That Trump is even conceivably 'in the running' makes my blood boil, but also makes me realize what a sick joke our political system has become. We are continuously sucked in and then, pretty much, made to feel helpless as those in Washington who truly represent us play 'by the rules' and those who wish to own/control us don't - and have literally gotten away with it. Without a balanced or ethical Supreme Court, without swift accountability for an insurrection, without truth as staple, and with greed leading the way for control of us, there's no responsibilty. Freedom without the latter is chaos and (continuing) destruction of a democracy.
Have you considered running for president, Robert?
The "system" is so broken and feeble that it represents no one in our society save the wealthy. The american people were given a way to solve problems and address them as they arose through amendments to the constitution. Steadily, as the corruption rose, those in government turned their backs on improving the society and chose to focus on obtaining huge campaign contributions (bribes) and ignoring anything "controversial" preferring to kick any issue down the road in the hopes someone else will have to deal with it.
Well, when you allow elected representatives to give a piece of paper, corporate charters, greater rights than flesh and blood, what should we expect ? Corporations are not CEO's, not the Chairman, not the Board of Directors; corporations are just pieces of paper given status as "entities" via the passage of law; how on Earth did we allow them to compete with flesh and blood for the economic life of our nation when they have exactly zero moral standards that must be complied with compared to human, living beings ? Insanity !!!!
A society is about more than the economy. We use capitalism for our economic system. A capitalistic system does not remain healthy if it is being dragged down by poverty. If you can't keep your consumers solvent the economy will lose stability. Life has to be about more than separate individuals clawing for wealth and hiding it, hoarding it. Trump is a failed businessman and yet people expect him to save America. It is economic imbalance that is destroying our economy and the belief that being wealthy makes you better, makes you lord of the manor and above things like paying taxes.Trump governs out of ego and chaos. He will destroy us.
Thank you for your very astute and cogent comment. Somehow Trump and his minions believe that their own personal security and wealth will save the country and they need no dip into their lavish resources to help others. What they (and most especially Trump) do not get is that a rising tide lifts all boats, that money that is put into seriously needed programs and policies, that taxes that are collected and distributed to those in need (which is turning out to be everyone but Trump and his sycophants and clingers-on, will lift the country out of poverty and despair and restore the viability of the institutions we ordinaries rely on to run a responsible and competent government (and society). Trump claimed that he bore no responsibility for anything connected with the pandemic (or anything else). I believe (along with Truman who put it in words) that the buck stops with the present of the US...that is an awesome responsibility and it requires a competent and compassionate leader and president. History has shown us that, with Trump, what we got and what we would get if he were reelected is an individual incapable of accepting responsibility for any of his own actions personal or public and unconcerned with the welfare of the people he represents which, given the state of the US in the world are also people abroad.
I think you give them too much credit. They don’t care about saving the country. All they care about is themselves. What they don’t realize is that they can’t escape the climate, ecological, and health disasters forever. Unbelievable stupidity.
Who is the "they" to whom I have given too much credit? The ones who don't care about the country and themselves? There are people in Congress who are trying to come up with policies and programs that will help those in the trenches of society, not all members of Congress are sell-outs concerned with feathering their own nests...I am not denying that there are representatives and senators who have adopted a "me-first/me-only" approach to funds and money collected for the benefit of all. But (as things now stand) the president is the one who bears responsibility for what happens/does not happen...he (or she in the distant future) steers the ship-of-state. With Trump, we had a president who rejected the awesome responsibility for the fiscal and social well-being of the nation and sought what was solely in his own personal interest: wealth and power and signs of abject fidelity to him, not as president but as an individual governed by his own whims and need for approval and adolation. The truth still remains somewhere out there: the nation is facing huge crises of global implication as well as national meltdowns on many fronts...the president is the leader and is supposed to deal with such crises, especially those he has created and/or exacerbated. Trump's answer to such international and national concerns was to watch a bit of tv and play another round or two of golf. His own party gave its approval to this answer and so, there, we have it!
I read about and then saw an older plaque in one of the public rooms of the White House that expressed this sentiment: "May none but good and honest men ever dwell within this House." Until the 45th president, we were generally (but not always) fortunate in our choices and lived with the knowledge that our president had our mutual well-being and security--our best--at heart. With the 45th president, we entered unchartered territory and we are suffering (and are likely to continue suffering) the consequences of that unfortunate turn. I for one hope we find our way back to the spirit of the words on that plaque but there is no guarantee that this turn to the good will occur. That has to raise a kind of insecurity and apprehension in the hearts of those with the acumen and critical thinking skills to know where we stand.
I agree with much of what you say, but I think it's also important to focus on why Trump was elected in 2016 -- on the anger and desperation that put him into the White House. Some of that was 40 years of stagnant and declining real wages among people without college degrees; some of it was due to big money in politics from large corporations and the wealthy, changing the rules of the game to enhance their wealth but hold down most of the rest of America; some, from the increasing demands from corporations and Wall Street for profits that depended in part on suppressing wages and abandoning older cities; some, from an increasing sense that college-educated, urban, coastal elites looked down on people without college degrees who are largely rural; some, undoubtedly, from racism and xenophobia. It was a toxic brew that, sadly, is still with us. Biden's huge challenge is to try to reverse all this, and soon enough to contain the toxicity. I wish more lawmakers (including Manchin and Sinema) understood the stakes, and were with him.
I think those who occupy a safe cubby in the Ivory Tower (Academe) would do well to study and evaluate the turf on which they play. I came from such an environment myself but I had the great good luck to be expelled from my cubby before I took my final degree (which I did take). When I joined retail as my only recourse at the time (I had no support and claim on a niche and none was opened to me), I joined under-employed PhDs (like myself) but also accountants, lawyers, teachers at all levels. I decided that I could continue on with an academic career and earn a place that many (most?) academics and scholars seamlessly breezed on into. I published AND perished with the best of them, going on to teaching on a non-tenure track; securing a couple post-docs at Harvard and the Library of Congress; editing a scholarly tome'; and, finally, winning a Fulbright which I had to decline because I put my family first. The Academy was--and is--built on a kind of club and the preferences of academic professors/prophets for their own (and their friends') disciples. I have tried to offer my experience (gained the hard way) to institutions of higher education as a way of improving graduate education. However, those in positions of authority in universities are like those in the drivers' seats in business, government, social services, all such hierarchies: they basically like the system the way it is and they prefer colleagues who resemble them, not students and graduates who come from the real world to which I have returned and where I will remain. If graduates from the lower middle-classes foolishly decide they want to teach and do research at the highest levels of education, they may be able to connive their way on or find the occasional responsive and welcoming ear but, more likely (and especially likely if they are from socially disadvantaged groups), they will encounter as much resistance as I did. Smart not to go where you don't belong!
That’s where Biden’s leadership of his Party is absolutely crucial. While many Congressional leaders do understand the stakes (especially the Progressive wing), I fear the likes of Manchin and Sinema do not. Unfortunately, the welfare of the Republic may depend on their willingness.
The Horrible policies of Biden and what's her name, are only attracting more people to Trump. People see the horrible open borders, politicizing the DOJ and other Departments, crime in Democrat run cities, and the authoritarian mind set of the Democrats. enough is enough. Trump looks good next to this mess. Sorry.
MP you're wasting your time trolling here. Pres Biden might not be perfect, but he actually works for the good of the country instead of his own pocket book.
Please cite a source for Garland saying that parents who question school boards are domestic terrorists. A citizen can go into a school board meeting and politely explain their perspective on an issue at hand. All good. Yet when parents attend with the express purpose of harassing and threatening the board members and harass and physically threaten these elected officials, as we have seen on video, these threatening citizens may have criminal liability.
I would add to that government policies that gave tax breaks to the wealthy sold to the public as a way of increasing investments and creating jobs and wealth. It did, only not in the u.s.a. The wealthy made huge foreign investments - indeed the government incentivized them to do so and the result was a huge loss of domestic production, but the wealthy became even wealthier and the income gap grew outrageously. This is fertile ground for a slim-flam artist.
Well said, and agreed with. The dissatisfaction with the lack of responsiveness of the status quo has been mined by this demagogue though and had our legislators not been essentially asleep at the wheel for so long this may never have been possible. When the hen house is left open does the blame devolve upon the fox for entering or upon the one who left the door open?
Your point is well-taken. Complacency and a disconnect between the governed and the governors has long been a hallmark of our politics and society. Most times the concerned and involved citizens are far outnumbered by those whose concern is strictly limited to themselves and people in their immediate environs. What is somewhat disconcerting is the realization that those who are eager to cast their lot with a tyrant and class-A grifter and con-artist do so with a great deal of enthusiasm and violence while well-meaning folks timidly watch from the sidelines. Some of us supposedly on the right side of history sit quietly by and watch the chaos...some of us doing this are also (disturbingly) in positions of power and authority.
All that is needed for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing. A paraphrase of Edmund Burke
The congress was supposed to essentially be us: we were to send someone from our community to act on our behalf at the federal level. That has eroded into the situation that exists today where very few in congress have anything in common with their constituencies.
I can't speak for all districts and for all Congresspeople and I do know that there is going to be some serious differences in opinion among the constituents of a given Congress...it is going to be difficult for a Congressperson to represent the view of their district but (theoretically) the Congressperson should be able to represent the view of a majority of voters in his/her district. My district (CA district no. 19) is very fortunate to have the solid and competent and serious representation of Representative Zoe Lofgren who is currently a senior Congressperson and member of the Select Committee investigating the events of January 6. She also served on the Impeachment Trial of the former president (the second or maybe both such trials). I have found her to be on top of the issues and serious about getting to the bottom of the issues involved in the 1/6 event. However, I do realize that not all voters are as fortunate and that Congresspersons may be bought off by more affluent constituents. I have briefly corresponded with Rep Jamie Raskin of Maryland who also seems to have a good handle on issues of pressing concern as well as a position on the same Committee as Zoe Lofgren.
I think she is being told what to say by her donors, who do not want the BBB bill to pass so she and Manchin will just raise objections until it is too late to get it through. Whether the progressives will allow a very much reduced bill to pass along with the bipartisan infrastructure one, is unclear but they will probably have to do so in order to claim any credit at all before the midterms. If that is the case, let them pass however meagre, and then give all their energy to electing a lot more Dems to congress. Get people registered! Get judges passed! Fill more executive positions! Get Stacey Abrams on the job!
Manchin is holding dearly onto his multi-million dollar investments in fossil fuels, while wannabe beauty queen Kyrsten Sinema just wants to be queen of the hop. Let's not expect honesty or sanity from either of these unprincipled loons. They're both determined for mostly unknown reasons to avoid rationality and sink the Democratic party in 2022 and 2024. Where are the firebrands in the Democratic Congress who can rouse the people against this destructive nonsense?
Well, there are some excellent ones in the House: AOC, Rashida Tlaib, Jamaal Bowman, etc. And of course we still have Bernie and Elizabeth Warren in the Senate. But really, I’ve been thinking for a long time that we need a lot more Jesse Jacksons and Eugene McCarthys. I’m not sure why these people are so afraid of losing their jobs. There’s such a revolving door waiting for them that all they have to do is make one phone call.
I agree, but their majority is so thin that they better wake up and do some rock'n, or in 2022 some of those Democrats will be looking for other employment opportunities and we will lose the majority in the house.
There are very good reasons to criticize Sinema, the biggest being that she has been completely uncommunicative about what she wants in the Build Back Better bill, which is our chance to slow down the terrible effects of climate change and make life better for average Americans. She seems to see everything as a fun game, as the money keeps rolling in from Republican sources, and we're the ones who suffer from her juvenile and greedy actions.
I believe the word "danger" is woefully inadequate. He is working tirelessly to put in place mechanisms that ensure he is declared president in 2024 no matter what the outcome of any election is.
The Jan. 6 Congressional Investigative Commission needs to drill down on those Trump White House minions & Republican members of Congress who planned & organized the Jan. 6 chaos on the U.S. Capitol. A key person to grill under oath is Atty. ANDREW KLOSTER of D.C., who thinks that the Rethuglicans should activate their own "irate hooligans" (his words) & put their own Repub. D.A.s into office at the local level to "let them(hooligans) off the hook" for their criminal acts. He worked in the Personnel Div. of Trump's White House & probably knows or was partly responsible for the contacts with & organization of the Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, III Percenters, etc., who came well prepared to create havoc & to take over the Capitol. Then Merrick Garland needs to get off his butt & bring charges against all these treasonous culprits, including Trump, & get them wiped out of OUR govt. My preferred location for their long-term incarceration is "Gitmo." Trump is a malignant narcissist, with an ego the size of Mt. Olympus, who is determined to become the Supreme Ruler of the United States, with the power gloating help of the other Republican legislators in Congress who plan to ride into unparalleled power & control on his slimy coattails. Democrats MUST take this threat to their democracy seriously & mobilize EVERY Dem. & Independent to get out to vote BLUE in the midterms to help redeem Biden's BBB agenda before his first term is over. The U.S. democracy is on life support right now & needs for the PEOPLE who cherish the U.S. Constitution to rise up & insist on the government of the people, by the people, & for the people that they deserve.
The slogan "No one is above the law" is more of a joke to most citizens as they have seen politicians and their backers and cronies get away with actions that would put the ordinary citizen in prison for a long time. I agree with you, but inaction, apathy, and an unwillingness to confront "controversial" issues and events seems to be the hallmark of most of the democratic party at present.
I would add to my comment below that to combat what is happening requires strength and resolve and a willingness to confront. I am not sure the "opposition" to the authoritarian wave possesses any of these qualities. It could be that the "opposition" is letting the system grind away slowly, however it seems more like the Weimar Republic's approach: it will go away on its own eventually if we just wait. That did not work for them and it will not work here.
I listened to part of his speech in Iowa it’s only great when he’s president according to him. Maybe he will march on the White House and threaten everyone there directly. With a gun too for optics I wonder what the oddsmakers would place on him even being charged with anything. When Reverend Jesse Jackson called New York a racially tainted word he was crucified for a long time. M Green spouts off about Jewish Owned Satellites in space beaming lasers down starting forest fires and crickets not even Israel had an issue wow this is starting to expose certain agendas I’d say and since the laws mean nothing anymore are we going to get a grand inquisitor soon in every state controlled by Republicans except Wyoming. I’m going to get on a raft and sail to Cuba for sanctuary soon.
I don't think it's surprising that Trump is making a prospective 2024 presidential election all about him:
1. He doesn't seem to know anything about anything but himself, though his knowledge of himself is tragically inept or radically dissembled.
2. His solipsism and perseveration have served him pretty well with "his" voters.
3. More and more, I think that a major attraction of the Republican Party is an appeal to laziness. Jimmy Carter talked of our national malaise, and Ronald Reagan said, "Aw, we're the Best Ever!" And on and on, relieved by initiations of ill-conceived and largely unplanned violence that continue on and on, draining energy and all other resources.
As a counterpoint, Sarah Longwell (of never-Trumper 'fame') just published her latest podcast...a Pennsylvania focus group. They harshly assessed Biden's performance (as well as the Democrats) and Barry mentioned Trump or the GOP. The optimistic notion that the midterms or 2024 will be a referendum on Trump seems increasingly unlikely. Authoritarianism and propaganda are more normalized than I would have believed possible at this early point in Biden's administration. Personally I don't believe that either voting rights legislation or infrastructure will pass, and Democrats will be blamed. The Democrats have weeks to fix the downward slump...they had a year to pass policd reform.
Please keep in mind that (a) the Democrats have the slimmest of majorities in the Senate with two Senators dragging their feet on everything, and (b) Biden has a ton of work to do to undo the enormous damage done by the former guy. Biden's in an extremely tough position.
I agree, but Biden has refused to throw his weight behind anything but the infrastructure bills. He's also tried to play a mediator role vs putting clear priorities on the table. Manchin changes his mind every week on seemingly everything, but he's persuadable. Sinema seems to be betting that the Democrats will lose both houses, so she's positioning herself to win reelection. If Manchin, and the handful of Democrats hiding under his coattails come to agreement on a reconciliation bill, will Sinema have the fortitude to be the lone dissenter? Probably not, but unless a deal is reached and voting rights passed, I don't see any way to begin to reconstitute this democracy.
No, I am not looking for a desk-thumper, and at times, he can also be a strong speaker as in when he defended his position on withdrawing our troops from Afghanistan. It's just that on voting access and the Build Back Better Agenda, he's seems way too measured in his words and seems to be tacitly settling for a watered down bill in his negotiations with Manchin and Sinema. As for Democrats who do project clear messages as to what the people of this country need, I think there a quite a few- Rep. Pramila Jayapal comes to mind first, Stacey Abrams mentioned today in these responses is another, Bernie Sanders (technically an Independent) and so on. I always know exactly where they stand on the issues.
Crime is not exploding...that's a right-wing talking point. Nonviolent crime is down, but the explosion in gun sales during 2020 has led to an increase in homicides. The NYPD union head abruptly resigned after an FBI raid. Chicago PD failed to meet the requirements of the consent decree. A significant number of police officers are leaving the force due to burnout and vaccine denial. We need more police and police reform-reform that frees up police to focus on violent crime. Given the insane obsession with guns by Americans, policing is a dangerous profession. Why police don't support reasonable gun control is incomprehensible.
Explosion in gun sales causing crime is a left wing talking point. Police are tired of being painted as criminals - that is why they are quitting. Police are not being proactive anymore, and criminals know it. Have fun with that one.
Why can't police support reasonable gun controls? They probably do. Why have I not seen seen a single Democrat stand up to a podium and say "When you resist arrest, you are putting your life and the police officer's life in danger?" Fat chance that will ever happen, but that is just as important as taking bad cops off the street.
I agree that Democrats are terrible at messaging, but to deny the disparity in the treatment of minorities by police is disingenuous. I'd also add that the correlation between increase in guns and increased violent crimes has been validated by study after study. No other developed country has the epidemic of gun violence that we see in the US. Not even close.
Well consider this: every time Dems start to talk about gun control, esp at the Presidential level, guns sales skyrocket. Ergo, crime increases occur when Dems are in power, according to your logic. Obviously, correlation does not equal causation.
If guns were solely responsible for crime, the fastest growing group of violent criminals would be women - because they are the fastest growing demographic to buy guns, according to the NSSF.
I would add that guns are forever - they don't have a half-life. But until recently, crime rates were going down. The fact crime rates are going up cannot be solely attributed to gun sales.
Well, gun sales skyrocketed under Trump, and gun sales did the same. This country is off the charts re gun violence and gun suicides compared to every other developed country. It may be the only area where the US leads other developed countries (other than military spending).
I am observing that many elections at every level across the u.s. have become referendums on trump. My state is electing a governor in a month and the democrat incumbent is running on a platform of "I am not for trump and my opponent is", the republican has proclaimed allegiance to trump, though not overtly in his campaign ads.
One crafty and incredibly corrupt sociopath has highjacked this entire country. Want a road map? Read William Shirer.
I agree, and I fear that those who are the only real hope for reconstruction of our republic to be a vibrant, functioning, fair democracy are inadequate for the task.
Sadly, I agree with you and Deborah! We may very well be doomed and a good many of us left to remember fondly a democracy we no longer enjoy. Sadly, there will also be many of us who never really experienced that democracy fist-hand. You know who those people were and still are.
This is giving me a headache. I can't believe they will let him run. What about the financial wrongs he has committed? What about the rapes Trump committed? He's being investigated, so how can he run for anything?
I think the calendar is working against the Democrats for a voting rights bill, which should be the main focus now, but because the Build Back Better bill is so popular, why wouldn’t it be beneficial to have that on the line as congresspeople begin campaigning? Let them explain to their constituents what is at stake.
I take great exception to the term "the former guy" which I think was og used by Biden. The term and the idea is almost cute, and completely nonthreatening. It's like saying hydrochloric acid is fine to drink with dinner. Now if TFG stood for the f#c&ing gangrene, I'll go along with that...
Just contacted sin-enama AGAIN about her latest sci-fi episode re the climate bill.
My sense is that Attorney General Merrick Garland is reluctant to hold Trump or his advisors accountable for fear of fueling even more anger and divisiveness. That's a mistake. Without accountability we invite even more ruthless attacks on our democracy by Trump and his henchmen.
Hopefully he and the DOJ are also proceeding without undue hesitations when presented with evidence of obstruction and wrongdoing. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we get answers soon, particularly with regards to Jan 6th.
It’s on video. Most of the people were invited into the Capital by security. It’s on tape. No insurrection here. Violence should be prosecuted. But this was no insurrection.
I guess that's why we have a Jan 6 Select Committee. There may have been some police officers who invited insurrectionists in, but I saw dozens of police officers fighting to keep the intruders out of the House and Senate chambers.
And they should be prosecuted. This was no violent insurrection. Democrats just playing politics and this only turns people off. Also, people know first hand the violence from Antifa and BLM during 2020 and nothing happened. Just yesterday a federal statue was vandalized in the open and on video and no arrests. People see this and they hear the democrat response, or no response, and they are ticked off.
Making false equivalencies about BLM and Antifa just shows that you are not seriously thinking about the insurrection on Jan. 6. Trying to overthrow the US government is not the same as a civil rights protest gotten out of hand. Even so, there have been BLM activists arrested when they broke the law during their protests. There were also a couple right-wing militiamen caught at one of these demonstrations; they were pretending to be BLM and vandalizing property. I call them agent provocateurs.
Insurrection? Overthrow the government? Oh please. The Democrat rioters destroyed, hurt, and killed people. People see the lies from democrats. Biden polls keep sinking. Keep defending the indefensible.
Please watch the actual Jan 6 video footage, not the highly censored versions on certain websites. More than 100 police officers were injured and weapons such as clubs, tasers, and knives were confiscated by police. Congress people were in danger, and organized groups of rioters in military gear entered the Capitol looking for Mike Pence and Nancy Pelosi with intent to harm them. More than 600 people were arrested for their activities that day.
That Trump is even conceivably 'in the running' makes my blood boil, but also makes me realize what a sick joke our political system has become. We are continuously sucked in and then, pretty much, made to feel helpless as those in Washington who truly represent us play 'by the rules' and those who wish to own/control us don't - and have literally gotten away with it. Without a balanced or ethical Supreme Court, without swift accountability for an insurrection, without truth as staple, and with greed leading the way for control of us, there's no responsibilty. Freedom without the latter is chaos and (continuing) destruction of a democracy.
Have you considered running for president, Robert?
No. Thanks for asking.
Thank you for responding. Come to think of it, educating is the most important 'job' anyway.
I like to think so.
The "system" is so broken and feeble that it represents no one in our society save the wealthy. The american people were given a way to solve problems and address them as they arose through amendments to the constitution. Steadily, as the corruption rose, those in government turned their backs on improving the society and chose to focus on obtaining huge campaign contributions (bribes) and ignoring anything "controversial" preferring to kick any issue down the road in the hopes someone else will have to deal with it.
Well, when you allow elected representatives to give a piece of paper, corporate charters, greater rights than flesh and blood, what should we expect ? Corporations are not CEO's, not the Chairman, not the Board of Directors; corporations are just pieces of paper given status as "entities" via the passage of law; how on Earth did we allow them to compete with flesh and blood for the economic life of our nation when they have exactly zero moral standards that must be complied with compared to human, living beings ? Insanity !!!!
A society is about more than the economy. We use capitalism for our economic system. A capitalistic system does not remain healthy if it is being dragged down by poverty. If you can't keep your consumers solvent the economy will lose stability. Life has to be about more than separate individuals clawing for wealth and hiding it, hoarding it. Trump is a failed businessman and yet people expect him to save America. It is economic imbalance that is destroying our economy and the belief that being wealthy makes you better, makes you lord of the manor and above things like paying taxes.Trump governs out of ego and chaos. He will destroy us.
Thank you for your very astute and cogent comment. Somehow Trump and his minions believe that their own personal security and wealth will save the country and they need no dip into their lavish resources to help others. What they (and most especially Trump) do not get is that a rising tide lifts all boats, that money that is put into seriously needed programs and policies, that taxes that are collected and distributed to those in need (which is turning out to be everyone but Trump and his sycophants and clingers-on, will lift the country out of poverty and despair and restore the viability of the institutions we ordinaries rely on to run a responsible and competent government (and society). Trump claimed that he bore no responsibility for anything connected with the pandemic (or anything else). I believe (along with Truman who put it in words) that the buck stops with the present of the US...that is an awesome responsibility and it requires a competent and compassionate leader and president. History has shown us that, with Trump, what we got and what we would get if he were reelected is an individual incapable of accepting responsibility for any of his own actions personal or public and unconcerned with the welfare of the people he represents which, given the state of the US in the world are also people abroad.
I think you give them too much credit. They don’t care about saving the country. All they care about is themselves. What they don’t realize is that they can’t escape the climate, ecological, and health disasters forever. Unbelievable stupidity.
Who is the "they" to whom I have given too much credit? The ones who don't care about the country and themselves? There are people in Congress who are trying to come up with policies and programs that will help those in the trenches of society, not all members of Congress are sell-outs concerned with feathering their own nests...I am not denying that there are representatives and senators who have adopted a "me-first/me-only" approach to funds and money collected for the benefit of all. But (as things now stand) the president is the one who bears responsibility for what happens/does not happen...he (or she in the distant future) steers the ship-of-state. With Trump, we had a president who rejected the awesome responsibility for the fiscal and social well-being of the nation and sought what was solely in his own personal interest: wealth and power and signs of abject fidelity to him, not as president but as an individual governed by his own whims and need for approval and adolation. The truth still remains somewhere out there: the nation is facing huge crises of global implication as well as national meltdowns on many fronts...the president is the leader and is supposed to deal with such crises, especially those he has created and/or exacerbated. Trump's answer to such international and national concerns was to watch a bit of tv and play another round or two of golf. His own party gave its approval to this answer and so, there, we have it!
When the last human breaths are being taken, the last of the wealthy will turn his/her head and say "see?! I told you we would get away with it!"
Yes. The founders would be revolted by how little we have managed to accomplish and how we are heading toward disaster.
I read about and then saw an older plaque in one of the public rooms of the White House that expressed this sentiment: "May none but good and honest men ever dwell within this House." Until the 45th president, we were generally (but not always) fortunate in our choices and lived with the knowledge that our president had our mutual well-being and security--our best--at heart. With the 45th president, we entered unchartered territory and we are suffering (and are likely to continue suffering) the consequences of that unfortunate turn. I for one hope we find our way back to the spirit of the words on that plaque but there is no guarantee that this turn to the good will occur. That has to raise a kind of insecurity and apprehension in the hearts of those with the acumen and critical thinking skills to know where we stand.
I agree with much of what you say, but I think it's also important to focus on why Trump was elected in 2016 -- on the anger and desperation that put him into the White House. Some of that was 40 years of stagnant and declining real wages among people without college degrees; some of it was due to big money in politics from large corporations and the wealthy, changing the rules of the game to enhance their wealth but hold down most of the rest of America; some, from the increasing demands from corporations and Wall Street for profits that depended in part on suppressing wages and abandoning older cities; some, from an increasing sense that college-educated, urban, coastal elites looked down on people without college degrees who are largely rural; some, undoubtedly, from racism and xenophobia. It was a toxic brew that, sadly, is still with us. Biden's huge challenge is to try to reverse all this, and soon enough to contain the toxicity. I wish more lawmakers (including Manchin and Sinema) understood the stakes, and were with him.
I think those who occupy a safe cubby in the Ivory Tower (Academe) would do well to study and evaluate the turf on which they play. I came from such an environment myself but I had the great good luck to be expelled from my cubby before I took my final degree (which I did take). When I joined retail as my only recourse at the time (I had no support and claim on a niche and none was opened to me), I joined under-employed PhDs (like myself) but also accountants, lawyers, teachers at all levels. I decided that I could continue on with an academic career and earn a place that many (most?) academics and scholars seamlessly breezed on into. I published AND perished with the best of them, going on to teaching on a non-tenure track; securing a couple post-docs at Harvard and the Library of Congress; editing a scholarly tome'; and, finally, winning a Fulbright which I had to decline because I put my family first. The Academy was--and is--built on a kind of club and the preferences of academic professors/prophets for their own (and their friends') disciples. I have tried to offer my experience (gained the hard way) to institutions of higher education as a way of improving graduate education. However, those in positions of authority in universities are like those in the drivers' seats in business, government, social services, all such hierarchies: they basically like the system the way it is and they prefer colleagues who resemble them, not students and graduates who come from the real world to which I have returned and where I will remain. If graduates from the lower middle-classes foolishly decide they want to teach and do research at the highest levels of education, they may be able to connive their way on or find the occasional responsive and welcoming ear but, more likely (and especially likely if they are from socially disadvantaged groups), they will encounter as much resistance as I did. Smart not to go where you don't belong!
That’s where Biden’s leadership of his Party is absolutely crucial. While many Congressional leaders do understand the stakes (especially the Progressive wing), I fear the likes of Manchin and Sinema do not. Unfortunately, the welfare of the Republic may depend on their willingness.
The Horrible policies of Biden and what's her name, are only attracting more people to Trump. People see the horrible open borders, politicizing the DOJ and other Departments, crime in Democrat run cities, and the authoritarian mind set of the Democrats. enough is enough. Trump looks good next to this mess. Sorry.
MP you're wasting your time trolling here. Pres Biden might not be perfect, but he actually works for the good of the country instead of his own pocket book.
No. Biden is destroying the nation. Next up, high inflation.
Please cite a source for Garland saying that parents who question school boards are domestic terrorists. A citizen can go into a school board meeting and politely explain their perspective on an issue at hand. All good. Yet when parents attend with the express purpose of harassing and threatening the board members and harass and physically threaten these elected officials, as we have seen on video, these threatening citizens may have criminal liability.
I would add to that government policies that gave tax breaks to the wealthy sold to the public as a way of increasing investments and creating jobs and wealth. It did, only not in the u.s.a. The wealthy made huge foreign investments - indeed the government incentivized them to do so and the result was a huge loss of domestic production, but the wealthy became even wealthier and the income gap grew outrageously. This is fertile ground for a slim-flam artist.
FLIM flam artist (darn spell correction).
Well said, and agreed with. The dissatisfaction with the lack of responsiveness of the status quo has been mined by this demagogue though and had our legislators not been essentially asleep at the wheel for so long this may never have been possible. When the hen house is left open does the blame devolve upon the fox for entering or upon the one who left the door open?
Your point is well-taken. Complacency and a disconnect between the governed and the governors has long been a hallmark of our politics and society. Most times the concerned and involved citizens are far outnumbered by those whose concern is strictly limited to themselves and people in their immediate environs. What is somewhat disconcerting is the realization that those who are eager to cast their lot with a tyrant and class-A grifter and con-artist do so with a great deal of enthusiasm and violence while well-meaning folks timidly watch from the sidelines. Some of us supposedly on the right side of history sit quietly by and watch the chaos...some of us doing this are also (disturbingly) in positions of power and authority.
All that is needed for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing. A paraphrase of Edmund Burke
The congress was supposed to essentially be us: we were to send someone from our community to act on our behalf at the federal level. That has eroded into the situation that exists today where very few in congress have anything in common with their constituencies.
I can't speak for all districts and for all Congresspeople and I do know that there is going to be some serious differences in opinion among the constituents of a given Congress...it is going to be difficult for a Congressperson to represent the view of their district but (theoretically) the Congressperson should be able to represent the view of a majority of voters in his/her district. My district (CA district no. 19) is very fortunate to have the solid and competent and serious representation of Representative Zoe Lofgren who is currently a senior Congressperson and member of the Select Committee investigating the events of January 6. She also served on the Impeachment Trial of the former president (the second or maybe both such trials). I have found her to be on top of the issues and serious about getting to the bottom of the issues involved in the 1/6 event. However, I do realize that not all voters are as fortunate and that Congresspersons may be bought off by more affluent constituents. I have briefly corresponded with Rep Jamie Raskin of Maryland who also seems to have a good handle on issues of pressing concern as well as a position on the same Committee as Zoe Lofgren.
I am beginning to suspect Sinema has NOTHING in her head.
I think she is being told what to say by her donors, who do not want the BBB bill to pass so she and Manchin will just raise objections until it is too late to get it through. Whether the progressives will allow a very much reduced bill to pass along with the bipartisan infrastructure one, is unclear but they will probably have to do so in order to claim any credit at all before the midterms. If that is the case, let them pass however meagre, and then give all their energy to electing a lot more Dems to congress. Get people registered! Get judges passed! Fill more executive positions! Get Stacey Abrams on the job!
It is an outrage that an instigator of a heinous, deadly coup attempt is allowed to perform at his circus as if nothing happened.
Thank you for this!
Manchin is holding dearly onto his multi-million dollar investments in fossil fuels, while wannabe beauty queen Kyrsten Sinema just wants to be queen of the hop. Let's not expect honesty or sanity from either of these unprincipled loons. They're both determined for mostly unknown reasons to avoid rationality and sink the Democratic party in 2022 and 2024. Where are the firebrands in the Democratic Congress who can rouse the people against this destructive nonsense?
Well, there are some excellent ones in the House: AOC, Rashida Tlaib, Jamaal Bowman, etc. And of course we still have Bernie and Elizabeth Warren in the Senate. But really, I’ve been thinking for a long time that we need a lot more Jesse Jacksons and Eugene McCarthys. I’m not sure why these people are so afraid of losing their jobs. There’s such a revolving door waiting for them that all they have to do is make one phone call.
The firebrands are constantly under attack from the other democrats: the "don't rock the boat, do nothing, go to sleep" majority.
I agree, but their majority is so thin that they better wake up and do some rock'n, or in 2022 some of those Democrats will be looking for other employment opportunities and we will lose the majority in the house.
Agreed, and this is an increasingly likely scenario as gerrymandering and disenchantment with the situation take their toll.
Good thing Sinema is not ugly and/or fat or I am sure we would hear about that too.
There are very good reasons to criticize Sinema, the biggest being that she has been completely uncommunicative about what she wants in the Build Back Better bill, which is our chance to slow down the terrible effects of climate change and make life better for average Americans. She seems to see everything as a fun game, as the money keeps rolling in from Republican sources, and we're the ones who suffer from her juvenile and greedy actions.
Trump is still a danger!! We must be vigilant and protect and expand our Congressional majorities in 2022.
I believe the word "danger" is woefully inadequate. He is working tirelessly to put in place mechanisms that ensure he is declared president in 2024 no matter what the outcome of any election is.
The Jan. 6 Congressional Investigative Commission needs to drill down on those Trump White House minions & Republican members of Congress who planned & organized the Jan. 6 chaos on the U.S. Capitol. A key person to grill under oath is Atty. ANDREW KLOSTER of D.C., who thinks that the Rethuglicans should activate their own "irate hooligans" (his words) & put their own Repub. D.A.s into office at the local level to "let them(hooligans) off the hook" for their criminal acts. He worked in the Personnel Div. of Trump's White House & probably knows or was partly responsible for the contacts with & organization of the Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, III Percenters, etc., who came well prepared to create havoc & to take over the Capitol. Then Merrick Garland needs to get off his butt & bring charges against all these treasonous culprits, including Trump, & get them wiped out of OUR govt. My preferred location for their long-term incarceration is "Gitmo." Trump is a malignant narcissist, with an ego the size of Mt. Olympus, who is determined to become the Supreme Ruler of the United States, with the power gloating help of the other Republican legislators in Congress who plan to ride into unparalleled power & control on his slimy coattails. Democrats MUST take this threat to their democracy seriously & mobilize EVERY Dem. & Independent to get out to vote BLUE in the midterms to help redeem Biden's BBB agenda before his first term is over. The U.S. democracy is on life support right now & needs for the PEOPLE who cherish the U.S. Constitution to rise up & insist on the government of the people, by the people, & for the people that they deserve.
The slogan "No one is above the law" is more of a joke to most citizens as they have seen politicians and their backers and cronies get away with actions that would put the ordinary citizen in prison for a long time. I agree with you, but inaction, apathy, and an unwillingness to confront "controversial" issues and events seems to be the hallmark of most of the democratic party at present.
I would add to my comment below that to combat what is happening requires strength and resolve and a willingness to confront. I am not sure the "opposition" to the authoritarian wave possesses any of these qualities. It could be that the "opposition" is letting the system grind away slowly, however it seems more like the Weimar Republic's approach: it will go away on its own eventually if we just wait. That did not work for them and it will not work here.
I listened to part of his speech in Iowa it’s only great when he’s president according to him. Maybe he will march on the White House and threaten everyone there directly. With a gun too for optics I wonder what the oddsmakers would place on him even being charged with anything. When Reverend Jesse Jackson called New York a racially tainted word he was crucified for a long time. M Green spouts off about Jewish Owned Satellites in space beaming lasers down starting forest fires and crickets not even Israel had an issue wow this is starting to expose certain agendas I’d say and since the laws mean nothing anymore are we going to get a grand inquisitor soon in every state controlled by Republicans except Wyoming. I’m going to get on a raft and sail to Cuba for sanctuary soon.
I like the way you write. :)
Joe Manchin, and Kyrsten Sinimeh need to be voted out of office, for their betrayal of democratic principles!
I don't think it's surprising that Trump is making a prospective 2024 presidential election all about him:
1. He doesn't seem to know anything about anything but himself, though his knowledge of himself is tragically inept or radically dissembled.
2. His solipsism and perseveration have served him pretty well with "his" voters.
3. More and more, I think that a major attraction of the Republican Party is an appeal to laziness. Jimmy Carter talked of our national malaise, and Ronald Reagan said, "Aw, we're the Best Ever!" And on and on, relieved by initiations of ill-conceived and largely unplanned violence that continue on and on, draining energy and all other resources.
As a counterpoint, Sarah Longwell (of never-Trumper 'fame') just published her latest podcast...a Pennsylvania focus group. They harshly assessed Biden's performance (as well as the Democrats) and Barry mentioned Trump or the GOP. The optimistic notion that the midterms or 2024 will be a referendum on Trump seems increasingly unlikely. Authoritarianism and propaganda are more normalized than I would have believed possible at this early point in Biden's administration. Personally I don't believe that either voting rights legislation or infrastructure will pass, and Democrats will be blamed. The Democrats have weeks to fix the downward slump...they had a year to pass policd reform.
Please keep in mind that (a) the Democrats have the slimmest of majorities in the Senate with two Senators dragging their feet on everything, and (b) Biden has a ton of work to do to undo the enormous damage done by the former guy. Biden's in an extremely tough position.
I agree, but Biden has refused to throw his weight behind anything but the infrastructure bills. He's also tried to play a mediator role vs putting clear priorities on the table. Manchin changes his mind every week on seemingly everything, but he's persuadable. Sinema seems to be betting that the Democrats will lose both houses, so she's positioning herself to win reelection. If Manchin, and the handful of Democrats hiding under his coattails come to agreement on a reconciliation bill, will Sinema have the fortitude to be the lone dissenter? Probably not, but unless a deal is reached and voting rights passed, I don't see any way to begin to reconstitute this democracy.
Unfortunately for me he still seems to be in Senator mode instead of really stepping out as the President of the United States!
Why do you say that, James, because he's not a desk-thumper or strong and truly vibrant speaker? Are there any Democrats in DC who are?
No, I am not looking for a desk-thumper, and at times, he can also be a strong speaker as in when he defended his position on withdrawing our troops from Afghanistan. It's just that on voting access and the Build Back Better Agenda, he's seems way too measured in his words and seems to be tacitly settling for a watered down bill in his negotiations with Manchin and Sinema. As for Democrats who do project clear messages as to what the people of this country need, I think there a quite a few- Rep. Pramila Jayapal comes to mind first, Stacey Abrams mentioned today in these responses is another, Bernie Sanders (technically an Independent) and so on. I always know exactly where they stand on the issues.
Biden is playing by the old "business-as-usual" rules while not realizing the rules - and indeed the game - have changed.
And therein may lie the problem - or, at least, part of the problem.
A good point.
Yup. In this environment slow action, leading to no action is deadly.
Police reform is dead; crime is exploding.
Crime is not exploding...that's a right-wing talking point. Nonviolent crime is down, but the explosion in gun sales during 2020 has led to an increase in homicides. The NYPD union head abruptly resigned after an FBI raid. Chicago PD failed to meet the requirements of the consent decree. A significant number of police officers are leaving the force due to burnout and vaccine denial. We need more police and police reform-reform that frees up police to focus on violent crime. Given the insane obsession with guns by Americans, policing is a dangerous profession. Why police don't support reasonable gun control is incomprehensible.
Explosion in gun sales causing crime is a left wing talking point. Police are tired of being painted as criminals - that is why they are quitting. Police are not being proactive anymore, and criminals know it. Have fun with that one.
Why can't police support reasonable gun controls? They probably do. Why have I not seen seen a single Democrat stand up to a podium and say "When you resist arrest, you are putting your life and the police officer's life in danger?" Fat chance that will ever happen, but that is just as important as taking bad cops off the street.
I agree that Democrats are terrible at messaging, but to deny the disparity in the treatment of minorities by police is disingenuous. I'd also add that the correlation between increase in guns and increased violent crimes has been validated by study after study. No other developed country has the epidemic of gun violence that we see in the US. Not even close.
One thing you definitely nailed: dems. are terrible at messaging!
Well consider this: every time Dems start to talk about gun control, esp at the Presidential level, guns sales skyrocket. Ergo, crime increases occur when Dems are in power, according to your logic. Obviously, correlation does not equal causation.
If guns were solely responsible for crime, the fastest growing group of violent criminals would be women - because they are the fastest growing demographic to buy guns, according to the NSSF.
I would add that guns are forever - they don't have a half-life. But until recently, crime rates were going down. The fact crime rates are going up cannot be solely attributed to gun sales.
Well, gun sales skyrocketed under Trump, and gun sales did the same. This country is off the charts re gun violence and gun suicides compared to every other developed country. It may be the only area where the US leads other developed countries (other than military spending).
I am observing that many elections at every level across the u.s. have become referendums on trump. My state is electing a governor in a month and the democrat incumbent is running on a platform of "I am not for trump and my opponent is", the republican has proclaimed allegiance to trump, though not overtly in his campaign ads.
One crafty and incredibly corrupt sociopath has highjacked this entire country. Want a road map? Read William Shirer.
Your William Shirer reference is apt.
I think of what Trump and his followers are forming as the Brown Shirts; they're even threatening violence to school board members.
This coordinated violence is spoken of openly.
I also forsee the next General Election as the Rubicon between dictatorship and a reconstructed democracy.
I agree, and I fear that those who are the only real hope for reconstruction of our republic to be a vibrant, functioning, fair democracy are inadequate for the task.
Sadly, I agree with you and Deborah! We may very well be doomed and a good many of us left to remember fondly a democracy we no longer enjoy. Sadly, there will also be many of us who never really experienced that democracy fist-hand. You know who those people were and still are.
Sadly, I agree.
This is giving me a headache. I can't believe they will let him run. What about the financial wrongs he has committed? What about the rapes Trump committed? He's being investigated, so how can he run for anything?
I think the calendar is working against the Democrats for a voting rights bill, which should be the main focus now, but because the Build Back Better bill is so popular, why wouldn’t it be beneficial to have that on the line as congresspeople begin campaigning? Let them explain to their constituents what is at stake.
Both of them would be good for the country (as well as good for Democrats).
trump will always be about trump he thinks he is some kind of world savior just ask him ha ha
I take great exception to the term "the former guy" which I think was og used by Biden. The term and the idea is almost cute, and completely nonthreatening. It's like saying hydrochloric acid is fine to drink with dinner. Now if TFG stood for the f#c&ing gangrene, I'll go along with that...
Just contacted sin-enama AGAIN about her latest sci-fi episode re the climate bill.
IS there any hope for a Trump and co indictments and accountability ? Is the DOJ WILLING AND ABLE ?? Thank you for being precisely awesome !!
My sense is that Attorney General Merrick Garland is reluctant to hold Trump or his advisors accountable for fear of fueling even more anger and divisiveness. That's a mistake. Without accountability we invite even more ruthless attacks on our democracy by Trump and his henchmen.
I agree !!
Hopefully he and the DOJ are also proceeding without undue hesitations when presented with evidence of obstruction and wrongdoing. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we get answers soon, particularly with regards to Jan 6th.
It’s on video. Most of the people were invited into the Capital by security. It’s on tape. No insurrection here. Violence should be prosecuted. But this was no insurrection.
I guess that's why we have a Jan 6 Select Committee. There may have been some police officers who invited insurrectionists in, but I saw dozens of police officers fighting to keep the intruders out of the House and Senate chambers.
And they should be prosecuted. This was no violent insurrection. Democrats just playing politics and this only turns people off. Also, people know first hand the violence from Antifa and BLM during 2020 and nothing happened. Just yesterday a federal statue was vandalized in the open and on video and no arrests. People see this and they hear the democrat response, or no response, and they are ticked off.
Making false equivalencies about BLM and Antifa just shows that you are not seriously thinking about the insurrection on Jan. 6. Trying to overthrow the US government is not the same as a civil rights protest gotten out of hand. Even so, there have been BLM activists arrested when they broke the law during their protests. There were also a couple right-wing militiamen caught at one of these demonstrations; they were pretending to be BLM and vandalizing property. I call them agent provocateurs.
Insurrection? Overthrow the government? Oh please. The Democrat rioters destroyed, hurt, and killed people. People see the lies from democrats. Biden polls keep sinking. Keep defending the indefensible.
Please watch the actual Jan 6 video footage, not the highly censored versions on certain websites. More than 100 police officers were injured and weapons such as clubs, tasers, and knives were confiscated by police. Congress people were in danger, and organized groups of rioters in military gear entered the Capitol looking for Mike Pence and Nancy Pelosi with intent to harm them. More than 600 people were arrested for their activities that day.