Thank you for another instructive piece. It is very hard to talk about what democrats can do better when we are faced with an opposing party overtly hostile to American democracy. It’s tempting to believe republicans are so wrong, and will continue to commit such outrageous blunders like the Signal affair, that the nation’s ship will right itself. It won’t. Voters will likely shift back to democrats in the midterms (if trump allows midterms, which is a huge IF), but if we don’t address the most fundamental problems in America, and admit our own mistakes that helped create those problems, the future will remain vulnerable to charlatans who talk a good game. Admitting PR and DC won't happen under this regime, nor will fixing SCOTUS, but it's good to understand and keep our eyes on the prize so we're ready to pounce as soon as the pendulum swings back.
The next Dem President. Do you think that there will be any real elections in the future? I don't. sham elections like in Turkey or Hungary or Russia, but real elections?
I agree that no more real elections is possible or even probable. However, assuming that at this point is counterproductive. Assuming that there will no longer be elections disarms the resistance.
Point made and valid. I've often thought that my analysis of the reality in which we live, can be demotivating, that is not my desire though.
My attitude is "no matter how bleak the situation looks, no matter the obstacle, press on" Press on has been my personal motto.Never give up, never surrender, press on, but never expect that things will work out to your chosing or liking
I've watched the demoralization of the left, libs, democrats, progressives whatever label, since Nov 6th, 2024, and before that the Mueller Report, Impeachment, Jack Smith, each time there was euphoria, and then their hopes and expectations dashed, and now there is lethargy..
I am not falling into that trap.
Press on rise up, fight, fight, fight, never surrender.
"IF" has been on my mind ever since Trump said that if he were elected, no one would ever have to vote again. I marvel at pundits who speak of the midterm elections as if they'd be normal. The Musk phenomenon, with one multi-billionaire MAGAT buying elections, pushes the "IF" further toward certainty. May we both be wrong.
2. More Puerto Ricans live in the states than on the island. In large part, this is because PR is not a state and SSI, Supplemental Security Income, does not extend to the island. Eligible PRs have to leave to obtain benefits. There's some question whether the residents on the island want to be a state, because a lot of them want "independence." However, within the states, SSI is portable.
The voting populaltions of some red states is less than the numbers of PRs on SSI. I've been arguing that they should relocate, vote, and overwhem Republicans. As soon as they are a senate majoity, DC and PR can be added.
Meanwhile, job prospects are better, housing and other costs aee less, so low income (or no income) residents in blue states would benefit by relocation.
DC has about 700,000 residents, more than the others.
Puerto Rico's population of roughly 3.2 million is larger than the populations of 20 U.S. states, including Alaska, Arkansas, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
Your right about Alabama, my bad. Yeh I know about Puerto Rico and DC
Its membership is based on the population of each individual state. By law, its current membership is set at 435 Representatives, plus nonvoting delegates from the District of Columbia and the U.S. territories.
If DC and Puerto Rico became states or enfranchised the law as to number of seats would have to be changed.
Something else to consider, Puerto Ricans are by and large Catholic or Conservative Christians (Evangelicals and Pentecostals), and vote Republican when it comes to the Culture wars (gay, trans, abortion, just like Hispanics and even blacks)
So we aren't diluting the power of the Republicans we are adding to it.
Generations X through Z, don't care about civil rights, voting rights, that is ancient history to them, they care about the here and now, and frankly voted that way in 2024.
Nah. A lot of the national heroes were nationalists and their leader, Pedro Albizu Campos, a Harvard graduate, spent most of his life in jail. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedro_Albizu_Campos. Albizu Campos was jailed after the October 30, 1950, Nationalist revolts, known as the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party Revolts of the 1950s, in various Puerto Rican cities and towns against United States rule.
There are schools and monuments named for him. There is an Albizu University in San Juan and a Miami campus. There is a Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos, Puerto Rican High School in Chicago.
On Nov. 1, 1950, while Truman was residing at the Blair House because the White House was being renovated, Oscar Collazo and Griselio Torresola attempted to kill him. While a guard was murdered, the attempt failed, leaving Torresola dead and Collazo imprisoned for 29 years.
Ike offered independence to PR, but they didn't accept it.
Nationalist Party members Lolita Lebrón, Rafael Cancel Miranda, Andres Figueroa Cordero and Irvin Flores staged an armed attack on the U.S. Capitol building on March 1, 1954. They unfurled a Puerto Rican flag, fired shots on the floor of the House of Representatives, and Lebrón cried out, “¡Viva Puerto Rico Libre!” The four were immediately arrested.
Between 1968 and 1972, Armed Liberation Commandos (CAL) attacked several public corporate and military targets.
On Oct. 26, 1974, the Armed Forces of National Liberation (FALN) launched an armed struggle. Reportedly, this was undertaken to commemorate the 1950 uprising in Puerto Rico and to demand the freedom of Collazo, Lebrón, Miranda, Cordero and Flores, still imprisoned in the U.S.
In 1979, Collazo, Lebrón, Cancel Miranda and Flores were pardoned by President Jimmy Carter after pressure from international and Puerto Rican forces. Unfortunately, Cordero, released in 1977 for health reasons, died of cancer in 1979 before his comrades were released.
Soft socialism, let private parties own companies and produce things for a profit, but the government rides herd on their asses to prevent exploitation..
That is the way it was almost, and probably works best.
As regards Nationalist Hero's, I'm old enough and been around long enough to know that they all turned out bad, that is to be dictatorships.
There is something about power, once you grab it, it grabs you, and you don't want to let go. Biden said he would be one term president, but no he had to fuck up and make Trump president (for that I blame his wife Jillm
cherche la femm that may sound sexist, but it is true never the less, Jill got a taste of power and the good life and didn't want to let go, and dragged down America. I don't think that Kamala really wanted the job either, too much pressure and expectations on her.
As regards National hero's will there is Daniel Ortega, the great freedom fight to get out from under the thumb of Somoza, and he was a bastard, his people were illiterate, Managua didn't have street signs cause no one could read them, and gas station owners and attendants couldn't even read a map. Two classes of people impoverished peon's and well to do elite who drove expensive cars. And Ortega turned out to be as harsh a dictator as Somoza, same with Castro, Chavez, Across the pond in Africa, every nation is an example of a National Hero turned Dictator. Patrice Lamumba if he had not been assassinated would have definitely joined the list.
The French Revolution devoured it's own, and would have continued had not the allied powers of Europe had not stepped in to squelch revolutionary fever and that brought Nappie to power, and eventually Emperor.
Bolsheviks are a prime example, peasants, sailors, soldiers rising up to throw off the chains of the royalty, the elite, only to find themselves enslaved by people of their own class, worse than the Tzars ever thought, and more murderous too.
Milovan Djilas former Deputy PM of Yugoslavia wrote a book everyone should read about the ruling class of communism The New Class
The only example of National Hero's I can think of that were not scoundrels and dictators were the founders, and even then it was the idea of the Federalists to become such
Which nationalist? Which country? That they were honest folk fighting for labor, doesn't change the equation, that once you have power, it changes you.
I was the last gringo to drive the Panamerican Hywy all the way to Panama in 1975, after that the border was sealed off because of the Sandinistas'. I was rooting for the Sandinista's because I knew what a tyrant Somoza was, and here we are 50 years later and Daniel Ortega is every bit the tyrant Somoza was.
It all starts out good at first but quickly turns bad. The nature of the human beast. Probably ever civilization every culture from ancient times to present, Rome has plenty of examples, so does Greece.
Socrates was forced to drink hemlock by the Athenian authorities after being convicted of impiety (disrespect towards the gods) and corrupting the youth, the standard punishment for these crimes being death by poison.
I agree, I know so, I have said so many times. From the Banana wars to Venezuela and Chile.
But that is aside the fact, that they do become authoritarian.
Chile managed to extricate itself from Pinochet, Brazil maybe the same, but there are signs that Lula de Silva is headed that direction, without interference from the USA.
From the frying pan to the fire, and the people are served how.?
I think that everyone that thinks of themselves as an expert on elections should watch Greg Palast’s Vigilante Inc. and his interviews with Thom Hartman and Kyle Kalinsky. If we don’t deal with voter suppression we don’t have a democracy. Additionally, voter ID , given the disingenuous Republican Party, has been used as a tool to suppress democratic leaning voters.
Democrats need to shake off corporate America and get rid of the “old guard!”
We will first rid ourselves of Musk/Trump fascist dictatorship! Then, we must start representing ordinary Americans who deserve assistance and justice!
I agree with Thom on this. The next time Democrats gave control of the House and Senate they need ignore the filibuster and pass this legislation, and if possible change the terms for Supreme Court and/or add three more liberal seats. Better yet, impeach and remove the corrupt Justices.
1. Wealth out of voting process—- end Citizen’s United.a corporation is not a person.
2. Our state boundaries are out-of-date. There will be resistance to this. If population sort of determined statehood in the beginning, perhaps we should find some more equitable way of dividing up the US. Maybe regions comprised of states or parts of states.with 2 senators each. But keep states with representatives according to population. OR what about a unicameral system like Wyoming. OR Dividing the most populous states into two or more states. NO gerrymandering.
4. Do away with the electoral college. It is not fair and injects unnecessary animus into the equation.
5. Maintain separation of powers and make clearer what those powers are.
Simplify and redesign our ailing system but keep it a government of the people, for the people and by the people.
I agree with a lot of this (plus an enlarged Supreme Court), and have also suggested that the House be expanded in size, ideally several fold. That would create almost a parliamentary system as voting blocks with different agendas would form and for legislation to pass the authors would have to consider various interests. It also would make Congress much more representative of our population, far larger than when the current number was set a century ago.
But the chances of any of this passing without a major overturn of the current system (an FDR-sort of 100 Days when he came to office at a desperate time) is non-existent. And we need a real national leader with the country listening and working together too. Still, one can try; when the times get bad enough sometimes that person comes through.
That Biden didn't expand the Supreme court makes me question Biden, I also question him for appointing Merrick Garland, and other actions he did and didn't take, like revoking Trumps EO that created Schedule F employees, which he could have used to fire all of the Trump appointees turned civil servants in DOJ, DHS, NSA, Treasury. But he left these traitors in place to obstruct any thing, like releasing Trumps tax returns.
U.S. Democrats secured unified control of the White House and Congress on Wednesday with the inauguration of President Joe Biden followed by Vice President Kamala Harris swearing in three new Democratic senators.
The three new senators bring the U.S. Senate to a 50-50 Democratic-Republican tie, with Harris as the presiding officer representing the tie-breaking vote.
Republicans regained control in Nov 2022. In the intervening 22 months all that Biden and the Democrats did was pass the Respect for Marriage Act, they could have done so much more, Expand the Court, Legalized abortion in all states, but did nothing. My guess is that they were afraid of blow back, and that they are beholden to the donors.
DC needs statehood, if for no other reason than to get it out of the control of Congress. Puerto Rico needs to decide on either statehood or independence; either way is better than being a colony of Wall Street con-artists.
The Senate itself is entirely a mockery of democracy; we should have a unicameral legislature.
Apartheid in America, coming your way courtesy of Trusk, Watch out for 4/20 Hitlers birthday and Martial law, The Reorganizing act of 2025, Trumps Enabling act, Democratic votes not needed.
The Enabling Act was passed in Germany 6 months after Hitler came to power, it gave him full power over the country.
There are no reliable polls of Puerto Rico advocating for (or against!) Statehood, particularly when given the option of independence along with Statehood or maintaining the status quo.
The reality is Puerto Rican politics, though adopting party names that are similar to mainland parties, are unique and distinct from the mainland parties.
This is crucial to understanding not only what Puerto Ricans want, but how they'd engage in mainland politics. PR politics are their own thing and anyone who assumes PR statehood would mean two Democratic Senators should go read something by Puerto Ricans who research their local politics.
The only thing I know is IF Puerto Ricans wanted to be a state, which, again is hardly a foregone conclusion, they'd likely be a purple state. The fact that mainlanders in both parties assume otherwise is a reflection of deep seated arrogance and prejudice within the two mainland mainstream parties.
500 years of colonial rule and so many in the lower 48 mainland just assume Puerto Ricans are just grateful to be a part of the United States. Of course MOST in the mainland don't realize Puerto Ricans are American citizens--not that the US has ever treated people on the island like citizens.
Given that during the 500 years of colonial rule some of the worst treatment has come from mainlander Americans in the last 127 I actually wonder why any Puerto Rican would favor statehood over independence--aside from that mountain of BS debt mainlanders have forced on the island.
And of course mainlander white people fail to realize few *countries* have as much civic pride as the people living on the island have for the island.
A little story for what it is worth. I lived three years in Panama. Panamanian views of Puerto Ricans was racist, and made fun of their Spanish, yet Puerto Rican views of Mexicans was ridicule of their sing song way of speaking Spanish.
Oh and Chilenos made fun of Panamanians because they didn't speak Español Castellano.
I attended a few rooftop embassy parties, not with ambassadors but with staff.
An estimated 5.8 million people of Puerto Rican origin live in the United States, representing about 9% of the Hispanic or Latino population and 2% of the total US population vs 3.2, on the island.
If PR were a state, how many would go back?
How many would go back, establish residency and vote themselves benefits like SSI
This report is full of blagrant inaccuracies. #1 the 2017 referendum was a joke it only had 23% turnout.
#2 statehood supporters in puerto rico are conservatives look up the pro statehood new progressive party its political leaning is center-right
#3 2024 election showcased a shift in puerto rico where over a third of voters voted for the independence party and backed one of 2 soverign options in independence and free association.
Nope it will fail. I consulted with puerto rican election expert Manuel Alvarez Rivera. He said this recent authoritarian shift by the United States would certainly kill statehood.
You also realized it was the statehood advocates in Puerto Rico who killed medicare for all. Look it up puerto rico had a govt run healthcare system from 1957-1993 till statehood gov Pedro Rosselló(if the last name sounds familiar hes the dad of disgraced gov Ricardo Rosselló) those monster have done nothing but cause pain and misery in pr
Not the same. People in PR have Medicare. Because it's not a state, they receive less federal funding for healthcare than the 50 states, even though they pay Social Security and Medicare taxes, leading to a funding gap.
Medicaid Reimbursement Rates:
Medicaid reimbursement rates in Puerto Rico are lower than those in the states, impacting the financial viability of healthcare providers.
Physician Shortage:
Puerto Rico faces a shortage of healthcare providers, including both primary care physicians and specialists, which can lead to longer wait times for appointments and potential emigration of healthcare professionals.
One of my former colleagues had a son who was a physician who had a practice that covered the Carribbean -- we have a Borinquin Clinic here that used to have sites in PR. I know a number of people who went to medical school (and law school) in PR -- but they immediately relocated to the states -- a brain drain.
Another was the former president of the PR bar association. His kids are physicians here in Miami. All these people were Registered Republicans. But I thnk all are anti-Trumpers.
Dude was an idiot. Blew billions of dollars on tren urbano without connecting it to anything of value privatized the phone company. His healthcare reforms are widely accepted as the cause of puerto ricos collapsing healthcare and cheerleaded the destruction of 936 which was proping up the economy.
A lot of these people do it on purpose. Pay themselves huge salaries and deny claims and go into bankruptcy. We have it daily here in the medical fraud capitol of the US.
BTW that's another reason so many PRs live en los US actual.
Why are you implying that 97% of Puerto Ricans are in favor of statehood? It is not true. Do more research, please, and make a correction for all to see.
Thom, you write, "The Democratic Party is facing a crisis that it’s experienced only once before in its history: the near-complete loss, for multiple generations, of control of the Senate." That means the Democrats once had the votes of the people in those small states. Getting constitutional changes is next to impossible. Would it not be a better strategy to see why the Democrats had won those states. Likely it's because they had policies that told the workers in those states the Democrats understood their financial concerns and had direct policies to help them as FDR once did. Having considered what I have just written, getting a change in the Democratic party back to actual concerns for the working class also seems next to impossible, but perhaps a little more possible than a constitutional change.
The reason Democrats aren’t pushing for this is the same reason they won’t tax the rich, establish universal healthcare, or raise the minimum wage. They don’t actually want to win.
There is too much corporate corruption in the party, plain and simple. Change will never come through the democrats in time to save our nation or our world.
And the final, #20, is so frightening, but so very important: 20. Be as courageous as you can. If none of us is prepared to die for freedom, then all of us will die under tyranny.
I wish I didn't agree, but I definitely do. It's difficult to think this way after so many years of perhaps taken-for-granted freedom. How fortunate we have been.
To validate Thom's point about the Democrats, I publish a daily news summary for a bunch of friends who haven't the time or access to the MSM news that I do after a career in DC. On a typical day, I will have over a dozen links to Trump-related news and maybe 1 or 2 on noteworthy Democrat news - since Trump took office. The number of Trump articles in 2023 were still 3 times more for Trump/GOP than Biden/DEM. The "Sleepy Joe" label was apt. Sleepy still applies to the Democrats.
Another way to look at recent history is that the Democrats are aiding and abetting America's embrace of fascism. They failed to reverse Citizens United when they had a chance, probably because they were not universally motivated to shut off the re-election $pigot. They also failed to emend other laws Trump is now exploiting inappropriately. And worst of all, was the party covering up Biden's senility rather than fixing it with #25.
Biden also cost Harris the White House. Biden, not Trump, is responsible for US support of genocide in Palestine. He ignored or failed to appreciate intel indicating that Netanyah intentionally took no defensive action to repel the Hamas attack - likely so he could justify the carnage and ruin of an entire country he found annoying. That was sufficient political motivation not to elect Harris, who foolishly refused to end US support.
It’s hard to believe the inequities and the missing logic of the current configuration of representation v congressional representation. I rage (I’m from MN) about the desolation of states like the Dakotas I don’t know how it all got so wonky but Thomm ideas are good too but there is work to do with existing states that will never be contributing to the greater USA.
NYC has been called the 51st State for decades - it is truly time for that to happen! The current regime will never allow that, or D.C. statehood or the brilliant idea of California becoming several states. Many a massive ice mass will calve before such democratizing processes will have a chance - if ever.
Thank you for another instructive piece. It is very hard to talk about what democrats can do better when we are faced with an opposing party overtly hostile to American democracy. It’s tempting to believe republicans are so wrong, and will continue to commit such outrageous blunders like the Signal affair, that the nation’s ship will right itself. It won’t. Voters will likely shift back to democrats in the midterms (if trump allows midterms, which is a huge IF), but if we don’t address the most fundamental problems in America, and admit our own mistakes that helped create those problems, the future will remain vulnerable to charlatans who talk a good game. Admitting PR and DC won't happen under this regime, nor will fixing SCOTUS, but it's good to understand and keep our eyes on the prize so we're ready to pounce as soon as the pendulum swings back.
The next Dem president must add 4 justices to SCOTUS to counter its outright theft by Moscow Mitch!
The next Dem President. Do you think that there will be any real elections in the future? I don't. sham elections like in Turkey or Hungary or Russia, but real elections?
That is the biggest concern. I believe Musk will engineer a “Reichstag Fire” event, declare martial law, and suspend elections.
Supposedly on April 20, Trump will declare martial law, unitary executive and usurp Congress and the courts.
I agree that no more real elections is possible or even probable. However, assuming that at this point is counterproductive. Assuming that there will no longer be elections disarms the resistance.
Point made and valid. I've often thought that my analysis of the reality in which we live, can be demotivating, that is not my desire though.
My attitude is "no matter how bleak the situation looks, no matter the obstacle, press on" Press on has been my personal motto.Never give up, never surrender, press on, but never expect that things will work out to your chosing or liking
I've watched the demoralization of the left, libs, democrats, progressives whatever label, since Nov 6th, 2024, and before that the Mueller Report, Impeachment, Jack Smith, each time there was euphoria, and then their hopes and expectations dashed, and now there is lethargy..
I am not falling into that trap.
Press on rise up, fight, fight, fight, never surrender.
"IF" has been on my mind ever since Trump said that if he were elected, no one would ever have to vote again. I marvel at pundits who speak of the midterm elections as if they'd be normal. The Musk phenomenon, with one multi-billionaire MAGAT buying elections, pushes the "IF" further toward certainty. May we both be wrong.
Statehood will never happen in puerto rico. And it makes me smile as a puerto rican. The independence party is set to win in 2028
They want independence rather than statehood?
People under 50 do. Mostly they are tired of the corrupt statehood party.
1. Read Feathers of Hope. Shared government.
2. More Puerto Ricans live in the states than on the island. In large part, this is because PR is not a state and SSI, Supplemental Security Income, does not extend to the island. Eligible PRs have to leave to obtain benefits. There's some question whether the residents on the island want to be a state, because a lot of them want "independence." However, within the states, SSI is portable.
The voting populaltions of some red states is less than the numbers of PRs on SSI. I've been arguing that they should relocate, vote, and overwhem Republicans. As soon as they are a senate majoity, DC and PR can be added.
E.G. Wyoming has less than 3000,000 voters. https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/registered-voters-by-state. Each of the Dakotas have less than 600,000.
Meanwhile, job prospects are better, housing and other costs aee less, so low income (or no income) residents in blue states would benefit by relocation.
General info....
https://lulac.org/news/pr/Supreme_Court_Ruling_On_SSI_For_Puerto_Ricans_Is_Colonialism_By_Another_Name/
In January 2025, just under 7.4 million people received Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits.
There are 7 states with only one US House of Representative seat: Alaska, Alabama, Delaware, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming.
Of those Five are red, two are blue.
Not Alabama.
DC has about 700,000 residents, more than the others.
Puerto Rico's population of roughly 3.2 million is larger than the populations of 20 U.S. states, including Alaska, Arkansas, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
Your right about Alabama, my bad. Yeh I know about Puerto Rico and DC
Its membership is based on the population of each individual state. By law, its current membership is set at 435 Representatives, plus nonvoting delegates from the District of Columbia and the U.S. territories.
If DC and Puerto Rico became states or enfranchised the law as to number of seats would have to be changed.
Something else to consider, Puerto Ricans are by and large Catholic or Conservative Christians (Evangelicals and Pentecostals), and vote Republican when it comes to the Culture wars (gay, trans, abortion, just like Hispanics and even blacks)
So we aren't diluting the power of the Republicans we are adding to it.
Generations X through Z, don't care about civil rights, voting rights, that is ancient history to them, they care about the here and now, and frankly voted that way in 2024.
Nah. A lot of the national heroes were nationalists and their leader, Pedro Albizu Campos, a Harvard graduate, spent most of his life in jail. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedro_Albizu_Campos. Albizu Campos was jailed after the October 30, 1950, Nationalist revolts, known as the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party Revolts of the 1950s, in various Puerto Rican cities and towns against United States rule.
There are schools and monuments named for him. There is an Albizu University in San Juan and a Miami campus. There is a Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos, Puerto Rican High School in Chicago.
On Nov. 1, 1950, while Truman was residing at the Blair House because the White House was being renovated, Oscar Collazo and Griselio Torresola attempted to kill him. While a guard was murdered, the attempt failed, leaving Torresola dead and Collazo imprisoned for 29 years.
Ike offered independence to PR, but they didn't accept it.
Nationalist Party members Lolita Lebrón, Rafael Cancel Miranda, Andres Figueroa Cordero and Irvin Flores staged an armed attack on the U.S. Capitol building on March 1, 1954. They unfurled a Puerto Rican flag, fired shots on the floor of the House of Representatives, and Lebrón cried out, “¡Viva Puerto Rico Libre!” The four were immediately arrested.
Between 1968 and 1972, Armed Liberation Commandos (CAL) attacked several public corporate and military targets.
On Oct. 26, 1974, the Armed Forces of National Liberation (FALN) launched an armed struggle. Reportedly, this was undertaken to commemorate the 1950 uprising in Puerto Rico and to demand the freedom of Collazo, Lebrón, Miranda, Cordero and Flores, still imprisoned in the U.S.
In 1979, Collazo, Lebrón, Cancel Miranda and Flores were pardoned by President Jimmy Carter after pressure from international and Puerto Rican forces. Unfortunately, Cordero, released in 1977 for health reasons, died of cancer in 1979 before his comrades were released.
There were attacks in the 1980's.https://againstthecurrent.org/atc021/the-politics-of-neo-colonialism-the-case-of-the-puerto-rican-15/
Here's an article aboiut the guy I identified. A Harvard graduate, with a 55 year prison sentence... Clinton offered clemency. https://puertorico-herald.net/issues/2004/vol8n33/ViolentPRTalksPeace.html.
Many Puerto Ricans espouse "soft socialism" regardless of party.
I wrote about the 1990 Miami riot. It started when PR was murdered by Miami police.... There used to be open warfare.
Soft socialism, let private parties own companies and produce things for a profit, but the government rides herd on their asses to prevent exploitation..
That is the way it was almost, and probably works best.
As regards Nationalist Hero's, I'm old enough and been around long enough to know that they all turned out bad, that is to be dictatorships.
There is something about power, once you grab it, it grabs you, and you don't want to let go. Biden said he would be one term president, but no he had to fuck up and make Trump president (for that I blame his wife Jillm
cherche la femm that may sound sexist, but it is true never the less, Jill got a taste of power and the good life and didn't want to let go, and dragged down America. I don't think that Kamala really wanted the job either, too much pressure and expectations on her.
As regards National hero's will there is Daniel Ortega, the great freedom fight to get out from under the thumb of Somoza, and he was a bastard, his people were illiterate, Managua didn't have street signs cause no one could read them, and gas station owners and attendants couldn't even read a map. Two classes of people impoverished peon's and well to do elite who drove expensive cars. And Ortega turned out to be as harsh a dictator as Somoza, same with Castro, Chavez, Across the pond in Africa, every nation is an example of a National Hero turned Dictator. Patrice Lamumba if he had not been assassinated would have definitely joined the list.
The French Revolution devoured it's own, and would have continued had not the allied powers of Europe had not stepped in to squelch revolutionary fever and that brought Nappie to power, and eventually Emperor.
Bolsheviks are a prime example, peasants, sailors, soldiers rising up to throw off the chains of the royalty, the elite, only to find themselves enslaved by people of their own class, worse than the Tzars ever thought, and more murderous too.
Milovan Djilas former Deputy PM of Yugoslavia wrote a book everyone should read about the ruling class of communism The New Class
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milovan_Djilas
The only example of National Hero's I can think of that were not scoundrels and dictators were the founders, and even then it was the idea of the Federalists to become such
Dude the nationalist were honest folk..they fought 4 labor
Which nationalist? Which country? That they were honest folk fighting for labor, doesn't change the equation, that once you have power, it changes you.
I was the last gringo to drive the Panamerican Hywy all the way to Panama in 1975, after that the border was sealed off because of the Sandinistas'. I was rooting for the Sandinista's because I knew what a tyrant Somoza was, and here we are 50 years later and Daniel Ortega is every bit the tyrant Somoza was.
It all starts out good at first but quickly turns bad. The nature of the human beast. Probably ever civilization every culture from ancient times to present, Rome has plenty of examples, so does Greece.
Socrates was forced to drink hemlock by the Athenian authorities after being convicted of impiety (disrespect towards the gods) and corrupting the youth, the standard punishment for these crimes being death by poison.
You know why those other in latin america turned authoritarian outside meddling by the us.
I agree, I know so, I have said so many times. From the Banana wars to Venezuela and Chile.
But that is aside the fact, that they do become authoritarian.
Chile managed to extricate itself from Pinochet, Brazil maybe the same, but there are signs that Lula de Silva is headed that direction, without interference from the USA.
From the frying pan to the fire, and the people are served how.?
Right. The R’s will fight like crazy to maintain the status quo.
I think that everyone that thinks of themselves as an expert on elections should watch Greg Palast’s Vigilante Inc. and his interviews with Thom Hartman and Kyle Kalinsky. If we don’t deal with voter suppression we don’t have a democracy. Additionally, voter ID , given the disingenuous Republican Party, has been used as a tool to suppress democratic leaning voters.
Wow! Who knew?
Your information on the admission of the Western states shocked me!
The U.S. CONSTITUTION needs serious amending, beginning with getting corporate wealth OUT OF ELECTIONS!
Public financing of federal elections MUST become the next Amendment to the U.S. CONSTITUTION! (The ERA should also be added!)
Democrats are too complacent!
Democrats need a jolt of energy!
Democrats need to shake off corporate America and get rid of the “old guard!”
We will first rid ourselves of Musk/Trump fascist dictatorship! Then, we must start representing ordinary Americans who deserve assistance and justice!
I agree with Thom on this. The next time Democrats gave control of the House and Senate they need ignore the filibuster and pass this legislation, and if possible change the terms for Supreme Court and/or add three more liberal seats. Better yet, impeach and remove the corrupt Justices.
1. Wealth out of voting process—- end Citizen’s United.a corporation is not a person.
2. Our state boundaries are out-of-date. There will be resistance to this. If population sort of determined statehood in the beginning, perhaps we should find some more equitable way of dividing up the US. Maybe regions comprised of states or parts of states.with 2 senators each. But keep states with representatives according to population. OR what about a unicameral system like Wyoming. OR Dividing the most populous states into two or more states. NO gerrymandering.
4. Do away with the electoral college. It is not fair and injects unnecessary animus into the equation.
5. Maintain separation of powers and make clearer what those powers are.
Simplify and redesign our ailing system but keep it a government of the people, for the people and by the people.
I agree with a lot of this (plus an enlarged Supreme Court), and have also suggested that the House be expanded in size, ideally several fold. That would create almost a parliamentary system as voting blocks with different agendas would form and for legislation to pass the authors would have to consider various interests. It also would make Congress much more representative of our population, far larger than when the current number was set a century ago.
But the chances of any of this passing without a major overturn of the current system (an FDR-sort of 100 Days when he came to office at a desperate time) is non-existent. And we need a real national leader with the country listening and working together too. Still, one can try; when the times get bad enough sometimes that person comes through.
That Biden didn't expand the Supreme court makes me question Biden, I also question him for appointing Merrick Garland, and other actions he did and didn't take, like revoking Trumps EO that created Schedule F employees, which he could have used to fire all of the Trump appointees turned civil servants in DOJ, DHS, NSA, Treasury. But he left these traitors in place to obstruct any thing, like releasing Trumps tax returns.
U.S. Democrats secured unified control of the White House and Congress on Wednesday with the inauguration of President Joe Biden followed by Vice President Kamala Harris swearing in three new Democratic senators.
The three new senators bring the U.S. Senate to a 50-50 Democratic-Republican tie, with Harris as the presiding officer representing the tie-breaking vote.
Republicans regained control in Nov 2022. In the intervening 22 months all that Biden and the Democrats did was pass the Respect for Marriage Act, they could have done so much more, Expand the Court, Legalized abortion in all states, but did nothing. My guess is that they were afraid of blow back, and that they are beholden to the donors.
Thanks for your comments.
DC needs statehood, if for no other reason than to get it out of the control of Congress. Puerto Rico needs to decide on either statehood or independence; either way is better than being a colony of Wall Street con-artists.
The Senate itself is entirely a mockery of democracy; we should have a unicameral legislature.
This you have to read: https://www.mind-war.com/p/orania-april-and-lessons-on-tyranny
Apartheid in America, coming your way courtesy of Trusk, Watch out for 4/20 Hitlers birthday and Martial law, The Reorganizing act of 2025, Trumps Enabling act, Democratic votes not needed.
The Enabling Act was passed in Germany 6 months after Hitler came to power, it gave him full power over the country.
There are no reliable polls of Puerto Rico advocating for (or against!) Statehood, particularly when given the option of independence along with Statehood or maintaining the status quo.
The reality is Puerto Rican politics, though adopting party names that are similar to mainland parties, are unique and distinct from the mainland parties.
This is crucial to understanding not only what Puerto Ricans want, but how they'd engage in mainland politics. PR politics are their own thing and anyone who assumes PR statehood would mean two Democratic Senators should go read something by Puerto Ricans who research their local politics.
The only thing I know is IF Puerto Ricans wanted to be a state, which, again is hardly a foregone conclusion, they'd likely be a purple state. The fact that mainlanders in both parties assume otherwise is a reflection of deep seated arrogance and prejudice within the two mainland mainstream parties.
These people don't know anything about Puerto Rico. I bet 90% of them Would be surprised if you told them it was an archipelago
500 years of colonial rule and so many in the lower 48 mainland just assume Puerto Ricans are just grateful to be a part of the United States. Of course MOST in the mainland don't realize Puerto Ricans are American citizens--not that the US has ever treated people on the island like citizens.
Given that during the 500 years of colonial rule some of the worst treatment has come from mainlander Americans in the last 127 I actually wonder why any Puerto Rican would favor statehood over independence--aside from that mountain of BS debt mainlanders have forced on the island.
And of course mainlander white people fail to realize few *countries* have as much civic pride as the people living on the island have for the island.
A little story for what it is worth. I lived three years in Panama. Panamanian views of Puerto Ricans was racist, and made fun of their Spanish, yet Puerto Rican views of Mexicans was ridicule of their sing song way of speaking Spanish.
Oh and Chilenos made fun of Panamanians because they didn't speak Español Castellano.
I attended a few rooftop embassy parties, not with ambassadors but with staff.
Bec the inferority complex the 2 main parties sell and the lack of teaching of pr history
An estimated 5.8 million people of Puerto Rican origin live in the United States, representing about 9% of the Hispanic or Latino population and 2% of the total US population vs 3.2, on the island.
If PR were a state, how many would go back?
How many would go back, establish residency and vote themselves benefits like SSI
Here's a sample of resewarch what might occur if PR has statehood. https://www.fns.usda.gov/research/snap/implementing-snap-in-puerto-rico-feasibility-study
Here are the pros and cons -- according to the Puerto Rico Statehood Council (PRSC), there are no cons.
https://www.pr51st.com/puerto-rico-statehood-pros-and-cons/
This report is full of blagrant inaccuracies. #1 the 2017 referendum was a joke it only had 23% turnout.
#2 statehood supporters in puerto rico are conservatives look up the pro statehood new progressive party its political leaning is center-right
#3 2024 election showcased a shift in puerto rico where over a third of voters voted for the independence party and backed one of 2 soverign options in independence and free association.
4# polls by puerto ricos largest newspaper el neuvo dia found voters under 45 back soverign options by 51%
In central Florida, they tend to be Republicans. https://floridaphoenix.com/2024/11/13/trump-received-56-of-the-hispanic-vote-in-florida-new-exit-poll-finds/
Not true nationally.
Look up the politics of puerto rico. The 3 pro statehood leaders. The gov, president of the senate speaker of the house all are republicans
That doesn't mean that statehood can't pass.
I worked with, represented, muchos Borricuas. I heard muchismos Vieques cases.
One of the lawyers who appeared in my cases' brother refused a pardon for an attack at the UN. https://peopleslawoffice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Puerto-Rican-Prisoners-_201203281858.pdf
I am so old I remember the assassination attempt on Truman.
1. I think that the SSI peolple could return to vote. They outnumber the island population.
2. Also, the offer can be sweetened. E.G. PR used to have manufacturing advantages that El Trumpo removed.
San Juan could be the our major port.
Nope it will fail. I consulted with puerto rican election expert Manuel Alvarez Rivera. He said this recent authoritarian shift by the United States would certainly kill statehood.
Ask him about the SSI population.
You also realized it was the statehood advocates in Puerto Rico who killed medicare for all. Look it up puerto rico had a govt run healthcare system from 1957-1993 till statehood gov Pedro Rosselló(if the last name sounds familiar hes the dad of disgraced gov Ricardo Rosselló) those monster have done nothing but cause pain and misery in pr
Dr. Rossello appeared in some of my cases.
Not the same. People in PR have Medicare. Because it's not a state, they receive less federal funding for healthcare than the 50 states, even though they pay Social Security and Medicare taxes, leading to a funding gap.
Medicaid Reimbursement Rates:
Medicaid reimbursement rates in Puerto Rico are lower than those in the states, impacting the financial viability of healthcare providers.
Physician Shortage:
Puerto Rico faces a shortage of healthcare providers, including both primary care physicians and specialists, which can lead to longer wait times for appointments and potential emigration of healthcare professionals.
One of my former colleagues had a son who was a physician who had a practice that covered the Carribbean -- we have a Borinquin Clinic here that used to have sites in PR. I know a number of people who went to medical school (and law school) in PR -- but they immediately relocated to the states -- a brain drain.
Another was the former president of the PR bar association. His kids are physicians here in Miami. All these people were Registered Republicans. But I thnk all are anti-Trumpers.
Dude was an idiot. Blew billions of dollars on tren urbano without connecting it to anything of value privatized the phone company. His healthcare reforms are widely accepted as the cause of puerto ricos collapsing healthcare and cheerleaded the destruction of 936 which was proping up the economy.
A lot of these people do it on purpose. Pay themselves huge salaries and deny claims and go into bankruptcy. We have it daily here in the medical fraud capitol of the US.
BTW that's another reason so many PRs live en los US actual.
Why are you implying that 97% of Puerto Ricans are in favor of statehood? It is not true. Do more research, please, and make a correction for all to see.
Thom, you write, "The Democratic Party is facing a crisis that it’s experienced only once before in its history: the near-complete loss, for multiple generations, of control of the Senate." That means the Democrats once had the votes of the people in those small states. Getting constitutional changes is next to impossible. Would it not be a better strategy to see why the Democrats had won those states. Likely it's because they had policies that told the workers in those states the Democrats understood their financial concerns and had direct policies to help them as FDR once did. Having considered what I have just written, getting a change in the Democratic party back to actual concerns for the working class also seems next to impossible, but perhaps a little more possible than a constitutional change.
The reason Democrats aren’t pushing for this is the same reason they won’t tax the rich, establish universal healthcare, or raise the minimum wage. They don’t actually want to win.
There is too much corporate corruption in the party, plain and simple. Change will never come through the democrats in time to save our nation or our world.
This is worth a watch, maybe multiple times: https://snyder.substack.com/p/twenty-lessons-read-by-john-lithgow?utm_source=podcast-email&publication_id=310897&post_id=160132992&utm_campaign=email-play-on-substack&utm_content=watch_now_button&r=2f23rw&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email
And the final, #20, is so frightening, but so very important: 20. Be as courageous as you can. If none of us is prepared to die for freedom, then all of us will die under tyranny.
I wish I didn't agree, but I definitely do. It's difficult to think this way after so many years of perhaps taken-for-granted freedom. How fortunate we have been.
To validate Thom's point about the Democrats, I publish a daily news summary for a bunch of friends who haven't the time or access to the MSM news that I do after a career in DC. On a typical day, I will have over a dozen links to Trump-related news and maybe 1 or 2 on noteworthy Democrat news - since Trump took office. The number of Trump articles in 2023 were still 3 times more for Trump/GOP than Biden/DEM. The "Sleepy Joe" label was apt. Sleepy still applies to the Democrats.
Another way to look at recent history is that the Democrats are aiding and abetting America's embrace of fascism. They failed to reverse Citizens United when they had a chance, probably because they were not universally motivated to shut off the re-election $pigot. They also failed to emend other laws Trump is now exploiting inappropriately. And worst of all, was the party covering up Biden's senility rather than fixing it with #25.
Biden also cost Harris the White House. Biden, not Trump, is responsible for US support of genocide in Palestine. He ignored or failed to appreciate intel indicating that Netanyah intentionally took no defensive action to repel the Hamas attack - likely so he could justify the carnage and ruin of an entire country he found annoying. That was sufficient political motivation not to elect Harris, who foolishly refused to end US support.
It’s hard to believe the inequities and the missing logic of the current configuration of representation v congressional representation. I rage (I’m from MN) about the desolation of states like the Dakotas I don’t know how it all got so wonky but Thomm ideas are good too but there is work to do with existing states that will never be contributing to the greater USA.
NYC has been called the 51st State for decades - it is truly time for that to happen! The current regime will never allow that, or D.C. statehood or the brilliant idea of California becoming several states. Many a massive ice mass will calve before such democratizing processes will have a chance - if ever.