264 Comments
User's avatar
Pat Robinson's avatar

Can, or has, someone who knows the right people, suggest to the Democrats in congress that they do attend but have posters of the epstein victims to put in front of their faces. If they just put the posters in their place in their seat the gop will remove them. And maybe this is a bad idea but it seems like a good idea to me. But I am not at all politically savvy. I just want no one to forget the victims for even one day.

Robot Bender's avatar

All of the Democratic members should shout "YOU LIE!"* at the top of their voices and walk out en masse.

*Remember that?

Joanne Gatsis's avatar

That would be good! Possibly they should yell "Say their names! Renee Good, Alex Pretti!" the way MTG did to Biden during his State of the Union!

Donna Jennis's avatar

Or they leave their seats empty with the exception of faces of the victims/ survivors attached to the chair.

hank's avatar

they should stay in their seats and hold life size posters or pitchers of the survivors in front of them the whole address, love to see trumpsteins response

S. A. Linden's avatar

Or maybe give away seats to the Epstein victims as guests? Front row. Look him in the face the whole time and no clapping.

djw's avatar

No, don't punish them that way.

S. A. Linden's avatar

I get it. I was only half serious. That would be like torture and they don't deserve it.

Susan Raquel's avatar

No clapping and no standing up. Then they can hear him rant about that the rest of the time. Better yet, when all the MAGA are clapping they can talk to each other and laugh.

Skitealwedrop's avatar

That’s an excellent idea. They can stare him down for avoiding them.

hank's avatar

above reply was to you, still figuring it out

hank's avatar

Great idea, not enough survivors so survivors and lifesize posters 👍

Camille Kelly's avatar

Super glue so they can't easily be removed.

Dennis W.'s avatar

Yes, indeed, all the legislative and judicial members should boycott the State of the Union address. Then the U.S. populace should tune in to the MTN program that features the boycotting members. Go for it and good luck.

Jet Skipper's avatar

yes!! My boys the Midas bros as well as al partners there....and of course miles and his team over on defiant hopefully @future events will get this patch work of groups together in the same venue on the same sheet of music since we all have the same goal in mind......or am i the only one the feels like I am losing it as a result of the constant fragmented barrage of incoming at fire hydrant like (water) pressure from all directions ? 🥺

Kathleen Cali's avatar

It will hurt Trump more if he doesn't have an audience.

Pat Robinson's avatar

Unless that audience boos. With just the GOP there cheering him on he will go on to say he had the biggest crowd ever at a State of the Union and the loudest, longest cheers any president ever got and we need to somehow make sure there is audio to prove he is lying again (still).

Jcarlet's avatar

I am not going to watch as I am tired of the constant gaslighting. My stomach just can't take anymore.

Dr.David's avatar

Maybe every Democrat should take a banana and a cucumber to hold up high every time trump lies!

Janis Kronlulnd's avatar

I think your idea would be the biggest and most effective message for anyone watching too. Show up and say nothing and hold Epstein signs.

Jet Skipper's avatar

So Dems take your places holding up life size Pictures of victims/survivors and then when dump Arrives WALK THE EFF OUT ….and hold a GENUINE State of the Union elsewhere that is telecast ….Dump is not worthy of the honor of your presence.

Dems STOP pretending! call it out and give the American people the real story …S P E L L it out TELL THE STORY of thisnright wing NAZI / fascist from start to finish as if I was a fifth grader to bring those who have been gaslit for so long and are just now waking up …up to speed on what is in fact happening…TELL THE STORY! Get on message and effing sake FIGHT

YES LOOKING AT YOU SHUMER AND HAKEEM the focus group / workshopped AIPAC funded netanyahoo directed wet noodle approach is UNACCEPTABLE in this moment…..FIGHT G.D it!!

DONT GIVE UP THE SHIP!

djw's avatar

I want them to show up so they can walk out.

janie lee's avatar

Horrific, what a travesty. They need to go, step down/resign.

Bonnie Sue Miller's avatar

I like your thinking.

User's avatar
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Feb 16Edited
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RW Taylor's avatar

I heard Ben say something about hosting alternative programming so I’ll be watching MeidasTouch on YouTube!

WJB Motown's avatar

Get Smart and Flinstone re-runs are on YOUTUBE?.......Old Green Hornet shows.

Susan Raquel's avatar

I don't remember the name of it now; but, there was an outer space program that had a hero type spaceman. Silly as it was it was so much fun to watch. That and the old Lost in Space.

WJB Motown's avatar

"Its about time?".........spoof about astronauts getting lost......not around long.

I saw it a few times.........Was a total TV addict in those days........

Susan Raquel's avatar

Lost in Space was the parents, two children and the crooked, onery old man. Oh, and I think the robot named Robby. LOL

Not sure I'll be watching any of the old programs. I am sure I won't be watching trump,

Ariadne Thread's avatar

Yes! Defiance.org doing state of the swamp: the rebuttal to the state of the union. All kinds of great people

Bonnie Sue Miller's avatar

I’d rather stick needles in my eyes than hear that disgusting voice!

Donna Somers's avatar

Arrange for President Obama speak at the same time! Have someone watching 47 & President Obama respond to what 47 is saying IRT. That would be the best & I would watch that. I'm not going to waste my time watching 47 with his lies, anger, hostility & his debasing of our country and people.

Susan Raquel's avatar

We've already heard what trump is going to say a hundred times or more.

jan carter's avatar

Me too. I have no President

Carix's avatar

If Obama had paid more attention to organizing & setting the party on a path to the future during that time we might not be in this mess. Taking minority groups for granted along with union members led to big gains for Republicans with both groups. Every time I start getting nostalgic I remember all the ways Democrats contributed to this situation. Better to work towards building something different & better for the future that will prevent this from happening again.

djw's avatar

If ifs and buts were candy and nuts . . . it's past time to keep blaming Obama and Biden, just like it's past time to keep blaming Johnson and Grant for failing us after the Civil War. What we have to do now is move on and do what we can to right the ship we're stuck in before it goes all the way to the floor.

Carix's avatar

I'm in agreement with you. To me Obama nostalgia ignores the failings of the Democrats & that's my point. If we can't even see the problems from the past though how can we do better? Your comment would be better suited to the person I replied to that misses Obama, rather than me who said we should be working towards doing something different & better for the future. I thought my point was clear, but you definitely misunderstood me.

Mark L's avatar

The Dems definitely need to do better.

Leah Baum's avatar

I was happy to see Obama receive a standing ovation at the NBA game on Sunday. Today the toddler in thief is have one of his jealous meltdown’s because wherever he goes all he gets is booed or called a pedophile. 🤣

Skitealwedrop's avatar

I miss Biden. He was treated terribly towards the end of his tenure.

WJB Motown's avatar

MEEEEEE TOOOOO!!! Micheal is funny and so cool.........

User's avatar
Comment removed
Feb 16Edited
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Jacqueline McDonald's avatar

walk tf out Democratic leaders!!!💯

S. A. Linden's avatar

I thought maybe they'd already tried that another year? I may be wrong. But the point in not showing up at all is to create dead air space for Trump.

Either way, the right wing will use it, but frankly, it sends a message that he's not worth the time. They've got better things to do w/ their tax paid salaries.

Thomas Rollins's avatar

Remember that Donald Trump did not attend Joe Biden's inauguration on January 20, 2021. No one should criticize any no-show since Trump set the new standard for non violent protest.

baydelong's avatar

He set the standard for being a spoiled sport and sore loser. Unbecoming behavior for a President of Our United States.

Jeanette Bokhour's avatar

Democrats should have a counter-broadcast detailing what the Epstein files show. More people would watch that.

S. A. Linden's avatar

Like the Superbowl halftime alternative, but in reverse.

Jacqueline McDonald's avatar

exactly it will be truthful that would be so much better.💯

Maureen Hatfield's avatar

Love this! Yes, they set the example w/SB. Imitation is the highest form of flattery, tee hee!

Ravenhill's avatar

No serious American with even a shred of dignity would watch the State of the Union address with this so-called President.

I saw my pumpkins rotting after Halloween and I don’t need to see it again.

Jacqueline McDonald's avatar

not on my phone, tv or laptop! hell naw🤣✊🏽

Pamela Hall's avatar

Nothing new, nothing true.

Catherine Voight's avatar

I will enjoy the alternate programming but would love your commentary during or after it. Similar to what the mainstream does but with not watered down or white washed. In essence.. The Meidas Touch!

Joanne Gatsis's avatar

Maybe Ben should do puppies and kittens again? Like he did during the inauguration.

WJB Motown's avatar

Old re-runs of "The Girl from UNCLE" with Stephanie Powers are on YOUTUBE!!!

Catherine Voight's avatar

Yes, enjoyed that and raised money too

Joanne Gatsis's avatar

I quite enjoyed that too! It was so nice to see total cuteness instead of that orange evil face!

The Peaceful Solution-Plan B's avatar

The key to defeating Trump? Mass non-cooperation | Mark Engler and Paul Engler

The following are excerpts from this article.

“The extraordinary level of grassroots solidarity and creative resistance in anti-ICE protests in Minnesota has given people a new appreciation for the power that mass non-cooperation can have in resisting the Trump administration’s drive toward authoritarianism. And it has created an awareness of why such action is clearly needed.”

Early in Trump’s second term, an array of mainstream critics expressed skepticism about the value of continued protests in the streets. They invested their faith in institutions such as Congress and the courts. But as these institutions – along with law firms, universities and the business community – have each caved in to the administration’s demands and proven themselves unwilling to catalyze an ardent defense of democracy, it has been left to the people themselves to do this essential work.

Mainstream political thinking in the US sees power as “monolithic,” resting in the hands of senators, generals, billionaires, presidents and CEOs. From that vantage point, the options for opposing a rogue administration seem desperately thin: wait for elections, file a lawsuit, hope for some unforeseen maneuver by elites. This worldview breeds despair. One prominent Democratic party consultant even advised that the best course for progressives is simply to “roll over and play dead”.

Those immersed in social movements look at the process of change in a different way than political insiders do. Instead of subscribing to the monolithic view of power, they hold a social view of power, which understands that those in positions of authority are dependent upon the cooperation and support of the governed.

Now, as then, the list of methods is best seen as an invitation to creativity, reminding organizers they have many tools in their collective toolbox – each with distinctive properties and powers. The potential of civil resistance is not just in holding large demonstrations. It is in drawing from a vast array of strikes, boycotts, noncooperation tactics and artistic protest. And it is in coming up with innovative forms of creative resistance that may never have been seen before.

Successful Social Movements

In this transcript Professor Chenoweth discusses the four elements necessary for a successful social movement. Below are excerpts from the transcript.

“The third thing that successful movements do is they innovate new tactics. This is very important because movements that tend to over-rely on a single technique like protests, like demonstrating every Friday, something that becomes very routinized, end up succumbing much more quickly first of all to protester fatigue, but the second thing is they often subject their participants to a higher risk of repression or communal violence from opponents. So movements that are capable of having the capacity to shift to methods of dispersion, like stay-at-homes or strikes or forms of economic noncooperation, tend to be much more effective because they have the capability of maneuver when the state begins to ramp up violence against them.”

The following takes the mass non-cooperation proposal a step further and would avoid the bloodshed we’ve already seen, and will see in the future with street demonstrations

The Peaceful Solution-Part 1

How much do you want to stop His Royal Heinous and the fascist takeover of the country?

Enough that you’re willing to make a small sacrifice? Like altering your spending habits for a month or two or three? That could be all it would take to get the attention of the oligarchs (formerly known as The Robber Barons in the first Gilded Age, also The Fat Cats, The Greedy Bastards).

A brief demonstration of We, the People’s, power of the purse could persuade them to quit supporting HRH and the politicians who enable him.

We quit spending, except on essentials, businesses lose money, stock market goes down, Greedy Bastards pay attention to our demands.

Greedy Bastards own most of the politicians of both major parties. GBs start losing money, tell politicians to change course and do what We, the People want.

We are running out of peaceful options. The legislature and Supreme Court are controlled by HRH. He controls the executive branch, including the Military, Justice Department, FBI, ICE, the IRS. He controls all levers of power.

We, the people, still have the power of the purse. No one can control our spending, or lack of spending. When all else fails we can go on a spending strike until the business community stops supporting HRH and the politicians who enable him.

Economic warfare is the only thing the oligarchs, the business community will understand and act on. Call it a Surreptitious General Strike (Quiet Quitting). Go to work, do as little as possible. Stop spending money except on essentials. Quit feeding the corporate beast that supports the HRH.

Stop participating. Nearly 70% of the U.S. economy is driven by consumer spending. All of us. Hobble the economy and the stock market. Mahatma Gandhi drove the British from India by peaceful civil disobedience and economic disruption. We can stop the fascist takeover in  the same way.

We can keep rehashing past and present atrocities until our access to the internet is taken away by the regime, or we can DO something!

Now is the time for this Peaceful Solution.

G B's avatar

I have already changed some of my spending habits and have influenced my family to do the same. I hope I'm not alone and I'm sure I'm not.

AbbyRoad's avatar

A few life truths:

- One cannot be a leader without followers.

- One cannot get blood from a turnip.

- One cannot further willingly enrich a billionaire if one doesn’t hand over their money.

Joe Casey's avatar

We Have ALL ! Seen Are Protesting From Sea TO Shining Sea !! BUT ! Our Modern Approach To THIS Must Be A Nation Wide Walk - Out !! AND Economily BE A FULL WORK WEEK OR BI-WEEKLY WALK OUT TO CAUSE ECONOMIC STRESS !!! 😮😮 …🤔🤔 IT HAS TO CAUSE WALL STREET EFFECT !! I'll Bet My Bottom Dollar !! That They Will See Change After A Week Or Bi-weekly Effect !! If Not Today But Soon Weeks Following ????…🤔

Robert Kezelis's avatar

Bravo. But so you don’t miss out on the fun(?), here is a synopsis:

A. I am the bestest president ever.

B. Everything I, your favorite president, do is great!

C. Tariffs have been terrifical!

D. Other countries now respect us because of me. Me! Your greatest ever leader in history of histories!

E. We have the strongest economic in history of this great country.

F. We cannot afford terra-tists within our borders. I will create a new Homeless Security department solely to police the Internets, so we can find and arrest anyone who wants to harm this great nation.

G. We learned a lot about our enemies in Minnesota. Anyone ANYONE who interferes with our great, brave and fantastical ICE troops will now be shot on sight. Anyone who complains will be arrested. If you hide, we will arrest your families as coconspirators. You have been warmed!

H. God bless this country. And god bless me, your favorite, bestest president ever!

Jaye Sors's avatar

And you missed the only true statement he says: nothing like this has ever been done before. You didn’t see this under Barack Hussein Obama. Or sleepy Joe Biden.

No, we did not. We’ve never seen this before.

mer t's avatar

Thank God.. and here’s hoping we never do again

Robert Kezelis's avatar

How could i forget? Without the help of medications, illicit, OTC and prescription!

Mia's avatar

You forgot….” I stopped 8 wars”…..

Robert Kezelis's avatar

Oh deer lard! But I thought he reached triple figures by now.

Mia's avatar

🤣🤣🤣

S. A. Linden's avatar

You forgot this: "Democrats are evil incarnate."

User's avatar
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Feb 16
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Robert Kezelis's avatar

May TrumpleThinSkin clouds never darken your skies or disposition.

Greg Pearson's avatar

“the Pentagon may sever ties with AI company Anthropic that sought limits on the use of its technology for surveillance of Americans. “

The Pentagon is spying on Americans?

S. A. Linden's avatar

Such a surprise . . . I do think it's really interesting that Anthropic seems to be seeing the future and it doesn't like what it sees, w/re to having their product controversially used. Maybe they would be happy if it didn't become a target, but the news is out there. A product like Claude requires the user's trust. Once that trust is broken, it's curtains.

Robot Bender's avatar

Of course, they are. So are multiple other departments like DHS, ICE, CIA, NSA...

Doris's avatar

I wouldn't be surprised if trump is somehow responsible for the Guthrie kidnapping to try and send a message to journalists

Eddie Spaghetti's avatar

I also automatically went there, looked up Savannah Guthrie, she did 2 Trump interviews before each election which weren’t softball, friendly Fox type interviews

James W's avatar

DON’T BOYCOTT! Pack the Democratic side and do what Trump fears and hates the most…LAUGH AT HIM! Every time he LIEs (which I know is with every breath) LAUGH AT HIM! He will go frothing at the mouth Berserk on national television!

Mia's avatar

I like this idea a lot!! Or yell out , Liar, Liar…….and have pictures of the Epstein survivors and pictures of Renee and Alex…..

Donna Jennis's avatar

And a huge picture of the little 5yr old boy held with his dad in a detention center.

Ravenhill's avatar

By the way, this is the perfect time to repeat my mantra.

Cancel your cable subscriptions. It’s unnecessary. Stop buying things from Amazon. Cancel your Facebook profile and call someone on the phone or read a book .Quit using UPS.Quit using Google services. Stop shopping at Home Depot. These are all easily achievable by any of us. I’ve done them all.

MARK Emmanual GOLDSTEIN's avatar

Thanks. Here are some more suggestions:

Boycott oiligarchs by using public transit whenever possible.

Boycott Starbucks and Trader Joe’s and others who engage anti labor, union busting activities.

Most importantly, support Democratic Socialist candidates in your area by joining the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) just as we have done in NYC! They will help you to get involved.

Become Active!

Complacency = Complicity

And remember: we outnumber them, no matter what they may have you think and they can’t do anything without our support (tax revenue)!

MARK Emmanual GOLDSTEIN's avatar

Thank you!

Here are some more:

Use mass transit if available, whenever possible to cut your dependence on fossil fuels.

Boycott Starbucks, and Trader Joe’s and others who engage in union busting activities.

Support Democratic Socialist candidates by joining the Democratic Socialists of America!

Mary Kay's avatar

Ossof was magnificent! Hit em where it counts with the Scriptures!! “Whosoever Diggith a Pit, Shall Fall In It, Fall In It”!

Mari's avatar

Hopefully he gets in! Wonderful speech

Andrea Mayhew's avatar

a handful of Democrats boycotting the state of address doesn't do enough. all of them need to step up and represent Americans

Donna Jennis's avatar

I hope they all walk out and any GOP that have the backbone to stand up to DJT.

Marius Didziokas's avatar

The constant noise from the US these days makes it easy to overlook the atrocities russia commits daily. We focus on the US because we expect it to be better but we should also remember other entrenched authoritarians who’ve been dismantling the free world for decades.

Robot Bender's avatar

Many of us are looking at those countries and turn in the mirror. The view isn't reassuring.

Mari's avatar

Objects are larger than they

Appear