Trump has already fired my partner and many other dedicated civil servants. Their crime? Supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion, which are good for America. I will continue to undermine the orange menace from within the government and protect our sacred democracy: https://democracydefender2025.substack.com/p/dei-public-servant-fired
By issuing his pardons, he has created the core of his Sturmabeitlung and Schutzstaffel. I see Stewart Rhodes as Ernst Rohm and Enrique Tarrio as Heinrich Himmler. Elon Musk as Martin Bormann, Kash Patel as head of the GESTAPO, Tulsi Gabbard as Guderian, Hegseth as Goering. I haven't sussed out his Joseph Goebbels yet.
In 1933, Hitler called all of the industrialists and financiers to his office, just after he was appointed Chancellor by Hindenburg, They thought they were being called in to be offered nice contracts, and duties, but had to endure a 90 minute threatening harrangue and at the end they all donated money to his financially strapped NAZI party, and from then on they were his tools.
The Tech Bros are Fritz Thyssen and his compatriots.
Folks this is 1933 redux and the birth of the 4th Reich of the Rich.
If you are looking for something to do besides saying “OMG: a hundred times a day, we have an early chance to push back on MAGA in Wisconsin. The balance of the Wisconsin Supreme Court is again going to be determined by an election, this one in early April. If the side that favors democracy wins again it could mean getting rid of the extreme gerrymandering in that state. It could flip two US House seats, SUPPORT SUSAN CRAWFORD IN WISCONSIN!!. Look her up, contribute your time and money!
Yeah, but remember what happened to Rohm. If I were one of Humpty-Trumpty's good buddies now, I'd be watching my back every second.
And let's not give him too much credit. Much of what he's doing, he's doing at the behest of Goebbels (oh, sorry, Miller), who told him to "flood the zone" to overwhelm any opposition with the sheer number of lies, keep us demoralized and despondent. A lot of his crap is illegal, unconstitutional, and will never come to pass.
Just keep swimmin'. I think he's almost cartoonish in his evil, and although he is profoundly dangerous, he is also mortal. Let's not imbue him with godlike powers--there's already a lot of pushback, even from a FEW Republicans.
He IS a mob boss, but he's also the one figurehead holding MAGA together. Once he's gone, they'll fall apart. Can you see his red hats falling in love with any of his henchmen?
Let's not underestimate him either. Look at the people who's lives he is edangering in just his first week. And where is the "pushback" from Republicans? His vengeance holds no bounds and he/they will not stop until his perceived enemies are severely punished or dead. We are in a battle for survival of decency and democracy and anyone who thinks that is an exaggeration is not paying attention.
I'm not trying to downplay the danger; sorry if I seemed to be taking it too lightly. My point is that a Federal judge has already ruled his order ending birthright citizenship is unconstitutional. If it goes to the SC, I expect even those bastards will NOT BE IN HIS FAVOR. He'd have to amend to Constitution to achieve this.
I said a FEW Republicans (Lisa Murkowski) have said "No." The MTGs and that ilk of hysterical poo-flinging monkeys will of course be fine with anything he does. I would just ignore their gloating and gargling noises.
We each have to find our comfort zone. It seems silly, but I had copies of my birth certificate copied and notarized. If ICE bangs on my door, I'll hand them a copy.
You also have to know your rights. You do not have to answer any questions, and you don't have to let police in unless they have a warrant, have probable cause they can prove, or exigent cause, like they just noticed your house is on fire.
Yes it's awful and yes, it's possible everything we fear, including the gas chambers, may come to pass. But it's also possible that after this period of "shock and awe," things may calm down a bit. Again, this is DELIBERATE, to keep us so frightened we won't make a peep. Hang in there.
"hysterical poo-flinging monkeys", that made me laugh, thanks. My point is that when fighting a fire, you have to anticipate where it is headed and get in front of it.
Thank you. :D Since I live to provide comic relief, my work here is done. :D
And I agree that we need to be strategic and active and engaged NOW. Too much hand-wringing and "OMG OMG OMG!" Let's find our people/mission and get underway.
It's hard, I know, because part of his strategy is to do everything at once. So we need to pay attention to where he's really inflicting damage (rounding up innocent people who look some kind of ethnic) and ignore those stunts that are mostly noise (scrapping FEMA, ending birthright citizenship).
And we let the monkeys clean up their own poo; no bailing them out, ever again.
The more probable course is deterioration of the situation.
Trump has just pissed on Congress by"firing" IGs without giving 30 days notice required by law. Grassley and others won't do anything about it except some grumbling. They are all on the slope and sliding further down.
I don't know why any IG should leave since it seems an unlwaful order. Maybe he has that authority, IDK.
I understand the IGs refused to leave, knowing the order is unlawful. Someone else (I'm working) could research it, but I believe I saw that somewhere.
If the Senate will approve Hegseth then I think its fair to say they will approve damn near anything Trump wants. Maybe not Gaetz with such a reprehensible record plus they all or most dislike the guy, but other than that.....we seem to have reached some critical mass of insanity among those in high office.
Hard to believe that Tennessee was the 36th state to pass the 19th Amendment to give women the right to vote in 1919. Probably couldn't get that result there today, except in Nashville. Cheers... GH
Apparently Chuck Grassley just did push back about the firing of the inspectors general. Congress is supposed to get 30 days' notice. He's not happy that they didn't.
Correct. Trump operates like a mob boss - he expects unquestioned loyalty, and if he doesn't get it, he dishes out retribution. He is also corrupt and expects people, governments, and corporations to "pay to play."
I also think the "mass deportations" are just a bunch of show raids meant to: 1. Keep the MAGA morons happy (and thinking that he is doing something about illegal immigration), 2. Terrorize undocumented immigrants, hoping they will self deport, because mass deportations would cost millions of dollars and a lot of ICE personnel, and Trump doesn't want to spend all that money on deportations - he wants to hand out big tax breaks to all his billionaire sugar daddies, and 3. Try to get the Blue States to roll over and cooperate with him. DON'T FALL FOR IT!!
According to statistics, ICE rounded up 538 illegal immigrants nationwide on Jan. 25. Back in September 2024 when Joe Biden was President, ICE was rounding up about 312 illegal immigrants daily, so you can see this is nowhere near "mass deportations." The 1,041 people that were repatriated to other countries were ALREADY in ICE detention when Trump took office - he did NOT round them up.
Guderian in his day was seen widely to be one of the more brilliant tacticians of modern warfare (see the eponymous biography), and the fact that der fuhrer would not adhere to his advice as regards withdrawal from the Russian front quickly led to the destruction of the Nazi regime. The vacuous Gabbard is in no way of the stature of Guderian in any aspect of warfare. What makes her so special, perhaps her sexiness and winning smile? Besides, drumpf's pick for Sec Def should tell a person all one needs to know about his nonexistent concept of leadership in and preparedness for war. He's already blown out all the retired brass upon whom any competent leader would have depended for advice. Putrescent
Dennis I had a brain freeze. I couldn't remember Hitlers general in charge of intelligence. Wilhelm Canaris was in charge of German Intelligence, but he was actually an anti NAZI and was hung for his involvement in the bomb plot. I can't pinpoint an equivalent to Gabbard in the Third Reich.
Hegseth nomination, and House confirmation- tells me all I need to know.
Throw in his other dangerous nominations, the firing of the IGs. His pardon of 1500, his call to the Danish PM, EOs, etc etc. etc
Trump has demonstrated beyond any reasonable doubt that his goal is to turn America into a lawless fascist state, that a Trumplican majority Congress will support his actions leading to that, and so we must act on this.
And even if one believed fascism was not his goal, he has demonstrated he is unfit for office -a clear and present danger.
That we have somehow seen the worse from Trump is "peace in our time" Chamberlain delusion. There is nothing that would justify the opinion that we have seen the worse, only the contrary.
Yes and his family has publicly disowned him. He is a strange critter--hateful and provocative from his earliest years. I'm guessing that not only is he a self-hating Jew--just as Roy Cohn was--but he def has some sociopathy fizzing around in his brain. He went to Santa Monica HS and there was known, even from his freshman year, for his hatefulness toward Hispanics.
Hell, he could convincingly play Goebbels in a bio-pic: he has the gaunt and haunted look (must be the spirits of all the "very bad people" swarming across the border to rape and pillage).
You know me better than that Laurie, What is the problem with you lately, honestly you don't seem like yourself. The last thing I would do is glorify NAZI's, just the opposite, but I am also rational, i have a brain and not easily swayed by propaganda.
Have you ever heard of the banality of evil
Hannah Arendt coined the phrase "the banality of evil" to describe the seemingly ordinary acts of the Nazi regime. Arendt was a political theorist and author who attended the trial of Adolf Eichmann in Jerusalem in 1961.
That is the problem, evil can become banal, civil servants, like Eichmann, just doing his job, not particularly evil people enjoying their jobs like the SS or SD.
We are staring the banality of evil in the face today. The Trump regime is going to be staffed with thousands of people engaged in evil works but are mediocre and banal.
My rep Ann Wagner MO 2HD is an excellent example of the banality of evil as i have viewed her for the last decade. But I and others have not been able to get enough voters to see this. Many voters seem to have other interests. If we go under it will be because too many said- not my job- and hurried on their way.
There you go, that is reality. Jimmy Kimmel at least once a week, puts one of his people on the street with a microphone asking passerby's, the simplest of questions, like do you think that Ben Franklin should be Secretary of State as he is very friendly with the French, and the fools actually answer the question sometimes with a yes sometimes with a no.
I've seen MAGAts at rallies trapped, answering a question the opposite of what you would expect a MAGAt to answer, and when pointed out, that fumble around for an excuse.
We are constantly told that man is an economic creature, but the evidence is that people are motivated by emotions, and the motivating emotion is fear, fear induces hatred.
I have been having an exchange on a Robert Reich article with some dude who is all riled up about leftists, liberals, socialists, communist and he thinks he has infallible arguments and reasons.
He hurls the word leftist around and Demsheviks, which are stand ins for Satan and devil worship.
There is no rock solid evidence, no proof that will change his mind, he is a believer a member of a cult. Yet there are corollaries on the opposite side of the spectrum.
People are either ignorant, do not know anything, not interested or are believers, members of a cult. like the cult of Ayn Rand or the cult of Marx or the cult of Adam Smith.
Does it fail Colin. Time will tell, how much time do we have before it fails, can we afford to wait for it to fail.
There are those that say that the civil war was unnecessary, as the south would have had to eventually abandon slavery. Well besides that not being true (the whites feared freed slaves, the Nat Turner rebellion still rang in their collective minds), How many people would have been born and died in slavery over the hundreds of years it took to abandon slavery.
The current Trump shit show will be replaced by an even more effective shit show.
What do you think would have happened had there been no WWII and Hitler had his thousand year Reich. A thousand year shit show to be sure, but it would have solidified its power, and the new Fuhrer after Hitler died would be worse.
Look at Russia. The Stalinist regime lives on in the form of Putin. Oh the economic nature of the regime has changed, there are now bilionaires, consumer goods, and Russia doesn't have a gold standard, thus a perpetual depression, and their are billionaires, but culturally and politically Russia is the same backward, authoritarian country it was under Stalin.
Yes the US has to get rid of Trump and put the Oligarchs in their place, if that be prison so be it. However the start he has made seems to have alienated just about everybody, and even Hitler was conscious of public opinion. A start could be made by identifying those thugs who are threatening members of Congress unless they vote pro Trump. I wouldn't object to them being framed either, or shot if they show any kind of resistance. I may not be right about this there may be better ways. I agree that the US has to get rid of the oligarchs and Trump. The alternative is that the US becomes a backward society like Russia.
Laurie - I have seen enough of William Farrar's comments to know that glorifying Nazi's is not what he's aiming at, but kinda the reverse -- equating key members of Team Trump with the awful Team Adolf.
R Hodsdon ; I was more thinking that those who love Nazis and are trying to get points with tRump and other authoritarians would feel that their status as Nazi supporters would be boosted. Thus, those wanting that staus would be encouraged. I am not glorifying Nazis, but pointing out that "key" team trumpers would actually welcome being equated with "the awful Team Adolf."
I fully support your perspective and appreciate you sharing these insights. If you want to hear more from me, you can find me on Facebook at Wendy Lawrence: William Farrar.
I am appalled at the idea of American business men becoming vassals of The Dope Who Would Be King. I can only hope that the sickening display of ego-fluffing and butt-kissing was merely performative window dressing.
Pure self interest R Hodson, Bezos, Cook, all of them know where the power is now, and to survive, much less prosper, they have to get on the right side of power.
Kris Kristofferson's song, Me and Bobby McGee: Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose.
Techbros have a lot to lose and one helluva lot to gain.
It is said, everyone has a price, if only their head.
Not only Repubs but there are Democats joining the chorus
For instance Cuellar and Gonzales of Texas are right wing culture warriors
And there were 45 Dems in the House, 12 Dem Senators that voted for the Lakin Riley Act, and Chuck Schumer has already signaled that he is caving, and wants to play nice with Trump and his agenda.
BTW, everyone who voted for Trump is aiding and abetting a felon., half of America are criminals per the law.
Bannon and Miller are taking Goebbels place and marco rubio is Von Ribbentrop. Fascism was always "everything for the corporation" and the few at the top were just like mafia don, treating the treasures of the country(s) as there own.
I remember hearing Diane Rehm with Marco Rubio as guest 12 years ago, and I was thinking what a mental midget this Rubio is. But i was wrong. He is an elder statesman, the adult in the room. so people say.
Thanks for the Marco Rubio/ von Ribbentrop analogy.All forms of government, except true democracies are mafioso's.
Even kingship. The king is the sovereign, but people don't know what sovereign really means, it means he or she is above the law, that he or she owns everything, including the people.
The right of a sovereign is called allodial. Allodial rights are gained by conquest, and passed on to heirs.
The sovereign is the don, dukes, barons, parliament are capo regimes, their power comes from the sovereign., in the modern era the sovereign has been forced to cede some of his or her power, but still retains absolute power..
Take England, the King is head of state, not head of government, however even though the Prime Minister is selected by Parliament, he or she has to be approved by the Sovereign, and the English even have a ritual for that.
The House of Lords is congregation of capo regimes, the house of commons is an assemblage of soldiers, whose actions must be approved by the assemblage of the capo regimes.
Remember what Trump said: Vote for me this time and you won't have to vote again.
He now has such complete control of the government, and even the 4th estate, that if he permits a mid term it will be a charade.
Do you believe that the Hungarians can unelect Orban, the Russians Putin, the Turks, Erdogan, even the Israeli's are having difficulty getting rid of Netanyahu
The normalcy of a democratic Republic, such as it was, disappeared at 4 pm Nov when Kamala conceded the election.. their was a peaceful interregnum until Jan20th, 2025, then we became a dictatorship, and dictatorships don't have elections, if they do, then they are a charade.
Yes, but the MAGA cult members don't really like Vance all that much. They put up with him because demented DonOLD picked him as VP. I'm guessing Trumps' demise would mean the end of MAGA cultism, just like the death of Jim Jones meant the end of the Jonestown cult.
Can't come too soon. Nature might well have an unexpected surprise for him. He is massively overweight and has coronary artery disease. I can say it's highly likely his blood sugar is elevated. That is a deadly cocktail.
If ? he were to 'suffer an unexpected demise', this will almost assuredly be conspiracy theoried to death as something like - dear leader was 'murdered' by Dems/liberals/progressives et al = anyone he and his 'chattel' consider the 'enemy' (of their emerging 4th Reich) ~
A dictatorship if he can keep it. Putin, Orban, Erdogan brought order out of chaos. Trump is injecting chaos into order. Yes, there was something approaching chaos at the border, but Trump greatly exaggerated it. Now he will try to create chaos by targeting those who harbor "invaders." Republicans want chaos, because they want a constitutional convention to undo our Constitution. Trump is their willing vehicle. Chaos comes at a high cost for everyone, and the fascists will face a backlash.
Uh, there was no chaos when Putin became President, nor in Hungary either, nor in Turkey. Your comment is slick, "order out of chaos, but they bring chaos", but not true Victor.
Orban came to power, much like Trump, with immigration as the cause, but his immigrants were Muslims from the Levant, Afghanistan, Syria and north Africa. He promised to stop by them by building a wall and he did.
Kemal Attaturk left a secular government, but the longings of the people are dictated by the Imams and they wanted a secular (Islamic Government)
Erdogan gave them that. There use to be many kosher butchers in Turkey, now there is only one, and the funny thing is that there is little difference between Kosher and halal. except in Kosher you have a rebbe who blesses everything from meat to salt and steel wool.
Orthodox Jews don't consider shellfish to be kosher, some schools of Islam don't consider shellfish to the halal, some like the Hanafi consider it mukruh detestable, but permit it,
Twelver Shia Muslims
This school of thought considers only sea creatures with scales to be halal, but makes exceptions for some crustaceans, like shrimp and prawns.
Then again: Turkey's Jewish population was estimated to be around 14,500 people. The majority of Turkish Jews are of Sephardic origin and live in Istanbul and Izmir.
william farrar: I spent time in Moscow in the late 90s, before Putin. It was chaos under Yeltsin. The average Russian is much much better off now than in the 90s, which is why so many Russians accept his propaganda about Ukraine.
You were in Moscow in the 90s? How much time? and just in Moscow? or travelled to Russian villages? And when did you return? are you currently in Russia? Please tell us more about the average Russian. What demographics are considered? How many average Russians have you talked to or is it just your personal opinion that the average Russian is better off? in what ways? we need to hear from an expert on this matter, after all you spent time there.
Putin brought order out of chaos and that has resulted in prosperity for the people. They have jobs, housing (lots of new housing in fact), plenty of shopping, medical care, and retirement benefits. I am not comparing Russians to Germans or Americans; merely Russians in the 90s compared to Russians today. You can apply for a visitor's visa and go to moscow if you'd like to see for yourself..
Requiring verification is like vetting a source, which is important when one values facts and legitimate sources. In the past, it was part of education, when we would never use Wikipedia as a source in professional or academic papers. Strangely, now that Dunning-Kreuger syndrome is so prevalent, everyone offers their opinion as fact and becomes offended if asked for credentials or a basis for the opinion. I thought it may be possible that you could actually cite some source or basis for your opinion. if there are more jobs, better housing, available health care and retirement benefits, that would be the answer and I can check those things out through available sources without going to Russia. in fact, a short-time visitor may not be allowed to see anything that contradicts the official "everything is better with Putin" message.
No doubt true J. But, if you could ask a Russian soldier or his family would they rather live with some chaos in their lives or have their guts and brains splattered all over a muddy trench in Eastern Ukraine for no good reason what would be their answer? Just asking... GH
I hope you are right about the backlash. They should be brought before the courts on charges of corruption. Nothing will be change unless the big money is removed from politics.
I used to be a pessimist, until things didn't turn out as badly as I expected, so I became an optimist, and things kept getting better and better (mostly). So I think I'll just go with that.
Pessimist,realist, capitalist,communist whatever man is addicted to Manicheanism, duality, good or bad. I am none of the above.
I live in reality, rationally assess the situation, trends, and make my own predictions about where things are headed and what I should do. Batting 400, 85, comfortable no debts, comfortable income
I do not subscribe to ideologies, world views are "isms.
Do not let them tell you this is politics anymore. The establishment and corporate press that allowed themselves to be corrupted to this point are no longer trustworthy.
The correct frame for this is war. And the only solution is to win it.
Elizabeth Warren speaks out regularly as does Tammy Duckworth & a few others; they rarely get mainstream coverage, except for MSNBC. There is NO unified messaging from the party as a whole. It’s time for everyone to stop licking their wounds & starting planning an aggressive campaign for the midterms.
Yes, the big mystery for me has been why is the media focussed on this mediocre TV character? He is a train wreck. Elizabeth Warren has such interesting things to say but the media steers clear of substance.
Where is Dick Tuck when we really need him? He died in 2018 at age 94. He was a political prankster who tormented Nixon for years. Look him up. Cheers... GH
If there are mid terms, and if the Democratic party gets a hold of itself, and stop playing nice with Trump and his merry band of fascists. So far the only leadership I see is Elizabeth Warren and AOC.
Trump has two more years, aided and abetted by the Supreme Court and an intimidated Judiciary, what's the chances of an honest and uncompromisingWe mid term.
This is a new age, a new order, the old order and norms are out the window.
Politics as usual is a forlorn hope.This was the last "normal" election.
Elections do not a democracy make. Is Hungary a democracy, it has elections, but the Fidez and Orban can't be voted out of office, same with Hungary,same with Russia. Same with Iran, no matter who is president the Ayatollahs still rule the country.
Schumer et al are self serving people, as majority leader he could have used the nuclear option,time and again, but never did. Thune as new majority leader will, without hesitation, use the nuclear option.
The D.C. beltway is a bubble, and the only way to envision it is as a giant bubble, it is oblivious to the world outside the bubble, the only world that exists for these people is inside the bubble.
You are Stan. I say that only partly kidding. I think you have to expect that "they" the movers and shakers- need some time to get it together. My concern is DEI not being applied to their circle. Too many lawyers with Ivy League PHDs is not the way forward.
why would you expect midterms? there may be a reality-scripted show produced by Fox and other propaganda machines, all owned by fascists, but no real or fair elections. Republicans have eliminated those. We surrendered truth and facts, so easily. We will only communicate like this for a very short time. Soon we will have no way to speak or communicate. we will not know what is happening. next epidemic? people around you may die, but you won't know why or how many. people will disappear, if it is someone close to you, you may try to find out what happened to them; but not for long. You will learn questions are dangerous. People will learn to cower in shadows trying to be invisible or you will learn to worship him. Hang portraits in your house, hang miniatures from your review mirror, and teach your children to bow when passing his likeness. You will do this because you want them to be safe. teach them he is great, and chastise them if they question because there will be torture and re-education camps. Pray that your children are not smart or empathetic, they will be safer. remember, face recognition is everywhere and under his control. Who you gonna call? he owns law-enforcement (all enforcement); he owns the weapons, what good are your guns; you won't even see the drones and missiles incoming. Resistance is futile.
Your worst-case scenario is not the case -- yet -- but it is also not sci-fi at this point. That's why it's so important for us to realize how close to catastrophe we are, so we act *now* from as many directions at once as MAGA is doing.
Mac, and others - the only plan has been put into play by the terrorist organization known as the republican party. Step 1 has been accomplished, in that the election apparatus/infrastructure in the red and swing states has been replaced with equipment and programming by the oligarchs. It was done over 4 years, slowly, methodically, and completely under the radar. It didn't hurt that the willingly accomplices in the red and swing states were legion. Also, the oligarchs have more than enough pocket change to buy anyone they want. The result of course, is the "election" of dumpster.
All of which means that there is no hope for the 2026 midterms. My prediction is that there will be a gradual reduction of progressive seats in the house, all gone by 2028. Any dem senators up for re-election in 2026 will also lose. It will always be by close margins, which gives cover to pollsters and mainstream media as they spew their lies. I really hope I'm wrong.
I sure hope you are too.Poeople kept telling me "Joe will do something. Yeah, he did something all right. Useless pardons and mouth platitudes about ""the peaceful transfer of power". Basically, he turned us over to fascism.
So, the election was stolen is your claim? Go to a DA and present your evidence. But only in the red states and swing states. Quite a story. Yea, I think you are wrong.
But there is a concept of a plan. :D Is everyone here completely unaware of all the other progressive voices that are getting together to get the word out? Haven't you heard of Run for Something or Field Team 6? This site is getting as depressing as Daily Kos. You're giving up four days into his term, and reinforcing each other's despair. I and my rose-colored glasses are going to step out for a while. Stop giving them what they want: your misery and surrender.
There is no plan. If there had been, a way would have been found to keep this traitor out of the White House. Musk used his considerable cyber assets to rig the election. What did our government do to protect US, the American people? Not a damned thing. Trump's entrance into OUR House should have been fought by any means necessary, both Constitutional and extraconstitutional. But did our executive branch do ANYTHING to stop this? Nope. Just issued what we now see are pretty much useless pardons and mouth platitudes about the "peaceful transfer of power". This is not some meeting where Roberts Rules of Order apply. We have an answer to Franklin's challenge:"a Republic. If you can keep it".
Lights - I am not disagreeing with your basic idea that too little was done to protect US from Trump 2.0. Had you or I been POTUS instead of Joe Biden, maybe we would have been much more aggressive than Joe and Merrick were in getting El Trumpo into court and thence into a nice, comfortable federal prison. But they were "institutionalists" as I believe I am as well, but extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures.
Pelosi will handpick few new corporate Democrats to run for congress. Barack and Michelle will give speeches defending the "middle class" wearing their ten thousand dollars suits and dresses.
Dianne, I hope so, but I am concerned. Nov. 2019 we had a big turn out because everyone wanted Trump out of the White House. Why did so many who voted in 2019 not bother to vote in 2024? Did they forget how awful it had been during his first term?
Evidence shows the answer is voter suppression. Today's newsletter from Thom Hartmann explains what has been happening in great detail (by Greg Palast). Worth reading!!
I don’t think midterms can change anything - if they happen at all I’m sure there’ll be lots of suppression, manipulation and downright ignoring of results.
Except, led from the shadows by the corporatists such as Pelosi and Barak, Democrats will fumble and win at most a non-working majority dedicated to their corporate paymasters.
Then we play the long game. If the Democratic Party cannot be reformed, or refuses to be reformed, we will have to build a party from the ground up--a party that advocates for the poor, working (often, those two overlap) and middle classes (those who haven't become bougie sellouts anyhow).
How many lifetimes are you willing to spend trying to make a “3rd party “ that has the GHOST of a chance at winning an election. Working within the Democratic Party.
The Dems are a heterogeneous lot, progressives and centrists and a few democratic socialists. Not to mention single issue activists— women’s rights folks and BLM folks and peace and poverty folks. If by “reform “ you mean “agree on priority agenda items and don’t go rogue on us” then I don’t think the Democratic Party would suit your needs. Your first impulse was right — you need to start your own party. Good luck.
take it over. take the Democratic party over. Like Trump did (well not exactly like that).
It's too hard to build a Party from scratch.
Talk about a 3rd Party is a distraction from work that needs to be done.
How many here actually go to Dem club meetings in your area, never mind are committee members? If you don't support the Party, either directly and/or through your support to allied organizations and causes, we won't reach critical mass to stop the crazy man.
Ah, but whose votes will be counted? Who will be afraid to get in line looking maybe hispanic, or with a turban or headscarf? No. Carolina Supreme Court hangs by a thread; look out if you are military abroad. The Hartmann Report headline today is: Trump didn't win. Vote Suppression Won.
Don't count on the midterms taking place, at least as we've known them. If Trump and the Republicans think that there will be a blue wave flipping the House and maybe the Senate then they will cancel the midterms (e.g., Reichstag fire) or sabotage them in certain states. And the reactionary majority on SCOTUS will just go along.
(This is a like.) I just posted a caveat about the Midterm hope related to vote and voter suppression, but I think you have a serious point about Trump cancellation. He loves those emergency powers.
Hopefully people will come out and vote instead of staying home and imagining that everyone else will vote and keep Trump out of office. Well, everyone who did not bother to vote ended up as a Trump supporter.
We will be lucky to be alive by the mid terms. I do not think people are aware enough of the damage he has done in just a week. What can we do to stop this insanity? Who will lead us?
Any chance you can whistleblow Jeffery Epstein's lists of millionaires and billionaires- sure to destroy those men's careers but also Trump's- they will kill him if released on his watch. Also Cassidy Hutchins sexting notes. That would destroy many Republican men's careers and personal lives/divorce, keep them so busy coping and away from Trump for months on end. Actually might destroy party depending who sexted - woohoo!!
The last decade is documented with hundreds of documented scandals, including audio "grabbing pussy" call to intimidate foreign leaders, lies and lies; videos that make us cringe "mocking, even the disabled", and threats so appalling that matched Hitler; any one of these would end the career of any democrat and even republicans in the past; but no longer. NOTHING can move MAGAs now they will and do sacrifice their own children on the altar of their orange god.
I'm afraid I'm with Ruth here (somewhere) There just is no evidence that there is a level of sleaze that will disqualify a Republican. I mean, how low on the scale of basic decency is Pete Hegseth? Hey, our kind of guy, brays the chorus!
I wish you the best of good luck . Please know that everyone I know, literally, here in Missouri is horrified at these events and all are on the side of our federal employees. God be with you.
Discusting! I pray that the lawsuit from your Union is successful! I, too sm a Civil Servant working for the State! When are people going to wake up and smell the coffee!?
He's not a Dictator, although he's well on the way. He has help, lots of it. He and his helpers have come to your town and into your house, into your life. They won't stop.
I'm sorry to hear of your problems. I'm convinced that the same behavior as Trump's could not happen in the UK. We just have a different set up to the USA and we are far closer to our politicians. Trump is deranged, a criminal, a rapist and yet he is allowed to continue with support. How can that happen?
Of course nothing will change as long as the voters continue to support him. And it is distressing to read of a loyal civil servant worried that he may be unable to fund the care of his needy child, Security and stability for the ordinary person has gone while the greedy billionaires grab more. Trump, being the narcistic he is, has gone too far.
A toddler, in a aging man’s waddling,fat body with a guttural, vindictive voice has No business being the President of The United States! Sitting at a desk, with a black sharpie, scribbling an indecipherable scrawl, at the bottom of “Bills” that look like Fancy Restaurant Menu’s, to hold up for camera’s. Holding each one up, like a Kindergardener, showing off to his Mommy, Ohhh! Like, “Look at me, What I can Do!”
What is wrong with this Guy? That he still needs to get this kind of Emotional Attention from such a Bizarre Ritual at his Age, he is not a 5 yr old any more! Come on, he needs a Physciatrist to deal with his early Childhood issues, on his own, Personal Time. Not a Public, Signing Ritual, at the Expense of the American Public.
From Biographies of his early life, it is known, there were times, his mother was unavailable, due to birth of his next sibling. He has vast wealth. To afford a Mental Health Professional. To deal with these long term, abandonment issues. He obviously needed to deal with them, he seems to acting out a repeat ritual, of wanting to show perhaps his mommy, he could sign his name. Still needs her affirmation. If his now wife, can’t do it, maybe his kids, can get him, to get the help he needs, to get this apparent Compulsive Ritualistic, Repeat Disorder to be Given the Opportunity to be Healed!
We the Public are Getting Tired of Seeing the Same, Old, Mess, it’s Embarrassing, it see The Queer, Jerk, Making a Damn, Fool of Himself, Over & Over, Again!
But rich sleazy white men deserve to be hired in our federal government? And people deserve to be fired for no reason other than they will tell the “truth” as they see it. So, there is no longer anyone disagreeing with Trump. There is Trump’s way or the highway .Many voters in the US did not vote for Trump. And by the way, you might learn something from Robert Reich. He hasn’t been wrong about things too many times. And Trump paints the US as all doom and gloom that only he can fix. Actually, life was pretty peaceful under Biden. Now we have chaos and Trump telling us daily how wonderful he is. I fear the retribution from the released January 6 prisoners, not the handful of immigrants who have committed crimes.
Today in SF an ICE officer asked a middle schooler for his ID while riding a Muni bus to school. I guess he's one of the rapists and murderers the orange slime is talking about.
Hegseth's job would be to neutralize any potential opposition to Trump from within the military. He is eminently qualified to do that. Not good for national security.
An alcoholic who is in denial about his addiction, which appears to be the case with Hegseth, is really not qualified to do anything. People know that, to get around him, they just have to ply him with liquor until he is too intoxicated to think. Very sad.
So, people who engage in highly destructive behavior that harms many people are merely misunderstood and should be given high-level positions that enable them to harm even more people. Affirmative action for incompetent alcoholics. Got it.
All your scenario does is to keep white, rich, allegedly Christian males in power. You can take your pious, self-congratulatory "Amen" and you know what you can do with it. None of the a-holes now in power have earned a damn thing.
That's really white of you to say! Nostalgic for the good old, halcyon days of Gov George Wallace and his "American Independent Party" Klansmen, when that's a phrase you and the likes of you commonly liked to use, are you ‽ How white of you!
I greatly admire how you and the likes of you like to cite the provisions of a document you and the likes of you would otherwise have abolished, while having defended and elected a president that looks more, in competence and character, like the kind of DEI hire you and the likes of you like to claim DEI leads to.
That's really white of you to say! Nostalgic for the good old, halcyon days of Gov George Wallace and his "American Independent Party" Klansmen, when that's a phrase you and the likes of you commonly liked to use, are you ‽ How white of you!
I greatly admire how you and the likes of you like to cite the provisions of a document you and the likes of you would otherwise have abolished, while having defended and elected a president that looks more, in competence and character, like the kind of DEI hire you and the likes of you like to claim DEI leads to.
That's really white of you to say! Nostalgic for the good old, halcyon days of Gov George Wallace and his "American Independent Party" Klansmen, when that's a phrase you and the likes of you commonly liked to use, are you ‽ How white of you!
I greatly admire how you and the likes of you like to cite the provisions of a document you and the likes of you would otherwise have abolished, while having defended and elected a president that looks more, in competence and character, like the kind of DEI hire you and the likes of you like to claim DEI leads to.
So the bibulous, skirt-chasing Pete Hegseth has earned the position of Secretary of Defense? I wonder what you will say on the first day he turns up blotto at work.
This is unacceptable. Is there a way for some protection to be funded, gifted, or otherwise made available?. This physician has done so much for public health & medicine & yet he is being shafted by evil monster. His MAGA attackers are vicious nutcases. They will hound him.
It's the bloody limit. This idiot must be stopped. There must be civil disobediance from all the people around him. Every official, politician, head of state must refuse to negotiate with this bastard.
Yes, he is all of that - but his actions are that of the current government, the current Administration in power. I know you aren't but I'd suggest stop raging about the man, and turn your efforts on to the current Administration - their actions and the consequences of.
Professor Reich: having lived in germany for 8 years, i can tell you that elon musk would have been arrested and prosecuted for his nazi salute. this is not as joking matter in germany, as it is in ameriKKKa, where people stand around rubbing their eyes and asking, was that a nazi salute or was he waving his hand?
Actually that was originally called a Roman salute from Caesar’s time, that Hitler changed to suit his own evil agenda. The swastika was also reversed from its original design in Japanese Buddhist temples and used as well on the Nazi flag. Also, Hitler wasn’t even German but Austrian.
I know that the Italians have similar laws as Germany today for anyone who promotes fascism or tries to promote Mussolini ideals or images. Good for them! Many US citizens died in WW 2 to defend Europe and the world from dictatorships.
Yeah. And when Hillary asked if Julian Assange couldn't just be droned, when later asked by a journalist if indeed she meant it, she said, "If I said it, I was joking." The people in the room said it was clear that she was NOT joking.
Time for the American people to wake up really fast and face the neo-Nazi regime brought about by Trump's administration. What the Fuck did they think they were doing when they voted this satanic monster into office. At least 50% of American's are Stupid, and Trump banked on that even though he himself is a moron. He's a very ultra dangerous, sociopathic manipulator.
As Trump so much as told us, Musk rigged the election. And the data shows it. It’s not realistic.
Please watch these YouTube videos and then read SmartElections.US findings (below). It will shock you. Afterwards, you will be hard pressed to deny there was some kind of manipulation in the 2024 election. This data is NOT normal.
Germany also has secure elections unlike here in the U.S.
Please watch these YouTube videos and then read SmartElections.US findings (below). It will shock you. Afterwards, you will be hard pressed to deny there was some kind of manipulation in the 2024 election. This data is NOT normal.
All trump is, is a reflection of all of us. Either we are too lazy to vote, or we are angry that our lives did not turn out as well as we had hoped and we cling to any leader who will help us find a group to blame it on. The ones who don't belong to either of those groups, we are aware and knowledgeable as to how bad this is going to be. Seeing hegseth nomination confirmed just showed me how the rest of this show will proceed.
My head is exploding. Who are these people who voted for him, follow him, kneel to him? It's the POWER seeking parts of their brains taking over all others. Everyone please stand up, stand strong!
Yes so many, and they think it’s great. I’d wish for this to be bad for them but I don’t have to cause it’s going to be bad for all of us, because of them
Last night, Joy Reid interviewed Michael Fanone and his mother. She recounted two incidents, one in which a bag of excrement was thrown at her by a man who yelled "Traitor",and another where a brick was thrown against her home at 3:00 AM.
Later, three other officers (Gonel, Dunn, and Hodges) joined Fanone and recounted their experiences during and after the riot. The thugs who attacked them are now being released from prison, courtesy of the current occupant of the Oval Office. What fresh hell will they unleash now?
A friend of mine from church just buried her 20 something nephew who was attacked while waiting in line to see a concert!!! I am assuming it was a racial attack!
Yes, they were too scared out of their wits to even think straight. In real life, Merrick Garland might be a nice guy, but he as AG he was a total wuss.
The Democrats prioritized chasing elusive Republican voters instead of prioritizing working class voters, a carbon copy of 2016. Btw, Ben Wikler will not lead the DNC. It's a guy named Martin. Probably another corporatist.
Yes, of course they should have done this but the election was lost, there were things Biden could have done but he sat there and did nothing so yes, I blame him and other Dems for their inaction.
I think we need a national organization. Too bad MLK was one of a kind. But remember when moveon.org was rallying a lot of people? I wonder what happened.
The enemies are actively hated and destroyed; ex-friends are passively defeated and destroyed if possible particularly if they have committed crimes in his name…
It should have been done after Jan. 20th, 2021, but nope. Apparently those in power didn't have the brains to take out traitors amongst us. In the 50s, awful as they were, he would have been taken care of. And Biden could have used the considerable powers of presidential immunity granted by SCOTUS to solve the problem. But as always, Dems are tripped up by "the optics". In the end he, and us, are the victims of the Democratic hang-up with decency and civility.
Why was the election not challenged when Trump was given dozens of audits and recounts?
This was nothing except capitulation. The executive branch had our safety and future in their hands and simply handed us over to tyranny.
It was a close election, and Trump said he had won before all the votes were counted. In the wee hours of the morning I was awake and very surprised it was announced Trump had won. I don’t believe it. Did I miss something? Were there recounts?
In the end, Biden was seemingly passive when America needed him most. Even if he could not have been able to loudly exert his authority, he could have ushered Kamala forth to speak on his behalf. I realize he did speak on a few occasions but it wasn’t the best image to restore the faith of the American people nor the world at large. Biden was a good President.
We in Britain cannot believe what is happening in America. Trump is destroying everything good about America and what we have in its place is lies greed and corruption.
Taking security away from Dr. Fauci is an invitation by Trump to his J6 pardoned minions to do their worst. He and they are despicable. The only thing keeping Trump alive now is JD Vance, a bigger menace.
I wish (hope ) that Dr Fauci and others who have lost protection would move to other countries to be safer. I don’t think that’s cowardice. We have Germany’s history as a guide. Professors, bankers, etc. who thought they’d be safe in Germany were soon to find out they weren’t.
I wish Americans would stop wringing their hands and saying, "This is not who we are"! This is not who we WERE, but it is most definitely who we have become.
Actually Joe , America was always a racist country founded on the back of slavery & genocide. For a while after the struggles of the 1960’s I believed in a better America, one that had somewhat matured beyond all of this, but sadly the true racism & white supremacy just went underneath the facade. rump came along & pulled back the veneer & openly courted the racists & the white nationalists. And they in turn egged on the people frustrated by not getting ahead and not getting a piece of the so called American Dream. When in fact it was the greed of corporations that has stopped them from getting ahead! Ragged Trouser Philanthropist stuff , 100 years on, the same stuff about immigrants, people of colour , people who are different causing economic problems, causing crime etc. America hasn’t increased its minimum wages since 2009. $7.25 is not a living wage. In the UK our minimum wage is £11.44, almost double the USA plus workers in UK have a national healthcare service.
Corporate Greed has pushed average Americans to the limit and the power hungry have once again used the same mantra as has been used for centuries- blame the immigrants, blame the indigenous people, blame people of colour, blame, blame….. divide and rule for their own gain! Oh and be grateful for your $7.25!
Can RICO laws be enforced against this new “mob”? I’m careful not to name “he who shall not be named” in case “they” come after me. But I’m still afraid. And I’m basically a nobody!
If you are looking for something to do besides saying “OMG: a hundred times a day,, we have an early chance to push back on MAGA in Wisconsin. The balance of the Wisconsin Supreme Court is again going to be determined by an election, this one in early April. If the side that favors democracy wins again it could mean getting rid of the extreme gerrymandering in that state. It could flip two US House seats, SUPPORT SUSAN CRAWFORD IN WISCONSIN!!. Look her up, contribute your time and money!
The entire Fauci affair is a national disgrace. Dr. Anthony Fauci is one of the most respected medical scientists of his era. His resume is second to none. He is the G.O.A.T. i.e. Tom Brady, Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods equivalent of his profession. Yet, the moronic smear campaign against him has gone mostly unopposed. I blame Joe Biden for not defending him and allowing a torrent of misinformation against Fauci to rule. The USA will pay a price for our collective ignorance. Can you say JFK Jr?
Fauci’s protection was just withdrawn. Jeez, what a petty, vengeful man Trump is.
Trump has already fired my partner and many other dedicated civil servants. Their crime? Supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion, which are good for America. I will continue to undermine the orange menace from within the government and protect our sacred democracy: https://democracydefender2025.substack.com/p/dei-public-servant-fired
Trump is manifestly unfit to be president. Bring on the midterms.
By issuing his pardons, he has created the core of his Sturmabeitlung and Schutzstaffel. I see Stewart Rhodes as Ernst Rohm and Enrique Tarrio as Heinrich Himmler. Elon Musk as Martin Bormann, Kash Patel as head of the GESTAPO, Tulsi Gabbard as Guderian, Hegseth as Goering. I haven't sussed out his Joseph Goebbels yet.
In 1933, Hitler called all of the industrialists and financiers to his office, just after he was appointed Chancellor by Hindenburg, They thought they were being called in to be offered nice contracts, and duties, but had to endure a 90 minute threatening harrangue and at the end they all donated money to his financially strapped NAZI party, and from then on they were his tools.
The Tech Bros are Fritz Thyssen and his compatriots.
Folks this is 1933 redux and the birth of the 4th Reich of the Rich.
Fox News is the Josef Goebbels Network.
I was going to say Rupert Murdoch.
Yes, and Prince Harry has proved that Murdoch is vulnerable.
Took a half a century on his Mum’s behalf.
Reported for spam.
Do we have to put up with this spam?
Reported for spam.
Thank you. I have seen this comment posted on numerous substacks and just now figured out how to report it which I will do the next time I see it.
You're very welcome.
Good one
Indeed, that's what is, no doubt about it
If you are looking for something to do besides saying “OMG: a hundred times a day, we have an early chance to push back on MAGA in Wisconsin. The balance of the Wisconsin Supreme Court is again going to be determined by an election, this one in early April. If the side that favors democracy wins again it could mean getting rid of the extreme gerrymandering in that state. It could flip two US House seats, SUPPORT SUSAN CRAWFORD IN WISCONSIN!!. Look her up, contribute your time and money!
I believe Postcards to Swing States has a campaign for her.
Thank you for letting me know about this postcard campaign. I just signed up!
Wonderful!
I'm a monthly donor:
https://www.crawfordforwi.com/
Yeah, but remember what happened to Rohm. If I were one of Humpty-Trumpty's good buddies now, I'd be watching my back every second.
And let's not give him too much credit. Much of what he's doing, he's doing at the behest of Goebbels (oh, sorry, Miller), who told him to "flood the zone" to overwhelm any opposition with the sheer number of lies, keep us demoralized and despondent. A lot of his crap is illegal, unconstitutional, and will never come to pass.
Just keep swimmin'. I think he's almost cartoonish in his evil, and although he is profoundly dangerous, he is also mortal. Let's not imbue him with godlike powers--there's already a lot of pushback, even from a FEW Republicans.
He IS a mob boss, but he's also the one figurehead holding MAGA together. Once he's gone, they'll fall apart. Can you see his red hats falling in love with any of his henchmen?
Let's not underestimate him either. Look at the people who's lives he is edangering in just his first week. And where is the "pushback" from Republicans? His vengeance holds no bounds and he/they will not stop until his perceived enemies are severely punished or dead. We are in a battle for survival of decency and democracy and anyone who thinks that is an exaggeration is not paying attention.
I'm not trying to downplay the danger; sorry if I seemed to be taking it too lightly. My point is that a Federal judge has already ruled his order ending birthright citizenship is unconstitutional. If it goes to the SC, I expect even those bastards will NOT BE IN HIS FAVOR. He'd have to amend to Constitution to achieve this.
I said a FEW Republicans (Lisa Murkowski) have said "No." The MTGs and that ilk of hysterical poo-flinging monkeys will of course be fine with anything he does. I would just ignore their gloating and gargling noises.
We each have to find our comfort zone. It seems silly, but I had copies of my birth certificate copied and notarized. If ICE bangs on my door, I'll hand them a copy.
You also have to know your rights. You do not have to answer any questions, and you don't have to let police in unless they have a warrant, have probable cause they can prove, or exigent cause, like they just noticed your house is on fire.
Yes it's awful and yes, it's possible everything we fear, including the gas chambers, may come to pass. But it's also possible that after this period of "shock and awe," things may calm down a bit. Again, this is DELIBERATE, to keep us so frightened we won't make a peep. Hang in there.
"hysterical poo-flinging monkeys", that made me laugh, thanks. My point is that when fighting a fire, you have to anticipate where it is headed and get in front of it.
Thank you. :D Since I live to provide comic relief, my work here is done. :D
And I agree that we need to be strategic and active and engaged NOW. Too much hand-wringing and "OMG OMG OMG!" Let's find our people/mission and get underway.
It's hard, I know, because part of his strategy is to do everything at once. So we need to pay attention to where he's really inflicting damage (rounding up innocent people who look some kind of ethnic) and ignore those stunts that are mostly noise (scrapping FEMA, ending birthright citizenship).
And we let the monkeys clean up their own poo; no bailing them out, ever again.
Your right! is all part of any autocrat's plan
The more probable course is deterioration of the situation.
Trump has just pissed on Congress by"firing" IGs without giving 30 days notice required by law. Grassley and others won't do anything about it except some grumbling. They are all on the slope and sliding further down.
I don't know why any IG should leave since it seems an unlwaful order. Maybe he has that authority, IDK.
I understand the IGs refused to leave, knowing the order is unlawful. Someone else (I'm working) could research it, but I believe I saw that somewhere.
NOT TO MENTION THE IDIOT CONGRESSMAN FROM TN WHO WANTS TO GIVE HIM A 3RD TERM IN OFFICE!!!!
hey, we knew that was coming! yeah, that will pass, hopefully, he will first.
We can only hope!!! Unfortunately this time he has the packed court supporting him as well as every idiot he is trying to pack the cabinet with.
If the Senate will approve Hegseth then I think its fair to say they will approve damn near anything Trump wants. Maybe not Gaetz with such a reprehensible record plus they all or most dislike the guy, but other than that.....we seem to have reached some critical mass of insanity among those in high office.
Hard to believe that Tennessee was the 36th state to pass the 19th Amendment to give women the right to vote in 1919. Probably couldn't get that result there today, except in Nashville. Cheers... GH
There’s a great story behind the TN vote!! Look it up!!
Send that guy in for psych eval.
Yes, give us more evil crap
Apparently Chuck Grassley just did push back about the firing of the inspectors general. Congress is supposed to get 30 days' notice. He's not happy that they didn't.
Correct. Trump operates like a mob boss - he expects unquestioned loyalty, and if he doesn't get it, he dishes out retribution. He is also corrupt and expects people, governments, and corporations to "pay to play."
I also think the "mass deportations" are just a bunch of show raids meant to: 1. Keep the MAGA morons happy (and thinking that he is doing something about illegal immigration), 2. Terrorize undocumented immigrants, hoping they will self deport, because mass deportations would cost millions of dollars and a lot of ICE personnel, and Trump doesn't want to spend all that money on deportations - he wants to hand out big tax breaks to all his billionaire sugar daddies, and 3. Try to get the Blue States to roll over and cooperate with him. DON'T FALL FOR IT!!
According to statistics, ICE rounded up 538 illegal immigrants nationwide on Jan. 25. Back in September 2024 when Joe Biden was President, ICE was rounding up about 312 illegal immigrants daily, so you can see this is nowhere near "mass deportations." The 1,041 people that were repatriated to other countries were ALREADY in ICE detention when Trump took office - he did NOT round them up.
Yes yes this is what I have been posting too. Believe it!! This is his SS. This is the Fourth Reich.
He's a Kraut anyway, or at least his father was.
The Drumph family is a huge embarrassment to patriotic German-American families like mine.
Next thing you know, Trump will be wearing a small cut mustache to add that finishing touch as to intentions for America
Yes. I said this to my husband on Tuesday. Its really quite terrifying.
Let your electeds know how you feel. The guy needs to be removed-impeached or incaacity for office under article 25.
I don't think complaining to my UK MP is likely to change anything!
Guderian in his day was seen widely to be one of the more brilliant tacticians of modern warfare (see the eponymous biography), and the fact that der fuhrer would not adhere to his advice as regards withdrawal from the Russian front quickly led to the destruction of the Nazi regime. The vacuous Gabbard is in no way of the stature of Guderian in any aspect of warfare. What makes her so special, perhaps her sexiness and winning smile? Besides, drumpf's pick for Sec Def should tell a person all one needs to know about his nonexistent concept of leadership in and preparedness for war. He's already blown out all the retired brass upon whom any competent leader would have depended for advice. Putrescent
leadership. Sick.
Dennis I had a brain freeze. I couldn't remember Hitlers general in charge of intelligence. Wilhelm Canaris was in charge of German Intelligence, but he was actually an anti NAZI and was hung for his involvement in the bomb plot. I can't pinpoint an equivalent to Gabbard in the Third Reich.
Hegseth nomination, and House confirmation- tells me all I need to know.
Throw in his other dangerous nominations, the firing of the IGs. His pardon of 1500, his call to the Danish PM, EOs, etc etc. etc
Trump has demonstrated beyond any reasonable doubt that his goal is to turn America into a lawless fascist state, that a Trumplican majority Congress will support his actions leading to that, and so we must act on this.
And even if one believed fascism was not his goal, he has demonstrated he is unfit for office -a clear and present danger.
That we have somehow seen the worse from Trump is "peace in our time" Chamberlain delusion. There is nothing that would justify the opinion that we have seen the worse, only the contrary.
Sadly, I must agree.
There were a number of attempts on Hitlers life. A great pity they didn't succeed.
Thinking that Stephen Miller fills the role of Joseph Goebbels rather neatly.
Indeed, but he is of Jewish heritage, go figure that one.
Yes and his family has publicly disowned him. He is a strange critter--hateful and provocative from his earliest years. I'm guessing that not only is he a self-hating Jew--just as Roy Cohn was--but he def has some sociopathy fizzing around in his brain. He went to Santa Monica HS and there was known, even from his freshman year, for his hatefulness toward Hispanics.
Indeed, that is the case
Hell, he could convincingly play Goebbels in a bio-pic: he has the gaunt and haunted look (must be the spirits of all the "very bad people" swarming across the border to rape and pillage).
Trump is bringing in his brown shirts brigade
This was the week of der langen Messer.
William F : don't glorify them.
You know me better than that Laurie, What is the problem with you lately, honestly you don't seem like yourself. The last thing I would do is glorify NAZI's, just the opposite, but I am also rational, i have a brain and not easily swayed by propaganda.
Have you ever heard of the banality of evil
Hannah Arendt coined the phrase "the banality of evil" to describe the seemingly ordinary acts of the Nazi regime. Arendt was a political theorist and author who attended the trial of Adolf Eichmann in Jerusalem in 1961.
That is the problem, evil can become banal, civil servants, like Eichmann, just doing his job, not particularly evil people enjoying their jobs like the SS or SD.
We are staring the banality of evil in the face today. The Trump regime is going to be staffed with thousands of people engaged in evil works but are mediocre and banal.
My rep Ann Wagner MO 2HD is an excellent example of the banality of evil as i have viewed her for the last decade. But I and others have not been able to get enough voters to see this. Many voters seem to have other interests. If we go under it will be because too many said- not my job- and hurried on their way.
There you go, that is reality. Jimmy Kimmel at least once a week, puts one of his people on the street with a microphone asking passerby's, the simplest of questions, like do you think that Ben Franklin should be Secretary of State as he is very friendly with the French, and the fools actually answer the question sometimes with a yes sometimes with a no.
I've seen MAGAts at rallies trapped, answering a question the opposite of what you would expect a MAGAt to answer, and when pointed out, that fumble around for an excuse.
We are constantly told that man is an economic creature, but the evidence is that people are motivated by emotions, and the motivating emotion is fear, fear induces hatred.
I have been having an exchange on a Robert Reich article with some dude who is all riled up about leftists, liberals, socialists, communist and he thinks he has infallible arguments and reasons.
He hurls the word leftist around and Demsheviks, which are stand ins for Satan and devil worship.
There is no rock solid evidence, no proof that will change his mind, he is a believer a member of a cult. Yet there are corollaries on the opposite side of the spectrum.
People are either ignorant, do not know anything, not interested or are believers, members of a cult. like the cult of Ayn Rand or the cult of Marx or the cult of Adam Smith.
When there is a shit show running, the best people generally bail out. So the show fails in a mess of it's own making.
Does it fail Colin. Time will tell, how much time do we have before it fails, can we afford to wait for it to fail.
There are those that say that the civil war was unnecessary, as the south would have had to eventually abandon slavery. Well besides that not being true (the whites feared freed slaves, the Nat Turner rebellion still rang in their collective minds), How many people would have been born and died in slavery over the hundreds of years it took to abandon slavery.
The current Trump shit show will be replaced by an even more effective shit show.
What do you think would have happened had there been no WWII and Hitler had his thousand year Reich. A thousand year shit show to be sure, but it would have solidified its power, and the new Fuhrer after Hitler died would be worse.
Look at Russia. The Stalinist regime lives on in the form of Putin. Oh the economic nature of the regime has changed, there are now bilionaires, consumer goods, and Russia doesn't have a gold standard, thus a perpetual depression, and their are billionaires, but culturally and politically Russia is the same backward, authoritarian country it was under Stalin.
Yes the US has to get rid of Trump and put the Oligarchs in their place, if that be prison so be it. However the start he has made seems to have alienated just about everybody, and even Hitler was conscious of public opinion. A start could be made by identifying those thugs who are threatening members of Congress unless they vote pro Trump. I wouldn't object to them being framed either, or shot if they show any kind of resistance. I may not be right about this there may be better ways. I agree that the US has to get rid of the oligarchs and Trump. The alternative is that the US becomes a backward society like Russia.
There needs to be more media attention on the threats to electeds- both actual, implied, electeds sense of insecurity, etc.
The real strory is what's going on in the minds of electeds around security but it doesn't make for splashy news all the time.
My comment was more about the followers who want to impress tRump, not about you, William. They want to be big, bad Nazis.
OK, but I wasn't glorifying them Laurie, and that was your comment.
The ability of the fascist inclined to rationalize is a marvel.
Laurie - I have seen enough of William Farrar's comments to know that glorifying Nazi's is not what he's aiming at, but kinda the reverse -- equating key members of Team Trump with the awful Team Adolf.
R Hodsdon ; I was more thinking that those who love Nazis and are trying to get points with tRump and other authoritarians would feel that their status as Nazi supporters would be boosted. Thus, those wanting that staus would be encouraged. I am not glorifying Nazis, but pointing out that "key" team trumpers would actually welcome being equated with "the awful Team Adolf."
I fully support your perspective and appreciate you sharing these insights. If you want to hear more from me, you can find me on Facebook at Wendy Lawrence: William Farrar.
I am appalled at the idea of American business men becoming vassals of The Dope Who Would Be King. I can only hope that the sickening display of ego-fluffing and butt-kissing was merely performative window dressing.
Pure self interest R Hodson, Bezos, Cook, all of them know where the power is now, and to survive, much less prosper, they have to get on the right side of power.
Kris Kristofferson's song, Me and Bobby McGee: Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose.
Techbros have a lot to lose and one helluva lot to gain.
It is said, everyone has a price, if only their head.
and not one repub will stand up for our country over him. that's the scariest part.
Not only Repubs but there are Democats joining the chorus
For instance Cuellar and Gonzales of Texas are right wing culture warriors
And there were 45 Dems in the House, 12 Dem Senators that voted for the Lakin Riley Act, and Chuck Schumer has already signaled that he is caving, and wants to play nice with Trump and his agenda.
BTW, everyone who voted for Trump is aiding and abetting a felon., half of America are criminals per the law.
Right on all counts.
Bannon and Miller are taking Goebbels place and marco rubio is Von Ribbentrop. Fascism was always "everything for the corporation" and the few at the top were just like mafia don, treating the treasures of the country(s) as there own.
I remember hearing Diane Rehm with Marco Rubio as guest 12 years ago, and I was thinking what a mental midget this Rubio is. But i was wrong. He is an elder statesman, the adult in the room. so people say.
It demonstrates again how precarious human affairs are, especially in this day and age. A crapshoot. https://thebulletin.org/doomsday-clock/
Thanks for the Marco Rubio/ von Ribbentrop analogy.All forms of government, except true democracies are mafioso's.
Even kingship. The king is the sovereign, but people don't know what sovereign really means, it means he or she is above the law, that he or she owns everything, including the people.
The right of a sovereign is called allodial. Allodial rights are gained by conquest, and passed on to heirs.
The sovereign is the don, dukes, barons, parliament are capo regimes, their power comes from the sovereign., in the modern era the sovereign has been forced to cede some of his or her power, but still retains absolute power..
Take England, the King is head of state, not head of government, however even though the Prime Minister is selected by Parliament, he or she has to be approved by the Sovereign, and the English even have a ritual for that.
The House of Lords is congregation of capo regimes, the house of commons is an assemblage of soldiers, whose actions must be approved by the assemblage of the capo regimes.
One year, nine months, 9 days til the mid terms! I sure hope the Dems have a plan…
Remember what Trump said: Vote for me this time and you won't have to vote again.
He now has such complete control of the government, and even the 4th estate, that if he permits a mid term it will be a charade.
Do you believe that the Hungarians can unelect Orban, the Russians Putin, the Turks, Erdogan, even the Israeli's are having difficulty getting rid of Netanyahu
The normalcy of a democratic Republic, such as it was, disappeared at 4 pm Nov when Kamala conceded the election.. their was a peaceful interregnum until Jan20th, 2025, then we became a dictatorship, and dictatorships don't have elections, if they do, then they are a charade.
Like many dictators before him, Trump will suffer an unexpected demise.
The sooner the better.
Fingers crossed.
And then you get Vance. I'm not convinced that this would be an improvement (putting it mildly).
Vance would say and do exactly what his enablers tell him. He seems to have no guiding principles at all except shortsighted ambition.
Point taken. Trump and Vance, a two headed snake.
Yes, but the MAGA cult members don't really like Vance all that much. They put up with him because demented DonOLD picked him as VP. I'm guessing Trumps' demise would mean the end of MAGA cultism, just like the death of Jim Jones meant the end of the Jonestown cult.
Well, I do hope the cult doesn't outlive Trump. Vance is just a useful idiot, I guess.
Can't come too soon. Nature might well have an unexpected surprise for him. He is massively overweight and has coronary artery disease. I can say it's highly likely his blood sugar is elevated. That is a deadly cocktail.
If ? he were to 'suffer an unexpected demise', this will almost assuredly be conspiracy theoried to death as something like - dear leader was 'murdered' by Dems/liberals/progressives et al = anyone he and his 'chattel' consider the 'enemy' (of their emerging 4th Reich) ~
A dictatorship if he can keep it. Putin, Orban, Erdogan brought order out of chaos. Trump is injecting chaos into order. Yes, there was something approaching chaos at the border, but Trump greatly exaggerated it. Now he will try to create chaos by targeting those who harbor "invaders." Republicans want chaos, because they want a constitutional convention to undo our Constitution. Trump is their willing vehicle. Chaos comes at a high cost for everyone, and the fascists will face a backlash.
Uh, there was no chaos when Putin became President, nor in Hungary either, nor in Turkey. Your comment is slick, "order out of chaos, but they bring chaos", but not true Victor.
Orban came to power, much like Trump, with immigration as the cause, but his immigrants were Muslims from the Levant, Afghanistan, Syria and north Africa. He promised to stop by them by building a wall and he did.
Kemal Attaturk left a secular government, but the longings of the people are dictated by the Imams and they wanted a secular (Islamic Government)
Erdogan gave them that. There use to be many kosher butchers in Turkey, now there is only one, and the funny thing is that there is little difference between Kosher and halal. except in Kosher you have a rebbe who blesses everything from meat to salt and steel wool.
Orthodox Jews don't consider shellfish to be kosher, some schools of Islam don't consider shellfish to the halal, some like the Hanafi consider it mukruh detestable, but permit it,
Twelver Shia Muslims
This school of thought considers only sea creatures with scales to be halal, but makes exceptions for some crustaceans, like shrimp and prawns.
Then again: Turkey's Jewish population was estimated to be around 14,500 people. The majority of Turkish Jews are of Sephardic origin and live in Istanbul and Izmir.
william farrar: I spent time in Moscow in the late 90s, before Putin. It was chaos under Yeltsin. The average Russian is much much better off now than in the 90s, which is why so many Russians accept his propaganda about Ukraine.
You were in Moscow in the 90s? How much time? and just in Moscow? or travelled to Russian villages? And when did you return? are you currently in Russia? Please tell us more about the average Russian. What demographics are considered? How many average Russians have you talked to or is it just your personal opinion that the average Russian is better off? in what ways? we need to hear from an expert on this matter, after all you spent time there.
Putin brought order out of chaos and that has resulted in prosperity for the people. They have jobs, housing (lots of new housing in fact), plenty of shopping, medical care, and retirement benefits. I am not comparing Russians to Germans or Americans; merely Russians in the 90s compared to Russians today. You can apply for a visitor's visa and go to moscow if you'd like to see for yourself..
Requiring verification is like vetting a source, which is important when one values facts and legitimate sources. In the past, it was part of education, when we would never use Wikipedia as a source in professional or academic papers. Strangely, now that Dunning-Kreuger syndrome is so prevalent, everyone offers their opinion as fact and becomes offended if asked for credentials or a basis for the opinion. I thought it may be possible that you could actually cite some source or basis for your opinion. if there are more jobs, better housing, available health care and retirement benefits, that would be the answer and I can check those things out through available sources without going to Russia. in fact, a short-time visitor may not be allowed to see anything that contradicts the official "everything is better with Putin" message.
No doubt true J. But, if you could ask a Russian soldier or his family would they rather live with some chaos in their lives or have their guts and brains splattered all over a muddy trench in Eastern Ukraine for no good reason what would be their answer? Just asking... GH
A false dichotomy
Greater is God!
I hope you are right about the backlash. They should be brought before the courts on charges of corruption. Nothing will be change unless the big money is removed from politics.
Exactly. And planning for 2028 is premature, folly to think he will step aside.
The foot that steps him aside may not be his own.
I used to be a pessimist, until things didn't turn out as badly as I expected, so I became an optimist, and things kept getting better and better (mostly). So I think I'll just go with that.
Pessimist,realist, capitalist,communist whatever man is addicted to Manicheanism, duality, good or bad. I am none of the above.
I live in reality, rationally assess the situation, trends, and make my own predictions about where things are headed and what I should do. Batting 400, 85, comfortable no debts, comfortable income
I do not subscribe to ideologies, world views are "isms.
Whatever.
R Hodson I had an answer to you, but changed my mind
Let this be a response:
Don't let them frame this war as politics:
https://www.mind-war.com/p/dont-let-them-frame-war-as-politics
Do not let them tell you this is politics anymore. The establishment and corporate press that allowed themselves to be corrupted to this point are no longer trustworthy.
The correct frame for this is war. And the only solution is to win it.
Elizabeth Warren speaks out regularly as does Tammy Duckworth & a few others; they rarely get mainstream coverage, except for MSNBC. There is NO unified messaging from the party as a whole. It’s time for everyone to stop licking their wounds & starting planning an aggressive campaign for the midterms.
Yes, the big mystery for me has been why is the media focussed on this mediocre TV character? He is a train wreck. Elizabeth Warren has such interesting things to say but the media steers clear of substance.
Because the oligarchs that own them want this, and their tax-cuts.
Where is Dick Tuck when we really need him? He died in 2018 at age 94. He was a political prankster who tormented Nixon for years. Look him up. Cheers... GH
The mainstream media is not interested in Warren et al. They like Trump and not for any other reason than his entertainment value, latest outrage etc.
If there are mid terms, and if the Democratic party gets a hold of itself, and stop playing nice with Trump and his merry band of fascists. So far the only leadership I see is Elizabeth Warren and AOC.
Trump has two more years, aided and abetted by the Supreme Court and an intimidated Judiciary, what's the chances of an honest and uncompromisingWe mid term.
This is a new age, a new order, the old order and norms are out the window.
Politics as usual is a forlorn hope.This was the last "normal" election.
Elections do not a democracy make. Is Hungary a democracy, it has elections, but the Fidez and Orban can't be voted out of office, same with Hungary,same with Russia. Same with Iran, no matter who is president the Ayatollahs still rule the country.
And yet responses from Schumer for example assume we are in a politcis as usual time. Old habits die hard. A failure of imagination.
Schumer et al are self serving people, as majority leader he could have used the nuclear option,time and again, but never did. Thune as new majority leader will, without hesitation, use the nuclear option.
The D.C. beltway is a bubble, and the only way to envision it is as a giant bubble, it is oblivious to the world outside the bubble, the only world that exists for these people is inside the bubble.
Who is the leader of the Democratic Party?
You are Stan. I say that only partly kidding. I think you have to expect that "they" the movers and shakers- need some time to get it together. My concern is DEI not being applied to their circle. Too many lawyers with Ivy League PHDs is not the way forward.
why would you expect midterms? there may be a reality-scripted show produced by Fox and other propaganda machines, all owned by fascists, but no real or fair elections. Republicans have eliminated those. We surrendered truth and facts, so easily. We will only communicate like this for a very short time. Soon we will have no way to speak or communicate. we will not know what is happening. next epidemic? people around you may die, but you won't know why or how many. people will disappear, if it is someone close to you, you may try to find out what happened to them; but not for long. You will learn questions are dangerous. People will learn to cower in shadows trying to be invisible or you will learn to worship him. Hang portraits in your house, hang miniatures from your review mirror, and teach your children to bow when passing his likeness. You will do this because you want them to be safe. teach them he is great, and chastise them if they question because there will be torture and re-education camps. Pray that your children are not smart or empathetic, they will be safer. remember, face recognition is everywhere and under his control. Who you gonna call? he owns law-enforcement (all enforcement); he owns the weapons, what good are your guns; you won't even see the drones and missiles incoming. Resistance is futile.
Your worst-case scenario is not the case -- yet -- but it is also not sci-fi at this point. That's why it's so important for us to realize how close to catastrophe we are, so we act *now* from as many directions at once as MAGA is doing.
I see no sign of a plan 😟
Mac, and others - the only plan has been put into play by the terrorist organization known as the republican party. Step 1 has been accomplished, in that the election apparatus/infrastructure in the red and swing states has been replaced with equipment and programming by the oligarchs. It was done over 4 years, slowly, methodically, and completely under the radar. It didn't hurt that the willingly accomplices in the red and swing states were legion. Also, the oligarchs have more than enough pocket change to buy anyone they want. The result of course, is the "election" of dumpster.
All of which means that there is no hope for the 2026 midterms. My prediction is that there will be a gradual reduction of progressive seats in the house, all gone by 2028. Any dem senators up for re-election in 2026 will also lose. It will always be by close margins, which gives cover to pollsters and mainstream media as they spew their lies. I really hope I'm wrong.
I hope you are too.
For the record, I’m a 71 year-old woman watching the death of America from the UK. It ain’t pretty.
I sure hope you are too.Poeople kept telling me "Joe will do something. Yeah, he did something all right. Useless pardons and mouth platitudes about ""the peaceful transfer of power". Basically, he turned us over to fascism.
Unwillingly. But retroactively he should have exited in time for even a short candidate campaign!!
That would have been best.
Biden was a huge disappointment.
Yep, he failed at job #1. As did those around him.
Well, that's over. Lessons learned.
Yes, he was.
So, the election was stolen is your claim? Go to a DA and present your evidence. But only in the red states and swing states. Quite a story. Yea, I think you are wrong.
Vote suppression. Check out Thom Hartmann's newsletter this morning, from Greg Palast. Worth the read.
why is it so hard to put in links?
Do you think Charlie will google for proof? or is even interested in finding any?
you should always make it easy for the "other side"...
especially when its a good read
https://hartmannreport.com/p/trump-lost-vote-suppression-won-c6f
My bad. Thanks for providing the link for Charlie and others who may be interested.
But there is a concept of a plan. :D Is everyone here completely unaware of all the other progressive voices that are getting together to get the word out? Haven't you heard of Run for Something or Field Team 6? This site is getting as depressing as Daily Kos. You're giving up four days into his term, and reinforcing each other's despair. I and my rose-colored glasses are going to step out for a while. Stop giving them what they want: your misery and surrender.
Damn straight, Karla! You tell'em!
Karla, you are right! Even if we go down, we owe it to each other and ourselves to go down fighting, not cowering.
That's because there is none. Ladies and gents, we are on our own.
Exactly
There is no plan. If there had been, a way would have been found to keep this traitor out of the White House. Musk used his considerable cyber assets to rig the election. What did our government do to protect US, the American people? Not a damned thing. Trump's entrance into OUR House should have been fought by any means necessary, both Constitutional and extraconstitutional. But did our executive branch do ANYTHING to stop this? Nope. Just issued what we now see are pretty much useless pardons and mouth platitudes about the "peaceful transfer of power". This is not some meeting where Roberts Rules of Order apply. We have an answer to Franklin's challenge:"a Republic. If you can keep it".
Lights - I am not disagreeing with your basic idea that too little was done to protect US from Trump 2.0. Had you or I been POTUS instead of Joe Biden, maybe we would have been much more aggressive than Joe and Merrick were in getting El Trumpo into court and thence into a nice, comfortable federal prison. But they were "institutionalists" as I believe I am as well, but extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures.
Agree 100%.
All Biden cared about was funding Izrahell.
Most likely they don't.
Pelosi will handpick few new corporate Democrats to run for congress. Barack and Michelle will give speeches defending the "middle class" wearing their ten thousand dollars suits and dresses.
Here's one if the Democrats decide that they have to change and adapt! Long post however worth the read.
https://substack.com/home/post/p-155369047
Just restacked and also shared to FB. Everyone should read this to understand WTH happened.
I don’t see midterms happening in watching how open they now are about their plans.
I hope everyone will actually show up and vote!
Truly, but just based on the last 5 days I’m thinking many are horrified and will make voting a priority
Dianne, I hope so, but I am concerned. Nov. 2019 we had a big turn out because everyone wanted Trump out of the White House. Why did so many who voted in 2019 not bother to vote in 2024? Did they forget how awful it had been during his first term?
Evidence shows the answer is voter suppression. Today's newsletter from Thom Hartmann explains what has been happening in great detail (by Greg Palast). Worth reading!!
Yes and the right-wing disinformation leaked into left leaning sites.
The Democrat Party is doomed. See the demise of the Whig Party and the rise of the original Republican Party for details.
Details, Mr Elmore, if you please. Your assertion lacks details.
I don’t think midterms can change anything - if they happen at all I’m sure there’ll be lots of suppression, manipulation and downright ignoring of results.
We can’t wait that long.
God knows why he was elected to stand in the first place. The courts didn't do their job properly.
why would you or anyone think that there would be midterms or any fair election in the era of fascism????
Except, led from the shadows by the corporatists such as Pelosi and Barak, Democrats will fumble and win at most a non-working majority dedicated to their corporate paymasters.
Then we play the long game. If the Democratic Party cannot be reformed, or refuses to be reformed, we will have to build a party from the ground up--a party that advocates for the poor, working (often, those two overlap) and middle classes (those who haven't become bougie sellouts anyhow).
How many lifetimes are you willing to spend trying to make a “3rd party “ that has the GHOST of a chance at winning an election. Working within the Democratic Party.
If they can be reformed, great. But what if they cannot?
The Dems are a heterogeneous lot, progressives and centrists and a few democratic socialists. Not to mention single issue activists— women’s rights folks and BLM folks and peace and poverty folks. If by “reform “ you mean “agree on priority agenda items and don’t go rogue on us” then I don’t think the Democratic Party would suit your needs. Your first impulse was right — you need to start your own party. Good luck.
I like your comment but we needs Lights too!
take it over. take the Democratic party over. Like Trump did (well not exactly like that).
It's too hard to build a Party from scratch.
Talk about a 3rd Party is a distraction from work that needs to be done.
How many here actually go to Dem club meetings in your area, never mind are committee members? If you don't support the Party, either directly and/or through your support to allied organizations and causes, we won't reach critical mass to stop the crazy man.
Working Families Party
Thank you. I'll check it out.
We can't wait for the midterms!
Ah, but whose votes will be counted? Who will be afraid to get in line looking maybe hispanic, or with a turban or headscarf? No. Carolina Supreme Court hangs by a thread; look out if you are military abroad. The Hartmann Report headline today is: Trump didn't win. Vote Suppression Won.
Don't count on the midterms taking place, at least as we've known them. If Trump and the Republicans think that there will be a blue wave flipping the House and maybe the Senate then they will cancel the midterms (e.g., Reichstag fire) or sabotage them in certain states. And the reactionary majority on SCOTUS will just go along.
(This is a like.) I just posted a caveat about the Midterm hope related to vote and voter suppression, but I think you have a serious point about Trump cancellation. He loves those emergency powers.
Hopefully people will come out and vote instead of staying home and imagining that everyone else will vote and keep Trump out of office. Well, everyone who did not bother to vote ended up as a Trump supporter.
Trump's unfit to be among the human race!
We will be lucky to be alive by the mid terms. I do not think people are aware enough of the damage he has done in just a week. What can we do to stop this insanity? Who will lead us?
Republicans have advanced legislation to allow Trump to run for a third term, I say good luck with that one
Won't come soon enough!
Thank you. Absolutely
Any chance you can whistleblow Jeffery Epstein's lists of millionaires and billionaires- sure to destroy those men's careers but also Trump's- they will kill him if released on his watch. Also Cassidy Hutchins sexting notes. That would destroy many Republican men's careers and personal lives/divorce, keep them so busy coping and away from Trump for months on end. Actually might destroy party depending who sexted - woohoo!!
The last decade is documented with hundreds of documented scandals, including audio "grabbing pussy" call to intimidate foreign leaders, lies and lies; videos that make us cringe "mocking, even the disabled", and threats so appalling that matched Hitler; any one of these would end the career of any democrat and even republicans in the past; but no longer. NOTHING can move MAGAs now they will and do sacrifice their own children on the altar of their orange god.
Sad but true
"And they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto Moloch". Psalms 106:37
I'm afraid I'm with Ruth here (somewhere) There just is no evidence that there is a level of sleaze that will disqualify a Republican. I mean, how low on the scale of basic decency is Pete Hegseth? Hey, our kind of guy, brays the chorus!
I love this. I wish I were a better programmer. Hm, that gives me an idea. Why can't we develop hacking skills? I was a coder once. Why not?
Russia, are you listening?
Yes, RELEASE them!
I’m sorry about your partner. Are those being fired able to file wrongful termination suits?
I hope so!🙏 in solidarity!
The only thing worse than being Trump’s enemy is being his ex friend
I wish you the best of good luck . Please know that everyone I know, literally, here in Missouri is horrified at these events and all are on the side of our federal employees. God be with you.
Discusting! I pray that the lawsuit from your Union is successful! I, too sm a Civil Servant working for the State! When are people going to wake up and smell the coffee!?
Trump is hollowing out various government department agencies so as to find the savings? to fund their tax cuts for billionaires.
That's awful. Remember, Trump didn't do it alone.
Did any Republicans try to stop him? No.
He's not a Dictator, although he's well on the way. He has help, lots of it. He and his helpers have come to your town and into your house, into your life. They won't stop.
I'm sorry to hear of your problems. I'm convinced that the same behavior as Trump's could not happen in the UK. We just have a different set up to the USA and we are far closer to our politicians. Trump is deranged, a criminal, a rapist and yet he is allowed to continue with support. How can that happen?
Of course nothing will change as long as the voters continue to support him. And it is distressing to read of a loyal civil servant worried that he may be unable to fund the care of his needy child, Security and stability for the ordinary person has gone while the greedy billionaires grab more. Trump, being the narcistic he is, has gone too far.
how many are non-white? and still voted for him?
I assume these were all SES, right?
A toddler, in a aging man’s waddling,fat body with a guttural, vindictive voice has No business being the President of The United States! Sitting at a desk, with a black sharpie, scribbling an indecipherable scrawl, at the bottom of “Bills” that look like Fancy Restaurant Menu’s, to hold up for camera’s. Holding each one up, like a Kindergardener, showing off to his Mommy, Ohhh! Like, “Look at me, What I can Do!”
What is wrong with this Guy? That he still needs to get this kind of Emotional Attention from such a Bizarre Ritual at his Age, he is not a 5 yr old any more! Come on, he needs a Physciatrist to deal with his early Childhood issues, on his own, Personal Time. Not a Public, Signing Ritual, at the Expense of the American Public.
From Biographies of his early life, it is known, there were times, his mother was unavailable, due to birth of his next sibling. He has vast wealth. To afford a Mental Health Professional. To deal with these long term, abandonment issues. He obviously needed to deal with them, he seems to acting out a repeat ritual, of wanting to show perhaps his mommy, he could sign his name. Still needs her affirmation. If his now wife, can’t do it, maybe his kids, can get him, to get the help he needs, to get this apparent Compulsive Ritualistic, Repeat Disorder to be Given the Opportunity to be Healed!
We the Public are Getting Tired of Seeing the Same, Old, Mess, it’s Embarrassing, it see The Queer, Jerk, Making a Damn, Fool of Himself, Over & Over, Again!
,
Thank you, I clicked on. It's sick.
But rich sleazy white men deserve to be hired in our federal government? And people deserve to be fired for no reason other than they will tell the “truth” as they see it. So, there is no longer anyone disagreeing with Trump. There is Trump’s way or the highway .Many voters in the US did not vote for Trump. And by the way, you might learn something from Robert Reich. He hasn’t been wrong about things too many times. And Trump paints the US as all doom and gloom that only he can fix. Actually, life was pretty peaceful under Biden. Now we have chaos and Trump telling us daily how wonderful he is. I fear the retribution from the released January 6 prisoners, not the handful of immigrants who have committed crimes.
Today in SF an ICE officer asked a middle schooler for his ID while riding a Muni bus to school. I guess he's one of the rapists and murderers the orange slime is talking about.
Maybe you hate and fear immigrants but most of us don't. Quit listening to the Orange Bombast.
Totally incompetent Trump and Hegseth are DEI hires. Affirmative action for white men rules in the Trump kakistocracy.
Hegseth's job would be to neutralize any potential opposition to Trump from within the military. He is eminently qualified to do that. Not good for national security.
An alcoholic who is in denial about his addiction, which appears to be the case with Hegseth, is really not qualified to do anything. People know that, to get around him, they just have to ply him with liquor until he is too intoxicated to think. Very sad.
So, people who engage in highly destructive behavior that harms many people are merely misunderstood and should be given high-level positions that enable them to harm even more people. Affirmative action for incompetent alcoholics. Got it.
Sit back and enjoy the Trump kakistocracy.
Word salad of hate and lies hoping to come off as articulate.
I never thought of that. Its horribly plausible .
Especially when applied to the rich white guys in tRump's orbit with zero experience or competence for governing.
Must HIDE any FBI report?
All your scenario does is to keep white, rich, allegedly Christian males in power. You can take your pious, self-congratulatory "Amen" and you know what you can do with it. None of the a-holes now in power have earned a damn thing.
I cannot use the words that I am thinking on this or any other website.... Horrible excuses for Human Beings
Oh? Atheist? Hardly. I'm am Eastern Orthodox Christian. And I love how you think only right wingers have morals.
That's really white of you to say! Nostalgic for the good old, halcyon days of Gov George Wallace and his "American Independent Party" Klansmen, when that's a phrase you and the likes of you commonly liked to use, are you ‽ How white of you!
I greatly admire how you and the likes of you like to cite the provisions of a document you and the likes of you would otherwise have abolished, while having defended and elected a president that looks more, in competence and character, like the kind of DEI hire you and the likes of you like to claim DEI leads to.
That's really white of you to say! Nostalgic for the good old, halcyon days of Gov George Wallace and his "American Independent Party" Klansmen, when that's a phrase you and the likes of you commonly liked to use, are you ‽ How white of you!
I greatly admire how you and the likes of you like to cite the provisions of a document you and the likes of you would otherwise have abolished, while having defended and elected a president that looks more, in competence and character, like the kind of DEI hire you and the likes of you like to claim DEI leads to.
Why don'y you take your own advice?
That's really white of you to say! Nostalgic for the good old, halcyon days of Gov George Wallace and his "American Independent Party" Klansmen, when that's a phrase you and the likes of you commonly liked to use, are you ‽ How white of you!
I greatly admire how you and the likes of you like to cite the provisions of a document you and the likes of you would otherwise have abolished, while having defended and elected a president that looks more, in competence and character, like the kind of DEI hire you and the likes of you like to claim DEI leads to.
I have a much better moral compass than a 34 times civicted felon and most of the idiots forming his "cabinet".
Which is exactly how Hegseth, Patel, Bond, Vance and Trump got their jobs - totally incompetent, unqualified, unprofessional and ugly.
DEI means "of God" in Latin - just FYI. Be best.
Lol
LMBO. And Trump and his buds do?
What you call “ equality” isn’t protection. Equity makes it equal.
Racist, misogynistic BS.
Word salad with extra hate and lies.
No comprendo.
You're living proof that Native Americans can be racist and misogynist
So the bibulous, skirt-chasing Pete Hegseth has earned the position of Secretary of Defense? I wonder what you will say on the first day he turns up blotto at work.
Love how he defends a man with absolutely NO moral compass.
Word salad spiked with hatred.
This is unacceptable. Is there a way for some protection to be funded, gifted, or otherwise made available?. This physician has done so much for public health & medicine & yet he is being shafted by evil monster. His MAGA attackers are vicious nutcases. They will hound him.
I believe he is now funding it himself.
Trump’s just plain dangerous.
I hope they all are able to get private security services ASAP. I may not like a few of them, but no one deserves to be hung out to dry like that.
It's the bloody limit. This idiot must be stopped. There must be civil disobediance from all the people around him. Every official, politician, head of state must refuse to negotiate with this bastard.
Not just petty...bloody scary. Hitler is back!
He always was an arsehole. Very dangerous too. If you have a dangerous dog you shoot it.
They tried. They missed.
Talk about incompetent.
The didn't miss. It was a setup. If Trump had been hit on the ear, the damage would show.
A setup that killed people, just not the orange effhead.
Sadly, yes.
I think the word "evil" applies to Trump.
We are experiencing a dictator overthrowing our government.
Evil to the max, in all caps, the Maga voters voted to bring America to ruin
Crazy fk brain man
Of course this is fake news..... but not unbelievable.
What is fake news?
and you're surprised how?
That's a master piece of understatement. Trump is pure evil down to the intra-cellular level.
That is reprehensible!
Yes, he is all of that - but his actions are that of the current government, the current Administration in power. I know you aren't but I'd suggest stop raging about the man, and turn your efforts on to the current Administration - their actions and the consequences of.
The Clown is a distraction.
Professor Reich: having lived in germany for 8 years, i can tell you that elon musk would have been arrested and prosecuted for his nazi salute. this is not as joking matter in germany, as it is in ameriKKKa, where people stand around rubbing their eyes and asking, was that a nazi salute or was he waving his hand?
Watch the video being projected on Tesla factory in Germany. About NAZI Musk.
Post the link please.
Actually that was originally called a Roman salute from Caesar’s time, that Hitler changed to suit his own evil agenda. The swastika was also reversed from its original design in Japanese Buddhist temples and used as well on the Nazi flag. Also, Hitler wasn’t even German but Austrian.
I know that the Italians have similar laws as Germany today for anyone who promotes fascism or tries to promote Mussolini ideals or images. Good for them! Many US citizens died in WW 2 to defend Europe and the world from dictatorships.
typical Republican ploy: "it was just a joke."
The GOP say that for everything. It is either that or “what he meant was…”
I am sure it is just a joke about annexing Canada too. Ya, right eh???🇨🇦
Ie. it was taken out of context.
Yeah. And when Hillary asked if Julian Assange couldn't just be droned, when later asked by a journalist if indeed she meant it, she said, "If I said it, I was joking." The people in the room said it was clear that she was NOT joking.
Time for the American people to wake up really fast and face the neo-Nazi regime brought about by Trump's administration. What the Fuck did they think they were doing when they voted this satanic monster into office. At least 50% of American's are Stupid, and Trump banked on that even though he himself is a moron. He's a very ultra dangerous, sociopathic manipulator.
As Trump so much as told us, Musk rigged the election. And the data shows it. It’s not realistic.
Please watch these YouTube videos and then read SmartElections.US findings (below). It will shock you. Afterwards, you will be hard pressed to deny there was some kind of manipulation in the 2024 election. This data is NOT normal.
https://youtu.be/qmzGOQwMG_k
https://youtu.be/y3-jqU8m-80?si=AzvhGqSUU
https://electiontruthalliance.org/2024-us-election-analysis
https://open.substack.com/pub/smartelections/p/so-clean
Watch this shocking account of how there was rampant voter suppression, particularly in Georgia.
http://watchvigilantesinc.com/
Totally agree with all your well taken points. Canadians are frightened. That is the way Donald likes it too. 🇨🇦
Germany also has secure elections unlike here in the U.S.
Please watch these YouTube videos and then read SmartElections.US findings (below). It will shock you. Afterwards, you will be hard pressed to deny there was some kind of manipulation in the 2024 election. This data is NOT normal.
https://youtu.be/qmzGOQwMG_k
https://youtu.be/y3-jqU8m-80?si=AzvhGqSUU
https://electiontruthalliance.org/2024-us-election-analysis
https://open.substack.com/pub/smartelections/p/so-clean
Watch this shocking account of how there was rampant voter suppression, particularly in Georgia.
http://watchvigilantesinc.com/
All trump is, is a reflection of all of us. Either we are too lazy to vote, or we are angry that our lives did not turn out as well as we had hoped and we cling to any leader who will help us find a group to blame it on. The ones who don't belong to either of those groups, we are aware and knowledgeable as to how bad this is going to be. Seeing hegseth nomination confirmed just showed me how the rest of this show will proceed.
But they are also arresting people trying to stop the genocide in Palestine. Once a Nazi...
My head is exploding. Who are these people who voted for him, follow him, kneel to him? It's the POWER seeking parts of their brains taking over all others. Everyone please stand up, stand strong!
Their brains were hacked, just like a computer.
With no way to recover like with Norton or Life Lock!🤬🤬🤬🤬💩
With no way to recover like with Norton or Life Lock!🤬🤬🤬🤬💩
Unfortunately enough of our neighbors, coworkers, and family members voted for this. 🤮 🤢
Yes so many, and they think it’s great. I’d wish for this to be bad for them but I don’t have to cause it’s going to be bad for all of us, because of them
Last night, Joy Reid interviewed Michael Fanone and his mother. She recounted two incidents, one in which a bag of excrement was thrown at her by a man who yelled "Traitor",and another where a brick was thrown against her home at 3:00 AM.
Later, three other officers (Gonel, Dunn, and Hodges) joined Fanone and recounted their experiences during and after the riot. The thugs who attacked them are now being released from prison, courtesy of the current occupant of the Oval Office. What fresh hell will they unleash now?
A friend of mine from church just buried her 20 something nephew who was attacked while waiting in line to see a concert!!! I am assuming it was a racial attack!
No words... I'm so sorry...
😢 🫂
That's horrible.
I think we are all on Patel’s hit list at some level. Sooner or later we might all be “put on notice” for exercising our constitutional rights.
Who? Oh yeah. He's not white and his a-boss is a WHITE SUPREMECIST, so he won't be there long like Vivek.
Which concentration camp will they send us to?
Wally World
We will not be given notice. The trains and camps will be ready.
Patel should be careful- how many people who used to work for Trump end up in his enemies list? It’s not a small number.
Blame those f*****g people in your neighborhoods with Trump/Vance signs.
That and blame our former government for not using the ten weeks they had wisely.
Yes, they were too scared out of their wits to even think straight. In real life, Merrick Garland might be a nice guy, but he as AG he was a total wuss.
The Democrats prioritized chasing elusive Republican voters instead of prioritizing working class voters, a carbon copy of 2016. Btw, Ben Wikler will not lead the DNC. It's a guy named Martin. Probably another corporatist.
Yes, of course they should have done this but the election was lost, there were things Biden could have done but he sat there and did nothing so yes, I blame him and other Dems for their inaction.
Correct.
Oh don’t get me started.
Me to and I have tried to change minds. But watching FOX, they are all brainwashed.
Don’t watch FOX!
I won't get anywhere near it.
Only seen a few, though one is permanently affixed to their house.
Oh, I'm seriously concerned that it will be far more active than that. Read up on Nazi history.
i'm concerned if he will dream up some T-4barbarity. I'm 71.
I'm in my late 60s. My dad was drafted and sent to Germany in 1944.
40s.
I think we need a national organization. Too bad MLK was one of a kind. But remember when moveon.org was rallying a lot of people? I wonder what happened.
The only thing worse than being Trump’s enemy is being his ex friend
Aren’t they one and the same?
The enemies are actively hated and destroyed; ex-friends are passively defeated and destroyed if possible particularly if they have committed crimes in his name…
This is why you execute traitors and seditionists, starting with the ring leaders....like Trump.
It should have been done after Jan. 20th, 2021, but nope. Apparently those in power didn't have the brains to take out traitors amongst us. In the 50s, awful as they were, he would have been taken care of. And Biden could have used the considerable powers of presidential immunity granted by SCOTUS to solve the problem. But as always, Dems are tripped up by "the optics". In the end he, and us, are the victims of the Democratic hang-up with decency and civility.
Why was the election not challenged when Trump was given dozens of audits and recounts?
This was nothing except capitulation. The executive branch had our safety and future in their hands and simply handed us over to tyranny.
At that time and space it was Mitch McConnell who held the gun and the Republican Party didn’t let him fire. Would have been game over.
💯 true Mitch is at yhe bottom of alot of issues
Agree 100%.
Too many are compromised or actively cooperating.
It was a close election, and Trump said he had won before all the votes were counted. In the wee hours of the morning I was awake and very surprised it was announced Trump had won. I don’t believe it. Did I miss something? Were there recounts?
In the end, Biden was seemingly passive when America needed him most. Even if he could not have been able to loudly exert his authority, he could have ushered Kamala forth to speak on his behalf. I realize he did speak on a few occasions but it wasn’t the best image to restore the faith of the American people nor the world at large. Biden was a good President.
💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯
If you look at X posts that’s how they view us, and they are absolutely getting hardons over the prospect of public executions.
Finally, you said it. Why can't the media say this. Crime boss with his crime syndicate now in place.
Thom Hartmann said it years ago and even mentioned the "Trump Crime Family" in a Fox interview.
We in Britain cannot believe what is happening in America. Trump is destroying everything good about America and what we have in its place is lies greed and corruption.
I agree with you.
Taking security away from Dr. Fauci is an invitation by Trump to his J6 pardoned minions to do their worst. He and they are despicable. The only thing keeping Trump alive now is JD Vance, a bigger menace.
I wish (hope ) that Dr Fauci and others who have lost protection would move to other countries to be safer. I don’t think that’s cowardice. We have Germany’s history as a guide. Professors, bankers, etc. who thought they’d be safe in Germany were soon to find out they weren’t.
Hillary Clinton was polite when she called MAGAS a basket of deplorables!
First you throw them under the bus then he waits for his army brown shirt to kill them.
Eternal Vigilance is the Price of Freedom
If the 4th Reich was an egg, it would be hatching.
I wish Americans would stop wringing their hands and saying, "This is not who we are"! This is not who we WERE, but it is most definitely who we have become.
Actually Joe , America was always a racist country founded on the back of slavery & genocide. For a while after the struggles of the 1960’s I believed in a better America, one that had somewhat matured beyond all of this, but sadly the true racism & white supremacy just went underneath the facade. rump came along & pulled back the veneer & openly courted the racists & the white nationalists. And they in turn egged on the people frustrated by not getting ahead and not getting a piece of the so called American Dream. When in fact it was the greed of corporations that has stopped them from getting ahead! Ragged Trouser Philanthropist stuff , 100 years on, the same stuff about immigrants, people of colour , people who are different causing economic problems, causing crime etc. America hasn’t increased its minimum wages since 2009. $7.25 is not a living wage. In the UK our minimum wage is £11.44, almost double the USA plus workers in UK have a national healthcare service.
Corporate Greed has pushed average Americans to the limit and the power hungry have once again used the same mantra as has been used for centuries- blame the immigrants, blame the indigenous people, blame people of colour, blame, blame….. divide and rule for their own gain! Oh and be grateful for your $7.25!
Precisely 👏
No all of us, Joe.
Can RICO laws be enforced against this new “mob”? I’m careful not to name “he who shall not be named” in case “they” come after me. But I’m still afraid. And I’m basically a nobody!
Trump is a walking RICO case on his own. The Supreme's immunity ruling is the equivalent of a shark cage.
I will name him, Donald F@@#ing Trump, just try to get me.
I will call him the Orange Felon
Felon47 has a nice ring to it.
If you are looking for something to do besides saying “OMG: a hundred times a day,, we have an early chance to push back on MAGA in Wisconsin. The balance of the Wisconsin Supreme Court is again going to be determined by an election, this one in early April. If the side that favors democracy wins again it could mean getting rid of the extreme gerrymandering in that state. It could flip two US House seats, SUPPORT SUSAN CRAWFORD IN WISCONSIN!!. Look her up, contribute your time and money!
OMG!
Here is where to donate to get a defender of reproductive rights on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. I have donated.
https://secure.actblue.com/donate/sc-website?refcode=sc_website
Donated!
It always worked for him before. Why not now? He believes he's untouchable by the law and SCOTUS and others agree.
The entire Fauci affair is a national disgrace. Dr. Anthony Fauci is one of the most respected medical scientists of his era. His resume is second to none. He is the G.O.A.T. i.e. Tom Brady, Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods equivalent of his profession. Yet, the moronic smear campaign against him has gone mostly unopposed. I blame Joe Biden for not defending him and allowing a torrent of misinformation against Fauci to rule. The USA will pay a price for our collective ignorance. Can you say JFK Jr?
Not RFK, Jr?