I agree with the polling aspect. For a good analog, take a look at Hungary, where an Orban-aligned pollster released a poll showing Fidesz +4 after a string of independent polls showing the opposition up double digits.
That said, can’t be too complacent and rely on the outlier polls on our side. Some people are proudly hateful. And some people maybe don’t want to admit to pollsters or to themselves until they’re in the voting booth that they’re secretly into alligators eating people or indentured servitude.
More like a stolen election he succeeded at with EM help. He is confident he can repeat it across every state. Why aren't we hearing more about Rockland county suit?
You have been my life-line for years now and you never disappoint! I am in the fight till justice is back. Thank you for all you do for this community of democracy! Go have fun in your garden now!💙💙💙
Just a reminder too to keep an eye on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court this November. I believe there are a few seats up for grabs the same time as the gubernatorial elections are held in New Jersey and Virginia.
The Pennsylvania state supreme court is expected to rule on future cases involving election certification, voting rights, partisan gerrymandering, and abortion access that will have national resonance.
As a letter writer, your instructions are the same as they have been for Vote Forward’s recent letter writing campaigns. Please review those instructions here.
I am writing postcards for the PA. Supreme CT. race. The party of PA Supreme Ct .justices is not listed on the ballot for retention so the postcards include that info. Bluesky:@Postcards2WIN.bsky.social
will there be a big scandal out of tx flood for NOAA and National Weather Service not functioning at top speed? or will that be covered up? of course this is a red state, so they will get all the FEMA and federal aid that others won't. and quickly. the states will now have to pick up medicaid costs and shortly FEMA costs too. and i dont know too many rich states with budget surpluses. he is shoving a lot of things down to states now as a way to cut his budget.
Pro-Publica is a great idea. There were reports this week-end about the way understaffed state offices of the National Weather Service, two of which are in the larger area affected by the floods. One is in San Angelo and a larger one in San Antonio. One of them didn’t even have a meteorologist!! These deaths are on Donald Trump and Elon Musk who had a field day cutting workers from federal agencies.
Sure, all that corporate America needs is a military with which to intimidate and/or subjugate other nations and entities. Feature an American "East India Company."
Just wait for the lawsuits. The parents will be suing the county and each and every officeholder. And it will come out that they ignored specific flood warnings.
I don’t post often but I’m here reading and drawing inspiration from the Hopium community! Our grassroots group started a voter registration campaign targeting Dems in Calvert’s district as well as other flipable seats around the country. Shared a meal last night with good friends. Played some cards with the comforting voices of Kruk and Kuip calling the Giants game. (Right there with you on the ball team struggle bus Simon!) Did some baking. I’m finding ways to remind myself that there is goodness and happiness in my life amongst all this ugliness. Thanks to you all for being here.
Yes, accurate polls are important, but we cannot solely rely on them to steer the ship. We need Democratic leaders who demonstrate passion for the working and middle class, the majority of Americans! Any chance we can all begin reading the Democrat Party Platform and start revising it! Simple, clear, passionate, Democratic value based messaging!
I’ve started asking my two Dem. Senators and Dem representative to join with others and put together a vision for America. To make it welcoming and joyful and not nerdy (words to that effect). Anyone else thinking it’s time to push for a strong vision statement for all Americans from the Democratic Party?
Simon it is distressing to me that so many on our side are outright ignoring the compelling evidence Election Truth Alliance, Smart Elections and Dr. Mebane have found and published independently. There does appear to have been significant vote manipulation on the tabulating machines enough to have changed the outcome of the election. It is very worrisome to me to see our allies completely shut their eyes and ears to this information. I completely understand the urge to do so. That’s where I began. But as I began to look and listen to their findings I am at least very supportive of the idea of having full audits done. So far ETA is planning to sue Pa for one and there is already a lawsuit in New York based on the Rockland County anomalies. You may be right about all those other factors motivating Republicans to ignore their constituencies but I think it is playing with dynamite to ignore this body of evidence that Trump has the ability to manipulate elections.
Speaking only for myself, I am not ignoring it so much as focusing elsewhere. I don’t live in a swing state. I am not a lawyer or election worker or legislator or analyst. I am just a voter.
I have to focus on a few things that I can accomplish. I call, write postcards, talk to my neighbors, work on the field team of my local Democratic group, and donate to the people/organizations suggested here at Hopium and some others that matter to me.
That seems like a good use of my time. One thing I like about Hopium is that it is focused. Before I found this group (and my local Democratic group), I was running in all directions but getting nowhere. Other groups do different work.
I don’t speak for anyone else here, but my role right now is growing our numbers, so it is harder for them to cheat next time. I am certainly glad people like you are working to make the elections more robust.
Thank you Jenny for the comment and all you are doing. I mean that sincerely. I also am engaged in multiple organizations and multiple projects. Indivisible, Democratic Party etc. The thing that gets me though is that we are all banking on 2026 and acting as though we can, through our hard work and dedication make that happen. But if there is proof that Trump was and is able to corrupt the election itself, then all of our hard work is Sisiphean. We can work with all our might and the best of intentions but that boulder will never stay at the top of the hill if Trump did and will steal elections. All I'm asking is for Democrats and anti Trump allies to take a good hard look at the evidence and not act as if everything is fine. I mean, what is the cost of paying attention? Why are we so opposed to looking at this? I'd hate to have Election Day 2026 be as shocking and confusing as 2024 was. The time is now to just watch a few Election Truth Alliance videos where they explain what they have found. It's very eye opening. We can't afford to be like MAGA and cherry pick what portion of reality we're going to accept. We need to accept all of reality even the parts we don't feel comfortable with.
I did look at it, a few weeks ago. I think it is probably true, for lots of reasons that I don’t want to go into right now. I also understand why it seems wrong to act like things are normal.
But I can’t think of any concrete actions to take about it. The people I bring it up to are aware of it already, and most of them think it is probably true or partly true.
I am not exactly banking on 2026, just hoping that if a LOT more Democrats register and vote, Republicans will have a harder time cheating. If I help flip my House district, Congress might be able to achieve anything.
There is something concrete we can do. Smart Elections who brought the lawsuit in NY needs contributions to lay for the audit. Election Truth Alliance will need that as well in Pa. I live in Michigan. I have been calling my AG to make them aware of this and asking for an audit. I am one voice. If everyone demanded audits we might get something done. Democrats are terrified of this, at keast that has been my experience in raising this with others. It drives me crazy hearing people talk about why Democrats lost and how we have to change as a result when the truth is we did not lose and need more of the joyful and wonderful campaigning Harris Walz did. We’re taking the wrong lessons because we are not dealing with the Truth. Thank you for looking and having an open mind. I think we all need to stop acting like we lost and reclaim what is best about us.
Friends, I do not agree that this is a good use of resources. I have asked Marshall to stop writing as if these things are proven and true. They are not. They are making a case. It is not proven. If he cannot temper and adjust his writing to acknowledge that these assertions are not proven I will start taking his posts down for as written they are misleading. Please, go slow here everyone. We have very important things we need to do together. Stay focused on the known, clear things we need to do.
I agree that it should be investigated. Tech billionaires are exactly the people with the ability and desire to do such a thing. But there are a lot of reasons why I think that issue isn't gaining traction with Democrats.
1. It sounds exactly like the right-wing lies that the 2020 election was stolen. Since Democrats invested a lot in calling that a "free and fair election," and boasted about election security, it is hard to see this as a winning issue for us, no matter what the facts are.
2. It sounds like a just-so story. I am not the only one who will react with skepticism because we really want to believe it. And others will react with skepticism because we want to believe the elections are secure. It would be divisive within our party and politically costly.
3. We are simply not going to get T*** out of office this way. You saw how he delayed and used public opinion to get out of dozens of indictments and even convictions. He is STILL resisting paying E. Jean Carroll. Two-thirds of the Supreme Court is on his side, the AG acts like his personal consigliere, and the majority in Congress has no interest whatsoever in pursuing this.
4. Other issues are more immediate. For example, people are being deprived of due process now. Protecting their rights might be achievable with great effort but we can't wait.
I agree that you have suggested some concrete actions. Maybe I will look into it more and maybe even make a donation. But it would be in hopes that the truth - whatever it is, and even if T**** won fairly - would eventually be known. It would not be in hopes of undoing the 2024 election because I don’t think it would work.
Thank you Simon for helping to keep us focused in this onslaught of craziness. As a retired social studies teacher I have been alarmed about the ignorance of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution! I ordered a bunch of pocket Constitutions and on my daily walks on the Hill I put one in every Little Free Library I pass. I'm always amazed at how quickly they get snatched up. My goal is to inspire one person to do one thing. Not a lot, but my little daily act of resistance! We must keep focused and working for our democracy!
I was contemplating what it would be like if high schools required as much civics as PE classes. Or swapped a semester of English to study the founding documents.
Though I have no idea what a responsible civics teacher would even say right now. How do you teach about checks snd balances in this environment?
A Civics teacher might teach the ideal of checks and balances, and let students draw their conclusions. That is, if that teacher can spare the time to prepare while working the second job at night in a pizza parlor or gas station.
Maybe an English teacher and a Social Studies teacher can team up to teach the class. Have them compare and contrast different democracies and role-play the 2. Each student plays a different role.
Great idea. We have a number of little libraries in my town. Will ask Ralph Nader's Tort Museum to get them to do this. I know that Ralph had a pile of them when I ran his bookstore.
The summer months would be a perfect time to have a bunch by a register at a book store, camp grounds, museums, rest stops, etc. while many are traveling during vacation!
There's nothing in this data or analysis that has not been covered, discussed and integrated into our own analysis here. Much of this was known immediately after the election. Completely consistent with what Tom presented a few weeks ago and what I've been sharing since the election, though I do think we continue to have performance and turnout problems in big blue states without competitive elections, which has cascading impact downballot. That too has been core to my own analysis since the 2022 elections. For a refresher on my various posts on 2024 head here - https://www.hopiumchronicles.com/p/sunday-hopium-more-notes-on-the-path. Onward - S
It's pretty much a (not very) updated full version of the Declaration, written by myself. I didn't send it out to my subscribers en masse, mainly because I heard from my editor-in-chief that the post (being basically the length of the Declaration) might be too long for my viewing audience.
If you like it, though, please feel free to sign it and spread the word. If not, no worries.
Like the garden. Victory garden was a WWII phrase and I like it for now. We are in a fight for the future for sure. Also, I was shocked to be called f*cking disgusting by the president in Iowa but then decided to be proud that he is so afraid of all of us that he has to disparaged us. He must know the reality of the polls even if his minions do not. I have a friend who thinks he does not even know what is going on but all the cruel and evil people around him sure do. Just one of the f*cking disgusting patriots that will not bend the knee.
Ah, the power of the asterisk! Victory Gardens were vegetable, fruit, and herb gardens planted at home and in public parks for a self-reliant people. Speaking as an artist, flowers and gardens are great (I spent half my Senior year of HS in the Monet Waterlillies room of the Modern), but self-reliance seems to have vaporized from a population too unmotivated to vote. This citizen abhors the abuse you describe, and apologizes for the uncouth behavior of a low person in a high place.
The Museum of Modern Art in NY had built a room for its' collection of (8?) Waterlillies by the time I was in HS. I had been awed by the works since childhood but the new room had the largest works surrounding one on each wall lit by daylight. Immersion in Giverney . . .
I went to my community’s July 4 celebration, even though I feared it would make me sadder about everything.
Instead, I met someone from a few streets over who was feeling alone in all this, and invited her to our local Democratic group. I think she will actually come. I talked a fried into joining me to write some postcards, which he hadn’t done before.
And I remembered that I have been learning and doing for almost 2 years now, which isn’t much compared to most of the people here. But at least I can say that when my country needed me, I said yes.
I never miss our small (population ~700) Iowa town’s Fourth of July parade, although I worried that it might feel hollow and farcical this time.
But no, that same catch in my throat when the veterans carrying our proud flag to head the parade came into view, the same joyous outburst of applause as they marched Old Glory past. Lots of enthusiastic clapping for the Democratic party’s float, too. The only difference this year was that was I turned my back to the street as the GOP group went by— I didn’t need to see any “Joni for Iowa” messages on this patriotic day.
Not childish. Joni Ernst is awful. The way she treated her constituents who were loud about her not voting for the Big Butt-Ugly Bill during her in- person town hall-you know the one where she said “We’re all going to die” when people were upset about potential cuts to Medicaid. Then the next day she posted a fake “apology” video where she was standing in a cemetery. She deserves to lose and to LOSE BIGLY!! So thank you for turning your back to the street when the GOPs were passing by in the parade. You did it for me and lots of other Democrats.
Thank you for your daily posts/videos. They are keeping me sane. I especially appreciated your pointing out that the people in Ukraine are keeping on in much more dire circumstances. Good perspective.
One need not hope in order to undertake, nor succeed in order to persevere.
- William The Silent, aka William, Prince of Orange, April 24, 1533 - July 10, 1584.
Was a Dutch Revolt leader against Spain. He was the first European politician to be assassinated by a gun.
“I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”
A centralized governmental citizen registry/database is BAD for privacy and for safety!
Partisan restrictions on academic freedom in higher education are BAD!
Secretive defense contractors with partisan frames/outlooks (i.e. they tell the Pentagon what weapons are needed) are BAD!
So, as was predicted by some folks in the Hopium community (smile), there is only one MAN in America who is the intersection of the Venn diagram of all of these BAD things. Of course, it is Seeg Heil of Palantir and of Anduril (and of Meta and of large Dolos donations and of SpaceX and of multiple passports and of a million-dollar New Zealand bunker and of digital currencies) fame. I did forget to share that he thinks that he can cheat death.
When the Stasi came to an East German’s door, it was a “fait accompli.” Here is a strange fact: they tried to avoid masks in order to better blend into the larger society. So, ICE needs to take better notes as they model other oppressive organizations. Importantly, the Tsar also used his version of ICE to initially go after his “enemies” (i.e. the “truly”guilty).
CARTHAGO DELENDA EST (via nonviolence).
P.S. : DEMOCRATIC officials keep mentioning (and showing) Jan. 6 and the PARDONS relative to the current “law and order” push by Dolos and his associates. This is a simple but strong contrast. Use social media to promote testimonies by former “January 6 Commission” members and witnesses. YES, re-litigate Jan. 6 - again and again and again. Dolos needs to realize that he lives in a GLASS HOUSE. Go on Faux News Channel because it is just like an “unrepresented” Republican district - i.e. plenty of visuals devoid of facts. The VISUAL EVIDENCE IS NOW ON YOUR SIDE. GO ON ESPN (a male-leaning channel) and express concern about the viability of the pending World Cup with actors like Dolos and Miller in the mix. With measles rampant and anti-vax officials influencing policy, will tourists want to visit the USA (weak ticket sales?): https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/soccer/heres-what-fifa-president-gianni-infantino-said-about-ice-cbp-agents-at-club-world-cup/ar-AA1GwUkA ?
P.P.S.: Do the following now! FIRST, TEACH CIVICS. Second, register voters. THIRD, TEACH CIVICS. Rinse. Repeat.
P.P.P.S.: Every local office of the Democratic Party and of the elected officials (including state representatives on up) must become a site for civic teach-ins and a clearing house for needed services (with Federal departments being sabotaged). The fact is that Democrats believe in the value of government and of government service, and the other side (i.e. the MAGAts and the illiberals) simply doesn’t. This engagement process will make registering partisan voters and teaching civics much easier.
Do we want to thank Hakeem Jeffries in any organized way? I am writing a thank-you postcard to him today. I'll also write my daily quota of postcards to Virginia.
I am very concerned about the supercharged ICE agency and the creation of MAGA army. In addition to calling federal lawmakers we should contact governors, state and municipal lawmakers. I think we need to focus on ICE agreements and voicing our concerns with lawmakers that they not enter into them, and if they did, to ask that they be rescinded.
I hope to see effective communication about negative consequences of DOGE and the BBB, including closings of medical facilities, inadequate disaster management, the list goes on. Messaging must be consistent and in real time. Unfortunately folks were using an endless list of alternate names for the BBB, which created confusion and was totally ineffective.
I agree with the polling aspect. For a good analog, take a look at Hungary, where an Orban-aligned pollster released a poll showing Fidesz +4 after a string of independent polls showing the opposition up double digits.
That said, can’t be too complacent and rely on the outlier polls on our side. Some people are proudly hateful. And some people maybe don’t want to admit to pollsters or to themselves until they’re in the voting booth that they’re secretly into alligators eating people or indentured servitude.
More like a stolen election he succeeded at with EM help. He is confident he can repeat it across every state. Why aren't we hearing more about Rockland county suit?
You have been my life-line for years now and you never disappoint! I am in the fight till justice is back. Thank you for all you do for this community of democracy! Go have fun in your garden now!💙💙💙
Just a reminder too to keep an eye on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court this November. I believe there are a few seats up for grabs the same time as the gubernatorial elections are held in New Jersey and Virginia.
Pennsylvania Supreme Court 2025 Letter Writing Campaigns
Everything you need to know to participate in this innovative campaign
Posted by Vote Forward on Jun 9, 2025
https://votefwd.org/posts/PA-Supreme-Court-2025
You can review our guidance here, and read on below for a few Pennsylvania-specific FAQs.
https://votefwd.org/instructions#prepare-your-letters
The Pennsylvania state supreme court is expected to rule on future cases involving election certification, voting rights, partisan gerrymandering, and abortion access that will have national resonance.
https://whyy.org/articles/pennsylvania-primary-judicial-elections-2025/
As a letter writer, your instructions are the same as they have been for Vote Forward’s recent letter writing campaigns. Please review those instructions here.
https://votefwd.org/campaigns
For more guidance, check out our blog post on how to craft a personal and heartfelt story about how voting impacts you or someone in your life.
https://votefwd.org/posts/Building-Your-Personal-Story
You can apply at this link to join the call team.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSczqot4E9gUKwoe1BzX8P29-fnCFZq1ZmAMzgbBFturcMguYg/viewform?usp=sharing&ouid=100722798091065705915
If I could click like twice I sure would! What a great idea.
I am writing post cards for Nov4 PA elections that specifically urge voters to vote for the 3 incumbent PA Supreme Court justices who are Democrats. https://secure.everyaction.com/q6C58scJOUeWJJy_rcEQkA2?emci=23d15ea2-994f-f011-8f7c-6045bdfe8e9c&emdi=6457962f-0c51-f011-8f7c-6045bdfe8e9c&ceid=32422365
I am writing postcards for the PA. Supreme CT. race. The party of PA Supreme Ct .justices is not listed on the ballot for retention so the postcards include that info. Bluesky:@Postcards2WIN.bsky.social
will there be a big scandal out of tx flood for NOAA and National Weather Service not functioning at top speed? or will that be covered up? of course this is a red state, so they will get all the FEMA and federal aid that others won't. and quickly. the states will now have to pick up medicaid costs and shortly FEMA costs too. and i dont know too many rich states with budget surpluses. he is shoving a lot of things down to states now as a way to cut his budget.
PAGE 674 OF PROJECT 2025 BEGINS DISMANTLING OF NOAA & NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE. would be terriffic if MSM would pick this up and put them together!!!
What about Pro Publica? They do amazing investigative work and are often successful in influencing the MSM to follow up on their stories.
Pro-Publica is a great idea. There were reports this week-end about the way understaffed state offices of the National Weather Service, two of which are in the larger area affected by the floods. One is in San Angelo and a larger one in San Antonio. One of them didn’t even have a meteorologist!! These deaths are on Donald Trump and Elon Musk who had a field day cutting workers from federal agencies.
Sure, all that corporate America needs is a military with which to intimidate and/or subjugate other nations and entities. Feature an American "East India Company."
The right wing people I know say it was an act of god and no way anyone could have predicted it. Sigh
It was predicted several hours before it happened, but the county where is happened has no early warning system
They are convinced otherwise
Can't argue with a block of wood
Just wait for the lawsuits. The parents will be suing the county and each and every officeholder. And it will come out that they ignored specific flood warnings.
I don’t post often but I’m here reading and drawing inspiration from the Hopium community! Our grassroots group started a voter registration campaign targeting Dems in Calvert’s district as well as other flipable seats around the country. Shared a meal last night with good friends. Played some cards with the comforting voices of Kruk and Kuip calling the Giants game. (Right there with you on the ball team struggle bus Simon!) Did some baking. I’m finding ways to remind myself that there is goodness and happiness in my life amongst all this ugliness. Thanks to you all for being here.
Yes, accurate polls are important, but we cannot solely rely on them to steer the ship. We need Democratic leaders who demonstrate passion for the working and middle class, the majority of Americans! Any chance we can all begin reading the Democrat Party Platform and start revising it! Simple, clear, passionate, Democratic value based messaging!
I’ve started asking my two Dem. Senators and Dem representative to join with others and put together a vision for America. To make it welcoming and joyful and not nerdy (words to that effect). Anyone else thinking it’s time to push for a strong vision statement for all Americans from the Democratic Party?
Simon it is distressing to me that so many on our side are outright ignoring the compelling evidence Election Truth Alliance, Smart Elections and Dr. Mebane have found and published independently. There does appear to have been significant vote manipulation on the tabulating machines enough to have changed the outcome of the election. It is very worrisome to me to see our allies completely shut their eyes and ears to this information. I completely understand the urge to do so. That’s where I began. But as I began to look and listen to their findings I am at least very supportive of the idea of having full audits done. So far ETA is planning to sue Pa for one and there is already a lawsuit in New York based on the Rockland County anomalies. You may be right about all those other factors motivating Republicans to ignore their constituencies but I think it is playing with dynamite to ignore this body of evidence that Trump has the ability to manipulate elections.
Speaking only for myself, I am not ignoring it so much as focusing elsewhere. I don’t live in a swing state. I am not a lawyer or election worker or legislator or analyst. I am just a voter.
I have to focus on a few things that I can accomplish. I call, write postcards, talk to my neighbors, work on the field team of my local Democratic group, and donate to the people/organizations suggested here at Hopium and some others that matter to me.
That seems like a good use of my time. One thing I like about Hopium is that it is focused. Before I found this group (and my local Democratic group), I was running in all directions but getting nowhere. Other groups do different work.
I don’t speak for anyone else here, but my role right now is growing our numbers, so it is harder for them to cheat next time. I am certainly glad people like you are working to make the elections more robust.
Thank you Jenny for the comment and all you are doing. I mean that sincerely. I also am engaged in multiple organizations and multiple projects. Indivisible, Democratic Party etc. The thing that gets me though is that we are all banking on 2026 and acting as though we can, through our hard work and dedication make that happen. But if there is proof that Trump was and is able to corrupt the election itself, then all of our hard work is Sisiphean. We can work with all our might and the best of intentions but that boulder will never stay at the top of the hill if Trump did and will steal elections. All I'm asking is for Democrats and anti Trump allies to take a good hard look at the evidence and not act as if everything is fine. I mean, what is the cost of paying attention? Why are we so opposed to looking at this? I'd hate to have Election Day 2026 be as shocking and confusing as 2024 was. The time is now to just watch a few Election Truth Alliance videos where they explain what they have found. It's very eye opening. We can't afford to be like MAGA and cherry pick what portion of reality we're going to accept. We need to accept all of reality even the parts we don't feel comfortable with.
I did look at it, a few weeks ago. I think it is probably true, for lots of reasons that I don’t want to go into right now. I also understand why it seems wrong to act like things are normal.
But I can’t think of any concrete actions to take about it. The people I bring it up to are aware of it already, and most of them think it is probably true or partly true.
I am not exactly banking on 2026, just hoping that if a LOT more Democrats register and vote, Republicans will have a harder time cheating. If I help flip my House district, Congress might be able to achieve anything.
There is something concrete we can do. Smart Elections who brought the lawsuit in NY needs contributions to lay for the audit. Election Truth Alliance will need that as well in Pa. I live in Michigan. I have been calling my AG to make them aware of this and asking for an audit. I am one voice. If everyone demanded audits we might get something done. Democrats are terrified of this, at keast that has been my experience in raising this with others. It drives me crazy hearing people talk about why Democrats lost and how we have to change as a result when the truth is we did not lose and need more of the joyful and wonderful campaigning Harris Walz did. We’re taking the wrong lessons because we are not dealing with the Truth. Thank you for looking and having an open mind. I think we all need to stop acting like we lost and reclaim what is best about us.
Thank you, Marshall, for this information. I just donated to both and will put them on my radar.
We must fight the corruption!
Friends, I do not agree that this is a good use of resources. I have asked Marshall to stop writing as if these things are proven and true. They are not. They are making a case. It is not proven. If he cannot temper and adjust his writing to acknowledge that these assertions are not proven I will start taking his posts down for as written they are misleading. Please, go slow here everyone. We have very important things we need to do together. Stay focused on the known, clear things we need to do.
I agree that it should be investigated. Tech billionaires are exactly the people with the ability and desire to do such a thing. But there are a lot of reasons why I think that issue isn't gaining traction with Democrats.
1. It sounds exactly like the right-wing lies that the 2020 election was stolen. Since Democrats invested a lot in calling that a "free and fair election," and boasted about election security, it is hard to see this as a winning issue for us, no matter what the facts are.
2. It sounds like a just-so story. I am not the only one who will react with skepticism because we really want to believe it. And others will react with skepticism because we want to believe the elections are secure. It would be divisive within our party and politically costly.
3. We are simply not going to get T*** out of office this way. You saw how he delayed and used public opinion to get out of dozens of indictments and even convictions. He is STILL resisting paying E. Jean Carroll. Two-thirds of the Supreme Court is on his side, the AG acts like his personal consigliere, and the majority in Congress has no interest whatsoever in pursuing this.
4. Other issues are more immediate. For example, people are being deprived of due process now. Protecting their rights might be achievable with great effort but we can't wait.
I agree that you have suggested some concrete actions. Maybe I will look into it more and maybe even make a donation. But it would be in hopes that the truth - whatever it is, and even if T**** won fairly - would eventually be known. It would not be in hopes of undoing the 2024 election because I don’t think it would work.
Thank you Simon for helping to keep us focused in this onslaught of craziness. As a retired social studies teacher I have been alarmed about the ignorance of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution! I ordered a bunch of pocket Constitutions and on my daily walks on the Hill I put one in every Little Free Library I pass. I'm always amazed at how quickly they get snatched up. My goal is to inspire one person to do one thing. Not a lot, but my little daily act of resistance! We must keep focused and working for our democracy!
What a great idea 🎉🎉🎉🎉
I have a bunch of little libraries in my neighborhood!!
Education is always a good idea!!! 👍
I was contemplating what it would be like if high schools required as much civics as PE classes. Or swapped a semester of English to study the founding documents.
Though I have no idea what a responsible civics teacher would even say right now. How do you teach about checks snd balances in this environment?
I love your Constitution idea!
A Civics teacher might teach the ideal of checks and balances, and let students draw their conclusions. That is, if that teacher can spare the time to prepare while working the second job at night in a pizza parlor or gas station.
Maybe an English teacher and a Social Studies teacher can team up to teach the class. Have them compare and contrast different democracies and role-play the 2. Each student plays a different role.
Great idea. We have a number of little libraries in my town. Will ask Ralph Nader's Tort Museum to get them to do this. I know that Ralph had a pile of them when I ran his bookstore.
The summer months would be a perfect time to have a bunch by a register at a book store, camp grounds, museums, rest stops, etc. while many are traveling during vacation!
Great idea!
Simon,
I know this is a rest day, but it would be interesting to see your opinion on this article: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/26/upshot/turnout-2024-election-trump-harris.html?unlocked_article_code=1.UU8.Zhy8.U3ChsyZwLrNe&smid=url-share.
Curious what you would make of it, if you get a chance to look.
There's nothing in this data or analysis that has not been covered, discussed and integrated into our own analysis here. Much of this was known immediately after the election. Completely consistent with what Tom presented a few weeks ago and what I've been sharing since the election, though I do think we continue to have performance and turnout problems in big blue states without competitive elections, which has cascading impact downballot. That too has been core to my own analysis since the 2022 elections. For a refresher on my various posts on 2024 head here - https://www.hopiumchronicles.com/p/sunday-hopium-more-notes-on-the-path. Onward - S
Appreciate it, Simon.
Also, on a somewhat unrelated note, thought you might get a kick out of this: https://davidsalzillo.substack.com/p/notes-from-underground-10-appendix.
It's pretty much a (not very) updated full version of the Declaration, written by myself. I didn't send it out to my subscribers en masse, mainly because I heard from my editor-in-chief that the post (being basically the length of the Declaration) might be too long for my viewing audience.
If you like it, though, please feel free to sign it and spread the word. If not, no worries.
Like the garden. Victory garden was a WWII phrase and I like it for now. We are in a fight for the future for sure. Also, I was shocked to be called f*cking disgusting by the president in Iowa but then decided to be proud that he is so afraid of all of us that he has to disparaged us. He must know the reality of the polls even if his minions do not. I have a friend who thinks he does not even know what is going on but all the cruel and evil people around him sure do. Just one of the f*cking disgusting patriots that will not bend the knee.
Ah, the power of the asterisk! Victory Gardens were vegetable, fruit, and herb gardens planted at home and in public parks for a self-reliant people. Speaking as an artist, flowers and gardens are great (I spent half my Senior year of HS in the Monet Waterlillies room of the Modern), but self-reliance seems to have vaporized from a population too unmotivated to vote. This citizen abhors the abuse you describe, and apologizes for the uncouth behavior of a low person in a high place.
Where were the Monet Waterlilies? I know I saw them, but have never been to France.
The Museum of Modern Art in NY had built a room for its' collection of (8?) Waterlillies by the time I was in HS. I had been awed by the works since childhood but the new room had the largest works surrounding one on each wall lit by daylight. Immersion in Giverney . . .
Thank you. I knew I had seen them in the states at some point.
I went to my community’s July 4 celebration, even though I feared it would make me sadder about everything.
Instead, I met someone from a few streets over who was feeling alone in all this, and invited her to our local Democratic group. I think she will actually come. I talked a fried into joining me to write some postcards, which he hadn’t done before.
And I remembered that I have been learning and doing for almost 2 years now, which isn’t much compared to most of the people here. But at least I can say that when my country needed me, I said yes.
So I am glad I went to celebrate our country.
I never miss our small (population ~700) Iowa town’s Fourth of July parade, although I worried that it might feel hollow and farcical this time.
But no, that same catch in my throat when the veterans carrying our proud flag to head the parade came into view, the same joyous outburst of applause as they marched Old Glory past. Lots of enthusiastic clapping for the Democratic party’s float, too. The only difference this year was that was I turned my back to the street as the GOP group went by— I didn’t need to see any “Joni for Iowa” messages on this patriotic day.
I guess it was childish but it sure felt good!
Not childish. Joni Ernst is awful. The way she treated her constituents who were loud about her not voting for the Big Butt-Ugly Bill during her in- person town hall-you know the one where she said “We’re all going to die” when people were upset about potential cuts to Medicaid. Then the next day she posted a fake “apology” video where she was standing in a cemetery. She deserves to lose and to LOSE BIGLY!! So thank you for turning your back to the street when the GOPs were passing by in the parade. You did it for me and lots of other Democrats.
Thank you for your daily posts/videos. They are keeping me sane. I especially appreciated your pointing out that the people in Ukraine are keeping on in much more dire circumstances. Good perspective.
SEEG HEIL GETS INTERVIEWED BY THE TIMES, BUT OTHERS HAVE BETTER QUESTIONS FOR HIM [edited 7-6-25]: https://www.thenerdreich.com/is-peter-thiel-the-antichrist-nyt-didnt-think-to-ask/ .
ON REPEAT:
One need not hope in order to undertake, nor succeed in order to persevere.
- William The Silent, aka William, Prince of Orange, April 24, 1533 - July 10, 1584.
Was a Dutch Revolt leader against Spain. He was the first European politician to be assassinated by a gun.
“I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”
― Frank Herbert, Dune
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/.
Here is an explanation of the “End Times Fascism” of the “Bunker Boys” (AKA “Tech Lords”): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HAeAHcCW14 .
Folks:
PLAYTIME IS OVER!
Nazi philosophers (e.g. Carl Schmitt) are BAD!
South African Apartheid was BAD!
A centralized governmental citizen registry/database is BAD for privacy and for safety!
Partisan restrictions on academic freedom in higher education are BAD!
Secretive defense contractors with partisan frames/outlooks (i.e. they tell the Pentagon what weapons are needed) are BAD!
So, as was predicted by some folks in the Hopium community (smile), there is only one MAN in America who is the intersection of the Venn diagram of all of these BAD things. Of course, it is Seeg Heil of Palantir and of Anduril (and of Meta and of large Dolos donations and of SpaceX and of multiple passports and of a million-dollar New Zealand bunker and of digital currencies) fame. I did forget to share that he thinks that he can cheat death.
Seeg Heil will now manage the most intimate data collection effort on every American citizen: https://gizmodo.com/trump-admin-is-building-a-searchable-database-to-track-citizens-2000622110 . What could possibly go wrong? People (all citizens and prospective citizens) need to get ahead of this obvious train wreck.
Remember what I shared about the “transparent citizens” of the oil-rich, non-democratic Gulf states. Curious, the Tsar and Xi (e.g. the Chinese social credit system) already have these types of databases in place. In East Germany where the Tsar cut his baby spy teeth, the folks who ran the nation’s citizen database were called the Stasi: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stasi_Records_Agency#:~:text=The%20Stasi%20spied%20on%20almost,and%20amassed%20an%20enormous%20archive .
When the Stasi came to an East German’s door, it was a “fait accompli.” Here is a strange fact: they tried to avoid masks in order to better blend into the larger society. So, ICE needs to take better notes as they model other oppressive organizations. Importantly, the Tsar also used his version of ICE to initially go after his “enemies” (i.e. the “truly”guilty).
CARTHAGO DELENDA EST (via nonviolence).
P.S. : DEMOCRATIC officials keep mentioning (and showing) Jan. 6 and the PARDONS relative to the current “law and order” push by Dolos and his associates. This is a simple but strong contrast. Use social media to promote testimonies by former “January 6 Commission” members and witnesses. YES, re-litigate Jan. 6 - again and again and again. Dolos needs to realize that he lives in a GLASS HOUSE. Go on Faux News Channel because it is just like an “unrepresented” Republican district - i.e. plenty of visuals devoid of facts. The VISUAL EVIDENCE IS NOW ON YOUR SIDE. GO ON ESPN (a male-leaning channel) and express concern about the viability of the pending World Cup with actors like Dolos and Miller in the mix. With measles rampant and anti-vax officials influencing policy, will tourists want to visit the USA (weak ticket sales?): https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/soccer/heres-what-fifa-president-gianni-infantino-said-about-ice-cbp-agents-at-club-world-cup/ar-AA1GwUkA ?
P.P.S.: Do the following now! FIRST, TEACH CIVICS. Second, register voters. THIRD, TEACH CIVICS. Rinse. Repeat.
P.P.P.S.: Every local office of the Democratic Party and of the elected officials (including state representatives on up) must become a site for civic teach-ins and a clearing house for needed services (with Federal departments being sabotaged). The fact is that Democrats believe in the value of government and of government service, and the other side (i.e. the MAGAts and the illiberals) simply doesn’t. This engagement process will make registering partisan voters and teaching civics much easier.
Do we want to thank Hakeem Jeffries in any organized way? I am writing a thank-you postcard to him today. I'll also write my daily quota of postcards to Virginia.
I am very concerned about the supercharged ICE agency and the creation of MAGA army. In addition to calling federal lawmakers we should contact governors, state and municipal lawmakers. I think we need to focus on ICE agreements and voicing our concerns with lawmakers that they not enter into them, and if they did, to ask that they be rescinded.
I hope to see effective communication about negative consequences of DOGE and the BBB, including closings of medical facilities, inadequate disaster management, the list goes on. Messaging must be consistent and in real time. Unfortunately folks were using an endless list of alternate names for the BBB, which created confusion and was totally ineffective.