I agree with nearly all your points. But, and this may be a minority opinion, voters have shown how little they care about voting for people who support their opinions. On issue after issue, they continue to vote for Republicans, with whom they disagree about so many things, especially as they relate to their economic well being and their democratic representation. I’m gonna propose an alternative point of view in the autopsy of our death at the polls. Which is, I blame Joe. Not because he wasn’t a great legislative initiator in a time when we desperately needed investment and recovery. He was indeed that, and brilliant at getting his agenda passed in spite of terrible odds, and especially two dimwits from his own party in the US Senate. No, I blame Joe for abdicating his one solemn responsibility: to talk to the American people. He ignored us. FDR used to have fireside chats, where he explained things, again and again, to his constituents. Ronnie Reagan was a master at simply talking, not speechifying, and explaining his views and his ideas. Obama speechified more than conversed, but his oratory was so damn powerful people got his message. Bernie Sanders gives us a lesson every time he opens his mouth. He presents the reality, compares the approaches to a problem, and successfully sells the progressive solution. Donald Trump never shuts up. His speeches are not speeches, they are interior monologues that go on forever, mostly about himself, but he nevertheless endlessly speaks, opines, and begs for attention. Joe Biden, with all the power and pomp of the White House, mostly stayed quiet. He was absent, for the most part, and left the explaining and advocacy to others, notably a bored news media. We never would have lost to Trump if we had had an engaged, conversational president committed to sharing his vision and his struggle. It was indifference that cost us, not policy. Blame it all on neoliberalism and Clintonomics and elitism all you want, which is the fashion, but I think that’s a very small part of the story. You’re giving way too much credit to the analytical powers of the electorate, which are grossly inaccurate, by the way. As if Musk and his crowd are the real populists! Ha!
I agree with you that Biden was and is a poor communicator. I wonder if the reason for the lack of communication by Biden was his staff keeping under wraps perhaps first because he is a known gaffe machine and later because they were covering up his decline. When Obama ran for re-election in 2012 economic conditions weee far worse than they are now. But Obama was able to frame the economy as improving due to his policies and, not coincidentally, won relatively easily. But, another factor that didn’t exist, at least to the degree it does now, is a media ecosystem that is rabidly right wing and drowns out traditional media, on which Democrats have depended to convey their message. Biden’s approval rating was above 50% until the Afghanistan withdrawal at which he point the right wing ecosystem sunk their teeth in him and never let go. And he never effectively counterpunched. All the benefits of the legislative achievements were never effectively communicated by Biden.
Maybe it wasn't about the economy Richard, the corporate media kept telling us it was,becauset he media is ,well, corporate and corporations are about income, profits and shareholder returns.
If you listen to Joe Rogan, Fox and right wing news, you know it is about the culture war,and those on the right who have Fox on their TV 24/7 and Joe Rogan on the radio when they drive, have spouses, children, friends and family members.Those that vote Republican don't read the NYT, WAPO or watch MSNBC, CNN, ABC, CBS,well maybe a minority like my architect cousin who watched CNN when he wasn't browsing Fox.
Meanwhile liberals are busy chasing the economic snipe.
Given that the reader is familiar with the pledging freshman snipe hunt.
We didn't lose on the issues. We lost because many people are completely visceral. The data shows we won on the issues. Had Democrats showed up in three blue wall states we would have won.
An autopsy in the past was relevant because the environment was unchanged.
The environment of 2024 was fresh water,2025 is salt water.
There are very few fish that can live in fresh and salt water, a bull shark is one of them.
we have to become bull sharks.
If one insists on an autopsy, I blame the 14 million who sat out the election this time, and the Muslims of Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania who gave the finger to Biden/Harris ,cut of their nose to spite their face over Gaza. There are a lot of noseless Muslims because Trump is Bibi's BFF, has given him carte blanche,as he has Putin, and if you can't swallow that, ask who is that moved the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
My point is this: Donald Trump doesn’t have finely crafted populist economic plans that he has presented. He doesn’t have a platform. He has complaints. He pulls ideas out of his ass from time to time, and then discards them. He merely seizes on the discontent. So…if you have a spectacularly improved economy, one that is creating jobs, but you have not managed to bring back lower prices and you have a housing market run amok, you have unhappy people. And they are unhappy because you haven’t gotten their support and appreciation for the good stuff you’ve done, which is basically saving their asses from the Trump disaster, but more importantly you haven’t leveled with them that the other unsolved problems are mostly structural. You’ve simply got to be out there, talking, like Bernie does, which is why people can relate to him, and why he defangs the commie label that the nutcases throw at him. The centrist Dems have always been more scared of the “communist” tag on Bernie than the electorate. They were terrified of mounting a campaign to extend Medicare to all. It’s a conversation and a fight we should have had, for crying out loud, win or lose.
I have to say: 1. The voters who did not show up lost it for us. The economy is a pretext for racism, hatred for the "other."
2. I like Bernie, but in 2016 a significant number of his supporters opposed HRC in the blue states and that's a major reason we lost. Went to Trump. I bet some voted the same in 2024.
3. He does not know jack shit about Cuba and serves as a totem for Hispanics here in Florida.
I’m not talking about rabid MAGAts here. I’m not gonna talk about the disaffected leftists, either. And I’m not going to touch Florida with a ten foot pole. I’m talking about the winnable swing states. And I’m disagreeing that a “significant” number of Bernie voters cost Hillary the election. James Comey and Hillary herself cost Hillary the election, with help from the free media given to Trump and the 20 year Republican campaign to demonize her. The voters who did not show up for us couldn’t wait to show up in 2020 to dump Trump. Biden lost them.
Gen Z, who have never voted previously, could, should have carried the blue wall states. Black voters who trend Dem also failed to show up in full force. Most are also visceral but trend D.
As to homelessness, what changed were changes to tax laws that made it profitable for banks and hedge funds to purchase homes as investments or rental property. Change the laws to make that unprofitable and the housing market will recover very quickly. The rest of your points are also very good. I tend to agree with one of the comments that Biden did not inform the public about all the things he was doing and why. That's why Trump will easily claim credit for all the good stuff now.
You may be right about homelessness but we can't go back in time. Some of the Republican leaders in Congress would equate homelessness with vagrancy and would prosecute and incarcerate them to eliminate the problem. Some say that Trump looks forward to incarcerating as many people as possible to the benefit of the private jail industry. That he gets a piece of the action is within the realm of possibilities. Before he would deport illegals he'll "concentrate" them. https://www.cnbc.com/2024/11/11/private-prison-stocks-jump-on-trump-appointment-of-immigration-hardliner-tom-homan.html Reminds me of internal exile, gulags.....
Thom has mentioned elsewhere that Biden has physical deficits that preclude oratory. He has a speech defect. He has to shout, etc.
This is all quite possible indeed, but what the Republicans do not seem to understand is that such activities will have a bad effect on the economy, along with mass deportations and tariffs..... If he messes up badly enough, he will probably lose the House in 2026, and that will slow his programs down considerably as they will not be funded as he wants. As to Joe Biden, he has suffered from a stutter from childhood. One of the techniques for controlling a stutter is to pause and gather your thoughts to concentrate on what you want to say. To the untrained eye, this can look like a cognitive problem or confusion - which the Republicans were all too ready to emphasize. Sometimes the odds are simply against you.
Mr. Culver, I agree with you on the economy. If Musk is permitted to take 2 trillion dollars out of our economy by cutting $2 trillion of federal spending, as he has proclaimed he wants to do; the economy will collapse into the deepest depression in our history. When Herbert Hoover entered the white house his treasury secretary multi-millionaire Andrew Mellon, told him to slash government spending. Hoover did and we fell into the Great Depression. The fact that the BRICS countries are scheming to undermine the dollar combined with Trump's planned tariffs will only add fuel to the fire. At that future time the voters will conclude that BOTH political parties have failed them. The field will be open for the appearance of two new political parties: a new left/labor party and the extreme right party which is already here, the MAGATs.
Project 2025 has plans to ensure that there won't be a real election in 2026 Bruce.
The mind is numb to Trump's pronouncements it does seem. He told his adoring crowd,vote for me one more time and you will never had to vote again. And sadly, even liberal sources have ignored that warning, either shoved it where there is no sunshine, or ignored it as hyperbole.
One nasty thing they have planned is to use the constitution to usurp the government and allow Trump to rule by decree (executive orders)..... I have read Article II Section 3 and it is legit - he can adjourn Congress until he feels the time is right to reconvene it, ruling by executive order - and there does not appear to be a remedy. It is a very surprising lapse by the Founders to leave this avenue for a despot to rule unilaterally, using the constitution to do it.....
Scary isn't and you just overlaid another concern I had
Biden, if he had balls, or if anyone in his administration had balls would use the immunity that SCOTUS gave him and save this country and it's democratic Republic, but alas I am baying at the moon
I would say Biden's legacy is going to be shit, but history is written by the conqueror.
It was the private prison operation companies that had the highest profit in last Wed.’s stock market jump…they knew this was coming.
It was just announced that it will be Stephen Miller as Chief of Staff on policy- he’s the one who devised the separation of families at the border. He’s a known racist and xenophobe. They need mass deportation to use as their main platform…”we need to do this in order to protect our country”, they won’t shy away from propaganda that will mislead Americans into thinking it’s all being done for the right cause,they will show disgusting, altered images on their right-wing owned airwaves, mostly dark-skinned but also trans /LGBTQ . All it would take is for one or 2 Fox style news platforms to spiral things out of control, or, I wouldn’t put it past them- Trump tv, however, they’ll name it something like The True Americans network ( because everything they slap a title on is always just the opposite of their plans ) something to keep the hatriots inflamed. I’m sorry, folks, I don’t mean to sound so dour but nothing is “coming”…we’re now in it. It’s the only thing that would cause the American people to elect such a deplorable piece of scum. Just yesterday, visiting a progressive website ( a somewhat known youth pastor turned progressive) my phone alerted me of potential hacker alert. It’s time to pay attn.
Remember Daniel,when he fell off the bike, My wife says he has Parkinson's, which affects speech and mobility. He has trouble walking, very stiff, same with talking
September 2017, I climbed a ladder spread Tide on the roof (great for killing moss,did it every fall, cleaned the gutters. October 2017, left side (not left eye) blindness brain tumor, metastasized lung cancer, craniotomy, radiation, now I can't climb a step stool to change a light bulb, and walk like a drunk. One month of in hospital therapy, two months of home therapy, still can't walk a straight line, but my movements aren't stiff like Joes.
It was obvious that he had problems, but outside of come caricature on SNL, nobody really talked about them.
IMO Jake Sullivan was running foreign affairs, especially aid to Ukraine.
Actually Barbara it was she who told me, while she was making excuses for him., that he had a stutter.
The stutter had nothing to do with the way he walked and moved though.,and falling off the bicycle. I rode my bicycle until I had the craniotomy, and now I can't even climb on it.
Change the name of the party to the Democratic Labor Party. Everybody who earns a paycheck and depends on Social Security should support it. Include Hartman's suggestions in the platform.
You are presupposing that our political environment will be the same next year as this year.
It won't I am quite familiar with Trump promises, Agenda 47 and project 2025
Today is fresh water, next year it is salt water and he only fish that can life in both is a bull shark, salmon, American eels and striped bass, Salmon only when swimming upstream to breed and die.
Orban has taught Trump and the MaGAts what political parties are window dressing, charades to give the ruling class a mirage of legitimacy.
The part where Bernie said he understands why Democrats are reluctant to blame corporate greed for the problems of the working class made me stand up from my chair and say, "yes!"
Bernie would have stomped Trump flat in 2016, had the DNC and the neoliberal power structure (which still includes the Clintons, the Schumers and Pelosis of the party) not torpedoed his campaign. The old Dem guard doesn't want to see serious progressive change for the same reason that the Republican establishment doesn't: they both represent the billionaire class. Obama Care is a start, but a far cry from universal health care. Minimal student debt forgiveness is helpful to a few but is only a hand waive compared to guaranteed higher education to all that can qualify for asmission. Table scraps, smoke and mirrors designed to keep us politically balanced on a knife edge while elections are determined by a few votes in a handful of states, and the composition of the courts is driven by the results of those elections. Meanwhile the corporate owned media distracts us with polls and horse race politics. We desperately need a third viable political party, but neither of the big two will allow this to happen as long as they are allowed to swim in onscene amounts of billionaire cash. Sadly, it often takes a huge crash to focus public attention on the need for fundamental systemic reform. And we, the people, have done an excellent job of setting ourselves up for that scenario, if nothing else.
I agree Lemoine the problem is and always has been establishment democrats, be theyDonna Brazelle, Paul Begala, James Carville, Tom Perez, Terry McAuliffe, or HRC, they are professionals and that is how they make their living, not by honest labor, not like even Doctors.
They spend their hours chasing the buck., and unike Bernie are not about to bite the hand that feeds them.
I decided after the 1964 election that the difference between a Dem and aRepub was skin deep, two sides of the same coin. I changed in 2016 and recognizing Trump for what he was, I voted for HRC, but donated to Bernie, after Harris sanctified Trumps victory, as if she couldn't wait to put her imprimatur on it, I am back where I was in 1964, only this time a progressive.
Mr. Surlamont, please see my response to Mr. Culver. You are making the same points which the brilliant Sheldon Wolin makes in his book AMERICA INCORPORATED. You are running in good company.
Daniel, if responding to Gloria, why is it psy ops. Is it acknowledgement that Trump and Project 2025 mean what they say Psy ops? Is it acknowledgement that money buys government psy ops?
Is it psy ops to realize that the death knell of democracy was rung on Nov 5th?
Is it psy ops to have fear for your life and liberty?
Form vs substance. Visceral vs cognitive. "Issues" mean nothing. Psyops found enough voters to paraphrase who: "do not know what they are doing." They "don't know what they don't know." They don't know their asses from third base. Don't know enough to come in from the rain.
6 ft 7 in. transy women's basketball players. Harris saying government pays for sex change for immigrant felons.
I agree with you. issues meant bumpkis, what you call psyops was the whole Republican campaign..
The only 6'7" basketball player was Britney Griner and she isn't trans, she was born female and raised female. I've seen her,heard her speak and she does have a deep voice that sounds like a male, then again I know many women who sound like men, and men who sound like women.
Sex change for felons is bullshit, but there is truth behind the claim, sadly.
It evolved from law suits where prisoners have been denied required medical care. Anyway the number of prisoners who want to change sex is so small as to be insignificant and prisoner sex change would keep down the violence, prison rapes and prison wives are so common as to not even be mentioned.
There was this dude in an AA meeting that talked about having to be a prison wife, and that was why he drank. he worked at Goodwill and some asshole outed him at work.
More good stuff to chew on, Tom. I was on your last zoom session. I am taking what I call my Z-list blog in the direction of progressive populism, which I think of also as economic populism, as opposed to fear of "other" and retribution populism, or the media-labeled MAGA populism. You are a great source and I use your name and quotes quite a bit. (There are no paid subscribers, except for a handful who do it voluntarily.) I hear you on e-verify and card check. But could you in an upcoming blog elaborate on what should be our border policy? Is it anything like the one Trump killed earlier this year? Thanks.
Thanks, Keith. I’ve written about it in the past and will be circling back around to it again in the future as the topic becomes hotter. If you search on Hartmann report and border policy, you can probably find my previous articles without much difficulty.
Keith, I intended to join the zoom, but family arrived at 10 AM with another grandchild for me to watch. Saturday morning is the worst time of the week for me. I tried to join later but it was over.
I was on the zoom but didn't participate except in the chat. I've brought up the "science" of marketing many times. I am graphic for emphasis. The product may be shit but it can be sold. E.G. Packaging may do it, wrap shit in a phallic symbol and it sells.
Call it by an euphemism and it sells. Trump wasn't able to sell the big lie, but was able to sell fear of trans people. Hatred of the "other."
That's how psy ops works. We did it in the 1940's in western Europe. CIA did it in Iran and Guatemala. Putin thinks that's why the Soviet Union fell. Attributes it to us and George Soros. He used in during Brexit. Russia is using it worldwide and so is China. Putin perfected it in Hungary...and now here.
As Thom says the vote count is ongoing.... but it looks like had we made sure a few voters in the blue wall states shown up - we'd have held the presidency.
In Pa, more than 100,000 absentee, provisional ballots are still out, yet AP has called the senate race.
Has Bob Casey pulled a Harris and conceded the election? I hope not. Shame on her.
On Robert Reich some one countered that concession are not law, but aside from a few local elections have you ever seen someone take back a concession.
And what holy hell will fall on their shoulders by corporations, media, he public.?
Zowie .. In reading my heart beats faster at every word .. I think you have it right, especially if you put Kamala Harris out there doing fireside chats like FDR .. or someone who is a good communicator .. simple words, straight forward messages .. backed up by actions .. let’s start with Biden’s accomplishments .. start now !
Many years ago, I happened to be in Daytona Beach sitting on a roof top patio of a restaurant drinking a beer with a friend. This particular patio was located at the intersection of two city streets. My location on the patio was at a table at the corner looking down on the intersection. I happened to notice two cars approaching the intersection. One was a large Buick sedan, the other a large red Cadillac convertible. As I observed the Buick, at first, I couldn’t see a driver. On closer examination I noticed a small white-haired head of an elderly woman at the wheel. It appeared that she could barely see over the dashboard. The red Cadillac came to a stop at the stop sign and then started to enter the intersection while the Buick did not seem to slow down for the stop sign. I remarked to my companion; I think we are going to see an accident. The Buick did not stop and proceeded to T-bone the Cadillac in a sort of slow-mo crash. People on the ground without my perspective would have been unable to predict the inevitable crash as I could.
In the past few years, I have had a similar feeling of seeing an oncoming Global-warming catastrophe from the perspective of having studied the issue for the past number of years but having no ability to influence the oncoming disaster. I have made personal investments to outfit my house with solar electricity and hot water maybe hoping to influence others but that’s about it. I am not alone as a huge majority of climate scientists, scientific panels, and geologists have been warning of this danger for decades and now are flashing hair on fire warnings of the immediate need to take drastic measures to reduce emissions. The last number of years have seen renewable energy technologies become economically competitive and the leading emitters of greenhouse gases make some of the first large scale investments to address the issue. It is clear this is just a start and that this is not just an issue for one country but a global problem requiring global action at large scale. It also requires global leadership by the United States to not only develop the technologies, but to make the huge investments required, and provide funds to the developing countries to mitigate the impacts.
I have watched with dismay the last election where the issue was hardly mentioned. Then the election of a profoundly ignorant man to the top position of global power along with his sycophantic party boot-licking members to claim the issue is a hoax and part of some woke agenda. To add insult to injury he has vowed to pull the US out of the Paris Accords and to reverse the investments made by the previous administration. This is beyond madness approaching a suicide pact against humanity. As many years ago on that patio helplessly watching the impending crash, I have the same feelings of helplessness but this time a profound sadness of the coming human costs of the impending disaster. JACK
I think all this posturing about how the Democrats should become a functioning party in the future is entertaining. However, I am going to pull the fire alarm. I am a commercial broker who specializes in single family development. Trump has signaled that he is going to go after the "animals" who are here illegally. What do you think the executives of the major home building companies are talking about right now as they realize that their labor force for construction is about to get eliminated? What do you think the executives of the food industry are saying? When you start this BS about getting only the illegals out, it means all brown skins everywhere. That means that legal people will realize that they don't want their kids coming home to find their parents gone and no one knows why. They will pack up and leave. This means subcontractors and support industries. This happened the last time these clowns were in power and this time it is on steroids. As the home building industry begins to break down and the food supply chain begins to falter, the ripple effect is going to cast a wide net. They have stated quite clearly that they fully intend to tear the country down and rebuild it as they see fit. This isn't a fire drill people. Start preparing for the worst and hope for the best. Hartman needs to go into full detail about who and what is being done to protect the people from this onslaught. I know everyone is going around trying to console themselves from the reality of this nightmare, but they are in rapid movement to solidify their plans and implement their program.
This was a terrific read. I'm in Las Vegas, and all of this is happening here. Not enough police, the rent is out of sight. Housing costs. I read recently that investors have something like 135,000 rentals just in the Las Vegas area, charging exorbitant rents. Another thing I think we missed the mark on, grocery and goods prices. They went up with COVID, and never went down. Kamala addressed it as an issue she would address as president. If it was something that could be addressed, it should have been addressed during this administration, and done early on. Why didn't that happen? The tariff issue, just wow. Here we are out there arguing how bad it will be, but in reality you explained how they can be a good thing. Healthcare, the worst education system. The pain people are feeling on both sides of the division. We can't all just stay angry and not find a way to acknowledge each others frustrations. Thank you so much for these insights.
Women do the shopping and notice the rise in price of groceries.
Men don't notice and don't care.
The 2024 Election was a gender war, among other things.The price of eggs was not the reason for the male vote.
Confession we have a good income and lots of disposable cash, neither the wife or I ever look at the grocery receipt,nor the cash register ring up. And yet I see a mother tell her child to put the bubble gum back in the rack, or have the cashier put stuff back on the shelf.
What can Biden do to support Ukraine before Trump takes over?
Maybe, Ukraine could be allowed to recruit soldiers from the asylum seekers in the US, giving these asylum seekers and their families Ukrainian citizenship. US asylum could be awarded to the families of Ukrainian soldiers; both the displaced families from Ukraine and the new seeker Ukrainian citizens.
Other countries could also allow their asylum seekers to become Ukrainian soldiers. Other countries would also need to financially support Ukraine as Trump will likely cut funding. After the war, the new Ukrainian citizens could help rebuild Ukraine.
The French Foreign Legion only started to teach French to operate modern machinery.
Recruits leaned to obey commands because it hurt, application of the stick.
Jake Sullivan artfully used language to delay the use of F-16's by the Ukrainians. A plane is a plane, a car is a car, you sit down turn the key and drive or fly., the operating systems and gauges can be taught in a day or two, but the training program took months.
And even worse the training was in English,the manuals are in English, imagine when Cyrillic and Ukrainian is your first language.
How would you do if you had to learn the Cyrillic alphabet and then the language, worse yet try Arabic and Hebrew, and then consider how many Arabs, Hebrew, Ukrainians and Chinese can read and type with the Latin alphabet, not to mention one of its languages.
I think there's some type of smart phone apps. that can convert one language to another one. If that's the case, it might be possible to have basic communications between people of different languages.
There is an app,handy for tourists, basic communication but inadequate for social purposes and especially medical care and extensive inter actions. Social situations can be winged, just smile and pretend you understand, works for me.Or I say habla despacio por favor.
In 50 years, if mankind is still polluting Gaia and is not extinct, Europe will be Muslim, Orban and the right are little Dutch boys sticking their finger in the dyke.
In states like Florida (mine) and Texas, resistance is futile. The fascists already control K thru PhD in educational content. Abortion is a no-no. We already deport illegal immigrants to libtard states. Climate Change is "officially" a hoax and may not even be a word in any state document. As for medically treating children with birth defects that cause gender identity confusion, you cannot even say "gay" in Florida. It would not surprise me if, once Trump is in power, Floridians start greeting each other with "Heil Trump!"
It's very discouraging, but there's hope in blue states.
Abortion and marijuana won a plurality in Florida, but didn't get 60% to amend the constitution. You would think that plurality would oppose Trump and Sunset Rick Scott, but fear wins out. The denizens in my county have forgotten that the cracker red neck majority consider Cubans to be as much the "other" as Blacks, queers and Jews. The DNC job should be to remind them about that.
Last night was a truly jarring experience that tests and will test our ideas of who we are as people and as a nation. As a student of history, I can’t restrain myself from making historical comparisons between what is happening here now and the similarities to events that happened 90 years ago in Europe and how that might inform us of the dangers ahead. I have always wondered if I was an informed German citizen in 1930’s Germany how I would have reacted when Hitler, an individual that espoused racial hatred and employed violent thugs against his rivals, was elected and given absolute power by Conservative politicians thinking they could control his worst impulses. I probably would have felt the angst I feel now but would not have imagined the absolute disaster this individual could or would unleash on my country and the world. Now 90 years later we are confronted with a new Hitleresque want-to-be, who has regained power just as Hitler did, due to a uniformed and economically stressed electorate, political lies promulgated by mass media, by Fox News and social media and the complicity and cowardice of political figures of a former conservative party. I really don’t have to guess about who Trump is or what he is going to try to do. His former colleagues, former high level military figures who served in his administration have explicitly told us who he is and how dangerous he will be if given power again. He, himself, has explicitly told us the fascistic, racist and political policies and retributions he will visit on us if given power again. I really can’t overemphasize the danger we as a country and the world are now in. I would be a little more sanguine if the Democrats had at least held one branch of government to exercise some restraint on the would-be dictator, but it now looks as if he and his boot-licking compliant, Republican legislators will have total control over all branches. As a citizen, just as the citizens of Germany in 1934, we all have basically two choices; one is to tune out, go about life as usual and just pretend the precarious situation is not going to affect you, the other choice is to speak out against the outrages that are sure to come, try to aid the campaign to impose some restraint and reverse the damage by reclaiming one of the two legislative bodies 2 years from now in the midterms. In Germany people who followed the first course were in the end not spared from the ensuing cataclysm. People who followed the noble and courageous course were not spared either, but they had the hope, vision and possibility of what was right and what might have been. So, the message is don’t look away, don’t give up, and keep the faith that we are a democracy, that people before us have fought and paid the ultimate price to defend and we must do the same. This is not the time to or place to accept this as some usual election and choose to deny the looming danger. JACK 11/6/24
I wonder if the Dem party has any ears. They lost this election purely on the fact they did not message what they were offering. They put 20 issues on their website and left it for the people to sort it out for themselves. In other words no messaging at all nor any kabuki theater which is the most effective way to demonstrate party issues ever found. A circus knows how to message better than our party. God help us.
One problem I have had is that I, as a voter or as a constituent, have no way of communicating with candidates or politicians. And candidates and politicians do not seem interested in communicating with me. They send emails which are not subject to reply. If you click on “contact us”, you can send a message which might elicit a response from a volunteer who has no idea what to do. They say, yeah, but you know it doesn’t even become a statistical point in their analysis of what is going on. Polls? Is that the only touchpoint they have with voters? No wonder the results are a surprise. So we have the “media” and what politicians say, as reported, but one side sounds like repeated bullshit slogans (“new way forward”) and the other sounds like an insane nightmare. We end up voting against whichever side we want to punish most. I think progressive humanist voters wanted to punish Democrats for ignoring them and just slinging slogans. No real communication.
Go to a local democratic county meeting or club where a speaker is. I do that and talk to the politicians. Usually they are polite but nothing happens but now I have a direct meeting with one so we will see.
It’s kind of like when local government has a project and they “solicit” public feedback at a meeting. It’s obvious when you go that the project is already set and the “feedback” is just for show, or as required by law. Insincerity.
What you wrote is true but you also need more of an emotional connection. The Republicans get groups like pro life, gun, christian and racists excited because Trump is on their side. They do not alienate people because except people who hate Trump by not going too far. They have phrases like own the libs and marxist, communist and far left and that encourages team buliding. They have pod casts and conservative media to amplify this. The democrats will not go the Sanders route because of their donors and the media being owned by the wealthy. Harris was probably told how far she could go. We really need a parliamentary system.
I agree with nearly all your points. But, and this may be a minority opinion, voters have shown how little they care about voting for people who support their opinions. On issue after issue, they continue to vote for Republicans, with whom they disagree about so many things, especially as they relate to their economic well being and their democratic representation. I’m gonna propose an alternative point of view in the autopsy of our death at the polls. Which is, I blame Joe. Not because he wasn’t a great legislative initiator in a time when we desperately needed investment and recovery. He was indeed that, and brilliant at getting his agenda passed in spite of terrible odds, and especially two dimwits from his own party in the US Senate. No, I blame Joe for abdicating his one solemn responsibility: to talk to the American people. He ignored us. FDR used to have fireside chats, where he explained things, again and again, to his constituents. Ronnie Reagan was a master at simply talking, not speechifying, and explaining his views and his ideas. Obama speechified more than conversed, but his oratory was so damn powerful people got his message. Bernie Sanders gives us a lesson every time he opens his mouth. He presents the reality, compares the approaches to a problem, and successfully sells the progressive solution. Donald Trump never shuts up. His speeches are not speeches, they are interior monologues that go on forever, mostly about himself, but he nevertheless endlessly speaks, opines, and begs for attention. Joe Biden, with all the power and pomp of the White House, mostly stayed quiet. He was absent, for the most part, and left the explaining and advocacy to others, notably a bored news media. We never would have lost to Trump if we had had an engaged, conversational president committed to sharing his vision and his struggle. It was indifference that cost us, not policy. Blame it all on neoliberalism and Clintonomics and elitism all you want, which is the fashion, but I think that’s a very small part of the story. You’re giving way too much credit to the analytical powers of the electorate, which are grossly inaccurate, by the way. As if Musk and his crowd are the real populists! Ha!
I agree with you that Biden was and is a poor communicator. I wonder if the reason for the lack of communication by Biden was his staff keeping under wraps perhaps first because he is a known gaffe machine and later because they were covering up his decline. When Obama ran for re-election in 2012 economic conditions weee far worse than they are now. But Obama was able to frame the economy as improving due to his policies and, not coincidentally, won relatively easily. But, another factor that didn’t exist, at least to the degree it does now, is a media ecosystem that is rabidly right wing and drowns out traditional media, on which Democrats have depended to convey their message. Biden’s approval rating was above 50% until the Afghanistan withdrawal at which he point the right wing ecosystem sunk their teeth in him and never let go. And he never effectively counterpunched. All the benefits of the legislative achievements were never effectively communicated by Biden.
Maybe it wasn't about the economy Richard, the corporate media kept telling us it was,becauset he media is ,well, corporate and corporations are about income, profits and shareholder returns.
If you listen to Joe Rogan, Fox and right wing news, you know it is about the culture war,and those on the right who have Fox on their TV 24/7 and Joe Rogan on the radio when they drive, have spouses, children, friends and family members.Those that vote Republican don't read the NYT, WAPO or watch MSNBC, CNN, ABC, CBS,well maybe a minority like my architect cousin who watched CNN when he wasn't browsing Fox.
Meanwhile liberals are busy chasing the economic snipe.
Given that the reader is familiar with the pledging freshman snipe hunt.
We didn't lose on the issues. We lost because many people are completely visceral. The data shows we won on the issues. Had Democrats showed up in three blue wall states we would have won.
And the now show Democrats, Daniel, were Muslims
Only in part.
You are right but enough to give Trump the electoral votes he needed in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania.
Kerry we are past an autopsy
An autopsy in the past was relevant because the environment was unchanged.
The environment of 2024 was fresh water,2025 is salt water.
There are very few fish that can live in fresh and salt water, a bull shark is one of them.
we have to become bull sharks.
If one insists on an autopsy, I blame the 14 million who sat out the election this time, and the Muslims of Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania who gave the finger to Biden/Harris ,cut of their nose to spite their face over Gaza. There are a lot of noseless Muslims because Trump is Bibi's BFF, has given him carte blanche,as he has Putin, and if you can't swallow that, ask who is that moved the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
My point is this: Donald Trump doesn’t have finely crafted populist economic plans that he has presented. He doesn’t have a platform. He has complaints. He pulls ideas out of his ass from time to time, and then discards them. He merely seizes on the discontent. So…if you have a spectacularly improved economy, one that is creating jobs, but you have not managed to bring back lower prices and you have a housing market run amok, you have unhappy people. And they are unhappy because you haven’t gotten their support and appreciation for the good stuff you’ve done, which is basically saving their asses from the Trump disaster, but more importantly you haven’t leveled with them that the other unsolved problems are mostly structural. You’ve simply got to be out there, talking, like Bernie does, which is why people can relate to him, and why he defangs the commie label that the nutcases throw at him. The centrist Dems have always been more scared of the “communist” tag on Bernie than the electorate. They were terrified of mounting a campaign to extend Medicare to all. It’s a conversation and a fight we should have had, for crying out loud, win or lose.
I have to say: 1. The voters who did not show up lost it for us. The economy is a pretext for racism, hatred for the "other."
2. I like Bernie, but in 2016 a significant number of his supporters opposed HRC in the blue states and that's a major reason we lost. Went to Trump. I bet some voted the same in 2024.
3. He does not know jack shit about Cuba and serves as a totem for Hispanics here in Florida.
I’m not talking about rabid MAGAts here. I’m not gonna talk about the disaffected leftists, either. And I’m not going to touch Florida with a ten foot pole. I’m talking about the winnable swing states. And I’m disagreeing that a “significant” number of Bernie voters cost Hillary the election. James Comey and Hillary herself cost Hillary the election, with help from the free media given to Trump and the 20 year Republican campaign to demonize her. The voters who did not show up for us couldn’t wait to show up in 2020 to dump Trump. Biden lost them.
Gen Z, who have never voted previously, could, should have carried the blue wall states. Black voters who trend Dem also failed to show up in full force. Most are also visceral but trend D.
Mr. Truchero, nobody has said it better.
As to homelessness, what changed were changes to tax laws that made it profitable for banks and hedge funds to purchase homes as investments or rental property. Change the laws to make that unprofitable and the housing market will recover very quickly. The rest of your points are also very good. I tend to agree with one of the comments that Biden did not inform the public about all the things he was doing and why. That's why Trump will easily claim credit for all the good stuff now.
You may be right about homelessness but we can't go back in time. Some of the Republican leaders in Congress would equate homelessness with vagrancy and would prosecute and incarcerate them to eliminate the problem. Some say that Trump looks forward to incarcerating as many people as possible to the benefit of the private jail industry. That he gets a piece of the action is within the realm of possibilities. Before he would deport illegals he'll "concentrate" them. https://www.cnbc.com/2024/11/11/private-prison-stocks-jump-on-trump-appointment-of-immigration-hardliner-tom-homan.html Reminds me of internal exile, gulags.....
Thom has mentioned elsewhere that Biden has physical deficits that preclude oratory. He has a speech defect. He has to shout, etc.
This is all quite possible indeed, but what the Republicans do not seem to understand is that such activities will have a bad effect on the economy, along with mass deportations and tariffs..... If he messes up badly enough, he will probably lose the House in 2026, and that will slow his programs down considerably as they will not be funded as he wants. As to Joe Biden, he has suffered from a stutter from childhood. One of the techniques for controlling a stutter is to pause and gather your thoughts to concentrate on what you want to say. To the untrained eye, this can look like a cognitive problem or confusion - which the Republicans were all too ready to emphasize. Sometimes the odds are simply against you.
Mr. Culver, I agree with you on the economy. If Musk is permitted to take 2 trillion dollars out of our economy by cutting $2 trillion of federal spending, as he has proclaimed he wants to do; the economy will collapse into the deepest depression in our history. When Herbert Hoover entered the white house his treasury secretary multi-millionaire Andrew Mellon, told him to slash government spending. Hoover did and we fell into the Great Depression. The fact that the BRICS countries are scheming to undermine the dollar combined with Trump's planned tariffs will only add fuel to the fire. At that future time the voters will conclude that BOTH political parties have failed them. The field will be open for the appearance of two new political parties: a new left/labor party and the extreme right party which is already here, the MAGATs.
Project 2025 has plans to ensure that there won't be a real election in 2026 Bruce.
The mind is numb to Trump's pronouncements it does seem. He told his adoring crowd,vote for me one more time and you will never had to vote again. And sadly, even liberal sources have ignored that warning, either shoved it where there is no sunshine, or ignored it as hyperbole.
One nasty thing they have planned is to use the constitution to usurp the government and allow Trump to rule by decree (executive orders)..... I have read Article II Section 3 and it is legit - he can adjourn Congress until he feels the time is right to reconvene it, ruling by executive order - and there does not appear to be a remedy. It is a very surprising lapse by the Founders to leave this avenue for a despot to rule unilaterally, using the constitution to do it.....
Scary isn't and you just overlaid another concern I had
Biden, if he had balls, or if anyone in his administration had balls would use the immunity that SCOTUS gave him and save this country and it's democratic Republic, but alas I am baying at the moon
I would say Biden's legacy is going to be shit, but history is written by the conqueror.
This is an Octavian moment.
Perhaps this is the moment where we all break into a rousing chorus of "Always look on the bright side of life....."
It was the private prison operation companies that had the highest profit in last Wed.’s stock market jump…they knew this was coming.
It was just announced that it will be Stephen Miller as Chief of Staff on policy- he’s the one who devised the separation of families at the border. He’s a known racist and xenophobe. They need mass deportation to use as their main platform…”we need to do this in order to protect our country”, they won’t shy away from propaganda that will mislead Americans into thinking it’s all being done for the right cause,they will show disgusting, altered images on their right-wing owned airwaves, mostly dark-skinned but also trans /LGBTQ . All it would take is for one or 2 Fox style news platforms to spiral things out of control, or, I wouldn’t put it past them- Trump tv, however, they’ll name it something like The True Americans network ( because everything they slap a title on is always just the opposite of their plans ) something to keep the hatriots inflamed. I’m sorry, folks, I don’t mean to sound so dour but nothing is “coming”…we’re now in it. It’s the only thing that would cause the American people to elect such a deplorable piece of scum. Just yesterday, visiting a progressive website ( a somewhat known youth pastor turned progressive) my phone alerted me of potential hacker alert. It’s time to pay attn.
Has anyone seeing any reporting of an exodus from America to Mexico yet, or they waiting for the doors to the cattle car to slam shut.
Remember Daniel,when he fell off the bike, My wife says he has Parkinson's, which affects speech and mobility. He has trouble walking, very stiff, same with talking
September 2017, I climbed a ladder spread Tide on the roof (great for killing moss,did it every fall, cleaned the gutters. October 2017, left side (not left eye) blindness brain tumor, metastasized lung cancer, craniotomy, radiation, now I can't climb a step stool to change a light bulb, and walk like a drunk. One month of in hospital therapy, two months of home therapy, still can't walk a straight line, but my movements aren't stiff like Joes.
It was obvious that he had problems, but outside of come caricature on SNL, nobody really talked about them.
IMO Jake Sullivan was running foreign affairs, especially aid to Ukraine.
William-please share this info with your wife. Biden has a stutter and has had for decades. https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2019-09-15/joe-bidens-childhood-struggle-with-a-stutter
Actually Barbara it was she who told me, while she was making excuses for him., that he had a stutter.
The stutter had nothing to do with the way he walked and moved though.,and falling off the bicycle. I rode my bicycle until I had the craniotomy, and now I can't even climb on it.
Change the name of the party to the Democratic Labor Party. Everybody who earns a paycheck and depends on Social Security should support it. Include Hartman's suggestions in the platform.
You are presupposing that our political environment will be the same next year as this year.
It won't I am quite familiar with Trump promises, Agenda 47 and project 2025
Today is fresh water, next year it is salt water and he only fish that can life in both is a bull shark, salmon, American eels and striped bass, Salmon only when swimming upstream to breed and die.
Orban has taught Trump and the MaGAts what political parties are window dressing, charades to give the ruling class a mirage of legitimacy.
Bernie's rant on CNN yesterday was right on. https://youtu.be/AHyFar_R2K0?si=K_nTWpYhHW0nnRz-
So, where to from here?
The part where Bernie said he understands why Democrats are reluctant to blame corporate greed for the problems of the working class made me stand up from my chair and say, "yes!"
Bernie would have stomped Trump flat in 2016, had the DNC and the neoliberal power structure (which still includes the Clintons, the Schumers and Pelosis of the party) not torpedoed his campaign. The old Dem guard doesn't want to see serious progressive change for the same reason that the Republican establishment doesn't: they both represent the billionaire class. Obama Care is a start, but a far cry from universal health care. Minimal student debt forgiveness is helpful to a few but is only a hand waive compared to guaranteed higher education to all that can qualify for asmission. Table scraps, smoke and mirrors designed to keep us politically balanced on a knife edge while elections are determined by a few votes in a handful of states, and the composition of the courts is driven by the results of those elections. Meanwhile the corporate owned media distracts us with polls and horse race politics. We desperately need a third viable political party, but neither of the big two will allow this to happen as long as they are allowed to swim in onscene amounts of billionaire cash. Sadly, it often takes a huge crash to focus public attention on the need for fundamental systemic reform. And we, the people, have done an excellent job of setting ourselves up for that scenario, if nothing else.
Well said.
Completely agree!
I agree Lemoine the problem is and always has been establishment democrats, be theyDonna Brazelle, Paul Begala, James Carville, Tom Perez, Terry McAuliffe, or HRC, they are professionals and that is how they make their living, not by honest labor, not like even Doctors.
They spend their hours chasing the buck., and unike Bernie are not about to bite the hand that feeds them.
I decided after the 1964 election that the difference between a Dem and aRepub was skin deep, two sides of the same coin. I changed in 2016 and recognizing Trump for what he was, I voted for HRC, but donated to Bernie, after Harris sanctified Trumps victory, as if she couldn't wait to put her imprimatur on it, I am back where I was in 1964, only this time a progressive.
Mr. Surlamont, please see my response to Mr. Culver. You are making the same points which the brilliant Sheldon Wolin makes in his book AMERICA INCORPORATED. You are running in good company.
I'm sorry. Psy ops.
Daniel, if responding to Gloria, why is it psy ops. Is it acknowledgement that Trump and Project 2025 mean what they say Psy ops? Is it acknowledgement that money buys government psy ops?
Is it psy ops to realize that the death knell of democracy was rung on Nov 5th?
Is it psy ops to have fear for your life and liberty?
Form vs substance. Visceral vs cognitive. "Issues" mean nothing. Psyops found enough voters to paraphrase who: "do not know what they are doing." They "don't know what they don't know." They don't know their asses from third base. Don't know enough to come in from the rain.
6 ft 7 in. transy women's basketball players. Harris saying government pays for sex change for immigrant felons.
I agree with you. issues meant bumpkis, what you call psyops was the whole Republican campaign..
The only 6'7" basketball player was Britney Griner and she isn't trans, she was born female and raised female. I've seen her,heard her speak and she does have a deep voice that sounds like a male, then again I know many women who sound like men, and men who sound like women.
Sex change for felons is bullshit, but there is truth behind the claim, sadly.
It evolved from law suits where prisoners have been denied required medical care. Anyway the number of prisoners who want to change sex is so small as to be insignificant and prisoner sex change would keep down the violence, prison rapes and prison wives are so common as to not even be mentioned.
There was this dude in an AA meeting that talked about having to be a prison wife, and that was why he drank. he worked at Goodwill and some asshole outed him at work.
Dr. Gilbert, please see my response to Mr. Culver.
More good stuff to chew on, Tom. I was on your last zoom session. I am taking what I call my Z-list blog in the direction of progressive populism, which I think of also as economic populism, as opposed to fear of "other" and retribution populism, or the media-labeled MAGA populism. You are a great source and I use your name and quotes quite a bit. (There are no paid subscribers, except for a handful who do it voluntarily.) I hear you on e-verify and card check. But could you in an upcoming blog elaborate on what should be our border policy? Is it anything like the one Trump killed earlier this year? Thanks.
Thanks, Keith. I’ve written about it in the past and will be circling back around to it again in the future as the topic becomes hotter. If you search on Hartmann report and border policy, you can probably find my previous articles without much difficulty.
Keith, I intended to join the zoom, but family arrived at 10 AM with another grandchild for me to watch. Saturday morning is the worst time of the week for me. I tried to join later but it was over.
I was on the zoom but didn't participate except in the chat. I've brought up the "science" of marketing many times. I am graphic for emphasis. The product may be shit but it can be sold. E.G. Packaging may do it, wrap shit in a phallic symbol and it sells.
Call it by an euphemism and it sells. Trump wasn't able to sell the big lie, but was able to sell fear of trans people. Hatred of the "other."
That's how psy ops works. We did it in the 1940's in western Europe. CIA did it in Iran and Guatemala. Putin thinks that's why the Soviet Union fell. Attributes it to us and George Soros. He used in during Brexit. Russia is using it worldwide and so is China. Putin perfected it in Hungary...and now here.
As Thom says the vote count is ongoing.... but it looks like had we made sure a few voters in the blue wall states shown up - we'd have held the presidency.
In Pa, more than 100,000 absentee, provisional ballots are still out, yet AP has called the senate race.
Has Bob Casey pulled a Harris and conceded the election? I hope not. Shame on her.
On Robert Reich some one countered that concession are not law, but aside from a few local elections have you ever seen someone take back a concession.
And what holy hell will fall on their shoulders by corporations, media, he public.?
Zowie .. In reading my heart beats faster at every word .. I think you have it right, especially if you put Kamala Harris out there doing fireside chats like FDR .. or someone who is a good communicator .. simple words, straight forward messages .. backed up by actions .. let’s start with Biden’s accomplishments .. start now !
I will never become the right wing liars!
Witnessing an Impending Accident
Many years ago, I happened to be in Daytona Beach sitting on a roof top patio of a restaurant drinking a beer with a friend. This particular patio was located at the intersection of two city streets. My location on the patio was at a table at the corner looking down on the intersection. I happened to notice two cars approaching the intersection. One was a large Buick sedan, the other a large red Cadillac convertible. As I observed the Buick, at first, I couldn’t see a driver. On closer examination I noticed a small white-haired head of an elderly woman at the wheel. It appeared that she could barely see over the dashboard. The red Cadillac came to a stop at the stop sign and then started to enter the intersection while the Buick did not seem to slow down for the stop sign. I remarked to my companion; I think we are going to see an accident. The Buick did not stop and proceeded to T-bone the Cadillac in a sort of slow-mo crash. People on the ground without my perspective would have been unable to predict the inevitable crash as I could.
In the past few years, I have had a similar feeling of seeing an oncoming Global-warming catastrophe from the perspective of having studied the issue for the past number of years but having no ability to influence the oncoming disaster. I have made personal investments to outfit my house with solar electricity and hot water maybe hoping to influence others but that’s about it. I am not alone as a huge majority of climate scientists, scientific panels, and geologists have been warning of this danger for decades and now are flashing hair on fire warnings of the immediate need to take drastic measures to reduce emissions. The last number of years have seen renewable energy technologies become economically competitive and the leading emitters of greenhouse gases make some of the first large scale investments to address the issue. It is clear this is just a start and that this is not just an issue for one country but a global problem requiring global action at large scale. It also requires global leadership by the United States to not only develop the technologies, but to make the huge investments required, and provide funds to the developing countries to mitigate the impacts.
I have watched with dismay the last election where the issue was hardly mentioned. Then the election of a profoundly ignorant man to the top position of global power along with his sycophantic party boot-licking members to claim the issue is a hoax and part of some woke agenda. To add insult to injury he has vowed to pull the US out of the Paris Accords and to reverse the investments made by the previous administration. This is beyond madness approaching a suicide pact against humanity. As many years ago on that patio helplessly watching the impending crash, I have the same feelings of helplessness but this time a profound sadness of the coming human costs of the impending disaster. JACK
I think all this posturing about how the Democrats should become a functioning party in the future is entertaining. However, I am going to pull the fire alarm. I am a commercial broker who specializes in single family development. Trump has signaled that he is going to go after the "animals" who are here illegally. What do you think the executives of the major home building companies are talking about right now as they realize that their labor force for construction is about to get eliminated? What do you think the executives of the food industry are saying? When you start this BS about getting only the illegals out, it means all brown skins everywhere. That means that legal people will realize that they don't want their kids coming home to find their parents gone and no one knows why. They will pack up and leave. This means subcontractors and support industries. This happened the last time these clowns were in power and this time it is on steroids. As the home building industry begins to break down and the food supply chain begins to falter, the ripple effect is going to cast a wide net. They have stated quite clearly that they fully intend to tear the country down and rebuild it as they see fit. This isn't a fire drill people. Start preparing for the worst and hope for the best. Hartman needs to go into full detail about who and what is being done to protect the people from this onslaught. I know everyone is going around trying to console themselves from the reality of this nightmare, but they are in rapid movement to solidify their plans and implement their program.
This was a terrific read. I'm in Las Vegas, and all of this is happening here. Not enough police, the rent is out of sight. Housing costs. I read recently that investors have something like 135,000 rentals just in the Las Vegas area, charging exorbitant rents. Another thing I think we missed the mark on, grocery and goods prices. They went up with COVID, and never went down. Kamala addressed it as an issue she would address as president. If it was something that could be addressed, it should have been addressed during this administration, and done early on. Why didn't that happen? The tariff issue, just wow. Here we are out there arguing how bad it will be, but in reality you explained how they can be a good thing. Healthcare, the worst education system. The pain people are feeling on both sides of the division. We can't all just stay angry and not find a way to acknowledge each others frustrations. Thank you so much for these insights.
This is a gross generalization Carol, so forgive.
Women do the shopping and notice the rise in price of groceries.
Men don't notice and don't care.
The 2024 Election was a gender war, among other things.The price of eggs was not the reason for the male vote.
Confession we have a good income and lots of disposable cash, neither the wife or I ever look at the grocery receipt,nor the cash register ring up. And yet I see a mother tell her child to put the bubble gum back in the rack, or have the cashier put stuff back on the shelf.
I never saw that with a man.
What can Biden do to support Ukraine before Trump takes over?
Maybe, Ukraine could be allowed to recruit soldiers from the asylum seekers in the US, giving these asylum seekers and their families Ukrainian citizenship. US asylum could be awarded to the families of Ukrainian soldiers; both the displaced families from Ukraine and the new seeker Ukrainian citizens.
Other countries could also allow their asylum seekers to become Ukrainian soldiers. Other countries would also need to financially support Ukraine as Trump will likely cut funding. After the war, the new Ukrainian citizens could help rebuild Ukraine.
It appears that Europe is stepping up…
Won't work,Language problems.
The French Foreign Legion only started to teach French to operate modern machinery.
Recruits leaned to obey commands because it hurt, application of the stick.
Jake Sullivan artfully used language to delay the use of F-16's by the Ukrainians. A plane is a plane, a car is a car, you sit down turn the key and drive or fly., the operating systems and gauges can be taught in a day or two, but the training program took months.
And even worse the training was in English,the manuals are in English, imagine when Cyrillic and Ukrainian is your first language.
How would you do if you had to learn the Cyrillic alphabet and then the language, worse yet try Arabic and Hebrew, and then consider how many Arabs, Hebrew, Ukrainians and Chinese can read and type with the Latin alphabet, not to mention one of its languages.
I think there's some type of smart phone apps. that can convert one language to another one. If that's the case, it might be possible to have basic communications between people of different languages.
There is an app,handy for tourists, basic communication but inadequate for social purposes and especially medical care and extensive inter actions. Social situations can be winged, just smile and pretend you understand, works for me.Or I say habla despacio por favor.
Doug, Ukraine has already lost that unnecessary war. It is sad, but true.
In 50 years, if mankind is still polluting Gaia and is not extinct, Europe will be Muslim, Orban and the right are little Dutch boys sticking their finger in the dyke.
In states like Florida (mine) and Texas, resistance is futile. The fascists already control K thru PhD in educational content. Abortion is a no-no. We already deport illegal immigrants to libtard states. Climate Change is "officially" a hoax and may not even be a word in any state document. As for medically treating children with birth defects that cause gender identity confusion, you cannot even say "gay" in Florida. It would not surprise me if, once Trump is in power, Floridians start greeting each other with "Heil Trump!"
Don't Give Up!!! Organize!!!
It's very discouraging, but there's hope in blue states.
Abortion and marijuana won a plurality in Florida, but didn't get 60% to amend the constitution. You would think that plurality would oppose Trump and Sunset Rick Scott, but fear wins out. The denizens in my county have forgotten that the cracker red neck majority consider Cubans to be as much the "other" as Blacks, queers and Jews. The DNC job should be to remind them about that.
The Aftermath
Last night was a truly jarring experience that tests and will test our ideas of who we are as people and as a nation. As a student of history, I can’t restrain myself from making historical comparisons between what is happening here now and the similarities to events that happened 90 years ago in Europe and how that might inform us of the dangers ahead. I have always wondered if I was an informed German citizen in 1930’s Germany how I would have reacted when Hitler, an individual that espoused racial hatred and employed violent thugs against his rivals, was elected and given absolute power by Conservative politicians thinking they could control his worst impulses. I probably would have felt the angst I feel now but would not have imagined the absolute disaster this individual could or would unleash on my country and the world. Now 90 years later we are confronted with a new Hitleresque want-to-be, who has regained power just as Hitler did, due to a uniformed and economically stressed electorate, political lies promulgated by mass media, by Fox News and social media and the complicity and cowardice of political figures of a former conservative party. I really don’t have to guess about who Trump is or what he is going to try to do. His former colleagues, former high level military figures who served in his administration have explicitly told us who he is and how dangerous he will be if given power again. He, himself, has explicitly told us the fascistic, racist and political policies and retributions he will visit on us if given power again. I really can’t overemphasize the danger we as a country and the world are now in. I would be a little more sanguine if the Democrats had at least held one branch of government to exercise some restraint on the would-be dictator, but it now looks as if he and his boot-licking compliant, Republican legislators will have total control over all branches. As a citizen, just as the citizens of Germany in 1934, we all have basically two choices; one is to tune out, go about life as usual and just pretend the precarious situation is not going to affect you, the other choice is to speak out against the outrages that are sure to come, try to aid the campaign to impose some restraint and reverse the damage by reclaiming one of the two legislative bodies 2 years from now in the midterms. In Germany people who followed the first course were in the end not spared from the ensuing cataclysm. People who followed the noble and courageous course were not spared either, but they had the hope, vision and possibility of what was right and what might have been. So, the message is don’t look away, don’t give up, and keep the faith that we are a democracy, that people before us have fought and paid the ultimate price to defend and we must do the same. This is not the time to or place to accept this as some usual election and choose to deny the looming danger. JACK 11/6/24
I wonder if the Dem party has any ears. They lost this election purely on the fact they did not message what they were offering. They put 20 issues on their website and left it for the people to sort it out for themselves. In other words no messaging at all nor any kabuki theater which is the most effective way to demonstrate party issues ever found. A circus knows how to message better than our party. God help us.
One problem I have had is that I, as a voter or as a constituent, have no way of communicating with candidates or politicians. And candidates and politicians do not seem interested in communicating with me. They send emails which are not subject to reply. If you click on “contact us”, you can send a message which might elicit a response from a volunteer who has no idea what to do. They say, yeah, but you know it doesn’t even become a statistical point in their analysis of what is going on. Polls? Is that the only touchpoint they have with voters? No wonder the results are a surprise. So we have the “media” and what politicians say, as reported, but one side sounds like repeated bullshit slogans (“new way forward”) and the other sounds like an insane nightmare. We end up voting against whichever side we want to punish most. I think progressive humanist voters wanted to punish Democrats for ignoring them and just slinging slogans. No real communication.
Go to a local democratic county meeting or club where a speaker is. I do that and talk to the politicians. Usually they are polite but nothing happens but now I have a direct meeting with one so we will see.
It’s kind of like when local government has a project and they “solicit” public feedback at a meeting. It’s obvious when you go that the project is already set and the “feedback” is just for show, or as required by law. Insincerity.
Exactly the way I feel about it, Doug.
What you wrote is true but you also need more of an emotional connection. The Republicans get groups like pro life, gun, christian and racists excited because Trump is on their side. They do not alienate people because except people who hate Trump by not going too far. They have phrases like own the libs and marxist, communist and far left and that encourages team buliding. They have pod casts and conservative media to amplify this. The democrats will not go the Sanders route because of their donors and the media being owned by the wealthy. Harris was probably told how far she could go. We really need a parliamentary system.