We get millions more voters every year. All that remains for us is to GOTV on every issue that the other side screeches about and overreaches on. Voting is good for all, or it is good for none. Compare the states where voting is supported or suppressed, on education, jobs, women’s—well, everyone’s—health care, book bans…
We don’t have to take it any more after next year. We can fix the filibuster, outlaw partisan gerrymanders and voter suppression of all kinds in SCOTUS-armored bills, and do every kind of good for everybody. That includes the haters who fear and loathe all of it with the fire of a thousand suns because Those People, the rest of us, will finally start to get their/our fair share of all kinds of things.
Like being equally equal. Like not getting shot. Like not being at risk of Parkinson’s from long covid. Like not risking our lives or the lives of loved ones who get pregnant more than absolutely necessary. Like being able to enjoy living in the future.
And, of course, they constantly keep the screaming and screeching and caterwauling turned up to 11.
They hate us voting most of all, so vote at every opportunity. School boards are particularly important now.
In the first place, God made idiots. This was for practice. Then He made school boards.
Mark Twain
Have I mentioned that my pronouns are We the People/US-A?
I am going to run some numbers below on the 2024 Presidential election. Sometime soon I will take up our House and Senate prospects. Pay no attention to the Doom&Gloomers at Politico and elsewhere. We have GOOD News, and you can make it better.
The 2024 Campaign
is underway, yes.
Presidential Election Statistics
Among the most important facts about US politics is the Wrong-Wing impetus to drive out the RINOs, which is also driving out millions of their children, and increasing numbers of women and elders through monstrous overreach.
2016 United States presidential election
2020 United States presidential election
Hillary Clinton led The Thing that Ate the GOP by 2.8 million votes, but as we know lost in the Electoral College, which we should get rid of. Biden led by 7 million votes, and managed to swing several critical states his way, aided by significant shifts in the electorate. Also he didn’t have to deal with the vast conspiracy, lying non-stop about Hillary Clinton, ever since she went undercover to bust segregated Christian academies. Plus Putin.
Hate radio and TV people complained bitterly that it was too hard to get people to hate Joe Biden. And then we just laughed at the Brandon haters.
I’m not going to go any deeper into the weeds on those two days, or the campaigns leading up to them. There are numerous published analyses that you can look into. Instead, I want to talk a little more about the trends among young people due to Wrong-Wing fear, rage, hate, and overreach. Or as DeSantis would have it, woke mind virus.
Demographics
| Generations |
millions |
%Republican |
|
sILENT
|
19 |
39 |
| bOOMER |
70 |
35 |
| gEN x |
65 |
30 |
| mILLENNIALS |
72 |
21 |
| Gen z |
68 |
17 |
Many who call themselves Independents regularly vote Republican, but those are people we can sometimes talk to about real issues. Not the Q-addled snowflake haters whose only concerns are being outnumbered and having to begin to cope with actual moves toward equality.
Reaching Gen Z
It isn’t just a question of numbers. Our generational strategy is only partially self-executing. We have lots more to do, and therefore lots more ground to gain.
Here’s a thought. You can go talk to them yourself.
We’re organizing Gen-Z to re-elect President Biden
Gen Z's political power: new data gives insight into America's youngest voters
Gen Zers voted decidedly with Democrats last year — and say they were most concerned about issues related to abortion — some still wish they were better informed before voting. That's all according to a new post-election report on Gen Z from the education advocacy organization Murmuration, the Walton Family Foundation and the public opinion firm SocialSphere.
Gen Z Post-Election Research
In spring 2022, we learned that Gen Z feels stressed, unprepared for life after graduation and has little faith in political leaders to understand their challenges.
In fall, 2022, we learned that Gen Z felt their voices were not being heard in decisions about their own lives. While this generation is frustrated with the pace and scale of change on important issues, they remain optimistic that it’s possible.
GEN Z: POST-ELECTION
Understanding the Gen Z Vote
Post-Election Research Project
We conducted this research for two reasons:
- We saw an urgent need to better understand Zoomers given the impact they stand to have on the future of America. Gen Z is now 70 million strong, and is considered to be the most ethnically and racially diverse generation in American history. By 2028, along with like-minded millennials, they will be the largest group of eligible voters in the country, giving them the potential for significant power and influence on every aspect of society.
- We saw an opportunity to elevate Zoomers’ voices. Gen Z has proven to be a highly collaborative, self-reliant, and pragmatic generation, concerned not just about their own well-being, but wanting to lift up their friends and communities as well.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
As compared to older generations, more Zoomers say they voted because of timely
issues that will shape our society for years to come.
In the context of the 2022 midterms, this meant taking a stance on issues such as systemic racism and reproductive rights.
While Zoomers, millennials, Gen Xers and baby boomers generally agreed that it was important to safeguard the rights of vulnerable populations, Zoomers were particularly moved to vote by these concerns.
- 78% of Zoomers thought that it was important to address systemic racism, as compared to only 60% of baby boomers.
- Gen Z was the only generational cohort to rank abortion and reproductive rights (29%) as the political issue they were most concerned about when casting their ballot in the 2022 midterm, followed by the economy and inflation (12% combined).
- Compared to only 18% of millennials, 13% of Gen Xers and 8% of baby boomers who ranked abortion and reproductive rights as the political issue they were most concerned about when voting.
This means that we have huge opportunities for doing even better in 2024, with straightforward improvements in campaign messaging.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR APPLYING THIS RESEARCH
After a year of conducting this research, we believe even more strongly that Gen Z is an especially important audience to better engage civically. Here are four key recommendations for parties hoping to engage this influential cohort.
- Give Zoomers the information they want, in a way they understand it.
Among Gen Z voters 1 in 3 wish they had more information prior to casting their votes.
Among Gen Z non-voters 1 in 2 said that a lack of information about issues and candidates was a barrier to voting.
Gen-Z voters and non-voters have one thing in common: they both want more information about candidates and issues.
There is an opportunity for campaigns and advocates to engage Gen Z even more impactfully simply by providing them with information on their candidates, issues, and platforms. Gen Z focus group participants expressed favorability to information that can be easily consumed, such as infographics, and can be easily shared on social media platforms such as TikTok. In focus groups, many Gen Z participants reflected favorably on infographics that contrasted the platforms of both candidates using symbols like check marks to indicate which policies and positions a candidate held as compared to their opponent.
And in our surveys, we found Gen Z respondents usually get their information from the internet (including news sites, but also Reddit and YouTube) or from social media (such as Instagram and TikTok). In short, meet Zoomers where they’re at – on the internet and on social media – and hand them easily digestible information about candidates and issues.
- To win support, show your work.
Actions speak louder than words. Being involved in your community matters. Establishing your good record of community improvement matters. And conversations and local engagement matter. Groups looking to engage Gen Z should consider emphasizing successful actions and political victories – particularly those that improve material conditions for vulnerable people or groups whose rights are threatened. Moreover, groups should consider their messengers, and where possible, create dialogue around wins amongst Zoomers, rather than leveraging endorsements.
- Experiment with information distribution.
- Make education an issue requiring urgent attention.
I could quote more, but you should read the thing.
School Authorities
To Sir, with Love • Theme Song • Lulu
There are hundreds of such stories.
Sufficient unto the day is the lunacy thereof.
🎩 Jesus
DEI is the New CRT
They are going to be screeching about it. You know what to do. Here is their Fearful Leader now.
A site to discuss better education for all
OK, then.
!!!MORE DEI MORE!!!
And less Opus Dei!
Debt
NYT: Biden administration considering whether 14th Am. makes debt ceiling law unconstitutional
The debt ceiling law is a relic:
- the law supporting the “Debt Ceiling” derives from the 1917 “Liberty Bond” Act, passed to facilitate and control payment for US entry into World War 1, but ignored until Newt Gingrich resurrected it for blackmail purposes in the 1990s.
The law violates the plain language of the 14th Amendment:
- The 14th Amendment to the Constitution states: "The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law ... shall not be questioned."
Extortion, not blackmail, but otherwise I concur completely.
Bad News for Them
Ray Charles - Hit The Road Jack @ Cocoanut Grove Night Club, 1983
Legal
Carroll v Trump
The I-DJT’s lawyers have announced that they will present no witnesses in The It’s rape, defamation, and physical injury trial. This is a stupid strategy in a stupid trial. We can expect a fiery closing statement from TacoGrandePiñaColada claiming that there was no evidence against his client, that it’s all lies.
My take: The jury is to reach their verdict based on the preponderance of the evidence. One side presented many witnesses and much evidence, the other will offer only a videotaped deposition from The IT. Bingo!
Note: IANAL. just a logician. Well, and a Buddhist priest, a specialist in karma and delusion.
Trump lawyers will not offer witnesses at E. Jean Carroll rape defamation trial
- Joseph Tacopina, lawyer for former President Donald Trump, said he will not present any witnesses at the civil trial for a lawsuit accusing Trump of raping and defaming writer E. Jean Carroll.
- Tacopina said Trump would not testify before the jury in U.S. District Court in Manhattan.
- A videotape of Trump’s deposition for the case is expected to be played for jurors.
Carroll’s lawyers will have something to say about that deposition.
Smith—Jack Smith
Fani Willis
Manhattan prosecutors had asked a judge to bar Donald Trump from discussing certain evidence publicly or on social media.
Animals! Science! Weirdness!
05/01/2023 : Webb Finds Water Vapor, But From a Rocky Planet or Its Star?
The most common stars in the universe are red dwarf stars, which means that rocky exoplanets are most likely to be found orbiting such a star. Red dwarf stars are cool, so a planet has to hug it in a tight orbit to stay warm enough to potentially host liquid water (meaning it lies in the habitable zone). Such stars are also active, particularly when they are young, releasing ultraviolet and X-ray radiation that could destroy planetary atmospheres. As a result, one important open question in astronomy is whether a rocky planet could maintain, or reestablish, an atmosphere in such a harsh environment.
This graphic shows the transmission spectrum obtained by Webb observations of rocky exoplanet GJ 486 b. The science team’s analysis shows hints of water vapor; however, computer models show that the signal could be from a water-rich planetary atmosphere (indicated by the blue line) or from starspots from the red dwarf host star (indicated by the yellow line). The two models diverge noticeably at shorter infrared wavelengths, indicating that additional observations with other Webb instruments will be needed to constrain the source of the water signal.
Tom Lehrer | "The Elements" | w/ Lyrics
I asked Twitter about weird animals, and I got this account in response.
Polynoidae
Polynoidae is a family of marine Polychaete worms known as "scale worms" due to the scale-like elytra on the dorsal surface. Almost 900 species are currently recognised belonging to 9 subfamilies and 167 genera.[1] They are active hunters, but generally dwell in protected environments such as under stones. The group is widely distributed from shallow intertidal waters to hadal trenches.[2] They are the most diverse group of polychaetes in terms of genus number and second most diverse in terms of species number which is almost 8% of all segmented worm species.[1]
I was hoping to report on a cancer breakthrough today, but this is all over Twitter instead.
Funny or Cry
Support your local cartoonists.
OK, play us out. And remember, be careful out there!
The Muppet Show Singers - "Why Can't We Be Friends"
