Vox Populi, our weekly live chat about the week’s events begins tonight at 7:00 pm PT. Hope to see you then!
AdLib3 hours ago
Hey Murph!
AdLiban hour ago
HI THERE!
MurphTheSurf3
an hour ago
How’s everything going?
AdLiban hour ago
It is hot, hot, hot here……and then there is the weather! Politics and Public Police are authors of their own heat.
MurphTheSurf3
an hour ago
I like that!
AdLiban hour ago
I assume you’re seeing the drift away from Trump among the farmers in your community, they must be getting crushed.
AdLiban hour ago
My own creation…or something I picked up without thinking….who knows.
MurphTheSurf3
an hour ago
Well, I will credit you for it unless someone tells me differently.
AdLiban hour ago
Farmers are enraged. Trump flags are being burned at rallies. This has not made it into the broadcast press but it is spreading.
MurphTheSurf3
an hour ago
WOW!!!
AdLiban hour ago
Yeah….the governor here….is being VERY CAREFUL…..
MurphTheSurf3
an hour ago
Thinking of how he’s killed them witht the price of fertilizer thanks to his Iran War, the lack of buyers from China and elsewhere thanks to Trump’s trade war, the feds cutting billions of dollars of purchases of crops for food programs for the needy, importing foreign crops and beef due to corruption…is hating PoC really going to outweigh all of that as a reason to vote Repub?
AdLiban hour ago
Looks like Dems have a chance to win the Gov seat in TX now too!
AdLiban hour ago
Very good summary of the dire reality that the GOP is facing here.
MurphTheSurf3
an hour ago
Side note….our little island here Side note…hosted a drop in bbq for law enforcement, public safety, medical assist folks last Saturday as a thank you for their assistance. Our “campers” did the cooking and serving. Everyone loved it.
MurphTheSurf3
an hour ago
Could be close for Senate in SC too. We may see some huge surprises in Dem victories in Nov. Especially since I’m hearing the oil market is collapsing and gas prices could skyrocket…just before the election!
AdLiban hour ago
If Karl Rove can declare the GOP morally bankrkupt then everything is possible.
MurphTheSurf3
an hour ago
Murph, that just makes me smile. How incredibly wonderful! And think of all the people you are impacting positively.
AdLiban hour ago
Good analysis….I have read that BIG MONEY is getting very shy.
MurphTheSurf3
an hour ago
Never thought I’d see the day that Rove voted for a Dem. But Paxton is pretty thoroughly disgusting.
AdLiban hour ago
Yes, this is a worthy successor to the farming coop of my firstr days.
MurphTheSurf3
an hour ago
Paxtons bio reads like a rap sheet.
MurphTheSurf3
an hour ago
The Tech Billionaires will throw billions at the election but it’s a waste IMO because when the person watching their ads just came home from filling up their gas tank or shopping for groceries, they won’t care about the ads at all. Think about the reception of Trump’s $5,000 bribe. Most Americans say it is inapproriate! And we know it’s just another fraud and illegal but could you have predicted that a majority would be so upset even bribery gets slapped away?
AdLiban hour ago
And meanwhile, as the economy and people’s affordability in their lives collapses, Trump is busy threatening to tear down the Kennedy center if he doesn’t get his name on it. I think he has jumped the shark a while ago, most Americans despise him and he has no idea because of the corruption bubble he’s in.
AdLiban hour ago
I agree with you start to finish….I think there is other big money out there that will not be as blind as the techies…..a big banker I know here tells me that thos mega money folk whose business rests in the lives of ordinary people have turned unresponseive wihen asked to back the GOP
MurphTheSurf3
an hour ago
What the Kennedy Center atrocity has done is to ressurect the JFK mythos…..which is lighting the way for a liberal resurgence.
MurphTheSurf3
43 minutes ago
Yes! And seeing the bipartisan pushback against data centers and AI, we’re seeing a real coming together to push back against the evils of Trump and his oligarchs and I can see how this could build a new alliance between some Repubs and Dems.
AdLib43 minutes ago
We had an election here in midsummer in which the Data Centers were on the ballot for approval in four area….that passed…then….but there is a fast monting call for a recall on that vote in November.
MurphTheSurf3
42 minutes ago
SO true! In an era of boundless evil and corruption and abuse of power to benefit only those who bring gold to the king, the revival of Kennedy, FDR, MLK, and others seems to be going storng, people want to go back to having a government and country they can be proud of. And Trump’a ICE gestapo has flipped all those Latinos who supported him into opposition. TX may not win all the seats they gerrymandered because they were counting on the Latinos who voted for Trump to vote Repub.
AdLib40 minutes ago
It would be a boon for the anti-Trump movement if his bowing oligarchs got kicked out of states with their data centers. But it sounds like the Red states are going to be the main targets for destruction by data centers.
AdLib39 minutes ago
No one wants these data centers except corrupt local officials who get bought off.
AdLib38 minutes ago
WOW….are you every rolling fast tonight….I wish our others were here to bathe in the light.
MurphTheSurf3
37 minutes ago
It is interesting to see how the mythic heroes that you name are rising into the foreground……and it is wonderful to see how angry our police are with ICE because they have come to beleive that the all of law enforcement is being tarred by their behavior.
MurphTheSurf3
36 minutes ago
As a reflection of how wonderful our other members are, CL and TW each texted me, apologizing that they couldn’t make it tonight (which is unusual). This means a lot to them, we mean a lot to each other.
AdLib36 minutes ago
Yeah….I hate to miss these confabs and of late I have been able to carve out more Friday evening time as this place has become self operable.
MurphTheSurf3
35 minutes ago
The thing about the ICE Secret Police is that…we don’t have to live like this and we never did before. We don’t need to watch innocent and decent people who may have lived her most of their lives and help support their communities, beaten, thrown in cages, and shot and murdered. Like, do people realize this wasn’t what America was until 2025? Who wants two more years of this dictatorship?
AdLib34 minutes ago
So good to hear that all the work you put into it operating smoothly has come to fruition. Great work, my friend. You have a lot to be proud of.
AdLib33 minutes ago
BRB
MurphTheSurf3
33 minutes ago
And great to see you back at Vox. You were definitely missed.
AdLib32 minutes ago
Well….I am old enough to remember that as a kid in the Deep South…..ICE Like behavior was very common. It is horrifying to see it return.
MurphTheSurf3
31 minutes ago
I am so happy to be back here….I have invited a few others to take a look…..this is a healthy environment for thoughtful interaction and worthy of promotion.
MurphTheSurf3
30 minutes ago
That’s true but most Americans alive today never lived that. And this isn’t just in the South, this assault is nationwide, a literal invading army protected by the US Govt.
AdLib30 minutes ago
And as I’ve said and will continue to, the most well-informed and well-reasoned people of principle I know on the Planet.
AdLib29 minutes ago
I never thought I would have memories of growing upin Jim Crow land….spread across the land by Trumpistas
MurphTheSurf3
28 minutes ago
Agreed……the qualitity of interaction here is quite unique.
MurphTheSurf3
28 minutes ago
Every Vox, I’m grabbed by what everyone says here. So many great observations and thoughts about where we are and where we’re going. I’ll still stand by my long time proposition that we won’t be able to change the minds of many Americans until they start suffering.
AdLib27 minutes ago
I do not think I have shared with you and our other friends that I had a stroke in December that was the result of very aggressive radiation treament for prostate cancer.
MurphTheSurf3
26 minutes ago
And now there are all these stories about actual neo-Nazis and pedophiles commonly being found to be working with or for Repub pols. I mean, can the pendulum swing much farther to the right?
AdLib26 minutes ago
” we won’t be able to change the minds of many Americans until they start suffering.” When one is too comfortable one loses a sense that others are not and a blasé vision overtakes reason.
MurphTheSurf3
25 minutes ago
The Stroke was apparent for about three months but I appear to have come out of it…..
MurphTheSurf3
24 minutes ago
BRB
MurphTheSurf3
22 minutes ago
Yes, I think it’s far harder to change minds via reason or compassion and so much easier for them to rebel against who they supported through suffering. I learned this many years ago and see it so clearly. Trump was a convicted criminal, a traitor who led a coup, a pedophile…but people were so comfortable under Biden that they had the luxury of voting for the con man who promised them BS about cutting the prices of everything and making them wealthy. Not when you’re suffering, you don’t have that luxury. You’re squeezed and you’re angry, you want the opposition in to stop the suffering.
AdLib22 minutes ago
Murph, are you saying you may have had a TIA?
AdLib21 minutes ago
That was the start…..it developed into a full scale stroke.
MurphTheSurf3
20 minutes ago
Great summary of the power of emotion in the midst of commotion to challenge world view and invite change and redemption.
MurphTheSurf3
19 minutes ago
Oh no! I’m so sorry you’ve had to go through that! I suggested TIA because you said you have come back from it. Not always the case with a storke. But you’re doing well?
AdLib18 minutes ago
I think my doctors were expecting a TIA in response to the Cancern Treatment….so they were watching out for the signs and ready to act. When it really hit I was in an ER and then hospitalized very quickly. I have been much involved witht he Mercy Hospital System here for many years and that helped…..lots of smart people looking out for me.
MurphTheSurf3
16 minutes ago
At its worst…I had very little active memory. I had a hard time walking smoothly. I had many falls and vision issues.
MurphTheSurf3
15 minutes ago
Empathy is an odd thing in many people. They can show empathy in some situations and overlook it in others. Seeing all of the horribleness Trump inflicted on so many, including the unnecessary deaths of vulnerable people during COVID, they were fine overlooking that for cheaper eggs and a whiter America. But now, they are angry at Trump, Israel, billionaires, and ICE for treating the people so horribly. But I would suggest empathy is stoked when you are suffering and want people to empathize with your suffering. Hence my long time proposition.
AdLib15 minutes ago
That is such fantastic news to hear. Good and thoughtful doctors, good attentive hospital, so happy to hear this. I know of many situations where that was not the case.
AdLib14 minutes ago
That had to be pretty scary, not knowing if it was transitional or permanent. And how are you doing today.
AdLib13 minutes ago
So much of the failure to emphathize that you point to that was common in the early Trump days….but the damage he was doing was largely affecting have-nots….once the plague spread into the haves realm the angry rose quickly and widely.
MurphTheSurf3
13 minutes ago
I have been a member of a number of boards and committees for Mercy….I got extraordinary attention…..however because of who I work with I am very aware of how fortunate (and sadly how unfair) I was to have those allies.
MurphTheSurf3
11 minutes ago
Exactly. In today’s American society, it is so easy for people to silo themselves when it comes to news, politics, entertainment, but most importantly, socialization. Some people are good people but very self-centered. All that they focus on is themselves, their kids and spouse, their hobbies…and no thought about their community or the nation and the direction it is pushed towards. Until the suffering begins, then they finally start to see the big picture of cause and effect and the neglect of the powerful and wealthy of those who are suffering.
AdLib10 minutes ago
How am I doing. I can type well again…no falls of late….memory has steadied….speech is nearly as it was…..overall confusion entisrely again…memmory rebuilding.
MurphTheSurf3
10 minutes ago
Ad…what a well crafted summary of the power of being disconnected from others pain…..it blinds and deafens.
MurphTheSurf3
8 minutes ago
Well, on one hand, I agree about how unfair it is that everyone doesn’t get the attention and expertise that you did. On the other hand, the reason you did was because you cared about the health and lives of others and when you faced a serious health issue, the people you supported were there for you. So you can also think of it as a benefit of having put yourself out there to help others.
AdLib7 minutes ago
That is great news. I can say, the folks here including me were worried about you since your long absence and knowing you were dealing with cancer. This is really something wonderful to hear!
AdLib6 minutes ago
You have no idea how your words warmed my heart and enlivened my understanding. Thank yoiu. i have felt a bit guilty for the qualirty of attenntion that I got but your insight helps a lot. Well, friend it is 10 and I have promised my medicos to keep to a reasonable sleep regime…..and 10PM is the witching hour.
MurphTheSurf3
6 minutes ago
Yes I got a double hit…cancer and then a stroke…..wow…..but the doctors are saying that I am actually healthier now than I was before those two malidies befell me.
MurphTheSurf3
4 minutes ago
Thanks. It is so easy to get lost in one’s own pleasures and hobbies. The rest of the world is shut out in that narrow vision of “what I want that pleases me”. But once that luxury is taken away, the scales come off people’s eyes, they start seeing others’ pain through their own.
AdLib4 minutes ago
Truth!
MurphTheSurf3
4 minutes ago
That makes my wek and weekend to know you’ve gotten on top of all this difficulty and are thriving. I’m genuinely happy to know this.
AdLib2 minutes ago
Get some sleep, my friend and keep climbing that hill, it’s paying off!
AdLib2 minutes ago
OH….one. more tid bit…..remember that local bar I mentioned a number of times as my haven from pressure…..I was there tonight (no alcohol) but severl guys were so angry with the way Trump has ot reported to real losses in his war.
MurphTheSurf3
a minute ago
This discussion was a wonderful dialogue…..I thank you for it and promiese to hit the hay very quickly. See you next week.
MurphTheSurf3
a minute ago
That’s fascinating!
AdLiba few seconds ago
Of course, your friendship and thoughts are so valuable to me and everyone here.
AdLiba few seconds ago
I think that this anger is really going to roll out.
MurphTheSurf3
a few seconds ago
We’ll…next week!
MurphTheSurf3
a few seconds ago
Agreed, especially with the economic disaster that appears to be coming down the tracks quickly now.
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