My plan is to basically chill until he’s in office. It’s been exhausting. Three elections in a row now trying to shake this guy like a case of shingles. The people in this country who made this possible are disgusting. They got what they wanted and deserve what it will get them.
I understand you are tired. But, I have to keep fighting for my 3 week old granddaughter that looks very much like her father and me! Every time I hold her I vow to myself that she DESERVES to grow up in a democracy not the shit that the Orange idiot will bring!!!
Harriet Tubman is/was one of my childhood heroes. The story of the URR takes a strong soul to look deeply into. It is powerfully emotional but rewarding. Much respect.
Harriett was an awe inspiring movie. What grit, determination, and courage that woman had. She is one of my role models along with Booker T Washington, and MLK. My early childhood I followed Babe Didrickson Zaharias and Amelia Earhart. Since I was 10 y.o. I pushed back on my upbringing, my parents, and my community. That's when I became a rebel. I knew they were wrong. Power to the people.
As an old, white Vietnam veteran I don't know if I'll still be around in 4 years but I promise you, Steve, I will stand up and fight like you do against the cult of the Tangerine Traitor.
Thank you for all you have done and continue to do to use truth and FACTS to obliterate the "alternative facts" of the cult.
I'll stand by you and with you until I can no longer stand.
Steve, I will never give up. I have been watching, and even knowing what was going to happen, I was shellshocked Tuesday and Wednesday. Today I am somewhat a changed person but am now back to the boards continuing with the fight. I got my daughter up from the despair yesterday and she is getting strong also. I don't know yet what we all will do but move forward we will.
Meanwhile PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, pretty PLEASE do NOT put his picture in your emails any longer (I can't take it anymore) as I can't look at him.
There is too much finger-pointing in the Dem base now. When we are finish with the circular firing squad, we will have completed the job of tearing us apart that the MAGAs set out to do. I urge us all to listen to the acceptance speech of Josh Stein of NC. Everything that he says is everything that Kamala said and included in her policy positions. There was nothing she left undone except to maybe explain how she would improve upon what Pres. Biden did.
Democrats always speak about working men and women and always put forth policies to benefit people beginning with Medicare and Social Security, Obamacare, school lunch programs for disadvantaged children, and all the other governmental programs that are run to help families and children and working men and women. The GOP always uses the good that we try do or the good we achieve against us by calling us "socialists" "communists" or worse. How is that not understood? We, and our base have fallen for the disinformation and lies that are told over and over again on social media and RW cable news and their talking heads.
No question we need to do a better job of countering the lies and misinformation and we need to do it on the same battlefield as the GOP and their MAGA base. Joe Biden is one of the best Presidents we have had and Kamala was a loyal VP and one hell of a candidate on such short notice. The millions of people who actually came out and supported her and voted for her are the wave of our future base. Stop blaming those at the top of our party and engage in ways to help them. Biden and Kamala walked the picket lines. They stood by workers. They have always stood by workers.
Race and gender are still a huge part of our political headwinds, even for many of our own base. We always expect more and demand more from women and persons of color while asking little more of white male leaders than just being present . It is easier to point fingers and find problems than it is to give a pat on the back and work on solutions to problems. Listen to Josh Stein (NC) and tell me if he said anything different from what Joe and Kamala have been saying all along. Josh won his race in a sea of MAGA red on the very same principles and policies that Joe and Kamala presented.
More than anything, we are to blame if anyone is to blame. The numbers show that our base DID NOT vote in the record numbers we had hoped for. Michelle Obama pleaded with us to "do something." Too many of us didn't vote at all. We didn't do all that we could have. We didn't vote. Race and gender are the biggest problems facing America.
Trump and his ilk have been very successful in turning the Dem base against each other by inciting angst between some Latinos and other immigrants against black Americans. And let's face it, the history of how blacks (African Americans) have been treated and thought of in this country is known and understood world-wide. Many immigrants come here believing that being against blacks will make them more acceptable to the majority. Frankly, I do not believe that Democrats have turned their backs on working middle class and poor families. Working men and women have allowed social media and RW outlet lies and misinformation to turn them against Democrats. THINK ABOUT THAT!!
Well said. The biggest challenge, I think, is how to counteract the propaganda spewing from Fox News, OAN, Newsmax, X, etc. Especially since we can’t MAKE people turn from them to reputable news sources.
The substacks can provide better information than commercial television. But the subscription fees are keeping working class folks from funding them. Groceries come first before any subscription walls. We need better business models.
You can read them and learn for free. I read a while b4 joining to ensure I'll like the writer. Of course one needs pretty good reading and comprehension skills.
Yes, reading is very important. But having the ability to express your own opinion is – all too often – being denied to many of those who are confronted by the pay walls. They can read but they cannot talk.
Why has Biden kept silent? He should be out there, questioning the validity of the election. What were Elon Musk and Putin discussing: The codes in Trump's bathtub? Who told who to fake bomb threats at all the important polling places? What happened to all the votes that the MILLIONS who came to Kamala's speeches cast? There were more voters registered for this election than the previous one--yet fewer votes. (?)
I guess you wrote this before Joe's address to the nation this morning. Dems and those with us, follow the rule of law, just as Joe spoke: the peaceful transfer of power. More people voted for the other guy & he got more Electoral votes. We are still here, ready to ride again.
Yes. I was disappointed with Joe Biden. He has some time to act and be seen to be something more than a toad. Check out the activities of Abraham Lincoln, Americas greatest president, when the confederates started causing trouble in Maryland, 1860.
As always, Steve, you speak crystal clear, hard truth. Thank you.
We're all exhausted, half the nation, sad. My son-in-law read this, and sent it to me, knowing how I'm feeling. I can't attribute it to a specific writer, but they are someone else's words, and I thank him: "You are awakening to the same country you fell asleep to. The very same country. Pull yourself together. And, when you see me and ask: "What do we do now? How do we get trough the next four years?" Some of our Ancestors dealt with at least 400 years of this under worse conditions. Continue to do the good work. Continue to build bridges not walls. Continue to lead with compassion. Continue the demanding work of equity, fairness, and liberation for all. Continue to dismantle broken systems. Continue to set the best example for our children. Continue to be a vessel of nourishing joy. You can continue right where you are. Start now."
This is calming and truthful and enlightening. This is GOOD work.
Steve, do you sincerely believe that Harris’s gaffe on The View or Biden‘s late exit from the race had any significant effect on the election results? Let’s stop the blame game and redirect our focus on the half of our population that has gone over to the dark side.
Lawrence O'Donnell of MSNBC pointed out that there are some voters in the states that are not among the Swing States who are tired of never having any influence in the presidential outcomes. They stopped voting as a result. Lost are their votes for other offices on the ballot. This reminds us of the voters who routinely skip the midterm elections. One benefit of eliminating the Electoral College is the gain of the feeling of agency in all elections.
I’ve stopped crying. For me, I had to get through that “moment” and process. I was away from my family traveling for work in a Texas hotel alone watching the returns come in. The experience was horrific. I have never felt so miserable.
Now that I’ve had some time to take all this in - You’re right, Steve. Thanks for being you and staying the course. Now feel ready, but first I needed to feel okay. I’ve picked myself up off the floor and I’m ready. I’m all in for our country and the true spirit of America as much as ever. Thanks always for your leadership.
I’m glad you’re feeling better. I think I am going through the various stages of grief, for lack of better phrasing. I must admit, given all the MAGA people who live around me, I despise them all. It will be hard to shake that. And I no longer want to have contact with two friends who told me they voted MAGA. I have to work on these things.
Feel the same… I’ve lost so many people in my life. But kindness and values I cannot ever put aside. We are in the right, John. Stay the course - you’re not alone.
Steve, please continue your brilliant commentary- it is keeping me hopeful until I leave the country for 5 months in December- I always read your Substack when I'm out of the country- thank you so much for your input!!
Nothing good can come from having RFK Jr. in charge of the CDC or NIH. Nothing good can come from having Herschel Walker head a program to develop a missile shield or putting other unqualified and corrupt Trump cronies like Stephen Miller, Steve Bannon, or Roger Stone in charge of government departments and agencies about which they know nothing, or Trump taking direct control over the Federal Reserve, as he has threatened.
But one minute, there will be one good result. Americans will be forced to face the consequences of putting an incompetent, greedy con man in our highest office. It will bring Trump and Maga down or they may take all of us with them by causing WWIII.
The latest ridiculous suggestion for a cabinet appointment, floated by slovenly Steve Bannon, is MTG for Secretary of Homeland Security.
I am beginning to feel as if we should sit back and watch the looney-tunes surrounding Trump burn the house down. They will destroy this country with their greed, incompetence and corruption. We will have to help America arise, like a phoenix, from the ashes.
As a former "canuck", myself, and also an older reader, I share your concerns and I am happy to pass on your Warnings. Your writing is well documented and researched, and I value your insight. Keep up your good work. I fear and hope for our future, but mostly for the youngest among us, whose future is uncertain should that is promised be set into motion.
I am troubled by a few niggling events.....first the base of big mouths and the leader were too subdued over tuesday night. Second during the entire night he tweeted??, Truth Socialed??....very lttle from any of them. is that a tell!
A theory: in March of of 2021 Stone and others hatched a plan to never leave him without his brad rafensberg request being in their control....i just need to find xxxx votes....thats all just xxxx"
in this scenario what they did was start slowly registering fictitios voters or a large group of believers who vote infrequently, in the key states, agreed to work with them.....and stay quiet about it and all of these "voters" would vote a straight republican ticket in mail in ballots across a wide measure of small precents so its not one giant block of votes.....that is how all the polls missed on all the senate battles and how in the end the margin of difference was lots of incrmental improvements in small townships and towns in the key states....
i suggest someone look at the voter rolls across some of these states.....see if my theory holds water....the entire behavior was suspicious and out of character...someone look at it...
are there a lot of first time voters in these small towns who voted by mail, straight republican and are really not there or seemed to have shown up just for this vote...
worth a look? or am I actually channeling the sore loser feeling....surely both are possible...or are they??? am i just delusional? also possible...either or any way. i am hopeful that some guardrails hold...
Yes, I think it is worth a look. I too find the election numbers baffling. The results were nowhere near being close, but we had been told constantly it was neck and neck.
Dave I couldn't AGREE with you more! My intuition tells me something about the election isn't tight at all! THERE IS NO WAY THAT TRUMP OVERWHELMING WON! AND IM NOT BEING A SORE LOSER EITHER! AGAIN HE GOT AWAY WITH STEALNG ANOTHER CRIME! "STEALNG THE ELECTION!!!" IT SHOULD BE LOOKED INTO DEFINITELY! HOW CONVENIENTLY THE RECKLESS REPUBLICANS WON ALL OF THE HOUSES ALSO! NO FRIGGEN WAY! RIGGED! BIG TIME!
What a large quotient of voting Americans has done to our democratic republic by dint of electing an evil psychopath named Trump as president is, in an important respect, even more pathological and suicidal than what the German people did in enabling Hitler’s rise to fascist totalitarianism in their country. Whereas the Germans handed Hitler a losing vote percentage of about 35% in the 1932 election, it took President von Hindenburg to appoint Hitler Chancellor in 1933 to elevate him into power and form a government, concatenating into the Holocaust. By contrast, Americans willingly and knowingly just gave Trump their vote and mandate for barbarity, despite his proven unfitness when previously holding that position. Bottom line? Germans paved the way for dictator Hitler with their eyes wide shut; Americans paved the way for their dictator Trump with their eyes wide open. So, in comparison, which nation’s population owns the greater moral responsibility for greasing the skids to catastrophe?
My plan is to basically chill until he’s in office. It’s been exhausting. Three elections in a row now trying to shake this guy like a case of shingles. The people in this country who made this possible are disgusting. They got what they wanted and deserve what it will get them.
I understand you are tired. But, I have to keep fighting for my 3 week old granddaughter that looks very much like her father and me! Every time I hold her I vow to myself that she DESERVES to grow up in a democracy not the shit that the Orange idiot will bring!!!
But WE don’t!
We will all pay the price that they deserve. I'm going to start reading about the underground RR and the french resistence.
Harriet Tubman is/was one of my childhood heroes. The story of the URR takes a strong soul to look deeply into. It is powerfully emotional but rewarding. Much respect.
Harriett was an awe inspiring movie. What grit, determination, and courage that woman had. She is one of my role models along with Booker T Washington, and MLK. My early childhood I followed Babe Didrickson Zaharias and Amelia Earhart. Since I was 10 y.o. I pushed back on my upbringing, my parents, and my community. That's when I became a rebel. I knew they were wrong. Power to the people.
Ron, I agree it is what it is!!!
Correct.
As an old, white Vietnam veteran I don't know if I'll still be around in 4 years but I promise you, Steve, I will stand up and fight like you do against the cult of the Tangerine Traitor.
Thank you for all you have done and continue to do to use truth and FACTS to obliterate the "alternative facts" of the cult.
I'll stand by you and with you until I can no longer stand.
Me too Chuck. I'm a Viet Nam era girl. I agree. Thank you for your service, btw.
Thank you
I want to give multiple likes to you both ~Like Like Like Like Like Like Like Like. and on
...
Steve, I will never give up. I have been watching, and even knowing what was going to happen, I was shellshocked Tuesday and Wednesday. Today I am somewhat a changed person but am now back to the boards continuing with the fight. I got my daughter up from the despair yesterday and she is getting strong also. I don't know yet what we all will do but move forward we will.
Meanwhile PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, pretty PLEASE do NOT put his picture in your emails any longer (I can't take it anymore) as I can't look at him.
There is too much finger-pointing in the Dem base now. When we are finish with the circular firing squad, we will have completed the job of tearing us apart that the MAGAs set out to do. I urge us all to listen to the acceptance speech of Josh Stein of NC. Everything that he says is everything that Kamala said and included in her policy positions. There was nothing she left undone except to maybe explain how she would improve upon what Pres. Biden did.
Democrats always speak about working men and women and always put forth policies to benefit people beginning with Medicare and Social Security, Obamacare, school lunch programs for disadvantaged children, and all the other governmental programs that are run to help families and children and working men and women. The GOP always uses the good that we try do or the good we achieve against us by calling us "socialists" "communists" or worse. How is that not understood? We, and our base have fallen for the disinformation and lies that are told over and over again on social media and RW cable news and their talking heads.
No question we need to do a better job of countering the lies and misinformation and we need to do it on the same battlefield as the GOP and their MAGA base. Joe Biden is one of the best Presidents we have had and Kamala was a loyal VP and one hell of a candidate on such short notice. The millions of people who actually came out and supported her and voted for her are the wave of our future base. Stop blaming those at the top of our party and engage in ways to help them. Biden and Kamala walked the picket lines. They stood by workers. They have always stood by workers.
Race and gender are still a huge part of our political headwinds, even for many of our own base. We always expect more and demand more from women and persons of color while asking little more of white male leaders than just being present . It is easier to point fingers and find problems than it is to give a pat on the back and work on solutions to problems. Listen to Josh Stein (NC) and tell me if he said anything different from what Joe and Kamala have been saying all along. Josh won his race in a sea of MAGA red on the very same principles and policies that Joe and Kamala presented.
More than anything, we are to blame if anyone is to blame. The numbers show that our base DID NOT vote in the record numbers we had hoped for. Michelle Obama pleaded with us to "do something." Too many of us didn't vote at all. We didn't do all that we could have. We didn't vote. Race and gender are the biggest problems facing America.
Trump and his ilk have been very successful in turning the Dem base against each other by inciting angst between some Latinos and other immigrants against black Americans. And let's face it, the history of how blacks (African Americans) have been treated and thought of in this country is known and understood world-wide. Many immigrants come here believing that being against blacks will make them more acceptable to the majority. Frankly, I do not believe that Democrats have turned their backs on working middle class and poor families. Working men and women have allowed social media and RW outlet lies and misinformation to turn them against Democrats. THINK ABOUT THAT!!
Well said. The biggest challenge, I think, is how to counteract the propaganda spewing from Fox News, OAN, Newsmax, X, etc. Especially since we can’t MAKE people turn from them to reputable news sources.
The substacks can provide better information than commercial television. But the subscription fees are keeping working class folks from funding them. Groceries come first before any subscription walls. We need better business models.
You can read them and learn for free. I read a while b4 joining to ensure I'll like the writer. Of course one needs pretty good reading and comprehension skills.
Sandra,
Yes, reading is very important. But having the ability to express your own opinion is – all too often – being denied to many of those who are confronted by the pay walls. They can read but they cannot talk.
Your best yet Steve! I am in the fight with at age 71 I do not know how many years I have left but I do know that I want to outlive the Orange Idiot!!
Why has Biden kept silent? He should be out there, questioning the validity of the election. What were Elon Musk and Putin discussing: The codes in Trump's bathtub? Who told who to fake bomb threats at all the important polling places? What happened to all the votes that the MILLIONS who came to Kamala's speeches cast? There were more voters registered for this election than the previous one--yet fewer votes. (?)
Where has been “Merrick the Meek?!“ Is he still alive?
I guess you wrote this before Joe's address to the nation this morning. Dems and those with us, follow the rule of law, just as Joe spoke: the peaceful transfer of power. More people voted for the other guy & he got more Electoral votes. We are still here, ready to ride again.
Yes. I was disappointed with Joe Biden. He has some time to act and be seen to be something more than a toad. Check out the activities of Abraham Lincoln, Americas greatest president, when the confederates started causing trouble in Maryland, 1860.
Great questions!! I too am asking the same ones! But as usual it will be swept under the rug!
As always, Steve, you speak crystal clear, hard truth. Thank you.
We're all exhausted, half the nation, sad. My son-in-law read this, and sent it to me, knowing how I'm feeling. I can't attribute it to a specific writer, but they are someone else's words, and I thank him: "You are awakening to the same country you fell asleep to. The very same country. Pull yourself together. And, when you see me and ask: "What do we do now? How do we get trough the next four years?" Some of our Ancestors dealt with at least 400 years of this under worse conditions. Continue to do the good work. Continue to build bridges not walls. Continue to lead with compassion. Continue the demanding work of equity, fairness, and liberation for all. Continue to dismantle broken systems. Continue to set the best example for our children. Continue to be a vessel of nourishing joy. You can continue right where you are. Start now."
This is calming and truthful and enlightening. This is GOOD work.
I'll be watching you everyday for the next for years for your wisdom and truth Steve!
Thank you, Gina!
Steve
Me too
Steve, do you sincerely believe that Harris’s gaffe on The View or Biden‘s late exit from the race had any significant effect on the election results? Let’s stop the blame game and redirect our focus on the half of our population that has gone over to the dark side.
There are many factors, and yes, I do believe that those are two significant contributing ones.
Lawrence O'Donnell of MSNBC pointed out that there are some voters in the states that are not among the Swing States who are tired of never having any influence in the presidential outcomes. They stopped voting as a result. Lost are their votes for other offices on the ballot. This reminds us of the voters who routinely skip the midterm elections. One benefit of eliminating the Electoral College is the gain of the feeling of agency in all elections.
I never watch the View. It is a silly show.
I’ve stopped crying. For me, I had to get through that “moment” and process. I was away from my family traveling for work in a Texas hotel alone watching the returns come in. The experience was horrific. I have never felt so miserable.
Now that I’ve had some time to take all this in - You’re right, Steve. Thanks for being you and staying the course. Now feel ready, but first I needed to feel okay. I’ve picked myself up off the floor and I’m ready. I’m all in for our country and the true spirit of America as much as ever. Thanks always for your leadership.
I’m glad you’re feeling better. I think I am going through the various stages of grief, for lack of better phrasing. I must admit, given all the MAGA people who live around me, I despise them all. It will be hard to shake that. And I no longer want to have contact with two friends who told me they voted MAGA. I have to work on these things.
Feel the same… I’ve lost so many people in my life. But kindness and values I cannot ever put aside. We are in the right, John. Stay the course - you’re not alone.
When they get bogged down and stuck in the mud, WE BETTER BE READY TO POUNCE. We may get only one chance to eliminate this snake, lets make it count.
Steve, please continue your brilliant commentary- it is keeping me hopeful until I leave the country for 5 months in December- I always read your Substack when I'm out of the country- thank you so much for your input!!
Nothing good can come from having RFK Jr. in charge of the CDC or NIH. Nothing good can come from having Herschel Walker head a program to develop a missile shield or putting other unqualified and corrupt Trump cronies like Stephen Miller, Steve Bannon, or Roger Stone in charge of government departments and agencies about which they know nothing, or Trump taking direct control over the Federal Reserve, as he has threatened.
But one minute, there will be one good result. Americans will be forced to face the consequences of putting an incompetent, greedy con man in our highest office. It will bring Trump and Maga down or they may take all of us with them by causing WWIII.
The latest ridiculous suggestion for a cabinet appointment, floated by slovenly Steve Bannon, is MTG for Secretary of Homeland Security.
I am beginning to feel as if we should sit back and watch the looney-tunes surrounding Trump burn the house down. They will destroy this country with their greed, incompetence and corruption. We will have to help America arise, like a phoenix, from the ashes.
As a former "canuck", myself, and also an older reader, I share your concerns and I am happy to pass on your Warnings. Your writing is well documented and researched, and I value your insight. Keep up your good work. I fear and hope for our future, but mostly for the youngest among us, whose future is uncertain should that is promised be set into motion.
I am troubled by a few niggling events.....first the base of big mouths and the leader were too subdued over tuesday night. Second during the entire night he tweeted??, Truth Socialed??....very lttle from any of them. is that a tell!
A theory: in March of of 2021 Stone and others hatched a plan to never leave him without his brad rafensberg request being in their control....i just need to find xxxx votes....thats all just xxxx"
in this scenario what they did was start slowly registering fictitios voters or a large group of believers who vote infrequently, in the key states, agreed to work with them.....and stay quiet about it and all of these "voters" would vote a straight republican ticket in mail in ballots across a wide measure of small precents so its not one giant block of votes.....that is how all the polls missed on all the senate battles and how in the end the margin of difference was lots of incrmental improvements in small townships and towns in the key states....
i suggest someone look at the voter rolls across some of these states.....see if my theory holds water....the entire behavior was suspicious and out of character...someone look at it...
are there a lot of first time voters in these small towns who voted by mail, straight republican and are really not there or seemed to have shown up just for this vote...
worth a look? or am I actually channeling the sore loser feeling....surely both are possible...or are they??? am i just delusional? also possible...either or any way. i am hopeful that some guardrails hold...
anyway ill go back to my single malt.
Yes, I think it is worth a look. I too find the election numbers baffling. The results were nowhere near being close, but we had been told constantly it was neck and neck.
Dave I couldn't AGREE with you more! My intuition tells me something about the election isn't tight at all! THERE IS NO WAY THAT TRUMP OVERWHELMING WON! AND IM NOT BEING A SORE LOSER EITHER! AGAIN HE GOT AWAY WITH STEALNG ANOTHER CRIME! "STEALNG THE ELECTION!!!" IT SHOULD BE LOOKED INTO DEFINITELY! HOW CONVENIENTLY THE RECKLESS REPUBLICANS WON ALL OF THE HOUSES ALSO! NO FRIGGEN WAY! RIGGED! BIG TIME!
What a large quotient of voting Americans has done to our democratic republic by dint of electing an evil psychopath named Trump as president is, in an important respect, even more pathological and suicidal than what the German people did in enabling Hitler’s rise to fascist totalitarianism in their country. Whereas the Germans handed Hitler a losing vote percentage of about 35% in the 1932 election, it took President von Hindenburg to appoint Hitler Chancellor in 1933 to elevate him into power and form a government, concatenating into the Holocaust. By contrast, Americans willingly and knowingly just gave Trump their vote and mandate for barbarity, despite his proven unfitness when previously holding that position. Bottom line? Germans paved the way for dictator Hitler with their eyes wide shut; Americans paved the way for their dictator Trump with their eyes wide open. So, in comparison, which nation’s population owns the greater moral responsibility for greasing the skids to catastrophe?