So many people believe that food banks are for the “lazy”. I’ve volunteered at a food bank I know many of the people were working and working more than one job. It’s impossible to live on minimum wage. Many seniors that live on social security also use food banks. One thing that people can do is to donate to their local food banks. It’s only going to get worse.
and all this happens as the administration and congressional republicans talk about able-bodied americans who need to work, volunteer, or go to school in order to keep their medicaid. they talk about this as though there are tons of people out there just laying around all fat and happy because they have medicaid. they never, ever concede there are millions of americans who are the working poor. not only do they need their medicaid, but they need to eat and keep themselves as healthy as possible.
Thanks for pointing this out. My husband has been running a food bank since he retired 12 years ago. A disproportionate number of their clients are seniors living on fixed incomes. As he points out (with respect and empathy), almost all of their clients are low-functioning people who are either working low-skilled, low-paying jobs, or people who lack the ability to work. The “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” narrative neglects to take into account the people who - through no fault of their own - are simply incapable of doing this. I’m a psychotherapist, and know all too well that many people are working to the limits of their ability and still incapable of earning a living wage. It is beyond cruel to cut them off.
Great suggestion . We have several in our area but they are having problems and things like the free clinic are too. All because the feds/state have cut them of. Deathsantis here in Florida took money from the ones that care and help the poor, homeless and families on the edge so he can fly "criminal" out of here and build the Gulag in the Everglades.
At every one of the protests I have been to this year, they have a food bank van that collects food for their local food bank. Everyone who attends the protest donates.
I was a Guardian ad Litem in Florida for a decade. My volunteer job was to represent children in court who had been taken from their families due to abuse, abandonment, and neglect. I got to know not only the kids, but their parents, most of whom wanted to be reunited with their kids and returned to life without judgment and vilification so predominate in these situations. They were definitely not lazy. Many were the result of endemic abuse in their own childhood, and every one I got to know was focused on overcoming their prior lives and looking toward the future. It hurts my heart to know how many are judged, mostly unfairly, about their ability to manage their lives. Let’s stop, take a breath, get to know a family that is struggling, maybe you, yes you! Can help!!!
Adam is there anything that can stop this cruelty? Last week I heard Adam Schiff interviewed and he was telling how all of Congress both Democrats and Republicans are being threatened, including their families etc. He said when he began in the Senate this was a rare occurrence. Now it is always. What chance do we have when Trump and his cabinet and staff operate this way. I do understand why people fold under threats but is there nothing that can be done? Thank you for what you do. You have a beautiful family.
Those of us reading Substack see news of this every damn day. But not a word it ever reaches Fox News or the MAGAland cult. And that's why we are where we are.
Can one still suppport the Republican Party and not be complicit with their policies and their actions? Doesn't matter if one doesn't identify as MAGA if one votes for a Republican .
Yes, I mentioned that stat not to determine complicity, but more to emphasize that there are ‘more of us than them’, and that Trump *doesn’t have the *mandate he *says he does.
I think it is more about federal elections with regard to that. My town supervisor is a Republican and he is excellent. I voted for him in the last election. I haven't voted for any Republican in federal elections since and including the 2016 elections and will continue that until maga is purged.
No, today supporting a GOP member means supporting neofascism. But it is true that many GOP voters aren't pro-fascism or pro-MAGA at all. That's why we HAVE to go talk with them, so that they understand that they only way to be a patriot today is to vote against the GOP and therefore either stay home or, better yet, vote for Democrats.
America will NEVER be great if a morally depraved party controls DC. We HAVE to get our moral compass first. Genuine conservatives cannot but agree on this too.
51% of Americans voting for Democrats is not nearly enough to crush MAGA. 61% is. But, very sadly, before that could ever happen, the inevitable catastrophe of epic proportions that Trump is going to cause and exacerbate is going to have to occur first.
Does it cross anyone else's mind about the lasting and dangerous effects of all this cruelty? All the people we are maliciously humiliating, denigrating, and physically harming... does anyone else wonder about how one of these people or their progeny may one day decide to seek revenge against the US? Isn't that what 9/11 was all about??? Setting aside the immorality and illegality and inhumanity of what we are doing, are the words and actions of this entire Republican cabal of sadists creating an entire generation of anti-American terrorists?
Thank you Adam, your voice is one that I consider to be one of the "helpers". Remember Mr. Rogers said when things are bad or scary, look for the helpers. No matter how bad the situation there are always helpers. Thank you Adam because I am scared of this cruelty and death too. I should be enjoying my retirement but I am finding myself in a place I have not been before, looking at a Country that I don't recognized anymore. We have to keep trying to make a difference!
Two comments: (1) When Demented Donnie Two-Dolls announced, "I am your retribution," his followers chose one specific interpretation (I'll help you get even). However, some on us pointed out that the other way to interpret that was as a threat to the country. That's what Project 2025 is all about. (2) The French Revolution has never been more relevant.
No shit, and we know how that ended: not well at all. The guillotine may just be in the closet for now, in the public square next week. Hope Bondi is one of the first in line.
Fortunately, that already exists. Read whatever you can find from MLK. Read John Lewis' biography. Read about Thich Nhat Hanh's "Engaged Buddhism". Read about how Gary Snyder showed that we have to be in it for the long haul and out of love for what we want, not hatred for what we don't want.
Remember, whenever fascism gets installed, culture as a whole is going through a spiritual crisis. The only way to fight back without getting burned out is to fight back in a spiritual way too. And that includes MLK's "Love your enemies".
On your p.s., ICE Barbie went on the Sunday morning talk shows denying that there were no call center layoffs and that Democrats' lying was despicable in order to grab headlines. And yet, so many in our society do not see this, and distastefully turn away when I speak of these atrocities, under the shield of "I don't like to talk politics" or "I don't get involved in that stuff." This STUFF is not politics. It's Patriotism to disclose the consistent dissembling of our democracy and freedoms that they just aren't feeling yet because they're white and well-off. I'm probably going to end up with no friends because I can become rageful of these atrocities and lawlessness of this regime. Thank you, Adam, for continuing to shine a light on the results of this orange wanna-be despot with cankles!
I stopped watching Meet the Press for just that reason. I must have seen the clip on MSNBC. I don't feel Welker's tough enough to call them on their lies. Began watching CBS, but now I have to boycott that station! I miss Chuck Todd.
Yes, mine was a clip too...probably on MTN (Meidas Touch Network) because those guys are awesome, especially Ron Filipkowski! I've eliminated all MSN. Now who I really miss at a time like this is TIM RUSSERT! But that's really showing my age, ha! Totally agree with you about Welker not being tough enough... We need someone who is RELENTLESS.
I just saw the brothers of Meidas being interviewed on Nicole Wallaces podcast- they featured it on her msnbc show. I had heard of them- they are great! will be checking them out
Absolutely agree. I unsubscribed from Sean Dietrich's essays; do like the guy, and I don't expect political discussion every minute, but many of his commenters are rabid if someone brings up politics, like the current situation should not be sanely discussed. Then, out of the blue, I get a response to one of my many critical comments, engaging in personal name-calling, saying that I should be gratified that Trump is president, etc etc etc. I sent her an electrified message back, then unsubscribed. So tired of that shit.
I got tired of that with friends and family who felt free to bring up any maga talking point they thought of at that moment. I stayed silent for a very long time. After November, I really took time to evaluate that and feel that contributed to where we are. I now have 1 of 3 siblings speaking to me, stopped attending maga filled church and lost a few friends.
I have to confess I have 2 brothers I refuse to engage with. One is a self proclaimed Liberatarian (right of center), the other is probably a MAGAt. I am assuming because of his talking points. They are so self-righteous and anti-Dems. But I live in a blue state so its probably a bit easier. Take care.
And donate to organizations that fight the fight in the courts. I suggest: ACLU, Brennan Center, Marc Elias’s Democracy Docket, Norm Eisen’s Contrarians…. just for starters. I love them all, but honestly it’s Adam Kinsinger that keeps me saner. 🙏
Anything helps, donate to food banks or to places like Common Cause that are fighting in the courts. Get involved with Adam's Country First. Get involved with your local Precinct even if you are an independent or unaffiliated. Attend protests, call your Senators and Reps with your concerns. This all adds up! Good luck!
Trump and his Merry Band of ROTTEN TO THE Core SUBHUMANS deserve everything I pray will happen to them. The TYRANT is mentally Incompetent - he is the source of everything vile The Cruelest Mass Murderer ever on the Planet and the rest of the world better wake up!! Corruption is MAGA the leader Scum! Greed is his Mantra! Everything about him is repulsive. Especially his lack of education. He is a BIGOT beyond belief. He is reviled by so many but charges ahead in making everyone miserable. He must be brought down along with his ass kissers!
I, too, am disgusted by the dictator in our White House, but I only pray for his enlightenment and return to the Christian values he claims to believe in.
What should we do about this cruelty? Are lawyers petitioning the courts for their release? Should a class action lawsuit be filed against all involved in this genocide? Should a Go Fund Me start now on behalf of these innocent people who are jailed to help pay for legal representation? If so we need to do it NOW.
This is just my take on it, but I think that the whole goal of the various government department cuts is to destroy faith in the federal government. In turn, that will enable the Project 2025 architects to go and say, "See, the government doesn't work. It needs to be cut (even more)." And, ultimately, we will see a federal government that won't be much more powerful than an advisory board.
Trump may be the leader but the republicans in Congress could have reined him in on several fronts. They didn’t. They are the ones who bolden him and contribute to the demise of this country. Absolutely appalling.
So many people believe that food banks are for the “lazy”. I’ve volunteered at a food bank I know many of the people were working and working more than one job. It’s impossible to live on minimum wage. Many seniors that live on social security also use food banks. One thing that people can do is to donate to their local food banks. It’s only going to get worse.
my dad ran one growing up. agreed
and all this happens as the administration and congressional republicans talk about able-bodied americans who need to work, volunteer, or go to school in order to keep their medicaid. they talk about this as though there are tons of people out there just laying around all fat and happy because they have medicaid. they never, ever concede there are millions of americans who are the working poor. not only do they need their medicaid, but they need to eat and keep themselves as healthy as possible.
Thanks for pointing this out. My husband has been running a food bank since he retired 12 years ago. A disproportionate number of their clients are seniors living on fixed incomes. As he points out (with respect and empathy), almost all of their clients are low-functioning people who are either working low-skilled, low-paying jobs, or people who lack the ability to work. The “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” narrative neglects to take into account the people who - through no fault of their own - are simply incapable of doing this. I’m a psychotherapist, and know all too well that many people are working to the limits of their ability and still incapable of earning a living wage. It is beyond cruel to cut them off.
Great suggestion . We have several in our area but they are having problems and things like the free clinic are too. All because the feds/state have cut them of. Deathsantis here in Florida took money from the ones that care and help the poor, homeless and families on the edge so he can fly "criminal" out of here and build the Gulag in the Everglades.
At every one of the protests I have been to this year, they have a food bank van that collects food for their local food bank. Everyone who attends the protest donates.
I was a Guardian ad Litem in Florida for a decade. My volunteer job was to represent children in court who had been taken from their families due to abuse, abandonment, and neglect. I got to know not only the kids, but their parents, most of whom wanted to be reunited with their kids and returned to life without judgment and vilification so predominate in these situations. They were definitely not lazy. Many were the result of endemic abuse in their own childhood, and every one I got to know was focused on overcoming their prior lives and looking toward the future. It hurts my heart to know how many are judged, mostly unfairly, about their ability to manage their lives. Let’s stop, take a breath, get to know a family that is struggling, maybe you, yes you! Can help!!!
Thank you for your work! It is a difficult job.
Adam is there anything that can stop this cruelty? Last week I heard Adam Schiff interviewed and he was telling how all of Congress both Democrats and Republicans are being threatened, including their families etc. He said when he began in the Senate this was a rare occurrence. Now it is always. What chance do we have when Trump and his cabinet and staff operate this way. I do understand why people fold under threats but is there nothing that can be done? Thank you for what you do. You have a beautiful family.
ya keep doing what you can but dont over burden yourself. Our best weapon is to not get burned out
Those of us reading Substack see news of this every damn day. But not a word it ever reaches Fox News or the MAGAland cult. And that's why we are where we are.
I know right. It really is sad...so we have to make sure 51 percent of the voting public is on our side and flush this movement down the toilet
Apparently only 1 out of 6 Americans is MAGA … vs regular Republicans/ Dems/Indep.
Can one still suppport the Republican Party and not be complicit with their policies and their actions? Doesn't matter if one doesn't identify as MAGA if one votes for a Republican .
Yes, I mentioned that stat not to determine complicity, but more to emphasize that there are ‘more of us than them’, and that Trump *doesn’t have the *mandate he *says he does.
I think it is more about federal elections with regard to that. My town supervisor is a Republican and he is excellent. I voted for him in the last election. I haven't voted for any Republican in federal elections since and including the 2016 elections and will continue that until maga is purged.
No, today supporting a GOP member means supporting neofascism. But it is true that many GOP voters aren't pro-fascism or pro-MAGA at all. That's why we HAVE to go talk with them, so that they understand that they only way to be a patriot today is to vote against the GOP and therefore either stay home or, better yet, vote for Democrats.
America will NEVER be great if a morally depraved party controls DC. We HAVE to get our moral compass first. Genuine conservatives cannot but agree on this too.
He got the Latino vote because they don’t identify as MAGA, but for religious purposes they won’t vote for a Democrat.
51% of Americans voting for Democrats is not nearly enough to crush MAGA. 61% is. But, very sadly, before that could ever happen, the inevitable catastrophe of epic proportions that Trump is going to cause and exacerbate is going to have to occur first.
Does it cross anyone else's mind about the lasting and dangerous effects of all this cruelty? All the people we are maliciously humiliating, denigrating, and physically harming... does anyone else wonder about how one of these people or their progeny may one day decide to seek revenge against the US? Isn't that what 9/11 was all about??? Setting aside the immorality and illegality and inhumanity of what we are doing, are the words and actions of this entire Republican cabal of sadists creating an entire generation of anti-American terrorists?
I've wondered this myself, as the cruelty extends to other countries that used to be friends!
Absolutely.
Thank you Adam, your voice is one that I consider to be one of the "helpers". Remember Mr. Rogers said when things are bad or scary, look for the helpers. No matter how bad the situation there are always helpers. Thank you Adam because I am scared of this cruelty and death too. I should be enjoying my retirement but I am finding myself in a place I have not been before, looking at a Country that I don't recognized anymore. We have to keep trying to make a difference!
Yes.
We need more Mr. Rogers.
Two comments: (1) When Demented Donnie Two-Dolls announced, "I am your retribution," his followers chose one specific interpretation (I'll help you get even). However, some on us pointed out that the other way to interpret that was as a threat to the country. That's what Project 2025 is all about. (2) The French Revolution has never been more relevant.
Yep
"One Day More" from Les Miserables keeps playing in my mind.
No shit, and we know how that ended: not well at all. The guillotine may just be in the closet for now, in the public square next week. Hope Bondi is one of the first in line.
I'm disgusted beyond words with everything that's happening in our country!
Yep. Same. but stay energized.
Stay energized, but don’t get burned out. I’m gonna need an instruction manual on how to do both!
Fortunately, that already exists. Read whatever you can find from MLK. Read John Lewis' biography. Read about Thich Nhat Hanh's "Engaged Buddhism". Read about how Gary Snyder showed that we have to be in it for the long haul and out of love for what we want, not hatred for what we don't want.
Remember, whenever fascism gets installed, culture as a whole is going through a spiritual crisis. The only way to fight back without getting burned out is to fight back in a spiritual way too. And that includes MLK's "Love your enemies".
YES WE CAN!!
Call it what it really is...Alligator Auschwitz.
On your p.s., ICE Barbie went on the Sunday morning talk shows denying that there were no call center layoffs and that Democrats' lying was despicable in order to grab headlines. And yet, so many in our society do not see this, and distastefully turn away when I speak of these atrocities, under the shield of "I don't like to talk politics" or "I don't get involved in that stuff." This STUFF is not politics. It's Patriotism to disclose the consistent dissembling of our democracy and freedoms that they just aren't feeling yet because they're white and well-off. I'm probably going to end up with no friends because I can become rageful of these atrocities and lawlessness of this regime. Thank you, Adam, for continuing to shine a light on the results of this orange wanna-be despot with cankles!
they lie and lie and lie and lie
So agree Jane. I saw that "talk show." She is vile. Welker should've pressed harder. Someone just made up those call center numbers, yeah right.
I stopped watching Meet the Press for just that reason. I must have seen the clip on MSNBC. I don't feel Welker's tough enough to call them on their lies. Began watching CBS, but now I have to boycott that station! I miss Chuck Todd.
Yes, mine was a clip too...probably on MTN (Meidas Touch Network) because those guys are awesome, especially Ron Filipkowski! I've eliminated all MSN. Now who I really miss at a time like this is TIM RUSSERT! But that's really showing my age, ha! Totally agree with you about Welker not being tough enough... We need someone who is RELENTLESS.
I just saw the brothers of Meidas being interviewed on Nicole Wallaces podcast- they featured it on her msnbc show. I had heard of them- they are great! will be checking them out
So agree. The brothers are great and Ron Flipkowski - their editor in chief -is amazing with his daily update of news! He delivers big time!
100% miss Tim Russert, he knew how to ask the tough questions and had demand answers, people couldn’t get away with non answers, he had the receipts!
Yes!! He had the receipts!
I agree with you on Welker- I like Face the Nation though. You don't have to boycott the main CBS just the streaming version- Paramount
Absolutely agree. I unsubscribed from Sean Dietrich's essays; do like the guy, and I don't expect political discussion every minute, but many of his commenters are rabid if someone brings up politics, like the current situation should not be sanely discussed. Then, out of the blue, I get a response to one of my many critical comments, engaging in personal name-calling, saying that I should be gratified that Trump is president, etc etc etc. I sent her an electrified message back, then unsubscribed. So tired of that shit.
Have you lost any yet? I have.
Sorry. I haven't yet, but many I just don't bring it up.
I got tired of that with friends and family who felt free to bring up any maga talking point they thought of at that moment. I stayed silent for a very long time. After November, I really took time to evaluate that and feel that contributed to where we are. I now have 1 of 3 siblings speaking to me, stopped attending maga filled church and lost a few friends.
I have to confess I have 2 brothers I refuse to engage with. One is a self proclaimed Liberatarian (right of center), the other is probably a MAGAt. I am assuming because of his talking points. They are so self-righteous and anti-Dems. But I live in a blue state so its probably a bit easier. Take care.
Locate your local food bank.
Call your City Council rep (City Hall) and ask where you can volunteer/donate.
Call your County Commissioner's office to do the same.
Donate to:
ACLU (!!!!!)
Planned Parenthood (!!!!)
PBS
American Red Cross
World Central Kitchen
And donate to organizations that fight the fight in the courts. I suggest: ACLU, Brennan Center, Marc Elias’s Democracy Docket, Norm Eisen’s Contrarians…. just for starters. I love them all, but honestly it’s Adam Kinsinger that keeps me saner. 🙏
Public Citizen too
So what do I do?
just keep the faith. THis will take time but ultimately we will come back I believe. just make sure you dont get burned out
Anything helps, donate to food banks or to places like Common Cause that are fighting in the courts. Get involved with Adam's Country First. Get involved with your local Precinct even if you are an independent or unaffiliated. Attend protests, call your Senators and Reps with your concerns. This all adds up! Good luck!
https://indivisible.org/
Find a local group:
https://indivisible.org/
Trump and his Merry Band of ROTTEN TO THE Core SUBHUMANS deserve everything I pray will happen to them. The TYRANT is mentally Incompetent - he is the source of everything vile The Cruelest Mass Murderer ever on the Planet and the rest of the world better wake up!! Corruption is MAGA the leader Scum! Greed is his Mantra! Everything about him is repulsive. Especially his lack of education. He is a BIGOT beyond belief. He is reviled by so many but charges ahead in making everyone miserable. He must be brought down along with his ass kissers!
me too
I, too, am disgusted by the dictator in our White House, but I only pray for his enlightenment and return to the Christian values he claims to believe in.
He's not a believer. It's all an act to appease his base, unfortunately.
Exactly. A "believer"? Of what? Power is all. Jesus it is not.
He has NO VALUES. HIS Daddy made him read Mein Kampf at night. He’s a Repulsive NAZI
What should we do about this cruelty? Are lawyers petitioning the courts for their release? Should a class action lawsuit be filed against all involved in this genocide? Should a Go Fund Me start now on behalf of these innocent people who are jailed to help pay for legal representation? If so we need to do it NOW.
Im not sure where this is in the courts. thats our battle for now, and protests, and stay in the fight
Don't know about this issue, but as we've seen in general, the lower courts are with us and the Supreme Court majority is with Trump.
and never, ever give up!
When will they ever learn? The flowers are long gone, and they persist in lunacy. (after Peter, Paul and Mary, 1960).
This is just my take on it, but I think that the whole goal of the various government department cuts is to destroy faith in the federal government. In turn, that will enable the Project 2025 architects to go and say, "See, the government doesn't work. It needs to be cut (even more)." And, ultimately, we will see a federal government that won't be much more powerful than an advisory board.
The goal is Unitary Executive and contract everything out to private companies- but companies that agree with their version of America
Trump may be the leader but the republicans in Congress could have reined him in on several fronts. They didn’t. They are the ones who bolden him and contribute to the demise of this country. Absolutely appalling.