Featuring Jen Rubin, "The Tea" with April Ryan, Tom Malinowski, Meredith Blake, The Democracy Movement, Azza Cohen, Carron J. Phillips, and Linda Burstyn with Gloria Steinem
“Many innocent people — above all, federal employees — will be hurt by the government shutdown. But Democrats needed to take a stand, to show that they will try to hold Republicans accountable for their assault on the welfare of Americans, and Republican incompetence gave them good ground for doing so.
In a perverse way, we can be grateful that Trump and his minions are so incompetent, because that is forcing the dormant parts of our country to push back. Let’s just hope that the pushback is strong enough and fast enough to save us all.”
From The Peaceful Solution:
How much do you want to stop His Royal Heinous and the fascist takeover of the country?
Enough that you’re willing to make a small sacrifice? Like altering your spending habits for a month or two or three? That could be all it would take to get the attention of the oligarchs (formerly known as The Robber Barons in the first Gilded Age, also The Fat Cats, The Greedy Bastards).
A brief demonstration of We, the People’s, power of the purse could persuade them to quit supporting HRH and the politicians who enable him.
We quit spending, except on essentials, businesses lose money, stock market goes down, Greedy Bastards pay attention to our demands.
Greedy Bastards own most of the politicians of both major parties. GBs start losing money, tell politicians to change course and do what We, the People want.
We are running out of peaceful options. The legislature and Supreme Court are controlled by HRH. He controls the executive branch, including the Military, Justice Department, FBI, ICE, the IRS. He controls all levers of power.
We, the people, still have the power of the purse. No one can control our spending, or lack of spending. When all else fails we can go on a spending strike until the business community stops supporting HRH and the politicians who enable him.
Economic warfare is the only thing the oligarchs, the business community will understand and act on. Call it a Surreptitious General Strike (Quiet Quitting). Go to work, do as little as possible. Stop spending money except on essentials. Quit feeding the corporate beast that supports HRH.
Stop participating. Nearly 70% of the U.S. economy is driven by consumer spending. All of us. Hobble the economy and the stock market. Mahatma Gandhi drove the British from India by peaceful civil disobedience. We can stop the fascist takeover in the same way.
We can keep rehashing past and present atrocities until our access to the internet is taken away by the regime, or we can DO something!
After seeing covering the Epstein files as a major motivation for keeping the government shut down (for Mike to keep from having the "seat" the finalizing vote to release them) I'm wondering if something else will break pretty soon? Like maybe someone leaking videos of Trump and some of the oligarchs being massaged, who are hiding from real damning exposure while everyone else is (apparently endlessly) suffering.
And OH, Mike Johnson is a professed Christian. His conscience must look like a three-dimensional Jackson Pollock painting.
ADDENDUM from c. King: . . . Johnson is right up there with Rubio. I'll never forget that picture of Rubio sitting on that couch with Trump and the president of Ukraine as Trump and everyone ganged up on Zelenski. I'm for giving Zelenski the Nobel Peace Prize for putting up with that debacle. But there was Rubio--we could watch on his face his moral and spiritual life crumble from within.
Since Trump has decided to punish blue states in the shutdown, is it time for taxpayers in blue states to stop paying federal taxes. Maybe we should only pay taxes to our state which will then have the resources needed to make up for what Trump withholds. I'm tired of subsidizing the red states.
Yet another day of complicit silence about the Gaza genocide, the modern day Holocaust. I keep wondering - not so much about the inhumanity of the total lack of solidarity with fellow human beings or having no empathy for their suffering for I have been witnessing for most my life - but about the capacity to pretend at the same time to be pro democracy. Could it be that you do not know what democracy is, that it includes international law and order, which is why the UN calls out Israel for genocide? Could it be that you do not know that genocide and ethnic cleansing are crimes against humanity? Is it for being Americans and feeling the moral right to keep killing indigenous people, from Vietnam to Iraq, millions killed, close to the number of Holocaust victims (please google it, should not be that hard). It is the US that is enabling Israel to exterminate Palestinians with your money - and yet you stay silent? I cannot comprehend it fo the life. I do understand the politicians, both Democrats and Republicans, since basically all of them are bribed by AIPAC - but why the Contrarian?
From Paul Krugman:
“Many innocent people — above all, federal employees — will be hurt by the government shutdown. But Democrats needed to take a stand, to show that they will try to hold Republicans accountable for their assault on the welfare of Americans, and Republican incompetence gave them good ground for doing so.
In a perverse way, we can be grateful that Trump and his minions are so incompetent, because that is forcing the dormant parts of our country to push back. Let’s just hope that the pushback is strong enough and fast enough to save us all.”
From The Peaceful Solution:
How much do you want to stop His Royal Heinous and the fascist takeover of the country?
Enough that you’re willing to make a small sacrifice? Like altering your spending habits for a month or two or three? That could be all it would take to get the attention of the oligarchs (formerly known as The Robber Barons in the first Gilded Age, also The Fat Cats, The Greedy Bastards).
A brief demonstration of We, the People’s, power of the purse could persuade them to quit supporting HRH and the politicians who enable him.
We quit spending, except on essentials, businesses lose money, stock market goes down, Greedy Bastards pay attention to our demands.
Greedy Bastards own most of the politicians of both major parties. GBs start losing money, tell politicians to change course and do what We, the People want.
We are running out of peaceful options. The legislature and Supreme Court are controlled by HRH. He controls the executive branch, including the Military, Justice Department, FBI, ICE, the IRS. He controls all levers of power.
We, the people, still have the power of the purse. No one can control our spending, or lack of spending. When all else fails we can go on a spending strike until the business community stops supporting HRH and the politicians who enable him.
Economic warfare is the only thing the oligarchs, the business community will understand and act on. Call it a Surreptitious General Strike (Quiet Quitting). Go to work, do as little as possible. Stop spending money except on essentials. Quit feeding the corporate beast that supports HRH.
Stop participating. Nearly 70% of the U.S. economy is driven by consumer spending. All of us. Hobble the economy and the stock market. Mahatma Gandhi drove the British from India by peaceful civil disobedience. We can stop the fascist takeover in the same way.
We can keep rehashing past and present atrocities until our access to the internet is taken away by the regime, or we can DO something!
Now is the time for this Peaceful Solution.
After seeing covering the Epstein files as a major motivation for keeping the government shut down (for Mike to keep from having the "seat" the finalizing vote to release them) I'm wondering if something else will break pretty soon? Like maybe someone leaking videos of Trump and some of the oligarchs being massaged, who are hiding from real damning exposure while everyone else is (apparently endlessly) suffering.
And OH, Mike Johnson is a professed Christian. His conscience must look like a three-dimensional Jackson Pollock painting.
ADDENDUM from c. King: . . . Johnson is right up there with Rubio. I'll never forget that picture of Rubio sitting on that couch with Trump and the president of Ukraine as Trump and everyone ganged up on Zelenski. I'm for giving Zelenski the Nobel Peace Prize for putting up with that debacle. But there was Rubio--we could watch on his face his moral and spiritual life crumble from within.
More excellence, Contrarian. Thank you!
Since Trump has decided to punish blue states in the shutdown, is it time for taxpayers in blue states to stop paying federal taxes. Maybe we should only pay taxes to our state which will then have the resources needed to make up for what Trump withholds. I'm tired of subsidizing the red states.
Except I realize that paying taxes is usually necessary for certain services in more normal times.
Excellent column by Jen Rubin. Interesting interview with Gloria Steinem and Linda Burstyn. Great job Contrarians!
Yet another day of complicit silence about the Gaza genocide, the modern day Holocaust. I keep wondering - not so much about the inhumanity of the total lack of solidarity with fellow human beings or having no empathy for their suffering for I have been witnessing for most my life - but about the capacity to pretend at the same time to be pro democracy. Could it be that you do not know what democracy is, that it includes international law and order, which is why the UN calls out Israel for genocide? Could it be that you do not know that genocide and ethnic cleansing are crimes against humanity? Is it for being Americans and feeling the moral right to keep killing indigenous people, from Vietnam to Iraq, millions killed, close to the number of Holocaust victims (please google it, should not be that hard). It is the US that is enabling Israel to exterminate Palestinians with your money - and yet you stay silent? I cannot comprehend it fo the life. I do understand the politicians, both Democrats and Republicans, since basically all of them are bribed by AIPAC - but why the Contrarian?