No democracy in the world can work if its citizens don’t believe their votes are legitimately counted: This lie that started in 1964 is now a harpoon pointed at the heart of our democracy
Since we decline to regulate all forms of Mass Comms (Although I seriously doubt this firehose intensity of garbage on our airwaves, through cables, and beaming twitter from satellites) was ever the intention of the first amendment.
I do not see a way out for America at this point. It only takes one side to start a civil war. And good people of Reason and Comity are scarce. I no longer know how to speak with the people on the Right... My cousin's wife gave a nazi salute at t-giving a couple years ago... she thought it was very clever of herself, and laughed merrily. There's no talking with them... they just yell obscenities back and... well... you know.
I believe terrible violence is just around the corner. I'm glad Dems are voting in high numbers, but so are the Magats... They "can't" lose, so no matter who wins, I believe it will trigger more of the guerrilla war tactics from coast to coast.
Thanks for sounding the alarm, but I feel like one of the Keystone Cops running around not being effective. I literally don't know what to do. The train is coming fast, and how do we get off the tracks?
I think we can handle this fairly simply. We don't want to limit free speech, absolutely not, but we sure could implement a similar system to small claims court.
A small claims court judge read my claim and awarded me the money I'd lost plus the $50 filing fee.
Let's do the same for liars. We know the Democracy Party won't do anything, but maybe they would fund a few lawyers to create "boiler plate" small claims filings we can cut and paste. If 50 million Americans filed a $5,000 (plus the $50 fees) claim of endangerment or fraud or - whatever the legal beagles develop, we can drive the liars out of business.
I like your idea. Please share it broadly everywhere (along w this essay of Thom’s)
Law professors in most universities could help spread, as well as legal media folks like Joyce Vance and Ari Melber. And The Meidas Bros (one of them is an attorney, another is a media producer)!!! And Michael Cohen!
Im quite serious.
I believe The Meidas Touch would spread the idea to millions.
They have a YouTube channel and if u sign up for their newsletters
Do you have a contact? I'll look and I'll pass it along. My wife and I have had several ideas adopted nation wide, including one or two ideas by Thom (we took even more away). We commenters do get out. I've seen references to your comments, which are always sensible.
The non crazies need to get loud BECAUSE IT WORKS.
I knew that because in 1970 we stopped a major war that was making MANY grifters and senators rich.
The first amendment was specifically intended to allow these media deluges. To me, it's brilliant. If someone buries the nation with lies, it's guaranteed to cause people who can reason to notice, and get off the couch, or whatever they used to watch football in 1770.
There have been other periods of media deluging America with lies. In fact, when we change media, papers to radio, radio to TV, TV to cable, and now internet, a period follows when the message cannot be controlled. First, truth flows and people like Bernie are selected twice in a row to be our candidate. Then, the liars flood every pathway for truth with lies.
To me, this is a great time, we will see the return of representative democracy and a free market economy to the USA.
that's when both truth and lies flow the most freely, and we generally see a progressive tidal wave of voting.
Thom makes a good point, election fraud is uncommon in developed countries.
Outside developed countries, however, election fraud is more common than free fair elections, world wide.
One would conclude that eliminating election fraud is an early gain of "developed countries", and I'd go further, arguing that a nation must eliminate election fraud before they CAN upgrade from raped population to developed country.
Furthermore, I'll argue that if we lose free and fair elections, we will revert.
Big Money and the Big Lie are both cancers on our democracy. Borrowing from cancer awareness ribbons, the Democracy Awareness Möbius strip is a way for people to show their support for our continued democratic experiment. 🇺🇸♾
Free ribbons available this week in Washington DC, or print from pdf to make at home. Fun fact: Möbius discovered his eponymous strip in 1858, the same year Lincoln gave his House Divided speech.
They broke the Justice system with a biased Supreme Court and hundreds of corporatized judges. They own the main media outlets on air, cable, and internet. They subverted the process of voting and misinterpreted the Constitution to the nth degree. They f.u.b.a.r.-ed local, state, and national politics to a point of dysfunctionality that seldom reflects the People's will, a quaint concept.
So what's left? What obstacles are still blocking the long, inexorable march to full-fledged fascism? To ultimate checkmate? Board position basically comes down to who has the advantage in materiél, space, and time, where one side is simply overwhelmed and the loss inevitable.
Are we there yet? Because it sure seems pretty fckng close! At the very least, we're in a horrible position at the end-game stage when every move is life or death. And half the nation is still hopelessly mired in confusion about who exactly the "we" and the "they" even are!
C'mon people -- wake the fck up! The clock is ticking! You have one week to figure out the only move left; then, it's game over.
If "we" lose in 2022, the rematch of epic proportions in 2024 will be an uphill battle from a position of weakness, surrounded by the forces of fascism -- the REPUBLICAN PARTY !!!
Today, at this late date, do everyday citizens rushing off to work or school, living the rat race, realize their increasingly likely fate or not? Do they even care? We'll soon find out how much of a Jeffersonian liberal democracy remains intact in the minds of "The People."
Why would the main-stream media give context or history? They think their job is to make money and to retain advertisers. Creating a horse-race equals dollars. And, once again the media has insisted, it's the economy, stupid.
Actually, they ARE showing the armed idiots at the ballot drop-off sites. The media and talk shows have covered the people's concern for our democracy. They will cover the loss of polling places and long lines. The Big Lie and January 6th Hearings were everywhere. Just don't expect to hear the words "Republican voter suppression". Those words should be on every Democratic candidate's lips, flyers, and ads.
Always glad to see it when they have YOU on Thom. Saw you recently on C-Span.
Fine lesson in history once again. And it is hard to understand the failure of the alphabet soup of media to report today's truth. And their neglecting the essential history that shows where hateful lying leads. Thanks to Thom and HCR particularly ..Heather Cox Richardson..for keeping the message alive.
And did the image of a beleagured Statue of Liberty remind you of the nightmarish world of The Man in the High Castle? ...where the US lost WW II.
Absolutely brilliant Thom.
Since we decline to regulate all forms of Mass Comms (Although I seriously doubt this firehose intensity of garbage on our airwaves, through cables, and beaming twitter from satellites) was ever the intention of the first amendment.
I do not see a way out for America at this point. It only takes one side to start a civil war. And good people of Reason and Comity are scarce. I no longer know how to speak with the people on the Right... My cousin's wife gave a nazi salute at t-giving a couple years ago... she thought it was very clever of herself, and laughed merrily. There's no talking with them... they just yell obscenities back and... well... you know.
I believe terrible violence is just around the corner. I'm glad Dems are voting in high numbers, but so are the Magats... They "can't" lose, so no matter who wins, I believe it will trigger more of the guerrilla war tactics from coast to coast.
Thanks for sounding the alarm, but I feel like one of the Keystone Cops running around not being effective. I literally don't know what to do. The train is coming fast, and how do we get off the tracks?
I think we can handle this fairly simply. We don't want to limit free speech, absolutely not, but we sure could implement a similar system to small claims court.
A small claims court judge read my claim and awarded me the money I'd lost plus the $50 filing fee.
Let's do the same for liars. We know the Democracy Party won't do anything, but maybe they would fund a few lawyers to create "boiler plate" small claims filings we can cut and paste. If 50 million Americans filed a $5,000 (plus the $50 fees) claim of endangerment or fraud or - whatever the legal beagles develop, we can drive the liars out of business.
I like your idea. Please share it broadly everywhere (along w this essay of Thom’s)
Law professors in most universities could help spread, as well as legal media folks like Joyce Vance and Ari Melber. And The Meidas Bros (one of them is an attorney, another is a media producer)!!! And Michael Cohen!
Im quite serious.
I believe The Meidas Touch would spread the idea to millions.
They have a YouTube channel and if u sign up for their newsletters
Do you have a contact? I'll look and I'll pass it along. My wife and I have had several ideas adopted nation wide, including one or two ideas by Thom (we took even more away). We commenters do get out. I've seen references to your comments, which are always sensible.
The non crazies need to get loud BECAUSE IT WORKS.
I knew that because in 1970 we stopped a major war that was making MANY grifters and senators rich.
Just saw your finished thought. Got it.
Sorry didnt finish the thought: if you sign up for their newsletters you can then email them directly. They are responsive and accessible.
The first amendment was specifically intended to allow these media deluges. To me, it's brilliant. If someone buries the nation with lies, it's guaranteed to cause people who can reason to notice, and get off the couch, or whatever they used to watch football in 1770.
There have been other periods of media deluging America with lies. In fact, when we change media, papers to radio, radio to TV, TV to cable, and now internet, a period follows when the message cannot be controlled. First, truth flows and people like Bernie are selected twice in a row to be our candidate. Then, the liars flood every pathway for truth with lies.
To me, this is a great time, we will see the return of representative democracy and a free market economy to the USA.
that's when both truth and lies flow the most freely, and we generally see a progressive tidal wave of voting.
Thom makes a good point, election fraud is uncommon in developed countries.
Outside developed countries, however, election fraud is more common than free fair elections, world wide.
One would conclude that eliminating election fraud is an early gain of "developed countries", and I'd go further, arguing that a nation must eliminate election fraud before they CAN upgrade from raped population to developed country.
Furthermore, I'll argue that if we lose free and fair elections, we will revert.
Big Money and the Big Lie are both cancers on our democracy. Borrowing from cancer awareness ribbons, the Democracy Awareness Möbius strip is a way for people to show their support for our continued democratic experiment. 🇺🇸♾
Free ribbons available this week in Washington DC, or print from pdf to make at home. Fun fact: Möbius discovered his eponymous strip in 1858, the same year Lincoln gave his House Divided speech.
They broke the Justice system with a biased Supreme Court and hundreds of corporatized judges. They own the main media outlets on air, cable, and internet. They subverted the process of voting and misinterpreted the Constitution to the nth degree. They f.u.b.a.r.-ed local, state, and national politics to a point of dysfunctionality that seldom reflects the People's will, a quaint concept.
So what's left? What obstacles are still blocking the long, inexorable march to full-fledged fascism? To ultimate checkmate? Board position basically comes down to who has the advantage in materiél, space, and time, where one side is simply overwhelmed and the loss inevitable.
Are we there yet? Because it sure seems pretty fckng close! At the very least, we're in a horrible position at the end-game stage when every move is life or death. And half the nation is still hopelessly mired in confusion about who exactly the "we" and the "they" even are!
C'mon people -- wake the fck up! The clock is ticking! You have one week to figure out the only move left; then, it's game over.
If "we" lose in 2022, the rematch of epic proportions in 2024 will be an uphill battle from a position of weakness, surrounded by the forces of fascism -- the REPUBLICAN PARTY !!!
Today, at this late date, do everyday citizens rushing off to work or school, living the rat race, realize their increasingly likely fate or not? Do they even care? We'll soon find out how much of a Jeffersonian liberal democracy remains intact in the minds of "The People."
Why would the main-stream media give context or history? They think their job is to make money and to retain advertisers. Creating a horse-race equals dollars. And, once again the media has insisted, it's the economy, stupid.
Actually, they ARE showing the armed idiots at the ballot drop-off sites. The media and talk shows have covered the people's concern for our democracy. They will cover the loss of polling places and long lines. The Big Lie and January 6th Hearings were everywhere. Just don't expect to hear the words "Republican voter suppression". Those words should be on every Democratic candidate's lips, flyers, and ads.
Always glad to see it when they have YOU on Thom. Saw you recently on C-Span.
Fine lesson in history once again. And it is hard to understand the failure of the alphabet soup of media to report today's truth. And their neglecting the essential history that shows where hateful lying leads. Thanks to Thom and HCR particularly ..Heather Cox Richardson..for keeping the message alive.
And did the image of a beleagured Statue of Liberty remind you of the nightmarish world of The Man in the High Castle? ...where the US lost WW II.