The wife and I are out there every weekend. At the age of 80 with two 4-year old grandsons, we do not want to leave them in a country that does not value everyone!
We had a fantastic turn out at Hand's Off protests here in Vermont yesterday. Just in White River alone there were 2100 of us who stood in the cold rain. Basically 4x the number expected! Great turn
I'm 83, and was out there with a lot of people my age of more at the Hillsboro, Oregon rally. 2,000 there at least. Friends in Santa Rosa, CA report over 1,000.
Stalin revisited... "It's not who votes that counts, It's who counts them."
IMHO we wuz robbed.
For those who have been following Feathers of Hope, Jerry Weiss has stage 4 cancer.....in his honor (and to save our country) please protest to Congressional Republicans, and their donors and constituents..
We won't all be able to get birth certificates or passports before the next election. It can become complicated and time consuming just to get a driver's license that is not allowed for a voter ID.
Once upon a time I heard "age" cases re SSA. Birth certificates vary by state. In some states they can be obtained easiy. In others a person has to go to state court to get one with accurate info.
I heard a lot of cases involving claimants who were born in foreign countries, where we didn't have diplomatic relations -- E.G. Cuba, Vietnam, etc.
I saw birth certificates that said stuff like "Black baby boy born Waycross Ga in January, 1930." No name.
At SSA we could use "secondary souces" like church records, family bibles, testimony, etc if they were "credible." Documents like passports and citizenship records may/ may not be credible.
Virtually all seniors and many others may be eligible for free legal services if they are funded and they should know what to do.....
My grandfather had to have a cousin escort him to the county seat and swear to an affidavit that he witnessed the birth. He needed a birth certificate to register for the draft, WWII. He didn't serve,he was blind in one eye, a lumber jack, hit by a chip.
My wife's father was born at home, in 1933, had to apply for a birth certificate to get an SSA and a job.
Shit, where is the cancer, has it metastisized. Oct 2, 2017 diagnosed a brain tumor, Oct 4 Operation to remove it, tested it found it was metastisized from the lung. Two years Keytruda (immunotherapy, one must test positive for protein PD-L1) and I've been in remission, however a latent 1.8 mm ground glass nodule in my right upper lobe, decided it want to grow. Had a P.E.T. scan last week, waiting the opinion of a review board, second opinion on Apr 14, planning to go in for proton radiation. Review board is deciding whether or not to do a needle biopsy, as the nodule is to close to a vein. The nodule is not positively cancerous as it is viscuous, not solid.
Best of look to Jerry. If he has the type of cancer than can be treated with immunotherapy, I strongly suggest that he insist on Keytruda. My sister also had lung cancer, never smoked, he doctor put her on Opdiva, and she died horribly last Apr. I told her to tell her doctor to puther on Keytruda, but he demuured, saying give Opdivo a chance. Of course he was getting financial rewards from the makers of Opdivo, Bristol Meyers Squib, that is how pharmaceuticals work, they bribe doctors to prescribe their drugs.
Jimmy Carter had melanoma, that metastisized to the brain and was treated with Keytruda, it is by and large efficacious and in trials has proved superior to Opdivo.
OK Thom, I am now it. I have voted for 55 years, in almost every election except some primaries, due to me being an independent in a state that has party-only voting. I have been a precinct judge the past 4 years, presiding judge the last two.
States individually control 'how' voting is organized, and every state is somewhat different. This must be changed, due to vote manipulations in prejudicial states where only some are favored to vote and others essentially excluded without Herculean efforts. How will this be done? By each state? No. It must be federally mandated or it will flop.
But there is every chance it will flop at the federal level. Here is why. Politicians are mostly theatrical performers who are installed in office via big money and outrageous lying via media. No amount of takeover at the party state level will change that. The rules around 'how' politicking can occur must change.
1 - no more private money, period.
2 - equal time exposure and financing for every candidate.
3 - every political ad, of any kind, must be equally scrutinized to assure everything is factual.
4 - all personal attacks, name calling, etc., are forbidden in all ads and cannot be shown.
5 - no personal attacks allowed in debates, speeches, etc. A penalty must be enacted, such as automatic loss of 4% of all votes received for each infraction. Independent board of observers will monitor and decide based upon clearly stated rules.
6 - set time period for politicking - say 8 wks. at state level, 16 wks. federal level.
7 - ranked choice voting instituted at all levels; the national/state interests are too complex to be represented by only one potential candidate. This puts more pressure on public servants to work for the public, not some political screed.
VOTING
1 - all votes are a holiday weekend, plus early voting. Same day registration is another exclusive voting day.
2 - every eligible citizen MUST vote, or receive a vetted exclusion; penalties ensue, including loss of any govt. aid or service to that declining voter. Many countries do this now.
3 - all voting is carried out the same exact way across every jurisdiction, period.
4 - challenges that occur must be specific to precincts that show irregularities. Govt. pays costs unless no mistakes found, then paid for by candidate out of personal funds. Each precinct must have triplicate checks on every phase of voting process and chain of custody verification.
5 - NO gerrymandering of any kind. Rep. votes at state/fed affect all citizens, so all citizens get to vote on all reps.
6 - Term limits apply to all positions.
7 - All judiciary are voted on, no exceptions.
8 - Recalls are a part of the voting process. After 180 days, any voted position can be recalled with 10% of voting public. A majority of one recall vote forces new candidates, or second vote getter in ranked choice system is sworn in.
POLITICAL INTEGRITY
1 - no voted-in public servant receives any gifted remuneration, of any kind. A pertinent board reviews all politicos every three months for violations. Rejection is automatic and #8 above applies.
2 - Completely independent Inspectors General, answerable to public commissions that rotate, have total power and authority to stop any political action and force commission vetting and exposure to public scrutiny.
3 - NO revolving doors for retiring politicos are available to infect private sector or be infected by private sector.
4 - Checks and balances powers. Every division of govt. will have the personnel, laws and investigative force to check any other division. If this brings govt. to a standstill, this is still 1000 percent better than criminality. Public will make final decision via commission votes after public input to commissions. All branches of govt. are staffed by public servants, not pampered overlords or glamorous threat actors on the take or the hunt for dictatorships.
5 - Politicians will NEVER determine their salaries, and all salaries will be the same. Public service is not a golden staircase to wealth. No inside trading or manipulations of private capital by public servants is allowed, and any will cause instant termination.
6 - Politicians/public servants will work a minimum of 2400 hr./year, including town halls and local office hours totaling 20 percent of those hours. 2 wks. paid vacation yearly. No daily work schedule beyond 12 hrs.
7 - Paid lobbying is completely PROHIBITED. Jail time is mandatory, IGs will enforce this. Volunteer lobbying will be limited to 10 percent of work time, Records meticulously kept. Zero perks, lunches, tickets, junkets, hookers or any other enticements allowed.
8 - All 'rules' in legislative chambers that impede bill drafting, debate and full vote are banished forever. Debates strictly limited to no more than 25 percent of salaried time. This leaves 45 percent of 2400 hrs. to dedicate to legislative research, analysis and bill drafting/votes.
9 - In the interest of the public's needs, civil service staffing shall grow as the size and complexity of the population grows. No more bathtub drownings of public civil service. We need many more, not less, civil servants, and they will be treated with dignity and respect by public servants and public alike.
10 - No citizen will be allowed to earn, via any means, more than 2M$ at the going tax rate. All tax code exceptions are eliminated. After 2M$, the tax rate is a flat 99 percent, period. The wealth of the nation is what is important, not the oligarch status of a handful of megalomaniacs.
This a a primer, open to additions/revisions. Now Thom, tell me HOW we the people could EVER get the three branches of mostly pampered sycophants to the capitalist trough to do any of this? Either a revolution or a very benign despot with a big heart and a bigger stick can do this. Any suggestions?
Santa Cruz California here! Our protest was great our local paper estimated 5,000 people, the local TV 8,000. If we could somehow include all the cars passing by honking their support I'll bet it was close to 10-12,000!
I still keep writing letters to elected officials. My friend & I got together & sent postcards to each of Cory Booker's Offices! We're sending letters to the editors of the Wisconsin newspapers with letters to the people of Wisconsin thanking them for voting! It's great to see our states can't be bought!
Will be writing to Tony Evers & the head of the Wisconsin DNC with our praise & support.
It may not be much but like Rachel Maddow says: "Do something,!"
Damn, I lived in Santa Cruz 89 to 96, Live Oaks first then Western Drive, then Cedar St, two blocks from the board walk, had some great friends there, changed my whole life and point of view. Came in a conservative, left a liberal.
I remember Pacific Avenue before the Quake of Oct 89. I had just walked out of my place of employment in Aptos, when the street started to wave like as in an ocean and the cement light poles swaying like palm trees, and my car was bouncing side to side.
The Clint Eastwood movie shows Pacific Ave as it was then. Two dead, a woman in Fords Department store, no longer there, and a gal named Robin in the Santa Cruz coffee roasting company.
The St George Hotel, which housed a lot of indigent and mental health clients had to be torn down. and the residents were not able to go back in and reclaim their belongings,had to be a field day at the dump.
My daughter was a freshman at UCSC during the quake. She had to sleep in a field with the cows because the dorms had to be checked for structural stabilty before the kids could return. She got a ride home to where I lived at the time in Merced, I had 2 kids spend the night at my place. They decided to go to Yosemite for the weekend. I made 2 5 quart pots of soup & had bought peanut butter & jelly for breakfast. They ate EVERYTHING that night. I had to rush out to the store at 5 in the morning to get breakfast stuff for the 'gang'. I had kids sleeping in the hall, in the living room, family room, filled all the bedrooms. It was something else. When I went to work they asked if I could donate to help the victims & I said that I couldn't at the time because I "Gave at home!"
My daughter stayed in Santa Cruz after graduation. Of course she did, why would she want to go back to Merced. She got married & settled there & then she & her husband helped to move me to the area to watch my granddaughter! What a great deal, retire to become a grandkid sitter!!! love it!
I love Santa Cruz as well, but too pricey. I was a shop steward for the County of Santa Cruz, and a fellow shop steward bought a shack pretty near the cliffs, for $130,000 and it was a shack. Probably cost that muchif not more to roof it and make it livable. Then Silicon Valley spilled over Hiway 17 and the housing prices soared.
My son was a TA, working on his PhD during the quake
I have great grandkids and a couple of great great grandkids, which I will never see, they live on the opposite side of the country, NJ and the Panhandle of Florida and there is no way I'm going to move there.
Wow, Captain my Captain you are right! The time is now! Thirty-thousand strong here in Chicago, at Daley Plaza downtown. The people want our democracy back and mean it Thom. People Thom the more perfect union for sure. We, have to continue to keep on top of this showing and knowing we do have the power. People power, Captain my Captain always , in empowering me to do my best! Still, thought we could have had beautiful, Kamala! Too late!
Why not give the whole book away now. We don't have much time to combat the new voter ID requirements and as many as possible need to understand. Trump is grabbing power in a hurry. We must resist with knowledge and as fast as possible.
Back to the corner my little gang Occupied for 11 years, only this time we were joined by 500 new friends. Our Hands Off was loud but peaceful.
The Women's March was the largest I had seen (300+). Hands Off was much bigger. Small town of 26,000. We had a couple of Handmaids and a Statue of Liberty. The signs were great and my friend pointed out that everything on them was TRUE!
alis,thanks for attending the "Hands off Rally " Saturday. The next plan is to boycott companies that advertise on CNBC,F and Fox. I can get names and tel#s if some of you are interested.
More, like a thousand people at Daley Plaza huge mistake on my part. Still good numbers. A mistake none the less though. We shall see what else comes of these protests , though.
The wife and I are out there every weekend. At the age of 80 with two 4-year old grandsons, we do not want to leave them in a country that does not value everyone!
We had a fantastic turn out at Hand's Off protests here in Vermont yesterday. Just in White River alone there were 2100 of us who stood in the cold rain. Basically 4x the number expected! Great turn
out everywhere!
Katherine,thanks so much for getting outthere in the cold rain. Terrific turnout.Sharre that with everyone.
I'm 83, and was out there with a lot of people my age of more at the Hillsboro, Oregon rally. 2,000 there at least. Friends in Santa Rosa, CA report over 1,000.
Stalin revisited... "It's not who votes that counts, It's who counts them."
IMHO we wuz robbed.
For those who have been following Feathers of Hope, Jerry Weiss has stage 4 cancer.....in his honor (and to save our country) please protest to Congressional Republicans, and their donors and constituents..
We won't all be able to get birth certificates or passports before the next election. It can become complicated and time consuming just to get a driver's license that is not allowed for a voter ID.
I'm not confident there will be another election.
Once upon a time I heard "age" cases re SSA. Birth certificates vary by state. In some states they can be obtained easiy. In others a person has to go to state court to get one with accurate info.
I heard a lot of cases involving claimants who were born in foreign countries, where we didn't have diplomatic relations -- E.G. Cuba, Vietnam, etc.
I saw birth certificates that said stuff like "Black baby boy born Waycross Ga in January, 1930." No name.
At SSA we could use "secondary souces" like church records, family bibles, testimony, etc if they were "credible." Documents like passports and citizenship records may/ may not be credible.
Virtually all seniors and many others may be eligible for free legal services if they are funded and they should know what to do.....
My grandfather had to have a cousin escort him to the county seat and swear to an affidavit that he witnessed the birth. He needed a birth certificate to register for the draft, WWII. He didn't serve,he was blind in one eye, a lumber jack, hit by a chip.
My wife's father was born at home, in 1933, had to apply for a birth certificate to get an SSA and a job.
Shit, where is the cancer, has it metastisized. Oct 2, 2017 diagnosed a brain tumor, Oct 4 Operation to remove it, tested it found it was metastisized from the lung. Two years Keytruda (immunotherapy, one must test positive for protein PD-L1) and I've been in remission, however a latent 1.8 mm ground glass nodule in my right upper lobe, decided it want to grow. Had a P.E.T. scan last week, waiting the opinion of a review board, second opinion on Apr 14, planning to go in for proton radiation. Review board is deciding whether or not to do a needle biopsy, as the nodule is to close to a vein. The nodule is not positively cancerous as it is viscuous, not solid.
Best of look to Jerry. If he has the type of cancer than can be treated with immunotherapy, I strongly suggest that he insist on Keytruda. My sister also had lung cancer, never smoked, he doctor put her on Opdiva, and she died horribly last Apr. I told her to tell her doctor to puther on Keytruda, but he demuured, saying give Opdivo a chance. Of course he was getting financial rewards from the makers of Opdivo, Bristol Meyers Squib, that is how pharmaceuticals work, they bribe doctors to prescribe their drugs.
Jimmy Carter had melanoma, that metastisized to the brain and was treated with Keytruda, it is by and large efficacious and in trials has proved superior to Opdivo.
They are not the same chemical compound.
Philly came out en masse for the protests this weekend. Ready for more. Futile or fertile, felt good.
https://www.inquirer.com/politics/trump-musk-hands-off-protest-philadelphia-50501-20250405.html
https://substack.com/@mccormickmd/note/c-106258634?r=eoub5&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action
Please target Brian Fitzpatrick: (202) 225-4276 D.C. —— (215) 579-8102 District Office
271 Canon House Office Building - Washington, DC 20515
District Office: 1717 Langhorne Newtown Rd. Suite 225 — Langhorne, PA 19047
OK Thom, I am now it. I have voted for 55 years, in almost every election except some primaries, due to me being an independent in a state that has party-only voting. I have been a precinct judge the past 4 years, presiding judge the last two.
States individually control 'how' voting is organized, and every state is somewhat different. This must be changed, due to vote manipulations in prejudicial states where only some are favored to vote and others essentially excluded without Herculean efforts. How will this be done? By each state? No. It must be federally mandated or it will flop.
But there is every chance it will flop at the federal level. Here is why. Politicians are mostly theatrical performers who are installed in office via big money and outrageous lying via media. No amount of takeover at the party state level will change that. The rules around 'how' politicking can occur must change.
1 - no more private money, period.
2 - equal time exposure and financing for every candidate.
3 - every political ad, of any kind, must be equally scrutinized to assure everything is factual.
4 - all personal attacks, name calling, etc., are forbidden in all ads and cannot be shown.
5 - no personal attacks allowed in debates, speeches, etc. A penalty must be enacted, such as automatic loss of 4% of all votes received for each infraction. Independent board of observers will monitor and decide based upon clearly stated rules.
6 - set time period for politicking - say 8 wks. at state level, 16 wks. federal level.
7 - ranked choice voting instituted at all levels; the national/state interests are too complex to be represented by only one potential candidate. This puts more pressure on public servants to work for the public, not some political screed.
VOTING
1 - all votes are a holiday weekend, plus early voting. Same day registration is another exclusive voting day.
2 - every eligible citizen MUST vote, or receive a vetted exclusion; penalties ensue, including loss of any govt. aid or service to that declining voter. Many countries do this now.
3 - all voting is carried out the same exact way across every jurisdiction, period.
4 - challenges that occur must be specific to precincts that show irregularities. Govt. pays costs unless no mistakes found, then paid for by candidate out of personal funds. Each precinct must have triplicate checks on every phase of voting process and chain of custody verification.
5 - NO gerrymandering of any kind. Rep. votes at state/fed affect all citizens, so all citizens get to vote on all reps.
6 - Term limits apply to all positions.
7 - All judiciary are voted on, no exceptions.
8 - Recalls are a part of the voting process. After 180 days, any voted position can be recalled with 10% of voting public. A majority of one recall vote forces new candidates, or second vote getter in ranked choice system is sworn in.
POLITICAL INTEGRITY
1 - no voted-in public servant receives any gifted remuneration, of any kind. A pertinent board reviews all politicos every three months for violations. Rejection is automatic and #8 above applies.
2 - Completely independent Inspectors General, answerable to public commissions that rotate, have total power and authority to stop any political action and force commission vetting and exposure to public scrutiny.
3 - NO revolving doors for retiring politicos are available to infect private sector or be infected by private sector.
4 - Checks and balances powers. Every division of govt. will have the personnel, laws and investigative force to check any other division. If this brings govt. to a standstill, this is still 1000 percent better than criminality. Public will make final decision via commission votes after public input to commissions. All branches of govt. are staffed by public servants, not pampered overlords or glamorous threat actors on the take or the hunt for dictatorships.
5 - Politicians will NEVER determine their salaries, and all salaries will be the same. Public service is not a golden staircase to wealth. No inside trading or manipulations of private capital by public servants is allowed, and any will cause instant termination.
6 - Politicians/public servants will work a minimum of 2400 hr./year, including town halls and local office hours totaling 20 percent of those hours. 2 wks. paid vacation yearly. No daily work schedule beyond 12 hrs.
7 - Paid lobbying is completely PROHIBITED. Jail time is mandatory, IGs will enforce this. Volunteer lobbying will be limited to 10 percent of work time, Records meticulously kept. Zero perks, lunches, tickets, junkets, hookers or any other enticements allowed.
8 - All 'rules' in legislative chambers that impede bill drafting, debate and full vote are banished forever. Debates strictly limited to no more than 25 percent of salaried time. This leaves 45 percent of 2400 hrs. to dedicate to legislative research, analysis and bill drafting/votes.
9 - In the interest of the public's needs, civil service staffing shall grow as the size and complexity of the population grows. No more bathtub drownings of public civil service. We need many more, not less, civil servants, and they will be treated with dignity and respect by public servants and public alike.
10 - No citizen will be allowed to earn, via any means, more than 2M$ at the going tax rate. All tax code exceptions are eliminated. After 2M$, the tax rate is a flat 99 percent, period. The wealth of the nation is what is important, not the oligarch status of a handful of megalomaniacs.
This a a primer, open to additions/revisions. Now Thom, tell me HOW we the people could EVER get the three branches of mostly pampered sycophants to the capitalist trough to do any of this? Either a revolution or a very benign despot with a big heart and a bigger stick can do this. Any suggestions?
Santa Cruz California here! Our protest was great our local paper estimated 5,000 people, the local TV 8,000. If we could somehow include all the cars passing by honking their support I'll bet it was close to 10-12,000!
I still keep writing letters to elected officials. My friend & I got together & sent postcards to each of Cory Booker's Offices! We're sending letters to the editors of the Wisconsin newspapers with letters to the people of Wisconsin thanking them for voting! It's great to see our states can't be bought!
Will be writing to Tony Evers & the head of the Wisconsin DNC with our praise & support.
It may not be much but like Rachel Maddow says: "Do something,!"
THIS IS WHAT DEMOCRACY LOOKS LIKE!🗽🇺🇲
Damn, I lived in Santa Cruz 89 to 96, Live Oaks first then Western Drive, then Cedar St, two blocks from the board walk, had some great friends there, changed my whole life and point of view. Came in a conservative, left a liberal.
I remember Pacific Avenue before the Quake of Oct 89. I had just walked out of my place of employment in Aptos, when the street started to wave like as in an ocean and the cement light poles swaying like palm trees, and my car was bouncing side to side.
The Clint Eastwood movie shows Pacific Ave as it was then. Two dead, a woman in Fords Department store, no longer there, and a gal named Robin in the Santa Cruz coffee roasting company.
The St George Hotel, which housed a lot of indigent and mental health clients had to be torn down. and the residents were not able to go back in and reclaim their belongings,had to be a field day at the dump.
My daughter was a freshman at UCSC during the quake. She had to sleep in a field with the cows because the dorms had to be checked for structural stabilty before the kids could return. She got a ride home to where I lived at the time in Merced, I had 2 kids spend the night at my place. They decided to go to Yosemite for the weekend. I made 2 5 quart pots of soup & had bought peanut butter & jelly for breakfast. They ate EVERYTHING that night. I had to rush out to the store at 5 in the morning to get breakfast stuff for the 'gang'. I had kids sleeping in the hall, in the living room, family room, filled all the bedrooms. It was something else. When I went to work they asked if I could donate to help the victims & I said that I couldn't at the time because I "Gave at home!"
My daughter stayed in Santa Cruz after graduation. Of course she did, why would she want to go back to Merced. She got married & settled there & then she & her husband helped to move me to the area to watch my granddaughter! What a great deal, retire to become a grandkid sitter!!! love it!
I love Santa Cruz!
I love Santa Cruz as well, but too pricey. I was a shop steward for the County of Santa Cruz, and a fellow shop steward bought a shack pretty near the cliffs, for $130,000 and it was a shack. Probably cost that muchif not more to roof it and make it livable. Then Silicon Valley spilled over Hiway 17 and the housing prices soared.
My son was a TA, working on his PhD during the quake
I have great grandkids and a couple of great great grandkids, which I will never see, they live on the opposite side of the country, NJ and the Panhandle of Florida and there is no way I'm going to move there.
Wow, Captain my Captain you are right! The time is now! Thirty-thousand strong here in Chicago, at Daley Plaza downtown. The people want our democracy back and mean it Thom. People Thom the more perfect union for sure. We, have to continue to keep on top of this showing and knowing we do have the power. People power, Captain my Captain always , in empowering me to do my best! Still, thought we could have had beautiful, Kamala! Too late!
Why not give the whole book away now. We don't have much time to combat the new voter ID requirements and as many as possible need to understand. Trump is grabbing power in a hurry. We must resist with knowledge and as fast as possible.
Btw, I bought the book and audio version a while ago.
You’re it!
Back to the corner my little gang Occupied for 11 years, only this time we were joined by 500 new friends. Our Hands Off was loud but peaceful.
The Women's March was the largest I had seen (300+). Hands Off was much bigger. Small town of 26,000. We had a couple of Handmaids and a Statue of Liberty. The signs were great and my friend pointed out that everything on them was TRUE!
alis,thanks for attending the "Hands off Rally " Saturday. The next plan is to boycott companies that advertise on CNBC,F and Fox. I can get names and tel#s if some of you are interested.
I am watching the stock market. Monday may disappoint. The tariffs are pointless except to make world leaders grovel. https://hotbuttons.substack.com/p/jobs-wont-come-back?r=3m1bs
More, like a thousand people at Daley Plaza huge mistake on my part. Still good numbers. A mistake none the less though. We shall see what else comes of these protests , though.
If the founders just thought of instant run off or proportional representation.