There are two links here; one to the opening ad on Bluesky, then the link for her campaign website. It is my custom, when we have great candidates, to post about their campaigns here, so we can help get them elected and have people in our legislature who will do our work the way we direct them. So this time, it’s Rep. Jasmine Crockett.
She speaks truth when she speaks; in the Guardian published yesterday, she stated that while she will run in and continue to serve TX, her running is bigger than TX because the Senate makes many decisions for the entire country, and she will keep her vision broad. She said more, as well, all good. Maybe I should look it up; it was in yesterday’s Guardian newsletter so probably we’ve all already read it. Meanwhile, lets get some good people elected! It only costs some time; money is only involved if we are able and choose to contribute. But they really need our time and our thoughtful conversation with people we know, in order to get out the vote. We can have a good legislature, if we want it. What we do shows what we care about.
This is not a hit piece on AOC if you just read titles. It is a piece to show how she is effective and powerful to the point where different fractions are asking for her help. hugs
December 1, 1891 The International Peace Bureau was launched in Rome, Italy, “. . . to coordinate the activities of the various peace societies and promote the concept of peaceful settlement of international disputes.” The organization won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1910 for its work, and is headquartered in Bern, Switzerland.
December 1, 1948 Following a brief but bloody civil war in 1948, Costa Rican President Jose Figueres helped draft a constitution that abolished the military and guaranteed free election with universal suffrage (all adult citizens can vote). Money not spent on a military allowed the country to adequately fund health care and education, yielding one of the highest literacy rates on the continent, ninety-six percent. This is judged to be a factor in the nation’s never having fallen prey to corruption, dictatorships, or the bloodshed that has marred the history of much of the region. Costa Rica stands apart
December 1, 1955 Rosa Parks, a black seamstress active in the local NAACP, was arrested by police in Montgomery, Alabama, after refusing to give up her seat on the bus to a white man. Mrs. Parks faced a fine for breaking the segregation laws which said blacks had to vacate their seats if there were white passengers left standing. The same bus driver had thrown her off his bus twelve years prior for refusing to enter through the rear door. Rosa Parks Mrs. Parks had not been the first to defy the Jim Crow (the system of legalized or de jure segregation) law but her arrest sparked the year-long Montgomery Bus Boycott, organized by a young Baptist minister named Martin Luther King, Jr. The Montgomery bus company couldn’t survive without the revenue from its black passengers who, for the next year, created car pools and other means to avoid using the city busses. The bus restored in Henry Ford Museum The boycott was successful and Mrs. Parks became known as the “mother of the civil rights movement.“ The story of the bus Rosa Parks biography Arrest record of Rosa Parks
December 1, 1959 Representatives of 12 countries, including the United States and the Soviet Union, signed a treaty in Washington setting aside Antarctica as a scientific preserve, free from military activity. President Eisenhower said the treaty and its guarantees “constitute a significant advance toward the goal of a peaceful world with justice.”
December 1, 1966 Comedian Dick Gregory was convicted in Olympia, Washington for his participation in a Nisqually Native American fishing rights protest. Interview with Dick Gregory
December 1, 1969 A lottery was held to determine which young men would be drafted into the armed services for the ongoing Vietnam War. A large glass container held 366 blue plastic balls each marked with a birth date. The drawing determined the order of induction for draft-eligible men between 18 and 26 years old, and was broadcast live nationally. The first draft lottery was held in 1942. Rep. Alexander Pirnie, R-NY, draws the first capsule in the draft lottery held on December 1, 1969. The capsule contained the date, September 14.
December 1, 1997 A silent march of women in Khartoum, Sudan, protesting conscription, was met by a police attack and the arrest of 37 women.
What did Trump know and when did he know it in regards to Epstein? Read on Substack
This caricature of Trump is the first drawing I have attempted since the stroke. Isn’t it crazy that I haven’t drawn anything in over a month? This was done with my left hand, and it was extremely difficult. I still don’t have enough stability with my right arm. I did hold a guitar pick for a few minutes today while strumming my Taylor 214. I’m not selling my guitars just yet. No, I do not plan to draw in the future with my left hand. Coincidentally enough, I drew it while waiting for an occupational therapist to arrive.
Trump and Epstein
Donald Trump is a horrible person. He is vile, corrupt, petty, mean, narcissistic, immature, greedy, dishonest, selfish, cruel, and evil, so naturally, he would be best friends with a pedophile.
“I have met some very bad people,” Jeffrey Epstein wrote in a 2017 email. “None as bad as Trump. Not one decent cell in his body.”
It’s not Epstein’s opinion of Trump that we should care about. After all, Jeffrey Epstein was a pedophile. Who cares about Trump’s opinion when he disses Joe Biden or Barack Obama? Does anyone really believe Jack Smith is a lunatic just because Trump says it? If we don’t care about Trump’s opinion about people, then we shouldn’t care about Jeffrey Epstein’s. I’m sure people don’t get worse than Jeffrey Epstein. So I don’t care about Epstein’s opinion; I care about his recollections.
Yesterday, House Democrats released emails in which Epstein wrote that Trump had “spent hours at my house” with one of his victims. And another email, Epstein wrote that Trump “knew about the girls.”
Speaker Mike Johnson no longer has a choice, and next week, the House will finally vote on whether or not to release all the investigative material it has on Jeffrey Epstein.
In one email to Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein wrote, “I want you to realize that that dog that hasn’t barked is Trump.. [VICTIM] spent hours at my house with him.”
Epstein goes on to write that Trump “has never once been mentioned”, including by a “police chief”.
Maxwell replied, “I have been thinking about that.”
I wonder why Trump spent hours at Epstein’s house with one of his victims. But I don’t think it’s a mystery as to why Trump doesn’t want any of the investigative material to be released.
I believe Maxwell will have her sentence commuted when Trump believes it is politically safe to do so. She’s been given treatment for now until Trump feels he can make that commutation. This is an exchange for her not implicating Trump with Epstein’s pedophilia or labeling Trump as a pedophile himself.
Death by Lightning is a four-episode mini-series on Netflix about the assassination of James Garfield. If you are a history buff, such as myself, I believe you will thoroughly enjoy this show.
Did you know that November is Diabetes Awareness Month? Fortunately, for me, I am aware now that I have type 2 diabetes. So far, it’s not really that big of a deal for me. I mean, it’s a big deal that I’ve had to adjust my diet, nothing really tastes good anymore, I have to stick a needle in my stomach every night, I have to reward salt, as if I was a snail, and I may not ever have sushi with soy sauce, ever again, but other than that, it’s not a big deal. My goal at this point is that I do not ever lose a foot to it. But so far, my numbers have been good since I started managing it about a month ago. I am currently wearing a sensor on my arm, and my numbers have been low. I have lost weight since I found out, but that’s mostly because I spent half the month eating hospital food. As soon as I can walk again (and I’m taking baby steps), I will exercise more.
My appeal to you is that if you’re not aware whether or not you have diabetes, please get yourself checked out. I suspected I might be diabetic for a few years, but being the coward that I am, I refused to see a doctor until I had to. It was the same thing with my high blood pressure. I suspected it was bad, but I didn’t see a doctor until a stroke gave me no choice. If you suspect that you have high blood pressure, don’t ignore it like I did. I implore you to see a doctor and do something about it so that you don’t end up where I am right now. However, despite what happened, I am extremely lucky. It could’ve been worse.
Get yourself checked out. (snip-there is MORE on his substack, which deserves the clicks. He drew! *\0/* )
WNV linked each of these. Here are the original pages with snippets.
After No Kings, It’s Time to Escalate by Eric Blanc
We need bigger—and more disruptive—nonviolent campaigns that can go viral and peel away Trump’s pillars of support Read on Substack
American democracy is on the ropes. Trump and his billionaire backers are doing everything possible to transform our country into an authoritarian state like Hungary or Russia, where the trappings of institutional democracy mask brazen autocratic rule.
Our president’s sinking popularity numbers might not matter so much if his administration is either able to ignore electoral results or to distort the electoral map so badly that there’s almost no way to vote Republicans out.
Far too many Democrats and union leaders naively hoped that the courts would save us. But the Supreme Court has given a green light to Trump’s power grab, and it appears poised to overturn Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, the last major legal roadblock to prevent Republicans from disenfranchising millions of Democrats and Black voters across the South.
Are we cooked? Trump would certainly like us to believe he’s unstoppable. Faced with the administration’s relentless offensive against immigrants, free speech, public services, and majoritarian rule, it’s normal to sometimes succumb to despair. But there’s no need to throw in the towel — and there are concrete next steps we can all take to win back the country through nonviolent resistance. As Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) president Stacy Davis Gates reminds us, Trumpism “won’t be stopped just in the courts or at the ballot box.” (snip-there is MORE on the page linked at “Read on Substack” above)
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The introvert’s guide to fighting for democracy by Protect Democracy
Six ways to protect democracy — without attending a protest Read on Substack
If you’re reading this, you’re concerned about our democracy’s slide into authoritarianism — and you want to do something about it. Wahoo! You’ve taken the first and most difficult step: committing to action.
Now come the fun parts.
I want to be really clear on a couple things to start out. First, there is no one-size-fits-all best way to exercise your First Amendment rights of speech and association. Every successful social movement has employed a wide variety of tactics and repeatedly adjusted to respond to facts on the ground. Opt for action over agonizing about optimal tactics.
Second, be realistic. We are all busy. Reflect on the commitments you can actually sustain with room to grow. It is far better to regularly move the ball forward on a smaller effort than to dive into and never complete an ambitious one.
Third, be unique! You have unique talents, skills, and passions. Let those guide your advocacy. Focus on projects that bring you joy, things you actually look forward to engaging with week after week. Lean into the comparative skills and expertise you bring to the movement.
With all that in mind, here’s a short list of six ways everyone can protect democracy — even (especially) if going to a protest or some other more public form of engagement isn’t for you.
1. Check in with your local library
Local libraries are the backbone of an informed democratic citizenry, and they provide crucial resources for underserved communities. But their funding is under attack by the administration, which has cut critical funds nationwide.
So, give the library in your neighborhood a call. See how they are doing in relation to funding cuts and if there are ways you can support them. Do they take book donations? Need volunteers? See if there are teach-in or reading groups you can join — or even lead. Offer to help curate pro-democracy reading lists for various ages. Many libraries are open to suggestions for books to add to the collection — here are some recommendations from our team.
2. Fill the gaps left by government programs
Taking care of one another is essential movement building. Check in on your food pantry and community kitchen — many of which have faced funding cuts — to see how you can help. (snip-MORE at the page linked above: “Read on Substack”)
This post continues my thoughts on the quote from “Ted Lasso” who said “be curious, not judgemental”.
Some time ago I learned that the psychotic magic of any supervisor or manager is the ability to take the attitude and issues of the workers in stride and gather them towards getting a task done. I’ve worked with some interesting people; rapists, drug dealers, people who were mentally disturbed, folks who used drugs and alcohol, the violent and even just the stubborn and immature.
Each of these men and women brought their own magic along with their own baggage, and I have been routinely blessed and amazed with what they can do. When working with rough people – those who rose above were a joy, others ultimately did not fit the organization, some went to jail, a few actually died.
But, this year, wow – it has really pushed me to lengths and depths I’d hoped never to see, and that has taken its toll on me. I’ve experienced depression, anger, and pain that required me to see a very unaffordable doctor – but not before I finally lost my temper. In that moment, the fear of the shop failing, the anger of the current political environment, the depression and the debilitating pain came together to have me behaving in an unprofessional, if verbally artistic and vulgar, manner.
Others who have been subject to this person’s ways were very understanding, two were quite giggly about it and no one was critical of me for my lost temper. Quite frankly, the guy is a prototypical engineer: thinks he’s smarter than everyone. But he’s also taking care of a recently disabled wife, is in financial hardship, frustrated that he’s tied the end of his career to this business. Once you get beyond his insecurities, he’s fairly funny, has had a lot of interesting experiences, and is surprisingly smart.
I knew I was wrong; took a short cut to feel self-righteous. Yet somehow I became a part of a group because I lost my temper and did something stupid. I responded unprofessionally because I was hurting, I was angry, I felt abused and disrespected. I responded unprofessionally not because of what he said that time, any time, but because of my own inability to deal constructively with my problems, and the task did not get completed.
That person is outside of my authority. And yes, the ceo should have put better controls on him so he wouldn’t abuse his people. But, it got me thinking. The aftermath of this had me curious about group mentality, shared grievances, and how maga people are acting.
Right or wrong, they feel they have grievances. They feel angry, abused, disrespected. I find it very interesting that they have chosen to latch on to the first charismatic fool that blasts out their pain for them to the point that they refuse to recognize this foundering wreck for what he is! Maga’ts follow his words like mana, respond violently when countered, and all for a person who doesn’t share their goals or their reality. In short, their pain and emotional turmoil has caused them to lose their curiosity.
Now there is fair evidence to say that magats have not been abused and disrespected, to which I would argue that they have. These folks have taken the words of faux news and those such to heart; they have had their fears stoked, they are defensive and angry because they confuse their fears and angers for a reality that doesn’t bear investigation.
So disillusioned and angry with reality in the scope of the manipulation their preferred information sources provide that they sometimes aggressively believe everyone is a liar except, ironically, those lying to them. Worse, they misconstrue opinion bias for research, and really don’t appreciate being told that.
So, some of you who have weathered this are screaming in your head “who cares!” – and some of you have actually screamed this out-loud. This is not our fault, I can hear you say – but it is our problem. As any of us who have tried to reach these folks can attest, seeking to change their outlook, to get them to consider things differently, to listen to f’ing reason! is incredibly difficult.
And, somehow, 70million of these fools voted in the last election. 70million defensive, angry, uninformed and misinformed people who can’t listen to anyone not associated with tRump are voting on our future. They think we are wimps, naive snowflakes because a 30-second news-cycle bombastically bullshitted them, and they liked it.
I find that very curious and extremely frightening, and I have no idea what to do about it.
Part III coming soon to a Scottie’s Blogs near you. 🙂
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