I share your hope for a Harris Administration and a wipe out of the fascist right. I also share your apprehension about how a victory will play out. The billionaires who are fanning the flames of division and mistrust aren't going away. The knuckle-dragging troglodytes of the racist right aren't going to become suddenly enlightened. The Christo-fascists of the Evangelical mega-church aren't going to renounce their insanity. This is a fight that will continue, MUST continue, if humanity (and our beloved country) is to move forward. I may not have a lot of hope, but I do have more than enough fight in me to continue. We will win because we must win. It's as simple as that. Fight until they screw the lid on the box.
Not for nothing but Ranked Choice Voting is on the ballot in four states this election, with one state (New Hampshire) keeping it and one state (Alaska) fighting against a measure to repeal it. Ohio is also pushing for nonpartisan map drawing via a constitutional amendment as other states have already passed.
While Trump would fight all of that, Harris won't. And if those pass then we will also be on a trajectory away from the polarization of parties and gerrymandering which is the source of this poison. Keep in mind that Gingrich took over at a time when we had 24/7 news but also aggressive political gerrymanders which meant people like him were safe even if they set everyone on fire just because their actual constituents were the most whacko 10% of their party. Once that is taken away and parties become sidelined, or unable to draw themselves safe districts, then they have to go back to actually listening to everyone and representing everyone. In the end that work is what we really need to pull back.
I have no doubt it will be fought tooth and nail, but I also don't see polarization as guaranteed.
Thank you for fighting the good fight, Michael. It's confounding, it is. Apparently, there are a lot of angry people who want to burn the whole thing down. It's a giant riot by vote, as far as I can tell. And with CEO pay rising 1,085% since 1978 compared with a 24% rise in typical workers’ pay, you can understand it. It really is shocking. What did we expect? It's a revolution, all right. Stat: https://www.epi.org/publication/ceo-pay-in-2023/#:~:text=In%202023%2C%20CEOs%20were,CEO%20pay%20increases%20have%20become.
I LIKE your “half-baked opinions and warmed-over takes”. I think the only thing that saves us is the old people dying off and the young liberal (sane) generation taking over. It may take several cycles.
Every generation thinks their young people will come along and save the day. Look into how many angry young “Gen Z” men are voting for Trump. The toxic youth and the “sane” youth will always exist side by side. No one generation will save us, we all have to chip in together.
This old dude finds your comment worthless. Repeated from another comment below about killing the old so things will get better.
I’m 64, last of the boomers and a vaxxer. Where do I fit in your world view? It’s a bit caustic.
So you’re a youngster. Guess what? Got really fucking bad news for you. We all get old. Nobody gets out alive.
Now after I’ve dedicated 40 plus years of my life as an LEO and prosecutor, and 54 years to rock and roll and blues drumming, be told to die off is an insult.
I’d tell you what to do with your opinions but our host has asked me to be nice.
Not all the “young”, liberal generation is sane. Your post is proof.
Many cultures respect and revere their aged. I guess you’re not from one of those human cultures. Wolves, wild hogs and other pack animals attack and kill the weak members of their herd. Sorta like republicans.
Hey Groovemaster Greg, don’t have stroke. I wasn’t suggesting putting people over 60 on an ice floe. I’m merely saying the younger generation as a whole seem to have more liberal viewpoints regarding race, gender, gay and trans rights, climate, gun control, abortion etc.
The work just begins after Kamala wins. It's going to be a long ugly slog, no doubt about it. You gotta decide if you want to help or get out of the way. After the despair passes, let's start feeding the damn ugly rotting (GOP) elephant one bite at a time to the carnivores in their group. Ugly picture there but you get the idea.
I firmly believe that one of the reasons women over a certain age are showing up for Kamala is because they're pissed that all their time and effort from the late 50s through the 70s is unraveling because of old racist misogynistic mostly white men. Over 20 years that generation of women worked for freedoms and equality. It will take that long to rid us of the current fascist cancer.
And that, my friends, is as optimistic as I can be today.
What if this was a turning point for real introspection, the kind of reflection that dissolves violent urges and hateful dreck and leads to understanding, wisdom, peace and acceptance?
A spark of hope is the dying off of old people (boomers) and anti-vaxers, who all skew towards the right. Who knows, maybe Covid and vaccine fear will have already helped pave the way for a Democratic win. Sounds mean, but ‘survival of the (mentally) fittest’ appears to hold in this regard.
Those "boomer" women are very engaged and set on taking Harris/Walz over the finish line. I question where you're getting the idea that "boomers" are majority republicans/conservative, too, since their generation fought the battles for equal rights and representation. Careful what you wish for in your short-sightedness.
Sounds mean because it is mean. Someday you will be our age and then how will you feel about people who say that about you? Do you really expect everyone the age you're talking about is going to say "Yeah, you're right, shove us all out on an iceberg"? I hope you remember this so that someday you'll look back on it and cringe at yourself.
I would like to add my voice to the "I'm 65 and I'm kinda thinking it might be worth it to have me around awhile longer" crowd.
- Not quite ready to be herded off on an ice floe Auntie Melody the woman who's also trans who's spent a goodly portion of her life marking roads and clearing hazards for those coming behind and is still pretty damned good at it, as it turns out.
I’m 64, last of the boomers and a vaxxer. Where do I fit in your world view? It’s a bit caustic.
So you’re a youngster. Guess what? Got really fucking bad news for you. We all get old. Nobody gets out alive.
Now after I’ve dedicated 40 plus years of my life as an LEO and prosecutor, and 54 years to rock and roll and blues drumming, be told to die off is an insult.
I can give you other “survival of the fittest scenarios” you might not fare thee well on. It’s all about perspective.
I’d tell you what to do with your opinions but our host has asked me to be nice.
That’s true, unless they trying to kill me. Then it’s a different reaction. Be improvident about their finances, jobs,loves, lives, etc. not with my life. I bite back, Liga.
I have long believed another key reason the right hated the presidency of Bill Clinton and Barack Obama is because they were both sons of single mothers who used social safety nets in place to be able to attend college with their considerable smarts and achieve the highest office in the land. The literal American Dream. The right wing prefers the old paradigm of a handful of super wealthy families being ‘chosen by God’ to rule.
Great piece. MIB.
I share your hope for a Harris Administration and a wipe out of the fascist right. I also share your apprehension about how a victory will play out. The billionaires who are fanning the flames of division and mistrust aren't going away. The knuckle-dragging troglodytes of the racist right aren't going to become suddenly enlightened. The Christo-fascists of the Evangelical mega-church aren't going to renounce their insanity. This is a fight that will continue, MUST continue, if humanity (and our beloved country) is to move forward. I may not have a lot of hope, but I do have more than enough fight in me to continue. We will win because we must win. It's as simple as that. Fight until they screw the lid on the box.
Many have come c lose to replacing him but if I'm ever given a free pass to shove a red hot poker into someone's eye, my choice is still Mitch.
Not for nothing but Ranked Choice Voting is on the ballot in four states this election, with one state (New Hampshire) keeping it and one state (Alaska) fighting against a measure to repeal it. Ohio is also pushing for nonpartisan map drawing via a constitutional amendment as other states have already passed.
While Trump would fight all of that, Harris won't. And if those pass then we will also be on a trajectory away from the polarization of parties and gerrymandering which is the source of this poison. Keep in mind that Gingrich took over at a time when we had 24/7 news but also aggressive political gerrymanders which meant people like him were safe even if they set everyone on fire just because their actual constituents were the most whacko 10% of their party. Once that is taken away and parties become sidelined, or unable to draw themselves safe districts, then they have to go back to actually listening to everyone and representing everyone. In the end that work is what we really need to pull back.
I have no doubt it will be fought tooth and nail, but I also don't see polarization as guaranteed.
Completely agree, this all started with the Republicans hating Clinton and was dialed up 10 notches when Obama was elected.
A Harris who turns out as successful and transformative even as Joe Effing Biden could start the process.
Stop telling the truth so convincingly, and writing about it so well. It's depressing.
Thank you for fighting the good fight, Michael. It's confounding, it is. Apparently, there are a lot of angry people who want to burn the whole thing down. It's a giant riot by vote, as far as I can tell. And with CEO pay rising 1,085% since 1978 compared with a 24% rise in typical workers’ pay, you can understand it. It really is shocking. What did we expect? It's a revolution, all right. Stat: https://www.epi.org/publication/ceo-pay-in-2023/#:~:text=In%202023%2C%20CEOs%20were,CEO%20pay%20increases%20have%20become.
I LIKE your “half-baked opinions and warmed-over takes”. I think the only thing that saves us is the old people dying off and the young liberal (sane) generation taking over. It may take several cycles.
Every generation thinks their young people will come along and save the day. Look into how many angry young “Gen Z” men are voting for Trump. The toxic youth and the “sane” youth will always exist side by side. No one generation will save us, we all have to chip in together.
God, listen to you. That's a really awful thing to say.
This old dude finds your comment worthless. Repeated from another comment below about killing the old so things will get better.
I’m 64, last of the boomers and a vaxxer. Where do I fit in your world view? It’s a bit caustic.
So you’re a youngster. Guess what? Got really fucking bad news for you. We all get old. Nobody gets out alive.
Now after I’ve dedicated 40 plus years of my life as an LEO and prosecutor, and 54 years to rock and roll and blues drumming, be told to die off is an insult.
I’d tell you what to do with your opinions but our host has asked me to be nice.
Not all the “young”, liberal generation is sane. Your post is proof.
Many cultures respect and revere their aged. I guess you’re not from one of those human cultures. Wolves, wild hogs and other pack animals attack and kill the weak members of their herd. Sorta like republicans.
Hey Groovemaster Greg, don’t have stroke. I wasn’t suggesting putting people over 60 on an ice floe. I’m merely saying the younger generation as a whole seem to have more liberal viewpoints regarding race, gender, gay and trans rights, climate, gun control, abortion etc.
By the way, I’ve got 10 years on you. I’m 74.
The work just begins after Kamala wins. It's going to be a long ugly slog, no doubt about it. You gotta decide if you want to help or get out of the way. After the despair passes, let's start feeding the damn ugly rotting (GOP) elephant one bite at a time to the carnivores in their group. Ugly picture there but you get the idea.
I firmly believe that one of the reasons women over a certain age are showing up for Kamala is because they're pissed that all their time and effort from the late 50s through the 70s is unraveling because of old racist misogynistic mostly white men. Over 20 years that generation of women worked for freedoms and equality. It will take that long to rid us of the current fascist cancer.
And that, my friends, is as optimistic as I can be today.
What if this was a turning point for real introspection, the kind of reflection that dissolves violent urges and hateful dreck and leads to understanding, wisdom, peace and acceptance?
#ridiculousoptimism
Pls tour, I miss u
“ I don’t know what it’s going to take for the nation to pull its head out of its ass.” *Sigh* Yup.
A spark of hope is the dying off of old people (boomers) and anti-vaxers, who all skew towards the right. Who knows, maybe Covid and vaccine fear will have already helped pave the way for a Democratic win. Sounds mean, but ‘survival of the (mentally) fittest’ appears to hold in this regard.
Those "boomer" women are very engaged and set on taking Harris/Walz over the finish line. I question where you're getting the idea that "boomers" are majority republicans/conservative, too, since their generation fought the battles for equal rights and representation. Careful what you wish for in your short-sightedness.
Sounds mean because it is mean. Someday you will be our age and then how will you feel about people who say that about you? Do you really expect everyone the age you're talking about is going to say "Yeah, you're right, shove us all out on an iceberg"? I hope you remember this so that someday you'll look back on it and cringe at yourself.
I would like to add my voice to the "I'm 65 and I'm kinda thinking it might be worth it to have me around awhile longer" crowd.
- Not quite ready to be herded off on an ice floe Auntie Melody the woman who's also trans who's spent a goodly portion of her life marking roads and clearing hazards for those coming behind and is still pretty damned good at it, as it turns out.
Good for you, Melody.
Are you spelling my name (clearly displayed) incorrectly for some particular reason? :)
I corrected. Autocorrect. Sorry.
Copy! :)
I’m aged and not so used to the ways of autocorrect. Sorry again. You’re a hero!
It started as Melonie. Cuz I misread.
I’m 64, last of the boomers and a vaxxer. Where do I fit in your world view? It’s a bit caustic.
So you’re a youngster. Guess what? Got really fucking bad news for you. We all get old. Nobody gets out alive.
Now after I’ve dedicated 40 plus years of my life as an LEO and prosecutor, and 54 years to rock and roll and blues drumming, be told to die off is an insult.
I can give you other “survival of the fittest scenarios” you might not fare thee well on. It’s all about perspective.
I’d tell you what to do with your opinions but our host has asked me to be nice.
It is the province of the young to be intemperate, passionate, and foolish, and our's to remember when we were so :)...even as we remain! :)
That’s true, unless they trying to kill me. Then it’s a different reaction. Be improvident about their finances, jobs,loves, lives, etc. not with my life. I bite back, Liga.
(Looks to judges) Fair. The judges say that's fair. :)
I have long believed another key reason the right hated the presidency of Bill Clinton and Barack Obama is because they were both sons of single mothers who used social safety nets in place to be able to attend college with their considerable smarts and achieve the highest office in the land. The literal American Dream. The right wing prefers the old paradigm of a handful of super wealthy families being ‘chosen by God’ to rule.
I have some ideas about how to improve things but I can’t share them because I’d rather not spend the rest of my life in prison.
Yeah, I’m exhausted from it all.