Co-founder, Optimistic Labs šŸš€ Co-founder, @Independent_LC šŸ—žļø Sr. Advisor, @independent_cen ✨ past: Chief Impact Officer @ Forbes šŸš€#OptimisticUpstate

Atlanta + Upstate NY
Joined April 2009
I haven’t agreed with all that @JGreenblattADL has done with the ADL, but there is no daylight between on this. Blaming the price of bananas on Jews? THAT’S Bananas.
You want to know what desperate looks like? Blaming the price of bananas on the Jewish state. Consider that PAC ad just another example of scapegoating the Jewish state. At least we can thank them forĀ a case study in antisemitism.
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Exactly what Simone said. There is a word for this: scapegoating
This is one of the most antisemitic things I've ever seen in a political ad, and it's for Abdul El-Sayed. The message: your life is hard, groceries are expensive, and the Jewish state is why. Total madness!
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Well, Peter is close. Exit Democrats = Independents šŸ˜‰
In the future, we'll view people like Stevens as exit Democrats -- Democrats who were stepping away from the party at the same time as they were insisting they were members of it. She still believes that this is her party, that El-Sayed is a fluke. She's confused. This party is no longer her party. This is not a matter of an election or two. This is characterological. A sea change has taken place, and she cannot see it.
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The antisemitic left and the antisemitic right are, in the end, one and the same. Watch and see.
Watch Mamdani, El-Sayed, and white supremacists talk about AIPAC - side by side. The similarities are staggering. You cannot unhear this.
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ā€œThe views expressed by contributors are their own… (except when they are paid by foreign governments like Qatar). šŸ¤·šŸ»ā€ā™‚ļø #justsayin
The Hill just published an op-ed defending Qatar without divulging that its author, William Bennett, is a registered foreign agent of Doha. This should be illegal, with serious consequences for the outlets, agents, and foreign principals that fail to disclose this
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The #Jewish voters that feel politically homeless because of the antisemitism in both parties DO have an alternative: turn independent… we welcome you. šŸ˜‰@Independent_LC
Jewish Democrats deserve to feel safe within our own party. Nonnegotiable is about reminding Democratic leaders that we are a moral and political force, and that abandoning us in the face of rising antisemitism is a moral and political loss. Amanda Berman, founder of the Zioness Action Fund, spoke with The Detroit Jewish News about how rising antisemitism in the Democratic Party is harming our ability to fight authoritarianism on the right.
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The thing that I can’t figure out is why AES supporters expect @HaleyforMI to fall in line behind El-Sayed after his campaign demonized her so much that there was an actual threat on her life. And when she doesn’t they compare her to #MAGA? Sounds like a purity test to me. šŸ¤·šŸ»ā€ā™‚ļø
With centrist Dems like these who needs MAGA?
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Absolutely bananas that Trump is saying this out loud. Who actually is making the money? That’s really the question. #IAmIndependent
TRUMP on HIGH GAS PRICES: We’re making money like we’ve never made before. They’ll say: President Trump is bragging about all the money they're making while people are suffering at the pump. I don’t give a damn. We’re making a freaking fortune.
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I didn’t have this on my 2026 bingo card. But then again, I mean… why the heck not?
JUST IN: U.S. federal government publishes map depicting New Hampshire absorbing the entire state of Vermont.
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Love this thought by fellow optimist @PeterDiamandis. It has me thinking: what would be a good reading/watching list for inspiration in pursuit of this call to action? Let’s crowdsource a syllabus
We manifest what we believe. We need more Star Trek, less Terminator. The world needs hopeful, optimistic Sci-Fi.
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This. šŸŽÆ
ā€œhurt people hurt peopleā€ is no different than ā€œvery fine people on both sidesā€ #leaveitblank Let’s not become what we fight against.
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No party is entitled to blind loyalty. #VoteIndependent
I worked for Obama twice. I ran for Congress as a Democrat. Now I’m called a traitor for refusing to give every Democrat my vote. I’m raising a Jewish daughter. Her safety matters more to me than party loyalty. If that bothers you, ask yourself why.
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Why are they protesting Seinfeld? Because he is part of the government of #Israel? Well, he’s not. It’s simply because he’s #Jewish. Hint: there is a word for that. (And it’s not anti-Zionism) Call these protests what they really are.
VIDEO THREAD: "Shame on Jerry, shame!" chanted protesters today outside the performance of Jerry Seinfeld at The Anthem in Washington DC. "Free, free Palestine!" the group chanted in front of attendees on line as they smashed posters of Seinfeld and Netanyahu.
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Adam gets it exactly correct.
According to the PAC supporting Abdul El-Sayed for U.S. Senate, the reason Americans can’t afford groceries is because the U.S. is paying for ā€œIsrael to kill Palestinians.ā€ Blaming America’s problems on Israel isn’t simply criticism of foreign aid. That’s why they don’t care about the billions of aid going to Egypt, Jordan and Ukraine. Or about US military forces defending Europe, South Korea and Japan. Israel is central to the identity of most American Jews. Singling out Israel as the cause of American suffering is a thinly veiled attempt to turn Americans against their Jewish compatriots, portraying their support for Israel as evidence of divided loyalties and their political influence as a threat to the interests of their fellow Americans. It is an old antisemitic tool dressed up as a foreign-policy argument. @PatinkinMandy
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Jonah is šŸŽÆ
I think it's weird how few people are troubled by the gist of Sayed's Islamophobia defense. If you say that asking about support for the Muslim Brotherhood is an Islamophobic attack on your religion, then at some level you're suggesting -- or at least encouraging the inference -- that the MB's form of Islam defines or informs your interpretation of Islam. There are lots of Muslims that don't subscribe to the MB version and when you ask them about the Muslim Brotherhood, they don't respond by saying "how dare you attack my religion?"
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PSA: if you are worried about PACs but only call out AIPAC, then maybe you should watch this and ask yourself: ā€œam I really seeing the entire picture?ā€ And if #Israel is the only foreign country you obsess about - maybe ask ā€œwhy?ā€ #JustSaying
Mamdani, El-Sayed and many far-left politicians use AIPAC and Israel as a scapegoat for America’s problems, while super PACs bankroll their rise. They blame AIPAC, but who’s behind THEIR MILLIONS? Watch the mask come off.
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To be precise: El-Sayed is intentionally bridging the divide between the far left and far right through a populist anti-#Israel message that veers into anti-#Jewish conspiracies and tropes. Pass it on.
El-Sayed now has the distinction of utilizing two of the most prominent antisemitic podcasters as surrogates -- on the far left and far right:
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It kinda makes you wonder why AIPAC (an American org supported by Americans) gets all the attention. Maybe there is another reason?
Mehdi Hasan's Zeteo has a new documentary out on AIPAC, asking whether the "Israel lobby" is really an agent of a foreign power. A shadowy, fabulously rich network pulling Washington's strings: it's one of the most enduring antisemitic tropes of our age. So I did Mehdi a favour and checked the numbers. Over the past decade, Israel ranked tenth for registered foreign lobbying spending, behind China, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE and even the Marshall Islands. AIPAC came 191st among Washington's lobbies. The entire pro-Israel lobbying category spent less than gun-rights groups, and a fraction of what the drug companies spend. Elections? AIPAC's super PAC spends serious money. But it competes in a system where outside groups have poured in nearly $2 billion this cycle, and six organisations have each spent over $60 million. Strangely, Zeteo seems far less curious about Riyadh, Beijing or Doha. The truth about the Israel lobby. Link to my new column here šŸ‘‡ jakewallissimons.com
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As usual, @havivrettiggur keeps it real on what’s happening in #Israel. And as usual, I agree with him.
🚨 Israeli journalist and host of the Ask Haviv Anything podcast, @havivrettiggur joins the conversation to discuss his criticism of the Israeli government and weigh in on the ongoing battle over information, media narratives, and how the conflict is being presented to the public. Listen live āž”ļø breakfastclubonline.com/list… or stream on @Netflix RN! šŸ“ŗ
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