7 working class while men, 2 white woman and 1 black man came to this decision. Second jury to find him guilty. If he’s only kept his filthy yap closed he would only be out $5 million. But he had to keep yapping and throwing tantrums in view of the jury. Essentially trump screwed himself. E Jean acted with bravery, honesty and dignity. Well done E Jean.
Jeanne, you noted the composition of the jury, but what does Trump say (and his supporters believe): "They" are persecuting me, "they" are weaponizing the justice system.
It's always some sinister "they" responsible for Trump's troubles, never the man himself.
Whatever happened to the Law & Order party? Whatever happened to personal responsibility?
This wannabe dictator is willing to destroy faith in America's justice system trying to help himself. It's a disgrace.
The Supreme Court was packed with ideologues while Trump was president, with the connivance of Senator McConnell. It makes sense to many respected legal authorities to restore some measure of balance and at the same time provide for better liason with the 13 appellate courts -- by expanding the court. We could hope also for more meaningful standards of ethical behavior.
Caryn, We need only to hold our 49 Senate seats (excluding Manchin and Sinema) flip one Republican-held seat, and hold the White House so the VP can cast the tie-breaking vote for filibuster reform.
Since Trump appointees are anti Constitutional Biden should Executive Order new judges. The other party keeping power to destroy our democracy and Constitution are enemies. It is our duty to protect and defend our justice system and laws.
No there are real logistical issues regarding fair justice given the fact that we need to have as speedy a judicial service for the citizens. Considering that the population of citizens ( + Corporation “ persons) has grown to over 300 million since the last expansion of the Supreme Court, it is time to yet again add seats to body as well as a codified Supreme Court Ethical Standards for the Justices with legal consequences for behavior that is self serving & illegal for the general public.
Neil Gorsuch represents a seat that was stolen: Obama should have had his nominee selected since he still had slightly over a year to go before the end of his turn. Brett Kavanaugh was a drunk who pushed himself on women but the investigation on him was truncated so we would not discover the extent of his misbehavior. as to his 3rd appointment, Coney Barrett, Trump had announced that he would only nominate someone who would repeal Roe.
Another member is Clarence Thomas, whose wife was up to her eyeballs in the insurrection, who has received lavish undeclared 'gifts' and has refused to recuse himself even in cases where there was an obvious conflict of interest.
So yes, we can't stand them, but we have damned good reasons.
No matter how Trumpian you are, you have to admit that we have never had so many scandals around a Supreme Court as we have over this one!
Cecile, do you honestly think Democracy would be better off if Garland has been seated.
Let's take a hard look at Garland.
Obama wanted a win. He wanted so badly to say that he seated a SCOTUS justice, that he turned to the arch Right wing Senator at the time, Orrin Hatch R UT and asked for who he thought could pass muster with the Republicans and Hatch offered up Garland.
Who is Garland, well wikipedia and his web page offers little info, except he worked for the Federalist soiety as a moderator.
Get that he worked for the Federalist society as a moderator.;
Let's examine his track record.
J6 convictions all are foot soldiers, no leaders, especially not those in Congress., and most of the foot solders were tried for misdemeanors and given slaps on the wrist.
Were any of the coup conspirators in congress even investigated? No.l
How long did it take for Garland to even appoint Jack Smith? Almost two years. Hmmm.
What happened to make him appoint a special counsel? Peer pressure from jurists, and lawyers and the public. He had to do something or else his true colors showed, and what is Jack Smith doing? He is dithering and letting the clock run out, both for the statute of limitations and the election.
Has Garland appointed a special counsel to oversee the corruption of Trump and his children, especially Ivanka and Jr? No, but he wasted no time appointing David Weiss, a Trump appointee and an eager volunteer to prosecute Hunter Biden.
Let's move to the documents case. Where did the crime actually occur?
It occurred in DC when Waltine Nauta, moved the boxes from the White House to Trump's airplane.
So why did Garland move the case to Florida? He said that was were the crime occurred. He lied, he obfuscated.
And to which district in Florida did he move the case? To Aileen Cannon's district, a former magistrate judge, that Trump appointed his his last days in office.
She is not the only judge in the district, so why did Garland appoint her>
His excuse he didn't her name came up on the wheel, (named for the wheel of fortune, but not a supposed algorithm.
Aileen has stalled and delayed the trial until after the election in less than 10 months. In effect Garland is an accomplice, covering for Trump, to let him get away with Treason. There is no doubt that Trump committed treason by sharing data and doing the bidding of Putin and the Saudi's.
Consider all of that and consider Garland sitting as an associate Justice of SCOTUS. and that is off the top of my head.
I can't blame Garland alone, no more than one could blame the scorpion for stinging the frog, I do blame Obama and Biden though for nominating him for SCOTUS and appointing him as AG.
Both men are weak, compromising, facilitators when democracy needed a president with back bone.
More important, to Garland's background, I think, is that the history of the Federalist Society keeps getting white-washed. Look up Paul Weyrich on Wikipedia. Look up the CNP, including Bill Moyers: Shadow Network.
I suspect the whole thing we're going through is a long term plan of the descendants of the Nazis, who started recruiting the southerners (rich and poor, 2 groups), and CRUCIALLY: all psyop-ed by 60 years of Kremlin spies, specifically to break the USA from the inside. Just look at how Pro-putin the disinformation is...
I agree. Garland should be retired since he dragged his feet for two years over Trump resulting in this nasty fight to get him in jail before the election in 2024. That would be four years for treason and fraud lawsuits. Insurrection to steal an election for himself.
Yay!! i am all for packing the court to overrule the Fascist creeps that are the judges now. Maybe we could get ethical behavior back to the Extreme Court. Get back under your bridge.
I support it as it could help deal with the climate crisis. Not to mention all the other issues where the court is the great defender of the wealthy and pisses on our freedoms.
Robert, that's an absurdly wide-sweeping generality: "democrats want to expand and pack the court" - which democrats? Biden? the DNC? Me? you talk as if the 10s of millions of democrats all think as one and act as one, and you, Robert Brusca, know what they're all thinking.
Maybe some do, maybe someone said that somewhere, but you can't take 1 or 2 examples and stereotype half the country. That's like saying all MAGAs are stupid. Some are, some aren't.
If you're going to make statements of a political party, try to recognize that there are multiple opinions and desires inside any party. Your generalizations are useless, and make you sound like a simpleton.
There is a certain absolutist and ignorant tone (and usually a lack of spelling/grammar) from people who are just spouting what they read/watched on some 3rd rate site, the kind operated by russians/far-right and pretending to be a real news site. (Like youtu.be, instead of youtube.com)
Or they ARE the actual Trolls on those sites, getting more practice, here.
This post has those traits. I urge people to become educated and inoculated against language like this.
McConnell should be held accountable for this actions with the Scalia vacancy! Then, to push though Barrett in just days before an election is even worse! Yet, he got away with it. "Legal" I guess!!
They are enemies of democracy. Hostile as the day is long. Is this what they were taught or is it more of a personal problem ? I'm going with personal latent dislike of democratic governance but their education permeated by coporate bias and boosterism was no help either.
A rich white man being victimized..... Really? He only needs to look in the mirror to see who "they" are. He is a victim of his own laziness and carelessness. He has money and status and he has not used them well.
His SAT scores show that he did not work hard in high school and there are witnessess to his poor work ethic in college. Even as an adult, he spends hours looking at women instread of learning real world information about economics or social relationships. His only answer is to use others for his own gain. Anyone with sense would stand away from him and save their money, soul and privacy.
agreed, "Anyone with sense would stand away from him and save their money, soul and privacy."
And yet millions (tens of millions) of Americans inexplicably believe his lies, and send him money to help him fight the "Deep State" that's out to get him.
We know what Trump is, but who are these delusional people who let themselves be conned? It almost seems they WANT to be conned.
We're living in an Age of Delusion, and it'll take a huge Blue Tsunami in Nov. to flush Trumpism down the toilet. Let's hope the Biden naysayers get on board for Job Number One: Dump Trump
I wonder if even dumping him will do it, though we should definitely do so! He is determined to interject himself into our national conversation to get what he wants. I hate to think what he will do if he wins...and if he loses. We should never have given him the keys to the kingdom back in 2016. There seems to be no way to put him back in the box at this point. And what he has unleashed on this country is so, so ugly!
We didn’t give him the keys. He lost the popular vote. The obsolete and unrepresentative Electoral College handed him the keys after a 30-year Republican smear campaign against Hillary, Putin’s election interference, and Comey revealing that he was reopening an investigation into Hillary’s campaign while failing to disclose that there was an ongoing investigation of Trump gave Trump just enough votes to win the Electoral College. The majority of voters chose Hillary.
We're all a bit unique, crazy, you might say. I believe about 30% of the population has always been diagnosable. The Orange Jesus has focused their attention...
Susan, your description of those ''uglies'' supporting TUMP is an excellent description of those delusional and ignorant supporters of his. I am literally surrounded by uglies in my neighborhood.
That’s actually the least of my worries. What happens when he loses this time? Will there be another coup attempt? Or if by some ultimate dirty trick he manages to win? That’s the stuff of nightmares. I think his narcissism and criminal acts have siphoned off enough support that he doesn’t stand a chance. My bellwether is that my very Republican siblings (how did I wind up in this family?), who probably all voted for Trump the first time are not planning to vote for him again. I have respectfully not rubbed their faces in it.
He would be no where without the unending visibility provided by the media. Trump has brought the antics of fake wrestling to the ring of politics and too many profit from his shit show. And the public left and right are too willing to be held hostage and spellbound.
The woman molester represents government sanctioned bigotry for the Archie Bunkers and tax breaks for the rich . The bigots are largely losers looking for the reason they are miserable . It is the immigrants ,the Jews ,the Blacks ,the Gays etc. The wealthy don't care about the social issues. If their child is Gay so what ? If they need an abortion so what ? They just want more tax breaks ,less unions , no regulation and don't care if they destroy what is left of this democracy . Look at history Fascism comes from within ,and is supported by the wealthy .
He works on people where they feel bad,like some issue or area of their life .
It's a mind cult,he manipulates their moods from sympathy for him,to anger about how they've been left out , to a 'we' togetherness type vibe.He gives them a false hope that he'll take care of their troubles,if they only knew how full of crap he is,they'd be horrified.Like George Conway says'he walks them so far over the horizen,they can't find their way back.I've heard that even some men mentioned they were 'addicted' to him.G.C. also says,it's tough to admit they made a mistake.Imagine how many shallow folks we have in our country for them to be stuck on a criminal maniac.
Yup, AGAIN, IF the 'protest voters', and protest non-voters somehow think that Biden is evil/wrong on his stance on Israel, do they really think that Gaza has ANY chance AT ALL of surviving, PERIOD, FULL STOP, if their actions insure that the evil SHITler & his NAZI regime is installed back into power for life?!?
SCUMp would send OUR troops in there to 'sand lot' the place!
The same goes 100 fold for reproductive rights.
They have NO RIGHT to be pissed off about Dobbs when THEY themselves pulled the Jilly/3rd party, 'anti-corporatist' lever in 2016, putting the putrid orange sack of crap into power, KNOWING that he was going to appoint his 'guaranteed' Roe v Wade KILLERS on the (not so) Supreme Court.
With all due respect, when someone writes, “THINK people!!” or “WAKE UP, PEOPLE!” in a post, do you know what I do? Move on to the next post. You do know that you’re preaching to the well-educated and involved choir here, don’t you?
In was NOT 'preaching' to the (mostly?) 'devout' on here, but saying that to everyone else out there.
YES, of course they will not hear it since they would never ever be on this substack.
But, there are some (many?) on here who still do express their full, vociferous and vehement support for said third/fourth partiers due to abject disdain for Biden, and do not seem to care one iota if that results in the SHITler getting back into power FOR LIFE THIS TIME (yes, THINK about THAT!! ;) ) to hurt/destroy ALL of US!
I will admit that I personally am NOT in love with Joe, nor his campaign, but will help them out every and any way I can in order to prevent a fascist, genocidal NAZI-esque dictatorship in this land.
Con men and grifters are silver tongued. They know exactly what to say to lure people into their trap. His use of 'they' to tell his followers who is persecuting him is a tell tale sign. When asked who 'they' is, his response is to let him worry about that or you don't need to worry about who it is just know 'they' are persecuting you through me.
someone once asked Hitler to specify who "they" were: he said no, leave it open, let people project anyone they hated onto it. "They" are the bad guys, "we" are the good guys.
It's been noted several times that the only book anyone ever saw Trump reading was "Hitler's Speeches". America's Hitler knows what he's doing when he says "they" want to take away your guns and your freedom, "they" did this or that, "they" are your enemy. Trump knows what he's doing when he uses "they" 20 or 30 times in every speech.
You do have to take into account that everyone in the right wing world is lying to them, and the media is on by the right wing and the Democrats don’t seem to speak up clearly and succinctly. Still they should be able to see through the lies but the context of any oddity has been supplied to them. They really seem to believe like Nikki Haley’s political as that they are both “ consumed by, negativity and grievances from the past”. She wouldn’t have said it unless there’s a good chance they already believed it. A few times I’ve seen or heard the words from the radical right I was amazed at how overwhelming and interconnected it all was.
what's helping Trump is the "myth" of the Deep State, just like the myth of a communist conspiracy helped Sen Joe McCarthy.
fascism is all about stirring people up and giving them something to fear and someone to hate. The scariest part for me isn't Trump, but all those millions who fall for his Big Lies and buy into his fear-mongering.
He really probably killed her 2 small children as part of a cult ritual. Do you really believe Bergdorf Goodman and his sexual advances in the dressing room is the 5 million and 83 million dollar award for her suffering???
Thanks, Caroline. That is a description we do not hear often enough: the man is LAZY.
He was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and has done nothing on his own or without "OPM". (Other People's Money)
He would not even read his daily briefings and he was gone every weekend golfing. all of the things he failed to accomplish, he owes to his arrogance and laziness.
SCUMp quote about Obama; "GOLF GOLF GOLF GOLF GOLF and more GOLF!"
Like his MAGAt brown shirt 'army', and sycophantic, acquiescently prostrating themselves before their lord and king RepugnaF**K pols, they are PROUD of their hypocrisy (and projection, of course!)!!
I think Dumpy is dyslexic, and that's had an effect on every aspect of his life. His father, who taught him that winning is everything, probably either mocked or punished him for his reading difficulties, or didn't know about them because Dumpy hid them from him, knowing the consequences of being anything less than a perfect winner. I don't think that's the only problem Dumpy has, but I'll bet it's one of them. No, I'm not sympathetic towards him because of it. He's a dirtbag.
tfg suffers from, or rather we all suffer from, his narcissistic personality disorder. That means that to acknowledge his own responsibility for his situation would be too big a narcissistic wound for him to bear. The shame would overwhelm him. So he is compelled to blame anybody and everybody else for his situation. He has what is called an external locus of control, that is he can only blame others for what befalls him if its negative. That said, he functions like a toddler and that so many Americans still think a toddler should be president is what is most disturbing.
Actually, although most of us don't have much empathy for him, his behavior reflects having been badly traumatized as a child. His father was an ogre and may have repeatedly humiliated him as a small boy. This is what you get when you mistreat children.
Supposedly, (S)Hitler 1.0 was shunned and criticized by many Jewish art critics and dealers when he went to try and have his paintings shown/sold at their galleries in Austria, before he had full-on despot over the world, psychotically delusional fantasies.
So THAT was his excuse (and influence to pick us tribal members as his chosen, but well worn, popular/'go to' throughout history, scapegoat) to murder ALL of my relatives and forebears over there, and around the world, if he had his unfettered way.
Just like the scummy, putrid orange SHITler 2.0 wants HIS very own "retriBOOshun" against his perceived enemies and detractors.
Actually, Hitler's trauma also began in childhood. Apparently, his mother was a servant in a Jewish family, and the rumor was that the man of the house impregnated her, thus making him half Jewish. He was also mistreated as a child, probably because of his mother's "crime". Most of these guys who end up being sadistic toward others, have probably been mistreated pretty severely in childhood. So, once again. It's the price we all pay for the widespread child abuse that continues to this day.
agreed. So how did this "entitled toddler" (to use David Hinkes' phrase) make it all the way into the White House. What does that say about America? Is there some kind of American dream that he's modelling? To lie and cheat your way to success?
To me he's a walking definition of narcissistic psychopath. And he's rewarded for it!
Actually, I think he reflects the kind of man many people have in their lives and he epitomizes toxic masculinity. People who support him often can't see his disturbed personality because either they are like him, or he is like their fathers, sons, brothers, etc. To see how disturbed he is means a person would have to acknowledge how disturbed they themselves are or how damaged the men around them are. On top of that, he has given permission to many people to openly express their basest selves, which was hidden beneath a thin veneer. Our culture also celebrates this kind of childish, boorish behavior in men. We often give these kind of man a pass.
I have been writing a series of posts that try to explain how and why so many Americans have fallen into the Trump Trance. There isn't just one MAGA voter; there are several subsets, and I think you've raised an important point of psychological identification with Trump's "toxic masculinity." You reminded me of his series of NFTs (?) with all his Macho Man costumes and poses.
I think I'll write a post along these lines too. Wondering if you've got some good sources: books, sites, etc? I like to put some research behind my writing. thanks again for your insight.
I was a psychotherapist in my work life- now retired. So I studied many psychological and social theories, as well as working with people who struggled with this kind of presentation and teaching clinical theory, so my analysis is the result of a compilation of all of that. There are feminists who've written about male psychological development, like Nancy Chodorow. Robert Jenson http://robertwjensen.org/ is a retired professor who writes about feminism and how men have been hurt by our sexist system. I work from a theory of psychotherapy called Control Mastery Theory offered by the San Francisco Psychotherapy Research Group sfprg.org a theory supported by 60 years of research that explains how kids identify with their abusive parents and why they behave in adulthood like those parents. It also helps explain why so many people continue the abusive behavior toward others, as well as not allowing themselves to see that what they experienced in childhood was abuse. It helps explain also why so many MAGAs don't or can't see the disturbed behavior for what it is.
Since Trump announced his candidacy for the presidency in 2015, I have been trying to understand how and why America (at least a large swath of America) made the choice to elect him to the highest office in the land. I have read many, many books in an attempt to understand what has happened to the country, starting with "Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man" by Mary Trump, as well as "The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump," edited by Bandy X. Lee, "American Psychosis" (excellent) by David Korn, "Strongmen" by Ruth Ben-Ghiat (also excellent), "Prequel" (outstanding!) by Rachel Maddow in addition to countless other titles. Perhaps one of the most illuminating moments was an interview with Trump supporters prior to the Iowa caucus who basically stated that following Trump was akin to being a member of a religion. Quite frankly, that made my blood run cold. I can only come to the conclusion that people have many reasons for their infatuation with Trump but most are based on a steady diet of disinformation - heartbreaking!
He has no responsibility or accountability and never will. He's already played the blame game and victim long enough and the many years of free passes with a two- tier justice system, has made him only worse. The revenge- seeking, felonious madman with a toddler mindset will eventually fall on his phony makeup covered face and it can't happen soon enough.
It is not surprising to me that throughout his life entire life Trump has never taken full responsibility for any of his actions, words or deeds. In short like a dictator he is a delusional self-servicing egomaniac who believes that he can do no wrong. He will stop at nothing to get his way which makes him an ongoing threat and danger to our democracy.
His niece Mary Trump (who grew up in Trump-world) calls it "lying and cheating as a way of life." And it got him into the White House, so I don't see him stopping now. Only a huge Blue Tsunami in November can shut down this man-baby psychopath.
"Personal responsibility" ONLY 'counts' when the defendant is a POC, or any 'other', according to the SHITler worshiping MAGAts and ChristoFASCISTS.
It is summarily suspended, never mentioned, or not even considered by the NAZI scum when it is a (supposedly) wealthy, lily white supremacist/pure Aryan, CIS, misogynistic, racist, fascist. bullying male. ;)
Trumps base is far too small for him to win with. They will not admit their big mistake and cannot be moved, but the base will not expand as the headlines now are about his guilt, complaining, tearing down the judiciary and mocking a jury of regular people. He is bleeding money, credibility, and sanity. Show the GOP congresspeople that they will go down with him. When the enemy is bleeding, we need to act like sharks, circle around him, churn the water, and keep attacking at the wound.
I agree DK, for the first time in a long time, Trump is becoming vulnerable (and visibly declining) so it's time to attack.
I remember Michelle Obama's line about "when they go low, we go high" - but maybe now we need to meet them on their own field - maybe not fight dirty, but it's time to pull out every tool in the chest and attack, attack, attack.
"They" (the law) should have put Trump in jail for treason and fraud on Jan. 7th waiting trial. The three years and still going cases are not justice for the people but coddling Trump.
he got away with lying and cheating all his life, but Karma will eventually catch up to him. unless he kicks the bucket first, which is fine either way.
Old saying: the mills of God grind exceeding slow, but they grind exceeding small.
It is difficult to read the article and not recognize Trump:
If you have a rare mental illness called delusional disorder, no amount of facts and reason can shake your thinking."
(Even after 61 different judgements told him that yes, he had lost the election, he still says that he won... All his entourage told him that he lost, but he still refuses to believe it)
"The most common is delusions of persecution. It’s when you’re convinced that someone is mistreating, conspiring against, or planning to harm you".
("Stop the Steal" and the Jan 6 insurrection. He sees every loss in a court of law as unfair, every jury or election is "rigged" against him.)
"Another type is grandiose delusions, where you have an unrealistically inflated sense of yourself or your achievements."
(I alone can fix it... I know better than my Generals... I would finish the war in Ukraine in 24 hours).
"Someone with persecutory delusions might seem normal. But if their delusions are severe enough, they might become obsessed to the point that it disrupts their everyday life". Trump is so obsessed by the various trials that he spends many a night tweeting. He seems incapable of thinking about a platform to govern from, like rules or laws to pass that might be useful. He seems consumed with convincing people that he has been wronged and little else. Pushing Republicans to scuttle a deal on the border so that it might hurt Biden is a variation on that theme. Hoping that the country hits a recession [but before his reelection] is too, and is particularly malevolent. His vindictiveness is IMHO another symptom that he really believes the nonsense he spouts.
"The state of your mind can also play a part in triggering delusions of persecution. It’s more likely to happen if you are overly sensitive to criticism or tend to misinterpret other people’s comments or gestures", "have trouble sleeping". (Melania stated: If you attack him, he will punch twice as hard. Also, anyone criticizing him is instantly criticized, or fired.)
"They also tend to lack strong personal relationships and are often physically unwell".
(A lot of ink has been spilled over Trumps relationships being only "transactional", and his aides being thrown under the bus as soon as they do not serve his purpose any more.)
In America we never used to persecute deposed political leaders even those who could run again. I get that Trump is a jerk and a narcissist. and if the Democrats had a reasonable candidate they would kick his a$$. but...they have Joe Biden. and i would pick Trump over him 8 days out of seven.
The only significance I see is that it's a good time to move on and consider >important critical issues.< How is Tovarich МАГАт's sanction in a personal injury lawsuit worth discussion as a TX МАГАт governor is thumbing his nose at the SCOTUS, Tovarich МАГАт recommending МАГАт-run states deploy their National Guards to TX to assist in resisting federal intervention, the Tovarich МАГАт run House is vowing to block legislation addressing the southern border and blame the Democrats for doing nothing on the issue, while their greatest ally, Tovarich Putin, has announced he has his eye on Alaska ‽ BTW: AND WHAT THE HELL OF UKRAINE ‽‽‽ OK. It was a satisfying outcome in the Carroll case. Glad he's been wholloped. What more is there to say? Move on from the schadenfreude. There are far greater issues developing at this very moment as others fester.
UPDATE - STRANGE BEDFELLOWS! :
I just saw an MSNBC clip of Nikki Haley where it almost sounds like I wrote her response on this issue for her! I'm >certain< it's not the other way around!
Should Trump's name be allowed to appear on the ballot--At first I considered it as a fitting move by whoever was in charge at the time, but I'm having second thoughts. For one thing, it would piss off his voters and that's not a good thing. It wouldn't really make a difference in the vote totals, because his followers would simply write in his name. Now here is where I see a change of heart. Trump will get his votes whether he is on the ballot or not, but counting those ballots because they will all be write-ins, is a different story. They will all have to be counted by hand. Do you know how long it would take to count 70,000,000 votes, all by hand? The very process would open huge doors all leading to voter fraud and election tampering. I really don't want him even in the race but to make things easier all the way around, don't give the MAGA goons anything to rally around. Let his name appear on the ballots.
The Supreme court cannot change the Constitution. They can make a very bad call ; as they did with the reversal of Roe. Even though there is no penalty for them on the books, they will live in infamy forever. Women are dying as a direct result of it. If they give us a dictator, there will be blood ; lots of it, on their hands. Many of US still hate their previous decisions ; giving US G. W. Bush, and Citizens United, for example.
I think it could potentially lead to a different МАГАт winning the election. Biden would need to redouble his effort in proving he's physically and mentally sound enough to remain in office - and of course, he has >nothing< to do with Tovarich МАГАт being the victim of his own criminality. The Levant question may cause him serious public perception difficulties. He's having a hard enough time to get support for his border policy from МАГАт - at the behest of Tovarich МАГАт - wanting to ensure his hands are tied, then using the lack of action against him in the election. Hell! Even Moscow Mitch seems to have flipped on him.
One thing seems to have changed about him. In all the recent stills I've seen of him - since his "accident" - he looks alarmed. I could suspect someone has hold of a soft body part and threatening to twist - or sustain accidental injury!
If you recall, I asked a couple of weeks ago, when Colorado dumped him from the ballot, what happens then? The question now awaits a SCOTUS ruling.
My guess remains that the SCOTUS will behave consistently conservative and kick the question back to the states, not only because it's a 10th Amendment issue, but more importantly because the text of the Constitution specifies that each state has the authority to run its own elections - not the federal government.
Having said that, if states run their own elections, there's nothing that prevents the states from opting not to offer a write in option, or otherwise honor unapproved write in candidates in general elections. (NH was a primary election under party rules - not state rules, per se. Keep that in mind.)
Your observation that write-ins could lead to a goddam mess is an issue I doubt that states >excluding< Tovarich МАГАт would fail to notice and move to prevent. States' rules, remember.
However, you asked if I think states >should< exclude Tovarich МАГАт from the ballot, and I wonder if it would lead to electing a МАГАт that is >not< Tovarich МАГАт, given that - at this juncture - Tovarich МАГАт >may< be the only opponent Biden could possibly beat. Run someone against Biden voters would be comfortable electing and it may be the end of Biden. Removing Tovarich МАГАт could possibly be an empty exercise in schadenfreude, for which the voters could end up literally getting >exactly< what they deserve.
I'm still of two minds on the >should< question, but that's what I think at this moment about write-in votes for Tovarich МАГАт.
7 working class while men, 2 white woman and 1 black man came to this decision. Second jury to find him guilty. If he’s only kept his filthy yap closed he would only be out $5 million. But he had to keep yapping and throwing tantrums in view of the jury. Essentially trump screwed himself. E Jean acted with bravery, honesty and dignity. Well done E Jean.
Jeanne, you noted the composition of the jury, but what does Trump say (and his supporters believe): "They" are persecuting me, "they" are weaponizing the justice system.
It's always some sinister "they" responsible for Trump's troubles, never the man himself.
Whatever happened to the Law & Order party? Whatever happened to personal responsibility?
This wannabe dictator is willing to destroy faith in America's justice system trying to help himself. It's a disgrace.
Destroying faith in the judiciary is a prime goal of the would be dictator. Well known to scholars of autocracy.
really? democrats want to expand and pack the court because they cant stand the justices who are there.
The Supreme Court was packed with ideologues while Trump was president, with the connivance of Senator McConnell. It makes sense to many respected legal authorities to restore some measure of balance and at the same time provide for better liason with the 13 appellate courts -- by expanding the court. We could hope also for more meaningful standards of ethical behavior.
First we have to have 60 senators to pass the bill. Otherwise it’ll die in committee
Caryn, We need only to hold our 49 Senate seats (excluding Manchin and Sinema) flip one Republican-held seat, and hold the White House so the VP can cast the tie-breaking vote for filibuster reform.
Since Trump appointees are anti Constitutional Biden should Executive Order new judges. The other party keeping power to destroy our democracy and Constitution are enemies. It is our duty to protect and defend our justice system and laws.
No there are real logistical issues regarding fair justice given the fact that we need to have as speedy a judicial service for the citizens. Considering that the population of citizens ( + Corporation “ persons) has grown to over 300 million since the last expansion of the Supreme Court, it is time to yet again add seats to body as well as a codified Supreme Court Ethical Standards for the Justices with legal consequences for behavior that is self serving & illegal for the general public.
Neil Gorsuch represents a seat that was stolen: Obama should have had his nominee selected since he still had slightly over a year to go before the end of his turn. Brett Kavanaugh was a drunk who pushed himself on women but the investigation on him was truncated so we would not discover the extent of his misbehavior. as to his 3rd appointment, Coney Barrett, Trump had announced that he would only nominate someone who would repeal Roe.
Another member is Clarence Thomas, whose wife was up to her eyeballs in the insurrection, who has received lavish undeclared 'gifts' and has refused to recuse himself even in cases where there was an obvious conflict of interest.
So yes, we can't stand them, but we have damned good reasons.
No matter how Trumpian you are, you have to admit that we have never had so many scandals around a Supreme Court as we have over this one!
Cecile, do you honestly think Democracy would be better off if Garland has been seated.
Let's take a hard look at Garland.
Obama wanted a win. He wanted so badly to say that he seated a SCOTUS justice, that he turned to the arch Right wing Senator at the time, Orrin Hatch R UT and asked for who he thought could pass muster with the Republicans and Hatch offered up Garland.
Who is Garland, well wikipedia and his web page offers little info, except he worked for the Federalist soiety as a moderator.
Get that he worked for the Federalist society as a moderator.;
Let's examine his track record.
J6 convictions all are foot soldiers, no leaders, especially not those in Congress., and most of the foot solders were tried for misdemeanors and given slaps on the wrist.
Were any of the coup conspirators in congress even investigated? No.l
How long did it take for Garland to even appoint Jack Smith? Almost two years. Hmmm.
What happened to make him appoint a special counsel? Peer pressure from jurists, and lawyers and the public. He had to do something or else his true colors showed, and what is Jack Smith doing? He is dithering and letting the clock run out, both for the statute of limitations and the election.
Has Garland appointed a special counsel to oversee the corruption of Trump and his children, especially Ivanka and Jr? No, but he wasted no time appointing David Weiss, a Trump appointee and an eager volunteer to prosecute Hunter Biden.
Let's move to the documents case. Where did the crime actually occur?
It occurred in DC when Waltine Nauta, moved the boxes from the White House to Trump's airplane.
So why did Garland move the case to Florida? He said that was were the crime occurred. He lied, he obfuscated.
And to which district in Florida did he move the case? To Aileen Cannon's district, a former magistrate judge, that Trump appointed his his last days in office.
She is not the only judge in the district, so why did Garland appoint her>
His excuse he didn't her name came up on the wheel, (named for the wheel of fortune, but not a supposed algorithm.
Aileen has stalled and delayed the trial until after the election in less than 10 months. In effect Garland is an accomplice, covering for Trump, to let him get away with Treason. There is no doubt that Trump committed treason by sharing data and doing the bidding of Putin and the Saudi's.
Consider all of that and consider Garland sitting as an associate Justice of SCOTUS. and that is off the top of my head.
I can't blame Garland alone, no more than one could blame the scorpion for stinging the frog, I do blame Obama and Biden though for nominating him for SCOTUS and appointing him as AG.
Both men are weak, compromising, facilitators when democracy needed a president with back bone.
More important, to Garland's background, I think, is that the history of the Federalist Society keeps getting white-washed. Look up Paul Weyrich on Wikipedia. Look up the CNP, including Bill Moyers: Shadow Network.
I suspect the whole thing we're going through is a long term plan of the descendants of the Nazis, who started recruiting the southerners (rich and poor, 2 groups), and CRUCIALLY: all psyop-ed by 60 years of Kremlin spies, specifically to break the USA from the inside. Just look at how Pro-putin the disinformation is...
I agree. Garland should be retired since he dragged his feet for two years over Trump resulting in this nasty fight to get him in jail before the election in 2024. That would be four years for treason and fraud lawsuits. Insurrection to steal an election for himself.
Yay!! i am all for packing the court to overrule the Fascist creeps that are the judges now. Maybe we could get ethical behavior back to the Extreme Court. Get back under your bridge.
I support it as it could help deal with the climate crisis. Not to mention all the other issues where the court is the great defender of the wealthy and pisses on our freedoms.
Robert, that's an absurdly wide-sweeping generality: "democrats want to expand and pack the court" - which democrats? Biden? the DNC? Me? you talk as if the 10s of millions of democrats all think as one and act as one, and you, Robert Brusca, know what they're all thinking.
Maybe some do, maybe someone said that somewhere, but you can't take 1 or 2 examples and stereotype half the country. That's like saying all MAGAs are stupid. Some are, some aren't.
If you're going to make statements of a political party, try to recognize that there are multiple opinions and desires inside any party. Your generalizations are useless, and make you sound like a simpleton.
All Mega are self serving grifters.
That has nothing to do with the comment you’re replying to
There is a certain absolutist and ignorant tone (and usually a lack of spelling/grammar) from people who are just spouting what they read/watched on some 3rd rate site, the kind operated by russians/far-right and pretending to be a real news site. (Like youtu.be, instead of youtube.com)
Or they ARE the actual Trolls on those sites, getting more practice, here.
This post has those traits. I urge people to become educated and inoculated against language like this.
McConnell should be held accountable for this actions with the Scalia vacancy! Then, to push though Barrett in just days before an election is even worse! Yet, he got away with it. "Legal" I guess!!
They are enemies of democracy. Hostile as the day is long. Is this what they were taught or is it more of a personal problem ? I'm going with personal latent dislike of democratic governance but their education permeated by coporate bias and boosterism was no help either.
and Clarence Thomas is the poster boy for corruption at the highest level.
SCOTUS was supposed to be one of the checks & balances on executive power; instead, it's reward for party loyalists.
ps, also note Trump's luck: 3 SCOTUS picks in 1 term. probably unprecedented.
Like RW Netanyahu of Israeli Zionism. He wants to destroy the justice system to keep him out of jail.
A rich white man being victimized..... Really? He only needs to look in the mirror to see who "they" are. He is a victim of his own laziness and carelessness. He has money and status and he has not used them well.
His SAT scores show that he did not work hard in high school and there are witnessess to his poor work ethic in college. Even as an adult, he spends hours looking at women instread of learning real world information about economics or social relationships. His only answer is to use others for his own gain. Anyone with sense would stand away from him and save their money, soul and privacy.
agreed, "Anyone with sense would stand away from him and save their money, soul and privacy."
And yet millions (tens of millions) of Americans inexplicably believe his lies, and send him money to help him fight the "Deep State" that's out to get him.
We know what Trump is, but who are these delusional people who let themselves be conned? It almost seems they WANT to be conned.
We're living in an Age of Delusion, and it'll take a huge Blue Tsunami in Nov. to flush Trumpism down the toilet. Let's hope the Biden naysayers get on board for Job Number One: Dump Trump
I wonder if even dumping him will do it, though we should definitely do so! He is determined to interject himself into our national conversation to get what he wants. I hate to think what he will do if he wins...and if he loses. We should never have given him the keys to the kingdom back in 2016. There seems to be no way to put him back in the box at this point. And what he has unleashed on this country is so, so ugly!
We didn’t give him the keys. He lost the popular vote. The obsolete and unrepresentative Electoral College handed him the keys after a 30-year Republican smear campaign against Hillary, Putin’s election interference, and Comey revealing that he was reopening an investigation into Hillary’s campaign while failing to disclose that there was an ongoing investigation of Trump gave Trump just enough votes to win the Electoral College. The majority of voters chose Hillary.
Those uglies supporting Trump have always been around under different circumstances. Trump just empowered them and enabled violence as a tool.
We're all a bit unique, crazy, you might say. I believe about 30% of the population has always been diagnosable. The Orange Jesus has focused their attention...
Susan, your description of those ''uglies'' supporting TUMP is an excellent description of those delusional and ignorant supporters of his. I am literally surrounded by uglies in my neighborhood.
I am afraid if he loses this next election that he will run again. And he will be a slobbering mindless idiot that his base will still get behind
That’s actually the least of my worries. What happens when he loses this time? Will there be another coup attempt? Or if by some ultimate dirty trick he manages to win? That’s the stuff of nightmares. I think his narcissism and criminal acts have siphoned off enough support that he doesn’t stand a chance. My bellwether is that my very Republican siblings (how did I wind up in this family?), who probably all voted for Trump the first time are not planning to vote for him again. I have respectfully not rubbed their faces in it.
He would be no where without the unending visibility provided by the media. Trump has brought the antics of fake wrestling to the ring of politics and too many profit from his shit show. And the public left and right are too willing to be held hostage and spellbound.
The woman molester represents government sanctioned bigotry for the Archie Bunkers and tax breaks for the rich . The bigots are largely losers looking for the reason they are miserable . It is the immigrants ,the Jews ,the Blacks ,the Gays etc. The wealthy don't care about the social issues. If their child is Gay so what ? If they need an abortion so what ? They just want more tax breaks ,less unions , no regulation and don't care if they destroy what is left of this democracy . Look at history Fascism comes from within ,and is supported by the wealthy .
He works on people where they feel bad,like some issue or area of their life .
It's a mind cult,he manipulates their moods from sympathy for him,to anger about how they've been left out , to a 'we' togetherness type vibe.He gives them a false hope that he'll take care of their troubles,if they only knew how full of crap he is,they'd be horrified.Like George Conway says'he walks them so far over the horizen,they can't find their way back.I've heard that even some men mentioned they were 'addicted' to him.G.C. also says,it's tough to admit they made a mistake.Imagine how many shallow folks we have in our country for them to be stuck on a criminal maniac.
Yup, AGAIN, IF the 'protest voters', and protest non-voters somehow think that Biden is evil/wrong on his stance on Israel, do they really think that Gaza has ANY chance AT ALL of surviving, PERIOD, FULL STOP, if their actions insure that the evil SHITler & his NAZI regime is installed back into power for life?!?
SCUMp would send OUR troops in there to 'sand lot' the place!
The same goes 100 fold for reproductive rights.
They have NO RIGHT to be pissed off about Dobbs when THEY themselves pulled the Jilly/3rd party, 'anti-corporatist' lever in 2016, putting the putrid orange sack of crap into power, KNOWING that he was going to appoint his 'guaranteed' Roe v Wade KILLERS on the (not so) Supreme Court.
Hindsight bemoaning does NO GOOD AT ALL!
THINK people!!!
With all due respect, when someone writes, “THINK people!!” or “WAKE UP, PEOPLE!” in a post, do you know what I do? Move on to the next post. You do know that you’re preaching to the well-educated and involved choir here, don’t you?
In was NOT 'preaching' to the (mostly?) 'devout' on here, but saying that to everyone else out there.
YES, of course they will not hear it since they would never ever be on this substack.
But, there are some (many?) on here who still do express their full, vociferous and vehement support for said third/fourth partiers due to abject disdain for Biden, and do not seem to care one iota if that results in the SHITler getting back into power FOR LIFE THIS TIME (yes, THINK about THAT!! ;) ) to hurt/destroy ALL of US!
I will admit that I personally am NOT in love with Joe, nor his campaign, but will help them out every and any way I can in order to prevent a fascist, genocidal NAZI-esque dictatorship in this land.
When you look at a bunch of MAGA men do you ever wonder how many of them have assaulted women? He is their hero.
it's also revolting how this lying cheating misogynist creep is the Hero of so many "Christians" and religious leaders.
But religiosity brings with it a cult mentality. Easier to con.
Con men and grifters are silver tongued. They know exactly what to say to lure people into their trap. His use of 'they' to tell his followers who is persecuting him is a tell tale sign. When asked who 'they' is, his response is to let him worry about that or you don't need to worry about who it is just know 'they' are persecuting you through me.
someone once asked Hitler to specify who "they" were: he said no, leave it open, let people project anyone they hated onto it. "They" are the bad guys, "we" are the good guys.
It's been noted several times that the only book anyone ever saw Trump reading was "Hitler's Speeches". America's Hitler knows what he's doing when he says "they" want to take away your guns and your freedom, "they" did this or that, "they" are your enemy. Trump knows what he's doing when he uses "they" 20 or 30 times in every speech.
Well said!!
You do have to take into account that everyone in the right wing world is lying to them, and the media is on by the right wing and the Democrats don’t seem to speak up clearly and succinctly. Still they should be able to see through the lies but the context of any oddity has been supplied to them. They really seem to believe like Nikki Haley’s political as that they are both “ consumed by, negativity and grievances from the past”. She wouldn’t have said it unless there’s a good chance they already believed it. A few times I’ve seen or heard the words from the radical right I was amazed at how overwhelming and interconnected it all was.
It just may be the “Deep State” helping Trump.
what's helping Trump is the "myth" of the Deep State, just like the myth of a communist conspiracy helped Sen Joe McCarthy.
fascism is all about stirring people up and giving them something to fear and someone to hate. The scariest part for me isn't Trump, but all those millions who fall for his Big Lies and buy into his fear-mongering.
I’m betting 90% of his supporters don’t even know who Joe McCarthy was.
That's been fox noise and repugs message for at least 40 years. "Tune in and we'll tell you who to hate and what to fear" gross and pitiful they are.
He really probably killed her 2 small children as part of a cult ritual. Do you really believe Bergdorf Goodman and his sexual advances in the dressing room is the 5 million and 83 million dollar award for her suffering???
yes, that's it, "he gave them permission." He actually encourages it.
Thanks, Caroline. That is a description we do not hear often enough: the man is LAZY.
He was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and has done nothing on his own or without "OPM". (Other People's Money)
He would not even read his daily briefings and he was gone every weekend golfing. all of the things he failed to accomplish, he owes to his arrogance and laziness.
And he slammed Obama for years for taking a few golfing vacations during the Obama presidency. Hypocrite much?
SCUMp quote about Obama; "GOLF GOLF GOLF GOLF GOLF and more GOLF!"
Like his MAGAt brown shirt 'army', and sycophantic, acquiescently prostrating themselves before their lord and king RepugnaF**K pols, they are PROUD of their hypocrisy (and projection, of course!)!!
I think Dumpy is dyslexic, and that's had an effect on every aspect of his life. His father, who taught him that winning is everything, probably either mocked or punished him for his reading difficulties, or didn't know about them because Dumpy hid them from him, knowing the consequences of being anything less than a perfect winner. I don't think that's the only problem Dumpy has, but I'll bet it's one of them. No, I'm not sympathetic towards him because of it. He's a dirtbag.
He was born with a silver spoon somewhere…
Caveat: 'with any sense'.
tfg suffers from, or rather we all suffer from, his narcissistic personality disorder. That means that to acknowledge his own responsibility for his situation would be too big a narcissistic wound for him to bear. The shame would overwhelm him. So he is compelled to blame anybody and everybody else for his situation. He has what is called an external locus of control, that is he can only blame others for what befalls him if its negative. That said, he functions like a toddler and that so many Americans still think a toddler should be president is what is most disturbing.
A SPOILED, entitled toddler at that!
Actually, although most of us don't have much empathy for him, his behavior reflects having been badly traumatized as a child. His father was an ogre and may have repeatedly humiliated him as a small boy. This is what you get when you mistreat children.
the sins of the father..............
Yes!
YES,
Also;
Supposedly, (S)Hitler 1.0 was shunned and criticized by many Jewish art critics and dealers when he went to try and have his paintings shown/sold at their galleries in Austria, before he had full-on despot over the world, psychotically delusional fantasies.
So THAT was his excuse (and influence to pick us tribal members as his chosen, but well worn, popular/'go to' throughout history, scapegoat) to murder ALL of my relatives and forebears over there, and around the world, if he had his unfettered way.
Just like the scummy, putrid orange SHITler 2.0 wants HIS very own "retriBOOshun" against his perceived enemies and detractors.
Actually, Hitler's trauma also began in childhood. Apparently, his mother was a servant in a Jewish family, and the rumor was that the man of the house impregnated her, thus making him half Jewish. He was also mistreated as a child, probably because of his mother's "crime". Most of these guys who end up being sadistic toward others, have probably been mistreated pretty severely in childhood. So, once again. It's the price we all pay for the widespread child abuse that continues to this day.
agreed. So how did this "entitled toddler" (to use David Hinkes' phrase) make it all the way into the White House. What does that say about America? Is there some kind of American dream that he's modelling? To lie and cheat your way to success?
To me he's a walking definition of narcissistic psychopath. And he's rewarded for it!
Actually, I think he reflects the kind of man many people have in their lives and he epitomizes toxic masculinity. People who support him often can't see his disturbed personality because either they are like him, or he is like their fathers, sons, brothers, etc. To see how disturbed he is means a person would have to acknowledge how disturbed they themselves are or how damaged the men around them are. On top of that, he has given permission to many people to openly express their basest selves, which was hidden beneath a thin veneer. Our culture also celebrates this kind of childish, boorish behavior in men. We often give these kind of man a pass.
very insightful, J.
I have been writing a series of posts that try to explain how and why so many Americans have fallen into the Trump Trance. There isn't just one MAGA voter; there are several subsets, and I think you've raised an important point of psychological identification with Trump's "toxic masculinity." You reminded me of his series of NFTs (?) with all his Macho Man costumes and poses.
I think I'll write a post along these lines too. Wondering if you've got some good sources: books, sites, etc? I like to put some research behind my writing. thanks again for your insight.
I was a psychotherapist in my work life- now retired. So I studied many psychological and social theories, as well as working with people who struggled with this kind of presentation and teaching clinical theory, so my analysis is the result of a compilation of all of that. There are feminists who've written about male psychological development, like Nancy Chodorow. Robert Jenson http://robertwjensen.org/ is a retired professor who writes about feminism and how men have been hurt by our sexist system. I work from a theory of psychotherapy called Control Mastery Theory offered by the San Francisco Psychotherapy Research Group sfprg.org a theory supported by 60 years of research that explains how kids identify with their abusive parents and why they behave in adulthood like those parents. It also helps explain why so many people continue the abusive behavior toward others, as well as not allowing themselves to see that what they experienced in childhood was abuse. It helps explain also why so many MAGAs don't or can't see the disturbed behavior for what it is.
Since Trump announced his candidacy for the presidency in 2015, I have been trying to understand how and why America (at least a large swath of America) made the choice to elect him to the highest office in the land. I have read many, many books in an attempt to understand what has happened to the country, starting with "Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man" by Mary Trump, as well as "The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump," edited by Bandy X. Lee, "American Psychosis" (excellent) by David Korn, "Strongmen" by Ruth Ben-Ghiat (also excellent), "Prequel" (outstanding!) by Rachel Maddow in addition to countless other titles. Perhaps one of the most illuminating moments was an interview with Trump supporters prior to the Iowa caucus who basically stated that following Trump was akin to being a member of a religion. Quite frankly, that made my blood run cold. I can only come to the conclusion that people have many reasons for their infatuation with Trump but most are based on a steady diet of disinformation - heartbreaking!
I think it says that for the past 50 years elected leaders in Congress have mistreated Americans.
"The shame would overwhelm him" - correction: he can't feel shame. But being a loser cuts deep.
He has no responsibility or accountability and never will. He's already played the blame game and victim long enough and the many years of free passes with a two- tier justice system, has made him only worse. The revenge- seeking, felonious madman with a toddler mindset will eventually fall on his phony makeup covered face and it can't happen soon enough.
sooner better than later, because if he gets in in November, well, we can't let it happen.
Tim Snyder (in On Tyranny) said that any election can be the last.
It is not surprising to me that throughout his life entire life Trump has never taken full responsibility for any of his actions, words or deeds. In short like a dictator he is a delusional self-servicing egomaniac who believes that he can do no wrong. He will stop at nothing to get his way which makes him an ongoing threat and danger to our democracy.
Catherine K.
His niece Mary Trump (who grew up in Trump-world) calls it "lying and cheating as a way of life." And it got him into the White House, so I don't see him stopping now. Only a huge Blue Tsunami in November can shut down this man-baby psychopath.
Good read. Well recommended !!
"Personal responsibility" ONLY 'counts' when the defendant is a POC, or any 'other', according to the SHITler worshiping MAGAts and ChristoFASCISTS.
It is summarily suspended, never mentioned, or not even considered by the NAZI scum when it is a (supposedly) wealthy, lily white supremacist/pure Aryan, CIS, misogynistic, racist, fascist. bullying male. ;)
Trumps base is far too small for him to win with. They will not admit their big mistake and cannot be moved, but the base will not expand as the headlines now are about his guilt, complaining, tearing down the judiciary and mocking a jury of regular people. He is bleeding money, credibility, and sanity. Show the GOP congresspeople that they will go down with him. When the enemy is bleeding, we need to act like sharks, circle around him, churn the water, and keep attacking at the wound.
I agree DK, for the first time in a long time, Trump is becoming vulnerable (and visibly declining) so it's time to attack.
I remember Michelle Obama's line about "when they go low, we go high" - but maybe now we need to meet them on their own field - maybe not fight dirty, but it's time to pull out every tool in the chest and attack, attack, attack.
All hands on deck.
Use a whinny voice and say , “They’re persecuting me” “they’re weaponizing the justice system” and end with mommy and you have the emotional IQ of DT.
"They" (the law) should have put Trump in jail for treason and fraud on Jan. 7th waiting trial. The three years and still going cases are not justice for the people but coddling Trump.
he got away with lying and cheating all his life, but Karma will eventually catch up to him. unless he kicks the bucket first, which is fine either way.
Old saying: the mills of God grind exceeding slow, but they grind exceeding small.
tRump doesn't have any.
And this is a perfect example of delusions of persecution.
https://www.webmd.com/schizophrenia/delusions-persecution
It is difficult to read the article and not recognize Trump:
If you have a rare mental illness called delusional disorder, no amount of facts and reason can shake your thinking."
(Even after 61 different judgements told him that yes, he had lost the election, he still says that he won... All his entourage told him that he lost, but he still refuses to believe it)
"The most common is delusions of persecution. It’s when you’re convinced that someone is mistreating, conspiring against, or planning to harm you".
("Stop the Steal" and the Jan 6 insurrection. He sees every loss in a court of law as unfair, every jury or election is "rigged" against him.)
"Another type is grandiose delusions, where you have an unrealistically inflated sense of yourself or your achievements."
(I alone can fix it... I know better than my Generals... I would finish the war in Ukraine in 24 hours).
"Someone with persecutory delusions might seem normal. But if their delusions are severe enough, they might become obsessed to the point that it disrupts their everyday life". Trump is so obsessed by the various trials that he spends many a night tweeting. He seems incapable of thinking about a platform to govern from, like rules or laws to pass that might be useful. He seems consumed with convincing people that he has been wronged and little else. Pushing Republicans to scuttle a deal on the border so that it might hurt Biden is a variation on that theme. Hoping that the country hits a recession [but before his reelection] is too, and is particularly malevolent. His vindictiveness is IMHO another symptom that he really believes the nonsense he spouts.
"The state of your mind can also play a part in triggering delusions of persecution. It’s more likely to happen if you are overly sensitive to criticism or tend to misinterpret other people’s comments or gestures", "have trouble sleeping". (Melania stated: If you attack him, he will punch twice as hard. Also, anyone criticizing him is instantly criticized, or fired.)
"They also tend to lack strong personal relationships and are often physically unwell".
(A lot of ink has been spilled over Trumps relationships being only "transactional", and his aides being thrown under the bus as soon as they do not serve his purpose any more.)
Delusions of persecution: check
Narcissist: check
To me it goes beyond that: he's a textbook psychopath.
But I'll let the readers here decide for themselves:
here are 7 characteristics of a psychopath: is Trump a Psychopath?
https://neofascism.substack.com/p/is-donald-trump-a-psychopath
In America we never used to persecute deposed political leaders even those who could run again. I get that Trump is a jerk and a narcissist. and if the Democrats had a reasonable candidate they would kick his a$$. but...they have Joe Biden. and i would pick Trump over him 8 days out of seven.
Next up. NY trial that could really put the screws to him financially 😉
I forecast he will not pay one cent of these damages. He crawled away from Atlantic City without a look back so he has form !!
Oh, I hear you. But he is overdue for karma in some form. I chose to remain optimistic that he will get his due, either financially or legally.
"overdue for karma"
yes, and hopefully before November
That may be true. But he crawls away covered in toxic sludge.
The only significance I see is that it's a good time to move on and consider >important critical issues.< How is Tovarich МАГАт's sanction in a personal injury lawsuit worth discussion as a TX МАГАт governor is thumbing his nose at the SCOTUS, Tovarich МАГАт recommending МАГАт-run states deploy their National Guards to TX to assist in resisting federal intervention, the Tovarich МАГАт run House is vowing to block legislation addressing the southern border and blame the Democrats for doing nothing on the issue, while their greatest ally, Tovarich Putin, has announced he has his eye on Alaska ‽ BTW: AND WHAT THE HELL OF UKRAINE ‽‽‽ OK. It was a satisfying outcome in the Carroll case. Glad he's been wholloped. What more is there to say? Move on from the schadenfreude. There are far greater issues developing at this very moment as others fester.
UPDATE - STRANGE BEDFELLOWS! :
I just saw an MSNBC clip of Nikki Haley where it almost sounds like I wrote her response on this issue for her! I'm >certain< it's not the other way around!
Question--
Donald Hodgins <silencenotbad@gmail.com>
3:00 PM (0 minutes ago)
Should Trump's name be allowed to appear on the ballot--At first I considered it as a fitting move by whoever was in charge at the time, but I'm having second thoughts. For one thing, it would piss off his voters and that's not a good thing. It wouldn't really make a difference in the vote totals, because his followers would simply write in his name. Now here is where I see a change of heart. Trump will get his votes whether he is on the ballot or not, but counting those ballots because they will all be write-ins, is a different story. They will all have to be counted by hand. Do you know how long it would take to count 70,000,000 votes, all by hand? The very process would open huge doors all leading to voter fraud and election tampering. I really don't want him even in the race but to make things easier all the way around, don't give the MAGA goons anything to rally around. Let his name appear on the ballots.
But even if they vote for him he can’t hold office. The 14th Amendment says so.
Paula--SCOTUS will no doubt have something to say about that.
The Supreme court cannot change the Constitution. They can make a very bad call ; as they did with the reversal of Roe. Even though there is no penalty for them on the books, they will live in infamy forever. Women are dying as a direct result of it. If they give us a dictator, there will be blood ; lots of it, on their hands. Many of US still hate their previous decisions ; giving US G. W. Bush, and Citizens United, for example.
Laurie--I could never fear the constitution, but caution must be given to avoid bad calls.
I shudder to think, Donald.
Paula--It does give one something to think about.
I say he should not be on it. It would make a mockery out of the Presidency, Constitution, and rule of law. Justice Matters as Glenn Kirschner says.
I think it could potentially lead to a different МАГАт winning the election. Biden would need to redouble his effort in proving he's physically and mentally sound enough to remain in office - and of course, he has >nothing< to do with Tovarich МАГАт being the victim of his own criminality. The Levant question may cause him serious public perception difficulties. He's having a hard enough time to get support for his border policy from МАГАт - at the behest of Tovarich МАГАт - wanting to ensure his hands are tied, then using the lack of action against him in the election. Hell! Even Moscow Mitch seems to have flipped on him.
Moscow Mitch can’t be trusted. Ever.
One thing seems to have changed about him. In all the recent stills I've seen of him - since his "accident" - he looks alarmed. I could suspect someone has hold of a soft body part and threatening to twist - or sustain accidental injury!
Dawn--I can't argue with you because in a way I agree with you. The handwritten ballots are problematic at best.
If you recall, I asked a couple of weeks ago, when Colorado dumped him from the ballot, what happens then? The question now awaits a SCOTUS ruling.
My guess remains that the SCOTUS will behave consistently conservative and kick the question back to the states, not only because it's a 10th Amendment issue, but more importantly because the text of the Constitution specifies that each state has the authority to run its own elections - not the federal government.
Having said that, if states run their own elections, there's nothing that prevents the states from opting not to offer a write in option, or otherwise honor unapproved write in candidates in general elections. (NH was a primary election under party rules - not state rules, per se. Keep that in mind.)
Your observation that write-ins could lead to a goddam mess is an issue I doubt that states >excluding< Tovarich МАГАт would fail to notice and move to prevent. States' rules, remember.
However, you asked if I think states >should< exclude Tovarich МАГАт from the ballot, and I wonder if it would lead to electing a МАГАт that is >not< Tovarich МАГАт, given that - at this juncture - Tovarich МАГАт >may< be the only opponent Biden could possibly beat. Run someone against Biden voters would be comfortable electing and it may be the end of Biden. Removing Tovarich МАГАт could possibly be an empty exercise in schadenfreude, for which the voters could end up literally getting >exactly< what they deserve.
I'm still of two minds on the >should< question, but that's what I think at this moment about write-in votes for Tovarich МАГАт.
DZK--I had no idea states could remove the option of a write-in candidate on a Presidential ballot.