I moved to Florida right before DeSantis squeaked out a fluke victory. The Democratic Primary for Governor was a 3-way race and the guy in 3rd place won… unexpectedly… and he (Andrew Gillum) was not prepared for a statewide election just months after the primary. He lost to DeSantis by just .04%
In the same election, Floridians restored the vote to felons in a ballot initiative but DeSantis CHANGED the rules after the fact to say felons could only vote IF their dues were 100% paid. There is no database for former felons to determine IF all dues are paid. And voting as a felon under DeSantis’s fabricated addendum was a felony.
DeSantis disenfranchised millions! He was in office during COVID and Florida outperformed other states because we have outdoor weather 365 days a year. Not because of his leadership.
DeSantis’ victory was a fluke. His success was a fluke. His defeat could turn Florida from red to blue in a snap… especially with a six-week abortion ban on the ballot AND recreational cannabis on the Ballot.
God knows I’m wearing my Biden T-shirt on as many Grocery Runs as I can until 11/5.
Fellow Floridians and Dems in all 50 states, buy a shirt (or 3) and join me. 🛒👕
I’m with Shawn wearing my Biden/Harris t !! Not a single negative comment/discussion since starting in Feb. here in MAGA-villle.,Florida. Unfortunately, I haven’t seen anyone else wearing one.😔
Please join us. It truly is empowering !
👕🛒
Don’t forget to fly your flag today,(right side up, of course😏),on June 14th,Flag Day 🇺🇸,preferably next to your Biden/Harris sign🪧!
"DeSantis disenfranchised millions! He was in office during COVID and Florida outperformed other states because we have outdoor weather 365 days a year. Not because of his leadership."
Also because he was gaming the numbers. (1) Only full year residents wee counted in the numbers of Covid cases - NOT snowbirds and not the vacationers who returned home to spread Covid and have their case counted there. (2) He changed the way Covid cases were recorded.
Initially cases were counted on the day the the positive test results hit the state database. At the peak of Covid, tests were backlogged - so a sick person who contracted Covid had to wait to get tested, wait for the tests to be analyzed, and wait for the results to be logged into the database. DeSantis changed it so that positive test results were logged on the day the patient theoretically contracted Covid. So Abracadabra, new positive test results might be attributed to more than a week in the past, which made FL look much better than a state that was using the normal method of accounting . Naturally, most people didn't notice that the case count from prior days kept getting adjusted upward!
Dave, Thanks for diving in to the Biden T-shirt club. I bought 4 shirts from BeantownStrong myself and after leaving a review on the Etsy site, befriended the owner.
If you have any Biden Shirt wearing experiences to share please do. Either here or in a personal message. I’m writing an article about that.
It looks like you are in MO, so check out Decoding Fox News on Substack. The host Juliet Jeske is a Fellow Missourian.
Shawn, an employee at the local Hallmark store pulled me aside, told me she loved my shirt and was saddened because the store was closing. I was surprised when she quietly told me every employee in the store was a like-minded Progressive. She was fearful of “speaking” out. I told her she/they were not alone…many blue dots in our community and if only we could make our voices heard. I did a lot of listening as she really wanted to talk. At the end of our conversation she told me she was considering a Biden/Harris t-shirt/yard sign.
So many others “I love your shirt”, conversations like the twenty-something pharmacy tech concerned about future of Medicare/Social Security..
On another note, I change up my messaging billboards.The other day I was wearing my “ Hello, Register To Vote With Me “t resulting in a discussion with an older employee in Publix parking lot. He told me he had been exiled from Nicaragua since 1972 “ because of the war and Tachito”.( President Anastasio Somoza Debayle).He proudly told me he had just moved, changed his license and was awaiting his new voter ID card. When I got home I researched Tachito. Nicaragua did not allow subsequent terms at the time so Tachito engineered a way to remain in power by being a defacto president with control of the National Guard.Apparently he also said…”I don’t want an educated population;I want oxen.” Scarily familiar !!!
Hi Daniel! Just a note for you and anyone who can't find a t-shirt that has the words you want on it. You can go to the Zazzle website and put whatever slogan you like on a t-shirt.
I have no affiliation with Zazzle other than I love greeting cards and have been using Zazzle to personalize greeting cards (and the occasional coffee mug or t-shirt) for friends and family for many years.
They have good customer service and generally good products. If you're not sure how to use their site to create your slogan on a product, they also have free assistance online. Take care and good luck!
As we await SCOTUS' decision regarding the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act. The views expressed in the concluding paragraphs of this article in Slate written by Jill Filipovic are the first time I have ever seen them:
"The treatment of pregnant women primarily as vessels for a fetus, and the stripping of otherwise applicable rights and protections from women because of their pregnant status, underlies the entire ideology of the anti-abortion movement. As many others have pointed out, there are no other circumstances under which we force people to donate use of their organs to another, no matter how dire the need; even corpses need to have consented while alive before their organs can go to anyone else. A father with two perfectly healthy kidneys is under no legal obligation to donate one even to his own very ill child; he’s not even legally obligated to donate blood, or to, say, cut off his hair to make a realistic wig for his cancer-stricken kid. Fathers are not legally obligated to so much as hold or even meet their own babies, let alone risk their lives or give over their organs and bodily functions to them for 10 months.
"No one parent is required by law to walk right up to the edge of death in order to save their child’s life, and no one is required to walk right up to the edge of death in the service of someone who cannot live.
"No one, that is, except a pregnant woman in an abortion-hostile state."
It can’t be said enough. Personhood must be granted to women.
Religion is weaponized to prevent women from rising. There are no women Catholic priests because women have no power or rights in Catholicism and their voting block keeps women in line in the pews and in the country.
Shawn,Shawn, as a cradle Catholic with a lifelong love of much of what the Roman Catholic Church has done in human history and a loathing of much else that the RCC has done, encouraged, and stood for, your comment and Lynell's posting and sharing, hit me as yet another gut punch -- and there have been many especially since 2016. I am -- perhaps curiously -- grateful for the force of your comments. I am younger than Joe Biden by a few years, but I am sometimes trying to walk what must be his perilous path as a pro-choice Catholic in America. I am trying to hang on to the Dorothy Day, Berrigan brothers, Simone Weil, social justice, preferential option for the poor tradition of Catholicism even as the American bishops seem to have offered up the faithful to be servants of tyranny. That millions of American Catholics will vote for Trump and Republicans up and down the ballot in an attempt to defeat their fellow Catholic at the top of the the Democratic Party ticket astounds and troubles me. Thank you both for sharpening the knife of this particular pain of worry. My vote and work for Biden is not in question. But my despair for the stance of the leadership of the Catholic Church and of millions of RC's who follow Trump grows deeper every day. I apologize for the personal and, to many readers perhaps, maudlin tone of this post. I should perhaps not post it, but for some there may be a resonance, and I felt a duty to thank you for your frank and clearly stated attack on the dominant strain of the Catholic Church in America.
Patrick, My wife and I regularly attend Sunday Mass. Most weeks, as I drive to our third parish in a decade, I ask myself, "Why am I still doing this?" Last week, we attended Mass in San Francisco while traveling. The parts of the Mass were in Latin. We walked out. Sometimes it feels like the Church doesn't want us anymore. (Hence our migration from parish to parish in search of a ministry that welcomes non-Trump supporting Catholics.)
Wow! I had no idea that you and Jill were going thru the same struggles that we are facing here in Columbus, OH. The new bishop abruptly shifted the focus of our thriving and progressive, "All Are Welcome" OSU Newman Center to an ultra- conservative focus only on fostering male vocations to the priesthood. Our beloved Paulist priests were asked to leave their ministry with 2 weeks notice. The good news emerging from our grief is that a significant number of Newman's resident community have been welcomed by an inclusive (code for welcoming guests people of color and the LGBTQ community) group of 3 parishes merging into one. The new parish chose to name themselves for St. Josephine Bahkita from Sudan.
My mom and dad are good Catholics. And somehow unable or unwilling to see the dark side of Catholicism. I was confirmed and attended Sunday mass 52 times a year until my second weekend of college. I went the first weekend and knew then that at there was nothing in it for me.
I recall a sermon in the early 1990s by a beloved priest, Father Jim Bessemer who denounced all the crass joking about priests and alter boys and that the accusations must stop! He got a huge round of applause. He was later convicted of helping to cover up abuse. My high school priest pleaded no contest to sexual abuse of a minor and was sentenced to two years. He was released early.
But I’ll say my deepest ire is held for the idea of a Virgin Birth. It creates an environment that allows for the condemnation and punishment of women who don’t meet that standard. I recall that feeling among Catholics that an unwanted pregnancy was punishment for premarital sex. That’s how the GOP treats it today. There is no care for the mother or the child. Just a lifelong sentence for what they see as sin. It’s nothing but a tool for control. And the GOP makes a tool of all Christians who vote for them. How they don’t see the need to care for the poor and the homeless and refugees and incarcerated and death row inmates, I will never understand.
Right there with you Patrick. My deeply Catholic heart hurts knowing too many vote for pro life only, disregarding any possibility that women could be capably of making her our decision about her body. FEAR rules them.
Sorry, messed up. I taught and served as Associate Dean of Faculty and later Dean of Faculty for many years at Saint Mary's College in Notre Dame, Indiana sponsored by the Sisters of the Holy Cross. I have profound trust and respect in the work and leadership in Catholic education and the dignity and judgment of the Saint Mary's alumnae all over the world. Catholic women's orders have been pushing the church to a more equitable future for hundreds of years, of course, and one might point to the lack of progress and wonder. I do too. But for now I struggle to join the social justice work of the Congregation and the good effect their example continues to have. I envy you your new church in Columbus,
Jacquie and seek to find a way to somehow reconcile ALL the teachings and actions of the Church with a respect for life and equality and justice all together. Thanks for your encouraging words.
Hey New England,traditionally Democtatic, you still must vote. The size if the national popular vote is critical to electing down ballot candidates-- the bench for the future and to send a message of strength for democracy. Even if your state is poised to win or lose, you play an important part to setting our future agenda. Inattention or laziness makes a statement for our future as well.
You've had a hard day at work: Overturning abortion rights. Comforting insurrectionists. Suppressing voting rights. Not hanging up flags to support Christian extremists... Even MAGA Supreme Court Justices need a break. Check the top 12 Luxury Getaways For MAGA Supreme Court Justices courtesy billionaires.
I read the Mifepristone opinion. I kept thinking I was reading a Wikipedia entry on Standing. Such a cite-full (but not insightful) stating of the obvious. Some law clerk gets to parley his post-clerkship life into a plummy job by writing the easiest opinion ever written for a judge or justice.
Last night Lawrence O’Donnell showed a clip of Trump shaking hands with fellow Republicans while clapping approval. You could see Ted Cruz, Lindsay Graham, Chuck Grassley and a host of others applauding the convicted felon. The Democratic candidates running for office should blast this sequence in campaign ads because it clearly shows voters how corrupt the Republican Party is and how if Trump were elected there would be no guardrails. The short speech Trump made which has been underreported clearly shows how tired Trump looks and is full of senseless lies and comments like how horrible Milwaukee is which is the site of the Republican convention. The picture of fawning Republican Senators applauding their Presidential candidate who is making no sense at all is a picture worth a thousand votes.
I think the Biden campaign was smart to arrange the 6/27th debate with Trump. Now Trump will either back out or insist on debating. If he participates, the country will see him as he really is, not fit to be president again.
We know that Biden will outshine him in every way.
I'm betting he will back out. No audience in attendance means he can't put on a show for sycophants. No teleprompter means he will be ranting and rambling in his usual incoherent gibberish. If the moderator will simply silence his mic when he drools overtime, he'll have a hissy fit. His campaign handlers will surely come up with an excuse to keep the general public from the disgraceful picture of the "drunk uncle."
Robert, I really appreciate you calling out Alex Wagner for the in accurate spin on the election. How can we get your perspective on the air? Are there alternate guests that we can propose? Also, I’m sure you shared the gut wrenching feeling of Donald Trump parading back to Congress after he goes unpunished for the insurrection. I can’t help feeling that all of this is Merrick Garland’s weakness and unwillingness to properly do his job.
We need to discuss the facts. Alex Wagner is a light weight with mediocre ratings compared to other hosts. There are alternative discussions and guests on shows hosted by Rachael, Lawrence, Chris , Joy and others. Trying and convicting Trump is a difficult tasks with no room for failure so Garland took time to build an iron clad case and the courts not Garland have slow walked the trials.
More good analyses, and thanks for passing along Lithwick's and Slate's great line ("minimally responsible adults in a room of sugared-up preschoolers, shutting down the lower courts’ lawless rampage").
For further analysis of SCOTUS's mifeprestone decision and the doors it leaves open for the far right, also see Joyce Vance's post today (no vivid imagery, though): https://joycevance.substack.com/p/no-standing-for-you.
And thanks for the pointer to NOTUS. I was unaware of it but looks promising; I'll be checking them regularly.
And when it comes to NFP journalism, let us also open both our hearts and our wallets to ProPublica -- they're not scared of doing the heavy lifting, reporting the ugly truths, and letting the chips fall where they may. (No vested interest; just a grateful subscriber.)
Except--today is Trump's 78th birthday, he's OLLLDDD!--he's more like "your drunk grandfather." Interesting how even sane journalists perceive him as middle-aged and strong.
Wow -- two tips in a day. Thanks! Will check out Public Citizen.
It kinda pains me to say it, but at this point 78 doesn't seem old, just around the corner for me. Of course, it pleases me to think that the answer is to abandon the chronological yardstick and look at things like psychological balance, depth of view and grasp of history, efficacy of vision, and so on. If any of that holds any water, I'm doing OK but the Orange Convicted Felon is waaaaay old, shelf life long since expired, whatever the calendar says.
Thank you for your call for Democrats to keep working everywhere, up and down the ballot. The Ohio Special Election is just another data point showing that we can make progress in even the most unlikely spots.
I feel inspired to re-up my call to remember rural and red state Democrats. There are Democrats and people who share Democratic values all through our rural areas. They just feel abandoned and often believe themselves to be totally alone, which discourages them from speaking up. One of the best writers on this topic is Jess Piper, whose substack is here: jesspiper.substack.com but I want to point to one of her essays on this topic from a different website https://www.bleedingheartland.com/2024/03/27/uncontested-races-are-undemocratic/. Please note the post-script: "I wrote this post before I heard the news after the end of filing. Friends, in 2022, over 40 percent of the legislative seats in Missouri were uncontested. In 2024, only 18 percent will be uncontested. We have 135 filed for House seats as of March 26. This is progress! WE ARE DOING IT!"
Now, how is this progress happening in the time of Trump? Well, Democrats everywhere have had enough and are organizing in unlikely places. Under the umbrella of an organization called All States Blue, Missouri, Ohio and Tennessee have put together organizations to provide at least minimal support to anyone courageous enough to step up and say, "I have had enough of the extremism at the state house. I am running for office," Bluemissouri.org, Blueohio.org and bluetennessee.org all pool resources from donors and members to make sure that those people can print some literature and distribute yard signs and not be completely alone. We need to build on this model. And let me point out that Missouri and Tennessee have two of the most execrable Republican senators up for reelection, Josh Hawley and Marsha Blackburn, and both are being challenged by serious, progressive candidates. They are long shots no doubt, but imagine a world in which one or both have been defeated! Giving the lonely rural Democrats someone to vote for locally significantly increases the likelihood that they will bother to show up at the polls and vote for Senate and President. Is Biden going to win those states? No, but we have got to start building our power in rural areas and not leave these people behind to be utterly demoralized. Plus, their lives are being ruined by the insanity of their legislatures. I would encourage people who agree to consider checking out these organizations.
On a similar note, I recently learned of a project by RuralVote.org to distribute yard signs in Ohio, Montana, Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania, targeting towns with populations below 45K. They are seeking "vocal locals," people willing to express their values and have conversations. Many of these people are not active with the Democratic party, if there even is one in their area, but they are fed up with what is happening to their communities. They are sick of seeing Trump flags and signs all around them without any push back. It's a two-part project, first they put up a yard sign just about their values. For example the Ohio signs say "We support Freedom, Choice, Healthcare" on one side and "Democracy Delivered Lower Prescription Drug Costs for Families and Seniors" on the other. The people who put out the signs recruit others to do the same, and they track the conversations they have with friends and neighbors, which turns out to be around 5 per sign, just by putting them out there. In August, they will be replaced by candidate specific signs. Here's a document about the program and the pilot studies they have done https://actionnetwork.org/user_files/user_files/000/108/410/original/Campaign_Strategy_Memo___RuralVote.org.pdf.
The thing about these projects is they do so much with so little money! All that RuralVote.org needs to fully implement their program is $50K. What does that buy in an urban media market? Not that much, if I'm not mistaken. Far be it from me to tell campaign experts how to spend their resources, but I just can't believe we benefit by completely giving up on rural areas. I know this has been a long, link-filled post, but I am passionate in my belief that there are people everywhere who care about healthcare access, public education, democracy, reproductive rights, the climate, civil rights, and who dread a theocratic autocracy as much as anyone in San Francisco or New York, and they need to be part of our movement too.
" .. but I just can't believe we benefit by completely giving up on rural areas".
Me either. I'm in NC and Anderson Clayton and her team did a fantastic job in recruiting rural candidates. Of course, it really helps that she comes from a rural county! Despite the severe gerrymandering in the state lesgilative map, candidates were recruited for all but a few seats in NC.
Conversely, I am pretty sure the GOP is running fewer candidates than in 2022. Last Friday, I was at a periodic Democratic get together at a local brewery. I spoke with a woman who explained that she had been recruited as a first-time candidate last fall and that after the filing deadline she got a call from the NCDP congratulating her. Not only did she have no competitors in the PRIMARY; she didn't have any competitors in the GENERAL election either! So she had decided to spend the time she would have been knocking doors in her own district to help a fellow Democrat in a neighboring district that was drawn much redder.
Thank you for your passionate plea on behalf of rural America. I would add that rural America needs to have a mass mailing to President Joe Biden. Inform him as you informed us. 50k is A drop in the bucket in a campaign budget.
I I was furious that today's Philadelphia Inquirer reprinted a Washington Post whitewash job of this visit on the front page. The the headline is "Trump basks in GOP glow in return to Washington."
Meanwhile, the story of Biden's visit to the G7 was consigned to page A10.
There was no mention of the January 6th insurrection until the 8th paragraph of this article.
By contrast, the BBC article headline is "Trump visits Capitol Hill for first time since Jan 6 riot," and quotes Nancy Pelosi in paragraph 3 calling Trump the "instigator of an insurrection... returning to the scene of the crime".
Oh we Mainers are out there - Franklin County Democrats are canvassing every weekend, writing letters to the editor, and holding "Cards and Calls" parties. Maine can split its Electoral College vote, and did in 2016. This year? NO WAY.
Totally. It'll be a tough fight. The district is the largest one east of the Mississippi - rural, decimated by failing businesses, and Democrat-poor. We'll work hard in our county, and I know Jared does a great job with traveling hither and yon in the district, but it'll still be a challenge. Anyone outside the state inclined to go to bat for Jared would be greatly appreciated!
Yes. I live in Oxford County and your descriptor is dead on....and of course the same for all the rest of CD#2.
I worked for the town as a ballot clerk last Tuesday and I have to admit I was a little cheered...there were more Dems in town that I had thought. Back in the run up to elect Obama, I attended the local Dem caucus and calculated that the Dems could have held their caucus in a small to middlin' woodshed...but there are now (thanks to people moving to the roomier rural areas during COVID and the 5G enhanced ability to WFH) perhaps enough Dems in our town to fill a smaller school classroom. Progress.
Yes, progress! Have you connected with the Oxford County Democratic Committee? They have a great chair and could use your energy. Message me if you need more info.
I moved to Florida right before DeSantis squeaked out a fluke victory. The Democratic Primary for Governor was a 3-way race and the guy in 3rd place won… unexpectedly… and he (Andrew Gillum) was not prepared for a statewide election just months after the primary. He lost to DeSantis by just .04%
In the same election, Floridians restored the vote to felons in a ballot initiative but DeSantis CHANGED the rules after the fact to say felons could only vote IF their dues were 100% paid. There is no database for former felons to determine IF all dues are paid. And voting as a felon under DeSantis’s fabricated addendum was a felony.
DeSantis disenfranchised millions! He was in office during COVID and Florida outperformed other states because we have outdoor weather 365 days a year. Not because of his leadership.
DeSantis’ victory was a fluke. His success was a fluke. His defeat could turn Florida from red to blue in a snap… especially with a six-week abortion ban on the ballot AND recreational cannabis on the Ballot.
God knows I’m wearing my Biden T-shirt on as many Grocery Runs as I can until 11/5.
Fellow Floridians and Dems in all 50 states, buy a shirt (or 3) and join me. 🛒👕
BeantownStrong.org
DemsMakeLifeBetter.org
I’m with Shawn wearing my Biden/Harris t !! Not a single negative comment/discussion since starting in Feb. here in MAGA-villle.,Florida. Unfortunately, I haven’t seen anyone else wearing one.😔
Please join us. It truly is empowering !
👕🛒
Don’t forget to fly your flag today,(right side up, of course😏),on June 14th,Flag Day 🇺🇸,preferably next to your Biden/Harris sign🪧!
"DeSantis disenfranchised millions! He was in office during COVID and Florida outperformed other states because we have outdoor weather 365 days a year. Not because of his leadership."
Also because he was gaming the numbers. (1) Only full year residents wee counted in the numbers of Covid cases - NOT snowbirds and not the vacationers who returned home to spread Covid and have their case counted there. (2) He changed the way Covid cases were recorded.
Initially cases were counted on the day the the positive test results hit the state database. At the peak of Covid, tests were backlogged - so a sick person who contracted Covid had to wait to get tested, wait for the tests to be analyzed, and wait for the results to be logged into the database. DeSantis changed it so that positive test results were logged on the day the patient theoretically contracted Covid. So Abracadabra, new positive test results might be attributed to more than a week in the past, which made FL look much better than a state that was using the normal method of accounting . Naturally, most people didn't notice that the case count from prior days kept getting adjusted upward!
For anyone thinking about following Shawn's great advice, Beantown's shirts are good quality and their service is excellent.
Dave, Thanks for diving in to the Biden T-shirt club. I bought 4 shirts from BeantownStrong myself and after leaving a review on the Etsy site, befriended the owner.
If you have any Biden Shirt wearing experiences to share please do. Either here or in a personal message. I’m writing an article about that.
It looks like you are in MO, so check out Decoding Fox News on Substack. The host Juliet Jeske is a Fellow Missourian.
Shawn, an employee at the local Hallmark store pulled me aside, told me she loved my shirt and was saddened because the store was closing. I was surprised when she quietly told me every employee in the store was a like-minded Progressive. She was fearful of “speaking” out. I told her she/they were not alone…many blue dots in our community and if only we could make our voices heard. I did a lot of listening as she really wanted to talk. At the end of our conversation she told me she was considering a Biden/Harris t-shirt/yard sign.
So many others “I love your shirt”, conversations like the twenty-something pharmacy tech concerned about future of Medicare/Social Security..
On another note, I change up my messaging billboards.The other day I was wearing my “ Hello, Register To Vote With Me “t resulting in a discussion with an older employee in Publix parking lot. He told me he had been exiled from Nicaragua since 1972 “ because of the war and Tachito”.( President Anastasio Somoza Debayle).He proudly told me he had just moved, changed his license and was awaiting his new voter ID card. When I got home I researched Tachito. Nicaragua did not allow subsequent terms at the time so Tachito engineered a way to remain in power by being a defacto president with control of the National Guard.Apparently he also said…”I don’t want an educated population;I want oxen.” Scarily familiar !!!
Sorry for digressing.😜
Tachito relocated to Miami, opened a restaurant. Lived on Palm Island.
Is there a "Trump hates dogs" shirt?
Hi Daniel! Just a note for you and anyone who can't find a t-shirt that has the words you want on it. You can go to the Zazzle website and put whatever slogan you like on a t-shirt.
I have no affiliation with Zazzle other than I love greeting cards and have been using Zazzle to personalize greeting cards (and the occasional coffee mug or t-shirt) for friends and family for many years.
They have good customer service and generally good products. If you're not sure how to use their site to create your slogan on a product, they also have free assistance online. Take care and good luck!
Thanks for mentioning Zazzle! I see lots of good options there.
Thanks for the shirt stories Kathy, so good to hear.
Thanks Shawn, I will check out Juliet's site. Last time I wore the shirt walking my dog, I got a hug and a compliment on the shirt.
Shawn, thanks for your persistent reminders of your great idea to wear an election shirt to the market and around town. I did it! I (finally) designed and ordered my shirt: https://www.zazzle.com/if_youre_not_youre_not_paying_attention_ou_t_shirt-256071857790707740
(anyone is welcome to order this design, or adapt as you'd like - it's fully customizable.)
Text on the front:
If you're not WORRIED, you're not paying attention.
What do you know about / PROJECT 2025?
Learn at project2025.org or / wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_2025
Text on the back:
VOTE BLUE
The Biden/Harris administration works for ALL of US
• Protecting reproductive and LGBTQ rights
• REDUCED violent crime, promoting gun safety
• Controlling healthcare costs, improving access
• Wages outpacing inflation, Inequality is narrowing
• Addressing Climate Change, environmental justice
• Student debt relief
• More jobs and people working, low unemployment
• Rebuilding infrastructure
• Strengthening international relationships
https://www.whitehouse.gov/therecord/
As we await SCOTUS' decision regarding the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act. The views expressed in the concluding paragraphs of this article in Slate written by Jill Filipovic are the first time I have ever seen them:
"The treatment of pregnant women primarily as vessels for a fetus, and the stripping of otherwise applicable rights and protections from women because of their pregnant status, underlies the entire ideology of the anti-abortion movement. As many others have pointed out, there are no other circumstances under which we force people to donate use of their organs to another, no matter how dire the need; even corpses need to have consented while alive before their organs can go to anyone else. A father with two perfectly healthy kidneys is under no legal obligation to donate one even to his own very ill child; he’s not even legally obligated to donate blood, or to, say, cut off his hair to make a realistic wig for his cancer-stricken kid. Fathers are not legally obligated to so much as hold or even meet their own babies, let alone risk their lives or give over their organs and bodily functions to them for 10 months.
"No one parent is required by law to walk right up to the edge of death in order to save their child’s life, and no one is required to walk right up to the edge of death in the service of someone who cannot live.
"No one, that is, except a pregnant woman in an abortion-hostile state."
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2024/05/abortion-pregnancy-law-emtala-scotus-medical-care.html
It can’t be said enough. Personhood must be granted to women.
Religion is weaponized to prevent women from rising. There are no women Catholic priests because women have no power or rights in Catholicism and their voting block keeps women in line in the pews and in the country.
Shawn,Shawn, as a cradle Catholic with a lifelong love of much of what the Roman Catholic Church has done in human history and a loathing of much else that the RCC has done, encouraged, and stood for, your comment and Lynell's posting and sharing, hit me as yet another gut punch -- and there have been many especially since 2016. I am -- perhaps curiously -- grateful for the force of your comments. I am younger than Joe Biden by a few years, but I am sometimes trying to walk what must be his perilous path as a pro-choice Catholic in America. I am trying to hang on to the Dorothy Day, Berrigan brothers, Simone Weil, social justice, preferential option for the poor tradition of Catholicism even as the American bishops seem to have offered up the faithful to be servants of tyranny. That millions of American Catholics will vote for Trump and Republicans up and down the ballot in an attempt to defeat their fellow Catholic at the top of the the Democratic Party ticket astounds and troubles me. Thank you both for sharpening the knife of this particular pain of worry. My vote and work for Biden is not in question. But my despair for the stance of the leadership of the Catholic Church and of millions of RC's who follow Trump grows deeper every day. I apologize for the personal and, to many readers perhaps, maudlin tone of this post. I should perhaps not post it, but for some there may be a resonance, and I felt a duty to thank you for your frank and clearly stated attack on the dominant strain of the Catholic Church in America.
Patrick, My wife and I regularly attend Sunday Mass. Most weeks, as I drive to our third parish in a decade, I ask myself, "Why am I still doing this?" Last week, we attended Mass in San Francisco while traveling. The parts of the Mass were in Latin. We walked out. Sometimes it feels like the Church doesn't want us anymore. (Hence our migration from parish to parish in search of a ministry that welcomes non-Trump supporting Catholics.)
Wow! I had no idea that you and Jill were going thru the same struggles that we are facing here in Columbus, OH. The new bishop abruptly shifted the focus of our thriving and progressive, "All Are Welcome" OSU Newman Center to an ultra- conservative focus only on fostering male vocations to the priesthood. Our beloved Paulist priests were asked to leave their ministry with 2 weeks notice. The good news emerging from our grief is that a significant number of Newman's resident community have been welcomed by an inclusive (code for welcoming guests people of color and the LGBTQ community) group of 3 parishes merging into one. The new parish chose to name themselves for St. Josephine Bahkita from Sudan.
My mom and dad are good Catholics. And somehow unable or unwilling to see the dark side of Catholicism. I was confirmed and attended Sunday mass 52 times a year until my second weekend of college. I went the first weekend and knew then that at there was nothing in it for me.
I recall a sermon in the early 1990s by a beloved priest, Father Jim Bessemer who denounced all the crass joking about priests and alter boys and that the accusations must stop! He got a huge round of applause. He was later convicted of helping to cover up abuse. My high school priest pleaded no contest to sexual abuse of a minor and was sentenced to two years. He was released early.
But I’ll say my deepest ire is held for the idea of a Virgin Birth. It creates an environment that allows for the condemnation and punishment of women who don’t meet that standard. I recall that feeling among Catholics that an unwanted pregnancy was punishment for premarital sex. That’s how the GOP treats it today. There is no care for the mother or the child. Just a lifelong sentence for what they see as sin. It’s nothing but a tool for control. And the GOP makes a tool of all Christians who vote for them. How they don’t see the need to care for the poor and the homeless and refugees and incarcerated and death row inmates, I will never understand.
Right there with you Patrick. My deeply Catholic heart hurts knowing too many vote for pro life only, disregarding any possibility that women could be capably of making her our decision about her body. FEAR rules them.
Patrick, once again you perfectly articulate my own experience. Thank you!
Thanks, Jacquie, Val, Robert, Shawn Shawn, and anyone else who resonated with my post on being Catholic. I taugt
Sorry, messed up. I taught and served as Associate Dean of Faculty and later Dean of Faculty for many years at Saint Mary's College in Notre Dame, Indiana sponsored by the Sisters of the Holy Cross. I have profound trust and respect in the work and leadership in Catholic education and the dignity and judgment of the Saint Mary's alumnae all over the world. Catholic women's orders have been pushing the church to a more equitable future for hundreds of years, of course, and one might point to the lack of progress and wonder. I do too. But for now I struggle to join the social justice work of the Congregation and the good effect their example continues to have. I envy you your new church in Columbus,
Jacquie and seek to find a way to somehow reconcile ALL the teachings and actions of the Church with a respect for life and equality and justice all together. Thanks for your encouraging words.
"Personhood must be granted to women." In 2024, no less....
Well said and thanks for posting
Wow! I hadn't thought of it like that. Thank you for this posting!
Me neither, Royce. Made my eyes go wide when first I read it.
Hey New England,traditionally Democtatic, you still must vote. The size if the national popular vote is critical to electing down ballot candidates-- the bench for the future and to send a message of strength for democracy. Even if your state is poised to win or lose, you play an important part to setting our future agenda. Inattention or laziness makes a statement for our future as well.
You've had a hard day at work: Overturning abortion rights. Comforting insurrectionists. Suppressing voting rights. Not hanging up flags to support Christian extremists... Even MAGA Supreme Court Justices need a break. Check the top 12 Luxury Getaways For MAGA Supreme Court Justices courtesy billionaires.
https://thedemlabs.org/2024/06/13/top-12-luxury-getaways-for-maga-supreme-court-justices-courtesy-billionaires/
Over $4 million in favors sold.
I read the Mifepristone opinion. I kept thinking I was reading a Wikipedia entry on Standing. Such a cite-full (but not insightful) stating of the obvious. Some law clerk gets to parley his post-clerkship life into a plummy job by writing the easiest opinion ever written for a judge or justice.
IT should have been a summary reversal. You are right. It was given too much respect.
No the easiest decision is the one about presidential immunity which I fear they will get wrong.
true
Last night Lawrence O’Donnell showed a clip of Trump shaking hands with fellow Republicans while clapping approval. You could see Ted Cruz, Lindsay Graham, Chuck Grassley and a host of others applauding the convicted felon. The Democratic candidates running for office should blast this sequence in campaign ads because it clearly shows voters how corrupt the Republican Party is and how if Trump were elected there would be no guardrails. The short speech Trump made which has been underreported clearly shows how tired Trump looks and is full of senseless lies and comments like how horrible Milwaukee is which is the site of the Republican convention. The picture of fawning Republican Senators applauding their Presidential candidate who is making no sense at all is a picture worth a thousand votes.
Especially the disgusting image of Cruz who continued to clap after being ignored and after his dear leader left the room.
Yes and after Trump called him and his father all those names.
I think the Biden campaign was smart to arrange the 6/27th debate with Trump. Now Trump will either back out or insist on debating. If he participates, the country will see him as he really is, not fit to be president again.
We know that Biden will outshine him in every way.
I'm betting he will back out. No audience in attendance means he can't put on a show for sycophants. No teleprompter means he will be ranting and rambling in his usual incoherent gibberish. If the moderator will simply silence his mic when he drools overtime, he'll have a hissy fit. His campaign handlers will surely come up with an excuse to keep the general public from the disgraceful picture of the "drunk uncle."
Robert, I really appreciate you calling out Alex Wagner for the in accurate spin on the election. How can we get your perspective on the air? Are there alternate guests that we can propose? Also, I’m sure you shared the gut wrenching feeling of Donald Trump parading back to Congress after he goes unpunished for the insurrection. I can’t help feeling that all of this is Merrick Garland’s weakness and unwillingness to properly do his job.
We need to discuss the facts. Alex Wagner is a light weight with mediocre ratings compared to other hosts. There are alternative discussions and guests on shows hosted by Rachael, Lawrence, Chris , Joy and others. Trying and convicting Trump is a difficult tasks with no room for failure so Garland took time to build an iron clad case and the courts not Garland have slow walked the trials.
BS. Garland is a wuss.
The courts have slow-walked the few (and very delayed) cases that Garland’s DOJ have brought to the dockets.
Robert Hubbell, you should become an MSNBC commentator.
More good analyses, and thanks for passing along Lithwick's and Slate's great line ("minimally responsible adults in a room of sugared-up preschoolers, shutting down the lower courts’ lawless rampage").
For further analysis of SCOTUS's mifeprestone decision and the doors it leaves open for the far right, also see Joyce Vance's post today (no vivid imagery, though): https://joycevance.substack.com/p/no-standing-for-you.
I also like NOTUS' headline: ‘Like Talking to Your Drunk Uncle’: Trump’s Closed-Door Rant to House Republicans.
https://www.notus.org/trump-2024/like-talking-to-your-drunk-uncle-trump-closed-door-rant-house-republicans?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
Yeah, good call on the "drunk uncle" line.
And thanks for the pointer to NOTUS. I was unaware of it but looks promising; I'll be checking them regularly.
And when it comes to NFP journalism, let us also open both our hearts and our wallets to ProPublica -- they're not scared of doing the heavy lifting, reporting the ugly truths, and letting the chips fall where they may. (No vested interest; just a grateful subscriber.)
Except--today is Trump's 78th birthday, he's OLLLDDD!--he's more like "your drunk grandfather." Interesting how even sane journalists perceive him as middle-aged and strong.
ProPublica is amazing! They do all the research and draw all the right conclusions. It's up to us to make noise about it. Another great organization is Public Citizen. A long time ago, I co-produced a report with Public Citizen about billionaires' attempts to kill the federal estate tax, America's most progressive tax. https://www.citizen.org/news/public-citizen-and-united-for-a-fair-economy-expose-stealth-campaign-of-super-wealthy-to-repeal-federal-estate-tax/
Wow -- two tips in a day. Thanks! Will check out Public Citizen.
It kinda pains me to say it, but at this point 78 doesn't seem old, just around the corner for me. Of course, it pleases me to think that the answer is to abandon the chronological yardstick and look at things like psychological balance, depth of view and grasp of history, efficacy of vision, and so on. If any of that holds any water, I'm doing OK but the Orange Convicted Felon is waaaaay old, shelf life long since expired, whatever the calendar says.
To quote Rep. Adam Schiff, it was “bring your felon to work day
Thank you for your call for Democrats to keep working everywhere, up and down the ballot. The Ohio Special Election is just another data point showing that we can make progress in even the most unlikely spots.
I feel inspired to re-up my call to remember rural and red state Democrats. There are Democrats and people who share Democratic values all through our rural areas. They just feel abandoned and often believe themselves to be totally alone, which discourages them from speaking up. One of the best writers on this topic is Jess Piper, whose substack is here: jesspiper.substack.com but I want to point to one of her essays on this topic from a different website https://www.bleedingheartland.com/2024/03/27/uncontested-races-are-undemocratic/. Please note the post-script: "I wrote this post before I heard the news after the end of filing. Friends, in 2022, over 40 percent of the legislative seats in Missouri were uncontested. In 2024, only 18 percent will be uncontested. We have 135 filed for House seats as of March 26. This is progress! WE ARE DOING IT!"
Now, how is this progress happening in the time of Trump? Well, Democrats everywhere have had enough and are organizing in unlikely places. Under the umbrella of an organization called All States Blue, Missouri, Ohio and Tennessee have put together organizations to provide at least minimal support to anyone courageous enough to step up and say, "I have had enough of the extremism at the state house. I am running for office," Bluemissouri.org, Blueohio.org and bluetennessee.org all pool resources from donors and members to make sure that those people can print some literature and distribute yard signs and not be completely alone. We need to build on this model. And let me point out that Missouri and Tennessee have two of the most execrable Republican senators up for reelection, Josh Hawley and Marsha Blackburn, and both are being challenged by serious, progressive candidates. They are long shots no doubt, but imagine a world in which one or both have been defeated! Giving the lonely rural Democrats someone to vote for locally significantly increases the likelihood that they will bother to show up at the polls and vote for Senate and President. Is Biden going to win those states? No, but we have got to start building our power in rural areas and not leave these people behind to be utterly demoralized. Plus, their lives are being ruined by the insanity of their legislatures. I would encourage people who agree to consider checking out these organizations.
On a similar note, I recently learned of a project by RuralVote.org to distribute yard signs in Ohio, Montana, Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania, targeting towns with populations below 45K. They are seeking "vocal locals," people willing to express their values and have conversations. Many of these people are not active with the Democratic party, if there even is one in their area, but they are fed up with what is happening to their communities. They are sick of seeing Trump flags and signs all around them without any push back. It's a two-part project, first they put up a yard sign just about their values. For example the Ohio signs say "We support Freedom, Choice, Healthcare" on one side and "Democracy Delivered Lower Prescription Drug Costs for Families and Seniors" on the other. The people who put out the signs recruit others to do the same, and they track the conversations they have with friends and neighbors, which turns out to be around 5 per sign, just by putting them out there. In August, they will be replaced by candidate specific signs. Here's a document about the program and the pilot studies they have done https://actionnetwork.org/user_files/user_files/000/108/410/original/Campaign_Strategy_Memo___RuralVote.org.pdf.
The thing about these projects is they do so much with so little money! All that RuralVote.org needs to fully implement their program is $50K. What does that buy in an urban media market? Not that much, if I'm not mistaken. Far be it from me to tell campaign experts how to spend their resources, but I just can't believe we benefit by completely giving up on rural areas. I know this has been a long, link-filled post, but I am passionate in my belief that there are people everywhere who care about healthcare access, public education, democracy, reproductive rights, the climate, civil rights, and who dread a theocratic autocracy as much as anyone in San Francisco or New York, and they need to be part of our movement too.
" .. but I just can't believe we benefit by completely giving up on rural areas".
Me either. I'm in NC and Anderson Clayton and her team did a fantastic job in recruiting rural candidates. Of course, it really helps that she comes from a rural county! Despite the severe gerrymandering in the state lesgilative map, candidates were recruited for all but a few seats in NC.
Conversely, I am pretty sure the GOP is running fewer candidates than in 2022. Last Friday, I was at a periodic Democratic get together at a local brewery. I spoke with a woman who explained that she had been recruited as a first-time candidate last fall and that after the filing deadline she got a call from the NCDP congratulating her. Not only did she have no competitors in the PRIMARY; she didn't have any competitors in the GENERAL election either! So she had decided to spend the time she would have been knocking doors in her own district to help a fellow Democrat in a neighboring district that was drawn much redder.
Thank you for your passionate plea on behalf of rural America. I would add that rural America needs to have a mass mailing to President Joe Biden. Inform him as you informed us. 50k is A drop in the bucket in a campaign budget.
I I was furious that today's Philadelphia Inquirer reprinted a Washington Post whitewash job of this visit on the front page. The the headline is "Trump basks in GOP glow in return to Washington."
Meanwhile, the story of Biden's visit to the G7 was consigned to page A10.
There was no mention of the January 6th insurrection until the 8th paragraph of this article.
By contrast, the BBC article headline is "Trump visits Capitol Hill for first time since Jan 6 riot," and quotes Nancy Pelosi in paragraph 3 calling Trump the "instigator of an insurrection... returning to the scene of the crime".
Unbelievable!
Oh we Mainers are out there - Franklin County Democrats are canvassing every weekend, writing letters to the editor, and holding "Cards and Calls" parties. Maine can split its Electoral College vote, and did in 2016. This year? NO WAY.
We must make sure Jared "the centrist" Golden goes back to Congress rather than that ex-Nascar dude who proudly waves Trump's endorsement.
Totally. It'll be a tough fight. The district is the largest one east of the Mississippi - rural, decimated by failing businesses, and Democrat-poor. We'll work hard in our county, and I know Jared does a great job with traveling hither and yon in the district, but it'll still be a challenge. Anyone outside the state inclined to go to bat for Jared would be greatly appreciated!
Yes. I live in Oxford County and your descriptor is dead on....and of course the same for all the rest of CD#2.
I worked for the town as a ballot clerk last Tuesday and I have to admit I was a little cheered...there were more Dems in town that I had thought. Back in the run up to elect Obama, I attended the local Dem caucus and calculated that the Dems could have held their caucus in a small to middlin' woodshed...but there are now (thanks to people moving to the roomier rural areas during COVID and the 5G enhanced ability to WFH) perhaps enough Dems in our town to fill a smaller school classroom. Progress.
Yes, progress! Have you connected with the Oxford County Democratic Committee? They have a great chair and could use your energy. Message me if you need more info.
Thank you. And I am not impressed by Alex Wagner. Her programs and commentary are very light-weight.
MSNBC is relying too heavily on Steve K polling as a news topic. Unhelpful focus, and hardly news.