Trump and his puppy Stephen Miller are belching out Hitler rhetoric like a couple of drunken sailors!
Miller said this @ Trump’s MSG rally yesterday in NYC. “America is for Americans!”
Who? White Male Supremacists?
That was after one of the most disgusting and bigoted things I’ve ever heard. comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, who goes by Kill Tony, said, “There’s literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. I think it’s called Puerto Rico.” “And these Latinos, they love making babies too. Just know that. They do. They do. There’s no pulling out. They don’t do that. They come inside. Just like they did to our country.” Hinchcliffe also talked about Black people carving watermelons instead of pumpkins.
I guess they forgot what happened to Hitler and his gang of brown shirts in WWII.
Keith - This is not just Donald Trump's responsibility. We must admit mia culpa! We contributed. We made Donald Trump possible - if not him, then some other 'populist'. It was the combined arrogance of the Democratic and Republican Parties that fell for the "free market" myth and forgot the unemployment, under-employment and below-the-poverty line wages - the consequences that would follow from deregulation and the anti-trade union policies. If anthing good will EVER come out of this mess, then we MUST learn from OUR mistakes - not Trump's.
Not we Gunnar, they? Certainly not Robert or most of his readers, but certainly they, the neo liberals among us., but it is not economics that powers,powered Trump, but the culture war and mostly white male grievance.
This election is shaping up, finally, as a gender war, a culture war. The empowerment of women, queers, is perceived as disempowerment of men, and men now perceive themselves as victims. Power is a zero sum game. You have it or you don't, empower one segment of society and the other segment feels disempowered.
Anti abortion is not about unborn babies, except for the emotionally addled, it is about power, control of the feminine
Whoops… I just can’t be talking about elections like the way we are. Polls, demographics, red state and blue state, coastal elites and flyover states. That’s why we need to abolish the electoral college.
I hope we can be more progressive and yet keep sanity.
If someone has body dysmorphia and wish to have a way to live a life as another sex, you do you. If you’re much happier doing that go for it. A lot of these trans people go on about their lives. No one cares because they are living the life of the sex they align with mentally. If I came out of the bathroom stall and saw a man who was at least putting in the effort to assimilate. If a woman wants to live the life as a man I will drive you to Seville Row. I’m behind you all the way.
I just think that children cannot give informed consent. There is too much evidence of permanent side effects of hormone therapy and you can’t regrow your breasts. This is an adult decision to be made by an adult.
I disagree. I am a progressive democrat close to Bernie Sanders. Let’s not throw out sanity. I’m tired of transgender pronoun police. As a victim of SA I left a bathroom stall and there was a man putting on lipstick. I had a panic attack. We can’t talk about women’s rights and say trans women can compete with women. Go into the women’s locker rooms. Most places still know that sex and gender are two separate things.
This isn’t a fight between men vs. women. Women vote for Trump, men vote for Harris. Abortion affects women profoundly more than men but men suffer too. The men who wept with fear of losing both a child and his wife. Men face with losing the opportunity of having no more children. It is also the men that have to be supportive of what the woman her life has to deal with.
I disagree about economics not powering Trump. I think at base economics shapes most large aspects of a society and provides ground for what occurs. The culture war you talk about can be easily seen as an economic power struggle as I think you are actually implying. But this is an enormous topic. I agree about abortion- that's mostly about power.
Gunnar, this believing in the free market is the core problem. The rhetoric sounded perfect, but the meaning was that we don't care that we will not have a decent society....
Kathy - We don't yet know whether American institutions are failing - they haven't been put to the test. During Trump's presidency, he didn't seriously challenge them, or the Constitution. If he wins, then he may do so this time - he is better prepared. Personally, I think your Constitution and institutions will succeed in resisting Trump, but we shall find out, perhaps.
Financial Times (London) of January 4, 2020. Title: "A moment of grave danger for US democracy." (Two days before Jan 6)
"Extraordinary as it may seem, what amounts to an undeclared coup d’état is being attempted in the US. It will almost certainly fail. But the next two weeks will severely test the strength of America’s institutions — and the courage of its public officials."
Yes, our institutions HAVE been put through a test -- just not the ultimate test, as of yet.
Thomas - I agree that, if Trump wins in November - there will be a test, probably many tests, over the following four years. Much will depend, not just on us but on Republicans in both Houses of Congress, and speficically on those Republicans who are not committed, or not fully committed, to Donald Trump's policies and bravado.
But, I repeat, we made mistakes, too, both well before Trump was heard of in political circles, and while he was U.S. President. It was White House civil servants who frequently attempted (and succesfully sometimes) to put up barrier against Trump's policy initiatives. Now, I don't know the rules of engagement in the U.S., but in Norway, Australia and Britain - parliamentary democracies all - the civil service is bound to carry out a freely elected government's policy initiatives. They can advice against, and the PM must listen in the sense of acknowledging that he's understood the arguments put before him by the civil service; but in end, the PM is entitled to put his program through the bureaucracy and axpect cooperation - as long has he/she has the support in the Lower House or the combined parliament. In our democracies it is illegal to try to block the government in power, if it is freely elected.
Of course, I'm biased. I have in mind Roosevelt's New Deal and the Labour government's welfare state program in Britain in 1945. As far as I am aware, the civil service respected the new wave, as it were, and cooperated. Two progressive but rather radical policy initiatives went through and won broad acceptance. This time, maybe, it is the Democratic Party's turn to listen and accept some of the plans that a legitimate, frrely elected government wants to do. So, yes: be steadfast but be humble, too!
I mention this because it angered and frustrated Trump when he sensed or learned about these blocking tactics within the White House. It seemed to him that the whole world was against him. And he has a simple mind, some would say a primitive mind. To do what 'your side' did was illegal, wrong, stupid, and clumsy. Now we face the prospect of Trump's determined effort to use whatever means are at his disposal to get his political program through the various hoops that your systems have in place. Due in part to your side's clumsiness and plain stupidity - your side's blind belief in your propaganda - we now have an enraged Trump who will, in effect, try do do what your side actually did: act illegally.
So, don't complain. Be prepaired! I hope you, the Constitution, the good sense of a sufficient number of Republians in Congress, and and the various checks and balances there are in your system will prevent Trump going beyond the law. However, I'm mindful that filibustering was 'legal'. I also believe that your side should do a bit of navel gazing. There are, IMHO, some policy initiatives of Trump's that are good, or potentially good. Your side supports the quagmire that is the Russia-Ukraine War. Let Trump get on with his peace plan! Don't block him. Don't try to! Your're facing another Vietnam and Trump may get you out of it. He may give way to Putin and agree to a strategic rearrangement in eastern Europe that YOUR SIDE won't like one bit, but will in fact bring stategic stability back to Europe. That, I predict, can only be a good thing. You will still have a strong NATO, but a somewhat smaller one in terms of membership and territory as long as those states and that territory don't become Russian vassal states but retain their domocracies, like Finland did in 1945. Your side can learn to live with that.
One final remark. I sat up most the (European) night to listen to Joe Biden's State of the Nation address. I was disappointed. One thing that disappointed me deeply was that he failed to reach out to the non-Trump Replublicans. All Biden did was rigidly lambasting all members of the opposition. There was no subtleness, no finesse, no calibration, no stategic thinking - no attemp to woo the 'weak' points among the opposition. Let's not make THAT mistake again! Let us make tactical friends were we can; we will need every one of them.
At the Ellipse on Jan 6, Alabama representative, Mo Brooks delivered such an inflammatory speech that he later requested a preemptive pardon from Trump. Weeks later, he declared that Trump lost and Biden won. Trump had him primaried in 2022 and that was it for his career.
Work on the gallows at the Capitol commenced just before 7 AM that morning.
There are many other such "dots." It seems that most Americans are too uncaring or too oblivious to connect them. OR, they don't WANT to believe.
Economically speaking, the evidence that our institutions have failed the citizens is manifest. If you mean politically, I guess you could say our institutions have not failed yet entirely as long as there is some democracy left.
Hmm Gunnar, they thought the same in Germany didn't they. As a refresher I watched a docuseries on the rise of Hitler. Hindenburg, the financial backer of Hitler, the political powers thought that the Weimar Constitution would protect them, so Hindenburg appointed him Chancellor, he had previously refused Vice Chancellor he had bigger plans, then Hindenburg died, and Hitler stepped up as President, started issuing anti Jewish decrees, but then used the fire of the Reichstag as an excuse to ban political parties,it was all over, but he could never have gotten that far were it not for the support and his popularity among the German people, especially the women, who looked at his display of (faux) hyper masculinity as their savior. Tump's image is being cast as hyper masculine, just look at the NFT trading cards.
William - I'm not a professional historian - but I've read that Hitler's power, once in office, depended not on Hindenburg or the massess but on the German Army. And Hitler knew it. So when Ernst Rōhm decided he's push for the SA to become a separate army, parallel with the Wehrmacht, Hitler knew what the Wehrmacht would think - and what they might do about it - and we had the Night of the Long Knives when Rōhm and the top 2,000 SA leaders were killed on Hitler's orders.
You are correct, but it was the people that put him in power. And it was the people, who were enamored of him, that enabled him to wipe out the leadership of the SA, in one night. Wholesale murder, that in any other circumstance would have resulted in someone going to jail and being forced out.
Yes, the docuseries did cover the purge of the SA and that it happened because the Army did not want the SA to replace them.
I didn't need the docuseries to teach me that. I am no a historian, but am a history buff.
Hitler did what he did only because he had the power of the people behind him.
Mao Tse Dung, spoke a truth when he wrote in his Little Red Book, The revolution swims in the sea of the people.
What we are involved in and contending with, is Trump as Mao,and MAGA as the revolution, only it is not economic, and neither was Mao's.
Revolutionary movements are about power. Who has the power and who does not. American, French, Bolshevik,Chinese.
Power to the people, but it never is to the people, but to the people who start and lead the revolution.
It really is up to the people this election. And if Harris wins, rebuild/reshape many of our institutions. At base, flawed economic conceptions and their easy use by the wealthy have led us to a dead end.
This is no doubt a multifaceted problem we face but I have long held trump is not the problem just a symptom of a problem. And one that is deep and broad enough that people have mistakenly come to see him as beacon of hope - as horrifying as that is to others of us. I fear for our country. I fear because of the hate that is percolating from all sides. I see that as the largest threat. Whether we demonize immigrants or each other it’s all the same spirit of hate and avarice and it needs to be checked not unlike a raging infection. There is no easy target to point a finger at but one thing is clear we are as Joyce Vance often says, in this together and we need to stop hating on each other.
Carol - Be that as it may; she won with a very narrow margin. The problem is not the margin, the problem is the mutual hatred, as L. says. The hatred pushes one side (Trump's) to contemplate a coup d'etat and the other side to contemplate radical countermeasures. And what we get is a country in a state of chronic instability and people avoiding talking to each other calmly and instead calling each other names.
Yeah. Neoliberalism has failed. Miserably so. The Road to Freedom Joseph Stiglitz.
I was pleased to see Stigliz disagreement on a core issue with Paul Samuelson his professor at one time. I though that Samuelson text not worth reading 50 years ago. To be frank, Samuelson assertions without evidence would have been laughed out of my philosophy classes along with Ayn Rand.
Many libertarians/neoliberals are the racist conservatives Ayn Rand warned us about: she called them the worst enemies of capitalism. Trump's economic policies are shifting from protectionist to libertarian. Trump's Tariff would do nothing to protect US jobs, but it would shift the taxation burden from corporations and billionaires unto the working class.
If Stephen Miller were a Jew in ancient times, the community would have stoned him to death for his hatred and disrespect of our people. Unfortunately, this monster is immune to shame.
Hinchcliffe thinks he’s a comedian, but he’s not the least bit funny. Good humor punches up, never down. I have a some Spanish language insults I could use on him, but I’ll exercise some restraint here.
Keith Olson ; "There’s no pulling out. They don’t do that" everyone knows that does not work as birth control. Racism in plain sight. also, Puerto Rico is part of the United States, isn't it? They are citizens who can't vote? How convenient! There is a lot of confusion in our country, and it seems to help the wealthy, who are Donald Drumph's friends.
"...belching out Hitler rhetoric like a couple of drunken sailors!"
I served in the US Navy. I have gotten drunk while in the US Navy. I have been with many a drunken US Navy sailor -- and dealt with many more while serving on shore patrol.
Never ONCE in all those encounters did I witness any sailor belching out Hitler rhetoric. FFS.
I don't get Stephen Miller, grandson of Jews that fled pogroms, who has relatives that died in the Holocaust, condemned by his own family,is a white racist. He must have an ulterior motive.
We Are 6 Days from Saving America and You Want More of This Clown Show?
Listen up folks It’s real simple You’ve had nearly four years of Harris and Walz fumbling the bag like they’re auditioning for America’s Funniest Home Videos and now we’ve got six days to fix this mess You want to keep watching them screw up or do you want your country back
Kamala Harris can’t even string a sentence together without laughing like she’s at a comedy club meanwhile the economy is tanking small businesses are choking on regulations and inflation is burning through your savings faster than Biden forgets his lines Walz isn’t any better This guy locked people in their homes while Target stores were being looted and called it leadership You think that’s what this country needs more of Just keep pretending everything's fine while crime is up gas prices are through the roof and the border looks like a revolving door
And I get it Some of you are on the fence Maybe you don’t like Trump’s tweets Maybe you think he’s too much Well let me tell you something This isn’t a beauty contest folks It’s about who can get the job done We need someone who can make deals not embarrassing TikToks or cringeworthy press conferences Harris couldn’t lead a conga line let alone the free world Walz couldn’t manage a lemonade stand
You really want to wake up in six months realizing you let these clowns stay in power The dollar weaker than ever foreign leaders laughing at us and your paycheck worth half what it used to be Trump might not be your best friend but he’s the one who can turn this train wreck around I don’t care if you have to hold your nose when you vote This is about survival and you better believe Trump is the only one with the spine to get it done
Six days people Six days to show the woke mob the media and every clueless politician that America is done being a doormat Don’t waste this chance Vote Trump and let's make America proud again
Miller reminds me of Adolf Eichmann. Hitler said: Keep Germany for the Germans! The parallels in their sentences is eerie, like it's no accident. Maybe he forgot or never knew what ended up happening to Eichmann - whisked out of Argentina by Israeli Mossad agents, he stood trial, was condemned, and was hanged in the early hours of 1 June,1962. I am still reeling from Hinchcliffe's comments. People could get hurt. He uses the words of a child which are laughably ridiculous but dangerous hate speech too. He even adds unwarranted soft porn.
Harris needs to establish that the true elites are the Republicans who have given billionaires the opportunity for monopoly capitalism in order to retain their power and privilege.
Republicans never wanted fair capitalism. When they call it free market, what they really mean is free from oversight and integrity.
And thus we stand on the brink of #RepubloFascism with Republicans willing to bury democracy alive for sake of this payola payback loop, receiving billionaire donations to preserve tax cuts for the morbidly rich.
Absolutely right, but they did not start yesterday, Todd. What was done in rhe juridical sense, what politically? I have seen an insurrection of Trump, now a peacefull demonstration, I have seen corporations grow and financial transactions and shareholder value become the only yardstick in social relations. Ask the Boeing workers what they think about this.
I do agree with you that she needs to add a strong economic message - the kind you articulate so well - to her closing argument. I've not liked the way her economic speeches often sound like a bunch of gimmicky disconnected give aways rather than a coherent message about what opportunity looks like. Adding a little historical perspective would help - explaining how the middle class here gained strength in the 1940's, 50's and 60's with strong regulation and government support - and then explaining her specific plans to bring back that kind of prosperity. But I don't know who on her staff is listening here. Do you have a way to get through to them? Democracy is also an essential message, but showing how we can be strong and democratic is what we need.
If government had kept a close eye on the hedge fund managers who bought up all the property and then jacked up rents to double and triple what they were only a few short years ago, maybe I could find a place to stay. Affordable housing is a major concern to most people right now because there is none, especially for low income people and seniors on SS. Even employed middle-class people are struggling with housing cost. Shouldn't shelter be a human right, along with reasonably priced food? In Florida, Publix is still ripping their customers off, and Winn-Dixie jumped on that gravy train, too. In most places, these are the only two choices you have! If you hear anger in this comment, it's because I am angry. I'm also terrified when I consider my future. I see the billionaires rocketing toward becoming trillionaires and the rest of us are slowly dying. P.S. The 2.6% COLA seniors are getting in January won't even cover the increase in my lot rent. Bernie said he'd like to increase SS an additional $200/month. That is exactly what we need. We have fallen so far behind the financial curve, it's ridiculous. Because every time we get a COLA, the Medicare premium rises to eat it up. I'd never vote Republican, but I understand why people do.
Exactly this- there needs to be a cap on rents for seniors- or we’re all going to be living in a tent on free federal land- I’m surprised this hasn’t started with a vengeance yet. It won’t just be RVers…
I don't understand why people vote Republicano. Do you think Republicans are going to fix your housing or COLA issue? Can you explain what you said about you understand why people vote Repub?
Because they're angry, too, and not everyone who is suffering has a three-digit IQ or is highly educated. The South takes pride in not educating their people. Look at what DeSantis has done in Florida, where I've lived the last ten years, during his run as governor: banning books, making it illegal to even say "climate change," controlling what teachers can and can't tell students, and scapegoating anyone who isn't white and straight. I grew up in suburban MN and spent considerable time in the Twin Cities. If I don't understand something, I research it until I'm satisfied. From what I've observed, Republicans aren't too bright. Just look at MAGA. ;) They believe Trump will give them what they need, despite never delivering a damn thing to them during the four years of his horrible presidency. They don't question; they simply believe every stupid thing he says. A solid education is vital to developing critical thinking. Meeting and talking to people don't look like you is also important. Many Southerners don't go to college or even travel much, so they never learn how interesting people can be and what others can teach them--that we all essentially want the same things from life, and we shouldn't let people like Trump divide us.
:) Sorry for the length of this comment. I sometimes get carried away.
ActuallyTheo in 2022 the Medicare premium was $170.10 in 2023 $164.90, this year it is$174.70, it has gone up and down, ostensibly because of costs.
I had a supplemental, CalPers blue cross out of state, Medicare supplement, the premium went up, for next year, by 30.74%. Insurance companies price their products based on costs, either medical care goes up or their are more and more seniors making demands or my group is getting more seriously ill.
I am fortunate to have Tricare for Life,retired military, so I cancelled Blue Cross.
It went up in '22 because they were charging in advance of a promising Alzheimer's drug being approved. It wasn't though, so Biden lowered the premium the next year. Think about that: we paid higher for that year because of a "maybe." This should NOT be allowed.
There was no special reason that I know of. A year went by, the cost of everything went up... "We'd better raise the Medicare premium again." I'm guessing it's pretty much the endless greed of the medical machine. :(
Endless greed of Blackrock, Vanguard, State Street the funds that own 90% of the medical centers and hospitals. What they don't own, they operate like the Sisters of St Joseph Medical Centers in the Pacific NW.
Medicare is faultless in that regard.It's overhead is 3% and it doesn't pay out dividends. Whereas privately owned Medical Centers and Hospitals, pay out dividends and have an exorbitant overhead. Insurance companies have a 20% overhead and pay dividends to share holders
Kathleen, all I hear out of the corporate media is that it is about economic and that she should sit down with them and tell them her plan, but they don't say the same about Trump, because it is not about economics, and the media creates the atmosphere and the problems.
What you see and hear from the voters is the culture war, particular the drift of Hispanic and black males away from Kamala to Harris because Trump epitomizes masculinity, and males apparently are losing power, status and control, as women, queer are gaining status and self empowerment. There are more women in university now than men, more women with degrees than men, yet women still get paid less than men for the same job.
My wife was a building official, and was constantly being torpedoes by her building inspectors, bcause there ego was hurt. She had previously worked on contract with FEMA and had the same problem there, and her subordinates were two Indian Americans, who really resented having to work for a woman.
I have seen this in a manufacturing plant where I worked. The men resent any woman who is not subservient and some will purposely cause problems and defy teamwork. (In the long run, this only hurts the company.) There are a lot of men who think more of themselves than they should. They can’t seem to accept when a woman is more intelligent.
It is the same in special ops unit. They have a self image of knuckle dragging ape, and design their entrance exams and their accession training programs around that image, the design is to eliminate anyone who isn't a macho knuckle dragger, but once in awhile, an exception gets through, and they aren't too happy and will do what they can to ensure they fail, male or female.. This is true of SEALS, AF Spec Ops, Rangers and Marine Officer Combat Leadership course.
Once you get through their weeding out process, it is smooth sailing because you will never have to put out your knuckle dragging capabilities too test, except maybe ruck sack hikes.
If you are reasonably physically fit, one can make it, as it is mainly a matter of pain endurance and mind over body.. the Will.
As a minor example. I tore the ligament in my left knee, at Ft Benning the day before I started Jump school. I had on brand new boots,not broken in and we had to double time everywhere to and from chow.
Despite the torn ligament I endured three weeks of training and the five jumps to graduate., and the pain in the daily two mile run, disappeared after the first half mile, but set in with a thud, when we stopped. The instructors noticed my limp and tried to get me to self eliminate and I told them to stuff it.
And let’s not forget that other odorous elephant in the room: a Trump victory will at some point yield a Vance presidency. It may come through impeachment number three, Vance and the Cabinet getting on board with the 25th Amendment, or a croaking heard around the world.
Then we have Peter Thiel pulling all the strings as Vance’s lifelong benefactor. Project 2025 will be tame compared to that.
The Springfield News-Sun and my own paper, the Dayton Daily News, have come out and said Vance’s behavior is unworthy of his office. Neither Trump or Vance are worthy candidates, and these are supposedly the best the GOP has to offer? I hate that Vance is my senator and want desperately to keep Sherrod Brown, who is good at his job. Thiel gave us a poisonous liar, bigot and misogynist when JD Vance got into office. I didn’t vote for him.
Even if the MAGA cult do not regain the White House both America and the rest of the world will be having to negotiate their politically captured enraged populations, maliciously created by abuses of power by neo liberal economic deregulation by and for these morbidly wealthy. As they own most corporate media in the US and UK and Australia and play on people’s fear, greed and rage (created by them and their oligarch sponsors) they will continue to hold on to social power and manipulate politics.
I’m not rich and my family struggles with the high prices of food and the cost of running a home. Luckily, I have a home and don’t have to worry about buying one. My 401K is doing well and I am a few years from retirement. The economy is not my concern. My daughter’s reproductive rights and the hate filled rhetoric are what concerns me and I will vote for Harris/Walz. Send Trump to prison and get on with our lives!
I agree 100%. Folks are underestimating the concerns of women in this election. Abortion rights is a huge deal. But women’s rights and health have always taken back seat to men’s concerns which usually center around money. It is time that men learn it isn’t a “man’s world”.
Professor Reich, please call her and repeat what you just wrote! This is extremely important! Many of us who support Kamala and have worked hard to get her elected know exactly what the orange man represents and who he is. We don't need to hear that message anymore. If she were to spell out her plan to help people who are still upset about the economy, many would love her ideas and solutions! Someone needs to let her know that Americans know how awful the orange man is, what they want to know is how she is going to tackle what they consider a problem with the economy. She'd win in a landslide! If she loses, so many will come back and say "If only she hadn't fixated on trump" "If only she had explained her position on the economy". Well, as my pop always said, "If a frog had wings, he wouldn't bump his butt every time he hopped!" Vote blue, America, up and down the ballot!
Kamala is talking straight and honestly to all Americans where Trump is only talking to racists and fascists and misogynists who agree with him! I don’t believe there are too many American women who are voting for a man who wants to put them back in the kitchen and be submissive to their commanders! This election should be a Democratic landslide but the corporate media would lose bigly if they reported the news honestly!
Kids. Don't drink the poison. The polls are being heavily manipulated. Manipulated by phony, "republican" (neo-repub) polling outfits that have sprung up in the past couple of weeks to skew the averages.
HOLD FAST.
If not done already, please vote early, encourage others to do the same. Have a relaxing beverage, Donate to vote blue. Get a good night's sleep tonight.
YES, Doc Blase! People are too easily manipulated! I really think we are already seeing an unprecedented voter turn-out and it’s the threat to Democracy that’s doing it. Landslide for Harris/Walz, I believe.
These are great ideas.I have already voted-for Harris/Walz!-but we do need to get the word out that Harris will help get the prices down and wages up.I meself am tired of my paycheck being gone within a couple days of payday,and stay broke the majority of the rest of the time.I understand the concept of millionaire monopolies raising prices to benefit themselves,but many do not.That should be put out better too,as well as a real plan to fix this issue.
If y'all haven't already,get out there and vote.We need all hands on deck for this one.
I too completed my assignment this weekend. There were a lot more people at the courthouse to vote than there usually are on the weekend, and I voted early because I know Election Day will be a mess.
I hope Kamala Harris takes inspiration from history. Now would be a good time for her to read up on President Theodore Roosevelt's performance against the monopolistic corporations of John D Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, J P Morgan and others.
I think it included Andrew Mellon, whose (great?) grandson Timothy (I hope I got the names right) has been the top contributor to Trump's campaign with something like $150 million.
Timothy is probably his great grandson. The late Richard Mellon Scaife, who also inherited a large amount of money, would also be out supporting the Orange Menace.
@ Michael Hutchinson. Nah! The polls are wrong. It's the culture. The economy is great. It's a classic pretext.
Gen Z have never voted previously and therefore are probably considered "unlikely" and uncounted by the polls. 25% of the electorate are Gen Z. Consider the Swifty, Beyonce, David Hogg effect. FT 6 says it has produced 5 million "new" voters in swing states
2. Please repeatedly post "not suckers or losers" comments in social media. According to Facebook, there are 4 million veterans and active duty members on Facebook, as well as 12.5 million family members and 242 million friends with veterans or active duty members. Military sites, veterans' organizations, historical sites. Vote vets has already flipped many 2016 and 2020 Trump voters. 3. It's up to people like you who are on social media.... when you comment you'll see what I mean. Many of the people involved are dependents, family members, friends and neighbors who are interested in the military and or national security and for whom this is news. Takes repetition and substantiation by people they trust.
(Here’s what I posted on my Facebook page, along with the picture of Steve wearing his Not Suckers or Losers T-shirt):
“This is our friend and ex-neighbor Steve in Ohio. His Harris/Walz yard signs are being pulled down quite often. Steve is a Vietnam war Marine battle veteran who fought for all of us to have the right to vote. He considers himself amazingly lucky to have survived when so many of his fellow soldiers did not.
He asked me to try to find a sign with this quotation on it, but I thought sending him a shirt to wear would be the way to go.
Thank you Steve for fighting for our freedom! Wear your shirt proudly and freely, because those who fought for our great country are NOT suckers and losers!
Daniel, all good. But there are a lot of people at the bottom who are still feeling the price of bacon and blaming Biden and Harris. Remember Trump's opening line at the Nazi rally last night: "Do you feel better off than you did 4 years ago?"
IMHO, Harris has been too defensive on the economy. Reich is right.
Harris should say:
The economy in every country in the world was hit hard by Covid.
We are doing better than any other advanced country, interest rates are already coming down, and will continue to do so.
I understand that prices are still too high, in large part due to corporate price gouging.
I will go after the price gougers, as only a prosecutor can.
1. More importantly, IN THEIR HEARTS THEY KNOW TRUMP IS NUTS.
America is not a garbage country. WE'RE NUMBER !. Number 1 economy. Number 1 because we have a social net. Number 1 militarily. The rest of the world wants to come here, be like us.
2. Trump CAUSED inflation by forcing higher oil prices, which started a ripple effect, like a snowball running down a mountain. The people who are makin' bacon are Trump's Chinese allies that control companies like Smithfield, control the commodities market. At the same time Trump's real message is RACISM.
He says. migrants coming to the U.S. from China are men of “military” or “fighting” age who may be coming here to form a sort of “army,” suggesting their intent is to attack the country. It’s important to pay attention to Trump’s rhetoric in part because so many of his followers believe what he says: Trump’s false claims about the 2020 election led to the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol, and targeting Asians could have potentially dangerous consequences given the widespread attacks against Asian Americans since the Covid-19 pandemic. https://www.ap.org/news-highlights/best-of-the-week/second-winner/2024/ap-team-provides-a-reality-check-on-trumps-potentially-dangerous-rhetoric-about-chinese-migrants/.
3. “There’s a lot going on. Like, I don’t know if you know this but there’s literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. I think it’s called Puerto Rico,” comedian Tony Hinchcliffe.
Where I live, Florida, over a million Puerto Ricans. Many Pentecostal MAGATs desde ayer!
Hoy dia, Boricuas para Kamala.
"Sen. Rick Scott was compelled to respond to a joke told by an undercard speaker at Donald Trump’s rally in New York City Sunday, stressing his affinity for Puerto Ricans after a comedian disparaged the “island of garbage.”
“This joke bombed for a reason. It’s not funny and it’s not true. Puerto Ricans are amazing people and amazing Americans! I’ve been to the island many times. It’s a beautiful place. Everyone should visit! I will always do whatever I can to help any Puerto Rican in Florida or on the island,” Scott posted to social media.
Michael, people don't care about how other countries are doing, they only care about themselves. And I really don't think people will be voting because of the price of bacon,price of eggs has gone down. There is something else, more deeper in the pysche that drive people to vote. Economics is only one factor or an excuse.
People want a living Jesus, a savior, and the pull of a strongman is great.
Sadly Farrar is right. People in America seems to care little about what is going on in other countries economically. And i don;t think people will make a choice purely on economics. There is something going on in people psyches. The question is, if people want a savior, why are they wanting that more than in past elections? Is the pull of a strongman really that great? Trump defeated in 2020. If he wins in 2024 it will be in large measure because of all the corrupt money that has laid the groundwork and pitched in to promote Trump and elect him. This is both domestic and overseas money.
I've been watching My Generation, a docuseries Daniel. You are correct, especially as regards the females, the males, on the other hand, are Joe Rogan fans, not all but most, however females are more inclined to vote than males., especially with female rights on the line.
Our country currently has the greatest economy on the planet, no matter what the Republicans say. Kamala has defined her purpose while Trump poses a clear and present danger. The man at some point may develop the ability to speak coherently. Kamala, or as I call her--Pamala with a "K," will be our next president. I can't wait to hear the lies Trump cooks-up to explain that.
We may have the greatest economy, but we’ve never had to worry about things like identity theft, scams, the sale of personal info by Corp., etc more than we do now. It doesn’t help that the tech bros have shown themselves to be megalomaniacs (and they have all our data!). I may have had less when I was younger, but it was more peaceful.
I have to respectfully disagree that her message has focused on mainly the direct threat the disgraced ex president is to our democracy, in every speech I have watched she has outlined her specific policies for the working class and now most registered voters believe she cares more about them. I also disagree about his supposed "surge", in early voting there is a significant gender gap, young voters are voting in record numbers and the she can count on Haley Republican votes, as well. The polling models I have seen show that she's poised to win the election along with Professor Alan Lichtman's "key" model that has allowed him to successfully predict presidential outcomes for the last forty years. He was asked last night if he stuck with his position and he replied, despite the political vicissitudes, he is still confident in his prediction. I know that Kamala's address online the ellipse will, once again, focus on her policies for the middle class. In the end,the polling models, for so many political cycles, have been erroneous. What I see is an incredible enthusiasm for the candidate, filled stadiums, and that the momentum is clearly on her side. On the other side you see sparsely filled venues with people leaving while the exhausted candidate rambles on. To me there is no uncertainty about the outcome of this election, it is Harris all the way!
Robert, I agree that voters make decisions based on how things feel in their personal lives much of the time. But Trump doesn't seem to have to have anything to offer whatsoever except racism, misogyny, and cruelty. I guess his audiences just love seeing him be a "bad boy" and don't really care about the price of eggs unless they're being polled about Kamala. Then, all of a sudden, that's all that matters and however much her policies promise, they're still not sure.
For many, having endured decades of rising social and economic injustice, the visceral thirst for revenge ‘trumps’ any sense of self preservation or rationale. MAGA is a blood lust cult that reacts with extreme mob violence to whatever dog whistles their leadership deploys. As their lived woes are real but their true enemies well hidden behind Fox News style obfuscation and psychological manipulation, they continue to be a gift to the morbidly wealthy who control and exploit them for personal profit. If MAGA individuals ever wake up and see the enemy within, it will lead to a second American Revolution.
He’s a weakling and won’t do a thing for them instead of encouraging to blame their fellow Americans for their economic predicament and encouraging people to vote for the Republicans who have helped to destroy the middle class.
The scary thing is that 50% of American LIKE Trump's racist, misogynistic and cruel rhetoric. What does that say about Americans, and America going forward from here, whomever get the Presidency?
Trump and his puppy Stephen Miller are belching out Hitler rhetoric like a couple of drunken sailors!
Miller said this @ Trump’s MSG rally yesterday in NYC. “America is for Americans!”
Who? White Male Supremacists?
That was after one of the most disgusting and bigoted things I’ve ever heard. comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, who goes by Kill Tony, said, “There’s literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. I think it’s called Puerto Rico.” “And these Latinos, they love making babies too. Just know that. They do. They do. There’s no pulling out. They don’t do that. They come inside. Just like they did to our country.” Hinchcliffe also talked about Black people carving watermelons instead of pumpkins.
I guess they forgot what happened to Hitler and his gang of brown shirts in WWII.
Keith - This is not just Donald Trump's responsibility. We must admit mia culpa! We contributed. We made Donald Trump possible - if not him, then some other 'populist'. It was the combined arrogance of the Democratic and Republican Parties that fell for the "free market" myth and forgot the unemployment, under-employment and below-the-poverty line wages - the consequences that would follow from deregulation and the anti-trade union policies. If anthing good will EVER come out of this mess, then we MUST learn from OUR mistakes - not Trump's.
Not we Gunnar, they? Certainly not Robert or most of his readers, but certainly they, the neo liberals among us., but it is not economics that powers,powered Trump, but the culture war and mostly white male grievance.
This election is shaping up, finally, as a gender war, a culture war. The empowerment of women, queers, is perceived as disempowerment of men, and men now perceive themselves as victims. Power is a zero sum game. You have it or you don't, empower one segment of society and the other segment feels disempowered.
Anti abortion is not about unborn babies, except for the emotionally addled, it is about power, control of the feminine
Mostly male grievances. And yes on culture war.
Whoops… I just can’t be talking about elections like the way we are. Polls, demographics, red state and blue state, coastal elites and flyover states. That’s why we need to abolish the electoral college.
I hope we can be more progressive and yet keep sanity.
If someone has body dysmorphia and wish to have a way to live a life as another sex, you do you. If you’re much happier doing that go for it. A lot of these trans people go on about their lives. No one cares because they are living the life of the sex they align with mentally. If I came out of the bathroom stall and saw a man who was at least putting in the effort to assimilate. If a woman wants to live the life as a man I will drive you to Seville Row. I’m behind you all the way.
I just think that children cannot give informed consent. There is too much evidence of permanent side effects of hormone therapy and you can’t regrow your breasts. This is an adult decision to be made by an adult.
I disagree. I am a progressive democrat close to Bernie Sanders. Let’s not throw out sanity. I’m tired of transgender pronoun police. As a victim of SA I left a bathroom stall and there was a man putting on lipstick. I had a panic attack. We can’t talk about women’s rights and say trans women can compete with women. Go into the women’s locker rooms. Most places still know that sex and gender are two separate things.
This isn’t a fight between men vs. women. Women vote for Trump, men vote for Harris. Abortion affects women profoundly more than men but men suffer too. The men who wept with fear of losing both a child and his wife. Men face with losing the opportunity of having no more children. It is also the men that have to be supportive of what the woman her life has to deal with.
I disagree about economics not powering Trump. I think at base economics shapes most large aspects of a society and provides ground for what occurs. The culture war you talk about can be easily seen as an economic power struggle as I think you are actually implying. But this is an enormous topic. I agree about abortion- that's mostly about power.
Gunnar, this believing in the free market is the core problem. The rhetoric sounded perfect, but the meaning was that we don't care that we will not have a decent society....
It is deplorable...
True, but we must save ourselves, as our institutions are failing at the task.
Kathy - We don't yet know whether American institutions are failing - they haven't been put to the test. During Trump's presidency, he didn't seriously challenge them, or the Constitution. If he wins, then he may do so this time - he is better prepared. Personally, I think your Constitution and institutions will succeed in resisting Trump, but we shall find out, perhaps.
Financial Times (London) of January 4, 2020. Title: "A moment of grave danger for US democracy." (Two days before Jan 6)
"Extraordinary as it may seem, what amounts to an undeclared coup d’état is being attempted in the US. It will almost certainly fail. But the next two weeks will severely test the strength of America’s institutions — and the courage of its public officials."
Yes, our institutions HAVE been put through a test -- just not the ultimate test, as of yet.
Thomas - I agree that, if Trump wins in November - there will be a test, probably many tests, over the following four years. Much will depend, not just on us but on Republicans in both Houses of Congress, and speficically on those Republicans who are not committed, or not fully committed, to Donald Trump's policies and bravado.
But, I repeat, we made mistakes, too, both well before Trump was heard of in political circles, and while he was U.S. President. It was White House civil servants who frequently attempted (and succesfully sometimes) to put up barrier against Trump's policy initiatives. Now, I don't know the rules of engagement in the U.S., but in Norway, Australia and Britain - parliamentary democracies all - the civil service is bound to carry out a freely elected government's policy initiatives. They can advice against, and the PM must listen in the sense of acknowledging that he's understood the arguments put before him by the civil service; but in end, the PM is entitled to put his program through the bureaucracy and axpect cooperation - as long has he/she has the support in the Lower House or the combined parliament. In our democracies it is illegal to try to block the government in power, if it is freely elected.
Of course, I'm biased. I have in mind Roosevelt's New Deal and the Labour government's welfare state program in Britain in 1945. As far as I am aware, the civil service respected the new wave, as it were, and cooperated. Two progressive but rather radical policy initiatives went through and won broad acceptance. This time, maybe, it is the Democratic Party's turn to listen and accept some of the plans that a legitimate, frrely elected government wants to do. So, yes: be steadfast but be humble, too!
I mention this because it angered and frustrated Trump when he sensed or learned about these blocking tactics within the White House. It seemed to him that the whole world was against him. And he has a simple mind, some would say a primitive mind. To do what 'your side' did was illegal, wrong, stupid, and clumsy. Now we face the prospect of Trump's determined effort to use whatever means are at his disposal to get his political program through the various hoops that your systems have in place. Due in part to your side's clumsiness and plain stupidity - your side's blind belief in your propaganda - we now have an enraged Trump who will, in effect, try do do what your side actually did: act illegally.
So, don't complain. Be prepaired! I hope you, the Constitution, the good sense of a sufficient number of Republians in Congress, and and the various checks and balances there are in your system will prevent Trump going beyond the law. However, I'm mindful that filibustering was 'legal'. I also believe that your side should do a bit of navel gazing. There are, IMHO, some policy initiatives of Trump's that are good, or potentially good. Your side supports the quagmire that is the Russia-Ukraine War. Let Trump get on with his peace plan! Don't block him. Don't try to! Your're facing another Vietnam and Trump may get you out of it. He may give way to Putin and agree to a strategic rearrangement in eastern Europe that YOUR SIDE won't like one bit, but will in fact bring stategic stability back to Europe. That, I predict, can only be a good thing. You will still have a strong NATO, but a somewhat smaller one in terms of membership and territory as long as those states and that territory don't become Russian vassal states but retain their domocracies, like Finland did in 1945. Your side can learn to live with that.
One final remark. I sat up most the (European) night to listen to Joe Biden's State of the Nation address. I was disappointed. One thing that disappointed me deeply was that he failed to reach out to the non-Trump Replublicans. All Biden did was rigidly lambasting all members of the opposition. There was no subtleness, no finesse, no calibration, no stategic thinking - no attemp to woo the 'weak' points among the opposition. Let's not make THAT mistake again! Let us make tactical friends were we can; we will need every one of them.
Thank you for the timely quotation, Thomas. Yes, a more or less undeclared insurrection is happening right now, and it may succeed.
At the Ellipse on Jan 6, Alabama representative, Mo Brooks delivered such an inflammatory speech that he later requested a preemptive pardon from Trump. Weeks later, he declared that Trump lost and Biden won. Trump had him primaried in 2022 and that was it for his career.
Work on the gallows at the Capitol commenced just before 7 AM that morning.
There are many other such "dots." It seems that most Americans are too uncaring or too oblivious to connect them. OR, they don't WANT to believe.
Anyway, thanks.
Economically speaking, the evidence that our institutions have failed the citizens is manifest. If you mean politically, I guess you could say our institutions have not failed yet entirely as long as there is some democracy left.
Hmm Gunnar, they thought the same in Germany didn't they. As a refresher I watched a docuseries on the rise of Hitler. Hindenburg, the financial backer of Hitler, the political powers thought that the Weimar Constitution would protect them, so Hindenburg appointed him Chancellor, he had previously refused Vice Chancellor he had bigger plans, then Hindenburg died, and Hitler stepped up as President, started issuing anti Jewish decrees, but then used the fire of the Reichstag as an excuse to ban political parties,it was all over, but he could never have gotten that far were it not for the support and his popularity among the German people, especially the women, who looked at his display of (faux) hyper masculinity as their savior. Tump's image is being cast as hyper masculine, just look at the NFT trading cards.
But keep in mind that Hitler, at that time was much younger man.
Trump is an old man with growing dementia systems.
Not exactly the picture of pure masculinity.
William - I'm not a professional historian - but I've read that Hitler's power, once in office, depended not on Hindenburg or the massess but on the German Army. And Hitler knew it. So when Ernst Rōhm decided he's push for the SA to become a separate army, parallel with the Wehrmacht, Hitler knew what the Wehrmacht would think - and what they might do about it - and we had the Night of the Long Knives when Rōhm and the top 2,000 SA leaders were killed on Hitler's orders.
You are correct, but it was the people that put him in power. And it was the people, who were enamored of him, that enabled him to wipe out the leadership of the SA, in one night. Wholesale murder, that in any other circumstance would have resulted in someone going to jail and being forced out.
Yes, the docuseries did cover the purge of the SA and that it happened because the Army did not want the SA to replace them.
I didn't need the docuseries to teach me that. I am no a historian, but am a history buff.
Hitler did what he did only because he had the power of the people behind him.
Mao Tse Dung, spoke a truth when he wrote in his Little Red Book, The revolution swims in the sea of the people.
What we are involved in and contending with, is Trump as Mao,and MAGA as the revolution, only it is not economic, and neither was Mao's.
Revolutionary movements are about power. Who has the power and who does not. American, French, Bolshevik,Chinese.
Power to the people, but it never is to the people, but to the people who start and lead the revolution.
It really is up to the people this election. And if Harris wins, rebuild/reshape many of our institutions. At base, flawed economic conceptions and their easy use by the wealthy have led us to a dead end.
This is no doubt a multifaceted problem we face but I have long held trump is not the problem just a symptom of a problem. And one that is deep and broad enough that people have mistakenly come to see him as beacon of hope - as horrifying as that is to others of us. I fear for our country. I fear because of the hate that is percolating from all sides. I see that as the largest threat. Whether we demonize immigrants or each other it’s all the same spirit of hate and avarice and it needs to be checked not unlike a raging infection. There is no easy target to point a finger at but one thing is clear we are as Joyce Vance often says, in this together and we need to stop hating on each other.
I voted for Hillary Clinton and she WON the popular vote. This "we" crap is ridiculous! Our Electoral College failed us twice this century.
Carol - Be that as it may; she won with a very narrow margin. The problem is not the margin, the problem is the mutual hatred, as L. says. The hatred pushes one side (Trump's) to contemplate a coup d'etat and the other side to contemplate radical countermeasures. And what we get is a country in a state of chronic instability and people avoiding talking to each other calmly and instead calling each other names.
“mea”
Yeah. Neoliberalism has failed. Miserably so. The Road to Freedom Joseph Stiglitz.
I was pleased to see Stigliz disagreement on a core issue with Paul Samuelson his professor at one time. I though that Samuelson text not worth reading 50 years ago. To be frank, Samuelson assertions without evidence would have been laughed out of my philosophy classes along with Ayn Rand.
Many libertarians/neoliberals are the racist conservatives Ayn Rand warned us about: she called them the worst enemies of capitalism. Trump's economic policies are shifting from protectionist to libertarian. Trump's Tariff would do nothing to protect US jobs, but it would shift the taxation burden from corporations and billionaires unto the working class.
Keith--Perhaps history will jog their memories. Mr. Miller reminds me of an anorexic Alfred Hitchcock, except old Al was fun to listen to.
Miller has dead cold eyes.
If Stephen Miller were a Jew in ancient times, the community would have stoned him to death for his hatred and disrespect of our people. Unfortunately, this monster is immune to shame.
Hinchcliffe thinks he’s a comedian, but he’s not the least bit funny. Good humor punches up, never down. I have a some Spanish language insults I could use on him, but I’ll exercise some restraint here.
Keith Olson ; "There’s no pulling out. They don’t do that" everyone knows that does not work as birth control. Racism in plain sight. also, Puerto Rico is part of the United States, isn't it? They are citizens who can't vote? How convenient! There is a lot of confusion in our country, and it seems to help the wealthy, who are Donald Drumph's friends.
"...belching out Hitler rhetoric like a couple of drunken sailors!"
I served in the US Navy. I have gotten drunk while in the US Navy. I have been with many a drunken US Navy sailor -- and dealt with many more while serving on shore patrol.
Never ONCE in all those encounters did I witness any sailor belching out Hitler rhetoric. FFS.
Then everyone leave except the Native Americans because the rest of us came via immigration. Including Miller and Drumpf.
I don't get Stephen Miller, grandson of Jews that fled pogroms, who has relatives that died in the Holocaust, condemned by his own family,is a white racist. He must have an ulterior motive.
Chickens for KFC
Wow! I can't believe he said America is for Americans. That's insane. It's like saying that only citizens can vote. Racist.
Yes!
Look at pictures of Steven Miller and Josef Goebbels (hitlers propaganda minister) side by side.
We Are 6 Days from Saving America and You Want More of This Clown Show?
Listen up folks It’s real simple You’ve had nearly four years of Harris and Walz fumbling the bag like they’re auditioning for America’s Funniest Home Videos and now we’ve got six days to fix this mess You want to keep watching them screw up or do you want your country back
Kamala Harris can’t even string a sentence together without laughing like she’s at a comedy club meanwhile the economy is tanking small businesses are choking on regulations and inflation is burning through your savings faster than Biden forgets his lines Walz isn’t any better This guy locked people in their homes while Target stores were being looted and called it leadership You think that’s what this country needs more of Just keep pretending everything's fine while crime is up gas prices are through the roof and the border looks like a revolving door
And I get it Some of you are on the fence Maybe you don’t like Trump’s tweets Maybe you think he’s too much Well let me tell you something This isn’t a beauty contest folks It’s about who can get the job done We need someone who can make deals not embarrassing TikToks or cringeworthy press conferences Harris couldn’t lead a conga line let alone the free world Walz couldn’t manage a lemonade stand
You really want to wake up in six months realizing you let these clowns stay in power The dollar weaker than ever foreign leaders laughing at us and your paycheck worth half what it used to be Trump might not be your best friend but he’s the one who can turn this train wreck around I don’t care if you have to hold your nose when you vote This is about survival and you better believe Trump is the only one with the spine to get it done
Six days people Six days to show the woke mob the media and every clueless politician that America is done being a doormat Don’t waste this chance Vote Trump and let's make America proud again
Maybe someone should take Tony at his word? (i.e., kill tony?)
There are 80 million of us democrats- 50% of the population - Hitler only had to deal with about 1%. Dissidents - guess what’s gonna happen?
Willfully ignorant people tend to be arrogant, even proud of their ignorance. They live in a simplistic, insular world.
Miller reminds me of Adolf Eichmann. Hitler said: Keep Germany for the Germans! The parallels in their sentences is eerie, like it's no accident. Maybe he forgot or never knew what ended up happening to Eichmann - whisked out of Argentina by Israeli Mossad agents, he stood trial, was condemned, and was hanged in the early hours of 1 June,1962. I am still reeling from Hinchcliffe's comments. People could get hurt. He uses the words of a child which are laughably ridiculous but dangerous hate speech too. He even adds unwarranted soft porn.
This crap should be nationally televised, live. Maybe it would disgust a republican or two.
Harris needs to establish that the true elites are the Republicans who have given billionaires the opportunity for monopoly capitalism in order to retain their power and privilege.
Republicans never wanted fair capitalism. When they call it free market, what they really mean is free from oversight and integrity.
And thus we stand on the brink of #RepubloFascism with Republicans willing to bury democracy alive for sake of this payola payback loop, receiving billionaire donations to preserve tax cuts for the morbidly rich.
Absolutely right, but they did not start yesterday, Todd. What was done in rhe juridical sense, what politically? I have seen an insurrection of Trump, now a peacefull demonstration, I have seen corporations grow and financial transactions and shareholder value become the only yardstick in social relations. Ask the Boeing workers what they think about this.
I do agree with you that she needs to add a strong economic message - the kind you articulate so well - to her closing argument. I've not liked the way her economic speeches often sound like a bunch of gimmicky disconnected give aways rather than a coherent message about what opportunity looks like. Adding a little historical perspective would help - explaining how the middle class here gained strength in the 1940's, 50's and 60's with strong regulation and government support - and then explaining her specific plans to bring back that kind of prosperity. But I don't know who on her staff is listening here. Do you have a way to get through to them? Democracy is also an essential message, but showing how we can be strong and democratic is what we need.
If government had kept a close eye on the hedge fund managers who bought up all the property and then jacked up rents to double and triple what they were only a few short years ago, maybe I could find a place to stay. Affordable housing is a major concern to most people right now because there is none, especially for low income people and seniors on SS. Even employed middle-class people are struggling with housing cost. Shouldn't shelter be a human right, along with reasonably priced food? In Florida, Publix is still ripping their customers off, and Winn-Dixie jumped on that gravy train, too. In most places, these are the only two choices you have! If you hear anger in this comment, it's because I am angry. I'm also terrified when I consider my future. I see the billionaires rocketing toward becoming trillionaires and the rest of us are slowly dying. P.S. The 2.6% COLA seniors are getting in January won't even cover the increase in my lot rent. Bernie said he'd like to increase SS an additional $200/month. That is exactly what we need. We have fallen so far behind the financial curve, it's ridiculous. Because every time we get a COLA, the Medicare premium rises to eat it up. I'd never vote Republican, but I understand why people do.
In Vienna (Austria) and Amsterdam a lot is known about affordable housing. Find out about it and talk about it...
fortunately we have MSM to inform the public about that,
Just kidding.
Exactly this- there needs to be a cap on rents for seniors- or we’re all going to be living in a tent on free federal land- I’m surprised this hasn’t started with a vengeance yet. It won’t just be RVers…
I don't understand why people vote Republicano. Do you think Republicans are going to fix your housing or COLA issue? Can you explain what you said about you understand why people vote Repub?
Because they're angry, too, and not everyone who is suffering has a three-digit IQ or is highly educated. The South takes pride in not educating their people. Look at what DeSantis has done in Florida, where I've lived the last ten years, during his run as governor: banning books, making it illegal to even say "climate change," controlling what teachers can and can't tell students, and scapegoating anyone who isn't white and straight. I grew up in suburban MN and spent considerable time in the Twin Cities. If I don't understand something, I research it until I'm satisfied. From what I've observed, Republicans aren't too bright. Just look at MAGA. ;) They believe Trump will give them what they need, despite never delivering a damn thing to them during the four years of his horrible presidency. They don't question; they simply believe every stupid thing he says. A solid education is vital to developing critical thinking. Meeting and talking to people don't look like you is also important. Many Southerners don't go to college or even travel much, so they never learn how interesting people can be and what others can teach them--that we all essentially want the same things from life, and we shouldn't let people like Trump divide us.
:) Sorry for the length of this comment. I sometimes get carried away.
ActuallyTheo in 2022 the Medicare premium was $170.10 in 2023 $164.90, this year it is$174.70, it has gone up and down, ostensibly because of costs.
I had a supplemental, CalPers blue cross out of state, Medicare supplement, the premium went up, for next year, by 30.74%. Insurance companies price their products based on costs, either medical care goes up or their are more and more seniors making demands or my group is getting more seriously ill.
I am fortunate to have Tricare for Life,retired military, so I cancelled Blue Cross.
It went up in '22 because they were charging in advance of a promising Alzheimer's drug being approved. It wasn't though, so Biden lowered the premium the next year. Think about that: we paid higher for that year because of a "maybe." This should NOT be allowed.
Then why has it jumped $5. from 2023 to 2024? What is the source of this info. I am unaware
There was no special reason that I know of. A year went by, the cost of everything went up... "We'd better raise the Medicare premium again." I'm guessing it's pretty much the endless greed of the medical machine. :(
Endless greed of Blackrock, Vanguard, State Street the funds that own 90% of the medical centers and hospitals. What they don't own, they operate like the Sisters of St Joseph Medical Centers in the Pacific NW.
Medicare is faultless in that regard.It's overhead is 3% and it doesn't pay out dividends. Whereas privately owned Medical Centers and Hospitals, pay out dividends and have an exorbitant overhead. Insurance companies have a 20% overhead and pay dividends to share holders
My part D plan will go up from about $10/mo to over $40/mo. I will be shopping for another plan.
Kathleen, all I hear out of the corporate media is that it is about economic and that she should sit down with them and tell them her plan, but they don't say the same about Trump, because it is not about economics, and the media creates the atmosphere and the problems.
What you see and hear from the voters is the culture war, particular the drift of Hispanic and black males away from Kamala to Harris because Trump epitomizes masculinity, and males apparently are losing power, status and control, as women, queer are gaining status and self empowerment. There are more women in university now than men, more women with degrees than men, yet women still get paid less than men for the same job.
My wife was a building official, and was constantly being torpedoes by her building inspectors, bcause there ego was hurt. She had previously worked on contract with FEMA and had the same problem there, and her subordinates were two Indian Americans, who really resented having to work for a woman.
I have seen this in a manufacturing plant where I worked. The men resent any woman who is not subservient and some will purposely cause problems and defy teamwork. (In the long run, this only hurts the company.) There are a lot of men who think more of themselves than they should. They can’t seem to accept when a woman is more intelligent.
It is the same in special ops unit. They have a self image of knuckle dragging ape, and design their entrance exams and their accession training programs around that image, the design is to eliminate anyone who isn't a macho knuckle dragger, but once in awhile, an exception gets through, and they aren't too happy and will do what they can to ensure they fail, male or female.. This is true of SEALS, AF Spec Ops, Rangers and Marine Officer Combat Leadership course.
Once you get through their weeding out process, it is smooth sailing because you will never have to put out your knuckle dragging capabilities too test, except maybe ruck sack hikes.
If you are reasonably physically fit, one can make it, as it is mainly a matter of pain endurance and mind over body.. the Will.
As a minor example. I tore the ligament in my left knee, at Ft Benning the day before I started Jump school. I had on brand new boots,not broken in and we had to double time everywhere to and from chow.
Despite the torn ligament I endured three weeks of training and the five jumps to graduate., and the pain in the daily two mile run, disappeared after the first half mile, but set in with a thud, when we stopped. The instructors noticed my limp and tried to get me to self eliminate and I told them to stuff it.
I share your certainty. Maybe we just can’t believe our neighbors are so abjectly idiotic—tho their street signs suggest they may be.
yes my thoughts too as I expressed elsewhere on this ss. At least a little historical perspective in Harris speech needed.
Bingo.
And let’s not forget that other odorous elephant in the room: a Trump victory will at some point yield a Vance presidency. It may come through impeachment number three, Vance and the Cabinet getting on board with the 25th Amendment, or a croaking heard around the world.
Then we have Peter Thiel pulling all the strings as Vance’s lifelong benefactor. Project 2025 will be tame compared to that.
The Springfield News-Sun and my own paper, the Dayton Daily News, have come out and said Vance’s behavior is unworthy of his office. Neither Trump or Vance are worthy candidates, and these are supposedly the best the GOP has to offer? I hate that Vance is my senator and want desperately to keep Sherrod Brown, who is good at his job. Thiel gave us a poisonous liar, bigot and misogynist when JD Vance got into office. I didn’t vote for him.
Good point Kathy. After all who reads WAPO andNYT but the chattering class, Joe six pack, and Jane Doe certainly don't.
Even if the MAGA cult do not regain the White House both America and the rest of the world will be having to negotiate their politically captured enraged populations, maliciously created by abuses of power by neo liberal economic deregulation by and for these morbidly wealthy. As they own most corporate media in the US and UK and Australia and play on people’s fear, greed and rage (created by them and their oligarch sponsors) they will continue to hold on to social power and manipulate politics.
not an easy fight is it
It is both generational and a constant one 🐈⬛
like I said, the nightmare scenarios are endless. We need to be alert but not overwhelmed with nightmares.
I fleshed out this notion on Daily Kos. Please check it out and participate in the poll at the end. There are a lot of options to choose from at least in this kind of vote… https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/10/28/2280382/-Will-Mega-Billionaire-Peter-Thiel-Be-President-Via-Proxy-J-D-Vance-in-2025
Has this article been shared with the Harris campaign?
Eithne, I believe it needs to be!
I’m not rich and my family struggles with the high prices of food and the cost of running a home. Luckily, I have a home and don’t have to worry about buying one. My 401K is doing well and I am a few years from retirement. The economy is not my concern. My daughter’s reproductive rights and the hate filled rhetoric are what concerns me and I will vote for Harris/Walz. Send Trump to prison and get on with our lives!
I agree 100%. Folks are underestimating the concerns of women in this election. Abortion rights is a huge deal. But women’s rights and health have always taken back seat to men’s concerns which usually center around money. It is time that men learn it isn’t a “man’s world”.
Professor Reich, please call her and repeat what you just wrote! This is extremely important! Many of us who support Kamala and have worked hard to get her elected know exactly what the orange man represents and who he is. We don't need to hear that message anymore. If she were to spell out her plan to help people who are still upset about the economy, many would love her ideas and solutions! Someone needs to let her know that Americans know how awful the orange man is, what they want to know is how she is going to tackle what they consider a problem with the economy. She'd win in a landslide! If she loses, so many will come back and say "If only she hadn't fixated on trump" "If only she had explained her position on the economy". Well, as my pop always said, "If a frog had wings, he wouldn't bump his butt every time he hopped!" Vote blue, America, up and down the ballot!
Kamala is talking straight and honestly to all Americans where Trump is only talking to racists and fascists and misogynists who agree with him! I don’t believe there are too many American women who are voting for a man who wants to put them back in the kitchen and be submissive to their commanders! This election should be a Democratic landslide but the corporate media would lose bigly if they reported the news honestly!
Kids. Don't drink the poison. The polls are being heavily manipulated. Manipulated by phony, "republican" (neo-repub) polling outfits that have sprung up in the past couple of weeks to skew the averages.
HOLD FAST.
If not done already, please vote early, encourage others to do the same. Have a relaxing beverage, Donate to vote blue. Get a good night's sleep tonight.
We will win this.
YES, Doc Blase! People are too easily manipulated! I really think we are already seeing an unprecedented voter turn-out and it’s the threat to Democracy that’s doing it. Landslide for Harris/Walz, I believe.
These are great ideas.I have already voted-for Harris/Walz!-but we do need to get the word out that Harris will help get the prices down and wages up.I meself am tired of my paycheck being gone within a couple days of payday,and stay broke the majority of the rest of the time.I understand the concept of millionaire monopolies raising prices to benefit themselves,but many do not.That should be put out better too,as well as a real plan to fix this issue.
If y'all haven't already,get out there and vote.We need all hands on deck for this one.
I too completed my assignment this weekend. There were a lot more people at the courthouse to vote than there usually are on the weekend, and I voted early because I know Election Day will be a mess.
I hope Kamala Harris takes inspiration from history. Now would be a good time for her to read up on President Theodore Roosevelt's performance against the monopolistic corporations of John D Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, J P Morgan and others.
I think it included Andrew Mellon, whose (great?) grandson Timothy (I hope I got the names right) has been the top contributor to Trump's campaign with something like $150 million.
Timothy is probably his great grandson. The late Richard Mellon Scaife, who also inherited a large amount of money, would also be out supporting the Orange Menace.
It's the economy, stupid! Harris MUST go all out on populism.
@ Michael Hutchinson. Nah! The polls are wrong. It's the culture. The economy is great. It's a classic pretext.
Gen Z have never voted previously and therefore are probably considered "unlikely" and uncounted by the polls. 25% of the electorate are Gen Z. Consider the Swifty, Beyonce, David Hogg effect. FT 6 says it has produced 5 million "new" voters in swing states
REPRISE: 1. Uncle Sam needs you! https://www.mobilize.us/ (And me.)
2. Please repeatedly post "not suckers or losers" comments in social media. According to Facebook, there are 4 million veterans and active duty members on Facebook, as well as 12.5 million family members and 242 million friends with veterans or active duty members. Military sites, veterans' organizations, historical sites. Vote vets has already flipped many 2016 and 2020 Trump voters. 3. It's up to people like you who are on social media.... when you comment you'll see what I mean. Many of the people involved are dependents, family members, friends and neighbors who are interested in the military and or national security and for whom this is news. Takes repetition and substantiation by people they trust.
(Here’s what I posted on my Facebook page, along with the picture of Steve wearing his Not Suckers or Losers T-shirt):
“This is our friend and ex-neighbor Steve in Ohio. His Harris/Walz yard signs are being pulled down quite often. Steve is a Vietnam war Marine battle veteran who fought for all of us to have the right to vote. He considers himself amazingly lucky to have survived when so many of his fellow soldiers did not.
He asked me to try to find a sign with this quotation on it, but I thought sending him a shirt to wear would be the way to go.
Thank you Steve for fighting for our freedom! Wear your shirt proudly and freely, because those who fought for our great country are NOT suckers and losers!
Semper Fidelis Steve!
Daniel, all good. But there are a lot of people at the bottom who are still feeling the price of bacon and blaming Biden and Harris. Remember Trump's opening line at the Nazi rally last night: "Do you feel better off than you did 4 years ago?"
IMHO, Harris has been too defensive on the economy. Reich is right.
Harris should say:
The economy in every country in the world was hit hard by Covid.
We are doing better than any other advanced country, interest rates are already coming down, and will continue to do so.
I understand that prices are still too high, in large part due to corporate price gouging.
I will go after the price gougers, as only a prosecutor can.
1. More importantly, IN THEIR HEARTS THEY KNOW TRUMP IS NUTS.
America is not a garbage country. WE'RE NUMBER !. Number 1 economy. Number 1 because we have a social net. Number 1 militarily. The rest of the world wants to come here, be like us.
2. Trump CAUSED inflation by forcing higher oil prices, which started a ripple effect, like a snowball running down a mountain. The people who are makin' bacon are Trump's Chinese allies that control companies like Smithfield, control the commodities market. At the same time Trump's real message is RACISM.
He says. migrants coming to the U.S. from China are men of “military” or “fighting” age who may be coming here to form a sort of “army,” suggesting their intent is to attack the country. It’s important to pay attention to Trump’s rhetoric in part because so many of his followers believe what he says: Trump’s false claims about the 2020 election led to the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol, and targeting Asians could have potentially dangerous consequences given the widespread attacks against Asian Americans since the Covid-19 pandemic. https://www.ap.org/news-highlights/best-of-the-week/second-winner/2024/ap-team-provides-a-reality-check-on-trumps-potentially-dangerous-rhetoric-about-chinese-migrants/.
3. “There’s a lot going on. Like, I don’t know if you know this but there’s literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. I think it’s called Puerto Rico,” comedian Tony Hinchcliffe.
Where I live, Florida, over a million Puerto Ricans. Many Pentecostal MAGATs desde ayer!
Hoy dia, Boricuas para Kamala.
"Sen. Rick Scott was compelled to respond to a joke told by an undercard speaker at Donald Trump’s rally in New York City Sunday, stressing his affinity for Puerto Ricans after a comedian disparaged the “island of garbage.”
“This joke bombed for a reason. It’s not funny and it’s not true. Puerto Ricans are amazing people and amazing Americans! I’ve been to the island many times. It’s a beautiful place. Everyone should visit! I will always do whatever I can to help any Puerto Rican in Florida or on the island,” Scott posted to social media.
https://floridapolitics.com/archives/703832-rick-scott-does-damage-control-after-trump-rally-comics-puerto-rico-rip/
Michael, people don't care about how other countries are doing, they only care about themselves. And I really don't think people will be voting because of the price of bacon,price of eggs has gone down. There is something else, more deeper in the pysche that drive people to vote. Economics is only one factor or an excuse.
People want a living Jesus, a savior, and the pull of a strongman is great.
Sadly Farrar is right. People in America seems to care little about what is going on in other countries economically. And i don;t think people will make a choice purely on economics. There is something going on in people psyches. The question is, if people want a savior, why are they wanting that more than in past elections? Is the pull of a strongman really that great? Trump defeated in 2020. If he wins in 2024 it will be in large measure because of all the corrupt money that has laid the groundwork and pitched in to promote Trump and elect him. This is both domestic and overseas money.
I've been watching My Generation, a docuseries Daniel. You are correct, especially as regards the females, the males, on the other hand, are Joe Rogan fans, not all but most, however females are more inclined to vote than males., especially with female rights on the line.
I do hope Robert, that you have the opportunity - TODAY - to convey your thought on her closing argument to KH herself. Please pass it on!
Thanks for all you are doing to protect our country.
Our country currently has the greatest economy on the planet, no matter what the Republicans say. Kamala has defined her purpose while Trump poses a clear and present danger. The man at some point may develop the ability to speak coherently. Kamala, or as I call her--Pamala with a "K," will be our next president. I can't wait to hear the lies Trump cooks-up to explain that.
We may have the greatest economy, but we’ve never had to worry about things like identity theft, scams, the sale of personal info by Corp., etc more than we do now. It doesn’t help that the tech bros have shown themselves to be megalomaniacs (and they have all our data!). I may have had less when I was younger, but it was more peaceful.
I have to respectfully disagree that her message has focused on mainly the direct threat the disgraced ex president is to our democracy, in every speech I have watched she has outlined her specific policies for the working class and now most registered voters believe she cares more about them. I also disagree about his supposed "surge", in early voting there is a significant gender gap, young voters are voting in record numbers and the she can count on Haley Republican votes, as well. The polling models I have seen show that she's poised to win the election along with Professor Alan Lichtman's "key" model that has allowed him to successfully predict presidential outcomes for the last forty years. He was asked last night if he stuck with his position and he replied, despite the political vicissitudes, he is still confident in his prediction. I know that Kamala's address online the ellipse will, once again, focus on her policies for the middle class. In the end,the polling models, for so many political cycles, have been erroneous. What I see is an incredible enthusiasm for the candidate, filled stadiums, and that the momentum is clearly on her side. On the other side you see sparsely filled venues with people leaving while the exhausted candidate rambles on. To me there is no uncertainty about the outcome of this election, it is Harris all the way!
Robert, I agree that voters make decisions based on how things feel in their personal lives much of the time. But Trump doesn't seem to have to have anything to offer whatsoever except racism, misogyny, and cruelty. I guess his audiences just love seeing him be a "bad boy" and don't really care about the price of eggs unless they're being polled about Kamala. Then, all of a sudden, that's all that matters and however much her policies promise, they're still not sure.
For many, having endured decades of rising social and economic injustice, the visceral thirst for revenge ‘trumps’ any sense of self preservation or rationale. MAGA is a blood lust cult that reacts with extreme mob violence to whatever dog whistles their leadership deploys. As their lived woes are real but their true enemies well hidden behind Fox News style obfuscation and psychological manipulation, they continue to be a gift to the morbidly wealthy who control and exploit them for personal profit. If MAGA individuals ever wake up and see the enemy within, it will lead to a second American Revolution.
they see him as strong. they believe he is a successful businessman and will “ fix it” - they believe the myth he has woven
He’s a weakling and won’t do a thing for them instead of encouraging to blame their fellow Americans for their economic predicament and encouraging people to vote for the Republicans who have helped to destroy the middle class.
The scary thing is that 50% of American LIKE Trump's racist, misogynistic and cruel rhetoric. What does that say about Americans, and America going forward from here, whomever get the Presidency?
Not 50%, Alternative. A third, at best, and probably less than that. A very vocal minority, and then thousands of trolls and bots.
We shall finally find out next week. Truth will out!