I'm not giving up either; I'm growing increasingly angry and determined to kick this MF to the curb. However (and i would love to be proven wrong) I'm not sanguine about the Senate. I think they're a bunch of craven ass-kissers who will confirm every one of these dimbulbs to the agencies they want to destroy.
What can we do? I think we have to build a strong network, so we have as loud a megaphone on the left as they do on the right; i.e., we have to have a Fox News of our own. Here is where I wonder if you and Simon Rosenberg, Joyce Vance, HCR, et al, should get together under one umbrella to cut through the noise. We need to start building this now so it's effective by 2026.
I also think it's time we get back on talk radio, even though whoever does that has to have the hide of a rhinoceros.
Finally, since we are probably going to lose access to vaccines and will have to examine food ourselves, so we don't get massive doses of E. Coli and other diseases, we are going to have to do this on the local level. This means sharing what we know about stuff like food handling, convincing our local hospitals and clinics to find alternative sources of medicines if they can't get them from the toothless CDC, etc. IOW, we are going to have to be self-reliant, and we, and our friends and neighbors, are going to have to learn how to live and thrive without a functioning government.
I do need my Social Security though, and Medicare. He has promised not to touch them, but we'll see. So many people depend on these services though, that they may (MAY) be safe. I think keeping us in suspense about these vital programs is another way to keep us off-balance and complaint. Nice try, asshole. God, I'm angrier than I thought. :D
Do you really thing the Senate will hold? I have no faith, but the House did vote down that measure to classify whatever non-profit organization they like as "terrorist" and revoke their tax-exempt status, so there's that.
I'm thinking of running for PCO (precinct committee officer) even though it's way outside my comfort zone. But hell, I sign my real name anyway, so the Gestapo can find me easily enough. And boy will they be surprised. I'll be 79 on the 26th of this month, and pissing off old women is a mistake because we have no fucks left to give. Bring it on!
Good for you to run for Precinct Committee Officer! RFK Jr is far from approved yet through two different Senate committees, so you needn't assume vaccines are lost. Today I attended a "Volunteer All Call" Zoom by North Carolina Democratic Party Chair Anderson Clayton. They had so many people signing in--1,500--that they had to route overflow people to YouTube. I can't wait for their YouTube to be available (look for it) because they were wonderfully energizing with their "Anger into Action" plans for the next two years.
You talk a out RFK, Jr. being “approved” (technically) confirmed by Senate Committees (and then the full Senate, remember). That’s important, but, in my opinion it isn’t key.
The key thing, in my opinion, is to *embarrass* Trump’s nominees and the Republicans who would vote to confirm them. This would require that Democrats change their spots, since most are inherently boring, and perhaps work with Democratic-leaning comedians and comedy writers to poke serious fun at Republicans and their inadequate nominees.
The way to undermine those Trump nominees seriously is to get people to laugh at them, not merely to indulge (wallow?) in holy Democratic outrage.
We have to remember the houses of congress now in session aren't the same houses that will be sworn in on Jan 1. Hopefully the current administration can get some things passed before then.
This was addressed on the Indivisible call. Call your senators and demand the confirm as many judges as possible. If you have red senators you can also call Schumer and Durbin (ugh).
Call your Senators ASAP! If they receive enough calls from constituents, they'll get off their backsides and act. I wonder whether Biden is proposing enough judges for the Senate to approve, but I don't know how to reach him effectively.
You go, Karla !! Yes, we all need to be aware and taking action about what is happening at the local level. We actually had a MAGA county commissioner pull the fluoride out of a municipality in her district, of course against all medical advice.
Our “fiscally conservative” county commission also gave a 30$ mill grant to a developer who recently proposed they have exclusive use 12 days/year of an adjacent COUNTY beachside park.The people organized and revolted so the developer backed down….for now.
Yes, it all starts on the local level. My very red county managed over the the last year, through recalls, a special election, the August primary election, and the general election in November to clear our county commission of MAGAs. There was an election denier on the board that certified the special election who tried to subvert the voters' choices who then ran for a position on the school board for the county's largest district - they lost. Sadly the MAGA aligned state representative and senate candidates won, as did the trump-loving US Rep. But locally, the MAGAs are no longer in control of county policy.
Thank you for your righteous gutsy anger! I have mixed feelings. I am angry and I’m in my local Dem groups and we are banding together and meeting locally. But, also, my son owns a business that can be hurt locally by a local MAGA looney who is very connnected. I have to lay low. It’s weird, I’ve never had to do this before. Also, we really, reallly need our version of Faux News….five simple sentences related over and over again …
I absolutely agree that we need to take stock of the things we'll individually and collectively need to protect ourselves from.
I'm still on break - from news, reacting to trump's daily barrage of bull$#!+, and responding to the knuckleheads who voted for him. I'll be back in the game soon, and your words are inspirational.
I’m with you, Carla! I think the best we can do is focus on the things we can to make us more self reliant. Me I’m stocking up on canned goods and non-perishable food items unfortunately I don’t have the luxury of growing my own food at the moment. I am also researching the best immune strengthening supplements so my body will have a better chance of fighting off disease on its own.
Like you, I have no faith that the Senate will not just roll over and do his bidding. I’ve not seen a lot of evidence of the contrary.
I am also largely avoiding the news right now because everything out there is merely speculation, and I cannot risk my health getting upset about things right now. That doesn’t mean I’m giving up, that means I am pacing myself for when the real shit starts.
OK, we have to do more! Remember that huge march on DC by thousands of us women in cute little pink "pussy" beanies? I'm too old to get out of town, let alone out of state, but by God there are millions of disillusioned women who are physically able to get out and be SEEN and HEARD. January 20th is the date! Meet in Washington DC, as close to that "swearing in" stage as you can get. Those of you with wide audiences can DO THIS!!! Please, Karla--and you, Robert Hubble--start making plans for the largest march on DC ever!
I hope that, this time, they will allow Jewish women’s groups to join in. Representatives of Jewish women’s groups were kicked out of the march that took place near the onset of the first Trump Administration.
Seriously? That's hard to believe! But you must have heard first hand, yes? I participated in the march in Santa Cruz. Millions of women marched in cities all across America, as most of us can't just pick up and trot to DC! I say "hard to believe" because no one asked anyone what their religion or ethnicity was prior to marching in the cities. Sure would like to know how that happened! Was that just for certain speakers? I mean, why would anyone at all be excluded?
All right! I’ve dug into my Saved articles. Here are two:
« Women’s march roiled by accusations of antisemitism, » by Farah Stockman, NY Times, 12/23/2018
« Women’s March leader says white Jews ‘uphold white supremacy’ », Times of Israel, 12/23/2018
If you think The New York Times and ToI publish packs of lies, feel free to discount the veracity of these articles; your choice. I find them believable, even compelling. Of late, The Times has been far from cheerleaders for American Jews.
ok, so you think you read this in the NYT and/or Washington Post. And we all know how reliable those papers are at reporting the truth of any situation (NOT!). It sounds like something the Right would report to try to sow doubt and division into women’ power. I don’t buy it, and I don’t care either. I will actually call my Jewish friends and specifically invite them to our local march when the time comes. Everyone in this country needs to be represented when we stand up to these troglodytes.
Also: You sensibly ask why anybody would be excluded. I don’t know, unless - I hate being driven to this conclusion – its antisemitism in one form or another.
I am NOT antisemitic, but I despise Netanyahu and what he has done in Gaza and the West Bank, and now Lebanon! What is discouraging is that half of the Israeli citizens support what he is doing. (The other hate him.) But as you can see, what Net is doing is causing discrimination against Jewish people. He is a war criminal and he is bombing Lebanon now with OUR USA BOMBS! It makes me sick! I still would like to see/read PROOF that Jewish women were not welcome in that march in Washington. I find that very hard to believe! Especially since that was long before Net was even in power. although the Israeli government has kept Gaza an "occupied" country against their will for years and years. I saw bulldozers ripping up the pavement in the West Bank just a few weeks ago....it's no secret they want it back.
I’m interested in the reactions you report to Trump’s preposterous (too weak a word, but I can’t think of a better one) cabinet nominations, because mine is the opposite. The election results had me so down that I pretty much checked out. The nominations of the unqualified, the disloyal, the corrupt and the pernicious are bringing me back into the game. The demand that the Senate abdicate its constitutional role is stark proof that the warnings of Trump’s fascism were right, and a call to action. We may be, like those few who joined DeGaulle in London in June 1940, about to see our nation turn its back on what is good and decent, but how can we not resist? I don’t know about you, but I still have to look at myself in the mirror.
Robert posted the links to yesterday's Indivisible action call introducing their updated "Practical Guide" for actions. Bottom line is to find your people, either to join an existing organization, or through Indivisible start your own pod. SwingLeft has a 2025-2026 strategy zoom next week on 11/19/24 at 5:00 pm PT.
On thing I think we can agree on is that while the election itself was free and fair, despite the pernicious preemptive claims to the contrary, trump cheated at every turn. Our opposistance is our best hope for our future.
I am not sure I can agree the election was "fair". When bomb threats close polling in Dem districts for over three hours people go home...and didn't return. That is active voter suppression. When r's continue to do everything they can to invalidate ballot - and are often successful in their efforts, that's voter suppression. In a free and fair election voter suppression might be a whisper but not the reality.
That's precisely my point. The election itself was free and fair. The cheating by trump and his "sicko"phants was rampant, and included voter suppression, voter purges, lawsuits, misinformation, threats, disinformation, poll worker intimidation, dark money, and who knows what else. But the votes cast properly were properly counted.
Trump had already started seeding the public with his "the election appears not to be fair" garbage. But that issue magically disappeared when he won. The only difference between him and his rally comedian's crass description of Puerto Rico is that Trump doesn't float.
Dear American Friends, my heart goes out to you. Please reach out to your friends in Canada. Many of us have followed your recent journey closely and feel your pain. Yes, you have to be part of the resistance but to be effective, you also have to keep body and soul together. Consider a vacation north next summer. The temperature is generally cooler here and you will be welcomed with understanding. And the thought of it might help raise your spirits and give you something to look forward to in the difficult days to come.
Thanks, Pam. We appreciate you and our Canadian friends. Hopefully, we will get through this with new understandings and ways to protect our democracy!
Gaetz and Waltz leave two open seats in Florida!! Both won handily but both had excellent Democratic challengers we could all get behind if they decide to campaign again in coming Special Elections. I know it’s tough in Florida these days but if we all get behind this we might pick up a seat or two. Maybe we can pull off an Ossoff & Warnock winning surprise!
Yes, if we all get behind the Dem we might be able to flip the seats. Most likely the DCCC won’t invest because they don’t BELIEVE it’s possible. But we know anything IS possible, especially when we come together. There’s also Elise Stefanik seat which again is quite red, but we should not ever give up without a fight..
With all due respect, but this is simply not realistic. Gaetz is probably the most revolting, vilest, sleaziest species of the MAGA crowd in Congress – and there is quite some competition. And still he won with 66% of the vote. It must be more than just name recognition. I don't know what the people down there are smoking, but this district is not flippable. I don't now so much about Waltz, but he won a ⅔ majority as well.
be careful what you “wish” for by speaking those words. Quantum physics has proved that what you focus on manifests. So let’s focus on flipping those seats! It can’t hurt.
Hallelujah for BALLOT CURING! Of the House races that had not yet been called, over the past few days, we've seen Democrats George Whitesides and Dave Min pull ahead and win by a handful. A week ago Derek Tran CA-45 was behind by more than 9,000 votes, and tonight he is behind by only 236 votes! I'll be going in person to help cure ballots, and I hope others join the cause--phone options available! See the links posted by Robert.
Normalizing criminal behavior. This is my message to the NYT today;
The NYY, particularly " the morning", continues to report Trump's plans like they are coming from a normal person who just won the election. However, there is nothing normal about this criminal and abuser of women. Your reporting is at best irrelevant because it does not even try to reveal the depraved nature of what you are reporting on. Even your photos accompanying your text shows that you are celebrating, along with a cohort of criminal and hacks, what is perhaps the most consequential moment in the history of this country. The NYT is cheering and helping to create the fabulously corrupt fascist regime developing before our very eyes. Your job is to expose it for it's depravity. But you go on celebrating instead.
Robert, They want us to focus on Gaetz and forget about the others. Gaetz will never become AG unless by recess appointment. Trump surely is playing a game here. Gabbard, for example, is at least as dangerous. She is a Russian asset who would be given charge over all our national intelligence agencies with no experience in intelligence. We might as well hand Putin all our important secrets. Hegseth is almost as bad, especially with the prospect of a purge of our senior military. I could go on. Please let’s not play their game.
Robert, thank you for highlighting the Indivisible introduction of their new guide. People who watch that video or read the guide will see that facing rising authoritarian power grabs, we are most effective when many of us stand together. Also, America’s democracy extends beyond the federal government to the states, to local politics. It offers a variety of ways to resist the Trump agenda, depending on where you live and who represents you. As a member of a local Indivisible group, I am encouraged by many new people wanting to join us. I’m seeing courage and resolve. As you wrote recently, resisting now will be hard and the only thing that’s harder would be to not resist. Don’t give up isn’t a pep talk, it’s a necessity. Rather than cave in to fear, look at fear as a challenge to exercise courage. We have many ways to resist, winning some battles (nonviolently), slowing down other Trump actions and maintaining the institutions of free and fair elections for upcoming special races in 2025 and the mid-terms in 2026.
President Biden should remember that he still has the job for a couple of months, stand up to the "bully pulpit", and grab back the public attention for a minute by removing the Trump tariffs that are still in place and strongly encouraging Chuck Schumer to get his a** in gear and confirm 47 judges. This would be an elegant holiday gift to the American people and focus attention on the impact of any new tariffs the Felon President seeks to impose.
Have you called your senators to put pressure on Schumer to confirm judges? We should all be calling them every. Single. Day. That was agenda #1 in the Indivisible call.
Yes, and when the name is mispronounced it really gets under his skin. Haha. (supposed to be pronounced with a hard "a". He's from my hometown, I've known him for 50 years. He transitioned from a principled leader to a schill...such a disappointment.
Got this action from someone in our Indivisible group yesterday too:
Call or write your Senators and ask them to do the following for every one of Trump’s nominees.
Request a complete and credible background check of each candidate - at a level suitable for the position they seek to hold.
Once the background check is complete, hold a public hearing to allow Senators to ask questions regarding the nominees' experience, competence, and character and any risks of blackmail, bribery, or national security.
Exercise their independent judgment as to whether the candidate meets the requirements of the job and will bring honor to the U.S.
My hopes for proper background checks by the FBI are nonexistent considering he ordered the FBI to drop the investigation of Kavanaugh when accusations of sexual misbehavior took place. Had they continued, the nomination would have been rejected.
I truly love the idea of our own version of Faux News….five simple sentences repeated over and over again across multiple platforms from multiple people. How about that the Onion bought info wars?
Love your username. :D Why not drop the NYT and save the money and aggravation? They've been in it for Trump since 2020. Maybe it's time to boycott them and send them the way of X, which is hemorrhaging users at an astonishing rate.
I believe we are being gas lighted. That he is deliberately putting out the worst of the worst so that we waste a lot of energy dealing with the craziness and then when he puts up the names of just awful people we will accept them and feel like we won a major victory. Don’t fall for it.
This! I totally agree and that is why I am I ignoring all the noise right now. First of all I need a break for me sanity and health’s sake. (This is the first newsletter I’ve read all week!) And right now it’s all speculation. He just drinking the crazy juice and spitting it all over us to see who gets outraged. We have two more months with Dems in the white house and senate. I’m hoping they make that most of it and get some shit done.
Adding to my prior comment, if Gabbard becomes DNI, the Five Eyes is done. None of those allies, or any other, will be willing to share important intelligence knowing she will see it. We will also be unable to recruit spies, as potential spies will know that they are at risk of being exposed. All of this adds up to a substantial diminution of our national security, and the security of other democracies.
Not giving up here, but I am trying to grapple as a physician with the reality of a President-elect visibly in the grip of frontotemporal dementia. This worry is heightened of course by the Trump Campaign’s failure to release any meaningful health information about their candidate. I have yet to see the commentariat referring to the 25th Amendment in reactions to Trump’s pressure to normalize recess appointments to his Cabinet. Perhaps readers who are constitutional lawyers, or have better sources in that community, can respond to my nightmarish concern that recess appointees would not fully vest in the power of their offices under that Amendment. The Amendment states that when the “Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office,” the Vice President will assume the powers and duties of the Presidency. Since no alternative “other body” has ever been established by Congress to evaluate Presidential disability, this process is what we’re left with, a majority vote of the Cabinet led by the Vice President. True, JD Vance is a soulless shill for the right and has other faults, but dementia isn’t one of them, & he has yet to prove himself to be among the Russophilic treason weasels surrounding Trump. Have Trump’s puppeteers potentially been advised of such a loophole? Are recess appointees regarded as executive officers for the purposes of the Amendment? How would our Trumpist SCOTUS be likely to rule on this?
Good points, but right now the convicted felon is still a useful tool for attracting attention away from anything else. The possibility of an unforeseen medical event in a morbidly obese 78 year old male always exists but can only occur once unless the pseudo-religious extremists are right about his status as a messiah.
Re recess appointments: It’s been my impression (Robert and other lawyers, please check) that recess appointments are time-limited. So if DFT invokes recess appointments, people need to oppose and resist renewals of the appointments, making a very public fuss over it.
I'm not giving up either; I'm growing increasingly angry and determined to kick this MF to the curb. However (and i would love to be proven wrong) I'm not sanguine about the Senate. I think they're a bunch of craven ass-kissers who will confirm every one of these dimbulbs to the agencies they want to destroy.
What can we do? I think we have to build a strong network, so we have as loud a megaphone on the left as they do on the right; i.e., we have to have a Fox News of our own. Here is where I wonder if you and Simon Rosenberg, Joyce Vance, HCR, et al, should get together under one umbrella to cut through the noise. We need to start building this now so it's effective by 2026.
I also think it's time we get back on talk radio, even though whoever does that has to have the hide of a rhinoceros.
Finally, since we are probably going to lose access to vaccines and will have to examine food ourselves, so we don't get massive doses of E. Coli and other diseases, we are going to have to do this on the local level. This means sharing what we know about stuff like food handling, convincing our local hospitals and clinics to find alternative sources of medicines if they can't get them from the toothless CDC, etc. IOW, we are going to have to be self-reliant, and we, and our friends and neighbors, are going to have to learn how to live and thrive without a functioning government.
I do need my Social Security though, and Medicare. He has promised not to touch them, but we'll see. So many people depend on these services though, that they may (MAY) be safe. I think keeping us in suspense about these vital programs is another way to keep us off-balance and complaint. Nice try, asshole. God, I'm angrier than I thought. :D
Do you really thing the Senate will hold? I have no faith, but the House did vote down that measure to classify whatever non-profit organization they like as "terrorist" and revoke their tax-exempt status, so there's that.
I'm thinking of running for PCO (precinct committee officer) even though it's way outside my comfort zone. But hell, I sign my real name anyway, so the Gestapo can find me easily enough. And boy will they be surprised. I'll be 79 on the 26th of this month, and pissing off old women is a mistake because we have no fucks left to give. Bring it on!
Good for you to run for Precinct Committee Officer! RFK Jr is far from approved yet through two different Senate committees, so you needn't assume vaccines are lost. Today I attended a "Volunteer All Call" Zoom by North Carolina Democratic Party Chair Anderson Clayton. They had so many people signing in--1,500--that they had to route overflow people to YouTube. I can't wait for their YouTube to be available (look for it) because they were wonderfully energizing with their "Anger into Action" plans for the next two years.
You talk a out RFK, Jr. being “approved” (technically) confirmed by Senate Committees (and then the full Senate, remember). That’s important, but, in my opinion it isn’t key.
The key thing, in my opinion, is to *embarrass* Trump’s nominees and the Republicans who would vote to confirm them. This would require that Democrats change their spots, since most are inherently boring, and perhaps work with Democratic-leaning comedians and comedy writers to poke serious fun at Republicans and their inadequate nominees.
The way to undermine those Trump nominees seriously is to get people to laugh at them, not merely to indulge (wallow?) in holy Democratic outrage.
We have to remember the houses of congress now in session aren't the same houses that will be sworn in on Jan 1. Hopefully the current administration can get some things passed before then.
IF they get off their dead asses and get things done. They seem to be paralyzed. I hope I'm wrong; I'm hardly privy to Congressional proceedings.
How can we get them to fill judicial offices? They need to be bullies
This was addressed on the Indivisible call. Call your senators and demand the confirm as many judges as possible. If you have red senators you can also call Schumer and Durbin (ugh).
Call your Senators ASAP! If they receive enough calls from constituents, they'll get off their backsides and act. I wonder whether Biden is proposing enough judges for the Senate to approve, but I don't know how to reach him effectively.
You go, Karla !! Yes, we all need to be aware and taking action about what is happening at the local level. We actually had a MAGA county commissioner pull the fluoride out of a municipality in her district, of course against all medical advice.
Our “fiscally conservative” county commission also gave a 30$ mill grant to a developer who recently proposed they have exclusive use 12 days/year of an adjacent COUNTY beachside park.The people organized and revolted so the developer backed down….for now.
It all starts at the local level !!
Yes, it all starts on the local level. My very red county managed over the the last year, through recalls, a special election, the August primary election, and the general election in November to clear our county commission of MAGAs. There was an election denier on the board that certified the special election who tried to subvert the voters' choices who then ran for a position on the school board for the county's largest district - they lost. Sadly the MAGA aligned state representative and senate candidates won, as did the trump-loving US Rep. But locally, the MAGAs are no longer in control of county policy.
Thank you for your righteous gutsy anger! I have mixed feelings. I am angry and I’m in my local Dem groups and we are banding together and meeting locally. But, also, my son owns a business that can be hurt locally by a local MAGA looney who is very connnected. I have to lay low. It’s weird, I’ve never had to do this before. Also, we really, reallly need our version of Faux News….five simple sentences related over and over again …
Great post, Karla! This could be our manifesto!
I absolutely agree that we need to take stock of the things we'll individually and collectively need to protect ourselves from.
I'm still on break - from news, reacting to trump's daily barrage of bull$#!+, and responding to the knuckleheads who voted for him. I'll be back in the game soon, and your words are inspirational.
You're not completely out of the game if you're reading Robert's wise words and commenting here!
I do not have enough words to express how much I agree with everything you have said! This 76-year-old is with you all the way! You go girl!
I’m with you, Carla! I think the best we can do is focus on the things we can to make us more self reliant. Me I’m stocking up on canned goods and non-perishable food items unfortunately I don’t have the luxury of growing my own food at the moment. I am also researching the best immune strengthening supplements so my body will have a better chance of fighting off disease on its own.
Like you, I have no faith that the Senate will not just roll over and do his bidding. I’ve not seen a lot of evidence of the contrary.
I am also largely avoiding the news right now because everything out there is merely speculation, and I cannot risk my health getting upset about things right now. That doesn’t mean I’m giving up, that means I am pacing myself for when the real shit starts.
Ha ha ha . . . I'm right up there with you, Babe, and I use my real name too. I hope we are both around to see this gone by. Sunday I'll e 92.
Typo . . . I'll BE . . . Not my brain.
I'm with Karla. Full speed ahead and no giving in.
OK, we have to do more! Remember that huge march on DC by thousands of us women in cute little pink "pussy" beanies? I'm too old to get out of town, let alone out of state, but by God there are millions of disillusioned women who are physically able to get out and be SEEN and HEARD. January 20th is the date! Meet in Washington DC, as close to that "swearing in" stage as you can get. Those of you with wide audiences can DO THIS!!! Please, Karla--and you, Robert Hubble--start making plans for the largest march on DC ever!
I hope that, this time, they will allow Jewish women’s groups to join in. Representatives of Jewish women’s groups were kicked out of the march that took place near the onset of the first Trump Administration.
Seriously? That's hard to believe! But you must have heard first hand, yes? I participated in the march in Santa Cruz. Millions of women marched in cities all across America, as most of us can't just pick up and trot to DC! I say "hard to believe" because no one asked anyone what their religion or ethnicity was prior to marching in the cities. Sure would like to know how that happened! Was that just for certain speakers? I mean, why would anyone at all be excluded?
Yes, seriously. Jewish women’s groups were kicked off the organizing committees for the big march on Washington.
I read that, at the time, in the Washington Post and/or New York times.
Some left-of-center people and groups are not without prejudice (we also see it on college and university campuses, today).
All right! I’ve dug into my Saved articles. Here are two:
« Women’s march roiled by accusations of antisemitism, » by Farah Stockman, NY Times, 12/23/2018
« Women’s March leader says white Jews ‘uphold white supremacy’ », Times of Israel, 12/23/2018
If you think The New York Times and ToI publish packs of lies, feel free to discount the veracity of these articles; your choice. I find them believable, even compelling. Of late, The Times has been far from cheerleaders for American Jews.
ok, so you think you read this in the NYT and/or Washington Post. And we all know how reliable those papers are at reporting the truth of any situation (NOT!). It sounds like something the Right would report to try to sow doubt and division into women’ power. I don’t buy it, and I don’t care either. I will actually call my Jewish friends and specifically invite them to our local march when the time comes. Everyone in this country needs to be represented when we stand up to these troglodytes.
Also: You sensibly ask why anybody would be excluded. I don’t know, unless - I hate being driven to this conclusion – its antisemitism in one form or another.
I am NOT antisemitic, but I despise Netanyahu and what he has done in Gaza and the West Bank, and now Lebanon! What is discouraging is that half of the Israeli citizens support what he is doing. (The other hate him.) But as you can see, what Net is doing is causing discrimination against Jewish people. He is a war criminal and he is bombing Lebanon now with OUR USA BOMBS! It makes me sick! I still would like to see/read PROOF that Jewish women were not welcome in that march in Washington. I find that very hard to believe! Especially since that was long before Net was even in power. although the Israeli government has kept Gaza an "occupied" country against their will for years and years. I saw bulldozers ripping up the pavement in the West Bank just a few weeks ago....it's no secret they want it back.
I suggested this very same thing on the Hopium site. Yes. One loud megaphone, led by the very best.
Bravo!
I’m interested in the reactions you report to Trump’s preposterous (too weak a word, but I can’t think of a better one) cabinet nominations, because mine is the opposite. The election results had me so down that I pretty much checked out. The nominations of the unqualified, the disloyal, the corrupt and the pernicious are bringing me back into the game. The demand that the Senate abdicate its constitutional role is stark proof that the warnings of Trump’s fascism were right, and a call to action. We may be, like those few who joined DeGaulle in London in June 1940, about to see our nation turn its back on what is good and decent, but how can we not resist? I don’t know about you, but I still have to look at myself in the mirror.
Robert posted the links to yesterday's Indivisible action call introducing their updated "Practical Guide" for actions. Bottom line is to find your people, either to join an existing organization, or through Indivisible start your own pod. SwingLeft has a 2025-2026 strategy zoom next week on 11/19/24 at 5:00 pm PT.
https://www.swingleft.org
We all do. He won the election but he didn’t win the right to kill Democracy
On thing I think we can agree on is that while the election itself was free and fair, despite the pernicious preemptive claims to the contrary, trump cheated at every turn. Our opposistance is our best hope for our future.
I am not sure I can agree the election was "fair". When bomb threats close polling in Dem districts for over three hours people go home...and didn't return. That is active voter suppression. When r's continue to do everything they can to invalidate ballot - and are often successful in their efforts, that's voter suppression. In a free and fair election voter suppression might be a whisper but not the reality.
That's precisely my point. The election itself was free and fair. The cheating by trump and his "sicko"phants was rampant, and included voter suppression, voter purges, lawsuits, misinformation, threats, disinformation, poll worker intimidation, dark money, and who knows what else. But the votes cast properly were properly counted.
Imagine what Trump would have said if he lost.
Trump had already started seeding the public with his "the election appears not to be fair" garbage. But that issue magically disappeared when he won. The only difference between him and his rally comedian's crass description of Puerto Rico is that Trump doesn't float.
I think we need to refer to his cabinet for what it is - The TOOL Cabinet! Tell a friend.
On Threads, I’ve seen it referred to as a junk drawer.
I'm calling it the Cabinet of Deplorables
Dear American Friends, my heart goes out to you. Please reach out to your friends in Canada. Many of us have followed your recent journey closely and feel your pain. Yes, you have to be part of the resistance but to be effective, you also have to keep body and soul together. Consider a vacation north next summer. The temperature is generally cooler here and you will be welcomed with understanding. And the thought of it might help raise your spirits and give you something to look forward to in the difficult days to come.
Thanks, Pam. We appreciate you and our Canadian friends. Hopefully, we will get through this with new understandings and ways to protect our democracy!
That sets off a lightbulb in my head: maybe people should cancel vacations south of the Mason-Dixon line.
Thanks, Pam. A summer vacation in Canada is a great idea!!
I appreciate your invitation, and, health willing, will be headed north for another visit.
Gaetz and Waltz leave two open seats in Florida!! Both won handily but both had excellent Democratic challengers we could all get behind if they decide to campaign again in coming Special Elections. I know it’s tough in Florida these days but if we all get behind this we might pick up a seat or two. Maybe we can pull off an Ossoff & Warnock winning surprise!
Yes, if we all get behind the Dem we might be able to flip the seats. Most likely the DCCC won’t invest because they don’t BELIEVE it’s possible. But we know anything IS possible, especially when we come together. There’s also Elise Stefanik seat which again is quite red, but we should not ever give up without a fight..
With all due respect, but this is simply not realistic. Gaetz is probably the most revolting, vilest, sleaziest species of the MAGA crowd in Congress – and there is quite some competition. And still he won with 66% of the vote. It must be more than just name recognition. I don't know what the people down there are smoking, but this district is not flippable. I don't now so much about Waltz, but he won a ⅔ majority as well.
be careful what you “wish” for by speaking those words. Quantum physics has proved that what you focus on manifests. So let’s focus on flipping those seats! It can’t hurt.
Hallelujah for BALLOT CURING! Of the House races that had not yet been called, over the past few days, we've seen Democrats George Whitesides and Dave Min pull ahead and win by a handful. A week ago Derek Tran CA-45 was behind by more than 9,000 votes, and tonight he is behind by only 236 votes! I'll be going in person to help cure ballots, and I hope others join the cause--phone options available! See the links posted by Robert.
I’ll be with you from the other coast via phone, Ellie! 📲
And still 7% of the vote to be counted. CA-45 looks quite promising. So nice and uplifting to get some positive news once in a while.
Derek Tran now is only behind by 58 votes!!
Out to cure more ballots!
Normalizing criminal behavior. This is my message to the NYT today;
The NYY, particularly " the morning", continues to report Trump's plans like they are coming from a normal person who just won the election. However, there is nothing normal about this criminal and abuser of women. Your reporting is at best irrelevant because it does not even try to reveal the depraved nature of what you are reporting on. Even your photos accompanying your text shows that you are celebrating, along with a cohort of criminal and hacks, what is perhaps the most consequential moment in the history of this country. The NYT is cheering and helping to create the fabulously corrupt fascist regime developing before our very eyes. Your job is to expose it for it's depravity. But you go on celebrating instead.
Excellent.
Robert, They want us to focus on Gaetz and forget about the others. Gaetz will never become AG unless by recess appointment. Trump surely is playing a game here. Gabbard, for example, is at least as dangerous. She is a Russian asset who would be given charge over all our national intelligence agencies with no experience in intelligence. We might as well hand Putin all our important secrets. Hegseth is almost as bad, especially with the prospect of a purge of our senior military. I could go on. Please let’s not play their game.
I fear TFG won't need help handing over secrets (check notes) because he probably already turned over the documents he took to "Maraslogo".
Robert, thank you for highlighting the Indivisible introduction of their new guide. People who watch that video or read the guide will see that facing rising authoritarian power grabs, we are most effective when many of us stand together. Also, America’s democracy extends beyond the federal government to the states, to local politics. It offers a variety of ways to resist the Trump agenda, depending on where you live and who represents you. As a member of a local Indivisible group, I am encouraged by many new people wanting to join us. I’m seeing courage and resolve. As you wrote recently, resisting now will be hard and the only thing that’s harder would be to not resist. Don’t give up isn’t a pep talk, it’s a necessity. Rather than cave in to fear, look at fear as a challenge to exercise courage. We have many ways to resist, winning some battles (nonviolently), slowing down other Trump actions and maintaining the institutions of free and fair elections for upcoming special races in 2025 and the mid-terms in 2026.
President Biden should remember that he still has the job for a couple of months, stand up to the "bully pulpit", and grab back the public attention for a minute by removing the Trump tariffs that are still in place and strongly encouraging Chuck Schumer to get his a** in gear and confirm 47 judges. This would be an elegant holiday gift to the American people and focus attention on the impact of any new tariffs the Felon President seeks to impose.
Have you called your senators to put pressure on Schumer to confirm judges? We should all be calling them every. Single. Day. That was agenda #1 in the Indivisible call.
Yes, I am in regular touch with both of my Trumpistas, Hawley and Schmitt, but they aren't responding ecstatically.
I’m so sorry you have those terrible senators. I also recommend you calling Schumer and Dick Durbin. Durban is a notorious foot dragger.
Same here in Red State Idaho. Risch and Crapo are duds.
Crapo is certainly appropriately named.
Yes, and when the name is mispronounced it really gets under his skin. Haha. (supposed to be pronounced with a hard "a". He's from my hometown, I've known him for 50 years. He transitioned from a principled leader to a schill...such a disappointment.
Got this action from someone in our Indivisible group yesterday too:
Call or write your Senators and ask them to do the following for every one of Trump’s nominees.
Request a complete and credible background check of each candidate - at a level suitable for the position they seek to hold.
Once the background check is complete, hold a public hearing to allow Senators to ask questions regarding the nominees' experience, competence, and character and any risks of blackmail, bribery, or national security.
Exercise their independent judgment as to whether the candidate meets the requirements of the job and will bring honor to the U.S.
My hopes for proper background checks by the FBI are nonexistent considering he ordered the FBI to drop the investigation of Kavanaugh when accusations of sexual misbehavior took place. Had they continued, the nomination would have been rejected.
I truly love the idea of our own version of Faux News….five simple sentences repeated over and over again across multiple platforms from multiple people. How about that the Onion bought info wars?
If there was a bright note yesterday, The Onion buying Infowars was it.
Loved that purchase by the Onion!!
Thr New York Times op ed writers are by and large useless, Brooks, Bret Stephens and Ross Douthat are particularly tedious.
Love your username. :D Why not drop the NYT and save the money and aggravation? They've been in it for Trump since 2020. Maybe it's time to boycott them and send them the way of X, which is hemorrhaging users at an astonishing rate.
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/
And odious
I believe we are being gas lighted. That he is deliberately putting out the worst of the worst so that we waste a lot of energy dealing with the craziness and then when he puts up the names of just awful people we will accept them and feel like we won a major victory. Don’t fall for it.
This! I totally agree and that is why I am I ignoring all the noise right now. First of all I need a break for me sanity and health’s sake. (This is the first newsletter I’ve read all week!) And right now it’s all speculation. He just drinking the crazy juice and spitting it all over us to see who gets outraged. We have two more months with Dems in the white house and senate. I’m hoping they make that most of it and get some shit done.
Adding to my prior comment, if Gabbard becomes DNI, the Five Eyes is done. None of those allies, or any other, will be willing to share important intelligence knowing she will see it. We will also be unable to recruit spies, as potential spies will know that they are at risk of being exposed. All of this adds up to a substantial diminution of our national security, and the security of other democracies.
Never give up as we are in a fight for our lives and Democracy itself.
Not giving up here, but I am trying to grapple as a physician with the reality of a President-elect visibly in the grip of frontotemporal dementia. This worry is heightened of course by the Trump Campaign’s failure to release any meaningful health information about their candidate. I have yet to see the commentariat referring to the 25th Amendment in reactions to Trump’s pressure to normalize recess appointments to his Cabinet. Perhaps readers who are constitutional lawyers, or have better sources in that community, can respond to my nightmarish concern that recess appointees would not fully vest in the power of their offices under that Amendment. The Amendment states that when the “Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office,” the Vice President will assume the powers and duties of the Presidency. Since no alternative “other body” has ever been established by Congress to evaluate Presidential disability, this process is what we’re left with, a majority vote of the Cabinet led by the Vice President. True, JD Vance is a soulless shill for the right and has other faults, but dementia isn’t one of them, & he has yet to prove himself to be among the Russophilic treason weasels surrounding Trump. Have Trump’s puppeteers potentially been advised of such a loophole? Are recess appointees regarded as executive officers for the purposes of the Amendment? How would our Trumpist SCOTUS be likely to rule on this?
Good points, but right now the convicted felon is still a useful tool for attracting attention away from anything else. The possibility of an unforeseen medical event in a morbidly obese 78 year old male always exists but can only occur once unless the pseudo-religious extremists are right about his status as a messiah.
Good questions!
Re recess appointments: It’s been my impression (Robert and other lawyers, please check) that recess appointments are time-limited. So if DFT invokes recess appointments, people need to oppose and resist renewals of the appointments, making a very public fuss over it.