Four dollars per gallon? That’s still almost a $7 discount on current German gas prices. I wonder what will happen if (when?) American gas prices rise closer to the prices European drivers are paying.
The problem is that in Europe there are often other means of transportation as public transport is quite developed, distances are different, there are accommodations for pedestrians... It's truly difficult to get along without a car in the States. How many people even have the option of taking public transport to work, compared with those in Europe?
A lot of the is I would guess tax. I don't think we are likely to get to $7. Krugman had some numbers out today, and he's a bit more negative than some people, but $6 I think is a real possibility.
When I was in grad school (sustainability) the '00s, it was dogma that if gas was at European prices, we'd have European-style development: much more density, way less sprawl, excellent mass transit, walkable cities.
Some people may need a truck for business or whatever but most of what I see are vanity trucks that are clean and shiny. It's an identity thing? I have no idea...
Read in our paper, the Georgia Republicans are trying to remove party labels from State and local races, but only for 5 counties in the Atlanta area. Those five are: Dekalb, Fulton, Cobb, Gwinnett and Clayton. They know they can't win those races, so now they want to change the rules, but not for all the State.
As happy as I am that Trump's poll numbers are down, I think that we can only see them as an indicator of where folks stand. It's nothing that Trump nor his "government" will take into account. Ever. It will certainly help us in November, if the vote proceeds. But Trump won't / doesn't care about what we think. He'll do whatever it takes to stay in power. That's all he cares about : power and dominance. And money. But I also believe that there are too many of us to fail in our efforts to bring our country back to democracy.
I take your points about the man himself, but on a wider scale, that does not seem to be entirely true does it?
The Senate (And even the House on some very rare occasions) has already defied him on far more votes since his approval started to steadily decline and I suspect this 'circle of defiance' will only grow.
And the administration itself has been forced to change course to some degree on various issues because of public opinion and public backlash, see ICE etc...
I am with Thomas here. The idea that he doesn't care about polling is just wrong. There are hundreds/thousands of Republicans running in swing races this November, an entire GOP electoral machinery that is living and dying everyday on this data; and they are pushing back on the White House very hard. Both chambers voted to repeal his tariffs. They have run away from ICE/mass deportation, voted unanimously to defer him on Epstein. Thune has defied him on SAVE and DHS/ICE. Trump is trying today to run away from the war. Trump does not have magical powers unless we give them to him, and there has been no White House or politician that tracks public opinion more closely than the Trump White House. And they see all this.....
"Trump does not have magical powers unless we give them to him." - This x 100, and something that Dr. Ben-Ghiat says all the time. Authoritarians depend on people's worship of their "godliness." Once the facade is removed, the power deteriorates rapidly.
It is helping fuel the mass R exodus from state and federal seats. It’s also recording the massive dissent when we win in November. It also is a moral booster and encourages more participation. Lots of positives despite the corrupt regime pretending we are great again. I agree we need more action from the people. NKs can help with that as well. Simon and Thomas make excellent points. They are being forced to change course.
I agree about the last part on democracy. But he does care about poll numbers. Deeply. He's just too fucking dumb to figure out what to do. And when he does get negative, instead of changing course, which he thinks looks weak, he doubles down and resorts to threats. But he does care. He also knows that bad polling is going to lead to his 3rd impeachment.
Self report: donated to Win the House and Audacious Expansion Campaign. Thanks for setting this up and making it easy to get our $ where they will do the most work. Is there a sign up for Wednesday 7pm talk?
I appreciate your hard work! A lot going on. I hope we are backing canidates who are not afraid to call a genocide a genocide no matter who is committing it. Even us. We need ones that will commit to Medicare for all. If we are not bold many will stay home. And we need a Democratic Party that will release the report on why they lost the 2024 election to a felon. It feels deceptive to most I talk to. What are they afraid to say?
Re: donations - I have been a regular contributor to the Acton and Brown campaigns since before Hopium decided to add them to the recommended list - I continue to contribute although not through Hopium. If the November election is free and fair I think both have a great chance.
NH Senate - The possibility of losing a seat we currently have in NH doesn't seem to be concerning anyone. Analysts looking at the path to retake the Senate never seem to mention NH at all and assume it is held. With Sununu the likely R nominee, is there reason for confidence in the race that I am not seeing?
All public polls have Pappas ahead of Sununu. Harris won NH by 3 points in 2024, and the national electorate has shifted by at least 7 points towards us this cycle. Enormous hill for Sununu to climb despite his name ID. There is not worry in DC about this race but the DSCC and everyone is working hard here.
I lived there for 30 years until recently and just donated to all Hopium's recommended candidates when it occurred to me that the open seat in NH is rarely mentioned as something needing defending. But, if there is confidence in DC in that race I will place my confidence in theirs.
bill, this is likely such a wave that even pols who are not considered at risk are going to get their walking papers. sununu imo is just taking one for the team. joe trippi says in a climate like this, we are going to be shocked at some of the gop casualties.
Rachel Maddow’s report on No Kings last night highlighted something I’ve noticed—the spread into rural red America. I’m not sure the organizers were even trying for that but I’ve been struck by the protests in places like Branson or Jonesboro, AR. I’m not sure it affects the midterms directly but suggests his support is softening and eroding in places that should be strongholds for him.
Thanks, Simon! Trump's numbers are dropping fast -- as they should be! Looking forward to hearing from David Pepper this afternoon. He's one of my favorites.
I dropped a little bit of money on Jamie Ager. My Asheville friends are enthusiastic about him. I called Congressman Raskin and Senators Alsobrooks and Van Hollen to say NO money for ICE or this war. I also said that Trump is not in touch with reality and they need to make this a regular talking point. I'm writing postcards to Virginia voters about redistricting.
I am so sorry. Hang in there. It's going to make us all drive less which is good for the planet! Do you remember during the pandemic, smog levels went down all over the world!
We donated yesterday to all 5 of the senate seats ( including the Ohio team) and the 12 house seats. I love going through Hopium and seeing our team efforts. Thanks so much Simon! See you in Portland Maine in May Day!
$4 a gallon. We in CA can only wish for $4 a gallon pricing. There are areas in NO CA where is topped $7 a gallon a week or so ago. CA has special air quality pricing due to a different gas mixture which means our per gallon price is always higher. And I do think it will go higher where it was $7/gallon a week or so ago.
GENERAL STRIKE MAY 1! Plan on not shopping that day, going to work (if you can manage that) and no school. We broke America's mass protest attendance record on March 28th. We can do the same with an economic boycott of all the businesses supporting this fascist regime and firms that "bent the knee" to this administration. LFG!!!
I agree with you. Even a one-day general strike will be difficult to orchestrate. But it's a skill we must learn and a level of organization we must achieve.
Yesterday in my calls to my 3 GOP stooges in Iowa, I tried out my new messaging: “trump is insane; what’s your excuse?”
Of course, the call to Joni Ernst’s office just went to voicemail (she’s not even pretending to care about her constituents anymore) but I had the satisfaction of being told that “they’d get back to me” from the aides in Grassley’s and Miller-Meeks’ offices.
I’ll be working on some more postcards to Virginia voters today (getting ready for the April 10 mailing date in advance of the redistricting vote on 4/21); 200 postcards in the “News Boosting Headlines” to voters in Iowa are all ready to drop in the mail on Thursday. Highly recommended therapy for anyone feeling frustrated: https://turnoutpac.org/postcards/
I calculate my investment on stamps as part of my political donations, but I’ve got a little more to give, per Simon’s excellent encouragement!
Four dollars per gallon? That’s still almost a $7 discount on current German gas prices. I wonder what will happen if (when?) American gas prices rise closer to the prices European drivers are paying.
We might end up with a general strike by default if nobody can afford to drive to work 😕
European prices will always stay a similar percentage above American prices, unfortunately for us over here.
So I dread to think what we would be looking at if US prices hit those levels!!
The problem is that in Europe there are often other means of transportation as public transport is quite developed, distances are different, there are accommodations for pedestrians... It's truly difficult to get along without a car in the States. How many people even have the option of taking public transport to work, compared with those in Europe?
Gas yesterday for us was $4.69 a gallon
A lot of the is I would guess tax. I don't think we are likely to get to $7. Krugman had some numbers out today, and he's a bit more negative than some people, but $6 I think is a real possibility.
When I was in grad school (sustainability) the '00s, it was dogma that if gas was at European prices, we'd have European-style development: much more density, way less sprawl, excellent mass transit, walkable cities.
So...I guess we'll see.
There will be a lot of huge trucks and SUVs in used car lots across the U.S.
works for me. never could figure out why people were buying those monster vehicles. I mean what is the point?
Some people may need a truck for business or whatever but most of what I see are vanity trucks that are clean and shiny. It's an identity thing? I have no idea...
Read in our paper, the Georgia Republicans are trying to remove party labels from State and local races, but only for 5 counties in the Atlanta area. Those five are: Dekalb, Fulton, Cobb, Gwinnett and Clayton. They know they can't win those races, so now they want to change the rules, but not for all the State.
How can that possibly be legal??
I don't think they thought about it. https://edition.timesfreepress.com/article/282041923675412
Another beautiful polling day.
I invite everyone to read about Sparky the Penguin's campaign annoucement: https://tinyview.com/this-modern-world/2026/02/23/better-things-are-possible
Much of that should be in the Democratic Platform.
As happy as I am that Trump's poll numbers are down, I think that we can only see them as an indicator of where folks stand. It's nothing that Trump nor his "government" will take into account. Ever. It will certainly help us in November, if the vote proceeds. But Trump won't / doesn't care about what we think. He'll do whatever it takes to stay in power. That's all he cares about : power and dominance. And money. But I also believe that there are too many of us to fail in our efforts to bring our country back to democracy.
I take your points about the man himself, but on a wider scale, that does not seem to be entirely true does it?
The Senate (And even the House on some very rare occasions) has already defied him on far more votes since his approval started to steadily decline and I suspect this 'circle of defiance' will only grow.
And the administration itself has been forced to change course to some degree on various issues because of public opinion and public backlash, see ICE etc...
I am with Thomas here. The idea that he doesn't care about polling is just wrong. There are hundreds/thousands of Republicans running in swing races this November, an entire GOP electoral machinery that is living and dying everyday on this data; and they are pushing back on the White House very hard. Both chambers voted to repeal his tariffs. They have run away from ICE/mass deportation, voted unanimously to defer him on Epstein. Thune has defied him on SAVE and DHS/ICE. Trump is trying today to run away from the war. Trump does not have magical powers unless we give them to him, and there has been no White House or politician that tracks public opinion more closely than the Trump White House. And they see all this.....
"Trump does not have magical powers unless we give them to him." - This x 100, and something that Dr. Ben-Ghiat says all the time. Authoritarians depend on people's worship of their "godliness." Once the facade is removed, the power deteriorates rapidly.
It is helping fuel the mass R exodus from state and federal seats. It’s also recording the massive dissent when we win in November. It also is a moral booster and encourages more participation. Lots of positives despite the corrupt regime pretending we are great again. I agree we need more action from the people. NKs can help with that as well. Simon and Thomas make excellent points. They are being forced to change course.
I agree with your point that if we put in the work, we are too big to fail.
I agree about the last part on democracy. But he does care about poll numbers. Deeply. He's just too fucking dumb to figure out what to do. And when he does get negative, instead of changing course, which he thinks looks weak, he doubles down and resorts to threats. But he does care. He also knows that bad polling is going to lead to his 3rd impeachment.
Self report: donated to Win the House and Audacious Expansion Campaign. Thanks for setting this up and making it easy to get our $ where they will do the most work. Is there a sign up for Wednesday 7pm talk?
Martha it is tonight, Tuesday. Link was sent to our email on Sunday, I believe, if you get those.
I appreciate your hard work! A lot going on. I hope we are backing canidates who are not afraid to call a genocide a genocide no matter who is committing it. Even us. We need ones that will commit to Medicare for all. If we are not bold many will stay home. And we need a Democratic Party that will release the report on why they lost the 2024 election to a felon. It feels deceptive to most I talk to. What are they afraid to say?
Re: donations - I have been a regular contributor to the Acton and Brown campaigns since before Hopium decided to add them to the recommended list - I continue to contribute although not through Hopium. If the November election is free and fair I think both have a great chance.
NH Senate - The possibility of losing a seat we currently have in NH doesn't seem to be concerning anyone. Analysts looking at the path to retake the Senate never seem to mention NH at all and assume it is held. With Sununu the likely R nominee, is there reason for confidence in the race that I am not seeing?
Why the negativity here Bill? Why start with losing rather than asking about what we are seeing there?
All public polls have Pappas ahead of Sununu. Harris won NH by 3 points in 2024, and the national electorate has shifted by at least 7 points towards us this cycle. Enormous hill for Sununu to climb despite his name ID. There is not worry in DC about this race but the DSCC and everyone is working hard here.
I lived there for 30 years until recently and just donated to all Hopium's recommended candidates when it occurred to me that the open seat in NH is rarely mentioned as something needing defending. But, if there is confidence in DC in that race I will place my confidence in theirs.
bill, this is likely such a wave that even pols who are not considered at risk are going to get their walking papers. sununu imo is just taking one for the team. joe trippi says in a climate like this, we are going to be shocked at some of the gop casualties.
Rachel Maddow’s report on No Kings last night highlighted something I’ve noticed—the spread into rural red America. I’m not sure the organizers were even trying for that but I’ve been struck by the protests in places like Branson or Jonesboro, AR. I’m not sure it affects the midterms directly but suggests his support is softening and eroding in places that should be strongholds for him.
Thanks, Simon! Trump's numbers are dropping fast -- as they should be! Looking forward to hearing from David Pepper this afternoon. He's one of my favorites.
I dropped a little bit of money on Jamie Ager. My Asheville friends are enthusiastic about him. I called Congressman Raskin and Senators Alsobrooks and Van Hollen to say NO money for ICE or this war. I also said that Trump is not in touch with reality and they need to make this a regular talking point. I'm writing postcards to Virginia voters about redistricting.
Donated $25 to each of the items on our list except the last... no donation link in the email. Retired and feeling the pinch, but I can do this!
me too!!!
Also retired but donate here as often as I can and also the the ACLU.
In my area of CA gas is $6 to $7 a gallon!
Yup. Yesterday, as I commented above, was $5.69 a gallon. This was at one of the "cheaper" gas stations by the way.
I am so sorry. Hang in there. It's going to make us all drive less which is good for the planet! Do you remember during the pandemic, smog levels went down all over the world!
We donated yesterday to all 5 of the senate seats ( including the Ohio team) and the 12 house seats. I love going through Hopium and seeing our team efforts. Thanks so much Simon! See you in Portland Maine in May Day!
$4 a gallon. We in CA can only wish for $4 a gallon pricing. There are areas in NO CA where is topped $7 a gallon a week or so ago. CA has special air quality pricing due to a different gas mixture which means our per gallon price is always higher. And I do think it will go higher where it was $7/gallon a week or so ago.
GENERAL STRIKE MAY 1! Plan on not shopping that day, going to work (if you can manage that) and no school. We broke America's mass protest attendance record on March 28th. We can do the same with an economic boycott of all the businesses supporting this fascist regime and firms that "bent the knee" to this administration. LFG!!!
I agree with you. Even a one-day general strike will be difficult to orchestrate. But it's a skill we must learn and a level of organization we must achieve.
plus polls dropped today showing people think biden was a better president. well, whaddaya know....sometimes the truth does come out.
Americans are so dumb. And emotional. Or is it humans in general. Joe Biden was always a better president. DUH.
Yesterday in my calls to my 3 GOP stooges in Iowa, I tried out my new messaging: “trump is insane; what’s your excuse?”
Of course, the call to Joni Ernst’s office just went to voicemail (she’s not even pretending to care about her constituents anymore) but I had the satisfaction of being told that “they’d get back to me” from the aides in Grassley’s and Miller-Meeks’ offices.
I’ll be working on some more postcards to Virginia voters today (getting ready for the April 10 mailing date in advance of the redistricting vote on 4/21); 200 postcards in the “News Boosting Headlines” to voters in Iowa are all ready to drop in the mail on Thursday. Highly recommended therapy for anyone feeling frustrated: https://turnoutpac.org/postcards/
I calculate my investment on stamps as part of my political donations, but I’ve got a little more to give, per Simon’s excellent encouragement!
“trump is insane; what’s your excuse?”
Love it!