. That support is about to evaporate and the murder of a representative of capitalism as a thief of their meager corporate owned healthcare will take on a new significance. Luigi Maglione simply uncovered the tip of the iceberg of rage against the corrupt billionaires who cause so much suffering just to increase personal wealth.
Those with the least resources are forced to shop at stores such as Walmart. Almost all of Walmarts inventory are products manufactured in countries that are targets of Trump's plan to put a huge tax (import duties) on all of those goods. How will he be able to explain the sudden loss of purchasing power to the American electorate? As the pain sets in, so will the rage against the system.
Democrats at all levels need to vociferously direct the rage to convince people to vote against the Republicans who are causing the pain. Democrats can't sit back and hope people recognize that it is Republicans and their greedy corporate accomplices who are making their lives worse. If Democrats remain silent, Republicans will simply blame Biden and get away with it.
I belong to a group that creates, writes, buys the stamps...to remind Democrats of upcoming elections, request their presence at the polls. We need the elected elite to skip a free lunch & get on television to present the facts. Very poor communication, facts over lies takes more than a 20 second ad. Those of us who were permanently financially damaged due to the stock market crash of 2007-2008 are routinely ignored.
Lin, unfortunately your messaging is likely to be ignored by millions who have no interest in real facts. Fox News did not become popular by sticking to the facts. We are in an era of identity politics.
Lin, my comment on your post was not meant to discourage you from doing the important, necessary work you are doing. What I meant is that in addition to facts we must address the fundamental issues that trouble so many of our voters. Of these, I think that immigration and the border are the most important, because Trump and his allies have succeeded in scaring so many voters. The cost of living is also of fundamental importance, and Trump will fail to deliver on his promises. Once the border issue is resolved, the cost of living will be the main issue. Good luck to you, and thank you for the work you are doing. Also, happy holidays!
I agree with everything you have written, as an elder I have seen how much time & effort went into progress that over recent time has been seriously damaged. The immediate future is horrifying. Joyce Vance is planning an accounting of the creature & company's assaults to grade value to help us stay the course, not get blitzed. We everyone need to pick our war & stay standing. I live in Texas, i know how bad a red state can be, Abbott is gearing up to use kidnapped, incarcerated humans as a political piggy bank.
I don't know what article you were reading but it was defeatist. And not factual. There is nothing future about Trump's presidency. It is full on Fascism bought and paid for by dark money. Many of those right wing podcasters get their money from big money interests. They persuaded many voters that their enemies were the "other" (immigrants, the poor, the disabled, LGBTQ, black/brown) who were stealing their jobs, stealing their benefits, taking their rights. The truth is the wealthy are our common enemy. They want to destroy the middle class and create a neo-feudalism economic system.
i have no idea what you are referring to as an "article I was reading" If you are referring to the Salon Article. then explain. It will take more than hand waving and you calling it defeatist
As regards the rest of your comment. I agree, but what solution do you have,if that article is defeatist
I think we all agree that the world has gone to shit, after Nov 5th, We can all count off all the crimes of Trump and his people, we can all kvetch about what is wrong, how we are being raped by the wealthy. But what are we going to do, now that we all agree.
Any ideas?
What aht Salon article addressed is how we got here, and what is happening now.
I am all ears for a solution, all I see right now is a personal exit, and/or guerrilla warfare passive resistance and sabotage.
This is not 1776, 1789 or 1917, and the state has tools, that it didn't have then
William, in response to your request for solutions you seem to limit solutions to addressing the failures of the Democratic Party. Your analysis is excellent, but the solutions you propose are limited to improving the messaging and strategy of the Democratic party.
I believe we have boxed ourselves into attempting to make a failed system of Democracy functional again. After well over 200 years it is time to take ourselves beyond the limitations of the thinking that was brilliant in the 1700s and jump to the next level of Economics and Democracy.
The “Crisis and Transition” substack is a progression of essays that is daring to think outside the box that has limited our horizons and our thinking. https://crisistransition.substack.com/ It is a collection of fourteen essays with a new essay added each week and proposes the system of "Economic Democracy” as part of the “Progressive Utilization Theory.”
We need a fresh new approach to our system of economics and governance and I think you will find some of the solutions you have requested.
This artiicle should be shared. I'm sending to my state chair and others.
Glad to see this excellent article on what should have been obvious all along. The Obama campaign in 2008 got off to a good start with its use of the internet in the campaign. But then....
As to why Dems have failed in the media space it's probably in part because unlike the marketing mindeset of many Republicans Dems, esp. in the elites, come from academia backgrounds where "TRUTH REIGNS SUPREME" and all you have to do is whisper it for people to immediately grasp it.
There seems to be a lack of dynamism at the top. Too much caution.
And way too much focus on spending money on national levels near an election.
I get text messages from Dems and GOP. The GOP messages are crafted better.
I learned how to write from the mail I got from the Moral Majority in the election of 1980.
My mail box was flooded with these well disguised requests for donations.
The letters were simply bullet points, formulated to excite the amygdala
And each was in a short paragraph, three sentences at most, each containing a single thought.
The best communicator so far, that I have experienced on the progressive side is Heather Cox Richardson Her longest paragraph has maybe four sentences, but eachparagraph is a single thought.
Democrats, liberals, progressives, don't know how to communicate
While Biden and Harris were talking at people, the Republicans were talking to people and not talking down
Transactional analysis is a useful tool, which Democrats seem to be allergic to. Parent to Parent is communication, Parent to child is authoritative and cross transanctinal. Parent to child is Ok, when one is a child, butwhen both are adults and there is parent to child communication then all that is achieved is anger and resentment.
And frankly a lot of the propaganda and messaging by the DNC, and the Biden/Harris campaign was parent to child, When both were adults.
Telling people that youshould be grateful for look what we did for you, didn't help, especially when the subject really wan't the pocket book, but the culture war and the only thing important to the target was getting back and and owning the libs and the cultural "elite".
We have got to take control of that message and turn it around on the real elites like Trump, Musk,Thiel, Ramaswamy, Haley, the wealthy that are punking all of us, including those who vote for them..
Carolyn - democrats at the top and most "centrist" democrats have been trying to silence progressives who are trying to work for the american people. you can't work for the american people if you work for the corporate masters.
Nancy Pelosi said when she relinquished her position as Democratic leader that she would not be the mother-in-law who tried to control everything. She should keep her promise. She did an outstanding job as Speaker, but it is now time for her to step away.
And Henry Cuellar has since been indicted for bribery.
First we need to get rid of Democrats like Fetterman and Clyburn who have already surrendered. We need progressive leaders, not ones who are running to the center or the right. This is not the time to abandon vulnerable minorities.
Yes, Carolyn - especially with the media slant that we have. Democrats are going to have to educate and continue educating people who have been glazed-over by Fox News and pals. It's going to be a challenge, but it has to happen.
Carolyn: I agree with you. The MAGA bunch obviously couldn't understand why they voted against themselves. Trumpster is an evil con artist who doesn't care for anyone but himself. Mary Trump's biography of her uncle is an excellent portrait of his pathway from his early life to the present time. This is the same pattern of Adolf Hitler's early life: someone with an evil father and weak mother whose life was miserable. As a child psychiatrist who worked with juvenile felony offenders, I "discovered", while talking with them, that they suffered as very young children. At Maxey Boys Training School that used to be in Whitmore Lake, we (staff and I) had the opportunity of providing genuine care. In my experience, many of my offenders had never engaged with somone who actually listened to them. I never would have developed trust with them on a 1:1 outside of a caring institution. The Trumpster has never had an opportunity to learn about himself.
That's true, Marc! It is not going to be pretty when those idiots try to get rid of these programs that so many Americans depend on for help with food, rent or health care. Suddenly, that Kool-Aid MAGA has been drinking will lose its flavor! When the rage sets in, it will not be pretty!
William, I would like to believe there are far more true, patriotic Americans that will definitely fight back. No thug in a brown shirt, jack boots and a bludgeon will scare me into submission. I believe Americans will suddenly stand up, unite and beat back those forces that will try to rule over us. I know that I will fight that with every fiber of my being. Never - Not In America!
As Janice Joplin sang: Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose (refrain from Me and Bobby Magee)
So long as people have the comfort of their house, their things, they aren't going to disturb the order of things. And you would be surprised at how many liberals and progressives, keep quiet, sink into the background or actually put on a brownshirt, it is called the survival instinct.
One of the fascist militia call themselves 3 percenters, because it was only 3 percent of the population that actually wanted and supported the revolution.
The citizens of Virginia had no interest at all because it was the Tidewater Aristocracy of planters, llke Washington and Jefferson, that wanted the revolution, and not for freedom but to become the nobility in the new country. The tobacco they grew and sold to England, provided them a handsome living and lifestyle, they were not at all affected by the taxes and monopoly of the East Indian company, that strangled Boston, NY and Philadelphia merchants forcing them into smuggling which was a hanging offense
The planters wanted to be royalty, the nobility, but the comman man in Virginia would have no part of replacing the British overlords with homegrown overlords, so the aristocracy had to use force and propaganda to get them on their side. Force in the form of Committees for Public Safety,which monitored and punished people, especially merchants and tradesmen, even to tarring and feathering and riding them out of town on a rail.
For propaganda they bought pamphlets written by the likes of Thomas Paine and published in Philadelphia by Ben Franklin and Rittenhouse.
Today the state has a monopoly on force and has the technology to monitor behavior and dissemination of information and propaganda.
They will not be my last words, Victor. I love my country and I know for a fact there are millions more like me that love America and want to fight to keep our Democracy. I hope when the dust settles, true Americans will be standing and showing any who would try to turn her into an autocracy/dictatorship that we mean those exact words, NEVER!-NOT IN AMERICA!
Peggy - but wait! aren't people's families going to take up the slack and invite their destitute old relatives into their homes, and care for them? and pay for their medical care? and umm, wait, whatabout those immigrants who worked in nursing/memorycare facilities? are those inmates, I mean residents, going to come live with us too? i can't stand aunt clara, but should we convert the garage into a room? what will states like arkansas do with no federal money? maybe huckabee can just pray harder, or get the poor to work harder. i know! sheltered workshops in nursing homes. not sure what old arthritic hands can do but there must be something they can do to earn their keep. maybe in the spirit of cristian charity she can open her mansion to the poor and unhoused?
@Marc. A totalitarian dictator does not need a Congress, a court, or a cabinet.
If (or when) the dolloar is worthless the coin of the realm will be Trump coins and World Liberty Financial Inc cryptocurrency. https://www.worldlibertyfinancial.com/
Maybe I'm mistaken, but wasn't the guy who actually invented the Crypto scam from China? Have the Chinese actually found a way to sink our country without war? They know the Greedy Wall Folks can't resist any new scam if they think they can make a buck on it? Just asking... GH
You are probably correct Gary. I don't follow it, because I am not a fool, and haven't invested. It seems to be useful only for cyber ransom. I can't buy food, clothes with it,visit a hardware store, and I am doubtful that I canstop at Autoworld and pick up a 2026 Ford 350, or buy a home with crypto,so what good is it?
I've had others on the web tell me that I can buy a car or a house with crypto, the next time they tell me that I will call an escrow company or a car dealership.
What is the last value of a bitcoin? $100,000 how can you buy anything with it, if you have $100,000 in US Dollars, why buy something that does not exist except in 0's and 1's on some server somewhere. What kind of fool would waste money on an NFT. (well the question answers itself, a MAGAt fool of course)
Interesting thought about the Chinese sinking this country sans a war, they can easily do it and are probably doing it with the help of our greedy billionaires.
Of billionaires, they are clever sociopaths, but stupid otherwise.
Musk has billions invested in his Mars fantasy, because he wants to escape the world that he and his ilk have destroyed with their stupidity and greed.
the laugh is on him, he knows jackshit about physics, gravity and what is required for a human to live, outside of the environment of earth, Not even astronauts escape gravity, the gravitational pull on them and the ISS is .94ge, and what they experience in "zero gravity, is really perpetual free fall, as if they were on the vomit comet 24/7
Jumans may visit the Moon and Mars, but they can't life there,and Mars cannot be terraformed, and the .38ge of Mars will eventually cause a human to make a mistake and kill himself and others.. throw something on Mars and unimpeded with a dense atmosphere, s on earth, and there is no limit to the length and spred it will fly at .38ge..
Every action, every step will have to be carefully guarded, and any human born on Mars, will gow up with spindly legs, arms, small bodies, large heads and eyes adapted to the Martian light and red surface.
This is Occupy Mars and he is touted as a genius, what a fucking joke.
Oh and at .38ge, there is zero chance of their ever being surface water, except frozen water at the poles, or breathable air, because the gravitational pull is too weak to hold light gas to the surface. That there was once water on Mars is evidence that Mars once had a gravitational field as strong as that on earth. for it is gravity that pulls the molecules and atoms of gases to the surface and creates our atmosphere, our oceans, lakes, rivers and streams, Weaken the gravitational pull and it all boils off as water and blood do at 65,0000 feet, that is why pilots and astronauts wear pressure suits, ot is atmospheric pressure that keeps liquids in suspension and the gravitational field is what causes atmospheric pressure.
We live in a very fragile system, the livable, envelope around the planet is a a six mile deep ocean of oxygen., created by a gravitational field, which pulls the molecules of gases to the source of the gravity, the Earth'score,
If Earth had the gravity of Mars pre even. 55ge, there would be no surface water, nor any living thing,it would in fact be a sister of Mars.
Humans are arrogant and have no idea how fragile we and this planet is.
Thanks William. If the Crypto investors are looking for any new investments I have a few tulip bulbs left over from my fall transplanting chores. I would be willing to let them go for the greatly reduced price of $1,500.00 each. Call me... GH
Daniel - Hopefully once trump puts his own money into cryptocurrency another hacker will take it away from him. Funny how he rails against China China China until one of their billionaires puts his money into the hands of a trump company.
He is so stupid that he can't see that people expect him to do something about prices. Some commentators think that this will be used to replace him with Vance. I agree with them.I hate Vance even more than Trump.
I hope we won't be angrier than those becoming angry. Be kind...even tho you want to punch them in the nose. They're suffering, too, We're finely even.
Marc — We need to see January 20, 2025, as marking a new beginning just as July 4, 1776 represents a similar date. That new beginning will possibly result in four to five new countries, which can operate together in some areas. We need to focus efforts on how we can move forward towards a 21st Century multi-ethnic and diverse democratic model.
Probably a good idea. If you can talk at least one GOPer to move out of CA when you get there things will be even better. I live in IL and every time I hear some MAGA bitch about our nice Blue State I offer to help pay for his move to Mississippi if he thinks are so bad here. No takers so far.
Fantastic Idea Doug, but there are some obstacles, Northern California is ruby red, as is the Central Valley, Oregon, except for the West coast is Ruby red, as is the state of Washington (on the east side of the Cascades),
Blue states are only blue because of metropolitan centers, where cultures and races actually mix. White bread America is ulta conservative. though they have little to none exposure other cultures, races, ethnicities
In Washington State, if you step off to the east of the I-5,405 corridor you find yourself in Trump country.
Ultimately, there would be power games and that may cause a resorting of populations. That certainly happened after the American revolution with many Royalists moving to Ontario.
In the 18th and 19th Century population movement was easy. Most folk could pack all of their belongings in a wagon, and there was open land to move to. My fathers family, migrated from the James River community, one generation at a time, first up the James to near what is now Richmond, then down to Pittsylvania County, and kin moved south to what is now Mecklenburg Co, VA, others moved west and eventually through the Cumberland Gap to Kentucky, Tennesse, and as the families grew and the plantations became fallow (monoculture), they kept moving, always to newly opened territory. either because, like Pittslvania Co, VA or Ashley Co, AR, the original inhabitants had died out because of small pox or even been evicted, brutally.
Today it is not so easy to relocate. First one has to dispose of or pay to transport all of their goodies, but before that they need to find a job by which to support themselves,their family and transport all of their goodies, and also find a place to live.Very difficult in a tight employment and housing market.
The great migration that took place in the 20th Century when black males from mostly Mississipi, but also the south, rode the rails north to the Great lakes to get jobs, in the factories that were bustlingm was conducted by males which had nothing more than the clothes on their backs and in suitcases. They earned enough money to rent a home and have their mothers and wives join them.
This is not the situation today. Today it is H1b immigrants from India, Pakistan, Korea, the Philippines that are coming to America and bringing their families with them, and producing people like Ramaswamy, Niki Haley and Kash Patel. People who have their own family notions of caste and no concern or loyalty to anything but their own self aggrandizement.
Have read that already. The book’s weakness is that it relies on European migration to North America. The sorting that has taken place in the U.S. over the past 40 years also needs to be considered.
If we define likely countries around bio-regions, which are usually frame by river systems, there is a different result. The big systems and watersheds such as the Mississippi/Missouri, Colorado/Rio Grande, Columbia, Sacramento/San Joaquin, etc. define a more lasting and sensible lay of the land. The natives who had been here for millennia before the Europeans operated that way.
A modern country may be larger than one bio-region but there are certainly similarities that might put certain areas together.
Doug, and everyone else, the concept of bioregions has been around for a while and makes tremendous sense rather than the states as they are laid out now. Bioregions can be further refined by areas with the same economic interests that bind them together. For example, most of the midwestern states bordering the great lakes have two distinct economies. Close to the lake they have an industrial and commercial based economy whereas as you go south it is a rural agricultural based economy. For example, southern Illinois is bordered by Kentucky and Tennessee and that part of Illinois has a culture and economy more like the South but due to the population concentration of the cities of the north their interests are not represented in politics. When I think of O’bama coming from Illinois I picture Chicago and not Carbondale or Marion Illinois.
of course it's dated,perhaps outdated-i don't remember the details,haven't read it in 40 years-just thought it might add some perspective to the map on reddit
Dr. Gilbert, in North America there is still an active council of the Six Nations of the Iroquois, an ancient participatory democracy. This was recognized as 'The Six Nations' by the English in Albany, NY in 1722 (Britannica). It could be argued that this council has been more effective at keeping the peace among themselves than then the U.S. has ever been, among its states and territories, especially in the present.
Uff. Scary for those of us in New Mexico, a small, poori-ish blue state sandwiched between Texas and Arizona….to which “new country” do we belong? We are minority-majority as well….if your scenario comes to pass, then I fear that we are in trouble.
Cathlynn, I live in southern New Mexico, Silver City, to be exact. I see no difference in ecology and economy when I drive into Western Texas or Southeastern Arizona. We are all part of the same bioregion yet have no self-determination as a region. What we have in common is an extractive economy with little or no control over the oil and gas wells. Demographically much of our population is Mexican American with family roots going back to before the United States were formed. Also notable is our Apache roots going back countless years yet that demographic is under represented and disempowered.
As a bioregion we have virtually no representation. Economically we could be a prosperous region if we were permitted to develop our wind and solar capabilities but instead the capitalistic owners of power companies force us to rely on coal for power. We could sell wind and solar power to neighboring bioregions for income if we had self-determination.
I don’t want to be part of Arizona and Texas for purely financial reasons. Their attacks on women’s rights and not-so subtle racism are deal-breakers for me. I would like to see New Mexico’s resources developed independently. We are a geographically enormous state with tremendous potential for alternative energy gains without our red neighbors interfering in our lives.
The owners of the power companies could not keep you enslaved to coal and gas, were theynot to able to buy your politiicans
It starts at the level of the city council. The majority of all council members are either local business owners or were elected by contributions from the business owners. and thus represent the business owners and real estate developers and contractors.
Yes, but the entire West faces an existential water crisis (not to mention climate change). Existing laws and practices are obsolete. It will not be pretty.
Colorado has the same issue. Historically Colorado was attached to the development (rail) out of Illinois. Since about the 1980s the attachment has been more towards California. Arizona is really a Blue state if it were not for historic voter suppression so I would anticipate that CO, NM, and AZ end up with California. Utah may end up as some sort of autonomous region, perhaps called Deseret—a name for Honeybee coming from the Book of Mormon.
Colorado has the same problem as Arizona, Utah and Nevada, The Eastern part of Colorado, was once part of Desereta the Mormon wannabe nation.
The part of NM that was Desereta was not settled by Mormons and is now Navajo and national parks. Little to no Mormon control and influence, probably why it is blue.
It may well be that the artificial state boundaries drawn up in the 19th Century to administer land no longer make sense. From a bio-region perspective Eastern Colorado is part of the greater Missouri and Mississippi River basins with the South Platte and the Arkansas Rivers. If that part of the state wants to merge with Kansas and the Christian States of America, perhaps it is best. There will be a much needed headwaters discussion over the origins of those rivers.
I agreee, you and I are of a like mind, but remember the headwaters control water downstream, and therein lies the basis of a real war.
Caifornia has the same problem. The bay area and the Sacramento mountains provide water for L.A. , the Central Valley and the agricultural region.
There is a serious problem, not much covered by the press, concerning Colorado River Water, by the time the river reaches Mexico it is dried out,
the water level in Lake Mead has dropped so much that barrels containing the remains of Mafia hits are coming to the surface., and the water needs of the growers of Southern California, like the Almond growers, are soaking up valuable water. Even the Salton sea is drying up.
The Salton sea was created in the early 20th Century when an canal project when astray, and the Colorado River flooded into what had been a lake that dried up, by the 19th Century, now this lake is drying up as well.
In the j1940's and 1950's it was a resort town, now it is a death zone, with an inhabitant of one.
Water is everything, without water there is no life, no life, no industry, no bioregion.
Doug I agree with you except on one important point. A new beginning would consist of bioregions rather than the current illogical state lines and still cooperate for the common economic good for the country as a whole. It will take some time for arid regions of the southwest to provide economic well-being and water for all its inhabitants. Eventually it might come from the sale of a surplus of power from cooperatively owned solar and wind power generating operations. Now we in New Mexico are forced to purchase power from corporate owned coal plants. Few people are aware that Texas is the largest provider of solar power in the country, but it is mostly owned by corporate interests. The profits go out of state. I used to purchase power from a corporate giant PNM for over 16 cents per kilowatt hour. Now that I generate excess solar power they will only pay me less than 1 cent per kilowatt hour for electricity that I put back into the grid. The greedy corporate utilities do not want to encourage us to self-generate solar.
Mark—The example of Nebraska all power delivered by public power districts is one to consider going forward. The model has worked well since 1936 but does not cover all generation.
Wow! Interesting idea. I like it; lots of people will be moving! I expect some “countries” will lose most of their population. And some will be white as a blank canvass. Seriously - it would expose exactly what has been going on: total manipulation because the main stream media didn’t do their job of telling the truth, informing and educating the public about those corrupting the system and now on the verge of ruining the lives of the citizenry.
Olivia, these bioregions do not have to be countries, but make more sense as bioregions of our continent with decision making power over our own economies and representation in government. Bioregions stress local control over local economies and not multinational corporations control over our local economy. Profits stay local. One reason New Mexico is a poor state is that all the profits from our extractive economy go out of State. My town is surrounded by two very prosperous huge coal mines yet we see none of that prosperity except a trickle from miner's wages, yet we must deal with the pollution for a product that makes money for an out-of-state corporation.
I hear you…..but you don’t need separate regions; you, we all, need to stop and reverse the corporatization of every aspect of our lives that allows for what you describe. It ruins not just health care but every service people rely on. The corporate mentality has replaced everything we used to value like integrity with only one: profit. The ‘profit’ above all motive excuses the most egregious behavior in the corporate world.
If you go north of San Franciso/Sausilto you would be in the state of Jefferson. Very anarchial, libertarian, even Trumpian, a lot of pot farms and meth labs. Orange and Riverside county are very conservative, as is the Central Valley, agribusiness dominates in much of the state south and east of L.A. And agribusiness whether a family farm or corporation are ultra conservative.
There will always be sub-regions that do not fit well. They may have to decide if they can go it alone economically or need to work within a different grouping. If the new country were to ensure that media is responsible and eliminate money as speech, many of the issues in NoCal might just fade away.
Marc, I do believe the kleptocracy was normalized by Joe and Barack in 2009 when they normalized bailing out the thieves. dumpster is just standing on the shoulders of giants. sorry, it's just become too much. by the way, is it true that insurance companies are approving claims again?
Paul, kleptocracy would have meant that Joe and Barack would have become the ultra-wealthy class by activities of syphoning wealth out of public coffers. I don’t see that. The “To big to fail” ideology was a huge boon to the banks and automakers, but I am not seeing how it directly enriched Joe and Barack.
what motive then? i can see biden's, he gave us delaware's easy as falling of a log incorporation rules and shell company paradise. i often wonder if the racist branch of the oligarchy said to obama, "hey, cute kids you got there, hope nothing happens to them", that could explain a lot about his complete turnaround from campaign rhetoric.
The offshoring of jobs, without compensating domestic workers was kleptocracy writ large. Saving the banks was necessary to prevent another Great Depression, but, again, those adversely affected were not compensated.
Victor - I know that is the common talking point about the "rescue" of the banks, which I seriously doubt is anything but neoliberal self-justification for abolishing Glass-Steagal. However, allowing the perpetrators themselves to keep their stolen gains is as enabling as is bailing them out. Every executive who perpetrated that abomination should have had all their moneys taken, and they should have gone to jail. Then the participating banks should have been nationalized and broken up, and Glass-Steagal reinstated.
Yes, Paul. A show trial of malfeasant bankers would have restored people's confidence in their government. They got away with it, so why not Trump after Jan 6?
Paula - no, sorry I was referencing a snarky political cartoon. and no, I don't endorse dumpster's second amendment solutions. but IF the ruling class who run the insurance companies got nervous because one of their own got gunned down, and started following the law and no longer denied people care and destroyed lives, I wouldn't mind.
*TWO years! Americans WILL 130,000% retake the house AND senate in 2026 after President Vance achomplishes NOTHING! (Judging by how bad his Alzheimer's is, Bunkerboy isn't going to last much longer praise b-ree dee doo ahhhh . . . )
Do you really believe, Daniel, that there will be an honest election in two years.
Trump has two years, his cabinet and project 2025, not to mention billionaire money, Musk alone could finance the 2025 election campaign, to turn this country into a pseudo democracy like Hungary.
What do you think Orban was doing at Mar a Lago. What do you think is the purpose of Trumps outrageous cabinet picks, and picks for advisors and under secretaries that don't need Senate approval.?
We can't wait two years and events to fight and resist, we have to start now.
Not only that Victor, but Kamala sanctified the whole thing by conceding at 4 pm on Nov 6,while votes were being cast. She not only legitimized the election, but sprinkled holy water on it.
The cynic in me, and I am a cynic and skeptic, is that she did so to put herself in good graces, because she knows, as do all politco's, that Trump is out for vengeance, and the only way to save your skin, is jump on board the ass kissing train, like Joe and Mikka Scarborough.
You are correct, it is not literally true. Hopeless acts are committed, by people who are motivated by factors other than hope. My thinking was not semantic, but rooted in clinical psychology. Rats who are conditioned to be "hopeless" will neglect to act for their own sake, when presented with an opportunity.
Again this is an ontological argument. Such arguments go nowhere.
People aren't rats. Rats are smarter than people. Skinner box: Rats get a reward for pressing a lever. When they press the lever three times and get no reward, they stop pressing the lever.
Now walk into any casino, any time of they day, and see hundreds of people pulling levers, over and over, without any reward.
That is my hope also. Just maybe some of the blind followers will see what they stood for and abandon their thinking. At this time I think we can throw a lot of them out of office in two years and in four years we'll take everything political back.
Blind followers. Maybe if they can see the strings.
Putin brags that he tilted the election and says he expects a quid pro quo!
Biden needs to report on Russian interference ASAP! We are the victims of the Russian war on the USA. An admission is dispositive and is actionalble and constitutes an emergency.
Yes it was very disappointing that we lost. I think you are right to lock the piggy bank since most Republicans are bought out by 'big money.' They care less about the American public or what would be the best result for the country. They follow the party line totally.
It would help if Biden would report on Russian interference. Just maybe it could change a bunch of Trump's blind followers. Maybe he could call on Wray since he is resigning the directorship of the FBI. He seems more honest that the rest of Trump's followers.
If you think that reality will mean something to people who live in a make-believe world, then you are mistaken. If facts meant anything at all to ¾ of the American population, then we wouldn't be in this mess. They're too stupid to see and easy to fool.
I wish I had a better answer for you. How do you convince people that want to believe the crap coming out of the other side. If it is true that the president has the proof that Russia is deeply involved, he should comer out with it. I'm sure the other side would not believe it if just the president reveals it.
Daniel, don't make me cry. During the first impeachment trial I wrote to a whole group of Republican senators, including Murkovski, urging them to impeach Trump. I warned them that failure to impeach would turn the Senate into a Russian-like Duma, a rubber stamping agency serving to legitimize every act of the dictator. They failed to impeach even after Jan 6, 2021! The Confederates took over the Republican Party, and now they will be in control of our government. As I see it,only a major international crisis might dislodge them.
I wouldn't call them spineless. I would call them self-serving, kissing the ring to hang on to their cushy, privileged positions. However, they're damned if they do or damned if they don't, because when they empower the Fuhrer, as pointed out, he won't need them any more. He might just disband the whole mess for his own politburo. In any event, whatever power his toadies have enjoyed - the other thing that they crave about their "job" - will wither away into nothingness.
Yes because he wants to destroy the American Government system to replace it with an autocracy and he seems to have assembled the right wrecking crew for it. He will bully the GOP senators in blind obedience. Such a contrast with members of the parliament of South Korea who just voted to impeach their president who wanted to do same. American Senate should have done the same in 2020/21, but the GOP members under McConnell lacked the courage to do the right thing.
The South Korans have always watched their governments actions. Way back in 1959 when I was stationed there they overthrew their ruler, Sig Man Rei (sp), and the economy started improving. Today the Korean economy is really flourishing.
Whoa! ... after overthrowing the president of their First Republic (Rhee), the South Koreans fell under brutal military authoritarian leaders for decades -- primarily Park Chung Hee and Chun Doo-hwan. They are now on their Sixth Republic, and yes, they are democratic and relatively prosperous today.
Flourishing at our expense? Literally, not at all. South Korea has the 13th largest economy in the world. Figuratively—no one flourishes figuratively at anyone else's expense. Expenses are not figurative, my friend; they are literal.
Actually, greedy American businessmen sent our jobs and technology to S. Korea like they them sent to China. The difference is Korea was an ally but not China. We really can't blame either country for jumping at the chance to improve the lives of their people. Blame Nixon, Kissinger, Reagan and the greedy American CEOs if your job was sent overseas. GH
They are awfully eager to get humiliated. Most of these people live for accalim of the crowd and don't have inner resources to fall back on. That makes them fairly easy to manipulate by crooked Trump.
I find it is increasingly hard to keep my humor as the days pass. While I did enjoy the Coffee Klatch today, the conversation only added to my stress and anxiety. First, I do not think it would have mattered if the person who shot that CEO had been rich or poor, the reaction by so very many Americans would more than likely have been the same. Americans are totally and completely fed up with the health care system the way it is now and they voiced that in their remarks about that CEO's murder. I hate that Lina Kahn will be replaced by someone clearly out to keep the corporations growing and merging and running rampant over the American citizens. She was doing a fantastic job. Now that there won't be a pro-worker majority at the NLRB, it will be that much harder for unions to form and help for workers will be minimal. Manchin and Sinema showed their true colors early on and shows how politicians don't care if they leave office because they can continue to acquire so much money as lobbyists. As far as the DNC goes, if they don't elect someone like Ben Wikler as the DNC chair, the democratic party will be as the republican party - a ghost of its former self. It is true, we must, must, must get dark money, super pacs and billionaire donations out of campaigns. Americans are looking for that one person, like Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren or Ben Wikler, that will return to grass roots donations and the American people that have been overlooked by both major parties. As far as the orange man being on the cover of that magazine - WHO CARES? - except his cult and sycophants. No one pays any attention to that magazine anymore and it most definitely IS NOT the status symbol the orange smear thinks it is. Americans everywhere and every day are seeing how obviously corrupt our government has become. They are seeing how very little our politicians care about the working middle and lower classes. The muskrat came right out and said the first thing that would be done would be to get rid of the most popular programs in existence - Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Why? Because it does not effect them or their pocket books. They have absolutely NO MORALS, no compassion or care for average citizens. They don't give a tinker's damn if they throw seniors into abject poverty. They don't rely on those programs to live, so they want them gone. They will fight hard to keep those tax cuts for the rich, though, and will demand more. Yes, it's becoming harder and harder to keep my sense of humor now-a-days.
Peggy, losing our ability to laugh is one of the most painful losses so far. There are two Substack contributors I subscribe to because they can still make me laugh - tho sometimes painfully. The Borowitz Report is numero uno. Andy Borowitz is a master of satire! And then there's Jeff Tiedrich's Everyone is Entitled to My Opinion: He is great at pointing out MAGA's stupidity - there's an overabundance of material to choose from! The comments at both are worth the price on their own.
I hope this helps. Late night comedy hosts, like Stephen Colbert, also still able to make me laugh/groan. TRumPutin can't stand to be laughed at - his Achilles Heel - so it's your patriotic duty to laugh at him!
Paula, since I take my patriotic duty quite seriously, I will continue to attempt to keep my sense of humor. You are right about the late night hosts, they can still find humor in what the orange stain says and does. I will look into the two Substack contributors you have listed. It is hard to find things to laugh about; however, it really does piss off the orange smear so laugh I will with gusto knowing it will get to him. Thanks for the pep talk!
Peggy & Paula. ...be very cautious when you watch.Andy Borowitz.in the morning...you're very apt to spew coffee all over the kitchen at some of his observations! Don't sip while you listen!
He certainly brings wit and pithy wisdom to bring much needed smiles to my.day. Don't tell a soul I said this, but I think Cookie writes most of his stuff🤗
Do yourself a big favor....tune in to Andy & Cookie🙌
Thank you Peggy, you nailed it. Just how much money comes from all our paychecks annually for our pre-paid promise of Medicare/SSI? Medicare + Part D + an Aetna supplemental ($302 per month to cover the 20% of what Medicare allows but does not cover) costs me over $500 per month. We are not the parasites.
If my memory serves me correctly, most Republicans rolled over and played toadies to Trump in his first term. Now he's out of control and choosing cabinet members that frighten me as much as he does. How I loved Bobby Kennedy, and how come such a deviant could be his offspring?
Nancy - RFKJr is perhaps the worst of the worst. IF...IF he succeeds in cutting requirements for 'standard' vaccines in the US, I wonder how long it will be before other countries (I am EU) will require visas with proof of vaccinations for US travellers. I also imagine there will be an uproar about it - "how can those $^%#*% countries keep US out?" I have several wonderful American friends who live by the 'need to know' philosophy. The solution, I think, is for them to 'need to know' a lot more.
Whether RFKJr will be the worst is an interesting question considering the ship of rats T has appointed. But he is a danger to world health. We on the opposing side will have to choose an area of government to resist and I think this will be mine.
Someone needs to remind antivaxxers that they are likely alive today because of all the vaccines they received as a child. Too bad they are willing to deny their own children the protection their parents gave them.
I think you have chosen wisely, Nancy, because I suspect (OK - I HOPE) that this will be more of a non-partisan issue than some of the other crazy stuff being proposed. The rest of us are not going to let this craziness put our health at risk and requiring vaccination certificates will be a lot more doable than responding to some of the other proposed insanities. Doug Ford (Toronto Premier) suggested cutting off energy to the US. It was voted down very quickly by the other premiers. But vaccinations - I don't think there is going to be much resistance to making this a requirement for entry into our currently measles-free, polio-free zone.
Never mind what it will do to the American tourist industry. It will tank it. Few vacationers will be crazy enough to come to a country that abandoned life saving vaccines.
Silly me, Cindy, I hadn't even thought about people travelling in that direction. You are right of course. I haven't travelled there in a very long time - guns, anger, guns...now this. I grew up reading about children who lived in iron lungs. That image has never left me.
It depends on whether their vaccines can be imported into America. Since the inmates have taken over the asylum, I can imagine a scenario where an underground vaccine railroad is needed. On second thought, maybe moving would be easier.
Yes - I was selfishly thinking of those of us not in the US, Cindy (sorry, I keep doing that). Given the recent law suit from Texas against a New York doctor for mailing abortion pills to a Texan woman, I don't think lack of worldwide availability or unwillingness to import from a particular part of the world will be the issue. Those who can afford to do will take their holidays overseas (and get a souvenir jab) and those who can't will go unprotected or, as you say here, access an underground network and take the risks that this entails. It's the WHY of all this that I simply cannot comprehend.
As a onetime student of psychology I’m frequently struck by a general inability of the population, including professionals in journalism and other media, to recognize and acknowledge serious psychological dysfunction. We’re living in an era when a disturbingly large percentage of our citizens either don’t recognize they’re elevating individuals with sociopathic, and other personality disorders, to power, or those voters are fine with, and maybe prefer it.
The general electorate is not well. That's my summation. This is my critique of Lucas Kunce in his substack article on why voters in MO voted for crooked Trump for economic reasons.
As he put it, it wasn't like "damn my life is so much better with the Democrats in charge."
But economics, or policy, or cultural issues aside, the voters were fully exposed to crooked Trump. They saw who he was. They saw and they voted for him anyway.
Hitler's putsch failed miserably, but he persevered and eventually won. Same with Trump, but, unlike Germany in 1930, America in 2024 had no Great Depression and no mass unemployment. A paradox perhaps, but no mystery. Trump's victory is the end result of a long game launched in the 1980s. Of course, the great job offshoring and the great recession also played an important role in transforming American politics.
Professor Reich, Michael Lahanas-Calderón, and Vishal Shankar (calling in from lovely Madison, Wisconsin): i think luigi is a modern american hero because (if we are lucky enough to afford it), we pay top dollars for the very health insurance that we are denied access to and are powerless to obtain, and this speaks to us powerfully. Health insurance rates are rising FAR FASTER than inflation, which means that most people WITH insurance spend significant amounts of time trying to figure out how they can afford a major health crisis. The truth is, despite most of these people having health insurance, they STILL cannot afford a medical crisis.
Thanks, Vishal for the list of morally depraved humans to keep an eye on. i shall endeavour to do so in the coming months.
i'm actually thinking that instead of the orange jesus being known as the "jackass of the year", he's actually the "person of interest of the year." okay, it's a bit subtle.
Since Trump‘s last terminal office, his followers have existed in an alternate reality in which alternate facts exist. His appointee have all been willing to sell their soul to the devil. They will carry out his orders without question. It is amazing that the Republican party has been hijacked by maga crazies. There doesn’t seem to be anyone in that party that stands up for democracy or for the common man. They will try to destroy the social support network and will likely create a lot of problems for people who depend on it. In addition, they will also destroy the world order in regards to supporting Democratic governments, and organizations such as NATO
Republican politicians are spineless cowards. They had 2 chances to get rid of him, but knuckled under both times. They're more interested in getting re-elected than actually doing what is right. A pox on all of them.
John...my opinion...? ...getting re-elected has always been #1 on anyone's agenda list going to Washington . Added to that now is the grab for the Polar Express train for $$$$$...the added billionaire shecklels they envision seeping into their crooked, spineless ( to use your perfect word) pockets.
These are the " little crooks " playing with " the big boys" .
Still little guys...feel disappointment awaits.them.
I'm more concerned for the fate of democracy, than any disappointment awaiting them. My disappointment is with people who support these crooked, incompetent clowns, at the expense of all the decent, hard working people.
Hear you loud and clear, John. Democracy is in.jeopardy...totally.agree. As a nonogenarian have been blessed to.have lived all my life...so far...in a safe democratic milieu...belief in the rule of law...and our Constitution. Extremely difficult to deal with what happened in November...and now, what we all must face come January. My heart was broken. Your disappointment is legion....made worse by the overwhelming truth that this " Clown" cult simply does not give one tiny thought to those you speak of...
they simply do not care! Only.themselves! As an old registered nurse, I am appalled....beyond my ken.
Nice to meet Vish and see Michael again and as always Robert, missed Heather, hope she is well. I really enjoyed today’s Klatch with great information especially regarding the character of Trump’s appointees and reviewing things they have done and said, I may not like the truth, but knowing the truth is always better. Hope to hear more of this, I think we are seeing the King and his court, our American aristocracy whether they are in Congress, or in the Corporate world, or the probably soon to be lobbyist as in Sinema and Manchin kowtowing for the favor of the King with no regard for the peasants or resources of the country both of which are seen just as a means to gain more power and wealth, Historically the peasants finally have enough and revolt. What that will look like? I do not know. I just know that I am on the side of the people against the King and his court,
In the next four years we will be witnessing unprecedented efforts to transition our democracy into a kleptocracy. The definition of kleptocracy is: “A society or system ruled by people who use their power to steal their country's resources.” As the slide into kleptocracy becomes more visible I think we will see a profound awakening of the one third of the electorate who did not even bother to vote. We will also see a profound awakening of the DNC who totally missed the boat on this election by pandering to those who finance the DNC.
With the blatant efforts to appoint a cabinet of those who would facilitate such a transition to kleptocracy, the one third of the American electorate that barely voted Trump and MAGA into office are in for a big awakening. The vision that Trump has been hawking to those who see themselves as patriots to democracy are in for a reckoning of epic proportions. Many of these people depend on social security and medicare to even put food on the table, pay a rapidly increasing rent and get some form of medical care. That support is about to evaporate and the murder of a representative of capitalism as a thief of their meager corporate owned healthcare will take on a new significance. Luigi Maglione simply uncovered the tip of the iceberg of rage against the corrupt billionaires who cause so much suffering just to increase personal wealth.
Those with the least resources are forced to shop at stores such as Walmart. Almost all of Walmarts inventory are products manufactured in countries that are targets of Trump's plan to put a huge tax (import duties) on all of those goods. How will he be able to explain the sudden loss of purchasing power to the American electorate? As the pain sets in, so will the rage against the system.
Democrats at all levels need to vociferously direct the rage to convince people to vote against the Republicans who are causing the pain. Democrats can't sit back and hope people recognize that it is Republicans and their greedy corporate accomplices who are making their lives worse. If Democrats remain silent, Republicans will simply blame Biden and get away with it.
I belong to a group that creates, writes, buys the stamps...to remind Democrats of upcoming elections, request their presence at the polls. We need the elected elite to skip a free lunch & get on television to present the facts. Very poor communication, facts over lies takes more than a 20 second ad. Those of us who were permanently financially damaged due to the stock market crash of 2007-2008 are routinely ignored.
Lin, unfortunately your messaging is likely to be ignored by millions who have no interest in real facts. Fox News did not become popular by sticking to the facts. We are in an era of identity politics.
Democrats Face American's New Self Evident Truths:
https://www.salon.com/2024/12/13/democrats-face-americas-new-self-evident-truths/?lh_aid=112154&lh_cid=fqffptsuda&lh
It is the messaging, male grievances and fears of loss of power and control, IOW the culture war.
Lin, my comment on your post was not meant to discourage you from doing the important, necessary work you are doing. What I meant is that in addition to facts we must address the fundamental issues that trouble so many of our voters. Of these, I think that immigration and the border are the most important, because Trump and his allies have succeeded in scaring so many voters. The cost of living is also of fundamental importance, and Trump will fail to deliver on his promises. Once the border issue is resolved, the cost of living will be the main issue. Good luck to you, and thank you for the work you are doing. Also, happy holidays!
I agree with everything you have written, as an elder I have seen how much time & effort went into progress that over recent time has been seriously damaged. The immediate future is horrifying. Joyce Vance is planning an accounting of the creature & company's assaults to grade value to help us stay the course, not get blitzed. We everyone need to pick our war & stay standing. I live in Texas, i know how bad a red state can be, Abbott is gearing up to use kidnapped, incarcerated humans as a political piggy bank.
AMEN!
Carolyn: Democrats must face new self evident truths: https://www.salon.com/2024/12/13/democrats-face-americas-new-self-evident-truths/?lh_aid=112154&lh_cid=fqffptsuda&lh
I don't know what article you were reading but it was defeatist. And not factual. There is nothing future about Trump's presidency. It is full on Fascism bought and paid for by dark money. Many of those right wing podcasters get their money from big money interests. They persuaded many voters that their enemies were the "other" (immigrants, the poor, the disabled, LGBTQ, black/brown) who were stealing their jobs, stealing their benefits, taking their rights. The truth is the wealthy are our common enemy. They want to destroy the middle class and create a neo-feudalism economic system.
i have no idea what you are referring to as an "article I was reading" If you are referring to the Salon Article. then explain. It will take more than hand waving and you calling it defeatist
As regards the rest of your comment. I agree, but what solution do you have,if that article is defeatist
I think we all agree that the world has gone to shit, after Nov 5th, We can all count off all the crimes of Trump and his people, we can all kvetch about what is wrong, how we are being raped by the wealthy. But what are we going to do, now that we all agree.
Any ideas?
What aht Salon article addressed is how we got here, and what is happening now.
I am all ears for a solution, all I see right now is a personal exit, and/or guerrilla warfare passive resistance and sabotage.
This is not 1776, 1789 or 1917, and the state has tools, that it didn't have then
William, in response to your request for solutions you seem to limit solutions to addressing the failures of the Democratic Party. Your analysis is excellent, but the solutions you propose are limited to improving the messaging and strategy of the Democratic party.
I believe we have boxed ourselves into attempting to make a failed system of Democracy functional again. After well over 200 years it is time to take ourselves beyond the limitations of the thinking that was brilliant in the 1700s and jump to the next level of Economics and Democracy.
The “Crisis and Transition” substack is a progression of essays that is daring to think outside the box that has limited our horizons and our thinking. https://crisistransition.substack.com/ It is a collection of fourteen essays with a new essay added each week and proposes the system of "Economic Democracy” as part of the “Progressive Utilization Theory.”
We need a fresh new approach to our system of economics and governance and I think you will find some of the solutions you have requested.
Very enlightening article. Much more helpful than the mantra repeated ad nauseum, "Democrats need to move to the center." Thank you.
This artiicle should be shared. I'm sending to my state chair and others.
Glad to see this excellent article on what should have been obvious all along. The Obama campaign in 2008 got off to a good start with its use of the internet in the campaign. But then....
As to why Dems have failed in the media space it's probably in part because unlike the marketing mindeset of many Republicans Dems, esp. in the elites, come from academia backgrounds where "TRUTH REIGNS SUPREME" and all you have to do is whisper it for people to immediately grasp it.
There seems to be a lack of dynamism at the top. Too much caution.
And way too much focus on spending money on national levels near an election.
I get text messages from Dems and GOP. The GOP messages are crafted better.
I learned how to write from the mail I got from the Moral Majority in the election of 1980.
My mail box was flooded with these well disguised requests for donations.
The letters were simply bullet points, formulated to excite the amygdala
And each was in a short paragraph, three sentences at most, each containing a single thought.
The best communicator so far, that I have experienced on the progressive side is Heather Cox Richardson Her longest paragraph has maybe four sentences, but eachparagraph is a single thought.
Democrats, liberals, progressives, don't know how to communicate
While Biden and Harris were talking at people, the Republicans were talking to people and not talking down
Transactional analysis is a useful tool, which Democrats seem to be allergic to. Parent to Parent is communication, Parent to child is authoritative and cross transanctinal. Parent to child is Ok, when one is a child, butwhen both are adults and there is parent to child communication then all that is achieved is anger and resentment.
And frankly a lot of the propaganda and messaging by the DNC, and the Biden/Harris campaign was parent to child, When both were adults.
Telling people that youshould be grateful for look what we did for you, didn't help, especially when the subject really wan't the pocket book, but the culture war and the only thing important to the target was getting back and and owning the libs and the cultural "elite".
We have got to take control of that message and turn it around on the real elites like Trump, Musk,Thiel, Ramaswamy, Haley, the wealthy that are punking all of us, including those who vote for them..
Right on
Thank you for the reference, William. It is a good article.
Carolyn - democrats at the top and most "centrist" democrats have been trying to silence progressives who are trying to work for the american people. you can't work for the american people if you work for the corporate masters.
https://www.commondreams.org/news/aoc-and-nancy-pelosi
she did the same thing in 2020 against a challenger to Cuellar in texas, a notorious corporate shill.
https://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/06/henry-cuellar-jay-furman-texas-congressional-district-28/
Nancy Pelosi said when she relinquished her position as Democratic leader that she would not be the mother-in-law who tried to control everything. She should keep her promise. She did an outstanding job as Speaker, but it is now time for her to step away.
And Henry Cuellar has since been indicted for bribery.
Nancy Pelosi is a control freak.
Nancy Pelosi killed Berni'es single payer, for the AHIP Affordable Care Act. (AHIP, Association of Health Insurance Providers)
It is all about the Greenbacks. Corporations have deep pockets, and both parties slop at the same trough.
which up to now has probably been a good thing. Control freak I mean.
First we need to get rid of Democrats like Fetterman and Clyburn who have already surrendered. We need progressive leaders, not ones who are running to the center or the right. This is not the time to abandon vulnerable minorities.
Yes, Carolyn - especially with the media slant that we have. Democrats are going to have to educate and continue educating people who have been glazed-over by Fox News and pals. It's going to be a challenge, but it has to happen.
As my Australian friends would say, “Good on ya!”
Carolyn: I agree with you. The MAGA bunch obviously couldn't understand why they voted against themselves. Trumpster is an evil con artist who doesn't care for anyone but himself. Mary Trump's biography of her uncle is an excellent portrait of his pathway from his early life to the present time. This is the same pattern of Adolf Hitler's early life: someone with an evil father and weak mother whose life was miserable. As a child psychiatrist who worked with juvenile felony offenders, I "discovered", while talking with them, that they suffered as very young children. At Maxey Boys Training School that used to be in Whitmore Lake, we (staff and I) had the opportunity of providing genuine care. In my experience, many of my offenders had never engaged with somone who actually listened to them. I never would have developed trust with them on a 1:1 outside of a caring institution. The Trumpster has never had an opportunity to learn about himself.
That's true, Marc! It is not going to be pretty when those idiots try to get rid of these programs that so many Americans depend on for help with food, rent or health care. Suddenly, that Kool-Aid MAGA has been drinking will lose its flavor! When the rage sets in, it will not be pretty!
Trump will blame their discomfort and loss on vulnerable minorities,and the brown shirts will fall into the streets in jack boots with bludgeons.
William, I would like to believe there are far more true, patriotic Americans that will definitely fight back. No thug in a brown shirt, jack boots and a bludgeon will scare me into submission. I believe Americans will suddenly stand up, unite and beat back those forces that will try to rule over us. I know that I will fight that with every fiber of my being. Never - Not In America!
As Janice Joplin sang: Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose (refrain from Me and Bobby Magee)
So long as people have the comfort of their house, their things, they aren't going to disturb the order of things. And you would be surprised at how many liberals and progressives, keep quiet, sink into the background or actually put on a brownshirt, it is called the survival instinct.
One of the fascist militia call themselves 3 percenters, because it was only 3 percent of the population that actually wanted and supported the revolution.
The citizens of Virginia had no interest at all because it was the Tidewater Aristocracy of planters, llke Washington and Jefferson, that wanted the revolution, and not for freedom but to become the nobility in the new country. The tobacco they grew and sold to England, provided them a handsome living and lifestyle, they were not at all affected by the taxes and monopoly of the East Indian company, that strangled Boston, NY and Philadelphia merchants forcing them into smuggling which was a hanging offense
The planters wanted to be royalty, the nobility, but the comman man in Virginia would have no part of replacing the British overlords with homegrown overlords, so the aristocracy had to use force and propaganda to get them on their side. Force in the form of Committees for Public Safety,which monitored and punished people, especially merchants and tradesmen, even to tarring and feathering and riding them out of town on a rail.
For propaganda they bought pamphlets written by the likes of Thomas Paine and published in Philadelphia by Ben Franklin and Rittenhouse.
Today the state has a monopoly on force and has the technology to monitor behavior and dissemination of information and propaganda.
Any and all resistance will have to be analog..
"Never-Not in America," famous last words.
They will not be my last words, Victor. I love my country and I know for a fact there are millions more like me that love America and want to fight to keep our Democracy. I hope when the dust settles, true Americans will be standing and showing any who would try to turn her into an autocracy/dictatorship that we mean those exact words, NEVER!-NOT IN AMERICA!
and as Peggy says, it's not be pretty.
Standing up to bullies, is never "pretty" Victor, and when you pound rocks into sand, and sand into dust we are dealing with bullies.
Standing up to bullies is a zero sum game. One side is going to lose, and all too often badly and bloodily.
Peggy - but wait! aren't people's families going to take up the slack and invite their destitute old relatives into their homes, and care for them? and pay for their medical care? and umm, wait, whatabout those immigrants who worked in nursing/memorycare facilities? are those inmates, I mean residents, going to come live with us too? i can't stand aunt clara, but should we convert the garage into a room? what will states like arkansas do with no federal money? maybe huckabee can just pray harder, or get the poor to work harder. i know! sheltered workshops in nursing homes. not sure what old arthritic hands can do but there must be something they can do to earn their keep. maybe in the spirit of cristian charity she can open her mansion to the poor and unhoused?
@Marc. A totalitarian dictator does not need a Congress, a court, or a cabinet.
If (or when) the dolloar is worthless the coin of the realm will be Trump coins and World Liberty Financial Inc cryptocurrency. https://www.worldlibertyfinancial.com/
https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/technology/trump-crypto-venture-partners-with-platform-linked-to-middle-east-militants/article68977974.ece
It is all a part and parcel of Kleptocracy.
And the world's reserve currency will be the Yuan. So far it is stupid Americans that have fallen for the crypto scam.
I remember when the right was complaining that the dollar was worthless because it was not backed with gold.
Correct: Only the full faith and credit of the United States.
Crypto is not even that, it is created by men with computers. Sam Bankman Fried anybody.
For fun google Americans are Incredibly stupid.
Maybe I'm mistaken, but wasn't the guy who actually invented the Crypto scam from China? Have the Chinese actually found a way to sink our country without war? They know the Greedy Wall Folks can't resist any new scam if they think they can make a buck on it? Just asking... GH
You are probably correct Gary. I don't follow it, because I am not a fool, and haven't invested. It seems to be useful only for cyber ransom. I can't buy food, clothes with it,visit a hardware store, and I am doubtful that I canstop at Autoworld and pick up a 2026 Ford 350, or buy a home with crypto,so what good is it?
I've had others on the web tell me that I can buy a car or a house with crypto, the next time they tell me that I will call an escrow company or a car dealership.
What is the last value of a bitcoin? $100,000 how can you buy anything with it, if you have $100,000 in US Dollars, why buy something that does not exist except in 0's and 1's on some server somewhere. What kind of fool would waste money on an NFT. (well the question answers itself, a MAGAt fool of course)
Interesting thought about the Chinese sinking this country sans a war, they can easily do it and are probably doing it with the help of our greedy billionaires.
Of billionaires, they are clever sociopaths, but stupid otherwise.
Musk has billions invested in his Mars fantasy, because he wants to escape the world that he and his ilk have destroyed with their stupidity and greed.
the laugh is on him, he knows jackshit about physics, gravity and what is required for a human to live, outside of the environment of earth, Not even astronauts escape gravity, the gravitational pull on them and the ISS is .94ge, and what they experience in "zero gravity, is really perpetual free fall, as if they were on the vomit comet 24/7
Jumans may visit the Moon and Mars, but they can't life there,and Mars cannot be terraformed, and the .38ge of Mars will eventually cause a human to make a mistake and kill himself and others.. throw something on Mars and unimpeded with a dense atmosphere, s on earth, and there is no limit to the length and spred it will fly at .38ge..
Every action, every step will have to be carefully guarded, and any human born on Mars, will gow up with spindly legs, arms, small bodies, large heads and eyes adapted to the Martian light and red surface.
This is Occupy Mars and he is touted as a genius, what a fucking joke.
Oh and at .38ge, there is zero chance of their ever being surface water, except frozen water at the poles, or breathable air, because the gravitational pull is too weak to hold light gas to the surface. That there was once water on Mars is evidence that Mars once had a gravitational field as strong as that on earth. for it is gravity that pulls the molecules and atoms of gases to the surface and creates our atmosphere, our oceans, lakes, rivers and streams, Weaken the gravitational pull and it all boils off as water and blood do at 65,0000 feet, that is why pilots and astronauts wear pressure suits, ot is atmospheric pressure that keeps liquids in suspension and the gravitational field is what causes atmospheric pressure.
We live in a very fragile system, the livable, envelope around the planet is a a six mile deep ocean of oxygen., created by a gravitational field, which pulls the molecules of gases to the source of the gravity, the Earth'score,
If Earth had the gravity of Mars pre even. 55ge, there would be no surface water, nor any living thing,it would in fact be a sister of Mars.
Humans are arrogant and have no idea how fragile we and this planet is.
Thanks William. If the Crypto investors are looking for any new investments I have a few tulip bulbs left over from my fall transplanting chores. I would be willing to let them go for the greatly reduced price of $1,500.00 each. Call me... GH
Daniel - Hopefully once trump puts his own money into cryptocurrency another hacker will take it away from him. Funny how he rails against China China China until one of their billionaires puts his money into the hands of a trump company.
He is so stupid that he can't see that people expect him to do something about prices. Some commentators think that this will be used to replace him with Vance. I agree with them.I hate Vance even more than Trump.
I hope we won't be angrier than those becoming angry. Be kind...even tho you want to punch them in the nose. They're suffering, too, We're finely even.
Overall, I think you're correct..sadly.
Marc — We need to see January 20, 2025, as marking a new beginning just as July 4, 1776 represents a similar date. That new beginning will possibly result in four to five new countries, which can operate together in some areas. We need to focus efforts on how we can move forward towards a 21st Century multi-ethnic and diverse democratic model.
I'm already making plans to move home to California.
Best thing I ever did was to move back home to California. I’ll never leave.
Lights and Barbara...Welcome home, neighbors !🤗
I second that!
Probably a good idea. If you can talk at least one GOPer to move out of CA when you get there things will be even better. I live in IL and every time I hear some MAGA bitch about our nice Blue State I offer to help pay for his move to Mississippi if he thinks are so bad here. No takers so far.
Cheers... GH
Likely the center point of a new Pacific oriented nation. It would have sea ports and borders with Canada and Mexico. Some wild concepts are out there but more work needs to be done. https://www.reddit.com/r/imaginarymaps/comments/a8lanw/pacifica_an_independent_west_coast_of_north/?rdt=51504
Fantastic Idea Doug, but there are some obstacles, Northern California is ruby red, as is the Central Valley, Oregon, except for the West coast is Ruby red, as is the state of Washington (on the east side of the Cascades),
Blue states are only blue because of metropolitan centers, where cultures and races actually mix. White bread America is ulta conservative. though they have little to none exposure other cultures, races, ethnicities
In Washington State, if you step off to the east of the I-5,405 corridor you find yourself in Trump country.
Ultimately, there would be power games and that may cause a resorting of populations. That certainly happened after the American revolution with many Royalists moving to Ontario.
In the 18th and 19th Century population movement was easy. Most folk could pack all of their belongings in a wagon, and there was open land to move to. My fathers family, migrated from the James River community, one generation at a time, first up the James to near what is now Richmond, then down to Pittsylvania County, and kin moved south to what is now Mecklenburg Co, VA, others moved west and eventually through the Cumberland Gap to Kentucky, Tennesse, and as the families grew and the plantations became fallow (monoculture), they kept moving, always to newly opened territory. either because, like Pittslvania Co, VA or Ashley Co, AR, the original inhabitants had died out because of small pox or even been evicted, brutally.
Today it is not so easy to relocate. First one has to dispose of or pay to transport all of their goodies, but before that they need to find a job by which to support themselves,their family and transport all of their goodies, and also find a place to live.Very difficult in a tight employment and housing market.
The great migration that took place in the 20th Century when black males from mostly Mississipi, but also the south, rode the rails north to the Great lakes to get jobs, in the factories that were bustlingm was conducted by males which had nothing more than the clothes on their backs and in suitcases. They earned enough money to rent a home and have their mothers and wives join them.
This is not the situation today. Today it is H1b immigrants from India, Pakistan, Korea, the Philippines that are coming to America and bringing their families with them, and producing people like Ramaswamy, Niki Haley and Kash Patel. People who have their own family notions of caste and no concern or loyalty to anything but their own self aggrandizement.
Yes, and even coastal California is not as progressive as Fox News claims.
check out the 1982 book 'the nine nations of north america'
Have read that already. The book’s weakness is that it relies on European migration to North America. The sorting that has taken place in the U.S. over the past 40 years also needs to be considered.
If we define likely countries around bio-regions, which are usually frame by river systems, there is a different result. The big systems and watersheds such as the Mississippi/Missouri, Colorado/Rio Grande, Columbia, Sacramento/San Joaquin, etc. define a more lasting and sensible lay of the land. The natives who had been here for millennia before the Europeans operated that way.
A modern country may be larger than one bio-region but there are certainly similarities that might put certain areas together.
Doug, and everyone else, the concept of bioregions has been around for a while and makes tremendous sense rather than the states as they are laid out now. Bioregions can be further refined by areas with the same economic interests that bind them together. For example, most of the midwestern states bordering the great lakes have two distinct economies. Close to the lake they have an industrial and commercial based economy whereas as you go south it is a rural agricultural based economy. For example, southern Illinois is bordered by Kentucky and Tennessee and that part of Illinois has a culture and economy more like the South but due to the population concentration of the cities of the north their interests are not represented in politics. When I think of O’bama coming from Illinois I picture Chicago and not Carbondale or Marion Illinois.
of course it's dated,perhaps outdated-i don't remember the details,haven't read it in 40 years-just thought it might add some perspective to the map on reddit
Good on you, I miss my California but can't afford a return.
Dr. Gilbert, in North America there is still an active council of the Six Nations of the Iroquois, an ancient participatory democracy. This was recognized as 'The Six Nations' by the English in Albany, NY in 1722 (Britannica). It could be argued that this council has been more effective at keeping the peace among themselves than then the U.S. has ever been, among its states and territories, especially in the present.
Uff. Scary for those of us in New Mexico, a small, poori-ish blue state sandwiched between Texas and Arizona….to which “new country” do we belong? We are minority-majority as well….if your scenario comes to pass, then I fear that we are in trouble.
Cathlynn, I live in southern New Mexico, Silver City, to be exact. I see no difference in ecology and economy when I drive into Western Texas or Southeastern Arizona. We are all part of the same bioregion yet have no self-determination as a region. What we have in common is an extractive economy with little or no control over the oil and gas wells. Demographically much of our population is Mexican American with family roots going back to before the United States were formed. Also notable is our Apache roots going back countless years yet that demographic is under represented and disempowered.
As a bioregion we have virtually no representation. Economically we could be a prosperous region if we were permitted to develop our wind and solar capabilities but instead the capitalistic owners of power companies force us to rely on coal for power. We could sell wind and solar power to neighboring bioregions for income if we had self-determination.
I don’t want to be part of Arizona and Texas for purely financial reasons. Their attacks on women’s rights and not-so subtle racism are deal-breakers for me. I would like to see New Mexico’s resources developed independently. We are a geographically enormous state with tremendous potential for alternative energy gains without our red neighbors interfering in our lives.
The major problem with Arizona is that it was originally part of Desereta and it's politics have been dominated by Mormons.
The owners of the power companies could not keep you enslaved to coal and gas, were theynot to able to buy your politiicans
It starts at the level of the city council. The majority of all council members are either local business owners or were elected by contributions from the business owners. and thus represent the business owners and real estate developers and contractors.
Yes, but the entire West faces an existential water crisis (not to mention climate change). Existing laws and practices are obsolete. It will not be pretty.
Colorado has the same issue. Historically Colorado was attached to the development (rail) out of Illinois. Since about the 1980s the attachment has been more towards California. Arizona is really a Blue state if it were not for historic voter suppression so I would anticipate that CO, NM, and AZ end up with California. Utah may end up as some sort of autonomous region, perhaps called Deseret—a name for Honeybee coming from the Book of Mormon.
They will have to learn how to share water.
Colorado has the same problem as Arizona, Utah and Nevada, The Eastern part of Colorado, was once part of Desereta the Mormon wannabe nation.
The part of NM that was Desereta was not settled by Mormons and is now Navajo and national parks. Little to no Mormon control and influence, probably why it is blue.
It may well be that the artificial state boundaries drawn up in the 19th Century to administer land no longer make sense. From a bio-region perspective Eastern Colorado is part of the greater Missouri and Mississippi River basins with the South Platte and the Arkansas Rivers. If that part of the state wants to merge with Kansas and the Christian States of America, perhaps it is best. There will be a much needed headwaters discussion over the origins of those rivers.
I agreee, you and I are of a like mind, but remember the headwaters control water downstream, and therein lies the basis of a real war.
Caifornia has the same problem. The bay area and the Sacramento mountains provide water for L.A. , the Central Valley and the agricultural region.
There is a serious problem, not much covered by the press, concerning Colorado River Water, by the time the river reaches Mexico it is dried out,
the water level in Lake Mead has dropped so much that barrels containing the remains of Mafia hits are coming to the surface., and the water needs of the growers of Southern California, like the Almond growers, are soaking up valuable water. Even the Salton sea is drying up.
The Salton sea was created in the early 20th Century when an canal project when astray, and the Colorado River flooded into what had been a lake that dried up, by the 19th Century, now this lake is drying up as well.
In the j1940's and 1950's it was a resort town, now it is a death zone, with an inhabitant of one.
Water is everything, without water there is no life, no life, no industry, no bioregion.
Doug I agree with you except on one important point. A new beginning would consist of bioregions rather than the current illogical state lines and still cooperate for the common economic good for the country as a whole. It will take some time for arid regions of the southwest to provide economic well-being and water for all its inhabitants. Eventually it might come from the sale of a surplus of power from cooperatively owned solar and wind power generating operations. Now we in New Mexico are forced to purchase power from corporate owned coal plants. Few people are aware that Texas is the largest provider of solar power in the country, but it is mostly owned by corporate interests. The profits go out of state. I used to purchase power from a corporate giant PNM for over 16 cents per kilowatt hour. Now that I generate excess solar power they will only pay me less than 1 cent per kilowatt hour for electricity that I put back into the grid. The greedy corporate utilities do not want to encourage us to self-generate solar.
Mark—The example of Nebraska all power delivered by public power districts is one to consider going forward. The model has worked well since 1936 but does not cover all generation.
Wow! Interesting idea. I like it; lots of people will be moving! I expect some “countries” will lose most of their population. And some will be white as a blank canvass. Seriously - it would expose exactly what has been going on: total manipulation because the main stream media didn’t do their job of telling the truth, informing and educating the public about those corrupting the system and now on the verge of ruining the lives of the citizenry.
Olivia, these bioregions do not have to be countries, but make more sense as bioregions of our continent with decision making power over our own economies and representation in government. Bioregions stress local control over local economies and not multinational corporations control over our local economy. Profits stay local. One reason New Mexico is a poor state is that all the profits from our extractive economy go out of State. My town is surrounded by two very prosperous huge coal mines yet we see none of that prosperity except a trickle from miner's wages, yet we must deal with the pollution for a product that makes money for an out-of-state corporation.
I hear you…..but you don’t need separate regions; you, we all, need to stop and reverse the corporatization of every aspect of our lives that allows for what you describe. It ruins not just health care but every service people rely on. The corporate mentality has replaced everything we used to value like integrity with only one: profit. The ‘profit’ above all motive excuses the most egregious behavior in the corporate world.
Good point Olivia. Surely the DT and the GOP will never fix this. GH
Your most precious resource is water. Do whatever you can to conserve it.
There was a proposition to break California down into six states
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_Californias
If you go north of San Franciso/Sausilto you would be in the state of Jefferson. Very anarchial, libertarian, even Trumpian, a lot of pot farms and meth labs. Orange and Riverside county are very conservative, as is the Central Valley, agribusiness dominates in much of the state south and east of L.A. And agribusiness whether a family farm or corporation are ultra conservative.
There will always be sub-regions that do not fit well. They may have to decide if they can go it alone economically or need to work within a different grouping. If the new country were to ensure that media is responsible and eliminate money as speech, many of the issues in NoCal might just fade away.
As I said previously water is life, he who controls the water controls the economy.
100% agree, Marc!
We are nearing the threshold of a second Guilded Age.
It is my sincere hope that the decentants of the first Robber Barons, the Rockefellers, the
Vanderbilt and the Morgan's, to name a few, come out forcefully against the up and coming Robbers.
I hope to hear their voices loud and clear and consistently reminding all
Americans of the great harm and economic misery caused by the Guilded Age.
Marc, I do believe the kleptocracy was normalized by Joe and Barack in 2009 when they normalized bailing out the thieves. dumpster is just standing on the shoulders of giants. sorry, it's just become too much. by the way, is it true that insurance companies are approving claims again?
Paul, kleptocracy would have meant that Joe and Barack would have become the ultra-wealthy class by activities of syphoning wealth out of public coffers. I don’t see that. The “To big to fail” ideology was a huge boon to the banks and automakers, but I am not seeing how it directly enriched Joe and Barack.
what motive then? i can see biden's, he gave us delaware's easy as falling of a log incorporation rules and shell company paradise. i often wonder if the racist branch of the oligarchy said to obama, "hey, cute kids you got there, hope nothing happens to them", that could explain a lot about his complete turnaround from campaign rhetoric.
The offshoring of jobs, without compensating domestic workers was kleptocracy writ large. Saving the banks was necessary to prevent another Great Depression, but, again, those adversely affected were not compensated.
Victor - I know that is the common talking point about the "rescue" of the banks, which I seriously doubt is anything but neoliberal self-justification for abolishing Glass-Steagal. However, allowing the perpetrators themselves to keep their stolen gains is as enabling as is bailing them out. Every executive who perpetrated that abomination should have had all their moneys taken, and they should have gone to jail. Then the participating banks should have been nationalized and broken up, and Glass-Steagal reinstated.
Yes, Paul. A show trial of malfeasant bankers would have restored people's confidence in their government. They got away with it, so why not Trump after Jan 6?
The question of the decade!!! GH
Have you heard something about claims being approved, Paul? I have not.
Paula - no, sorry I was referencing a snarky political cartoon. and no, I don't endorse dumpster's second amendment solutions. but IF the ruling class who run the insurance companies got nervous because one of their own got gunned down, and started following the law and no longer denied people care and destroyed lives, I wouldn't mind.
Ah, okay. No, I'm sure a lot of people wouldn't mind.
Kleptocracy is correct.
*TWO years! Americans WILL 130,000% retake the house AND senate in 2026 after President Vance achomplishes NOTHING! (Judging by how bad his Alzheimer's is, Bunkerboy isn't going to last much longer praise b-ree dee doo ahhhh . . . )
Do you really believe, Daniel, that there will be an honest election in two years.
Trump has two years, his cabinet and project 2025, not to mention billionaire money, Musk alone could finance the 2025 election campaign, to turn this country into a pseudo democracy like Hungary.
What do you think Orban was doing at Mar a Lago. What do you think is the purpose of Trumps outrageous cabinet picks, and picks for advisors and under secretaries that don't need Senate approval.?
We can't wait two years and events to fight and resist, we have to start now.
Problem is, William, that the 2024 election gave Trump the legitimacy he needed to put America under lock.
Not only that Victor, but Kamala sanctified the whole thing by conceding at 4 pm on Nov 6,while votes were being cast. She not only legitimized the election, but sprinkled holy water on it.
The cynic in me, and I am a cynic and skeptic, is that she did so to put herself in good graces, because she knows, as do all politco's, that Trump is out for vengeance, and the only way to save your skin, is jump on board the ass kissing train, like Joe and Mikka Scarborough.
I like your optimism about the possibility of
Dennis, optimism is an opiate. Optimism and hope dull the senses, inhibit alertness and action.
Without optimism and hope, there is no action.
Not true, but this is the start of an ontological argument, and those go nowhere.
You are correct, it is not literally true. Hopeless acts are committed, by people who are motivated by factors other than hope. My thinking was not semantic, but rooted in clinical psychology. Rats who are conditioned to be "hopeless" will neglect to act for their own sake, when presented with an opportunity.
Again this is an ontological argument. Such arguments go nowhere.
People aren't rats. Rats are smarter than people. Skinner box: Rats get a reward for pressing a lever. When they press the lever three times and get no reward, they stop pressing the lever.
Now walk into any casino, any time of they day, and see hundreds of people pulling levers, over and over, without any reward.
Thanks Marc:
I'd think we're already a kleptocracy.
That's what has happened in Russia.
No matter how they have caved in the past….they are politicians first and foremost!
If Congress allows trump to bypass their authority….and choose his own unqualified and criminal appointees…..GOP will relinquish all power!
An authoritarian, trump would not need them at all!
I guess we will see soon enough….if they remain the spineless wonders, they have been in the past!
That is my hope also. Just maybe some of the blind followers will see what they stood for and abandon their thinking. At this time I think we can throw a lot of them out of office in two years and in four years we'll take everything political back.
Blind followers. Maybe if they can see the strings.
Putin brags that he tilted the election and says he expects a quid pro quo!
Biden needs to report on Russian interference ASAP! We are the victims of the Russian war on the USA. An admission is dispositive and is actionalble and constitutes an emergency.
What does Murkowski say about that?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAykOz1gWi4
The election was too surprising, and too close, not to have a hand count!
But we must remember, this is the @DNC….the grin and bear it party!
I am so disappointed, until they fight as hard as we do, I have put a lock on my Piggy Bank…..maybe that will cause them to wake the hell up!
Not giving them any more money til they grow a spine!
Yes it was very disappointing that we lost. I think you are right to lock the piggy bank since most Republicans are bought out by 'big money.' They care less about the American public or what would be the best result for the country. They follow the party line totally.
Up to Biden.
He's too busy issuing pardons and mouthing platitudes about "the peaceful transfer of power".
It would help if Biden would report on Russian interference. Just maybe it could change a bunch of Trump's blind followers. Maybe he could call on Wray since he is resigning the directorship of the FBI. He seems more honest that the rest of Trump's followers.
If you think that reality will mean something to people who live in a make-believe world, then you are mistaken. If facts meant anything at all to ¾ of the American population, then we wouldn't be in this mess. They're too stupid to see and easy to fool.
I wish I had a better answer for you. How do you convince people that want to believe the crap coming out of the other side. If it is true that the president has the proof that Russia is deeply involved, he should comer out with it. I'm sure the other side would not believe it if just the president reveals it.
Catsmoke, you are right about voters living in a make-believe world. Only some painful fact may succeed in bursting that world.
Daniel, don't make me cry. During the first impeachment trial I wrote to a whole group of Republican senators, including Murkovski, urging them to impeach Trump. I warned them that failure to impeach would turn the Senate into a Russian-like Duma, a rubber stamping agency serving to legitimize every act of the dictator. They failed to impeach even after Jan 6, 2021! The Confederates took over the Republican Party, and now they will be in control of our government. As I see it,only a major international crisis might dislodge them.
A relevant thought for the day I just came across:
https://youtu.be/wfZa9BwvWVk?si=gqJiJ8kUWM1jeW8G
Yeah, liars suck.
Mostly people won't change their thinking until they are personally impacted for the worse. That might take some time. I would like to be wrong.
That's what I was thinking also. Like I said, if they wake up to what they stood for, just maybe they'll abandon ship.
You are right, Steve, but it will take more than time, of course.
You are incorrect. It will not take long. But the guilty will deflect the blame, and they who shall suffer are gullible.
I wouldn't call them spineless. I would call them self-serving, kissing the ring to hang on to their cushy, privileged positions. However, they're damned if they do or damned if they don't, because when they empower the Fuhrer, as pointed out, he won't need them any more. He might just disband the whole mess for his own politburo. In any event, whatever power his toadies have enjoyed - the other thing that they crave about their "job" - will wither away into nothingness.
He owes this group NOTHING! Dinosaurs who should have retired years ago!
Aside from a few warriors, who everyone admires, what about the rest of them? No respect for the Party, they have become!
🧐🙃
Yes because he wants to destroy the American Government system to replace it with an autocracy and he seems to have assembled the right wrecking crew for it. He will bully the GOP senators in blind obedience. Such a contrast with members of the parliament of South Korea who just voted to impeach their president who wanted to do same. American Senate should have done the same in 2020/21, but the GOP members under McConnell lacked the courage to do the right thing.
We seriously need a leader.
These days its a rare quality and not just in the US,
We’re left with a cult of personality.
The South Korans have always watched their governments actions. Way back in 1959 when I was stationed there they overthrew their ruler, Sig Man Rei (sp), and the economy started improving. Today the Korean economy is really flourishing.
Whoa! ... after overthrowing the president of their First Republic (Rhee), the South Koreans fell under brutal military authoritarian leaders for decades -- primarily Park Chung Hee and Chun Doo-hwan. They are now on their Sixth Republic, and yes, they are democratic and relatively prosperous today.
IMHO flourishing at OUR expense. Literally and figuratively.
Flourishing at our expense? Literally, not at all. South Korea has the 13th largest economy in the world. Figuratively—no one flourishes figuratively at anyone else's expense. Expenses are not figurative, my friend; they are literal.
We subsidized them and they STOLE our markets.
Actually, greedy American businessmen sent our jobs and technology to S. Korea like they them sent to China. The difference is Korea was an ally but not China. We really can't blame either country for jumping at the chance to improve the lives of their people. Blame Nixon, Kissinger, Reagan and the greedy American CEOs if your job was sent overseas. GH
at our expense, Daniel? Please explain.
They are awfully eager to get humiliated. Most of these people live for accalim of the crowd and don't have inner resources to fall back on. That makes them fairly easy to manipulate by crooked Trump.
A relevant comment we should heed: https://youtu.be/Y1qNSnxKvEQ?si=relygHuP0DN3E8NB
I find it is increasingly hard to keep my humor as the days pass. While I did enjoy the Coffee Klatch today, the conversation only added to my stress and anxiety. First, I do not think it would have mattered if the person who shot that CEO had been rich or poor, the reaction by so very many Americans would more than likely have been the same. Americans are totally and completely fed up with the health care system the way it is now and they voiced that in their remarks about that CEO's murder. I hate that Lina Kahn will be replaced by someone clearly out to keep the corporations growing and merging and running rampant over the American citizens. She was doing a fantastic job. Now that there won't be a pro-worker majority at the NLRB, it will be that much harder for unions to form and help for workers will be minimal. Manchin and Sinema showed their true colors early on and shows how politicians don't care if they leave office because they can continue to acquire so much money as lobbyists. As far as the DNC goes, if they don't elect someone like Ben Wikler as the DNC chair, the democratic party will be as the republican party - a ghost of its former self. It is true, we must, must, must get dark money, super pacs and billionaire donations out of campaigns. Americans are looking for that one person, like Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren or Ben Wikler, that will return to grass roots donations and the American people that have been overlooked by both major parties. As far as the orange man being on the cover of that magazine - WHO CARES? - except his cult and sycophants. No one pays any attention to that magazine anymore and it most definitely IS NOT the status symbol the orange smear thinks it is. Americans everywhere and every day are seeing how obviously corrupt our government has become. They are seeing how very little our politicians care about the working middle and lower classes. The muskrat came right out and said the first thing that would be done would be to get rid of the most popular programs in existence - Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Why? Because it does not effect them or their pocket books. They have absolutely NO MORALS, no compassion or care for average citizens. They don't give a tinker's damn if they throw seniors into abject poverty. They don't rely on those programs to live, so they want them gone. They will fight hard to keep those tax cuts for the rich, though, and will demand more. Yes, it's becoming harder and harder to keep my sense of humor now-a-days.
Peggy, losing our ability to laugh is one of the most painful losses so far. There are two Substack contributors I subscribe to because they can still make me laugh - tho sometimes painfully. The Borowitz Report is numero uno. Andy Borowitz is a master of satire! And then there's Jeff Tiedrich's Everyone is Entitled to My Opinion: He is great at pointing out MAGA's stupidity - there's an overabundance of material to choose from! The comments at both are worth the price on their own.
I hope this helps. Late night comedy hosts, like Stephen Colbert, also still able to make me laugh/groan. TRumPutin can't stand to be laughed at - his Achilles Heel - so it's your patriotic duty to laugh at him!
Paula, since I take my patriotic duty quite seriously, I will continue to attempt to keep my sense of humor. You are right about the late night hosts, they can still find humor in what the orange stain says and does. I will look into the two Substack contributors you have listed. It is hard to find things to laugh about; however, it really does piss off the orange smear so laugh I will with gusto knowing it will get to him. Thanks for the pep talk!
Peggy & Paula. ...be very cautious when you watch.Andy Borowitz.in the morning...you're very apt to spew coffee all over the kitchen at some of his observations! Don't sip while you listen!
He certainly brings wit and pithy wisdom to bring much needed smiles to my.day. Don't tell a soul I said this, but I think Cookie writes most of his stuff🤗
Do yourself a big favor....tune in to Andy & Cookie🙌
❤️
Also Jay Kuo’s Saturday Substack edition “For Xeets and giggles” is hilarious and cathartic.
Thank you Peggy, you nailed it. Just how much money comes from all our paychecks annually for our pre-paid promise of Medicare/SSI? Medicare + Part D + an Aetna supplemental ($302 per month to cover the 20% of what Medicare allows but does not cover) costs me over $500 per month. We are not the parasites.
If my memory serves me correctly, most Republicans rolled over and played toadies to Trump in his first term. Now he's out of control and choosing cabinet members that frighten me as much as he does. How I loved Bobby Kennedy, and how come such a deviant could be his offspring?
Nancy - RFKJr is perhaps the worst of the worst. IF...IF he succeeds in cutting requirements for 'standard' vaccines in the US, I wonder how long it will be before other countries (I am EU) will require visas with proof of vaccinations for US travellers. I also imagine there will be an uproar about it - "how can those $^%#*% countries keep US out?" I have several wonderful American friends who live by the 'need to know' philosophy. The solution, I think, is for them to 'need to know' a lot more.
Whether RFKJr will be the worst is an interesting question considering the ship of rats T has appointed. But he is a danger to world health. We on the opposing side will have to choose an area of government to resist and I think this will be mine.
Someone needs to remind antivaxxers that they are likely alive today because of all the vaccines they received as a child. Too bad they are willing to deny their own children the protection their parents gave them.
I think you have chosen wisely, Nancy, because I suspect (OK - I HOPE) that this will be more of a non-partisan issue than some of the other crazy stuff being proposed. The rest of us are not going to let this craziness put our health at risk and requiring vaccination certificates will be a lot more doable than responding to some of the other proposed insanities. Doug Ford (Toronto Premier) suggested cutting off energy to the US. It was voted down very quickly by the other premiers. But vaccinations - I don't think there is going to be much resistance to making this a requirement for entry into our currently measles-free, polio-free zone.
He is awful and the risk he poses is enormous, but my first priority is always the environment.
Never mind what it will do to the American tourist industry. It will tank it. Few vacationers will be crazy enough to come to a country that abandoned life saving vaccines.
Silly me, Cindy, I hadn't even thought about people travelling in that direction. You are right of course. I haven't travelled there in a very long time - guns, anger, guns...now this. I grew up reading about children who lived in iron lungs. That image has never left me.
Me too. It was frightening as a kid.
This could affect much of humanity as we supply vaccines internationally.
I was relieved to read just now that India supplies the most vaccines in the world. So maybe the rest of us will be ok?
It depends on whether their vaccines can be imported into America. Since the inmates have taken over the asylum, I can imagine a scenario where an underground vaccine railroad is needed. On second thought, maybe moving would be easier.
Yes - I was selfishly thinking of those of us not in the US, Cindy (sorry, I keep doing that). Given the recent law suit from Texas against a New York doctor for mailing abortion pills to a Texan woman, I don't think lack of worldwide availability or unwillingness to import from a particular part of the world will be the issue. Those who can afford to do will take their holidays overseas (and get a souvenir jab) and those who can't will go unprotected or, as you say here, access an underground network and take the risks that this entails. It's the WHY of all this that I simply cannot comprehend.
I just can't imagine major shifts in vaccination policy happening- I don't know the public will stand for that.
But then, since they voted crooked Trump in who knows.
As a onetime student of psychology I’m frequently struck by a general inability of the population, including professionals in journalism and other media, to recognize and acknowledge serious psychological dysfunction. We’re living in an era when a disturbingly large percentage of our citizens either don’t recognize they’re elevating individuals with sociopathic, and other personality disorders, to power, or those voters are fine with, and maybe prefer it.
The general electorate is not well. That's my summation. This is my critique of Lucas Kunce in his substack article on why voters in MO voted for crooked Trump for economic reasons.
As he put it, it wasn't like "damn my life is so much better with the Democrats in charge."
But economics, or policy, or cultural issues aside, the voters were fully exposed to crooked Trump. They saw who he was. They saw and they voted for him anyway.
What's the explanation for Hawley's wins?
I agree. It's a mystery.
This is because of the demise of public education, John.
Oddly, that publication picked Hitler as man of the year back in the 1930's. Perhaps it's a sign.
I'm not buying that "it's not an indicator of approval" line.
That's in large part how we got in this situation: by the media showcasing crooked Trump.
He should not be on the cover. Anyway it's a dead rag with some rich guy trying to squeeze some political benefit out of its legacy, as I see it.
Hitler's putsch failed miserably, but he persevered and eventually won. Same with Trump, but, unlike Germany in 1930, America in 2024 had no Great Depression and no mass unemployment. A paradox perhaps, but no mystery. Trump's victory is the end result of a long game launched in the 1980s. Of course, the great job offshoring and the great recession also played an important role in transforming American politics.
<https://www.newsweek.com/time-magazine-person-year-adolf-hitler-1938-1999457>
Professor Reich, Michael Lahanas-Calderón, and Vishal Shankar (calling in from lovely Madison, Wisconsin): i think luigi is a modern american hero because (if we are lucky enough to afford it), we pay top dollars for the very health insurance that we are denied access to and are powerless to obtain, and this speaks to us powerfully. Health insurance rates are rising FAR FASTER than inflation, which means that most people WITH insurance spend significant amounts of time trying to figure out how they can afford a major health crisis. The truth is, despite most of these people having health insurance, they STILL cannot afford a medical crisis.
Thanks, Vishal for the list of morally depraved humans to keep an eye on. i shall endeavour to do so in the coming months.
i'm actually thinking that instead of the orange jesus being known as the "jackass of the year", he's actually the "person of interest of the year." okay, it's a bit subtle.
GrrlScientist, you rock!
Since Trump‘s last terminal office, his followers have existed in an alternate reality in which alternate facts exist. His appointee have all been willing to sell their soul to the devil. They will carry out his orders without question. It is amazing that the Republican party has been hijacked by maga crazies. There doesn’t seem to be anyone in that party that stands up for democracy or for the common man. They will try to destroy the social support network and will likely create a lot of problems for people who depend on it. In addition, they will also destroy the world order in regards to supporting Democratic governments, and organizations such as NATO
Republican politicians are spineless cowards. They had 2 chances to get rid of him, but knuckled under both times. They're more interested in getting re-elected than actually doing what is right. A pox on all of them.
John...my opinion...? ...getting re-elected has always been #1 on anyone's agenda list going to Washington . Added to that now is the grab for the Polar Express train for $$$$$...the added billionaire shecklels they envision seeping into their crooked, spineless ( to use your perfect word) pockets.
These are the " little crooks " playing with " the big boys" .
Still little guys...feel disappointment awaits.them.
Lynn,
I'm more concerned for the fate of democracy, than any disappointment awaiting them. My disappointment is with people who support these crooked, incompetent clowns, at the expense of all the decent, hard working people.
Hear you loud and clear, John. Democracy is in.jeopardy...totally.agree. As a nonogenarian have been blessed to.have lived all my life...so far...in a safe democratic milieu...belief in the rule of law...and our Constitution. Extremely difficult to deal with what happened in November...and now, what we all must face come January. My heart was broken. Your disappointment is legion....made worse by the overwhelming truth that this " Clown" cult simply does not give one tiny thought to those you speak of...
they simply do not care! Only.themselves! As an old registered nurse, I am appalled....beyond my ken.
Will not give up tho...
Some of the Trump wankers will be affirmed, but many will not generate enough public outcry. We must increase pressure.
WHAT MATTERS IS THAT FOX VIEWERS KNOW NONE OF THE TRUTH ----> OUR TASK IS TO FIND A WAY TO TELL THEM. OTHERWISE WE ARE IRRELEVANT #GOPtraitors
I have been trying to propose sending postcards to right-leaning voters all year round. So far I haven't had success but I'm not giving up.
Better to get to those non-FOX viewers who are uncommitted before others do.
It may a remote possibility, but I think there >may< be an unexpected wild card at play in those confirmations:
https://youtu.be/g2Qu6PHhDQo?si=ZJuUTCdlUVJYXLSK
https://youtu.be/bTamaBFONfs?si=p5xdzy1_n9CO5_H8
For my part:
https://youtu.be/Djs-fEFgWI4?si=2u8gtvbcowj3GPxl
I back your thinking totally.
I ticked the first option with a heavy heart. Has American democracy really reached this lowest of low?
It seems the GOP has to be renamed the Trump/MAGA Party. There is no longer a Republican Party!
Well I guess we are going to find out who, amongst the Republican senators, are vertebrates!
Not enough of them, I fear.
Certainly not Susan Collins.
They showed who they are when they failed to impeach Trump.They are his enablers and accomplices.
Trump sees himself as #DonaldDuce but those of us who’ve been following his exploits over the last nine years know that that name needs an N in it…
Nice to meet Vish and see Michael again and as always Robert, missed Heather, hope she is well. I really enjoyed today’s Klatch with great information especially regarding the character of Trump’s appointees and reviewing things they have done and said, I may not like the truth, but knowing the truth is always better. Hope to hear more of this, I think we are seeing the King and his court, our American aristocracy whether they are in Congress, or in the Corporate world, or the probably soon to be lobbyist as in Sinema and Manchin kowtowing for the favor of the King with no regard for the peasants or resources of the country both of which are seen just as a means to gain more power and wealth, Historically the peasants finally have enough and revolt. What that will look like? I do not know. I just know that I am on the side of the people against the King and his court,
Me, too, Linda!
I hope I live long enough to see....
We are living in the upside down, I'm afraid.
Yes we are!
post-Pinochet: "it's as if we were all living in a dream...."
...nightmare, Steve...nightmare.