I would have AI draw up the districts to be democratically fair. Unfortunately for the republican party, they would have to paint up a “closed for business” sign on the RNC‘s front door.
I don’t look at it as claiming the moral high ground as though that gets you a gold star. I look at it as being strong examples of everything the other side is not. That way voters have a choice, not between the red cheaters or the blue cheaters, but between the red cheaters and the rule of law. Gerrymandering IS unlawful in fact, even if it is “allowed”.
Or because it is Dems doing it, the SC does take it up and determine political gerrymandering IS illegal. As of right now, political gerrymandering IS perfectly legal, therefore, Dems are following precedent and doing what is allowable.
We can get a large enough majority in the House and SC, pass the Voter rights laws and make all gerrymandering illegal to put an end to it.
“Occupying” the high ground is going to impress whom in taking action in this war that the MAGAts are conducting against democracy? The FL republican senators have already declared democracy a failed means of governance for this country. Fighting a “clean” fight is only going to get us dead with the likes of Roger Stone, Steve, Miller, Larry Flynn, Steve Bannon, Jeffrey Clark, Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman, Ronna McDaniel, Jim Jordan, Mo Brooks, and Alex Jones running free in the streets.
Yeah, I’m pissed off right now. Maybe I’ll feel better in the morning after I write some postcards.
Brian, I’m trying to say that phrases like “Occupy the high ground”, a phrase latched onto by our opponents, are meant to undermine the strength and simplicity of being true to our cause. With the lying to the people through the “press” being permitted as it is now, maybe democracy is not viable any longer. Or maybe most folks are seeing through the lies. After all, people have become experts at sussing the Amazon ratings ha ha. Look at the results of the last elections as the outcome of your work and the work of others along with an ardent citizenry fighting to know what is real. Can we, is it even possible to gerrymander our way to victory? If we can and since it is not yet outlawed, I’m not against it if we must. But what is the bottom-line reality? It’s a war to maintain a Democracy based on truth. They are attempting and succeeding to an unknown extent to steal Democracy with words. Untrue words. Lies. Occupying the high ground and similar phrases are made up words from the other side to make doing right and staying strong look stupid.
I’m onboard with that. Thanks for the effort to expand and clarify. Got my coffee and postcards right here beside me.
I resonate with the concern to find sources of truth. I don’t like the cracks and slants I’m beginning to see in NYT political reporting. Judgemental terms and subjective characterizations being inserted into reports of events in lieu of analysis and context. Analysis, context, and judgements belong in a package other than “who, what, when, where, how.”
NC is virtually guaranteeing a dysfunctional House like we have now. We’ve tried going high and it hasn’t worked. We need to fight them in the gutter where they live. IMO.
It doesn't work at all if we play nice while Republicans cheat their way to victory. Being morally better than them will make us all feel so superior in the gulags.
So the guy who had 2 green card marriages to two different immigrants (at least one of which had a dubious visa claims) wants to invalidate birth rights for other children born here? A domestic terrorist should not be able to run for office, a person that broke their Oath of Office should not be allowed to hold office (see 5 USC 7311) make it stop. 💙
Per the article below that appears to be a technicality that he and his administration weren't bothered with in the past, so I wouldn't be confident that the position would be different, same architect.
Ironically, Tiffany is the only "legit" birth to a "natural" U.S. citizen (even though conceived out of wedlock as he was married to an immigrant at the time) from the article below it appears Jr was also conceived out of wedlock, to a previously divorced immigrant with multiple citizenships (but not U.S. until 1988 which is after all 3 of her children were born) and Miller is also the child of immigrants, some seriously shameful shit.
Since Trump never had a second term, is the use of "first" term appropriate. "the architect behind Trump’s immigration policies in his first term, including family separation." I would have preferred the word "only" to the word "first".
Jay, question for you: am I correct in assuming that the safety concerns regarding cameras in the court room are about wanting to protect jurors and court personnel from being identified visually by the public? If that is correct, why is audio-only, rather than cameras, not an option?
Jay is just testing us - like he did earlier in the week when he said that Kristi Noem was the governor of Nebraska. (She's the governor of South Dakota). See Jay, we are paying attention. We passed!
Harder to hide as the garbled vocabulary becomes more dominant. I know from personal experience that folks with dementia have their "good days" and "bad days" and that the bad days increase with age and stress. Ironically, he could probably get some help for this from a medical standpoint. There are some interesting options available that require lots of money, which he sort of has. But he'd never admit to needing the help.
tRump actually believes that going non-linear and bat-shit crazy is a winner for him, the cult goes nutz when he rants, so don't expect the fool to tone it down...in fact quite the opposite.
That image of tRump is positively Baboon-ish. What do people see in him?
New York and N. Carolina gerrymandering give great support for eliminating the electoral college altogether. That will never happen with the corrupt SCOTUS...
Yes, that photo heading Jay's post today indeed is worth more than a thousand words...it captures the essence of this psychopathic individual, right in the process of a Hitlerian rant, with his florid face, cruel mouth, and flailing arms. The man needs to be put down like the rabid animal he is.
I believe it would be more productive to talk about defeating him in the election rather than to use and reinforce Trump's and MAGA's violent images and threats.
Ditching the electoral college is definitely a good idea, and would help with electing POTUS, but it won't help where electing House representatives is concerned. They are directly elected from voters in their district, not through the electoral college.
Then we are back to the gerrymandered crap. Ohio’s maps were ruled unconstitutional by the Ohio SC, but the great repubs went ahead and used them anyway. “The voters won’t argue with us, we are their legislators.” Crap again.
I am SO tired of seeing that piece of garbage all over the place... or hearing his extremely annoying voice. Had he been a decent human being, I wouldn't have cared if he was the second Quasimodo. But he is not AND he is ugly. He can't disappear soon enough.
LOL Trump “exonerates himself.” That is literally what will happen. He will literally stand up in the courtroom and yell “I DECLARE MYSELF EXONERATED” Michael Scott-style.
The jury and judge won’t exonerate him, but that’s just an American detail, and Trump has made his hatred of America clear for years.
I honestly doubt he hates anyone. He just doesn't CARE about anyone other than himself. If demonising Group X is his route to power, he'll take it. He doesn't care who Group X really consist of, because they aren't real people For narcissists and psychopaths people don't really "exist" as independent entities. We only exist in relationship to THEIR needs.
I wonder if I will live to see the political gridlock at least soften in my lifetime? My faith in humans is at an all time low... the lack of concern for the greater good is disheartening to say the least. If we could get the obscene amounts of money out of the system, and make it easier (and encourage) for new leadership.... UGH. What a bumpy ride this has been.
His physical appearance has certainly deteriorated. Even his precious Pekinese of a hair-do is often messy, and his enormous bald spot clearly visible. I've also noticed, that under normal lighting, his palor is awful.
Right? It is really noticeable because he leaves a half inch between his hairline and the makeup. So you have the wood stain and the greenish normal pallor. Elegant look. Not.
I'm ambivalent on the prospect of Dems "fighting fire with fire" in New York. On one hand, I agree with the idea that it is dangerous to "disarm" while we know Republicans will not. On the other hand, supporting gerrymandering just doesn't sit right with me. I'm not so much concerned with "moral high ground," as I see that concept as largely performative. I'm more concerned with normalizing the practice in a way that will likely lead to the same problem, in the long run, where each party constantly scrabbles to out-gerrymander the other. I'm really interested in seeing others' opinions on the idea.
In a perfect world I would wholeheartedly agree with you but being morally correct doesn’t win anything in this polarized ideological war. What benefits have we derived from fair play, tolerance and following the rules of law in the last decade? Look at the Supreme Court as an example.
The benefit we may have derived, albeit quietly, is just the knowledge and demonstration of what fair play looks like. We hold up to society the making of choices decent people make. It’s a handle that people who are after honesty and truthfulness can grab hold of. If we cheat like they do we lose the handle that may save us when it counts.
I’m getting tired of losing from the high ground. When you consider what is at stake and how far the pendulum has moved to the far right can we afford to take that morally superior approach? Just read the statements from Trump and his followers about their plans for the future of the country and convince me that we can afford to continue losing.
I read them. That doesn’t mean they are going to happen. Do you believe the majority of Americans would vote for that? I believe they will not, and that they will look in the opposite direction.
Respectfully do you honestly believe that we will be given the opportunity to vote on these? Did we VOTE to separate families at the border? Increasingly the checks and balances we depend upon are becoming incapacitated. Without the press to report we will literally be left in the dark. Who can intercede if all three branches are moving in the same direction. The military? Things that previously were unthinkable seem to be thinkable.
It doesn't matter what the majority of Americans would vote for when the other side has gerrymandered us into a minority of districts. It's like you're not even paying attention to the main point here.
I understand that viewpoint but in the context of the chaos that results from “losing so damn much”, I am not sure in the end if that will be any consolation. This is a contest where having a handle holding on to an empty container will be little help.
Clear speech, decency, fair play, honesty, the rule of law will be in that container. Would you rather lose playing by their rules or lose by playing by your own? Or win. I trust most people to see through the bullshit.
T’s mesmerized rally attendees don’t know he’s making mistakes because they are unaware of that information themselves. But thank goodness the media is starting to comment.
"The attack ads are coming as well. Both the DeSantis and the Biden campaigns have produced compilations of the gaffes, missteps and ramblings that show a man presumably in significant cognitive decline."
THIS! In fact, what remains of the sorry-arse GOP "primary" and "debates" should do nothing else BUT concentrate on tRump's loss of purchase on what is left of his sanity. I mean, just viciously attack him as he attacks his "enemies", there is no other path to unseating tRump as the front-runner. Shying away from him, or hand-raising when asked who amongst the so-called candidates would support him in a general election is a LOSER, it just hasn't moved the needle - actually, it has, but in the wrong direction.
If the early polls are to be believed, neither Biden nor tRump have high favorables, so what the hell does someone like Nikki Haley have to lose other than to batter the shit out of tRump as mentally failing if not completely deranged? I mean, doesn't she REALLY want to president?
To counter my own comment (I'm willing to play devil's advocate with anyone, including myself), if I was running for president, I'd double check and triple check to make sure I had that right. I double check all my work, especially when I give presentations. Jay is right, though. There will be many more gaffes, so the press will have plenty to choose from, and they'll be much worse.
I’m truly done with the moral high ground nonsense. The NY democrats need to fight like the GOP and redraw the maps.
I'd say redrawing the NY maps IS the moral high ground.
I would have AI draw up the districts to be democratically fair. Unfortunately for the republican party, they would have to paint up a “closed for business” sign on the RNC‘s front door.
I don’t look at it as claiming the moral high ground as though that gets you a gold star. I look at it as being strong examples of everything the other side is not. That way voters have a choice, not between the red cheaters or the blue cheaters, but between the red cheaters and the rule of law. Gerrymandering IS unlawful in fact, even if it is “allowed”.
Or because it is Dems doing it, the SC does take it up and determine political gerrymandering IS illegal. As of right now, political gerrymandering IS perfectly legal, therefore, Dems are following precedent and doing what is allowable.
We can get a large enough majority in the House and SC, pass the Voter rights laws and make all gerrymandering illegal to put an end to it.
I hope you are right if we decide to go that way.
“Occupying” the high ground is going to impress whom in taking action in this war that the MAGAts are conducting against democracy? The FL republican senators have already declared democracy a failed means of governance for this country. Fighting a “clean” fight is only going to get us dead with the likes of Roger Stone, Steve, Miller, Larry Flynn, Steve Bannon, Jeffrey Clark, Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman, Ronna McDaniel, Jim Jordan, Mo Brooks, and Alex Jones running free in the streets.
Yeah, I’m pissed off right now. Maybe I’ll feel better in the morning after I write some postcards.
Brian, I’m trying to say that phrases like “Occupy the high ground”, a phrase latched onto by our opponents, are meant to undermine the strength and simplicity of being true to our cause. With the lying to the people through the “press” being permitted as it is now, maybe democracy is not viable any longer. Or maybe most folks are seeing through the lies. After all, people have become experts at sussing the Amazon ratings ha ha. Look at the results of the last elections as the outcome of your work and the work of others along with an ardent citizenry fighting to know what is real. Can we, is it even possible to gerrymander our way to victory? If we can and since it is not yet outlawed, I’m not against it if we must. But what is the bottom-line reality? It’s a war to maintain a Democracy based on truth. They are attempting and succeeding to an unknown extent to steal Democracy with words. Untrue words. Lies. Occupying the high ground and similar phrases are made up words from the other side to make doing right and staying strong look stupid.
I’m onboard with that. Thanks for the effort to expand and clarify. Got my coffee and postcards right here beside me.
I resonate with the concern to find sources of truth. I don’t like the cracks and slants I’m beginning to see in NYT political reporting. Judgemental terms and subjective characterizations being inserted into reports of events in lieu of analysis and context. Analysis, context, and judgements belong in a package other than “who, what, when, where, how.”
NC is virtually guaranteeing a dysfunctional House like we have now. We’ve tried going high and it hasn’t worked. We need to fight them in the gutter where they live. IMO.
Ok. It’s a free country.
So far.
Yes, this is WAR! We can be nice people again once GOP power is forever extinguished.
It doesn’t work that way.
It doesn't work at all if we play nice while Republicans cheat their way to victory. Being morally better than them will make us all feel so superior in the gulags.
Agreed. High ground is achieved by saving the country and the world from the fascist, mostly White Supremacist-villains running the Republican Party.
So the guy who had 2 green card marriages to two different immigrants (at least one of which had a dubious visa claims) wants to invalidate birth rights for other children born here? A domestic terrorist should not be able to run for office, a person that broke their Oath of Office should not be allowed to hold office (see 5 USC 7311) make it stop. 💙
Does that mean all his (known) offspring except Tiffany would be invalidated? And their offspring?
Per the article below, yes, all three children Ivana gave birth to were born before she received U.S. citizenship in '88...
https://www.sheknows.com/entertainment/slideshow/2595375/donald-trump-ivana-trump-marriage-divorce-timeline-photos/
That’s ^^^ what I was thinking.
But their father is a US citizen. The issue would be children born in the US to non-citizens (both parents) would not be granted citizenship.
Per the article below that appears to be a technicality that he and his administration weren't bothered with in the past, so I wouldn't be confident that the position would be different, same architect.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/thousands-of-vietnamese-including-offspring-of-us-troops-could-be-deported-under-tough-trump-policy/2018/08/30/8de80848-a6d0-11e8-b76b-d513a40042f6_story.html
Now wouldn’t that be a smashing twist… after his expulsion from NY and his incarceration?
Tiffany and Barron as "anchor babies"! LOL!
Ironically, Tiffany is the only "legit" birth to a "natural" U.S. citizen (even though conceived out of wedlock as he was married to an immigrant at the time) from the article below it appears Jr was also conceived out of wedlock, to a previously divorced immigrant with multiple citizenships (but not U.S. until 1988 which is after all 3 of her children were born) and Miller is also the child of immigrants, some seriously shameful shit.
https://www.sheknows.com/entertainment/slideshow/2595375/donald-trump-ivana-trump-marriage-divorce-timeline-photos/
Since Trump never had a second term, is the use of "first" term appropriate. "the architect behind Trump’s immigration policies in his first term, including family separation." I would have preferred the word "only" to the word "first".
And all those news organizations could remind readers that the dude is OUT ON BAIL!
Or Last Term...
Jay, question for you: am I correct in assuming that the safety concerns regarding cameras in the court room are about wanting to protect jurors and court personnel from being identified visually by the public? If that is correct, why is audio-only, rather than cameras, not an option?
That’s a fair point. It’s one the media I’m sure has argued in seeking access.
I feel like I get a lot of information from facial expressions and body language. Put me down for demanding the camera and the audio.
Sioux Falls is in South Dakota, and isn't that far from Sioux City.
As the Britney Spears songs goes, “Oops, I did it again…” :)
Jay is just testing us - like he did earlier in the week when he said that Kristi Noem was the governor of Nebraska. (She's the governor of South Dakota). See Jay, we are paying attention. We passed!
Jay has a post on Facebook today discussing this very issue. It is a very interesting read.
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid0oBdYzFeVrjf8x2kSmvNKPkzf8f9ceksUhosSLwtsjFU6npEDhKw6wkJdKZSGf6rvl&id=579515442&mibextid=Nif5oz
Hope that's true; but--maybe Jay needs a geography refresher....
~80 miles north on I-29.
True dat
That’s what I came to say. :)
Trump has not had any discernable brain power since 2016. These issues are not something new, just less well hidden by his staff and supporters.
Harder to hide as the garbled vocabulary becomes more dominant. I know from personal experience that folks with dementia have their "good days" and "bad days" and that the bad days increase with age and stress. Ironically, he could probably get some help for this from a medical standpoint. There are some interesting options available that require lots of money, which he sort of has. But he'd never admit to needing the help.
Stress is frying that Swiss cheese brain of his.
tRump actually believes that going non-linear and bat-shit crazy is a winner for him, the cult goes nutz when he rants, so don't expect the fool to tone it down...in fact quite the opposite.
That image of tRump is positively Baboon-ish. What do people see in him?
New York and N. Carolina gerrymandering give great support for eliminating the electoral college altogether. That will never happen with the corrupt SCOTUS...
Yes, that photo heading Jay's post today indeed is worth more than a thousand words...it captures the essence of this psychopathic individual, right in the process of a Hitlerian rant, with his florid face, cruel mouth, and flailing arms. The man needs to be put down like the rabid animal he is.
I believe it would be more productive to talk about defeating him in the election rather than to use and reinforce Trump's and MAGA's violent images and threats.
Ditching the electoral college is definitely a good idea, and would help with electing POTUS, but it won't help where electing House representatives is concerned. They are directly elected from voters in their district, not through the electoral college.
Then we are back to the gerrymandered crap. Ohio’s maps were ruled unconstitutional by the Ohio SC, but the great repubs went ahead and used them anyway. “The voters won’t argue with us, we are their legislators.” Crap again.
I am SO tired of seeing that piece of garbage all over the place... or hearing his extremely annoying voice. Had he been a decent human being, I wouldn't have cared if he was the second Quasimodo. But he is not AND he is ugly. He can't disappear soon enough.
LOL Trump “exonerates himself.” That is literally what will happen. He will literally stand up in the courtroom and yell “I DECLARE MYSELF EXONERATED” Michael Scott-style.
The jury and judge won’t exonerate him, but that’s just an American detail, and Trump has made his hatred of America clear for years.
Stephen Miller, grandson of Survivors, terrifies me. I cannot comprehend his hate of so many.
I honestly doubt he hates anyone. He just doesn't CARE about anyone other than himself. If demonising Group X is his route to power, he'll take it. He doesn't care who Group X really consist of, because they aren't real people For narcissists and psychopaths people don't really "exist" as independent entities. We only exist in relationship to THEIR needs.
Don't kid yourself, the man is a sadistic hater, zero empathy and zero affect - aka psychopathic.
Maybe. He exhibits hateful behaviors. When I don’t care, I move on. Don’t his actions exhibit fear? Or hate?
His family has absolutely no idea how he got the way he is.
I wonder if I will live to see the political gridlock at least soften in my lifetime? My faith in humans is at an all time low... the lack of concern for the greater good is disheartening to say the least. If we could get the obscene amounts of money out of the system, and make it easier (and encourage) for new leadership.... UGH. What a bumpy ride this has been.
On the bright side, perhaps this is the nadir.
Let us all hope so. Your positivity is SO appreciated. 👍✌️
I can't help but wonder if the stress of his legal woes are taking a toll.
His physical appearance has certainly deteriorated. Even his precious Pekinese of a hair-do is often messy, and his enormous bald spot clearly visible. I've also noticed, that under normal lighting, his palor is awful.
It looks like he's given up the bronzer for either wood stain or shoe polish.
Right? It is really noticeable because he leaves a half inch between his hairline and the makeup. So you have the wood stain and the greenish normal pallor. Elegant look. Not.
Shinola, my guess.
We can only hope! 🥰
I'm ambivalent on the prospect of Dems "fighting fire with fire" in New York. On one hand, I agree with the idea that it is dangerous to "disarm" while we know Republicans will not. On the other hand, supporting gerrymandering just doesn't sit right with me. I'm not so much concerned with "moral high ground," as I see that concept as largely performative. I'm more concerned with normalizing the practice in a way that will likely lead to the same problem, in the long run, where each party constantly scrabbles to out-gerrymander the other. I'm really interested in seeing others' opinions on the idea.
This is a very thoughtful comment and reflects some of my own misgivings.
In a perfect world I would wholeheartedly agree with you but being morally correct doesn’t win anything in this polarized ideological war. What benefits have we derived from fair play, tolerance and following the rules of law in the last decade? Look at the Supreme Court as an example.
The benefit we may have derived, albeit quietly, is just the knowledge and demonstration of what fair play looks like. We hold up to society the making of choices decent people make. It’s a handle that people who are after honesty and truthfulness can grab hold of. If we cheat like they do we lose the handle that may save us when it counts.
I’m getting tired of losing from the high ground. When you consider what is at stake and how far the pendulum has moved to the far right can we afford to take that morally superior approach? Just read the statements from Trump and his followers about their plans for the future of the country and convince me that we can afford to continue losing.
I read them. That doesn’t mean they are going to happen. Do you believe the majority of Americans would vote for that? I believe they will not, and that they will look in the opposite direction.
Respectfully do you honestly believe that we will be given the opportunity to vote on these? Did we VOTE to separate families at the border? Increasingly the checks and balances we depend upon are becoming incapacitated. Without the press to report we will literally be left in the dark. Who can intercede if all three branches are moving in the same direction. The military? Things that previously were unthinkable seem to be thinkable.
So the press reports. They want to scare ya. It’s a tactic. Keep the faith. Keep the faith and do right.
It doesn't matter what the majority of Americans would vote for when the other side has gerrymandered us into a minority of districts. It's like you're not even paying attention to the main point here.
Maybe not.
I understand that viewpoint but in the context of the chaos that results from “losing so damn much”, I am not sure in the end if that will be any consolation. This is a contest where having a handle holding on to an empty container will be little help.
Clear speech, decency, fair play, honesty, the rule of law will be in that container. Would you rather lose playing by their rules or lose by playing by your own? Or win. I trust most people to see through the bullshit.
I don’t want to be a bullshitter like them.
T’s mesmerized rally attendees don’t know he’s making mistakes because they are unaware of that information themselves. But thank goodness the media is starting to comment.
"The attack ads are coming as well. Both the DeSantis and the Biden campaigns have produced compilations of the gaffes, missteps and ramblings that show a man presumably in significant cognitive decline."
THIS! In fact, what remains of the sorry-arse GOP "primary" and "debates" should do nothing else BUT concentrate on tRump's loss of purchase on what is left of his sanity. I mean, just viciously attack him as he attacks his "enemies", there is no other path to unseating tRump as the front-runner. Shying away from him, or hand-raising when asked who amongst the so-called candidates would support him in a general election is a LOSER, it just hasn't moved the needle - actually, it has, but in the wrong direction.
If the early polls are to be believed, neither Biden nor tRump have high favorables, so what the hell does someone like Nikki Haley have to lose other than to batter the shit out of tRump as mentally failing if not completely deranged? I mean, doesn't she REALLY want to president?
Well, we don't know what trump has on her.
Sioux Falls South Dakota very near Sioux City Iowa
The word salad spewing from tRump’s mouth includes “cov-fe-fe” and “anti-fa-fa.”
Yeah, that's not really the kind of gaffe that best represents his illness. I could see Biden making the same goof.
I travel through those cities and I make that mistake sometimes.
To counter my own comment (I'm willing to play devil's advocate with anyone, including myself), if I was running for president, I'd double check and triple check to make sure I had that right. I double check all my work, especially when I give presentations. Jay is right, though. There will be many more gaffes, so the press will have plenty to choose from, and they'll be much worse.
The great thing about Danger Yam 🍠 is that he can’t shut up when he should. I agree that we’ll see an avalanche of gaffes as his trials heat up.
Danger Yam 🍠! I love it. I hadn't heard that one yet!
I don't. Yams are good.
Me neither.... thats awesome! Nice, Danielle👏👏👏
Note how Trump's plans for mass deportation and suspension of civil rights based on ethnic origin continues to follow the Hitler playbook.
He even uses the word “vermin” the way the Fuhrer did.
We need a crying emoji.