I'm just done. The last straw was that asshole at CPAC calling for the eradicating Trans people. Hate like this is unfixable. I fear this country is not going to ever recover from the stench of trump, his co-conspirators, and his base that happily cheers for this shit. The rot is deep. The hate and cruelty being spewed on a practically minute by minute pace is exhausting. It doesn't help to blockthese people because Democrats love to retweet all of this, ad nauseum, to try and make their points. There is literally no escape. Add to that the regular media, who covers all of this like it's somehow normal and the fact that no one has yet to be held accountable for any of this, and I just can't. I'm losing my voice, both literally and figuratively, from screaming into the void.
I think a lot of folks would agree with you. Our challenge will be to turn our frustration and horror into action to defend our country. Our system is under attack, and we will need focused, determined and coordinated defense.
It is horrifying. And we need to not give up. They are hoping to exhaust us with all of the hate and lies. We need to stay in the fight to protect the vulnerable.
While I am not a supporter of violence, it is, I believe a mistake to not fight back. Just as in war, one side will be completely obliterated if after the aggressor starts shooting missiles , they try and use words to stop it. The mind set behind the attack is NOT going to listen to reason, nor are the supporters of the aggressors.
You only have to look at the war in Ukraine to see how ideology has been used to attack a peaceful neighbour, while the supporters of the attack, increasingly becoming almost hysterical in their egging on their troops to “destroy” the Ukrainians. If the Ukrainians hadn’t fought back, in the same manner as the aggressors, it would have been a very short war, and Ukraine would no longer exist.
Trying to fight creeping fascism, with words is NOT going to work. Half of the US population is unaware of just about everything going on around them, out of the other half, 20% are either dedicated fascists or cheerleaders for them because their ignorance and inability to think for themselves is palpable, leaving only 30% of the population who are aware of the problem and are willing to fight against it.
While I’m not telling you to get down and dirty with them in the muck, some of the tactics the right is using SHOULD be put into play by the left as well, because if you can’t galvanize enough people to push back, to protest the anti-protests, to write the letters against creeping fascist laws and actions, to use the courts, the legal system, social media, and every other available means of communication, to fight back, just like in Hungary and Poland and a great many other countries, one day you’ll wake up and realize it’s far too late. And once established a fascist state is extremely hard to remove.
The way to defeat the growing fascist movement is to galvanize voters against it. That is words, yes, but also massive levels of action, from voter registration to civil disobedience. Violence is not the answer, unless they raise arms against the government and the rest of us.
I wasn’t suggesting violence. My point is the GOP has weaponized Parent groups, homophobic groups, racist groups, legal organizations, PACs and fundraising organizations, Social media, news feeds, and most especially controlling the narrative in a great many ways.
The Democrats need to use the same tools against the Republicans that the Republicans are using against the Democrat.
And galvanizing voters requires flooding the news feeds all day everyday, with facts figures and actually proof of how their lives are better today than they were 4 years ago, thanks to Joe Biden and the Democratic Party.
The largest bulk of voters are those who don’t vote. Those are the people the Democrats need to awaken, inform, and bring under the big tent.
Totally agree. We need to organize. Perhaps Jay and George can help consolidate under the aegis of a PAC or some body that benefits from our cooperative energies.
We overuse FB, underuse perhaps the courts and investigative maneuvering.
"....our best hopes for righting the ship without destroying it in the process,..."
If we keep our heads we will prevail.
I get concerned when I see self proclaimed liberal commenters in blogs and national publications sound exactly like MAGAs. The name calling, made up names ala trump style, espousing hatred, doomsday predictions, and culture wars abound. The misogynist slandering for MAGA women is constant. The mansplaining has also gotten out of control between commenters.
I respectfully ask anyone reading my comment to take up this fight in holding ourselves to a higher standard. Please use facts to counter what is being accused and to defeat outright lies. Also. The name is Democrats or Democratic Party. Not Dems. The far right folks coined this.
We need to do our research. Resist making unproven statements about the state of our Government, Country and the Right. Resist calls for violence. Most importantly resist despair and hate. It will destroy us.
Read the White House web site. It has transcripts of speeches. The Congressional Record has all the bills passed. Other sources are the bibliography of bloggers you respect. Reuters, BBC USA, The Guardian USA are good factual sources. Check the source by using such sites as "Media Bias Fact Check".
Although it seems early we are laying the groundwork for the 2024 elections. Remember what Rick Wilson of The Lincoln Project once said "There are more of us than them and we will win." (I think it was Wilson).
Super protein filled post Barbara M, thank you. I am weak on Bible references but, it may have been Elisha who said paraphrasing, "There are more in 'our' Army ...."
Thank you! I feel the same. The Lincoln Project devolved into similar name calling as the MAGA Republicans . I originally had higher hopes for them.
The only way to beat this down is with truth honesty and dignity. They have lost their way and the American people need the truth not "sound bites" and memes
I still like the Lincoln Project. They are effective in getting in Republican's heads. trump even mentioned them at CPAC. I believe we best leave the hard fighting to the professionals like TLP. They know where to target ads and were able to achieve quantifiable results in the 2020 and 2022 elections.
I’ve seen far too many comments from people who do not think it’s worthwhile to take a stand with transgender people’s rights. I’d like to remind them that, if they can’t empathize with the most vulnerable among us, that an inch will soon become a yard. If you can’t bring yourself to stand with this small and vulnerable minority, there will soon be the next wave of hate. Working up the chain from the weakest to you. Who is it that doesn’t have some small difference that makes them vulnerable? Gender, sexual orientation, race, nationality, age or disability. Even a healthy, young white male, will eventually get old and who knows what accident or disease will happen. The goal of the MAGA movement is to divide and weaken us all. Ambivalence will destroy our nation just as effectively as hate. The opposite of hate is love and only love, understanding and compassion will save us from destruction.
They had to come up with something new for their members to hate since Roe v Wade was overturned. If any one thinks the transgendered humans are where this ends they are blind. Read history Hitler did not start with Jewish people. He started with Gay humans, then the disabled, then the mentally ill, then the Jewish people. With each group he called for their eradication comparing them to vermin that must be destroyed claiming they where not truly human. Make no bones about it what just happened at this CPAC was hate speech and not just transgenders who should be afraid. The entire world every single human should be afraid because the one thing that Hitler did prove is there is someone who will hate you and want you eradicated also just for being you, just for believing something different than them, just for looking different than they do. This type of hate will never end however we humans must always in the end band together each and every time to defeat it because no matter what they say there are many more of us who will defend the truth that all humans have value, that all humans deserve life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, than those whom hate and would deny those whom they declare as unworthy these basic human rights.
Those of us old enough to have been adults in the pre=Stonewall era, have seen liberation gradually arrive and open new horizons. We are profoundly saddened by the GOP/Right-wing/Evangelicals trying to reimpose hypocritical 1950’s morality standards on our society. In detrimental reliance on laws and court decisions, gays became open and easily identified. Now apparently we are to be punished by the new tyranny being brewed up by the “Right” and its minions. All the old prejudices will again flourish in a Trump or Desantis’ America. Win or lose a solid 40% of our own people will have had those fascist ideas firmly established under the “Right’s” tutelage. What a sad legacy of an amoral man like Trump..
The levers of government have already been politicized, and Pandora's box has already been opened. I am afraid that in trying to hold the moral high ground that the Democrats are consistently bringing a knife to a gunfight.
If that were true we wouldn’t have kept the Senate and with them barely holding the House. We must protect vulnerable communities and cherished rights even as we strengthen our political power at all levels.
Thank you for keeping it all organized and us on high alert! The J6 Washington DC Prison Choir singing the National Anthem with Trump singing along is the lowest of the bowels I have ever seen this country go through! So we are rewarding the J6 prisoners with their song and pledge of allegiance being recited by X45 on our airwaves?!?
Alaska drops policy banning discrimination against LGBTQ individuals
“On the advice of the state’s attorney general, Alaska’s civil rights agency quietly deleted language promising equal protections for LGBTQ Alaskans against most categories of discrimination, and it began refusing to investigate complaints.”
I'm just done. The last straw was that asshole at CPAC calling for the eradicating Trans people. Hate like this is unfixable. I fear this country is not going to ever recover from the stench of trump, his co-conspirators, and his base that happily cheers for this shit. The rot is deep. The hate and cruelty being spewed on a practically minute by minute pace is exhausting. It doesn't help to blockthese people because Democrats love to retweet all of this, ad nauseum, to try and make their points. There is literally no escape. Add to that the regular media, who covers all of this like it's somehow normal and the fact that no one has yet to be held accountable for any of this, and I just can't. I'm losing my voice, both literally and figuratively, from screaming into the void.
I think a lot of folks would agree with you. Our challenge will be to turn our frustration and horror into action to defend our country. Our system is under attack, and we will need focused, determined and coordinated defense.
The hill just seems so steep. You're right, of course, but damn, it's a lot.
It is horrifying. And we need to not give up. They are hoping to exhaust us with all of the hate and lies. We need to stay in the fight to protect the vulnerable.
So, sadly I agree.
While I am not a supporter of violence, it is, I believe a mistake to not fight back. Just as in war, one side will be completely obliterated if after the aggressor starts shooting missiles , they try and use words to stop it. The mind set behind the attack is NOT going to listen to reason, nor are the supporters of the aggressors.
You only have to look at the war in Ukraine to see how ideology has been used to attack a peaceful neighbour, while the supporters of the attack, increasingly becoming almost hysterical in their egging on their troops to “destroy” the Ukrainians. If the Ukrainians hadn’t fought back, in the same manner as the aggressors, it would have been a very short war, and Ukraine would no longer exist.
Trying to fight creeping fascism, with words is NOT going to work. Half of the US population is unaware of just about everything going on around them, out of the other half, 20% are either dedicated fascists or cheerleaders for them because their ignorance and inability to think for themselves is palpable, leaving only 30% of the population who are aware of the problem and are willing to fight against it.
While I’m not telling you to get down and dirty with them in the muck, some of the tactics the right is using SHOULD be put into play by the left as well, because if you can’t galvanize enough people to push back, to protest the anti-protests, to write the letters against creeping fascist laws and actions, to use the courts, the legal system, social media, and every other available means of communication, to fight back, just like in Hungary and Poland and a great many other countries, one day you’ll wake up and realize it’s far too late. And once established a fascist state is extremely hard to remove.
The way to defeat the growing fascist movement is to galvanize voters against it. That is words, yes, but also massive levels of action, from voter registration to civil disobedience. Violence is not the answer, unless they raise arms against the government and the rest of us.
I wasn’t suggesting violence. My point is the GOP has weaponized Parent groups, homophobic groups, racist groups, legal organizations, PACs and fundraising organizations, Social media, news feeds, and most especially controlling the narrative in a great many ways.
The Democrats need to use the same tools against the Republicans that the Republicans are using against the Democrat.
And galvanizing voters requires flooding the news feeds all day everyday, with facts figures and actually proof of how their lives are better today than they were 4 years ago, thanks to Joe Biden and the Democratic Party.
The largest bulk of voters are those who don’t vote. Those are the people the Democrats need to awaken, inform, and bring under the big tent.
Excellent synopsis. We have agents for pUtin within Our Federal Government. Tweezer time; lots of oars in the water and paddling like mad. 🛶
Totally agree. We need to organize. Perhaps Jay and George can help consolidate under the aegis of a PAC or some body that benefits from our cooperative energies.
We overuse FB, underuse perhaps the courts and investigative maneuvering.
"....our best hopes for righting the ship without destroying it in the process,..."
If we keep our heads we will prevail.
I get concerned when I see self proclaimed liberal commenters in blogs and national publications sound exactly like MAGAs. The name calling, made up names ala trump style, espousing hatred, doomsday predictions, and culture wars abound. The misogynist slandering for MAGA women is constant. The mansplaining has also gotten out of control between commenters.
I respectfully ask anyone reading my comment to take up this fight in holding ourselves to a higher standard. Please use facts to counter what is being accused and to defeat outright lies. Also. The name is Democrats or Democratic Party. Not Dems. The far right folks coined this.
We need to do our research. Resist making unproven statements about the state of our Government, Country and the Right. Resist calls for violence. Most importantly resist despair and hate. It will destroy us.
Read the White House web site. It has transcripts of speeches. The Congressional Record has all the bills passed. Other sources are the bibliography of bloggers you respect. Reuters, BBC USA, The Guardian USA are good factual sources. Check the source by using such sites as "Media Bias Fact Check".
Although it seems early we are laying the groundwork for the 2024 elections. Remember what Rick Wilson of The Lincoln Project once said "There are more of us than them and we will win." (I think it was Wilson).
My apologies for the length of this comment.
Super protein filled post Barbara M, thank you. I am weak on Bible references but, it may have been Elisha who said paraphrasing, "There are more in 'our' Army ...."
I like the following prose a lot.
The Peace of Wild Things
Wendell Berry
When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.
Beautiful, 🙏
Thank you! I feel the same. The Lincoln Project devolved into similar name calling as the MAGA Republicans . I originally had higher hopes for them.
The only way to beat this down is with truth honesty and dignity. They have lost their way and the American people need the truth not "sound bites" and memes
I still like the Lincoln Project. They are effective in getting in Republican's heads. trump even mentioned them at CPAC. I believe we best leave the hard fighting to the professionals like TLP. They know where to target ads and were able to achieve quantifiable results in the 2020 and 2022 elections.
Thank you Barbara M, and TLP has/ are effective ( past & present tense ).
Keep up the good work Jay - you help keep us informed. It is much appreciated.
Always a good read, Jay, even when it’s about bad things & people.
I’ve seen far too many comments from people who do not think it’s worthwhile to take a stand with transgender people’s rights. I’d like to remind them that, if they can’t empathize with the most vulnerable among us, that an inch will soon become a yard. If you can’t bring yourself to stand with this small and vulnerable minority, there will soon be the next wave of hate. Working up the chain from the weakest to you. Who is it that doesn’t have some small difference that makes them vulnerable? Gender, sexual orientation, race, nationality, age or disability. Even a healthy, young white male, will eventually get old and who knows what accident or disease will happen. The goal of the MAGA movement is to divide and weaken us all. Ambivalence will destroy our nation just as effectively as hate. The opposite of hate is love and only love, understanding and compassion will save us from destruction.
It seems 1930 is coming to a neighborhood near you . I hope we can all get together to fight this blight and turn the tide .
They had to come up with something new for their members to hate since Roe v Wade was overturned. If any one thinks the transgendered humans are where this ends they are blind. Read history Hitler did not start with Jewish people. He started with Gay humans, then the disabled, then the mentally ill, then the Jewish people. With each group he called for their eradication comparing them to vermin that must be destroyed claiming they where not truly human. Make no bones about it what just happened at this CPAC was hate speech and not just transgenders who should be afraid. The entire world every single human should be afraid because the one thing that Hitler did prove is there is someone who will hate you and want you eradicated also just for being you, just for believing something different than them, just for looking different than they do. This type of hate will never end however we humans must always in the end band together each and every time to defeat it because no matter what they say there are many more of us who will defend the truth that all humans have value, that all humans deserve life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, than those whom hate and would deny those whom they declare as unworthy these basic human rights.
Those of us old enough to have been adults in the pre=Stonewall era, have seen liberation gradually arrive and open new horizons. We are profoundly saddened by the GOP/Right-wing/Evangelicals trying to reimpose hypocritical 1950’s morality standards on our society. In detrimental reliance on laws and court decisions, gays became open and easily identified. Now apparently we are to be punished by the new tyranny being brewed up by the “Right” and its minions. All the old prejudices will again flourish in a Trump or Desantis’ America. Win or lose a solid 40% of our own people will have had those fascist ideas firmly established under the “Right’s” tutelage. What a sad legacy of an amoral man like Trump..
Bolsinaro has fled to & now resides in Florida.
Thank you for keeping me informed.
Thank you again for your thoughtful insights.
The levers of government have already been politicized, and Pandora's box has already been opened. I am afraid that in trying to hold the moral high ground that the Democrats are consistently bringing a knife to a gunfight.
If that were true we wouldn’t have kept the Senate and with them barely holding the House. We must protect vulnerable communities and cherished rights even as we strengthen our political power at all levels.
Thank you for keeping it all organized and us on high alert! The J6 Washington DC Prison Choir singing the National Anthem with Trump singing along is the lowest of the bowels I have ever seen this country go through! So we are rewarding the J6 prisoners with their song and pledge of allegiance being recited by X45 on our airwaves?!?
And there’s more...
According to the Alaska Daily News:
Alaska drops policy banning discrimination against LGBTQ individuals
“On the advice of the state’s attorney general, Alaska’s civil rights agency quietly deleted language promising equal protections for LGBTQ Alaskans against most categories of discrimination, and it began refusing to investigate complaints.”
That is scary
Crying again. I cannot accept what is happening to our country. For me, I'm older and won't see the worst if this continues. But my daughter will!
Thank you Jay for helping us understand even when the news gets so bad
Thank you for the succinct, laser-focused update, Jay.
I’m in.