A Call from One American Grandma to Another: Stand Up for Our Families
My fellow Americans,
Especially my beloved grandmothers—
We’ve seen hard times before, and we’ve held our families together through them. We’ve rolled up our sleeves, dried tears, baked bread from scratch, and made every dollar stretch. But now, we’re facing a new kind o…
A Call from One American Grandma to Another: Stand Up for Our Families
My fellow Americans,
Especially my beloved grandmothers—
We’ve seen hard times before, and we’ve held our families together through them. We’ve rolled up our sleeves, dried tears, baked bread from scratch, and made every dollar stretch. But now, we’re facing a new kind of hardship—one quietly disguised as policy: devastating tariffs that will cause prices to skyrocket and shelves to empty. And who will feel it most? Our children and their children.
These new tariffs aren’t just numbers on a trade spreadsheet. They are a direct hit to the kitchen tables of young families already struggling to make ends meet.
A bag of diapers could cost more—while wages stay the same.
A can of baby formula or a pack of wipes might become harder to find—because components are stuck in a tariff trap.
Everyday basics like pasta, beans, or a box of cereal will creep up in cost—while young parents are told to “tighten their belts.”
This is not just policy. This is pain at the register.
And while millionaires and billionaires won’t flinch, the single mom pushing a cart with a toddler and a newborn will.
I’m asking us—the grandmothers, the wise ones, the anchors of our families—to raise our voices peacefully but powerfully. We know what sacrifice looks like. We know how to stand up when something isn’t right.
Let’s write.
Let’s call.
Let’s march.
Let’s post.
Let’s share the truth that’s being swept under the rug.
Because these tariffs aren’t about strength—they’re about control.
They’re not making us safer—they’re making our groceries more expensive and our future more uncertain.
We must remind this country what democracy really looks like.
It looks like grandmothers speaking up.
It looks like families standing together.
It looks like peaceful resistance for the sake of those yet to grow strong enough to fight for themselves.
We are the memory keepers and the truth tellers. Let’s be the protectors now.
I'm 83 yrs old and I know exactly what you mean and how to penny pinch.When I had my first child (59 years ago), a jar of baby food was 7 cents a jar. I had 7 dozen cloth diapers and some rubber pants to go over them. I had a "diaper pail" and rinsed the soiled diapers in cold water and then washed by hand in soap and hot water. I had a clothes line in the back yard.Never used disposable diapers. If my husband and I needed a break, we traded babysitting with other young parents. Eating out was a picnic in the park. We took our two young children to parks with swings and other fun rides. I mixed powdered milk half and half with regular milk and it was just fine f it was cold. We never ordered take-out. It can be done. And, back then there were single parents who worked and, hard as it was, they made it. We can do it agin because we have to. Grandmothers will lead the way, but they have to be recognized as a resource for learning how to do things, not as a source of doing it for others.
We went the cloth-diaper route too - this was in '78 and '80. We couldn't afford a bassinet so we put our dresser next to the bed, padded the second lowest drawer with blankets and our babes slept there for as long as they fit. They did just fine, grew up and this grandpa has many happy memories now.
73-year old granny here, and have still never ordered takeout. Single parent with no child support that raised a male child to become a self-sufficient, financially stable, happily married, proud father and member of the Air Force serving as a physician assistant. Myself, my son and his wife are all dismayed and disgusted with the lack of spine continually displayed by the vast majority of our Republican Congress. So appreciate what the MeidasTouch Network has accomplished, and overjoyed that we finally have a democratically aligned network that we can depend on for the truth.
I had cloth diapers and Sears plastic pants -guaranteed for life- you could get new ones if they cracked. We were not rich. That was early 70’s. We had to stomp and save to make things stretch. We will not lose our country!
was this level of penny-pinching necessary just a year ago? we're being rolled by DJT's greed & self-indulgence, puffed up by his fellow-travelers - OMG, Lutnik lauding Apple tiny screw manufacturing, him, Bessent & the rest of the MAGA coterie who get to dip their beaks in the runoff from the big beautiful "deal making with 90, 190, 900 countries" tariff scam - yet another version of trickle down Reagan economics is all it is - virtue signaling might make some feel better, but we're being played for fools which gives MAGA an even longer runway to keep playing us
Patricia I agree with your ideas, as I grew up with my mom doing all of these things to make ends meet. I still wash and reuse plastic bags like she did, cut my own hair, make meals from scratch, among other ways to cut costs. I laughed out loud though when I read your comment about mixing powdered milk with regular milk, because my mom would say the same thing. But it wasn’t ever just fine, even when cold! 😁 The little undisolved granules that would cling to the glass, or worse to our teeth, was one thing neither I nor my brothers ever thought was fine!
We always drank it of course, because we had to have something to wash down her delicious homemade bread or fabulous desserts. I sure miss her. Thank you for bringing back good memories!
I lived in South Dakota during the powdered milk years and I found a brand called Flash which dissolved perfectly. I still save and reuse plastic bags from the stores, make my own bread and jam and never throw out any food. Soups are wonderful!
This grandmother is mobilizing and preparing her family, friends and students for the hard times that are sure to come. I too ask other grandmothers in Substack land to do as much h as they can. COVID prepared us for the suffering this administration will bring to the poor and lower middle class. Lack of income, medical coverage, housing assistance, food assistance, the list goes on and on. We are the strong ones in our families so let us mobilize and get things done. I’m starting now, I hope you are as well.
Thank you so much to the mightest touch at work for bringing Us information that is important to our well being our constitution and our economy.
This post was just Beautifully written and to the Point.
Thank you Ben and your
Brothers and all of your Co podcasters 4 screaning and adding more podcasters that we can trust are telling the truth and reliable as well as influential in their own lives. Being prosecutors attorneys and judges. That is most impressive to me.
Again, thank you so much to Midas, touchnetwork.
I can't begin to tell you how many of the podcasters I enjoy because it would take me all day.I would have to explain little bits about each one , so let's just call it a day.
Art: Do not put your phone number on social media.
NOBODY call this number. Think about why I would say not to call the number.
art, you can edit your comment and remove your phone number.
Look at your forum icon, the orange circle, then right next to that is your name, keep you eye on that line and look to the right, all the way to the right until you see three dots
. . .
Click on the three dots . . .
And a drop down menu will appear, select EDIT and edit your comment
VERY IMPORTANT when you are done editing, in that window at the bottom you need to push the SAVE button. To save your edit.
You seriously need to edit your comment and remove your phone number.
If you do not, well I think that is an indication of something.
Hi, Grandma, I never doubted for a moment that we were doing any of this RESISTING for anyone other than our children/grandchildren -- even if one of those families of mine are Trumpsters... Gotta save them from themselves is the way I look at it..!!
Please contact your friends and/or family who are in "senior living" facilities. Help them become aware of what's happening. Make sure they START NOW to get registered to vote. Send/provide them links to sites that will inform them [Meidas and others].
Help everyone see that their awareness and PARTICIPATION are essential to preserve democracy, for themselves and their loved ones.
I'm in a senior living facility, and far too many of our residents, while concerned and well-intentioned, don't know many of the facts and issues. You don't have to turn every dinner table discussion into a political fight, but make folks aware of the seriousness of the situation. Help them discover the issues they care about. Teach them how to participate, and urge them to register and VOTE.
There were far too many votes that weren't cast in 2024. We don't get to "do it over." Let's all get to work so we can do it correctly in the next election.
Wow, this is just a brilliant piece of advice, something I've not even thought about! I do not live in a senior facility, indeed I'm in very very rural America and there actually aren't any such facilities within 50 miles and I don't know anyone in one. So I guess I just never thought about it. We do have a few assisted living facilities for persons who have to have 24 hour a day care....may not be quite bed ridden but cannot function safely on their own. Few have family members who visit and I don't know if the adminstirators of the facilities would let anyone come in to register the residents and then to take them to the polls (or if still allowed to do an absentee ballot). In this area 99.9 percent of the voters are maga so I fear they would not give the residents good information and would in fact cause the residents to vote against their own best interest. But when I was recovering from a broken hip the rehab place was part of a larger residential type community where many seniors only needed a wee bit of help and I imagine there are thousands of such communities where someone needs to be knocking on doors. The GOP budget is especially harsh for middle to low income seniors, and if all they do is watch the news even the ones we grew up with and trusted like ABC and CBS and NBC they are not getting the truthful news they need to make good decisions.
I think you might be surprised with the response you might have involving those elders and having stimulating discussions with them. Part of their problem is a lack of inclusion and stimulation.
Great post and advice. I’ve already implemented many of these ideas with the knowledge that I have from experience going through rough times. It’s very important that younger people take us seriously while they still can and that we help the community at large since that will be very important as the regime tries even harder to divide all of us.
Great work MTN. If the truth is told; if it's spread; if it is read; it will be believed. If it is believed; the people will demand the truth is the law of the land.
Case in point, trump repeats a lie enough times and people believe it is true.
Keep it up. Truth. Readers spread the truth and people will eventually believe it again I tell everyone I meet about MTN. Because I need so much help, I do meet a lot of people. Most have heard. Some have read. A few already follow. It is a start. I am going to start on my pure trumpet birth family next wow they have all swallowed the cool-aid. They believe he is sent from God.🥴🤬😂🤣😖😱👋👍👍👍💞
This grandmother not only honors you, Clarissa, but honors the promise of what could be. I keep calling, keep writing, keep protesting. Braced for what's coming, ready to do what needs to be done. ❤️ Peace.
I see communities in states affected by tornadoes coming together and taking initiative when the current administration has left them behind.
City councils, school districts, churches, community organizations, and neighbors are collaborating, emphasizing our shared humanity, and offering support to one another.
This is the cornerstone of the American way: this gives me hope. Each of us can contribute and help.
During trump's first time around I began to follow Omas Gegan Rechts even though I don't speak German . I loved their spirit and they weren't all grandmas. Now here we are and we need that Oma courage and spirit more than ever!
Amen…I too stand up for the Truth which has been disparaged by this Administration…It is time for all of us to stand up for the future of our Grandchildren❤️
A Call from One American Grandma to Another: Stand Up for Our Families
My fellow Americans,
Especially my beloved grandmothers—
We’ve seen hard times before, and we’ve held our families together through them. We’ve rolled up our sleeves, dried tears, baked bread from scratch, and made every dollar stretch. But now, we’re facing a new kind of hardship—one quietly disguised as policy: devastating tariffs that will cause prices to skyrocket and shelves to empty. And who will feel it most? Our children and their children.
These new tariffs aren’t just numbers on a trade spreadsheet. They are a direct hit to the kitchen tables of young families already struggling to make ends meet.
A bag of diapers could cost more—while wages stay the same.
A can of baby formula or a pack of wipes might become harder to find—because components are stuck in a tariff trap.
Everyday basics like pasta, beans, or a box of cereal will creep up in cost—while young parents are told to “tighten their belts.”
This is not just policy. This is pain at the register.
And while millionaires and billionaires won’t flinch, the single mom pushing a cart with a toddler and a newborn will.
I’m asking us—the grandmothers, the wise ones, the anchors of our families—to raise our voices peacefully but powerfully. We know what sacrifice looks like. We know how to stand up when something isn’t right.
Let’s write.
Let’s call.
Let’s march.
Let’s post.
Let’s share the truth that’s being swept under the rug.
Because these tariffs aren’t about strength—they’re about control.
They’re not making us safer—they’re making our groceries more expensive and our future more uncertain.
We must remind this country what democracy really looks like.
It looks like grandmothers speaking up.
It looks like families standing together.
It looks like peaceful resistance for the sake of those yet to grow strong enough to fight for themselves.
We are the memory keepers and the truth tellers. Let’s be the protectors now.
With fierce love and unwavering hope,
Clarissa Bartolini Toro—an American Grandma
United by faith, family, and freedom.
I'm 83 yrs old and I know exactly what you mean and how to penny pinch.When I had my first child (59 years ago), a jar of baby food was 7 cents a jar. I had 7 dozen cloth diapers and some rubber pants to go over them. I had a "diaper pail" and rinsed the soiled diapers in cold water and then washed by hand in soap and hot water. I had a clothes line in the back yard.Never used disposable diapers. If my husband and I needed a break, we traded babysitting with other young parents. Eating out was a picnic in the park. We took our two young children to parks with swings and other fun rides. I mixed powdered milk half and half with regular milk and it was just fine f it was cold. We never ordered take-out. It can be done. And, back then there were single parents who worked and, hard as it was, they made it. We can do it agin because we have to. Grandmothers will lead the way, but they have to be recognized as a resource for learning how to do things, not as a source of doing it for others.
We went the cloth-diaper route too - this was in '78 and '80. We couldn't afford a bassinet so we put our dresser next to the bed, padded the second lowest drawer with blankets and our babes slept there for as long as they fit. They did just fine, grew up and this grandpa has many happy memories now.
Kim the scammer is reported blocked. F off troll
73-year old granny here, and have still never ordered takeout. Single parent with no child support that raised a male child to become a self-sufficient, financially stable, happily married, proud father and member of the Air Force serving as a physician assistant. Myself, my son and his wife are all dismayed and disgusted with the lack of spine continually displayed by the vast majority of our Republican Congress. So appreciate what the MeidasTouch Network has accomplished, and overjoyed that we finally have a democratically aligned network that we can depend on for the truth.
I had cloth diapers and Sears plastic pants -guaranteed for life- you could get new ones if they cracked. We were not rich. That was early 70’s. We had to stomp and save to make things stretch. We will not lose our country!
Our mothers taught us well! Hopefully, we can be as successful!
was this level of penny-pinching necessary just a year ago? we're being rolled by DJT's greed & self-indulgence, puffed up by his fellow-travelers - OMG, Lutnik lauding Apple tiny screw manufacturing, him, Bessent & the rest of the MAGA coterie who get to dip their beaks in the runoff from the big beautiful "deal making with 90, 190, 900 countries" tariff scam - yet another version of trickle down Reagan economics is all it is - virtue signaling might make some feel better, but we're being played for fools which gives MAGA an even longer runway to keep playing us
Maybe not necessary, but it has always been a choice to live within your means.
Patricia I agree with your ideas, as I grew up with my mom doing all of these things to make ends meet. I still wash and reuse plastic bags like she did, cut my own hair, make meals from scratch, among other ways to cut costs. I laughed out loud though when I read your comment about mixing powdered milk with regular milk, because my mom would say the same thing. But it wasn’t ever just fine, even when cold! 😁 The little undisolved granules that would cling to the glass, or worse to our teeth, was one thing neither I nor my brothers ever thought was fine!
We always drank it of course, because we had to have something to wash down her delicious homemade bread or fabulous desserts. I sure miss her. Thank you for bringing back good memories!
I lived in South Dakota during the powdered milk years and I found a brand called Flash which dissolved perfectly. I still save and reuse plastic bags from the stores, make my own bread and jam and never throw out any food. Soups are wonderful!
You just described my life minus the husband. I was a single mom, times were tough but gosh darn it we made it.
This grandmother is mobilizing and preparing her family, friends and students for the hard times that are sure to come. I too ask other grandmothers in Substack land to do as much h as they can. COVID prepared us for the suffering this administration will bring to the poor and lower middle class. Lack of income, medical coverage, housing assistance, food assistance, the list goes on and on. We are the strong ones in our families so let us mobilize and get things done. I’m starting now, I hope you are as well.
It’s a disgrace to your leadership that a country in peacetime has to act like a country in wartime while your leader’s line their pockets.
Well expressed, Anne!
So true!
Exactly. Read this - all happening in the shadows and particularly terrifying.
https://open.substack.com/pub/dissentinbloom/p/the-christian-nationalist-grift-thats?r=3cubt1&utm_medium=ios
One of the best things we can do is make a sign and protest.
Show up at Town Halls, the democrats are hosting town halls in Republican districts where the Congress people won't have them.
Show UP, just SHOW UP.
Thank you! From this grandmother to another, you have put into words my exact sentiments. ❤️🙏🏻🇺🇸
Thank you so much to the mightest touch at work for bringing Us information that is important to our well being our constitution and our economy.
This post was just Beautifully written and to the Point.
Thank you Ben and your
Brothers and all of your Co podcasters 4 screaning and adding more podcasters that we can trust are telling the truth and reliable as well as influential in their own lives. Being prosecutors attorneys and judges. That is most impressive to me.
Again, thank you so much to Midas, touchnetwork.
I can't begin to tell you how many of the podcasters I enjoy because it would take me all day.I would have to explain little bits about each one , so let's just call it a day.
Arthur Burkel 231-510-1220
Art: Do not put your phone number on social media.
NOBODY call this number. Think about why I would say not to call the number.
art, you can edit your comment and remove your phone number.
Look at your forum icon, the orange circle, then right next to that is your name, keep you eye on that line and look to the right, all the way to the right until you see three dots
. . .
Click on the three dots . . .
And a drop down menu will appear, select EDIT and edit your comment
VERY IMPORTANT when you are done editing, in that window at the bottom you need to push the SAVE button. To save your edit.
You seriously need to edit your comment and remove your phone number.
If you do not, well I think that is an indication of something.
Hi, Grandma, I never doubted for a moment that we were doing any of this RESISTING for anyone other than our children/grandchildren -- even if one of those families of mine are Trumpsters... Gotta save them from themselves is the way I look at it..!!
I'd add to your suggestion(s):
Please contact your friends and/or family who are in "senior living" facilities. Help them become aware of what's happening. Make sure they START NOW to get registered to vote. Send/provide them links to sites that will inform them [Meidas and others].
Help everyone see that their awareness and PARTICIPATION are essential to preserve democracy, for themselves and their loved ones.
I'm in a senior living facility, and far too many of our residents, while concerned and well-intentioned, don't know many of the facts and issues. You don't have to turn every dinner table discussion into a political fight, but make folks aware of the seriousness of the situation. Help them discover the issues they care about. Teach them how to participate, and urge them to register and VOTE.
There were far too many votes that weren't cast in 2024. We don't get to "do it over." Let's all get to work so we can do it correctly in the next election.
Wow, this is just a brilliant piece of advice, something I've not even thought about! I do not live in a senior facility, indeed I'm in very very rural America and there actually aren't any such facilities within 50 miles and I don't know anyone in one. So I guess I just never thought about it. We do have a few assisted living facilities for persons who have to have 24 hour a day care....may not be quite bed ridden but cannot function safely on their own. Few have family members who visit and I don't know if the adminstirators of the facilities would let anyone come in to register the residents and then to take them to the polls (or if still allowed to do an absentee ballot). In this area 99.9 percent of the voters are maga so I fear they would not give the residents good information and would in fact cause the residents to vote against their own best interest. But when I was recovering from a broken hip the rehab place was part of a larger residential type community where many seniors only needed a wee bit of help and I imagine there are thousands of such communities where someone needs to be knocking on doors. The GOP budget is especially harsh for middle to low income seniors, and if all they do is watch the news even the ones we grew up with and trusted like ABC and CBS and NBC they are not getting the truthful news they need to make good decisions.
I think you might be surprised with the response you might have involving those elders and having stimulating discussions with them. Part of their problem is a lack of inclusion and stimulation.
I’m with you!
Great post and advice. I’ve already implemented many of these ideas with the knowledge that I have from experience going through rough times. It’s very important that younger people take us seriously while they still can and that we help the community at large since that will be very important as the regime tries even harder to divide all of us.
Great work MTN. If the truth is told; if it's spread; if it is read; it will be believed. If it is believed; the people will demand the truth is the law of the land.
Case in point, trump repeats a lie enough times and people believe it is true.
Keep it up. Truth. Readers spread the truth and people will eventually believe it again I tell everyone I meet about MTN. Because I need so much help, I do meet a lot of people. Most have heard. Some have read. A few already follow. It is a start. I am going to start on my pure trumpet birth family next wow they have all swallowed the cool-aid. They believe he is sent from God.🥴🤬😂🤣😖😱👋👍👍👍💞
Good Luck Marlene you’re doing a good job👍
This grandmother not only honors you, Clarissa, but honors the promise of what could be. I keep calling, keep writing, keep protesting. Braced for what's coming, ready to do what needs to be done. ❤️ Peace.
Well done, well put Clarissa💪⚖️👊🇨🇦
God, I wish I had a family.
I see communities in states affected by tornadoes coming together and taking initiative when the current administration has left them behind.
City councils, school districts, churches, community organizations, and neighbors are collaborating, emphasizing our shared humanity, and offering support to one another.
This is the cornerstone of the American way: this gives me hope. Each of us can contribute and help.
You have a family here, Lori. 💕
Yes, we are family
During trump's first time around I began to follow Omas Gegan Rechts even though I don't speak German . I loved their spirit and they weren't all grandmas. Now here we are and we need that Oma courage and spirit more than ever!
Omas gegen Rechts/Nannas against the Right-wingers had a huge impact not having AfD further grow here.
Maybe they have some AI generated translation to English as I get some MTN segments automatically in German.
I wish you/we all sustain that insanity sooner than too late.
Please register to vote early.
My heart is with you.
Sincerely, from Germany 💙💙💙
Amen…I too stand up for the Truth which has been disparaged by this Administration…It is time for all of us to stand up for the future of our Grandchildren❤️
I trust your information with so much fake news.
Here’s the sign: “Here’s the sign: Beware of Wolves in sheep’s clothing “