Thanks to Bison Doc and Learn about beads for alerting me to it.
My summary: DAMN!!! This interview is unbelievable. Great job, Katie Phang! Summary for those who aren't going to watch it: Alex Berros is a former boxer who now works as an organizer for Mi Vecino in Florida. He gave a stark comparison between David Hogg and Andrew Tate, and said that although most people he talks to, both Hispanic and white, would rather be Tate than Hogg, even though they are repulsed by Andrew Tate and know he is despicable. They see him as strong, and they are looking for strength.
Mi Vecino predicted that Florida would go to Trump by 13 points. They do classic organizing, person to person, and have built up huge trust over decades among the community. The good news is that support among hard-core Republican voters has fallen by 17%, and more than half of those voters say they regret their vote and have switched parties to either Democrat or Independent. There is room for Democrats to message to this community. (Those numbers are from March to June.)
Berros ends the interview by saying that he has met with Ken Martin and is surprised that Martin still speaks with him, because he has told Martin some things that were very blunt. He thinks Martin is a fighter who is doing tremendous work with the DNC. He has another meeting with Martin soon.
Watch this interview if you have time. It's fascinating and hits right on the strength vs weakness dynamic that Simon has been talking about for the last several weeks. My sense is that when people dog on Democrats, this is what they're getting at. They might feel like certain Democratic leaders are "strong", they don't have an impression of strength from the party as a whole.
Thanks so much for posting. The interview goes precisely to Simon's point about the appeal to some of the appearance of 'strength'. Simon's approach, to tear away the curtain, emphasize the weakness is so on target.
This is what I love about the pics and videos of neighborhoods of unarmed civilians turning out to chase away ICE using nothing but their phones, about the narrative of MacArthur Park that notes that all those tough military goons were single-handedly forced into retreat by a single petite woman in a pantsuit. These are things that flip the fascist illusion right over and expose its true soft, flabby underbelly for all the world to see and laugh at. And we need more of it.
Thanks Elizabeth, this is a really nice summary of a fascinating discussion! There was so much new and unusual information packed into those 40 minutes. I couldn't come close to the job you did with this. I have always liked Katie Phang and I think she kicked it up a notch (really tough to do) with her timely and incisive questions to Alex. And, Alex's frank insights from his research -- holy smokes, just blew me away! And, finally, Katie concluding the interview while rattling off her Spanish language skills -- WOW!
My GOP Senator Moody yesterday called Democrats "termites". This is the most offensive thing I think anyone representing me has ever said. I guess I will call about it, but it feels a bit like calling the Gestapo.
But also consider: humans have been trying to wipe termites out for ages, and they are still around, not just surviving but thriving, taking on new territory and increasing their numbers every chance they get.
Yeah, there could be some similarities. Termites are social insects that exhibit the ultimate in specialization and cooperation -- in service of a queen (which we've tried a couple of times). I don't find this characterization too offensive, but I'm coming from the perspective of a natural historian. Now, the party of lemmings (the other side of the isle) is a whole 'nother matter!
Thank you, Simon. Last night's talk was inspiring. I called Senators Alsobrooks and Van Hollen and asked them to be loud about supporting the bill for Russian sanctions. I called Congressman Raskin and asked him to do all he can during the budget process to try and minimize the damage. I thanked all 3 for their votes against the budget bill. I'm writing postcards to North Carolina voters today.
I am being more political with my FB posts, and have lost a few friends as a result, but, damn, we’re setting the whole next generation or two or three back! My post today, citing an article about freakin measles cases:
Because of decades of federally funded medical research and the ability of UT Southwestern in Dallas to attract and retain the best scientists, researchers, and physicians from all over the world, my family member with a serious, chronic illness is living a full, healthy life, their disease being controlled.
That world class system is being intentionally weakened, and my grandchildren and their children will not have that same world class medical system, much less the same access to medical insurance.
My children did not have to worry about being exposed to measles or mumps, as they had been eradicated. That will not be the case for their children and grandchildren, and, again, they will have less access to medical insurance.
When else in history have we actually wiped out healthcare advances for the next generations?
Weird, evil, destructive people leading our government right now! I'm hopeful that this will be a relatively brief (few years) setback for our society, but it will take a whole lot of patriots making a whole lot of effort.
Since the judiciary is a main protector of our democracy. In my view a key priority should be pressuring the US Senate to deny confirmation to the odious Emil Bove to the Court of Appeals. There will be other dangerous judiciary appointment proposals coming. And we need to take a stand.
We actually got some victories in the battle over the Big Ugly Law. And we should continue to flex our muscles in pressuring the Senate.
Perhaps worth mentioning: I cancelled my WaPo subscription a few months ago, utterly disgusted with what Jeff Bezos has done to a once-proud and brave newspaper. WaPo gave me a better offer, which I ignored; another, which I again ignored – before finally accepting their offer of a 99 cents per month subscription.
For that price I can read the good columnists still raising their voices, read the worthwhile journalism still finding its way into the online edition – and write Comments criticizing Bezos and his favorite authoritarian, as well as to raise my voice to support the resistance.
There is a constant stream of 'can-it-get- any worse' stuff we all have to worry about every single minute of every day. It is exhausting, but necessary that we stay informed. Thank you Hopium for keeping us all focused and goal oriented! I am part of an Indivisible group in the great BLUE state of Washington. This summer we held our first 'sing-in' in one of our local communities to raise $$ and spirits in this depressing time. Live musicians played '60's protest songs and a couple of new ones (lyrics projected on a screen) while we all sang and even danced. We ended with the song Let the Sunshine In! It was a huge success. A second one is planned for Sept. 7th. There is nothing like coming together to SING!
Agree! you can do both I would think. The singing would need to be pre-planned but I think doable. We did our first sing-in right after the huge protest on June 14th!
If you think about it, This week was not much better for Trump than his birthday week. Back then he had his hissy fit with Musk, He was labelled a TACO, he had a failed turd parade on day that will be remembered as No Kings Day, followed by a circumspect bombing of Iran's nuclear program with marginalized results that he over-inflated.
This week, MAGA passed a big ugly bill which he signed July 4 and had about 10 minutes riding on top of the wave. His polls and approval ratings continued to tank, Mikie Sherrill is up by 20 points in New Jersey, the Texas floods revealed what disasters look like under his administration including his culpability for gutting the NWS, Measles at a 60 year high, the world still thinks of him as a TACO on tariffs with zero completed deals at the 90 day deadline, (Vietnam and Great Britain have framework agreements). At a staff meeting he started pointing at the ceiling and talking about adding gold leaf to it (to match his face), Ice sent a mounted police force through a soccer field in MacArthur Park and ended up with zero detainees, Trump did not know that his SecDEF had unilaterally paused weapons for Ukraine, and asked the reporter to fill him in, and then there is that little thing with Jeffrey Epstein.
You may think its a bad week for Trump, but really its just business as usual. The danger of course is that he will have to do something else to change the subject. Investigating Brennan and Comey is going to last about 5 minutes in the news cycle. Then it will be back to the flooding deaths and Epstein. Fasten your seatbelts, turbulence ahead.
Great idea! Recently, Elizabeth MacDonough, the Senate Parliamentarian, proved herself to be the most effective resister against Trump’s Project 2025 in Washington DC.
Who in the hell is in charge of our government? Is it Trump, Stephen Miller, Kristi Nome? Who ordered the military exercise in MacArthur Park in CA on Sunday? There was no protest. There was no Riot. There were children playing! Whoever ordered armored vehicles and mounted soldiers to run roughshod through the park needs to be brought before Congress for hearings and FIRED. Why are the National Guard and Marines still in CA? There is nothing going on there and both should have been withdrawn a long time ago. There is no excuse except to intimidate and scare people and children at plan. You didn't stand up for the American people when passing the budget bill. Unless you want Donald Trump to become a dictator, stand up for America NOW.
You can write and call and demand hearings and accountability, too
Governor Newsom has pointed out that the CA National Guard is important for fighting CA’s wild fires. Their deployment under federal authority to (say) MacArthur Park removes them from fire fighting capability.
Thanks, Simon! I’ve been promoting and sharing the following resource around Bluesky, I think it ties in nicely with your line of thinking here today. We need to make sure all this obscene madness backfires on the regime and strengthens our own cause, and there are tools and strategies we can use to achieve that: https://www.nonviolent-conflict.org/resource/backfire-basics/
I hope the DNC has a marketing plan to make sure everyone knows when the BBB cuts hit, that they belong to Trump and R's. This is how we got introuble last year and w/ America's short memory we need to remind the public that the person in office isnt the same person who made the decision.
Our phraseology in this moment matters. We have to get the general public to understand that the #BBBbetrayal is proof that the “family values“ party doesn’t value families at all, at least those without seven-digit bank accounts.
But it’s worse than that; they’re actually #ProSTRIFE, subjecting the 99% to pointedly cruel hardships in solvency, health, and freedom.
We can put it this way:
FDR gave us the New Deal
DJT is saddling us with #TheRawDeal
He is #SquanderingAmericasGreatness and making a mockery of MAGA. Rubes that they are, they have invested so much of their own personalities into MAGA that they’d rather be a lemming than a patriot.
Reposting my summary of Katie Phang's interview from yesterday so more of you see it.
The interview can be found here: https://katiephang.substack.com/p/live-with-mi-vecino
Thanks to Bison Doc and Learn about beads for alerting me to it.
My summary: DAMN!!! This interview is unbelievable. Great job, Katie Phang! Summary for those who aren't going to watch it: Alex Berros is a former boxer who now works as an organizer for Mi Vecino in Florida. He gave a stark comparison between David Hogg and Andrew Tate, and said that although most people he talks to, both Hispanic and white, would rather be Tate than Hogg, even though they are repulsed by Andrew Tate and know he is despicable. They see him as strong, and they are looking for strength.
Mi Vecino predicted that Florida would go to Trump by 13 points. They do classic organizing, person to person, and have built up huge trust over decades among the community. The good news is that support among hard-core Republican voters has fallen by 17%, and more than half of those voters say they regret their vote and have switched parties to either Democrat or Independent. There is room for Democrats to message to this community. (Those numbers are from March to June.)
Berros ends the interview by saying that he has met with Ken Martin and is surprised that Martin still speaks with him, because he has told Martin some things that were very blunt. He thinks Martin is a fighter who is doing tremendous work with the DNC. He has another meeting with Martin soon.
Watch this interview if you have time. It's fascinating and hits right on the strength vs weakness dynamic that Simon has been talking about for the last several weeks. My sense is that when people dog on Democrats, this is what they're getting at. They might feel like certain Democratic leaders are "strong", they don't have an impression of strength from the party as a whole.
Thanks so much for posting. The interview goes precisely to Simon's point about the appeal to some of the appearance of 'strength'. Simon's approach, to tear away the curtain, emphasize the weakness is so on target.
This is what I love about the pics and videos of neighborhoods of unarmed civilians turning out to chase away ICE using nothing but their phones, about the narrative of MacArthur Park that notes that all those tough military goons were single-handedly forced into retreat by a single petite woman in a pantsuit. These are things that flip the fascist illusion right over and expose its true soft, flabby underbelly for all the world to see and laugh at. And we need more of it.
Thanks Elizabeth, this is a really nice summary of a fascinating discussion! There was so much new and unusual information packed into those 40 minutes. I couldn't come close to the job you did with this. I have always liked Katie Phang and I think she kicked it up a notch (really tough to do) with her timely and incisive questions to Alex. And, Alex's frank insights from his research -- holy smokes, just blew me away! And, finally, Katie concluding the interview while rattling off her Spanish language skills -- WOW!
My GOP Senator Moody yesterday called Democrats "termites". This is the most offensive thing I think anyone representing me has ever said. I guess I will call about it, but it feels a bit like calling the Gestapo.
That is horrifying. The demonization rhetoric is extremely dangerous.
Definitely call!
But also consider: humans have been trying to wipe termites out for ages, and they are still around, not just surviving but thriving, taking on new territory and increasing their numbers every chance they get.
in rwanda they called the opposition cockroaches; that's how this shit starts; roaches, vermin, scum....that is what they are calling all of us.
My thoughts exactly.
There was no internet back then; this was done via the radio.
"They" are the Hutus. and that's how they called the Tutsis.
The top two arms suppliers to the Hutus -- to the Rwandan genocide -- Israel and South Africa.
Yeah, there could be some similarities. Termites are social insects that exhibit the ultimate in specialization and cooperation -- in service of a queen (which we've tried a couple of times). I don't find this characterization too offensive, but I'm coming from the perspective of a natural historian. Now, the party of lemmings (the other side of the isle) is a whole 'nother matter!
Thank you, Simon. Last night's talk was inspiring. I called Senators Alsobrooks and Van Hollen and asked them to be loud about supporting the bill for Russian sanctions. I called Congressman Raskin and asked him to do all he can during the budget process to try and minimize the damage. I thanked all 3 for their votes against the budget bill. I'm writing postcards to North Carolina voters today.
Trump is clearly demented.
Incredibly so....
I am being more political with my FB posts, and have lost a few friends as a result, but, damn, we’re setting the whole next generation or two or three back! My post today, citing an article about freakin measles cases:
Because of decades of federally funded medical research and the ability of UT Southwestern in Dallas to attract and retain the best scientists, researchers, and physicians from all over the world, my family member with a serious, chronic illness is living a full, healthy life, their disease being controlled.
That world class system is being intentionally weakened, and my grandchildren and their children will not have that same world class medical system, much less the same access to medical insurance.
My children did not have to worry about being exposed to measles or mumps, as they had been eradicated. That will not be the case for their children and grandchildren, and, again, they will have less access to medical insurance.
When else in history have we actually wiped out healthcare advances for the next generations?
Weird, evil, destructive people leading our government right now! I'm hopeful that this will be a relatively brief (few years) setback for our society, but it will take a whole lot of patriots making a whole lot of effort.
You're so right, Simon.
Since the judiciary is a main protector of our democracy. In my view a key priority should be pressuring the US Senate to deny confirmation to the odious Emil Bove to the Court of Appeals. There will be other dangerous judiciary appointment proposals coming. And we need to take a stand.
We actually got some victories in the battle over the Big Ugly Law. And we should continue to flex our muscles in pressuring the Senate.
"Since the judiciary is a main protector of our democracy."
Sorry... it is A protector -- IF we are lucky -- but we can't forget that WE the people are THE main protector.
Here is something completely different: A real clown responds to Trump.
"I’m a clown. Donald Trump is not one of us. Real clowns bring joy to the world, not chaos to Washington."
Gift link. Enjoy!
https://wapo.st/4lr83Ue
Perhaps worth mentioning: I cancelled my WaPo subscription a few months ago, utterly disgusted with what Jeff Bezos has done to a once-proud and brave newspaper. WaPo gave me a better offer, which I ignored; another, which I again ignored – before finally accepting their offer of a 99 cents per month subscription.
For that price I can read the good columnists still raising their voices, read the worthwhile journalism still finding its way into the online edition – and write Comments criticizing Bezos and his favorite authoritarian, as well as to raise my voice to support the resistance.
I appreciate you fighting the good fight in the WaPo comments!
Also, "Clowns join the circle of defiance" is pretty great headline
Never let perfection be the enemy of good!!!
I think I’ll try this when my subscription runs out in August.
and occasionally send a gift article to hopium readers
I did the same with the NYT. I’m currently subscribed for $1/week.
😊 Thank you for the smiles! 😊
There is a constant stream of 'can-it-get- any worse' stuff we all have to worry about every single minute of every day. It is exhausting, but necessary that we stay informed. Thank you Hopium for keeping us all focused and goal oriented! I am part of an Indivisible group in the great BLUE state of Washington. This summer we held our first 'sing-in' in one of our local communities to raise $$ and spirits in this depressing time. Live musicians played '60's protest songs and a couple of new ones (lyrics projected on a screen) while we all sang and even danced. We ended with the song Let the Sunshine In! It was a huge success. A second one is planned for Sept. 7th. There is nothing like coming together to SING!
Love this idea! I'd love to see group singing incorporated into protests. We need some alternatives to the "what democracy looks like" chant.
Agree! you can do both I would think. The singing would need to be pre-planned but I think doable. We did our first sing-in right after the huge protest on June 14th!
At one protest I went to, the crowd was chant/singing “We are the people, the mighty mighty people” and it was awesome
I like this!
One of the local progressive churches has a “Peace and Freedom Choir” that has shown up at some of the protests and marches. Really raises the spirits
great idea! we need more of this!!
If you think about it, This week was not much better for Trump than his birthday week. Back then he had his hissy fit with Musk, He was labelled a TACO, he had a failed turd parade on day that will be remembered as No Kings Day, followed by a circumspect bombing of Iran's nuclear program with marginalized results that he over-inflated.
This week, MAGA passed a big ugly bill which he signed July 4 and had about 10 minutes riding on top of the wave. His polls and approval ratings continued to tank, Mikie Sherrill is up by 20 points in New Jersey, the Texas floods revealed what disasters look like under his administration including his culpability for gutting the NWS, Measles at a 60 year high, the world still thinks of him as a TACO on tariffs with zero completed deals at the 90 day deadline, (Vietnam and Great Britain have framework agreements). At a staff meeting he started pointing at the ceiling and talking about adding gold leaf to it (to match his face), Ice sent a mounted police force through a soccer field in MacArthur Park and ended up with zero detainees, Trump did not know that his SecDEF had unilaterally paused weapons for Ukraine, and asked the reporter to fill him in, and then there is that little thing with Jeffrey Epstein.
You may think its a bad week for Trump, but really its just business as usual. The danger of course is that he will have to do something else to change the subject. Investigating Brennan and Comey is going to last about 5 minutes in the news cycle. Then it will be back to the flooding deaths and Epstein. Fasten your seatbelts, turbulence ahead.
Well summarized, Michael!
I called and left a thank you to the Parliamentarian for her efforts on behalf of the American People.
Great idea! Recently, Elizabeth MacDonough, the Senate Parliamentarian, proved herself to be the most effective resister against Trump’s Project 2025 in Washington DC.
phone or email pls
Senate Office of the Parliamentarian
Main Office ss: S-132, The Capitol, Washington, DC 20510
202-224-6128
She who knows the rules has the best advantage in the game.
It's his fault that HHS Kennedy has decimated public health
Email to Sen Thune, Majority Leader:
Sen. Thune,
Who in the hell is in charge of our government? Is it Trump, Stephen Miller, Kristi Nome? Who ordered the military exercise in MacArthur Park in CA on Sunday? There was no protest. There was no Riot. There were children playing! Whoever ordered armored vehicles and mounted soldiers to run roughshod through the park needs to be brought before Congress for hearings and FIRED. Why are the National Guard and Marines still in CA? There is nothing going on there and both should have been withdrawn a long time ago. There is no excuse except to intimidate and scare people and children at plan. You didn't stand up for the American people when passing the budget bill. Unless you want Donald Trump to become a dictator, stand up for America NOW.
You can write and call and demand hearings and accountability, too
Maybe these troops need to be deployed to HELP the flood victims in Texas
Governor Newsom has pointed out that the CA National Guard is important for fighting CA’s wild fires. Their deployment under federal authority to (say) MacArthur Park removes them from fire fighting capability.
Thanks, Simon! I’ve been promoting and sharing the following resource around Bluesky, I think it ties in nicely with your line of thinking here today. We need to make sure all this obscene madness backfires on the regime and strengthens our own cause, and there are tools and strategies we can use to achieve that: https://www.nonviolent-conflict.org/resource/backfire-basics/
I hope the DNC has a marketing plan to make sure everyone knows when the BBB cuts hit, that they belong to Trump and R's. This is how we got introuble last year and w/ America's short memory we need to remind the public that the person in office isnt the same person who made the decision.
You can get connected and read about what the DNC is doing. https://democrats.org/news/donald-trumps-maga-reconciliation-bill-will-feature-the-worst-of-his-unpopular-project-2025-agenda/
There is an online form that you can use to offer to help or submit your questions.
I did not know! Thank you
Our phraseology in this moment matters. We have to get the general public to understand that the #BBBbetrayal is proof that the “family values“ party doesn’t value families at all, at least those without seven-digit bank accounts.
But it’s worse than that; they’re actually #ProSTRIFE, subjecting the 99% to pointedly cruel hardships in solvency, health, and freedom.
We can put it this way:
FDR gave us the New Deal
DJT is saddling us with #TheRawDeal
He is #SquanderingAmericasGreatness and making a mockery of MAGA. Rubes that they are, they have invested so much of their own personalities into MAGA that they’d rather be a lemming than a patriot.
I like #TheRawDeal . Maybe something like #TrumpLoses or #LoserTrump too, getting at Simon's "weak not strong" framing?
Since he likes reality shows so much, The Biggest Loser
LOL!
Milk And Gut America MAGA
THE RAW DEAL -- Excellent! Could be the headline for a Lincoln Project ad.