Think this site should provide more encouragement for the winner of the democratic primary in NYC. It seems that the silence helps the two candidates with substantial publicly documented corruption issues, while telling those turned out for Mamdani that the process you participated in is not significant. Disregard of the voters choice is usually a Trump methodology, not a democratic one. Hopefully, when Mamdani wins, there will be a respectful transfer of power
Susan, their arguments are full of lies, misrepresentations and extremism. I just skimmed it and it is more of the same. No one in the world - no foreign leaders, no economists - believe what they are saying is true.
And even if it were changes of this magnitude must be passed by Congress after vigorous debate. The reason they didn't attempt to do that is they would have been unable able to pass these insane tariffs through either chamber, even with their control.
Thank you! ... I wanted to say that I also stand for these HEROES from Texas. Talk about real fight. Brian Tyler Cohen's interview with leader Gene Wu.... Wow.
I find it a remarkable lack of rigor that no mainstream media are reporting Putin is considered a criminal by the International Criminal Court. Now we are permitting him onto American soil? Here's what the ICC has to say:
Allegedly responsible for the war crime of unlawful deportation of population (children) and that of unlawful transfer of population (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation (under articles 8(2)(a)(vii) and 8(2)(b)(viii) of the Rome Statute). The crimes were allegedly committed in Ukrainian occupied territory at least from 24 February 2022. There are reasonable grounds to believe that Mr Putin bears individual criminal responsibility for the aforementioned crimes, (i) for having committed the acts directly, jointly with others and/or through others (article 25(3)(a) of the Rome Statute), and (ii) for his failure to exercise control properly over civilian and military subordinates who committed the acts, or allowed for their commission, and who were under his effective authority and control, pursuant to superior responsibility (article 28(b) of the Rome Statute).
When Russian President Vladimir Putin travels to Alaska next week to meet with US President Donald Trump, he will be able to do so with confidence that he will not be arrested. This is because, while Putin is the subject of an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued in 2023, neither Russia nor the US are signatories to the Rome Statute, which created the court in 2002.
Right? He should not even be setting foot on US soil bc of this. I am livid. Biden (and any sane, rational president) would not do this just on principle.
no, you didn't miss a thing... my take at the time was.... that it would be a benefit. I wrote it referencing a thought it gave me at the time. Thank you for helping me be clearer next time!
First, take a look at (and LISTEN to) this 2-minute interview with a BRAVE YOUNG AMERICAN VOLUNTEER MEDIC ON THE FRONTLINES of the Russian attack on Ukraine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lvIYp41Wrg&list=TLPQMTgwMzIwMjV80y8DdiE1-w. Second, ask yourself if you would trust her safety to the tender mercies of the Tsar or Dolos? I know my answer. Also, if they could spare her, Rebekah Maciorowski would make a great advocate for Ukraine on the home front.
Previously, I said that the allegiance of Dolos to his Tsar makes him predictable. Other observers agree on this predictability as well. Soon, we will have to ask if the USA is sharing its mail about Ukraine with Russia. So, here is Peter Zeihan’s take on the (for more timely updates, take a look at his Patreon: patreon.com/PeterZeihan) Russian “Honey Do” list for Ukrainian surrender (forget peace) that will be part of a bilateral arrangement between Dolos and the Tsar (they have a call this morning) to “defang” Ukraine for later conquest by Russia. Please note that any mistakes in “translation” are my own with these rough transcriptions:
1. No restrictions on the type of Russian forces on their side of the line of control.
2. A demilitarized zone on the Ukrainian side of the line of control.
3. No NATO peacekeepers in Ukraine’s territory at all.
4. Remanding the Ukrainian leadership for trial in Russia for … (your guess?).
5. A public admission that the war was the fault of the Ukrainians.
6. Relative to #5, the Ukrainians need to pay war reparations.
7. The US needs to state that the war was also Western Europe’s idea to help with the war reparations.
8. The US will provide financial assistance to rebuild the hydrocarbon infrastructure across Ukraine and the Black Sea [see my other note about the new USA Sovereign Wealth Fund controlled by Dolos].
9. To give Russia their old market back, the US must no longer provide LNG to Europe.
10. The USA should bar Europe from providing military aid to Ukraine.
11. The USA will impose secondary sanctions on any European country that provides arms to Ukraine.
12. The USA will publicly declare all lands that the Russians have taken recently from their neighboring countries as sovereign Russian territory, and these lands can never revert to their original countries.
13. A US ban on all weapons transfers and civilian assistance to Ukraine.
14. A ban on all weapons transfers and civilian assistance to Ukraine from Europe.
15. Russia must have a presence on all points of entry in Ukraine for customs monitoring by Moscow.
16. The USA will provide intelligence sharing to Russia about European activities relative to Ukraine [Mike Walz has recently broached intelligence sharing with Russia].
17. Managing the deindustrialization of Ukraine so that they cannot develop indigenous weapons.
Per Zeihan, by completing all or most of the above list, this scenario would effectively place the USA outside of NATO (the dream of all dreams for the Tsar). Once separated from NATO, there would be no “Article 5” protections (i.e. military aid assurances), and the smaller Baltic and East European members of NATO would fall like a deck of cards to Russia in the near future. Yes, there is more:
18. The USA will spy on NATO for Russia to help with their future plans of attack.
19. All Russian news outlets should be allowed to operate in the USA (please watch Russian Media Monitor on YouTube) without restrictions.
20. All agricultural products from Canada should be banned and replaced with Russian produce (are we halfway there with the tariff regime of Dolos?).
21. Decommission our icebreakers (we have two) and abandon any US efforts in the Arctic. Leave this area to Russia.
22. Wipe out all Russian debt held in the USA, and allow all Russian firms to return without restrictions to the US capital markets.
23. Have future Russian debt be backstopped by the sovereign credit ranking of the USA.
24. Have the USA offer financial guarantees to ask US firms to return and invest in Russia [I shared some Bloomberg coverage on investors wanting to return to Russia last Thursday - coincidence?].
25. US firms should set up in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine to solidify the commitment to Russian development.
26. Russians want RFK jr. to help remove the demographic advantage of the USA by reducing the life expectancy of US youngsters (yes, end generalized vaccinations since the Department of Education will no longer be around to mandate vaccinations). Make America Russia Like (MARL).
27. Break the Federal Reserve System, and enhance the use of cryptocurrencies instead of the dollar (as Russia has done to get around sanctions).
28. Use the FBI to go after financial institutions that provide stability [I shared in another post about how “rule of law” has its own intrinsic value to financial markets] under the guise of being against the directives of the Dolos administration.
29. Arrest industrial development in the NAFTA/USMCA region by having a contradictory tariff policy and threatening war with your trading partners (currently, no one wants to manufacture in Russia).
30. Destroy the American agricultural miracle by banning synthetic pesticides and fertilizers to substantially reduce yields. This scenario would enhance Russia’s agricultural position (not unlike destroying Ukraine’s output earlier in the conflict).
31. End American restrictions on high-end chip manufacturing to China to give Russia and China production opportunities and alternative sourcing options (in the war with Ukraine, chips have been harder for Russia to access).
32. Break up the USA and UK alliance which allows for the sharing of bases in former British colonies around the world (creating more freedom of movement for Russian mischief-makers).
33. Have the USA unilaterally reduce its nuclear arsenal, as Dolos has mentioned in the past (supposedly, nuclear research scientists are presently getting fired by Leon and his “incels”).
34. Create a new arms reduction pact to prohibit nuclear weapons from the US Navy, and allow for intrusive inspections of US ships (please notice that the Ukrainians have sunken a large proportion of the Russian Navy without having a navy).
CARTHAGO DELENDA EST (via nonviolence).
P.S.: Do the following now! FIRST, TEACH CIVICS. Second, register voters. THIRD, TEACH CIVICS. Rinse. Repeat.
P.P.S.: DEMOCRATS (AND PROSPECTIVE CANDIDATES FOR OFFICE) NEED TO HAVE “TOWN HALLS” IN REPUBLICAN DISTRICTS - ASAP. YOUR OPPONENTS HAVE WILLINGLY CONCEDED THE FIELD.
P.P.P.S.: Simon has often mentioned the earnest six-million patriots from the last cycle. This is a large pool of thoughtful energy/talent. SO, DEMOCRATS SHOULD ALLOW VETTED-VOLUNTEERS TO AUGMENT THEIR PAID OFFICE STAFF MEMBERS IN ORDER TO COVER THE INCOMING TSUNAMI OF COMMUNICATIONS (AND OTHER CONCERNS) FROM CITIZENS IN GENERAL AND CONSTITUENTS IN PARTICULAR!!
The Hopium community is going to love hearing from The Texas Democratic Party Chairman Kendall Scudder. We had him on Friday for our Minnesota DFL Daily War Room Call (link here)
And he was fantastic. The Texas Dems are under new leadership and he knows how to fight back! We may not win every battle, but in order to win the war, we have to fight the battles. And they are doing it in TX!
I am thinking about Simon's reference this week to Frost's "the best way out is always through."
The full quote, which comes from Frost's terrifying and haunting "A Servant to Servants" published in North of Boston, is:
"He says the best way out is always through.
And I agree to that, or in so far
As that I can see no way out but through--"
The "He" in the poem is Len, the speaker's husband. The speaker is talking to someone who camps on their land, perhaps hired help. She knows him enough to confide in him how exhausted she is with her work, how she's suffering emotionally.
The point, then, of these lines is that the way out of the exhaustion, the emotional strain, is to get through it. There's no alternative. The woman in the poem is too burdened with work to be able to take any kind of rejuvenating break from it.
Frost is a poet who writes a lot about the unbalanced. He seems like a nice old New England poet-farmer, but scratch beneath the surface and you find he is dealing with some very troubling themes.
In a political context, I will take this quote to mean that there is no way to escape the political madness we're burdened to live through except by working it directly in whatever way we can. Yet, at the same time, I'm aware that many of us are privileged to take periodic breaks from the work and the burden. We ought to. We need balance. We need to remind ourselves of the good in life that we're fighting for.
I was in first grade -- and the first time ever a TV was brought into our class -- to watch the inauguration of John Fitzgerald Kennedy. I witnessed Robert Frost delivering A Gift Outright.
If anyone is interested in postcarding, letterwriting or phonebanking here are some options:
VoterRiders (voteriders.org) fights voter disenfranchisement by helping voters in states with onerous voter ID laws. They have current letter writing-campaigns to voters in AZ, FL, GA, NC, OH, PA, and TX (!) who may not have the IDs they need to vote.
Volunteers download a state-specific Fact Sheet (with info on upcoming elections, valid forms of IDs, and ways to contact VoteRiders for help) and a list of names and addresses (you choose how many). Volunteers add a brief hand written message encouraging the the recipient to vote, handwrite the envelope, stamp it and drop it in the mail! For more info on how to volunteer see:
Field Team 6 (fieldteam6.org) has a mission of partisan voter registration. I write postcards with them, but you can also volunteer to do phone- and text-banking. They offer state-specific zoom training for registering voters in person and for "Social Storming" (i.e., leveraging social media). They are currently writing postcards to get people registered in NJ and PA for 2025 and for GA and NC for 2026 elections (https://fieldteam6.herokuapp.com/getting_started). Also check out their schedule of events on Mobilize: https://www.mobilize.us/?org_ids=1255
Activate America has launched postcard campaigns for NJ and PA. They are switching over to a postcard platform on SincereApp (which is also used by VoteRiders and Reclaim Our Vote). You can request access for SincereApp here: https://sincereapp.com/join/92GAm8Oqlu7_nNGZsjQiYw
(They also do phonebanks but I don't think they are active yet for 2025 races).
Postcards4VA (https://addresses.postcards4va.com/) has lots of different postcard campaigns for VA. They have part 4 of their "Wake Up Virginia" campaign that is targeting registered women voters 40 - 90 yo who haven't voted in past elections. They also have "Spotlight" campaigns for 6 female candidates endorsed by the National Women's Political Caucus of VA all running in races in Southern VA.
Markers for Democracy also has several VA House of Delegates candidates on their postcard platform (https://postcards.markersfordemocracy.org/). This group in very security conscious so you may be asked where you heard about their campaigns. If you say "a comment on Hopium Chronicles" you shouldn't have any issues being accepted.
Reclaim Our Vote (https://www.centerforcommonground.org/reclaim-our-vote) is writing postcards for VA. This group focuses on increasing BIPOC voter turnout through postcarding, texting, and phone banking in Southern states. There is a brief on-line training and you must use one of their exclusive postcards. The current campaign is write and hold until the mailing window (Sept 15 - October 20) - VA has a very long early voting period.
For anyone who participated in Simon's Thursday activist zooms for the Hopium candidates last year, you should recognize the name Grassroots Democrats HQ. (They were in charge of the phone banking part of the weekly events). They are currently hosting phone banks in support of Abigail Spanberger's run for Governor of VA.
Abigail Spanberger's campaign is also hosting virtual textbanking Zooms on Tuesdays (5 - 6:30 pm) and Sundays (2 -3:30 pm) - both are EDT: https://www.mobilize.us/mobilize/event/814038/
VoteRiders rules! I make calls for them for a couple hours each week to help people with getting ID to vote. It's some of the best work I've done for voting rights, hands down! I'll post a couple more such resources below. This is a fantastic list!
On my way home from Netroots Nation, which was an inspiring conference of progressive activists who are ready to get to work.
And Simon, I am going to be *that* person and say it again...please include the PA Supreme Court retention races in your action items list. Because if we don't retain those justices, that court will be deadlocked 2-2, and since we know the Reeps will sue when they lose (sore losers are sore), we really need to hold on to those seats!
Vote Forward is writing Letters now for a PA Nov. 4th election to retain 3 PA supreme Court Judges running against 3 far right extremist Maga candidate Judges.
So far I have written more than 100 letters, and will keep writing until the end of October.
Dave, I am taking this post down and refunding your money. This is clearly not the right place for you. Thank you.
Thank you for all you do!
Think this site should provide more encouragement for the winner of the democratic primary in NYC. It seems that the silence helps the two candidates with substantial publicly documented corruption issues, while telling those turned out for Mamdani that the process you participated in is not significant. Disregard of the voters choice is usually a Trump methodology, not a democratic one. Hopefully, when Mamdani wins, there will be a respectful transfer of power
TACO on russian sanctions that were to be imposed on friday.
on our 4 pledges, should there be a 5th: i stand for the U.S. Constitution?
Simon, How do you you react to the NYT opinion piece in the Sat. 8/9 edition by Jamieson Greer on Trump’s tariff policy??
Susan, their arguments are full of lies, misrepresentations and extremism. I just skimmed it and it is more of the same. No one in the world - no foreign leaders, no economists - believe what they are saying is true.
And even if it were changes of this magnitude must be passed by Congress after vigorous debate. The reason they didn't attempt to do that is they would have been unable able to pass these insane tariffs through either chamber, even with their control.
I support the four-part agenda. I find it succinct and effective for this moment in our politics.
agree!
Simon, I hope you can arrange an interview with Texas state representative James Talarico.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mAPHKHFtKQ
we are in touch with him and his office and it will happen soon.
Excellent! James Talarico has been fighting...and fighting hard in Texas for several years.
He truly can speak to people in Trump's "christian" base. VERY effectively.
Warning: The pro-MAGA Christo-fascist influencers have been targeting him -- which may actually be a good thing.
"This 'Progressive Christian' Congressman Is Lying About Jesus"
For those wanting to get onto that battlefield.
https://youtu.be/klw9WI11Bcc?si=3CMdGf1UAXCC0tmk
WOOT!
Excellent. Thank you for reflecting your followers
Thank you! ... I wanted to say that I also stand for these HEROES from Texas. Talk about real fight. Brian Tyler Cohen's interview with leader Gene Wu.... Wow.
https://youtu.be/VD9o9ejC-hs?si=_EXCMOBmuBY8uYt3
Seconded. James Talarico is impressive, and inspiring.
I find it a remarkable lack of rigor that no mainstream media are reporting Putin is considered a criminal by the International Criminal Court. Now we are permitting him onto American soil? Here's what the ICC has to say:
Allegedly responsible for the war crime of unlawful deportation of population (children) and that of unlawful transfer of population (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation (under articles 8(2)(a)(vii) and 8(2)(b)(viii) of the Rome Statute). The crimes were allegedly committed in Ukrainian occupied territory at least from 24 February 2022. There are reasonable grounds to believe that Mr Putin bears individual criminal responsibility for the aforementioned crimes, (i) for having committed the acts directly, jointly with others and/or through others (article 25(3)(a) of the Rome Statute), and (ii) for his failure to exercise control properly over civilian and military subordinates who committed the acts, or allowed for their commission, and who were under his effective authority and control, pursuant to superior responsibility (article 28(b) of the Rome Statute).
From the UK Telegraph:
When Russian President Vladimir Putin travels to Alaska next week to meet with US President Donald Trump, he will be able to do so with confidence that he will not be arrested. This is because, while Putin is the subject of an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued in 2023, neither Russia nor the US are signatories to the Rome Statute, which created the court in 2002.
Yes, unfortunately, the US isn't a signatory. But still, you'd expect some mention of this in the press.
Agree. I have only seen it mentioned here in independent media.
Speaking of which - Jeff Tiedrich did a brilliant takedown in his post today:
Preznit Fuckwit is going to get pantsed by his despot bestie Putin. again.
and Judge Chutkan is back in the news!
https://www.jefftiedrich.com/p/preznit-fuckwit-is-going-to-get-pantsed?r=r55rm&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
That was an all-time Tiedrich classic!
Haha Lisa, it was! 😂 Jeff rocks my world! And Judge Chutkan is my Shero!
Punkette, M-Th I am calling White House and needling 47 with a daily message about this. Thank you for these details!
Great!!! Thanks for doing that, CC! ✊🏽
Right? He should not even be setting foot on US soil bc of this. I am livid. Biden (and any sane, rational president) would not do this just on principle.
maybe he could be arrested? actually, both of them!
"Now we are permitting him onto American soil?"
"Donald, I think Alaska works much better as Russia's 47th province."
"Fine... take Murkowski and it's yours."
Okay, that was amusing. (My take on it was that giving AK away would increase the proportion of blue states.)
Sorry... I did not know about your "take." Did not see any prior post.
no, you didn't miss a thing... my take at the time was.... that it would be a benefit. I wrote it referencing a thought it gave me at the time. Thank you for helping me be clearer next time!
ON REPEAT (FROM MARCH) PER DOLOS, THE TSAR, AND ALASKA:
The NETWORK STATE - For the best synopsis of the objectives of the “Tech Lords”, please listen to this 45-minute podcast and share widely (these folks are going to leave a huge blast radius - if we let them): https://www.thenerdreich.com/the-nerd-reich-podcast-episode-1-the-network-state-2/ .
Project 2025 Trackers:
https://www.project2025.observer .
https://substack.com/@project2025progress .
https://substack.com/@ahmedbaba/p-158109308 .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPElaGebGPc (timestamps 13:10 and 55:07).
Simon et al.:
First, take a look at (and LISTEN to) this 2-minute interview with a BRAVE YOUNG AMERICAN VOLUNTEER MEDIC ON THE FRONTLINES of the Russian attack on Ukraine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lvIYp41Wrg&list=TLPQMTgwMzIwMjV80y8DdiE1-w. Second, ask yourself if you would trust her safety to the tender mercies of the Tsar or Dolos? I know my answer. Also, if they could spare her, Rebekah Maciorowski would make a great advocate for Ukraine on the home front.
Previously, I said that the allegiance of Dolos to his Tsar makes him predictable. Other observers agree on this predictability as well. Soon, we will have to ask if the USA is sharing its mail about Ukraine with Russia. So, here is Peter Zeihan’s take on the (for more timely updates, take a look at his Patreon: patreon.com/PeterZeihan) Russian “Honey Do” list for Ukrainian surrender (forget peace) that will be part of a bilateral arrangement between Dolos and the Tsar (they have a call this morning) to “defang” Ukraine for later conquest by Russia. Please note that any mistakes in “translation” are my own with these rough transcriptions:
1. No restrictions on the type of Russian forces on their side of the line of control.
2. A demilitarized zone on the Ukrainian side of the line of control.
3. No NATO peacekeepers in Ukraine’s territory at all.
4. Remanding the Ukrainian leadership for trial in Russia for … (your guess?).
5. A public admission that the war was the fault of the Ukrainians.
6. Relative to #5, the Ukrainians need to pay war reparations.
7. The US needs to state that the war was also Western Europe’s idea to help with the war reparations.
8. The US will provide financial assistance to rebuild the hydrocarbon infrastructure across Ukraine and the Black Sea [see my other note about the new USA Sovereign Wealth Fund controlled by Dolos].
9. To give Russia their old market back, the US must no longer provide LNG to Europe.
10. The USA should bar Europe from providing military aid to Ukraine.
11. The USA will impose secondary sanctions on any European country that provides arms to Ukraine.
12. The USA will publicly declare all lands that the Russians have taken recently from their neighboring countries as sovereign Russian territory, and these lands can never revert to their original countries.
13. A US ban on all weapons transfers and civilian assistance to Ukraine.
14. A ban on all weapons transfers and civilian assistance to Ukraine from Europe.
15. Russia must have a presence on all points of entry in Ukraine for customs monitoring by Moscow.
16. The USA will provide intelligence sharing to Russia about European activities relative to Ukraine [Mike Walz has recently broached intelligence sharing with Russia].
17. Managing the deindustrialization of Ukraine so that they cannot develop indigenous weapons.
Per Zeihan, by completing all or most of the above list, this scenario would effectively place the USA outside of NATO (the dream of all dreams for the Tsar). Once separated from NATO, there would be no “Article 5” protections (i.e. military aid assurances), and the smaller Baltic and East European members of NATO would fall like a deck of cards to Russia in the near future. Yes, there is more:
18. The USA will spy on NATO for Russia to help with their future plans of attack.
19. All Russian news outlets should be allowed to operate in the USA (please watch Russian Media Monitor on YouTube) without restrictions.
20. All agricultural products from Canada should be banned and replaced with Russian produce (are we halfway there with the tariff regime of Dolos?).
21. Decommission our icebreakers (we have two) and abandon any US efforts in the Arctic. Leave this area to Russia.
22. Wipe out all Russian debt held in the USA, and allow all Russian firms to return without restrictions to the US capital markets.
23. Have future Russian debt be backstopped by the sovereign credit ranking of the USA.
24. Have the USA offer financial guarantees to ask US firms to return and invest in Russia [I shared some Bloomberg coverage on investors wanting to return to Russia last Thursday - coincidence?].
25. US firms should set up in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine to solidify the commitment to Russian development.
26. Russians want RFK jr. to help remove the demographic advantage of the USA by reducing the life expectancy of US youngsters (yes, end generalized vaccinations since the Department of Education will no longer be around to mandate vaccinations). Make America Russia Like (MARL).
27. Break the Federal Reserve System, and enhance the use of cryptocurrencies instead of the dollar (as Russia has done to get around sanctions).
28. Use the FBI to go after financial institutions that provide stability [I shared in another post about how “rule of law” has its own intrinsic value to financial markets] under the guise of being against the directives of the Dolos administration.
29. Arrest industrial development in the NAFTA/USMCA region by having a contradictory tariff policy and threatening war with your trading partners (currently, no one wants to manufacture in Russia).
30. Destroy the American agricultural miracle by banning synthetic pesticides and fertilizers to substantially reduce yields. This scenario would enhance Russia’s agricultural position (not unlike destroying Ukraine’s output earlier in the conflict).
31. End American restrictions on high-end chip manufacturing to China to give Russia and China production opportunities and alternative sourcing options (in the war with Ukraine, chips have been harder for Russia to access).
32. Break up the USA and UK alliance which allows for the sharing of bases in former British colonies around the world (creating more freedom of movement for Russian mischief-makers).
33. Have the USA unilaterally reduce its nuclear arsenal, as Dolos has mentioned in the past (supposedly, nuclear research scientists are presently getting fired by Leon and his “incels”).
34. Create a new arms reduction pact to prohibit nuclear weapons from the US Navy, and allow for intrusive inspections of US ships (please notice that the Ukrainians have sunken a large proportion of the Russian Navy without having a navy).
CARTHAGO DELENDA EST (via nonviolence).
P.S.: Do the following now! FIRST, TEACH CIVICS. Second, register voters. THIRD, TEACH CIVICS. Rinse. Repeat.
P.P.S.: DEMOCRATS (AND PROSPECTIVE CANDIDATES FOR OFFICE) NEED TO HAVE “TOWN HALLS” IN REPUBLICAN DISTRICTS - ASAP. YOUR OPPONENTS HAVE WILLINGLY CONCEDED THE FIELD.
P.P.P.S.: Simon has often mentioned the earnest six-million patriots from the last cycle. This is a large pool of thoughtful energy/talent. SO, DEMOCRATS SHOULD ALLOW VETTED-VOLUNTEERS TO AUGMENT THEIR PAID OFFICE STAFF MEMBERS IN ORDER TO COVER THE INCOMING TSUNAMI OF COMMUNICATIONS (AND OTHER CONCERNS) FROM CITIZENS IN GENERAL AND CONSTITUENTS IN PARTICULAR!!
The Hopium community is going to love hearing from The Texas Democratic Party Chairman Kendall Scudder. We had him on Friday for our Minnesota DFL Daily War Room Call (link here)
https://youtu.be/M_pvLMO559Y?si=7QtN7FMgnZhJovaZ
And he was fantastic. The Texas Dems are under new leadership and he knows how to fight back! We may not win every battle, but in order to win the war, we have to fight the battles. And they are doing it in TX!
I am thinking about Simon's reference this week to Frost's "the best way out is always through."
The full quote, which comes from Frost's terrifying and haunting "A Servant to Servants" published in North of Boston, is:
"He says the best way out is always through.
And I agree to that, or in so far
As that I can see no way out but through--"
The "He" in the poem is Len, the speaker's husband. The speaker is talking to someone who camps on their land, perhaps hired help. She knows him enough to confide in him how exhausted she is with her work, how she's suffering emotionally.
The point, then, of these lines is that the way out of the exhaustion, the emotional strain, is to get through it. There's no alternative. The woman in the poem is too burdened with work to be able to take any kind of rejuvenating break from it.
Frost is a poet who writes a lot about the unbalanced. He seems like a nice old New England poet-farmer, but scratch beneath the surface and you find he is dealing with some very troubling themes.
In a political context, I will take this quote to mean that there is no way to escape the political madness we're burdened to live through except by working it directly in whatever way we can. Yet, at the same time, I'm aware that many of us are privileged to take periodic breaks from the work and the burden. We ought to. We need balance. We need to remind ourselves of the good in life that we're fighting for.
Well said, and I love the detailed analysis of the poem!
I was in first grade -- and the first time ever a TV was brought into our class -- to watch the inauguration of John Fitzgerald Kennedy. I witnessed Robert Frost delivering A Gift Outright.
Thank you so much for that insight!
Love that this Community is expressing sentiments through this dark time, though Poetry.
If anyone is interested in postcarding, letterwriting or phonebanking here are some options:
VoterRiders (voteriders.org) fights voter disenfranchisement by helping voters in states with onerous voter ID laws. They have current letter writing-campaigns to voters in AZ, FL, GA, NC, OH, PA, and TX (!) who may not have the IDs they need to vote.
Volunteers download a state-specific Fact Sheet (with info on upcoming elections, valid forms of IDs, and ways to contact VoteRiders for help) and a list of names and addresses (you choose how many). Volunteers add a brief hand written message encouraging the the recipient to vote, handwrite the envelope, stamp it and drop it in the mail! For more info on how to volunteer see:
https://www.voteriders.org/letterinfo.
VoteRiders is also hosting a textbank this Thursday for voters in NC: https://www.mobilize.us/voteriders/event/821091/
Vote Forward (https://votefwd.org/) is writing get out the vote (GOTV) letters for the Supreme Court races in PA. Here is a link to a great getting started document: https://votefwd.org/instructions
Field Team 6 (fieldteam6.org) has a mission of partisan voter registration. I write postcards with them, but you can also volunteer to do phone- and text-banking. They offer state-specific zoom training for registering voters in person and for "Social Storming" (i.e., leveraging social media). They are currently writing postcards to get people registered in NJ and PA for 2025 and for GA and NC for 2026 elections (https://fieldteam6.herokuapp.com/getting_started). Also check out their schedule of events on Mobilize: https://www.mobilize.us/?org_ids=1255
Activate America has launched postcard campaigns for NJ and PA. They are switching over to a postcard platform on SincereApp (which is also used by VoteRiders and Reclaim Our Vote). You can request access for SincereApp here: https://sincereapp.com/join/92GAm8Oqlu7_nNGZsjQiYw
(They also do phonebanks but I don't think they are active yet for 2025 races).
Postcards4VA (https://addresses.postcards4va.com/) has lots of different postcard campaigns for VA. They have part 4 of their "Wake Up Virginia" campaign that is targeting registered women voters 40 - 90 yo who haven't voted in past elections. They also have "Spotlight" campaigns for 6 female candidates endorsed by the National Women's Political Caucus of VA all running in races in Southern VA.
Markers for Democracy also has several VA House of Delegates candidates on their postcard platform (https://postcards.markersfordemocracy.org/). This group in very security conscious so you may be asked where you heard about their campaigns. If you say "a comment on Hopium Chronicles" you shouldn't have any issues being accepted.
Reclaim Our Vote (https://www.centerforcommonground.org/reclaim-our-vote) is writing postcards for VA. This group focuses on increasing BIPOC voter turnout through postcarding, texting, and phone banking in Southern states. There is a brief on-line training and you must use one of their exclusive postcards. The current campaign is write and hold until the mailing window (Sept 15 - October 20) - VA has a very long early voting period.
Sister District chapters around the country are phonebanking for various VA delegate candidates which they have adopted. Check out this Mobilize link for phonebanking opportunities. (They will provide training at the beginning of each phonebank for newbies.): https://www.mobilize.us/?event_type=26&event_type=2&org_ids=3235&org_ids=6465&org_ids=6493&org_ids=6495&org_ids=6496&org_ids=6521&org_ids=6523&org_ids=6525&org_ids=6526&org_ids=6527&org_ids=6529&org_ids=6694&org_ids=7234&org_ids=6934
For anyone who participated in Simon's Thursday activist zooms for the Hopium candidates last year, you should recognize the name Grassroots Democrats HQ. (They were in charge of the phone banking part of the weekly events). They are currently hosting phone banks in support of Abigail Spanberger's run for Governor of VA.
Abigail Spanberger's campaign is also hosting virtual textbanking Zooms on Tuesdays (5 - 6:30 pm) and Sundays (2 -3:30 pm) - both are EDT: https://www.mobilize.us/mobilize/event/814038/
VoteRiders rules! I make calls for them for a couple hours each week to help people with getting ID to vote. It's some of the best work I've done for voting rights, hands down! I'll post a couple more such resources below. This is a fantastic list!
I wanted to share this Substack post by G. Elliott Morris on gerrymandering:
https://www.gelliottmorris.com/p/gerrymandering-is-unpopular-shocker?r=1aiy5t&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
I also wanted to share this disturbing post about the assault on Public Health including the recent attack on the CDC campus:
https://open.substack.com/pub/yourlocalepidemiologist/p/bullets-in-the-windows?r=1aiy5t&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
I think this qualifies as Stochastic Terrorism (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stochastic_terrorism)
That it does. And might I add that GA has absolutely godawful gun safety laws.
The killer was from my district -- GA-11 -- Kennesaw.
My MAGA traitor was QUICK to post stuff on the Fort Stewart shooting -- but not yet anything on this one. Zero thoughts; zero prayers.
A few years ago, another GA-11 constituent went on a killing spree against Asian massage parlors.
Very sorry to hear that.
On my way home from Netroots Nation, which was an inspiring conference of progressive activists who are ready to get to work.
And Simon, I am going to be *that* person and say it again...please include the PA Supreme Court retention races in your action items list. Because if we don't retain those justices, that court will be deadlocked 2-2, and since we know the Reeps will sue when they lose (sore losers are sore), we really need to hold on to those seats!
I love Netroots Nation! I attended when they were in Philly! Jealous!
Vote Forward is writing Letters now for a PA Nov. 4th election to retain 3 PA supreme Court Judges running against 3 far right extremist Maga candidate Judges.
So far I have written more than 100 letters, and will keep writing until the end of October.
Votefwd.org if of interest.
Nearly 700,000 letters to PA Voters are still available to write and mail Sept. 2nd through late October.
Can someone please direct me to the person doing a resolution in NJ? Sorry if I missed a prior posting. I am interested in hearing more.
2 friends will be arriving in 10 minutes for our first of what I suspect will be many postcard writing sessions for Mikie Sherrill!
She keeps bringing it!
https://bsky.app/profile/mikiesherrill.bsky.social/post/3lvyibfvefk2v
Me too. (And please DM me, I have a NJ-related question for you.)
Updates and discussion are here. Please let us know your resolution plans.
https://www.hopiumchronicles.com/p/hopium-resolutions-project-discussion/comments
for CD-11 Diane Romino @dianer847378
Kati Kertesz @catherinekertesz
Updates and discussion are here. Please let us know your resolution plans.
https://www.hopiumchronicles.com/p/hopium-resolutions-project-discussion/comments