Democracy

A-Changin’


POST 1115

On the Sunday before last the New York Times published letters from readers that were composed in lyrical form rather than in prose. One was to the tune of the 60s Bob Dylan song, The Times They Are A-Changin’. Here’s it’s opening:

Come liars, deniers who call it a hoax

And convince us these fires are nothin’ but jokes

When the air that you’re breathing’s like three packs of smokes

Even Fox might admit they were fakin’

Better get a good gas mask if ya don’t wanna choke

‘Cause the climate is a-changin’

Having been there in the 60s and been a finalist in Lyndon Johnson’s contest to win an all expense paid trip to Vietnam, I was sensitive to Dylan’s words in his song. That tide of change led to the 1968 anti-war demonstrations in Grant Park that turned into a battle that the Kerner Commission labeled a “police riot.” I remember Hizzoner the Mayor, Richard J. Daley, defending the police, saying, “The police are not here to create disorder. They are here to preserve disorder.” He certainly was a man of insightful and inspiring words.

What comes to me now is that the 60s demand for change was about our attempts to move away from repressive government hiding behind the label “conservative.” It seemed designed solely to prevent any change that might affect the power of those in charge, regardless of the desires of We The People. Meanwhile, people were getting killed.

Good thing there is no global warming leading to this flooding in New Mexico. Oh wait – there is.

Here we are today with new power grabbers stripping power from us using their chicanery, demanding that their minority be in charge of the rest of us. They’re fighting any change with their unlawful, unconstitutional schemes to diminish our power.

They’re denying climate warming, for example, even as people throughout our southeast are suffering, some dying, from yet another “storm of the century” and there are lakes, oddly enough, flooding parts of the Sahara Desert and New Mexico. Hence, the creative use of Dylan’s form and the updated meaning above.

These pretenders are trying to claw their way into absolute power using lies, propaganda and promises – threats, really – of unconstitutional cruelty. They are fighting change for the better solely to snatch away yet more power for themselves at the expense of We The People. Meanwhile, people are getting killed. It’s an eerily familiar story.

The times are a-changing because we have made a lethal mess and change is an existential imperative. Ask your children and grandchildren how they’re feeling about their future, about the dire threat of global warming and the threats coming from citizen mob incitement and violent people with guns. Ask them how they’re feeling about people, especially politicians, who deny reality.

Today’s young are the ones who have had to do active shooter drills in schools. They’re the ones dealing with our insurmountable housing reality and the crazy cost to marry and have children, about all the impossible challenges that have put them in despair. Essentially, they are asking,

“What American dream?”
.

So, they and we want the times to be a-changin’. We don’t want the chaos, the instability and the threats of being dominated by people who want to “terminate” our Constitution. We don’t want our rights to be stolen from us and we don’t want liars to treat us like we’re stupid.

In short, the battle is the same now as it was in the 60s, as we fight the lies and repression that could get us killed. It turns out, much to the surprise of some, that people don’t like their rights and freedom trampled. People don’t like the frauds and the cruelties, like ripping babies from the arms of their mothers; like lying to victims of hurricanes so that they don’t get the aid they need and deserve; like letting pregnant women die from lack of ordinary care that would save their lives; and like encouraging Americans to attack other Americans. People don’t like their hopes and dreams to be crushed by those who care only to amass yet more power.

Change is coming because We The People won’t long tolerate repression. The cruel ones will continue to be cruel because that’s all they have. The minority will continue to manipulate the system solely for their own benefit for as long as they can. But we will reject them because they represent an America that only the haters want. We’ll banish them to the obscurity they deserve.

Our job, to paraphrase Ghandi, is to “Be the change we want to see in America.”

Not with a riot in Grant Park, but with a riot of votes before and on November 5. Then the times, they truly will be a-changin’.

Come hopers and voters who know that they stand

For something much greater than that hateful man.

When hatred and lies are all that they sell

We see what they’re doing and we’re here to tell

They better get packing or they’ll sink down to hell

‘Cus their time it is now ending.

Name Calling Accuracy

O’ those rascally generals, those former Trump Cabinet heads and Republican spine finders! They are calling Trump and Vance dangerous fascists. O’ the degrading truth of it all!

You need to go to school on this and Professor Timothy Snyder has advanced to the podium. Watch his short instructional videos in order.

 

 

.
.
Lest We Forget the Odious Felons

These are some of the crooks who want to end our democracy and rule over you with a cruel fist. Don’t let them!

Pass this along to any who are undecided or apathetic. As awful as these felons are, they’re pussycats compared to the fascist, evil, goose stepping morons whom Trump will put in power over us if he wins.
.

Tell people to

vote like their life depends on it.

Because it does!

Best Required Reading

From Steve Schmidt, October 24, “America has had many long nights in its history.” You need to know this story – read his post. Meanwhile,

There is no heaven on earth, but there is America.

It is time to believe and imagine again in America. Isn’t it? America was invented by believers, not cynics. The presence of cynics amongst the believers doesn’t diminish the believers. It simply tests the character of the undecided. There are great choices ahead. There always are. While we wait, perhaps it is worth taking stock and remembering, if but for a moment, how it feels to be a member of the luckiest group of people on earth. Americans. This is a place where anything still remains possible. Two hundred years ago at a moment of division a friend [Lafayette] visited and reminded a young nation of its unlimited future. America is a young nation with old politicians. That problem can be fixed. It should be. It’s time to start building tomorrow again in this country.

Reality Reset Quote of the Week

From Sheila Markin:

Immigrants are not the danger that Trump claims they are. Democrats are not the danger Trump says they are. Climate change is a real threat. The pandemic was a real threat. Because Trump is disconnected from reality, Trump himself is the threat from within.

Insanity Corner

In what is already one of the most expensive Senate races in American history, the Ted Cruze “Citizens United funded Super PACs” are “.  .  .  blanketing the airwaves with $34 MILLION in attack ads against Colin [Allred] (from a 10-27-24 Allred fund raiser email).

This is just some of the insanity unleashed by the John Roberts Supreme Court extremists, who contorted themselves and the Constitution to give super wealthy individuals and corporations super influence over our elections. Plus they gave inanimate, non-human, non-sentient corporations all the rights that you have.

Insane.

Best Action Today

Read this.

It’s not the vibes and it’s not the polls: it’s the votes. 
Are you registered to vote? Check it out on any of these websites:
.

https://www.vote.org/am-i-registerilled-to-vote/

https://www.usa.gov/confirm-voter-registration

https://www.rockthevote.org/how-to-vote/am-i-registered-to-vote/

“Friends do not let friends vote for con artists.”
  • – Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), 2016


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    The Fine Print:

    1. Writings quoted or linked from my posts reflect a point I want to make, at least in part. That does not mean that I endorse or agree with everything in such writings.
    2. There are lots of smart, well-informed people. Sometimes we agree; sometimes we don’t. Search for others’ views and decide for yourself.
    3. Errors in fact, grammar, spelling and punctuation are all embarrassingly mine. Glad to have your corrections.
    4. Responsibility for the content of these posts is unequivocally, totally, unavoidably mine.
    5. Book links to Amazon are provided for reference only. Please purchase your books through your local mom & pop bookstore, even if that makes them a few bucks more expensive. That will help to keep them your town or neighborhood vibrant.
    6. Clicking on most pics in these posts will take you to the source information.

    Click me

    JA


Copyright 2024 by Jack Altschuler
Reproduction and sharing are encouraged, providing proper attribution is given.

Endorsements


POST 1110

From a rally for Tammy Baldwin

Jax Pix

Here are some of my pics.

President

Kamala Harris (queue the forehead slaps), because we want our President to be a person who has neither dementia nor a mania to be der fuhrer. We want her to be focused on We The People.

Senate

Arizona – Reuben Gallego – Good, solid, proven congressman. Plus, he isn’t election denier, pants-on-fire Kari Lake.

California – Adam Schiff – Super smart January 6 Committee member and impeachment prosecutor. His Republican opponent, Steve Garvey, was a terrific baseball player. He should have stuck to that, because if elected he would be another Trump mini-me suck up, MAGA extremist. Plus, he sounded like a doofus in their debate.

Florida – Debbie Mucarsel-Powell – She’s good and she has going for her that she isn’t spineless, elitist, arrogant, dangerous Rick Scott, co-sponsor of a national abortion ban bill and too chicken to face Mucarsel-Powell in a debate.

Maryland – Angela Alsobrooks – Her opponent, Larry Hogan, isn’t awful like most Republicans. But he’s unacceptable because he’s a Republican, which means he would be an obstruction to anything Harris will want to do for We The People.

Michigan – Elissa Slotkin – She’s a seriously smart, solid woman, proven in Congress. She’s a former Central Intelligence Agency analyst (think: Jack Ryan) and Department of Defense official. Unlike Trump, she has a security clearance.

Missouri – Lucas Kunze – Vote for Kunze because he isn’t Josh Hawley. That alone should be enough to vote for him. He isn’t reprehensible –  Hawley is – and he never fist pumped insurrectionists.

Montana – Jon Tester – One of the best. Super solid and sensible guy. We need him and many others to be voices for We The People and to restore sanity in Congress.

Ohio – Sherrod Brown – Super guy. Hard working, sensible and loyal as the sunrise.

Nevada – Jacky Rosen – She’s been tested and has the cred to attract bipartisan support for important legislation. Plus, her opponent, carpetbagger Sam Brown from Texas, is just another MAGA doomer and blamer without a single constructive idea or the spine to stand up to the extremists.

Pennsylvania – Bob Casey – Sensible, non-histrionic patriot. Calm voice of reason. You remember reason, right?

Texas – Colin Allred – First, you should vote even for a potted plant over Ted Cruz, who is the worst, most hated senator not named Josh Hawley. Second, Allred is first rate – smart and loyal. Plus he’ll have the brightest smile and the best teeth in the Senate.

Wisconsin – Tammy Baldwin – She’s really smart, capable and tested. She won’t be stopped when it’s hard to do what needs to be done. Wisconsinites deserve her.

West Virginia – Glenn Elliott – Because the Republican candidate will sell out those poor people – yet again.

Issues Resources

Check with March For Our Lives for recommendations of candidates who will promote gun safety.

Check with any women’s rights organization for who to vote for if you care about girls, women, your sister, your mom, your daughter, the people on your street or the people on any street, and the rights of all of us.

Check for party affiliation, because Republicans will suck up to Trump and the insane radicals, keeping your children at mortal risk just for just going to school. They will curtail the rights of everyone. Vote for Democrats. Not because only Democrats have good ideas, but because they are a legitimate party with actual, thoughtful policies and a clear view to making the lives of We The People (that’s you and me) better. They’re beholden only to us and to the Constitution, not to a cult subservient to a demonic dictator wannabe. Plus, they believe in democracy and the rule of law, unlike the Republicans who want to “terminate the Constitution.”

We’ll deal with House races and some state races in another post.

Same Old Mendacity

You already know that if Trump’s mouth is moving that he’s either eating a Big Mac or lying. No news there. And you already know that idiot boy genius Elon Musk is just as lie-ful. But did you know that in his country of origin, South Africa, that his name in Afrikaans means “idiot boy genius”?

To be clear, I am not Musk’s interpreter so I cannot make sense for you of any of the idiot things he says. I don’t know if he actually believes the idiocy that Democrats are recruiting undocumented people to vote or if he believes that Democrats can control the weather. Okay, that was loony MTG who said that. See my post this coming Wednesday.

Musk promotes the Trumpy lie that we have a massive voter fraud problem. How might he have adopted that idiot notion?

In the 2016 election there were only 30 cases of claimed voter fraud nationally that were referred for prosecution, or just 0.00001 percent of all votes cast. They didn’t all result in guilty verdicts, so the actual incidence of voter fraud was actually lower. O’ those pesky facts. They point menacingly at Republican lies about elections.

Musk is prone to saying lots of idiotic things. I really don’t care about that. I do care that he has a huge platform to spread them and that he “re-posted [a deepfake of Vice President Kamala Harris] that racked up a staggering 1.2 billion views.”

So, he isn’t just an idiot boy genius. He is a very dangerous idiot boy genius whom I would be ignoring were he not in a position to influence so many uninformed or low propensity voters with his lies.

Respect yourself: Don’t buy a Tesla.

From The “Ya Gotta Read This” Department

My pal Ed Gurowitz offers his insights periodically and you must read this post. He reports on attending a Tim Walz rally in Reno NV and manages to deliver both the content and the feel of what he experienced. His description vividly captures the stark differences in the versions of our future that we’re being offered by the two very different presidential candidates.

This is a Don’t Miss piece. Indeed, it’s something valuable to pass along to those you know who are otherwise likely to skip this election. And tell them to read the t-shirt to the right.

Vote to keep this delusional out of the Oval Office.

It’s not the vibes and it’s not the polls: it’s the votes. 
Are you registered to vote? Check it out on any of these websites:

https://www.vote.org/am-i-registerilled-to-vote/

https://www.usa.gov/confirm-voter-registration

https://www.rockthevote.org/how-to-vote/am-i-registered-to-vote/

“Friends do not let friends vote for con artists.”
  • – Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), 2016


  • Did someone forward this post to you? Welcome! Please subscribe – use the simple form above on the right. And pass this along to three others, encouraging them to subscribe, too. (IT’S A FREEBIE!) It’s going to take ALL OF US to get the job done.

    And add your comments below to help us all to be better informed.

    Thanks!

    The Fine Print:

    1. Writings quoted or linked from my posts reflect a point I want to make, at least in part. That does not mean that I endorse or agree with everything in such writings.
    2. There are lots of smart, well-informed people. Sometimes we agree; sometimes we don’t. Search for others’ views and decide for yourself.
    3. Errors in fact, grammar, spelling and punctuation are all embarrassingly mine. Glad to have your corrections.
    4. Responsibility for the content of these posts is unequivocally, totally, unavoidably mine.
    5. Book links to Amazon are provided for reference only. Please purchase your books through your local mom & pop bookstore, even if that makes them a few bucks more expensive. That will help to keep them your town or neighborhood vibrant.
    6. Clicking on most pics in these posts will take you to the source information.

    Click me

    JA


Copyright 2024 by Jack Altschuler
Reproduction and sharing are encouraged, providing proper attribution is given.

A Bucketful of Weird


POST 1109

Heart Wrenching Quote of the Week

Misty is a teacher in Charlotte, NC. She was interviewed on CNN. She spoke of teachers going to the houses of students to make sure they were okay, as they were living in rubble. One of the teachers is missing and they are surrounded by the disaster and the suffering that is everywhere, trying to help the kids have something that feels normal. Misty said that’s critical for the kids, because,

“Normal just washed away  .  .  . “

Their ordinary lives just washed away. Food and drinkable water washed away. Their homes washed away. Their hopes, dreams, security and perhaps friends and family washed away. The death toll stands at 232. No one knows how many are missing and there is no way to calculate the devastation.

The people wading through the muck and rubble are our family, neighbors and community even if at a distance. When disaster hits, we roll up our shirtsleeves and lend a hand. We come together for one another.

And our help, already critically needed, is going to become far more desperately needed, as Hurricane Milton slams across Florida.

CNN put together this list of organizations providing relief. Just click the link and pick one to help our people, because we step up for our community. It’s just what we do, so it would be weird not to.

Weird Black Nazi Wish List

North Carolina Republican candidate for governor and self-labeled Black Nazi, Mark Robinson, has said many offensive things. Among them,

“Slavery is not bad. Some people need to be slaves. I wish they would bring it back. I would certainly buy a few.”

Maybe I’ll buy some slaves, too. Robinson will be my first purchase. The first thing I’ll do as his master is to end all of his freedom and work him to exhaustion every day. Just wondering if he would still think “slavery is not bad.”

Weird.

The Weird Candidate

From an article in The Atlantic Daily on October 2 entitled “Beyond Handshakes,” focused on the Vice Presidential debate:

.  .  .  Vance slyly executed a strategy to make himself, and Trumpism, appear “normal.” He eschewed talk of “childless cat ladies” and ran from his own lies about Haitian immigrants eating pets in Springfield, Ohio. That such a sentence needs to be written tells you all you need to know about the ugly tenor of this race.

Actually, it tells you all you need to know about the ugly dishonesty and cruelty of Republican politicians.

Weird.

Springfield Geese

Turns out that Trump and Vance are sort of right – someone did kill geese in Springfield, OH. But it wasn’t one of the legally resident Haitians.

Springfield idiot and non-Haitian, Brian Comer, was having fine sport killing golf course pond geese on September 10. Got busted for it. There are no reports of him killing neighbors’ dogs or cats and eating them or whether he’s a Trump supporter – you do the guessing on that. Regardless, he’s seriously weird.

FEMA Funds Never Fed Our Undocumented

Following Hurricane Helene, Donald Trump blasted out damning crapnews that FEMA is running out of money for relief because they’re funneling millions to undocumented immigrants. Trump SS officer Steven Miller and idiot genius Elon Musk are helping to spread that lie. The details of this Trump-stupid FEMA accusation are too long to include here, so read Heather Cox Richardson’s explainer.

Worse, at a time when tens of thousands of Americans are desperate and counting on the heroic rescue teams working hard to save them, feed them, to bring them to safety and to give them hope, Trump is crushing their hopes and their belief in their country. Trump is weird and he’s cruel beyond words. But, you knew that.

BTW – When he was president he did exactly what he’s falsely accusing Biden of doing. He diverted FEMA money from relief for victims of Hurricane Maria to use it to punish “others.” While those devastated by the hurricane were Americans, he didn’t care because, hey, they’re just Puerto Ricans. To refresh your memory, this is the paper towel tossing incident. See this capture of his reprehensible and weird nature.

“That Was a Damning Non-Answer”

Walz: Did [Trump] lose the 2020 election?

Vance: Tim, I’m focused on the future. Did Kamala Harris censor Americans in the wake of the 2020 Covid situation? (As though that fantasy was in the future – and the answer is no.)

Walz: That was a damning non-answer.

Vance’s slimy-squirmy avoidance of Walz’s question lit up the debate and Walz nailed him on it. Good for all of us.

Actually, Walz let pass nearly all of Vance’s non-answers (about 22 of them) and his lies (uncountable), much to the frustration of fact-based viewers. No clue why Walz did that.

Trump’s nearly successful efforts to thwart the will of the people of the United States in 2021 and Vance’s support for that felony is ugly. But We The People believe our eyes and ears and we know what happened. The Vance-Dance wasn’t just damning. It was criminally damning.

And weird.

Reality Roundup

You already know that some of us have a flimsy relationship with truth, facts, science and other parts of reality. Lies, misdirection, fantasies, fatuous rumors and conspiracies have achieved great popularity with many of our less sharp-eyed fellow citizens. Their opinions, based on nothing more than personal bias and cartoon-ish flights of insanity, have supplanted facts in their minds. That’s an impressive achievement and actually quite a problem.

A fine essay was offered in the New York Times a couple of weeks ago – Facts Matter, and They Don’t Care How You Feel, by Francis S. Collins, former director of the National Institutes of Health. His piece is a clearheaded approach to telling us that reality is what it is and that our confirmation bias, bad attitudes and our need to find a boogeyman behind every tree don’t change reality.

So no, the Earth is not flat. The 1969 moon landing did happen. So did the Holocaust. There were no sex trafficked young girls in the basement of that pizza shop in DC (actually, there is no basement in that building). There are no Jewish space lasers and vaccines don’t kill, neuter or blind people. They saved hundreds of thousands of lives just in America, despite Trump’s efforts to get Americans to instead inject bleach, Lysol and little ultraviolet lights and to take a drug approved solely to treat malaria. We know all this because there is massive evidence that declares the realities, even as conspiracy wingnuts and wacko political candidates display their very serious mental limitations by rejecting reality and imperiling all of us.

Weird.

Just get this:

Shifting back to reality will take powerful, consistently muscular, banner-waving, truth telling, lie smashing, propaganda pummeling communication and a personal touch. Anything less than that will cause us to descend into a freedom killing wasteland. There are only 26 days left and this will take all of us. It’s time to step up. Now.
.

Will you join in our crusade?
Who will be strong and stand with me?
Somewhere beyond the barricade is there a world you long to see?
Do you hear the people sing?
Say, do you hear the distant drums?
It is the future that they bring when tomorrow comes!

– Les Miserables R Us

It’s not the vibes and it’s not the polls: it’s the votes. 
Are you registered to vote? Check it out on any of these websites:

https://www.vote.org/am-i-registerilled-to-vote/

https://www.usa.gov/confirm-voter-registration

https://www.rockthevote.org/how-to-vote/am-i-registered-to-vote/

“Friends do not let friends vote for con artists.“
  • – Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), 2016


  • Did someone forward this post to you? Welcome! Please subscribe – use the simple form above on the right. And pass this along to three others, encouraging them to subscribe, too. (IT’S A FREEBIE!) It’s going to take ALL OF US to get the job done.

    And add your comments below to help us all to be better informed.

    Thanks!

    The Fine Print:

    1. Writings quoted or linked from my posts reflect a point I want to make, at least in part. That does not mean that I endorse or agree with everything in such writings.
    2. There are lots of smart, well-informed people. Sometimes we agree; sometimes we don’t. Search for others’ views and decide for yourself.
    3. Errors in fact, grammar, spelling and punctuation are all embarrassingly mine. Glad to have your corrections.
    4. Responsibility for the content of these posts is unequivocally, totally, unavoidably mine.
    5. Book links to Amazon are provided for reference only. Please purchase your books through your local mom & pop bookstore, even if that makes them a few bucks more expensive. That will help to keep them your town or neighborhood vibrant.
    6. Clicking on most pics in these posts will take you to the source information.

    Click me

    JA


Copyright 2024 by Jack Altschuler
Reproduction and sharing are encouraged, providing proper attribution is given.

Freedom Of Speech


POST 1105

From the First Amendment:

“Congress shall make no law  .  .  .  abridging freedom of speech  .  .  .”

To be clear, that has nothing to do with whether the owners of social media sites or newspapers can keep us from speaking on their platforms. They can. That has everything to do with whether the government can muzzle us, keeping us from speaking truth to power. It can’t.

So, Trump can bray his idiocies and judgements, like claiming that Biden is the worst president in history. The government can do nothing to stop that. But he is still subject to the laws regarding defamation, a concept that even his massively expensive losses to E. Jean Carroll don’t seem to have gotten through to him. Just think about all the people he’s defamed and who could file actions against him, like his lies about Haitians eating dogs, cats and geese and his various claims about sexual improprieties, like those aimed at Kamala Harris and other successful women. Those are abhorrent, but it would be far worse if he or any of us were prohibited from speaking truth to power.

From Professor Timothy Snyder’s post of September 19, following his meeting with Volodymyr Zelens’kyi:

The notion of “free speech” has become very inflated, used all too often just to mean the right to offend someone or cause disruption by knowingly telling lies, often from a place of power and wealth.The reason why we care about freedom of speech, though, is that we want to protect the dignity of the individual and protect the individual from the powers that be.  Freedom of speech is protected so that we can speak our truths to power, not so that power can force its lies on us.  It must be a right, in other words, because truth is risky.

  • – Prof. Timothy Snyder
  • Satire of the Week

Link through to Andy Borowitz’s explainer,

Trump Says He Will Be Too Senile to Debate in Late October
.

You will instantly understand everything and you’ll thank your lucky stars for the free speech that gives Borowitz the right to speak his satire about a would-be dictator.

Many thanks to JN for directing me to Borowitz’s piece.

Melania

In 2018 First Lady Melania Trump visited a detention center for children who had been ripped from their parents’ arms by Melania’s husband. She wore a trench coat on which had been written in bold white paint, “I Really Don’t Care. Do U?”

She was about to see infants and children crying in cages and she wore that coat with that message. Most of us were stunned seeing that, but now Melania claims the message was aimed at Ivanka. Right. Sure. Truth be told, I really don’t care about her claim. Do U?

This is the same Melania who, unlike most first ladies for a long time, championed nothing for we common folk. When we did see her it was clear that the only thing that was important to her was to be seen as glamorous.

She is the same Melania who couldn’t be bothered to attend the ceremonies on 9/11. Instead her husband was accompanied at Ground Zero by his new hate monger, 9/11 denier and current bimbo, Laura Loomer. I use that term “bimbo” because it’s his word for Stephanie Ruhle and so many other women. Melania was nowhere to be seen at the ceremonies. I guess she’s right: she really doesn’t care.

So, tell me why we should care about her new book, other than wondering if parts were plagiarized from Michelle Obama, like she did in her speech at the 2016 Republican National Convention. She’s promoting the book now and has the same right of free speech as the rest of us. I won’t be buying a copy, though, because, hey, I don’t care about Melania. Do U?

Quote of the Week

From Jimmy Kimmel:

“Sorry to break your cold little heart, Donald, but I endorsed Kamala Harris for president.”

I like Jimmy Kimmel and heartily approve his endorsement, but he got one thing wrong. Trump doesn’t have a heart.

Okay, that’s just a little fun, but there is a serious issue embedded in all of this. It’s about how we will exercise our freedom of speech, how we will make our voices heard. We must make them heard because, as Professor Snyder cautions us, “truth is risky” and we have to take that risk if we are to keep our freedom of speech.

One of the risks is that if we were to fail to exercise our freedom of speech by telling the truth, we could lose our right of freedom of speech entirely. Some strongman would come along and snuff it out, like a candle going dark – or a democracy going dark.

Look at the countdown timer below and you’ll see that we don’t have much time left to do what we can do, what must be done.

You can write letters to the editor, if you still have a newspaper.

You can post your comments – your speech – to these Disambiguations.

You can connect with a voter call operation – find one at www.JoinTheUnion.us

You can meet some nice people while canvasing for Democratic candidates in swing states.

You can write postcards to voters in swing states.

You can post a yard sign in front of your house.

You can attend rallies and cheer for what you know is right.

You can talk to your neighbor Bubba and ask why he plans to vote for Trump, when Trump would rather see his daughter die than get the help she needs for her rape-caused pregnancy. Okay, maybe that’s too in-his-face.

You can kick in a few bucks to help a Democrat win election in a swing state.

You can vote – and bring some neighbors with you to the polls – see below in RED.

All of these are exercising your freedom of speech, specifically to protect and defend our democracy so that your children and grandchildren will have that same sweet wine. And U care deeply about that.

While you’re deciding which actions you’ll take, watch this post from Steve Schmidt.

Voting and getting out the vote reduce the risk of unwanted presidencies!

.
It’s not the vibes and it’s not the polls: it’s the votes. 
Are you registered to vote? Check it out on any of these websites:
.

https://www.vote.org/am-i-registered-to-vote/

https://www.usa.gov/confirm-voter-registration

https://www.rockthevote.org/how-to-vote/am-i-registered-to-vote/

“Friends do not let friends vote forcon artists.”
  • – Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), 2016


  • Did someone forward this post to you? Welcome! Please subscribe – use the simple form above on the right. And pass this along to three others, encouraging them to subscribe, too. (IT’S A FREEBIE!) It’s going to take ALL OF US to get the job done.

    And add your comments below to help us all to be better informed.

    Thanks!

    The Fine Print:

    1. Writings quoted or linked from my posts reflect a point I want to make, at least in part. That does not mean that I endorse or agree with everything in such writings.
    2. There are lots of smart, well-informed people. Sometimes we agree; sometimes we don’t. Search for others’ views and decide for yourself.
    3. Errors in fact, grammar, spelling and punctuation are all embarrassingly mine. Glad to have your corrections.
    4. Responsibility for the content of these posts is unequivocally, totally, unavoidably mine.
    5. Book links to Amazon are provided for reference only. Please purchase your books through your local mom & pop bookstore, even if that makes them a few bucks more expensive. That will help to keep them your town or neighborhood vibrant.
    6. Clicking on most pics in these posts will take you to the source information.

    Click me

    JA


Copyright 2024 by Jack Altschuler
Reproduction and sharing are encouraged, providing proper attribution is given.

Eventually, Trump Will Go Away – But


POST 1102

Congratulations To The Crazies

Donald Trump said at the presidential debate,

“In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs. The people that came in [Haitian immigrants], they’re eating the cats, they’re eating, they’re eating the pets of the people that live there.”

Rolling Stone reported on Thursday,

“’City of Springfield received a bomb threat that has prompted an immediate response from local and regional law enforcement,’ the city wrote on its Facebook page. “

Authorities found no bomb. What they did find was a verbal trigger from Trump and Vance, both jolting a shot from Trump’s extremist supporters.

Consider this bomb threat following Trump’s vile statement, in the context of what follows.

There Is Far Worse Than Trump To Fear

Trump will go away, either by death at the polls, imprisonment or death from Big Macs and fries. But what will not go away are the millions who follow him, some of whom worship him, many of whom respond as reliably as Pavlov’s dog, only violently.

Trump has little power that is his own. His power comes from the consent of his MAGA hordes and he wields it with stunning cruelty, capriciousness, selfishness, ignorance and a lot of other words you yourself can append to this sentence.

Traditional legislators who caved to Trump didn’t do it because of his power. They caved because of the power of the voters, who gave Trump their consent and he primaried those who wouldn’t bow down to him. The power lies with the 30 million who follow Trump.

Trump will go away. He will find a new calling as a full time criminal defendant and then change professions and relocate from Mar-a-Lago to a prison cell. But those angry, aggrieved, temper tantrum MAGAs will not go away. Someone will take Trump’s place to prey upon their willingness to be manipulated.

So, the question is not how to get past Trump. We’ll do that on November 5. It’s how to deal with 25% of the 30 million angry MAGAs who think their threats of assault and their violence are good and appropriate acts of patriotism. They are people who want to tear it all down, like a kid who lost a game of Monopoly and is throwing tokens, money, Chance cards and the game board.

For nine years the focus has been on keeping power from Trump. Books have been written, podcasts have been podded, political blabbers have blabbed, but I have not heard much about how to deal with the angry people who still will be here after Trump is gone.

They get cattle prodded regularly by right wing hate mongers, know nothings and liars, so the fire of their anger gets replenished constantly. They wave the flag and believe that they are true patriots – maybe the true patriots, which means that they believe that you aren’t. They will not go gently into a Trump-less night.

The radicals’ obsession with controlling women’s bodies, their plan to impose a 13th century patriarchal tyranny upon us and the sometimes entertaining but most often infuriating weirdness of Trump and Vance are huge turnoffs for millions of non-extremist righty Americans. Perhaps good sense is slowly bleeding into our political reality.

Keep in mind that Project 2025 extreme tyranny isn’t repulsive to the MAGA far right. With or without the White House or Congress, they will still want to impose that domination on all of us. Even after Trump is just a horrid chapter in the history books we will be left with that long term challenge. It is a citizen-made fire stoked by long held resentments over both real and imagined wrongs and insults, disrespect and broken promises. That has to be dealt with in an effective manner or the consequences may be terrible.

Meanwhile, the first step is to do what is necessary on November 5, because

Trump Must Never Get His Hands On Any Power Greater Than The Flush Handle Of A Prison Toilet.
.

Eventually, Trump will go away, either by death at the polls, imprisonment or death from Big Macs and fries – but.

We’ll still have big work to do, because while the dogs and cats in Springfield, OH are safe, we are not.

From the “What Trump Hath Wrought” Department

1. From STAT:

ONE BIG NUMBER
1,104

This is the number of U.S. counties in which there is not a single birthing facility or obstetric clinician, according to the annual March of Dimes report on maternity care deserts, released yesterday.

Think: Anti-women, crazed politicians. Votes to criminalize doctors, nurses, hospital executives and drive them away, leaving vast maternity care deserts.

They claim to be pro-life, but that’s a lie. They’re for capital punishment and weapons of war in the hands of anyone. They’re against programs to benefit our vets and IVF, against programs to help poor children and pregnant women at risk of disease and death, and they’re for programs that limit and warp children’s education.

2. Here’s reproductive life to come, if Mississippi, Louisiana and Idaho are our models – from the Lincoln Project:

Click me

3. And just in case you still think there isn’t grave risk:

Click me

Sane-Washing

It’s what our print and electronic media do when they treat Trump’s bumbling rambles and nonsensical idiocies seriously or when they attempt to translate the babble.

Read David Corn’s explainer. Sane-washing is a journalistic lunacy, like whataboutism and both-sidesism. It is a voluntary surrender to insanity, an effort to translate gibberish into something meaningful. It’s like man-splaining misogyny or explaining racism by contorting the words of Jesus.

Helpful Quotes For Our Undecideds

An idiocy metaphor.

To put [undecideds] in perspective, I think​ of being​ on an airplane.​ The flight attendant comes​ down the aisle​ with her food cart and, eventually,​ parks​ it beside my seat.​ “Can I inter​est you in the chick​en?​” she asks.​ “Or would​ you prefer the platter of shit with bits of broke​n glass​ in it?”

To be undecided in this elect​ion is to pause​ for a moment and then ask how the chick​en is cooked. [emphasis mine]

― David Sedaris, author, humorist

Speaking to traditional Republicans who refused to stand up to Trump:

I have a simple message to all those Republicans I helped elect. When your careers are studied, this is what you will be remembered for. You failed a test as Americans. Shame.

― Stuart Stevens,  political consultant and former Republican

Actions

With early voting now underway, join Focus for Democracy’s next event as they reveal the most effective programs to reach swing state voters. Connect this Sunday, 9/22, and find out how directing your support to these programs can have an outsized impact on  the election.

  • Sunday, September 22nd

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It’s not the vibes, it’s not the polls: it’s the votes. 
Are you registered to vote? Check it out here:
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“Friends do not let friends vote for con artists.”
  • – Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), 2016


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    The Fine Print:

    1. Writings quoted or linked from my posts reflect a point I want to make, at least in part. That does not mean that I endorse or agree with everything in such writings.
    2. There are lots of smart, well-informed people. Sometimes we agree; sometimes we don’t. Search for others’ views and decide for yourself.
    3. Errors in fact, grammar, spelling and punctuation are all embarrassingly mine. Glad to have your corrections.
    4. Responsibility for the content of these posts is unequivocally, totally, unavoidably mine.
    5. Book links to Amazon are provided for reference only. Please purchase your books through your local mom & pop bookstore, even if that makes them a few bucks more expensive. That will help to keep them your town or neighborhood vibrant.
    6. Clicking on most pics in these posts will take you to the source information.

    Click me

    JA


Copyright 2024 by Jack Altschuler
Reproduction and sharing are encouraged, providing proper attribution is given.

Here’s The Thing


POST 1098

Tyranny and Freedom

We are continually faced with self-serving declarations from over-lord wannabees about some thug patriotism and manipulative, fantabulous claims of victimhood designed to move us to support their un-freedom hell. (Insert here your personal nightmare image here.) Saying this less delicately, there’s a lot of crap being spewed by people hoping to enrich themselves in various ways, none of which are good for you. What’s a thinking American to do?

I gave advice on that very thing as recently as March 20 of this year, writing,

See Note #5 below

Prof. Timothy Snyder teaches history at Yale and is the author of On Tyranny and other books. If you have not read this brilliant, pamphlet-sized book (rather like The American Crisis by Thomas Paine), do so immediately.

As far back as February 7, 2021, less than a month after the Trump storm troopers killed cops and vandalized the Capitol Building in search of politicians to murder, I wrote about this in a slightly different way:

This is how democracies die. A cult leader exhorts fanatics, the thugs terrorize all opposition and incrementally people surrender to death threats and violence. And that’s advanced when 199 of our legislators give a standing ovation to the conspiracy nut case spewing fascist hatred. Yes, fascism can happen here in America.

I’ve exhorted readers to see what Vice President Wallace had to say about fascism in America. If you believe in democracy and have not yet read his essay, please read it now.

These violent, angry thugs won’t simply melt away if Trump disappears or if this current insurrection fails – and no, it isn’t over yet. You can expect acts of terrorism, including mass shootings and bombings and perhaps political assassinations over the coming years, as highly armed, angry, hateful, bigoted, self-righteous thugs continue their war against America.

See Note #5 below

We face an existential crisis – as in: threatening our existence. Stopping the political and street thugs isn’t a sprint. This is a marathon which will wax and wane but will never be ended because there will always be people who want to dominate others, who want to steal from others.

Which is why it’s time to return to Timothy Snyder. His new book is On Freedom. It will be released on September 17, so obviously I have not read it yet. Nevertheless, I’m recommending it to you because I believe in, I support and I demand freedom for all of us. Professor Snyder is a fine teacher and I have complete confidence he has valuable marching orders for all of us who believe in freedom. That belief started with the Founders. Lack of freedom, after all, was the trigger that started this whole thing.

Here’s a link to a transcript of Bill Maher’s interview of Professor Snyder on March 2, 2017, shortly after Trump took office. And here’s a link to talks Professor Snyder is doing on his upcoming book tour. He’s a most informative presenter, notably easy to listen to and learn from. Go and listen.

For clarity about the threats we face and will continue to face, find out How It Works.

“It’s time to end the MAGA era. It reaches peak stupid every five minutes .  .  .”

– Steve Schmidt

Are you registered to vote? Check it out here:
.

https://www.vote.org/am-i-registered-to-vote/

https://www.usa.gov/confirm-voter-registration

https://www.rockthevote.org/how-to-vote/am-i-registered-to-vote/

“Friends do not let friends vote for con artists.”
  • – Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), 2016


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    Thanks!

    The Fine Print:

    1. Writings quoted or linked from my posts reflect a point I want to make, at least in part. That does not mean that I endorse or agree with everything in such writings.
    2. There are lots of smart, well-informed people. Sometimes we agree; sometimes we don’t. Search for others’ views and decide for yourself.
    3. Errors in fact, grammar, spelling and punctuation are all embarrassingly mine. Glad to have your corrections.
    4. Responsibility for the content of these posts is unequivocally, totally, unavoidably mine.
    5. Book links to Amazon are provided for reference only. Please purchase your books through your local mom & pop bookstore, even if that makes them a few bucks more expensive. That will help to keep them your town or neighborhood vibrant.
    6. Clicking on most pics in these posts will take you to the source information.

    Click me

    JA


Copyright 2024 by Jack Altschuler
Reproduction and sharing are encouraged, providing proper attribution is given.

A New Take On Rights


POST 1096

First, A Few Takes From the DNC Convention

I’ve never seen anything like that. Nobody else has, either. We saw,

An IVF baby, now a young man, clapping and jumping, tears streaming down his face, pointing at the vice presidential nominee, yelling, “That’s my dad! That’s my dad!”

A daughter introducing her dad with such love and tenderness that when the President of the United States came on stage he was dabbing at his tears.

Oprah Winfrey being – what else? – Oprah Winfrey, and exhorting everyone to love and fight for freedom.

Obama brought her husband and each blew the roof off the United Center. When she was about to leave the stage, he held her hand a little longer and invited the crowd to applaud her. He is what a role model should look like. The country craves their clarity, their steadiness and their hope. Gawd, I miss those people.

Ever-present at the Republican convention but notably absent from 4 nights of the Democratic convention were:

cruelty

cynicism

exclusion of any class of Americans

Click me, if you can stomach seeing this

copyright infringements of anyone’s music

Lee Greenwood, his music and any inference of chest thumping superiority

muscle-bound domination of others or demonstrations of primitive masculinity

promises to strip away freedoms and end our democracy

lies about history, rights and freedom

No worries. The Republicans are completely caught up on all those awful things, so they aren’t going away any time soon.

There was great emotion throughout the Democratic Party convention, but it seems to me that the most powerful thread was a sense of the restoration of a long absent hope. It was the next step in the ending of a dark and terrible night, with the sun now shining on the horizon, promising a better tomorrow.

Reagan was just an actor reciting someone else’s words, so I will paraphrase those words now because at last they will be true.

Once again it will be morning in America, with the sun shining on the city on the hill.

The American spirit is coming out of its slumber and awakening once again.

CAUTION!

The right wingnuts have already begun their cruelty, blasting Tim Walz’s son. There will be more cruelty to come from them, more playground brat meanness and outright lies. Expect it to continue at least until November 5 because it’s all they have. Where appropriate, call out the lies and the hatred. And always,

DO NOT LET THE BASTARDS GET YOU DOWN!

Now, About Those Rights

Jon Meacham’s reminder and warning (scroll to “Critical Quote”) that “The forces that broke into the Capitol and threatened the lives of our elected representatives, including the Speaker of the House and the Vice-President of the United States, are still very much abroad in the land,” is a crystal clear statement of the danger we face. Those forces intend to strip our rights from us.

I wrote recently about rights in the context of Gov. Tim Walz’s admonition to Republicans to mind their own damn business. Here’s a bit more about our rights.

  1. When my wife and daughter – any of us, really – consult with our doctors, we have a right to evict all Republican politicians from the exam room, the doctor’s office and the entire building. Permanently.
  2. We are free to travel to any state at any time for any reason without fear of prosecution from deranged Republican bullies aflicted with Severe Self-Righteousness Syndrome. It’s a legal thing, thus sayeth the Constitution.
  3. My children and grandchildren have a right to be taught actual, full-story history that is unpolluted by Republican revisionist propaganda.
  4. All users of schools and libraries have a right to have books on the shelves available to students without interference from hyperbolic, ignorance loving, self-righteous Republican literature vigilantes.
  5. The Constitution says that we have gun rights. It also says that our 3rd graders have a right to not get shot dead in their classrooms by a wacko with “issues” carrying an AR-15.
  6. All Americans have the right to not go bankrupt due to the hideous cost of treatments for major medical events. Healthcare is not just for the rich, thus sayeth the Bernie.
  7. Citizens have the right to see accountability meted out to wrongdoers, regardless of whether the perps are shameful senators, representatives or any others like them who think there should be no accountability, even when their psychopathic bestie loses and breaks the law four different ways to regain power.
  8. We have the right to grab a beer at the Minoqua Brewing Company even though the extremist Republican (is that redundant?) county judge and the owner of the local newspaper don’t like the pub owner’s politics.
  9. We have a right for “No one is above the law” and “Nation of laws, not of men” and “The rule of law” to mean what they say and that nobody gets a free pass to commit crimes. Ever. Including the president. Especially the president.* And “guilty” means “guilty” for anyone who is guilty.
Best Reads, Because You Want To Understand

The Republican driven reinstatement of the Robber Barons that has been going on since we were tricked by Reagan’s woeful economic idiocy is crushing millions of Americans and inviting the purchase of our government by the ultra-wealthy. That’s not an accident. It is the result of decades of hard work by selfish, power and money greedy cannibals and it has prevented you from getting what you want (see the list above). And it has put us face-to-face with this MAGA and Heritage Foundation attack on our democracy. Read Thom Hartmann’s excellent explainer here.

To understand the ossified MAGA fascist brain, read Ed Gurowitz’s explainer, Growth vs. Stagnation.

Some Good News

1. Look at this headline:

Translation: Boeing, in the midst of all of its international and extraterrestrial fumbling, is going to be saved by international embarrassment Elon Musk. Feel free to chuckle or moan over any part of that.

2. Look at this chart from Gallup:

You’ll definitely want to read the source doc. Just click the pic.

Given our national history of discrimination, this is stunningly good news!

Final Takeaways From the Convention (click the pics)

“And we made sure that every kid in our state gets breakfast and lunch every day. So, while other states were banning books from their schools, we were banishing hunger from ours.”

– Gov. Tim Walz – Acceptance speech to the DNC, August 20, 2024

  • .

“I want to know, who’s going to tell [Trump] that the job he’s currently seeking might just be one of those Black jobs?”

– Michelle Obama, Address to the DNC, August 20, 2024

  • .

“America, let us show each other and the world who we are and what we stand for: freedom; opportunity; compassion and dignity; fairness and endless opportunities.

“We are heirs to the greatest democracy in the history of the world. And on behalf of our children and our grandchildren and all those who sacrificed so dearly for our freedom and liberty, we must be worthy of this moment.

“It is now our turn to do what generations before us have done, guided by optimism and faith to fight for this country we love, to fight for the ideals we cherish, and to uphold the awesome responsibility that comes with the greatest privilege on Earth: The privilege of being an American.”

  • – Vice-President Kamala Harris, Acceptance speech to the DNC, August 22, 2024

Yes, Sarah Palin, it’s that “hopey, changey” thing coming back to our doorstep. And it’s a stake in the ground that no person and no party holds an exclusive on the red, white and blue.

As Steve Schmidt says,

“We won’t get the years back, but we are going to get our country back.”

The real America, this nation founded not on royalty or privilege of the rich or on contortions of the law, but on the idea of democracy, is coming back. Dictator lovers, stand aside.

_______________________________________________

* Especially, because the president can do far more harm to America and Americans than any other individual.

Are you registered to vote? Check it out here:
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https://www.vote.org/am-i-registered-to-vote/

https://www.usa.gov/confirm-voter-registration

https://www.rockthevote.org/how-to-vote/am-i-registered-to-vote/

“Friends do not let friends vote forcon artists.“
  • – Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), 2016.


  • Did someone forward this post to you? Welcome! Please subscribe – use the simple form above on the right. And pass this along to three others, encouraging them to subscribe, too. (IT’S A FREEBIE!) It’s going to take ALL OF US to get the job done.

    And add your comments below to help us all to be better informed.

    Thanks!

    The Fine Print:

    1. Writings quoted or linked from my posts reflect a point I want to make, at least in part. That does not mean that I endorse or agree with everything in such writings.
    2. There are lots of smart, well-informed people. Sometimes we agree; sometimes we don’t. Search for others’ views and decide for yourself.
    3. Errors in fact, grammar, spelling and punctuation are all embarrassingly mine. Glad to have your corrections.
    4. Responsibility for the content of these posts is unequivocally, totally, unavoidably mine.
    5. Book links to Amazon are provided for reference only. Please purchase your books through your local mom & pop bookstore. Keep them and your town or neighborhood vibrant.
    6. Clicking on most pics in these posts will take you to the source information.

    Click me

    JA


Copyright 2024 by Jack Altschuler
Reproduction and sharing are encouraged, providing proper attribution is given.

20%


POST 1095

First, Existential Reality

In a stunning wake-up call to Americans, as reported by Jamie Gangel and Gregory Krieg of CNN, Constitutional scholar and retired U.S. Appellate Court Judge J. Michael Luttig, who has never, ever voted for a Democrat, wrote,

“In the presidential election of 2024 there is only one political party and one candidate for the presidency that can claim the mantle of defender and protector of America’s Democracy, the Constitution, and the Rule of Law,” Luttig wrote in a statement [read this] obtained exclusively by CNN. “As a result, I will unhesitatingly vote for the Democratic Party’s candidate for the Presidency of the United States, Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris.”

They go on to report Luttig writing,

“In voting for Vice President Harris, I assume that her public policy views are vastly different from my own, but I am indifferent in this election as to her policy views on any issues other than America’s Democracy, the Constitution, and the Rule of Law, as I believe all Americans should be.”

Get your mind right. It’s time for just one thing: to protect and defend. That is what Luttig is telling us.

However heartfelt, until November 5, every single issue, no matter how critically important, is nothing more than wistful self-indulgence. Keep your eye on the prize, because without it, all of the critically important things will never be ours.

Read the linked source articles and watch reporter Gangel’s short video recounting a bit of her conversation with Luttig.

Now, 20%

Anthropologist Margaret Mead wrote,

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”

Thom Hartmann has quoted Mead often, claiming that it would take roughly 20% of the population to make the changes we need to get back to sanity, changes that have been so vitally needed since Reagan began to strip our country bare. That 20% notion was the logic and the strategy.

Hartmann’s math was about right, but sadly, the destination now is far different from what he imagined. A small minority of Bible thumping, Bible misusing, manipulative White extremists has secured minority control over large swaths of our American government and of our citizens.

That’s right: the restoration of sanity that we hoped for has instead gone 180° wrong. I guess the experts are right, that hope is not a strategy.

Critical Quote

From Vanderbilt University Professor Jon Meacham’s Reflections of History podcast for January 13, 2023:

The vote in the House on a single article of incitement to insurrection was 232 to 197. Trump would be acquitted in the Senate a month later, with 57 senators voting for his guilt and 43 against. The tally failed to reach the Constitutional threshold of two-thirds.

The farther we move in time from the terrible events of January 6, 2021 the harder it can be to recall just how close the United States came to overturning a free and fair election.

I raise this today because, as the 18th and 19th century trope had it, “Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.” It would be a mistake, one that I fear many Republicans are making or are at risk of making, to see the insurrection and its aftermath as exculpatory instances of American resilience.

Yes, the republic is resilient and the republic did survive, but only barely. And the forces that brought us to the brink, the forces that broke into the Capitol and threatened the lives of our elected representatives, including the Speaker of the House and the Vice President of the United States, are still very much abroad in the land. [They are the 20%.]

Representative Liz Cheney put things succinctly 6 days after the insurrection. She said,

“The President of the United States summoned this mob, assembled the mob and lit the flame of this attack. Everything that followed was his doing. None of this would have happened without the president. The president could have immediately and forcefully intervened to stop the violence. He did not. There never has been a greater betrayal by a President of the United States of his office and his oath of office and to the Constitution. I will vote to impeach the president.”

The question for all of us moving forward is whether a single person or a single party’s dominion is worth undoing the constitutional order that has served us for nearly two and a half centuries. There is nothing inevitable about American democracy. We’re the exception in world history, not the rule, and when the interests of the strong willed are allowed to overcome the rule of law, the end is near.

For now, we stand. But we must stand with our eyes and our hearts open.

There are very dangerous and unpatriotic things going on in an effort to overthrow our government, to end our democracy and our way of life. It has only taken about 20% of our citizenry to put us in such peril. It’s the collection of political bullies and the angry, disaffected citizens who comprise MAGA and who want retribution for whatever disrespect and suffering they believe has befallen them. They want to tear down all that we hold dear. The bullies and fascists are coming to take away the promise of America. They are coming to take away your freedom and every hope you have for your children.

So, put a lantern in the belfry-arch of the Old North Church. Listen and you’ll hear the hooves of Paul Revere’s horse clacking the cobblestone in Concord once again. We’re being warned. We must be eternally vigilant and always ready to fight for our liberty. Today, right now, is the time for that fight. Stand up and stand fast.

“We Must Say No”

From Steve Schmidt’s post on August 15:

Trump has made a hideous deal with a hypocritical wack pack of theocrats and weirdos who want to impose control and take what they want, when they want in the name of God and the state. It’s a terrifying proposition, and every American woman should appreciate the degree to which their freedom is on the line.

When the freedom of one American is threatened, the freedom of all Americans is in danger.

This is why Trump must be defeated.

He tried to take something that wasn’t his to take.

He tried to steal something that wasn’t his, but rather belonged to 330 million Americans.

Trump tried to steal our present by betraying our past and taking our future.

We must say, “NO!”

We need a new 20%. It starts with you and me.

_______________________________________________

* We are at a choice point:

“The rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened.” ― John F. Kennedy

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Are you registered to vote? Check it out here:
.

https://www.vote.org/am-i-registered-to-vote/

https://www.usa.gov/confirm-voter-registration

https://www.rockthevote.org/how-to-vote/am-i-registered-to-vote/

“Friends do not let friends vote for con artists.”
  • – Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), 2016.


  • Did someone forward this post to you? Welcome! Please subscribe – use the simple form above on the right. And pass this along to three others, encouraging them to subscribe, too. (IT’S A FREEBIE!) It’s going to take ALL OF US to get the job done.

    And add your comments below to help us all to be better informed.

    Thanks!

    The Fine Print:

    1. Writings quoted or linked from my posts reflect a point I want to make, at least in part. That does not mean that I endorse or agree with everything in such writings.
    2. There are lots of smart, well-informed people. Sometimes we agree; sometimes we don’t. Search for others’ views and decide for yourself.
    3. Errors in fact, grammar, spelling and punctuation are all embarrassingly mine. Glad to have your corrections.
    4. Responsibility for the content of these posts is unequivocally, totally, unavoidably mine.
    5. Book links to Amazon are provided for reference only. Please purchase your books through your local mom & pop bookstore. Keep them and your town or neighborhood vibrant.
    6. Clicking on most pics in these posts will take you to the source information.

    Click me

    JA


Copyright 2024 by Jack Altschuler
Reproduction and sharing are encouraged, providing proper attribution is given.

Juicy


POST 1094

This Is Juicy

In a stunning piece in the Washington Post, writer Marc A. Thiessen says, “Walz is Harris’s first unforced error — and an opportunity for Trump.” That’s the headline.

Thiessen writes “.  .  .   most Americans are more comfortable with the MAGA agenda than they are with the democratic socialism of the Harris-Walz ticket.” Hmmm .  .  .

That democratic socialism thing – the vast majority of Americans actually want

access to legal abortions – over 62% –  5 of 8 Americans – that means both men and women

common sense gun safety legislation (to the extent that we have any common sense left) – 77 – 87%, depending on the specific action

some version of Medicare for all – 57% of Americans

affordable healthcare insurance – about 63% of Americans favor the Affordable Care Act. Nevertheless, Republicans have challenged it in courts and held votes to kill it over 2,000 times.

Social Security. Some of us remember that before Social Security it was common for Americans to live their last years in miserable, abject poverty. Memo to revisionist history Republicans: We’re not going back.

overhaul of our immigration system – about 74% of Americans

About that last, Thiessen says Harris wants “open borders,” a common MAGA claim that they use for the the purpose of sliming Democrats, even though no Democrat wants that. It makes for a fine bumper sticker. Doesn’t matter: It’s still a lie.

These are just a handful of issues that the majority of Americans support and want – there are more. Can we please stop saying that this is a center-right country and acknowledge that, labels aside, the majority of us have shifted to a far more progressive position? Can we admit that majorities of We The People want things that only government can provide? Can we agree that the MAGA agenda will get us none of what we want?* (see Project 2025)

Can we put aside fantasies and falsities and instead deal with the reality that democracy means rule by the people? That means that our elected representatives should be working to get us what we want, rather than just covering their asses and sucking up to “the base.” Crazy idea, I know, and it’s hard to keep things sorted out while living in our Through the Looking Glass political world, where the real is fake, bad is good and lies are truth.

But as John Adams said,

“Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.”

So, nice try, Mr. Thiessen. You are entitled to your opinions, but the facts say you’re wrong.

This Is Juicy, Too – and With Far More Impact

From Prof. Heather Cox Richardson on August 8, the anniversary of the resignation of Richard Nixon from the presidency. The issue here regards the audio tape recordings of his conversations with aides as he schemed to cover up events surrounding the Watergate break-in.

Nixon fought the subpoenas [for audio recordings] on the grounds of executive privilege. On July 24, 1974, in U.S. v. Nixon, the Supreme Court sided unanimously with the prosecutor, saying that executive privilege “must be considered in light of our historic commitment to the rule of law. This is nowhere more profoundly manifest than in our view that ‘the twofold aim (of criminal justice) is that guilt shall not escape or innocence suffer.’… The very integrity of the judicial system and public confidence in the system depend on full disclosure of all the facts….”

That’s a breathtaking unanimous statement from the Supreme Court that clearly supports “our historic commitment to the rule of law.” They were nine justices marching in lock step to protect the rule of law and “The very integrity of the judicial system and public confidence in the system .  .  .” Stunning. And proper.

Compare that to today’s presidential immunity decision. Six Republican appointed justices decided that one man is above the law, that we no longer have a “commitment to the rule of law.” Six justices declared that they care not a whit about “The very integrity of the judicial system.” They did this with no substantiation from the Constitution or settled law. These activist, Republican appointed justices simply made up new law.

Recall that Section 1 of the Constitution instructs that, “All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States . . . ” Today’s six justices of the Court usurped that legislative power and ended 248 years of our belief and practice that nobody is above the law.

Recall that President Washington stepped down, in part because he would not be a king, which were anathema to We The People. They still should be. Read his Farewell Address.

Washington said of political parties,

“…they are likely, in the course of time and things, to become potent engines by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government…”

Do any names come to mind?

The granting of immunity to a president is a most perilous step toward our being dominated by a dictator, as Washington warned. Following the dictates of their extremist Republican overlords, the six justices on this Supreme Court have invited into our republic the first fascist dictator who promises to end our republic.

That is driving the “Republicans for Kamala” movement.

That is why people who had never before voted for a Democrat are lining up to do that formerly unthinkable act.

That is why people who had believed that this is a center-right country are attending “restore Roe” demonstrations, declaring they won’t go back and demanding a referendum in their states to make abortions legal.

That is why people are signing petitions for gun safety.

That is why President Biden and Senate Majority Leader Schumer proposed significant changes to the Court.

That is why we will vote to reject overwhelmingly every candidate who stands in opposition to our democracy.

Use the links below to make sure you’re registered to vote. Then do a search for “early voting in [name of your state]” and then vote.

_______________________________________________

* From Paul Krugman:

. . .  my hackles rise whenever people call MAGA a populist movement. The people who will almost certainly make policy if Trump wins are as committed as ever to a right-wing economic agenda of cutting taxes on the wealthy while slashing programs that help Americans in need — including programs that help children.

In addition to being cruel, this agenda tends to be unpopular.

Ya think?

Are you registered to vote? Check it out here:
.

https://www.vote.org/am-i-registered-to-vote/

https://www.usa.gov/confirm-voter-registration

https://www.rockthevote.org/how-to-vote/am-i-registered-to-vote/

“Friends do not let friends vote for con artists.”
  • – Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), 2016.


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    The Fine Print:

    1. Writings quoted or linked from my posts reflect a point I want to make, at least in part. That does not mean that I endorse or agree with everything in such writings.
    2. There are lots of smart, well-informed people. Sometimes we agree; sometimes we don’t. Search for others’ views and decide for yourself.
    3. Errors in fact, grammar, spelling and punctuation are all embarrassingly mine. Glad to have your corrections.
    4. Responsibility for the content of these posts is unequivocally, totally, unavoidably mine.
    5. Book links to Amazon are provided for reference only. Please purchase your books through your local mom & pop bookstore. Keep them and your town or neighborhood vibrant.
    6. Clicking on most pics in these posts will take you to the source information.

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    JA


Copyright 2024 by Jack Altschuler
Reproduction and sharing are encouraged, providing proper attribution is given.

People Are Saying


POST 1093

And They’re Saying A Lot

Here’s former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) on August 4 about the upcoming election, what’s at stake and what to do about it:

I believe in democracy; Donald Trump does not. I believe in the constitution; Donald Trump does not.

There is nothing more conservative than standing for the constitution and standing for democracy. Donald Trump only believes in gaining power no matter the cost to the constitution and the cost to  democracy.

That is why I’m endorsing Kamala Harris. That is why I will do everything in my power to ensure Donald Trump does not win this election.

Here’s what Prof. Heather Cox Richardson has to say about those who would throw our Constitution into the garbage (today’s Republicans – the ones who don’t believe in this republic), just as the enslavers and oligarchs wanted to do in Lincoln’s time:

When Democrats [i.e. today’s Republicans] tried to call those coming together as Republicans [today’s lefties] “radicals,” rising politician Abraham Lincoln turned the tables by standing firm on the Declaration of Independence. “[Y]ou say you are conservative—eminently conservative—while we are revolutionary, destructive, or something of the sort,” he said, addressing the Democrats who remained determined to base the United States in enslavement.

“What is conservatism? Is it not adherence to the old and tried, against the new and untried? We stick to, contend for, the identical old policy on the point in controversy which was adopted by ‘our fathers who framed the Government under which we live’; while you with one accord .  .  . spit upon that old policy, and insist upon substituting something new . . . Not one of all your various plans can show a precedent or an advocate in the century within which our Government originated.” [emphasis mine]

We fight the same fight today against those who would enslave us. Now they aren’t slave owners and they aren’t called conservatives. They are called Republicans or MAGAs or Project 2025 schemers. Sometimes they’re called minority tyrants, vote stealers, liars and .  .  .  aw, don’t get me started.

During an interview of Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer she was asked about how Trump is doing with Harris as his opponent:

I think Kamala Harris is [Trump’s] worst nightmare: a strong woman of color who was formerly in law enforcement.

What JD Vance Is Saying

Immediately after the Walz pick for VP was announced the Trump-Vance Lying Machine was running at top speed. Here’s Vance, verbatim, on August 7:

Click me

My view on it is it just highlights how radical Kamala Harris is.This is a person who listened to the Hamas wing of her own party in selecting a nominee. This is a guy who’s proposed shipping more manufacturing jobs to China, who wants to make the American people more reliant on garbage energy instead of good American energy and has proposed defunding the police just as Kamala Harris does. I think it’s interesting – actually, they make an interesting tag team – because, of course, Tim Walz allowed rioters to burn down Minneapolis in the summer of 2020, and then the few who got caught, Kamala Harris helped bail them out of jail. So, it is more instructive for what it says about Kamala Harris that she doesn’t care about the border, she doesn’t care about crime, she doesn’t care about American energy, and most of importantly, she doesn’t care about the Americans who have been made to suffer under those policies.

What Jax Is Saying
.

EVERYTHING VANCE SAID IS FALSE! ALL OF IT!

.

Right: That isn’t news. Either he is gobsmackingly ignorant and doesn’t have the sense to keep his ignorant mouth shut, or he is a liar. You decide.

Not so much for Vance

Vance (a “faux-billy” from non-Appalachia, per Maureen Dowd) is a political and amoral match for the psychopath Trump. Vance is the guy who called Trump America’s Hitler and was an enthusiastic never-Trumper right, until it was more politically advantageous to him to reverse himself in a spineless jellyfish whiplash. Expect more from him like this.

Can’t wait for the VP debate, assuming the ex-Marine paper pusher, the one whose lies violate Semper Fi (“Always Faithful”)  has the spine to show up.

Speaking of Debates
I have been wondering when Harris would call Trump a coward for refusing to debate per agreement without his open mic and his home boys primed to cheer for him. He’s finally agreed to a September 10 debate, the one he “committed” to, but I have my doubts whether he’ll show up. What to do to encourage him? So many possibilities .  .  .

“Kamala Harris’s Laugh Is a Campaign Issue. Our Comedy Critic Weighs in. The Trump campaign sees Harris’s laugh as a vulnerability to exploit. But far from a liability, it is one of her most effective weapons.” Click the pic

.
What’s the matter, Donald? Are you too chicken to come out of your Mar-a-Lago hidey-hole? It’s just me, a Black, Asian woman who’s a former prosecutor. That too scary for you?
.
If you don’t have what it takes to face me, you don’t have what it takes to face world leaders. C’mon, show us what you got. Gimme your best shot.
.

Paraphrased from Ronald Reagan’s take down of Walter Mondale in their 1984 debate:

I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent’s obvious mental decline, his criminal convictions, his many indictments, his history of violence toward women or his vast ignorance.

Can’t you just see her saying that and then laughing the Kamala laugh?

Wash, rinse, repeat through November 5.

The point is to belittle him – challenge his fake masculinity. Make his weakness and lack of courage plain for all to see. I want verbal blood on the floor – arterial gushing.

Trump is stumbling around trying to find a nasty name to call Harris. The current one is “Kambala.” So, here’s something for Harris and Walz to use at rallies and the debates:

Name calling? All you have is name calling like a brat on the playground, Donald? That just isn’t enough. This country needs clear headed adults, not childish bullies having temper tantrums.

Prebuttal

Harris and Walz are getting a lot of air time now and you’re seeing very little of Trump and Vance. I can almost hear Trump whining about how unfair that is, how he’s being victimized by the fake media, poor baby. These and more are his standard victim wailings, as at his press conference on August 8.

Did you notice how reporters’ questions weren’t mic-ed so you didn’t know what the questions were and that reporters were not allowed follow up questions? That let him ramble incoherently and you didn’t know that he never addressed the questions.

Many of his rallies were broadcast in full in 2016 by what he calls the “fake media.” I’ve seen estimates of the value of free media time for Trump ranging from $1 – 2 billion during that campaign. Funny thing, we didn’t hear him complain about how unfair that free air time was.

His whining, his temper tantrums and made up s**t about being victimized by the fake media are on the way. Brace yourself for the coming Trumpocalypse. It will be in all caps on his Untruth Social rage machine.

Trump Must Never Get His Hands On Any Power Greater Than The Flush Handle Of A Prison Toilet.
Are you registered to vote? Check it out here:
.

https://www.vote.org/am-i-registered-to-vote/

https://www.usa.gov/confirm-voter-registration

https://www.rockthevote.org/how-to-vote/am-i-registered-to-vote/

“Friends do not let friends vote for con artists.”
  • – Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), 2016.


  • Did someone forward this post to you? Welcome! Please subscribe – use the simple form above on the right. And pass this along to three others, encouraging them to subscribe, too. (IT’S A FREEBIE!) It’s going to take ALL OF US to get the job done.

    And add your comments below to help us all to be better informed.

    Thanks!

    The Fine Print:

    1. Writings quoted or linked from my posts reflect a point I want to make, at least in part. That does not mean that I endorse or agree with everything in such writings.
    2. There are lots of smart, well-informed people. Sometimes we agree; sometimes we don’t. Search for others’ views and decide for yourself.
    3. Errors in fact, grammar, spelling and punctuation are all embarrassingly mine. Glad to have your corrections.
    4. Responsibility for the content of these posts is unequivocally, totally, unavoidably mine.
    5. Book links to Amazon are provided for reference only. Please purchase your books through your local mom & pop bookstore. Keep them and your town or neighborhood vibrant.
    6. Clicking on most pics in these posts will take you to the source information.

    Click me

    JA


Copyright 2024 by Jack Altschuler
Reproduction and sharing are encouraged, providing proper attribution is given.

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