The GOP has planted their flag deeply into the soil of fear and hate, right up to and including a call to repeal the Voting Rights Act of 1965 - this year we must vote as if our future depends upon it
So well said, Tom. We need to spread the word! Perhaps design large signs to have at polling places, one listing the repug's “hate and fear agenda,” and one listing the Democrat's “Freedom Agenda.” That might give voters “food for thought,” but from what I’ve seen at the polls (and I do volunteer to hand out literature and talk with voters), the vast majority of people voting maga are recalcitrant and uninterested due to the shellacking of the right wing media on their poor brains.
Several elections ago I had a large sign listing the Democrats in Congress who had served in our military. At that time there were quite a few. There were, if I recall, just one or two repugs. That has changed—a little—but your listings, Tom, are more dramatic.
Sharing them to everyone we know and finding a way to publish them ahead of the election(s) might be the most effective approach. “Pass the hat” to take up collections to post in newspapers and online. Etc.
Just a few thoughts, but perhaps ones to be pursued. The maga voters need to realize that they’ve been conned and that the repugs don’t care about them, their families, their futures. They’re being used. Period. And our country is being destroyed in the process.
For a lot of voters in the mid-term as well as in the 2024 elections a key consideration will be the Biden Administration's and the Democratic Party's 100% alignment with the national and global medical forces that used what looked like propaganda instead of medical science during the 2020-22 to control everyone's medical choices b y imposing one-size fits all and excluding all consideration for alternative treatments. Almost 45% of voters now shun mainstream medicine, and an additional 20% are deeply troubled that the Covid vaccines were misrepresented and were not really vaccines and didn't really prevent re-occurrances or further transmission after original shot and after subsequent boosters. These voters will tend to NOT trust the future to the Democratic Party, Biden and his team; perhaps unfortunately, everything considered. But the medical freedom issue will be a voting factor for many in November 2022 as well as in 2024.
The Democratic support list cited by Mr. Hartman is, unfortunately, inaccurate with respect to medical issues; Senator Murray, the senior senator from Washington, is apparently working for the pharmaceutical industry. https://anh-usa.org/supplement-sneak-attack-update/. The listed VAERS incidents over time that can be tied to use of vitamins and supplements is minuscule compared to those that can be tied to use of a large number of prescription medications. This type of legislative initiative and timing by senior Democratic legislators looks almost undemocratic.
Mr. Hartman's citation:
The Democratic Party’s agenda is equally straightforward: Civil and economic rights lay the foundation for expanded freedom. Which is why Democrats proclaim that liberty requires people have:
• *Nutritious and affordable food.
• *Decent housing and a safe place to live.
• *A living wage that can support a family.
• *Economic security in retirement and old age.
• *Healthcare that doesn’t bankrupt you.
• *Equal rights, both political and economic, regardless of gender, race, or religion.
• *Debt-free college and trade school.
• *Quality public schools for all children.
• *News and information free of bias or manipulation by algorithms.
• *Universal access to voting for all citizens of voting age.
• *Family planning healthcare including abortion access.
• *A planet that’s no longer in danger of climate chaos.
• *Opportunity to start small businesses without destruction by monopolies.
• *The freedom to live your life without fear of getting shot.
The medical issue is one of the major issues I have with the Biden administration; they seem too eager to please big Pharma for my liking. Biden seems to want to help expand the profits of Pharma by injecting this experimental vaccine into bodies as young as 6 months of age - I find this abhorrent. The CDC and Biden seem to be hand-in-hand with Pharma.
While you represent the Republican's agenda accurately, you misrepresent that of the Democratic Party. I won't go through the laundry list here as your readers/listeners will call me a Commie or a Russian bot for thinking critically, but the reason Trump can get away with his authoritarian and racist mobilization of supporters is largely the failure of the Democratic Party to make people whole and to follow through on their promises. And when they do follow through, it's half measures and means-tested programs that do not achieve their stated objectives. As we speak Biden has appointed an anti-Social Security Republican to a key seat on the Social Security advisory board, and he has increased Medicare Advantage premiums to private insurers, laundering seniors Social Security money through the government to enrich the health care conglomerates. This is a microcosm of the Democratic Party corporate allegiance and poor judgment that has put us all in a compromising position. Should me assertions be doubted, take a look at the election in France and the 89 seats won by a candidate to the right of Trump. Austerity and neoliberalism are the cause, fascism and xenophobia the symptoms that become malignant in the current "better than Trump at least Biden doesn't Tweet" relativistic echo chamber quagmire we have become paralyzed by.
I like Biden as a person, but politically, sometimes I wonder if, following Trump's example using the term RINO, we should think of him as a DINO? Yes, brings up the image of dinosaur, I know.
I feel for Biden, I feel the Democratic Party put him in an untenable situation. He is not functionally fit to be president, so as a human being I do have empathy for his position. That being said, in any other industrialized nation he would be a center-right politician, and interestingly in Germany for example Bernie Sanders would be center-left. Our axis has shifted so far to the right that Democrats are not recognizable to me as Democrats anymore.
Just watched the gut-wrenching testimony of Shay Moss and her mother, Ruby Freeman, during the 4th hearing. What Trump and his cohorts did to them is a crime. I hope they sue. They are great Americans for doing their election jobs and having the courage to share their story, which they did so beautifully. What has happened to them is illegal and immoral.
Hate and fear is what feeds Trump, so it must be feeding those who do his bullying for him. They are emotional vampires. They will never be sated and will always be with us. They were at the Colosseum, the rallies in Germany, and the march in Charlottesville.
I wonder what you think when you read some of the comments,Thom. The facts and the history you have presented do lead to your conclusion. The what-about-ism and utter denial is pretty disgusting, but I'm done arguing with them or the Republicans that support the vampires. Team Liberty and Prosperity must vote, and we need to get to the people who have checked out or are too busy. The message to relate to them is: Politics affects everything you do every day of your life and the lives of your loved ones.
As I regularly discuss how social and political issues with family and friends, I try to include only facts that can be verified and that I have fact-checked. A bibliography would be helpful
Thom. Your rhetoric successfully continues to pit good versus evil. But your hackneyed delineations telling your readers that Progressives are good and Republican are evil, truly undermine real democratic solutions. The immense complexity of our problems demand much more sophisticated approaches. Without this your rhetoric simply falls on the deaf ears of your opposition. And it’s not because they are ignorant or evil people. No. Despite your efforts to persuade otherwise, there are thoughtful right-leaning people asking for the substance beneath your platitudes.
In other words we continue to ask people like you for such significant things as the following.
How will and at what costs will progressives provide nutritious and affordable food?
How will and at what costs will progressives provide decent housing and a safe place to live?
How will and at what costs will progressives provide a living wage that can support a family?
How will and at what costs will progressives provide economic security in retirement and old age?
How will and at what costs will progressives provide healthcare that doesn’t bankrupt you?
How will and at what costs will progressives provide equal rights, both political and economic, regardless of gender, race, or religion?
How will and at what costs will progressives provide debt-free college and trade school?
How will and at what costs will progressives provide quality public schools for all children?
How will and at what costs will progressives provide news and information free of bias or manipulation by algorithms?
How will and at what costs will progressives provide universal access to voting for all citizens of voting age?
How will and at what costs will progressives provide family planning healthcare including abortion access?.
How will and at what costs will progressives provide a planet that’s no longer in danger of climate chaos?
How will and at what costs will progressives provide opportunity to start small businesses without destruction by monopoly
How will and at what costs will progressives provide the freedom to live your life without fear of getting shot?
My challenge to you is to put aside the bludgeoning rhetoric you use to condemn your opposition. Maybe for a month or even a week, refrain from the blaming and condemning the right for all the problems we face, and explain to your readers two things: How progressives will accomplish their objective, and what will be the costs associated with these accomplishments. That includes the financial and moral costs to the country and to each of us.
Certainly, the easy answers for these are: more legislative means to enforce your moral ends, and the costs for such things shouldn’t matter. But of course these things extremely matter to hundreds of millions of Americans. To assume we ought to assent to your moral conclusions doesn't help any of us. Such presumption will certainly continue to divide us. But if that's the goal, then more hatred of each other will be the only result.
So well said, Tom. We need to spread the word! Perhaps design large signs to have at polling places, one listing the repug's “hate and fear agenda,” and one listing the Democrat's “Freedom Agenda.” That might give voters “food for thought,” but from what I’ve seen at the polls (and I do volunteer to hand out literature and talk with voters), the vast majority of people voting maga are recalcitrant and uninterested due to the shellacking of the right wing media on their poor brains.
Several elections ago I had a large sign listing the Democrats in Congress who had served in our military. At that time there were quite a few. There were, if I recall, just one or two repugs. That has changed—a little—but your listings, Tom, are more dramatic.
Sharing them to everyone we know and finding a way to publish them ahead of the election(s) might be the most effective approach. “Pass the hat” to take up collections to post in newspapers and online. Etc.
Just a few thoughts, but perhaps ones to be pursued. The maga voters need to realize that they’ve been conned and that the repugs don’t care about them, their families, their futures. They’re being used. Period. And our country is being destroyed in the process.
For a lot of voters in the mid-term as well as in the 2024 elections a key consideration will be the Biden Administration's and the Democratic Party's 100% alignment with the national and global medical forces that used what looked like propaganda instead of medical science during the 2020-22 to control everyone's medical choices b y imposing one-size fits all and excluding all consideration for alternative treatments. Almost 45% of voters now shun mainstream medicine, and an additional 20% are deeply troubled that the Covid vaccines were misrepresented and were not really vaccines and didn't really prevent re-occurrances or further transmission after original shot and after subsequent boosters. These voters will tend to NOT trust the future to the Democratic Party, Biden and his team; perhaps unfortunately, everything considered. But the medical freedom issue will be a voting factor for many in November 2022 as well as in 2024.
The Democratic support list cited by Mr. Hartman is, unfortunately, inaccurate with respect to medical issues; Senator Murray, the senior senator from Washington, is apparently working for the pharmaceutical industry. https://anh-usa.org/supplement-sneak-attack-update/. The listed VAERS incidents over time that can be tied to use of vitamins and supplements is minuscule compared to those that can be tied to use of a large number of prescription medications. This type of legislative initiative and timing by senior Democratic legislators looks almost undemocratic.
Mr. Hartman's citation:
The Democratic Party’s agenda is equally straightforward: Civil and economic rights lay the foundation for expanded freedom. Which is why Democrats proclaim that liberty requires people have:
• *Nutritious and affordable food.
• *Decent housing and a safe place to live.
• *A living wage that can support a family.
• *Economic security in retirement and old age.
• *Healthcare that doesn’t bankrupt you.
• *Equal rights, both political and economic, regardless of gender, race, or religion.
• *Debt-free college and trade school.
• *Quality public schools for all children.
• *News and information free of bias or manipulation by algorithms.
• *Universal access to voting for all citizens of voting age.
• *Family planning healthcare including abortion access.
• *A planet that’s no longer in danger of climate chaos.
• *Opportunity to start small businesses without destruction by monopolies.
• *The freedom to live your life without fear of getting shot.
The medical issue is one of the major issues I have with the Biden administration; they seem too eager to please big Pharma for my liking. Biden seems to want to help expand the profits of Pharma by injecting this experimental vaccine into bodies as young as 6 months of age - I find this abhorrent. The CDC and Biden seem to be hand-in-hand with Pharma.
While you represent the Republican's agenda accurately, you misrepresent that of the Democratic Party. I won't go through the laundry list here as your readers/listeners will call me a Commie or a Russian bot for thinking critically, but the reason Trump can get away with his authoritarian and racist mobilization of supporters is largely the failure of the Democratic Party to make people whole and to follow through on their promises. And when they do follow through, it's half measures and means-tested programs that do not achieve their stated objectives. As we speak Biden has appointed an anti-Social Security Republican to a key seat on the Social Security advisory board, and he has increased Medicare Advantage premiums to private insurers, laundering seniors Social Security money through the government to enrich the health care conglomerates. This is a microcosm of the Democratic Party corporate allegiance and poor judgment that has put us all in a compromising position. Should me assertions be doubted, take a look at the election in France and the 89 seats won by a candidate to the right of Trump. Austerity and neoliberalism are the cause, fascism and xenophobia the symptoms that become malignant in the current "better than Trump at least Biden doesn't Tweet" relativistic echo chamber quagmire we have become paralyzed by.
I like Biden as a person, but politically, sometimes I wonder if, following Trump's example using the term RINO, we should think of him as a DINO? Yes, brings up the image of dinosaur, I know.
I feel for Biden, I feel the Democratic Party put him in an untenable situation. He is not functionally fit to be president, so as a human being I do have empathy for his position. That being said, in any other industrialized nation he would be a center-right politician, and interestingly in Germany for example Bernie Sanders would be center-left. Our axis has shifted so far to the right that Democrats are not recognizable to me as Democrats anymore.
Just watched the gut-wrenching testimony of Shay Moss and her mother, Ruby Freeman, during the 4th hearing. What Trump and his cohorts did to them is a crime. I hope they sue. They are great Americans for doing their election jobs and having the courage to share their story, which they did so beautifully. What has happened to them is illegal and immoral.
Hate and fear is what feeds Trump, so it must be feeding those who do his bullying for him. They are emotional vampires. They will never be sated and will always be with us. They were at the Colosseum, the rallies in Germany, and the march in Charlottesville.
I wonder what you think when you read some of the comments,Thom. The facts and the history you have presented do lead to your conclusion. The what-about-ism and utter denial is pretty disgusting, but I'm done arguing with them or the Republicans that support the vampires. Team Liberty and Prosperity must vote, and we need to get to the people who have checked out or are too busy. The message to relate to them is: Politics affects everything you do every day of your life and the lives of your loved ones.
Democracy.....use it or lose it!
As I regularly discuss how social and political issues with family and friends, I try to include only facts that can be verified and that I have fact-checked. A bibliography would be helpful
Thom. Your rhetoric successfully continues to pit good versus evil. But your hackneyed delineations telling your readers that Progressives are good and Republican are evil, truly undermine real democratic solutions. The immense complexity of our problems demand much more sophisticated approaches. Without this your rhetoric simply falls on the deaf ears of your opposition. And it’s not because they are ignorant or evil people. No. Despite your efforts to persuade otherwise, there are thoughtful right-leaning people asking for the substance beneath your platitudes.
In other words we continue to ask people like you for such significant things as the following.
How will and at what costs will progressives provide nutritious and affordable food?
How will and at what costs will progressives provide decent housing and a safe place to live?
How will and at what costs will progressives provide a living wage that can support a family?
How will and at what costs will progressives provide economic security in retirement and old age?
How will and at what costs will progressives provide healthcare that doesn’t bankrupt you?
How will and at what costs will progressives provide equal rights, both political and economic, regardless of gender, race, or religion?
How will and at what costs will progressives provide debt-free college and trade school?
How will and at what costs will progressives provide quality public schools for all children?
How will and at what costs will progressives provide news and information free of bias or manipulation by algorithms?
How will and at what costs will progressives provide universal access to voting for all citizens of voting age?
How will and at what costs will progressives provide family planning healthcare including abortion access?.
How will and at what costs will progressives provide a planet that’s no longer in danger of climate chaos?
How will and at what costs will progressives provide opportunity to start small businesses without destruction by monopoly
How will and at what costs will progressives provide the freedom to live your life without fear of getting shot?
My challenge to you is to put aside the bludgeoning rhetoric you use to condemn your opposition. Maybe for a month or even a week, refrain from the blaming and condemning the right for all the problems we face, and explain to your readers two things: How progressives will accomplish their objective, and what will be the costs associated with these accomplishments. That includes the financial and moral costs to the country and to each of us.
Certainly, the easy answers for these are: more legislative means to enforce your moral ends, and the costs for such things shouldn’t matter. But of course these things extremely matter to hundreds of millions of Americans. To assume we ought to assent to your moral conclusions doesn't help any of us. Such presumption will certainly continue to divide us. But if that's the goal, then more hatred of each other will be the only result.