Sharing a picture

Instead of a picture of bug eyed crazy person "Gimmida Kash" Patel, Trump's pick announced today for SS FBI Direktor, how about this newly revealed photo of the restored interior of Notre Dame de Paris? There is still beauty, and lasting heritage of civilization, in the World. Despite everything. 

"Emotion, which is suffering, ceases to be suffering as soon as we form a clear and precise picture of it."
― Spinoza (Ethics)

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. Sometimes we may allow ourselves in weak moments to gripe "what's to be thankful for?"... but then we remember how lucky we are to be able to wake up and see the sun rise, to feel love and be loved, and to contemplate the miracle of our very existence. Brad and I have had a pretty rough year, including loss of family and people close to us, but here we are, and grateful for our lives, our friends and family, and for a future that may not be what we imagined or hoped for, but can and will still be a source of awe and wonder. And gratitude. 

Best to everyone on this day of thanks, and may you be blessed with bountiful good fortune. 

"Emotion, which is suffering, ceases to be suffering as soon as we form a clear and precise picture of it."
― Spinoza (Ethics)

Trump Tariffs

So it appears any hope that Trump would back off his idiotic plan to impose outsize across-the-board tariffs (so far on Canada and Mexico, our principal trading partners), thereby crippling the US economy, is officially dashed. If he were an actual agent of our principal adversary in the world, Russia, with a goal towards undermining our position in the world and destroying our prosperity, I can't think what he would do differently. I said it while he was running and I'll say it again. Donald Trump is a traitor to America. 

Demography is Destiny

This is pretty straight, not disinformation. I don't think we have fully come to grips with this. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PImDVT8fb-I

Some inchoate thoughts

I think it has always been true that most of humanity bases its beliefs and strategies for negotiating human life on this planet on tradition, peer pressure, received wisdom, and often simply what is au courant. But, I would argue, even long before there was such a thing as a theory of knowledge or a scientific method, there has been a literal evolutionary reward, in the form of persistence of one's own kind, for getting things right. Seems pretty obvious, but it's amazing how often people, when confronted with incontrovertible fact developed from methods that reliably yield the truth of a particular matter contrary to their beliefs, will simply refuse to believe the evidence. And more often than not then blame and attack the one putting forward the contrary view, rather than honestly examining the evidence and arriving at the inference, or at least an inference, consistent with that evidence. 

We all do this, and we all practice willful ignorance, which often has much the same effect. But there is a mindset, promoted unevenly and sometimes not at all in our institutions of learning (higher and lower), which generally regards honest confrontation of evidence and reasonable inference from evidence as the only real knowledge, and which, when challenged to do so, will alter conclusions in accord. This is what I call liberalism. I know, the term is almost never used in this sense anymore, but it's what is really at the core of a "liberal" mentality: discarding bias and traditions founded on former errors and misunderstandings, and attempting to order life and society according to what is real. You know, things like, the science and technology we all depend on, the need to find sustainable solutions to environmental threats to stable human survival. Little things like that. 

At its best, modern liberal democracies have been able to come close enough to this lofty ideal that real progress was made in curtailing needless violence globally, improving crop yields, deploying technology which has made billions of peoples' lives better. Some of the "social democratic" aspects of these modern states have, I think undeniably, played a key role in fostering these developments, which have included things like controlling ozone depletion, improving resource management, and, finally gradually bringing down at least growth of fossil fuel carbon buildup. 

But authoritarian populism is threatening this "world order." We have people coming into power, and not just in the US, who see the curtailment of immigration and concentration of authoritarian power as their only concern. They tend to deny inconvenient problems, apparently in pursuit of untrammelled short term personal gain and temporary power. But, as evolution should have taught us, nature does not give a single shit about what we believe. And if we base our policies on falsehoods when what is real flies in the face of them, the outcomes cannot be good. 

It really should be obvious to anyone who really looks at the near to medium term future that global cooperation, conflict reduction, allocation of resources to infrastructure transformation, etc. are crucial. But we have in power in Russia, China, India, and many other countries, and even to an extent in the so called liberal democracies; and now, in spades, coming to America... leaders who are happy to ignore reality and lead their societies straight off the cliff. And, as we have seen repeatedly in history, it is often easy to appeal to the public's perceived (though not often real) self-interest to support such short-sighted and even malevolent policies. 

But we seek people to blame for this predicament not only in vain, but with utmost futility. We, the people of the world who want to see humanity come together to solve its problems, and learn to live in peace and security, have to not seek to fight with and blame others. We have to exercise whatever influence we have to try to convince others, not who to vote for, but what is important, and why, and why it is important to reject, and resist, authority that seeks to lead us away from that. 

I realize I'm speaking in broad generalities, but I think the point is clear enough. Business as usual, preparing for political fights and elections coming down the pike is not going to work. There is already too much polarization, too many lies, too much propaganda, out there. For sanity and reason to prevail, those of us with some understanding of the issues based on actual facts must cooperate with one another to really listen to our fellow citizens and try to understand their needs and why they have become alienated. And we need to be prepared to change our own thinking, while maintaining our core values and understanding. We must respect that others are going to have different views, and that we have to coexist with them and their needs even as we reach a consensus that, in recognition of actual realities of the environment and available resources, affords dignity to everyone and recognizes and takes into account their interests. Telling people they're stupid and don't understand will not convince them. Asking them what it is they want, and what they resent, and actually addressing their needs and interests, to reach a basis for not just co-existence but mutual respect, are what is needed. If people are more open to meeting with and developing common interests with their neighbors, the reality of optimal solutions to our problems can only be fostered. Polarization and oppositional tactics tend to result in political loss, which leads to bad policy, even deadly policy. A truly liberal attitude is one that embraces disagreement and conflicting interests, but seeks optimal outcomes. Such genuinely liberal outlook really is quite infectious, and can spread attitudes that garner real improvement in peoples' lives. Just as much as we've seen the rise of authoritarian nightmares in recent history, we can also find examples of these less dramatic, but much more positive developments. An archetypal example would be the Marshall Plan. 

At best, we are in for a rough few years. But we must not lose heart, nor succumb to the cowardice of obedience in advance. There are people who will be swept up in some of what is coming without any real power to do anything about it. But totalitarian or authoritarian states tend to be inefficient, and if there is always a current of thought and discussion that favors cooperation and democracy, and that always seeks to better the lives of all the people. Our job is to make that current strong, and growing, by the only way that really works: including people, hearing their issues and considering their interests as well as our own, and gradually, small group by small group, assembling a coalition not only for salvation and restoration of democracy, but forming the beginning of a political transformation in the future consistent with these goals and values. This is a long term task, from which no one of conscience is excused. 

"Emotion, which is suffering, ceases to be suffering as soon as we form a clear and precise picture of it."
― Spinoza (Ethics)

My apology.... Persevere, friends

Friends, 

For the third time in my life I have experienced a political loss of faith. And as someone who really does care deeply about the institution of democracy, however flawed, it cuts me to the bone. I am truly devastated. Of course we all knew this could happen. But I guess I was smoking too much Hopium. 

In 2000, I was truly shocked, not by how close it was, but the twin whammies: the realization that the jury-rigged Electoral College system, even though for over a century demographics had been such that the real winner, of the popular vote, did win every time, suddenly we saw that it was a fundamental, even fatal flaw. In every other "democratic" country, who wins the most votes wins. Surely, I thought, we will fix this, even after the Supreme Court, in defiance of all ethical or moral standards, simply decided to make Bush president. Maybe he won Florida anyway. That will be debated forever. But it was never their business to decide elections, and doing so was fundamentally corrupt. 

And then, of course, we didn't fix it. So in 2016, my faith in the electorate was shaken to the core, and maybe especially because there seemed to be so little outrage, so little determination to make it right... that the winner of the most votes... by millions... did not win. The votes of millions of people counted for less than nothing, and we weren't going to... didn't... do anything about it. 

We survived Trump I, barely, and elected someone fair and square who was, on balance, pretty good, at least domestically. But he was too old, and failed to do the right thing and declare he would serve only one term. But that's not what defeated his successor as a candidate. It was the same thing: an undemocratic constitution. Combined with a country, I'm sad to say, which is very nearly one-half made up of people who will elect a demagogue, and a crude and vicious one at that. 

I am sorry. If I led anyone down a garden path of optimism I am sorry. I am sorry for my country. I am heartsick. I'm sorry that I have no answers, and no ability to become an active promoter of resistance. All I can do is try to keep the hope for restoration of real democracy alive. And personally, persevere. Remain faithful to the concepts of democracy, even as we are living through what I honestly believe is the last long sigh of the death of the oldest of the great republics that grew out of the 18th century Enlightenment. That time will never come again, so democracy can only be restored by somehow clawing back those ideas and designs. 

Let me state it succinctly. To be a creditable democratic republic, a nation must elect its leaders by majority vote. It must accord geographic and ideological political equality to its people and regions in determining their representatives. It must have a court system that is free of political suasion and really practices impartiality. And it must have an electorate that by great preponderance actually believes in democracy and practices it, within the realm of human possibility. I am sad to say, and truly know, that our country, as it has come down to the present, has and is none of these things. And the key reason is, of course, deep seated racism and anti-immigrant hatred that drives the toxic brew of right wing ideology. These toxins won't kill us. They have killed our democracy. It is done. 

I am too old, most likely, to live to see whether we can someday throw this over and return to, or perhaps better to say, finally craft a system that actually is, reliably democratic. I don't mean pure democracy, which has never existed; just actual, functional, reasonably fair representative democracy. For the third time in 24 years our system has made our leader not whom the people voted for, but whom the majority did not. Other societies have had collapses into dictatorship, and returned to representative democracy. Maybe often enough that you can say it will probably happen. Someday. But the thing is, it always takes a long time, like a generation or more, and it usually involves great violence. 

I am an old man. I will try to use my voice to encourage reason, enlightenment, and democracy, but real resistance will have to come from those stronger and younger than I. 

I wish I had a message of hope, but I don't. So, rather than "Courage!" I will say only, Persevere. It is demanded of us as human beings. 

I am guessing I will be posting a lot fewer of these messages to farflung correspondents, but please keep in touch with me. 

Peace. And Persevere, my friends, because in the great scheme of history this is a blip. It probably is the end of the idea of America we grew up with, but if life teaches you anything it's that you don't know what will happen, and you can't really judge the future, because it will always surprise you. 

"Emotion, which is suffering, ceases to be suffering as soon as we form a clear and precise picture of it."
― Spinoza (Ethics)

Madam President

I'm not superstitious, so I'll just say it. I don't think this election is going to be particularly close. Come January 20, it will be Madam President. It's high time. Some of us, including some of us men, have been waiting our whole damn lives to hear that. 

_________________________________

 HARRIS

WALZ

Our Champions for Democracy

_________________________________

The they see HIM the more they vote for HER

I honestly think we've reached a point where the more people see of Trump, even if they voted for him before, the less likely they are to vote for him this time. Thus, although I don't really see that it was necessary, NBC's giving him free time to offset the "partisan" SNL skit with Harris is actually likely to help Harris more than Trump. Trump's obvious decline and uniformly negative attitude and mood is more likely to cost him votes than help him. 

_________________________________

 HARRIS

WALZ

Our Champions for Democracy

_________________________________

Stay the Course

Friends, stay the course. We have a very good shot at defeating the MAGA fascists altogether, although the chances of keeping control of the Senate are shaky. We are the real patriotic Americans, who have not been victimized by a cult of personality., and who really believe in representative democracy and the rule of law. Let's show them that the real Spirit of America persists and is stronger than any egotistical asshole and his little empire of lies. 

_________________________________

 HARRIS

WALZ

Our Champions for Democracy

_________________________________

Why taking back the House is vital for the outcome of the Presidency

Watch this to understand how and why it is equally important to take back the House for Democrats as to win the presidency. The MAGA Fascists are fully prepared to screw democracy through trickery, but if we have the majority in the new House, we can prevent them from succeeding. (This time... it is also essential that we fix these problems, through legislation insofar as possible, and ultimately through amendment of the Constitution). 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8GGuLfv0dM&list=TLPQMDMxMTIwMjT6YdDUZJjZcA&index=4

_________________________________

 HARRIS

WALZ

Our Champions for Democracy

_________________________________

Trump in actual collapse

Sure looks like Donnie is suffering from narcissistic collapse. I honestly think it's finally dawning on him that he really is losing, and some part of his reptile brain realizes the jig is up, and he will, at long last and in due course, have to pay the piper for his crimes. The fact that by melting down so completely that even many of his hardcore cult members are walking out on him is, of course, not exactly helping his chances of pulling off an upset. 

But even at this late period, we cannot be complacent. Harris, and every democrat up and down the ballot, need every vote. We cannot let up. 

Thanks for anything you can do, and for your vote. 

My annual jackolantern

Jimmy Kimmel's pre-election monologue

Please send this to everyone you know who you aren't sure is going to vote against Trump. 

https://youtu.be/Oy0zq8YzY9w 

_________________________________

 HARRIS

WALZ

Our Champions for Democracy

_________________________________

Please go back and watch Harris's "closing argument" speech if you didn't see it.

Every American, even if inclined to support Trump or undecided (how can anyone be undecided!?)... should watch Kamala Harris's pitch perfect speech from last night. This is the speech of a genuinely well qualified public servant, who truly believes that the essence of public service is just that... to serve the public... not oneself.

_________________________________

 HARRIS

WALZ

Our Champions for Democracy

_________________________________

A few thoughts about dynamic kinetic systems (DKS's) and persistence

As some of my farflung correspondents are aware, I try to keep abreast, in layperson's terms, of developments in science, especially cosmology, astronomy, geology and biology. Perhaps a welcome respite from politics, here are a couple of insights from  a conversation between Sean Carroll and Addy Pross, who is something of a philosopher as well as evolutionary biologist. 

1. Survival of the fittest isn't really a good summary of the evolutionary imperative. It's more that systems that persist have a tendency to develop complexity in order to do a better job of persisting, and persistence in time is the only measure of "success" of any dynamic kinetic metastable system. Of which life, as it has evolved on Earth and perhaps elsewhere, is the pinnacle. It can be said as a tautology: That which persists persists and that which does not does not. But really, this is exactly how evolution works. At every level, the ability to persist, as a pattern or template of a dynamic kinetic systems where free energy fuels not only the flow of energy but the persistence of the template itself, determines the course of evolution. Increasing complexity to overcome chaos and threats to the persistence of the pattern is the observable result, but not a predetermined "design" or intention. Although it becomes hard to pin down just where "purpose" comes in, and just when and how sensory feedback loops start to cross the threshold into self-awareness and strategy, but clearly these things do emerge as part of the template persistence paradigm. It just takes a long time. But so far, every time we think we're so smart, like inventing the CRISPR system for editing genes, it turns out to be something life invented on its own millions or even billions of years ago. 

2. A fountain is a DKS. The water always changes, just as all the molecules of your body are changed out within a few years, but the pattern persists. There is a continual flow of free energy to waste energy (heat). Same with life, but life has the added element of dynamic control of the flow of energy.  This is the essence of what life is: stable patterns that have the capacity to autonomically maintain a net flow of energy. It's not the energy which seems to defy the rules of entropy, but the template or pattern itself. And what makes life different from a waterfall or a hurricane is that it also includes a pattern, or template, for maintaining the flow of energy. 

3.  The genome is not, as usually thought, a read-only system of encoding all that is needed to form an organism. Rather, it is a read-write library which the organism, itself as a whole patterned to maintain itself in a stable state, uses to "look up" what it needs to produce the incredibly complex chemistry (including time and space design elements) that make the persistence of the DKS itself possible. The pattern that persists is not fully encoded in the genome or anywhere else, it simply is; the entire organism, indeed in a sense the entirety of life on Earth (Gaia?) is the persistent pattern, and it is always tending towards greater complexity in order to maintain persistence (or survival if you prefer) itself. This is why organisms incorporate a bit of viral DNA into their own genome... they learn from it what they need to avoid vulnerability to that particular threat to persistence. DNA is just a means of storing information; evolution acts on the organisms and even ecosystems themselves. This is more or less in direct contradiction to Dawkins's "selfish gene" theory. It's not that organisms are just reflections of the genome. It is organisms that participate in evolution; their genes are their major tool of "remembering" their strategies and techniques for success, but they don't exist apart from the overall organism and even its relationship with other organisms, independently. A DNA molecule, or even an entire chromosome, left lying on the table, will quickly decay into chaos and dissipate; what makes it alive is that it is part of a DKS that maintains itself through a whole host of elements, of which information storage, though crucial, is only one. 

4. It is the possibility, indeed the inevitability, of the formation of such dynamic stability that maintains itself by "learning" to channel free energy that gives all of nature structure. The universe is not a rarified gas of particles that don't interact, although such universes are possible and may even exist in the multiverse. But in this universe, at a level of physics and chemistry, the emergence of dynamic kinetic stability gives us structure like stars and galaxies, and planets with oceans, and on a level where increasing complexity eventually results in the ability to actually control the channeling of energy, it results in life. It is all but impossible to imagine that this emergence, of stable dynamic kinetic systems of increasing complexity resulting in more and more successful persistence, which we call life, has only ever occurred one time, on this lonely little planet in a vast cosmos. Possible, theoretically, but hard to imagine how it could be, given the obvious fact that, given the laws of physics and chemistry which we imagine to be essentially universal, it is possible... since it happened here, and indeed pretty soon after it first became possible, given the emergence of conducive conditions. 

There, something to think about other than the existential threat to democracy and our way of life going on around us at this particular time. 

Fwd: October 27, 2024

Please read this piece by Heather Cox Richardson. This is truly alarming. 

I stand corrected.

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	Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more October 27, 2024 Heather Cox Richardson Oct 28   READ IN APP   I stand corrected. I thought this year's October surprise was the reality that Trump's mental state had slipped so badly he could not campaign in any coherent way.  It turns out that the 2024 October surprise was the Trump campaign's fascist rally at Madison Square Garden, a rally so extreme that Republicans running for office have been denouncing it all over social media tonight.  There was never any question that this rally was going to be anything but an attempt to inflame Trump's base. The plan for a rally at Madison Square Garden itself deliberately evoked its predecessor: a Nazi rally at the old Madison Square Garden on February 20, 1939. About 18,000 people showed up for that "true Americanism" event, held on a stage that featured a huge portrait of George Washington in his Continental Army uniform flanked by swastikas.  Like that earlier event, Trump's rally was supposed to demonstrate power and inspire his base to violence.   Apparently in anticipation of the rally, Trump on Friday night replaced his signature blue suit and red tie with the black and gold of the neofascist Proud Boys. That extremist group was central to the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and has been rebuilding to support Trump again in 2024.  On Saturday the Trump campaign released a list of 29 people set to be on the stage at the rally. Notably, the list was all MAGA Republicans, including vice presidential nominee Ohio senator J.D. Vance, House speaker Mike Johnson (LA), Representative Elise Stefanik (NY), Representative Byron Donalds (FL), Trump backer Elon Musk, Trump ally Rudy Giuliani, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., right-wing host Tucker Carlson, Trump sons Don Jr. and Eric, and Eric's wife, Republican National Committee co-chair Lara Trump.  Libbey Dean of NewsNation noted that none of the seven Republicans running in New York's competitive House races were on the list. When asked why not, according to Dean, Trump senior advisor Jason Miller said: "The demand, the request for people to speak, is quite extensive." Asked if the campaign had turned down anyone who asked to speak, Miller said no.   Meanwhile, the decision of the owners of the Los Angeles Times and the Washington Post not to endorse Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris seems to have sparked a backlash. As Will Bunch of the Philadelphia Inquirer noted, "in a strange way the papers did perform a public service: showing American voters what life under a dictator would feel like." Early on October 26, the Washington Post itself went after Trump backer billionaire Elon Musk with a major story highlighting the information that Musk, an immigrant from South Africa, had worked illegally when he started his career in the U.S. Musk "did not have the legal right to work" in the U.S. when he started his first successful company. As part of the Trump campaign, Musk has emphasized his opposition to undocumented immigrants. The New York Times has tended to downplay Trump's outrageous statements, but on Saturday it ran a round-up of Trump's threats in the center of the front page, above the fold. It noted that Trump has vowed to expand presidential power, prosecute his political opponents, and crack down on immigration with mass deportations and detention camps. It went on to list his determination to undermine the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), use the U.S. military against Mexican drug cartels "in potential violation of international law," and use federal troops against U.S. citizens. It added that he plans to "upend trade" with sweeping new tariffs that will raise consumer prices, and to rein in regulatory agencies.  "To help achieve these and other goals," the paper concluded, "his advisers are vetting lawyers seen as more likely to embrace aggressive legal theories about the scope of his power."  On Sunday the front page of the New York Times opinion section read, in giant capital letters: "DONALD TRUMP/ SAYS HE WILL PROSECUTE HIS ENEMIES/ ORDER MASS DEPORTATIONS/ USE SOLDIERS AGAINST CITIZENS/ ABANDON ALLIES/ PLAY POLITICS WITH DISASTERS/ BELIEVE HIM." And then, inside the section, the paper provided the receipts: Trump's own words outlining his fascist plans. "BELIEVE HIM," the paper said.  On CNN's State of the Union this morning, host Jake Tapper refused to permit Trump's running mate, Ohio senator J.D. Vance, to gaslight viewers. Vance angrily denied that Trump has repeatedly called for using the U.S. military against Americans, but Tapper came with receipts that proved the very things Vance denied.  Trump's rally at Madison Square Garden began in the early afternoon. The hateful performances of the early participants set the tone for the rally. Early on, comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, who goes by Kill Tony, delivered a steamingly racist set. He said, for example: "There's literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. I think it's called Puerto Rico." He went on: "And these Latinos, they love making babies too. Just know that. They do. They do. There's no pulling out. They don't do that. They come inside. Just like they did to our country." Hinchcliffe also talked about Black people carving watermelons instead of pumpkins.  The speakers who followed Hinchcliffe called Vice President Kamala Harris "the Antichrist" and "the devil." They called former secretary of state Hillary Clinton "a sick son of a b*tch," and they railed against "f*cking illegals." They insulted Latinos generally, Black Americans, Palestinians and Jews. Trump advisor Stephen Miller's claim that "America is for Americans and Americans only" directly echoed the statement of Adolf Hitler that "Germany is for Germans and Germans only."  Trump took the stage about two hours late, prompting people to stream toward the exits before he finished speaking. He hit his usual highlights, notably undermining Vance's argument from earlier in the day by saying that, indeed, he believes fellow Americans are "the enemy within."   But Trump perhaps gave away the game with his inflammatory language and with an aside, seemingly aimed at House speaker Johnson. "I think with our little secret we are gonna do really well with the House, right? Our little secret is having a big impact, he and I have a secret, we will tell you what it is when the race is over," Trump said.  It seems possible—probable, even—that Trump was alluding to putting in play the plan his people tried in 2020. That plan was to create enough chaos over the certification of electoral votes in the states to throw the election into the House of Representatives. There, each state delegation gets a single vote, so if the Republicans have control of more states than the Democrats, Trump could pull out a victory even if he had dramatically lost the popular vote. Since he has made virtually no effort to win votes in 2024, this seems his likely plan.  But to do that, he needs at least a plausibly close election, or at least to convince his supporters that the election has been stolen from him. Tonight's rally badly hurt that plan.  As Hinchcliffe was talking about Puerto Rico as a floating island of garbage, Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris was at a Puerto Rican restaurant in Philadelphia talking about her plan to spread her opportunity economy to Puerto Rico. She has called for strengthening Puerto Rico's energy grid and making it easier to get permits to build there.  After the "floating island of garbage" comment, Puerto Rican superstar musician Bad Bunny, who has more than 45 million followers on Instagram, posted Harris's plan for Puerto Rico, and his spokesperson said he is endorsing Harris.  Puerto Rican singer and actor Ricky Martin shared a clip from Hinchcliffe's set with his 16 million followers. His caption read: "This is what they think of us." Singer and actress Jennifer Lopez, who has 250 million Instagram followers, posted Harris's plan. Later, singer-songwriter and actress Ariana Grande posted that she had voted for Harris. Grande has 376 million followers on Instagram. Singer Luis Fonsi, who has 16 million followers, also called out the "constant hate." The headlines were brutal. "MAGA speakers unleash ugly rhetoric at Trump's MSG rally," read Axios. Politico wrote: "Trump's New York homecoming sparks backlash over racist and vulgar remarks." "Racist Remarks and Insults Mark Trump's Madison Square Garden Rally," the New York Times announced. "Speakers at Trump rally make racist comments, hurl insults," read CNN. But the biggest sign of the damage the rally did was the frantic backpedaling from Republicans in tight elections, who distanced themselves as fast as they could from the insults against Puerto Ricans, especially. The Trump campaign itself tried to distance itself from the "floating island of garbage" quotation, only to be met with comments pointing out that Hinchcliffe's set had been vetted and uploaded to the teleprompters.  As the clips spread like wildfire, political writer Charlotte Clymer pointed out that almost 6 million Puerto Ricans live in the states—about a million in Florida, half a million in Pennsylvania, 100,000 in Georgia, 100,000 in Michigan, 100,000 in North Carolina, 45,000 in Arizona, and 40,000 in Nevada—and that over half of them voted in 2020.  In 1939, as about 18,000 American Nazis rallied inside Madison Square Garden, newspapers reported that a crowd of about 100,000 anti-Nazis gathered outside to protest. It took 1,700 police officers, the largest number of officers ever before detailed for a single event, to hold them back from storming the venue. — Notes: https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-election-proudboys/ https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/27/us/politics/kamala-harris-philadelphia-voters.html New York Times, October 26, 2024, p. 1. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/10/25/opinion/what-trump-says.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/10/26/elon-musk-immigration-status/ https://kamalaharris.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Fact-Sheet_Puerto-Rico_EN.pdf https://www.axios.com/2024/10/27/trump-madison-square-garden-rally https://www.politico.com/news/2024/10/27/trumps-madison-square-garden-racist-00185770 https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/10/27/us/harris-trump-election https://www.mediaite.com/trump/trump-nyc-rally-speaker-jokes-about-black-people-carving-watermelons-and-puerto-rico-being-a-floating-pile-of-garbage/ Imperial Valley Press, February 21, 1939, p. 4. https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/commentary/washington-post-la-times-endorsements-trump-harris-20241027.html X: TeaPainUSA/status/1850277855135183022 LibbeyDean_/status/1850225746310320291 lifesafeast/status/1850541530685067715 AOC/status/1850649252642591209 juliettekayyem/status/1850545726423450102 MaxwellFrostFL/status/1850649928202375183 KamalaHQ/status/1850636070137762225 letsgomathias/status/1850612734347411953 shannonrwatts/status/1850628929113174477 Carrasquillo/status/1850643405971263796 cmclymer/status/1850647657662013587 yashar/status/1850656835575169145 AndrewLSeidel/status/1850702535159398527 DJJudd/status/1850692868265910436 Acyn/status/1850687521593962881 KateSullivanDC/status/1850650641640948181 Victorshi2020/status/1850701734706020556 BMeiselas/status/1850683055385534531 jason_kint/status/1850677514005336323 brianstelter/status/1850667210987241569 maddenifico/status/1850653571206811979 alecahernandez/status/1850701880730476895 ewagmeister/status/1850715694997901572 Share You're currently a paid subscriber to Letters from an American. If you need help receiving Letters, changing your email address, or unsubscribing, please visit our Support FAQ. You can also submit a help request directly.   Like Comment Restack   © 2024 Heather Cox Richardson 548 Market Street PMB 72296, San Francisco, CA 94104 Unsubscribe

We must do away with the Electoral College

I've said this before, but with this election way, way too close in the electoral map analyses, I reiterate: whatever the outcome of this election, our country simply must modify its constitution* so that a few thousand low propensity voters in two or three states are not determining the outcome of every damn election!!  Every legitimate democratic country in the world, except ours, determines its elections by majority vote. It's not complicated. He or she who gets the most votes wins (whether or not after a runoff). But our system allows losers by a significant margin of the popular vote to nonetheless become president. It's happened twice already since 2000. We simply cannot allow this serious and consequential deviation from democratic principles to continue. 

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* There is an alternative, which would be somewhat easier to accomplish than a constitutional amendment, that being the Popular Vote Interstate Compact, which has already passed a good number of states' legislatures and been signed into law by their governors. This is a workaround, but it would result in the popular vote winner becoming president, which is the chief goal. 

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 HARRIS

WALZ

Our Champions for Democracy

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Jaime Raskin on Democracy in America

This is fantastic. Everyone should watch this. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kkg2m9M51Tw 

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 HARRIS

WALZ

Our Champions for Democracy

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