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Anyone else have "This time it's serious for Trump" fatigue? I truly want to believe this time is different, but my god, even if that's true, what a stain on this country's supposed interest in law and justice his reign has been. I fear the damage has already been done, that even some type of eventual punishment will still prove you can live a lavish life of wealth and power up to your mid-70's being a despicable, ruthless, lawless bully as long as you threaten people, pay them off, and make the wealthy even wealthier.

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77 years is upper 70s. Yes, generational wealth, white male status, position in society all have protected Trump thus far. The times are a changing’ as the old song states. Maybe someday, our caste system will break way into a more equitable, fair system for all. It takes struggle, democracy actions, reforms of all sorts in the midst of major climate change that brings more disruption , tragedy, and chaos. DJT is a chaos maker, too. Chaos serves him and destroys reasonable actions by those who are just worn out. But never ever give up, keep on in the marathon folks! The bigger they are the harder they fall.

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As bad and horrible and ABOMINABLE as the trump years have been, keep in mind that Trumplicans make up only 25% of the nation and Bunkerboy SUPPORTERS in HIS party only make up 40%! It's BAD for that morbidly obese, dementia-ravaged "fucking moron."

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founding

@Daniel. I believe you have the right statistics there. By the numbers that guy can't get elected. But I continue to worry about how much damage will be done just if he RUNS! Even only 40% of the Republican Party members support him, this is enough to control the nomination process and put Trump in the front of our politics again (still) AND enough to drive his fund raising AND enough to drive the really crazy 23% of citizens to, and over, the boundaries of peaceful political activity. Can we stop him from running?

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Trump was a symptom of decline.

Money too much of it in politics.

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Money in politics is not what got Trump elected or keeps his base loyal despite his lies, narcissism, and stupidity. Many of his cult followers are poorly educated have have been negatively impacted by illegal immigration and free trade agreements. They don't like being looked down upon by the "elites" and being called deplorables. It's his ability to appeal to their bigotry and sense of victimhood that keeps his base loyal.

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Hey Chris -- those illegal immigrants are the workers who keep MAGA-Central Florida's economy running. When they are kept from entering, that's when these cultists will be negatively impacted.

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Four decades ago a person with a high-school education could work in the trades and support a family. Today many of those jobs are done by recent immigrants who will work for much less than American-born workers. Home construction in my area is mostly done by Hispanics. They are willing to work outside in miserable weather, work long hours and weekends. Great deal for upper-middle class consumers like myself but what about the guys who used to do these jobs? They are the Trump supporters.

Similarly free trade agreements have killed manufacturing in the US. Manufacturing job are traditionally well paying jobs for people with a HS education. In 1989 there were over 20 million manufacturing jobs in the US. Now there are fewer than 15 million. As a consumer I love all the inexpensive products I can purchase but many of the Americans who used to work in manufacturing are now Trump supporters.

Money controls both the Republican and Democrat parties but the big Republican doners bailed on Trump before the 2016 election. Most of his contributions are small doners. His average donation is $34.

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Sad but true. You voiced the problem very well.

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Great comment, Chris! Back in the 50's, 60's and early 70's people could get good jobs with or without a HS diploma. Maybe in a factory under less than idea conditions but the jobs paid a living wage. Plus they were unionized.

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The loss is entirely dure to Republican resentment. And those folks vote against their own economic and physical health.

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Agree. Send them home to the Country's who have been negatively impacted by the USA!

Corporations will have to do some work like increasing wages?

Bring on the Unions.

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Dnkarr

I live in Tampa. Without Mexico you could not get a new roof on your house, or your crops picked, or a million other dirty jobs. Money does rule politics. You can't run a national or even local campaign without buckets of money. Money, in fact, rules us all from Wall Street to Main Street.

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Everything in the USA IS about money always has been.

Why do you have such poor education?

I don't blame them for feeling 'marginalized' by so-called Dem elites. When HC called them 'deplorables' I wanted to spit in her face.

Most of you in the US took no notice of politics. I lived there for 22yrs. When GWBUSH got in we left. NOT many would talk about politics because they knew nothing.

As for immigration............who are doing the jobs most Americans do not want to do?

IF all illegal immigrants were sent home tomorrow USA would collapse.

I don't care about DT he is a 'symptom' that is all.

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J ennifer,,, The MAMMONITES ! , Keep CRAULIN' ... oN ! ( Or,,, try TO ! )

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Aug 12, 2023·edited Aug 13, 2023

He’s been nicknamed Teflon Don for a reason and the damage has already been done.

Donald is a symptom of a diseased version of capitalism where corporations and fetuses are people, the planet is burning and fossil fuel burning company ‘leaders’ celebrate the heat waves that make people crank up the AC.

Good luck humanity. Not disappointed that I won’t be around to see it get really bad.

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founding

@Ian. I'm really sorry that I can't argue with your perspective on this... It's really terrible.

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“This time it’s serious…” is as tiresome as *Rump’s flaunting his disdain for the rule of law. I’ll believe he’ll be held accountable when it happens, and not a moment before. He has more ways of turning adversity into advantage than Carter’s got liver pills.

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On "wokeness" and evangelicals: I try to keep a close ear on the broadcasts of Christian nationalists and their Christian opponents, which the theocrats call "progressives."

There are convulsions going on now in that world. Increasing millions of young people are staying away from churches, and so the theocrats (Christo-fascists) are targeting more efforts at the schools, ideally to "transform" (destroy) the public education system and replace it with taxpayer-funded religious charter schools. Education is one of the "seven mountains" in the "dominionist" game plan.

Vote Common Good has a great podcast series on "Confronting Christian Nationalism." I view Christian nationalism as the root cause behind the erosion of our democratic principles.

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Then you make commitments to get your kids into a private school that exposes indoctrination/grooming education! Public education is guaranteed under Constitution & should not be available for crazies to manipulate the curriculum/federal education standards.

Taxes are part of being a citizen & contributes to the WHOLE of society, not just for separate groups. Paying taxes for Public Education shouldn’t mean those groups can manipulate the curriculum. Leave the education job to the persons educated/qualified to do. They all have supervision & it should not be the groups doing the supervision. If we don’t like Public system, choose Private! Not rocket Science! 🤪 Public Education is not a political tool for others to manipulate. Or shouldn’t be🫣!

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Ie: If your paranoid of Trans, Homos, or different cultures, maybe you & yours should hop on Elons next space trip ??🤪

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Define "Woke" for me Jerry. Are you insane? I live in Florida with an insane anti-woke governor. You can have him.

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And where did you learn that, JerryM?

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In the bot dorm where he lives.

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Were you trolling CNN too?

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I grew up in an evangelical church. I’ll just say I stopped going and leave it there.

DeSantis banning Romeo and Juliet now? Total insanity there as far as I’m concerned.

Trump is literally incapable of obeying Judge Chutkan or anyone else. He’s proved that over and over. I hope she stays tough and punishes him when he inevitably targets and threatens even more people.

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Heather Cox Richardson post this just this morning. I think it applies perfectly to people in your cult: "As I try to cover the news tonight, I am struck by how completely the Republican Party, which began in the 1850s as a noble endeavor to keep the United States government intact and to rebuild it to work for ordinary people, has devolved into a group of chaos agents feeding voters a fantasy world."

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The party of Lincoln.....My God! What has it evolved into besides the Nazi Party? Fascism is alive and well here in the USA. Fascism is a symbiosis between capitalism and government. It is racism and militarism, but fascists love big business since they can get them to do what they want for a price.

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Trumphumpers 2.0

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Jerry....you are not trolling are you?

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Trolling for you is coming on a progressive blog and making dumb, right wing statements just for the effect. You want to "own the libs" or scream about "woke". You want attention then to a right wing blog. I am sure you can find one.

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Aug 12, 2023·edited Aug 12, 2023

Maybe only 26 minutes but I would rather read it than sit and watch. Can you post transcripts please?

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yes, i can read better than I can hear...transcripts or closed captioning?

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AMEN

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I see this as an extra, to hear Robert & Heather speak. To those who don't have the time or inclination to join them with a cup of coffee, I say skip it. It really is a recap of what has been discussed in the forum during the week & is expecting too much for them to do even more work. They are providing something 7 days a week. I really enjoy it.

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I prefer to listen, but optional closed captioning would be good for those that prefer to read.

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I don't have time to listen to or read at speaking speed something I could read as transcript in a fraction of the time, This newsletter loses me on Saturdays.

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That’s the thing, this is not a newsletter, it is more of a podcast. I am not sure what it takes to produce a transcript but I know Steve Schmidt started providing one when some people complained about having to listen.

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Google speech technology probably makes transcription easier than it used to be, Rick Bonin. NPR and Pacifica now do it fast routinely. Of course you're right re podcast vs newsletter.

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I hope every person who has common sense and is not a fanatic refuses to vote for the crazies that too many Republicans have become.

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Folks have to know,a vote for R is a vote for autocracy.

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I have presented Shakespeare's sonnets in class, had my students edit the cover of my work " The Sonnet Collection of William Shakespeare: Translated and Analyzed," which they were very excited to be a part of. I also read excerpts from Hamlet, I will never refrain fro teaching the works of the Bard in the Florida education system.

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founding

Fantastic! Stand your ground! I applaud your love of Shakespeare - and of education. These edicts have to be called out - they are begging to be called out.

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Then let him make his point with his jails filled with English Teachers. They'll be right next to the cell blocks filled with Librarians. Good company if you ask me.

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I won't lose my job but DeSantis will lose his, forget his failed presidential run!

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The only house he's going to is a roach motel!

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RedElisa ! AS it is written ,,, Even THAT HOUSE ! , Will FALL !

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The GOP has already turned toward fascism; in fact ,they are already there. No real challenges to tRump are allowed on the ballot against him. Death threats against those who oppose him have already happened. Once respected Republicans have been forced out, by threats of being primaried . He is a mob boss who will stop at nothing to 'win' . The majority of voters will not vote for him!

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Agree, Laurie, but The majority of voters voted against him in 2016 - and he still won. The GOP with a strong help from ALEC have twisted a majority of States so the Electoral College is still against us.

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Yes, tired of seeing the former President on TV! The media is playing right into his hands!

Inflation is still around as food prices are crazy! Interests rates are high and some people are increasing their debt giving huge profits to the corporations! This must stop! The middle class and poor are hurting! This coming week, he will be indicted in Georgia so # 4 is coming! It’s not a boring summer!

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Lisa is right: "The media is playing right into [Trump's] hands!"

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The more or less suicide of a disloyal veteran and anarchist when he chose to shoot at the FBI after making threats to murder Biden and multiple prosecutors is accurate.

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I’m trying to be optimistic tha t at least one conviction!

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How can Jack Smith lose,he's a shark going for the jugular.The defense of this oversized goon even went on national TV and showed how brainless he is.

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He is biting into a blue whale with tons of blubber to protect him. By blubber I mean MONEY.

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The fact is that the FBI was alerted to Robertson by Trump's Truth Social -- via his posts threatening violence.

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If you strip away the context and just look at the words, the GOP is waging a war on being awake. It makes sense -- you'd have to be asleep to vote for them.

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Great economy? For whom? Not the lower 60%. Nothing changes. The wealthy continue to pillage and the income and wealth gap widens. These things could have been done by an administration that cared about we the people:

1. Take the side of unions and workers against pillaging big business consistently

2. Impose a windfall profits tax against big oil and other conglomerates that dominate their industries without competition. This was mentioned, no action.

3. Reverse the tax cuts that Trump created for the Rich and for corporations.

4. Increase inheritance tax and eliminate loopholes for the Rich

5. Re-impose the restrictions on stock buybacks that were eliminated under Reagan.

6. Cut the defense budget in half. 850 billion us defense budget makes no sense when Russia is increasing its budget to 100 billion and china's defense spending will be 223 billion. Pay the 400 billion saved directly to us citizens as checks.

7. Introduce 100% medical/dental/ vision care/prescription drug fully paid healthcare for all for basic care: physicals, Dr visits, first aid. People can buy insurance for more than this. This would be a needed stepping stone towards healthcare for all. Those will lead to Medicare savings down the road.

8. Impose rent controls and build lots of affordable public housing. Don't contract it to corporations; create a public works and create jobs for builders to build without CEOs pillaging.

9. Introduce a maximum wage at 20 x lowest paid worker for any company or corporation that is hired via government contracts. This will help level the playing field.

10. Pay off all student debt. Make student loans interest free and allow students to get out from under debt via bankruptcy. Many so called Rich people are Rich because they escaped debt via bankruptcy. Why not students?

There is more to be done for we the people. Biden's program is window dressing and never helps the lower 60%

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Do not allow equity groups to buy houses. The house sit empty. Housing should provide a place for people to live. It should not be an investment vehicle.

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Totally Agree! Good Points all around👍

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founding

Global Climate Disaster. We need to correct our language. We need to NOT fall into using descriptions of the global climate disaster that does not make clear that human lives are being lost, our favorite vacation destinations are being forever ruined, plants and animals are facing widespread extinction and the physics of climate and weather have been ALREADY changed irrevocably. It's a Global Climate Disaster.

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The war on "woke" is directed at destroying the development of a thinking mind. The earlier you can feed the mind fat, the quicker the arteries will clog. And than you are left with a sedentary slug who will accept without question even the most dubious of declarations. ((like I really won, like Hunter's laptop is an equal problem to a group of people intent on overthrowing a presidential election even after 60 court defeats, like believing that a few blacks who learned blacksmithing balance out the entirety of slavery, like believing that Romeo and Juliet must be expurgated before it can be seen by a teen ager, that a billionaire needs your money to defend against felonies , etc.

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We fought equivalent battles in the 60s and 70s over prayer in schools, busing, segregation, special ed/ mainstreaming now known as inclusion, "humanizing," the Education Act.", etc.

IMHO this is recrimination by the losers.

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A couple points on climate change. When I come into contact with a right-wing skeptic, I always ask them "Why does our Defense Department now regard climate change as a high-level security threat?"

The other point is the increased incidence of pandemics as decreased habitat pushes species closer together, and the migration of tropical diseases like malaria, dengue fever, etc. to our former "temperate zones."

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Ask Maui residents, like Clint Eastwood, big Republican about it.

Here in Baghdad By the Sea, even Batistianos are scared. The gulf stream is like a hot tub. https://www.noaa.gov/news-release/noaa-forecasters-increase-atlantic-hurricane-season-prediction-to-above-normal

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Sir, a friend in Finland let us know they had their first EVER tornado watch....

Finland.

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Micro managing the job of Public Education by parents is damaging the process in my view! That is what the Superintendents & Principal’s are paid for! The School Committees are for overseeing budgets, management performance m, etc! Not micro managing curriculum. Think I’d leave that for the experts!

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& frankly, what I’ve seen of the crazies in State Legislatures lately & US Congress, highly doubt some of them were awake during their Ed. Process! They should stick to fixing infrastructure & cleaning up government corruption & regulating/de-trusting the internet! Reagan’s years burnt a large hole in our regulation process in this country! Thus the Public Education & Airwaves Debacle 🤪Done, rest my case! Glad I never had kids!

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Now seven people have "liked" my comment. Robert, are you listening? Transcripts can be gotten free these days.

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I learn and retain better if I read it.

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I thing Smith and the judge are being very smart about Trump's provocations. They're giving him all the rope he needs to hang himself. So when they do mute him, he won't have any legitimate complaint. It must be a shock to him to find he's up against two people who won't let him make a fool of the justice system like he's always done in the past. It's about time!

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