I'm an old white cis male. I stand with diversity in all its forms. This means that by definition, I must reject the politics and attitudes of many in my demographic. I do this gladly. And loudly. The few people in my demographic who feel the same way need to join this fight by loudly proclaiming a zero tolerance policy toward the backward thinkers that dominate our demographic.
I'm not new to this fight, sadly. I really thought the tide was turning when Obama won. I, too, had tears in my eyes on that day from the joy of seeing him win. I have to say, despite my background, I did not, in a million years, expect this backlash against that wonderful day.
I won't, in a million years, give up on this fight, either. If they win, they will have to kill me to shut me up. And they just might. Because if they win, I'm just gonna get louder.
I'm well past menopause and yes, getting into my final decades and I DO reject the politics of many not only in my own demographic (especially the women--what in Jane Hill are those ladies thinking when they pull that lever for Trump??? He has to be one of the most misogynistic cranks in the country) but also of my rural-dwelling, conspiracy-network-radio- listening fellow North country residents. I wear a prominent "Life is better with Democracy" tee shirts when I shop; I write letters to the editor and to my state and federal elected officials...I try to convince acquaintances who have gone down the rabbit hole to back out, with kind and gentle questions and comparisons and "for instance"s.
But what I have done the most is phonebank and write postcards. I hope our efforts yield the best gift of all: a blue wave the likes of which have never been seen in this country before.
I have lost track of how many postcards I have written. I am probably averaging about 50 a week. I don’t have the financial means for that kind of support, but I do what I can.
Good on you, Judy. We can’t give up now; it’s now or never. I do what I can; not so easy for me to write postcards these days. Send me some form of contact and I’ll send you money for postage for 500 more.
💕. You are awesome. I am beginning to sense that more people are paying attention. I think the more that happens, the better the chances for that blue wave.
We really need more like you (and I, old white cis female) to be loud and proud before November. Though I do know many old white cis males that just can't stomach trump or what trumpism has brought and are of the same mind as you and I. I honestly don't think some people know how bad it is, I don't think they realize the amound of corruption or what a second trump presidency truly means. I'm in it to the bitter end myself!
I know some, too, because I tend to gravitate towards people who have a positive outlook on life, and people have always generally tended toward the Democratic side of things. But the stats are powerful reminders that we are a bit of an island. The majority of all whites, not a specific economic, age, or educational level of whites, but whites across ALL categories, voted for Trump in 2020, even after all we knew about him.
I work part-time as a cashier at Lowe’s, and I have a button on my vest that says that (along with the LGBTQIA colors). The one next to it says “she, her.” The one on the other shoulder is a Human Rights Campaign heart with the rainbow flag colors that says “United together against hate.” I’m in Salem, OR, and work in a suburb. OR is a blue state, but there’s a lot of MAGA here as well. Not one of them has dared say anything (yet) about my buttons. Or they may not notice them.
I'm an old white cis female, and I feel exactly as you do. I cannot believe the hateful, fascist, racist, misogynistic poison coming from the Republican party.
Another old white cis male pitching in here ... I don't ever want to think my military service (in Vietnam) and decades of public service (various U.S. govt. jobs) was for nought -- the blinkered and greedy simply cannot be allowed to prevail, and if I have anything to do with it, they shall NOT. Loud and proud right with ya!
Reading your piece today, together with Heather Cox Richardson's, is a powerful indictment of our national situation.
I have taken to calling myself an "election denier." Naturally that raises eyebrows. I explain it as follows: Any member of our government who won their own election in 2020 but denies Biden's electoral victory cast using the same ballot has declared their own victory illegitimate, their own election rigged, and have by their own words abdicated their position.
Guess it's time for California, Washington, and New York to repeal their laws that prevent partisan Gerrymandering. And No, I'm not going to listen to "but we're suppose to be better than them." Sorry, you don't bring a knife to a gun fight. One of the reasons we're in this mess is we follow "rules" that republicans abandoned long ago. Seriously, Senator Durbin is STILL allowing the "blue slip" practice for selection of Judges.
This gunfight/knife fight is getting serious. The rethugs are determined to impose their will on everyone and that will not be pretty. Not wanting to be in a concentration camp, I am looking at what I could do. I do think that if we hold on in November, they will push for a partition of the country. Rather than act shocked at that point, we need a lot of smart people thinking about how that would be accomplished. We do not need a massacre as in the Civil War. A negotiated settlement would be the best of all worlds. Let them find out what life in the Republic of Gilead would be like... with no way to back out when they find out.
There are too many shared water resources to think about a partition, and I have to think even these idiots know that. The Rio Grande system alone is shared by New Mexico, a blue state, and Texas, a red state, along with Mexico:
There are many others. The idea of partitioning a country as diverse as the U.S., with all its shared resources, will never be able to take on any practical life. Combine that reality with the fact that even in Southern states you have big, blue islands like Dallas, Austin, Atlanta, and Birmingham. And in northern states, you have big rural red areas like Central and Southern Illinois.
The problem is there is no real thought on that side. It is just 'reaction' as in reactionary politics. Some of them were willing to commit violence last time. They have had 4 years of being propagandized and enculted to buy more weapons and develop plans of their own... If a divorce is necessary, we have to get our house in order and be ready to come to the table with demands of our own.
In your dreams, Charles. This is not a contingent that will respect anything on a .gov website. You sound like a German Jew in 1937. We have history as our guide; we’d be wise to learn it.
Yep, let the Court say that some state can impose its version of Christian Sharia law on its citizens--and watch what happens to the economy of the state as every business that think that sucks pulls out. Including those with Christian employees who don't subscribe to the form of religion enacted.
Nah, the state will just claim that a business leaving it is engaged in "persecution" of Christians and make it illegal to leave.
“The only way that the GOP can hope in the end to hang on to power is either to cheat through gerrymandering and voter suppression, or to reject the outcome of the election entirely.”
It never occurs to Republicans that perhaps if they had policies that were popular with actual people, they wouldn’t have to cheat or deny election results.
But then again they’d have to actually govern. Do the work. And it’s best to just complain and cheat.
A lot of people have talked about Orwell’s 1984 in the context of the MAGA crowd and Trump but I haven’t seen much mention of Orwell’s Animal Farm and it bears revisiting, particularly in light of the behavior of the Supreme Court and the extremists in the house as well as the filibusters in the Senate the are stopping military appointments and as Jay says here The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. Some animals are indeed more equal than others.
Sam Alito, the latter-day Roger Taney...I mean, CJ Roberts assigned the POS to write the majority opinion already! No, racially-based gerrymandering is NOT racially-based gerrymandering if one imputes "good faith" to legislation doing just that, but calling it "partisan political" gerrymandering. Oh, and if plaintiffs don't bring an "alternate reapportionment map", don't bother showing up and wasting our valuable time here...brutal, just brutal. And don't get me started on the Thomas opinion...grrrr!
Lance, this opinion reminds me of the poster I had in the sixties showing a bunch of good old boy cops smirking and laughing. The caption was "Support your local police." I don't think I need to explain.
It’s very hard to keep the faith when such egregious opinions are handed down. And I, too, was aghast that Thomas wrote one of them. Actually both he and Alito should be ashamed of themselves and step down from the Court.
The Republicans will be pulling out all the stops to get Trump installed. A lot of people spent millions and will spend more for that outcome. They will be expecting returns on their investment. I can't help but remember 2000 when SCOTUS installed Shrub Jr. Do we even have a democracy if a free and fair election can be overturned by partisan hacks???
I’ve said for years that was pretty much the end of our democracy, and people were starting to wake up that first year too…then 9/11 happened and we were told to STFU. Look where that got us, and look what’s currently happening on behalf of a country run by another corrupt installed criminal “leader”…under the guise of “anti-terrorism”
I thought that when Ford pardoned Nixon. It was a cowardly move not to prosecute him. That led to Reagan interfering in his race against Carter🤬 He did it because he knew he could get away with it and he did.
I remember that day well. We probably wouldn't be in this mess if Ford had the spine to hold Nixon accountable. The last Republican president that wasn't a criminal was Eisenhower.
Nixon.
Reagan.
Shrub Sr.
Shrub Jr.
Trump.
All have gotten away with their crimes.
And they call themselves the party of law and order🙄
But “their” republic is already no republic. Is is called a dictatorship. Just to put things straight forward. And thinking that tens of millions may still vote to be enslaved and screwed makes me sick. They know what von trump wants. He wrote it. A herd of moron smiling sheeps going to the slaughterhouse. That’s totally bonkers.
That is exactly right. My stepfather and mother were rabid Republicans and deeply misogynistic, racist, evilangelical bigots. My stepfather belonged to the local Klan chapter. Both were more than happy to deny themselves social services and even their Constitutional rights if it meant “none of those ‘others’ (insert every racist name for every group not white) don’t get any either”. They were truly happy being this hateful to other human beings.
At this point, out job has moved beyond bearing witness to the rot; indeed, we must lay down the historical record, a task that experts are attending to with exceptional capability and dedication. But now we must also move towards a collective response, must become proactive instead of reactive, must start to anticipate and mitigate, not simply respond and lament.
Must we acquiesce to this Supreme Court that is now undeniably, openly, menacingly off the rails?
By now we well understand the objectives of the extremists, and can presume all actions on their end to be in support of their mission. It is time we stop just frantically cataloging all the madness while we exhaust pencil lead and lose sleep. We lament the possible decrement of the ballot box but what are we doing about it? What is our contingency?
In our fever dream Trump succumbs to his neurosyphilis and everyone awakens from their fascist slumber and we emerge a stronger nation, but, come on.....Congress and the Supreme Court are taunting us with their appetite for audacious villainy, boot- kicking the chess board while we deliberate over shuffling our knight or rook.
When do we say enough, dust ourselves off, squint against the sun and get out there? Who will lead and who will stand together? Does anyone have many substantive and actionable thoughts?
Thank you!! I was just coming here to say that we need direct action. We know what their plans are. We know what they're going to do. So the big question is: how do we prevent it?
Yes, and I think we need to move beyond the theoretical.... and transfer some eggs out of the voting basket, given the obvious efforts to suppress the vote and doctor the electoral landscape. We need someone well versed in organizing, we need to leverage our majority in effective and applied measures- whether that looks like rallies, strikes, coordinated demonstrations throughout the country- do we all camp outside of Alito's home until he agrees to step down, how do we learn from the courageous activists who dared stand up- in their names we must follow suit- hopeful someone experienced in these elements can weigh in.
YES! We need coordinated efforts across the country! I'm in Texas, so we're pretty downtrodden here, but it'd be nice to have specific actions people can do. We've tried rallies and protests but our "leaders" ignore us. What's next?
Welp, a couple of observations on your well written , albeit scary, post of today.
1. The Louisana la is likely unconstitutional under the doctrine of preemption as well as violative of the Interstate Commerce Clause of CONSTUS;
2. This is the scary thing: Neither POTUS candidate may reach 270 electoral votes, and the election will revert to the house, where each state gets one vote. Since the majority of state legislatures are Republican controlled, Trump wins.
Dems need to get going in swing states and get out the voters !
Yes, this is the strategy behind the RFK Jr. run - or, at least it was until polling showed he was more likely to draw votes from Trump, since most of the conspiracy-minded voters who flock to him are the same who flocked to Trump's conspiracies.
The fact that Schumer and Durbin want to decorum us into a dictatorship pisses me off to no end. Schumer should've gotten rid of the filibuster as soon as Democrats took over, and Durbin is useless. This is all so much bullshit, we're drowning in it. Shame on all of them.
As to offing the filibuster at that time, Manchin and Sinema made it clear that their votes were not available for that, so the idea was as much a non-starter as it ever was.
As I've mentioned in several places, just what does Alito think the word "abridge" means in the 15th Amendment? If a minority voters vote is made inoperable for any reason by means of gerrymander, political or racist, how is that not "abridgement?"
And as I've also noted: The really scary thing for me is how Alito sets up a "new rule" that lets him nominate himself as the trier of fact in a case where the court that heard the testimony has decided that one side is more credible than the other. So he goes on and on about how accepting the expert witnesses testimony is "clear error" because, well, he "don' WIKE what they say."
Read the Forward of the Project 2025 Mandate and you will learn all you need to know about the "new" republican Party ... the MAGA party ..... If you take this document at face value, the USA will disappear if Trump gets in for his second term. This piece of trash should be re-titled to "Mein Kampf."
But it was Trump that gave them their voice. He invited them to come out from under their rocks and join his cult. And now MAGA is so wide spread that there are others being groomed to become the new "Adolf" when the Orange Dude crashes .....
I have three things to say about your three things, Jay. One, I invite every woman in a red state who's fed up with right-wing nonsense to come to California. We're not perfect but we will have your back. Two, how about minorities moving into other districts so that every area is mixed? Obviously that's not so easy but I'm asking a what if question here. And three, how stupid do these MAGA jokers think we are? Heads I win tails you lose? Talk about gaslighting. Well I have news for them: we're not stupid and just try it. (As you can tell I am in a fighting mood this morning, partly because my husband's employer has been missing payrolls, making excuses, and generally screwing up people's lives, including their health insurance. I am so fed up I am seriously considering becoming a socialist.)
Our health care should never be tied to any job! It’s a problem for so many. Sorry your are in this situation. Some very good things happen when “socialists” take care of people.
Thank you, Peggy. We are okay healthcare-wise because my husband has Medicare, but he's the only one. Everyone else has been forced to go onto COBRA. I agree with you about socialism.
CA is beautiful and I've always enjoyed my visits there. However, I am here in Tennessee.....yowza, right? It's beautiful here and we are stuck for the near future as my 86 yr old mother lives on our property. But, we do think of where else to go. Despite the beauty of Tennessee and our country property, it's red hades here and we just don't fit.
There are some beautiful places in this country. Unfortunately the physical beauty isn't the only consideration. We definitely have our problems but I believe we're better off than red states. You are welcome here any time! 😀
And you are kind, thank you. And I know there are many beautiful places in the land we love but we do treasure our piece of paradise and the privacy it affords. Who knows where we will end up but it won't be here forever.
Those women can also come to Michigan. With the state of things right now I'm very happy I am here, dealing with things on both national and state level seems daunting and I'm too old ;)
I'm an old white cis male. I stand with diversity in all its forms. This means that by definition, I must reject the politics and attitudes of many in my demographic. I do this gladly. And loudly. The few people in my demographic who feel the same way need to join this fight by loudly proclaiming a zero tolerance policy toward the backward thinkers that dominate our demographic.
I'm not new to this fight, sadly. I really thought the tide was turning when Obama won. I, too, had tears in my eyes on that day from the joy of seeing him win. I have to say, despite my background, I did not, in a million years, expect this backlash against that wonderful day.
I won't, in a million years, give up on this fight, either. If they win, they will have to kill me to shut me up. And they just might. Because if they win, I'm just gonna get louder.
This old, white cis woman stands with you to the bitter end, Charles!!
Same! ✌️
Yay! :-)
Me too!
Me too!!
I'm well past menopause and yes, getting into my final decades and I DO reject the politics of many not only in my own demographic (especially the women--what in Jane Hill are those ladies thinking when they pull that lever for Trump??? He has to be one of the most misogynistic cranks in the country) but also of my rural-dwelling, conspiracy-network-radio- listening fellow North country residents. I wear a prominent "Life is better with Democracy" tee shirts when I shop; I write letters to the editor and to my state and federal elected officials...I try to convince acquaintances who have gone down the rabbit hole to back out, with kind and gentle questions and comparisons and "for instance"s.
But what I have done the most is phonebank and write postcards. I hope our efforts yield the best gift of all: a blue wave the likes of which have never been seen in this country before.
I have lost track of how many postcards I have written. I am probably averaging about 50 a week. I don’t have the financial means for that kind of support, but I do what I can.
Good on you, Judy. We can’t give up now; it’s now or never. I do what I can; not so easy for me to write postcards these days. Send me some form of contact and I’ll send you money for postage for 500 more.
That is so incredibly generous of you - thank you so much, but the costs are subsidized by a local group.
💕. You are awesome. I am beginning to sense that more people are paying attention. I think the more that happens, the better the chances for that blue wave.
We really need more like you (and I, old white cis female) to be loud and proud before November. Though I do know many old white cis males that just can't stomach trump or what trumpism has brought and are of the same mind as you and I. I honestly don't think some people know how bad it is, I don't think they realize the amound of corruption or what a second trump presidency truly means. I'm in it to the bitter end myself!
I know some, too, because I tend to gravitate towards people who have a positive outlook on life, and people have always generally tended toward the Democratic side of things. But the stats are powerful reminders that we are a bit of an island. The majority of all whites, not a specific economic, age, or educational level of whites, but whites across ALL categories, voted for Trump in 2020, even after all we knew about him.
Well-said. I’m in your demographic and agree completely.
I’ve got a bumper sticker that I love - “Equal Rights for others doesn’t mean fewer rights for you. It’s not pie.” Sums things up nicely.
I work part-time as a cashier at Lowe’s, and I have a button on my vest that says that (along with the LGBTQIA colors). The one next to it says “she, her.” The one on the other shoulder is a Human Rights Campaign heart with the rainbow flag colors that says “United together against hate.” I’m in Salem, OR, and work in a suburb. OR is a blue state, but there’s a lot of MAGA here as well. Not one of them has dared say anything (yet) about my buttons. Or they may not notice them.
It's nice to come here and hang with others who feel like this, thanks
Jay has built an impressive community. It is nice to hear from other like-minded folks.
I'm an old white cis female, and I feel exactly as you do. I cannot believe the hateful, fascist, racist, misogynistic poison coming from the Republican party.
I have no intention of shutting up either.
Awesome. My sister is the same way. I'm very lucky my family is not infested with this strange virus.
Count me in Charles!
Officially counted. And since I come from Chicago, your vote counts twice!!
Same
Another old white cis male pitching in here ... I don't ever want to think my military service (in Vietnam) and decades of public service (various U.S. govt. jobs) was for nought -- the blinkered and greedy simply cannot be allowed to prevail, and if I have anything to do with it, they shall NOT. Loud and proud right with ya!
Thanks! And thanks for your service!
Same here (woman, though).
Reading your piece today, together with Heather Cox Richardson's, is a powerful indictment of our national situation.
I have taken to calling myself an "election denier." Naturally that raises eyebrows. I explain it as follows: Any member of our government who won their own election in 2020 but denies Biden's electoral victory cast using the same ballot has declared their own victory illegitimate, their own election rigged, and have by their own words abdicated their position.
Exactly right, Douglas.
Guess it's time for California, Washington, and New York to repeal their laws that prevent partisan Gerrymandering. And No, I'm not going to listen to "but we're suppose to be better than them." Sorry, you don't bring a knife to a gun fight. One of the reasons we're in this mess is we follow "rules" that republicans abandoned long ago. Seriously, Senator Durbin is STILL allowing the "blue slip" practice for selection of Judges.
This gunfight/knife fight is getting serious. The rethugs are determined to impose their will on everyone and that will not be pretty. Not wanting to be in a concentration camp, I am looking at what I could do. I do think that if we hold on in November, they will push for a partition of the country. Rather than act shocked at that point, we need a lot of smart people thinking about how that would be accomplished. We do not need a massacre as in the Civil War. A negotiated settlement would be the best of all worlds. Let them find out what life in the Republic of Gilead would be like... with no way to back out when they find out.
There are too many shared water resources to think about a partition, and I have to think even these idiots know that. The Rio Grande system alone is shared by New Mexico, a blue state, and Texas, a red state, along with Mexico:
https://www.usbr.gov/projects/index.php?id=397
There are many others. The idea of partitioning a country as diverse as the U.S., with all its shared resources, will never be able to take on any practical life. Combine that reality with the fact that even in Southern states you have big, blue islands like Dallas, Austin, Atlanta, and Birmingham. And in northern states, you have big rural red areas like Central and Southern Illinois.
It's just not a realistic prospect at any level.
Texas is already whipping up their crazies to secede. Best to have a thoughtful plan in place , just in case.
Oh, I thought about this back in June, 2021 (free link):
https://medium.com/politically-speaking/a-tour-through-the-republic-of-texas-in-2032-3d7a521b28d9?sk=97ab990c22ac45ffbf56cf6074de5051
The problem is there is no real thought on that side. It is just 'reaction' as in reactionary politics. Some of them were willing to commit violence last time. They have had 4 years of being propagandized and enculted to buy more weapons and develop plans of their own... If a divorce is necessary, we have to get our house in order and be ready to come to the table with demands of our own.
In your dreams, Charles. This is not a contingent that will respect anything on a .gov website. You sound like a German Jew in 1937. We have history as our guide; we’d be wise to learn it.
Yep, let the Court say that some state can impose its version of Christian Sharia law on its citizens--and watch what happens to the economy of the state as every business that think that sucks pulls out. Including those with Christian employees who don't subscribe to the form of religion enacted.
Nah, the state will just claim that a business leaving it is engaged in "persecution" of Christians and make it illegal to leave.
Are you attacking Senator Dickless Durbin? But he seems like such a nice man.
😝😡♐️♐️♊️
He is, I've met him several times (He's my senator). But he's not very good at fighting fire with fire.
Thus, he is not useful in an existential battle with the forces of evil.
Well, at least as Judiciary Chairman, no he's not.
Durbin is a disgrace. He REALLY needs to be replaced. Put someone with a spine in charge of that committee.
What is the blue slip?
Any Senator can hold up a nomination indefinitely, without a vote. Think Tuberville with the military promotions fiasco earlier.
“The only way that the GOP can hope in the end to hang on to power is either to cheat through gerrymandering and voter suppression, or to reject the outcome of the election entirely.”
It never occurs to Republicans that perhaps if they had policies that were popular with actual people, they wouldn’t have to cheat or deny election results.
But then again they’d have to actually govern. Do the work. And it’s best to just complain and cheat.
A lot of people have talked about Orwell’s 1984 in the context of the MAGA crowd and Trump but I haven’t seen much mention of Orwell’s Animal Farm and it bears revisiting, particularly in light of the behavior of the Supreme Court and the extremists in the house as well as the filibusters in the Senate the are stopping military appointments and as Jay says here The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. Some animals are indeed more equal than others.
Wow, I have had that exact thought. Thank you for posting it. Watch out for the pigs.
Sam Alito, the latter-day Roger Taney...I mean, CJ Roberts assigned the POS to write the majority opinion already! No, racially-based gerrymandering is NOT racially-based gerrymandering if one imputes "good faith" to legislation doing just that, but calling it "partisan political" gerrymandering. Oh, and if plaintiffs don't bring an "alternate reapportionment map", don't bother showing up and wasting our valuable time here...brutal, just brutal. And don't get me started on the Thomas opinion...grrrr!
Lance, this opinion reminds me of the poster I had in the sixties showing a bunch of good old boy cops smirking and laughing. The caption was "Support your local police." I don't think I need to explain.
This is the poster from my youth that best exemplifies our current situation'
https://displate.com/displate/7236328?productType=matte&ctrc=US&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw9cCyBhBzEiwAJTUWNWdP5k3gnp9Ln_lIl-JulfZdEnuyIkqtH9shW_iSl45p8c7IqdbDYBoCtJcQAvD_BwE&et_uk=4eb765d2ea984d98930cad709c39146b&et_gk=NWM1M2IyZDQ3MTkzNGUzNjljMzRiYTQ5YTBjZmU0NjUlN0MyMy4wNy4yMDI0KzE4JTNBMDklM0EyMA
I remember that one.
I remember that now that you bring it up.
Unfortunately nothing has changed.
It is like destructive waves that are eroding the sands on the beach.
It’s very hard to keep the faith when such egregious opinions are handed down. And I, too, was aghast that Thomas wrote one of them. Actually both he and Alito should be ashamed of themselves and step down from the Court.
They have zero shame, and they are celebrated for it.
As should Roberts.
The Republicans will be pulling out all the stops to get Trump installed. A lot of people spent millions and will spend more for that outcome. They will be expecting returns on their investment. I can't help but remember 2000 when SCOTUS installed Shrub Jr. Do we even have a democracy if a free and fair election can be overturned by partisan hacks???
I’ve said for years that was pretty much the end of our democracy, and people were starting to wake up that first year too…then 9/11 happened and we were told to STFU. Look where that got us, and look what’s currently happening on behalf of a country run by another corrupt installed criminal “leader”…under the guise of “anti-terrorism”
I thought that when Ford pardoned Nixon. It was a cowardly move not to prosecute him. That led to Reagan interfering in his race against Carter🤬 He did it because he knew he could get away with it and he did.
Yup, definitely an important, horrifying moment in our country too.
I remember that day well. We probably wouldn't be in this mess if Ford had the spine to hold Nixon accountable. The last Republican president that wasn't a criminal was Eisenhower.
Nixon.
Reagan.
Shrub Sr.
Shrub Jr.
Trump.
All have gotten away with their crimes.
And they call themselves the party of law and order🙄
But “their” republic is already no republic. Is is called a dictatorship. Just to put things straight forward. And thinking that tens of millions may still vote to be enslaved and screwed makes me sick. They know what von trump wants. He wrote it. A herd of moron smiling sheeps going to the slaughterhouse. That’s totally bonkers.
Well, not all are “moron smiling sheeps”. They agree with every despicable act.
Yep. They're not being duped. This infliction if pain on others is precisely what they want, even if - perversely - it ultimately hurts them.
That is exactly right. My stepfather and mother were rabid Republicans and deeply misogynistic, racist, evilangelical bigots. My stepfather belonged to the local Klan chapter. Both were more than happy to deny themselves social services and even their Constitutional rights if it meant “none of those ‘others’ (insert every racist name for every group not white) don’t get any either”. They were truly happy being this hateful to other human beings.
At this point, out job has moved beyond bearing witness to the rot; indeed, we must lay down the historical record, a task that experts are attending to with exceptional capability and dedication. But now we must also move towards a collective response, must become proactive instead of reactive, must start to anticipate and mitigate, not simply respond and lament.
Must we acquiesce to this Supreme Court that is now undeniably, openly, menacingly off the rails?
By now we well understand the objectives of the extremists, and can presume all actions on their end to be in support of their mission. It is time we stop just frantically cataloging all the madness while we exhaust pencil lead and lose sleep. We lament the possible decrement of the ballot box but what are we doing about it? What is our contingency?
In our fever dream Trump succumbs to his neurosyphilis and everyone awakens from their fascist slumber and we emerge a stronger nation, but, come on.....Congress and the Supreme Court are taunting us with their appetite for audacious villainy, boot- kicking the chess board while we deliberate over shuffling our knight or rook.
When do we say enough, dust ourselves off, squint against the sun and get out there? Who will lead and who will stand together? Does anyone have many substantive and actionable thoughts?
Thank you!! I was just coming here to say that we need direct action. We know what their plans are. We know what they're going to do. So the big question is: how do we prevent it?
Yes, and I think we need to move beyond the theoretical.... and transfer some eggs out of the voting basket, given the obvious efforts to suppress the vote and doctor the electoral landscape. We need someone well versed in organizing, we need to leverage our majority in effective and applied measures- whether that looks like rallies, strikes, coordinated demonstrations throughout the country- do we all camp outside of Alito's home until he agrees to step down, how do we learn from the courageous activists who dared stand up- in their names we must follow suit- hopeful someone experienced in these elements can weigh in.
YES! We need coordinated efforts across the country! I'm in Texas, so we're pretty downtrodden here, but it'd be nice to have specific actions people can do. We've tried rallies and protests but our "leaders" ignore us. What's next?
Large scale civil disobedience
Welp, a couple of observations on your well written , albeit scary, post of today.
1. The Louisana la is likely unconstitutional under the doctrine of preemption as well as violative of the Interstate Commerce Clause of CONSTUS;
2. This is the scary thing: Neither POTUS candidate may reach 270 electoral votes, and the election will revert to the house, where each state gets one vote. Since the majority of state legislatures are Republican controlled, Trump wins.
Dems need to get going in swing states and get out the voters !
As regards point number two, I think that is the strategy.
Yes, this is the strategy behind the RFK Jr. run - or, at least it was until polling showed he was more likely to draw votes from Trump, since most of the conspiracy-minded voters who flock to him are the same who flocked to Trump's conspiracies.
The fact that Schumer and Durbin want to decorum us into a dictatorship pisses me off to no end. Schumer should've gotten rid of the filibuster as soon as Democrats took over, and Durbin is useless. This is all so much bullshit, we're drowning in it. Shame on all of them.
As to offing the filibuster at that time, Manchin and Sinema made it clear that their votes were not available for that, so the idea was as much a non-starter as it ever was.
As I've mentioned in several places, just what does Alito think the word "abridge" means in the 15th Amendment? If a minority voters vote is made inoperable for any reason by means of gerrymander, political or racist, how is that not "abridgement?"
And as I've also noted: The really scary thing for me is how Alito sets up a "new rule" that lets him nominate himself as the trier of fact in a case where the court that heard the testimony has decided that one side is more credible than the other. So he goes on and on about how accepting the expert witnesses testimony is "clear error" because, well, he "don' WIKE what they say."
Read the Forward of the Project 2025 Mandate and you will learn all you need to know about the "new" republican Party ... the MAGA party ..... If you take this document at face value, the USA will disappear if Trump gets in for his second term. This piece of trash should be re-titled to "Mein Kampf."
Not just Trump. ANY REPUBLICAN anytime in the future.
But it was Trump that gave them their voice. He invited them to come out from under their rocks and join his cult. And now MAGA is so wide spread that there are others being groomed to become the new "Adolf" when the Orange Dude crashes .....
I have three things to say about your three things, Jay. One, I invite every woman in a red state who's fed up with right-wing nonsense to come to California. We're not perfect but we will have your back. Two, how about minorities moving into other districts so that every area is mixed? Obviously that's not so easy but I'm asking a what if question here. And three, how stupid do these MAGA jokers think we are? Heads I win tails you lose? Talk about gaslighting. Well I have news for them: we're not stupid and just try it. (As you can tell I am in a fighting mood this morning, partly because my husband's employer has been missing payrolls, making excuses, and generally screwing up people's lives, including their health insurance. I am so fed up I am seriously considering becoming a socialist.)
Our health care should never be tied to any job! It’s a problem for so many. Sorry your are in this situation. Some very good things happen when “socialists” take care of people.
Thank you, Peggy. We are okay healthcare-wise because my husband has Medicare, but he's the only one. Everyone else has been forced to go onto COBRA. I agree with you about socialism.
CA is beautiful and I've always enjoyed my visits there. However, I am here in Tennessee.....yowza, right? It's beautiful here and we are stuck for the near future as my 86 yr old mother lives on our property. But, we do think of where else to go. Despite the beauty of Tennessee and our country property, it's red hades here and we just don't fit.
There are some beautiful places in this country. Unfortunately the physical beauty isn't the only consideration. We definitely have our problems but I believe we're better off than red states. You are welcome here any time! 😀
And you are kind, thank you. And I know there are many beautiful places in the land we love but we do treasure our piece of paradise and the privacy it affords. Who knows where we will end up but it won't be here forever.
I hope you find a place that's right for you. 😀
Those women can also come to Michigan. With the state of things right now I'm very happy I am here, dealing with things on both national and state level seems daunting and I'm too old ;)
Illinois is another fine state with guaranteed women's health rights as well as LGBTQ+.
Texan here, pretty much at the end of her reproductive right. Can’t leave because of elderly relatives (and my own family) or I would.
Marthe, you are welcome here in SoCal any time. 😀
https://www.budget.senate.gov/chairman/newsroom/press/budget-finance-committees-launch-joint-investigation-into-donald-trumps-quid-pro-quo-offer-to-big-oil-