The following is from James Talarico’s victory speech, as reported by Heather Cox Richardson. One comment I would slightly disagree with is that this form of politics has been going on longer than ten years. It’s been appreciably worse recently, but this is all part of a war that has been going on throughout human history: those who “have” wanting more and the rest of us trying to get a fair share. A share large enough to lead a decent, secure life, as he describes.
From HCR:
Talarico rooted his political beliefs in his belief in the commandments to “love God and love neighbor” and noted that “despite our differences, we all want the same things. A safe neighborhood, a good job, a high-quality, well-funded public school, and the ability to see a doctor when we need one.
“But the billionaires who own the social media algorithms, who own the cable news networks, who own the politicians fighting on our screens, they want us at each other’s throats. They want us focused on how we’re different instead of on how we’re the same. They want us looking left and right at each other instead of looking up at them. The real fight in this country is not left versus right. It is top versus bottom.
“The people at the top work so hard to keep us angry and divided because our unity is a threat to their wealth and their power,” he said. “We saw it in this race. We saw it in every billionaire-funded attack ad. The people at the top divide us by party, by race, by gender, by religion, by culture, so we don’t notice that they are picking our pockets, that they are defunding our schools, that they are gutting our healthcare, that they are raising taxes on all of us while they cut taxes for themselves. It is the oldest strategy in the world, divide and conquer. But tonight we sent a crystal clear message to the people at the top. We will not be conquered.”
“[W]e are tired of being pitted against each other,” Talarico continued. “We are tired of being told to hate each other. It has been 10 years of this kind of politics. Politics as blood sport. Politics as trolling and owning. Politics as professional wrestling. It tears families apart. It ends friendships. And it leaves us all feeling terrible all the time. People across the political spectrum are hungry for a different kind of politics. Not a politics of hate, not a politics of fear, not a politics of division, but a politics of love.”
So thankful that some journalists still understand the purpose of paragraphs. There is so much LinkedInAI-style Broetry out there right now, which can be a bit insulting because one reason the “style" is supposedly so popular is that it assumes the recipient has a poor grasp of English grammar and an attention span too short to comprehend proper writing.
"To get" is a legitimate verb infinitive in English. It is different from (see above) "to have". It betokens more action than to passively have. We use it idiomatically in "we gotta get going".
Another grammatical change going on that drives me crazy is the loss of proper past tenses for swim, spring, ring, sing and a few more. The past tenses of course are swam, sprang, rang, sang etc. But all I hear nowadays are swum, sprung, rung, sung etc. even among journalists who should know better.
The teacher told the class: there are two words I never want to hear from you. One is "swell" and the other is "lousy".
Little Johnnie popped up: "Swell teach, tell us the lousy one first!"
My mission is to get rid of the spelling "loose" meaning "lose". This is hopeless!
There is a grand swell in our country to convert all uses of various prepositions to "to". Virtually no one is aware of it yet but I have documented many examples. It seemed to begin with "different to" rather than "different from". I virtually never hear "different from" anymore. What mystifies me is what is driving this change? Why do people think "to" sounds or feels better than "from"?
I’m an activist, in FL. The primary products of the Republican-dominated Legislature in my past four years have been cruelty, and whatever bill their wealthy donors hand them to pass. It hurts to be informed here, in the face of so much propaganda and disinformation, knowing the people are being manipulated into voting against their own self interest. I’m a native,three + generations. I remember Governors Reuben Askew and the exemplary Bob Graham, whose daughter Gwen Graham was just on the ballot with David Jolly. They were good men, leaders. But once the GOP got their claws into my beloved state, with Jeb Bush, but especially under Rick Scott and Ron DeSantis it feels like we are living in a hellish hostage situation.
I’m sorry, Lisa. I went to college in Fort Lauderdale in the Eighties, and generally had the best time of my life. It was a fun, open, vibrant place back then, chockablock with people from all over the hemisphere and plenty of room for all kinds of diverse opinions. A purple state, in other words. Ten years later I returned from California to be with my father during his final months and could hardly recognize the place. Take heart that you actually came pretty close to restoring some sanity during this election cycle. If it could happen in Texas, it can happen anywhere. 🙂
Lisa my husband has a nephew who lives there and some of the things he believes are just plain crazy. I have so many good memories of vacations there throughout my life and it has been shocking to me the politicians that have been elected from there! However I grew up in Ohio and it has been shocking to me at some of the politicians that have been elected there as well. However this last election has given me hope and my family that still lives there hope too!
OMG is all this Canadian can say. Drumpf truly is the dumBest of baby souls that God has created ;) Play safe down there until a straight jacket is installed on the sad sack of sh*t
The US boycotts need to stay in place until the complicit Dem leaders are replaced by new ideas and direction. Booker, Jeffries and Schumer must go or the Blue wave will dry up fast!!!!
This week a candle was lit in the darkness. It is time to turn that candle into a torch and that torch into a blazing sun. A blazing sun that will light the way to a better America for future generations of our children.
Ben, your favorite Sunday Post yet brought me to tears, joyful tears! Yes, we did! Thanks for your encapsulated version… It explains what I've been thinking & feeling & I'm not alone… Thanks a lot!
They talked a lot about Ohio on the west coast. It was amazing to watch Sherron Brown be victorious again! And Amy Acton! What a strong and smart woman. Go Ohio! 🎉🎉🎉
Ohio did us proud. Congrats on an amazing turnaround. You are not forgotten---the number of astounding victories is simply almost too big to list---Good job, Ohio! I have an old friend there I need to call and congratulate. Cheers!
I want to thank all the Republicans who dropped their party for this election and voted to stop the way this regime was going! I hope the oligarchs learned that they can't always buy votes with their money. Americans have brains. They know what's right and what's going terribly wrong! We believe in honesty, ethics and morals. Somehow DJT tried to take all of that away. It didn't work! Once again, I have faith in America and what we stand for!
Thank you Ben and your brothers. Meidas Touch and your launch of independent news media were instrumental in making this Blue Wave possible. Congratulations on all of your hard work.
Since Friday, nearly 6,000 of you have emailed Congress to demand that they reject the Dirty Data Center Deal (aka the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act).
But this bill is still barreling forward with a vote expected as early as tomorrow.
Take five minutes to call your member of Congress now and urge them to oppose this bad deal.
If passed, this legislation would gut key aspects of the Clean Water Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the National Historic Preservation Act and make it easier to build new AI data centers and fossil fuel projects that pollute our air, water, and climate.
It’s expected that outgoing Majority Leader Senator Thune will force this bill for a cloture vote tomorrow.
Given Democrats' new levels of power in Congress, it would be insane to pass this bill now. This week, voters overwhelmingly rejected AI data centers at polls. Out of 40 ballot initiatives involving data centers across the country, voters rejected 39. People don't want AI data centers.
Yet, this bill would nullify community opposition to data centers and lock in a gas-powered data center buildout across the country. It would be the worst possible end to the best possible week.
Call your Senators now.
And if you’ve already called, call again and tell them that the proposed amendments do nowhere near enough to earn their support for this bad bill.
In Solidarity
- the Stop the Money Pipeline team
PS: Want to learn more about the bill? Check out Bill McKibben’s latest newsletter, or our friends at NYCC’s memo.
Now, citizens of America, send the message that Schumer and Jefferies must not be rewarded, but relegated to the past as Democrats who were not effective. The new wave needs real change, otherwise it will backfire.
Change.org has online petitions regarding ending the Leadership of Schumer & Jeffries.
I am also writing individual letters to my Congressional Delegations asking them to identify viable candidates to run against Schumer & Jeffries. It is appalling that both of them have arbitrarily announced they are retaining their Leadership positions. They are also issuing releases to mainstream media with the same announcement. Everyone who will be seated in January has stood for Democratic Elections. Schumer & Jeffries are required to do the same. They are not entitled to receive a Coronation.
A sigh of peace (for now) instead of exasperation. A strange but welcome reality, no matter how short-lived it may be. Thanks for always sharing the journey with us!
I feel like I can breathe more easily. I appreciate all that you and your brothers have done to keep everything front and center and help make sense of this upside down world. Keep up the amazing work.
I will mention another piece of good news, at least in my opinion. Tesla has cancelled the Cybertruck. They will officially quit producing them in 2027. Yay! They were ugly.
One thing i believe that came from 1970’s politics is the absurd idea of party over all else. My parents got caught up in this. I read a recent article from my local republican party lamenting the poor candidates and the poor messaging. How will the party survive??
It is also my opinion this is another cult idea that the republican party embraces. Vote for the best damn person for the job!
This idea is much more difficult. The republicans gave us no idea what they really stood for. They could only mock and denigrate their opponents. Just my 2 cents.
Julie every Republican I knew growing up was definitely party over all else. I remember having conversations and asking them what they liked about their candidate and their ideas, most of the time they knew nothing about the person they voted for. Ironically whenever I discussed policy they were really Dems in their beliefs. However many of my Republican friends became independents after they ran Trump.
Wisdom from James Talarico
The following is from James Talarico’s victory speech, as reported by Heather Cox Richardson. One comment I would slightly disagree with is that this form of politics has been going on longer than ten years. It’s been appreciably worse recently, but this is all part of a war that has been going on throughout human history: those who “have” wanting more and the rest of us trying to get a fair share. A share large enough to lead a decent, secure life, as he describes.
From HCR:
Talarico rooted his political beliefs in his belief in the commandments to “love God and love neighbor” and noted that “despite our differences, we all want the same things. A safe neighborhood, a good job, a high-quality, well-funded public school, and the ability to see a doctor when we need one.
“But the billionaires who own the social media algorithms, who own the cable news networks, who own the politicians fighting on our screens, they want us at each other’s throats. They want us focused on how we’re different instead of on how we’re the same. They want us looking left and right at each other instead of looking up at them. The real fight in this country is not left versus right. It is top versus bottom.
“The people at the top work so hard to keep us angry and divided because our unity is a threat to their wealth and their power,” he said. “We saw it in this race. We saw it in every billionaire-funded attack ad. The people at the top divide us by party, by race, by gender, by religion, by culture, so we don’t notice that they are picking our pockets, that they are defunding our schools, that they are gutting our healthcare, that they are raising taxes on all of us while they cut taxes for themselves. It is the oldest strategy in the world, divide and conquer. But tonight we sent a crystal clear message to the people at the top. We will not be conquered.”
“[W]e are tired of being pitted against each other,” Talarico continued. “We are tired of being told to hate each other. It has been 10 years of this kind of politics. Politics as blood sport. Politics as trolling and owning. Politics as professional wrestling. It tears families apart. It ends friendships. And it leaves us all feeling terrible all the time. People across the political spectrum are hungry for a different kind of politics. Not a politics of hate, not a politics of fear, not a politics of division, but a politics of love.”
So thankful that some journalists still understand the purpose of paragraphs. There is so much LinkedInAI-style Broetry out there right now, which can be a bit insulting because one reason the “style" is supposedly so popular is that it assumes the recipient has a poor grasp of English grammar and an attention span too short to comprehend proper writing.
Thank you for giving me the name for this type of writing style. I hate it...and thought it was just me!
Well written, my friend.
I could not agree with you more.
Educators call it "grammar" school. As an example, we have, they have. Instead of, we got, they got, the worst, I got!
I hate, I seen!!
I couldn't agree more with you!
"To get" is a legitimate verb infinitive in English. It is different from (see above) "to have". It betokens more action than to passively have. We use it idiomatically in "we gotta get going".
Another grammatical change going on that drives me crazy is the loss of proper past tenses for swim, spring, ring, sing and a few more. The past tenses of course are swam, sprang, rang, sang etc. But all I hear nowadays are swum, sprung, rung, sung etc. even among journalists who should know better.
The teacher told the class: there are two words I never want to hear from you. One is "swell" and the other is "lousy".
Little Johnnie popped up: "Swell teach, tell us the lousy one first!"
My mission is to get rid of the spelling "loose" meaning "lose". This is hopeless!
There is a grand swell in our country to convert all uses of various prepositions to "to". Virtually no one is aware of it yet but I have documented many examples. It seemed to begin with "different to" rather than "different from". I virtually never hear "different from" anymore. What mystifies me is what is driving this change? Why do people think "to" sounds or feels better than "from"?
Good one ☺️
The absolute worst advertisement, in the 1980's was, "GOT MILK". It was on Billboards everywhere!
One will "take" a person or an animal home, shopping, etc.
NOT bring them home.
She went, he went, they went, (past tense) to the store.
Punctuation is for the clarification of thought process in written form.
I’m an activist, in FL. The primary products of the Republican-dominated Legislature in my past four years have been cruelty, and whatever bill their wealthy donors hand them to pass. It hurts to be informed here, in the face of so much propaganda and disinformation, knowing the people are being manipulated into voting against their own self interest. I’m a native,three + generations. I remember Governors Reuben Askew and the exemplary Bob Graham, whose daughter Gwen Graham was just on the ballot with David Jolly. They were good men, leaders. But once the GOP got their claws into my beloved state, with Jeb Bush, but especially under Rick Scott and Ron DeSantis it feels like we are living in a hellish hostage situation.
I’m sorry, Lisa. I went to college in Fort Lauderdale in the Eighties, and generally had the best time of my life. It was a fun, open, vibrant place back then, chockablock with people from all over the hemisphere and plenty of room for all kinds of diverse opinions. A purple state, in other words. Ten years later I returned from California to be with my father during his final months and could hardly recognize the place. Take heart that you actually came pretty close to restoring some sanity during this election cycle. If it could happen in Texas, it can happen anywhere. 🙂
Lisa my husband has a nephew who lives there and some of the things he believes are just plain crazy. I have so many good memories of vacations there throughout my life and it has been shocking to me the politicians that have been elected from there! However I grew up in Ohio and it has been shocking to me at some of the politicians that have been elected there as well. However this last election has given me hope and my family that still lives there hope too!
I wish every person in this country would read this.!
Truth!
I agree that it has been going on throughout human history...
Amen! Thank you for sharing. Love and light to all.
Coffee tastes just a bit better today. Thank you Ben and all who never gave up!
Has anyone else heard about this? Why isn't the mainstream media covering this? You cannot make absurdities like this up: https://www.thegodshow.com/p/trump-accidentally-names-ufcs-dana
OMG is all this Canadian can say. Drumpf truly is the dumBest of baby souls that God has created ;) Play safe down there until a straight jacket is installed on the sad sack of sh*t
The US boycotts need to stay in place until the complicit Dem leaders are replaced by new ideas and direction. Booker, Jeffries and Schumer must go or the Blue wave will dry up fast!!!!
There MUST be consequences for Elon Musk, a true enemy of democracy. Good God!!!
Check out the new Texas attorney general.
Trump won't be able to pardon him.
This week a candle was lit in the darkness. It is time to turn that candle into a torch and that torch into a blazing sun. A blazing sun that will light the way to a better America for future generations of our children.
Love your imagery!
Ben, your favorite Sunday Post yet brought me to tears, joyful tears! Yes, we did! Thanks for your encapsulated version… It explains what I've been thinking & feeling & I'm not alone… Thanks a lot!
Best Sunday in the last two years 🩵🩵
Love all this positivity. But I have to ask why does nobody ever mention ohio? We had a great election night and everybody forgets to mention us.
They talked a lot about Ohio on the west coast. It was amazing to watch Sherron Brown be victorious again! And Amy Acton! What a strong and smart woman. Go Ohio! 🎉🎉🎉
Congrats! I saw Ohio mentioned a couple of times.
Ohio did us proud. Congrats on an amazing turnaround. You are not forgotten---the number of astounding victories is simply almost too big to list---Good job, Ohio! I have an old friend there I need to call and congratulate. Cheers!
Cyndi I grew up in Ohio and was so happy at the results! I have read lots of articles from lots of sources praising Ohio! Internationally as well!
Ben, great job. You do amazing work!
I want to thank all the Republicans who dropped their party for this election and voted to stop the way this regime was going! I hope the oligarchs learned that they can't always buy votes with their money. Americans have brains. They know what's right and what's going terribly wrong! We believe in honesty, ethics and morals. Somehow DJT tried to take all of that away. It didn't work! Once again, I have faith in America and what we stand for!
Thank you Ben and your brothers. Meidas Touch and your launch of independent news media were instrumental in making this Blue Wave possible. Congratulations on all of your hard work.
Since Friday, nearly 6,000 of you have emailed Congress to demand that they reject the Dirty Data Center Deal (aka the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act).
But this bill is still barreling forward with a vote expected as early as tomorrow.
Take five minutes to call your member of Congress now and urge them to oppose this bad deal.
If passed, this legislation would gut key aspects of the Clean Water Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the National Historic Preservation Act and make it easier to build new AI data centers and fossil fuel projects that pollute our air, water, and climate.
It’s expected that outgoing Majority Leader Senator Thune will force this bill for a cloture vote tomorrow.
Given Democrats' new levels of power in Congress, it would be insane to pass this bill now. This week, voters overwhelmingly rejected AI data centers at polls. Out of 40 ballot initiatives involving data centers across the country, voters rejected 39. People don't want AI data centers.
Yet, this bill would nullify community opposition to data centers and lock in a gas-powered data center buildout across the country. It would be the worst possible end to the best possible week.
Call your Senators now.
And if you’ve already called, call again and tell them that the proposed amendments do nowhere near enough to earn their support for this bad bill.
In Solidarity
- the Stop the Money Pipeline team
PS: Want to learn more about the bill? Check out Bill McKibben’s latest newsletter, or our friends at NYCC’s memo.
Thanks Edward. This would be a tragedy. We have had too many already. I do hound officials. I wish everybody would. ✌️
Now, citizens of America, send the message that Schumer and Jefferies must not be rewarded, but relegated to the past as Democrats who were not effective. The new wave needs real change, otherwise it will backfire.
Change.org has online petitions regarding ending the Leadership of Schumer & Jeffries.
I am also writing individual letters to my Congressional Delegations asking them to identify viable candidates to run against Schumer & Jeffries. It is appalling that both of them have arbitrarily announced they are retaining their Leadership positions. They are also issuing releases to mainstream media with the same announcement. Everyone who will be seated in January has stood for Democratic Elections. Schumer & Jeffries are required to do the same. They are not entitled to receive a Coronation.
They helped get us in trouble. I wonder (very little, since I suspect I know) they will do to help us get out of that hole.
Disinformation. Both should be congratulated.
We are a big tent and without them we would have lost flyover country. We don't need internecene warfare.
Cory Booker takes the most AIPAC millions then Chuckles or AIPAC Shikur.
The 'for the people' elected Dems must not bend over when the corporate Dems start using the work together/tent bullshit lines.
The Blue Wave will be a puddle in no time!!!!!
Ben, your favorite Sunday Post yet brought me to tears, joyful tears! Yes, we did! Thanks for the encapsulated
Thank YOU!!!💙💙💙
A sigh of peace (for now) instead of exasperation. A strange but welcome reality, no matter how short-lived it may be. Thanks for always sharing the journey with us!
I feel like I can breathe more easily. I appreciate all that you and your brothers have done to keep everything front and center and help make sense of this upside down world. Keep up the amazing work.
I will mention another piece of good news, at least in my opinion. Tesla has cancelled the Cybertruck. They will officially quit producing them in 2027. Yay! They were ugly.
One thing i believe that came from 1970’s politics is the absurd idea of party over all else. My parents got caught up in this. I read a recent article from my local republican party lamenting the poor candidates and the poor messaging. How will the party survive??
It is also my opinion this is another cult idea that the republican party embraces. Vote for the best damn person for the job!
This idea is much more difficult. The republicans gave us no idea what they really stood for. They could only mock and denigrate their opponents. Just my 2 cents.
Julie every Republican I knew growing up was definitely party over all else. I remember having conversations and asking them what they liked about their candidate and their ideas, most of the time they knew nothing about the person they voted for. Ironically whenever I discussed policy they were really Dems in their beliefs. However many of my Republican friends became independents after they ran Trump.
Yes, this is exactly what happens. When forced to apply critical thinking they come to different conclusions.
The party first mentality needs to be challenged more frequently.