You are wrong Jess, you’re not a nobody from nowhere. You are a force! And becoming more and more so each and every day. Recently, I’ve seen your name popping up here and there so you are becoming well known. Keep up the good work and safe travels.
It's about the bigotry. Once Latinos across the US discover what California Latinos did in the 1990s, that they're never going to be let into the White Club, that's when the flip happens.
Stephen Miller is without realizing it doing everything possible to make that happen.
That’s a no no from me Nana. It’s a strategy that failed twice, with two female candidates. Erasure can only come from sheer numerical advantage at all electoral levels.
Unfortunately white male supremacy rules in US. They will not be ruled by a woman.
I’m an Obama fan. He somehow convinced enough Americans that he was for the PEOPLE even though he is of color. A woman of color? Didn’t work.
We were asked by a neighbor why we voted for Obama bc though we didn’t campaign for Obama, everyone here knows we’re Dems. He said he didn’t know anyone else who voted for Obama. So we told him what Obama stands for.
Why didn’t I ask the neighbor why in the world would he NOT vote for Obama?
You are definitely NOT a nobody from nowhere! You are showing all of us the way; leading from the front, not your easy chair. And you are from where most of us are from; everyday folks from everywhere in the country. If we had 535 Jess Pipers in the Congress, we wouldn’t have to have this conversation.
I’m a senior, but you have inspired me to get back out there and do what I can. Thank you 🦉
Jasper County,MO. We haven’t forgotten about you or the Day that Lives in Infamy: Sunday May 22,2011. The memory of those innocent 162 Folks that perished in such a Horrific and Cataclysmic Tornado still burns brightly. I still get a bit Emotional thinking about Will Norton and the Xennial Pizza Hut Manager who sacrificed his life for other strangers, or the Bravery of that Fastrip Gas Station Manager who gathered all those people into the Walk in Cooler and the Strong Woman of God Donna Barnes who’s Pentecostal Faith and Prayer calling on the name of Jesus as the Rain Wrapped EF 5 Monster bared down on them. He did answer, because everyone there was Miraculously Unharmed. The Gas Station was completely demolished and destroyed, but not a soul was harmed.
Missouri needs to Flip Blue. It’s Been Red long enough. Joplin is at Risk under Orange Stalin for a Dystopian Nightmare if another Horrendous EF Twister like 5/22/11 strikes them. Without NOAA, the death toll in Jasper County would be three times higher.
Scary for you like us in Florida with hurricanes and militates/warnings! We saw this year what happened in Kansas and now FEMA is dismantled and some areas here on the west coast of Florida are not yet repaired !
It’s very frightening for Florida and it’s sad that they’ve doubled down on MAGA. Andrew was around 33 years ago and most Generations have forgotten all about that Cat 5 Hurricane. Even the August-September 2004 4 Storms of Charley,Frances,Ivan and Jeanne have been completely forgotten about. Trump and Gov DeKlansman have placed total ignorance all over the Florida coast and have pushed Dangerous and Reckless conspiracies against NOAA. Such as the Insane HARRP conspiracy.
I have lived here on the west coast since I was 6 weeks old and remember all those hurricanes. I remember when I was about 8 y/o and there was a hurricane but this was 1959 before all the new weather technology. We went outside when it was dead calm. Not really smart but no one knew better . I worry about this storm season. And if things were like last year Florida will be screwed,no FEMA or NOAA. The lovely gov grew up here in my town on the coast of Pinellas county and his parents are still here. Just cruel and hateful people.
Helene - just last year. The despot claimed the Biden administration did nothing in response. And now? The despot has blocked funds that were appropriated to assist in restoration. Tragedy on top of tragedy. Thanks to MAGA people.
At age 5, I knew that tornadoes only occurred in the midwest. I lived in Massachusetts so they were not a danger. At least so I thought. One day the kindergarten teacher, Miss Reed (not sure of the spelling of her last name, but I liked her a lot) told us that she'd been in a tornado in Worcester (a town in Mass) a few years earlier. I insisted to her that tornadoes only occurred in the Midwest. And she insisted that in fact there had been one in Worcester. (I knew about the Midwest's existence because Family of Origin had driven through it on our way from Seattle to Boston in the 1950 Studebaker.) Anway, I went home, told my 3 years older brother what had happened in school. He wrote Miss Reed a note explaining that tornadoes only happened in the Midwest, and I took it to her the next day. She didn't argue with me after she got my brother's note.
Also, on April Fool's Day, I told Miss Reed that there was a snake climbing up her back. She put on a wonderful show for me! Until I said, April Fool! I never saw her again after Kindergarten but I hope she had a wonderful life!
You are not a no one from nowhere! You are bringing people together so they know they're not alone and you are reminding them why we must all fight. Even in the deepest red states we have to show up and fight against the racist fascist oligarchs. I really appreciate your work in rural Missouri for personal reasons.
Whenever I speak to groups as an activist and organizer, my message, which I try to include as a call to action, is that I am not there to make them angry. I am there to get them organized and engaged. They are generally already angry, and that is why they are there. However, while anger may be a powerful force to engage people, it is not enough to sustain a movement. Sustaining a movement requires people to see that they are making a difference. It is important to find even small successes to help people feel that their energy and enthusiasm are enabling change.
Therefore, it is essential to identify opportunities for those successes and focus people on those objectives. That does not mean one should ignore the larger objectives. It simply means it is essential to find achievable goals within local communities that make a difference in that community's life while continuing to work on those larger movement objectives.
People often get caught up in national issues while ignoring those issues in their neighborhoods and communities, where progress is possible. Making a difference in those local issues helps to create movement solidarity and a sense of accomplishment that helps to sustain a movement.
“Start by showing up.” Seems like the most minimal thing the Dems could be doing. There’s an opportunity just waiting to be seized, and, as you say, Jess, now’s the time to grab it.
Thank you for all of your very hard work. It's so important, and very inspirational. I'm a proud Blue Missouri member because of you! I encourage everyone wh reads this to join! Safe travels.
Last week I visited a small mountain community in our very red State. A friend and I went for lunch and to stroll around the truly historic (vintage 1860s) downtown. One shop was selling "Gulf of America" and "DOGE" hats. We stopped into a bodega for ice creams. The owners were there and we began to discuss the current administration's decision to stop making pennies. These small business owners were pretty upset by that, given the impact to their pricing and business practices (most folks there pay in cash). I ventured, "It's another click bait so that we won't look at the big stuff." That got the owners going. People know when they've been conned. I find that speaking with people without accusation or confrontation can free them to express their anger, frustration, and fears of what the future holds. People know when they've been conned.
We in NW Arkansas are just south of Joplin. Indivisible NWA and other groups are on the ground organizing. We hope June 14 No Kings Day will be a big day for recruiting.
I met a man yesterday who is organizing an Indivisible group in Mena, Arkansas. MENA, ARKANSAS! (If you know any progressives in Polk County, AR, they should go to Indivisible’s web site and look it up and get acquainted.)
It's people like this fellow from Mena, Arkansas, who deserve our support and thanks, and you are an inspiration to all of us, Jess.
Your post got me thinking about the word "activist." In some ways that word belongs to anyone who "acts" and "activates" others. This is a title that we earn by doing. All those who set up the meeting and invite you to speak: all those who broker connections for the guy in Mena, Arkansas; all those who, in gathering, give one another the courage to send in $10 bucks to a candidate they can believe will do something; and all those who refuse to cave before pressure of the deadly questions from family and friends -- and from deadly enemies who wish we'd stop -- "Who cares? Why bother? What difference does it make?" -- all those become activists.
Anne Applebaum's "Autocracy, Inc." is a fine book, and her older book (2020) "Twilight of Democracy" is a warning that is still valid and a bit of a zippier read, I think. Thanks for spreading the word about Applebaum, because all of us need to know clearly what we are up against -- and take some courage in seeing how others, now nameless and forgotten, fought against even more horrible tyrannies than Donald Trump can offer.
We are lucky that he's such a lazy cat, so disinterested in governing and unstrategic in his thinking, though his erratic behavior makes him nonetheless very dangerous. He is curiously the least cosmopolitan New Yorker one could imagine. Give me an hour in Herculaneum, Hannibal, Neosho, or Knob Noster, and I could find 5 people in each town more knowledgeable about the world, American history and government, and economics than our President. This is not to say he is not dangerous. His unholy alliance of the righteous "religious," the filthy rich, the sexist and the racist, not to mention the willfully ignorant, makes him very formidable, indeed.
Keep at it, Jess, and keep advising us what we need to do. That you drove all the way to Joplin for what you expected to be a crowd of 50 tells us much about your commitment, dedication, and your value to us all. That there were 200 people ready to hear you tells you and all of us of the hunger for your message of empowerment of the average citizen. You may not think you are much, but the Republicans, for all their bluster live in fear of people like you and the leaders who will challenge their hold on reality and the body politic. Josh Hawley comes to mind.
I love you Jess! My go to angry old lady music is Linkin Park "Shut up! Shut up when I'm talking to you" puts things in perspective. A very close friend just told me she's thinking about leaving CA because it's becoming too much of a hassle here. She doesn't know how bad it is in places where you are. I admire your strength and determination so much. Keep up the good work! You have people who believe in you!
The corruption is the doom of the autocracies. Ukraine got those trucks into Russia in part because many of the border guards were willing to turn off the cameras or not do more than a cursory inspection when their palms were crossed with silver.
You are wrong Jess, you’re not a nobody from nowhere. You are a force! And becoming more and more so each and every day. Recently, I’ve seen your name popping up here and there so you are becoming well known. Keep up the good work and safe travels.
Yes, JP is a force and thanks for the indictment Jess. We all need it. We all need to understand the assignment.
💯
It’s a hard truth that’s coming for sure.
Our fate is not yet set, but the cast is hardening. Way too many are still in denial. That’s double plus ungood.
Keep fighting and truth telling, Jess.
It's about the bigotry. Once Latinos across the US discover what California Latinos did in the 1990s, that they're never going to be let into the White Club, that's when the flip happens.
Stephen Miller is without realizing it doing everything possible to make that happen.
It’s that and much more. It’s evil…cruelty…hatred…greed…stupidity…lawlessness…
There will always be that. The key is to have more people realize that the Republicans are selling them a bill of goods.
We don't need to win them all. We just need need to win enough.
That’s a no no from me Nana. It’s a strategy that failed twice, with two female candidates. Erasure can only come from sheer numerical advantage at all electoral levels.
Unfortunately white male supremacy rules in US. They will not be ruled by a woman.
I’m an Obama fan. He somehow convinced enough Americans that he was for the PEOPLE even though he is of color. A woman of color? Didn’t work.
We were asked by a neighbor why we voted for Obama bc though we didn’t campaign for Obama, everyone here knows we’re Dems. He said he didn’t know anyone else who voted for Obama. So we told him what Obama stands for.
Why didn’t I ask the neighbor why in the world would he NOT vote for Obama?
I agree with all that, with a gentle reminder that presidents are not rulers. They are servants. As are all electeds. 🖖
You are definitely NOT a nobody from nowhere! You are showing all of us the way; leading from the front, not your easy chair. And you are from where most of us are from; everyday folks from everywhere in the country. If we had 535 Jess Pipers in the Congress, we wouldn’t have to have this conversation.
I’m a senior, but you have inspired me to get back out there and do what I can. Thank you 🦉
It's good to hear that you're planning to 'go back out there' - power to your elbow!
Amen
Jasper County,MO. We haven’t forgotten about you or the Day that Lives in Infamy: Sunday May 22,2011. The memory of those innocent 162 Folks that perished in such a Horrific and Cataclysmic Tornado still burns brightly. I still get a bit Emotional thinking about Will Norton and the Xennial Pizza Hut Manager who sacrificed his life for other strangers, or the Bravery of that Fastrip Gas Station Manager who gathered all those people into the Walk in Cooler and the Strong Woman of God Donna Barnes who’s Pentecostal Faith and Prayer calling on the name of Jesus as the Rain Wrapped EF 5 Monster bared down on them. He did answer, because everyone there was Miraculously Unharmed. The Gas Station was completely demolished and destroyed, but not a soul was harmed.
Missouri needs to Flip Blue. It’s Been Red long enough. Joplin is at Risk under Orange Stalin for a Dystopian Nightmare if another Horrendous EF Twister like 5/22/11 strikes them. Without NOAA, the death toll in Jasper County would be three times higher.
Scary for you like us in Florida with hurricanes and militates/warnings! We saw this year what happened in Kansas and now FEMA is dismantled and some areas here on the west coast of Florida are not yet repaired !
It’s very frightening for Florida and it’s sad that they’ve doubled down on MAGA. Andrew was around 33 years ago and most Generations have forgotten all about that Cat 5 Hurricane. Even the August-September 2004 4 Storms of Charley,Frances,Ivan and Jeanne have been completely forgotten about. Trump and Gov DeKlansman have placed total ignorance all over the Florida coast and have pushed Dangerous and Reckless conspiracies against NOAA. Such as the Insane HARRP conspiracy.
I have lived here on the west coast since I was 6 weeks old and remember all those hurricanes. I remember when I was about 8 y/o and there was a hurricane but this was 1959 before all the new weather technology. We went outside when it was dead calm. Not really smart but no one knew better . I worry about this storm season. And if things were like last year Florida will be screwed,no FEMA or NOAA. The lovely gov grew up here in my town on the coast of Pinellas county and his parents are still here. Just cruel and hateful people.
Helene - just last year. The despot claimed the Biden administration did nothing in response. And now? The despot has blocked funds that were appropriated to assist in restoration. Tragedy on top of tragedy. Thanks to MAGA people.
And now our FEMA Directir openly admitted he does not know that there is a hurricane season in the USA.
Amazing the ignorance or is he just playing dumb?
At age 5, I knew that tornadoes only occurred in the midwest. I lived in Massachusetts so they were not a danger. At least so I thought. One day the kindergarten teacher, Miss Reed (not sure of the spelling of her last name, but I liked her a lot) told us that she'd been in a tornado in Worcester (a town in Mass) a few years earlier. I insisted to her that tornadoes only occurred in the Midwest. And she insisted that in fact there had been one in Worcester. (I knew about the Midwest's existence because Family of Origin had driven through it on our way from Seattle to Boston in the 1950 Studebaker.) Anway, I went home, told my 3 years older brother what had happened in school. He wrote Miss Reed a note explaining that tornadoes only happened in the Midwest, and I took it to her the next day. She didn't argue with me after she got my brother's note.
Also, on April Fool's Day, I told Miss Reed that there was a snake climbing up her back. She put on a wonderful show for me! Until I said, April Fool! I never saw her again after Kindergarten but I hope she had a wonderful life!
Your three-year-old brother wrote a letter?
Three years older brother.
How's his penmanship?
You are not a no one from nowhere! You are bringing people together so they know they're not alone and you are reminding them why we must all fight. Even in the deepest red states we have to show up and fight against the racist fascist oligarchs. I really appreciate your work in rural Missouri for personal reasons.
Whenever I speak to groups as an activist and organizer, my message, which I try to include as a call to action, is that I am not there to make them angry. I am there to get them organized and engaged. They are generally already angry, and that is why they are there. However, while anger may be a powerful force to engage people, it is not enough to sustain a movement. Sustaining a movement requires people to see that they are making a difference. It is important to find even small successes to help people feel that their energy and enthusiasm are enabling change.
Therefore, it is essential to identify opportunities for those successes and focus people on those objectives. That does not mean one should ignore the larger objectives. It simply means it is essential to find achievable goals within local communities that make a difference in that community's life while continuing to work on those larger movement objectives.
People often get caught up in national issues while ignoring those issues in their neighborhoods and communities, where progress is possible. Making a difference in those local issues helps to create movement solidarity and a sense of accomplishment that helps to sustain a movement.
You are my hero! ♥️
“Start by showing up.” Seems like the most minimal thing the Dems could be doing. There’s an opportunity just waiting to be seized, and, as you say, Jess, now’s the time to grab it.
Thanks for showing up Jess! You're right, other democrats need to be showing up all across our state!
Thank you for all of your very hard work. It's so important, and very inspirational. I'm a proud Blue Missouri member because of you! I encourage everyone wh reads this to join! Safe travels.
Last week I visited a small mountain community in our very red State. A friend and I went for lunch and to stroll around the truly historic (vintage 1860s) downtown. One shop was selling "Gulf of America" and "DOGE" hats. We stopped into a bodega for ice creams. The owners were there and we began to discuss the current administration's decision to stop making pennies. These small business owners were pretty upset by that, given the impact to their pricing and business practices (most folks there pay in cash). I ventured, "It's another click bait so that we won't look at the big stuff." That got the owners going. People know when they've been conned. I find that speaking with people without accusation or confrontation can free them to express their anger, frustration, and fears of what the future holds. People know when they've been conned.
We in NW Arkansas are just south of Joplin. Indivisible NWA and other groups are on the ground organizing. We hope June 14 No Kings Day will be a big day for recruiting.
I met a man yesterday who is organizing an Indivisible group in Mena, Arkansas. MENA, ARKANSAS! (If you know any progressives in Polk County, AR, they should go to Indivisible’s web site and look it up and get acquainted.)
Mena!!!
It's people like this fellow from Mena, Arkansas, who deserve our support and thanks, and you are an inspiration to all of us, Jess.
Your post got me thinking about the word "activist." In some ways that word belongs to anyone who "acts" and "activates" others. This is a title that we earn by doing. All those who set up the meeting and invite you to speak: all those who broker connections for the guy in Mena, Arkansas; all those who, in gathering, give one another the courage to send in $10 bucks to a candidate they can believe will do something; and all those who refuse to cave before pressure of the deadly questions from family and friends -- and from deadly enemies who wish we'd stop -- "Who cares? Why bother? What difference does it make?" -- all those become activists.
Anne Applebaum's "Autocracy, Inc." is a fine book, and her older book (2020) "Twilight of Democracy" is a warning that is still valid and a bit of a zippier read, I think. Thanks for spreading the word about Applebaum, because all of us need to know clearly what we are up against -- and take some courage in seeing how others, now nameless and forgotten, fought against even more horrible tyrannies than Donald Trump can offer.
We are lucky that he's such a lazy cat, so disinterested in governing and unstrategic in his thinking, though his erratic behavior makes him nonetheless very dangerous. He is curiously the least cosmopolitan New Yorker one could imagine. Give me an hour in Herculaneum, Hannibal, Neosho, or Knob Noster, and I could find 5 people in each town more knowledgeable about the world, American history and government, and economics than our President. This is not to say he is not dangerous. His unholy alliance of the righteous "religious," the filthy rich, the sexist and the racist, not to mention the willfully ignorant, makes him very formidable, indeed.
Keep at it, Jess, and keep advising us what we need to do. That you drove all the way to Joplin for what you expected to be a crowd of 50 tells us much about your commitment, dedication, and your value to us all. That there were 200 people ready to hear you tells you and all of us of the hunger for your message of empowerment of the average citizen. You may not think you are much, but the Republicans, for all their bluster live in fear of people like you and the leaders who will challenge their hold on reality and the body politic. Josh Hawley comes to mind.
Thank you.
Thanks for the shoutout Holly! It's True! Our name is Indivisible: Polk County Arkansas. All are welcome.
I love you Jess! My go to angry old lady music is Linkin Park "Shut up! Shut up when I'm talking to you" puts things in perspective. A very close friend just told me she's thinking about leaving CA because it's becoming too much of a hassle here. She doesn't know how bad it is in places where you are. I admire your strength and determination so much. Keep up the good work! You have people who believe in you!
You’re a good American, Jess. Keep pushing people to think. 💪🏻
The corruption is the doom of the autocracies. Ukraine got those trucks into Russia in part because many of the border guards were willing to turn off the cameras or not do more than a cursory inspection when their palms were crossed with silver.
You are a true populist, Jess, a voice of the people. Keep it up!