I'm a white trans woman that's married to a black trans man. Frankly, I'm terrified. I don't have the resources for escape as well if things go badly enough. When I watch the elections, I'm watching the percentage of people who want people like me to be erased and... I'm not okay with any of this. I wish I could breathe, but I can't. Not while living in this literal nightmare scenario.
My heart breaks for the trans community. I wish I could give you a hug. Please know there are lots of us in the straight community that fight for your rights and embrace your community. MAGA is louder but they are NOT the majority.
I am a staunch ally, as is the church I attend (we’re trying to have our land used to build LGBTQ+ celebrating housing. We are now having to lock our doors because of an incident with an unstable person. A while back, we had a swastika painted onto the side of the church. It’s bad, and I don’t understand how they can tout their “christianity” when that’s NOT what following the path means. The one they claim as their own spent his time being with those on the margins, not trying to change them, not “tolerating” but showing true love. I am so sorry you are living in such fear. I am in fear for different reasons. I can’t imagine what you are going through and I am so very sorry.
within the lifetimes of those now voting the daytime temperatures in Kansas will be 150F+, and only those in silos will survive for a few years longer
I am non-binary, but this is so far beyond all of us individually. our humanity sold out for profit, to be used to build silos where their great grandchildren will go to die- this is Armageddon, not a B scifi scenario
It's what amazes me most. The unspoken 'expectation' seems to be that, if we all get working on the global warming issue, and have success, that 'things will go back to where they were'! They WON'T!! What we have now is only going to get worse, then at some point (post civilization?) will become steady state. It's NOT going back. People don't seem to grasp that.
So sorry that the Right has stoked fear upon you, That is their tactic. The tactic of all dictators is to rule by fear. Please, find ways to find the deep clarity within and strengthen that; meanwhile allowing negative fantasies to rule your life gives your power away.
I can’t even imagine what you must be feeling. I hope our fears are unfounded. Scotus should be expanded. The current scotus are ignoring established laws with their corrupt rulings.
I am a cis woman ally. I feel for you and your husband. You are seen and you matter.
My husband and I do not have the resources to escape either. We are Jewish. If Trump wins, we don't fit into the "Christian nation" paradigm. I am stressed, and afraid to feel hope. I was elated in 2020 when the election was finally called for Biden/Harris. But the BS didn't stop, and then, January 6. The crap still hasn't stopped. I'm in Wisconsin. Turnout is crazy high. I have written and mailed all my postcards several weeks ago. Doing some door knocking. I voted. Worried about election day violence.
Honestly, feeling like a shit storm is about to hit the proverbial fan no matter what happens on election day/night 😔. I stay within my locus of control while remaining informed of what is happening and without giving in to the anxiety/panic. That's all one can do really.
The latest illegal ruling by cfscrotus on virginians' voting roll is beyond sick and frightening. They/gqp/cfoligarchs want everyone not like them to be annihlated. Why does it feel more and more like the obscenely rich white people want to destroy everything for "others"?
Yes - POSTED this in 15/16 on Twitter- GOP are oligarchs emulating Putin’s Russia.
They want 2 classes- themselves (the oligarch - elites, maintaining generational wealth) returning to the robber barons circa 1890s - eliminating all New Deal & civil rights protections….
&
The slave class - bred to serve them; no education; no critical thinking skills; no suffrage; keep women “ pregnant, barefoot & in the kitchen”.
As the SC of Trump, the SCOT said - “ GOP NEED a domestic supply of infants”.
a harris win is a win for the complete dismantling and dissolution of international law and the institutionalization of holocaust, validating putin, xi, the khmer rouge, ISIS, erdoğan, trump too, and the law of the fist and the repeal of the US Declaration of Independence, to be replaced by MuskBezosstan
vying for the clever prize is really the answer to the existential threat humanity faces right now and brings back the tens of thousands of lives of babies bombed into itsy bitsy bits by US ordinance ... collect your earnings at your earliest convenience. all it costs is one's humanity
somebody forgot what human means. instead of ad hominem attack which impeaches your opinion [logic101] at least impeach the facts - the International Court of Justice, the UN Security Council with a US abstention, the UN General Assembly, hundreds of resigned US State Department officials, the governments of US NATO allies, and major US trading partners world wide, and all 100% of international humanitarian NGOS and the Pope agree with the facts stated. so ad hominem attack does not gas light reality @mark looking in their mirror and seeing themself
The choice between Democrats and Republicans (and really, those are the only options) has serious impacts on minorities, immigrants, women's rights, worker's rights, wealth inequality, climate action and more. But, let's just focus on the one issue you bring up...
Biden/Harris are not dropping a single bomb and have spent most of the past year trying to negotiate a ceasefire. Expecting Americans to control the off-switch is a pure fantasy when war is a requirements for Netanyahu's existence outside a jail cell. Even if Americans stopped sending weapons, we can quite easily expect to see: a) Netanyahu to cozy up to Russia/China/NK to get weapons AND b) the Israeli/US alliance to shatter.
Further, Netanyahu's brutality is precisely timed in this pre-election period because Biden has the two above constraints PLUS the need to avoid this becoming *the* election issue. I know it is *the* issue for millions already, but there is a much bigger voting coalition that would be lost under a relentless GOP/Netanyahu messaging of "abandoning Israel to its doom".
I expect a significant shifting of position post-election (but no, not an immediate cutoff of arms) and a sudden constructive tone (and stalling) by Netanyahu from about Nov 8th.
Long term peace and stability can only come with a ceasefire, two-party state and financial aid. Almost certainly, that can only happen with a change of government that removes Netanyahu and other extremists. With that end in mind, every one of those items is something Dems have called for - and Republicans have rejected. So, IMHO, this isn't a very difficult choice at all.
well first of all, i applaud rational discussion. what I said did not include any recommendation not to vote. what I said was that there is a moral quandary.
as for the actual record, the worse the holocaust has become the greater has US UK EU involvement directly in this holocaust become, and the more vigorously has it been defended by both parties' majorities.
the US not only provides all the money and all the arms, it also is directly involved in command and control of intelligence, targeting and logistics, refueling aircraft in the air, and integrating us forces with the forces committing genocide, which the International Court of Justice has ordered stopped, to which members of the US government have replied with military threats against the justices personally in published letters to the court.
Harris and Biden have both insisted that this holocaust will never be opposed by the US. that is the public record
i pray daily that the US comes to its senses but I have little to no factual basis for that hope.
we come from god's mercy. we go back to god's mercy.
I as a believer since my earliest childhood have no other choice but to say no.
as an 81 year od US native born citizen and 100% disabled veteran I cannot choose to renege on my oath to defend and preserve our constitution that I took as russian ships were steaming full steam ahead to deliver nuclear arms to Castro who vowed to start WWIII as soon as they arrived.
yet now daily I betray that oath
that is a moral conundrum which all the vilification expressed here against my humanity only proves
the us already has systematically dismantled international law since its 'war on terror' which has geometrically multiplied beyond measure 20 terrorists into a permanent international network of terrorism financed by the royal families of saudi arabia qatar emirates abu dhabi and dubai, our NATO ally erdoğan, etc. and empowered Putin and their Chechnya and Dağestan genocides, and their invasion and occupation of Abkhasia, Ossetistan, Crimea and its ethnic cleansing and Ukraine and its ethnic cleansing, and the holocaust in gaza palestine sudan central africa for profit, lebanon syria as well as crimes against humanity in Libya and all through east and west africa. and most recently the armed military assault on UN peace keeping forcers financed by US taxpayers.
that #MAGA is obviously worse is a genuine moral conundrum, no doubt but even the Pope has said what Harris is right now doing has to stop, they are destroying 1800 year old churches and all traces of the first two hundred years of christianity in palestine. othodox christians, greek and syriac, maronite RC christians, anglican christians, biblical Israelites in Samaria, mizrahi sephardic and hassidic jews
it's not what 'will' happen. it is what already has happened: is happening right now and you can watch it every minute of every day on TikTok where the attrocities are trotted out gleefully live - live videos of young children having their brains shot out after they are shot in the knees then their brothers and mothers shot by sharpshooters when they go to help
so no it won't get better with #maga #project2025, so that is a moral conundrum. I am active all day every day supporting actively #VotefromAbroad #VoteVets #Democrats Abroad Caucus of Veterans and Military Families, of Get Out the Vote, but every action I am taking betrays and defiles the oath I took sixty+ years ago when I enlisted during the Cuba Crisis when we all knew we were minutes away from nuclear annihilation and i did not want to die an innocent bystander
I am not only sure. I know what is happening, and making jokes about it is unamerican
As a former journalist I must advise you that getting information from Tik Tok is worse than getting no information at all. Your comments reflect notions not associated with reality. Tik Tok videos are often manufactured disinformation fakes, much of it from archival videos from other conflicts. Mothers being shot by snipers trying to retrieve their dead children sounds like Kosovo, not Gaza. Words like holocaust and genocide have specific meanings and, while the situation in Gaza, the West Bank, et al are certainly tragic, the holocaust created about 6 million Jewish cadavers. The body count in the current conflict numbers in the five figures and will never come close to millions. Tragic but not a holocaust. Genocide is what was attempted by the Third Reich, the Hutus, Pol Pot, the current military of Myanmar and ISIS. Israel could attempt to completely eliminate the Palestinians but that's not what they're doing. Hamas, on the other hand has ,as one of its tenets, the complete eradication of the state of Israel. That would require genocide. Like you, I'm a veteran (Viet Nam era) and a patriotic and well-informed voter. I get nothing from your posts here that comes close to convincing me to equating a Harris administration to one headed by DJT.
1. I never said I get my news from TikTok, absurd ridiculous denigrating accusation
2. holocaust has no legal definition. period. it is the word that greek versions of holy scripture use to define the burnt offerings (עֹלָה) performed by the priest in the temple. babies burnt to ashes, young people burnt to ashes certainly fit the essential meaning of the word עֹלָה, to rise up in smoke to god
3. WW2 holocaust included a few million Roma, Lutherans including famous pastors and evangelic theologians who opposed the Nazi government, canonized orthodox christian and roman catholic saints martyrs whom the nazis rounded up into death camps, and millions of polish catholics, russian and greek orthodox christains, martyrs. antifa orthodox christian nuns and clergy; , muslims in russia and the philipines, in southwest asia, buddhists in china, burma and korea , Europeans and Americans in death camps, disabled elderly sick people, non binary LGTBQ --- not all of whom went up in smoke
and nobody knows the total number of muslims in russia and southwest asia except that. russian army muslims amount to about a million.
4. genocide has a legal definition and the international courts have legally determined and identified it, defined it as a genocide in Gaza and elsewhere. the denial it is a genocide is every bit as despicable as holocaust denial.
5. for the most part AI fakes are fairly obvious when it comes to depicting this holocaust. there is nothing anywhere in kosovo that remotely resemble anywhere near Gaza: that's gas lighting and supposition, baseless... and if they were fakes one can be sure there are forensic experts grabbing them out of the pile and proving them fake, as 99% of Israel fakes have been identified by such things as women speaking the wrong dialect mispronouncing key words and using inauthentic idioms plus many videos are self authenticating in just too many ways to count.
6. my notions are validated verified proven documented recorded in official records reports testimony in courts court findings, research by medecines san frontier, Haaretz, the Guardian, the Vatican See, even us state department reports and us state department experts who have resigned in protest by the hundreds
7. i lived worked taught in a major Holy Land university on its faculty so i saw with my own eyes, heard with my own ears felt the cold the hunger the fear saw bullet ridden children and uniformed teenagers with automatic weapons humiliating and terrorizing the old the sick children
8. the international courts have ruled that Israel is committing genocide and order it to stop. Likud's Manifesto says from river to the sea it will be free of palestinians, first declared in the first zionist congress in 1897. quote "one of its tenets, the complete eradication of the state of Israel." no. one of its tenets is the complete and unqualified end of illegal Israeli occupation, and its crimes against the people. HAMAS explicitly offers to guarantee israel when israel ends its illegal crimes against the people such as #DairYassin and 2000 other towns erased in 1948.
9. no genocide in human history has the documentation presented to the courts that this genocide has. in fine detail. including name rank and serial number of IDF soldiers publicizing their own crimes against humanity named in court records - more than a thousand identified so far.
having been an actual working journalist, anthropologist, photojournalist for decades one gets an instinct for documented verified validated vs hearsay and accusation.
I am a 100% disabled veteran who remembers and lives the oath I took to defend the constitution of the united states as the russian navy was rushing full steam ahead to deliver nuclear weapons to castro in cuba, today every bit as if it were 1962. I have never betrayed that oath that i took because i did not want to die as an innocent by-stander in WW3. and a fulbright fellow, poll watcher party volunteer for not quite 60 years, anti-war activists, PTSD therapist.
the imputation that I am not a patriot who does not love my country is as vile as vile sinks to.
that accusation tells me all i need to know about my accuser.
we come from god's mercy
we go back to god's mercy
my sole duty to god is to speak the truth and take care of god's family
You imply that I am un-American to make light of your mix of fallacy and reality?
I poked fun at you and stuck a pin in your balloon of self importance. You don't like it? OK. Your pique will be given all the consideration it is due.
PS: I am a former US Marine. I enlisted during the hostage crisis in Iran. Semper Fi
I apologize Isa, but you sound delusional and hyper-paranoid. Not to say that there aren't totally frightening and disturbing things going on, and I agree vehemently about what's going on in Gaza, but if you cannot see what the Republicans stand for and intend, and yet you continue to support the racism, the violence, the egregious misinformation, that we are owned by the billionaires, that women are now relegated to breeder-status, that our own justice system is not just, that the environment is cascading, exponentially,into ever more dangerous categories, then perhaps you need to take a breath and seek out other sources of information. In the words of Iggy Pop, Don't Lose Yourself. ☮️
honestly, anyone who cannot will not say no to genocide in gaza palestine lebanon syria libya congo sudan etc. has no shred nor whif of humanity left. so any opinion from anyone who cannot will not say no to genocide is moral bankruptcy FYI
i have never ev er once even dreamed of voting other than as a democrat and have worked for the democrat party my whole life even during the Vietnam war when i was regularly beaten up by the police. so no, i do not apologize one whit about saying no to race hate greed driven holocaust
quote" if you cannot see what the Republicans stand for and intend, and yet you continue to support the racism, the violence, the egregious misinformation, that we are owned by the billionaires, that women are now relegated to breeder-status, that our own justice system is not just..." piling up egregiously false fabricated accusations against me personally does not change one actual fact. piling up ad hominem vilification only proves the logical as well as moral bankruptcy of those accusations. overkill
yes I see the difference between democrats and MAGA ... i never said anything contrary. i have voted democrat in every election local and national since 1964. when i registered as a democrat.
I am an active volunteer in democrats abroad. and campaigning for Vote Vets, Vote from Abroad, Our Revolution, Veterans for Peace, I have been an antiwar activist since 1966, and my house mate threw his Medal of Honor into the Potomac after a Kerry rally in washington dc. I categorically deny your vile hatred and false vilification.
the moral bankruptcy and outright treason of MAGA does not in one scintilla give any possible moral vindication of mass murder of tens of thousands of babies and mothers
you need to applaud the holocaust is so strong apparently you are motivated to vilify opposition to it. you have to make your peace with god. i voted for Harris already. it cost me more than one hundred euros to vote from abroad.
to accuse me of "not seeing' what MAGA is denies everything I have said here and my 75 plus years of active resistance to racism,
my first refusal to sit with the "white folks" in the front of the segregated Tarrytown NY bus was in 1948. i worked on the streets with homeless child sex workers all through the seventies and was one of the original founders of a homeless and hunger foundation featured on the front pages of the Wall Street Journal. as a life long non-binary person who has been raped for being nonbinary repeatedly by so called male so called white men i take those sexist hate accusations personally.
your accusations are nothing less than despicable figments of your imagination, because opposing the holocaust bought and paid for by the last four us administrations right left and center is not racism. as a non binary person all my life, as a scientist who learned about the climate catastrophe in graduate school 50 years, as a decades long activist for nonbinary human rights, and as a nonbinary veterans rights activist since the 1980s, and so on, your accusations are egregiously counter factual and unforgiveable
that a trump win is bad as bad gets in no way changes the fact that a Harris win guarantees that the policy of the US presidential adminstrations since september 11th 2001 has been to dismantle and dissolve all traces of international law, right up to this minute where the US has in an active command and control logistics intelligence and munitions position in the illegal criminal armed military attack and killing of neutral UN peace keeping forces - there is no need to listen to me, a complete nobody: i don't even listen to me. i
read the media, international media, watch the international media, read the atlantic, the vatican news, haaretz, new yorker, substack, robert reich, BBC, the guardian, various veterans newsletters. military.com, American Legion, VA veterans administration newsletters, the informed comment newsletter, workers family party, truthout, salon, swiss news, mother jones,
everything indicates that a harris win is to continue the holocaust unabated and the dismantling of international law
as a lifelong devoted committed democratic party new deal social democrat, that is an unsolvable moral conundrum
when did babies born in the Holy Land stop being human beings and become target practice and rat fodder
Cautiously optimistic all is going to be well. I'm one of many, many, many who has worked at the grassroots level to see this election over the finish line with good results. I'm in Ohio...we are also working to get the anti-gerrymandering over the finish line (been working on that for a year).
Energy is high, organizers are having to hustle to keep up with the volunteers.
Trump's camp is going to create chaos afterward, no matter what. And we will still be dealing with the large minority of the electorate who allowed his rise, and the GOP electeds who capitulated. Onward. Democracy needs us all, and from here on the ground, we're doing the work to protect it.
My anxiety is off the charts. This isn’t an “election” it’s a referendum for or against our democracy and civil rights. Prior to 2016, Americans embraced a country made up entirely of immigrants, with the exception of Native Americans. Flash forward to present day, I can’t help but feel as though everyone hates everyone. Our differences are not embraced, they are weaponized. I fear that no matter who wins this election, we will not be able to put the toothpaste back in the tube. I worry not only about the actual election, but the actions of others in the aftermath. We are a ship lost in a very bad storm. I pray our country is seaworthy and can find a peaceful port.
I agree with you. I am hoping for a Blue Wave. And, I recommend watching some trans positive movies right now, or some other things that have nothing to do with the election.
Hi Denise, That is cool. I am from Chicago as well. Small world. Weide is unusual in the US. In Germany it is not unusual. It is actually my husband's last name. It means pasture or meadow, but where you graze animals. So, I can buy Weide milk, and weeping willows are Trauerweide. So, here in Germany where I currently am, the name is common and people can pronounce it properly of course.
My students in the US could always pronounce it properly, but their parents could not unless they spoke German. When I am in the US at the doctor's office waiting to be called, and the nurse comes out calling names and then there is a pause, I know it is going to be me. Never once, has anyone pronounced it properly. I hear Wade, weed, and we-ide, but not Vih-duh, the German pronunciation.
No. I come from a multicultural family that many would call multiracial, but we only believe in one race, the human race. I have my mother's paternal family tree back to 1642. We also have family trees for my husband on both sides that go back pretty far as well. Mostly because of Church records.
100%. I remember when the Statue of Liberty and her poem were *THE* symbol of America. When America was often referred to as the land of immigrants. Now, that all seems to be gone.
(Yes, you are right, it always excluded Native Americans but also Blacks, Asians and some Latinos. But no one ever said humans are consistent)
both parties fundamentally committed to the complete dissolution and dismantling of all domestic and international law in favor of raw profiteering and open genocide whether honduras haiti gaza sudan or uyghurstan and ukraine
I remember waking up to the news that Trump had become president. I remember going into the office and the stunned silence that had replaced the regular chatter. I do not want to add another day to that memory bank. This election is just the first step; should sanity prevail we will be fighting the dregs of this moment for years.
Cautiously optimistic. I think Harris/Walz will win the popular vote for sure AND the electoral college. What crap the Trump Klan will try to do afterward is what's concerning. But we will prevail in the end. I'm confident!
optimism at its best does not resurrect the babies massacred right now in gaza sudan central africa uyghurstan crimea ukraine dağastan haiti honduras or rebuild 1800 year old churches and 3000 year old temples or regrow the forests or bring back the extinct or lower the high temperatures that killed 50% of those who died in Europe last year
Nothing will resurrect them. Those who are gone in body, live in the memories of those who loved them. All we can do is move forward and do better as a species.
Now, what solutions do you propose? Sitting on our rears wailing about those who are already gone and cannot be saved will not suffice.
We are alive and where there is life, there is hope and where there is hope, there is a chance to live better lives, to be better people and to change as we must.
We (collectively) are in a stage of growth now where there are hard lessons to be learned. We must believe that we can do this in order to succeed!
Yes, life on earth has been replete with unjustified violence--that metaphor of Cain and Abel. What we choose to focus upon shapes our lives in the present.
Scared to death. Any normal person should be. Trump is already sowing the seeds of him losing but claiming he won, again. And I very much believe that there will be violence and people will die. And that is terrifying, because that is not the American I know, but it is Trumps America. So I’m scared for all of us.
It is, more than anyone knows! Musk, who's deeply embedded in NASA AND national security (via his Starlink satellite systems that only HE controls) is in contact with Putin ANYTIME HE WANTS......
President Biden needs to nationalize SpaceX in December on national security grounds. Tesla, Twitter and that Boring company can all collapse under their own scandals.
Just a bit twisted, isn't it? The outgoing - some might say failed - CEO of Boing, Dave Calhoun got a $33M outgoing bonus and pay pkg. For overseeing the decline in Boing's fortunes AND the crashes (deaths are conveniently forgotten) and other failures. And he gets $33M. Just beyond comprehension.
it got to the point that a full safety review was demanded, and prior to that, whistleblowers were crushed and one even ended up dead. Pretty quiet on that front, too! The whole mess stinks.
when Bolsonaro pushed his followers to storm the presidential palace (Planalto) in Brasilia and was not successful in turning over the election he lost, the Brazilian courts forbid him to be involved in politics till 2030. Wish we had been able to do that!
Yep. He's MUCH much more desperate now than in 2020, and he'll have the feeling of 'having nothing to lose', which will make him even worse than now (impossible to imagine...) Everyone should make their voices heard AFTER the (hopeful) election to show support for gov't actions to control the violence that I fear will follow. Don't go back to being a silent minority!
I'm cautiously optimistic. My question is this... after the dust settles and democracy is safe, will MSM finally stop with their fascination of the trumpster and move on to real journalism?
I totally agree. We need to stop talking about him since this is what fuels him. Silence will totally make this person a nonentity. I am more worried about Vance since he is younger, crazier and will lie into your face or camera with no problem whatsoever. This man is not to be overlooked.
I strongly believe most of this insanity is driven by our disinformation environment - some willfully malinformation and some just driven by corporate media greed. Both thrive on the conflict Trump leaves in his wake. Therefore, I fear this cycle will not end ... unless we make changes that bring it to an end.
Some ideas:
1) "Truth in advertizing" that sets standards for what media can be called "news"
2) Transparency of media funding, esp online, with some serious restrictions on foreign ownership and market domination
3) Dems refusing media appearances where standards are too low - eg no fact checking, panel shouting matches, etc
4) Regulate social media (!!!) to reduce societal harms. At the very least, require rigorous and transparent algorithms and safety processes as a prereq for safe harbor from lawsuits. Those without should be sued into oblivion in civil cases where people are harmed.
5) Public education (and not just schools) on critical thinking and media literacy
6) Significant investment in investigating and breaking up foreign disinfo networks
Great list. I’d add (1) tax tax tax the multimillionaires and billionaires even on their unrealized capital gains and use that money to fund quality programs (2) codify female bodily autonomy (3) codify the overturn of Citizens United and ban all of this dark money (4) strengthen the Voting Rights Act
I am keeping busy, avoiding too much “commentary “ type news where broadcasters are predicting but don’t really know. Just sent out my last set of postcards on Tuesday. I am placing my faith in all the hard work of the grassroots groups, the lawyers like Tribe who are now protecting the vote and will continue to do so. I am hopeful that enough regular republicans quietly vote for not just Kamala but against any MAGA candidate running. I am counting on journalists such as yourself to give me accurate information on the state of the count as well as any mischief of importance. Thank you Judd for all you do. Take some walks, eat well and get some sleep .
I just did my last GOTV event. It's a rainy Halloween, which feels right. I slept late this morning, will be getting a haircut soon, and plan to pass out LWV Voter Guides with the candy tonight. It's almost all over the but the shoutin' as my mother would have said. Now we wait.
I feel good! In fact, I feel great! I'm a former Republican who will NEVER go back! I've worked hard this election cycle sending postcards, knocking doors, writing LTEs, delivering signage, attending rallies, donating and more. I'm saying this because I have never worked for a candidate or party before. And I'm just ONE person. Multiply me by thousands upon thousands who have also never participated before but are now in the thick of it!! Our grassroots efforts are going to propel Kamela into the Presidency!!
Yes! I believe there are many like you! It is all of us together. Thank you. And Judd, you have kept me sane in this chaotic news environment. I trust your reporting more than any other source. Deepest gratitude for what you do.
I'm quite optimistic for a Blue Wave - but certainly not complacent. I've never seen so many Republicans, women and young people mobilized as this campaign. Now add Puerto Ricans.
I'm more worried about the Nov 6-Jan 20th period when Trump, his cultists and his backers pull out all the stops to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power (again!). But with a Dem WH, I don't think they'll get very far. My biggest fear is that somehow this comes down to the SCOTUS - and they won't hesitate to crown (both figuratively and literally) Trump through some insane, tortured logic.
I've been an election judge since 2008 and this is the first time I've ever been nervous for my own safety. I don't really think anything bad will happen, except for people trying to create drama, but I'm nervous.
I understand totally, I've never been so concerned about the outcome of a election. We can only hope that Judice prevails. I imagine we're not the only ones anxious about the election outcome. All we can do is breathe. 🌊🇺🇸💙
These are stressful times. Can't watch TV without the incessant, false, and extremely negative ads. There are trump signs in so many yards in my area, which is depressing and upsetting. I pin my hope on polls showing strong democratic leads and try not to focus on the awful.
Fervently hoping for a miracle, and reading notes from other optimists. A miracle - Harris-Walz win - could happen. Obama won a second term, Biden defeated Trump. Hoping Trump stays defeated.
Terrified and trying to put one foot in front of the other each day. My friend just sent me an article asking what I am prepared to do, i.e. harbor targeted people. I'm 70 y/o, living alone in rural trump territory and more exhausted than I can express.
I am feeling confident that Kamala Harris will win. How close who knows. Trump will claim he won and election misinformation will be ramped. If it is a close election and it goes to the Supreme Court for a ruling on the outcome then I am very worried. Look what they just did to purging voter roles in Virginia. And their decision was 6 to 3 based on nonsense that illegal immigrants were voting in Virginia which is against the law and does not happen.
So this is the tactic of Republicans. They are not the majority nor are their policies liked by the majority of Americans. Now trump and little Mikey Johnson are whispering secrets to not certify the election if Kamala Harris wins. President Biden must use his authority given him by the Supreme Court to overturn any of these killing the vote to put Harris in the Presidency.
Yes, SCOTUS once again shows their whole ass to the world with tortured logic and a wrongheaded result.
In a judicial system designed to allow 10 guilty people to go free to ensure 1 innocent person does not go to jail, we have removed voting rights from 1600 people just in case a few are not citizens. And there's no evidence any are non-citizens, just the paperwork is lacking.
Of course, SCOTUS has already decided that partisanship is a perfectly legal reason to design legislative districts, so they already gave up on ensuring our democracy is fair.
President Harris and her new Blue Trifecta absolutely need to address the SCOTUS and lower courts. Lifetime judges will long outlast her admin otherwise.
Thank you for inviting comments, Judd. I'll admit to feeling apprehensive. I've been following elections since 1960 and have never felt that the outcome mattered more than this time. Beyond that, there is the dread certainty that no matter what the numbers say by dawn on Wednesday, it won't be over, and that we will be in for a long contentious winter. Thank you very much for the important work you do. Keep it up!
I'm a white trans woman that's married to a black trans man. Frankly, I'm terrified. I don't have the resources for escape as well if things go badly enough. When I watch the elections, I'm watching the percentage of people who want people like me to be erased and... I'm not okay with any of this. I wish I could breathe, but I can't. Not while living in this literal nightmare scenario.
My heart breaks for the trans community. I wish I could give you a hug. Please know there are lots of us in the straight community that fight for your rights and embrace your community. MAGA is louder but they are NOT the majority.
I am a staunch ally, as is the church I attend (we’re trying to have our land used to build LGBTQ+ celebrating housing. We are now having to lock our doors because of an incident with an unstable person. A while back, we had a swastika painted onto the side of the church. It’s bad, and I don’t understand how they can tout their “christianity” when that’s NOT what following the path means. The one they claim as their own spent his time being with those on the margins, not trying to change them, not “tolerating” but showing true love. I am so sorry you are living in such fear. I am in fear for different reasons. I can’t imagine what you are going through and I am so very sorry.
I am so glad to hear someone else here who is like me.
I feel so badly for you. The GOP is made the Trans people into the "bogeyman" every where. Keep the faith that it will work out.
Doesn't help that the sham scouts we have is hearing arguments for us vs skrmetti on trans rights. I'm so exhausted of everything. https://www.scotusblog.com/2024/10/supreme-court-schedules-transgender-rights-case-for-december/#:~:text=The%20justices%20will%20hear%20oral,under%20the%20age%20of%2018.
I am hopeful. This is a hopeful post from the Kamala4prez Substack.
https://kamala4prez.substack.com/p/5-reasons-for-hope
within the lifetimes of those now voting the daytime temperatures in Kansas will be 150F+, and only those in silos will survive for a few years longer
I am non-binary, but this is so far beyond all of us individually. our humanity sold out for profit, to be used to build silos where their great grandchildren will go to die- this is Armageddon, not a B scifi scenario
It's what amazes me most. The unspoken 'expectation' seems to be that, if we all get working on the global warming issue, and have success, that 'things will go back to where they were'! They WON'T!! What we have now is only going to get worse, then at some point (post civilization?) will become steady state. It's NOT going back. People don't seem to grasp that.
Ally here. Hugs!!
So sorry that the Right has stoked fear upon you, That is their tactic. The tactic of all dictators is to rule by fear. Please, find ways to find the deep clarity within and strengthen that; meanwhile allowing negative fantasies to rule your life gives your power away.
I am an ally. You are not alone. We are fighting for your rights.
I can’t even imagine what you must be feeling. I hope our fears are unfounded. Scotus should be expanded. The current scotus are ignoring established laws with their corrupt rulings.
As a white, childless, cis but increasingly ace woman, I am right there with you. Our country is under siege.
I truly don't get the hate directed towards your community. And when it comes from the leaders of our gov't , it is beyond disgusting.
You are not alone!
I am a cis woman ally. I feel for you and your husband. You are seen and you matter.
My husband and I do not have the resources to escape either. We are Jewish. If Trump wins, we don't fit into the "Christian nation" paradigm. I am stressed, and afraid to feel hope. I was elated in 2020 when the election was finally called for Biden/Harris. But the BS didn't stop, and then, January 6. The crap still hasn't stopped. I'm in Wisconsin. Turnout is crazy high. I have written and mailed all my postcards several weeks ago. Doing some door knocking. I voted. Worried about election day violence.
I know this isn't that helpful, but you have allies. I am one of them. Please let me know how I can help you. Hugs!!!
Female voters will determine the result and there are more of them and they are very motivated. Please be well both of you.
Honestly, feeling like a shit storm is about to hit the proverbial fan no matter what happens on election day/night 😔. I stay within my locus of control while remaining informed of what is happening and without giving in to the anxiety/panic. That's all one can do really.
Agreed.
This country is utterly unprepared for the GOP's continuing assault on the few remaining frayed institutions.
A Harris win is essential, but insufficient.
Without structural change, our slide into autocracy will continue.
The latest illegal ruling by cfscrotus on virginians' voting roll is beyond sick and frightening. They/gqp/cfoligarchs want everyone not like them to be annihlated. Why does it feel more and more like the obscenely rich white people want to destroy everything for "others"?
Yes - POSTED this in 15/16 on Twitter- GOP are oligarchs emulating Putin’s Russia.
They want 2 classes- themselves (the oligarch - elites, maintaining generational wealth) returning to the robber barons circa 1890s - eliminating all New Deal & civil rights protections….
&
The slave class - bred to serve them; no education; no critical thinking skills; no suffrage; keep women “ pregnant, barefoot & in the kitchen”.
As the SC of Trump, the SCOT said - “ GOP NEED a domestic supply of infants”.
a harris win is a win for the complete dismantling and dissolution of international law and the institutionalization of holocaust, validating putin, xi, the khmer rouge, ISIS, erdoğan, trump too, and the law of the fist and the repeal of the US Declaration of Independence, to be replaced by MuskBezosstan
Somebody forgot to take their antipsychotic meds.
The russians are going 24/7. They have a stake in this....
It's a bad case of that TDS we heard tell of. Shits' contagious.
vying for the clever prize is really the answer to the existential threat humanity faces right now and brings back the tens of thousands of lives of babies bombed into itsy bitsy bits by US ordinance ... collect your earnings at your earliest convenience. all it costs is one's humanity
Somebody forgot to take their antipsychotic meds. I Did not say YOU forgot to to take your Meds, but if it hits home so be it.
You are a puffed up wad of self inflated importance aren't you?
You imply what madness now? Your clutching of pearls and running about shrieking doesn't help matters any more than my cleverness.
You may be partly correct in your analysis (ignoring your reliance upon Tik Tok as a source of valid information) but you sound like as nutter.
somebody forgot what human means. instead of ad hominem attack which impeaches your opinion [logic101] at least impeach the facts - the International Court of Justice, the UN Security Council with a US abstention, the UN General Assembly, hundreds of resigned US State Department officials, the governments of US NATO allies, and major US trading partners world wide, and all 100% of international humanitarian NGOS and the Pope agree with the facts stated. so ad hominem attack does not gas light reality @mark looking in their mirror and seeing themself
The choice between Democrats and Republicans (and really, those are the only options) has serious impacts on minorities, immigrants, women's rights, worker's rights, wealth inequality, climate action and more. But, let's just focus on the one issue you bring up...
Biden/Harris are not dropping a single bomb and have spent most of the past year trying to negotiate a ceasefire. Expecting Americans to control the off-switch is a pure fantasy when war is a requirements for Netanyahu's existence outside a jail cell. Even if Americans stopped sending weapons, we can quite easily expect to see: a) Netanyahu to cozy up to Russia/China/NK to get weapons AND b) the Israeli/US alliance to shatter.
Further, Netanyahu's brutality is precisely timed in this pre-election period because Biden has the two above constraints PLUS the need to avoid this becoming *the* election issue. I know it is *the* issue for millions already, but there is a much bigger voting coalition that would be lost under a relentless GOP/Netanyahu messaging of "abandoning Israel to its doom".
I expect a significant shifting of position post-election (but no, not an immediate cutoff of arms) and a sudden constructive tone (and stalling) by Netanyahu from about Nov 8th.
Long term peace and stability can only come with a ceasefire, two-party state and financial aid. Almost certainly, that can only happen with a change of government that removes Netanyahu and other extremists. With that end in mind, every one of those items is something Dems have called for - and Republicans have rejected. So, IMHO, this isn't a very difficult choice at all.
well first of all, i applaud rational discussion. what I said did not include any recommendation not to vote. what I said was that there is a moral quandary.
as for the actual record, the worse the holocaust has become the greater has US UK EU involvement directly in this holocaust become, and the more vigorously has it been defended by both parties' majorities.
the US not only provides all the money and all the arms, it also is directly involved in command and control of intelligence, targeting and logistics, refueling aircraft in the air, and integrating us forces with the forces committing genocide, which the International Court of Justice has ordered stopped, to which members of the US government have replied with military threats against the justices personally in published letters to the court.
Harris and Biden have both insisted that this holocaust will never be opposed by the US. that is the public record
i pray daily that the US comes to its senses but I have little to no factual basis for that hope.
we come from god's mercy. we go back to god's mercy.
I as a believer since my earliest childhood have no other choice but to say no.
as an 81 year od US native born citizen and 100% disabled veteran I cannot choose to renege on my oath to defend and preserve our constitution that I took as russian ships were steaming full steam ahead to deliver nuclear arms to Castro who vowed to start WWIII as soon as they arrived.
yet now daily I betray that oath
that is a moral conundrum which all the vilification expressed here against my humanity only proves
seeing themselves
You sure all that will happen after a HARRIS win?
Well golllllly! What happens if Trump wins?
the us already has systematically dismantled international law since its 'war on terror' which has geometrically multiplied beyond measure 20 terrorists into a permanent international network of terrorism financed by the royal families of saudi arabia qatar emirates abu dhabi and dubai, our NATO ally erdoğan, etc. and empowered Putin and their Chechnya and Dağestan genocides, and their invasion and occupation of Abkhasia, Ossetistan, Crimea and its ethnic cleansing and Ukraine and its ethnic cleansing, and the holocaust in gaza palestine sudan central africa for profit, lebanon syria as well as crimes against humanity in Libya and all through east and west africa. and most recently the armed military assault on UN peace keeping forcers financed by US taxpayers.
that #MAGA is obviously worse is a genuine moral conundrum, no doubt but even the Pope has said what Harris is right now doing has to stop, they are destroying 1800 year old churches and all traces of the first two hundred years of christianity in palestine. othodox christians, greek and syriac, maronite RC christians, anglican christians, biblical Israelites in Samaria, mizrahi sephardic and hassidic jews
it's not what 'will' happen. it is what already has happened: is happening right now and you can watch it every minute of every day on TikTok where the attrocities are trotted out gleefully live - live videos of young children having their brains shot out after they are shot in the knees then their brothers and mothers shot by sharpshooters when they go to help
so no it won't get better with #maga #project2025, so that is a moral conundrum. I am active all day every day supporting actively #VotefromAbroad #VoteVets #Democrats Abroad Caucus of Veterans and Military Families, of Get Out the Vote, but every action I am taking betrays and defiles the oath I took sixty+ years ago when I enlisted during the Cuba Crisis when we all knew we were minutes away from nuclear annihilation and i did not want to die an innocent bystander
I am not only sure. I know what is happening, and making jokes about it is unamerican
Mr. Kocher,
As a former journalist I must advise you that getting information from Tik Tok is worse than getting no information at all. Your comments reflect notions not associated with reality. Tik Tok videos are often manufactured disinformation fakes, much of it from archival videos from other conflicts. Mothers being shot by snipers trying to retrieve their dead children sounds like Kosovo, not Gaza. Words like holocaust and genocide have specific meanings and, while the situation in Gaza, the West Bank, et al are certainly tragic, the holocaust created about 6 million Jewish cadavers. The body count in the current conflict numbers in the five figures and will never come close to millions. Tragic but not a holocaust. Genocide is what was attempted by the Third Reich, the Hutus, Pol Pot, the current military of Myanmar and ISIS. Israel could attempt to completely eliminate the Palestinians but that's not what they're doing. Hamas, on the other hand has ,as one of its tenets, the complete eradication of the state of Israel. That would require genocide. Like you, I'm a veteran (Viet Nam era) and a patriotic and well-informed voter. I get nothing from your posts here that comes close to convincing me to equating a Harris administration to one headed by DJT.
1. I never said I get my news from TikTok, absurd ridiculous denigrating accusation
2. holocaust has no legal definition. period. it is the word that greek versions of holy scripture use to define the burnt offerings (עֹלָה) performed by the priest in the temple. babies burnt to ashes, young people burnt to ashes certainly fit the essential meaning of the word עֹלָה, to rise up in smoke to god
3. WW2 holocaust included a few million Roma, Lutherans including famous pastors and evangelic theologians who opposed the Nazi government, canonized orthodox christian and roman catholic saints martyrs whom the nazis rounded up into death camps, and millions of polish catholics, russian and greek orthodox christains, martyrs. antifa orthodox christian nuns and clergy; , muslims in russia and the philipines, in southwest asia, buddhists in china, burma and korea , Europeans and Americans in death camps, disabled elderly sick people, non binary LGTBQ --- not all of whom went up in smoke
and nobody knows the total number of muslims in russia and southwest asia except that. russian army muslims amount to about a million.
4. genocide has a legal definition and the international courts have legally determined and identified it, defined it as a genocide in Gaza and elsewhere. the denial it is a genocide is every bit as despicable as holocaust denial.
5. for the most part AI fakes are fairly obvious when it comes to depicting this holocaust. there is nothing anywhere in kosovo that remotely resemble anywhere near Gaza: that's gas lighting and supposition, baseless... and if they were fakes one can be sure there are forensic experts grabbing them out of the pile and proving them fake, as 99% of Israel fakes have been identified by such things as women speaking the wrong dialect mispronouncing key words and using inauthentic idioms plus many videos are self authenticating in just too many ways to count.
6. my notions are validated verified proven documented recorded in official records reports testimony in courts court findings, research by medecines san frontier, Haaretz, the Guardian, the Vatican See, even us state department reports and us state department experts who have resigned in protest by the hundreds
7. i lived worked taught in a major Holy Land university on its faculty so i saw with my own eyes, heard with my own ears felt the cold the hunger the fear saw bullet ridden children and uniformed teenagers with automatic weapons humiliating and terrorizing the old the sick children
8. the international courts have ruled that Israel is committing genocide and order it to stop. Likud's Manifesto says from river to the sea it will be free of palestinians, first declared in the first zionist congress in 1897. quote "one of its tenets, the complete eradication of the state of Israel." no. one of its tenets is the complete and unqualified end of illegal Israeli occupation, and its crimes against the people. HAMAS explicitly offers to guarantee israel when israel ends its illegal crimes against the people such as #DairYassin and 2000 other towns erased in 1948.
9. no genocide in human history has the documentation presented to the courts that this genocide has. in fine detail. including name rank and serial number of IDF soldiers publicizing their own crimes against humanity named in court records - more than a thousand identified so far.
having been an actual working journalist, anthropologist, photojournalist for decades one gets an instinct for documented verified validated vs hearsay and accusation.
I am a 100% disabled veteran who remembers and lives the oath I took to defend the constitution of the united states as the russian navy was rushing full steam ahead to deliver nuclear weapons to castro in cuba, today every bit as if it were 1962. I have never betrayed that oath that i took because i did not want to die as an innocent by-stander in WW3. and a fulbright fellow, poll watcher party volunteer for not quite 60 years, anti-war activists, PTSD therapist.
the imputation that I am not a patriot who does not love my country is as vile as vile sinks to.
that accusation tells me all i need to know about my accuser.
we come from god's mercy
we go back to god's mercy
my sole duty to god is to speak the truth and take care of god's family
only god is the judge of that
You imply that I am un-American to make light of your mix of fallacy and reality?
I poked fun at you and stuck a pin in your balloon of self importance. You don't like it? OK. Your pique will be given all the consideration it is due.
PS: I am a former US Marine. I enlisted during the hostage crisis in Iran. Semper Fi
Idiotic.
anyone whose only contribution is ad hominem attack impeaches any opinion they might have [logic 101] 🖖🏾live long and prosper🖖🏾
🍉🍉🍉
I apologize Isa, but you sound delusional and hyper-paranoid. Not to say that there aren't totally frightening and disturbing things going on, and I agree vehemently about what's going on in Gaza, but if you cannot see what the Republicans stand for and intend, and yet you continue to support the racism, the violence, the egregious misinformation, that we are owned by the billionaires, that women are now relegated to breeder-status, that our own justice system is not just, that the environment is cascading, exponentially,into ever more dangerous categories, then perhaps you need to take a breath and seek out other sources of information. In the words of Iggy Pop, Don't Lose Yourself. ☮️
quote "I apologize Isa, but you sound delusional and hyper-paranoid." may i see your professional credentials?
judging from your need personally to vilify me, I don't believe that kind of deceitful apology
honestly, anyone who cannot will not say no to genocide in gaza palestine lebanon syria libya congo sudan etc. has no shred nor whif of humanity left. so any opinion from anyone who cannot will not say no to genocide is moral bankruptcy FYI
i have never ev er once even dreamed of voting other than as a democrat and have worked for the democrat party my whole life even during the Vietnam war when i was regularly beaten up by the police. so no, i do not apologize one whit about saying no to race hate greed driven holocaust
quote" if you cannot see what the Republicans stand for and intend, and yet you continue to support the racism, the violence, the egregious misinformation, that we are owned by the billionaires, that women are now relegated to breeder-status, that our own justice system is not just..." piling up egregiously false fabricated accusations against me personally does not change one actual fact. piling up ad hominem vilification only proves the logical as well as moral bankruptcy of those accusations. overkill
yes I see the difference between democrats and MAGA ... i never said anything contrary. i have voted democrat in every election local and national since 1964. when i registered as a democrat.
I am an active volunteer in democrats abroad. and campaigning for Vote Vets, Vote from Abroad, Our Revolution, Veterans for Peace, I have been an antiwar activist since 1966, and my house mate threw his Medal of Honor into the Potomac after a Kerry rally in washington dc. I categorically deny your vile hatred and false vilification.
the moral bankruptcy and outright treason of MAGA does not in one scintilla give any possible moral vindication of mass murder of tens of thousands of babies and mothers
you need to applaud the holocaust is so strong apparently you are motivated to vilify opposition to it. you have to make your peace with god. i voted for Harris already. it cost me more than one hundred euros to vote from abroad.
to accuse me of "not seeing' what MAGA is denies everything I have said here and my 75 plus years of active resistance to racism,
my first refusal to sit with the "white folks" in the front of the segregated Tarrytown NY bus was in 1948. i worked on the streets with homeless child sex workers all through the seventies and was one of the original founders of a homeless and hunger foundation featured on the front pages of the Wall Street Journal. as a life long non-binary person who has been raped for being nonbinary repeatedly by so called male so called white men i take those sexist hate accusations personally.
your accusations are nothing less than despicable figments of your imagination, because opposing the holocaust bought and paid for by the last four us administrations right left and center is not racism. as a non binary person all my life, as a scientist who learned about the climate catastrophe in graduate school 50 years, as a decades long activist for nonbinary human rights, and as a nonbinary veterans rights activist since the 1980s, and so on, your accusations are egregiously counter factual and unforgiveable
Had you said “a Trump win”, I might try to listen to you.
that a trump win is bad as bad gets in no way changes the fact that a Harris win guarantees that the policy of the US presidential adminstrations since september 11th 2001 has been to dismantle and dissolve all traces of international law, right up to this minute where the US has in an active command and control logistics intelligence and munitions position in the illegal criminal armed military attack and killing of neutral UN peace keeping forces - there is no need to listen to me, a complete nobody: i don't even listen to me. i
read the media, international media, watch the international media, read the atlantic, the vatican news, haaretz, new yorker, substack, robert reich, BBC, the guardian, various veterans newsletters. military.com, American Legion, VA veterans administration newsletters, the informed comment newsletter, workers family party, truthout, salon, swiss news, mother jones,
everything indicates that a harris win is to continue the holocaust unabated and the dismantling of international law
as a lifelong devoted committed democratic party new deal social democrat, that is an unsolvable moral conundrum
when did babies born in the Holy Land stop being human beings and become target practice and rat fodder
Looks like typo must mean an illegal, with the use of violence against voters, "drumfp win" desired by minority of gap?
for the life of me, i haven't a clue what it is you've referred to
My like won’t stick so I’ll just type it!
Cautiously optimistic all is going to be well. I'm one of many, many, many who has worked at the grassroots level to see this election over the finish line with good results. I'm in Ohio...we are also working to get the anti-gerrymandering over the finish line (been working on that for a year).
Energy is high, organizers are having to hustle to keep up with the volunteers.
Trump's camp is going to create chaos afterward, no matter what. And we will still be dealing with the large minority of the electorate who allowed his rise, and the GOP electeds who capitulated. Onward. Democracy needs us all, and from here on the ground, we're doing the work to protect it.
My anxiety is off the charts. This isn’t an “election” it’s a referendum for or against our democracy and civil rights. Prior to 2016, Americans embraced a country made up entirely of immigrants, with the exception of Native Americans. Flash forward to present day, I can’t help but feel as though everyone hates everyone. Our differences are not embraced, they are weaponized. I fear that no matter who wins this election, we will not be able to put the toothpaste back in the tube. I worry not only about the actual election, but the actions of others in the aftermath. We are a ship lost in a very bad storm. I pray our country is seaworthy and can find a peaceful port.
I agree with you. I am hoping for a Blue Wave. And, I recommend watching some trans positive movies right now, or some other things that have nothing to do with the election.
My maiden name is Weide . My Dad's family is from Chicago. Sorry if I'm bothering you. We have a unual last name.
Hi Denise, That is cool. I am from Chicago as well. Small world. Weide is unusual in the US. In Germany it is not unusual. It is actually my husband's last name. It means pasture or meadow, but where you graze animals. So, I can buy Weide milk, and weeping willows are Trauerweide. So, here in Germany where I currently am, the name is common and people can pronounce it properly of course.
My students in the US could always pronounce it properly, but their parents could not unless they spoke German. When I am in the US at the doctor's office waiting to be called, and the nurse comes out calling names and then there is a pause, I know it is going to be me. Never once, has anyone pronounced it properly. I hear Wade, weed, and we-ide, but not Vih-duh, the German pronunciation.
Same here they kill the pronunciation even in AR. Did you or any family ever do Ancestry on the family tree?
No. I come from a multicultural family that many would call multiracial, but we only believe in one race, the human race. I have my mother's paternal family tree back to 1642. We also have family trees for my husband on both sides that go back pretty far as well. Mostly because of Church records.
100%. I remember when the Statue of Liberty and her poem were *THE* symbol of America. When America was often referred to as the land of immigrants. Now, that all seems to be gone.
(Yes, you are right, it always excluded Native Americans but also Blacks, Asians and some Latinos. But no one ever said humans are consistent)
both parties fundamentally committed to the complete dissolution and dismantling of all domestic and international law in favor of raw profiteering and open genocide whether honduras haiti gaza sudan or uyghurstan and ukraine
Is Isa Kocher a pen name for Steve Bannon?
I remember waking up to the news that Trump had become president. I remember going into the office and the stunned silence that had replaced the regular chatter. I do not want to add another day to that memory bank. This election is just the first step; should sanity prevail we will be fighting the dregs of this moment for years.
Cautiously optimistic. I think Harris/Walz will win the popular vote for sure AND the electoral college. What crap the Trump Klan will try to do afterward is what's concerning. But we will prevail in the end. I'm confident!
Good thoughts!!!
optimism at its best does not resurrect the babies massacred right now in gaza sudan central africa uyghurstan crimea ukraine dağastan haiti honduras or rebuild 1800 year old churches and 3000 year old temples or regrow the forests or bring back the extinct or lower the high temperatures that killed 50% of those who died in Europe last year
Nothing will resurrect them. Those who are gone in body, live in the memories of those who loved them. All we can do is move forward and do better as a species.
Now, what solutions do you propose? Sitting on our rears wailing about those who are already gone and cannot be saved will not suffice.
We are alive and where there is life, there is hope and where there is hope, there is a chance to live better lives, to be better people and to change as we must.
We (collectively) are in a stage of growth now where there are hard lessons to be learned. We must believe that we can do this in order to succeed!
Love your take. Yes, we can't bring them back but if we learn and correct then their deaths won't be lost.
Yes, life on earth has been replete with unjustified violence--that metaphor of Cain and Abel. What we choose to focus upon shapes our lives in the present.
Scared to death. Any normal person should be. Trump is already sowing the seeds of him losing but claiming he won, again. And I very much believe that there will be violence and people will die. And that is terrifying, because that is not the American I know, but it is Trumps America. So I’m scared for all of us.
Feels like Russia's America. Maybe even BRICS America on a global scale with Brazil, Russia, India and China.
It is, more than anyone knows! Musk, who's deeply embedded in NASA AND national security (via his Starlink satellite systems that only HE controls) is in contact with Putin ANYTIME HE WANTS......
President Biden needs to nationalize SpaceX in December on national security grounds. Tesla, Twitter and that Boring company can all collapse under their own scandals.
Just a bit twisted, isn't it? The outgoing - some might say failed - CEO of Boing, Dave Calhoun got a $33M outgoing bonus and pay pkg. For overseeing the decline in Boing's fortunes AND the crashes (deaths are conveniently forgotten) and other failures. And he gets $33M. Just beyond comprehension.
The Boeing CEO should have been canned as soon as his cost cutting led to the airplanes coming apart.
The fact he remained (long enough to create a labor crisis) shows how utterly broken corporate governance is.
it got to the point that a full safety review was demanded, and prior to that, whistleblowers were crushed and one even ended up dead. Pretty quiet on that front, too! The whole mess stinks.
when Bolsonaro pushed his followers to storm the presidential palace (Planalto) in Brasilia and was not successful in turning over the election he lost, the Brazilian courts forbid him to be involved in politics till 2030. Wish we had been able to do that!
Yep. He's MUCH much more desperate now than in 2020, and he'll have the feeling of 'having nothing to lose', which will make him even worse than now (impossible to imagine...) Everyone should make their voices heard AFTER the (hopeful) election to show support for gov't actions to control the violence that I fear will follow. Don't go back to being a silent minority!
It's very scary to think all we lose if he wins. All we can do is pray and hope. Of course Vote 💙🇺🇸🌊
I'm cautiously optimistic. My question is this... after the dust settles and democracy is safe, will MSM finally stop with their fascination of the trumpster and move on to real journalism?
I totally agree. We need to stop talking about him since this is what fuels him. Silence will totally make this person a nonentity. I am more worried about Vance since he is younger, crazier and will lie into your face or camera with no problem whatsoever. This man is not to be overlooked.
I strongly believe most of this insanity is driven by our disinformation environment - some willfully malinformation and some just driven by corporate media greed. Both thrive on the conflict Trump leaves in his wake. Therefore, I fear this cycle will not end ... unless we make changes that bring it to an end.
Some ideas:
1) "Truth in advertizing" that sets standards for what media can be called "news"
2) Transparency of media funding, esp online, with some serious restrictions on foreign ownership and market domination
3) Dems refusing media appearances where standards are too low - eg no fact checking, panel shouting matches, etc
4) Regulate social media (!!!) to reduce societal harms. At the very least, require rigorous and transparent algorithms and safety processes as a prereq for safe harbor from lawsuits. Those without should be sued into oblivion in civil cases where people are harmed.
5) Public education (and not just schools) on critical thinking and media literacy
6) Significant investment in investigating and breaking up foreign disinfo networks
I'm sure everyone can think of many more.
Great list. I’d add (1) tax tax tax the multimillionaires and billionaires even on their unrealized capital gains and use that money to fund quality programs (2) codify female bodily autonomy (3) codify the overturn of Citizens United and ban all of this dark money (4) strengthen the Voting Rights Act
Absolutely agree on all those points.
My wish list is very long, so I just put a few related to media.
A Wealth Tax (incl unrealized gains) would be a game changer. Would need to coordinate that with other major countries.
Good question. We have to continue to hold them accountable.
I am keeping busy, avoiding too much “commentary “ type news where broadcasters are predicting but don’t really know. Just sent out my last set of postcards on Tuesday. I am placing my faith in all the hard work of the grassroots groups, the lawyers like Tribe who are now protecting the vote and will continue to do so. I am hopeful that enough regular republicans quietly vote for not just Kamala but against any MAGA candidate running. I am counting on journalists such as yourself to give me accurate information on the state of the count as well as any mischief of importance. Thank you Judd for all you do. Take some walks, eat well and get some sleep .
Exactly. From my perspective, you are correct in your analysis.
I believe there has been much behind-the-scenes preparation. Folks joking about Biden "disappearing" best take note.
The man is working on something. A MAGA disintegrator of the legal type would be nice!
I just did my last GOTV event. It's a rainy Halloween, which feels right. I slept late this morning, will be getting a haircut soon, and plan to pass out LWV Voter Guides with the candy tonight. It's almost all over the but the shoutin' as my mother would have said. Now we wait.
I feel good! In fact, I feel great! I'm a former Republican who will NEVER go back! I've worked hard this election cycle sending postcards, knocking doors, writing LTEs, delivering signage, attending rallies, donating and more. I'm saying this because I have never worked for a candidate or party before. And I'm just ONE person. Multiply me by thousands upon thousands who have also never participated before but are now in the thick of it!! Our grassroots efforts are going to propel Kamela into the Presidency!!
Yes! I believe there are many like you! It is all of us together. Thank you. And Judd, you have kept me sane in this chaotic news environment. I trust your reporting more than any other source. Deepest gratitude for what you do.
We all just have to stay strong a few more days!
100%!!
I'm quite optimistic for a Blue Wave - but certainly not complacent. I've never seen so many Republicans, women and young people mobilized as this campaign. Now add Puerto Ricans.
I'm more worried about the Nov 6-Jan 20th period when Trump, his cultists and his backers pull out all the stops to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power (again!). But with a Dem WH, I don't think they'll get very far. My biggest fear is that somehow this comes down to the SCOTUS - and they won't hesitate to crown (both figuratively and literally) Trump through some insane, tortured logic.
Just hang in there and keep the faith. This is gonna be a landslide!!!
I've been an election judge since 2008 and this is the first time I've ever been nervous for my own safety. I don't really think anything bad will happen, except for people trying to create drama, but I'm nervous.
Thank you for what you do. I don’t blame you for being fearful. Stay safe and stay strong!
My election team is a Trump supporter with yard signs. I decided against working the election this year.
I understand totally, I've never been so concerned about the outcome of a election. We can only hope that Judice prevails. I imagine we're not the only ones anxious about the election outcome. All we can do is breathe. 🌊🇺🇸💙
Thank you thank you for your public service.
Thank you for supporting the election process. The only think needed for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing. You're doing something!
These are stressful times. Can't watch TV without the incessant, false, and extremely negative ads. There are trump signs in so many yards in my area, which is depressing and upsetting. I pin my hope on polls showing strong democratic leads and try not to focus on the awful.
Fervently hoping for a miracle, and reading notes from other optimists. A miracle - Harris-Walz win - could happen. Obama won a second term, Biden defeated Trump. Hoping Trump stays defeated.
Terrified and trying to put one foot in front of the other each day. My friend just sent me an article asking what I am prepared to do, i.e. harbor targeted people. I'm 70 y/o, living alone in rural trump territory and more exhausted than I can express.
Me, too Joyce. I send you hope and peace
I am feeling confident that Kamala Harris will win. How close who knows. Trump will claim he won and election misinformation will be ramped. If it is a close election and it goes to the Supreme Court for a ruling on the outcome then I am very worried. Look what they just did to purging voter roles in Virginia. And their decision was 6 to 3 based on nonsense that illegal immigrants were voting in Virginia which is against the law and does not happen.
I still am stunned Youngkin got by with this and can continue to do this. I wrote on here last week about this purge. Ugh.
So this is the tactic of Republicans. They are not the majority nor are their policies liked by the majority of Americans. Now trump and little Mikey Johnson are whispering secrets to not certify the election if Kamala Harris wins. President Biden must use his authority given him by the Supreme Court to overturn any of these killing the vote to put Harris in the Presidency.
Yes, SCOTUS once again shows their whole ass to the world with tortured logic and a wrongheaded result.
In a judicial system designed to allow 10 guilty people to go free to ensure 1 innocent person does not go to jail, we have removed voting rights from 1600 people just in case a few are not citizens. And there's no evidence any are non-citizens, just the paperwork is lacking.
Of course, SCOTUS has already decided that partisanship is a perfectly legal reason to design legislative districts, so they already gave up on ensuring our democracy is fair.
President Harris and her new Blue Trifecta absolutely need to address the SCOTUS and lower courts. Lifetime judges will long outlast her admin otherwise.
Thank you for inviting comments, Judd. I'll admit to feeling apprehensive. I've been following elections since 1960 and have never felt that the outcome mattered more than this time. Beyond that, there is the dread certainty that no matter what the numbers say by dawn on Wednesday, it won't be over, and that we will be in for a long contentious winter. Thank you very much for the important work you do. Keep it up!