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Why are people being consumed by the nutty stupid stuff? We knew it was going to be like this.

The Senate is Democratic

The White House has a Democratic President

The Republicans control the House by a slim margin.

Once again the media is making lots of money off of nutty.

Here is a reality check. "Biden has appointed more federal judges than any president since JFK at this point in his tenure."

And finally. Courtesy of The Lincoln Project: ""Balloon down, just like inflation. Joe did that."

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First - this pediatrician hopes you feel better. And thank you for helping me stay abreast of what is going on. Florida and DeSantis are in my opinion the biggest concern. DeSantis is a smarter version of Trump and with a more egregious track record on social issues and flaunting an anti-science agenda.

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DeSantis-- not sure he is smarter, but even so, I can work up a huge amount of outrage against him and his policies. If we can multiply the outrage x # of active Dems and Indys... we can help DeFeat deSantis.

If we want to get out country back on some intelligent and concerned path we can work from all angles...

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I'm in complete agreement regarding DeSantis and Florida. I've very concerned about his focus on education and athletic issues. These are thinly veiled attacks on LGBTQ+, Black and Brown citizens and women. His ability to persuade others to jump on his bandwagon is scary.

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Jay feel better. We need you. Thank you so much for your posts. It’s going to be a big week.

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During WW II, the Nazis demanded that Jews wear a yellow star on their clothing. This worked in most places. But not in Denmark. Every Dane, starting with the King, wore a yellow star. Similarly, I wish that hundreds of thousands of male students would also submit "menstrual charts" - to gum up the system. I'd think that a lot of those boys have sisters, and their parents should be outraged.

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Everyone needs to REFUSE to comply with that demand for private information.

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I don't live in Florida and I'm outraged. I can't even imagine how I would have responded if they had demanded this info for my daughter when she was in school. It's embarrassing for many girls as it is, imagine having to make it public?

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Outrage of the week must be hard to even pick! What parents would go along with that? What reason could possibly be valid for such a disgusting situation? Female athletes in Florida will no doubt start running away from home and refusing to participate in any programs! Another idea for outrage of THIS week is congressional reps trading AR 15 pins for American flag pins. IMO.

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I hope you’re feeling better soon. Let the pup take care of you the way my cat used to. Anyone remember how people used to send used feminine hygiene products to Mike Pence? I think DeSantis of Florida is about due for a similar shower of gifts. This isn’t just a trans check. It’s a pregnancy check. Totally PRC.

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I still cant get passed Jay's words...Outrage of the week: The Florida High School Athletic Association is weighing whether to require data and monitoring of female athletes’ menstrual cycles. This is not an Onion headline, it is life in Florida today. (I am working up a longer thought piece for Team Takei about how Orwellian Florida has become under DeSantis.) WTF??????

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Is the 5th circuit going to ban Mifepristone (sp?) nationwide? I'm really worried about abortion access.

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And. The broader issue ( if LJ does not mind ) the due process issues involving the attempts (plural) to avoid judicial review by a private bounty system. Origin of this type of attack ?

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Please take good care of yourself and take the time you need to get healthy. Our subscriptions include sick and personal days for you.

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I've heard Republicans call the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals the 9th Circus. I think it's time to return the favor and call the 5th Circuit the 5th Sith. The amount of Republican appointed judges is 12 vs only 4 appointed by Democrats. That tells you everything you need to know about that sith.

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I think Florida should be renamed DeSantistan. His wife has a total Stepford vibe. Why aren't the people in Florida in an uproar about this? Or are they and we just don't hear about it?

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DeSantis has a Republican majority in the State Senate & House, so controls what happens there. In late 2021, DeSantis rejected congressional maps drawn by the state legislature & proposed a new version that would remove half of Florida’s primarily Black districts & provide a substantial advantage to Republicans. They passed his map.

There are more registered Republican voters than Democrats in the state. (As of 12/09/22, of the total registered voters, 36.48% were Republicans, 34.04% Democrats, 1.81% minority parties, & 27.66% no party affiliation.) The Democratic Party is not strong in Florida. They are putting their money into states where they feel they have a better chance of winning.

In November 2018, Florida voters voted to allow former felons who had served their sentences to be allowed to vote (with the exception of murder & sexual offenses). It passed with 64.55% voter approval. The state then ruled that all fines & fees must be paid first, even though the state cannot tell a person how much they may owe.

More than 583,200 people were freshly entered into the State Department of Highway Safety & Motor Vehicles data base in 2022 after surrendering non-Florida licenses. That’s 28% higher than the average of the previous six years & 36,000 more than the pandemic triggered migration of 2021. A lot of new Florida voters from other states which will replace the 84,927 people who died from COVID. Of course, accurate Florida reporting of COVID deaths is questionable.

It’s not that all Floridians are MAGA supporters, but that we are not newsworthy.

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Thanks for at least raising the level of this conversation following my dip into frivolity. Sometimes it is hard to take FL seriously, though indeed we should. Unfortunately, it really does seem to be stuck with such a cartoonish vibe that is not helped by having both DeSantis and *trump as the rival royalty. Disneyworld and the other theme-parks are no match for the real life super-villains in the battle for audience eyeballs.

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Life would be unenjoyable if we couldn’t laugh at it. Yes, take Florida seriously, at least when it comes to politics & what the extremist politicians are doing to our lovely state. Feel free to laugh & make fun of all the nut jobs. I do.

When DeSantis first ran for Governor in 2018, he won by such a small margin that it triggered an automatic recount; he won by a 0.4% margin. His wife is his closest advisor, & the two of them are focused & determined, looking to move into the White House. He governs with that goal in mind, appealing to the MAGA supporters who enjoy the antics. I find him scary.

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He's scary as hell. And I have some Floridian friends who think he's the greatest governor ever. It's mind boggling. But absolutely we need to take what's happening in Florida seriously, everyone needs to have full awareness of what he will try to do if he becomes President. Florida is just his testing ground and unfortunately he's getting away with some scary shit.

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His wife is a Melania but with a southern accent instead of Slovenian. It's cool how you get to pick an accent along with name, height, weight, skin color, etc. ;-)

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Your interesting legal analyses of the various issues is the primary reason I signed up! You explain so many of the less obvious points in issues like the debt ceiling, voting laws, various constitutional issues. I devour your analysis of the meaning and requirements of the charges being brought against GOP election deniers, etc. Don't cut back!

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Be well, and I'm glad you're staying warm in Mexico. I'll keep following your wise legal counsel and Dr. Richardson's great history take on the events of the day whenever you two are feeling up to sharing.

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I hope you feel better soon. Better to feel under the weather in sunny Mexico than in the frigid NE. That's a lot of stuff for one week. I really need Democrats to get better at messaging, especially with their accomplishments, but I also need them to push back at the media when they try to steer the story with Republican talking points. The bullshit has to stop and Democrats are the only ones who seem to care enough to do that.

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1) haven't we been talking about coming indictments in Georgia for weeks? Where are we there?

2) balloon bullshit. What are the real ways China is getting US intelligence and why would they need balloons?

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I believe Willis is waiting for the court to issue a ruling on whether the grand jury report can remain non-public.

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The week ahead?…..A month’s worth of nutty stuff to break down. So much of it is seriously alarming - how to turn a corner?

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Take Ilhan Omar's stance.

"“My leadership and voice will not be diminished if I am not on this committee for one term. My voice will get louder and stronger.”

Why let each nutty thing get to you? Most of this is performative politics that is easily reversed in two years, vetoed by the current President or stopped by the Senate.

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