109 Comments

Watching the orange one try on his sleepy time for women routine made all the hairs stand up on my arms. I don’t think I have ever watched anything so bizarrely malignant. It’s fine with me if the MAGA females take a big nap… maybe they will sleep through the election and forget to vote. In fact I tell all my maga friends that Trump will surely win so there is no need for them to go to the trouble to vote at all! Stay home or play mini golf. Doze in a chair watching Fox News and only wake to shout to the wife for another beer. Oops, she is asleep at the kitchen table dreaming of her ‘protecter. There is a blue wave building. Up from the depths but shhhh- don’t wake the kids. Just let the grown ups get on with it. 💙🩵🤍🌊

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My husband keeps reminding me to tell Mom's WI family that they shouldn't forget to vote on 11/6! ;-)

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I love this comment. Thank you.

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I think we're talking about the Mouthpiece of Sauron here (for all you LOTR fans). :-D

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Vance and men (and women) thinking like him are totally ignorant about medical issues it seems. After 50 it is as important as before fifty to have regular checkups and sometimes necessary procedures that are much like an abortion. For example to avoid cancer or bleeding.That is why we need those professionals to save lives of women. Criminalizing obgyn's will send them elsewhere so that women of all ages have no access anymore.

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We worked so hard to get the Freedom to Vote John Lewis joint legislation passed via temporarily suspending the filibuster in Jan 2022. It was the highly disappointing, yet incredibly gratifying to be part of the direct action process.

End Citizens United, Focus for Democracy, and so many others worked together to push Manchin & Sinema to make the exception. The former (yes Joe Manchin) was ready to agree (privately). But it was Kirsten Sinema that denied us. Via some impressive set of donor data, we called, emailed, and texted many of the top donors of Sinema. Many donors took action to push Sinema. She didn't give one iota. And during the vote to make the exception, Sinema sat scrolling through her phone while other Senators were actively engaged. Her absolute ego on display...

Let's make Harris President, expand the Senate, and win back the House, to get these voting rights laws passed!

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such a shit show! OMG such ignorant voters listening to Alex Wagner tonight and closed the evening watching Rachel Maddow's TO RUSSIA WITH LEV, an absolute must see documentary and how can we stop the Russians from infiltrating our democracy?

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Lynda, I, too, viewed Alex Wagner meeting with voters from Saginaw in Michigan, which, btw, is so noted for how much of a bellwether it is that The Guardian “declared Saginaw the swing county that could decide the election.” If the pundits who contend that the election will be decided by a handful of votes from a handful of districts in a handful of states are right, absent our changing the trajectory, our election could be decided by disturbingly ignorant, low information voters.

Frankly, were it not for the grassroots organizing that communities like this one has led us to, I’d be far less confident about our prospects in November.

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I tried to watch the documentary, but I get physically ill watching and listening to T💩p.

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try again...the ending is fabulous

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(Spoiler) I read about his meeting with Hunter Biden, and how it gave a sense of closure to both men.

I got as far as the surreptitious recording of Trump, speaking like a mob boss, ordering Marie Yovanovitch to be removed as ambassador to the Ukraine.

I will take your advice and fast forward to the end.

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It really is a must see- what we didn't know ( but knew in our hearts) about the Russian collusion blew my mind🤯

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I didn’t get very far, yuk.

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Sadly, maybe we can't. Who said democracies get the government they deserve? We are not blameless. Our government got distracted and complacent and let the undercurrent of our institutions (especially the legal system) get corrupted. At bottom, the dark side of human conduct got loose. Somewhere along the way, the lid on Pandora's Box got lifted.

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But remember, she had to open it again to let out Hope. We are now, one hopes, in the end stages where hope and enthusiasm and a clearer sight borne of recent experiences (for those not blinkered by FOX and friends) will help provide an opportunity (during a Harris administration) for our population to heal.

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There were two PBS programs tonight that were very worthwhile:

1. On the Newshour, Geoff Bennett interviewed Wright Thompson's new book, which "provides a fresh account of the conspiring forces behind [Emmett] Till's murder". The book is "The Barn: The Secret History of A Murder in Mississippi". Gripping to say the least.

2. PBS's Frontline featured a two-hour presentation of Kamala Harris's and Donald Trump's lives to date. It was extremely well done. Fair and incisive.

The possibility that Trump could win the election gives me very unpleasant shivers. I just hope that the people running Kamala Harris's campaign and those who write her speeches put her in the right places at the right times and help her to inspire her audiences enough to put her in the White House.

CORRECTION to original post: Item #1 can be seen on PBS.org/newshour. Item #2 can be seen on PBS.org/frontline.

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Kamala Harris's campaign is doing better than putting her in the right places. They continue to support the exponentially growing grassroots efforts to register Democrats and Get Out The Vote for Democrats up and down the ballot. And how about all those community mega-Zoom calls raising millions of dollars and following up to Do Something? Viewing the Democratic National Convention, we saw how the infrastructure has been strengthened with diversity in the Big Tent (which did not happen overnight) and expanded to even include Republicans, with more and more Republican endorsements since then.

A reader last night posted the link to this interesting article by Thom Hartmann on a "Non-Catastrophic View of the 2024 Election:"

https://whowhatwhy.org/elections/need-a-lift-how-about-a-non-catastrophic-view-of-the-2024-election/

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To quote Ray Charles, "What I say,!"

MSM is transfixed by polling, which is usually wrong. Treat polling as big news when it's actually mostly op ed material. Oblivious to motivation, and especially, new voters, wh do not meet the definition as "likely" voters.

RCP Average today Harris 51.4 Trump 46.9

Even the bookies have no handle on "new" registrations. In Florida, numbers will be disclosed by the state 29 days prior to election day, but a sense of them can be obtained through the DNC Voter Analysis Tool (VAT), an online resource that offers data re changes in voter registration, moves and more, offers email delivery of lists to volunteers, has colorful graphic voter registration and VBM progress charts, and generates slate cards for texting or emailing.

We still have time to make it a blue tsunami via new registrations. FT 6 has texted millions in Florida alone. At least 13 million in swing states. Especially need follow up via phone banking. https://www.fieldteam6.org/all-volunteer-ops/volunteer

I also monitor data via Movement Labs and other groups. All need volunteers.

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Working on that “blue tsunami” in Florida!🌊 And to all in the path of massive Hurricane Helene, please stay safe here in the “no climate change” state.Apparently DeSantis’ brilliant “knock on wood we don’t get a hurricane” plan for property insurance reform is not working so well.

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Ellie, thanks for sharing that article. Thom's been in the business a long time. His predictions made me beyond happy. And re-ignited the fire in my belly😀! I've needed that! 👍💫✌️☮️

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Great stuff, Ellie- thanks for the uplift this morning!

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Wonderful, heartening article by Thom Hartmann. Still, I'm not taking chances and will continue to canvass at every opportunity.

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Love Tom Hartmann’s article. I will post it on my refrigerator and read it when I feel gloomy after hearing a Trump rant. Thank you for posting it.

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Love Thom Hartmann and have been listening to his radio show for years. I can listen to it in my car in the Seattle area 91.3 FM or on my phone app 91.3 KBCS. It is also available on Sirius. Great that he is here on Substack as well. Thom is a national treasure and should be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

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Great article and it mentions the “virtual tout” I posted about earlier this https://virtualtout.com/

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What a great website, Ellie! The people behind it are so impressive as I read all of their backgrounds. Quite a diverse group. The article certainly made me feel that we are on a winning trajectory so thanks, for posting it!

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Yes I watched both programs. I can't wait to read the book!

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Like Robert said, the 24-hour marathon of postcarding and speakers organized by Markers for Democracy, Downtown Nasty Women’s Social Group, and Team Min was amazing. Big hat tip, kudos, and admiration for the work of all those women who pulled together this event! These extraordinary "ordinary" women assembled an impressive roster of speakers. It was a privilege to "meet" so many well known national stars and lesser known (but up and coming) people in a more informal setting than television. It was heartening and reassuring to see so many articulate Democratic candidates and operatives who are genuinely good, straightforward people, particularly the younger ones.

Keep your eyes open for more from Congressman Maxwell Frost from Florida; Anderson Clayton and Jonah Garson running the Democratic Party in North Carolina; Debbie Mucarsel-Powell in Florida running for the US Senate; candidates for Congress Tony Vargas in Nebraska, Janelle Bynum and Andrea Salinas in Oregon, ER Dr. Amish Shah in Arizona, George Whitesides and Will Rollins in California; Congressman Jeff Jackson running for Attorney General of North Carolina; and wonderfully wise Gen Z grassroots organizers Vincent Vertuccio, Sam Schwartz, and Drew Spiegel.

We're gonna be alright.

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Agree and great list, it’s missing one of the brightest stars … US Rep Colin Allred who will unseat Ted Cruz for US Senate! Texas is like a secret sleeper state in this election — the country is in for big surprise on Nov 5!

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Agree that Colin Allred is a bright star, but we were not so lucky as to be able to meet him during the 24 hour event.

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I also attended the 24 hr marathon, although I missed about 7 hrs of it. These old bones need to sleep in order to be quasi-functional. (Although to be honest, I wasn't ever very good at pulling all-nighters even many decades ago!)

I'm a regular participant of their morning zooms and these (mostly) ladies have been following Michelle Obama's advice to "Do something!" since Jan. 2017. Amazing!!

Here's a link to the event's Linktr.ee (https://linktr.ee/24hoursin24) which also contains links to sign up for their newsletter and their postcarding zooms).

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Thanks, Cheryl! We are so happy that you are a member of our community and a "regular" on our morning postcarding Zooms which take place three mornings a week throughout the year.

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Thanks so much, Ellie. As one of the organizers, it's nice to read about the event from the perspective of someone who was watching. And I agree, that the future is bright with these young leaders! P.S. We have had Rep. Allred on one of our morning postcarding zooms and would have had him on the 24-hour event but he was busy campaigning around Texas!

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From Robert: "In standing before the UN as a president who selflessly stepped away from power to help preserve democracy in his own nation, Joe Biden towered over the world leaders who think of little else other than holding onto power." Netanyahu is among those for whom this is certainly a fair characterization, so also Putin, XI, Maduro, and Erdoğan.

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I laughed for a solid minute when Robert wrote about Trump's new promise to women, "that their eyelids were growing heavy, and that they will cluck like chickens when he is elected." I wasn't laughing when I heard that blob of misogynistic narcissism announce how he loves us. Gag me with a spoon!

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President Biden's speech to the UN was one of his finest - and one of THE finest I have heard from any politician or leader.

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Just remember, when we start hearing the howling out of the GOP about abandoning the sacred filibuster, the arch parliamentarian, Mitch McConnell abandoned it to ensure we have the most partisan and corrupt Supreme Court in our nation's history: "The complicated procedure is known as the “nuclear option,” but has been used in the recent past. Mitch McConnell created an exception to the filibuster for Supreme Court nominations when he wanted to jam Trump's reactionary justices through the Senate nomination process."

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Isn’t MM dead yet? (Sorry. Not sorry.)

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I hope the NYT and WaPo can bring themselves to Headline the real news, the scary news: "Trump's comments are patronizing, offensive, weird, and creepy. When added to the comments of JD Vance and GOP candidate for the Senate Bernie Moreno (that women over 50 shouldn’t care about reproductive rights), it is incontestable that the GOP platform is anti-woman. But that fact has been clear for some time." And Moreno should ask himself if women over 50 might have daughters of child bearing age who vote, care, and don't need men telling them what they can and cannot do to protect themselves and their families.

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House Democrats held a hearing on Project 2025 on Tuesday. It would be really fabulous if ABC, CBS, CNN, and MSNBC did documentaries on Project 2025 in October. What would be the best time - Maybe in place of the Sunday morning shows before people other than me are watching football. Back to postcards.

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I don't think we can rely on the "corporate" media to educate us on the dangers of Project 2025. But there are lots of great resources to share with your friends, family, and social media followers including:

* https://www.digitaldrumbeat.com/p/how-project-2025-uses-seven-tactics

* https://www.digitaldrumbeat.com/p/new-projected-state-by-state-impacts

* https://www.digitaldrumbeat.com/p/the-big-list-of-resources-about-project

* https://project2025istheocracy.substack.com/

* https://redwine.blue/project2025/

I have been writing postcards to potential future NC voters with Field Team 6 (www.fieldteam6.org) about the dangers of Project 2025. I even found some Project 2025 postcards (https://www.etsy.com/listing/1756927458/project-2025-postcards), although I had to modify the message a bit to fit it on the half-back postcard.

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This morning I awoke to the certainty that all those women that JD Vance suggested should stay in abusive marriages as well as those running from abusive family members/neighbors/ employers/ teachers/… and those working in the sex trades feel greatly comforted by the fact that a creepy convicted sex offender and horror show candidate wants to be their protector. (Comment written using that well-known literary devices called sarcasm, ref. Robert Hubbell in today’s newsletter)

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Thank you for sharing President Biden's inspiring words at the UN. He is a master statesman who literally saved us during and post-pandemic. If you didn't see his banter with a Trumper as he signed a ball cap with the presidential seal in exchange for the red hat, it was funny and amazing to see how he is able to connect without caving. As he might say, what a guy!

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He is simply the best.

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Much as I wanted him to stay and run, I must admit that Kamala Harris did energize the campaign. But, oh, if Joe Biden were her age instead of his! And speaking of age, all those "Joe is old", "Joe is senile" folks are completely missing with regard to the truly senile, decrepit, insane other guy!

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Same. I got all choked up reading HCR this morning. Kamala is fabulous, as is Walz.

I am so glad our fractious party got behind her without any nonsense. I give a tip of my hat to our president for endorsing her right out of the box. I realize how much I feared the chaos (to say the least) of a contested convention. I’m old enough to remember’68. I am so relieved to have been wrong about that aspect of it.

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I remember '68 as well, which is one reason I don't have any faith in anything James Carville and others like him when they were calling for a "mini-primary" say.

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I think perhaps you and I are twins separated at birth. Carville is a carnival barker these days…as I see it. Needs to hear his own voice.

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Were you born in Hungary too? :-)

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Hello there is anyone listening? Biden’s speech at the UN and Harris comments about the filibuster are major speeches and comments yet I am willing to bet a large majority of voters are totally unaware of the content. We need to get these messages out and we need to make sure our local news media covers the story. Too often we judge news coverage by the NYT but at the end of the day it’s our local news coverage that matters the most.

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“Success defined as enduring”—a worthy thought beautifully phrased.

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