SCOTUS is manifesting its own damnation as an institution undermining democracy by replacing majority people votes with majority donor dollars. Time to get our Congress to expand the court beyond 9.
It must be noted, the bridge in Stuart, FL is in a Red Ciry in a Red County-Martin-and the protest was organized by The Martin County Democrats. I salute them. I am a Democrat in the next county north; not tooting our horn but we did have a protest at same time
"In short order, major American cities will revert to the status of frontier towns in the Wild West".
It is much worse than that. Frontier towns in the Wild West made people check their guns at the town limits before entering,.
Also, while we can't give up or give in, I attended the DC women's march in DC. It was very energizing to be a part of 500,000 people. I thought Congress would have to take notice, but they showed they don't care, they have too much power. We have to turn that energy into votes, it is the only thing they understand.
I need help. I wish I didn't read this. How the hell am I supposed to have any hope when you write things like "A modern democracy is being disassembled piece-by-piece" ? I wasn't supposed to be a part of this fight. I am going to turn 30 this year and I don't want to die in a world where things keep getting worse. I want to fight, but I could use some encouragement. I don't want to spend every day doomscrolling and expecting things to keep getting worse. I don't know if I can handle the news anymore, but I can't stop watching it because I want to be aware if they ever start rounding up gay people. I don't want to have to worry about having to spend the rest of my life in the closet. I'm trying to find hope out there and I'm struggling. I also have manic thoughts and OCD so I sometimes feel hopeless and hopeful in the same day. I don't know what I'm writing anymore. I'm not doing well. I feel like my life and the country are spiraling and nobody cares about anything except inflation. I need encouragement. Please if anyone can respond. I'm panicked. I don't want to live in a third world corrupt country. I can't. I feel like I'm in a doom spiral. I feel like I'm going to die in pain under a fascist regime one day and I can't stop it. I can't think straight. I feel like the right wing and SCOTUS have me at gun point because I'm gay, and they're pointing guns at women and everyone I love. I feel like the right wing is laughing at me and suffocating me and I can't focus. I feel like the country is on fire and everyone is burning and I'm being forced to watch in horror as it burns to death. SOMEONE MAKE IT STOP!!!
The media is covering only the hate clicks. Ignore them and realize the majority of the people feel as you do -- that we're going in the wrong direction. It is time for your generation to step up and stop the nonsense of greed that has taken over one political party and affects us all. You have taken a strong first step in speaking up and realizing that change must happen. Keep speaking up! And, please talk to someone who can help you sort out your fears and channel your panic into constructive actions that will turn this bad time into the best of times with the world going to a new level of maturity and well being. The best thing for you to do right now is to show another person kindness and caring by helping them in some way that will make a difference. You'll both feel better.
You have me teasing through some thoughts. When the Taliban took over Afghanistan and suddenly all the women in the country were basically put on lock down- No more school- no more work. Now they have to wear full head coverings and be escorted by a male relative. Dear God, Imagine how an entire population of young people who were born into freedom , and knew nothing else, must feel when their freedom is taken away. Our young people are going through a similar catastrophe. Ya know, they were really living the dream of freedom and democracy that we and those before us fought so hard for. I worry that many young people take everything freedoms for granted and think that it can’t be any different. I believe that there is a sense of entitlement because - why wouldn’t there be- they are entitled to freedom and democracy. But: young people don’t always have the perspective that older folks do and their paradigm is that they will be fine because for them it has always been so. Sadly we know differently. Lambs to slaughter with regard to GOP and the far Right, and mega magas. For the young people who get what’s going on, including the person who posted the start of this thread, it must be terrifying. And yet they have so much power- like you said it just needs to be channeled and unleashed!
Pick up your phone and dial 2-1-1 to find a counselor to talk to. It's a free service, located in all states, and connects people to health and human resources, regardless of race, gender, age, income, sexual orientation. Your local 2-1-1 will be able to connect you to help.
I couldn’t have said that better myself. I’m from Provincetown, Mass. I have been involved in the gay community my entire life. I gnash my teeth in fear for my dear friends. As hard as this is we must not look away! You are a young person- find more young people and teach them what it means to vote up and down the ballot ( I personally believe that many voted for Biden but then voted for republican state officials): Vote Democratic on the ballot for your state: Governors, US House of Representatives or the US Senate, President. We need the House and the Senate to support a Democratic President but we gotta vote them in. 80 Million people did not vote in 2020; we need to encourage those people to vote; that is how we can move out of this mess. Apathy. Disgust. Panic. Exhaustion is what many of us feel, I get that, Action is the Key to right Thinking! Do one thing! Tell you friends that we need them to vote. Can you gather a small group of friends that feel the same as you do to commit to getting out to vote? Some things easier when you can go together as a committed group? In my town we vote and then meet on the sidewalk and chat or go for coffee- it just feels good(I am addressing your sense of panic and doom. I know it’s not technically hard to go vote but when you are down trodden, like minded people can lift you up. You may wind up being the one lifting up others). We must act! Do not overwhelm yourself; but try to speak to others one conversation can change everything.
Karen we go to Provincetown every summer in early September and have been for years. It’s a special place with a wonderful supporting and aware community of people and I am not gay. Thanks for your comments and it’s people like you who make Provincetown special.
P D, you are right to feel bad and anxious, of course, and because you recognize it, you can find different ways to reach out and to make a difference for yourself and others. The saying "Misery loves company" means, I think, that when you don't feel so alone, even bad things are more easy to deal with. Some say, "It's never been worse!" and that isn't true, of course. But that doesn't mean you should just deal with it and shut up. If possible (and it makes me angry that it isn't always possible) find a therapist. Also, be sure to go on lots of walks and just listen to nature (no earbuds) get sunshine. The sunshine part should be every day. Get a sunshine lamp for less than $50 on Amazon:-) You might get something out of reading a book called "An Interrupted Life" a diary by Etty Hillesum, a Dutch woman who found her emotional way during the holocaust. Many of the people I have known have felt hopeless, and when one feels hopeless, many think of the peacefulness of no longer living. Don't take that step. You will be glad sometime in the future that you gave yourself the chance to live on and find your true self and your true gifts for the world. And those discoveries make everything more easy to bear. You matter. You can make a difference. It's sad but true that you aren't likely to know "how" at your tender age, but trust me when I say it will come, and keep working toward it by getting the therapy and reading and acting in ways you can handle now. I am not a therapist, but I sure have needed one in my life. I also did some final touch-ups on finding my real self when I took a bunch of courses through www.landmarkworldwide.com. It's not for everyone, because there is no one-size-fits-all for anything or anyone actually, is there? Good luck, P D. You matter. Hang in there.
PD I hope all of these suggestions have given you some comfort and steps you can take, and some sense that you are not alone. If you can take these steps, that's great. The way you wrote reminded me of when I was diagnosed with clinical depression, and until I got the right treatment (for me it was a combination of medication) I was scared of everything, and couldn't get myself to do anything. If that is what you are feeling, it might be hard for you to take any of the suggestions, so if you can just do one thing, please follow Karen's suggestion to call 2-1-1. I just called the number to see what it was like. I got a recorded message that told me to stay on the line to speak to someone. A very kind person answered and asked me how she could help. I asked her how this works and she said it's a national program, but specific to each state. The person you reach will listen and ask some questions and will help you connect to the right assistance. Please know that you deserve to get the help you need, that you are not alone, and that there are many good people in our country who are doing our best to make this a better place and who care about a lot more than "just inflation."....we just don't get as much news coverage as those more dramatic activities. Stay in touch and let us know how you are doing. Blessings,
You have to make a choice like all of us. Either sit around and agonize over the situation or get engaged. Simple things like posting on social media with fact based data or writing letters to local media or elected officials and make your specific voice heard by everyone. Be a positive pain in the ass.
Robert ended this newsletter thus: "To the “white-haired ladies” on the bridge over the St. Lucie River, you are a living demonstration of the words of Margaret Mead: “Never underestimate the power of a small group of committed people to change the world. In fact, it is the only thing that ever has.”
You are young, but so was I when I found my own "small group of committed people" and we did indeed do our part to change the world. When I was your age, I was a principal of an elementary school, but I had no rights. No credit cards. No bank account in my name. I could not get a loan to buy a car or a house. But we committed and determined people kept at it. We now face the unraveling and destructive actions of others - but we (now white-haired folks) are backed by you and your generation and there are millions - literally MILLIONS - more of us now than there were "back then." Please take comfort in knowing that WE will stand together, with you and your band of brothers and sisters. You are not alone. Let's together focus on action, on hope, on the path forward.
PD, no one is going to round up gays. Be assured of that. Things are bad, yes, but not to the point of rounding anyone up. Please get help. Karen gave you the 2-1-1 number. Use it. You will be put in touch with professionals who can help you. Also, you might find group therapy with other people with similar concerns helpful. Do not isolate yourself. Try very hard to stop watching the news so much. One or two hours per day is enough to catch up with what is happening here and in the world.
As you your comments about Twitter failing to take down the video of mass murder being republished, and deleting the accounts that did it, I might add that Twitter deleting accounts has very little effect. Since Twitter allows anonymous accounts, and does not verify the identities behind the accounts, any person who has an account deleted, can open another account with a false name, and be back in business with 10 minutes if their account is deleted. That is the nature of Twitter, and in my opinion, one of its major flaws.
Bernie Sanders came to our rally in Montpelier, Vermont and gave a real stemwinder of a speech, in which he loudly (as is his wont) called out the hypocrisies of the Republican party that claims to be pro-life while doing nothing to stop gun violence or protect the rights of pregnant women. Love the guy!
As for Twitter: I was permanently banned for snidely suggesting that perhaps Trump's choices of food might contribute to heart disease or a stroke. But they have no problem sharing videos of executions or other hateful stuff. Interesting.
Twitter apparently has a problem with any criticism of tfg or his cronies. Same with FB. But murder and mayhem - hey, they say GO for it. Tip: don't ever write a comment about a hangnail on FB - "hang" is in their algorithm. Don't write about the gallows that were erected on J6. Don't quote the insurrectionists threats to "hang Mike Pence." Jail. They NEED to be regulated. Social media is a complete mess and totally out of control.
“The reactionary majority has converted the Constitution into a destroyer of laws, a fulcrum of anarchy—the antithesis of the great charter of democracy envisioned by the Framers.” Truly inspirational words, Robert. They should be emblazoned across the land. I plan to quote them widely—with credit, of course.
As for the Supreme Court’s likely further (total) misreading of the Second Amendment, I guess it’s time for me to get those bumper stickers printed, the ones I’ve been thinking about for years, the ones that say WYATT EARP WAS RIGHT. Wyatt Earp, you’ll recall, made his hame first by enforcing gun control.
HOORAY for the St. Lucie River band of activists leading the way!! As a white-haired grandmother in blue Massachusetts I add my energy & passion to theirs, urging my daughters and granddaughters to carry on!
While clear that social media needs safeguards, why does Fox and Carlsson get away with a constant barrage of lies, racism and white supremicist ideology. The most viewed broadcast seems to escape any responsibility for the hate and destructive influence.
Thank you, MaryAnn. Of all the things that terrify me right now, the obvious bias of the press scares me the most. I'm an old English teacher and I know the power of words. When they are used to conceal truth or control thought, we are in a great deal of trouble. And it's not something that's going to happen. It's happening.
When the media are reporting or not reporting in the interests of a prevailing movement we are in the most obvious authoritarian situation. A state-controlled press is the final blanket over the individual's ability or right to think. The newspapers--online and in hard copy--decide what events to tell us about and what to think about those events. It was the awareness of this in The NY Times that drove me here. If a trusted source of news is doing this so blatantly, I believe we are already in more trouble than we realize. I am frightened by the persistent fear that we are about to be in trouble, about to be suppressed by this terrible push toward authoritarianism. I think we are already there. My hope is in the wonderful comments here that acknowledge this god-awful reality and understand that it is here, in this alien landscape, that we must continue to fight. We won't change this today. Our children and our grandchildren might have a chance. But it will be, as Mr. Hubbell points out, a long, long game and those of us who are the grandmothers right now are in combat with that worse of enemies--despair. I think about the WaPo article about the 50-year planning and strategy the Republicans have mounted to get to exactly this place. And they have arrived. That kind of organized and disciplined crusade is not the usual approach of my fellow liberals and Democrats. Now would be the time to figure out and execute a plan to do just that. The Republicans took a settled law, locked in. place for half a century and, brick by brick are on the verge of tearing it down. We are facing a reality that seems equally well grounded. Can we sign on for however long it takes??
Why are we so inexcusably disorganized. Isn't there a way to be idealistic without being ding-a-lings? I'm going to bed and hope to wake up and find the whole thing has been the result of too much pizza
Our focus must be to elect every Democratic candidate to every available seat in government, whether it be local, state or federal. While we may not capture every contest, the more people we can motivate to vote up and down the Democratic ticket, the greater the opportunity to reform and expand SCOTUS and protect the rights of women, LGBTQ and voters. We each need to do what we can to help in this effort - whether it's writing postcards, attending events, calling voters or contributing to campaigns. Do what you can and together, I believe, we really can make a difference.
We must not forget that protests in support of abortion are important but no where near enough. The state legislatures will soon have complete control over women's bodies and the Democrats are the only party that will protect women's right to choose. We HAVE to shift the state legislatures to the Democrats and hold the legislatures which are currently in Democratic control. We also have to work hard to shift the state governorships to Democrats. To do this we have to support The States Project and Sister District and other organizations which are working to accomplish this.
Many of the situations Robert mentioned in todays Edition unfortunately have their origin in the spread of right wing extremists group. Dana Milbank wrote the following
“ The Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights, a decades-old group that tracks right-wing extremism, found that more than 1 in 5 Republican state legislators in the United States were affiliated with far-right groups. The IREHR (which conducted a similar study with the NAACP in 2010 on racism within the tea party) cross-referenced the personal, campaign and official Facebook profiles of all 7,383 state legislators in the United States during the 2021-22 legislative period with thousands of far-right Facebook groups. The researchers found that 875 legislators — all but three of them Republicans — were members of one or more of 789 far-right Facebook groups. That works out to 22 percent of all Republican state legislators.” This is the threat we all must encounter and eliminate.
SCOTUS is manifesting its own damnation as an institution undermining democracy by replacing majority people votes with majority donor dollars. Time to get our Congress to expand the court beyond 9.
It must be noted, the bridge in Stuart, FL is in a Red Ciry in a Red County-Martin-and the protest was organized by The Martin County Democrats. I salute them. I am a Democrat in the next county north; not tooting our horn but we did have a protest at same time
John Robert’s legacy will be that he presided over the Tucker Carlson Court
Ha! That is a frightening thought!
"In short order, major American cities will revert to the status of frontier towns in the Wild West".
It is much worse than that. Frontier towns in the Wild West made people check their guns at the town limits before entering,.
Also, while we can't give up or give in, I attended the DC women's march in DC. It was very energizing to be a part of 500,000 people. I thought Congress would have to take notice, but they showed they don't care, they have too much power. We have to turn that energy into votes, it is the only thing they understand.
Politicians understand donor money even more than our votes, which is why we need to pay attention to corporate donors as tracked by Judd Legum:
https://popular.info/?utm_medium=email&action=share
I had been wondering what the numbers were. The permit was for only 17k. Glad we went, especially my boys.
Thank You for going Vivian!
I need help. I wish I didn't read this. How the hell am I supposed to have any hope when you write things like "A modern democracy is being disassembled piece-by-piece" ? I wasn't supposed to be a part of this fight. I am going to turn 30 this year and I don't want to die in a world where things keep getting worse. I want to fight, but I could use some encouragement. I don't want to spend every day doomscrolling and expecting things to keep getting worse. I don't know if I can handle the news anymore, but I can't stop watching it because I want to be aware if they ever start rounding up gay people. I don't want to have to worry about having to spend the rest of my life in the closet. I'm trying to find hope out there and I'm struggling. I also have manic thoughts and OCD so I sometimes feel hopeless and hopeful in the same day. I don't know what I'm writing anymore. I'm not doing well. I feel like my life and the country are spiraling and nobody cares about anything except inflation. I need encouragement. Please if anyone can respond. I'm panicked. I don't want to live in a third world corrupt country. I can't. I feel like I'm in a doom spiral. I feel like I'm going to die in pain under a fascist regime one day and I can't stop it. I can't think straight. I feel like the right wing and SCOTUS have me at gun point because I'm gay, and they're pointing guns at women and everyone I love. I feel like the right wing is laughing at me and suffocating me and I can't focus. I feel like the country is on fire and everyone is burning and I'm being forced to watch in horror as it burns to death. SOMEONE MAKE IT STOP!!!
The media is covering only the hate clicks. Ignore them and realize the majority of the people feel as you do -- that we're going in the wrong direction. It is time for your generation to step up and stop the nonsense of greed that has taken over one political party and affects us all. You have taken a strong first step in speaking up and realizing that change must happen. Keep speaking up! And, please talk to someone who can help you sort out your fears and channel your panic into constructive actions that will turn this bad time into the best of times with the world going to a new level of maturity and well being. The best thing for you to do right now is to show another person kindness and caring by helping them in some way that will make a difference. You'll both feel better.
Cathy,
You have me teasing through some thoughts. When the Taliban took over Afghanistan and suddenly all the women in the country were basically put on lock down- No more school- no more work. Now they have to wear full head coverings and be escorted by a male relative. Dear God, Imagine how an entire population of young people who were born into freedom , and knew nothing else, must feel when their freedom is taken away. Our young people are going through a similar catastrophe. Ya know, they were really living the dream of freedom and democracy that we and those before us fought so hard for. I worry that many young people take everything freedoms for granted and think that it can’t be any different. I believe that there is a sense of entitlement because - why wouldn’t there be- they are entitled to freedom and democracy. But: young people don’t always have the perspective that older folks do and their paradigm is that they will be fine because for them it has always been so. Sadly we know differently. Lambs to slaughter with regard to GOP and the far Right, and mega magas. For the young people who get what’s going on, including the person who posted the start of this thread, it must be terrifying. And yet they have so much power- like you said it just needs to be channeled and unleashed!
Pick up your phone and dial 2-1-1 to find a counselor to talk to. It's a free service, located in all states, and connects people to health and human resources, regardless of race, gender, age, income, sexual orientation. Your local 2-1-1 will be able to connect you to help.
I couldn’t have said that better myself. I’m from Provincetown, Mass. I have been involved in the gay community my entire life. I gnash my teeth in fear for my dear friends. As hard as this is we must not look away! You are a young person- find more young people and teach them what it means to vote up and down the ballot ( I personally believe that many voted for Biden but then voted for republican state officials): Vote Democratic on the ballot for your state: Governors, US House of Representatives or the US Senate, President. We need the House and the Senate to support a Democratic President but we gotta vote them in. 80 Million people did not vote in 2020; we need to encourage those people to vote; that is how we can move out of this mess. Apathy. Disgust. Panic. Exhaustion is what many of us feel, I get that, Action is the Key to right Thinking! Do one thing! Tell you friends that we need them to vote. Can you gather a small group of friends that feel the same as you do to commit to getting out to vote? Some things easier when you can go together as a committed group? In my town we vote and then meet on the sidewalk and chat or go for coffee- it just feels good(I am addressing your sense of panic and doom. I know it’s not technically hard to go vote but when you are down trodden, like minded people can lift you up. You may wind up being the one lifting up others). We must act! Do not overwhelm yourself; but try to speak to others one conversation can change everything.
Karen we go to Provincetown every summer in early September and have been for years. It’s a special place with a wonderful supporting and aware community of people and I am not gay. Thanks for your comments and it’s people like you who make Provincetown special.
Stephen, We have had our home in Provincetown since the 1800s. I live in Vermont but feel truly at home when walking on the flats in Ptown.
P D, you are right to feel bad and anxious, of course, and because you recognize it, you can find different ways to reach out and to make a difference for yourself and others. The saying "Misery loves company" means, I think, that when you don't feel so alone, even bad things are more easy to deal with. Some say, "It's never been worse!" and that isn't true, of course. But that doesn't mean you should just deal with it and shut up. If possible (and it makes me angry that it isn't always possible) find a therapist. Also, be sure to go on lots of walks and just listen to nature (no earbuds) get sunshine. The sunshine part should be every day. Get a sunshine lamp for less than $50 on Amazon:-) You might get something out of reading a book called "An Interrupted Life" a diary by Etty Hillesum, a Dutch woman who found her emotional way during the holocaust. Many of the people I have known have felt hopeless, and when one feels hopeless, many think of the peacefulness of no longer living. Don't take that step. You will be glad sometime in the future that you gave yourself the chance to live on and find your true self and your true gifts for the world. And those discoveries make everything more easy to bear. You matter. You can make a difference. It's sad but true that you aren't likely to know "how" at your tender age, but trust me when I say it will come, and keep working toward it by getting the therapy and reading and acting in ways you can handle now. I am not a therapist, but I sure have needed one in my life. I also did some final touch-ups on finding my real self when I took a bunch of courses through www.landmarkworldwide.com. It's not for everyone, because there is no one-size-fits-all for anything or anyone actually, is there? Good luck, P D. You matter. Hang in there.
PD I hope all of these suggestions have given you some comfort and steps you can take, and some sense that you are not alone. If you can take these steps, that's great. The way you wrote reminded me of when I was diagnosed with clinical depression, and until I got the right treatment (for me it was a combination of medication) I was scared of everything, and couldn't get myself to do anything. If that is what you are feeling, it might be hard for you to take any of the suggestions, so if you can just do one thing, please follow Karen's suggestion to call 2-1-1. I just called the number to see what it was like. I got a recorded message that told me to stay on the line to speak to someone. A very kind person answered and asked me how she could help. I asked her how this works and she said it's a national program, but specific to each state. The person you reach will listen and ask some questions and will help you connect to the right assistance. Please know that you deserve to get the help you need, that you are not alone, and that there are many good people in our country who are doing our best to make this a better place and who care about a lot more than "just inflation."....we just don't get as much news coverage as those more dramatic activities. Stay in touch and let us know how you are doing. Blessings,
💞
You have to make a choice like all of us. Either sit around and agonize over the situation or get engaged. Simple things like posting on social media with fact based data or writing letters to local media or elected officials and make your specific voice heard by everyone. Be a positive pain in the ass.
Robert ended this newsletter thus: "To the “white-haired ladies” on the bridge over the St. Lucie River, you are a living demonstration of the words of Margaret Mead: “Never underestimate the power of a small group of committed people to change the world. In fact, it is the only thing that ever has.”
You are young, but so was I when I found my own "small group of committed people" and we did indeed do our part to change the world. When I was your age, I was a principal of an elementary school, but I had no rights. No credit cards. No bank account in my name. I could not get a loan to buy a car or a house. But we committed and determined people kept at it. We now face the unraveling and destructive actions of others - but we (now white-haired folks) are backed by you and your generation and there are millions - literally MILLIONS - more of us now than there were "back then." Please take comfort in knowing that WE will stand together, with you and your band of brothers and sisters. You are not alone. Let's together focus on action, on hope, on the path forward.
PD, no one is going to round up gays. Be assured of that. Things are bad, yes, but not to the point of rounding anyone up. Please get help. Karen gave you the 2-1-1 number. Use it. You will be put in touch with professionals who can help you. Also, you might find group therapy with other people with similar concerns helpful. Do not isolate yourself. Try very hard to stop watching the news so much. One or two hours per day is enough to catch up with what is happening here and in the world.
💜
No problem, one moment... there, all done, flipped the Nirvana switch, you should be good to go! Happy life!
As you your comments about Twitter failing to take down the video of mass murder being republished, and deleting the accounts that did it, I might add that Twitter deleting accounts has very little effect. Since Twitter allows anonymous accounts, and does not verify the identities behind the accounts, any person who has an account deleted, can open another account with a false name, and be back in business with 10 minutes if their account is deleted. That is the nature of Twitter, and in my opinion, one of its major flaws.
Excellent point! All Twitter accounts should be verified.
Bernie Sanders came to our rally in Montpelier, Vermont and gave a real stemwinder of a speech, in which he loudly (as is his wont) called out the hypocrisies of the Republican party that claims to be pro-life while doing nothing to stop gun violence or protect the rights of pregnant women. Love the guy!
As for Twitter: I was permanently banned for snidely suggesting that perhaps Trump's choices of food might contribute to heart disease or a stroke. But they have no problem sharing videos of executions or other hateful stuff. Interesting.
Twitter apparently has a problem with any criticism of tfg or his cronies. Same with FB. But murder and mayhem - hey, they say GO for it. Tip: don't ever write a comment about a hangnail on FB - "hang" is in their algorithm. Don't write about the gallows that were erected on J6. Don't quote the insurrectionists threats to "hang Mike Pence." Jail. They NEED to be regulated. Social media is a complete mess and totally out of control.
“The reactionary majority has converted the Constitution into a destroyer of laws, a fulcrum of anarchy—the antithesis of the great charter of democracy envisioned by the Framers.” Truly inspirational words, Robert. They should be emblazoned across the land. I plan to quote them widely—with credit, of course.
As for the Supreme Court’s likely further (total) misreading of the Second Amendment, I guess it’s time for me to get those bumper stickers printed, the ones I’ve been thinking about for years, the ones that say WYATT EARP WAS RIGHT. Wyatt Earp, you’ll recall, made his hame first by enforcing gun control.
HOORAY for the St. Lucie River band of activists leading the way!! As a white-haired grandmother in blue Massachusetts I add my energy & passion to theirs, urging my daughters and granddaughters to carry on!
While clear that social media needs safeguards, why does Fox and Carlsson get away with a constant barrage of lies, racism and white supremicist ideology. The most viewed broadcast seems to escape any responsibility for the hate and destructive influence.
Thank you, MaryAnn. Of all the things that terrify me right now, the obvious bias of the press scares me the most. I'm an old English teacher and I know the power of words. When they are used to conceal truth or control thought, we are in a great deal of trouble. And it's not something that's going to happen. It's happening.
When the media are reporting or not reporting in the interests of a prevailing movement we are in the most obvious authoritarian situation. A state-controlled press is the final blanket over the individual's ability or right to think. The newspapers--online and in hard copy--decide what events to tell us about and what to think about those events. It was the awareness of this in The NY Times that drove me here. If a trusted source of news is doing this so blatantly, I believe we are already in more trouble than we realize. I am frightened by the persistent fear that we are about to be in trouble, about to be suppressed by this terrible push toward authoritarianism. I think we are already there. My hope is in the wonderful comments here that acknowledge this god-awful reality and understand that it is here, in this alien landscape, that we must continue to fight. We won't change this today. Our children and our grandchildren might have a chance. But it will be, as Mr. Hubbell points out, a long, long game and those of us who are the grandmothers right now are in combat with that worse of enemies--despair. I think about the WaPo article about the 50-year planning and strategy the Republicans have mounted to get to exactly this place. And they have arrived. That kind of organized and disciplined crusade is not the usual approach of my fellow liberals and Democrats. Now would be the time to figure out and execute a plan to do just that. The Republicans took a settled law, locked in. place for half a century and, brick by brick are on the verge of tearing it down. We are facing a reality that seems equally well grounded. Can we sign on for however long it takes??
We Must.
Why are we so inexcusably disorganized. Isn't there a way to be idealistic without being ding-a-lings? I'm going to bed and hope to wake up and find the whole thing has been the result of too much pizza
Our focus must be to elect every Democratic candidate to every available seat in government, whether it be local, state or federal. While we may not capture every contest, the more people we can motivate to vote up and down the Democratic ticket, the greater the opportunity to reform and expand SCOTUS and protect the rights of women, LGBTQ and voters. We each need to do what we can to help in this effort - whether it's writing postcards, attending events, calling voters or contributing to campaigns. Do what you can and together, I believe, we really can make a difference.
We must not forget that protests in support of abortion are important but no where near enough. The state legislatures will soon have complete control over women's bodies and the Democrats are the only party that will protect women's right to choose. We HAVE to shift the state legislatures to the Democrats and hold the legislatures which are currently in Democratic control. We also have to work hard to shift the state governorships to Democrats. To do this we have to support The States Project and Sister District and other organizations which are working to accomplish this.
Many of the situations Robert mentioned in todays Edition unfortunately have their origin in the spread of right wing extremists group. Dana Milbank wrote the following
“ The Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights, a decades-old group that tracks right-wing extremism, found that more than 1 in 5 Republican state legislators in the United States were affiliated with far-right groups. The IREHR (which conducted a similar study with the NAACP in 2010 on racism within the tea party) cross-referenced the personal, campaign and official Facebook profiles of all 7,383 state legislators in the United States during the 2021-22 legislative period with thousands of far-right Facebook groups. The researchers found that 875 legislators — all but three of them Republicans — were members of one or more of 789 far-right Facebook groups. That works out to 22 percent of all Republican state legislators.” This is the threat we all must encounter and eliminate.
We have government of, by, and for corporations and wealthy individuals. It is Federalist mob rule to keep the rest of us in line.