December 11, 2022

Cake4Kids. org - a volunteer group that bakes birthday cakes for underprivileged kids

I just heard about this group and thought some of you talented bakers (a group that unfortunately does not include me) might like to put your skills to good use and help make personalized bday cakes for kids who otherwise probably wouldn't get one. It sounds very low-commitment -- you request a cake when you've got the time and inclination.

https://www.cake4kids.org/

December 8, 2022

This is a perfect illustration of my ideal outcome of a Trump v DeSantis showdown:

Alligator - 0
Snake - also 0

November 13, 2022

Mitch McConnell's reaction to the loss of the Senate:

November 10, 2022

To any Ukrainians out there in cyberspace...

A lot of us here in the USA did what we could to prevent a pro-Putin Republican takeover of our government. We understand all too well that making donations, making phone calls, writing letters and postcards, putting out signs, knocking on doors, driving people to and working at the polls, talking to friends and family to urge them to vote for Democrats are nothing compared to the battles you've been waging. But when each of us did our little part, we felt you walking shoulder to shoulder with us. We fought for ourselves, but we also fought for you, and for the rest of the world. The election results are far from perfect, but they're a lot better than many people expected. They indicate that the USA will not abandon you in your hours of need after all. Thank you for fighting so hard against the forces of authoritarianism and fascism and evil itself. You inspire us every day.

November 7, 2022

Some positive signs for us all to keep in mind:

(edited to add things as they occur to me)

- the very encouraging early vote stats
- no evidence of a red wave so far
- Dems crushed the GQP in small donations
- Dems' enthusiasm is polling equal to the bad guys
- many new voters registered D post Dobbs
- women are much more likely to vote D and they are outvoting men bigly so far
- a not insignificant number of Republican women will flip their vote to D in light of Dobbs
- young voters reporting they will vote in big numbers on election day
- likely voter models are probably very inaccurate, in our favor
- although more people say they're concerned about inflation, inflation is not the burning motivator to vote like Dobbs is
- no Trump on the ballot this time; a lot of Republicans are loyal to Dear Leader only, not the GQP in general
- conversely, Trump won’t go away, and that’s motivating for Dems
- more people are understanding that democracy itself is at stake
- GQP putting most of its eggs in election day voting -- very risky for them
- numbers in past few days have moved a bit towards the Ds
- Republicans not acting like they're confident about tomorrow (e.g. all the desperate lawsuits they're filing)
- Republicans trumpeting bullshit right wing polls…NOT their internal polls (things that make you go “hmmm.”)
- independent polls showing a much more favorable outlook than the right wing polls like Trafalgar that the GQP has been pushing to skew averages like 538
- some pundits are finally stepping back and admitting it won't necessarily be an R blowout after all, because "anything could happen" -- trying to salvage a bit of their own credibility?
- in 2020, the Dems didn't have much of a ground game due to the pandemic (while the GQP did). This time, thousands of D volunteers are knocking on doors, canvassing, etc.
- progressive and Dem organizations seeing big participation with things like postcard writing (personally, I sent 200 to Nevada and 15 to Georgia)
- since 2020, about 8 million Gen Zers have turned 18. Sure, it will take a while for them to register and vote reliably, but they're overwhelmingly more progressive in general than the older generations, including the dwindling Silent Gen demo, which is quite conservative (yes, in general, exceptions abound, etc.)
- Several hundred thousand Trumpy anti-vaxxers have died of Covid. In the words of Jerry Seinfeld: "That's a shame."
- Dems have overperformed expectations in the last several special elections

As William Rivers Pitt would have told us: "Stout Hearts."

September 20, 2022

Question for you Marylanders re: 1st Congressional District

It's looking like the Dems are gonna run away with the governor's race and other statewide contests in the midterms. What do you think the chances are of U.S. Rep. Andrew Harris getting swept out of office on Nov. 8th?

September 16, 2022

This is THE picture for Dems to use to demonstrate the abject cruelty of Ron DeSantis.

Look at this little boy, sleeping in his mother’s arms... the tiny hand... the shoeless little foot... the long dark eyelashes...
To Ron Desantis, this toddler is just a piece of subhuman garbage to be shuffled around and used as a prop in the governor's attempt to become dictator of the USA.

August 26, 2022

Update to and request re: "Stick Up for Your Rights" Sticky Note Pro-Choice Messaging Campaign

I've been posting this image online to get as many eyes on it as possible in the hopes that more and more people will participate in and share the idea (and image). I've gotten some good feedback and several people saying they're on board and have started posting public messages, which is encouraging.

Please spread it around if you like it!

Also, if you or someone you know is connected to a pro-choice/Democratic/women's/civil rights organization or campaign and like this idea, are technologically astute, and have a bit of PR/marketing/social media savvy, I'd love it if you or they would run with the concept and publicize it. One idea is to have a portion of a website dedicated to photos of these do-it-yourself messages. The organization could get people to send in photos of their own posted messages or messages that they've spotted, then post them on a website with a general description of the location, e.g.: "restroom, O'Hare Airport, Chicago," or whatever. I think people would really enjoy participating in something like that, and hopefully it could go viral.

Thank you all! Let's all keep doing what we can through November 8!

August 24, 2022

Here's an easy and (almost) free way to spread our message and accelerate blue momentum...

I hatched this idea the day after Dobbs came down. It's a simple grassroots activism tactic that almost anyone can do. And it reaches all sorts of people, including those who don't normally follow politics and elections.

It's simple: Carry a pen and sticky notes or mailing labels with you and write messages encouraging people to save their rights by voting blue in the midterms (November 8th, although a lot of people vote much earlier). Plaster your notes far and wide in public places. My friends and I particularly like to put them up in public restroom stalls--you reach a captive audience, after all.

Yes these notes are easily removed (we don't want any property damage), but they're also easily replaced.

If you like the idea, please participate in the note writing and also spread the word by sharing the image on social media and other relevant places online.

Thank You! And Go Team Blue!

On edit: Also, if any person or organization out there likes this idea, is technologically astute, and has a bit of PR/marketing/social media savvy, I'd love it if you would run with the concept. One idea is to get people to send in photos of their own posted messages or messages that they've spotted, then post them on a website with a general description of the location, e.g.: "restroom, O'Hare Airport, Chicago," or whatever.

August 21, 2022

Let's Save the House!! Pitch in here to support our candidates who are in critical races.

https://secure.actblue.com/donate/gnrsavesthehouse

Your contribution will be split evenly between Chris Pappas, Francis Conole, Steven Horsford, Pat Ryan, Josh Riley, Bridget Fleming, Joshua Lafazan, Carl Marlinga, Elissa Slotkin, Hillary Scholten, Brad Pfaff, Susan Wild, Matt Cartwright, Marcy Kaptur, Frank Mrvan, Eric Sorensen, Josh Harder, Adam Gray, Rudy Salas, Christy Smith, Jay Chen, Tom Malinowski, Elaine Luria, Abigail Spanberger, David Trone, Wiley Nickel, Michelle Vallejo, Henry Cuellar, Tom O'Halleran, Gabe Vasquez, Sharice Davids, Yadira Caraveo, Cindy Axne, Susie Lee, Dina Titus, Jahana Hayes, Will Rollins, and Chris Deluzio ... Or you can customize the amounts.

We can do this!!