I thought Kamala did a good job at the town hall meeting. She was quick with her replies and they were well thought out. There was no music break with swaying and fist pumps. She answered questions. I thought the commentators at CNN were a bit hard on her and somewhat snarky. They talked on and on about her word salads. Give me a break. The orange one has a word salad or lie every time he opens his mouth.
DOJ seems to be on top of the voting issues. I hope it continues. I am hope filled. IMO I think the BLUE 🌊 is coming and it’s bigger than anyone imagined. The northern lights are so beautiful. The two of you look so cold.
You are absolutely correct, and I’ve included my analysis, which is quite similar to yours and Robert’s, in responses to other SubStack posts after the Town Meeting concluded. We’re in Hawaii on vacation and watched the broadcast in the mid afternoon, and unfortunately were not able to tune away from CNN. Their talking heads were disgusting in my mind. They failed to take into account several issues: 1) Kamala Harris has only been campaigning for three months from when President Biden elected not to continue his run for the Presidency. 2) Given that shortcoming she’s not been able to hone her skills for a major run for the office and thus has had the disadvantage of being forced to “reveal” her positions on so many items. 3) Trump wasn’t there and as such the geniuses who nitpicked her didn’t have to do the same for Trump. Lastly, who died and made these people the “gods” of the political commentators. Dana Bash, in particular, sounded like she was getting retribution for her poor showing when interviewing the Vice President about a month ago. I’m through with CNN and home my fellow SubStack readers and writes feel the same.
Yes,I am with you.I am adding CNN to my list of” not friends of We The People”. That list includes the NYT,WaPo, and other msm who have both sides this race when nothing could be farther from the truth.We The People have had to endure from them snark, half baked semi-lies, fondling of a full on fascist and relentless denigration of a very good though older gentleman POTUS.I, for one have had it with these goons and will never forgive or forget this awfulness after this election is over!
I no longer have subscriptions to WaPo or the NYTimes, nor do I watch CNN anymore. Their spin is so egregious, I doubt every single word they put out. I never watch ANY far right news sites. There’s no need for me to try to learn what those propaganda channels are dispensing to the gullible. I don’t need to get into the pigpen to know hogs are dirty.
Much depends on what you choose to watch on CNN, I guess. I’m generally satisfied with Erin Burnett’s show (7 pm Eastern Time). Her panelists are mostly intelligent commenters, some (Van Jones, e.g.), *very* smart); some of the conservatives on her panels offer alternative views that are reasoned if often misguided, but keeping liberals sharp and on their toes.
smart doesn't cut it, in my opinion. Vance is "smart." Graham is "smart." McConnell is "smart." What you mean, I think is not that Van Jones is very smart--rather that he is moral, ethical, appropriately concerned about our democracy. And smart in a secondarily-important way. I'll take a dumb person who is moral, ethical, and appropriately concerned about our democracy over a smart person who isn't, any day of the week. The kind of people who read this blog are overly infatuated with smartness, imo.
I quit watching CNN a very long time ago, back during the Reign of the Orange Sadist when they paid Scott Jennings and the despicable little Jason Miller very well to spout lies. Now they have David Urban. Who needs it? Not I.
CNN is a joke. I’ve never turned to them for any kind of proper news reporting. My husband may have it on occasionally and I catch their “reporting”. Their treatment of Kamala Harris was very snarky and demanded answer to questions they’d never ask Trump, let alone fact check him. Can we please just have a regular news channel for a change?
All of the apologists for Trump, from Sununu to Graham need to be held accountable for enabling the destruction of our Constitution. They know what's real . I don't know how they think this will help them.
"Dana Bash, in particular, sounded like she was getting retribution for her poor showing..." Methinks she's taking tfg's talking points a bit too personally? 🤬 The others, pure snark.
Dana Bash knows where her bread is buttered and her paycheck comes from. MAGA people, whether owners of her station or people who pay her bribes disguised as consulting fees or whatever.
Richard Brody, if only I believed that if Trump was there the CNN fools would "have to do the same" for him. They would not! They would give him the 100% pass and the fulsome praise for his dementia that we all should have grown accustomed to by now. Now I am noticing a new phenomenon, even worse than before: since criticism that Trump/Vance refuse to be fact-checked has stuck, the media are now doing "fake fact-checking." Robert notes this in his newsletter. They take some true claim, like Trump promised to build a Mexican wall and didn't, and "fact-check" it with outrageous media-generated lies--by twisting it around and lying in their fact check and using multi-syllabic words and complex concepts that the unthinking voter is unable to parse. Like now they said (lying) that Trump only promised to build part of the wall (he didn't; as Robert notes, he said he'd build the greatest, biggest wall) and he "actually accomplished that" because he built 2.6% of a wall, or some similar sort of arrant nonsense. Sheesh. Now even fact-checking has been corroded and corrupted. But now the media idiots can protest, "We ARE fact-checking Trump!" Yeah, with lies.
I agree with Monica and Richard about CNN’s nonsensical “analysis” of Kamala’s answers. I couldn’t stomach the BS that was being spewed and turned them off when Tapper posed the question “Is she being held to a different standard?”
I thought she did a good job, but missed a few opportunities. One great response that I don't think has gotten much attention is that she likes to think things thru and "kick the tires." As such, debates and town halls are not great venues for her. That's not a criticism; to me it's a strength.
I'd like to see her embrace her evolution on some things. Take fracking, for instance. I think she realized that just saying no wasn't practical or necessary, and now supports it as part of an overall strategy AS LONG AS IT'S DONE SAFELY AND ENVIRONMENTALLY RESPONSIBLY! The last part is what was missing and is perhaps most important (and I'm sure she believes it).
On the question of continuing Biden's policies, I think she should say they did some great things, and she'll continue the things that work and fix the things that don't. I, for one, don't fault her a bit for not being openly critical of the president. I'd be disappointed if she tried to distance herself.
On the border and AC's harping on waiting until recently to take executive action, I think she should say, "That's not the way a democracy is supposed to work. Executive action to address problems like immigration underscores the failure of Congress, and that's not healthy. Also, consider the many executive orders that have been challenged in court. They need to be used judiciously."
Yes, and the Biden administration started in the depths of the pandemic where Job #1 was saving lives, getting the vaccine into people’s arms, shoring up the economy - all of which had been royally screwed up under Trump’s abdication of leadership: “I take no responsibility.” said he. what tommyrot! A fascist fool.
Then rebuilding the NATO alliance.
Then ukraine, oct 7.,etc. all with a do nothing Congress being managed into irrelevancy by trump.
Presidencies exist in space AND in time. No presidency faces the same challenges as any other, or finds the same responses.
President Biden has been splendid. He used every gram of his experience as a wily old fox —including picking Kamala as VP, and the self-sacrifice of dropping out and managing it brilliantly. Thank you Joe.
Especially when one considers how small Democratic vote margins gave been, Biden’s performance should be regarded as brilliant. How Democrats have allowed themselves to get in a defensive crouch over Biden is astonishing.
You are right on point Barbara! Media personalities asking these inane “gotcha” questions while ignoring the actual record of what the administration was dealing with in its first 3 years is a complete disservice to those watching.
Also, isn’t the point of a Town Hall to have the Voters ask the questions? The media personalities have their opportunity to interview people each and every day. They should honor the Voters in attendance and let them ask their questions.
Hey, Barbara B, don't praise Democrats for getting the vaccine into people's arms! Don't you know, "All vaccines are evil!" I know this, because that traitorous opportunist Robert F. Kennedy Jr (Ethel must be turning in her grave) said so! In my community of non-thinking voters, they are rah-rah Kennedy voters for Trump/Vance. They think if Trump gets in, he will appoint RFKJR to some position (not specified) and RFKJR will "make American healthy again" by outlawing all vaccines. Doesn't matter if there's a cholera epidemic and your baby or child dies. Vaccines are evil, doncha know. Lord help us.
It's disheartening that the Harris campaign doesn't embrace all of the great things the Biden/Harris administration has accomplished, especially on the economy. Inflation (caused by the supply chain issues of covid and the malfeasance of corporations in using those issues to hike prices on just about everything) has been beaten, unemployment is at an all-time low, stock markets are at all-time highs, wages are up, etc., etc. Harris should be lauding those accomplishments, not saying she'd do things differently. Why on earth would you change policies when they have been delivering unmitigated success? The Democrats MUST pound the message that it is they who have been so much more successful on the economy than have the Republicans. That message should be put forth relentlessly until the "american people" finally get it.
Here's the economic story: Inflation is at 2.4% (Your prices may come down if corporations will play fair). Unemployment is at an all-time low of 4.1% and wages are up (You CAN afford to buy groceries). The stock market is booming, reaching new highs every few days. (Your 401K is thriving.) The fed cut interest rates by 50 basis points (Your next mortgage will be a lot cheaper--buy a house now.) Moody's said "You can't paint a prettier picture of an economy." And international economists call the U.S. economy "the envy of the world."
It’s an excellent record to run on. Start with the Biden/Harris accomplishments and then expand upon how the Harris/Walz administration will build upon what’s now in place, and how it will address/implement other policies to make life better for all Americans.
Biden introduced The U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021 on day one of his Presidency. It "establishes a new system to responsibly manage and secure our border, keep our families and communities safe, and better manage migration across the Hemisphere." It was never brought to vote and died in the 117th Congress. She needs to point this out when the other side asks her why they waited until now to propose something.
All really good points Bob. In that kind of platform she was thinking on her feet. I’m sure Team Kamala will point out the ways that will help her on the rallies in the next couple of weeks. It sure is a far cry from the performance of the swaying orange guy.
Actually, I think it is a little bit of both. The folks at CNN are not stupid. They have the degrees and the high salaries to show that is unlikely to be the case, or at least they have been reasonably good students. But they overestimate their quickness and their cleverness.
Let me ask you — remember back, say, two or three or five years ago — did you ever hear the phase “word salad.” I’m not the OED of political phrases, folks, but “word salad,” as a phrase, hasn’t been around forever. Someone heard something that sounded like mush to them, and they called it “word salad.” Others laughed. That person and others picked it up and started to use it, and soon everybody was using the phrase “word salad.” And now it has become a cliche.
The problem with that is that there is no distinction between one brand of “word salad” and another. To discern the difference between, say, WS.001 and WS.999 would take work, discrimination, care, thought and analysis that few people have the critical wattage, time, or energy, to do these tasks. And even if they did, who would listen? So we have WS.DJT that is hateful sputtering, meaningless, nutty language and when you do unpack it, it means very scary stuff. The man wants to be a dictator. He will abandon Ukraine. He will lock up his political opponents. And he likes Hitler and hates everyone who does not adore him, and he’s not too fond of those who do love him. That is a world salad made of lettuce, strychnine, rusty thumbtacks, and few have the courage to say that outright because they don’t want to cause trouble and it’s easier to go along. So they point out that WS.VPKH is also “word salad,” because they have been covering her and heard her before and have seen the healthy lettuce, carrots, egg slices, and chicken she has served up before and because it seems usual to them, and familiar they call that “word salad” too. And the other heads nod. And they go home to their expensive condos comfortable that no matter who wins the election, they will still have their jobs, their fame, and their prestige. Stupid, no. Lazy? Sometimes? Cowardly? Being smart and precise, what Robert Hubbell, Lawrence O’Donnell, Rachel Maddow, Joyce Vance, Heather Cox Richardson, Anne Applebaum, Timothy Snyder and others do day in and day out is exhausting, ice-cream headache work, especially when you understand the utter contempt that so many of the rich and the powerful, the poor and the frustrated, the closed-minded and arrogant have for thinking, precision, argument, political discourse, learning, and the simple truth. What difference does it make? Only the future of the country is at stake. Robert closed a section of his column today with the simple declaration, “I have faith in the American people.” For what it’s worth, this kid agrees. I have faith that people can change their minds (Republicans for Harris), that people will work hard to share their thoughts (all of you writers and readers), and that learning is possible and far more subtle and mysterious than we can know (why I was a teacher and — underrated role — administrator for over 45 years). Don’t lose heart. The race is long, but the finish line is coming up. Time, as we used to say, to give it all we got. And when we cross that line. We collapse. Get some water and start working for the next victory.
"Word salad" is a long term descriptor used in a neurological assessment as part of a mental status exam.
"Flow of Thought: Patients with advanced dementia will likely demonstrate perseverative speech. Frontotemporal dementia patients are often stimulus bound and thus tangential and distracted by stimuli in the environment. Elderly patients, especially those with mild cognitive impairment, may demonstrate circumstantial flow of thought. Patients with receptive aphasia or certain forms of primary progressive aphasia may demonstrate speech that borders on word salad (extremely disorganized or unintelligible speech consisting of seemingly random words and phrases)." https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9177704/
Thanks, Kathy. I appreciate your expert's charting of the specific lineage of the term word salad. I guess it has become a term widely used by journalists and other non-medical types as our politicians have become more aged.
Jeez Peter, teacher and admin for over 45 years? Thank you for the service you provided! My friend is a psychologist- she often refers to trump’s word salad speak. I will share your post with her, I’m sure she will be interested in your take on how ‘word salad’ has become cliche - ESPECIALLY with the media.
Jocelyn B, the people at CNN are neither stupid nor do they think "we" are stupid. They are following directives from Steve Bannon to flood the zone with so much s**t that no unthinking voter (not "us") who listens will be able to make sense of everything. They are following instructions from their MAGA masters and owners. It's clear as a bell. Their paychecks and graft & corruption bonuses (seven figures each?) are at stake if they don't. Evidence? I have none. But nothing else makes sense, and we know MAGA owns most media and we've had recent evidence (the NYT) of senior editors pulling out of reporters' news reports anything unflattering to Trump. Even if reporters write the truth it doesn't get out of the copyediting phase.
Monica P, haven't you noticed that whatever Trump is guilty of, he and the GOP and the entire world of media immediately blame on Harris? It wasn't an accident they accused her of word salad. (Which is ludicrous in the alternate reality we used to call fact-based.) Their tactic is crystal clear; accuse Harris of everything that is sticking to Trump as a criticism, and many unthinking voters will be so confused as to what's what and who really is doing or saying what, that they will just vote for Trump.
This is my own commentary on part of Robert’s post. This country is returning to the 1930’s when Hitler inserted himself into our politics by having his German American stooges create an environment of trying to convert the country to a fascist nation. It didn’t work. But reading Rachel Madow’s “Prequel” you can see where she spins a tale of what was happening in the ‘30’s and shows it was a “prequel” to what’s happening in our country now. It’s damn scary to think there are enough voters to elect Trump and see our democracy go down the drain. Trump didn’t have to use the “N” for Nazi word for any sane person to see that his seeking the presidency is to change it to a dictatorship, for far longer that the “dictatorship on day one” which he has promised. Ridding the country of its Constitution is exactly what Hitler did and blitzkrieged his way to his own fiefdom in which so many were marginalized and so many were killed in the name of the “Aryan Race”.
If someone wants to have this type of a government they are so ignorant of what that entails. Unless you follow the dictates of the dear leader you might just find yourself on the receiving end of a gun. The January 6th folks were a clear indication of what Dictator Don can achieve by simply suggesting how they comport themselves. It’s really difficult to pigeonhole folks in this type of situation, but they need to understand that the costs of electing Trump will be felt for generations. He worships the likes of Putin, Orban, Xi, et al, strongmen who have inserted themselves into societies’ leadership positions forever.
I wish I didn’t have to write about this. I have family who lost loved ones in WWII when Hitler was in power, and know others who have told the horrific stories about the camps and managed to survive. It is no joke. It is real. It is sick.
We need to be graphic about what living under fascism is like.
To many people Fascism and Communism are just name calling. It means nothing.
We must go beyond labels.
Under Hitler and Stalin no one was safe.
There were purges of those on their own side. Purges meant death.
The countries became paranoid places where neighbors and colleagues turned on each other, sometimes out of fear that if they didn’t act first, they would be the victims.
Children were brainwashed in school to turn in their parents.
The roundups and purges were not done carefully. They were done to meet quotas of people brought in. Local thugs were deputized to do the work. They were incentivized by looting and cash. There was no one to appeal to if selected by mistake.
The German people and the Soviet people were the ones who suffered the most.
The Trump vision is more than an ugly label. It is dangerous for everyone even the MAGA loyalists. In the authoritarian’s mind there is no downside to arresting and killing people by mistake. The eagerness he had to execute the Central Park five even when he knew they were innocent is a chilling warning to everyone. He really doesn’t care if you get killed by mistake.
DK Brooklyn, I think you are right. Especially for young people, fascist may not mean much, and no matter what we call Trump, his standard bully response is: "I am not what you call me. You are." See him at work.
Your list helps outline what tyranny does and Harris in the town hall got in some good comments on what Trump has said in the past: e. g. that he'd like to shoot demonstrators or round up immigrants.
The big thing to me is to focus on what he would DO and here was the biggest lack last night: I heard no mention of Ukraine. A vote for Trump is a vote to snuff outfreedom for
35 million or more Ukranians. -- that's almost the population of California and more than the population of Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississipi combined. And further endanger the lives and freedoms of millions more Europeans.
Is this who we are as a people.? Trumps says, "Hell, yes."
i so agree with everything you say, Patrick E White. Bold this: "I am not what you call me. YOU are." Everything he does that's bad, they accuse Harris of doing.
And Harris and Liz Cheney did talk about the dangers to the democracy Trump poses, in their session with Maria Shriver recently.
I'm just not sure who's listening. And if they listen, if they believe it.
As I read these comments, I wondered why Democrats don’t replay chosen clips from Jan. 6 – e.g., the Capitol policeman jammed in the doorway, shouting in pain, the hordes of “demonstrators physically attacking police outside the Capitol building – and then asking, “Is *this* what you want for the next four years?”
You are so correct imo, Richard Brody, but I don't think GOP or undecided voters are even conscious of any of this. They don't "want" to live in a dictatorship. They just have no idea that Trump will impose a dictatorship on them, because they don't listen and/or don't believe him. I have come to think they don't even know they're living in a democracy, or what that means to them and what immense benefits it bestows on them.
Robert, love that pic of you and Jill! So very colorful. I believe this media blitz that Kamala and Tim have been on, has been extremely popular. For anyone who is undecided, in my opinion, is full of shit. She and Walz have exposed themselves to all of the “questionable” states and more than once. Her energy alone exhausts me but her messages have been very clear. Such a shame that the DJ Trump just couldn’t make it to the CNN debate. Must’ve been held past his bedtime.
Just want to shout out for Robert Taft III who endorsed Brown in Ohio. This is big in Ohio because the Taft family is a conservative Republican dynasty in Ohio. Brown is in a tough race but this endorsement might sway many Republicans to vote Democratic for the first time for a Democrat.
Are we living in some kind of alternative reality? For those of us old enough, is this an episode of the Twilight Zone and we're trapped in a zombie episode time loop from the 1960s?
Who are our fellow Americans planning to vote for Trump/Vance? With all we know about his purile, corrupt and criminal behavior, how can any American vote for Trump? What's in it for them?
Many Republicans may really dislike or even hate the post WWII, Roosevelt, liberal federal government, but how do they reconcile that with voting for Trump? Does he really represent the opposite of the liberal order? Are his outlandish plans, like deporting 12 million immigrants or funding a diminished government with high tariffs or pulling out of foreign agreements, really solutions for the benefit of America or just an entertaining form of chaos proposed by a junior high school delinquent?
Apparently, 70-75 million Americans may vote for him in two weeks.
I think the liberal order will win when 83-85 million Americans vote for Harris.
But I despair. 70-75 million Americans are a lot of our fellow Americans.
When and how do we break out of the zombie time loop?
I suspect it is the lead in our drinking water. Or worse. Have there been any studies about the effects of lead, PFAs and Microplastics - all swirling around in the blood streams of millions of us?
Nothing in life is simple. Most things are caused by a combination and confluence of factors. Barbara Jo and stephen are both correct. But layer on a chemical intrusion that most certainly affects our health. What is the impact on the brain? Is critical thinking affected? Is the brain more dominated by emotions when poisoned? Do people become more paranoid and easily led when those thinking skills are suppressed?
I don't know, but someday, historians will be appalled that we conducted this horrible chemistry experiment on an entire population.
I have a horrible feeling there's a lot to what you say about "it's in the water," Bill. We are being poisoned, in subtle incremental ways--plastics, DDT, Round Up, food preservatives, the things Rachel Carson warned about--and it goes a long way toward rationally explaining what may be going on. Not to mention all the cancer, diabetes, heart disease, suicides, and other illnesses so prevalent now.
And the microplastics are in the ocean...in fish. I read 40% of it is from vehicle tires breaking down...the microbits washed into streams, to the sea.
The microplastics. Lord. Hubs and I have been mountain biking here in Moab, UT this month. Friends from Vermont and Canada are visiting. My gal pal looked at my face lotions and potions and informed me that in addition to a host of other crap, I am putting microplastics on my face. The microplastics have some purpose but are not designed to sink in, rather, they get washed off and then they go elsewhere: streams, the sea…
There is thing called ‘the cocktail’. You get the same chemicals in your lotion, then you get them in your cream, serums, makeup, laundry detergents… holy smokes. We load these endocrine disrupters on all day long.
Other countries are making an effort to create products that are friendly to us and to the planet. Of course it is hard to make a product with acceptable ingredients: $$$$. Ah. Well….
In trying to understand what drives MAGA, many make the mistake -- and I was one of them -- in thinking that all of our fellow Americans have the best interests of Democracy and our founding principles at heart. They don't. They want exactly what trump promises. Some do not want equality -- they want to keep their privilage and retain their dominance over others (racism and misogyny). Some don't want any of their earnings taken to support the common good -- "it's my money, not the government's!". Some want the country to be governed by the religious law of their "god" (the Christian Nationalists). Some of those are even hoping that trump is the one to bring on the End of Days, wherein they will be taken to Glory by the Rapture.
I am probably missing other strains of MAGA, but you get the point. Our problem in trying to understand MAGA stems from the belief that if you are an American you support the values put forth in our Declaration of Independence -- Freedom, Equality, and Self-Governance. That is what defines you as an American. It's disconcerting when you realize that fully 40% of our fellow citizens don't actually believe in those values.
"Disconcerting" is a kind way to describe our current malaise. The fight between enlightened liberals and begrudging conservatives has been a consistent political struggle since the founding. Through most of our history (the Civil War and reconstruction as the exception) we have mostly
compromised our party differences.
We have never faced a completely opportunistic, nihilistic leader who so skillfully knit together all the dissatisfied groups in the country and could entertainingly lie his way through his depravity. Teflon is the perfect metaphor.
When we hold onto the White House in Nov, Kamala and team will need an intense and intentional strategy to bring back into the governance system, a responsible opposition party, freed from Trump's influence.
Maybe we need a 3rd Constitutional Convention to meet the current crisis.
Merrill, While at best a partial reply, I view a substantial bloc of the 70-75 million men and women so angered by opportunities seemingly denied them as reluctant adversaries who I believe, if given the chance, would prefer to enjoy the blessings of our democratic institutions if they were not so often the victims of our system’s unevenly distributed costs.
That’s not the real reason. The reason according to many experts is there are many millions of people who generationally want to give the finger to government and authority and disrupt the system they believe because of MAGA propaganda is against them and overrun with immigrants who want their jobs.
Stephen, I wrote “at best a partial reply” because the emergence of MAGA is not rooted in a single cause. I further would note that if we ever are to render this movement increasingly irrelevant, we must consider, in my view, its multiple causes.
I was doing some phonebanking for the Environmental Voter Project, and got a young person who said he wasn't voting. Per the script, I asked if there was something that would cause him to change his mind and vote after all, and his answer was, "the redistribution of wealth." I thought that was a pretty good answer, actually. And since it's a non-partisan organization, I couldn't directly point out the difference in the parties.
Marsha, Aside from a relatively small bloc, I’m not convinced they’re like Trump. I view many of them as indoctrinated people particularly susceptible, for a host of reasons, to the junk food of propaganda.
Trump: America's Hitler. Don't forget that the American people, numbed by a steady diet of foolish TV, social media echo chambers, and McDonald's "food," have become more and more unthinking. While it's not ok in my opinion, there's a sort of innocence to it that enables me to view the majority (or at least half?) of the 75 million with compassion. The other half are either opportunistic sycophants or hate-filled white racist misogynists, probably irredeemable except through attrition (like they will die). When Harris wins, I propose that every one of us thinking voters adopt one unthinking Trump voter and talk them through the next four years so they begin to understand some issues, some critical thinking, and some investment in our beautiful democracy. Civic responsibility. The broader picture.
The Los Angeles Times has been a liberal-leaning newspaper, and it is an utter shame that its owner has singlehandedly broken with even the other legacy newspapers who have denounced Trump as a presidential candidate. Resurrecting Robert's advice once upon a time to write our complaints to the offending media, we can write a Letter to the Editor (I did, even though I cancelled my subscription earlier this year):
Back when Dr. Soon-Shiong bought the LA Times, I noted his letters of assurance and career in healthcare, but wondered if he was a wolf in sheep's clothing. Now we know that answer, along with the facts that he is a naturalized citizen who emigrated from South Africa and is friends with Elon Musk.
I believe this will happen. Karma is coming for the Orange Menace.
I have a vision of President Harris appointing a new Attorney General who will enforce the law more aggressively.
I have a vision of the IRS getting more funding and the support to pursue Thomas and Alito for tax fraud. I see them resigning and two new justices appointed who are not puppets of Leo's gang of Federalist Society extremists.
Harris promised to appoint a Republican to her cabinet. What do you think of Liz Cheney for Attorney General? We can send Garland to live at Mar-a-Lago, where he belongs.
Towards the end of Wednesday’s CNN Town Hall, Harris underscored a stark contrast between Trump, on one hand, creating an enemies list and herself, on the other, having a “to-do list.” I would hope, over and over, that Harris would frame her closing message around that contrast.
Every election is the election of our lifetime, until this one. Also I will call myself an optimistic realist.
There is a bleak future if we through Harris, Walz, Biden, Bill McKibben, et al, don't continue to lead the Earthly nations on climate catastrophe embrace for ∆∆∆. I know the other day Robert (when we were on with Jay Kuo) discussed his grandchildren. And what if we did lose? I am completely serious when I say I don't believe that those children will live full length lives. By 2100 Earth may have a bleak future.
This is echoed by what Robert shared tonite, just from an equally unacceptable same path but from a Mother Earth perspective.
I want to clarify that Robert said the fight will continue if somehow we lose. We must continue onward. His humble story about how his grassroots leadership work began when Jill and his three adult daughters became despondent after Trump's 2016 win is beautiful.
Being well aware of my country's history I am constantly reminded of the situation in Germany in the early 30s. Until Jan 6 I refrained from using the F-word though, thinking it probably might be too dramatic and shouldn't be used too easily lest it would become a cheap and increasingly insignificant killer argument.
Jan 6 (and everything that came after it) changed that, like it did for the renowned expert on fascism, Robert Paxton
So yes, Trump is a fascist. But MSM is still struggling with that fact or is in denial. The other day I read that Harris new strategy was to cast Trump as a fascist. Strategy? Casting? She simply points to the fact that he is a fascist and that the future of democracy is at stake on Nov 5. As she should.
The continuing both-sidesism of the media is breathtaking. A despicable example are the ubiquitous MAGA surrogates on TV panels, CNN's Scott Jennings being one of the worst. Always benignly smiling or smirking and very articulate he is selling the MAGA alternative truth much better and effectively than his leader. And he reaches undecided or swayable voters (if there are any left). When I see him sitting there spreading his venom I always picture him wearing a brownshirt and a swastika armband as Hitler's stormtroopers did.
"...using the F-word..." I refrained during my 16 years of teaching elementary school children so that it would be removed from my working vocabulary. However, dramatic times call for dramatic vocabulary. 😉
Robert writes: "Soon-Shiong has had a brilliant and wildly successful career that he created from scratch as a first-generation immigrant. His legacy may be facilitating a second Trump term that will attack the very immigration policies that welcomed him with open arms." Add to that list other immigrants who've made fortunes under the very rules and governance they now seek to over-throw: Murdoch, Musk, Thiel, etc.
A great point. Why should immigrants embrace American democratic ideals? Many poor immigrants come here because of those ideals. But immoral, educated immigrants who come here for opportunistic reasons have no reason to do so. I wonder if these billionaire immigrants are citizens? Did they pay someone to take their citizenship exams? Or did Trump merely gift them citizenship?
Although I did not see the CNN town hall or hear it I am not Surprised by the not picking of the CNN analysts. In a discussion after the fact of the original Biden Trump debate Dana Bash said that CNN modeled the debate format after the first Kennedy Nixon Debates of 1960. Talk about the complete lack of critical thinking. The ability of the two candidates who followed norms (which have faded away in the Trump era) to have an honest discussion and then thinking that they could assume the same approach with someone like Trump was not only utter nonsense but a severe lack on media intelligence of the present day. Rebecca Solnit in a recent interview by the Guardian was asked what would she do if she was the editor of the New York Times and she responded that her first act would be to “fire everyone with very few exceptions”. She went on to say that podcasts and the daily writings like we have here were more effective in todays’s world than the mainstream media. So thank you Robert!
Let's let CNN know we don't accept their failure as journalists. Here's what I sent to them:
To CNN: We had a subscription to CNN through DISH; we are shocked at CNN's failure to meet even basic journalistic standards in erroneously mis-checking facts.
Trump did not say he'd build "More wall".
He said he would build a "great, great wall".
It's a fact, recorded and readily available to anyone with the least smidgeon of ability, intelligence and integrity. You appear to have none of these.
Your pathetic pretense of "fact checking" confirms that you have renounced serious truthful journalism and adopted a partisan and morally-corrupt standard.
We don't accept this failed and cowardly, lazy approach to "news" - and will no longer be getting any of our information from CNN. You should be ashamed! History will hold you accountable, and your slanted, naive and incompetent organization will not be missed.
A friend saw this in North Carolina: a huge billboard saying Trump and Mark Robinson are CREEPS. I actually think this is a winning strategy. Trump and his associates are exactly that: downright creepy in every sense.
I was intrigued and impressed by Harris’s answer to the question about her weaknesses. She spoke of her decision making process—taking the time to intentionally see multiple perspectives, resisting the temptation to blurt our a “decisive” answer when questioned about an issue.
I see this as a sign of strength, a maturity and recognition that one person alone does not have the ability to immediately conjure all important considerations of an issue. This is in direct contrast to Trump, who considers himself wiser than anyone and everyone, and my respect for this thoughtful answer differs from Trump admirers who see his blurting out orders after zero thought as a sign of decisiveness and strength.
I choose door number one, and frankly I think in this complex world that recognition that better decisions are made non-solo is critical.
For a very long time I've been worried about Election Integrity. I've been donating to Marc Elias (Democracy Docket) for a long time. This morning, thankfully, Joyce Vance on Civil Discourse wrote a long piece describing the DOJ Election Threats Task Force: https://substack.com/inbox/post/150579615. The DOJ has an office in each state. For example, in Arizona there are four offices: Phoenix, Tucson, Yuma, and Flagstaff. Do average voters know they can contact a DOJ office if they feel threatened at the polls. I don't think so. I wrote a long comment on Civil Discourse about how we can educate voters about the availability of the DOJ to help them vote. Our candidates should be doing this. When phone banking in a state such as Arizona you can include information about the local DOJ offices. 12 more days! Very nerve-wracking. Doing something helps. Postcards, canvassing, phone banking, donations.
I thought Kamala did a good job at the town hall meeting. She was quick with her replies and they were well thought out. There was no music break with swaying and fist pumps. She answered questions. I thought the commentators at CNN were a bit hard on her and somewhat snarky. They talked on and on about her word salads. Give me a break. The orange one has a word salad or lie every time he opens his mouth.
DOJ seems to be on top of the voting issues. I hope it continues. I am hope filled. IMO I think the BLUE 🌊 is coming and it’s bigger than anyone imagined. The northern lights are so beautiful. The two of you look so cold.
You are absolutely correct, and I’ve included my analysis, which is quite similar to yours and Robert’s, in responses to other SubStack posts after the Town Meeting concluded. We’re in Hawaii on vacation and watched the broadcast in the mid afternoon, and unfortunately were not able to tune away from CNN. Their talking heads were disgusting in my mind. They failed to take into account several issues: 1) Kamala Harris has only been campaigning for three months from when President Biden elected not to continue his run for the Presidency. 2) Given that shortcoming she’s not been able to hone her skills for a major run for the office and thus has had the disadvantage of being forced to “reveal” her positions on so many items. 3) Trump wasn’t there and as such the geniuses who nitpicked her didn’t have to do the same for Trump. Lastly, who died and made these people the “gods” of the political commentators. Dana Bash, in particular, sounded like she was getting retribution for her poor showing when interviewing the Vice President about a month ago. I’m through with CNN and home my fellow SubStack readers and writes feel the same.
Yes,I am with you.I am adding CNN to my list of” not friends of We The People”. That list includes the NYT,WaPo, and other msm who have both sides this race when nothing could be farther from the truth.We The People have had to endure from them snark, half baked semi-lies, fondling of a full on fascist and relentless denigration of a very good though older gentleman POTUS.I, for one have had it with these goons and will never forgive or forget this awfulness after this election is over!
I no longer have subscriptions to WaPo or the NYTimes, nor do I watch CNN anymore. Their spin is so egregious, I doubt every single word they put out. I never watch ANY far right news sites. There’s no need for me to try to learn what those propaganda channels are dispensing to the gullible. I don’t need to get into the pigpen to know hogs are dirty.
Much depends on what you choose to watch on CNN, I guess. I’m generally satisfied with Erin Burnett’s show (7 pm Eastern Time). Her panelists are mostly intelligent commenters, some (Van Jones, e.g.), *very* smart); some of the conservatives on her panels offer alternative views that are reasoned if often misguided, but keeping liberals sharp and on their toes.
smart doesn't cut it, in my opinion. Vance is "smart." Graham is "smart." McConnell is "smart." What you mean, I think is not that Van Jones is very smart--rather that he is moral, ethical, appropriately concerned about our democracy. And smart in a secondarily-important way. I'll take a dumb person who is moral, ethical, and appropriately concerned about our democracy over a smart person who isn't, any day of the week. The kind of people who read this blog are overly infatuated with smartness, imo.
Wise.
Same here.
Ditto!
I quit watching CNN a very long time ago, back during the Reign of the Orange Sadist when they paid Scott Jennings and the despicable little Jason Miller very well to spout lies. Now they have David Urban. Who needs it? Not I.
CNN is a joke. I’ve never turned to them for any kind of proper news reporting. My husband may have it on occasionally and I catch their “reporting”. Their treatment of Kamala Harris was very snarky and demanded answer to questions they’d never ask Trump, let alone fact check him. Can we please just have a regular news channel for a change?
All of the apologists for Trump, from Sununu to Graham need to be held accountable for enabling the destruction of our Constitution. They know what's real . I don't know how they think this will help them.
"Dana Bash, in particular, sounded like she was getting retribution for her poor showing..." Methinks she's taking tfg's talking points a bit too personally? 🤬 The others, pure snark.
Dana Bash knows where her bread is buttered and her paycheck comes from. MAGA people, whether owners of her station or people who pay her bribes disguised as consulting fees or whatever.
Richard Brody, if only I believed that if Trump was there the CNN fools would "have to do the same" for him. They would not! They would give him the 100% pass and the fulsome praise for his dementia that we all should have grown accustomed to by now. Now I am noticing a new phenomenon, even worse than before: since criticism that Trump/Vance refuse to be fact-checked has stuck, the media are now doing "fake fact-checking." Robert notes this in his newsletter. They take some true claim, like Trump promised to build a Mexican wall and didn't, and "fact-check" it with outrageous media-generated lies--by twisting it around and lying in their fact check and using multi-syllabic words and complex concepts that the unthinking voter is unable to parse. Like now they said (lying) that Trump only promised to build part of the wall (he didn't; as Robert notes, he said he'd build the greatest, biggest wall) and he "actually accomplished that" because he built 2.6% of a wall, or some similar sort of arrant nonsense. Sheesh. Now even fact-checking has been corroded and corrupted. But now the media idiots can protest, "We ARE fact-checking Trump!" Yeah, with lies.
I agree with Monica and Richard about CNN’s nonsensical “analysis” of Kamala’s answers. I couldn’t stomach the BS that was being spewed and turned them off when Tapper posed the question “Is she being held to a different standard?”
Really? They are pitiful.
Yes. Absolutely we are on the same page. Even Anderson Cooper came in a bit too strong.
Ye, he totally did. In football terms, Unnecessary roughness.
Exactly. Team CNN probably told him he shouldn’t be too nice.
I thought she did a good job, but missed a few opportunities. One great response that I don't think has gotten much attention is that she likes to think things thru and "kick the tires." As such, debates and town halls are not great venues for her. That's not a criticism; to me it's a strength.
I'd like to see her embrace her evolution on some things. Take fracking, for instance. I think she realized that just saying no wasn't practical or necessary, and now supports it as part of an overall strategy AS LONG AS IT'S DONE SAFELY AND ENVIRONMENTALLY RESPONSIBLY! The last part is what was missing and is perhaps most important (and I'm sure she believes it).
On the question of continuing Biden's policies, I think she should say they did some great things, and she'll continue the things that work and fix the things that don't. I, for one, don't fault her a bit for not being openly critical of the president. I'd be disappointed if she tried to distance herself.
On the border and AC's harping on waiting until recently to take executive action, I think she should say, "That's not the way a democracy is supposed to work. Executive action to address problems like immigration underscores the failure of Congress, and that's not healthy. Also, consider the many executive orders that have been challenged in court. They need to be used judiciously."
Yes, and the Biden administration started in the depths of the pandemic where Job #1 was saving lives, getting the vaccine into people’s arms, shoring up the economy - all of which had been royally screwed up under Trump’s abdication of leadership: “I take no responsibility.” said he. what tommyrot! A fascist fool.
Then rebuilding the NATO alliance.
Then ukraine, oct 7.,etc. all with a do nothing Congress being managed into irrelevancy by trump.
Presidencies exist in space AND in time. No presidency faces the same challenges as any other, or finds the same responses.
President Biden has been splendid. He used every gram of his experience as a wily old fox —including picking Kamala as VP, and the self-sacrifice of dropping out and managing it brilliantly. Thank you Joe.
Beautifully said, Barbara! Once we get thru November 5, I hope we can concentrate on messages like this.
Very well said, Barbara.
Especially when one considers how small Democratic vote margins gave been, Biden’s performance should be regarded as brilliant. How Democrats have allowed themselves to get in a defensive crouch over Biden is astonishing.
Well said. Wish I could "like" your statements 10 times.
Consider my like one of your 10 😉
And add my like please from a Democrat in TX.
another yellow dog from Texas says like.
You are right on point Barbara! Media personalities asking these inane “gotcha” questions while ignoring the actual record of what the administration was dealing with in its first 3 years is a complete disservice to those watching.
Also, isn’t the point of a Town Hall to have the Voters ask the questions? The media personalities have their opportunity to interview people each and every day. They should honor the Voters in attendance and let them ask their questions.
I agree wholeheartedly!
Thank you. ALL OF THIS.
Hey, Barbara B, don't praise Democrats for getting the vaccine into people's arms! Don't you know, "All vaccines are evil!" I know this, because that traitorous opportunist Robert F. Kennedy Jr (Ethel must be turning in her grave) said so! In my community of non-thinking voters, they are rah-rah Kennedy voters for Trump/Vance. They think if Trump gets in, he will appoint RFKJR to some position (not specified) and RFKJR will "make American healthy again" by outlawing all vaccines. Doesn't matter if there's a cholera epidemic and your baby or child dies. Vaccines are evil, doncha know. Lord help us.
You know, i keep forgetting about vaccines being evil. I just can’t keep up with all the new discoveries.
But seriously i needed a laugh. Thanks.
Best president of my 55 years, so far. 💃🏼
It's disheartening that the Harris campaign doesn't embrace all of the great things the Biden/Harris administration has accomplished, especially on the economy. Inflation (caused by the supply chain issues of covid and the malfeasance of corporations in using those issues to hike prices on just about everything) has been beaten, unemployment is at an all-time low, stock markets are at all-time highs, wages are up, etc., etc. Harris should be lauding those accomplishments, not saying she'd do things differently. Why on earth would you change policies when they have been delivering unmitigated success? The Democrats MUST pound the message that it is they who have been so much more successful on the economy than have the Republicans. That message should be put forth relentlessly until the "american people" finally get it.
Here's the economic story: Inflation is at 2.4% (Your prices may come down if corporations will play fair). Unemployment is at an all-time low of 4.1% and wages are up (You CAN afford to buy groceries). The stock market is booming, reaching new highs every few days. (Your 401K is thriving.) The fed cut interest rates by 50 basis points (Your next mortgage will be a lot cheaper--buy a house now.) Moody's said "You can't paint a prettier picture of an economy." And international economists call the U.S. economy "the envy of the world."
Why isn't Harris saying this?
YES! YES! YES!
It’s an excellent record to run on. Start with the Biden/Harris accomplishments and then expand upon how the Harris/Walz administration will build upon what’s now in place, and how it will address/implement other policies to make life better for all Americans.
Biden introduced The U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021 on day one of his Presidency. It "establishes a new system to responsibly manage and secure our border, keep our families and communities safe, and better manage migration across the Hemisphere." It was never brought to vote and died in the 117th Congress. She needs to point this out when the other side asks her why they waited until now to propose something.
Sue, she has pointed this out…and most importantly on her Fox News “interview” with Bret Baier.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-pA8WA0GgU
11 days.Please let’s focus on GOTV!
Oops, I missed that part. YES, Blue tsunami please!!!
All really good points Bob. In that kind of platform she was thinking on her feet. I’m sure Team Kamala will point out the ways that will help her on the rallies in the next couple of weeks. It sure is a far cry from the performance of the swaying orange guy.
Word salad?? WT actual F?? Are the people at CNN stupid, or do we think they are stupid or both?
Actually, I think it is a little bit of both. The folks at CNN are not stupid. They have the degrees and the high salaries to show that is unlikely to be the case, or at least they have been reasonably good students. But they overestimate their quickness and their cleverness.
Let me ask you — remember back, say, two or three or five years ago — did you ever hear the phase “word salad.” I’m not the OED of political phrases, folks, but “word salad,” as a phrase, hasn’t been around forever. Someone heard something that sounded like mush to them, and they called it “word salad.” Others laughed. That person and others picked it up and started to use it, and soon everybody was using the phrase “word salad.” And now it has become a cliche.
The problem with that is that there is no distinction between one brand of “word salad” and another. To discern the difference between, say, WS.001 and WS.999 would take work, discrimination, care, thought and analysis that few people have the critical wattage, time, or energy, to do these tasks. And even if they did, who would listen? So we have WS.DJT that is hateful sputtering, meaningless, nutty language and when you do unpack it, it means very scary stuff. The man wants to be a dictator. He will abandon Ukraine. He will lock up his political opponents. And he likes Hitler and hates everyone who does not adore him, and he’s not too fond of those who do love him. That is a world salad made of lettuce, strychnine, rusty thumbtacks, and few have the courage to say that outright because they don’t want to cause trouble and it’s easier to go along. So they point out that WS.VPKH is also “word salad,” because they have been covering her and heard her before and have seen the healthy lettuce, carrots, egg slices, and chicken she has served up before and because it seems usual to them, and familiar they call that “word salad” too. And the other heads nod. And they go home to their expensive condos comfortable that no matter who wins the election, they will still have their jobs, their fame, and their prestige. Stupid, no. Lazy? Sometimes? Cowardly? Being smart and precise, what Robert Hubbell, Lawrence O’Donnell, Rachel Maddow, Joyce Vance, Heather Cox Richardson, Anne Applebaum, Timothy Snyder and others do day in and day out is exhausting, ice-cream headache work, especially when you understand the utter contempt that so many of the rich and the powerful, the poor and the frustrated, the closed-minded and arrogant have for thinking, precision, argument, political discourse, learning, and the simple truth. What difference does it make? Only the future of the country is at stake. Robert closed a section of his column today with the simple declaration, “I have faith in the American people.” For what it’s worth, this kid agrees. I have faith that people can change their minds (Republicans for Harris), that people will work hard to share their thoughts (all of you writers and readers), and that learning is possible and far more subtle and mysterious than we can know (why I was a teacher and — underrated role — administrator for over 45 years). Don’t lose heart. The race is long, but the finish line is coming up. Time, as we used to say, to give it all we got. And when we cross that line. We collapse. Get some water and start working for the next victory.
"Word salad" is a long term descriptor used in a neurological assessment as part of a mental status exam.
"Flow of Thought: Patients with advanced dementia will likely demonstrate perseverative speech. Frontotemporal dementia patients are often stimulus bound and thus tangential and distracted by stimuli in the environment. Elderly patients, especially those with mild cognitive impairment, may demonstrate circumstantial flow of thought. Patients with receptive aphasia or certain forms of primary progressive aphasia may demonstrate speech that borders on word salad (extremely disorganized or unintelligible speech consisting of seemingly random words and phrases)." https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9177704/
Thanks, Kathy. I appreciate your expert's charting of the specific lineage of the term word salad. I guess it has become a term widely used by journalists and other non-medical types as our politicians have become more aged.
I have a ling list of technical terms that have been distorted by the media and whose original meanings have been warped.
Example – “meteoric rise”: meteors don’t rise; they come down in flames.
You got it, Kathy!! THAT describes perfectly what “word salad” means!
Jeez Peter, teacher and admin for over 45 years? Thank you for the service you provided! My friend is a psychologist- she often refers to trump’s word salad speak. I will share your post with her, I’m sure she will be interested in your take on how ‘word salad’ has become cliche - ESPECIALLY with the media.
Jocelyn B, the people at CNN are neither stupid nor do they think "we" are stupid. They are following directives from Steve Bannon to flood the zone with so much s**t that no unthinking voter (not "us") who listens will be able to make sense of everything. They are following instructions from their MAGA masters and owners. It's clear as a bell. Their paychecks and graft & corruption bonuses (seven figures each?) are at stake if they don't. Evidence? I have none. But nothing else makes sense, and we know MAGA owns most media and we've had recent evidence (the NYT) of senior editors pulling out of reporters' news reports anything unflattering to Trump. Even if reporters write the truth it doesn't get out of the copyediting phase.
Monica P, haven't you noticed that whatever Trump is guilty of, he and the GOP and the entire world of media immediately blame on Harris? It wasn't an accident they accused her of word salad. (Which is ludicrous in the alternate reality we used to call fact-based.) Their tactic is crystal clear; accuse Harris of everything that is sticking to Trump as a criticism, and many unthinking voters will be so confused as to what's what and who really is doing or saying what, that they will just vote for Trump.
"a BIT hard"?!!!
This is my own commentary on part of Robert’s post. This country is returning to the 1930’s when Hitler inserted himself into our politics by having his German American stooges create an environment of trying to convert the country to a fascist nation. It didn’t work. But reading Rachel Madow’s “Prequel” you can see where she spins a tale of what was happening in the ‘30’s and shows it was a “prequel” to what’s happening in our country now. It’s damn scary to think there are enough voters to elect Trump and see our democracy go down the drain. Trump didn’t have to use the “N” for Nazi word for any sane person to see that his seeking the presidency is to change it to a dictatorship, for far longer that the “dictatorship on day one” which he has promised. Ridding the country of its Constitution is exactly what Hitler did and blitzkrieged his way to his own fiefdom in which so many were marginalized and so many were killed in the name of the “Aryan Race”.
If someone wants to have this type of a government they are so ignorant of what that entails. Unless you follow the dictates of the dear leader you might just find yourself on the receiving end of a gun. The January 6th folks were a clear indication of what Dictator Don can achieve by simply suggesting how they comport themselves. It’s really difficult to pigeonhole folks in this type of situation, but they need to understand that the costs of electing Trump will be felt for generations. He worships the likes of Putin, Orban, Xi, et al, strongmen who have inserted themselves into societies’ leadership positions forever.
I wish I didn’t have to write about this. I have family who lost loved ones in WWII when Hitler was in power, and know others who have told the horrific stories about the camps and managed to survive. It is no joke. It is real. It is sick.
We need to be graphic about what living under fascism is like.
To many people Fascism and Communism are just name calling. It means nothing.
We must go beyond labels.
Under Hitler and Stalin no one was safe.
There were purges of those on their own side. Purges meant death.
The countries became paranoid places where neighbors and colleagues turned on each other, sometimes out of fear that if they didn’t act first, they would be the victims.
Children were brainwashed in school to turn in their parents.
The roundups and purges were not done carefully. They were done to meet quotas of people brought in. Local thugs were deputized to do the work. They were incentivized by looting and cash. There was no one to appeal to if selected by mistake.
The German people and the Soviet people were the ones who suffered the most.
The Trump vision is more than an ugly label. It is dangerous for everyone even the MAGA loyalists. In the authoritarian’s mind there is no downside to arresting and killing people by mistake. The eagerness he had to execute the Central Park five even when he knew they were innocent is a chilling warning to everyone. He really doesn’t care if you get killed by mistake.
DK Brooklyn, I think you are right. Especially for young people, fascist may not mean much, and no matter what we call Trump, his standard bully response is: "I am not what you call me. You are." See him at work.
Your list helps outline what tyranny does and Harris in the town hall got in some good comments on what Trump has said in the past: e. g. that he'd like to shoot demonstrators or round up immigrants.
The big thing to me is to focus on what he would DO and here was the biggest lack last night: I heard no mention of Ukraine. A vote for Trump is a vote to snuff outfreedom for
35 million or more Ukranians. -- that's almost the population of California and more than the population of Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississipi combined. And further endanger the lives and freedoms of millions more Europeans.
Is this who we are as a people.? Trumps says, "Hell, yes."
i so agree with everything you say, Patrick E White. Bold this: "I am not what you call me. YOU are." Everything he does that's bad, they accuse Harris of doing.
And Harris and Liz Cheney did talk about the dangers to the democracy Trump poses, in their session with Maria Shriver recently.
I'm just not sure who's listening. And if they listen, if they believe it.
I hope hell no.
As I read these comments, I wondered why Democrats don’t replay chosen clips from Jan. 6 – e.g., the Capitol policeman jammed in the doorway, shouting in pain, the hordes of “demonstrators physically attacking police outside the Capitol building – and then asking, “Is *this* what you want for the next four years?”
Get visceral.
Madeleine Albright wrote a book called fascism: a warning that was an early alarm too.
You are so correct imo, Richard Brody, but I don't think GOP or undecided voters are even conscious of any of this. They don't "want" to live in a dictatorship. They just have no idea that Trump will impose a dictatorship on them, because they don't listen and/or don't believe him. I have come to think they don't even know they're living in a democracy, or what that means to them and what immense benefits it bestows on them.
Robert, love that pic of you and Jill! So very colorful. I believe this media blitz that Kamala and Tim have been on, has been extremely popular. For anyone who is undecided, in my opinion, is full of shit. She and Walz have exposed themselves to all of the “questionable” states and more than once. Her energy alone exhausts me but her messages have been very clear. Such a shame that the DJ Trump just couldn’t make it to the CNN debate. Must’ve been held past his bedtime.
Marlene, I'm with you! You and Tim Walz are pulling no punches. But we carry on!
Just want to shout out for Robert Taft III who endorsed Brown in Ohio. This is big in Ohio because the Taft family is a conservative Republican dynasty in Ohio. Brown is in a tough race but this endorsement might sway many Republicans to vote Democratic for the first time for a Democrat.
Are we living in some kind of alternative reality? For those of us old enough, is this an episode of the Twilight Zone and we're trapped in a zombie episode time loop from the 1960s?
Who are our fellow Americans planning to vote for Trump/Vance? With all we know about his purile, corrupt and criminal behavior, how can any American vote for Trump? What's in it for them?
Many Republicans may really dislike or even hate the post WWII, Roosevelt, liberal federal government, but how do they reconcile that with voting for Trump? Does he really represent the opposite of the liberal order? Are his outlandish plans, like deporting 12 million immigrants or funding a diminished government with high tariffs or pulling out of foreign agreements, really solutions for the benefit of America or just an entertaining form of chaos proposed by a junior high school delinquent?
Apparently, 70-75 million Americans may vote for him in two weeks.
I think the liberal order will win when 83-85 million Americans vote for Harris.
But I despair. 70-75 million Americans are a lot of our fellow Americans.
When and how do we break out of the zombie time loop?
I suspect it is the lead in our drinking water. Or worse. Have there been any studies about the effects of lead, PFAs and Microplastics - all swirling around in the blood streams of millions of us?
Nothing in life is simple. Most things are caused by a combination and confluence of factors. Barbara Jo and stephen are both correct. But layer on a chemical intrusion that most certainly affects our health. What is the impact on the brain? Is critical thinking affected? Is the brain more dominated by emotions when poisoned? Do people become more paranoid and easily led when those thinking skills are suppressed?
I don't know, but someday, historians will be appalled that we conducted this horrible chemistry experiment on an entire population.
I have a horrible feeling there's a lot to what you say about "it's in the water," Bill. We are being poisoned, in subtle incremental ways--plastics, DDT, Round Up, food preservatives, the things Rachel Carson warned about--and it goes a long way toward rationally explaining what may be going on. Not to mention all the cancer, diabetes, heart disease, suicides, and other illnesses so prevalent now.
Parkinsons? Alzheimers? ADHD?
And the microplastics are in the ocean...in fish. I read 40% of it is from vehicle tires breaking down...the microbits washed into streams, to the sea.
PFAs spread on fields as fertilizer...
The microplastics. Lord. Hubs and I have been mountain biking here in Moab, UT this month. Friends from Vermont and Canada are visiting. My gal pal looked at my face lotions and potions and informed me that in addition to a host of other crap, I am putting microplastics on my face. The microplastics have some purpose but are not designed to sink in, rather, they get washed off and then they go elsewhere: streams, the sea…
There is thing called ‘the cocktail’. You get the same chemicals in your lotion, then you get them in your cream, serums, makeup, laundry detergents… holy smokes. We load these endocrine disrupters on all day long.
Other countries are making an effort to create products that are friendly to us and to the planet. Of course it is hard to make a product with acceptable ingredients: $$$$. Ah. Well….
In trying to understand what drives MAGA, many make the mistake -- and I was one of them -- in thinking that all of our fellow Americans have the best interests of Democracy and our founding principles at heart. They don't. They want exactly what trump promises. Some do not want equality -- they want to keep their privilage and retain their dominance over others (racism and misogyny). Some don't want any of their earnings taken to support the common good -- "it's my money, not the government's!". Some want the country to be governed by the religious law of their "god" (the Christian Nationalists). Some of those are even hoping that trump is the one to bring on the End of Days, wherein they will be taken to Glory by the Rapture.
I am probably missing other strains of MAGA, but you get the point. Our problem in trying to understand MAGA stems from the belief that if you are an American you support the values put forth in our Declaration of Independence -- Freedom, Equality, and Self-Governance. That is what defines you as an American. It's disconcerting when you realize that fully 40% of our fellow citizens don't actually believe in those values.
Your analysis makes sense to me.
"Disconcerting" is a kind way to describe our current malaise. The fight between enlightened liberals and begrudging conservatives has been a consistent political struggle since the founding. Through most of our history (the Civil War and reconstruction as the exception) we have mostly
compromised our party differences.
We have never faced a completely opportunistic, nihilistic leader who so skillfully knit together all the dissatisfied groups in the country and could entertainingly lie his way through his depravity. Teflon is the perfect metaphor.
When we hold onto the White House in Nov, Kamala and team will need an intense and intentional strategy to bring back into the governance system, a responsible opposition party, freed from Trump's influence.
Maybe we need a 3rd Constitutional Convention to meet the current crisis.
OMG, I am horrified to find I agree with you, Dan.
Merrill, While at best a partial reply, I view a substantial bloc of the 70-75 million men and women so angered by opportunities seemingly denied them as reluctant adversaries who I believe, if given the chance, would prefer to enjoy the blessings of our democratic institutions if they were not so often the victims of our system’s unevenly distributed costs.
That’s not the real reason. The reason according to many experts is there are many millions of people who generationally want to give the finger to government and authority and disrupt the system they believe because of MAGA propaganda is against them and overrun with immigrants who want their jobs.
Stephen, I wrote “at best a partial reply” because the emergence of MAGA is not rooted in a single cause. I further would note that if we ever are to render this movement increasingly irrelevant, we must consider, in my view, its multiple causes.
The shape of wealth distribution is definitely a big part of the problem.
I was doing some phonebanking for the Environmental Voter Project, and got a young person who said he wasn't voting. Per the script, I asked if there was something that would cause him to change his mind and vote after all, and his answer was, "the redistribution of wealth." I thought that was a pretty good answer, actually. And since it's a non-partisan organization, I couldn't directly point out the difference in the parties.
Agree, and also don't discount the fact that millions are just like Trump.
Marsha, Aside from a relatively small bloc, I’m not convinced they’re like Trump. I view many of them as indoctrinated people particularly susceptible, for a host of reasons, to the junk food of propaganda.
Trump: America's Hitler. Don't forget that the American people, numbed by a steady diet of foolish TV, social media echo chambers, and McDonald's "food," have become more and more unthinking. While it's not ok in my opinion, there's a sort of innocence to it that enables me to view the majority (or at least half?) of the 75 million with compassion. The other half are either opportunistic sycophants or hate-filled white racist misogynists, probably irredeemable except through attrition (like they will die). When Harris wins, I propose that every one of us thinking voters adopt one unthinking Trump voter and talk them through the next four years so they begin to understand some issues, some critical thinking, and some investment in our beautiful democracy. Civic responsibility. The broader picture.
The Los Angeles Times has been a liberal-leaning newspaper, and it is an utter shame that its owner has singlehandedly broken with even the other legacy newspapers who have denounced Trump as a presidential candidate. Resurrecting Robert's advice once upon a time to write our complaints to the offending media, we can write a Letter to the Editor (I did, even though I cancelled my subscription earlier this year):
https://www.latimes.com/opinion/submit-letter-to-the-editor
You can cite the link to their published endorsements:
https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2024-09-10/los-angeles-times-elections-endorsements-2024-november
Jessica Craven posts this link to complain online, using the same article link above:
https://form.jotform.com/93047569731162
Back when Dr. Soon-Shiong bought the LA Times, I noted his letters of assurance and career in healthcare, but wondered if he was a wolf in sheep's clothing. Now we know that answer, along with the facts that he is a naturalized citizen who emigrated from South Africa and is friends with Elon Musk.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Soon-Shiong
Interestingly, his daughter Nika Soon-Shiong is progressive and in the past, publicly opposed him:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nika_Soon-Shiong
When Harris wins he needs to be held accountable
I believe this will happen. Karma is coming for the Orange Menace.
I have a vision of President Harris appointing a new Attorney General who will enforce the law more aggressively.
I have a vision of the IRS getting more funding and the support to pursue Thomas and Alito for tax fraud. I see them resigning and two new justices appointed who are not puppets of Leo's gang of Federalist Society extremists.
I love your vision. May It Be So.
Oh how I wish it to be so!
From your thoughts to God’s ears.
Harris promised to appoint a Republican to her cabinet. What do you think of Liz Cheney for Attorney General? We can send Garland to live at Mar-a-Lago, where he belongs.
Who? Trump? or Soon-Shiong? Both!
'There is a special place in hell for those who, in times of great moral crisis, maintain their neutrality'.
– Attributed to JFK.
Thank you Ellie, I wrote the LA Times a scathing "letter."
Here is a link to an interesting New Yorker article about Patrick Soon Shiong: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/11/01/how-patrick-soon-shiong-made-his-fortune-before-buying-the-la-times .
Towards the end of Wednesday’s CNN Town Hall, Harris underscored a stark contrast between Trump, on one hand, creating an enemies list and herself, on the other, having a “to-do list.” I would hope, over and over, that Harris would frame her closing message around that contrast.
The people behind Trump published their to-do list, and it’s frightening.
Every election is the election of our lifetime, until this one. Also I will call myself an optimistic realist.
There is a bleak future if we through Harris, Walz, Biden, Bill McKibben, et al, don't continue to lead the Earthly nations on climate catastrophe embrace for ∆∆∆. I know the other day Robert (when we were on with Jay Kuo) discussed his grandchildren. And what if we did lose? I am completely serious when I say I don't believe that those children will live full length lives. By 2100 Earth may have a bleak future.
This is echoed by what Robert shared tonite, just from an equally unacceptable same path but from a Mother Earth perspective.
I want to clarify that Robert said the fight will continue if somehow we lose. We must continue onward. His humble story about how his grassroots leadership work began when Jill and his three adult daughters became despondent after Trump's 2016 win is beautiful.
Being well aware of my country's history I am constantly reminded of the situation in Germany in the early 30s. Until Jan 6 I refrained from using the F-word though, thinking it probably might be too dramatic and shouldn't be used too easily lest it would become a cheap and increasingly insignificant killer argument.
Jan 6 (and everything that came after it) changed that, like it did for the renowned expert on fascism, Robert Paxton
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/23/magazine/robert-paxton-facism.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Uk4.BKcq.nZbzP6xk1hmF&smid=url-share
So yes, Trump is a fascist. But MSM is still struggling with that fact or is in denial. The other day I read that Harris new strategy was to cast Trump as a fascist. Strategy? Casting? She simply points to the fact that he is a fascist and that the future of democracy is at stake on Nov 5. As she should.
The continuing both-sidesism of the media is breathtaking. A despicable example are the ubiquitous MAGA surrogates on TV panels, CNN's Scott Jennings being one of the worst. Always benignly smiling or smirking and very articulate he is selling the MAGA alternative truth much better and effectively than his leader. And he reaches undecided or swayable voters (if there are any left). When I see him sitting there spreading his venom I always picture him wearing a brownshirt and a swastika armband as Hitler's stormtroopers did.
"...using the F-word..." I refrained during my 16 years of teaching elementary school children so that it would be removed from my working vocabulary. However, dramatic times call for dramatic vocabulary. 😉
Unbelievably, "they" (Trumpers and the media) seem to be sanewashing fascist, now.
Robert writes: "Soon-Shiong has had a brilliant and wildly successful career that he created from scratch as a first-generation immigrant. His legacy may be facilitating a second Trump term that will attack the very immigration policies that welcomed him with open arms." Add to that list other immigrants who've made fortunes under the very rules and governance they now seek to over-throw: Murdoch, Musk, Thiel, etc.
A great point. Why should immigrants embrace American democratic ideals? Many poor immigrants come here because of those ideals. But immoral, educated immigrants who come here for opportunistic reasons have no reason to do so. I wonder if these billionaire immigrants are citizens? Did they pay someone to take their citizenship exams? Or did Trump merely gift them citizenship?
Although I did not see the CNN town hall or hear it I am not Surprised by the not picking of the CNN analysts. In a discussion after the fact of the original Biden Trump debate Dana Bash said that CNN modeled the debate format after the first Kennedy Nixon Debates of 1960. Talk about the complete lack of critical thinking. The ability of the two candidates who followed norms (which have faded away in the Trump era) to have an honest discussion and then thinking that they could assume the same approach with someone like Trump was not only utter nonsense but a severe lack on media intelligence of the present day. Rebecca Solnit in a recent interview by the Guardian was asked what would she do if she was the editor of the New York Times and she responded that her first act would be to “fire everyone with very few exceptions”. She went on to say that podcasts and the daily writings like we have here were more effective in todays’s world than the mainstream media. So thank you Robert!
Let's let CNN know we don't accept their failure as journalists. Here's what I sent to them:
To CNN: We had a subscription to CNN through DISH; we are shocked at CNN's failure to meet even basic journalistic standards in erroneously mis-checking facts.
Trump did not say he'd build "More wall".
He said he would build a "great, great wall".
It's a fact, recorded and readily available to anyone with the least smidgeon of ability, intelligence and integrity. You appear to have none of these.
Your pathetic pretense of "fact checking" confirms that you have renounced serious truthful journalism and adopted a partisan and morally-corrupt standard.
We don't accept this failed and cowardly, lazy approach to "news" - and will no longer be getting any of our information from CNN. You should be ashamed! History will hold you accountable, and your slanted, naive and incompetent organization will not be missed.
Yours,
A friend saw this in North Carolina: a huge billboard saying Trump and Mark Robinson are CREEPS. I actually think this is a winning strategy. Trump and his associates are exactly that: downright creepy in every sense.
I saw it too. So true.
I was intrigued and impressed by Harris’s answer to the question about her weaknesses. She spoke of her decision making process—taking the time to intentionally see multiple perspectives, resisting the temptation to blurt our a “decisive” answer when questioned about an issue.
I see this as a sign of strength, a maturity and recognition that one person alone does not have the ability to immediately conjure all important considerations of an issue. This is in direct contrast to Trump, who considers himself wiser than anyone and everyone, and my respect for this thoughtful answer differs from Trump admirers who see his blurting out orders after zero thought as a sign of decisiveness and strength.
I choose door number one, and frankly I think in this complex world that recognition that better decisions are made non-solo is critical.
For a very long time I've been worried about Election Integrity. I've been donating to Marc Elias (Democracy Docket) for a long time. This morning, thankfully, Joyce Vance on Civil Discourse wrote a long piece describing the DOJ Election Threats Task Force: https://substack.com/inbox/post/150579615. The DOJ has an office in each state. For example, in Arizona there are four offices: Phoenix, Tucson, Yuma, and Flagstaff. Do average voters know they can contact a DOJ office if they feel threatened at the polls. I don't think so. I wrote a long comment on Civil Discourse about how we can educate voters about the availability of the DOJ to help them vote. Our candidates should be doing this. When phone banking in a state such as Arizona you can include information about the local DOJ offices. 12 more days! Very nerve-wracking. Doing something helps. Postcards, canvassing, phone banking, donations.
In a year when people in Prescott, AZ and Crossville, TN have seen the Aurora Borealis from their back yards, it's nice to see the original.