Oh but the GOP reps have nothing to worry about because as long as the Dems aren't great we'll vote these people back in regardless of what damage they wreak. What an argument.
A fighter for what? Policies that have been tried and failed plus an antisemitic core? These people sounds like MAGA Repubs to me. Trump might be obnoxious but at least he fights is what they say. I have zero interest in trading in Right Wing Populism for Left Wing Populism. The only thing really worth fighting for is a classical liberal, center-right conservatism (my preference) or a classical liberal center left progressivism (for those who want a more active gov't). Anything else ain't worth fighting for.
Adam and our SubStack community. I just read this the other day and I am passing on for others to read. Offers a different perspective. I hope everybody reads it for discussion :
Written by Kevin Dolgin who is affiliate professor at the Sorbonne Business School in Paris where he teaches entrepreneurship and consumer behavior in the MBA program. A graduate of Fordham University (USA), INSEAD and of the Sorbonne Business School. Born in New York City, has lived in Paris for 30 years.
He writes :
“It seems to me that this habit of viewing other developed nations as “socialist”, is a uniquely American trait, and one that is rather new.
I’m going to make a bold statement: THERE ARE NO SOCIALIST COUNTRIES, at least not in the developed world. Even China, which is nominally communist (therefore socialist) has greatly opened up its economy to private ownership since the death of Mao, and today, about 70% of the economy is in private hands (see What percentage of the Chinese economy is state-owned?). There remain parties that have “socialist” in their names, but even they are not actually militating for a socialist system.
Socialism is a specific economic / political form of society in which the means of production are owned by the population as a whole, typically through the government. The Soviet Union and its satellites were socialist.
There is no developed country in which the means of production are all owned by the government. There are many countries in which certain companies are owned by the government, typically companies dealing with public goods, such as railroads, utilities, etc. In France, the national rail service is owned by the government, for example, and in the United States, the postal service is government owned. This does not make either of the two countries socialist.
Neither is there any developed nation that is truly entirely “capitalist”, if capitalism means allowing only Adam Smith’s invisible hand to regulate business. In the 19th century, for example, capitalism in most countries was given a freer hand. However, in the late part of the century and early part of the 20th century, just about every country started regulating it more closely. For example, in the United States in 1900 there were no child labor laws, no laws against workplace discrimination, no laws limited the workweek, no right to strike, no anti-trust laws… etc. Likewise, there was virtually no public “safety nets”, i.e. transfer payments to the poor, disabled, orphans, etc. This was similar to other nations.
Since then, most countries have instituted all of these laws, regulations and public aid programs. Some have gone farther than others. In France total governmental spending as a percent of GDP is quite high, at 56.7%, as compared to 37.6% in the United States. This could be seen as a general idea of the role of government in the economy, so the country has clearly decided to move more to the “left” of the United States economically, as have most nations.
Most Americans I meet and talk to are rather international and it has become clear to me that opinions back in the States are very different.
It strikes me that there is an American (or at least alt-right) obsession with calling everything that isn’t strictly conservative “socialist”. Those who do this seem to get quite agitated about it as well, becoming angry with said “socialists”. I was flummoxed to see that these same people sometimes even go so far as to state that the Nazis were socialists too, and that Nazism was a leftist ideology: apparently because the word “socialist” is part of the party’s name, which would indicate that North Korea is democratic… but that’s another story.
I have the impression that there’s a certain nostalgia for the cold war, when there were good Americans and evil commies. Now that the commies are gone, “socialists” have become the new bogeymen, whether they are lurking in the Assemblée Nationale or in the Democratic party. But those same people were fighting the cold war too, and we all won! Hurray! No one wants Soviet-style socialism, or any other socialism. The French, as well as other citizens of developed countries all want democratic capitalism, and they have it. At the same time, no one wants to go back to the unregulated robber-baron era of 1890, it’s all just a question of where on that regulatory spectrum we should be. There are different opinions and different answers to that, but by painting a picture of a good vs evil dichotomy, all discussion is shut down and progress ceases.”
Bravo Diane, this is the real discussion and breakthrough we should be having in America. I grew up in Canada and we have a similar type of government to Europe and France. I had one wet-behind-the-ears missionary kid come from Utah many years ago and when we invited him to dinner and asked him how he liked Toronto said "I've never been in a communist country before." Probably went to the same school as Mike Lee.... Anyway here's the AI overview of Canada and it sounds a lot like what you were saying and I experienced for 45 years: "Canada is not a socialist country. It operates under a mixed economy with strong democratic traditions, combining free market principles with social safety nets and government intervention. While some political parties and figures in Canada are associated with socialist ideologies, the country as a whole is not considered socialist."
It's not un-American to appreciate the good that other countries have.
I agree. As far as calling Canada socialist that was the narrative that started because they have a one pay healthcare system. They call it “socialized medicine.” corporate America with all their greed, and taking over of healthcare villainize a one payer system universal healthcare for all because they don’t want to give up their profit and the gravy train they’ve had doing whatever they want holding Americans hostage concerning healthcare.
All of this is still forcing us to stay in the same narrative and loop that got us into the position we’re in. Our country is broken so how can we reject looking at what these other countries are doing that enjoy democracy.
I am very impressed with the leadership in Canada right now .
I was a little concerned today about Canada's streaming tariff because the rhetoric on CBC (Canadian Broadcasting) sounded slightly Trumpian: "It will bring in massive dollars for the Canadian gov't." Which, of course, Canada sorely needs because it IS a tough fight against the elephant in the bed. Are you familiar with Pierre Elliot Trudeau's quip decades ago that living next to the US was like sleeping with an elephant [smile].
I may be excoriated for saying this but the main reason I chose to remain in the US rather than return to Canada after Trump was elected was because I liked my style of living down here. I live in a huge house in Arizona, pay an affordable mortgage because we bought in a dip, and I am a senior in quite good health so Medicare covers my needs. That could make me self centered and say "I'm alright Jack (or Jill), you look after yourself."
But I wasn't raised that way in Canada, haven't seen that kind of thinking make a good, healthy kind of society in the countries I've lived in. I know that my ancestors who came to Canada (and some to the US) for better living conditions would tell me that they succeeded thanks to people who helped them so it's my duty to speak out about helping people as well. My Irish immigrant grandmother, who worked diligently in post WW2 Montreal to bring over refugees in European camps, would visit me from her grave and bop me on the head if I didn't care about people in trouble.
So I remain in the US, in a VERY red county and try to bring an alternative point of view into conversations in as kind a way as I can.
When people were debating about whether the Iran strikes were a "success" I simply said that I was less concerned with that than I was thinking about all that money on blown-up bombs while, with the new bill in the Senate, the already neglected children in our underfunded public school will be losing even what they had--free lunches and Title 1. No amount of "charity" will overcome that. I am a volunteer literacy aide but it's an uphill battle.
When others were talking about people dying in the streets in Los Angeles due to rioters, I quietly pointed out that nobody had died on the streets--except from a stray bullet that emphasized how ordinary citizens should not be running around carrying guns--but people were dying in hospital corridors because they lacked healthcare. Just small opinions like that. And because people have experienced my loving and caring in the community, they pause for a moment and think. And that's all we can hope for in the beginning. Making people pause and think.
I also want to mention here that healthcare was taken over by corporate America to make profit for MANY .
The thought of turning healthcare into a vehicle to create jobs and base our economy on that has been outrageous.
Applying the business model to healthcare has been disastrous .
It is in direct CONFLICT with the Hippocratic Oath and the medical ethics, all doctors take.
It has compromised many doctors and negatively affected the well-being of every American. And they have simply gone about trying to rewrite the Hippocratic Oath to fit their thinking to justify it all . Just like they’re doing to the constitution and the declaration of independence and our laws.
The Mayo clinic has a quote from one of their founding doctors, one of the Mayo brothers :
“ The greatest asset of a nation is the health of it’s people”
Right now, the push to reject universal healthcare for all is all about money and profit, and from those that are used to making a lot of money on the backs of ordinary Americans exploiting that all people get sick, suffer from disease and need healthcare. There is much corruption in healthcare.
It appears that this authoritarian fascist dictatorship take over of our country ( being allowed to happen by the present so called Republican Party ) believes in survival of the fittest and thinning out the population by letting disease run rampant.
For years, they have made the most outrageous accusations accusing the Obama administration of having “death panels! “
This was nothing but psychological projection of themselves and their thinking.
Mitch McConnell just said to put through all the cuts that would take healthcare away from millions of people commenting
“ they will get over it”
As he and all the other elected officials enjoy the best healthcare paid for by the taxpayers.
It’s time the American people renegotiate employment contracts with people that are elected to NOT include healthcare.
Clear what Trump wants-totally deregulated and privatized economy to benefit billionaire buddies. In Russia they’re called oligarchs. Explain to me the difference if you can because I don’t see any and Trump is like a schlocky Putin
Absolutely! This is the number one thing people want now out of any candidate...someone who will fight for them (or they perceive this to be true). This is how any candidate must present themselves, in a new dynamic way; any of the old ways are no longer effective.
What I hear is that people want them to give them facts and then tell them what they actually CAN do in Congress. We see through all the promises at this point, tell us how Congress can function best.
The call for universal healthcare has always been classified as “socialism” and this narrative has been played over and over again. How could anybody be against providing healthcare for all? The Republicans sure find money to pay for whatever they want and they have no problem increasing our debt by trillions between Trump 1.0 and Trump 2.0 to line the pockets of the wealthy and billionaires.
The self-absorbed, narcissistic psychopathic people do not even think they need to contribute taxes to pay for the very roads that they themselves use .
If their house catches on fire, the fire department just arrives and does not ask them “ did you help pay for this or not?” they have no problem, taking advantage of all the public services that are provided without thinking they need to contribute to maintain them by paying their taxes.
The mentality was floated decades go about how these people provide jobs. Everything became about providing jobs.
So they get corporate tax cuts and personal tax cuts all at the same time.
Then the American people were gaslit and emotionally abused severely with the phrase
“ trickle down economics” and how the wealthiest people getting the tax cuts would trickle down and benefit the American people on the premise that the people with all the money would be decent honest integral people caring about others with empathy and compassion, and having a personal moral sense of responsibility after being given so much.
No, they look at everybody else as invisible and not needed in society. And they have used their money to buy and pay for elected officials in this country to hijack our government or political system thwarting the will of the people for their own benefit.
Pushing this twisted distorted message of “ individualism” on steroids, which is nothing more than narcissism. An epidemic that has been raging in this country for decades.
Obviously we see that just is not true and created greater income and equality with 10% of our population controlling 70% of the wealth and power.
The mentality always is “ everything for us wealthy/ billionaires and you American people can just live with less and need nothing more “
(not even the basics to be healthy and live in dignity. )
It is the “ Let them eat cake “ mentality.
This is the mindset of the self-absorbed, narcissistic, psychopathic personality which unfortunately is in control and has worked for decades to be in this position. It a fascist authoritarian takeover.
I also want to mention here that healthcare was taken over by corporate America to make profit for MANY .
The thought of turning healthcare into a vehicle to create jobs and base our economy on that has been outrageous.
Applying the business model to healthcare has been disastrous .
It is in direct CONFLICT with the Hippocratic Oath and the medical ethics, all doctors take.
It has compromised many doctors and negatively affected the well-being of every American. And they have simply gone about trying to rewrite the Hippocratic Oath to fit their thinking to justify it all . Just like they’re doing to the constitution and the declaration of independence and our laws.
The Mayo clinic has a quote from one of their founding doctors, one of the Mayo brothers :
“ The greatest asset of a nation is the health of it’s people”
Right now, the push to reject universal healthcare for all is all about money and profit, and from those that are used to making a lot of money on the backs of ordinary Americans exploiting that all people get sick, suffer from disease and need healthcare.
It appears that this authoritarian fascist dictatorship take over of our country ( being allowed to happen by the present so called republican broken party) believes in survival of the fittest and thinning out the population by letting disease run rampant.
For years, they have made the most outrageous accusations accusing the Obama administration of having “death panels! “
This was nothing but psychological projection of themselves and their thinking.
Mitch McConnell just said to put through all the cuts that would take healthcare away from millions of people commenting
“ they will get over it”
As he and all the other elected officials enjoy the best healthcare paid for by the taxpayers.
It’s time the American people renegotiate employment contracts with people that are elected to NOT include healthcare.
Even though you may not agree with Mamdani, I would love for you to invite him on a video Substack. Ask him the tough questions, hear his point of view. If we are to build bridges or alliances to defeat MAGA GOP I want to hear from all viewpoints. We must be inclusive and not be seen as establishment. It comes off as a bit of Islamophobia. Keep up the good work.
I agree to hear from Mamdani. Perhaps you could enlighten on some of the very points you made in this article. He might to hear your (our) viewpoint too.
You are very respectable in interviews. And for a former conservative you appear very open minded. I would love Mamdani and other Progressives to be on a podcast with you. Also people like Wajahat Ali , etc !
It's also important to note that Cuomo resigned in disgrace as governor a few years ago AND he doesn't even live in NYC! His candidacy was a slap in the face to NYC dems. The party thought they could shove their establishment guy who has a history of bad behavior and doesn't reflect the city's needs, and dems would just sleep walk through the election. It's ridiculous and frustrating. Im a centrist dem and would love to support other centrist dems, but Cuomo is a corrupt suburbanite and is completely out of touch with what people in the city need and want.
I think people want centrist politicians who can create broad coalitions, but too often the parties become lazy and corrupt. I like seeing Mamdani shake things up. Also, Mikie Sherill is a good example that a qualified centrist dem can easily win primaries with her huge win in the NJ governor primary.
The democrats need to provide qualified, non corrupt candidates and the votes will follow
Isn’t the dems thinking that Cuomo could get back in elected office after leaving because of sex scandal/accusations almost the same thing as maga voting in 34 counts felon orange man-baby? Sorta seems like it to me. In this case, the dems are no better than the maga cultists.
Let's turn that argument around: the maga cultists are no better than the dems. So let's lay that argument to rest because it convinces no one.
A gov't reflects its constituents. Even a Josh Hawley can pause from his goose-step following of Trump to look at how Medicaid cuts will affect the people who vote for him. He's planning a lifelong career in politics, at this point he HAS to listen if he thinks he's going to lose his seat.
And that's who needs to be targeted--the younger members of Congress, those who want a future in politics. And it will follow that to target them, you are going to have to go to those districts and get their voters stirred up. And you have to put forward a candidate who can win that district, who speaks to the concerns of that district. And counter the prevailing view in that district.
I'd really like to hear more from Liz Cheney on how she sees things now. She was brutalized far more than Adam. She dared to fight again while Adam resigned. Not criticizing him for that, but it would be interesting to get perspectives from people who lost their campaigns, why they think they lost and what they would have done differently.
Politics is messy and when you generalize, I think alot gets lost. But generally I would agree that trying to push Cuomo is the same billionaire-funded corrupt nonsense as Trump and his funders/supporters.
Those with money are always going to try to hijack the system for their own interests. The purpose of democracy, in my opinion, is to push back on this
What both parties ignored is one big reason Mamdani won.
The rejection of the rule of law started in our schools about four decades ago when fascists hijacked many if not most of them. Whistleblowing teachers have tried to tell you since 2002 at WhiteChalkCrime.com and EndTeacherAbuse.org. We knew it would eventually take down democracy.
Unfortunately, we’ve been ignored by the media when there’s been a solution - get people who care about democracy on school boards. We still can do this once people understand the role schools play in upholding a democracy and how boards have totally not done their job well before right wing extremists started taking them over.
At this point our schools are one of few places we can plant the flag of democracy but we need the media investigating the fascists running many of our schools. These whistleblowers can educate a willing media. So far that does not exist and we’re paying a high price.
The democracy haters realized they could use our schools to end it while the democracy lovers remain clueless about the power of our institution to shape this nation. It used to produce caring citizens. It used to say no to evil. When that stopped, democracy began unraveling. It’s time people recognized that a functional education system would not have school shootings. They are red flags people only see as a gun issue when they are warnings: we must investigate our schools.
We can’t ignore the primary reason democracy imploded if we expect it to ever return. We need a leader to fix this. That won’t happen if the media ignores the teachers who know what happened to one of our most cherished institutions. We must get past the cover up that the unions are taking part in out of fear of the fascists in power and fix our schools. That will only happen if the media listens to the teachers and investigates
Yes, people don’t understand law is codified morality. It’s an agreement of right and wrong. Trump followers don’t agree with established morality. They’re fine with frightening people with deportation and violence and lying. Law is all about morality and Trump is all about himself.
When I returned to teaching in 1995 and saw what they were doing including breaking laws left and right I knew we’d lose democracy. I’ve done what I could to spread the word but I’m just a teacher.
I explained this in my memoir A Graver Danger but people read celebrities’ books, not books like mine. No way an unknown person’s book becomes a best seller. It’s frustrating but I can’t give up teaching the public about how Trump happened the same way I could never give up on a student. Please help me by spreading the word so the media has to investigate. Once they do and once a good person runs on this, democracy has a chance.
Agreed. Republicans have targeted public school funding starting just before the rise of Reagan. Think California's Proposition 13 in 1978 that devastated the state's schools. The ugly message that helped propel that awful initiative? "Why should I support other people's kids?"
It’s a catch 22. Unfortunately, they were right that the money was being misused, which helped them be anti democratic. We need schools that give them no reason to not support them!
Karen Horowitz, I would like to know what state you live in. I live in Massachusetts and I can tell you that our schools are places of learning, teaching values like honesty, listening, kindness, caring, paying attention, after school projects like fundraisers for cancer, sports competitions and looking out for neighbors and the more vulnerable. There is no fascist takeover that I am aware of here but we put a high value on education here and parents and teachers are focused on such.
We have a fascist leader who can change things real quick and is doing it right now with help from the Supreme Court. We should never feel too safe in this environment!!!
I started an organization to locate teachers who experienced lawlessness at their schools and over 2000 joined from every state including Massachusetts. It’s not every school though. Just enough to take this country down. There are definitely good administrators but as the years have gone on even they struggle. A CT superintendent was so concerned about what he saw going on he wrote a book about it years ago - School Corruption by Dr. Armand Fusco.
I’m in Illinois. I taught at a top district in one of the most affluent suburbs. Most of the people there didn’t know what they were doing behind the scenes. They are great at pretense. However, you might be lucky. Fusco ran a solid district. Nevertheless, we all live in the country the lawless schools made happen so it’s everyone’s problem.
Thank you for sharing in a kind way. It’s so easy to think the other person is wrong or crazy when it’s not our experience. You can check out my organization EndTeacherAbuse.org where I located others before I wrote books on the topic. I made sure my experience was not an aberration. I did initially think it was due to the affluence where I taught but learned it happens in rich or poor, big or small. The more people who work together to solve our democracy problem the sooner we will succeed!
I agree 100%. the fascist takeover is from the trump regime targeting public schools and higher ed institutions. school leaders are trying to protect schools from that.
Let me count the ways! Their corruption is why I gave up my teaching career to become an activist. They use our schools as their treasure chests. Think Trump. They were doing exactly what he’s doing. My 2008 and 2019 books included the corruption. My 2024 book focuses on how their bad acts took down democracy since the money they steal is not as bad as what they do to teachers so they can’t do their jobs appropriately.
Think of it this way. In order to do as they please with the money, they keep teachers and the unions in a state of fear so they don’t talk and the few that do won’t be heard. I’ve been at this for 30 years and they’re still doing as they please and the unions are still not admitting this. They’re afraid like most of the Republicans are. Fascists use fear to have their way.
My book included hundreds who were caught but people haven’t put together that people like that aren’t in it to educate our children and create citizens. That part has been totally missed and understanding that is essential for restoring democracy.
It’s kind of like the Harvey Weinstein saga only we have a bunch of predators forcing stupidity rather than sex on teachers. So parents have become disgusted with teachers leaving them powerless just the way predators need their victims. The media has not investigated. They just don’t believe those of us who report this. They think teachers are to blame and ignore us. Many teachers are going along to get along but they have no choice. Those of us who spoke out were fired - even with tenure. The public has a lot to learn. That’s why I wrote three books. If only people read my books they’d know exactly what to do to clean up this mess.
(School) “ It used to produce caring citizens. It used to say no to evil. When that stopped, democracy began unraveling.”
Very troubling what you present, and I believe there must be some truth to it.
However, isn’t ‘Society at large’ responsible, doesn’t this reflect an overall coarsening of dialogue at all levels of society?
Granted, schools have great influence in the formation of children’s’ outlook, but when we consider all the influences they are subjected to doesn’t it become more difficult to determine what comes first — the chicken or the egg? Considering the influence of social media, for one thing.
And what about parents - how much stock do we put in the saying “The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.”?
Anyway, bravura to you for your noble fight, and I wish you well.
— I’m a retired, non-professional Canadian, so not an active participant here except to cheer on brave & principled fighters.
You’re correct. Chicken and egg for sure. But living through the education world for so many years and finding it lawless it became clear it’s a big deal. And Abraham Lincoln convinced me with his quote where he said that the way of the school room in one generation will be the government in the next. He was so right. My superintendent behaved a lot like Trump. Trump is a Deja vu of my teaching days. Appreciate your cheering on. We certainly need it!
I taught for 35 years and been in and around education, both public and parochial all my life. They still produce caring citizens and the equal education to a broader more diverse population is way better now than they were 40 years ago.
as someone who spent my career as a teacher, during the last 4 decades, I think our schools are even better than when I was in school. the unions are protecting teachers and students from the fascist regime in government now trying to eliminate history and create their own biased curriculum.
I’m sure there are lots of boys who weren’t abused by priests. But the fact some were is serious. That’s similar to the education world. I have proof the unions helped get rid of outstanding teachers in the way of power hungry administrators. They go along to get along and do good things when they can. I loved teaching as you did but I met evil as did thousands of teachers who joined my organization EndTeacherAbuse.org. I hope you care about our profession enough to learn about this. We need the support of teachers like you since education is so important.
The line between caring and extremism is getting increasingly blurred in our time. Fascists are attacking everyone that just wants to live a decent life. Taking a side means taking a stand.
Cuomo had lots going for him but his problems far outweighed his experience. News Nation employs his brother, who had the same problem in his previous job. Perhaps they were raised like that.
Mamdani ran a campaign like Harris's. He campaigned on the things that decent people in NYC want.
The establishment is over. Americans want a return to by the people for the people, and they want new faces that speak the truth.
It's also important to remember that Andrew Cuomo is an asshole. He was accused of groping MANY of his female aides while governor and forced out of office - he said he was "sorry that he was misunderstood." He also grossly mishandled and lied about the nursing home situation in NY State during the worst of the Covid pandemic.
So while I absolutely agree that Democrats need to learn a lot from this (and personally I like many of Mamdani's ideas including free childcare and once again making CUNY free while raising taxes on billionaires), it's important to remember this: it's a major disadvantage to a candidate when the voters know you're an asshole. Yeah, Trump won anyway but that's because he leads a cult of MAGA-ites. Most mainstream assholes don't have that advantage, and that's definitely a part of why Cuomo lost - and why I'm pissed off that he's now running as an independent, rather than crawling under a rock where he belongs.
Americans are angry, Americans are depressed. Americans are terrified. Americans are leaving our country. Our Supreme Court just ruled 6-3 that district courts are not able to make injunctions limiting trump's use of Executive Orders. We are one step closer to a dictatorship. I hope that the electorate continues to recognize the Black Hole our country is falling into and votes to remove people like trump and his minions. (Use of lower-case letters is intentional.)
Currently, the Supreme Court is nearly useless. Do not look to the Court for relief on the march to dictatorship. The current conservative justices have lost sight of their job.
I wonder what Donald REALLY promised them OR on the other side, threatened them with? They are absolutely despicable and they KNOW they are going against the Constitution they swore to uphold., like very other MAGA creep.
The ruling had a lot of nuance to it. It doesn't say they are not able to make injunctions at all. It says this case was not broad enough. The states are already suing on this issue and will bring up the Citizen case again the right way- as a class action lawsuit.
I was a staunch Republican for years and over the last 20 I have moved increasingly to the left. Jeff Bezos wedding tells me a lot. I "knew" Jeff when he was a startup in the Bay Area and he did NOT get to where he is all by himself.
As for grocery stores? Mamdami wants to make ONE available in each borough I mean, RFK wants everyone to eat good food, even as HE takes his grandchildren to swim in a shit filled creek, and the people he wants to reach live in food deserts. You'd think HE'D be cheering this.
People are tired, they are stressed, they work their asses off and every day is a struggle. What happened to those "good old days"? Those days when my husband and I were not making a huge amount of money but we were very fortunate that my grandfather gave us 2,000 and with that we went shopping and bought a 26,000 house IN Marin County. We had no money for closing costs of about an additional 2000 and the broker lent it to us on a 6 month note. We were paying 125,00 per month in rent and our house payment was 246.00 per month. THAT was scary but we could do it. What happened to those days and those opportunities?
My brother and SIL just helped my nephew buy a house last year It was a great deal in a great neighborhood, ONLY 750,000. My nephew has a great job and benefits with Gallo Wineries, but he NEVER could have come up with the cash needed and in turn he will never be in a position to help his own kids in that way. We are going backwards.
There is a reason that Scandinavian countries are the "happiest places". NO NO NO, they are not perfect and they have issues, immigration being one of them. However, there is till innovation, there are still businesses, there are still shop and restaurant owners, there are still people getting up and going to work every day, they are not all sitting around on their asses waiting for the dole.
They DO however know their kids are taken care of during the day until they pick them up on their way home from work, their kids will be educated and they won't go broke from trying to have their five year old with a brain tumor possible life saving treatment, they won't die from colon cancer because their colonoscopy was not allowed because it "wasn't necessary".
I wonder who sleeps better at night, the Dane with the high taxes or the guy in Brooklyn with three kids, one with a chronic disease, who works for a guy who just took his Christmas bonus away because profits were down some and stockholders needed their dividends. So the guy getting up and going to work every day, rain, shine, sick, or well, is penalized and they guy sipping a cold one on the hotel terrace in Nice gets his dividend check automatically deposited to his brokerage account.
Sorry, I'm fed up. Corporations can pay millions and billions to Super PACS and funnel those dollars into campaigns and easily turn around and lay off 1,000 people, who have worked every day to MAKE them the billions that they have , and never bat an eye, They are users and takers and I'm sick of them.
This should not have shocked anyone. I lived in NYC for almost 40yrs before I moved to Scottsdale, AZ. NYC is a diverse community. Acceptance is the rule rather than the exception. When people wake up to jackbooted, masked ICE agents taking away the workers that help run the city, they will fight back. They do that with their votes.
PS. Adam-very happy you are speaking at Arizona Speaker Series. Will you be doing any town halls when you are here?
I agree that the Democrats need to fight harder, and I encourage that, but by having some of these more far-left candidates winning, like in NYC, I'm worried that the Dems could be taken over by craziest like in the Republican Party. I hope it doesn't come to that, but I've already seen signs of that starting to happen. I mean, Nancy Pelosi, a liberal Democrat, I might add, had trouble keeping the progressives in line during the 117th Congress, and they even held up the bipartisan infrastructure bill for a few days because she couldn't get them to vote for it. When Pelosi started having issues keeping them in line, that reaally started to concern me. And if the Dems get the House in 2026, I worry about how well Jeffries will be able to keep them from going too far. We need fighters, but we also need common sense, and we don't need another party to be taken over by extremists. So that's what really worries me.
As I see this, it is a direct result of the boomerang effect. And by that I mean, the severity of Trump and his actions has created the need for a complete and absolute opposite! Whether this will ultimately be good, I can only hope it is. If it isn’t, then again, this is Trump‘s doing frankly.
Unfortunately, both parties are moving to their extreme sides. I don't see either party moderating, so maybe time for a 3rd party to emerge that would represent the majority of American's that want common sense solutions to our problems and are sick of the "zero sum game" politics.
Mamdani’s win/Cuomo’s loss was also a rejection of a narcissistic, corrupt, sexual predator. I am a full-on Dem, but, as a NYC voter, it disgusted me completely that the Dems chose to run a man with Cuomo’s traits and history. I haven’t been one to beat the drum about Dems needing to learn from these elections, but, my God, is it clear now how much they do.
I guess I’m not worried about the candidate that got the most votes. That’s how democracy is supposed to work right? I think they liked new ideas and not the same “the sky is falling” approach and are tired of candidates with so much baggage. Between the corruption of Adams and Cuomo having the COVID and sexual harassment scandals hanging over him like an albatross, how is anyone surprised? What IS notable is that the upper tax bracket folks are his biggest supporters.
Hi Adam: I'm disappointed you cherry picked the reference to 2nd intifada (2000 - 2005), which was, as you say, very violent. For balance, please know that the first intifada (1987-1990), while not completely void of violence, was mostly large street demonstrations with people and kids throwing rocks at tanks. In addition "The Great March of Return" which was a peaceful demonstration in against the brutal Israeli occupation in Gaza in 2018 and 2019 was peaceful, but resulted in 223 Palestinian deaths, with thousands injured, mostly by Israeli snipers. I suggest you read the UN report on this tragedy. The Palestinians have tried nonviolent forms of protest to no avail. Recently, I was reading about the Warsaw Ghetto uprising during WW2, and I was struck by the similarities between the Jews in the Warsaw ghetto and the Palestinians in Gaza - The Jews protested, they fought back, they dug tunnels, set booby traps, snuck outside the Ghetto to attack Nazis. The Nazis attacked the Ghetto, cut off food, water, electricity, created a full blockade. When people are caught in a brutal occupation for decades while being ethnically cleansed, uprisings happen. Criticizing Mamdani for supporting an uprising in the face of such brutality, is like telling the Jews of the Warsaw Ghetto to shut up, stand down and take it. Not going to happen. People will fight for their liberty. That's the Intifada. Thank you. John
Thank you for this information John. I am trying to hold paradoxes in my mind these days; to consider the many complex parts of giant, entrenched and in this instance, very old problems. In my wrestling with this information you posted, I think about Iran. They have that clock in Tehran counting down to the day when all Jews will be wiped off the face of the earth and they poured so much money into the proxies like Hamas, Hezbollah and the Hothis (do they all being with "H"??). If that clock is just propaganda - it is super creepy and existentially terrifying. Religious extremism everywhere, especial when in fully control of a country, destroys the lives of everyone else. In doing so phrases about the Intifada ignite primal fear for many people.
Hi Lorraine! Thank you so much for posting. I agree that there are many complex parts. But I think it is these very complex parts and historical context that is skipped over when discussing this subject, particularly by the American news media. For example, Iran is often placed in the radical Islam box, with no mention of how it became and Islamic Republic. No mention of the fact that the US initiated a CIA coup in 1953 against Iran Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh, a secular politician and installed the Shaw - a puppet dictator who brutalized the people for 4 decades. Without the CIA meddling there would be no Islamic regime in Iran. Without the establishment of the Zionist project, and the ensuing land theft, ethnic cleansing and ever-expanding apartheid Israeli state, there would be no Hamas (and hence, no Oct 7th) no Islamic Jihad, and likely no Hezbollah or Houthis If no US invasion of Iran (pushed by Netanyahu), there would be no Isis. I am certainly not a fan of the current Iranian Islamic government, but their meddling in regional proxy wars is a result of, and response to, Israeli meddling, invasions, land theft and brutalization. One only has to conduct a simple Google search on how many invasions and regime change operations the US and Israel has started since 1950, and compare it to Iran. If that's done, I believe one may be re-defining what extremism is and who the extremists really are. John
Your absolutely right, Diane. Netanyahu, and most all of Israeli leadership, were never going to agree to a 2-state solution. The purpose of the settlements was to prevent a 2-state solution. The purpose of Netanyahu funding Hamas in the early years to the tune of $1.2 Billion (through Qatar) was designed to drive a wedge between Gaza and West Bank (Hamas and Palestinian Authority). The old Divide and Conquer tactic - right out of the Colonial Setter playbook.
I think the message really is the people want fighters. Any Democrat who is just waiting on 2026 will find themselves out of a job.
agreed
Oh but the GOP reps have nothing to worry about because as long as the Dems aren't great we'll vote these people back in regardless of what damage they wreak. What an argument.
Gosh, I hope not
lol- I concur!
A fighter for what? Policies that have been tried and failed plus an antisemitic core? These people sounds like MAGA Repubs to me. Trump might be obnoxious but at least he fights is what they say. I have zero interest in trading in Right Wing Populism for Left Wing Populism. The only thing really worth fighting for is a classical liberal, center-right conservatism (my preference) or a classical liberal center left progressivism (for those who want a more active gov't). Anything else ain't worth fighting for.
Adam and our SubStack community. I just read this the other day and I am passing on for others to read. Offers a different perspective. I hope everybody reads it for discussion :
Written by Kevin Dolgin who is affiliate professor at the Sorbonne Business School in Paris where he teaches entrepreneurship and consumer behavior in the MBA program. A graduate of Fordham University (USA), INSEAD and of the Sorbonne Business School. Born in New York City, has lived in Paris for 30 years.
He writes :
“It seems to me that this habit of viewing other developed nations as “socialist”, is a uniquely American trait, and one that is rather new.
I’m going to make a bold statement: THERE ARE NO SOCIALIST COUNTRIES, at least not in the developed world. Even China, which is nominally communist (therefore socialist) has greatly opened up its economy to private ownership since the death of Mao, and today, about 70% of the economy is in private hands (see What percentage of the Chinese economy is state-owned?). There remain parties that have “socialist” in their names, but even they are not actually militating for a socialist system.
Socialism is a specific economic / political form of society in which the means of production are owned by the population as a whole, typically through the government. The Soviet Union and its satellites were socialist.
There is no developed country in which the means of production are all owned by the government. There are many countries in which certain companies are owned by the government, typically companies dealing with public goods, such as railroads, utilities, etc. In France, the national rail service is owned by the government, for example, and in the United States, the postal service is government owned. This does not make either of the two countries socialist.
Neither is there any developed nation that is truly entirely “capitalist”, if capitalism means allowing only Adam Smith’s invisible hand to regulate business. In the 19th century, for example, capitalism in most countries was given a freer hand. However, in the late part of the century and early part of the 20th century, just about every country started regulating it more closely. For example, in the United States in 1900 there were no child labor laws, no laws against workplace discrimination, no laws limited the workweek, no right to strike, no anti-trust laws… etc. Likewise, there was virtually no public “safety nets”, i.e. transfer payments to the poor, disabled, orphans, etc. This was similar to other nations.
Since then, most countries have instituted all of these laws, regulations and public aid programs. Some have gone farther than others. In France total governmental spending as a percent of GDP is quite high, at 56.7%, as compared to 37.6% in the United States. This could be seen as a general idea of the role of government in the economy, so the country has clearly decided to move more to the “left” of the United States economically, as have most nations.
Most Americans I meet and talk to are rather international and it has become clear to me that opinions back in the States are very different.
It strikes me that there is an American (or at least alt-right) obsession with calling everything that isn’t strictly conservative “socialist”. Those who do this seem to get quite agitated about it as well, becoming angry with said “socialists”. I was flummoxed to see that these same people sometimes even go so far as to state that the Nazis were socialists too, and that Nazism was a leftist ideology: apparently because the word “socialist” is part of the party’s name, which would indicate that North Korea is democratic… but that’s another story.
I have the impression that there’s a certain nostalgia for the cold war, when there were good Americans and evil commies. Now that the commies are gone, “socialists” have become the new bogeymen, whether they are lurking in the Assemblée Nationale or in the Democratic party. But those same people were fighting the cold war too, and we all won! Hurray! No one wants Soviet-style socialism, or any other socialism. The French, as well as other citizens of developed countries all want democratic capitalism, and they have it. At the same time, no one wants to go back to the unregulated robber-baron era of 1890, it’s all just a question of where on that regulatory spectrum we should be. There are different opinions and different answers to that, but by painting a picture of a good vs evil dichotomy, all discussion is shut down and progress ceases.”
Bravo Diane, this is the real discussion and breakthrough we should be having in America. I grew up in Canada and we have a similar type of government to Europe and France. I had one wet-behind-the-ears missionary kid come from Utah many years ago and when we invited him to dinner and asked him how he liked Toronto said "I've never been in a communist country before." Probably went to the same school as Mike Lee.... Anyway here's the AI overview of Canada and it sounds a lot like what you were saying and I experienced for 45 years: "Canada is not a socialist country. It operates under a mixed economy with strong democratic traditions, combining free market principles with social safety nets and government intervention. While some political parties and figures in Canada are associated with socialist ideologies, the country as a whole is not considered socialist."
It's not un-American to appreciate the good that other countries have.
Thank you
I agree. As far as calling Canada socialist that was the narrative that started because they have a one pay healthcare system. They call it “socialized medicine.” corporate America with all their greed, and taking over of healthcare villainize a one payer system universal healthcare for all because they don’t want to give up their profit and the gravy train they’ve had doing whatever they want holding Americans hostage concerning healthcare.
All of this is still forcing us to stay in the same narrative and loop that got us into the position we’re in. Our country is broken so how can we reject looking at what these other countries are doing that enjoy democracy.
I am very impressed with the leadership in Canada right now .
https://open.substack.com/pub/deanblundell/p/canada-torches-the-trump-umbilical?r=eit6y&utm_medium=ios
I was a little concerned today about Canada's streaming tariff because the rhetoric on CBC (Canadian Broadcasting) sounded slightly Trumpian: "It will bring in massive dollars for the Canadian gov't." Which, of course, Canada sorely needs because it IS a tough fight against the elephant in the bed. Are you familiar with Pierre Elliot Trudeau's quip decades ago that living next to the US was like sleeping with an elephant [smile].
I may be excoriated for saying this but the main reason I chose to remain in the US rather than return to Canada after Trump was elected was because I liked my style of living down here. I live in a huge house in Arizona, pay an affordable mortgage because we bought in a dip, and I am a senior in quite good health so Medicare covers my needs. That could make me self centered and say "I'm alright Jack (or Jill), you look after yourself."
But I wasn't raised that way in Canada, haven't seen that kind of thinking make a good, healthy kind of society in the countries I've lived in. I know that my ancestors who came to Canada (and some to the US) for better living conditions would tell me that they succeeded thanks to people who helped them so it's my duty to speak out about helping people as well. My Irish immigrant grandmother, who worked diligently in post WW2 Montreal to bring over refugees in European camps, would visit me from her grave and bop me on the head if I didn't care about people in trouble.
So I remain in the US, in a VERY red county and try to bring an alternative point of view into conversations in as kind a way as I can.
When people were debating about whether the Iran strikes were a "success" I simply said that I was less concerned with that than I was thinking about all that money on blown-up bombs while, with the new bill in the Senate, the already neglected children in our underfunded public school will be losing even what they had--free lunches and Title 1. No amount of "charity" will overcome that. I am a volunteer literacy aide but it's an uphill battle.
When others were talking about people dying in the streets in Los Angeles due to rioters, I quietly pointed out that nobody had died on the streets--except from a stray bullet that emphasized how ordinary citizens should not be running around carrying guns--but people were dying in hospital corridors because they lacked healthcare. Just small opinions like that. And because people have experienced my loving and caring in the community, they pause for a moment and think. And that's all we can hope for in the beginning. Making people pause and think.
I also want to mention here that healthcare was taken over by corporate America to make profit for MANY .
The thought of turning healthcare into a vehicle to create jobs and base our economy on that has been outrageous.
Applying the business model to healthcare has been disastrous .
It is in direct CONFLICT with the Hippocratic Oath and the medical ethics, all doctors take.
It has compromised many doctors and negatively affected the well-being of every American. And they have simply gone about trying to rewrite the Hippocratic Oath to fit their thinking to justify it all . Just like they’re doing to the constitution and the declaration of independence and our laws.
The Mayo clinic has a quote from one of their founding doctors, one of the Mayo brothers :
“ The greatest asset of a nation is the health of it’s people”
Right now, the push to reject universal healthcare for all is all about money and profit, and from those that are used to making a lot of money on the backs of ordinary Americans exploiting that all people get sick, suffer from disease and need healthcare. There is much corruption in healthcare.
It appears that this authoritarian fascist dictatorship take over of our country ( being allowed to happen by the present so called Republican Party ) believes in survival of the fittest and thinning out the population by letting disease run rampant.
For years, they have made the most outrageous accusations accusing the Obama administration of having “death panels! “
This was nothing but psychological projection of themselves and their thinking.
Mitch McConnell just said to put through all the cuts that would take healthcare away from millions of people commenting
“ they will get over it”
As he and all the other elected officials enjoy the best healthcare paid for by the taxpayers.
It’s time the American people renegotiate employment contracts with people that are elected to NOT include healthcare.
THEY WILL JUST HAVE TO GET OVER IT.
Clear what Trump wants-totally deregulated and privatized economy to benefit billionaire buddies. In Russia they’re called oligarchs. Explain to me the difference if you can because I don’t see any and Trump is like a schlocky Putin
There is no difference they are our American oligarchy
And it is fascism authoritarian dictatorship rule
Absolutely! This is the number one thing people want now out of any candidate...someone who will fight for them (or they perceive this to be true). This is how any candidate must present themselves, in a new dynamic way; any of the old ways are no longer effective.
What I hear is that people want them to give them facts and then tell them what they actually CAN do in Congress. We see through all the promises at this point, tell us how Congress can function best.
It's more like out of a country!!!
same for Repubs in moderate districts.
Where are the Dem fighters? I’ve see a few,but not many. Dems need to step up and stop being wimps!
The call for universal healthcare has always been classified as “socialism” and this narrative has been played over and over again. How could anybody be against providing healthcare for all? The Republicans sure find money to pay for whatever they want and they have no problem increasing our debt by trillions between Trump 1.0 and Trump 2.0 to line the pockets of the wealthy and billionaires.
The self-absorbed, narcissistic psychopathic people do not even think they need to contribute taxes to pay for the very roads that they themselves use .
If their house catches on fire, the fire department just arrives and does not ask them “ did you help pay for this or not?” they have no problem, taking advantage of all the public services that are provided without thinking they need to contribute to maintain them by paying their taxes.
The mentality was floated decades go about how these people provide jobs. Everything became about providing jobs.
So they get corporate tax cuts and personal tax cuts all at the same time.
Then the American people were gaslit and emotionally abused severely with the phrase
“ trickle down economics” and how the wealthiest people getting the tax cuts would trickle down and benefit the American people on the premise that the people with all the money would be decent honest integral people caring about others with empathy and compassion, and having a personal moral sense of responsibility after being given so much.
No, they look at everybody else as invisible and not needed in society. And they have used their money to buy and pay for elected officials in this country to hijack our government or political system thwarting the will of the people for their own benefit.
Pushing this twisted distorted message of “ individualism” on steroids, which is nothing more than narcissism. An epidemic that has been raging in this country for decades.
Obviously we see that just is not true and created greater income and equality with 10% of our population controlling 70% of the wealth and power.
The mentality always is “ everything for us wealthy/ billionaires and you American people can just live with less and need nothing more “
(not even the basics to be healthy and live in dignity. )
It is the “ Let them eat cake “ mentality.
This is the mindset of the self-absorbed, narcissistic, psychopathic personality which unfortunately is in control and has worked for decades to be in this position. It a fascist authoritarian takeover.
I also want to mention here that healthcare was taken over by corporate America to make profit for MANY .
The thought of turning healthcare into a vehicle to create jobs and base our economy on that has been outrageous.
Applying the business model to healthcare has been disastrous .
It is in direct CONFLICT with the Hippocratic Oath and the medical ethics, all doctors take.
It has compromised many doctors and negatively affected the well-being of every American. And they have simply gone about trying to rewrite the Hippocratic Oath to fit their thinking to justify it all . Just like they’re doing to the constitution and the declaration of independence and our laws.
The Mayo clinic has a quote from one of their founding doctors, one of the Mayo brothers :
“ The greatest asset of a nation is the health of it’s people”
Right now, the push to reject universal healthcare for all is all about money and profit, and from those that are used to making a lot of money on the backs of ordinary Americans exploiting that all people get sick, suffer from disease and need healthcare.
It appears that this authoritarian fascist dictatorship take over of our country ( being allowed to happen by the present so called republican broken party) believes in survival of the fittest and thinning out the population by letting disease run rampant.
For years, they have made the most outrageous accusations accusing the Obama administration of having “death panels! “
This was nothing but psychological projection of themselves and their thinking.
Mitch McConnell just said to put through all the cuts that would take healthcare away from millions of people commenting
“ they will get over it”
As he and all the other elected officials enjoy the best healthcare paid for by the taxpayers.
It’s time the American people renegotiate employment contracts with people that are elected to NOT include healthcare.
THEY WILL JUST HAVE TO GET OVER IT.
Adam,
Even though you may not agree with Mamdani, I would love for you to invite him on a video Substack. Ask him the tough questions, hear his point of view. If we are to build bridges or alliances to defeat MAGA GOP I want to hear from all viewpoints. We must be inclusive and not be seen as establishment. It comes off as a bit of Islamophobia. Keep up the good work.
I agree to hear from Mamdani. Perhaps you could enlighten on some of the very points you made in this article. He might to hear your (our) viewpoint too.
Excellent idea.
👍
You are very respectable in interviews. And for a former conservative you appear very open minded. I would love Mamdani and other Progressives to be on a podcast with you. Also people like Wajahat Ali , etc !
I agree!
It's also important to note that Cuomo resigned in disgrace as governor a few years ago AND he doesn't even live in NYC! His candidacy was a slap in the face to NYC dems. The party thought they could shove their establishment guy who has a history of bad behavior and doesn't reflect the city's needs, and dems would just sleep walk through the election. It's ridiculous and frustrating. Im a centrist dem and would love to support other centrist dems, but Cuomo is a corrupt suburbanite and is completely out of touch with what people in the city need and want.
I think people want centrist politicians who can create broad coalitions, but too often the parties become lazy and corrupt. I like seeing Mamdani shake things up. Also, Mikie Sherill is a good example that a qualified centrist dem can easily win primaries with her huge win in the NJ governor primary.
The democrats need to provide qualified, non corrupt candidates and the votes will follow
"The Democrats need to provide qualified, non-corrupt candidates..." To which I will add "who are energized and will 'fight' for the voters..."
Corruption seems to work, why change? 🤪That was a joke by the way!!!
👍
Isn’t the dems thinking that Cuomo could get back in elected office after leaving because of sex scandal/accusations almost the same thing as maga voting in 34 counts felon orange man-baby? Sorta seems like it to me. In this case, the dems are no better than the maga cultists.
Let's turn that argument around: the maga cultists are no better than the dems. So let's lay that argument to rest because it convinces no one.
A gov't reflects its constituents. Even a Josh Hawley can pause from his goose-step following of Trump to look at how Medicaid cuts will affect the people who vote for him. He's planning a lifelong career in politics, at this point he HAS to listen if he thinks he's going to lose his seat.
And that's who needs to be targeted--the younger members of Congress, those who want a future in politics. And it will follow that to target them, you are going to have to go to those districts and get their voters stirred up. And you have to put forward a candidate who can win that district, who speaks to the concerns of that district. And counter the prevailing view in that district.
I'd really like to hear more from Liz Cheney on how she sees things now. She was brutalized far more than Adam. She dared to fight again while Adam resigned. Not criticizing him for that, but it would be interesting to get perspectives from people who lost their campaigns, why they think they lost and what they would have done differently.
Politics is messy and when you generalize, I think alot gets lost. But generally I would agree that trying to push Cuomo is the same billionaire-funded corrupt nonsense as Trump and his funders/supporters.
Those with money are always going to try to hijack the system for their own interests. The purpose of democracy, in my opinion, is to push back on this
He is not his father that is for sure
well the Repubs can get away with it- the Dems obviously can't. They apparently answer to a higher calling......
And they are more truthful they have more integrity, honor, and morals
What both parties ignored is one big reason Mamdani won.
The rejection of the rule of law started in our schools about four decades ago when fascists hijacked many if not most of them. Whistleblowing teachers have tried to tell you since 2002 at WhiteChalkCrime.com and EndTeacherAbuse.org. We knew it would eventually take down democracy.
Unfortunately, we’ve been ignored by the media when there’s been a solution - get people who care about democracy on school boards. We still can do this once people understand the role schools play in upholding a democracy and how boards have totally not done their job well before right wing extremists started taking them over.
At this point our schools are one of few places we can plant the flag of democracy but we need the media investigating the fascists running many of our schools. These whistleblowers can educate a willing media. So far that does not exist and we’re paying a high price.
The democracy haters realized they could use our schools to end it while the democracy lovers remain clueless about the power of our institution to shape this nation. It used to produce caring citizens. It used to say no to evil. When that stopped, democracy began unraveling. It’s time people recognized that a functional education system would not have school shootings. They are red flags people only see as a gun issue when they are warnings: we must investigate our schools.
We can’t ignore the primary reason democracy imploded if we expect it to ever return. We need a leader to fix this. That won’t happen if the media ignores the teachers who know what happened to one of our most cherished institutions. We must get past the cover up that the unions are taking part in out of fear of the fascists in power and fix our schools. That will only happen if the media listens to the teachers and investigates
Yes, people don’t understand law is codified morality. It’s an agreement of right and wrong. Trump followers don’t agree with established morality. They’re fine with frightening people with deportation and violence and lying. Law is all about morality and Trump is all about himself.
When I returned to teaching in 1995 and saw what they were doing including breaking laws left and right I knew we’d lose democracy. I’ve done what I could to spread the word but I’m just a teacher.
I explained this in my memoir A Graver Danger but people read celebrities’ books, not books like mine. No way an unknown person’s book becomes a best seller. It’s frustrating but I can’t give up teaching the public about how Trump happened the same way I could never give up on a student. Please help me by spreading the word so the media has to investigate. Once they do and once a good person runs on this, democracy has a chance.
Agreed. Republicans have targeted public school funding starting just before the rise of Reagan. Think California's Proposition 13 in 1978 that devastated the state's schools. The ugly message that helped propel that awful initiative? "Why should I support other people's kids?"
It’s a catch 22. Unfortunately, they were right that the money was being misused, which helped them be anti democratic. We need schools that give them no reason to not support them!
Misused? How so?
Karen Horowitz, I would like to know what state you live in. I live in Massachusetts and I can tell you that our schools are places of learning, teaching values like honesty, listening, kindness, caring, paying attention, after school projects like fundraisers for cancer, sports competitions and looking out for neighbors and the more vulnerable. There is no fascist takeover that I am aware of here but we put a high value on education here and parents and teachers are focused on such.
We have a fascist leader who can change things real quick and is doing it right now with help from the Supreme Court. We should never feel too safe in this environment!!!
I started an organization to locate teachers who experienced lawlessness at their schools and over 2000 joined from every state including Massachusetts. It’s not every school though. Just enough to take this country down. There are definitely good administrators but as the years have gone on even they struggle. A CT superintendent was so concerned about what he saw going on he wrote a book about it years ago - School Corruption by Dr. Armand Fusco.
I’m in Illinois. I taught at a top district in one of the most affluent suburbs. Most of the people there didn’t know what they were doing behind the scenes. They are great at pretense. However, you might be lucky. Fusco ran a solid district. Nevertheless, we all live in the country the lawless schools made happen so it’s everyone’s problem.
Thank you for sharing in a kind way. It’s so easy to think the other person is wrong or crazy when it’s not our experience. You can check out my organization EndTeacherAbuse.org where I located others before I wrote books on the topic. I made sure my experience was not an aberration. I did initially think it was due to the affluence where I taught but learned it happens in rich or poor, big or small. The more people who work together to solve our democracy problem the sooner we will succeed!
I agree 100%. the fascist takeover is from the trump regime targeting public schools and higher ed institutions. school leaders are trying to protect schools from that.
Rule of Law is everything!
We just lost more of it today thanks to the Supreme Court!
Let me count the ways! Their corruption is why I gave up my teaching career to become an activist. They use our schools as their treasure chests. Think Trump. They were doing exactly what he’s doing. My 2008 and 2019 books included the corruption. My 2024 book focuses on how their bad acts took down democracy since the money they steal is not as bad as what they do to teachers so they can’t do their jobs appropriately.
Think of it this way. In order to do as they please with the money, they keep teachers and the unions in a state of fear so they don’t talk and the few that do won’t be heard. I’ve been at this for 30 years and they’re still doing as they please and the unions are still not admitting this. They’re afraid like most of the Republicans are. Fascists use fear to have their way.
One of the best stories in my book became a movie on HBO https://www.google.com/search?q=bad+education+hugh+jackman&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-us&client=safari#ebo=0
My book included hundreds who were caught but people haven’t put together that people like that aren’t in it to educate our children and create citizens. That part has been totally missed and understanding that is essential for restoring democracy.
It’s kind of like the Harvey Weinstein saga only we have a bunch of predators forcing stupidity rather than sex on teachers. So parents have become disgusted with teachers leaving them powerless just the way predators need their victims. The media has not investigated. They just don’t believe those of us who report this. They think teachers are to blame and ignore us. Many teachers are going along to get along but they have no choice. Those of us who spoke out were fired - even with tenure. The public has a lot to learn. That’s why I wrote three books. If only people read my books they’d know exactly what to do to clean up this mess.
(School) “ It used to produce caring citizens. It used to say no to evil. When that stopped, democracy began unraveling.”
Very troubling what you present, and I believe there must be some truth to it.
However, isn’t ‘Society at large’ responsible, doesn’t this reflect an overall coarsening of dialogue at all levels of society?
Granted, schools have great influence in the formation of children’s’ outlook, but when we consider all the influences they are subjected to doesn’t it become more difficult to determine what comes first — the chicken or the egg? Considering the influence of social media, for one thing.
And what about parents - how much stock do we put in the saying “The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.”?
Anyway, bravura to you for your noble fight, and I wish you well.
— I’m a retired, non-professional Canadian, so not an active participant here except to cheer on brave & principled fighters.
You’re correct. Chicken and egg for sure. But living through the education world for so many years and finding it lawless it became clear it’s a big deal. And Abraham Lincoln convinced me with his quote where he said that the way of the school room in one generation will be the government in the next. He was so right. My superintendent behaved a lot like Trump. Trump is a Deja vu of my teaching days. Appreciate your cheering on. We certainly need it!
I taught for 35 years and been in and around education, both public and parochial all my life. They still produce caring citizens and the equal education to a broader more diverse population is way better now than they were 40 years ago.
as someone who spent my career as a teacher, during the last 4 decades, I think our schools are even better than when I was in school. the unions are protecting teachers and students from the fascist regime in government now trying to eliminate history and create their own biased curriculum.
I’m sure there are lots of boys who weren’t abused by priests. But the fact some were is serious. That’s similar to the education world. I have proof the unions helped get rid of outstanding teachers in the way of power hungry administrators. They go along to get along and do good things when they can. I loved teaching as you did but I met evil as did thousands of teachers who joined my organization EndTeacherAbuse.org. I hope you care about our profession enough to learn about this. We need the support of teachers like you since education is so important.
You’re fortunate. So many of us weren’t.
The line between caring and extremism is getting increasingly blurred in our time. Fascists are attacking everyone that just wants to live a decent life. Taking a side means taking a stand.
Cuomo had lots going for him but his problems far outweighed his experience. News Nation employs his brother, who had the same problem in his previous job. Perhaps they were raised like that.
Mamdani ran a campaign like Harris's. He campaigned on the things that decent people in NYC want.
The establishment is over. Americans want a return to by the people for the people, and they want new faces that speak the truth.
It's also important to remember that Andrew Cuomo is an asshole. He was accused of groping MANY of his female aides while governor and forced out of office - he said he was "sorry that he was misunderstood." He also grossly mishandled and lied about the nursing home situation in NY State during the worst of the Covid pandemic.
So while I absolutely agree that Democrats need to learn a lot from this (and personally I like many of Mamdani's ideas including free childcare and once again making CUNY free while raising taxes on billionaires), it's important to remember this: it's a major disadvantage to a candidate when the voters know you're an asshole. Yeah, Trump won anyway but that's because he leads a cult of MAGA-ites. Most mainstream assholes don't have that advantage, and that's definitely a part of why Cuomo lost - and why I'm pissed off that he's now running as an independent, rather than crawling under a rock where he belongs.
Out of all the people in NYC, there must be a better centrist candidate than Cuomo. He sealed his own fate.
lol- to your first sentence!
Americans are angry, Americans are depressed. Americans are terrified. Americans are leaving our country. Our Supreme Court just ruled 6-3 that district courts are not able to make injunctions limiting trump's use of Executive Orders. We are one step closer to a dictatorship. I hope that the electorate continues to recognize the Black Hole our country is falling into and votes to remove people like trump and his minions. (Use of lower-case letters is intentional.)
Currently, the Supreme Court is nearly useless. Do not look to the Court for relief on the march to dictatorship. The current conservative justices have lost sight of their job.
I would have to disagree with that last statement. The “conservative” justices have 2020 vision and it looks a heck of a lot like Project 2025
Which means they have lost sight of their job!
I wonder what Donald REALLY promised them OR on the other side, threatened them with? They are absolutely despicable and they KNOW they are going against the Constitution they swore to uphold., like very other MAGA creep.
Spot on, Pamela!
The ruling had a lot of nuance to it. It doesn't say they are not able to make injunctions at all. It says this case was not broad enough. The states are already suing on this issue and will bring up the Citizen case again the right way- as a class action lawsuit.
Yes, you are right. Plenty of nuance that will stall any action to stop the unconstitutional actions enacted by executive orders of trump.
I was a staunch Republican for years and over the last 20 I have moved increasingly to the left. Jeff Bezos wedding tells me a lot. I "knew" Jeff when he was a startup in the Bay Area and he did NOT get to where he is all by himself.
As for grocery stores? Mamdami wants to make ONE available in each borough I mean, RFK wants everyone to eat good food, even as HE takes his grandchildren to swim in a shit filled creek, and the people he wants to reach live in food deserts. You'd think HE'D be cheering this.
People are tired, they are stressed, they work their asses off and every day is a struggle. What happened to those "good old days"? Those days when my husband and I were not making a huge amount of money but we were very fortunate that my grandfather gave us 2,000 and with that we went shopping and bought a 26,000 house IN Marin County. We had no money for closing costs of about an additional 2000 and the broker lent it to us on a 6 month note. We were paying 125,00 per month in rent and our house payment was 246.00 per month. THAT was scary but we could do it. What happened to those days and those opportunities?
My brother and SIL just helped my nephew buy a house last year It was a great deal in a great neighborhood, ONLY 750,000. My nephew has a great job and benefits with Gallo Wineries, but he NEVER could have come up with the cash needed and in turn he will never be in a position to help his own kids in that way. We are going backwards.
There is a reason that Scandinavian countries are the "happiest places". NO NO NO, they are not perfect and they have issues, immigration being one of them. However, there is till innovation, there are still businesses, there are still shop and restaurant owners, there are still people getting up and going to work every day, they are not all sitting around on their asses waiting for the dole.
They DO however know their kids are taken care of during the day until they pick them up on their way home from work, their kids will be educated and they won't go broke from trying to have their five year old with a brain tumor possible life saving treatment, they won't die from colon cancer because their colonoscopy was not allowed because it "wasn't necessary".
I wonder who sleeps better at night, the Dane with the high taxes or the guy in Brooklyn with three kids, one with a chronic disease, who works for a guy who just took his Christmas bonus away because profits were down some and stockholders needed their dividends. So the guy getting up and going to work every day, rain, shine, sick, or well, is penalized and they guy sipping a cold one on the hotel terrace in Nice gets his dividend check automatically deposited to his brokerage account.
Sorry, I'm fed up. Corporations can pay millions and billions to Super PACS and funnel those dollars into campaigns and easily turn around and lay off 1,000 people, who have worked every day to MAKE them the billions that they have , and never bat an eye, They are users and takers and I'm sick of them.
.
end Citizens United!
Well said, Adam. Anyway, I’d rather have a Democratic socialist in charge than a fear mongering authoritarian any day.
bingo!
This should not have shocked anyone. I lived in NYC for almost 40yrs before I moved to Scottsdale, AZ. NYC is a diverse community. Acceptance is the rule rather than the exception. When people wake up to jackbooted, masked ICE agents taking away the workers that help run the city, they will fight back. They do that with their votes.
PS. Adam-very happy you are speaking at Arizona Speaker Series. Will you be doing any town halls when you are here?
I agree that the Democrats need to fight harder, and I encourage that, but by having some of these more far-left candidates winning, like in NYC, I'm worried that the Dems could be taken over by craziest like in the Republican Party. I hope it doesn't come to that, but I've already seen signs of that starting to happen. I mean, Nancy Pelosi, a liberal Democrat, I might add, had trouble keeping the progressives in line during the 117th Congress, and they even held up the bipartisan infrastructure bill for a few days because she couldn't get them to vote for it. When Pelosi started having issues keeping them in line, that reaally started to concern me. And if the Dems get the House in 2026, I worry about how well Jeffries will be able to keep them from going too far. We need fighters, but we also need common sense, and we don't need another party to be taken over by extremists. So that's what really worries me.
And EVERYONE needs to stop being so damned partisan ('tribal' to use Adam's term)!
Mamdani is not an extremist
As I see this, it is a direct result of the boomerang effect. And by that I mean, the severity of Trump and his actions has created the need for a complete and absolute opposite! Whether this will ultimately be good, I can only hope it is. If it isn’t, then again, this is Trump‘s doing frankly.
Good point. Maybe the result is that more 'moderates' of either party will come together to form a coalition of reasonable governance.
Unfortunately, both parties are moving to their extreme sides. I don't see either party moderating, so maybe time for a 3rd party to emerge that would represent the majority of American's that want common sense solutions to our problems and are sick of the "zero sum game" politics.
I don't agree at all. It's only the Repubs that have turned maga and against democracy, ethics, civility and just doing what is right.
Mamdani’s win/Cuomo’s loss was also a rejection of a narcissistic, corrupt, sexual predator. I am a full-on Dem, but, as a NYC voter, it disgusted me completely that the Dems chose to run a man with Cuomo’s traits and history. I haven’t been one to beat the drum about Dems needing to learn from these elections, but, my God, is it clear now how much they do.
I guess I’m not worried about the candidate that got the most votes. That’s how democracy is supposed to work right? I think they liked new ideas and not the same “the sky is falling” approach and are tired of candidates with so much baggage. Between the corruption of Adams and Cuomo having the COVID and sexual harassment scandals hanging over him like an albatross, how is anyone surprised? What IS notable is that the upper tax bracket folks are his biggest supporters.
Hi Adam: I'm disappointed you cherry picked the reference to 2nd intifada (2000 - 2005), which was, as you say, very violent. For balance, please know that the first intifada (1987-1990), while not completely void of violence, was mostly large street demonstrations with people and kids throwing rocks at tanks. In addition "The Great March of Return" which was a peaceful demonstration in against the brutal Israeli occupation in Gaza in 2018 and 2019 was peaceful, but resulted in 223 Palestinian deaths, with thousands injured, mostly by Israeli snipers. I suggest you read the UN report on this tragedy. The Palestinians have tried nonviolent forms of protest to no avail. Recently, I was reading about the Warsaw Ghetto uprising during WW2, and I was struck by the similarities between the Jews in the Warsaw ghetto and the Palestinians in Gaza - The Jews protested, they fought back, they dug tunnels, set booby traps, snuck outside the Ghetto to attack Nazis. The Nazis attacked the Ghetto, cut off food, water, electricity, created a full blockade. When people are caught in a brutal occupation for decades while being ethnically cleansed, uprisings happen. Criticizing Mamdani for supporting an uprising in the face of such brutality, is like telling the Jews of the Warsaw Ghetto to shut up, stand down and take it. Not going to happen. People will fight for their liberty. That's the Intifada. Thank you. John
Thanks for that … I too, felt it was at least not delved into sufficiently.
There seems to be a fair bit of bias in applying the “Never again!” admonition these days.
Thank you for this information John. I am trying to hold paradoxes in my mind these days; to consider the many complex parts of giant, entrenched and in this instance, very old problems. In my wrestling with this information you posted, I think about Iran. They have that clock in Tehran counting down to the day when all Jews will be wiped off the face of the earth and they poured so much money into the proxies like Hamas, Hezbollah and the Hothis (do they all being with "H"??). If that clock is just propaganda - it is super creepy and existentially terrifying. Religious extremism everywhere, especial when in fully control of a country, destroys the lives of everyone else. In doing so phrases about the Intifada ignite primal fear for many people.
Hi Lorraine! Thank you so much for posting. I agree that there are many complex parts. But I think it is these very complex parts and historical context that is skipped over when discussing this subject, particularly by the American news media. For example, Iran is often placed in the radical Islam box, with no mention of how it became and Islamic Republic. No mention of the fact that the US initiated a CIA coup in 1953 against Iran Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh, a secular politician and installed the Shaw - a puppet dictator who brutalized the people for 4 decades. Without the CIA meddling there would be no Islamic regime in Iran. Without the establishment of the Zionist project, and the ensuing land theft, ethnic cleansing and ever-expanding apartheid Israeli state, there would be no Hamas (and hence, no Oct 7th) no Islamic Jihad, and likely no Hezbollah or Houthis If no US invasion of Iran (pushed by Netanyahu), there would be no Isis. I am certainly not a fan of the current Iranian Islamic government, but their meddling in regional proxy wars is a result of, and response to, Israeli meddling, invasions, land theft and brutalization. One only has to conduct a simple Google search on how many invasions and regime change operations the US and Israel has started since 1950, and compare it to Iran. If that's done, I believe one may be re-defining what extremism is and who the extremists really are. John
Thank you- Context is important. And just to add-Netanyahu has a lot to do with the escalating divide rather than a 2 state solution.
Your absolutely right, Diane. Netanyahu, and most all of Israeli leadership, were never going to agree to a 2-state solution. The purpose of the settlements was to prevent a 2-state solution. The purpose of Netanyahu funding Hamas in the early years to the tune of $1.2 Billion (through Qatar) was designed to drive a wedge between Gaza and West Bank (Hamas and Palestinian Authority). The old Divide and Conquer tactic - right out of the Colonial Setter playbook.
Exactly
The Shah of Iran was not a good man
...meant if no Invasion of Iraq, there would be no Isis