It is completely mind blowing that this race is even close. I spend too much time SMH and speechless at how under informed/misinformed the American public seems to be. The MSM are, once again, not doing their job.
This has been a pet peeve of mine for the past 8 years. Why has our public television given Trump so much publicity and therefore unprecedented power by repeating his every word and action for the past 8 years? They repeat his lies over and over, but they don't repeat the truth over and over. When Biden became President I thought that finally I won't have to see or hear that horrible Trump ever again, but no, he was on tv everyday. I remember when a reporter had asked VP Kamala why they hadn't heard from her, she said that's because the media was not reporting what she was doing. Trump has done nothing but cause fear, anxiety and anger in people. His words have caused people to harm others. He is a danger to our country. It's no wonder we have a mental health crisis. We need to listen to the voices of reason, calm, hope, joy, and optimism for the future. We need to hear the voices of Kamala and Walz.
We’ve all been through - and are still embroiled in - a mass psychological trauma experience. We have been overrun with and thus continuously steeped in hate, fear, threats, lies, gaslighting, racism, bigotry, misogyny and extreme ugliness for nine years. We have to take care of ourselves and each other. It will take time for us to heal while we continue the fight against the Republican Fascist Party. Reclaiming our health and our country’s health is a long haul project. If we keep that in mind and rely on each other we can get through this.
Kasumii, I feel the same way. That is why everywhere I go I offer people a smile and say hello. In some cases I exchanged phone numbers with people and have made new friends. I have been engaged in Meaningful Conversations on Saturdays. Our conversations relate to Bahai teachings which is all about equality, love, and community. I share cakes and cookies with this group. I started a monthly brunch group. I’m doing my part to bring us all together as a society. It is now up to the media to promote kindness, compassion, equality and unity. Trump must be called out on all of his lies and they need to report what is factual so the public will finally understand the difference. I enjoyed hearing all the speakers at the Democratic convention. Their words were so joyful and uplifting. Why doesn’t the media repeat them instead of what Trump has to say? They created this monster. Now they need to help heal our nation.
I am trying to do the same this, Ilene. I told my grandchildren, ages 10-17, to take two words to school with them every day . . . respect and kindness. We have discussed the state of the world and I told them it starts with each and every one of us to change it.
In answer to the question of why it’s such a close race, I think we should examine our blame game on the privileged group; white people. Most of us are really tired of hearing it. Why would a working class white person support and vote for Trump? He does t care if Trump offers no relief to him. It’s revenge against the Democratic Party. Pure and simple.
Ilene, you are certainly putting in the good effort to make a difference. I wish you well with your endeavors.
I wouldn’t waste any time or energy on our mainstream media. They have chosen to be part of the problem instead of the solution. I wouldn’t look to them for any kind of healing.
I find it very helpful to learn the names of excellent media sources. Would you please text me one or some of your favorites, to 760-223-5970? And if there's an online Board listing several of the best, that too, please.
I have to say, the constant barrage of personally condemning messages Mr. Trump must receive, and see daily all around him, cannot be constructive in any way. I've taught 70,000 kids working as a Sub for 23 years in inner city L.A., East LA, and South San Francisco. I know for sure that negativity does not teach good behavior, just the opposite.
One year when I first started subbing, I was lining my class up for recess, and as usual, I got to yelling "BE QUIET! BE QUIET!" Funny thing, the louder I yelled, the louder they got. When I changed my ways to a closer, more friendly tone, they changed theirs.
No, hahahahaha It seems to me Stan that you have misunderstood me. I believe in order to survive the injustice and cruelty we must first save our self in in order to save the world. I believe being upset causes our bodies to become imbalanced and can even cause diseases we don’t choose. I believe having peace, love, harmony, and happiness in ourselves we can save others. Love is the answer.
If we want change, first we must be the change. Going into any situation we must be calm and at peace. Ending injustice and cruelty starts with love. Our Lord says that the television, movies, some music, and violent video games is the cause of most of this insanity. Well, can not leave out greed. Teaching the truth is the answer.
Our brains are computers. If we program our computers full of garbage we get out garbage. It’s the same thing.
Thank you for your response. Let me know what you think?
YOU SAID IT! I cannot believe this man is still in the spotlight spreading lies and hate. It took a world war to take down Hitler and the former keeps saying we are close to WW3. His people think it is because of the evil democrats. Dems are just trying to run this country while he spreads lies and deceit. He is preparing his people for WW3 because that is what he intends to do if he does not get in
What Trump has been doing and continues to do is tell lies in order to demonize his opponents. His latest one is that Kamala is antisemitic. He obviously wants the Jewish vote and the Jewish money. What gets me is that people are believing him. Now tell me is a person who says white supremacists are good people and is being compared to Hitler antisemitic or is someone who married a Jewish man whose children call her mamala antisemitic? Who would you believe? Honestly, so many Americans have lost all sense of reason. It’s truly frightening.
Sure is frightening people are falling for his lies. So many friends of mine said oh he will not get back in only 1/3 of the country back him. Supreme court failed to stop him now what?
IMHO today's lack of perspective is the rotten fruit of mass illiteracy. I've taught 70,000 children as a Certificated Substitute Teacher, and know there is a reading program for public schools that works wonders. Its title is Open Court, designed by Science Research Associates. It covers Kinder to 4th grade. The materials and teaching tactics are beyond the highest praise.
Open Court was officially stifled nationwide while I watched it being done. They did that, not realizing their tactics could be followed in real time on the new phenomenon, the Internet. I read teachers' reactions all across the US.
They made teachers hate the program by requiring them to teach ALL the lessons in it. Principals with a secretary went door to door, entering each classroom unannounced and demanding to know what page of the Open Court teachers'
manual the teacher was on. This happened to me while I was at the chalk board of a 4th grade class, and had drawn the "bird of state" on the board, with Right Wing and Left Wing. I told the man (who didn't introduce himself) that I had finished the Open Court lesson of the day. He said, then and there. "IF you ever do this again I'll write you up." And abruptly left, woman in tow.
There are now (in 2023-2024) people online who are bent on trying to give the long-dead Open Court program a bad name, like a Coup de Gras. When I countered one such comment, the author of it responded with a very threatening photo showing a wolf lathering into the camera alongside a man with huge muscles.
I telephoned the author of the program at Science Research Associates. He was so irate. Before I said anything except to ask his opinions about current handling of his program, he already well knew the tactics, and said, "I never intended every lesson to be taught! I expected teachers would be professionals and choose the lessons suited for their classrooms."
Brings up another point. A Teacher Training course at a California State university did not then train to professional standards, but rather let a pall descend if a teacher trainee asked any question in class. Those rooms were always tomb-silent. I asked several questions, so I know. No one else ever did. The university teacher made a comment about having to "deal with a genius in the class."
The way to literacy has been written and proven. Reading scores skyrocketed during the too-few years Open Court was being followed. The state Superintendent of Schools called an impromptu meeting of teachers, held in the Basement of the Union (UTLA) office bldg. His reason for the meeting was to ask that while lower grade reading scores had gone so high, no change had happened in high school scores, and did any teachers know of any reason for this discrepancy? Not only did no one comment on this question, no one even acknowledged it in any way!
I left early, and by chance rode up in the elevator with the Superintendent. I told him the lower grades' score increases were due to the Open Court Program. He had no idea what that program was! As if he had not even heard of it. THAT was my big eye opener!
They’ll never win over all of them. Hate is addictive. Some people need to hate. Some want to watch the world burn - even as it consumes themselves (no, it doesn’t make sense but it’s true). For some people, cruelty is very much the point.
Democrats will have to make significant policy changes to even begin to crack through the level of hate & victimization trump fed his cult. A robust social network, lessening the severe financial inequality (making rich people & corporations pay their fair share of taxes for one thing), establishing a national healthcare system (not one person in our country should ever go without healthcare due to $), pay our militaries an income equal to the sacrifices of the job & to keep up with inflation, vastly improve base housing & child care, raise veteran’s disability comp to truly keep pace with inflation, set term limits on Congress, SCOTUS & judgeships, raise teacher’s salaries & physically improve our public schools, get serious about tackling climate change, drastically reduce the obscene, grift filled DOD budget, make gerrymandering 100% illegal, greatly improve teaching & encouraging civil engagement... Improving our society across the board is so many ways will help. It will take time, discipline and vigilance.
Still, there will always be a set of people who crave power, who indulge their greed over contributing to society for the betterment of all and who marinate themselves in hate. That’s human nature. Recognize that and don’t ignore them or their actions.
I found my first home to buy in a small California valley that has never known what literacy means. I must veer away from the few always hateful-cashiers at the local BIG NAME supermarket, or if they're the only ones on duty, I say GOOD morning and mean it, and then just pay and go. A supposedly classy restaurant here lets the waitresses gossip loudly when two tables still aren't finished with their meal. One of those gals called out, while we were eating, "I slapped her in the face! She deserved it." I didn't look to see who had said that ~ only bring further distaste if I had. About half the people being paid as cashiers couldn't make change if the cash register didn't tell them how much. One gal at a deli counter couldn't give me half a pound of sliced meat. A guy at a jewelry store couldn't subtract 35 from 50 without using his phone's calculator. I went to a meeting of a club that volunteers to pick up trash along our river. I described a situation of seeing an envelope with my neighbor's name and address on it in a bag of scattered trash, on a local road that I drive. One guy blurted out that he'd like to wait at that location with a gun and nail anyone who threw trash. He sounded like he expected some Bravos!
Really, if you've never been close to a culture of illiteracy, it's easy to overlook. The results of never learning to read well enough to turn right or left are life-long for those who can't read, and the kudos they get for loud-mouthing their ideas based on ignorance and malice keep the fires blazing. They've never known reasonable people, nor the kindness that can soothe their fears.
Was anything Kamala said in the debate repeated as much as "eating the cats and and dogs"? By blurting out ridiculousness, he successfully distracted the media from actual issues and, as a result, from Kamala.
Look at who owns the media they down play tRumps clear mental decline after attacking Joe Biden because he speaks deliberately and not in a rush people who stutter do that on purpose, tRump gish gallops everyone, and every subject hoping no one will notice.
Yeah, in January 2016, the head of CBS said that broadcasting Trump's campaign appearances live all the time "might not be good for America, but it's damn good for CBS!" And that's how they all think.
Ilene Logelin - Yes, I agree with most of what you said. However, trump keeps repeating his lies and the media keeps reporting them because there is a willing and paying audience. Why are there 74 million voters waiting with bated breath? Even the NYTimes has succumbed.
Because the media is more interested in ratings and entertainment than they are in telling Americans the truth. And unfortunately, most of the mainstream media outlets are owned by Trump's donors.
Yes we watch the Morning Joe and they say it like it is! Most of their shows point out the issues with the Republicans. Rachel Maddox, Lawrence O’Donnell. All doing a great job!
And compare the educational level of the MSNBC hosts to the "educational" level of the Faux News talking heads. No contest, which is the reason Pete Buttigieg is able to bat them around like a cat with a ball of yarn when he goes on one of their shows.
Dr. Phil - what a joke. No training in his self-proclaimed area of expertise. And Hannity? Not much education at all. I say "Sanity, NOT Hannity!" I'm really glad I don't risk accidentally gazing into the moronic camera stare of Tuckerbox Carlson anymore. I'm not EVEN going to go on about the false prophet they have on there sometimes. Spews lies all week then gets on TV to "preach" on Sunday morning.
MSNBC is the only network that is brave enough to tell the truth. Every other network lies down and lets Trump walk all over them. It’s disgusting! They know with the exception of Fox what a despicable excuse for a human Trump is but are afraid of him! Oh for Pete‘s sake so he bad mouths them, he doesn’t have that much power if you don’t let him! Ignore him, so he bad mouths you, big deal have some courage and don’t let this criminal have so much power over you, what is wrong with you NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN etc you are letting Hinrunde your networks ! Pathetic that you have no courage. He’s senile and has dementia! Be honest for once , Washington Post. Why do you lie down and let this narcissist walk all over you, why do you give away your power?
Well said and excellent questions. I hope many many are letting NBC, CBS, ABC and CNN know we are no longer watching them as well as the WaPo and NYT know we are no longer reading them. I pretty much get "news" from my Yahoo page (and also NPR daily emails and Meidas Touch and 1440) that comes up when I check my email and I have been so surprised to see USA Today actually calling out trump and talking about what he is doing, ad says he will do. I have always thought of USA Today as a very "don't rock the boat" newspaper that hotels always had in their lobby (and that had easy crossword puzzles for free online!. By the way, if you have not seen the Meidas Touch short/ad (I'm not sure where it is "aired" except maybe on Youtube) about trump having frontotemporal dementia I think it is excellent. Not just because it clearly shows serious issues with trump's mental decline but because it shows very clearly symptoms of dementia. I have been greatly saddened by the media's refusal to discuss this issue because for the thousands of families who have loved one who are exhibiting similar behaviors by legitimizing it it makes these families think their loved one is just fine, so they will not seek treatment and one of the few things we know about dementia is that early intervention can help slow down the progress.
MSNBC is doing their job despite the wannabe threatening the network by name. Despite their hosts getting threats and being SWATTed. Nicolle Wallace among them.
…are a lot of corporations who are trying to make money and covering Trumpstir gives them a lot of outrageous behaviors that sell their newscasts and click their links and that’s a kaching in their wallets. But let’s not forget they got a big tax cut from the orange haired weirdo not too long ago!
Amy, that is exactly the same way that I and many others feel. How can Americans who listen to what Trump says and does and see how they have caused people so much harm still want to vote for him? He just lies and lies and lies, and these stupid fools believe every word that he says. I believe that our public television needs to start reporting the facts to the public. We need to understand the role of the President regarding the economy. We need to understand that what he says is not true and what the facts really are. They need to repeat the truth as often as they repeated Trump's lies. People that I know who live in other countries cannot understand why Americans want such a lying low life who commits crimes and wants to be king to be our President. The race should not be close at all. Kamala should be soaring ahead. I sure hope that she will.
We must not chase after every shiny object though. Flooding the zone with outrageous nonsense is their gameplan. Pick a few of the most egregious and focus on them. Springfield dogs and cats, the Arlington lawlessness and disrespect, and post-birth abortion and the associated violation of personal reproductive rights are several that come to mind.
But I think they are preaching to the choir. I don't know how many undecided folks watch and I'm pretty sure no MAGA/GOP folks watch. And I don't know how to get the truth out to those who may listen. In my area all the trump supporters say all the news that puts him in a bad light is fake, even if there are videos of his statements. They believe he is a highly moral good Christian man who has never done any of the bad things he has said he did. It is so scary to think that persons with those thinking skills may decide who will lead the US.
Illene Logelin - "How can Americans who listen to what Trump says and does and see how they have caused people so much harm still want to vote for him?" As per the US Dept of Education, 54% of adults in the United States read BELOW a sixth-grade level. That may have something to do with this unusual phenomenon you mentioned.
It absolutely is a factor. Authoritarians attack institutions and undermine them. Education is always a target. People with the worst or least education have the most difficulty supporting their families; are the most stressed & ripe for grievance politics.
Long ago presidential candidates on the right began promoting the elimination of the Dept of Ed. Some states began (in the past several years) changing how literacy / reading are taught - tossing the contractors and failed method used for decades; returned to emphasizing phonics; universities began adding instruction on literacy to teacher certification programs; Mississippi was pointed to as a leader in turning it around. It will take many years.
Meanwhile, politicians and state legislatures began multi-pronged attacks on teachers & schools for imaginary issues. Legislatures changed how social studies including history may be taught.
The entire time they’ve promoted private & charter schools, cut funding for public schools, colleges & universities. Private (and home “schools”) don’t require certification. FL has a college entry exam which must be accepted by its higher ed institutions aimed at those students. And so it goes.
That is the foundation for undermining our institutions and factual arguments. That includes what was his first target, the media.
If we think about it that way and listen to his followers we will notice that they often laugh about what he says, or shrug and pivot to something else. According to polling 48% of his voters don’t believe the cats and dogs story. I doubt that is a dealbreaker for them.
As for other countries, they have their own issues. The EU managed to mostly bat them down in the more recent elections but extremism is growing. According to the OH governor, the ‘overwhelming’ majority of bomb threats in Springfield were from ‘overseas.’
For those old enough, Trump provides an Automat of Lies where, for a nickel or quarter, you get to choose your entrée, all lies, but taste like ham and cheese or tuna salad or ice cream or Debbie Ding Dongs. Each tasty and cheap and available all day and all night seven days a week. And a penny Cup of Swill to wash it all down.
For those who think this is new weren’t around or blot out the 1960s violence against other humans. The 1970s began with Kent State. A few years later when extremists wanted attention they used explosions - but gave advance warning. 25 in one year. Donnie lives in the ‘old days.’ I’m sure he remembers. (He and Nixon became pals. He studied Nixon’s exit and has said he should have destroyed the tapes. We underestimate him and those who would use him at our own peril.)
I've been SMH so much that I think I got a concussion! It boggles the mind to think that, as humans, we are endowed with the incomparable ability to think for ourselves; yet, it's incomprehensible how many of us refuse to do so, and succumb to the ravings of a madman.
Vance and Trump are hoping the fear and decisiveness they foment with the mobilization of their bad actors will drown out all of the positive news that your Steady piece cites Dan. I hope their negativity and the forces they mobilize in places like Springfield, OH fail.
So many people are publicly coming out in support of Harris now. That news about 100 ex Republicans declaring, on paper, that Trump is unfit for office. This economic news. And still, read the headlines and it says "Presidential race is neck and neck according to a recent poll"
I signed up for a neighborhood app that's supposed to keep people informed about what's going on in our area, which is theoretically a blue bubble in a red state. And per the user rules, there are to be NO political posts.
Yesterday, some woman posted that she really needed advice, because she was really confused and didn't know who to vote for. She said she'd willingly vote for either TMURP or Harris at this point, and needed help to choose.
At first, I thought she must be making it up, but as I read the exchanges, I saw that the woman appeared to be serious. I was horrified to see that, of the people who suggested a choice, all emphatically told her to vote for the orange man. This, in an area that's always been so blue, the GOP has sometimes not bothered to run candidates for some local offices.
Many people told her to do her homework, while others called her out for her political post. I was sorely tempted to tell her how I felt about her, "confusion," but I settled for saying that if she's confused at this point, it must be because she hasn't been following current events for quite some time. Mind boggling.
Here is a sad observation, it is all those misinformed undecided voters who determine who is elected. And they will as they have in all previous elections vote for the candidate they like more. That ridiculous fact explains Republicans’ wins. All other “reasons” are rationalizations. It is not the economy stupid or inflation, or immigration those issues are baked in with the base of the parties. Party bases do not elect the president.
Republicans are much better at politics than Democrats…the right wing echo chamber was started by Rush Limbaugh and has only grown stronger since then. However, the mainstream media figured out what was going on and started changing around 2006. So even though the right wing echo chamber is stronger today it is less influential. The only president to ever really benefit from the right wing echo chambers was George W Bush whose 80% approval after 9/11 gave him immense power which he spent doing things that were super dumb but helped him eke out a victory in 2004 with a suboptimal economy.
But the two data points that really highlight the strength of the right wing echo chamber are Bush’s post 9/11 80% approval vs Obama’s 56% approval for a few day after killing Bin Laden. So the right wing echo chamber immediately started downplaying his role in that to deny him “rally ‘round the flag” effect like Bush got after 9/11, invading Iraq, capturing Saddam, prosecuting Saddam was the final bump Bush got even after Americans had lost confidence in him. So 56% is about as high as a Democrat can get because of the existence of the right wing echo chamber.
Imagine if Kamala Harris were having an affair with a far left hack. Don’t you think that would be covered? But since it’s Trump and a far right whacko, I guess people just expect this kind of behavior from him, no?
Even if if it IS expected, it still should be reported. The man is running for POTUS, and if he's having an affair, the Evangelicals should know about it, because I guarantee it's not going to be covered by Fox. But, if the corporate media is running silent on it, then for all of us who might be able to change minds, without real news reporting that he is in fact, having an affair and possibly has even fathered a child with her, we have no chance of getting the people who praise him now as being "used by God", to see how wrong they are.
It's like the weather. If it's summer in Texas, you expect it to be hot. But we still watch the weather report on local news to see HOW hot it's going to be.
A lot of ‘if’ and ‘maybe’ for stuff that may or may not be true is not real news. If something confirms the stories we’ll probably hear about it all day & all night. Any evangelicals for trump will either not care or not believe it. They’ve already heard about the porn star; his 3 wives; his 2nd wife was pregnant when they married; the sexual abuse; the infamous video - if they were listening. Jerry Falwell Jr comes to mind. He didn’t get the boot over his scandals until Liberty U’s board was afraid Jerry went too far and he would cost them money instead of bringing in money & the trump connection to power.
They aren’t expecting a moral compass when they vote for this guy. Those voters tell reporters they are not voting for a role model for their children. They are voting for him as a flawed vessel of god. They point to David’s flaws; we are all imperfect.
The Chosen One will increase the power of christianity. That’s what he’s selling. It means breaking down what remains of ‘separation of church and state’ & implementing their Project 2025 wishlist. You’ve not seen the images they share of him? One has the Specter of Jesus standing hands on a seated trump’s shoulders.
There seems to be some coverage but I think it's all about how it's presented. When just normalized as another one of trump's salacious tabloid type stories, it flies right by.
The ogre doesn't have female "friends." He considers them good for only one thing and he ranks that "thing" on a scale from one to 10. He even ranked his daughter - women are sex objects, so what do you think she is?
That's it???? The ogre is vulnerable to goo goo eyed adoration - and he agrees with her fascist, Hitlarian rhetoric. I figure she's an oh, I don't know......a 7? He's an old ummmmm (fill in the blank) I don't think he can even attract what he would consider a 10.
I follow the economic news, and I find it mind-boggling that a large percentage of voters think Trump would be better for the economy than Harris. I can only conclude that the average American does not understand economics.
But that question is meaningless. The right question to ask would be whether we are better off now than we would have been if an orange buffoon had gotten another 4 years, to lead us through the pandemic in better shape that the rest of the world like Biden did. Biden earned this rate cut, for the American people; with just 3-1/2 years of excellent economic policy we came out more than just OK. DJT wanted it denied, for his own political benefit. I shake my head at those who cannot see the contrast. And now I ask, what shape would we have been in? What shape would we be in 2 years from now?
Most of those people are looking at his administration through the rose colored glasses of nostalgia. They don't want to pay attention to the fact that prices were lower than they are now, but no-one was really buying things. Gas was lower because no-one was driving. And all because he mishandled the pandemic, some states went on lockdown, others didn't, people died as a result, and dead people don't buy things.
Not to mention the disruption of the supply chain because of Covid, which, when Covid became less worrisome, and we started recovering, (thanks Joe for the vaccine rollout) demand for things shot up, while the supply chain was still recovering, and prices went up. They forget all that in light of today's high prices.
There was also the disrupting states’ attempts to get covid supplies. Later a claim that the supply chain was never discussed in his administration. Of course there were no supply chain issues. He must have been kidding when he told people they didn’t need to buy so much toilet paper.
On Lou Dobbs before Lou and faux parted ways:
— “… nobody ever even heard the term supply chain."
"This was the thing, let's talk about the supply chain. It was automatic. It just was embedded. It was embedded in a free country, in a democracy. It was embedded in our country. We didn't sit around talk about supply chain….”
Many Americans are not very knowledgeable in economics ( myself included ). However even I understand how TFG’s plans would again be harmful to the economy and national debt.
He’s been playing this game for decades and has learned how to abuse the legal system and get away with it. Jack Smith has the ability to end his streak. But the corrupt SCOTUS still has the final word. The Heritage Foundation bought them and is getting exactly what they paid for.
"The Heritage Foundation"...such a benign name. And I would imagine that's no accident. Just seeing the title one would have no clue about what they do. At first guess, not knowing anything about them, I might say they give money to museums.
I don't know much about the economy, beyond the basics of supply and demand. But I do respect the word of actual Economists. Part of why we are where we are is because a certain leader openly scores experts in fields, and claims to know better. And like the typical 50% of abused children in families, about 50% of the country chooses to "believe" the abuser.in the vain hope that in doing so, the pain of the abuse will go away. It never does. But that 50% just doesn't seem to see it. Very insidious.
Our public television journalists need to explain the President's role regarding the economy and how factors outside of their control effect our economy. These Trump supporters ignore all the harm that his lies have caused people, and want to vote for him regardless. I don't understand them.
A large % of American adults are “poorly educated.” They know what a price tag says and whether it is more than they want to pay. 54% have a literacy rate below 6th grade.
Dan, you’re right. But I live in NC and he and the R pacs are running wall to wall ads and direct mail that attacks Harris on the economy — all lies, but they’re not being countered. You can’t respond by saying “happy, happy, joy, joy, I care about the middle class.” They need to refute the lies one by one!! The media coverage at the state and local level also is superficial and biased, with few exceptions. It should not be this close, but there are reasons it is!
Trump and Vance are too busy lying about immigrants eating pets. They are busy pushing House Republicans to shut down the government if their “SAVE” bill (making it harder to vote) isn’t included or doesn’t pass. In the meantime the Senate voted down legislation to make IVF available to anyone that may need it.
Folks, if you don’t think Project 2025 is real, you need to think again. It’s real, Trump and friends will pass as much of it as possible.
Thank you Dan Rather for so eloquently writing exactly what I have been screaming from the rooftops in the last 3 months! How anyone at this point could be undecided on who to vote for for president, is beyond my comprehension. I'm going to be sharing this with friends and family and coming from you, they might just listen!
My FL brother still doesn't know what factual news is and believes the Repubs lies, especially Trump's and Hannity's. So don't bet on anyone changing their mind.
I think that is why those who say they are uncomfortable voting for trump or undecided - even those who don’t like politics and usually don’t vote - are important. They are more likely to be persuaded.
The Democrats really need to diverge slightly from calling him a danger to democracy, and start laughing at his economic ideas, by pointing out how dumb the actually are.
That is, point out what his ideas really mean by saying just what Mr. Dan said. You can't cut supply and expect prices to go down. If supply is low, demand is the same, the suppliers are free to charge whatever they want! You think prices are high now?? You think corporate greed is bad now? Try it when they're allowed to charge whatever they want because DumbDonnie throttled the supply.
As it is, the Biden administration has done a marvelous job getting us to a place where recession is just a bugaboo.
Now, let's hope the idiots in the FreeDUMB Circus in the House don't shut down the government, or we're all going to suffer.
I think you’re right about not calling him a “danger to democracy.” He probably takes that as a compliment, fancying himself as some kind of a dramatic superhero. 🙄
That may be true. But I'd let Donald think he's great if it means we keep telling the truth about him. Let him have his ego. It's one narcissist among many in the world who has a way overinflated(delusional may be a better way to put it) image of himself. The important thing is that he stay out of the White House.
One topic I wish Harris had articulated more clearly is the economy.
To fully understand where our economy stands today we need to step back to Obama’s presidency.
During the economic crisis that unfolded in ‘08 - ‘09, Obama and Biden stimulated the economy. Although this helped the economy, it was later learned that they most likely didn’t stimulate the economy enough and it possibly took longer to recover than it could have. But, nonetheless, by the time Obama’s term was up the economy was in very good condition. This very good economy is the economy that Trump inherited.
While Trump was in office he enacted tax breaks that primarily benefitted the wealthy and, when COVID came along, Trump mishandled COVID. (Anyone want to inject disinfectant)? By the time Trump’s term was up, our economy was totally tanked. THIS is the economy that Biden and Harris inherited.
After entering into office Biden quickly implemented plans similar to those that he and Obama had implemented after the ‘08 - ‘09 financial crisis. But, learning from that previous experience, Biden stimulated the economy considerably more this time around. This possible over stimulation may have somewhat contributed to the rise of inflation. But, considering that America is not an island unto itself, we, America, have emerged from COVID better positioned than any other country in the world. THIS is the true position of the American economy!
If you receive your trusted news from sources such as Fox News, Newsmax, GOPTV, Russian backed propagandist YouTuber’s such as Tim Pool, (that Russia refers to as “useful idiots”), you most like are not aware of these basic, TRUTHFUL facts.
It is, of course, your right to continue to follow those aforementioned propagandist, misinforming, agenda persuading, lying sources. But, please be informed that if you do, and if Trump wins the presidency due to your intentional ignorance, I will place the blame squarely on you for the ensuing quasi dictatorship that will most definitely follow.
PS: The southern border today is more secure than it was even during parts of Trump’s term. After Trump coerced his Republican comrades to kill the bipartisan immigration bill that had been in the works and poised to be voted into law, Joe Biden signed a very similarly worded executive order to secure the southern border.
It has to be done in very short talking points, one topic at a time or as part of a discussion in one of the long interviews or rallies she has been doing.
Without the part telling people where to get their info, the useful idiots thing and so on. That last section sounds like from “on high” to minion or the closing from an attorney’s legal notice to cease and desist. (“You have been so informed”) IOW, not persuasion.
• The value of your facts and truth to this audience. Particularly in light of the Authoritarian Playbook, Page 10 which says: “The goal is not always to sell a lie, but instead to undermine the notion that anything in particular is true.” They are pretty far down the road where many people do not recognize or know how to sort fact from fiction; reliable sources from the fakers.
Economy is on EVERYONE'S MINDFOR SURE. Especially poorly uneducated struggling.... there is Nothing you can say, show facts on , try to respectfully educate most of this group.... especially young white males. And not gonna lie it is hard to survive out there.
This afternoon I learned the Teamsters Unions in the Swing States have endorsed Kamala for President. Tomorrow when we wake up we will have 46 more days to work as hard as we can however we can. https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/09/19/teamsters-endorsement-harris-trump/. Also, Democrats in the House are holding a hearing next week revealing the true evils of Project 2025. I’m not sure how the hearing will be broadcast. I believe new voter registrations, which are up significantly. Polls do not reflect new voter registrations. The polls have outdated lists. I learned this from Simon Rosenberg’s Substack, The Hopium Chronicles.
New voters are not in “likely voter” results for sure. Reliable voters have a track record & new ones have no voting record. New voters are historically unreliable voters. Young voters are also hard to predict. So one question is whether to include them and the other is how many to include. I wonder about non-college educated whites being over-polled. They’ve trended downward. But I don’t know what motivates them to vote.
Motivation matters & I think it is scary to the GOP. Some Dem groups had lower turnout in the mid-terms than before. But this election has the most Dem enthusiasm in yrs.
When the voters tell us, then the pollster knows if their guesses were correct.
Truth be told.....tRumps SS is costing tax payers $93,000 per day . Now . Before the stupid Repubs send in the Seals..before Melanias and Barrons SS costs . And even before the tRump childrens SS costs . That equals to $2.8 million every month . And yet Repubs won't think of feeding children free lunches . Think about that 🧐 Is HE worth that ? Is
$32,000,000 a year a steep price to pay to a fraud convicted rapist that's taking complete advantage of his cultists? And the Repubs party doesn't find this bizarre or should we say Weird?
I normally don't comment on your posts Dan unless something about it particularly gets up my nose.
I know which side of the aisle your readers stand on so this will be preaching to choir.
Trump has no substance. He has no agenda other to lie, cheat and steal in order to get re-elected again. Personally at his age, I don't get it. It must just be a pure ego that drives it.
Younger people and the left will see though it. It's just the numpty's in certain states who will drink the kool aid and vote for him. I live in MD which is a pretty left leaning and progressive state, however, the place I live is bumfuct trumperland. The amount of trump flags I see is just despairing, Have these people have no sense??
I'm glad that Biden stepped down. He was a potential liability. While I'm all for Kamala, it's a double edged sword. A black and female president is a whole lot to swallow for redneck.
I'm hopeful, but I'm also cautious as trump can sneak in. It will be a sad day if he does and a blemish on the US public as a whole. Nobody in the the world likes trump. He's like a bit of dog poo that you accident;y step in and you can't help smelling it.
He’s fighting to get back into the WH… . As President he can pardon himself of his federal crimes…although Nixon needed Ford to do that. As for the state crimes the juries out whether SCOTUS will pardon. Supposedly they can’t but we’ve seen a lot of stinky crap they’ve pulled.
It is completely mind blowing that this race is even close. I spend too much time SMH and speechless at how under informed/misinformed the American public seems to be. The MSM are, once again, not doing their job.
It has taken the media years to openly question Trump and his spokespersons on their blatant lies. Why so long?
This has been a pet peeve of mine for the past 8 years. Why has our public television given Trump so much publicity and therefore unprecedented power by repeating his every word and action for the past 8 years? They repeat his lies over and over, but they don't repeat the truth over and over. When Biden became President I thought that finally I won't have to see or hear that horrible Trump ever again, but no, he was on tv everyday. I remember when a reporter had asked VP Kamala why they hadn't heard from her, she said that's because the media was not reporting what she was doing. Trump has done nothing but cause fear, anxiety and anger in people. His words have caused people to harm others. He is a danger to our country. It's no wonder we have a mental health crisis. We need to listen to the voices of reason, calm, hope, joy, and optimism for the future. We need to hear the voices of Kamala and Walz.
We’ve all been through - and are still embroiled in - a mass psychological trauma experience. We have been overrun with and thus continuously steeped in hate, fear, threats, lies, gaslighting, racism, bigotry, misogyny and extreme ugliness for nine years. We have to take care of ourselves and each other. It will take time for us to heal while we continue the fight against the Republican Fascist Party. Reclaiming our health and our country’s health is a long haul project. If we keep that in mind and rely on each other we can get through this.
Kasumii, I feel the same way. That is why everywhere I go I offer people a smile and say hello. In some cases I exchanged phone numbers with people and have made new friends. I have been engaged in Meaningful Conversations on Saturdays. Our conversations relate to Bahai teachings which is all about equality, love, and community. I share cakes and cookies with this group. I started a monthly brunch group. I’m doing my part to bring us all together as a society. It is now up to the media to promote kindness, compassion, equality and unity. Trump must be called out on all of his lies and they need to report what is factual so the public will finally understand the difference. I enjoyed hearing all the speakers at the Democratic convention. Their words were so joyful and uplifting. Why doesn’t the media repeat them instead of what Trump has to say? They created this monster. Now they need to help heal our nation.
I am trying to do the same this, Ilene. I told my grandchildren, ages 10-17, to take two words to school with them every day . . . respect and kindness. We have discussed the state of the world and I told them it starts with each and every one of us to change it.
In answer to the question of why it’s such a close race, I think we should examine our blame game on the privileged group; white people. Most of us are really tired of hearing it. Why would a working class white person support and vote for Trump? He does t care if Trump offers no relief to him. It’s revenge against the Democratic Party. Pure and simple.
Ilene, you are certainly putting in the good effort to make a difference. I wish you well with your endeavors.
I wouldn’t waste any time or energy on our mainstream media. They have chosen to be part of the problem instead of the solution. I wouldn’t look to them for any kind of healing.
Unfortunately agree with you. On all of it. We need to focus on our communities and minimize exposure to traumatizing b.s. via media outlets.
Exactly!
You last two sentences, Ilene---truer words were never spoken!
Focus on community, say GOOD morning!
I find it very helpful to learn the names of excellent media sources. Would you please text me one or some of your favorites, to 760-223-5970? And if there's an online Board listing several of the best, that too, please.
I have to say, the constant barrage of personally condemning messages Mr. Trump must receive, and see daily all around him, cannot be constructive in any way. I've taught 70,000 kids working as a Sub for 23 years in inner city L.A., East LA, and South San Francisco. I know for sure that negativity does not teach good behavior, just the opposite.
One year when I first started subbing, I was lining my class up for recess, and as usual, I got to yelling "BE QUIET! BE QUIET!" Funny thing, the louder I yelled, the louder they got. When I changed my ways to a closer, more friendly tone, they changed theirs.
Much thanks!
Kim
Accept Everything As It Is Right Now is the Key to peace, love, harmony, and happiness within ourselves.
Easy to do when you’re totally stoned, man. But PROGRESS starts with dissatisfaction. You really happy to accept injustice and cruelty?
No, hahahahaha It seems to me Stan that you have misunderstood me. I believe in order to survive the injustice and cruelty we must first save our self in in order to save the world. I believe being upset causes our bodies to become imbalanced and can even cause diseases we don’t choose. I believe having peace, love, harmony, and happiness in ourselves we can save others. Love is the answer.
If we want change, first we must be the change. Going into any situation we must be calm and at peace. Ending injustice and cruelty starts with love. Our Lord says that the television, movies, some music, and violent video games is the cause of most of this insanity. Well, can not leave out greed. Teaching the truth is the answer.
Our brains are computers. If we program our computers full of garbage we get out garbage. It’s the same thing.
Thank you for your response. Let me know what you think?
Joyce
Thank you, Stan, for being real.
YOU SAID IT! I cannot believe this man is still in the spotlight spreading lies and hate. It took a world war to take down Hitler and the former keeps saying we are close to WW3. His people think it is because of the evil democrats. Dems are just trying to run this country while he spreads lies and deceit. He is preparing his people for WW3 because that is what he intends to do if he does not get in
What Trump has been doing and continues to do is tell lies in order to demonize his opponents. His latest one is that Kamala is antisemitic. He obviously wants the Jewish vote and the Jewish money. What gets me is that people are believing him. Now tell me is a person who says white supremacists are good people and is being compared to Hitler antisemitic or is someone who married a Jewish man whose children call her mamala antisemitic? Who would you believe? Honestly, so many Americans have lost all sense of reason. It’s truly frightening.
Sure is frightening people are falling for his lies. So many friends of mine said oh he will not get back in only 1/3 of the country back him. Supreme court failed to stop him now what?
IMHO today's lack of perspective is the rotten fruit of mass illiteracy. I've taught 70,000 children as a Certificated Substitute Teacher, and know there is a reading program for public schools that works wonders. Its title is Open Court, designed by Science Research Associates. It covers Kinder to 4th grade. The materials and teaching tactics are beyond the highest praise.
Open Court was officially stifled nationwide while I watched it being done. They did that, not realizing their tactics could be followed in real time on the new phenomenon, the Internet. I read teachers' reactions all across the US.
They made teachers hate the program by requiring them to teach ALL the lessons in it. Principals with a secretary went door to door, entering each classroom unannounced and demanding to know what page of the Open Court teachers'
manual the teacher was on. This happened to me while I was at the chalk board of a 4th grade class, and had drawn the "bird of state" on the board, with Right Wing and Left Wing. I told the man (who didn't introduce himself) that I had finished the Open Court lesson of the day. He said, then and there. "IF you ever do this again I'll write you up." And abruptly left, woman in tow.
There are now (in 2023-2024) people online who are bent on trying to give the long-dead Open Court program a bad name, like a Coup de Gras. When I countered one such comment, the author of it responded with a very threatening photo showing a wolf lathering into the camera alongside a man with huge muscles.
I telephoned the author of the program at Science Research Associates. He was so irate. Before I said anything except to ask his opinions about current handling of his program, he already well knew the tactics, and said, "I never intended every lesson to be taught! I expected teachers would be professionals and choose the lessons suited for their classrooms."
Brings up another point. A Teacher Training course at a California State university did not then train to professional standards, but rather let a pall descend if a teacher trainee asked any question in class. Those rooms were always tomb-silent. I asked several questions, so I know. No one else ever did. The university teacher made a comment about having to "deal with a genius in the class."
The way to literacy has been written and proven. Reading scores skyrocketed during the too-few years Open Court was being followed. The state Superintendent of Schools called an impromptu meeting of teachers, held in the Basement of the Union (UTLA) office bldg. His reason for the meeting was to ask that while lower grade reading scores had gone so high, no change had happened in high school scores, and did any teachers know of any reason for this discrepancy? Not only did no one comment on this question, no one even acknowledged it in any way!
I left early, and by chance rode up in the elevator with the Superintendent. I told him the lower grades' score increases were due to the Open Court Program. He had no idea what that program was! As if he had not even heard of it. THAT was my big eye opener!
KDS
After H&W are elected how will we deal with all of our hate-filled fellow trumpsters?
I think the policies of the new administration will win a lot of them over.
Not if a right wing congress blocks everything. 4 years of total gridlock. Unless the d’s decide to get serious about righting the ship.
They’ll never win over all of them. Hate is addictive. Some people need to hate. Some want to watch the world burn - even as it consumes themselves (no, it doesn’t make sense but it’s true). For some people, cruelty is very much the point.
Democrats will have to make significant policy changes to even begin to crack through the level of hate & victimization trump fed his cult. A robust social network, lessening the severe financial inequality (making rich people & corporations pay their fair share of taxes for one thing), establishing a national healthcare system (not one person in our country should ever go without healthcare due to $), pay our militaries an income equal to the sacrifices of the job & to keep up with inflation, vastly improve base housing & child care, raise veteran’s disability comp to truly keep pace with inflation, set term limits on Congress, SCOTUS & judgeships, raise teacher’s salaries & physically improve our public schools, get serious about tackling climate change, drastically reduce the obscene, grift filled DOD budget, make gerrymandering 100% illegal, greatly improve teaching & encouraging civil engagement... Improving our society across the board is so many ways will help. It will take time, discipline and vigilance.
Still, there will always be a set of people who crave power, who indulge their greed over contributing to society for the betterment of all and who marinate themselves in hate. That’s human nature. Recognize that and don’t ignore them or their actions.
I found my first home to buy in a small California valley that has never known what literacy means. I must veer away from the few always hateful-cashiers at the local BIG NAME supermarket, or if they're the only ones on duty, I say GOOD morning and mean it, and then just pay and go. A supposedly classy restaurant here lets the waitresses gossip loudly when two tables still aren't finished with their meal. One of those gals called out, while we were eating, "I slapped her in the face! She deserved it." I didn't look to see who had said that ~ only bring further distaste if I had. About half the people being paid as cashiers couldn't make change if the cash register didn't tell them how much. One gal at a deli counter couldn't give me half a pound of sliced meat. A guy at a jewelry store couldn't subtract 35 from 50 without using his phone's calculator. I went to a meeting of a club that volunteers to pick up trash along our river. I described a situation of seeing an envelope with my neighbor's name and address on it in a bag of scattered trash, on a local road that I drive. One guy blurted out that he'd like to wait at that location with a gun and nail anyone who threw trash. He sounded like he expected some Bravos!
Really, if you've never been close to a culture of illiteracy, it's easy to overlook. The results of never learning to read well enough to turn right or left are life-long for those who can't read, and the kudos they get for loud-mouthing their ideas based on ignorance and malice keep the fires blazing. They've never known reasonable people, nor the kindness that can soothe their fears.
Leave town? Stay home?
Was anything Kamala said in the debate repeated as much as "eating the cats and and dogs"? By blurting out ridiculousness, he successfully distracted the media from actual issues and, as a result, from Kamala.
Look at who owns the media they down play tRumps clear mental decline after attacking Joe Biden because he speaks deliberately and not in a rush people who stutter do that on purpose, tRump gish gallops everyone, and every subject hoping no one will notice.
You hit the nail on the head as we say in the South.
The answer is ratings!
Yeah, in January 2016, the head of CBS said that broadcasting Trump's campaign appearances live all the time "might not be good for America, but it's damn good for CBS!" And that's how they all think.
Mr. Trump has written the book on getting news coverage by the BAMN method ~ By Any Means Necessary! Gets stale quickly.
I disagree. It is money though. Not just newly earned, but preserving their hoarded wealth.
Thank you you stated that perfectly
Ilene Logelin - Yes, I agree with most of what you said. However, trump keeps repeating his lies and the media keeps reporting them because there is a willing and paying audience. Why are there 74 million voters waiting with bated breath? Even the NYTimes has succumbed.
Thank you!
THANK YOU!
The media are Trump's enablers.
Because the media is more interested in ratings and entertainment than they are in telling Americans the truth. And unfortunately, most of the mainstream media outlets are owned by Trump's donors.
Because their owners prefer the puppet.
Harris is the only person that has and the polls STILL have not changed
I think MSNBC is doing a great job better than any other network.
🇺🇸🇺🇸💙💙🇺🇸
Yes we watch the Morning Joe and they say it like it is! Most of their shows point out the issues with the Republicans. Rachel Maddox, Lawrence O’Donnell. All doing a great job!
And compare the educational level of the MSNBC hosts to the "educational" level of the Faux News talking heads. No contest, which is the reason Pete Buttigieg is able to bat them around like a cat with a ball of yarn when he goes on one of their shows.
Dr. Phil - what a joke. No training in his self-proclaimed area of expertise. And Hannity? Not much education at all. I say "Sanity, NOT Hannity!" I'm really glad I don't risk accidentally gazing into the moronic camera stare of Tuckerbox Carlson anymore. I'm not EVEN going to go on about the false prophet they have on there sometimes. Spews lies all week then gets on TV to "preach" on Sunday morning.
MSNBC is the only network that is brave enough to tell the truth. Every other network lies down and lets Trump walk all over them. It’s disgusting! They know with the exception of Fox what a despicable excuse for a human Trump is but are afraid of him! Oh for Pete‘s sake so he bad mouths them, he doesn’t have that much power if you don’t let him! Ignore him, so he bad mouths you, big deal have some courage and don’t let this criminal have so much power over you, what is wrong with you NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN etc you are letting Hinrunde your networks ! Pathetic that you have no courage. He’s senile and has dementia! Be honest for once , Washington Post. Why do you lie down and let this narcissist walk all over you, why do you give away your power?
Well said and excellent questions. I hope many many are letting NBC, CBS, ABC and CNN know we are no longer watching them as well as the WaPo and NYT know we are no longer reading them. I pretty much get "news" from my Yahoo page (and also NPR daily emails and Meidas Touch and 1440) that comes up when I check my email and I have been so surprised to see USA Today actually calling out trump and talking about what he is doing, ad says he will do. I have always thought of USA Today as a very "don't rock the boat" newspaper that hotels always had in their lobby (and that had easy crossword puzzles for free online!. By the way, if you have not seen the Meidas Touch short/ad (I'm not sure where it is "aired" except maybe on Youtube) about trump having frontotemporal dementia I think it is excellent. Not just because it clearly shows serious issues with trump's mental decline but because it shows very clearly symptoms of dementia. I have been greatly saddened by the media's refusal to discuss this issue because for the thousands of families who have loved one who are exhibiting similar behaviors by legitimizing it it makes these families think their loved one is just fine, so they will not seek treatment and one of the few things we know about dementia is that early intervention can help slow down the progress.
MSNBC is doing their job despite the wannabe threatening the network by name. Despite their hosts getting threats and being SWATTed. Nicolle Wallace among them.
I also agree. I watch a lot of MSNBC.
…are a lot of corporations who are trying to make money and covering Trumpstir gives them a lot of outrageous behaviors that sell their newscasts and click their links and that’s a kaching in their wallets. But let’s not forget they got a big tax cut from the orange haired weirdo not too long ago!
I think we forget that the MSM (main stream media)
100% agree.
Connie I agree. MSNBC has great coverage
Amy, that is exactly the same way that I and many others feel. How can Americans who listen to what Trump says and does and see how they have caused people so much harm still want to vote for him? He just lies and lies and lies, and these stupid fools believe every word that he says. I believe that our public television needs to start reporting the facts to the public. We need to understand the role of the President regarding the economy. We need to understand that what he says is not true and what the facts really are. They need to repeat the truth as often as they repeated Trump's lies. People that I know who live in other countries cannot understand why Americans want such a lying low life who commits crimes and wants to be king to be our President. The race should not be close at all. Kamala should be soaring ahead. I sure hope that she will.
We must not chase after every shiny object though. Flooding the zone with outrageous nonsense is their gameplan. Pick a few of the most egregious and focus on them. Springfield dogs and cats, the Arlington lawlessness and disrespect, and post-birth abortion and the associated violation of personal reproductive rights are several that come to mind.
You need to watch MSNBC they tell the truth the rest let Trump bully them.
But I think they are preaching to the choir. I don't know how many undecided folks watch and I'm pretty sure no MAGA/GOP folks watch. And I don't know how to get the truth out to those who may listen. In my area all the trump supporters say all the news that puts him in a bad light is fake, even if there are videos of his statements. They believe he is a highly moral good Christian man who has never done any of the bad things he has said he did. It is so scary to think that persons with those thinking skills may decide who will lead the US.
Illene Logelin - "How can Americans who listen to what Trump says and does and see how they have caused people so much harm still want to vote for him?" As per the US Dept of Education, 54% of adults in the United States read BELOW a sixth-grade level. That may have something to do with this unusual phenomenon you mentioned.
It absolutely is a factor. Authoritarians attack institutions and undermine them. Education is always a target. People with the worst or least education have the most difficulty supporting their families; are the most stressed & ripe for grievance politics.
Long ago presidential candidates on the right began promoting the elimination of the Dept of Ed. Some states began (in the past several years) changing how literacy / reading are taught - tossing the contractors and failed method used for decades; returned to emphasizing phonics; universities began adding instruction on literacy to teacher certification programs; Mississippi was pointed to as a leader in turning it around. It will take many years.
Meanwhile, politicians and state legislatures began multi-pronged attacks on teachers & schools for imaginary issues. Legislatures changed how social studies including history may be taught.
The entire time they’ve promoted private & charter schools, cut funding for public schools, colleges & universities. Private (and home “schools”) don’t require certification. FL has a college entry exam which must be accepted by its higher ed institutions aimed at those students. And so it goes.
They don’t necessarily believe him on everything.
From the Authoritarian Playbook:
“The goal is not always to sell a lie, but instead to undermine the notion that anything in particular is true.” (P. 10) https://protectdemocracy.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/The-Authoritarian-Playbook-Updated.pdf
That is the foundation for undermining our institutions and factual arguments. That includes what was his first target, the media.
If we think about it that way and listen to his followers we will notice that they often laugh about what he says, or shrug and pivot to something else. According to polling 48% of his voters don’t believe the cats and dogs story. I doubt that is a dealbreaker for them.
As for other countries, they have their own issues. The EU managed to mostly bat them down in the more recent elections but extremism is growing. According to the OH governor, the ‘overwhelming’ majority of bomb threats in Springfield were from ‘overseas.’
For those old enough, Trump provides an Automat of Lies where, for a nickel or quarter, you get to choose your entrée, all lies, but taste like ham and cheese or tuna salad or ice cream or Debbie Ding Dongs. Each tasty and cheap and available all day and all night seven days a week. And a penny Cup of Swill to wash it all down.
A great analogy.
For those who think this is new weren’t around or blot out the 1960s violence against other humans. The 1970s began with Kent State. A few years later when extremists wanted attention they used explosions - but gave advance warning. 25 in one year. Donnie lives in the ‘old days.’ I’m sure he remembers. (He and Nixon became pals. He studied Nixon’s exit and has said he should have destroyed the tapes. We underestimate him and those who would use him at our own peril.)
I've been SMH so much that I think I got a concussion! It boggles the mind to think that, as humans, we are endowed with the incomparable ability to think for ourselves; yet, it's incomprehensible how many of us refuse to do so, and succumb to the ravings of a madman.
Vance and Trump are hoping the fear and decisiveness they foment with the mobilization of their bad actors will drown out all of the positive news that your Steady piece cites Dan. I hope their negativity and the forces they mobilize in places like Springfield, OH fail.
Yes, they need major success with their “look over here”.
(I think you mean “divisiveness.”)
So many people are publicly coming out in support of Harris now. That news about 100 ex Republicans declaring, on paper, that Trump is unfit for office. This economic news. And still, read the headlines and it says "Presidential race is neck and neck according to a recent poll"
And even when they do their job, racism is a helluva drug.
I signed up for a neighborhood app that's supposed to keep people informed about what's going on in our area, which is theoretically a blue bubble in a red state. And per the user rules, there are to be NO political posts.
Yesterday, some woman posted that she really needed advice, because she was really confused and didn't know who to vote for. She said she'd willingly vote for either TMURP or Harris at this point, and needed help to choose.
At first, I thought she must be making it up, but as I read the exchanges, I saw that the woman appeared to be serious. I was horrified to see that, of the people who suggested a choice, all emphatically told her to vote for the orange man. This, in an area that's always been so blue, the GOP has sometimes not bothered to run candidates for some local offices.
Many people told her to do her homework, while others called her out for her political post. I was sorely tempted to tell her how I felt about her, "confusion," but I settled for saying that if she's confused at this point, it must be because she hasn't been following current events for quite some time. Mind boggling.
Here is a sad observation, it is all those misinformed undecided voters who determine who is elected. And they will as they have in all previous elections vote for the candidate they like more. That ridiculous fact explains Republicans’ wins. All other “reasons” are rationalizations. It is not the economy stupid or inflation, or immigration those issues are baked in with the base of the parties. Party bases do not elect the president.
It is truly mind blowing how cults can rise.
on that...a heartening read Amy
https://open.substack.com/pub/steady/p/news-trump-doesnt-want-you-to-hear?r=2y6j9l&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
this is a good read Amy on that
https://www.jefftiedrich.com/p/kamala-is-running-a-near-perfect?r=2y6j9l&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Well said!!
Republicans are much better at politics than Democrats…the right wing echo chamber was started by Rush Limbaugh and has only grown stronger since then. However, the mainstream media figured out what was going on and started changing around 2006. So even though the right wing echo chamber is stronger today it is less influential. The only president to ever really benefit from the right wing echo chambers was George W Bush whose 80% approval after 9/11 gave him immense power which he spent doing things that were super dumb but helped him eke out a victory in 2004 with a suboptimal economy.
But the two data points that really highlight the strength of the right wing echo chamber are Bush’s post 9/11 80% approval vs Obama’s 56% approval for a few day after killing Bin Laden. So the right wing echo chamber immediately started downplaying his role in that to deny him “rally ‘round the flag” effect like Bush got after 9/11, invading Iraq, capturing Saddam, prosecuting Saddam was the final bump Bush got even after Americans had lost confidence in him. So 56% is about as high as a Democrat can get because of the existence of the right wing echo chamber.
Corporate media’s refusal to cover trump’s malignant narcissism & cognitive decline is treasonous.
Hear hear. At the very least, it's journalistic malfeasance. The media is doing a grave injustice to We the People...
It's sanewashing, right down the line.
Imagine if Kamala Harris were having an affair with a far left hack. Don’t you think that would be covered? But since it’s Trump and a far right whacko, I guess people just expect this kind of behavior from him, no?
Even if if it IS expected, it still should be reported. The man is running for POTUS, and if he's having an affair, the Evangelicals should know about it, because I guarantee it's not going to be covered by Fox. But, if the corporate media is running silent on it, then for all of us who might be able to change minds, without real news reporting that he is in fact, having an affair and possibly has even fathered a child with her, we have no chance of getting the people who praise him now as being "used by God", to see how wrong they are.
It's like the weather. If it's summer in Texas, you expect it to be hot. But we still watch the weather report on local news to see HOW hot it's going to be.
A lot of ‘if’ and ‘maybe’ for stuff that may or may not be true is not real news. If something confirms the stories we’ll probably hear about it all day & all night. Any evangelicals for trump will either not care or not believe it. They’ve already heard about the porn star; his 3 wives; his 2nd wife was pregnant when they married; the sexual abuse; the infamous video - if they were listening. Jerry Falwell Jr comes to mind. He didn’t get the boot over his scandals until Liberty U’s board was afraid Jerry went too far and he would cost them money instead of bringing in money & the trump connection to power.
They aren’t expecting a moral compass when they vote for this guy. Those voters tell reporters they are not voting for a role model for their children. They are voting for him as a flawed vessel of god. They point to David’s flaws; we are all imperfect.
The Chosen One will increase the power of christianity. That’s what he’s selling. It means breaking down what remains of ‘separation of church and state’ & implementing their Project 2025 wishlist. You’ve not seen the images they share of him? One has the Specter of Jesus standing hands on a seated trump’s shoulders.
There seems to be some coverage but I think it's all about how it's presented. When just normalized as another one of trump's salacious tabloid type stories, it flies right by.
Oh are they having an affair? I thought they were just friends.
The ogre doesn't have female "friends." He considers them good for only one thing and he ranks that "thing" on a scale from one to 10. He even ranked his daughter - women are sex objects, so what do you think she is?
2 🤷♂️
That's it???? The ogre is vulnerable to goo goo eyed adoration - and he agrees with her fascist, Hitlarian rhetoric. I figure she's an oh, I don't know......a 7? He's an old ummmmm (fill in the blank) I don't think he can even attract what he would consider a 10.
It's why he's also noted for never owning a dog. He's never even been able to attract a dog.
Agree.
I follow the economic news, and I find it mind-boggling that a large percentage of voters think Trump would be better for the economy than Harris. I can only conclude that the average American does not understand economics.
Exactly. When people tell me that they were better off 4 years ago, I just shake my head and walk away.
But that question is meaningless. The right question to ask would be whether we are better off now than we would have been if an orange buffoon had gotten another 4 years, to lead us through the pandemic in better shape that the rest of the world like Biden did. Biden earned this rate cut, for the American people; with just 3-1/2 years of excellent economic policy we came out more than just OK. DJT wanted it denied, for his own political benefit. I shake my head at those who cannot see the contrast. And now I ask, what shape would we have been in? What shape would we be in 2 years from now?
I was. Regardless of who wins this country is forever and eternally divided on so many issues. It rests upon a perch from which tit cannot walk back.
Most of those people are looking at his administration through the rose colored glasses of nostalgia. They don't want to pay attention to the fact that prices were lower than they are now, but no-one was really buying things. Gas was lower because no-one was driving. And all because he mishandled the pandemic, some states went on lockdown, others didn't, people died as a result, and dead people don't buy things.
Not to mention the disruption of the supply chain because of Covid, which, when Covid became less worrisome, and we started recovering, (thanks Joe for the vaccine rollout) demand for things shot up, while the supply chain was still recovering, and prices went up. They forget all that in light of today's high prices.
That's for sure they think he's god and I say nope your just worshipping Satan.
Yes, Satan doesn't appear in one's life as a scary looking dude with horns and a pitchfork. He's much more crafty than that.
Think more like that scene in Indiana Jones The Last Crusade where the cup that Jesus drank from was the most plain and boring looking one.
Remember that President Biden worked with improving the supply chain to help everyone.
There was also the disrupting states’ attempts to get covid supplies. Later a claim that the supply chain was never discussed in his administration. Of course there were no supply chain issues. He must have been kidding when he told people they didn’t need to buy so much toilet paper.
On Lou Dobbs before Lou and faux parted ways:
— “… nobody ever even heard the term supply chain."
"This was the thing, let's talk about the supply chain. It was automatic. It just was embedded. It was embedded in a free country, in a democracy. It was embedded in our country. We didn't sit around talk about supply chain….”
Many Americans are not very knowledgeable in economics ( myself included ). However even I understand how TFG’s plans would again be harmful to the economy and national debt.
And the cost of tariffs being passed on to consumers doesn’t seem to occur to them. Geesh.
If trump tells his flock tariffs are great, then to them, they’re great. They happily believe everything he says.
He says it is a tax (true) and that the country sending goods to the US pays it (false).
The worst lies have a grain of truth.
A good video on this topic:
https://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/chris-hayes-trump-doesn-t-understand-his-own-economic-plan-219660869879
He had a chance to grow the economy and almost totally collapsed it. Kind of like his Media stock.
Everything he touches turns to shit. He does not know one scintilla of how to grow an economy.
How can he be so lucky? He escapes responsibility and culpability for everything, even his lawsuits. So hard to fathom.
He’s been playing this game for decades and has learned how to abuse the legal system and get away with it. Jack Smith has the ability to end his streak. But the corrupt SCOTUS still has the final word. The Heritage Foundation bought them and is getting exactly what they paid for.
"The Heritage Foundation"...such a benign name. And I would imagine that's no accident. Just seeing the title one would have no clue about what they do. At first guess, not knowing anything about them, I might say they give money to museums.
Because he has the money to fight it unlike the average person.
Actually, the money he uses/misuses to fight comes from “ the average person”.
$14.70 at closing today. $14.29 after hours. While the rest of the market soared. Doesn’t bode well for Friday.
I don't know much about the economy, beyond the basics of supply and demand. But I do respect the word of actual Economists. Part of why we are where we are is because a certain leader openly scores experts in fields, and claims to know better. And like the typical 50% of abused children in families, about 50% of the country chooses to "believe" the abuser.in the vain hope that in doing so, the pain of the abuse will go away. It never does. But that 50% just doesn't seem to see it. Very insidious.
Our public television journalists need to explain the President's role regarding the economy and how factors outside of their control effect our economy. These Trump supporters ignore all the harm that his lies have caused people, and want to vote for him regardless. I don't understand them.
A large % of American adults are “poorly educated.” They know what a price tag says and whether it is more than they want to pay. 54% have a literacy rate below 6th grade.
Thank you for highlighting the great work of the Biden administration!
Dan, you’re right. But I live in NC and he and the R pacs are running wall to wall ads and direct mail that attacks Harris on the economy — all lies, but they’re not being countered. You can’t respond by saying “happy, happy, joy, joy, I care about the middle class.” They need to refute the lies one by one!! The media coverage at the state and local level also is superficial and biased, with few exceptions. It should not be this close, but there are reasons it is!
Yes, exactly there has been a huge surge in the attacks by the trump administration & evidently a surge in money.
Trump and Vance are too busy lying about immigrants eating pets. They are busy pushing House Republicans to shut down the government if their “SAVE” bill (making it harder to vote) isn’t included or doesn’t pass. In the meantime the Senate voted down legislation to make IVF available to anyone that may need it.
Folks, if you don’t think Project 2025 is real, you need to think again. It’s real, Trump and friends will pass as much of it as possible.
Not according to FOX. Yesterday they were touting how good it would be for Americans..
That's because FOX is NOT actual news or facts.
That begs the question: Which Americans?
🤦♂️
If only the right people would read this!
I'm going to be sharing this far and wide!👍
Thanks, Dan! Nothing better than well-written good news! 💙🇺🇸
Thank you Dan Rather for so eloquently writing exactly what I have been screaming from the rooftops in the last 3 months! How anyone at this point could be undecided on who to vote for for president, is beyond my comprehension. I'm going to be sharing this with friends and family and coming from you, they might just listen!
My FL brother still doesn't know what factual news is and believes the Repubs lies, especially Trump's and Hannity's. So don't bet on anyone changing their mind.
I think that is why those who say they are uncomfortable voting for trump or undecided - even those who don’t like politics and usually don’t vote - are important. They are more likely to be persuaded.
Misdirection and misinformation...that's Trump's economic policy.
The Democrats really need to diverge slightly from calling him a danger to democracy, and start laughing at his economic ideas, by pointing out how dumb the actually are.
That is, point out what his ideas really mean by saying just what Mr. Dan said. You can't cut supply and expect prices to go down. If supply is low, demand is the same, the suppliers are free to charge whatever they want! You think prices are high now?? You think corporate greed is bad now? Try it when they're allowed to charge whatever they want because DumbDonnie throttled the supply.
As it is, the Biden administration has done a marvelous job getting us to a place where recession is just a bugaboo.
Now, let's hope the idiots in the FreeDUMB Circus in the House don't shut down the government, or we're all going to suffer.
I think you’re right about not calling him a “danger to democracy.” He probably takes that as a compliment, fancying himself as some kind of a dramatic superhero. 🙄
That may be true. But I'd let Donald think he's great if it means we keep telling the truth about him. Let him have his ego. It's one narcissist among many in the world who has a way overinflated(delusional may be a better way to put it) image of himself. The important thing is that he stay out of the White House.
One topic I wish Harris had articulated more clearly is the economy.
To fully understand where our economy stands today we need to step back to Obama’s presidency.
During the economic crisis that unfolded in ‘08 - ‘09, Obama and Biden stimulated the economy. Although this helped the economy, it was later learned that they most likely didn’t stimulate the economy enough and it possibly took longer to recover than it could have. But, nonetheless, by the time Obama’s term was up the economy was in very good condition. This very good economy is the economy that Trump inherited.
While Trump was in office he enacted tax breaks that primarily benefitted the wealthy and, when COVID came along, Trump mishandled COVID. (Anyone want to inject disinfectant)? By the time Trump’s term was up, our economy was totally tanked. THIS is the economy that Biden and Harris inherited.
After entering into office Biden quickly implemented plans similar to those that he and Obama had implemented after the ‘08 - ‘09 financial crisis. But, learning from that previous experience, Biden stimulated the economy considerably more this time around. This possible over stimulation may have somewhat contributed to the rise of inflation. But, considering that America is not an island unto itself, we, America, have emerged from COVID better positioned than any other country in the world. THIS is the true position of the American economy!
If you receive your trusted news from sources such as Fox News, Newsmax, GOPTV, Russian backed propagandist YouTuber’s such as Tim Pool, (that Russia refers to as “useful idiots”), you most like are not aware of these basic, TRUTHFUL facts.
It is, of course, your right to continue to follow those aforementioned propagandist, misinforming, agenda persuading, lying sources. But, please be informed that if you do, and if Trump wins the presidency due to your intentional ignorance, I will place the blame squarely on you for the ensuing quasi dictatorship that will most definitely follow.
You have been so informed.
Thank you
https://home.treasury.gov/news/featured-stories/the-us-economic-recovery-in-international-context-2023
https://www.jec.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/2c298bda-8aee-4923-84a3-95a54f7f6e6f/did-trump-create-or-inherit-the-strong-economy-final.pdf
PS: The southern border today is more secure than it was even during parts of Trump’s term. After Trump coerced his Republican comrades to kill the bipartisan immigration bill that had been in the works and poised to be voted into law, Joe Biden signed a very similarly worded executive order to secure the southern border.
https://www.dhs.gov/immigrationlaws#:~:text=President%20Biden%20has%20signed%20a,asylum%20eligibility%20and%20further%20enhances
And that never makes the far right news or most news stations.
It has to be done in very short talking points, one topic at a time or as part of a discussion in one of the long interviews or rallies she has been doing.
Without the part telling people where to get their info, the useful idiots thing and so on. That last section sounds like from “on high” to minion or the closing from an attorney’s legal notice to cease and desist. (“You have been so informed”) IOW, not persuasion.
This is what you are up against
• The adult attention span https://www.wyzowl.com/human-attention-span/
• The value of your facts and truth to this audience. Particularly in light of the Authoritarian Playbook, Page 10 which says: “The goal is not always to sell a lie, but instead to undermine the notion that anything in particular is true.” They are pretty far down the road where many people do not recognize or know how to sort fact from fiction; reliable sources from the fakers.
https://protectdemocracy.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/The-Authoritarian-Playbook-Updated.pdf
Economy is on EVERYONE'S MINDFOR SURE. Especially poorly uneducated struggling.... there is Nothing you can say, show facts on , try to respectfully educate most of this group.... especially young white males. And not gonna lie it is hard to survive out there.
May I repost your intelligent post?
Thank you :)
Certainly
2nd link did not open.
https://www.jec.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/2c298bda-8aee-4923-84a3-95a54f7f6e6f/did-trump-create-or-inherit-the-strong-economy-final.pdf
Poor Donnie, tries so hard. Wonderful Biden administration!!!!!
This afternoon I learned the Teamsters Unions in the Swing States have endorsed Kamala for President. Tomorrow when we wake up we will have 46 more days to work as hard as we can however we can. https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/09/19/teamsters-endorsement-harris-trump/. Also, Democrats in the House are holding a hearing next week revealing the true evils of Project 2025. I’m not sure how the hearing will be broadcast. I believe new voter registrations, which are up significantly. Polls do not reflect new voter registrations. The polls have outdated lists. I learned this from Simon Rosenberg’s Substack, The Hopium Chronicles.
New voters are not in “likely voter” results for sure. Reliable voters have a track record & new ones have no voting record. New voters are historically unreliable voters. Young voters are also hard to predict. So one question is whether to include them and the other is how many to include. I wonder about non-college educated whites being over-polled. They’ve trended downward. But I don’t know what motivates them to vote.
Motivation matters & I think it is scary to the GOP. Some Dem groups had lower turnout in the mid-terms than before. But this election has the most Dem enthusiasm in yrs.
When the voters tell us, then the pollster knows if their guesses were correct.
Truth be told.....tRumps SS is costing tax payers $93,000 per day . Now . Before the stupid Repubs send in the Seals..before Melanias and Barrons SS costs . And even before the tRump childrens SS costs . That equals to $2.8 million every month . And yet Repubs won't think of feeding children free lunches . Think about that 🧐 Is HE worth that ? Is
$32,000,000 a year a steep price to pay to a fraud convicted rapist that's taking complete advantage of his cultists? And the Repubs party doesn't find this bizarre or should we say Weird?
I normally don't comment on your posts Dan unless something about it particularly gets up my nose.
I know which side of the aisle your readers stand on so this will be preaching to choir.
Trump has no substance. He has no agenda other to lie, cheat and steal in order to get re-elected again. Personally at his age, I don't get it. It must just be a pure ego that drives it.
Younger people and the left will see though it. It's just the numpty's in certain states who will drink the kool aid and vote for him. I live in MD which is a pretty left leaning and progressive state, however, the place I live is bumfuct trumperland. The amount of trump flags I see is just despairing, Have these people have no sense??
I'm glad that Biden stepped down. He was a potential liability. While I'm all for Kamala, it's a double edged sword. A black and female president is a whole lot to swallow for redneck.
I'm hopeful, but I'm also cautious as trump can sneak in. It will be a sad day if he does and a blemish on the US public as a whole. Nobody in the the world likes trump. He's like a bit of dog poo that you accident;y step in and you can't help smelling it.
He’s fighting to get back into the WH… . As President he can pardon himself of his federal crimes…although Nixon needed Ford to do that. As for the state crimes the juries out whether SCOTUS will pardon. Supposedly they can’t but we’ve seen a lot of stinky crap they’ve pulled.
And some females do not believe our President should be a female, so their votes will go for dangerous Trump.
Yeah, what is that?????
I can't understand at all.