Dear Gen-Xers and Millennials who blame Boomers for their plight: VOTE. EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU. Do whatever it takes. The way to preserve our rights is to exercise them. As Tom Malinowski just urged on the Coffee chat, don't be intimidated. There is nothing "monitors" can do other than make you feel scared. Just do your duty as a citizen.
It seems to me that full Dem turnout can counter gerrymanders. To do nothing because you expect a bad result puts you on the side of that bad result. Get back to us after you have joined us in the streets and at the ballot box.
Yep. That’s just a way for childish gen-xers and millennials to shirk their own contributions to this mess. What a crock of crap. Boomers are not only responsible for this. The lazy dopes who blame boomers for what is happening now should remember that trump is just barely a boomer and that the venal idiots around him are mostly gen-xers and millennials. Boomers ARE responsible for the following, though:
Clean Water Act
Clean Air Act
Endangered Species Act
National Environmental Policy Act
Environmental Protection Agency
Marine Mammal Protection Act
Violence Against Women Act
Roe v Wade
Civil rights laws and actions
Getting rid of tricky dick
The rise of feminism and equal rights for women
No fault-divorce
Criminalization of marital rape and domestic abuse
Stopping the Vietnam War
When gen xers and millennials can credibly say they accomplished as much as the bloomers did, maybe they will have earned the right to criticize. 'Til then, it’s just so much dumb, ignorant whining about daddy not saving them. Wahwahwah. If they can’t hang on to what we bequeathed to them, not our fault.
We also worked our asses off to get Biden and then Harris elected. We didn't sit out those elections.
Well, at least those young single-issue voters got their peace in the Middle East. Oh, wait... that mission ain't accomplished. Well, at least they got martial law in America. Way to go, kids.
I know. All that winging and whining about the Palestinians and 'we are going to show the Democrats so we will take our ball and go home and pout and hold our breath until we are blue and you will be sorry, so sorry nahnahnah’. At the time I remember thinking two things about this temper tantrum: 1) This is NOT your first grade class where you are glowering in the corner because the teacher won’t let you eat the glue but you still get a gold star for showing up. And 2) what ever made them think donnie would be better for the Palestinians?! I mean, talk about utterly self-absorbed and clueless. So, now Gaza is a wasteland that donnie, bibi, vlad and their middle east dictator buds want to build into trumplandia — once the genocide is done, of course. They never learned that you have to make shit happen because your mommy is not always going to do it for you. They threw the Palestinians under the bus but, boy, did they ever show those Democrats.
Sigh. Not to mention that aggression begets retaliation. Generational warfare on the olds is only met with disdain for the next generation. Now I have to work every time I meet someone young not to consider them kindergartners.
I just noticed I said ‘bloomers’ when I meant ‘boomers’ in my comment. Can’t blame spell check because I have it turned off (don’t like bossy computers) so it must have been me. Oh, well. Where have all the flowers gone, anyway?
And yes, sometimes I just want to shake a millennial and say, ‘grow the fork up. This is not an active shooter drill and if you want your kids to grow up in a country where they can go to school and not have to worry about being massacred, you better step up and DO SOMETHING besides pouting and whining that it’s all the boomers’ fault.'
I loved that it said bloomers, so why correct you. I’m a professional editor who knows that Freudian slips are sometimes meant to be :)
Do we get to bitch now? Oh, goody. I have voted in every election of my adult lifetime and expect my fellow citizens to do the same. I was probably even MORE adamant when in my 20s. It was right! I was old and smart enough to exercise it! It’s beyond me how any young person can choose not to vote.
Similarly, I have ditched friend relationships with adults who don’t do their civic duty. A 50-something acquaintance became angry when our state automatically registered her to vote when she bought a new car, under the “Motor-voter” law. Angry! Meaning she hadn’t bothered voting before and saw it as a chore or an undue burden! Eff that. A year later, as her pandemic politics also got in the way, I said bye-bye.
Any juicy stories or gripes to share? Processing is important :)
I know all of what is said here is 100% true. It just amazes me that everyone in this country has their freedom because the Allies defeated the Axis in WW2. But somehow everyone has forgotten the history of how that all happened. The current regime is taking all the steps from the Totalitarian playbook to take away our freedom. All the people in the highest offices of the federal government take an Oath to protect the country against all enemy's be they foreign or domestic. They are all in violation of their oath to the constitution, and they are all the enemy!
The Republicans violate their oaths, please. My senator Jeff Merkley just held the Senate floor for 22 hours to demand that we uphold our democracy. There are plenty of good Dems whose relatives, I'm sure, served in that war. Thank you for elevating this issue, though. How can anyone forget the sacrifice and discount the obvious current threat?
We are truly gifted to have so many WONDERFUL contributing writers enriching us on The Contrarian! This is an excellent article on the kind of illegal shenanigans that an honest Justice Department would be on top of to protect against.
We all "must not sit out the election next year. We have to turn out as if our very way of life depends on it." That is exactly what Contrarian is about.
Of course, that opinion is plausible. However, missing in this sound logic is the fact that, regardless of what things appear to be, they are not that when dealing with Trump. We know this. There was a reason Trump's call to his gubernatorial lackeys was; he knows he could lose. He also has a multitude of advisers who care only about authoritarianism, segregation, and white supremacy, who are ready to support his 2024 pre-election pledge that you won't have to vote again in 4 years!
I suggest that we all honestly assess the odds of a major threat appearing. One that would require Trump to delay indefinitely any mid-term. I also suggest that we all need to question any notion that appears that expresses our desire to rid ourselves of the Dictator. That is exactly what the Right wants us to do. The truth is that any honest assessment of what we see happening is that the takeover has already happened. We have no Congress and no SCOTUS to save our democracy.
The only alternative is the military stepping in, and after the many firings, what may remain are those who will not step in to such a coup! It took the Canadian government to demonstrate what we should be doing and what many of us have been asking the Democrats to do: spend the money now, place ads on all sporting events that explain, as Reagan did, what is going on and its consequences! That means a daily alternative to Trump on Social Media, ads on TV and and aggressive political attacks on the TV Media outlets.
These actions, plus controlling who speaks for the Party on TV and on the Sunday game shows, will begin to pay off and possibly let the nation see that there really is an opposition to the coup. The worst thing we can do is continue to debate whether there is still a government, one that can be overthrown in a mid-term election! That is foolish and dangerous! We are in the middle, not the beginning, of a Civil War. We need to recognize that, and should something changes, great!
Yes, I agree. This has been a historic, not just a lack of recognition or concern, during its development stages (the Bush/Cheney administration), then after Trump's first attempt, followed by the attack on Jan 6, the unacceptance of Biden's election, then the campaign by Trump in 2024, should have given the leaders of the Democratic Party and others in power, at least a hint of what was to come. They even deliberately leaked the Heritage Manifesto so their followers would see clearly what to expect. Yet, even today, we read articles and comments daily that merely reiterate what has happened and then suggest answers to resolve the coup, with vehicles only present within a functioning democracy! It is remarkable!
He doesn’t have to call them off. Russia, North Korea, China, Hungary, they all have Elections. They’re just bullshit, Elections. Send the troops in to intimidate people buy the voting machine companies . He’s already begun the process.
There’s some swing voters in red states and in areas that have not faired as well in the Trump economy might well likely vote blue against Trump and his economic policies. If that happens he would try to blame it on cheating rather than a portion of the electorate rejecting his policies.
I have to disagree with the conclusion here. I believe that tRump is so selfish and self-involved that his self-interests (power, money, hateful retribution) would override his 'need' to have elections. Indeed, he has stated baldly that we won't need to vote for him - or likely any others - again. He's going to be Hitler-on-steroids before the end of this year if we can't stop him with every legal and moral imperative we can bring to bear. And I am very fearful that we won't be able to stop him, barring an all-out civil war if he's still in the White House on New Year's Day.
I'm convinced that We the People have a serviceable majority, but it may not be strong enough at our roots to get this country back from the societal mess he's punted us back to.
Dear Gen-Xers and Millennials who blame Boomers for their plight: VOTE. EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU. Do whatever it takes. The way to preserve our rights is to exercise them. As Tom Malinowski just urged on the Coffee chat, don't be intimidated. There is nothing "monitors" can do other than make you feel scared. Just do your duty as a citizen.
It seems to me that full Dem turnout can counter gerrymanders. To do nothing because you expect a bad result puts you on the side of that bad result. Get back to us after you have joined us in the streets and at the ballot box.
Yep. That’s just a way for childish gen-xers and millennials to shirk their own contributions to this mess. What a crock of crap. Boomers are not only responsible for this. The lazy dopes who blame boomers for what is happening now should remember that trump is just barely a boomer and that the venal idiots around him are mostly gen-xers and millennials. Boomers ARE responsible for the following, though:
Clean Water Act
Clean Air Act
Endangered Species Act
National Environmental Policy Act
Environmental Protection Agency
Marine Mammal Protection Act
Violence Against Women Act
Roe v Wade
Civil rights laws and actions
Getting rid of tricky dick
The rise of feminism and equal rights for women
No fault-divorce
Criminalization of marital rape and domestic abuse
Stopping the Vietnam War
When gen xers and millennials can credibly say they accomplished as much as the bloomers did, maybe they will have earned the right to criticize. 'Til then, it’s just so much dumb, ignorant whining about daddy not saving them. Wahwahwah. If they can’t hang on to what we bequeathed to them, not our fault.
We also worked our asses off to get Biden and then Harris elected. We didn't sit out those elections.
Well, at least those young single-issue voters got their peace in the Middle East. Oh, wait... that mission ain't accomplished. Well, at least they got martial law in America. Way to go, kids.
I know. All that winging and whining about the Palestinians and 'we are going to show the Democrats so we will take our ball and go home and pout and hold our breath until we are blue and you will be sorry, so sorry nahnahnah’. At the time I remember thinking two things about this temper tantrum: 1) This is NOT your first grade class where you are glowering in the corner because the teacher won’t let you eat the glue but you still get a gold star for showing up. And 2) what ever made them think donnie would be better for the Palestinians?! I mean, talk about utterly self-absorbed and clueless. So, now Gaza is a wasteland that donnie, bibi, vlad and their middle east dictator buds want to build into trumplandia — once the genocide is done, of course. They never learned that you have to make shit happen because your mommy is not always going to do it for you. They threw the Palestinians under the bus but, boy, did they ever show those Democrats.
Sigh. Not to mention that aggression begets retaliation. Generational warfare on the olds is only met with disdain for the next generation. Now I have to work every time I meet someone young not to consider them kindergartners.
I just noticed I said ‘bloomers’ when I meant ‘boomers’ in my comment. Can’t blame spell check because I have it turned off (don’t like bossy computers) so it must have been me. Oh, well. Where have all the flowers gone, anyway?
And yes, sometimes I just want to shake a millennial and say, ‘grow the fork up. This is not an active shooter drill and if you want your kids to grow up in a country where they can go to school and not have to worry about being massacred, you better step up and DO SOMETHING besides pouting and whining that it’s all the boomers’ fault.'
I loved that it said bloomers, so why correct you. I’m a professional editor who knows that Freudian slips are sometimes meant to be :)
Do we get to bitch now? Oh, goody. I have voted in every election of my adult lifetime and expect my fellow citizens to do the same. I was probably even MORE adamant when in my 20s. It was right! I was old and smart enough to exercise it! It’s beyond me how any young person can choose not to vote.
Similarly, I have ditched friend relationships with adults who don’t do their civic duty. A 50-something acquaintance became angry when our state automatically registered her to vote when she bought a new car, under the “Motor-voter” law. Angry! Meaning she hadn’t bothered voting before and saw it as a chore or an undue burden! Eff that. A year later, as her pandemic politics also got in the way, I said bye-bye.
Any juicy stories or gripes to share? Processing is important :)
I know all of what is said here is 100% true. It just amazes me that everyone in this country has their freedom because the Allies defeated the Axis in WW2. But somehow everyone has forgotten the history of how that all happened. The current regime is taking all the steps from the Totalitarian playbook to take away our freedom. All the people in the highest offices of the federal government take an Oath to protect the country against all enemy's be they foreign or domestic. They are all in violation of their oath to the constitution, and they are all the enemy!
The Republicans violate their oaths, please. My senator Jeff Merkley just held the Senate floor for 22 hours to demand that we uphold our democracy. There are plenty of good Dems whose relatives, I'm sure, served in that war. Thank you for elevating this issue, though. How can anyone forget the sacrifice and discount the obvious current threat?
We are truly gifted to have so many WONDERFUL contributing writers enriching us on The Contrarian! This is an excellent article on the kind of illegal shenanigans that an honest Justice Department would be on top of to protect against.
We all "must not sit out the election next year. We have to turn out as if our very way of life depends on it." That is exactly what Contrarian is about.
Of course, that opinion is plausible. However, missing in this sound logic is the fact that, regardless of what things appear to be, they are not that when dealing with Trump. We know this. There was a reason Trump's call to his gubernatorial lackeys was; he knows he could lose. He also has a multitude of advisers who care only about authoritarianism, segregation, and white supremacy, who are ready to support his 2024 pre-election pledge that you won't have to vote again in 4 years!
I suggest that we all honestly assess the odds of a major threat appearing. One that would require Trump to delay indefinitely any mid-term. I also suggest that we all need to question any notion that appears that expresses our desire to rid ourselves of the Dictator. That is exactly what the Right wants us to do. The truth is that any honest assessment of what we see happening is that the takeover has already happened. We have no Congress and no SCOTUS to save our democracy.
The only alternative is the military stepping in, and after the many firings, what may remain are those who will not step in to such a coup! It took the Canadian government to demonstrate what we should be doing and what many of us have been asking the Democrats to do: spend the money now, place ads on all sporting events that explain, as Reagan did, what is going on and its consequences! That means a daily alternative to Trump on Social Media, ads on TV and and aggressive political attacks on the TV Media outlets.
These actions, plus controlling who speaks for the Party on TV and on the Sunday game shows, will begin to pay off and possibly let the nation see that there really is an opposition to the coup. The worst thing we can do is continue to debate whether there is still a government, one that can be overthrown in a mid-term election! That is foolish and dangerous! We are in the middle, not the beginning, of a Civil War. We need to recognize that, and should something changes, great!
The lack of multipronged strategic defense astounds me.
Yes, I agree. This has been a historic, not just a lack of recognition or concern, during its development stages (the Bush/Cheney administration), then after Trump's first attempt, followed by the attack on Jan 6, the unacceptance of Biden's election, then the campaign by Trump in 2024, should have given the leaders of the Democratic Party and others in power, at least a hint of what was to come. They even deliberately leaked the Heritage Manifesto so their followers would see clearly what to expect. Yet, even today, we read articles and comments daily that merely reiterate what has happened and then suggest answers to resolve the coup, with vehicles only present within a functioning democracy! It is remarkable!
He doesn’t have to call them off. Russia, North Korea, China, Hungary, they all have Elections. They’re just bullshit, Elections. Send the troops in to intimidate people buy the voting machine companies . He’s already begun the process.
There’s some swing voters in red states and in areas that have not faired as well in the Trump economy might well likely vote blue against Trump and his economic policies. If that happens he would try to blame it on cheating rather than a portion of the electorate rejecting his policies.
I hope you are correct
I have to disagree with the conclusion here. I believe that tRump is so selfish and self-involved that his self-interests (power, money, hateful retribution) would override his 'need' to have elections. Indeed, he has stated baldly that we won't need to vote for him - or likely any others - again. He's going to be Hitler-on-steroids before the end of this year if we can't stop him with every legal and moral imperative we can bring to bear. And I am very fearful that we won't be able to stop him, barring an all-out civil war if he's still in the White House on New Year's Day.
I'm convinced that We the People have a serviceable majority, but it may not be strong enough at our roots to get this country back from the societal mess he's punted us back to.
Trump also stated that ivermectin would cure covid. About half of what he says he doesn't mean, and the other half are lies.
The back of his head looks like an ass. Oh wait, that is an ass..
And his mouth looks like ...
Thank you Professor Sarat for delivering this urgent message.
I think you'll have your midterm elections my normal US friends.
But they'll be of the Belarus / Russian kind.
Do never forget the wise words of comrade Stalin, words he allegedly spoke in the 1930's:
"I regard it as completely unimportant who in the party will vote and how, but it is extremely important who will count the votes and how."