Donald - It must be infuriating to him to witness that even though he committed “ballot fraud/cheating” (as he claims people who vote by mail - in ballots do) by mailing in his vote for the Florida special election and watch at least two democrats flip their respective seats from red to blue.
And their excuse that he lives primarily in D.C. doesn’t really fly when he spends most of his time in Florida golfing. He also reportedly mailed his ballot while he was IN Florida. If he is so concerned about mail-in ballots he had ample time to go stand in line like the rest of the little people do.
It’s also very telling when he spelled “which” as “witch” in his comment of:
“CONSTRUCTIVE CONVERSATIONS, WITCH WILL CONTINUE THROUGHOUT THE WEEK…”
An early memory is of my family going to DC (from PA) to see JFK lying in state. It turned out that the line was too long for two small children to stand for 8+ hours through a cold, dark night, but we were there, and we stood in line.
The only line for Trump that I would consider would be either the "spit on his grave" line or the "piss on his grave" line, depending on length. (I'm very willing to take a book with me.)
Thank you, Betty.
(Unfortunately, the damage done by extreme narcissists often continues after death. Our entire family will pay for my brother's selfish behavior for many years to come.)
Montrealer here. A young pilot (only 30 years old) and his co-pilot died in this latest air catastrophe. We Canadians know it's directly as a result of the greed and incompetence of the trump regime.
Moreover, this inane, joke of a war with Iran is now adversely affecting the rest of the world, and the resentment is growing on- a global level. How far is too far? 2000 dead Americans soldiers, 4000? 8,000? How many? I don't think they care. Sick minds, making sick decisions. It's evil on par with nothing that we've seen since WWII
They've already made it so companies are becoming afraid to hire non-white males. (Simply by creating doubts, and LITERALLY inviting white males to complain about their bosses over so-called descrimination....for cash, it might seem.)
What I find interesting is this. According to BBC, while Generalissimo Butt-Crack of the Oval Office claims to be having constructive negotiations with Iran, Iran is saying Washington is negotiating with itself.
That is clearly an indication of how deeply into a solipsistic hole MAGgot culture in DC has fallen. I'm ready to grant ol' Butt-Crack is so consumed with solipsism he actually believes his fantasy world is real, and his followers and supporters in DC have come to believe it too.
What I find singularly fascinating is how he doesn't seem to grasp that the war didn't end because he declared that he won. He doesn't seem to get what is most important to know about the human spirit - whether you like 'em or not. Yet he fantasizes that he can single-handedly resolve biblically chronicled regional animosity with some half-assed executive declaration. This shit dates back to the goddam Assyrians! In this video, he looks like a school bully that can't conceive of having his jaw broken by a kid he just beat up - I remember seeing such a look when I dealt such a blow to such a bully as a kid. He was lucky others stepped in before I was able to get to and lay my hands on the baseball bat laying nearby. Damn lucky!
I'm not sure he believes what he says. Trump has lied his face off, his entire life. It's just that he now appears to be somewhat more confused and fuzzy (about everything).
I think trump, given his health and deteriorating mind, is drugged up sufficiently so as not to care about anything he says, however wonky. He's happy - he's going to do and say what he wants to get whatever momentary adulation he's craving. He'll also lie on behalf of others - he gets to hide his crimes, and they get to obliterate, cheat the markets, pursue their own religious rapture, whatever. Grifters using and abusing each other...
These parasites all have their motives. Who's telling the truth? NO ONE.
Hell! "Truth is the first casualty of war!" That's been goin' on since ol' Family Values Boy touted "Family Values" and "Culture Wars" in a stump speech against "Slick Willy" back in the '90s. ol' "Info Wars" Boy as much announces it in his shock jock radio show's name, along with Rush Lamebrain and all the other "conservative" commentators. The war continues, and Iran is just another tired-assed episode in the daily/weekly "reality" soap opera the Republicans began sponsoring all the way back to Bush Sr! It all goes to show the truth of that old adage, whose provenance is a bit unclear. To be fair, it took this long for the Democrats to scrape together the collective wits to realize that's what's been a'goin' on - since the goddam '90s!
The phrase "truth is the first casualty of war" is often attributed to Arthur Ponsonby, but he used it as an epigram in his 1928 book "Falsehood in War-Time" and did not claim it as his own. The earliest known use of a similar phrase dates back to a 1915 speech by Ethel Annakin, who also did not claim authorship. The phrase has also been attributed to Hiram Johnson and Aeschylus, but there is no confirmed original source for the quote.
I’m hoping that his mind is so far gone, and his ego so monumental, that he’ll forget himself and blurt out something, in a boastful way, so incriminating in front of a camera that the whole world will see and hear, and he’ll HAVE to be removed. Silly me!
Donald - Can’t wait! Might find some recently feeling sick, looking for other employment (that pays) or retired TSA workers standing along side us. Hopefully they will hold up signs that say that Democrats tried eight times to pay us but republicans and the president refused.
I just came back from a trip. I thanked every single TSA person I met. They are ANGRY. I don't know how they are paying their bills, feeding themselves and their children, housing rent/mortgage? Their anger is growing so big, it might just pop the bloated orange anal pustule (IHOPEIHOPEIHOPE)
Joanne - I’m glad that you made it home safely. It’s nice that you acknowledged them and their predicament. I’m pretty sure they are not getting a lot of that right now. I wonder what they are Really thinking now that they have to deal with ICE? Especially since they are now having to deal with ICE’s lack of “training” while ICE is getting paid but TSA is not. Just follows the administration’s playbook by putting unqualified people in the wrong positions.
I have read a couple of articles about people not only waiting in long lines just to get their flight tickets cancelled and rerouted but some people are also losing their lodging because they are not checking in on time. One insult after another.
(Feels good to present 14 insults to the monster, and in 10 colors!.)
Where I plan to be only allows us on the sidewalk, so I guess I'll find out just how long I can last while constantly on my feet, sign in one hand and cane in the other. (I can't imagine it will be 2 hours, but I'll certainly give it my best.)
Fortunately, I designed the sign with crisscrossing poles for handles, so if I must, I can actually wear it atop my head.
I was starting to think the same thing! (Perhaps GMs really do TA!)
We'll see, but where it will be seen is a town so small I can't imagine media being present to distribute the image, and I'm of an age to be more a "beat poet" kinda guy. (How white am I? didn't even realize until last week how fortunate I may be to not have any friends named "Monica!")
foofaraw - You might want to find one of those handy camping stools or a cane that turns into a seat. Maybe for the next one (because there definitely will be a next one). I will be there in spirit with you! Please don’t hurt yourself or wear yourself out - but I like your alternative method of holding your sign! You are much kinder than I am because most of my choices of words are not appropriate for any children that might be in the crowd. :)
Just returned from my most recent DM to you. (Like comedians say, "Timing is...")
Where I'll be is "sidewalk ONLY", so sitting anywhere (except my car) wouldn't be an option. I'll have my meds, and that will do as long as I don't do it often.
Anon: I am sorry that workers get screwed, working for free, wondering if they will ever see any pay or backpay. But I am glad it happens to be TSA. To my mind, these people should never have existed. I always thought that their only purpose was to scare the public enough to get Bush elected. I don't believe that they have done squat to keep airlines safe. I think they are just a self extending useless agency. I am willing to view the evidence to the contrary, if there is any, but it would need to be compared to all of the negative effects that they serve for every flight for the last ten years. I don't think you can point to enough minor oversights (like my taking my pocket knife on a flight - perfectly innocent except in their fevered minds) to overcome the presumption of their uselessness.
At least those people are doing a job at the airports, unlike those ICE agents who've been deployed who are basically just standing around doing nothing.
I had stomach problems before a flight and had a small, unopened bottle of Pepto with me. I was made to open it and drink some. At least I got to take it on the flight.
Susan: I think it will a sunshine day in hell before anyone can convince me that this prohibition against liquids is anything more than a totally invented fantasy by maliciously insane people looking for one more struggle to mount against simple flyers just to justify their useless jobs.
Well the TSA people always make me go through the x-ray because I have a metal hip. That serves to remind me that better the hip than carrying a gun. On second thought, I have never even owned a gun.
It's not only a US phenomenon--every country I've flown out of in the last 20 years has similar pre-flight security screenings. Some of them are even stricter than ours. Some of them are conducted by military police, armed with submachine guns. But feel free to complain about the TSA people/procedures all you want--I won't try to stop you.
PlasticFish: I fondly recall flying out of Denmark many years ago. The TSA look-alike officer sort of waved me through and I demurred so: "Aren't you going to check all my luggage and my pockets and shoes like they do in America"? or something similar. He just laughed. "Those crazy Americans!" And I boarded. But the Americans have probably threatened to not allow airplanes to land here if those agents don't act just as grim, idiotic and excessive as ours. I'll bet those foreign agents you mentioned would just go home if it weren't for American pressure. And of course there's the allure of jobs, even if they are bullshit jobs.
I agree completely about the purpose of TSA, what are they keeping us safe from? I always think about the amount of money being made by the corporations that provide the x-ray machines, the special suitcases, appropriately sized bottles, etc.
Paul - It’s been a long time since I have flown on a plane so I don’t know how they are now but I do remember thinking back then that my nail clippers didn’t seem like much of a weapon. However, if they are stopping the next shoe bomber I prefer to put up with the inconvenience so that people can get home safely. Just being in a plane seems like too much of a gamble these days - especially after yet another plane crash that just occurred. Even though they say statistically that flying is safer than driving if I ever do have to go a distance past my state it will be by car.
ISOequanimity - True. I was just thinking back to the past election when I foolishly thought that people would be voting to save their government jobs but instead in came T and out they went. He told them ahead of time that he would be looking for a way to fire all of them.
My question is, does tRump actually type all his posts himself, or is there a lackey standing by 24-7 to take down and post his utterings. And if so, he’s either doing the insider-trading thing himself or the lackey is doing it, perhaps by having a “live” phone secretly transmitting tRump’s plans to someone who can immediately take advantage of them. Does that make sense?
Anne--From what I've been able to decern, if the post is poorly written and makes little to no sense -Trump wrote it. If it's clean and well constructed, someone else wrote it.
Losers. 47 is convicted felon found guilty of dozens of counts of fraud (plus SA and defamation). He’s been court ordered to pay E. Jean Carroll more than 80M but hasn’t done so, despite losing the appeal.
And all of this is playing out in a country that, behind our backs and without our knowledge, legalized “strategic deception” in politics and private industry, along with law enforcement and military. No other country in the western world has legal deception. And we’re one of just a handful worldwide (the others are Russia, China, and Iran).
Without truthfulness, transparency, and accountability, there can be no trust. Our global friends and neighbors have learned that the hard way. We have misprision laws in six states that could result in arrests. What are those AGs waiting for? Looking at you, IL, DE, VA, VT, CA, and RI.
It was self-inflicted. Over the last 50 years, without our knowledge or consent, lawyers steered consumers towards settling our differences though lawsuits. It wasn’t like that before. Then, with all the lawsuits, they formed legal teams for health care and industry, to prevent us from suing. It’s a gamed system and they are the only winners, imho. Now that AI legal databases let us represent ourselves, unemployed lawyers may be harvesting our crops, since all the farmworkers are being deported.
ISOequanimity - Want to get even angrier? The government just “settled” a lawsuit by Mike Flynn (the very one who was sentenced to prison for dealing with Russia but pardoned by T) and gave him 1.2 million dollars.
Anon - as R Reich points out, drumpf, his cronies, and nepo babies are a criminal gang intent on ripping the world economy to shreds for their own benefit, as they lay the planetary environment to total waste. This is suicide mission for life on Earth, forget Mars. Al Capone would be proud.
Anon, I saw that too, 'witch' explains why he is still a troubled 'victim' of the (real) Witch hunt (in his own 'why me?' 'why me?' ~ 'not me !', 'I'm the innocent party here!')).
I could tell it was a real post from the dumba*s due to "please" lacking "d" & the misspelled "witch" along with his popular closing sentence. If a staff member posted it, AI would have corrected the grammatical & spelling errors. He truly is a dumbass! There, I said it & I'm glad i did!
Remember one thing... Martha Stewart was sent to prison for insider trading. I'll bet she'd love to have that time back. Five months behind bars, five months of restriction to her home, and two years of probation. Trump's cronies won't serve even five minutes.
Justice Alito thinks that women have no rights apart from the right to vote. Trump says that it's up to the states. The wife of Justice Thomas believes that Trump is Prince Charming.
Victor - He probably doesn’t even think that about women being able to vote but he’s either afraid of her or because she is a reliable vote he “allows” it. If the SAVE Act passes she will have to jump through the same hoops as other women (or people who have different last names from their birth certificates) just to reclaim her right. I don’t know how many people have a passport or can afford all of the fees and needed paperwork but they are going to disenfranchise their own voters as well. I’ve heard two different stories about the REAL ID being accepted as an alternative but I have also heard that it would not be. A solution looking for a problem. It’s up to the states until they go against what the republicans want.
Even though more Repub women than Dem women would be affected (since fewer "Lady Dems" change their names at marriage, for one reason), it really increasingly seems to ONLY be about inflicting pain on the weak and innocent.
I saw this today (seemingly from NYT originally) and the last sentence is a real mindfuck:
"He added later: "This gets to the real problem. Donald Trump is famously indifferent to the concerns of those around him. He is a consummate narcissist, and he is, without question, the most solipsistic person ever to occupy the Oval Office. Over his decades on the public stage, we have seen little to no evidence that he believes in the existence of other minds." "
Exactly. He doesn't believe anyone else is real. Obviously what makes this matter (other than his control of DA BOM!) is that EVERY human has the option to consider themselves alone in all of existence, but very few do. (Thus: rules exist, particularly for those few)
Won't it be ironic if the crimes that finally bring down the House of Trump are insider trading around the Iran war?
Not pedophilia, not tariffs, not DOGE, not "It's Going to be Wild" RFK Jr, not a big pile of Constitutional violations, not his in your face graft, not ICE murders, not the murder of alleged drug runners in boats and so forth.
It's like mobsters of yore who never paid for their murders but went to prison for tax evasion.
Whatever it takes, the American People are abandoning Trump/MAGA in droves. Retribution is coming.
If the AGs of states with misprision laws issue warrants, DC metro police will arrest and detain all of the usual suspects for up to 30 days pending extradition. Niedermeyer can plead for mayo, Susie can offer to make casseroles, and Pammy can lament the state of her hair and nails. Not proud of the schadenfreude but it keeps my head from exploding.
Great detail and addition on what I posted yesterday.
The $1.7 Trillion Typo was his other move.
Trump posted in all-caps about “very good and productive conversations” with Iran. In the time it takes to walk from your car to your desk, $1.7 trillion appeared in equity markets and oil dropped 15%. By the time you got your coffee, Iran had called him a liar and half the gains vanished.
The post was briefly deleted, not because it was false, but because Trump wrote “witch” instead of “which.” Tehran’s denial was already on the wire before the correction posted.
The pattern: pre-dawn volatility spike, Trump posts, partial reversal. It’s repeated enough times now that it has a shape. A predictable shape.
The SEC would normally notice a shape like that. Whether anyone in a position to act is currently paying attention is, as they say, a separate question.
Especially when the SEC chair owns $6M in crypto, drops enforcement cases, and Margaret Ryan just resigned after six months because she wasn’t allowed to pursue fraud charges against Trump’s inner circle.
When the cops work for the criminals, it’s not a market. It’s a heist with a ticker.
If its an extortion racket, then Trump may not be as stupid as I keep reading in this substack. Is the whole Iranian conflict a part of a strategy to that end, or the racket part of a strategy just contributing to a bigger end? I’m beginning to agree with him: he is the smartest man that ever lived. Doubt if he'll remembered that way, but he is also good at re-writing history
Another take: Could some other entities have used strategic analysis of recent observations of his past behavior to place bets on this kind of scenario. If not, then they should be doing it now.
Since the SEC won’t investigate we can’t see who benefited or how?
lot of activity at Gitmo. an expanding, extremely expensive detention center in a self sufficient environment with regard to power and water and with a kind of unique hodge-podge legal standing and internal legal system. Push back in the states on AI data centers.
How does one place a financial hedge on say a conversion of the site to a huge AI data center within a certain period of time, placation of local citizenry (we'll be nice and call them indentured servants) in an adjoining walled off area with a Trump resort.
“lot of activity at Gitmo. an expanding, extremely expensive detention center in a self sufficient environment with regard to power and water and with a kind of unique hodge-podge legal standing and internal legal system.”
Probably for the anticipated large number of Antifa, a terrorist organisation both foreign and domestic, a German import we really don’t need.
PlasticFish--Trump is far easier than that to decipher--Just don't believe a damn thing that you hear coming from his mouth. Except perhaps a belch or two.
Donald, Trump promised he would be dictator on day one, and he has kept his word. Dismissing all his pronouncements as mere lies is extremely dangerous.
Seems like a good time to remember that the SCOTUS get-out-of-jail free card for presidential immunity does not apply in emoluments violations that can trigger impeachment.
Perhaps now is a great time to make a stink about this…
The military leaders telling troops that this is Armageddon apparently don’t know their scripture. All they’ve done is reinforce the fact that evangelicals answer to a higher authority than 47 as they shift from a mode of expectation to one of preparation. They can’t lie anymore and they must be law-abiding even when they don’t want to be. They are commanded to be morally and ethically blameless, as befitting the anticipated return of Messiah. Psychic-to-the-stars and devout Christian Jeane Dixon predicted that Armageddon would start in 2020 and that Jesus will return in 2037. I kinda hope that’s true. I’ve read how Armageddon ends: Light trumps darkness (pun intended).
The so-called Christianity peddled by flag-wrapped right-wing politicians and Evangelical mega-rich mega-churches is, and has always been, a scam to drain the pockets of the gullible. Because it always works. All you need to do is cater to their sense of victimhood that results from people asking them to behave as Jesus said to behave.
True believers emulate Jesus, they don't use him as a cudgel against people they don't like, and they don't use him to get rich. Because they actually read and follow the Scripture. Or at least they try to.
When someone says they are an evangelical, then please ask them to strive to be a #ConsistentChristian. The strength and purity of their faith should allow them to love thy neighbor, feed and protect the poor and infirm, and love and respect the stranger.
The fact that today's GOP avoids doing that means that they are selectively distorting Christianity towards a different goal than what Jesus put forth. And based on the #BBBbetrayal, the "family values" party only values families with seven-digit bank accounts.
But their doctrines are even worse than that. They may claim to be #ProLife for the fetus, but they are #ProSTRIFE towards babies that can actually cry - and for that matter all the rest of us.
All their legislation and current governmental functions are subjecting us to needless economic and health hardships. They see our pain and suffering as a win-win. The money that they short us means more for their billionaire donors, and our despair is seen as a way to weaken our resolve.
But judging by the 10 million expected to be out on the streets for #NoKings3 on Saturday, they are doing the reverse of breaking our will.
We are the #PracticingPatriots. We demand the adherence to and respect for the Constitution, one nation, #Indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
And those that don't rise to that standard are allowing greed and their #CowardlyComplicity to #DiminishAmerica. They offer no resistance to Trump #ThirdWorldingAmerica, turning us into a #TangerineRepublic. They are just waiting for American democracy to bleed out so kleptocratic #RepubloFascism can trample all the honorable designs of our founding fathers.
They will not even slow down Trump's #SquanderingAmericasGreatness. And for that they will pay with their careers. Each will be an #FTR, #FinalTermRepublican, for cutting holes in the New Deal-era social safety nets that FDR gave to us, and that President Johnson built upon in the '60s.
But we shouldn't have to wait until they're voted out to flip the House. We need the #ImmediateFlipMovement to yank the gavel out of Johnson's hand IN THE NEXT TWO WEEKS.
We need just two House Republicans to rekindle the pure patriotism of their youth, declaring as independent and caucusing with Democrats to turn back enemies foreign and sadly domestic.
They can trigger a #BlueHouseOversightRampage that will expose the #SeditiousConspiracy that has its roots last decade.
These clever defectors can #FlipTheHouseEarlyAndBeHeroesForever. The impeachments and resignations that follow will fly like confetti over a future #2ndIndependenceDay parade. They will be celebrated throughout their lives after we encourage them to make this choice that will save our nation.
>> There you have it folks; my smorgasbord of greatest hashtag hits, my unique offerings to the progressive lexicon. Please creatively apply them to your signs for Saturday.
#ProSTRIFE can be applied to what's being done to just about anybody's primary passion. And if you're looking for an underlying positive one, remind your friends and planet that progressive Democrats utilize #22ndCenturyThinking. We try to embody the attributes that will protect and sustain civilization. So it's like this.
Vote blue for your children's children
Vote Republican for your boss's boss
That theme is on a meme that I'll roll out today on my Substack page under the umbrella of my microscopic organization #RebuildingHonorableDemocracy. It and many more will be posted as notes so you only have to follow, not necessarily subscribe to get on my email list.
And if you do want to subscribe, that's always free. I'm not trying to monetize any aspect of my activism.
We all do our activism differently. Phraseology, hashtags, memes, and outside-the-box ideas are the tools I use for change.
So if you like what you see, please put these new arrows in your quiver if you will.
Good one! I remember an employee of ours proudly had a bumper sticker on her aged car in 2016 “ love trumps Fear”. It just takes waiting and allowing nature ( GOD) to take its course. Lord have mercy on us. 💚🌎🌈💕
But they do believe it and that’s very good for humanity. They’re not allowed to lie anymore, or exploit, or steal, or inflict suffering. They’re in preparation mode for the New Jerusalem. If they forget, we can remind them of their new moral duty.
Professor Reich: sounds illegal and treasonous to me, but hey, i'm just one of the little people, who would spend the rest of my life in prison for pointing a camera at ICE-gestapo agents as they beat and murder innocents.
Hahahahaha! I think they did arrest some dude who threw a sandwich! I think it was a guy in Washington. He threw a subway sandwich at a border patrol agent and was arrested for it! I think it was laughed out of court!
I have a plaque on my wall that says "A good friend will come and bail you out of jail, but a true friend will be sitting next to you saying 'Damn, that was fun!" We'll be GrrlScientist's true friends, Anon!
Peggy - If it helps to collect the evidence before the government tries to destroy it while claiming that the event never happened then I’m ready to sit in the jail cell with you all. :)
I would love the ground to be directly attached to his penis. Watch it burn. Burn baby burn. After listening to the interview of 'Katie Johnson'. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qk38JAwEUOg WHOA. After listening to this, I became even more repulsed, disgusted and angry. Listen to this interview if you are able. It is difficult listening. SHE WAS 13!!!!! He is the monster of our century. Replacing last century as the biggest monster of our time.
Donald - LOL! That or finally appreciate just how much wind could generate electricity. The lightning rod might finally make him come to a decision about whether he would prefer a battery to a shark. ;)
It would be interesting to look very closely at the market activities of the Trump family and their close associates one month prior to his sneak attack on Iran and then what transpires over time to their accounts as the market recovers. Martha Stewart would love to know.
So I’m thinking, if this kind of corruption is taking place with regularity, why should we trust anything going on Wall Street. It’s all a scam! Dishonest, unfair, unreliable. Actually I was thinking about selling any holdings in equities I have, but where to put the proceeds? There is evidence now that the US is in or near default, essentially near bankruptcy. If so, putting your money in a money market fund or even a bank may not be safe as those investments are all backed by the US government and US bonds. And if the US government can’t guarantee my financial safety….then where to go? Foreign equities, debt, banks? Wow! This is a real mess. Those large shoes our administration is wearing is a sign off the times. We, the US, have become a clown show.
Why oh Why can this man be allowed to continue to be the president of this country? His greed and corruption are right out there for everyone to see, yet we go on as if everything is hunky doree! It is disgusting and embarrassing! Everyone knows he is as dirty as a pig in mud, but everyone acts like all is well! He should be behind bars! He and his entire family need to be locked up and the keys thrown away! A cheat, a liar, a con-man, a grifter, a bully, a coward and a total buffoon is heading our country! It is insane!
Absolutely, Douglas! There are so many descriptions for this charlatan, I sometimes forget some of them! It seems his plan is working. He wanted attention diverted from the Epstein scandal and I am not seeing a lot about that right now in the news. It is important to keep that front and center because republicans and maga would like everyone to accept that it is normal! Nothing this evil, corrupt regime has done, is doing or will do in the future is normal!
Peggy, unless you write a long list of negative descriptors that fit Trump and save it as a doc to plug into threads at appropriate points, it would be impossible to remember everything at any given moment.
[That’s possibly the longest sentence I’ve written in years. I think it made sense.]
Your electoral system must be changed as soon as the republicans are out of office. End the electoral college; no more PACs, no more corporations as individuals. If Americans don't end the ability for corruption, it will continue. Don't get lazy!
as i understand it, and i admit that understand little, the electoral college exists to keep power in congress and out of the people. i'm sure that's an over simplification, but I think it kind of holds. It's also embedded in the constitution and would require a constitutional amendment.
“Cass Mastern lived for a few years and in that time he learned that the world is all of one piece. He learned that the world is like an enormous spider web and if you touch it, however lightly, at any point, the vibration ripples to the remotest perimeter and the drowsy spider feels the tingle and is drowsy no more but springs out to fling the gossamer coils about you who have touched the web and then inject the black, numbing poison under your hide.”
Karen - Maybe the only reason some of the states are insisting that schools put up the 10 Commandments is so the kids can keep track of which sins these people have committed and which one is next. Our kids are failing at math and reading but they sure are able to cross off the next line as they watch the depravity.
This pattern of overt corruption and insider trading will continue forever (yes, mostly under Republican auspices but Democrats are not unknown to do similar given the chance) until there are meaningful consequences. A few million $$ fine just doesn’t cut it when there are hundred of millions (or billions) to be made. Should we ever achieve a less overtly corrupt government one of the first priorities (yes, after at least 3 or 4 others) MUST BE statutory incarceration (perhaps 1 year for each $100,000) with no parole or pardon permissible for the first 50 years. Very likely to have an impact.
That Trump is a bastard, etcetera, we already know. But he seems to play in all shamelesness with market forces. This story ruins the trust people could have in the markets.
Of course: the smart operators can rob you, business is not paradise. But there are constituting rules about how markets should operate with a source, a honest working government. That is gone now. What is left, that is not devastated?
Some time ago, I went to a newly-opened pool for a swim. I hadn’t had a swim for ages, and had gone early in the morning when few people were there. It was grand. Only a handful of swimmers had come, mostly older folks and a young couple with a toddler. Suddenly, after a short lap, I heard two lifeguards shouting to order everyone out of the water immediately. The pool was closed and, we learned shortly, would have to be closed for nearly a week. The reason? The toddler’s diaper fell off, dropping one small bit of poop in the water, contaminating the entire public pool. To this day, the power of one little baby to pollute a huge public pool, sending adults
home seems strange. On the other hand, it has helped me understand how one single man can pollute a huge pool, and why it is that more and more commentators are referring to that man as a toddler.
I ask again--are voting Republicans simply fine and happy with financial corruption so long as it benefits people they like, or are they so propagandized and so mentally frozen in their hatred for Democrats, for experts smarter than them, and for egalitarians, that they do not care?
The love of money is the root of all evil. Trump proves it out with every move he makes. My Dad always said, “the last country to have oil would rule the world.”
One of my good friends who fought in the Korean War and I have discussed many times how we rarely see children in our neighborhood outside. We know that the reason is because they are inside playing Video games or are preoccupied with their cellphones. My own children grew up with cellphones and when they occasionally come to visit they pay much more attention to their phones than they pay attention to my wife and I. They are slaves to their phones like I was a slave to cigarettes when I smoked. Personally I do not own a cellphone and never will.
To Trump--The only honest election is one where he can cheat.
Donald - It must be infuriating to him to witness that even though he committed “ballot fraud/cheating” (as he claims people who vote by mail - in ballots do) by mailing in his vote for the Florida special election and watch at least two democrats flip their respective seats from red to blue.
And their excuse that he lives primarily in D.C. doesn’t really fly when he spends most of his time in Florida golfing. He also reportedly mailed his ballot while he was IN Florida. If he is so concerned about mail-in ballots he had ample time to go stand in line like the rest of the little people do.
It’s also very telling when he spelled “which” as “witch” in his comment of:
“CONSTRUCTIVE CONVERSATIONS, WITCH WILL CONTINUE THROUGHOUT THE WEEK…”
What a dumba*s!
Anon--If he's languishing in self pity now, wait till this weekend...
Exactly. I'm betting all those marines are not heading to Iran to help with reconstruction. He's planning something to eclipse coverage of NO KINGS,
I think this would be a good weekend for DA Alvin Bragg (NY) to depose Marla Maples and Ivanka.
Ooops...
Of course he will.
Trump does two things well: age corrosively and destroy hearts (and bodies) of innocent people.
Which is why I can’t wait till he’s dead then I can say I’m glad he’s dead! He can no longer hurt innocent people.
Can we make bumper stickers?
An early memory is of my family going to DC (from PA) to see JFK lying in state. It turned out that the line was too long for two small children to stand for 8+ hours through a cold, dark night, but we were there, and we stood in line.
The only line for Trump that I would consider would be either the "spit on his grave" line or the "piss on his grave" line, depending on length. (I'm very willing to take a book with me.)
Thank you, Betty.
(Unfortunately, the damage done by extreme narcissists often continues after death. Our entire family will pay for my brother's selfish behavior for many years to come.)
Yes, he's hurting innocent people.
Montrealer here. A young pilot (only 30 years old) and his co-pilot died in this latest air catastrophe. We Canadians know it's directly as a result of the greed and incompetence of the trump regime.
Moreover, this inane, joke of a war with Iran is now adversely affecting the rest of the world, and the resentment is growing on- a global level. How far is too far? 2000 dead Americans soldiers, 4000? 8,000? How many? I don't think they care. Sick minds, making sick decisions. It's evil on par with nothing that we've seen since WWII
This, too. He is very good at amplifying the racist attitudes we have pretended no longer exist.
They've already made it so companies are becoming afraid to hire non-white males. (Simply by creating doubts, and LITERALLY inviting white males to complain about their bosses over so-called descrimination....for cash, it might seem.)
What I find interesting is this. According to BBC, while Generalissimo Butt-Crack of the Oval Office claims to be having constructive negotiations with Iran, Iran is saying Washington is negotiating with itself.
That is clearly an indication of how deeply into a solipsistic hole MAGgot culture in DC has fallen. I'm ready to grant ol' Butt-Crack is so consumed with solipsism he actually believes his fantasy world is real, and his followers and supporters in DC have come to believe it too.
What I find singularly fascinating is how he doesn't seem to grasp that the war didn't end because he declared that he won. He doesn't seem to get what is most important to know about the human spirit - whether you like 'em or not. Yet he fantasizes that he can single-handedly resolve biblically chronicled regional animosity with some half-assed executive declaration. This shit dates back to the goddam Assyrians! In this video, he looks like a school bully that can't conceive of having his jaw broken by a kid he just beat up - I remember seeing such a look when I dealt such a blow to such a bully as a kid. He was lucky others stepped in before I was able to get to and lay my hands on the baseball bat laying nearby. Damn lucky!
https://youtu.be/cBYI6v3JThE?si=3T7iSZVeafR_gneD
Also: I just love this guy's style! : https://youtu.be/syHPm2OnW7k?si=Li0uGljbmSuoZsqE
Trump's only reality is what he thinks it is, or what he feels in his bones.
I'm not sure he believes what he says. Trump has lied his face off, his entire life. It's just that he now appears to be somewhat more confused and fuzzy (about everything).
I think trump, given his health and deteriorating mind, is drugged up sufficiently so as not to care about anything he says, however wonky. He's happy - he's going to do and say what he wants to get whatever momentary adulation he's craving. He'll also lie on behalf of others - he gets to hide his crimes, and they get to obliterate, cheat the markets, pursue their own religious rapture, whatever. Grifters using and abusing each other...
These parasites all have their motives. Who's telling the truth? NO ONE.
Hell! "Truth is the first casualty of war!" That's been goin' on since ol' Family Values Boy touted "Family Values" and "Culture Wars" in a stump speech against "Slick Willy" back in the '90s. ol' "Info Wars" Boy as much announces it in his shock jock radio show's name, along with Rush Lamebrain and all the other "conservative" commentators. The war continues, and Iran is just another tired-assed episode in the daily/weekly "reality" soap opera the Republicans began sponsoring all the way back to Bush Sr! It all goes to show the truth of that old adage, whose provenance is a bit unclear. To be fair, it took this long for the Democrats to scrape together the collective wits to realize that's what's been a'goin' on - since the goddam '90s!
The phrase "truth is the first casualty of war" is often attributed to Arthur Ponsonby, but he used it as an epigram in his 1928 book "Falsehood in War-Time" and did not claim it as his own. The earliest known use of a similar phrase dates back to a 1915 speech by Ethel Annakin, who also did not claim authorship. The phrase has also been attributed to Hiram Johnson and Aeschylus, but there is no confirmed original source for the quote.
I’m hoping that his mind is so far gone, and his ego so monumental, that he’ll forget himself and blurt out something, in a boastful way, so incriminating in front of a camera that the whole world will see and hear, and he’ll HAVE to be removed. Silly me!
Of course he is, bless his heart!
Donald - Can’t wait! Might find some recently feeling sick, looking for other employment (that pays) or retired TSA workers standing along side us. Hopefully they will hold up signs that say that Democrats tried eight times to pay us but republicans and the president refused.
I just came back from a trip. I thanked every single TSA person I met. They are ANGRY. I don't know how they are paying their bills, feeding themselves and their children, housing rent/mortgage? Their anger is growing so big, it might just pop the bloated orange anal pustule (IHOPEIHOPEIHOPE)
Joanne - I’m glad that you made it home safely. It’s nice that you acknowledged them and their predicament. I’m pretty sure they are not getting a lot of that right now. I wonder what they are Really thinking now that they have to deal with ICE? Especially since they are now having to deal with ICE’s lack of “training” while ICE is getting paid but TSA is not. Just follows the administration’s playbook by putting unqualified people in the wrong positions.
I have read a couple of articles about people not only waiting in long lines just to get their flight tickets cancelled and rerouted but some people are also losing their lodging because they are not checking in on time. One insult after another.
That's a good "side two" for my sign, Anon!
Currently on "side one" (30"x20"):
STOP…..
BUMPY, JUMPY, RUMPY, DUMPY,
HUMPY, GRUMPY, LUMPY, CLUMPY,
PLUMPY, STUMPY, SCHLUMPY,
CHUMPY, THUMPY, FRUMPY…..
TRUMP - NOW!!!
(Feels good to present 14 insults to the monster, and in 10 colors!.)
Where I plan to be only allows us on the sidewalk, so I guess I'll find out just how long I can last while constantly on my feet, sign in one hand and cane in the other. (I can't imagine it will be 2 hours, but I'll certainly give it my best.)
Fortunately, I designed the sign with crisscrossing poles for handles, so if I must, I can actually wear it atop my head.
Stay safe, Anon.
Now those rhyming words would make a very, very cool Rap song....
Joanne,
Yeah, perhaps if each word ended with "umpity", I'd be a trillionaire by next month!
But, no. I fear it might change me to almost instantly become the biggest a**hole on Earth.
(And it wouldn't fit on the sign with so many more letters. Still, a nice dream...)
HA!
I was starting to think the same thing! (Perhaps GMs really do TA!)
We'll see, but where it will be seen is a town so small I can't imagine media being present to distribute the image, and I'm of an age to be more a "beat poet" kinda guy. (How white am I? didn't even realize until last week how fortunate I may be to not have any friends named "Monica!")
Thank you, Joanne!
foofaraw - You might want to find one of those handy camping stools or a cane that turns into a seat. Maybe for the next one (because there definitely will be a next one). I will be there in spirit with you! Please don’t hurt yourself or wear yourself out - but I like your alternative method of holding your sign! You are much kinder than I am because most of my choices of words are not appropriate for any children that might be in the crowd. :)
Just returned from my most recent DM to you. (Like comedians say, "Timing is...")
Where I'll be is "sidewalk ONLY", so sitting anywhere (except my car) wouldn't be an option. I'll have my meds, and that will do as long as I don't do it often.
Anon: I am sorry that workers get screwed, working for free, wondering if they will ever see any pay or backpay. But I am glad it happens to be TSA. To my mind, these people should never have existed. I always thought that their only purpose was to scare the public enough to get Bush elected. I don't believe that they have done squat to keep airlines safe. I think they are just a self extending useless agency. I am willing to view the evidence to the contrary, if there is any, but it would need to be compared to all of the negative effects that they serve for every flight for the last ten years. I don't think you can point to enough minor oversights (like my taking my pocket knife on a flight - perfectly innocent except in their fevered minds) to overcome the presumption of their uselessness.
At least those people are doing a job at the airports, unlike those ICE agents who've been deployed who are basically just standing around doing nothing.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/b0r1vBdjyt0
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/1SusOOPgVhQ
And getting paid while TSA agents aren't. Seems to me it's like crossing a picket line.
Why not take ICE money and pay TSA? They're both part of DHS. This is just more reason to shut down ICE.
I had stomach problems before a flight and had a small, unopened bottle of Pepto with me. I was made to open it and drink some. At least I got to take it on the flight.
Susan: I think it will a sunshine day in hell before anyone can convince me that this prohibition against liquids is anything more than a totally invented fantasy by maliciously insane people looking for one more struggle to mount against simple flyers just to justify their useless jobs.
Well the TSA people always make me go through the x-ray because I have a metal hip. That serves to remind me that better the hip than carrying a gun. On second thought, I have never even owned a gun.
It's not only a US phenomenon--every country I've flown out of in the last 20 years has similar pre-flight security screenings. Some of them are even stricter than ours. Some of them are conducted by military police, armed with submachine guns. But feel free to complain about the TSA people/procedures all you want--I won't try to stop you.
PlasticFish: I fondly recall flying out of Denmark many years ago. The TSA look-alike officer sort of waved me through and I demurred so: "Aren't you going to check all my luggage and my pockets and shoes like they do in America"? or something similar. He just laughed. "Those crazy Americans!" And I boarded. But the Americans have probably threatened to not allow airplanes to land here if those agents don't act just as grim, idiotic and excessive as ours. I'll bet those foreign agents you mentioned would just go home if it weren't for American pressure. And of course there's the allure of jobs, even if they are bullshit jobs.
I agree completely about the purpose of TSA, what are they keeping us safe from? I always think about the amount of money being made by the corporations that provide the x-ray machines, the special suitcases, appropriately sized bottles, etc.
Paul - It’s been a long time since I have flown on a plane so I don’t know how they are now but I do remember thinking back then that my nail clippers didn’t seem like much of a weapon. However, if they are stopping the next shoe bomber I prefer to put up with the inconvenience so that people can get home safely. Just being in a plane seems like too much of a gamble these days - especially after yet another plane crash that just occurred. Even though they say statistically that flying is safer than driving if I ever do have to go a distance past my state it will be by car.
Their union may advise them not to participate. An Ohio teacher was fired for using sick days to attend a concert. https://nypost.com/2024/04/05/us-news/ohio-english-teacher-faces-firing-for-using-sick-days-to-attend-nashville-concert/
ISOequanimity - True. I was just thinking back to the past election when I foolishly thought that people would be voting to save their government jobs but instead in came T and out they went. He told them ahead of time that he would be looking for a way to fire all of them.
Thanks to all of you who have done this grueling probe. .
My question is, does tRump actually type all his posts himself, or is there a lackey standing by 24-7 to take down and post his utterings. And if so, he’s either doing the insider-trading thing himself or the lackey is doing it, perhaps by having a “live” phone secretly transmitting tRump’s plans to someone who can immediately take advantage of them. Does that make sense?
Anne--From what I've been able to decern, if the post is poorly written and makes little to no sense -Trump wrote it. If it's clean and well constructed, someone else wrote it.
Losers. 47 is convicted felon found guilty of dozens of counts of fraud (plus SA and defamation). He’s been court ordered to pay E. Jean Carroll more than 80M but hasn’t done so, despite losing the appeal.
And all of this is playing out in a country that, behind our backs and without our knowledge, legalized “strategic deception” in politics and private industry, along with law enforcement and military. No other country in the western world has legal deception. And we’re one of just a handful worldwide (the others are Russia, China, and Iran).
Without truthfulness, transparency, and accountability, there can be no trust. Our global friends and neighbors have learned that the hard way. We have misprision laws in six states that could result in arrests. What are those AGs waiting for? Looking at you, IL, DE, VA, VT, CA, and RI.
Our legal system is barely breathing. Thanks to SCOTUS/SCROTUM
It was self-inflicted. Over the last 50 years, without our knowledge or consent, lawyers steered consumers towards settling our differences though lawsuits. It wasn’t like that before. Then, with all the lawsuits, they formed legal teams for health care and industry, to prevent us from suing. It’s a gamed system and they are the only winners, imho. Now that AI legal databases let us represent ourselves, unemployed lawyers may be harvesting our crops, since all the farmworkers are being deported.
No wonder there are so many lawyer jokes....
💯
ISOequanimity - Want to get even angrier? The government just “settled” a lawsuit by Mike Flynn (the very one who was sentenced to prison for dealing with Russia but pardoned by T) and gave him 1.2 million dollars.
Anon - as R Reich points out, drumpf, his cronies, and nepo babies are a criminal gang intent on ripping the world economy to shreds for their own benefit, as they lay the planetary environment to total waste. This is suicide mission for life on Earth, forget Mars. Al Capone would be proud.
Trump is driving a car without brakes, and he seems to be having fun.
Anon, "Crazy like a fox".
Or...
"Crazy like a fox ODing on botox!"
Anon--The witch hunt, was just that.
I see puppeee!!!
I still wish he had a stroke when he realized he is represented by a Democrat.
Anon, I saw that too, 'witch' explains why he is still a troubled 'victim' of the (real) Witch hunt (in his own 'why me?' 'why me?' ~ 'not me !', 'I'm the innocent party here!')).
Witch hunts on his mind?
No words…
I could tell it was a real post from the dumba*s due to "please" lacking "d" & the misspelled "witch" along with his popular closing sentence. If a staff member posted it, AI would have corrected the grammatical & spelling errors. He truly is a dumbass! There, I said it & I'm glad i did!
M Pare - Yes, he truly is! Feels good to say it, doesn’t it? ;)
Absolutely!
Remember one thing... Martha Stewart was sent to prison for insider trading. I'll bet she'd love to have that time back. Five months behind bars, five months of restriction to her home, and two years of probation. Trump's cronies won't serve even five minutes.
America loves making women serve for the same crime men go free.
Or in the Epstein case, the men never even get investigated.
Justice!
What a farce!
Justice Alito thinks that women have no rights apart from the right to vote. Trump says that it's up to the states. The wife of Justice Thomas believes that Trump is Prince Charming.
Victor - He probably doesn’t even think that about women being able to vote but he’s either afraid of her or because she is a reliable vote he “allows” it. If the SAVE Act passes she will have to jump through the same hoops as other women (or people who have different last names from their birth certificates) just to reclaim her right. I don’t know how many people have a passport or can afford all of the fees and needed paperwork but they are going to disenfranchise their own voters as well. I’ve heard two different stories about the REAL ID being accepted as an alternative but I have also heard that it would not be. A solution looking for a problem. It’s up to the states until they go against what the republicans want.
Even though more Repub women than Dem women would be affected (since fewer "Lady Dems" change their names at marriage, for one reason), it really increasingly seems to ONLY be about inflicting pain on the weak and innocent.
I saw this today (seemingly from NYT originally) and the last sentence is a real mindfuck:
"He added later: "This gets to the real problem. Donald Trump is famously indifferent to the concerns of those around him. He is a consummate narcissist, and he is, without question, the most solipsistic person ever to occupy the Oval Office. Over his decades on the public stage, we have seen little to no evidence that he believes in the existence of other minds." "
https://www.alternet.org/trump-spiral-2676616718/
Exactly. He doesn't believe anyone else is real. Obviously what makes this matter (other than his control of DA BOM!) is that EVERY human has the option to consider themselves alone in all of existence, but very few do. (Thus: rules exist, particularly for those few)
Donna , Yes "Some pigs are more equal than others". I wonder if the "SCOTUS 6" get a cut.
New name for SCOTUS....SCOTUS/SCROTUM
Perfect fit! Joanne!
I call them the Sleazy Six.
Me too, JennSH.
Won't it be ironic if the crimes that finally bring down the House of Trump are insider trading around the Iran war?
Not pedophilia, not tariffs, not DOGE, not "It's Going to be Wild" RFK Jr, not a big pile of Constitutional violations, not his in your face graft, not ICE murders, not the murder of alleged drug runners in boats and so forth.
It's like mobsters of yore who never paid for their murders but went to prison for tax evasion.
Whatever it takes, the American People are abandoning Trump/MAGA in droves. Retribution is coming.
Merrill, I like the irony in your post.
If the AGs of states with misprision laws issue warrants, DC metro police will arrest and detain all of the usual suspects for up to 30 days pending extradition. Niedermeyer can plead for mayo, Susie can offer to make casseroles, and Pammy can lament the state of her hair and nails. Not proud of the schadenfreude but it keeps my head from exploding.
I remain hopeful; make it happen!
Great detail and addition on what I posted yesterday.
The $1.7 Trillion Typo was his other move.
Trump posted in all-caps about “very good and productive conversations” with Iran. In the time it takes to walk from your car to your desk, $1.7 trillion appeared in equity markets and oil dropped 15%. By the time you got your coffee, Iran had called him a liar and half the gains vanished.
The post was briefly deleted, not because it was false, but because Trump wrote “witch” instead of “which.” Tehran’s denial was already on the wire before the correction posted.
The pattern: pre-dawn volatility spike, Trump posts, partial reversal. It’s repeated enough times now that it has a shape. A predictable shape.
The SEC would normally notice a shape like that. Whether anyone in a position to act is currently paying attention is, as they say, a separate question.
Especially when the SEC chair owns $6M in crypto, drops enforcement cases, and Margaret Ryan just resigned after six months because she wasn’t allowed to pursue fraud charges against Trump’s inner circle.
When the cops work for the criminals, it’s not a market. It’s a heist with a ticker.
This entire regime is an extortion racket.
—Johan
If its an extortion racket, then Trump may not be as stupid as I keep reading in this substack. Is the whole Iranian conflict a part of a strategy to that end, or the racket part of a strategy just contributing to a bigger end? I’m beginning to agree with him: he is the smartest man that ever lived. Doubt if he'll remembered that way, but he is also good at re-writing history
Another take: Could some other entities have used strategic analysis of recent observations of his past behavior to place bets on this kind of scenario. If not, then they should be doing it now.
Since the SEC won’t investigate we can’t see who benefited or how?
note self:
lot of activity at Gitmo. an expanding, extremely expensive detention center in a self sufficient environment with regard to power and water and with a kind of unique hodge-podge legal standing and internal legal system. Push back in the states on AI data centers.
How does one place a financial hedge on say a conversion of the site to a huge AI data center within a certain period of time, placation of local citizenry (we'll be nice and call them indentured servants) in an adjoining walled off area with a Trump resort.
“lot of activity at Gitmo. an expanding, extremely expensive detention center in a self sufficient environment with regard to power and water and with a kind of unique hodge-podge legal standing and internal legal system.”
Probably for the anticipated large number of Antifa, a terrorist organisation both foreign and domestic, a German import we really don’t need.
All we know with certainty is that most of us are suckers and losers as long as Trump stays in power.
The Trump Value System:
"True"/"Honest"/"Fair"/etc - Favourable for him
"False"/"Dishonest"/"Unfair"/etc - Unfavourable for him
Once you've figured this out, you can decode much of what he says.
PlasticFish--Trump is far easier than that to decipher--Just don't believe a damn thing that you hear coming from his mouth. Except perhaps a belch or two.
If he didn't have a government-sized megaphone, and nobody paid him any mind, that would work quite well, would it not?
PlasticFish--Agreed
Donald, Trump promised he would be dictator on day one, and he has kept his word. Dismissing all his pronouncements as mere lies is extremely dangerous.
Victor--To put store in anything the man says is equally as dangerous. Half a dozen of one or 6 of the other.
Trump gets away with his lies because many of us are willing to believe his lies, and he knows this. Can we stop lying to ourselves?
Victor--If we can stop listening to ignorance then we can begin believe in the truth.
Not just tRump, that holds true for the entire Republican Party.
Hello Donald H. .... The only Guiding Principle for DJT is, "What's In It For Me?"...
Apache--It's always been all about him.
Hello Donald H... In DJT's Fantasies. It Is Always. "Me, Me, Me"...
He has done it many times - and he also done it for his crony billionaires and othe Repubs.
Why else would they support him?
Seems like a good time to remember that the SCOTUS get-out-of-jail free card for presidential immunity does not apply in emoluments violations that can trigger impeachment.
Perhaps now is a great time to make a stink about this…
OH? That seems like excellent information!
Hopefully it doesn't apply to treason --- for which there is no statute of limitations.
💯 Agreed!
The military leaders telling troops that this is Armageddon apparently don’t know their scripture. All they’ve done is reinforce the fact that evangelicals answer to a higher authority than 47 as they shift from a mode of expectation to one of preparation. They can’t lie anymore and they must be law-abiding even when they don’t want to be. They are commanded to be morally and ethically blameless, as befitting the anticipated return of Messiah. Psychic-to-the-stars and devout Christian Jeane Dixon predicted that Armageddon would start in 2020 and that Jesus will return in 2037. I kinda hope that’s true. I’ve read how Armageddon ends: Light trumps darkness (pun intended).
Https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/03/20/pete-hegseth-pentagon-christian-nationalism-iran-war/3fa10ac4-244d-11f1-954a-6300919c9854_story.html
The so-called Christianity peddled by flag-wrapped right-wing politicians and Evangelical mega-rich mega-churches is, and has always been, a scam to drain the pockets of the gullible. Because it always works. All you need to do is cater to their sense of victimhood that results from people asking them to behave as Jesus said to behave.
True believers emulate Jesus, they don't use him as a cudgel against people they don't like, and they don't use him to get rich. Because they actually read and follow the Scripture. Or at least they try to.
When someone says they are an evangelical, then please ask them to strive to be a #ConsistentChristian. The strength and purity of their faith should allow them to love thy neighbor, feed and protect the poor and infirm, and love and respect the stranger.
The fact that today's GOP avoids doing that means that they are selectively distorting Christianity towards a different goal than what Jesus put forth. And based on the #BBBbetrayal, the "family values" party only values families with seven-digit bank accounts.
But their doctrines are even worse than that. They may claim to be #ProLife for the fetus, but they are #ProSTRIFE towards babies that can actually cry - and for that matter all the rest of us.
All their legislation and current governmental functions are subjecting us to needless economic and health hardships. They see our pain and suffering as a win-win. The money that they short us means more for their billionaire donors, and our despair is seen as a way to weaken our resolve.
But judging by the 10 million expected to be out on the streets for #NoKings3 on Saturday, they are doing the reverse of breaking our will.
We are the #PracticingPatriots. We demand the adherence to and respect for the Constitution, one nation, #Indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
And those that don't rise to that standard are allowing greed and their #CowardlyComplicity to #DiminishAmerica. They offer no resistance to Trump #ThirdWorldingAmerica, turning us into a #TangerineRepublic. They are just waiting for American democracy to bleed out so kleptocratic #RepubloFascism can trample all the honorable designs of our founding fathers.
They will not even slow down Trump's #SquanderingAmericasGreatness. And for that they will pay with their careers. Each will be an #FTR, #FinalTermRepublican, for cutting holes in the New Deal-era social safety nets that FDR gave to us, and that President Johnson built upon in the '60s.
But we shouldn't have to wait until they're voted out to flip the House. We need the #ImmediateFlipMovement to yank the gavel out of Johnson's hand IN THE NEXT TWO WEEKS.
We need just two House Republicans to rekindle the pure patriotism of their youth, declaring as independent and caucusing with Democrats to turn back enemies foreign and sadly domestic.
They can trigger a #BlueHouseOversightRampage that will expose the #SeditiousConspiracy that has its roots last decade.
These clever defectors can #FlipTheHouseEarlyAndBeHeroesForever. The impeachments and resignations that follow will fly like confetti over a future #2ndIndependenceDay parade. They will be celebrated throughout their lives after we encourage them to make this choice that will save our nation.
>> There you have it folks; my smorgasbord of greatest hashtag hits, my unique offerings to the progressive lexicon. Please creatively apply them to your signs for Saturday.
#ProSTRIFE can be applied to what's being done to just about anybody's primary passion. And if you're looking for an underlying positive one, remind your friends and planet that progressive Democrats utilize #22ndCenturyThinking. We try to embody the attributes that will protect and sustain civilization. So it's like this.
Vote blue for your children's children
Vote Republican for your boss's boss
That theme is on a meme that I'll roll out today on my Substack page under the umbrella of my microscopic organization #RebuildingHonorableDemocracy. It and many more will be posted as notes so you only have to follow, not necessarily subscribe to get on my email list.
And if you do want to subscribe, that's always free. I'm not trying to monetize any aspect of my activism.
We all do our activism differently. Phraseology, hashtags, memes, and outside-the-box ideas are the tools I use for change.
So if you like what you see, please put these new arrows in your quiver if you will.
Good one! I remember an employee of ours proudly had a bumper sticker on her aged car in 2016 “ love trumps Fear”. It just takes waiting and allowing nature ( GOD) to take its course. Lord have mercy on us. 💚🌎🌈💕
Trump loves Satan, because he hates all creation except one--his own person.
🙏 Amen, Phyllis!
They would do well to read Mark or 2 Thessalonians.
It's all fake, how can anyone with a brain believe something like that, that never happens when it's supposed to happen.
But they do believe it and that’s very good for humanity. They’re not allowed to lie anymore, or exploit, or steal, or inflict suffering. They’re in preparation mode for the New Jerusalem. If they forget, we can remind them of their new moral duty.
Does stock market manipulation count in the realm of emoluments? And can you cite?
Good idea💔🇺🇸
If only!!!!
Professor Reich: sounds illegal and treasonous to me, but hey, i'm just one of the little people, who would spend the rest of my life in prison for pointing a camera at ICE-gestapo agents as they beat and murder innocents.
Or even tossing a sandwich at them, GrrlScientist!
Peggy, Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! They would probably eat it, then arrest whoever threw it!!
Hahahahaha! I think they did arrest some dude who threw a sandwich! I think it was a guy in Washington. He threw a subway sandwich at a border patrol agent and was arrested for it! I think it was laughed out of court!
Good for the judge who threw it out! (Wonder what they'd rule if someone threw a BRICK???) 😛
Yes, I remember.
It certainly lacked merit.
KLare K. But that would destroy the evidence! Oh, I forgot, they don't need any evidence.
Yeah, Laurie, not in the "Trump World" of ICE!
Evidence just gets in the way, especially when you might change the lie in a few hours.
GrrlScientist - I’ll bail you out. ;)
I have a plaque on my wall that says "A good friend will come and bail you out of jail, but a true friend will be sitting next to you saying 'Damn, that was fun!" We'll be GrrlScientist's true friends, Anon!
that might be conspiracy!. but if you have enough ill-gotten gains, no worries.
Peggy - If it helps to collect the evidence before the government tries to destroy it while claiming that the event never happened then I’m ready to sit in the jail cell with you all. :)
Thanks, Anon! That's good to know!
My best friend has been my best friend for over 75 years. I gave her that in a b'day card. I love it!
Waiting for the people to build a tribunal. Just like the Nazi tribunals. And send them all where they belong-TO HELL
https://imgflip.com/i/aisb00
He wouldn't be low enough to use world affairs as leverage with which to influence the stock market, would he?
I’m sure that was rhetorical but…I’m sure he already tried to flush the evidence down his golden toilet. ;)
Anon--someone should ground that obscene thing to the lightening rod on the roof. He would come to understand the true meaning of Stormy.
Hahahahahaha! That's a picture I won't be able to get out of my head! Good one, Donald!
I would love the ground to be directly attached to his penis. Watch it burn. Burn baby burn. After listening to the interview of 'Katie Johnson'. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qk38JAwEUOg WHOA. After listening to this, I became even more repulsed, disgusted and angry. Listen to this interview if you are able. It is difficult listening. SHE WAS 13!!!!! He is the monster of our century. Replacing last century as the biggest monster of our time.
Donald - LOL! That or finally appreciate just how much wind could generate electricity. The lightning rod might finally make him come to a decision about whether he would prefer a battery to a shark. ;)
The picture of his glued-down hair standing upright and frizzled is making me smile. Too bad I can't make an image of what I can see in my mind.
Jan--An image for Robert's cartoon contest.
Donald, love, love, love, love, love!
I laughed out loud!
Good one, Donald, a real knee-slapper. 🤣🤣🤣
No, of course not…How can you even imagine?
Dorothy--
???
It would be interesting to look very closely at the market activities of the Trump family and their close associates one month prior to his sneak attack on Iran and then what transpires over time to their accounts as the market recovers. Martha Stewart would love to know.
So I’m thinking, if this kind of corruption is taking place with regularity, why should we trust anything going on Wall Street. It’s all a scam! Dishonest, unfair, unreliable. Actually I was thinking about selling any holdings in equities I have, but where to put the proceeds? There is evidence now that the US is in or near default, essentially near bankruptcy. If so, putting your money in a money market fund or even a bank may not be safe as those investments are all backed by the US government and US bonds. And if the US government can’t guarantee my financial safety….then where to go? Foreign equities, debt, banks? Wow! This is a real mess. Those large shoes our administration is wearing is a sign off the times. We, the US, have become a clown show.
Ha! Those Rump shoes aren't even made in America... So much for "America First"
Which means investors will invest in Hong Kong or London or anywhere they aren't cheated on.
Real property same as during the high inflation years of Carter/Reagan.
Now, I don't mind chopping wood, and I don't care if the money's no good
You take what you need and you leave the rest
But they should never have taken the very best
The night they drove old Dixie down
European markets are out performing American markets.
Why oh Why can this man be allowed to continue to be the president of this country? His greed and corruption are right out there for everyone to see, yet we go on as if everything is hunky doree! It is disgusting and embarrassing! Everyone knows he is as dirty as a pig in mud, but everyone acts like all is well! He should be behind bars! He and his entire family need to be locked up and the keys thrown away! A cheat, a liar, a con-man, a grifter, a bully, a coward and a total buffoon is heading our country! It is insane!
Don’t forget to add pedophile
Absolutely, Douglas! There are so many descriptions for this charlatan, I sometimes forget some of them! It seems his plan is working. He wanted attention diverted from the Epstein scandal and I am not seeing a lot about that right now in the news. It is important to keep that front and center because republicans and maga would like everyone to accept that it is normal! Nothing this evil, corrupt regime has done, is doing or will do in the future is normal!
Peggy, EPSTEIN, EPSTEIN, EPSTEIN, EPSTEIN, EPSTEIN!!! Just for you! I have not forgotten!
Thanks, Klare! We must keep that in their face until justice is served for those victims!
Nor have I.
Peggy, unless you write a long list of negative descriptors that fit Trump and save it as a doc to plug into threads at appropriate points, it would be impossible to remember everything at any given moment.
[That’s possibly the longest sentence I’ve written in years. I think it made sense.]
Jan, that made perfect sense and is a very helpful suggestion! It is impossible to remember them all!
It does beg the question of how dirty congress is
Your electoral system must be changed as soon as the republicans are out of office. End the electoral college; no more PACs, no more corporations as individuals. If Americans don't end the ability for corruption, it will continue. Don't get lazy!
agreed, but don't believe the Democrats would do it.
Why? Is it because they're benefitting as much as the republicans, Jim?
as i understand it, and i admit that understand little, the electoral college exists to keep power in congress and out of the people. i'm sure that's an over simplification, but I think it kind of holds. It's also embedded in the constitution and would require a constitutional amendment.
but back to the second part of your question; yes
Exactly, Emma!
Because his associates share the same values. There should be a special place in hell for those who protect pimps and sex offenders.
100% agree, Colin!
Peggy, "follow the money", that's why.
Amen, amen, amen to that, Peggy!
Someone once said about Huey Long, "He's so crooked they're going to have to bury him with a corkscrew." Trump and his cronies are way crookeder.
“Cass Mastern lived for a few years and in that time he learned that the world is all of one piece. He learned that the world is like an enormous spider web and if you touch it, however lightly, at any point, the vibration ripples to the remotest perimeter and the drowsy spider feels the tingle and is drowsy no more but springs out to fling the gossamer coils about you who have touched the web and then inject the black, numbing poison under your hide.”
All the king's men, indeed.
"Oh what a tangled web we weave..."
One of Robert Burn's best quotes. Trump and his associates have spun a web of deceit so big it will take centuries to figure it out.
God, William, that's a horrible metaphor!
The question is: What crime HASN'T Trump (and cronies and relatives) committed?
- Karen Cooper
Karen - Maybe the only reason some of the states are insisting that schools put up the 10 Commandments is so the kids can keep track of which sins these people have committed and which one is next. Our kids are failing at math and reading but they sure are able to cross off the next line as they watch the depravity.
Blatant corruption treated as smart and cute, by the presidential perp.
Who is trolling with his overt celebration of genocide by ordering up a Columbus statue, while he funds genocide at home and abroad.
Cute. Funny. Your favorite president.
I remember when Hillary challenged Trump about questionable tax avoidance during a debate and he said, “Yeah. It means I'm smart..."
When what it really means is he hires smart people.
PS. Imo he’s not stupid, but he’s nowhere near as smart as he thinks he is. His narcissism blinds him to reality.
Yes, there is the long run that comes to an end.
Me too.
This pattern of overt corruption and insider trading will continue forever (yes, mostly under Republican auspices but Democrats are not unknown to do similar given the chance) until there are meaningful consequences. A few million $$ fine just doesn’t cut it when there are hundred of millions (or billions) to be made. Should we ever achieve a less overtly corrupt government one of the first priorities (yes, after at least 3 or 4 others) MUST BE statutory incarceration (perhaps 1 year for each $100,000) with no parole or pardon permissible for the first 50 years. Very likely to have an impact.
It should mean jail in the general population. For some of them it would mean solitary for their own protection.
That Trump is a bastard, etcetera, we already know. But he seems to play in all shamelesness with market forces. This story ruins the trust people could have in the markets.
Of course: the smart operators can rob you, business is not paradise. But there are constituting rules about how markets should operate with a source, a honest working government. That is gone now. What is left, that is not devastated?
Sure does smell like corruption, and it doesn't surprise me one bit.
Business as usual.
Some time ago, I went to a newly-opened pool for a swim. I hadn’t had a swim for ages, and had gone early in the morning when few people were there. It was grand. Only a handful of swimmers had come, mostly older folks and a young couple with a toddler. Suddenly, after a short lap, I heard two lifeguards shouting to order everyone out of the water immediately. The pool was closed and, we learned shortly, would have to be closed for nearly a week. The reason? The toddler’s diaper fell off, dropping one small bit of poop in the water, contaminating the entire public pool. To this day, the power of one little baby to pollute a huge public pool, sending adults
home seems strange. On the other hand, it has helped me understand how one single man can pollute a huge pool, and why it is that more and more commentators are referring to that man as a toddler.
Today's bright robber barons learned from history. This is the 21 century clone of the 19th century railroad scandals
I ask again--are voting Republicans simply fine and happy with financial corruption so long as it benefits people they like, or are they so propagandized and so mentally frozen in their hatred for Democrats, for experts smarter than them, and for egalitarians, that they do not care?
Yes and Yes.
The love of money is the root of all evil. Trump proves it out with every move he makes. My Dad always said, “the last country to have oil would rule the world.”
The last country to have water will rule the world; but yes, there is nothing trump does, or a person who associates with him, that is not dirty.
water is life.
Have you seen the news about Jakarta? Flooded and somewhat in denial. There's also death by flood.
Sadly, he was probably right. Our species learns slowly--if at all.
One of my good friends who fought in the Korean War and I have discussed many times how we rarely see children in our neighborhood outside. We know that the reason is because they are inside playing Video games or are preoccupied with their cellphones. My own children grew up with cellphones and when they occasionally come to visit they pay much more attention to their phones than they pay attention to my wife and I. They are slaves to their phones like I was a slave to cigarettes when I smoked. Personally I do not own a cellphone and never will.