Dan Rather writes in his Substack that we need to tune in and not out; that we disengage at our own risk. To disengage would mean another win for facists. He goes on to say that the more people are aware of the issues, the better choices they make. More information is spread by social media than traditional channels. Rethugs have created the lie that they are the party of the working people, which they are most definitely not. I think it boils down to a severely uneducated public. We know that the reading comprehension in this country is appallingly low. Our education system is a mess; I see this first-hand. The ignorance is mind-boggling. I watched Jimmy Kimmel do one of his bits where they ask various people on the street about current events. They asked a woman what she knew about Amelia Earhart's disappearance. She responded that while she didn't know Amelia, she would pray for Amelia and her family for a safe return home, You can't just throw facts at these people; they don't get it. Solid evidence is the way to go. Farmers are going to find out about the tariffs soon enough. Now, I'm going to continue to ignore the news sites and bake some chocolate chip cookies.
I saw another one of those,when on the day after Election Day, he asked how they were going to vote. The ones he aired had no idea that Election Day was over or who was running. I wonder if they can be reached.
We DO have to appeal to the "working class" NOT the middle class. Many don't understand that many of the "middle class" make pretty good money, have 401K's or IRAs that "working class people" do NOT! Second things have to be explained to everyone. Many have NEVER been through "inflation" until now, Many have NEVER been through a "recession" either. They also DON'T understand how Tariffs work.
The entire point of tariffs is to encourage and help manufacturers IN THE COUNTRY THAT LEVIES THEM. I.e., if the USA is levying tariffs on China, that should be a wake-up call to industries to make stuff in the USA, not just stop making things in China but go over to make things in Cambodia or some other country where people don't mind working for less than a dollar an hour or whatever. X-P
Even without inflation in this country, things like mortgage payments (even property tax, if you've paid the mortgage off) or rent, car payments, college loans (knew someone who was going to a technical school vs. college, and even those payments were through the ceiling), health care, etc., etc., etc. requires a higher hourly wage or salary than a dollar an hour. X-P
And even the Mar-a-Lago Marmalade can't force multinational corporations to do the right thing and make stuff here (would he even want to try?). X-P
There are a couple of ways that tariffs can go. Example 1 is electric cars. The Chinese are seriously subsidizing their electric car industry with the intent to gain market dominance. The Japanese did this in the 70's and 80's with the television business, and that's why the US doesn't manufacture televisions any more. In this case, the tariff offsets that factor, allowing domestic brands to stay in business. These are called "anti-dumping" tariffs.
The other way is the case of washing machines. In 2018, there wasn't a notable price disparity between US and foreign washing machines. When he put the tariffs in place, it raised the price of Chinese washing machines. The US manufacturers saw an opportunity for profit, so they also raised the prices of washing machines. This lowered overall volume, so they also increased the price of driers. US consumers paid 108% to 124% of the tariffs (yes, more than the actual tariffs) in increased cost of washing machines and driers.
Nancy I went to both college and Business School (not the Wharton kind) it used to be called Secretarial School. The problems with Tariffs is we put Tariffs on our stuff and the other countries put Tariffs on things that they make and send to our country. It just so happens that most electronics (phones, computers, radios, stereos etc) WILL go up in prices when these Tariffs hit. Also farmers in this country will NOT be able to sell their goods to China and other nations because they know this is going to happen and have already set up buying from places like South America etc. There is another one, tariffs on things from Mexico (produce like tomatoes, avocados etc) will go up in price as well. Because of the same thing. You are correct on your last statement though the "Corporations" that donated heavily to his campaign will make out like bandits because their products will be higher in price and the labor will be cheap.
And you're so right in that there's gonna be a Trade War with countries slapping us with tariffs in retaliation (I would, if I were them :-/). On the one hand, I don't have a lot of sympathy for Trump voters who'll wind up paying a ton more for everything; I just wish they wouldn't've wound up tarring us with the same brush. X-P
And a big thing I'm worrying about here in one of the major agribusiness states is: if the Velveeta Vulgarian actually does something right (at least procedurally) and manages to deport every agricultural laborer, we won't even get the chance to sell any produce to anyone, because it'll be rotting in the fields. X-P
We need to start NOW. This is not a quick battle, done and over. Our opponent, as we have seen, is in this for the long game --> as long as they can get away with it. And they don't take breaks.
If majority, indeed, it was. I'm not ruling out massive dirty pool in the vote collection and reporting aspects, as well as the overt denial of access to the voting process across the board. But, yes, we proceed on the basis of the published results. With dignity, of course.
That was hardly the majority. Among voters it was a close race. But the only majority were the numbers who stayed home and didn't vote (a number unknown in the areas threatened by bomb scares) There were far more against Trump who just felt what was the bother anyway. So no the majority really said Trump is not worth it. I could care less for that idiot.
I try to make myself feel better by saying Harris won 60% of the US GDP in counties she carried (per Brookings). Trump only 40%. That is, until Trump destroys that. Saying Trump carried less than 50% of Michigan and Wisconsin and for now 50.3% of US is therapeutic but to quote one of my old coaches: that and a quarter will get you a stale donut. Of course now that donut would be $4.
As far as I can tell, there are a few issues that the DNC has, but we can break it into the ones we don't like and the ones they don't like. DNC demonstrated an elitist "we know better" attitude when they ousted Bernie Sanders. They said, "We don't care who you want, we're going to put Hillary up." They weren't even subtle about it, and they continue to act that way. It's no longer the party of the people, it's the party of the elitists who say they serve the people, but not enough to actually change anything. The last time they owned both houses and the presidency, they came down with a bad case of blue dogs and accomplished very little. When McConnell blocked supreme court appointments, they just let him stonewall. The entire party should have been on the podiums, fighting to get that stopped, and now we pay.
The issue that the R's don't like is that the D's have become the party of the minorities. It's a good thing that they're pro-women and pro-minority and pro-LGBTetc. It's a bad thing that they're anti-whiteman. This was the problem with the feminazies of every decade. They didn't just want to be equal, they wanted to flip the table and stand on the men's necks. As a guy who lives in an extremely feminist household, I can tell you that it sucks to be the least important person. One of my kids even told me that they thought the weeds in the back yard had more right to happiness than I did.
The flaw in that thinking is that, because I belong to a class of people that has a great deal of social advantage, that somehow I also get that social advantage, that none of my accomplishments are earned, and that I deserve to be whipped along side the rich white guys in congress. Are you surprised that men as a whole are going to resist that vision?
I'm expecting a lot of hate in response to this message. I'm being supportive. I am putting myself at risk by attempting to convey this message. I see the hostility coming, and yet I try to help. Every bit of hostility you see in response to this is exactly why the D's lost.
Thanks for sharing your perspective. Not here to scare anyone away, or cancel anyone. I think, from what I read, your heart is in the right place...against the fascists. The only peaceful way out of any of this is to be able to talk to our allies (or possible allies) politely without flying into shame / rage cycles. To not talk about it things and honor everyone's perspective is a big part of the problem.
I agree that I hate that term. It was coined by Rush Limbaugh, who is in hell. At the same time I am trying to listen to people and not paint ourselves into even more of a corner than we are already in.
The term exists to be hated. Consider the misspelling to be disrespect of the term. It was created to describe all feminists, but I'm limiting it specifically to those who seek supremacy. The pursuit of supremacy is the root of all evil (money is just our favorite way to keep score).
We all like to pretend that the extreme edges of our in-group doesn't exist, but they tend to be the vocal face that the out-group sees more than the reasonable ones. If you can, in all honesty, tell me that the vocal man-hating end of feminism doesn't exist, I'll replace that term with something gentler.
What I'm shooting for is an attempt to sympathize with the other side. This is how the kind father-figures react when they see the word misogynist, but we know and admit that it's a problem that needs attention. Can you see from those eyes?
You could do with a little education about feminism. There were basically two waves. The first, popularized by Betty Friedan was a call for equality in the workplace. Equal pay for equal work. Same chances for upward movement as men. Being given credit for work done.
The second wave was, simply stated, the movement to change our paternalistic institutions. To redefine public and private institutions, making them either defunct or totally remodeled. This has yet to occur in meaningful ways. Women are allowed in the patriarchy, but the fundamental structures are still there.
At no time has the feminist movement endorsed hating men. That is a fallacy. Any woman who hates men is no feminist. Feminism is about equality and the expectation of respect as humans.
If you have experienced women who hate men, don't be fooled that they represent anything other than themselves as individuals.
If you're talking about the organized cluster of women at the top, I agree with and recognize the accuracy of your statements. If you are trying to talk for all women who brand themselves feminists, then I think you're stepping outside of your purview.
Let's establish what we're talking about here. Do you consider the Me, Too Movement to be a feminist activity? If not then, by your standards, I'm mis-using the term feminist. If you do, then we need to talk about your definition of man-hating.
Yes, lets ask the DNC. BUT, if Bernie wants to ONLY blame them I think he's giving a pass to the large population of American voters that are terribly racist and sexist. I think we're letting them off the hook. And I'm curious how other folks think we need to 'address' this?
no one is only blaming them. Of course sexism and racism played a role. But we need to focus on what we can control, which is us and our message. There is no 'hook.' We have been lambasting and shaming their hideous choices for 8 years now and it didn't work.
I agree, totally. I guess I'm asking a more philosophical question of how to we repair such deep divisions that are predicated on centuries of racism and sexism? My prayer is that a large portion of folks that supported the little king because they believed he will solve their economic problems, not because they're particularly anti-immigrant, etc., when the shite hits the fan and their inflation gets WORSE, they'll turn on him and we can have hope again. I dunno; I'm a old historian that just seems us backsliding in our efforts to have a multi-racial democracy. But I'm still with you god, frealz ;-)
I can't remember atm who it was (might've been You, might've been David Gerrold, not sure), but he said something along the lines of that one of the mistakes we made with Hilary was that we were making it about Trump, rather than focusing on the issues voters were caring about. Sounds like we'd made the same mistake again. X-P
Also: Harris was trying to go for the populist jazz, but a couple of billionaires came up to her and said, "No, no, no; you need lots of money right now, appeal to the rich and don't scare them off!" So we apparently scared off everyone else. X-P
(BTW, God, You might know: what happened to all that USD1 billion we raked in? :( )
Annie, we have been addressing racism and misogyny since the 60's . I use that decade because it is the first one I could be active in. We had a fucking Civil War and the racism didn't change. We had The Great Society legislation and it didn't work.
Women suffragettes didn't even get to live to see the vote, for the most part.
These two wars are forever wars in this country. Every generation will have to step up.
My body, my Glock.
A losing statement ever made by a Democrat.
Dan Rather writes in his Substack that we need to tune in and not out; that we disengage at our own risk. To disengage would mean another win for facists. He goes on to say that the more people are aware of the issues, the better choices they make. More information is spread by social media than traditional channels. Rethugs have created the lie that they are the party of the working people, which they are most definitely not. I think it boils down to a severely uneducated public. We know that the reading comprehension in this country is appallingly low. Our education system is a mess; I see this first-hand. The ignorance is mind-boggling. I watched Jimmy Kimmel do one of his bits where they ask various people on the street about current events. They asked a woman what she knew about Amelia Earhart's disappearance. She responded that while she didn't know Amelia, she would pray for Amelia and her family for a safe return home, You can't just throw facts at these people; they don't get it. Solid evidence is the way to go. Farmers are going to find out about the tariffs soon enough. Now, I'm going to continue to ignore the news sites and bake some chocolate chip cookies.
I saw another one of those,when on the day after Election Day, he asked how they were going to vote. The ones he aired had no idea that Election Day was over or who was running. I wonder if they can be reached.
Doubtful.
I really could use a chocolate chip cookie right now.
Come over! They're still warm from the oven.
I’ll be right there!
I baked peanut butter chocolate chip cookies but I used almond butter instead
Trying to pace myself
We DO have to appeal to the "working class" NOT the middle class. Many don't understand that many of the "middle class" make pretty good money, have 401K's or IRAs that "working class people" do NOT! Second things have to be explained to everyone. Many have NEVER been through "inflation" until now, Many have NEVER been through a "recession" either. They also DON'T understand how Tariffs work.
The entire point of tariffs is to encourage and help manufacturers IN THE COUNTRY THAT LEVIES THEM. I.e., if the USA is levying tariffs on China, that should be a wake-up call to industries to make stuff in the USA, not just stop making things in China but go over to make things in Cambodia or some other country where people don't mind working for less than a dollar an hour or whatever. X-P
Even without inflation in this country, things like mortgage payments (even property tax, if you've paid the mortgage off) or rent, car payments, college loans (knew someone who was going to a technical school vs. college, and even those payments were through the ceiling), health care, etc., etc., etc. requires a higher hourly wage or salary than a dollar an hour. X-P
And even the Mar-a-Lago Marmalade can't force multinational corporations to do the right thing and make stuff here (would he even want to try?). X-P
There are a couple of ways that tariffs can go. Example 1 is electric cars. The Chinese are seriously subsidizing their electric car industry with the intent to gain market dominance. The Japanese did this in the 70's and 80's with the television business, and that's why the US doesn't manufacture televisions any more. In this case, the tariff offsets that factor, allowing domestic brands to stay in business. These are called "anti-dumping" tariffs.
The other way is the case of washing machines. In 2018, there wasn't a notable price disparity between US and foreign washing machines. When he put the tariffs in place, it raised the price of Chinese washing machines. The US manufacturers saw an opportunity for profit, so they also raised the prices of washing machines. This lowered overall volume, so they also increased the price of driers. US consumers paid 108% to 124% of the tariffs (yes, more than the actual tariffs) in increased cost of washing machines and driers.
Nancy I went to both college and Business School (not the Wharton kind) it used to be called Secretarial School. The problems with Tariffs is we put Tariffs on our stuff and the other countries put Tariffs on things that they make and send to our country. It just so happens that most electronics (phones, computers, radios, stereos etc) WILL go up in prices when these Tariffs hit. Also farmers in this country will NOT be able to sell their goods to China and other nations because they know this is going to happen and have already set up buying from places like South America etc. There is another one, tariffs on things from Mexico (produce like tomatoes, avocados etc) will go up in price as well. Because of the same thing. You are correct on your last statement though the "Corporations" that donated heavily to his campaign will make out like bandits because their products will be higher in price and the labor will be cheap.
Absolutely yeah. :-/
And you're so right in that there's gonna be a Trade War with countries slapping us with tariffs in retaliation (I would, if I were them :-/). On the one hand, I don't have a lot of sympathy for Trump voters who'll wind up paying a ton more for everything; I just wish they wouldn't've wound up tarring us with the same brush. X-P
And a big thing I'm worrying about here in one of the major agribusiness states is: if the Velveeta Vulgarian actually does something right (at least procedurally) and manages to deport every agricultural laborer, we won't even get the chance to sell any produce to anyone, because it'll be rotting in the fields. X-P
An awful lot of people are about to find out that the dildo of consequence doesn't come lubed.
You speak to my soul.
Free Palestine. 🇵🇸
Inflation due to price gouging and corporate greed
Agreed. Apparently it was a worldwide phenomenon of punishing incumbents this year for grocery prices. So stupid.
Sadly in a 2 party system the 2 parties are both cheeks of the same ass. Our "labour" party is not any different to the Tories.
Good evening again God and JFC.
I see the use of "Resistance" everywhere I look. I keep correcting it to "rebel", using it as a verb.
Resisting means avoiding stuff. Not believing shit. That's okay for small actions. I avoid all social media, corporate media, little things like that.
To rebel is to actively do something about it. You guys get it. I needed to say it out loud.
Oh yeah thanks.
Thank you! I see it too and I cringe every time.
I truly know this! And I know that we have to wait and see where things go in January THEN we have to regroup and focus on Midterms!
We need to start NOW. This is not a quick battle, done and over. Our opponent, as we have seen, is in this for the long game --> as long as they can get away with it. And they don't take breaks.
We know about Project 2025. I personally pray to Whoever that we have a better 2026.
When a majority of the country shows you who they are, believe them.
If majority, indeed, it was. I'm not ruling out massive dirty pool in the vote collection and reporting aspects, as well as the overt denial of access to the voting process across the board. But, yes, we proceed on the basis of the published results. With dignity, of course.
That was hardly the majority. Among voters it was a close race. But the only majority were the numbers who stayed home and didn't vote (a number unknown in the areas threatened by bomb scares) There were far more against Trump who just felt what was the bother anyway. So no the majority really said Trump is not worth it. I could care less for that idiot.
God and Jesus 2028. If I was in the US I'd vote for you.
#4yearsofRebellion then God/Jesus 2028 FTW
I try to make myself feel better by saying Harris won 60% of the US GDP in counties she carried (per Brookings). Trump only 40%. That is, until Trump destroys that. Saying Trump carried less than 50% of Michigan and Wisconsin and for now 50.3% of US is therapeutic but to quote one of my old coaches: that and a quarter will get you a stale donut. Of course now that donut would be $4.
Yes; all that matters is victory.
Some victories come with your army going home beaten and depleted of weapons. The next fight leaves them weak.
Thanks for the podcast God and JFC. I know it brings up that crucifixion mess, but Dead Jesus is better than Deadpool. Sorry JFC.
I agree with you guys. The Progressives are right. We went with the wrong message as a party. Oops.
This is gonna hurt.
Oh yeah thanks.
As far as I can tell, there are a few issues that the DNC has, but we can break it into the ones we don't like and the ones they don't like. DNC demonstrated an elitist "we know better" attitude when they ousted Bernie Sanders. They said, "We don't care who you want, we're going to put Hillary up." They weren't even subtle about it, and they continue to act that way. It's no longer the party of the people, it's the party of the elitists who say they serve the people, but not enough to actually change anything. The last time they owned both houses and the presidency, they came down with a bad case of blue dogs and accomplished very little. When McConnell blocked supreme court appointments, they just let him stonewall. The entire party should have been on the podiums, fighting to get that stopped, and now we pay.
The issue that the R's don't like is that the D's have become the party of the minorities. It's a good thing that they're pro-women and pro-minority and pro-LGBTetc. It's a bad thing that they're anti-whiteman. This was the problem with the feminazies of every decade. They didn't just want to be equal, they wanted to flip the table and stand on the men's necks. As a guy who lives in an extremely feminist household, I can tell you that it sucks to be the least important person. One of my kids even told me that they thought the weeds in the back yard had more right to happiness than I did.
The flaw in that thinking is that, because I belong to a class of people that has a great deal of social advantage, that somehow I also get that social advantage, that none of my accomplishments are earned, and that I deserve to be whipped along side the rich white guys in congress. Are you surprised that men as a whole are going to resist that vision?
I'm expecting a lot of hate in response to this message. I'm being supportive. I am putting myself at risk by attempting to convey this message. I see the hostility coming, and yet I try to help. Every bit of hostility you see in response to this is exactly why the D's lost.
Thanks for sharing your perspective. Not here to scare anyone away, or cancel anyone. I think, from what I read, your heart is in the right place...against the fascists. The only peaceful way out of any of this is to be able to talk to our allies (or possible allies) politely without flying into shame / rage cycles. To not talk about it things and honor everyone's perspective is a big part of the problem.
How is it okay to call women "feminazies". Not my spelling. His spelling. God, you really can't let people be abusive in your space. It's not alright.
I agree that I hate that term. It was coined by Rush Limbaugh, who is in hell. At the same time I am trying to listen to people and not paint ourselves into even more of a corner than we are already in.
"The only way anyone can live in peace is if they're prepared to forgive." --the 12th Doctor, /Doctor Who/, "The Zygon Inversion"
The term exists to be hated. Consider the misspelling to be disrespect of the term. It was created to describe all feminists, but I'm limiting it specifically to those who seek supremacy. The pursuit of supremacy is the root of all evil (money is just our favorite way to keep score).
We all like to pretend that the extreme edges of our in-group doesn't exist, but they tend to be the vocal face that the out-group sees more than the reasonable ones. If you can, in all honesty, tell me that the vocal man-hating end of feminism doesn't exist, I'll replace that term with something gentler.
What I'm shooting for is an attempt to sympathize with the other side. This is how the kind father-figures react when they see the word misogynist, but we know and admit that it's a problem that needs attention. Can you see from those eyes?
You could do with a little education about feminism. There were basically two waves. The first, popularized by Betty Friedan was a call for equality in the workplace. Equal pay for equal work. Same chances for upward movement as men. Being given credit for work done.
The second wave was, simply stated, the movement to change our paternalistic institutions. To redefine public and private institutions, making them either defunct or totally remodeled. This has yet to occur in meaningful ways. Women are allowed in the patriarchy, but the fundamental structures are still there.
At no time has the feminist movement endorsed hating men. That is a fallacy. Any woman who hates men is no feminist. Feminism is about equality and the expectation of respect as humans.
If you have experienced women who hate men, don't be fooled that they represent anything other than themselves as individuals.
If you're talking about the organized cluster of women at the top, I agree with and recognize the accuracy of your statements. If you are trying to talk for all women who brand themselves feminists, then I think you're stepping outside of your purview.
Let's establish what we're talking about here. Do you consider the Me, Too Movement to be a feminist activity? If not then, by your standards, I'm mis-using the term feminist. If you do, then we need to talk about your definition of man-hating.
The Me Too movement was not a feminist movement. Some describe it as post-feminist.
It was backlash for sexual harassment and assault in the workplace or institutions.
We need more men like you to speak the truth. We were created equal. Not one to rule the other.
Yes, lets ask the DNC. BUT, if Bernie wants to ONLY blame them I think he's giving a pass to the large population of American voters that are terribly racist and sexist. I think we're letting them off the hook. And I'm curious how other folks think we need to 'address' this?
no one is only blaming them. Of course sexism and racism played a role. But we need to focus on what we can control, which is us and our message. There is no 'hook.' We have been lambasting and shaming their hideous choices for 8 years now and it didn't work.
I agree, totally. I guess I'm asking a more philosophical question of how to we repair such deep divisions that are predicated on centuries of racism and sexism? My prayer is that a large portion of folks that supported the little king because they believed he will solve their economic problems, not because they're particularly anti-immigrant, etc., when the shite hits the fan and their inflation gets WORSE, they'll turn on him and we can have hope again. I dunno; I'm a old historian that just seems us backsliding in our efforts to have a multi-racial democracy. But I'm still with you god, frealz ;-)
I can't remember atm who it was (might've been You, might've been David Gerrold, not sure), but he said something along the lines of that one of the mistakes we made with Hilary was that we were making it about Trump, rather than focusing on the issues voters were caring about. Sounds like we'd made the same mistake again. X-P
Also: Harris was trying to go for the populist jazz, but a couple of billionaires came up to her and said, "No, no, no; you need lots of money right now, appeal to the rich and don't scare them off!" So we apparently scared off everyone else. X-P
(BTW, God, You might know: what happened to all that USD1 billion we raked in? :( )
Annie, we have been addressing racism and misogyny since the 60's . I use that decade because it is the first one I could be active in. We had a fucking Civil War and the racism didn't change. We had The Great Society legislation and it didn't work.
Women suffragettes didn't even get to live to see the vote, for the most part.
These two wars are forever wars in this country. Every generation will have to step up.
Word. Sadly ... word.
Nemic's manifesto!
one way out ✊