Search Results

The concept, 'Think Globally, Act Locally,’ originated in 1915 from renowned urban planner Patrick Geddes. It still rings true today. What we do in our families, neighborhoods and towns impacts the world around us.  Even the smallest decisions regarding road design, housing, utilities, and waste management ripple outward.     That's why we, as Democrats, must stay involved with our local governments. To find out more about your town in  Palm Beach County, click  here . And one of the most important ways to get involved is to vote. The next Election Day for municipal elections is March 19, 2024, with early voting from March 9 to March 17.   Click here  for more details about the March elections, such as the hours the polls are open during early voting and on Election Day, the deadline for requesting a Vote-by-Mail ballot and the deadline to return your Vote-by-Mail ballot to the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections. If you are not yet registered to vote, get registered as a Democrat and vote blue to help us change the world for the better. But don’t dally. The deadline to register for the March 19 election is Feb. 20.   To make a difference, you also can attend public meetings, virtually or in person. Contact your council members about issues that affect you. Run for office to have an even greater impact on our collective future. Free Democratic Party training is available here from the National Democratic Training Committee .    "How wonderful it is that no one has to wait, but we can start right now to gradually change the world!"  -- Anne Frank

In the sunshine state, lower and middle-class families face an array of economic challenges under Governor Ron DeSantis and his legislature. Voters are quick to blame the President when they feel the squeeze. But do they understand how their own state leaders have passed legislation that harms them the most? Here's a concise overview of the issues: Public Education Attacks and Vouchers: DeSantis' support for school vouchers has been criticized for benefiting the wealthy at the expense of public education, hitting lower and middle-class families the hardest. Homeowners Insurance Costs and Consumer Protections: Florida's soaring homeowners insurance rates burden families, with DeSantis drawing criticism for his inaction and rollback of consumer protections. Rent and Housing Costs: Lower and middle-class families struggle with rising housing costs, aggravated by DeSantis' focus on building luxury housing over affordable options. Attack on Climate: DeSantis' policies are faulted for favoring big business over environmental concerns, disproportionately impacting lower and middle-class families vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Women’s Choice: DeSantis' stance on reproductive rights, including support for anti-abortion legislation, is seen as disproportionately affecting lower and middle-class women's access to healthcare options. Healthcare: DeSantis faces criticism for opposing Medicaid expansion, leaving many lower and middle-class Floridians without affordable healthcare options. Minimum Wage: The governor's resistance to raising the minimum wage exacerbates financial struggles for lower and middle-class workers stuck at $8.65 an hour. Unemployment Benefits: Florida's limited unemployment benefits, criticized as some of the country's least generous, place an additional burden on families during economic challenges. Environmental Protection: DeSantis' opposition to environmental regulations disproportionately affects lower and middle-class Floridians, who lack resources to shield themselves from environmental hazards. Criminal Justice Reform: Critics argue that DeSantis' lack of action on criminal justice reform perpetuates mass incarceration and racial disparities, disproportionately impacting lower and middle-class Floridians. These economic challenges, ranging from education to criminal justice, point to a broader narrative of economic strain felt by lower and middle-class Floridians under the leadership of Governor Ron DeSantis and his legislature. Conversely, the Biden Administration has worked tirelessly to lift people out of poverty. President Biden has achieved several milestones in his first years in office that have helped the impoverished in the US. Here are some of them: The American Rescue Plan : This $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package was passed in March 2021 and has been instrumental in providing direct payments of up to $1,400 to many struggling US citizens, temporarily extending unemployment support by $300 per week, channeling approximately $20 billion into the COVID vaccination program, as well as providing $25 billion in rental support and a further $350 billion into state, tribal, and local relief efforts. The legislation was also designed to tackle child poverty and nutritional issues across the country. The bill invested almost $30 billion in restaurants and hospitality and raised the maximum Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program support by 15 percent . The Inflation Reduction Act : This act capped prescription drug prices at $2,000 per year for seniors on Medicare, which has helped many elderly Americans who are struggling to make ends meet . The $1.2 Trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Package : This package drastically increased investment in the national network of bridges and roads, airports, public transport, national broadband internet, as well as waterways and energy systems. The bipartisan bill was passed by the House in November 2021 by 228 votes to 206, with 13 Republicans breaking ranks to join the Democrats in support of the bill . The Biden-Harris Administration’s Equity and Opportunity Initiative : This initiative recognizes that the Federal government spends more than $650 billion each year on purchasing goods and services. President Biden has directed agencies to use federal purchasing power to grow federal contracting with small disadvantaged businesses, including Black-owned businesses, by 50%, translating to an additional $100 billion over five years, and helping more Americans realize their entrepreneurial dreams . Record Firsts in President Biden’s First Year : Experts estimate the lowest child poverty rate ever in 2021. Nearly 5 million Americans have newly gained health insurance coverage. The number of households reporting that they sometimes or often did not have enough food to eat dropped by 32% . Floridians may not feel any of this relief that many experience in other parts of the country have because OUR GOVERNOR , has engaged in culture war attacks to obscure his legislative agenda. It's time to give Democrats the opportunity to lead in Tallahassee and correct the course for average Floridians. Join us in setting the record straight. Let's do the work to Flip the State House and Senate! Sources: time.com, cnn.com, usatoday.com, abcnews.go.com, detroitnews.com , whitehouse.gov , upworthy.com , newsweek.com , theweek.com .

The Affordable Care Act has delivered: Insurance for more than 40 million Americans Lower healthcare costs for families A requirement for insurers to cover Americans with preexisting conditions The option for young people under 26 to stay on their parents’ insurance plan An end to lifetime caps on essential care a person can receive Healthcare cost equity for women, so that women don’t have to pay more for coverage simply because of their gender If you are feeling better these days, it's because you are better. Your protections guaranteed by the Affordable Care Act are impacting your life in good ways. Medicare has been expanded in many states. Florida is not one of those states, yet, due to choices made by our current state government, but that will change when you elect Florida legislators who vow to expand Medicare coverage for you. Visit the ACA website today to make sure you are enrolled in the best plan for your family. And consider supporting Democratic candidates for Florida State Legislature who will vote to expand healthcare for people like you. Announced candidates so far are Rachelle Litt SHD 94 , Tae Edmonds SHD 88, Debra Tendrich SHD 89 , and Mack Bernard for Senate . Call your candidates now to tell them why this is important to you, because their opponents are promising to repeal the ACA, and your benefits. The action you take today will make us all feel better tomorrow.

By Paul Blythe We at the North County Democratic Club call it Pancakes and Politics but, as one guest said, this year’s version was more of a pep rally with elegance. Elegance and grit, as it turns out. And we mean grit, not grits. For the Sunday brunch attended by more than 200 Democratic faithful at the North Palm Beach Country Club, we scrambled together a speaker lineup as diverse and delicious as the bagel, omelet, sausage and pancake breakfast served by the Farmer’s Table restaurant. So, what do you get when you mix a Yale University student who five years ago survived the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, a Florida high school history teacher who has become the poster nemesis of Moms for Liberty, a candidate who we believe can and will knock out Republican Rick Scott as Florida’s junior U.S. senator, and a party official who worked on issues of mental health, loneliness and isolation for the U.S. Surgeon General in the Biden-Harris administration before he became Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried’s executive director? How about a production that we, or at least I, never expected. Four independent speeches with a surprisingly uniform theme: Courage. The courage of conviction, participatory democracy and meeting people where they are. SARI KAUFMAN Sari Kaufman, the first speaker of this year's fundraiser, was a sophomore at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland in 2018 when the alarm went off in February 2018, confusing the students because they had already had a shooting drill that day. Their debate teacher ordered them out of the room and didn’t tell them this was not a drill until they were outside the school. “I ran for my life and found safety at a local restaurant next to the school, where I watched the unthinkable news story develop,” Kaufman said. “First they reported five dead, then 10 and then 17.” In the ensuing weeks, she attended funerals for her classmates. “I did not feel like a 15-year-old anymore.” Since then, she has become an anti-gun-violence activist, organizing March for Our Lives in Parkland and running the Students Demand Action Club at Yale. And she has learned a few things about politics along the way. “After the shootings, my classmates and I went up to Tallahassee and showed the country that when young people come together and speak up, we can get red-flag laws passed in Republican state legislatures,” she said. “However, as you have seen, Republicans now want to repeal the progress we made. Therefore, the only way to ensure that we have major life-saving legislation is by turning out more people to vote and electing more Democrats. The Democrats are the clear champions for gun-violence prevention. Biden has been leading the way for reducing gun-violence. The Democrats were able to pass the first major piece of gun violence prevention legislation in three decades this past year called the Bipartisan Save Our Communities Act, which for the first time in more than a decade is leading to lower gun violence deaths. Now recently Biden just established the Office of Gun Violence Prevention at the White House.” “This project is amazing,” she continued to resounding applause. “But it could be temporary if we do not continue to elect Democrats. While people will write off Florida and say it was lost to Republicans, I, especially as a young person, am not willing to believe that. It needs each of us to stand up and organize, to volunteer and speak out in support of Democrats. The difference between Democrats and Republicans could not be clearer in Florida. Republicans now allow someone with no training to carry a gun around in public. Republicans propose to arm our teachers with guns in schools and Republicans want to repeal red-flag laws. But we in this room can be the difference. The ones to go out there and fight to save lives.” She stands by what she quickly learned at age 15 after the mass shooting at her Broward County high school – “that to achieve our ideal action, we needed to flip Florida and the country blue.” And the best way to do that, she said, “is to meet people where they are.” BRANDT ROBINSON Our master of ceremonies, Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg, introduced our second speaker as being “on the front lines of the fight for academic freedom.” But Brandt Robinson says, “I’m really not doing anything other than teaching history. That’s all I’ve ever done. I’m not some radical Marxist or socialist. I deeply love and care for my students. On the first day of the year, I’m very proud to tell my students …My job is not to tell you what to think. My job is to teach you to be a better thinker.” Robinson is in his 27th year as a history teacher at Dunedin High School, the school that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis graduated from a year before Robinson started teaching there. And he has other more recent, indirect links to Florida’s authoritarian governor – as an opponent to DeSantis’ and the Legislature’s extremist education laws – the Parental Rights in Education Act, the Don’t Say Gay law and the Stop Woke Act among others. This opposition comes in various venues: his popular TikTok videos promoting the teaching of American history in its entirety, his part as a plaintiff in a lawsuit opposing onerous restrictions on teachers’ unions and his practice with his wife, Carol, of speaking against Moms for Liberty whenever members of the book-banning group appear at school board meetings. Robinson had his first run-in with Moms for Liberty in 2020 when he realized that a woman who filed a challenge against the text book he was using in his African American history class had the same last name as a male student who had dropped out of the class just three days after the start of the semester. He said it became “pretty certain” to him that the student took the class only so his mother could get a copy of the course outline and syllabus, which she used in her challenge. He said “what she did was well within her rights,” but her challenge was unanimously rejected. He learned that she was a member of an organization that had just formed a few months earlier in Florida – Moms for Liberty. “Their playbook involves intimidation, and she continued that by filing a formal records request. So I had to submit all the materials I used in class, all the video links. All the handouts. Nothing came of that as well. But then in January of 2022, our education reporter for the Tampa Bay Times … did a big story on everything that had been taking place in my classroom. And I don’t say this to joke, but if you Google my name, Brandt Robinson, and Marxist, the article will come up” because the parent alleged Robinson was trying to indoctrinate students with Marxist and socialist ideas. “As 2022 unfolded, the governor began his re-election campaign and … began his regular refrain of accusing teachers like me of engaging in indoctrination and grooming and later he would add sexualizing our students,” he said. “Carol and I realized we had to start going to school board meetings because Moms for Liberty were there and we had to be the kindest … but most fierce and credible people in the room.” They and like-minded teachers across the nation have continued to that for the last year and a half. “And we’ve seen the result of that last Tuesday. If you’re unaware … the Moms for Liberty candidates lost 80 percent of all the races they ran in. They lost 90 percent of the suburban districts they ran in.” Robinson says the assault on teachers by Republicans has been going on since Jeb Bush was governor, and he put the blame, at least in part, on older voters like himself. “We would not be here, if those who are old like us …had all been doing our parts to get involved in participatory democracy,” he said. “Just think about that. Voting is fundamental and we understand the assault on voting rights of the last three years, but we’ve been here before. If we had been involved in participatory democracy, which is what this is. This (Pancakes and Politics breakfast) is participatory democracy. This, as Sari says, this is about meeting people where they are.” Meeting people where they are. Participatory democracy. Speaking out at school board meetings. Refusing to be intimidated. Having the courage of your convictions. DEBBIE MUCARSEL-POWELL Aronberg introduced the third speaker of our event as “one of the best chances Democrats have in the entire country to swing a Senate seat from red to blue.” Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, a former Congresswoman from Miami-Dade County, introduced herself as DMP, “your U.S. Senate candidate to defeat Rick Scott,” an immigrant and a Latina whose journey began 35 years ago when her mother “had the courage to leave everything behind in my home country of Ecuador and decided to bring me and my sisters to a country where she knew she was going to be able to afford opportunities that we would never be able to have” in Ecuador. She is running, she said, because she sees so many people struggling in Florida – from the cost of home owners insurance here, to the lack of affordable housing, to the unavailability of health insurance for the poor. to housing, from health care, prices are out of control, affecting everyone of us, including businesses. But also because “none of us can afford to let them (Republicans) continue to get away with attacking our freedoms. “I know that we are all very, very frustrated, worried, because our democracy is going through an existential threat. But we also know what happens when we allow self-serving politicians like Rick Scott -- who lacks the courage to stand up for our community – what happens to our country when we do nothing. I know Florida. I know who we are. We are an independent state that doesn’t allow anyone to tell us what to do. We know what hard work is ahead…And we know what courage looks like.” And she laid out a half dozen reasons why she believes Scott, who has won two Florida gubernatorial races and one U.S. Senate race, will lose to her. “Rick Scott has never run in a presidential election year,” she said. “He has never won by more than a percentage point. He has never run against the millions of women who are going to be marching to the ballot box this year … He has never run against a Latina like myself that knows exactly how to communicate with my community. Has never run against the millions of Floridians who will have the courage to say no mas , no more. “And this fight is not going to be easy, but I have done this before. I was able to flip a seat red to blue against a very popular-at-the-time, two-term incumbent (Carlos Curbelo in 2018). And Rick Scott is one of the most vulnerable senators that we have in this country. We have polling that shows I’m going to be able to beat Rick Scott, but I’m going to need every single one of you … to join my campaign … And I’m going to ask you, please contribute to my campaign. This man contributed $64 million of his own money to his campaign.” Why would someone spend that much for a position that pays $174,000 a year? Because, she said, Scott has since become the richest member of the Senate. But the first thing Mucarsel-Powell said Sunday was, “The first thing I want to say today is Sari Kaufman makes me proud to be a Floridian. Brandt Robinson makes me proud to be a Floridian.” PHILLIP JEREZ The final guest speaker at Pancakes and Politics didn’t say it, but he did make clear exactly who makes him proud when he started his speech by asking veterans in the room to stand for applause. Then Phillip Jerez, the Florida Democratic Party’s Executive Director, announced, “What a great day it is to be a Florida Democrat.” He introduced himself as a son of Dominican immigrants living in the Bronx and said he had worked in Florida politics for a decade, but the most critical thing to know about him was his work on the issues of mental health, loneliness and isolation for the U.S. Surgeon General. “When we talk about convincing people to vote, we have to remember that for so many of us, getting through our days is sometimes simply an act of survival. “I will tell you all what I always tell our (Florida Democratic) team: “It takes a great deal of courage to get up and do the work that we do. It takes courage to stand up for others. It takes courage to be kind. It takes courage to collectively reach out behind ourselves and do the right thing. And it takes courage to dust ourselves off and pledge to fight. Because the courage is what gives people the will to keep going in the face of seemingly insurmountable adversity. Courage is what the North County Democrats have. “After the 2022 election, this group decided that instead of packing it in, you got up and got organized, because this is a group that knows Florida is worth fighting for. This group knows that in order to take back Florida, we have to get back to the basics, and that starts with getting out of the super minority in the Legislature, getting abortion not only on the ballot but getting passed into law. Listen you all, there are only six seats we need to flip the Legislature to get out of the super minority. And it fills my heart with joy to know that this club, the North County Democrats, have already collected over 1,500 petitions to get abortion on the ballot.” He then enthused about all the Democratic victories on Election Day this past Tuesday. “In Kentucky, New Jersey, Virginia, Pennsylvania and even in Ohio, you all.” “And after Tuesday’s Democratic wins, I don’t know if you all saw but we had our DNC chair, Jaime Harrison, and the Biden Harris campaign manager, Julie Chavez Rodriguez, in South Florida,” he said. “Right after Tuesday’s big wins, they were here. That’s important. After Tuesday’s big wins, they could have gone anywhere in the country and they chose to come to Florida … to remind everyone that Florida is in play and that’s in part because of the large work we’ve done to rebuild the Florida Democratic Party under Chair Nikki Fried’s leadership. “Over the past nine months, your Florida Democratic Party has been hard at work to position Democratic candidates for every seat and in every corner of the state. We are focusing on year-round organizing and bringing in new voters and aggressive communications and fundraising strategies and supporting important candidates and ballot initiatives that will be on the 2024 ballot.” “Democrats,” he said, “we can and will do this….This is a state that only 10 years ago, reelected President Barack Obama. This is a state that only seven years ago voted for medicial marijuana. This is a state that only five years ago voted to return rights to returning citizens. This is a state that only three years ago voted to pass a $15 minimum wage. And this is a state that next November not only will we get reproductive rights on the ballot but we are going to codify it into law.” SHOUT OUTS TO ATTENDEES ELECTED OFFICIALS U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel Florida Sen. Bobby Powell Palm Beach County Mayor Gregg Weiss Port of Palm Beach Commissioner Carissa Lall Dass Port of Palm Beach Commissioner Deandre Poole Florida Democratic Party Committee Woman Dr. Maria Cole PBC Democratic Executive Committee Vice Chair Sean Rourke PBC Democratic Executive Committee Secretary Marvelous Washington CANDIDATES For U.S. Senate: Deborah Mucarsel-Powell, former U.S. Representative from Miami-Dade County For Palm Beach County State Attorney: Alexcia Cox, Gregg Lerman and Craig Williams For Palm Beach County Public Defender: Daniel Eisinger For Palm Beach County Sheriff: Alex Freeman For Florida House, District 89 (north and west Palm Beach County): Rachelle Litt, former Palm Beach Gardens mayor and commissioner For Florida House, District 94: Debra Tendrich For Delray Beach City Council: Tennille DeCoste DEMOCRATIC CAUCUSES, CLUBS and ALLIES Veterans Caucus Black Caucus Hispanic Caucus Caribbean American Caucus Disability Caucus Senior Caucus Democratic Women’s Club Diversity Equity and Inclusion Committee Common Purpose Blue Wave Coalition Speaking Up for America OTHER NOTABLE GUESTS Ann Brown, former U.S. Consumer and Product Safety Commissioner with the Clinton administration Terrie Rizzo, former Florida Democratic Party Chair Former Palm Beach Gardens Mayors Eric Jablin and Mark Marciano *** Cover photo by Paul Blythe. Speaker photos by Gregg Lerman.

What have Democrats done for you lately? If you live or work in West Palm Beach, here are projects benefiting you that are being paid for by federal legislation pushed by President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris and passed by Democrats in Congress: Fixing flooding problems in the Roosevelt Estates neighborhood and building or repairing sidewalks, crosswalks, streetlights and bike lanes. Paid for by an $8.1 million transportation grant to West Palm Beach in July that came from the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill Biden signed into law in November 2021. Bonuses of as much as $3,800 and $500 COVID vaccine incentives for city employees, paid for by $24.5 million the city received from the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan , which Biden signed into law in March of 2021. Replacement of the city government’s vehicle fleet, which also was paid for by the $24.5 million in rescue plan money . Republicans in Congress opposed both these aid packages. Despite Florida's long list of infrastructure problems — the state had 408 bridges and 3,564 miles of highway in poor condition, according to a federal analysis — no Republican from Florida voted in favor of the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill when it reached the floor of the U.S. House and Senate. But that has not stopped some Republicans, such as Sens. Rick Scott of Florida and Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, from claiming credit for the projects the law will pay for. So as Republican incompetence and infighting has brought governance in the U.S. House to a standstill at a time when we most need leadership, remind yourself, your family members, your friends and your neighbors which of the nation’s two major political parties not only is committed to achieving progress for the American people but is actually doing it. The Democrats. *** Click here to read more about these West Palm Beach programs in The Palm Beach Post.

By Paul Blythe The Palm Beach County Democratic Party called in a “superstar” and “an American hero” Saturday night, Oct. 7, to rally our base for what party leaders said will be a challenging and consequential 2024 election year -- from the February municipal elections to the November general election that will pick the president. U.S. Rep. Maxwell Alejandro Frost, the “superstar,” and former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, the “American Hero,” both gave inspiring speeches – although in far different ways -- to a packed ballroom of Democratic Party volunteers, organizers and elected officials at the county Democratic Party’s 19th annual Truman Kennedy Johnson Gala at the West Palm Marriott. State Attorney Dave Aronberg, the master of ceremonies for the night, introduced Frost, the youngest member of Congress and the first member of Gen Z to be elected to the chamber, as the party “superstar.” Giffords, the former congresswoman from Arizona who has become a leader in the fight to end gun violence since she was shot in the head in 2011 by a gunman who killed six people and injured 12 others, was described as “an American hero” by County Democratic Chair Mindy Koch. The county Democrats sought the nationally known figures for their big annual fundraiser in the beliefs that 2024 is crucial not only for Democrats but for democracy in Florida and the United States, and that Palm Beach County is key to the national and state fights. The party wants to raise money for the campaigns ahead and to inspire and motivate its local candidates, volunteers and voters. Palm Beach County is Ground Zero “Let us understand that Palm Beach County is Ground Zero for the entire state, and that the work that we do here today has to save our entire country,” said U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, whose District 20 includes parts of Broward and Palm Beach counties. “So I always prioritize Palm Beach County not because I love Broward County any less, but because I come to Ground Zero. And I make sure we pour everything into Ground Zero, and I make sure you have everything you need in Ground Zero because we will win Ground Zero, we will win the state of Florida, and we will so win the United States of America. So I thank you once again for being here, as we deal with chaos in D.C., and we see that the Republicans don’t know how to rule or even govern – neither in the state nor in the House of Representatives. Let us understand that we cannot allow these extremists, these MAGA extremists, to define who we are in this country. We are not extremists. We are not anti-anyone. We collectively work together. So I thank you so much again, Palm Beach County Democratic Party, for bringing us all together.” Cherfilus-McCormick was one of dozens of elected Democrats among the event’s approximately 300 attendees. They ranged from municipal and special district officials such as Greenacres Mayor Joel Flores and Port of Palm Beach commissioners Dr. Jean Enright and Dr. Deandre Poole; to most of the county constitutional officers such as Sheriff Ric Bradshaw, Public Defender Carey Haughwout and Tax Collector Anne Gannon; to state legislators such as Sen. Bobby Powell and Rep. Jervonte “Tae” Edmonds, whose districts both include much of north Palm Beach County; to members of Congress, such as Cherfilus-McCormick and Rep. Lois Frankel, of West Palm Beach. Give 'em Hell Frost Frost, the gala’s “special guest speaker,” spoke before Giffords and started off hot to give Republicans hell in the way Democrats were hoping for – just like “Give ‘em Hell Harry” used to do. “In case you haven’t been paying attention, no one is really holding the gavel in Congress right now, and it’s a problem that Republican leadership brought on themselves,” Frost said. “But tonight isn’t about the politics of the disfunction going on in Congress. Tonight is about the fight for our rights. Tonight is about the fight for our communities, our families, our planet, our democracy. It’s about how Florida Democrats are going to kick out these far-right fascists from power and put in Democrats who are going to fight for our most marginalized communities.” Like Giffords, Frost is known for his activism in the anti-gun-violence movement, and he recounted how that led to him being elected to Congress in 2022 at the age of 25. He spoke of being a 15-year-old drummer in an Orlando-area arts high school jazz band in 2012 and, just before a school concert, having dinner with other bandmembers at a restaurant where they watched a breaking news report about the massacre of 20 children and six teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary. “This had a profound impact on me,” he said. “I wound up going back to the concert that night. I couldn’t play right. I kept dragging, I kept missing hits, I was rushing because I kept looking behind me at the Exit signs, scared that somebody would come into that theater and kill my friends, my family, myself. But that anxiety is something that we all, and especially young people, live with right now on a day-to-day basis. Gen Z is known for many things but we’re also the mass shooting generation, a generation that has the fear of gun violence -- in our schools, in our communities, in our blocks and even in our own homes.” Call to Action Not long after that, he said he went to Washington, D.C. a memorial for those who died at Sandy Hook, “and that is when I had my call to action. A call to action is an event or a series of events that lead you to make a commitment.” At a hotel where many relatives of the victims stayed, he met and spoke with Matthew Soto. “Matthew’s sister (Victoria Leigh Soto) was a teacher at Sandy Hook, and when she heard the gunshots, she hid her entire class in the cabinets and the closet and saved their lives. And she was killed,” Frost said. “Sitting across from Matthew -- he was about a year older than me -- and seeing a 16-year-old with the demeanor of a 60-year-old crying over his sister who was murdered for going to class changed my life forever. I ran straight to my hotel room. I called my mother. I was in tears. My mother just retired after being a public-school educator of 37 years. And I called my mom and I said, ‘Mom, for the rest of my life I want to fight for a world where no one has to feel the pain that I just saw in students today.’ And so from thereon out, I got involved in the fight to end gun violence.” Nearly a decade into anti-gun-violence activism, he joined a non-violent march in Orlando in defense of black lives in 2020. “And on the streets of Orlando,” he said, “I was maced, I was tear gassed, I was arrested and I was in jail on the same streets that I now represent in the United States Congress.” About that time, friends encouraged him to run for the U.S. House. He declined, but it planted the seed in his mind, and two years later, when U.S. Rep. Val Demings, D-Orlando, ran for the U.S. Senate against incumbent Marco Rubio, Frost ran for her open House seat. At first celebrated for his youth and the hope that he could draw his generation to the Democratic Party – “We are a party that should be proud that last year over 70 percent of Generation Z voted for Democrats” – Frost has doubly won over Democrats for his willingness and ability to take the fight to Republicans, castigating them head-on on the House floor and at events like the TKJ Gala. “I think we all understand at this point that we live in a dangerous time,” he told the West Palm crowd to a standing ovation. “We have a far-rightwing movement, an extreme movement fueled by hatred, homophobia, antisemitism, bigotry, white supremacy, transphobia and racism rapidly growing all across the state of Florida. And it is of no surprise to people, because these people feel empowered, not just by folks on Twitter or Newsmax or FOX News but by our government here in the state of Florida. “Our state is run by a governor who is abusing his power to target marginalized communities. He is too obsessed and too interested in running a failed campaign for president… He is more interested in running for president than running our state. He has no answers to the issues we actually care about: ensuring that we have more affordable housing, fixing this insurance crisis, ending gun violence, combatting the climate crisis. He doesn’t have the answers, so his decision here is to scapegoat marginalized communities. To feed into the hate to excuse his failures for our people. “And we know what’s going on: book banning, working to erase queer kids, targeting public education, dehumanizing immigrants, erasing and changing black history, removing elected officials from office. The list goes on. And our opposition here isn’t just to a conservative leader that we disagree with. Isn’t just about the policies. It’s about the way he’s doing it. “And I want to be very clear. As someone who goes to Washington D.C. to work, and we compromise and work with people we disagree with there, democracy is NOT something we can agree to disagree on.” Short and Powerful Then, there was Gabby Giffords, the keynote speaker. In his last introduction of the night, Aronberg said, “She came a long way for us, former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, founder of ‘Giffords: Courage to Fight Gun Violence.’ Understand what it’s like to face overwhelming barriers. She understands what it takes to get past them. From a crappy Arizona childhood to her bridge-building politics and her remarkable recovery from traumatic injuries, Gabby personifies courage. Today she leads Giffords, the gun violence prevention organization she cofounded. Giffords is a non-profit organization that shifts culture, changes policies and challenges injustice, inspiring Americans across the country to fight gun violence. “As she leads Giffords, Gabby continues to make remarkable progress in her recovery. She helped raise awareness about aphasia, the language impairment she has suffered since her shooting. She enjoys spending her free time playing the French horn, biking, practicing yoga and learning Spanish.…That kind of resiliency, perseverance and courage is one that resonates around the world. It has helped her overcome tragedy, work tirelessly to recover when the odds were stacked against her and become the nation’s most renowned leader in the fight to end gun violence.” After waiting for a long standing ovation to die down, Giffords steps to the microphone and starts, abruptly: “I have known the darkness of days. Days of pain and uncertain recovery. Left despondent by (unclear) … confronted by paralysis and aphasia (unclear) … I put one foot in front of the other. I found one word, then another. My recovery (unclear) make me stronger. Words once came (unclear) … today, but I have not lost my voice (unclear) ... word OUT even when you have to fight to find the word. (Long applause.) I also learned I can fight. Fight will stop the gun violence (unclear)… continuing lies. We are at a crossroads. We can achieve (unclear) … We can protect our families, our future. We can vote. We can be on the right of history. (She slows to enunciate the next six words very distinctly.) Please join us in this fight. Thank you very much.” And she ends as abruptly as she started. She has spoken for less than a minute and a half, and she often was hard to understand. But when she is done, she receives the longest, loudest standing ovation of the night – because we all understood it required something exceptional from within just for her to be there, for her to speak. Giffords resonates. She inspires. Just in a different way from Frost. 'We Must be United' But most importantly, far earlier in the show, Chair Mindy Koch reminded her party: For Democrats to win, the work must be done. “Here’s what I absolutely do know,” she said in her welcome to the dinner. “The demographics are changing in Palm Beach County, and we must be united to elect Democrats. We must be united to elect Democrats. We must make those calls, walk those neighborhoods, register voters -- so that we can elect them. Oh wait, one more thing. We have to have a Democrat running in every election. So, if you were thinking about it, qualifying for the municipals is in November. So you know there’s still time.” Then, after introducing her election coordinators, Koch says, “When they call to ask for your help, I hope your answer will be a resounding, ‘Absolutely. Sign me up.’” *** The North County Democratic Club of Palm Beach County also will soon be holding its annual fundraiser to celebrate our party and help enable us to continue our important work. To learn more about the NCDC's Pancakes & Politics and to reserve your spot now, please visit Pancakes and Politics | NCDC (northcountydemocraticclubpbc.com) ***

By Paul Blythe Another excellent speech by President Joe Biden on Tuesday. Another speech worth sharing. Backed by Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, he rightly calls the Hamas attacks on Israeli civilians "atrocities." But he doesn't bluster, metaphorically beat his chest or make threats. Instead, speaking with a mixture of sadness and quiet anger, he presents a stern, presidential resolve to help Israel defend itself by retaliating against Hamas. We like that Biden keeps his focus on Hamas, not on the Palestinian people. As he points out: "Hamas does not stand for the Palestinian people’s right to dignity and self-determination. Its stated purpose is the annihilation of the State of Israel and the murder of Jewish people. "They use Palestinian civilians as human shields." We like that he reminds us and Israel that, even in retaliation for atrocities such as these, we must act differently from Hamas. We must punish Hamas but without inflicting atrocities on innocent Palestinian civilians: "I just got off the phone with — the third call with Prime Minister Netanyahu. And I told him if the United States experienced what Israel is experiencing, our response would be swift, decisive, and overwhelming. "We also discussed how democracies like Israel and the United States are stronger and more secure when we act according to the rule of law. "Terrorists ... purposefully target civilians, kill them. We uphold the laws of war — the law of war. It matters. There’s a difference." We like that he itemizes for Americans what actions he has directed the United States to take in assisting Israel, and that it appears he has hit all the bases that are discernable for now -- In the Mideast: "We’re surging additional military assistance, including ammunition and interceptors to replenish Iron Dome. "We’re going to make sure that Israel does not run out of these critical assets to defend its cities and its citizens.... "I’ve directed my team to share intelligence and deploy additional experts from across the United States government to consult with and advise the Israeli counterparts on hostage recovery efforts, because as president I have no higher priority than the safety of Americans being held hostage around the world.... "The United States has also enhanced our military force posture in the region to strengthen our deterrence. "The Department of Defense has moved the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group to the Eastern Mediterranean and bolstered our fighter aircraft presence. And we stand ready to move in additional assets as needed. With our allies: "Yesterday, I also spoke with the leaders of France, Germany, Italy, and the UK to discuss the latest developments with our European allies and coordinate our united response." And at home: "My administration has consulted closely with Congress throughout this crisis. And when Congress returns, we’re going to ask them to take urgent action to fund the national security requirements of our critical partners.... "... In cities across the United States of America, police departments have stepped up security around centers for — of Jewish life. "And the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are working closely with state and local law enforcement and Jewish community partners to identify and disrupt any domestic threat that could emerge in connection with these horrific attacks. "This is a moment for the United States to come together, to grieve with those who are mourning. "Let’s be real clear: There is no place for hate in America — not against Jews, not against Muslims, not against anybody. We reject — we reject — what we reject is terrorism. We condemn the indiscriminate evil, just as we’ve always done." We like that he warns Iran, Hezbollah (and even Russia and China) without having to name them: "Let me say again — to any country, any organization, anyone thinking of taking advantage of this situation, I have one word: Don’t." Finally, we like that he addresses this issue with a clear understanding of the history involved. Not only the kind of history that every American should know from textbooks: "This is terrorism. "But sadly, for the Jewish people, it’s not new. "This attack has brought to the surface painful memories and the scars left by a millennia of antisemitism and genocide of the Jewish people." But also personal history that he has learned during his many years of government and international experience: " You know, just over 50 years ago ... as a young senator, I visited Israel for the first time, as a newly elected senator. "And I had a long, long trip — before meeting with Golda Meir in her office just before the Yom Kippur War. And I guess she could see the consternation on my face as she described what was being faced — they were facing. "We walked outside in that — that sort of hallway outside her office to have some photos. She looked at me and w- — all of a sudden and said, “Would you like to have a photograph?” And so, I got up and followed her out. "We were standing there silent, looking at the press. She could tell, I guess, I was concerned. She leaned over and whispered to me. She said, 'Don’t worry, Senator Biden. We have a secret weapon here in Israel' — my word, this is what she said — 'We have no place else to go.' We have no place else to go.” "For 75 years, Israel has stood as the ultimate guarantor of security of Jewish people around the world so that the atrocities of the past could never happen again. "And let there be no doubt: The United States has Israel’s back." *** These excerpts were taken from "Remarks from President Biden on the Terrorist Attacks in Israel," Oct. 10, 2023, whitehouse.gov. Click here to read the entire speech . *** To read Biden's Sept. 29 farewell tribute to Gen. Mark Milley as chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, see "How a real president behaves: Biden’s other excellent speech as Trump, Republicans unravel." *** To read Biden’s Sept. 28 speech announcing the building of a library in Sen. John McCain’s name at Arizona State University and warning about the danger of the MAGA movement., see “President Biden speaks on the danger of MAGA extremism.” *** For more on the dangers of right-wing extremism, see "McCarthy ouster, candidates' debate expose 1 truth: GOP incapable of governing"

By Paul Blythe If you need an example of the disparity between Republicans and Democrats in their capabilities to govern in a democracy, the political events of the past week or so, especially today, should leave no doubt in your mind: The Republican Party is incapable of governing the U.S. House of Representatives, much less the United States. But rather than being accused of making a knee-jerk judgment based only on today's historic 216-210 vote to remove Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House, let's look at other political and governmental actions of both parties since Sept. 22 for a concise but revealing picture of the relative worth of the two parties. First, the Republicans’ Week that Was Late Friday night, Sept. 22: Donald Trump, a former president of the United States and the leading candidate to again become the Republican nominee for the job, posts a comment on his social-media network, Truth Social, that insinuates America’s top general deserved to be put to death. Trump wrote that a phone call his Chairman of the Armed Forces Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark Milley, made to reassure China in the aftermath of the storming of the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, was “an act so egregious that, in times gone by, the punishment would have been DEATH.” But The Atlantic , one of the first publications to report Trump’s post , noted that the phone call, in fact, had been explicitly authorized by Trump-administration officials. Milley is expected to be a witness against Trump at his trial for allegedly defrauding the United State by trying to illegally remain in power after losing the 2020 election, and The Atlantic and other publications have described Trump’s comment as a threat meant to intimidate. “Trump’s rhetoric is dangerous, not just because it is the exact sort that incites violence against public officials but also because it shows just how numb the country has grown toward threats more typical of broken, authoritarian regimes,” The Atlantic article said. Monday, Sept. 25: During a campaign trip in South Carolina, Trump – who faces felony indictment in four different jurisdictions – handles and admires a Glock pistol in a Summerville gun shop, raising legal questions about whether he violated his bail bond conditions or a federal law barring indicted defendants from shipping or receiving weapons that have crossed state lines. Trump’s campaign initially posted he had bought the gun, which carried a likeness of him, but has since retracted the post. It’s unclear whether Trump violated the law in handling the crime, but he has not been charged with any type of weapons crime. Tuesday, Sept. 26: New York Judge Arthur Engoren finds Trump and executives from his real estate company routinely and repeatedly deceived banks , insurers and others by massively overvaluing assets and exaggerating his net worth on paperwork. Engoren sets the trial to determine what damages Trump must pay for Monday, Oct. 2. Wednesday, Sept. 27: Rather than attend the Republican presidential debate scheduled on this day, Trump takes his presidential campaign to Michigan , where the United Auto Workers strike against the "Big Three" automakers is in high gear, but instead of meeting with union leaders or members, Trump speaks at Drake Enterprises, a non-union automotive parts company, in an effort to appeal to pro-worker, anti-union, blue-collar midwestern voters. This method of deceptive campaigning and disingenuous support for workers or whomever he is making his false promises to is the essence of the governing style of Trump. Wednesday night, Sept. 27: The second Republican presidential debate, held at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California, often appears more of a waste of time for Republican viewers than it is for Democrats – because few of the questions, or answers, illicit the type of information that might cause viewers to choose one of the seven candidates on the stage instead of the frontrunner, Trump. Frequently, the debate just devolves into a shouting match among Me First (aka America First) candidates. Besides whining that Trump is refusing to appear at the debates, these weak-hearted Republicans don’t do what most competitive politicians do in most debates -- i.e. they don’t attack the frontrunner. They don’tpoint to Trump’s many problems or weaknesses or how they might be a better nominee than him, although former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (first Christie, then DeSantis) did criticize Trump for adding $7.8 trillion to the debt and helping to set the stage for the inflation we have now. But, despite a question about how to deal with violence and crime in the U.S., no candidate or moderator makes a connection or comparison to Trump’s implicit call for violence against Milley, Trump’s four criminal indictments, his possible violation of a federal gun law because of handling a handgun while under indictment, or the fact that this week he will be going to trial in New York to determine how big a fine he must pay for defrauding banks, insurers and the state of New York for years about the value of his businesses. In many ways, the debate is more instructive for undecided viewers on the fence or those looking for reasons not to vote for Republicans: Businessman Vivek Ramaswamy and South Carolina’s U.S. Sen. Tim Scott showing their disregard for the Constitution by saying they would eliminate what rightwing extremists like to call birthright citizenship. Ramaswamy mouthed Heritage Foundation propaganda with his claim that it is only a misunderstanding of the 14th Amendment that its phrase “ All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and the State wherein they reside” means what it clearly says: If you’re born in the U.S., you’re a U.S. citizen. If you’re wondering about what “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” means , the U.S. Supreme Court decided in 1898 in U.S. vs Wong Kim Ark that it meant everyone except children born to foreign diplomats in the U.S. on diplomatic business, children of an invading army that occupies U.S. territory such as happened in Guam during World War II, and members of Native American tribes. Native Americans, however, were granted citizenship by birth with the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924. DeSantis showing his ignorance on foreign diplomacy by refusing to recognize it’s in the U.S. interest to degrade Russia’s military without losing an American life by funding Ukraine’s defense for less than 5% our defense budget. Instead he says, “it’s in our interest to end this war” and plays like Trump by saying he’s going to “make” Europeans pay. DeSantis getting caught in several lies, including his oft-repeated “Democrats support abortion all the way up to the moment of birth,” his lie about supporting fracking in Florida that former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley pointed out, and his lie that Kamala Harris perpetrated a “hoax” that Florida public school curriculum taught that there were “benefits of slavery” for the slaves. The last of these was such an obvious lie that DeSantis tried to discount it even as he was saying it. First he said it was a hoax perpetrated by Harris, but then he immediately said it was history written by descendants of slaves who were respected historians. You can’t have it both ways, Governor. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat who attended the debate because it was held in his state, pointing out afterward to national audiences in separate interviews with Fox News, MSNBC and CNN that President Joe Biden “objectively” was the winner of the debate. “These guys identified problems,” Newsom said of the debate participants, “and Biden actually has not only identified solutions, he’s gotten bipartisan deals to begin the process of implementing those solutions.” One of the best examples of that was when Christie said that when he becomes president, he would stop Putin from putting the USSR back together again, even though it was clear by that time in the debate that Biden has already done that with his support of Ukraine against the Russian invasion. Thursday, Sept. 28: As the nation faces a looming shutdown of the federal government if Congress doesn’t pass a budget or stop-gap resolution before Oct. 1, House Republicans hold their first hearing to try to impeach President Biden even though they have no proof of wrong-doing by Biden and even their own witnesses admit their evidence does not support articles of impeachment. The House does this even as it has failed to either take up the Senate’s bipartisan budget or pass its own plan to forestall the government shutdown. Not only was this inept governance, but it was classic totalitarianism in two ways: It was a kangaroo court and it was a “wag the dog” move in which a government takes action against an invented enemy or scapegoat to distract from that government’s other problems. Friday, Sept. 29: In an embarrassing but not surprising defeat for House Speaker Kevin McCarthy , 21 ultra-rightwing Republicans joined all House Democrats to shoot down a stopgap spending bill meant to avoid a government shutdown. Even though the bill included 30 percent cuts in the budgets of several federal agencies as an inducement for support from far-right Republicans, they opposed the bill because it included $6 billion in military aid for Ukraine and $6 billion for U.S. disaster relief. Democrats, who opposed the bill because of the agency cuts, urged McCarthy to allow a vote on a bipartisan Senate bill to fund the government but McCarthy has vowed not to do that or otherwise compromise with Democrats for fear that Republicans will remove him as Speaker. Meanwhile, the office of U.S. Special Prosecutor Jack Smith cites Trump’s gun stunt and execution remark on Milley in an updated motion to bolster its request to gag Trump ahead of his federal trial. Saturday, Sept. 30: House Republicans pass stopgap funding bill averting government shutdown – in spite of themselves. After Friday’s 232-198 defeat of McCarthy’s Republican bill, he had to rely on Democrats to come to America’s rescue and help pass a short-term compromise bill that will keep U.S. afloat at current levels of funding for 45 days. The only concession to extreme right Republicans was the elimination of money for Ukraine. The bill passed the House on a 335-91 vote, with all 210 Democrats except for one voting for it. The measure passes 88-9 in the Senate with all nine No votes coming from Republicans, and the shutdown is avoided in the 11th hour because McCarthy tried every conservative option he could before being forced to accept the most logical choice of compromise with Democrats. Tuesday, Oct. 3: The House votes 216-210 to make McCarthy the first House Speaker in U.S. history to be removed. The motion to vacate the speakership was made by Rep. Matt Gaetz, a MAGA Republican from Florida and a member of the Republican's far-right Freedom Caucus. The votes to remove McCarthy came from that far-right caucus because McCarty compromised with Democrats and from the Democratic Party because they knew they couldn't trust McCarthy. In summary, Republican politics of the past 12 days show that the House Republicans are -- like the Republican presidential debate and former President Trump -- archetypal examples of the chaos and corruption that results when a party that doesn’t believe in democracy or even respect rules of order tries to govern, or even just hold an organized event. Now, What Democrats’ Accomplished in Past Week Monday, Sept. 25: Biden hosts a meeting with Pacific Islands Forum leaders , where he vows to work with Pacific island nations, such as Tonga, Fiji and Micronesia on climate change, economic development and security. Later,, Biden and Harris meet with the President’s Board of Advisors on Historically Black Colleges and Universities , where the administration receives high praise. “No other administration in American history has given so much to HBCUs so quickly, so clearly and with a clear vision for doing more,” Board Chairman Tony Allen said. Both meetings held at the White House. Tuesday: Biden makes history, by some media accounts, as the first sitting president in more than a century to join a labor union’s picket lines . He told United Auto Workers protesters outside a General Motors Co. parts distribution center near Detroit, "You made a lot of sacrifices. You gave up a lot when the companies were in trouble. Now, they're doing incredibly well. And guess what? You should be doing incredibly well, too. You deserve a significant raise you need and other benefits. Let's get back what we lost, OK? ... It's time for them to step up for us." Biden is there at the invitation of UAW President Shawn Fain, who stands with Biden during the event but stops short of endorsing Biden’s re-election, although he tells his members, “We know the president will do right by the working class.” Contrast that with Fain’s words for Trump when asked if he would be meeting with the former president when Trump was to visit the non-union shop the next day. “I see no point in meeting with him because I don’t think the man has any bit of care about what our workers stand for, what the working class stands for,” Fain said of Trump. “He serves a billionaire class, and that’s what’s wrong with this country.” Fain also said, “I find a pathetic irony that the former president is going to hold a rally for union members at a nonunion business.” Salon writer Amanda Marcotte noted the striking contrast between the two speeches . “ Biden was on the ground with the workers, letting them tell him what they needed in this rapidly changing industry. Trump was standing over workers, issuing a long-winded lecture centered on one theme: How he and the automakers are owed their loyalty,” she wrote. And even though people at the Trump rally were holding signs that said, “Union members for Trump” or “Auto Workers for Trump,” Marcotte pointed out that Craig Mauer of the Detroit News reported that a woman holding a “union members” sign acknowledged she wasn't a union member while a man with an "auto workers” admitted he wasn't even an autoworker. Meanwhile, another Detroit News story described two union members who got to fist-bump Biden and “were impressed by the president’s remarks and the fact that he took the time to visit.” That story also mentioned a worker who was on a separate picket line in Wayne representing the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers, Paul Dunford, who said he tries to vote for candidates who are pro-labor. “I think he’s the most pro-labor president in my lifetime," Dunford said of Biden, who he supports. "We vote for labor-friendly politicians as much as possible. At this time right now especially, it seems to be that the Democrats are doing more for working families than the other party." Wednesday: Biden meets with his Council of Advisors on Science and Technology in San Francisco, where he expressex concern about the federal government’s reduction in how much it spends on research and development over the past 30 years – from about 2 percent as a share of the economy to less than 0.7 percent. “I don't know how we can be the safest, most secure, and healthiest nation in the world without significant investment in --- in science and technology,” he says before the council discusses two priorities: artificial intelligence and expanding high quality health care for every American, no matter where they live. Thursday: In announcing the creation of a library in honor of his friend Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., at Arizona State University, Biden delivers a major and fiery political speech warning that MAGA Republican extremism seriously threatens American democracy from within unless the rest of America, the majority, puts the preservation of our democracy first and engages in standing up “for American values embedded in the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, because we know the MAGA extremists have already proven they won’t.” He names Trump as one of these extremists threatening the Constitution: “Trump says the Constitution gave him, quote, ‘the right to do whatever he wants as president,’ end of quote. I’ve never even heard a president say that in jest. Not guided by the Constitution or by common service and decency toward our fellow Americans but by vengeance and vindictiveness. We see the headlines. Quote, ‘sweeping expansion of presidential power.’ Their goal to quote, ‘alter the balance of power by increasing the president’s authority over every part of the federal government,’ end of quote.” Biden doesn’t mention anyone else’s name but we know who he’s talking about. “Extremists in Congress — more determined to shut down the government, to burn the place down than to let the people’s business be done” (The House Freedom Caucus). “One guy in Alabama is holding up the promotion of every – hundreds of these officers” in the U.S. military (U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala.). “Just consider these actual quotes from MAGA – the MAGA movement,” Biden says. “Slitting throats” of civil servants (DeSantis). “We must destroy the FBI” (U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz.). “Did you ever think you’d hear leaders of political parties in the United States of America speak like that?” Biden asks. “Seizing power, concentrating power, attempting to abuse power, purging and packing key institutions, spewing conspiracy theories, spreading lies for profit and power to divide America in every way, inciting violence against those who risk their lives to keep America safe, weaponizing against the very soul of who we are as Americans.” It’s a great speech. To read the whole speech, see our post, " President Biden speaks on the danger of MAGA extremism." Friday: Biden gives another wonderful speech, this one in Arlington, Va., honoring Gen. Milley, at the Armed Forces Farewell Tribute in honor of Milley, who retired Sunday as the 20th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Keep in mind that this is the same Joint Chiefs chair that just a week earlier Trump had suggested in a social media post deserved to be put to death for what Trump, in a lie, described as a treasonous act. But Biden gives us a vastly different, and much more believable, impression of Milley in his role as America’s top general. “As Commander-in-Chief, I’ve relied on Mark’s counsel because I know he always gives it to me straight no matter what,” Biden said. “He always gives it to me straight. He’s working with the best information possible, and he doesn’t hold anything back. “During his tenure as Chairman, Mark has been a steady hand, guiding our military as we navigate what, I would argue, is one of the most complex security environments our world has faced in a long time.” But you really should read this whole speech, too, by going to our post, " How a real president behaves: Biden’s other excellent speech as Trump, Republicans unravel ." Yet, as good as Biden’s two latest speeches were, it is Milley who deserves the last word here, for it was he who used his final speech as the Joint Chiefs chair to emphasize that troops take an oath to the Constitution and not to a “wannabe dictator,” in what was an obvious but reference to Trump, although he never named Trump. “We don’t take an oath to a king, or a queen, or to a tyrant or dictator, and we don’t take an oath to a wannabe dictator,” Milley said in an impassioned speech. “We don’t take an oath to an individual. We take an oath to the Constitution, and we take an oath to the idea that is America, and we’re willing to die to protect it.” “Every soldier, sailor, airman, Marine, guardian and Coast Guardsman, each of us commits our very life to protect and defend that document, regardless of personal price,” Milley continued. “And we are not easily intimidated.” What we should all take from this It’s been obvious for a while to many of us, but the events of the past nine or ten days should have crystalized it for any rational being: Trump is a wannabe dictator, his MAGA Republican followers are neo-fascist thugs who want to rip apart the Constitution and dismantle democracy, and Biden is a good and hard-working president, not to mention a genuinely good guy, who is on a mission to save American democracy. And today’s spectacle in the House made it clearer than ever that today’s Republican Party is so split that it is incapable of governing. Let’s do what it takes to help him Biden, and every Democrat on the ballot in 2024, win in a landslide – for decency’s sake.

President Joe Biden’s speech on Sept. 28, 2023 in Tempe, Ariz., was of a caliber that would have been televised on national, prime-time TV 50 years ago and taught to high school civics classes in the years after. It had everything: A testament to the late U.S. Sen. John McCain, a Republican, at a ceremony announcing the building of a library in McCain’s name at Arizona State University, a civil shutdown of a protester who tried to interrupt his speech, and a paean to democracy and the United States, but mostly a warning about a contemporary danger that lurks within our country -- the MAGA movement. Because it wasn’t televised nationally, and it really ought to be seen or read by many more people, as we believe it is about a very serious threat, we’re sharing the main thrust of it here and linking to the rest. An Excerpt from Remarks by President Biden Honoring the Legacy of Senator John McCain and the Work We Must Do Together to Strengthen Our Democracy From the whitehouse.gov website I have come to honor the McCain Institute and Library because they are a home of a proud Republican who put his country first. Our commitment should be no less because democracy should unite all Americans, regardless of political affiliation. And there is something dangerous happening in America now. There is an extremist movement that does not share the basic beliefs in our democracy: the MAGA Movement. Not every Republican, not even a majority of Republicans, adhere to the MAGA extremist ideology. I know because I’ve been able to work with Republicans my whole career. But there is no question that today’s Republican Party is driven and intimidated by MAGA Republican extremists. Their extreme agenda, if carried out, would fundamentally alter the institutions of American democracy as we know it. My friends, they’re not hiding their attacks. They’re openly promoting them — attacking the free press as the enemy of the people, attacking the rule of law as an impediment, fomenting voter suppression and election subversion. Did you ever think we’d be having debates in the year — stage of your careers where banning books — banning books and burying history? Extremists in Congress — more determined to shut down the government, to burn the place down than to let the people’s business be done. Our U.S. military — and this in not hyperbole; I’ve said it for the last two years — is the strongest military in the history of the world. Not just the strongest in the world — in the history of the world. It’s the most diverse, the most powerful in the history of the world. And it’s being accused of being weak and “woke” by the opposition. One guy in Alabama is holding up the promotion of every — hundreds of these officers. Frankly, these extremists have no idea what the hell they’re talking about. (Laughter.) No, I’m serious. They’re pushing a notion the defeated former President expressed when he was in office and believes applies only to him. And this is a dangerous notion: This president is above the law, with no limits on power. Trump says the Constitution gave him, quote, “the right to do whatever he wants as President,” end of quote. I’ve never even heard a president say that in jest. Not guided by the Constitution or by common service and decency toward our fellow Americans but by vengeance and vindictiveness. We see the headlines. Quote, “sweeping expansion of presidential power.” Their goal to, quote, “alter the balance of power by increasing the President’s authority over every part of the federal government,” end of quote. What do they intend to do once they erode the constitutional order of checks and balances and separation of powers? Limit the independence of federal agencies and put them under the thumb of a president? Give the President the power to refuse to spend money that Congress has appropriated if he doesn’t like what it’s being spent for? Not veto — he doesn’t like what it’s being spent for — it’s there. Get rid of longstanding protections for civil servants? Remember what he did as he was leaving office: He imposed a new thing, the Civil Service — but then he imposed a new pro- — schedule. “Schedule F,” it was called. These civil servants had to pledge loyalty to the President, not the Constitution. It did not require that they had any protections, and the President would be able to wholesale fire them if he wanted, because they had no so- — no — no Civil Service protection. One of the first things I got rid of when I became President. Just consider these as actual quotes from MAGA — the MAGA movement. Quote, “I am your retribution.” “Slitting throats” of civil servants, replacing them with extreme political cronies. MAGA extremists proclaim support for law enforcement only to say, “We…” — quote, “We must destroy the FBI.” It’s not one person. It’s the controlling element of the House Republican Party. Whitewash attacks of January 6th by calling the spearing and stomping of police a leg- — quote, a “legitimate political discourse.” Did you ever think you’d hear leaders of political parties in the United States of America speak like that? Seizing power, concentrating power, attempting to abuse power, purging and packing key institutions, spewing conspiracy theories, spreading lies for profit and power to divide America in every way, inciting violence against those who risk their lives to keep America safe, weaponizing against the very soul of who we are as Americans. This MAGA threat is the threat to the brick and mortar of our democratic institutions. But it’s also a threat to the character of our nation and gives our — that gives our Constitution life, that binds us together as Americans in common cause. None of this is surprising, though. They’ve tried to govern that way before. And thank God, they failed. But they haven’t given up. Just look at recent days: their accusations against — of treason — treason against the major new net- — news network because they don’t like its coverage. I don’t know what the hell I’d say about Fox if that becomes the rule. (Laughter.) But think about it. I’m joking, but think about it. Tomorrow, I have the honor of overseeing the change of responsibilities of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the United States military from one genuine hero and patriot, General Mark Milley, to another, General CQ Brown — both — both defining leaders of our time. And yet, here is what you hear from MAGA extremists about the retiring patriot general honoring his oath to the Constitution: quote, he’s “a traitor,” end of quote. “In times gone by, the punishment…” — quote, “In times gone by, the punishment would’ve been death,” end of quote. This is the United States of America. This is the United States of America. And although I don’t believe even a majority of Republicans think that, the silence is deafening. The silence is deafening. Hardly any Republican called out such heinous statements, just as they watch one MAGA senator outrageously — instead, blocking the promotions of hundreds of top military leaders and affecting not only those leaders but their families, their children. MAGA extremists claim support of our troops, but they are harming military readiness, leadership, troop morale, freezing pay, freezing military families in limbo. Just as they looked the other way when the defeated former President refused to pay respects at an American cemetery near Paris, referring to the American servicemen buried there — and I’ve been to this cemetery — as “suckers” and “losers,” quotes. I’m not making this up. I know we all tried not to remember it, but that’s what he said. He called servicemen “suckers” and “losers.” Was John a sucker? Was my son, Beau, who lived next to a burn pit for a year, came home, and died — was he a sucker for volunteering to serve his country? The same guy who denigrates the heroism of John McCain. It’s not only wrong, it’s un-American. But it never changes. The MAGA extremists across the country have made it clear where they stand. So, the challenge for the rest of America — for the majority of Americans is to make clear where we stand. Do we still believe in the Constitution? Do we believe in the basic decency and respect? The whole country should honestly ask itself — and I mean this sincerely — what it wants and understand the threats to our democracy. *** To read the entire speech, click here. *** To read Biden's farewell tribute to Gen. Mark Milley as chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, see "How a real president behaves: Biden’s other excellent speech as Trump, Republicans unravel." *** For more on the dangers of right-wing extremism, see "McCarthy ouster, candidates' debate expose 1 truth: GOP incapable of governing"

Having had to endure former President Trump’s temper tantrums outside his civil fraud trial in New York all week, we thought it might be instructive to remind everyone how a real president behaves and sounds. President Joe Biden’s speech last week in Arlington, Va. was a farewell tribute to Gen. Mark Milley as he stepped down from his position as chairman of the Armed Forces Joint Chiefs of Staff, an introduction to Milley’s successor, Biden appointee U.S. Air Force Gen. Charles Q. Brown, and an admonition to U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., for holding up military promotions and to the rest of the Senate Republicans for not publicly speaking against what Tuberville is doing, namely killing military morale and endangering national security. As you read Biden’s words, remember that Milley was appointed Joint Chiefs chairman by Trump but that Milley often stood up to Trump in that role and is expected to be a witness against Trump at his federal trial for allegedly defrauding the United States by trying to illegally remain in power after losing the 2020 election . And keep in mind that just a week before this speech by Biden, Trump insinuated in a social media post that Milley was a traitor who Trump posited would have been executed in another age. We offer here three excerpts from Biden’s excellent speech of Sept. 29: his paean to Milley, his introduction of Brown, his measured anger directed at a senator whom Biden does not name but we know is Tuberville, and a hyperlink for those who wish to read the speech in its entirety. We highly recommend it as being well worth your while. Excerpts from Remarks by President Biden at the Armed Forces Farewell Tribute in honor of General Mark A. Milley Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall From whitehouse.gov MILLEY FAREWELL Now, everyone who has spent time with Mark (Milley) knows three things about him…. One, he’s from Boston. He parks his car in car garages. (Pronounced in a Boston accent.) He likes maps. And he loves the Constitution. But each of these three things points to something deeper about Mark’s character. His Boston heritage isn’t just about pride of place. It’s pride in what shaped him — the values that have guided his whole life. It’s about the father and mother, both veterans of World War II, who set the example of nobility — of the nobility of serving your country. It’s about knowing that his dad was among those who landed at Iwo Jima. And that if those young men his father served alongside could raise the flag on Mount Suribachi, then there’s nothing, nothing, nothing America cannot accomplish when we work together…. The Boston pride is about knowing where you come from. The maps are about knowing where you are and where you’re going. Mark wants to make sure he has the necessary facts to inform his decisions as a leader and his advice to others. As Commander-in-Chief, I’ve relied on Mark’s counsel because I know he always gives it to me straight no matter what. He always gives it to me straight. He’s working with the best information possible, and he doesn’t hold anything back. During his tenure as Chairman, Mark has been a steady hand, guiding our military as we navigate what, I would argue, is one of the most complex security environments our world has faced in a long time. He’s been critical to strengthening America’s exi- –existing alliances, from NATO to the Indo-Pacific to building the new strategic partnerships like AUKUS; and keeping our force on the cutting-edge of the fields of cyber and space; ending America’s longest war and continuing to take terrorists off the battlefield; standing with the brave people of Ukraine and making sure they have the equipment, the support they need, when they need it, to defend their freedom — letting them know — and letting them know how much he respects them…. When it comes to the Constitution, that is and has always been Mark’s North Star.... He’s made it the central image on his challenge coin, those three little words that mean so much to every American, but especially to those who stand in the service of our nation. The middle of his challenge coin says, “We the People.” “We the People.” It’s a reminder to all of us what makes us a strong nation, who we are as a democracy, and how the United States — for more than two centuries — has always managed to keep moving forward. Not fealty to any one person or to a political party, but to the idea of America — idea unlike any other in human history: the idea that we are all created equal. That is what the Constitution safeguards. That’s what we swear an oath to. And that is why generations of young women and men, Americans of every background and creed, have stepped forward to be part of the greatest fighting force in the history of the world. And that’s not hyperbole. You’re the greatest fighting force in the history of the world. (Applause.) I’ve seen you in Afghanistan, Iraq, and — but I don’t want to get started. BROWN INTRODUCTION And our military is going to keep growing stronger — keep growing stronger with General C.Q. Brown — Charles Q. Brown, Jr., as our 24th [21st] Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Congratulations, old buddy. (Applause.) As Mark will tell you, I’ll be meeting a lot with you. (Laughter.) I said when I nominated General Brown as a seasoned warrior with deep combat experience — an experienced commander of the joint force, a top-flight strategist, a leader known throughout the force for his unmatched judgement and unflappable demeanor. Like General Milley, General Brown is a patriot through and through, sworn to uphold and defend the Constitution…. ON THE DISGRACE OF PLAYING POLITICS WITH TROOPS As Secretary (of Defense Lloyd) Austin noted, I am glad that General Brown was confirmed by the Senate, along with the new Commandant of the Marine Corps and Army Chief of Staff, but — I must be careful here how I say this — but it’s thoroughly, totally unacceptable that more than 300 other highly qualified officers are still in limbo. I’ve been here a long time; I’ve never seen anything like this. It’s outrageous, and it must stop. Their promotions, their careers, their families, their futures held hostage by the political agenda of one senator and the silence of another 47 of them. It’s a drag on our force. It impacts everything from readiness to morale to retention. And it’s an insult — an insult to the officers’ years of dedicated service. Our troops deserve so much better. And if the House fails to fulfill its most basic function, if it fails to fund the government by tomorrow, it will have failed all of our troops. Our service members will keep upholding their oaths, showing up for work, standing sentinel around the world, keeping our country secure — but they won’t get paid. It’s a disgrace. Thousands of Defense Department civilian and — civilian servants will be sent home. And the longer the shutdown lasts, the harder it will be to become — the harder it will become for military families to pay their bills. We can’t be playing politics while our troops stand in the breach. It’s an absolute dereliction of duty. As leaders, we must never lose sight of the direct impacts of the decisions we make and the impact they have on the lives and families around the world. *** To read the entire speech, click here. *** To read Biden’s earlier excellent speech of last week, see “President Biden speaks on the danger of MAGA extremism.” *** For more on the dangers of Republican extremism, see "McCarthy ouster, candidates' debate expose 1 truth: GOP incapable of governing."

We are gathering signatures for both the Choice Petition and Clean Water Petition at the Gardens Branch Library and Palm Beach State Gardens Campus . We need volunteers to sign up for slots and commit to helping us reach our goals. Face to face contacts allows us to remind each voter to update their Vote By Mail status . and offer support to voters who are not registered to vote ! Please Join Us! Click below.

By Paul Blythe The felony indictment issued Tuesday, Aug. 1, by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against Donald Trump is a beautiful thing in its simplicity and forthrightness. It's all good, but its Introduction is exceptional: four paragraphs of language as plain, direct and solemn as the Gettysburg Address. Paragraph 1: "The Defendant, DONALD J. TRUMP, was the forty-fifth President of the United States and a candidate for re-election in 2020. The Defendant lost the 2020 presidential election." That's it: who the defendant is: the 45th president of the U.S., who lost the 2020 presidential election. Paragraph 2: "Despite having lost, the Defendant was determined to remain in power. So for more than two months following election day on November 3, 2020, the Defendant spread lies that there had been outcome-determinative fraud in the election and that he had actually won. These claims were false, and the Defendant knew that they were false. But the Defendant repeated and widely disseminated them anyway to make his knowingly false claims appear legitimate, create an intense national atmosphere of mistrust and anger, and erode public faith in the administration of the election." What the defendant did: Spread lies that he knew were lies to erode public faith in the election. Paragraph 3: "The Defendant had a right, like every American, to speak publicly about the election and even to claim, falsely, that there had been outcome-determinative fraud during the election and that he had won. He was also entitled to formally challenge the results of the election through lawful and appropriate means, such as by seeking recounts or audits of the popular vote in states or filing lawsuits challenging ballots and procedures. Indeed, in many cases, the Defendant did pursue these methods of contesting the election results. His efforts to change the outcome in any state through recounts, audits, or legal challenges were uniformly unsuccessful." Did the defendant have any right to challenge the results? Yes, he had a right to contest the results through lawful means, which he did and lost in every case. Plus he had the right, like all Americans, to speak publicly about the results and even to claim, falsely, that he had won, which he also did. Paragraph 4: "Shortly after election day, the Defendant also pursued unlawful means of discounting legitimate votes and subverting the election results. In so doing, the Defendant perpetrated three criminal conspiracies: a. A conspiracy to defraud the United States by using dishonesty, fraud, and deceit to impair, obstruct, and defeat the lawful federal government function by which the results of the presidential election are collected, counted, and certified by the federal government, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371; b. A conspiracy to corruptly obstruct and impede the January 6 congressional proceeding at which the collected results of the presidential election are counted and certified (the certification proceeding), in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1512(k ); and c. A conspiracy against the right to vote and to have one's vote counted, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 241. Each of these conspiracies which built on the widespread mistrust the Defendant was creating through pervasive and destabilizing lies about election fraud targeted a bedrock function of the United States federal government: the nation's process of collecting, counting, and certifying the results of the presidential election (the federal government function)." What crimes, then, is the defendant accused of? Four crimes, including three conspiracies: attempting to use his lies to overturn the legitimate results of the 2020 election; enlisting others to use his lies to obstruct the lawful government function of collecting, counting and certifying the presidential election results during the period between Nov. 14, 2020 and Jan. 7, 2021; enlisting others to impede the Jan. 6 congressional proceeding where certifying the results was carried out; and enlisting others to obstruct the rights of voters in certain states to have their votes counted. (Which states is detailed in the rest of the 45-page indictment; they include at least Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.) Now, you really should read it all to truly appreciate this historic moment, either by: Reading just the document itself, in this PDF . Or by using this link to read The New York Time's annotated version , which provides details that the indictment purposely omits, such as speculation about the identities of the six unnamed co-conspirators.