What might be possible
December traffic (at least in the Bay Area) has gotten worse since I last had to commute by car every day. This week the hour-long drive to my mom’s took twice that (and three times that getting home). Life in America hasn’t shut down since TFP was reelected—by historically low margins, and with less than 50% of the votes cast.
But the government might shut down within hours of this posting.
House Speaker Mike Johnson spent months negotiating with Democrats for a Continuing Resolution (“CR”) bill that could get the 2/3 majority required to pass the House of Representatives to keep the federal government operating past midnight tonight—including the ability to pay wages to federal workers and the members of our armed forces.
And then Memlon Fuchs decided he wanted to make the story about himself. He posted to his millions of online followers that anyone who voted for this “outrageous spending bill” should be primaried or voted out in two years time.
Following Fuchs’ lead, TFP turned against the bill, followed by JD Vance. Enough Republicans folded that the CR did not pass.
Talking Points Memo’s Josh Marshall reflected on this as the moment that showed TFP is no longer in charge. “Trump has sewn himself into a sack with Elon Musk, a few billion dollars, a cat and a snake, and had the sack tossed into the Tiber.”
It’s an evocative metaphor.
The Republicans quickly scrambled to excise parts of the bill, including a 190 million dollar investment in pediatric cancer research.
But TFP and Mike Johnson couldn’t get this new bill passed last night. 38 Republicans defected and all but 2 Democrats, so the votes didn’t even get to 50% (again, the CR needs 2/3 to pass).
Memlon told his online followers that this defeat was the fault of Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
Look, most Americans aren’t paying attention to the mess that Memlon created this week.
But they didn’t vote for it, and they don’t particularly want it.
Many of those who voted for TFP likely weren’t paying attention.
Americans do not like, and are not supportive of TFP’s actual policy priorities. They were perhaps in favor of his imaginary policies, like the idea that he was going to bring down the price of groceries (something he has since admitted he doesn’t know how to do, and doesn’t seem interested in trying). They were perhaps imagining that his “concepts of a plan” for health care might include making it more affordable or less immiserating.
We can simultaneously recognize that TFP may be the most dangerous criminal ever elected to the office, and that he is not magically immune from the forces of political gravity.
We do not yet know what might be possible in terms of TFP’s agenda or Memlon’s chaos being stopped or slowed due to their unpopularity. But a month ago the people of South Korea and Syria didn’t know what was possible either.
On the Starbucks and Amazon strikes
Workers in some cities are walking out on strike this week in attempts to bring Starbucks and Amazon to the negotiating table.
There aren’t currently calls by unions to boycott Starbucks or Amazon nationwide, despite what some enthusiastic online posters might declare.
Starbucks will never know that we didn’t stop for our regular latte today. To the extent that their data tracking notices, they will never know it had to do with the strike. The goal isn’t to put Starbucks out of business; it’s to get them to pay better wages.
We can continue to invest our dollars into local, smaller businesses, and we can respond when the unions themselves ask us to act.
All the @#$%ing things
Night 33: An editorial policy of sorts
Night 32: Requesting records when medical claims are denied
Night 31: Things I’ve learned about money laundering
Night 30: Turned to the words of Frederick Douglass
Night 29: Canceled my OpenAI subscription
Night 28: Donated money to three orgs
Night 27: Addressed a hazardous tile floor
Night 26: Picked up trash with the Trash Falcons
Night 25: Learned more about Pete Hegseth than I wanted to
Night 24: Canceled recurring subscriptions I no longer need
Night 23: Dwelt in gratitude
Night 22: Picked up pie from a favorite local business
Night 21: Downsized my clothes closet
Night 20: Increased my monthly contribution to the ACLU
Night 19: Deleted a blog from two decades ago
Night 18: Researched nonprofit board opportunities
Night 17: Contributed to Trans Lifeline
Night 16: Spent time together with loved ones
Night 15: Bought from a not-for-profit online store
Night 14: Refined an icon and wordmark
Night 13: Contributed to the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund
Night 12: Contributed to The Guardian
Night 11: Read, reflected, and rested
Night 10: Sent money to support vaccinations in Nigeria
Night 9: Sent money to a friend in need
Night 8: Gave gifts and spoke words of appreciation aloud
Night 7: Contributed to a California-focused nonprofit newsroom
Night 6: Made homemade donuts for my team
Night 5: Opted into a paid Buttondown tier
Night 4: Reviewed my local election results
Night 3: Deactivated my X account
Night 2: Contributed to my local nonprofit newsroom
Night 1: Started by starting
Words, sorts, thinks, and actions by Chris Ereneta, from Oakland, California. Thanks for reading! Consider forwarding this to a friend! Thoughtful feedback and questions are welcomed at that.often@gmail.com