Great description of the differences between Red States and Blue States and why citizens of red states have a more challenging time in all those categories. The part that explains why the Republicans hate food stamps, housing supports, and anything they call "welfare" to reduce the desperation of people who might otherwise be easily forced to work for a pittance; I would include that people are already working for a pittance and need the taxpayer's help in addition to their wages. That is how Walmart and other low-paying employers get away with paying such low wages. Years ago, I heard that Walmart assisted their employees in applying for food stamps and Medicaid.
We voted by absentee ballot yesterday. There were only two Democrats on the ballot: Harris/Walz and the auditor. We are a Republican County in a Democratic state. Our longevity is lower than that of the counties in the rest of the state, including Cook County, and the longevity of the United States is lower than that of other developed countries in the world, along with other health measures. We're number 30 in the world.
I can't resist humbly posting this , again: Dickens, "A Christmas Carol," edited for length: “At this festive season of the year, Mr. Scrooge,...... Many thousands are in want of common necessaries; hundreds of thousands are in want of common comforts, sir.” “Are there no prisons?” asked Scrooge. "Plenty of prisons," said the gentleman. “And the Union workhouses?” demanded Scrooge. “The Treadmill and the Poor Law, then? .... “I was afraid, from what you said at first, that something had occurred to stop them in their useful course,” said Scrooge. ....Returned the gentleman, “a few of us are endeavouring to raise a fund to buy the Poor some meat and drink, and means of warmth. We choose this time, because it is a time, of all others, when Want is keenly felt, and Abundance rejoices. What shall I put you down for?” “Nothing!” Scrooge replied. “If they (happen to) die,” ....“they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population.”
One almost wonders whether it is a "norm" of human society: destitute workers, and keeping
them destitute, and even "managing" the population. A couple of decades of different values in governing and business are such a tiny blip in history. I have survived one aunt who was a High School diploma punch-card operator at Union Oil, but had company health insurance and retirement with Social Security as well. Another aunt was the widow of a city fireman who had both his Social Security AND his TAX-FREE disability retirement unto her death 60 years later. Ayn Rand and her apostle Paul Ryan and Trump and Vance would be horrified! End of Western Civilization Communism!
Let’s consider that 47 to 48% of the voting public are die hard MAGAts who can’t be moved off the mark, and that tells something considerin g that 47-48% of the country have to be racist, patriarchal, fearful bigots., and not simply uneducated, ignorant doofus’,
Hillary’s basket of deplorable encompasses a broad demographic from the Mark Robinsons, the Billy jo Bobs, to the Yale and Harvard types.
They are all bound together by something more important to them than money: personal power and social standing - identity and ego.
What about clean water? Jackson, Mississippi has a water crisis because its water system is failing. Jackson is the capital of Mississippi, but Mississippi Republicans won’t vote to help Jackson update its water infrastructure because Jackson is 80% minority.
One would have to argue with this hypothesis because immigrants offer the cheapest labor available anywhere. Here in Texas, this is especially so. Therefore, one would have to ask, why would they fight against these immigrants if they cherish cheap labor? The answer is: because it is good politics. They don't want to solve the problem because they get their cake and can eat it too. They have illegal cheap labor along with pissed off constituents who are mad at the "Democrats" letting these masses of people come into our country. I have friends around the country asking me how I can survive with all these drug running gangs overrunning my state. Ain't seen any at all. The Republicans don't want to solve the problem because they must have problems that generate fear to talk about because it is all they have.
Part of the background on immigration is that Republicans and corporate Democrats have for decades deliberately looked that other way to create that pool of desperately poor people with no rights for huge corporations (there are probably others but industrial agriculture production and processing certainly come to mind). Now, the possibility that those ~11 million people might become citizens scares the crap out of them.
Perfect. That was my intended addition too . . . R voters with small businesses, and R voters with big businesses that ignore the law and morality, are who I also expect are the main employers of undocumented workers. I’ve seen this play out in a rural agricultural area in Oregon, thanks all, thanks Thom — b.rad
Yes. More than 20 states are run like plantations by the fossil fuel, mining companies or big agra. They do all those things you have listed to keep wages down and limit the skills of the citizens. It's not slavery but it is as close as they can get it. Voter suppression and voter elimination also help keep the power structure in place. For the last 25 years the Supreme Court has helped to keep those rules in place. Six members are strong believers that America should always place profits over people.
The problem is that blue states pay the freight for the red states. Most of the former Confederate states still discriminate against their minority citizens.
Some red states have cities that are blue/purple. Think Hotlanta. In many rural areas, the federal government provides benefits that represent most of the gross product for an entire region.
Conversely, I heard cases in places in blue states, like the Central Valley of California, where all of the statistics resemble the Mississippi Delta. When I heard cases in the late 80s, Kern County had the lowest average IQ and per capita incomes in the US.
All the larger states are very varied, which should come as no surprise. Upstate NY is very Red, full of poverty and drug problems and depends upon federal aid and military bases. Texas has two very Blue cities, Austin and Houston, with back hill towns that still have “sundown” traditions. I’ve been told that there are more Democratic votes cast in Texas than in New England, but they don’t matter because they usually fall about 2% below the Red vote and it’s winner-take-all. If we had reasonable representation we would divide Texas, California, and NY in half. Combine the Dakotas with Minnesota,, then combine Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming into one state. Then admit Washington D.C. as its own state. That way we would have better representation and wouldn’t have to change the flag.
The Republican party is the repository of control freaks. Mostly, they enter business, but they are found in all hierarchical organizations. Money is how they measure control. Any money appropriated to help the non-rich (or to protect the environment) is seen as a direct attack on their ability to control. They will spend lavishly for services rendered for their own benefit, and to preserve their own lush surroundings, but beyond their offices and private estates--no interest.
Thanks for this explanation of what is occurring in red states. I didn’t realize why they kept their constituents in poverty until you broke it down into simple, understandable language. If only those in red states could read this, it would make a monumental difference in their lives.
Would it? Given the fact that many are undereducated & live on subsistence wages leaving no time for any type of self-reflection of their situation & no desire to expand their knowledge beyond their limited understanding of what/why it's happening, I don't know that reading this would make a damn bit of difference. Remember reporters & politicians & people who are more up to date on what's going on are part of the "deep state" & thus can not be believed, to these folks this whole article is nothing but "fake news"!
So in agreement/frustration. I was unwilling witness to my Master's Degreed mother being conditioned into paranoia against "enemy" information by Rush Limbaugh. People don't have to be undereducated and in marginal economic conditions to be sealed into the "bubble."
Ignorance is bliss. Burn your books while your at it! Also buy up and inialate all news papers and local jurnalism , TV and radio while your at it. THATS how its done! A staycation in a red state will open your eyes! A steady supply of illegal drugs goes a long way to demoralize rural folks too!
I was very interested in the Hartmann Report statistics below and the article explaining it.
.........."The problem for Red states is that Republicans worship cheap labor, which drives up profits for the fat-cats who own American businesses — and having a steady and reliable supply of cheap labor requires widespread poverty, ignorance, death, and disease".
Wow! Seeing these stats laid out rather validates my stereotype of Red States. This also reinforces what fascism scholars have been saying for over 3/4 of a century: Fascists do not want to govern - they only want to rule - tell people what to do/not-do, and how to do it.
As for universal healthcare, America has had an excellent low-profile free healthcare system in place for over a century. Alas, only active and retired military personnel may use it. Called Tricare, the system works like pricey private health insurance except it is free. I use the same healthcare providers and clinics as everybody else. I take the same medicines too. I just do not have to pay for any of it - not even co-pays. Okay, since 2001, Congress demanded that Tricare users pay Medicare part B premiums once we start collecting Social Security pensions (SSA pays first and Tricare pays the rest of the bill).
As proof that America's pay-as-you go private healthcare system is superior to all others, Republicans gaslight about interminable waits for appointments and delayed surgeries in other countries' national healthcare systems. That is just baseless greed-based fear-and-loathing. I sit in the same waiting rooms as everybody else in America, and my surgeries are scheduled promptly - even my surgeries at Mayo Clinic - all free. My prescriptions - all free. Doctor visits - free. Also, my German BFF, Norwegian pals, British pals, Dutch pals, etc. - all get the same free care I get. Only in America can you go bankrupt paying for health services to stay alive.
I'm a veteran. I thought that if I accepted Medicare I could no longer use the VA. I'll have to look into TriCare because I need to get imaging done but the deductible is $250 and I'd rather eat than get imaged.
Steve, sorry to have to tell you that Tricare is limited to active duty and retired military personnel. My understanding is that VA does have an affordable health insurance program. Also VA treatment of all service-connected disabilities is free. I had to go to VA for my hearing aids after retiring from Navy even though I was issued hearing aids on active duty several years after I returned from Nam. VA is not Tricare in that the Red Clown-Congress has refused to fully staff VA healthcare facilities despite a growing caseload due to our neverending wars.
Easier to say Repubs hate. But their policy is mudsill the ideology of producing an economy that automatically generates unearned millionaires and inequality by ensuring that more than half of the American population earns less than the middle class income. They did it by slavery previously but the affect is the same.
Completely agree with your premise. The REAL question is why do these people who are oppressed by both their state governments, and the robber barons the state governments exist to serve, seal their fate every single election by voting for the Rethuglicans who continue to oppress them. I know, it's the racism and sexism they serve up on a silver platter to appeal to the voters base instincts, but you would think that after 56 years (I'm counting forward from Nixon's first term) these people would recognize that their lives haven't improved at all despite their devotion to the Republican Party
There was a time when some red states were part of the FDR coalition. E.G. TVA benefitted TN,AL and others. Is unionized. Largest employer in the region. Although several AL governors were out and out racists, they wanted federal help.
These days, they demonize the federal government at the same time they quietly accept proportionally more government benefits than industrialized northern states that subsidize those benefits.
I'm wondering why I usually get redirected to my email to reauthenticate my membership before being able to post. Maybe my posts are not wanted.
Desperate people often turn to superstition, conspiracy theories and radical religion. Another threat has been revealed by Mother Jones writer, Kiera Butler. She has researched NAR (New Apostolic Revolution) which is a leaderless and amorphous collection of religious leaders who are using fear tactics and misinformation from the fringe right wing to radicalize unwitting victims. I don't know if I have the link right but here is what I copied: https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2024/10/new-apostolic-reformation-christian-nationalism/?utm_source=mj-newsletters&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily-newsletter-10-03-2024. The goal is to use every means possible to give the current iteration of "Christians" the power, money, and influence to finally complete the task of turning this nation into a theocracy. They have made great strides in their fanatical mission and they have immense resources and influence. This is just one more way the Republicans are converting the people who they exploit as Thom describes to the Trumpian fascism, authoritarianism, and religious nuttery that undermines democracy and scientific thinking. The article is very thorough and enlightening.
This link is to a Frontline documentary I watched recently. It has much of the same information as the Mother Jones article you shared. It's spooky. People without a good education are easily led.
Thank you. I will watch the documentary this afternoon. You are correct in saying that people without a good education are easily led. I would go beyond that to say they are easily mis-led and that the real issue is not the quality of education that is received but the fact that education in the popular mind is received, rather than created by the individual with information and guidance from influential others, and furthermore, that mis-education has long been the primary option for the majority. If the student is not actively in pursuit of knowledge and answers for their own benefit and purposes (or at the very least to please their parents) , and if they are in school for reasons other than their own edification, the battle has been lost before it begins. This is why I will never stop harping about the folly of attendance laws. It is too bad that not 100% of the people or of the parents in the world are universally enthusiastic about school or academics and some may even be incurious or anti-intellectual. But the remedy is not anti-democratic and unconstitutional laws imposed on innocent children. We are causing people to be bereft of optimism and confidence and to feel lost and alone without an authority to give them their marching orders coming direct from a deity - the ultimate imagined authority..
I live in California and am retired. One of my old bosses was from Mississippi and he used to constantly remind us how much harder the people in Mississippi used to work doing the same basic job. They also got paid much less. I would remind him that just because they worked for less and had to do more, it wasn't right.
I find it incredible, given how I have grown to despise today’s republicans, that I have to point out that Republicans once stood up for minorities and the less fortunate. Republicans also supported what was once referred to as conservation of natural resources (now environmental protection). There are probably dozens of policies once supported by Republicans that are held in distain by today’s republicans. Honesty, truthfulness and compassion for the disadvantaged or for the disabled were once universally held principles. Not so for today’s Republican Party.
Drill down farther and it's about government intervention.
Folks have been sold that FREEDOM is being free from any kind of governance. That is exactly what has happened. It has been one enormous sales job by greedy, power-hungry people.
Add religious leaders to the greedy and power-hungry---Catholics selling suffering and fundamentalists selling that only God can make you prosperous. They would have the Ten Commandments in the schools, when the sign that needs to be posted is: WE THE PEOPLE ARE THE GOVERNMENT!
We are not going back. Neither are the Red States, because the Blue States are going to pay some of their bills and drag their asses into the 21st Century.
One example: reproductive rights are health care and state by state we are proving it, hell even Melania is on our side. Another example: my brother was crossing southern Texas yesterday. He sent me a pic of the enormous blade in the hotel parking lot. He had been driving past windmills all day. Best example: the ILA just got a pretty good raise for the longshoreman.
WE THE PEOPLE are going to govern even if it is messy and we don't get along.
And did that Tiger Woods private golf resort in poor rural Buncumb County, N.C. which benefited from cheap rural labor... ever sell after financial problems? Who will bail them ( locals) out after mud slide damages? Ashville elites from Atlanta and Connecticut and Texas have some nice write offs on their hands. Who really suffers during these disasters? Every state since 911 was supposed to beef up emergency plans.... Red States? "We don't need no help, no Fed money".... until? So now we get to blame Biden?
Great description of the differences between Red States and Blue States and why citizens of red states have a more challenging time in all those categories. The part that explains why the Republicans hate food stamps, housing supports, and anything they call "welfare" to reduce the desperation of people who might otherwise be easily forced to work for a pittance; I would include that people are already working for a pittance and need the taxpayer's help in addition to their wages. That is how Walmart and other low-paying employers get away with paying such low wages. Years ago, I heard that Walmart assisted their employees in applying for food stamps and Medicaid.
We voted by absentee ballot yesterday. There were only two Democrats on the ballot: Harris/Walz and the auditor. We are a Republican County in a Democratic state. Our longevity is lower than that of the counties in the rest of the state, including Cook County, and the longevity of the United States is lower than that of other developed countries in the world, along with other health measures. We're number 30 in the world.
I can't resist humbly posting this , again: Dickens, "A Christmas Carol," edited for length: “At this festive season of the year, Mr. Scrooge,...... Many thousands are in want of common necessaries; hundreds of thousands are in want of common comforts, sir.” “Are there no prisons?” asked Scrooge. "Plenty of prisons," said the gentleman. “And the Union workhouses?” demanded Scrooge. “The Treadmill and the Poor Law, then? .... “I was afraid, from what you said at first, that something had occurred to stop them in their useful course,” said Scrooge. ....Returned the gentleman, “a few of us are endeavouring to raise a fund to buy the Poor some meat and drink, and means of warmth. We choose this time, because it is a time, of all others, when Want is keenly felt, and Abundance rejoices. What shall I put you down for?” “Nothing!” Scrooge replied. “If they (happen to) die,” ....“they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population.”
One almost wonders whether it is a "norm" of human society: destitute workers, and keeping
them destitute, and even "managing" the population. A couple of decades of different values in governing and business are such a tiny blip in history. I have survived one aunt who was a High School diploma punch-card operator at Union Oil, but had company health insurance and retirement with Social Security as well. Another aunt was the widow of a city fireman who had both his Social Security AND his TAX-FREE disability retirement unto her death 60 years later. Ayn Rand and her apostle Paul Ryan and Trump and Vance would be horrified! End of Western Civilization Communism!
That hypocrite, Ayn Rand, had to avail herself of government benefits at the end of her life. She was full of crap.
That says it all.
Add poor environmental laws too. After all they. cut into profits. And if some people get cancer or pollution increases, that’s too bad.
Thanks! I just edited that into the article! :)
Let’s consider that 47 to 48% of the voting public are die hard MAGAts who can’t be moved off the mark, and that tells something considerin g that 47-48% of the country have to be racist, patriarchal, fearful bigots., and not simply uneducated, ignorant doofus’,
Hillary’s basket of deplorable encompasses a broad demographic from the Mark Robinsons, the Billy jo Bobs, to the Yale and Harvard types.
They are all bound together by something more important to them than money: personal power and social standing - identity and ego.
What about clean water? Jackson, Mississippi has a water crisis because its water system is failing. Jackson is the capital of Mississippi, but Mississippi Republicans won’t vote to help Jackson update its water infrastructure because Jackson is 80% minority.
Yes! I keep posting that the plutocrats are even more concerned about regulation than about taxes!
One would have to argue with this hypothesis because immigrants offer the cheapest labor available anywhere. Here in Texas, this is especially so. Therefore, one would have to ask, why would they fight against these immigrants if they cherish cheap labor? The answer is: because it is good politics. They don't want to solve the problem because they get their cake and can eat it too. They have illegal cheap labor along with pissed off constituents who are mad at the "Democrats" letting these masses of people come into our country. I have friends around the country asking me how I can survive with all these drug running gangs overrunning my state. Ain't seen any at all. The Republicans don't want to solve the problem because they must have problems that generate fear to talk about because it is all they have.
Part of the background on immigration is that Republicans and corporate Democrats have for decades deliberately looked that other way to create that pool of desperately poor people with no rights for huge corporations (there are probably others but industrial agriculture production and processing certainly come to mind). Now, the possibility that those ~11 million people might become citizens scares the crap out of them.
Perfect. That was my intended addition too . . . R voters with small businesses, and R voters with big businesses that ignore the law and morality, are who I also expect are the main employers of undocumented workers. I’ve seen this play out in a rural agricultural area in Oregon, thanks all, thanks Thom — b.rad
NAILED IT! Thanks, Frank.
Yes. More than 20 states are run like plantations by the fossil fuel, mining companies or big agra. They do all those things you have listed to keep wages down and limit the skills of the citizens. It's not slavery but it is as close as they can get it. Voter suppression and voter elimination also help keep the power structure in place. For the last 25 years the Supreme Court has helped to keep those rules in place. Six members are strong believers that America should always place profits over people.
The problem is that blue states pay the freight for the red states. Most of the former Confederate states still discriminate against their minority citizens.
Some red states have cities that are blue/purple. Think Hotlanta. In many rural areas, the federal government provides benefits that represent most of the gross product for an entire region.
Conversely, I heard cases in places in blue states, like the Central Valley of California, where all of the statistics resemble the Mississippi Delta. When I heard cases in the late 80s, Kern County had the lowest average IQ and per capita incomes in the US.
All the larger states are very varied, which should come as no surprise. Upstate NY is very Red, full of poverty and drug problems and depends upon federal aid and military bases. Texas has two very Blue cities, Austin and Houston, with back hill towns that still have “sundown” traditions. I’ve been told that there are more Democratic votes cast in Texas than in New England, but they don’t matter because they usually fall about 2% below the Red vote and it’s winner-take-all. If we had reasonable representation we would divide Texas, California, and NY in half. Combine the Dakotas with Minnesota,, then combine Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming into one state. Then admit Washington D.C. as its own state. That way we would have better representation and wouldn’t have to change the flag.
Wouldn’t we have to add one star for DC?
I thought it was 50+3-2-2+!+ 50.
The Republican party is the repository of control freaks. Mostly, they enter business, but they are found in all hierarchical organizations. Money is how they measure control. Any money appropriated to help the non-rich (or to protect the environment) is seen as a direct attack on their ability to control. They will spend lavishly for services rendered for their own benefit, and to preserve their own lush surroundings, but beyond their offices and private estates--no interest.
Thanks for this explanation of what is occurring in red states. I didn’t realize why they kept their constituents in poverty until you broke it down into simple, understandable language. If only those in red states could read this, it would make a monumental difference in their lives.
Would it? Given the fact that many are undereducated & live on subsistence wages leaving no time for any type of self-reflection of their situation & no desire to expand their knowledge beyond their limited understanding of what/why it's happening, I don't know that reading this would make a damn bit of difference. Remember reporters & politicians & people who are more up to date on what's going on are part of the "deep state" & thus can not be believed, to these folks this whole article is nothing but "fake news"!
So in agreement/frustration. I was unwilling witness to my Master's Degreed mother being conditioned into paranoia against "enemy" information by Rush Limbaugh. People don't have to be undereducated and in marginal economic conditions to be sealed into the "bubble."
It may well be because of the Stockholm syndrome that's going on in red states.
Ignorance is bliss. Burn your books while your at it! Also buy up and inialate all news papers and local jurnalism , TV and radio while your at it. THATS how its done! A staycation in a red state will open your eyes! A steady supply of illegal drugs goes a long way to demoralize rural folks too!
I was very interested in the Hartmann Report statistics below and the article explaining it.
.........."The problem for Red states is that Republicans worship cheap labor, which drives up profits for the fat-cats who own American businesses — and having a steady and reliable supply of cheap labor requires widespread poverty, ignorance, death, and disease".
Wow! Seeing these stats laid out rather validates my stereotype of Red States. This also reinforces what fascism scholars have been saying for over 3/4 of a century: Fascists do not want to govern - they only want to rule - tell people what to do/not-do, and how to do it.
As for universal healthcare, America has had an excellent low-profile free healthcare system in place for over a century. Alas, only active and retired military personnel may use it. Called Tricare, the system works like pricey private health insurance except it is free. I use the same healthcare providers and clinics as everybody else. I take the same medicines too. I just do not have to pay for any of it - not even co-pays. Okay, since 2001, Congress demanded that Tricare users pay Medicare part B premiums once we start collecting Social Security pensions (SSA pays first and Tricare pays the rest of the bill).
As proof that America's pay-as-you go private healthcare system is superior to all others, Republicans gaslight about interminable waits for appointments and delayed surgeries in other countries' national healthcare systems. That is just baseless greed-based fear-and-loathing. I sit in the same waiting rooms as everybody else in America, and my surgeries are scheduled promptly - even my surgeries at Mayo Clinic - all free. My prescriptions - all free. Doctor visits - free. Also, my German BFF, Norwegian pals, British pals, Dutch pals, etc. - all get the same free care I get. Only in America can you go bankrupt paying for health services to stay alive.
I'm a veteran. I thought that if I accepted Medicare I could no longer use the VA. I'll have to look into TriCare because I need to get imaging done but the deductible is $250 and I'd rather eat than get imaged.
Steve, sorry to have to tell you that Tricare is limited to active duty and retired military personnel. My understanding is that VA does have an affordable health insurance program. Also VA treatment of all service-connected disabilities is free. I had to go to VA for my hearing aids after retiring from Navy even though I was issued hearing aids on active duty several years after I returned from Nam. VA is not Tricare in that the Red Clown-Congress has refused to fully staff VA healthcare facilities despite a growing caseload due to our neverending wars.
Easier to say Repubs hate. But their policy is mudsill the ideology of producing an economy that automatically generates unearned millionaires and inequality by ensuring that more than half of the American population earns less than the middle class income. They did it by slavery previously but the affect is the same.
Completely agree with your premise. The REAL question is why do these people who are oppressed by both their state governments, and the robber barons the state governments exist to serve, seal their fate every single election by voting for the Rethuglicans who continue to oppress them. I know, it's the racism and sexism they serve up on a silver platter to appeal to the voters base instincts, but you would think that after 56 years (I'm counting forward from Nixon's first term) these people would recognize that their lives haven't improved at all despite their devotion to the Republican Party
There was a time when some red states were part of the FDR coalition. E.G. TVA benefitted TN,AL and others. Is unionized. Largest employer in the region. Although several AL governors were out and out racists, they wanted federal help.
These days, they demonize the federal government at the same time they quietly accept proportionally more government benefits than industrialized northern states that subsidize those benefits.
Most of them suffer from some form of the Stockholm syndrome.
I wonder if we can just boil all this down to one very short sentence? "In general, Republicans hate, period!"
I'm wondering why I usually get redirected to my email to reauthenticate my membership before being able to post. Maybe my posts are not wanted.
Desperate people often turn to superstition, conspiracy theories and radical religion. Another threat has been revealed by Mother Jones writer, Kiera Butler. She has researched NAR (New Apostolic Revolution) which is a leaderless and amorphous collection of religious leaders who are using fear tactics and misinformation from the fringe right wing to radicalize unwitting victims. I don't know if I have the link right but here is what I copied: https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2024/10/new-apostolic-reformation-christian-nationalism/?utm_source=mj-newsletters&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily-newsletter-10-03-2024. The goal is to use every means possible to give the current iteration of "Christians" the power, money, and influence to finally complete the task of turning this nation into a theocracy. They have made great strides in their fanatical mission and they have immense resources and influence. This is just one more way the Republicans are converting the people who they exploit as Thom describes to the Trumpian fascism, authoritarianism, and religious nuttery that undermines democracy and scientific thinking. The article is very thorough and enlightening.
This link is to a Frontline documentary I watched recently. It has much of the same information as the Mother Jones article you shared. It's spooky. People without a good education are easily led.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/documentary/michael-flynns-holy-war/
Thank you. I will watch the documentary this afternoon. You are correct in saying that people without a good education are easily led. I would go beyond that to say they are easily mis-led and that the real issue is not the quality of education that is received but the fact that education in the popular mind is received, rather than created by the individual with information and guidance from influential others, and furthermore, that mis-education has long been the primary option for the majority. If the student is not actively in pursuit of knowledge and answers for their own benefit and purposes (or at the very least to please their parents) , and if they are in school for reasons other than their own edification, the battle has been lost before it begins. This is why I will never stop harping about the folly of attendance laws. It is too bad that not 100% of the people or of the parents in the world are universally enthusiastic about school or academics and some may even be incurious or anti-intellectual. But the remedy is not anti-democratic and unconstitutional laws imposed on innocent children. We are causing people to be bereft of optimism and confidence and to feel lost and alone without an authority to give them their marching orders coming direct from a deity - the ultimate imagined authority..
I live in California and am retired. One of my old bosses was from Mississippi and he used to constantly remind us how much harder the people in Mississippi used to work doing the same basic job. They also got paid much less. I would remind him that just because they worked for less and had to do more, it wasn't right.
I find it incredible, given how I have grown to despise today’s republicans, that I have to point out that Republicans once stood up for minorities and the less fortunate. Republicans also supported what was once referred to as conservation of natural resources (now environmental protection). There are probably dozens of policies once supported by Republicans that are held in distain by today’s republicans. Honesty, truthfulness and compassion for the disadvantaged or for the disabled were once universally held principles. Not so for today’s Republican Party.
Drill down farther and it's about government intervention.
Folks have been sold that FREEDOM is being free from any kind of governance. That is exactly what has happened. It has been one enormous sales job by greedy, power-hungry people.
Add religious leaders to the greedy and power-hungry---Catholics selling suffering and fundamentalists selling that only God can make you prosperous. They would have the Ten Commandments in the schools, when the sign that needs to be posted is: WE THE PEOPLE ARE THE GOVERNMENT!
We are not going back. Neither are the Red States, because the Blue States are going to pay some of their bills and drag their asses into the 21st Century.
One example: reproductive rights are health care and state by state we are proving it, hell even Melania is on our side. Another example: my brother was crossing southern Texas yesterday. He sent me a pic of the enormous blade in the hotel parking lot. He had been driving past windmills all day. Best example: the ILA just got a pretty good raise for the longshoreman.
WE THE PEOPLE are going to govern even if it is messy and we don't get along.
And did that Tiger Woods private golf resort in poor rural Buncumb County, N.C. which benefited from cheap rural labor... ever sell after financial problems? Who will bail them ( locals) out after mud slide damages? Ashville elites from Atlanta and Connecticut and Texas have some nice write offs on their hands. Who really suffers during these disasters? Every state since 911 was supposed to beef up emergency plans.... Red States? "We don't need no help, no Fed money".... until? So now we get to blame Biden?
It’s spelled Asheville.