A call to arms? Apparently. I love passion. Even old guys can summon passion if you piss us off. Take off the gloves, you say? Sure. But where and what ring is the struggle taking place? Trump is a master politician. He knows bait and switch like no other. The fact of the matter is that the man won the election. The democrats had so much money and did not change hearts or minds. Heck, right now on TV, some ad's are running to contact Nunn and Meeks to block the confirmation of RFK Jr. Really? Neither Nunn nor Meeks are Senators. And they don't vote! Geezz. Where is the strategy, the leaders. Ann Applebaum is correct in her summation of the crisis in front of us. John F Kennedy wrote Profiles in Courage. The book should be mandatory reading by ALL elected officials and politicians.
Bob when they come on, I have tried to look at small print, but the ad is short and pretty quick. Could be coming from a direction other than national democratic committee. It feels wrong. People are going to tune it out or pay never mind. It insults my intelligence for the reason that the Senate confirms, not house members.
Bob and Matt, I recommend you invite the new DNC chair to a podcast or chat. I urge that some critics of the Party be included. I remain unconvinced the new chair will take on issues of strategy and meat, including pushing our elected officials at federal and state levels.
I have been in contact with the federal delegation.
I recommend holding a contest to share the most interesting, humorous or illuminating response from a federal official. So far, the responses I received are bland and unresponsive.
I have done as you suggested ; contacted the national Dems to aske them to mobilize resistance now, not wait for political action in the next election.
We shall see if they stop the endless requests for $ and instead mobilize young people to act. I unfortunately, can no longer march or otherwise physically protest and my funds may be even more limited if SS and Medicare are comprised!! Thanks for your proactive ideas>
You recommend some very useful tactics, but as an original Woodstock attendee, your strategies are likely to fall very short. What needs to happen now is that every person upset with their personal information being stolen by an unelected citizen who is raiding Federal agencies, is to call the Washington DC police and demand that they do something to stop the looting. Let’s see, you have 5,000 + subscribers? Just imagine if every one of us made a call. That’s how you rock the boat, not waiting for the biased Supreme Court to intervene and make a ruling in their favor. This is a con game and so far they are winning, but it doesn’t have to end up that way.
As you mentioned, the Court route will be slow, perhaps too slow. Concerned citizens, if they are concerned, need to take action today. Why? Because it may be the last time they have a chance to save our democracy. If that isn’t enough of a reason, then maybe they should start reading about what it will be like as a citizen under a fascist regime run by megalomaniacs (leaders who have a delusion of unbridled power).
Think this: very little freedom to think on your own and do as you like, no Medicare, no Social Security, no free speech and no life as you know it now. If that’s not enough of a reason to protect you and your family, then you better get ready for very impoverished dire times ahead.
Washington DC Metro Police Headquarters: 202-727-4218 or United States Capitol Police: Hotline: 866-906-2446 or you can call the Identity Theft or Fraud Report section of the Metropolitan Police Department’s Financial Crimes Unit from outside the DC area at: 202-265-9100. What do you say? Tell them you have been watching the news and fear that your personal information had been stolen by Elon Musk and the Trump administration. You want to know what they are going to do about it.
If Trump is blackmailing or threatening them which he probably is, that 's obviously not good. But if our elected members of congress and the senate can't uphold their oath to the constitution they need to resign or stop running for re-election. Make up an excuse. Say you want more time with the kids or grandkids. Give democracy a chance to elect someone that isn't afraid to do their job. I hope the Iowa crowd does get primaried because that would make democrats' chances better to win in a general. After two years of Trump the landscape will likely look much different.
I have never given much money to political causes as I've never had much money to give. However, I have been a political activist and contributed in other ways which my aging body no longer allows. I have been thinking for some time that a lot of people are unable to speak up for fear of upsetting others or even losing their own lives. Yesterday a friend posted that no-one was reacting to her concerns about this and feared she was speaking to the choir. I posted a response that many are afraid to let anyone know and immediately got responses thanking me. If one can do nothing else we can applaud the choir.
Huge +1 to all this, especially the part about cutting the Donor Industrial Complex out of the equation. Now is not the time for the left to be spamming people with texts (and ads!) for more money. It's the time for action on a local level. it is time for real talk, and pushback. It's time for all of us to remember that "facts tell, stories sell." The right has wielded this masterfully. Now it's our turn to use it for good.
Fear is so powerful and pervasive. I fervently hope enough of us can gather our courage and fight for our republic as you have laid out for us. As always, thank you for the leadership, the plan and your bravery in sharing it.
As always, you are completely right. I recall Mitt Romney commenting on the abject fear in the eyes of his Republican Senate colleagues for their own and their family's safety. He explained that few had the personal resources to hire their own security as he could. I suspect Sen Ernst knows better, but she is simply scared. Or, I could be wrong, and she has absorbed the right wing propaganda entirely into her psyche. Many have, or perhaps the veneer of decency has simply been discarded.
And you are also entirely correct, that we cannot wait until 2026. In fact, I worry it is already too late to save the country we thought existed. I also have the nagging worry that we are in the midst of a sort of historical epoch, a civiization shift, during which there is mass confusion and the emerging world in unknowable. While there are always historic parallels, every such disruption is different. There seem today so many fellow Americans totally bought into destroying the post-WWII world. I cannot help but see them as just ignorant and mean, and they are proud of it. A dark view though it is, I'm not sure I am mistaken.
I don't care if Phoni Joni is scared/afraid. She has a job to do & that is to represent her constituents. She is failing spectacularly. So much for 'combat reddiness '. Emphasis on the red.
Thoughtful and motivational, thank you both. "The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference." Words of Elie Wiesel, who spoke in 1998 at the Levitt Lecture, Hancher,
A call to arms? Apparently. I love passion. Even old guys can summon passion if you piss us off. Take off the gloves, you say? Sure. But where and what ring is the struggle taking place? Trump is a master politician. He knows bait and switch like no other. The fact of the matter is that the man won the election. The democrats had so much money and did not change hearts or minds. Heck, right now on TV, some ad's are running to contact Nunn and Meeks to block the confirmation of RFK Jr. Really? Neither Nunn nor Meeks are Senators. And they don't vote! Geezz. Where is the strategy, the leaders. Ann Applebaum is correct in her summation of the crisis in front of us. John F Kennedy wrote Profiles in Courage. The book should be mandatory reading by ALL elected officials and politicians.
Thomas, do you have any more information about those ads? Thanks.
Bob when they come on, I have tried to look at small print, but the ad is short and pretty quick. Could be coming from a direction other than national democratic committee. It feels wrong. People are going to tune it out or pay never mind. It insults my intelligence for the reason that the Senate confirms, not house members.
Yes. They are burning money. You might remember I wrote this about the topic. https://rleonard.substack.com/p/ernst-grassley-miller-meeks-hinson
Bob and Matt, I recommend you invite the new DNC chair to a podcast or chat. I urge that some critics of the Party be included. I remain unconvinced the new chair will take on issues of strategy and meat, including pushing our elected officials at federal and state levels.
I have been in contact with the federal delegation.
I recommend holding a contest to share the most interesting, humorous or illuminating response from a federal official. So far, the responses I received are bland and unresponsive.
Thanks Ralph!
I have done as you suggested ; contacted the national Dems to aske them to mobilize resistance now, not wait for political action in the next election.
We shall see if they stop the endless requests for $ and instead mobilize young people to act. I unfortunately, can no longer march or otherwise physically protest and my funds may be even more limited if SS and Medicare are comprised!! Thanks for your proactive ideas>
Thanks Jean!
You recommend some very useful tactics, but as an original Woodstock attendee, your strategies are likely to fall very short. What needs to happen now is that every person upset with their personal information being stolen by an unelected citizen who is raiding Federal agencies, is to call the Washington DC police and demand that they do something to stop the looting. Let’s see, you have 5,000 + subscribers? Just imagine if every one of us made a call. That’s how you rock the boat, not waiting for the biased Supreme Court to intervene and make a ruling in their favor. This is a con game and so far they are winning, but it doesn’t have to end up that way.
As you mentioned, the Court route will be slow, perhaps too slow. Concerned citizens, if they are concerned, need to take action today. Why? Because it may be the last time they have a chance to save our democracy. If that isn’t enough of a reason, then maybe they should start reading about what it will be like as a citizen under a fascist regime run by megalomaniacs (leaders who have a delusion of unbridled power).
Think this: very little freedom to think on your own and do as you like, no Medicare, no Social Security, no free speech and no life as you know it now. If that’s not enough of a reason to protect you and your family, then you better get ready for very impoverished dire times ahead.
Washington DC Metro Police Headquarters: 202-727-4218 or United States Capitol Police: Hotline: 866-906-2446 or you can call the Identity Theft or Fraud Report section of the Metropolitan Police Department’s Financial Crimes Unit from outside the DC area at: 202-265-9100. What do you say? Tell them you have been watching the news and fear that your personal information had been stolen by Elon Musk and the Trump administration. You want to know what they are going to do about it.
Thanks much Billy! Great idea.
If Trump is blackmailing or threatening them which he probably is, that 's obviously not good. But if our elected members of congress and the senate can't uphold their oath to the constitution they need to resign or stop running for re-election. Make up an excuse. Say you want more time with the kids or grandkids. Give democracy a chance to elect someone that isn't afraid to do their job. I hope the Iowa crowd does get primaried because that would make democrats' chances better to win in a general. After two years of Trump the landscape will likely look much different.
“…Also, do Trump loyalists have knowledge of Senators’ personal lives that may compromise them if made public? “
Try looking in those boxes in the bathroom at Mar-a-Lago
I have never given much money to political causes as I've never had much money to give. However, I have been a political activist and contributed in other ways which my aging body no longer allows. I have been thinking for some time that a lot of people are unable to speak up for fear of upsetting others or even losing their own lives. Yesterday a friend posted that no-one was reacting to her concerns about this and feared she was speaking to the choir. I posted a response that many are afraid to let anyone know and immediately got responses thanking me. If one can do nothing else we can applaud the choir.
Love it. “Applaud the choir.” Thanks Helen.
Huge +1 to all this, especially the part about cutting the Donor Industrial Complex out of the equation. Now is not the time for the left to be spamming people with texts (and ads!) for more money. It's the time for action on a local level. it is time for real talk, and pushback. It's time for all of us to remember that "facts tell, stories sell." The right has wielded this masterfully. Now it's our turn to use it for good.
Fear is so powerful and pervasive. I fervently hope enough of us can gather our courage and fight for our republic as you have laid out for us. As always, thank you for the leadership, the plan and your bravery in sharing it.
Thank you Virginia!
As always, you are completely right. I recall Mitt Romney commenting on the abject fear in the eyes of his Republican Senate colleagues for their own and their family's safety. He explained that few had the personal resources to hire their own security as he could. I suspect Sen Ernst knows better, but she is simply scared. Or, I could be wrong, and she has absorbed the right wing propaganda entirely into her psyche. Many have, or perhaps the veneer of decency has simply been discarded.
And you are also entirely correct, that we cannot wait until 2026. In fact, I worry it is already too late to save the country we thought existed. I also have the nagging worry that we are in the midst of a sort of historical epoch, a civiization shift, during which there is mass confusion and the emerging world in unknowable. While there are always historic parallels, every such disruption is different. There seem today so many fellow Americans totally bought into destroying the post-WWII world. I cannot help but see them as just ignorant and mean, and they are proud of it. A dark view though it is, I'm not sure I am mistaken.
I don't care if Phoni Joni is scared/afraid. She has a job to do & that is to represent her constituents. She is failing spectacularly. So much for 'combat reddiness '. Emphasis on the red.
I think you are spot on Scott. As always, thanks for your insights.
There is still time. But we are deciding right now whether that time line is in weeks or in years or in generations.
Thoughtful and motivational, thank you both. "The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference." Words of Elie Wiesel, who spoke in 1998 at the Levitt Lecture, Hancher,
University of Iowa.