Eight years ago when I warned my friends on Facebook about the latent fascism of the Trump cult, I was reprimanded as an alarmist, or derided as crazy by some. I kept insisting I was right. The signs were there for everyone to see. I was lambasted for speaking out against the appeasement branch of the Republican Party. I was told my remarks were unfair, that Republicans were "good people". Well, guess what? So were the 1930's Germans "good people". They just wanted to be proud of their country again and to rebuild their industrial and military power. And closing their eyes to bigotry and bullying was what they did. Until their country was turned into a giant ruined graveyard, their women violated wholesale by the Russians, and the truth came out. "Gee, we didn't know they were slaughtering our neighbors." "We were (helplessly) following orders." America is supposed to be better than that. We're supposed to be tolerant, welcoming, rational, and democratic. Trump is everything contrary to those characteristics. And those who have embraced him get no warm feelings of understanding or empathy from me. They're sick, infected by a political virus, and their view of Americanism has been horribly warped. I want no part of their vision for the future.
As Kamala is the daughter (a female) of Indian and Jamaican immigrants, not only is Trump attacking the current immigrants, he is utilizing these 5 fascist identifiers to personally attack his opponent, Kamala.
Trump is a sick and deranged person.
Trump needs psychiatric help.
Trump also needs to go to prison for the rest of his life to pay for his crimes and receive the medical help he so desperately needs that he won’t seek on his own behalf.
Never to late to revoke their citizenship and send them packing. We did it some German immigrants and naturalized citizens before WW 2. They were here pushing the Nazi lies and trying to overthrow our elections and government. Good by to them Biden should do this as his last act of patriotism for our country. Cheers... GH
Yes, and Peter Thiel wasn't born in the U.S. either. It's so ironic that these kleptocrats came to our beautiful democracy because it offered unlimited advancement for them and they prospered under our system. Now they want to tear it down.
Fake Americans they may be, but they came to the US to multiply their wealth and power. I don’t think they want to destroy our system as much as they want to destroy everyone who is not part of their cozy little white cabal. Racists and bullies to their very core.
Peter Thiel has said that he considers democracy incompatible with freedom. Both of these guys want to "deconstruct the administrative state". Bottom line is they want a system that allows them to rule.
I don't think he actually knows who she is. I think she's one of Putin's agents, sent to "marry" Trump to keep an eye on him and report back to Putin. Ivana too. It's clearly not a marriage in the American sense.
Not really. Some American men, unsure of themselves, purposefully choose wives from other countries and cultures, to establish "male dominance" over their wives and their children. (Jose Menendez is an undeniable example.)
Immigrants are needy Keith, not prone to make trouble, like filing for a divorce.
My second wife was an immigrant, I was needy, and she filled that need and I was a ticket to the land of the big B.X (Base exchange). it took 10 years to admit error, but I filed for the divorce she never would.
I agree with your sentiment Jeannie, but technically you and I and millions of others are not since we were born here. Descended from immigrants yes, and most who have 17th and 18th Century roots are descended from indentured servants and even slaves (the Irish were periodicallyenslaved, especially by Cromwell, and Scottish Romani were sent as slaves to the Carolinas, if they so much as stole a loaf of bread, that or hanging.
Trump is beyond psychotherapy, less than a powerful antipsychotic drug, in order to deaden the animosity he feels to anyone not in his mirror image. Should he get back in,
look for the swastika to appear on the armbands of his sycophants, as if by magic.
The eugenicist: one extremely hateful campaign ad features groups of LGBTQ persons as the worst examples of humanity, of the kind whose welfare Kamala would protect. T is an absolute fiend, and if justice existed, he would have been banished from the streets and the airwaves long ago. The most dangerous person in the hemisphere, including all the bad guys from south of the border.
Dennis, psychiatrist M. Scott Peck wrote about the danger of malignant narcissists, of which Donald Trump is an archetype. Peck says that such people cannot be cured.
His niece Mary, a degreed psychologist, sees through him to his core, and I'm sure she would agree. Read some of her illuminating articles in her recent Substack columns, like 'The Bringer of Death' and 'He's Decompensating before Our Eyes'
He's a full-blown psychotic. He scores something like 33 on a test with 44 points, whereas most Americans score 4. "Malignant narcissist" is a nice way of saying full-blown psychotic. They are equivalent terms. Donald Trump and his buddy Hannibal Lechter. Cannibals and murderers united.
I agree with everything except the swastika armbands.
They are at least smart enough to have created their own membership symbols and uniforms: the red MAGA cap and (for the leadership cadre) the blue suit and red tie.
Many of his cultists aren't that smart, Michael. Check out these neo-Nazis in full regalia, from a flotilla of drumpf-worshipers whooping it up in Florida. (from Wajahat Ali)
But those COS-play Nazis are only a tiny sub-group that gives the rest of MAGA plausible deniability (“Look, at least we’re not as bad as ‘real’ Nazis.”)
When in fact they are just as bad, and will certainly commit similar atrocities, if given the chance.
Why waste the money? As often as he's fucked over his employees, bankers, suppliers, investors, many of who were involved with the mafia, how no one hasn't fixed his "issues" amazes me...
Let's just put him on an island in a straitjacket and use his remaining money to feed him Big Macs and well-paid prostitutes with well-funded 401k plans.
45 is NOT the one the MAGA cult wants in the Oval Office. If he were to win this election straight- up, he would be hit with the 25th amendment before he lowers his right hand on inauguration day. If he loses, the election tesults will be tied up for months, the final arbitrator? THE US SUPREME COURT!
JD Vance, while terrifying and dangerous to many, many of us, is the "logical" choice to the now obviously, undeniably deranged (possibly demented) #45. JD Vance has been groomed by MAGA's inner circle, his path cleared by the corrupt Supreme Court. Now, like the "for real" Manchurian Candidate," he lies in wait to fufill his destiny and OUR nightmare. (Hoping I'm wrong.)
I also see this as an opportunistic action by JD Vance to replace what he called "America's Hitler" with himself. All the Democrats and half of the Republicans in congressional House and the Senate would be ready to impeach or use the 25th amendment to replace Donald Trump with JD Vance. I just want to see who JD Vance would choose as his Vice president. At least Elon musk does not qualify because he is not a natural born citizen of the USA. I still do not see what Elon musk has to gain when all of his businesses go against the Republican agenda that denies climate science and hates electric vehicles.
Trump also is showing increasing signs of dementia. His speeches about Hannibal Lecter, sharks vs boat batteries, flies, etc demonstrate his diminished capabilities.
😂😂😂😂 yet they portray Harris as a Black African American and clearly she isn’t!
But because she is a women that she couldn’t be fascist or dictator or communist that she clearly is. The immigrants coming into the USA and Canada are terrorists hiding in plain sight yet Democrats have tunnel delusional vision.
Kerry, I was born in Germany in 1946 where I grew up (left in 1970). I also warned people eight years ago (I had a blog then). But I never thought it could really happen here -- somehow, I identified Nazis with Germans, although I know there were lots of them in other countries in Europe, and also in the U.S. It's only now that I realize that fascism can happen anywhere, because a few ultra-rich, selfish, ruthless people just want more power and more money, and because many other people are blinded by a strong authority figure, by fear of "the other", by subconscious values that are propped up by their belief systems. It's sobering.
Trouble is ultra-rich fascists die and leave their corruption and barbarism behind to infect generations that follow. Witness how MAGA cult members don’t have any idea that they are dispensable brainwashed ciphers for the fascists. They have no idea that ConOld is channeling the most vicious ideology of the last 100 years. (Ignoring for the moment Mao’s China). Should Trump win they will go bewildered into gulags and continue to blame ‘others’ for their circumstances. When ConOld loses the election they will protest and whine about how much ‘better’ their sad lives would be under their Orange turd. Sad that the country once the beacon of liberty and democratic values has become the laughing stock of the free world in thrall to a carnival barker, fraudster and sexual predator (among almost all other criminal and moral failings). Taken your country back America. Vote like hell. Help Harris remove the orange stain, wash, repeat and rinse MAGA out. Reclaim your future.
But under our taxation system, they can now leave sizable wealth to their heirs and create a "Dynasty" shifting taxation onto the middle class in income taxes on wages and Social Security benefits.
Just as nepotism in business and politics is a dirty word, dynastic wealth should also be labeled as such and be subject to a 90% inheritance tax. Plain and simple.
That is what "living trusts" are for to carry the wealth past the tax man. Just tax "Capital Gains" as regular income like the rest of us hard working Americans are taxed on wages and throw in Social Security contributions up to the current limits as well. The heirs get theirs taxed every year on capital gains as well.
Please remember that the German nazis of the 1920's/30's adopted their racist values from the success of the white supremacist movements of the American south after the Civil War. Americans are exemplary, both positive and negative, and our politics reflects that fact!
Adolf Hitler was so enamored with America for destroying the Native Americans in the 18th and 19th centuries and the oppression of blacks in the south, he named the private train he would ride in "AMERICA". Now America is getting a new bunch of Fascist leaders in Donald Trump and JD Vance.
I feel the same way as you do Kerry. I, too, warned family and friends eight long years ago. It was clear as day to me then, and always has been. I passionately posted about this very thing on social media and managed to “offend” so many people, and even got into arguments with my husband because his (conservative) friends thought I was “crazy.” Even some Democratic friends said my use of the word “fascism” was hyperbolic. Yet, here we are Kerry. Hard to believe it’s been nearly a decade of enduring this horrid, horrid man, the putrid fecklessness of our justice system that so clearly favors the rich and powerful and white and the deep weakness and stupidity of my fellow Americans. As impassioned and outspoken as I have been for so long, I am so wearied by it all at this point. As we stand at the precipice, all I can do now is hope. All I can do is encourage others to vote. It’s the Twilight Zone, The Handmaids Tale, and 1984 all wrapped up together in our shared, terrifying reality.
I hope so deeply that we make it through this, that Harris wins, and that horrifying man is sent to prison along with his circle of equally awful co-conspirators. Justice served to these fascist traitors would be oh so deserved and, admittedly, rather delicious. As a country, we deserve that closure. Just as Ford should never have pardoned Nixon as it ultimately led to this nightmare, punishment for crimes committed can heal. And we desperately need healing.
It is crucial to understand that there are many people that fascism appeals to. It isn’t enough to repeat the fascist statements. In fact doing so is helping the fascist reach his audience.
What is necessary is to clearly demonstrate what happens after they take over by showing that everyone loses. Germans, Spaniards and Italians suffered greatly because of their fascist governments.
There are purges because no one is trusted. Paranoia rules.
When the roundups begin neighbors and colleagues turn on each other because they are afraid that a neighbor or colleague will turn them in and they can’t afford to wait.
When there are roundups there are quotas of the number to be picked up each day. It isn’t done carefully. Just bring in people who could be in the selected group without doing any “research”. Once brought in there is no one to appeal to. No one cares if you are actually a legal resident. There is no downside for bringing in innocent people.
This last point is an important message to anyone who is an immigrant or looks like one or has a relative that looks like one. It doesn’t matter if you are legal and have been here for years. If a person looks Latino they will be vulnerable in the future police state.
The same for any person of color. The same for those who are in neighborhoods that have homes or property that is desired.
If your neighbor desires what you have they will be incentivized to turn you in and take what they want.
Fascism is frightening because it unleashes predators and violence, not because it is immoral and undemocratic.
Agreed - so tell me in the replies - what have YOU signed up to DO this weekend? It's early voting and mail in ballots -
Canvasing, phone calls, texting, helping the Dems at your local county office, driving people to voting places - tell me - what are you going to DO ABOUT IT????
I live in Mexico and spend at least an hour a day, maybe two, scouting newsletters and sharing positive information about Harris and then all the "ugly" things about Trump, project 2025 and more. I set my social media to go to Public, to reach, hopefully, undecided voters.
Respectfully, that is likely ineffective. However phone banking or text banking with organizations who know which voters to target and help dems return their ballots and figure out the ways through the voter restriction laws, is effective.
Where did you move to? My husband and I have been seriously exploring our options in the event this fascist takeover happens. So far we’ve narrowed it to Costa Rica or Panama (we aren’t rich).
Retired Merchant Marine Officer here. Costa Rica seems to me most like the United States in its values and customs. I was always comfortable there. But I was never as comfortable in Panama. While Panama has a long history of interacting with the United States, it is also rife with violence and corruption. The drug trade is big there.
No, you are right. As I said in previous comments and in previous years to people who sit at home and do nothing: if this democracy turns into facism, the U.S. is the country you didn't bother to fight and work for and maybe the country that you deserve.
Ah, you must be my "twin". I have been telling people for weeks and months that voting is not enough and they need to do every you mentioned above. There is so much that can be done.
This is the second time you’ve said that to me. Do you write this demand for personal responsibility to everyone who voices an opinion, or am I just special?
I can't win on this comment section. I offer encouragement and cheerleading and this guy jumps down my throat. I have no idea who he is nor do I keep up with the comment replies.. its too much.
I'm not expatriate either. Not going back. Do something.
Sorry...if you think this is encouragement and cheerleading, you've got a problem with communication. Your comment: "
"Janet Adams
Janet’s Substack
2 hrs ago
Agreed - so tell me in the replies - what have YOU signed up to DO this weekend? It's early voting and mail in ballots -
Canvasing, phone calls, texting, helping the Dems at your local county office, driving people to voting places - tell me - what are you going to DO ABOUT IT????"
Ok. You took my comment pretty personally. Go back and read YOUR comment. "What are YOU going to do? Reply to me in the comments." I replied to you in the comments. And as for my funds, please. You have no idea! HAHAHA.
Ispent three years in Panama, loved the place, Costa Rica is my choice now. Panama would be, but after I left Citigroup went on a massive ad campaign to convince Panamanians to get credit cards, and now they have outrageous inflation
Kerry: Historian Antonio Zapata describes Peru as a "right-wing country"; the only left-wing government in contemporary history until the election of Pedro Castillo in 2021 was that of Juan Velasco Alvarado (1968–1975), author of an agrarian reform and the nationalization of strategic sectors. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XULTHbK5z8
Spain is also a right wing country, the fascistic Catholic church is the major power player.The Spanish Legion is virtually a military arm of the Catholic church and is revered by the people, it committed unspeakable horrors during their civil war.
I feel for you, Kerry, because I’m in the same position. I understand psychopathology bc I’m a mental health professional. But many others, who are simply observant and insightful, have said the same. We’ve been dismissed. And, now, this nightmare is taking shape before our eyes.
My biggest concern is - what happens after we defeat trump because the Reagan policies have dismantled out public education, transportation, and shredding all of our rights. What I want to hear from the Dems is a path back to sanity.
Fret not! Even in the highly unlikely chance Bunkerboy steals a second election, newly-crowned King Biden I can nullify the election, LOCK HIM UP!, THEN hold new elections in mid-November. What can The Traitors do about it???;)
Apparently Kerry, you had no idea that your friends were closet fascists. Are they still your friends. I hope not. One is known by the company they keep.
Truer words were never spoken. I too have been railing against Trump since he was campaigning for the Presidency in 2016 and so were many other intelligent, educated people I knew.
Matt Gaetz is not in prison, because Merrick Garland has decided not to prosecute him, thus leaving him to cause trouble for Biden and Democracy in congress.
Another reason that proves that Garland is not a small d democrat and should not have been appointed, and should have been fired.
They don't even have to push Trump out. They just relegate him to watching TV and playing golf, and Vance and the Project 2025 hires will actually run things. In this election, Trump is the bait to attract the votes, but I predict in office he would just be a figurehead.
He’s already been mostly a figurehead since he started down the political path. He hasn’t had a viable idea in a long time. He’s still the star of his own reality show. When he’s gone, his writers will continue with other actors.
Spot on Carolyn, Trump is a figure head, . He never governed, because he can't govern. In his show the Apprentice it was Ivanka and jr that did the heavy lifting, all he did was say "Your fired".
All he did in the White House was drink Diet Coke and advertise for Goya, McDonalds and KFC. He didn't pick his cabinet, his advisors someone(s) picked them for him, The people that served him, were people with whom he would never associate, and of whom he knew nothing.
Yes, this time it will be different because of Project 2025. The irony will be that by empowering Trump the Project will weaken the country. After Trump the USA will never be great again.
Off topic but as I type this I am watching Kamala at LaCrosse, WI and she is on fire. I was elated the day that Joe deferred to Kamala, and my enthusiasm has only grown since. the way she brushed off he hostility olf Bret Baier without losing it and going Trump validates my enthusiams.
She will make a great president, probably the best, well the best after FDR.
Can you say Pyrrhic victory, the billionaires like Thiel, Musk, Peterson, Fink are throwing their weight on Trump because he will (or his administration) eliminate or cut their taxes and deregulate their enterprise,
The consequences of which are foreseeable, Trump will destroy the fabric of our society, it's diversity and morale, in favor of a white bread Christian world, we will be fortunate if we wind up like Argentina.
I see a regressive, demoralized society, devoid of the energy, enthusiasm and morale of the diverse culture that made us great.
Hollywood and TV will be reduced to bland, propaganda on the model of 1930's Germany and Putin's Russia.
The stock market will crumble, innovation will grindt o a halt, the tech billionaires that are supporting Trump will wake up and find they are penniless.
Musk's mission to Mars dream will evaporate as their is not enough of an economy or talent.
Musk and Trump want to rid the country of immigrants he calls vermin., If i weren't for immigrants, out health care would be worse than Pakistan's and
our tech advantage is mythical, even No Korea has hacked us. What we do have is attributable to immigrants. I lived in Microsoft land, Redmond, WA and practically every face I saw on the streets or in a store was Asian, Indian or Pakistan, even Korean.
The neuro surgeon that removed my brain tumor was Indian, as was his back up, my PCP was Chinese. my oncologist was Belgian. I am alive today because of immigrants. The only place I see American surgeons and doctors is on Chicago Med, The Resident or Grey's Anatomy.
The offshoring of manufacturing jobs went hand-in-hand with the inshoring of foreign brains. Why invest in education when you can hire well educated foreigners? An acquaintance of mine needed brain surgery, and none of the neurosurgeons she consulted in this country wanted to operate, too risky, they said. She went to France, got the surgery without complications. I am glad yours went well too. As to Trump, it is somewhat consoling that our racist, greedy conservatives got such a fraud as leader. You mention Argentina; they had no good choices so they voted for magical thinking. We are lucky to have Harris.
I agree, and I think that’s why dumpo has seemed more relaxed lately. For example, that creepy musical interlude he did. It’s his version of retirement while continuing to rake in extra moolah.
From my antennaes to that gut feeling onto third eye intuitions, agreed that their intent is to elect the useful idiot and get rid of him; however, I believe it is the muskrat who wants to grab position as king dictator.
Vance concerns me too. He is no leader and never will be, and as a woman, I loathe his misogyny. Peter Thiel bought him as our senator in Ohio, unfortunately.
Certainly not smooth but a lot more sinister! He’s a bought man who will dance to the tune of the highest bidders! He will definitely impose Project 2025 & do what his oligarch pals want!
He actually thinks women should remain in a violent abusive relationship. Wants to go back to the bad old days when women had to fight 😪 to be able to divorce. Actually, many women still stay in a bad place simply because they can't afford to leave.
Catherine: The part of fascism that Reich leaves out is the link to corporatism that both parties have. Only the Republican party uses the 'other' as a scapegoat to disguise it, and the Democratic party tries to distract from it by pointing the finger at the 'evil, dangerous, incompetent Republicans' and their policies that promote the wealthy over the needs of the majority while doing the same thing. I already voted for Harris because she is more likely to do what's good for the country over what Trump will do. Harris is between a rock and a hard place, and it's urgent that we all stay engaged and active in this critical political moment.
Gloria, it is about the organisation of the relation between labour and capital. That concerns unionism, distribution of wealth, policies to further the economy, equality, safety and so on.
You should discuss about that. The proper religion is for the churches, not for public realms.
But I can hardly see or hear this discussion about capital and labour..
So you get the tragic situation in which elections are about "red meat", the ear of Trump, the intimate parts of Hunter Biden, the debates.
But fascism can be beaten by civility and debate with content...
You are quite right, Gloria. Scapegoating is central to fascism, and only Republicans are using it. Not only that, they have made it their top campaign issue. Demonizing immigrants scares people, and fear is even more powerful than anger. Fox News, Facebook, social media have created this ghost to replace fear of Communism.
He’s worse than bought, he’s a true believer and as big a liar as trump. He converted to a very fascistic form of rhetoric Catholic Church and has all the fervor of a typical convert. Trump is all grift and bluster who yearns to be a dictator and be worshipped like Kim and would destroy the country to try to achieve it. Vance wants the country to be fascist and would follow the project 2025 plan.
If trump wins, I think one of three things will happen:
1) Trump resigns and Vance becomes president with (possibly) Mike Johnson as VP.
2) Vance and his cohort “Weekend at Bernie’s” him and Vance becomes the de facto president.
3) Vance and his cohort use the 25th amendment against trump and Vance becomes president with (possibly) Mike Johnson as VP.
None of these scenarios bodes well for our country.
Trudy, I've said it before and I'll say it again. The republicans have had this planned for a while now. They want the orange man in office so they can invoke the 25th Amendment and then install Vance in the Oval Office! In my opinion, Vance is so much worse than the orange man!
I think he's a dipshit and a lousy politician like DeSantis. I doubt he will engender the cult following like Trump. He'll be more easily unmasked as the opportunistic tool of the oligarchs that he is.
DJT is a Fake Tough Guy.. He wouldn't play Football in High School since DJT was afraid of getting tackled... Per Mary Tump he is De-compensating... You can see it in his Interviews... DJT's Mind is Melting like his Appearance...
I think so too. Trump is none of the things he claims to admire, and Mary Trump can observe her uncle’s behavior both as a relative and a credentialed psychologist. I don’t think she can diagnose his behavior without a psychological evaluation she wrote he’d never undergo, but we have a fairly good guess that he has some serious personality disorders
That cracks me up. A gay group, The village people, sang the YMCA, if anybody knows anything about the gay culture, they know that there is in the gay community, men who have an affinity for cosplay, especially cops and military (quite a few in both incidentally, especially cops), and the lyrics of the song tell you all you need to know, Young man if you are lonely go to the YMCA to hook up. Macho <Man another gay song which Trump loves.
And then there was that young queen, Ricky Rebel, that reveled at performing to YMCA at Trump rallies in 2016.
And there is the self declared gay Peter Thiel.
I don't get it, it is like Hogs for Jimmie Dean ,or chickens for KFC, cows for McDonald's.
I didn't want to cause offense by saying the wrong thing, but yes, I have read where "YMCA" was a sort of gay anthem back in the day. That fits in with his ill-disguised contempt and dislike of women in general and of strong, powerful women in particular, not to mention his "sexual" assaults and attempts at domination over them. (if one thinks of sexual assaults as not so much about sex as about power and control)
T L Mills, I will throw gasoline on the fire. I am definitely gay adjacent, truthfully I have noticed that there is a lot of misogyny in the gay community, whether it is envy,or competition, may be resentment for being stereotyped.
The public seems to think that gays are effeminate queens, and that is so far from reality, the queens are a subset. Most gays are macho, like the 300 Spartans or the Thebian Sacred Band. they have a sub culture of "bears" big, heavy bearded men.
And gays like Andrew Sullivan who absolutely detest transwomen and queens, probably because it reinforces the stereotype that gays are effeminate. Iran certainly has that opinion, as gays are forced into sexual reassignment surgery.
"trump has boxed himself into an inescapable paradox where he must either be a fanboy of hitler’s nazi phrasing, ideology and policies, or if he is a person who came to most of the same toxic words and conclusions as hitler all on his own, he reveals he is a malignant narcissist."
And yet, Eadie, Trump was and is surrounded by Jews, from Stephen Miller, Michael Cohen to Weisselberger and David Weiss and he has even been protected by Merrick Garland. go figure.
Trump’s adoration of fascism is extremely dangerous, yet ironic as well as he is none of the things he’s projecting himself to be. I have never feared so much for the nation as I do now, especially since we’ve seen how far he’s willing to go to keep power.
Sort of like Mark Robinson--a Black man who wants to bring back slavery and own slaves. There's some psychological term for people who hate who they are so much they demonize it.
Trump is only a cheesy used a car salesman / he’s good at deception. He’s a real dumbass when it comes to theory or logic and can deceive the uneducated- high school dropouts, excons, drug addicts
If only Trump really was just a "cheesy used car salesman". That would make ridding the country of his presence and his toxicity relatively easy. Unfortunately, while he is as cheesy as any overly slick salesperson, he is also something a little more. It's not easily definable because we, who stand back and observe while not being captured by his strange oratory, cannot see or understand it...but he does have a gift. He is somehow able to connect with his cultists--his grievances and complaints become theirs--or vice versa. Those citizenry virtually--indeed, literally--worship him and if they don't believe everything he says (although those folks frequently do) they don't care that he mouths lies. They even love his lies because in their eyes, it empowers them to exhibit the same arrogance, condescension...to bully and hate the "others" amongst us.
I read your write up and liked it a lot btw, but it looked like “malignant” just sort of appeared and I wondered what specifically was malignant or whether it was a big word thrown in for dramatic effect. .
Brent, maybe I'm taking your question too literally, but here is what a malignant narcissist means, in an accessibly-written article by a psychotherapist:
I think malignant means deadly. Like, you can have a plain tumor or a malignant tumor. You can have plain narcissism, or malignant narcissism. It's internal to you.
Bob, there is one more element to fascism, or fascist leaders: Uniform mass events with flags, symbols and slogans, where the true believers swear their allegiance to the leader on stage by not acting as individuals but as a uniform body. The leader honors the allegiance by giving neverending speeches, whipping up the mood and throwing red meat.
Sounds like if Trump is somehow re-elected we are all headed BACK TO THE CAVE. He doesn’t realize that humans have evolved and no longer do we need the man to be the breadwinner!
Keith--Back to the cave--Trump only wishes that were the case. That man has actively been trying to undo his own birth ever since he found out one of the two things Samuel Clemens discovered as a child.
I understand your anger, but his followers include a very large part of the US population. I can't believe they are mangy rats. I see them, not as sick, but as desperate. So were the Germans in the 1930s.
Paul Waldman and Thomas Schaller recently published a good book titled “White Rural Rage.” People in rural areas do rightly feel that they’ve been ignored economically with the disappearance of small scale farming and the collapse of manufacturing, but they’ve been encouraged by talk show screamers, Fox News and similar media outlets to believe the people they attack are responsible for their problems. Rather, they believe them and vote for GQP politicians funded by the very people who are responsible for their hardships. Culture war politics are a good way to distract people from really seeing who’s responsible for their predicament, and it keeps people in rural areas voting against their economic interests.
Journalist Anne Nelson also notes that urban and rural people don’t listen to common media outlets, so they have different views of the world and no common reality.
This is certainly true here in Northern Ireland. We also suffer from a shameful apartheid education system that copper fastens societal sectarianism. In the pro MAGA extreme unionist and their christo fascist communities, violent intimidation by British state created and still funded by them, loyalist gangs flourishes. Mafia style, they make sure that voters have to tow the line condoning their racism, misogyny, the despoliation of landscape and general impoverishment. People have no choice but to either not vote (the majority) or only vote for the openly fascist unionist extremist DUP/TUV parties.
Fight back as hard as you can to make sure this recent rise in similar fascism in the US is stamped out because once they become locally imbedded it seems impossible, within present democratic structures, to ever be free of their violent tyranny.
@ Kathy -- we've had the same dichotomy since sheep coating in England forced "lacklanders" to emigrate. Actually Dems have pushed for many initiatives to save the family farm -- all opposed by Big Ag and their allies in the Chambers of Commerce, National Manufacturers' Association, and now Heritage and other right wing think tanks.
These schmucks have been sold a bill of goods. E.G. their salvation could have been new technology - like turning alternative energy into a cash cow. Yet they universally oppose.
A good point has been made that rural people listen to a lot of radio, which is relatively cheap to operate and mostly owned by right wing controlled companies. The Dems should set up their own stations, or at least jam the BS stations.
Exactly - the uneducated people that follow Trump and the same people the gop want to hurt with their programs but because most of magas are close to illiterate they believe the hype showman I Trump on the stage blaming immigrants fir their economic problems -
The US population that follow Trump/MAGA are all victims of abuse by the powerful for personal profit. Only they wake up to this fact will this ugly US fascist tide turn.
‘It is an old strategy of tyrants to delude their victims into fighting their battles for them’
Nah he's definitely NOT a communist. That man is a disgraceful example of the racist/misogynistic/populist dumbo lack-of-critical-thinking of the MAGA folk.
Trump lives in daily slavish adulation of Vladimir Putin, who is a communist dictator. Why do you say Trump is not a communist? He is in bed with all that is Russian communism.
They have no-one to blame but themselves…. They elect the same officials who steal from them year after year…. Look at where 90% of his followers hail from…. The states and districts AT THE BOTTOM OF THE EDUCATION LADDER. The people that live there need to stop voting for the same SHITTY PEOPLE. It’s their own fault.
Most Americans don't have nearly enough reason to be as desperate as the Germans were from 1930 to 1932. In 1918, the Germans had lost the war that they had helped to start - they had ruined Belgium and northern France - and were force to pay a large part of their produce as reparations, while their war had severely reduced their workforce and their access to natural resources. We don't have anything like that in the U.S. - yet.
Not personally. I am just as Jewish as you presumably are. The Afro-Americans and the indigenous Americans have full reason to be desperate, but they are not the ones voting for Trump, as far as I know. Are the subsistence farmers to whom you refer a minority? I fled the United States in 1969 out of horror over the hypocrisy at the end of the "Pledge of Allegiance": "With liberty and justice for all." These principles have been trampled to death in the "United" States since the beginning of the country's history - and Trump will continue to commit this crime with the greatest vigor!
Where I live Batistianos and other bobos regularly vote for their own demise. So do the fromm among us. Imagine a call to jihad by supporting Trump.
As president Trump established a "denaturalization" department within DOJ. Shades of judenfrei Deutcchland. Substitute "Hispanic" or "Negroid" for juden.
What this sounds like is that President Biden and the Joint Chiefs should meet to discuss how to end this disastrous charade by a convicted felon and traitor before it goes any further.
Trump's savage attacks on the media is reminiscent of the way Hitler bludgeoned the press during his destruction of Germany. It's odd to me that anyone would endeavor to repeat what was seen by historians as a disaster in human history. I guess Trump isn't just anyone, the man is a social oddity that reminds me more of an illness rather than a gift.
Look behind the scene. Vance was placed as running mate by folks highly involved in Project 2025. They know Trump is failing, but he still has presence to hopefully draw in the votes. He will be shuffled off to a nice golf course. JD will be the new puppet. P2025 has been their long game for quite some time. And don’t forget wonder-boy with his bags of money has jumped on board.
His followers even echo Hitler’s term “Lügenpresse” to refer to press outlets that aren’t entirely pro-Trump, yet from where I sit, mainstream press outlets downplay Trump’s violent statements and ignore his demented behavior. They concentrate on the horse race aspects of politics while ignoring the serious policy implications and differences between the parties. Republicans have abandoned our principle that the people should have a voice, and that elected officials and government are subject to the Constitution.
Imagine a Hitler without antisemitism and without war, someone like Mussolini in the 1920s,that's what Trump and his supporters want--a personal dictatorship, deeply nationalistic, secular, but at piece with the Catholic Church. Note: a dictatorship is a dictatorship, which means submission to the dictator, one party rule, no dissent, no freedom of the press, zero tolerance of social unrest. Many Americans admired Mussolini, and, I am sure, still do.
It’s clear that Donold is a fascist. You’d think that today’s for profit media would explain and make this clear to their audience and customers. Especially, with the election and the clear threat to democracy, rule of law and way of life that tRump poses.
There's an interesting historical documentary available on the BBC iPlayer streaming service about Julius Caesar. It draws clear parallels between Caesar and Trump, and credits the former with having successfully destroyed the Roman Republic in a process that took 16 years, and ushered in an era of emperors (essentially dictators in modern terms - back then a "dictator" was someone constitutionally appointed by the Senate in a time of national crisis, to rule for a limited period). Trump has told US voters in clear terms that this is what he intends to do. Let us hope they believe him.
It's no longer about Trump, but rather possibly the fulfrum moment of too many stressers onto our democracy. Fast moving digital communications. Foreign money. The Roman Catholic SCOTUS. Presidential powers suddenly sbove the law. Gerrymandering, ensuring safe districts and radical positions. The re-emergance of a dominant overclass. We're left with an electorate, better versed in religion than civics, longing for religious solutions, feeling that America and it's laws are the problem. Now history hinges on the votes of 1-3% of the population; and, of course, which party's political aparatus handles the vote counts in swing states. Can our military's patriotism stand again when it's not reflected in our country's representatives or populace? If Trump wins, thanks to SCOTUS, all bets are off and if he loses our generals better not be named Flynn.
Isn’t it pitiful and weak and tragic that these fascist tactics even work; that the urges that make this sick talk effective are within us? And like RR has said, the basic rage about getting screwed will remain even if DT is defeated. The next fascists will be more effective. Boy do we need figures like the Roosevelts.
You are correct in pointing out that the Trump cult is fascist and that there is history behind it. You came just shy of making it clear that the 90 year history you described has an even longer history and is in fact current and has overwhelming support by media, corporate, medicine, education, military the majority of white Americans and more. This has become tradition and a blueprint for a finish line (for people of color first then poor whites and others) which is conceivable and has been sampled and supported in Gaza and globally for centuries. The fact that the likes of Trump is a serious presidential candidate despite his transparency and cooperation speaks volumes.
Full-throated fascism is true but the wide range of quiet and not so quiet support is no longer a secret.
Eight years ago when I warned my friends on Facebook about the latent fascism of the Trump cult, I was reprimanded as an alarmist, or derided as crazy by some. I kept insisting I was right. The signs were there for everyone to see. I was lambasted for speaking out against the appeasement branch of the Republican Party. I was told my remarks were unfair, that Republicans were "good people". Well, guess what? So were the 1930's Germans "good people". They just wanted to be proud of their country again and to rebuild their industrial and military power. And closing their eyes to bigotry and bullying was what they did. Until their country was turned into a giant ruined graveyard, their women violated wholesale by the Russians, and the truth came out. "Gee, we didn't know they were slaughtering our neighbors." "We were (helplessly) following orders." America is supposed to be better than that. We're supposed to be tolerant, welcoming, rational, and democratic. Trump is everything contrary to those characteristics. And those who have embraced him get no warm feelings of understanding or empathy from me. They're sick, infected by a political virus, and their view of Americanism has been horribly warped. I want no part of their vision for the future.
Understand what Trump is doing.
As Kamala is the daughter (a female) of Indian and Jamaican immigrants, not only is Trump attacking the current immigrants, he is utilizing these 5 fascist identifiers to personally attack his opponent, Kamala.
Trump is a sick and deranged person.
Trump needs psychiatric help.
Trump also needs to go to prison for the rest of his life to pay for his crimes and receive the medical help he so desperately needs that he won’t seek on his own behalf.
Isn’t it ironic that the republicans nominees are both married to immigrants?
And that creep Musk is an immigrant??
So are Murdoch & Thiel. These 3 foreigners are the "immigrants that are poisoning our blood" of which Trump speaks or should be speaking.
Never to late to revoke their citizenship and send them packing. We did it some German immigrants and naturalized citizens before WW 2. They were here pushing the Nazi lies and trying to overthrow our elections and government. Good by to them Biden should do this as his last act of patriotism for our country. Cheers... GH
Yes, and Peter Thiel wasn't born in the U.S. either. It's so ironic that these kleptocrats came to our beautiful democracy because it offered unlimited advancement for them and they prospered under our system. Now they want to tear it down.
Fake Americans they may be, but they came to the US to multiply their wealth and power. I don’t think they want to destroy our system as much as they want to destroy everyone who is not part of their cozy little white cabal. Racists and bullies to their very core.
Peter Thiel has said that he considers democracy incompatible with freedom. Both of these guys want to "deconstruct the administrative state". Bottom line is they want a system that allows them to rule.
Yes, from South Africa.
from another planet
Send them all to Mars or wherever they will just die💀
And, how often do they mention their wives names?
Sometimes tRump doesn’t even get his wife’s name right…
I don't think he actually knows who she is. I think she's one of Putin's agents, sent to "marry" Trump to keep an eye on him and report back to Putin. Ivana too. It's clearly not a marriage in the American sense.
Trump is a dirty old man
Baron is also an ANCHORBABY!
When Trump speaks about Baron he refers to him as “her child”instead of “our child”.
Not really. Some American men, unsure of themselves, purposefully choose wives from other countries and cultures, to establish "male dominance" over their wives and their children. (Jose Menendez is an undeniable example.)
Immigrants are needy Keith, not prone to make trouble, like filing for a divorce.
My second wife was an immigrant, I was needy, and she filled that need and I was a ticket to the land of the big B.X (Base exchange). it took 10 years to admit error, but I filed for the divorce she never would.
Everyone is an immigrant except the indigenous tribes!!!
I agree with your sentiment Jeannie, but technically you and I and millions of others are not since we were born here. Descended from immigrants yes, and most who have 17th and 18th Century roots are descended from indentured servants and even slaves (the Irish were periodicallyenslaved, especially by Cromwell, and Scottish Romani were sent as slaves to the Carolinas, if they so much as stole a loaf of bread, that or hanging.
One is white, northern European, the other iis dark skinned but wealthy, and fascists respect wealth.
I wonder if Vance will deport Mrs (Usha-from-India) Vance if he gets elected? They can assign some 16-year-old blonde to marry him.
Everyone is an immigrant in the USA: just ask the indigenous Americans !
Trump is beyond psychotherapy, less than a powerful antipsychotic drug, in order to deaden the animosity he feels to anyone not in his mirror image. Should he get back in,
look for the swastika to appear on the armbands of his sycophants, as if by magic.
The eugenicist: one extremely hateful campaign ad features groups of LGBTQ persons as the worst examples of humanity, of the kind whose welfare Kamala would protect. T is an absolute fiend, and if justice existed, he would have been banished from the streets and the airwaves long ago. The most dangerous person in the hemisphere, including all the bad guys from south of the border.
And that's why all the leaders of democracies in the world are scared to death of him becoming President again.
Dennis, psychiatrist M. Scott Peck wrote about the danger of malignant narcissists, of which Donald Trump is an archetype. Peck says that such people cannot be cured.
His niece Mary, a degreed psychologist, sees through him to his core, and I'm sure she would agree. Read some of her illuminating articles in her recent Substack columns, like 'The Bringer of Death' and 'He's Decompensating before Our Eyes'
See a book cslled: "DONT FEED THE NARCISSISTS!"
He's a full-blown psychotic. He scores something like 33 on a test with 44 points, whereas most Americans score 4. "Malignant narcissist" is a nice way of saying full-blown psychotic. They are equivalent terms. Donald Trump and his buddy Hannibal Lechter. Cannibals and murderers united.
I agree with everything except the swastika armbands.
They are at least smart enough to have created their own membership symbols and uniforms: the red MAGA cap and (for the leadership cadre) the blue suit and red tie.
Many of his cultists aren't that smart, Michael. Check out these neo-Nazis in full regalia, from a flotilla of drumpf-worshipers whooping it up in Florida. (from Wajahat Ali)
https://thelefthook.substack.com/p/the-enemy-from-within-are-maga-not
I agree, some aren’t that smart.
But those COS-play Nazis are only a tiny sub-group that gives the rest of MAGA plausible deniability (“Look, at least we’re not as bad as ‘real’ Nazis.”)
When in fact they are just as bad, and will certainly commit similar atrocities, if given the chance.
Until T turns on them... and he will. Cheers... GH
His closing line: There is an enemy within- its name is MAGA.
…and his ‘children’?
Dennis may I repost your reply.
Please!
Thank you.
Forget medical help. Just get him into jail where he belongs. I don't think his malignant narcissistic sociopath can be cured.
I meant sociopathy
Malignant narcissists don’t think there’s anything wrong with them, so psychotherapy doesn’t work for them. Prison would be a better place for him.
Why waste the money? As often as he's fucked over his employees, bankers, suppliers, investors, many of who were involved with the mafia, how no one hasn't fixed his "issues" amazes me...
Let's just put him on an island in a straitjacket and use his remaining money to feed him Big Macs and well-paid prostitutes with well-funded 401k plans.
Maybe Alcatraz. I hear it's available.
not a sociopath. Way beyond that. Full-blown psychopath.
45 is NOT the one the MAGA cult wants in the Oval Office. If he were to win this election straight- up, he would be hit with the 25th amendment before he lowers his right hand on inauguration day. If he loses, the election tesults will be tied up for months, the final arbitrator? THE US SUPREME COURT!
JD Vance, while terrifying and dangerous to many, many of us, is the "logical" choice to the now obviously, undeniably deranged (possibly demented) #45. JD Vance has been groomed by MAGA's inner circle, his path cleared by the corrupt Supreme Court. Now, like the "for real" Manchurian Candidate," he lies in wait to fufill his destiny and OUR nightmare. (Hoping I'm wrong.)
I also see this as an opportunistic action by JD Vance to replace what he called "America's Hitler" with himself. All the Democrats and half of the Republicans in congressional House and the Senate would be ready to impeach or use the 25th amendment to replace Donald Trump with JD Vance. I just want to see who JD Vance would choose as his Vice president. At least Elon musk does not qualify because he is not a natural born citizen of the USA. I still do not see what Elon musk has to gain when all of his businesses go against the Republican agenda that denies climate science and hates electric vehicles.
I saw a great yard sign the other day: "Trump for Prison 2024."
Trump also is showing increasing signs of dementia. His speeches about Hannibal Lecter, sharks vs boat batteries, flies, etc demonstrate his diminished capabilities.
😂😂😂😂 yet they portray Harris as a Black African American and clearly she isn’t!
But because she is a women that she couldn’t be fascist or dictator or communist that she clearly is. The immigrants coming into the USA and Canada are terrorists hiding in plain sight yet Democrats have tunnel delusional vision.
What is your favorite Kool-Aid flavor?
Certainly not what you’ve been drinking!
Duh!
😂😂😂
Kerry, I was born in Germany in 1946 where I grew up (left in 1970). I also warned people eight years ago (I had a blog then). But I never thought it could really happen here -- somehow, I identified Nazis with Germans, although I know there were lots of them in other countries in Europe, and also in the U.S. It's only now that I realize that fascism can happen anywhere, because a few ultra-rich, selfish, ruthless people just want more power and more money, and because many other people are blinded by a strong authority figure, by fear of "the other", by subconscious values that are propped up by their belief systems. It's sobering.
The ultra rich cannot take it with them! They are as mortal as the rest of us!!
Trouble is ultra-rich fascists die and leave their corruption and barbarism behind to infect generations that follow. Witness how MAGA cult members don’t have any idea that they are dispensable brainwashed ciphers for the fascists. They have no idea that ConOld is channeling the most vicious ideology of the last 100 years. (Ignoring for the moment Mao’s China). Should Trump win they will go bewildered into gulags and continue to blame ‘others’ for their circumstances. When ConOld loses the election they will protest and whine about how much ‘better’ their sad lives would be under their Orange turd. Sad that the country once the beacon of liberty and democratic values has become the laughing stock of the free world in thrall to a carnival barker, fraudster and sexual predator (among almost all other criminal and moral failings). Taken your country back America. Vote like hell. Help Harris remove the orange stain, wash, repeat and rinse MAGA out. Reclaim your future.
But under our taxation system, they can now leave sizable wealth to their heirs and create a "Dynasty" shifting taxation onto the middle class in income taxes on wages and Social Security benefits.
Just as nepotism in business and politics is a dirty word, dynastic wealth should also be labeled as such and be subject to a 90% inheritance tax. Plain and simple.
That is what "living trusts" are for to carry the wealth past the tax man. Just tax "Capital Gains" as regular income like the rest of us hard working Americans are taxed on wages and throw in Social Security contributions up to the current limits as well. The heirs get theirs taxed every year on capital gains as well.
No pockets in shrouds!
Please remember that the German nazis of the 1920's/30's adopted their racist values from the success of the white supremacist movements of the American south after the Civil War. Americans are exemplary, both positive and negative, and our politics reflects that fact!
Adolf Hitler was so enamored with America for destroying the Native Americans in the 18th and 19th centuries and the oppression of blacks in the south, he named the private train he would ride in "AMERICA". Now America is getting a new bunch of Fascist leaders in Donald Trump and JD Vance.
Let us name T airplane "Hitler". Cheers... GH
I feel the same way as you do Kerry. I, too, warned family and friends eight long years ago. It was clear as day to me then, and always has been. I passionately posted about this very thing on social media and managed to “offend” so many people, and even got into arguments with my husband because his (conservative) friends thought I was “crazy.” Even some Democratic friends said my use of the word “fascism” was hyperbolic. Yet, here we are Kerry. Hard to believe it’s been nearly a decade of enduring this horrid, horrid man, the putrid fecklessness of our justice system that so clearly favors the rich and powerful and white and the deep weakness and stupidity of my fellow Americans. As impassioned and outspoken as I have been for so long, I am so wearied by it all at this point. As we stand at the precipice, all I can do now is hope. All I can do is encourage others to vote. It’s the Twilight Zone, The Handmaids Tale, and 1984 all wrapped up together in our shared, terrifying reality.
I hope so deeply that we make it through this, that Harris wins, and that horrifying man is sent to prison along with his circle of equally awful co-conspirators. Justice served to these fascist traitors would be oh so deserved and, admittedly, rather delicious. As a country, we deserve that closure. Just as Ford should never have pardoned Nixon as it ultimately led to this nightmare, punishment for crimes committed can heal. And we desperately need healing.
Amen!
Malignant narcissists often come to a bad end because they are destroyers, not builders. They often poison the organizations that employ them.
That’s a very accurate description of Liberal leader PM Trudeau in Canada.
USA now seems like an episode from The X Files.☠️☠️☠️☠️
Fight Nazis. https://www.mobilize.us/
David Bautista did a good job communicating to “real men” on Kimmel. https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-news/dave-bautista-donald-trump-video-kimmel-1235135975/
Well said, Kerry!
It is crucial to understand that there are many people that fascism appeals to. It isn’t enough to repeat the fascist statements. In fact doing so is helping the fascist reach his audience.
What is necessary is to clearly demonstrate what happens after they take over by showing that everyone loses. Germans, Spaniards and Italians suffered greatly because of their fascist governments.
There are purges because no one is trusted. Paranoia rules.
When the roundups begin neighbors and colleagues turn on each other because they are afraid that a neighbor or colleague will turn them in and they can’t afford to wait.
When there are roundups there are quotas of the number to be picked up each day. It isn’t done carefully. Just bring in people who could be in the selected group without doing any “research”. Once brought in there is no one to appeal to. No one cares if you are actually a legal resident. There is no downside for bringing in innocent people.
This last point is an important message to anyone who is an immigrant or looks like one or has a relative that looks like one. It doesn’t matter if you are legal and have been here for years. If a person looks Latino they will be vulnerable in the future police state.
The same for any person of color. The same for those who are in neighborhoods that have homes or property that is desired.
If your neighbor desires what you have they will be incentivized to turn you in and take what they want.
Fascism is frightening because it unleashes predators and violence, not because it is immoral and undemocratic.
The purges of t
Agreed - so tell me in the replies - what have YOU signed up to DO this weekend? It's early voting and mail in ballots -
Canvasing, phone calls, texting, helping the Dems at your local county office, driving people to voting places - tell me - what are you going to DO ABOUT IT????
I did all that and more for forty years until I expatriated. Now I send money. You do you. I do me.
I live in Mexico and spend at least an hour a day, maybe two, scouting newsletters and sharing positive information about Harris and then all the "ugly" things about Trump, project 2025 and more. I set my social media to go to Public, to reach, hopefully, undecided voters.
Respectfully, that is likely ineffective. However phone banking or text banking with organizations who know which voters to target and help dems return their ballots and figure out the ways through the voter restriction laws, is effective.
I think every action counts. You do what you can.
Where did you move to? My husband and I have been seriously exploring our options in the event this fascist takeover happens. So far we’ve narrowed it to Costa Rica or Panama (we aren’t rich).
Retired Merchant Marine Officer here. Costa Rica seems to me most like the United States in its values and customs. I was always comfortable there. But I was never as comfortable in Panama. While Panama has a long history of interacting with the United States, it is also rife with violence and corruption. The drug trade is big there.
I am just trying to be a cheerleading and offer encouragement.....
I think your reading too much into the comment section
No, you are right. As I said in previous comments and in previous years to people who sit at home and do nothing: if this democracy turns into facism, the U.S. is the country you didn't bother to fight and work for and maybe the country that you deserve.
yea... true. They have by design kept us busy too while they are setting up the government for their "divine" favors.
Nancy Isenberg - White Trash - the story of class in the America.
What else can we do?? I don't want facism - I have done my part.
Ah, you must be my "twin". I have been telling people for weeks and months that voting is not enough and they need to do every you mentioned above. There is so much that can be done.
Yes, I do point out to the Dems they could improve their platform but at the end of the day - it takes more than voting to make a democracy work.
I was just trying to be encouraging today because early voting is starting. I think he took it the wrong way.
And, yes since Reagan the reps have systematically destroyed the middle class. I don't know what else to do either.
This is the second time you’ve said that to me. Do you write this demand for personal responsibility to everyone who voices an opinion, or am I just special?
I am offering it as encouragement - do not jump down my throat and I have no idea who you are -
If you want to be special - by all means do so!
Janet Adams is a bolshevik (infiltrate, agitate, propagandize, radicalize, mobilize)
Listen, my friend, I did all that and more for forty years until I expatriated. You do you. I do me.
And I am trying to keep this country from going down that road … Not planning to expatriate …
I can't win on this comment section. I offer encouragement and cheerleading and this guy jumps down my throat. I have no idea who he is nor do I keep up with the comment replies.. its too much.
I'm not expatriate either. Not going back. Do something.
:)))))
Sorry...if you think this is encouragement and cheerleading, you've got a problem with communication. Your comment: "
"Janet Adams
Janet’s Substack
2 hrs ago
Agreed - so tell me in the replies - what have YOU signed up to DO this weekend? It's early voting and mail in ballots -
Canvasing, phone calls, texting, helping the Dems at your local county office, driving people to voting places - tell me - what are you going to DO ABOUT IT????"
well, that's nice - so happy you had the funds to leave your country.
You're taking the comment section a little too personally...
Ok. You took my comment pretty personally. Go back and read YOUR comment. "What are YOU going to do? Reply to me in the comments." I replied to you in the comments. And as for my funds, please. You have no idea! HAHAHA.
I too was a voice crying in the wilderness Kerry.
I will not suffer Fascism in any form.
Fortunately, I had the ways and means to expatriate to Costa Rica.
I haven't looked back !
I am safe in Mexico, but still an American citizen and still vote from abroad and do all I can safely from here to get Harris elected
Where is safe in Mexico?
Ispent three years in Panama, loved the place, Costa Rica is my choice now. Panama would be, but after I left Citigroup went on a massive ad campaign to convince Panamanians to get credit cards, and now they have outrageous inflation
Peru, then Spain.
Kerry: Historian Antonio Zapata describes Peru as a "right-wing country"; the only left-wing government in contemporary history until the election of Pedro Castillo in 2021 was that of Juan Velasco Alvarado (1968–1975), author of an agrarian reform and the nationalization of strategic sectors. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XULTHbK5z8
Spain is also a right wing country, the fascistic Catholic church is the major power player.The Spanish Legion is virtually a military arm of the Catholic church and is revered by the people, it committed unspeakable horrors during their civil war.
I this youtube they are carrying a giant Jesus on the cross, singing their signature song, whichI admit is compelling. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XULTHbK5z8
I feel for you, Kerry, because I’m in the same position. I understand psychopathology bc I’m a mental health professional. But many others, who are simply observant and insightful, have said the same. We’ve been dismissed. And, now, this nightmare is taking shape before our eyes.
My biggest concern is - what happens after we defeat trump because the Reagan policies have dismantled out public education, transportation, and shredding all of our rights. What I want to hear from the Dems is a path back to sanity.
Fret not! Even in the highly unlikely chance Bunkerboy steals a second election, newly-crowned King Biden I can nullify the election, LOCK HIM UP!, THEN hold new elections in mid-November. What can The Traitors do about it???;)
Apparently Kerry, you had no idea that your friends were closet fascists. Are they still your friends. I hope not. One is known by the company they keep.
Truer words were never spoken. I too have been railing against Trump since he was campaigning for the Presidency in 2016 and so were many other intelligent, educated people I knew.
And, people STILL voted for Matt Gatez in Florida - even in the primary. When they had a much better alternative... go figure?
Matt Gaetz is not in prison, because Merrick Garland has decided not to prosecute him, thus leaving him to cause trouble for Biden and Democracy in congress.
Another reason that proves that Garland is not a small d democrat and should not have been appointed, and should have been fired.
Me either! Have no sympathy for them and their sick vision!💙💙💙💙💙
Very very smart distillation of perspective.
Agreed. Well said.
We discount the possible looming menace of JD Vance at our peril. He could very well be
fascism’s ace in the hole.
I think that’s the RNC plan Trudy, or it was their
plan. I think it was to get Trump elected and at
some point push him out the door so JD could take over. To be clear, JD has demonstrated his willingness to say absolutely anything he thinks
will help him gain and keep power. Anyone can
play that game.
They don't even have to push Trump out. They just relegate him to watching TV and playing golf, and Vance and the Project 2025 hires will actually run things. In this election, Trump is the bait to attract the votes, but I predict in office he would just be a figurehead.
He’s already been mostly a figurehead since he started down the political path. He hasn’t had a viable idea in a long time. He’s still the star of his own reality show. When he’s gone, his writers will continue with other actors.
Spot on Carolyn, Trump is a figure head, . He never governed, because he can't govern. In his show the Apprentice it was Ivanka and jr that did the heavy lifting, all he did was say "Your fired".
All he did in the White House was drink Diet Coke and advertise for Goya, McDonalds and KFC. He didn't pick his cabinet, his advisors someone(s) picked them for him, The people that served him, were people with whom he would never associate, and of whom he knew nothing.
This time will be different though.
Yes, this time it will be different because of Project 2025. The irony will be that by empowering Trump the Project will weaken the country. After Trump the USA will never be great again.
Off topic but as I type this I am watching Kamala at LaCrosse, WI and she is on fire. I was elated the day that Joe deferred to Kamala, and my enthusiasm has only grown since. the way she brushed off he hostility olf Bret Baier without losing it and going Trump validates my enthusiams.
She will make a great president, probably the best, well the best after FDR.
I did not watch the interview (Faux makes me sick). I hope she did not miss the opportunity to denounce its systematic disinformation.
Can you say Pyrrhic victory, the billionaires like Thiel, Musk, Peterson, Fink are throwing their weight on Trump because he will (or his administration) eliminate or cut their taxes and deregulate their enterprise,
The consequences of which are foreseeable, Trump will destroy the fabric of our society, it's diversity and morale, in favor of a white bread Christian world, we will be fortunate if we wind up like Argentina.
I see a regressive, demoralized society, devoid of the energy, enthusiasm and morale of the diverse culture that made us great.
Hollywood and TV will be reduced to bland, propaganda on the model of 1930's Germany and Putin's Russia.
The stock market will crumble, innovation will grindt o a halt, the tech billionaires that are supporting Trump will wake up and find they are penniless.
Musk's mission to Mars dream will evaporate as their is not enough of an economy or talent.
Musk and Trump want to rid the country of immigrants he calls vermin., If i weren't for immigrants, out health care would be worse than Pakistan's and
our tech advantage is mythical, even No Korea has hacked us. What we do have is attributable to immigrants. I lived in Microsoft land, Redmond, WA and practically every face I saw on the streets or in a store was Asian, Indian or Pakistan, even Korean.
The neuro surgeon that removed my brain tumor was Indian, as was his back up, my PCP was Chinese. my oncologist was Belgian. I am alive today because of immigrants. The only place I see American surgeons and doctors is on Chicago Med, The Resident or Grey's Anatomy.
The offshoring of manufacturing jobs went hand-in-hand with the inshoring of foreign brains. Why invest in education when you can hire well educated foreigners? An acquaintance of mine needed brain surgery, and none of the neurosurgeons she consulted in this country wanted to operate, too risky, they said. She went to France, got the surgery without complications. I am glad yours went well too. As to Trump, it is somewhat consoling that our racist, greedy conservatives got such a fraud as leader. You mention Argentina; they had no good choices so they voted for magical thinking. We are lucky to have Harris.
I agree, and I think that’s why dumpo has seemed more relaxed lately. For example, that creepy musical interlude he did. It’s his version of retirement while continuing to rake in extra moolah.
From my antennaes to that gut feeling onto third eye intuitions, agreed that their intent is to elect the useful idiot and get rid of him; however, I believe it is the muskrat who wants to grab position as king dictator.
JD Vance is Donald Trump's "Mini-Me".
Indeed, a smooth and intelligent version of Trump.
Vance concerns me too. He is no leader and never will be, and as a woman, I loathe his misogyny. Peter Thiel bought him as our senator in Ohio, unfortunately.
Vance is a Thiel puppet. If you are not a billionaire the only way to join their circles is to become a lackey to one of them.
Michael ; Nah ; he is just younger, and had a little more college. I would not say that he is "smooth". Look at the donut shop clip.
Certainly not smooth but a lot more sinister! He’s a bought man who will dance to the tune of the highest bidders! He will definitely impose Project 2025 & do what his oligarch pals want!
He actually thinks women should remain in a violent abusive relationship. Wants to go back to the bad old days when women had to fight 😪 to be able to divorce. Actually, many women still stay in a bad place simply because they can't afford to leave.
True, Laurie. That hasn't changed.
Catherine: The part of fascism that Reich leaves out is the link to corporatism that both parties have. Only the Republican party uses the 'other' as a scapegoat to disguise it, and the Democratic party tries to distract from it by pointing the finger at the 'evil, dangerous, incompetent Republicans' and their policies that promote the wealthy over the needs of the majority while doing the same thing. I already voted for Harris because she is more likely to do what's good for the country over what Trump will do. Harris is between a rock and a hard place, and it's urgent that we all stay engaged and active in this critical political moment.
Gloria, it is about the organisation of the relation between labour and capital. That concerns unionism, distribution of wealth, policies to further the economy, equality, safety and so on.
You should discuss about that. The proper religion is for the churches, not for public realms.
But I can hardly see or hear this discussion about capital and labour..
So you get the tragic situation in which elections are about "red meat", the ear of Trump, the intimate parts of Hunter Biden, the debates.
But fascism can be beaten by civility and debate with content...
Fascism is a modern variant of tribalism, and tribes don't debate, they kill.
You are quite right, Gloria. Scapegoating is central to fascism, and only Republicans are using it. Not only that, they have made it their top campaign issue. Demonizing immigrants scares people, and fear is even more powerful than anger. Fox News, Facebook, social media have created this ghost to replace fear of Communism.
Catherine Reid: yes, there is no doubt that JD Vance is bad news. He is younger and may be around a while longer, too.
He’s worse than bought, he’s a true believer and as big a liar as trump. He converted to a very fascistic form of rhetoric Catholic Church and has all the fervor of a typical convert. Trump is all grift and bluster who yearns to be a dictator and be worshipped like Kim and would destroy the country to try to achieve it. Vance wants the country to be fascist and would follow the project 2025 plan.
If trump wins, I think one of three things will happen:
1) Trump resigns and Vance becomes president with (possibly) Mike Johnson as VP.
2) Vance and his cohort “Weekend at Bernie’s” him and Vance becomes the de facto president.
3) Vance and his cohort use the 25th amendment against trump and Vance becomes president with (possibly) Mike Johnson as VP.
None of these scenarios bodes well for our country.
rumpus won't resign, he will be removed, followed by the muskrat crowning himself -- but we're NOT going to let that happen !!!!!!!!
You just cheered me up.
Michael: Glad to help.😊
Even crocodiles are intelligent in what they do.
Scary 😨 🤡 😨 🤡
Trudy, I've said it before and I'll say it again. The republicans have had this planned for a while now. They want the orange man in office so they can invoke the 25th Amendment and then install Vance in the Oval Office! In my opinion, Vance is so much worse than the orange man!
Whether Vance or Trump, Don Jr intends to be the power behind the throne.
I think that's the fascist republican plan.
To declare trump mentaly unfit, making Vance the president.
Since the old guy likes to give names to people,I now refer to him as nazi trump
“Big Nazi tRump”
JD Vance is "MINI-ME"
Will start looking for place to move to
Friends, the muskrat envies the throne.
I think he's a dipshit and a lousy politician like DeSantis. I doubt he will engender the cult following like Trump. He'll be more easily unmasked as the opportunistic tool of the oligarchs that he is.
That would be great! How do we disempower the oligarchs? Killing Citizens United would be a start…
Also, repeal “corporations are people” and “money is speech”.
Ojala que si.
Not "could be"..IS!!
DJT is a Fake Tough Guy.. He wouldn't play Football in High School since DJT was afraid of getting tackled... Per Mary Tump he is De-compensating... You can see it in his Interviews... DJT's Mind is Melting like his Appearance...
I think so too. Trump is none of the things he claims to admire, and Mary Trump can observe her uncle’s behavior both as a relative and a credentialed psychologist. I don’t think she can diagnose his behavior without a psychological evaluation she wrote he’d never undergo, but we have a fairly good guess that he has some serious personality disorders
I get Mary Trump's news letter daily, What an insight into his pathology, https://substack.com/@maryltrump
He likes to stay at the YMCA.
That cracks me up. A gay group, The village people, sang the YMCA, if anybody knows anything about the gay culture, they know that there is in the gay community, men who have an affinity for cosplay, especially cops and military (quite a few in both incidentally, especially cops), and the lyrics of the song tell you all you need to know, Young man if you are lonely go to the YMCA to hook up. Macho <Man another gay song which Trump loves.
And then there was that young queen, Ricky Rebel, that reveled at performing to YMCA at Trump rallies in 2016.
And there is the self declared gay Peter Thiel.
I don't get it, it is like Hogs for Jimmie Dean ,or chickens for KFC, cows for McDonald's.
And why he likes that song enough to play at every rally is a complete mystery.
No mystery -- exposes latent sexual identity issue.
I didn't want to cause offense by saying the wrong thing, but yes, I have read where "YMCA" was a sort of gay anthem back in the day. That fits in with his ill-disguised contempt and dislike of women in general and of strong, powerful women in particular, not to mention his "sexual" assaults and attempts at domination over them. (if one thinks of sexual assaults as not so much about sex as about power and control)
T L Mills, I will throw gasoline on the fire. I am definitely gay adjacent, truthfully I have noticed that there is a lot of misogyny in the gay community, whether it is envy,or competition, may be resentment for being stereotyped.
The public seems to think that gays are effeminate queens, and that is so far from reality, the queens are a subset. Most gays are macho, like the 300 Spartans or the Thebian Sacred Band. they have a sub culture of "bears" big, heavy bearded men.
And gays like Andrew Sullivan who absolutely detest transwomen and queens, probably because it reinforces the stereotype that gays are effeminate. Iran certainly has that opinion, as gays are forced into sexual reassignment surgery.
Hello Kathy... DJT is a Horrible Example of a 'Man'... He is a Horrible Example of a Human...
Prescient words from Martin Niemoller about Hitler resonate with Trump’s plans for the future if he wins the election.
First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist
Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist
Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist
Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew
Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me
Thank you for posting that.
Please spread the word!
"trump has boxed himself into an inescapable paradox where he must either be a fanboy of hitler’s nazi phrasing, ideology and policies, or if he is a person who came to most of the same toxic words and conclusions as hitler all on his own, he reveals he is a malignant narcissist."
https://samray.substack.com/p/trumps-nazi-narcissist-paradox
In 1990 Ivana Trump told her lawyer that Donald Trump kept a book of Hitler speeches in his bedside cabinet.
trump has sign admitted he had it. He tried to claim a Jewish person gave it to him.
Good Lord! No Jewish person would have ever given anyone a book of that evil spawn's speeches! The orange man can sure tell some whoppers!
I think the color orange should sue tRump for defamation of character.
No self respecting Jewish person would have anything to do with Hitler!💩💩💩💩
And yet, Eadie, Trump was and is surrounded by Jews, from Stephen Miller, Michael Cohen to Weisselberger and David Weiss and he has even been protected by Merrick Garland. go figure.
Yep, it's amazing what one can say when they don't possess a conscience.
Daddy used to read it to him at bedtime
My guess is fanboy.
The correct answer is both.
Trump’s adoration of fascism is extremely dangerous, yet ironic as well as he is none of the things he’s projecting himself to be. I have never feared so much for the nation as I do now, especially since we’ve seen how far he’s willing to go to keep power.
Well, Hitler saw tall, blonde people as ideal and was short and dark haired.
Sort of like Mark Robinson--a Black man who wants to bring back slavery and own slaves. There's some psychological term for people who hate who they are so much they demonize it.
Look at Trumps role model - he’s racist father and cowarding mother
Yea. And Hitler was 6’ blond and blue eyed either!
Trump is only a cheesy used a car salesman / he’s good at deception. He’s a real dumbass when it comes to theory or logic and can deceive the uneducated- high school dropouts, excons, drug addicts
If only Trump really was just a "cheesy used car salesman". That would make ridding the country of his presence and his toxicity relatively easy. Unfortunately, while he is as cheesy as any overly slick salesperson, he is also something a little more. It's not easily definable because we, who stand back and observe while not being captured by his strange oratory, cannot see or understand it...but he does have a gift. He is somehow able to connect with his cultists--his grievances and complaints become theirs--or vice versa. Those citizenry virtually--indeed, literally--worship him and if they don't believe everything he says (although those folks frequently do) they don't care that he mouths lies. They even love his lies because in their eyes, it empowers them to exhibit the same arrogance, condescension...to bully and hate the "others" amongst us.
You are listing standard subsets of his malignant narcissism.
https://samray.substack.com/p/the-trump-playbook-is-an-illusion
When we say malignant narcissist, what exactly do we mean? That narcissism spreads amongst the fan base or that it increases in DT? Something else?
Your ? doesn't compute. Seems like you need to study on your own to catch up first.
Wait… malignant it can mean malevolent… yup, he’s that. Kudos for wordsmanship!
I read your write up and liked it a lot btw, but it looked like “malignant” just sort of appeared and I wondered what specifically was malignant or whether it was a big word thrown in for dramatic effect. .
Thanks. There are very specific meanings that are not easily described but here's a podcast I did on the subject if interested. https://samray.substack.com/p/malignant-narcissist-review-and-political
Brent, maybe I'm taking your question too literally, but here is what a malignant narcissist means, in an accessibly-written article by a psychotherapist:
https://drvincentgreenwood-89455.medium.com/the-science-behind-donald-trumps-dangerous-personality-disorder-49b3f8e416de
I think malignant means deadly. Like, you can have a plain tumor or a malignant tumor. You can have plain narcissism, or malignant narcissism. It's internal to you.
Bob, there is one more element to fascism, or fascist leaders: Uniform mass events with flags, symbols and slogans, where the true believers swear their allegiance to the leader on stage by not acting as individuals but as a uniform body. The leader honors the allegiance by giving neverending speeches, whipping up the mood and throwing red meat.
Trump's rallyes fit that descriptuin pretty well.
Klaus, and don't forget the link to corporatism.
Yep!
Sounds like if Trump is somehow re-elected we are all headed BACK TO THE CAVE. He doesn’t realize that humans have evolved and no longer do we need the man to be the breadwinner!
Keith--Back to the cave--Trump only wishes that were the case. That man has actively been trying to undo his own birth ever since he found out one of the two things Samuel Clemens discovered as a child.
Please explain. I'm intrigued.
Gloria--Trump spent the first 9 months of his life trying to leave the womb and the rest of his life trying to get back in.
Lol.
What are those 2 things? I think we should be told! :-)
PerraVerde--Mark Twain once said, the two most important days in a man's life are--- the day he was born and the day he finds out why.
The man’s a disgusting pig. His followers are packs of mangey rats eating up the slop that falls out of his mouth….
I understand your anger, but his followers include a very large part of the US population. I can't believe they are mangy rats. I see them, not as sick, but as desperate. So were the Germans in the 1930s.
Paul Waldman and Thomas Schaller recently published a good book titled “White Rural Rage.” People in rural areas do rightly feel that they’ve been ignored economically with the disappearance of small scale farming and the collapse of manufacturing, but they’ve been encouraged by talk show screamers, Fox News and similar media outlets to believe the people they attack are responsible for their problems. Rather, they believe them and vote for GQP politicians funded by the very people who are responsible for their hardships. Culture war politics are a good way to distract people from really seeing who’s responsible for their predicament, and it keeps people in rural areas voting against their economic interests.
Journalist Anne Nelson also notes that urban and rural people don’t listen to common media outlets, so they have different views of the world and no common reality.
This is certainly true here in Northern Ireland. We also suffer from a shameful apartheid education system that copper fastens societal sectarianism. In the pro MAGA extreme unionist and their christo fascist communities, violent intimidation by British state created and still funded by them, loyalist gangs flourishes. Mafia style, they make sure that voters have to tow the line condoning their racism, misogyny, the despoliation of landscape and general impoverishment. People have no choice but to either not vote (the majority) or only vote for the openly fascist unionist extremist DUP/TUV parties.
Fight back as hard as you can to make sure this recent rise in similar fascism in the US is stamped out because once they become locally imbedded it seems impossible, within present democratic structures, to ever be free of their violent tyranny.
🐈⬛💙
https://www.irishnews.com/opinion/brian-feeney-the-only-way-to-put-loyalist-gangs-out-of-business-is-to-take-their-money-away-LMEG65XXIZDF7DDD5ZGJ23AO6U/
@ Kathy -- we've had the same dichotomy since sheep coating in England forced "lacklanders" to emigrate. Actually Dems have pushed for many initiatives to save the family farm -- all opposed by Big Ag and their allies in the Chambers of Commerce, National Manufacturers' Association, and now Heritage and other right wing think tanks.
These schmucks have been sold a bill of goods. E.G. their salvation could have been new technology - like turning alternative energy into a cash cow. Yet they universally oppose.
Thank you for sharing, Monnina.
A good point has been made that rural people listen to a lot of radio, which is relatively cheap to operate and mostly owned by right wing controlled companies. The Dems should set up their own stations, or at least jam the BS stations.
Millions listen feel good sermons, but the last thing they want to do is imitate the life of Jesus.
Exactly - the uneducated people that follow Trump and the same people the gop want to hurt with their programs but because most of magas are close to illiterate they believe the hype showman I Trump on the stage blaming immigrants fir their economic problems -
SAME AS HITLER
The US population that follow Trump/MAGA are all victims of abuse by the powerful for personal profit. Only they wake up to this fact will this ugly US fascist tide turn.
‘It is an old strategy of tyrants to delude their victims into fighting their battles for them’
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Trump is a Conman, a Communist and a Coward. Anyone who follows him is one or all of these things too. No excuses or apologies.
Nah he's definitely NOT a communist. That man is a disgraceful example of the racist/misogynistic/populist dumbo lack-of-critical-thinking of the MAGA folk.
Trump lives in daily slavish adulation of Vladimir Putin, who is a communist dictator. Why do you say Trump is not a communist? He is in bed with all that is Russian communism.
I heard a comment recently that politics has become like professional wrestling. I think that’s true of the MAGA republicans and their base.
They have no-one to blame but themselves…. They elect the same officials who steal from them year after year…. Look at where 90% of his followers hail from…. The states and districts AT THE BOTTOM OF THE EDUCATION LADDER. The people that live there need to stop voting for the same SHITTY PEOPLE. It’s their own fault.
Most Americans don't have nearly enough reason to be as desperate as the Germans were from 1930 to 1932. In 1918, the Germans had lost the war that they had helped to start - they had ruined Belgium and northern France - and were force to pay a large part of their produce as reparations, while their war had severely reduced their workforce and their access to natural resources. We don't have anything like that in the U.S. - yet.
You must not know any minorities.
Not personally. I am just as Jewish as you presumably are. The Afro-Americans and the indigenous Americans have full reason to be desperate, but they are not the ones voting for Trump, as far as I know. Are the subsistence farmers to whom you refer a minority? I fled the United States in 1969 out of horror over the hypocrisy at the end of the "Pledge of Allegiance": "With liberty and justice for all." These principles have been trampled to death in the "United" States since the beginning of the country's history - and Trump will continue to commit this crime with the greatest vigor!
Where I live Batistianos and other bobos regularly vote for their own demise. So do the fromm among us. Imagine a call to jihad by supporting Trump.
As president Trump established a "denaturalization" department within DOJ. Shades of judenfrei Deutcchland. Substitute "Hispanic" or "Negroid" for juden.
Meanwhile my brother lives 2 blocks from and attends Tree of Life synagogue, Pittsburgh Pa. White supremacists convinced the perp that all Jews must die because they are infecting la raza. https://www.amazon.com/Tree-Other-Poems-Jonathan-Solomon/dp/1662872534
"The power of Negative Thinking" is a book written on our skins. It hurts everybody.
Yes. It would be like Americans using their last opportunity to vote to end their democracy so they won't get to vote again. Suicide.
What were the Jan 6 participants desperate about? Why does Kevin Roberts, president of the Heritage Foundation, sound desperate?
Wow, Erik! I could actually "see" that description and now I can't "unsee" it! You are right on the money with that description!
How anyone can be "undecided" at this point baffles me.
Me too! 🙊🙈🙉
What this sounds like is that President Biden and the Joint Chiefs should meet to discuss how to end this disastrous charade by a convicted felon and traitor before it goes any further.
Trump's savage attacks on the media is reminiscent of the way Hitler bludgeoned the press during his destruction of Germany. It's odd to me that anyone would endeavor to repeat what was seen by historians as a disaster in human history. I guess Trump isn't just anyone, the man is a social oddity that reminds me more of an illness rather than a gift.
Look behind the scene. Vance was placed as running mate by folks highly involved in Project 2025. They know Trump is failing, but he still has presence to hopefully draw in the votes. He will be shuffled off to a nice golf course. JD will be the new puppet. P2025 has been their long game for quite some time. And don’t forget wonder-boy with his bags of money has jumped on board.
Unfortunately correct.
His followers even echo Hitler’s term “Lügenpresse” to refer to press outlets that aren’t entirely pro-Trump, yet from where I sit, mainstream press outlets downplay Trump’s violent statements and ignore his demented behavior. They concentrate on the horse race aspects of politics while ignoring the serious policy implications and differences between the parties. Republicans have abandoned our principle that the people should have a voice, and that elected officials and government are subject to the Constitution.
Imagine a Hitler without antisemitism and without war, someone like Mussolini in the 1920s,that's what Trump and his supporters want--a personal dictatorship, deeply nationalistic, secular, but at piece with the Catholic Church. Note: a dictatorship is a dictatorship, which means submission to the dictator, one party rule, no dissent, no freedom of the press, zero tolerance of social unrest. Many Americans admired Mussolini, and, I am sure, still do.
It’s clear that Donold is a fascist. You’d think that today’s for profit media would explain and make this clear to their audience and customers. Especially, with the election and the clear threat to democracy, rule of law and way of life that tRump poses.
There's an interesting historical documentary available on the BBC iPlayer streaming service about Julius Caesar. It draws clear parallels between Caesar and Trump, and credits the former with having successfully destroyed the Roman Republic in a process that took 16 years, and ushered in an era of emperors (essentially dictators in modern terms - back then a "dictator" was someone constitutionally appointed by the Senate in a time of national crisis, to rule for a limited period). Trump has told US voters in clear terms that this is what he intends to do. Let us hope they believe him.
It's no longer about Trump, but rather possibly the fulfrum moment of too many stressers onto our democracy. Fast moving digital communications. Foreign money. The Roman Catholic SCOTUS. Presidential powers suddenly sbove the law. Gerrymandering, ensuring safe districts and radical positions. The re-emergance of a dominant overclass. We're left with an electorate, better versed in religion than civics, longing for religious solutions, feeling that America and it's laws are the problem. Now history hinges on the votes of 1-3% of the population; and, of course, which party's political aparatus handles the vote counts in swing states. Can our military's patriotism stand again when it's not reflected in our country's representatives or populace? If Trump wins, thanks to SCOTUS, all bets are off and if he loses our generals better not be named Flynn.
Isn’t it pitiful and weak and tragic that these fascist tactics even work; that the urges that make this sick talk effective are within us? And like RR has said, the basic rage about getting screwed will remain even if DT is defeated. The next fascists will be more effective. Boy do we need figures like the Roosevelts.
Professor Reich
You are correct in pointing out that the Trump cult is fascist and that there is history behind it. You came just shy of making it clear that the 90 year history you described has an even longer history and is in fact current and has overwhelming support by media, corporate, medicine, education, military the majority of white Americans and more. This has become tradition and a blueprint for a finish line (for people of color first then poor whites and others) which is conceivable and has been sampled and supported in Gaza and globally for centuries. The fact that the likes of Trump is a serious presidential candidate despite his transparency and cooperation speaks volumes.
Full-throated fascism is true but the wide range of quiet and not so quiet support is no longer a secret.