Despite the Trump/Musk flood-the-zone offensive of the past three weeks, Team Democracy can absolutely beat Team MAGA in the long-term battle for our country's future.
All good, viable suggestions. Even so, there are at least two things to add to the list:
1. Help the Dems create a compelling alternative to what Trump/Musk are perpetrating. Blocking every move is essential, as is having something to attract those who either didn’t vote or are now disillusioned by what they’re seeing happening to the country. We can insist that our representatives and senators create this and we can help by providing tangible ideas to include via phone calls and emails.
2. Anticipate that more aggressive opposition will soon be needed when court decisions are ignored. We must be ready. Organizing now will increase our odds of effectively resisting the blatant move toward tyranny.
One last thing: Will the next 4 years of Kennedy Center Honors, one of my favorite events, be doomed to celebrate only White Christian performers and cultural contributors who reflect MAGA ‘values’? The commandeering of this wonderful institution alone is worth taking to the streets.
Just to add a note I received from Bernie Sanders: His recommendation was to contact our Senators and Representatives by calling the Capitol switchboard at 202-224-2131.
I don't know if that is better than calling their state offices or emailing. So far I have been emailing and signing petitions. One of my senators (NC) said responding to petitions is not always possible. Hopefully they do count the signatures though. Thank you.
Thanks so much Ellen for providing the general switchboard number for the Capitol. That's the number to call to reach any member of the House or Senate. Calling and emailing are both effective - calling counts a bit more! Not many offices will reply personally to emails - you may get an auto-reply. But one thing is true across offices: they track the volume of calls and report to the top staff and to the representative themselves about the volume and direction of calls. This is a vital fact about how the Hill works. So keep those calls and emails coming!
This is practical planning You are helping us to take action now. with an excellent list of suggestions. I am beginnin to make phone calls tomorrow. Sherrie Epstein
"Fascism rising" accurately describes the unholy alliance between Donald Trump -- for whom some of us voted three times -- and the totally-evil Benjamin Netanyahu, who morphed into his ancestors' Nazi oppressors decades ago.
The world knows about Netanyahu, the "Settlers" and rabid Zionists, which explains and undergirds why anti-Semitism has been reaching levels not seen since World War II, with much worse yet to come. Tragically, no Jew is safe anywhere, which is Netanyahu’s "gift" to global Jewry.
He needs to be arrested and tried by the International Criminal Court for his many crimes, but again President Trump is seeking to derail that -- with which lots of us disagree vehemently.
Thank you for the positive comments regarding the state of the Nation. I find it concerning that there is no mechanism for feedback to the Democratic Party. They constantly beg for money in more and more creative ways, but have no "suggestion box"! Where do the funds go? Perhaps you can suggest a means to directly influence how our contributions are handled.
1) There should be a page that accompanies any funding request that outlines how much of each donation is spent and for what.
2) This should be accompanied by a list of contributions by donation source: Individual, Corporate, etc.
3) Every donation should also have a place where suggestions can be offered. I tried to contact somebody, but this was not possible before the Presidential Election. I believe that the Cryptocurrency issue was huge and largely ignored by the Democratic Party. A rapid resolution of the mess created by SEC legal battles was necessary. This could have been easily resolved by creating legal guidelines that were lacking and had been requested for many years.
4) Any funding request also should be augmented with a list of "accomplishments". The Biden administration did great things but these were not well publicized. Perhaps it was thought that good policies creating the greatest number of jobs since WW2, were self-evident, but I guarantee that the current administration will try and take credit for this.
5) There is not enough fact-backed information regarding the importance and need for action in Global Warming and Energy Production. The naysayers need to be fed simple facts with documented data. We only need to look at China to see how to make a country powerful. In a generation, they have gone from a third-world country to a leading economic power. This was done by Industrialization and at the same time, converting quickly from dirty Coal Plants to huge Solar and Wind Generation and Hydroelectric Power. These are the cheapest cleanest sources of Power. China is now generating 50% of its Power from Clean Sources. They have done this by sourcing all of their materials locally and by building plants to produce their raw materials, solar manufacturing, the largest battery production, and the largest automobile production in the world.
6) President Biden implemented great advances to spur development and competition in this regard. Given the pushback, he did a remarkable job. Making America Great should not be equated with returning our technology to that of the1950's!
The challenge is to identify the correct issues and messaging. That is one of the failures in 2024
Thanks so much Rich - for reading and the feedback.
Thank you for providing direction that we need; I’ve forwarded your comments to several others who are desperate for leadership
Thank you, Jeremy.
All good, viable suggestions. Even so, there are at least two things to add to the list:
1. Help the Dems create a compelling alternative to what Trump/Musk are perpetrating. Blocking every move is essential, as is having something to attract those who either didn’t vote or are now disillusioned by what they’re seeing happening to the country. We can insist that our representatives and senators create this and we can help by providing tangible ideas to include via phone calls and emails.
2. Anticipate that more aggressive opposition will soon be needed when court decisions are ignored. We must be ready. Organizing now will increase our odds of effectively resisting the blatant move toward tyranny.
One last thing: Will the next 4 years of Kennedy Center Honors, one of my favorite events, be doomed to celebrate only White Christian performers and cultural contributors who reflect MAGA ‘values’? The commandeering of this wonderful institution alone is worth taking to the streets.
Thanks for the clear outline of how to proceed.
Just to add a note I received from Bernie Sanders: His recommendation was to contact our Senators and Representatives by calling the Capitol switchboard at 202-224-2131.
I don't know if that is better than calling their state offices or emailing. So far I have been emailing and signing petitions. One of my senators (NC) said responding to petitions is not always possible. Hopefully they do count the signatures though. Thank you.
Thanks so much Ellen for providing the general switchboard number for the Capitol. That's the number to call to reach any member of the House or Senate. Calling and emailing are both effective - calling counts a bit more! Not many offices will reply personally to emails - you may get an auto-reply. But one thing is true across offices: they track the volume of calls and report to the top staff and to the representative themselves about the volume and direction of calls. This is a vital fact about how the Hill works. So keep those calls and emails coming!
This is practical planning You are helping us to take action now. with an excellent list of suggestions. I am beginnin to make phone calls tomorrow. Sherrie Epstein
Thanks Sherrie - let us know how it goes!
"Fascism" is in the eye of the beholder.
"Fascism rising" accurately describes the unholy alliance between Donald Trump -- for whom some of us voted three times -- and the totally-evil Benjamin Netanyahu, who morphed into his ancestors' Nazi oppressors decades ago.
See https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2025/02/06/trumps-lunacy/ ("Trump’s Lunacy")
The world knows about Netanyahu, the "Settlers" and rabid Zionists, which explains and undergirds why anti-Semitism has been reaching levels not seen since World War II, with much worse yet to come. Tragically, no Jew is safe anywhere, which is Netanyahu’s "gift" to global Jewry.
He needs to be arrested and tried by the International Criminal Court for his many crimes, but again President Trump is seeking to derail that -- with which lots of us disagree vehemently.
Thank you for the positive comments regarding the state of the Nation. I find it concerning that there is no mechanism for feedback to the Democratic Party. They constantly beg for money in more and more creative ways, but have no "suggestion box"! Where do the funds go? Perhaps you can suggest a means to directly influence how our contributions are handled.
1) There should be a page that accompanies any funding request that outlines how much of each donation is spent and for what.
2) This should be accompanied by a list of contributions by donation source: Individual, Corporate, etc.
3) Every donation should also have a place where suggestions can be offered. I tried to contact somebody, but this was not possible before the Presidential Election. I believe that the Cryptocurrency issue was huge and largely ignored by the Democratic Party. A rapid resolution of the mess created by SEC legal battles was necessary. This could have been easily resolved by creating legal guidelines that were lacking and had been requested for many years.
4) Any funding request also should be augmented with a list of "accomplishments". The Biden administration did great things but these were not well publicized. Perhaps it was thought that good policies creating the greatest number of jobs since WW2, were self-evident, but I guarantee that the current administration will try and take credit for this.
5) There is not enough fact-backed information regarding the importance and need for action in Global Warming and Energy Production. The naysayers need to be fed simple facts with documented data. We only need to look at China to see how to make a country powerful. In a generation, they have gone from a third-world country to a leading economic power. This was done by Industrialization and at the same time, converting quickly from dirty Coal Plants to huge Solar and Wind Generation and Hydroelectric Power. These are the cheapest cleanest sources of Power. China is now generating 50% of its Power from Clean Sources. They have done this by sourcing all of their materials locally and by building plants to produce their raw materials, solar manufacturing, the largest battery production, and the largest automobile production in the world.
6) President Biden implemented great advances to spur development and competition in this regard. Given the pushback, he did a remarkable job. Making America Great should not be equated with returning our technology to that of the1950's!