Thank you for sharing Navalny's widow's powerful video appeal. It needs to be shared expansively in the MSM and on social media. The Bulwark is the only place I have seen a link to it. If I were still teaching, I would ask students to analyze it rhetorically. It's that powerful. And thank you for the allusion to the Gettysburg Address; it's entirely appropriate. The state-level, abortion-fight funding problem is not just a pro-choice fight. It's mostly a pro-women's health care fight. Somehow, we need to flip the narrative from pro-choice/anti-choice to women's health and physician expertise. Take Texas. If a 31-week pregnant woman presents to her physician as having pre-eclampsia, and the physician, using their expertise, decides that a woman can deliver the child because her health is at risk (which it is) and the baby dies, that same physician can face legal penalties for "aborting" an unborn child even though, medically, the physician made the correct decision. THAT'S the problem with the pro/anti life discussion. It's binary. There's an enemy (friends, family, physicians, the disobedient wife, the provocatively dressed teen, anyone who engages in the sexual act). The entire argument needs to be rephrased. It's women's health care, and the government should not be regulating it. They should be allowing women to choose health care that works for them.
I watched this the first time reading the subtitles. And I wept. I watched this just now for the second time to see the visuals. And I wept. Have Americans so truly lost site of our dignity that we would embrace a wanna-be dictator over the freedoms and challenges given us through our democracy? If we have, shame on all of us.
It seems to me that the real issue we have in the coming election is that most people in red states, the maga constituency, really DO NOT SEE THE INFORMATION THAT WE SEE. The local news media in these states are run by a very conservative outlet that puts out the Fox news or trump talking points, every day, every week, every month. There are simply a whole range of topics where facts are available that do not see the light of day in these communities. Fox example, all they will see/hear about the multiple trials trump faces ae that he is being politically persecuted and that they need to help their "savior" with his unfair legal fees.
That is pathetic. Somehow we have to break through the Fox News curtain. Seeing Putin with his little squinty eyes gloat on the video made me want to throw up.
It's worse than that; when they do stumble on the information the rest of us see, they immediately discount it as "propaganda." They have been very thoroughly brainwashed.
Those questions were addressed (in the book) toward agnostics. The author thought most of them were actually atheists who didn't want the name - much cooler to be 'agnostic'. But atheists, at least most of them, don't know there isn't a god (or gods). We live on a small planet on the outer edge of a galaxy that's on the outer edge of the universe. It's arrogance to think we know very much at all. On the other hand, we live on a small planet on the outer edge of a galaxy that's on the outer edge of the universe, why would we be at all special enough to attract the attention of the being who created the universe? That, to me, is a greater arrogance.
It saddens me that these Republican women cannot see beyond their noses. If they can take away a 50 year old right, what will they want next? Contraception, or your vote? They don’t even seem able to understand the effect Dobbs could have on themselves, their daughters and their granddaughters. They need to wake up and consider how their vote will effect other women, too!
"And it’s a bracing challenge to us to devote ourselves, in whatever manner we are able, to that cause for which Alexei Navalny gave the last full measure of devotion, and to highly resolve that Alexei Navalny shall not have died in vain."
-----
It behooves *all* of us to take what Yulia Navalnaya says to heart. Alexei Navalny was a true patriot fighting an authoritarian regime that doesn't have much concern about how the Russian people live, thrive and survive. He gave his life in an attempt to bring some freedom to his countrymen/women. *That* is what a patriot does, not aid and abet the oppressors of the ordinary citizens and residents in their country, nor does a real patriot blindly carry out the orders of the leadership. Mr Navalny's threat was to the ruling class whose sole concern is the quality of *their* lives at the expense of the everyday worker -- blue, grey or white collar.
If we here in the US ignore, or are apathetic, to those with a dictatorial bent like Putin, i.e. the Fulvous Flatulence, we will doom ourselves to the same fate as of the average Russian; our freedom and rights will be taken without a blink of the eye. The very concept of self-determination will disappear from our way of life. Russia has a mandatory internal passport that serves as identification and for tracking the travels of its citizenship for greater control over them. If returned to the seat behind the Resolute Desk [turns head and spits three times between index and middle fingers] I fully expect the Mango Malignancy to have the same requirement of holding an internal passport: how else can a MAGAdroid be sure that a woman didn't cross state lines to get a legal abortion (if choice remains legal within blue purple and even some red states), or that a POC isn't an illegal immigrant subject to being expelled from America -- after spending some time in a special government camp surrounded by coils of razor wire?
Reading about the Engagious summary, the level of ignorance displayed by the participants is truly staggering. It's also worth noting that two of the three women highlighted are well beyond their reproductive years, so reproductive rights don't affect them directly (though it certainly does affect any daughters they might have).
What is most troubling is not simply their blasé attitude towards reproductive rights and ignorance regarding the make-up of the current SCOTUS and how it came to be, it's that it exhibits a general lack of understanding and real civic engagement with issues that affect all of society. It's evident that this condition is prevalent across a very large swath of America, and these people are a major part of the electorate.
Long before Trump ran for president, he mused that if he ever were to run, he would do so as a Republican because in general Republican voters are not very well educated. The subtext in that statement is obvious; the ignorant are easy to manipulate. Trump may not be terribly bright, but he's not exactly stupid either. That he's a malignant narcissist, sociopath and profoundly corrupt has nothing to do with intelligence.
Agreed--the ignorance is sometimes really disheartening.
Reading an article in the NYT titled Why This Group of Undecided Independent Voters Is Leaning Toward Trump that included the following in its summary: "And while the group viewed Mr. Trump negatively, some people suggested that the country was on its toes more with him in office." Excuse me, "on its toes"???
Also this comment from a 59-year-old retired woman about the national economy:
"I just saw the flow. It seemed to flow, like the gas or even your shopping or just about anything that mattered to us. It just kind of flowed. And you got to understand, it’s coming from a person that, I’ve hated this man since I was about 17. I always thought he was a pig. OK? I do. I can’t stand the man. But I voted for him three times."
Honestly, I know it's not legal, but I wish anyone desiring to vote had to take and pass the same citizenship test that immigrants must pass to become a naturalized American citizen. How can people who don't even understand the basic structure of our government responsibly exercise the franchise?!
I think that several things have happened that are likely to help Democrats. The first was putting a Trump at the head of the RNC. I suspect that cash for Republican candidates might be sparse, because I think that Trump will try to take an outsize portion of it. That is just my opinion, though.
The second thing is the Alabama SC ruling. No, it won’t change the minds of dedicated Trumpers. But does anyone doubt that this madness will spread? Personhood is coming to a state near you. How long before these lunatics try to outlaw contraception outright? That would significantly affect the future of a lot of young women.
They are out of step with public opinion, and they don’t care. And as far as immigration( the main concern of Trumpers, apparently), they are all pretending that the immigration bill that they killed never existed. No sir. You people-Republicans-wanted it, got it, and killed it. And we will not forget.
I think you're misunderstanding atheists (or maybe just me). As someone pointed out in a book I once read, there are two questions here. Does God exist? Pretty much every atheist I've ever known would answer that "I don't know", which is my answer. But that isn't the important question, which is, do you believe in God? I don't. There isn't any evidence to support the existence of such a being, so why would I believe? Show me strong enough evidence that proves this being is real and I'll change my mind. Or, as someone (might have been Richard Dawkins) has put it, Christians don't believe in most gods that people have worshipped. Atheists just go one god further.
"I don't know" if god exists (or not) is Agnosticism, not Atheism.
Gods are a human construct. Every religion claims to have the one true god (or gods). They can't all be right, and they're not, because none of them are.
Very well said. As an atheist I’ve grown tired of certain religions who believe their god is the one and only god. Most are born into their religion, no choice or free will there, and just accept that theirs is the only correct one.
So what is the difference between an atheist and an agnostic then? (Not a rhetorical question; I literally don't know b/c I always thought that what you described was agnosticism.) Love the "just go one god further" thing!
The Alabama ruling sets up the logic to pursue IVF at large and any birth control that prevents implantation. The supreme court has justices that are opposed to birth control. This isn't just about abortion anymore and we need to be able to have a real discussion about these ramifications that people can hear.
On the Politico story about Christian nationalism. The advocate for it there says about immigration that "a person’s background doesn’t define who can enter the U.S., but rather, citing Biblical teachings, whether that person “accept[ed] Israel’s God, laws and understanding of history.”
Uh, since pretty much all of the immigration folks howl about is coming from Catholic countries, isn't this point of view going to really "open the borders."
“And it’s a bracing challenge to us to devote ourselves, in whatever manner we are able, to that cause for which Alexei Navalny gave the last full measure of devotion, and to highly resolve that Alexei Navalny shall not have died in vain.”
And what would that be?
Look at those other brave folks in Russia: Kara Murza, an imprisoned Russian-British journalist who spoke out against Putin- will be next. The Russian free press has deteriorated as Putin strangles it. People are imprisoned for trumped up charges.
But based on a significant number of people in the US, they seem to want an authoritarian. I really think that many of them do not understand what it means.
Well, you can see the results in Russia despite the assurances of Trump and Carlson. Your freedoms, which you so took for granted, will be gone sooner than you think if Trump and Republicans prevail.
There is a line in the Navalny piece that we should all take to heart. No one is going to save us. We have got to save ourselves. I am heartened by the enormous number of grassroots organizations that have been organized to do just that. I believe, though I have no proof, that such organizations exist globally. Somehow, we need to find a way to connect. Authoritarians seem unable to love. It's all about power and control. But no love. What a sad and soulless life that must be.
Someday, dangling next to "The Spirit of St. Louis" hanging from the ceiling of the Smithsonian Institution will be a pair of gold-painted high-top sneakers.
And young American children will look up in awe and marvel at human endeavor and achievement.
I disagree with Politico's analysis of how reproductive freedom will affect the 2024 election. First, their selection of GOP anti-abortion politicians re-elected was in 2022, before the cascade of women either forced to wait until they had sepsis until they could get an therapeutic abortion (some rendered infertile) or forced to leave their state so that they could protect their health and fertility. 2023 has been very different, due to the the prominence of special elections won by Democrats campaigning on the restoration of Roe v. Wade and the publicity given to women who have had to deal with these ignorant laws (such as the woman in Ohio accused of desecrating a corpse after she miscarried -- sent away multiple times by the hospital during her miscarriage). Furthermore, the emphasis by Democratic candidates regarding women's health and reproductive freedom is not focused on changing the minds of consistent female pro-Trump supporters but to bring out the vote from women who understand that their health and rights continue to be under attack.
Thank you for sharing Navalny's widow's powerful video appeal. It needs to be shared expansively in the MSM and on social media. The Bulwark is the only place I have seen a link to it. If I were still teaching, I would ask students to analyze it rhetorically. It's that powerful. And thank you for the allusion to the Gettysburg Address; it's entirely appropriate. The state-level, abortion-fight funding problem is not just a pro-choice fight. It's mostly a pro-women's health care fight. Somehow, we need to flip the narrative from pro-choice/anti-choice to women's health and physician expertise. Take Texas. If a 31-week pregnant woman presents to her physician as having pre-eclampsia, and the physician, using their expertise, decides that a woman can deliver the child because her health is at risk (which it is) and the baby dies, that same physician can face legal penalties for "aborting" an unborn child even though, medically, the physician made the correct decision. THAT'S the problem with the pro/anti life discussion. It's binary. There's an enemy (friends, family, physicians, the disobedient wife, the provocatively dressed teen, anyone who engages in the sexual act). The entire argument needs to be rephrased. It's women's health care, and the government should not be regulating it. They should be allowing women to choose health care that works for them.
I watched this the first time reading the subtitles. And I wept. I watched this just now for the second time to see the visuals. And I wept. Have Americans so truly lost site of our dignity that we would embrace a wanna-be dictator over the freedoms and challenges given us through our democracy? If we have, shame on all of us.
Navalny and his wife/widow have been/are living in a level of courage that we cannot imagine.
It seems to me that the real issue we have in the coming election is that most people in red states, the maga constituency, really DO NOT SEE THE INFORMATION THAT WE SEE. The local news media in these states are run by a very conservative outlet that puts out the Fox news or trump talking points, every day, every week, every month. There are simply a whole range of topics where facts are available that do not see the light of day in these communities. Fox example, all they will see/hear about the multiple trials trump faces ae that he is being politically persecuted and that they need to help their "savior" with his unfair legal fees.
That is pathetic. Somehow we have to break through the Fox News curtain. Seeing Putin with his little squinty eyes gloat on the video made me want to throw up.
It's worse than that; when they do stumble on the information the rest of us see, they immediately discount it as "propaganda." They have been very thoroughly brainwashed.
Those questions were addressed (in the book) toward agnostics. The author thought most of them were actually atheists who didn't want the name - much cooler to be 'agnostic'. But atheists, at least most of them, don't know there isn't a god (or gods). We live on a small planet on the outer edge of a galaxy that's on the outer edge of the universe. It's arrogance to think we know very much at all. On the other hand, we live on a small planet on the outer edge of a galaxy that's on the outer edge of the universe, why would we be at all special enough to attract the attention of the being who created the universe? That, to me, is a greater arrogance.
It saddens me that these Republican women cannot see beyond their noses. If they can take away a 50 year old right, what will they want next? Contraception, or your vote? They don’t even seem able to understand the effect Dobbs could have on themselves, their daughters and their granddaughters. They need to wake up and consider how their vote will effect other women, too!
"And it’s a bracing challenge to us to devote ourselves, in whatever manner we are able, to that cause for which Alexei Navalny gave the last full measure of devotion, and to highly resolve that Alexei Navalny shall not have died in vain."
-----
It behooves *all* of us to take what Yulia Navalnaya says to heart. Alexei Navalny was a true patriot fighting an authoritarian regime that doesn't have much concern about how the Russian people live, thrive and survive. He gave his life in an attempt to bring some freedom to his countrymen/women. *That* is what a patriot does, not aid and abet the oppressors of the ordinary citizens and residents in their country, nor does a real patriot blindly carry out the orders of the leadership. Mr Navalny's threat was to the ruling class whose sole concern is the quality of *their* lives at the expense of the everyday worker -- blue, grey or white collar.
If we here in the US ignore, or are apathetic, to those with a dictatorial bent like Putin, i.e. the Fulvous Flatulence, we will doom ourselves to the same fate as of the average Russian; our freedom and rights will be taken without a blink of the eye. The very concept of self-determination will disappear from our way of life. Russia has a mandatory internal passport that serves as identification and for tracking the travels of its citizenship for greater control over them. If returned to the seat behind the Resolute Desk [turns head and spits three times between index and middle fingers] I fully expect the Mango Malignancy to have the same requirement of holding an internal passport: how else can a MAGAdroid be sure that a woman didn't cross state lines to get a legal abortion (if choice remains legal within blue purple and even some red states), or that a POC isn't an illegal immigrant subject to being expelled from America -- after spending some time in a special government camp surrounded by coils of razor wire?
fnord
Reading about the Engagious summary, the level of ignorance displayed by the participants is truly staggering. It's also worth noting that two of the three women highlighted are well beyond their reproductive years, so reproductive rights don't affect them directly (though it certainly does affect any daughters they might have).
What is most troubling is not simply their blasé attitude towards reproductive rights and ignorance regarding the make-up of the current SCOTUS and how it came to be, it's that it exhibits a general lack of understanding and real civic engagement with issues that affect all of society. It's evident that this condition is prevalent across a very large swath of America, and these people are a major part of the electorate.
Long before Trump ran for president, he mused that if he ever were to run, he would do so as a Republican because in general Republican voters are not very well educated. The subtext in that statement is obvious; the ignorant are easy to manipulate. Trump may not be terribly bright, but he's not exactly stupid either. That he's a malignant narcissist, sociopath and profoundly corrupt has nothing to do with intelligence.
Agreed--the ignorance is sometimes really disheartening.
Reading an article in the NYT titled Why This Group of Undecided Independent Voters Is Leaning Toward Trump that included the following in its summary: "And while the group viewed Mr. Trump negatively, some people suggested that the country was on its toes more with him in office." Excuse me, "on its toes"???
Also this comment from a 59-year-old retired woman about the national economy:
"I just saw the flow. It seemed to flow, like the gas or even your shopping or just about anything that mattered to us. It just kind of flowed. And you got to understand, it’s coming from a person that, I’ve hated this man since I was about 17. I always thought he was a pig. OK? I do. I can’t stand the man. But I voted for him three times."
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/02/13/opinion/independents-biden-focus-group.html
Honestly, I know it's not legal, but I wish anyone desiring to vote had to take and pass the same citizenship test that immigrants must pass to become a naturalized American citizen. How can people who don't even understand the basic structure of our government responsibly exercise the franchise?!
I think that several things have happened that are likely to help Democrats. The first was putting a Trump at the head of the RNC. I suspect that cash for Republican candidates might be sparse, because I think that Trump will try to take an outsize portion of it. That is just my opinion, though.
The second thing is the Alabama SC ruling. No, it won’t change the minds of dedicated Trumpers. But does anyone doubt that this madness will spread? Personhood is coming to a state near you. How long before these lunatics try to outlaw contraception outright? That would significantly affect the future of a lot of young women.
They are out of step with public opinion, and they don’t care. And as far as immigration( the main concern of Trumpers, apparently), they are all pretending that the immigration bill that they killed never existed. No sir. You people-Republicans-wanted it, got it, and killed it. And we will not forget.
I think you're misunderstanding atheists (or maybe just me). As someone pointed out in a book I once read, there are two questions here. Does God exist? Pretty much every atheist I've ever known would answer that "I don't know", which is my answer. But that isn't the important question, which is, do you believe in God? I don't. There isn't any evidence to support the existence of such a being, so why would I believe? Show me strong enough evidence that proves this being is real and I'll change my mind. Or, as someone (might have been Richard Dawkins) has put it, Christians don't believe in most gods that people have worshipped. Atheists just go one god further.
"I don't know" if god exists (or not) is Agnosticism, not Atheism.
Gods are a human construct. Every religion claims to have the one true god (or gods). They can't all be right, and they're not, because none of them are.
Very well said. As an atheist I’ve grown tired of certain religions who believe their god is the one and only god. Most are born into their religion, no choice or free will there, and just accept that theirs is the only correct one.
So what is the difference between an atheist and an agnostic then? (Not a rhetorical question; I literally don't know b/c I always thought that what you described was agnosticism.) Love the "just go one god further" thing!
The Alabama ruling sets up the logic to pursue IVF at large and any birth control that prevents implantation. The supreme court has justices that are opposed to birth control. This isn't just about abortion anymore and we need to be able to have a real discussion about these ramifications that people can hear.
The full effect of Dobbs has yet to manifest but it's coming and right soon.
On the Politico story about Christian nationalism. The advocate for it there says about immigration that "a person’s background doesn’t define who can enter the U.S., but rather, citing Biblical teachings, whether that person “accept[ed] Israel’s God, laws and understanding of history.”
Uh, since pretty much all of the immigration folks howl about is coming from Catholic countries, isn't this point of view going to really "open the borders."
No! Not those kinds of Christians! The white protestant kind!
(See century old paranoia about Irish/Italian/Polish immigration in US. There really is nothing new under the sun...)
yeah. My great grandfather came here during the "No Irish Need Apply" Era. He joined the Union Army. They put up with brogues.
“And it’s a bracing challenge to us to devote ourselves, in whatever manner we are able, to that cause for which Alexei Navalny gave the last full measure of devotion, and to highly resolve that Alexei Navalny shall not have died in vain.”
And what would that be?
Look at those other brave folks in Russia: Kara Murza, an imprisoned Russian-British journalist who spoke out against Putin- will be next. The Russian free press has deteriorated as Putin strangles it. People are imprisoned for trumped up charges.
But based on a significant number of people in the US, they seem to want an authoritarian. I really think that many of them do not understand what it means.
Well, you can see the results in Russia despite the assurances of Trump and Carlson. Your freedoms, which you so took for granted, will be gone sooner than you think if Trump and Republicans prevail.
There is a line in the Navalny piece that we should all take to heart. No one is going to save us. We have got to save ourselves. I am heartened by the enormous number of grassroots organizations that have been organized to do just that. I believe, though I have no proof, that such organizations exist globally. Somehow, we need to find a way to connect. Authoritarians seem unable to love. It's all about power and control. But no love. What a sad and soulless life that must be.
Someday, dangling next to "The Spirit of St. Louis" hanging from the ceiling of the Smithsonian Institution will be a pair of gold-painted high-top sneakers.
And young American children will look up in awe and marvel at human endeavor and achievement.
Or they'll be dangling over a telephone wire in St. Louis.
I disagree with Politico's analysis of how reproductive freedom will affect the 2024 election. First, their selection of GOP anti-abortion politicians re-elected was in 2022, before the cascade of women either forced to wait until they had sepsis until they could get an therapeutic abortion (some rendered infertile) or forced to leave their state so that they could protect their health and fertility. 2023 has been very different, due to the the prominence of special elections won by Democrats campaigning on the restoration of Roe v. Wade and the publicity given to women who have had to deal with these ignorant laws (such as the woman in Ohio accused of desecrating a corpse after she miscarried -- sent away multiple times by the hospital during her miscarriage). Furthermore, the emphasis by Democratic candidates regarding women's health and reproductive freedom is not focused on changing the minds of consistent female pro-Trump supporters but to bring out the vote from women who understand that their health and rights continue to be under attack.