The problem is that healthcare is viewed by most people as a moral imperative, but we've left it to a range of for-profit industries.
We are, from a young age, programmed in the US about capitalism and to be opposed to anything else. But then healthcare doesn't seem to work. Because having a bunch of bureaucrats who are paid to DENY healthcare is immoral.
Someday I think we might be able to break through on it. I never thought we would, but as of a few years ago I decided that eventually we will.
reagan basically began his political career attacking universal healthcare; they used vinyl records and personal corporate appearances in those days....reagan called it socialism, by golly.....he was no fan of medicare either. and yet, i miss the sane republicans of yore like jacob javits....where have they gone.....
The central problem with capitalism is that it only serves the needs of those who can pay. When a fancy handbag or wristwatch is at issue, who cares? When it comes to things that are equally necessary to every person to sustain life, denying those things to some people because of lack of money is a moral abomination IMO.
We like to think we are superior to primitive people, but in those past societies whatever they got in the hunt was shared among everyone. Even animals do this. Modern humans have come up with a system that is morally inferior to a pack of wolves.
It has always been my feeling that a rat has more freedom than a human being in our free country. At least if it finds some food it can eat it, and if it finds a cozy place it can curl up and sleep. There was a point I was doing activism around homelessness. One person put it this way: You can't sleep there because it's private property, and you can't sleep here because it's public property.
I read an amazing and short book calked Freedom from the Market, by economist Mike Konczal. He made a lot of those same points, with a bunch of added US history to back it up. His basic argument is that some things shouldn’t be run as competitive markets, such as education and healthcare. Each chapter covers a different thing.
In one of her videos, Heather Cox Richardson had said that, in times like these, people whom you wouldn't suspect of changing their minds actually do. She explains this further in her "Politics Chat" video from September 18: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWTZzfCTFYA. Go to the part starting at about 23:46. She has also said that it's happened in the past. And she is totally right!
Simon, thanks for the great talk with Cory Booker!
I contacted Senator Parry Murray, who I have heard is considering caving on the budget talks in return for an "assurance" from MAGA Mike Johnson that Republicans will then negotiate about health care. I urged her to stand strong and not give up all our bargaining power. I called Congressman Raskin to thank him for standing up to Trump. I also called Senators Alsobrooks and Van Hollen to thank them for the telephone town hall they held yesterday and to urge them to stand strong on the budget. I'm writing postcards to Virginia voters today.
I just talked to a staffer in Sen. Murray's Seattle office. She said there is no truth to that rumor. Sen. Murray wants to keep fighting. She won't accept "assurances." Indeed, Republicans, including Speaker Johnson, aren't even negotiating.
For strong/weak and winning/losing messaging, what can be the US version of “He’s finished.”?
In Serbia’s 2000 election, that was the slogan used by the opposition to President Slobodan Milosevic -- who was defeated.
Here, our messages have to inspire and empower, and not make people think Trumpism and the Rs will defeat themselves. Ideas??
"The orange lucky loser is losing with the American people. We are the majority. Join us!" - that might be my new protest sign for our next action at the local Tesla dealership, which will be my sweetheart Jean's 26th time and my 19th.
"Invoke the 25th amendment. Trump is way way cray cray"
This is my message today to my federal electeds: 1. Do not capitualte on budget. Dont quit until you get what you've asked for and it should include SNAP 2. Get the whole caucus to start talking about the 25th amendment. Not to win the argument in congress, or have his staff invoke it, but to have the argmument before the American public. As soon as MAGA says "That's ridiculous, Trump is not crazy," we've won the argument. If, on the other hand, they stay silent... We've won the argument.
"TRUMP IS WAY WAY CRAY CRAY!!!!!" Invoke the 25th AMENDMENT!!!.
3) Do something about the war Trump has declared on Chicago, Portland, L.A. and D.C. What's happening in Memphis?
As long as the House is in thumb-twiddling mode, Dems have no excuse not to blast the message coast to coast. I'm calling them until I start hearing them join in the chorus. This is my message all week.
It was funny how Marjorie Taylor Greene kept inserting "but not the illegals Americans only" every other sentence, in case we didn't get the point, lol! She's trying to be the next trump and sees the writing on the wall. This is merely a preview of the backstabbing we are about to witness within the GOP over the next 3 years.
At some point, the GOP is going to turn into a pack of snarling jackals, all trying to tear apart their peers to avoid having to accept any of the blame for this disaster.
In essence the GOP is arguing we give free healthcare to illegal residents, something we absolutely refuse to do for our own citizens and residents. Makes total sense!!
“For those who know polling you don’t often see so many answers to questions in the 20s and 30s. It’s a sign that Trump’s powers of persuasion are ebbing, and he is growing more distant to voters.”
Simon speaks truth. And you seldom (if ever) see polling plunge as quickly as Trump’s numbers. He squandered the typical honeymoon period (because he went bat-shit crazy from the get-go)
And I don’t see how he recovers… GOPers are too timid to stand up
to the convicted felon and sexual assaulter. So they will suffer consequences in 13 months.
I would rephrase it: he implemented Project 2025 from the get go, after lying in the campaign that he was not involved with it because he knew that voters hated it.
It was shock and awe. First with Doge, but then with everything. They thought they could overwhelm us and defeat us. But now that we've grown some muscle, they are accelerating the 2025 plan to try to do two years of plan in the first year before everything falls apart as we are witnessing.
This makes it look far more extreme and insane because there is just not enough time for people to normalize and accommodate to it. So now everything they try backfires, and I think your right Gary, there is no way to undo that spiral.
And I think your right Elizabeth, There will soon be a straw that breaks the camel's back, the dam will break. Unless it has already happened ...Epstein then Kimmel followed by the U.N. speech then the Generals speech, then last weeks ride of nonsense...
I do not forget a speech Trump gave in front of some Christian Right group during the campaign where he said words to the effect: Go out and vote, my Christians. You only have to vote one more time.
This was plain as day, yet much to my consternation the mainstream press ignored it, and independent press, as I recall, focused more on his slurred speech than the clear content: Once I'm in, there will be no more voting.
I am a Canadian who once lived and worked in the states. I care about the United States. All that I can self-report is that I share the best substack newsletters with friends in the states. From what I can tell, my friends are depressed, not coping, and don’t have hope.
Trump’s approval ratings are way down. To me this means that people want him gone --- retire or get impeached and convicted... just go away.
How can this happen when Trump, the Republicans, the so-called ‘Supreme’ Court, and the unholy trinity of Miller, Vance, and Vought appear to have a lock on every avenue of government including the military and the ICE thugs?
I’m not trying to be negative. I try to think things through logically and this is where I am.
And I can see that Simon works very hard every day to get America out of this horrible mess and that is to be appreciated.
I think of it like pressure building up behind a dam. The resistance is growing steadily. At some point, the dam is going to burst. We don't know when it will happen, but the signs are encouraging. In the real world, burst dams bring destruction, but in my mental metaphor, what's downstream of the dam right now is rot, corruption, and stench. Our burst dam is going to bring cleansing water -- the actions of millions of Americans who want something better. Each action we take adds drops to the water behind the dam, so thanks for doing your part for us from Canada!
I don't think an unpopular autocrat can succeed as long as the intensity and focus of the opposition remains intact. There is simply no way they can force us to give in. Giving in would be a choice I don't think people are going to make. I don't see any evidence of it.
I also see our people out in the street, and hardly any MAGAs out there. They have ICE but they are paid. I'd bet on people doing this for free any day.
Encourage them to look at election results this year (they happened and were not good for the GOP) and to get involved. Turning anxiety into action is a phenomenal antidote.
The republicans in Congress or the corrupt MAGA majority on the Supreme Court could stop this any time. Simply by doing their jobs. There's a point where public outcry, disapproval, etc, will become so extensive and so prevalent in red districts that these enablers will decide they don't want to sink their careers and reputations on this leaky ship.
The Trump regime, as all autocratic regimes, is attempting to rule by fear. After all, they can't lock up 100 million people. If we can set aside fear and cultivate hope, that all-important condition of agency, then we will defeat them, no matter what they do.
Trump, the GOP, the Supremes, the wicked three do not own the Constitution. They do not own the country. They do not own us. I think of the old labor slogan: "Agitate. Educate. Organize." That is what it will take to defeat the regime. But such a movement presupposes that people stop being isolated and join others in the fight. Part of what we are doing, by fighting, is showing other people that they can fight, too. That is why public actions are important. If they see our hope, they can hope. If they see our agency, they can find their own agency.
I see signs all the time that the movement is building. Just yesterday I learned that the Sunrise Movement has decided to organize on campuses to fight authoritarianism. In Portland, protests have been creative and playful. Across the country, candidates and elected officials have found their voices and are speaking out.
In the coming weeks and months, we will see what works and we will build on that. Courage is contagious, as they say, and so is defiance. The weaker the regime's hold on the public becomes, the more extreme they will become. And the more extreme they become, the less hold they will have on the public. It isn't just that people in the cities will harden their resistance. People in what the regime thinks of as its strongholds will turn on them. And that will be end of the show
Really great question. I agree w your logic. And yet, MariElena, sometimes things happen that defy that logic. Sometimes our aims get accomplished in ways we could never foresee. Rebecca Solnit calls it “Hope in the Dark.” We don’t know how or when our actions will bear fruit. Yet they do
Why does Canada have Mark Carney as Prime Minister when it looked like Canadians were done with the Liberals? Justin Trudeau reached the end of his time; people were tired of him, including his own Liberal Members of Parliament. It looked like the Conservatives would win the next election and Pierre Poilievre would be the PM. In my opinion, not a desired outcome.
And along came Donald Trump. Again. And he scared Canadians with his threats about Canada.
So, Mark Carney became the new Liberal leader and PM. An election was held and Carney won because Trump scared Canadians and we needed an experienced grown-up to lead Canada and deal with Trump.
Furthermore, the advanced polls were extremely busy. Citizens were really anxious about voting and were really voting against Trump.
You should watch some of Simon's interviews to get a sense of what is going on. The Rs don't have a lock on anything, the Rs control all 3 branches of the federal government right now but they don't have the backing of most of the population and Texas aside, they do not control the governing of the most populous and prosperous states and they certainly do not control the military in the sense that I think you mean it (i.e. illegal orders will not be obeyed, imo, although, because they operate in a bubble they may not realize that). One of the interesting dynamics is coalitions and coordination across states.
Thank you so much for sharing substacks with fellow Canadians. I hope they are cheered by seeing what we are doing.
Michael G Baer posted below this link of Senator Rev. Warnock - it's not about the people in power it's about the power of the people. perhaps will cheer your friends. I'm quoting his sentence about the place in the tape
The link should start at the right spot which is ironical at the 9:11 minute mark.
MTG doesn't make sense. She says that insurance is a scam and then she whines that her adult children will have to pay twice as much. If it's such a scam why don't they go without? Oh, she means insurance companies are a scam. Okay, then let's go with universal health care for all.
She is well off. The whole idea that this is a financial stretch for her family is ridiculous. She's alternately stupid, disorganized in the head, and blatantly dishonest and disingenuous, all the time. Or some toxic mixture of all of the above, which is the usual state.
I'll still take this. It helps us that three-toed Marge is pushing back.
and, for whatever reason, she actually gives a damn about the epstein victims. maybe it's disingenuous, maybe she'll flip, but right now she is serving justice.
Oh, totally. But at least Qanon to the core gives her some consistency? I don't trust it at all, but if she keeps her vote on that discharge petition, I'll take it.
You take what you can get, no question. Massie is the same way. Massie and MTG are two of the worst people in the Congress oddly enough doing the right thing.
My take is the 3 ladies, Mace, Boebert and Greene, might be "me too". Mace has already confirmed it.
The pressure on these ladies must be enormous right now.
One of the late night hosts (Jon Stewart?) was commenting how bizarre and conflicting it is to actually agree with, and be grateful for what they are actually doing. I hope they can all hang in there.
Along these lines, David Pakman did a magnificent piece yesterday - I've found the link below -- where he talks about Karoline Leavitt, ALMOST speaking the truth, but too muddle-minded to realize it. It's about checking in on data, on numbers of illegal/undocumented immigrants/aliens (whatever you want to call them) and services they seek at ERs in hospitals. David is correct, it's a very nuanced near-slip, and I'm sure nothing can be made of it because MAGA is not about facts or policy; they are about psychology, anger, fear, grievance, and regression. But it's a brilliant little segment and you may enjoy it.
Just to be clear, most of the hundreds of billions of dollars funding the Ukraine war comes back to the US in the form of contracts to US arms companies and other US corporations in the form of support contracts. Not that I am a fan of the MIC, but I just wanted to put that out there.
Where I agree with MTG is that our Billions should come back to support Americans in the form of higher wages, healthcare, childcare etc.... oh, and also that insurance is a scam!!!
I must have reached my saturation point (which I didn't think I had) because I put her on mute - it was all I could do to watch the arrogance and disdain stamped on her face. I love it when she condescends, leaning on her hand to listen to Cory Booker.
Like she actually is human, is present, is authentic, and gives a shit.
Were I the Senator from Illinois, when a corrupt, lying POS refused to answer my question and instead went into high dudgeon mode about an insult to her integrity, my response would be, "Pam, I assure you that if you had any integrity I would never dream of impugning it."
You are too charitable. I watched some of the hearing this morning and some clips later. She is astonishingly odious and loathsome in an administration full of such people.
I am SOOO glad you posted that killer attack ad from Mikie Sherrill! I had pasted the link to share here, but no need. To go full Jersey here, it would be a shame if that ad was spread all through our social media and other contacts. Sending to my neighbor as we speak.
Called Booker and Kim to thank them and to keep holding the line.
The times are so crazy I find myself agreeing with Marge Greene more & more.
Finally solid piece about Democrat-rich Hudson County getting behind Mikie.
interesting she uses clips from 101.5, which i'm sure is devastated that people are not falling in love with jack c. a repulsive station, they are the only one available across the state, and launched the careers of the infamous john and ken, two right wing shock jocks who went on to the west coast and made a name for themselves exploiting the lacey peterson case. as an educator i had to turn the station off because every day in the 90s was some diatribe about the njea, and praise for christie todd whitman, a supposed moderate who attempted to get rid of tenure, implement vouchers, appointed a catholic schools chief as head of public education, and finished her career as a bush toady who told 9/11 cleanup crews the air was safe at ground zero.
you only have to go to msn.com to see how the media is spinning this race; momentum with ciatarelli, what does nj polling in the past have to say, sherrill struggling with black voters.....you'd think she's toast and this is typical of the kind of shit you see online these days. that last headline was the ny post, and it's why i usually stay away from online election coverage. nothing about her holding an 8 point edge on average in polling, except maybe in that first headline. now it could be that polling is totally worthless, but she's even ahead in some of the right wing polls, who are actually good at capturing right wing voters, i've read.....i think by now if the race were really tight we'd be seeing more evidence of this, though i do believe it will come down to turnout on our side; while it is axiomatic that she has to turn out the cities, i wonder if the burbs might be coming out for a little more this time.
Great post. Simon and all: noted I got a text from Spanberger campaign with that awful we're losing angle (obviously her media and campaigning are top rate, but it's a bad habit to break for the fundraisers I guess.) Check out Mikie's video from the car and aggressive powerful negative ad. THAT'S THE WAY to campaign. Run up the score. Upbeat winning style. What you've talked about Simon! (Mike was my Rep when I lived in Montclair). She is kicking a** and enjoying the battle. We need happy warriors.
Herbert, I write them back and tell them I don't support doomerism, so change your angle. It' doesn't take but a couple minutes.
Last week I go a text with the subject line" We are over the moon!" from the DNC and it was all positivity about gratitude for the tremendous support with donations and volunteerism. from every day Americans I wrote them back and said that text of positivity just earned the DNC another $50 from me and keep writing 'em like that!"
I've been doing this since the primaries in 2024... this was the first one that had that positive vibe. Gives me juice to keep writing back to the doomsters. It's easy, and dare I say, fun.
Thank you, Simon, for the uplifting content over last couple days. We have some great public servants here in the Garden State, and I am so glad you helped recruit Reps. Sherrill & Spanberger, both of whom are kicking a$$.
I continue to call Sen. Booker, he needs to stay on top of what's going on. But I greatly appreciate his positivity and fighting spirit in these dark times. More please! Sen. Kim continues to bring the quiet, thoughtful yet aggressive advocacy for NJ, too - his socials and newsletter are excellent, and he has really stayed on the shutdown, as well.
Will participate in a march for peace in Trenton on Sun. with Moms Demand, and will knock doors for state assembly and Sherrill on Sat. Running through the tape!
I told you that was the aim behind the challenge to birthright citizenship. They aimed the roll out at citizen children of undocumented parents to pretend to give it some justification, but the point is: if birthright is not the basis of citizenship then what is? Anything they say it is. Do you remember how Trump kept referring to Schumer as a "Palestinian?" This was not a random slur. Another time he referred to Schumer as living in a nice home in "Trump Gaza?" In a prior speech Trump castigated Americans Jews for being disloyal to Israel and referred to Israel as "your country." The crazy evangelicals support Israel because they believe their savior can't return unless the Jews are back in Israel. And remember, this is a Christian nation according to them. Their intent is clear: decree that Jews are no longer citizens and mist be deported to Israel. Netanyahu would love a bunch of highly educated American Jews to be sent to populate the ethnically cleansed Gaza.
Please remember the "Black jobs." People made a joke of this but the enemy is not joking. MAGA means to re-fight the civil war with a different outcome, to create the country they believe would have existed if the Confederacy had won. The Southern Baptists literally were created as a denomination to support slavery because much of the Abolitionist movement was also based in religion, such as my favorite religious fanatic John Brown.
Calls are in to Elected members of congress regarding our 4 part agenda. Continuing to write postcards for retaining judges in PA. Thanks for all the great interviews,Simon. Your work and message is much appreciated
In the DC area? Demo at the courthouse during Comey's arraignment tomorrow morning
https://www.treason.io/p/fwd-heres-one-thing-you-can-do?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F02085569-7230-41cf-a0bb-95fefe7d079a_4284x5712.jpeg&open=false
Live stream from Comey demo/court - looks like a good crowd out there
https://open.substack.com/live-stream/66737?utm_source=email&utm_campaign=new-live-stream-email
MTG is so full of shit. I’ll take the win though.
I agree with her that insurance is a scam. They only want to insure people who are unlikely to need it, and try not to pay out when people do need it.
The problem is that healthcare is viewed by most people as a moral imperative, but we've left it to a range of for-profit industries.
We are, from a young age, programmed in the US about capitalism and to be opposed to anything else. But then healthcare doesn't seem to work. Because having a bunch of bureaucrats who are paid to DENY healthcare is immoral.
Someday I think we might be able to break through on it. I never thought we would, but as of a few years ago I decided that eventually we will.
reagan basically began his political career attacking universal healthcare; they used vinyl records and personal corporate appearances in those days....reagan called it socialism, by golly.....he was no fan of medicare either. and yet, i miss the sane republicans of yore like jacob javits....where have they gone.....
The central problem with capitalism is that it only serves the needs of those who can pay. When a fancy handbag or wristwatch is at issue, who cares? When it comes to things that are equally necessary to every person to sustain life, denying those things to some people because of lack of money is a moral abomination IMO.
We like to think we are superior to primitive people, but in those past societies whatever they got in the hunt was shared among everyone. Even animals do this. Modern humans have come up with a system that is morally inferior to a pack of wolves.
It has always been my feeling that a rat has more freedom than a human being in our free country. At least if it finds some food it can eat it, and if it finds a cozy place it can curl up and sleep. There was a point I was doing activism around homelessness. One person put it this way: You can't sleep there because it's private property, and you can't sleep here because it's public property.
I read an amazing and short book calked Freedom from the Market, by economist Mike Konczal. He made a lot of those same points, with a bunch of added US history to back it up. His basic argument is that some things shouldn’t be run as competitive markets, such as education and healthcare. Each chapter covers a different thing.
Thanks for the book suggestion!
Basically, I'd like to see a LOT more of the necessities run as co-ops of some kind rather than for-profit businesses.
Re MTG, "The enemy of my enemy is my friend" applies here. I am no MTG fan but I agree, Patrick, I too will take the win!
In one of her videos, Heather Cox Richardson had said that, in times like these, people whom you wouldn't suspect of changing their minds actually do. She explains this further in her "Politics Chat" video from September 18: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWTZzfCTFYA. Go to the part starting at about 23:46. She has also said that it's happened in the past. And she is totally right!
As LBJ -- hey, 3 initials -- once put it ... "I'd rather have her inside the tent pissing out, than outside the tent pissing in."
Simon, thanks for the great talk with Cory Booker!
I contacted Senator Parry Murray, who I have heard is considering caving on the budget talks in return for an "assurance" from MAGA Mike Johnson that Republicans will then negotiate about health care. I urged her to stand strong and not give up all our bargaining power. I called Congressman Raskin to thank him for standing up to Trump. I also called Senators Alsobrooks and Van Hollen to thank them for the telephone town hall they held yesterday and to urge them to stand strong on the budget. I'm writing postcards to Virginia voters today.
Sen. Murray is one of my senators. Can you share the source where you heard that she is considering caving?
I just talked to a staffer in Sen. Murray's Seattle office. She said there is no truth to that rumor. Sen. Murray wants to keep fighting. She won't accept "assurances." Indeed, Republicans, including Speaker Johnson, aren't even negotiating.
🙌🏻🇺🇸🇺🇸
For strong/weak and winning/losing messaging, what can be the US version of “He’s finished.”?
In Serbia’s 2000 election, that was the slogan used by the opposition to President Slobodan Milosevic -- who was defeated.
Here, our messages have to inspire and empower, and not make people think Trumpism and the Rs will defeat themselves. Ideas??
"The orange lucky loser is losing with the American people. We are the majority. Join us!" - that might be my new protest sign for our next action at the local Tesla dealership, which will be my sweetheart Jean's 26th time and my 19th.
"Invoke the 25th amendment. Trump is way way cray cray"
This is my message today to my federal electeds: 1. Do not capitualte on budget. Dont quit until you get what you've asked for and it should include SNAP 2. Get the whole caucus to start talking about the 25th amendment. Not to win the argument in congress, or have his staff invoke it, but to have the argmument before the American public. As soon as MAGA says "That's ridiculous, Trump is not crazy," we've won the argument. If, on the other hand, they stay silent... We've won the argument.
"TRUMP IS WAY WAY CRAY CRAY!!!!!" Invoke the 25th AMENDMENT!!!.
3) Do something about the war Trump has declared on Chicago, Portland, L.A. and D.C. What's happening in Memphis?
As long as the House is in thumb-twiddling mode, Dems have no excuse not to blast the message coast to coast. I'm calling them until I start hearing them join in the chorus. This is my message all week.
Very good. This is getting the FRAMING right, as Antonia Scatton and Gil Duran and others counsel us to.
You could go Mortal Kombat style “FINISH HIM!” lol
It was funny how Marjorie Taylor Greene kept inserting "but not the illegals Americans only" every other sentence, in case we didn't get the point, lol! She's trying to be the next trump and sees the writing on the wall. This is merely a preview of the backstabbing we are about to witness within the GOP over the next 3 years.
At some point, the GOP is going to turn into a pack of snarling jackals, all trying to tear apart their peers to avoid having to accept any of the blame for this disaster.
seems likely
In essence the GOP is arguing we give free healthcare to illegal residents, something we absolutely refuse to do for our own citizens and residents. Makes total sense!!
Well she's one card short of a full deck, so...
“For those who know polling you don’t often see so many answers to questions in the 20s and 30s. It’s a sign that Trump’s powers of persuasion are ebbing, and he is growing more distant to voters.”
Simon speaks truth. And you seldom (if ever) see polling plunge as quickly as Trump’s numbers. He squandered the typical honeymoon period (because he went bat-shit crazy from the get-go)
And I don’t see how he recovers… GOPers are too timid to stand up
to the convicted felon and sexual assaulter. So they will suffer consequences in 13 months.
I would rephrase it: he implemented Project 2025 from the get go, after lying in the campaign that he was not involved with it because he knew that voters hated it.
That’s accurate, Lyn. But …
Why would he execute policies from
Project 2025 knowing that a big majority of people hate it?
That he lied is not surprising. His life is a big lie.
Because Project 2025 is a plan to make him a dictator so it no longer matters whether voters like it.
It was shock and awe. First with Doge, but then with everything. They thought they could overwhelm us and defeat us. But now that we've grown some muscle, they are accelerating the 2025 plan to try to do two years of plan in the first year before everything falls apart as we are witnessing.
This makes it look far more extreme and insane because there is just not enough time for people to normalize and accommodate to it. So now everything they try backfires, and I think your right Gary, there is no way to undo that spiral.
And I think your right Elizabeth, There will soon be a straw that breaks the camel's back, the dam will break. Unless it has already happened ...Epstein then Kimmel followed by the U.N. speech then the Generals speech, then last weeks ride of nonsense...
I do not forget a speech Trump gave in front of some Christian Right group during the campaign where he said words to the effect: Go out and vote, my Christians. You only have to vote one more time.
This was plain as day, yet much to my consternation the mainstream press ignored it, and independent press, as I recall, focused more on his slurred speech than the clear content: Once I'm in, there will be no more voting.
I am a Canadian who once lived and worked in the states. I care about the United States. All that I can self-report is that I share the best substack newsletters with friends in the states. From what I can tell, my friends are depressed, not coping, and don’t have hope.
Trump’s approval ratings are way down. To me this means that people want him gone --- retire or get impeached and convicted... just go away.
How can this happen when Trump, the Republicans, the so-called ‘Supreme’ Court, and the unholy trinity of Miller, Vance, and Vought appear to have a lock on every avenue of government including the military and the ICE thugs?
I’m not trying to be negative. I try to think things through logically and this is where I am.
And I can see that Simon works very hard every day to get America out of this horrible mess and that is to be appreciated.
I think of it like pressure building up behind a dam. The resistance is growing steadily. At some point, the dam is going to burst. We don't know when it will happen, but the signs are encouraging. In the real world, burst dams bring destruction, but in my mental metaphor, what's downstream of the dam right now is rot, corruption, and stench. Our burst dam is going to bring cleansing water -- the actions of millions of Americans who want something better. Each action we take adds drops to the water behind the dam, so thanks for doing your part for us from Canada!
Thank you for sharing your perspective.
great analogy
Like your symbolism Elizabeth!
I don't think an unpopular autocrat can succeed as long as the intensity and focus of the opposition remains intact. There is simply no way they can force us to give in. Giving in would be a choice I don't think people are going to make. I don't see any evidence of it.
I also see our people out in the street, and hardly any MAGAs out there. They have ICE but they are paid. I'd bet on people doing this for free any day.
He forgot about the part of autocracy where you do stuff to make people like you and went all in on the other part.
truth.
Encourage them to look at election results this year (they happened and were not good for the GOP) and to get involved. Turning anxiety into action is a phenomenal antidote.
The republicans in Congress or the corrupt MAGA majority on the Supreme Court could stop this any time. Simply by doing their jobs. There's a point where public outcry, disapproval, etc, will become so extensive and so prevalent in red districts that these enablers will decide they don't want to sink their careers and reputations on this leaky ship.
The Trump regime, as all autocratic regimes, is attempting to rule by fear. After all, they can't lock up 100 million people. If we can set aside fear and cultivate hope, that all-important condition of agency, then we will defeat them, no matter what they do.
Trump, the GOP, the Supremes, the wicked three do not own the Constitution. They do not own the country. They do not own us. I think of the old labor slogan: "Agitate. Educate. Organize." That is what it will take to defeat the regime. But such a movement presupposes that people stop being isolated and join others in the fight. Part of what we are doing, by fighting, is showing other people that they can fight, too. That is why public actions are important. If they see our hope, they can hope. If they see our agency, they can find their own agency.
I see signs all the time that the movement is building. Just yesterday I learned that the Sunrise Movement has decided to organize on campuses to fight authoritarianism. In Portland, protests have been creative and playful. Across the country, candidates and elected officials have found their voices and are speaking out.
In the coming weeks and months, we will see what works and we will build on that. Courage is contagious, as they say, and so is defiance. The weaker the regime's hold on the public becomes, the more extreme they will become. And the more extreme they become, the less hold they will have on the public. It isn't just that people in the cities will harden their resistance. People in what the regime thinks of as its strongholds will turn on them. And that will be end of the show
Thank you for this.
Really great question. I agree w your logic. And yet, MariElena, sometimes things happen that defy that logic. Sometimes our aims get accomplished in ways we could never foresee. Rebecca Solnit calls it “Hope in the Dark.” We don’t know how or when our actions will bear fruit. Yet they do
Fair enough.
I truly do not know what will happen.
Why does Canada have Mark Carney as Prime Minister when it looked like Canadians were done with the Liberals? Justin Trudeau reached the end of his time; people were tired of him, including his own Liberal Members of Parliament. It looked like the Conservatives would win the next election and Pierre Poilievre would be the PM. In my opinion, not a desired outcome.
And along came Donald Trump. Again. And he scared Canadians with his threats about Canada.
So, Mark Carney became the new Liberal leader and PM. An election was held and Carney won because Trump scared Canadians and we needed an experienced grown-up to lead Canada and deal with Trump.
Furthermore, the advanced polls were extremely busy. Citizens were really anxious about voting and were really voting against Trump.
You should watch some of Simon's interviews to get a sense of what is going on. The Rs don't have a lock on anything, the Rs control all 3 branches of the federal government right now but they don't have the backing of most of the population and Texas aside, they do not control the governing of the most populous and prosperous states and they certainly do not control the military in the sense that I think you mean it (i.e. illegal orders will not be obeyed, imo, although, because they operate in a bubble they may not realize that). One of the interesting dynamics is coalitions and coordination across states.
Thank you so much for sharing substacks with fellow Canadians. I hope they are cheered by seeing what we are doing.
Michael G Baer posted below this link of Senator Rev. Warnock - it's not about the people in power it's about the power of the people. perhaps will cheer your friends. I'm quoting his sentence about the place in the tape
The link should start at the right spot which is ironical at the 9:11 minute mark.
https://youtu.be/Xe67RHTXjKc?t=548
MTG doesn't make sense. She says that insurance is a scam and then she whines that her adult children will have to pay twice as much. If it's such a scam why don't they go without? Oh, she means insurance companies are a scam. Okay, then let's go with universal health care for all.
She is well off. The whole idea that this is a financial stretch for her family is ridiculous. She's alternately stupid, disorganized in the head, and blatantly dishonest and disingenuous, all the time. Or some toxic mixture of all of the above, which is the usual state.
I'll still take this. It helps us that three-toed Marge is pushing back.
She's not too stupid to read which way the wind is blowing
and, for whatever reason, she actually gives a damn about the epstein victims. maybe it's disingenuous, maybe she'll flip, but right now she is serving justice.
She's Qanon to the core. I'm not sure it is "caring about the victims". Maybe. I think she's just confused and lost.
Oh, totally. But at least Qanon to the core gives her some consistency? I don't trust it at all, but if she keeps her vote on that discharge petition, I'll take it.
You take what you can get, no question. Massie is the same way. Massie and MTG are two of the worst people in the Congress oddly enough doing the right thing.
My take is the 3 ladies, Mace, Boebert and Greene, might be "me too". Mace has already confirmed it.
The pressure on these ladies must be enormous right now.
One of the late night hosts (Jon Stewart?) was commenting how bizarre and conflicting it is to actually agree with, and be grateful for what they are actually doing. I hope they can all hang in there.
Along these lines, David Pakman did a magnificent piece yesterday - I've found the link below -- where he talks about Karoline Leavitt, ALMOST speaking the truth, but too muddle-minded to realize it. It's about checking in on data, on numbers of illegal/undocumented immigrants/aliens (whatever you want to call them) and services they seek at ERs in hospitals. David is correct, it's a very nuanced near-slip, and I'm sure nothing can be made of it because MAGA is not about facts or policy; they are about psychology, anger, fear, grievance, and regression. But it's a brilliant little segment and you may enjoy it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kk45158RB38
Yes, I've seen this. Pakman is very good here.
That's what I want. Can we please join the civilized world?
Just to be clear, most of the hundreds of billions of dollars funding the Ukraine war comes back to the US in the form of contracts to US arms companies and other US corporations in the form of support contracts. Not that I am a fan of the MIC, but I just wanted to put that out there.
Where I agree with MTG is that our Billions should come back to support Americans in the form of higher wages, healthcare, childcare etc.... oh, and also that insurance is a scam!!!
Right it supports US-made weapons, at very least…
Bondi is always so smug, like a mean elementary school teacher
Welp, there's one difference - she's also a twit. :)
So was Mrs. Andrews
Point taken, lol
I must have reached my saturation point (which I didn't think I had) because I put her on mute - it was all I could do to watch the arrogance and disdain stamped on her face. I love it when she condescends, leaning on her hand to listen to Cory Booker.
Like she actually is human, is present, is authentic, and gives a shit.
I found her hard to watch, but she seemed more like a 4th grader to me than a teacher.
...Yes, that's exactly right. Thank you, Bondi and my kindergarten teacher Ms. Brandt are now inextricably linked in my mind...
Were I the Senator from Illinois, when a corrupt, lying POS refused to answer my question and instead went into high dudgeon mode about an insult to her integrity, my response would be, "Pam, I assure you that if you had any integrity I would never dream of impugning it."
You are too charitable. I watched some of the hearing this morning and some clips later. She is astonishingly odious and loathsome in an administration full of such people.
I am SOOO glad you posted that killer attack ad from Mikie Sherrill! I had pasted the link to share here, but no need. To go full Jersey here, it would be a shame if that ad was spread all through our social media and other contacts. Sending to my neighbor as we speak.
Called Booker and Kim to thank them and to keep holding the line.
The times are so crazy I find myself agreeing with Marge Greene more & more.
Finally solid piece about Democrat-rich Hudson County getting behind Mikie.
https://www.insidernj.com/hcdo-chair-guy-hudson-united-for-sherrill/
of course jack can't answer a question....he is clueless about most everything. perfect fit for the gop. thanks for the link.
I thought I was pretty techie, but can't find the link for the Sherrill ad on YouTube. Where did you find it?
I saw it on Instagram and here you go:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DPfX5G3DKdu/?igsh=MTdmaWJsaDVlaG5ibQ==
thank you - I don't think it's up on YouTube yet. Sharing widely!
interesting she uses clips from 101.5, which i'm sure is devastated that people are not falling in love with jack c. a repulsive station, they are the only one available across the state, and launched the careers of the infamous john and ken, two right wing shock jocks who went on to the west coast and made a name for themselves exploiting the lacey peterson case. as an educator i had to turn the station off because every day in the 90s was some diatribe about the njea, and praise for christie todd whitman, a supposed moderate who attempted to get rid of tenure, implement vouchers, appointed a catholic schools chief as head of public education, and finished her career as a bush toady who told 9/11 cleanup crews the air was safe at ground zero.
I also got an email from the campaign linking to the ad and encouraging dissemination. Happy to fulfill my civic duty.
you only have to go to msn.com to see how the media is spinning this race; momentum with ciatarelli, what does nj polling in the past have to say, sherrill struggling with black voters.....you'd think she's toast and this is typical of the kind of shit you see online these days. that last headline was the ny post, and it's why i usually stay away from online election coverage. nothing about her holding an 8 point edge on average in polling, except maybe in that first headline. now it could be that polling is totally worthless, but she's even ahead in some of the right wing polls, who are actually good at capturing right wing voters, i've read.....i think by now if the race were really tight we'd be seeing more evidence of this, though i do believe it will come down to turnout on our side; while it is axiomatic that she has to turn out the cities, i wonder if the burbs might be coming out for a little more this time.
And here I thought the AG would at least try to pretend she worked for the American people and not Trump . . .
Great post. Simon and all: noted I got a text from Spanberger campaign with that awful we're losing angle (obviously her media and campaigning are top rate, but it's a bad habit to break for the fundraisers I guess.) Check out Mikie's video from the car and aggressive powerful negative ad. THAT'S THE WAY to campaign. Run up the score. Upbeat winning style. What you've talked about Simon! (Mike was my Rep when I lived in Montclair). She is kicking a** and enjoying the battle. We need happy warriors.
Herbert, I write them back and tell them I don't support doomerism, so change your angle. It' doesn't take but a couple minutes.
Last week I go a text with the subject line" We are over the moon!" from the DNC and it was all positivity about gratitude for the tremendous support with donations and volunteerism. from every day Americans I wrote them back and said that text of positivity just earned the DNC another $50 from me and keep writing 'em like that!"
I've been doing this since the primaries in 2024... this was the first one that had that positive vibe. Gives me juice to keep writing back to the doomsters. It's easy, and dare I say, fun.
Hey I go by Herb--:). TY
Thank you, Simon, for the uplifting content over last couple days. We have some great public servants here in the Garden State, and I am so glad you helped recruit Reps. Sherrill & Spanberger, both of whom are kicking a$$.
I continue to call Sen. Booker, he needs to stay on top of what's going on. But I greatly appreciate his positivity and fighting spirit in these dark times. More please! Sen. Kim continues to bring the quiet, thoughtful yet aggressive advocacy for NJ, too - his socials and newsletter are excellent, and he has really stayed on the shutdown, as well.
Will participate in a march for peace in Trenton on Sun. with Moms Demand, and will knock doors for state assembly and Sherrill on Sat. Running through the tape!
25 postcards to go out of 200 for VA.
Keep going!
UPDATE: Another reason to keep fighting - new from The Atlantic - MAGA is now distinguishing between some of us first, second, third gen Americans and "heritage Americans." UGH [gift link] https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/2025/10/heritage-americans-nativist-right/684472/?gift=woWIUxw7PQkPWVjhh-qn3t8lUftbI3OEjl8BalIT79k&utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share
As someone descended from both Civil War *and* Revolutionary War patriots, I say this is bullshit.
Wow. Well, I don’t make the cut and I assume Trump doesn’t either (nor Melania).
Himmler was big on genealogy too. He kept secret files of the family trees of other Nazis as a way to increase his leverage and power.
the atlantic site seems to be down for some reason. must be a technical issue.
I told you that was the aim behind the challenge to birthright citizenship. They aimed the roll out at citizen children of undocumented parents to pretend to give it some justification, but the point is: if birthright is not the basis of citizenship then what is? Anything they say it is. Do you remember how Trump kept referring to Schumer as a "Palestinian?" This was not a random slur. Another time he referred to Schumer as living in a nice home in "Trump Gaza?" In a prior speech Trump castigated Americans Jews for being disloyal to Israel and referred to Israel as "your country." The crazy evangelicals support Israel because they believe their savior can't return unless the Jews are back in Israel. And remember, this is a Christian nation according to them. Their intent is clear: decree that Jews are no longer citizens and mist be deported to Israel. Netanyahu would love a bunch of highly educated American Jews to be sent to populate the ethnically cleansed Gaza.
Please remember the "Black jobs." People made a joke of this but the enemy is not joking. MAGA means to re-fight the civil war with a different outcome, to create the country they believe would have existed if the Confederacy had won. The Southern Baptists literally were created as a denomination to support slavery because much of the Abolitionist movement was also based in religion, such as my favorite religious fanatic John Brown.
Yep. This is no surprise to me. The good news-sorta-is that The Atlantic is saying it.
Voted for Prop 50 in CA on Monday. We've got to search out people who don't pay attention to off-off-off year ballots!
Calls are in to Elected members of congress regarding our 4 part agenda. Continuing to write postcards for retaining judges in PA. Thanks for all the great interviews,Simon. Your work and message is much appreciated