The Putin Caucus in the GOP, along with the fossil fuel billionaires, appear quite pleased that they’ve succeeded in intimidating fact-checkers just in time for the 2024 election…
Bullseye. This falls to all of us. This is our moment in history to shoulder the fight for democracy the globe over. I've said it before: No one and nothing is coming to save us. We find ourselves, and ourselves only - as the last line of defense against greed, hate, deceit, and all other pestilence of the MAGA trash heap. Putin, MBS, and Jinping are all-in on murdering democracy - and they have found loud allies in today's GOP. We must not be the Chamberlain's of the 21st century. It's far beyond time to wake the hell up. We are the people who will determine whether democracy emerges from hospice, or continues to be hauled to a cemetery plot.
I fully agree either way you, John. We have to fight Trump, and his MAGA movement either every ounce of our being. If we dint get the people to the polls in these next elections between now, and eight years from now, we will lose our democracy. We will lose our Constitution. We will lose all of our freedoms that we have left. This country will have been taken over by the likes of Vladimir Putin, and his sidekick, Donald J. Trump. It will be a communist country under a totally different flag!
Perhaps there is a small amount of blame on people not voting but in case you haven’t been paying attention, there is a major effort to prevent voters who don’t vote Republican, from voting. Mostly in minority communities, university communities, as well as early or mail in voting. Decreasing the number of polling sites to dissuade voters. Luckily several swing states are run by Dems so it looks like Biden will prevail.
I can see you have drank the MAGA Kool-aid! So sad. Another fool lost to MAGA-lies. Hopefully, someday you, and the other followers of the Celt will come to your senses.
By the way, young MAGA lady, the evidence is quite clear. And you can rest assured if I print it on here, it’s gospel!
Your Fearless Leader, your Dictator wannabe, your Treasonous Traitor, Frumpy, the 🍓💩🤡 that has all you 🐑🐑🐑🐑🐑 drinking from his little trough every time he opens his lying mouth, is doing nothing but soaking all you 🐑🐑🐑🐑🐑 for everything he can get. He’s not collecting that money from you people for his legal bills, or his campaign. He’s putting it in his pocket. He doesn’t pay his bills. He never has, never will.
Yes, his first wife was the daughter of a Russian Oligarch who had strong ties to the KGB, and to one of its upper leaders, Vladimir Putin. As Putin rose in power, your fearless traitor become best buddies, making numerous trips to Russia with his wife, meeting with all the Russian Oligarchy. And after they helped him get his ejection win in 2016, which has also been well proven, and documented, he began sending our Top Secret, Classified, and Secret documents to Putin, and other upper Russian leaders, by courier. Thus courier was a sitting Senator! That also has been well documented, and proven.
So, just keep sucking your kool-aid from Frumpy. I’m sure he greatly appreciates it a lot. Especially your money!
But, do me a favor. Do cone a me talking about President Biden. At least anything except the good he’s done gif this nation since he took over from the disaster it was left in. You, my dear uninformed sheep of a treasonous traitor, have absolutely no clue what you are talking about, and like every because in your cult, you can prove a damn thing! All gab, no show proof.
It seems a major factor in the fact-checkers decision to capitulate to the pressure and hold their fire against the lies is their concern about the legal cost to them for doing there jobs.
What is needed at this time is for the legal profession to come forward, with the willingness to provide representation to the fact-checkers pro-bono. If they only see this as an opportunity for enrichment, rather than as a threat to their own ability to function within an authoritarian state, then as they are being marched off to the Gulags, they will be the last to utter "where is anyone to defend me!"
You do realize don't you. That legal profession is by nature and constitutionally conservative. You would be hard pressed to find a true liberal like Chutkan.
Yes, I realize that probably the vast majority of those who are materially well off have greater reason to be conservative than liberal. But, is fostering minority rule, with its history of oppression and exploitation, really squashing human potential or fostering its expansion? Conservatives like to applaud what passes for America's greatness, but seem to be unable to comprehend the concept that perhaps we would be a much greater nation today if blacks were not first enslaved, then Jim Crowed; if women were enfranchised and educated to the degree of their male counterparts; if gays were not socially closeted but allowed to flourish in whatever area of their choice--considering their success in the areas were they have flourished, one can only imagine.
The good news is that it seems to be an integral feature of human nature to resist these oppressions and demand that their humanity be recognized and respected. If "two roads diverged in a yellow wood" and humanistic democracy is "the road less traveled by" those who choose that path have and will make "all the difference".
I gave your reply, Michael an upvote. I so much agree with what you said, but the optimism of humans, well that is another story, in that regard history is not on your side, we are where we at (good and bad) because of human nature.For instance the truth is that we have lots of fresh fruits and meats, not to mention packaged goods, because men seeking to feed their families, survive and flourish were industrious innovators who took a chance (or failed and starve).
The negative side of that, is that in order to survive they needed money to expand, and would borrow only as a last resort, mostly they sold stock in their company, and eventually the a stock holder, usually another company, bought them out, and they became a monopoly (such was how JD Rockefeller became a robber baron, same with Carnegie and the RR and industrial barons, what we call oligarchs today.
Result is that corporations became an organism, with one motive as do all organisms to survive and flourish, to protect themselves by eliminating the competition and feeding on the prey (consumers and workers). They became a collective overseen by a board of directors who were themselves, CEO's or members of other board of directors. I imagine that most are members of an exclusive club, and are handsomely rewarded for serving on many BoD's
Germany for one, IIRC, and Denmark and Norway. require labor to be represented on BoD;s,but in the US labor is the drones of the anthive.like that asshole of a cop in Seatle said (also the VP of the cop union), Write her family a $11,000 check (another cop had run over and killed her) because she was only 26 and of no value (followed by raucous laughter) The MFer, like all of his ilk doesn't see the irony, because cops are at the lowest rung of the social ladder, and don't get paid that much either.
Talk about Evil. These Lying Republicans led by that criminal Jim Jordan , McCarthy, Matt Gaetz, my god , they are all criminals. Trump their Chief Liar has groomed them well having sought help from Putin , inviting Viktor Orban to address their convention for liars. They’ve sought tips on creating chaos and eliminating people that they oppose.
These people will stop at nothing to push their crooked efforts at fascism. Donald Trump and now it seems many of his devious supporters are aware they cannot win so they’ve gone under the tutelage of the worst people in the world.
Their quest for power has taken their souls . All led by Putins puppet Trump.
Ms. Stokes, you are correct. For the most part we brought it on ourselves. I have an allegory with which I entertain myself. The Ford Model A was the best designed automobile ever. But I judge it by the standards of its time. By those standards it was and is, the best. I can go into the reasons for why I make this judgement. I am an automobile junky who grew up in Detroit and worked for three Auto makers in my youth while saving money for college tuition. But my reasons are not important. Here the allegory is the story. The U.S. constitution was the best design for national organization. But it too must be judged by the standards of its time. Today there are, I suspect, better designs, especially in Europe.
So, we began ahead of the rest. But, like the Model A, we have been outrun by others. The standards have changed. Furthermore, during the race we failed to take care of what we had.
This is not a response for you, but for actual readers...
1) Other than the US, who would you like telling you about democracy? Putin? Orban? MBS? Jinping?
2) The actual people of the US do not like the 2 party system, as t is ripe for conflict. We are pursuing alternatives (ranked-choice, instant run off, etc..) and are able to do so because, wait for it... We in live in a democracy.
3) I won't argue that the people of the US have had a troubled history with voting, consumerism, and anti-intellectualism. That's not disputed. But to "Leave out China and Russia" in a discussion about authoritarianism and anti-democratic regimes...? Hahaha. Sorry.
4) Yes, right wing forces are spreading like gangrene across the body of global politics. However, I don't see the logic in "Yes we have right wing forces now but at least we don't have 2 party's..." I mean, does it matter how the Nazi's come to town? No. Whichever non 2 party system you're referring to (maybe you could share?), apparently it sucks all the same.
5) And you believe, that somehow, should the MAGA disease steal power in the US - snuggling intimately with the world's most disgusting regimes along the way - there will be peace?
Kellyanne Conway inaugurated "alternative facts" as a way of dodging the truth in politics. AFs are now, thanks to Trumpism, a substitute for truth among most Republicans. AFs work because most people have reduced the resulting painful dissonance between verifiable facts and GOP confabulations by retreating to news-source bubbles. If all your news comes from FoxNews and the Gateway Pundit, at best, you have been instructed on how to discount unpalatable facts - sometimes garnished with a Tuckeresque psychotic giggle to color the fact as silly.
The other day I watched several middle-aged working-class men wearing MAGA ball caps loudly proclaim that Congress needs to cut social security to reduce the deficit. It apparently never occurred to them that they will likely depend on an SSA pension to survive as early as age 62. Factchecks help to point out lies and spins by politicians, but their audience is likely to include few Republicans who need it the most. The cognitive dissonance is for them unpleasant rather than informative.
As a self-proclaimed free thinker, I have never liked liars. The rich fascist who don't want to pay taxes or share, are attacking the truth and reality using their own media, counting on there being almost nobody home. Apparently, there is almost "NOBODY" home. The citizens worldwide have been indoctrinated since childhood, that believing makes stuff true. We can thank the churches for the lack of critical thinking. Religious fairy tales being taught as truth, makes it possible for the dictators to lie and worm their way into power with the help from the greedy, inhuman, sadistic rich. In almost all societies, for thousands of years. Free speech does not mean one has the right to spout lies! Why aren't any citizens being flogged for lying? Religious citizens know that they would be flogged, for lying. About 80% of earthlings cannot handle the truth, and are not rational thinkers. IMHO! Without rational thinking, the majority of earthlings are like a ship lost in the ocean without a compass. Most were created that way in the name of "GOD". Once past the age of two or three, few can be rehabilitated. Their spirits were broken by abusive parents and the rest of the society that condones it! Even the rich ones.
I cringe every time I hear someone on the left and right, especially assholes like Bill Maher and Donald Trump whine about free speech. Even the White house website, obfuscates.
The only thing the 1st Amendment says about speech and assembly, is that CONGRESS shall make no law abridging the right. There is nothing in it about Universities, corporations, people (left or right), saying anything, save that they can't threaten somebody, public or private or maliciously (that is with intention) sully their reputation, that is why Trump gets away with all kinds of lies and threats.
Conservatives, especially MAGGOTs, know that, and thus indulge in threats and slander with no penalty. and that is what is meant by the Heritage and Federalist society's "originalism", they want to negate all 27 Amendments and return to the "good ole days" when property owning white "Christian" men, ran the country
Thom’s rant today is like most of his (and his team’s) excellent dissertations on the state of our democracy. Regardless of the subject matter in his always excellent dissertations, it becomes obvious that we somehow need to elect a sufficient number of competent and progressive officials if we are to reverse our democracy’s backsliding into autocracy. From some previous comments that I submitted over the last few years, I became an accidental Substack writer (as “olddave”). I grew weary of always whining and opining with my comments and decided to do something about it instead. Since then, I developed a relatively simple project designed to help make our democracy work the way it should. I posted a summary of it on Substack under my new name (“rmdolddave”).
The first post, HOW TO MAKE AMERICA INTO A ROLE MODEL DEMOCRACY is an invitation for you and all the other Substack writers and readers to use our Constitutional rights to participate in a simple petition process as well as collaborate on the project’s content and processes. This petition is designed to compel our elected officials to meet their Constitutional purpose by having them first agree on the meaning of “Constitutional purpose,” plus they must acknowledge that as long as money is speech and corporations are people, we will continue to have a backsliding democracy. The second post, HOW TO MAKE AMERICA INTO A ROLE MODEL DEMOCRACY (LED BY A ROLE MODEL PRESIDENCY) is the home page content of the project’s website (under construction but viewable if you are interested, please let me know) and it describes what the project is all about.
The best proven strategy for stopping governments from engaging in tyrannical behavior is sustained nonviolent resistance. My plan that employs that strategy is laid out in the two posts I referenced. If you can think of a better plan that uses the strategy of sustained nonviolent resistance to make our democracy work the way it should, I would gladly fund it. Since this project is based almost entirely on the subjects and solutions that Thom Hartmann discusses daily, and he has the most thoughtful (and thought-filled) audience I’ve ever read, I wanted you to be the first to read it and get your feedback on how to make it better. In addition, if you do get a chance to read it, you will see that the project is designed to be open sourced and cooperative with significant opportunities to work together and (hopefully) make a lot of money. Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated, because I could sure use some thoughtful help.
Best of luck on the project, But the key word in sustained non violence is the word sustained.
Americans do't have the time or heart, much less funds for a sustained anything, except those things that threaten the Id and capture the Lizard brain (amygdala), fear, anger, angst are the great motivators witness: the success of Trump and his conservative cult
As regards protest causing change. Well that's a myth, and one that is concocted and perpetuated by the ruling class and their corporate media.
So long as protests are non violent and get out of hand they can tolerate them, unless you are Trump and his ilk.
Our elite and their corporate media, tout the example of Mahatma Ghandi and MLK.
But was not Ghandi, but the spirit of Subra Chandra Bose and the Indian National Army (INA)
That convinced Britain to pack up and leave and it wasn't MLK, but the civil disturbance caused by his death, that brought on some minuscule changes.
It wasn't protesters in Minneapolis that forced the city to charge, try and convict his murders but the financial damage done and threatened to be done by the protesters
All we have to do is look at history, ours and others, the only way to affect change is through violence or the threat of such. From the American Revolution, to the French and Bolshevik.
And one thing they all had in common was a Committee for Public Safety, even the name was copied. Started in Virginia by the Tidewater Aristocrats, to monitor and control the behaviors of "loyalists", it monitored suspects, disciplined and starved them, or tarred and feathered them and rode them out of county on a rail., then they bought pamphlets like Thomas Paine's, Common Sense and The Rights of Man, printed by Ben Franklin and Rittenhouse in Philadelphia, and distributed them throughout the colony of Virginia. The French and Bolsheviks did the same thing.
Thanks for your observations and I completely agree that the hard part of sustained nonviolent resistance is in the sustaining. The first phase of the project uses our right to petition to get our grievances redressed, and it starts with the most basic of requirements that guide any going concern, especially one the size of our government. Specifically, before we do anything else, we need to agree upon the Constitutional purpose of our elected officials to properly frame the relationship between us and them. As a citizen it is entirely reasonable to expect my elected officials to do their best to meet their Constitutional purpose. Of course, I am not so naïve to believe that that will happen under our current kakistocracy, but we first need to attract enough citizens to petition/poll their elected (and want to be elected) candidates for office so we can find citizens who will pledge to satisfy their Constitutional purpose. I also agree that protest actions alone are readily quashed by the morbidly rich but if used in strategic conjunction with some other of our Constitutional rights, I believe it can work. Please check out the posts I referenced at Substack's rmdolddave and I would appreciate it if you could share your opinion as to why it can’t work and perhaps how you would propose to fix things.
I really don't have any idea,considering the structure concepts and beliefs of America, not to mention the real power structure, our common enemy, the plutocrats. That word alone has little currency among the population, as though really don't understand can identify, the plutocrats. An alternative is the word oligarchs, but people only know that word, because of Russian oligarchs, but don't realize that they are a limited club. Whereas American oligarchs are a dime a dozen.
Here is how I put things together. Russia was a combine of 7 trusts organized along resources, like agriculture, transportation, chemical petroleum, timber, ,mining and the KGB, now the FSB, their trust was human resources, they provided labor for the gulags, industry, rail roads.
I learned this from a 1922 issue of the Fortnightly magazine,and that led to my analysis that incorporating papers, or agreements, were filed in Sweden and that is why the Soviet Union respected Swedens neutrality. In America our oligarchs don't dominate an industry, but portions of an industry, a cabal of sorts.
How does one fix our situation? By cleaning up government, unemploying the corrupted Congress critters, which infest both parties, Republican party is worse, but Democrats are as guilty. Forced into being co-conspirators because of the system our founding fathers created. Has led to this situation where money is considered speech, corporations are considered people, and what politician who wants to get re elected is going to go against their Santa Claus (check out Opensecrets.org ).
Conversation, communication, persuasion with the deplorables is impossible, they don't like being called deplorables, fascists, Maggots, or any other credible and accurate "slur", but they have earned the opprobrium.
So how do you change their minds? Unless they have undergone a change of environment, circumstance and friends or associates. You can't.
A slight confession. Until 1989 I was a hard right conservative, in part having spent 26 years in the military, in part being brainwashed an annual subscription to Readers Digest by mothers god mother, (that 26 years was living in a cloistered environment, in which the only thing you were exposed to is the Military Times, when I wasn't on deployment or on TDY (temporary duty) to some hot spot in the world (Have you heard of the 2nd Korean War, 1966-69), I earned an Expeditionary medal for my participation in it in 1969 (N Korea had funneled a test brigade or division through a tunnel which opened up on the Han River. I was part of an airborne operation (82nd Airborne) which was a show of force, that drove N. Korea back up the tunnel.
Want a solution, well there is the 1773 and the Boston Tea Party, which led to forcing Boston Merchants into smuggling, and being declared outlaws (making them criminals to be executed on sight ), John Hancock was the most famous and widely known of the merchants cum smugglers, that is why he signed the Declaration of Independence in large strokes.
The revolution started with the Landing of red coats in Boston and the march to Lexington and Concord, the real resistance started with the Snow Campaign in the winter of 74/75 in the assault of Fort 96, called the Snow Campaign, in ,what was later called Pendleton District, S.C. now Pickens and Oconee , after the Treaty of Paris in 1783., enabled S.C. to form a state, and punish all of the Loyalist militias, which outnumbered Patriots.
They overthrew the established order, with the help of the French, otherwise it would have failed.
Now we have the religious, racist fascists arming themselves to do the same, and Democrats and liberals are meekly sitting on their hands.
Do I have a solution, the only one that doesn't include violence, is motivating every person who will be victimized by these fascists to get out and vote to keep the fascists out of power, from the municipalities, to the Federal level.
Failing that, and even if that works, I feel that violence is coming at us,win or lose, especially win, from the khaki and white shirted racist, Christian right., and especially if they, despite the efforts of the Supreme Court and state legislatures, lose If they win, the "cleansing of America of the 'other" and the subjugation of women, will proceed at a slower pace, but the rabble of deplorables will see a win as their opportunity to rid America, or effectively re enslave, or place in our own gulags, those who aren't faithful Christians, LGBT, POC, and immigrants.
I do so hope I am wrong. If it comes to violence, the liberals, the left, the progressives have disarmed themselves, while the right has been building up personal and community arsenals of weapons and ammunition. They are fully armed and prepared for war, while our kind has by and large, self disarmed.
William, once again your comments are spot on as you identify the seemingly intractable problems that have been built into our democracy. (And thank you for your remarkable and always interesting array of information that supports your views.) Thom Hartmann’s rant about how the Republicans and their overlords are turbocharging their control over what their voters learn is yet another of their strategic efforts to maintain power. Our citizens who have been subsumed by the cult that Trump built (and that the oligarchs love to exploit) are driven by hate and intolerance and are unlikely to ever understand the actual purpose of our government. Since it would take some serious (and probably illegal) deprogramming to get them to recognize actual fact and evidence, it’s doubtful that they will change any time soon (Thomas Paine observed that trying to convince people like Trump’s cult members to use their critical thinking skills is futile, because “To argue with a person who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead.”). Therefore, we need to focus on citizens who would answer your question “How does one fix our situation?” with your observation, “By cleaning up government, unemploying the corrupted Congress critters, which infest both parties.”
Since traditional methods of fixing our situation are not working, my project is designed to use 21st century tech with our 1st Amendment rights and the knowledge that it takes 3.5% of us to stop the tyranny and build a democracy that works the way it should. But only if we make it easy (for sloth is pervasive in our society) and effective. With a simple online petition process, we can start by badgering our elected officials and candidates for office into agreeing to satisfy their Constitutional purpose (i.e., promote our general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty for us and our posterity), and have them acknowledge that the powers of corporate personhood (as you wrote “where money is considered speech, corporations are considered people”) must be nullified. We just need 12 million citizens to submit that petition to all of their elected representatives and candidates for office and pledge their votes to only those candidates who agree. What do you think would occur if we could make that happen?
Link please. You have me interested, though a skeptic, as we are a plutocracy (an elite or ruling class of people whose power derives from their wealth.
"officials were drawn from the new plutocracy, we were a plutocracy from the beginning, but evolved into a Democracy, not vice versa, and that is why we have 27 Amendments
However nothing tried is nothing gained. So worth the effort.
I can’t thank you enough for offering to look at the two posts, because your remarkable wealth of subject matter knowledge (and your well-honed skepticism) is exactly what is needed to get the project going.
Since I have never been able to get a link to work in the comments, and I am a complete novice when it comes to all things Substack, please forgive me for not sending you the actual html links but just the text of them. If you know of another way that I can send the actual html links to you, please let me know. Otherwise, your critique and any other thoughts you might have about the project would be greatly appreciated. And if you're interested, I think you will see some opportunities for you to benefit from collaborating. Thanks again.
I agree. Knowing some Trump humpers, I finally told them that anyone who votes for dictatorship deserves one and that I cannot help anyone that will not help themselves. I told them what dictatorships can do and what they have already done with neoliberalism including socialized healthcare interest on the national debt unfunded wars offshore banking corporate welfare Bank bailout wasted military spending etc. When you tell them that they deserve a dictatorship it kind of sinks in on them. All they want to think about is, getting back at the liberals for abusing them so much. They haven't seen abuse yet, spoiled rotten cupcakes with their semi-automatic rifles and some automatic... Also I think we could saturate the airways with the truth about what the autocrats really want and what they have done and how the Republican voters are being abused and manipulated manipulated. If that don't work, only violence will. Quite frankly, most Democrats and Republicans are living on a different planet but at least the Republicans own the weapons.
You can bet Rep. Jordan, who was a scholastic wrestling coach, is still thinking like one. It's all about pinning your opponent to the mat. He can stop their direct work that exposes lies, but he can't stop them from teaching others how to do it.
Has Elon Musk gone from game-changer to flame-thrower? This CCDH suit seems to confirm he's doing the opposite of what he says he intends. That makes him a modern Republican for sure---another tedious rich-guy throwing his weight around. What a shame. He does help good causes and says he won't leave his money to his children. I hope he understands the Howard Hughes' story did not have a happy ending.
TRUTH is how we kick their ass and don't they know it!
And the left doesn't have the money to buy commercials even cheap commercials on the antenna TV channels that the Trump humpers like to watch. I live in the south so I know. Phoenix isn't the South but rural Arizona is the South. Even north of Phoenix.
Surely there must be better strategies for ensuring our ability to learn the truth and be able to dispel misinformation than to bemoan the power of Jim Jordan. Of course, Jordan take orders from where all Republicans get their instructions. Remember how in his higher functioning days, Mitch McConnell would march out with announcements accompanied by Thune, Cornyn, Barrasso, all of who would split into many twosomes? back when Lindsey Graham and John McCain were among the twosomes? It was so obvious that they were all directed on what to say and how to say it; and each of the twosomes had a different mission. Wherever the orders came from, we can be sure money came as an accompaniment. So, the Republicans have STRATEGIES. How can Democrats summon legal brilliance to counteract the threats to investigating and uncovering falsification of news?
So, here are a few things for the fact checkers. I've run through this numerous times on Michelangelo's weekend Substack.
If you look at Federal Taxes Paid by state versus Federal Spending Received by state, the Tax Foundation and the Rockefeller Institute being two excellent sources providing 41 years of data, you will notice that as of 2005 (Tax Foundation), there were 19 states paying more federal taxes than they received in federal spending. Lets call these states Donor states. Among those: Washington, California, New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Connecticut. Which would leave 31 states you could call Welfare states.
Moving up to 2015 (Rockefeller), there were 13 states paying more federal tax than they received in federal spending. 37 Welfare states.
Moving on to 2019 (Rockefeller), there were 10 Donor states. Washington, California, Utah, Colorado, Nebraska, Illinois, New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Connecticut. 8 Blue states, 2 Red.
Looking at 2021, with Covid dollars removed, there were 8 Donor states, Washington, California, Utah, New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Connecticut & New Hampshire. Now we've got 42 Welfare states. 19 Donor states in 2005, 8 Donor states in 2021. Noticing a trend?
Also, notice the 6 Blue Donor states that have been there for all 41 years. Another trend.
As of 2015, there were 16 states with absolutely no history of ever paying more federal taxes than they received in federal spending. To name just a few: Alabama, Arizona, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia.
The champion of these, Mississippi, averaged $2.14 in Federal Spending from 1981 thru 2019. 2015 thru 2021, Kentucky has been the clear champion in taking Donor State money, averaging $2.69.
If someone wants to check these 'facts', have at it. Tom should know what I'm talking about here. He wrote an article not too long ago on essentially the same thing. He just didn't include all the data. If you Google this topic, there have been numerous articles written over the years, all saying essentially the same thing: the Blue Donor states pay for the Red Welfare states. If you want to phrase it differently, you could say the successful Blue Donor states pay for the failed Red Socialist states. That's what the data shows.
So what can you do with this? The Red states, save for one, are failures? The Red states, save for one, are Welfare states? The Red states, save for one, are Socialists? What other conclusion can you to reach with the economic data? The vast majority of the Red states only exist with the massive subsidies from the successful Blue Donor states. Ron DeSantis likes to shoot his mouth off about Florida's 'surplus'. He wants to make every state like Florida. So, in 2019, Florida paid $205.7 billion in Federal Taxes. According to Rockefeller, they received $1.24 in Federal spending, which translates to $255 billion dollars. 49 billion dollars in free money from Washington, California, New York, New Jersey, etc. That's a success? Not in any business I'm familiar with! If the country was actually run like a business, what do businesses usually do with divisions that are under performing? Shut them down. So, what do we do with all these Red states who are underperforming?
And these are the states trying to turn the U.S. into some form of 1930's Germany. You know, that country that lost the War. These same people want to align with Putin and Russia. Go look at a map of Russia/Asia. South Korea is that little country across from Japan. South Korea's economy is bigger than Russia's. Success is right there in front of these people, yet the extreme moron Republicans seem bound and determined to align themselves with failure.
This is true Thom, but you are part of the cabal on the other side who shouts down the fact checkers on Ukraine, Biden's health and any other reality that runs counter to the critical thinking you frame as circling the wagons. I don't think it's naivete that compels you to compare Biden to FDR or pretend that his means-tested proposals created as campaign fodder will ever see the light of day.
Bullseye. This falls to all of us. This is our moment in history to shoulder the fight for democracy the globe over. I've said it before: No one and nothing is coming to save us. We find ourselves, and ourselves only - as the last line of defense against greed, hate, deceit, and all other pestilence of the MAGA trash heap. Putin, MBS, and Jinping are all-in on murdering democracy - and they have found loud allies in today's GOP. We must not be the Chamberlain's of the 21st century. It's far beyond time to wake the hell up. We are the people who will determine whether democracy emerges from hospice, or continues to be hauled to a cemetery plot.
I fully agree either way you, John. We have to fight Trump, and his MAGA movement either every ounce of our being. If we dint get the people to the polls in these next elections between now, and eight years from now, we will lose our democracy. We will lose our Constitution. We will lose all of our freedoms that we have left. This country will have been taken over by the likes of Vladimir Putin, and his sidekick, Donald J. Trump. It will be a communist country under a totally different flag!
Oh heavens. Americans need to blame someone who is not American!
All the years that Am's did not vote because they were in 'cloud cuckoo land' while mega corporations moved in for the kill.
YOU still deny this and vote for Biden?
...no denial // yes, biden if he is not convinced to hand potus to cory
booker, ca governor, hakeem jeffries...whom wd you support instead jenny? jim jordan?
Perhaps there is a small amount of blame on people not voting but in case you haven’t been paying attention, there is a major effort to prevent voters who don’t vote Republican, from voting. Mostly in minority communities, university communities, as well as early or mail in voting. Decreasing the number of polling sites to dissuade voters. Luckily several swing states are run by Dems so it looks like Biden will prevail.
I can see you have drank the MAGA Kool-aid! So sad. Another fool lost to MAGA-lies. Hopefully, someday you, and the other followers of the Celt will come to your senses.
By the way, young MAGA lady, the evidence is quite clear. And you can rest assured if I print it on here, it’s gospel!
Your Fearless Leader, your Dictator wannabe, your Treasonous Traitor, Frumpy, the 🍓💩🤡 that has all you 🐑🐑🐑🐑🐑 drinking from his little trough every time he opens his lying mouth, is doing nothing but soaking all you 🐑🐑🐑🐑🐑 for everything he can get. He’s not collecting that money from you people for his legal bills, or his campaign. He’s putting it in his pocket. He doesn’t pay his bills. He never has, never will.
Yes, his first wife was the daughter of a Russian Oligarch who had strong ties to the KGB, and to one of its upper leaders, Vladimir Putin. As Putin rose in power, your fearless traitor become best buddies, making numerous trips to Russia with his wife, meeting with all the Russian Oligarchy. And after they helped him get his ejection win in 2016, which has also been well proven, and documented, he began sending our Top Secret, Classified, and Secret documents to Putin, and other upper Russian leaders, by courier. Thus courier was a sitting Senator! That also has been well documented, and proven.
So, just keep sucking your kool-aid from Frumpy. I’m sure he greatly appreciates it a lot. Especially your money!
But, do me a favor. Do cone a me talking about President Biden. At least anything except the good he’s done gif this nation since he took over from the disaster it was left in. You, my dear uninformed sheep of a treasonous traitor, have absolutely no clue what you are talking about, and like every because in your cult, you can prove a damn thing! All gab, no show proof.
EXCUSE me .........I loathe and detest Trump.
You put your OWN fears on others.
Your "American Dream" which was propaganda is fast flowing down the drains.
Unhinged male.
Rubbish.
It is the Americans who have caused this.
I do not want Americans telling us about "democracy" since you have NOT had a democracy for a long time.
IF you have a 2 party system (paid for by oligarchs) this is not democracy.
Leave out China and Russia. YOU yourselves have gotten into this mess because for years you were happy/buying/not voting/not caring about education.
We are NOT the same in Europe.
Yes we have right wing forces now but at least we don't have 2 party's who can only run on money.
YOU America have screwed the world with your endless 'coups' and 'warmongering.'
Thank you Peter for this.
I am derided and mocked for my views but it is the truth.
I just wish Europe would grow a 'spine' and tell the USA to f9ck off."
Our society here is crumbling too, mainly because we 'tethered' ourselves to the USA.
Luckily we have multiple 'party's' at the moment and just hope the 'right' agenda doesn't win. Spain has shown us we can do it.
Le Pen is like the old British conservatives (NOTHING like the US Republicans) but is a threat.
Too late. Dems are no different!
NOT just the Maga trash heap....Biden too.
It seems a major factor in the fact-checkers decision to capitulate to the pressure and hold their fire against the lies is their concern about the legal cost to them for doing there jobs.
What is needed at this time is for the legal profession to come forward, with the willingness to provide representation to the fact-checkers pro-bono. If they only see this as an opportunity for enrichment, rather than as a threat to their own ability to function within an authoritarian state, then as they are being marched off to the Gulags, they will be the last to utter "where is anyone to defend me!"
You do realize don't you. That legal profession is by nature and constitutionally conservative. You would be hard pressed to find a true liberal like Chutkan.
Yes, I realize that probably the vast majority of those who are materially well off have greater reason to be conservative than liberal. But, is fostering minority rule, with its history of oppression and exploitation, really squashing human potential or fostering its expansion? Conservatives like to applaud what passes for America's greatness, but seem to be unable to comprehend the concept that perhaps we would be a much greater nation today if blacks were not first enslaved, then Jim Crowed; if women were enfranchised and educated to the degree of their male counterparts; if gays were not socially closeted but allowed to flourish in whatever area of their choice--considering their success in the areas were they have flourished, one can only imagine.
The good news is that it seems to be an integral feature of human nature to resist these oppressions and demand that their humanity be recognized and respected. If "two roads diverged in a yellow wood" and humanistic democracy is "the road less traveled by" those who choose that path have and will make "all the difference".
I gave your reply, Michael an upvote. I so much agree with what you said, but the optimism of humans, well that is another story, in that regard history is not on your side, we are where we at (good and bad) because of human nature.For instance the truth is that we have lots of fresh fruits and meats, not to mention packaged goods, because men seeking to feed their families, survive and flourish were industrious innovators who took a chance (or failed and starve).
The negative side of that, is that in order to survive they needed money to expand, and would borrow only as a last resort, mostly they sold stock in their company, and eventually the a stock holder, usually another company, bought them out, and they became a monopoly (such was how JD Rockefeller became a robber baron, same with Carnegie and the RR and industrial barons, what we call oligarchs today.
Result is that corporations became an organism, with one motive as do all organisms to survive and flourish, to protect themselves by eliminating the competition and feeding on the prey (consumers and workers). They became a collective overseen by a board of directors who were themselves, CEO's or members of other board of directors. I imagine that most are members of an exclusive club, and are handsomely rewarded for serving on many BoD's
Germany for one, IIRC, and Denmark and Norway. require labor to be represented on BoD;s,but in the US labor is the drones of the anthive.like that asshole of a cop in Seatle said (also the VP of the cop union), Write her family a $11,000 check (another cop had run over and killed her) because she was only 26 and of no value (followed by raucous laughter) The MFer, like all of his ilk doesn't see the irony, because cops are at the lowest rung of the social ladder, and don't get paid that much either.
... jfk's poet laureate ...good choice
Yes I can agree with this BUT why do people become Lawyers? I think it is mostly because of money?
I would love to see some lawyers doing "pro bono" on fact checking but this is NOT why they came into Law. I wish this could happen.
...good idea
where do we start?
Talk about Evil. These Lying Republicans led by that criminal Jim Jordan , McCarthy, Matt Gaetz, my god , they are all criminals. Trump their Chief Liar has groomed them well having sought help from Putin , inviting Viktor Orban to address their convention for liars. They’ve sought tips on creating chaos and eliminating people that they oppose.
These people will stop at nothing to push their crooked efforts at fascism. Donald Trump and now it seems many of his devious supporters are aware they cannot win so they’ve gone under the tutelage of the worst people in the world.
Their quest for power has taken their souls . All led by Putins puppet Trump.
I agree but this has more to do with the American people than Putin OR XI.
You people left your country 'wide-open' by not voting etc.
Only now you are becoming acquainted with Politics and look at the mess you have made. Living in 'La-la' land and thinking the US was wonderful.
You have started wars/coup d'etats because you hated Socialism and were brainwashed.
You the people are to blame.
Ms. Stokes, you are correct. For the most part we brought it on ourselves. I have an allegory with which I entertain myself. The Ford Model A was the best designed automobile ever. But I judge it by the standards of its time. By those standards it was and is, the best. I can go into the reasons for why I make this judgement. I am an automobile junky who grew up in Detroit and worked for three Auto makers in my youth while saving money for college tuition. But my reasons are not important. Here the allegory is the story. The U.S. constitution was the best design for national organization. But it too must be judged by the standards of its time. Today there are, I suspect, better designs, especially in Europe.
So, we began ahead of the rest. But, like the Model A, we have been outrun by others. The standards have changed. Furthermore, during the race we failed to take care of what we had.
Ms Botatroll,
This is not a response for you, but for actual readers...
1) Other than the US, who would you like telling you about democracy? Putin? Orban? MBS? Jinping?
2) The actual people of the US do not like the 2 party system, as t is ripe for conflict. We are pursuing alternatives (ranked-choice, instant run off, etc..) and are able to do so because, wait for it... We in live in a democracy.
3) I won't argue that the people of the US have had a troubled history with voting, consumerism, and anti-intellectualism. That's not disputed. But to "Leave out China and Russia" in a discussion about authoritarianism and anti-democratic regimes...? Hahaha. Sorry.
4) Yes, right wing forces are spreading like gangrene across the body of global politics. However, I don't see the logic in "Yes we have right wing forces now but at least we don't have 2 party's..." I mean, does it matter how the Nazi's come to town? No. Whichever non 2 party system you're referring to (maybe you could share?), apparently it sucks all the same.
5) And you believe, that somehow, should the MAGA disease steal power in the US - snuggling intimately with the world's most disgusting regimes along the way - there will be peace?
Foolish.
Kellyanne Conway inaugurated "alternative facts" as a way of dodging the truth in politics. AFs are now, thanks to Trumpism, a substitute for truth among most Republicans. AFs work because most people have reduced the resulting painful dissonance between verifiable facts and GOP confabulations by retreating to news-source bubbles. If all your news comes from FoxNews and the Gateway Pundit, at best, you have been instructed on how to discount unpalatable facts - sometimes garnished with a Tuckeresque psychotic giggle to color the fact as silly.
The other day I watched several middle-aged working-class men wearing MAGA ball caps loudly proclaim that Congress needs to cut social security to reduce the deficit. It apparently never occurred to them that they will likely depend on an SSA pension to survive as early as age 62. Factchecks help to point out lies and spins by politicians, but their audience is likely to include few Republicans who need it the most. The cognitive dissonance is for them unpleasant rather than informative.
Shame on Stanford and the NIH for caving into Gym Jordan and the right. Another example of cowardice being the core of society
Thanks yet again Thom . . . maddening.
btw, did Elon rename that thing to X, or Xi?
Better check that logo . . .
best luck to US -- b.rad
As a self-proclaimed free thinker, I have never liked liars. The rich fascist who don't want to pay taxes or share, are attacking the truth and reality using their own media, counting on there being almost nobody home. Apparently, there is almost "NOBODY" home. The citizens worldwide have been indoctrinated since childhood, that believing makes stuff true. We can thank the churches for the lack of critical thinking. Religious fairy tales being taught as truth, makes it possible for the dictators to lie and worm their way into power with the help from the greedy, inhuman, sadistic rich. In almost all societies, for thousands of years. Free speech does not mean one has the right to spout lies! Why aren't any citizens being flogged for lying? Religious citizens know that they would be flogged, for lying. About 80% of earthlings cannot handle the truth, and are not rational thinkers. IMHO! Without rational thinking, the majority of earthlings are like a ship lost in the ocean without a compass. Most were created that way in the name of "GOD". Once past the age of two or three, few can be rehabilitated. Their spirits were broken by abusive parents and the rest of the society that condones it! Even the rich ones.
I cringe every time I hear someone on the left and right, especially assholes like Bill Maher and Donald Trump whine about free speech. Even the White house website, obfuscates.
The only thing the 1st Amendment says about speech and assembly, is that CONGRESS shall make no law abridging the right. There is nothing in it about Universities, corporations, people (left or right), saying anything, save that they can't threaten somebody, public or private or maliciously (that is with intention) sully their reputation, that is why Trump gets away with all kinds of lies and threats.
Conservatives, especially MAGGOTs, know that, and thus indulge in threats and slander with no penalty. and that is what is meant by the Heritage and Federalist society's "originalism", they want to negate all 27 Amendments and return to the "good ole days" when property owning white "Christian" men, ran the country
Money is the GOD in the US!
Thom’s rant today is like most of his (and his team’s) excellent dissertations on the state of our democracy. Regardless of the subject matter in his always excellent dissertations, it becomes obvious that we somehow need to elect a sufficient number of competent and progressive officials if we are to reverse our democracy’s backsliding into autocracy. From some previous comments that I submitted over the last few years, I became an accidental Substack writer (as “olddave”). I grew weary of always whining and opining with my comments and decided to do something about it instead. Since then, I developed a relatively simple project designed to help make our democracy work the way it should. I posted a summary of it on Substack under my new name (“rmdolddave”).
The first post, HOW TO MAKE AMERICA INTO A ROLE MODEL DEMOCRACY is an invitation for you and all the other Substack writers and readers to use our Constitutional rights to participate in a simple petition process as well as collaborate on the project’s content and processes. This petition is designed to compel our elected officials to meet their Constitutional purpose by having them first agree on the meaning of “Constitutional purpose,” plus they must acknowledge that as long as money is speech and corporations are people, we will continue to have a backsliding democracy. The second post, HOW TO MAKE AMERICA INTO A ROLE MODEL DEMOCRACY (LED BY A ROLE MODEL PRESIDENCY) is the home page content of the project’s website (under construction but viewable if you are interested, please let me know) and it describes what the project is all about.
The best proven strategy for stopping governments from engaging in tyrannical behavior is sustained nonviolent resistance. My plan that employs that strategy is laid out in the two posts I referenced. If you can think of a better plan that uses the strategy of sustained nonviolent resistance to make our democracy work the way it should, I would gladly fund it. Since this project is based almost entirely on the subjects and solutions that Thom Hartmann discusses daily, and he has the most thoughtful (and thought-filled) audience I’ve ever read, I wanted you to be the first to read it and get your feedback on how to make it better. In addition, if you do get a chance to read it, you will see that the project is designed to be open sourced and cooperative with significant opportunities to work together and (hopefully) make a lot of money. Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated, because I could sure use some thoughtful help.
Best of luck on the project, But the key word in sustained non violence is the word sustained.
Americans do't have the time or heart, much less funds for a sustained anything, except those things that threaten the Id and capture the Lizard brain (amygdala), fear, anger, angst are the great motivators witness: the success of Trump and his conservative cult
As regards protest causing change. Well that's a myth, and one that is concocted and perpetuated by the ruling class and their corporate media.
So long as protests are non violent and get out of hand they can tolerate them, unless you are Trump and his ilk.
Our elite and their corporate media, tout the example of Mahatma Ghandi and MLK.
But was not Ghandi, but the spirit of Subra Chandra Bose and the Indian National Army (INA)
That convinced Britain to pack up and leave and it wasn't MLK, but the civil disturbance caused by his death, that brought on some minuscule changes.
It wasn't protesters in Minneapolis that forced the city to charge, try and convict his murders but the financial damage done and threatened to be done by the protesters
All we have to do is look at history, ours and others, the only way to affect change is through violence or the threat of such. From the American Revolution, to the French and Bolshevik.
And one thing they all had in common was a Committee for Public Safety, even the name was copied. Started in Virginia by the Tidewater Aristocrats, to monitor and control the behaviors of "loyalists", it monitored suspects, disciplined and starved them, or tarred and feathered them and rode them out of county on a rail., then they bought pamphlets like Thomas Paine's, Common Sense and The Rights of Man, printed by Ben Franklin and Rittenhouse in Philadelphia, and distributed them throughout the colony of Virginia. The French and Bolsheviks did the same thing.
Thanks for your observations and I completely agree that the hard part of sustained nonviolent resistance is in the sustaining. The first phase of the project uses our right to petition to get our grievances redressed, and it starts with the most basic of requirements that guide any going concern, especially one the size of our government. Specifically, before we do anything else, we need to agree upon the Constitutional purpose of our elected officials to properly frame the relationship between us and them. As a citizen it is entirely reasonable to expect my elected officials to do their best to meet their Constitutional purpose. Of course, I am not so naïve to believe that that will happen under our current kakistocracy, but we first need to attract enough citizens to petition/poll their elected (and want to be elected) candidates for office so we can find citizens who will pledge to satisfy their Constitutional purpose. I also agree that protest actions alone are readily quashed by the morbidly rich but if used in strategic conjunction with some other of our Constitutional rights, I believe it can work. Please check out the posts I referenced at Substack's rmdolddave and I would appreciate it if you could share your opinion as to why it can’t work and perhaps how you would propose to fix things.
I really don't have any idea,considering the structure concepts and beliefs of America, not to mention the real power structure, our common enemy, the plutocrats. That word alone has little currency among the population, as though really don't understand can identify, the plutocrats. An alternative is the word oligarchs, but people only know that word, because of Russian oligarchs, but don't realize that they are a limited club. Whereas American oligarchs are a dime a dozen.
Here is how I put things together. Russia was a combine of 7 trusts organized along resources, like agriculture, transportation, chemical petroleum, timber, ,mining and the KGB, now the FSB, their trust was human resources, they provided labor for the gulags, industry, rail roads.
I learned this from a 1922 issue of the Fortnightly magazine,and that led to my analysis that incorporating papers, or agreements, were filed in Sweden and that is why the Soviet Union respected Swedens neutrality. In America our oligarchs don't dominate an industry, but portions of an industry, a cabal of sorts.
How does one fix our situation? By cleaning up government, unemploying the corrupted Congress critters, which infest both parties, Republican party is worse, but Democrats are as guilty. Forced into being co-conspirators because of the system our founding fathers created. Has led to this situation where money is considered speech, corporations are considered people, and what politician who wants to get re elected is going to go against their Santa Claus (check out Opensecrets.org ).
Conversation, communication, persuasion with the deplorables is impossible, they don't like being called deplorables, fascists, Maggots, or any other credible and accurate "slur", but they have earned the opprobrium.
So how do you change their minds? Unless they have undergone a change of environment, circumstance and friends or associates. You can't.
A slight confession. Until 1989 I was a hard right conservative, in part having spent 26 years in the military, in part being brainwashed an annual subscription to Readers Digest by mothers god mother, (that 26 years was living in a cloistered environment, in which the only thing you were exposed to is the Military Times, when I wasn't on deployment or on TDY (temporary duty) to some hot spot in the world (Have you heard of the 2nd Korean War, 1966-69), I earned an Expeditionary medal for my participation in it in 1969 (N Korea had funneled a test brigade or division through a tunnel which opened up on the Han River. I was part of an airborne operation (82nd Airborne) which was a show of force, that drove N. Korea back up the tunnel.
Want a solution, well there is the 1773 and the Boston Tea Party, which led to forcing Boston Merchants into smuggling, and being declared outlaws (making them criminals to be executed on sight ), John Hancock was the most famous and widely known of the merchants cum smugglers, that is why he signed the Declaration of Independence in large strokes.
The revolution started with the Landing of red coats in Boston and the march to Lexington and Concord, the real resistance started with the Snow Campaign in the winter of 74/75 in the assault of Fort 96, called the Snow Campaign, in ,what was later called Pendleton District, S.C. now Pickens and Oconee , after the Treaty of Paris in 1783., enabled S.C. to form a state, and punish all of the Loyalist militias, which outnumbered Patriots.
They overthrew the established order, with the help of the French, otherwise it would have failed.
Now we have the religious, racist fascists arming themselves to do the same, and Democrats and liberals are meekly sitting on their hands.
Do I have a solution, the only one that doesn't include violence, is motivating every person who will be victimized by these fascists to get out and vote to keep the fascists out of power, from the municipalities, to the Federal level.
Failing that, and even if that works, I feel that violence is coming at us,win or lose, especially win, from the khaki and white shirted racist, Christian right., and especially if they, despite the efforts of the Supreme Court and state legislatures, lose If they win, the "cleansing of America of the 'other" and the subjugation of women, will proceed at a slower pace, but the rabble of deplorables will see a win as their opportunity to rid America, or effectively re enslave, or place in our own gulags, those who aren't faithful Christians, LGBT, POC, and immigrants.
I do so hope I am wrong. If it comes to violence, the liberals, the left, the progressives have disarmed themselves, while the right has been building up personal and community arsenals of weapons and ammunition. They are fully armed and prepared for war, while our kind has by and large, self disarmed.
William, once again your comments are spot on as you identify the seemingly intractable problems that have been built into our democracy. (And thank you for your remarkable and always interesting array of information that supports your views.) Thom Hartmann’s rant about how the Republicans and their overlords are turbocharging their control over what their voters learn is yet another of their strategic efforts to maintain power. Our citizens who have been subsumed by the cult that Trump built (and that the oligarchs love to exploit) are driven by hate and intolerance and are unlikely to ever understand the actual purpose of our government. Since it would take some serious (and probably illegal) deprogramming to get them to recognize actual fact and evidence, it’s doubtful that they will change any time soon (Thomas Paine observed that trying to convince people like Trump’s cult members to use their critical thinking skills is futile, because “To argue with a person who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead.”). Therefore, we need to focus on citizens who would answer your question “How does one fix our situation?” with your observation, “By cleaning up government, unemploying the corrupted Congress critters, which infest both parties.”
Since traditional methods of fixing our situation are not working, my project is designed to use 21st century tech with our 1st Amendment rights and the knowledge that it takes 3.5% of us to stop the tyranny and build a democracy that works the way it should. But only if we make it easy (for sloth is pervasive in our society) and effective. With a simple online petition process, we can start by badgering our elected officials and candidates for office into agreeing to satisfy their Constitutional purpose (i.e., promote our general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty for us and our posterity), and have them acknowledge that the powers of corporate personhood (as you wrote “where money is considered speech, corporations are considered people”) must be nullified. We just need 12 million citizens to submit that petition to all of their elected representatives and candidates for office and pledge their votes to only those candidates who agree. What do you think would occur if we could make that happen?
Link please. You have me interested, though a skeptic, as we are a plutocracy (an elite or ruling class of people whose power derives from their wealth.
"officials were drawn from the new plutocracy, we were a plutocracy from the beginning, but evolved into a Democracy, not vice versa, and that is why we have 27 Amendments
However nothing tried is nothing gained. So worth the effort.
William,
Here are the two Substack posts that I published under rmdolddave (HOW TO MAKE AMERICA INTO A ROLE MODEL DEMOCRACY please find it linked at https://rmdolddave.substack.com/publish/posts/detail/136029169?referrer=%2Fpublish%2Fposts and HOW TO MAKE AMERICA INTO A ROLE MODEL DEMOCRACY (LED BY A ROLE MODEL PRESIDENCY) linked at: https://rmdolddave.substack.com/publish/posts/detail/136029451?referrer=%2Fpublish%2Fposts).
I can’t thank you enough for offering to look at the two posts, because your remarkable wealth of subject matter knowledge (and your well-honed skepticism) is exactly what is needed to get the project going.
Since I have never been able to get a link to work in the comments, and I am a complete novice when it comes to all things Substack, please forgive me for not sending you the actual html links but just the text of them. If you know of another way that I can send the actual html links to you, please let me know. Otherwise, your critique and any other thoughts you might have about the project would be greatly appreciated. And if you're interested, I think you will see some opportunities for you to benefit from collaborating. Thanks again.
I agree. Knowing some Trump humpers, I finally told them that anyone who votes for dictatorship deserves one and that I cannot help anyone that will not help themselves. I told them what dictatorships can do and what they have already done with neoliberalism including socialized healthcare interest on the national debt unfunded wars offshore banking corporate welfare Bank bailout wasted military spending etc. When you tell them that they deserve a dictatorship it kind of sinks in on them. All they want to think about is, getting back at the liberals for abusing them so much. They haven't seen abuse yet, spoiled rotten cupcakes with their semi-automatic rifles and some automatic... Also I think we could saturate the airways with the truth about what the autocrats really want and what they have done and how the Republican voters are being abused and manipulated manipulated. If that don't work, only violence will. Quite frankly, most Democrats and Republicans are living on a different planet but at least the Republicans own the weapons.
You can bet Rep. Jordan, who was a scholastic wrestling coach, is still thinking like one. It's all about pinning your opponent to the mat. He can stop their direct work that exposes lies, but he can't stop them from teaching others how to do it.
Has Elon Musk gone from game-changer to flame-thrower? This CCDH suit seems to confirm he's doing the opposite of what he says he intends. That makes him a modern Republican for sure---another tedious rich-guy throwing his weight around. What a shame. He does help good causes and says he won't leave his money to his children. I hope he understands the Howard Hughes' story did not have a happy ending.
TRUTH is how we kick their ass and don't they know it!
And the left doesn't have the money to buy commercials even cheap commercials on the antenna TV channels that the Trump humpers like to watch. I live in the south so I know. Phoenix isn't the South but rural Arizona is the South. Even north of Phoenix.
Surely there must be better strategies for ensuring our ability to learn the truth and be able to dispel misinformation than to bemoan the power of Jim Jordan. Of course, Jordan take orders from where all Republicans get their instructions. Remember how in his higher functioning days, Mitch McConnell would march out with announcements accompanied by Thune, Cornyn, Barrasso, all of who would split into many twosomes? back when Lindsey Graham and John McCain were among the twosomes? It was so obvious that they were all directed on what to say and how to say it; and each of the twosomes had a different mission. Wherever the orders came from, we can be sure money came as an accompaniment. So, the Republicans have STRATEGIES. How can Democrats summon legal brilliance to counteract the threats to investigating and uncovering falsification of news?
So, here are a few things for the fact checkers. I've run through this numerous times on Michelangelo's weekend Substack.
If you look at Federal Taxes Paid by state versus Federal Spending Received by state, the Tax Foundation and the Rockefeller Institute being two excellent sources providing 41 years of data, you will notice that as of 2005 (Tax Foundation), there were 19 states paying more federal taxes than they received in federal spending. Lets call these states Donor states. Among those: Washington, California, New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Connecticut. Which would leave 31 states you could call Welfare states.
Moving up to 2015 (Rockefeller), there were 13 states paying more federal tax than they received in federal spending. 37 Welfare states.
Moving on to 2019 (Rockefeller), there were 10 Donor states. Washington, California, Utah, Colorado, Nebraska, Illinois, New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Connecticut. 8 Blue states, 2 Red.
Looking at 2021, with Covid dollars removed, there were 8 Donor states, Washington, California, Utah, New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Connecticut & New Hampshire. Now we've got 42 Welfare states. 19 Donor states in 2005, 8 Donor states in 2021. Noticing a trend?
Also, notice the 6 Blue Donor states that have been there for all 41 years. Another trend.
As of 2015, there were 16 states with absolutely no history of ever paying more federal taxes than they received in federal spending. To name just a few: Alabama, Arizona, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia.
The champion of these, Mississippi, averaged $2.14 in Federal Spending from 1981 thru 2019. 2015 thru 2021, Kentucky has been the clear champion in taking Donor State money, averaging $2.69.
If someone wants to check these 'facts', have at it. Tom should know what I'm talking about here. He wrote an article not too long ago on essentially the same thing. He just didn't include all the data. If you Google this topic, there have been numerous articles written over the years, all saying essentially the same thing: the Blue Donor states pay for the Red Welfare states. If you want to phrase it differently, you could say the successful Blue Donor states pay for the failed Red Socialist states. That's what the data shows.
So what can you do with this? The Red states, save for one, are failures? The Red states, save for one, are Welfare states? The Red states, save for one, are Socialists? What other conclusion can you to reach with the economic data? The vast majority of the Red states only exist with the massive subsidies from the successful Blue Donor states. Ron DeSantis likes to shoot his mouth off about Florida's 'surplus'. He wants to make every state like Florida. So, in 2019, Florida paid $205.7 billion in Federal Taxes. According to Rockefeller, they received $1.24 in Federal spending, which translates to $255 billion dollars. 49 billion dollars in free money from Washington, California, New York, New Jersey, etc. That's a success? Not in any business I'm familiar with! If the country was actually run like a business, what do businesses usually do with divisions that are under performing? Shut them down. So, what do we do with all these Red states who are underperforming?
And these are the states trying to turn the U.S. into some form of 1930's Germany. You know, that country that lost the War. These same people want to align with Putin and Russia. Go look at a map of Russia/Asia. South Korea is that little country across from Japan. South Korea's economy is bigger than Russia's. Success is right there in front of these people, yet the extreme moron Republicans seem bound and determined to align themselves with failure.
My Substack site shows you as a subscriber so I will try to figure out how we can make this work. Thanks
This is true Thom, but you are part of the cabal on the other side who shouts down the fact checkers on Ukraine, Biden's health and any other reality that runs counter to the critical thinking you frame as circling the wagons. I don't think it's naivete that compels you to compare Biden to FDR or pretend that his means-tested proposals created as campaign fodder will ever see the light of day.
I've heard fact checkers say Trump lies so fast, they can't even keep track of all of his lies.