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Julia Baker's avatar

Evidently, I love political cringe. I've been asking and asking my rep and senators to do a little yelling. Thank God for Booker.

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Mary Liz's avatar

Corey Booker is to be lauded and praised to the highest degree - cringe or not!! I suppose I could be described as "one of those women of an age wearing Mom jeans." I'm OK with that. One of my favorite movies is Napoleon Dynamite and I so identified with the girl character who was a band nerd. I do make "protest art", but I haven't actually protested in a long, long time. I SALUTE my friends and their friends who are these days! Thank you for your blog and observations that provide a lens for boomers like me who are reliving their teenage years when the Viet Nam War ended and Nixon was President - but this is that bad dream time on steroids. Thank you, Holly.

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Matt Jerr's avatar

Holly, I come from a Roman Catholic background. Though I'm lapsed and my belief in God is complicated, I'll always identify as Catholic. I'm also an alcoholic in recovery. What I've learned in recovery is that you have to let things go and not build resentments. What helps prevent resentments is to lead with love and empathy. One of my strengths is empathy. Really trying to understand why someone feels why they do. Everyone deserves empathy, love and compassion. It's easy to dunk and get a high five. It's really hard to get the high five for sharing love. But it's also contagious because love and empathy require work. We are negative by nature. I'm so happy Senator Booker brought love and empathy back into the public discourse.

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Momma Nancy's avatar

Woman of a certain age giving zero fucks? CHECKKKKKKK

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Barbara Didrichsen's avatar

The great thing about cronehood is that you finally have the chance to achieve the "Zero forks left to give" stage of caring about what other people think.

Even the cringe doesn't feel as cringey anymore. I'll be out with the granny squad this Saturday, adding my voice to the surge. Even if it rains.

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Terry Mc Kenna's avatar

Booker is my senator and most of us in NJ are proud of him. And unlike Congressman Tom Kean Jr (republican son of a former esteemed governor) he does not hide from the press or the people. Nor does he pretend ignorance as most GOP folks are doing.

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Kathleen Weber's avatar

This is going to be remembered the way Woodstock was remembered. And YOU have a chance to be there.

Democracy is NOT a spectator sport.

💥💥💥 DONT MISS THIS!!! “Hands Off” 🧨🧨🧨

🙋‍♂️🙋‍♀️🙋‍♂️ Gigantic nationwide demonstration! 🙋‍♂️🙋‍♀️🙋‍♂️

Saturday April 5 National “Hands Off” Day of Action

on the National Mall and 657 local demonstrations

Click this link to find a “Hands Off” demonstration near you.

https://handsoff2025.com/

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Jake's avatar

This is wonderful. Thanks Holly

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Tai's avatar

Cory Booker was spectacular. And thank you Holly for keeping up with the Tesla takedown.

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Suzette Ciancio's avatar

💙💙💙 Amen!

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Lior Tepper's avatar

Weird rules! (non native English speaker so I hope I got it right). Maybe because I am a single 40+ man, but I love Booker since I learned about him in 2020.

Anyway, thanks a lot for your work and also for the podcast recomendation last post, i binged the first five episodes.

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Kate Fall's avatar

I love this post! Sorry to come so late to it.

I'll be out tomorrow with the grandmoms in mom jeans. They are the same people who volunteer at the book drives and food bank. We are so not cool that if someone accused us of being cool, we'd laugh in their face. I'd rather be patriotic than detached.

Thank you all for your encouragement, and I hope I can encourage you in turn.

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Todd Guerrero's avatar

He’s a vegan, obviously. Classic. 🙂

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Susan J Cobb's avatar

On my list of things to do is subscribe for real, like PAYING. More on why i haven't yet further down. I so appreciate your uncoolness. You have the t

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Susan J Cobb's avatar

Yep. Well aware. I do it so well.

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Susan J Cobb's avatar

Oh help and hell. I am useless at this! Before i screw up more i'm just sayin' that for some reason when i hit "upgrade to paid" the only option i get is to pay in Mexican pesos. I do live in Mexico (and rejoice in being one of many active activists uncool-ly acting out down here), and I pay for other Substack subscriptions from this same location in US dollars. I will figure it out, because I owe you big time, Honey. You are part of what keeps me sane. More later. Muah.

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Holly Berkley Fletcher's avatar

This whole reply is wonderfully cringe 😆

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Debbie Anderson's avatar

I'm so glad I read this tonight. Thanks, Holly.

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Lori Z.'s avatar

Corey Booker did a stand up job and cringe or not, it got peoples attention. Just like your protest gatherings. They get noticed. Bono is my hero, outspoken, unafraid to ask (demand) for what he wanted and then managed to squeeze just a little more. Hey it worked with the Bush administration for aid for Africa. Different times I know, but when I need my own personal butt kicked, I watch his prayer breakfast video on youtube. Tay Swift is another one. She's been hoarding all her f@ck bucks and spends them wisely. Tim Miller is cool also because his Spotify playlists are great. But ya know what bothers me most? We have a lot of very prominent musicians and folks in the arts who are deafeningly silent and for the life of me I can't figure out why that is. Just sayin'

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