I'm thrilled to share that @PenguinRandom and @DiverseBooks are launching the Michelle Obama Award for Memoir, a new creative writing award focused on memoir for public high school students.
On October 28, President Barack Obama is headed to Atlanta, Georgia to campaign for Stacey Abrams and Reverend Raphael Warnock! LFG! ✊🏾 pic.twitter.com/KQMn0UwfsX
— Madam Vice President Harris is THEE GOAT! (@flywithkamala) October 15, 2022
Barack Obama sits down for his first major interview of the midterm season to talk about the state of democracy here and abroad, the escalating situation in Iran and the ongoing war in Ukraine, and how Democrats can appeal to the broadest coalition of voters.
Pod Save America:
“New video from @danpfeiffer and @cornellbelcher
on political ads from Herschel Walker, Beto O’Rourke and Mandela Barnes. Go watch on the Pod Save America YouTube:”
"What's developing here is a crisis of credibility and I fear that the senior most leaders at FBI and even at other intel agencies as we continue to learn… every day, who knew what, when, and that it was a lot more than we thought…" – @FrankFigliuzzi1 w/ @NicolleDWallacepic.twitter.com/WrQBqgj6Od
Remarks by President Biden on the Student Debt Relief Portal Beta Test
South Court Auditorium
Eisenhower Executive Office Building
“Less than eight weeks ago, I announced my administration’s plan to forgive up to $10,000 in federal student debt and up to $20,000 if you received a Pell Grant for folks earning less than $125,000 a year.
Today, I’m announcing how millions — millions of people, working- and middle-class folks, can apply for — to get this relief. And it’s simple, and it’s now. It’s easy. It’s fast.
At the end of my remarks, I’m going to officially launch this new ap- — new application site at StudentAid.gov. StudentAid.gov.
You’ll be able to fill out your name, Social Security number, date of birth, and contact information. No forms to upload. No special log-in to remember. It’s available in English and in Spanish, on desktop and mobile.
It takes less than five minutes. And if you have any questions, you follow up — we will be able to follow up with you. ”
FACT SHEET: Cheaper Hearing Aids Now in Stores Thanks to Biden-Harris Administration Competition Agenda
“To lower the price of hearing aids and expand access, President Biden’s Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy called on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to make hearing aids available over the counter, without a prescription. That is now reality. Starting today, hearings aids are now on store shelves across the country—for thousands of dollars less than they previously cost.”
Michelle and I voted early today. Now it’s your turn. Check your voter registration or update it at https://t.co/XdZz4dhFSr, then make a plan to vote early or on Election Day. Because every vote matters. pic.twitter.com/b5vB4yjYbx
Barack, Michelle Obama vote early in Chicago
President Obama joked that he missed the days when voters could ‘punch’ a ballot for straight-ticket voting.
“After voting, Michelle Obama said in a tweet, “Today, I voted early in the 2022 midterm elections! I want to see you turning out to vote with your voting squad. Barack’s in my #VotingSquad — who’s in yours? Tag them below and remind them to register and make a plan to vote.”
Former President Barack Obama, Michelle Obama vote in Loop, surprise students on Chicago visit
“There will always be people who will doubt you, there will always be people who are gonna set your bar low,” Michelle Obama said. “And the only way you can work against that is to work with your own mindset.”
“Share stories of what brought us together, form relationships of trust and then try and start working together to solve some of these problems,” Obama said. “One problem at a time because you are also not going solve to everything at once.”
Former President Obama said events like the one are a model for what he plans to do more of at the Obama Center in Jackson Park, which is expected to open in 2025.
Barack Obama Surprises Chicago Students With Appearance At Youth Event
The former president joined a panel at an all-day youth summit Monday, discussing the challenges young people and young organizers face in the city.
Melody Mercado
“Once we set it up, we want that to be a convening space where we can have events like this all the time. Not just once in a while, but an open space, meeting rooms, facilities, activities that give people the opportunity to realize you’re not alone in whatever it is that you’re doing. That a lot of other people have the same experiences,” Obama said.
CHICAGO – Today, President and Mrs. Obama surprised Chicago youth at events aimed at understanding student experiences and shining a light on resources, programs, and organizations that empower youth across the city.
Report reveals greater extent of Trump admin interference in CDC than previously known
Rep. James Clyburn, chair of the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, talks with Rachel Maddow about a new report containing the results of the committee’s investigation into the Trump administration’s handling of the Covid epidemic and the surprising extent of its corruption of the CDC’s public output.
CDC used to be “walled off” from political interference.
imo, remembering the nightmare that happened during Covid as CDC tried to protect us from the worst medical crisis in 100 years. The trump administration was ready and willing to let hundreds of thousands of human beings die, while destroying the CDC to make themselves look better.
–Hold trump to account for his negligence and corruption during Covid.
–We remember.
Rachel Maddow explained that Democrats are showing voters in the midterm election that not only is democracy better than fascism but that it delivers results that make your life better.
Maddow said:
“Look at the highest profile actions that President Biden and the Democrats have taken in the lead-up to this election. President Biden and Democrats passed legislation to lower the cost of prescription drugs, to literally put a cap on the amount that seniors can pay out out-of-pocket.
Republican senators announced their plan to repeal it and make you pay more for prescriptions. President Biden came up to a plan to reduce people’s student loan debt. Again for millions and millions and millions of Americans, a hugely practical financial improvement in your lives. Republican states are suing to try to get rid of that. To make you pay more for your student loans. President Biden recently pardoned people with convictions of marijuana possession. And these kinds of initiatives from the Democrats, these are implicitly an argument for democracy, right? I mean, you see where I’m going with this.
The way you argue for democracy is not just by pointing the finger at people that want violence and fascism saying, whoa, that’s bad. That always works out badly. You have to make the positive case that democracy is a good idea. That democracy can deliver meaningful, practical improvements in Americans’ lives. So I think that’s why this election season feels so weird.
There is this mismatch from the two sides, right? Republicans going apocalyptic, end times, end of democracy, huge proportion of Republican voters, let alone Republican candidates, Republican voters saying unless their team wins they will not accept the election results as legitimate because election results no longer are the way Republicans want to do business in this country.”
imo, does quoting what trump said makes you feel ill, and isn’t that part of their strategy? e.g. the persistent vile ads that pop up, loud lurid depictions of the inside of your mouth, rotting teeth…aimed at our fears, self image and worth.
No one escapes if these fascists get power.
Just In: Per CNN, the House Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis led by Rep. Jim Clyburn, released its report, saying the Trump Admin “usurped control of CDC communications and blocked health officials from providing accurate information about the virus to the American people.”
If you missed the interview with Nancy Smash on MSNBC just now, you may want to check it out. Nancy “with all due respect” took down Andrew Mitchell’s inferior and sometimes misleading questions, and it was beyond admirable. Go, Nancy!
@SpeakerPelosi Do you know how many women, myself included, were standing up clapping, during your superb interview with @mitchellreports? You presented and defended every issue addressed, with the highest measure of confidence, realism, and intelligence … I'm still breathless!
Rachel Maddow looks at the history of antisemitism going hand in hand with authoritarian political messaging, including in the United States, and the reemergence of those themes from Donald Trump Republicans ahead of the 2022 midterm elections.
“Former president Donald Trump’s company charged the Secret Service as much as five times more than the government rate for agents to stay overnight at Trump hotels while protecting him and his family, according to expense records newly obtained by Congress.
The Post’s Carol D. Leonnig reports that the records show that in 40 cases,
the Trump Organization billed the Secret Service far higher amounts than the approved government rate — in one case charging agents $1,185 a night to stay at the Trump International Hotel in D.C.”
(wapo)
President Biden announced that after a successful beta test of the student debt relief portal, the federal government is officially rolling-out the website to qualifying applicants nationwide.
So sorry to be sporadic, but am always thinking of my dear, fabulous TOD Fam!
So, just to get you through “Hump Day” (put your naughty mats aside, we’re re: Wednesday!😇), Anyhoo, here are some young musicians who’ll give you a bump to you hump day!😂
Weapons of Mass Delusion
When The Republican Party Lost Its Mind
Author, Robert Draper
“The disturbing eyewitness account of how a new breed of Republicans—led by Marjorie Taylor Greene, Paul Gosar, Matt Gaetz, Lauren Boebert, and Madison Cawthorn—far from moving on from Trump, have taken the politics of hysteria to even greater extremes and brought American democracy to the edge.
The violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, was a terrible day for American democracy, but many people dared to hope that at least it would break the fever that had overcome the Republican Party and banish Trump’s relentless lies about the stealing of the 2020 election. That is not what happened. Instead, “the big steal” has become dogma among an ever-higher percentage of American Republicans. What happened to the Republican Party, and America, during the Trump presidency is a story we more or less think we know. What has happened to the party since, it turns out, is even more disquieting. That is the story Robert Draper tells in Weapons of Mass Delusion.” (Penguin write-up)
Americans need to make their voices heard’:
White House Press Sec. on Biden’s midterms message
President Biden has pledged to codify abortion protections if Democrats expand their House and Senate majorities in the midterm elections. “Americans need to make their voices heard,” White House Press Sec. Karine Jean-Pierre tells Joy Reid of the president’s midterms message. Politics expert Simon Rosenberg also joins The ReidOut on how the polling shows Democrats have a strong chance of winning what he calls, “a jump ball election.”
Reverend Warnock
“Every election matters, Georgia. Don’t hesitate to call or text the Voter Protection Hotline at 1-888-730-5816 if you run into any issues at the polls.”
See Obama tackle woke debate in 2022: Dems can’t be buzzkills
In the final stretch of the 2022 midterms, former president Barack Obama is returning to the campaign trail, stumping in key states for Democrats like Georgia, Michigan and Wisconsin. Obama also sharing his best advice for Democrats in a new interview with “Pod Save America,” slamming cancel culture and conservative media. His advice includes don’t be “a buzzkill,” and don’t make people “feel as if they are walking on eggshells.”
Professor Michael Eric Dyson: “Every penalty can’t be the death penalty, or else everyone is dead” and that people must “Believe in a kind of justice that is reparative… I think Obama is giving a wise word.”
Rep. Jamie Raskin:
“Insurrectionist rioters on Jan. 6 closely monitored Donald Trump’s orders, carrying out their bloody siege for hours until his advisers finally convinced Trump to call off the attack. Watch below to see who was really in charge.”
(You see the insurrectionists looking at trump on their phones: “He says, go home.”)
Leonard Leo Pushed the Courts Right.
Now He’s Aiming at American Society.
After leading efforts to put conservatives on the bench, the activist has quietly built a sprawling network and raised huge sums of money to challenge liberal values.
“Millions of dollars in television advertisements blasting schools for teaching critical race theory and assailing corporations like BlackRock, Uber and American Airlines for catering to “woke politicians.”
A lawsuit pending before the Supreme Court to radically reshape how federal elections are conducted. Complaints against President Biden for violating election law and against school districts that allow information to be withheld from parents about children’s gender identities.”
Speaker Pelosi:
“We have to pass the bill that reduces the impact of that big, dark money because it just chokes and suffocates the airwaves. And that’s what they’re doing with their lies.” That’s my DISCLOSE Act. And yes, we have to get corrupting dark money out of politics.”
Does Your Sheriff Think He’s More Powerful Than the President?
Richard Mack has built a “Constitutional sheriff” movement to resist state and federal authority on guns, COVID-19 and now election results. A new survey shows just how many sheriffs agree with him.
Mark Elias:
“Stymied at the ballot box, Republicans are now turning to courts directly to undo voter protections and enable election subversion. We see this in the avalanche of new anti-voting litigation and in the fringe claims Republicans are advancing.”
Remarks by President Biden at a Political Event at the Howard Theatre
“The anger, the worry, the disbelief, the unbelievable fact that for the first time in our history, the Supreme Court didn’t just fail to preserve a constitutional freedom, it actually took away the right that was so fundamental to Americans. It took away a right. And the fear that now that most personal decisions may not only be made by the woman and her doctor, but by politicians to make that decision.
The Dobbs decision — the Court practically dares women to go ahead and lead and be heard.”
Michelle Obama surprises South Side high school students, telling them: ‘I was you’
Obama visited Hyde Park Academy, across from the site of the Obama Center. Michelle Obama has made mentoring youth a focal point of her career.
Liz Goldenberg @newstruthliz 6h
#DonaldTrump is scheduled to sit for a #deposition today as part of a #defamation #lawsuit brought by @EJeanCarroll, a former magazine columnist who claims he #raped her in the 1990s. His defense? She’s “not my type.”
The Obama Diary 
What a great way to support students. They always work toward the betterment of young people.
Agree! Was super thrilled to see this! (Thanks, Nerdy darlin’ !!!)
Good West Coast morning Nerdy & TOD family.
Hey There GGail, Nerdy and the rest of the TOD family! Happy First Day of Early Voting in Georgia! Wooooooot!
Let’s Do this Georgia!!!!
Yeehaw!
thx NW.
Congrats to forever MO – she received copies of her second book, The Light We Carry. And btw she is stunning in the tie dye outfit!
Boom Shaka-laka!!!
How wonderful!
With Secret Service looking right in your direction too. LOL!!
Ha!
Oh, NW, that’s glorious!
“Obama’s Advice For Democrats.”
Pod Save America
Barack Obama sits down for his first major interview of the midterm season to talk about the state of democracy here and abroad, the escalating situation in Iran and the ongoing war in Ukraine, and how Democrats can appeal to the broadest coalition of voters.
(https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/obamas-advice-for-democrats/id1192761536?i=1000582724600)
This was a very good podcast….
Pod Save America:
“New video from @danpfeiffer and @cornellbelcher
on political ads from Herschel Walker, Beto O’Rourke and Mandela Barnes. Go watch on the Pod Save America YouTube:”
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yinBQvrMOWk)
Political Experts React to Midterm Ads from Herschel Walker, Beto O’Rourke, and Mandela Barnes
So, will these folks return the favor or go vote for the shitty party now that they got theirs?
Like the ingrates who benefited from kenyan kare and then shellacked him and the dems?
Right. They’re skanks.
Lol. Fiiinally.
What crisis of credibility? It’s more of a cabal of collusion at every ‘institutions’ for a coup.
AMEN!
Remarks by President Biden on the Student Debt Relief Portal Beta Test
South Court Auditorium
Eisenhower Executive Office Building
“Less than eight weeks ago, I announced my administration’s plan to forgive up to $10,000 in federal student debt and up to $20,000 if you received a Pell Grant for folks earning less than $125,000 a year.
Today, I’m announcing how millions — millions of people, working- and middle-class folks, can apply for — to get this relief. And it’s simple, and it’s now. It’s easy. It’s fast.
At the end of my remarks, I’m going to officially launch this new ap- — new application site at StudentAid.gov. StudentAid.gov.
You’ll be able to fill out your name, Social Security number, date of birth, and contact information. No forms to upload. No special log-in to remember. It’s available in English and in Spanish, on desktop and mobile.
It takes less than five minutes. And if you have any questions, you follow up — we will be able to follow up with you. ”
FULL: (https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2022/10/17/remarks-by-president-biden-on-the-student-debt-relief-portal-beta-test/)
Statement by President Joe Biden on World Food Day
(https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/10/16/statement-by-president-joe-biden-on-world-food-day/)
FACT SHEET: Cheaper Hearing Aids Now in Stores Thanks to Biden-Harris Administration Competition Agenda
“To lower the price of hearing aids and expand access, President Biden’s Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy called on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to make hearing aids available over the counter, without a prescription. That is now reality. Starting today, hearings aids are now on store shelves across the country—for thousands of dollars less than they previously cost.”
(https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/10/17/fact-sheet-cheaper-hearing-aids-now-in-stores-thanks-to-biden-harris-administration-competition-agenda/)
Stacey Abrams at debate tonight:
Kemp: “Has assiduously denied the right to vote…voter suppression is the hallmark of Governor Kemp’s leadership.”
Mike Lee flashes the magic pocket Constitution for the camera at their debate:
Evan McMullan: “The Constitution is not a prop.”
Let’s Go Georgia! 👏🏾
Looking good, kenyans.
Barack, Michelle Obama vote early in Chicago
President Obama joked that he missed the days when voters could ‘punch’ a ballot for straight-ticket voting.
Lynn Sweet: (https://chicago.suntimes.com/2022/10/17/23409273/barack-michelle-obama-vote-early-in-chicago)
“After voting, Michelle Obama said in a tweet, “Today, I voted early in the 2022 midterm elections! I want to see you turning out to vote with your voting squad. Barack’s in my #VotingSquad — who’s in yours? Tag them below and remind them to register and make a plan to vote.”
come on ga’ians. one more time.
grim reality. if the folks don’t take this seriously.
Former President Barack Obama, Michelle Obama vote in Loop, surprise students on Chicago visit
“There will always be people who will doubt you, there will always be people who are gonna set your bar low,” Michelle Obama said. “And the only way you can work against that is to work with your own mindset.”
“Share stories of what brought us together, form relationships of trust and then try and start working together to solve some of these problems,” Obama said. “One problem at a time because you are also not going solve to everything at once.”
Former President Obama said events like the one are a model for what he plans to do more of at the Obama Center in Jackson Park, which is expected to open in 2025.
Leah Hope: (https://abc7chicago.com/president-barack-obama-chicago-michelle-school/12340175/
Barack Obama Surprises Chicago Students With Appearance At Youth Event
The former president joined a panel at an all-day youth summit Monday, discussing the challenges young people and young organizers face in the city.
Melody Mercado
“Once we set it up, we want that to be a convening space where we can have events like this all the time. Not just once in a while, but an open space, meeting rooms, facilities, activities that give people the opportunity to realize you’re not alone in whatever it is that you’re doing. That a lot of other people have the same experiences,” Obama said.
(https://blockclubchicago.org/2022/10/17/former-president-barack-obama-surprises-chicago-students-with-appearance-at-youth-event/)
CHICAGO – Today, President and Mrs. Obama surprised Chicago youth at events aimed at understanding student experiences and shining a light on resources, programs, and organizations that empower youth across the city.
(https://www.obama.org/updates/president-and-mrs-obama-return-to-chicago-and-surprise-students-at-south-and-west-side-events-discuss-importance-of-youth-leadership-and-finding-passion/)
And most murkans fall for it 24×7.
women as props…weaponizing women’s bodies in honor of the woman
who gave birth to them.
Report reveals greater extent of Trump admin interference in CDC than previously known
Rep. James Clyburn, chair of the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, talks with Rachel Maddow about a new report containing the results of the committee’s investigation into the Trump administration’s handling of the Covid epidemic and the surprising extent of its corruption of the CDC’s public output.
(https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/report-reveals-greater-extent-of-trump-admin-interference-in-cdc-than-previously-known-150916165763)
CDC used to be “walled off” from political interference.
imo, remembering the nightmare that happened during Covid as CDC tried to protect us from the worst medical crisis in 100 years. The trump administration was ready and willing to let hundreds of thousands of human beings die, while destroying the CDC to make themselves look better.
–Hold trump to account for his negligence and corruption during Covid.
–We remember.
Rachel Maddow explained that Democrats are showing voters in the midterm election that not only is democracy better than fascism but that it delivers results that make your life better.
Maddow said:
“Look at the highest profile actions that President Biden and the Democrats have taken in the lead-up to this election. President Biden and Democrats passed legislation to lower the cost of prescription drugs, to literally put a cap on the amount that seniors can pay out out-of-pocket.
Republican senators announced their plan to repeal it and make you pay more for prescriptions. President Biden came up to a plan to reduce people’s student loan debt. Again for millions and millions and millions of Americans, a hugely practical financial improvement in your lives. Republican states are suing to try to get rid of that. To make you pay more for your student loans. President Biden recently pardoned people with convictions of marijuana possession. And these kinds of initiatives from the Democrats, these are implicitly an argument for democracy, right? I mean, you see where I’m going with this.
The way you argue for democracy is not just by pointing the finger at people that want violence and fascism saying, whoa, that’s bad. That always works out badly. You have to make the positive case that democracy is a good idea. That democracy can deliver meaningful, practical improvements in Americans’ lives. So I think that’s why this election season feels so weird.
There is this mismatch from the two sides, right? Republicans going apocalyptic, end times, end of democracy, huge proportion of Republican voters, let alone Republican candidates, Republican voters saying unless their team wins they will not accept the election results as legitimate because election results no longer are the way Republicans want to do business in this country.”
Jason Easley: (https://www.politicususa.com/2022/10/17/rachel-maddow-democracy-midterm.html)
Trump’s comments on American Jews were anti-Semitic
by Jeff Mason
(https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trumps-comments-american-jews-were-anti-semitic-white-house-2022-10-17/)
imo, does quoting what trump said makes you feel ill, and isn’t that part of their strategy? e.g. the persistent vile ads that pop up, loud lurid depictions of the inside of your mouth, rotting teeth…aimed at our fears, self image and worth.
No one escapes if these fascists get power.
If you missed the interview with Nancy Smash on MSNBC just now, you may want to check it out. Nancy “with all due respect” took down Andrew Mitchell’s inferior and sometimes misleading questions, and it was beyond admirable. Go, Nancy!
*Andrea 🙂
no flies on Ms. Pelosi…she is wonderful.
She sure is!
Elon Musk Spoke to Putin Before Tweeting Ukraine Peace Plan: Report
The world’s richest man spoke directly with Vladimir Putin, Eurasia Group’s Ian Bremmer reported. Musk denied the report in a tweet.
(https://www.vice.com/en/article/ake44z/elon-musk-vladimir-putin-ukraine)
—-billionaires rule? not imagining it.
Kanye West said he will go ‘death con 3’ on Jewish people
In a now-removed Tweet
West defended himself by saying he could not be antisemitic because
“black people are actually Jew [sic].”
Hannah Getahun: (https://news.yahoo.com/kanye-west-said-death-con-071958591.html)
Rachel Maddow looks at the history of antisemitism going hand in hand with authoritarian political messaging, including in the United States, and the reemergence of those themes from Donald Trump Republicans ahead of the 2022 midterm elections.
(https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/republican-authoritarianism-adds-familiar-antisemitic-accompaniment-150915653617)
Maddow: “Sorry to be freaking everybody out but this stuff really happened.’”
Trump charged Secret Service ‘exorbitant’ rates at his hotels, records show
Image without a caption
By Carol D. Leonnig
(https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/10/17/trump-secret-service-hotel-rates-records/)
“Former president Donald Trump’s company charged the Secret Service as much as five times more than the government rate for agents to stay overnight at Trump hotels while protecting him and his family, according to expense records newly obtained by Congress.
The Post’s Carol D. Leonnig reports that the records show that in 40 cases,
the Trump Organization billed the Secret Service far higher amounts than the approved government rate — in one case charging agents $1,185 a night to stay at the Trump International Hotel in D.C.”
(wapo)
–what happened about the overnight costs at that little trump hotel near the fueling outfit utilized by our military? In Scotland.
President Biden lowering costs of living:
Hearing aids now available over the counter without prescription, often at lower price.
President Biden announced that after a successful beta test of the student debt relief portal, the federal government is officially rolling-out the website to qualifying applicants nationwide.
Full remarks: (https://www.c-span.org/video/?523663-1/president-biden-launches-website-students-seek-loan-debt-relief)
—Government working “to deliver for the people.”
—Go to: studentaid.gov
i know young wans who are over the Moon.
Billy Porter being interviewed by Ari is a must see on MSNBC. WordPress won’t let me post it. 😦
Here it is
yes, marvelous, thx ggail44
ugh, the hag is still there?
S’up amk?
So sorry to be sporadic, but am always thinking of my dear, fabulous TOD Fam!
So, just to get you through “Hump Day” (put your naughty mats aside, we’re re: Wednesday!😇), Anyhoo, here are some young musicians who’ll give you a bump to you hump day!😂
If these young ladies don’t make you shake a leg or your whatevers, I know they’ll make you smile!
beautiful darlings – thx Gazelle!
I bet the ‘build the wall, immigrants are taking all our jobs’ 24×7 fucking whiners can’t fucking hack even a minute of this.
What men?
wimmin exist just for u amk, u know that.
Weapons of Mass Delusion
When The Republican Party Lost Its Mind
Author, Robert Draper
“The disturbing eyewitness account of how a new breed of Republicans—led by Marjorie Taylor Greene, Paul Gosar, Matt Gaetz, Lauren Boebert, and Madison Cawthorn—far from moving on from Trump, have taken the politics of hysteria to even greater extremes and brought American democracy to the edge.
The violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, was a terrible day for American democracy, but many people dared to hope that at least it would break the fever that had overcome the Republican Party and banish Trump’s relentless lies about the stealing of the 2020 election. That is not what happened. Instead, “the big steal” has become dogma among an ever-higher percentage of American Republicans. What happened to the Republican Party, and America, during the Trump presidency is a story we more or less think we know. What has happened to the party since, it turns out, is even more disquieting. That is the story Robert Draper tells in Weapons of Mass Delusion.” (Penguin write-up)
Americans need to make their voices heard’:
White House Press Sec. on Biden’s midterms message
President Biden has pledged to codify abortion protections if Democrats expand their House and Senate majorities in the midterm elections. “Americans need to make their voices heard,” White House Press Sec. Karine Jean-Pierre tells Joy Reid of the president’s midterms message. Politics expert Simon Rosenberg also joins The ReidOut on how the polling shows Democrats have a strong chance of winning what he calls, “a jump ball election.”
Reverend Warnock
“Every election matters, Georgia. Don’t hesitate to call or text the Voter Protection Hotline at 1-888-730-5816 if you run into any issues at the polls.”
See Obama tackle woke debate in 2022: Dems can’t be buzzkills
In the final stretch of the 2022 midterms, former president Barack Obama is returning to the campaign trail, stumping in key states for Democrats like Georgia, Michigan and Wisconsin. Obama also sharing his best advice for Democrats in a new interview with “Pod Save America,” slamming cancel culture and conservative media. His advice includes don’t be “a buzzkill,” and don’t make people “feel as if they are walking on eggshells.”
Professor Michael Eric Dyson: “Every penalty can’t be the death penalty, or else everyone is dead” and that people must “Believe in a kind of justice that is reparative… I think Obama is giving a wise word.”
(https://www.msnbc.com/the-beat-with-ari/watch/see-obama-tackle-woke-debate-in-2022-dems-can-t-be-buzzkills-150976069726)
Michael Dyson: “allow people to evolve”
And gop: “they’re not against cancellation, they just want to be the cancellers.”
Rep. Jamie Raskin:
“Insurrectionist rioters on Jan. 6 closely monitored Donald Trump’s orders, carrying out their bloody siege for hours until his advisers finally convinced Trump to call off the attack. Watch below to see who was really in charge.”
(You see the insurrectionists looking at trump on their phones: “He says, go home.”)
Leonard Leo Pushed the Courts Right.
Now He’s Aiming at American Society.
After leading efforts to put conservatives on the bench, the activist has quietly built a sprawling network and raised huge sums of money to challenge liberal values.
“Millions of dollars in television advertisements blasting schools for teaching critical race theory and assailing corporations like BlackRock, Uber and American Airlines for catering to “woke politicians.”
A lawsuit pending before the Supreme Court to radically reshape how federal elections are conducted. Complaints against President Biden for violating election law and against school districts that allow information to be withheld from parents about children’s gender identities.”
Kenneth P. Vogel: (https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/12/us/politics/leonard-leo-courts-dark-money.html)
Senator Whitehouse discussed Leonard Leo with Joy Reid.
—Dark money, big gop donors winning, religious fanatics and abortion ‘concealing pro-corporate and wealth support’.
….Let’s never forget the KOCHs behind this.
Captured: The Corporate Infiltration of American Democracy
by Sheldon Whitehouse with Melanie Wachtell Stinnett
(2017)
Speaker Pelosi:
“We have to pass the bill that reduces the impact of that big, dark money because it just chokes and suffocates the airwaves. And that’s what they’re doing with their lies.” That’s my DISCLOSE Act. And yes, we have to get corrupting dark money out of politics.”
Judge clears way for Trump to be deposed in defamation case
(https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/10/12/trump-defamation-lawsuit-rape-allegation-carroll/)
–today, right?
Does Your Sheriff Think He’s More Powerful Than the President?
Richard Mack has built a “Constitutional sheriff” movement to resist state and federal authority on guns, COVID-19 and now election results. A new survey shows just how many sheriffs agree with him.
(https://www.themarshallproject.org/2022/10/18/does-your-sheriff-think-he-s-more-powerful-than-the-president)
Mark Elias:
“Stymied at the ballot box, Republicans are now turning to courts directly to undo voter protections and enable election subversion. We see this in the avalanche of new anti-voting litigation and in the fringe claims Republicans are advancing.”
Republicans Turn To Courts To Attack Democracy
Marc Elias: (https://www.democracydocket.com/opinion/republicans-turn-to-courts-to-attack-democracy/)
Remarks by President Biden at a Political Event at the Howard Theatre
“The anger, the worry, the disbelief, the unbelievable fact that for the first time in our history, the Supreme Court didn’t just fail to preserve a constitutional freedom, it actually took away the right that was so fundamental to Americans. It took away a right. And the fear that now that most personal decisions may not only be made by the woman and her doctor, but by politicians to make that decision.
The Dobbs decision — the Court practically dares women to go ahead and lead and be heard.”
Full: (https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2022/10/18/remarks-by-president-biden-at-a-political-event-at-the-howard-theatre/)
Turnout on first day of Georgia early voting breaks midterm record
(https://www.ajc.com/politics/georgia-election-2022-record-number-of-voters-at-start-of-early-voting/GT3VOM7355GTPPDT3KQ45K52LE/)
Michelle Obama surprises South Side high school students, telling them: ‘I was you’
Obama visited Hyde Park Academy, across from the site of the Obama Center. Michelle Obama has made mentoring youth a focal point of her career.
Nereida Moreno:
(https://www.wbez.org/stories/michelle-obama-surprises-south-side-high-school-students-tells-them-i-was-you/12d4ce65-4238-4937-9d77-13d5a215d1ac)
Ayo Dosunmu ‘honored’ to share panel with Barack Obama
(https://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/bulls/bulls-ayo-dosunmu-honored-share-panel-barack-obama)
Anna May Wong Will Be the First Asian American on U.S. Currency
The film star had a trailblazing career, but also struggled to secure meaningful roles as an Asian American actress in Hollywood a century ago.
(https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/18/us/anna-may-wong-quarter.html
Saw this last night on Alex’s show. I got chills! So cool!!!! 🙂
Liz Goldenberg @newstruthliz 6h
#DonaldTrump is scheduled to sit for a #deposition today as part of a #defamation #lawsuit brought by @EJeanCarroll, a former magazine columnist who claims he #raped her in the 1990s. His defense? She’s “not my type.”
Pls note: Donald only rapes people who are his type.
Be nice.
New post.