Thanks Maga-America. You cheese flavored Koolaid drinking, RedHaterHat wearing nincompoops! This is ALL on YOU! Couldn't be satisfied with boring old competence could ya? You wanted EXCITEMENT, DRAMA and ACTION.
You twumperz wanted Reality TV in the real world and guess what? Now we all have to pay because of your concentrated intransigence, lack of forethought and outright gullibility. Thanks y'all. There aren't enough middle fingers available to express my utter contempt for ya.
That's precisely what the comment: "boring competence" was intended to address. Legacy Media, (I guess we can still call it that) has completely lost the plot in their quest for profit uber alles!
While I now believe Biden should not have sought a second term - I think we was a good president, and obviously I would've voted for him had he stayed in. More to the point - the legacy media treated him like SHIT. I stopped reading the NYT over their treatment of him - disgusting. AG Schulzberger should've been shown the door over that bullshit. At the same time Biden - and/or maybe the people around him - did not do a good enough job communicating in a 21st century way.
The bad faith of the media goes way back beyond Trump. It was never, ever "liberal." And everyone who didn't already know this found it out bigly during the 2000 campaign, the Florida fiasco, and W's inauguration, further confirmed after 9/11 and in the run-up to the Iraq War. They may not be "enemies of the people," but they're our frenemies at best.
I started my long day taking a moment of quiet BEFORE turning on any device with any news - blood pressure in good range.
I began my morning, putting some raspberries in a container with water and a little vinegar to clean them.
I watched/listened to this orange abomination, his words leaping over my head. They didn't seem to be tethered to anything my brain would recognize as language.
Forgot about my berries, bathing in vinegary water.
When I remembered them, the result reminded me of what's happening to his frontal lobe: mushy raspberries.
Agree, Cynthia. And this supposed "deal" that Thune, Britt, et al "negotiated" with Trump-- separating ICE funding from the rest of the DHS appropriation bill and then coming back to pass ICE funding via reconciliation--can't even be sold to Senate OR House Republicans. Their own party is killing it even before Ds do. Meanwhile ICE agents at airports stand around drinking coffee and getting paid for it.
Steve Bannon has made it clear that the sees this as Trump’s "test run" for deploying ICE, and perhaps the National Guard. to polling stations in key Blue cities throughout America on Election Day.
Silver lining: Every day they spend standing around drinking coffee is a day those agents aren't engaged in authoritarian treason & terrorism around the country
I think the Senate and House Democrats are playing this shutdown stalemate brilliantly. Slowly the bipartisan conversation is moving towards what I suggested a month ago: fund the rest of DHS (FEMA, Coast Guard, TSA etc) while separating out ICE and the CBP. On other fora, I was repeatedly told that Republicans wouldn’t go for this – and, moreover, “that’s not how the budget process works”.
Well, lo and behold, this is precisely what Senate Republicans are finally beginning to embrace!
However, Majority Leader John Thune thought he could get this for almost nothing, in other words without meaningful concessions on ICE and CBP. Clearly he hadn’t talked to Chuck Schumer and the Democrats who gave him the crystal clear message: “No deal. We need serious guardrails and ICE and the Border Patrol. Their illegal and unconstitutional practices must stop.”
I am so relieved and proud to see Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries, and all our other Democrats in Congress, standing united and strong!
PS. Trump wants $ 200 billion for his ill-fated and illegal war. I say we should force most of that money to be taken from the absurdly-high allocations that were given to ICE and the CBP in Trump’s Big Ugly Bill.
Moreover, ICE should be forced to sell all those warehouses it has been buying to turn into massive detention centers!
Great idea, except: are documents, etc. required for voter registration likely to be held by air travelers as they are waiting for their flights? I don't know the answer to this. In addition, I'm guessing that waiting travelers may live (and want to vote) in a variety of different states, which could complicate things further? Still, an idea worth considering.
I helped register voters at the DC March for our lives. It was run by Moms Demand Action. We helped register kids from all over the country. Not sure what form they used as that was a while back and I’m not an organize just a volunteer. If you do get something going please count me to go to Regan Nat’l and register people in person. Great idea.
If valid ID is the biggest barrier to registration, which it usually is, they have to have that-either a Real ID or a valid US passport, so I'd think airports would be one of the better places to do this, no?
two things: I'm not certain that a Real ID is sufficient under the proposed law. I believe you must have a valid passport or an original birth certificate that matches the name on your other documents. Secondly, I believe that you are registered to vote in the state where you live although the GOP bill wants to create a federal voter file (which is why the DOJ is suing states to get their voter files), It seems to me that you could only register at an airport if it was located in the state where you live.
Simon, I agree that the situation for the country is in very dangerous territory and the obvious solution is for Johnson and Thune to unite with Democrats to remove a clearly insane president. However, as the attempted maneuver by republicans to attempt a deal on ICE funding without consulting their colleagues across the aisle shows this is a nonstarter. If trump and company manage to cook the midterms (which BTW is very possible as voting machines have proven in court to be easily hackable) then it’s either civil war or a permanent fascist state.
Rob, two points: 1) nothing is a non starter. What is a non starter today can become law tomorrow. As I write elites in DC and on the street are not yet aware of the gravity of the moment. 2) Voting machines are not easily hackable. Please don't post stuff like that here.
I'm glad we are making headway in Florida. Since I live here, all is good, but the crucial thing is getting David Jolly into the Governor's mansion.
I have a work trip to Hawaii and the end of April. I'm starting to wonder about it. Maybe I should've planned to take a boat.
Malcolm Nance thinks that very soon they are going to parachute drop into Iran, maybe Isfahan, with the idea they can get the enriched uranium out. Then the negotiations might be a bluff altogether. They've done that before, so it's hard for me to believe this is going to fool anyone. I'm thinking about all of our guys if they are going to be sent in there. We have to hope we can get them out if Malcolm is right.
He won't want to be blamed if things go wrong. Hegseth will be fired if they don't "succeed". But he wants something spectacular. He won't care if people get killed if he gets his spectacular mission.
I called Congressman Raskin and Senators Alsobrooks and Van Hollen to say no funding for ICE or this illegal war.
I also said that the president is not in touch with reality. He says and does wildly inappropriate and dangerous things every day, things that no sane person would say or do. I asked them to make this point regularly. The way Republicans made Joe Biden's age an issue was by regularly bringing it up.
I'm writing postcards to Virginia voters concerning redistricting, which, by the way, is in a bit of trouble. Republican voters are smarting from their losses last November. Red rural areas of the state appear to be voting more than other areas. If you know anyone in Virginia, please remind them that they can vote this week!
Totally agree. That's one of the things they have to be *relentless* about and continuously jar the sleepwalking horse race media awake about by making clear how outrageous or absurd each day's instances are, putting the reporters/pundits they talk to on the back foot by demanding the media start doing its pinche Constitutional job, holding them accountable for their role in this mess. Maybe have one day a week where they're all including a "week in review" litany, other "employee of day" litanies each dedicated to a different member of this thoroughly corrupt and incompetent "administration" (and not just the names everyone knows). The media needs to be shamed into obeying the right side in advance, for once and going forward.
Other than the continued abuse of TSA hostage holding, this makes me happy. Donald's very ugly, very bad, no good day can continue with my blessing. Until the GOP take off their Florsheims and put on their big boy shoes to do the proper governance the US, we, deserve, bring it!
I want to donate once my cash flow permits. Since the goal for the Audacious Expansion Fund is almost reached, what might be the top priority to donate to after that? Is there something like a Hopium general political fund that can serve as a discretionary fund until you have had a chance to vet the new set of top giving priorities for Hopium members?
I'm sure the Audacious fund states need all they can get, so I'd say don't let getting near Simon's goal stop you. But, that said, how about Simon's Ohio fund? I think it's the nearest thing to the Audacious fund since it's the state party, Sherrod Brown, and the excellent Acton/Pepper gubernatorial ticket. If you haven't listened to the interview with David Pepper, it's worth it!
yep simon time for coalition govt. house & senate dems & repubs working together to save the country and bring congress back on line. a couple of repub defections would also do the job. someone needs to stop an invasion with ground troops. war powers act. he is insane and has no respect for human life.
Yes, definitely good news. Things are finally turning around here in Florida. Another Two wins last night, one right in Trump’s back yard! Let's keep it going Patrick. And, I am not planning on taking any trips, unless necessary, until Trump is Hog-tied, with his mouth taped and hidden where He can't do any more Damage!
My deep hope is that Florida, Texas and Alaska will all elect Democratic Senators this November. In addition, of course, to Ohio, North Carolina and Maine – while keeping our seats in Michigan and Georgia.
LOL about the sheer buffoonery of the Senate Republicans crowing about their big deal before even talking to the Dems!
Adding "time to take the keys away" to my usual rant to MoCs. Concise, open-ended re how to sideline Mad Orange, and depicts him as the addled sundowner he is. Full marks!
Perhaps the most frightening damage that Trump is doing --among the long list of serious harms you recite, Mr. Rosenberg-- is that caused by his attack on the climate. We may have a chance to reverse, over time, much of what he's doing; but we may be doomed to an ever more dangerous, deadly, even apocalyptic climate nightmare that we cannot avoid or overcome. I hope this is an overstatement; I fear it is not.
I’m reading Rebecca Solnit’s new book, The Beginning Comes after the End. She makes the case that Trump’s oil war may actually push people towards renewable energy faster. Something has to give. Solnit’s book, like Hopium, is both clear-eyed and hopeful ☮️
Yes, thanks -- I am aware of Solnit's thesis, and certainly hope she's right. It seems a thin reed to hang on to, but there aren't a lot of reeds right now. One thing for sure, though, is that we need to proceed like there is indeed a path to be found and followed, with that hope you refer to as our fuel.
Not too encouraging a thought, this. The Valley of Death that Tennyson wrote of in The Charge of the Light Brigade was a fiasco, and an utter disaster for the brigade -- as a result of a "blunder". And, Lord knows, we're blundering, right and left.
Great book!!. Another one of hers that seems more and more relevant every day is A Paradise Built In Hell, filled with case studies that explode the elite Lord of the Flies myth about what happens in the wake of disasters (and what the elites do to keep the myth alive)
In addition to the quiet naming of Venezuela's "Chief Torturer" to take over the military, today's NYT has a sad but true column about Russia's crumbling--until Putin's buddy bailed him out by going to war with Iran and lifting sanctions on Russian oil--making Putin even richer and salvaging the Russian economy as the oil prices skyrocket. Thanks, Trumpty-Dumpty. Reminds me of G.W. Bush saying, "you're doing a great job, Brownie," as huge sections of New Orleans were destroyed/abandoned by Katrina. Trump has already had so many "Katrina moments," it's impossible to count them. And yet. . .here we still are.
I have always believed that the oligarchs are in bed with each other, their countries and their people be damned. This is a game for them. But this is.all too real for the rest of us.
I’m at the SFO airport en route to Hawaii where I’ll be marching in NO KINGS on Saturday. Our young Uber driver showed us a hilarious spoof on Hegseth that, if you can find it, is worth looking for. Trump is a dangerous fool on a three-legged stool who, if not stopped now, will destroy everything and everyone. So let’s keep defeating him politically and with all sane Americans united together against this evil old man.
Hegseth is self-spoofing. When you think about it. He had a tactical makeup studio installed in the Pentagon, and now gets mad when people take his picture.
I think Simon's writing yesterday and today about Trump having only win/not-win, being too desperate to make deals, is totally on target. Other strategists, leaders, commentators... have not caught up with that idea. They need to. That's the lens that makes sense of Trump's moves; they need it to come up with moves he'll accept. Uuuuuuggggghhhh.
I haven't had time to write much lately - this week is full of No Kings prep (I'm a host), onboarding the new wave of folks who are signing up, wrapping up our postcards to VA, getting ready for some local endorsement votes, calling my US Rep. Looking forward to tonight's Hopium zoom.
Thanks for hosting! I am working on organizing GOTV in my local area and getting just a glimpse of how much work and how many people it takes to get things done. I knew it was a lot but I think I was off by at least an order of magnitude.
Yeah, ours is just an hour in the morning in the neighborhood with the big one being in downtown Boston mid-afternoon. But even so, a few tasks that people may not know about: making and bringing extra signs for those who come without one, writing to all the registrants on Mobilize including making sure first-time protesters know they're not alone and to look for our host team spread out in our space, publicity, recruiting and meeting with the safety team, host team, chant leaders, crowd counters, and first aid person, badges or arm bands for the crew, clipboards for signing up, connecting with local media, connecting with local elected officials and candidates who want to participate. I'll remember more later.
Pleased to see Sen. Booker being loud about all that's going on. Of course, I know he has a book to sell, but he was at the Newark Airport taking questions w NJ ACLU. My VA redistricting postcards are supposed to be arriving soon--have a short window but can get them done.
Also very pleased to see plenty of excellent, in-depth interviews w Julie K. Brown coming out, which keeps the Epstein survivors front and center, where they should be. All this crap--all of it--is a diversion from this central battle that Orange is trying to shove under the proverbial rug.
No Kings countdown under way--sign made, plans in motion. Today I'm just excited about how much sh*t Orange is going to have to eat on Saturday when we set the record for the largest single day protest in American history. Keep going!
Thanks Maga-America. You cheese flavored Koolaid drinking, RedHaterHat wearing nincompoops! This is ALL on YOU! Couldn't be satisfied with boring old competence could ya? You wanted EXCITEMENT, DRAMA and ACTION.
You twumperz wanted Reality TV in the real world and guess what? Now we all have to pay because of your concentrated intransigence, lack of forethought and outright gullibility. Thanks y'all. There aren't enough middle fingers available to express my utter contempt for ya.
I would add the legacy media to this post as well, and their constant complaining that Biden was "boring."
That's precisely what the comment: "boring competence" was intended to address. Legacy Media, (I guess we can still call it that) has completely lost the plot in their quest for profit uber alles!
While I now believe Biden should not have sought a second term - I think we was a good president, and obviously I would've voted for him had he stayed in. More to the point - the legacy media treated him like SHIT. I stopped reading the NYT over their treatment of him - disgusting. AG Schulzberger should've been shown the door over that bullshit. At the same time Biden - and/or maybe the people around him - did not do a good enough job communicating in a 21st century way.
💯
The bad faith of the media goes way back beyond Trump. It was never, ever "liberal." And everyone who didn't already know this found it out bigly during the 2000 campaign, the Florida fiasco, and W's inauguration, further confirmed after 9/11 and in the run-up to the Iraq War. They may not be "enemies of the people," but they're our frenemies at best.
I started my long day taking a moment of quiet BEFORE turning on any device with any news - blood pressure in good range.
I began my morning, putting some raspberries in a container with water and a little vinegar to clean them.
I watched/listened to this orange abomination, his words leaping over my head. They didn't seem to be tethered to anything my brain would recognize as language.
Forgot about my berries, bathing in vinegary water.
When I remembered them, the result reminded me of what's happening to his frontal lobe: mushy raspberries.
Good metaphor, but sorry about the raspberries!
Did you blow the raspberries at your TV screen? :)
I have to say I didn’t expect Senate Democrats to hold out this long on DHS funding and reforms like this. I really admire them on this one.
Agree, Cynthia. And this supposed "deal" that Thune, Britt, et al "negotiated" with Trump-- separating ICE funding from the rest of the DHS appropriation bill and then coming back to pass ICE funding via reconciliation--can't even be sold to Senate OR House Republicans. Their own party is killing it even before Ds do. Meanwhile ICE agents at airports stand around drinking coffee and getting paid for it.
And travelers in endless lines who see the ICE agents just standing there drinking coffee well become even more pissed at ICE and Trump.
"The Farce is strong in this one."
It's gotta be great for morale, when the TSA people, who already are paid less than ICE, are unpaid while ICE is paid and doing nothing.
Yesterday, Trump was talking about National Guard at the airport. How fucking dumb is that?
Steve Bannon has made it clear that the sees this as Trump’s "test run" for deploying ICE, and perhaps the National Guard. to polling stations in key Blue cities throughout America on Election Day.
Maybe. How many shirts was he wearing when he said that?
Dunno. But Bannon always looks like he needs a shower – not to mention fumigation.
Spot on. People associate all of the bad ICE action with Trump and then he sends them to the airport. That’s not going to help orange turd.
This idea came from a caller on our right wing discussion show. Holy shit.
To this I say, "May the Farce be with you".
Silver lining: Every day they spend standing around drinking coffee is a day those agents aren't engaged in authoritarian treason & terrorism around the country
Yeah some were upset at the notion of the deal, and then Chuck drew a harder line. Take heart!
I think the Senate and House Democrats are playing this shutdown stalemate brilliantly. Slowly the bipartisan conversation is moving towards what I suggested a month ago: fund the rest of DHS (FEMA, Coast Guard, TSA etc) while separating out ICE and the CBP. On other fora, I was repeatedly told that Republicans wouldn’t go for this – and, moreover, “that’s not how the budget process works”.
Well, lo and behold, this is precisely what Senate Republicans are finally beginning to embrace!
However, Majority Leader John Thune thought he could get this for almost nothing, in other words without meaningful concessions on ICE and CBP. Clearly he hadn’t talked to Chuck Schumer and the Democrats who gave him the crystal clear message: “No deal. We need serious guardrails and ICE and the Border Patrol. Their illegal and unconstitutional practices must stop.”
I am so relieved and proud to see Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries, and all our other Democrats in Congress, standing united and strong!
PS. Trump wants $ 200 billion for his ill-fated and illegal war. I say we should force most of that money to be taken from the absurdly-high allocations that were given to ICE and the CBP in Trump’s Big Ugly Bill.
Moreover, ICE should be forced to sell all those warehouses it has been buying to turn into massive detention centers!
I read a great idea we should jump on--running voter registration drives in the airport TSA lines. Could we do that?
Great idea, except: are documents, etc. required for voter registration likely to be held by air travelers as they are waiting for their flights? I don't know the answer to this. In addition, I'm guessing that waiting travelers may live (and want to vote) in a variety of different states, which could complicate things further? Still, an idea worth considering.
In NC you need either a SSN or driver's license to register.
I think just BEING there with registration forms could be a good idea. Would have to get permission from the airport, though.
Thanks. It has been so long since I registered that I cannot really remember the procedure - except that it was pretty easy.
I helped register voters at the DC March for our lives. It was run by Moms Demand Action. We helped register kids from all over the country. Not sure what form they used as that was a while back and I’m not an organize just a volunteer. If you do get something going please count me to go to Regan Nat’l and register people in person. Great idea.
If valid ID is the biggest barrier to registration, which it usually is, they have to have that-either a Real ID or a valid US passport, so I'd think airports would be one of the better places to do this, no?
two things: I'm not certain that a Real ID is sufficient under the proposed law. I believe you must have a valid passport or an original birth certificate that matches the name on your other documents. Secondly, I believe that you are registered to vote in the state where you live although the GOP bill wants to create a federal voter file (which is why the DOJ is suing states to get their voter files), It seems to me that you could only register at an airport if it was located in the state where you live.
Simon, I agree that the situation for the country is in very dangerous territory and the obvious solution is for Johnson and Thune to unite with Democrats to remove a clearly insane president. However, as the attempted maneuver by republicans to attempt a deal on ICE funding without consulting their colleagues across the aisle shows this is a nonstarter. If trump and company manage to cook the midterms (which BTW is very possible as voting machines have proven in court to be easily hackable) then it’s either civil war or a permanent fascist state.
Rob, two points: 1) nothing is a non starter. What is a non starter today can become law tomorrow. As I write elites in DC and on the street are not yet aware of the gravity of the moment. 2) Voting machines are not easily hackable. Please don't post stuff like that here.
I'm glad we are making headway in Florida. Since I live here, all is good, but the crucial thing is getting David Jolly into the Governor's mansion.
I have a work trip to Hawaii and the end of April. I'm starting to wonder about it. Maybe I should've planned to take a boat.
Malcolm Nance thinks that very soon they are going to parachute drop into Iran, maybe Isfahan, with the idea they can get the enriched uranium out. Then the negotiations might be a bluff altogether. They've done that before, so it's hard for me to believe this is going to fool anyone. I'm thinking about all of our guys if they are going to be sent in there. We have to hope we can get them out if Malcolm is right.
I am fairly certain that Trump doesn't give a rats-ass about whether our military is given a Mission Impossible and they die or are captured.
My sign on Saturday will read "25th Amendment"
He won't want to be blamed if things go wrong. Hegseth will be fired if they don't "succeed". But he wants something spectacular. He won't care if people get killed if he gets his spectacular mission.
Thank you, Simon!
Happy Maryland Day, everyone!
I called Congressman Raskin and Senators Alsobrooks and Van Hollen to say no funding for ICE or this illegal war.
I also said that the president is not in touch with reality. He says and does wildly inappropriate and dangerous things every day, things that no sane person would say or do. I asked them to make this point regularly. The way Republicans made Joe Biden's age an issue was by regularly bringing it up.
I'm writing postcards to Virginia voters concerning redistricting, which, by the way, is in a bit of trouble. Republican voters are smarting from their losses last November. Red rural areas of the state appear to be voting more than other areas. If you know anyone in Virginia, please remind them that they can vote this week!
Three Yes votes mailed in from my house last week.
Totally agree. That's one of the things they have to be *relentless* about and continuously jar the sleepwalking horse race media awake about by making clear how outrageous or absurd each day's instances are, putting the reporters/pundits they talk to on the back foot by demanding the media start doing its pinche Constitutional job, holding them accountable for their role in this mess. Maybe have one day a week where they're all including a "week in review" litany, other "employee of day" litanies each dedicated to a different member of this thoroughly corrupt and incompetent "administration" (and not just the names everyone knows). The media needs to be shamed into obeying the right side in advance, for once and going forward.
Other than the continued abuse of TSA hostage holding, this makes me happy. Donald's very ugly, very bad, no good day can continue with my blessing. Until the GOP take off their Florsheims and put on their big boy shoes to do the proper governance the US, we, deserve, bring it!
I want to donate once my cash flow permits. Since the goal for the Audacious Expansion Fund is almost reached, what might be the top priority to donate to after that? Is there something like a Hopium general political fund that can serve as a discretionary fund until you have had a chance to vet the new set of top giving priorities for Hopium members?
I'm sure the Audacious fund states need all they can get, so I'd say don't let getting near Simon's goal stop you. But, that said, how about Simon's Ohio fund? I think it's the nearest thing to the Audacious fund since it's the state party, Sherrod Brown, and the excellent Acton/Pepper gubernatorial ticket. If you haven't listened to the interview with David Pepper, it's worth it!
I am a Sherrod Brown fan though, fortunately, I live in CT not Ohio!
yep simon time for coalition govt. house & senate dems & repubs working together to save the country and bring congress back on line. a couple of repub defections would also do the job. someone needs to stop an invasion with ground troops. war powers act. he is insane and has no respect for human life.
Yes, definitely good news. Things are finally turning around here in Florida. Another Two wins last night, one right in Trump’s back yard! Let's keep it going Patrick. And, I am not planning on taking any trips, unless necessary, until Trump is Hog-tied, with his mouth taped and hidden where He can't do any more Damage!
My deep hope is that Florida, Texas and Alaska will all elect Democratic Senators this November. In addition, of course, to Ohio, North Carolina and Maine – while keeping our seats in Michigan and Georgia.
Iowa too, AS, though it looks like they're going to pick the guy who's more popular with the base than the one who can actually win..
Ah, yes, that’s where Joni Ernst is retiring. Open seat!
LOL about the sheer buffoonery of the Senate Republicans crowing about their big deal before even talking to the Dems!
Adding "time to take the keys away" to my usual rant to MoCs. Concise, open-ended re how to sideline Mad Orange, and depicts him as the addled sundowner he is. Full marks!
Perhaps the most frightening damage that Trump is doing --among the long list of serious harms you recite, Mr. Rosenberg-- is that caused by his attack on the climate. We may have a chance to reverse, over time, much of what he's doing; but we may be doomed to an ever more dangerous, deadly, even apocalyptic climate nightmare that we cannot avoid or overcome. I hope this is an overstatement; I fear it is not.
I’m reading Rebecca Solnit’s new book, The Beginning Comes after the End. She makes the case that Trump’s oil war may actually push people towards renewable energy faster. Something has to give. Solnit’s book, like Hopium, is both clear-eyed and hopeful ☮️
Yes, thanks -- I am aware of Solnit's thesis, and certainly hope she's right. It seems a thin reed to hang on to, but there aren't a lot of reeds right now. One thing for sure, though, is that we need to proceed like there is indeed a path to be found and followed, with that hope you refer to as our fuel.
Beautifully stated 🙏
Thank you. And keep the faith!
🙏😊
There's always a "valley of death" between us and any Point B worth striving for. If there weren't, we'd probably already be there ;)
Not too encouraging a thought, this. The Valley of Death that Tennyson wrote of in The Charge of the Light Brigade was a fiasco, and an utter disaster for the brigade -- as a result of a "blunder". And, Lord knows, we're blundering, right and left.
I just reread Hope in the Dark
I haven’t read that one yet, so her newest is my first.
Great book!!. Another one of hers that seems more and more relevant every day is A Paradise Built In Hell, filled with case studies that explode the elite Lord of the Flies myth about what happens in the wake of disasters (and what the elites do to keep the myth alive)
In addition to the quiet naming of Venezuela's "Chief Torturer" to take over the military, today's NYT has a sad but true column about Russia's crumbling--until Putin's buddy bailed him out by going to war with Iran and lifting sanctions on Russian oil--making Putin even richer and salvaging the Russian economy as the oil prices skyrocket. Thanks, Trumpty-Dumpty. Reminds me of G.W. Bush saying, "you're doing a great job, Brownie," as huge sections of New Orleans were destroyed/abandoned by Katrina. Trump has already had so many "Katrina moments," it's impossible to count them. And yet. . .here we still are.
I have always believed that the oligarchs are in bed with each other, their countries and their people be damned. This is a game for them. But this is.all too real for the rest of us.
I’m at the SFO airport en route to Hawaii where I’ll be marching in NO KINGS on Saturday. Our young Uber driver showed us a hilarious spoof on Hegseth that, if you can find it, is worth looking for. Trump is a dangerous fool on a three-legged stool who, if not stopped now, will destroy everything and everyone. So let’s keep defeating him politically and with all sane Americans united together against this evil old man.
Hegseth is self-spoofing. When you think about it. He had a tactical makeup studio installed in the Pentagon, and now gets mad when people take his picture.
I think Simon's writing yesterday and today about Trump having only win/not-win, being too desperate to make deals, is totally on target. Other strategists, leaders, commentators... have not caught up with that idea. They need to. That's the lens that makes sense of Trump's moves; they need it to come up with moves he'll accept. Uuuuuuggggghhhh.
I haven't had time to write much lately - this week is full of No Kings prep (I'm a host), onboarding the new wave of folks who are signing up, wrapping up our postcards to VA, getting ready for some local endorsement votes, calling my US Rep. Looking forward to tonight's Hopium zoom.
Thanks for hosting! I am working on organizing GOTV in my local area and getting just a glimpse of how much work and how many people it takes to get things done. I knew it was a lot but I think I was off by at least an order of magnitude.
Yeah, ours is just an hour in the morning in the neighborhood with the big one being in downtown Boston mid-afternoon. But even so, a few tasks that people may not know about: making and bringing extra signs for those who come without one, writing to all the registrants on Mobilize including making sure first-time protesters know they're not alone and to look for our host team spread out in our space, publicity, recruiting and meeting with the safety team, host team, chant leaders, crowd counters, and first aid person, badges or arm bands for the crew, clipboards for signing up, connecting with local media, connecting with local elected officials and candidates who want to participate. I'll remember more later.
And so many people have asked why we were waiting "so long" for No Kings 3! A sure sign of someone who needs to be recruited to help with the work
I’ll work the idea of a unity government into my calls immediately
Pleased to see Sen. Booker being loud about all that's going on. Of course, I know he has a book to sell, but he was at the Newark Airport taking questions w NJ ACLU. My VA redistricting postcards are supposed to be arriving soon--have a short window but can get them done.
Also very pleased to see plenty of excellent, in-depth interviews w Julie K. Brown coming out, which keeps the Epstein survivors front and center, where they should be. All this crap--all of it--is a diversion from this central battle that Orange is trying to shove under the proverbial rug.
No Kings countdown under way--sign made, plans in motion. Today I'm just excited about how much sh*t Orange is going to have to eat on Saturday when we set the record for the largest single day protest in American history. Keep going!