They aren't educated or experienced enough to understand why they shouldn't be doing what they are doing. They are him...and the fault lies with specific members of both parties over the last 50 or so years
Yes. Their MAGA behaviour is a desperate emotional reaction to bipartisan socio political cruelties borne of the cultural destruction of others that is a systemic necessity for personal financial flourishing of neo liberals.
This is partly the reason... along with the excessive amount of information and intrusive noise "overload" that has come to clutter our world. We as humans are not designed to effectively process all that is around us now. This is especially true of those less trained and educated to absorb the bigger picture.
Simple hunter/gathers need to be just that in such a way as to not be expected to deal with the complexities of the complexities of the psychology of the criminal element...that's why we have government and specialized management departments manned by personnel who are trained to manage these specialized tasks. When self serving idiots are put in charge, garbage in garbage out. Pool boys may not be the best candidates for government leadership positions, Congress persons that take legalized bribes aren't either, presidents who think they are kings are also probably not the correct choice.
Your "excessive amounts of information and intrusive noise 'overload'" statement is so true. 1. Before retirement I had little time for anything political - I grabbed whatever info I could when I could find the time. I suspect that holds true for many. 2. Post-retirement my interest in politics ramped up, especially after realizing the danger to our nation that Trump represents. But if I subscribed to, and read, every Substack publication that interests me I could never find the time to clean my home, spend time with my family, or engage with anything else worth my time and trouble. The available amount of information (and, as follows, dis- and mis- information) is staggering. Choosing wisely is imperative.
I’ve been interested in politics for as long as I can remember. As a young adult and like you, much more so after I retired.
Yesterday, my husband and I drove past a house with a yard full of Trump garbage. The man had just finished putting them out (Good Lord I hope so!) and was in his yard.
It made the street look trashy and before I could stop myself, I put the window down and yelled, “Harris for President!” Practically to his face. These delusional racist people are calling attention to their hatefulness. My husband laughed and asked if I felt better. Yes! I did!
Trumpers are in for quite a bit of push back until November and beyond. Until these racists and anti-American politicians are forced out of power. Always remember MSM lies to us. It’s about to go to desperate lengths of fantasy and propaganda. Pay no attention to their lies, the fear of losing is at the doorstep and it shows in every single letter they type.
I feel you there. Between life happening and Substack, which I love, I’m realizing that it’s 7:38 PM and I’m still plowing through email and my Substack favorites. Arrrrrh! 🤪
Agreed. The ongoing social consequences of the speed of technological progress in our mass media have yet to be properly understood let alone intellectually or emotionally successfully politically negotiated.
Persons need to be taught about the reality of the world they live in. Be taught how to be ethical and why it matters. The difference between right and wrong along with the rewards of selflessness for themselves and society as a whole. And there needs to be meaningful consequences applied in a very real way for those that don't, act ethically in regards to the treatment of others...as our very survival depends on it.
Don’t forget that crazy Q shit too. Then throw in all the right wing hate groups that are just itching to be let loose on the citizens of our country. I hope this total administration is ready for all the mud that’s going to be thrown at the wall to see what sticks. The warning signs are out there.
HB, the MIC cult owns the DUOPOLY in Congress and Biden WH. Harris has declared she will continue giving Billions to Netanyahu to murder the Palestinians and Billions to Zelensky to attack Russia and reject peace negotiations.
All during these years of Nato extension, the rejected Helsinki Peace Accords etc etc -- why the support for Empire from the Democratic Party and GOP ranks ?
Janet comes on like a Trump humper. We are headed into the most serious, and if we don't watch it the last, election of this country, and all she can do is kvetch about Hillary, Obama, even Harris.
I believe in holding their feet to the fire, via constant critic and pressure, but not at this time. Jumping in on the Democrats is throwing gasoline on the fire for Trump. Wait till the election is over for crissakes.
Henry, I am pretty sure it is not a lack of education. Education can expose one to different ideas and knowledge, but it can't make anyone either understand or accept it, let alone add it to a person's principles. In the name of "free speech," we the people have permitted men like Rush Limbaugh and Alex Jones to spew lies over our airwaves, nearly uncountered. Right-wing BS brings in lots ofe bucks from the very rich than the truth and we have permitted these "businessmen" to corrupt our national discourse. Then if that were not enough, we have also allowed that same cohort to denigrate, defund, and dismiss our public schools blaming the schools and teachers for everything that is not just as those anti-democracy folks want. Those folks want money and power, probably in equal portions and have proven they will do whatever it takes to get both: cheating, voter fraud (they blame others while it is they doing the deed), gerrymandering, lying, and on and on. I am hoping that when Harris and Walz are elected, they can start to turn some of this insanity into something that will actually serve the American people, maybe beginning with "truth in advertising" when it comes to political advertising, regular fact-checking for programming that has proven to contain lies that are harmful to the people. They, with our help can do this. We'll see if we can make a difference toward a better understanding of "the common good."
As I mentioned previously...the lies have to stop. The proven way to stop them is with definitive consequences. Heavy fines, effective gag orders, possible jail time, sanctioning and expulsions. Cheating at Harvard will get you an expulsion...depending on who you are of course...
Ruth, don't you think encouraging curiosity and critical thinking skills are part of education? Not the "things" of education, but the processes? Imo they start at home and pass to the hands (and minds) of teachers. Hopefully they never stop at home.
A friend who was teaching basic computer use to adults for an inner city (Chicago) agency told me one of the men said he didn't want his son to know more about anything than he did. As a mother herself, she said she was speechless.
My dad was kind of like that. Very talented draftsman who would not teach me, his eldest son a damn thing. My friends' fathers taught me to how to mow the lawn, shovel snow, use tools properly, etc. Damn shame.
What I've never understood is how corporations simply ignore the fact that if all average Americans had decent wages for the work they perform it would not only support "the common good" for all, it would increase corporate profits as well. Duh.....
I am at a loss to explain the phenomenon of the 45 cult. But I know that members of my family are educated, experienced, well traveled, etc., who will vote for 45. We had a very heated argument over the appointment of Brett Kavanaugh to the SCOTUS.
I do know a number of people who do seem to fit your description of his followers but certainly there's a much broader group of people in that cult. The turnout for the election in 2020 was the largest in decades. President Joe Biden won by only eight million votes. We were expecting a landslide. An incredibly high percentage of the 2020 voters voted against their own interests. They voted for the man who botched the emergency response to a new and deadly virus. A million of our citizens died from that virus. And we endured a quarantine that lasted for two years!
Even now, after the Biden Administration has brought back responsible government, increased job growth and strengthen our economy, there are a lot of people who truly believe that 45 would do better with the economy???
They don't listen to his increasingly incoherent speeches. They seem to enjoy his insults, his lack of dignity and they share his anger.
I do not understand what spawned the conditions that allowed this low-life to take hold of this country. But we must conduct a serious study of how, when and why it began. Otherwise this threat to our nation's democracy will continue long after 45 is gone.
Well said. Some days, after I wake up & go through sub-stack & other feeds, all I can do is shake my head in wonder. How can some folks think that trump is this "superhero" type man, when all I've known about the man the last 35 years is what a sleazy, low life, cheesy con artist, criminal type, draft dodger. A woman who was employed at a chocolate store, brought the subject of trump up to me out of the clear blue, before the 2016 election, mentioning about what a businessman he was; at which point I marveled at her statement... "Wow!" Then I replied that how could she say that after several bankruptcies, that someone is a great businessman, when they've been literally given money a number of times, to start business.' All have pretty much been failures; except the one his father left him; which had people still at the helm from his father's time, basically cleaning up trump's messes, so they didn't fail. And weren't most of those folks taking the fall for trump initially, under indictment, like his CFO? It's been said before, trump's like a mob boss, always with enough plausible deniability. Allowing everyone else to take the fall....until recently. Guilty on 34 counts by a jury of his peers. I don't understand why these trump trolls don't get that.
They are likely like him as he appeals to their lizard brains. We might even be taken in if we exposed ourselves to their propaganda 24/7. The propaganda today is state of the art, very powerful. I have no idea how to rein that in yet without doing that, we will remain divided and folks who love trump will continue to follow his pov long after he is gone. The billionaires who fund these lies find doing so allows them to retain power and shift money in their direction. There should be no billionaires.
It depends. There are those with doctorates who still traffick children for the Church of Christ in TN, and these lot are no friend of ours. Their "science" isn't science, my trafficker, well one of several, was a BIOLOGY teacher... all I learned from him was to stay silent and let him stick it in me and my friends.
Some of these people absolutely know what they're doing and how they're making their $$$$ to throw at Trump... I don't believe Trump is even literate, to be honest. I'm not sure he understands the words he angrily spews like projectile vomit into the ears of fools.
We just watched The Trjuth vs Alex Jones, and what a gift, to know that these monsters will fall as Kutie Kamala and Tampon Tim fight fight fight for us!
Everything flows from education. Utilizing Property taxes to finance education hamstrings lower socioeconomic communities. Limited financial support from the federal government for college and university education has placed a chokehold on the finances of students. College degrees without a professional/direction e.g. Nursing, creates degreed citizens working in low paying jobs. Straying away from Technical High Schools which provided a marketable profession was a mistake. The technical schools allowed majors in a specific discipline and also academic college bound courses. Students walked into marketable positions upon graduation. Education equals economic growth.
Removing Civics classes from high school was a mistake. Ronald Reagan reportedly wanted civic classes removed so that students could focus on math and science. They play the long game of dumbing up citizens to their process of government and their role in participating and supporting.
Janet Adams, don’t you accuse Mr. Farrar of harassment when you’re the one who is always trying to pick a fight with people. I find his comments are often reasonable and pertinent to the subject at hand. No harassment whatsoever.
Janet, I know it is ridiculous to respond to your comment, but the truth is, the people who can't move any needle are Republican sycophants who are so attached to Trump and his club, they can't see a better future.
Because they are so wrapped up in their own story they can't "read" or understand anyone else's story. Trump knows that and has reeled them in like fish on a line. They think their lives have so little they don't mind being drawn in and used as Trump uses all of his supporters. They are not uneducated, at least not most of them, they are desperate to be affirmed in their negative feelings about everyone who is not they due to race, gender, religion, gender affiliation, immigration status, age, etc. Trump lets them be proud racists, xenophobes, homo/transphobes, misogynists, ableists, ageists, and the rest while they think they can claim to be none of the above. They have a champion who blurts out the tropes those desperate people want to hear that will permit them to think they are superior to everyone else or attached to people who are superior to everyone else (rich white "straight" pseudo-christian men). It works for them even if it keeps them down, paying too high prices, being treated like dirt by landlords, unable to accept help from a "woke" neighbor, and more. Trump has nothing to offer anyone, but will keep blurting out lies, misinformation, disinformation, and half-truths because that is who he is and what he does and his followers will continue to bask in the glory of Trump's hatred and resentment because it's in their minds, theirs too.
Ronald Reagan started the trend of greed is good when he rejected conservative spending and focused on opulence and his disastrous trickle down theory.
I perceive a lot of the hate of dogs and cats seems to be fear of them. A mutual relationship that brings comfort, companionship and joy to so many of us, that has such a visceral hatred and often fear, why? What correlates that to such damaging political views seems worth exploring.
More than 35%, and they do have values. Their values are encapsulated by hate, fear,anger and resentment and they have been skillfully directed by the billionaires that control the media and government, towards minorities of all types.
Right, William, everyone has values even if they're not uplifting ones. The word "value" denotes something worthwhile, but it connotes whatever is important to you. And what's important doesn't have to be uplifting.
DonOLD has one very strong "value" -- it's all about him.
Values serve also as a Noun, And are modfied with adjectives. Family is a noun and an adjective.
Family values is a noun (values) modified by and adjective (family)
The phrase is taken at face value, by most and especially the media.
But what does family actually mean, that depends on your upbringin and culture.
For most it appears to mean a close knit, happy, safe family unit
But it actually means a unit dominated and controlled by the husband/father as in Augustus Caesars, law of Pater Familia, which gave the father life and death control over wife and children.
In 20th and 21st Century iconography it is Father Knows Best, the Brady Family, Mayberry,
Dad as loving dictator, wife as domestic servan and nanny puttering around the house roasting chickens and baking cookies for the king to show up.
McConnell could have shut this shit show down years ago. He should have voted for Trumps impeachment. Now his legacy is shit…and he deserves it. Him being booed at the RNC was fantastic! His own party hates him now.
Problem is he has molded his son Lachlan to be just like him & bequeathed his empire to Lachlan, so it looks like we may have to deal with their malevolent & treacherous propaganda for years to come.
It's because they have been brainwashed by the likes of Fox news, about stuff like the deep state and things like that. Over here in the UK, the press led a long campaign led by the Murdoch group and others,. The reason was that they wanted to deregulate our economy. That is code for the very wealthy doing whatever they like. The personnel and the environment may be different, but the aim is the same.
Thanks. Didn't mean to give the wrong impression. I test out psychological devices on trolls to see their reaction for research. There did seem some human but still learning to tell the difference between new & improved AI bots & actual trolls.
Last night on FT 6 textbanking, sent 67,000 texts to NV, FL, and AZ! Today, 6-8 ET/3-5 PT, texting Montanans and registering more Dems! Next Thursday text MI, NY, and WI- to buy a token for a future Text Arcade, https://secure.actblue.com/donate/ft6arcade24
At the same time we BYOP. I sent mine to FL and WI yesterday.
Ask them how much they will like Trump's plan to devalue the dollar, raise their taxes-- and give tax cuts to the wealthy and big business, take away women’s and girls' civil rights, ban porn (yep!), go after his political enemies and use armed forces against civilians
They're not stupid. The system isn't working for them, and they see the Liberals as the reason why. They are not so much "for" Trump, but against the Liberal Northeast political establishment that doesn't work for them. We wonder why they like Trump, when the question we really need to be asking is why do they hate us? Trump understands why they hate us and that's where he gets his power.
The wealthy want their tax cuts. They want to retain as much wealth as possible. (Their money is international. Much is located offshore. They aren’t tied to this country. )They see people who need assistance as “losers” because now many of them are generational wealth or rich from being picked up by a rich person in the network - like JD Vance. To stay in the “most favored status”, they must sacrifice their previously held values publicly - Lindsay Graham is one.
They idolize money and power before anything else. They certainly aren’t Christian. They are wolves in sheep’s clothing. The average person that has bought into Trump’s line has been targeted specifically through analytics and fed disinformation so they believe bill💩 about their fellow Americans. Who controls the disinformation? Our enemies and the wealthy. Most Americans are actually in the middle - instead it has been a deliberate campaign to divide us.
Bingo, I know a few, they vote rep. out of greed, and hate, for the rest of the country. That's why it is so sad to watch the left behind (by the corporate overlords who sent the factories and their jobs overseas.) vote against their own interests.
Truth in what you say Dennis, There motivation is to own the libs,stick it to the left, which the blame for all of their woes, only those responsible for their woes, are the very people that are financing Trump and the Republican party.
They have, very smartly I must say, used their money,power and influence to shifr the blame they cause for the misery of the right, to people of color, liberals, democrats, gays, Jews
Trump refers to his followers as basement dwellers, he doesn't respect his own followers. and indeed they have proven his assessment.
A vote for him is actually a vote for Christian Nationalism, of which there are many followers in government. His fans don’t realize that cutting Medicare and Social Security would affect them too.
Oh, let's see..... Only 4 or 5 "people/corporations" own all of our mainstream media and newspapers are still failing so real journalism is very difficult to come by these days. SCOTUS legalized anonymous dark money bribery with their 2010 Citizens United decision so that any politician at any level of government can sell both their ethics AND their vote to the highest untaxed ultra-rich oligarchic bidder. That and the fact that tRump was NEVER held accountable for his treasonous activities on 1/6/21 would make a lot of average American people doubt his guilt.... Personally, I miss the Fairness Doctrine.
I often have the same thought and I have come to one conclusion: Racism, plain and simple. Ask some of your Trump supporting friends why they support him and they will give you some BS facts that they heard from Trump that can easily be shot down in a quick Google search. After you prove to them that their claims are untrue they might say: “well I just like him!” Since there are no redeeming qualities or anything to like, my conclusion is that they like his racism. Whether it’s blatant or his frequent dog whistles, that very well could be the explanation as to why he still has so many supporters. That’s my theory anyway🤷
They may look normal but they aren't. Like all who support Jim Crow laws, brandish Confederate flags, and on and on. We who do not oppose all genocide are not much better.
Well, I just read the 8/18 NYT review of Wineapple’s book about the 1925 TN Scopes “trial of the century”, the “monkey trial” over teaching evolution. The book draws parallels to today, and the reviewer wishes she would have drawn more. The title of the article: “Is America a Christian Nation”.
“…This tale is usually told as an epic confrontation between faith and science.”
“By the time of the showdown in Tennessee, Bryan’s so-called populism had curdled into reactionary demagogy. The one-time foe of the plutocracy was hawking real estate from the new palatial home he had built for himself in Florida, castigating workers for daring to unionize and earning the admiration of the renascent Ku Klux Klan, which he seemed to think had some very fine people on its side.”
“… The struggles of yesteryear between reason and ignorance … are the same struggle [as today’s struggle]”
... and if there are more criminals than there are possible pardons, it's a criminal lottery (meaning the choice of funding such a candidate is *literally* an elective choice for people with so much $ they have it to burn - and maybe even a smart investment, as losing bets are in venture capital); elections need to be publicly financed & much less expensive to solve any such problem.
White nationalism, racism, and misogyny are insidiously illogical and thrive among those who believe they have been wronged.
For a long time, I have struggled with how few people evidence fine character and common decency, until I realized the problem is both endemic and systemic throughout society. We are the product of our families and ancestors. Our belief system is largely the result of years of indoctrination. Most of us continue with the same beliefs handed down from one generation to the next.
Throughout history, religion has been open to interpretation and rife with contradictions. Similarly, governments and institutions in society survive by enlisting like/minded people and admonishing those who have different views.
As a result, charlatans, grifters and devious oligarchs find it easy to exploit and manipulate those who are incapable of discerning reality from preconditioned beliefs. It is a classic confrontation of good vs. evil.
Yes, all of this is true but let us not forget, the essential thing to focus on is what to do to keep Trump from winning. And ridicule is actually the most effective weapon in this fight. It both cuts him down to size and triggers him to say even more ridiculous things that show him up even more for what he is. He is visibly imploding under this assault of ridicule and thereby becoming less and less likely to win the election. Your advice "to keep it up" is exactly right
I hope you are right otherwise his minions are going to be a bigger better organized lot than anyone suspected as they are embedded throughout the system
In Chicago they were called patronage workers....they had their jobs by virtue of "the guy who sent you" and in return they reliably cranked out the vote on election day. And the money rolled in, the pols lined their pockets and in return the people got something that appeared to be good government...IF you were on the inside your potholes were fixed, your garbage was picked up, your neighborhood school was well staffed. If not...but ultimately the rot set in. The old machine is gone. The City That Works made a pretty good accounting for itself at the DNC. May it thrive. May we learn that political patronage..as outlined Project 2025... is the road to ruin. A well-educated, well-compensated, merit-based bureaucracy may be maddeningly slow but it is the foundation of fairness if we elect lawmakers to give them the tools
Perhaps we need a new great US war to focus the population on turning things around...although a climated disaster...would be the final solution...if not that isn't already in the cards. Check out the AMOC as just one variable out of mare than 100,000 variables related to the survival most of the species on earth.
I would have liked to think that Trump never stood a chance of being elected in 2016...This is America right? The United States, a struggling but shinning example for the rest of the world...? Yeah... Nice narrative. Our brave citizens fought and died for that narrated reality. Yet time and time again we refuse to evolve.
When he decided to run. I knew...he would be President...and so did others who should have, could have, been able to stop him, as they were in a political and legal position to do so... and didn't.
"Fool me once..."
The reality is that our system, as it stands today, rewards deviants. The more devious, the more reward. Some inventors of alternative financial instruments survive and others find their less devious inventors, jailed. We are mere pawns, manipulated by words, deeds and actions of those with the money and power to control the environment in which we exist.
Trump and friends are still... out and about... and raising hell, when they should have been put away years ago. Why would Trump have so many supporters? Unless there are more criminals, on the loose than we have jails for...and they keep the system operating...sort of.
Seems unlikely to me. At least a few hundred of his minions are either in jail or on their way. I’m pretty sure his cult will think twice or more before taking their guns to the streets.
If you were to drill down into the net you may find programs that confirm many more than a few hundred. The only variable of salvation would be the level of motivation derived from the declarations/desperation of Trump and associates. The numbers I have run across are somewhat staggering. If Trump were to decide to emigrate to avoid prosecution...that would be one definitive positive event for the country...not sure that he is that smart...although we might hope that he does.
Henry, TFFG has joked about moving to Venezuela. I imagine a narcissist could live quite happily down there, posting his “truths” beside the pool. Escaping consequences yet again. His followers could still make burnt offerings from afar.
I agree of course: one can never predict with certainty how anyone will react to something. But with Trump there is a track record. He cannot handle ridicule. The way to do so would be to dismiss it as unworthy of comment or to say something witty in return that would de-fang the original comment. But he is incapable of that, either because he lacks the intelligence or self-control that would be needed. Hence, while it is not certain that he will continue to self-destruct under further jokes and ridicule, it is a pretty good back.
As to Tom High's comment below, I too feel that the genocide in Gaza is super-important and that if a Kamala Harris presidency does not stop it, it will be an indelible stain on her time in office, no matter what good things she also does. But it is not an issue to campaign on because it is just not that important to most Americans, however much people like you and me feel that it should be. What is crucial is putting pressure on Kamala (and Tim) to change the policy from day 1 of their Administration. She cannot force this change while Biden is in office because he is gripped in his long-obsolete view of the nature of the state of Israel.
Israel, Gaza, and Hamas are complicated by centuries of bitter and violent disputes. These disputes became even more complicated in the late 1940’s. At it’s core, the dispute is petty. There has got to be a fair and equitable two state solution. The complexities are a mind boggling chess game. Hamas is an purposeful instigator.
Agree completely that this whole thing is going to be hugely complex to sort out -- if it ever is -- but not sure that I would describe the core issue as "petty". It is about how two ethnic groups, one of whom was forcibly displaced from a place it had lived in for many centuries, can live together peacefully, with full rights for both, sharing the same space. And the conflict between these two groups does not go back centuries but really only to the late 19th century, and only started becoming vicious in the 1930s, though with a huge leap in that quality in 1948. For an excellent history by a Columbia professor, I urge you to look at "The Hundred Years War Against Palestine" by Rashid Khalidi.
It is heartbreaking that this isn’t an issue that resonates with most Americans. With all the joy of the first three days, for me the joy leaked out somewhat with her position on Gaza. Of course the good parts of her voice for change remain uplifting and never would I do other than vote for her. Nor will I get in the way of the swell of support she needs to win. But it feels wrong not to bring this up. None of the people I follow had anything to say about this today. It’s sad that even trying to discuss this brings hate reminiscent of the other side.
Dear Lynette, Thanks for this comment. I agree that this is hugely disappointing that so many Americans tune out on this issue but the good news is that increasing numbers, especially young people, do not. Let those of us who care about human rights, and simply humanity, stand strong together and keep speaking up; we can move the needle on this!
This issue has been getting an extreme amount of airplay, overwhelming many discussion threads & is the only issue that certain people seem to care about, & it's quite obvious why people are sick of it. There's always something taking away attention from the most important issues of our time: climate chaos, ecosystem disintegration, environmental destruction, mass extinction, all synergistically working on each other to bring about biospheric collapse; economic injustice, corporate control over the government, media, economy & society, and concomitant diminution in democratic rights; the inattentiveness by government to the inaffordability of meeting our basic needs, such as healthcare, shelter & education; or even the actual most important conflict since WWII for us to prevail over -- the one from which Putin attempted to divert international attention away, & to provoke social turmoil in the US that would undermine the Biden administration to enhance the chances of his puppet resuming power, by masterminding the Hamas attack against Israel on his birthday -- his barbaric war on Ukraine. How come we're not seeing organized protests over these issues more crucial to the success & survival of the US & American people, & why are these protests, supposedly conducted by the left, focused on Biden & Harris, & not the true sources of our misery & misfortune, Traitor Trump & his puppetmaster Putin?
I agree with you that the war in Gaza is not the only issue that deserves attention and action by people who hate injustice and want a better world. Every issue and problem that you mention is real and cries out for correction. Indeed, all of them are getting some attention and action by relevant groups though of course one wants more. One can also hope, with some justification, that a Harris-Walz administration will get going on working on many of these things. They are not forgotten. Yet I think you are wrong if implying that the Israel-Gaza war does not deserve plenty of protest. In being the enabler of the on-going war crimes, mass murder, genocide (call it what you will), the United States is violating its fundamental principles and undermining the whole system of international law that the Biden administration claims so much to care about. This is not trivial. Do you really believe that the US can build a decent and good society at home while being the enabling party to mass murder abroad? I don't. This is the same dilemma the so called Left (God knows what this term means today) faced during the Vietnam War: fight the war and all its atrocities or treat it as detail and concentrate on the domestic reforms that the Johnson administration was simultaneously attempting. The Socialist party at the time opted for the former and thereby wrote itself off into irrelevance. In so doing, it also lost its power to influence the domestic reform agenda. (I still remember my anger at their cowardice and failure to confront the horrors of the war.)
I would suggest that if we ignore the horrors of what is going on in Gaza (and the West Bank) we similarly betray our ideals and our effectiveness in fighting for the changes in American society that we all want. There is also the non-trivial fact that a continuing war in Gaza makes a wider war in the Middle East, with hugely expanded horrors, ever more likely. In my opinion, that is another reason for trying to get a permanent cessation of hostilities in Gaza.
He’s going to win. All it will take is Kamala opening her mouth on a debate stage and people will realize she’s a dunce. No democratic process for selecting a candidate will backfire.
This is what Russian interference looks like. Why would someone ignore literally every issue facing Americans and try divide a party with misinformation and an opinion? Simple. Your purpose is to cause division and push people to vote for a 3rd party and throw their vote away.
If you're serious about Gaza, why not address the Republicans and Netry's zeal to bomb Gaza to the stone age? Because your purpose is to hack the Democrats with Russian propaganda. Of the top 50 issues facing Democrats, Gaza doesn't make the list. Stopping Hamas does. Take a hike, liar.
The Putin play book is to use words that trigger liberals like genocide and empire, and they inartfully deploy them in their comments, to turn the liberal against, the democrats. As the democratic party is the only party that recognizes the danger that Putinpresents.
Tom High and I have a long running tete a tete, he said that he is a Jill Stein Voter
Exactly! You have accurately assessed Tom High & russofascist trolls like him, carrying out the message that Putin has given them to cause dissension in US society & take away support for the Democrats based on a conflict that Putin masterminded starting with an attack by a proxy of Putin's #1 ally (Iran) on Putin's birthday that also took international attention away from his brutal war on Ukraine (which Tom High & others like him conveniently also blame on the US & NATO).
No, there are other essential matters for this country to confront, even from a leftist perspective, yet this is the only one on which there have been ongoing protests & unrest for months. Why? Instigators serving Putin like Tom High?
Sadonarcissistic psychopaths like Putin can't help giving their signature to the accomplishments about which they're so proud. Planning the attack on his birthday was his subtle way of telling the world, or those who can figure it out, it was his "work of art".
Tom, to our eternal shame, both parties have pursued some pretty meaningless wars. We have been unwilling or unable to achieve peace in countless countries or fairness in our own. No one presidential election can compensate for this history or assure it will not continue in some time or place.
Yet we must still vote for the candidate that offers hope - and against the candidate who we know will impose Project 2025. The oligarchs are at the gate and must be stopped.
I strongly believe we need to elect Harris/Walz and only then make our positions, petitions and protests known. Protest votes are largely invisible to the candidates and run the risk of electing a trump administration+Project 2025. So much voter suppression and planned rejection of actual voting results is in play that we need the most overwhelming success to have a chance to win.
There is no politically viable candidate who will Definitely come down hard on Israel. The democrats are at least somewhat vulnerable to protest and public pressure, and that’s why you should both vote for them and keep protesting.
I just said “politically viable” because I don’t want to have an argument about Tiffany Blurple, the Obscure Third-Party/Independent Candidate That We Both Know Can’t Possibly Win In 2024.
If the democrats aren’t vulnerable to pressure, then these is literally nothing you can do to stop the genocide*. So your choices become “do something to protect yourself and others from fascism” or “do nothing”.
Good article, rather than solving the homeless & proctoring peace, we continue wars. Rather than doing positive, the DNC has been busy spending multi-millions (billions?) for their campaign & mega-millions against anyone who threatens their status quo.
I always supported the blue, but now the DNC has lost its way.
Smearing, censoring & BLOCKING BALLOTS?! Taking away free voices, free choices? Democracy? Rfk jr has stood for peace & ending wars. Little did he know, that his old party of many years would wage war upon him.
You're joking, right? If you're serious, I can only suppose you get your news from RT. The DNC should ignore Kennedy because he's not a Dem. Kennedy has never run for any office as a Democrat.
Kennedy is a right wing, conspiracy, lunatic, funded by far right wing sources with dark money likely from Russian sources. I wish Jamie Harrison would go to Sizzler and eat at the buffet for 5 hours. Then he should go on Kennedy's yatch, drop his drawers, take a deuce on the deck, and tell Kennedy it's a gift from democrats who are disgusted by his lies about the DNC.
Kennedy is a disgrace to his family who were military and Congress members before thinking they were Presidential material. You do know that JFK was in the House of Representatives and Senate before running for President. He was in the Navy too. Does Jr. think sailing on his yatch is good experience for POTUS? RFK was in the military, Senate, then AG before running for POTUS.
Jr is a Republican hack job, as you will see today. Sorry, but I'm sick of hearing about yatch boy on his SS Worm Brain complaining about the DNC when he's never even attempted to run for any office to show he's good leader.
You are entitled to your opinion, even if it is wrong. Rfk jr is a man who fought for years against giants like Monsanto on behalf of poisoned people. And he, who has continued, like his father & uncle in fighting for rights & commin decency. He should be applauded. Instead, he is SMEARED & CENSORED because the DNC have wanted him out of the way--at any cost! He threatens the oligarchy & apparently threatens you. What the DNc has done translates to lying, cheating & stealing.
RFK was a stalking horse for Trump and now that he hasn't a chance is joining Trump. Andrew Mellon donated $50 mill to Trumps election and $25 mill to RFK's.
If only he had continued his laudable work while heading an environmental organization! His recent turns in focus have spoiled his legacy & harmed the overall welfare of the US, democracy & environment, very much like Elon Musk.
Rfk jr is standing up to the DNC who have been SMEARING, CENSORING & BLOCKING BALLOTS. All of those actions are NOT DEMOCRATIC. Rfk jr tired of the DNC shitting upon him. & upon our Constitution.
Steve Bannon (of the Cambridge analytica fame) is the one who told him to run as a "chaos candidate". That tells you everything you need to know about that fool.
Rfk jr has nothing to do with Bannon & your invoking that name shows your weak, inane need to malign a man who has done more for advocacy & cleaning up the planet, than you in your "ethereal" role will ever accomplish in your life..
LOL. Here we have Zara, a limited intellect with a limited repetorie reaching into the old wornout dust bag of emotional epthets to shut down the opposition.
Sorry you miserable Putin apologist, invoking MCarthy doesn't work.
You can't help but expose yourself Tom High. "liberal left" heaved like an epithet.
Poor poor Putinists being ridiculed by truth.
Tom High, seeking succor wherever he can find. All I can say is that Putin was thrilled with RFK and Jill Stein,anyone that can take votes away from his fellaltor in chief, Trump
Tom is a very persistent champion of Putin, Zen master is just one of his epithets, a favorite response is Comedy Gold.
I think it is operating out of Vladivostock Play book, it has trigger words, that they are sure that liberals will reflexively react to like imperialism, empire, neo liberal, neo conservative, racism.. they can throw any of those terms at a liberal and almost be guaranteed to change the subjec and put us on the defensive, the latest charge is McCarthyism.
You have the right idea, own and strike back, they don't know what to do.
Tom thinks has me by the short and curlies, by hurling ridiculous epithets, searching for a trigger
"But the president (Trump) was unclear on whether or not he believed Putin's denials, saying at the time: "Every time [Putin] sees me he says, 'I didn't do that' and I really believe that when he tells me that, he means it."
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, criticized the comments, saying in a statement: "There's nothing 'America First' about taking the word of a KGB colonel over that of the American intelligence community."
Sam, I read your article you linked us to. It is insightful- the best theory I’ve heard for why so many follow Trump. Just subscribed to your Substack. Thank you!
Some individuals are leaders, many more are followers. Is it nature or nurture? I don't know. What I do know is that leaders who carry scriptures are dangerous--unless the scripture is the Constitution of the USA.
Sam, Thank you for the link to your Trump not-a-playbook. It continues to amaze me and is sadly a testament to the sorry state of MSM and the professional muzzle that has been placed upon the psychology and medical professions that in discussions with others, many people, even those somewhat up to speed with portions of Project 2025, give me looks of bewilderment when I mention Trump’s various mental states and deficiencies because those states and deficiencies are the big elephant in the room MSM purposely avoids covering or glosses over as “ramblings”. ‘Trump being Trump, nothing new here, nothing to see here, move along.’
Trump is a “clear and present danger” who “we the people” must never allow to get near the presidency again.
It’s amazing that Kamala Harris had to add the “peaceful transfer of power” as a principle of America’s democratic strength. This is something we always assumed was a given for our democracy, something we didn’t need reminding of — until now!
Danny, there’s a photo of Putin and Trump leaving their secret meeting at the White House. Putin looks like the cat that swallowed the canary and Trump looks like he just got spanked. Ever since then, I’ve believed that Putin has some pretty choice blackmail material on Trump and Trump knows it. It’s typical KGB strategy and Lord knows there’s likely plenty of “Kompromat” from which to choose!
And despite that fact he's not the one in jail? And this sets an example for why the system doesn't work which is part of the basis for his support to the claim that the system doesn't work. It's really pretty simple. With enough under educated individuals out there in the world it makes sense. Is there another politician that admits that the system is. broken? Why else would Trump still be running around, not locked up and taking down the government....unless the laws were being played and the system broken. Trump is the problem and the problem is not being.solved despite every legitimate reason to do so.
Yep. And the reason why Henry? The system is bought. It was designed that way.
The founders didn't give us a Democracy, the gave us a Republic, Ben Franklin said so.
You don't know what a Republic is, then read Plato's Republic or anything about the old, pre Empire, Roman Republic. It is a rule by wise men. Meaning rule by free wealthy men.
We did not become a Democracy until the 15th, 17th and finally the 19th Amendments were ratified.
Our politicians are bought and paid for, that is how they get elected, the masters they serve are the ones who financed them.
Till Trump showed up on the scene, our choice was between the lesser of two evils that served the paymasters.
But Trump has shifted the ground under our feet, there is now a very obvious evil, and a threat to all, to democracy,and to freedom, and that threat is Donald John Trump.
What ever deficits, what ever problems, what ever criticisms of the Democratic party, and I have scores, this is no time to kvetch, bitch, complain, because the MAGAt threat, the Project 25/Agenda 47, Trump threat of theocratic fascism is real.
This is the last chance to save us from a theocratic dictatorship, a 4th Reich of the Rich.
Smokey: I’ve already had my car keyed for two bumper stickers that don’t even name a progressive candidate or cause. “Resist” and “facts matter.” Interesting that the perp even knew what or whom I was resisting.
My deep concern is that all of these magats that are being placed in election centers will not ratify the winner if it's not Trump. What do we do then?
My hope, of course, is that there is such a blue landslide that they won't matter.
Tina ; we had a remedy in our Constitution that remains unavailable to US ; The fourteenth amendment, section 3 disqualification clause. The present traitors of the MAGA 6 on the Supreme court have blocked this remedy from being used, They are all disqualified, as is plain to see, and must be removed, (or at least balanced with those who have not violated the law). We have to get past this log jam in our justice system! Our Congress is also full of such disabled and disqualified criminals. We need to clean house! without an effective justice system, we are doomed to be at the mercy of treasonous poisonous criminals.
Laurie, my reading of that amendment is that it is not up to the Supreme Court to decide, but that it is automatic & compulsory. If an officer of the government violates their oath of office, they automatically are expelled & prevented from seeking office again. This applies to the President, to members of Congress & the Supreme Court justices themselves.
I guess the question is how serious does that breach oath of office have to be. Do we want to expel a government employee for any minor, trivial violation? However, planning & inciting an insurrection against the Capitol & refusal to certify a legitimate election are pretty obviously worthy of expulsion. So is passing on classified intelligence to international adversaries, I should think, as well as accepting lavish bribes & refusing to recuse oneself from judging a case in which one has an obvious conflict of interest.
Jaime ; Retired Judge J. Michael Luttig had said that the Supreme court should have ruled on the case, invoking the 14th amendment section 3 ; before the election. tRUMP should not have been on the ballot. There is plenty of evidence of criminality. the documents case alone was open and shut. The one man crime wave, supported by his sycophants could have and should have been stopped. The evidence was overwhelming. Hopefully, we will now see a new era of Justice in the U.S.A.
They are all guilty, guilty and guilty. The supreme court betrayed their oaths of office ( the MAGA 6 did). Members of Congress who refused to certify the election also violated their oaths of office ; hardly an unserious offense. There was a county commissioner from New Mexico who was removed from office and barred from running again for office, because he violated the 14th amendment section 3 disqualification clause, by participating in an insurrection after having taken an oath to uphold the Constitution. There was a time when that would have set a precedent that could be followed. Precedent and the rule of law are ignored by these 6 "justices".
Let's not forget the trove of highly TOP SECRET codeword classified documents he took to Mara Lago. Any other offender would have waited in jail for justice to address the crime. But he and MAGA and his "rigged" courts and SCOTUS were also complicit in the shame and treachery. Apparently classified information isn't worthy of protection anymore. Mishandling it is certainly not prosecutable.. It's treason in my book. And now SCOTUS sanctions treason by trump. Unbelievable.
They tell BIG LIES and his MAGA followers believe them, just like Hitler said.
Robert Kyoung Hur (born 1973) is an American lawyer appointed by Donald Trump to serve as the United States Attorney for the District of Maryland from 2018 to 2021.
Robert Hur is a Trump humper, he had no proof that Biden had done wrong, so he used the medium that he had to slam and degrade him.
Trump is serial liar, a thief, a convicted felon, a rapist, a pervert who wants to have sex with his daughter, and has had sex with minors, grifts and steals from his vapid MAGAts, betrayed his oath of office, sold out our national security, or gave it away free, to Putin and the Saudis.and he escapes your vitriol.
He was appointed by Biden’s attorney general Merrick Garland. If he us such a Trump jumper as you say, why would Merrick Garland appoint him of all people as special counsel? His report was proven true by Biden’s debate performance.
Merrick Garland is a right winger. He was vetted to Obama for SCOTUS, by Orrin Hatch. At the time Hatch R-UT was the most right wing senator in Congress. Merrick also was an employee of the Federalist Society, serving as a moderator.
Obama, a naif, simply wanted a win, to be able to say that he appointed a Supreme Court Justice, he was not a liberal, not by along shot. He was editor of the Harvard Law Review and was known as a conservative. He remade his image for politics.
Biden's failing is that he learned the wrong lessons in the Senate. He was mentored by racist Dixiecrats and learned compromise bipartisanship. To compromise with evil, makes one evil. One does not compromise with evil
Biden thought that by nominating a conservative AG, he would prove that he was not self servicing and vindictive like Trump, an Anti Trump,he even went out of his way to keep hands off the DOJ. Foolishly, because the DOJ is a cabinet position and is there to help the President execute the laws of congress (the duty of the Executive,it is in the name)
Bill Barr and Trump used the DOJ and the Cabinets as they were intended, to help him govern.
Presidents have cabinets and advisers because they are not all powerful and all knowing,and have to delegate, The same way Corporations and the military delegate authority, not responsibility.
Biden has paid mightily for his foolish belief in bipartisanship as Merrick Garland, the right wing extremist,has turned his guns on Biden,with Robert Hur and David Weiss, while letting Trump and the seditionist plotters in Congress off the hook.
You have not once indicated trump has any bad appearance or actually took the documents. It's all about deflect/deny/deceive/distract the attention away from your self-interest over national-interest guy.
Joe Biden had documents from when he was a senator. Now senators are never allowed to take documents out of the SCIF. So no it’s not apples and oranges. In fact, the special counsel said that the reason that he didn’t bring charges against Joe Biden is because he is an old man with a failing memory and therefore would be hard to convict.
Marty, you’re fixating on one phrase by a partisan politician. Think about the bigger picture. Did Biden store his “purloined” documents in a public place like Mar-a-Lago? Did he refuse to give them back? Did he have his minions return some boxes while hiding others? Did he claim in court that he had declassified the documents and thus they were his? No, Biden just returned the documents and THAT’S why he isn’t belong prosecuted.
Did you read the special counsels report? It said that Joe Biden wasn’t being prosecuted because he would present to the jury as an elderly man with memory issues.
And not being a person with any training in that field it was propagandic of him to inject his personal opinion. He also admitted later parts of his statement were incorrect (lies).
No, he wasn’t a partisan politician he was a special counsel appointed by none other then the attorney general Merrick Garland. Not only that, but his assessment of Joe Biden was proven correct and that’s why Joe Biden is not the nominee.
Changing the subjects, both sides ism, benefits Trump, benefits Putin. Thanks for telling us who you are. At least Joe didn't show them to Putin and the Saudis like Trump
Poor innocent Putin, forced to invade Ukraine, Putin the victim. Biden did nothing at all to "force" Putin to invade Ukraine.
Putin is a mass murder, a war criminal, he has his opponents assassinated, even had a helicopter pilot who defect and fled to Spain, shot, he has committed innumerable crimes against humanity. He steals from his own people, to construct and maintain innumerable dachas to house his wife,children and mistresses.
He suppresses speech, imprisons opponents imprisons people who speak out against him and his war, controls the media, Poisons his opponents, throws them out windows, blows up their planes and kils them in prison.
No one said he isn’t a mass murderer or a dictator. But the bottom line is that when Trump was president he didn’t invade anywhere. It’s only because Joe Biden is so weak that he felt he had the opportunity to invade Ukraine.
The legal cases have been in for some time. The 34 felonies. The judgement for E. Caroll. Just the beginning of evidence that insists the Democrats do not have to hold back on language for all of it. We cannot think this is a normal time. Unfortunatley we are in a war internally the American people have to win. A sociopath is different from the general population. They do not have guilt.
Poking fun and derision seems harmless enough : but there is the fact that tRump allowed the separation of babies from their mothers ; (even if nursing). and taken from fathers as well. one young man , after learning that his wife was deported and his very young daughter was taken away, never to be seen again, committed suicide. If "camps" are established for the deportation of "illegal immigrants", how do we know if tRUMP will do what Hitler did, when he started to deport even those who were born and brought up in Germany? That could be done here: he seems to keep the playbook on his bedside stand. He used a guy named Miller to oversee these separations, giving himself deniability. He is not a harmless, but uncouth bumbler. He is a traitor in the sense that the term was used centuries ago; and these traitors were executed, because freedom was hard won, and not to be taken lightly, or disrespected. The very least that should happen is for traitors to be jailed, without parole nor pardon.
He is not a harmless clown: he has murdered many, with "deniability' : using his big fat hateful mouth to encourage hate crimes, against people shopping for groceries while being Black or worshipping while being Jewish, or going out to a concert or bar because he did not like your orientation. Or being Asian and female, while being in a beauty parlor. Or seeking legal asylum in the United States. Or simply getting a prescribed vaccine.
Laurie, the exonerated five spoke last night and I was in tears. The orange man wanted them dead! Not only that he still says they are guilty even though a man confessed and his DNA matched! Trump has no soul. He is so full of poisonous hate he cannot stop his whining, insulting, stupid mouth!! I hope that every single minority group in this country will join Democrats and send a blue tidal wave to wash him out in November! Vote blue, America!
Peggy: my cable carrier, Spectrum, did not allow DVR users to record last night's coverage of the Democrat Convention. I will Google it. Or find it elsewhere. I wish our progressive Mayor or Governor could get us better choices in our state.
Laurie, I ditched my cable because it had become outrageously expensive! I kept my internet and use my Roku TV. I can get news channels live coverage. I cannot record anything but I can pull it up later and watch it. When I cancelled my cable and just went with the internet, I cut my bill in half and then some!
We used Roku for awhile, but I did not want to spend time looking at seemingly endless commercials. Also, In our area the reception sometimes was not there. It was spotty. I just may get tired enough of Spectrum to end it though. Thanks for the reminder that there is another option. Saving money is good sometimes.
Our Freedoms have been taken advantage of by the people who have corrupt intentions. That’s how Trump was able to become the American Frankenstein. Hopefully the American people will unite against this tyranny and our democracy will prevail. Law and Order has to be restored and enforced on all perpetrators regardless of how rich or popular they are! Equal justice has to be the way forward.
Thank you Professor Reich and while I agree whole heartedly with everything you have said about trump let us not forget HE IS NOT ALONE.
All the trump supporters in the House of Representatives and the Senate; the 6 dishonest judges on the Supreme Court, who willingly and readily threw aside the Constitution of the United States, the long standing laws of our land, in order to perpetuate their own status and bribe taking; every member of the Heritage Foundation and the Federalist Society; all are equally guilty of promoting and appeasing trump.
The billionaires who readily supported him to get MORE - more of everything all deserve punishment - not jail time but to be turned out of office for those elected or appointed, For the billionaires we need to break up all monopolies and enact a wealth tax.
We need to overturn Citizens United and return the elections to the people who vote for the best candidates. Where billions of dollars are not wasted on advertising on the networks,
We need to set up basic requirements for all people running for office at any level. We need to set up reasonable requirements for appointees to judgeship at all levels from Municipal to the Supreme Court.
More than anything WE the people, NOT any of the three branches of the Federal Government, nor State or local Governments; need to establish a Code of Ethics AND the punishments for not obeying those ethical behaviors.
Never again must we be under the threat of those who would treacherously throw out our Constitution and heedlessly dissolve our democratically mandated Representative Republic in favor of any form of authoritarianism.
It is still beyond my comprehension how anyone, for any reason, would follow and vote for trump.
35% of the country have compromised or non-existent values.
They aren't educated or experienced enough to understand why they shouldn't be doing what they are doing. They are him...and the fault lies with specific members of both parties over the last 50 or so years
Yes. Their MAGA behaviour is a desperate emotional reaction to bipartisan socio political cruelties borne of the cultural destruction of others that is a systemic necessity for personal financial flourishing of neo liberals.
This is partly the reason... along with the excessive amount of information and intrusive noise "overload" that has come to clutter our world. We as humans are not designed to effectively process all that is around us now. This is especially true of those less trained and educated to absorb the bigger picture.
Simple hunter/gathers need to be just that in such a way as to not be expected to deal with the complexities of the complexities of the psychology of the criminal element...that's why we have government and specialized management departments manned by personnel who are trained to manage these specialized tasks. When self serving idiots are put in charge, garbage in garbage out. Pool boys may not be the best candidates for government leadership positions, Congress persons that take legalized bribes aren't either, presidents who think they are kings are also probably not the correct choice.
Your "excessive amounts of information and intrusive noise 'overload'" statement is so true. 1. Before retirement I had little time for anything political - I grabbed whatever info I could when I could find the time. I suspect that holds true for many. 2. Post-retirement my interest in politics ramped up, especially after realizing the danger to our nation that Trump represents. But if I subscribed to, and read, every Substack publication that interests me I could never find the time to clean my home, spend time with my family, or engage with anything else worth my time and trouble. The available amount of information (and, as follows, dis- and mis- information) is staggering. Choosing wisely is imperative.
I’ve been interested in politics for as long as I can remember. As a young adult and like you, much more so after I retired.
Yesterday, my husband and I drove past a house with a yard full of Trump garbage. The man had just finished putting them out (Good Lord I hope so!) and was in his yard.
It made the street look trashy and before I could stop myself, I put the window down and yelled, “Harris for President!” Practically to his face. These delusional racist people are calling attention to their hatefulness. My husband laughed and asked if I felt better. Yes! I did!
Trumpers are in for quite a bit of push back until November and beyond. Until these racists and anti-American politicians are forced out of power. Always remember MSM lies to us. It’s about to go to desperate lengths of fantasy and propaganda. Pay no attention to their lies, the fear of losing is at the doorstep and it shows in every single letter they type.
Also, revamped standards for the use of our public airwaves.
I feel you there. Between life happening and Substack, which I love, I’m realizing that it’s 7:38 PM and I’m still plowing through email and my Substack favorites. Arrrrrh! 🤪
You will chose wisely if you keep an open mind, avoid the confirmation bias trap, and have clear priorities.
Same here..
Agreed. The ongoing social consequences of the speed of technological progress in our mass media have yet to be properly understood let alone intellectually or emotionally successfully politically negotiated.
Persons need to be taught about the reality of the world they live in. Be taught how to be ethical and why it matters. The difference between right and wrong along with the rewards of selflessness for themselves and society as a whole. And there needs to be meaningful consequences applied in a very real way for those that don't, act ethically in regards to the treatment of others...as our very survival depends on it.
staffed, not "manned" please❣️
Don’t forget that crazy Q shit too. Then throw in all the right wing hate groups that are just itching to be let loose on the citizens of our country. I hope this total administration is ready for all the mud that’s going to be thrown at the wall to see what sticks. The warning signs are out there.
HB, the MIC cult owns the DUOPOLY in Congress and Biden WH. Harris has declared she will continue giving Billions to Netanyahu to murder the Palestinians and Billions to Zelensky to attack Russia and reject peace negotiations.
All during these years of Nato extension, the rejected Helsinki Peace Accords etc etc -- why the support for Empire from the Democratic Party and GOP ranks ?
See Prof John Mearsheimer and Aaaron Mate.
Yes...Thank you.
Magas not interested in solving problems, they are interested in making people angry and finding someone to blame.
??? I can never keep up with all the threads. What was the objection?
Janet comes on like a Trump humper. We are headed into the most serious, and if we don't watch it the last, election of this country, and all she can do is kvetch about Hillary, Obama, even Harris.
I believe in holding their feet to the fire, via constant critic and pressure, but not at this time. Jumping in on the Democrats is throwing gasoline on the fire for Trump. Wait till the election is over for crissakes.
Good point. We need to practice what we preach.
Henry, I am pretty sure it is not a lack of education. Education can expose one to different ideas and knowledge, but it can't make anyone either understand or accept it, let alone add it to a person's principles. In the name of "free speech," we the people have permitted men like Rush Limbaugh and Alex Jones to spew lies over our airwaves, nearly uncountered. Right-wing BS brings in lots ofe bucks from the very rich than the truth and we have permitted these "businessmen" to corrupt our national discourse. Then if that were not enough, we have also allowed that same cohort to denigrate, defund, and dismiss our public schools blaming the schools and teachers for everything that is not just as those anti-democracy folks want. Those folks want money and power, probably in equal portions and have proven they will do whatever it takes to get both: cheating, voter fraud (they blame others while it is they doing the deed), gerrymandering, lying, and on and on. I am hoping that when Harris and Walz are elected, they can start to turn some of this insanity into something that will actually serve the American people, maybe beginning with "truth in advertising" when it comes to political advertising, regular fact-checking for programming that has proven to contain lies that are harmful to the people. They, with our help can do this. We'll see if we can make a difference toward a better understanding of "the common good."
As I mentioned previously...the lies have to stop. The proven way to stop them is with definitive consequences. Heavy fines, effective gag orders, possible jail time, sanctioning and expulsions. Cheating at Harvard will get you an expulsion...depending on who you are of course...
Ruth, don't you think encouraging curiosity and critical thinking skills are part of education? Not the "things" of education, but the processes? Imo they start at home and pass to the hands (and minds) of teachers. Hopefully they never stop at home.
A friend who was teaching basic computer use to adults for an inner city (Chicago) agency told me one of the men said he didn't want his son to know more about anything than he did. As a mother herself, she said she was speechless.
My dad was kind of like that. Very talented draftsman who would not teach me, his eldest son a damn thing. My friends' fathers taught me to how to mow the lawn, shovel snow, use tools properly, etc. Damn shame.
What I've never understood is how corporations simply ignore the fact that if all average Americans had decent wages for the work they perform it would not only support "the common good" for all, it would increase corporate profits as well. Duh.....
I am at a loss to explain the phenomenon of the 45 cult. But I know that members of my family are educated, experienced, well traveled, etc., who will vote for 45. We had a very heated argument over the appointment of Brett Kavanaugh to the SCOTUS.
I do know a number of people who do seem to fit your description of his followers but certainly there's a much broader group of people in that cult. The turnout for the election in 2020 was the largest in decades. President Joe Biden won by only eight million votes. We were expecting a landslide. An incredibly high percentage of the 2020 voters voted against their own interests. They voted for the man who botched the emergency response to a new and deadly virus. A million of our citizens died from that virus. And we endured a quarantine that lasted for two years!
Even now, after the Biden Administration has brought back responsible government, increased job growth and strengthen our economy, there are a lot of people who truly believe that 45 would do better with the economy???
They don't listen to his increasingly incoherent speeches. They seem to enjoy his insults, his lack of dignity and they share his anger.
I do not understand what spawned the conditions that allowed this low-life to take hold of this country. But we must conduct a serious study of how, when and why it began. Otherwise this threat to our nation's democracy will continue long after 45 is gone.
Well said. Some days, after I wake up & go through sub-stack & other feeds, all I can do is shake my head in wonder. How can some folks think that trump is this "superhero" type man, when all I've known about the man the last 35 years is what a sleazy, low life, cheesy con artist, criminal type, draft dodger. A woman who was employed at a chocolate store, brought the subject of trump up to me out of the clear blue, before the 2016 election, mentioning about what a businessman he was; at which point I marveled at her statement... "Wow!" Then I replied that how could she say that after several bankruptcies, that someone is a great businessman, when they've been literally given money a number of times, to start business.' All have pretty much been failures; except the one his father left him; which had people still at the helm from his father's time, basically cleaning up trump's messes, so they didn't fail. And weren't most of those folks taking the fall for trump initially, under indictment, like his CFO? It's been said before, trump's like a mob boss, always with enough plausible deniability. Allowing everyone else to take the fall....until recently. Guilty on 34 counts by a jury of his peers. I don't understand why these trump trolls don't get that.
You said "they are him." You're right. They like him because they are LIKE him. That's all it is. That's why you can tell them facts.
Can’t
They are likely like him as he appeals to their lizard brains. We might even be taken in if we exposed ourselves to their propaganda 24/7. The propaganda today is state of the art, very powerful. I have no idea how to rein that in yet without doing that, we will remain divided and folks who love trump will continue to follow his pov long after he is gone. The billionaires who fund these lies find doing so allows them to retain power and shift money in their direction. There should be no billionaires.
You left out Rupert Murdock and Roger Ailes.
and so many others...their numbers and influence is too similar to the Covid pandemic and just as life threatening if not more so.
If the Dems are to be blamed it is due to the influence of unlimited monies that the SC has permitted to flood the system.
Trump would not amount to much without the support of Rupert Murdoch and like-minded billionaires.
It depends. There are those with doctorates who still traffick children for the Church of Christ in TN, and these lot are no friend of ours. Their "science" isn't science, my trafficker, well one of several, was a BIOLOGY teacher... all I learned from him was to stay silent and let him stick it in me and my friends.
Some of these people absolutely know what they're doing and how they're making their $$$$ to throw at Trump... I don't believe Trump is even literate, to be honest. I'm not sure he understands the words he angrily spews like projectile vomit into the ears of fools.
We just watched The Trjuth vs Alex Jones, and what a gift, to know that these monsters will fall as Kutie Kamala and Tampon Tim fight fight fight for us!
Everything flows from education. Utilizing Property taxes to finance education hamstrings lower socioeconomic communities. Limited financial support from the federal government for college and university education has placed a chokehold on the finances of students. College degrees without a professional/direction e.g. Nursing, creates degreed citizens working in low paying jobs. Straying away from Technical High Schools which provided a marketable profession was a mistake. The technical schools allowed majors in a specific discipline and also academic college bound courses. Students walked into marketable positions upon graduation. Education equals economic growth.
Removing Civics classes from high school was a mistake. Ronald Reagan reportedly wanted civic classes removed so that students could focus on math and science. They play the long game of dumbing up citizens to their process of government and their role in participating and supporting.
To whom are you responding Janet? Without a name your comment is a non sequitur.
Janet Adams, don’t you accuse Mr. Farrar of harassment when you’re the one who is always trying to pick a fight with people. I find his comments are often reasonable and pertinent to the subject at hand. No harassment whatsoever.
And "Business" is the operative term, rather than Economics; Environmental Economics, moreover!
Janet, I know it is ridiculous to respond to your comment, but the truth is, the people who can't move any needle are Republican sycophants who are so attached to Trump and his club, they can't see a better future.
Because they are so wrapped up in their own story they can't "read" or understand anyone else's story. Trump knows that and has reeled them in like fish on a line. They think their lives have so little they don't mind being drawn in and used as Trump uses all of his supporters. They are not uneducated, at least not most of them, they are desperate to be affirmed in their negative feelings about everyone who is not they due to race, gender, religion, gender affiliation, immigration status, age, etc. Trump lets them be proud racists, xenophobes, homo/transphobes, misogynists, ableists, ageists, and the rest while they think they can claim to be none of the above. They have a champion who blurts out the tropes those desperate people want to hear that will permit them to think they are superior to everyone else or attached to people who are superior to everyone else (rich white "straight" pseudo-christian men). It works for them even if it keeps them down, paying too high prices, being treated like dirt by landlords, unable to accept help from a "woke" neighbor, and more. Trump has nothing to offer anyone, but will keep blurting out lies, misinformation, disinformation, and half-truths because that is who he is and what he does and his followers will continue to bask in the glory of Trump's hatred and resentment because it's in their minds, theirs too.
Ronald Reagan started the trend of greed is good when he rejected conservative spending and focused on opulence and his disastrous trickle down theory.
It's the hate. He personifies hate and they feel vindicated in their hate. Now they can hate in the open while wearing their magat gear.
My hope is that the MAGA red hat and other Trumpian gear are relegated to the status that the German swastica occupies.A symbol of hated and division.
Herr Doktor Jung would say: hate trumps love in the MAGA collective subconscious.
@Mike Hammer. True. But even they (to a reasonable degree of probability) love their pets and Trump hates dogs and Vance hates cats.
To that group, everything is visceral.
I perceive a lot of the hate of dogs and cats seems to be fear of them. A mutual relationship that brings comfort, companionship and joy to so many of us, that has such a visceral hatred and often fear, why? What correlates that to such damaging political views seems worth exploring.
More than 35%, and they do have values. Their values are encapsulated by hate, fear,anger and resentment and they have been skillfully directed by the billionaires that control the media and government, towards minorities of all types.
Right, William, everyone has values even if they're not uplifting ones. The word "value" denotes something worthwhile, but it connotes whatever is important to you. And what's important doesn't have to be uplifting.
DonOLD has one very strong "value" -- it's all about him.
Values is a subjective word, like wealth.
We are conditioned to think that wealth is money, it isn't money is a tool to obtain wealth.
Wealth is the things that make us happy, it is that simple.
Exactly, William. 🙂
Values serve also as a Noun, And are modfied with adjectives. Family is a noun and an adjective.
Family values is a noun (values) modified by and adjective (family)
The phrase is taken at face value, by most and especially the media.
But what does family actually mean, that depends on your upbringin and culture.
For most it appears to mean a close knit, happy, safe family unit
But it actually means a unit dominated and controlled by the husband/father as in Augustus Caesars, law of Pater Familia, which gave the father life and death control over wife and children.
In 20th and 21st Century iconography it is Father Knows Best, the Brady Family, Mayberry,
Dad as loving dictator, wife as domestic servan and nanny puttering around the house roasting chickens and baking cookies for the king to show up.
I don't believe your percentage is/was accurate. It's closer to 30% of eligible voters, if I'm not mistaken.
Rupert Murdoch has a lot to answer for. May he rot.
he along with mitch mcconnell
McConnell could have shut this shit show down years ago. He should have voted for Trumps impeachment. Now his legacy is shit…and he deserves it. Him being booed at the RNC was fantastic! His own party hates him now.
Indeed. We would NOT be in this if Moscow Mitch had moved his party in the Senate to impeach.
McConnel. Whom I fantasize chasing down the street while holding a cattle prod.
Not one of Australia's proudest exports, I must say.
It was also Roger Ailes. But Hannity, Ingraham and Carlson are creators of the hatred as well .
Problem is he has molded his son Lachlan to be just like him & bequeathed his empire to Lachlan, so it looks like we may have to deal with their malevolent & treacherous propaganda for years to come.
How can we tell?
It's because they have been brainwashed by the likes of Fox news, about stuff like the deep state and things like that. Over here in the UK, the press led a long campaign led by the Murdoch group and others,. The reason was that they wanted to deregulate our economy. That is code for the very wealthy doing whatever they like. The personnel and the environment may be different, but the aim is the same.
Here you go. Most reasons are psychological.
https://samray.substack.com/p/trumpism-is-narcissism
Psychopathy, too. *Read the Dossier* and find what Putin has to hold over him. Keep colloquialisms in mind. Go!
Thank you!
Thanks. Didn't mean to give the wrong impression. I test out psychological devices on trolls to see their reaction for research. There did seem some human but still learning to tell the difference between new & improved AI bots & actual trolls.
Indeed narcissists, sociopaths & psychopaths have bot-like programming.
Thanks Smokey. As noted, we had to deprogram Americans from nazi propaganda before.
If we get out the millions of unregistered folk who trend Democratic, and those that failed to vote in 2020, we win.
https://www.fieldteam6.org/
Last night on FT 6 textbanking, sent 67,000 texts to NV, FL, and AZ! Today, 6-8 ET/3-5 PT, texting Montanans and registering more Dems! Next Thursday text MI, NY, and WI- to buy a token for a future Text Arcade, https://secure.actblue.com/donate/ft6arcade24
At the same time we BYOP. I sent mine to FL and WI yesterday.
Meanwhile FT 6 phone banking calls the same population of unregistered folk who trend Democratic. About 1 MM in FL alone. Those folks are waiting to hear from us. https://www.mobilize.us/ft6/?q=phone%20banks&tag_ids=20038
Also, check your voter registration status at www.vote.gov to make sure you are still registered & haven't been kicked off.
When I meet someone who says they will vote for Trump I say, “I’d be too ashamed.”
Ask them how much they will like Trump's plan to devalue the dollar, raise their taxes-- and give tax cuts to the wealthy and big business, take away women’s and girls' civil rights, ban porn (yep!), go after his political enemies and use armed forces against civilians
https://www.americanprogress.org/article/fact-sheets-the-harmful-effects-of-project-2025-by-state/
👏👏👏❤️
R party has sold its soul….for power alone
They're not stupid. The system isn't working for them, and they see the Liberals as the reason why. They are not so much "for" Trump, but against the Liberal Northeast political establishment that doesn't work for them. We wonder why they like Trump, when the question we really need to be asking is why do they hate us? Trump understands why they hate us and that's where he gets his power.
The wealthy want their tax cuts. They want to retain as much wealth as possible. (Their money is international. Much is located offshore. They aren’t tied to this country. )They see people who need assistance as “losers” because now many of them are generational wealth or rich from being picked up by a rich person in the network - like JD Vance. To stay in the “most favored status”, they must sacrifice their previously held values publicly - Lindsay Graham is one.
They idolize money and power before anything else. They certainly aren’t Christian. They are wolves in sheep’s clothing. The average person that has bought into Trump’s line has been targeted specifically through analytics and fed disinformation so they believe bill💩 about their fellow Americans. Who controls the disinformation? Our enemies and the wealthy. Most Americans are actually in the middle - instead it has been a deliberate campaign to divide us.
Bingo, I know a few, they vote rep. out of greed, and hate, for the rest of the country. That's why it is so sad to watch the left behind (by the corporate overlords who sent the factories and their jobs overseas.) vote against their own interests.
Truth in what you say Dennis, There motivation is to own the libs,stick it to the left, which the blame for all of their woes, only those responsible for their woes, are the very people that are financing Trump and the Republican party.
They have, very smartly I must say, used their money,power and influence to shifr the blame they cause for the misery of the right, to people of color, liberals, democrats, gays, Jews
Trump refers to his followers as basement dwellers, he doesn't respect his own followers. and indeed they have proven his assessment.
Agree.
Those that vote for Trump are ill informed. I suspect the only news they are “spoon fed” is from Fox.
Very sad.
A vote for him is actually a vote for Christian Nationalism, of which there are many followers in government. His fans don’t realize that cutting Medicare and Social Security would affect them too.
That is, rather, *Evangelical* Christian Nationalism (which, as practiced, is about as far from Christianity as anything could be)...
Oh, let's see..... Only 4 or 5 "people/corporations" own all of our mainstream media and newspapers are still failing so real journalism is very difficult to come by these days. SCOTUS legalized anonymous dark money bribery with their 2010 Citizens United decision so that any politician at any level of government can sell both their ethics AND their vote to the highest untaxed ultra-rich oligarchic bidder. That and the fact that tRump was NEVER held accountable for his treasonous activities on 1/6/21 would make a lot of average American people doubt his guilt.... Personally, I miss the Fairness Doctrine.
I often have the same thought and I have come to one conclusion: Racism, plain and simple. Ask some of your Trump supporting friends why they support him and they will give you some BS facts that they heard from Trump that can easily be shot down in a quick Google search. After you prove to them that their claims are untrue they might say: “well I just like him!” Since there are no redeeming qualities or anything to like, my conclusion is that they like his racism. Whether it’s blatant or his frequent dog whistles, that very well could be the explanation as to why he still has so many supporters. That’s my theory anyway🤷
That is backed by research.
They may look normal but they aren't. Like all who support Jim Crow laws, brandish Confederate flags, and on and on. We who do not oppose all genocide are not much better.
Why would anyone vote for Trump?
Well, I just read the 8/18 NYT review of Wineapple’s book about the 1925 TN Scopes “trial of the century”, the “monkey trial” over teaching evolution. The book draws parallels to today, and the reviewer wishes she would have drawn more. The title of the article: “Is America a Christian Nation”.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/11/books/review/keeping-the-faith-brenda-wineapple.html?searchResultPosition=1
“…This tale is usually told as an epic confrontation between faith and science.”
“By the time of the showdown in Tennessee, Bryan’s so-called populism had curdled into reactionary demagogy. The one-time foe of the plutocracy was hawking real estate from the new palatial home he had built for himself in Florida, castigating workers for daring to unionize and earning the admiration of the renascent Ku Klux Klan, which he seemed to think had some very fine people on its side.”
“… The struggles of yesteryear between reason and ignorance … are the same struggle [as today’s struggle]”
Fair question: I think it's because of -
The Deal: You keep my hide out of jail by electing me, and I'll keep your hide out of jail by pardoning you.
... and if there are more criminals than there are possible pardons, it's a criminal lottery (meaning the choice of funding such a candidate is *literally* an elective choice for people with so much $ they have it to burn - and maybe even a smart investment, as losing bets are in venture capital); elections need to be publicly financed & much less expensive to solve any such problem.
White nationalism, racism, and misogyny are insidiously illogical and thrive among those who believe they have been wronged.
For a long time, I have struggled with how few people evidence fine character and common decency, until I realized the problem is both endemic and systemic throughout society. We are the product of our families and ancestors. Our belief system is largely the result of years of indoctrination. Most of us continue with the same beliefs handed down from one generation to the next.
Throughout history, religion has been open to interpretation and rife with contradictions. Similarly, governments and institutions in society survive by enlisting like/minded people and admonishing those who have different views.
As a result, charlatans, grifters and devious oligarchs find it easy to exploit and manipulate those who are incapable of discerning reality from preconditioned beliefs. It is a classic confrontation of good vs. evil.
Yes, all of this is true but let us not forget, the essential thing to focus on is what to do to keep Trump from winning. And ridicule is actually the most effective weapon in this fight. It both cuts him down to size and triggers him to say even more ridiculous things that show him up even more for what he is. He is visibly imploding under this assault of ridicule and thereby becoming less and less likely to win the election. Your advice "to keep it up" is exactly right
Be careful that you aren’t just thinking from the perspective of someone who already deplores (see what I did? Deplorables…) him.
When someone makes fun of my hero I will even more stubbornly support them. Think of how we react when they make fun of Harris’s laugh and name.
My approach is to say, “I’d be ashamed to vote for him”.
I hope you are right otherwise his minions are going to be a bigger better organized lot than anyone suspected as they are embedded throughout the system
In Chicago they were called patronage workers....they had their jobs by virtue of "the guy who sent you" and in return they reliably cranked out the vote on election day. And the money rolled in, the pols lined their pockets and in return the people got something that appeared to be good government...IF you were on the inside your potholes were fixed, your garbage was picked up, your neighborhood school was well staffed. If not...but ultimately the rot set in. The old machine is gone. The City That Works made a pretty good accounting for itself at the DNC. May it thrive. May we learn that political patronage..as outlined Project 2025... is the road to ruin. A well-educated, well-compensated, merit-based bureaucracy may be maddeningly slow but it is the foundation of fairness if we elect lawmakers to give them the tools
SCOTUS already is implementing Project 2025 by denying the federal government authority in various ares affecting our lives.
I believe both sides use patronage and the machine. It doesn’t make it right, but it’s the reality.
Project 2025 entails a lot more than patronage.
🎯Ask the women who no longer have bodily autonomy, and access to reproductive medical standard of care.
For patronage in the justice system, I expect its days to be numbered with Kamala as President.
Perhaps we need a new great US war to focus the population on turning things around...although a climated disaster...would be the final solution...if not that isn't already in the cards. Check out the AMOC as just one variable out of mare than 100,000 variables related to the survival most of the species on earth.
What are you trying to say?
I would like to think that they are aware of that, and will have measures in place to deal with whatever MAGA tries to pull. ✊🇺🇸🌊😎
Jeff,
I would have liked to think that Trump never stood a chance of being elected in 2016...This is America right? The United States, a struggling but shinning example for the rest of the world...? Yeah... Nice narrative. Our brave citizens fought and died for that narrated reality. Yet time and time again we refuse to evolve.
When he decided to run. I knew...he would be President...and so did others who should have, could have, been able to stop him, as they were in a political and legal position to do so... and didn't.
"Fool me once..."
The reality is that our system, as it stands today, rewards deviants. The more devious, the more reward. Some inventors of alternative financial instruments survive and others find their less devious inventors, jailed. We are mere pawns, manipulated by words, deeds and actions of those with the money and power to control the environment in which we exist.
Please don't confuse Curly with Squirrelly. One is nuts on stage, an act. The other is nuts in real life and he's not acting.
You have more faith than I...
Trump and friends are still... out and about... and raising hell, when they should have been put away years ago. Why would Trump have so many supporters? Unless there are more criminals, on the loose than we have jails for...and they keep the system operating...sort of.
Seems unlikely to me. At least a few hundred of his minions are either in jail or on their way. I’m pretty sure his cult will think twice or more before taking their guns to the streets.
If you were to drill down into the net you may find programs that confirm many more than a few hundred. The only variable of salvation would be the level of motivation derived from the declarations/desperation of Trump and associates. The numbers I have run across are somewhat staggering. If Trump were to decide to emigrate to avoid prosecution...that would be one definitive positive event for the country...not sure that he is that smart...although we might hope that he does.
Henry, TFFG has joked about moving to Venezuela. I imagine a narcissist could live quite happily down there, posting his “truths” beside the pool. Escaping consequences yet again. His followers could still make burnt offerings from afar.
Agreed
I wish I could believe this ...
i agree; however when your opponent is someone as warped as djt it’s tricky to predict, accurately how he will react
I agree of course: one can never predict with certainty how anyone will react to something. But with Trump there is a track record. He cannot handle ridicule. The way to do so would be to dismiss it as unworthy of comment or to say something witty in return that would de-fang the original comment. But he is incapable of that, either because he lacks the intelligence or self-control that would be needed. Hence, while it is not certain that he will continue to self-destruct under further jokes and ridicule, it is a pretty good back.
As to Tom High's comment below, I too feel that the genocide in Gaza is super-important and that if a Kamala Harris presidency does not stop it, it will be an indelible stain on her time in office, no matter what good things she also does. But it is not an issue to campaign on because it is just not that important to most Americans, however much people like you and me feel that it should be. What is crucial is putting pressure on Kamala (and Tim) to change the policy from day 1 of their Administration. She cannot force this change while Biden is in office because he is gripped in his long-obsolete view of the nature of the state of Israel.
Israel, Gaza, and Hamas are complicated by centuries of bitter and violent disputes. These disputes became even more complicated in the late 1940’s. At it’s core, the dispute is petty. There has got to be a fair and equitable two state solution. The complexities are a mind boggling chess game. Hamas is an purposeful instigator.
Dear Brevity,
Agree completely that this whole thing is going to be hugely complex to sort out -- if it ever is -- but not sure that I would describe the core issue as "petty". It is about how two ethnic groups, one of whom was forcibly displaced from a place it had lived in for many centuries, can live together peacefully, with full rights for both, sharing the same space. And the conflict between these two groups does not go back centuries but really only to the late 19th century, and only started becoming vicious in the 1930s, though with a huge leap in that quality in 1948. For an excellent history by a Columbia professor, I urge you to look at "The Hundred Years War Against Palestine" by Rashid Khalidi.
Thank you!
It is heartbreaking that this isn’t an issue that resonates with most Americans. With all the joy of the first three days, for me the joy leaked out somewhat with her position on Gaza. Of course the good parts of her voice for change remain uplifting and never would I do other than vote for her. Nor will I get in the way of the swell of support she needs to win. But it feels wrong not to bring this up. None of the people I follow had anything to say about this today. It’s sad that even trying to discuss this brings hate reminiscent of the other side.
Dear Lynette, Thanks for this comment. I agree that this is hugely disappointing that so many Americans tune out on this issue but the good news is that increasing numbers, especially young people, do not. Let those of us who care about human rights, and simply humanity, stand strong together and keep speaking up; we can move the needle on this!
This issue has been getting an extreme amount of airplay, overwhelming many discussion threads & is the only issue that certain people seem to care about, & it's quite obvious why people are sick of it. There's always something taking away attention from the most important issues of our time: climate chaos, ecosystem disintegration, environmental destruction, mass extinction, all synergistically working on each other to bring about biospheric collapse; economic injustice, corporate control over the government, media, economy & society, and concomitant diminution in democratic rights; the inattentiveness by government to the inaffordability of meeting our basic needs, such as healthcare, shelter & education; or even the actual most important conflict since WWII for us to prevail over -- the one from which Putin attempted to divert international attention away, & to provoke social turmoil in the US that would undermine the Biden administration to enhance the chances of his puppet resuming power, by masterminding the Hamas attack against Israel on his birthday -- his barbaric war on Ukraine. How come we're not seeing organized protests over these issues more crucial to the success & survival of the US & American people, & why are these protests, supposedly conducted by the left, focused on Biden & Harris, & not the true sources of our misery & misfortune, Traitor Trump & his puppetmaster Putin?
I agree with you that the war in Gaza is not the only issue that deserves attention and action by people who hate injustice and want a better world. Every issue and problem that you mention is real and cries out for correction. Indeed, all of them are getting some attention and action by relevant groups though of course one wants more. One can also hope, with some justification, that a Harris-Walz administration will get going on working on many of these things. They are not forgotten. Yet I think you are wrong if implying that the Israel-Gaza war does not deserve plenty of protest. In being the enabler of the on-going war crimes, mass murder, genocide (call it what you will), the United States is violating its fundamental principles and undermining the whole system of international law that the Biden administration claims so much to care about. This is not trivial. Do you really believe that the US can build a decent and good society at home while being the enabling party to mass murder abroad? I don't. This is the same dilemma the so called Left (God knows what this term means today) faced during the Vietnam War: fight the war and all its atrocities or treat it as detail and concentrate on the domestic reforms that the Johnson administration was simultaneously attempting. The Socialist party at the time opted for the former and thereby wrote itself off into irrelevance. In so doing, it also lost its power to influence the domestic reform agenda. (I still remember my anger at their cowardice and failure to confront the horrors of the war.)
I would suggest that if we ignore the horrors of what is going on in Gaza (and the West Bank) we similarly betray our ideals and our effectiveness in fighting for the changes in American society that we all want. There is also the non-trivial fact that a continuing war in Gaza makes a wider war in the Middle East, with hugely expanded horrors, ever more likely. In my opinion, that is another reason for trying to get a permanent cessation of hostilities in Gaza.
Agreed, but sadly no matter how you tear him down his supporters can’t see through his condition or lies.
And get out the vote
REGISTER DEMOCRATS
EMPHASIZE! 🇺🇸
“Your advice "to keep it up" is exactly right”
Thanks for this comment. Obviously, I agree! The Harris-Walz campaign is a joy to watch.
He’s going to win. All it will take is Kamala opening her mouth on a debate stage and people will realize she’s a dunce. No democratic process for selecting a candidate will backfire.
She's a fomer DA of California a/k/a a trained speaker. Your remark is very naive, and sounds more like wishful thinking.
This is what Russian interference looks like. Why would someone ignore literally every issue facing Americans and try divide a party with misinformation and an opinion? Simple. Your purpose is to cause division and push people to vote for a 3rd party and throw their vote away.
If you're serious about Gaza, why not address the Republicans and Netry's zeal to bomb Gaza to the stone age? Because your purpose is to hack the Democrats with Russian propaganda. Of the top 50 issues facing Democrats, Gaza doesn't make the list. Stopping Hamas does. Take a hike, liar.
Tom High is a Putin troll.
The Putin play book is to use words that trigger liberals like genocide and empire, and they inartfully deploy them in their comments, to turn the liberal against, the democrats. As the democratic party is the only party that recognizes the danger that Putinpresents.
Tom High and I have a long running tete a tete, he said that he is a Jill Stein Voter
Well Jill Stein, Mike Flynn and Putin are friends https://www.pbssocal.org/shows/democracy-now/clip/why-jill-stein-attended-moscow-dinner-with-putin-and-flynn
That's all you need to know.
Exactly! You have accurately assessed Tom High & russofascist trolls like him, carrying out the message that Putin has given them to cause dissension in US society & take away support for the Democrats based on a conflict that Putin masterminded starting with an attack by a proxy of Putin's #1 ally (Iran) on Putin's birthday that also took international attention away from his brutal war on Ukraine (which Tom High & others like him conveniently also blame on the US & NATO).
No, there are other essential matters for this country to confront, even from a leftist perspective, yet this is the only one on which there have been ongoing protests & unrest for months. Why? Instigators serving Putin like Tom High?
Sadonarcissistic psychopaths like Putin can't help giving their signature to the accomplishments about which they're so proud. Planning the attack on his birthday was his subtle way of telling the world, or those who can figure it out, it was his "work of art".
Tom, to our eternal shame, both parties have pursued some pretty meaningless wars. We have been unwilling or unable to achieve peace in countless countries or fairness in our own. No one presidential election can compensate for this history or assure it will not continue in some time or place.
Yet we must still vote for the candidate that offers hope - and against the candidate who we know will impose Project 2025. The oligarchs are at the gate and must be stopped.
I strongly believe we need to elect Harris/Walz and only then make our positions, petitions and protests known. Protest votes are largely invisible to the candidates and run the risk of electing a trump administration+Project 2025. So much voter suppression and planned rejection of actual voting results is in play that we need the most overwhelming success to have a chance to win.
Tom High is a Putin troll. He claimed that he is a Jill stein voter, well https://www.pbssocal.org/shows/democracy-now/clip/why-jill-stein-attended-moscow-dinner-with-putin-and-flynn
His playbook is to use trigger words like genocide and empire that get liberal attention and reacton, to turn them away from Harris and to Jill Stein.
Glad to oblige: https://www.pbssocal.org/shows/democracy-now/clip/why-jill-stein-attended-moscow-dinner-with-putin-and-flynn
You are exposed Tom, A Putin troll https://www.pbssocal.org/shows/democracy-now/clip/why-jill-stein-attended-moscow-dinner-with-putin-and-flynn
“I refuse to defend myself from fascism because…” is a moronic position no matter what follows the “because”.
There is no politically viable candidate who will Definitely come down hard on Israel. The democrats are at least somewhat vulnerable to protest and public pressure, and that’s why you should both vote for them and keep protesting.
I just said “politically viable” because I don’t want to have an argument about Tiffany Blurple, the Obscure Third-Party/Independent Candidate That We Both Know Can’t Possibly Win In 2024.
If the democrats aren’t vulnerable to pressure, then these is literally nothing you can do to stop the genocide*. So your choices become “do something to protect yourself and others from fascism” or “do nothing”.
*: that would have any effect prior to 2024.
Good article, rather than solving the homeless & proctoring peace, we continue wars. Rather than doing positive, the DNC has been busy spending multi-millions (billions?) for their campaign & mega-millions against anyone who threatens their status quo.
I always supported the blue, but now the DNC has lost its way.
Smearing, censoring & BLOCKING BALLOTS?! Taking away free voices, free choices? Democracy? Rfk jr has stood for peace & ending wars. Little did he know, that his old party of many years would wage war upon him.
Please read:
https://open.substack.com/pub/arabellasmith/p/sea-biscuit-the-race-is-not-over?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
And re polling:
https://open.substack.com/pub/arabellasmith/p/yankee-doodle-polling-today?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Also know, that many, young & old are aware of this malfeasance as noted by these young reporters, 9 days ago : https://youtu.be/BLL3lkZ1eQU?feature=shared
You're joking, right? If you're serious, I can only suppose you get your news from RT. The DNC should ignore Kennedy because he's not a Dem. Kennedy has never run for any office as a Democrat.
Kennedy is a right wing, conspiracy, lunatic, funded by far right wing sources with dark money likely from Russian sources. I wish Jamie Harrison would go to Sizzler and eat at the buffet for 5 hours. Then he should go on Kennedy's yatch, drop his drawers, take a deuce on the deck, and tell Kennedy it's a gift from democrats who are disgusted by his lies about the DNC.
Kennedy is a disgrace to his family who were military and Congress members before thinking they were Presidential material. You do know that JFK was in the House of Representatives and Senate before running for President. He was in the Navy too. Does Jr. think sailing on his yatch is good experience for POTUS? RFK was in the military, Senate, then AG before running for POTUS.
Jr is a Republican hack job, as you will see today. Sorry, but I'm sick of hearing about yatch boy on his SS Worm Brain complaining about the DNC when he's never even attempted to run for any office to show he's good leader.
You are entitled to your opinion, even if it is wrong. Rfk jr is a man who fought for years against giants like Monsanto on behalf of poisoned people. And he, who has continued, like his father & uncle in fighting for rights & commin decency. He should be applauded. Instead, he is SMEARED & CENSORED because the DNC have wanted him out of the way--at any cost! He threatens the oligarchy & apparently threatens you. What the DNc has done translates to lying, cheating & stealing.
RFK was a stalking horse for Trump and now that he hasn't a chance is joining Trump. Andrew Mellon donated $50 mill to Trumps election and $25 mill to RFK's.
He smears himself.
If only he had continued his laudable work while heading an environmental organization! His recent turns in focus have spoiled his legacy & harmed the overall welfare of the US, democracy & environment, very much like Elon Musk.
RFK Jr is a malicious fraud. This is why Trump likes him.
Rfk jr is standing up to the DNC who have been SMEARING, CENSORING & BLOCKING BALLOTS. All of those actions are NOT DEMOCRATIC. Rfk jr tired of the DNC shitting upon him. & upon our Constitution.
If anyone is not democatic Zara tis you. You support and defend dictators be it Putin or Trump.
Folks we have here, in the form of Zara the screen name, another Putin troll.
They are not aware, or ignore that RFK Jr is a Trump humper, that Andrew Mellon who funded him, has donated twice theamount ($50 mill) to Trump.
That RFK dropped out of the race and is throwing his support to Trump,and Trump and Putin are fuck buddies, as is Trump and Netanyahu.
Steve Bannon (of the Cambridge analytica fame) is the one who told him to run as a "chaos candidate". That tells you everything you need to know about that fool.
Rfk jr has nothing to do with Bannon & your invoking that name shows your weak, inane need to malign a man who has done more for advocacy & cleaning up the planet, than you in your "ethereal" role will ever accomplish in your life..
Folks~ we have here a William Ferar who supports McCarthyism & will point a finger at anyone who challenges status quo, by calling them pinko commie.
LOL. Here we have Zara, a limited intellect with a limited repetorie reaching into the old wornout dust bag of emotional epthets to shut down the opposition.
Sorry you miserable Putin apologist, invoking MCarthy doesn't work.
Folks we have a William feral Ferar who supports McCarthyism & points a finger calling anyone who differs in opinion, a pinko commie.
Wow you are so excited and beside yourself that you posted the same thing twice. Troubled much.?
You can't help but expose yourself Tom High. "liberal left" heaved like an epithet.
Poor poor Putinists being ridiculed by truth.
Tom High, seeking succor wherever he can find. All I can say is that Putin was thrilled with RFK and Jill Stein,anyone that can take votes away from his fellaltor in chief, Trump
https://www.pbssocal.org/shows/democracy-now/clip/why-jill-stein-attended-moscow-dinner-with-putin-and-flynn
You, Jill Sthttps://www.pbssocal.org/shows/democracy-now/clip/why-jill-stein-attended-moscow-dinner-with-putin-and-flynnein, Mike Flynn and Putin
WellTom, whatever you say! The Tribe is alive and, at last, fighting back!
Tom is a very persistent champion of Putin, Zen master is just one of his epithets, a favorite response is Comedy Gold.
I think it is operating out of Vladivostock Play book, it has trigger words, that they are sure that liberals will reflexively react to like imperialism, empire, neo liberal, neo conservative, racism.. they can throw any of those terms at a liberal and almost be guaranteed to change the subjec and put us on the defensive, the latest charge is McCarthyism.
You have the right idea, own and strike back, they don't know what to do.
Tom thinks has me by the short and curlies, by hurling ridiculous epithets, searching for a trigger
Say it loud. Trump is a traitor to the USA.
So is Tom High. He uses liberal trigger words to recruit for Jill Stein who is a Putin assett
https://www.pbssocal.org/shows/democracy-now/clip/why-jill-stein-attended-moscow-dinner-with-putin-and-flynn
Malignant narcissist trump has always been unfit for public service because he's never been psychologically capable of serving anyone except himself.
https://samray.substack.com/p/the-trump-playbook-is-an-illusion
"But the president (Trump) was unclear on whether or not he believed Putin's denials, saying at the time: "Every time [Putin] sees me he says, 'I didn't do that' and I really believe that when he tells me that, he means it."
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, criticized the comments, saying in a statement: "There's nothing 'America First' about taking the word of a KGB colonel over that of the American intelligence community."
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/trump-clarifies-comments-putin-says-i-m-u-s-intel-n819986
Sam, I read your article you linked us to. It is insightful- the best theory I’ve heard for why so many follow Trump. Just subscribed to your Substack. Thank you!
Thank you for your kind words & subscription. Indeed narcissist psychology provides so many answers we have all been searching for.
Some individuals are leaders, many more are followers. Is it nature or nurture? I don't know. What I do know is that leaders who carry scriptures are dangerous--unless the scripture is the Constitution of the USA.
Here are many obscured scientific answers to your nature/nurture questions.
Sam, Thank you for the link to your Trump not-a-playbook. It continues to amaze me and is sadly a testament to the sorry state of MSM and the professional muzzle that has been placed upon the psychology and medical professions that in discussions with others, many people, even those somewhat up to speed with portions of Project 2025, give me looks of bewilderment when I mention Trump’s various mental states and deficiencies because those states and deficiencies are the big elephant in the room MSM purposely avoids covering or glosses over as “ramblings”. ‘Trump being Trump, nothing new here, nothing to see here, move along.’
So well said!
Trump is a “clear and present danger” who “we the people” must never allow to get near the presidency again.
It’s amazing that Kamala Harris had to add the “peaceful transfer of power” as a principle of America’s democratic strength. This is something we always assumed was a given for our democracy, something we didn’t need reminding of — until now!
Former Trump Staffer Reveals How Putin Played Him Like a Puppet
Former national security adviser H.R. McMaster says Russian President Vladimir Putin preyed on Donald Trump’s “ego and insecurities.”
https://newrepublic.com/post/185116/hr-mcmaster-putin-manipulated-trump-ego
Danny, there’s a photo of Putin and Trump leaving their secret meeting at the White House. Putin looks like the cat that swallowed the canary and Trump looks like he just got spanked. Ever since then, I’ve believed that Putin has some pretty choice blackmail material on Trump and Trump knows it. It’s typical KGB strategy and Lord knows there’s likely plenty of “Kompromat” from which to choose!
Yet Senate Republicans refused to impeach him--even after Jan 6, 2021. They are enablers and traitors themselves.
Trump did it because Republicans emboldened him. They are all traitors.
Trump the traitor. Worthy of a bumper sticker. the Prosecutor vs the Felon,worthy of another.
New bumper sticker:
Harris for President
Trump for Jail
Cheers... GH
And despite that fact he's not the one in jail? And this sets an example for why the system doesn't work which is part of the basis for his support to the claim that the system doesn't work. It's really pretty simple. With enough under educated individuals out there in the world it makes sense. Is there another politician that admits that the system is. broken? Why else would Trump still be running around, not locked up and taking down the government....unless the laws were being played and the system broken. Trump is the problem and the problem is not being.solved despite every legitimate reason to do so.
Yep. And the reason why Henry? The system is bought. It was designed that way.
The founders didn't give us a Democracy, the gave us a Republic, Ben Franklin said so.
You don't know what a Republic is, then read Plato's Republic or anything about the old, pre Empire, Roman Republic. It is a rule by wise men. Meaning rule by free wealthy men.
We did not become a Democracy until the 15th, 17th and finally the 19th Amendments were ratified.
Our politicians are bought and paid for, that is how they get elected, the masters they serve are the ones who financed them.
Till Trump showed up on the scene, our choice was between the lesser of two evils that served the paymasters.
But Trump has shifted the ground under our feet, there is now a very obvious evil, and a threat to all, to democracy,and to freedom, and that threat is Donald John Trump.
What ever deficits, what ever problems, what ever criticisms of the Democratic party, and I have scores, this is no time to kvetch, bitch, complain, because the MAGAt threat, the Project 25/Agenda 47, Trump threat of theocratic fascism is real.
This is the last chance to save us from a theocratic dictatorship, a 4th Reich of the Rich.
Smokey: I’ve already had my car keyed for two bumper stickers that don’t even name a progressive candidate or cause. “Resist” and “facts matter.” Interesting that the perp even knew what or whom I was resisting.
Word. Trump humpers are crazy, absolutely irrational.
Smokey, that one comment alone is an utter condemnation of modern America.
My deep concern is that all of these magats that are being placed in election centers will not ratify the winner if it's not Trump. What do we do then?
My hope, of course, is that there is such a blue landslide that they won't matter.
Tina ; we had a remedy in our Constitution that remains unavailable to US ; The fourteenth amendment, section 3 disqualification clause. The present traitors of the MAGA 6 on the Supreme court have blocked this remedy from being used, They are all disqualified, as is plain to see, and must be removed, (or at least balanced with those who have not violated the law). We have to get past this log jam in our justice system! Our Congress is also full of such disabled and disqualified criminals. We need to clean house! without an effective justice system, we are doomed to be at the mercy of treasonous poisonous criminals.
Laurie, my reading of that amendment is that it is not up to the Supreme Court to decide, but that it is automatic & compulsory. If an officer of the government violates their oath of office, they automatically are expelled & prevented from seeking office again. This applies to the President, to members of Congress & the Supreme Court justices themselves.
I guess the question is how serious does that breach oath of office have to be. Do we want to expel a government employee for any minor, trivial violation? However, planning & inciting an insurrection against the Capitol & refusal to certify a legitimate election are pretty obviously worthy of expulsion. So is passing on classified intelligence to international adversaries, I should think, as well as accepting lavish bribes & refusing to recuse oneself from judging a case in which one has an obvious conflict of interest.
Jaime ; Retired Judge J. Michael Luttig had said that the Supreme court should have ruled on the case, invoking the 14th amendment section 3 ; before the election. tRUMP should not have been on the ballot. There is plenty of evidence of criminality. the documents case alone was open and shut. The one man crime wave, supported by his sycophants could have and should have been stopped. The evidence was overwhelming. Hopefully, we will now see a new era of Justice in the U.S.A.
They are all guilty, guilty and guilty. The supreme court betrayed their oaths of office ( the MAGA 6 did). Members of Congress who refused to certify the election also violated their oaths of office ; hardly an unserious offense. There was a county commissioner from New Mexico who was removed from office and barred from running again for office, because he violated the 14th amendment section 3 disqualification clause, by participating in an insurrection after having taken an oath to uphold the Constitution. There was a time when that would have set a precedent that could be followed. Precedent and the rule of law are ignored by these 6 "justices".
Let's not forget the trove of highly TOP SECRET codeword classified documents he took to Mara Lago. Any other offender would have waited in jail for justice to address the crime. But he and MAGA and his "rigged" courts and SCOTUS were also complicit in the shame and treachery. Apparently classified information isn't worthy of protection anymore. Mishandling it is certainly not prosecutable.. It's treason in my book. And now SCOTUS sanctions treason by trump. Unbelievable.
They tell BIG LIES and his MAGA followers believe them, just like Hitler said.
https://newrepublic.com/post/185116/hr-mcmaster-putin-manipulated-trump-ego
since djt is the official nominee : is he getting intel briefings?
You conveniently forget the classified documents that Joe Biden stored next to his corvette in his garage.
Please explain the similarities and differences, especially in intention between the two.
The special counsel said that Joe Biden would have been prosecuted except for the fact that he was a befuddled old man with memory issues.
Robert Kyoung Hur (born 1973) is an American lawyer appointed by Donald Trump to serve as the United States Attorney for the District of Maryland from 2018 to 2021.
Robert Hur is a Trump humper, he had no proof that Biden had done wrong, so he used the medium that he had to slam and degrade him.
Trump is serial liar, a thief, a convicted felon, a rapist, a pervert who wants to have sex with his daughter, and has had sex with minors, grifts and steals from his vapid MAGAts, betrayed his oath of office, sold out our national security, or gave it away free, to Putin and the Saudis.and he escapes your vitriol.
You are exposed.
He was appointed by Biden’s attorney general Merrick Garland. If he us such a Trump jumper as you say, why would Merrick Garland appoint him of all people as special counsel? His report was proven true by Biden’s debate performance.
Merrick Garland is a right winger. He was vetted to Obama for SCOTUS, by Orrin Hatch. At the time Hatch R-UT was the most right wing senator in Congress. Merrick also was an employee of the Federalist Society, serving as a moderator.
Obama, a naif, simply wanted a win, to be able to say that he appointed a Supreme Court Justice, he was not a liberal, not by along shot. He was editor of the Harvard Law Review and was known as a conservative. He remade his image for politics.
Biden's failing is that he learned the wrong lessons in the Senate. He was mentored by racist Dixiecrats and learned compromise bipartisanship. To compromise with evil, makes one evil. One does not compromise with evil
Biden thought that by nominating a conservative AG, he would prove that he was not self servicing and vindictive like Trump, an Anti Trump,he even went out of his way to keep hands off the DOJ. Foolishly, because the DOJ is a cabinet position and is there to help the President execute the laws of congress (the duty of the Executive,it is in the name)
Bill Barr and Trump used the DOJ and the Cabinets as they were intended, to help him govern.
Presidents have cabinets and advisers because they are not all powerful and all knowing,and have to delegate, The same way Corporations and the military delegate authority, not responsibility.
Biden has paid mightily for his foolish belief in bipartisanship as Merrick Garland, the right wing extremist,has turned his guns on Biden,with Robert Hur and David Weiss, while letting Trump and the seditionist plotters in Congress off the hook.
Try again Troll.
Marty, you willfully ignore the most important fact in this case: Biden returned the documents when requested, Trump did not. What's your excuse?
You have not once indicated trump has any bad appearance or actually took the documents. It's all about deflect/deny/deceive/distract the attention away from your self-interest over national-interest guy.
Never heard of that apple v oranges thing I see.
Joe Biden had documents from when he was a senator. Now senators are never allowed to take documents out of the SCIF. So no it’s not apples and oranges. In fact, the special counsel said that the reason that he didn’t bring charges against Joe Biden is because he is an old man with a failing memory and therefore would be hard to convict.
Marty, you’re fixating on one phrase by a partisan politician. Think about the bigger picture. Did Biden store his “purloined” documents in a public place like Mar-a-Lago? Did he refuse to give them back? Did he have his minions return some boxes while hiding others? Did he claim in court that he had declassified the documents and thus they were his? No, Biden just returned the documents and THAT’S why he isn’t belong prosecuted.
Yes! Biden is old but he is honest. Trump is an aging, fraudulent narcissist
Bluke is quite obviously a Trump/Putin troll. As we get closer to November 5th more and more of them will show up distracting liberals and trying to recruit voters for Jill Stein https://www.pbssocal.org/shows/democracy-now/clip/why-jill-stein-attended-moscow-dinner-with-putin-and-flynn
There is no argument or discussion with them, they are on a mission. Expose them, not engage.
Did you read the special counsels report? It said that Joe Biden wasn’t being prosecuted because he would present to the jury as an elderly man with memory issues.
And not being a person with any training in that field it was propagandic of him to inject his personal opinion. He also admitted later parts of his statement were incorrect (lies).
https://www.yahoo.com/news/robert-hur-admits-telling-biden-194407679.html?guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAJG_qTBeTc1WcJcXYkxYIlcvOcN4l8lXcV_qjwVcuUFBwggWnolqZLLvLupWMGJNUkN2SNd5K11SJrghzM1S9IIPRSGwQ1I_0XNQvonaIbXRD1-qwlURVzFbcPoMciTMBOWXJY5gj790YUMYw8jO6ezhxqk7-laDor5q94sUpBBO
No, he wasn’t a partisan politician he was a special counsel appointed by none other then the attorney general Merrick Garland. Not only that, but his assessment of Joe Biden was proven correct and that’s why Joe Biden is not the nominee.
A garage in Delaware is not a very secure place.
Changing the subjects, both sides ism, benefits Trump, benefits Putin. Thanks for telling us who you are. At least Joe didn't show them to Putin and the Saudis like Trump
Meanwhile, in the real world, it’s Joe Biden’s awful foreign policy which led to Putin invading Ukraine.
Now we know you are a troll.
Poor innocent Putin, forced to invade Ukraine, Putin the victim. Biden did nothing at all to "force" Putin to invade Ukraine.
Putin is a mass murder, a war criminal, he has his opponents assassinated, even had a helicopter pilot who defect and fled to Spain, shot, he has committed innumerable crimes against humanity. He steals from his own people, to construct and maintain innumerable dachas to house his wife,children and mistresses.
He suppresses speech, imprisons opponents imprisons people who speak out against him and his war, controls the media, Poisons his opponents, throws them out windows, blows up their planes and kils them in prison.
Great man Putin.
No one said he isn’t a mass murderer or a dictator. But the bottom line is that when Trump was president he didn’t invade anywhere. It’s only because Joe Biden is so weak that he felt he had the opportunity to invade Ukraine.
It is the Republican Party itself that is shameful. Now accepting undemocratic ideas and tolerating a felon leading it. Never forget that.
They have been doing it since at least Ronny Rat Raygun.
The legal cases have been in for some time. The 34 felonies. The judgement for E. Caroll. Just the beginning of evidence that insists the Democrats do not have to hold back on language for all of it. We cannot think this is a normal time. Unfortunatley we are in a war internally the American people have to win. A sociopath is different from the general population. They do not have guilt.
Poking fun and derision seems harmless enough : but there is the fact that tRump allowed the separation of babies from their mothers ; (even if nursing). and taken from fathers as well. one young man , after learning that his wife was deported and his very young daughter was taken away, never to be seen again, committed suicide. If "camps" are established for the deportation of "illegal immigrants", how do we know if tRUMP will do what Hitler did, when he started to deport even those who were born and brought up in Germany? That could be done here: he seems to keep the playbook on his bedside stand. He used a guy named Miller to oversee these separations, giving himself deniability. He is not a harmless, but uncouth bumbler. He is a traitor in the sense that the term was used centuries ago; and these traitors were executed, because freedom was hard won, and not to be taken lightly, or disrespected. The very least that should happen is for traitors to be jailed, without parole nor pardon.
Right on, Laurie. He caused much suffering and his handling of Covid caused millions of deaths.
He is not a harmless clown: he has murdered many, with "deniability' : using his big fat hateful mouth to encourage hate crimes, against people shopping for groceries while being Black or worshipping while being Jewish, or going out to a concert or bar because he did not like your orientation. Or being Asian and female, while being in a beauty parlor. Or seeking legal asylum in the United States. Or simply getting a prescribed vaccine.
Laurie, the exonerated five spoke last night and I was in tears. The orange man wanted them dead! Not only that he still says they are guilty even though a man confessed and his DNA matched! Trump has no soul. He is so full of poisonous hate he cannot stop his whining, insulting, stupid mouth!! I hope that every single minority group in this country will join Democrats and send a blue tidal wave to wash him out in November! Vote blue, America!
Peggy: my cable carrier, Spectrum, did not allow DVR users to record last night's coverage of the Democrat Convention. I will Google it. Or find it elsewhere. I wish our progressive Mayor or Governor could get us better choices in our state.
Laurie, I ditched my cable because it had become outrageously expensive! I kept my internet and use my Roku TV. I can get news channels live coverage. I cannot record anything but I can pull it up later and watch it. When I cancelled my cable and just went with the internet, I cut my bill in half and then some!
We used Roku for awhile, but I did not want to spend time looking at seemingly endless commercials. Also, In our area the reception sometimes was not there. It was spotty. I just may get tired enough of Spectrum to end it though. Thanks for the reminder that there is another option. Saving money is good sometimes.
Trump is a rot in the White Confederacy that votes for him.
Our Freedoms have been taken advantage of by the people who have corrupt intentions. That’s how Trump was able to become the American Frankenstein. Hopefully the American people will unite against this tyranny and our democracy will prevail. Law and Order has to be restored and enforced on all perpetrators regardless of how rich or popular they are! Equal justice has to be the way forward.
Keith Olson : yes, we need justice! Real, genuine jurisprudence, and we need it now.
Simply, he is a national security threat who has become more & more dangerously manic.
"A clear and present danger."
https://newrepublic.com/post/185116/hr-mcmaster-putin-manipulated-trump-ego
A foul, pathetic, small, ignorant, terrified man……
Thank you Professor Reich and while I agree whole heartedly with everything you have said about trump let us not forget HE IS NOT ALONE.
All the trump supporters in the House of Representatives and the Senate; the 6 dishonest judges on the Supreme Court, who willingly and readily threw aside the Constitution of the United States, the long standing laws of our land, in order to perpetuate their own status and bribe taking; every member of the Heritage Foundation and the Federalist Society; all are equally guilty of promoting and appeasing trump.
The billionaires who readily supported him to get MORE - more of everything all deserve punishment - not jail time but to be turned out of office for those elected or appointed, For the billionaires we need to break up all monopolies and enact a wealth tax.
We need to overturn Citizens United and return the elections to the people who vote for the best candidates. Where billions of dollars are not wasted on advertising on the networks,
We need to set up basic requirements for all people running for office at any level. We need to set up reasonable requirements for appointees to judgeship at all levels from Municipal to the Supreme Court.
More than anything WE the people, NOT any of the three branches of the Federal Government, nor State or local Governments; need to establish a Code of Ethics AND the punishments for not obeying those ethical behaviors.
Never again must we be under the threat of those who would treacherously throw out our Constitution and heedlessly dissolve our democratically mandated Representative Republic in favor of any form of authoritarianism.
They can’t jail him soon enough or long enough.
And his co-conspirators.