I AM WILDLY OPPOSED TO ANY MENTION OF IMPEACHMENT. This is 100 percent the wrong strategy right now. And you are also misreading the importance of the vote today - it is not about the files and whatever happens with them, it is about his complete and total humiliation and repudiation.
If you are going to remain an active member of the community do not come on here and tell people what to do. You can say what you are doing but do not be so presumptuous to be able to believe you can direct others.
Impeachment is a hare-brained idea. I can think of no more sure-fired way to inspire Republicans to circle the wagons, drop all opposition to Trump, and instead defend and strengthen him!
Even if Democrats currently held majorities in both chambers of Congress, I wouldn’t support this now; for even then it would be an exercise in futility, utterly counterproductive.
Damning public hearings, yes. Humiliation and political death by a thousand cuts, yes. But even without Democrats in control, that is precisely what Trump is suffering right now!
We're going to need a supermajority in the senate to convict the president and I doubt we can pull GOP senators. Also, note that JD Vance will become president which...not keen on at all.
It's a moot point. That being said dem majorities in congress can do a lot of harm reduction and that can help. It did in 2018.
No, as Wyatt points out, two-thirds are required for a conviction. While some Republicans voted to convict Trump during each impeachment trial, I don’t think we can count on any votes during another impeachment.
While Democrats have enjoyed solid Senate majorities, most recently under President Obama, one party having a two-thirds majority is extremely rare. I believe the last two times were 1937–1939, when Democrats held a whopping 76 seats, and 1949–1951 after Democrats won 65 seats in the 1948 elections. (Note that this was before Alaska and Hawaii both became states in 1959 and the Senate thus had fewer than 100 seats.)
Many online people who advocate impeachment don't seem to realize (1) that it has to be followed by conviction in the Senate to make a difference; (2) that if it's followed by conviction, JD Vance would become president; and (3) that there's no way in hell that a Republican Senate would come up with the 2/3 majority needed to convict -- especially *this* Republican Senate.
Something I'd very much like to see come out of this mess: a revitalization of civics education, and not only in the schools -- we adults need it too. It's died out in too many places, especially the places that I suspect need it most (like every state whose Electoral College votes went to Trump not once, not twice, but three times).
I'd also like to see Citizens United (2010) and Shelby County v. Holder (2013) overturned. That's just for starters.
I would argue that "constitutional illiteracy" is a root cause of many problems we face.
I appreciate more each day the excellent teachers I had back in the 60s -- from the Great Depression and WWII generation -- teaching civics and history. Really great teachers. (Who will do the teaching today?)
I'm sure they would regard with horror "impeachment" being dismissed as a "strategy." But that's how far we have fallen -- and massive corruption has taken root.
People forget (if they ever knew) that civics, not "preparing children for the job market," was the original justification for public education, whose advocates argued that democracy could not survive (let alone maximize its potential) with an uninformed, uneducated citizenry doing the voting.
This is an awesome statement you have written. "We need predictable, compliant, willing workers" -- and so the schools transitioned to that. Do not question the status quo. You have the freedom to vote for the candidates that you did not choose -- but who were placed before you.
Back in those days, when a teacher had us reading from "Democracy in America," it was above our heads. I saw a kind of pool that I knew was deep, but I knew I had to dive into. I seriously doubt if any student these days experiences that.
"Alexis de Tocqueville's Prophecy: The Tyranny of Comfort We Willingly Choose"
I love the reference to Alexis de Tocqueville. I read 'Democracy in America' in college, and thought he was prescient about what could/has happened in America. Maybe I'll pull that book out and reread it.
We must be around the same age -- I was in junior high and high school in the '60s, and my teachers ranged from very good to stupendous, especially in history and English.
Maybe civics could be taught by someone other than right wing sports coaches. At least, that’s who teaches it where I live. They don’t seem to be experts on government, either, just partisan hacks. And that was true when I was growing up here in the 80’s, too.
If you have good civics teachers in your area, my apologies for painting with a broad brush. I would love to hear about good civics teachers.
I have heard similar reports from friends in various red states. Not good. Clearly these school districts believe that civics is so worthless that anyone can teach it. (Would they allow, say, a home ec teacher to coach the school's top-notch football team?)
Ugh, I didn't know the politics of my civics "teacher" (most likely RW), but in the very late '70s, I had a semester of civics with the football coach. It could not have been more boring, and he was out of his league, so I remember nothing from the class. Only when I became interested in politics did I learn what I needed. Civics is essential and needs to be taught by intelligent, honest, educated people!
I helped someone obtain her citizenship. We read through books about the American government and I joked with her that if I had to take the citizenship test, I wouldn't be a citizen. (It's actually not all that funny...).
Impeachment would be an extremely bad move right now. Why? Because the Repubs are in power. Even if articles of impeachment were to pass the House, the trial in the Senate would fail yet again. Trump, having beaten two prior impeachment and removal attempts, would feel even more invincible after having beaten a third. And don't think removal from office would be successful even if Democrats secured majorities in both houses of Congress after the 2026 midterms.
The ultimate jury is the American people. I witnessed this during the Watergate hearings -- serving in the Navy at the time.
I suppose some can justify selling the American people short -- by giving up on them. They might have very compelling reasons for doing so. I am just of a generation where that is not an option.
Today’s essay by Simon is so damning, so packed with overwhelming evidence that America’s resistance is far stronger than Mad King Donald and his cronies. So encouraging to read!
***
On another note: Did Donald Trump rape a 13-year-old girl? Strong evidence and testimony suggests he did – but corporate media won’t touch the story. Here is Borowitz:
I was thinking yesterday what this country would look like if people did not so easily brush off harassment and abuse—if people cannot be bothered to care about the women themselves they might realize that men who use their power in this way will do it, in some way or another, to everyone. (Immediately, no Thomas, Kavanaugh, Trump, half his cabinet, massive donors disgraced.)
Neither should have been elevated to the highest court of the land! Tragically, Justice Clarence Thomas, that is in large part due to choices Joe Biden made as a US Senator.
Yes. Saw a woman's post yesterday wondering about the impact of Summer's and his cronies on the academic careers of countless women students and junior faculty. How the culture of an institution is shaped by having Epstein listers at the top, for a generation. As a post-academic myself, I've been thinking about the outsize influence Harvard has on my own field, and wondering...
And that's just academia. There are so many other industries and professions and institutions. The jaw drops.
We hold every last one of these b*stards accountable. Every. Last. One.
Believe women? Ghislaine Maxwell, not so much. But I believe this woman who recounts the abuse she suffered at the hands of Trump as a 13 year old. Let us remember that Trump already is an adjudicated rapist!
The phrase "believe women" is used in the context of survivors telling their stories. Ghislaine is an adjudicated rapist too, we don't believe her under any circumstances.
jim jordan sits in congress despite his knowledge of abuse of boys. john gacy got away with it so long because authorities told parents their boys had just run away, or were working the streets or what have you. hell, jeffrey dahmer was found with a boy in his apartment, who he was torturing, and the cops laughed it off. furthermore, boys are far less likely to come forward.....we've all seen the movie spotlight....and yet its the right wing that screams the loudest and shows up at pizza joints looking to kill imagined sex traffickers. i can't take these people anymore.
Our society has deeply-rooted issues with racism and sexism. I hold firm that deep within MAGA is a belief that the Epstein women (and all women for that matter) are responsible for their own disasters and abuses (original sin?) The public-face rage over women and girls being abused is convenient and admirable. They can face themselves in the mirror when they force themselves into that advocacy role.
You don't care about women and girls and let them bleed out in parking lots and tell them a slap in the face is no reason to call the police on your husband/boyfriend.
I am listening to MAGA Mikey drone on now for how long? I can't believe what a condescending, sanctomonious, lying twat he is. He's such a fucking child-man.
I just watched this as well. I did not know any of the details of this story, nor did I know she had made a video testimony. It is unfortunate that the media has neglected her story and that of the other victims. Thank you for bringing this to our attention.
Katie Johnson is her pseudonym, and she also filed her suit under Jane Doe for alleged rape at age 13 by both dt and epstein. Because she received death threats, she withdrew her lawsuit. From a PBS report about victims.
“Jane Doe” aka “Katie Johnson” – 1994. Lawsuit filed June 2016, refiled October 2016 as reported by Buzzfeed and others, then dropped in November 2016.
Jane Doe is an unnamed plaintiff, who has also gone by “Katie Johnson” in legal papers. She claims she was repeatedly raped by Trump and Jeffery Epstein at Epstein’s New York City apartment in 1994, when she was 13 years old. A witness, also given a pseudonym — “Tiffany Doe” — said she recruited “Jane Doe” and others. Doe, using the name “Johnson,” gave an interview to the Daily Mail in which she said she did not know who Trump was at the time of the alleged attack but identified him later when she saw him on television. It is not known why she withdrew the lawsuit. She has not spoken publicly or withdrawn her rape allegation since then."
Deborah Potter elegantly highlights the Why. Death threats certainly do make accusers reconsider whether it’s all worth it! Let me also point you to the podcast link in the Borowitz article.
AS, not only won't they touch it, but they regularly smear her via sins of commission and omission. Just the other day, the Washington Post quoted, unchallenged, a letter from the files that described her as "a troubled woman with a drug problem" who had withdrawn the charges, and said nothing about the witness who was prepared to corroborate her story except that she was "anonymous."
* No mention of the reason *why* she dropped the charges--fear for her own safety and that of her family (surely, no one can doubt at this point that this was bona fide, and likely based on a s***load of intimidation she had already experienced--this is a guy with the goons for every authoritarian country and crime syndicate on call [nobody is mentioned more times in the Panama Papers]).
* No reminder to readers that it's hardly disqualifying to develop a "drug problem" after being raped by anyone, let alone a powerful celebrity, at the age of 13.
* No mention that the witness was not just someone whom she told about the assault contemporaneously, but another girl who Epstein was trafficking who saw the whole thing.
* No mention of any of the people who saw her deposition--it was online for months in 2016--and found it credible (and why wouldn't they? How can anyone believe Trump in any kind of he said/she said scenario at this point?)
* No details about what was allegedly done except the usually antiseptic, euphemistic "graphic sexual acts" (FYI for anyone who doesn't know, she testified that she was tied up and assaulted multiple times).
* No mention of the fact that she filed the suit *months before* the dozens of women who came forward after the Access Hollywood tape emerged--this wasn't just someone opportunistically piling on, as right-wing cynics would love to allege.
* No reminder to readers as to why someone who was brutally assaulted as a child might take many years to come forward, long after the statute of limitations for criminal charges has eliminated that possibility, leaving only civil remedies available, nor why she might do so at a time when she can have maximum impact, and mete out the closest thing to justice she's ever going to get, let alone when faced with the real possibility, for the first time, that the man who did this to her could be in her face every day for the next 4-8 years, doing God knows what else (literally, based on her experience). If I'm not mistaken, even the deadline for civil action was rapidly approaching, but no mention of this either.
* Thus leaving the way free and clear for MAGAs explanation--without even having to include it, because he's used it so many times, over and over again (until we can all practically recite it verbatim)--that she was just a fame and fortune seeker using his campaign as leverage to cash in.
I posted all the above (via multiple posts) in the comment section of WaPo's article , in part because so few people outside us "elites" know anything close to the full story, and also to see what MAGA bottom feeders would spew when they rose to the bait, and sure enough they did. Apparently the MAGA talking point on Katie Johnson is that her story "has been debunked by Snopes."
As a long-time info warrior, naturally I had to check this out, and sure enough, the only thing actually "debunked" were claims that there was "new information" about the case. Nope, it was all in the legal documents from 2016, though it's understandable that it's new to so many people, given how little coverage it got at the time (CNN et al just couldn't give it a couple of minutes of the thousands they gave Trump in free unfiltered advertising).
I'm afraid, also, that Snopes has also become a textbook demonstration of the corrosive effect years of death threats can have, especially on a small operation. Much of their analysis focused on the role that a former Jerry Springer producer played in getting her story out there, which is guilt-by-association worthy of the ol' Tailgunner (meanwhile, as a couple of working class Republican friends reminded me this AM, a lot of the elites forget that a lot of what Springer brought to his show *actually happened*). And their coverage lacked every single one of the elements the WaPo story omitted as well, though at least it suggested, at several points, why her story could be credible, albeit only in the abstract, which always reads as more pro forma than believable.
Simon, I’m wondering about the TX elections. Colin Allred says he’s neck and neck with Paxton. Talarico is a new, fresh, and more engaged with voters candidate, and Crockett is considering running for the same seat. While I wish they would all run for different positions I am unsure who has the best chance. I’ve held off contributions to anyone waiting to see what Crockett decides. Would love your take!
Very interesting - thanks Wyatt. Though I’m not totally surprised. Allred just doesn’t get around the state much and Talarico does and goes on Fox and other news outlets and he has a demeanor that is engaging - like Pete Buttigieg
I have no idea who the better candidate is. That's why we have primaries. The better candidate usually emerges from the rough and tumble. They are both very candidates.
I listened to you (Simon) discuss this issue of primaries in one of your interviews last week. I totally agree with you that it's strategically important to stay out of the intra-party fray and to throw all of our support behind whoever comes out standing from the primary process.
Also, Darla, I'm sympathetic to your desire to spread out the talent pool. But I'm also a strong believer that the primary process makes for much stronger candidates. Going through unopposed also means going through untested. Obama 2012 comes to mind, and his first debate performance against Romney still makes me shudder!
While I agree with you I’m also frustratingly aware of how many horrible, corrupt, Trumpian politicians there are in my state. I would like to get rid of more than one. Getting Paxton out would be a godsend however.
Primary will narrow it down. That said, I supported Allred last time and thought he had very strong chance of winning. Wrong again. My late husband would have reminded me I’ve been gone from TX too long! Someday I may be proven wrong, but going forward will only support (donations) a white male. Lived in three cities in TX, grew up in rural area. That county still voted for 80/20 again for convicted felon. Hatred for Democrats runs so deep.
indeed - that is a choice I wish were avoidable. We need all of the energy, commitment and courage exhibited by each of these extraordinary candidates!
Thanks for the great and very important article by Garrett. Unfortunately, it's horrendous in Memphis and very few are covering/talking about it. I was on a MoveOn call last night, and a leader from BLM Memphis described how teams of every level of law enforcement/immigration are working in tandem, pulling people over for minor infractions and terrorizing folks just trying to live their lives. It's a majority Black city with a storied history. It's one of my favorite cities, and what's being done to its citizens is just unforgivable. We need to support them however we can, and bring pressure to the pro-democracy movement to stand with them & to cover this story.
Another great episode of the American Revolution last night--we learned about the awful hardships experienced by the Patriots, and how continuous pressure led to an inflection point in which the Declaration was a necessity.
Looking forward to the vote today at 1:30. Accountability is the name of the game. I mentioned that yesterday. We can't wait till the midterms -- we don't know how things will turn out, and we have to use the tools at our disposal. Rep. Garcia and Rep. Khanna and Rep. Lee and so many on the Oversight Committee have proved this point. Don't back down. Don't let up. And ensure our House & Senate Dems do the same. And if they don't, we vote them out.
Shannon Watts (founder of Moms Demand Action) used to say "we'll have your support or we'll have your jobs." Bingo.
I was on the MoveOn call and heard about the BS in Memphis. The stacking of additional charges to hammer people they've terrorized is one of the many crimes that will be punished against this treasonous, anti-American regime.
I called my R representative and let him know which way I expect him to vote on the Epstein files. I'm still working on voter reg postcards for Alaska.
It does seem like there is a retreat across many fronts. What would be fascinating is a pullback from the attacks on the ACA. Without Trump leading "policy", who is going to do it and what is it going to look like? It's hard for me to believe there is any muscle-memory for leadership left in the GOP.
They've always been followers of whoever the leader is, but they never take the kneepads off these days, unless they are ready or willing to retire. They also don't actually care about people, this is all self-preservation mode.
That picture of him does have a Dorian Gray vibe, doesn't it?
100% and while they must be held accountable for all of it, the ICE raids that have been unconscionably cruel and extreme, really must be answered for. They are totally unnecessary and done solely to terrify and must be dealt with severely IMHO.
Yesterday my son came home and told me that the boy sitting next to him in social studies started talking about the threat of ICE raids in Wake and Durham counties (NC; my son is in 8th grade). He told my son that his parents are in the final stages of legalizing their status but that they are terrified. My son and I have talked about this a lot, but hearing it from a classmate really brought it home to him. I am just sick to my soul that all this is happening. My son was kind of traumatized about imagining coming home to find me vanished -- and for him this is just an act of the imagination. I am enraged and heartsick all at once, and I will unleash on Tillis and Budd when I get done typing this.
And boy, if Stephen Miller wanted to absolutely tank the GOP in NC, he couldn't pick a better way to do it! The images of what is happening in Charlotte are all over the place and it is not playing well with anyone.
I don't know if you can afford it, but it's easy to support those families. Can you pick up/drop off the kid for school or get their groceries for them if they pay you back? Many families have the money to go to the store but are afraid to go. Some grocery stores have pre-bagged food that you simply pay for and drop off at the correct house. Otherwise? Just be a kind and decent person. It's basics...listening to them. Etc. No one is illegal on stolen land. Unfortunately, many trumpers forget they are on stolen land.
My son's school is about 40% Hispanic. Today about 90% of those students stayed home. I am already working to support the folks that I know. I have two students from Africa in the class I taught this evening -- they both attended on Zoom because they were too frightened to be out and about. Tomorrow I teach at least 12 Hispanic students. I'm hoping they're in class, but if not, I'll reach out to them. Stressful times!
G’morning all. I’m heading out to a county board of supervisors meeting to speak as a citizen in support of county action to provide shelter for our homeless population. Winter approaches. And to set up a meeting with a democratic candidate for state senate who is speaking out about statewide wildfire management policy — I’m writing a series of articles about the devastating situation of homeowners’ insurance, locally. Figured I’d plug a local Democrat here in blood-red bastion of lily white inland California.
Simon, I promise to send a little piece of my next retirement check to bolster our initiative to expand Democratic outreach into the hinterlands. I wish I had more to give.
Hi Emily - I always wish I had more to give too, but knowing who to give money to after vetting from Simon has made donating much more meaningful for me. Helping the candidates and causes that need the money, and then watching them succeed, has been such a great feeling!
I think that is some ways the health care system is broken. It is insanely expensive and we need, as Bernie reminds us over and over Medicare for all or national health insurance just like all other developed countries. We do not have enough doctors because the med schools control how many can become doctors. The insurance companies and big pharma get the big bucks and we get less than stellar health care and worse outcomes than many countries.
Becoming a doctor or a health care administrator should not be a sure road to becoming a millionaire. But trying to fix this has always met with resistance as Hillary Clinton found out and as Obama found out with ACA which was the absolutely best he could get through. The GOP has always stood in the way of getting any of this accomplished. Death panels they screamed about ACA and yet they are the very ones creating the death panels with the draconian big ugly bill. We know someone who is losing their access to dialysis because of the cuts to Medicaid. That is a death sentence. Thanks to the GOP. I wrote to Sen. Tillis about this but I have heard crickets.
Republicans broke our health care system. It is not broken. Our opponent isn't abstract concepts like oligarchy, or greed, or higher prices. It is Republicans.
That's what Leader Jeffries said this morning in an MS Now interview (listened only bc they were interviewing him). Language is important -- clear language, not euphemism and passive voice. As a person w MFA in nonfiction writing, I concur!
I have spent nearly 40 years working in employee benefits. There is no question our healthcare system is broken, and deeply conflicted because private insurance is run as a for profit business. That being said, it is ABUNDANTLY clear that the only political party that tries to fix it, hell just improve it, is the Democrats.
Becoming a physician is NOT a sure road to becoming a millionaire. The cost of medical school is astounding. You cannot begin to earn $ until residency, and then you are not well paid. When you finally begin to practice, most physicians are paying off huge loans for years. These are very intelligent folks who could have been making lots of $ in finance. And if you are an internist or family practitioner or a pediatrician, you are NOT earning big money. Sorry, but this is personal. We have many challenges in our healthcare system. But physicians are retiring early because it is so stressful. And GOD forbid you are a physician/scientist since they just cut all the funding for research.
I am in agreement it is more the management that makes big bucks and the cost of education is the problem. It should not break the bank. I am well aware of what it takes and how onerous it can be. I apologize if I implied all doctors are well off. I know that is not true. As Bernie often points out going to school should either be free or reasonable. Med school is not as I am well aware. If you end schooling owing 200K or more, it will take years to make a reasonable living. That is also a problem that should not exist for people who seek to help others.
being a physician these days is definitely not a sure way to become a millionaire, and in nj, being a millionaire won't get you very far.....you can earn that in 5 years as a school superintendent; my contention has always been that if a public school employee can make a certain amount, than that amount is no longer a big salary....
Just got home from 3 nights in “war ravaged Portland” (lol) and even though I used transit and ran around to all my favorite places, I saw no ICE activity and no helicopters overhead. Best I could tell they’ve chilled out there too except for right around the ICE office building and I guess targeted abductions that happen randomly. Everywhere I went seemed completely normal and safe.
Hi all, Any Vermont folks out there working on Resolutions of Condemnation? We are a small group of elders hoping to find others who are working on this idea. Thanks.
Great work, Simon. I'd nominate that photograph of the returning Dear Leader for a Pulitzer in Photography. The crumpled flag on the ground, the burnt sienna makeup, the posture of a broken old man, it is all there.
I AM WILDLY OPPOSED TO ANY MENTION OF IMPEACHMENT. This is 100 percent the wrong strategy right now. And you are also misreading the importance of the vote today - it is not about the files and whatever happens with them, it is about his complete and total humiliation and repudiation.
If you are going to remain an active member of the community do not come on here and tell people what to do. You can say what you are doing but do not be so presumptuous to be able to believe you can direct others.
Impeachment is a hare-brained idea. I can think of no more sure-fired way to inspire Republicans to circle the wagons, drop all opposition to Trump, and instead defend and strengthen him!
Even if Democrats currently held majorities in both chambers of Congress, I wouldn’t support this now; for even then it would be an exercise in futility, utterly counterproductive.
Damning public hearings, yes. Humiliation and political death by a thousand cuts, yes. But even without Democrats in control, that is precisely what Trump is suffering right now!
Wait wait wait I’m confused. We couldn’t do it even if we had majorities in both chambers? I thought that’s what we would need.
I see. Thank you.
We're going to need a supermajority in the senate to convict the president and I doubt we can pull GOP senators. Also, note that JD Vance will become president which...not keen on at all.
It's a moot point. That being said dem majorities in congress can do a lot of harm reduction and that can help. It did in 2018.
No, as Wyatt points out, two-thirds are required for a conviction. While some Republicans voted to convict Trump during each impeachment trial, I don’t think we can count on any votes during another impeachment.
While Democrats have enjoyed solid Senate majorities, most recently under President Obama, one party having a two-thirds majority is extremely rare. I believe the last two times were 1937–1939, when Democrats held a whopping 76 seats, and 1949–1951 after Democrats won 65 seats in the 1948 elections. (Note that this was before Alaska and Hawaii both became states in 1959 and the Senate thus had fewer than 100 seats.)
Many online people who advocate impeachment don't seem to realize (1) that it has to be followed by conviction in the Senate to make a difference; (2) that if it's followed by conviction, JD Vance would become president; and (3) that there's no way in hell that a Republican Senate would come up with the 2/3 majority needed to convict -- especially *this* Republican Senate.
Something I'd very much like to see come out of this mess: a revitalization of civics education, and not only in the schools -- we adults need it too. It's died out in too many places, especially the places that I suspect need it most (like every state whose Electoral College votes went to Trump not once, not twice, but three times).
I'd also like to see Citizens United (2010) and Shelby County v. Holder (2013) overturned. That's just for starters.
"revitalization of civics education"
I would argue that "constitutional illiteracy" is a root cause of many problems we face.
I appreciate more each day the excellent teachers I had back in the 60s -- from the Great Depression and WWII generation -- teaching civics and history. Really great teachers. (Who will do the teaching today?)
I'm sure they would regard with horror "impeachment" being dismissed as a "strategy." But that's how far we have fallen -- and massive corruption has taken root.
People forget (if they ever knew) that civics, not "preparing children for the job market," was the original justification for public education, whose advocates argued that democracy could not survive (let alone maximize its potential) with an uninformed, uneducated citizenry doing the voting.
This is an awesome statement you have written. "We need predictable, compliant, willing workers" -- and so the schools transitioned to that. Do not question the status quo. You have the freedom to vote for the candidates that you did not choose -- but who were placed before you.
Back in those days, when a teacher had us reading from "Democracy in America," it was above our heads. I saw a kind of pool that I knew was deep, but I knew I had to dive into. I seriously doubt if any student these days experiences that.
"Alexis de Tocqueville's Prophecy: The Tyranny of Comfort We Willingly Choose"
https://youtu.be/0uW9DukAL2w?si=oBYo3ZWqUx_PUD1F
I love the reference to Alexis de Tocqueville. I read 'Democracy in America' in college, and thought he was prescient about what could/has happened in America. Maybe I'll pull that book out and reread it.
We must be around the same age -- I was in junior high and high school in the '60s, and my teachers ranged from very good to stupendous, especially in history and English.
Maybe civics could be taught by someone other than right wing sports coaches. At least, that’s who teaches it where I live. They don’t seem to be experts on government, either, just partisan hacks. And that was true when I was growing up here in the 80’s, too.
If you have good civics teachers in your area, my apologies for painting with a broad brush. I would love to hear about good civics teachers.
Jenny, you mean a Ted Lasso/Led Tasso? Yes, please.
Oh, Led Tasso was bad news!
I have heard similar reports from friends in various red states. Not good. Clearly these school districts believe that civics is so worthless that anyone can teach it. (Would they allow, say, a home ec teacher to coach the school's top-notch football team?)
Ugh, I didn't know the politics of my civics "teacher" (most likely RW), but in the very late '70s, I had a semester of civics with the football coach. It could not have been more boring, and he was out of his league, so I remember nothing from the class. Only when I became interested in politics did I learn what I needed. Civics is essential and needs to be taught by intelligent, honest, educated people!
I helped someone obtain her citizenship. We read through books about the American government and I joked with her that if I had to take the citizenship test, I wouldn't be a citizen. (It's actually not all that funny...).
Impeachment would be an extremely bad move right now. Why? Because the Repubs are in power. Even if articles of impeachment were to pass the House, the trial in the Senate would fail yet again. Trump, having beaten two prior impeachment and removal attempts, would feel even more invincible after having beaten a third. And don't think removal from office would be successful even if Democrats secured majorities in both houses of Congress after the 2026 midterms.
The ultimate jury is the American people. I witnessed this during the Watergate hearings -- serving in the Navy at the time.
I suppose some can justify selling the American people short -- by giving up on them. They might have very compelling reasons for doing so. I am just of a generation where that is not an option.
Today’s essay by Simon is so damning, so packed with overwhelming evidence that America’s resistance is far stronger than Mad King Donald and his cronies. So encouraging to read!
***
On another note: Did Donald Trump rape a 13-year-old girl? Strong evidence and testimony suggests he did – but corporate media won’t touch the story. Here is Borowitz:
https://www.borowitzreport.com/p/the-epstein-story-that-corporate
Just watched that. We've known about this for a while, as Dr. Manne said. Believe women.
I was thinking yesterday what this country would look like if people did not so easily brush off harassment and abuse—if people cannot be bothered to care about the women themselves they might realize that men who use their power in this way will do it, in some way or another, to everyone. (Immediately, no Thomas, Kavanaugh, Trump, half his cabinet, massive donors disgraced.)
Yes! Let's not forget, Justice Kavanaugh has credible accusations of sexual aggression against him, so does Justice Thomas.
Neither should have been elevated to the highest court of the land! Tragically, Justice Clarence Thomas, that is in large part due to choices Joe Biden made as a US Senator.
And other D senators who did not allow other evidence from other women.
Yes. Saw a woman's post yesterday wondering about the impact of Summer's and his cronies on the academic careers of countless women students and junior faculty. How the culture of an institution is shaped by having Epstein listers at the top, for a generation. As a post-academic myself, I've been thinking about the outsize influence Harvard has on my own field, and wondering...
And that's just academia. There are so many other industries and professions and institutions. The jaw drops.
We hold every last one of these b*stards accountable. Every. Last. One.
Believe women? Ghislaine Maxwell, not so much. But I believe this woman who recounts the abuse she suffered at the hands of Trump as a 13 year old. Let us remember that Trump already is an adjudicated rapist!
The phrase "believe women" is used in the context of survivors telling their stories. Ghislaine is an adjudicated rapist too, we don't believe her under any circumstances.
jim jordan sits in congress despite his knowledge of abuse of boys. john gacy got away with it so long because authorities told parents their boys had just run away, or were working the streets or what have you. hell, jeffrey dahmer was found with a boy in his apartment, who he was torturing, and the cops laughed it off. furthermore, boys are far less likely to come forward.....we've all seen the movie spotlight....and yet its the right wing that screams the loudest and shows up at pizza joints looking to kill imagined sex traffickers. i can't take these people anymore.
Our society has deeply-rooted issues with racism and sexism. I hold firm that deep within MAGA is a belief that the Epstein women (and all women for that matter) are responsible for their own disasters and abuses (original sin?) The public-face rage over women and girls being abused is convenient and admirable. They can face themselves in the mirror when they force themselves into that advocacy role.
You don't care about women and girls and let them bleed out in parking lots and tell them a slap in the face is no reason to call the police on your husband/boyfriend.
I am listening to MAGA Mikey drone on now for how long? I can't believe what a condescending, sanctomonious, lying twat he is. He's such a fucking child-man.
"Our society has deeply-rooted issues .... " Period.
I remember reading about this back in 2015 or 2016, I think in Mother Jones. It chilled me to the bone.
I just watched this as well. I did not know any of the details of this story, nor did I know she had made a video testimony. It is unfortunate that the media has neglected her story and that of the other victims. Thank you for bringing this to our attention.
Melanie Stansbury mentioned it in Congress this morning.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ye2bP9_LwXg
Thank you Deborah for the link. I just watched Stansbury. Wonderful.
Who is this “Katie Johnson” ? I of course believe her? Why is no one mentioning her and helping her come forward?
Katie Johnson is her pseudonym, and she also filed her suit under Jane Doe for alleged rape at age 13 by both dt and epstein. Because she received death threats, she withdrew her lawsuit. From a PBS report about victims.
“Jane Doe” aka “Katie Johnson” – 1994. Lawsuit filed June 2016, refiled October 2016 as reported by Buzzfeed and others, then dropped in November 2016.
Jane Doe is an unnamed plaintiff, who has also gone by “Katie Johnson” in legal papers. She claims she was repeatedly raped by Trump and Jeffery Epstein at Epstein’s New York City apartment in 1994, when she was 13 years old. A witness, also given a pseudonym — “Tiffany Doe” — said she recruited “Jane Doe” and others. Doe, using the name “Johnson,” gave an interview to the Daily Mail in which she said she did not know who Trump was at the time of the alleged attack but identified him later when she saw him on television. It is not known why she withdrew the lawsuit. She has not spoken publicly or withdrawn her rape allegation since then."
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/assault-allegations-donald-trump-recapped
Update: Politico reference about death threats https://www.politico.com/story/2016/11/donald-trump-rape-lawsuit-dropped-230770
Deborah Potter elegantly highlights the Why. Death threats certainly do make accusers reconsider whether it’s all worth it! Let me also point you to the podcast link in the Borowitz article.
Excellent! Way to go, Rep. Stansbury – keep the focus and turn up the heat!
Where is this woman? I am so heart broken for her. I have not watched the video yet but don’t really need to. Has she been silenced? Can we help her?
do watch the video, it is very worth hearing her own voice recount
What about Jamie Raskin? Why is this not our there more loudly?
AS, not only won't they touch it, but they regularly smear her via sins of commission and omission. Just the other day, the Washington Post quoted, unchallenged, a letter from the files that described her as "a troubled woman with a drug problem" who had withdrawn the charges, and said nothing about the witness who was prepared to corroborate her story except that she was "anonymous."
* No mention of the reason *why* she dropped the charges--fear for her own safety and that of her family (surely, no one can doubt at this point that this was bona fide, and likely based on a s***load of intimidation she had already experienced--this is a guy with the goons for every authoritarian country and crime syndicate on call [nobody is mentioned more times in the Panama Papers]).
* No reminder to readers that it's hardly disqualifying to develop a "drug problem" after being raped by anyone, let alone a powerful celebrity, at the age of 13.
* No mention that the witness was not just someone whom she told about the assault contemporaneously, but another girl who Epstein was trafficking who saw the whole thing.
* No mention of any of the people who saw her deposition--it was online for months in 2016--and found it credible (and why wouldn't they? How can anyone believe Trump in any kind of he said/she said scenario at this point?)
* No details about what was allegedly done except the usually antiseptic, euphemistic "graphic sexual acts" (FYI for anyone who doesn't know, she testified that she was tied up and assaulted multiple times).
* No mention of the fact that she filed the suit *months before* the dozens of women who came forward after the Access Hollywood tape emerged--this wasn't just someone opportunistically piling on, as right-wing cynics would love to allege.
* No reminder to readers as to why someone who was brutally assaulted as a child might take many years to come forward, long after the statute of limitations for criminal charges has eliminated that possibility, leaving only civil remedies available, nor why she might do so at a time when she can have maximum impact, and mete out the closest thing to justice she's ever going to get, let alone when faced with the real possibility, for the first time, that the man who did this to her could be in her face every day for the next 4-8 years, doing God knows what else (literally, based on her experience). If I'm not mistaken, even the deadline for civil action was rapidly approaching, but no mention of this either.
* Thus leaving the way free and clear for MAGAs explanation--without even having to include it, because he's used it so many times, over and over again (until we can all practically recite it verbatim)--that she was just a fame and fortune seeker using his campaign as leverage to cash in.
I posted all the above (via multiple posts) in the comment section of WaPo's article , in part because so few people outside us "elites" know anything close to the full story, and also to see what MAGA bottom feeders would spew when they rose to the bait, and sure enough they did. Apparently the MAGA talking point on Katie Johnson is that her story "has been debunked by Snopes."
As a long-time info warrior, naturally I had to check this out, and sure enough, the only thing actually "debunked" were claims that there was "new information" about the case. Nope, it was all in the legal documents from 2016, though it's understandable that it's new to so many people, given how little coverage it got at the time (CNN et al just couldn't give it a couple of minutes of the thousands they gave Trump in free unfiltered advertising).
I'm afraid, also, that Snopes has also become a textbook demonstration of the corrosive effect years of death threats can have, especially on a small operation. Much of their analysis focused on the role that a former Jerry Springer producer played in getting her story out there, which is guilt-by-association worthy of the ol' Tailgunner (meanwhile, as a couple of working class Republican friends reminded me this AM, a lot of the elites forget that a lot of what Springer brought to his show *actually happened*). And their coverage lacked every single one of the elements the WaPo story omitted as well, though at least it suggested, at several points, why her story could be credible, albeit only in the abstract, which always reads as more pro forma than believable.
Thank you for this!
Simon, I’m wondering about the TX elections. Colin Allred says he’s neck and neck with Paxton. Talarico is a new, fresh, and more engaged with voters candidate, and Crockett is considering running for the same seat. While I wish they would all run for different positions I am unsure who has the best chance. I’ve held off contributions to anyone waiting to see what Crockett decides. Would love your take!
Very interesting - thanks Wyatt. Though I’m not totally surprised. Allred just doesn’t get around the state much and Talarico does and goes on Fox and other news outlets and he has a demeanor that is engaging - like Pete Buttigieg
May the best candidate prevail.
It's why we are supporting the Texas Party. So whomever prevails has a strong general election campaign ready to go.
I have no idea who the better candidate is. That's why we have primaries. The better candidate usually emerges from the rough and tumble. They are both very candidates.
I listened to you (Simon) discuss this issue of primaries in one of your interviews last week. I totally agree with you that it's strategically important to stay out of the intra-party fray and to throw all of our support behind whoever comes out standing from the primary process.
Also, Darla, I'm sympathetic to your desire to spread out the talent pool. But I'm also a strong believer that the primary process makes for much stronger candidates. Going through unopposed also means going through untested. Obama 2012 comes to mind, and his first debate performance against Romney still makes me shudder!
While I agree with you I’m also frustratingly aware of how many horrible, corrupt, Trumpian politicians there are in my state. I would like to get rid of more than one. Getting Paxton out would be a godsend however.
Primary will narrow it down. That said, I supported Allred last time and thought he had very strong chance of winning. Wrong again. My late husband would have reminded me I’ve been gone from TX too long! Someday I may be proven wrong, but going forward will only support (donations) a white male. Lived in three cities in TX, grew up in rural area. That county still voted for 80/20 again for convicted felon. Hatred for Democrats runs so deep.
Each is a great candidate. I would hope as you say they can each find a position somewhere. I think Crockett is great in the House already.
similarly, I would love to retain both Doggett and Casar
Oh, okay. My mindset is so naturally to give to candidates I didn’t think of that. Got it!
indeed - that is a choice I wish were avoidable. We need all of the energy, commitment and courage exhibited by each of these extraordinary candidates!
Thanks for the great and very important article by Garrett. Unfortunately, it's horrendous in Memphis and very few are covering/talking about it. I was on a MoveOn call last night, and a leader from BLM Memphis described how teams of every level of law enforcement/immigration are working in tandem, pulling people over for minor infractions and terrorizing folks just trying to live their lives. It's a majority Black city with a storied history. It's one of my favorite cities, and what's being done to its citizens is just unforgivable. We need to support them however we can, and bring pressure to the pro-democracy movement to stand with them & to cover this story.
Another great episode of the American Revolution last night--we learned about the awful hardships experienced by the Patriots, and how continuous pressure led to an inflection point in which the Declaration was a necessity.
Looking forward to the vote today at 1:30. Accountability is the name of the game. I mentioned that yesterday. We can't wait till the midterms -- we don't know how things will turn out, and we have to use the tools at our disposal. Rep. Garcia and Rep. Khanna and Rep. Lee and so many on the Oversight Committee have proved this point. Don't back down. Don't let up. And ensure our House & Senate Dems do the same. And if they don't, we vote them out.
Shannon Watts (founder of Moms Demand Action) used to say "we'll have your support or we'll have your jobs." Bingo.
Keep going!
I was on the MoveOn call and heard about the BS in Memphis. The stacking of additional charges to hammer people they've terrorized is one of the many crimes that will be punished against this treasonous, anti-American regime.
I called my R representative and let him know which way I expect him to vote on the Epstein files. I'm still working on voter reg postcards for Alaska.
It does seem like there is a retreat across many fronts. What would be fascinating is a pullback from the attacks on the ACA. Without Trump leading "policy", who is going to do it and what is it going to look like? It's hard for me to believe there is any muscle-memory for leadership left in the GOP.
They've always been followers of whoever the leader is, but they never take the kneepads off these days, unless they are ready or willing to retire. They also don't actually care about people, this is all self-preservation mode.
That picture of him does have a Dorian Gray vibe, doesn't it?
Trump is the horror story where he thinks he is Dorian Grey, but in fact he is the portrait.
Doesn't he eventually look like the painting at the end? Maybe I've forgotten the story, it has been many years.
Absolute yes to using active voice and clear language, not passive voice, to describe what those venal quislings are doing.
That image wins the next Pulitzer. The symbolism!
He's walking with the same hunched-over, whipped-dog posture he had walking beside Putin in Helsinki.
100% and while they must be held accountable for all of it, the ICE raids that have been unconscionably cruel and extreme, really must be answered for. They are totally unnecessary and done solely to terrify and must be dealt with severely IMHO.
From the bottom to the top, every last one of them. No excuses, no exceptions.
ICE has to be done as an agency. There is no coming back from this abomination.
Perhaps we'll get comprehensive immigration reform out of this, in time?
Yesterday my son came home and told me that the boy sitting next to him in social studies started talking about the threat of ICE raids in Wake and Durham counties (NC; my son is in 8th grade). He told my son that his parents are in the final stages of legalizing their status but that they are terrified. My son and I have talked about this a lot, but hearing it from a classmate really brought it home to him. I am just sick to my soul that all this is happening. My son was kind of traumatized about imagining coming home to find me vanished -- and for him this is just an act of the imagination. I am enraged and heartsick all at once, and I will unleash on Tillis and Budd when I get done typing this.
And boy, if Stephen Miller wanted to absolutely tank the GOP in NC, he couldn't pick a better way to do it! The images of what is happening in Charlotte are all over the place and it is not playing well with anyone.
I don't know if you can afford it, but it's easy to support those families. Can you pick up/drop off the kid for school or get their groceries for them if they pay you back? Many families have the money to go to the store but are afraid to go. Some grocery stores have pre-bagged food that you simply pay for and drop off at the correct house. Otherwise? Just be a kind and decent person. It's basics...listening to them. Etc. No one is illegal on stolen land. Unfortunately, many trumpers forget they are on stolen land.
My son's school is about 40% Hispanic. Today about 90% of those students stayed home. I am already working to support the folks that I know. I have two students from Africa in the class I taught this evening -- they both attended on Zoom because they were too frightened to be out and about. Tomorrow I teach at least 12 Hispanic students. I'm hoping they're in class, but if not, I'll reach out to them. Stressful times!
G’morning all. I’m heading out to a county board of supervisors meeting to speak as a citizen in support of county action to provide shelter for our homeless population. Winter approaches. And to set up a meeting with a democratic candidate for state senate who is speaking out about statewide wildfire management policy — I’m writing a series of articles about the devastating situation of homeowners’ insurance, locally. Figured I’d plug a local Democrat here in blood-red bastion of lily white inland California.
Simon, I promise to send a little piece of my next retirement check to bolster our initiative to expand Democratic outreach into the hinterlands. I wish I had more to give.
Hi Emily - I always wish I had more to give too, but knowing who to give money to after vetting from Simon has made donating much more meaningful for me. Helping the candidates and causes that need the money, and then watching them succeed, has been such a great feeling!
Together our little donations add up to a lot!
I think that is some ways the health care system is broken. It is insanely expensive and we need, as Bernie reminds us over and over Medicare for all or national health insurance just like all other developed countries. We do not have enough doctors because the med schools control how many can become doctors. The insurance companies and big pharma get the big bucks and we get less than stellar health care and worse outcomes than many countries.
Becoming a doctor or a health care administrator should not be a sure road to becoming a millionaire. But trying to fix this has always met with resistance as Hillary Clinton found out and as Obama found out with ACA which was the absolutely best he could get through. The GOP has always stood in the way of getting any of this accomplished. Death panels they screamed about ACA and yet they are the very ones creating the death panels with the draconian big ugly bill. We know someone who is losing their access to dialysis because of the cuts to Medicaid. That is a death sentence. Thanks to the GOP. I wrote to Sen. Tillis about this but I have heard crickets.
Republicans broke our health care system. It is not broken. Our opponent isn't abstract concepts like oligarchy, or greed, or higher prices. It is Republicans.
That's what Leader Jeffries said this morning in an MS Now interview (listened only bc they were interviewing him). Language is important -- clear language, not euphemism and passive voice. As a person w MFA in nonfiction writing, I concur!
I agree with who is responsible. The GOP has always blocked what needs to be done.
I have spent nearly 40 years working in employee benefits. There is no question our healthcare system is broken, and deeply conflicted because private insurance is run as a for profit business. That being said, it is ABUNDANTLY clear that the only political party that tries to fix it, hell just improve it, is the Democrats.
Becoming a physician is NOT a sure road to becoming a millionaire. The cost of medical school is astounding. You cannot begin to earn $ until residency, and then you are not well paid. When you finally begin to practice, most physicians are paying off huge loans for years. These are very intelligent folks who could have been making lots of $ in finance. And if you are an internist or family practitioner or a pediatrician, you are NOT earning big money. Sorry, but this is personal. We have many challenges in our healthcare system. But physicians are retiring early because it is so stressful. And GOD forbid you are a physician/scientist since they just cut all the funding for research.
I am in agreement it is more the management that makes big bucks and the cost of education is the problem. It should not break the bank. I am well aware of what it takes and how onerous it can be. I apologize if I implied all doctors are well off. I know that is not true. As Bernie often points out going to school should either be free or reasonable. Med school is not as I am well aware. If you end schooling owing 200K or more, it will take years to make a reasonable living. That is also a problem that should not exist for people who seek to help others.
Such an important point! It would seem that subsidizing medical school for those who agree to be in primary care would be a good idea.
being a physician these days is definitely not a sure way to become a millionaire, and in nj, being a millionaire won't get you very far.....you can earn that in 5 years as a school superintendent; my contention has always been that if a public school employee can make a certain amount, than that amount is no longer a big salary....
Just got home from 3 nights in “war ravaged Portland” (lol) and even though I used transit and ran around to all my favorite places, I saw no ICE activity and no helicopters overhead. Best I could tell they’ve chilled out there too except for right around the ICE office building and I guess targeted abductions that happen randomly. Everywhere I went seemed completely normal and safe.
Hi all, Any Vermont folks out there working on Resolutions of Condemnation? We are a small group of elders hoping to find others who are working on this idea. Thanks.
Great work, Simon. I'd nominate that photograph of the returning Dear Leader for a Pulitzer in Photography. The crumpled flag on the ground, the burnt sienna makeup, the posture of a broken old man, it is all there.
Simon, did you see Dan Pfeiffer today? I’d even take that backhanded complement as a confirming win. Congratulations!
Not a follower of Dan's. Feel free to share.....
Just looking at the piece. I think my first "Trump coalition is falling apart" piece came in June or July.
Here is a Denver Post story about collapsing support for Trump in Colorado: https://www.denverpost.com/2025/11/17/colorado-latinos-poll-immigration-crackdown-trump-affordability/?
Colorado CD-08 (Gabe Evans - R) is much more vulnerable in 2026. We will work hard to flip this seat.
See “The 2025 Warning Sign” in this:
https://open.substack.com/pub/messagebox/p/is-2025-the-beginning-of-the-end?r=3kmas&utm_medium=ios.
Seems to join the naysayers until his one word paragraph, “Nope!” then he channels you.
Take a lap, Mr. Rosenberg.