Today is the second day of Hanukkah. In one of the darkest years of our lives, in one of the darkest weeks of that year, we celebrate the festival of light.
Seems like weird timing.
And this isn’t just a physically dark time, this is a time of great darkness for our country. We have over 3000 people dying from COVID a day. Trump is attempting a coup. Yes, the Texas case did not succeed. Yes, Joe Biden will be the next president of the United States. Yes, Trump’s willingness to subvert and destroy our democracy -- in order to stay in office and/or cement his place as leader of the Republican party and/or raise money for himself and/or feed the bottomless pit that is his ego — is not surprising in the least.
But the actions of Republicans are abhorrent and shocking. Republican leaders are actively, consciously, selfishly and cynically bringing darkness to our country. That a Texas Republican who needs a pardon from Trump would bring a baseless lawsuit is not surprising or even that distressing. But it is shocking that, at the hands of Republican leaders, 18 other states supported the suit to subvert our democracy and hand the election to Trump. Six of those states went further and actually joined the lawsuit. 126 Republican members of Congress — the vast majority of the member of their caucus -- signing a brief in support of a lawsuit that would destroy democracy by subverting the vote. Republicans are lining up to snuff out the light of truth and smother America in darkness.
Their lies keep millions of Americans in the dark. Their support of this travesty gives it legitimacy and keeps millions of americans from the light of truth. I don’t know what Trump’s addled brain is able to process, but I do know that the vast majority of these Republicans know that there was no fraud. They know that Biden won the election. But they want to keep Trump’s base happy for their own selfish reasons so they are lying to people. They are keeping millions of Americans who rely on them for the truth in the dark about the actual results of the election. They are giving legitimacy and life to terrible lies designed to maintain power at the expense of our very democracy.
And the people who believe their lies — the people who are in the dark — are outraged that the election is being stolen from Trump. And it is no wonder that they are — if you really believed the lies the Republicans are telling, you would be outraged too. And based on these lies, trump supporters are whipping themselves into a frenzy — one that could easily end in violence.
Republicans and their right wing propaganda machine feed Americans lies about the election. They feed them lies about Hunter Biden and Joe Biden. They feed them lies about caravans of Migrants coming to kill them and take their jobs. They lie and lie and lie and lie because the truth — that they want a government whose only purpose is to maintain the wealth that they and their friends have accumulated — would not get them elected.
That is a lot of darkness for us to face.
Seems like an odd time to celebrate light.
But Hanukkah isn’t really about celebrating light. It is about celebrating our ability to bring light to darkness. Lighting 1 candle on the first night until we have 8 candles on the 8th night, teaches us that bringing light increases light. Light multiplies. The first night, we can barely notice the difference. By the 8th night, we can truly see.
The real miracle isn’t that enough oil lasted for eight days. The miracle is that determined and loving people can bring lightness into the darkest of places
Is the darkness gone when we light candles? Not really. The forces that make this the darkest time are still there. But by lighting our candles we provide a path for people to follow. We provide the ability to see clearly despite the vast darkness.
And if you light your lights and I light my lights and other people light theirs, eventually the brightness will chase the darkness to the shadows. And we can keep it there until the time when the days start getting longer and the light comes for more and more of us.
How can we increase the light in our world? Kindness, truth, and justice.
Be kind to others.
Opportunities for kindness to others abound. Simply smiling at others can improve people’s lives. Be kind whenever you can.
Here is one idea — Join your local Buy Nothing Group and introduce yourself to the gift of giving to neighbors, getting from neighbors and thanking neighbors.
Bring truth to others.
Share the great things that Biden is doing and is promising to do. Counter the negative propaganda about the election with truth. Be a voice for what is real.
Bring justice to the world.
Help us win the elections in Georgia so that we can save the world from Mitch McConnell. Right now, nothing is more important
Want to help?
You can donate to Ossoff You can donate to Warnock You can donate to Fair Fight You can donate to Every Last Vote. You can donate to all of them!
You can write letters through vote forward or Postcards to swing state voters or text JOIN to (484) 275-2229 to join Postcards to Voters’s efforts!
Happy Hanukkah to all! Including the brand new Vice President and second gentleman!
Trump Lost AGAIN
No, Trump didn’t have Alito and Thomas on his side
all those assholes attached their names to this for nothing.
We won’t forget what you all did.
We Can Win in Georgia
Nothing seems more important for the future of our country than taking Georgia and taking the gavel from Mitch’s decaying hands.
Biden is doing what he can
Biden’s presidential campaign, after winning Georgia, sending staff, money into two U.S. Senate races
In conjunction with the Democratic National Committee, the campaign has spent about $5 million in the runoff elections, according to a Biden campaign official, and is paying for about 50 staff members to continue working in the state. The campaign has also shifted about a dozen data analytics staff members to help the two Democratic Senate candidates.
The efforts are aimed at leveraging Biden’s brand in the state, which helped him become the first Democratic presidential candidate since Bill Clinton 1992 to carry Georgia. Biden is planning to campaign in Georgia on Tuesday, trying to target areas where he overperformed in November, particularly in suburban Atlanta and smaller cities.
Senior members of the Biden campaign, including state director Tracey Lewis and coordinated campaign director Jeremy Halbert-Harris, have begun working for the Senate campaigns of Jon Ossoff, who is trying to unseat Sen. David Perdue (R), and Raphael Warnock, who is trying to defeat Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R).
so is Michelle
so is the left
Liberal group spending $1M in Georgia Senate runoffs
A liberal group dedicated to voting rights is pouring $1 million into an independent expenditure to help Democrats win control of the Senate.
The Voter Protection Project, which shared the news first with POLITICO, said it will use the funds on TV ads and direct mail supporting Democratic candidates Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff in Georgia’s Senate runoff races.
Biden is great
Imagine, in just weeks we will have a president who says things like this:
The White House is making big changes at the Pentagon — but Biden can reverse them
Troop drawdowns. Advisory board firings. Navy budget overhauls.
The Trump administration is using its last weeks in office to carry out a slew of changes at the Pentagon. But they all have one thing in common: The new president can cancel them on Day One.
How Joe Biden’s Digital Team Tamed the MAGA Internet
Last April, when Rob Flaherty, the digital director for Joe Biden’s presidential campaign, told me that the former vice president’s team planned to use feel-good videos and inspirational memes to beat President Trump in a “battle for the soul of the internet,” my first thought was: Good luck with that.
But in the end, the bed-wetters were wrong. Mr. Biden won, and despite having many fewer followers and much less engagement on social media than Mr. Trump, his campaign raised record amounts of money and ultimately neutralized Mr. Trump’s vaunted “Death Star” — the name his erstwhile campaign manager, Brad Parscale, gave to the campaign’s digital operation.
while the internet alone didn’t get Mr. Biden elected, a few key decisions helped his chances.
1. Lean On Influencers and Validators — One validator at the top of the team’s list was Brené Brown
2. Tune Out Twitter, and Focus on ‘Facebook Moms’ —
“The whole Biden campaign ethos was ‘Twitter isn’t real life,’” Mr. Flaherty said. “There are risks of running a campaign that is too hyper-aware of your own ideological corner.”
As it focused on Facebook, the Biden campaign paid extra attention to “Facebook moms” — women who spend a lot of time sharing cute and uplifting content, and who the campaign believed could be persuaded to vote for Mr. Biden with positive messages about his character.
One successful clip aimed at this group showed Mr. Biden giving his American flag lapel pin to a young boy at a campaign stop. Another video showed Mr. Biden, who has talked about overcoming a stutter in his youth, meeting Brayden Harrington, a 13-year-old boy with one. Both were viewed millions of times.
3. Build a Facebook Brain Trust
But Mr. Biden’s digital strategy wasn’t all puppies and rainbows. The campaign also joined ranks with a number of popular left-wing Facebook pages, many of which are known for putting out aggressive anti-Trump content.
4. Promote ‘Small-Batch Creators,’ Not Just Slick Commercials
5. Fight Misinformation, but Pick Your Battles
As first lady, Jill Biden plans to push for debt-free community college
According to a source close to her, Biden will advocate for debt-free community college.
Along with promoting debt-free community college, Biden plans to champion other aspects of the education platform her husband, President-elect Joe Biden, put forth during his campaign for the White House.
The focus on education is a natural extension of the work she did after her husband was elected vice president in 2008, when, as second lady, she became an outspoken advocate for community colleges. Biden has also spent much of her career teaching at the community college level, and has been an English professor at Northern Virginia Community College since 2009. Prior to taking that position, Biden spent about 15 years at Delaware Technical Community College.
There is trouble ahead for Trump
maybe he is desperate to win for a reason...
Manhattan D.A. Intensifies Investigation of Trump
State prosecutors in Manhattan have interviewed several employees of President Trump’s bank and insurance broker in recent weeks, according to people with knowledge of the matter, significantly escalating an investigation into the president that he is powerless to stop.
The interviews with people who work for the lender, Deutsche Bank, and the insurance brokerage, Aon, are the latest indication that once Mr. Trump leaves office, he still faces the potential threat of criminal charges that would be beyond the reach of federal pardons.
The investigation by Mr. Vance, a Democrat, has focused on Mr. Trump’s conduct as a private business owner and whether he or employees at his family business, the Trump Organization, committed financial crimes. It is the only known criminal inquiry into the president.
Here’s How Trump Could Lose His Twitter Account
When Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey said Trump will be subject to Twitter’s normal rules after he leaves office, Democrats and disinformation experts breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, the era of Trump’s social media impunity will come to an end.
According to Dorsey, Twitter’s public interest exception, which lets public officials’ rule-breaking tweets stay up with labels and exempts their accounts from suspension, will lapse the moment he stops being president.
Trump is losing Twitter followers as Biden gains nearly 2 million heading to White House
President Trump has governed by Twitter for the last four years – using it to announce new policies, fire government officials, and attack his enemies.
But there are signs that the power of that bully pulpit is dampening during the lame-duck period of his presidency, even as the president uses it to push baseless claims of election fraud. His account has lost more than 300,000 Twitter followers since Nov. 17, according to data from the Twitter
Meanwhile, President-elect Joe Biden has seen his popularity surge in the aftermath of his election. His account gained more than 1.9 million followers in the same period, according to the Twitter tracker
There are some Republicans unwilling to go along with this awful
I focused in the intro on the awful Rs willing to go with Trump on this because it is really shameful and awful and we shouldn’t forget.
But there also have been Rs who have literally put their lives on the line for Democracy, confirming results that trump didn’t want.
And there are others speaking up in other ways
Editorial Board Apologizes for endorsing Congressman who joined Trump’s efforts
We apologize to our readers for endorsing Michael Waltz in the 2020 general election for Congress.
We had no idea, had no way of knowing at the time, that Waltz was not committed to democracy.
During our endorsement interview with the incumbent congressman, we didn’t think to ask, “Would you support an effort to throw out the votes of tens of millions of Americans in four states in order to overturn a presidential election and hand it to the person who lost, Donald Trump?”
Ohio AG Dave Yost files brief criticizing Texas’ lawsuit challenging Biden win
Yost, a Columbus Republican, stated in the brief that the Supreme Court lacks authority to order state legislatures in Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin to appoint presidential electors. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s lawsuit argues such a move is needed because coronavirus-related changes to election rules in those states opened the door to voter fraud (claims of which have so far been unsubstantiated).
Sen. Murkowski says she’s disappointed by efforts of fellow Republicans to reverse presidential election results
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) said Friday that she is disappointed by the efforts of fellow Republicans in Congress and at the state level to press the Supreme Court to reverse the results of the presidential election, particularly so close to the scheduled vote of the electoral college Monday.
“In fairness, I am really surprised and disappointed that … there would be an effort by members, effort by states that are not even impacted in the sense of the challenges, that there would be this effort following all of the court rulings that have set aside or disposed of any questions with regard to voting irregularity,” Murkowski said. “So yeah, I’m surprised. But even more so, I was just really disappointed that this is continuing in this way.”
Ben Sasse slams Texas lawsuit — and says Ken Paxton looks like a ‘fella begging for a pardon’
“I’m no lawyer, but I suspect the Supreme Court swats this away,” said Sasse. “From the brief, it looks like a fella begging for a pardon filed a PR stunt rather than a lawsuit — as all of its assertions have already been rejected by federal courts and Texas’ own solicitor general isn’t signing on.”
Trump Lost More than Texas this Week
Trump seems to actually like losing the election — he keeps doing it:
Trump's 'Elite Strike Force' Has Now Lost More Than 50 Election Challenges
“Releasing the kraken” isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
President Trump and his allies have now lost 51 post-election legal battles, according to a tally kept by Marc Elias, Democrats’ top election attorney. And they’ve only come out victorious in one minor case.
It’s a stunning rebuke that shows how meritless their attacks on the election have been—and how little chance Trump has of overturning president-elect Joe Biden’s election victories in any of the states he won.
So much for the “elite strike force team” that Trump lawyer Jenna Ellis promised. Or, you know, the “kraken” that former Trump lawyer Sidney Powell keeps tweeting about.
Battleground states issue blistering rebukes to Texas' lawsuit to invalidate millions of votes
Each of the four battleground states targeted by a Texas lawsuit seeking to overturn President Donald Trump's election defeat issued blistering briefs at the Supreme Court on Thursday, with Pennsylvania officials going so far as to call the effort a "seditious abuse of the judicial process.
The court filings from Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin come a day after Trump asked the Supreme Court to intervene in the lawsuit brought by
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton seeking to invalidate millions of votes in their states. The lawsuit amounts to an unprecedented request for legal intervention in an election despite there being
no evidence of widespread fraud.
"Texas's effort to get this Court to pick the next President has no basis in law or fact. The Court should not abide this seditious abuse of the judicial process, and should send a clear and unmistakable signal that such abuse must never be replicated," wrote Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro.
The Texas lawsuit, Shapiro said, rested on a "surreal alternate reality."
On the Lighter Side
Whether you celebrate or not, I wish ALL OF YOU a happy happy Hanukkah! We could all use more light, courage, joy, and celebration in our lives.
I am so proud and so lucky to be in this with all of you ❤️ ✊ ❤️