Exactly. Although at 922 pages, I can't totally blame anyone that didn't read it completely. I myself only read the first 120 pages. Also, when trump lied, saying he didn't know anything about Project 2025, his followers believed him, as they often do. Yet we know he lied because he is following Project 2025 to a 'T'.
The people who voted for Trump are angry Americans with a big chip on their shoulders. They feel shortchanged and resentful about their place in American life. They feel they were entitled to more than what they ended up with. It was easy for them to hitch on to Trump’s bandwagon because he promised to save them from their misery. Little did they know they were being swindled, gaslit, and lied to. They refused to believe that they were backing a two-bit criminal. Now they will understand when their Social Security and Medicaid payments don’t show up, their bank accounts looted, and private information is stolen and exposed to cyber criminals on the web. They will understand who they voted for when people they know are arrested and deported in the middle of the night. By then it will be too late.
Seriously. People who pick up dumb memes from the internet like "Genocide Joe" either can't or don't read. They don't think critically. They don't put 1+1 and get 2. Some believe Trump is playing 5-dimensional chess. Some don't know anything and let other people rule their emotions. Some think no problem is complicated, or that trade-offs don't exist.
I will never figure out how people thought voting for a debauched, pussygrabbing felon, fraud and business failure would ever work out to be some kind of answer to whatever challenges the country is actually facing. Or why these same people were convinced that our real problem was in permitting millions of transgender boys with vaginas to pour across the Rio Grande to teach their grandchildren critical race theory.
Why smear yourself with other people's bullshit when you can still read newspapers, books and think for yourself? It makes no sense.
That was too much homework for them, and it didn’t jive with their propaganda so they mainly dismissed it out of hand, or when I got challenged, after citing page and line where it said it in the 922 page document (easy to find by the way because indexing) they continued to blow it off. Not even the video recorded clandestinely of Vought telling two journalists (posing as fans) what the plans were got them concerned, because they refused to watch, listen, or see anything but their own bubble of info. So it is on them.
They fall into several categories where they either hadn't heard of Project 2025 or if they had, they either claimed it wasn't real or the libs exaggerated it. They learn nothing and will have learned nothing from any of this. I'd love to hear examples of buyer's remorse but in my world, it's not going to happen until they are impacted personally negatively.
Call and/or write your members of Congress. I have seen it suggested that rather than yelling at an aide or voicemail, that it's better to say calmly, "we need Social Security and don't want it effectively destroyed by reducing access to it. We need NOAA. We need a Dept. of Education. We want to continue to fund Ukraine in their fight against Putin. We want fully-funded care for veterans." Etc., etc., etc. Name the things that are particularly important for the country or for you personally. Call repeatedly.
I'm ready to say to mine, "I don't understand why you aren't insisting that Congress maintain the powers it was given by the Constitution. Congress creates agencies, not the Executive Branch. (DOGE! Not official because it wasn't set up by Congress.) The power of the purse and the making of laws is the business of Congress, not of the president, much less an unelected interloper. If you don't stand up now, the man bent on destroying democracy may well disband Congress."
My two US Senators are maggots as is my member of Congress. Regardless, I send them emails and occasionally call to give them advice from this constituent. I get form letters back filled with platitudes telling me how hard they are working for me. Yeah, right. I live in FloriDUH…
I don't know what the FTW stands for, but I think Harris & Walz should be put there like AOC & Bernie are.... not politley telling people to call their Congressmen. These are extraordinary times, and the Democratic "please, follow the rules" line is in the rear view mirror, fading fast.
FTW = For the Win. I'm neither personally nor officially connected with either of them and am not remotely a public figure to whom anyone would listen. I chose that title for my Substack because it reflected the optimism I felt early last fall, and I plan on changing the name soon.
Walz *is* out there, having town halls in states where the red politicians are too chicken to do it. I'm not sure what Harris is doing and I don't know why we aren't seeing more of her, but then so much of the formerly legit media has bent the knee to Trump that there may well be more things going on than we are being told about.
Rachel Maddow, currently on MSNBC five nights a week (9 Eastern) has been showing clips of protests around the country almost every night. Search for groups where you live that are doing advocacy. Indivisible comes highly recommended, and there are others. Look for marches in your area.
Do you read Heather Cox Richardson's Letters From an American that are published here and on Facebook almost daily? Those are specifically written to record for history what has happened that day in politics, as she is a historian herself as well as a professor and author. Because of that, they are an overview significant facts and don't dive into speculation, much less every inane thing that is said by the dark side.
Heather does live talks most Tuesday afternoons at 4 p.m. Eastern on Facebook and I believe has just started to stream them on YouTube at the same time. They are viewable later if you can't be there when they are happening, and if there are changes to her schedule, those are generally announced on Facebook. Speaking of which, her Letters come directly to your inbox if you subscribe to her here, and later in the day you'll get an audio of her reading them. Anyway, aside from the good information contained in all of that, during the Tuesday talks she will get into not only what is going on but respond to people's questions of "what do we do?!" She has named other groups to look into that I'm unable to call to mind right now.
There are some other Dems who have been vocal, including Senator Chris Murphy of CT and Rep. Jamie Raskin of MD. There are at least a few others who are speaking up as well, but you aren't necessarily going to hear about them from "regular" media.
Heather Cox Richardson is a fantastic historian, who is so adept at tying past history to our current situation/predicament. For anyone who hasn't been following her, you need to start now!
Katie Couric frequently interviews Heather Cox Richardson and all of the interviews are well worth watching. As an historian Richardson makes historical connections that ground much of her thinking. She communicates both her knowledge of history and the present situation we find ourselves in ways that are assessable for non-academics to easily grasp. I recommend going to Katie’s podcast or to youTube to listen to today’s interview. Once there, type in Katie Couric; The Dismantling Of American Democracy.
Couldn't agree more. At the moment, I'm managing to pay for a few subscriptions to Substack, but if I get to the point of not being able to afford that--and I know I can get hers free--I'd probably still pay for it. I can't imagine how many hours a day she puts in just keeping the Letters going. I never liked history in school, but I listen to her politics chats every time I can, usually after they're done.
I've seen some of Bernie and AOC both together and separately. I've seen clips of Jasmine Crockett, and she is a fireball! Would love to see them in person.
Thank you, and I hope ypu change your name quickly...you obviously have good information and don't need to attch to the former candidates...frankly they drag you down! FTW, NOW!!
Wasn't trying to "attach" myself to them, just cheering them on, but yes, now that that possibility is inexplicably and sadly in the past.... I watched most nights of the Dem National Convention, which I've never done before, and I sat there watching the "joyful warriors" and thinking, "how could anyone want the other option and not this?!" When bozo won in 2016 I cried for three days. This time I was numb.
I have two red senators, one worse than the other, and I have to look up my representative. I thought I knew who it was, but in a Facebook group in the past couple of days, it may not be who I thought. With a little luck it's the D and not the R who I thought it was.
Are you sending emails through their websites? I hate that they offer only forced-choice topics, because none of them (shock!) list "democracy" or "fascism" or "destroying the federal government." Try letters via USPS, which likely won't get a reply at all, but that might be less insulting than the form letters prepared for each topic. If that's what you're already doing, bombard them with postcards and phone calls. ASK THEM WHAT WASTE MUSK HAS FOUND. ASK THEM WHY AN UNELECTED [FILL IN NOUN OF CHOICE] IS ALLOWED TO ACCESS ALL OF OUR PERSONAL INFORMATION FOR NO REASON.
I can't recall who I was listening to the other day who brought up that question, particularly about former presidents, and said, "it may be that their time is gone." It wasn't said in a derogatory way, but it's true that a lot of the Dems haven't kept up with the times as far as the methods of reaching people. Seems highly unlikely those guys are going to be on TikTok or Instagram, much less any of the more off-the-beaten-path apps. These are old guys, and in our society, we don't have much reverence for them.
Look around here. I saw that Pete Buttigieg has just gotten on Substack. Would love to hear more from him, but he is raising a couple of young kids right now and didn't get to spend nearly as much time with them as he would have liked, I'm sure, while he was busy doing such a good job as Secretary of Transportation.
Rabies...that would explain a LOT about these sycophants who are always foaming at the mouth.
Come to think of it, I've seen that Michelle Obama and her brother have started a podcast, but I don't know how much of it is or isn't going to be related to politics.
So...just WHAT is the Democrat Party doing at this time? Trying to raise $$ ? Sending out weak-kneed excuses for Sen. Schumer's capitulation? Do not expect your "followers"/voters" to go along with this nonsense. The road ahead is CLOSED.
I AM NOT AFFILIATED WITH THE DEM CANDIDATES FOR POTUS AND VEEP. It was a rallying cry back when the world was a lot brighter.
Heather Cox Richardson, a historian, professor, and author whose Letters From an American I highly recommend, has said that Schumer doing what he did wasn't necessarily a bad choice, and that neither option was good. Yes, I think his time as a leader is done and was before this, when something big is going on and all he seems to be able to do is stand at a podium and read from notes.
I've seen a lot of complaints about fundraising--although I'm not getting hit up for that like some people are--but if you want Dems to do something, do you expect for them to pay for it out of their own pockets? Do you think they can fly around the country and speak at various venues for free?
I agree with what you say. And I am doing these things, but after not being able to reach my senators and speak to an aide for over a week before the budget vote, I was extremely frustrated and did raise my voice on the voicemail. I felt ignored. I have always voted for Sen Durbin in IL. But he ignored the will of the people and many Democrats here are done with him. I also don’t understand why I need to give lessons in how the government works to the people in the government. We elected them based on the presumption that they would serve their constituents. The Democrats really have to up their game!!
Personally, I make a distinction between raising my voice and actually yelling, plus it matters if you are providing information about which you are frustrated as opposed to calling them idiots or worse. The general idea is that they will be more likely to pay attention to "this part of the government needs to be fully funded" rather than "how can you be so f'ing stupid?!"
Yes, I was disgusted with any Dem who voted yes on ANY of Trump's nominees for cabinet positions. I don't think we should have to give them lessons, either, but clearly way too many people voted for candidates who don't know how the U.S. government works, up to and including the guy who is doing his damnedest to gather all of the power to himself.
Easy. trump, musk and the trumplicans will soon be outnumbered. Majority rules. I think that the 2024 elections will be the last Presidential and Congressional majorities that Republicans win for some time. The pendulum always swings. This time it was a super-extreme swing to the far right. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. I just hope that it's not to the extreme left, but somewhere closer to the reasonable middle.
My father who passed away at 98 always said the same thing about the pendulum swinging. A die-hard Democrat he said the GOP always overplayed their hand and got spanked in the next election. But I am so happy he passed away before this Trump administration. Being born in 1920 he knew what facism looked like. I hope we can have honest elections in 2026 and rid ourselves of many of Trump's co-conspirators in congress.
Agree, Richard! Nothing will be served by moving the country to the far Left. And nothing will be served by using their tactics! We need to diffuse the anger, not stoke it. We are where we are because anger was stoked, which then led to resentment and then to Trump’s retaliation.
The anger and name calling aimed at Trump and his supporters just enforces MAGA to dig in deeper. We need to demonstrate a government that admits all viewpoints to be explored and encourages understanding. One Nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. We must let this stand and elect and support candidates who honor it.
Then Dems in the “reasonable middle” need to start speaking up and fighting back against what is happening to our government. Because right now the only elected officials doing that are the far left. My own Illinois (ILLINOIS!!) senator voted with the Republicans on the CR. You know what that gets you in Illinois? A primary challenge from a progressive. The middle needs to wake up and start speaking for the people who elected them if they want to regain power. btw, I am a “middle” democrat voter, I don’t like the extremes in either party. But the middle isn’t doing jack at the moment.
Mike, billionaires own the White House. One billionaire is dismantling our democracy, the billionaire press owners have capitulated to Trump and now, as unbelievable as it seems, the prominent Paul Weiss law firm is giving Trump $40m pro bono work *to advance his directives* in return for Trump dropping the executive order against them. (EOP Cancelled contracts and dropped security clearances) Am I right in thinking campaign finance reform could stop these billionaires from ‘primarying’ opponents and ultimately from buying wins for the next round of elections? No one seems to be exploring campaign finance reform as a stopgap and if it is viable, I feel at least the Dems would be mentioning it. Maybe it is too simplistic or ultimately impossible. I don’t know, but I wish someone could explain.
No Congressperson will sponsor campaign finance reform. They do not care. That is not where they are getting their money. They are getting paid to stop,it.
And therein lies the problem. ‘They do not care” and billionaires buy the candidates. Principled officials need to address how to slow down the purchases of elected offices. In the business world, it would be considered collusion. Does buying the election make a joke of “free” elections? Just kidding, but you get my point and we are living the irony of it every day.
I agree. And we the electorate need to recognize those “principled officials ”.
Example, in 2022, Tim Ryan was a U.S. Congressman in Ohio and ran for the open Senate seat. The Republican who ran against him was “Mr. Trump is a Nazi in 2016 to Trump’s fabulous in 2020” named JD Vance.
Tim Ryan was one of the hardest working and most sincere members of the House of Representatives. Always stood up for the Ohio working people and families. WAS a true Ohioan. Has a distinctly Ohioan accent, I know, I’m from near Pgh and know it well, close to my own. He was for those people and fought hard.
Ohio chose that which way the wind blows JDVance. What a travesty for Ohio. What a huge travesty for the rest of us in America.
Until we as an electorate decide to actually even slightly, research our candidates for ourselves and not sub it out to some loud mouth down the street, we get what we voted for, a bunch of self serving, power grubbing sheisters.
My friend who spends time in instagram says she sees a lot of buyers remorse and resistance building. I certainly hope so. To me, this has all been so obvious about the Radical Right lunatic President since he tried to execute the Central Park Five guys in 1989.
He has always been a liar and a fake. If it wasn’t for Ivana, his first wife, he wouldn’t have had a business at all. He’s a huckster plain and simple.
Glad that this is finally happening! I don't know why anyone believed any of the promises Trump made, as he has proven himself to be a liar so many times since 2016. Something encouraging to share: I was on the Drudge Report around 10am this morning and took a screenshot of media viewer stats that for some reason are no longer there at the moment (perhaps they're being updated--unsure). Whatever the case, here they are, and it shows that more people are getting their news from ABC and NBC than from Fox:
so interesting...people are watching ABC and NBC more and more. We need a new Walter Cronkite who people trust to tell what's really going on. Cable 24 hour news is losing viewers. Good!
You can also 'catch' Anderson Cooper on ABC's "60 Minutes" from time to time. He was on that program last Sunday. (He has a special agreement with CNN to appear on other networks, I understand. Or maybe it's just ABC?)
Glad that people are starting to see the light, but there are no surprises with Trump and Project 2025 (although Musk is someone no one had on their bingo cards). The buyer's remorse is tough to take - those voters damned us all (and I'm Canadian). So did the non-voters.
iT was the GOP who ALLOWED this con-man to take the Party's nomination. NOT the stupid voters who finally okay'd "the deal." Hold the GOP responsible for this travesty. Stop thinking that either of our two parties are honest and working in the best interest of the citizens of the US. WAKE UP.. WAKE UP !!!
I will never understand why people were willing to pull the lever for Trump after he intentionally incited an insurrection that took the lives of so many. That's like buying a house visibly infested with termites then expressing surprise and remorse when it collapses.
It took them this long to realize that you don’t convict a felon? He’s out for himself and billionaires who definitely do not need tax breaks. They don’t barely pay any taxes as it is. Our social safety net is being attacked and Republicans are not saying a peep.
I think a part of the problem is that I have never known what was referred to as a "low information voter," and I suspect that unless such people can be reached and taught to seek real information, learning from personal experience after making poor voting choices will continue to be the norm. I can't imagine making a vote based on anything learned from social media or word of mouth. Working in a laboratory, "show me the data" has been my mantra. However, since getting actual, true information without any hype has become a difficult endeavor that people who have no clue what they don't know would find overwhelming, I don't see a solution.
Respectfully, I have been living in a rural area of Michigan for the past eight years. There is a dearth of news resources due to a lack of internet/broadband providers so yes, “word of mouth” is indeed the major source of news. The “mouth” is generally the pastor of highly evangelical churches that is a staple in every rural community—not only from a religious perspective, but also societal. Younger voters rely on Tik Tok (anecdotally from several young people I have asked) or choose not to vote at all for lack of interest/knowledge on what goes on outside of there very small worlds. There are no local TV stations to help illustrate how national or international politics could and will shape their economic future—their thought is how in the world do the horrible things in Detroit relate to my life? If they do have TV (such as it is)-they rely on Fox—not aware that there are other channels/apps to provide a more balanced view of the national landscape.
This is a huge problem. I don’t know the answer. So many uneducated folks that easy to fool. They believe all the misinformation and that alone could end this country.
I used to rely on The New York Times for news, and I still read it, but it can't be counted on any longer, so I get most of my news from various Substacks and Drop Site. I live on the North Oregon Coast, where there is a weekly newspaper mainly devoted to local happenings; nothing much about national politics. But I also get emails from my Senators and my Representative (Democrat), and my State Senator (Republican). So there are ways to get information, but the issue is getting people to understand that they need to do that.
Nothing to apologize for; I guess I didn't make myself clear. I was basically agreeing with you and just trying to make the point that there are options available. We don't all live in areas where real news is easy to come by, but there are options available if people could only be made aware that they exist, and learning about them might help them to be more informed voters. I was hoping someone might have some ideas of how to promote that.
Agreed with your premise!!! The root cause is awareness-or lack awareness and absolute distrust of anything that does not come from their pastor's mouth. I am not bashing religion, I am an Episcopalian (coincidentally a local asked me yesterday if that was the "woke" church--I responded in the affirmative and we continued our conversation--I have an internal giggle) and very much a Christian. I also use NYT, The AP, The Guardian, SubStack (some right center for balance), and Politico for my new sources. Have a great weekend!!!
But that also can be based on any action you take in life, before acting, do your research. You wouldn’t go and buy a car just because it looked good. You would also want to know its reliability. After purchasing, it’s too late. But Adam is right though that we all have to band together though to stop the insanity.
That's perfectly true, but what do "low information voters" know about doing their research? And there are so many of them. How will they learn that they are voting emotionally based on bogus data?
I'll keep my fingers crossed, but I won't hold my breath. I can remember when newspapers and news broadcasts at least sought to present the truth without bias one way or the other, but unless that sort of reporting returns outside of Substack and Drop Site and the like, I don't see things improving on the available information front.
That's true and has been for a very long time. Classes that I had to take back in the day were only available as electives when my children were in school, and if they were enrolled, parents had to pay for all supplies. I was required to take physiology in high school so I would have a basic understanding of the human body, and that was not available at all for my kids, and as far as I know, it still isn't taught. And I had to take a class called Religions of the World so I would gain a little understanding of and tolerance for those from different cultures. Today MAGA types condemn understanding and tolerance. The purpose of education is not simply to be able to get a decent job, it's to help us enjoy the largest and most fulfilling life possible.
I hope you're right, Adam. I know that we can't keep up with all of this for an indefinite period of time. But how much will it matter what voters think if Congress, mostly the Rs, continue to cede their power to him?
Those 'Rs' that continue to cede their Congressional power to trump are going to lose re-election in many, if not all, cases. They will be replaced by either a Democrat or a moderate, non-maga, Republican.
That's assuming that we have free & fair elections next year, which I don't think we can count on at this point. All well & good to have said that in November and maybe even the last week of January, but not now. I fail to see how Rs can be worried about being primaried when if they don't stand up now, they may find that he considers them disposable altogether. That would completely follow his standard M.O.: demand complete loyalty and then throw those people under the bus. Anyone can see that coming.
Thank you congressman. Trumps attacks on the courts is so dangerous. It’s a matter of time before either a judge or their family is hurt. He incites violence and thrives from it. He cannot be allowed to do this, once the judges start to fear for their safety, it’s too late.
Hopefully the MAGA/GOP will have their walls collapse as well. You can only dig so deep before the crumbling begins, hopefully they are well beyond the point of any safe return...
Adam, spot on regarding letting those realizing they made a huge mistake back into the light with us. Their rage and anger can now be vectored where they belong making a nice force multiplier ...
Did any of them read 2025 project?! They shouldn’t be surprised by any of this. JFC
Exactly. Although at 922 pages, I can't totally blame anyone that didn't read it completely. I myself only read the first 120 pages. Also, when trump lied, saying he didn't know anything about Project 2025, his followers believed him, as they often do. Yet we know he lied because he is following Project 2025 to a 'T'.
If his lips are moving he’s telling lies as are all of his cabinet members and advisors.
And leavitt
I think they winder her up and throw her out there every morning.
This is what baffles me.
The operative word is LIE.
Why can’t so many citizens understand that Trump is a psychopathic liar 🤥
The people who voted for Trump are angry Americans with a big chip on their shoulders. They feel shortchanged and resentful about their place in American life. They feel they were entitled to more than what they ended up with. It was easy for them to hitch on to Trump’s bandwagon because he promised to save them from their misery. Little did they know they were being swindled, gaslit, and lied to. They refused to believe that they were backing a two-bit criminal. Now they will understand when their Social Security and Medicaid payments don’t show up, their bank accounts looted, and private information is stolen and exposed to cyber criminals on the web. They will understand who they voted for when people they know are arrested and deported in the middle of the night. By then it will be too late.
I think they know that and that's why they like him. Monkey see monkey do!!!
Most of them can't read.
Seriously. People who pick up dumb memes from the internet like "Genocide Joe" either can't or don't read. They don't think critically. They don't put 1+1 and get 2. Some believe Trump is playing 5-dimensional chess. Some don't know anything and let other people rule their emotions. Some think no problem is complicated, or that trade-offs don't exist.
I will never figure out how people thought voting for a debauched, pussygrabbing felon, fraud and business failure would ever work out to be some kind of answer to whatever challenges the country is actually facing. Or why these same people were convinced that our real problem was in permitting millions of transgender boys with vaginas to pour across the Rio Grande to teach their grandchildren critical race theory.
Why smear yourself with other people's bullshit when you can still read newspapers, books and think for yourself? It makes no sense.
That was too much homework for them, and it didn’t jive with their propaganda so they mainly dismissed it out of hand, or when I got challenged, after citing page and line where it said it in the 922 page document (easy to find by the way because indexing) they continued to blow it off. Not even the video recorded clandestinely of Vought telling two journalists (posing as fans) what the plans were got them concerned, because they refused to watch, listen, or see anything but their own bubble of info. So it is on them.
💯
They fall into several categories where they either hadn't heard of Project 2025 or if they had, they either claimed it wasn't real or the libs exaggerated it. They learn nothing and will have learned nothing from any of this. I'd love to hear examples of buyer's remorse but in my world, it's not going to happen until they are impacted personally negatively.
How can “we the people “ stop him and musk
Call and/or write your members of Congress. I have seen it suggested that rather than yelling at an aide or voicemail, that it's better to say calmly, "we need Social Security and don't want it effectively destroyed by reducing access to it. We need NOAA. We need a Dept. of Education. We want to continue to fund Ukraine in their fight against Putin. We want fully-funded care for veterans." Etc., etc., etc. Name the things that are particularly important for the country or for you personally. Call repeatedly.
I'm ready to say to mine, "I don't understand why you aren't insisting that Congress maintain the powers it was given by the Constitution. Congress creates agencies, not the Executive Branch. (DOGE! Not official because it wasn't set up by Congress.) The power of the purse and the making of laws is the business of Congress, not of the president, much less an unelected interloper. If you don't stand up now, the man bent on destroying democracy may well disband Congress."
My two US Senators are maggots as is my member of Congress. Regardless, I send them emails and occasionally call to give them advice from this constituent. I get form letters back filled with platitudes telling me how hard they are working for me. Yeah, right. I live in FloriDUH…
I live in TexAss. Same verse, same chorus! But we can stay centered in our just cause.!
I don't know what the FTW stands for, but I think Harris & Walz should be put there like AOC & Bernie are.... not politley telling people to call their Congressmen. These are extraordinary times, and the Democratic "please, follow the rules" line is in the rear view mirror, fading fast.
FTW = For the Win. I'm neither personally nor officially connected with either of them and am not remotely a public figure to whom anyone would listen. I chose that title for my Substack because it reflected the optimism I felt early last fall, and I plan on changing the name soon.
Walz *is* out there, having town halls in states where the red politicians are too chicken to do it. I'm not sure what Harris is doing and I don't know why we aren't seeing more of her, but then so much of the formerly legit media has bent the knee to Trump that there may well be more things going on than we are being told about.
Rachel Maddow, currently on MSNBC five nights a week (9 Eastern) has been showing clips of protests around the country almost every night. Search for groups where you live that are doing advocacy. Indivisible comes highly recommended, and there are others. Look for marches in your area.
Do you read Heather Cox Richardson's Letters From an American that are published here and on Facebook almost daily? Those are specifically written to record for history what has happened that day in politics, as she is a historian herself as well as a professor and author. Because of that, they are an overview significant facts and don't dive into speculation, much less every inane thing that is said by the dark side.
Heather does live talks most Tuesday afternoons at 4 p.m. Eastern on Facebook and I believe has just started to stream them on YouTube at the same time. They are viewable later if you can't be there when they are happening, and if there are changes to her schedule, those are generally announced on Facebook. Speaking of which, her Letters come directly to your inbox if you subscribe to her here, and later in the day you'll get an audio of her reading them. Anyway, aside from the good information contained in all of that, during the Tuesday talks she will get into not only what is going on but respond to people's questions of "what do we do?!" She has named other groups to look into that I'm unable to call to mind right now.
There are some other Dems who have been vocal, including Senator Chris Murphy of CT and Rep. Jamie Raskin of MD. There are at least a few others who are speaking up as well, but you aren't necessarily going to hear about them from "regular" media.
Heather Cox Richardson is a fantastic historian, who is so adept at tying past history to our current situation/predicament. For anyone who hasn't been following her, you need to start now!
Katie Couric frequently interviews Heather Cox Richardson and all of the interviews are well worth watching. As an historian Richardson makes historical connections that ground much of her thinking. She communicates both her knowledge of history and the present situation we find ourselves in ways that are assessable for non-academics to easily grasp. I recommend going to Katie’s podcast or to youTube to listen to today’s interview. Once there, type in Katie Couric; The Dismantling Of American Democracy.
Couldn't agree more. At the moment, I'm managing to pay for a few subscriptions to Substack, but if I get to the point of not being able to afford that--and I know I can get hers free--I'd probably still pay for it. I can't imagine how many hours a day she puts in just keeping the Letters going. I never liked history in school, but I listen to her politics chats every time I can, usually after they're done.
Check out Congresswoman (from the Dallas area) Jasmine Crockett telling it like it is. Also, Bernie and AOC. Adam is appearing on more venues, too.
I've seen some of Bernie and AOC both together and separately. I've seen clips of Jasmine Crockett, and she is a fireball! Would love to see them in person.
And don't apologize for not being a public figure..BE YOUR OWN FIGURE!!! YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY!!!!
Thank you, and I hope ypu change your name quickly...you obviously have good information and don't need to attch to the former candidates...frankly they drag you down! FTW, NOW!!
Wasn't trying to "attach" myself to them, just cheering them on, but yes, now that that possibility is inexplicably and sadly in the past.... I watched most nights of the Dem National Convention, which I've never done before, and I sat there watching the "joyful warriors" and thinking, "how could anyone want the other option and not this?!" When bozo won in 2016 I cried for three days. This time I was numb.
Still am numb, but we gotta put on our boots and get going! You have a good start!
It's true. My congressman is a Democrat and is trying.
I have two red senators, one worse than the other, and I have to look up my representative. I thought I knew who it was, but in a Facebook group in the past couple of days, it may not be who I thought. With a little luck it's the D and not the R who I thought it was.
Same problem. ALL of mine are red. I do write to them all the time - and they keep replying with their BS about Musk looking for waste.
Are you sending emails through their websites? I hate that they offer only forced-choice topics, because none of them (shock!) list "democracy" or "fascism" or "destroying the federal government." Try letters via USPS, which likely won't get a reply at all, but that might be less insulting than the form letters prepared for each topic. If that's what you're already doing, bombard them with postcards and phone calls. ASK THEM WHAT WASTE MUSK HAS FOUND. ASK THEM WHY AN UNELECTED [FILL IN NOUN OF CHOICE] IS ALLOWED TO ACCESS ALL OF OUR PERSONAL INFORMATION FOR NO REASON.
Tell your senators/reps that if they were looking for fraud/waste, they would have brought in forensic accountants, not computer hackers.
Mine also in MA
I thought mine was, and then he voted with the Republicans.
Fetterman?
Durbin
I can't recall who I was listening to the other day who brought up that question, particularly about former presidents, and said, "it may be that their time is gone." It wasn't said in a derogatory way, but it's true that a lot of the Dems haven't kept up with the times as far as the methods of reaching people. Seems highly unlikely those guys are going to be on TikTok or Instagram, much less any of the more off-the-beaten-path apps. These are old guys, and in our society, we don't have much reverence for them.
Look around here. I saw that Pete Buttigieg has just gotten on Substack. Would love to hear more from him, but he is raising a couple of young kids right now and didn't get to spend nearly as much time with them as he would have liked, I'm sure, while he was busy doing such a good job as Secretary of Transportation.
Rabies...that would explain a LOT about these sycophants who are always foaming at the mouth.
Come to think of it, I've seen that Michelle Obama and her brother have started a podcast, but I don't know how much of it is or isn't going to be related to politics.
Bush?? LOL! He is responsible for Citizens United that started all of this Oligarchy and foreign intervention crap!
I was hoping for redemption!!!
I have
Great! Keep it up!
So...just WHAT is the Democrat Party doing at this time? Trying to raise $$ ? Sending out weak-kneed excuses for Sen. Schumer's capitulation? Do not expect your "followers"/voters" to go along with this nonsense. The road ahead is CLOSED.
I AM NOT AFFILIATED WITH THE DEM CANDIDATES FOR POTUS AND VEEP. It was a rallying cry back when the world was a lot brighter.
Heather Cox Richardson, a historian, professor, and author whose Letters From an American I highly recommend, has said that Schumer doing what he did wasn't necessarily a bad choice, and that neither option was good. Yes, I think his time as a leader is done and was before this, when something big is going on and all he seems to be able to do is stand at a podium and read from notes.
I've seen a lot of complaints about fundraising--although I'm not getting hit up for that like some people are--but if you want Dems to do something, do you expect for them to pay for it out of their own pockets? Do you think they can fly around the country and speak at various venues for free?
I agree with what you say. And I am doing these things, but after not being able to reach my senators and speak to an aide for over a week before the budget vote, I was extremely frustrated and did raise my voice on the voicemail. I felt ignored. I have always voted for Sen Durbin in IL. But he ignored the will of the people and many Democrats here are done with him. I also don’t understand why I need to give lessons in how the government works to the people in the government. We elected them based on the presumption that they would serve their constituents. The Democrats really have to up their game!!
Personally, I make a distinction between raising my voice and actually yelling, plus it matters if you are providing information about which you are frustrated as opposed to calling them idiots or worse. The general idea is that they will be more likely to pay attention to "this part of the government needs to be fully funded" rather than "how can you be so f'ing stupid?!"
Yes, I was disgusted with any Dem who voted yes on ANY of Trump's nominees for cabinet positions. I don't think we should have to give them lessons, either, but clearly way too many people voted for candidates who don't know how the U.S. government works, up to and including the guy who is doing his damnedest to gather all of the power to himself.
Resist.
Speak out.
Go to marches.
Send postcards to your Senators and Representatives especially in Red states.
For those in blue, do the same and tell them to get a cohesive opposition to the Privatization of our government! It’s OUR money!
Call your Senators and Representatives.
Join Move On .Org
Join Indivisible
Don’t be silent!
Don’t shut up!
Also, financially support ACLU and SPLC. They will keep these issues visible in the courts and plead for relief from this insanity.
Easy. trump, musk and the trumplicans will soon be outnumbered. Majority rules. I think that the 2024 elections will be the last Presidential and Congressional majorities that Republicans win for some time. The pendulum always swings. This time it was a super-extreme swing to the far right. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. I just hope that it's not to the extreme left, but somewhere closer to the reasonable middle.
My father who passed away at 98 always said the same thing about the pendulum swinging. A die-hard Democrat he said the GOP always overplayed their hand and got spanked in the next election. But I am so happy he passed away before this Trump administration. Being born in 1920 he knew what facism looked like. I hope we can have honest elections in 2026 and rid ourselves of many of Trump's co-conspirators in congress.
How about an entirely new concept. One in which common sense, respect, sensible social justice and objective truth are the platforms
Agree, Richard! Nothing will be served by moving the country to the far Left. And nothing will be served by using their tactics! We need to diffuse the anger, not stoke it. We are where we are because anger was stoked, which then led to resentment and then to Trump’s retaliation.
The anger and name calling aimed at Trump and his supporters just enforces MAGA to dig in deeper. We need to demonstrate a government that admits all viewpoints to be explored and encourages understanding. One Nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. We must let this stand and elect and support candidates who honor it.
I am hoping for the same
Then Dems in the “reasonable middle” need to start speaking up and fighting back against what is happening to our government. Because right now the only elected officials doing that are the far left. My own Illinois (ILLINOIS!!) senator voted with the Republicans on the CR. You know what that gets you in Illinois? A primary challenge from a progressive. The middle needs to wake up and start speaking for the people who elected them if they want to regain power. btw, I am a “middle” democrat voter, I don’t like the extremes in either party. But the middle isn’t doing jack at the moment.
Mike, billionaires own the White House. One billionaire is dismantling our democracy, the billionaire press owners have capitulated to Trump and now, as unbelievable as it seems, the prominent Paul Weiss law firm is giving Trump $40m pro bono work *to advance his directives* in return for Trump dropping the executive order against them. (EOP Cancelled contracts and dropped security clearances) Am I right in thinking campaign finance reform could stop these billionaires from ‘primarying’ opponents and ultimately from buying wins for the next round of elections? No one seems to be exploring campaign finance reform as a stopgap and if it is viable, I feel at least the Dems would be mentioning it. Maybe it is too simplistic or ultimately impossible. I don’t know, but I wish someone could explain.
You are spot on. We need the citizens united ruling overturned. Get big money out of our politics.
No Congressperson will sponsor campaign finance reform. They do not care. That is not where they are getting their money. They are getting paid to stop,it.
And therein lies the problem. ‘They do not care” and billionaires buy the candidates. Principled officials need to address how to slow down the purchases of elected offices. In the business world, it would be considered collusion. Does buying the election make a joke of “free” elections? Just kidding, but you get my point and we are living the irony of it every day.
I agree. And we the electorate need to recognize those “principled officials ”.
Example, in 2022, Tim Ryan was a U.S. Congressman in Ohio and ran for the open Senate seat. The Republican who ran against him was “Mr. Trump is a Nazi in 2016 to Trump’s fabulous in 2020” named JD Vance.
Tim Ryan was one of the hardest working and most sincere members of the House of Representatives. Always stood up for the Ohio working people and families. WAS a true Ohioan. Has a distinctly Ohioan accent, I know, I’m from near Pgh and know it well, close to my own. He was for those people and fought hard.
Ohio chose that which way the wind blows JDVance. What a travesty for Ohio. What a huge travesty for the rest of us in America.
Until we as an electorate decide to actually even slightly, research our candidates for ourselves and not sub it out to some loud mouth down the street, we get what we voted for, a bunch of self serving, power grubbing sheisters.
My friend who spends time in instagram says she sees a lot of buyers remorse and resistance building. I certainly hope so. To me, this has all been so obvious about the Radical Right lunatic President since he tried to execute the Central Park Five guys in 1989.
He has always been a liar and a fake. If it wasn’t for Ivana, his first wife, he wouldn’t have had a business at all. He’s a huckster plain and simple.
Do you mean those poor boys who turned out to be innocent? What a travesty.
Glad that this is finally happening! I don't know why anyone believed any of the promises Trump made, as he has proven himself to be a liar so many times since 2016. Something encouraging to share: I was on the Drudge Report around 10am this morning and took a screenshot of media viewer stats that for some reason are no longer there at the moment (perhaps they're being updated--unsure). Whatever the case, here they are, and it shows that more people are getting their news from ABC and NBC than from Fox:
TV NEWS RACE
VIEWERS PAST WEEK
ABC 60 MINS 6,917,000
NBC HOLT 6,114,000
FOX BAIER 5,296,000
FOX INGRAHAM 4,416, 000
FOX WATTERS 4,284,000
FOX FIVE 4,271,000
CBS EVENING 4,038,000
FOX HANNITY 3,858,000
FOX GUTFELD 3,463, 000
ABC 20/20 2,844,000
ABC VIEW 2,424,000
MSNBC MADDOW 2,302, 000
FOX LARA TRUMP 1, 664, 000
MSNBC O' DONNELL 1,300,000
CNN TAPPER 1, 155,000
MeidasTouchNetwork hit 6 BILLION views on YouTube yesterday.
so interesting...people are watching ABC and NBC more and more. We need a new Walter Cronkite who people trust to tell what's really going on. Cable 24 hour news is losing viewers. Good!
The media viewer stats are encouraging. I noticed though. If you add up the foxes they are larger numbers than the others.
Is there something wrong with CNN? I find Anderson cooper believable.
You can also 'catch' Anderson Cooper on ABC's "60 Minutes" from time to time. He was on that program last Sunday. (He has a special agreement with CNN to appear on other networks, I understand. Or maybe it's just ABC?)
Don’t you mean CBS 60 Minutes?
Ooops! 'my bad... Yes, CBS 60 Minutes...
I think the large Fox numbers might be related to people who just keep the channel on and watch show after show… my dad used to do that.
That brings to mind the of the following scene fro the 1998 movie "A Bug's Life":
https://youtu.be/TTUQyEr-sg0?si=JqxMANFnW5gGtN1T
Glad that people are starting to see the light, but there are no surprises with Trump and Project 2025 (although Musk is someone no one had on their bingo cards). The buyer's remorse is tough to take - those voters damned us all (and I'm Canadian). So did the non-voters.
iT was the GOP who ALLOWED this con-man to take the Party's nomination. NOT the stupid voters who finally okay'd "the deal." Hold the GOP responsible for this travesty. Stop thinking that either of our two parties are honest and working in the best interest of the citizens of the US. WAKE UP.. WAKE UP !!!
I’m with you. I will have an exceedingly difficult time being jolly they’ve finally woken up (pun intended).
I will never understand why people were willing to pull the lever for Trump after he intentionally incited an insurrection that took the lives of so many. That's like buying a house visibly infested with termites then expressing surprise and remorse when it collapses.
Once he made fun of a disabled reporter and insulted Senator McCain, I thought that would have been it for him....
Especially when you bring a bunch of rats and add to the infestation!
They’ve been living too long on the fumes, with blinders on.
It took them this long to realize that you don’t convict a felon? He’s out for himself and billionaires who definitely do not need tax breaks. They don’t barely pay any taxes as it is. Our social safety net is being attacked and Republicans are not saying a peep.
I think a part of the problem is that I have never known what was referred to as a "low information voter," and I suspect that unless such people can be reached and taught to seek real information, learning from personal experience after making poor voting choices will continue to be the norm. I can't imagine making a vote based on anything learned from social media or word of mouth. Working in a laboratory, "show me the data" has been my mantra. However, since getting actual, true information without any hype has become a difficult endeavor that people who have no clue what they don't know would find overwhelming, I don't see a solution.
Respectfully, I have been living in a rural area of Michigan for the past eight years. There is a dearth of news resources due to a lack of internet/broadband providers so yes, “word of mouth” is indeed the major source of news. The “mouth” is generally the pastor of highly evangelical churches that is a staple in every rural community—not only from a religious perspective, but also societal. Younger voters rely on Tik Tok (anecdotally from several young people I have asked) or choose not to vote at all for lack of interest/knowledge on what goes on outside of there very small worlds. There are no local TV stations to help illustrate how national or international politics could and will shape their economic future—their thought is how in the world do the horrible things in Detroit relate to my life? If they do have TV (such as it is)-they rely on Fox—not aware that there are other channels/apps to provide a more balanced view of the national landscape.
This is a huge problem. I don’t know the answer. So many uneducated folks that easy to fool. They believe all the misinformation and that alone could end this country.
I used to rely on The New York Times for news, and I still read it, but it can't be counted on any longer, so I get most of my news from various Substacks and Drop Site. I live on the North Oregon Coast, where there is a weekly newspaper mainly devoted to local happenings; nothing much about national politics. But I also get emails from my Senators and my Representative (Democrat), and my State Senator (Republican). So there are ways to get information, but the issue is getting people to understand that they need to do that.
I apologize, but I do not understand how your reply addresses my response to your original post.
Nothing to apologize for; I guess I didn't make myself clear. I was basically agreeing with you and just trying to make the point that there are options available. We don't all live in areas where real news is easy to come by, but there are options available if people could only be made aware that they exist, and learning about them might help them to be more informed voters. I was hoping someone might have some ideas of how to promote that.
Agreed with your premise!!! The root cause is awareness-or lack awareness and absolute distrust of anything that does not come from their pastor's mouth. I am not bashing religion, I am an Episcopalian (coincidentally a local asked me yesterday if that was the "woke" church--I responded in the affirmative and we continued our conversation--I have an internal giggle) and very much a Christian. I also use NYT, The AP, The Guardian, SubStack (some right center for balance), and Politico for my new sources. Have a great weekend!!!
But that also can be based on any action you take in life, before acting, do your research. You wouldn’t go and buy a car just because it looked good. You would also want to know its reliability. After purchasing, it’s too late. But Adam is right though that we all have to band together though to stop the insanity.
That's perfectly true, but what do "low information voters" know about doing their research? And there are so many of them. How will they learn that they are voting emotionally based on bogus data?
If what’s going on doesn’t teach them, than I don’t know if anything will.
I'll keep my fingers crossed, but I won't hold my breath. I can remember when newspapers and news broadcasts at least sought to present the truth without bias one way or the other, but unless that sort of reporting returns outside of Substack and Drop Site and the like, I don't see things improving on the available information front.
What is going on will directly affect them negatively. THAT is how people learn!
Hence their idea to keep low information voters by reducing the education system. It all works together in their favour.
That's true and has been for a very long time. Classes that I had to take back in the day were only available as electives when my children were in school, and if they were enrolled, parents had to pay for all supplies. I was required to take physiology in high school so I would have a basic understanding of the human body, and that was not available at all for my kids, and as far as I know, it still isn't taught. And I had to take a class called Religions of the World so I would gain a little understanding of and tolerance for those from different cultures. Today MAGA types condemn understanding and tolerance. The purpose of education is not simply to be able to get a decent job, it's to help us enjoy the largest and most fulfilling life possible.
I meant “elect a convicted felon.” But I know you know what I meant
It feels like an uphill battle against propaganda. Thanks for all you do!
Dear Adam - Please run for President next time around!
I'd vote for Adam in a second.
Please, Please, Please 🧎🏻♀️➡️🧎🏻♀️➡️🧎🏻♀️➡️🙏🙏🙏
I hope you're right, Adam. I know that we can't keep up with all of this for an indefinite period of time. But how much will it matter what voters think if Congress, mostly the Rs, continue to cede their power to him?
Those 'Rs' that continue to cede their Congressional power to trump are going to lose re-election in many, if not all, cases. They will be replaced by either a Democrat or a moderate, non-maga, Republican.
That's assuming that we have free & fair elections next year, which I don't think we can count on at this point. All well & good to have said that in November and maybe even the last week of January, but not now. I fail to see how Rs can be worried about being primaried when if they don't stand up now, they may find that he considers them disposable altogether. That would completely follow his standard M.O.: demand complete loyalty and then throw those people under the bus. Anyone can see that coming.
Thank you congressman. Trumps attacks on the courts is so dangerous. It’s a matter of time before either a judge or their family is hurt. He incites violence and thrives from it. He cannot be allowed to do this, once the judges start to fear for their safety, it’s too late.
It’s Trump Derangement Syndrome
I hope you are being sarcastic. Thank God for TDS. It was a healthy response to an untenable, immoral and just plain wrong position and man.
Yes of course, but maybe it can affect both sides
How so?
That kind of thinking deserves encouragement. Carry on.
I hate to say we told them so, but we told them so! We said they'd regret trump votes!
Hopefully the MAGA/GOP will have their walls collapse as well. You can only dig so deep before the crumbling begins, hopefully they are well beyond the point of any safe return...
Adam, spot on regarding letting those realizing they made a huge mistake back into the light with us. Their rage and anger can now be vectored where they belong making a nice force multiplier ...