Let's do everything in our power to prevent Jordan from ascending to House Speaker. In yesterday's first vote, 20 R's voted NO. Jessica Craven's Substack yesterday suggested the following tactic. Do it — and spread the word!
"Call the “No On Jordan” Republicans 📲
This is a bit unusual, but I just saw that a far-right account on Twitter posted the names and phone numbers of the Republicans who voted against Jordan just now. This account urges people to “melt their phones” telling them they must change their votes to Jordan. I’m going to make an exception to my usual rule of not calling lawmakers who aren’t ours and say that it would be good to call as many of these folks as possible and thank them instead. We should also urge them to stick to their guns. That wasn’t an easy vote to take in this atmosphere, and they’re going to get pummeled by MAGA for it."
I thought I had a solid understanding of the depth, breadth, and longevity of the Republican threat to the republic; most people who know me and read TAFM would say that's true. Then I got Heather Cox Richardson's new book, "Democracy Awakening", and the way she lays out the history, the full descriptions of all the anti-democratic goings-on, and their wide interconnectedness through that party, I have to say that my eyes - which were wide open - have been opened further. If you haven't gotten this book you definitely should. Trust me, the situation is not as bad as you think it is - it's far worse.
Think about this. Netanyahu said today that President Biden is the first US President to visit Israel during a war. He’s there and he’s involved and he is not just doing photo opportunities for political gain and he will visit with the families who have lost loved ones. No way the other guy would be there and do that. The chaos in the House to elect a speaker has its root cause in dark money being spent by individuals whose names we don’t know who have control over members of the House by either threatening to run a candidate against them in a primary or to cut off funding for their re-election campaigns. The corruption of the Republican Party runs deep and the fact that Jim Jordan is even running for Speaker tells you all you have to know. With funding requests for Ukraine and Israel badly needed and the potential for a government shut down looming the Republicans have proven they cannot effectively govern. We all need to focus on voter turnout because that is the only way we can overcome gerrymandering and hold control of Congress. Louisiana is an example where poor turnout cost us the Governor’s race.
Jordan's big problem is lack of trust. Who would trust him besides his fellow terrorists in the House Freedom Caucus. Any of the 200 Republicans who supported Jordan in the last vote should search their souls. Ask: how can the house trust this man to do anything independent of Trump and Fox? How can Democrats trust him? How can the half of Republican House members who aren't Freedom Caucus members or wannabes believe anything this subpoena-denying insurrectionist and Trump toady says?
Up until 2016, as a Jewish American, I lived in a historical epoch without much drama for (privileged) Americans. There was upward mobility, lots of social justice work to do of course, but it was all at a remove. The Six Day War was a miracle. Progress was tangible on so many fronts. We withdrew from Viet Nam the year I started college and the switch to a volunteer army further protected affluent Americans.
Electing no-Drama Obama felt redemptive.
I had no idea my early retirement years would be spent fighting for Democracy in my own country, 24/7/365. And now Israel is shattered. Opposition to the Occupation and Israel's failure to engage in peace has been my position for decades, and here - predictably - we are.
It's hard to find hope, but I appreciate your effort to do so, Robert. Maybe maybe maybe Netanyahu will be ousted and something better will follow.
I now realize that part of privilege is not seeing things, because you don't experience them. Humans are so complicated, so good and so evil.
The 200 R's that voted for Jordan worry me more than Jordan. As do the people who keep re-electing him. People like Jordan should be despised. What's the saying? If you want to know what a person is like, look at the company they keep. Indeed!
Two hundred votes from R's. You absolutely nailed the angst, Robert. That fact is salient and frightening. That there are so many power-crazed R's in DC willing to elevate Jordan, a thoroughly despised colleague, is disheartening, to say the least. Literally.
Let us not forget that Hamas murdered over 1000 people and kidnapped nearly 250 others. I cannot imagine that they are treating them humanely. Also, Hamas has been known to tunnel under hospitals and other civilian buildings in order to camouflage their whereabouts. It is tragic that the hospital was bombed. It is also possible that this bombing was intentionally done to throw as snafu into the talks between Biden and leaders in the Middle East.
Jim Jordan is a dangerous clown. Let us never forget his involvement in the Ohio State sexual assault scandal as well as his behavior after January 6. He reminds me of McCarthy in the 50s.
I have been reading about the very very long and complex history of what is now called Palestine and Israel and fear that we take a very limited historical view. This region has been a crossroads of cultures, histories and religions for thousands of years. Nationalist claims seem a challenging way forward to peace. Alas, we live in a world now thought of only in national terms and can’t think out of the box. I am increasingly pessimistic about the region. And as for the GOP: they are a clear and present danger.
The sad part of the hospital missile story is not merely the human victims, but the validation of the adage that the first casualty in war is truth. The fact that global news media did not stop at reporting the facts, but added two words--"Israeli airstrike"--to once again calumnify the Jewish state at the instigation of terrorists, should put everyone on guard that they are not reliable reporters. And that is very sad.
There were no Arabs demonstrating in the streets in protest when Hamas kidnapped or killed over a thousand Israelis and others to start this war -- but now, Arabs in their thousands are demonstrating against Israel for a crime committed by Islamic Jihad.
People want to believe things, and they will believe others who tell them what they want to believe, even when it isn't true. Unfortunately, this failing is not just confined to the Arab street. It happens a lot in our own country as well. The only people who benefit are the dictator wanna-be's.
re: Jordan - it has been fascinating to compare the coverage in the NYT, which keeps floating the notion that Jordan has a real shot and Punchbowl News and Politico, both of which have declared him dead in the water and losing even more votes in the days ahead.. The latter seem to have many more contacts on the inside and the Times loves to raise readers blood pressure and get clicks with scary headlines--their whole coverage of Biden since 2021 has given rise to the NYT Pitchbot meme of ".... and why that's bad news for Joe Biden."
re: Israel - Biden made some comment to the effect that it was "the other team"(e.g. Hamas) that was responsible for the hospital bombing - being widely reported in US and Israeli mainstream press.
Also fascinating - both CNN and the Daily Podcast (NYT) have had "random citizens" from Gaza whom they interviewed about the situaition on the ground. But if you've ever had "media training" (or if you work in PR and do media training) it's super obvious that these are not just random people, and that they have had extensive media training and are hitting all of their talking points. I do not doubt they are who they say they are. Just that someone had walked them through "when you talk to CNN, make sure you mention X. Y and Z and then cry when they ask you about this." They are just way too poised and are hitting on too many talking points and stats that the average person would not know or bring up in that sort of situation. If you've ever seen "real people" interviews after say a hurricane, they tend to go off on tangents .
It makes sense in that it would seem to be very dangerous for a random citizen to be seen talking to US media and I get that the only people willing will likely be heavily briefed and given talking points, but it's surprising that no one comments on it, that Anderson Cooper doesn't slip in a "well, you certainly know the history of this conflict very well" or similar, to let the audience know he is on to what is going on.
Sometimes bullies never get punished, especially for any single bullying act. Hamas is a terrorist bully which perpetrated a horrific act upon innocent civilians. It is possible its attack ten days ago on those Israeli Kibbutzes and the music festival may go unpunished. A few comments back I was asked to explain why I felt the Israeli heavy armor build up at the Gaza border was wrong. I explained that a house-to-house troop advance was called for. I now think even more strongly about that. Retaliatory action by Israel just makes matters worse and leading to full-scale war deadly to both sides as wars are. The troop advancement should begin without the missiles and heavy artillery and aircraft bombings. Focus on finding and demolishing the Hamas tunnels and other rooting-out actions. Where will Hamas fighters go with all the borders closed? They will be surrounded and cut off-all 50,000 of them. Sure some will flee and get away. All the bullies will not be punished. It’s going to be a long struggle to rid them but meanwhile the humanitarian aide for civilians on both sides of the border must be in overdrive.
Israel will need to release intelligence showing that a Palestinian rocket, Hamas or Islamic.Jihad, hit the hospital in Gaza, even if it discloses some sources. It will also need to take real steps to ameliorate the humanitarian crisis.
As for Gym Jordan the word this morning is that he’s burnt toast.
The quality of media reporting yesterday regarding the “event” at the Gaza Hospital was a disgrace. Every media outlet jumped on the story provided by Hamas or the Gaza Health Department on social media, including the NYT. The blame was solely on Israel without any clear evidence. Moreover, they took the death toll, which keeps changing, at face value.
Today, Israel released photos of the hospital. Where were the signs of a huge explosion, as one would expect from a bomb or major explosive device? They showed a small number of burned out cars but they also showed cars right next to them which were barely damaged. There is no way that the “hundreds of Gaza’s citizens”, who should have been in the south, could be killed. The media still show the same pictures of the ambulances they showed yesterday, which mainly showed people hopping out with relatively minor wounds.
I won’t say definitively whose fault it was. But I will say that it certainly didn’t appear to be the huge tragedy that was reported and shown on the various news shows and newspapers.
To the media: Please get your stories straight and do your homework before publishing or presenting your news. This is a wartime situation and the stories you report can affect people’s lives.
Scott & John in MA & FL
just now
Let's do everything in our power to prevent Jordan from ascending to House Speaker. In yesterday's first vote, 20 R's voted NO. Jessica Craven's Substack yesterday suggested the following tactic. Do it — and spread the word!
"Call the “No On Jordan” Republicans 📲
This is a bit unusual, but I just saw that a far-right account on Twitter posted the names and phone numbers of the Republicans who voted against Jordan just now. This account urges people to “melt their phones” telling them they must change their votes to Jordan. I’m going to make an exception to my usual rule of not calling lawmakers who aren’t ours and say that it would be good to call as many of these folks as possible and thank them instead. We should also urge them to stick to their guns. That wasn’t an easy vote to take in this atmosphere, and they’re going to get pummeled by MAGA for it."
Names, phone numbers, and easy script are here:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1AX1ejXbIc-jFDbSNIaN6WTdjV5pp3BH4Ou4XZuGgpbo/edit
I thought I had a solid understanding of the depth, breadth, and longevity of the Republican threat to the republic; most people who know me and read TAFM would say that's true. Then I got Heather Cox Richardson's new book, "Democracy Awakening", and the way she lays out the history, the full descriptions of all the anti-democratic goings-on, and their wide interconnectedness through that party, I have to say that my eyes - which were wide open - have been opened further. If you haven't gotten this book you definitely should. Trust me, the situation is not as bad as you think it is - it's far worse.
Think about this. Netanyahu said today that President Biden is the first US President to visit Israel during a war. He’s there and he’s involved and he is not just doing photo opportunities for political gain and he will visit with the families who have lost loved ones. No way the other guy would be there and do that. The chaos in the House to elect a speaker has its root cause in dark money being spent by individuals whose names we don’t know who have control over members of the House by either threatening to run a candidate against them in a primary or to cut off funding for their re-election campaigns. The corruption of the Republican Party runs deep and the fact that Jim Jordan is even running for Speaker tells you all you have to know. With funding requests for Ukraine and Israel badly needed and the potential for a government shut down looming the Republicans have proven they cannot effectively govern. We all need to focus on voter turnout because that is the only way we can overcome gerrymandering and hold control of Congress. Louisiana is an example where poor turnout cost us the Governor’s race.
From Denialad: donbialostosky.substack.com
Crossing Jordan
Unable to arrive at an accord in
The House, a score of Reps were crossing Jordan.
They freed themselves from his right-wing oppression
And forced at least another voting session
To choose a Speaker in McCarthy’s wake.
Their liberation puts a lot at stake
And gets them into a pack of good trouble;
Jim Jordan thinks that their crossing is double.
The former wrestling coach and his House team
Are trying holds in hopes that they will scream
In pain, give up, and finally concede
That Jordan is the Speaker that they need.
Unless they help get his election carried,
They’ll get his Full Nelson and be primaried.
His way of holding them in his headlocks is
To give their numbers out and summon doxxes.
So far he’s brought down thirty for the count
From the first vote’s anti-Jordan amount.
How many of the twenty overnight
Will be able to hold out in the fight?
Jordan's big problem is lack of trust. Who would trust him besides his fellow terrorists in the House Freedom Caucus. Any of the 200 Republicans who supported Jordan in the last vote should search their souls. Ask: how can the house trust this man to do anything independent of Trump and Fox? How can Democrats trust him? How can the half of Republican House members who aren't Freedom Caucus members or wannabes believe anything this subpoena-denying insurrectionist and Trump toady says?
Up until 2016, as a Jewish American, I lived in a historical epoch without much drama for (privileged) Americans. There was upward mobility, lots of social justice work to do of course, but it was all at a remove. The Six Day War was a miracle. Progress was tangible on so many fronts. We withdrew from Viet Nam the year I started college and the switch to a volunteer army further protected affluent Americans.
Electing no-Drama Obama felt redemptive.
I had no idea my early retirement years would be spent fighting for Democracy in my own country, 24/7/365. And now Israel is shattered. Opposition to the Occupation and Israel's failure to engage in peace has been my position for decades, and here - predictably - we are.
It's hard to find hope, but I appreciate your effort to do so, Robert. Maybe maybe maybe Netanyahu will be ousted and something better will follow.
I now realize that part of privilege is not seeing things, because you don't experience them. Humans are so complicated, so good and so evil.
The 200 R's that voted for Jordan worry me more than Jordan. As do the people who keep re-electing him. People like Jordan should be despised. What's the saying? If you want to know what a person is like, look at the company they keep. Indeed!
Two hundred votes from R's. You absolutely nailed the angst, Robert. That fact is salient and frightening. That there are so many power-crazed R's in DC willing to elevate Jordan, a thoroughly despised colleague, is disheartening, to say the least. Literally.
Let us not forget that Hamas murdered over 1000 people and kidnapped nearly 250 others. I cannot imagine that they are treating them humanely. Also, Hamas has been known to tunnel under hospitals and other civilian buildings in order to camouflage their whereabouts. It is tragic that the hospital was bombed. It is also possible that this bombing was intentionally done to throw as snafu into the talks between Biden and leaders in the Middle East.
Jim Jordan is a dangerous clown. Let us never forget his involvement in the Ohio State sexual assault scandal as well as his behavior after January 6. He reminds me of McCarthy in the 50s.
I have been reading about the very very long and complex history of what is now called Palestine and Israel and fear that we take a very limited historical view. This region has been a crossroads of cultures, histories and religions for thousands of years. Nationalist claims seem a challenging way forward to peace. Alas, we live in a world now thought of only in national terms and can’t think out of the box. I am increasingly pessimistic about the region. And as for the GOP: they are a clear and present danger.
The sad part of the hospital missile story is not merely the human victims, but the validation of the adage that the first casualty in war is truth. The fact that global news media did not stop at reporting the facts, but added two words--"Israeli airstrike"--to once again calumnify the Jewish state at the instigation of terrorists, should put everyone on guard that they are not reliable reporters. And that is very sad.
There were no Arabs demonstrating in the streets in protest when Hamas kidnapped or killed over a thousand Israelis and others to start this war -- but now, Arabs in their thousands are demonstrating against Israel for a crime committed by Islamic Jihad.
People want to believe things, and they will believe others who tell them what they want to believe, even when it isn't true. Unfortunately, this failing is not just confined to the Arab street. It happens a lot in our own country as well. The only people who benefit are the dictator wanna-be's.
re: Jordan - it has been fascinating to compare the coverage in the NYT, which keeps floating the notion that Jordan has a real shot and Punchbowl News and Politico, both of which have declared him dead in the water and losing even more votes in the days ahead.. The latter seem to have many more contacts on the inside and the Times loves to raise readers blood pressure and get clicks with scary headlines--their whole coverage of Biden since 2021 has given rise to the NYT Pitchbot meme of ".... and why that's bad news for Joe Biden."
re: Israel - Biden made some comment to the effect that it was "the other team"(e.g. Hamas) that was responsible for the hospital bombing - being widely reported in US and Israeli mainstream press.
Also fascinating - both CNN and the Daily Podcast (NYT) have had "random citizens" from Gaza whom they interviewed about the situaition on the ground. But if you've ever had "media training" (or if you work in PR and do media training) it's super obvious that these are not just random people, and that they have had extensive media training and are hitting all of their talking points. I do not doubt they are who they say they are. Just that someone had walked them through "when you talk to CNN, make sure you mention X. Y and Z and then cry when they ask you about this." They are just way too poised and are hitting on too many talking points and stats that the average person would not know or bring up in that sort of situation. If you've ever seen "real people" interviews after say a hurricane, they tend to go off on tangents .
It makes sense in that it would seem to be very dangerous for a random citizen to be seen talking to US media and I get that the only people willing will likely be heavily briefed and given talking points, but it's surprising that no one comments on it, that Anderson Cooper doesn't slip in a "well, you certainly know the history of this conflict very well" or similar, to let the audience know he is on to what is going on.
Sometimes bullies never get punished, especially for any single bullying act. Hamas is a terrorist bully which perpetrated a horrific act upon innocent civilians. It is possible its attack ten days ago on those Israeli Kibbutzes and the music festival may go unpunished. A few comments back I was asked to explain why I felt the Israeli heavy armor build up at the Gaza border was wrong. I explained that a house-to-house troop advance was called for. I now think even more strongly about that. Retaliatory action by Israel just makes matters worse and leading to full-scale war deadly to both sides as wars are. The troop advancement should begin without the missiles and heavy artillery and aircraft bombings. Focus on finding and demolishing the Hamas tunnels and other rooting-out actions. Where will Hamas fighters go with all the borders closed? They will be surrounded and cut off-all 50,000 of them. Sure some will flee and get away. All the bullies will not be punished. It’s going to be a long struggle to rid them but meanwhile the humanitarian aide for civilians on both sides of the border must be in overdrive.
Israel will need to release intelligence showing that a Palestinian rocket, Hamas or Islamic.Jihad, hit the hospital in Gaza, even if it discloses some sources. It will also need to take real steps to ameliorate the humanitarian crisis.
As for Gym Jordan the word this morning is that he’s burnt toast.
The quality of media reporting yesterday regarding the “event” at the Gaza Hospital was a disgrace. Every media outlet jumped on the story provided by Hamas or the Gaza Health Department on social media, including the NYT. The blame was solely on Israel without any clear evidence. Moreover, they took the death toll, which keeps changing, at face value.
Today, Israel released photos of the hospital. Where were the signs of a huge explosion, as one would expect from a bomb or major explosive device? They showed a small number of burned out cars but they also showed cars right next to them which were barely damaged. There is no way that the “hundreds of Gaza’s citizens”, who should have been in the south, could be killed. The media still show the same pictures of the ambulances they showed yesterday, which mainly showed people hopping out with relatively minor wounds.
I won’t say definitively whose fault it was. But I will say that it certainly didn’t appear to be the huge tragedy that was reported and shown on the various news shows and newspapers.
To the media: Please get your stories straight and do your homework before publishing or presenting your news. This is a wartime situation and the stories you report can affect people’s lives.
Richard Krain