From Donald Trump to Mitch McConnell, Republicans have made the phrase "do me a favor" a request to do something that is somewhere between illegal and unethical.
One of the reasons I read your newsletter is because I need a daily dose of optimism. However, I admit to being one of the people who has lost hope that this country will heal in my lifetime and if I could emigrate to New Zealand, as my daughter already has, I would leave in a heartbeat. I think people in California and New York, the power centers of the Democratic party, have no idea what it is like in purple places like Michigan (where I live), Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Georgia, where everything is politicized, polarized, and extremely bitter.
I have done everything a citizen can do (from voting in every election to donating, door-knocking, writing to my reps, phone banking , etc., etc., etc.) to promote the values I believe in for more than 40 years only to see the national Democrats play Charlie Brown with Lucy and the football again and again. Trying to reach some sort of "bipartisanship" on the infrastructure bill is a case in point. I truly don't understand why the Dems can't message effectively or strongly. All I know is that people around me believe The Big Lie because they hear about it non-stop and the Democrats do not counter it effectively.
Again, I appreciate all your work; I truly do. But I am exhausted, disheartened and throughly disgusted.
Interesting you should mention fleeing the country. As a biracial family with a difficult history of encounters with racism, we talk about it. It’s different when you are a person of color, witnessing the resurgence of laws intended to “shut you out” of basic democratic processes, like voting. Fear of random police violence or just violence in general, just for being black or brown makes us careful in ways others may never have to think of. So we talk about it.
Sanctions against the Russians are fine, but they are only a band-aid on the problem. We need the capacity to prevent the most dangerous cyber-attacks, and the ability (and willingness) to strike back. If, say, the Russian air-traffic control system were to go down for 5 minutes in each time zone, starting with Vladivostok and moving east, Putin and Co. would get the message. It's not clear to me that Joe Biden is giving enough attention or proposing to spend enough on the problem.
I suggest that Senate and House Democrats form a "Bipartisan January 6th Citizens Commission" to study what led to and occurred on January 6th. The Commission would be made up of 2 select members of the House (a Democrat and a Republican; in particular, Liz Cheney comes to mind), 2 select members of the Senate (a Democrat and a Republican; in particular, Mitt Romney comes to mind), and 11 respected members of the public (say, 4 former Democratic and Republican congress persons, 2 federal prosecutors, 3 former judges, 2 other significant American patriots). There are plenty of respectable Republicans who would, I'm sure, love the opportunity to serve on such a Commission to prevent such an occurrence from ever happening again (while at the same time proving Trump led the insurrection).
You depicted the power-crazed McConnell so perfectly. Makes my blood boil! We must prevail over the GOP traitors. I am rolling up my sleeves. Have a restful weekend!
I know I'm not smart like all of you, so forgive my silly question. But if Biden is a socialist, then what is a person who wants federal money to go to the richest people in society?
From Donald Trump to Mitch McConnell, Republicans have made the phrase "do me a favor" a request to do something that is somewhere between illegal and unethical.
One of the reasons I read your newsletter is because I need a daily dose of optimism. However, I admit to being one of the people who has lost hope that this country will heal in my lifetime and if I could emigrate to New Zealand, as my daughter already has, I would leave in a heartbeat. I think people in California and New York, the power centers of the Democratic party, have no idea what it is like in purple places like Michigan (where I live), Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Georgia, where everything is politicized, polarized, and extremely bitter.
I have done everything a citizen can do (from voting in every election to donating, door-knocking, writing to my reps, phone banking , etc., etc., etc.) to promote the values I believe in for more than 40 years only to see the national Democrats play Charlie Brown with Lucy and the football again and again. Trying to reach some sort of "bipartisanship" on the infrastructure bill is a case in point. I truly don't understand why the Dems can't message effectively or strongly. All I know is that people around me believe The Big Lie because they hear about it non-stop and the Democrats do not counter it effectively.
Again, I appreciate all your work; I truly do. But I am exhausted, disheartened and throughly disgusted.
Interesting you should mention fleeing the country. As a biracial family with a difficult history of encounters with racism, we talk about it. It’s different when you are a person of color, witnessing the resurgence of laws intended to “shut you out” of basic democratic processes, like voting. Fear of random police violence or just violence in general, just for being black or brown makes us careful in ways others may never have to think of. So we talk about it.
Sanctions against the Russians are fine, but they are only a band-aid on the problem. We need the capacity to prevent the most dangerous cyber-attacks, and the ability (and willingness) to strike back. If, say, the Russian air-traffic control system were to go down for 5 minutes in each time zone, starting with Vladivostok and moving east, Putin and Co. would get the message. It's not clear to me that Joe Biden is giving enough attention or proposing to spend enough on the problem.
Oh, and have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend.
I suggest that Senate and House Democrats form a "Bipartisan January 6th Citizens Commission" to study what led to and occurred on January 6th. The Commission would be made up of 2 select members of the House (a Democrat and a Republican; in particular, Liz Cheney comes to mind), 2 select members of the Senate (a Democrat and a Republican; in particular, Mitt Romney comes to mind), and 11 respected members of the public (say, 4 former Democratic and Republican congress persons, 2 federal prosecutors, 3 former judges, 2 other significant American patriots). There are plenty of respectable Republicans who would, I'm sure, love the opportunity to serve on such a Commission to prevent such an occurrence from ever happening again (while at the same time proving Trump led the insurrection).
You depicted the power-crazed McConnell so perfectly. Makes my blood boil! We must prevail over the GOP traitors. I am rolling up my sleeves. Have a restful weekend!
I know I'm not smart like all of you, so forgive my silly question. But if Biden is a socialist, then what is a person who wants federal money to go to the richest people in society?