Mallory McMorrow has more character, courage and spine than all of the US Senate and House and gubernatorial republicans combined. By far. No bullshit, just a clear statement of here’s who and what I am and this is what I believe. And, of course, “We will not let hate win.” She coined the battle cry of the forces for goodness, light, decency and true democracy. Let the true draining of the swamp begin….finally.
Sen. McMorrow reminds me of the courageous David E. Lilienthal before the House Committee on Un-American Activities in 1949. Google “this I do believe.” Profiles in courage, and clarity.
Thanks for lifting up Mallory McMorrow again. You quoted a part of her stem-winder that really impressed me. She spoke about not letting hate win, and who she was, then turned on a dime and said, “LGBTQ kids are not responsible for our crumbling roads and bridges.” YES! Dems, go and do likewise!
That last statement that Mallory McMorrow made was spot on! The Republicans direct hatred toward people who are different because they have no solutions to this country’s problems.
Ron DeSantis is a cheap climber, plain and simple, a politician in the worst sense.
His targets are easy prey, Florida’s minorities, including the Black community, the LBQT community, and very significantly, the education community: his policies have already prompted book banning in schools, and periodic investigations into university professors’ philosophical views and fealty to his views as a prerequisite to continuing their tenure.
This man is a danger to all Floridians, in a race to the bottom.
I just saw this and copied this part of the text. Perhaps several here remember this book?
“Fahrenheit 451” and one passage about how its authoritarian regime began… “It didn’t come from the Government down," Ray Bradbury wrote 70 years ago. "There was no dictum, no declaration, no censorship, to start with, no! Technology, mass exploitation, and minority pressure carried the trick.”
A really big problem is that DeSantis is smart. He's a Yale and Harvard grad. So potentially more dangerous than the former guy. Equally without morals though.
Good luck with that. The problem is that over the past six years gop behavior, criminality, selfishness, and hateful agenda has turned me into a hater….of all that is gop. That has won and is not changing.
Me, too. I have never been a hater, but what Trump has done to the GOP and this country has driven me to it. I remember when one’s choice for President lost an election brought disappointment and some sadness, but then everyone joined together to support the new President of the United States.
It does seem that AG Garland is in over his head. Giving Garland the consolation prize of being AG rather than a Supreme Court Justice did not consider that the two jobs require very different qualifications. Working with eight other colleagues on broad legal arguments is a lot different than managing and running an institution with thousands of people like the DOJ.
Cathy, you just stated what I've been saying for months! Garland is in the wrong place at the wrong time. What a tragedy that McConnell was able to block Garland's consideration for the Supreme Court. And yet, as a master at lying, McConnell was quite comfortable fast-tracking ACB to the Court.
Sorry, I don’t mean to monopolize the conversation, but this article from my local paper shows how De Santa’s and co. shut down conversation. They turn off the wi-if in the meeting so no one can broadcast the stories. Putin would be proud.
Todays Edition reminded us of Mallory McMorrow and her inspirational speech to Michigan legislators. For me she fought back and in essence said “ enough is enough” I will not let you bully and intimate me. That same spirt and indignation and courage I want to see against Florida’s Governor and the Texas Governor and other Republicans who have been brazen and unrelenting in their outrageous and unchecked racism and chest pounding. James Carville in a recent interview said “ No one fears the Democratic Party. You can’t govern without fear,! Recent revelations and tape recordings of McCarthy threatening to ask Trump to which he lacked the guts to actually do and the subsequent meeting he had in Florida with Trump clearly demonstrate the fear the Republican Party has of Trump. It’s time for Democrats to step up and speak out loudly and be feared and respected. Democratic and Independent voters are demanding it.
Thank you for describing the abominable governor and the conditions we face here in Florida. DeSantis has made Florida an authoritarian state. He’s been planning this for some time. Don’t forget the constitutional amendment that the people of Florida passed, giving voting rights back to felons after they completed their terms. The governor and his minions decided they now had to pay ALL their fines and financial obligations even though they often can’t get a figure. These ex-felons, many Black, probably wouldn’t vote Republican. Don’t forget that Florida passed the most restrictive anti-protest law, threatening people who came out to protest him. All of these actions are designed to restrict opposition to him and his policies. I am also putting the picture of Manny Diaz (the Florida Democratic chair) on a milk carton as he is nowhere to be seen.
Here is my letter to our local paper on the Florida Math textbook controversy:
It always helps to have context to better understand news -
So if you are anything like me when hearing that Florida was rejecting dozens of math textbooks because they advanced Critical Race Theory your first reaction may have been... What? Did the textbooks teach division and was that considered CRT?
So I turned to that reliable source I often trust to get real news... the “old gray lady,” also known as the NY Times. They answered my question by doing their own research by actually reviewing 21 of the rejected books themselves as well as interviewing those involved in making the decisions, the publishers of the rejected books, and educators. They then wrote a fine article that explains why the books were rejected, apparently, the issue is the concept of social-emotional learning (SEL - it turns out this concept is apparently the perceived problem or controversy), and its pros and cons. You can inform yourself on this by the NY Times article on it here:
Social-emotional learning (SEL - apparently anything worthy of political controversy today requires assigning it an acronym) is a practice with roots in psychological research that tries to help students develop mind-sets that can support academic success. SEL attempts to integrate (so you see there is a word conservatives apparently already hate) the teaching of the five core skills students should develop as essential social skills into curriculum materials. Those SEL skills are: self-awareness, self-management, responsible decision-making, social awareness, and relationship building. This framework was developed by CASEL, an education nonprofit.
Until recently, the idea of building social-emotional skills was a fairly uncontroversial one in American education. Research suggests that students with these skills earn higher test scores. They also help people, including kids, better function in society by interacting in kind and empathetic ways with others as well as better self-managing themselves in an interdependent world.
Hmm, seems to make sense to me? But then I am one of those who remember being taught from an early age the importance of the ethic of reciprocity. This is also known as the “Golden Rule.” Treat others (all of them) in the same manner you wish to be treated by them. I am not sure why teaching a bit of good character and empathy along with math upsets conservatives but apparently it seems to make them just crazy angry.
Right-wing activists like Chris Rufo, senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, have sought to tie social-emotional learning to the broader debate over the teaching of race, gender and sexuality in classrooms.
In a March interview conducted with him by the NY Times over email, Mr. Rufo stated that while social-emotional learning sounds “positive and uncontroversial” in theory, “in practice, SEL serves as a delivery mechanism for radical pedagogies such as critical race theory and gender deconstructionism.”
“The intention of SEL,” he continued, “is to soften children at an emotional level, reinterpret their normative behavior as an expression of ‘repression,’ ‘whiteness,’ or ‘internalized racism,’ and then rewire their behavior according to the dictates of left-wing ideology.
OMG, really? A teaspoon of character and empathy along with math will “soften children at an emotional level, reinterpret their normative behavior as an expression of ‘repression,’ ‘whiteness,’ or ‘internalized racism,’ and then rewire their behavior according to the dictates of left-wing ideology.” Or, alternatively, it might help turn them into kind and empathetic adults who would perhaps make a decision after turning 18, to vote for a Democrat I guess.
It seems the crazy just never stops and knows no bounds. I invite you to read this NY Times article that provides needed context to inform your own thinking on this issue.
As for your comments on the Florida governor's actions, we are so appreciative that you selected this injustice as your headline. It's time for folks to say that Disneyland is a concept and that he's in violation of the U.S. Constitution. On another topic, we must demand of the AG, as you point out, that he act now and act decisively. The clock has nearly run out. Can we mention this too much? -- "And, in the meantime, there is no evidence that the DOJ gives a damn about the biggest political-financial scandal in a century: The $2 billion “investment” by Saudi Arabia in Jared Kushner’s newly formed investment firm, whose only client appears to be Saudi Arabia. See 'Mother Jones,' Why the Hell Isn’t Jared Kushner’s $2 Billion Saudi Payment a Big Scandal?'" There are experienced prosecutors who are Members on the January 6th Comm. The evidence is beyond doubt and must be referred in a timely fashion. We await their report, referrals and ask Democratic leaders to call, to demand action before democracy dies in darkness.
I can't imagine a scenario in which Disney unwinds from or winds down its investment in the Orlando area of Florida. So I think it's possible the DeSantis will get away with sliming the company. I just hope that there are enough voting Florida transplants that they send him packing. He's mini-Trump and we know that didn't work out well for the country unless you were already a billionaire.
The injured party to this transaction are tax payers in two counties who will have to bear the tax burden of the decision that was made. Disney and the Democrats especially Charlie Crist need to speak up and call DeSantis out and highlight the attack on Mickey Mouse and company. There is a wonderful opportunity here for both Disney and Crist to get public sympathy on their side. We need to stop DeSantis now rather than later.
For self preservation if nothing else, Disney is likely to be as silent as it can be. It's up to the Dem office holders across the state, and newspaper reporters and editorialists to raise a stink.
He is far and away worse than Trump. He is exceedingly dangerous, to Florida and the country, and must be stopped. At the very least, he ought to be disbarred. His policies, advanced by the complicit state legislators in passing bills that he supports and promotes, are blatantly undemocratic and violate state and federal constitutions. We have had 3 horrific years of frightening legislation in Florida, each successive year more extreme than the last.
Voting rights, the right to peaceful protest (it is legal in Florida to murder a protester with your vehicle), banning vaccine and mask mandates resulting in unnecessary deaths, these are a few other awful laws and policies from DeSantis’ and the Republican state legislature.
I await with trepidation the vision of old people walking down the boardwalk in Miami Beach carrying a Glock 9 for protection -----> with no license, no training, concealed or unconcealed, and with poor vision but an absolute conviction of their rights.
Let's not forget that Disney was forced to take this position. This isn't a bunch of CEO's overwhelmed by their sense of ethics or even simple human sumpathy
It is sadly a mark of the time in which we live that the action of Senator McMorrow defending herself publicly against unconscionable slander and defamation from an opportunistic bottom feeding politician is cast as 'courageous' by so many. Do not misunderstand...I admire her articulate defense of herself and deplore her accuser's actions and the motives for them. And I in no way question her resolve to defend not only herself but her constituents from the deleterious effects of the toxic rhetoric of today's political discourse, if one can even apply that term in good faith to how we talk about politics today. But in what used to be 'more normal times', her deed would have been seen not so much as 'courageous' as simply normal and to be expected.
Fear is a powerful force. Acting in the face of it is a more powerful force. But if what was once considered normal behavior is recognized as just that and not ascribed characteristics beyond it, perhaps we will not be so desirous of 'heroes' exhibiting 'courage' on our behalf, and speaking plainly, honestly, sans hyperbole and with conviction and resolve in the face of ugly and nefarious canards will become the everyday behavior that it should be, unremarkable by its commonness.
Props to Mallory McMorrow for her example of how this should be done.
So much space given today to "Small Ron"! As a constantly horrified Florida resident, I often reduce my evaluation of our autocratic governor to one word - and it's a four-letter one: "Mean"! I know this is often assigned to some bad-behaving adolescent girls, but I believe it is better attributed to this middle aged monster, who constantly attacks our freedoms. He just doesn't stop. But, we the people will stop him! And now that Nancy Pelosi has endorsed Charlie Crist, I think it is time for a yard sign - even though our primary is not until August. I will happily put it next to my "Val Demings for US Senate sign." "Little Marco" needs to be stopped, too, and we are believing more and more that Val can do that. That we can do that!
It sure would be nice to have some good news to report from Florida, wouldn't it? After all, 1,000 people a day are moving here! Makes me wonder how many are leaving? Not I! I am staying and fighting!
I personally think Nikki Fried would do a terrific job as governor but may not have the support to actually get elected. Charlie Crist is perhaps too "moderate" to motivate people to go to the polls. Remember that DeathSantis won by a small number and many progressives supported his opponent. So, wouldn't it be a kick a$$ ticket to have Crist and Fried as governor and lieutenant governor on the ticket? That might bring out tons more voters.
Great idea, Annette! Yes, Andrew Gillum lost to DeSantis back in 2018 by less than half a percent. My local group, Miami Springs Activists, had held a very successful fund raiser for Andrew long before the primary. We were devastated by his loss, but it actually prompted even more activism from us. Still can't help but think how different things would be had he won. But we go forward. Former Republican Charlie Crist and always Democrat Nikki Fried.
Great yin-yang balance in many ways. I like it! Thank you for the vision. The good hope.
Yes, Crist/ Fried would get my vote !I l think Crist could help get the Independent votes we need. It’s up to us to encourage voters who think he’s too “moderate”. Although DeSantis is making our job easier.
Then Gov Crist’s downfall was (literally) embracing Obama when he came to Florida. I credit him for having the character to see the “whiting” on the wall…
On a different topic, I'd highlight Obama's important speech on "disinformation". He cites the divisive and negative effects of ratings algorithms on the social media, their shaping of the political world we are unfortunately in ... and that they are not "like phone companies" who do not edit the content their "neutral" platforms offer. This is new territory for regulation and possible constitutional rethinking. I think it's great that Obama has picked this as a worthy fundamental target with large consequences for his focus.
What I loved most about McMorrow's speech (which I have watched over and over again!) is when she says that the culture wars have done nothing to fix the roads and other things. Exactly. All the GOP does is stoke fears with zero action or policies. I think this is also a very winning message.
Mallory McMorrow has more character, courage and spine than all of the US Senate and House and gubernatorial republicans combined. By far. No bullshit, just a clear statement of here’s who and what I am and this is what I believe. And, of course, “We will not let hate win.” She coined the battle cry of the forces for goodness, light, decency and true democracy. Let the true draining of the swamp begin….finally.
Sen. McMorrow reminds me of the courageous David E. Lilienthal before the House Committee on Un-American Activities in 1949. Google “this I do believe.” Profiles in courage, and clarity.
You write almost as well as you photograph :)
i agree!!!! thanks, Peter, and thanks, Bill!
I agree! Well said!
Thanks for lifting up Mallory McMorrow again. You quoted a part of her stem-winder that really impressed me. She spoke about not letting hate win, and who she was, then turned on a dime and said, “LGBTQ kids are not responsible for our crumbling roads and bridges.” YES! Dems, go and do likewise!
That last statement that Mallory McMorrow made was spot on! The Republicans direct hatred toward people who are different because they have no solutions to this country’s problems.
Exactly. And it needs to be said....just like this.
Ron DeSantis is a cheap climber, plain and simple, a politician in the worst sense.
His targets are easy prey, Florida’s minorities, including the Black community, the LBQT community, and very significantly, the education community: his policies have already prompted book banning in schools, and periodic investigations into university professors’ philosophical views and fealty to his views as a prerequisite to continuing their tenure.
This man is a danger to all Floridians, in a race to the bottom.
I just saw this and copied this part of the text. Perhaps several here remember this book?
“Fahrenheit 451” and one passage about how its authoritarian regime began… “It didn’t come from the Government down," Ray Bradbury wrote 70 years ago. "There was no dictum, no declaration, no censorship, to start with, no! Technology, mass exploitation, and minority pressure carried the trick.”
A really big problem is that DeSantis is smart. He's a Yale and Harvard grad. So potentially more dangerous than the former guy. Equally without morals though.
Smart and also not certifiable.
"We will not let hate win!" A superb, concise and powerful battle cry.
Should be on a banner at every Democrat event!
Good luck with that. The problem is that over the past six years gop behavior, criminality, selfishness, and hateful agenda has turned me into a hater….of all that is gop. That has won and is not changing.
Me, too. I have never been a hater, but what Trump has done to the GOP and this country has driven me to it. I remember when one’s choice for President lost an election brought disappointment and some sadness, but then everyone joined together to support the new President of the United States.
That will never happen again unless we change.
"Garland has hired the legal equivalent of a feng shui consultant" Love this!
It does seem that AG Garland is in over his head. Giving Garland the consolation prize of being AG rather than a Supreme Court Justice did not consider that the two jobs require very different qualifications. Working with eight other colleagues on broad legal arguments is a lot different than managing and running an institution with thousands of people like the DOJ.
Cathy, you just stated what I've been saying for months! Garland is in the wrong place at the wrong time. What a tragedy that McConnell was able to block Garland's consideration for the Supreme Court. And yet, as a master at lying, McConnell was quite comfortable fast-tracking ACB to the Court.
Wow. What a brilliant insight about those job qualifications. Thank you!
Sorry, I don’t mean to monopolize the conversation, but this article from my local paper shows how De Santa’s and co. shut down conversation. They turn off the wi-if in the meeting so no one can broadcast the stories. Putin would be proud.
https://tampabaytimes-fl.newsmemory.com/?publink=3d6a539d9_134842a
Todays Edition reminded us of Mallory McMorrow and her inspirational speech to Michigan legislators. For me she fought back and in essence said “ enough is enough” I will not let you bully and intimate me. That same spirt and indignation and courage I want to see against Florida’s Governor and the Texas Governor and other Republicans who have been brazen and unrelenting in their outrageous and unchecked racism and chest pounding. James Carville in a recent interview said “ No one fears the Democratic Party. You can’t govern without fear,! Recent revelations and tape recordings of McCarthy threatening to ask Trump to which he lacked the guts to actually do and the subsequent meeting he had in Florida with Trump clearly demonstrate the fear the Republican Party has of Trump. It’s time for Democrats to step up and speak out loudly and be feared and respected. Democratic and Independent voters are demanding it.
Thank you for describing the abominable governor and the conditions we face here in Florida. DeSantis has made Florida an authoritarian state. He’s been planning this for some time. Don’t forget the constitutional amendment that the people of Florida passed, giving voting rights back to felons after they completed their terms. The governor and his minions decided they now had to pay ALL their fines and financial obligations even though they often can’t get a figure. These ex-felons, many Black, probably wouldn’t vote Republican. Don’t forget that Florida passed the most restrictive anti-protest law, threatening people who came out to protest him. All of these actions are designed to restrict opposition to him and his policies. I am also putting the picture of Manny Diaz (the Florida Democratic chair) on a milk carton as he is nowhere to be seen.
Here is my letter to our local paper on the Florida Math textbook controversy:
It always helps to have context to better understand news -
So if you are anything like me when hearing that Florida was rejecting dozens of math textbooks because they advanced Critical Race Theory your first reaction may have been... What? Did the textbooks teach division and was that considered CRT?
So I turned to that reliable source I often trust to get real news... the “old gray lady,” also known as the NY Times. They answered my question by doing their own research by actually reviewing 21 of the rejected books themselves as well as interviewing those involved in making the decisions, the publishers of the rejected books, and educators. They then wrote a fine article that explains why the books were rejected, apparently, the issue is the concept of social-emotional learning (SEL - it turns out this concept is apparently the perceived problem or controversy), and its pros and cons. You can inform yourself on this by the NY Times article on it here:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/22/us/florida-rejected-textbooks.html?unlocked_article_code=AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACEIPuonUktbfqYhkTFUZASbIRp8pqhqchPTGhaYxhHL1MCWZDCpP3_gfBI-D4AHNea9nLZMV7giseeVgYvUpVeAgiahWJVBsQA2l5ZDfyZ0Oe3857NLvBjNzgsvBDfVprTW2K2Pkeewjzrfv4BuMPHL4G_CKiQ1XLwxjopFjd1yuyCZIkv-DSrgpr4E4ifQxBZl6RiMCYT2KvJTrCBZ4P9aBbXLM-1V8GrEZCXyIw4nqu_9Xex5SCFnGUHp4_W84jdtcM94TN6r_RAUyKyrSvwk5oAF8HXJj6sGtNA&referringSource=articleShare
Social-emotional learning (SEL - apparently anything worthy of political controversy today requires assigning it an acronym) is a practice with roots in psychological research that tries to help students develop mind-sets that can support academic success. SEL attempts to integrate (so you see there is a word conservatives apparently already hate) the teaching of the five core skills students should develop as essential social skills into curriculum materials. Those SEL skills are: self-awareness, self-management, responsible decision-making, social awareness, and relationship building. This framework was developed by CASEL, an education nonprofit.
Until recently, the idea of building social-emotional skills was a fairly uncontroversial one in American education. Research suggests that students with these skills earn higher test scores. They also help people, including kids, better function in society by interacting in kind and empathetic ways with others as well as better self-managing themselves in an interdependent world.
Hmm, seems to make sense to me? But then I am one of those who remember being taught from an early age the importance of the ethic of reciprocity. This is also known as the “Golden Rule.” Treat others (all of them) in the same manner you wish to be treated by them. I am not sure why teaching a bit of good character and empathy along with math upsets conservatives but apparently it seems to make them just crazy angry.
Right-wing activists like Chris Rufo, senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, have sought to tie social-emotional learning to the broader debate over the teaching of race, gender and sexuality in classrooms.
In a March interview conducted with him by the NY Times over email, Mr. Rufo stated that while social-emotional learning sounds “positive and uncontroversial” in theory, “in practice, SEL serves as a delivery mechanism for radical pedagogies such as critical race theory and gender deconstructionism.”
“The intention of SEL,” he continued, “is to soften children at an emotional level, reinterpret their normative behavior as an expression of ‘repression,’ ‘whiteness,’ or ‘internalized racism,’ and then rewire their behavior according to the dictates of left-wing ideology.
OMG, really? A teaspoon of character and empathy along with math will “soften children at an emotional level, reinterpret their normative behavior as an expression of ‘repression,’ ‘whiteness,’ or ‘internalized racism,’ and then rewire their behavior according to the dictates of left-wing ideology.” Or, alternatively, it might help turn them into kind and empathetic adults who would perhaps make a decision after turning 18, to vote for a Democrat I guess.
It seems the crazy just never stops and knows no bounds. I invite you to read this NY Times article that provides needed context to inform your own thinking on this issue.
Great letter! Keep up the good work!
As for your comments on the Florida governor's actions, we are so appreciative that you selected this injustice as your headline. It's time for folks to say that Disneyland is a concept and that he's in violation of the U.S. Constitution. On another topic, we must demand of the AG, as you point out, that he act now and act decisively. The clock has nearly run out. Can we mention this too much? -- "And, in the meantime, there is no evidence that the DOJ gives a damn about the biggest political-financial scandal in a century: The $2 billion “investment” by Saudi Arabia in Jared Kushner’s newly formed investment firm, whose only client appears to be Saudi Arabia. See 'Mother Jones,' Why the Hell Isn’t Jared Kushner’s $2 Billion Saudi Payment a Big Scandal?'" There are experienced prosecutors who are Members on the January 6th Comm. The evidence is beyond doubt and must be referred in a timely fashion. We await their report, referrals and ask Democratic leaders to call, to demand action before democracy dies in darkness.
I can't imagine a scenario in which Disney unwinds from or winds down its investment in the Orlando area of Florida. So I think it's possible the DeSantis will get away with sliming the company. I just hope that there are enough voting Florida transplants that they send him packing. He's mini-Trump and we know that didn't work out well for the country unless you were already a billionaire.
The injured party to this transaction are tax payers in two counties who will have to bear the tax burden of the decision that was made. Disney and the Democrats especially Charlie Crist need to speak up and call DeSantis out and highlight the attack on Mickey Mouse and company. There is a wonderful opportunity here for both Disney and Crist to get public sympathy on their side. We need to stop DeSantis now rather than later.
For self preservation if nothing else, Disney is likely to be as silent as it can be. It's up to the Dem office holders across the state, and newspaper reporters and editorialists to raise a stink.
He is far and away worse than Trump. He is exceedingly dangerous, to Florida and the country, and must be stopped. At the very least, he ought to be disbarred. His policies, advanced by the complicit state legislators in passing bills that he supports and promotes, are blatantly undemocratic and violate state and federal constitutions. We have had 3 horrific years of frightening legislation in Florida, each successive year more extreme than the last.
Voting rights, the right to peaceful protest (it is legal in Florida to murder a protester with your vehicle), banning vaccine and mask mandates resulting in unnecessary deaths, these are a few other awful laws and policies from DeSantis’ and the Republican state legislature.
I await with trepidation the vision of old people walking down the boardwalk in Miami Beach carrying a Glock 9 for protection -----> with no license, no training, concealed or unconcealed, and with poor vision but an absolute conviction of their rights.
Ditto. And, all the homicidal maniacs itching to blow away people.
The voters in Florida need to turn out vote and support local Democratic candidates. Historically Florida has had poor turnout.
Let's not forget that Disney was forced to take this position. This isn't a bunch of CEO's overwhelmed by their sense of ethics or even simple human sumpathy
It is sadly a mark of the time in which we live that the action of Senator McMorrow defending herself publicly against unconscionable slander and defamation from an opportunistic bottom feeding politician is cast as 'courageous' by so many. Do not misunderstand...I admire her articulate defense of herself and deplore her accuser's actions and the motives for them. And I in no way question her resolve to defend not only herself but her constituents from the deleterious effects of the toxic rhetoric of today's political discourse, if one can even apply that term in good faith to how we talk about politics today. But in what used to be 'more normal times', her deed would have been seen not so much as 'courageous' as simply normal and to be expected.
Fear is a powerful force. Acting in the face of it is a more powerful force. But if what was once considered normal behavior is recognized as just that and not ascribed characteristics beyond it, perhaps we will not be so desirous of 'heroes' exhibiting 'courage' on our behalf, and speaking plainly, honestly, sans hyperbole and with conviction and resolve in the face of ugly and nefarious canards will become the everyday behavior that it should be, unremarkable by its commonness.
Props to Mallory McMorrow for her example of how this should be done.
So much space given today to "Small Ron"! As a constantly horrified Florida resident, I often reduce my evaluation of our autocratic governor to one word - and it's a four-letter one: "Mean"! I know this is often assigned to some bad-behaving adolescent girls, but I believe it is better attributed to this middle aged monster, who constantly attacks our freedoms. He just doesn't stop. But, we the people will stop him! And now that Nancy Pelosi has endorsed Charlie Crist, I think it is time for a yard sign - even though our primary is not until August. I will happily put it next to my "Val Demings for US Senate sign." "Little Marco" needs to be stopped, too, and we are believing more and more that Val can do that. That we can do that!
It sure would be nice to have some good news to report from Florida, wouldn't it? After all, 1,000 people a day are moving here! Makes me wonder how many are leaving? Not I! I am staying and fighting!
I personally think Nikki Fried would do a terrific job as governor but may not have the support to actually get elected. Charlie Crist is perhaps too "moderate" to motivate people to go to the polls. Remember that DeathSantis won by a small number and many progressives supported his opponent. So, wouldn't it be a kick a$$ ticket to have Crist and Fried as governor and lieutenant governor on the ticket? That might bring out tons more voters.
Great idea, Annette! Yes, Andrew Gillum lost to DeSantis back in 2018 by less than half a percent. My local group, Miami Springs Activists, had held a very successful fund raiser for Andrew long before the primary. We were devastated by his loss, but it actually prompted even more activism from us. Still can't help but think how different things would be had he won. But we go forward. Former Republican Charlie Crist and always Democrat Nikki Fried.
Great yin-yang balance in many ways. I like it! Thank you for the vision. The good hope.
Yes, Crist/ Fried would get my vote !I l think Crist could help get the Independent votes we need. It’s up to us to encourage voters who think he’s too “moderate”. Although DeSantis is making our job easier.
Then Gov Crist’s downfall was (literally) embracing Obama when he came to Florida. I credit him for having the character to see the “whiting” on the wall…
On a different topic, I'd highlight Obama's important speech on "disinformation". He cites the divisive and negative effects of ratings algorithms on the social media, their shaping of the political world we are unfortunately in ... and that they are not "like phone companies" who do not edit the content their "neutral" platforms offer. This is new territory for regulation and possible constitutional rethinking. I think it's great that Obama has picked this as a worthy fundamental target with large consequences for his focus.
https://youtu.be/ExEApwbhfqQ
Of course the GOP doesn't believe corporations should have freedom of speech if it goes against them, only when it favors them $$$ (Citizen's United).
What I loved most about McMorrow's speech (which I have watched over and over again!) is when she says that the culture wars have done nothing to fix the roads and other things. Exactly. All the GOP does is stoke fears with zero action or policies. I think this is also a very winning message.