@tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

tobie1

@tobie1@mastodon.social

My interests vary wildly from politics to poetry and philosophy. I'm a born contrarian but my bark is worse than my bite, and I appreciate detailed posts, sharp commentary, verbal repartee and quirky habits. Some of my quirks are #FountainPens, #birding, and all manners of idealist thought. Committed to fairness, democracy, and environmental stewardship. Proud lifelong #Dem

I was on another server but it was closing down, so I switched to this instance. I'll say in advance, "Happy to meet you."

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. Browse more on the original instance.

DrALJONES, to random
@DrALJONES@mastodon.social avatar

deleted_by_author

    •
    tobie1,
    @tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

    @DrALJONES @hexehelicen Oh my...how does the rancid propaganda of renowned Israel-hater Francesca Albanese land in my timeline. Who would boost the word of a known hater and liar like Albanese?

    TonyStark, to random
    @TonyStark@progressivecafe.social avatar

    They are not going to stop until they take every last thing away. This isn’t surprising to anyone who’s been following along, but you let Trump be President again and you get a lot more SCOTUS justices ready to get rid of same-sex marriage, along with the rest of rights people have left.

    Consider not letting that happen if you’re not already on board.

    Alito renews criticism of Supreme Court’s same-sex marriage ruling in rejecting Missouri jury case | The Hill
    https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/4479539-alito-renews-criticism-of-supreme-courts-same-sex-marriage-ruling-in-rejecting-missouri-jury-case/

    tobie1,
    @tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

    @noondlyt @TonyStark Alito and his friends have so much power and yet they always claim that they're the victims...especially when it comes to denying other people basic civil rights in the name of "religious freedom," i.e., Alito's freedom to impose his personal beliefs on everyone else.

    aelliotpr, to random
    @aelliotpr@babka.social avatar

    This is from Spain's second most influential national newspaper, El Mundo, positioned on the centre right. The unadulterated antisemitism of the Spanish media knows no bounds. Unspeakable.

    tobie1,
    @tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

    @aelliotpr What a grotesque image. Both Spain's and Ireland's attacks on Israel have been really disturbing. And they began on October 8 as the world was waking up to the massacre committed on Israeli soil.

    GottaLaff, to random
    @GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

    Um, wut.

    “House Intel chair warns of 'serious national security threat' ahead of planned White House briefing
    The administration will brief House leaders on Thursday.

    Rep. Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee said there's no reason for Americans to panic.” 👈🏼 Oh. Okay.
    https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/house-intel-chair-warns-serious-national-security-threat-ahead-planned-rcna138848

    tobie1,
    @tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

    @GottaLaff @emptywheel Seems like Turner's trying to blackmail the admin by releasing such a statement to the public. He could have asked the White House in private to declassify whatever the info/intelligence is. That would be not only the correct course, but the reponsible one if the threat is this great. My guess is he's trying to force the admin's hand to benefit the GOP.

    tobie1, to random
    @tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

    Does Suozzi's victory in the NY special election mean that Democrats have a better chance of getting enough votes for a discharge position so the foreign aid bill can be brought to the floor for a vote? I sure hope so.

    indivisibleteam, to random
    @indivisibleteam@mastodon.social avatar

    We just flipped George Santos' former district! This is an important win for New York, our movement, and Democrats in Congress! MAGA Mike Johnson's tiny majority in the House just got even smaller, and this victory in a conservative district is another very bad sign for Republicans ahead of November. Indivisibles across the state and country pitched in to help build this win, in a clear reflection of the enthusiasm we’re already seeing in 2024!

    tobie1,
    @tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

    @indivisibleteam I called with the Suozzi campaign and Grassroots Dems. Heard a lot about the need for investment in schools. Many schoolteachers live in Queens. The folks I spoke to all identified themselves as Dems. Not one said they were a progressive.

    GottaLaff, (edited ) to random
    @GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

    👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻‼️

    Decision Desk HQ projects Tom Suozzi wins the special election for New York's 3rd congressional district.

    DecisionMade: 9:58pm ET

    Follow more results here: https://decisiondeskhq.com/special-election-results-new-york-3rd-congressional-district/

    UPDATE—CONFIRMED:🥳🥳
    https://trib.al/xvY4st0

    tobie1,
    @tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

    @GottaLaff Yippee! I phonebanked for this race and there were tons of volunteers every night. It was a great GOTV effort as far as I can tell. (I don't live in NY so can't speak to the actual ground game but I'm assuming it was very good.) No stone left unturned.

    Alon, to random
    @Alon@mastodon.social avatar
    1. Update on what's going on with Rafah: the basic picture hasn't changed - Israel is mulling attacking it and may or may not do it, with different elements pushing in different directions (the IDF wants more war, Bibi doesn't want to make drastic changes).

    The bigger issue is that Israeli actions in Gaza are constrained, above all, by Israel's own credibility gap. This constrains Israeli COIN even more than its own unwillingness to provide care to Gazans, especially if it's in the open.

    tobie1,
    @tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

    @Alon sorry to ask this but what is COIN an acronym for?

    tobie1,
    @tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

    @Alon thanks.

    shoq, to random
    @shoq@mastodon.social avatar

    Kristin Welker’s lifelong ambition was to sink to the heights of Andrea Mitchell. And Katy Tur just wants to be Kristin Welker. All 3 of them are an insult to broadcast journalism, itself an insult to journalism.

    tobie1,
    @tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

    @shoq This is so inside baseball and I so get it. I'm back to long-form journalism--lengthy articles in weekly and monthly publications. Everything else feels superficial.

    Oeneus, to random
    @Oeneus@assortedflotsam.com avatar

    Every cause is antisemitic now.

    image/png

    tobie1,
    @tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

    @Oeneus WTF. The western pro-Palestine movement has tapped into the most vile anti-semitism from the 19th century. If it's not the accusation of blood libel, it's the charge of being a rootless cosmopolitan who feeds off the sweat and blood of 'real Americans.' I feel like I'm living through the Dreyfus affair. Jews stand accused everywhere of being an enemy of humanity.

    shoq, to random
    @shoq@mastodon.social avatar

    @msnbc is thrilled to tell you how Michigan voters (mostly Arab-Americans) are going to be single-issue voters and not vote for Biden because of Israel.

    So, I guess if Trump wins, they’ll proudly tell their children they chose fascism over democracy for a single issue—as a matter of principle?

    tobie1,
    @tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

    @shoq @msnbc There might be some change in attitude as the election draws closer and the choice becomes clearer.

    I'm a mainstream Jewish Dem and I can tell you that I'm not entirely happy with Biden's handling of the war for different reasons than you see in the news. I believe Biden made a big mistake at the start of the war to placate Arab-American voters & it has shaped the representation of the conflict ever since.

    But I'm not a one issue voter.

    GottaLaff, to legal
    @GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

    Welp. You can stop refreshing now⏳

    Via Josh Gerstein:

    JUST IN: Regular (Tues/Fri) opinion window has closed at DC Circuit without any opinions today

    tobie1,
    @tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

    @GottaLaff I wonder who's delaying the decision. I'd put my money on Henderson. She wasn't appointed by Trump but her decisions this past year put her in the same camp as Rao.

    tobie1,
    @tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

    @GottaLaff That is very true and encouraging. On the other hand, she suggested the case could be returned to the lower court and questioned why it needed to be handled on an expedited basis. Who knows what conversations are happening among the judges. But a March trial is now off the table.

    GottaLaff, to random
    @GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

    😢 Melanie, Singer Who Made a Solo Splash at Woodstock, Dies at 76

    Just 22 when she charmed the festival crowd, she went on to enjoy success with songs like “Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)” and “Brand New Key.”

    https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/24/arts/music/melanie-dead.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

    tobie1,
    @tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

    @GottaLaff how sad. It occurred to me that some people have no idea what a roller skate key is. Here's a primer. I hope Melanie is blissfully skating wherever she may be.
    https://youtu.be/qQJi5_4OIGY?si=EoMlkYJoQRNPRxSr

    heidilifeldman, to random
    @heidilifeldman@mastodon.social avatar

    Stay focused. We’ve known for 4 years that, short of death, Trump would be the Republicans’ nominee in 2024. The margin of his wins in Republican primaries and caucuses makes no difference, whatever the headlines and pundits say. We will have to fight using what we have, which will be - again, short of death - be Biden at the top of the Democratic ticket, and all the down ballot Democrats across the country. Every last one of them should make it clear that constitutional democracy is at stake.

    tobie1,
    @tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

    @heidilifeldman Maybe I'm just a knee jerk Dem but I like what Biden's done. His admin revived US manufacturing. He got a global corporate minimum tax rate adopted at home and abroad. He lowered inflation without steering us into a recession. And he led when it came to Ukraine even if Republicans tried to sabotage him.

    If I lived in NH, I would have happily written in his name today.

    GreenFire, to random
    @GreenFire@mstdn.social avatar

    Joe Biden cares about all Americans as well as people around the world.

    Americans that don't bother voting are proving that they could care less about other people.
    https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2024/01/22/biden-abortion-contraception/

    tobie1,
    @tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

    @GreenFire I can envision an Israeli govt without Netanyahu or Likud at the helm. My suspicion is Biden is trying to marginalize Netanyahu so this can happen. I can't imagine Palestinian governance without Hamas and that is a big source of concern for me.

    Alon, to random
    @Alon@mastodon.social avatar
    1. Thread about starvation in Gaza, Israel's reluctance to provide care, lessons from Algeria, and why Israel needs to make day-after plans leading to two states.

    The starting point is Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib's account of a conversation among anti-Hamas Gazans: https://nitter.net/afalkhatib/status/1747850334066937896#m

    Alkhatib is a Palestinian-American from Gaza, who says the IDF engages in war crimes, and, for not endorsing the Hamas line, is called a traitor by pro-Palestine Twitter. He writes about the war in The Forward.

    tobie1,
    @tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

    @Alon I've thought for some time now that Israel bears more blame for not providing food, tents and medical supplies to the displaced than for its actual air and ground campaign. I gather that the military has felt hamstrung by the absence of a day after plan and that's something for which you need the PM but this PM is more concerned with his political survival than anything else. All this loss so he can stay in power. What an immoral bastard.

    tobie1, to Israel
    @tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

    Using stats to create a false narrative.

    Kenneth Roth of Human Rights Watch tweets that in 8 weeks dropped 29000 bombs on whereas the US dropped only 3600 bombs in 6 years in Iraq starting 0ct 2004.

    (Note the start date Roth chose)

    The problem: the US invaded Iraq in March 2003 and dropped >29,000 bombs in the 1st 4 weeks.

    Roth knows what he's doing: generating a misleading talking point. Why does the media run with his propaganda?

    https://nitter.net/AGHamilton29/status/1746583089315295564#m

    timnitGebru, to random
    @timnitGebru@dair-community.social avatar

    This statement does not mince any words. Feels like colonized people around the world have had it with western hegemony and hypocrisy.

    tobie1,
    @tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

    @ixi I blocked her long ago. She was screaming genocide from Day 1 of the war. I don't have time for someone who paints everything with a broad brushstrokes.

    I hope you're able to start a dialogue with her. That would be welcome.

    TonyStark, to random
    @TonyStark@progressivecafe.social avatar

    People ask why I talk about elections and voting so much.

    It’s because there’s always hope.

    Florida Democrats flip Republican House seat in Special Election – WFTV:
    https://www.wftv.com/news/local/florida-democrats-flip-republican-house-seat-special-election/BDGBNIJ3CZECRMX6NTSZQVYZX4/

    tobie1,
    @tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

    @TonyStark What's the Republican margin now. 2? 3? Any chance we might see a Speaker Jeffries sooner than we think? Oh, how sweet that would be!

    tobie1,
    @tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

    @TonyStark Thanks for the heads up on this race. I'll send a donation and will try to volunteer to phone bank.

    tobie1,
    @tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

    @TonyStark I know how you feel and am actually amazed that you're able to post on domestic politics when there's so much else going on that feels so personal. Hang in there. You're fighting the good fight for reason, democracy and a government that cares for people.

    RememberUsAlways, to israel
    @RememberUsAlways@newsie.social avatar

    Hamas teases ‘fate’ of 3 hostages — including Noa Argamani — in disturbing propaganda video





    @palestine
    @israel

    https://nypost.com/2024/01/14/news/hamas-teases-fate-of-3-hostages-including-noa-argamani-in-eerie-propaganda-video/

    tobie1,
    @tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

    @RememberUsAlways @palestine @israel This is so sick, so cruel.

    GottaLaff, to Florida
    @GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

    🤦🏻‍♀️ “A federal judge in on Friday ruled that a U.S. law that bars people from possessing firearms in post offices is unconstitutional, citing a landmark Supreme Court ruling from 2022 that expanded gun rights.

    U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle,
    an 👉🏼appointee of 👈🏼
    in Tampa, reached that conclusion in dismissing part of an indictment charging a postal worker with illegally possessing a gun in a federal facility.”
    https://www.reuters.com/world/us/ban-guns-post-offices-is-unconstitutional-us-judge-rules-2024-01-13/

    tobie1,
    @tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

    @GottaLaff Never forget...Mizelle was rated "not qualified" by the ABA. It's shocking she's on the bench with a lifetime appointment.

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