This is what worries me the most, what are they planning to steal this election. Let's face it trump isn't even trying to gain more voters, and has actively said he doesn't need them. Plus if you look at his poll numbers, he hasn't moved. Biden lost voters after the debate, but trump didn't gain any. Trumps support has maxed out. The GQP and their billionaire supporters are going to pull out all the stops, legal in illegal, to win this election. We have to be constantly vigilant to stop them.
I truly believe that trump has mostly maxed out however I do have a few, friends who weren't supporting him before and now "can't fathom voting for Harris". Fortunately within my circle I have gained more people flipping to support Harris than going to the dark side.
Well to be fair her comment is absolutely not racist, she just doesn't believe in Harris' "record". She has always been a "Demoncrats are bad for the economy" person and she doesn't think Harris can handle "the border, the wars, the safety of our country or be fiscally responsible". The fact she thought trump was good at any of it is beyond me but you can't beat sense into some people. I mean she honestly said when Biden won "Time to pull in my purse strings now that a Democrat is in charge". Yet she says she's not Republican. Really? Not buying it
Willfully ignorant. Sadly this describes MANY Fox Noise viewers. They've been trained to disbelieve ALL reputable news sources and swallow every lie, distortion, and "outrage of the day" that their thoughtmasters at Fox and other right-wing sites spew out. With so many right-wing sites spewing coordinated lies, these folks don't get any opposing viewpoints (i.e. truth) . . .
In better news, I hang out some in a baseball chat group and when Biden was the candidate there were a lot of the guys there (mostly barstool boys, if you know what I mean there) who were really bad mouthing the choice they were facing. I've been very surprised by the reaction toward Harris from quite a few of these guys, who normally rehash Republican talking points.
She's picking up votes from unexpected quarters because Trump and Vance are just so insane. A couple of guys even said, in one discussion, that if Kamala means an end to all the discord because it will end the MAGA movement, it was worth switching to the other side just this once.
The polls, which are inaccurate anyway, are not yet reflecting this dynamic.
Can you show her any of the facts? Biden has been better for the economy and also on immigrants from what I read. If you can find the facts and present them maybe that would help. She believes the lies right now
When Biden became president I showed her the evidence that notoriously Dems had better economies than Rs. I showed her how Obama didn't "destroy her retirement", how good his economy was. She didn't buy it then, she won't buy it now. Lost causes are lost causes and not worth my time anymore
I would ask a person not being able to vote for Harris: "obviously you have a reason for feeling that way {saying that...} do you mind if I ask what what it is? " Or, "can you help me understand why you feel that way?"
See my above response. I think when it truly boils down to it she wants an excuse to vote for trump, she's a "doesn't want him" person but I'm not sure she's ever voted Democrat in her life
Unfortunately, I have a couple of friends I suspect would go the dark side or just want to make it sound like they would just to get a reaction or of people. Yes, I know people who say and do things just for the joy of others’ reactions. Anyway, most people I know would rather for Harris than tempt fate with a second Trump turn.
I know way more on the Harris train now than the trump train. Several who voted for him twice who are now posting they are "with her" so I have good feelings
We have been reading about all of the creepy money and action going to try to purge voters from the rolls in Swing states and trying to also get election certifiers not to certify.
Well, I feel that their true name is The New American Nazi Party, not to be confused with the one we had during WWII. I call the AfD in Germany the New German Nazi Party. Fortunately in Germany I am not the only one doing that. At every democracy rally the comparison is made.
I think I see what you mean, Linda! And we of course have plenty of neo-nazis mixed into 'the Party formerly known as Republican', along with incels, garden-variety nuts, violent psychopaths and other assorted lovelies.
But OUR history here, right now anyway, is the Old South trying its idiot best to 'Rise Again.' If you have a moment, perhaps you will take a look here below and see what you think, it's from Wikipedia (The Caps are mine):
"Neo-Confederates are groups and individuals who portray the Confederate States of America and its actions during the American Civil War in a positive light.
The League of the South, the Sons of Confederate Veterans and other neo-Confederate organizations continue to defend the secession of the former Confederate States.
Historian James M. McPherson used the term "neo-Confederate historical committees" in his description of the efforts which were undertaken from 1890 to 1930 to have HISTORY TEXTBOOKS (sound familiar?) present a version of the American Civil War in which secession was not rebellion, the Confederacy DID NOT FIGHT FOR SLAVERY, and the Confederate soldier was defeated by overwhelming numbers and resources.[1]
Historian Nancy MacLean used the term "neo-Confederacy" in reference to groups, such as the Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission, that formed in the 1950s to OPPOSE the Supreme Court of the United States rulings demanding RACIAL INTEGRATION, in particular Brown v. Board of Education (1954).[2] Former Southern Partisan editor and co-owner Richard Quinn used the term when he referred to Richard T. Hines, former Southern Partisan contributor and Ronald Reagan administration staffer, as being "among the first neo-Confederates to resist efforts by the infidels to take down the Confederate Flag."[3]
An early use of the term came in 1954. In a book review, Leonard Levy (later a winner of the Pulitzer Prize for History in 1968) wrote: "Similar BLINDNESS TO THE MORAL ISSUE OF SLAVERY, plus a RESENTMENT AGAINST THE RISE OF THE NEGRO and modern industrialism, resulted in the neo-Confederate interpretation of Phillips, Ramsdell and Owsley."[4]
Historian Gary W. Gallagher stated in an interview that neo-Confederates do not want to hear him when he talks "about HOW IMPORTANT MAINTAINING RACIAL CONTROL, WHITE SUPREMACY, was to the white South."[5] He warns, however, that the term neo-Confederate can be overused, writing, "Any historian who argues that the Confederate people demonstrated ROBUST DEVOTION to their slave-based republic, possessed feelings of national community, and SACRIFICED MORE than any other segment of white society in United States history runs the risk of being labeled a neo-Confederate."[6]
Yes, Linda, it is indeed fortunate that the facts are kept straight at those rallies! There's a very steep - and jagged - hill just up ahead that we will be forced! to climb; but together, with the force of like-minded people, we will and must prevail over our respective evils.
I see it as a merging of the Neo-Confederates and Neo-Nazis. Both have similar goals, aims, and ideals. Both nauseate me. Neither should be allowed anywhere near a seat of power. Unfortunately, Trump and the Heritage Foundation provide both seats closer to power and control over this nation's direction. The worst part is that Trump's only in it for the money and he could care less about what they want as long as they support him. He's a psychopathic narcissistic opportunist.
Today Rossmann, a big chain drug store like store without the pharmacy here in Germany has announced that they are not. buying any more Teslas because of Elon Musk supporting Trump! Yay for them. I was talking about it with my German neighbor tonight. He says Europe is not prepared for a Trump presidency. I said, Germans should be reading Project 2025, and then discuss it with an American who has some idea of the subtext. In my Project 2025 book club we were discussing how innocuous things can seem if you do not know the subtext to it.
Yes, Hurray for Rossmann, standing up for what's right - and openly fighting The Musk: Wunderbar!!
And I think it's a great idea to spread the word/knowledge of P2025's true machinations.
Before Kamala, although a fairly optimistic person, I pretty much felt there was no real hope for decent people here, or at least not for a whole lot longer. Then came that beautiful sunshine ray!!
And I am SO very proud of this amazing Black woman. So proud, SO proud!
Yes, it's true, there has been some merging! We non-heavily-armed regular folks are in for the Fight of the Century. And in many cases it will probably turn out to be 'do or die'. I shudder...
Megan, I see where you are coming from. I do see the old South trying to rise again, even though there is a new South too. I am more familiar with modern German history, than Southern, although I do know racist history as well. I see the parallels. I am thinking of Prof. Kathleen Belew's book, Bring the War Home: The White Power Movement and Paramilitary America. She ties the White militia movement to the Vietnam War vets returning and not feeling like they got the job done to get rid of "Socialism" because they were brought home too soon. They formed militias with other White Supremacist groups and formed a strategy which we see in evidence today. She says that they joined at some point with White Christian Nationalists who shared many of the same values, although not necessarily the violence. It might stem from these "neo-Confederate groups," but that which smacks of what Hitler did is where he laid all the problems of post World War I German at the feet of the Jews, and now these MAGA leadership and members are laying it all at the feet of immigrants and just like the Germans, many people who should know better are believing the lies and worrying about the country being taken overrun by illegal immigrants. That is even though immigrants and their descendants make up a lot of this country. Just as Hitler's girlfriend, then wife Eva Braun might have had a Jewish grandparent, Trump's children have immigrant mom's but that is not what he means. I feel that we can use both historical periods to examine the elements that look like what we are seeing now. History does not repeat itself exactly, but as soon as lessons are forgotten is when we are not able to examine what is going on properly. I am glad that we are part of a movement that seems to be growing to take back Freedom and not in the way the Project 2025 defines it as Freedom for the White Christian Nationalist minority to impose their will on everyone in this country as they have been doing for a long time now. At least since Reagan was president.
Thank you also for teaching me several things I didn't know.
I love to learn, and I'm definitely going to get that book by Belew to which you refer.
It's of course more important to listen than talk, ha, and I welcome this new knowledge - which is of course Power.
We're going to need all the strengths and powers we can possibly muster, and then some. Their brand of virulent, depraved, arrogant, often ignorant, deep-seated evil MUST be broken - also that within our military (which frightens me the most). I mean, we ordinary citizens may very well find ourselves fiercely battling right there near our house!! perhaps against our own elite troops...But which of us decent citizens could even dream of simply surrendering to such muck?
Throughout time other nations have been overwhelmed by evil, violent factions.
Now, today, we are down to the wire. Democracy now - or else Democracy probably never again.
I am happy to join you in this movement.
But they mean deadly business, Linda, so please do be very careful at those rallies :)
Yes, and it better not work friend. Our government has had more than enough time 2 figure out how they're gonna protect us. I don't believe they're just gonna sit back and watch it.......?!
If Citizens United had been ruled in the correct way, we wouldn't be in this mess of billionaires dumping millions into campaign coffers and funding misinformation schemes. Once again, the Roberts court proves that it deserves all of its criticism and disapproval rating, and that we are only scratching the surface of the long-term damage a compromised, bought-and-paid-for court can do.
And did you hear that there's another Harlan Crow-financed trip that Thomas didn't report? Hawaii and New Zealand. There's no end to that guy's corruption (and sycophancy).
Short history: The financier of Cambridge Analytica in 2016, who pulled a similar scam on millions of voters, was Robert Mercer, the billionaire far-right whack job who once famously said, “Nuclear war on US soil wouldn’t be all that bad for most Americans” [Jane Mayer, “The Reclusive Hedge-Fund Tycoon Behind the Trump Presidency,” The New Yorker magazine, March 17, 2017]. You can’t make this stuff up. Who says that?!
I’m tired of hearing from people of all stripes saying that people like me are jealous of these billionaires’ success. Nope; I’m fine where I’m at, thank you very much. But what I DO rail against is their outsized influence on (what’s left of) American democracy. You should be, too. Musk is every bit as weird as Robert Mercer (and his equally bizarre daughter, Rebekah), and he needs to be reigned in, right now, while we still can. We’re only going to get this one chance. Fight like hell, and get out the vote!
Honestly I think they aren't all that bright in that sense. If I had that much money, I'd have a place on a bunch of land with an enormous pole barn so I could practice all my artsy hobbies as much as I wanted without trying to work around a job. They don't seem to have very much fun with all that money at all!
Here in Michigan, our wonderful Attorney General is already criminally accusing Musk of election interference or something like that. He won't get away with this in the Great Lakes State!
I'm SO PROUD of Michigan in the last few years. My sister lives there with her family, and I have such different feelings about that state as of recent times.
Yes! In 2016, just enough people did not vote for Hillary to allow Trump to get enough votes to get Michigan's 16 electoral votes. The then-Republican governor also allowed several bad things to happen during his tenure, including the Flint Water Crisis and the Detroit Bankruptcy causing City workers, including police and fire to lose most of their pensions.
Well! In 2018, we decided it was time for the Dems to fix things around here, and now EVERYONE at the top is a Democrat, and primarily female!
We elected our 2nd woman governor (now-Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm was the first), Gretchen Whitmer ("Big Gretch"), a very tall (6'8") Black man as Lt. Governor, a very strong female Secretary of State who will NOT allow MAGA to mess with our elections no matter how hard they try, and an equally strong (and proudly openly gay and married) female Attorney General who was the first to criminally charge Musk about his new "PAC."
In 2022, we elected a Dem majority in the Michigan Senate (led by a white woman) AND in the Michigan House (led by a Black man).
Of course, we elected Joe Biden in 2020, and we will elect Kamala Harris in 2024.
The Michigan Republican Party is financially broke and in tatters, fighting among themselves.
I know this is really a sort of simpleton type of response, but it's just where I'm at. Does Merrick Garland have any interest at all in looking at some of Musk's behavior? It's not just this stuff. He's using Twitter as a propaganda platform and shutting down pro-Kamala accounts.
I don't know enough about the legal end of all that he does, but I am certain he's breaking the law somewhere, and I pay Garland, through my tax dollars, to find out what it is.
It feels like, to me, that Twitter has become an extension of Musk's PAC efforts.
It's a good thing I'm not president. Immunity and all. I'd shut Twitter down and nationalize Space X and Tesla and deport Musk to South Africa, where he belongs. Then I'd say to the Supreme Court, "Hey, you said I can do this. And I just did."
Musk also interfered with a Ukrainian submarine drone attack on the Russian Black Sea fleet by shutting off Starlink at a critical point. Why do we let him operate like this?
I hope someone is looking into shutting him down - this is outrageous, dangerous, and sadly, NOT surprising. If nothing can be done about it, states, counties, etc. need to be alerting voters to constantly check their registration. This needs to be exposed everywhere so people don’t click on anything.
Remember when Trump was booted of Twitter? I was thinking I am so glad Twitter is in the right hands. And Voila Musk swoops in and buys it. I guess he had the opposite thought. There really needs to be regulation around social media. It is so powerful today and crosses borders. It cannot be that civil discourse hinges on the whims of the owner of the platform. I just don't know the legal landscape of this is. It is private entity, so how far is freedom of speech and the opposite protected by the law? Twitter suspended the account of "White Dudes for Harris" the morning after they raised four millions dollars. Coincident? I bet not. Do they have any legal recourse? Probably not.
I would guess that a private entity can do whatever they want. Musk can ban every progressive account on Twitter and not fail a first amendment test. I'm more interested in knowing if his actions on Twitter are running afoul of election law. Suspending White Dudes for Harris, and other similar accounts, may fall under that. But not only am I not an expert there, I don't know enough about the details of his various activities to say much more than I want him exiled to Mars with duct tape around his mouth.
I read somewhere that they're looking into that to determine if that amounts to election interference. If it's just one group, that might not be enough but if he shuts down multiple groups that might trigger action against him. At least, that's the gist of things I got from one article.
Remember when “they” broke up AT&T? I don’t understand why we can’t regulate Social Media. Maybe because of Citizens United & our government is paid to do the corporations bidding?
Isn’t it amazing that the same people who swore the last election was rigged, (though they were the only ones guilty of that) and despite all evidence it was a free and fair election and “the most secure election in our history”, are AGAIN trying to rig this one. What a despicable group! Do they think they won’t get caught this time? Fake electors was their first attempt. Now this misleading and fake registration site appears. Who knows what else they are cooking up this time! VOTERS BEWARE!!
We need to distinguish between secure elections (they are) and unethical or illegal vote suppression or refusal to certify. The GOP can’t easily make our elections insecure, but they can purge voters and try to prevent certification.
Oh for sure, i know the difference but some people just dont care to hear the truth.
Of course she doesnt believe they are doing any of the unethical stuff. Also she didn't provide proof of "unsecure elections" just more trump talking points. Shocking I know. It just irks me to see the disinformation being spread without any regard to how dangerous it is
I literally just saw a FB post from one of my friends which says our elections are "more unsecure than ever now". Of course I asked her for actual proof, I work elections and don't see it. Also warned her of the dangers of spreading this kind of fear.
Then again maybe it's true if trump is just planning on stealing the election? She of course just flipped over to the trump side which makes me very sad.
As always, thank you Jay. I have to wonder if this data is sufficient to use in some of the online tools now available to challenge voter registrations or to cancel someone’s registration. As has been reported elsewhere, Georgia now has a website that ostensibly lets a voters cancel their registration if they have moved out of state or are related to a now deceased voter, ProPublica has reported that it may be subject to fraudulently removing people from polls if you know basic information including DOB.
There are other online tools to let people challenge voter registrations in batches and in some jurisdictions they are being flooded with such requests. In addition to targeted ads I suspect this data harvesting by Elon Musk could be used for the same purpose.
For each of us, the mantra needs to be: register, make sure you remain registered, vote, and make sure your vote gets counted. And help the people around you do the same thing. This is a great week to work on that because, after the 90th day before the election, registered voters cannot be removed from the active voter rolls. Take a screenshot to prove your status! This nifty countdown to the election clock tells us that Wednesday will be the 89th day, so make a note on your calendar to check your status, remind the people around you to do the same, and encourage those who aren’t already registered to go ahead and get it done! You can use websites like vote.gov or IWillVote.com to register and check your status.
If you’re removed from the active voter rolls you can still ask for and vote a provisional ballot. But it’s a hassle to take the steps necessary to have it counted (that’s sort of the point), so make it a point to get as many people as possible to ensure they’re voters in good standing. Vote.org also provides a handy reference to help people know what their last day to register is in their state.
I’m so grateful for the watchdogs out there. Marc Elias has been doing yeoman work keeping our elections clean. The number of bad actors (Russia is the worst, apparently) out there just seems to be accelerating. Speed is of the essence in calling them out. Musk should be in jail—the hubris of this guy is outrageous.
Wow! Can Musk be sued individually and his PAC collectively for this outrageous action? Seems like courts all over the country could take part in this action.
Well - who woulda thunk... Melon Musk behind fraud. The whole problem with rethugs and their billionaires boils down to their unshakable belief that they and only they are entitled to govern (rule). They have to cheat because their candidates and policies are truly odious. Nobody else has the same rights as they do. I surely hope an injunction is in the works.
This is not a good thing obviously. Does GA also have same day voter registration? Because I wonder what happens if a previously registered voter comes to vote and finds out they aren't registered. Here in Mi they can go register and also vote day of. I think I might start encouraging anyone in GA to take advantage of early voting for this reason!
I understand your frustration, Charles, but where would it end if both sides were flaunting the rule of law? These traitors can (and will!) be defeated legally.
And I just found out from my sister in GA that they have a month long registration period. No same day. So if they were removed and didn't know until they went to vote then they are screwed
As a majority of reasonable persons are coalescing around Harris, the tech-bros and extremists are falling all-in and going all-out in their efforts to thwart democracy.
Gone, though, are the days of inattention to politics, as this is our West Side Story and we are lining up.
This is traitorous and treacherous behavior. He should be imprisoned for this. Be on the lookout for…he won’t be the only desparate despot to try everything possible to defraud the coming election.
Remember that he is an immigrant. As far as I know, treason can be a reason to denaturalize him and ban him from US soil for life. Although I am not certain this would legally be considered treason.
In common parlance, certainly. I think to actually make it treason would only apply to acts in wartime, and treason is also the only crime that has to be tried before the US Senate rather than a regular court. I could be wrong on those points, though.
"Giving aid and comfort to the enemy..." is the relevant Constitutional phrase. And treason is tried in any federal court. Aaron Burr (Jefferson's VP) was tried for treason in a Richmond fed. ct.and found innocent.
Actually, I would be in favor of replacing it with a rule of "must have been a US citizen for 25 years". Our current rule didn't prevent Putin's orange boytoy from becoming President (hopefully only one term), but it does prevent a lot of great people.
This is what worries me the most, what are they planning to steal this election. Let's face it trump isn't even trying to gain more voters, and has actively said he doesn't need them. Plus if you look at his poll numbers, he hasn't moved. Biden lost voters after the debate, but trump didn't gain any. Trumps support has maxed out. The GQP and their billionaire supporters are going to pull out all the stops, legal in illegal, to win this election. We have to be constantly vigilant to stop them.
I truly believe that trump has mostly maxed out however I do have a few, friends who weren't supporting him before and now "can't fathom voting for Harris". Fortunately within my circle I have gained more people flipping to support Harris than going to the dark side.
I'm glad I don't have any friends like that. I can't understand how people can't see the difference. But, then again I never could.
I agree. I don't get how progressives can still be friends with racists, period.
Well to be fair her comment is absolutely not racist, she just doesn't believe in Harris' "record". She has always been a "Demoncrats are bad for the economy" person and she doesn't think Harris can handle "the border, the wars, the safety of our country or be fiscally responsible". The fact she thought trump was good at any of it is beyond me but you can't beat sense into some people. I mean she honestly said when Biden won "Time to pull in my purse strings now that a Democrat is in charge". Yet she says she's not Republican. Really? Not buying it
Willfully ignorant. Sadly this describes MANY Fox Noise viewers. They've been trained to disbelieve ALL reputable news sources and swallow every lie, distortion, and "outrage of the day" that their thoughtmasters at Fox and other right-wing sites spew out. With so many right-wing sites spewing coordinated lies, these folks don't get any opposing viewpoints (i.e. truth) . . .
In better news, I hang out some in a baseball chat group and when Biden was the candidate there were a lot of the guys there (mostly barstool boys, if you know what I mean there) who were really bad mouthing the choice they were facing. I've been very surprised by the reaction toward Harris from quite a few of these guys, who normally rehash Republican talking points.
She's picking up votes from unexpected quarters because Trump and Vance are just so insane. A couple of guys even said, in one discussion, that if Kamala means an end to all the discord because it will end the MAGA movement, it was worth switching to the other side just this once.
The polls, which are inaccurate anyway, are not yet reflecting this dynamic.
Definitely willfully ignorant. They are being told what they want to hear and they somehow justify it
Can you show her any of the facts? Biden has been better for the economy and also on immigrants from what I read. If you can find the facts and present them maybe that would help. She believes the lies right now
When Biden became president I showed her the evidence that notoriously Dems had better economies than Rs. I showed her how Obama didn't "destroy her retirement", how good his economy was. She didn't buy it then, she won't buy it now. Lost causes are lost causes and not worth my time anymore
I would ask a person not being able to vote for Harris: "obviously you have a reason for feeling that way {saying that...} do you mind if I ask what what it is? " Or, "can you help me understand why you feel that way?"
See my above response. I think when it truly boils down to it she wants an excuse to vote for trump, she's a "doesn't want him" person but I'm not sure she's ever voted Democrat in her life
Unfortunately, I have a couple of friends I suspect would go the dark side or just want to make it sound like they would just to get a reaction or of people. Yes, I know people who say and do things just for the joy of others’ reactions. Anyway, most people I know would rather for Harris than tempt fate with a second Trump turn.
I know way more on the Harris train now than the trump train. Several who voted for him twice who are now posting they are "with her" so I have good feelings
I hope so.
I will be writing about this soon in The Big Picture!
We have been reading about all of the creepy money and action going to try to purge voters from the rolls in Swing states and trying to also get election certifiers not to certify.
https://www.propublica.org/article/inside-ziklag-secret-christian-charity-2024-election
I just heard a podcast about this.
Can you please post a link to the podcast?
In order to be properly vigilant, I believe it is important to call them by their true name: The Neo-Confederate Party.
Well, I feel that their true name is The New American Nazi Party, not to be confused with the one we had during WWII. I call the AfD in Germany the New German Nazi Party. Fortunately in Germany I am not the only one doing that. At every democracy rally the comparison is made.
I think I see what you mean, Linda! And we of course have plenty of neo-nazis mixed into 'the Party formerly known as Republican', along with incels, garden-variety nuts, violent psychopaths and other assorted lovelies.
But OUR history here, right now anyway, is the Old South trying its idiot best to 'Rise Again.' If you have a moment, perhaps you will take a look here below and see what you think, it's from Wikipedia (The Caps are mine):
"Neo-Confederates are groups and individuals who portray the Confederate States of America and its actions during the American Civil War in a positive light.
The League of the South, the Sons of Confederate Veterans and other neo-Confederate organizations continue to defend the secession of the former Confederate States.
Historian James M. McPherson used the term "neo-Confederate historical committees" in his description of the efforts which were undertaken from 1890 to 1930 to have HISTORY TEXTBOOKS (sound familiar?) present a version of the American Civil War in which secession was not rebellion, the Confederacy DID NOT FIGHT FOR SLAVERY, and the Confederate soldier was defeated by overwhelming numbers and resources.[1]
Historian Nancy MacLean used the term "neo-Confederacy" in reference to groups, such as the Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission, that formed in the 1950s to OPPOSE the Supreme Court of the United States rulings demanding RACIAL INTEGRATION, in particular Brown v. Board of Education (1954).[2] Former Southern Partisan editor and co-owner Richard Quinn used the term when he referred to Richard T. Hines, former Southern Partisan contributor and Ronald Reagan administration staffer, as being "among the first neo-Confederates to resist efforts by the infidels to take down the Confederate Flag."[3]
An early use of the term came in 1954. In a book review, Leonard Levy (later a winner of the Pulitzer Prize for History in 1968) wrote: "Similar BLINDNESS TO THE MORAL ISSUE OF SLAVERY, plus a RESENTMENT AGAINST THE RISE OF THE NEGRO and modern industrialism, resulted in the neo-Confederate interpretation of Phillips, Ramsdell and Owsley."[4]
Historian Gary W. Gallagher stated in an interview that neo-Confederates do not want to hear him when he talks "about HOW IMPORTANT MAINTAINING RACIAL CONTROL, WHITE SUPREMACY, was to the white South."[5] He warns, however, that the term neo-Confederate can be overused, writing, "Any historian who argues that the Confederate people demonstrated ROBUST DEVOTION to their slave-based republic, possessed feelings of national community, and SACRIFICED MORE than any other segment of white society in United States history runs the risk of being labeled a neo-Confederate."[6]
Yes, Linda, it is indeed fortunate that the facts are kept straight at those rallies! There's a very steep - and jagged - hill just up ahead that we will be forced! to climb; but together, with the force of like-minded people, we will and must prevail over our respective evils.
Very good luck to you!!
I see it as a merging of the Neo-Confederates and Neo-Nazis. Both have similar goals, aims, and ideals. Both nauseate me. Neither should be allowed anywhere near a seat of power. Unfortunately, Trump and the Heritage Foundation provide both seats closer to power and control over this nation's direction. The worst part is that Trump's only in it for the money and he could care less about what they want as long as they support him. He's a psychopathic narcissistic opportunist.
Today Rossmann, a big chain drug store like store without the pharmacy here in Germany has announced that they are not. buying any more Teslas because of Elon Musk supporting Trump! Yay for them. I was talking about it with my German neighbor tonight. He says Europe is not prepared for a Trump presidency. I said, Germans should be reading Project 2025, and then discuss it with an American who has some idea of the subtext. In my Project 2025 book club we were discussing how innocuous things can seem if you do not know the subtext to it.
Smart move❣️
Yes, Hurray for Rossmann, standing up for what's right - and openly fighting The Musk: Wunderbar!!
And I think it's a great idea to spread the word/knowledge of P2025's true machinations.
Before Kamala, although a fairly optimistic person, I pretty much felt there was no real hope for decent people here, or at least not for a whole lot longer. Then came that beautiful sunshine ray!!
And I am SO very proud of this amazing Black woman. So proud, SO proud!
Well Linda, thank you much for today!!
And again: Do take good care :)
Yes, it's true, there has been some merging! We non-heavily-armed regular folks are in for the Fight of the Century. And in many cases it will probably turn out to be 'do or die'. I shudder...
I'm scared of that.
Megan, I see where you are coming from. I do see the old South trying to rise again, even though there is a new South too. I am more familiar with modern German history, than Southern, although I do know racist history as well. I see the parallels. I am thinking of Prof. Kathleen Belew's book, Bring the War Home: The White Power Movement and Paramilitary America. She ties the White militia movement to the Vietnam War vets returning and not feeling like they got the job done to get rid of "Socialism" because they were brought home too soon. They formed militias with other White Supremacist groups and formed a strategy which we see in evidence today. She says that they joined at some point with White Christian Nationalists who shared many of the same values, although not necessarily the violence. It might stem from these "neo-Confederate groups," but that which smacks of what Hitler did is where he laid all the problems of post World War I German at the feet of the Jews, and now these MAGA leadership and members are laying it all at the feet of immigrants and just like the Germans, many people who should know better are believing the lies and worrying about the country being taken overrun by illegal immigrants. That is even though immigrants and their descendants make up a lot of this country. Just as Hitler's girlfriend, then wife Eva Braun might have had a Jewish grandparent, Trump's children have immigrant mom's but that is not what he means. I feel that we can use both historical periods to examine the elements that look like what we are seeing now. History does not repeat itself exactly, but as soon as lessons are forgotten is when we are not able to examine what is going on properly. I am glad that we are part of a movement that seems to be growing to take back Freedom and not in the way the Project 2025 defines it as Freedom for the White Christian Nationalist minority to impose their will on everyone in this country as they have been doing for a long time now. At least since Reagan was president.
Linda, thank you for your wonderful reply :)
Thank you also for teaching me several things I didn't know.
I love to learn, and I'm definitely going to get that book by Belew to which you refer.
It's of course more important to listen than talk, ha, and I welcome this new knowledge - which is of course Power.
We're going to need all the strengths and powers we can possibly muster, and then some. Their brand of virulent, depraved, arrogant, often ignorant, deep-seated evil MUST be broken - also that within our military (which frightens me the most). I mean, we ordinary citizens may very well find ourselves fiercely battling right there near our house!! perhaps against our own elite troops...But which of us decent citizens could even dream of simply surrendering to such muck?
Throughout time other nations have been overwhelmed by evil, violent factions.
Now, today, we are down to the wire. Democracy now - or else Democracy probably never again.
I am happy to join you in this movement.
But they mean deadly business, Linda, so please do be very careful at those rallies :)
Yes, and it better not work friend. Our government has had more than enough time 2 figure out how they're gonna protect us. I don't believe they're just gonna sit back and watch it.......?!
If Citizens United had been ruled in the correct way, we wouldn't be in this mess of billionaires dumping millions into campaign coffers and funding misinformation schemes. Once again, the Roberts court proves that it deserves all of its criticism and disapproval rating, and that we are only scratching the surface of the long-term damage a compromised, bought-and-paid-for court can do.
And did you hear that there's another Harlan Crow-financed trip that Thomas didn't report? Hawaii and New Zealand. There's no end to that guy's corruption (and sycophancy).
Yup.
Short history: The financier of Cambridge Analytica in 2016, who pulled a similar scam on millions of voters, was Robert Mercer, the billionaire far-right whack job who once famously said, “Nuclear war on US soil wouldn’t be all that bad for most Americans” [Jane Mayer, “The Reclusive Hedge-Fund Tycoon Behind the Trump Presidency,” The New Yorker magazine, March 17, 2017]. You can’t make this stuff up. Who says that?!
I’m tired of hearing from people of all stripes saying that people like me are jealous of these billionaires’ success. Nope; I’m fine where I’m at, thank you very much. But what I DO rail against is their outsized influence on (what’s left of) American democracy. You should be, too. Musk is every bit as weird as Robert Mercer (and his equally bizarre daughter, Rebekah), and he needs to be reigned in, right now, while we still can. We’re only going to get this one chance. Fight like hell, and get out the vote!
Honestly I think they aren't all that bright in that sense. If I had that much money, I'd have a place on a bunch of land with an enormous pole barn so I could practice all my artsy hobbies as much as I wanted without trying to work around a job. They don't seem to have very much fun with all that money at all!
Thank you for that insight into the group. I had only the gist of what they did. This points out how insidious they really are.
Here in Michigan, our wonderful Attorney General is already criminally accusing Musk of election interference or something like that. He won't get away with this in the Great Lakes State!
Right now I'm very happy to be living in Mi!
I'm SO PROUD of Michigan in the last few years. My sister lives there with her family, and I have such different feelings about that state as of recent times.
Yes! In 2016, just enough people did not vote for Hillary to allow Trump to get enough votes to get Michigan's 16 electoral votes. The then-Republican governor also allowed several bad things to happen during his tenure, including the Flint Water Crisis and the Detroit Bankruptcy causing City workers, including police and fire to lose most of their pensions.
Well! In 2018, we decided it was time for the Dems to fix things around here, and now EVERYONE at the top is a Democrat, and primarily female!
We elected our 2nd woman governor (now-Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm was the first), Gretchen Whitmer ("Big Gretch"), a very tall (6'8") Black man as Lt. Governor, a very strong female Secretary of State who will NOT allow MAGA to mess with our elections no matter how hard they try, and an equally strong (and proudly openly gay and married) female Attorney General who was the first to criminally charge Musk about his new "PAC."
In 2022, we elected a Dem majority in the Michigan Senate (led by a white woman) AND in the Michigan House (led by a Black man).
Of course, we elected Joe Biden in 2020, and we will elect Kamala Harris in 2024.
The Michigan Republican Party is financially broke and in tatters, fighting among themselves.
Yes, it's good to be from Michigan!
She looks FIERCE!!! 💙🌊 https://www.commondreams.org/news/elon-musk-michigan 👏👏👏
She IS fierce!
Everyone should be reporting this to the @thejusticedepartment
They are well aware!
I know this is really a sort of simpleton type of response, but it's just where I'm at. Does Merrick Garland have any interest at all in looking at some of Musk's behavior? It's not just this stuff. He's using Twitter as a propaganda platform and shutting down pro-Kamala accounts.
I don't know enough about the legal end of all that he does, but I am certain he's breaking the law somewhere, and I pay Garland, through my tax dollars, to find out what it is.
It feels like, to me, that Twitter has become an extension of Musk's PAC efforts.
It's a good thing I'm not president. Immunity and all. I'd shut Twitter down and nationalize Space X and Tesla and deport Musk to South Africa, where he belongs. Then I'd say to the Supreme Court, "Hey, you said I can do this. And I just did."
Musk also interfered with a Ukrainian submarine drone attack on the Russian Black Sea fleet by shutting off Starlink at a critical point. Why do we let him operate like this?
I hope someone is looking into shutting him down - this is outrageous, dangerous, and sadly, NOT surprising. If nothing can be done about it, states, counties, etc. need to be alerting voters to constantly check their registration. This needs to be exposed everywhere so people don’t click on anything.
Remember when Trump was booted of Twitter? I was thinking I am so glad Twitter is in the right hands. And Voila Musk swoops in and buys it. I guess he had the opposite thought. There really needs to be regulation around social media. It is so powerful today and crosses borders. It cannot be that civil discourse hinges on the whims of the owner of the platform. I just don't know the legal landscape of this is. It is private entity, so how far is freedom of speech and the opposite protected by the law? Twitter suspended the account of "White Dudes for Harris" the morning after they raised four millions dollars. Coincident? I bet not. Do they have any legal recourse? Probably not.
I would guess that a private entity can do whatever they want. Musk can ban every progressive account on Twitter and not fail a first amendment test. I'm more interested in knowing if his actions on Twitter are running afoul of election law. Suspending White Dudes for Harris, and other similar accounts, may fall under that. But not only am I not an expert there, I don't know enough about the details of his various activities to say much more than I want him exiled to Mars with duct tape around his mouth.
I read somewhere that they're looking into that to determine if that amounts to election interference. If it's just one group, that might not be enough but if he shuts down multiple groups that might trigger action against him. At least, that's the gist of things I got from one article.
Remember when “they” broke up AT&T? I don’t understand why we can’t regulate Social Media. Maybe because of Citizens United & our government is paid to do the corporations bidding?
Merrick Garland has slow walked everything that was out in the open & buried the rest.
Musk is very dangerous to our country
He's dangerous to the world.
Isn’t it amazing that the same people who swore the last election was rigged, (though they were the only ones guilty of that) and despite all evidence it was a free and fair election and “the most secure election in our history”, are AGAIN trying to rig this one. What a despicable group! Do they think they won’t get caught this time? Fake electors was their first attempt. Now this misleading and fake registration site appears. Who knows what else they are cooking up this time! VOTERS BEWARE!!
We need to distinguish between secure elections (they are) and unethical or illegal vote suppression or refusal to certify. The GOP can’t easily make our elections insecure, but they can purge voters and try to prevent certification.
Oh for sure, i know the difference but some people just dont care to hear the truth.
Of course she doesnt believe they are doing any of the unethical stuff. Also she didn't provide proof of "unsecure elections" just more trump talking points. Shocking I know. It just irks me to see the disinformation being spread without any regard to how dangerous it is
I literally just saw a FB post from one of my friends which says our elections are "more unsecure than ever now". Of course I asked her for actual proof, I work elections and don't see it. Also warned her of the dangers of spreading this kind of fear.
Then again maybe it's true if trump is just planning on stealing the election? She of course just flipped over to the trump side which makes me very sad.
As always, thank you Jay. I have to wonder if this data is sufficient to use in some of the online tools now available to challenge voter registrations or to cancel someone’s registration. As has been reported elsewhere, Georgia now has a website that ostensibly lets a voters cancel their registration if they have moved out of state or are related to a now deceased voter, ProPublica has reported that it may be subject to fraudulently removing people from polls if you know basic information including DOB.
https://www.propublica.org/article/georgia-voter-registration-cancellation-portal-mtg-raffensperger
There are other online tools to let people challenge voter registrations in batches and in some jurisdictions they are being flooded with such requests. In addition to targeted ads I suspect this data harvesting by Elon Musk could be used for the same purpose.
Ohio just purged 155,000 voters.
We’ve put anti gerrymandering issue on the ballot and it will pass despite their campaigning against it.
We will strip away their illegal super majority.
The wheel turns slowly.
Joyce Vance had excellent advice today:⬇️
For each of us, the mantra needs to be: register, make sure you remain registered, vote, and make sure your vote gets counted. And help the people around you do the same thing. This is a great week to work on that because, after the 90th day before the election, registered voters cannot be removed from the active voter rolls. Take a screenshot to prove your status! This nifty countdown to the election clock tells us that Wednesday will be the 89th day, so make a note on your calendar to check your status, remind the people around you to do the same, and encourage those who aren’t already registered to go ahead and get it done! You can use websites like vote.gov or IWillVote.com to register and check your status.
If you’re removed from the active voter rolls you can still ask for and vote a provisional ballot. But it’s a hassle to take the steps necessary to have it counted (that’s sort of the point), so make it a point to get as many people as possible to ensure they’re voters in good standing. Vote.org also provides a handy reference to help people know what their last day to register is in their state.
https://open.substack.com/pub/joycevance/p/the-week-ahead-67e?r=fqsxl&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email
I’m so grateful for the watchdogs out there. Marc Elias has been doing yeoman work keeping our elections clean. The number of bad actors (Russia is the worst, apparently) out there just seems to be accelerating. Speed is of the essence in calling them out. Musk should be in jail—the hubris of this guy is outrageous.
Wow! Can Musk be sued individually and his PAC collectively for this outrageous action? Seems like courts all over the country could take part in this action.
Unclear how much of a hand he has in the planning. He could be named as a defendant but he’d likely move to dismiss
Well, at least sue the heck out of his PAC then. Just another court appearance that he could use to make the continuation of his foolishness apparent!
Well - who woulda thunk... Melon Musk behind fraud. The whole problem with rethugs and their billionaires boils down to their unshakable belief that they and only they are entitled to govern (rule). They have to cheat because their candidates and policies are truly odious. Nobody else has the same rights as they do. I surely hope an injunction is in the works.
Just brief FYI/correction, Giannoulias is current IL Secretary of State
Thank you.
Love all your great work Jay. You rock and help me maintain some calm and sanity in these tumultuous times.
I was just coming here to mention this.
In Georgia, this information can be used to remove a person from the voter registration database - by anyone!
This is not a good thing obviously. Does GA also have same day voter registration? Because I wonder what happens if a previously registered voter comes to vote and finds out they aren't registered. Here in Mi they can go register and also vote day of. I think I might start encouraging anyone in GA to take advantage of early voting for this reason!
Well, can't we remove Republicans, then? If they insist on fighting dirty, so should we.
I understand your frustration, Charles, but where would it end if both sides were flaunting the rule of law? These traitors can (and will!) be defeated legally.
This is why I must never be allowed to be President. :-)
And I just found out from my sister in GA that they have a month long registration period. No same day. So if they were removed and didn't know until they went to vote then they are screwed
As a majority of reasonable persons are coalescing around Harris, the tech-bros and extremists are falling all-in and going all-out in their efforts to thwart democracy.
Gone, though, are the days of inattention to politics, as this is our West Side Story and we are lining up.
This is traitorous and treacherous behavior. He should be imprisoned for this. Be on the lookout for…he won’t be the only desparate despot to try everything possible to defraud the coming election.
Remember that he is an immigrant. As far as I know, treason can be a reason to denaturalize him and ban him from US soil for life. Although I am not certain this would legally be considered treason.
I’m no lawyer but election interference sure seems traitorous to me.
Except if you are X45, who is immune. I hate these people.
In common parlance, certainly. I think to actually make it treason would only apply to acts in wartime, and treason is also the only crime that has to be tried before the US Senate rather than a regular court. I could be wrong on those points, though.
"Giving aid and comfort to the enemy..." is the relevant Constitutional phrase. And treason is tried in any federal court. Aaron Burr (Jefferson's VP) was tried for treason in a Richmond fed. ct.and found innocent.
We are so lucky that Musk is an immigrant otherwise our next President would be Elon Musk. Let's hope nobody has the idea of removing that rule.
Actually, I would be in favor of replacing it with a rule of "must have been a US citizen for 25 years". Our current rule didn't prevent Putin's orange boytoy from becoming President (hopefully only one term), but it does prevent a lot of great people.
You have a point about the good people and nowadays with certain people being so crazy rich it doesn't really curtail their influence much.