I have been saying for a couple of weeks that the Dems need an eloquent spokesperson to lead this fight. I have been suggesting Pete Buttigieg for this role . He needs a competent staff and some super duper PR types to get the message out there. Right now we just look disorganized.
I think it is probably impossible for one person to respond to the torrent of malfeasance spewing from this Administration. I like the British concept of a "shadow cabinet." There should be a group of people who each have expertise and individual responsibility for responding in specific areas.
Do you read Robert Hubbell? A couple weeks ago he suggested this and proposed nominees. The post was wildly popular. Timothy Snyder proposed this as well. Below are links to their posts, and Hubbell's original list (that sparked additions from readers):
Unlike the actual cabinet these are competent and knowledgeable people with the ability to govern. They would be a dream team, but I'm not sure what strategies they could use to functionally resist the cabinet that's the Republicans have put in place.
If I understand the way this works in England, the shadow cabinet person assigned to the official (gov’t) cabinet person responds, via various media, with critiques and alternatives, so that citizens are always encouraged to see how things could be done differently, to their benefit.
Communication is key, and a unified message is vital. In truth, a shadow cabinet doesn’t have to be only Democrats. Adam Kinzinger posted a very inspiring video. The point is to have a cabinet of people who are committed to telling the truth, and can speak to Americans who are already deeply concerned as well as those who are just waking up. For those of us here, who would you tune in to for education and explanations? I’d choose Jamie Raskin, Adam Kinzinger, Jasmine Crocket, Dan Goldman…
The bulk of the malfeasance is chaff to distract the opposition from the true objective, which is most likely a white nationalist state with the oligarchs firmly in charge.
Gavin Newsom. But he's too busy running CA to also jump to the national level rn. Come 2026 and his potential run for POTUS and he'll be out there for sure.
I think both Newsom and my representative Brad Sherman, who's district includes Pacific Palisades (as well as Judy Chu in Altadena) have to keep their heads down given Trump's juvenile and petulant inclination to interfere with funding when annoyed.
We need hundreds more than Pete. We need to do it different. Do it loudly, audaciously, but not take to the streets so trump can call marshal law and cancel elections! We need charisma. We need to tell the stories of actual people in pain and without govt services. We need it now
THOUSANDS of lives at the moment, but it could easily be millions, what with the decrease of vaccinations and other insanity from RFK JR, the cutting of Medicaid and aid to veterans, the firing of employees who keep our food supply as safe as possible, and the shuttering of national health agencies in general. You can add to that his wish to dump NOAA and FEMA; what will happen when we have no warnings of deadly storms, floods, and fires and no help afterwards? That doesn't include what may well be millions around the world do to his trashing of USAID.
Yes, since Habeas Corpus prevents our military from taking up arms against the American people. I've often thought that POS calling for Martial Law, we, the American people lose our Rights, curfews are in place and anyone going against it are imprisoned. In the meantime, the POS goes into his bunker to sit this out.
I’m sure martial law IS INDEED part of the plan and a main goal of this current crash and burn effort. So we must be especially vigilant about providing even a weak excuse for this to happen. In other words, let’s not play into THEIR hands. And keep watch on Peter Thiel.
You raise an important and tough point about the danger of T calling marshal law and canceling elections. I fear that as well, but it also seems to me essential that we show widespread opposition, which seems best done in the streets (peacefully) and financially. When demonstrations are small, there may be more risk to those participating.
I have sympathy for you Cricket. You’re probably were dictating and that’s where you went astray with “Marshal” law as opposed to MARTIAL. And I hit send sometimes before I proofread properly. Too bad we can’t send a Marshall plan to Ukraine.
The Federal Executive branch CANNOT cancel elections - elections are the purview of the states - not the federal government. That said - recall how SCOTUS shot down Colorado and other states that wanted to keep Trump off their presidential ballots. They said to allow these states that much control would create "chaos" among the states. Only an act of congress could make a universal rule like this. It was a stupid ruling, where once again this SCOTUS was talking out of its ass. The Conservative majority loves "states' rights" when it suits their goals, and will equally jump on the consolidation of power in the federal government when it suits their aim. They did not want to block Trump. Perhaps because the Democrats have been demanding ethics reform from SCOTUS. Don't lose sight of the midterms!
I so agree with you! We need BOLD ACTION, and we needed it YESTERDAY! My Dem leaders have been so great in the past, but they are WAY too quiet now. I call them and thank them, and then implore them to do more and bolder! It’s so agonizing.
Bernie Sanders is the exception here. He is wonderfully articulate and timely at sending out statements of belief, intended action, and suggested participation. And these are genuine - you know he means every word.
On his own, Secretary/Mayor/Lieutenant Pete has been issuing rebuttals, responding to absurdities and lies practically on a daily basis, yet to a limited audience. If I were head of the DNC right now, I'd choose 3 people (more is just too many) to issue rejoinders that go to the heart of the bullshit and nonsense being spewed at us 24/7, and make sure they're publicized, put on YouTube and other sources. And no, that list shouldn't include Chuck Schumer. This is a moral, organizational and generational test for us. To quote Gene Kranz in Apollo 13, "failure is not an option."
I agree that we need at least three main spokespeople, but that should not prevent others from speaking out as well. Trump and MAGA have trouble with numerous points of opposition, especially when all are speaking out. We need this at EVERY governmental level, from federal to state to local.
Agreed. But she is also a congresswoman. Kenyatta, as the vice chair of the DNC should have no other job than as an opposition spokesperson for the Dems IMO.
I love her brand of sarcasm towards the Republicans in the House. Funny as heck to listen to. She has such a way about her when she makes them feel like really itty-bitty nothings.
The Dem talent pool is potentially awesome, but it has no leader to organize it. Trump spent the time from 2021 to 2024 holding rallies and spreading lies to America. We need the equivalent, starting now.
My suggestion is Kamala declaring now as a candidate for 2028, and holding regular rallies across the country. She has the skills and the courage, she can raise the money, and the rallies would reach the broader audience needed through media coverage.
B.S. We did have an eloquent spokesperson, Kamala Harris. Unfortunately, people (like Ga. Gov.) cooking the voting population by purging Democratic voters suppressed her.
Are you claiming that the election was overturned by fraud?
Yah, I overstepped. Mea Culpa. Harris is eloquent to a point. The Democrats needed a superstar, and they didn't have one. Trump appealed to people's emotions, while Harris appealed to reason. There were many other things stacked against her (Biden's late departure, the worldwide trend of ousting incumbents, the successful Republican ploy to gum up the works and blame it on the Democrats, among them). I liked Harris. I donated and voted for her. She has some star power but it is not her forte. I'm reminded of a quote from Adalai Stevenson:
She would have been the most qualified president but she lacked enough mojo to knock Trump off his high horse as a candidate. Given the facts, she should have KO'd him in the debate but the best she could do was a split decision. (I voted for her and donated to her campaign)
Raskin is one dem that is fighting! Another is the governor of Illinois. Follow these kinds of dems and encourage them to keep up the fight. Now is the time to start looking at the next leaders of the Democratic party. We need new blood and the willingness to fight. No more Schumers or even Jeffries, who is not fighting. We need fighters, who won't back down to these open fascists!
Of course Zelensky is not a dictator- but Trump is, and he cannot imagine/believe that anyone would take the risks and fight for his country the way that Zelensky has without enormous financial rewards.
And if anyone were to do so that would make them- certainly in Trump's eyes- a loser.
He calls people who fight for their country without personal enormous financial rewards "suckers and losers" Trump is a con man all the way to his stony heart
If Colin Powell told W Bush he would own25 million people, he spoke with a forked-tongue because he testified before the Un about WMD and helped convince 65% of the population that war was necessary against Iraq. I never forgave him for prostituting himself to save his job by lying to the UN and to the people.
He was appalled when he realized he had been lied to about the WMD. He was an unwilling pawn. He was speaking with good faith in the intelligence that had been provided to him. That intelligence was all lies.
I think, without proof, that Powell was lied to and manipulated by Cheney. I see him as the evil mastermind and Bush’s puppeteer behind the Iraq invasion and catastrophically incompetent occupation.
I disagree. Let republicans own this crap and go on every media outlet imaginable and remind people who does own it. I understand this will bring some pain to certain individuals and sectors but without it there will be no accountability and republicans will not be punished for their complicity.
Support Marc Elias at Democracy Docket to protect the right to vote. Trump and Musk consider him a threat to their plans and have attacked both him and Norm Eisen. See Elias' response at the Democracy Docket website.
The pain will be many, many dying for lack of medical care. It will be seniors without housing as the assisted living and nursing homes close due to lack of funding. It will be children dying from child abuse as no one is there to provide services to keep them safe.
They have devised a way to get rid of many without having to have camps.
So far we are only talking about the direct results of the firings and layoffs and gutting of federal response (which includes states as well because some of the moneys being pulled support state programs. I've been mulling over the many environmental disasters (using that term because many or even most are a result of or aggravated by poor human decision-making.
What kind of response are we going to be able to make when a super-hurricane strikes, when climate driven tornadoes or rain events strike, when a massive regional earthquake hits, taking out infrastructure with it? Infrastructure includes roads, railways, highways, bridges, hospitals, airports, dams, and all the means by which we help people caught up in these kinds of disasters.
We are already seeing some of the systems fraying because of Trump/Musk's "cost-cutting". We will be unprepared for the next pandemic and already are unprepared for dealing with diseases that once were managed with vaccines and treatment. We are setting ourselves up for massive public health failures that are inevitable in the aftermath of environmental disasters.
And all of this goes back to manipulating our voting rights and systems to maximize the ability of right wing extremists to capture elections, take over agencies and impose their short-sighted ideologies on the rest of us. We are actually within sight of reversing course, if we stop bickering among ourselves, and stop fighting last year's war and start working together to win the races coming up. We can use every idea we've come up with: just DO it, and stop trying to convince everybody else that your idea is the best one or the only one. Picking apart the past is not accomplishing anything. There are exciting possibilities out there for m moving forward. Pick one and work on it. Please.
I would add the quack heading up HSS now assisting in your prediction of many dying. When the next pandemic hits, and it will, be it bird flu or the many mutations of covid, this vaccine denier will be sure to kill off thousands more with his screwball ideas.
So far, the loudest voices I am hearing are Mayor Pete, Tim Walz, AOC, Tammy Duckworth, Jasmine Crockett, Elizabeth Warren, and a handful more - mostly women.
It looks as if the Democratic Party is still operating as if it's 2008. There are many grassroots and legal organizations fighting back that are full of Democratic voters, and even anti-Trump conservatives. We need coordination. We can't look to the party. Leaders will have to emerge. But unless Congress does something this week to stop Patel, to defend Ukraine, to reject Putin -- WE THE PEOPLE will have to step up and shut down the government. They did it in North Korea, we can do it here. The crisis will come when Trump calls out the army and Hegseth agrees. How many Americans will they shoot? We live in Putin's country now.
There is no adverse information about ActBlue at Charity Navigator other than a possible late report in California. 'ACTBLUE CIVICS INC cannot be evaluated by our Impact & Measurement methodology because it is not a 501(c)(3) IRS registered nonprofit."
I've donated through Act Blue lots of times -- to me it's always been clear whether I am donating once or monthly. I think the 'tip' is an effort to cover credit card fees. I have not experienced a downside with them but would like to know more.
With most charitable donations one is given the option to add a little extra to cover credit card fees. I think the "tip" is to cover ActBlues' operational costs.
I reckon they do millions or tens of millions of transactions a year so I never tip their suggested amount (10% I believe). My tips are in the 1-2% range and sometimes I just skip it.
Started with them automatically making any single donation a monthly donation. This hurt many small donors. ACT.BLUE refused to refund, or acknowledge.
Over several years they finally had to put the option clearly on the donation page.
I learned the hard way as did my husband. They also sell your info and you become inundated with requests.
Now they ask for a Tip! What other donation requests a tip? Hmmm. They have a monopoly on all Dems trying to raise money.
Lots of organizations that solicit donations ask for a small additional donation to cover the administrative costs of processing the donation, such as credit card fees, so that the organization you are donating to gets the full amount of your donation instead of themselves having to deduct the administrative fees from your donation.
And who, Rachel, will pay their bills. The tips pay for their expenses. Non profits have suffered historically because no donors wanted to pay for their staff, rent, keeping the lights on. I have no problem at all paying for the credit card charges. Act Blue makes it more affordable for candidates and causes to fundraise. Do you now how expensive it is for a non profit or candidate to pay for fundraising? Let's be real and complain and fight the real enemies. They're many.
I'm interested in hearing more about this. I've been donating through actblue (and I make sure I only donate through actblue) for over a decade and I haven't experienced this, not once. I do find that before I donate I have to check and make sure it isactually going rhough actblue because there are a lot of other orgs trying to piggyback on that system.
That site says charitynavigator is unable to review them because actblue is an official PAC of the Dem party and not a nonprofit org. So I went to wiki and found actblue also has a nonprofit affiliate called actblue charities that deals with donations for nonprofit orgs.
It seems that "Groups that use ActBlue pay a 3.95% credit card processing fee" and that 'leave a tip' request is to cover that large expense. It's all quite confusing - jeez.
About four years ago, Letitia James and a few other AGs asked for information from fundraising groups about their use of prechecked "monthly donation" boxes, largely in response to the Trump campaign doing that. I do not see any indication that ActBlue was engaging in that practice, but It appears that ActBlue may not have had a specific policy one way or the other. In response, ActBlue stated that it would "require any group on the platform that uses prechecked recurring boxes to have explicitly asked donors to give on a recurring basis." If this was ever a problem, it is not now. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/08/us/politics/prechecked-boxes-donations-winred-act-blue.html
Terrible information. The charitynavigator website literally says they can NOT assess actblue because actblue is not a nonprofit organization. It's a fundraising PAC for the DNC.
Amen, brother! I was gravely disappointed Hakeem Jeffries when he said, "We will pick and choose our battles carefully (or something to that affect)." Well, pick and choose and get going! I have little confidence in the Dems in power right now.
The Dems need to create a new shiny crisis with sequins and sparkles that would consume all of the various GOP traitors' attention so they won't have any time left over to pursue their agenda of destruction. In my view, secession is the perfect tool; the Declaration of Independence provides a historical analogy and a pretty good blueprint. Governors Newsome, Pritzker, Whitmer. Moore, Walz and many others could lead the way. To mimic a favorite Trump extortion tactic, they don't even have to take the steps
I agree, Thomas! I think many on "The Contrarian" lineup are national treasures.
However, sadly, but respectfully, I disagree with the pronoun usage, "They Broke it. They Own It." a much more clear eyed title would be, "They Broke it, They Own Us."
That doesn't mean I'm not going to fight back. The moment requires action even imperfect action. But one thing I wont' do is gaslight myself into thinking we haven't lost our democracy.
Collaborate how? We have no messenger with a big enough megaphone.
Kamala could be that megaphone if she declared for 2028 now. It has to be someone holding rallies that draw wide coverage. She might not win the nomination, but she is one hell of an orator. And she would have no Biden baggage to carry.
There are others, like Pete and Gretchen and Gavin, but they need to declare to attract the coverage and the money.
Makes perfect sense in a christofascist country that science is downplayed and anti intellectualism is fostered. They love their constituent’s ignorance as a means to an end which is simply for power and control. Helps with voters suppression as well since an ignorant populace will always fall in line for whatever, even spangly garb.
I'm a Christian. I read and follow the King James Version of the Christian Bible. In no way, shape, or form do Christian Nationalists reflect the Christianity that I've learned about and follow. Christian Nationalism is an oxymoron. Christ is not a nationalist. If anything, He can be viewed as a socialist in that He and His followers shared what they had with those in need regardless of their race, gender, medical condition, or religion. There was no I, me, or my only we. But, people have decided they are smarter than God. Soooooooo, here we are.
The greatest wars, the worst atrocities and the most inhumane deaths have been wrought by humans in the name of one or more religions. It may be name Islam, or Christian but the result is the same. and right now they are looking very similar with perverse accolites running the show in both spheres.
I keep hearing that, but the evidence is overwhelming that your statement is incorrect. When a large majority of a group consistently act a certain way, then that belief is the basis of their actions.
Thank you, Sandra. I've been sending the magas I know personally a copy of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. Some christian nationalists have said that Jesus' words are old hat and are no longer relevant today. What???? I'm Jewish and my religion follows this sermon's principles too. It's called Tikkun Olam, repair the world. And Tzedakah = to perform Tikkun Olam. I truly fear for the human race these days.
These people may use the word ‘Christian,’ but it’s false when they are much like Nazism. The German Nazis took over the national churches in Germany and put up swastikas in the churches.
In the 1970's during a trip to Austria we visited Mauthausen near Linz. It was a weird sobering experience with kids, nuns and tourists picnicing and having fun outside, then piles of shoes and crematories inside. After that we went to the cathedral in Linz where swastika flags were still hung from the ceiling. I will never forget that.
I am finding that there are many churchgoers who understand the difference. When the Moral majority was trying to insert itself into government most Christian’s pooh poohed them. Twenty years later less people go to church and don’t understand the true faith so they glom on to the holy roly group think and feel good about themselves which is REALLY the antithesis of Christ’s teachings. None of us is good which is why through Christ we needed saving. And being saved doesn’t mean now you are perfect and can lord it over others. It means you must live your life following Christ’s teachings as best you can.
I am hearing sermons in my church explaining Jesus’ teachings and it is obvious that none of that is what the Trump regime is doing.. in fact the opposite. Those in the pews are understanding the difference. The point of separation of church and state is that church won’t affect state and state won’t affect church. But Christian nationalists have allowed the politics to infiltrate the church telling people how to think in the name of a false faith…. Really bad idea.
does it really? you think the US is a christofascist country? i don't - i think a few billionaires figured out how to use Christianity to sell their agenda to those w/ too much blind faith & not enough time & attention to understand what they were voting for, only what they were voting against - the status quo, the ineffectual political establishment that has done little on either side for working class citizens. I don't think the US is christofascist - there are a lot of good Christians w/ good hearts who believe in DEI, who believe in democracy -- the ideal of democracy, gov't for the people & by the people. We need to find them & others who want to fight for democracy so that the tyrants -- with absolutely no religion -- who are using fascism as a facade, a veil of sorts that hides their true colors, their desire to take over our country & our economy and end our democracy for more $$$ & more power (like they don't have enough already!!!???). i believe the American people don't want gov't dictating their lives but some were angry enough at the ineffectiveness of our gov't that they voted to 'drain the swamp' . . . now we need to engage & inspire those same people to fight back if they & us -- WE, don't want to live in a swamp of poverty & a broken country & economy.
They may agree they broke it, but that's precisely what they wanted to do. They thrive on chaos and don't give a damn who it negatively impacts because it will never be them. It's such a transactional presidency again - we sure didn't learn our lesson and it has only gotten worse - much worse
What's really obvious and amazing is they don't have a vision for what they want this country to look like, other than white, christian and divided by oligarchs and serfs. If you're poor than you deserve, or god has willed it in their minds. And they don't have a next steps plan. This is a coup and the purpose is simply to destroy the longest , biggest and best democracy (with its flaws, yes!) the world has ever seen. This is destructive, dangerous and evil.
The next step IS the whiteness and suppression of women. And to have the wealthy taken care of on the backs of the rest. Christian nationalism is an afterthought. Trump probably can’t even tell you what that means, other than he hears what Charlie Kirk says.
Agreed. And I can report from my little red county in a blue state, the MAGAt on the street so far has zero regrets. They’re loving all of it. Until that changes, and it won’t, we are sunk unless our military takes over the country temporarily.
Once it hits them in the wallets when their coveted government programs are cut or eliminated, there may be an epiphany. At least that's a hope. Just look at the howl over the price of eggs and gasoline. That apparently directed many voters to Trump even though the President has no control over either, in spite of what he promised (which he broke).
Jen, while I agree that we are going to very soon start looking like "Hooverville USA"--the shanty towns and camps that appeared by the thousands after the 1929 crash--as people lose their jobs, their homes, their means of survival and the Rethuglicans simper, tut, and party, I disagree with you that the voters will rise up. As someone on The Bulwark pointed out yesterday, the cruelty IS the point. It has been sexualized: they are not just enjoying the spectacle, they are titillated by it. I suspect that a lot of people who voted for the Felon did so not because they didn't believe him, but because they DID. "Owning the libs" in their minds meant that anyone who is suffering as a result of this utter devastation deserves it. And they are happy to buy into the propaganda that their own suffering is because of the "libs," not the policies of their Dear Leader.
As john Pavolvitz said yesterday, we could have had a real president: a smart, experienced, organized, feisty, humane woman of color. But the people who stayed home and didn't vote--who outnumber the people who voted for the Felon--did so deliberately. Because they did not want to admit to their misogyny, which clearly is more intense than their racism. These same people who stayed home could have made a difference in Congress: they could have voted for Dem candidates, flipped the House, and preserved the Senate majority. But they didn't. Why? Because, as they whined, the Biden administration didn't do "enough" for them.
So even though you seem to want to give the American People a pass, I do not. I. Blame. Them.
There is also a margin of those who just barely qualified for their right to vote who threw that vote away because, in their minds, politics is stupid. They don't understand the impact it has when you throw your vote away. I wish the History and Civics lessons stressed more of how important it is for your vote to be counted. But, with Mr. Quakers on the throne, I'm guessing that won't happen.
Hmmmm. Interesting idea! We in the USA have the "right" to vote. However, we also have the "right" to bear arms. We could certainly build up our coffers if we fined everyone who owns guns, and fine them per gun.
A fine for owning guns should be called a weapons tax if it is to be carried out at all. We already pay property tax on homes, utilities tax for gas, electric, and communication, so that wouldn't be impossible except all guns would have to be reported to be eligible, which you know darned well won't happen.
Not a tax solution directly, but a possible way around the problem of knowing (at least in part) who's got the guns. Then it would be possible to impose the firearms tax.
Federal law defines "militia of the United States" as "all able-bodied males at least 17 years of age and, except as provided in section 313 of title 32, under 45 years of age who are, or who have made a declaration of intention to become, citizens of the United States and of female citizens of the United States who are members of the National Guard." 10 U.S.C. § 246 <https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?path=/prelim@title10/subtitleA/part1/chapter12&edition=prelim>. As commander in chief, a President would have the authority to regulate the members of the federal militia. By executive order or military regulation, the President could require members to, say, prove their fitness to possess firearms (background checks for all), to provide proper storage of the firearms, to report ownership of all firearms to a local military commander, to regularly qualify at a firing range to show competence in using each of those firearms, and so on. This authority would also easily fit within the Second Amendment's specific reference to a well-regulated militia.
Will any of this happen under Trump 2.0? I won't hold my breath. But a less insane Commander-in-Chief might be persuaded to do it.
A couple of side points. First, the 1792 definition of militia certainly reflected its times: "each and every free able-bodied white male citizen of the respective states, . . . " (available on the Library of Congress website at https://www.loc.gov/resource/llsalvol.llsal_001/?sp=394&st=image). Unfortunately, much of the definition continues in the current statute. Second, the 1792 statute required each militia member, at his own expense, to "provide himself with a good musket or firelock, a sufficient bayonet and belt, two spare flints, and a knapsack, a pouch with a box therein to contain not less than twenty-four cartridges, suited to the bore of his musket or firelock, each cartridge to contain a proper quantity of powder and ball: or with a good rifle, knapsack, shot-pouch and powder-horn, twenty balls suited to the bore of his rifle, and a quarter of a pound of powder; . . ." In short, the Founder generation did not hesitate to impose an individual mandate on citizens.
I like your word "sexualized". Our media, over decades, has given the spectacle all the attention it desired. And now even more so. November, 2026 is not that far away....if trump doesn't call off the election. We can stop being lame and really fight for every seat in the House and Senate.
I am also certain that the "good gov't" of Biden that was easily helping many (Infrastructure) was felt to these folks like big Gov't vs. good Gov't.
They have drank the Grover Norquist Kool Aid of "drown in a bathtub" meme without any consideration of true impact and costs. In a visceral utopian world, they are the Waltons that just said for Gov't "Get off my mountain and leave me alone". Its naivety at best, selfish in many other ways when too many are affected in a real negative way.
Afraid you are right, Linda. Hatred runs deep and propaganda rules the mob.
People who see this problem and the abuses to democracy with no policy except cruelty and money worship have to stand for principals. This is not just the political dems protesting … this is rightful Americans who believe that all people are created equal, liberty and freedom and I might add love of our fellows and the Earth. In other words all things good. I fight hard not to hate Trump but he and the folks behind surely make it difficult.
I hate him. I hate him and every single ass-kisser he's placed in top positions so they can tell us what we can and cannot do. There's no holding back for me! I hate drumpf!!
Can we get some reporting on what the pressures have been to get the Senate republicans to vote spinelessly. It would be useful for people to know the exact types of threats coming their way, now even before Kash Patel is running the FBI. I was told by a Democratic staffer it is an excellent question.
Bronwyn, I believe it is more than being primaried. I believe there are deluges of threats from X verse, blackmail, threats to freeze bank accounts, god knows.
The MAGA will blame Biden. Or they will think their suffering is patriotic. Or they will say the catastrophes are hoaxes. We've been down this road before. It's a cult. It only ends like Waco. Except we'll all be in the building when it burns.
They won't blame Biden. These changes are much too blatant and that makes for a lever and opportunity to change the conversation. trump/musk are hurting their own followers. Let's make sure they understand that.
Keep the phone calls going. Get the 5 calls app… it is great. I have actually gotten through to an aide a couple of times. But getting through means the calls have died off because a week or so ago the voicemails were full! Just keep it up!!!! And encourage others.
You say, “Democrats would be wise to account for the damage . . . track the data and gather the individual stories that result from this assault on functional government. Then they can compare the state of the country before and after Musk’s destruction.” You forget, that all that recordkeeping takes people power and that’s what Musk is wiping out. By wiping out the people power, he is wiping out our ability to capture and preserve just exactly what is going on. They don’t want anyone to know.
Thank you for reminding me! You are exactly right. I am grateful for those sources. I am turning to them more and more often as things get worse and worse.
Thank you, Contrarian, for continuing to give me the information I need to write to Missouri's Republican Senators on a daily basis, insisting they stop this madness and offer a plan for reconstruction. Couldn't do it without you.
Get the ‘5stars’ app. It is a blue icon with five stars. You put your zip in and they give you the issues and talking points then you just click on your senators and representatives phone numbers. It is very easy. The aides in the offices listen and log what you are saying. They are very polite. You don’t have to be eloquent just honest. Be truthful and American. We are the voters so primaried or not these politicians have to answer to us.
There’s a straight line from Ronald Reagan to the dictator. The less-intelligent among us have been marinating in hatred of “the government” for the past 40 years, and we are witnessing the culmination of that. In addition, they’ve embraced the perverse notion that whatever appears to be against their own best interests is exactly what to vote for, time and time again. Thus the dictator. What this will look like once we’ve escaped this insanity is anyone’s guess.
I place a lot of the blame for this on Rush Limbaugh.
Day-after-day, month-after-month, year-after-year his drumbeat of distrust for the media, climate science is a hoax, all Democrats are bad, etc., wrapped in cutesy musical riffs, was drilled into the heads of his 10-12 million listeners. He used the legal-style rhetoric that he learned from his family of lawyers and judges to undermine common sense amongst his mostly blue-collar listeners. And here we are.
Add the names Rupert Murdoch FOX's mouthpieces Glenn Beck and others who droned on for years in the same vein. The spew of negative propaganda hasn't been heard as loudly since Tokyo Rose and Lord Haw Haw of WWII.
And here we are, and what are we going to DO about it other than hand-wringing. Let future historians figure out the details. Our job is to figure out what we can do to turn this around. Start with Indivisible.org or one of the other pro-democracy organizing groups. Read Jess Craven. Robert Hubbell. Heather Cox Richardson, Joyce Vance, Get out of your backward-looking silos and start looking to the future and the things we can do (and many ARE doing) to shape it so that we remain a democracy.
I’m as incensed about this as you are, but constantly thinking about ways to stop this for the past 4 weeks has yielded nothing concrete. The disparate protests that have been staged so far are ridiculously short of engagement, generating “thousands” of participants when hundreds of thousands, a million or more, are needed to really make a statement. And even then, these bozos aren’t going to let that keep them from their rampage. Effective massive resistance is first going to need leadership with a strategy and tactics. Right now we have none of that. Democratic Party leadership, such as it is, is pitiful and directionless. Complicity with the dictator’s destruction, lying and looting exists across the entire Executive branch and in both the House and Senate along with, let’s not forget, millions in this country who are cheering this on, and which makes this a particularly difficult problem to address, short of outright violence. The courts may prevent some of this, but when, not if, the Roberts right-wing court rules against them on something they really, really want, they will simply ignore the ruling and dare the court to enforce. I’d love for someone to tell me where I’m wrong here. In the meantime, I don’t know what else to do but wait and stay tuned in. I’m not all that optimistic about the 2026 elections either. It may take a catastrophic collapse of our society to get through to enough heads to make a difference. An awful thing to say, but history doesn’t give us much else to go on.
Well, for starters we all need to familiarize ourselves with Project2025. This is the roadmap that Trump will be following to burn down, then rebuild our nation. Like it or not.
This 800 page screed has been available since well before the election. There have been summaries and even a graphic comic book showing where things will land. Yet we were too preoccupied with our 'devices' and social media to bother to take the time and educate ourselves. Having this knowledge will help us get ahead of the curve to plan our strategy, rather than having to play catch-up and fret about Trump's latest assault on our Democracy.
It’s a whole new day people. Forget the old norms, they are gone. How about an interview with Ezra Levin / Leah Greenberg of Indivisable.com? This is where we are seeing leadership to create the case for change. As a subscriber, tired of endless pearl clutching rhetoric that changes nothing.
This may sound a little crazy ( but what doesn’t now) but why not have Bill Clinton , Barack Obama, W and even Biden and various VPs just march over to all these federal agencies and Departments and have them say “you have to go thru me to fire these workers”. I mean here you have these former presidents w their own secret service details and who is going to mess w them? Musk and his 4 yo child?
Yes I do. Extraordinary times call for extraordinary actions. And who else but those w best protection available to do it. And they should get cracking before their details are fired “for poor performance “.
The extraordinary measure would most likely be the arrest and imprisonment of Clinton, Obama, et. al. MAGA would like nothing better. They’d be over the moon delighted and credibly positioned to declare total victory to the world over demoralized liberals. Would huge numbers of people rise up in protest in the face of military action against them? Would they? This is how MAGA thinks and why they are dangerous. The apocalypse to thee, but not for me is exactly how the MAGA mob sees this playing out. I think Clinton, Obama et. al. are less useful to our cause as weakened martyrs.
Presently they are less than useless. Their own legacies destroyed and as they ponder whether to be “weakened martyrs”, Washington burns as our present day Nero doesn’t fiddle but golfs. Much less than half the eligible voters put in this regimes and w only 1.4 % more votes. I am expecting 1930’s unemployment, as well as equity free fall. But don’t worry Bill, Barry and Hillary, you’ll still have enough wealth and protection. Just no dignity or sense of morality.
It may look better if it is grass roots. The magas won’t listen to former leaders who they have been convinced to revile. They might believe their neighbors. We must keep demonstrating, writing calling etc. 5 stars app!
One of the stupider ripple effects of DOGE affected me personally recently. I was scheduled to travel to Denver (from Texas) to see some Irish dancers I follow online. I was going to stay with my brother and take my niece to the show. A few days ago, I got an email from the dancers' organization that they are rescheduling the show due to delays in visa processing that are "beyond their control." A quick look at the news revealed that cuts to U.S. embassy personnel abroad have led to delays in visa processing. That means that this troupe, which was scheduled to tour the U.S. with an entourage that would have spent money on hotels, restaurants, and other services, is not going to do so, at least for now. That directly affects the economies of the many cities they were going to visit. Mine is just a minor inconvenience to my life, but I can't help but wonder how these types of disruptions will affect the U.S. economy on a macro level.
Exposure is fine, but you need to include specific action plans to create the case for change. We know bad stuff is happening. We need a “case for change”. Get in the streets, make calls, Show up at electeds offices. Anyone in NYC, “Rise and Resist” needs you. Join Indivisable.com Do something.
I don't know what the Dems in Congress are doing but leading a counter-coup is not among them.
All Dem leaning organizations need to collaborate on major action against Trump's blitzkrieg. Plenty of us will support and join in.
I have been saying for a couple of weeks that the Dems need an eloquent spokesperson to lead this fight. I have been suggesting Pete Buttigieg for this role . He needs a competent staff and some super duper PR types to get the message out there. Right now we just look disorganized.
I think it is probably impossible for one person to respond to the torrent of malfeasance spewing from this Administration. I like the British concept of a "shadow cabinet." There should be a group of people who each have expertise and individual responsibility for responding in specific areas.
Do you read Robert Hubbell? A couple weeks ago he suggested this and proposed nominees. The post was wildly popular. Timothy Snyder proposed this as well. Below are links to their posts, and Hubbell's original list (that sparked additions from readers):
https://roberthubbell.substack.com/p/we-are-not-sheep-get-louder-take?utm_source=publication-search
https://www.rsn.org/001/shadow-cabinet-a-positive-form-of-opposition.html
On the shadow cabinet:
Hakeem Jeffries—Minority Leader, House
Not Chuck Schumer—Minority Leader, Senate (Klobuchar?)
Pete Buttigieg – Transportation, Fox designated hitter
Elizabeth Warren—Social Security, Medicare
Gretchen Whitmire—Education
Alexandria Ocasio Cortez—Oversight
Jamie Raskin—DOJ
Ben Wikler—Grassroots Coordinator
Amy Klobuchar—Foreign Relations / Secretary of State
Gavin Newsom—Healthcare, Fox designated hitter
Rafael Warnock—Appropriations, OMB
Katie Porter— Consumer Protection, banking
Tammy Duckworth—Defense
Brian Schatz—EPA, Interior
Chris Murphy--Labor
Elissa Slotkin—Domestic intelligence, FBI counterpart
Adam Schiff— Foreign intelligence, CIA, DNI, NSA
Tim Snyder suggestion of a Shadow Cabinet was excellent!...I like your choices!!!
Thank you, but they’re Robert Hubbell’s picks!
I might not choose some of these but I would 100% back a "New Democratic Party" with a slate of people not obligated to the DNC!
Unlike the actual cabinet these are competent and knowledgeable people with the ability to govern. They would be a dream team, but I'm not sure what strategies they could use to functionally resist the cabinet that's the Republicans have put in place.
If I understand the way this works in England, the shadow cabinet person assigned to the official (gov’t) cabinet person responds, via various media, with critiques and alternatives, so that citizens are always encouraged to see how things could be done differently, to their benefit.
Communication is key, and a unified message is vital. In truth, a shadow cabinet doesn’t have to be only Democrats. Adam Kinzinger posted a very inspiring video. The point is to have a cabinet of people who are committed to telling the truth, and can speak to Americans who are already deeply concerned as well as those who are just waking up. For those of us here, who would you tune in to for education and explanations? I’d choose Jamie Raskin, Adam Kinzinger, Jasmine Crocket, Dan Goldman…
The bulk of the malfeasance is chaff to distract the opposition from the true objective, which is most likely a white nationalist state with the oligarchs firmly in charge.
They're following the Victor Orban playbook.
You nailed it!
That too, along with Buttigieg as its spokesperson.
I like the shadow caninet.
Gavin Newsom. But he's too busy running CA to also jump to the national level rn. Come 2026 and his potential run for POTUS and he'll be out there for sure.
I think both Newsom and my representative Brad Sherman, who's district includes Pacific Palisades (as well as Judy Chu in Altadena) have to keep their heads down given Trump's juvenile and petulant inclination to interfere with funding when annoyed.
I think the Shadow Cabinet is one of the best ideas, ever.
I have advocating for that since January…
We need hundreds more than Pete. We need to do it different. Do it loudly, audaciously, but not take to the streets so trump can call marshal law and cancel elections! We need charisma. We need to tell the stories of actual people in pain and without govt services. We need it now
Martial Law is the term you are looking for. It would mean Trump would use the military against civilians.
And he would, if he could, in a heartbeat. If he could get away with it he would gleefully annihilate anyone who doesn't support him.
Trump has no heart nor conscience. He's proving that by his actions. He's destroying the lives of hundreds innocent people without a qualm.
THOUSANDS of lives at the moment, but it could easily be millions, what with the decrease of vaccinations and other insanity from RFK JR, the cutting of Medicaid and aid to veterans, the firing of employees who keep our food supply as safe as possible, and the shuttering of national health agencies in general. You can add to that his wish to dump NOAA and FEMA; what will happen when we have no warnings of deadly storms, floods, and fires and no help afterwards? That doesn't include what may well be millions around the world do to his trashing of USAID.
Black heart; black soul.
Yes, since Habeas Corpus prevents our military from taking up arms against the American people. I've often thought that POS calling for Martial Law, we, the American people lose our Rights, curfews are in place and anyone going against it are imprisoned. In the meantime, the POS goes into his bunker to sit this out.
Habeas Corpus is a legal procedure which allows a person to challenge his or her detention or imprisonment.
It's posse comitatus, not habeas corpus, you're thinking of.
See this link:
https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/posse-comitatus-act-explained
I’m sure martial law IS INDEED part of the plan and a main goal of this current crash and burn effort. So we must be especially vigilant about providing even a weak excuse for this to happen. In other words, let’s not play into THEIR hands. And keep watch on Peter Thiel.
You raise an important and tough point about the danger of T calling marshal law and canceling elections. I fear that as well, but it also seems to me essential that we show widespread opposition, which seems best done in the streets (peacefully) and financially. When demonstrations are small, there may be more risk to those participating.
MARTIAL law. We are the intelligent side of the aisle, so let's spell it properly. MARTIAL, as in military/warlike.
good catch!
I have sympathy for you Cricket. You’re probably were dictating and that’s where you went astray with “Marshal” law as opposed to MARTIAL. And I hit send sometimes before I proofread properly. Too bad we can’t send a Marshall plan to Ukraine.
It's Martial Law.
convicted felon forever djt is just waiting for the protest crowd size to get to a tipping point and Marshal Law it will be, welcome to the 4th Reich.
The Federal Executive branch CANNOT cancel elections - elections are the purview of the states - not the federal government. That said - recall how SCOTUS shot down Colorado and other states that wanted to keep Trump off their presidential ballots. They said to allow these states that much control would create "chaos" among the states. Only an act of congress could make a universal rule like this. It was a stupid ruling, where once again this SCOTUS was talking out of its ass. The Conservative majority loves "states' rights" when it suits their goals, and will equally jump on the consolidation of power in the federal government when it suits their aim. They did not want to block Trump. Perhaps because the Democrats have been demanding ethics reform from SCOTUS. Don't lose sight of the midterms!
We need some strength to show up on Fox online news with the real stories you suggest.
It's Martial Law.
I so agree with you! We need BOLD ACTION, and we needed it YESTERDAY! My Dem leaders have been so great in the past, but they are WAY too quiet now. I call them and thank them, and then implore them to do more and bolder! It’s so agonizing.
Bernie Sanders is the exception here. He is wonderfully articulate and timely at sending out statements of belief, intended action, and suggested participation. And these are genuine - you know he means every word.
I love Bernie!
Did you see the video he posted on You Tube just yesterday? "A Sad Moment in American History: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKBM2kS6B8o
And, somehow, the information needs to be widely broadcast .... difficult these days! But needs to be.
On his own, Secretary/Mayor/Lieutenant Pete has been issuing rebuttals, responding to absurdities and lies practically on a daily basis, yet to a limited audience. If I were head of the DNC right now, I'd choose 3 people (more is just too many) to issue rejoinders that go to the heart of the bullshit and nonsense being spewed at us 24/7, and make sure they're publicized, put on YouTube and other sources. And no, that list shouldn't include Chuck Schumer. This is a moral, organizational and generational test for us. To quote Gene Kranz in Apollo 13, "failure is not an option."
Sen. Schumer isn't dynamic or articulate enough for this task. Jamie Raskin or Chris VanHollen would be far better choices.
I would add Chris Murphy(CT) to that list.
Murphy is another good addition, thank you.
Add Elizabeth Warren
I agree that we need at least three main spokespeople, but that should not prevent others from speaking out as well. Trump and MAGA have trouble with numerous points of opposition, especially when all are speaking out. We need this at EVERY governmental level, from federal to state to local.
I agree. He should lead this. He needs funding, staff, and seriously good
advertising assistance.
And Jasmine Crockett
And AOC
I’m a New Yorker and in general not a fan of AOC, but for this purpose I agree she’s a good choice.
I'm not so sure everyone has a positive reaction to her.
You are so right! Pete Buttigieg is the most articulatelate spokesperson in the Democratic party. Enough of this "wait & see" approach.
You did say this and I think it's a terrific idea. How can we bring it forcefully to the cowering Dem " leaders"?
I have been trying to figure that out. I have written top Dems often I don’t get much in the way of replies.
Malcolm Kenyatta would be an excellent choice.
Or Jasmine Crockett who has been on many shows making great arguments against lame republicans.
Agreed. But she is also a congresswoman. Kenyatta, as the vice chair of the DNC should have no other job than as an opposition spokesperson for the Dems IMO.
I love her brand of sarcasm towards the Republicans in the House. Funny as heck to listen to. She has such a way about her when she makes them feel like really itty-bitty nothings.
It appears to me that Bernie Sanders is speaking out , leading the way. He speaks loudly, forcibly, and truthfully. I’m grateful!
And have Jasmine Crockett make guest appearances.
The Dem talent pool is potentially awesome, but it has no leader to organize it. Trump spent the time from 2021 to 2024 holding rallies and spreading lies to America. We need the equivalent, starting now.
My suggestion is Kamala declaring now as a candidate for 2028, and holding regular rallies across the country. She has the skills and the courage, she can raise the money, and the rallies would reach the broader audience needed through media coverage.
I couldn’t agree with you more! I have written her. I encourage others to do as well.
Kamala was a great candidate who was unable to attract votes. Nor did she do well in the 2020 primaries. Why would we want to take that route again?
If the Democrats had a more eloquent spokesperson, they might have won the last election.
(edited a bit to respond to an objection)
B.S. We did have an eloquent spokesperson, Kamala Harris. Unfortunately, people (like Ga. Gov.) cooking the voting population by purging Democratic voters suppressed her.
Are you claiming that the election was overturned by fraud?
Yah, I overstepped. Mea Culpa. Harris is eloquent to a point. The Democrats needed a superstar, and they didn't have one. Trump appealed to people's emotions, while Harris appealed to reason. There were many other things stacked against her (Biden's late departure, the worldwide trend of ousting incumbents, the successful Republican ploy to gum up the works and blame it on the Democrats, among them). I liked Harris. I donated and voted for her. She has some star power but it is not her forte. I'm reminded of a quote from Adalai Stevenson:
“Every thinking person will vote for you.”
“But I need a majority!”
I like that quote. I still remember my father wearing an Adlai pin - the sole of a shoe with a hole in it!
Your statement reeks of misogyny and racism. Harris was the most qualified candidate in the history of our country.
misogyny and racism is largely why she lost, imho
She would have been the most qualified president but she lacked enough mojo to knock Trump off his high horse as a candidate. Given the facts, she should have KO'd him in the debate but the best she could do was a split decision. (I voted for her and donated to her campaign)
I don’t agree — Kamala Harris is right ups there in the stratosphere with
Buttigieg.
Raskin is one dem that is fighting! Another is the governor of Illinois. Follow these kinds of dems and encourage them to keep up the fight. Now is the time to start looking at the next leaders of the Democratic party. We need new blood and the willingness to fight. No more Schumers or even Jeffries, who is not fighting. We need fighters, who won't back down to these open fascists!
Treason. Should be the lead story, Jennifer. At Saudi summit in Miami, Trump strikes Zelensky: ‘Not going to have a country’
Read more at: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/article300627369.html#storylink=cpy
I keep sayin' we need Republicans to object -- pressure the Senate Republicans who voted for the Ukraine package https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/4464791-here-are-the-senate-republicans-who-voted-for-the-ukraine-package/
There were a few negative comments from Senate Republicans yesterday, but they need to stand up. Picket. Sit in.
Some Republican senators say Zelenskyy is not a 'dictator' in response to Trump comments. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/02/19/republican-senators-zelenskyy-ukraine-trump/79221698007/
Of course Zelensky is not a dictator- but Trump is, and he cannot imagine/believe that anyone would take the risks and fight for his country the way that Zelensky has without enormous financial rewards.
And if anyone were to do so that would make them- certainly in Trump's eyes- a loser.
He calls people who fight for their country without personal enormous financial rewards "suckers and losers" Trump is a con man all the way to his stony heart
If Colin Powell told W Bush he would own25 million people, he spoke with a forked-tongue because he testified before the Un about WMD and helped convince 65% of the population that war was necessary against Iraq. I never forgave him for prostituting himself to save his job by lying to the UN and to the people.
He was appalled when he realized he had been lied to about the WMD. He was an unwilling pawn. He was speaking with good faith in the intelligence that had been provided to him. That intelligence was all lies.
I think, without proof, that Powell was lied to and manipulated by Cheney. I see him as the evil mastermind and Bush’s puppeteer behind the Iraq invasion and catastrophically incompetent occupation.
Nonsequitur.
Even cult members can have an epiphany. Takes pressure.
On the other hand, the taxcollector Saul was on his way to Damascus when.....
I disagree. Let republicans own this crap and go on every media outlet imaginable and remind people who does own it. I understand this will bring some pain to certain individuals and sectors but without it there will be no accountability and republicans will not be punished for their complicity.
Some pain. Some of us can be "terminated" Putin style.
We may never get to vote again.
Support Marc Elias at Democracy Docket to protect the right to vote. Trump and Musk consider him a threat to their plans and have attacked both him and Norm Eisen. See Elias' response at the Democracy Docket website.
Make sure your Senator votes against voting rights gutting act called the “SAVE” act
Then let's do something
The pain will be many, many dying for lack of medical care. It will be seniors without housing as the assisted living and nursing homes close due to lack of funding. It will be children dying from child abuse as no one is there to provide services to keep them safe.
They have devised a way to get rid of many without having to have camps.
#RepublicansWantYouDead
So far we are only talking about the direct results of the firings and layoffs and gutting of federal response (which includes states as well because some of the moneys being pulled support state programs. I've been mulling over the many environmental disasters (using that term because many or even most are a result of or aggravated by poor human decision-making.
What kind of response are we going to be able to make when a super-hurricane strikes, when climate driven tornadoes or rain events strike, when a massive regional earthquake hits, taking out infrastructure with it? Infrastructure includes roads, railways, highways, bridges, hospitals, airports, dams, and all the means by which we help people caught up in these kinds of disasters.
We are already seeing some of the systems fraying because of Trump/Musk's "cost-cutting". We will be unprepared for the next pandemic and already are unprepared for dealing with diseases that once were managed with vaccines and treatment. We are setting ourselves up for massive public health failures that are inevitable in the aftermath of environmental disasters.
And all of this goes back to manipulating our voting rights and systems to maximize the ability of right wing extremists to capture elections, take over agencies and impose their short-sighted ideologies on the rest of us. We are actually within sight of reversing course, if we stop bickering among ourselves, and stop fighting last year's war and start working together to win the races coming up. We can use every idea we've come up with: just DO it, and stop trying to convince everybody else that your idea is the best one or the only one. Picking apart the past is not accomplishing anything. There are exciting possibilities out there for m moving forward. Pick one and work on it. Please.
agreed
I would add the quack heading up HSS now assisting in your prediction of many dying. When the next pandemic hits, and it will, be it bird flu or the many mutations of covid, this vaccine denier will be sure to kill off thousands more with his screwball ideas.
And those many are us...
I am one of them unless friends intercede.
The protests are a way to let Trump voters say too they didn’t vote for this dismantling of the country.
Great. Don’t wait. You can find lots of opportunities with Indivisible, People Power Unite, Chop Wood Carry Water, 50501. And several more.
So far, the loudest voices I am hearing are Mayor Pete, Tim Walz, AOC, Tammy Duckworth, Jasmine Crockett, Elizabeth Warren, and a handful more - mostly women.
Governor Pritzker here in Illinois can be added to the vocal ones. Jamie Raskin in the Senate is another.
Raskin is in congress, not the senate.
Oops. Thank you for the correction. I do know better. It's Raskin in the House and VanHollen in the Senate. My friends in Maryland speak of them both.
It looks as if the Democratic Party is still operating as if it's 2008. There are many grassroots and legal organizations fighting back that are full of Democratic voters, and even anti-Trump conservatives. We need coordination. We can't look to the party. Leaders will have to emerge. But unless Congress does something this week to stop Patel, to defend Ukraine, to reject Putin -- WE THE PEOPLE will have to step up and shut down the government. They did it in North Korea, we can do it here. The crisis will come when Trump calls out the army and Hegseth agrees. How many Americans will they shoot? We live in Putin's country now.
Go to Indivisible. They have Actions to take. One is making sure your Dem Senators vote against the SAVE act which will disenfranchise many Americans
As long as it does not involve ACT.BLUE which is a fraudulent organization causing harm to innocent contributors across the country.
I don't think this is accurate. Where are your receipts?
For more information check on Charity Navigator: https://www.charitynavigator.org/ein/455097038
There is no adverse information about ActBlue at Charity Navigator other than a possible late report in California. 'ACTBLUE CIVICS INC cannot be evaluated by our Impact & Measurement methodology because it is not a 501(c)(3) IRS registered nonprofit."
On my bank statements.
I've been donating through them for years and never had a problem.
How so?
I've donated through Act Blue lots of times -- to me it's always been clear whether I am donating once or monthly. I think the 'tip' is an effort to cover credit card fees. I have not experienced a downside with them but would like to know more.
With most charitable donations one is given the option to add a little extra to cover credit card fees. I think the "tip" is to cover ActBlues' operational costs.
I reckon they do millions or tens of millions of transactions a year so I never tip their suggested amount (10% I believe). My tips are in the 1-2% range and sometimes I just skip it.
Started with them automatically making any single donation a monthly donation. This hurt many small donors. ACT.BLUE refused to refund, or acknowledge.
Over several years they finally had to put the option clearly on the donation page.
I learned the hard way as did my husband. They also sell your info and you become inundated with requests.
Now they ask for a Tip! What other donation requests a tip? Hmmm. They have a monopoly on all Dems trying to raise money.
Lots of organizations that solicit donations ask for a small additional donation to cover the administrative costs of processing the donation, such as credit card fees, so that the organization you are donating to gets the full amount of your donation instead of themselves having to deduct the administrative fees from your donation.
And who, Rachel, will pay their bills. The tips pay for their expenses. Non profits have suffered historically because no donors wanted to pay for their staff, rent, keeping the lights on. I have no problem at all paying for the credit card charges. Act Blue makes it more affordable for candidates and causes to fundraise. Do you now how expensive it is for a non profit or candidate to pay for fundraising? Let's be real and complain and fight the real enemies. They're many.
I'm interested in hearing more about this. I've been donating through actblue (and I make sure I only donate through actblue) for over a decade and I haven't experienced this, not once. I do find that before I donate I have to check and make sure it isactually going rhough actblue because there are a lot of other orgs trying to piggyback on that system.
For a review check them out on Charity Navigator:
https://www.charitynavigator.org/ein/455097038
That site says charitynavigator is unable to review them because actblue is an official PAC of the Dem party and not a nonprofit org. So I went to wiki and found actblue also has a nonprofit affiliate called actblue charities that deals with donations for nonprofit orgs.
It seems that "Groups that use ActBlue pay a 3.95% credit card processing fee" and that 'leave a tip' request is to cover that large expense. It's all quite confusing - jeez.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ActBlue#:~:text=ActBlue%20was%20founded%20in%202004,president%20and%20CEO%20of%20ActBlue.
ActBlue does not sell your data. https://matthodges.com/posts/2024-08-25-actblue-isnt-selling-your-data/
About four years ago, Letitia James and a few other AGs asked for information from fundraising groups about their use of prechecked "monthly donation" boxes, largely in response to the Trump campaign doing that. I do not see any indication that ActBlue was engaging in that practice, but It appears that ActBlue may not have had a specific policy one way or the other. In response, ActBlue stated that it would "require any group on the platform that uses prechecked recurring boxes to have explicitly asked donors to give on a recurring basis." If this was ever a problem, it is not now. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/08/us/politics/prechecked-boxes-donations-winred-act-blue.html
Two thumbs up.
That was a WINRED strategy, not ACT Blue. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/03/us/politics/trump-donations.html
How co?
Wow - excellent info, Rachel, thanks. Yes fellow Contrarians see for yourself the charitynavigator.com website.
Terrible information. The charitynavigator website literally says they can NOT assess actblue because actblue is not a nonprofit organization. It's a fundraising PAC for the DNC.
Amen, brother! I was gravely disappointed Hakeem Jeffries when he said, "We will pick and choose our battles carefully (or something to that affect)." Well, pick and choose and get going! I have little confidence in the Dems in power right now.
The Dems need to create a new shiny crisis with sequins and sparkles that would consume all of the various GOP traitors' attention so they won't have any time left over to pursue their agenda of destruction. In my view, secession is the perfect tool; the Declaration of Independence provides a historical analogy and a pretty good blueprint. Governors Newsome, Pritzker, Whitmer. Moore, Walz and many others could lead the way. To mimic a favorite Trump extortion tactic, they don't even have to take the steps
...to achieve secession, they just need to announce to will happen on a date certain.
I agree, Thomas! I think many on "The Contrarian" lineup are national treasures.
However, sadly, but respectfully, I disagree with the pronoun usage, "They Broke it. They Own It." a much more clear eyed title would be, "They Broke it, They Own Us."
That doesn't mean I'm not going to fight back. The moment requires action even imperfect action. But one thing I wont' do is gaslight myself into thinking we haven't lost our democracy.
Collaborate how? We have no messenger with a big enough megaphone.
Kamala could be that megaphone if she declared for 2028 now. It has to be someone holding rallies that draw wide coverage. She might not win the nomination, but she is one hell of an orator. And she would have no Biden baggage to carry.
There are others, like Pete and Gretchen and Gavin, but they need to declare to attract the coverage and the money.
Trump did this non-stop from 2021, and it worked.
Makes perfect sense in a christofascist country that science is downplayed and anti intellectualism is fostered. They love their constituent’s ignorance as a means to an end which is simply for power and control. Helps with voters suppression as well since an ignorant populace will always fall in line for whatever, even spangly garb.
I'm a Christian. I read and follow the King James Version of the Christian Bible. In no way, shape, or form do Christian Nationalists reflect the Christianity that I've learned about and follow. Christian Nationalism is an oxymoron. Christ is not a nationalist. If anything, He can be viewed as a socialist in that He and His followers shared what they had with those in need regardless of their race, gender, medical condition, or religion. There was no I, me, or my only we. But, people have decided they are smarter than God. Soooooooo, here we are.
I think that we can describe those Christians who follow Trump worship a petty, selfish, vengeful deity that they have created in their own image.
Any "Christians"' who support Trump and his Project 2025 folks actually worship at the altar of Satan ..... .
The greatest wars, the worst atrocities and the most inhumane deaths have been wrought by humans in the name of one or more religions. It may be name Islam, or Christian but the result is the same. and right now they are looking very similar with perverse accolites running the show in both spheres.
Those wars were by people who did not follow their religion but claimed to do so.
I keep hearing that, but the evidence is overwhelming that your statement is incorrect. When a large majority of a group consistently act a certain way, then that belief is the basis of their actions.
The majority does not determine the correctness of values.
And that deity is named Donald Trump, aka The Golden Calf.
Thank you, Sandra. I've been sending the magas I know personally a copy of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. Some christian nationalists have said that Jesus' words are old hat and are no longer relevant today. What???? I'm Jewish and my religion follows this sermon's principles too. It's called Tikkun Olam, repair the world. And Tzedakah = to perform Tikkun Olam. I truly fear for the human race these days.
One article I read was titled Jesus is too woke for the Christian Nationalists. If that is what woke is… I am in.
If they reject Jesus's word, they are heretics.
I seem to recall Jesus saying to render unto Caesar what is Caesar's. The Christian nationalists seem to have missed that one.
Where is the Christian church in fighting this?
These people may use the word ‘Christian,’ but it’s false when they are much like Nazism. The German Nazis took over the national churches in Germany and put up swastikas in the churches.
In the 1970's during a trip to Austria we visited Mauthausen near Linz. It was a weird sobering experience with kids, nuns and tourists picnicing and having fun outside, then piles of shoes and crematories inside. After that we went to the cathedral in Linz where swastika flags were still hung from the ceiling. I will never forget that.
Perhaps you have heard of Roman Catholic Pope Francis? Or Episcopal Bishop Mariann Budde?
That is so comforting to know.
I am finding that there are many churchgoers who understand the difference. When the Moral majority was trying to insert itself into government most Christian’s pooh poohed them. Twenty years later less people go to church and don’t understand the true faith so they glom on to the holy roly group think and feel good about themselves which is REALLY the antithesis of Christ’s teachings. None of us is good which is why through Christ we needed saving. And being saved doesn’t mean now you are perfect and can lord it over others. It means you must live your life following Christ’s teachings as best you can.
You'll have to ask each church that question since most are independently run.
and tax free
I am hearing sermons in my church explaining Jesus’ teachings and it is obvious that none of that is what the Trump regime is doing.. in fact the opposite. Those in the pews are understanding the difference. The point of separation of church and state is that church won’t affect state and state won’t affect church. But Christian nationalists have allowed the politics to infiltrate the church telling people how to think in the name of a false faith…. Really bad idea.
does it really? you think the US is a christofascist country? i don't - i think a few billionaires figured out how to use Christianity to sell their agenda to those w/ too much blind faith & not enough time & attention to understand what they were voting for, only what they were voting against - the status quo, the ineffectual political establishment that has done little on either side for working class citizens. I don't think the US is christofascist - there are a lot of good Christians w/ good hearts who believe in DEI, who believe in democracy -- the ideal of democracy, gov't for the people & by the people. We need to find them & others who want to fight for democracy so that the tyrants -- with absolutely no religion -- who are using fascism as a facade, a veil of sorts that hides their true colors, their desire to take over our country & our economy and end our democracy for more $$$ & more power (like they don't have enough already!!!???). i believe the American people don't want gov't dictating their lives but some were angry enough at the ineffectiveness of our gov't that they voted to 'drain the swamp' . . . now we need to engage & inspire those same people to fight back if they & us -- WE, don't want to live in a swamp of poverty & a broken country & economy.
It will be soon if they have their way. Ask the Project 2025 gang and the Dominionists.
Vance actually said that he thought the US should close all of its colleges and universities.
They may agree they broke it, but that's precisely what they wanted to do. They thrive on chaos and don't give a damn who it negatively impacts because it will never be them. It's such a transactional presidency again - we sure didn't learn our lesson and it has only gotten worse - much worse
Men don’t like to restrict one another, it spoils the fun.
Ummmmm...
What's really obvious and amazing is they don't have a vision for what they want this country to look like, other than white, christian and divided by oligarchs and serfs. If you're poor than you deserve, or god has willed it in their minds. And they don't have a next steps plan. This is a coup and the purpose is simply to destroy the longest , biggest and best democracy (with its flaws, yes!) the world has ever seen. This is destructive, dangerous and evil.
The next step IS the whiteness and suppression of women. And to have the wealthy taken care of on the backs of the rest. Christian nationalism is an afterthought. Trump probably can’t even tell you what that means, other than he hears what Charlie Kirk says.
He just used them to get elected… but they are behind the 2025 thing… brain washing misguided people in to believing the BS.
Agreed. And I can report from my little red county in a blue state, the MAGAt on the street so far has zero regrets. They’re loving all of it. Until that changes, and it won’t, we are sunk unless our military takes over the country temporarily.
Once it hits them in the wallets when their coveted government programs are cut or eliminated, there may be an epiphany. At least that's a hope. Just look at the howl over the price of eggs and gasoline. That apparently directed many voters to Trump even though the President has no control over either, in spite of what he promised (which he broke).
Jen, while I agree that we are going to very soon start looking like "Hooverville USA"--the shanty towns and camps that appeared by the thousands after the 1929 crash--as people lose their jobs, their homes, their means of survival and the Rethuglicans simper, tut, and party, I disagree with you that the voters will rise up. As someone on The Bulwark pointed out yesterday, the cruelty IS the point. It has been sexualized: they are not just enjoying the spectacle, they are titillated by it. I suspect that a lot of people who voted for the Felon did so not because they didn't believe him, but because they DID. "Owning the libs" in their minds meant that anyone who is suffering as a result of this utter devastation deserves it. And they are happy to buy into the propaganda that their own suffering is because of the "libs," not the policies of their Dear Leader.
As john Pavolvitz said yesterday, we could have had a real president: a smart, experienced, organized, feisty, humane woman of color. But the people who stayed home and didn't vote--who outnumber the people who voted for the Felon--did so deliberately. Because they did not want to admit to their misogyny, which clearly is more intense than their racism. These same people who stayed home could have made a difference in Congress: they could have voted for Dem candidates, flipped the House, and preserved the Senate majority. But they didn't. Why? Because, as they whined, the Biden administration didn't do "enough" for them.
So even though you seem to want to give the American People a pass, I do not. I. Blame. Them.
There is also a margin of those who just barely qualified for their right to vote who threw that vote away because, in their minds, politics is stupid. They don't understand the impact it has when you throw your vote away. I wish the History and Civics lessons stressed more of how important it is for your vote to be counted. But, with Mr. Quakers on the throne, I'm guessing that won't happen.
Australia fines people for not voting. It might be an incentive to get the "silents" to the polls.
Hmmmm. Interesting idea! We in the USA have the "right" to vote. However, we also have the "right" to bear arms. We could certainly build up our coffers if we fined everyone who owns guns, and fine them per gun.
A fine for owning guns should be called a weapons tax if it is to be carried out at all. We already pay property tax on homes, utilities tax for gas, electric, and communication, so that wouldn't be impossible except all guns would have to be reported to be eligible, which you know darned well won't happen.
Precisely!
Not a tax solution directly, but a possible way around the problem of knowing (at least in part) who's got the guns. Then it would be possible to impose the firearms tax.
Federal law defines "militia of the United States" as "all able-bodied males at least 17 years of age and, except as provided in section 313 of title 32, under 45 years of age who are, or who have made a declaration of intention to become, citizens of the United States and of female citizens of the United States who are members of the National Guard." 10 U.S.C. § 246 <https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?path=/prelim@title10/subtitleA/part1/chapter12&edition=prelim>. As commander in chief, a President would have the authority to regulate the members of the federal militia. By executive order or military regulation, the President could require members to, say, prove their fitness to possess firearms (background checks for all), to provide proper storage of the firearms, to report ownership of all firearms to a local military commander, to regularly qualify at a firing range to show competence in using each of those firearms, and so on. This authority would also easily fit within the Second Amendment's specific reference to a well-regulated militia.
This section is a direct descendant of a statute passed by Congress, and signed into law by President George Washington, less than six months after the ratification of the Bill of Rights, which includes, of course, the Second Amendment. (The Second Amendment, as part of the Bill of Rights, was ratified on December 15, 1971. The statute -- Public Statutes at Large, Vol. I, Chapter XXXII, pages 271-274, was enacted on May 8, 1792 <https://www.loc.gov/resource/llsalvol.llsal_001/?sp=394&st=image, https://www.loc.gov/resource/llsalvol.llsal_001/?sp=395&st=image, https://www.loc.gov/resource/llsalvol.llsal_001/?sp=396&st=image>, and https://www.loc.gov/resource/llsalvol.llsal_001/?sp=397&st=image.) Even Second Amendment fetishists will be hard pressed to explain how the members of the Second Congress and President Washington didn't understand the meaning of the Second Amendment less than six months after its ratification.
Will any of this happen under Trump 2.0? I won't hold my breath. But a less insane Commander-in-Chief might be persuaded to do it.
A couple of side points. First, the 1792 definition of militia certainly reflected its times: "each and every free able-bodied white male citizen of the respective states, . . . " (available on the Library of Congress website at https://www.loc.gov/resource/llsalvol.llsal_001/?sp=394&st=image). Unfortunately, much of the definition continues in the current statute. Second, the 1792 statute required each militia member, at his own expense, to "provide himself with a good musket or firelock, a sufficient bayonet and belt, two spare flints, and a knapsack, a pouch with a box therein to contain not less than twenty-four cartridges, suited to the bore of his musket or firelock, each cartridge to contain a proper quantity of powder and ball: or with a good rifle, knapsack, shot-pouch and powder-horn, twenty balls suited to the bore of his rifle, and a quarter of a pound of powder; . . ." In short, the Founder generation did not hesitate to impose an individual mandate on citizens.
I like your word "sexualized". Our media, over decades, has given the spectacle all the attention it desired. And now even more so. November, 2026 is not that far away....if trump doesn't call off the election. We can stop being lame and really fight for every seat in the House and Senate.
I am also certain that the "good gov't" of Biden that was easily helping many (Infrastructure) was felt to these folks like big Gov't vs. good Gov't.
They have drank the Grover Norquist Kool Aid of "drown in a bathtub" meme without any consideration of true impact and costs. In a visceral utopian world, they are the Waltons that just said for Gov't "Get off my mountain and leave me alone". Its naivety at best, selfish in many other ways when too many are affected in a real negative way.
Afraid you are right, Linda. Hatred runs deep and propaganda rules the mob.
People who see this problem and the abuses to democracy with no policy except cruelty and money worship have to stand for principals. This is not just the political dems protesting … this is rightful Americans who believe that all people are created equal, liberty and freedom and I might add love of our fellows and the Earth. In other words all things good. I fight hard not to hate Trump but he and the folks behind surely make it difficult.
I can't honestly say I hate many people, but Trump and his cabal are exceptions.
I hate him. I hate him and every single ass-kisser he's placed in top positions so they can tell us what we can and cannot do. There's no holding back for me! I hate drumpf!!
Can we get some reporting on what the pressures have been to get the Senate republicans to vote spinelessly. It would be useful for people to know the exact types of threats coming their way, now even before Kash Patel is running the FBI. I was told by a Democratic staffer it is an excellent question.
threats are from the big money — Thiel, Musk, etc.
Bronwyn, I believe it is more than being primaried. I believe there are deluges of threats from X verse, blackmail, threats to freeze bank accounts, god knows.
So all these cowards are afraid of their own voters. Meanwhile, people like Adam Kinziger stand up to bullies every day.
Agreed. Musk’s lust for financial records has a component similar to Soviet kompromat. Follow the money then bring on the blackmail and extortion.
That's what I've been hearing.
I think, since 2016, there've been physical threats to them and their families and there's fear afoot, not just fear of losing one's seat.
Yes they were the first line of defense against tyranny and now we are next.
Well, we Dems raised more money than them in the last election. We have billionaires too.
I forwarded you from The Substack Inside Medicine the “real life” story of one of the brilliant public health employees who was fired on Saturday.
Thank you for what you are doing to reveal the cruelty, insanity and your word “spinelessness” of this horror.
The MAGA will blame Biden. Or they will think their suffering is patriotic. Or they will say the catastrophes are hoaxes. We've been down this road before. It's a cult. It only ends like Waco. Except we'll all be in the building when it burns.
And the ignorant. I read a piece yesterday about an interview where the person thought Biden was responsible for Roe being overturned.
Good grief!
They won't blame Biden. These changes are much too blatant and that makes for a lever and opportunity to change the conversation. trump/musk are hurting their own followers. Let's make sure they understand that.
They are already blaming Biden.
Stay positive and keep demonstrating and calling.
Fox-Zombies rather than MAGA, Maria?
Keep the phone calls going. Get the 5 calls app… it is great. I have actually gotten through to an aide a couple of times. But getting through means the calls have died off because a week or so ago the voicemails were full! Just keep it up!!!! And encourage others.
Window of opportunity. https://www.npr.org/2025/02/19/nx-s1-5302885/ukraine-russia-trump-congress
You say, “Democrats would be wise to account for the damage . . . track the data and gather the individual stories that result from this assault on functional government. Then they can compare the state of the country before and after Musk’s destruction.” You forget, that all that recordkeeping takes people power and that’s what Musk is wiping out. By wiping out the people power, he is wiping out our ability to capture and preserve just exactly what is going on. They don’t want anyone to know.
This is where independent press, the Contrarian and Heather Cox Richardson come in. And our voices have to back their record keeping up.
Thank you for reminding me! You are exactly right. I am grateful for those sources. I am turning to them more and more often as things get worse and worse.
That's where downloading all we can find comes in.
Thank you, Contrarian, for continuing to give me the information I need to write to Missouri's Republican Senators on a daily basis, insisting they stop this madness and offer a plan for reconstruction. Couldn't do it without you.
Keep hammering the Republicans! Idea: flash the phone# up for people to call their Representatives in Congress and make their opinions known!
resistbot app
Get the ‘5stars’ app. It is a blue icon with five stars. You put your zip in and they give you the issues and talking points then you just click on your senators and representatives phone numbers. It is very easy. The aides in the offices listen and log what you are saying. They are very polite. You don’t have to be eloquent just honest. Be truthful and American. We are the voters so primaried or not these politicians have to answer to us.
There’s a straight line from Ronald Reagan to the dictator. The less-intelligent among us have been marinating in hatred of “the government” for the past 40 years, and we are witnessing the culmination of that. In addition, they’ve embraced the perverse notion that whatever appears to be against their own best interests is exactly what to vote for, time and time again. Thus the dictator. What this will look like once we’ve escaped this insanity is anyone’s guess.
I place a lot of the blame for this on Rush Limbaugh.
Day-after-day, month-after-month, year-after-year his drumbeat of distrust for the media, climate science is a hoax, all Democrats are bad, etc., wrapped in cutesy musical riffs, was drilled into the heads of his 10-12 million listeners. He used the legal-style rhetoric that he learned from his family of lawyers and judges to undermine common sense amongst his mostly blue-collar listeners. And here we are.
Add the names Rupert Murdoch FOX's mouthpieces Glenn Beck and others who droned on for years in the same vein. The spew of negative propaganda hasn't been heard as loudly since Tokyo Rose and Lord Haw Haw of WWII.
And here we are, and what are we going to DO about it other than hand-wringing. Let future historians figure out the details. Our job is to figure out what we can do to turn this around. Start with Indivisible.org or one of the other pro-democracy organizing groups. Read Jess Craven. Robert Hubbell. Heather Cox Richardson, Joyce Vance, Get out of your backward-looking silos and start looking to the future and the things we can do (and many ARE doing) to shape it so that we remain a democracy.
I’m as incensed about this as you are, but constantly thinking about ways to stop this for the past 4 weeks has yielded nothing concrete. The disparate protests that have been staged so far are ridiculously short of engagement, generating “thousands” of participants when hundreds of thousands, a million or more, are needed to really make a statement. And even then, these bozos aren’t going to let that keep them from their rampage. Effective massive resistance is first going to need leadership with a strategy and tactics. Right now we have none of that. Democratic Party leadership, such as it is, is pitiful and directionless. Complicity with the dictator’s destruction, lying and looting exists across the entire Executive branch and in both the House and Senate along with, let’s not forget, millions in this country who are cheering this on, and which makes this a particularly difficult problem to address, short of outright violence. The courts may prevent some of this, but when, not if, the Roberts right-wing court rules against them on something they really, really want, they will simply ignore the ruling and dare the court to enforce. I’d love for someone to tell me where I’m wrong here. In the meantime, I don’t know what else to do but wait and stay tuned in. I’m not all that optimistic about the 2026 elections either. It may take a catastrophic collapse of our society to get through to enough heads to make a difference. An awful thing to say, but history doesn’t give us much else to go on.
Well, for starters we all need to familiarize ourselves with Project2025. This is the roadmap that Trump will be following to burn down, then rebuild our nation. Like it or not.
This 800 page screed has been available since well before the election. There have been summaries and even a graphic comic book showing where things will land. Yet we were too preoccupied with our 'devices' and social media to bother to take the time and educate ourselves. Having this knowledge will help us get ahead of the curve to plan our strategy, rather than having to play catch-up and fret about Trump's latest assault on our Democracy.
Sending a few more bucks to Indivisible. You nailed it. Pearl clutching does nothing.
Absolutely! He cropped up at the same time as the moral majority bs.
This article assumes that there will be midterm elections. Trump just declared himself king.....
It’s a whole new day people. Forget the old norms, they are gone. How about an interview with Ezra Levin / Leah Greenberg of Indivisable.com? This is where we are seeing leadership to create the case for change. As a subscriber, tired of endless pearl clutching rhetoric that changes nothing.
It is indivisible.org
Hmm. I wonder.
Do members of our congress not think THEY will be on the chopping block eventually?
Ps: Thank you, Contrarian!
They may think they are immune. For now. "Kings" don't need legislatures.
This may sound a little crazy ( but what doesn’t now) but why not have Bill Clinton , Barack Obama, W and even Biden and various VPs just march over to all these federal agencies and Departments and have them say “you have to go thru me to fire these workers”. I mean here you have these former presidents w their own secret service details and who is going to mess w them? Musk and his 4 yo child?
Do you expect Biden to put himself on the line for those voters who actively reviled him?
We have no idea of whether any or all of these men are facing death threats from the insane MAGA cultists.
We have to stop fantasizing about heroes swooping in to clean up the mess that 77 million voters have created.
Yes I do. Extraordinary times call for extraordinary actions. And who else but those w best protection available to do it. And they should get cracking before their details are fired “for poor performance “.
The extraordinary measure would most likely be the arrest and imprisonment of Clinton, Obama, et. al. MAGA would like nothing better. They’d be over the moon delighted and credibly positioned to declare total victory to the world over demoralized liberals. Would huge numbers of people rise up in protest in the face of military action against them? Would they? This is how MAGA thinks and why they are dangerous. The apocalypse to thee, but not for me is exactly how the MAGA mob sees this playing out. I think Clinton, Obama et. al. are less useful to our cause as weakened martyrs.
Presently they are less than useless. Their own legacies destroyed and as they ponder whether to be “weakened martyrs”, Washington burns as our present day Nero doesn’t fiddle but golfs. Much less than half the eligible voters put in this regimes and w only 1.4 % more votes. I am expecting 1930’s unemployment, as well as equity free fall. But don’t worry Bill, Barry and Hillary, you’ll still have enough wealth and protection. Just no dignity or sense of morality.
One wonders why those people aren’t out there with the rest of us….
It may look better if it is grass roots. The magas won’t listen to former leaders who they have been convinced to revile. They might believe their neighbors. We must keep demonstrating, writing calling etc. 5 stars app!
Not really.
Great outside the box thought.
One of the stupider ripple effects of DOGE affected me personally recently. I was scheduled to travel to Denver (from Texas) to see some Irish dancers I follow online. I was going to stay with my brother and take my niece to the show. A few days ago, I got an email from the dancers' organization that they are rescheduling the show due to delays in visa processing that are "beyond their control." A quick look at the news revealed that cuts to U.S. embassy personnel abroad have led to delays in visa processing. That means that this troupe, which was scheduled to tour the U.S. with an entourage that would have spent money on hotels, restaurants, and other services, is not going to do so, at least for now. That directly affects the economies of the many cities they were going to visit. Mine is just a minor inconvenience to my life, but I can't help but wonder how these types of disruptions will affect the U.S. economy on a macro level.
Exposure is fine, but you need to include specific action plans to create the case for change. We know bad stuff is happening. We need a “case for change”. Get in the streets, make calls, Show up at electeds offices. Anyone in NYC, “Rise and Resist” needs you. Join Indivisable.com Do something.
It is indivisible.org
Thank you. Ezra and Leah are terrific.
Exactly