Well written and spot on Steven. One of the most concerning things I see happening is the erosion of the separation between church and state. It's chilling to envision our country being governed by one religion or religious group. Freedom of religion is a fundamental principle of American Democracy, and is guaranteed to each citizen. Without this we are no longer America.
*Their* law is just another kind of religious fundamentalism imposed on others. Little different from what they decry when they shout Sharia law. American Taliban suits them perfectly.
Thank you for a well-articulated summary of what is at stake in November’s election. This holds true up and down the entire ballot, as we see both state and local government dropping in line with the draconian Republican worldview. We must all do everything we can to stop this assault on the rights and liberties guaranteed to us by the Constitution our Founders crafted. Those rights and liberties flex and change and adapt as time and technology advance. As a side note, the so-called “originalism” espoused by certain members of courts is nothing but an excuse to impose unreasonable decisions on all of us.
We’ve never had a unicorn candidate. Few of us have ever had a unicorn friend … one who agreed with us on everything in thought and actions.
But we’ve had good candidates, presidents and friends. Ones we could count on to want what was best for us; who would listen; who could think; who were capable of making good decisions, leading & caring.
This debate may well be the first time trump's followers hear actual policies of Democrats & truth, fans only of Fox & Musk's X slanted entries. I hope they will listen objectively.
It is good there will be no audience. No red hats or Marjorie Greenes yelling."Liar!" Of course, trump has already defamed the moderators.
And no notes. trump has no plans except to dehumanize people, add more tax relief to the wealthy, & brag about what he will do with nothing to back up that he has ever done anything..Perhaps showing his beautiful chest with scars will fill in some of his allotted time. And thankfully, microphones will be turned off after turns.
Women's rights should boost Biden. His opponent will be at a loss with advocating no abortion, no crossing state lines for help, no contraceptives. The new gel contraceptives for men are now or going to be.marketed, & I'll bet Gaetz & those like him will be first in line.
One crazy even wants our right to vote retracted!.
The ten commandments are wise actions to follow personally but have no place hanging in homerooms. Unconstitutional.
What's next? Katie Britt saying Lord's Prayer from her kitchen over loud speaker? A picture of white, blue eyed Jesus above the pencil sharpener? As unreligious as a man can be, Steve Bannon has one on wall behind him in office pictures. Religion has suffered from these people.
DeSantis doesn't fit in with people interested in the arts, he who eats pudding with his fingers 🤌.He is theatrical all by himself. I don't think he will do harm to Ringling Art School, Ringling being a big thing here in FL. I toured his home, saw collection of classic paintings, butterfly garden, big stinkiest plant on earth on site. Must have been a small man as bed tiny. My drawing talented granddaughter starting school there in August. Ballet competitions take place in/near Orlando..My NJ granddaughter attending week.of July 30. ( Future Rockette )
Anyway, not a national concern for Biden to spend allotted time on.
So here's hoping trump will ramble on about washing machines & Biden will keep his eyes wide open and lips closed when not speaking.
Steven again hits the mark about the stakes of the November election. If we believe Alexander Tytler’s words that democracies have a shelf life of two-hundred years, then this is the moment for the citizenry to elect someone who will extend our democracy, not eradicate it. Trump is saying the simple parts out loud, but the Project 2025 folks have much more sophistication plans than the orange man could possibly think up on his own. This time around, the stakes are higher, the opposition sharper, and the aggrieved more convinced of Trump’s claim, “I alone can fix it”. His use of the work fix should be replaced with his favorite word—“rigged” since that has rolled off his lips since 2015. He planted the seeds then and the weeds are choking us unless we take him on at the ballot box.
I don’t think their plan is sophisticated. They have written this as a manifesto that echoes Mein Kampf, written by Hitler, almost verbatim. These 900+ pages are written by primarily wealthy white men who see the white race diminishing right before their very eyes. God forbid their daughter is with a black, brown, Asian, or Jewish man! They use their wealth to manipulate just like Leonard Leo has with the Supreme Court justices. The last 3 who were put in place were all picked by Leonard Leo. I mean who else would’ve paid Kavanaugh’s debts off? Trump is just one of their donkeys and he has a big lousy mouth so he’s a perfect choice. Joe and Kamala will win because really, it was idiotic for the R’s to put Project 2025 together for the entire world to see. If they had been smart, they would have never created a place on the web for it. But, Karen, you’re right, Trump could’ve have never come up with the diabolical plans the R’s have thought about. He’s totally incapable of thinking about those things by himself.
Thank you for these thoughts. I'm appalled at just the thought of a governor cutting art funding, let alone doing it. This shows how much he actually understands about his population and about education. Voters need to the facts you write about. They need to hear it over and over. The campaign has to get active, young, and energized. Kick the bully to the curb!
Well dog my cats. I had no idea God issued birth certificates. Genesis says god created "man" in his own image and in the same sentence says "male and female" he created them. What S/he didn't say was "penis and uterus, S/he created them." It was left for people without science to decide on what the outer paraphernalia signals. We know more now, about DNA ...AND about psychology.
Gender was a strictly grammatical term until the 1970s when feminists started using it to describe characteristics (too often stereotypes) assigned to the terms Male and Female. English doesn't have much of that "gender" grammar left except in those pesky pronouns but those pronouns DO reflect grammar, not identity. But those who have tried to remember what pronoun and adjective endings go with, say, "ciudad" certainly have encountered gender in this sense. I'm pretty sure God had nothing to do with our own propensity to call ships "she."
There is no reason to think that somehow treatment of trans people is somehow "unbiological." Biology certain affects how one's mind works. Certainly we don't castigate chemotherapy as "unbiological" though of course it is. All "gender" does as a term is indicate the psychology that takes people--like cancer patients with chemo--beyond what "male and female" mean in a lived life. Equating it with what either DNA or the birth certificate says is flat out misuse of the term, just like "socialist," "communist" and "woke" are.
Yesterday I had a delightful young man working on the sprinkling system in my yard. We had talked about life’s ups and downs in the past, although while working a lawn and garden issues. I had told him my father’s advice to me about how to save money and he was impressed. Towards the end of the work, he was paid and as I turned to leave I said “ Vote Blue.” I could not believe the negative reaction and verbiage that came from this thirty year old. The misinformation that spewed out of his mouth was shocking. In response I said, “Then we must agree to disagree.” At this point I went into my house, knowing that my mother’s adage was correct. “A man convinced against his will, is of the same opinion still.” This exchange between an 80 year old and someone much younger was disheartening. There would have been no way to change his mind about the election.
You are absolutely correct. Putting religion into the classroom. Taking arts out of the classroom. Pardoning those who participated in an insurrection at the Capitol. Dismissing the Constitution. Taking away freedom of choice, with hints that more freedoms will be taken away from our healthcare choices in the future. Basically taking away the America, the 1776 experiment of a Constitutional Republic built on Democracy. The is the agenda of the GOP. And they transformed SCOTUS from a respected judicial institution into a partisan political body that has no ethical standards. We can't let them get back into the White House. And we need to make every effort to drain their numbers in the House and Senate also. Vote and speak to Independents. We need to save our country as the shining star on the hill as it has always been.
Recommendations to the Biden campaign regarding the debate:
Defuse Donald. Observe that he is a superb Showman, a Storyteller with compelling stories about showers and toilets and washing machines. His stories about sharks and electric boats and fighting viruses and weather forecasting are all Entertaining. His stories about election fraud and dead people and migrants voting against him. Fascinating. But they are all FICTIONAL stories. None of them make any sense. In the REAL world.
Diffuse Donald. Donald can't focus on real issues. He is scatterbrained. Solving problems like the borders and foreign affairs and government spending and tariffs and taxes are complex. They require someone who can focus on a problem and bring the smartest people in to solve it. Consensus and compromise, not fighting, gets the job done.
Womanizer Donald. Donald is obsessed with sex and abusing women. He's a sexual pervert. He was a friend and client of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislane Maxwell. Who arranged for sex with underage girls. Dozens of women have complained about his abuse. This is a character flaw we cannot ignore.
Ignorant Donald. Donald knows very little about our American History. He thinks that aligning with dictators who oppress their people is a good idea. America stands for self-rule. Putin and Kim Jong Un are deathly afraid of Democracy. So they squash it. We cannot vote for a man who wants America to be like Russia or North Korea.
Fantasy Donald. He is in the habit of telling lies for his own benefit so much that he's lost connection with reality. His criminal indictments and convictions are the result of his own actions. No one forced him to break laws. He did all of this to himself.
Out of Touch Donald. He appeals to the worst in our citizens. We must bring back honor and virtue, doing the right things, not the wrong things. Treat each other with respect and manners and courtesy. Donald is Out of Touch with the way Americans interact and work with each other.
Unqualified Donald. When Donald conspired to steal the Executive Branch of the Government, by fooling thousands of citizens to storm the Capitol and attack police, he disqualified himself from ever serving in public office in this land. His allies in the Congress climbed on his back to gain power for themselves, without acknowledging that Donald was disqualified. This is their career mistake. American voters know he's disqualified.
Bad Faith Donald. Notice when Donald tells his stories that he mixes truth and lies. A little bit of truth and a lot of lies. Foundational lies. This is called Bad Faith. It is called Deception. Each word and lie is designed to fool you into thinking his story is true. When it is based on one or more lies. Putin does the same tricks with his anti American propaganda. Don't fall for it!
Unqualified Donald. Donald is a TV star. He is not a politician or a government leader. He can't manage people. 40 of his 44 cabinet officials, his own appointees, saw up close how unqualified he is for public office. Especially the Presidency! Donald is an Entertainer who is portraying a politician. He can't do this job!
I am wondering about the phrase we hear all the time, "...taking us back in time..." Was there ever a time in the US when such oppression as The Con espouses was crammed down peoples throats?
There were times the US allowed people to be attacked and killed; that ultra wealthy employers controlled the lives of their employees. Over time they too washed away their sins with good P/R. Labor history provides many examples. “Mother Jones” (Mary Harris Jones, aka “Angel of the Miners”) was banned from public speaking in WV where a local DA called her the “Most dangerous woman in America.” She was court martialed for speaking after marshal law was declared. She knew how to move public opinion against child labor & for working people. Now we think of Mother Jones as a liberal news outlet.
I think we’re in a Hansel and Gretel moment in our country. If you remember the tale, two children, Hansel and Gretel, were forced from their home by their malevolent stepmother (interesting that these tales often make women the villains, as if they had any power at all), so that their reluctant woodcutter father took them into the woods to abandon them.
Their first foray into the woods found Hansel scattering pebbles, which would reflect the moonlight (interesting that this event took place when the moon was bright enough to guide them) and so guaranteeing the children’s safe return.
The next time, however, the children were not so lucky and left only trails of breadcrumbs with which to find their way home. As a result, they lost their way in the forest and ended up at the home of a wicked witch who caged them and prepared daily for the future event of roasting them in her oven. The witch had poor eyesight and so could not tell when her captives were fat enough to eat, but as the days went by, decided to proceed with her wicked plan to make a meal of them. As she could not tell whether the oven was ready for roasting, exhorted by Gretel, she crept into the oven to see if the correct temperature had been reached. She was pushed into the oven in short order by the children, who left without delay and were able to journey safely home, where they found that their wicked stepmother had died and so were reunited upon their return with their overjoyed father.
Here’s how and why I think we are in a Hansel and Gretel moment:
Home represents safety to so many of us…and our multi-cultural, liberal democracy is really still in its infancy. It’s not neat and tidy and can cost us something to maintain…both in time and treasure, so little wonder that the Republican establishment would rather get rid of it (just as Hansel and Gretel’s stepmother insisted must be done).They are trying to banish us from the only home we’ve ever known…our democracy, and they want to remove any trace of it so that we can never find our way back again.
Our institutions have always left pebbles…and path to return to our democratic home. But more and more, Republicans are removing them. We are left with traces of what once were our institutions, as Republicans try to separate us from our liberal democratic principles and norms.
No wonder so many of us are afraid. Where is ‘home’? Will we ever recover it? Will the pretenders who urge others to be rid of our democracy prevail? Can democracy survive this test of wandering through the forest? Will people find it inside themselves to trust that we will always have a home with our great country’s complicated and messy ideas no matter who we are or where we come from?
Fascist Christian Nationalism? Because that’s what this is. That’s what Project 2025, The Heritage Foundation, The Council of National Policy and The Federalist Society all are.
The balance has tipped so far that it’s not just those who do not study history being doomed to repeat it, but that some who do study it do so with intent to grasp power for its own sake, and to harm.
CHAOS is a word in your excellent post, Steve, that stands out. The few Republicans in my family all REALLY dislike chaos. Instead, they long for steady, without chaos and instability, which they fear.
The threat of chaos one of the few issues which could sway them against voting for Trump in 2024. I think we should be reaching across, telling stories such as about the steadiness of Biden's Cabinet, some who are really well-respected by Republicans. Not only are current cabinet members highly skilled but almost all remain in their original positions. (Gone is the chaos under Trump with angry, late-night tweets, and emails firing staff and cabinet members at his slightest whim.)
Take William J Burns, current Director of the CIA. From Wikipedia: "In 2008, Burns was nominated by President George W. Bush and confirmed by the Senate as a career ambassador, the highest rank in the U.S. Foreign Service, equivalent to a four-star general officer in the U.S. Armed Forces. Promotions to the rank are rare." Burns was ambassador to Russia and Jordan, under secretary of state in the Obama administration and, just before taking his current cabinet post, Director of Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. (His father, US Army Major General, was director of the United States Arms Control and Disarmament Agency in 1988–1989 in the Ronald Reagan administration, in addition to his service as the first U.S. special envoy to denuclearization negotiations with former Soviet countries under the legislation...")
Burns was confirmed unanimously by the Senate for Director of the CIA. He's highly respected by Republicans and conservatives from around the world.
Another stellar Cabinet member is Avril Haines, Director of National Intelligence. What an interesting background she has. After high school, Haines moved to Japan for a year, where she enrolled at the Kodokan, an elite judo institute in Tokyo (Putin is also a graduate.) And after her undergrad degree, she attempted to fly across the Atlantic in a small Cessna she re-built with her flight instructor, later her husband. After leaving the (Obama) White House, Haines was appointed to multiple posts at Columbia University. She was a senior research scholar and deputy director for the Columbia World Projects, a program designed to bring to bear academic scholarship on some of the most fundamental challenges the world is facing, and was designated the program's director in May 2020, replacing Nicholas Lemann.[47][48] Haines was also a fellow at the Human Rights Institute and National Security Law Program at Columbia Law School.[49] Confirmed by the Senate 84-10, she was the first member in Biden's cabinet and the first woman to hold the post.
And we need to hear more about high-level, YOUNGER Cabinet members and others in high-ranking positions. I only started looking at the Biden Cabinet when younger family members said there should be more Millennials in high positions. They thought Pete was totally awesome running for president at age 36, the youngest age allowed. And have been following some of what he is doing as Secretary of Transportation. And Avril Haines was 51 when confirmed. In late 2021 when I last looked, 41% (12) of Biden's Cabinet was age 35-54, far younger than Trump's, slightly older than Obama's. A side note, Biden's Cabinet has far more women, and about 1/2 who are people of color. That should be of use reaching across the aisle.
Unfortunately, moderate conservatives are being conned on right-wing new media regarding the ECONOMY, and think we're in a recession. But, we are not. We’re the envy of the world right now - and we need to SHOUT IT OUT! From The Atlantic: “It’s hard to think of a time when the U.S. economy has diverged so fundamentally from its peers,” Mark Zandi, the chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, told me. Over the past year, some of the world’s biggest economies, including those of Japan and Germany, have fallen into recession, complete with mass layoffs and angry street protests. In the U.S., however, the post-pandemic recession never arrived. The economy just keeps growing."
There's a lot in this article regarding growth, inflation, and real wages: "Averages can conceal a lot, of course. The rise in inflation-adjusted wages, which economists call “real wages,” might not be such good news if it were flowing mostly to the already-wealthy, as it did during the recovery from the Great Recession. In fact, from 1964 through 2018, real wages for most workers hardly budged; almost all gains went to the richest Americans. In the early days of the pandemic, when millions of low-income workers found themselves suddenly out of a job, it would have been reasonable to expect the same trend to play itself out.
Instead, the opposite happened. A recent analysis from the Economic Policy Institute found that from the end of 2019 to the end of 2023, the lowest-paid decile of workers saw their wages rise four times faster than middle-class workers and more than 10 times faster than the richest decile."
It also notes a huge downside in the US economy: "the out-of-control cost of housing is perhaps the biggest black mark on an otherwise excellent economy. This problem started decades ago—since the 1980s, the median U.S. home price has increased by more than 400 percent, twice as fast as incomes—and got even worse during the pandemic, as the rise of remote work prompted millions of people to seek more space."
Well written and spot on Steven. One of the most concerning things I see happening is the erosion of the separation between church and state. It's chilling to envision our country being governed by one religion or religious group. Freedom of religion is a fundamental principle of American Democracy, and is guaranteed to each citizen. Without this we are no longer America.
And yet the radical right wingers decry Sharia law. Hypocrites!
The "American Taliban"...
*Their* law is just another kind of religious fundamentalism imposed on others. Little different from what they decry when they shout Sharia law. American Taliban suits them perfectly.
agree
Thank you for a well-articulated summary of what is at stake in November’s election. This holds true up and down the entire ballot, as we see both state and local government dropping in line with the draconian Republican worldview. We must all do everything we can to stop this assault on the rights and liberties guaranteed to us by the Constitution our Founders crafted. Those rights and liberties flex and change and adapt as time and technology advance. As a side note, the so-called “originalism” espoused by certain members of courts is nothing but an excuse to impose unreasonable decisions on all of us.
We’ve never had a unicorn candidate. Few of us have ever had a unicorn friend … one who agreed with us on everything in thought and actions.
But we’ve had good candidates, presidents and friends. Ones we could count on to want what was best for us; who would listen; who could think; who were capable of making good decisions, leading & caring.
This debate may well be the first time trump's followers hear actual policies of Democrats & truth, fans only of Fox & Musk's X slanted entries. I hope they will listen objectively.
It is good there will be no audience. No red hats or Marjorie Greenes yelling."Liar!" Of course, trump has already defamed the moderators.
And no notes. trump has no plans except to dehumanize people, add more tax relief to the wealthy, & brag about what he will do with nothing to back up that he has ever done anything..Perhaps showing his beautiful chest with scars will fill in some of his allotted time. And thankfully, microphones will be turned off after turns.
Women's rights should boost Biden. His opponent will be at a loss with advocating no abortion, no crossing state lines for help, no contraceptives. The new gel contraceptives for men are now or going to be.marketed, & I'll bet Gaetz & those like him will be first in line.
One crazy even wants our right to vote retracted!.
The ten commandments are wise actions to follow personally but have no place hanging in homerooms. Unconstitutional.
What's next? Katie Britt saying Lord's Prayer from her kitchen over loud speaker? A picture of white, blue eyed Jesus above the pencil sharpener? As unreligious as a man can be, Steve Bannon has one on wall behind him in office pictures. Religion has suffered from these people.
DeSantis doesn't fit in with people interested in the arts, he who eats pudding with his fingers 🤌.He is theatrical all by himself. I don't think he will do harm to Ringling Art School, Ringling being a big thing here in FL. I toured his home, saw collection of classic paintings, butterfly garden, big stinkiest plant on earth on site. Must have been a small man as bed tiny. My drawing talented granddaughter starting school there in August. Ballet competitions take place in/near Orlando..My NJ granddaughter attending week.of July 30. ( Future Rockette )
Anyway, not a national concern for Biden to spend allotted time on.
So here's hoping trump will ramble on about washing machines & Biden will keep his eyes wide open and lips closed when not speaking.
Steven again hits the mark about the stakes of the November election. If we believe Alexander Tytler’s words that democracies have a shelf life of two-hundred years, then this is the moment for the citizenry to elect someone who will extend our democracy, not eradicate it. Trump is saying the simple parts out loud, but the Project 2025 folks have much more sophistication plans than the orange man could possibly think up on his own. This time around, the stakes are higher, the opposition sharper, and the aggrieved more convinced of Trump’s claim, “I alone can fix it”. His use of the work fix should be replaced with his favorite word—“rigged” since that has rolled off his lips since 2015. He planted the seeds then and the weeds are choking us unless we take him on at the ballot box.
I don’t think their plan is sophisticated. They have written this as a manifesto that echoes Mein Kampf, written by Hitler, almost verbatim. These 900+ pages are written by primarily wealthy white men who see the white race diminishing right before their very eyes. God forbid their daughter is with a black, brown, Asian, or Jewish man! They use their wealth to manipulate just like Leonard Leo has with the Supreme Court justices. The last 3 who were put in place were all picked by Leonard Leo. I mean who else would’ve paid Kavanaugh’s debts off? Trump is just one of their donkeys and he has a big lousy mouth so he’s a perfect choice. Joe and Kamala will win because really, it was idiotic for the R’s to put Project 2025 together for the entire world to see. If they had been smart, they would have never created a place on the web for it. But, Karen, you’re right, Trump could’ve have never come up with the diabolical plans the R’s have thought about. He’s totally incapable of thinking about those things by himself.
Maybe DeSantis vetoing all the arts was because they are "Degenerate" to him? Plus que ca change...
He vetoed a huge portion of budget. This is how red states pay for their tax cuts & funds that go to private schools and “homeschooling.” In FL those are growing exponentially. Some of that $$ goes for things like trips to Disney, big smart TVs, etc. How could I almost forget his ‘special’ election police and state (in addition to National) Guard. https://www.abcactionnews.com/news/state/governor-desantis-vetoes-less-than-1-of-the-2024-25-florida-budget-heres-the-full-list
Thank you for these thoughts. I'm appalled at just the thought of a governor cutting art funding, let alone doing it. This shows how much he actually understands about his population and about education. Voters need to the facts you write about. They need to hear it over and over. The campaign has to get active, young, and energized. Kick the bully to the curb!
Well dog my cats. I had no idea God issued birth certificates. Genesis says god created "man" in his own image and in the same sentence says "male and female" he created them. What S/he didn't say was "penis and uterus, S/he created them." It was left for people without science to decide on what the outer paraphernalia signals. We know more now, about DNA ...AND about psychology.
Gender was a strictly grammatical term until the 1970s when feminists started using it to describe characteristics (too often stereotypes) assigned to the terms Male and Female. English doesn't have much of that "gender" grammar left except in those pesky pronouns but those pronouns DO reflect grammar, not identity. But those who have tried to remember what pronoun and adjective endings go with, say, "ciudad" certainly have encountered gender in this sense. I'm pretty sure God had nothing to do with our own propensity to call ships "she."
There is no reason to think that somehow treatment of trans people is somehow "unbiological." Biology certain affects how one's mind works. Certainly we don't castigate chemotherapy as "unbiological" though of course it is. All "gender" does as a term is indicate the psychology that takes people--like cancer patients with chemo--beyond what "male and female" mean in a lived life. Equating it with what either DNA or the birth certificate says is flat out misuse of the term, just like "socialist," "communist" and "woke" are.
Yesterday I had a delightful young man working on the sprinkling system in my yard. We had talked about life’s ups and downs in the past, although while working a lawn and garden issues. I had told him my father’s advice to me about how to save money and he was impressed. Towards the end of the work, he was paid and as I turned to leave I said “ Vote Blue.” I could not believe the negative reaction and verbiage that came from this thirty year old. The misinformation that spewed out of his mouth was shocking. In response I said, “Then we must agree to disagree.” At this point I went into my house, knowing that my mother’s adage was correct. “A man convinced against his will, is of the same opinion still.” This exchange between an 80 year old and someone much younger was disheartening. There would have been no way to change his mind about the election.
You are absolutely correct. Putting religion into the classroom. Taking arts out of the classroom. Pardoning those who participated in an insurrection at the Capitol. Dismissing the Constitution. Taking away freedom of choice, with hints that more freedoms will be taken away from our healthcare choices in the future. Basically taking away the America, the 1776 experiment of a Constitutional Republic built on Democracy. The is the agenda of the GOP. And they transformed SCOTUS from a respected judicial institution into a partisan political body that has no ethical standards. We can't let them get back into the White House. And we need to make every effort to drain their numbers in the House and Senate also. Vote and speak to Independents. We need to save our country as the shining star on the hill as it has always been.
Recommendations to the Biden campaign regarding the debate:
Defuse Donald. Observe that he is a superb Showman, a Storyteller with compelling stories about showers and toilets and washing machines. His stories about sharks and electric boats and fighting viruses and weather forecasting are all Entertaining. His stories about election fraud and dead people and migrants voting against him. Fascinating. But they are all FICTIONAL stories. None of them make any sense. In the REAL world.
Diffuse Donald. Donald can't focus on real issues. He is scatterbrained. Solving problems like the borders and foreign affairs and government spending and tariffs and taxes are complex. They require someone who can focus on a problem and bring the smartest people in to solve it. Consensus and compromise, not fighting, gets the job done.
Womanizer Donald. Donald is obsessed with sex and abusing women. He's a sexual pervert. He was a friend and client of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislane Maxwell. Who arranged for sex with underage girls. Dozens of women have complained about his abuse. This is a character flaw we cannot ignore.
Ignorant Donald. Donald knows very little about our American History. He thinks that aligning with dictators who oppress their people is a good idea. America stands for self-rule. Putin and Kim Jong Un are deathly afraid of Democracy. So they squash it. We cannot vote for a man who wants America to be like Russia or North Korea.
Fantasy Donald. He is in the habit of telling lies for his own benefit so much that he's lost connection with reality. His criminal indictments and convictions are the result of his own actions. No one forced him to break laws. He did all of this to himself.
Out of Touch Donald. He appeals to the worst in our citizens. We must bring back honor and virtue, doing the right things, not the wrong things. Treat each other with respect and manners and courtesy. Donald is Out of Touch with the way Americans interact and work with each other.
Unqualified Donald. When Donald conspired to steal the Executive Branch of the Government, by fooling thousands of citizens to storm the Capitol and attack police, he disqualified himself from ever serving in public office in this land. His allies in the Congress climbed on his back to gain power for themselves, without acknowledging that Donald was disqualified. This is their career mistake. American voters know he's disqualified.
Bad Faith Donald. Notice when Donald tells his stories that he mixes truth and lies. A little bit of truth and a lot of lies. Foundational lies. This is called Bad Faith. It is called Deception. Each word and lie is designed to fool you into thinking his story is true. When it is based on one or more lies. Putin does the same tricks with his anti American propaganda. Don't fall for it!
Unqualified Donald. Donald is a TV star. He is not a politician or a government leader. He can't manage people. 40 of his 44 cabinet officials, his own appointees, saw up close how unqualified he is for public office. Especially the Presidency! Donald is an Entertainer who is portraying a politician. He can't do this job!
I am wondering about the phrase we hear all the time, "...taking us back in time..." Was there ever a time in the US when such oppression as The Con espouses was crammed down peoples throats?
There were times the US allowed people to be attacked and killed; that ultra wealthy employers controlled the lives of their employees. Over time they too washed away their sins with good P/R. Labor history provides many examples. “Mother Jones” (Mary Harris Jones, aka “Angel of the Miners”) was banned from public speaking in WV where a local DA called her the “Most dangerous woman in America.” She was court martialed for speaking after marshal law was declared. She knew how to move public opinion against child labor & for working people. Now we think of Mother Jones as a liberal news outlet.
There are incidents like Ludlow Massacre that highlight what was going on: https://targetpublic.com/100-years-modern-public-relations/
Rockefeller would ride around and toss dimes to schoolchildren. He was derisively called “shiny dimes.” It has all but disappeared from history.
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/rockefellers-ludlow/
I think we’re in a Hansel and Gretel moment in our country. If you remember the tale, two children, Hansel and Gretel, were forced from their home by their malevolent stepmother (interesting that these tales often make women the villains, as if they had any power at all), so that their reluctant woodcutter father took them into the woods to abandon them.
Their first foray into the woods found Hansel scattering pebbles, which would reflect the moonlight (interesting that this event took place when the moon was bright enough to guide them) and so guaranteeing the children’s safe return.
The next time, however, the children were not so lucky and left only trails of breadcrumbs with which to find their way home. As a result, they lost their way in the forest and ended up at the home of a wicked witch who caged them and prepared daily for the future event of roasting them in her oven. The witch had poor eyesight and so could not tell when her captives were fat enough to eat, but as the days went by, decided to proceed with her wicked plan to make a meal of them. As she could not tell whether the oven was ready for roasting, exhorted by Gretel, she crept into the oven to see if the correct temperature had been reached. She was pushed into the oven in short order by the children, who left without delay and were able to journey safely home, where they found that their wicked stepmother had died and so were reunited upon their return with their overjoyed father.
Here’s how and why I think we are in a Hansel and Gretel moment:
Home represents safety to so many of us…and our multi-cultural, liberal democracy is really still in its infancy. It’s not neat and tidy and can cost us something to maintain…both in time and treasure, so little wonder that the Republican establishment would rather get rid of it (just as Hansel and Gretel’s stepmother insisted must be done).They are trying to banish us from the only home we’ve ever known…our democracy, and they want to remove any trace of it so that we can never find our way back again.
Our institutions have always left pebbles…and path to return to our democratic home. But more and more, Republicans are removing them. We are left with traces of what once were our institutions, as Republicans try to separate us from our liberal democratic principles and norms.
No wonder so many of us are afraid. Where is ‘home’? Will we ever recover it? Will the pretenders who urge others to be rid of our democracy prevail? Can democracy survive this test of wandering through the forest? Will people find it inside themselves to trust that we will always have a home with our great country’s complicated and messy ideas no matter who we are or where we come from?
“Christian nationalism”, don’t you mean
Fascist Christian Nationalism? Because that’s what this is. That’s what Project 2025, The Heritage Foundation, The Council of National Policy and The Federalist Society all are.
https://www.badfaithdocumentary.com/
The balance has tipped so far that it’s not just those who do not study history being doomed to repeat it, but that some who do study it do so with intent to grasp power for its own sake, and to harm.
CHAOS is a word in your excellent post, Steve, that stands out. The few Republicans in my family all REALLY dislike chaos. Instead, they long for steady, without chaos and instability, which they fear.
The threat of chaos one of the few issues which could sway them against voting for Trump in 2024. I think we should be reaching across, telling stories such as about the steadiness of Biden's Cabinet, some who are really well-respected by Republicans. Not only are current cabinet members highly skilled but almost all remain in their original positions. (Gone is the chaos under Trump with angry, late-night tweets, and emails firing staff and cabinet members at his slightest whim.)
Take William J Burns, current Director of the CIA. From Wikipedia: "In 2008, Burns was nominated by President George W. Bush and confirmed by the Senate as a career ambassador, the highest rank in the U.S. Foreign Service, equivalent to a four-star general officer in the U.S. Armed Forces. Promotions to the rank are rare." Burns was ambassador to Russia and Jordan, under secretary of state in the Obama administration and, just before taking his current cabinet post, Director of Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. (His father, US Army Major General, was director of the United States Arms Control and Disarmament Agency in 1988–1989 in the Ronald Reagan administration, in addition to his service as the first U.S. special envoy to denuclearization negotiations with former Soviet countries under the legislation...")
Burns was confirmed unanimously by the Senate for Director of the CIA. He's highly respected by Republicans and conservatives from around the world.
Another stellar Cabinet member is Avril Haines, Director of National Intelligence. What an interesting background she has. After high school, Haines moved to Japan for a year, where she enrolled at the Kodokan, an elite judo institute in Tokyo (Putin is also a graduate.) And after her undergrad degree, she attempted to fly across the Atlantic in a small Cessna she re-built with her flight instructor, later her husband. After leaving the (Obama) White House, Haines was appointed to multiple posts at Columbia University. She was a senior research scholar and deputy director for the Columbia World Projects, a program designed to bring to bear academic scholarship on some of the most fundamental challenges the world is facing, and was designated the program's director in May 2020, replacing Nicholas Lemann.[47][48] Haines was also a fellow at the Human Rights Institute and National Security Law Program at Columbia Law School.[49] Confirmed by the Senate 84-10, she was the first member in Biden's cabinet and the first woman to hold the post.
And we need to hear more about high-level, YOUNGER Cabinet members and others in high-ranking positions. I only started looking at the Biden Cabinet when younger family members said there should be more Millennials in high positions. They thought Pete was totally awesome running for president at age 36, the youngest age allowed. And have been following some of what he is doing as Secretary of Transportation. And Avril Haines was 51 when confirmed. In late 2021 when I last looked, 41% (12) of Biden's Cabinet was age 35-54, far younger than Trump's, slightly older than Obama's. A side note, Biden's Cabinet has far more women, and about 1/2 who are people of color. That should be of use reaching across the aisle.
Unfortunately, moderate conservatives are being conned on right-wing new media regarding the ECONOMY, and think we're in a recession. But, we are not. We’re the envy of the world right now - and we need to SHOUT IT OUT! From The Atlantic: “It’s hard to think of a time when the U.S. economy has diverged so fundamentally from its peers,” Mark Zandi, the chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, told me. Over the past year, some of the world’s biggest economies, including those of Japan and Germany, have fallen into recession, complete with mass layoffs and angry street protests. In the U.S., however, the post-pandemic recession never arrived. The economy just keeps growing."
There's a lot in this article regarding growth, inflation, and real wages: "Averages can conceal a lot, of course. The rise in inflation-adjusted wages, which economists call “real wages,” might not be such good news if it were flowing mostly to the already-wealthy, as it did during the recovery from the Great Recession. In fact, from 1964 through 2018, real wages for most workers hardly budged; almost all gains went to the richest Americans. In the early days of the pandemic, when millions of low-income workers found themselves suddenly out of a job, it would have been reasonable to expect the same trend to play itself out.
Instead, the opposite happened. A recent analysis from the Economic Policy Institute found that from the end of 2019 to the end of 2023, the lowest-paid decile of workers saw their wages rise four times faster than middle-class workers and more than 10 times faster than the richest decile."
It also notes a huge downside in the US economy: "the out-of-control cost of housing is perhaps the biggest black mark on an otherwise excellent economy. This problem started decades ago—since the 1980s, the median U.S. home price has increased by more than 400 percent, twice as fast as incomes—and got even worse during the pandemic, as the rise of remote work prompted millions of people to seek more space."
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/06/us-economy-excellent/678630/
And this from Fidelity: https://www.fidelity.com/learning-center/wealth-management-insights/how-is-the-us-economy-doing?ccsource=em_Promo_22176_1028465_P1