Listen now | Ralph welcomes back Adolph Reed, Professor Emeritus of political science at the University of Pennsylvania and Distinguished Visiting Professor at Mount Holyoke College to discuss the latest Supreme Court decision gutting the Voting Rights Act.
The MIDTERMS are just around the corner. Here are some VOTING tips.
If you are worried about VOTING alone, take a friend or two with you or go with a local group.
If you VOTE by Mail, take your Ballot into your local Post Office and have the Postal Employee Time and Date stamp your Ballot AND then take a picture of it with your phone. NOW you have proof of WHEN and WHERE you VOTED! It ONLY takes an extra minute or two as I have done this for years.
If your state has Ballot Tracking sign up for it online. Ballot Tracking follows your Ballot from the time you dropped it off at your Post Office to the Election Center and tells you when your Ballot has actually been counted!
You receive information via email or text or both!
A lot of important discussions. First, I am a long-time admirer of Professor Reed and was looking forward to hearing him talk about the limitations of race reductionism and the importance of centering class in our efforts to save our democracy. Yet, before he even got to that topic, Ralph interrupted him with a long monologue. I’ve
noticed since the Louisiana Voting Rights decision that msm pundits focus almost exclusively on the right of Black voters to be represented by Black politicians. But, as Reed pointed out, electing politicians based on race will not necessarily result in improved circumstances for voters. Reed mentioned the concerted effort of some Black politicians to prevent Bernie Sanders from winning the 2020 primary when his economic proposals would have benefited struggling Americans across the board, regardless of race. James Clyburn comes to mind. Not only did he throw his support behind Biden to help defeat Sanders, he also joined billionaires in supporting Andrew Cuomo over Mamdani in the NYC mayoral race. I hope we can unite behind candidates who think like us, but may not necessarily look like us. I agree with Reed that both of the major parties work to divide us by race.
I completely agree with Bruce Fein about impeachment — not only of Trump, but of the six corrupt Supreme Court Justices who orchestrated a silent coup in Trump v. U.S. I think, however, that a very few Democrats, not including Jamie Raskin, would be willing to undertake such efforts and would gain little support from other Democrats in doing so. Many of us are still not facing what the Democratic Party has become.
I was happy that Francesco DeSantis mentioned the status of the “public interest” group, End Citizens United. I have long thought that the Citizens United decision has been cynically used by political action groups only as a fund raising tool. Why? Because overturning CU would not prevent billionaires from buying elections, the biggest problem we now face in campaign financing and in preventing a further slide from democracy into plutocracy. In 1976, the Supreme Court equated money with speech in Buckley v. Valeo, which allowed wealthy individuals, then mostly millionaires, to spend unlimited amounts of money to support particular candidates, provided those expenditures did not go directly to the candidates themselves (the decision allowed unlimited “independent” expenditures). Billionaires are now buying elections under Buckley. . (Think of the hundreds of millions Musk and Miriam Edelson spent getting Trump elected in 2024). Citizens United simply extended Buckley’s reasoning to corporations. Thus, even if CU were overturned, billionaires could still buy elections under Buckley. But if Buckley were overturned, Citizens United would go down with it. I was really pleased that on May 6, the NYT published a front page article by journalist Danny Hakim about Buckley entitled, “A Look Inside the Case that Enshrined Political Power for Billionaires.” After all this time, someone finally got it right. Yet, in reading through the first 50 or so posts on the article, Buckley was barely mentioned, if at all, and the section was instead flooded with comments about Citizens United bringing about the demise of our democracy. That’s how effective these political action groups have been in circulating propaganda about Citizens United for fundraising purposes. It should serve as a warning about how easily we can be propagandized on other subjects.
One of the many groups using CU for fundraising purposes without mentioning Buckley is Public Citizen. In addition, PC is featuring and honoring Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse at its annual fundraising event. Senator Whitehouse is one of now only 11 Democratic Senators to vote against ending the U.S.’s provision of certain weapons to Israel, as proposed in the recent Ban the Bombs Act. Why is a “public interest” organization honoring a politician who continues to support a genocide? I informed PC that I was boycotting the fundraising event for that reason. If Ralph has any influence with the organization, I hope he will tell them what a bad idea it is to honor a politician who votes to fund a genocide with our tax dollars.
Finally, I hope the Radio Hour will ask Bruce Fein about the possibilities of overturning both Trump v. U.S. and Buckley v. Valeo. Doing so would go a long way toward saving our democracy.
Heather Cox Richardson was saying that it’s possible to impeach justices in the Supreme Court. It hasn’t been used enough or often. What do you say to that Ralph?
Citizens must respond to the current crisis of Trump 2 by demanding Rule 9. But that is only part of what needs to be done if we want Congress to fix the problems that led to Trump 1 and Trump 2.
When Biden was elected there was much relief that things were back to normal so nothing needed to be done about what led to Trump 1. Then (with the music from the approaching shark from Jaws) just when you thought it was safe to go back in the voting booth- Trump 2 !
We have six months until the 2026 election. It is time for you Ralph to join me and add your name as signatory of the Declaration of Independence from the Big Money Interests and help organize citizens to demand that politicians do not take big money which is the main weapon used by the enemies of democracy to control our politicians and that leads to things like Trump 1 and Trump 2.
You are either for the oligarchy or against the oligarchy.
Just 10% of voters in 2026 demanding that politicians run small donor campaigns and enforcing that demand with our votes in 2026 could inspire more citizens to participate and some candidates to run in 2028 which could inspire even more citizens and candidates to participate in 2030 (30-40% or more of citizens).
This would be a major step forward in getting the big money out of politics by 2030- much faster and more effective than any public financing legislation or constitutional amendments could ever be passed and implemented.
It is citizens working together to take away the money financing the big money politicians similar to how the Congress took away the money financing the Vietnam War.
It is a basic principle of democracy as you invoked when you used to say that politicians want our votes more than big money.
You need to start saying that again and help put that into action by having me on the Radio Hour to discuss this strategy as you said you would do on Washington Journal (10-24-2018).
It even comes with a good slogan that sends a clear message to politicians:
TAKE BIG MONEY- LOSE OUR VOTES.
Or you can look forward to Trump 3 (even if it is someone other than Trump filling the role).
This week I got these responses to my frequent emails to them:
From Rep. Himes:
Thank you for contacting me about President Trump. I appreciate your comments and am grateful that you took the time to reach out to me.
Like you, I am deeply alarmed by the President’s conduct in his second term. He has fired thousands of dedicated public servants, pushed reckless cuts to our healthcare system, unlawfully detained immigrants without due process, and spread rhetoric that endangers millions. His abuse of war powers, his disregard for democratic norms, and the consistent pattern of lawlessness raise serious concerns about his ability to effectively serve.
During the first Trump Administration, I voted in favor of both articles of impeachment against the President based on clear evidence of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. From 2016 to 2021, I witnessed the damage caused by President Trump’s actions and words. On January 6, 2021, I was among the last evacuated from the House chamber as violent insurrectionists stormed the Capitol at the orders of the President. In the aftermath, I fought hard to strip him of access to the nuclear codes, bar him from ever holding public office again, and hold him accountable for inciting an attack on a coequal branch of government.
Even though Republicans hold the majority in both chambers, advancing impeachment would require their cooperation. Yet, despite overwhelming evidence, most Republican Members of Congress continue to shield the President from accountability. It is my political judgment that, at a time when an impeachment vote will not be brought to the floor by the majority, I do not believe that now is the appropriate time to initiate impeachment proceedings.
I am committed to working with my Democratic colleagues to protect our most vulnerable communities, defend critical funding, and uphold the integrity of our democracy. I have demanded answers from this administration, joined lawsuits to hold them accountable, and worked tirelessly to stop their dangerous agenda. The stakes have never been higher, and I will do everything in my power to defend the rule of law and our democratic institutions.
Sincerely,
James A. Himes
Member of Congress
And from Blumenthal:
Thank you for your message regarding funding levels for the Department of Defense (DOD). I appreciate hearing from you.
As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, I am responsible for shaping and reviewing the annual defense budget, also known as the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Each year, the NDAA secures significant investments in high priority programs critical to our national defense and Connecticut’s economy. Connecticut's industrial base continues to produce advanced, capable weapons systems to protect our troops and defend our country. However, I believe military spending alone does not guarantee our national security. Our national defense relies upon the quality of our people, including those in the supply chain, the defense establishment, and the military services. Our security requires a strong non-military infrastructure, which is built upon education, health care, and housing.
For these reasons, I have supported several provisions to increase oversight of the DOD and ensure greater transparency and accountability for the department’s policies and actions. Please know that if I have the opportunity to review or vote on DOD funding levels in the future, I will be sure to keep your views in mind.
Thank you again for your message. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future with any additional questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Richard Blumenthal
United States Senate
I sent this email to the three this week:
Dear Senator Blumenthal;
I'm very concerned by your Israel first positions and policies where the US will back Israel no matter how lawless, abusive of human rights and predatory they become against neighboring sovereign countries such as Lebanon, Syria, Iran and Turkey.
You no doubt have your AIPAC handlers and your aides who listen to Israeli propaganda outlets in DC such as "The foundation for the defense of democracies": https://www.fdd.org/
Discussions I watch frequently that are unbiased, such as Danny Davis, Glenn Diesen, Andrew Napolitano on "Youtube" reiterate the central issues, that Israel is the leading threat to the Mid-east and any hope of peace there. As a Democrat I wonder how you could show favoratism to any ethnic or religious group as your voting tends to amplify. Here is one recent discussion with former US ambassador Chas. Freeman: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1FnZp1N5po
My uncle was a US ambassador who was posted in Chad until his wife's health failed due to an African infectious disease.
I would hope you would open your mind to every and all discussions regarding diplomacy and reasonable peaceful resolutions to these conflicts as the US military has rarely engaged in conflicts with positive effects.
Thank you for your letters. I completely agree. Although I thought Rep. Himes sent you a good response, it drives me crazy when people, especially a member of Congress, refer to Congress as “a co-equal branch” of government. Although the phrase has become much used in the media, it betrays an astounding amount of ignorance by the speaker. Congress, as the people’s branch, is the preeminent branch of government. Its powers are much broader and more substantive than those of the other two. I won’t catalog them here, as I have done in posts elsewhere, but in addition to the powers to make laws, declare war, and control the purse, it is the only branch that can impeach members of the other two. Although all one needs to do to understand how much more powerful than the other two branches the framers intended Congress to be is to read the Constitution itself, there are several scholarly articles on the subject. Nonetheless, the phrase, “co-equal branch,” seems to have infected our discourse in acknowledgment of an increasingly dominant and unchecked executive branch.
We need rally’s or somehow petitions I don’t know how you supposed to do this really what congressman or Senator listens to anything we say I went to the third house meeting 30 years ago and it was a concern citizens for taxes where we fought because our property taxes was too high and there was a board of people up there. One of them was from the Ways and Means committee and he said we don’t know what China is gonna do yet now what does that have to do with your property taxes and I have called him. I was younger than I hated way they treated these older people in the group & said I never heard no prayer start this meeting very sad . Neather part follows the constitution an all our officials have immunity to prosecution they don’t care they paid corporations to leave this country we had several over 100 year old companies leave or shut down nothing here left now stated in the 70s . We see now they will kill people if have rallies we can’t get a senator or congressman Dave even care if you call him on the phone anymore, not even a representative nobody answers the phone at the governor’s office and if someone does they just send you to somebody anybody because nobody has a title anymore just to get rid of you and this started during Covid and still none of our representatives actually come to the office in town and stay there or even visit and do the job that’s supposed to do. There has to be groups formed an meetings politicians. Do not have to talk to you. They don’t if there is a meeting. They put a chalkboard up and you pick one out of three things that you can talk about and they’re only gonna be there for one hour at City Hall regardless of how deep and how much people wanna say they do not donate their time to the people at all and they don’t care what you say . They know they don’t have care & protected environment you are the problem if you enforce your rights & voice of problems . This is a great evil . There are no civil Lawyers or Judges of the people it’s a criminal cartel just make you shut up under threat of your voice or just ignored on all counts, regardless whether it’s legal or righteous or not who cares that’s problem with politics what kills everyone sooner or later .
Ha! I guess I do mean they're talking too fast, if you're not speeding it up. Beats me. Ralph's got over a decade on me and can't begin to keep up. I better give it up
Am I completely off base here, in thinking that as terrible gerrymandering is, it is not the end all?
It is a long shot to think that the democratic party will grow a spine and be a party for the people, but if they adopt the Progressive Caucus plan (which is what Bernie proposed), and if they apply that to every state, including the red states that they completely ignore, they can get people to do the work they never did: door to door, talking to people, education. Bernie showed us that money is great but it is not the one thing that gets people interested and invested.
Instead of spending millions on ads telling us how bad Trump is, they could really change their goals for governing and get people to believe them again. Real work, grassroots work
I will do what Bruce Fein suggested. I will write a short letter to Congress, copy/paste to all members of congress, even if I have to give a bogus address on their form. I will tell people to do the same. I will even go to their computers and copy/paste their own letters if they want.
We really need to get all the energy from the No Kings protests into action that will reach the Capitol
There are many stark realities about Professor Reed’s discussion about the gutting of the voting rights act. I took a quick look back at the last time a majority of whites voted for a president and that was way back in 1964 when Lyndon Johnson ran. I realize that Congressional elections are a different discussion, but the gutting of the 1965 law will have similar repercussions as have presidential elections in the past. Coincidentally, the last two presidents coming close to receiving a majority of white votes were Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton.
What does all of this mean? Well, first, there is a rejection of the sacrifices of those who fought for the vote in the 1950s and the 1960s. Then, there is the issue of white supremacy that casts a pall over this. There’s truth to the fact that in the segregated South, one of the few fallbacks that poor whites had was their perceived superiority over Black people. While there needed to have been a mutual regard for the poverty that afflicted many in the US, this irrational connection to superiority remains today. That affirmative action was seen as cutting in line, rather than correcting historical societal wrongs, tells much. The Republicans now have made attacks against affirmative action a cause célèbre.
Wouldn't it be great if all the people had so much class that they didn't need to Gerrymander themselves to success or power or to the bottom rungs of life because they had so much respect for each others ideas and places of origin.
Have you ever played a game when the winner said, let's have a,"do over" . My foot stepped over the line, my last shot down the line went out, or I think my last inside curve ball hit your sleeve.
At the bat of life do we always need an umpire to tell us what is right or wrong? Is always wining all the time all that important?
Where are the historic teachers of " ethics " the parents, the teachers, the religious leaders , those that govern?
They want us dead there building mansion caves under the ground all them billionaires so they can hide they’re killing all the food off. They’re gonna cause all the famine the inflation everything God created they want dead. There killed most all the bees off nothing could pollinate the air the water. The food is all poison now massive scale. The famines if the Bible biblical scale inflation our country is sold out on all levels industry , education , abortion , medical, no ethics morals , they can control weather ( operation pop-up ) Vietnam and now lasers set fires 🔥, radiation from cell towers , lakes poisoned everywhere now Michigan since the 80s , weed kill glyphosate immunity , as well as lot other poisons in products & food we use everyday . The evils of our government unconscious - able is strate from Hell it’s on both party lines in all aspects . There place will be in Hell .
The MIDTERMS are just around the corner. Here are some VOTING tips.
If you are worried about VOTING alone, take a friend or two with you or go with a local group.
If you VOTE by Mail, take your Ballot into your local Post Office and have the Postal Employee Time and Date stamp your Ballot AND then take a picture of it with your phone. NOW you have proof of WHEN and WHERE you VOTED! It ONLY takes an extra minute or two as I have done this for years.
If your state has Ballot Tracking sign up for it online. Ballot Tracking follows your Ballot from the time you dropped it off at your Post Office to the Election Center and tells you when your Ballot has actually been counted!
You receive information via email or text or both!
WE NEED to OVERWHELMINGLY VOTE!!
WE ARE NOT INTIMIDATED!!
WE ARE STRONGER TOGETHER!!
WE SHALL and MUST OVERCOME!!
A lot of important discussions. First, I am a long-time admirer of Professor Reed and was looking forward to hearing him talk about the limitations of race reductionism and the importance of centering class in our efforts to save our democracy. Yet, before he even got to that topic, Ralph interrupted him with a long monologue. I’ve
noticed since the Louisiana Voting Rights decision that msm pundits focus almost exclusively on the right of Black voters to be represented by Black politicians. But, as Reed pointed out, electing politicians based on race will not necessarily result in improved circumstances for voters. Reed mentioned the concerted effort of some Black politicians to prevent Bernie Sanders from winning the 2020 primary when his economic proposals would have benefited struggling Americans across the board, regardless of race. James Clyburn comes to mind. Not only did he throw his support behind Biden to help defeat Sanders, he also joined billionaires in supporting Andrew Cuomo over Mamdani in the NYC mayoral race. I hope we can unite behind candidates who think like us, but may not necessarily look like us. I agree with Reed that both of the major parties work to divide us by race.
I completely agree with Bruce Fein about impeachment — not only of Trump, but of the six corrupt Supreme Court Justices who orchestrated a silent coup in Trump v. U.S. I think, however, that a very few Democrats, not including Jamie Raskin, would be willing to undertake such efforts and would gain little support from other Democrats in doing so. Many of us are still not facing what the Democratic Party has become.
I was happy that Francesco DeSantis mentioned the status of the “public interest” group, End Citizens United. I have long thought that the Citizens United decision has been cynically used by political action groups only as a fund raising tool. Why? Because overturning CU would not prevent billionaires from buying elections, the biggest problem we now face in campaign financing and in preventing a further slide from democracy into plutocracy. In 1976, the Supreme Court equated money with speech in Buckley v. Valeo, which allowed wealthy individuals, then mostly millionaires, to spend unlimited amounts of money to support particular candidates, provided those expenditures did not go directly to the candidates themselves (the decision allowed unlimited “independent” expenditures). Billionaires are now buying elections under Buckley. . (Think of the hundreds of millions Musk and Miriam Edelson spent getting Trump elected in 2024). Citizens United simply extended Buckley’s reasoning to corporations. Thus, even if CU were overturned, billionaires could still buy elections under Buckley. But if Buckley were overturned, Citizens United would go down with it. I was really pleased that on May 6, the NYT published a front page article by journalist Danny Hakim about Buckley entitled, “A Look Inside the Case that Enshrined Political Power for Billionaires.” After all this time, someone finally got it right. Yet, in reading through the first 50 or so posts on the article, Buckley was barely mentioned, if at all, and the section was instead flooded with comments about Citizens United bringing about the demise of our democracy. That’s how effective these political action groups have been in circulating propaganda about Citizens United for fundraising purposes. It should serve as a warning about how easily we can be propagandized on other subjects.
One of the many groups using CU for fundraising purposes without mentioning Buckley is Public Citizen. In addition, PC is featuring and honoring Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse at its annual fundraising event. Senator Whitehouse is one of now only 11 Democratic Senators to vote against ending the U.S.’s provision of certain weapons to Israel, as proposed in the recent Ban the Bombs Act. Why is a “public interest” organization honoring a politician who continues to support a genocide? I informed PC that I was boycotting the fundraising event for that reason. If Ralph has any influence with the organization, I hope he will tell them what a bad idea it is to honor a politician who votes to fund a genocide with our tax dollars.
Finally, I hope the Radio Hour will ask Bruce Fein about the possibilities of overturning both Trump v. U.S. and Buckley v. Valeo. Doing so would go a long way toward saving our democracy.
Heather Cox Richardson was saying that it’s possible to impeach justices in the Supreme Court. It hasn’t been used enough or often. What do you say to that Ralph?
It was mentioned by Bruce Fein.
This has been a brilliant discussion, but concrete actions is necessary
Citizens must respond to the current crisis of Trump 2 by demanding Rule 9. But that is only part of what needs to be done if we want Congress to fix the problems that led to Trump 1 and Trump 2.
When Biden was elected there was much relief that things were back to normal so nothing needed to be done about what led to Trump 1. Then (with the music from the approaching shark from Jaws) just when you thought it was safe to go back in the voting booth- Trump 2 !
We have six months until the 2026 election. It is time for you Ralph to join me and add your name as signatory of the Declaration of Independence from the Big Money Interests and help organize citizens to demand that politicians do not take big money which is the main weapon used by the enemies of democracy to control our politicians and that leads to things like Trump 1 and Trump 2.
You are either for the oligarchy or against the oligarchy.
Just 10% of voters in 2026 demanding that politicians run small donor campaigns and enforcing that demand with our votes in 2026 could inspire more citizens to participate and some candidates to run in 2028 which could inspire even more citizens and candidates to participate in 2030 (30-40% or more of citizens).
This would be a major step forward in getting the big money out of politics by 2030- much faster and more effective than any public financing legislation or constitutional amendments could ever be passed and implemented.
It is citizens working together to take away the money financing the big money politicians similar to how the Congress took away the money financing the Vietnam War.
It is a basic principle of democracy as you invoked when you used to say that politicians want our votes more than big money.
You need to start saying that again and help put that into action by having me on the Radio Hour to discuss this strategy as you said you would do on Washington Journal (10-24-2018).
It even comes with a good slogan that sends a clear message to politicians:
TAKE BIG MONEY- LOSE OUR VOTES.
Or you can look forward to Trump 3 (even if it is someone other than Trump filling the role).
.
Thanks for being so resolute.
This week I got these responses to my frequent emails to them:
From Rep. Himes:
Thank you for contacting me about President Trump. I appreciate your comments and am grateful that you took the time to reach out to me.
Like you, I am deeply alarmed by the President’s conduct in his second term. He has fired thousands of dedicated public servants, pushed reckless cuts to our healthcare system, unlawfully detained immigrants without due process, and spread rhetoric that endangers millions. His abuse of war powers, his disregard for democratic norms, and the consistent pattern of lawlessness raise serious concerns about his ability to effectively serve.
During the first Trump Administration, I voted in favor of both articles of impeachment against the President based on clear evidence of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. From 2016 to 2021, I witnessed the damage caused by President Trump’s actions and words. On January 6, 2021, I was among the last evacuated from the House chamber as violent insurrectionists stormed the Capitol at the orders of the President. In the aftermath, I fought hard to strip him of access to the nuclear codes, bar him from ever holding public office again, and hold him accountable for inciting an attack on a coequal branch of government.
Even though Republicans hold the majority in both chambers, advancing impeachment would require their cooperation. Yet, despite overwhelming evidence, most Republican Members of Congress continue to shield the President from accountability. It is my political judgment that, at a time when an impeachment vote will not be brought to the floor by the majority, I do not believe that now is the appropriate time to initiate impeachment proceedings.
I am committed to working with my Democratic colleagues to protect our most vulnerable communities, defend critical funding, and uphold the integrity of our democracy. I have demanded answers from this administration, joined lawsuits to hold them accountable, and worked tirelessly to stop their dangerous agenda. The stakes have never been higher, and I will do everything in my power to defend the rule of law and our democratic institutions.
Sincerely,
James A. Himes
Member of Congress
And from Blumenthal:
Thank you for your message regarding funding levels for the Department of Defense (DOD). I appreciate hearing from you.
As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, I am responsible for shaping and reviewing the annual defense budget, also known as the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Each year, the NDAA secures significant investments in high priority programs critical to our national defense and Connecticut’s economy. Connecticut's industrial base continues to produce advanced, capable weapons systems to protect our troops and defend our country. However, I believe military spending alone does not guarantee our national security. Our national defense relies upon the quality of our people, including those in the supply chain, the defense establishment, and the military services. Our security requires a strong non-military infrastructure, which is built upon education, health care, and housing.
For these reasons, I have supported several provisions to increase oversight of the DOD and ensure greater transparency and accountability for the department’s policies and actions. Please know that if I have the opportunity to review or vote on DOD funding levels in the future, I will be sure to keep your views in mind.
Thank you again for your message. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future with any additional questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Richard Blumenthal
United States Senate
I sent this email to the three this week:
Dear Senator Blumenthal;
I'm very concerned by your Israel first positions and policies where the US will back Israel no matter how lawless, abusive of human rights and predatory they become against neighboring sovereign countries such as Lebanon, Syria, Iran and Turkey.
You no doubt have your AIPAC handlers and your aides who listen to Israeli propaganda outlets in DC such as "The foundation for the defense of democracies": https://www.fdd.org/
Discussions I watch frequently that are unbiased, such as Danny Davis, Glenn Diesen, Andrew Napolitano on "Youtube" reiterate the central issues, that Israel is the leading threat to the Mid-east and any hope of peace there. As a Democrat I wonder how you could show favoratism to any ethnic or religious group as your voting tends to amplify. Here is one recent discussion with former US ambassador Chas. Freeman: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1FnZp1N5po
My uncle was a US ambassador who was posted in Chad until his wife's health failed due to an African infectious disease.
I would hope you would open your mind to every and all discussions regarding diplomacy and reasonable peaceful resolutions to these conflicts as the US military has rarely engaged in conflicts with positive effects.
Thank you for your letters. I completely agree. Although I thought Rep. Himes sent you a good response, it drives me crazy when people, especially a member of Congress, refer to Congress as “a co-equal branch” of government. Although the phrase has become much used in the media, it betrays an astounding amount of ignorance by the speaker. Congress, as the people’s branch, is the preeminent branch of government. Its powers are much broader and more substantive than those of the other two. I won’t catalog them here, as I have done in posts elsewhere, but in addition to the powers to make laws, declare war, and control the purse, it is the only branch that can impeach members of the other two. Although all one needs to do to understand how much more powerful than the other two branches the framers intended Congress to be is to read the Constitution itself, there are several scholarly articles on the subject. Nonetheless, the phrase, “co-equal branch,” seems to have infected our discourse in acknowledgment of an increasingly dominant and unchecked executive branch.
thanks for the lesson.
We need rally’s or somehow petitions I don’t know how you supposed to do this really what congressman or Senator listens to anything we say I went to the third house meeting 30 years ago and it was a concern citizens for taxes where we fought because our property taxes was too high and there was a board of people up there. One of them was from the Ways and Means committee and he said we don’t know what China is gonna do yet now what does that have to do with your property taxes and I have called him. I was younger than I hated way they treated these older people in the group & said I never heard no prayer start this meeting very sad . Neather part follows the constitution an all our officials have immunity to prosecution they don’t care they paid corporations to leave this country we had several over 100 year old companies leave or shut down nothing here left now stated in the 70s . We see now they will kill people if have rallies we can’t get a senator or congressman Dave even care if you call him on the phone anymore, not even a representative nobody answers the phone at the governor’s office and if someone does they just send you to somebody anybody because nobody has a title anymore just to get rid of you and this started during Covid and still none of our representatives actually come to the office in town and stay there or even visit and do the job that’s supposed to do. There has to be groups formed an meetings politicians. Do not have to talk to you. They don’t if there is a meeting. They put a chalkboard up and you pick one out of three things that you can talk about and they’re only gonna be there for one hour at City Hall regardless of how deep and how much people wanna say they do not donate their time to the people at all and they don’t care what you say . They know they don’t have care & protected environment you are the problem if you enforce your rights & voice of problems . This is a great evil . There are no civil Lawyers or Judges of the people it’s a criminal cartel just make you shut up under threat of your voice or just ignored on all counts, regardless whether it’s legal or righteous or not who cares that’s problem with politics what kills everyone sooner or later .
Key word “spine”
Ha! I guess I do mean they're talking too fast, if you're not speeding it up. Beats me. Ralph's got over a decade on me and can't begin to keep up. I better give it up
Thanks for you response anyway
Ralph is easy to understand; the other guy speaks too fast. If this podcast is on Youtube, you can adjust the speed of speech!
Adolph Reed is always a treat.
Am I completely off base here, in thinking that as terrible gerrymandering is, it is not the end all?
It is a long shot to think that the democratic party will grow a spine and be a party for the people, but if they adopt the Progressive Caucus plan (which is what Bernie proposed), and if they apply that to every state, including the red states that they completely ignore, they can get people to do the work they never did: door to door, talking to people, education. Bernie showed us that money is great but it is not the one thing that gets people interested and invested.
Instead of spending millions on ads telling us how bad Trump is, they could really change their goals for governing and get people to believe them again. Real work, grassroots work
I will do what Bruce Fein suggested. I will write a short letter to Congress, copy/paste to all members of congress, even if I have to give a bogus address on their form. I will tell people to do the same. I will even go to their computers and copy/paste their own letters if they want.
We really need to get all the energy from the No Kings protests into action that will reach the Capitol
There are many stark realities about Professor Reed’s discussion about the gutting of the voting rights act. I took a quick look back at the last time a majority of whites voted for a president and that was way back in 1964 when Lyndon Johnson ran. I realize that Congressional elections are a different discussion, but the gutting of the 1965 law will have similar repercussions as have presidential elections in the past. Coincidentally, the last two presidents coming close to receiving a majority of white votes were Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton.
What does all of this mean? Well, first, there is a rejection of the sacrifices of those who fought for the vote in the 1950s and the 1960s. Then, there is the issue of white supremacy that casts a pall over this. There’s truth to the fact that in the segregated South, one of the few fallbacks that poor whites had was their perceived superiority over Black people. While there needed to have been a mutual regard for the poverty that afflicted many in the US, this irrational connection to superiority remains today. That affirmative action was seen as cutting in line, rather than correcting historical societal wrongs, tells much. The Republicans now have made attacks against affirmative action a cause célèbre.
white... Black... your racial bias shows.
Wouldn't it be great if all the people had so much class that they didn't need to Gerrymander themselves to success or power or to the bottom rungs of life because they had so much respect for each others ideas and places of origin.
Have you ever played a game when the winner said, let's have a,"do over" . My foot stepped over the line, my last shot down the line went out, or I think my last inside curve ball hit your sleeve.
At the bat of life do we always need an umpire to tell us what is right or wrong? Is always wining all the time all that important?
Where are the historic teachers of " ethics " the parents, the teachers, the religious leaders , those that govern?
Need I say more ?
Good luck America have a great day my friends
They want us dead there building mansion caves under the ground all them billionaires so they can hide they’re killing all the food off. They’re gonna cause all the famine the inflation everything God created they want dead. There killed most all the bees off nothing could pollinate the air the water. The food is all poison now massive scale. The famines if the Bible biblical scale inflation our country is sold out on all levels industry , education , abortion , medical, no ethics morals , they can control weather ( operation pop-up ) Vietnam and now lasers set fires 🔥, radiation from cell towers , lakes poisoned everywhere now Michigan since the 80s , weed kill glyphosate immunity , as well as lot other poisons in products & food we use everyday . The evils of our government unconscious - able is strate from Hell it’s on both party lines in all aspects . There place will be in Hell .
so glad to have found you!
I’ve been civically turned “radioactive” !
I like this
Thanks!