ronaldfeljones.bsky.social
78-y.o. native Californian whose resolute optimism is being tested. But I believe we can reverse this abhorrent downturn in the American spirit of goodness and compassion, not always achieved but steadfastly sought until now. We must rekindle that spirit.
257 posts
297 followers
526 following
Active Commenter
comment in response to
post
Reminds me of that great NYer cartoon where the wife is standing at the door looking into the room where her husband is on his computer, and he says, “I can’t go to bed yet honey! Somebody said something stupid on the internet!”
comment in response to
post
My first take is that it reflects the disgust so many Democrats, including top donors, have with the party's vapid response to Trump. I'd guess individual Democrats who are standing up to Trump are fundraising with success. At least that's my guess.
comment in response to
post
As I keep saying to like-minded friends, remember, everybody has a breaking point. Trump will be defeated. But I'm deeply disheartened at how long it's taken so many of U.S. citizens to reach that point. But again, I agree with you completely: we are at that boiling point right now.
comment in response to
post
I agree completely. I am an inveterate optimist and have believed throughout this Trump train wreck that we would overcome it. But I must say, exactly this situation has me wondering. If we can standby helplessly while this Gestapo action is happening, then we are not who I thought we were.
comment in response to
post
It would be a very serious escalation of the situation. But something's gotta give. This simply cannot keep going like this.
comment in response to
post
The heartlessness of these people is stunning. When will one or two of them break out and speak up?
comment in response to
post
I keep wondering why no local law enforcement has done so. I can certainly imagine why they would be hesitant, for at least a couple of different reasons. But I'd think at least some police force somewhere would have the balls to do that. That's what we need.
comment in response to
post
OK, but it seems clear, both from these poll results and what we know generally, that the Dem base *wants* a more “aggressive” stance against Trump. So if anything I’d think the wording of the question helps the AOC numbers.
comment in response to
post
Can you say more, Josh, about how you see the question being slanted? Do the results seem out of kilter? They don't to me, but maybe I'm not understanding this correctly.
comment in response to
post
A huge part of my teenage soundtrack. My siblings and I have been sharing memories and favorite Beach Boys songs all day. Won’t end any time soon. RIP, Brian.
comment in response to
post
Grand delusion there, Elon. Especially now that you have destroyed your reputation. But sure, go for it!
comment in response to
post
Why does this imbalance in narratives exist, as it has for so long? Money-fueled propaganda? Bullying posture and tactics? They are even commonly seen to be 'the liberal press!'
comment in response to
post
With its AI heavy hand, seems to me DOGE is the most potent, pernicious, and obvious example of the folly of believing AI to be anywhere close to human intelligence, let alone anything resembling wisdom.
comment in response to
post
I am so happy to see you focus on the issue of the Vance-promoted 'ordo amoris' vs the Christian theology advocated by Popes Francis and now Leo, which as I understand it (being neither a theologian nor Catholic) is as the Good Samaritan parable teaches: to love and serve whomever you encounter.
comment in response to
post
And I see I forgot to type "you" after the first word "With" in my initial response to you, Becca. So we each made kind of similar mistakes! :)
comment in response to
post
With all the way on that, Becca. I consider Biden to be the best president of my lifetime, and I'm 78. Considering all he accomplished in the face of a divided Senate and the relentless MAGA assault? Amazing, as I believe history will judge. His treatment by the media was pretty revolting, IMO.
comment in response to
post
Interesting. Do you know whether or not Biden made a recommendation to the Board? And I wonder why the Board itself kept DeJoy. Hmm. It was majority Democrat-appointed at one point in Biden's term. And I wonder what Trump threatened DeJoy with. So many questions! Thanks for the elucidation. :)
comment in response to
post
Shocking, huh? But as I remember (correct me if I'm wrong) at some point the USPS board did finally change with a new Dem-appointed member, giving them a majority. Then Biden could have replaced DeJoy, but for whatever reason, chose not to. At least that's how I remember it...?
comment in response to
post
Can't get over the fact that it was Trump, not Biden, who finally fired DeJoy. Never understood why Joe didn't pull the plug on that guy as soon as he could have done so so. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
comment in response to
post
Just imagine how much more expensive it'll be if they let the profiteers take over! And IMO, the price to send a letter anywhere in the U.S. with virtual certainty it will arrive has always been a slam-dunk bargain. Even at current rates, which of course will continue to rise like everything else.
comment in response to
post
Postal Service is a public service, period. The notion of turning it into a private profit-making enterprise is revolting on the face of it.
comment in response to
post
And of course the best thing we could do to 'secure a future for white children' is to secure a just and equitable future for ALL children. Oh the irony.
comment in response to
post
Mayor Pete is the best communicator I've ever seen in politics. (And I'm 78! :) Truly amazing how brilliantly Buttigieg thinks and speaks. I believe he'll be president someday. He's got many good years ahead of him.
comment in response to
post
"I love the poorly educated." Little did we know when Trump uttered those words in 2016 that he was not just being his idiot self but announcing future policy. An uneducated public is putty in a fascist's hands.
comment in response to
post
Democrats have so many good candidates to be the next presidential nominee. And Cory Booker is one of the best. That said, I don't see how the current administration can make it that far. How the Trump regime will end, I don't know. But anything as unstable as what we have now simply cannot persist.
comment in response to
post
A very disturbing observation. Wish I could dismiss it. But I've also come to the view that Trump et al are intentionally trying to rid the country of what they see as weak, unproductive people. And not just by deportation but also by letting the sick and infirm die. Literally 'thinning the herd.'
comment in response to
post
Gotta admit, Zendragon, I think this is a real possibility, too. They know the earth is screwed, Trump or no Trump, thanks mostly to unchecked ecological destruction, so they're getting what they can while they can. Still, I think saving democracy is our best if not only hope. Whatever the odds are.
comment in response to
post
I am with you on all this, Michelle. The abject cruelty of Trump et al is mind-numbing. I believe one reason we aren't yet revolting en masse–though I do believe this is coming–is that good people have a difficult time believing people can, in fact, be this heartless. Even when we see it happening.
comment in response to
post
Don't really disagree with anything you're saying, Michelle. But everything does have a breaking point and things often seem impossible until they happen. An unstable system eventually breaks down. It must. Who knows how it will reform into a new stable system, but it will break down at some point.
comment in response to
post
I agree that making them irrelevant is also a good plan. Indeed, the only one we Dems have any control over. But I'm not giving up on the possibility that a handful of Republicans will come to their senses. At some point it will be in their best interest to man up. That's the hope. We'll see.
comment in response to
post
No doubt they have been massively disappointing. But as I keep reminding myself, everybody has their breaking point. Disheartening that after all this outrageous behavior more people haven't reached that point yet, but as Trump's behavior escalates, I think the dam breaking is still in the cards.
comment in response to
post
That's a mighty big 'if' though. It may well come to that given the rate things are going. I'll put my money on the military backing the Constitution instead of Trump. Can't say I'm terribly confident in that prediction, but that'd be my bet.
comment in response to
post
No doubt, fear of MAGA violence is a huge part of their inaction. But everybody, and every system, as a breaking point. And at some point, maybe the dam will break and there will be a rush of Republicans trying to salvage their dignity and reputations. A turning en masse.
comment in response to
post
Why isn't there more talk about some Republicans in Congress switching parties? Seems to me the fastest way, barring violence, to get out of this disaster. And it's not like it's never happened before. Really, why isn't there more talk about his possibility? I don't get it.
comment in response to
post
Talk about a Christian-nationalist takeover of the country. I remember Trump once saying, on camera, "I am the chosen one," as he pointed skyward. So hey, maybe Trump views his willingness to step down to simply being Pope as a sign of his humility and grace.
comment in response to
post
What we need is more males LIKE Ocasio-Cortez. Not *instead* of AOC. Sheesh. Hey, maybe she can start a leadership program for men. "Man-Up with AOC" 😎
comment in response to
post
Wonder if Pierre Poilievre is still a Donald Trump supporter. So sad to see such a beautiful friendship suffer such humiliation, isn't it? Poor fellas.
comment in response to
post
Yep, he sure is. Hope it lights a fire under more Democratic leaders, as I'm sure it is doing with the base. Puts Pritzker right in the thick of the '28 presidential race, maybe even at the front of the pack. I've still got goosebumps.
comment in response to
post
I was sold on Booker for Prez after his magnificent Senate speech. Still love him, but wow, that was one helluva speech, Gov. Pritzker! Let's hope it lights a fire under Dem leadership, and maybe even gets some Republicans to question their Trump support: Y'all really want to go down with the ship?
comment in response to
post
Republican president economies have always been worse than the Democratic economic record, but somehow the myth of Republican superiority on economy and business has persisted. Perhaps this will put a stop to that myth for good.
comment in response to
post
It's truly astounding, how brazen they are. And getting more so every day. I believe they see their takeover plan is deeply unpopular and so they're redoubling their efforts to, as the they see it, maximize their chances of completing the coup before their support collapses even more.
comment in response to
post
Sure, some are hardcore with their natural inborn compassion so deeply buried as to now be all but inaccessible. But with the increasingly unconscionable cruelty escalating, many are being newly reached. I think we're seeing that in the recent polling.
comment in response to
post
It's also a human compassion issue, I'd' say. It's one thing to be against immigrants in some acquired general sense. Seeing people treated cruelly, and w/ no due process, is quite another. We all know, at some level, that this is wrong wrong wrong.
comment in response to
post
Who is that judge? What is this proceeding? How in the living hell is this remotely possible? Pass this video around everywhere. This evil must be stopped, in toto and pronto! Beyond the pale.
comment in response to
post
Same, Bearyfunny. I always say if I had to choose a single source of news and opinion, Heather's newsletter would be it. Her weaving of current events into the tapestry of American history is so insightful.
comment in response to
post
When an unexamined predisposition to dislike immigrants is confronted with real-life images of immigrants being treated cruelly, seeing those immigrants as fellow human beings comes to the foreground. Nobody deserves to be treated like this, period. And everybody knows and feels that, at some level.
comment in response to
post
Now there's a man who clearly loves being in the company of children.