We cannot get overconfident. We need EVERYONE to go out and vote. This is so critical. His tribe will be there, and so must we, in overwhelming numbers.
Right now, EVERYONE needs to do what Michelle Obama said, DO SOMETHING! Postcard for "Tony the Democrat" (pick your state) or "NEAZ Native Democrats" (for Arizona's native communities.) Or something else. DO SOMETHING. And then, VOTE for every Democrat on your ballot. Down-ballot races matter more than ever in 2024.
I’m in the process writing 1,000 postcards this election cycle. The stamps are the most expensive part of it and should be ordered well in advance from usps.com.
I'm going to my 4th postcard writing event on Sunday. It is a lot of fun! We wrote to GA and AZ voters last time as well as some local CA voters, which is where I live. To be in a room filled with like minded people is so inspiring. We've had to change the location twice now, to a larger facility because of the uptick in support. That's a good thing!
Yes. Postcard stamps are in short supply these days. You might be able to order some online. I'm sure the post office is printing as we chat, but please remember that this guy ---> was appointed by Trump in 2020, Incumbent Louis DeJoy since June 16, 2020
Exactly! Ever since Dejoy was appointed he began dismantling the Post Office. Prior to that I did vote by mail. Now I'm back to in person voting. People who live in rural areas depend on the post office !
I voted by mail once due to surgery and later found out that signatures had to match as they originally did when I first registered decades ago--beats me back then. So I am trying to avoid voting by mail, especially with the stuff caused by Trump and his Republicans to interfere with voting.
Thank you so much for this info. I used to do the postcards but my arthritis has gotten so bad that my handwriting is very poor. I have donated directly to Tony the Democrat but not directly for helping those doing the actual writing...I'm going to send a few dollars!
I wholeheartedly agree! I tried to write post cards and my arthritis didn't cooperate. I am more than happy to pay for stamps + whatever is needed to those that are able to do it!.
You might check w/ local pro-democracy groups that are writing to voters. In Oregon a number of Indivisible groups are doing that and greatly appreciate donations for stamps. Postcard stamps are now 56¢ each!
Wow! I ordered 200 postcards and they take time!! 1000 is quite an undertaking..and the stamps are not cheap!! Kudos to you!! Thank you for your doing this!!!
Search for "NEAZ Native Democrats" (on Arizona tribal lands) or "Tony the Democrat" (you pick the state.) They have well-organized and well-run postcarding campaigns going. It's fun to know that some wonderful Democratic voter is being reminded by someone far away (you and me) to vote. I love postcarding!
No one is overconfident, but, Trump doesn't have the numbers to win, especially in the swing states. I know this, because I'm phone banking, speaking with people from all political parties, age groups and demographics. People are overwhelming voting for Harris. He knows he's already lost the election. Of course, he's going to foment the hatred and the suspicion, like he did in November 2020, through January 2021 and beyond. We just have to vote en masse
right, and so I took a Greenpeace training and learned a lot....and next will be a training after the election and that's the one I'm really looking forward to. I expect a lot of chaos to be happening and I want to know what to do in those moments. A friend of mine is an election judge and in her area, there are "swatting" incidents happening to Democratic officials (fomenting the hatred, and violence) already. She and her people are holding steady and yet....it confirms for me that it could be a nightmare (again).
am sure that law enforcement is much more prepared....and, we need to be ready with having talked to our children and have a communication system set up and have a safe place to go to in case of violence in the streets near one's home and go bags at the door (with important papers and such that can be grabbed at a moment's notice) (my car has a winter stash and a summer stash since I live in the mountains)....and have really talked it out with the kids and with safe neighbors, etc. My son has been a river guide and on the river....3 short blasts on a whistle by any of the guides means that there are swimmers in the river and all the rafts go immediately to the shore to hold on and the closest boat goes to pick up the swimmers. They've practiced it and all guides know what to do. Our family had a similar system worked out for emergency situations. We can all do that (teachers bear the burden of active shooter drills....so we can bear the burden of shooter in the street drills with our family, no ?) AND please do watch the video I posted in my comment below...
Excellent video! I have tried, unsuccessfully, to get through to the republicans concerning their fear of 'millions of immigrants' flooding our border that the orange man started way back even in his first run for the White House. He has claimed over and over that millions of immigrants are crossing our border every day and then looting and killing everybody. While some laugh at this obvious misinformation, I have tried to show those who believe him that it could not possibly be true. I invited them to go to the border and take a look for themselves. I have explained that the United States has a population of 333.29 million Americans. If millions of immigrants are crossing into America every day since he started claiming this, by now there would be over 800+ million illegal immigrants here in the states by now. So many more than the 333.29 million already established. It would seem that if all those he claims have come in, we would all be speaking either Spanish, Portuguese, Quechua or any of the other languages spoken by our neighbors to the south. It simply is not happening! Also, it has been proven over and over that the Haitians in Springfield, Ohio are legal immigrants and have revitalized that town! They were happy and contributing to their community. It only took one misguided MAGA woman to spread a malicious lie and look what has happened as a result! This race-baiting or whatever it is the orange man and his cult are doing has to stop. It is wrong and is leading to violence.
Appreciate the link, Mary. Agree totally with his point about blood libel and inciting violence---he's been proven all too correct. However, I can't find the memes funny. At all. Because they stem from such a horrible, ugly, concept.
I pray that you are right, but I am still not comfortable. There are too many demented people who support the orange terror, including a couple in my family.
Whenever I feel a bubble of hope all I have to do is look at my MAGA cousin's fb feed (Pennsylvania) all the lies and memes; then all the onslaught of comments in absolute agreement to feel afraid again. She takes all her information from Newsmax. The disinformation media is much more responsible for creating the cult than tRump himself bc they support the lies.
Kind of odd, at least with today's Republican party, that someone(Karl Rove) on the Republican side would say anything other than how awesome Trump did, or at least try to justify, minimize or re-frame his performance. Is this an indicator they already know, and are now speaking more candidly?
tRump is counting on his people to challenge the votes in critical states. Running the same scam he tried in 2020 but with people in place in several states. He hopes to keep challenging until it’s time to count the electoral votes. We need a win so huge and lawyers like Marc Elias in each of the battle states. It’s our democracy at stake, so let’s do this!
You bring up a really interesting point, David. Same with Darth Cheney's endorsement of Harris. I've gotta think that Cheney and his cabal now find orange man to be a liability, so they've come up with Plan B. Or C. Or H.
Not only vote, but volunteer! Phone banking, canvassing, donating when possible, conducting voter registrations, etc. Check with your County Democratic Parties.
Absolutely!!! Again, not just vote, but do all we can to get others to vote. I know many many of us have very limited resources, but even a few dollars if we all donate that can make a difference. And supporting voter registration programs and making sure voters will get to the polls and their votes will be counted is critical.
We also need to watch out for his sometimes highly educated voters. The ones who say he doesn't mean what he says ,but the world will be so much better with him in office. Or Fox says. He has them believing the world will end if he's not elected. So sad. You can't save them, only out vote them.
The summary statement I can make after the debate...She stood up to the bully and he backed down. Nobody had done this since the bully descended the golden escalator in 2015. Think about this...
Unfortunately, Hillary didn't hit the swing states like Kamala Harris is doing. I think she just thought she had it in the bag, but when millions didn't show up to vote, she lost to that despicable Crete and TRump.
Nice to see the lying demented bully have his butt handed to him by Kamala who has a plan for everyone. His only plan is revenge, threats of violence if he doesn't win and staying out of prison. The choice at the polls couldn't be any more obvious.
How were those 67 million viewers counted? Traditional networks? I watched the debate on YouTube. There were hundreds of thousands of viewers on the stream I was watching; thousands on other streams. And there were multiple TikTok accounts streaming as well. The benefits of viewing via social media is that we could share the experience with others. Maybe it wouldn't have nudged the count much further than 68 million. But I think the pollsters are overlooking that GenX and younger are not getting their info from traditional, mainstream networks.
And I suspect that’s only tv and traditional cable viewers in the U.S. Doesn’t count overseas. I know someone who cut her day of snorkeling short on Bora Bora while on vacation to watch the debate and she said so did Australians there on vacation.
You are so right. The polls are often skewed because of the demographics that they use and the questions they ask, plus to whom. When Hillary challenged Trump, the viewership was over 80 million. Taylor added more people to the registration rolls which is frigging amazing! Bless her!
Taylor Swift's endorsement of Harris Walz was epic. Coming as it did wrapped in an exhortation to register to vote. That's what it all comes down to. That's the only way to beat the Electoral College. Youth needs to turn the close run states into run-away for the Democrats - and not just at the presidential level. The only way to unwind the corrupt gerrymandering of certain states (who shall go nameless) is through massive voter registration.
I will say that OHIO has been relentlessly gerrymandered. We have an issue on the ballot to change the way districts are decided, but the ballot language has been challenged, and now it is up to the OH Supreme Court to rule on the ballot language. Time is running out. Early voting begins October 8.
And please!!, vote for the 3 Democrats running for Ohio Supreme Court. The fascists running Ohio need a corrupt court, and we need to take that away from them.
Believe me, I'm phone banking in the swing states and young people are going to be turning out in droves. They understand the assignment. They understand that their futures are at stake if TRump is elected president again, which he will not be!
It is sad that they hate on people who do not deserve it. Pitiful that is the only way they can feel good about themselves--to diminish others, make them feel less than, unworthy.
Right you are, Ellen. We've all seen how despicable Vance is. There is no bottom with him, as with his current lord and master. But possibly the most outrageous part of his psychopathic accusations is that he's visiting terror ON HIS OWN CONSTITUENTS. He's supposed to represent ALL of Ohio, and yet ALL the residents of Springfield are being terrorized by bomb threats and neo-Nazis marching through town. We've truly entered Bizarro World.
This is an excellent question. Because most of them have TPS status, there isn’t a refugee resettlement framework to provide services and support to the Haitians. Although the state is sending resources - and state troopers. The city had requested help from the state. (I hope their AG stays away and shuts up. He’s claimed the Haitians are “terrorizing” the community. Has his eye on the Gov Office when DeWine leaves.)
At any rate, there is a non-profit formed several months ago to fill the services gap.
I dare say the entire community could use support. The parents of the child who was killed in a vehicular accident (the haters call it murder) have asked people to use #LiveLikeAiden because their son enjoyed meeting people from other cultures and researching about other cultures. They are tired of their son’s name being at the center of hate.
Otherwise, I read that larger churches (most of the Haitian community are Christians) in Dayton and Columbus are reaching out.
Thanks for the link, Ann. I've made a donation to the Support Center. The way the Haitians are being treated now is the way Cheetolini would treat all of us who protest his criming and hate-mongering.
I’m certain they appreciate knowing people support them. It is just keeps getting worse. The Support Center moved a town hall style meeting for that community from their building to FB live because the Haitians were afraid to attend in person.
Sadly what you say is true. I noticed DJT expanded his list of people he says he would prosecute over election cheating - which we know is code for “don’t let me lose”.
“Please beware that this legal exposure extends to Lawyers, Political Operatives, Donors, Illegal Voters, & Corrupt Election Officials. Those involved in unscrupulous behavior will be sought out, caught, and prosecuted at levels, unfortunately, never seen before in our Country.”
Those who didn’t care about Springfield because it doesn’t affect them may be in for a surprise. What happens in Springfield (or any of their test sites) doesn’t stay there. The harassment doesn’t stop with Haitians or black people; the hospitals & schools. They are trying their damndest to create a serious incident.
This is out of Portage County, almost 3 hrs from Springfield. .
“Residents express fear after sheriff says ‘write down all the addresses’ of Harris supporters”
I don’t think he cares. Besides, he knows the state AG is cut from the same cloth.
The GOP chaos caucus blabs about cutting the FBI/DOJ budget (all the “alphabet agencies”). They’ve had a freeze on hiring for years. I’m not sure how the Feds are going to cover everything.
Then you have the Donald who won’t follow advice from his security detail. (We know how great the security was at Mar a Lago when he was president with a maximum level of security.)
Now he and JD are blaming Harris, liberals. The only good news is their mouths are running because the GOP is running scared. They have nothing else.
The Haitian immigrants certainly don't deserve this - nor the town of Springfield. They are just innocent pawns in Trump's latest despicable false conspiracy
The object is to scare people — and get others to join in like this sheriff. He’s in Portage County. On the map it’s 3 hrs from Springfield. He’s up for election and intimidating voters.
I read that Melania renegotiated her prenup before DonOld ran for president in 2016. I'm sure she'll be just fine. Also, I'm thinking, if she were to write a tell-all, she would make millions!
Watching the debate was the most worthwhile 90 minutes I have spent in a long time. Trump's a doddering old man who may be, hopefully is, nice to his family but he has no business being in charge of our nuclear weapons, our relations with our allies, or for that matter, anything that could actually impact thee and me.
This is disrespectful of doddering old men, a class of which I am rapidly achieving rank. It has nothing to do with age, other than people excusing him for it. He's the ultimate narcissist and couldn't give a bowel movement about anyone or anything else.
The repercussions of his melt down and lies are on one hand sad and on the other dangerous. His promises of retribution, becoming a dictator on day one, and his palling around with Laura Loomer are beyond the understandable.
Frankly, Joe’s physical mannerisms made the “old man” image easy to lay on him. DJT displays different aging difficulties - repetitive statements, inability to stay focused, wrath, lack of patience, and in his case abrasiveness associated with not getting his way. I’m 78 so recognizing symptoms of aging are easy for me. But it’s not just your physical abilities that erode, so does your mental acuity. Without a doubt, they are both disabilities. However, being of sound mind is more significant than physical limitations, especially if you want to be the most powerful person in the world. Being a bumbling horses ass is not a strong quality for a presidential hopeful.
Thank you for your service. I’m also a veteran (25 years in the USAF) and simply don’t understand how anyone who took oaths to defend the constitution that we take as military, and as federal civilians, can continue to vote for Trump after what he caused and incited on January 6. Have they forgotten their oaths?
Thank you for serving! We both swore the same oath. Over the years that commitment has not waned, nor should it. When my nation called in 1969 I had lots of plans. Just out of college, just married, biting at the bit to get started teaching and coaching. Well, as my father before me and all his and my mother’s male siblings, I put those aside and headed to the Induction Center. That was the expectation in my family and community. I do not regret one second time invested. 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
I agree totally. “Oath” is swearing to abide by an agreement. We both agreed to be part of the military, you by enlisting and myself by conscription. Never mind how we ended up swearing an oath to defend the constitution and nation from all enemies, just remember we did. And it meant something. It wasn’t to be trivial or petty. It was an oath. DJT has no idea about such matters. He’s a traitor and criminal.
"Certainly an unintended consequence of ... Trump’s dangerous lies about Haitian immigrants eating residents’ pets
... a bomb threat caused the evacuation of two elementary schools and the closure of a middle school."
Not unintended. Trump incites violence. The GOP is fine with that. Today in his press availability, Trump doubled down in detail on deportation - starting with Ohio and Colorado. He may be delusional about achieving world peace in a few bullying phone calls. But the threat of his bellicose followers is a real and present danger.
Anyone who gets racist lies from the neo-nazis (who have “protested” in Springfield, and one was booted from a public meeting before this), spreads them intends to incite. Probably didn’t think about bomb scares. But Ted Cruz, JD Vance, and others who spread this are all highly educated and have been around long enough to know how it works. Trump exceeds them in years of experience.
(I did think it was odd today when trump was in CA that he said he would deport Venezuelans from Springfield. I wasn’t a ‘slip’. He continued on about it.)
Well, to be fair, Haitian and Venezuelan are easy words to confuse. Like Obama and Biden, Haley and Pelosi. For a very stable genius who knows a lot of words, it’s understandable. Lol. Vote Blue and let the orange guy spend next year being found guilty in each of his many cases.
I'd take any one or all of those 10,000 Hatian immigrants as a neighbor(s) over one Trump. And, I have one cat. TBH, I'd rather not take Trump at all. He's a sociopathic racist [bleep]. It's glaringly obvious.
Thank you for your clarity. I agree that the vote is likely to be very close. Republicans in many states are still trying to strike voters off the voting rolls. We all need to do something, as Michelle Obama said. I'm developing writer's cramp writing postcards to "maybe" voters.
I’m wondering if the Department of Justice will actually DO SOMETHING and file lawsuits on those illegally trying to prevent people from voting and intimidating voters. All of this is frightening.
Lawyer Marc Elias and his organization Democracy Docket have been fighting election denial and voter suppression for the last four years. He has an overall winning record against Republicans.
Oh, they won’t be deaf. trump owns six of the judges and they will gladly do everything they can to put his ass back in the White House. John Roberts should change his last name to Taney.
I wonder if the Supreme Toadies realize that once he’s got 2025 in place, there is no need for their services. He would soon see them as a threat that needs to be eliminated. They should do some research on the history of enablers who learned too late.
Not while Garland is in charge. After all, had he done his job trump would have been barred from running and already in prison for sedition and fomenting violence against the United States. In addition the DOJ should have investigated every crime committed by trump, his family and his corrupt administration. And to sadly have to add yet another failure - no one who is an avowed election denier or who participated in the Jan 6th assault on Congress should have been allowed to run for office.
Garland sold out American by not doing his full job. Whether due to complicity or incompetence I don’t know but given the scope of his failure the reason may not matter anymore.
I know people like to say all that. The real fault lies with voters who elected trump and / or are willing to do so again. An attorney general is not a magic wand.
It would have been the same SCOTUS. The decision would have arrived sooner maybe - immunity & voiding at least one of the most serious charges against insurrectionists - and perhaps broader decision. Actual charges of Insurrection are extremely difficult to make stick and so almost never brought. (They also have an ugly history.)
No, Garland can’t prevent election deniers from running for federal office. It’s not illegal. He can’t prevent felons from running. Not even those charged with assaulting the Capitol. People can run for federal office from prison if they choose to do so.
I’m thinking we need to double down on what we can now to have our voices heard loud and clear. Make sure the couch sitters who aren’t sure it matters (17% of those who don’t vote) vote; that people have a plan to vote & are registered.
That’s fair. I would add to the list, DOJ and FBI people who dragged their feet and/or engaged in infighting. Knowing it would be difficult and had to be perfect they weren’t enthused about another investigation that could end like the Mueller one or Hillary’s emails and burn them again. They’d been dithering for a year before Garland.
Everything you state is an accurate depiction of the destruction of a presidential candidate. Will it work out that way? Let’s hope so.
In the meantime Trump and friends are busy telling his cult not to believe what they saw with their own eyes, Al La The Wizard of Oz.
One issue, you correctly note, “Every penny counts in what will be a $2+ billion election, the most expensive ever.” Here in lies all of our problems. These campaigns are too long and too costly. Look how quickly the Harris campaign got up to speed. Also, these campaigns need to be taxpayer funded. Far too many wealthy individuals fund these campaigns. It’s not healthy.
“Too long and too costly…” A-frickin-men! It sickens me to think in terms of Billions, with a capital B. Frickin disgusting. 🤢 So many things deserve that money and none of them are political.
Dan….brilliant synopsis of what transpired in the last 72 hours. He sure showed his true colors on Tuesday night from the opening moment when they walked on stage and he didn’t want to greet her. The colors that he showed of his true self sure weren’t red, white and blue. More like green for envy, yellow for fear and soot grey for everything horrid a person can be. While I don’t really think it’s a Good human trait to enjoy watching someone else suffer, in this case, I am not afraid to say I enjoyed it.
Let this debate live vividly in the minds of all Americans until November 5. And let the tv and cable stations, and social media platforms, and late night hosts and Jon Stewart and Bill Maher keep pounding it…..in particular to the undecided voters!'
The effect of Taylor Swift's endorsement is welcome indeed.
However, we know well the failure of some 90,000,000 Americans who were eligible to vote in 2016, to do just that. Of course, registration is better than not. But how do we get these young people to actually vote? High hopes have ALWAYS been dashed. Even when they "spike" in turnout, they remain the lowest performing of all age groups. Why am I not optimistic that there will be any difference this time? I am old and there is little, if anything, another t administration can do to harm me personally. But these young people who tune out after their brief interest spikes will have to live in a nation trashed by a putrid fraud they may well fail to stop.
Some states have online voting- I presume that goes over with young voters better than going in person or even voting by mail. Anything they can do with a device is most likely their preferred method of doing things, including voting.
We cannot get overconfident. We need EVERYONE to go out and vote. This is so critical. His tribe will be there, and so must we, in overwhelming numbers.
Right now, EVERYONE needs to do what Michelle Obama said, DO SOMETHING! Postcard for "Tony the Democrat" (pick your state) or "NEAZ Native Democrats" (for Arizona's native communities.) Or something else. DO SOMETHING. And then, VOTE for every Democrat on your ballot. Down-ballot races matter more than ever in 2024.
I’m in the process writing 1,000 postcards this election cycle. The stamps are the most expensive part of it and should be ordered well in advance from usps.com.
I'm going to my 4th postcard writing event on Sunday. It is a lot of fun! We wrote to GA and AZ voters last time as well as some local CA voters, which is where I live. To be in a room filled with like minded people is so inspiring. We've had to change the location twice now, to a larger facility because of the uptick in support. That's a good thing!
thank you from AZ. He was here yesterday in Tucson and only 550 people showed up.
That’s a good sign. I bet he’s saying 50,000.
And he thought he was in Pennsylvania, didn't he? He said Pennsylvania, here's what you need to do.
We don't need a crazy man but Putin does!
wow
That was 550 too many!
Yes. Postcard stamps are in short supply these days. You might be able to order some online. I'm sure the post office is printing as we chat, but please remember that this guy ---> was appointed by Trump in 2020, Incumbent Louis DeJoy since June 16, 2020
Exactly! Ever since Dejoy was appointed he began dismantling the Post Office. Prior to that I did vote by mail. Now I'm back to in person voting. People who live in rural areas depend on the post office !
I voted by mail once due to surgery and later found out that signatures had to match as they originally did when I first registered decades ago--beats me back then. So I am trying to avoid voting by mail, especially with the stuff caused by Trump and his Republicans to interfere with voting.
Last time I bought postcard stamps I purchased 3 sheets. I take one to each event. Next time I'll buy 5!!!
Thanks for the info about the stamps. I just mailed 100 cards with 300 more to go. I will order my stamps tonight.
Linda, any tips on who to contact to help send postcards? I'd love to help!
Here's an Actblue link for contributing to postcard senders: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/sunrise-postcards
Thank you so much for this info. I used to do the postcards but my arthritis has gotten so bad that my handwriting is very poor. I have donated directly to Tony the Democrat but not directly for helping those doing the actual writing...I'm going to send a few dollars!
That's why I decided to do phone banking instead of sending postcards. My old hands just can't handle all the writing anymore.
I wholeheartedly agree! I tried to write post cards and my arthritis didn't cooperate. I am more than happy to pay for stamps + whatever is needed to those that are able to do it!.
You might check w/ local pro-democracy groups that are writing to voters. In Oregon a number of Indivisible groups are doing that and greatly appreciate donations for stamps. Postcard stamps are now 56¢ each!
Whether by writing etc or donating. Field Team 6 is an excellent organization.
https://www.fieldteam6.org/all-volunteer-ops
https://secure.actblue.com/donate/ft62024
These are some of the groups.
https://www.commit2democracy.com/sign_up
https://www.activateamerica.vote/postcards
https://secure.everyaction.com/wWYzSycvi0uyLrKtsMnNXw2
https://postcards.markersfordemocracy.org/
www.postcardstovoters.org has a 3-day turnaround for its postcard campaigns.
ActivateAmerica.com
Wow! I ordered 200 postcards and they take time!! 1000 is quite an undertaking..and the stamps are not cheap!! Kudos to you!! Thank you for your doing this!!!
Me too!
Search for "NEAZ Native Democrats" (on Arizona tribal lands) or "Tony the Democrat" (you pick the state.) They have well-organized and well-run postcarding campaigns going. It's fun to know that some wonderful Democratic voter is being reminded by someone far away (you and me) to vote. I love postcarding!
Great job! Thank you
I’m also writing postcards. Plus, I’m a poll worker this election. This is my “do something”.
Wow! Thank you!
Yes they do. Vote for Democrats & help us win! Trump & Vance will just go back to where they came from. Good riddance!
They car from a deep dark cave!
I prefer to think they slithered out of some slimy hole.
I'm phone banking and donating! 👍
On our second hundred postcards in AZ. VOTE BLUE!
Without Dems controlling both House and Senate she will be kneecapped at every turn, on every bill she tries to pass.
We MUST win Congress!!
No one is overconfident, but, Trump doesn't have the numbers to win, especially in the swing states. I know this, because I'm phone banking, speaking with people from all political parties, age groups and demographics. People are overwhelming voting for Harris. He knows he's already lost the election. Of course, he's going to foment the hatred and the suspicion, like he did in November 2020, through January 2021 and beyond. We just have to vote en masse
right, and so I took a Greenpeace training and learned a lot....and next will be a training after the election and that's the one I'm really looking forward to. I expect a lot of chaos to be happening and I want to know what to do in those moments. A friend of mine is an election judge and in her area, there are "swatting" incidents happening to Democratic officials (fomenting the hatred, and violence) already. She and her people are holding steady and yet....it confirms for me that it could be a nightmare (again).
How scary... I hope law enforcement is much more prepared this time.
am sure that law enforcement is much more prepared....and, we need to be ready with having talked to our children and have a communication system set up and have a safe place to go to in case of violence in the streets near one's home and go bags at the door (with important papers and such that can be grabbed at a moment's notice) (my car has a winter stash and a summer stash since I live in the mountains)....and have really talked it out with the kids and with safe neighbors, etc. My son has been a river guide and on the river....3 short blasts on a whistle by any of the guides means that there are swimmers in the river and all the rafts go immediately to the shore to hold on and the closest boat goes to pick up the swimmers. They've practiced it and all guides know what to do. Our family had a similar system worked out for emergency situations. We can all do that (teachers bear the burden of active shooter drills....so we can bear the burden of shooter in the street drills with our family, no ?) AND please do watch the video I posted in my comment below...
here's how I view the tangerine toad's comments in the debate (the guy in the video is a NYT columnist) ...https://www.tiktok.com/@jamellebouie/video/7414108128113052974
Excellent video! I have tried, unsuccessfully, to get through to the republicans concerning their fear of 'millions of immigrants' flooding our border that the orange man started way back even in his first run for the White House. He has claimed over and over that millions of immigrants are crossing our border every day and then looting and killing everybody. While some laugh at this obvious misinformation, I have tried to show those who believe him that it could not possibly be true. I invited them to go to the border and take a look for themselves. I have explained that the United States has a population of 333.29 million Americans. If millions of immigrants are crossing into America every day since he started claiming this, by now there would be over 800+ million illegal immigrants here in the states by now. So many more than the 333.29 million already established. It would seem that if all those he claims have come in, we would all be speaking either Spanish, Portuguese, Quechua or any of the other languages spoken by our neighbors to the south. It simply is not happening! Also, it has been proven over and over that the Haitians in Springfield, Ohio are legal immigrants and have revitalized that town! They were happy and contributing to their community. It only took one misguided MAGA woman to spread a malicious lie and look what has happened as a result! This race-baiting or whatever it is the orange man and his cult are doing has to stop. It is wrong and is leading to violence.
I just watched& reposted on tiktok.
Appreciate the link, Mary. Agree totally with his point about blood libel and inciting violence---he's been proven all too correct. However, I can't find the memes funny. At all. Because they stem from such a horrible, ugly, concept.
I agree....and....the thing is, people are pushing back at him now instead of being shocked and silent and that's a good thing....
I pray that you are right, but I am still not comfortable. There are too many demented people who support the orange terror, including a couple in my family.
Whenever I feel a bubble of hope all I have to do is look at my MAGA cousin's fb feed (Pennsylvania) all the lies and memes; then all the onslaught of comments in absolute agreement to feel afraid again. She takes all her information from Newsmax. The disinformation media is much more responsible for creating the cult than tRump himself bc they support the lies.
Republicans always cheat. That's the danger. We need big wins in the House and Senate too.
Kind of odd, at least with today's Republican party, that someone(Karl Rove) on the Republican side would say anything other than how awesome Trump did, or at least try to justify, minimize or re-frame his performance. Is this an indicator they already know, and are now speaking more candidly?
tRump is counting on his people to challenge the votes in critical states. Running the same scam he tried in 2020 but with people in place in several states. He hopes to keep challenging until it’s time to count the electoral votes. We need a win so huge and lawyers like Marc Elias in each of the battle states. It’s our democracy at stake, so let’s do this!
You bring up a really interesting point, David. Same with Darth Cheney's endorsement of Harris. I've gotta think that Cheney and his cabal now find orange man to be a liability, so they've come up with Plan B. Or C. Or H.
Not only vote, but volunteer! Phone banking, canvassing, donating when possible, conducting voter registrations, etc. Check with your County Democratic Parties.
Absolutely!!! Again, not just vote, but do all we can to get others to vote. I know many many of us have very limited resources, but even a few dollars if we all donate that can make a difference. And supporting voter registration programs and making sure voters will get to the polls and their votes will be counted is critical.
Good sage advice. It ain't over 'til it's over. Keep our foot on the gas. No mercy!
And his tribe are dangerous people....we saw that on January 6th! They have no respect for human life...even their own!
We also need to watch out for his sometimes highly educated voters. The ones who say he doesn't mean what he says ,but the world will be so much better with him in office. Or Fox says. He has them believing the world will end if he's not elected. So sad. You can't save them, only out vote them.
The summary statement I can make after the debate...She stood up to the bully and he backed down. Nobody had done this since the bully descended the golden escalator in 2015. Think about this...
E. Jean Carroll was first to stand up to him.
Hillary stood up, but the media stood down, the FBI stood down, "normal" Republicans stood down.
Unfortunately, Hillary didn't hit the swing states like Kamala Harris is doing. I think she just thought she had it in the bag, but when millions didn't show up to vote, she lost to that despicable Crete and TRump.
That is the best description of what happened on Tuesday night. And now the bully needs to retreat out of our lives forever!
He’s a bully, yes, and also an annoying, soul-sucking parasite. He just feeds on attention of any kind and refuses to let go.
Nice to see the lying demented bully have his butt handed to him by Kamala who has a plan for everyone. His only plan is revenge, threats of violence if he doesn't win and staying out of prison. The choice at the polls couldn't be any more obvious.
We are NOT GOING BACK!!!!!
How were those 67 million viewers counted? Traditional networks? I watched the debate on YouTube. There were hundreds of thousands of viewers on the stream I was watching; thousands on other streams. And there were multiple TikTok accounts streaming as well. The benefits of viewing via social media is that we could share the experience with others. Maybe it wouldn't have nudged the count much further than 68 million. But I think the pollsters are overlooking that GenX and younger are not getting their info from traditional, mainstream networks.
That’s a VERY good reminder. Thank you!!!
There are many of us who aren’t young who are also fed up with the corporate media.
Can you imagine the evening news without any prescription ads?!😀
And I suspect that’s only tv and traditional cable viewers in the U.S. Doesn’t count overseas. I know someone who cut her day of snorkeling short on Bora Bora while on vacation to watch the debate and she said so did Australians there on vacation.
I'm going to be in Australia the day of the election! My mail-in ballot will be filled out and sent in before I leave.👍
Yes, Nielsen which provides the data says it is only in the US. They list the networks whose viewers are included.
What we see is for public consumption not their paying customers.
https://www.nielsen.com/data-center/2024-election-data-hub/
This person said she watched it on BBC. Had small note on bottom corner “ABC feed”
Absolutely! You're spot on. Millions and millions of young people have registered to vote and they are never polled.
You are so right. The polls are often skewed because of the demographics that they use and the questions they ask, plus to whom. When Hillary challenged Trump, the viewership was over 80 million. Taylor added more people to the registration rolls which is frigging amazing! Bless her!
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Nielsen is pretty transparent on their site about which networks are included. So it’s networks.
They also have data comparing different demographics and how they receive information.
https://www.nielsen.com/data-center/2024-election-data-hub/
I read an article that they save their best data for clients who pay. Kind of makes sense.
Taylor Swift's endorsement of Harris Walz was epic. Coming as it did wrapped in an exhortation to register to vote. That's what it all comes down to. That's the only way to beat the Electoral College. Youth needs to turn the close run states into run-away for the Democrats - and not just at the presidential level. The only way to unwind the corrupt gerrymandering of certain states (who shall go nameless) is through massive voter registration.
I will say that OHIO has been relentlessly gerrymandered. We have an issue on the ballot to change the way districts are decided, but the ballot language has been challenged, and now it is up to the OH Supreme Court to rule on the ballot language. Time is running out. Early voting begins October 8.
And please!!, vote for the 3 Democrats running for Ohio Supreme Court. The fascists running Ohio need a corrupt court, and we need to take that away from them.
Hear, hear, Daniel!
Believe me, I'm phone banking in the swing states and young people are going to be turning out in droves. They understand the assignment. They understand that their futures are at stake if TRump is elected president again, which he will not be!
My heart aches for the Haitians in Springfield. They are working hard to assimilate, did nothing wrong and don't deserve this.
It’s pretty dirty pool. Nothing like senseless cruelty to give the base a boost.
Seems like they are always trying to find some reason to hate on people who don't deserve it! 😞
It is sad that they hate on people who do not deserve it. Pitiful that is the only way they can feel good about themselves--to diminish others, make them feel less than, unworthy.
It's absolutely disgusting how Shady Vance and TRump are spewing lies about the Haitian people. 😡
Wonder how jd would feel if someone were saying those things about Indian immigrants in Ohio (of which his wife is one).
Right you are, Ellen. We've all seen how despicable Vance is. There is no bottom with him, as with his current lord and master. But possibly the most outrageous part of his psychopathic accusations is that he's visiting terror ON HIS OWN CONSTITUENTS. He's supposed to represent ALL of Ohio, and yet ALL the residents of Springfield are being terrorized by bomb threats and neo-Nazis marching through town. We've truly entered Bizarro World.
I agree. Do you (or does anyone) know of a good way for us to show our support for them?
This is an excellent question. Because most of them have TPS status, there isn’t a refugee resettlement framework to provide services and support to the Haitians. Although the state is sending resources - and state troopers. The city had requested help from the state. (I hope their AG stays away and shuts up. He’s claimed the Haitians are “terrorizing” the community. Has his eye on the Gov Office when DeWine leaves.)
At any rate, there is a non-profit formed several months ago to fill the services gap.
https://www.haitiansupportcenterspringfield.org/
I dare say the entire community could use support. The parents of the child who was killed in a vehicular accident (the haters call it murder) have asked people to use #LiveLikeAiden because their son enjoyed meeting people from other cultures and researching about other cultures. They are tired of their son’s name being at the center of hate.
Otherwise, I read that larger churches (most of the Haitian community are Christians) in Dayton and Columbus are reaching out.
Thanks for the link, Ann. I've made a donation to the Support Center. The way the Haitians are being treated now is the way Cheetolini would treat all of us who protest his criming and hate-mongering.
I’m certain they appreciate knowing people support them. It is just keeps getting worse. The Support Center moved a town hall style meeting for that community from their building to FB live because the Haitians were afraid to attend in person.
Sadly what you say is true. I noticed DJT expanded his list of people he says he would prosecute over election cheating - which we know is code for “don’t let me lose”.
“Please beware that this legal exposure extends to Lawyers, Political Operatives, Donors, Illegal Voters, & Corrupt Election Officials. Those involved in unscrupulous behavior will be sought out, caught, and prosecuted at levels, unfortunately, never seen before in our Country.”
Those who didn’t care about Springfield because it doesn’t affect them may be in for a surprise. What happens in Springfield (or any of their test sites) doesn’t stay there. The harassment doesn’t stop with Haitians or black people; the hospitals & schools. They are trying their damndest to create a serious incident.
This is out of Portage County, almost 3 hrs from Springfield. .
“Residents express fear after sheriff says ‘write down all the addresses’ of Harris supporters”
https://theportager.com/residents-express-fear-after-sheriff-says-write-down-all-the-addresses-of-harris-supporters/
USA Today has an actual post image.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/09/16/sheriff-bruce-zuchowski-portage-county-ohio-kamala-harris-campaign/75248800007/
That sheriff is dishonoring his oath of protecting and to serve. The Feds should be doing about all of this!
I don’t think he cares. Besides, he knows the state AG is cut from the same cloth.
The GOP chaos caucus blabs about cutting the FBI/DOJ budget (all the “alphabet agencies”). They’ve had a freeze on hiring for years. I’m not sure how the Feds are going to cover everything.
Then you have the Donald who won’t follow advice from his security detail. (We know how great the security was at Mar a Lago when he was president with a maximum level of security.)
Now he and JD are blaming Harris, liberals. The only good news is their mouths are running because the GOP is running scared. They have nothing else.
The Haitian immigrants certainly don't deserve this - nor the town of Springfield. They are just innocent pawns in Trump's latest despicable false conspiracy
It is infuriating. The lowlifes have upended the whole community.
🤬
TRump’s base are white supremacists. He, Vance, and these goons are horrid. I pray that the FBI nabs their asses!
The object is to scare people — and get others to join in like this sheriff. He’s in Portage County. On the map it’s 3 hrs from Springfield. He’s up for election and intimidating voters.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/09/16/sheriff-bruce-zuchowski-portage-county-ohio-kamala-harris-campaign/75248800007/
that's a really good point.
And now he’s obviously cheating on Melania again, this time with the other worst person in the world. He’s found his lack of soul mate.
You suggesting his marriage vows mean little or nothing to him? I’m so shocked!
Haha!
Yes, absolutely, given that Trump is just SO scrupulous on everything else!
LOL 😅
Laura LOONY Loomer is hoping to be the next wife. I imagine Melania will be looking to divorce tfg once he’s lost this election.
Only if the “money” right!
I’m wondering what kind of pre-nup she had to sign.
I read that Melania renegotiated her prenup before DonOld ran for president in 2016. I'm sure she'll be just fine. Also, I'm thinking, if she were to write a tell-all, she would make millions!
You don’t think that’s what she dangles as leverage to renegotiate? 😂
“… Since 2005, Melania has renegotiated her prenup a total of three times so far …” https://helloprenup.com/prenuptial-agreements/real-life-case/melania-trumps-prenup/
My question: Is it still a prenup at this point?
Melania is a sleazy tramp.
I am heartened by every sign that Harris is thriving. That won’t mean anything if people don’t vote.
Thank you Taylor Swift for supporting another strong, talented, intelligent woman!
Now we need to stand up and stand out as proud, people standing for integrity, equality, and basic human rights!
Watching the debate was the most worthwhile 90 minutes I have spent in a long time. Trump's a doddering old man who may be, hopefully is, nice to his family but he has no business being in charge of our nuclear weapons, our relations with our allies, or for that matter, anything that could actually impact thee and me.
This is disrespectful of doddering old men, a class of which I am rapidly achieving rank. It has nothing to do with age, other than people excusing him for it. He's the ultimate narcissist and couldn't give a bowel movement about anyone or anything else.
I'm not so sure he is nice to his family. His wife obviously is not too crazy about him. LOL
Yeah, cheating on his current wife, while she was at home with a newborn baby, with a porn star isn't exactly being "nice"...
I would not even trust him to know when to flush the toilet.
He probably has someone else flush the toilet for him...
And wipe his butt!
The repercussions of his melt down and lies are on one hand sad and on the other dangerous. His promises of retribution, becoming a dictator on day one, and his palling around with Laura Loomer are beyond the understandable.
Examples of his obvious unfitness for the presidency. This 78 years old veteran and former Republican cannot fathom how anyone can vote for MAGA.
And why isn't most of the media piling up on him being too old & unfit, as they were doing to Biden??
Because the media moguls want Trump to win to protect their $$$$$$$ tax breaks.
Frankly, Joe’s physical mannerisms made the “old man” image easy to lay on him. DJT displays different aging difficulties - repetitive statements, inability to stay focused, wrath, lack of patience, and in his case abrasiveness associated with not getting his way. I’m 78 so recognizing symptoms of aging are easy for me. But it’s not just your physical abilities that erode, so does your mental acuity. Without a doubt, they are both disabilities. However, being of sound mind is more significant than physical limitations, especially if you want to be the most powerful person in the world. Being a bumbling horses ass is not a strong quality for a presidential hopeful.
Thank you for your service. I’m also a veteran (25 years in the USAF) and simply don’t understand how anyone who took oaths to defend the constitution that we take as military, and as federal civilians, can continue to vote for Trump after what he caused and incited on January 6. Have they forgotten their oaths?
Thank you for serving! We both swore the same oath. Over the years that commitment has not waned, nor should it. When my nation called in 1969 I had lots of plans. Just out of college, just married, biting at the bit to get started teaching and coaching. Well, as my father before me and all his and my mother’s male siblings, I put those aside and headed to the Induction Center. That was the expectation in my family and community. I do not regret one second time invested. 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
I agree totally. “Oath” is swearing to abide by an agreement. We both agreed to be part of the military, you by enlisting and myself by conscription. Never mind how we ended up swearing an oath to defend the constitution and nation from all enemies, just remember we did. And it meant something. It wasn’t to be trivial or petty. It was an oath. DJT has no idea about such matters. He’s a traitor and criminal.
Thank you for your service! I am mystified also......
👍🇺🇸
Your service is much appreciated and so is your vote for Kamala to save our constitutional republic and democracy!
"Certainly an unintended consequence of ... Trump’s dangerous lies about Haitian immigrants eating residents’ pets
... a bomb threat caused the evacuation of two elementary schools and the closure of a middle school."
Not unintended. Trump incites violence. The GOP is fine with that. Today in his press availability, Trump doubled down in detail on deportation - starting with Ohio and Colorado. He may be delusional about achieving world peace in a few bullying phone calls. But the threat of his bellicose followers is a real and present danger.
Anyone who gets racist lies from the neo-nazis (who have “protested” in Springfield, and one was booted from a public meeting before this), spreads them intends to incite. Probably didn’t think about bomb scares. But Ted Cruz, JD Vance, and others who spread this are all highly educated and have been around long enough to know how it works. Trump exceeds them in years of experience.
(I did think it was odd today when trump was in CA that he said he would deport Venezuelans from Springfield. I wasn’t a ‘slip’. He continued on about it.)
Well, to be fair, Haitian and Venezuelan are easy words to confuse. Like Obama and Biden, Haley and Pelosi. For a very stable genius who knows a lot of words, it’s understandable. Lol. Vote Blue and let the orange guy spend next year being found guilty in each of his many cases.
I'd take any one or all of those 10,000 Hatian immigrants as a neighbor(s) over one Trump. And, I have one cat. TBH, I'd rather not take Trump at all. He's a sociopathic racist [bleep]. It's glaringly obvious.
Thank you for your clarity. I agree that the vote is likely to be very close. Republicans in many states are still trying to strike voters off the voting rolls. We all need to do something, as Michelle Obama said. I'm developing writer's cramp writing postcards to "maybe" voters.
I’m wondering if the Department of Justice will actually DO SOMETHING and file lawsuits on those illegally trying to prevent people from voting and intimidating voters. All of this is frightening.
Lawyer Marc Elias and his organization Democracy Docket have been fighting election denial and voter suppression for the last four years. He has an overall winning record against Republicans.
I fear Republican voter restriction practices will fall on deaf ears at the Supreme Court. : (
Oh, they won’t be deaf. trump owns six of the judges and they will gladly do everything they can to put his ass back in the White House. John Roberts should change his last name to Taney.
I wonder if the Supreme Toadies realize that once he’s got 2025 in place, there is no need for their services. He would soon see them as a threat that needs to be eliminated. They should do some research on the history of enablers who learned too late.
Not while Garland is in charge. After all, had he done his job trump would have been barred from running and already in prison for sedition and fomenting violence against the United States. In addition the DOJ should have investigated every crime committed by trump, his family and his corrupt administration. And to sadly have to add yet another failure - no one who is an avowed election denier or who participated in the Jan 6th assault on Congress should have been allowed to run for office.
Garland sold out American by not doing his full job. Whether due to complicity or incompetence I don’t know but given the scope of his failure the reason may not matter anymore.
I know people like to say all that. The real fault lies with voters who elected trump and / or are willing to do so again. An attorney general is not a magic wand.
It would have been the same SCOTUS. The decision would have arrived sooner maybe - immunity & voiding at least one of the most serious charges against insurrectionists - and perhaps broader decision. Actual charges of Insurrection are extremely difficult to make stick and so almost never brought. (They also have an ugly history.)
No, Garland can’t prevent election deniers from running for federal office. It’s not illegal. He can’t prevent felons from running. Not even those charged with assaulting the Capitol. People can run for federal office from prison if they choose to do so.
I’m thinking we need to double down on what we can now to have our voices heard loud and clear. Make sure the couch sitters who aren’t sure it matters (17% of those who don’t vote) vote; that people have a plan to vote & are registered.
There’s plenty of fault to go around and Garland owns a lot of it.
That’s fair. I would add to the list, DOJ and FBI people who dragged their feet and/or engaged in infighting. Knowing it would be difficult and had to be perfect they weren’t enthused about another investigation that could end like the Mueller one or Hillary’s emails and burn them again. They’d been dithering for a year before Garland.
Me too!
Everything you state is an accurate depiction of the destruction of a presidential candidate. Will it work out that way? Let’s hope so.
In the meantime Trump and friends are busy telling his cult not to believe what they saw with their own eyes, Al La The Wizard of Oz.
One issue, you correctly note, “Every penny counts in what will be a $2+ billion election, the most expensive ever.” Here in lies all of our problems. These campaigns are too long and too costly. Look how quickly the Harris campaign got up to speed. Also, these campaigns need to be taxpayer funded. Far too many wealthy individuals fund these campaigns. It’s not healthy.
“Too long and too costly…” A-frickin-men! It sickens me to think in terms of Billions, with a capital B. Frickin disgusting. 🤢 So many things deserve that money and none of them are political.
Dan….brilliant synopsis of what transpired in the last 72 hours. He sure showed his true colors on Tuesday night from the opening moment when they walked on stage and he didn’t want to greet her. The colors that he showed of his true self sure weren’t red, white and blue. More like green for envy, yellow for fear and soot grey for everything horrid a person can be. While I don’t really think it’s a Good human trait to enjoy watching someone else suffer, in this case, I am not afraid to say I enjoyed it.
Let this debate live vividly in the minds of all Americans until November 5. And let the tv and cable stations, and social media platforms, and late night hosts and Jon Stewart and Bill Maher keep pounding it…..in particular to the undecided voters!'
He lies continuously. Crypto-currency looks like yet another grift. The violence he inspired in Springfield, Ohio and pushed yet again today…
I wish he’d go away.
The effect of Taylor Swift's endorsement is welcome indeed.
However, we know well the failure of some 90,000,000 Americans who were eligible to vote in 2016, to do just that. Of course, registration is better than not. But how do we get these young people to actually vote? High hopes have ALWAYS been dashed. Even when they "spike" in turnout, they remain the lowest performing of all age groups. Why am I not optimistic that there will be any difference this time? I am old and there is little, if anything, another t administration can do to harm me personally. But these young people who tune out after their brief interest spikes will have to live in a nation trashed by a putrid fraud they may well fail to stop.
Some states have online voting- I presume that goes over with young voters better than going in person or even voting by mail. Anything they can do with a device is most likely their preferred method of doing things, including voting.