Great versions of your favorite Christmas songs

Oh Holy Night

So many excellent renditions. I’ll start here

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTYfCsR5U/

RFK from a farmer's perspective

If you are not following this guy in TikTok you are missing a lot!!

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTYM7xLSg/

DNC needs to run ads OFF election

Why can’t we pump money into ads to run right before new Congress takes effect? Run on ISSUES, not candidates.

Exhibit A - Every American needs to see this:

https://x.com/Ronxyz00/status/1857512764907876459?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1857512764907876459%7Ctwgr%5E2a4137447939ed399e6a058b1514d97c24f1a58b%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.democraticunderground.com%2F100219728098

Inflation and Pandemic economics

It suddenly dawned on me that people in the US have not seen high inflation for a long time. We lived through it in the 70s and we know that we can come out the other side. Ford probably lost the election because of inflation, and Jimmy Carter appointed Volker to the Fed.

When prices are jumping up and you’ve never seen that, it’s freaking scary.
I’ve heard dozens of poor people who work marginal jobs say that the economy was better under Trump. I believe they are crediting him with the 600/week checks that people were getting. People got the first taste of guaranteed income and they liked it.
Biden had to be the bad guy who ended that.
The fact that those checks came from Congress and not from Trump goes over the heads of our uneducated people.
I think the low approval ratings were because of inflation, forced lockdown, ending of subsidies. Coupled with the idea that the Dems are there to fix everything and when they can’t fix everything right away they get punished.
The fact that Biden had a massively progressive agenda just doesn’t sink in when people are looking for quick fixes.
Will they find out how bad trump’s policies are? Yes.
And they don’t care about civil rights - theirs or apparently anyone else’s. They want cheap gas and cheap food.

During the pandemic, I kept thinking that the population would become 100 per cent socialistic after getting the 600/week checks. After all, it was a confession by the elites that that was what people should be earning. Some people had never earned that much money before. Maybe some of that socialism stuck and people are expecting price controls from the government and very drastic government intervention that occurred during the pandemic.

Black and Jewish alliance

As a white, non-Jewish American, I’m on the Black side of TikTok. (The algorithm knows who I aline with politically).
Out if this political carnage, Black women discovered and have acknowledged (1) Black men stuck with them and voted for Harris; (2) Jewish women voted overwhelmingly for Harris( (3) Arab Americans voted against Harris.
The sad part is that Black women are vowing to disconnect with the pro-Palestine movement (they were the strongest non-Muslim proponents of free Palestine movement) feeling that they have been abandoned by Muslims.
The good part is that they realized that their natural Allies are Jewish Americans, particularly Jewish women.
It never occurred to me that there would be a generation of Americans who only know Jews as “ White people” or “Zionists” and don’t get history of Jewish support (and blood support) during the civil rights era.
Know your Allies.
If we ever get a Palestinian State, Jews and AA will be the architects of that plan.

Economic Anxiety? Ohio is exhibit A

Ohioans defeated one of strongest pro-labor leaders of our time (Brown) in this election and voted for venture capitalist Vance in the prior election.

It’s not about economics.

Stupid white supremacists

They oppose IVF, which would bring more white kids into this world
They oppose abortion, even to save a white “breeder’s” life who would live to have more children.
They back Putin who is killing 100s of thousands of white people
They oppose vaccines which save millions of white children
They elect anti-union presidents who will tear down unions and kill white people’s jobs
They vote for mass deportation, leaving them without landscapers, Nannies, restaurant help


Anything I’ve left off? Please feel free to add.

The Pain of Others

I used to wonder, sitting in history class, how ordinary people in Germany and in communist countries could turn on their neighbors. It’s so easy to see it now. Working class people have hit the “elites” hard. (By “elites” I mean the educated. Not all elites are rich). Misogynists have hit women hard.
On election night, my rich MAGA neighbors actually set off fire works when Pennsylvania was called. I felt immediate hate in my heart. Wanted to call ICE on them for hiring illegals to take care of their lawn. Couldn’t wait for Hispanic MAGAs to get pulled over by ICE and not be able show papers. Started counting the old people I know who voted MAGA and who survive on SS. couldn’t wait until Rick Scott presents his bill to gut SS. Wishing for Joe Biden to write an executive order reversing his bail out of pensions - but only for Teamster scabs. Dreaming of school teacher MAGAs finding out that the Department of Education defunded their schools.
The list goes on and on. (I’m not a good person).

So, it’s quite easy to see how jealousy can cause one citizen to turn on another. I was fully ready to do it.

I’m going to stop myself from exacting revenge on my neighbors. NOT because I’m a good person, but because social devolution is not rational. Gets us nowhere. Democrats are not the “weak” party because we have empathy. Empathy has a STRONG component which allows humans to feel where the others are at, permit us to gather together, and to make plans for the future. There’s a neurological component allowing us to “feel” others’ pain and anger.
EMPATHY is the strongest evolutionary trait, not the weakest. It’s nice to feel all warm and fuzzy about sweetness and empathy, but the bottom line is that it is our most essential strength-building trait. Unions won because of solidarity. Women’s rights and civil rights were born of empathy. We could see that raising people up would strengthen us all. Empathy has a selfish component - like Ford paying his workers enough to buy his cars.
We have to foster empathy as the choice of winners.
Democrats need to message that.
I think Kamala’s phrasing was good - true leadership is lifting others up. That needs to be tied to an even bigger message that the West (and America) dominated the last century because of successful social programs. People flocked to the West because our of strong societies.
I can’t put it all together, but empathy equals strength.
Not going to become the NAZI neighbor, the Commie snitch. Yes, I will have schadenfreude, but will stop myself from actual retribution.
Finding my way through this mess.

So when does that time of pain begin under Musk's austerity plan?

So when does that time of pain begin under Musk's austerity plan?