I read as many of the comments as I can after Thom’s articles aa well as other authors on Substack, and learn from all of them. I am not the most knowledgeable political “expert “ by any stretch, but I am getting somewhat annoyed by the mantra of blaming the Dems for everything coming at us. The real cancer eating our country is and has always been the perverted version of conservatism, pushing policies since the all-knowing Repug god ronnie ray-gun. And since then the whole right wing media propaganda machine piling on blaming the Dems for everything have numbed and dumbed down people to the point that they can’t make a truly informed decision on candidates that will actually help make a difference for the betterment of our country. Granted there are some useless politicians on the Dem side , but then there are also spoiler chaos agents like Stein who serves her Putin purpose of drawing off votes and somehow gets gullible people to back her. I can’t understand how people vote Republican anymore- it’s not the Democrats who made threatening calls to a foreign country to find political BS on their rival, or used phony evidence (in which the witness was convicted of lying to the FBI)to justify trying to convict a sitting president and his family, sent armed insurrectionists to our capital on Jan 6 2021, defend rape, sexual assault and committing fraud in business dealings. So the majority of the responsibility for correcting our problems lie with the Republicans, and so far I don’t see too many stepping up to do the right thing because they believe in a perverse radical agenda that is not in line with the Constitution so I believe that they are the enemy.
I agree - Republicans have clearly become the enemy of democracy. Long gone are the days of constructive bipartisan governance. Nixon would never have resigned without bipartisan agreement on his criminal activity. Much greater criminality on Trump 1.0's part saw a Republican flag-waving embrace.
I have never been a D brand. Mostly I vote for them as the lesser of two evils, but there is a vast difference between R and D brands. The tactic of the sadistic narcissist is to use propaganda and extortion and intimidation to create massive distrust and antagonism amongst the masses, divide and conquer. The inherent weaknesses inside the Constitution, chief being the monarchy of a completely unchecked Supreme Court, or as I call it, the Extreme Sport of Injustice, is at the bottom of this trainwreck. There are many other gaping ethical and check and balance holes in the Constitution, and 50 years of destruction using those weaknesses has put us here, now.
@kathytankersley. I agree with every you have written and I find myself guilty of Dem- bashing when I am frustrated. Instead, I need to remind myself who the real enemies af the state are...
You are correct Kathy the real problem is conservatism, it started with Edmund Burke, then the Austrian school of Economics, then Ayn Rand, and politically William F Buckley Jr, and it's kid brother the John Birch Society, then Ronald Reagan.
But the Democratic party had/has a role in the empowerment of the right, and that role is that it drank/drinks for the same trough as the Republican party, it's leadership has been ineffective, unto absent.
The only concern has been the General elections, forsaken the local, county and state elections
And when real liberal minded populists like AOC show up, the leadership squeezes them out, ignores and tries to primary them..
Makes you wonder sometimes, whose side they are really on. Question is rhetorical: The Donors side.
An ad hominem does not help get the DNC going and organizing, does it? Organizing means making them prioritize the steps and they are not. Psychopathic neo-fascists led by Trump are the enemy that I see.
I was an elected member of the local executive committee. I chose not to run this year -- I'm 81 -- can't travel. The local chair asked my opinion. I said have Hilary Clinton talk to the 2 MAGAT amigos here in Baghad By the Sea individually to convince them to flip back.
Watch the Erica Chenoweth video. I think we can work on organization that has wheels and the legs we older (76) people lack. All we need to do now is to get it organized, I think. That is my drift. I am always appreciative of your input. You do way more than I.
We have VAT and VAN. My experience is that these young "experts" have lost virtually all of the campaigns because we gave up on the "precinct" model that happens to be fixed by law in most states.
Carl:The DNC needs to be slapped vigorously around the face, until it comes to its sense and acts like the peoples party it holds itself out to be, but I fear that it is now too late for that. The Musk wrecking ball has broken the egg and it can't be put back together again.
What we didn't realize all these years, is just how fragile democracy and our government is.
So fragile that an unelected man with hundreds of billions can lay waste to our institutions, irrevecobaly.
Chuck Schumer is a spectacle onto himself. He has sat by and let this happen, and finally he acts like an idiot cheerleading some group. He could have stopped this when he was Majority leader by exercising the nuclear option, by disciplining Manchin, Sinema and all the crooked money grubbers in the Democratic party
He looked ridiculous and insincere in front of the camera's, trying to salvage what is left of his reputation.
Unfortunately, it is all about fundraising. Carl. It shows everywhere they go, like in Hollywood, for money. My husband's former colleague was denied money from the Chemistry department, which had been gifted by a deceased student/philanthropist who designated it expressly for my husband's and his partner's research.
Therefore, Ken Martin could not set up a research space at the institution where they taught; he linked up with another inorganic chemist in Santa Barbara, needing to stay there for the summer. His wife, "A Man Named Sue,' ( she became labeled as such in our enclave), complained for twenty years all over campus and throughout the community, calling my husband horrible names and blaming them for her husband's absence in the summer.
Then, she started calling me names. Having never been in my kitchen, she said the kitchen was not clean. We invited them to a get-together at a resort in the east county, and others there were astounded by her aggressive outburst. She claimed the picnic utensils I was using weren't clean, for which there was no evidence.
Four years ago, near their house, a sign was posted in someone's yard stating what Sue had been promulgating. Even outsiders felt the slandering of us was out of bounds. The point is it is all about money.
I told my husband this philanthropist was dead, and there wasn't but a paper-thin difference between organic research and inorganic research in the department - all of which would enhance the same department and institution. Letting them decide - it was up to his partner Dale Shellhamer, who was charged with the account - I watched the ensuing misery.
We lack leaders at the DNC that have the right priorities. It is not just fundraising. Oh that we had some organizers. https://hotbuttons.substack.com/p/a-movements-success?r=3m1bs
What do you know about the DNC, Carl?
The enemy is Trump.
I read as many of the comments as I can after Thom’s articles aa well as other authors on Substack, and learn from all of them. I am not the most knowledgeable political “expert “ by any stretch, but I am getting somewhat annoyed by the mantra of blaming the Dems for everything coming at us. The real cancer eating our country is and has always been the perverted version of conservatism, pushing policies since the all-knowing Repug god ronnie ray-gun. And since then the whole right wing media propaganda machine piling on blaming the Dems for everything have numbed and dumbed down people to the point that they can’t make a truly informed decision on candidates that will actually help make a difference for the betterment of our country. Granted there are some useless politicians on the Dem side , but then there are also spoiler chaos agents like Stein who serves her Putin purpose of drawing off votes and somehow gets gullible people to back her. I can’t understand how people vote Republican anymore- it’s not the Democrats who made threatening calls to a foreign country to find political BS on their rival, or used phony evidence (in which the witness was convicted of lying to the FBI)to justify trying to convict a sitting president and his family, sent armed insurrectionists to our capital on Jan 6 2021, defend rape, sexual assault and committing fraud in business dealings. So the majority of the responsibility for correcting our problems lie with the Republicans, and so far I don’t see too many stepping up to do the right thing because they believe in a perverse radical agenda that is not in line with the Constitution so I believe that they are the enemy.
I agree - Republicans have clearly become the enemy of democracy. Long gone are the days of constructive bipartisan governance. Nixon would never have resigned without bipartisan agreement on his criminal activity. Much greater criminality on Trump 1.0's part saw a Republican flag-waving embrace.
I have never been a D brand. Mostly I vote for them as the lesser of two evils, but there is a vast difference between R and D brands. The tactic of the sadistic narcissist is to use propaganda and extortion and intimidation to create massive distrust and antagonism amongst the masses, divide and conquer. The inherent weaknesses inside the Constitution, chief being the monarchy of a completely unchecked Supreme Court, or as I call it, the Extreme Sport of Injustice, is at the bottom of this trainwreck. There are many other gaping ethical and check and balance holes in the Constitution, and 50 years of destruction using those weaknesses has put us here, now.
@kathytankersley. I agree with every you have written and I find myself guilty of Dem- bashing when I am frustrated. Instead, I need to remind myself who the real enemies af the state are...
You are correct Kathy the real problem is conservatism, it started with Edmund Burke, then the Austrian school of Economics, then Ayn Rand, and politically William F Buckley Jr, and it's kid brother the John Birch Society, then Ronald Reagan.
But the Democratic party had/has a role in the empowerment of the right, and that role is that it drank/drinks for the same trough as the Republican party, it's leadership has been ineffective, unto absent.
The only concern has been the General elections, forsaken the local, county and state elections
And when real liberal minded populists like AOC show up, the leadership squeezes them out, ignores and tries to primary them..
Makes you wonder sometimes, whose side they are really on. Question is rhetorical: The Donors side.
An ad hominem does not help get the DNC going and organizing, does it? Organizing means making them prioritize the steps and they are not. Psychopathic neo-fascists led by Trump are the enemy that I see.
New officers.
I was an elected member of the local executive committee. I chose not to run this year -- I'm 81 -- can't travel. The local chair asked my opinion. I said have Hilary Clinton talk to the 2 MAGAT amigos here in Baghad By the Sea individually to convince them to flip back.
Watch the Erica Chenoweth video. I think we can work on organization that has wheels and the legs we older (76) people lack. All we need to do now is to get it organized, I think. That is my drift. I am always appreciative of your input. You do way more than I.
We have VAT and VAN. My experience is that these young "experts" have lost virtually all of the campaigns because we gave up on the "precinct" model that happens to be fixed by law in most states.
I personally think we actually won the last election. Nothing wrong with our candidates. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_interference_in_the_2024_United_States_elections#:~:text=Russia's%20efforts%20represented%20the%20most,society%20and%20foster%20anti%2DAmericanism.
“Those who vote decide nothing. Those who count the vote decide everything.”
― Joseph Stalin
Carl:The DNC needs to be slapped vigorously around the face, until it comes to its sense and acts like the peoples party it holds itself out to be, but I fear that it is now too late for that. The Musk wrecking ball has broken the egg and it can't be put back together again.
What we didn't realize all these years, is just how fragile democracy and our government is.
So fragile that an unelected man with hundreds of billions can lay waste to our institutions, irrevecobaly.
So, don't call out the DNC for the lack of organization?
The CDC are employees civil SERVANTS Carl, they don't set policy, they follow orders and job assignments.
Fauci did as a good a job under constraints (Trump) as anyone could do
Going forward the leaders of the CDC are Trump humping loyalists.
Chuck Schumer is a spectacle onto himself. He has sat by and let this happen, and finally he acts like an idiot cheerleading some group. He could have stopped this when he was Majority leader by exercising the nuclear option, by disciplining Manchin, Sinema and all the crooked money grubbers in the Democratic party
He looked ridiculous and insincere in front of the camera's, trying to salvage what is left of his reputation.
My thoughts and words out loud (to myself) right here at home when I saw him make a joke of democracy and the Democrats.
Unfortunately, it is all about fundraising, Carl. The DNC and candidates are closely connected to Hollywood.
Unfortunately, it is all about fundraising. Carl. It shows everywhere they go, like in Hollywood, for money. My husband's former colleague was denied money from the Chemistry department, which had been gifted by a deceased student/philanthropist who designated it expressly for my husband's and his partner's research.
Therefore, Ken Martin could not set up a research space at the institution where they taught; he linked up with another inorganic chemist in Santa Barbara, needing to stay there for the summer. His wife, "A Man Named Sue,' ( she became labeled as such in our enclave), complained for twenty years all over campus and throughout the community, calling my husband horrible names and blaming them for her husband's absence in the summer.
Then, she started calling me names. Having never been in my kitchen, she said the kitchen was not clean. We invited them to a get-together at a resort in the east county, and others there were astounded by her aggressive outburst. She claimed the picnic utensils I was using weren't clean, for which there was no evidence.
Four years ago, near their house, a sign was posted in someone's yard stating what Sue had been promulgating. Even outsiders felt the slandering of us was out of bounds. The point is it is all about money.
And they are Democrats -
I told my husband this philanthropist was dead, and there wasn't but a paper-thin difference between organic research and inorganic research in the department - all of which would enhance the same department and institution. Letting them decide - it was up to his partner Dale Shellhamer, who was charged with the account - I watched the ensuing misery.