We don’t need no education

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As a former public school teacher, I loved nothing more than having an administrator, with NO teaching experience, come into my classroom with a clipboard and a checklist to tell…
The November 24, 2016 Thread

The November 24, 2016 Thread

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Josh Marshall argues that Medicare is ground zero for where we launch the battle over everything -- the whole social safety net.
But the politics of Medicare are also highly relevant to this political moment. It's not an either/or. The policy and politics are entirely harnessed together. And preserving Medicare will yield political benefits which will allow Democrats to defeat other Trump/GOP initiatives that will do the country grievous harm. Trump's election has sprung into overdrive a debate we've been having in the world of politics for more than a year: Is Trumpism largely about economic distress tied to globalization and neo-liberal economics or is it mainly driven by a white racial backlash against minorities Trump supporters believe are cutting to the front of the line in the race for economic preferment and cultural centrality? I largely put myself in the second camp. But as I think most people realize, these are not mutually exclusive explanations. And whichever side of the equation you come down on, what the Democrats need are issues that cut across the regional/racial/class divide we saw in the 2016 election. Medicare does that.
Trumpism is white racial backlash. Not economic distress. The answer to white racial backlash is not to agree with them and abandon minorities and social progress as some idiot privileged white liberal men here suggest. Rather we fight back with more diversity. And yes, we couple that with fighting income inequality and for a living wage so that we have the economic message that Bernie Sanders so desperately wants to the exclusion of all else. It's both. Not either or.

The Thanksgiving Daily Delawhere – November 24, 2016

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Cassandra requested that I include the Del DMV's funny photo today. I hope each of you, and all of you, have a happy Thanksgiving today. I hope everyone relaxes with and enjoys their family and friends. If you have any Trump or Stein/Johnson voters in your family, resist the totally natural and acceptable urge to smite them. Come here and share your horror stories, but hopefully those are few and far between. happy-thanksgiving-background-1024x716

The November 23, 2016 Thread

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I hate the term "identity politics." It is a made up word by privileged white conservatives that privileged white liberals mindlessly parrot because Bernie Sanders mindlessly parroted the term because Bernie Sanders wants to solely focus all political discussion on an economic message to the exclusion of a rights message. But since the term is here to stay, when you see the term "identity politics," read it to mean "a politics that combats efforts to deny people fundamental rights because of their identities." Because that is what we Democrats and liberals and progressives do. Remember, we Democrats, we liberals, and we Progressives are supposed to be fighting for the equality, rights and opportunities of ALL OUR CITIZENS. Not just the white ones. Not just the straight ones. Not just the male ones. And guess what, when one party, the Republican Party, actively commits to ending the rights and opportunities of African Americans, Latinos, Gays and Lesbians and women, then "Identity Politics" becomes the mission of our lives. It is a monstrous betrayal for privileged white liberals and progressives, some of whom read and write comments on this blog, to demand we abandon African Americans, women, Latinos, and gays and lesbians just because we lost the white working class vote in one fucking election, or just because some racist whites say so, or just because one Senator wants the party to focus solely on economics and not rights. To these traitors I say a hearty fuck you, and get the fuck out. Join your racist Republican white friends and relatives. We, as Democrats, liberals and progressives, will do both. We will fight for an economic message that wins back the white working class and we will protect and advance the rights of minorities. And with that, Have a Happy Thanksgiving.
Message to Democrats –Time to Come Out Swinging

Message to Democrats –Time to Come Out Swinging

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The Pew Research Center conducted its quadrennial survey of post-election reactions and overall the mood of the electorate still looks more polarized and more pessimistic than ever. The bright spot was for Trump supporters, but there is certainly less of the post-election glow and desire for parties to work together to get stuff done. It is worthwhile to spin through this entire report -- there is no doubt that voters are less enthusiastic about both candidates, and they don't think much of either party,pollsters or the press. A key finding here is the fact that Democrats want their leadership to fight the GOP.

I’m out to give thanks…

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I'll be back next Monday, but in the meantime, I'll be giving some serious thought to what I can and should be doing in the next 24 months. The challenges we now face demand some serious consideration, planning, and execution. This lazy dilettante blogger stuff is done. El Som got a ball rolling with operation Carper, and I definitely want to figure out I can best help out that initiative. But there is a lot that needs doing. Whether we are talking about blog activities or off-blog activities, I'll need your help to establish some real goals and start grinding out some progress in the direction of accomplishing those goals. We have some tough times ahead of us and I need to figure out where to apply my energies and my meager talents. Peace.

Tom Carper and The Third Way

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Delawareans can no longer afford the risk of having Tom Carper in the United States Senate.  He is, in his own way, as dangerous as Donald Trump because he does not represent the people of this state, but rather represents those who control the lives of ordinary people through undue influence. We have long referred to Carper's corporatist leanings, but we perhaps haven't spelled them out so that people truly understood the extent of them, and the extent of the damage he has caused and can cause. Today we begin.

Occasional Words from the Resistance…from the desk of R.E. Vanella.

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The Personal Is the Political Is the Psychopathological: The Politics of Contemporary Psychopathological Double-Binds

Midterm Examination

Ms. THODE

November 7, Year of the Depends Adult Undergarment

KEEP YOUR ANSWERS BRIEF AND GENDER NEUTRAL

In David Foster Wallace’s novel Infinite Jest, students enrolled in the above-mentioned course were asked, as the midterm examination, to solve a Double-Bind. If on one hand you were a kleptomaniac, pathologically driven to steal everything you could, but on the other you were also a crippling agoraphobic, paralyzed by the fear of ever leaving your home, how could you satisfy these two totally opposing and overwhelming compulsions?