Gary ; Yes, The things he has incited with his mouth! ; The things he has said, have even killed! From anti masking and anti vax, to anti Muslim and anti Chinese and anti Chinese Women and anti Gay , anti Jew and anti liberal also saying that the horror in Ukraine was perpetrated by A "genius" and Mexicans and South Americans are rapists and criminals; and even our President and his Family are criminals. He is anti science and against health care for those he hates ; Women and LGBTQIA ; and any person of Color. Plus anyone who disagrees with him! He caused deaths on Jan 6! Murders in grocery stores, cafes, synagogues and churches. He and his minions are behind the fear that our representatives have of making gun laws that we and our children can Live with! They are afraid to do their jobs! to oppose him and his evil fascism!
"Lock him up" turns him into a martyr with his supporters. I think a gag order with HUGE fines attached (his money is most precious to him) would accomplish the same thing.
He's >already< a martyr with his supporters and >already< portrays himself as such. ("I'm doing this for >you<.) At the risk of being gauche - >always< my utmost concern 🤣 - worrying about throwing ol' P01135809 in the can and making him a martyr is a little like worrying about making a pregnant woman more pregnant!
I simply think we should stop handwringing about that and "make the damn crime fit the damn punishment!"
DZK ; Yes already! Lock him up AND fine him! Get him off the ballot! The "Supreme" court should do it immediately! As retired Judge Michael Luttig has said : "There is enough evidence, and the 14th amendment section 3 is clear and self executing! It is in the Constitution! No conviction necessary!" He did say the Supreme court is where it should be heading. They should get it done sooner than later.
Yes. "The Big Quibble" - the semantic argument over the language of the 14th - needs settled sooner and not later. I really do hope the SCOTUS justices are as self-serving as they're currently seen on this one! Dictators don't like courts that can overrule them. They like to use courts as footstools.
I saw a memorable interview with a guy who said he never made so much money in his life as he did when ol' P01135809 was president. When asked what he did for a living, he responded - without a hint of irony - "I run a collection agency!" 🤣
Maybe there's a connection, spoiling children with too many of the wrong things, including toys, nothwithstanding? (ToysRUs was repulsive to me, in its excess, at some point, when I was a kid. . . and I loved toys as much as the next kid!)
Let them! If they’re that stupid not to have learned anything from the attack on the Capitol then let them kill each other while Trump sits and watches it on tv.
It would be heart-breaking, but it would also kind of be funny in a DEPRESSING sort of way to watch Our Troops mow down the drones of "Insurrection II: Electric Boogaloo."
No amount of uneducated rednecks with illegal assault weapons can defeat a TRAINED MILITARY FORCE. Remember: America's is TWICE the size of our next competitor's!
TL;DR - The 2024 Insurrection will last SECONDS and end with MANY dead by their beloved guns.
I’m sure I’m not the only person in this country that’s sick of our lives being dictated by the 30% that voted for the sociopath.
I want the news media and everyone else including our government to focus on the rest of us that are sane and responsible and voted for integrity, the rule of law and democracy.
M Forrester : or locked up without any communication devices or visitors who can leak messages; as the Roman Catholic Church would say: "excommunicated".
If I remember correctly he’s publicly stated he wants General Milley executed for simply doing his job, fulfilling his responsibilities and at least one other person, a staffer who angered him? He’s crossed a line that shouldn’t be crossed.
All good. But how about converting Mar-a-Lago into a mental hospital. His Secret Service people could then be converted into being guards. And oh! No phones allowed!
The steps the House will take today with regards to the impeachment hearings against President Biden are nothing more than a wet dream offered up by the likes of Jordan and Comer. Lost in an effort to get even for the embarrassing double impeachment proceedings the Democrats graciously provided to Mr. Trump the Republicans are grasping at straws in an effort to get revenge. Stupid is as stupid does, the Republican camp in the House should have rented a copy of Forrest Gump, and paid attention while the movie was being played. It seems they still don't understand the reasoning behind why Forrest jumps off of the back of a shrimp boat. They missed the point of the movie and of life in our country. The United States is at a metamorphic tipping point, if caution isn't taken, what emerges from this Trump debacle will shock what remains of this country and the free world, for the Republicans are attempting to turn our butterfly back into a "Worm."
Good morning Donald- it’s so interesting when I say to MAGAs “I dont want to live in your world- you ready to shoot me, cause that’s what it’s going to take.” They’re so gobsmacked their jaws just drop open. They think they’re the only ones willing to fight!!! When pushback occurs they scurry back into their coward holes with their tails between their legs. It’s hilarious…
Susan--We live in a time of great confusion and the MAGA group isn't helping with their Trump based ignorance hanging between their legs, and yes it isn't their tails.
Our Southern border is the sticking point for the impeachment hearings of today. There has to be a way to force Mexico to patrol their side of that damn river and keep immigrants from getting their feet wet.
This is a man who has suffered enormous sadness and trauma in his life with the loss of a wife and baby daughter, then a truly patriotic son. He has held his head high and carried on in spite of these situations. he knows, as we do, that Trump is a really unhappy and lost spirit.....Just like every other unhappy and unsatisfied human that ever was. No matter what he has or gains he will never be satiated. Be glad you do not bear that cross.
Gina--President Biden is an honest and trustworthy man, who has countless true friends and admirers. While Donald Trump is totally alone, he has no friends, even stupid people aren't that dumb. He already is like a king of sorts, hold on to your heads.
I think it is because yes, we are taking the bait and becoming angry, and with good cause because we are the ones who truly do love this country and what it stands for. The rest are just prone to anger since it is the only actual feeling that they may be capable of having. They do not feel love, compassion, or true joy. They must be a shell of a human being.
Mr. Solomon,this is hilarious! I’m not sure we could get this done but it’s a start. Let’s start advocating for a legal team to push lawsuits against the maga mental midgets.
Could he be sprung from jail or prison by supporters? Read in the first volume of Ed. Morris' bio of T Roosevelt, what happened to the poor black guy who was protected from a mob in a prison more secure than Ft. Knox. They got him out anyway, but not to save him ..
It is irresponsible in an internet age to ignore that unlimited and massively disseminated free speech can kill. When it does, the speakers and the disseminators should share the docket.
When your massively amplified ‘free speech’ removes my life, or liberty, you need to be found liable and you need to pay the consequences.
“One person’s freedom ends where the next person’s freedom begins.”
Trump and his sycophants, leveraging the inadequately regulated disinformation machine, (the internet’s culpable anti-social media forums) have jointly committed treason, for which they should be tried and convicted.
He is daring the woke left to call him out. Well, political correctness be damned.
Charge him and them with a coup attempt and treasonous conspiracy, gag him and them for cause as laid out by RR here and Liz elsewhere, incarcerate them pending trial as a danger to the public, then try, and convict.
Then lock him and them up.
At some point in there you might have to “pull a Republican”, and stack the bench as long as it takes to restore/establish structural majoritarian rule in the U.S. (eliminate electoral college, gerrymandering, overturn Citizens United, re-establish meaningful progressive taxation, ...), then unstack the bench.
But I fantasize about Jack Smith bringing the con man down, inexorably, one self-indictment after another, as slow and as certain as justice bending toward truth, in full view of Putin, Un, Xi, etc.
Mark, your venting is sweet music to my ears. My thoughts, EXACTLY. Political correctness needs to be set aside with criminals like TUMP and his cronies. We need to push back at these evil cretins.
Technically, they should be tried for sedition, but I get what you mean.
[Treason is when you work with a foreign power to bring down your country's government. Sedition is when you work to bring down your own government without involving a foreign power.]
Now, if Trump were working with Russia to topple our government, that would be treason. Personally, I'm convinced he would do this in a heartbeat if he thinks it's necessary.
Hey Ken, you are of course correct about sedition v treason. And some argue Treason must be during war, or at least when 'enemy' is well-defined... but think we're there.
Most of what we are seeing online and in the news currently about election denial and Jan 6 does look like sedition, unless one were seeking and accepting Putin's help. But as I recall, Trump did ask Russia for help. And Russia in turn, did offer, with Jared (& Jr.?) in the room. We just didn't see the handshake and transfer of goods. So IF there's a there there, expect this is in Jack Smith's inbox.
Speculation:
One hypothesis for certain strange Republican Congressional and Judicial (thinking Thomas) behavior, and strange elevation of the incompetent in the last decade around the election and impeachments, is that in addition to public making threats to be followed up by MAGAts, Trump uses his wealth and influence to get dirt on very many of them. In turn, Trump himself acts as though he is 'owned' by Putin.
Former Senator Cheney remarked on TV the other day how her fellow congressmen seemed to live in fear. Insane to have to say this, but from what we know of the former US president, both honeypot traps and direct threats of harm are well within his oeuvre.
NOT a survivable thing for this country, no matter who is shaking them down.
Mark Shields ; The statutes of limitations would run out before less than half of that could be accomplished. And that is only with very good luck. But we can dream! Maybe some day it will happen!
I agree Mark. And if our laws don't permit this then change the damn laws. And if the courts will not uphold then change the Constitution. Whatever it takes. We need to pack the court for sure. We are living in a new age but our legislators and laws have not caught on, or don't want to because of genuflection to the wealthy. That's why we need a second enlightenment, so to speak, that recognizes how people can be manipulated and the science and technology that enables that manipulation. Aeropagitica and JS Mill on freedom of speech is not adequate to todays world, particularly where speech is largely cornered by the wealthy and powerful.
Under the law in our Constitution, it is not necessary to convict him. Although a judge has found him guilty of insurrection , or interfering with the process of certifying the vote!
True enough for the important endpoint of disqualification under Amdt14.S3.1 !
But he and his co-conspirators are a continuing danger to the public, and they need to be locked up for a decade or more; anything less is an insufficient deterrent to people who lack internal self-control, lack an understanding of the 'social contract', lack a generalizable sense of morality, and lack sufficient compunctions about forcing other humans to their will. And who have ANTI-democratic amounts of money to spend to bend info sources to their will.
"Lacking the internal civil character for fairly respecting and tolerating the freedoms of others, their own freedom MUST needs be curtailed by the state, else freedom ceases for all."
But, impatient as I am, and as dangerous as times are becoming, this JUSTICE needs to be done by (as efficient but also fair as reasonable) a due process, not by decapitation, nor by partisan terror squads or doxing, nor by stochastically activated hate speech.
If one becomes indistinguishable from what one fights, one has lost the war.
Mark Shields ; Also true enough. Justice, like charity begins at home. If tfg can be kept off the ballot and brought to justice, we can begin to see those who are election deniers removed from their seats in government as they too, are disqualified to hold public office with it's attendant power! They cannot be trusted!
Yes, Mark Shields, I think this proto-European inspired movement to fascism is a sign for us to take a good look at our own government in terms of efficiency. America is bogged down by deadweight laws passed over a 200+ year period, as well as our bureaucracy. (Actually, history teaches us that government bureaucracies—"deep state"—are more likely to survive revolution than other parts of the government.) We haven't been teaching our kids about the tolerable messiness of democracy, and the need to keep watch. We all know democracy is flawed, and we forgive it because we love our freedom. Our Constitution allows us to have a Constitutional Convention. Historians have warned that it's too risky to consider. But we could limit the focus to finding ways to streamline our legislative process. We might have to toss out some sacred cows along the way (need I say Sen. Tommy Tuberville?), and actually change some of the structure, IF THIS CHANGE PROMISES TO MAKE CONGRESS MORE RESPONSIVE TO THEIR CONSTITUENCIES. The word "streamlining" keeps coming up in my mind. I'm proposing this because fascism is capable of incredible efficiency and simplicity. This is what our mind-twisted rightward people are wishing for, and they take it where they can find it. Many Americans are very confused about democracy and how it works. "Keep it simple, Stupid." they say. It's modern times, everybody; we're spoiled by instant gratification and we need our government to pick up speed in order to catch up with this new century; in order for us to "keep it."
The speech may be "free", but the money to be made is huge. The right wingers of talk radio and Fox and other cable channels have learned that you can become rich by lying to the American people. The only way to stop them is making them pay through civil lawsuits and criminal charges as applicable (jail and fines). More actions like Dominion versus Fox are needed.
Trump has a mouth in need of a manhole cover. It doesn't need the customary stamp that indicated what city's DPW placed it in the location where it would do the most good. Traditionally these covers were set in place to protect the public from falling into its sewer system. With Trump these iron wafers do a better job than that little red ball they found hanging from his gaping mouth. Trump's vocabulary is a bit scathing, but it is indicative of a neglected young child. He is like a boxer in the ring losing his fight, the only weapon left at his disposal is the vulgar language he learned as a child. Donnie Boy thinks that the old saying about sticks and stones doesn't apply to him. He actually feels by orally bashing the people he finds annoying that they will be hurt by his verbal assault. They are adults and he is still the child, all his antics really do nothing but provide us with a window into the mind of a disturbed adolescent trying to become something he just wasn't meant to be, a man of value. All I can say is, when the wind blows, tighten the jib and batten down the hatches.
I think there is nothing more humiliating for Trump than laughing at this man's comments rather than getting angry. And working diligently to expose this man's insanity and pointing out the similarity to Putin, Hitler etc.
I think he gets a great kick from the reaction of the left.
Phil--Hitler disappeared on April 30, 1945, Trump was born on June 14, 1946. I don't believe in this sort of thing, but the time split gives an opportunity for the spirit of good old Adolf to be reincarnated into the current idiot we have running around this country today. Stranger things have happened, just ask Rod.
I can't stand the sight of him. much less listen to his endless string of lies and projection of his actions onto his enemies. He says Democrats and Pres. Biden are fascists??? That is exactly what those despicable cretins are. That is projection to the extreme. Donald TUMP is criminally insane, and needs to be sent to an institution for the criminally insane for the rest of his miserable life.
John, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, is used as a forensic checklist to determine if a person is a clinically certified psychopath. The top 5 characteristics of a psychopath are:
1. grandiose sense of self-importance
2. insatiable need for praise
3. pathological lying
4. refusal to accept responsibility
5. total lack of empathy
I'd score Trump 5 out of 5 as a certified psychopath. And yet, 10s of millions of Americans can't wait to vote for him. Who are these people?
They are so far down the rabbit hole that most are considered a lost cause. They continue their diet of lie based media and the lower Trump goes the more they get charged up. He wasn't lying when he said that he could Kill somebody on Broadway and their loyalty would not waver. (I paraphrase).
I would like to see the Democratic sites that sends me emails on a daily basis would STOP posting horrific pictures of him in their emails. He is the ugliest human being on the planet. Even worse than the creature on the ''Lord of the Rings'' film.
I wish the Democratic sites would stop asking me to sign endless petitions and then send them money. Any time I do send a donation to RR, I get flooded with this stuff. Does anyone else have this problem?
But I did get a laugh a few months ago when the RNC called our landline& asked for me..ha, I think they won't be calling again.I yelled my answers very loudly & politely but firmly voicing my repulsion for the orange-head.
I have also been getting emails from the Fascist GQP sites occasionally. I have unsubscribed to those up to 200 times each, and send an email to them that is far from polite. I call them names and curse them with words that would make a Sailor blush. I use language that i would not dare repeat on a Democratic site. Those Fascist creeps make my blood boil. I am not scared of those Fascist cretins.
Yes, but it is even worst for anyone who sends money to Trump! One of my family members used to send money to him (I finally convinced her to stop). She still gets bombed daily with emails and mail flyers from Trump, his family, his spokesmen, and general goofballs asking her to send more money or the Democrats will destroy the world. A few emails promise a personal dinner with Trump (Big Mac and large fries?) if you send him enough dough!
My MAGAT sister-in-law sends the Orange Baboon money every month. and posts a sign at her home that says, ''I AM A SUPER MAGA'' I haven't spoken to her in 6 years. I can't stand to be anywhere close to her. She is a brain dead idiot.
I get flooded with the endless petitions every day, and the same petition emails appear day in and day out.. I went from getting about 60 emails a day, to 150 -200 emails a day. Some of them have a message at the end of the email that says, '' But you promised to donate'' when i don't send a donation. And a good many of them have a horrifying photo of none other than, Donald TUMP in them. Also, i am annoyed at the desperate and negative titles of these emails, such as, '' Democrats are in BIG trouble'' and ''Social Security disaster'' Most of those kind are from James Carville's site. The one that is the most annoying is, '' Packing Up, going home''
I agree. I am also exhausted from getting solicited for money 50 times a day. I delete these messages and label them junk which makes me uncomfortable but enough is enough.
All of what he has said should be taken seriously. IMO he needs to be put in prison in solitary confinement with NO access to any media device. In other words, he will be locked away from everyone and no one will have access to him. He is a very dangerous criminal having shown his intent.
This is not rocket science. It simply requires someone with the will to do this.
Michael, the problem is, who would be enlisted to do the testing necessary to have him committed or the guts to put him in jail when he has so many fans who think violence to get what they think their Baby Donnie wants is acceptable, even preferable.
Ruth Sheets: to hell with the insanity thing! He knows what he is doing! Just the classified docs should put him away for the rest of his life! Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good! Otherwise, the stupid statute of limitations will kick in! Now that would be crazy!
A person can be insane, intelligent, and fully functional, all at the same time. An insane person can be cognizant of whatever is happening. An insane person can know what he's doing. Sometime back I read a book called, "The Successful Psychopath" (or similar, back in the 1970s). One can be a psycho/sociopath and get away with breaking the law, while knowing how to make millions for his corporation. I think Trump may be a Narcissistic psychopath, or he may be a psychopathic Narcissist. (Both psychic maladies begin early with childhood trauma and are therefore the most difficult to treat.) Trump gets away with everything. Bernie once said, "Donald Trump isn't a stupid man." He probably still believes this, and so do I.
the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, is used as a forensic checklist to determine if a person is a clinically certified psychopath. The top 5 characteristics of a psychopath are:
1. grandiose sense of self-importance
2. insatiable need for praise
3. pathological lying
4. refusal to accept responsibility
5. total lack of empathy
I'd score Trump 5 out of 5 as a certified psychopath. And yet, 10s of millions of Americans can't wait to vote for him. Who are these people?
Education doesn't make you smart. If you are smart, you can get by without education. You can be both smart and a tool of the devil—if you believe in devils. Trump is so imperious in his thinking, he treats the rabble (us) like we're fools. His schtick is to be a dumb-ass clown. He doesn't respect us enough to show us his "good" side. He has no shame because he doesn't respect our values. When you have no shame, you can get away with doing whatever you want. This has nothing to do with being stupid. Trump is NOT stupid. School records mean nothing in this context.
If your school records are bad you are either stupid or lazy. I suppose if the right teacher had time she could get that student to learn. They can't with 30-40 in a class room. Bet Trump went to private school. Few special education teachers there. He does not like to read (except Hitler's book is by his bed). Used to drive the White House officials crazy regarding important issues.
It's the same problem the French had with Napoleon- couldn't kill him, making him a martyr, so they exiled him to an island with no internet, so to speak... Power has a pretty dangerous effect on lunatics like Trump, makes them crazier. Standard issue megalomaniacs like Putin, XI, Orban et al will eventually end up in the same place, in jail or hung up by their feet in the public square like Mussolini. Once you embark on that road, there is no quiet death in old age!
Spot on! Putting him in prison where no one else will interact would probably do it. Really appreciate your statement about power having that effect on lunatics like trump.
Yes, however, from my seat in the peanut gallery, it looks as though members of the dept. of Justice value their jobs and pensions more than risking doing the right thing. Must we wait for a Gavrilo Princip to solve the problem?
Stan, I like your handle. Always makes me smirkishly smile when I see it. I cannot decide if your comment is scary or not, but it is thought provoking.
A friend of mine gave me this appellation years ago on the grounds that I’m overly idiosyncratic (or maybe eccentric) — as if I inhabit my own reality bubble, in which every idea coheres to a larger set of my ideas but doesn’t necessarily correspond to the reality that the public acknowledges. However, I think that if you read my posts here, you won’t see any notions that depart from common sense.
Willard Romney religiously wears prescribed underwear. IMHO, he’s nuttier than a fruitcake, too. It’s amazing to me that we tolerate public figures who are superstitious.
Actually, my thought is a combination of Biden and others refutation and Other. Other being a calm, clear and continual refutation of Orange Jesus and what the actual impacts of his words means--aka Liz Cheney. She was a powerful voice in the Maddie and Wallace interviews. Keep it up!!!!!
It too late for refutation as far as Trump supporters are concerned. I live with a family of them! As far as they are concerned, Biden and Democrats are lying whenever their mouths move. To them, Liz Cheney is a traitor to the Republican Party. But maybe independent voters are who you are thinking about in your comment?
The Washington Post and The Atlantic magazine are at last exposing the dangers of Drumpf’s campaign promises that may catch the attention of independent voters.
My initial thought was that there is a huge onus on the news media to cite and then refute these statements by Trump on a daily basis. They’re still “both sides-ing” everything way too much imo.
Steve, those are the questions that need to be answered - just who are these millions of people to love Trump? If we know what makes them tick, then maybe there's a chance to un-tick them? Right now, he's got an army of supporters, and when (God willing) he loses, he'll say "rigged" and they'll get out their guns and "save America" like they tried on Jan.6. These are very very dangerous times. And it is essential now - before it's too late - to understand who his supporters are.
Not thinking of anyone in particular, but Orange Jesus likes repetition, so let’s give it to him in a clear, calm manner and from all corners of the political spectrum,,,the worst that happen is to annoy the hell out of orange Jesus 🤣
I live in a corner of the Northeast where the MAGAs are everywhere pushing you off the road in their bloated pickup trucks, but they're feeling a bit scared right now- lots of yard signs suddenly, but for Kennedy and Haley, none for Trump.
Jean. Cheyney also did a good job on "Fresh Air" with Terry Gross. I wish she could get more attention from the Trumpers and Trumpettes, but they have been groomed to hate her as though she is Satan incarnate. They don't even listen to anything she says because somehow, they have decided the truth just does not work with their pseudo-Christian, Trump-loving world view.
Liz Cheney has a new inside Congress perspective book out. I ordered it yesterday. Yahoo lists are including numerous interviews that appear to be based on this new book, so I think it is a big deal -- as is Liz Cheney. She's still a hard right conservative, but she has been a real force in arguing against Trump. Also, while it is true that the MAGA types will not read her book, it really doesn't matter. The important thing is that the word be out there for the Independents to pick up on. That's where the rubber hits the road. So as long as she doesn't run herself - and draw Democratic voters - I'm a big fan.
I think the polarization is now so deep and ingrained that anti-Trumpers will praise her and pro-Trumpers will just call her a traitor. Logic and intelligence can't seem to pierce the cult-like followers and greed sycophantic opportunists. And then there's the Evangelicals who think Trump "shares their Christian values." I don't think Cheney or anyone is going to change the pro-Trumpers. The 2024 challenge is (1) to seriously motivate the Dems and (2) to win over the open-minded non-partisan independents whose 5-10% of the total vote can swing the results away from Trump.
professor reich: i voted "other" in your poll because i think the american public must launch an all-out war of words on trump by doing everything listed in your poll EXCEPT "nothing". in his quest for power and revenge, this demented lunatic is determined to destroy all that we hold dear and will stop at literally "nothing" to make it happen. this means that we must push back -- HARDER.
GrrlScientist, I agree wholeheartedly with your call for action, but not your analysis that points to Trump being the cause.
All of Donald Trump’s supporters suffer from the anxiety Robert Reich has spoken of. It is a group disorder and Donald Trump is actually taking advantage of that disorder; he not the cause. He is the “Canary in the coal mine" and he is chirping loudly to the crowd. Their gullibility is really what is making them depressed, anxious, disordered and enraged. Trump speaks to a yearning for a simple solution where they are in charge though their champion. There are many fearful, confused and angry people in our society. Trump has leveraged their anger into a fantasy where only his strong leadership will save the day.
i don't think trump is THE CAUSE. (i guess my wording on that point is a big vague and open to misinterpretations.)
i see trump as an incredibly dangerous SYMPTOM of the ills in american society (and in much of the world, actually). the cause, as i see it, is the obscene wealth and power held by a few suicidal and arrogant ignoramuses who are restructuring human society into a slave society -- and their work to destroy the planet along the way because that destruction helps their cause.
Donald Trump is a result of the malaise of the society, not the cause. It is not just the U.S. that is flirting with those who would speak in the language of outrage and the illusion that one strong leader could bring order to disorder. It is a sign of the deterioration of the system of a democracy where wealth disparity has taken away the purchasing power of the everyday man and woman and yet the advertising would encourage them to buy more and more from those that oppress them and get them deeper into high interest debt.
Daniel, his expression is “bonkers” to rational people like those on this forum. Unfortunately, he is brilliant in his manipulation of the public’s rage and desire for a champion. In his organization, he is the Supreme General of his own army and all the staff must answer directly to him or be hung like Pence or murdered for treason like General Miley.
I heard civil commitments, had hundreds of, if not thousands of board certified psychiatrists testify in my SS hearings. Bonkers is a polite way of saying "certifiably unfit" for release from confinement
Marc Nevas ; Also the billionaires who own the media love him! He makes lots of money for them AND he gives them tax 'breaks' (they don't really pay taxes)! The media spin things as they see fit, and seem to know that chaos helps him, along with the clicks and eyeballs to make Ka-ching! Money makes their world go 'round! Plus his followers are angry anti- authoritarians and do not see where they are going! Wait'll being under his thumb is no longer fun! Right now it's enjoyable to break the rules and burn the house down! their 'savior' makes it so rewarding! He alone can do it! He is their retribution for the 'deep state'!
Somewhere else today I proposed we find ways to streamline the government we still have, "if we'll keep it." I think lack of efficiency is the beast fueling this fascist outbreak. There are not a few 2nd, 3rd and 4th-generation European descendants whose immigrant great-grandparents may not have been correctly acculturated to democracy when they arrived. We need massive social education on this subject.
His comments, like his actions leading up to and on 6 January, make it quite clear that allowing him to run violates the 14th Amendment. If he can't run, few people will listen to him; if they do, and he tries to instigate another coup attempt, he should be imprisoned with no access to the press.
After reading Trump’s rants I have to ask: Does anyone of sound mind actually believe any of the things he says? In any other environment rants like his would indicate he has lost his mind… seriously in need of psychiatric care.
Tim Alberta wrote a great article in the "Atlantic" which talks about how the evangelical sector of America will never stop worshiping Trump. Many (not all) of the evangelical "far right" worshipers of Trump really believe that he has been sent to "clean up America" and recreate a white America "like the good old days."
Larry, you are right about the having "lost his mind." I am not sure that psychiatric help would do much for Trump. I believe he is moving into dementia and there is so little that can be done for people moving in that direction. He's still not a good person, one worthy of anyone's attention.
In our system, our votes should be our most powerful weapon. Beyond that, we need ALL decent public figures with a megaphone calling him out using facts, humor (ridicule) or whatever influential talents they have.
"All decent public figures with a megaphone calling him out" - well, there are a few (Robert Reich, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Liz Cheney) but I see the opposite from Republican and Christian leaders ("public figures with a megaphone") who praise him to the sky. This is becoming an upside-down Orwellian world.
I think it is our job, each of us in whatever ways we are able, to calmly speak the truth and to model civil discourse. Letters to the editor and guest columns are important venues. Speaking up at meetings of whatever kind and disagreeing, civilly, with those who encourage rage are things each of us ought to do.
In addition to this, Chris Rounds, we need to reach out to the neighbors who still had their Trump flags flying a year after 1/6, ask them if they'd like coffee, and spend a little friendly time with them. Let's all get to know all our neighbors. This will take us back to the days of Eisenhower and road building, when most people were inclined to get along with each other.
Wow! In reading again Trump's quotes, it is clear he is not playing with a full deck and that a bunch of others are feeding him a ton of BS and he has swallowed it whole and spews it out just as they wish, in his loud-mouthed whiny style that so many Americans have come to love. He claims Biden and everyone else are the ones who are undermining our democracy while he and his crew are actually trying to do that and more. Trump is the one running a crime family, but claims Biden is. And, of course, there is no evidence for or truth in anything Trump says. Trump uses "Communism, Socialism, Fascism," and a few other political titles as though they are interchangeable, demonstrating that he has no clue what he is talking about. He thinks or his handlers think that if he throws those words out loud and often enough they will simply be synonymous with his idea of "evil" since he is pretty sure his supporters have no clue which of those forms of government is which. He buries fascism between Communism and Socialism so people won't remember that he, himself is a fascist and would-be dictator. The Steves and the others are very good at reading the discontented, resentful, angry, hateful Trump supporters and know just what to put into their minds that will tie them to their Baby Donnie or perhaps, Messiah Donnie for life. They whine about crime yet support a criminal for the highest office in this nation. They whine that they have been forgotten and are not being heard, yet they are not heard or even thought of by Trump beyond his need for their vote. He thinks they are useless but for their votes and are a burden on the nation but he claims to just love them. He lies incessantly, so how is it they believe him about his love for them? That is remarkable. Our Baby Donnie will continue to lie, mislead, promote cheating and fraud if it helps to get him elected, but Fox and their ilk have trained the viewers well and they hear nothing but Trump's tone of voice, knowing it is directing hate in some form toward a group they are expected to hate. They oblige. They claim to hate the government as their Donnie does while they have to collect government support since their employers don't pay a living wage. They blame the Democrats for "forgetting" them and some Democrats have fallen into the trap of thinking it is somehow our fault, but it is not. Those Trumpers and Trumpettes put into office at all levels people who also care nothing for them and go for money over concern for the people. Should Trump be shut up? That is not possible unless he is confined to Mar a Lago without his phone and thumbs. He must be heavily fined, though if he continues to threaten court officials, potential jurors, and anyone else involved with the upcoming trials. The legitimate media must step up and start speaking of the consequences for all of us if Trump is elected president. So far, their responses are weak and minimal and Fox usually gets the last word, claiming everyone is trying to hurt Trump. Trump is losing it, but with the huge amount of money behind him, he could win again, and his handlers will rule and do as much damage as they can while they rake in the bucks. And, We the People will pay.
You should send this to newspapers for a Sunday op ed. Also, a fifteen thousand dollar fine is not going to change his behavior. Fines should be proportionate to assets. Fines can destroy a working family's budget causing them to go hungry or without utilities, meds, or even become homeless while being the cost of doing business or meaningless to wealthy people.
You always say it right, Ruth. Keep writing every day. We all need to read your words and know the words are being seen and understood, even when we agree with you 110 percent.
Sandra, thanks so much for your kind words. I truly appreciate this thread because of the thoughtful interested and interesting people who comment here on Prof. Reich's articles. Responding forces me to really think about the issues we are facing and what I "need" to say about them. I suspect that is true of you and the rest of the gang too.
Thank you for the catalogue of all the horrible statements that come out of Trump's mouth. If anyone has doubts about his intentions to destroy American democracy, they should be required to read this list. I've come across many of these statements over the past six months or so, but it's truly eye opening and frightening when they are all seen together.
Lock...him...up.
I was looking for gag order with strict enforcement including "lock him up" for a choice.
Gloria J. Maloney ; I agree So far, he has violated every single 'gag order' and will do it again! The order needs teeth!
He knows no one is going to do a thing about him. Until, they put him behind bars for his big mouth this is the way it will be.
His ACTS not his mouth should have put in in jail a long time ago.
Gary ; Yes, The things he has incited with his mouth! ; The things he has said, have even killed! From anti masking and anti vax, to anti Muslim and anti Chinese and anti Chinese Women and anti Gay , anti Jew and anti liberal also saying that the horror in Ukraine was perpetrated by A "genius" and Mexicans and South Americans are rapists and criminals; and even our President and his Family are criminals. He is anti science and against health care for those he hates ; Women and LGBTQIA ; and any person of Color. Plus anyone who disagrees with him! He caused deaths on Jan 6! Murders in grocery stores, cafes, synagogues and churches. He and his minions are behind the fear that our representatives have of making gun laws that we and our children can Live with! They are afraid to do their jobs! to oppose him and his evil fascism!
Yes. Where is the punishment?
"Lock him up" turns him into a martyr with his supporters. I think a gag order with HUGE fines attached (his money is most precious to him) would accomplish the same thing.
He's >already< a martyr with his supporters and >already< portrays himself as such. ("I'm doing this for >you<.) At the risk of being gauche - >always< my utmost concern 🤣 - worrying about throwing ol' P01135809 in the can and making him a martyr is a little like worrying about making a pregnant woman more pregnant!
I simply think we should stop handwringing about that and "make the damn crime fit the damn punishment!"
DZK ; Yes already! Lock him up AND fine him! Get him off the ballot! The "Supreme" court should do it immediately! As retired Judge Michael Luttig has said : "There is enough evidence, and the 14th amendment section 3 is clear and self executing! It is in the Constitution! No conviction necessary!" He did say the Supreme court is where it should be heading. They should get it done sooner than later.
Yes. "The Big Quibble" - the semantic argument over the language of the 14th - needs settled sooner and not later. I really do hope the SCOTUS justices are as self-serving as they're currently seen on this one! Dictators don't like courts that can overrule them. They like to use courts as footstools.
Just so. Lock the blackguard up and deal with the consequences. The mob will eventually simmer down.
Good word, "blackguard!" 👍 There are enough of them out there, but yet we don't hear the word enough. My compliments.
From Pygmalion, Professor Higgins's word for Eliza Doolittle's father.
I am of the opinion our government is afraid of a civil war here. These idiots would love to lock and load.
They talk a good war. Their attitudes will change quickly once they see their own blood and gore spilled on the ground.
One of my neighbors is a hardcore Trump supporter. He also owns a gun shop!
I saw a memorable interview with a guy who said he never made so much money in his life as he did when ol' P01135809 was president. When asked what he did for a living, he responded - without a hint of irony - "I run a collection agency!" 🤣
And cut from the same cloth.
LOL! I love your comment!
The toyRus in my muncipality closed down and they opened up a sports shop with LOTS of guns. Oh joy.
Maybe there's a connection, spoiling children with too many of the wrong things, including toys, nothwithstanding? (ToysRUs was repulsive to me, in its excess, at some point, when I was a kid. . . and I loved toys as much as the next kid!)
Tim Baldwin: How profitable! I bet there are lots of those!
Let them! If they’re that stupid not to have learned anything from the attack on the Capitol then let them kill each other while Trump sits and watches it on tv.
It would be heart-breaking, but it would also kind of be funny in a DEPRESSING sort of way to watch Our Troops mow down the drones of "Insurrection II: Electric Boogaloo."
No amount of uneducated rednecks with illegal assault weapons can defeat a TRAINED MILITARY FORCE. Remember: America's is TWICE the size of our next competitor's!
TL;DR - The 2024 Insurrection will last SECONDS and end with MANY dead by their beloved guns.
I’m sure I’m not the only person in this country that’s sick of our lives being dictated by the 30% that voted for the sociopath.
I want the news media and everyone else including our government to focus on the rest of us that are sane and responsible and voted for integrity, the rule of law and democracy.
Joan : too true; but they could be met with cameras, the FBI, and go to jail, too, like the first attackers of our Capitol.
I don't think that's it. They are limited by the law.
Tim Baldwin: yes, but he will still appear to be a victim to his supporters, who will dig deep to send money.
Donald Trump will shut up under one condition: he's dead.
The sooner the better!
M Forrester : or locked up without any communication devices or visitors who can leak messages; as the Roman Catholic Church would say: "excommunicated".
Gloria, me too! 👍🏼
If I remember correctly he’s publicly stated he wants General Milley executed for simply doing his job, fulfilling his responsibilities and at least one other person, a staffer who angered him? He’s crossed a line that shouldn’t be crossed.
Lock him up is my vote as well.
I’d go a step further and prefer the ultimate punishment allowed for this level of crime and national security risk.
I disagree that he wants General Milley executed. Donald Trump stated that in another time the retired General might well.be subject to execution.
Like Putin does to his generals?
@ Michael: If he is a physical threat to himself or to others.
https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/involuntary_civil_commitment#:~:text=Involuntary%20civil%20commitment%20refers%20to,outpatient%20treatment%20against%20their%20wishes.
Daniel Solomon : and throw away the key!
All good. But how about converting Mar-a-Lago into a mental hospital. His Secret Service people could then be converted into being guards. And oh! No phones allowed!
The steps the House will take today with regards to the impeachment hearings against President Biden are nothing more than a wet dream offered up by the likes of Jordan and Comer. Lost in an effort to get even for the embarrassing double impeachment proceedings the Democrats graciously provided to Mr. Trump the Republicans are grasping at straws in an effort to get revenge. Stupid is as stupid does, the Republican camp in the House should have rented a copy of Forrest Gump, and paid attention while the movie was being played. It seems they still don't understand the reasoning behind why Forrest jumps off of the back of a shrimp boat. They missed the point of the movie and of life in our country. The United States is at a metamorphic tipping point, if caution isn't taken, what emerges from this Trump debacle will shock what remains of this country and the free world, for the Republicans are attempting to turn our butterfly back into a "Worm."
Good morning Donald- it’s so interesting when I say to MAGAs “I dont want to live in your world- you ready to shoot me, cause that’s what it’s going to take.” They’re so gobsmacked their jaws just drop open. They think they’re the only ones willing to fight!!! When pushback occurs they scurry back into their coward holes with their tails between their legs. It’s hilarious…
Susan--We live in a time of great confusion and the MAGA group isn't helping with their Trump based ignorance hanging between their legs, and yes it isn't their tails.
Susan 👍🏼
Our Southern border is the sticking point for the impeachment hearings of today. There has to be a way to force Mexico to patrol their side of that damn river and keep immigrants from getting their feet wet.
They are trying to break him.
This is a man who has suffered enormous sadness and trauma in his life with the loss of a wife and baby daughter, then a truly patriotic son. He has held his head high and carried on in spite of these situations. he knows, as we do, that Trump is a really unhappy and lost spirit.....Just like every other unhappy and unsatisfied human that ever was. No matter what he has or gains he will never be satiated. Be glad you do not bear that cross.
Gina--President Biden is an honest and trustworthy man, who has countless true friends and admirers. While Donald Trump is totally alone, he has no friends, even stupid people aren't that dumb. He already is like a king of sorts, hold on to your heads.
I don't see how dumping McCarthy for the risks of getting a Mike Johnson was a smart move by the House Democrats.
steve --If they knew who would sit in that chair after McCarthy's removal, they might have had second thoughts.
Trump decided not House Dems but GOP. Whose not even if office,
Or visitors with phones.
Do you find this comment section becoming more emotional and less rational? Are we "taking the bait?"
Of course we are…humans are not rational!!! Lol
I disagree. Many are and don't live with all this drama and hate.
I think it is because yes, we are taking the bait and becoming angry, and with good cause because we are the ones who truly do love this country and what it stands for. The rest are just prone to anger since it is the only actual feeling that they may be capable of having. They do not feel love, compassion, or true joy. They must be a shell of a human being.
That is exactly how they feel about us, Gina. They believe they are the only ones who truly love this country and what it stands for.
It's become a stand-off, I think, and I don't know what will solve it.
What a conundrum.
As a friend of mine , a counselor, once said, You can not reason with a sick mind.
It's all about the culture and always has been.
Can’t be rational against irrational actors!
Involuntary civil commitment looks good on paper. Who would sign the order to commit him?
Depends on state law. A judge. Need to develop a record. If he flips out in court, on the record, good basis for an examination.
Mr. Solomon,this is hilarious! I’m not sure we could get this done but it’s a start. Let’s start advocating for a legal team to push lawsuits against the maga mental midgets.
can I get standing. I'll file myself. Half joking.
I'm beginning to think the "gag orders" are - well - "gags!"
Like warning a four year old and then not doing a thing about it. They just get worse and you wonder why.
Throw away the key!
Lock out his communications. All they have to do is declare them treasonous, toxic and inciting unrest. That'll fix him.
Could he be sprung from jail or prison by supporters? Read in the first volume of Ed. Morris' bio of T Roosevelt, what happened to the poor black guy who was protected from a mob in a prison more secure than Ft. Knox. They got him out anyway, but not to save him ..
It is irresponsible in an internet age to ignore that unlimited and massively disseminated free speech can kill. When it does, the speakers and the disseminators should share the docket.
When your massively amplified ‘free speech’ removes my life, or liberty, you need to be found liable and you need to pay the consequences.
“One person’s freedom ends where the next person’s freedom begins.”
Trump and his sycophants, leveraging the inadequately regulated disinformation machine, (the internet’s culpable anti-social media forums) have jointly committed treason, for which they should be tried and convicted.
He is daring the woke left to call him out. Well, political correctness be damned.
Charge him and them with a coup attempt and treasonous conspiracy, gag him and them for cause as laid out by RR here and Liz elsewhere, incarcerate them pending trial as a danger to the public, then try, and convict.
Then lock him and them up.
At some point in there you might have to “pull a Republican”, and stack the bench as long as it takes to restore/establish structural majoritarian rule in the U.S. (eliminate electoral college, gerrymandering, overturn Citizens United, re-establish meaningful progressive taxation, ...), then unstack the bench.
😉
Yeah, I’m venting, a bit...
But I fantasize about Jack Smith bringing the con man down, inexorably, one self-indictment after another, as slow and as certain as justice bending toward truth, in full view of Putin, Un, Xi, etc.
Mark, your venting is sweet music to my ears. My thoughts, EXACTLY. Political correctness needs to be set aside with criminals like TUMP and his cronies. We need to push back at these evil cretins.
Mark Shields ; "But I fantasize about Jack Smith bringing the con man down"
: That would be Epic!
Technically, they should be tried for sedition, but I get what you mean.
[Treason is when you work with a foreign power to bring down your country's government. Sedition is when you work to bring down your own government without involving a foreign power.]
Now, if Trump were working with Russia to topple our government, that would be treason. Personally, I'm convinced he would do this in a heartbeat if he thinks it's necessary.
Hey Ken, you are of course correct about sedition v treason. And some argue Treason must be during war, or at least when 'enemy' is well-defined... but think we're there.
Most of what we are seeing online and in the news currently about election denial and Jan 6 does look like sedition, unless one were seeking and accepting Putin's help. But as I recall, Trump did ask Russia for help. And Russia in turn, did offer, with Jared (& Jr.?) in the room. We just didn't see the handshake and transfer of goods. So IF there's a there there, expect this is in Jack Smith's inbox.
Speculation:
One hypothesis for certain strange Republican Congressional and Judicial (thinking Thomas) behavior, and strange elevation of the incompetent in the last decade around the election and impeachments, is that in addition to public making threats to be followed up by MAGAts, Trump uses his wealth and influence to get dirt on very many of them. In turn, Trump himself acts as though he is 'owned' by Putin.
Former Senator Cheney remarked on TV the other day how her fellow congressmen seemed to live in fear. Insane to have to say this, but from what we know of the former US president, both honeypot traps and direct threats of harm are well within his oeuvre.
NOT a survivable thing for this country, no matter who is shaking them down.
Mark Shields ; The statutes of limitations would run out before less than half of that could be accomplished. And that is only with very good luck. But we can dream! Maybe some day it will happen!
So - we need to stack the bench first?
;)
I agree Mark. And if our laws don't permit this then change the damn laws. And if the courts will not uphold then change the Constitution. Whatever it takes. We need to pack the court for sure. We are living in a new age but our legislators and laws have not caught on, or don't want to because of genuflection to the wealthy. That's why we need a second enlightenment, so to speak, that recognizes how people can be manipulated and the science and technology that enables that manipulation. Aeropagitica and JS Mill on freedom of speech is not adequate to todays world, particularly where speech is largely cornered by the wealthy and powerful.
Under the law in our Constitution, it is not necessary to convict him. Although a judge has found him guilty of insurrection , or interfering with the process of certifying the vote!
True enough for the important endpoint of disqualification under Amdt14.S3.1 !
But he and his co-conspirators are a continuing danger to the public, and they need to be locked up for a decade or more; anything less is an insufficient deterrent to people who lack internal self-control, lack an understanding of the 'social contract', lack a generalizable sense of morality, and lack sufficient compunctions about forcing other humans to their will. And who have ANTI-democratic amounts of money to spend to bend info sources to their will.
"Lacking the internal civil character for fairly respecting and tolerating the freedoms of others, their own freedom MUST needs be curtailed by the state, else freedom ceases for all."
But, impatient as I am, and as dangerous as times are becoming, this JUSTICE needs to be done by (as efficient but also fair as reasonable) a due process, not by decapitation, nor by partisan terror squads or doxing, nor by stochastically activated hate speech.
If one becomes indistinguishable from what one fights, one has lost the war.
This is true at home and abroad.
Mark Shields ; Also true enough. Justice, like charity begins at home. If tfg can be kept off the ballot and brought to justice, we can begin to see those who are election deniers removed from their seats in government as they too, are disqualified to hold public office with it's attendant power! They cannot be trusted!
Yes, Mark Shields, I think this proto-European inspired movement to fascism is a sign for us to take a good look at our own government in terms of efficiency. America is bogged down by deadweight laws passed over a 200+ year period, as well as our bureaucracy. (Actually, history teaches us that government bureaucracies—"deep state"—are more likely to survive revolution than other parts of the government.) We haven't been teaching our kids about the tolerable messiness of democracy, and the need to keep watch. We all know democracy is flawed, and we forgive it because we love our freedom. Our Constitution allows us to have a Constitutional Convention. Historians have warned that it's too risky to consider. But we could limit the focus to finding ways to streamline our legislative process. We might have to toss out some sacred cows along the way (need I say Sen. Tommy Tuberville?), and actually change some of the structure, IF THIS CHANGE PROMISES TO MAKE CONGRESS MORE RESPONSIVE TO THEIR CONSTITUENCIES. The word "streamlining" keeps coming up in my mind. I'm proposing this because fascism is capable of incredible efficiency and simplicity. This is what our mind-twisted rightward people are wishing for, and they take it where they can find it. Many Americans are very confused about democracy and how it works. "Keep it simple, Stupid." they say. It's modern times, everybody; we're spoiled by instant gratification and we need our government to pick up speed in order to catch up with this new century; in order for us to "keep it."
The speech may be "free", but the money to be made is huge. The right wingers of talk radio and Fox and other cable channels have learned that you can become rich by lying to the American people. The only way to stop them is making them pay through civil lawsuits and criminal charges as applicable (jail and fines). More actions like Dominion versus Fox are needed.
Tim Baldwin: meanwhile, people are misinformed by lies: damage 💔 is done.
Yes but doubt that will be adequate. Has not been yet.
"Sharing the docket." Sounds a bit like Neurenburg. I like it!
Thank you, Laurie.
Randy - just the tone I was going for...! ;)
I couldn’t even finish reading the rants. Ugh. Vote Biden.
Trump has a mouth in need of a manhole cover. It doesn't need the customary stamp that indicated what city's DPW placed it in the location where it would do the most good. Traditionally these covers were set in place to protect the public from falling into its sewer system. With Trump these iron wafers do a better job than that little red ball they found hanging from his gaping mouth. Trump's vocabulary is a bit scathing, but it is indicative of a neglected young child. He is like a boxer in the ring losing his fight, the only weapon left at his disposal is the vulgar language he learned as a child. Donnie Boy thinks that the old saying about sticks and stones doesn't apply to him. He actually feels by orally bashing the people he finds annoying that they will be hurt by his verbal assault. They are adults and he is still the child, all his antics really do nothing but provide us with a window into the mind of a disturbed adolescent trying to become something he just wasn't meant to be, a man of value. All I can say is, when the wind blows, tighten the jib and batten down the hatches.
I think there is nothing more humiliating for Trump than laughing at this man's comments rather than getting angry. And working diligently to expose this man's insanity and pointing out the similarity to Putin, Hitler etc.
I think he gets a great kick from the reaction of the left.
Phil--Hitler disappeared on April 30, 1945, Trump was born on June 14, 1946. I don't believe in this sort of thing, but the time split gives an opportunity for the spirit of good old Adolf to be reincarnated into the current idiot we have running around this country today. Stranger things have happened, just ask Rod.
That’d be, Rod Sterling? Ha ha!
VJ--You are wise as well as learned. Mr. Sterling it is.
I'm so glad you write in this chat room. Your attitude reminds me a lot of someone else, now lost. Re.: your closing remark—were you in the Navy?
Sandra--No Navy, probably just too much TV. Adventures in Paradise, abord the TiKi. in 1959. With captain Adam Troy.
Marian, I couldn't either. I could feel the nausea coming on and decided I would prefer to comment than expose my brain to Trump's demented BS.
I can't stand the sight of him. much less listen to his endless string of lies and projection of his actions onto his enemies. He says Democrats and Pres. Biden are fascists??? That is exactly what those despicable cretins are. That is projection to the extreme. Donald TUMP is criminally insane, and needs to be sent to an institution for the criminally insane for the rest of his miserable life.
John, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, is used as a forensic checklist to determine if a person is a clinically certified psychopath. The top 5 characteristics of a psychopath are:
1. grandiose sense of self-importance
2. insatiable need for praise
3. pathological lying
4. refusal to accept responsibility
5. total lack of empathy
I'd score Trump 5 out of 5 as a certified psychopath. And yet, 10s of millions of Americans can't wait to vote for him. Who are these people?
They are so far down the rabbit hole that most are considered a lost cause. They continue their diet of lie based media and the lower Trump goes the more they get charged up. He wasn't lying when he said that he could Kill somebody on Broadway and their loyalty would not waver. (I paraphrase).
John T Phillips ; Just as you said ; "an institution for the criminally insane" ; AKA Jail!
... and yet, this guy ended up in the White House.
And may get back in 2024.
So has the White House become "an institution for the criminally insane"?
Oh how we need a Bluenami in '24!!!
I didn't even try to read the rants. I've seen more than enough of them in the press.
I would like to see the Democratic sites that sends me emails on a daily basis would STOP posting horrific pictures of him in their emails. He is the ugliest human being on the planet. Even worse than the creature on the ''Lord of the Rings'' film.
I wish the Democratic sites would stop asking me to sign endless petitions and then send them money. Any time I do send a donation to RR, I get flooded with this stuff. Does anyone else have this problem?
Big time. It's exhausting.
But I did get a laugh a few months ago when the RNC called our landline& asked for me..ha, I think they won't be calling again.I yelled my answers very loudly & politely but firmly voicing my repulsion for the orange-head.
I have also been getting emails from the Fascist GQP sites occasionally. I have unsubscribed to those up to 200 times each, and send an email to them that is far from polite. I call them names and curse them with words that would make a Sailor blush. I use language that i would not dare repeat on a Democratic site. Those Fascist creeps make my blood boil. I am not scared of those Fascist cretins.
Yes, but it is even worst for anyone who sends money to Trump! One of my family members used to send money to him (I finally convinced her to stop). She still gets bombed daily with emails and mail flyers from Trump, his family, his spokesmen, and general goofballs asking her to send more money or the Democrats will destroy the world. A few emails promise a personal dinner with Trump (Big Mac and large fries?) if you send him enough dough!
Trump is greatest conman in the history of the universe.
Apparently a lot of people enjoy getting conned.
My MAGAT sister-in-law sends the Orange Baboon money every month. and posts a sign at her home that says, ''I AM A SUPER MAGA'' I haven't spoken to her in 6 years. I can't stand to be anywhere close to her. She is a brain dead idiot.
All the time. Can't keep up with the deletions.
Yes, I have that same problem and have stopped giving. I prefer to subscribe to newsletters rather than give money to professional fundraisers.
Because these issues raise money politicians of either stripe will not solve the issue until they are threatened in losing their lifetime job.
Yes. They get PAC money and they get to keep it. I can't afford to vote my opinion even though I already pay for them to do a job for me.
I get flooded with the endless petitions every day, and the same petition emails appear day in and day out.. I went from getting about 60 emails a day, to 150 -200 emails a day. Some of them have a message at the end of the email that says, '' But you promised to donate'' when i don't send a donation. And a good many of them have a horrifying photo of none other than, Donald TUMP in them. Also, i am annoyed at the desperate and negative titles of these emails, such as, '' Democrats are in BIG trouble'' and ''Social Security disaster'' Most of those kind are from James Carville's site. The one that is the most annoying is, '' Packing Up, going home''
That ugliness is his soul exposed.
what soul?
Precisely.
I agree. I am also exhausted from getting solicited for money 50 times a day. I delete these messages and label them junk which makes me uncomfortable but enough is enough.
I remember most of them because I read them in the news. Good collection to share.
Me neither Marian!
All of what he has said should be taken seriously. IMO he needs to be put in prison in solitary confinement with NO access to any media device. In other words, he will be locked away from everyone and no one will have access to him. He is a very dangerous criminal having shown his intent.
This is not rocket science. It simply requires someone with the will to do this.
Keith Olbermann discussed this issue yesterday in his podcast. You might want to listen to the first part of his podcast.
Michael, the problem is, who would be enlisted to do the testing necessary to have him committed or the guts to put him in jail when he has so many fans who think violence to get what they think their Baby Donnie wants is acceptable, even preferable.
Ruth Sheets: to hell with the insanity thing! He knows what he is doing! Just the classified docs should put him away for the rest of his life! Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good! Otherwise, the stupid statute of limitations will kick in! Now that would be crazy!
A person can be insane, intelligent, and fully functional, all at the same time. An insane person can be cognizant of whatever is happening. An insane person can know what he's doing. Sometime back I read a book called, "The Successful Psychopath" (or similar, back in the 1970s). One can be a psycho/sociopath and get away with breaking the law, while knowing how to make millions for his corporation. I think Trump may be a Narcissistic psychopath, or he may be a psychopathic Narcissist. (Both psychic maladies begin early with childhood trauma and are therefore the most difficult to treat.) Trump gets away with everything. Bernie once said, "Donald Trump isn't a stupid man." He probably still believes this, and so do I.
the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, is used as a forensic checklist to determine if a person is a clinically certified psychopath. The top 5 characteristics of a psychopath are:
1. grandiose sense of self-importance
2. insatiable need for praise
3. pathological lying
4. refusal to accept responsibility
5. total lack of empathy
I'd score Trump 5 out of 5 as a certified psychopath. And yet, 10s of millions of Americans can't wait to vote for him. Who are these people?
He has good planners. I feel he is not smart or his education records would be open.
Education doesn't make you smart. If you are smart, you can get by without education. You can be both smart and a tool of the devil—if you believe in devils. Trump is so imperious in his thinking, he treats the rabble (us) like we're fools. His schtick is to be a dumb-ass clown. He doesn't respect us enough to show us his "good" side. He has no shame because he doesn't respect our values. When you have no shame, you can get away with doing whatever you want. This has nothing to do with being stupid. Trump is NOT stupid. School records mean nothing in this context.
If your school records are bad you are either stupid or lazy. I suppose if the right teacher had time she could get that student to learn. They can't with 30-40 in a class room. Bet Trump went to private school. Few special education teachers there. He does not like to read (except Hitler's book is by his bed). Used to drive the White House officials crazy regarding important issues.
Sandra B : tfg is 'crazy like a Fox'!
I vote for Judge Engoron. December 11.
Judge: How are you feeling?
Trump: Koo koo.
Daniel : I wonder if judge Engoron even would ask that? Why would he care about how tfg feels? He never cares about how anyone else feels, it seems!
The issue is whether he's competent.
It's the same problem the French had with Napoleon- couldn't kill him, making him a martyr, so they exiled him to an island with no internet, so to speak... Power has a pretty dangerous effect on lunatics like Trump, makes them crazier. Standard issue megalomaniacs like Putin, XI, Orban et al will eventually end up in the same place, in jail or hung up by their feet in the public square like Mussolini. Once you embark on that road, there is no quiet death in old age!
Trump gets the final chapter (and fits in perfectly) in Ruth Ben-Ghiat's book "Strongmen" about psychopathic dictators.
https://neofascism.substack.com/p/strongmen-mussolini-to-the-present
Spot on! Putting him in prison where no one else will interact would probably do it. Really appreciate your statement about power having that effect on lunatics like trump.
Yes, however, from my seat in the peanut gallery, it looks as though members of the dept. of Justice value their jobs and pensions more than risking doing the right thing. Must we wait for a Gavrilo Princip to solve the problem?
Stan, I like your handle. Always makes me smirkishly smile when I see it. I cannot decide if your comment is scary or not, but it is thought provoking.
A friend of mine gave me this appellation years ago on the grounds that I’m overly idiosyncratic (or maybe eccentric) — as if I inhabit my own reality bubble, in which every idea coheres to a larger set of my ideas but doesn’t necessarily correspond to the reality that the public acknowledges. However, I think that if you read my posts here, you won’t see any notions that depart from common sense.
Acknowledged in the positive and humorously appreciated.
He has a valid defense. He's nuttier than a fruitcake.
Willard Romney religiously wears prescribed underwear. IMHO, he’s nuttier than a fruitcake, too. It’s amazing to me that we tolerate public figures who are superstitious.
Ridicule him. Headlines should say that Trump is out of control. Attack his sanity.
When he threatens someone with violence, arrest him.
Otherwise, those defamed have civil remedies.
The United States v. Donald J. Trump
Actually, my thought is a combination of Biden and others refutation and Other. Other being a calm, clear and continual refutation of Orange Jesus and what the actual impacts of his words means--aka Liz Cheney. She was a powerful voice in the Maddie and Wallace interviews. Keep it up!!!!!
It too late for refutation as far as Trump supporters are concerned. I live with a family of them! As far as they are concerned, Biden and Democrats are lying whenever their mouths move. To them, Liz Cheney is a traitor to the Republican Party. But maybe independent voters are who you are thinking about in your comment?
The Washington Post and The Atlantic magazine are at last exposing the dangers of Drumpf’s campaign promises that may catch the attention of independent voters.
My initial thought was that there is a huge onus on the news media to cite and then refute these statements by Trump on a daily basis. They’re still “both sides-ing” everything way too much imo.
To any reasonable degree of probability, he's a lunatic.
a "lunatic" beloved by millions and millions of Americans.
Maybe it's the country that's gone mad.
And you defend co-dependency?
Once they see him for what he really is....
Virtually all the witnesses against him - 81 in the DC cases alone -- were MAGATs.
Yes me too. It is scary. Now I can't trust them to have any sense at all.
what motivates them to luv tfg and loathe Biden? That's what I want to know. and where does love of country come into this ?
Steve, those are the questions that need to be answered - just who are these millions of people to love Trump? If we know what makes them tick, then maybe there's a chance to un-tick them? Right now, he's got an army of supporters, and when (God willing) he loses, he'll say "rigged" and they'll get out their guns and "save America" like they tried on Jan.6. These are very very dangerous times. And it is essential now - before it's too late - to understand who his supporters are.
Collective racist subconscious?
Not thinking of anyone in particular, but Orange Jesus likes repetition, so let’s give it to him in a clear, calm manner and from all corners of the political spectrum,,,the worst that happen is to annoy the hell out of orange Jesus 🤣
Can we think of another name? For me the name Orange Jesus as a reference to an insane man is very upsetting. How about Orange Hitler
How about Diarrhea Mouth?
I live in a corner of the Northeast where the MAGAs are everywhere pushing you off the road in their bloated pickup trucks, but they're feeling a bit scared right now- lots of yard signs suddenly, but for Kennedy and Haley, none for Trump.
Sorry, that was Maddow not Maddie
Jean. Cheyney also did a good job on "Fresh Air" with Terry Gross. I wish she could get more attention from the Trumpers and Trumpettes, but they have been groomed to hate her as though she is Satan incarnate. They don't even listen to anything she says because somehow, they have decided the truth just does not work with their pseudo-Christian, Trump-loving world view.
Liz Cheney has a new inside Congress perspective book out. I ordered it yesterday. Yahoo lists are including numerous interviews that appear to be based on this new book, so I think it is a big deal -- as is Liz Cheney. She's still a hard right conservative, but she has been a real force in arguing against Trump. Also, while it is true that the MAGA types will not read her book, it really doesn't matter. The important thing is that the word be out there for the Independents to pick up on. That's where the rubber hits the road. So as long as she doesn't run herself - and draw Democratic voters - I'm a big fan.
In this Age of Delusion & Cowardice, Liz Cheney is a Profile in Sanity & Courage.
Absolutely! May her "je Accuse!" book succeed.
I think the polarization is now so deep and ingrained that anti-Trumpers will praise her and pro-Trumpers will just call her a traitor. Logic and intelligence can't seem to pierce the cult-like followers and greed sycophantic opportunists. And then there's the Evangelicals who think Trump "shares their Christian values." I don't think Cheney or anyone is going to change the pro-Trumpers. The 2024 challenge is (1) to seriously motivate the Dems and (2) to win over the open-minded non-partisan independents whose 5-10% of the total vote can swing the results away from Trump.
Ruth ; tRump would forbid it! ; listening to Liz Cheney.
Liz Cheney should run for president after Biden's second term.
Nah.
professor reich: i voted "other" in your poll because i think the american public must launch an all-out war of words on trump by doing everything listed in your poll EXCEPT "nothing". in his quest for power and revenge, this demented lunatic is determined to destroy all that we hold dear and will stop at literally "nothing" to make it happen. this means that we must push back -- HARDER.
GrrlScientist, I agree wholeheartedly with your call for action, but not your analysis that points to Trump being the cause.
All of Donald Trump’s supporters suffer from the anxiety Robert Reich has spoken of. It is a group disorder and Donald Trump is actually taking advantage of that disorder; he not the cause. He is the “Canary in the coal mine" and he is chirping loudly to the crowd. Their gullibility is really what is making them depressed, anxious, disordered and enraged. Trump speaks to a yearning for a simple solution where they are in charge though their champion. There are many fearful, confused and angry people in our society. Trump has leveraged their anger into a fantasy where only his strong leadership will save the day.
i don't think trump is THE CAUSE. (i guess my wording on that point is a big vague and open to misinterpretations.)
i see trump as an incredibly dangerous SYMPTOM of the ills in american society (and in much of the world, actually). the cause, as i see it, is the obscene wealth and power held by a few suicidal and arrogant ignoramuses who are restructuring human society into a slave society -- and their work to destroy the planet along the way because that destruction helps their cause.
Donald Trump is a result of the malaise of the society, not the cause. It is not just the U.S. that is flirting with those who would speak in the language of outrage and the illusion that one strong leader could bring order to disorder. It is a sign of the deterioration of the system of a democracy where wealth disparity has taken away the purchasing power of the everyday man and woman and yet the advertising would encourage them to buy more and more from those that oppress them and get them deeper into high interest debt.
The man is bonkers.
Daniel, his expression is “bonkers” to rational people like those on this forum. Unfortunately, he is brilliant in his manipulation of the public’s rage and desire for a champion. In his organization, he is the Supreme General of his own army and all the staff must answer directly to him or be hung like Pence or murdered for treason like General Miley.
I heard civil commitments, had hundreds of, if not thousands of board certified psychiatrists testify in my SS hearings. Bonkers is a polite way of saying "certifiably unfit" for release from confinement
With Trump he would be “certifiably unfit” for release because he is a sociopath.
Daniel ; Bonkers and Blitzo too!
Marc Nevas ; Also the billionaires who own the media love him! He makes lots of money for them AND he gives them tax 'breaks' (they don't really pay taxes)! The media spin things as they see fit, and seem to know that chaos helps him, along with the clicks and eyeballs to make Ka-ching! Money makes their world go 'round! Plus his followers are angry anti- authoritarians and do not see where they are going! Wait'll being under his thumb is no longer fun! Right now it's enjoyable to break the rules and burn the house down! their 'savior' makes it so rewarding! He alone can do it! He is their retribution for the 'deep state'!
Like Hitler was.
Exactly!
Here's a review of Ruth Ben-Ghiat's "Strongmen" showing how Trump is following the classic dictator's playbook:
https://neofascism.substack.com/p/strongmen-mussolini-to-the-present
Somewhere else today I proposed we find ways to streamline the government we still have, "if we'll keep it." I think lack of efficiency is the beast fueling this fascist outbreak. There are not a few 2nd, 3rd and 4th-generation European descendants whose immigrant great-grandparents may not have been correctly acculturated to democracy when they arrived. We need massive social education on this subject.
His comments, like his actions leading up to and on 6 January, make it quite clear that allowing him to run violates the 14th Amendment. If he can't run, few people will listen to him; if they do, and he tries to instigate another coup attempt, he should be imprisoned with no access to the press.
He speaks gibberish.
Maybe he is speaking in tongues.
Then you would need an interpreter
No, then you would be praying.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speaking_in_tongues
After reading Trump’s rants I have to ask: Does anyone of sound mind actually believe any of the things he says? In any other environment rants like his would indicate he has lost his mind… seriously in need of psychiatric care.
His cult base firmly believe he has been anointed and appointed by god to be president.
Tim Alberta wrote a great article in the "Atlantic" which talks about how the evangelical sector of America will never stop worshiping Trump. Many (not all) of the evangelical "far right" worshipers of Trump really believe that he has been sent to "clean up America" and recreate a white America "like the good old days."
Wel I am an Evangelical Christian and I deplore what he is doing.
yet a voter in Iowa recently said in an interview: "I support Trump because he shares my Christian values."
Trump and Christian values? What am I missing here?
I am as well on both counts.
How about Orange Antichrist?
That's terrifying. The rational brain has been bypassed by fear, and or anger in those people.
And hate. The 🍊 💩 hates everything, so his cult does as well.
Find the ones who love their pets. Trump has a conflict.
Kim H ; Then 'god' is nuts! If God anointed and appointed him to be president!
whatever happened to "separation of church and state"?
Larry, you are right about the having "lost his mind." I am not sure that psychiatric help would do much for Trump. I believe he is moving into dementia and there is so little that can be done for people moving in that direction. He's still not a good person, one worthy of anyone's attention.
larry smallwood ; The billionaires love what he does for them! Trillions in tax cuts for Them!
check your math... :)
Mark Shields; This is when they 'share' : socialism for the rich!
@ Larry: https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/involuntary_civil_commitment#:~:text=Involuntary%20civil%20commitment%20refers%20to,outpatient%20treatment%20against%20their%20wishes.
In our system, our votes should be our most powerful weapon. Beyond that, we need ALL decent public figures with a megaphone calling him out using facts, humor (ridicule) or whatever influential talents they have.
"All decent public figures with a megaphone calling him out" - well, there are a few (Robert Reich, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Liz Cheney) but I see the opposite from Republican and Christian leaders ("public figures with a megaphone") who praise him to the sky. This is becoming an upside-down Orwellian world.
I think it is our job, each of us in whatever ways we are able, to calmly speak the truth and to model civil discourse. Letters to the editor and guest columns are important venues. Speaking up at meetings of whatever kind and disagreeing, civilly, with those who encourage rage are things each of us ought to do.
Whenever you meet a pet loving MAGAT remind them that Trump hates dogs!
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/05/opinion/trump-military-dog.html?fbclid=IwAR2gMG7G0eiPz00tIDtqp4dydFo23-wZAdm7xhXyGZrZ1BQaZG3Y7k7gQpQ
In addition to this, Chris Rounds, we need to reach out to the neighbors who still had their Trump flags flying a year after 1/6, ask them if they'd like coffee, and spend a little friendly time with them. Let's all get to know all our neighbors. This will take us back to the days of Eisenhower and road building, when most people were inclined to get along with each other.
Being civil is mainly for the courts and public meetings. We are not going to effect a change in government by being civil.
Absolutely! Action vs substack
Wow! In reading again Trump's quotes, it is clear he is not playing with a full deck and that a bunch of others are feeding him a ton of BS and he has swallowed it whole and spews it out just as they wish, in his loud-mouthed whiny style that so many Americans have come to love. He claims Biden and everyone else are the ones who are undermining our democracy while he and his crew are actually trying to do that and more. Trump is the one running a crime family, but claims Biden is. And, of course, there is no evidence for or truth in anything Trump says. Trump uses "Communism, Socialism, Fascism," and a few other political titles as though they are interchangeable, demonstrating that he has no clue what he is talking about. He thinks or his handlers think that if he throws those words out loud and often enough they will simply be synonymous with his idea of "evil" since he is pretty sure his supporters have no clue which of those forms of government is which. He buries fascism between Communism and Socialism so people won't remember that he, himself is a fascist and would-be dictator. The Steves and the others are very good at reading the discontented, resentful, angry, hateful Trump supporters and know just what to put into their minds that will tie them to their Baby Donnie or perhaps, Messiah Donnie for life. They whine about crime yet support a criminal for the highest office in this nation. They whine that they have been forgotten and are not being heard, yet they are not heard or even thought of by Trump beyond his need for their vote. He thinks they are useless but for their votes and are a burden on the nation but he claims to just love them. He lies incessantly, so how is it they believe him about his love for them? That is remarkable. Our Baby Donnie will continue to lie, mislead, promote cheating and fraud if it helps to get him elected, but Fox and their ilk have trained the viewers well and they hear nothing but Trump's tone of voice, knowing it is directing hate in some form toward a group they are expected to hate. They oblige. They claim to hate the government as their Donnie does while they have to collect government support since their employers don't pay a living wage. They blame the Democrats for "forgetting" them and some Democrats have fallen into the trap of thinking it is somehow our fault, but it is not. Those Trumpers and Trumpettes put into office at all levels people who also care nothing for them and go for money over concern for the people. Should Trump be shut up? That is not possible unless he is confined to Mar a Lago without his phone and thumbs. He must be heavily fined, though if he continues to threaten court officials, potential jurors, and anyone else involved with the upcoming trials. The legitimate media must step up and start speaking of the consequences for all of us if Trump is elected president. So far, their responses are weak and minimal and Fox usually gets the last word, claiming everyone is trying to hurt Trump. Trump is losing it, but with the huge amount of money behind him, he could win again, and his handlers will rule and do as much damage as they can while they rake in the bucks. And, We the People will pay.
You should send this to newspapers for a Sunday op ed. Also, a fifteen thousand dollar fine is not going to change his behavior. Fines should be proportionate to assets. Fines can destroy a working family's budget causing them to go hungry or without utilities, meds, or even become homeless while being the cost of doing business or meaningless to wealthy people.
You always say it right, Ruth. Keep writing every day. We all need to read your words and know the words are being seen and understood, even when we agree with you 110 percent.
Sandra, thanks so much for your kind words. I truly appreciate this thread because of the thoughtful interested and interesting people who comment here on Prof. Reich's articles. Responding forces me to really think about the issues we are facing and what I "need" to say about them. I suspect that is true of you and the rest of the gang too.
yes, and the danger is that we're just preaching to the choir.
But we have to do it; someone has to do it. The stakes are too high to ignore the danger.
Thank you for the catalogue of all the horrible statements that come out of Trump's mouth. If anyone has doubts about his intentions to destroy American democracy, they should be required to read this list. I've come across many of these statements over the past six months or so, but it's truly eye opening and frightening when they are all seen together.
Just do whatever you can to help the Dems win in the next election.
I agree. It is no longer enough to just vote.
Organise and defeat him in the election.
Just because it has not been done before is not a reason to not put tfg in jail! Time to set a new precedent for a former president!
Does tgf stand for "the fat guy"?
The Guy from Florida