Honestly, the first time I watched the video and he said, "We're both consenting adults, Let's do it." My mind thought they wanted to have sex. I never heard of consenting adults vis a vis punching each other. Hahhahhah!!! but then, I'm more into sex than punching or gun play.
What idiots. What a colossally stupid political party. Teeny dicks and big guns; as if that makes them anything other than a pathetic jackass?
I think to the overly testosterone-influenced, developmentally-arrested, dysfunctional male psyche, there's really no difference between sex and violence anyway, so it really could have gone either way there.
I think that one of these modern day Republicans would probably tell you that you're not a whole person until you appreciate sex, punching AND gun play. And, in the case of Trump, Russian water sports.
As pathetic as they are, sadly, they still have the power to cause serious harm. Like anyone pathetic with overblown ego, when given any amount of power, they are hell-bent on exploiting it to the n-th degree.
And thus it’s ok to call it out AND to call it out in a way that signals danger. I can’t find any of it amusing. It’s absurd. What happened to “My friend from the great state of ...”? Even at their worst political nonsense, there was decorum. Now the GOP acts like the 1/6 crowd in the Halls of just in different clothes. The potential for violence scares me for friends who work on the Hill.
I keep remembering a Coca Cola commercial from about 25 years ago - close to when I first came to the United States. It showed two political pundits - a liberal and a conservative - who battled each other vehemently on TV, but then the cameras stopped rolling, the lights were turned off, and the two guys went out on a tour bus just because and had their sandwiches with Coca Cola. That's how it used to be - I can still remember that. Yes, there were disagreements across the aisle, but they were expressed in a reasonable fashion, and it wasn't vicious - people from different parties still had lunch together. Now? Holy cow... if a Republican is seen hanging out with a Democrat, the whole GOP goes to bully them, and Trump wails about them being a RINO and castigates them on his stupid platform.
And no, I can't imagine how people work in DC anymore and stay sane. Just watching snippets on TV or reading about it makes my skin crawl.
There needs to be an investigation of the RNC: Thanks to fascist billionaires exploiting “Citizens United,” the RNC operates as an organized crime syndicate with installed puppets that behave as petty mob bosses. They cheat whenever and wherever they can; gerrymandering, strong-arming--pulling advertizing from opposition candidates, accepting laundered funds from foreign enemies--there isn’t a shred of integrity left to the RNC.
There is currently an investigation against Leonard Leo and Harlan Crow, who are some of the big powerbroker money guys behind the scenes. When the IRS sought to expand its investigations into the shady “non-profits” that were basically laundering money for the right, the GOP went ballistic and started investigating the IRS. This is what lies behind much of the Republican push to defund the agency.
Well, there you go! Give us updates--and we all need to unite to REVOKE CITIZEN’S UNITED. The “f” word, fascism, has finally become recognized and discussed in mainstream conversation.
This is good to hear. Leo is the one whose activity I've followed, and knowing that the IRS is finally giving him a serious look-over is a bit relieving.
Who tho will take it further? SCOTUS now has a lesser code of conduct than my professional meetings industry associations AND those are wink-wink-offer-incentives-for-biz-look-the-other-way words on a screen. Is the RNC a DoJ issue?
Dawna, you nailed it. They are no longer a political party but a criminal enterprise in service to a fascistic movement aimed at destroying our country and our government.
OH! The article says it all! I hope this nation becomes galvanized against fascists and our demoralized, corrupt government. Shout it from the mountain tops: REVOKE CITIZENS UNITED. And demolish the RNC Organized Crime Syndicate.
Here’s the thing about people who coalesce into radical mobs: At best, their moral development according to Kohlberg’s Stages reaches stage 3: Desire to gain approval of others. Those people have always been there; they just weren’t organized as a mob. The RNC propagandists knew this and developed outlets for bringing such people into their “camps.” In fact, part of the weaponization of propaganda involves the Mercers, who developed computer algorithms to target such people.
I have to believe, once the RNC criminality is exposed, shamed and prosecuted, many of those people will slip back into oblivion. You can’t look “good” if you are surrounded by verifiable Shits and Liars. As in Germany, the process will take generations.
When I grew up in upstate NY, I had a social studies teacher --no doubt a draft-dodger, back when choosing to be a teacher would free you from going to Viet Nam--who announced to the class that Watergate was “made up.” (Mind you, this is the population that is now represented by Elise Stefanik.) The point is, these people have ALWAYS been in the mix. The real error has been to validate the whining, the messaging which encouraged these people to identify through self-righteous indignation, providing justification for bullying behaviors. They have to be brought to HEEL: “Their way or the highway” dichotomy IS NOT ACCEPTABLE.
Thank you for this. And about the social studies teacher -- possibly a pacifist or just war-avoider, how odd to teach that Watergate was 'made-up'. Did any of you counter that? Other teachers?
Mr Deshais was not a “good person.” He was a bully. And a coward. He didn’t avoid the draft for philosophical reasons--he just didn’t want to go. His support of Nixon meant he was happy to see OTHERS go in his place. There was no “conscientious objection” coming from him, believe me.
I never supported the US proxy war in Viet Nam, and I don’t judge those who opposed it--had I been older, I would have been marching with the protestors. But Mr Deshais was a hypocrite . . . Like any other radical.
Gov. Rockefeller did good things for his upstate NY constituents! One of the few I could respect . . . And he wasn’t appreciated by many of the people in upstate NY, the greedy ones who resented having the Adirondacks set aside, “forever free.”
This all reminds me of the state of affairs on the Hill in 1856, when Republican Senator Charles Sumner was beaten into unconsciousness by a southern Democrat representative. That era ended well :-(
BTW, you also forgot to mention that MTG required a civics lesson after her speech yesterday by Rosa DeLauro. Although I agree with most of what you said today, there *is* also a component that is oven overlooked. Many Americans (and apparently some of our representatives) simply never had to study how government works or its history. MTG is of an age that it is unlikely she ever had to take civics, whereas in my day it was a requirement for high school graduation almost everywhere. So there is a concern underlying this mess, especially on the state and local levels as we prepare the next generation to lead and the next generation of voters. Curricula everywhere is under attack and being dumbed down. There are exceptions (Victor Shi and David Hogg come to mind), but still.
Of course, in my day civility and common courtesy were also standards by which we all had to live.
My kids both took civics as freshmen in high school. BUT, then again, I live in New England where D’s are in control at the state level (although most of the towns are small and have R leadership), where the Revolution started, so we are still teach decency.
Sadly, if the GQP fanatics and their minions (Mothers against liberty or whatever those traitorous trollops call themselves), get any power at all, they will bastardize civics and history to make it worse than useless. Actively harmful (disinformation often is). . .
You can’t really “teach” morality. Knowing “civics” and history are important, but most of the population falls, at best, in Level 2 of Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development: They want to be “good boys/girls to seek approval of others, OR they want to follow THE RULES, though they don’t questions whether the rules, themselves are morally right. Part of weaponization of propaganda involves targeting individuals who don’t question right/wrong and are susceptible to mob behavior. They don’t have critical thinking skills, so much of what is taught in “civics/history” never reaches them on an intuitive basis--it’s one thing to “know” facts; it’s quite another to be able to APPLY information to the Real World.
Admittedly, I'm an old broad and the world has significantly changed since I went to school, but we not only had civics classes (called 'social studies' where I went to school) but we also had an elective government class, which I was thrilled to be able to take. Why we don't do that now is an absolute travesty.
My government class was mandatory and honestly would not have taken it if it weren't. But the teacher actually made it interesting so it wasn't so bad.
I agree. The elective government class I had (not sure what it was called, but then, it was in the late '70s), was quite good, largely because it was taught by an enthusiastic, open-minded teacher.
Civics was still a required senior year high school class when my three offspring went through the CA public schools in the mid-00’s. They’re even required to attend one local government board, agency or council meeting of their choice. But all three admitted history and civics were the most boring classes they took in grades 7-12. This did not sit well with their history geek father. The real shame is all the states, including CA have let parents choose home school, religious based schools, and in some cases vouchers over public education. I doubt the home and religious schooled are getting any civics and only warped history.
History is boring when it isn't taught properly. If it's only dates, battles, and "Great Men", then yeah, it'll put almost anyone to sleep. History is STORIES, and the stories should be told as such.
EXACTLY! I had a mandatory history class in College (went to a land-grant school, so one US history class was required), and it was fascinating. Focused on major issues of the period (since 1865 was the one I took) and while names and dates were mentioned, it was not taught as a trivia class. Memorization was not the point, understanding was.
Since I've gotten out of school (many years ago), I've become a big fan of learning of history, and strongly recommend Heather Cox Richardson's writings (and talks): https://substack.com/@heathercoxrichardson. She writes about current/daily events (letters from an American), and puts them in historic context. Great stuff. . .
I had a 12th grade American History teacher that from his frat days at USC had Hollywood wardrobe connections. Came dressed as Benjamin Franklin, Abraham Lincoln and a few others and acted the role the entire day.
One of my nieces teaches civics/social studies in SC. I’ve met some of her students who’ve placed in the natl history day competition. She makes it all come alive. One of the students I spent time with and with whom I correspond graduated Morehouse this year and is now at Harvard Divinity. He will be like Rev Sen Warnock, combining good trouble with values. I know my niece inspires and I send books and periodicals for extra credits reading. We can do this!
Here in CA we had Civics in grade 8 and Parliamentary Procedure in high school. We were well prepared for life as educated and critical-thinking citizens.
Did you watch Judy Woodruff’s report from Steubenville in my home state on PBSNEWSHOUR Wed? Steel workers, life long Dems, have GOP kids. Who vote. As one dad from a family of Dems put it his dad is turning over in his grave. I hope they can be convinced.
I'm not celebrating the way they averted the shutdown. I think the main factor of the deal is that for the first time, we won't be funding the whole government at once, but doing it in stages. That's been a conservative goal for decades. It hasn't necessarily been top of their list, but they've been telling me with varying degrees of intensity since the 1980s that someday having a straight, standalone, up-or-down vote on funding for, say, the IRS or the EPA -- that's the dream. And they're a step closer now. Maybe Democrats had to support this bill, but it's not a victory.
Oh, I did. At the time. Loudly. No one cared. “Conservatism is cool and great! Liberals are icky and no fun at all! Look at how cool and funny Alex P. Keaton is!”
I'm sick to death of paying these people to act like jackasses. VOTE THEM OUT! And let's start in New York with Stefanik (who walks around with a smug grin on her face all the time) and Santos (who doesn't have a clue about anything and lies about it all). What rat hole did these people crawl out of anyway? Bleh. And by the way, to quote Biff -- "other countries are laughing at us". Yes. Yes, they are... and rightly so; but when you're neck deep in this crap it ain't so damn funny.
Money and power. To go anywhere in the RNC (which IS an organized crime syndicate), you have to literally pledge to vote as a block; ie, sell your vote, or you will be cut off financially and will not be appointed to power positions in congress. End-of-story. Stefanik is : a) female; b) from a very small population district that has voted Republican since before the Civil War. They don’t even know why they are staunch Republicans--it’s just what they do. That area, believe it or not, was once a hotbed of abolitionists. Today, they are radicalized--poor, uneducated targets for the RNC, weaponized propaganda program. Stefanik was a strategic choice, a cynical replacement of Liz Cheney after she got too “uppity.”
I dunno - seems to me the simplest answer is likely the correct one: she likes her job, and is deathly afraid of being primaried out of it if she does not toe the MAGAt line.
That’s it in a nutshell. It’s how the RNC Puppet Masters run their syndicate: If you want to maintain your seat you have to sell your vote to the Puppet Masters who are calling the tricks—the Neo nazi fascist billionaires who fund the RNC
Yeah it’s really extraordinary how the lust for power alters someone’s character. I suspect that kind of transformation is why ancient societies believed in “demonic possession.”
Here’s a part of a longer piece I wrote several months ago:
The Republicans are suffering from a delusion that is as old as human societies; the belief that they can harness political violence to achieve their own personal ends. And at this stage of the game, it seems to be working. But it is not, and never will be, possible to tame violence like that. For hundreds, if not thousands, of years, those who have tried this have ended up as victims themselves.
The Republicans are beginning to experience their own version of the Night of the Long Knives. And it will get worse.
The Republican Party needs to rebrand itself as the MAGA Party. Take ownership for what you are.
The RNC will rename itself the MAGA National Committee. Tell all the states (and MSM and everyone else) that the Republican politicians are now MAGA politicians. Update all future ballots to reflect the new name. Each state will rename the state "Republican Party" to the state "MAGA Party."
The use of the phrase "Grand Old Party", "GOP" and the "Party of Lincoln" is not allowed to describe the MAGA Party. Delete all Republican Party trademarks (the elephant) . Replace the trademarks with "MAGA" (gun? AR15?)
If the folks at the Lincoln Project wish to use the "Republican" name then they can buy it from you. Make them pay for it. After all the MAGA Party is all about money, power and domination.
And if they want to call themselves the conservatives and embrace traditional Republican values and policies, then let them. The MAGA Party has no policy except to take total control of the country. Whatever Trump wants Trump gets.
And if any MAGA politician still wishes to be thought of as a Republican then they can be labeled with the slur "RINO". Since the MAGA Party has abandoned its traditional Republican roots and has no shame or conscience you truly have become "Republicans In Name Only."
The Federalist Society, The Heritage Society, The Claremont Institute and the other billionaire supported think tanks can join you too. Come out of the woodwork. The white supremist kool aid drinking fools can be your shock troops.
Kenneth Buck was right: "We (the Republican Party) have lost our way." The world is watching as the GOP shows its complete and utter lack of civility and professionalism. The only solution is to vote as many as we can out of office. They dont deserve to be there and are a clear danger to our democracy. (Who names their kid "Markwayne" anyway?🙄)
They are all freaks. The award of the day goes to my beloved Bernie Sanders “Sit down, you’re a United States senator!” I wouldn’t believe any of this if I had not seen it on video.
Let's be honest; they are looking forward to the day they think trump will be back in the white house. Then they can hold investigations on political enemy's all day every day, put more Aileen Cannon's on the bench, and fund the military. The nonsense going on right now is just the beginning. We cannot become complacent, or get distracted; there is way too much at stake.
I don't understand why the Republican Speakers who do seem to manage to get spending bills passed are only playing kick the can with this mess, making every 'solution' temporary.
I also have a proposal: Can we stop calling them the Republican Party or the GOP and just call them what they are - the Fascist Party. There is no GOP anymore.
I offer a tiny glimmer of hope. In a rural, very conservative Texas town, near Dallas, the high school principal cancelled the long-planned performance of "Oklahoma" because of the musical's "profane and sexual context". The real reason: a transgender student had been given a lead role. Outraged students and parents staged demonstrations outside the school offices and, total surprise, at a late night meeting, the District reversed the principal's decision and restored the original casting
I envy people with the means to move out. At age 72 I wonder what my remaining years will be like in this country. I encourage my kids (I have 5 adult kids) to move before it's too late (and take me with them!) but they don't take this stuff seriously. Busy with life, kids, jobs - they don't seem to watch any news at all, and tease me for being "political". I hope they won't have to suffer the shock of the worst things coming to pass, with the knowledge that they could have got out.
I never lived outside of Upstate New York until I was 60 years old. In my experience, making the decision is the most difficult thing. But once made, The Universe provides the means to do whatever we set our minds and our hearts to.
Not without funds unfortunately. A series of financial setbacks, (various reasons) since my husband passed away suddenly at age 47, has left me dependent on one small SS check. Don't think it would pay the rent in Europe.
Investigate Panama. It's cheap, it's warm, you can speak English and get along just fine, and they have the pensionado program. It's what I'm looking at.
We couldn’t leave in 2016 due to only a few years until retirement. Then COVID struck, so we had to wait. We moved to SW France nearly 7 months ago and we’re grateful that France and the lovely French people have welcomed us with open arms. Even CPAM has been great and that’s saying something. 😂
The caning of Charles Sumner, or the Brooks–Sumner Affair, occurred on May 22, 1856, in the United States Senate chamber, when Representative Preston Brooks, a pro-slavery Democrat from South Carolina, used a walking cane to attack Senator Charles Sumner, an abolitionist Republican from Massachusetts.
Honestly, the first time I watched the video and he said, "We're both consenting adults, Let's do it." My mind thought they wanted to have sex. I never heard of consenting adults vis a vis punching each other. Hahhahhah!!! but then, I'm more into sex than punching or gun play.
What idiots. What a colossally stupid political party. Teeny dicks and big guns; as if that makes them anything other than a pathetic jackass?
I think to the overly testosterone-influenced, developmentally-arrested, dysfunctional male psyche, there's really no difference between sex and violence anyway, so it really could have gone either way there.
Pathetic jackasses, indeed. What embarrassments.
"... so it really could have gone either way..." spit out my coffee! 😂🤣
My money would be on anybody named Sean O'brian:)
Which would have been an enormous dopamine hit for Dems everywhere! I agree. A phony wrestler is no match for a teamster!
😉
Colbert said the same thing last night on his show!!!!!!!!
I need to start recording him again... do love our Stephen Colbert! Thanks for the heads up, Maureen
I think that one of these modern day Republicans would probably tell you that you're not a whole person until you appreciate sex, punching AND gun play. And, in the case of Trump, Russian water sports.
I chortled when I read "Russian water sports." Well played, sir.
Thanks. I was not sure how many would pick up on that. :-)
As pathetic as they are, sadly, they still have the power to cause serious harm. Like anyone pathetic with overblown ego, when given any amount of power, they are hell-bent on exploiting it to the n-th degree.
right? if I don't laugh, I will cry until I throw up.
<proffers a bucket>
And thus it’s ok to call it out AND to call it out in a way that signals danger. I can’t find any of it amusing. It’s absurd. What happened to “My friend from the great state of ...”? Even at their worst political nonsense, there was decorum. Now the GOP acts like the 1/6 crowd in the Halls of just in different clothes. The potential for violence scares me for friends who work on the Hill.
I keep remembering a Coca Cola commercial from about 25 years ago - close to when I first came to the United States. It showed two political pundits - a liberal and a conservative - who battled each other vehemently on TV, but then the cameras stopped rolling, the lights were turned off, and the two guys went out on a tour bus just because and had their sandwiches with Coca Cola. That's how it used to be - I can still remember that. Yes, there were disagreements across the aisle, but they were expressed in a reasonable fashion, and it wasn't vicious - people from different parties still had lunch together. Now? Holy cow... if a Republican is seen hanging out with a Democrat, the whole GOP goes to bully them, and Trump wails about them being a RINO and castigates them on his stupid platform.
And no, I can't imagine how people work in DC anymore and stay sane. Just watching snippets on TV or reading about it makes my skin crawl.
Awwww. Jan 6th. You hate to see it. 🤣
https://twitter.com/Matthewtravis08/status/1724839162803605861?s=19
There needs to be an investigation of the RNC: Thanks to fascist billionaires exploiting “Citizens United,” the RNC operates as an organized crime syndicate with installed puppets that behave as petty mob bosses. They cheat whenever and wherever they can; gerrymandering, strong-arming--pulling advertizing from opposition candidates, accepting laundered funds from foreign enemies--there isn’t a shred of integrity left to the RNC.
There is currently an investigation against Leonard Leo and Harlan Crow, who are some of the big powerbroker money guys behind the scenes. When the IRS sought to expand its investigations into the shady “non-profits” that were basically laundering money for the right, the GOP went ballistic and started investigating the IRS. This is what lies behind much of the Republican push to defund the agency.
Well, there you go! Give us updates--and we all need to unite to REVOKE CITIZEN’S UNITED. The “f” word, fascism, has finally become recognized and discussed in mainstream conversation.
This is good to hear. Leo is the one whose activity I've followed, and knowing that the IRS is finally giving him a serious look-over is a bit relieving.
Who tho will take it further? SCOTUS now has a lesser code of conduct than my professional meetings industry associations AND those are wink-wink-offer-incentives-for-biz-look-the-other-way words on a screen. Is the RNC a DoJ issue?
Dawna, you nailed it. They are no longer a political party but a criminal enterprise in service to a fascistic movement aimed at destroying our country and our government.
Their threats and violence are real.
We have to face this head on.
Dawna (and everyone else!), Thom Hartmann has an excellent Substack post on this topic today:
https://substack.com/app-link/post?publication_id=302288&post_id=138877429&utm_source=post-email-title&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=2xvzv&token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjo0OTQwMzQ3LCJwb3N0X2lkIjoxMzg4Nzc0MjksImlhdCI6MTcwMDA2MDIyNCwiZXhwIjoxNzAyNjUyMjI0LCJpc3MiOiJwdWItMzAyMjg4Iiwic3ViIjoicG9zdC1yZWFjdGlvbiJ9.NhOwffKRZKykg91FumK_i9SYe8ukYXGV5ubSgga5Mr0
OH! The article says it all! I hope this nation becomes galvanized against fascists and our demoralized, corrupt government. Shout it from the mountain tops: REVOKE CITIZENS UNITED. And demolish the RNC Organized Crime Syndicate.
Do you think it will? How? If they’re cheering trump calling people vermin and wanting brown shirts to imprison, what will change?
Here’s the thing about people who coalesce into radical mobs: At best, their moral development according to Kohlberg’s Stages reaches stage 3: Desire to gain approval of others. Those people have always been there; they just weren’t organized as a mob. The RNC propagandists knew this and developed outlets for bringing such people into their “camps.” In fact, part of the weaponization of propaganda involves the Mercers, who developed computer algorithms to target such people.
I have to believe, once the RNC criminality is exposed, shamed and prosecuted, many of those people will slip back into oblivion. You can’t look “good” if you are surrounded by verifiable Shits and Liars. As in Germany, the process will take generations.
When I grew up in upstate NY, I had a social studies teacher --no doubt a draft-dodger, back when choosing to be a teacher would free you from going to Viet Nam--who announced to the class that Watergate was “made up.” (Mind you, this is the population that is now represented by Elise Stefanik.) The point is, these people have ALWAYS been in the mix. The real error has been to validate the whining, the messaging which encouraged these people to identify through self-righteous indignation, providing justification for bullying behaviors. They have to be brought to HEEL: “Their way or the highway” dichotomy IS NOT ACCEPTABLE.
Thank you for this. And about the social studies teacher -- possibly a pacifist or just war-avoider, how odd to teach that Watergate was 'made-up'. Did any of you counter that? Other teachers?
Yes, to this has always been. I spent my earliest formative years in SW Ohio when we were represent in the US House by a "Rockefeller GOP" Representative, Chuck Whalen. My very Dem family and I voted for him. Repeatedly. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/charles-w-whalen-jr-6-term-ohio-gop-congressman-dies-at-90/2011/06/28/AGxrbqpH_story.html
Now I live in DC where I'm surrounded by like-voters. I prefer it and can read about others.
Mr Deshais was not a “good person.” He was a bully. And a coward. He didn’t avoid the draft for philosophical reasons--he just didn’t want to go. His support of Nixon meant he was happy to see OTHERS go in his place. There was no “conscientious objection” coming from him, believe me.
I never supported the US proxy war in Viet Nam, and I don’t judge those who opposed it--had I been older, I would have been marching with the protestors. But Mr Deshais was a hypocrite . . . Like any other radical.
Gov. Rockefeller did good things for his upstate NY constituents! One of the few I could respect . . . And he wasn’t appreciated by many of the people in upstate NY, the greedy ones who resented having the Adirondacks set aside, “forever free.”
Dawna, this is an important idea. Did u also Post to Notes? I would have but didnt see how.
This all reminds me of the state of affairs on the Hill in 1856, when Republican Senator Charles Sumner was beaten into unconsciousness by a southern Democrat representative. That era ended well :-(
BTW, you also forgot to mention that MTG required a civics lesson after her speech yesterday by Rosa DeLauro. Although I agree with most of what you said today, there *is* also a component that is oven overlooked. Many Americans (and apparently some of our representatives) simply never had to study how government works or its history. MTG is of an age that it is unlikely she ever had to take civics, whereas in my day it was a requirement for high school graduation almost everywhere. So there is a concern underlying this mess, especially on the state and local levels as we prepare the next generation to lead and the next generation of voters. Curricula everywhere is under attack and being dumbed down. There are exceptions (Victor Shi and David Hogg come to mind), but still.
Of course, in my day civility and common courtesy were also standards by which we all had to live.
Civics is a required course to graduate at my son’s high school - so there is hope for the future! (If our democracy makes it that far..)
My kids both took civics as freshmen in high school. BUT, then again, I live in New England where D’s are in control at the state level (although most of the towns are small and have R leadership), where the Revolution started, so we are still teach decency.
We are in NC !
Sadly, if the GQP fanatics and their minions (Mothers against liberty or whatever those traitorous trollops call themselves), get any power at all, they will bastardize civics and history to make it worse than useless. Actively harmful (disinformation often is). . .
As a lifelong bibliophile, those book banners are a particular pet peeve of mine.
Traitorous Trollops! I love it.
You can’t really “teach” morality. Knowing “civics” and history are important, but most of the population falls, at best, in Level 2 of Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development: They want to be “good boys/girls to seek approval of others, OR they want to follow THE RULES, though they don’t questions whether the rules, themselves are morally right. Part of weaponization of propaganda involves targeting individuals who don’t question right/wrong and are susceptible to mob behavior. They don’t have critical thinking skills, so much of what is taught in “civics/history” never reaches them on an intuitive basis--it’s one thing to “know” facts; it’s quite another to be able to APPLY information to the Real World.
Admittedly, I'm an old broad and the world has significantly changed since I went to school, but we not only had civics classes (called 'social studies' where I went to school) but we also had an elective government class, which I was thrilled to be able to take. Why we don't do that now is an absolute travesty.
In CA, government and economics classes are still mandatory high school grad requirements.
My government class was mandatory and honestly would not have taken it if it weren't. But the teacher actually made it interesting so it wasn't so bad.
I agree. The elective government class I had (not sure what it was called, but then, it was in the late '70s), was quite good, largely because it was taught by an enthusiastic, open-minded teacher.
Really appreciate your comment. It’s quite accurate. Our society has eroded.
And they have been attacking universities and the educational system for decades.
No Child Left Behind, for- profit colleges, attacks on teachers and curriculum etc etc
Civics was still a required senior year high school class when my three offspring went through the CA public schools in the mid-00’s. They’re even required to attend one local government board, agency or council meeting of their choice. But all three admitted history and civics were the most boring classes they took in grades 7-12. This did not sit well with their history geek father. The real shame is all the states, including CA have let parents choose home school, religious based schools, and in some cases vouchers over public education. I doubt the home and religious schooled are getting any civics and only warped history.
History is boring when it isn't taught properly. If it's only dates, battles, and "Great Men", then yeah, it'll put almost anyone to sleep. History is STORIES, and the stories should be told as such.
EXACTLY! I had a mandatory history class in College (went to a land-grant school, so one US history class was required), and it was fascinating. Focused on major issues of the period (since 1865 was the one I took) and while names and dates were mentioned, it was not taught as a trivia class. Memorization was not the point, understanding was.
Since I've gotten out of school (many years ago), I've become a big fan of learning of history, and strongly recommend Heather Cox Richardson's writings (and talks): https://substack.com/@heathercoxrichardson. She writes about current/daily events (letters from an American), and puts them in historic context. Great stuff. . .
Yep. I subscribe to her work.
I had a 12th grade American History teacher that from his frat days at USC had Hollywood wardrobe connections. Came dressed as Benjamin Franklin, Abraham Lincoln and a few others and acted the role the entire day.
One of my nieces teaches civics/social studies in SC. I’ve met some of her students who’ve placed in the natl history day competition. She makes it all come alive. One of the students I spent time with and with whom I correspond graduated Morehouse this year and is now at Harvard Divinity. He will be like Rev Sen Warnock, combining good trouble with values. I know my niece inspires and I send books and periodicals for extra credits reading. We can do this!
Here in CA we had Civics in grade 8 and Parliamentary Procedure in high school. We were well prepared for life as educated and critical-thinking citizens.
I stick by my comment from yesterday. I’m in utter disbelief that anyone supports these idiots!
I hear you! The mind boggles!
Did you watch Judy Woodruff’s report from Steubenville in my home state on PBSNEWSHOUR Wed? Steel workers, life long Dems, have GOP kids. Who vote. As one dad from a family of Dems put it his dad is turning over in his grave. I hope they can be convinced.
I'm not celebrating the way they averted the shutdown. I think the main factor of the deal is that for the first time, we won't be funding the whole government at once, but doing it in stages. That's been a conservative goal for decades. It hasn't necessarily been top of their list, but they've been telling me with varying degrees of intensity since the 1980s that someday having a straight, standalone, up-or-down vote on funding for, say, the IRS or the EPA -- that's the dream. And they're a step closer now. Maybe Democrats had to support this bill, but it's not a victory.
Blame Newt Gingrich and Grover Norquist in the late 70s.
Oh, I did. At the time. Loudly. No one cared. “Conservatism is cool and great! Liberals are icky and no fun at all! Look at how cool and funny Alex P. Keaton is!”
Vote Blue so the Dems control the House (and the Senate) and Biden
"That's been a conservative goal for decades."
From the rooftops, please.
I'm sick to death of paying these people to act like jackasses. VOTE THEM OUT! And let's start in New York with Stefanik (who walks around with a smug grin on her face all the time) and Santos (who doesn't have a clue about anything and lies about it all). What rat hole did these people crawl out of anyway? Bleh. And by the way, to quote Biff -- "other countries are laughing at us". Yes. Yes, they are... and rightly so; but when you're neck deep in this crap it ain't so damn funny.
What on earth happened to Stefanik? I used to hear she was a reasonable human being once upon a time.
Money and power. To go anywhere in the RNC (which IS an organized crime syndicate), you have to literally pledge to vote as a block; ie, sell your vote, or you will be cut off financially and will not be appointed to power positions in congress. End-of-story. Stefanik is : a) female; b) from a very small population district that has voted Republican since before the Civil War. They don’t even know why they are staunch Republicans--it’s just what they do. That area, believe it or not, was once a hotbed of abolitionists. Today, they are radicalized--poor, uneducated targets for the RNC, weaponized propaganda program. Stefanik was a strategic choice, a cynical replacement of Liz Cheney after she got too “uppity.”
I dunno - seems to me the simplest answer is likely the correct one: she likes her job, and is deathly afraid of being primaried out of it if she does not toe the MAGAt line.
That’s it in a nutshell. It’s how the RNC Puppet Masters run their syndicate: If you want to maintain your seat you have to sell your vote to the Puppet Masters who are calling the tricks—the Neo nazi fascist billionaires who fund the RNC
Yeah it’s really extraordinary how the lust for power alters someone’s character. I suspect that kind of transformation is why ancient societies believed in “demonic possession.”
Here’s a part of a longer piece I wrote several months ago:
The Republicans are suffering from a delusion that is as old as human societies; the belief that they can harness political violence to achieve their own personal ends. And at this stage of the game, it seems to be working. But it is not, and never will be, possible to tame violence like that. For hundreds, if not thousands, of years, those who have tried this have ended up as victims themselves.
The Republicans are beginning to experience their own version of the Night of the Long Knives. And it will get worse.
You're right about how that ends. Leopards Eating People's Faces Party, anyone?
A proposal:
The Republican Party needs to rebrand itself as the MAGA Party. Take ownership for what you are.
The RNC will rename itself the MAGA National Committee. Tell all the states (and MSM and everyone else) that the Republican politicians are now MAGA politicians. Update all future ballots to reflect the new name. Each state will rename the state "Republican Party" to the state "MAGA Party."
The use of the phrase "Grand Old Party", "GOP" and the "Party of Lincoln" is not allowed to describe the MAGA Party. Delete all Republican Party trademarks (the elephant) . Replace the trademarks with "MAGA" (gun? AR15?)
If the folks at the Lincoln Project wish to use the "Republican" name then they can buy it from you. Make them pay for it. After all the MAGA Party is all about money, power and domination.
And if they want to call themselves the conservatives and embrace traditional Republican values and policies, then let them. The MAGA Party has no policy except to take total control of the country. Whatever Trump wants Trump gets.
And if any MAGA politician still wishes to be thought of as a Republican then they can be labeled with the slur "RINO". Since the MAGA Party has abandoned its traditional Republican roots and has no shame or conscience you truly have become "Republicans In Name Only."
The Federalist Society, The Heritage Society, The Claremont Institute and the other billionaire supported think tanks can join you too. Come out of the woodwork. The white supremist kool aid drinking fools can be your shock troops.
The RNC needs to be prosecuted for operating as an organized crime syndicate that ALSO is involved with the Russian mob under Mogilevich.
Kenneth Buck was right: "We (the Republican Party) have lost our way." The world is watching as the GOP shows its complete and utter lack of civility and professionalism. The only solution is to vote as many as we can out of office. They dont deserve to be there and are a clear danger to our democracy. (Who names their kid "Markwayne" anyway?🙄)
I can’t remember where I saw this, but some other commenter in another Substack newsletter said Mullin’s name sounds like that of a serial killer. 😂
I can see that. Like Johnwayne Gacy? What a freak!
They are all freaks. The award of the day goes to my beloved Bernie Sanders “Sit down, you’re a United States senator!” I wouldn’t believe any of this if I had not seen it on video.
I saw that video and yelled , “GO BERNIE!” My dog jumped 3 feet in the air! 😂
It was a pleasure to watch Bernie referee this verbal brawl. What an embarrassment these people are to the entire country,
Let's be honest; they are looking forward to the day they think trump will be back in the white house. Then they can hold investigations on political enemy's all day every day, put more Aileen Cannon's on the bench, and fund the military. The nonsense going on right now is just the beginning. We cannot become complacent, or get distracted; there is way too much at stake.
This is their operating assumption.
I don't understand why the Republican Speakers who do seem to manage to get spending bills passed are only playing kick the can with this mess, making every 'solution' temporary.
I also have a proposal: Can we stop calling them the Republican Party or the GOP and just call them what they are - the Fascist Party. There is no GOP anymore.
The FOP, Fascist Oligarchic Party.
I offer a tiny glimmer of hope. In a rural, very conservative Texas town, near Dallas, the high school principal cancelled the long-planned performance of "Oklahoma" because of the musical's "profane and sexual context". The real reason: a transgender student had been given a lead role. Outraged students and parents staged demonstrations outside the school offices and, total surprise, at a late night meeting, the District reversed the principal's decision and restored the original casting
If it can happen in Texas........
I saw that. It’s a great moment.
Oh that is good news!!!!
Q. How many US Senators does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
A. Two. One to do the screwing and one to remind the first he's a US Senator.
In 2016 I said it’s going to get worse before it gets better. And moved out of the country to Paris.
I don’t normally consider myself clairvoyant but on that point, I was and I predict it will be even worse before this dumpster fire is spent.
I envy people with the means to move out. At age 72 I wonder what my remaining years will be like in this country. I encourage my kids (I have 5 adult kids) to move before it's too late (and take me with them!) but they don't take this stuff seriously. Busy with life, kids, jobs - they don't seem to watch any news at all, and tease me for being "political". I hope they won't have to suffer the shock of the worst things coming to pass, with the knowledge that they could have got out.
I never lived outside of Upstate New York until I was 60 years old. In my experience, making the decision is the most difficult thing. But once made, The Universe provides the means to do whatever we set our minds and our hearts to.
Not without funds unfortunately. A series of financial setbacks, (various reasons) since my husband passed away suddenly at age 47, has left me dependent on one small SS check. Don't think it would pay the rent in Europe.
Investigate Panama. It's cheap, it's warm, you can speak English and get along just fine, and they have the pensionado program. It's what I'm looking at.
Thanks for the tip!
I understand. I'm there, myself. Warm wishes for better times for all of us.
We couldn’t leave in 2016 due to only a few years until retirement. Then COVID struck, so we had to wait. We moved to SW France nearly 7 months ago and we’re grateful that France and the lovely French people have welcomed us with open arms. Even CPAM has been great and that’s saying something. 😂
Why do I sense Mr Mullen has a small unsatisfying penis? 🤔
OMG so funny!
Congress has become the school playground with roaming bullies. As a proud graduate of Catholic schools, they need some nuns as playground monitors :)
Not the first time:
The caning of Charles Sumner, or the Brooks–Sumner Affair, occurred on May 22, 1856, in the United States Senate chamber, when Representative Preston Brooks, a pro-slavery Democrat from South Carolina, used a walking cane to attack Senator Charles Sumner, an abolitionist Republican from Massachusetts.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caning_of_Charles_Sumner
Actually the party names need to reversed since the Dixiecrats switched to the Republican party starting in 1964.