We are in the middle of a five alarm fire, and while most of the country remains oblivious, too many in the resistance are wasting time discussing how to organize and implement a fire department. What’s needed from the general public is total non cooperation and a general Spending Strike. NOW!
I was of age during the Vietnam/Nixon/Civil Rights Era. Targeted boycotts were a hot topic on the left. Almost all failed because it was too complicated. Too many corporations to keep track of. Much the same today.
The Montgomery bus boycott worked because of its simplicity, but it took a year and those folks were highly motivated and had very charismatic leaders. People now talk about Tesla and Target boycotts working, but they haven’t. Neither company has changed their behavior. Losing stock value is not success.
Disney boycott:
Hurrah! A targeted boycott that worked. (Or did it? Some argue that Kimmel’s contract was the motivating factor.) A good first step. But if you start boycotting all the corporations that are enabling the fascist takeover of the country, soon you’re at a general spending strike, which is a good thing. Let’s do it!
We, the People, can’t easily or safely withhold our tax dollars that are allowing this corrupt government to function. Our tax dollars fund the fascist takeover.
But as consumers we can indirectly withhold our tax dollars. Consumer spending is about 70% of the economy. That spending ends up as tax dollars. Stop unnecessary spending and the money funding the fascist takeover will disappear.
Why targeted boycotts are ineffective:
Boycotts often fail because they require massive, sustained participation to create meaningful financial pressure, lack clear alternatives for consumers, generate insufficient negative media attention, and are easily weathered by companies waiting for the protest to fade. Additionally, the complex nature of modern capitalism and the proliferation of corporate conglomerates can make it difficult for boycotters to effectively target and impact a company's bottom line or reputation, especially when companies have multiple revenue streams, like real estate, that aren't affected by consumer boycotts.
In 2020, Goya Foods praised President Donald Trump on social media, which caused those in opposition to Trump to boycott their products. Trump loyalists simultaneously initated a counter-boycott, where consumers bought mass quantities of their products, in response. The boycott caused Goya profits to increase dramatically because Trump supporters started an opposing campaign.
We are trying to dislodge a fascist regime, an entire government. Targeted boycotts are used to change the behavior of a corporation or corporations. We must attack the entire economy.
“It’s the economy, stupid” as James Carville famously told Bill Clinton. It was then, and still is, in politics. The reelection of His Royal Heinous is largely attributed to the misperceived state of the economy. That’s what must be attacked, not individual corporations. The overall economy must suffer before the oligarchs (Greedy Bastards) will pay attention.
HRH will not destroy the economy on his own (TACO). He will find a way to prop it up (like lower interest rates) because the economy and stock market are his report card and key to keeping power. The key to keeping power, as it is in Russia, China, Hungary, Turkey. They give the people a somewhat decent standard of living, and in exchange, the people have no political power. Only the autocrat has that. Unlimited.
It will be up to the people to effect the economic pressure necessary to stop and reverse the fascist takeover of America.
Spending Strike. Stop spending except on essentials. We, the People, are funding the fascist takeover of America. Please help us Spread the Word!, far, wide, and quickly, before the fascists takedown our means of communication.
I want a national strike as well. But your argument seems to go between calling for a targeted boycott and a general boycott of people just not spending. I wish there were a leader calling for a very specific boycott of a particular company that would a) realistically work...i.e., boycotting Meta isn't going to work, and b) cause immediate harm to that corporation. I don't know what the target should be, but i'm convinced there are plenty of smart people who can figure it out.
If we all had one company to boycott at first and just see what it would do. Hurt them in just about the only place that they care about. Their “wallet”. Once that company understands they messed up by kissing the ring, then we move to the next. Pretty soon every one of those sycophants will be wide eyed and freaking out because their company could be next. But you’re right we need to all get together and if we had one voice right now then it would make a huge difference.
Amazon comes to mind. I cancelled my prime membership and will not buy from them. Home Depot is next. Another Target boycott would be good, also Walmart would do quite nicely.
Well, I would love to be able to stop that, but I live in NYC where they have torn down most of my stores in my neighborhood, I have not been in the greatest health, don't drive, and it's a necessity to get things delivered to my building and my groceries from Fresh Direct to my door.
I did that. I stopped buying American after the inauguration and did not go to Florida (sorry but I had to), and I stopped ordering from Amazon (inconvenient but go out and interact with decent, hard working people who need a job). Win Win.
I'm with you! Already quitAmazon and Prime and stopped buying from WalMart--that's hard because it's the closest grocery store and it's 30 minutes away. I'll add Home Depot. Already boycotting Target.
Amazon is laying off workers (I heard it was going to be 500k) because they are going to automate their factories fully with robots. Not Elon's dream of the humanoid type, but they ARE going to become fully automated and won't need people to pick and pack. Nothing to do with boycotts. They treated their workers like dirt, and now they will replace them. No one will be able to get a job as a cashier, or work for Amazon, etc. I weep for what's coming. I don't know what people will do. I live in NY and many years ago Amazon wanted to open a huge factory in Queens (with a helicoptor landing pad for his blow-up doll GF, now wife, who is also a helicoptor pilot) and AOC fought it for her district, and people were pissed because they were thinking about the jobs, but you know what? She was right. If they did, so many workers there would be losing their jobs to automation now too. Dodged a bullet with them.
I watch the PIVOT podcast on YT with Kara Swisher and Prof Scott Galloway. She's a tech writer and he is a "come from nothing" self-made zillionaire who has made and lost a fortune or two and has never forgotten where he came from, but they are so smart. Every year he makes a list of who are going to be the biggest, most successful companies and he predicts Amazon next year will go through the roof, that right now the stock is undervalued, but will be a winner. It has nothing to do with these billionaire tech bros as people (he and Kara know and loathe many of them) but Scott is a financial wizard and businessman. Cxl'g prime is not going to hurt them unfortunately. They are too embedded...especially their Amazon Web Services that took half the internet down a week or more ago ago, that's how tied the world is to them, and we don't even realize how much.
Yes we did and it was amazing! It blows my mind that these corporations are capitulating when if these fascist get their way it will lead to the ruin of our nation and capitalism. Who is going to have any money to be able to buy their “plastic” junk if they succeed and everyone is just fighting for survival? Talk about killing the goose that laid the golden egg!?! Complete lack of logic and zero foresight to see what very well could happen!
I agree the free world is in big trouble. I go a bit further: the entire world's living beings are in trouble. The climate crisis continues to be a major problem for all living beings: as one of the consequences is more frequent and more damaging storms; problems with ocean currents; the heating of the ocean.... The longer these regimes with authoritarian leaders all over the world, refuse to believe in the climate crisis and refuse to regulate pollution, etc....the less chance humans and all other living things will survive. This isn't hyperbole. :(
Agreed! Right now Hurricane Melissa is ravaging Jamaica, but what if it takes a turn & heads to the US COAST! Is there a FEMA anymore or did ICE BARBIE use that money for her two new jets?! Climate change doesn't give a damn who you are & how much money you have, it will take you out just like the lesser folks!
Geri, 🎯 . But you know what is surviving and thriving? The insects. Killer mosquitos that carry diseases we never had years ago, originally from Asia or overseas, that I read may have mated with ones here. Story in the NYT about this woman recently who never left her home (meaning traveled) and wound up with a debilitating disease. The doctors couldn't understand how she caught this but she noticed an uptick in mosquitoes from when she gardened and one thing led to another and it took a while until they made the discovery.. It could have come in from boats or planes...who knows. The doctors hadn't really come across it here, then started figuring it out. . Then the ticks that never disappear anymore, even in winter. . I have a friend upstate who I love and went to visit for 2 days a couple of years ago and between the bugs and ticks I couldnt wait to get home. He's already had lyme disease and they have a dog that disappears during the day and plays in the mountains. She's got long hair and they half to go through her with a fine tooth comb before they let her in the house. Ugh. I'm not outdoorsy. The melting ice that will reveal things long hidden and thought to be gone in the permafrost. I fully expect more pandemics that we are not prepared for, or things like bubonic plague that could come back. We have these bugs now in NYC that the first time I saw them a few years ago (and I am TERRIFIED of any insect) they looked like an innocuous colorful moth on the ground. Pink with black markings. It was in the papers to step on them the minute you see them. They are incredibly destructive. Sorry, but they came in from Asia. We never had them here. Some woman wrote into my local nextdoor app that her terrace was swarmed with them (she had plants). Ugh. Bad enough what we have in NYC with the "local wildlife" as I call them, from the construction, and now on Long Island in the areas that used to be much less built up are being invaded by deer and ticks, because the builders are encroaching on what was their land. I've got two nephews starting to drive and I hope they are serious about safety, and not screwing around, because the roads at night where they live are winding and dark and I'm worried they will hit a deer.
I must disagree…the pendulum is swinging back towards democracy, this time with the whole world behind us! Don’t lose hope Bob, when we come out of this hell we’re all living through (after the midterms), the United States of America will have the opportunity to be GREAT FOR THE FIRST TIME FOR ALL AMERICANS, and we’ll be stronger than we’ve ever been in the past! We WILL defeat the Republican Nazi Party!!!❤️
The speech he gave in South Korea - man, I have never been so embarrassed. This vindictive creep still rages on (1) Barack HUSSEIN Obama, (2) Joe Biden, and (3) Jerome Powell - it is disgusting. I trust the S Korean's can see the plight in the US and all of his lies.
I hope the Japanese PM and her gov't saw what a dementia case he was. Commander-Bone-Spurs saluted foreign soldiers, looked like he thought he was in the UK with the Queen when he walked in front of her to peruse at her troops. Meanwhile while the Japanese PM was leading him around like he escaped from asst living and was afraid he would fall or walk away, must have been saying to herself this low energy lunatic is like a toothless lion. The whole world fears him and he doesn't even know where he is half the time. Time for the labotomy. He is beyond mortifying. I couldn't watch Ben yesterday with his clips of him. I know perfectly well what is going on, not looking away, but for my own self-care I can't look or listen to him. That voice. His double jerk off dance in Malaysia. Imagine Pres Eisenhower doing any of this. . He is a bitter, angry demented man with a grudge whose synapses aren't firing and his brain is stuck on retribution, revenge and his usual tapes like above. All I know is Joe has stage 4 metastisized prostate cancer that spread to his bones, just finished his radiation and rang the bell, smiling, in good spirits, and looks in better shape than Donnie ever has. I didn't look today but Ben posted a video that Donnie Darko walked off Air Force one with his hands holding onto the rails of the stairs like a death grip. . Anything with "death" and "Donnie" in the same sentence is okay by me 🤗
Yes there are and I live right in the middle of them...anything that is bad about trump is fake news...all charlie kirk's racist quotes were taken out of context, everything on fox is true (except what that wacko liberal lady spouts off with her pretend facts). It is unreal but fortunately I'm retired and live on a small farm where I don't have to interact much with anyone. Many of them also do not believe in evolution or that dinosaurs ever lived here (or anywhere) and the bones/fossils are just fake. Everything that does not support trump or other beliefs is just fake. So you can't try to talk to them because they just don't believe anything unless Jessie Waters tells them it's so.
You don’t have to live out in the country to experience these morons. I live in an urban setting and I’m surrounded by them! My solution is to isolate with my cats and go only where it’s necessary. There’s actually a huge difference between being alone and being lonely. I just happen to prefer my own company to that of MAGAt morons.
Ahhh, cats are great company!! Sadly I don't have any right now... but I have a couple of old horses I and a couple of dogs and yes, they are way better than the maga folks.
It's good that you find a way around the situation. While it's for mostly non-political reasons, I self-isolate, too. I adore cats (and all animals). I used the online handle "Cat Whispurrer" for many years :-D. When my cats passed, I was gutted, and I don't have the heart (or resources) to do it again. The main point you make, and with which I agree wholeheartedly, is the difference between being alone and being lonely. As an introvert, being alone a lot of the time is not only doable, but essential for my sanity ; ). I read, watch movies and TV, do puzzles (especially Sudoku), care for houseplants, do genealogy, listen to music, and work on a multitude of craft projects.
Hopefully the ivermectin will not hurt him, but his belief that it will cure him will prevent him from getting treatment that could cure him and that is so sad.
Oh he was in treatment taking chemo, under a great doctor, but it made him sick. Some 80 year old doctor that can no longer treat people told him how ivermectin would cure it and he didn't have to feel sick. He believed this guy over the people who love him, and his own doctor. He's a smart guy - or used to be: but he's been enthralled by the felon like so many other people. :( Nothing to be done, as he's fully convinced.
Oh that is so sad. I don't know what I'd do if that happened with my brother. We are coming up with new treatments that don't make you as sick but still have a long way to go but in my mind being sick for a while is better than dying if you don't need to. My heart goes out to you...I hope at some time you were close enough with your brother that you are heartbroken over this (sadly lots of siblings just aren't very close and they have missed out on so much but then some siblings have been jerks sort of from the get-go). Anyway, if your brother has a dog in the collie family make sure the dog does not get any of the ivermectin as it often kills them. I live in a area where there are lots of border collies and horses, and when ivermectin first came out it was a great wormer for horses (still is) and we didn't know about it killing dogs in the collie family and sadly lots of dogs died. The folks that seem to know say it's mostly dogs in the collie family and I don't think I have one, but my dogs are mixed breeds and could have some collie in them somewhere so I'm really really careful when I worm the horses.
So I don't want to get personal but where does she think ships go when they sail off into being out of sight? And if the world is flat, is there a top side and a bottom side? I have no idea what these folks think. If there is a top and underside, how do you get from one to the other?
It's called ignorance and religious delusion. Many books explain this phenomenon, but a high percentage of them can't read at a high enough grade level that allow them to learn anything. It's pure delusion.
I think it's a lack of morals, not intelligence. So many of my previous acquaintances (and a few ex-friends) are highly educated. But they have forgotten the values their parents taught them. They have forgotten their people's history in some cases. But they always blame outwardly. :(
They take after their Leader. He always blames someone else for his problems, as a way to feel smarter. One attendee at a Trump rally was on a video saying, "He speaks my language." I don't doubt it.
I agree completely! Amazing how magats STILL believe every lie & stupid statement that trump spews!!! Some of the things he says are so bizarre, I don’t know how anyone with an IQ above 25 can actually believe his lying crap!!!!
Please don't disparage roaches like that! And actually there are roaches who can do good stuff...according to an article in Discover Magazine Korea has developed a way to literally harness roaches with sensors so they can aid in search and rescue efforts (they can go in very small places and the backpacks they carry send info back to the human searchers..it's more complicated than that but that's the idea!). And in some countries like China they are actually farmed for food...so some roaches (not all, I have not found any good reason for the occasional roach I find in my house) can do good while maga folks cannot at least those serving in the administration in any manner.
Chickens love roaches! Supposedly they taste like Jolly Rogers candy. They are fine as long as they stay outdoors and especially if they can help in rescue situations. They do a lot of clean up; but, not as much as fly maggots do. Chickens like them too. Of course chickens like most bugs except for pill bugs.
There is one great big orange roach that comes out in the wee hours of the morning; but, so far not a big enough "chicken" to get him yet.
.....interesting info.......I was going to say Maggots.......but they will help eliminate totally, once and for all a stinking, filthy, useless, dispicable Orange corpse that did absolutly nothing for society.....was hated by 99.999% of hmanity and despised by Mother Earth and all living creatures.
Chaff has Biblical symbolism to...okay people....you fill in your own thoughs on Cankles.
I was just telling a friend of my daughter, a magat, the devastating impact that Schwarzenegger had from when he was governor of California. It took several years for poor adults to regain dental and vision care. The personal result from this is I now have dentures because my dental only covered extractions. Now if his small amount of “fu€k the poor” had effects into a decade +, exactly what is the US looking at to reverse all the harm this Nazi regime is doing? The policies enacted now do not automatically disappear if and when a non fascist takes power. Not only the US, but the world as a whole, will be suffering for decades from the actions taking place now.
I saw that clip; like trump was some older guy with dementia being guided by his healthcare aide. In all of the complete insanity, words cannot express how grateful I am for MeidasTouch. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Thank you 🙏🏽 Thank you 🙏🏽 Thank you 🙏🏽!!! Michael Popok, Ben, Brett, Jordan, Katie Phang, Karen, Joyce & the entire gang!!!! I’m so thankful for this independent news source. I listen to Substack & your YouTube segments more than music now. It has helped me better articulate our patriotic moral positions with fact-based data. It’s like learning a new language for me. A new tool in the tool box when trying to speak to all kinds of people regarding the mess we’re in and what we, as individuals can do to change the path we’re on.
Thank YOU for talking to folks. I live in the reddest district in Missouri and the 6th reddest in the nation and these people are 100% trump supporters and do not care about facts (many also don't believe in evolution and my daughter was a biology teacher and was not allowed to talk about evolution..she left after one year...that had not come up in her job interview!) and admitting you are a Democrat or just a non trump supporter can hurt your business or result in other retaliation. Please keep talking..the way we will win voters over is with face to face conversations and facts we can support with data people can see. Bashing trump and/or asking the what the hell did you expect questions or belittling them for getting what they voted for will never win one voter. But presenting facts, asking them what they see is the most important issue and what do they think we can do about it and then either pointing out that's what Dems want to do or agreeing and saying both partied need to work on that.
I am right there with you. I live in Knoxville, Tn. Tn also has a republican trifecta in state government. What the world is now seeing in the U.S. nationally with things like retaliatory firings & retaliatory prosecutions, we have been experiencing for decades. You can’t find a decent paying job in Tn if you aren’t part of the republican good ole boy system. Education & experience do NOT matter. Barely literate high school graduates oversee huge federal contracts, bc of who they know or are related to. I have been a union member or associate member my entire adult life. I worked for the Tn State AFL-CIO when former President Jerry Lee was in office. Private anti-worker/anti-union republicans started pushing out pro-worker true union leaders (especially in construction trades) around 2005; they ramped up when President Obama was elected. Now the cherry assignments go to family members & friends of union bosses. The left over jobs that require a lot of traveling or 6 day 10 hours a day go to the rest of us. I have 2 degrees, the most recent in Environmental Health & Occupational Safety- which I pursued bc of President Biden’s infrastructure bill, and now I stack boxes @ Amazon for $18.50 an hour- which is not a fair wage, but is more than competitive in Tn. Union jobs pay less than $23 an hour to dress in full hazmat suits & full-face respirators to work in radiation, asbestos, & other life-threatening hazards. When I managed local elections years ago, the law allowed for people to donate $99.99 anonymously. I would be approached @ public events, the grocery store, all the time, with people slipping $99.99 in my hand bc they were afraid if anyone found out, they would lose their job or be “destractified”- a practice used by Tn republicans for decades to stifle resistance. People working in local government for years were terminated under the “Right to Work” law which allows employers to terminate people without cause or due process. People were stalked by local law enforcement- pulled over for no reason (especially before body cameras were required; now they just turn them off & say they malfunctioned). Parking tickets were issued & if paid 1 day late- fees piled on. Debts were researched (medical, school loans, mortgages, etc), & if late payments were discovered, all credit reporting institutes were contacted. Untrue underground rumor smut campaigns were launched against democratic office holders & candidates. I could go on & on. Few people dot every I & cross every T. If you were a democrat & tried to speak out, your missing dots & T crosses would be found and used to fill your time & suck up any energy spent toward working on justice.
I think there are a lot of people who are keeping their distance now from all of the craziness, maybe some on purpose. I think if things continue as they are going these folks will step up to help.
I liken it to the underground railroad. They weren't out there making waves. They were secretly helping people.
I had no idea things were that bad in Tenn.... and what is extra frustrating is that they gladly accept all federal dollars provided by Democratic administrations.
2025 is the year when independent news organizations exploded and started to become better known to the general public. This coincided with the capitulation of mainstream media like the Washington Post and many journalists moved to platforms such as Substack.
KEEP
GOING
BEN
AND
MEIDASTOUCH
TEAM
!!!!
Targeted Boycotts are Ineffective
We are in the middle of a five alarm fire, and while most of the country remains oblivious, too many in the resistance are wasting time discussing how to organize and implement a fire department. What’s needed from the general public is total non cooperation and a general Spending Strike. NOW!
I was of age during the Vietnam/Nixon/Civil Rights Era. Targeted boycotts were a hot topic on the left. Almost all failed because it was too complicated. Too many corporations to keep track of. Much the same today.
The Montgomery bus boycott worked because of its simplicity, but it took a year and those folks were highly motivated and had very charismatic leaders. People now talk about Tesla and Target boycotts working, but they haven’t. Neither company has changed their behavior. Losing stock value is not success.
Disney boycott:
Hurrah! A targeted boycott that worked. (Or did it? Some argue that Kimmel’s contract was the motivating factor.) A good first step. But if you start boycotting all the corporations that are enabling the fascist takeover of the country, soon you’re at a general spending strike, which is a good thing. Let’s do it!
We, the People, can’t easily or safely withhold our tax dollars that are allowing this corrupt government to function. Our tax dollars fund the fascist takeover.
But as consumers we can indirectly withhold our tax dollars. Consumer spending is about 70% of the economy. That spending ends up as tax dollars. Stop unnecessary spending and the money funding the fascist takeover will disappear.
Why targeted boycotts are ineffective:
Boycotts often fail because they require massive, sustained participation to create meaningful financial pressure, lack clear alternatives for consumers, generate insufficient negative media attention, and are easily weathered by companies waiting for the protest to fade. Additionally, the complex nature of modern capitalism and the proliferation of corporate conglomerates can make it difficult for boycotters to effectively target and impact a company's bottom line or reputation, especially when companies have multiple revenue streams, like real estate, that aren't affected by consumer boycotts.
In 2020, Goya Foods praised President Donald Trump on social media, which caused those in opposition to Trump to boycott their products. Trump loyalists simultaneously initated a counter-boycott, where consumers bought mass quantities of their products, in response. The boycott caused Goya profits to increase dramatically because Trump supporters started an opposing campaign.
We are trying to dislodge a fascist regime, an entire government. Targeted boycotts are used to change the behavior of a corporation or corporations. We must attack the entire economy.
“It’s the economy, stupid” as James Carville famously told Bill Clinton. It was then, and still is, in politics. The reelection of His Royal Heinous is largely attributed to the misperceived state of the economy. That’s what must be attacked, not individual corporations. The overall economy must suffer before the oligarchs (Greedy Bastards) will pay attention.
HRH will not destroy the economy on his own (TACO). He will find a way to prop it up (like lower interest rates) because the economy and stock market are his report card and key to keeping power. The key to keeping power, as it is in Russia, China, Hungary, Turkey. They give the people a somewhat decent standard of living, and in exchange, the people have no political power. Only the autocrat has that. Unlimited.
It will be up to the people to effect the economic pressure necessary to stop and reverse the fascist takeover of America.
Spending Strike. Stop spending except on essentials. We, the People, are funding the fascist takeover of America. Please help us Spread the Word!, far, wide, and quickly, before the fascists takedown our means of communication.
I want a national strike as well. But your argument seems to go between calling for a targeted boycott and a general boycott of people just not spending. I wish there were a leader calling for a very specific boycott of a particular company that would a) realistically work...i.e., boycotting Meta isn't going to work, and b) cause immediate harm to that corporation. I don't know what the target should be, but i'm convinced there are plenty of smart people who can figure it out.
Indivisible is calling for a Boycott on Spotify since they are advertising for ICE.
I keep wanting to boycott these entities, but I never paid for them in the first place!
If we all had one company to boycott at first and just see what it would do. Hurt them in just about the only place that they care about. Their “wallet”. Once that company understands they messed up by kissing the ring, then we move to the next. Pretty soon every one of those sycophants will be wide eyed and freaking out because their company could be next. But you’re right we need to all get together and if we had one voice right now then it would make a huge difference.
look what the Tesla boycott did to Elon and its share holders
. it made him leave doge and virtually disappear. which is what was needed.
Amazon comes to mind. I cancelled my prime membership and will not buy from them. Home Depot is next. Another Target boycott would be good, also Walmart would do quite nicely.
I’m down with Amazon and Home Depot. Now if can convince people to stop ordering things out of convenience to be shipped to their front door…
Well, I would love to be able to stop that, but I live in NYC where they have torn down most of my stores in my neighborhood, I have not been in the greatest health, don't drive, and it's a necessity to get things delivered to my building and my groceries from Fresh Direct to my door.
I did that. I stopped buying American after the inauguration and did not go to Florida (sorry but I had to), and I stopped ordering from Amazon (inconvenient but go out and interact with decent, hard working people who need a job). Win Win.
I'm with you! Already quitAmazon and Prime and stopped buying from WalMart--that's hard because it's the closest grocery store and it's 30 minutes away. I'll add Home Depot. Already boycotting Target.
And Amazon is laying off like 30k workers so something must be working.
Amazon is laying off workers (I heard it was going to be 500k) because they are going to automate their factories fully with robots. Not Elon's dream of the humanoid type, but they ARE going to become fully automated and won't need people to pick and pack. Nothing to do with boycotts. They treated their workers like dirt, and now they will replace them. No one will be able to get a job as a cashier, or work for Amazon, etc. I weep for what's coming. I don't know what people will do. I live in NY and many years ago Amazon wanted to open a huge factory in Queens (with a helicoptor landing pad for his blow-up doll GF, now wife, who is also a helicoptor pilot) and AOC fought it for her district, and people were pissed because they were thinking about the jobs, but you know what? She was right. If they did, so many workers there would be losing their jobs to automation now too. Dodged a bullet with them.
I watch the PIVOT podcast on YT with Kara Swisher and Prof Scott Galloway. She's a tech writer and he is a "come from nothing" self-made zillionaire who has made and lost a fortune or two and has never forgotten where he came from, but they are so smart. Every year he makes a list of who are going to be the biggest, most successful companies and he predicts Amazon next year will go through the roof, that right now the stock is undervalued, but will be a winner. It has nothing to do with these billionaire tech bros as people (he and Kara know and loathe many of them) but Scott is a financial wizard and businessman. Cxl'g prime is not going to hurt them unfortunately. They are too embedded...especially their Amazon Web Services that took half the internet down a week or more ago ago, that's how tied the world is to them, and we don't even realize how much.
Didn't we do that with Disney?
Yes we did and it was amazing! It blows my mind that these corporations are capitulating when if these fascist get their way it will lead to the ruin of our nation and capitalism. Who is going to have any money to be able to buy their “plastic” junk if they succeed and everyone is just fighting for survival? Talk about killing the goose that laid the golden egg!?! Complete lack of logic and zero foresight to see what very well could happen!
Yes, and I won't even take them for free and am entitled to Disney Plus, Hulu and Peacock with ads from Spectrum. They can keep them.
I vote for Amazon.
Once again…thank the force they are such incompetent morons! If they had a brain cell to share the free world would be in big trouble!!! ❤️
I’m sorry, but the free world IS in big trouble.
I agree the free world is in big trouble. I go a bit further: the entire world's living beings are in trouble. The climate crisis continues to be a major problem for all living beings: as one of the consequences is more frequent and more damaging storms; problems with ocean currents; the heating of the ocean.... The longer these regimes with authoritarian leaders all over the world, refuse to believe in the climate crisis and refuse to regulate pollution, etc....the less chance humans and all other living things will survive. This isn't hyperbole. :(
Agreed! Right now Hurricane Melissa is ravaging Jamaica, but what if it takes a turn & heads to the US COAST! Is there a FEMA anymore or did ICE BARBIE use that money for her two new jets?! Climate change doesn't give a damn who you are & how much money you have, it will take you out just like the lesser folks!
We lost all our grapevines, almost 30 years old. Thanks to climate change. Used to get enough to can and freeze 20-30 quarts of juice. :*(
That is heartbreaking Margaret. I'm so sorry.
I'm so sorry. What a heart break. :(
Yeah, thanks,❤️
Geri, 🎯 . But you know what is surviving and thriving? The insects. Killer mosquitos that carry diseases we never had years ago, originally from Asia or overseas, that I read may have mated with ones here. Story in the NYT about this woman recently who never left her home (meaning traveled) and wound up with a debilitating disease. The doctors couldn't understand how she caught this but she noticed an uptick in mosquitoes from when she gardened and one thing led to another and it took a while until they made the discovery.. It could have come in from boats or planes...who knows. The doctors hadn't really come across it here, then started figuring it out. . Then the ticks that never disappear anymore, even in winter. . I have a friend upstate who I love and went to visit for 2 days a couple of years ago and between the bugs and ticks I couldnt wait to get home. He's already had lyme disease and they have a dog that disappears during the day and plays in the mountains. She's got long hair and they half to go through her with a fine tooth comb before they let her in the house. Ugh. I'm not outdoorsy. The melting ice that will reveal things long hidden and thought to be gone in the permafrost. I fully expect more pandemics that we are not prepared for, or things like bubonic plague that could come back. We have these bugs now in NYC that the first time I saw them a few years ago (and I am TERRIFIED of any insect) they looked like an innocuous colorful moth on the ground. Pink with black markings. It was in the papers to step on them the minute you see them. They are incredibly destructive. Sorry, but they came in from Asia. We never had them here. Some woman wrote into my local nextdoor app that her terrace was swarmed with them (she had plants). Ugh. Bad enough what we have in NYC with the "local wildlife" as I call them, from the construction, and now on Long Island in the areas that used to be much less built up are being invaded by deer and ticks, because the builders are encroaching on what was their land. I've got two nephews starting to drive and I hope they are serious about safety, and not screwing around, because the roads at night where they live are winding and dark and I'm worried they will hit a deer.
I must disagree…the pendulum is swinging back towards democracy, this time with the whole world behind us! Don’t lose hope Bob, when we come out of this hell we’re all living through (after the midterms), the United States of America will have the opportunity to be GREAT FOR THE FIRST TIME FOR ALL AMERICANS, and we’ll be stronger than we’ve ever been in the past! We WILL defeat the Republican Nazi Party!!!❤️
From your mouth..
We certainly are Bob.
But think that our real justice warriors, are gonna be our best bet going forward. The courts.
GLENN KIRSNER @JUSTICE MATTERS, MARC ELIAS, JACK SMITH. SO many other prosecutors, justices, on and on. Then the supreme court??
That needs attention, which I also believe will work itself out .
Just call me Pollyanna 🤙
Well, Pollyanna, I wish I could share your optimism. The problem is nobody is taking the lead. No one is stepping out there and directing the people.
All while Felon 47 has basically dismantled our government, he and the muskrat.
Very true. I just try to stay calm,which is not easy,as we all know .
There has to be a way forward.
Because I'm not going back
The speech he gave in South Korea - man, I have never been so embarrassed. This vindictive creep still rages on (1) Barack HUSSEIN Obama, (2) Joe Biden, and (3) Jerome Powell - it is disgusting. I trust the S Korean's can see the plight in the US and all of his lies.
I agree , he is scum.
Love your answer. Short, concise, to the point and descriptive 😂
I hope the Japanese PM and her gov't saw what a dementia case he was. Commander-Bone-Spurs saluted foreign soldiers, looked like he thought he was in the UK with the Queen when he walked in front of her to peruse at her troops. Meanwhile while the Japanese PM was leading him around like he escaped from asst living and was afraid he would fall or walk away, must have been saying to herself this low energy lunatic is like a toothless lion. The whole world fears him and he doesn't even know where he is half the time. Time for the labotomy. He is beyond mortifying. I couldn't watch Ben yesterday with his clips of him. I know perfectly well what is going on, not looking away, but for my own self-care I can't look or listen to him. That voice. His double jerk off dance in Malaysia. Imagine Pres Eisenhower doing any of this. . He is a bitter, angry demented man with a grudge whose synapses aren't firing and his brain is stuck on retribution, revenge and his usual tapes like above. All I know is Joe has stage 4 metastisized prostate cancer that spread to his bones, just finished his radiation and rang the bell, smiling, in good spirits, and looks in better shape than Donnie ever has. I didn't look today but Ben posted a video that Donnie Darko walked off Air Force one with his hands holding onto the rails of the stairs like a death grip. . Anything with "death" and "Donnie" in the same sentence is okay by me 🤗
I enjoyed and second every word of your comment, sister. This fuckin guy has showed me what completely void of human nature looks like. A POS . LOSER.
Thanks sis. It's like Forest Gump and his box of chocolates. Everyday you don't know what you're going to fucking get!
It put our weakness on display for the world to see! It makes US very vulnerable!
Bravo!!! I love it when they expose themselves (LOL).....
It’s amazing that there are still people that believe this regime is fighting for them. The real dumbass is the magat cult members out there!
Yes there are and I live right in the middle of them...anything that is bad about trump is fake news...all charlie kirk's racist quotes were taken out of context, everything on fox is true (except what that wacko liberal lady spouts off with her pretend facts). It is unreal but fortunately I'm retired and live on a small farm where I don't have to interact much with anyone. Many of them also do not believe in evolution or that dinosaurs ever lived here (or anywhere) and the bones/fossils are just fake. Everything that does not support trump or other beliefs is just fake. So you can't try to talk to them because they just don't believe anything unless Jessie Waters tells them it's so.
You don’t have to live out in the country to experience these morons. I live in an urban setting and I’m surrounded by them! My solution is to isolate with my cats and go only where it’s necessary. There’s actually a huge difference between being alone and being lonely. I just happen to prefer my own company to that of MAGAt morons.
Ahhh, cats are great company!! Sadly I don't have any right now... but I have a couple of old horses I and a couple of dogs and yes, they are way better than the maga folks.
It's good that you find a way around the situation. While it's for mostly non-political reasons, I self-isolate, too. I adore cats (and all animals). I used the online handle "Cat Whispurrer" for many years :-D. When my cats passed, I was gutted, and I don't have the heart (or resources) to do it again. The main point you make, and with which I agree wholeheartedly, is the difference between being alone and being lonely. As an introvert, being alone a lot of the time is not only doable, but essential for my sanity ; ). I read, watch movies and TV, do puzzles (especially Sudoku), care for houseplants, do genealogy, listen to music, and work on a multitude of craft projects.
Good for you Catt. My daughter and her family live near me, but in a more city like area.
They do the same.
Just so insane it is like this.
Can't be sustainable.
It’s so very sad people are that tightly wrapped!
I actually have a cousin that thinks the world is flat! I swear she wasn’t this stupid when we were growing up!
Sad isn't it? And there are no words I could say to my brother to convince him that ivermectin will not cure his cancer. :(
Hopefully the ivermectin will not hurt him, but his belief that it will cure him will prevent him from getting treatment that could cure him and that is so sad.
Oh he was in treatment taking chemo, under a great doctor, but it made him sick. Some 80 year old doctor that can no longer treat people told him how ivermectin would cure it and he didn't have to feel sick. He believed this guy over the people who love him, and his own doctor. He's a smart guy - or used to be: but he's been enthralled by the felon like so many other people. :( Nothing to be done, as he's fully convinced.
Oh that is so sad. I don't know what I'd do if that happened with my brother. We are coming up with new treatments that don't make you as sick but still have a long way to go but in my mind being sick for a while is better than dying if you don't need to. My heart goes out to you...I hope at some time you were close enough with your brother that you are heartbroken over this (sadly lots of siblings just aren't very close and they have missed out on so much but then some siblings have been jerks sort of from the get-go). Anyway, if your brother has a dog in the collie family make sure the dog does not get any of the ivermectin as it often kills them. I live in a area where there are lots of border collies and horses, and when ivermectin first came out it was a great wormer for horses (still is) and we didn't know about it killing dogs in the collie family and sadly lots of dogs died. The folks that seem to know say it's mostly dogs in the collie family and I don't think I have one, but my dogs are mixed breeds and could have some collie in them somewhere so I'm really really careful when I worm the horses.
So I don't want to get personal but where does she think ships go when they sail off into being out of sight? And if the world is flat, is there a top side and a bottom side? I have no idea what these folks think. If there is a top and underside, how do you get from one to the other?
I never asked. She’s also a trumpf magat cultist through and through so I knew the conversation would be pointless.
Yeah, conversations with the magaits are useless but I'd still like to know what these flat earth people think...I may google it!
Make America Stupid Again!
It's called ignorance and religious delusion. Many books explain this phenomenon, but a high percentage of them can't read at a high enough grade level that allow them to learn anything. It's pure delusion.
Yep. And, if they ever say there is a problem, it's all blamed on Biden or democrats. smh
True! So far I haven't heard any blaming stuff on Jimmy Carter, but it would not surprise me if they did!!!
Or they "haven't heard about it" despite it being all Faux entertainment talks about. Cowards and liars, the lot of them
Losers like them always blame others for the problems they create for themselves…Lack of intelligence is their handicap….
I think it's a lack of morals, not intelligence. So many of my previous acquaintances (and a few ex-friends) are highly educated. But they have forgotten the values their parents taught them. They have forgotten their people's history in some cases. But they always blame outwardly. :(
I agree
They take after their Leader. He always blames someone else for his problems, as a way to feel smarter. One attendee at a Trump rally was on a video saying, "He speaks my language." I don't doubt it.
Thanks for the comment.
Pat, do you live in my neighborhood 🤔 👀. Ditto . On your whole post.
I agree completely! Amazing how magats STILL believe every lie & stupid statement that trump spews!!! Some of the things he says are so bizarre, I don’t know how anyone with an IQ above 25 can actually believe his lying crap!!!!
When the "Dream Team of MTN Lawyers" steps up to the plate.........Maga scatters like chaff into the wind!!!
I imagine little roaches when I read your post! 😁
Please don't disparage roaches like that! And actually there are roaches who can do good stuff...according to an article in Discover Magazine Korea has developed a way to literally harness roaches with sensors so they can aid in search and rescue efforts (they can go in very small places and the backpacks they carry send info back to the human searchers..it's more complicated than that but that's the idea!). And in some countries like China they are actually farmed for food...so some roaches (not all, I have not found any good reason for the occasional roach I find in my house) can do good while maga folks cannot at least those serving in the administration in any manner.
Chickens love roaches! Supposedly they taste like Jolly Rogers candy. They are fine as long as they stay outdoors and especially if they can help in rescue situations. They do a lot of clean up; but, not as much as fly maggots do. Chickens like them too. Of course chickens like most bugs except for pill bugs.
There is one great big orange roach that comes out in the wee hours of the morning; but, so far not a big enough "chicken" to get him yet.
.....interesting info.......I was going to say Maggots.......but they will help eliminate totally, once and for all a stinking, filthy, useless, dispicable Orange corpse that did absolutly nothing for society.....was hated by 99.999% of hmanity and despised by Mother Earth and all living creatures.
Chaff has Biblical symbolism to...okay people....you fill in your own thoughs on Cankles.
🤣😄
I soooo appreciate the MTN! GO BLUE!
Meidas is on top of the regime yet again! Can you post the video the WH released of rump walking?
I was just telling a friend of my daughter, a magat, the devastating impact that Schwarzenegger had from when he was governor of California. It took several years for poor adults to regain dental and vision care. The personal result from this is I now have dentures because my dental only covered extractions. Now if his small amount of “fu€k the poor” had effects into a decade +, exactly what is the US looking at to reverse all the harm this Nazi regime is doing? The policies enacted now do not automatically disappear if and when a non fascist takes power. Not only the US, but the world as a whole, will be suffering for decades from the actions taking place now.
I saw that clip; like trump was some older guy with dementia being guided by his healthcare aide. In all of the complete insanity, words cannot express how grateful I am for MeidasTouch. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
He's going to regret his "fight fight fight" chant. We the people are fighting back alright with a demand for democracy.
A good idea...use that chant in Democratic election ralllies...
Thank you 🙏🏽 Thank you 🙏🏽 Thank you 🙏🏽!!! Michael Popok, Ben, Brett, Jordan, Katie Phang, Karen, Joyce & the entire gang!!!! I’m so thankful for this independent news source. I listen to Substack & your YouTube segments more than music now. It has helped me better articulate our patriotic moral positions with fact-based data. It’s like learning a new language for me. A new tool in the tool box when trying to speak to all kinds of people regarding the mess we’re in and what we, as individuals can do to change the path we’re on.
Thank YOU for talking to folks. I live in the reddest district in Missouri and the 6th reddest in the nation and these people are 100% trump supporters and do not care about facts (many also don't believe in evolution and my daughter was a biology teacher and was not allowed to talk about evolution..she left after one year...that had not come up in her job interview!) and admitting you are a Democrat or just a non trump supporter can hurt your business or result in other retaliation. Please keep talking..the way we will win voters over is with face to face conversations and facts we can support with data people can see. Bashing trump and/or asking the what the hell did you expect questions or belittling them for getting what they voted for will never win one voter. But presenting facts, asking them what they see is the most important issue and what do they think we can do about it and then either pointing out that's what Dems want to do or agreeing and saying both partied need to work on that.
I am right there with you. I live in Knoxville, Tn. Tn also has a republican trifecta in state government. What the world is now seeing in the U.S. nationally with things like retaliatory firings & retaliatory prosecutions, we have been experiencing for decades. You can’t find a decent paying job in Tn if you aren’t part of the republican good ole boy system. Education & experience do NOT matter. Barely literate high school graduates oversee huge federal contracts, bc of who they know or are related to. I have been a union member or associate member my entire adult life. I worked for the Tn State AFL-CIO when former President Jerry Lee was in office. Private anti-worker/anti-union republicans started pushing out pro-worker true union leaders (especially in construction trades) around 2005; they ramped up when President Obama was elected. Now the cherry assignments go to family members & friends of union bosses. The left over jobs that require a lot of traveling or 6 day 10 hours a day go to the rest of us. I have 2 degrees, the most recent in Environmental Health & Occupational Safety- which I pursued bc of President Biden’s infrastructure bill, and now I stack boxes @ Amazon for $18.50 an hour- which is not a fair wage, but is more than competitive in Tn. Union jobs pay less than $23 an hour to dress in full hazmat suits & full-face respirators to work in radiation, asbestos, & other life-threatening hazards. When I managed local elections years ago, the law allowed for people to donate $99.99 anonymously. I would be approached @ public events, the grocery store, all the time, with people slipping $99.99 in my hand bc they were afraid if anyone found out, they would lose their job or be “destractified”- a practice used by Tn republicans for decades to stifle resistance. People working in local government for years were terminated under the “Right to Work” law which allows employers to terminate people without cause or due process. People were stalked by local law enforcement- pulled over for no reason (especially before body cameras were required; now they just turn them off & say they malfunctioned). Parking tickets were issued & if paid 1 day late- fees piled on. Debts were researched (medical, school loans, mortgages, etc), & if late payments were discovered, all credit reporting institutes were contacted. Untrue underground rumor smut campaigns were launched against democratic office holders & candidates. I could go on & on. Few people dot every I & cross every T. If you were a democrat & tried to speak out, your missing dots & T crosses would be found and used to fill your time & suck up any energy spent toward working on justice.
What a miserable way to have to live. No wonder that kooky AK 47 Christian Nationalist, Mooney group (Iron Fist) chose TN to live in.
Folks such as yourself are our unsung heroes. TY for that :-)
Thank you for your kind words. You’s be amazed @ how many of us there are.
I think there are a lot of people who are keeping their distance now from all of the craziness, maybe some on purpose. I think if things continue as they are going these folks will step up to help.
I liken it to the underground railroad. They weren't out there making waves. They were secretly helping people.
I had no idea things were that bad in Tenn.... and what is extra frustrating is that they gladly accept all federal dollars provided by Democratic administrations.
2025 is the year when independent news organizations exploded and started to become better known to the general public. This coincided with the capitulation of mainstream media like the Washington Post and many journalists moved to platforms such as Substack.
Go Meidas‼️Lead the way‼️ 💪💪💪Keep putting the TRUTH out there.
You all allow me to feel goodness has a chance!!!
If you’re speaking truth, why should You back down, You keep doing what You do best.
Not just speaking the truth but backing it up with proof, either in videos or written official documents or from other news sources.
Sometimes you have to "back down" for the sake of your family or your sanity or your livelihood. It's sick out there.
Yup, I do it all the time, it’s just too much n can’t take it all. Same goes to Aaron, He definitely needs to rest up.
I LOVE 💕 this SO MUCH! 🥰👏🇨🇦