Without Rupert Murdock's fake FOX "news" and the Wall Street "Urinal" Trump would have been laughed at when he stepped off the elevator in 2015. Without Murdock's misinformation machine the Republican Party might still be legitimate but he and his minions have turned half of the country into morons and, yes, deplorable's. Trump isn't the problem, FOX "news" and Facebook are. Time to boycott every company that advertises products or services on FOX and to cancel your Facebook account.
Totally agree, SeekingReason. For the last 2 decades Fox News has been telling their viewers that Fox is the only news source they can trust and that all the other news outlets are controlled by the liberal media. My father, who has been watching Fox since its inception, slowly started avoiding any other news sources. Then Trump came along, lying as easily as he breathes, and Fox replayed his lies for all their followers to hear. Since they don't have any other source of news, they really are living in an alternate reality. They believe Covid is not a big deal and that the vaccine is risky, they believe the election was stolen, and they believe January 6th was just Patriots gathering to protest a stolen election. Fox does not report any facts, so to half of the country, these are the facts. It is so disheartening to see so many smart, rational people buy into this bullshit. Rupert Murdoch and Tucker Carlson really are the enemy of democracy!
Dawn, Did you ever watch The Brainwashing of my Dad? It’s about this woman’s dad transformation after listening to Faux News. Spoiler Alert…
After a major move, Her mom found a way to stop the slide and the daughter, unknown to the dad, put a parental control on the tv and he couldn’t watch it. The mom went in his email and unsubscribed all if his right wing emails. She replaced them with left wing news. The more he heard, the more he pulled away from the right wing crap and she said, he became a pleasant person again.
But we should be able to protect the airwaves from this. We can fact check, we don’t allow cussing on radio etc..I want my cable co to allow me nit to have a fascist propaganda station as a choice. It’s not good enough to say…you don’t have to watch it. I want the right to never have to listen to hateful, nationalistic, authoritarian, psychopathic bullshit ever again.
I did watch it and sadly it rang very true for me, except my story doesn't have a happy ending, yet. I remember years ago when Fox fist aired my mother would complain that my father was different. He was angrier and more discontented. Fast forward 20+ years and now my dad knows better than to discuss politics with any of his children or extended family. He knows his beliefs are very polarizing and is usually pretty good about not talking about them. My mother is in the early stages of dementia and just sits and listens with little opinion. She and I got into it the other day because she said she is worried about how engaged I am in politics and how upset I seem to be by what is happening. I told her that I don't have the luxury of not being engaged if I want my son to grow up in a democracy. At least my mom reads the local paper and gets some good information there, my dad is only dealing with Fox and Breitbart. I feel sorry for his ignorance. He would lose his shit if I ever tried to remove Fox from his TV! I 100% blame them for the division in this country. I agree we should be able to protect the airwaves and internet.
How terrible that must be. It sounds super stressful. On my husband’s side of the fam we totally disconnected with the rt wingers but we weren’t close anyway. I know some people can’t but where possible i’s good to eliminate that toxicity.
I agree with you. Fox et al are organized propaganda outlets with the backing if Putin and probably others of his type. Trump can be used as a puppet because he is such a dupe! Putin likes me! He said so! What a deluded nut!
I like your use of the word "toxic". That so many people have had their thinking poisoned for profit is the core of the challenge we face. Whether it's Fox news or Facebook, we have to come to grips with "poisoning for profit" and find a way to contain it.
If it is disinformation or lies, it should not crowd our radio and other media 'waves'. A kind of 'truth in advertising or 'fairness doctrine'. Why does the FCC exist?
There is worry that another Trump could get in and proclaim any left sided views as lies. Although, the left doesn’t have wide enough reach right now.
So the question is who has full authority to decide. Obviously it would need to be multiple sources. Dems need to stop overthinking and get this addressed. Rs don’t care if they affect our lives so we need to go drastic.
Truth in media is obviously something that would have to be solved with integrity. Or we could have bad actors controlling what is said. Our free speech rights would be in danger.
It would be interesting to find out how many Fox viewers who don’t think COVID is a big deal have died from it. Surely there must be a tipping point at which they stop believing that lie.
It was really disturbing to see a story about a woman who, after losing two of her young children to Covid was insisting that she will still not get vaccinated.
Since her kids are gone, it’s best she gets it and goes away. It starting to feel like a war. Either they die off or we do. It’s easier if they die from the virus they deny and save people who do everything to safeguard their health.
She will live with her choices and remember her children. It's terrible that people are so brainwashed! It may be a mercy if she contracted it. Maybe she is thinking that! Awful! Sad!
I can only agree with you, Dawn because I watched my father descend into the depths with Fox News as well. It's an insidious evil in our country, and it is ruining our precious democracy!
Please allow me to be a bit contrarian with this. I'll not gainsay your observation, but consistently with what I say in an earlier comment in this post, I think you only see the tip of the iceberg - well, perhaps considerably more than that. Think most of it can be attributed to all the mainstream media coverage he got - and still gets, to a lesser degree - for making >all< his bat-s**t claims and statements. They'd even display his Twitter posts - just so our brains could be sufficiently washed in his towering BS. Fox would have had little without an entertainer entertaining and having a real message - BS or not - that played to the audience he was courting. In other places, I've seen it asserted that the audience he courts is the Democrats' natural constituency that the Democrats haven't served well. You be the judge of that. However to me, that explains why so many of those apparently natural constituents >appear< to vote against their own interest. Bring on anything to the left of the Republican platform and be characterized as radical left-wing socialists. Most of his voters don't know socialism from the 30th of February! Here's the real genius of ol' Tweety's approach: mainstream news outlets provided him with millions, and maybe billions in de facto campaign advertising without ol' Tweety & the Republicans ever spending or accepting a single dime in campaign contributions. And so the "culture war" will continue. The Republicans can continue to harp on the "culture war" issues, leveraging the superstitions and fantasies of those most in need of our support, while not cutting loose a single dime to support those voters' actual needs - and demonize Democrats for any attempt to do so as a bonus.
Never forget: ol' Tweety just >loves< the undereducated. He said so plainly as he stumped in 2016, and it made international news. Also, never forget the power of "iconic" images - a word that popped up in the last decade like a poisonous snake, that I'd happily delete from the lexicon!
As part of the bloc that seeks to get Mark's attention, I logged out of my Fb account from the 10th to the 13th. It should be interesting to see if they make me walk around the walls several times before re-admitting me as essentially harmless ..
Though I don’t compare any period to the period of the Second World War, nonetheless, considering so many years later we are still behaving as though it did not occur, I start to question whether it really is part of our nature for an event to awaken our awareness.
Also, how much history is taught today in high schools? Also the ability to critique what is written in our news media or said? How does one fact check? or find a good source of news? One of the reasons I'm here is to exchange ideas and share what is known.
It is clear to me that Trump did not even like the job of president. With respect to Covid-19, he was in over his head; neither his personality nor his life experiences equipped him to handle a pandemic.
I agree that Trump should never be allowed to run for elective office; the Senate should have convicted him in the second impeachment. Trump panders to the lowest common denominator of human behavior. His continued dominance in the national conversation exposes serious flaws in our society. I think much of the threats and violence to which school board members, election supervisors, health commissioners, and other government officials around the country are being subjected result from Trump's message that using violence to get what you want is acceptable behavior. Even "respectable" suburban moms have bought into that.
That said, IMO, Democrats' plans to run against "scary Trump" as a campaign strategy will fail. He is no longer in office, and memories of his deficiencies fade fast. Some of the suburbanites who were repulsed by his crude and uncivil behavior might now even be nostalgic for the fact that he gave them full permission to indulge in racism.
As I say in an earlier post and it speaks directly to your concern: Unfortunately, what ol' Tweety most relies on for his campaigning is the kind of attention he's getting right here. His cleverest strategy involves garnering >all< the free advertising he could possibly want from outlets he otherwise labels "fake news." If he be a genius, >that's it.< The more unhinged his spiel, the more likely he'll get press coverage for one reason alone: it's entertaining. Of course the most famous motto of any seasoned entertainer is: "The only >bad< publicity is >no< publicity." Compare his spiel with the kind of crap you hear from WWF "rasselers," along with the kind of crowd that seems to love him most. Look at sports psychology in general. Notice how many people are loyal to some kind of ball team in the US. It's >their< mentality he plays into. Hell, that mentality is so universal that in some parts of the world there are "soccer riots" among fans of opposing teams. What's more, it's historical. Our "reds" & "blues" of today harken back to the "blues" & "greens" of Ancient Rome - originally chariot racing teams, who morphed from chariot racing teams into political parties in their own right. Indeed, similar riots broke out in Rome in that day. If you view 1/6 as a kind of sports riot, you'll gain better insight into what was actually happening in the minds of those rioters. That's >exactly< what ol' Tweety leverages in his rants.
Fortunately - for the moment - he's banned from Twitter.
As a PS: I believe that the Democrats have failed to appreciate this phenomenon in their messaging. Consider the notion of "political football." ol' Tweety has reduced the fate of this nation to a pigskin on a gridiron.
Also, if you think about it a moment, that's a trait ol' Tweety shares with Ronald McReagan - he's an entertainer entertaining. Reagan was good with demeaning quips: "There he goes again." He could be a highly refined and personable version of Don Rickles in politics. Even his "Tear down this wall" plea was high drama worthy of a seasoned actor. ol' Tweety is playing to a different, coarser mentality as a different, coarser version of his predecessor.
PPS. That's also why I think Cuomo was a real loss. He was effective in standing up to all ol' Tweety's BS. He even acutely observed, to McConnel and the gang, that the red state residents are the ultimate beneficiaries of the taxes blue state residents pay. In my thinking, that's >exactly< why, by whatever device or design, he had to go! I would >still< vote for him while loudly crying "just remember to keep you damn hands to yourself! You're standing in the midst of a lynch mob."
Nailed it. TFG has stirred, shaken and whipped a narrative that directs and demands all attention. If he is ignored he raises the volume. It doesn’t matter how petty or inappropriate the topic, he will force the attention on Trump.
The longer he stays a free man this country, and the world, will suffer. Sadly, he has backup in Donnie Jr. and Eric. They might be worse because they are just not smart enough to teeter on the edge without falling over. Trump Sr. Takes it to the limit and let’s others take the fall.
The Trump syndicate needs to be dismantled. There is enough evidence to put him away in multiple cases and in multiple jurisdictions.
Garland will need to act or he will be as complicit as the rest of the republican traitors and thr trump clan.
That’s just my opinion, but I could be wrong. (But I don’t think so)
Ignoring him would be best, but my point is that will not be possible because he has figured out how to demand the nation's attention -- by dividing it over him.
He would never allow the media to ignore him. He has been that way his entire life. He just needs to be put away so we can save ourselves.
It is so distressing that we have members of congress who follow him like he is the second coming. It's just hard to believe that he can garner that much support knowing what and who he is.
It is more dangerous the longer the lunatic Trump is not in custody. We’re already hearing about coup terrorist likely to get 4 yrs. it must be 20! They’ll take time off of their sentences snd in a couple years they’ll be out. Not good enough! No lesson will be learned from that.
I have not been able to shake the feeling that our democracy is sliding into the sea as is volcanic activity in La Palma...when 1/2 of our citizens believe that this orangutan is their savior I cannot see any positivity ahead. When the democratic party is so weak and milk-toast in responding to republicans and their recipe for authoritarian rule and the right wing brain-dead are defining how we, as a people, react to a medical emergency/pandemic by exerting 'rights' that totally ignore the fact that we are all in this together...for the greater good. I am a Viet Nam veteran and have endured a lot of crap but this has me more scared than I had ever been in the jungles of southeast asia. That this POS could run again for the presidency says way too much about where this country currently sits...
Trump is so toxically narcissistic that as president, he was like a mad king who literally owned all the federal agencies, the military, the people who voted for him, and of course even now, he believes the laws do not apply to him. Somehow we weathered 4 years of the presidency of a man truly deranged and delusional. Trump has one talent - that he is able to play on people's desires, fears, prejudices and of course, their resentments. The Big Lie is something that he's using to keep the carnival grifter's tent in business. Personally, I don't think he can win an election as long as the Democrats don't blow it, but they have a tendency to blow it when it's life or death.
Please explain in a future column, why he never seems to be held accountable for any laws he breaks - is our legal system really that weak? If any of the rest of us did a third of the things he's done, we'd be in jail for life. I realize its a tangled mess, but surely there's something we can hang him on. Thx.
He's not held accountable for many of the same reasons that the billionaire class isn't held accountable: Once you have the wealth to purchase platoons of lawyers, accountants, lawmakers, and pr professionals, you have the equivalent of a "get out of jail free" card.
Excellent portrayal of Donald Trump. My questions are 1) Why do the GOP & about 40% of the country support this nihilist? Like Timothy Snyder in "On Tyranny", I believe history instructs. Have the "followers of Trump" ignored the history of the Germans who followed Hitler? 2) Trump acts as if he is above the law. In my opinion, he has been successful so far. Will Trump be indicted before the 2022 midterms? 3) If Democrats win the 2022 midterms, & our democratic republic survives, when will our Constitution be amended to address the shortcomings which Trump has exploited? The will of the people (approximately 60%), needs to be better represented & actually govern.
In answer to your first question, look at my comment elsewhere in the comments section. Trump is their champion against the country's elites who look down on them and hold them in contempt.
While I agree (and liked) your earlier comment and this one, there are reasons those people holds those beliefs. Fox/faux news,social media and, frankly, the religious right, particularly the "evangelicals" (that word has certainly been changed!) and lots of money from the Kochs and others, 'trumpet' those beliefs daily with no alternative to that echo chamber (see what I did there?). Believing differently doesn't mean I look down on those folks. I've lived and worked among and appreciated many of their values all my life. I now fit that category that is supposed to be "elite" with two college degrees and a left leaning politics, but I don't look down on them. I do think they're wrong though and hope they'll agree to support democracy.
I can’t believe anyone could think that’s acceptable behavior. How did acting like a schoolyard bully become acceptable in this country? Can you imagine what growing up in that household must have been like? Ugh.
Remember that we live in a culture where football is the most-popular sport. Football players experience brain injury and then, years later, sue their erstwhile employer. This is not a rational pastime. Ditto for the gun culture for obvious reasons. Taking bets that Rittenhouse gets off scot free.
I know people who support the other side because of their investments in stocks. When everything is good and the $$$ are coming in they ignore their conscience and say "I got mine", "it's either them or me", and continue to be part of the problem.
It's a shame we can't see reforms before then! If we were presently being invaded by a Bin Laden type, I would think there would be much swifter action. Why can't there be a remedy? there is plenty of evidence. We watch this thing unfolding as the perps receive wide latitude, even when it is evident that he uses delay tactics. It is his M. O.
Unfortunately, what ol' Tweety most relies on for his campaigning is the kind of attention he's getting right here. His cleverest strategy involves garnering >all< the free advertising he could possibly want from outlets he otherwise labels "fake news." The more unhinged his spiel, the more likely he'll get press coverage for one reason alone: it's entertaining. Of course the most famous motto of any seasoned entertainer is: "The only >bad< publicity is >no< publicity." Compare his spiel with the kind of crap you hear from WWF "rasselers," along with the kind of crowd that seems to love him most. Look at sports psychology in general. Notice how many people are loyal to some kind of ball team in the US. It's >their< mentality he plays into. Hell, that mentality is so universal that in some parts of the world there are "soccer riots" among fans of opposing teams. What's more, it's historical. Our "reds" & "blues" of today harken back to the "blues" & "greens" of Ancient Rome - originally chariot racing teams. Indeed, similar riots broke out in Rome in that day. If you view 1/6 as a kind of sports riot, you'll gain better insight into what was actually happening in the minds of those rioters. That's >exactly< what ol' Tweety leverages in his rants.
Fortunately - for the moment - he's banned from Twitter.
Concerning Garland prosecuting >anyone< involved in 1/6, I'll wager ol' Tweety & the gang will try to tar Garland with jealousy and/or vengefulness over not being on the SCOTUS. There'll undoubtedly be some kind of disinformation campaign involved.
The column and many of the comments are focused on the "former guy," which I understand since he's easily identifiable and the focal point of "the problem." However, sitting here in the middle of a hugely red state (a few of us are blue and fighting the good fight so please don't denigrate the red states as if they are monolithic) I still see signs of people believing the "big lie." It is that willingness to forego evidence that is much more troubling to me. I've seen the impact of Fox/faux news, social media, particularly Facebook, and Twitter as the means to the end of perpetuating the false beliefs. Not electing trump will NOT defeat trumpism and it is that "ism" that has divided, and continues to divide this country. Our "bonds of affection" are as seriously frayed today as they have ever been.
Today is Veterans Day, a time when we would, historically, come together to honor those who have served in the military. We will have our parade and express our patriotism and honor theirs, but the fact that many of our fellow citizens will see us "the other" is distressing and, I fear, will not go away unless and until the former guy is gone, if then. His minions are still out there and following his lead and the likes of DeSantis and Cruz and our own governor Stitt, are emulating him daily. This genie will be near impossible to get back into that bottle. 14th Amendment? sure...and then what? We know the Kochs are behind much of this so we have to follow the money and see where it leads. Who else is funding all the division? There's a lot of money being spent to keep this going. We sure don't want to go the way the way of the Weimar Republic...do we?
I am appalled at the glacial reponse of the justice system to Trump's illegal and frankly treasonous behavior. So far his only accountability has been losing the 2020 election, and he has endlessly challenged even that. Sometimes I wish we had a different form of justice system in which Trump could not constantly evade responsibility for his many crimes. If he is still a free man in 2024, we have lost the ability to enact the rule of law.
Tens of millions of folks feel the decks are stacked and that our gov does not represent the best interests of the people; their feelings are justified. Trump leveraged these feelings by claiming to be a WA D.C. "outsider" who proclaimed to have the secret inside knowledge and contacts of big business to turn things around. Couple these feelings about gov with the brown threat of immigrants, and socialists, and we have the "movable feast" barn fire that he trots out at his rallys on cue.
Of course, he had not a clue, nor any intention of turning things around--when he saw the swell he created, he decided to just ride the wave of hate, mistrust, and fantasy as long as he could {can} while lining his pockets at every opportunity.
There is no point in trying to convince his following that his intent was/is contrary to almost everything he says--the brainwash is too thorough, and the fantasy bogeymen too abundant/prevalent.
Besides, for that dwindling, tiny, contingent of old white men who are slowly loosing control and influence, he is their last life raft of hope to continue the massive whiz bang and okey doke.
Criminal Trump is going to Prison for the rest of his miserable life. The Georgia racketeering prosecution alone should be good for 25 years. Even so, to be on the safe side, Congress should invoke Article 3 of the 14th Amendment of prevent him from even thinking of running.
Without Rupert Murdock's fake FOX "news" and the Wall Street "Urinal" Trump would have been laughed at when he stepped off the elevator in 2015. Without Murdock's misinformation machine the Republican Party might still be legitimate but he and his minions have turned half of the country into morons and, yes, deplorable's. Trump isn't the problem, FOX "news" and Facebook are. Time to boycott every company that advertises products or services on FOX and to cancel your Facebook account.
Agree.
Yes
One disagreement, Trump is the problem but Fox News created the path for him to get there.
Totally agree, SeekingReason. For the last 2 decades Fox News has been telling their viewers that Fox is the only news source they can trust and that all the other news outlets are controlled by the liberal media. My father, who has been watching Fox since its inception, slowly started avoiding any other news sources. Then Trump came along, lying as easily as he breathes, and Fox replayed his lies for all their followers to hear. Since they don't have any other source of news, they really are living in an alternate reality. They believe Covid is not a big deal and that the vaccine is risky, they believe the election was stolen, and they believe January 6th was just Patriots gathering to protest a stolen election. Fox does not report any facts, so to half of the country, these are the facts. It is so disheartening to see so many smart, rational people buy into this bullshit. Rupert Murdoch and Tucker Carlson really are the enemy of democracy!
Dawn, Did you ever watch The Brainwashing of my Dad? It’s about this woman’s dad transformation after listening to Faux News. Spoiler Alert…
After a major move, Her mom found a way to stop the slide and the daughter, unknown to the dad, put a parental control on the tv and he couldn’t watch it. The mom went in his email and unsubscribed all if his right wing emails. She replaced them with left wing news. The more he heard, the more he pulled away from the right wing crap and she said, he became a pleasant person again.
But we should be able to protect the airwaves from this. We can fact check, we don’t allow cussing on radio etc..I want my cable co to allow me nit to have a fascist propaganda station as a choice. It’s not good enough to say…you don’t have to watch it. I want the right to never have to listen to hateful, nationalistic, authoritarian, psychopathic bullshit ever again.
I did watch it and sadly it rang very true for me, except my story doesn't have a happy ending, yet. I remember years ago when Fox fist aired my mother would complain that my father was different. He was angrier and more discontented. Fast forward 20+ years and now my dad knows better than to discuss politics with any of his children or extended family. He knows his beliefs are very polarizing and is usually pretty good about not talking about them. My mother is in the early stages of dementia and just sits and listens with little opinion. She and I got into it the other day because she said she is worried about how engaged I am in politics and how upset I seem to be by what is happening. I told her that I don't have the luxury of not being engaged if I want my son to grow up in a democracy. At least my mom reads the local paper and gets some good information there, my dad is only dealing with Fox and Breitbart. I feel sorry for his ignorance. He would lose his shit if I ever tried to remove Fox from his TV! I 100% blame them for the division in this country. I agree we should be able to protect the airwaves and internet.
How terrible that must be. It sounds super stressful. On my husband’s side of the fam we totally disconnected with the rt wingers but we weren’t close anyway. I know some people can’t but where possible i’s good to eliminate that toxicity.
I agree with you. Fox et al are organized propaganda outlets with the backing if Putin and probably others of his type. Trump can be used as a puppet because he is such a dupe! Putin likes me! He said so! What a deluded nut!
I like your use of the word "toxic". That so many people have had their thinking poisoned for profit is the core of the challenge we face. Whether it's Fox news or Facebook, we have to come to grips with "poisoning for profit" and find a way to contain it.
If it is disinformation or lies, it should not crowd our radio and other media 'waves'. A kind of 'truth in advertising or 'fairness doctrine'. Why does the FCC exist?
There is worry that another Trump could get in and proclaim any left sided views as lies. Although, the left doesn’t have wide enough reach right now.
So the question is who has full authority to decide. Obviously it would need to be multiple sources. Dems need to stop overthinking and get this addressed. Rs don’t care if they affect our lives so we need to go drastic.
Truth in media is obviously something that would have to be solved with integrity. Or we could have bad actors controlling what is said. Our free speech rights would be in danger.
It would be interesting to find out how many Fox viewers who don’t think COVID is a big deal have died from it. Surely there must be a tipping point at which they stop believing that lie.
Fewer Republican voters suits me fine.
Not always. They blame a Democrat or Biden. This is mass psychopathic behavior. Really disturbing.
It was really disturbing to see a story about a woman who, after losing two of her young children to Covid was insisting that she will still not get vaccinated.
Since her kids are gone, it’s best she gets it and goes away. It starting to feel like a war. Either they die off or we do. It’s easier if they die from the virus they deny and save people who do everything to safeguard their health.
She will live with her choices and remember her children. It's terrible that people are so brainwashed! It may be a mercy if she contracted it. Maybe she is thinking that! Awful! Sad!
I can only agree with you, Dawn because I watched my father descend into the depths with Fox News as well. It's an insidious evil in our country, and it is ruining our precious democracy!
Please allow me to be a bit contrarian with this. I'll not gainsay your observation, but consistently with what I say in an earlier comment in this post, I think you only see the tip of the iceberg - well, perhaps considerably more than that. Think most of it can be attributed to all the mainstream media coverage he got - and still gets, to a lesser degree - for making >all< his bat-s**t claims and statements. They'd even display his Twitter posts - just so our brains could be sufficiently washed in his towering BS. Fox would have had little without an entertainer entertaining and having a real message - BS or not - that played to the audience he was courting. In other places, I've seen it asserted that the audience he courts is the Democrats' natural constituency that the Democrats haven't served well. You be the judge of that. However to me, that explains why so many of those apparently natural constituents >appear< to vote against their own interest. Bring on anything to the left of the Republican platform and be characterized as radical left-wing socialists. Most of his voters don't know socialism from the 30th of February! Here's the real genius of ol' Tweety's approach: mainstream news outlets provided him with millions, and maybe billions in de facto campaign advertising without ol' Tweety & the Republicans ever spending or accepting a single dime in campaign contributions. And so the "culture war" will continue. The Republicans can continue to harp on the "culture war" issues, leveraging the superstitions and fantasies of those most in need of our support, while not cutting loose a single dime to support those voters' actual needs - and demonize Democrats for any attempt to do so as a bonus.
Predatory to the obscene.
Yellow hair, orange 'beak' LOL!
Here's a possible response for Democrats being labeled "radical left-wing socialists:" how about "Carnivorous Republicans."
Never forget: ol' Tweety just >loves< the undereducated. He said so plainly as he stumped in 2016, and it made international news. Also, never forget the power of "iconic" images - a word that popped up in the last decade like a poisonous snake, that I'd happily delete from the lexicon!
It's like Republicans openly stating that limiting the vote helps them!
Tweety! Brilliant! Priceless! ..
Yes, I use Facebook only to reach out to other animal advocates and to visit Robert Reich's page!
As part of the bloc that seeks to get Mark's attention, I logged out of my Fb account from the 10th to the 13th. It should be interesting to see if they make me walk around the walls several times before re-admitting me as essentially harmless ..
If anyone wondered how the Nazis found so many willing concentration camp guards and operatives of the death camps, wonder no more.
Chilling thought.
You’re spot on DK! We are witnessing fascism walking in. This is not an exaggeration.
Though I don’t compare any period to the period of the Second World War, nonetheless, considering so many years later we are still behaving as though it did not occur, I start to question whether it really is part of our nature for an event to awaken our awareness.
This can most definitely be compared to WWII. Look at it’s beginnings. Eery!
Also, how much history is taught today in high schools? Also the ability to critique what is written in our news media or said? How does one fact check? or find a good source of news? One of the reasons I'm here is to exchange ideas and share what is known.
It is clear to me that Trump did not even like the job of president. With respect to Covid-19, he was in over his head; neither his personality nor his life experiences equipped him to handle a pandemic.
I agree that Trump should never be allowed to run for elective office; the Senate should have convicted him in the second impeachment. Trump panders to the lowest common denominator of human behavior. His continued dominance in the national conversation exposes serious flaws in our society. I think much of the threats and violence to which school board members, election supervisors, health commissioners, and other government officials around the country are being subjected result from Trump's message that using violence to get what you want is acceptable behavior. Even "respectable" suburban moms have bought into that.
That said, IMO, Democrats' plans to run against "scary Trump" as a campaign strategy will fail. He is no longer in office, and memories of his deficiencies fade fast. Some of the suburbanites who were repulsed by his crude and uncivil behavior might now even be nostalgic for the fact that he gave them full permission to indulge in racism.
It's so discouraging that he continues to consumer every new cycle. If we could only ignore him. (sigh)
Agree. Agree!
As I say in an earlier post and it speaks directly to your concern: Unfortunately, what ol' Tweety most relies on for his campaigning is the kind of attention he's getting right here. His cleverest strategy involves garnering >all< the free advertising he could possibly want from outlets he otherwise labels "fake news." If he be a genius, >that's it.< The more unhinged his spiel, the more likely he'll get press coverage for one reason alone: it's entertaining. Of course the most famous motto of any seasoned entertainer is: "The only >bad< publicity is >no< publicity." Compare his spiel with the kind of crap you hear from WWF "rasselers," along with the kind of crowd that seems to love him most. Look at sports psychology in general. Notice how many people are loyal to some kind of ball team in the US. It's >their< mentality he plays into. Hell, that mentality is so universal that in some parts of the world there are "soccer riots" among fans of opposing teams. What's more, it's historical. Our "reds" & "blues" of today harken back to the "blues" & "greens" of Ancient Rome - originally chariot racing teams, who morphed from chariot racing teams into political parties in their own right. Indeed, similar riots broke out in Rome in that day. If you view 1/6 as a kind of sports riot, you'll gain better insight into what was actually happening in the minds of those rioters. That's >exactly< what ol' Tweety leverages in his rants.
Fortunately - for the moment - he's banned from Twitter.
As a PS: I believe that the Democrats have failed to appreciate this phenomenon in their messaging. Consider the notion of "political football." ol' Tweety has reduced the fate of this nation to a pigskin on a gridiron.
Also, if you think about it a moment, that's a trait ol' Tweety shares with Ronald McReagan - he's an entertainer entertaining. Reagan was good with demeaning quips: "There he goes again." He could be a highly refined and personable version of Don Rickles in politics. Even his "Tear down this wall" plea was high drama worthy of a seasoned actor. ol' Tweety is playing to a different, coarser mentality as a different, coarser version of his predecessor.
PPS. That's also why I think Cuomo was a real loss. He was effective in standing up to all ol' Tweety's BS. He even acutely observed, to McConnel and the gang, that the red state residents are the ultimate beneficiaries of the taxes blue state residents pay. In my thinking, that's >exactly< why, by whatever device or design, he had to go! I would >still< vote for him while loudly crying "just remember to keep you damn hands to yourself! You're standing in the midst of a lynch mob."
...make that 'consume every news cycle'. Autocorrect strikes again!
Nailed it. TFG has stirred, shaken and whipped a narrative that directs and demands all attention. If he is ignored he raises the volume. It doesn’t matter how petty or inappropriate the topic, he will force the attention on Trump.
The longer he stays a free man this country, and the world, will suffer. Sadly, he has backup in Donnie Jr. and Eric. They might be worse because they are just not smart enough to teeter on the edge without falling over. Trump Sr. Takes it to the limit and let’s others take the fall.
The Trump syndicate needs to be dismantled. There is enough evidence to put him away in multiple cases and in multiple jurisdictions.
Garland will need to act or he will be as complicit as the rest of the republican traitors and thr trump clan.
That’s just my opinion, but I could be wrong. (But I don’t think so)
Ignoring him would be best, but my point is that will not be possible because he has figured out how to demand the nation's attention -- by dividing it over him.
He would never allow the media to ignore him. He has been that way his entire life. He just needs to be put away so we can save ourselves.
It is so distressing that we have members of congress who follow him like he is the second coming. It's just hard to believe that he can garner that much support knowing what and who he is.
Here come the Red Chinese, united and disciplined.
Hard to ignore his followers in office who still march to his commands.
He is a great advertisement against himself.
It is more dangerous the longer the lunatic Trump is not in custody. We’re already hearing about coup terrorist likely to get 4 yrs. it must be 20! They’ll take time off of their sentences snd in a couple years they’ll be out. Not good enough! No lesson will be learned from that.
I have not been able to shake the feeling that our democracy is sliding into the sea as is volcanic activity in La Palma...when 1/2 of our citizens believe that this orangutan is their savior I cannot see any positivity ahead. When the democratic party is so weak and milk-toast in responding to republicans and their recipe for authoritarian rule and the right wing brain-dead are defining how we, as a people, react to a medical emergency/pandemic by exerting 'rights' that totally ignore the fact that we are all in this together...for the greater good. I am a Viet Nam veteran and have endured a lot of crap but this has me more scared than I had ever been in the jungles of southeast asia. That this POS could run again for the presidency says way too much about where this country currently sits...
Trump is so toxically narcissistic that as president, he was like a mad king who literally owned all the federal agencies, the military, the people who voted for him, and of course even now, he believes the laws do not apply to him. Somehow we weathered 4 years of the presidency of a man truly deranged and delusional. Trump has one talent - that he is able to play on people's desires, fears, prejudices and of course, their resentments. The Big Lie is something that he's using to keep the carnival grifter's tent in business. Personally, I don't think he can win an election as long as the Democrats don't blow it, but they have a tendency to blow it when it's life or death.
Sadly, time and again I've watched Democrats pull defeat out of the jaws of victory.
Please explain in a future column, why he never seems to be held accountable for any laws he breaks - is our legal system really that weak? If any of the rest of us did a third of the things he's done, we'd be in jail for life. I realize its a tangled mess, but surely there's something we can hang him on. Thx.
He's not held accountable for many of the same reasons that the billionaire class isn't held accountable: Once you have the wealth to purchase platoons of lawyers, accountants, lawmakers, and pr professionals, you have the equivalent of a "get out of jail free" card.
nailed it! "Money doesn't talk it swears!"
As one comedian put it: if I ever commit a serious crime, I hope half the jury is made up of my accomplices.
Excellent portrayal of Donald Trump. My questions are 1) Why do the GOP & about 40% of the country support this nihilist? Like Timothy Snyder in "On Tyranny", I believe history instructs. Have the "followers of Trump" ignored the history of the Germans who followed Hitler? 2) Trump acts as if he is above the law. In my opinion, he has been successful so far. Will Trump be indicted before the 2022 midterms? 3) If Democrats win the 2022 midterms, & our democratic republic survives, when will our Constitution be amended to address the shortcomings which Trump has exploited? The will of the people (approximately 60%), needs to be better represented & actually govern.
In answer to your first question, look at my comment elsewhere in the comments section. Trump is their champion against the country's elites who look down on them and hold them in contempt.
While I agree (and liked) your earlier comment and this one, there are reasons those people holds those beliefs. Fox/faux news,social media and, frankly, the religious right, particularly the "evangelicals" (that word has certainly been changed!) and lots of money from the Kochs and others, 'trumpet' those beliefs daily with no alternative to that echo chamber (see what I did there?). Believing differently doesn't mean I look down on those folks. I've lived and worked among and appreciated many of their values all my life. I now fit that category that is supposed to be "elite" with two college degrees and a left leaning politics, but I don't look down on them. I do think they're wrong though and hope they'll agree to support democracy.
Well it’s not like the reverse isn’t true. He and his ilk sneer at everyone who isn’t like them. Pot and kettle.
they frequently transcend "sneering" into belittling and threatening. Their "open carry" mentality is intimidation as well.
Yes, very good point. It’s not the same at all, is it?
I think they don't like each other very much either. Republicans who step out of line are attacked pretty savagely.
They’re so filled with hate they don’t like anyone. Their cardiovascular systems must be a mess.
Good point. The problem precedes Trump. Rush Limbaugh made fun of Mr. Reich's height and name during the 1990's while he was in the Clinton Admin.
I can’t believe anyone could think that’s acceptable behavior. How did acting like a schoolyard bully become acceptable in this country? Can you imagine what growing up in that household must have been like? Ugh.
Remember that we live in a culture where football is the most-popular sport. Football players experience brain injury and then, years later, sue their erstwhile employer. This is not a rational pastime. Ditto for the gun culture for obvious reasons. Taking bets that Rittenhouse gets off scot free.
He very well might. However I predict that very bad things are going to happen to him.
He even disparaged our active duty military, calling them 'suckers' and 'losers'.
Imagine anyone getting away with that twenty or thirty years ago. They’d be unemployable.
I know people who support the other side because of their investments in stocks. When everything is good and the $$$ are coming in they ignore their conscience and say "I got mine", "it's either them or me", and continue to be part of the problem.
It must be exhausting living like that. I really wonder about the toll all this selfishness and anger must be taking on these people.
It's a shame we can't see reforms before then! If we were presently being invaded by a Bin Laden type, I would think there would be much swifter action. Why can't there be a remedy? there is plenty of evidence. We watch this thing unfolding as the perps receive wide latitude, even when it is evident that he uses delay tactics. It is his M. O.
Unfortunately, what ol' Tweety most relies on for his campaigning is the kind of attention he's getting right here. His cleverest strategy involves garnering >all< the free advertising he could possibly want from outlets he otherwise labels "fake news." The more unhinged his spiel, the more likely he'll get press coverage for one reason alone: it's entertaining. Of course the most famous motto of any seasoned entertainer is: "The only >bad< publicity is >no< publicity." Compare his spiel with the kind of crap you hear from WWF "rasselers," along with the kind of crowd that seems to love him most. Look at sports psychology in general. Notice how many people are loyal to some kind of ball team in the US. It's >their< mentality he plays into. Hell, that mentality is so universal that in some parts of the world there are "soccer riots" among fans of opposing teams. What's more, it's historical. Our "reds" & "blues" of today harken back to the "blues" & "greens" of Ancient Rome - originally chariot racing teams. Indeed, similar riots broke out in Rome in that day. If you view 1/6 as a kind of sports riot, you'll gain better insight into what was actually happening in the minds of those rioters. That's >exactly< what ol' Tweety leverages in his rants.
Fortunately - for the moment - he's banned from Twitter.
I failed to mention, the Roman "blues & greens" morphed from chariot racing teams into political parties in their own right.
Not to mention our own blues and grays...
The thought >had< crossed my mind, to be sure. I'm glad you "caught my drift."
Concerning Garland prosecuting >anyone< involved in 1/6, I'll wager ol' Tweety & the gang will try to tar Garland with jealousy and/or vengefulness over not being on the SCOTUS. There'll undoubtedly be some kind of disinformation campaign involved.
I would love to see orangutan and his minions tarred and feathered! On national TV!
The column and many of the comments are focused on the "former guy," which I understand since he's easily identifiable and the focal point of "the problem." However, sitting here in the middle of a hugely red state (a few of us are blue and fighting the good fight so please don't denigrate the red states as if they are monolithic) I still see signs of people believing the "big lie." It is that willingness to forego evidence that is much more troubling to me. I've seen the impact of Fox/faux news, social media, particularly Facebook, and Twitter as the means to the end of perpetuating the false beliefs. Not electing trump will NOT defeat trumpism and it is that "ism" that has divided, and continues to divide this country. Our "bonds of affection" are as seriously frayed today as they have ever been.
Today is Veterans Day, a time when we would, historically, come together to honor those who have served in the military. We will have our parade and express our patriotism and honor theirs, but the fact that many of our fellow citizens will see us "the other" is distressing and, I fear, will not go away unless and until the former guy is gone, if then. His minions are still out there and following his lead and the likes of DeSantis and Cruz and our own governor Stitt, are emulating him daily. This genie will be near impossible to get back into that bottle. 14th Amendment? sure...and then what? We know the Kochs are behind much of this so we have to follow the money and see where it leads. Who else is funding all the division? There's a lot of money being spent to keep this going. We sure don't want to go the way the way of the Weimar Republic...do we?
I am appalled at the glacial reponse of the justice system to Trump's illegal and frankly treasonous behavior. So far his only accountability has been losing the 2020 election, and he has endlessly challenged even that. Sometimes I wish we had a different form of justice system in which Trump could not constantly evade responsibility for his many crimes. If he is still a free man in 2024, we have lost the ability to enact the rule of law.
I cannot tell you how good it is to hear outrage.
Not only him but people who openly support him and some who are implicated in supporting the insurrection. Holding seats in our government!
Tens of millions of folks feel the decks are stacked and that our gov does not represent the best interests of the people; their feelings are justified. Trump leveraged these feelings by claiming to be a WA D.C. "outsider" who proclaimed to have the secret inside knowledge and contacts of big business to turn things around. Couple these feelings about gov with the brown threat of immigrants, and socialists, and we have the "movable feast" barn fire that he trots out at his rallys on cue.
Of course, he had not a clue, nor any intention of turning things around--when he saw the swell he created, he decided to just ride the wave of hate, mistrust, and fantasy as long as he could {can} while lining his pockets at every opportunity.
There is no point in trying to convince his following that his intent was/is contrary to almost everything he says--the brainwash is too thorough, and the fantasy bogeymen too abundant/prevalent.
Besides, for that dwindling, tiny, contingent of old white men who are slowly loosing control and influence, he is their last life raft of hope to continue the massive whiz bang and okey doke.
All I can say is you nailed it Bob. I love reading your posts you always say what I am thinking.
Criminal Trump is going to Prison for the rest of his miserable life. The Georgia racketeering prosecution alone should be good for 25 years. Even so, to be on the safe side, Congress should invoke Article 3 of the 14th Amendment of prevent him from even thinking of running.