Today the Senate approved a short-term extension of government funding to prevent a shutdown. The deal funds the government until December 16 and also provides about $12 billion in aid to Ukraine as it fights off Russia’s invasion. The House is expected to pass the measure tomorrow.
Great read, as always. So enjoy your wrapping our nation’s history into today’s news.
And what sad news it is. My son stated recently he’s watching the decline of a once great nation. The Republicans are following the instructions of a man who had multiple bankruptcies.
When did Republicans replace Russia as the number one enemy of America. In my lifetime, I nominate Ronnie, who still gets credit for saving us from Communism. He did no such thing, but he started the ball rolling for the dismantling of our administrative state, and, more importantly, the unleashing of the propaganda machine to wrap it all in the flag. I, for one, doubt that even he had an inkling of how far the greedy bastards would go with it. Like chump, just another useful “celebrity” to play the part of a Dorian Gray, obsessed with filling his own emptiness. By whatever means.
Reagan (who, BTW, had actual governance experience as the head of a powerful union and governor of California) may have put the key in the ignition, but the car wouldn't have gone anywhere if it weren't for Newt Gingrich. He set the destruction of the administrative state into hyperdrive
1970, Governor Ronald Reagan was hostile to university students who wanted a day of memorial for the innocent victims at Kent State. Governor Reagan had no reverence for the dead and needlessly forced the universities to forge ahead as if nothing had occurred.
Governor Reagan took the best public university system in the country, with affordable schools such as UCLA and Cal-Berkeley that rivalled the Ivy League, and launched a movement to self-sustainment of universities that became an albatross around the necks of future, heavily-indebted students.
Governor Reagan -- the union man -- helped launch the movement that destroyed unions as a major force.
In 1960, this twelve-year old could name the top three labor leaders: Jimmy Hoffa, Teamsters, Joe Meany, AFL/CIO, and Walther Reuther, Automakers.
Who can name the top three union leaders now.
The GOP has followed Reagan's lead to destroy labor in the ironically named "Right-to-Work" laws.
The union-busting and undermining of the universities are part of the same demonic system.
Reagan also dismantled the mental health system by closing the hospitals and releasing the patients to neighborhood care, i.e. the streets. And thus began the homeless crisis.
And yet....and yet, this is the man revered by the Republican Party and many uniformed Democrats! The start of the air traffic controllers strike was the beginning of the end for the union movement!
The evil genius of Reagan (though I'm not sure to what degree he was just the enthusiastic mouthpiece) was to ridicule and demonize democracy and the common weal, but mislabel it "big government"; (as in "Right to Work", "Citizens United", "Patriot Act", "Defense of Marriage Act", and on and on, "GOP" Orwellian language). The Republican mission since Reagan has been to shut down promotion of the general welfare, and convert it into cash cows for wealthy clients. Behind the curtain, "Supply Side Economics" cloaked warmed-over quasi-feudalism, in all it's glory. Even corrupt Nixon was not so narcissistic.
Promoting cynicism about "government" destroys public engagement in government, and public engagement in government is the essence of "government of the people, by the people, for the people", and there is no shortage of eager would-despots rushing in to fill the vacuum.
I second the motion Jill. The man was literally a soap salesman (Borax) on old market TV and a shill for General Electric (GE) on the Free Lunch corporate schedule not to mention Ronnie's infamous stint as the head of the Screen Actor's Guild from his Malibu "ranch" home. Later Ronnie attacked the University of California undergrad/grad system when I was a freshman at UCLA. Tuition more than doubled for those of us who worked while attending the University. I saw Ronnie close up at a UCLA Regents' Meeting that was declared an "illegal assembly" by police unknown.
Ah, yes! "Death Valley Days" and 20-Mule Team Borax, whatever the hell that meant! I despised Reagan as that voice over; despised him even more as a pretend president. He never got off the stage. He was a lousy actor; worse as a PINO.
Thank you. Now, as the late Paul Harvey might say, "I know the rest of the story." I assume the mule team reference meant how strong the soap was to get the dirt out? This article is very informing. 👏👍😊
Sometimes I think Roger Stone’s reason for existing is to avenge Nixon’s downfall. And I suspect there are others in Trump’s sphere who share that motivation.
Some children have parents who read them bedtime stories. Instead of Goldilocks and Little Red Riding Hood my father regaled me with the perfidy of Richard Nixon, who started his dirty campaigning in 1946 when he ran against Democratic Congressman Jerry Voorhees then moved to the sliming of Helen Gahagan Douglas.
Yes the disgusting dirty tricks began with Nixon but he was a megalomaniac and expanded the size of the government enormously. He also thought government could solve problems so he established the EPA and proposed a form of National health insurance similar to the ACA! He was a lunatic and had a list of enemies and thought he was above the law but came from a responsible branch of Republicans.
Nixon promoted social division with "The Silent Majority" and badlyabused the powers of his office, but did not repudiate the very concept of democracy in the same way. Some of his speeches on environmental protection and pubic interests seem surprisingly insightful.
Ike showed admirable integrity, but a lot of creepy stuff occurred on his watch. There have also been ongoing big lies throughout the US's existence, but the sustained use of big lies as the #1 tool of the Republican Party seems to me to have begun with Reagan.
We're actually watching the decline of a once-great species. Unless the world can come together to make the earth healthy again, we will all be in the same plight as my friends in Fort Myers.
Jeff - you hit the nail on the head. Bam! There once was a time where rugged individualism to the point of belligerence, or whatever you want to call the USA's personality (I call it freedum), was what the world needed. Like freeing the world from Fascism come hell or high water 80 something years ago. That time is long past. Now, that very characteristic is standing in the way of humanity's greatest threat of all time - dramatic altering of the worlds climate. And our government, set up along those same characteristics, is flatly unable to deal with it. Not with the minority-protecting machinery in place which enables the MAGA types to stall anything they don't want. Meanwhile we continue to barrel down the road of climate disaster and all that entails. I solidified this conclusion when I saw what happened in this country when the Covid pandemic began. It is a perfect microcosm of our climate response (or lack thereof).
I sadly agree with your son's perspective. I think that at first the r's were following the instruction of a mad man. I now believe they are using him to keep control of their racist, bigoted and poorly educated followers to turn America into a nation based on evangelical christianity and fascist rule.
As the corrupted Supreme Court reconvenes we may well witness the end to secure elections, democracy as we know it, clean air and water, etc. We will witness the implementation of the Federalist Society's agenda which cannot survive in a democracy.
We cannot give up or give in! We must VOTE and help others to do so, as well. We are fighting the good fight and cannot forget that good does triumph over evil. It may take some time. It may even cost more lives. As an active member of the resistance movement I see Gen Z waking up to what could be their future if they do not engage now. I see women registering to vote in never before seen numbers. I see a resurgence in democracy, not a decline. There is hope...just don't give up!
Does anyone here doubt that today’s GOP wouldn’t gleefully force the government into default and then blame Democrats for the financial calamity that ensued?
"If today’s Republicans retake power in the fall elections..." and here once again is Heather sounding the alarm. The Republicans threaten default, which "would cost up to 6 million jobs, create an unemployment rate of nearly 9%, and wipe out $15 trillion in household wealth." I do not understand how corporate donors would find this in their best interest, but I don't want to find out. Talk about kitchen table issues, we who are not among the top 2% may lose our kitchen tables around which to discuss devastating unemployment and loss of household wealth.
We have a scant 5 weeks to ratchet up our efforts to register Democratic voters and Get Out The Vote for Democrats up and down the ballot: House, Senate, Governors, Secretaries of State, statehouses, judges--we need them all! But we need to work smart, curtail emotional giving, and direct our resources to maximum effect on winnable races. Not too blue shoo-in, not too red hopeless, but toss-up or leaning Dem.
The States Project does that research to effectively support candidates where it makes a difference in swing states. What are your resources and recommendations?
Hey, Ellie! I trust the candidates found in the Palmer report are being supported by Tending to Democracy? Or should we donate to the broader states project?
Lynell, if you go the The States Project website, you can see the states they are working on. And if you click on a state, you can read about the individual candidates.
Thank you for these valuable links, Ellie. You make a very good point about "donating smart". For the first time I'm considering donating to down ballot candidates across state lines. In my case, local donations fall into your "too red hopeless" category. I appreciate the resource you've posted here.
We made some donations yesterday, more to Tina Kotek and to Perez in WA's third district. This weekend we will take a look at others to donate to. We already donate to get out the vote entities. I agree with a careful look at where to donate.
“The first $5,000 that you contribute in a calendar year will go to the PAC for America’s Future’s $5,000-and-under Contribution Account. Once a contributor has contributed $5,000 in a calendar year to that Contribution Account, The PAC for America’s Future will transfer any amounts given in excess of $5,000 to the PAC for America’s Future’s nonfederal account. Please contact us at info@statesproject.org if you have any questions or would like a different allocation.”
I am not on the staff at The States Project or their PAC, so the best way is to go straight to the source at the email they provided: info@statesproject.org
Great Idea - but I'm curious when/if The States Project which you support will turn it's resources on Wisconsin. This state is so pathetic and paralyzed by MAGARepub defiance and/or inaction. I was surprised it wasn't already on the resuscitation list.
You are correct that The States Project focuses on state legislatures in the most pivotal states, as opposed to trying to resuscitate solid R state legislatures.
Further reason why these traitors cannot ever be allowed anywhere near power again. Were it not for the addled airhead Sinema, the Senate could carve out a vote to kill the debt ceiling from the filibuster and finish it off in December, leaving the traitors with nothing. I think even Manchin could see the necessity of so doing.
I would suggest minimal federal aid to FL, and other drown the government red states, until the debt ceiling is abolished. Perhaps DeSantis, an evil joke, might use his budget to export legal immigrants from TX, to help recovery efforts. No, the gop has no useful, helpful agenda. Time for Dems to stop showing up at a gun fight with a knife.
After that, let's make this the last time we pay to rehab sensitive environmental areas, like Sanibel. Time to leave those areas wild and unpolluted. I am a lib tired of paying for southern red state stupidity.
I fully understand and agree with the sentiment expressed. Yes totally to no rehab of places like Sanibel. But some of the best liberals I know among the regular contributors to That's Another Fine Mess, as well as other places like here at LFAA, come from Florida. If we practice "southernomics" on them like they did with Sandy in 2013, that makes us them. This is one of the few places where I agree with Michelle Obama about "when they go low we go high." If there's anything with the slightest chance of creating some converts, things like this are it. In fact, a guy I know who has been well over on the other side - and lives down there, his house was five miles from the major destruction path - just said to me in an email that it looks like I am right about climate change, since this was more than he'd ever experienced before and he's lived down there all his life. Step one! A conversation begins! From small seeds mighty oaks grow.
And yes, the rest of them who will never get it could be swept out to sea and I wouldn't cry.
I agree, we should dig them out again, once more. However, not until the debt ceiling is removed and that gop nonsense is done with.....even when Dems control Congress.
I lived in Estero, Lee County for 6 years. Left in 2016 mainly because the red politics, racism and traffic became impossible. It was a bad choice for us.
The government sponsored pollution from big Scott donors was despicable. Fertilizer from the sugar cane growers washed into Lake Okeechobee, and from there to both coasts and the Everglades during rainy season. Snakes with 3 eyes, green algae in the gulf, loss of Manatees food sources in the Caloosahatchee River. All so Scott could pocket millions and hunt with his polluting pals at their TX ranches. Of course, the FL legislature thought that was just fine, nothing to see here.
After sugar cane harvest, the stalks are burned, tens of thousands of acres. Black smoke fills the air. But, the workers are mostly Hispanic so who cares!
I don't know how any liberal can live on the west coast, or panhandle of Flori-duh. So, "southernomics" to achieve political objectives is just fine with me.
Amen! Florida has been building "stupid" for far too long. I grew up there (and left) when people who lived in oceanfront houses were wealthy and had enough money to build a very sturdy mansion on the beach - and afford to do the repairs when a storm blew in. Now they have all these neighborhoods where they back homes up to a canal that has "borrowed" water from bays (like Tampa Bay and many, many other) right inside the neighborhood. Florida is literally floating on so much water, it will never run out. OH, and lots of alligators! They come up wherever there's water - saw one swimming down a street in Orlando.
Thank you for another informative, insightful letter. As a government employee I get so tired of being a political football. I go to work and do a good job every damn day, and our reward is to get shut down and lose a paycheck until the politicians get done pissing on each other’s trees. Yes, we typically get back pay once we’re up and running again, but there are plenty of employees - not just in the government - who live paycheck to paycheck. I have savings to get me through, but not everyone does. They totally ignore the human aspect of the the chaos they create. Although I know, they simply don’t care if it means they get their way. The pain is the point.
You are absolutely right, Dianna, the pain is the point. NC is a great example. Back in 2011, I think it was, the newly elected Republicans in the General Assembly cut teacher pay, shredded the steps and requirements of the pay scale and allowed some “conservative” group to declare NC universities’ Schools of Education to be deficient. After several years of blowback for lousy teacher pay, the legislature began to slowly increase teacher pay, loudly congratulating themselves along the way. The R’s created a serious teacher shortage. They now want praise for a raise that is half of the inflation rate.
The R’s are a criminal gang who just want to hurt people. They want to do similar things on a national scale.
Never underestimate the hypocrisy, sadism, and cynicism of the Right. It has been ever thus. On another note: The despicable Missouri AG and would-be senator, Eric Sch[m]itt, has sued the D of Ed to block the student loan debt relief program. Why? Because he--and 5 other Rethuglican A'sG--claims that this will mean that the state "loses income" from taxes people supposedly will not be paying on the student loan relief. However--and this is a perfect example of the malignity of the m***h*rf**kers who want to turn everyone into pawns in their Autocracy Olympics--the same Rethuglicans whining about the relief of middle and working-class people who have been paying thousands of dollars MORE than their original loans in interest just passed (with the blessing of Sch[m]itt) a bill that LOWERS the income tax on the HIGHEST EARNERS in MO but does absolutely nothing to help anyone else. So if you're a millionaire in Missouri--congrats. You don't have to pay the measly 5% on the top end of your income (which is of course a graduated tax so you pay only on the amount of annual income above the next highest income level). But the person making $50,000 a year and barely scraping by in Missouri? The legislature tells you to eff off.
This is why these f**kers have to go. I want this whole disgusting patriarchal system to burn to the ground right now. Happy Friday y'all.
We've got a different situation here in MA: the "millionaire's tax" is on the ballot as a citizen initiative. Adds 4 percent to the tax rate paid on income over a million a year. And it's amazing how much is being spent on TV ads against it. Would affect 0.6 per cent of the households in MA (and those households get 22 per cent of the income). Yeah, you read that right: 0.6 percent get 22 percent of the income in the state. But the lies being spread in the ads... we'll be lucky if the voters trust the legislature enough to vote it through.
Christoffer Hobson is citing Berthold Brecht in today's writing, The Old New:
"I stood on a hill and I saw the Old approaching, but it came as the New.
It hobbled up on new crutches which no one had ever seen before and stank of new smells of decay which no one had ever smelt before.
The stone that rolled past was the newest invention and the screams of the gorillas drumming on their chests set up to be the newest musical composition.
Everywhere you could see open graves standing empty as the New advanced on the capital.
Round about stood such as inspired terror, shouting: Here comes the New, it’s all new, salute the new, be new like us! And those who heard, heard nothing but their shouts, but those who saw, saw such as were not shouting.
So the Old strode in disguised as the New, but it brought the New with it in its triumphal procession and presented it as the Old.
The New went fettered and in rags; they revealed its splendid limbs.
And the procession moved through the night, but what they thought was the light of dawn was the light of fires in the sky. And the cry: ‘Here comes the New, it’s new, salute the New, be new like us!’ would have been easier to hear if all had not been drowned in a thunder of guns."
'Brecht’s words generate an eery, uneven recognition, capturing something in the air. Here I want to linger on the powerful duality at the heart of the poem: the old new and the new old. He points to the danger of old ways of thought and action being misapprehended as new; but also, new forces and realities not being recognised, too quickly dismissed as old. (Christoffer Hobson)'
Thanks for this reminder of how the worst came and is -- in far too many places -- coming to pass.
I see the need to dig down beneath the surface of day-to-day events to the underlying forces at work. After all, why else are we reading and commenting on these Letters if not better to understand and respond to what's going on?
Olof, ‘Parade of the Old New’ (1939), is he poem by Brecht that you have quoted, And what are the 'new forces' that you write may not be recognized or easily dismissed? Is the incessant noise drowning them out?
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, the 'mission to study the earliest stars and peer back farther into the universe's past than ever before with new look deep into nearby dust clouds to study the formation of stars and planets.' The telescope gets some if small continuing attention. In technology: sand technology; xenotransplantation, which will, perhaps, revolutionize surgery; AI image-generation; Brain reading robots; Hydrogen planes... and in other fields of knowledge...
Here in the USA we rush to decry the latest Republican cruelty or try to avoid getting sucked in. Is another of our divisions between fear and avoidance? The balance or balances between threats to democracy, achieving a civil society, maintaining rich daily lives and close relationships....does life now feel like a jumble of factions and fragments? It is crucial to recognize the 'old' menace within the so-called 'new' one.
Your comment, Olof, can call us to pause and reflect a while. Thank you.
Well, I was quoting Christoffer Hobson, and his quote of Brecht. I forgot to mention it was from 1939. Thank you Fern for adding this; that is also a reminder, of someone who very early saw the black swan coming; many did not, or dismissed it until the tide of war was turning.
Yes indeed 'incessant noise'. "Fill the internet with sh*t" is just the gross expression of it. Seeking media shadow when some big event is occupying the whole space, is more subtle but very effective.
Olof, The poem by Brecht written in 1939 represented here is another illustration of the 'old' reflecting the new. Your keen observation of Trump's and the MAGA Republicans' dual use of the media to be 'seen' and 'not seen' also contributes to our understanding of how we are being manipulated.
Today’s Letter reminded us repeatedly to see the country’s past in the MAGA Republicans’ claims that they are fighting for our liberty against what they call a ‘tyrannical government. See the ‘old’ demons in the words and actions in the current Republican Party.
‘Today the Senate approved a short-term extension of government funding to prevent a shutdown.’
‘Behind this measure is a potential nightmare scenario. MAGA Republicans have already threatened to refuse to fund the government unless President Joe Biden and the Democrats reverse all their policies.’ (Letter)
‘Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned then that a default “could trigger a spike in interest rates, a steep drop in stock prices and other financial turmoil. Our current economic recovery would reverse into recession,… Moody's Analytics warned that a default would cost up to 6 million jobs, create an unemployment rate of nearly 9%, and wipe out $15 trillion in household wealth.' (Letter)
‘This plan is an echo of an effort by former Confederate leaders to destroy the federal government’s Reconstruction policies by withholding funds until the president did as they demanded. In 1879, having taken control of both houses of Congress during a recession, Democrats believed they had a mandate to get rid of federal protection of Black rights. Insisting they were fighting for liberty from a tyrannical government…' (Letter)
See the ‘old’ in the MAGA Republicans are claiming as ‘new’.
‘Cartoonist Thomas Nast drew an image of Fort Sumter, the installation in Charleston Harbor fired on by Confederate troops in April 1861, with the caption: “REVOLUTIONARY, AS USUAL—It is not the first time that an attempt has been made to stop the Government.” Three weeks later, the cover of Harper’s Weekly showed a skeletal U.S. soldier, starved at the infamous Andersonville prison camp, as a symbol of the starvation of the government.’ (Letter)
Thank you for paying attention to this debt ceiling stuff Heather. I’ve lost my ability to concentrate on this annual fiasco. Seems to take me back to the third grade playground watching some kids play a game I’m no longer interested in playing.
It’ll be hard to rebuild Florida if the federal government is in default. Wonder if desantis is thinking about that. But also, what is the endgame here? What happens the day after they force us into default?
Yesterday he crowed about the greatness of his administration - staying open during covid, budget surplus, etc. So he thinks FL can take care of itself - while people are drowning, won't be able to rebuild homes because of lack of insurance, etc. The Governor crows on to make political points..... His humanity is missing.
And, while Floridians remain stranded on offshore Gulf islands due to negligent & data starved storm path (sic) projections. UPDATE: Forrest Masters. a civil engineer at the University of Florida, was
"hunkered down" at the Punta Gordo Airport near Fort Myers collecting data when the eye of Ian passed over. Forrest did not run. Love those Professors.
desantis is not "thinking about that" right now; desantis is a "taker" right now & too busy to send Texas asylum seekers from Venezuela to DC or a Massachusetts's island.
Might the governors of NY and CA and the selectmen in Marthas Vineyard start a Go Fund Me site for FL’s DeSantis, if a Republican House votes not to fund the US government? Emergency rebuilding requires lots of $$$.
"Well, there’s a strange provision in U.S. law that empowers the Treasury secretary to mint and issue platinum coins in any quantity and denomination she chooses. Presumably the purpose of this provision was to allow the creation of coins celebrating people or events. But the language doesn’t say that. So on the face of it, Janet Yellen could mint a platinum coin with a face value of $1 trillion — no, it needn’t include $1 trillion worth of platinum — deposit it at the Federal Reserve and draw on that account to keep paying the government’s bills without borrowing.
"Alternatively, Biden could simply declare that the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, which says that the validity of federal debt may not be questioned, renders the debt ceiling moot.
"And there may be other tricks I don’t know about."
What you are describing - the $1 trillion coin - is MMT (Modern Monetary Theory) or something very close to it. I think it has already been used effectively in our government in the fairly recent past, and could solve the problems regarding the debt limit.
Be happy to send it to you as a "gift." NYT allows 12 articles per month to subscribers. I don't think I can post the link publically so I would need your email. Also, if you are a member of Denver Public LIbrary, you can access NYT with library card. See https://www.denverlibrary.org/database/n -- I am sure other libraries in your community will offer this online service.
Jerry Carbone - "I don't think I can post the link publically so I would need your email."
Actually, that is how the "Gift" works. You are given an URL Link (as in my Post above). This link can be sent to your recipient either publicly or privately.
Yes, thx for that. I was concerned about copyright issues on a public space but apparently NYT does not care—from NYT—-Note: Gift articles can only be shared using the Gift button and the gift sharing options available. Articles can not be gifted or shared using non-gift social sharing options, or by copying and pasting the article URL into a web browser.
There seems to be a constant strain in US history of visiting onto others the tyranny that drove migrant forebears to come to America.
Victims' hatreds and resentments passed down from generation to generation long after the original oppression and/or poverty had been transformed into wealth and liberty.
A heritage of evil.
Is it not more than time for Americans to wake up and cast off ancestral shackles -- a convicts' mentality -- unworthy of a free people?
We have an election between now and Dec. 16th. Ever the optimist, despite ample historical evidence to the contrary, if the Democrats hold or increase their majorities, would lame-duck Republicans still vote to default? Since rational thought is out of vogue in MAGA-World, probably yes they would, claiming a rigged election.
"We lost; proof the election was rigged."
I really am cautiously but realistically hopeful the Democrats will buck history this mid-term election. I think the SCOTUS Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health decision is what will do the trick. I hope the Dems are ready for the inevitable MAGA challenge to the results.
Message from Joe Biden to Ron DeSantis; "We're from the government and we're here to help."
The MAGAs seem to have the collective memory of an average fruit fly. The reason Macconnell "blinked" at allowing a government default is partly because he saw the damage it would do to the country, but mostly because he saw the damage it would do to Republican political support. The beating they took by allowing a government shut down in 2019 would pail by comparison.
I must also say I am not impressed by political pundits. 2016: total miss. 2018: kinda got it right, but not because of 'cross-over' votes, really it was the Democrat's mobilization of 'left-leaning seldom voters' that did the trick. 2020: they predicted a squeaker - it was not. They have their ear to the ground, but seem to be listening to the old (see Olaf Ribbing's post), rather than to what's actually happening in front of them. One respected pundit stated what we are seeing is the Republican party making the shift from a business party to a working-class party. It is not. It is a party making the shift from a loyal-opposition/ruling party to becoming the machinery of dictatorship.
For all their talent and earnest desire to tell the story, most media outlets seems to be covering all this as just another horse race, rather than a race over a cliff. Our thinking has become too comfortable, too grooved, to be really useful in this time of inflection/opportunity/crisis. The MAGAs, God bless them, can be either a vehicle to wake the rest of us up, or bury us. The (uncomfortable) choice is ours.
Your point about the inaccuracy of the political pundits is something Ive been mulling over. They are forming their positions for two reasons I believe. One, is that the “Horse Race” style sells more ads. Two, how are they reaching voters to do polling research. Our communication technology has altered our personal cultures of information gathering and ability/desire to engage with others we do not wish to hear from. So how does a pollster get an accurate sense of “What people are thinking” or “How people will really vote” when I don’t see how they can truly access a reliable, actual, cross section of voters?
The Civil War is alive and healthy. I thank my lucky stars I’m sober. I thank my lucky stars my good buddy Dave turned me on to Heather Cox Richardson, etc.
Superb.. The country needs Professor Richardson to help the Democrats counter the powerful and mightily effective Republican disinformation machine. If we don’t shed light on the sickening propaganda the Republicans so effectively employ, this democracy will soon perish.
Gavin Newsom seems to be the only sitting Dem able to do it. Pelosi and Schumer are still playing nice and taking the high road. The entire party should adopt the techniques of John Fetterman- and his techniques actually get coverage by the stenographer media.
The R’s...always casting a heavy wrench! Just when you think the Dems are ahead, the opponents find a treasure trove somewhere. I am getting nauseous being on this see-saw.
Great read, as always. So enjoy your wrapping our nation’s history into today’s news.
And what sad news it is. My son stated recently he’s watching the decline of a once great nation. The Republicans are following the instructions of a man who had multiple bankruptcies.
When did Republicans replace Russia as the number one enemy of America. In my lifetime, I nominate Ronnie, who still gets credit for saving us from Communism. He did no such thing, but he started the ball rolling for the dismantling of our administrative state, and, more importantly, the unleashing of the propaganda machine to wrap it all in the flag. I, for one, doubt that even he had an inkling of how far the greedy bastards would go with it. Like chump, just another useful “celebrity” to play the part of a Dorian Gray, obsessed with filling his own emptiness. By whatever means.
Reagan (who, BTW, had actual governance experience as the head of a powerful union and governor of California) may have put the key in the ignition, but the car wouldn't have gone anywhere if it weren't for Newt Gingrich. He set the destruction of the administrative state into hyperdrive
Reagan destroyed the CA university system.
Selina Sweet: Totally true.
I was there.
1970, Governor Ronald Reagan was hostile to university students who wanted a day of memorial for the innocent victims at Kent State. Governor Reagan had no reverence for the dead and needlessly forced the universities to forge ahead as if nothing had occurred.
Governor Reagan took the best public university system in the country, with affordable schools such as UCLA and Cal-Berkeley that rivalled the Ivy League, and launched a movement to self-sustainment of universities that became an albatross around the necks of future, heavily-indebted students.
Governor Reagan -- the union man -- helped launch the movement that destroyed unions as a major force.
In 1960, this twelve-year old could name the top three labor leaders: Jimmy Hoffa, Teamsters, Joe Meany, AFL/CIO, and Walther Reuther, Automakers.
Who can name the top three union leaders now.
The GOP has followed Reagan's lead to destroy labor in the ironically named "Right-to-Work" laws.
The union-busting and undermining of the universities are part of the same demonic system.
Reagan also dismantled the mental health system by closing the hospitals and releasing the patients to neighborhood care, i.e. the streets. And thus began the homeless crisis.
And filling prisons.
And yet....and yet, this is the man revered by the Republican Party and many uniformed Democrats! The start of the air traffic controllers strike was the beginning of the end for the union movement!
Tells you everything you need to know...
The evil genius of Reagan (though I'm not sure to what degree he was just the enthusiastic mouthpiece) was to ridicule and demonize democracy and the common weal, but mislabel it "big government"; (as in "Right to Work", "Citizens United", "Patriot Act", "Defense of Marriage Act", and on and on, "GOP" Orwellian language). The Republican mission since Reagan has been to shut down promotion of the general welfare, and convert it into cash cows for wealthy clients. Behind the curtain, "Supply Side Economics" cloaked warmed-over quasi-feudalism, in all it's glory. Even corrupt Nixon was not so narcissistic.
Promoting cynicism about "government" destroys public engagement in government, and public engagement in government is the essence of "government of the people, by the people, for the people", and there is no shortage of eager would-despots rushing in to fill the vacuum.
Amen. You nailed Reagan to a T.
I second the motion Jill. The man was literally a soap salesman (Borax) on old market TV and a shill for General Electric (GE) on the Free Lunch corporate schedule not to mention Ronnie's infamous stint as the head of the Screen Actor's Guild from his Malibu "ranch" home. Later Ronnie attacked the University of California undergrad/grad system when I was a freshman at UCLA. Tuition more than doubled for those of us who worked while attending the University. I saw Ronnie close up at a UCLA Regents' Meeting that was declared an "illegal assembly" by police unknown.
Ah, yes! "Death Valley Days" and 20-Mule Team Borax, whatever the hell that meant! I despised Reagan as that voice over; despised him even more as a pretend president. He never got off the stage. He was a lousy actor; worse as a PINO.
Borax was a good and necessary cleaning product. Too bad Reagan didn't stick with that.
LOL
Here ya go, twenty mule teams and the borax industry
https://www.nps.gov/deva/learn/historyculture/twenty-mule-teams.htm
Thank you. Now, as the late Paul Harvey might say, "I know the rest of the story." I assume the mule team reference meant how strong the soap was to get the dirt out? This article is very informing. 👏👍😊
Thank you Judy & the National Park Service history As you know, "Furnace Creek" is well named.
It started with Nixon. And it would be wise for us to remember that.
Sometimes I think Roger Stone’s reason for existing is to avenge Nixon’s downfall. And I suspect there are others in Trump’s sphere who share that motivation.
Think you are correct Susan hence Roger's infamous body tatoo fealty.
And that time he held his hands out above his head making two peace signs, a la Nixon.
Right, in Nixon's 1948 dirty tricks campaign against Helen Gahagan Douglas, House Rep & Actress.
Some children have parents who read them bedtime stories. Instead of Goldilocks and Little Red Riding Hood my father regaled me with the perfidy of Richard Nixon, who started his dirty campaigning in 1946 when he ran against Democratic Congressman Jerry Voorhees then moved to the sliming of Helen Gahagan Douglas.
Yes the disgusting dirty tricks began with Nixon but he was a megalomaniac and expanded the size of the government enormously. He also thought government could solve problems so he established the EPA and proposed a form of National health insurance similar to the ACA! He was a lunatic and had a list of enemies and thought he was above the law but came from a responsible branch of Republicans.
Nixon promoted social division with "The Silent Majority" and badlyabused the powers of his office, but did not repudiate the very concept of democracy in the same way. Some of his speeches on environmental protection and pubic interests seem surprisingly insightful.
Ike showed admirable integrity, but a lot of creepy stuff occurred on his watch. There have also been ongoing big lies throughout the US's existence, but the sustained use of big lies as the #1 tool of the Republican Party seems to me to have begun with Reagan.
Jeri, and filling their own pockets....sickening. Have a good weekend.....
Read. Andy Borowitz's book, "Portraits in Ignorance." Seems Reagan didn't have inklings period. Dumb as a rock.
My signed copy is awaiting me on my desk.
Cool!!!
Let us not forget Richard Nixon, who started the idea of not trusting our highest elected official (at least, in my lifetime).
Ronald Reagan gets the Oscar on this one.
We're actually watching the decline of a once-great species. Unless the world can come together to make the earth healthy again, we will all be in the same plight as my friends in Fort Myers.
Jeff - you hit the nail on the head. Bam! There once was a time where rugged individualism to the point of belligerence, or whatever you want to call the USA's personality (I call it freedum), was what the world needed. Like freeing the world from Fascism come hell or high water 80 something years ago. That time is long past. Now, that very characteristic is standing in the way of humanity's greatest threat of all time - dramatic altering of the worlds climate. And our government, set up along those same characteristics, is flatly unable to deal with it. Not with the minority-protecting machinery in place which enables the MAGA types to stall anything they don't want. Meanwhile we continue to barrel down the road of climate disaster and all that entails. I solidified this conclusion when I saw what happened in this country when the Covid pandemic began. It is a perfect microcosm of our climate response (or lack thereof).
I sadly agree with your son's perspective. I think that at first the r's were following the instruction of a mad man. I now believe they are using him to keep control of their racist, bigoted and poorly educated followers to turn America into a nation based on evangelical christianity and fascist rule.
As the corrupted Supreme Court reconvenes we may well witness the end to secure elections, democracy as we know it, clean air and water, etc. We will witness the implementation of the Federalist Society's agenda which cannot survive in a democracy.
We cannot give up or give in! We must VOTE and help others to do so, as well. We are fighting the good fight and cannot forget that good does triumph over evil. It may take some time. It may even cost more lives. As an active member of the resistance movement I see Gen Z waking up to what could be their future if they do not engage now. I see women registering to vote in never before seen numbers. I see a resurgence in democracy, not a decline. There is hope...just don't give up!
Does anyone here doubt that today’s GOP wouldn’t gleefully force the government into default and then blame Democrats for the financial calamity that ensued?
Can’t imagine anyone here would
Multiple bankruptcies is the kindest thing that can be used to describe...
"If today’s Republicans retake power in the fall elections..." and here once again is Heather sounding the alarm. The Republicans threaten default, which "would cost up to 6 million jobs, create an unemployment rate of nearly 9%, and wipe out $15 trillion in household wealth." I do not understand how corporate donors would find this in their best interest, but I don't want to find out. Talk about kitchen table issues, we who are not among the top 2% may lose our kitchen tables around which to discuss devastating unemployment and loss of household wealth.
We have a scant 5 weeks to ratchet up our efforts to register Democratic voters and Get Out The Vote for Democrats up and down the ballot: House, Senate, Governors, Secretaries of State, statehouses, judges--we need them all! But we need to work smart, curtail emotional giving, and direct our resources to maximum effect on winnable races. Not too blue shoo-in, not too red hopeless, but toss-up or leaning Dem.
The States Project does that research to effectively support candidates where it makes a difference in swing states. What are your resources and recommendations?
https://statesproject.org/get-involved/give-smart/
https://www.grapevine.org/giving-circle/1XQhnyD/Tending-to-Democracy
Palmer Report list of competitive races:
https://twitter.com/PalmerReport/status/1574163398337523712?s=20&t=7qufq2R83F24MfaJgrMinQ
Great list.
Hey, Ellie! I trust the candidates found in the Palmer report are being supported by Tending to Democracy? Or should we donate to the broader states project?
Lynell, if you go the The States Project website, you can see the states they are working on. And if you click on a state, you can read about the individual candidates.
Thanks, MLM!
Thank you for these valuable links, Ellie. You make a very good point about "donating smart". For the first time I'm considering donating to down ballot candidates across state lines. In my case, local donations fall into your "too red hopeless" category. I appreciate the resource you've posted here.
Give smart, indeed. Don’t have the resources to do otherwise, and the candidates don’t help with their Me, me, me above all else
Corporations benefit from Democrat administrations and yet they continue to undermine.
For a positive on the November 8 elections try Michael Moore. https://www.michaelmoore.com/p/midterm-tsunami-truth-5?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=320974&post_id=75703713&isFreemail=false&utm_medium=email
Brooklyn Dad's Rides to the Polls:
https://twitter.com/mmpadellan/status/1573564136482643969?s=20&t=7qufq2R83F24MfaJgrMinQ
That’s a cool idea. Or, if not that, become a poll worker.
Those of us in vote by mail states have limited opportunities for rides or poll workers....even at the county offices where they count the votes.
That's fine with me - Colorado! Waiting for my ballot by mail now.
signed up
We made some donations yesterday, more to Tina Kotek and to Perez in WA's third district. This weekend we will take a look at others to donate to. We already donate to get out the vote entities. I agree with a careful look at where to donate.
BTW, the NYT had an article earlier this week on the effectiveness of The States Project. Link to it is in posts here: https://www.grapevine.org/giving-circle/1XQhnyD/Tending-to-Democracy
Logan Phillips with 14 toss-up races:
https://twitter.com/LoganR2WH/status/1571505595273936899?s=20&t=7qufq2R83F24MfaJgrMinQ
Can you explain this a little more, Ellie?
“The first $5,000 that you contribute in a calendar year will go to the PAC for America’s Future’s $5,000-and-under Contribution Account. Once a contributor has contributed $5,000 in a calendar year to that Contribution Account, The PAC for America’s Future will transfer any amounts given in excess of $5,000 to the PAC for America’s Future’s nonfederal account. Please contact us at info@statesproject.org if you have any questions or would like a different allocation.”
Gigi, I was also curious. I’m assuming it has to do with PAC contribution limits:
https://www.fec.gov/help-candidates-and-committees/making-disbursements-pac/contribution-limits-nonconnected-pacs/
I am not on the staff at The States Project or their PAC, so the best way is to go straight to the source at the email they provided: info@statesproject.org
Thank you.
Thank you Ellie, as always.
Great Idea - but I'm curious when/if The States Project which you support will turn it's resources on Wisconsin. This state is so pathetic and paralyzed by MAGARepub defiance and/or inaction. I was surprised it wasn't already on the resuscitation list.
The States Project researchers have selected 10 other states with more winnable or keepable Democratic majorities in their state legislatures.
For the Senate seat, Mandela Barnes was ahead but is slipping and in need of a boost:
https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/
Wisc does not have a legislative Dem majority. I thought this was mainly about state legislatures. Barnes is vying for US senate.
You are correct that The States Project focuses on state legislatures in the most pivotal states, as opposed to trying to resuscitate solid R state legislatures.
👋 👋 👋 👋 👋 👋 👋
Further reason why these traitors cannot ever be allowed anywhere near power again. Were it not for the addled airhead Sinema, the Senate could carve out a vote to kill the debt ceiling from the filibuster and finish it off in December, leaving the traitors with nothing. I think even Manchin could see the necessity of so doing.
Sinema is another one enamored of her Dorian Gray visage while her soul rots. Oops, past tense…. Another donation to viable senate candidates…
She is a total embarrassment to the State of AZ. Out of office (OOO) in 2024.
I'm so sorry for your plight & blight, Charlie G.
Donate to Ruben Gallego, who's going to take her on.
Yep. I can't wait. A campaign I could volunteer for.
I would suggest minimal federal aid to FL, and other drown the government red states, until the debt ceiling is abolished. Perhaps DeSantis, an evil joke, might use his budget to export legal immigrants from TX, to help recovery efforts. No, the gop has no useful, helpful agenda. Time for Dems to stop showing up at a gun fight with a knife.
After that, let's make this the last time we pay to rehab sensitive environmental areas, like Sanibel. Time to leave those areas wild and unpolluted. I am a lib tired of paying for southern red state stupidity.
I fully understand and agree with the sentiment expressed. Yes totally to no rehab of places like Sanibel. But some of the best liberals I know among the regular contributors to That's Another Fine Mess, as well as other places like here at LFAA, come from Florida. If we practice "southernomics" on them like they did with Sandy in 2013, that makes us them. This is one of the few places where I agree with Michelle Obama about "when they go low we go high." If there's anything with the slightest chance of creating some converts, things like this are it. In fact, a guy I know who has been well over on the other side - and lives down there, his house was five miles from the major destruction path - just said to me in an email that it looks like I am right about climate change, since this was more than he'd ever experienced before and he's lived down there all his life. Step one! A conversation begins! From small seeds mighty oaks grow.
And yes, the rest of them who will never get it could be swept out to sea and I wouldn't cry.
I agree, we should dig them out again, once more. However, not until the debt ceiling is removed and that gop nonsense is done with.....even when Dems control Congress.
I lived in Estero, Lee County for 6 years. Left in 2016 mainly because the red politics, racism and traffic became impossible. It was a bad choice for us.
The government sponsored pollution from big Scott donors was despicable. Fertilizer from the sugar cane growers washed into Lake Okeechobee, and from there to both coasts and the Everglades during rainy season. Snakes with 3 eyes, green algae in the gulf, loss of Manatees food sources in the Caloosahatchee River. All so Scott could pocket millions and hunt with his polluting pals at their TX ranches. Of course, the FL legislature thought that was just fine, nothing to see here.
After sugar cane harvest, the stalks are burned, tens of thousands of acres. Black smoke fills the air. But, the workers are mostly Hispanic so who cares!
I don't know how any liberal can live on the west coast, or panhandle of Flori-duh. So, "southernomics" to achieve political objectives is just fine with me.
Amen! Florida has been building "stupid" for far too long. I grew up there (and left) when people who lived in oceanfront houses were wealthy and had enough money to build a very sturdy mansion on the beach - and afford to do the repairs when a storm blew in. Now they have all these neighborhoods where they back homes up to a canal that has "borrowed" water from bays (like Tampa Bay and many, many other) right inside the neighborhood. Florida is literally floating on so much water, it will never run out. OH, and lots of alligators! They come up wherever there's water - saw one swimming down a street in Orlando.
Thank you for another informative, insightful letter. As a government employee I get so tired of being a political football. I go to work and do a good job every damn day, and our reward is to get shut down and lose a paycheck until the politicians get done pissing on each other’s trees. Yes, we typically get back pay once we’re up and running again, but there are plenty of employees - not just in the government - who live paycheck to paycheck. I have savings to get me through, but not everyone does. They totally ignore the human aspect of the the chaos they create. Although I know, they simply don’t care if it means they get their way. The pain is the point.
You are absolutely right, Dianna, the pain is the point. NC is a great example. Back in 2011, I think it was, the newly elected Republicans in the General Assembly cut teacher pay, shredded the steps and requirements of the pay scale and allowed some “conservative” group to declare NC universities’ Schools of Education to be deficient. After several years of blowback for lousy teacher pay, the legislature began to slowly increase teacher pay, loudly congratulating themselves along the way. The R’s created a serious teacher shortage. They now want praise for a raise that is half of the inflation rate.
The R’s are a criminal gang who just want to hurt people. They want to do similar things on a national scale.
That rather sums up today’s gop: “Pain is the Point”
Amen. Daughter is at DOJ: she shared the pain of the shutdown(s).
Never underestimate the hypocrisy, sadism, and cynicism of the Right. It has been ever thus. On another note: The despicable Missouri AG and would-be senator, Eric Sch[m]itt, has sued the D of Ed to block the student loan debt relief program. Why? Because he--and 5 other Rethuglican A'sG--claims that this will mean that the state "loses income" from taxes people supposedly will not be paying on the student loan relief. However--and this is a perfect example of the malignity of the m***h*rf**kers who want to turn everyone into pawns in their Autocracy Olympics--the same Rethuglicans whining about the relief of middle and working-class people who have been paying thousands of dollars MORE than their original loans in interest just passed (with the blessing of Sch[m]itt) a bill that LOWERS the income tax on the HIGHEST EARNERS in MO but does absolutely nothing to help anyone else. So if you're a millionaire in Missouri--congrats. You don't have to pay the measly 5% on the top end of your income (which is of course a graduated tax so you pay only on the amount of annual income above the next highest income level). But the person making $50,000 a year and barely scraping by in Missouri? The legislature tells you to eff off.
This is why these f**kers have to go. I want this whole disgusting patriarchal system to burn to the ground right now. Happy Friday y'all.
Need a match?
We've got a different situation here in MA: the "millionaire's tax" is on the ballot as a citizen initiative. Adds 4 percent to the tax rate paid on income over a million a year. And it's amazing how much is being spent on TV ads against it. Would affect 0.6 per cent of the households in MA (and those households get 22 per cent of the income). Yeah, you read that right: 0.6 percent get 22 percent of the income in the state. But the lies being spread in the ads... we'll be lucky if the voters trust the legislature enough to vote it through.
WOW! Did not know. Good luck!
Cheers! 🍻or/and 🥂
Tell it, Linda!
Christoffer Hobson is citing Berthold Brecht in today's writing, The Old New:
"I stood on a hill and I saw the Old approaching, but it came as the New.
It hobbled up on new crutches which no one had ever seen before and stank of new smells of decay which no one had ever smelt before.
The stone that rolled past was the newest invention and the screams of the gorillas drumming on their chests set up to be the newest musical composition.
Everywhere you could see open graves standing empty as the New advanced on the capital.
Round about stood such as inspired terror, shouting: Here comes the New, it’s all new, salute the new, be new like us! And those who heard, heard nothing but their shouts, but those who saw, saw such as were not shouting.
So the Old strode in disguised as the New, but it brought the New with it in its triumphal procession and presented it as the Old.
The New went fettered and in rags; they revealed its splendid limbs.
And the procession moved through the night, but what they thought was the light of dawn was the light of fires in the sky. And the cry: ‘Here comes the New, it’s new, salute the New, be new like us!’ would have been easier to hear if all had not been drowned in a thunder of guns."
'Brecht’s words generate an eery, uneven recognition, capturing something in the air. Here I want to linger on the powerful duality at the heart of the poem: the old new and the new old. He points to the danger of old ways of thought and action being misapprehended as new; but also, new forces and realities not being recognised, too quickly dismissed as old. (Christoffer Hobson)'
Thanks for this reminder of how the worst came and is -- in far too many places -- coming to pass.
I see the need to dig down beneath the surface of day-to-day events to the underlying forces at work. After all, why else are we reading and commenting on these Letters if not better to understand and respond to what's going on?
Olof, ‘Parade of the Old New’ (1939), is he poem by Brecht that you have quoted, And what are the 'new forces' that you write may not be recognized or easily dismissed? Is the incessant noise drowning them out?
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, the 'mission to study the earliest stars and peer back farther into the universe's past than ever before with new look deep into nearby dust clouds to study the formation of stars and planets.' The telescope gets some if small continuing attention. In technology: sand technology; xenotransplantation, which will, perhaps, revolutionize surgery; AI image-generation; Brain reading robots; Hydrogen planes... and in other fields of knowledge...
Here in the USA we rush to decry the latest Republican cruelty or try to avoid getting sucked in. Is another of our divisions between fear and avoidance? The balance or balances between threats to democracy, achieving a civil society, maintaining rich daily lives and close relationships....does life now feel like a jumble of factions and fragments? It is crucial to recognize the 'old' menace within the so-called 'new' one.
Your comment, Olof, can call us to pause and reflect a while. Thank you.
Well, I was quoting Christoffer Hobson, and his quote of Brecht. I forgot to mention it was from 1939. Thank you Fern for adding this; that is also a reminder, of someone who very early saw the black swan coming; many did not, or dismissed it until the tide of war was turning.
Yes indeed 'incessant noise'. "Fill the internet with sh*t" is just the gross expression of it. Seeking media shadow when some big event is occupying the whole space, is more subtle but very effective.
Olof, The poem by Brecht written in 1939 represented here is another illustration of the 'old' reflecting the new. Your keen observation of Trump's and the MAGA Republicans' dual use of the media to be 'seen' and 'not seen' also contributes to our understanding of how we are being manipulated.
Today’s Letter reminded us repeatedly to see the country’s past in the MAGA Republicans’ claims that they are fighting for our liberty against what they call a ‘tyrannical government. See the ‘old’ demons in the words and actions in the current Republican Party.
‘Today the Senate approved a short-term extension of government funding to prevent a shutdown.’
‘Behind this measure is a potential nightmare scenario. MAGA Republicans have already threatened to refuse to fund the government unless President Joe Biden and the Democrats reverse all their policies.’ (Letter)
‘Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned then that a default “could trigger a spike in interest rates, a steep drop in stock prices and other financial turmoil. Our current economic recovery would reverse into recession,… Moody's Analytics warned that a default would cost up to 6 million jobs, create an unemployment rate of nearly 9%, and wipe out $15 trillion in household wealth.' (Letter)
‘This plan is an echo of an effort by former Confederate leaders to destroy the federal government’s Reconstruction policies by withholding funds until the president did as they demanded. In 1879, having taken control of both houses of Congress during a recession, Democrats believed they had a mandate to get rid of federal protection of Black rights. Insisting they were fighting for liberty from a tyrannical government…' (Letter)
See the ‘old’ in the MAGA Republicans are claiming as ‘new’.
‘Cartoonist Thomas Nast drew an image of Fort Sumter, the installation in Charleston Harbor fired on by Confederate troops in April 1861, with the caption: “REVOLUTIONARY, AS USUAL—It is not the first time that an attempt has been made to stop the Government.” Three weeks later, the cover of Harper’s Weekly showed a skeletal U.S. soldier, starved at the infamous Andersonville prison camp, as a symbol of the starvation of the government.’ (Letter)
Aha, 'what's old is new again'.
Like your comment, Fern. As usual (I clicked the heart - it didn't show, so I needed to tell you - thanks as always)
Dana, thank you. ❤️🌿
"The Old New" Very powerful. Thank you for this Olof.
Thank you for paying attention to this debt ceiling stuff Heather. I’ve lost my ability to concentrate on this annual fiasco. Seems to take me back to the third grade playground watching some kids play a game I’m no longer interested in playing.
How true, thanks for specifying the time and place. Bullies in the school yard…
It’ll be hard to rebuild Florida if the federal government is in default. Wonder if desantis is thinking about that. But also, what is the endgame here? What happens the day after they force us into default?
Republican politicians have the same plan for this country as Putin’s armies have for Ukraine: turn it to rubble, then rule the remains.
Yesterday he crowed about the greatness of his administration - staying open during covid, budget surplus, etc. So he thinks FL can take care of itself - while people are drowning, won't be able to rebuild homes because of lack of insurance, etc. The Governor crows on to make political points..... His humanity is missing.
And, while Floridians remain stranded on offshore Gulf islands due to negligent & data starved storm path (sic) projections. UPDATE: Forrest Masters. a civil engineer at the University of Florida, was
"hunkered down" at the Punta Gordo Airport near Fort Myers collecting data when the eye of Ian passed over. Forrest did not run. Love those Professors.
That's what you get with so much Liberty.
Really good profile of him in Vanity Fair. Here is a link where I tried to avoid the paywall (sorry...I feel guilty every time I try this, but my funds to subscribe are limited) https://archive.ph/2022.09.27-120731/https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/09/ron-desantis-the-making-and-remaking-of-a-maga-heir
I learned an awful lot about his personality, specifically that he seems to lack empathy.
What an ugly human, it begs the question of why he is so popular!
Hey, Rick Scott was elected TWICE. Go figure
Thanks!
So he’s crowing about a budget surplus? Great, let’s see if he actually spends it on helping his people. We’ll go halvesies!
desantis is not "thinking about that" right now; desantis is a "taker" right now & too busy to send Texas asylum seekers from Venezuela to DC or a Massachusetts's island.
And I’m noticing Biden practicing WWJD. It will be interesting if the xtians give him credit for that! -or anything!
Always useful to reflect what the carpenter from Nazareth would do. Always respected his direct action against the temple Moneychangers.
Bryan, Agreed!
DeSantis voted against aid for Hurricane Sandy - along with Rubio - but it's ok to accept the helping hand of Joe Biden...
Russia Wins! Which it seems has been the plan all along.
Might the governors of NY and CA and the selectmen in Marthas Vineyard start a Go Fund Me site for FL’s DeSantis, if a Republican House votes not to fund the US government? Emergency rebuilding requires lots of $$$.
Before rebuilding, we need an Architectual After-Battle-Report of homes & elevated carports that survived Ian & the negligent storm path Models.
Conscience and the common weal is meaningless to malignant narcissists.
PAUL KRUGMAN
Wonking Out: Biden Should Ignore the Debt Limit and Mint a $1 Trillion Coin
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/01/opinion/biden-coin-democrat-republican-debt-limit.html
Here's an excerpt from Krugman's piece:
"Well, there’s a strange provision in U.S. law that empowers the Treasury secretary to mint and issue platinum coins in any quantity and denomination she chooses. Presumably the purpose of this provision was to allow the creation of coins celebrating people or events. But the language doesn’t say that. So on the face of it, Janet Yellen could mint a platinum coin with a face value of $1 trillion — no, it needn’t include $1 trillion worth of platinum — deposit it at the Federal Reserve and draw on that account to keep paying the government’s bills without borrowing.
"Alternatively, Biden could simply declare that the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, which says that the validity of federal debt may not be questioned, renders the debt ceiling moot.
"And there may be other tricks I don’t know about."
What you are describing - the $1 trillion coin - is MMT (Modern Monetary Theory) or something very close to it. I think it has already been used effectively in our government in the fairly recent past, and could solve the problems regarding the debt limit.
Wow. Talk about making some folks in the Senate apoplectic! Gaskets blown from KY to TX; AZ to WV and FL! Whoa!
The article is pay-walled. Any way you could post it without that?
MLRGRMI - "The article is pay-walled. Any way you could post it without that?"
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/01/opinion/biden-coin-democrat-republican-debt-limit.html?unlocked_article_code=Ob1Y2Nl7JFQc4PHM8yaDbHuy2axZsLYHd7Eap7WJwhVDm7zEUA8NqZq1hmaCJP3j9whusvMF3FuPBWCwREzDeLJU1NhVtooYz5_GObqLfY6P-lXWlu1QMMKSCpR3KMZvu7__FiqA5Op9CH8nr7CVKZnLmKJV_Fi6S4f0lH5drSqYazxZNCc4OFFBs8pSug95CLIPh13YPfQYoHMQhcrkK8pykpyeIf2duvJakEYtV31GVHP68OxzrRKBhT0YaT73G3SJu2gZq-_5U0mX0e3ufSv3Cd1j6-7VwrHvs3cUQzFEwGAQTbbYPPIEYJ5x20szHeBeEXHAHdyJm8l7jSyP4_Qby9XpyNbff5gAJW2jrnw8XS4&smid=share-url
Be happy to send it to you as a "gift." NYT allows 12 articles per month to subscribers. I don't think I can post the link publically so I would need your email. Also, if you are a member of Denver Public LIbrary, you can access NYT with library card. See https://www.denverlibrary.org/database/n -- I am sure other libraries in your community will offer this online service.
I did not know that about DPL, Jerry! Thanks so much! I use Virginia Village branch heavily!!! Plus lots of digital materials
Jerry Carbone - "I don't think I can post the link publically so I would need your email."
Actually, that is how the "Gift" works. You are given an URL Link (as in my Post above). This link can be sent to your recipient either publicly or privately.
Yes, thx for that. I was concerned about copyright issues on a public space but apparently NYT does not care—from NYT—-Note: Gift articles can only be shared using the Gift button and the gift sharing options available. Articles can not be gifted or shared using non-gift social sharing options, or by copying and pasting the article URL into a web browser.
Awesome!!!! Great ideas!!!!
NYT subscribers can "Give this Article". Note, the Gift icon.
There seems to be a constant strain in US history of visiting onto others the tyranny that drove migrant forebears to come to America.
Victims' hatreds and resentments passed down from generation to generation long after the original oppression and/or poverty had been transformed into wealth and liberty.
A heritage of evil.
Is it not more than time for Americans to wake up and cast off ancestral shackles -- a convicts' mentality -- unworthy of a free people?
We have an election between now and Dec. 16th. Ever the optimist, despite ample historical evidence to the contrary, if the Democrats hold or increase their majorities, would lame-duck Republicans still vote to default? Since rational thought is out of vogue in MAGA-World, probably yes they would, claiming a rigged election.
"We lost; proof the election was rigged."
I really am cautiously but realistically hopeful the Democrats will buck history this mid-term election. I think the SCOTUS Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health decision is what will do the trick. I hope the Dems are ready for the inevitable MAGA challenge to the results.
Message from Joe Biden to Ron DeSantis; "We're from the government and we're here to help."
The MAGAs seem to have the collective memory of an average fruit fly. The reason Macconnell "blinked" at allowing a government default is partly because he saw the damage it would do to the country, but mostly because he saw the damage it would do to Republican political support. The beating they took by allowing a government shut down in 2019 would pail by comparison.
I must also say I am not impressed by political pundits. 2016: total miss. 2018: kinda got it right, but not because of 'cross-over' votes, really it was the Democrat's mobilization of 'left-leaning seldom voters' that did the trick. 2020: they predicted a squeaker - it was not. They have their ear to the ground, but seem to be listening to the old (see Olaf Ribbing's post), rather than to what's actually happening in front of them. One respected pundit stated what we are seeing is the Republican party making the shift from a business party to a working-class party. It is not. It is a party making the shift from a loyal-opposition/ruling party to becoming the machinery of dictatorship.
For all their talent and earnest desire to tell the story, most media outlets seems to be covering all this as just another horse race, rather than a race over a cliff. Our thinking has become too comfortable, too grooved, to be really useful in this time of inflection/opportunity/crisis. The MAGAs, God bless them, can be either a vehicle to wake the rest of us up, or bury us. The (uncomfortable) choice is ours.
Your point about the inaccuracy of the political pundits is something Ive been mulling over. They are forming their positions for two reasons I believe. One, is that the “Horse Race” style sells more ads. Two, how are they reaching voters to do polling research. Our communication technology has altered our personal cultures of information gathering and ability/desire to engage with others we do not wish to hear from. So how does a pollster get an accurate sense of “What people are thinking” or “How people will really vote” when I don’t see how they can truly access a reliable, actual, cross section of voters?
The Civil War is alive and healthy. I thank my lucky stars I’m sober. I thank my lucky stars my good buddy Dave turned me on to Heather Cox Richardson, etc.
Superb.. The country needs Professor Richardson to help the Democrats counter the powerful and mightily effective Republican disinformation machine. If we don’t shed light on the sickening propaganda the Republicans so effectively employ, this democracy will soon perish.
Gavin Newsom seems to be the only sitting Dem able to do it. Pelosi and Schumer are still playing nice and taking the high road. The entire party should adopt the techniques of John Fetterman- and his techniques actually get coverage by the stenographer media.
John Fetterman will be a game changer in the Senate. I'm so glad I can vote for him!
I'm so envious you get to vote for him! He's the GenX candidate I've been waiting for my entire adult life.
If I could vote twice, I'd do one for you!
Amen to that. Totally agree.
The R’s...always casting a heavy wrench! Just when you think the Dems are ahead, the opponents find a treasure trove somewhere. I am getting nauseous being on this see-saw.