Agreed. 1 of the easiest things people can do is reach out to community leaders: teachers, childcare teachers, religious leaders. See what type of food is needed by many. Drop off non-perishables at the childcare and schools. As the weather changes, get sizes-get a bunch of clothes in bulk (underwear, shirts, sweatshirts, hats/gloves), and drop them off at schools and childcares. People are afraid to get those items, but may feel safe doing other things. Can you drive them/their kids to go to XYZ?
I just viewed your C-SPAN interview this morning. I think you did a wonderful job of giving a clear calm message in the face of some of the collers who were vehemently opposing what they called “Democratic socialism“ your many years of experience, showed in the strength and ability with which you responded to these callers and stayed on point. Onward and upward!
I’m very disappointed in how CSPN’s call-in segment has declined over the years. It’s like a letters to the editor section of a country newspaper come to life
Correct me if I am wrong, but didn't Bob Woodward wait until his book about Trump came out to reveal that Trump deliberately downplayed Covid threat? It's great that he is continuing to speak out, just wish, if I am remembering correctly, that he and others speak out before they try to sell their books. It was pretty to clear to most of us in 2016 Trump was all about hate and that he is a narcissist. Still, good for Woodward for speaking out. We need everyone on the same page now.
The clip with Gov. Shapiro is really good. I thought I knew a lot about Republicans. It didn’t surprise me when Trump used SNAP for leverage; it did surprise me when many Republicans used the opportunity to attack the SNAP program. They want it to end, along with the ACA. The idea that Democrats should vote to open the government so that Republicans can then negotiate is a farce. Schumer’s fairly modest proposal forced their hand. It was very good strategy.
I'm not convinced of Shumer's strategy. Is there a provision to prevent recissions by Trump? I haven't seen that.
Three days after the Blue Wave and Schumer's making concessions? I think it emboldens the GOP to think they are winning in the shutdown ( when they just got crushed at the ballot box) and they will now hold out even longer.
I would have preferred him to say " The voters just handed you your a** Maga. Time for you to come to the table"
While I too would have loved this, i begrudgingly thought Schumer had strategized well. By making this modest proposal which i'm pretty sure he'd calculated the Rs would reject, Dems can now very clearly claim that they tried to end the shutdown and the Rs are the ones who are causing it to continue. In addition, i think Schumer was hedging his bet in case the Rs had accepted. The election results Tuesday gave him pretty good reason to think the Dems would gain a House majority in 2026, and possibly even the Senate. If so, and if the Rs took him up on that one-year offer, the newly elected Dem majority would be able to change the terms from one-year to permanent. A couple of ifs there, but maybe a good strategy on Schumer's part.
A lot of "ifs" here but we are in a better position now than we were a week ago. I hope Schumer rises to the occasion. I am not bashing him. So much, in my humble opinion, about politics is about perception. If Schumer is perceived as caving, well, it won't inspire confidence in a good number of voters, especially young ones.
One of the reasons, again, in my humble opinion, Pelosi was so successful is bc she had the reputation of being fearless and calculating in her decisions that turned out to be spot on, and that helped most people have faith in her decisions. With Schumer, he doesn't have that goodwill baked into his narrative. If you have to explain why someone is actually not caving, without that baked in confidence, well, it's tough. JMO
But we just had an amazing election, and let's not lose sight of it. Many things can be true at the same time.
What's the concession? The deal we offered was full funding of ACA, passing bi-partisan appropriations bills, clean CR. Senate Republicans are against recissions. There was no concession here.
Michael, I agree. At this point, I'm comfortable bashing Schumer and saying he's old enough to retire...that he should have retired a few decades ago. But I want basic age/sex/gender/disability representation. I'd love to see more Indigenous politicians.
I have realistic questions/fears about Mamdani (not sure if I'll ever correctly type that name). Like every politician, he's made promises he can't keep. Like everyone, he'll have to make compromises. Not sure how willing he'll compromise and on what. The bigger problem? He's made comments that can seem antisemitic. The biggest issue? Basic safety concerns in terms of what some whackadoo might do, because he's not white and not Christian. It will be interesting to see how many adjust and how security deals with all of this. As a white, disabled female, I've never had the luxury of blindly trusting leaders or police/private security the way the average, abled, white male has.
Mamdani, not unlike most politicians, has walked back some of his comments and also made lots of promises. He is so dynamic and charismatic. He turned out the youth vote and we need more youth voting year round. I, too, worry about his safety. I wish him much success. It will be interesting to see how he navigates all the headwinds he will be facing. I loved how he ran his campaign.
Thanks, Simon, for everything you do. I believe I heard you say earlier this week that you were planning to take a few Sundays off? Well, get to it! Turn us off for a day, and enjoy all of those non-Hopium details that give you joy!
Greetings from Vermont! I haven't posted much recently because I work and usually, by the time I get onto Hopium, the comments are 8-10 hours old and people aren't engaging much anymore. But I've been doing the work, slow and steady. Since the shutdown, I've been cheering on my VT MOCs, and when the group of moderate senators was contemplating a compromise, I made sure to contact/call Peter Welch and tell him to stand firm. I also thanked my Republican governor and AG for stepping up with the lawsuit suing for the release of SNAP, and thanked him again when he promised to fund SNAP at the state level. I contacted Schumer and Jeffries a few times, urging them to stand firm, and I even left a message for Mike Johnson, which was hard to do while staying civil. (But I did it!) I also work with my local Indivisible chapter, where we collaborate with other pro-democracy/Indivisible groups: protesting ICE at one of their facilities, doing banner drops, sending postcards, offering nonviolence trainings, and sponsoring a fundraiser for migrant justice. I continue to encourage my friends and family to vote, stay engaged, and have hope. I credit Hopium and Simon for giving me a steadfast foundation for my activism - always, always Hope with a Plan. I loved reading the comments this week - so much good and inspiring news for a change. Thanks, everyone. What a great team!
In the court case, the ICE officer testified that the sandwich "exploded" against his bulletproof vest -- and he had nightmares of mustard and onions. (The jurors could not restrain themselves from laughing.)
Lots of love to you and yours. Thanks for helping lead us and for identifying key opportunities to work towards. Hugs to the entire Hopium community. Great work! And we're ready for more!
How can we help Aftyn Behn win the Tennessee special election in December? If the Republican candidate wins in Tennessee, his vote will cancel out Representative Adelita’s vote on the Epstein files. Thank you.
Hi Theresa! Whatever you have been doing to support Hopium recommended candidates, you can do any/all the same for Aftyn...$$$, post cards, calls, SM posts. Thanks or your help!!! from a blue TN voter! Aftyn's website: https://www.aftynforcongress.com
And, while they might not end up on the Hopium list, you can report what you do. Lots of commenters here add descriptions of their own efforts, local or federal. Those don’t replace what Hopium focuses on, but they are still inspiring to read about.
It was interesting to see the race in the context of one of Hopium's focuses: strengthening state parties. Ken Martin was in TN recently in support of Behn's campaign and talks about the importance of competing in places like TN because people are moving there. The article also quotes the state party chair Rachel Campbell. It sounds like Martin's strategy and Behn's campaign has energized the party: “'For the first time in years, we have all 95 of our county parties organized because that momentum is already happening. It was happening long before Tuesday,' Campbell said."
Per the article it was a +22 district for Rs and Behn winning is a longshot, but even a strong overperformance by her would still send a message for sure. And it's great to see the National Dem strategy I've learned about here, regarding strengthening all of the state parties, in action in TN.
I think what John Payne writes is astute. How to help Aftyn Behn deliver a massive scare -- even if not winning -- to the MAGAts who think the district is comfortably safe.
Thank you for mentioning the race. I got the impression people were forgetting about it, or putting it out of mind.
Adding the long sub sandwich to the frog inflatable cracked me up!
For more laughs, here's last night's SNL cold open. There was so much to choose from last week for their focus; I'd wondered where they would land. Trump's non-response to a person collapsing in this office deserves lasting attention.
And stood up, came to the front of the desk to be the focus of the cameras, all while looking vacant, yet still seeking attention. He could have sent the cameras away for privacy for an ill person. No, keep the cameras.
Don’t forget, perhaps the reason that Schumer and Jefferies are standing up to fight, is that 7 million people were in the streets 2 1/2 weeks earlier.
Remember that the No Kings movement started with hands off early in the year. Mid year in June we had no kings One . The people, organizing in all their communities around the country, are moving our leaders to lead.
There is no question about that. We here call our leaders every day, demanding they do more. No Kings has mattered. So did the TX Dems, Pritzker, Newsom this summer. But my point, however we got to this place, is that Schumer and Jeffries have done what people wanted them to do, and challenged Trump forcefully, and held the line. That effort I believe helped contribute to our wins on Tuesday. For us to be successful we need every part of our family doing their part, performing at the highest level. I think we all should be giving Schumer/Jeffries more credit for stepping up these last few months. I feel like too many are rooting for them to fail, or nitpick every little thing. It has become corrosive.
I finally received my inflatable frog costume. Now I need that inflatable sub sandwich…
Self-reporting from the trenches:
Yesterday I forked the last of my Social Security check over to the campaign of a very decent guy who is opposing the “nonpartisan” “Christian Nationalist” currently “serving” as my district supervisor on the county Bd of Sups. The current guy delivered a public profession of love for Charlie Kirk last month and this month went public with a declaration that SNAP is a fraud-ridden waste full of faking it free-loaders who should all go out and get a job. I was totally inspired by the resurrection of the Bucks County School Board. I used to live in Pennsylvania.
I also made a very public donation to the Relief Fund for our 6-5 Complex Fire victims because I know most were hereditary Republicans nevertheless too low on the food chain to have been able to afford fire insurance and are getting majorly screwed from all sides.
Today I have a modest haul for our church’s food bank.
To answer your question, Simon: YES, we are with you! Hopium members will keep working to make our country better. Full stop.
Agreed. 1 of the easiest things people can do is reach out to community leaders: teachers, childcare teachers, religious leaders. See what type of food is needed by many. Drop off non-perishables at the childcare and schools. As the weather changes, get sizes-get a bunch of clothes in bulk (underwear, shirts, sweatshirts, hats/gloves), and drop them off at schools and childcares. People are afraid to get those items, but may feel safe doing other things. Can you drive them/their kids to go to XYZ?
I just viewed your C-SPAN interview this morning. I think you did a wonderful job of giving a clear calm message in the face of some of the collers who were vehemently opposing what they called “Democratic socialism“ your many years of experience, showed in the strength and ability with which you responded to these callers and stayed on point. Onward and upward!
I’m very disappointed in how CSPN’s call-in segment has declined over the years. It’s like a letters to the editor section of a country newspaper come to life
I also just finished the C-SPAN interview. I had problems with the host as well as the callers. Masterful work by Simon. Well done.
It’s been a great week!
In San Antonio, the Planned Parenthood South Texas had its annual luncheon, attended by 1300 guests with special guest speaker Bob Woodward.
Bob spoke of his many interviews with Trump and emphasized that Trump was all about hate, hate and hate. A real narcissist, as we all know.
Correct me if I am wrong, but didn't Bob Woodward wait until his book about Trump came out to reveal that Trump deliberately downplayed Covid threat? It's great that he is continuing to speak out, just wish, if I am remembering correctly, that he and others speak out before they try to sell their books. It was pretty to clear to most of us in 2016 Trump was all about hate and that he is a narcissist. Still, good for Woodward for speaking out. We need everyone on the same page now.
Simon - 'We do the work to make it so' is a fantastic tag line for Hopium!
The back of any future Hopium t-shirts?
The clip with Gov. Shapiro is really good. I thought I knew a lot about Republicans. It didn’t surprise me when Trump used SNAP for leverage; it did surprise me when many Republicans used the opportunity to attack the SNAP program. They want it to end, along with the ACA. The idea that Democrats should vote to open the government so that Republicans can then negotiate is a farce. Schumer’s fairly modest proposal forced their hand. It was very good strategy.
I'm not convinced of Shumer's strategy. Is there a provision to prevent recissions by Trump? I haven't seen that.
Three days after the Blue Wave and Schumer's making concessions? I think it emboldens the GOP to think they are winning in the shutdown ( when they just got crushed at the ballot box) and they will now hold out even longer.
I would have preferred him to say " The voters just handed you your a** Maga. Time for you to come to the table"
100%
While I too would have loved this, i begrudgingly thought Schumer had strategized well. By making this modest proposal which i'm pretty sure he'd calculated the Rs would reject, Dems can now very clearly claim that they tried to end the shutdown and the Rs are the ones who are causing it to continue. In addition, i think Schumer was hedging his bet in case the Rs had accepted. The election results Tuesday gave him pretty good reason to think the Dems would gain a House majority in 2026, and possibly even the Senate. If so, and if the Rs took him up on that one-year offer, the newly elected Dem majority would be able to change the terms from one-year to permanent. A couple of ifs there, but maybe a good strategy on Schumer's part.
A lot of "ifs" here but we are in a better position now than we were a week ago. I hope Schumer rises to the occasion. I am not bashing him. So much, in my humble opinion, about politics is about perception. If Schumer is perceived as caving, well, it won't inspire confidence in a good number of voters, especially young ones.
One of the reasons, again, in my humble opinion, Pelosi was so successful is bc she had the reputation of being fearless and calculating in her decisions that turned out to be spot on, and that helped most people have faith in her decisions. With Schumer, he doesn't have that goodwill baked into his narrative. If you have to explain why someone is actually not caving, without that baked in confidence, well, it's tough. JMO
But we just had an amazing election, and let's not lose sight of it. Many things can be true at the same time.
What's the concession? The deal we offered was full funding of ACA, passing bi-partisan appropriations bills, clean CR. Senate Republicans are against recissions. There was no concession here.
Michael, I agree. At this point, I'm comfortable bashing Schumer and saying he's old enough to retire...that he should have retired a few decades ago. But I want basic age/sex/gender/disability representation. I'd love to see more Indigenous politicians.
I hesitate to really trash Shumer, but I dont trust him or his instincts for this era. And his presentation seems way out of touch to me.
Not endorsing Zorhan Mamdani was another red flag that he fails to embrace parts of the coalition, and fears upsetting the donor class.
We could do better if the Senate was willing to embrace a change.
I do hope he navigates through thus budget process successfully and restores some confidence... fingers crossed.
I have realistic questions/fears about Mamdani (not sure if I'll ever correctly type that name). Like every politician, he's made promises he can't keep. Like everyone, he'll have to make compromises. Not sure how willing he'll compromise and on what. The bigger problem? He's made comments that can seem antisemitic. The biggest issue? Basic safety concerns in terms of what some whackadoo might do, because he's not white and not Christian. It will be interesting to see how many adjust and how security deals with all of this. As a white, disabled female, I've never had the luxury of blindly trusting leaders or police/private security the way the average, abled, white male has.
Mamdani, not unlike most politicians, has walked back some of his comments and also made lots of promises. He is so dynamic and charismatic. He turned out the youth vote and we need more youth voting year round. I, too, worry about his safety. I wish him much success. It will be interesting to see how he navigates all the headwinds he will be facing. I loved how he ran his campaign.
Thanks, Simon, for everything you do. I believe I heard you say earlier this week that you were planning to take a few Sundays off? Well, get to it! Turn us off for a day, and enjoy all of those non-Hopium details that give you joy!
Hello all,
Greetings from Vermont! I haven't posted much recently because I work and usually, by the time I get onto Hopium, the comments are 8-10 hours old and people aren't engaging much anymore. But I've been doing the work, slow and steady. Since the shutdown, I've been cheering on my VT MOCs, and when the group of moderate senators was contemplating a compromise, I made sure to contact/call Peter Welch and tell him to stand firm. I also thanked my Republican governor and AG for stepping up with the lawsuit suing for the release of SNAP, and thanked him again when he promised to fund SNAP at the state level. I contacted Schumer and Jeffries a few times, urging them to stand firm, and I even left a message for Mike Johnson, which was hard to do while staying civil. (But I did it!) I also work with my local Indivisible chapter, where we collaborate with other pro-democracy/Indivisible groups: protesting ICE at one of their facilities, doing banner drops, sending postcards, offering nonviolence trainings, and sponsoring a fundraiser for migrant justice. I continue to encourage my friends and family to vote, stay engaged, and have hope. I credit Hopium and Simon for giving me a steadfast foundation for my activism - always, always Hope with a Plan. I loved reading the comments this week - so much good and inspiring news for a change. Thanks, everyone. What a great team!
Thank you - no one can do everything, but everyone can do something!
The image of the Frog with a Sandwich Bludgeon is gonna keep me going.
+5 Sandwich of Freedom
In the court case, the ICE officer testified that the sandwich "exploded" against his bulletproof vest -- and he had nightmares of mustard and onions. (The jurors could not restrain themselves from laughing.)
"Dijon triggers my PTSD."
😂
To be fair, I don't like onions 😱 or the smell of them. Is there a PTSD name for this? Maybe he suffers from it.
Lots of love to you and yours. Thanks for helping lead us and for identifying key opportunities to work towards. Hugs to the entire Hopium community. Great work! And we're ready for more!
How can we help Aftyn Behn win the Tennessee special election in December? If the Republican candidate wins in Tennessee, his vote will cancel out Representative Adelita’s vote on the Epstein files. Thank you.
Hi Theresa! Whatever you have been doing to support Hopium recommended candidates, you can do any/all the same for Aftyn...$$$, post cards, calls, SM posts. Thanks or your help!!! from a blue TN voter! Aftyn's website: https://www.aftynforcongress.com
And, while they might not end up on the Hopium list, you can report what you do. Lots of commenters here add descriptions of their own efforts, local or federal. Those don’t replace what Hopium focuses on, but they are still inspiring to read about.
Postcards to voters has a campaign for Aftyn going on now.
postcardstovoters.org
Love them - thanks for posting!
I was curious about this race (I'm from CA) and found this article this morning. https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/politics/2025/11/08/democrats-republicans-tennessee-election-7th-district/87146431007/
It was interesting to see the race in the context of one of Hopium's focuses: strengthening state parties. Ken Martin was in TN recently in support of Behn's campaign and talks about the importance of competing in places like TN because people are moving there. The article also quotes the state party chair Rachel Campbell. It sounds like Martin's strategy and Behn's campaign has energized the party: “'For the first time in years, we have all 95 of our county parties organized because that momentum is already happening. It was happening long before Tuesday,' Campbell said."
Per the article it was a +22 district for Rs and Behn winning is a longshot, but even a strong overperformance by her would still send a message for sure. And it's great to see the National Dem strategy I've learned about here, regarding strengthening all of the state parties, in action in TN.
I think what John Payne writes is astute. How to help Aftyn Behn deliver a massive scare -- even if not winning -- to the MAGAts who think the district is comfortably safe.
Thank you for mentioning the race. I got the impression people were forgetting about it, or putting it out of mind.
We have two good opportunities to flip red seats in CO. My mom lives in one those districts. I'm am donating at least to both of those campaigns.
I am looking forward to help flip a couple of seats in Iowa, where my grandchildren live.
And the Governor’s race in Iowa,too!
Which CD’s?
Adding the long sub sandwich to the frog inflatable cracked me up!
For more laughs, here's last night's SNL cold open. There was so much to choose from last week for their focus; I'd wondered where they would land. Trump's non-response to a person collapsing in this office deserves lasting attention.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUDwGI0KW5Y
Appreciate the link, Rachel😂🔥
If you check this out on Snopes, i think DT actually did pay attention at first, and then left it to the others who came to help.
And stood up, came to the front of the desk to be the focus of the cameras, all while looking vacant, yet still seeking attention. He could have sent the cameras away for privacy for an ill person. No, keep the cameras.
YES. Flip the House; Take back the Senate; win more governorships! ONWARD!
Don’t forget, perhaps the reason that Schumer and Jefferies are standing up to fight, is that 7 million people were in the streets 2 1/2 weeks earlier.
The government shutdown began October 1st. So I think No Kings helped keep us in the fight but the call to not negotiate began weeks before No Kings.
Remember that the No Kings movement started with hands off early in the year. Mid year in June we had no kings One . The people, organizing in all their communities around the country, are moving our leaders to lead.
There is no question about that. We here call our leaders every day, demanding they do more. No Kings has mattered. So did the TX Dems, Pritzker, Newsom this summer. But my point, however we got to this place, is that Schumer and Jeffries have done what people wanted them to do, and challenged Trump forcefully, and held the line. That effort I believe helped contribute to our wins on Tuesday. For us to be successful we need every part of our family doing their part, performing at the highest level. I think we all should be giving Schumer/Jeffries more credit for stepping up these last few months. I feel like too many are rooting for them to fail, or nitpick every little thing. It has become corrosive.
Yes, of course. We thank them when they’re doing the right thing. And please let’s give credit or credits due.
I finally received my inflatable frog costume. Now I need that inflatable sub sandwich…
Self-reporting from the trenches:
Yesterday I forked the last of my Social Security check over to the campaign of a very decent guy who is opposing the “nonpartisan” “Christian Nationalist” currently “serving” as my district supervisor on the county Bd of Sups. The current guy delivered a public profession of love for Charlie Kirk last month and this month went public with a declaration that SNAP is a fraud-ridden waste full of faking it free-loaders who should all go out and get a job. I was totally inspired by the resurrection of the Bucks County School Board. I used to live in Pennsylvania.
I also made a very public donation to the Relief Fund for our 6-5 Complex Fire victims because I know most were hereditary Republicans nevertheless too low on the food chain to have been able to afford fire insurance and are getting majorly screwed from all sides.
Today I have a modest haul for our church’s food bank.
Want me to send you a pastrami on rye?
I’ll take an inflatable one AND if possible, an edible one. And could you throw in a (real) cheesecake, please?
What? No Yonah Shimmel knish on the side?????
Oh heavens YES!
What county are you in and what candidate did you contribute to? Give him a plug so we can contribute.
We are going to need frog pictures of course :)
I thought I heard that Kiley might run against McLintock. Is that your district?
Margaret Brennan of Face the Nation is on her "Why aren't promises from Republicans enough?" campaign.
Think Bari Weiss sent her some memos?