10 more postcards in the mail. Interesting how the Epstein story continues to have traction - when the Hope Springs from Field volunteers went out this week, the second most important issue to voters was Epstein. The first was the economy. Planning to get another check out to the Hope Springs folks, who are knocking on doors in swing states.
Regarding statistics, I haven't seen anyone remember Trump's famous 1st term quote: “If we stopped testing right now, we’d have very few cases, if any.” (June 15, 2020) https://tinyurl.com/yc6rdc5t
Exactly - now he thinks if he fires the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics & we don’t know about unemployment then somehow people won’t know that the economy is bad. It won’t work . U can’t disguise what is happening to real people every day.
Perfect. I was thinking of Venezuela or Zimbabwe too. I don’t know if all of this will result in hyperinflation, but everything he’s done is reminiscent of the actions taken by similar autocrats that resulted in hyperinflation.
A fairly recent study about non-voters in the 2024 election suggests that the majority of them are economic Progressives and stayed home because they did not believe in Kamala Harris’s economic policies, which they saw us too tepid. It's impossible to condone not voting in 2024, but the study is nonetheless interesting. It's been reported on by The American Prospect and by Michael Podhorzer. I also wish somebody could explain to me why so many democrats voted for the crypto bill, which Paul Krugman says encourages grift and could very well lead to another financial crisis
Hindsight is 20/20 but even at the time I really wished both Biden and Harris more forcefully called out corporate price gouging. Many companies took advantage of the situation and kept prices high, even when the underlying causes of inflation began to subside. She did mention it but it was never at the center of her economic argument. In the absence of a “villain” for inflation many voters just blamed the current administration.
i would strongly urge you, if you have not already done so, to explore what some black writers have said; egberto willies is very good at this, politics done right. really suprised simon has not been on his show, but it really is a regional show in texas, though i feel it has enough national news for me to make getting it here in nj worth my time.
Thanks for this information. I despise the complicity of anyone who is sitting out this fight (or an election! Sheesh!) because they wished on a star and all their dreams didn’t come true.
Maybe they prefer picking on Democrats because Republicans respond with threats, but Democrats use our words? Honestly I agree with a lot of what they want but I am not interested in repainting a house that is on fire.
podhorzer also said last fall that these voters felt very threatened by another trump term in 2020, but by sept last year they weren't feeling that way. he suggested ratcheting up the warnings. however, as he himself says, polls tell you what people say, not what they do. i do not believe these nonvoters; i believe they did not vote for harris because she was a black woman. "too tepid, my butt. to me, that statement is a tell. there are other polls saying these nonvoters would have favored trump. take all this with a grain of salt; as joe trippi said, we needed the votes of 7-8 million and did not get them. let's go get them.
Agree, that upset me, just like some-27- (not majority of Dems) voted with all Repubs against a Democrat resolution to block weapons sale to Israel [though you not agree with me about Israel].
Let's begin today with a quote from Bobby Kennedy in 1966:
“Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.”
A little self-reporting from Minnesota everyone. Democrats across the state have been issue door knocking this summer as part of our strategy to Listen. Learn. Lead. We have people door knocking in the Twin Cities and we have people door knocking in Greater Minnesota. Our state party has hired 10 community organizers (one for each of our 8 congressional districts and then 2 to help cover some of the rural areas in the state) to help train our volunteers and get them out talking and listening to voters. This is the earliest and largest investment of this type in our state party history.
I have done door knocking in my area and I can tell you that voters are worried about the cost of living, the cost and availability of healthcare and education. All of the things that Simon laid out today are going to greatly impact these very issues, and not in a good way.
We are going to keep doing the issue door knocking until the snow flies (and maybe even then too) and do our damnedest to reach as many voters now so that we build some relationships and not just a transactional relationship 4 weeks before the election.
The work we are all doing matters. The work is having an impact. The orange man-baby is seeing his coalition fall apart because they see that he lied to them. Let's get out there and drive that point home and show voters that we have a way forward.
Your state of Minnesota currently has FOUR members of our People's House who are unfaithful to their Oath to protect and defend our Constitution. They are part of the MAGA coalition that allows Trump to trash the rule of law anytime he wants.
How do your fellow Minnesotans in those districts reconcile this?
Not in those districts, but I will say that the erosion of unions is a factor, and also racism/nativism. These are white rural areas, and Fox News is strong within them. One of the arch-conservative areas also is home to some Somali immigrants and there's deep deep hostility there. Same as it ever was, except worse.
Thanks. I still have to wonder if Minnesotans -- who have so much to be proud of -- in those red districts don't have a clear line somewhere when it comes to crapping on our Constitution by their Reps. It's like MAGA is trying to create a new Bizzaro American identity where cruelty and lack of decency rule. So much for "Minnesota nice." I still have my doubts as to how many are going along with this crazy car much longer -- on the 195th day of this evil regime.
SO, HERE IS A SEVEN YEAR OLD DOCUMENTARY ABOUT DOLOS AND THE “YOUNG”COMMISSIONED BY THE BBC THAT DOESN’T SEEM TO BE IMMEDIATELY AVAILABLE - ON THE BBC: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sB0IpYuYzk0 . One can come to his or her own conclusions as to why the video is only accessible via a third-party source on YouTube (defamation?). It is all so curious.
According to Frank Schaeffer, the expert on the Christian Right from the days before the Moral Majority and Ronald Reagan, he suggests that the true name of this movement is THEONOMY (ADULT LANGUAGE): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0HrFoT_aYw&list=TLPQMjYwNzIwMjU3TBqnEQk7LQ. The Theonomists want TO KILL GAYS, TO EXECUTE ADULTERERS, and TO REINTRODUCE A FORM OF SLAVERY (i.e. for the lesser races) through a severe form of Old Testament laws (read the first paragraph of the “GOALS” section): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theonomy#External_links . Their objective is a modern Inquisition-style Christian government.
It took a minute, but we appear to be experiencing the DOGE (pronounced doggy) cuts. Curious, Dolos cuts thousands and thousands of jobs (in the public sector) and grants that impact society overall, and he is now surprised the economy is in difficulty (page heading, “WHY ARE COMPANIES CUTTING IN 2025?”): https://www.challengergray.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Challenger-Report-June-2025.pdf . He really is someone who has bankrupted at least six enterprises and squandered a $400 million inheritance. [Edit: 8-2-25] As always, the highly accurate Henrietta Treyz provides the necessary context for the tariffs (timestamp - 1:05:32): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anxTNxNeqDM. Eventually, international investors will figure this all out - to the negative for the USA.
P.S. : DEMOCRATIC officials keep mentioning (and showing) Jan. 6 and the PARDONS relative to the current “law and order” push by Dolos and his associates. This is a simple but strong contrast. Use social media to promote testimonies by former “January 6 Commission” members and witnesses. YES, re-litigate Jan. 6 - again and again and again. Dolos needs to realize that he lives in a GLASS HOUSE. Go on Faux News Channel because it is just like an “unrepresented” Republican district - i.e. plenty of visuals devoid of facts. The VISUAL EVIDENCE IS NOW ON YOUR SIDE. GO ON ESPN (a male-leaning channel) and express concern about the viability of the pending World Cup with actors like Dolos and Miller in the mix. With measles rampant and anti-vax officials influencing policy, will tourists want to visit the USA (weak ticket sales?): https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/soccer/heres-what-fifa-president-gianni-infantino-said-about-ice-cbp-agents-at-club-world-cup/ar-AA1GwUkA ?
P.P.S.: Do the following now! FIRST, TEACH CIVICS. Second, register voters. THIRD, TEACH CIVICS. Rinse. Repeat.
P.P.P.S.: Every local office of the Democratic Party and of the elected officials (including state representatives on up) must become a site for civic teach-ins and a clearing house for needed services (with Federal departments being sabotaged). The fact is that Democrats believe in the value of government and of government service, and the other side (i.e. the MAGAts and the illiberals) simply doesn’t. This engagement process will make registering partisan voters and teaching civics much easier.
Jill Stein seems to be taking a pause. Her entire raison d'être has been to fight against the Democratic Party and to lessen the chance of voters electing Democratic Presidents. In my book is right up there with Ralph Nader as enablers of horrible Republicans.
Today’s post was so well written I had to smile. I think both Krugman and Spanberger emphasize how damaging the uncertainty presented by these capricious tariffs is. I saw a person running a small business post there’s just no way to plan.
Simon, great summary of Trump’s accelerating downward trajectory!
Adriana Kugler, one of the governors on the Federal Reserve Board just resigned enabling Trump to choose her replacement. Do we know anything about the reason for her resignation? Was it due to pressure from the Trump Regime? She herself has not given any reason – and it can’t be age; Kugler is only 55.
dt said Kugler resigned over a disagreement with Powell on interest rates, so we know that's not true. Sounds like a matter of personal integrity to me.
Elsewhere I read that she was a short-term replacement, with her term set to expire in January. So she was resigning a bit early, but apparently not dramatically so. Still don’t know the reason – I suspect most of the reports that give a reason are pure speculation.
Self Report from WI. We attended a Rage against the Regime rally, this morning, in a pretty red city. A smaller but enthusiastic group received many happy honks and only a few “we love you Trump” passersby.
I participated in a car caravan targeting Fox this morning. Since I'm in the Phoenix area standing outside past 9am starts to get dangerous. It was 90 degrees at 630 am. Approximately twenty cars drove a route around parts of Tempe AZ, which is a college town. We also got some happy honks but most people seemed non-complacent despite our signs and flags.
How many voters consistently watch only Fox News? How many watch the corrupted NBC, CBS. How can we fund PBS? Is not Trump's self propaganda machine be stopped? Is he not now Big Brother in the book, 1984? Mindlessness has become the goal of the Trumpies.
Become a monthly donor/member of your local public media station. Now that federal funding is gone I hope the public media that survives is unshackled and can go on offensive against the regime. Also, subscribe and share pro democracy outlets like Meidas Touch and Courier Newsroom. Fox and CBS news are slowly dying but the right still has an advantage in new media, but we are catching up.
I wonder if some states will start making trade arrangements directly with other countries and find creative ways to avoid or ignore the illegal tariffs. I know this is not trivial but now is the time for creative solutions. Also, during the revolutionary period, smuggling was a very effective form of resistance to the Crown.
I am pretty sure that state commerce like that would be unconstitutional (which the Rs seem to care about when it suits them), but I suppose corporations could be formed for that purpose. Like you said, not trivial, but we need to look for every loophole and alternate reading of every law that we can.
It's hard to plan for the every day folks like us who try to live within a budget. I've pulled back on spending which I know will hurt the economy but at 70 yrs. old, I don't have the luxury of spending on anything more than the necessities. Sometimes a few indulgences in the month but far less than what I was spending before he took office. A lot more hopeful back then!
Simon and community, as we know, we can be right, our analysis smart, our people the sharpest, and still lose this war. How do we communicate with the DNC that no holds are barred. All options for asserting and taking power have to be used--this is what we've seen. The focus needs to be on power, strength, annihilating their message with our own, and gaining attention. This is the f'ed up moment we are in. No one builds a 300mil BALLROOM when they are leaving in 3.5 years.
and the senate is now working together to push thru his nominees so they can recess. this includes dem senators! so no holds barred not a thing in the senate today.
You can also contact members of the DNC from your state of OR directly. That includes your State Party Chair Nathan Soltz, Diane Grover, Kien Truong and Steph Newton. Here are links to their email. https://dpo.org/party/dpo-officers/
but he got your attention, anything to distract us from thinking about grown men w little girls, and in case that doesn't hold long enough, he's making warlike gestures so you think about american men and women being deployed to war w Russia....so he (and they) does not have to go to jail,court,prison,bankrupt, hell.
Added an eight-pack of canned tuna to my cart during my Costco visit to give to our beleaguered, besieged, strangled, starved food bank which now has to rely on the largesse of citizen donors since the Big Orange Meanie doesn’t want to give food surpluses to charity food banks (either domestic or worldwide).
Explained to R-McClintock, MAGAt, that House recesses are an excellent opportunity to hold Town Halls with real live constituent attendees so he can actually explain why cutting Medicaid so he can have a tax break is such a great idea.
Briefly reminded Schiff and Padilla that tariff-setting is supposed to be Congress’ job and that I expect actual political savvy to prevail in my senate delegation. Mostly I contact S and P to keep their call numbers up.
Watched half an hour of old Pete Seeger videos and started crying over the clip from the Smothers Brothers when he finally got to perform Waist Deep in the Big Muddy. I reflected that today MAGA could be the fools pushing us through Big Shit Creek. I might work up some lyrics if anyone wants to whack it out on a 12-string…
Simon, thank you for the great summary of where we are.
I was remembering this morning that, when Trump was growing up, his family went to a church founded by Norman Vincent Peale, the guy who wrote "The Power of Positive Thinking." In fact, Trump's first marriage was in that church. Peale was the 1950s proponent of an older, quasi-religious American movement sometimes called New Thought. The basic idea was that you could achieve anything if your will was strong enough and if you repeated what you wanted over and over, especially using catchy phrases. (The recent New Age resurgence referred to "affirmations.") We're really seeing him return to these early religious roots as he keeps trying to bend reality to his will. And when reality won't bend, he fires the messenger, gets angrier, and engages in, as your discussion shows, even more outlandish displays of STRENGTH AND DOMINANCE. If he just repeats that America is in a "golden age," enough times surely it will come true, just like saying that he'd "obliterated" Iran's nuclear program made that "true."
10 more postcards in the mail. Interesting how the Epstein story continues to have traction - when the Hope Springs from Field volunteers went out this week, the second most important issue to voters was Epstein. The first was the economy. Planning to get another check out to the Hope Springs folks, who are knocking on doors in swing states.
Regarding statistics, I haven't seen anyone remember Trump's famous 1st term quote: “If we stopped testing right now, we’d have very few cases, if any.” (June 15, 2020) https://tinyurl.com/yc6rdc5t
Exactly - now he thinks if he fires the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics & we don’t know about unemployment then somehow people won’t know that the economy is bad. It won’t work . U can’t disguise what is happening to real people every day.
“Caracas on the Potomac.”
Perfect. I was thinking of Venezuela or Zimbabwe too. I don’t know if all of this will result in hyperinflation, but everything he’s done is reminiscent of the actions taken by similar autocrats that resulted in hyperinflation.
I like “enshittification” better personally lol
A fairly recent study about non-voters in the 2024 election suggests that the majority of them are economic Progressives and stayed home because they did not believe in Kamala Harris’s economic policies, which they saw us too tepid. It's impossible to condone not voting in 2024, but the study is nonetheless interesting. It's been reported on by The American Prospect and by Michael Podhorzer. I also wish somebody could explain to me why so many democrats voted for the crypto bill, which Paul Krugman says encourages grift and could very well lead to another financial crisis
Hindsight is 20/20 but even at the time I really wished both Biden and Harris more forcefully called out corporate price gouging. Many companies took advantage of the situation and kept prices high, even when the underlying causes of inflation began to subside. She did mention it but it was never at the center of her economic argument. In the absence of a “villain” for inflation many voters just blamed the current administration.
All true. And Harris seemed less committed to antitrust than Biden was, another problem.
i would strongly urge you, if you have not already done so, to explore what some black writers have said; egberto willies is very good at this, politics done right. really suprised simon has not been on his show, but it really is a regional show in texas, though i feel it has enough national news for me to make getting it here in nj worth my time.
Thanks for this information. I despise the complicity of anyone who is sitting out this fight (or an election! Sheesh!) because they wished on a star and all their dreams didn’t come true.
Maybe they prefer picking on Democrats because Republicans respond with threats, but Democrats use our words? Honestly I agree with a lot of what they want but I am not interested in repainting a house that is on fire.
podhorzer also said last fall that these voters felt very threatened by another trump term in 2020, but by sept last year they weren't feeling that way. he suggested ratcheting up the warnings. however, as he himself says, polls tell you what people say, not what they do. i do not believe these nonvoters; i believe they did not vote for harris because she was a black woman. "too tepid, my butt. to me, that statement is a tell. there are other polls saying these nonvoters would have favored trump. take all this with a grain of salt; as joe trippi said, we needed the votes of 7-8 million and did not get them. let's go get them.
'
My guess? Crypto campaign donations.
Yep. That and a lack of understanding.
Agree, that upset me, just like some-27- (not majority of Dems) voted with all Repubs against a Democrat resolution to block weapons sale to Israel [though you not agree with me about Israel].
Let's begin today with a quote from Bobby Kennedy in 1966:
“Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.”
A little self-reporting from Minnesota everyone. Democrats across the state have been issue door knocking this summer as part of our strategy to Listen. Learn. Lead. We have people door knocking in the Twin Cities and we have people door knocking in Greater Minnesota. Our state party has hired 10 community organizers (one for each of our 8 congressional districts and then 2 to help cover some of the rural areas in the state) to help train our volunteers and get them out talking and listening to voters. This is the earliest and largest investment of this type in our state party history.
I have done door knocking in my area and I can tell you that voters are worried about the cost of living, the cost and availability of healthcare and education. All of the things that Simon laid out today are going to greatly impact these very issues, and not in a good way.
We are going to keep doing the issue door knocking until the snow flies (and maybe even then too) and do our damnedest to reach as many voters now so that we build some relationships and not just a transactional relationship 4 weeks before the election.
The work we are all doing matters. The work is having an impact. The orange man-baby is seeing his coalition fall apart because they see that he lied to them. Let's get out there and drive that point home and show voters that we have a way forward.
Tim, thank you so much.
This is fantastic, Tim.
Your state of Minnesota currently has FOUR members of our People's House who are unfaithful to their Oath to protect and defend our Constitution. They are part of the MAGA coalition that allows Trump to trash the rule of law anytime he wants.
How do your fellow Minnesotans in those districts reconcile this?
Not in those districts, but I will say that the erosion of unions is a factor, and also racism/nativism. These are white rural areas, and Fox News is strong within them. One of the arch-conservative areas also is home to some Somali immigrants and there's deep deep hostility there. Same as it ever was, except worse.
Thanks. I still have to wonder if Minnesotans -- who have so much to be proud of -- in those red districts don't have a clear line somewhere when it comes to crapping on our Constitution by their Reps. It's like MAGA is trying to create a new Bizzaro American identity where cruelty and lack of decency rule. So much for "Minnesota nice." I still have my doubts as to how many are going along with this crazy car much longer -- on the 195th day of this evil regime.
Tim, thank you so much for everything you say here. I am borrowing your RFK quote and sharing it on my FB page.....
Where is Jill Stein?
“You come at the king, you best not miss”.
- The Wire
It seems that more scholarly people than myself (easy comparison - smile) are beginning to examine the statements by “Katie Johnson” relative to Dolos for both surface and deeper meaning (ADULT CONTENT): https://katemanne.substack.com/p/the-actual-conspiracy-theory-surrounding .
SO, HERE IS A SEVEN YEAR OLD DOCUMENTARY ABOUT DOLOS AND THE “YOUNG”COMMISSIONED BY THE BBC THAT DOESN’T SEEM TO BE IMMEDIATELY AVAILABLE - ON THE BBC: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sB0IpYuYzk0 . One can come to his or her own conclusions as to why the video is only accessible via a third-party source on YouTube (defamation?). It is all so curious.
According to Frank Schaeffer, the expert on the Christian Right from the days before the Moral Majority and Ronald Reagan, he suggests that the true name of this movement is THEONOMY (ADULT LANGUAGE): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0HrFoT_aYw&list=TLPQMjYwNzIwMjU3TBqnEQk7LQ. The Theonomists want TO KILL GAYS, TO EXECUTE ADULTERERS, and TO REINTRODUCE A FORM OF SLAVERY (i.e. for the lesser races) through a severe form of Old Testament laws (read the first paragraph of the “GOALS” section): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theonomy#External_links . Their objective is a modern Inquisition-style Christian government.
Folks:
Going forward, market participants will likely need to depend on private concerns for economic data because Dolos is getting ready to pull out his magic Sharpie to “influence” economic data sets from the Federal Government (and the Federal Reserve): https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/president-trump-dorian-map-sharpie/. He may admire the power of autocrats, but outside of China, their economies are usually quite anemic (see Russia, Hungary, and Turkey): https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/01/trump-firing-bureau-labor-statistics-chief-jobs-report-00488960 . Unfortunately, the politicization of government data will only continue to harm brand America: https://revdem.ceu.edu/2025/03/25/dismantling-data/.
It took a minute, but we appear to be experiencing the DOGE (pronounced doggy) cuts. Curious, Dolos cuts thousands and thousands of jobs (in the public sector) and grants that impact society overall, and he is now surprised the economy is in difficulty (page heading, “WHY ARE COMPANIES CUTTING IN 2025?”): https://www.challengergray.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Challenger-Report-June-2025.pdf . He really is someone who has bankrupted at least six enterprises and squandered a $400 million inheritance. [Edit: 8-2-25] As always, the highly accurate Henrietta Treyz provides the necessary context for the tariffs (timestamp - 1:05:32): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anxTNxNeqDM. Eventually, international investors will figure this all out - to the negative for the USA.
The “Sell America” trade will soon become the “Sell the Dolos Regime” trade. The confusion around the tariffs will further alienate the current government, and the prospects for the citizenry will become collateral damage. The Dolos concept of “owning” the store (i.e. the United States) will prove inadequate : https://www.msn.com/en-us/politics/government/i-own-the-store-trump-seeks-a-direct-role-in-the-economy/ar-AA1EZD11 .
CARTHAGO DELENDA EST (via nonviolence).
P.S. : DEMOCRATIC officials keep mentioning (and showing) Jan. 6 and the PARDONS relative to the current “law and order” push by Dolos and his associates. This is a simple but strong contrast. Use social media to promote testimonies by former “January 6 Commission” members and witnesses. YES, re-litigate Jan. 6 - again and again and again. Dolos needs to realize that he lives in a GLASS HOUSE. Go on Faux News Channel because it is just like an “unrepresented” Republican district - i.e. plenty of visuals devoid of facts. The VISUAL EVIDENCE IS NOW ON YOUR SIDE. GO ON ESPN (a male-leaning channel) and express concern about the viability of the pending World Cup with actors like Dolos and Miller in the mix. With measles rampant and anti-vax officials influencing policy, will tourists want to visit the USA (weak ticket sales?): https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/soccer/heres-what-fifa-president-gianni-infantino-said-about-ice-cbp-agents-at-club-world-cup/ar-AA1GwUkA ?
P.P.S.: Do the following now! FIRST, TEACH CIVICS. Second, register voters. THIRD, TEACH CIVICS. Rinse. Repeat.
P.P.P.S.: Every local office of the Democratic Party and of the elected officials (including state representatives on up) must become a site for civic teach-ins and a clearing house for needed services (with Federal departments being sabotaged). The fact is that Democrats believe in the value of government and of government service, and the other side (i.e. the MAGAts and the illiberals) simply doesn’t. This engagement process will make registering partisan voters and teaching civics much easier.
Jill Stein seems to be taking a pause. Her entire raison d'être has been to fight against the Democratic Party and to lessen the chance of voters electing Democratic Presidents. In my book is right up there with Ralph Nader as enablers of horrible Republicans.
I hope we make progress on ranked choice voting, otherwise with the way the electoral college works these cranks can do real damage as spoilers.
Jill Stein only exits the crypt in presidential election years.
she is much worse than nader, who can at least point to some earlier accomplishments in life.
Putin doesn't pay her to work in between election years.
What Bible are these people reading 🤪
Today’s post was so well written I had to smile. I think both Krugman and Spanberger emphasize how damaging the uncertainty presented by these capricious tariffs is. I saw a person running a small business post there’s just no way to plan.
it was an excellent piece of writing, coming from a former journalist here...
Simon, great summary of Trump’s accelerating downward trajectory!
Adriana Kugler, one of the governors on the Federal Reserve Board just resigned enabling Trump to choose her replacement. Do we know anything about the reason for her resignation? Was it due to pressure from the Trump Regime? She herself has not given any reason – and it can’t be age; Kugler is only 55.
dt said Kugler resigned over a disagreement with Powell on interest rates, so we know that's not true. Sounds like a matter of personal integrity to me.
Elsewhere I read that she was a short-term replacement, with her term set to expire in January. So she was resigning a bit early, but apparently not dramatically so. Still don’t know the reason – I suspect most of the reports that give a reason are pure speculation.
Self Report from WI. We attended a Rage against the Regime rally, this morning, in a pretty red city. A smaller but enthusiastic group received many happy honks and only a few “we love you Trump” passersby.
Thank you for all you do, Simon and community.
I participated in a car caravan targeting Fox this morning. Since I'm in the Phoenix area standing outside past 9am starts to get dangerous. It was 90 degrees at 630 am. Approximately twenty cars drove a route around parts of Tempe AZ, which is a college town. We also got some happy honks but most people seemed non-complacent despite our signs and flags.
How many voters consistently watch only Fox News? How many watch the corrupted NBC, CBS. How can we fund PBS? Is not Trump's self propaganda machine be stopped? Is he not now Big Brother in the book, 1984? Mindlessness has become the goal of the Trumpies.
Become a monthly donor/member of your local public media station. Now that federal funding is gone I hope the public media that survives is unshackled and can go on offensive against the regime. Also, subscribe and share pro democracy outlets like Meidas Touch and Courier Newsroom. Fox and CBS news are slowly dying but the right still has an advantage in new media, but we are catching up.
Yes! I recently learned of two local access outlets here and decided to fork money, AND start a bit of writing.
Nice work. I just became a member of my local public media station.
they don't just watch fox; they supplement with newsmax, one america and alex jones.
I wonder if some states will start making trade arrangements directly with other countries and find creative ways to avoid or ignore the illegal tariffs. I know this is not trivial but now is the time for creative solutions. Also, during the revolutionary period, smuggling was a very effective form of resistance to the Crown.
I am pretty sure that state commerce like that would be unconstitutional (which the Rs seem to care about when it suits them), but I suppose corporations could be formed for that purpose. Like you said, not trivial, but we need to look for every loophole and alternate reading of every law that we can.
As I recall some months ago Tim Walz was arranging so for Minn. will add link if I run across any more info or update
It's hard to plan for the every day folks like us who try to live within a budget. I've pulled back on spending which I know will hurt the economy but at 70 yrs. old, I don't have the luxury of spending on anything more than the necessities. Sometimes a few indulgences in the month but far less than what I was spending before he took office. A lot more hopeful back then!
Me too.
I love the snarky tone in today’s post. Some days that just feels good, and it is better than stewing, which I was sort of starting to do.
Simon and community, as we know, we can be right, our analysis smart, our people the sharpest, and still lose this war. How do we communicate with the DNC that no holds are barred. All options for asserting and taking power have to be used--this is what we've seen. The focus needs to be on power, strength, annihilating their message with our own, and gaining attention. This is the f'ed up moment we are in. No one builds a 300mil BALLROOM when they are leaving in 3.5 years.
and the senate is now working together to push thru his nominees so they can recess. this includes dem senators! so no holds barred not a thing in the senate today.
You can get connected and read about what the DNC is doing: https://democrats.org/news/
There is an online form that you can use to offer to help or submit your questions. https://democrats.org/contact-us/
and more https://democrats.org/take-action-organizing-summer/
You can also contact members of the DNC from your state of OR directly. That includes your State Party Chair Nathan Soltz, Diane Grover, Kien Truong and Steph Newton. Here are links to their email. https://dpo.org/party/dpo-officers/
You can also watch Simon's interview with Ken Martin again or if you've missed it. https://www.hopiumchronicles.com/p/organize-everywhere-win-anywhere
I predict Trump will have died of old age (or heart failure or whatever) before that ballroom is done.
Or the dementia may become just too much.
but he got your attention, anything to distract us from thinking about grown men w little girls, and in case that doesn't hold long enough, he's making warlike gestures so you think about american men and women being deployed to war w Russia....so he (and they) does not have to go to jail,court,prison,bankrupt, hell.
Self reporting:
Added an eight-pack of canned tuna to my cart during my Costco visit to give to our beleaguered, besieged, strangled, starved food bank which now has to rely on the largesse of citizen donors since the Big Orange Meanie doesn’t want to give food surpluses to charity food banks (either domestic or worldwide).
Explained to R-McClintock, MAGAt, that House recesses are an excellent opportunity to hold Town Halls with real live constituent attendees so he can actually explain why cutting Medicaid so he can have a tax break is such a great idea.
Briefly reminded Schiff and Padilla that tariff-setting is supposed to be Congress’ job and that I expect actual political savvy to prevail in my senate delegation. Mostly I contact S and P to keep their call numbers up.
Watched half an hour of old Pete Seeger videos and started crying over the clip from the Smothers Brothers when he finally got to perform Waist Deep in the Big Muddy. I reflected that today MAGA could be the fools pushing us through Big Shit Creek. I might work up some lyrics if anyone wants to whack it out on a 12-string…
Simon, thank you for the great summary of where we are.
I was remembering this morning that, when Trump was growing up, his family went to a church founded by Norman Vincent Peale, the guy who wrote "The Power of Positive Thinking." In fact, Trump's first marriage was in that church. Peale was the 1950s proponent of an older, quasi-religious American movement sometimes called New Thought. The basic idea was that you could achieve anything if your will was strong enough and if you repeated what you wanted over and over, especially using catchy phrases. (The recent New Age resurgence referred to "affirmations.") We're really seeing him return to these early religious roots as he keeps trying to bend reality to his will. And when reality won't bend, he fires the messenger, gets angrier, and engages in, as your discussion shows, even more outlandish displays of STRENGTH AND DOMINANCE. If he just repeats that America is in a "golden age," enough times surely it will come true, just like saying that he'd "obliterated" Iran's nuclear program made that "true."
I'm writing postcards to Virginia voters today.