BTW! To find out where to see the "The Last Class" film, visit thelastclassfilm.com. It's playing in 49 theaters across 22 states, and more locations are being announced daily. (If you don't see a theater near you, you can also bring it to your local theater you by selecting "host a screening.") Thanks, all.
Mornin' y'all. Your president has just landed in MY country, Scotland, which apparently consists of two golf courses with pretty scenery, peopled by dim, smiling yokels and hill-billies.
We hate the fucker. This from today's Guardian understates matters, but you get the gist.
We hear you. Imagine having to live with him as your national leader. At least you guys can get rid of him after he plays a few rounds of golf. We have to keep him until he rots away.
I think all of these issues are important. Most distressing, however, is the number of Palestine's innocent children, old people, parents, and others who simply want to get on with their lives. Yet, they're starving or being killed simply for asking for a bottle of water. They have nothing to do with Hamas or the politics of Palestine. They just want to survive and make it to the next day.
(So much for our national obsession with "the value of life.") Same with those who are incarcerated. I think the guards and the ICE goons actually enjoy grabbing people off the street and treating them like vermin. How is this different from Nazi Germany?
Mandy Patinkin, a Jewish man himself, is screaming at Israel because it forgets that "never again" is now a distant memory. The things that were done to the Jewish population is now being done to others... by the Israeli government. In just a few decades, they've forgotten their own holocaust as they rain another one on Palestine. Here's his clip, which has been roundly criticized by the Israeli government. https://www.instagram.com/reel/DMFpqmxNOj7/
Every day, there's a new reason to be disgusted and to be embarrassed as American citizens. I have MAGA friends telling me that finally justice is coming for the liberals. What justice? These people are supporting an embarrassing bunch of legislators and Cabinet members. And the news media are caving in to them. The military officers are caving in to them. Universities are caving in to them.
There's an old saying that you can break individual sticks. But when you tie them into a bundle, they're impossible to break. Why can't these institutions understand that? Joining together is the answer. Standing up as a group is the answer.
Believe me, our media obsesses over the prick every day.
There is no ocean on Earth wide enough. Sane people across the globe know that they have a horse in this race.
I do sympathise with you having to share a county with him, but his policies affect us all.
I think it's high time Americans stopped being so polite to each other. If your neighbours are Trumpists, ostracise them. If they attempts to engage you in conversation, ignore them. If they persist, verbally abuse them.
LOL!! I love your spirit! I am a person who loves my family no matter what. It's part of the genetics in my ethnic culture. But I can't talk about Trump to any of them without it devolving into a tense debate, so we keep the peace for the sake of weddings, funerals, etc. As for my friends who are MAGA, I can boot them from my life easily without looking back.
I did. All of them. Family, friends, former military I served with. I can't associate with those full of hate and greed. And their reverence for their MAGA leader turns my stomach.
It depends. I have some MAGA friends who aren't rabid. They like Trump, but they don't get intense about it, and they admit to things that they don't like about his EOs. I don't have a huge problem with moderate Republicans, but I draw the line with those who can't discuss issues by using references and evidence. I have stopped interacting with those who get all their opinions from memes. You can't reason with them.
I don't believe in cutting off everyone who disagrees with me. Then I have no chance to bring them around. Or them to bring me around. For instance, I believed a video I saw of someone discussing sexual interactions she had with Trump. I offered it up to a Republican as proof. And then I found out on a couple of fact-checking sites that the video was manufactured. I had to backtrack on my evidence in that instance.
One of my Republican friends voted for and supports Trump. But he started dating a woman who he described as "over the top" in her admiration for Trump. So, he stopped seeing her. I can understand that.
Conventional wisdom says that we should welcome Republicans or former MAGAs who start to see the light. Other friends are beyond reason, so I just don't associate with them. No sense losing my precious minutes on people who have no hope of changing.
Mine are all diehard MAGAts. They're so far in the dark that they'll never see the light. Even if they did, that would not fix their racism and lack of empathy.
As much as I appreciate the sentiment of ignoring and abusing, I feel that becoming "more like them" is a kind of defeat. We must stand up for decency, morality, and civility while we vote this world menace out of office!
martin - Nothing like both countries taxpayers having to pay for him to play golf and open yet another golf course while he is losing money on the other ones. I hope that both T and Vance have horrible vacations especially since we are the ones who are paying for them. Sorry that he has invaded your country but wish you could keep him.
I think Penelope was talking about ignoring and abusing Trump supporters. We can't be like them because it brings us to their ugly level. We should be better than that. By being abusive, we're not going to do anything more than make MAGAs dig in their heels and use it as "proof" that liberals are angry haters.
As for "ignoring" them, I think it is useful when you keep talking to a brick wall. Or it's useful when all they want is attention. Keep on the right path and do what is necessary to prevail. Some people really should be ignored... if only for our own mental health.
Canadian here. Trump's tariff insanity is adversely affecting the economy/well-being of every country across the globe. Nowhere to be found is any hope for "relief" from these bizarre intimidation tactics, the greed and malice inflicted by this global menace, a Hitler wannabe 'madman'.
Yet, many in govt positions of influence are downplaying this unfolding tragedy, pretending it's no big deal. IT'S A BIG DEAL. Take tourism; pleas from state Governors for Canadians to return to the USA, welcome signs, ad campaigns (we love you!), reminders of our close relationship - it's not working. Threats to Canadian sovereignty (51st state), punishing tariffs intended to destroy our economy, border intimidation, police state ICE goons kidnapping folks, concentration camps, etc. It paints an ugly, ugly picture.
Your elected officials need to start telling the truth. The USA is no longer a safe place for your own citizens, let alone those from other countries. They need to start talking about the real reason few now want to visit the US: trump and his entourage have turned it into a fascistic nightmare. They should take a cue from Gavin Newsom. Stop running cover, things are far from okay. Oppose and fight the regime- loudly.
I've dumped the few people I know who are magas, I liken them to Nazis. However ignorant, uneducated, naïve and brainwashed they may be, they've chosen to embrace delusion, cruelty and hatred. I simply can't be around it, it's not healthy.
Trump owes the corporate media a deep debt of gratitude, for it is the media that made him, real estate, actor and president. And he displays his gratitude by suborning his fans. Hmm, the media and MAGA, they both adore him and he shits on them both.
"Hmm, the media and MAGA, they both adore him and he shits on them both"
'Heaven hath no rage like love to hatred turned" (William Congreve in The Mourning Bride)
When this adoration starts to wane, Trump will evaporate. His supporters are completely emotionally driven, cogent intellectual activity being alien to them. When emtional tides change, it's game over.
Nice thought, but the regime is way past dependence on the support of it's base. It has it's hands on the leavers of power, the purse and the police,and with no regard for the laws, constitution or public will, it will do as it pleases and squash the opposition.
It has already shown what it can do, so why are we in denial.?
Oh I see, there are those among us who still believe we live in a democratic republic with free and fair elections. I understand.
Noted, but try to remember this. You are many, they are few. It might get ugly, but the Trumpists are a tiny minority.
I think of Nicolae Ceauşescu when the troops decided they weren't prepared to fire on their own people.
Ceauşescu missed Christmas dinner in 1989.
************
Alternnativly, you could persevere with your pessimism - which I get, I really do - but this kind of defeatism is precisely why you have this imbecile as POTUS.
I think trump is now a clown figure, acting to distract the world from the coming double disasters. I thought that Climate Chaos alone would be the force that would destroy us human predators. However, having started reading Yuval Harari's "Nexus," I see that AI is joining in. The amount of energy it takes to produce all the technology that is being created; the huge need, being ignored, for self-correcting code for the robotics that are being produced, amog other aspects, will certainly speed up destruction. I think people sense this and fear the iminent loss of jobs, loss of habitat, loss of a future and many have regressed to a rather primitive, caveman level. Hence, strong man leaders; grab as much as you can -- not enough to go around; do not treat your neighbor as you wish to be treated; hate the others who not only don't look like you, but who aren't part of your tribe. It doesn't matter what happens to trump. All the mechanisms are being cemented in place for what we thought was a science-fiction future: Brave New World, Matrix, I Robot, 1984/2025.
While I understand where you and 48 people so far are coming from, and I feel that way myself on occasion, I'm still for staying peaceful and civil. We still have to live with these MAGAs and IMHO, while many have personal shortcomings that made them susceptible to the VERY clever manipulations of the Heritage Foundation, I think many can be reached & rehabbed. While there were and still are some very diabolically shewed players exploiting the weakness in the entire population of America, if we don't settle our differences and see where things went wrong, we may Take America Back Again TABA for now, but history will repeat itself.
Trump is a Con Man with a force of Billionaire Con men in the shadows supporting him. If/When we TABA- those shadow men will still be there, waiting & working for another chance.
The most difficult thing about a Democracy and living in Freedom is giving freedom to everybody else ESPECIALLY when we despise their choices.
Bottom line: we can't kill them all and hopefully WE do NOT want to.
"Ostracise them. If they attempt to engage you in conversation, ignore them. If they persist, verbally abuse them."
This method doesn't work. The country has become "us and them" for the past 10 years and it hasn't worked any better.
I've watched a TED talk and participated in a webinar over the last few years that introduced me to Loretta J. Ross, a professor and civil rights activist with over 50 years of experience. A book she's written based on her own experience as a Black woman in a Racist society is another way to look at the shitstorm we are living in via a lens of hope.
TED TALK: Loretta J. Ross: Don't call people out -- call them in
It’s always the question: should we co-opt the other groups’ tactics sinking to their level? Or should we try reason and facts to combat what they believe and are doing?
I believe we need a Project D 2027 telling the country what we will do when we take our country back!! I’m a life long Dem but I’m considering changing to Dem Socialist. The model of the big tent is not working! Let’s focus on what the working people of this country want and need. I’m tired of living in an oligarchy, something we’ve been slowly becoming for decades!!!
Our media is weak when it comes to talking truth to power about trump. To some extent I understand their reasoning but reporters do your damn job. Loosing your job is minor compared to what people are going through bc the truth is not in print.
Oh, believe me we do ignore people that are MAGA, or cut off any ties with them. First we try to talk some sense into them, but sometimes they are too far gone. They are cult members. I have cut off friendships with two people that fell for his BS.
We are not being polite to them. There is a fine line though. We have to be careful, or we will be attacked. Many of them are heavily armed with guns.
We can sign petitions & protest, but it is getting us nowhere. The people in power are doing nothing. Our courts are corrupt.
So true. Too many Israelis in power have sold out their rich and admirable Jewish heritage of social justice in favor of blind, vindictive, hateful animus toward Palestinians. They use Hamas as an excuse. Is that why Netanyahu had Arab countries pay Hamas to continue to rule in the Gaza strip? The State of Israel is sewing seeds that will destroy it.
This is a tragic thing. A group of people whose parents and grandparents went through the Holocaust, and they are doing this. I had more hope for humanity before this happened.
Didn't you read this weeks parsha? Go back and read the last verse of Numbers. I'm not disputing your take on presrnt times, but it's nothing new. And this is what the hard right plays on.
I agree all are important but to me it’s the media. How will we get our information about all of these important issues. Will we be able to trust them if they are either in trumps’s pocket of afraid to report what is happening because of his revenge obsession. Look at what Hitler did. It is far enough back and there have been numerous studies to show how it was done. Goebbelswas a master at propaganda and succeeding dictators have followed his lead.
One might point out that Hitler also rid himself of the Reischtag; our legislative branch, the US Congress just got dismissed by Johnson, Trump's well-placed lackey!
All parts of society. Medical (remember euthanasia for those who were ill or disabled), the Central Banker( think of Jerome Powell), the military, his storm troopers, SS (ICE). The Republicans in the House and Senate, for the most part are totally subservient to their fuhrer
Hitler neutralized the power of the Reichstag, the legislative power. Like trump has been doing to Congress with the consent of the GOP.
The Reichstag Fire:
In February 1933, the Reichstag building burned down. The Nazis blamed the fire on communists, using it as justification to suppress political opposition.
Reichstag Fire Decree:
Following the fire, the Reichstag Fire Decree was enacted, suspending fundamental rights like freedom of speech, press, and assembly, essentially suspending democracy.
Enabling Act:
In March 1933, the Enabling Act was passed, granting Hitler's government the power to enact laws without the consent of the Reichstag, further undermining the parliament's authority. Kind of like trump's executive orders.
But without an enabling act.
Continued Existence, Limited Power:
Although the Reichstag continued to exist, it became a rubber stamp for Nazi policies, with Hitler and his party holding ultimate power.
Nazi Control:
The Nazis, through the Reichstag Fire Decree and the Enabling Act, effectively neutralized the Reichstag as a functioning legislative body and established a totalitarian regime.
It's sobering that 40% of the good people who responded to Prof. Reich's question of the day could find any of the admittedly grave problems he listed more important than the genocidal starvation of an entire subjugated population, including its children--and their murder when they go to the few operating food stations or find themselves in one of the last hospitals--now only Nasser Hospital is (partly) functioning after repeated shelling over the last couple months. The children look like the survivors found in the liberation of Auschwitz. https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/maps-lifesaving-clinic-gaza-forced-suspend-services-amid-israels-latest-ground-assault I just saw a video of a moving Israeli protest--Jews and Palestinians together--but the people are mostly under a news blackout in a controlled media environment, know far less than we do about their government's doings. So yes, crucial to protect our media--so we can protest our own government's cruelty, and the starvation that the "Big Beautiful Bill" will engender --after the midterms.
Mary - Agree with you and the republicans designed much of the worst parts(even though it is all horrible) to occur after the midterms hoping to win before people realize that they have been screwed. People needing FEMA assistance right now are not getting help but they just awarded a company with a FEMA grant to build another tent concentration camp in Texas that won’t be completed until 2027.
None of these countries leaders, or groups, take T seriously. Russia, North Korea, Iran, China, Israel, Yemen, Houthi, Hamas, ISIS, etc. are given “ultimatums” and when they ignore them T gives them another extension. The U.S. has cancelled/reduced our soft power and humanitarian assistance while shuttering agencies or restructuring them. All the while people are dying while these people (including republicans) change the reasons for their continuing onslaught against humanity.
Kathleen, adding to the nightmare is peoples reliance on Social Media--awful. As a former active journalist and advocate, I feared the people wouldn't know what sources to trust with the advent of the Internet--for me the concern arose in 1997.
Excellent post, as always, Donna. It is the children that I am most concerned and worried about. These young children have absolutely nothing to do with the fighting being done by adults, yet they have to bear the brunt of that fighting. Right now, their little minds are very impressionable. The ones that survive this torture will grow up with anger in their hearts for whoever they perceive caused them such trauma and pain. Is it any wonder that so many young adults in war-torn areas hate Americans. They see us as the enemy that brought such hardships on them when they were just children. This cycle will continue until this world realizes that wars and hate are just not working. As our world progresses more and more to a global society, I hope that acts of war and divisive hate will no longer be tolerated.
The remaining 5% concerns your reference to "fighting being done by adults." I'm not aware of much "fighting" at all, just ongoing slaughter by one side that's depicted in the pro-Israel media (e.g. NY Times) as "fighting."
I guess I was thinking about the fighting in Ukraine, between Israel and Palestine and other areas but fighting can also be done with words. The right and the left are using words to push their hate, anger and division with each other and our children hear that. Adults may think that kids aren't paying attention, but they are. Sorry if I misled you, Tom.
Even worse Peggy, what's happening today is discouraging young people everywhere who seem to be giving up. I fear high rates of suicide among the young, old, and disabled these days
Peggy, like you, I was thinking about the people who fight with words, and as William F. pointed out, I too have seen some of those people with words and addresses carrying great anger based on their prejudices and wrong information, which promotes their fears, from lies some media sources keep fresh in their minds. To explain to them calmly, or even to politely mention a fact, is to rile them greatly. Then they, the angry gun carrying people, accuse the explainer of believing the wrong news sources. Some of the followers believe that although they are recognizing concerns now, the next leader in line is well educated and will be better. Again, they are missing a lot of necessary information. Being outnumbered and in the midst of angry, misled, gun carrying people within the population limits a person’s ability to carry on as one might in a different situation. There are times when staying informed, yet not engaging in political conversations, writing letters or signing petitions, and voting are the only actions some people can use and possibly even to survive to be able to vote.
I’m sorry that I split an infinitive in my comment. Instead of writing “…even to politely mention a fact… “, I should have written “…even to mention a fact politely…”, but I do know better than to split an infinitive.
Since I do live in a sea of red, I try not to incite anyone who obviously follows the orange man at all costs! I do continue with my letter writing, petitions, phone calls and protest and I will most assuredly get out and vote. We absolutely must continue to fight and resist every way that we can.
Yes, I believe we are. Technology allows us to communicate all around the globe. As we progress, climate change may make some areas in our world uninhabitable. I believe we will move to an economic system on a global rather than national basis. We interact with one another more and the need to come together to help one another will become stronger as the future unfolds. It will not happen in the near future, but I do believe it will happen.
Thank you for naming what so many of us are feeling. The heartbreak of watching innocent people suffer, whether in Gaza, behind bars, or in detention centers, is a pain that cuts deep, especially when we know it does not have to be this way.
What gives me a thread of hope is exactly what you pointed to: the strength we have when we stand together. Whether it is artists like Mandy Patinkin speaking truth or ordinary people refusing to stay silent, collective courage matters.
The dehumanization we are witnessing is not just a political failure, it is a moral crisis. And yet, every act of solidarity, every moment of clarity, every refusal to look away helps shape a different future. One rooted not in fear or vengeance but in dignity, justice, and love for all beings.
May we have the strength to stay awake and stand together.
We ache for everyone suffering and everyone anywhere who is being mistreated. It is an ache that never entirely leaves us. We ache for freedoms lost and freedoms threatened, and for the justice that is not being carried out. It is such a gift to find anyone who shares the caring and the goals of recognizing truth and standing for good.
United we stand. Divided we fall, for sure. I also saw that Patinkin video.
So the desire for retribution against liberals overrides thoughts and feelings about their own self-interest, properly considered. It will come home to them.
Some news media, some military officers, some universities are caving in. Not all by any means. Be clear on that lest we promote a possible juggernaut.
Yes. That said, some of the biggest ones are caving. Trump is smart to pick off the biggest ones first. That way, he can take the smaller ones more easily. Also, the bigger ones have deeper pockets... adding more cash to his insane desire to become the richest person in the world. That's why he is attacking California first. Harvard first. Columbia first. Paramount first. Why go after a community college when you can get the big prize first?
Donna.....you have stated everything perfectly and I agree with everything you have stated.
I wish Netanyahu would leave Israel and go to a country where the ICC can arrest.him for war crimes or hijack his plane. What he is doing is genocide of the Palestinian people which totally disgusts me. There is probably not much we can do on our end except sign petitions against this horrific genocide and contribute money to World Kitchen which is run be Jose Andres who is terrific. Any and every war and/or catastrophe his group is there to feed people.
Martin from Scotland: Please forcibly remove him yourself, ANY WAY YOU WISH! Hit him with a putter or a four-iron and toss him into the sea! We sure the fuck don't want him back here!
It is UNBELIEVABLE to me that "King" Charles has invited Trump to come visit him and Camilla in September and stay at their home!! Ol' Charlie must be getting as demented and senile as Trump is! You would think Camilla would have more sense than that and would try and talk some sense into Charles! Maybe one of them will get sick suddenly and they'll have to cancel! Ha! Ha!
Keir Starmer very stupidly invited Trump hoping for a better trade deal with the 🇺🇸 instead of taking a leaf from Carney’s book but because 🇬🇧 left the EU and it’s customs union they are desperate for trade deals at any cost. If they had at least stayed in the customs union both the EU and 🇬🇧 would be in a stronger position to resist the bully that is Trump and his administration
I was speaking of the September visit when he will meet the king the invitation was handed personally to Trump by Starmer in February I seem to remember
Not my goldarn president. Stop lazy uninformed even saying it! Remember the old idea that a great American idea was "safeguards" against "tyranny of the majority?" Well, lookout, we got us "tyranny of the MINORITY" and obviously shitty "safeguards" against that! So when I say, stop calling that poisonous creep my president, I am actually speaking for MOST AMERICANS!
Better still, take metal pole 8 feet long the same diameter as a golf ball. Fashion one end into a golf ball shape, texture and paint it accordingly. Then you take a mell and bang the thing into the ground just off a dog-leg where the approaching Trump can't see you. A good swing at this should break his wrist at least. If all else fails, shove it up his ass.
You’re luckier than we are. When his term ends, your country can deny him entry for the rest of his life, given that he’s a convicted felon. We’re stuck with him.
Same. But I’m hoping our first step post-firestorm will be to join the ICC. We’ve proven that we’re incapable of self-governance without oversight. Incinerating 500 tons of food while children are starving to death? Protecting rich and powerful sexual predators who exploited underage girls? Silencing the victims with NDAs? Let ICC render a judgement. If convicted, a number of ICC member nations have prisons with “harsh” conditions: Argentina has Mendoza, El Salvador has Ciudad Barrios, Kenya has Kamiti, and Congo has Makala. In those places, the negative consequences of low flow shower heads on “beautiful” hair won’t recognized as a basic human right.
Given that these days one can be arrested here for "hate crime" if you upset a trans by using the wrong pronoun, then they probably can. We also have strict gun laws. Trump's visit is a private one, so there is no legal basis for his goons walking around with Glocks, which would mean a mandatory minimum of 5 years even if it is a non-functioning replica.
But we do have the Dangerous Dogs Act, which are widely applied these days, particularly in regard of the American Pit Bull and XL Bully.
A pointlessly vicious kick in the face to trans people doesn't enrich your otherwise rational post. Kick 'em when they're down--robbed of health care, rights at work, safety on the streets--why?
"Kick 'em when they're down--robbed of health care, rights at work, safety on the streets--why?"
You mean Gazans? In the scheme of things, trans 'issues' are not uppermost in many people's minds. They're not disabled. Their 'minority' status and consequent victimhood is entirely self-declared. There's far too much moral equivalence running around unchecked.
It wasn't a 'kick', it was a mild prod and nothing compared to the damage to my country's governance caused by a handful of attention-seeking 'trans-activists', most of whom aren't actually trans but like a good bit of virtue signaling.
What is especially not being accented in the U.S. news media is THE UNITED STATES COMPLICITY AND COLLABORATION!! The Gaza Humanitarian Fund set up by The U.S. is a friggin’ joke!
Thank you! Maybe it’s a United States thing, but the bad grammar and bad spelling I see all over social media is really getting to me. Someone out there somewhere will call you a “grammar Nazi“. No, you are advocating for proper communication. You know, the kind by which people can actually understand each other. People are here are constantly using the apostrophe for the plural. Don’t ask me why. Probably a symptom of the dumbing down of our school system.
These 5 days in Scotland, I have no doubt, he will award himself some kind of award for being the best golfer ever and tell glowing stories about how much he is beloved by the Scottish people. I wonder how, deep down, it feels to him to be the most hated person in the world.
We Scots are less polite than Americans. We prefer honesty, and we use foul language as casually as Americans eat candy. Yes we fucking well do.
We're also not too keen on descendents of Scots emigres waltzing back and behaving as if they own the place and have some kind of ancestral claim of right.
I promise you, if Trump departs under any illusion that he is anything other than detested here, then he really is delusional. Oh, that's right.....
But, but, but he is the most loved person in all of human history. How did you not know that? Really, just ask him. And yes, his powers of delusion truly are that great.
The wonderful people of Scotland have our deepest sympathies. I know YOU all don't play at his golf courses, how about organizing an international boycott of them?
We hate him too! He travels on US taxpayers money to set up new golf courses and his private business! The maga GOP House and Senate have given him their power! His cabinet secretaries are his personal corrupt sychopants!
We'd sell tickets and offer pay per view. It would likely knock a big hole in our national debt. Removing him to Russia and his boyfriend Putin's loving care would be great...second choice would be dropping him off in Iran or North Korea.
Uggh. Me too man. I am sorry he's polluting the air in your most beautiful country. Wow. He's doing so much for our country. Wow. stealing land to build another ugly golf course for ultra rich crap. It's disgusting. Good for you guys in Scotland for calling him out. Hopefully he just goes away. Forever.
Trump's denial of his involvement with Mr. Epstein is way too "strong." An innocent man would allow things to play out in real time. There is a law on the books that states if an individual has knowledge of a felony being committed yet does nothing to report it to the authorities, that individual is guilty of a crime. Trump knew of Epstein's abuse of underaged girls and never reported it. Guilty-Guilty-Guilty! JD is holding a copy of the 25th amendment, and he has a Hillbilly grin on his face.
Thanks for the update, Martin. Shakespeare is alive and well in some theaters and learning centers. I look forward to refreshers as well as to rereading my copies after catching up on the long list of more immediate needs. Also, it has been a long time ago, but I did get to attend a performance at the Globe Theater. I like variety, but those were pleasures.
That is a quote the way I have often heard it, Klare! Thank you. I remember hearing it said that way by many people rather than recalling the direct source myself. I have attended many shakespearean plays after having read them through the years, but time has passed since then.
I like to think many Israeli people are in the same position as we are. They have a criminal leader who the extreme right keeps in place to do the retribution they crave.
'Many', but not nearly enough, and the Diaspora are busy blackmailing every world leader with accusations of anti-Semitism if they dare call Israel out.
If this was happening in any other country, The West would be piling in.
What's happening in Gaza (oh, the shame of it!) is extremely important, but - at least in my world - it's not getting buried so much. I think the initial "Alligator" and "Congo" shock of the extent of his "ICE detention centers" (more aptly called concentration camps) has waned and people may be losing track of just how big this has gotten and how at-risk all of us are.
The nauseating immorality of this administration, their utter unreliability--we can't even trust them to protect our food supply, or make the right call on vaccines. The silver lining? We now know who lacks integrity and who we can count on to stand tall with unwavering resolve.
Hello Hopeful... Sowing Chaos, and Destruction are two of DJT's SuperPowers... They will get worse as DJT Spirals Down... Where is our 'King Slayer'?....
Our "king slayers " are the legislators who refuse to vote for bad bills and unfair districting maps. The brave heroes who will flee Texas officials who want to force them to vote for a blank "map" . It's like demanding a blank check. These MAGA "leaders" are all criminals , and that is the truth.
Professor Reich: i voted that netanyahu's starvation campaign of the people trapped in the gaza gulag, an entire population who are suffering and dying now. according to a recently published research study, these people will continue to suffer physically and mentally for literally GENERATIONS due to the after-effects of starvation.
but that said, i could have voted for any of your choices -- AND MORE! for example, another overlooked story (kinda minor, comparatively) is the recent kidnapping by the US coast guard of a Quebec fisherman in a rowboat on Lake Champlain. he was fishing in canadian waters but the coast guard confronted him and claimed -- erroneously -- he was fishing in USA waters. keeping in mind that it was the coast guard that actually invaded canada to kidnap and humiliate this person, this sounds rather minor, but living near the canadian border for all of my youth and university years, I WAS SHOCKED:
speaking of little farts, do you suspect that the sudden investigative epstein reporting by the WSJ (a news paper not known for its investigative reporting) is the public facing part of the elites' behind-the-scenes campaign against the orange rapist? do you think he is going to be replaced by that couch fucker, GDVance?
How horrible! Thank you for sharing, GrrlScientist. Although we did not fish, a number of us loved canoeing, camping, and portaging in Canada’s clean waters and forests decades ago. We were very careful to take care of the areas and leave them clean and as undisturbed as we could. Who would ever have thought that something so cruel would have happened? I hope the fisherman will be saved.
I hope for help for all of the starving and mistreated people, too, of course. The last part you mentioned stayed in my mind first, but I am not giving any mistreatment priority. No mistreatment should be taking place. (At least fish and animals pay no attention to political or property lines of division, on land, or in the air, or in the water.)
Not sure what got your panties in a twist with her comment. She didn’t call Vance G-d. She called him the couch fucker —- vulgar, but a known moniker for him. Then she said “God help us.” I suspect millions of us say this on a daily basis.
First of all, your comment appeared to be in response to someone else. Second, is it necessary to be such an unpleasant person? I wish people would take a deep breath and count to ten before posting nasty comments — especially when we are allegedly on the same side. Does it really make you feel better to be so unkind? Your nastiness and asking if I need eye surgery didn’t make me feel good. But if your goal was to be bitchy and make another person (a fellow tRUMP and Vance hater) feel momentarily shitty, well, you nailed that one! Have a lovely weekend and I hope no one else makes you feel shitty even for a second.
I’ll need to listen in the morning, but my normal for now -
Use/share this spreadsheet (bit.ly/Goodtrouble) as a resource to call/email/write members of Congress, the Cabinet and news organizations. Reach out to those in your own state, and those in a committee that fits your topic. Call. Write. Email. Protest. Unrelentingly. We deserve better ❤️🩹🤍💙
the People certainly "deserve better," but unfortunately this does far too little of the "good trouble" that will actually right the ship. The missing word: "petition." (These are not normal times, and it's very hard to accept something that won't bring about the needed results when the chips are so down. Members of Congress cannot solve the most serious issue we face.)
When there are issues of pending legislation, I certainly call my members -- very actively -- but where we are goes beyond that.
I disagree there. The louder we consistently are, the better; otherwise it seems like we’re complicit in what’s happening.
I don’t think we’ll see many big waves (like a major MAGA Congress member changing their opinions), however I think we can cause little ripples. I’m thinking staff members who hear the same thing over and over via voicemail, phone calls, letter after letter, email after email - maybe they’ll be a little more receptive each time they hear from us. Maybe they’ll talk more about our talking points to friends and family, maybeeee they’ll vote differently. I think we can cause ripples to push news organizations to be more honest and maybe even a bit accusatory about what’s happening. As a collective, our volume matters. And, at the end of the day, if we just annoy and overwhelm some staffers working for people hurting the average American, I’m ok with that too 🙃
You are taking the stance of America-centrism. Like we are the center of the universe and other countries don't matter. I understand you take that stance without even giving it a second thought. It's at the root of our disagreement.
After choosing this horrendous monster TWICE, the nations of the world understand that the USA can be trusted ONLY at their peril. China is leading the way towards a new world, and we ignore that at our peril.
We the People can send these other nations a sign that WE can be trusted and counted on -- but it WILL NOT come from our internal political activist fantasies. We've got nearly 220 members of our House who are traitors to their oath.
Not sure how you gather that were the center of the universe and others don’t matter from my comment 🤷♀️ By saying we have to speak up for our rights?
I gather it because I see no thought whatsoever given to HOW what you are suggesting will mend a system that is so broken it put nearly 220 people in the House who are unfaithful to their Oath of office.
Speaker Mike Johnson CLOSES up the House nearly two weeks prior to the normal recess because he wants to provide cover to those involved with sex trafficking of young people. Intelligent people around the world can see how broken this is. Calls, emails, etc. can CERTAINLY be effective on a lot of issues. NOT on the system itself. All the activities serve to feed a broken system and make people feel better for it.
There IS way that stands a much better chance because it addresses the key systemic issue. It does involve people standing up for their rights. But I doubt you would agree or even be aware of what that key right is. This is a moment like none we have faced before in our history.
Yes, Thomas. It does go beyond that, and it seems that a particular person’s response to the judicial branch, is either to use them or ignore them, according to that person’s own will. One thing definitely certain is that holding an office while claiming immunity for anything done officially while in that office, excludes any immunity for anything done by that person
at any time when not holding that office. I still believe that the court must rethink and remove its most recent immunity clause, beginning with the current holder of the office, and moving forward.
The judicial branch is a "prize" that lies over the horizon from direct "people power." BUT, when a critical mass of people become aware of a right they obviously have -- but never articulated -- and move to exercise that right on the "people's representatives," the members of the judicial branch will surely take notice.
Oh yes, I expect that this right will be challenged by the MAGAts. That will prove to be a key breaking point.
Great Coffee Klatch, Professor Reich and Mrs. Lofthouse! The choices given to answer your question were so chilling. The absolute worse is Netanyahu starving those children. I have to say that what is happening presently with our children is so disgusting. As a retired teacher, my heart goes out to all of the children in this country and around the world and the life they are living right now. Children are being used for slave labor, starved to death because of a war criminal, caught up in sex trafficking by wealthy people with sick minds and watching the hate grow every single day. I am disgusted by what is happening to the children and I cannot believe that more and more Americans aren't just as disgusted. In my opinion, the fact that children are being starved should have be the huge headlines on every news outlet. Also, the fact that judges are angry that the orange man is defying them should tell Americans we should put the brakes on the orange man! When we get our country back, and we will, we must abolish ICE completely as well as DOGE! The concentration camps must be torn down and it should be videoed so that Americans can see that hell is over! Until we stand up en masse, the silencing will continue. The question is will America allow it to continue until this country is completely quiet and is ruled by this despot. Keep fighting America! Stay strong and stay safe!
The Epstein "scandal" is gamed to distract us from the map redrawing that the GOP is now doing to give 5 more seats to each red state, or swing states. Another stolen election, or elections in the works. They want to deflect attention from more flood disasters, and the fact that those who participated in the rapes of vulnerable girls are the billionaires who are getting tax "breaks" off the backs of the working people who pay proportionately more in taxes than the obscenely rich do. Often, they pay nothing, I have read.
My first "other" nominee also was the gerrymander scurrilousness. But to forget Ukraine is so tragic, rationality fails in terms of how to rank these horrors. And as to your last point, how long has it been since anybody wondered about Trump's own tax returns?
I picked the number one on the survey question. That Netanyahu is starving Gaza's children. This is another thing that tRUMP favors. He wants to "clean up " Gaza. And turn it into the 'Riviera of the middle . East". As for Ukraine, the news has been spotty. There was news about weapons that tRUMP was sending to ukraine. It was incoherent reporting, finger pointing at Pete Hegseth for blame because he cancelled the shipments. Hard to follow. tRUMP has never been too keen about helping Ukraine. He wanted them to capitulate to Putin. But did not want to "own" that. Half assed at best, and never good.
Yes, Laurie, those people are starving. So are the people who are in the concentration camps now. So are the people who supplies sent by our country have been stopped.
Absolutely! Distraction from all the Project 2025 points, all in the process of implementation. We need to get out on the street and demonstrate if only to see that we are not alone.
I was - hmmm, what's the adjective - glad? happy? satisfied? - to read that the most concerning issue is the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. I am distraught over the situation. My friend's siblings (she is in the EU) have been moving around Gaza trying to stay safe. She sends money. There isn't much they can use it for. These people are not trash. These are humans just like you and I and they are being treated as subhumans. Every Friday my Jewish friend here (EU) messages me a Shabbat greeting. This week's photo was a map of Palestine from sea to sea, marked with Hebrew names only - a not so subtle message. I don't know how to deal with her. Nothing I say will change her thinking. As I said - I am distraught. Oh...and I didn't mention the ridiculous use of 'antisemitism' accusations as excuses to punish US universities for anti-MAGA stances. Those people don't care about antisemitism. I am distraught.
Thank you for responding to me. There are limits on what we can do from here - there were small protests here for No Kings and Good Trouble and I went but stood on the outside as I felt uncomfortable trying to participate. Compared to the rather massive protests we have in Europe, these were not attention-grabbers, but I know that it was important to the American participants to be there. As for Gaza - what to do. Those who understand, already understand. Those who don't - like my message-posting friend, will never understand. But you are right - it is good to be able to communicate in a forum like this.
Don't you people listen to NPR and the BBC?? THEY REPORT ON GAZA EVERY HOUR OF THE DAY! I was screaming at Biden when he was in office to STOP SENDING MONEY AND WEAPONS TO NETANYAHU, to no avail, of course. BIDEN THOUGHT "BIBI" WAS HIS BEST FRIEND! (GAG ME!)
I chose the option of the dumpster's defiance of the judges. I really don't hear about that.
All the starving people in Gaza have made me disgusted with Israel's government. I have lost all respect for them. Netanyahu must be held accountable for all the suffering and deaths. He is no better than Hitler! And Hitler was the world's worst human who ever lived, in my opinion.
Yes, Linda, Netanyahu is one arrogant, disgusting, abominable son of a bitch. It is hard to believe that someone that despicable exists. He keeps this war going in order to avoid facing criminal charges for his own lawlessness, and the fact that the U.S. and American presidents keep aiding and abetting him boggles the mind. Really . . . Has man polluted the Earth and the atmosphere so much that our species is turning out MONSTERS???
I think there's a balancing criterion: how ghastly is it vs how less-reported is it? I went for Gaza because the horror is beyond my coping abilities. In comparison, It's good to know about the judges, but ho hum.
Ho-hum to you too. I can't do a goddamn thing about Netanyahu, though believe me, he is at the top of my Sh-HIT list, right up there with the demented yam. If I could kill them both, I would, and take great pleasure in it! I pray daily for their assassinations!
Haven't been able to watch the video, but I read an interesting Epstein take on Facebook that talked about Trump Model Management, quietly sold off in 2017.
The gist is that Epstein gets all the attention because of the island, private jet, the involvement of major politicians, and the possible bribery scheme with Russian banking ties, but he wasn't the only person in the business of trafficking teenage models from East Europe into the US and exploiting them, this was endemic in the fashion industry and Trump Model Management was in the exact same business doing the exact same thing Epstein was doing (though minus the island, private jet, possible blackmail side hustle, etc).
I know it's a Facebook link, but it's researched from news articles and everything here is all in the public record. Just a different angle less focused on conspiratorial details we can't know, and more focused on what's right out in the open.
I drove 4 hours round trip to view the film in Athens, Georgia. I asked my 18.5 year old son to go with me. (He is very familiar with Robert Reich's work from his high school studies.) My son does not do "stuff" with me as much anymore, but he did not think twice about going. He immediately said yes and on the day of the film was up and ready to leave ON TIME. This is something to ponder. Why?
What is it about Robert Reich that is cause for a Gen-Z-er to go to such effort? What is it about Robert Reich that is cause for other young adults shown in the film to line up early outside of a classroom EAGER to be part of the conversation? What is IT about this extraordinary person who gets through to an entire generation? I cried over this sitting in the theater. It was from a very deep place within myself and I wondered.....is Robert Reich the last of the great teachers of truth in this country? I cried wondering....who will teach our young people the truth and will they still have ears to hear and a heart to find their own purpose in this world? I cried remembering my favorite teachers and their impact in my own life. I cried thinking about the innocence and fun of growing up without the internet and how it must be for this current, bombarded generation. It was a very heart stirring film...probably different for each person viewing....and cause to my own internal questions on the long drive back home. Are we really at the end of a remarkable period in our country's history OR is this the beginning of some sort of hopeful rebirth?
I was left with the question to myself....what can I do? And as a Gen X-er....it was a question not about what can I do that benefits me.....but how can I contribute something forward towards ALL?
Wpw. Thank you so much for the kind words about our film and please thank your son for all the effort you both went through to see it. The entire experience of making this film left me feeling, as you write, about the potential for a "hopeful rebirth." It also sounds like you are already doing a lot to help the fuutre by raising a son so interested in the world. Finally, where do you live? We have ways of bringing the film to local communities.
I live north of Atlanta. I am surprised Atlanta is not showing the film. I also was recently in Savannah. I actually looked to see if the film was showing there. I did not see that the film is playing anywhere in Georgia except for Athens. I would think that there would be great interest in both Atlanta and Savannah.
Thank you for creating this film in the very intentional way that you described in today's Coffee Klatch. It gets to the heart of the viewer. It transcends the "us and them" dynamic that is all over the news. (This has become so wearisome.). You told the story in a way that inspires and reaches into whatever it is within each human that can dream and think and create and hope.
I was left with...choose again...create...hope...dream.
BTW! To find out where to see the "The Last Class" film, visit thelastclassfilm.com. It's playing in 49 theaters across 22 states, and more locations are being announced daily. (If you don't see a theater near you, you can also bring it to your local theater you by selecting "host a screening.") Thanks, all.
Mornin' y'all. Your president has just landed in MY country, Scotland, which apparently consists of two golf courses with pretty scenery, peopled by dim, smiling yokels and hill-billies.
We hate the fucker. This from today's Guardian understates matters, but you get the gist.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/26/not-welcome-scotland-donald-trump-visit-protests-golf-courses
We'd like him forcibly removed.
We hear you. Imagine having to live with him as your national leader. At least you guys can get rid of him after he plays a few rounds of golf. We have to keep him until he rots away.
I think all of these issues are important. Most distressing, however, is the number of Palestine's innocent children, old people, parents, and others who simply want to get on with their lives. Yet, they're starving or being killed simply for asking for a bottle of water. They have nothing to do with Hamas or the politics of Palestine. They just want to survive and make it to the next day.
(So much for our national obsession with "the value of life.") Same with those who are incarcerated. I think the guards and the ICE goons actually enjoy grabbing people off the street and treating them like vermin. How is this different from Nazi Germany?
Mandy Patinkin, a Jewish man himself, is screaming at Israel because it forgets that "never again" is now a distant memory. The things that were done to the Jewish population is now being done to others... by the Israeli government. In just a few decades, they've forgotten their own holocaust as they rain another one on Palestine. Here's his clip, which has been roundly criticized by the Israeli government. https://www.instagram.com/reel/DMFpqmxNOj7/
Every day, there's a new reason to be disgusted and to be embarrassed as American citizens. I have MAGA friends telling me that finally justice is coming for the liberals. What justice? These people are supporting an embarrassing bunch of legislators and Cabinet members. And the news media are caving in to them. The military officers are caving in to them. Universities are caving in to them.
There's an old saying that you can break individual sticks. But when you tie them into a bundle, they're impossible to break. Why can't these institutions understand that? Joining together is the answer. Standing up as a group is the answer.
Believe me, our media obsesses over the prick every day.
There is no ocean on Earth wide enough. Sane people across the globe know that they have a horse in this race.
I do sympathise with you having to share a county with him, but his policies affect us all.
I think it's high time Americans stopped being so polite to each other. If your neighbours are Trumpists, ostracise them. If they attempts to engage you in conversation, ignore them. If they persist, verbally abuse them.
LOL!! I love your spirit! I am a person who loves my family no matter what. It's part of the genetics in my ethnic culture. But I can't talk about Trump to any of them without it devolving into a tense debate, so we keep the peace for the sake of weddings, funerals, etc. As for my friends who are MAGA, I can boot them from my life easily without looking back.
Donna, I admire your strength and convictions. Joan
You can boot them, but did you?
I did. All of them. Family, friends, former military I served with. I can't associate with those full of hate and greed. And their reverence for their MAGA leader turns my stomach.
In my own small way, I've been studying them. The kids I went to same school & Church with, one from my same family, people I've known for 65 years.
WHY did they go MAGA? Why didn't I ??
And IMHO we must figure that out because the shadow men of Heritage are still there and/or will reform and HISTORY will REPEAT.
what's your take on why their reverence for their MAGA leader? On why they have hate and greed? Somebody do something to them?
It depends. I have some MAGA friends who aren't rabid. They like Trump, but they don't get intense about it, and they admit to things that they don't like about his EOs. I don't have a huge problem with moderate Republicans, but I draw the line with those who can't discuss issues by using references and evidence. I have stopped interacting with those who get all their opinions from memes. You can't reason with them.
I don't believe in cutting off everyone who disagrees with me. Then I have no chance to bring them around. Or them to bring me around. For instance, I believed a video I saw of someone discussing sexual interactions she had with Trump. I offered it up to a Republican as proof. And then I found out on a couple of fact-checking sites that the video was manufactured. I had to backtrack on my evidence in that instance.
One of my Republican friends voted for and supports Trump. But he started dating a woman who he described as "over the top" in her admiration for Trump. So, he stopped seeing her. I can understand that.
Conventional wisdom says that we should welcome Republicans or former MAGAs who start to see the light. Other friends are beyond reason, so I just don't associate with them. No sense losing my precious minutes on people who have no hope of changing.
Mine are all diehard MAGAts. They're so far in the dark that they'll never see the light. Even if they did, that would not fix their racism and lack of empathy.
As much as I appreciate the sentiment of ignoring and abusing, I feel that becoming "more like them" is a kind of defeat. We must stand up for decency, morality, and civility while we vote this world menace out of office!
Democracies are so slow!
Exceptional circumstances call for exceptional measures. Throw as much shite at the bastard as possible and keep doing it.
Humiliation is his deepest fear.
Also, being laughed at frosts his diaper. Satiric comedy is a great weapon!
Yes, and why cancelling Stephen Colbert was part of the CBS's deal for Skydance merger.
Hope Colbert can remain visible after his being kicked out this coming May!
martin - Nothing like both countries taxpayers having to pay for him to play golf and open yet another golf course while he is losing money on the other ones. I hope that both T and Vance have horrible vacations especially since we are the ones who are paying for them. Sorry that he has invaded your country but wish you could keep him.
I think Penelope was talking about ignoring and abusing Trump supporters. We can't be like them because it brings us to their ugly level. We should be better than that. By being abusive, we're not going to do anything more than make MAGAs dig in their heels and use it as "proof" that liberals are angry haters.
As for "ignoring" them, I think it is useful when you keep talking to a brick wall. Or it's useful when all they want is attention. Keep on the right path and do what is necessary to prevail. Some people really should be ignored... if only for our own mental health.
Canadian here. Trump's tariff insanity is adversely affecting the economy/well-being of every country across the globe. Nowhere to be found is any hope for "relief" from these bizarre intimidation tactics, the greed and malice inflicted by this global menace, a Hitler wannabe 'madman'.
Yet, many in govt positions of influence are downplaying this unfolding tragedy, pretending it's no big deal. IT'S A BIG DEAL. Take tourism; pleas from state Governors for Canadians to return to the USA, welcome signs, ad campaigns (we love you!), reminders of our close relationship - it's not working. Threats to Canadian sovereignty (51st state), punishing tariffs intended to destroy our economy, border intimidation, police state ICE goons kidnapping folks, concentration camps, etc. It paints an ugly, ugly picture.
Your elected officials need to start telling the truth. The USA is no longer a safe place for your own citizens, let alone those from other countries. They need to start talking about the real reason few now want to visit the US: trump and his entourage have turned it into a fascistic nightmare. They should take a cue from Gavin Newsom. Stop running cover, things are far from okay. Oppose and fight the regime- loudly.
I've dumped the few people I know who are magas, I liken them to Nazis. However ignorant, uneducated, naïve and brainwashed they may be, they've chosen to embrace delusion, cruelty and hatred. I simply can't be around it, it's not healthy.
Well said Judith, and sadly true.
Trump owes the corporate media a deep debt of gratitude, for it is the media that made him, real estate, actor and president. And he displays his gratitude by suborning his fans. Hmm, the media and MAGA, they both adore him and he shits on them both.
"Hmm, the media and MAGA, they both adore him and he shits on them both"
'Heaven hath no rage like love to hatred turned" (William Congreve in The Mourning Bride)
When this adoration starts to wane, Trump will evaporate. His supporters are completely emotionally driven, cogent intellectual activity being alien to them. When emtional tides change, it's game over.
Nice thought, but the regime is way past dependence on the support of it's base. It has it's hands on the leavers of power, the purse and the police,and with no regard for the laws, constitution or public will, it will do as it pleases and squash the opposition.
It has already shown what it can do, so why are we in denial.?
Oh I see, there are those among us who still believe we live in a democratic republic with free and fair elections. I understand.
Noted, but try to remember this. You are many, they are few. It might get ugly, but the Trumpists are a tiny minority.
I think of Nicolae Ceauşescu when the troops decided they weren't prepared to fire on their own people.
Ceauşescu missed Christmas dinner in 1989.
************
Alternnativly, you could persevere with your pessimism - which I get, I really do - but this kind of defeatism is precisely why you have this imbecile as POTUS.
Tyranny can be overcome if The People join hands.
I think trump is now a clown figure, acting to distract the world from the coming double disasters. I thought that Climate Chaos alone would be the force that would destroy us human predators. However, having started reading Yuval Harari's "Nexus," I see that AI is joining in. The amount of energy it takes to produce all the technology that is being created; the huge need, being ignored, for self-correcting code for the robotics that are being produced, amog other aspects, will certainly speed up destruction. I think people sense this and fear the iminent loss of jobs, loss of habitat, loss of a future and many have regressed to a rather primitive, caveman level. Hence, strong man leaders; grab as much as you can -- not enough to go around; do not treat your neighbor as you wish to be treated; hate the others who not only don't look like you, but who aren't part of your tribe. It doesn't matter what happens to trump. All the mechanisms are being cemented in place for what we thought was a science-fiction future: Brave New World, Matrix, I Robot, 1984/2025.
It’s fun watching him squash Harvard… Good riddance to the arrogant pricks…
All the autocrat needs is the strongest army. As long as he has that he will win. Only fools entertain any other srategy.
Go read the history of humanity.
Because “his policies affect us all” is one of the hundreds of reasons we hate him.
While I understand where you and 48 people so far are coming from, and I feel that way myself on occasion, I'm still for staying peaceful and civil. We still have to live with these MAGAs and IMHO, while many have personal shortcomings that made them susceptible to the VERY clever manipulations of the Heritage Foundation, I think many can be reached & rehabbed. While there were and still are some very diabolically shewed players exploiting the weakness in the entire population of America, if we don't settle our differences and see where things went wrong, we may Take America Back Again TABA for now, but history will repeat itself.
Trump is a Con Man with a force of Billionaire Con men in the shadows supporting him. If/When we TABA- those shadow men will still be there, waiting & working for another chance.
The most difficult thing about a Democracy and living in Freedom is giving freedom to everybody else ESPECIALLY when we despise their choices.
Bottom line: we can't kill them all and hopefully WE do NOT want to.
"Ostracise them. If they attempt to engage you in conversation, ignore them. If they persist, verbally abuse them."
This method doesn't work. The country has become "us and them" for the past 10 years and it hasn't worked any better.
I've watched a TED talk and participated in a webinar over the last few years that introduced me to Loretta J. Ross, a professor and civil rights activist with over 50 years of experience. A book she's written based on her own experience as a Black woman in a Racist society is another way to look at the shitstorm we are living in via a lens of hope.
TED TALK: Loretta J. Ross: Don't call people out -- call them in
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xw_720iQDss
The Book:
"Calling In: How To Start Making Change With Those You'd Rather Cancel"
It’s always the question: should we co-opt the other groups’ tactics sinking to their level? Or should we try reason and facts to combat what they believe and are doing?
I believe we need a Project D 2027 telling the country what we will do when we take our country back!! I’m a life long Dem but I’m considering changing to Dem Socialist. The model of the big tent is not working! Let’s focus on what the working people of this country want and need. I’m tired of living in an oligarchy, something we’ve been slowly becoming for decades!!!
Yes!
I am so tired of getting junk mail and texts requesting donations.
Until candidates or this party define what their specific goals are and how they intend to accomplish them I'm nearly done with (most of) them.
Our media is weak when it comes to talking truth to power about trump. To some extent I understand their reasoning but reporters do your damn job. Loosing your job is minor compared to what people are going through bc the truth is not in print.
Oh, believe me we do ignore people that are MAGA, or cut off any ties with them. First we try to talk some sense into them, but sometimes they are too far gone. They are cult members. I have cut off friendships with two people that fell for his BS.
We are not being polite to them. There is a fine line though. We have to be careful, or we will be attacked. Many of them are heavily armed with guns.
We can sign petitions & protest, but it is getting us nowhere. The people in power are doing nothing. Our courts are corrupt.
We would like to be relieved of Trump and his entire administration by any means possible— and as quickly as possible!
So true. Too many Israelis in power have sold out their rich and admirable Jewish heritage of social justice in favor of blind, vindictive, hateful animus toward Palestinians. They use Hamas as an excuse. Is that why Netanyahu had Arab countries pay Hamas to continue to rule in the Gaza strip? The State of Israel is sewing seeds that will destroy it.
This is a tragic thing. A group of people whose parents and grandparents went through the Holocaust, and they are doing this. I had more hope for humanity before this happened.
Didn't you read this weeks parsha? Go back and read the last verse of Numbers. I'm not disputing your take on presrnt times, but it's nothing new. And this is what the hard right plays on.
Cowardly attack on unarmed Israeli women & children has born fruit.. Reap the whirlwind..,
I agree all are important but to me it’s the media. How will we get our information about all of these important issues. Will we be able to trust them if they are either in trumps’s pocket of afraid to report what is happening because of his revenge obsession. Look at what Hitler did. It is far enough back and there have been numerous studies to show how it was done. Goebbelswas a master at propaganda and succeeding dictators have followed his lead.
One might point out that Hitler also rid himself of the Reischtag; our legislative branch, the US Congress just got dismissed by Johnson, Trump's well-placed lackey!
All parts of society. Medical (remember euthanasia for those who were ill or disabled), the Central Banker( think of Jerome Powell), the military, his storm troopers, SS (ICE). The Republicans in the House and Senate, for the most part are totally subservient to their fuhrer
Hitler neutralized the power of the Reichstag, the legislative power. Like trump has been doing to Congress with the consent of the GOP.
The Reichstag Fire:
In February 1933, the Reichstag building burned down. The Nazis blamed the fire on communists, using it as justification to suppress political opposition.
Reichstag Fire Decree:
Following the fire, the Reichstag Fire Decree was enacted, suspending fundamental rights like freedom of speech, press, and assembly, essentially suspending democracy.
Enabling Act:
In March 1933, the Enabling Act was passed, granting Hitler's government the power to enact laws without the consent of the Reichstag, further undermining the parliament's authority. Kind of like trump's executive orders.
But without an enabling act.
Continued Existence, Limited Power:
Although the Reichstag continued to exist, it became a rubber stamp for Nazi policies, with Hitler and his party holding ultimate power.
Nazi Control:
The Nazis, through the Reichstag Fire Decree and the Enabling Act, effectively neutralized the Reichstag as a functioning legislative body and established a totalitarian regime.
No. All dear old Adolf had to do was run a creative application of already existing laws.
Cf. Spät kommt ihr, doch ihr kommt!
Good, important summary. Thank you!
It's sobering that 40% of the good people who responded to Prof. Reich's question of the day could find any of the admittedly grave problems he listed more important than the genocidal starvation of an entire subjugated population, including its children--and their murder when they go to the few operating food stations or find themselves in one of the last hospitals--now only Nasser Hospital is (partly) functioning after repeated shelling over the last couple months. The children look like the survivors found in the liberation of Auschwitz. https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/maps-lifesaving-clinic-gaza-forced-suspend-services-amid-israels-latest-ground-assault I just saw a video of a moving Israeli protest--Jews and Palestinians together--but the people are mostly under a news blackout in a controlled media environment, know far less than we do about their government's doings. So yes, crucial to protect our media--so we can protest our own government's cruelty, and the starvation that the "Big Beautiful Bill" will engender --after the midterms.
Trump and Netanyahu are actors performing a play written by Hitler and Truman, but the deaths are real.
Mary - Agree with you and the republicans designed much of the worst parts(even though it is all horrible) to occur after the midterms hoping to win before people realize that they have been screwed. People needing FEMA assistance right now are not getting help but they just awarded a company with a FEMA grant to build another tent concentration camp in Texas that won’t be completed until 2027.
None of these countries leaders, or groups, take T seriously. Russia, North Korea, Iran, China, Israel, Yemen, Houthi, Hamas, ISIS, etc. are given “ultimatums” and when they ignore them T gives them another extension. The U.S. has cancelled/reduced our soft power and humanitarian assistance while shuttering agencies or restructuring them. All the while people are dying while these people (including republicans) change the reasons for their continuing onslaught against humanity.
Kathleen, adding to the nightmare is peoples reliance on Social Media--awful. As a former active journalist and advocate, I feared the people wouldn't know what sources to trust with the advent of the Internet--for me the concern arose in 1997.
It has always been this way-who to trust in the media.The situation has just gotten a lot more challenging.
Excellent post, as always, Donna. It is the children that I am most concerned and worried about. These young children have absolutely nothing to do with the fighting being done by adults, yet they have to bear the brunt of that fighting. Right now, their little minds are very impressionable. The ones that survive this torture will grow up with anger in their hearts for whoever they perceive caused them such trauma and pain. Is it any wonder that so many young adults in war-torn areas hate Americans. They see us as the enemy that brought such hardships on them when they were just children. This cycle will continue until this world realizes that wars and hate are just not working. As our world progresses more and more to a global society, I hope that acts of war and divisive hate will no longer be tolerated.
Agree with 95% of your eloquent post, Peggy!
The remaining 5% concerns your reference to "fighting being done by adults." I'm not aware of much "fighting" at all, just ongoing slaughter by one side that's depicted in the pro-Israel media (e.g. NY Times) as "fighting."
I guess I was thinking about the fighting in Ukraine, between Israel and Palestine and other areas but fighting can also be done with words. The right and the left are using words to push their hate, anger and division with each other and our children hear that. Adults may think that kids aren't paying attention, but they are. Sorry if I misled you, Tom.
Even worse Peggy, what's happening today is discouraging young people everywhere who seem to be giving up. I fear high rates of suicide among the young, old, and disabled these days
How tragic!
Peggy, like you, I was thinking about the people who fight with words, and as William F. pointed out, I too have seen some of those people with words and addresses carrying great anger based on their prejudices and wrong information, which promotes their fears, from lies some media sources keep fresh in their minds. To explain to them calmly, or even to politely mention a fact, is to rile them greatly. Then they, the angry gun carrying people, accuse the explainer of believing the wrong news sources. Some of the followers believe that although they are recognizing concerns now, the next leader in line is well educated and will be better. Again, they are missing a lot of necessary information. Being outnumbered and in the midst of angry, misled, gun carrying people within the population limits a person’s ability to carry on as one might in a different situation. There are times when staying informed, yet not engaging in political conversations, writing letters or signing petitions, and voting are the only actions some people can use and possibly even to survive to be able to vote.
I’m sorry that I split an infinitive in my comment. Instead of writing “…even to politely mention a fact… “, I should have written “…even to mention a fact politely…”, but I do know better than to split an infinitive.
Since I do live in a sea of red, I try not to incite anyone who obviously follows the orange man at all costs! I do continue with my letter writing, petitions, phone calls and protest and I will most assuredly get out and vote. We absolutely must continue to fight and resist every way that we can.
Peggy, is the world really progressing to a more global society?
Yes, I believe we are. Technology allows us to communicate all around the globe. As we progress, climate change may make some areas in our world uninhabitable. I believe we will move to an economic system on a global rather than national basis. We interact with one another more and the need to come together to help one another will become stronger as the future unfolds. It will not happen in the near future, but I do believe it will happen.
Peggy, your belief has no rational or empirical basis. Are you Evangelical?
Thank you for naming what so many of us are feeling. The heartbreak of watching innocent people suffer, whether in Gaza, behind bars, or in detention centers, is a pain that cuts deep, especially when we know it does not have to be this way.
What gives me a thread of hope is exactly what you pointed to: the strength we have when we stand together. Whether it is artists like Mandy Patinkin speaking truth or ordinary people refusing to stay silent, collective courage matters.
The dehumanization we are witnessing is not just a political failure, it is a moral crisis. And yet, every act of solidarity, every moment of clarity, every refusal to look away helps shape a different future. One rooted not in fear or vengeance but in dignity, justice, and love for all beings.
May we have the strength to stay awake and stand together.
Christy, your last sentence is key to everyones survival on a global scale. I wish you the best for your words of truth, Joan
We ache for everyone suffering and everyone anywhere who is being mistreated. It is an ache that never entirely leaves us. We ache for freedoms lost and freedoms threatened, and for the justice that is not being carried out. It is such a gift to find anyone who shares the caring and the goals of recognizing truth and standing for good.
Beautifully said, Christy! Stay strong and stay safe!
This is all about Trump building and profiting on the Gaza Strip.
United we stand. Divided we fall, for sure. I also saw that Patinkin video.
So the desire for retribution against liberals overrides thoughts and feelings about their own self-interest, properly considered. It will come home to them.
Some news media, some military officers, some universities are caving in. Not all by any means. Be clear on that lest we promote a possible juggernaut.
Correct! The mantra of Indivisible.org is non-cooperation! There motto is right.
Tyranny prevails by pre-planning to obey, in order to sustain an entity or individual--no don't do it. This won't save us!
Yes. That said, some of the biggest ones are caving. Trump is smart to pick off the biggest ones first. That way, he can take the smaller ones more easily. Also, the bigger ones have deeper pockets... adding more cash to his insane desire to become the richest person in the world. That's why he is attacking California first. Harvard first. Columbia first. Paramount first. Why go after a community college when you can get the big prize first?
Beijing on the Charles probably has a lot to answer for…
Donna.....you have stated everything perfectly and I agree with everything you have stated.
I wish Netanyahu would leave Israel and go to a country where the ICC can arrest.him for war crimes or hijack his plane. What he is doing is genocide of the Palestinian people which totally disgusts me. There is probably not much we can do on our end except sign petitions against this horrific genocide and contribute money to World Kitchen which is run be Jose Andres who is terrific. Any and every war and/or catastrophe his group is there to feed people.
It would help if folks would actually read the Democratic Common Good Platform so they would know what to ORGANIZE behind
Martin from Scotland: Please forcibly remove him yourself, ANY WAY YOU WISH! Hit him with a putter or a four-iron and toss him into the sea! We sure the fuck don't want him back here!
It is UNBELIEVABLE to me that "King" Charles has invited Trump to come visit him and Camilla in September and stay at their home!! Ol' Charlie must be getting as demented and senile as Trump is! You would think Camilla would have more sense than that and would try and talk some sense into Charles! Maybe one of them will get sick suddenly and they'll have to cancel! Ha! Ha!
Keir Starmer very stupidly invited Trump hoping for a better trade deal with the 🇺🇸 instead of taking a leaf from Carney’s book but because 🇬🇧 left the EU and it’s customs union they are desperate for trade deals at any cost. If they had at least stayed in the customs union both the EU and 🇬🇧 would be in a stronger position to resist the bully that is Trump and his administration
Starmer didn't invite Trump. Trump is here as a private businessman. Starmer agreed to meet up at the point of a gun only.
I was speaking of the September visit when he will meet the king the invitation was handed personally to Trump by Starmer in February I seem to remember
September is a long way off. I was talking about where he is today, i.e., not just in my back yard but the front yard, too.
Charles is such a jackass… Oliver Cromwell must be doing rapid fire rotisserie high speed spinning revolutions in his grave…
King Charles is fond of Britain and it former imperial dependencies, all of who are threatened by Trump.
Charles and trump play on the same team and camilla has always been a side show.
Yeah. Equivalent to a 5 iron. A head the size of Trump's would be an easy target.
Not my goldarn president. Stop lazy uninformed even saying it! Remember the old idea that a great American idea was "safeguards" against "tyranny of the majority?" Well, lookout, we got us "tyranny of the MINORITY" and obviously shitty "safeguards" against that! So when I say, stop calling that poisonous creep my president, I am actually speaking for MOST AMERICANS!
Sabotage the golf balls he is using! Make fake ones, look-a-like-balls, that crack or wobbles in the air.
!!! It is Time for a grand competition >"Clown's golfing gear"!!!
Probably he would use them if they are covered with fake gold paint! > fool's gold / Katzengold / l'or des fous.
Better still, take metal pole 8 feet long the same diameter as a golf ball. Fashion one end into a golf ball shape, texture and paint it accordingly. Then you take a mell and bang the thing into the ground just off a dog-leg where the approaching Trump can't see you. A good swing at this should break his wrist at least. If all else fails, shove it up his ass.
You’re luckier than we are. When his term ends, your country can deny him entry for the rest of his life, given that he’s a convicted felon. We’re stuck with him.
I'm hoping in finally ends behind bars with the other goons too. But that's a long way off from today.
Same. But I’m hoping our first step post-firestorm will be to join the ICC. We’ve proven that we’re incapable of self-governance without oversight. Incinerating 500 tons of food while children are starving to death? Protecting rich and powerful sexual predators who exploited underage girls? Silencing the victims with NDAs? Let ICC render a judgement. If convicted, a number of ICC member nations have prisons with “harsh” conditions: Argentina has Mendoza, El Salvador has Ciudad Barrios, Kenya has Kamiti, and Congo has Makala. In those places, the negative consequences of low flow shower heads on “beautiful” hair won’t recognized as a basic human right.
Can the Scotland authorities arrest him on any grounds and keep him there, please?
Given that these days one can be arrested here for "hate crime" if you upset a trans by using the wrong pronoun, then they probably can. We also have strict gun laws. Trump's visit is a private one, so there is no legal basis for his goons walking around with Glocks, which would mean a mandatory minimum of 5 years even if it is a non-functioning replica.
But we do have the Dangerous Dogs Act, which are widely applied these days, particularly in regard of the American Pit Bull and XL Bully.
Sic 'm boy.
A pointlessly vicious kick in the face to trans people doesn't enrich your otherwise rational post. Kick 'em when they're down--robbed of health care, rights at work, safety on the streets--why?
"Kick 'em when they're down--robbed of health care, rights at work, safety on the streets--why?"
You mean Gazans? In the scheme of things, trans 'issues' are not uppermost in many people's minds. They're not disabled. Their 'minority' status and consequent victimhood is entirely self-declared. There's far too much moral equivalence running around unchecked.
It wasn't a 'kick', it was a mild prod and nothing compared to the damage to my country's governance caused by a handful of attention-seeking 'trans-activists', most of whom aren't actually trans but like a good bit of virtue signaling.
How about grounds of stinking, shiddy diaper contaminating the pristine Scottish air?
Please keep him.
Oh, I'd love to, but can't. Trumps make lousy pets, and my house doesn't have a basement or torture equipment.
Chain in back yard?
Now you're talking. This is a fishing port, so there's always scraps of rope and chain lying around.
Personally, I would complement the chain by securing it in a coastal cave at low tide.
I’m sorry, Martin. We don’t want him back.
What is especially not being accented in the U.S. news media is THE UNITED STATES COMPLICITY AND COLLABORATION!! The Gaza Humanitarian Fund set up by The U.S. is a friggin’ joke!
It is our money and our bombs being used in Gaza. Israel would have had to stop the slaughter within a month or two after the US stopped helping.
MLK said in the mid sixties that the greatest purveyor of violence in the world is the US government. It was true then and it still is true today.
In fact, investigative journalists should be pouncing on this story!
Team up with hundreds of Scott's and protest with signs in front of his golf courses everyday.
Send a message to fellow Scott's, don't spend your money or time here.
"Scott's" ???? We're Scots, with no One 'T' and NO apostrophe as it is neither possessive, plural or indicating a dropped letter.........
Thank you! Maybe it’s a United States thing, but the bad grammar and bad spelling I see all over social media is really getting to me. Someone out there somewhere will call you a “grammar Nazi“. No, you are advocating for proper communication. You know, the kind by which people can actually understand each other. People are here are constantly using the apostrophe for the plural. Don’t ask me why. Probably a symptom of the dumbing down of our school system.
These 5 days in Scotland, I have no doubt, he will award himself some kind of award for being the best golfer ever and tell glowing stories about how much he is beloved by the Scottish people. I wonder how, deep down, it feels to him to be the most hated person in the world.
We Scots are less polite than Americans. We prefer honesty, and we use foul language as casually as Americans eat candy. Yes we fucking well do.
We're also not too keen on descendents of Scots emigres waltzing back and behaving as if they own the place and have some kind of ancestral claim of right.
I promise you, if Trump departs under any illusion that he is anything other than detested here, then he really is delusional. Oh, that's right.....
But, but, but he is the most loved person in all of human history. How did you not know that? Really, just ask him. And yes, his powers of delusion truly are that great.
The wonderful people of Scotland have our deepest sympathies. I know YOU all don't play at his golf courses, how about organizing an international boycott of them?
Particularly, Boycott the Trump owned courses for certain. Good Idea Lee.
martin morrison, my great grandmother Cunningham (my dad's favorite grandmother) came from Scotland--a place I've always wanted to visit.
I certainly wish your government would kick Trump out the door or mistakenly run over him with a golf cart!
Thanks for being supportive of our plight that is infesting the world too--may we globally rise again to goodness and justice for all. Joan
We hate him too! He travels on US taxpayers money to set up new golf courses and his private business! The maga GOP House and Senate have given him their power! His cabinet secretaries are his personal corrupt sychopants!
We'd sell tickets and offer pay per view. It would likely knock a big hole in our national debt. Removing him to Russia and his boyfriend Putin's loving care would be great...second choice would be dropping him off in Iran or North Korea.
Uggh. Me too man. I am sorry he's polluting the air in your most beautiful country. Wow. He's doing so much for our country. Wow. stealing land to build another ugly golf course for ultra rich crap. It's disgusting. Good for you guys in Scotland for calling him out. Hopefully he just goes away. Forever.
Trump's denial of his involvement with Mr. Epstein is way too "strong." An innocent man would allow things to play out in real time. There is a law on the books that states if an individual has knowledge of a felony being committed yet does nothing to report it to the authorities, that individual is guilty of a crime. Trump knew of Epstein's abuse of underaged girls and never reported it. Guilty-Guilty-Guilty! JD is holding a copy of the 25th amendment, and he has a Hillbilly grin on his face.
"The lady doth protest too much, methinks"
Shakespeare is always a good resource. He covered every type of psychopath.
Trump's not a "lady," Martin, and I don't think that's how Shakespeare said it.
He's not, but the principle applies regardless. By the way, that is precisely how Shakespeare said it.......
I thought he said "Me thinks thou doth protest too much."
But I am no fan of Shakespeare, never have been, never will be.
Perhaps you should try. Hate to say this, but that kind of sweeping dismissal depresses me.
The most beautiful language I've ever seen or heard was in Romeo and Juliet.
Thanks for the update, Martin. Shakespeare is alive and well in some theaters and learning centers. I look forward to refreshers as well as to rereading my copies after catching up on the long list of more immediate needs. Also, it has been a long time ago, but I did get to attend a performance at the Globe Theater. I like variety, but those were pleasures.
Sorry, Martin, but there's a world of contemporary reading out there, and I've never been into the Classics.
That is a quote the way I have often heard it, Klare! Thank you. I remember hearing it said that way by many people rather than recalling the direct source myself. I have attended many shakespearean plays after having read them through the years, but time has passed since then.
For the avoidance of doubt, you'll find the exact quote in Hamlet, Act III: Scene II.
MM
Thank you, Martin. It has been too long for me to have recalled exactly. The shoe certainly fits him.
Yes, but nonetheless, he doth protest too much.
To quote Shakespeare, “Thou doth protest too much”!
You mean misquote..... Hamlet Act III, Scene II
Netanyahu isn't the only cause of the starvation occurring in Gaza, Donald Trump's hands are equally as dirty.
Much to my personal chagrin, Biden wasn’t much better when it came to Israel😡
No Western leader has dared stand up to Israel, which now seems to believe it has immunity from prosecution in perpetuity.
If anyone criticises Israel, they are automatically branded as anti-Semitic. Netanyahu knows this and has dined out on it.
I like to think many Israeli people are in the same position as we are. They have a criminal leader who the extreme right keeps in place to do the retribution they crave.
'Many', but not nearly enough, and the Diaspora are busy blackmailing every world leader with accusations of anti-Semitism if they dare call Israel out.
If this was happening in any other country, The West would be piling in.
I have felt for twenty years that the US should stop all financial and military aid to Israel. We finance genocide.
What's happening in Gaza (oh, the shame of it!) is extremely important, but - at least in my world - it's not getting buried so much. I think the initial "Alligator" and "Congo" shock of the extent of his "ICE detention centers" (more aptly called concentration camps) has waned and people may be losing track of just how big this has gotten and how at-risk all of us are.
The nauseating immorality of this administration, their utter unreliability--we can't even trust them to protect our food supply, or make the right call on vaccines. The silver lining? We now know who lacks integrity and who we can count on to stand tall with unwavering resolve.
Hello Hopeful... Sowing Chaos, and Destruction are two of DJT's SuperPowers... They will get worse as DJT Spirals Down... Where is our 'King Slayer'?....
Our "king slayers " are the legislators who refuse to vote for bad bills and unfair districting maps. The brave heroes who will flee Texas officials who want to force them to vote for a blank "map" . It's like demanding a blank check. These MAGA "leaders" are all criminals , and that is the truth.
Professor Reich: i voted that netanyahu's starvation campaign of the people trapped in the gaza gulag, an entire population who are suffering and dying now. according to a recently published research study, these people will continue to suffer physically and mentally for literally GENERATIONS due to the after-effects of starvation.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10087479/#main-content
but that said, i could have voted for any of your choices -- AND MORE! for example, another overlooked story (kinda minor, comparatively) is the recent kidnapping by the US coast guard of a Quebec fisherman in a rowboat on Lake Champlain. he was fishing in canadian waters but the coast guard confronted him and claimed -- erroneously -- he was fishing in USA waters. keeping in mind that it was the coast guard that actually invaded canada to kidnap and humiliate this person, this sounds rather minor, but living near the canadian border for all of my youth and university years, I WAS SHOCKED:
https://www.newsweek.com/canadian-man-furious-after-us-coast-guard-cross-border-arrest-him-2104109
speaking of little farts, do you suspect that the sudden investigative epstein reporting by the WSJ (a news paper not known for its investigative reporting) is the public facing part of the elites' behind-the-scenes campaign against the orange rapist? do you think he is going to be replaced by that couch fucker, GDVance?
Ohh Gosh!
Where do we start ??
I believe that they are trying to get The couch F..er in.. God help us!
Me too. The monster-in-waiting.
Wonderfully well-stated!
How horrible! Thank you for sharing, GrrlScientist. Although we did not fish, a number of us loved canoeing, camping, and portaging in Canada’s clean waters and forests decades ago. We were very careful to take care of the areas and leave them clean and as undisturbed as we could. Who would ever have thought that something so cruel would have happened? I hope the fisherman will be saved.
I hope for help for all of the starving and mistreated people, too, of course. The last part you mentioned stayed in my mind first, but I am not giving any mistreatment priority. No mistreatment should be taking place. (At least fish and animals pay no attention to political or property lines of division, on land, or in the air, or in the water.)
It's JD Vance, NOT "G"D, woman! God, I so wish people would EDIT THEMSELVES before posting!!!!!
I strongly suspect GDVance was intended. Actually I think I like it.
Not sure what got your panties in a twist with her comment. She didn’t call Vance G-d. She called him the couch fucker —- vulgar, but a known moniker for him. Then she said “God help us.” I suspect millions of us say this on a daily basis.
Put your glasses on, lady. She called him GDVance. See her last sentence!! Maybe she meant God-damn Vance. Maybe you need eye surgery??
First of all, your comment appeared to be in response to someone else. Second, is it necessary to be such an unpleasant person? I wish people would take a deep breath and count to ten before posting nasty comments — especially when we are allegedly on the same side. Does it really make you feel better to be so unkind? Your nastiness and asking if I need eye surgery didn’t make me feel good. But if your goal was to be bitchy and make another person (a fellow tRUMP and Vance hater) feel momentarily shitty, well, you nailed that one! Have a lovely weekend and I hope no one else makes you feel shitty even for a second.
Edit themselves as in too many exclamation marks, and question marks?
People who have strong convictions and strong personalities express themselves in this way. I'd rather be ME than pablum!!! 😊😀
Oh what a murky world it is!
I’ll need to listen in the morning, but my normal for now -
Use/share this spreadsheet (bit.ly/Goodtrouble) as a resource to call/email/write members of Congress, the Cabinet and news organizations. Reach out to those in your own state, and those in a committee that fits your topic. Call. Write. Email. Protest. Unrelentingly. We deserve better ❤️🩹🤍💙
Excellent resource, everyone! Use it well.
the People certainly "deserve better," but unfortunately this does far too little of the "good trouble" that will actually right the ship. The missing word: "petition." (These are not normal times, and it's very hard to accept something that won't bring about the needed results when the chips are so down. Members of Congress cannot solve the most serious issue we face.)
When there are issues of pending legislation, I certainly call my members -- very actively -- but where we are goes beyond that.
I disagree there. The louder we consistently are, the better; otherwise it seems like we’re complicit in what’s happening.
I don’t think we’ll see many big waves (like a major MAGA Congress member changing their opinions), however I think we can cause little ripples. I’m thinking staff members who hear the same thing over and over via voicemail, phone calls, letter after letter, email after email - maybe they’ll be a little more receptive each time they hear from us. Maybe they’ll talk more about our talking points to friends and family, maybeeee they’ll vote differently. I think we can cause ripples to push news organizations to be more honest and maybe even a bit accusatory about what’s happening. As a collective, our volume matters. And, at the end of the day, if we just annoy and overwhelm some staffers working for people hurting the average American, I’m ok with that too 🙃
You are taking the stance of America-centrism. Like we are the center of the universe and other countries don't matter. I understand you take that stance without even giving it a second thought. It's at the root of our disagreement.
After choosing this horrendous monster TWICE, the nations of the world understand that the USA can be trusted ONLY at their peril. China is leading the way towards a new world, and we ignore that at our peril.
We the People can send these other nations a sign that WE can be trusted and counted on -- but it WILL NOT come from our internal political activist fantasies. We've got nearly 220 members of our House who are traitors to their oath.
Not sure how you gather that were the center of the universe and others don’t matter from my comment 🤷♀️ By saying we have to speak up for our rights?
I gather it because I see no thought whatsoever given to HOW what you are suggesting will mend a system that is so broken it put nearly 220 people in the House who are unfaithful to their Oath of office.
Speaker Mike Johnson CLOSES up the House nearly two weeks prior to the normal recess because he wants to provide cover to those involved with sex trafficking of young people. Intelligent people around the world can see how broken this is. Calls, emails, etc. can CERTAINLY be effective on a lot of issues. NOT on the system itself. All the activities serve to feed a broken system and make people feel better for it.
There IS way that stands a much better chance because it addresses the key systemic issue. It does involve people standing up for their rights. But I doubt you would agree or even be aware of what that key right is. This is a moment like none we have faced before in our history.
Megan, thank you for explaining an environment in which you have that luxury. Yes, volume does matter.
Yes, Thomas. It does go beyond that, and it seems that a particular person’s response to the judicial branch, is either to use them or ignore them, according to that person’s own will. One thing definitely certain is that holding an office while claiming immunity for anything done officially while in that office, excludes any immunity for anything done by that person
at any time when not holding that office. I still believe that the court must rethink and remove its most recent immunity clause, beginning with the current holder of the office, and moving forward.
The judicial branch is a "prize" that lies over the horizon from direct "people power." BUT, when a critical mass of people become aware of a right they obviously have -- but never articulated -- and move to exercise that right on the "people's representatives," the members of the judicial branch will surely take notice.
Oh yes, I expect that this right will be challenged by the MAGAts. That will prove to be a key breaking point.
Thomas, thank you for sharing that ray of hope, and I hope it comes to pass!
Great Coffee Klatch, Professor Reich and Mrs. Lofthouse! The choices given to answer your question were so chilling. The absolute worse is Netanyahu starving those children. I have to say that what is happening presently with our children is so disgusting. As a retired teacher, my heart goes out to all of the children in this country and around the world and the life they are living right now. Children are being used for slave labor, starved to death because of a war criminal, caught up in sex trafficking by wealthy people with sick minds and watching the hate grow every single day. I am disgusted by what is happening to the children and I cannot believe that more and more Americans aren't just as disgusted. In my opinion, the fact that children are being starved should have be the huge headlines on every news outlet. Also, the fact that judges are angry that the orange man is defying them should tell Americans we should put the brakes on the orange man! When we get our country back, and we will, we must abolish ICE completely as well as DOGE! The concentration camps must be torn down and it should be videoed so that Americans can see that hell is over! Until we stand up en masse, the silencing will continue. The question is will America allow it to continue until this country is completely quiet and is ruled by this despot. Keep fighting America! Stay strong and stay safe!
I can't decide between each answer. All are horrible.
The Epstein "scandal" is gamed to distract us from the map redrawing that the GOP is now doing to give 5 more seats to each red state, or swing states. Another stolen election, or elections in the works. They want to deflect attention from more flood disasters, and the fact that those who participated in the rapes of vulnerable girls are the billionaires who are getting tax "breaks" off the backs of the working people who pay proportionately more in taxes than the obscenely rich do. Often, they pay nothing, I have read.
My first "other" nominee also was the gerrymander scurrilousness. But to forget Ukraine is so tragic, rationality fails in terms of how to rank these horrors. And as to your last point, how long has it been since anybody wondered about Trump's own tax returns?
I picked the number one on the survey question. That Netanyahu is starving Gaza's children. This is another thing that tRUMP favors. He wants to "clean up " Gaza. And turn it into the 'Riviera of the middle . East". As for Ukraine, the news has been spotty. There was news about weapons that tRUMP was sending to ukraine. It was incoherent reporting, finger pointing at Pete Hegseth for blame because he cancelled the shipments. Hard to follow. tRUMP has never been too keen about helping Ukraine. He wanted them to capitulate to Putin. But did not want to "own" that. Half assed at best, and never good.
Yes, Laurie, those people are starving. So are the people who are in the concentration camps now. So are the people who supplies sent by our country have been stopped.
Absolutely! Distraction from all the Project 2025 points, all in the process of implementation. We need to get out on the street and demonstrate if only to see that we are not alone.
I was - hmmm, what's the adjective - glad? happy? satisfied? - to read that the most concerning issue is the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. I am distraught over the situation. My friend's siblings (she is in the EU) have been moving around Gaza trying to stay safe. She sends money. There isn't much they can use it for. These people are not trash. These are humans just like you and I and they are being treated as subhumans. Every Friday my Jewish friend here (EU) messages me a Shabbat greeting. This week's photo was a map of Palestine from sea to sea, marked with Hebrew names only - a not so subtle message. I don't know how to deal with her. Nothing I say will change her thinking. As I said - I am distraught. Oh...and I didn't mention the ridiculous use of 'antisemitism' accusations as excuses to punish US universities for anti-MAGA stances. Those people don't care about antisemitism. I am distraught.
Thank you for responding to me. There are limits on what we can do from here - there were small protests here for No Kings and Good Trouble and I went but stood on the outside as I felt uncomfortable trying to participate. Compared to the rather massive protests we have in Europe, these were not attention-grabbers, but I know that it was important to the American participants to be there. As for Gaza - what to do. Those who understand, already understand. Those who don't - like my message-posting friend, will never understand. But you are right - it is good to be able to communicate in a forum like this.
Don't you people listen to NPR and the BBC?? THEY REPORT ON GAZA EVERY HOUR OF THE DAY! I was screaming at Biden when he was in office to STOP SENDING MONEY AND WEAPONS TO NETANYAHU, to no avail, of course. BIDEN THOUGHT "BIBI" WAS HIS BEST FRIEND! (GAG ME!)
I chose the option of the dumpster's defiance of the judges. I really don't hear about that.
All the starving people in Gaza have made me disgusted with Israel's government. I have lost all respect for them. Netanyahu must be held accountable for all the suffering and deaths. He is no better than Hitler! And Hitler was the world's worst human who ever lived, in my opinion.
Yes, Linda, Netanyahu is one arrogant, disgusting, abominable son of a bitch. It is hard to believe that someone that despicable exists. He keeps this war going in order to avoid facing criminal charges for his own lawlessness, and the fact that the U.S. and American presidents keep aiding and abetting him boggles the mind. Really . . . Has man polluted the Earth and the atmosphere so much that our species is turning out MONSTERS???
I think there's a balancing criterion: how ghastly is it vs how less-reported is it? I went for Gaza because the horror is beyond my coping abilities. In comparison, It's good to know about the judges, but ho hum.
Ho-hum to you too. I can't do a goddamn thing about Netanyahu, though believe me, he is at the top of my Sh-HIT list, right up there with the demented yam. If I could kill them both, I would, and take great pleasure in it! I pray daily for their assassinations!
So did I because I read The Guardian and Gaza and Gaza related news is never out of the headlines at the moment.
Haven't been able to watch the video, but I read an interesting Epstein take on Facebook that talked about Trump Model Management, quietly sold off in 2017.
The gist is that Epstein gets all the attention because of the island, private jet, the involvement of major politicians, and the possible bribery scheme with Russian banking ties, but he wasn't the only person in the business of trafficking teenage models from East Europe into the US and exploiting them, this was endemic in the fashion industry and Trump Model Management was in the exact same business doing the exact same thing Epstein was doing (though minus the island, private jet, possible blackmail side hustle, etc).
Here's the post:
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/16HgRw4qQb/
I know it's a Facebook link, but it's researched from news articles and everything here is all in the public record. Just a different angle less focused on conspiratorial details we can't know, and more focused on what's right out in the open.
You know what they say: too big to fail.
Another story that has been terribly neglected is Ukraine. It breaks my heart - not as much as Gaza does, but still badly 💔 😢
I am going to comment a second time today.
I drove 4 hours round trip to view the film in Athens, Georgia. I asked my 18.5 year old son to go with me. (He is very familiar with Robert Reich's work from his high school studies.) My son does not do "stuff" with me as much anymore, but he did not think twice about going. He immediately said yes and on the day of the film was up and ready to leave ON TIME. This is something to ponder. Why?
What is it about Robert Reich that is cause for a Gen-Z-er to go to such effort? What is it about Robert Reich that is cause for other young adults shown in the film to line up early outside of a classroom EAGER to be part of the conversation? What is IT about this extraordinary person who gets through to an entire generation? I cried over this sitting in the theater. It was from a very deep place within myself and I wondered.....is Robert Reich the last of the great teachers of truth in this country? I cried wondering....who will teach our young people the truth and will they still have ears to hear and a heart to find their own purpose in this world? I cried remembering my favorite teachers and their impact in my own life. I cried thinking about the innocence and fun of growing up without the internet and how it must be for this current, bombarded generation. It was a very heart stirring film...probably different for each person viewing....and cause to my own internal questions on the long drive back home. Are we really at the end of a remarkable period in our country's history OR is this the beginning of some sort of hopeful rebirth?
I was left with the question to myself....what can I do? And as a Gen X-er....it was a question not about what can I do that benefits me.....but how can I contribute something forward towards ALL?
Wpw. Thank you so much for the kind words about our film and please thank your son for all the effort you both went through to see it. The entire experience of making this film left me feeling, as you write, about the potential for a "hopeful rebirth." It also sounds like you are already doing a lot to help the fuutre by raising a son so interested in the world. Finally, where do you live? We have ways of bringing the film to local communities.
I live north of Atlanta. I am surprised Atlanta is not showing the film. I also was recently in Savannah. I actually looked to see if the film was showing there. I did not see that the film is playing anywhere in Georgia except for Athens. I would think that there would be great interest in both Atlanta and Savannah.
Thank you for creating this film in the very intentional way that you described in today's Coffee Klatch. It gets to the heart of the viewer. It transcends the "us and them" dynamic that is all over the news. (This has become so wearisome.). You told the story in a way that inspires and reaches into whatever it is within each human that can dream and think and create and hope.
I was left with...choose again...create...hope...dream.