It is fascinating that these cult clowns find nothing disturbing about a President who pardons the cronies who were convicted of committing crimes on his behalf. That, to me, is the shining example of the reason why Washington and Adams and Jefferson risked their lives to found a government based on laws. Trump is a traitor to the most sacred ideals of Americanism.
…but, still, it is truly amazing how many followers Trump has amassed. And, in all actuality, this is exactly what they are. FOLLOWERS! Similarly to former cults, fascists and nut jobs, these “leaders” always amass followers.
It is absolutely scary that so many people can blindly follow a craven lunatic.
This whole business of a population seething with resentment and grievance, looking for a hero to put down their enemies, harking back to "traditional" national, racial, or religious values...very often finds a historical or geographical parallel. Orban, Erdogan, Mussolini, Hitler, Putin, LePen, Khomeini, etc. It only ends after people decide they have had enough, or their fearless leader has brought them to ruin. What is so painfully sad with Trump is that he clearly wishes to lead the US into a downward spiral of irrelevance and inferiority. He is an isolationist when NATO needs a leader to stand up to Putin. He is a tax-cutting anti-investment market toady, when China is putting its tremendous state power and wealth into a race against our fragile superiority. He is a divider at a time when we desperately need unity.
Tucker "Carlson also called Volodymyr Zelensky, the Jewish president of Ukraine, “a persecutor of Christians” and described him as “shifty, dead-eyed” and “sweaty and ratlike.”
"....Whether he [Tucker]is holding forth on Russia or immigrants or the Jan. 6 riot, he has one persistent meta-theme: The elites are controlling your information and telling you what you’re allowed to say. “Go ahead and talk about something that really matters and see what happens,” he says at one point, seeming to allude to his firing by Fox while casting himself as a free-speech martyr. “If you keep it up, they’ll make you be quiet. Trust us.”
Within this rhetorical framework, it is not necessary to prove that aliens have been discovered on Earth or that Ukrainians blew up a Ukrainian dam. It is enough for Carlson to say They don’t want you to believe it, and the viewer can accept the idea for the sake of sticking it to them. They say you’re wrong, you’re crazy, you’re a racist. Well, what do they know?
It is a premise made for social media, as many a red-pilled YouTuber and Facebook proselytizer has found. The premise of his appeal — that he is the one teller of truth, and you the one critical thinker, in a world of shepherds and sheep ..."
Power- The "Big Lie" only works of there are seeds of truth in it. "The elites are controlling your information". That is the seed of truth in what he is saying. The rest is of course the "big lie". It is no accident that the media all but ignores issues like Universal health vare, Declining Income Security for Americans, Declining life span for Americans, Corporate Greed at the center of inflation and so on and so on... For every one article much less investigative report on these issues you get a hundred reports on Trump and his criminal indictment or on Woke corporations.
Carlson is a demagog. But there is a seed of truth in what he says and those that ignore it do so at our peril.
Um ... not quite. The "big lie" SOMETIMES works if there are seeds of truth in it. But sometimes it works because it's what people WANT to believe. The proffering of white supremacy as a legitimate religio-political ideology is a BIG LIE that is TOTAL BS. There is not now, nor has there ever been, any justification for this lie. There's no "seed of truth" there, just as there is no "seed of truth" that men are superior to women or that (as some religions say) "men should be in charge of women." I think you make some great points here, but some Big Lies are espoused because people want the privilege they can reap if they can sow a belief in things that were never valid or even remotely real.
PhD... Correct there are no seeds of truth in anything you noted. But that is not the seed of truth is what Carlson is saying. The seed of truth is that the audience he is talking to has been "screwed" by the government....
No, racism is not the reason. That is his "big lie". The audience he is appealing to has been screwed badly by law makers of both parties that for 40yrs have put the demands of the donor class ahead of the needs of his audience.
His audience is right to be mad. They were screwed. Like Hitler is blaming a scape goat to protect the donor class.
If one looks hard enough there are many falsehoods spouted by demigods that have but one seed of truth in their message. Ok I give. I would agree with that.
Michael, I don't think anyone is actually ignoring Tucker. He is another power-hungry jerk who has far more power than he has a right to. He is one of those flexible men who will go with the thoughts of whoever will pay him the most. He learned on Fox that he does not have to be accurate, honest, or care about the harm he is causing. He would like to be Trump or DeSantis but it will never happen, so he does what he can to wreck things right where he is. He doesn't have the power of Fox behind him anymore, so he should be a bit more careful who he maligns, which is probably why he goes after groups rather than individuals as he did when he was at Fox. Tucker is scum and he will collect more scum around him but will care for none of them unless they can give him more of what he wants. Some will come through for him, though, that's for certain.
RS - Agreed Tucker is scum... But that does not change my key point. There is a market for his type of scuminess because people's economic lives are being destroyed while the nation publicly rejoices in our wealth. The reality is that for 90% of Americans their income and income security have been declining for generations now... When that happens demagogues appear and take power.
Democrats used to fight for the working class, the consturction worker the factory worker, the cashier the barber the school teacher and for the young like college students.
For 30yrs the Dems have turned their backs on all of these people in favor of the donor class.. This is what happens to people when they have their security and dignity ripped from them.. It is not the firs time and wont be the last.
This is kind of Civics 101. An engaged populace, meaning one involved in the political conversation; holding their Representatives to account, also means being fully informed - despite great effort by media to obfuscate and under-report (or in the case of Fox Corp, to promote misinformation). "Seek, an ye shall find." There are credible truth seekers out there. We are all able to do an end run on feckless MSM (CNN, are you listening?), just as we can hold accountable our Representatives - if we have the will to do so.
DO - Family income insecurity has been increasing for 2 generations. People don't have time to "seek". They are working multiple low paying jobs, commuting for hours and under constant pressure from bill collectors.
IE: They used to be the BASE for the Democratic party. The Democratic party left that base to twist in the wind and now a large chunk of them look at Trump and like what they see...
I blame the Democratic party leadership for producing a Donald Trump and he wont be the first until this party gets their act together and puts voters a head of the donor class.
Kerry, you are right about Trump's anti-American, anti-democratic stances, but I doubt he has any idea of what most of that even means these days, beyond that he wants stuff for himself: power, more money, adulation. When have we heard anything sensible from Trump. He is being manipulated by users. He knows just enough of the language that will stir the boosoms of his faithful, but that's because they are not even listening. I love it that the media just plays little snippets of Trump's rants that almost sound like he knows what he is talking about, or at least is familiar Trumpisms. If one listens to longer pieces, it is clear he is dragging out his lines that he now has engrained on his brain so he can just change them slightly to meet every situation. The challenge, Ron DeSantis is spouting a lot of the same garbage, but he does know what he is saying and exactly how he is using it to manipulate Republicans, particularly the old folks and Cuban-Americans and others from "socialist" countries. His Ivy League education and his resentment of not fitting in there has turned him into or has brought out in him a desire to dominate at any cost. Trump wants that too, but DeSantis could do it. From descriptions of his time at Guantanamo, he would have no trouble "dealing with" people he does not like. We could stop a lot of this move toward violence and supremacy if we could get our courts to actually do their jobs and stop the gerrymandering, dump the other anti-democratic moves of our Supreme Court. However, I am afraid their Alabama gerrymandering decision was the act to raise people's hope that the Court has grown up a bit, while in reality, they are planning to do as much damage to our democracy as they can by ditching affirmative action (another long-held precedent no one whom it impacts wants ditched) and puts in place that rule that state legislatures can ignore the vote of the people and pick whoever they want for president, as well as the many other cases they are considering. We saw what they can and probably will do when the Dobbs decision came down last year (after having leaked). The Court is in bad shape but we can't get the votes to fix it since Republicans rule even though they are the minority. Ugh! I hope I am wrong, but I have seen no evidence that I am.
not only does he thrive in chaos but that seems to be his particular and habitual form of gratification - seeing how much he can get away with 'i could shoot someone in the middle of 5th avenue and nothing would happen to me'
Kerry- It every case you cite above the people that supported the dictator only did so after being royally screwed by the establishment for decades. I read history, i know you are right, things don't end well. But until we start admitting that the establishment (Regan, Clinton, Bush and Obama) all screwed these people royally...
Until we address that some form of Trump will continue to be of interest to larger and larger numbers of Americans.
Regan (sic), Clinton, Bush, and Obama were very different cases from the Mango Malfeasant. There is a whole world of "wokeness" that admits and addresses the injustices done by the preceding presidents. It doesn't matter. Plainly, if people can't perceive the self-serving narcissism and money-grabbing hucksterism that motivates every second of DJ Blowhard's very existence, there is no hope of saving them, educating them, or rehabilitating them. They just need to be defeated, politically. Because they are, in fact, a rotten, racist cancer in the belly of the Union. I'm done.
Kerry - I have heard the "they just need to be defeated" for a generation now. It no longer works. The alternative's keep getting worse and worse.
The Democratic party used to focus on the poor and middle class, on union members or teachers and cashiers as well as construction workers and truck drivers.
Today it has fully abandoned those voters in favor of the donor class. That is why the "alternative" to Trump is a President who said he would "VETO" Medicare for All even if both houses passed it and inspite of 70% acceptance by voters in both parties.
Until the Dems fix themselves there will be an unending number of Donald Trumps that can compete with Democrats who put the donor class before poor and working class Americans
I am afraid that the voters can and should resolve this issue of lack of representation from the Dems by voting snd achieving a super majority. Then watching carefully and shouting loudly if the winning dems only give to the wealthy donors using the super majority for other than the long term changes to politics in this country.
Everyone can criticize but most have no idea of what needs to change precisely and how to get there.
AR - That is easy. The solutions are not difficult at all. The politics are what is difficult.
Prior to 1980 the US had an economy that was structured to produce rapid growth from public sector and private sector investment in productivity gains. That has progrssivly slowed since then to make PROFITS more important than innovation and productivity growth.
Fix:
- Return to 90% tax on incomes over (lets say in 2023) $10M annually
- Return of Min wage growth in line with Productivity growth
- Breaking up the To Big To Fail banks which were illegal before the late 70's
- Return to Regional banking, which is what the Fed was set up for in the fist place
- Change campaign finance laws to reduce Regulatory and Law Maker capture
- Universal Health Care
- Free university
- Equal funding for all K -12
- Re focus the economy through legislation on cleaning up the environment
And there is plenty of room for all sorts of compromise with voters.
But we can't do any of this because Corporations control law makers. So it all starts with reducing corporations control of law makers
These are all good ideas and meld with much of my thinking but most of that requires a committed congress in order to make those changes I believe so my objective is to work to achieve a super majority for the blue team. Without that, needed changes can never quite get through Congress.
I do not think it will ever end. It is part of human nature. Some people just lack honest reasoning skills. Some people will never be able to do the 'math'.
The first telling move of an abuser is to isolate the victim from friends and family. After he’s sweet talked you into thinking he’s one of the good guys, of course.
Read Thinking Fast & Slow - it will explain fully how so many people blindly follow. Ninety-five percent of what we do is dictated by our unconscious. Most of what we do we are unaware of until we have done it. Once aware we rationalize the behavior to our level of comfort. We are reflexive characters. Stupid Trump knows this and so does Putin and his propagandist.
When you cut ✂️ the head of the snake 🐍 off, all the rest of the body can only squirm around.
Hopefully Jack Smith will attend to the seditious activities and sabotaging America 🇺🇸 since J6 by Trump's baboons in Congress after Trump's locked 🔒 up. They all think 🤔 he's gonna pardon them all
Badly, very badly is how it will end - for Trump and for we who love our beautiful country, and if for no other reason than the countless men and women who gave up their lives to keep it free ~ they must never be forgotten. Donald Trump has trampled upon all of their sacrifices.
They've been firing in this civil war for decades. Saturated with white supremacy from the beginning, and now inflamed with Christian nationalism, the January 6th and Charlottesville sieges are only two among the hundreds of violent attacks. There is a white paper abstract (Hoffman) on American domestic terrorism on the DOJ website that dates from 1987. Violence against abortion clinics, continued violence against blacks, Jews, Muslims, Asians, Islanders, and endless violence against women bear witness not only to white supremacy but also to patriarchal violence against women, often enforced by religious dogma. WHAT IS DIFFERENT NOW is that this is no longer the violence of lone wolves and solitary fringe groups: there is now a coalescing of hundreds of violent groups under the umbrage of a Dark Tetrad psychological outlier: Donald Trump. THIS is what's dangerous. They are melding into each other, and in Trump, they see a real possibility that they can overthrow the government and establish what would basically be the Fourth Reich (no pun intended, dear professor). Just as an example, here is the list of groups who allied to pull off the January 6th attack on the Capitol--some with central organization and others forming loose confederacies: The Atomwaffen Division, Oath Keepers, Proud Boys, Three Percenters, National-anarchists, Patriot movement, QAnon, Groyper Army, Neo-Confederates, Christian nationalists, Holocaust deniers, and other individual radicalized Trump supporters. Trump is directly calling for violence now, as he did before January 6th. And what's so threatening is that there's never before been a gathering under ONE FLAG, and now there is. It showed up first in Charlottesville, then on January 6th. The only way Trump can survive the onslaught of federal charges, including conspiring to overthrow the government of the United States and attempting to murder VP Pence, is to be reelected, pardon himself, and find a way to declare martial law, suspend elections, and make the resulting state a permanent dictatorship. On January 6th, the Joint Chiefs wouldn't play. If that had, it would all over now. He must be defeated--in court and at the ballot box. ... If anybody wants to read Hoffman's 1987 analysis of domestic terrorism threats, the abstract at: https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/right-wing-terrorism-united-states. You'll need to get your library to order the full paper for you.
There is a very real threat of isolated violent incidents. No doubt about it. But this "civil war" talk is pretty ridiculous.
Exactly by whom is this war going to be waged? That rag-tag collection of delusional Rambos? Seriously? The United States government is defended by the most powerful military in the word.
Please, people. Take a beat. I'm not a betting man, but I'd wager that a single brigade of well-trained American soldiers would crush them in days, if not hours.
It doesn't matter how many times the whole Russian collusion thing has been debunked.... you leftists will continue to beat on that drum..... cause you have NOTHING else. NOTHING. Go wave that Ukrainian flag at a street corner. See how many people care about it with inflation sky high and our nation being overrun by illegal aliens while a derelict illegitimate Biden vacations again.
Kerry, and Trump claims he will pardon all the January 6th insurrectionists who have been sentenced. What does Trump have to do to get Republicans to finally spit him out? I guess when a cult has chosen its god, it is hard to tear them away or even get them to see their god's serious flaws.
I'm wondering if Biden could - and should if he could - issue an executive order stripping ol' Tweety of secret service protection. It's an objection I've heard raised in opposition to his being tossed into the can for the rest of his natural life. Biden should do it >now.<
"Trump is a traitor to the most sacred ideals of Americanism." And being a "traitor" he must pay for his crimes. Crimes by Presidents often go unnoticed or not given much news about said crimes, but in this case Donald Trump is guilty as sin and must be sanctioned and made to pay for what he has done to our wonderful America. He is deserving of severe punishment to set an example for anyone in the future who thinks they can upend our lives and spit on America and wrap himself in a flag - that is tantamount to blasphemy!
Well, my explanation would pale in comparison with Mr. Reich's, who has done a stellar job of analysis of the American Trump psychosis. I can't explain why Americans don't much care about the impending climate catastrophe, either, despite choking in smoke or drowning in hurricanes or suffering from drought.
I believe it all goes back to the puppet masters control of the masses. Once again, how one is educated and the propaganda machine says it all. Ignorance is a very potent control mechanism.
Kerry - That is no longer true. He is literally beating Biden in polls for President. He may or may not win but it is irrefutable that "ideals of Americanism" are very different with a large % of the population. Do you know the "ideals of Americanism" for the large chunk of this country that looks at Trump and Biden and picks Trump? Can you persuade them to change their views or an you only make fun of them? I am guilty of the later more than the former, so i am not judging anyone here. Just saying.
Kerry - The Trump supporters no longer care if people like you and i make fun of them. They are completely focused on organizing and taking power from us.
SO while we are posting our thoughts on a message board they are at Trump rally's organizing and indoctrinating other alienated voters.
40yrs of increasing family financial insecurity and you end up with a lot of people willing to throw in with a "strong man" who is not making fun of them.
That is how the world works and it is never going to change.
Either the Dem Party stops catering to the Donor class and agains focuses on the POOR and MIDDLEClass or we will keep seeing more and more and more Trumps
Well, I can’t argue with your point. I’m a Bernie Bro, and I would never cater to that class. But I’m also a Dem. And there is a very strong contingent of Dems who are progressive, and who are fighting for legislation that benefits the majority of the population, not just the wealthy. Blaming the rise of Trumpism on the Democrats is a faulty argument…there are multiple factors that have brought that on. Mr. Reich does a better job than I can in making that argument.
I heard a discussion John Paul Stevens had on Colbert some time ago in which he said to listen -- really listen -- to what someone had to say even if you disagree -- until you really hear them. Too often, we denigrate them (make fun of them). We’re not really listening, simply waiting for a pause as we think of a clever riposte.
Too often, we tolerate intolerable attitudes until they come back and bite the body politic. We accepted the Jim Crow and segregation of the South until it had its rebirth with Nixon and the Southern Strategy. Then came Rove and Trump. We have all really listened to the racists in this country until we are sick of them.
Yes and now so does DeSantis. He wants to re-name Fort Liberty for the confederate general Bragg because it was named for him. Apparently, he was a bad general besides being a traitor to the United States. But it’s like announcing ‘we are the pro-slavery party.’
Trump's base is 30% of the voting population, the 30% which is still fighting the Civil War. None of these political wankers, from Ron DeSantis to Kari Lake, can succeed if they alienate this base, but at the same time they're all hoping Trump will be convicted in short measure so he won't be able to run.
The circular nature of this thing is quite terrifying. Budding autocrats and their imitators throw red meat to their fawning audiences and the audiences give it right back in the form of encouragement and "suggestions." Then Trump State Media a la Fox steps in and amplifies the situation. The autocracy metastasizes with sycophants and enablers.
At this point, putting a proverbial foot out and tripping them up only creates "victims" for the Cult. But we absolutely must push through obstacles and persist -- there is no other choice.
Braxton Bragg is considered by most military historians as having been one of, if not the, worst generals of the war. He commanded the confederate army in the Western theater, where he lost virtually every battle he fought until finally Jefferson Davis “promoted” him to the general staff in Richmond to remove him from field command.
The only reason Fort Liberty was ever named for him was because he was the highest ranking confederate general born in North Carolina.
I drove past the Baghdad By the Sea courthouse yesterday. They were already setting up. Mostly TV media.
The Proud Boys have called our their members.
Gratefully "Constitutional carry" does not become law until July 1, so hopefully the protestors won't be armed withM-16s IMHO 50% of the local police are full blown MAGATs. .
Once upon a time, Miami was the riot capitol -- mostly due to race. The last series of demonstrations involved Cuba. The police protected the protestors.
When Trump asked MAGATs to come to Miami, he did not have tourism on his mind. In Brandenburg v. Ohio, 395 U.S. 444 (1969), the Supreme Court established that speech advocating illegal conduct is protected under the First Amendment unless the speech is likely to incite “imminent lawless action.” Whether it will be likely is a jury call.
According to your last paragraph, we should have them red-handed. We've been far too tolerant of this viciousness. And Kari Lake desperately requires institutionalization.
DS—His people no-showed when he called them to action for the Manhattan arraignment. Maybe a dozen showed up—the number whose courage isn't what's in their holsters, given strict NY gun laws? Hope you all do as well as we did up here, and that the courtroom doesn't get washed away by the tears of court officers weeping for his unjust fate (the weeping his fall-down-laughing claim that was a footnote to the Manhattan story).
Although the snowbirds are gone, lots of traffic today. Trump is using this as a fund raiser. Besides our locals, traffic looks like a lot of disoriented out of towners. Wonder if there are rooms comped for MAGATs at the Doral, Trump's largest income producing property? Wonder what hotel occupancy will be tonight?
We aren't New York. Our local government and our police are mostly MAGATs. When Trump got notice that he was indicted, he played golf with Carlos Antonio Gimenez, R Miami who used to be a Democratic county commissioner. He had a son who worked in Trump's administration. https://twitter.com/carlosgimenezfl/with_replies
Wonder if jury nullification was discussed?
Our demographics are changing. We used to be a Democratic enclave. Biden won south Florida in 2020. But today, 187,006 more Cuban Americans are registered as Republicans than Democrats in Florida (53% are registered Republicans, 26% are Democrats, and 21% are Independents). This is a relatively recent development -- IMHO primarily based on the BLM/ Cuban government connection.
I assume that the Proud Boys, who are a political force here will marshal other groups, like Alpha 66 to protest. They've tied themselves to Trump. We have a history of major protests for what I consider to be minor incidents, like whether Cuban ball players should be playing in Miami, whether Cuban artists and musicians are welcome here. I hope I'm wrong, but I expect a big turnout.
What a sobering report, Daniel. I read with alarm decades ago an nyt analysis contemplating that Florida could actually shift Republican—an unthinkable thought. Demographics then, demographics now. The Keys are the only place I ever heard someone I knew—a Marathon native—use the n-word conversationally, casually, so there's certainly that too, with prosperous new residents flocking in from everywhere U.S.A. Whatever, I'll be hoping for, if not calm, at least effective crowd control.
Yes, where "came to terms with 1865" represents the conflict between our nation's founding democratic principle that all men are created equal and are equal before the law, and those who believe that was a fundamental mistake. That a minority of powerful men should impose their rule upon others to maintain "traditional Christian values" (which have somehow morphed to minimize the importance of love, compassion, kindness, honesty, and placed more emphasis on Puritan ideas around race, gender, and sexuality).
I don’t know if we can expect a concerted effort on the part of the Boogaloo Bois to actually fight a civil war. I think we might expect some incidences of serious unrest — perhaps we’d call it riots — and it could be a mess for a while. Our police and military do have a good many MAGATs in their ranks, but I sincerely believe {HOPE?} they are still in the minority and would have a tough time organizing their own official ranks to joint an opposition action against their own towns and the country. How would police officers in authority gather and issue orders to a rogue contingent? How would they arm up and pull it off? Mmmmm, I can see groups of people making massive mischief and causing mayhem {even unto some deaths … }, but not waging what could be called a war.
Though a war is what those who want to revisit and revise 1865 would like to see. I say that because they have said it themselves.
Televangelist have joined forces with certain politicians to weaponize “Christianity “ to maintain cis male dominance. It is hard to believe that a group of powerful men can so indoctrinate so many to act against their own best interests and follow these grifters.
A Civil war over Trump would be an impossible ordeal at best. First of all, who would fight who? Everyone looks alike, it's not like we wear uniforms to designate out political allegiance. I can envision large groups of armed idiots roaming the streets asking everyone they confront "who did you vote for in 2024?" There is just no way to identify who's who in the event of an uprising. The prospect of a civil war would hinge upon what side our military aligned themselves with. I really feel armed groups of Trump supporters roaming the streets shooting at what ever would find disfavor with our standing military. It wouldn't be much of a fight, stupidity would never stand much of a chance against the combined efforts of our armed forces. Mar-A-Largo would make a sweet sortie for a F-22 Raptor, especially if Trump was there to watch.
War is different today. There have already been “lone wolf” attacks on places where their “enemies” gather: a gay nightclub, a synagogue, black churches, liberal churches. That’s what worries me on Sunday morning, as I sit in my Unitarian Universalist sanctuary and plan my hypothetical exit.
...as well you should. This will END badly for everyone... until Donald Trump resides behind bars and those protesters who damage or destroy property are dealt with as much force as is humanly possible. This Trump fiasco is his, and his alone. Into a cell with him! Forever!
I wish it were his and his alone, but he is just a cog in a much bigger wheel that does not believe in equality for all, but believes in the rights of a few powerful men to exploit the rest for money and power.
Unfortunately, it's easy to get the voting records of everyone. Find those who voted Democratic, and more particularly, who voted for Biden. But you raise interesting points, and I think that chaos would be the order of the day. And Donald Trump loves chaos.
On the contrary a few million committed to guerrilla warfare could render the nation a war zone for decades. Taking out Mar a Lago would accomplish little. Then there is all the information available on Twitter, Facebook and elsewhere identifying who is loyal to what ideals. Most importantly there is I believe substantial business backing for a hard swing to the right. We have seen in Mr. Reich’s post and elsewhere that members of Congress continue back Mr. Trump.
Dr.--Do you really feel either side would have the stomach to embriol our cities in an all out war that would reflect the debocial in Ukraine? The comment concerning Mar-A-Largo was meant in jest. Do you really think groups of Trump supporters would actually take the time to go through Twitter records and identify potential targets, it would be the slowest moving war in history. With "AI" in the works it would be impossible to be sure about anything.
Even though they absolutely do not have the obsessive tenacity of the original actual Nazis, (despite now having the social media technology to help them out), they will still try.
Since so many of the fascist SCUMpers really do cosplay as. and fantasize as being Waffen SS/Gestapo agents, rooting out the 'enemies' of the 4th Reich.
David--Reichs are like dominoes, the third one toppled and so will the fourth and so on. Through out history, movements derived from the hatred of others tend to collapse under the weight of their own lack of morality. Fascism is no exception, it will consume all that align themselves with the negativity and hatred it thrives upon.
F-22s would be overkill and uneconomical. Weeks ago, I quoted a comedian - can't remember which one - who said: "They'd be bringing guns to a drone fight." About 6 should be sufficient for Miami tomorrow, mostly armed with high resolution cameras. 1 or 2 attack drones should be sufficient otherwise. I hope those in charge consider this option.
DZK--The Raptor comment was never meant as an actual overt effort. The collateral damage would place such an attack out of the question. Using disruptors that interfere with radio waves and Wi-Fi reception will make drowns infectual, if the technology doesn't exist it soon will, maybe.
A while back there was a kerfuffle about some of Mar a Lago's other owners and tenants wanting to kick Trump out. I can see that as a reasonable possibility in the future if he keeps causing trouble in the "neighborhood."
S. A.--In the not so distant past Trump signed an agreement that stated Mar-A-Largo was never to be used as a residence. It is in violation for him to reside there for more than a specified period of time, that eludes me at the moment, but I'm sure the locals don't want him there in their quiet little neighborhood.
Well, I was responding to the suggestion of bringing in an F-22 - somewhere within this spaghetti thread. As far as disruptors, they don't seem to prevent much in Ukraine. I'll stand by drones equipped with hi-res cameras, though.
WHY I am all for MUCH MUCH more 'plurality' in our military, not just in the racial/religion/no religion mix, but in ideologies as well.
Multi-racial/religion, and mixed 'worldview' members of the military 'rank and file' are much less likely to 'open up' on those who are like themselves than a unified lily-white pure Aryan background, straight/CIS Christofascist member would be motivated to do.
Our military would be much less PUTSCH-prone to serve a despotic fuehrer if this was the case, despite them being force-fed Goebbels (Faux) Nooz at every single military base/compound/etc. in the nation.
Civil war here can take all sorts of forms from even more mass shootings to random bombings of buildings or gatherings. Think of the now deceased unibomber or Timothy McVey or the many other ways that groups of terrorists use. I’m also going to add a link to Rachel Maddow’s new podcast. What happened here Jan 6 actually worked in another country that we know very well. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rachel-maddow-presents-d%C3%A9j%C3%A0-news/id1690932739
SPW--There will always be dissenters, some more violent than others but an actual civil war is a stretch of the imagination. The more ignorant the individual the more unhappy they might find themselves when faced with social problems that over welm their ability to cope. Anti-social behavior is here to stay for a spell at least until the lost get over being stupefied by Trump.
Upon further thought, it may be kind'a sexy to have an A-10 hovering in place about 15 feet above ground about 50 yards away, down the street - just in case:
It'd resemble a scene from the 1950's version of :"War of the Worlds!"
(Fit it with the ship horn from Spielberg's version and y'd probably be able to track any insurgents down from the smelly trail they leave behind them!)
Just being flippant, dreaming up apocalyptic visual imagery. I >really< like the ship's horn ornament! LOL! (I think the A-10 should've >always< been fitted with such a horn in close ground support. That sound would terrify a Stuka pilot!)
DZK--there are many, anyone in particular. My son is a gifted carver. He carved a rose years ago, it was so life like you had to touch the thing to know for sure.
MH - No Trump does not represent people that never came to terms with 1865. He represents millions of Americans who have seen two full generations of Americans with growing income insecurity caused by leaders in BOTH parties not just one.
And as families go through harder and harder times economically, in a nation as wealthy as the US, they stop thinking rationally and start being more aggressive and angry and irrational.
THe Democratic party abandoned union members, poor blacks, cashiers, wait staff, teachers, military personal and on and on 30 or 40yrs ago in favor of the donor class.
The result has been growing income insecurity and dignity ripped from Americans. And you wonder why thy clamor for a mental midget of a demagogue?
The Democratic party either shifts its focus back to its base or we will be fighiting one Trump after the next
Those of us who support democracy should all give extra effort to getting out the vote this year-- for our country, and perhaps in honor of Lincoln, who made tough choices in his desire to keep 'the Union'.
My worry is that there could be civil BUTCHERY IF the SCUMp SHITler really does have as much of our military (rank and file, NOT the GENERALS), on it's fascist side, and their absolute devotion to it's PUTSCH leads to a mutiny, and them shattering the vows of the oath they took to defend our CONSTITUTION, and NOT an effing POS despot. :(
It remains to be seen how many Maga Republican RATS , (Republicans Advocating Trump’s Sickness), in Congress, jump ship before it sinks! As they try to save what very little integrity they have left. Once they’ve read Jack Smith’s indictment and then still support and defend the FPOTUS they are definitely complicit!
If everyone would take the time to read Jack Smith’s charging document, (45 pages), they will see how evil this man is! Most of us already knew but obviously many Americans refuse to believe it!
In a recent Truth Social post the FPOTUS ended the post “I’m an innocent man”. No
you are a completely Insane Maniac!
For those who still drink the Cruel-Aid, after all that has happened, you are not Patriots! But you know who loves you and what’s happening in our country? Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Viktor Orbán, Kim Jong-un, Ali Khamenei, etc….
It is more important now than at any other time in our history that we again become United. No one ever said our government is perfect. Government makes lots of mistakes. My Dad said many times “they say that this is the best form of government. Well if this is the best, I would hate to see the worst “! It would be great if we had some honest and impartial members of Congress
that could form a committee to make some long needed common sense amendments to our constitution for the betterment of our country.
We also have to hold our elected leaders accountable to sit down and work together as one government that works for the American people. STOP TEARING US APART !
Sadly most of the “honest and impartial members” of Congress on the republican side either quit or were voted out in the last elections. However, I too wish that there were more people who would stand up for what is right regardless of what side of the aisle they are on. Funny how republicans were all about the law when he was in office (and could cheat and profit) but now that they can’t control the law they are against the law. I would prefer to try to stomach trumps tirades because the more he talks the more he gets himself in trouble. Let him continue to dig his hole so that he shows exactly who he is to the ones that still back him and makes it easier to win prosecuting him.
"Once they’ve read Jack Smith’s indictment..." READ? I doubt that ½ of them know how to read, let alone understand what is underway ALL in the name of a man convicted of rape, dealing with Vladimir Putin - giving him God know what type of information, and on and on it goes. Those who idolize him have been brainwashed and simply cannot reason what is now underway throughout our United States. Unless they are countered and stopped in their tracks - we have laws that need to be enforced - this will end badly for our beautiful country and for our, now very fragile, democracy.
I realized recently that many of these right winger families in the "Heart"land have already had several generations of home schooling. It's not only disturbing because of the lack of quality of much of home schooling, but the cultural insularity it preserves.
Them; "It is ALL a commie leftist, Soros backed, deep state conspiracy against our brave dear fuehrer, and I do not believe it! Our perfect fuehrer can do NO wrong!"
Yeah, brainwashed in the way that Goebbels and Goering could have only DREAMED of. :(
Thank you. He sounds like a spy. Several laws have clearly been broken, now we will see if the law will be enforced, or if the judiciary has been filtrated to the extent of ignoring the law.
Hitler was quashed in 1923 in the Munich beer hall putsch. It did not deter him and he came back stronger than ever.
Don’t forget aspires to a similar form of authoritarianism and one cannot count him out. He must be incarcerated before he has the opportunity of pardoning himself. We are on track for a similar historical scenario.
If the Democrats win the house and senate, they need to make sure that felons are not able to be seated in Congress and also the executive branch and the President is not allowed to pardon himself. Pardon yourself, as President of the United States of America for criminal, felony and espionage charges against the United States is absurdity. And clean up the Supreme Court!
We are not supposed to have DESPOTS as POTUS, but if they can pardon THEMSELVES, that is EXACTLY what we have. ;)
I personally do not think that they (or any pol) should have that power, which (yes, for better or worse) just refutes/undermines the 'rule of law' we are sooo bound to, and enthused about, in this land.
For carrion eaters like Hitler and Trump to appear, there has to be a corpse. Hummm, what's that smell?
Could it be that our beloved country, finally overcome with graft, corruption, lying leaders, a capitalist system that ends like the game of Monopoly, when one player has all the cards and the others have none?
Wishful thinking? Behind him, a group of awful people are lined up to fill his shoes. I am not optimistic as to where we are heading over the next ten to twenty years.
That’s why I’m glad I’m old...I should be gone before 20 years, but will probably witness the end of our democracy and standing in the world and the dream our founding fathers had. And for what! So the rich can get richer, the minorities and those who have different lifestyles hated? Not to mention the religious fanatics and their arrogant feelings of superiority. It all disgusts me.
Same here, but I am too OCD to just leave things unfinished. They’ve been working on this since Reagan, and yes, they’ve never been this close, but anything can happen to thwart that.
Agreed. As terrifying as Trump is, he is only one ugly, fat pimple on America's very sick ass. Pop him and like the mythical hydra, other bigger, nastier ones will erupt in his place. Covid has been bad enough, but there's no cure yet for this terminal, hideous rash.
Hitler came back because the country had been totally humiliated in the Treaty of Versailles and it was in the middle of the great depression. The Weimar Republic because of the proportional voting system allowed a minority to come to power. None of this applies today to the US.
We have a winner take all system which leads inevitably to a two party system. In a proportional system there are many parties who potentially have access to representation in parliament. This is inherently more unstable, it requires the building of coalitions and allows a party with a small fraction of the total vote to come to power.
It's the electoral votes that determine who is president. Many people say that their vote doesn't count but it does. When you vote for a Presidential candidate you are actually voting for your candidate's preferred electors. Those electors make up the electoral points which whoever has the most wins the presidency. It's the system that is screwed up. The other is the 3/5's rule Slave holding states wanted their entire population to be counted to determine the number of Representatives those states could elect and send to Congress. Free states wanted to exclude the counting of slave populations in slave states, since those slaves had no voting rights. A compromise was struck to resolve this impasse. The compromise counted three-fifths of each state's slave population toward that state's total population for the purpose of apportioning the House of Representatives. Even though slaves were denied voting rights, this gave Southern states more representatives and more presidential electoral votes than if slaves had not been counted. In 1868 it was repealed but the states that had that did not lose their number of electors. So they hold a advantage. A;so this was done at a time that there were only 13 states in the Union. California for instance doesn't have a electoral vote that is based on their population of today. The electoral college is outdated. Either that gets fixed or we get rid of it. trump won because of the electoral votes are calculated.
We have not always had just two functioning parties. But the latter bully third parties out rather quickly. IMO the two party system is eventually doomed. The only question is how long it can survive and will it take the country down with it?
GB has a winner take all system like the US and ends up mostly with just two parties like the US with a third party sometimes popping up because of unhappiness with the two dominant parties. That is the inevitable outcome of a winner take all system. For this reason most democracies do not have this system and end up with frequent changes in government. In addition of course the President in the US is elected indirectly via the electoral college. In Mexico the President is also elected directly and serves for 6 years, no re-election is possible. This has definite advantages.
Germany has chosen a mixed system and therefore has half a dozen or so parties elected to parliament. This requires the building of coalitions since the Chancellor is elected by parliament. the great advantage is that the Chancellor and cabinet has to present and defend the program in parliamentary debates while in the US President never appears in parliament except once a year with no period for direct questioning.
I think that the Electoral Voting process made it almost impossible for the Black people , and other minorities to cast their votes The Electoral college was implemented-big time-after the signing of the Declaration of Independence which freed the slaves only on
paper ,not in reality as far as their quality of life and their true freedom..
Most of southern confederate racist states - notice I said many of these states , not all of them - were not going to agree their being
“ so called “ free , and this was their way of keeping the slaves -in no way to be truly free from their oppression.
Even today -as it remains in effect-is the gold standard for the winning of many politicians, over “ they popular”
And our hand-wringing/pearl clutching, while worrying about "partisan political appearances" DoJ, as well as too many others are way way way too late to the game to seriously avoid this democracy destroying putsch.
ALL of these trials should have not only been under way already, but should have been completed by now, NOT 'about a year from now' when it is moot BS, and not even 'going through the motions'. :(
I understand where you are coming from and don't even necessarily disagree. But please remember: You Aussies gave us Rupert Murdoch and that was instrumental in getting America where it is now. I know the average Austrailian is truthful and upstanding, but you produced one helluva lying bas***d who has done great damage to America.
The Murdochs are bad actors, to be sure, but Americans were not forced to pay attention to the stuff being pumped out; Americans were not forced to join the thug-army of traitors, seditionists, liars, fascists and totalitarian cheerleaders. Someway, somehow Americans have to accept responsibility for playing monstrous games with this precious experiment and following an amoral criminal to destroy it.
I am dreading all of the hell and chaos that tRump thrives on, that he will incite - has already started - for the coming year and beyond.
Trump and his base identify themselves as "victims." Trump's followers are victims, dupes, in a way, but let's not join with him and them in excusing or pitying them for their gullibility. These people are adult human beings. While the psychology and motivations of such people may be complicated, the fact remains that they have chosen to believe falsehoods, they have chosen immunity to evidence, they have chosen to behave like angry, disgruntled babies, they have chosen Drama and Idolization.
An article in the Washington Post recently focused on a group of youngish mothers in a lower middle-class town. They did not care if Trump raped a woman and engaged in other sexual, and sexist, misbehavior. "That's what men do," they basically agreed, as if it pleased them. They love Trump. There is a titillating sexual component in their "love" for him. They will vote for him if he is the Republican candidate in 2024. The single thing that seemed mainly to drive them most (not counting the latent sexual component and presumably the relish for the Reality-TV-type drama in which they are stars) was MONEY. In these respects, they and he have common interests.
Most of the MAGAs are like tfg, or have men in their circles like him. Thus they can't really see how disturbed he is, since it's part of "normal" where they come from. Besides, allowing themselves to see who he actually is would be a great act of disloyalty to their fathers, brothers, husbands, uncles, and sons since it would also reveal to them how disturbed all these guys are. Women in these circles do what women often do, give men who misbehave a shrug and a pass.
There is a real reason people are angry, we dont have economic justice or equality or freedom that we talk about as our goals. Trump stands for the rich and he does their bidding but working class people have a reason to be angry.
Education I am afraid cant be the only answer, Germany was the most educated country in Europe (Historians please fact check me) certainly intellectually, the philosophers, yet they are the ones who produced the Nazis. and the resulting bloody 20th Century in Europe.
We (Americans only?) care so much about our money; it IS wonderful to have a nest egg yet Balzac was right that behind every great fortune is a great crime. Trump did not even pay his workers, or his taxes but the workers of USA,many, don't care. Stocks and investments did go up during T's presidency. Health care and our student debt's shameful oppressive finances did not! 10% is usury. Those who say ethically students new they would have to pay back. Rubbish The rates of loans were not something adults would stand for, I saw financial aid councilors encourage students to go more into debt, the class trip to Europe for instance, colleges at some level are business. The bankers are the ones I blame for this, and whoever make the colleges' financial decisions, on tuition, new fancy gyms, more deans and their office staff, (many colleges were free in the 1960's). It seems to me that Republican upper 10% want every last penny in the country and to get rid of our not-that-great safety net Medicare, Social Security, Medicaid, welfare . I saw NYC rents go from $45 a month to $3000 a month in a few years, for the same apartment. (one too low one too high). Thanks for reading and Praise for Bernie Sanders.
I would agree with you that overall, we have untenable 'economic injustice', and that the SCUMpers (SCUMpites?) have been duped into believing that only helping the wealthiest 1% will somehow help them ('trickle down' like their putrid orange fuehrer's golden showers perhaps?).
Or maybe they do not even care at all, and as long as their chosen despot appears to be as; racist, ANTISEMITIC, fascist, Christian Nationalist and Aryan/white supremacist, and ultimately CRUEL and SADISTIC as they are, ALL is great.
But, as I've stated in the past, just how much 'economic anxiety' can one justifiably claim to be in when there is a $90K diesel dually pickup with an attached trailer with $70K's worth of ATVs/side by sides behind it, and a $50K+ arsenal of weapons of mass death and the massive stockpile of .223 rounds to go with them, inside the residence?!?!?!
(Unless their bemoaned 'economic anxiety' is BECAUSE OF being in debt from the above expenditures??)
So his MONEY is their interest - do they assume he will be endowing them with such ? They do not recognize that his attitude to anybody that is not a rich person is that of a very rich person, even tho he has to cheat, lie & steal to maintain any semblance of being in that 'class'. ! Such ignorance !
I wrote a blog about trump and his followers. There are so many behaviors and beliefs. I don't pity them nor have any sympathy or empathy for them. They also are not the majority. One is the single reason why: could be guns could be abortion could be religion. Here are the others: “Some Men Just Want to Watch the World Burn." Sense of Entitlement - discontent felt when one compares their position in life to others who they feel are equal or inferior but have unfairly had more success than them. Lack of responsibility for their own life and destiny . Dunning-Kruger Effect. The Fear Factor - fear the unknown and react strongly to perceived (in their head) threats. Racist, Bigots and Misogynists. Those are just a few reasons why there are more. They have freedom of choice but that is their choice not ours.
They ARE a cult and an aberration, but the American love affair with celebrity is very strong in these followers. Cult followers. And the sad thing is, cult followers can be told to do things against their own interests fairly easily. Their vision is completely clouded and they see their leader’s interest at being at the center of their own best interest. Cultism is fascinating and frightening. Trumpism is a loosely-formed but very strong cult
Yes. Evangelical religions encourage it because their flocks are often semi-culted already. All they have to do is shift the target. Many Trumpers truly believe that Trump is their Savior.
They TRY to answer that with their asinine signs at their putrid orange fuehrer's BUND meetings which state; "Jesus is my savior, but Trump is my president", but WE know the truth is not that. ;)
Mass (even psychotic?) delusion is rampant in this land.
I remember this remark by a New Zealander, upon on our granting Murdoch the US citizenship Murdoch needed to own some of our news corporations, 'He's destroyed our country, and now he's going to destroy yours. too'.
I am sad to hear that about Australia. I have thought for a long time that Australia has a very stable nation. I have always had a good opinion of Australia and still think it is a very interesting place that i would like to visit.
Yes, America is extremely frightening to me too. I should have already left for Canada. I have applied for immigration there and have passed the Canadian citizenship test... i hope it doesn't take too long as i am ready to go there now. I am surrounded by TUMP idiots at my location now. Everyone within my neighborhood are the TUMP Cult lunatics and they know my family are Democrats from my BIDEN/HARRIS yard sign in the last election. They all own these AR rifles and we did have some vandalism with tires punctured on our cars and yelling out slurs when they drive by. Even in some areas of Canada have latched onto American trends in the central and western areas, but no so much in the eastern part and the eastern part of Canada is where i want to go to.
Too MANY have conveniently forgotten the part of the vow/oath which states to "protect against ALL enemies, BOTH foreign, AND domestic".
Of course, in their effing NAZI pretzel logic, they will claim that those who insist on upholding the Constitution, and it's laws ARE the 'domestic enemy'. :( :(
My wife's work took her to Fort McMurray, Alberta, on extended assignment. I went up there and visited her from time to time. The sociopolitical vibe was very much like our reddest states down here.
Yep. The reason is that when Canada was expanding west, it needed farmers for Saskatchewan and Manitoba so it invited Ukrainians and other Europeans. Alberta was not farmland, they needed ranchers so they went to the USA west. Then add in USA oil men and you get almost consistently conservative electorate and a very USA culture. The rest of Canada is far more likely to be on the side of the Constitution's vision of "Peace, Order and Good Government."
Yeppers. I spent decades living in Alberta. It is very much a mirror of the red states, and many would love to join the US. Over in BC though, we're still leftist leaning, ecologically concerned citizens. Regretfully, we are being infected by retiring Albertans who bring their beliefs and politics with them when they move to BC. I'm concerned that we may become "Florida lite" if we're not careful.
John, as a former US citizen, now a Canadian citizen, I hope that you are successful in your immigration. I spent decades living in Alberta, which is now MAGA lite, and moving more and more to the right. It wasn't a long trip. I live in BC now, where we still have pockets of humanitarian, left leaning, tree hugging, loving folks. But as more and more Albertans are retiring, they move to BC and bring their politics with them. I live in a small town that attracts a lot of tourists. Our summer population swells with Albertans and changes the environment of our town -- loud half-ton trucks, complaints about higher liquor and gas prices, disparaging remarks about peace loving hippies, and a complete refusal to follow COVID protocols while those were mandatory. I think your plan of moving to the east is a good one. Good luck! (And don't forget to renounce your US citizenship, otherwise the US will insist that you're still a US citizen and expect you to file/pay taxes to them. Trust me....I speak from experience.)
I am noticing that people are taking their tRUMP signs and flags down. I live in a very conservative area. A vendor came to town and set up a stall on a main thoroughfare with flags and other items. They were gone in a day. Not certain why. It gives me hope even though we have a very strong Christian Nationalist church that is attempting to dominate local potlitics. Democracy demands vigilance.
Oh yes, i remember that well. That thing went on almost a month i think. That was indeed a big mess and after that truckers in the United States tried to pull the same stunt in Washington, DC. That didn't work out too well for the truckers.
Are there any signs there yet of any sort of major, organized, anti-aboriginal 'backlash' to the recognition of those peoples, and/or any reparations to them??
That could be a marker of a downward turn towards fascism.
Trump is reportedly having trouble finding lawyers to represent him in this matter, with Marc Caputo of The Messenger reporting today that one federal criminal defense lawyer he contacted in the Southern District of Florida said: “The problem is none of us want to work for the guy…. He’s a nightmare client.”
It used to be said that Trump never pays his bills, but now that his cult followers are paying for everything he wants or needs, that probably isn't relevant anymore. News reports say he's holding a "fund-raiser" tomorrow at his New Jersey/Bedminster golf resort, after leaving his Miami golf resort, Doral, and before making sure the Saudi ArabianLIV/PGA filthy golf cabal knows how to file their not for profit/non-profit tax exempt forms so the country behind the 9/11 terrorists and the country/"princes" behind the horrific murder and dismemberment of an American journalist is sure to have plenty of clean towels to wipe the blood and filth off their hands before signing the papers (documents, more to the point) exempting them from paying U.S. taxes - and then a nice round or two of filthy golf at gilt-covered (or is that "guilt covered) Mar-A-Lago.
Probably anyone that could scrape together a few dollars and paid to see them. This man has no shame and no morals. HIs only God is the almighty dollar and he pisses those away more often than not.
With the exception of a very few, every president in history have had documents in their possession during, and after they left office.
The huge distinction here is,
1) How important, and threatening to our country, and the world were the documents that they held
2) What illegal steps were taken by those Presidents to hide, destroy, lie, bully, and bribe those who also assisted that president in the destruction of the documents.
3) Me thinks trump protests too much ....
4) This is the Wikipedia of Trump gate since his reign from 2016.
It's faithful worshipers really do not care at all, DESPITE their USA! USA! USA! chants, since they now declare Vlad The Impaler (Putin), or any other fascist despot/tyrant out there to be a friend and ally in their 'cause' (and because their 'supreme' SHITler tells them so as well). ;)
Who saw those supposed documents that Biden kept which, unlike the previous dictator, did Biden’s were not kept hidden, flushed down a toilet , or burned in order to
These “dangerous” secret documents Biden, had were kept behind only behind a garage door, and unguarded.
Didn't you notice that he - or his servants - had placed UPC bar codes on them? Stickers with "per unit" pricing? Some carried a higher price. Nuclear secrets would be costly, for sure, but maybe that "dirt" he loved to slobber about while intimating he "knew" things about various people, that might have a bargain price.
Virginia, I still say that these top secret docs contain far more info than our country’s defense. I imagine that a lot of them implicate powerful people who are “near and dear” to the ex and who he has enough dirt on so that he could be shielded from prosecution and prison.
People who take classified documents are...spies. Maybe T was going to somehow trade them to Russia, if Russia has something on him. Or is there a more innocent reason like just wanting to hold on to power. When he first was elected by the electors, Clinton won the popular vote, people said he would hate it and would not last six months.... not so.
And in the meantime, all else of concern to this country goes by the wayside. tRump sucks up all the bandwidth again. Biden has done amazing things that will help Americans as they struggle toward an uncertain future economically and environmentally. The press will advantage tRump again by giving him so much attention. I wish someone would remember that narcissists die when IGNORED. And, he deserves to be ignored because everything around him is tarnished. His total focus is on himself and his grievances. Always make him 'second page' news....it will drive him crazy!
Exactly..all they do is talk about trump everyday all day long. So people get the impression Biden does nothing, when in fact he has done a ton of good things for the people. Far more than any recent president. People are such fools
We need to be sure that Bill Barr's comments get heard. It's about time he got on the right side of things. As AG he did a lot of damage to democracy and fairness. Being honest certainly isn't getting rewarded these days!
Bill Barr's WORDS are fine, but the fact that it is Bill Barr saying them is rotten. He has been a huge part of the problem and now he is trying to whitewash that FACT because his reputation is where it should be, in the cesspool. His words are fine. He is a shape-shifting hypocritical operator, out for Bill Barr - just like his erstwhile amoral bro, tRump.
Michael Cohen is more honest than Barr. Cohen confessed, did his time and has been an important factor in bringing justice to tRump's door.
Barr, in contrast, is a turncoat; he loved tRump when he thought it helped Barr. Now that tRump's in big trouble and Barr's integrity and moral compass are revealed as trash, now he's not a fan of tRump. HE bears a lot of responsibility for what tRump has gotten away with (so far), and Barr is still a licensed attorney, still a totally free person. HE should be held accountable by DOJ, but apparently he just gets a lot of TV talk gigs, as if he's some great legal mind.
What b.s. NOBODY should be listening to Bill Barr!!
I totally agree with your opinion of Bill Barr. I would like to erase him and just leave his recent quote that says "tRump will be 'toast'. " There's an acute shortage of spines in the republican ranks...no integrity at all. I'd love to see him disbarred but that's not likely to happen...too bad!
Our news media could do so much to inform about developments in other nations around the world and not just the latest flooding disaster in Africa. Our news media, for the most part is just absolutely terrible.
I agree, Trump cannot push us into a citizen's war (I see nothing "civil" about war) but I am concerned for the residents of Miami. My understanding is that ONLY the State Government can call up the National Guard to protect the State. That our regular military cannot act against American citizens. Frankly, with a numbskull fascist like DeSantis as Governor, can the citizens of Florida trust such a person to care whether a few of them are killed by being innocents in the line of fire induced by Trump's MAGA herd of armed seditionists?
Fay. There is Northcom a army military unit formed in 2002 and based in Colorado, which does integrate National Guard personnel into its ranks and will respond to domestic crisis. It is yet to be seen how that plays out fully.
you said: "Nations don’t go to war over whether they like or hate specific leaders. They go to war over the ideologies, religions, racism, social classes, and/or economic policies these leaders represent.
But Trump represents nothing other than his own grievance with a system that refused him a second term and is now beginning to hold him accountable for violating the law."
i reply: trump is a cult. he no longer is a human, he is a cult.
Dr. Reich: I wish I had your confidence that these tRump indictments, trials, possible imprisonments will not cause a civil war. We have been fighting a cold version of the same Civil War we have been waging since the 19th century. The people who support tRump do not care whether or not they can find pplausible defenses. tRump is really not the subject of contention for his "supporters." tRump is their excuse to engage in evil rhetoric and behavior and they wuld probably have done so ooner, or later, regrdless of whether tRump ever enggaed in politics. tRump is a convenient symptom for engaging in a violent civil war that they have been hoping to wage for over a hundred years, but more so since the beginning of the greed era with the election of Reagan.
I am a retired, disabled veteran. I am well-educated.
I live in Florida. I am an independent and a socially progressive thinker.
I support gun ownership but oppose personal ownership of automatic weapons.
I struggle with wanting to engage politically but live in fear of these "psychotic" Trump supporters. My vehicle would be destroyed in the Publix parking lot if I put a liberally minded bumper sticker on it.
Yes, I agree that there will not be a Civil War, but how is that defined? Florida is already at war.
While I understand the rationale for a Florida venue for the Trump trial, I fear the Florida judicial system will disable the process.
Just remember, there are many of us in Florida who support democracy, equality, voting rights, and the right to healthcare, and we are searching for a way to have our voices heard.
I’m one in what feels like a sea of far right nuts..I do have a few like minded friends. Wish I knew more existed out there, but we are forced to be careful.
It is soooo bad now that even in 'blue sea' areas, even the in the minority Nazi SCUMpers now feel emboldened to vandalize cars with any left leaning/anti-SCUMp stickers on them (as mentioned above pertaining to bright red fascist majority areas).
Possibly why I only see said stickers on older, much more beat up, or uncared for appearing rides around here. ;)
It's not really Florida's judicial system -- it's federal, and happens to be in the district that contains Florida. It's a slam-dunk, open and shut case -- that will take MANY MONTHS to resolve.
Yes, it is federal. But it is my understanding that the applicable federal judge could throw the case out or disable it in a number of ways. Theoretically, it is a "slam-dunk" but Trump appointed judges know how they got their job. And...what about a Florida jury???
Jack Smith decided on the Florida venue -- since that's where the crimes mostly occurred. (A DC venue with a jury pool that's 90% democratic would have played into MAGA's hands.) Yes, I realize you're well aware of this.
And yes, Smith faces real obstacles in this should-be slam-dunk case. But this simply demonstrates how corrupt our justice system is and how without-honor we have become as a society in general. I'm a Navy vet with Vietnam service and it pains me to say this, but we're getting what we deserve through passive acceptance of what is unacceptable.
I hesitate to delve into what we, baby boomers, should feel collectively guilty about, but I grew up trusting our government to uphold the tenets of our democracy. Some responsibility for our current "condition" should be attributed to the escalation of corporate power, and the greed of Congress to please corporations instead of actively "listening" and acting on behalf of their populace. Our voices are muted. Yes, I vote.
Martha D. ; As a resident of a very liberal northern state, I have decided not to put progressive stickers on our car after my husband was opposed to it. There are MAGA voters here, too, and it does not feel safe even if they are in a minority here. They are a minority in the general population of our entire country and look what they have managed to do to destabilize us.
I think it is admirable that, as a group, we progressive minded folks feel a responsibility to respect others, not speak too loudly, and let the "others" have their due. But I have a gut fear that this not enough....my mind courses with how to shout out that to MAGA minded folks that they are being herded.
Last year, Pew Research Center cited States Newsroom and other nonprofit newsrooms as key to filling the void in statehouse coverage left by staffing cuts at legacy media outlets.
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Martha D. ; Thank you for your service! My husband is retired from the Air Force, and was raised in a conservative home. What is happening now in The USA is unlike any of us has experienced in our lifetimes. It must be challenging to live in Florida these days.
Did every single REICHwingnut yahoo and peckerwood in this land flock there to elect their effing Mussolini?!?
I understand that the north, and rural parts always were, and always will be the 'Confederate South', but when did the metropolitan areas become fascist?
Is every single person of Cuban descent in the southern part of that state a 'reactionary/reflexive' right winger solely due to their resentment of, and backlash to the cruel, evil dictator who was in power there self-proclaiming to be a 'communist'?!?!
I am trying to understand your message, but there are so many cliches, I am not sure what you are trying to communicate.
I have lived in Florida for 8 years, employed and retired, and Florida was once considered a somewhat politically blended state in some areas. I agree that it seems that it is no longer a free Florida, but we can thank DeSantis for that. I am trying to figure out how to show my opposition. For many of us, it is unsafe to do so.
My point is just what you gave stated above, that it USED TO BE a somewhat 'mixed' state politically, yes, save for the 'still fighting the Civil War rebel' types in some areas.
My question was just how powerfully influential (and in actual numbers) is the hardcore rightwing Cuban descendant populace in SOUTH Florida currently, and are they even a majority of Cuban background voters there??
I label them 'reactionary right wingers' simply because their vehement (and quite justified) loathing of Castro and his self-proclaimed 'communist' regime seems to be the major rationale/impetus for their hardcore conservative (to put it mildly) bent, although maybe not the ONLY reason(s).
Anyone else think "weaponize" is the most overused and meaningless word of the year? And "witch hunt" means going after the innocent, not prosecuting criminals. The distorted, manipulative use of language -- endlessly repeated and not analyzed, exposed or corrected by the press -- is far more dangerous than we realize. I don't see civil war, but i see far too many fellow Americans unthinkingly swayed by the drama and the b.s., unwittingly following a malignant narcissist who would destroy our country, and this worries me a lot.
If MAGA wants to start a "civil war", insurrection or some sort of civil strife, there's no more appropriate place to do it than Florida. Let them deal with it. What would DeSantis do? If they can't handle it, or they handle it inappropriately, then send federal troops to put things back in order. At least it will become clear to any rational people still in doubt what a threat Trump & MAGA are to our peace, security, unity & democracy.
My understanding Jaime, is we cannot employ federal troops unless there is a declared insurrection. The National Guard is the first line of military defense in a State, and that is called up by the Governor of said State. I suppose Miami can call up the Dade Country Sheriffs, maybe even the State police , but I'm not even sure of that. January 6, 2021 is our only precedence and you saw how well that went.
Florida has sent most of their National Guard to Texas boarder and I would love to see him have to ask for Biden’s help again just like he did after the hurricane. We bailed out Florida even after they have squandered their money for flying immigrants elsewhere and for all of the money spent on ridiculous lawsuits.
Look up desegregation and you will see that federal troops were used against states that refused to follow federal laws. The Fed does not need permission to send the troops. The President can make the decision and as I recall, he does not need Congressional permission. I could be wrong, but like the T-shirt says, it's unlikely.
You are correct, I had forgotten about the use of Federal troops to protect children entering a school building from the hordes of maniacal racists. I suppose if the MAGA cultists started a violent insurrection in Miami Biden could send in Federal troops. But would he have the time. The reason so much damage occurred at the Capitol Building was Trump refused to allow the call up of the National Guard or to call off his dogs until the damage was completed, and then only because he realized his minions couldn't find Pence and Pelosi.
Ah, yes. So if DeSantis refuses to keep order, or actually sends law enforcement or his private army to help the insurrectionists, that'll be quite a mess. At some point, if it gets completely out of control, it seems that the federal government has to get involved.
Jaime, this is the same problem as DC on January 6. These actions are so unprecedented there is no protocol. The Federal Government cannot on a moment's notice enter a State until the State requests assistance. The same applies to natural disasters, FEMA cannot offer help until the Governor of the State declares a National Emergency and requests assistance. These rules were made to prevent the Federal Government from encroaching on State sovereignty and worked well for 240 years. Trump ruined a lot of things for us. History will sort it all out, but he is among the worst disasters to happen to a formerly free Country.
It seems evident that the MAGAs and their 'fearless leader' are employing the same M.O. here as was used on Jan 6th. I hope there is some readiness! the 'Governor' of Florida is certainly not interested in protecting Democracy or the rule of law ; unless it's his personal rule of law. This looks bad.
My guess is that it won't be immediate. Supposedly he hasn't constitutional permission to do so. But if it persists, & gets bad, with heavy casualties, I think the pressure would be great to intervene.
The federal government does not need the excuse of insurrection to move in and takeover. If they feel that federal law is being broken, they can send in the troops, all of them.
It IS a FEDERAL indictment and TRIAL, after all. ;)
But one has to wonder whether the wannabe Mussolini (DeSatan) would attempt to stop said troops from protecting the courthouse in order to curry favor with it's MAGAt Q'aNAZI base in it's nomination bid.
So scary that the governors of states would be the only ones to call in the National Guard! that nobody could envision that a Governor could not be part of an attack on Democracy.
It is scary. But the men in the late 18th Century - by the standards of their time - were honorable men, they abhorred authoritarianism of any type. No, they could not envision DeSantis or Trump. By today's standards, the Founders were imperfect, they were white, landowners, they compromised over slavery. But could you and I have envisioned American citizens trying to overthrow democracy in favor of a religious dictatorship twenty years ago. I couldn't even imagine Trump being elected in 2016. I was shocked to learn he had been duly elected because some people were so opposed to Hillary they didn't vote at all.
This is what you get when you believe that the First Amendment protects OBVIOUS, PROVEN LIES to be loudly, angrily and repeatedly broadcast over mass media. A significant part of the electorate will inevitably BELIEVE the lies, and vote accordingly. America is getting the results it deserves. A fundamental change in attitude toward truth is needed. And don’t fire back that “who’s to say what truth is? No one can!” That is not a argument to use when a terrorist is holding your family hostage. It is in fact a propagandist’s ploy. See “false dichotomy,” “fallacy of perfectionism,” and “slippery slope.”
There are three kinds of beliefs: true, viewpoints/opinions, and false. The first amendment protects the first two, NOT THE THIRD. Obviously some will believe (have the opinion) that the truth is false. The burden on that viewpoint is to provide persuasive reasonable evidence. Those who will not and cannot do that should be silent until they can do so. If instead they angrily insist that black is white and white is black and their saying so is proof enough, should be relegated to soap boxes in the parking lot. NOT BROADCAST INTO MILLIONS OF HOMES.
There has to be a way of holding those who promulgate dangerous lies at societal scale accountable. The government as representative of the people has a role to play.
Sadly, this is their plan. Always look for who benefits...as I mentioned before, Congress is driven by power and greed. If you do not embrace climate change, you will need to find yourself a safe island haven to buy. They are expensive.
So far, I will try to support those legislators whom I feel are constituent minded and are preservers of the democracy. It feels like so little to do.
I know my truth. I do my research and read, read, read. I choose my own TV channels.
While truth is a hallmark issue here, we are beyond that. Many of us who seek the truth now want to quietly engage and try to understand. It is not easy and the opportunities are few. We must not imitate their rage as these "people" are being manipulated, and I cannot help but believe they will realize they are not well-served.
It is fascinating that these cult clowns find nothing disturbing about a President who pardons the cronies who were convicted of committing crimes on his behalf. That, to me, is the shining example of the reason why Washington and Adams and Jefferson risked their lives to found a government based on laws. Trump is a traitor to the most sacred ideals of Americanism.
…but, still, it is truly amazing how many followers Trump has amassed. And, in all actuality, this is exactly what they are. FOLLOWERS! Similarly to former cults, fascists and nut jobs, these “leaders” always amass followers.
It is absolutely scary that so many people can blindly follow a craven lunatic.
How/Where will it end???
This whole business of a population seething with resentment and grievance, looking for a hero to put down their enemies, harking back to "traditional" national, racial, or religious values...very often finds a historical or geographical parallel. Orban, Erdogan, Mussolini, Hitler, Putin, LePen, Khomeini, etc. It only ends after people decide they have had enough, or their fearless leader has brought them to ruin. What is so painfully sad with Trump is that he clearly wishes to lead the US into a downward spiral of irrelevance and inferiority. He is an isolationist when NATO needs a leader to stand up to Putin. He is a tax-cutting anti-investment market toady, when China is putting its tremendous state power and wealth into a race against our fragile superiority. He is a divider at a time when we desperately need unity.
Tucker "Carlson also called Volodymyr Zelensky, the Jewish president of Ukraine, “a persecutor of Christians” and described him as “shifty, dead-eyed” and “sweaty and ratlike.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/07/arts/television/tucker-carlson-twitter.html
"....Whether he [Tucker]is holding forth on Russia or immigrants or the Jan. 6 riot, he has one persistent meta-theme: The elites are controlling your information and telling you what you’re allowed to say. “Go ahead and talk about something that really matters and see what happens,” he says at one point, seeming to allude to his firing by Fox while casting himself as a free-speech martyr. “If you keep it up, they’ll make you be quiet. Trust us.”
Within this rhetorical framework, it is not necessary to prove that aliens have been discovered on Earth or that Ukrainians blew up a Ukrainian dam. It is enough for Carlson to say They don’t want you to believe it, and the viewer can accept the idea for the sake of sticking it to them. They say you’re wrong, you’re crazy, you’re a racist. Well, what do they know?
It is a premise made for social media, as many a red-pilled YouTuber and Facebook proselytizer has found. The premise of his appeal — that he is the one teller of truth, and you the one critical thinker, in a world of shepherds and sheep ..."
Power- The "Big Lie" only works of there are seeds of truth in it. "The elites are controlling your information". That is the seed of truth in what he is saying. The rest is of course the "big lie". It is no accident that the media all but ignores issues like Universal health vare, Declining Income Security for Americans, Declining life span for Americans, Corporate Greed at the center of inflation and so on and so on... For every one article much less investigative report on these issues you get a hundred reports on Trump and his criminal indictment or on Woke corporations.
Carlson is a demagog. But there is a seed of truth in what he says and those that ignore it do so at our peril.
Um ... not quite. The "big lie" SOMETIMES works if there are seeds of truth in it. But sometimes it works because it's what people WANT to believe. The proffering of white supremacy as a legitimate religio-political ideology is a BIG LIE that is TOTAL BS. There is not now, nor has there ever been, any justification for this lie. There's no "seed of truth" there, just as there is no "seed of truth" that men are superior to women or that (as some religions say) "men should be in charge of women." I think you make some great points here, but some Big Lies are espoused because people want the privilege they can reap if they can sow a belief in things that were never valid or even remotely real.
PhD... Correct there are no seeds of truth in anything you noted. But that is not the seed of truth is what Carlson is saying. The seed of truth is that the audience he is talking to has been "screwed" by the government....
No, racism is not the reason. That is his "big lie". The audience he is appealing to has been screwed badly by law makers of both parties that for 40yrs have put the demands of the donor class ahead of the needs of his audience.
His audience is right to be mad. They were screwed. Like Hitler is blaming a scape goat to protect the donor class.
If one looks hard enough there are many falsehoods spouted by demigods that have but one seed of truth in their message. Ok I give. I would agree with that.
Michael, I don't think anyone is actually ignoring Tucker. He is another power-hungry jerk who has far more power than he has a right to. He is one of those flexible men who will go with the thoughts of whoever will pay him the most. He learned on Fox that he does not have to be accurate, honest, or care about the harm he is causing. He would like to be Trump or DeSantis but it will never happen, so he does what he can to wreck things right where he is. He doesn't have the power of Fox behind him anymore, so he should be a bit more careful who he maligns, which is probably why he goes after groups rather than individuals as he did when he was at Fox. Tucker is scum and he will collect more scum around him but will care for none of them unless they can give him more of what he wants. Some will come through for him, though, that's for certain.
RS - Agreed Tucker is scum... But that does not change my key point. There is a market for his type of scuminess because people's economic lives are being destroyed while the nation publicly rejoices in our wealth. The reality is that for 90% of Americans their income and income security have been declining for generations now... When that happens demagogues appear and take power.
Democrats used to fight for the working class, the consturction worker the factory worker, the cashier the barber the school teacher and for the young like college students.
For 30yrs the Dems have turned their backs on all of these people in favor of the donor class.. This is what happens to people when they have their security and dignity ripped from them.. It is not the firs time and wont be the last.
This is kind of Civics 101. An engaged populace, meaning one involved in the political conversation; holding their Representatives to account, also means being fully informed - despite great effort by media to obfuscate and under-report (or in the case of Fox Corp, to promote misinformation). "Seek, an ye shall find." There are credible truth seekers out there. We are all able to do an end run on feckless MSM (CNN, are you listening?), just as we can hold accountable our Representatives - if we have the will to do so.
DO - Family income insecurity has been increasing for 2 generations. People don't have time to "seek". They are working multiple low paying jobs, commuting for hours and under constant pressure from bill collectors.
IE: They used to be the BASE for the Democratic party. The Democratic party left that base to twist in the wind and now a large chunk of them look at Trump and like what they see...
I blame the Democratic party leadership for producing a Donald Trump and he wont be the first until this party gets their act together and puts voters a head of the donor class.
Excellent commentary.
truly terrifying
Well said Kenny!!
Bad! Bad Yeastman!
Let's face it, Trump is interested in only two things—money (for which he will do anything, including giving up state secrets) and adulation.
Kerry, you are right about Trump's anti-American, anti-democratic stances, but I doubt he has any idea of what most of that even means these days, beyond that he wants stuff for himself: power, more money, adulation. When have we heard anything sensible from Trump. He is being manipulated by users. He knows just enough of the language that will stir the boosoms of his faithful, but that's because they are not even listening. I love it that the media just plays little snippets of Trump's rants that almost sound like he knows what he is talking about, or at least is familiar Trumpisms. If one listens to longer pieces, it is clear he is dragging out his lines that he now has engrained on his brain so he can just change them slightly to meet every situation. The challenge, Ron DeSantis is spouting a lot of the same garbage, but he does know what he is saying and exactly how he is using it to manipulate Republicans, particularly the old folks and Cuban-Americans and others from "socialist" countries. His Ivy League education and his resentment of not fitting in there has turned him into or has brought out in him a desire to dominate at any cost. Trump wants that too, but DeSantis could do it. From descriptions of his time at Guantanamo, he would have no trouble "dealing with" people he does not like. We could stop a lot of this move toward violence and supremacy if we could get our courts to actually do their jobs and stop the gerrymandering, dump the other anti-democratic moves of our Supreme Court. However, I am afraid their Alabama gerrymandering decision was the act to raise people's hope that the Court has grown up a bit, while in reality, they are planning to do as much damage to our democracy as they can by ditching affirmative action (another long-held precedent no one whom it impacts wants ditched) and puts in place that rule that state legislatures can ignore the vote of the people and pick whoever they want for president, as well as the many other cases they are considering. We saw what they can and probably will do when the Dobbs decision came down last year (after having leaked). The Court is in bad shape but we can't get the votes to fix it since Republicans rule even though they are the minority. Ugh! I hope I am wrong, but I have seen no evidence that I am.
Yes, the founders of the republic succeeded in ensuring minority rule — or at least the blockage of useful legislation by the majority.
not only does he thrive in chaos but that seems to be his particular and habitual form of gratification - seeing how much he can get away with 'i could shoot someone in the middle of 5th avenue and nothing would happen to me'
Yep. This is the behavior of an infantile narcissist, plain and simple. Shocking that a country full of parents can’t recognize this.
good point
Kerry- It every case you cite above the people that supported the dictator only did so after being royally screwed by the establishment for decades. I read history, i know you are right, things don't end well. But until we start admitting that the establishment (Regan, Clinton, Bush and Obama) all screwed these people royally...
Until we address that some form of Trump will continue to be of interest to larger and larger numbers of Americans.
Regan (sic), Clinton, Bush, and Obama were very different cases from the Mango Malfeasant. There is a whole world of "wokeness" that admits and addresses the injustices done by the preceding presidents. It doesn't matter. Plainly, if people can't perceive the self-serving narcissism and money-grabbing hucksterism that motivates every second of DJ Blowhard's very existence, there is no hope of saving them, educating them, or rehabilitating them. They just need to be defeated, politically. Because they are, in fact, a rotten, racist cancer in the belly of the Union. I'm done.
Kerry - I have heard the "they just need to be defeated" for a generation now. It no longer works. The alternative's keep getting worse and worse.
The Democratic party used to focus on the poor and middle class, on union members or teachers and cashiers as well as construction workers and truck drivers.
Today it has fully abandoned those voters in favor of the donor class. That is why the "alternative" to Trump is a President who said he would "VETO" Medicare for All even if both houses passed it and inspite of 70% acceptance by voters in both parties.
Until the Dems fix themselves there will be an unending number of Donald Trumps that can compete with Democrats who put the donor class before poor and working class Americans
I am afraid that the voters can and should resolve this issue of lack of representation from the Dems by voting snd achieving a super majority. Then watching carefully and shouting loudly if the winning dems only give to the wealthy donors using the super majority for other than the long term changes to politics in this country.
Everyone can criticize but most have no idea of what needs to change precisely and how to get there.
I am listening!
Ok Michael what is your proposal to eliminate this march towards autocracy?
AR - That is easy. The solutions are not difficult at all. The politics are what is difficult.
Prior to 1980 the US had an economy that was structured to produce rapid growth from public sector and private sector investment in productivity gains. That has progrssivly slowed since then to make PROFITS more important than innovation and productivity growth.
Fix:
- Return to 90% tax on incomes over (lets say in 2023) $10M annually
- Return of Min wage growth in line with Productivity growth
- Breaking up the To Big To Fail banks which were illegal before the late 70's
- Return to Regional banking, which is what the Fed was set up for in the fist place
- Change campaign finance laws to reduce Regulatory and Law Maker capture
- Universal Health Care
- Free university
- Equal funding for all K -12
- Re focus the economy through legislation on cleaning up the environment
And there is plenty of room for all sorts of compromise with voters.
But we can't do any of this because Corporations control law makers. So it all starts with reducing corporations control of law makers
These are all good ideas and meld with much of my thinking but most of that requires a committed congress in order to make those changes I believe so my objective is to work to achieve a super majority for the blue team. Without that, needed changes can never quite get through Congress.
I hope thst your comment about some of the required fixes is seen and supported by everyone here on Substack Mike!!!
@PowerCorrupts - Thank you for the links. I think everyone should read your commentary. 💯
Kerry - well said!!!
I do not think it will ever end. It is part of human nature. Some people just lack honest reasoning skills. Some people will never be able to do the 'math'.
I can't do his hidden math. But I know a dangerous leader when I see it.
Never was a leader,just wanted the'trappings'.
It *can* end! Fundamentalism is the last waystation before oblivion. Just give people something real and practical to hope for.
I agree and it ain't milktoast Biden crooning into the ear of liberals and guarding the wealthy.
Let's get through the 2024 election first.
If people lack those things, other kind people need to do it for them.
Clever!
Remember Jonestown?
Only in this case, millions of Americans have drank the orange Kool-Aid.
He isolated his followers from more compassionate and aware people. No outside influence was allowed.
The first telling move of an abuser is to isolate the victim from friends and family. After he’s sweet talked you into thinking he’s one of the good guys, of course.
Exactly!
Maybe we should all send the orange god packets of kool-aide, he brings his own poison.
I sent him a toiletry kit, a month or so ago, for his use in jail. It was signed for by a front desk person at Mard-a-mago.
Leader mcconnell. When did ever lead? I’ll wait.
Yes! He will lead... Us right off the edge of a financial cliff!
Read Thinking Fast & Slow - it will explain fully how so many people blindly follow. Ninety-five percent of what we do is dictated by our unconscious. Most of what we do we are unaware of until we have done it. Once aware we rationalize the behavior to our level of comfort. We are reflexive characters. Stupid Trump knows this and so does Putin and his propagandist.
Unconscious though is the result of not having a conscience. (and no science at all.)
Thx for the suggestion . . . looks interesting!
Todd—Another name for them is Republicans. They are who they have been at least since FDR derangement syndrome.
It has happened in history many times before.
When you cut ✂️ the head of the snake 🐍 off, all the rest of the body can only squirm around.
Hopefully Jack Smith will attend to the seditious activities and sabotaging America 🇺🇸 since J6 by Trump's baboons in Congress after Trump's locked 🔒 up. They all think 🤔 he's gonna pardon them all
Badly, very badly is how it will end - for Trump and for we who love our beautiful country, and if for no other reason than the countless men and women who gave up their lives to keep it free ~ they must never be forgotten. Donald Trump has trampled upon all of their sacrifices.
Todd, if only you replaced the word amazing with embarrassing
I agree...and worry if this madness will end. And it can’t be too soon!
Yes, but Trump is not a traitor amongst his own lizard people.
It's disheartening and DISGUSTING!!!
Perhaps in a 'hailstorm', given today's Southern weather ..
They've been firing in this civil war for decades. Saturated with white supremacy from the beginning, and now inflamed with Christian nationalism, the January 6th and Charlottesville sieges are only two among the hundreds of violent attacks. There is a white paper abstract (Hoffman) on American domestic terrorism on the DOJ website that dates from 1987. Violence against abortion clinics, continued violence against blacks, Jews, Muslims, Asians, Islanders, and endless violence against women bear witness not only to white supremacy but also to patriarchal violence against women, often enforced by religious dogma. WHAT IS DIFFERENT NOW is that this is no longer the violence of lone wolves and solitary fringe groups: there is now a coalescing of hundreds of violent groups under the umbrage of a Dark Tetrad psychological outlier: Donald Trump. THIS is what's dangerous. They are melding into each other, and in Trump, they see a real possibility that they can overthrow the government and establish what would basically be the Fourth Reich (no pun intended, dear professor). Just as an example, here is the list of groups who allied to pull off the January 6th attack on the Capitol--some with central organization and others forming loose confederacies: The Atomwaffen Division, Oath Keepers, Proud Boys, Three Percenters, National-anarchists, Patriot movement, QAnon, Groyper Army, Neo-Confederates, Christian nationalists, Holocaust deniers, and other individual radicalized Trump supporters. Trump is directly calling for violence now, as he did before January 6th. And what's so threatening is that there's never before been a gathering under ONE FLAG, and now there is. It showed up first in Charlottesville, then on January 6th. The only way Trump can survive the onslaught of federal charges, including conspiring to overthrow the government of the United States and attempting to murder VP Pence, is to be reelected, pardon himself, and find a way to declare martial law, suspend elections, and make the resulting state a permanent dictatorship. On January 6th, the Joint Chiefs wouldn't play. If that had, it would all over now. He must be defeated--in court and at the ballot box. ... If anybody wants to read Hoffman's 1987 analysis of domestic terrorism threats, the abstract at: https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/right-wing-terrorism-united-states. You'll need to get your library to order the full paper for you.
There is a very real threat of isolated violent incidents. No doubt about it. But this "civil war" talk is pretty ridiculous.
Exactly by whom is this war going to be waged? That rag-tag collection of delusional Rambos? Seriously? The United States government is defended by the most powerful military in the word.
Please, people. Take a beat. I'm not a betting man, but I'd wager that a single brigade of well-trained American soldiers would crush them in days, if not hours.
.
Excellent analysis, Dr. Sinclair. Your point about all the violent, right-wing groups uniting under one banner is absolutely chilling. And spot-on.
Exactly!
ALL of this. Thank you. The “fringe” isn’t as fringe as most of the complacent people I know seem to think.
Claro que si.
Aileen Cannon & Kari Lake are Vladimit Putin 'plants'.....unleashed to destroy this nation. They must be....watched carefully
I’ve maintained for years that Trump is a Russian asset. A traitor. It’s really that simple.
It doesn't matter how many times the whole Russian collusion thing has been debunked.... you leftists will continue to beat on that drum..... cause you have NOTHING else. NOTHING. Go wave that Ukrainian flag at a street corner. See how many people care about it with inflation sky high and our nation being overrun by illegal aliens while a derelict illegitimate Biden vacations again.
Kerry, and Trump claims he will pardon all the January 6th insurrectionists who have been sentenced. What does Trump have to do to get Republicans to finally spit him out? I guess when a cult has chosen its god, it is hard to tear them away or even get them to see their god's serious flaws.
They are Branch Davidians.
I'm wondering if Biden could - and should if he could - issue an executive order stripping ol' Tweety of secret service protection. It's an objection I've heard raised in opposition to his being tossed into the can for the rest of his natural life. Biden should do it >now.<
"Trump is a traitor to the most sacred ideals of Americanism." And being a "traitor" he must pay for his crimes. Crimes by Presidents often go unnoticed or not given much news about said crimes, but in this case Donald Trump is guilty as sin and must be sanctioned and made to pay for what he has done to our wonderful America. He is deserving of severe punishment to set an example for anyone in the future who thinks they can upend our lives and spit on America and wrap himself in a flag - that is tantamount to blasphemy!
Kerry - Can you explain why close to 50% of Americans that vote don't care if Trump pardons his cronies? Do you have a fix for that?
Well, my explanation would pale in comparison with Mr. Reich's, who has done a stellar job of analysis of the American Trump psychosis. I can't explain why Americans don't much care about the impending climate catastrophe, either, despite choking in smoke or drowning in hurricanes or suffering from drought.
I believe it all goes back to the puppet masters control of the masses. Once again, how one is educated and the propaganda machine says it all. Ignorance is a very potent control mechanism.
Kerry - That is no longer true. He is literally beating Biden in polls for President. He may or may not win but it is irrefutable that "ideals of Americanism" are very different with a large % of the population. Do you know the "ideals of Americanism" for the large chunk of this country that looks at Trump and Biden and picks Trump? Can you persuade them to change their views or an you only make fun of them? I am guilty of the later more than the former, so i am not judging anyone here. Just saying.
Those Trump supporters...they really hate it when they're being made fun of, don't they? But I wasn't making fun of them, I was condemning them.
Kerry - The Trump supporters no longer care if people like you and i make fun of them. They are completely focused on organizing and taking power from us.
SO while we are posting our thoughts on a message board they are at Trump rally's organizing and indoctrinating other alienated voters.
40yrs of increasing family financial insecurity and you end up with a lot of people willing to throw in with a "strong man" who is not making fun of them.
That is how the world works and it is never going to change.
Either the Dem Party stops catering to the Donor class and agains focuses on the POOR and MIDDLEClass or we will keep seeing more and more and more Trumps
Well, I can’t argue with your point. I’m a Bernie Bro, and I would never cater to that class. But I’m also a Dem. And there is a very strong contingent of Dems who are progressive, and who are fighting for legislation that benefits the majority of the population, not just the wealthy. Blaming the rise of Trumpism on the Democrats is a faulty argument…there are multiple factors that have brought that on. Mr. Reich does a better job than I can in making that argument.
I heard a discussion John Paul Stevens had on Colbert some time ago in which he said to listen -- really listen -- to what someone had to say even if you disagree -- until you really hear them. Too often, we denigrate them (make fun of them). We’re not really listening, simply waiting for a pause as we think of a clever riposte.
Too often, we tolerate intolerable attitudes until they come back and bite the body politic. We accepted the Jim Crow and segregation of the South until it had its rebirth with Nixon and the Southern Strategy. Then came Rove and Trump. We have all really listened to the racists in this country until we are sick of them.
"Violence is possible, but there will be no civil war."
Hope you're right, but curious isn't it that Trump represents those who never came to terms with 1865.
Yes and now so does DeSantis. He wants to re-name Fort Liberty for the confederate general Bragg because it was named for him. Apparently, he was a bad general besides being a traitor to the United States. But it’s like announcing ‘we are the pro-slavery party.’
That is because they ( GQP ) are the party that supports racism, the slavery issue as well as the Nazi Party, white supremacists and fascism.
He's nuts, plain and simple!
And, the pro-nazi party
Trump's base is 30% of the voting population, the 30% which is still fighting the Civil War. None of these political wankers, from Ron DeSantis to Kari Lake, can succeed if they alienate this base, but at the same time they're all hoping Trump will be convicted in short measure so he won't be able to run.
It's just pathetic.
It chills me to the bone to think that 30% of our citizens could be so seriously deluded.
The circular nature of this thing is quite terrifying. Budding autocrats and their imitators throw red meat to their fawning audiences and the audiences give it right back in the form of encouragement and "suggestions." Then Trump State Media a la Fox steps in and amplifies the situation. The autocracy metastasizes with sycophants and enablers.
At this point, putting a proverbial foot out and tripping them up only creates "victims" for the Cult. But we absolutely must push through obstacles and persist -- there is no other choice.
Braxton Bragg is considered by most military historians as having been one of, if not the, worst generals of the war. He commanded the confederate army in the Western theater, where he lost virtually every battle he fought until finally Jefferson Davis “promoted” him to the general staff in Richmond to remove him from field command.
The only reason Fort Liberty was ever named for him was because he was the highest ranking confederate general born in North Carolina.
Talk about an idiot!
Like Grump, he is a genius at being evil.
I drove past the Baghdad By the Sea courthouse yesterday. They were already setting up. Mostly TV media.
The Proud Boys have called our their members.
Gratefully "Constitutional carry" does not become law until July 1, so hopefully the protestors won't be armed withM-16s IMHO 50% of the local police are full blown MAGATs. .
Once upon a time, Miami was the riot capitol -- mostly due to race. The last series of demonstrations involved Cuba. The police protected the protestors.
When Trump asked MAGATs to come to Miami, he did not have tourism on his mind. In Brandenburg v. Ohio, 395 U.S. 444 (1969), the Supreme Court established that speech advocating illegal conduct is protected under the First Amendment unless the speech is likely to incite “imminent lawless action.” Whether it will be likely is a jury call.
According to your last paragraph, we should have them red-handed. We've been far too tolerant of this viciousness. And Kari Lake desperately requires institutionalization.
DS—His people no-showed when he called them to action for the Manhattan arraignment. Maybe a dozen showed up—the number whose courage isn't what's in their holsters, given strict NY gun laws? Hope you all do as well as we did up here, and that the courtroom doesn't get washed away by the tears of court officers weeping for his unjust fate (the weeping his fall-down-laughing claim that was a footnote to the Manhattan story).
Although the snowbirds are gone, lots of traffic today. Trump is using this as a fund raiser. Besides our locals, traffic looks like a lot of disoriented out of towners. Wonder if there are rooms comped for MAGATs at the Doral, Trump's largest income producing property? Wonder what hotel occupancy will be tonight?
We aren't New York. Our local government and our police are mostly MAGATs. When Trump got notice that he was indicted, he played golf with Carlos Antonio Gimenez, R Miami who used to be a Democratic county commissioner. He had a son who worked in Trump's administration. https://twitter.com/carlosgimenezfl/with_replies
Wonder if jury nullification was discussed?
Our demographics are changing. We used to be a Democratic enclave. Biden won south Florida in 2020. But today, 187,006 more Cuban Americans are registered as Republicans than Democrats in Florida (53% are registered Republicans, 26% are Democrats, and 21% are Independents). This is a relatively recent development -- IMHO primarily based on the BLM/ Cuban government connection.
I assume that the Proud Boys, who are a political force here will marshal other groups, like Alpha 66 to protest. They've tied themselves to Trump. We have a history of major protests for what I consider to be minor incidents, like whether Cuban ball players should be playing in Miami, whether Cuban artists and musicians are welcome here. I hope I'm wrong, but I expect a big turnout.
I'm hoping there won't be any violence.
I hope you stay safe.
What a sobering report, Daniel. I read with alarm decades ago an nyt analysis contemplating that Florida could actually shift Republican—an unthinkable thought. Demographics then, demographics now. The Keys are the only place I ever heard someone I knew—a Marathon native—use the n-word conversationally, casually, so there's certainly that too, with prosperous new residents flocking in from everywhere U.S.A. Whatever, I'll be hoping for, if not calm, at least effective crowd control.
Of the law enforcement agencies I've heard are prepping for the event, I've heard no mention of Florida state troopers. Is that a thing?
Stay safe. July 1 is too soon for me.
Yes, where "came to terms with 1865" represents the conflict between our nation's founding democratic principle that all men are created equal and are equal before the law, and those who believe that was a fundamental mistake. That a minority of powerful men should impose their rule upon others to maintain "traditional Christian values" (which have somehow morphed to minimize the importance of love, compassion, kindness, honesty, and placed more emphasis on Puritan ideas around race, gender, and sexuality).
I don’t know if we can expect a concerted effort on the part of the Boogaloo Bois to actually fight a civil war. I think we might expect some incidences of serious unrest — perhaps we’d call it riots — and it could be a mess for a while. Our police and military do have a good many MAGATs in their ranks, but I sincerely believe {HOPE?} they are still in the minority and would have a tough time organizing their own official ranks to joint an opposition action against their own towns and the country. How would police officers in authority gather and issue orders to a rogue contingent? How would they arm up and pull it off? Mmmmm, I can see groups of people making massive mischief and causing mayhem {even unto some deaths … }, but not waging what could be called a war.
Though a war is what those who want to revisit and revise 1865 would like to see. I say that because they have said it themselves.
Funny how that "separation of church and state" thing just went by the wayside . . .
Televangelist have joined forces with certain politicians to weaponize “Christianity “ to maintain cis male dominance. It is hard to believe that a group of powerful men can so indoctrinate so many to act against their own best interests and follow these grifters.
I remember when Christians were followers of Christ
I think of Gandhi who based his peaceful teaching of Jesus and said he liked Christianity and would be a Christian if he ever met one
BINGO! An astute observation.
A Civil war over Trump would be an impossible ordeal at best. First of all, who would fight who? Everyone looks alike, it's not like we wear uniforms to designate out political allegiance. I can envision large groups of armed idiots roaming the streets asking everyone they confront "who did you vote for in 2024?" There is just no way to identify who's who in the event of an uprising. The prospect of a civil war would hinge upon what side our military aligned themselves with. I really feel armed groups of Trump supporters roaming the streets shooting at what ever would find disfavor with our standing military. It wouldn't be much of a fight, stupidity would never stand much of a chance against the combined efforts of our armed forces. Mar-A-Largo would make a sweet sortie for a F-22 Raptor, especially if Trump was there to watch.
War is different today. There have already been “lone wolf” attacks on places where their “enemies” gather: a gay nightclub, a synagogue, black churches, liberal churches. That’s what worries me on Sunday morning, as I sit in my Unitarian Universalist sanctuary and plan my hypothetical exit.
...as well you should. This will END badly for everyone... until Donald Trump resides behind bars and those protesters who damage or destroy property are dealt with as much force as is humanly possible. This Trump fiasco is his, and his alone. Into a cell with him! Forever!
I wish it were his and his alone, but he is just a cog in a much bigger wheel that does not believe in equality for all, but believes in the rights of a few powerful men to exploit the rest for money and power.
Red Flag laws should be enough to remove guns from the hands of those who spout violence on social media.
Jo--A form of urban gorilla encounters might take shape but the attrition rate would be horrendous.
I would still rather not find out.
Jo--Spoken like a man with a sense of goodness.
Unfortunately, it's easy to get the voting records of everyone. Find those who voted Democratic, and more particularly, who voted for Biden. But you raise interesting points, and I think that chaos would be the order of the day. And Donald Trump loves chaos.
Wait, what? I must be stupid, but I thought the US held *secret* ballot voting??
On the contrary a few million committed to guerrilla warfare could render the nation a war zone for decades. Taking out Mar a Lago would accomplish little. Then there is all the information available on Twitter, Facebook and elsewhere identifying who is loyal to what ideals. Most importantly there is I believe substantial business backing for a hard swing to the right. We have seen in Mr. Reich’s post and elsewhere that members of Congress continue back Mr. Trump.
Dr.--Do you really feel either side would have the stomach to embriol our cities in an all out war that would reflect the debocial in Ukraine? The comment concerning Mar-A-Largo was meant in jest. Do you really think groups of Trump supporters would actually take the time to go through Twitter records and identify potential targets, it would be the slowest moving war in history. With "AI" in the works it would be impossible to be sure about anything.
Yes
Mark--WOW, that was short and sweet.
Even though they absolutely do not have the obsessive tenacity of the original actual Nazis, (despite now having the social media technology to help them out), they will still try.
Since so many of the fascist SCUMpers really do cosplay as. and fantasize as being Waffen SS/Gestapo agents, rooting out the 'enemies' of the 4th Reich.
David--Reichs are like dominoes, the third one toppled and so will the fourth and so on. Through out history, movements derived from the hatred of others tend to collapse under the weight of their own lack of morality. Fascism is no exception, it will consume all that align themselves with the negativity and hatred it thrives upon.
Taking out Mar a Largo would accomplish a lot for me also Taking out the tower in New York also.
F-22s would be overkill and uneconomical. Weeks ago, I quoted a comedian - can't remember which one - who said: "They'd be bringing guns to a drone fight." About 6 should be sufficient for Miami tomorrow, mostly armed with high resolution cameras. 1 or 2 attack drones should be sufficient otherwise. I hope those in charge consider this option.
DZK--The Raptor comment was never meant as an actual overt effort. The collateral damage would place such an attack out of the question. Using disruptors that interfere with radio waves and Wi-Fi reception will make drowns infectual, if the technology doesn't exist it soon will, maybe.
A while back there was a kerfuffle about some of Mar a Lago's other owners and tenants wanting to kick Trump out. I can see that as a reasonable possibility in the future if he keeps causing trouble in the "neighborhood."
S. A.--In the not so distant past Trump signed an agreement that stated Mar-A-Largo was never to be used as a residence. It is in violation for him to reside there for more than a specified period of time, that eludes me at the moment, but I'm sure the locals don't want him there in their quiet little neighborhood.
Well, I was responding to the suggestion of bringing in an F-22 - somewhere within this spaghetti thread. As far as disruptors, they don't seem to prevent much in Ukraine. I'll stand by drones equipped with hi-res cameras, though.
DZK--I've had that idea for years, ever since their inception I could see those creepy little things being used for assassinations world wide.
WHY I am all for MUCH MUCH more 'plurality' in our military, not just in the racial/religion/no religion mix, but in ideologies as well.
Multi-racial/religion, and mixed 'worldview' members of the military 'rank and file' are much less likely to 'open up' on those who are like themselves than a unified lily-white pure Aryan background, straight/CIS Christofascist member would be motivated to do.
Our military would be much less PUTSCH-prone to serve a despotic fuehrer if this was the case, despite them being force-fed Goebbels (Faux) Nooz at every single military base/compound/etc. in the nation.
Civil war here can take all sorts of forms from even more mass shootings to random bombings of buildings or gatherings. Think of the now deceased unibomber or Timothy McVey or the many other ways that groups of terrorists use. I’m also going to add a link to Rachel Maddow’s new podcast. What happened here Jan 6 actually worked in another country that we know very well. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rachel-maddow-presents-d%C3%A9j%C3%A0-news/id1690932739
SPW--There will always be dissenters, some more violent than others but an actual civil war is a stretch of the imagination. The more ignorant the individual the more unhappy they might find themselves when faced with social problems that over welm their ability to cope. Anti-social behavior is here to stay for a spell at least until the lost get over being stupefied by Trump.
Upon further thought, it may be kind'a sexy to have an A-10 hovering in place about 15 feet above ground about 50 yards away, down the street - just in case:
https://i.redd.it/r05g7l44g3f41.jpg
It'd resemble a scene from the 1950's version of :"War of the Worlds!"
(Fit it with the ship horn from Spielberg's version and y'd probably be able to track any insurgents down from the smelly trail they leave behind them!)
LOL!
(They >do< hover in place, you know.)
DZK--I hope your feeling of comfort isn't because of an A-10 Warthog, that just might be classified as over kill unless you have some serious enemies.
Just being flippant, dreaming up apocalyptic visual imagery. I >really< like the ship's horn ornament! LOL! (I think the A-10 should've >always< been fitted with such a horn in close ground support. That sound would terrify a Stuka pilot!)
DZK--there are many, anyone in particular. My son is a gifted carver. He carved a rose years ago, it was so life like you had to touch the thing to know for sure.
I hope you are correct about civil war. I think the reason the right has been arming is to prepare for civil war.
I agree.
MH - No Trump does not represent people that never came to terms with 1865. He represents millions of Americans who have seen two full generations of Americans with growing income insecurity caused by leaders in BOTH parties not just one.
And as families go through harder and harder times economically, in a nation as wealthy as the US, they stop thinking rationally and start being more aggressive and angry and irrational.
THe Democratic party abandoned union members, poor blacks, cashiers, wait staff, teachers, military personal and on and on 30 or 40yrs ago in favor of the donor class.
The result has been growing income insecurity and dignity ripped from Americans. And you wonder why thy clamor for a mental midget of a demagogue?
The Democratic party either shifts its focus back to its base or we will be fighiting one Trump after the next
Question: how many of them are there?
Those of us who support democracy should all give extra effort to getting out the vote this year-- for our country, and perhaps in honor of Lincoln, who made tough choices in his desire to keep 'the Union'.
Let's hope ol' Beau is correct:
- TWEETY GRIEF AND WHAT WE CAN LEARN:
https://youtu.be/1wgi08czj9c
My worry is that there could be civil BUTCHERY IF the SCUMp SHITler really does have as much of our military (rank and file, NOT the GENERALS), on it's fascist side, and their absolute devotion to it's PUTSCH leads to a mutiny, and them shattering the vows of the oath they took to defend our CONSTITUTION, and NOT an effing POS despot. :(
Question: how many of them are there?
It remains to be seen how many Maga Republican RATS , (Republicans Advocating Trump’s Sickness), in Congress, jump ship before it sinks! As they try to save what very little integrity they have left. Once they’ve read Jack Smith’s indictment and then still support and defend the FPOTUS they are definitely complicit!
If everyone would take the time to read Jack Smith’s charging document, (45 pages), they will see how evil this man is! Most of us already knew but obviously many Americans refuse to believe it!
In a recent Truth Social post the FPOTUS ended the post “I’m an innocent man”. No
you are a completely Insane Maniac!
For those who still drink the Cruel-Aid, after all that has happened, you are not Patriots! But you know who loves you and what’s happening in our country? Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Viktor Orbán, Kim Jong-un, Ali Khamenei, etc….
It is more important now than at any other time in our history that we again become United. No one ever said our government is perfect. Government makes lots of mistakes. My Dad said many times “they say that this is the best form of government. Well if this is the best, I would hate to see the worst “! It would be great if we had some honest and impartial members of Congress
that could form a committee to make some long needed common sense amendments to our constitution for the betterment of our country.
We also have to hold our elected leaders accountable to sit down and work together as one government that works for the American people. STOP TEARING US APART !
Sadly most of the “honest and impartial members” of Congress on the republican side either quit or were voted out in the last elections. However, I too wish that there were more people who would stand up for what is right regardless of what side of the aisle they are on. Funny how republicans were all about the law when he was in office (and could cheat and profit) but now that they can’t control the law they are against the law. I would prefer to try to stomach trumps tirades because the more he talks the more he gets himself in trouble. Let him continue to dig his hole so that he shows exactly who he is to the ones that still back him and makes it easier to win prosecuting him.
"Once they’ve read Jack Smith’s indictment..." READ? I doubt that ½ of them know how to read, let alone understand what is underway ALL in the name of a man convicted of rape, dealing with Vladimir Putin - giving him God know what type of information, and on and on it goes. Those who idolize him have been brainwashed and simply cannot reason what is now underway throughout our United States. Unless they are countered and stopped in their tracks - we have laws that need to be enforced - this will end badly for our beautiful country and for our, now very fragile, democracy.
I realized recently that many of these right winger families in the "Heart"land have already had several generations of home schooling. It's not only disturbing because of the lack of quality of much of home schooling, but the cultural insularity it preserves.
And if it was the home schooling developed by Bill Gothard at IBLP (now headed by the Duggars). then there was no education in the traditional sense, but a cult indoctrination. https://screenrant.com/bill-gothard-iblp-ati-homeschool-religious-duggar-family/
Them; "It is ALL a commie leftist, Soros backed, deep state conspiracy against our brave dear fuehrer, and I do not believe it! Our perfect fuehrer can do NO wrong!"
Yeah, brainwashed in the way that Goebbels and Goering could have only DREAMED of. :(
Agree, well said. TY
Yesterday I found a good source that isn't embedded in another article. It's from PBS:
<https://d3i6fh83elv35t.cloudfront.net/static/2023/06/trump-indictment.pdf>
Thank you. He sounds like a spy. Several laws have clearly been broken, now we will see if the law will be enforced, or if the judiciary has been filtrated to the extent of ignoring the law.
Hitler was quashed in 1923 in the Munich beer hall putsch. It did not deter him and he came back stronger than ever.
Don’t forget aspires to a similar form of authoritarianism and one cannot count him out. He must be incarcerated before he has the opportunity of pardoning himself. We are on track for a similar historical scenario.
If the Democrats win the house and senate, they need to make sure that felons are not able to be seated in Congress and also the executive branch and the President is not allowed to pardon himself. Pardon yourself, as President of the United States of America for criminal, felony and espionage charges against the United States is absurdity. And clean up the Supreme Court!
Amen
We are not supposed to have DESPOTS as POTUS, but if they can pardon THEMSELVES, that is EXACTLY what we have. ;)
I personally do not think that they (or any pol) should have that power, which (yes, for better or worse) just refutes/undermines the 'rule of law' we are sooo bound to, and enthused about, in this land.
For carrion eaters like Hitler and Trump to appear, there has to be a corpse. Hummm, what's that smell?
Could it be that our beloved country, finally overcome with graft, corruption, lying leaders, a capitalist system that ends like the game of Monopoly, when one player has all the cards and the others have none?
(Or did I simply forget to take the garbage out?)
Very good
Hitler was a much younger man and given Trump's attitude towards health he may drink the bleach.
Wishful thinking? Behind him, a group of awful people are lined up to fill his shoes. I am not optimistic as to where we are heading over the next ten to twenty years.
That’s why I’m glad I’m old...I should be gone before 20 years, but will probably witness the end of our democracy and standing in the world and the dream our founding fathers had. And for what! So the rich can get richer, the minorities and those who have different lifestyles hated? Not to mention the religious fanatics and their arrogant feelings of superiority. It all disgusts me.
Same here, but I am too OCD to just leave things unfinished. They’ve been working on this since Reagan, and yes, they’ve never been this close, but anything can happen to thwart that.
Agreed. As terrifying as Trump is, he is only one ugly, fat pimple on America's very sick ass. Pop him and like the mythical hydra, other bigger, nastier ones will erupt in his place. Covid has been bad enough, but there's no cure yet for this terminal, hideous rash.
Agree!
Oh, that he would only go his mentor's route in that bunker in Berlin, IF/when he realizes he is TOAST in any of these trials!
Hitler came back because the country had been totally humiliated in the Treaty of Versailles and it was in the middle of the great depression. The Weimar Republic because of the proportional voting system allowed a minority to come to power. None of this applies today to the US.
Wrong - our ‘voting system’ empowers the minority over the majority. That’s why Trump won in 2016.
Our illustrious Electoral College plays DIRECTLY into the hands of fascist despots probably even more so than any multi-party system ever could.
It is why every other self-identifying as a democracy country on this planet LAUGHS at our racism/fascism promoting electoral system.
We have a winner take all system which leads inevitably to a two party system. In a proportional system there are many parties who potentially have access to representation in parliament. This is inherently more unstable, it requires the building of coalitions and allows a party with a small fraction of the total vote to come to power.
It's the electoral votes that determine who is president. Many people say that their vote doesn't count but it does. When you vote for a Presidential candidate you are actually voting for your candidate's preferred electors. Those electors make up the electoral points which whoever has the most wins the presidency. It's the system that is screwed up. The other is the 3/5's rule Slave holding states wanted their entire population to be counted to determine the number of Representatives those states could elect and send to Congress. Free states wanted to exclude the counting of slave populations in slave states, since those slaves had no voting rights. A compromise was struck to resolve this impasse. The compromise counted three-fifths of each state's slave population toward that state's total population for the purpose of apportioning the House of Representatives. Even though slaves were denied voting rights, this gave Southern states more representatives and more presidential electoral votes than if slaves had not been counted. In 1868 it was repealed but the states that had that did not lose their number of electors. So they hold a advantage. A;so this was done at a time that there were only 13 states in the Union. California for instance doesn't have a electoral vote that is based on their population of today. The electoral college is outdated. Either that gets fixed or we get rid of it. trump won because of the electoral votes are calculated.
I have no problem with what you are writing.
We have not always had just two functioning parties. But the latter bully third parties out rather quickly. IMO the two party system is eventually doomed. The only question is how long it can survive and will it take the country down with it?
GB has a winner take all system like the US and ends up mostly with just two parties like the US with a third party sometimes popping up because of unhappiness with the two dominant parties. That is the inevitable outcome of a winner take all system. For this reason most democracies do not have this system and end up with frequent changes in government. In addition of course the President in the US is elected indirectly via the electoral college. In Mexico the President is also elected directly and serves for 6 years, no re-election is possible. This has definite advantages.
Germany has chosen a mixed system and therefore has half a dozen or so parties elected to parliament. This requires the building of coalitions since the Chancellor is elected by parliament. the great advantage is that the Chancellor and cabinet has to present and defend the program in parliamentary debates while in the US President never appears in parliament except once a year with no period for direct questioning.
If part of the American public can hallucinate hard enough, it will seem that way.
Hmmm!
I think that the Electoral Voting process made it almost impossible for the Black people , and other minorities to cast their votes The Electoral college was implemented-big time-after the signing of the Declaration of Independence which freed the slaves only on
paper ,not in reality as far as their quality of life and their true freedom..
Most of southern confederate racist states - notice I said many of these states , not all of them - were not going to agree their being
“ so called “ free , and this was their way of keeping the slaves -in no way to be truly free from their oppression.
Even today -as it remains in effect-is the gold standard for the winning of many politicians, over “ they popular”
PRECISELY!
And our hand-wringing/pearl clutching, while worrying about "partisan political appearances" DoJ, as well as too many others are way way way too late to the game to seriously avoid this democracy destroying putsch.
ALL of these trials should have not only been under way already, but should have been completed by now, NOT 'about a year from now' when it is moot BS, and not even 'going through the motions'. :(
Exactly right!
Because of people like Trump and his supporters, America has become this Australian's least favourite country.
I am angry that our own Prime Minister has committed us to a contract with what is fast becoming a very unstable country.
Never mind enemies outside of your country. It looks to me that America is eating it's own heart 🤬
I understand where you are coming from and don't even necessarily disagree. But please remember: You Aussies gave us Rupert Murdoch and that was instrumental in getting America where it is now. I know the average Austrailian is truthful and upstanding, but you produced one helluva lying bas***d who has done great damage to America.
The Murdochs are bad actors, to be sure, but Americans were not forced to pay attention to the stuff being pumped out; Americans were not forced to join the thug-army of traitors, seditionists, liars, fascists and totalitarian cheerleaders. Someway, somehow Americans have to accept responsibility for playing monstrous games with this precious experiment and following an amoral criminal to destroy it.
I am dreading all of the hell and chaos that tRump thrives on, that he will incite - has already started - for the coming year and beyond.
Trump and his base identify themselves as "victims." Trump's followers are victims, dupes, in a way, but let's not join with him and them in excusing or pitying them for their gullibility. These people are adult human beings. While the psychology and motivations of such people may be complicated, the fact remains that they have chosen to believe falsehoods, they have chosen immunity to evidence, they have chosen to behave like angry, disgruntled babies, they have chosen Drama and Idolization.
An article in the Washington Post recently focused on a group of youngish mothers in a lower middle-class town. They did not care if Trump raped a woman and engaged in other sexual, and sexist, misbehavior. "That's what men do," they basically agreed, as if it pleased them. They love Trump. There is a titillating sexual component in their "love" for him. They will vote for him if he is the Republican candidate in 2024. The single thing that seemed mainly to drive them most (not counting the latent sexual component and presumably the relish for the Reality-TV-type drama in which they are stars) was MONEY. In these respects, they and he have common interests.
Most of the MAGAs are like tfg, or have men in their circles like him. Thus they can't really see how disturbed he is, since it's part of "normal" where they come from. Besides, allowing themselves to see who he actually is would be a great act of disloyalty to their fathers, brothers, husbands, uncles, and sons since it would also reveal to them how disturbed all these guys are. Women in these circles do what women often do, give men who misbehave a shrug and a pass.
There is a real reason people are angry, we dont have economic justice or equality or freedom that we talk about as our goals. Trump stands for the rich and he does their bidding but working class people have a reason to be angry.
Education I am afraid cant be the only answer, Germany was the most educated country in Europe (Historians please fact check me) certainly intellectually, the philosophers, yet they are the ones who produced the Nazis. and the resulting bloody 20th Century in Europe.
We (Americans only?) care so much about our money; it IS wonderful to have a nest egg yet Balzac was right that behind every great fortune is a great crime. Trump did not even pay his workers, or his taxes but the workers of USA,many, don't care. Stocks and investments did go up during T's presidency. Health care and our student debt's shameful oppressive finances did not! 10% is usury. Those who say ethically students new they would have to pay back. Rubbish The rates of loans were not something adults would stand for, I saw financial aid councilors encourage students to go more into debt, the class trip to Europe for instance, colleges at some level are business. The bankers are the ones I blame for this, and whoever make the colleges' financial decisions, on tuition, new fancy gyms, more deans and their office staff, (many colleges were free in the 1960's). It seems to me that Republican upper 10% want every last penny in the country and to get rid of our not-that-great safety net Medicare, Social Security, Medicaid, welfare . I saw NYC rents go from $45 a month to $3000 a month in a few years, for the same apartment. (one too low one too high). Thanks for reading and Praise for Bernie Sanders.
I would agree with you that overall, we have untenable 'economic injustice', and that the SCUMpers (SCUMpites?) have been duped into believing that only helping the wealthiest 1% will somehow help them ('trickle down' like their putrid orange fuehrer's golden showers perhaps?).
Or maybe they do not even care at all, and as long as their chosen despot appears to be as; racist, ANTISEMITIC, fascist, Christian Nationalist and Aryan/white supremacist, and ultimately CRUEL and SADISTIC as they are, ALL is great.
But, as I've stated in the past, just how much 'economic anxiety' can one justifiably claim to be in when there is a $90K diesel dually pickup with an attached trailer with $70K's worth of ATVs/side by sides behind it, and a $50K+ arsenal of weapons of mass death and the massive stockpile of .223 rounds to go with them, inside the residence?!?!?!
(Unless their bemoaned 'economic anxiety' is BECAUSE OF being in debt from the above expenditures??)
So his MONEY is their interest - do they assume he will be endowing them with such ? They do not recognize that his attitude to anybody that is not a rich person is that of a very rich person, even tho he has to cheat, lie & steal to maintain any semblance of being in that 'class'. ! Such ignorance !
Trumpism acts like a religion or a cult. I trust he will be outvoted but very scary. We already have violence, and are in a slow civil war. ???
Interesting sociological breakdown. Thank you.
I wrote a blog about trump and his followers. There are so many behaviors and beliefs. I don't pity them nor have any sympathy or empathy for them. They also are not the majority. One is the single reason why: could be guns could be abortion could be religion. Here are the others: “Some Men Just Want to Watch the World Burn." Sense of Entitlement - discontent felt when one compares their position in life to others who they feel are equal or inferior but have unfairly had more success than them. Lack of responsibility for their own life and destiny . Dunning-Kruger Effect. The Fear Factor - fear the unknown and react strongly to perceived (in their head) threats. Racist, Bigots and Misogynists. Those are just a few reasons why there are more. They have freedom of choice but that is their choice not ours.
They ARE a cult and an aberration, but the American love affair with celebrity is very strong in these followers. Cult followers. And the sad thing is, cult followers can be told to do things against their own interests fairly easily. Their vision is completely clouded and they see their leader’s interest at being at the center of their own best interest. Cultism is fascinating and frightening. Trumpism is a loosely-formed but very strong cult
Yes. Evangelical religions encourage it because their flocks are often semi-culted already. All they have to do is shift the target. Many Trumpers truly believe that Trump is their Savior.
They TRY to answer that with their asinine signs at their putrid orange fuehrer's BUND meetings which state; "Jesus is my savior, but Trump is my president", but WE know the truth is not that. ;)
Mass (even psychotic?) delusion is rampant in this land.
Like all good capitalists without morals, American corporate media took that crap and made money from it.
Right
I remember this remark by a New Zealander, upon on our granting Murdoch the US citizenship Murdoch needed to own some of our news corporations, 'He's destroyed our country, and now he's going to destroy yours. too'.
That just goes to show us that ANY country can produce their own nightmarish people.
This Australian agrees with you Tony!
It's going to be a rough ride 😢
This one too… and I’m an American too
This is usually the cause of any nation's fall - they get destroyed from the inside.
It seems to be in the nature of empires to over extend themselves rather than husband their strength.illusions beckon men on
I am sad to hear that about Australia. I have thought for a long time that Australia has a very stable nation. I have always had a good opinion of Australia and still think it is a very interesting place that i would like to visit.
It's not Australia that concerns me yet. I worry about how quickly Australia latches on to trends in America.
Trumps America is extremely frightening
Yes, America is extremely frightening to me too. I should have already left for Canada. I have applied for immigration there and have passed the Canadian citizenship test... i hope it doesn't take too long as i am ready to go there now. I am surrounded by TUMP idiots at my location now. Everyone within my neighborhood are the TUMP Cult lunatics and they know my family are Democrats from my BIDEN/HARRIS yard sign in the last election. They all own these AR rifles and we did have some vandalism with tires punctured on our cars and yelling out slurs when they drive by. Even in some areas of Canada have latched onto American trends in the central and western areas, but no so much in the eastern part and the eastern part of Canada is where i want to go to.
America is eating it's own heart out.
I can't see how it can survive.
Never mind being invaded by a foreign country. It looks to me that it is in self destruct mode.
Too MANY have conveniently forgotten the part of the vow/oath which states to "protect against ALL enemies, BOTH foreign, AND domestic".
Of course, in their effing NAZI pretzel logic, they will claim that those who insist on upholding the Constitution, and it's laws ARE the 'domestic enemy'. :( :(
My wife's work took her to Fort McMurray, Alberta, on extended assignment. I went up there and visited her from time to time. The sociopolitical vibe was very much like our reddest states down here.
Yep. The reason is that when Canada was expanding west, it needed farmers for Saskatchewan and Manitoba so it invited Ukrainians and other Europeans. Alberta was not farmland, they needed ranchers so they went to the USA west. Then add in USA oil men and you get almost consistently conservative electorate and a very USA culture. The rest of Canada is far more likely to be on the side of the Constitution's vision of "Peace, Order and Good Government."
Yeppers. I spent decades living in Alberta. It is very much a mirror of the red states, and many would love to join the US. Over in BC though, we're still leftist leaning, ecologically concerned citizens. Regretfully, we are being infected by retiring Albertans who bring their beliefs and politics with them when they move to BC. I'm concerned that we may become "Florida lite" if we're not careful.
"many would love to join the US" . . .?
Yikes! I truly didn't expect that.
John, as a former US citizen, now a Canadian citizen, I hope that you are successful in your immigration. I spent decades living in Alberta, which is now MAGA lite, and moving more and more to the right. It wasn't a long trip. I live in BC now, where we still have pockets of humanitarian, left leaning, tree hugging, loving folks. But as more and more Albertans are retiring, they move to BC and bring their politics with them. I live in a small town that attracts a lot of tourists. Our summer population swells with Albertans and changes the environment of our town -- loud half-ton trucks, complaints about higher liquor and gas prices, disparaging remarks about peace loving hippies, and a complete refusal to follow COVID protocols while those were mandatory. I think your plan of moving to the east is a good one. Good luck! (And don't forget to renounce your US citizenship, otherwise the US will insist that you're still a US citizen and expect you to file/pay taxes to them. Trust me....I speak from experience.)
I am noticing that people are taking their tRUMP signs and flags down. I live in a very conservative area. A vendor came to town and set up a stall on a main thoroughfare with flags and other items. They were gone in a day. Not certain why. It gives me hope even though we have a very strong Christian Nationalist church that is attempting to dominate local potlitics. Democracy demands vigilance.
Don't forget the Ottawa trucker protests over covid vaxing, that was a big mess.
Oh yes, i remember that well. That thing went on almost a month i think. That was indeed a big mess and after that truckers in the United States tried to pull the same stunt in Washington, DC. That didn't work out too well for the truckers.
Hope you stay safe until you can get to Canada !
Leaving this country you become part of the problem.
Are there any signs there yet of any sort of major, organized, anti-aboriginal 'backlash' to the recognition of those peoples, and/or any reparations to them??
That could be a marker of a downward turn towards fascism.
Nothing major or organised. Just the usual mumbling and grumbling from the usual bigots.
Allies have been known to wish each other well in difficult times...
It remains to be seen but I believe we may just be doing so. Yet there is still time to correct the course.
Cant disagree
Unfortunately youre right
Trump is reportedly having trouble finding lawyers to represent him in this matter, with Marc Caputo of The Messenger reporting today that one federal criminal defense lawyer he contacted in the Southern District of Florida said: “The problem is none of us want to work for the guy…. He’s a nightmare client.”
That's a really interesting news site, packed w/ info. Thx for mentioning it. My eye went to the article "We Need Cameras in Trump's Courtroom."
It used to be said that Trump never pays his bills, but now that his cult followers are paying for everything he wants or needs, that probably isn't relevant anymore. News reports say he's holding a "fund-raiser" tomorrow at his New Jersey/Bedminster golf resort, after leaving his Miami golf resort, Doral, and before making sure the Saudi ArabianLIV/PGA filthy golf cabal knows how to file their not for profit/non-profit tax exempt forms so the country behind the 9/11 terrorists and the country/"princes" behind the horrific murder and dismemberment of an American journalist is sure to have plenty of clean towels to wipe the blood and filth off their hands before signing the papers (documents, more to the point) exempting them from paying U.S. taxes - and then a nice round or two of filthy golf at gilt-covered (or is that "guilt covered) Mar-A-Lago.
Trump has never needed an attorney, because he and his fascist soldiers are Teflon-nothing sticks to them .
Did Hitler need an attorney to
What scares me most is WHO SAW those documents that Trump kept?
Probably anyone that could scrape together a few dollars and paid to see them. This man has no shame and no morals. HIs only God is the almighty dollar and he pisses those away more often than not.
I'm sure everyone who is not supposed to see those documents has seen them.
With the exception of a very few, every president in history have had documents in their possession during, and after they left office.
The huge distinction here is,
1) How important, and threatening to our country, and the world were the documents that they held
2) What illegal steps were taken by those Presidents to hide, destroy, lie, bully, and bribe those who also assisted that president in the destruction of the documents.
3) Me thinks trump protests too much ....
4) This is the Wikipedia of Trump gate since his reign from 2016.
Just sayin
It's faithful worshipers really do not care at all, DESPITE their USA! USA! USA! chants, since they now declare Vlad The Impaler (Putin), or any other fascist despot/tyrant out there to be a friend and ally in their 'cause' (and because their 'supreme' SHITler tells them so as well). ;)
Hmmmm!
Who saw those supposed documents that Biden kept which, unlike the previous dictator, did Biden’s were not kept hidden, flushed down a toilet , or burned in order to
These “dangerous” secret documents Biden, had were kept behind only behind a garage door, and unguarded.
Biden, unlike the previous dictator,
Did Biden show them around and brag about them? Was there a concerted effort to hide them from authorities? NO. YOU LOSE.
What’s your real point here?
Maybe I misread your comment? The syntax is all mixed up.
The point, Kate, is those two things are not the same, you twist them. . Read the indictment.
‘Twisted’ them.
Huh?
You seem to be speaking an extinct language, balderdash.
Wake up
Didn't you notice that he - or his servants - had placed UPC bar codes on them? Stickers with "per unit" pricing? Some carried a higher price. Nuclear secrets would be costly, for sure, but maybe that "dirt" he loved to slobber about while intimating he "knew" things about various people, that might have a bargain price.
Virginia, I still say that these top secret docs contain far more info than our country’s defense. I imagine that a lot of them implicate powerful people who are “near and dear” to the ex and who he has enough dirt on so that he could be shielded from prosecution and prison.
People who take classified documents are...spies. Maybe T was going to somehow trade them to Russia, if Russia has something on him. Or is there a more innocent reason like just wanting to hold on to power. When he first was elected by the electors, Clinton won the popular vote, people said he would hate it and would not last six months.... not so.
Innocent? Trump? Nothing he does is innocent. EVERYTHING is for his personal gain.
I know RIIIIGHT?!!! 🤦🏽
And in the meantime, all else of concern to this country goes by the wayside. tRump sucks up all the bandwidth again. Biden has done amazing things that will help Americans as they struggle toward an uncertain future economically and environmentally. The press will advantage tRump again by giving him so much attention. I wish someone would remember that narcissists die when IGNORED. And, he deserves to be ignored because everything around him is tarnished. His total focus is on himself and his grievances. Always make him 'second page' news....it will drive him crazy!
Exactly..all they do is talk about trump everyday all day long. So people get the impression Biden does nothing, when in fact he has done a ton of good things for the people. Far more than any recent president. People are such fools
We need to be sure that Bill Barr's comments get heard. It's about time he got on the right side of things. As AG he did a lot of damage to democracy and fairness. Being honest certainly isn't getting rewarded these days!
Bill Barr's WORDS are fine, but the fact that it is Bill Barr saying them is rotten. He has been a huge part of the problem and now he is trying to whitewash that FACT because his reputation is where it should be, in the cesspool. His words are fine. He is a shape-shifting hypocritical operator, out for Bill Barr - just like his erstwhile amoral bro, tRump.
Michael Cohen is more honest than Barr. Cohen confessed, did his time and has been an important factor in bringing justice to tRump's door.
Barr, in contrast, is a turncoat; he loved tRump when he thought it helped Barr. Now that tRump's in big trouble and Barr's integrity and moral compass are revealed as trash, now he's not a fan of tRump. HE bears a lot of responsibility for what tRump has gotten away with (so far), and Barr is still a licensed attorney, still a totally free person. HE should be held accountable by DOJ, but apparently he just gets a lot of TV talk gigs, as if he's some great legal mind.
What b.s. NOBODY should be listening to Bill Barr!!
I totally agree with your opinion of Bill Barr. I would like to erase him and just leave his recent quote that says "tRump will be 'toast'. " There's an acute shortage of spines in the republican ranks...no integrity at all. I'd love to see him disbarred but that's not likely to happen...too bad!
Good one
Our news media could do so much to inform about developments in other nations around the world and not just the latest flooding disaster in Africa. Our news media, for the most part is just absolutely terrible.
I agree, Trump cannot push us into a citizen's war (I see nothing "civil" about war) but I am concerned for the residents of Miami. My understanding is that ONLY the State Government can call up the National Guard to protect the State. That our regular military cannot act against American citizens. Frankly, with a numbskull fascist like DeSantis as Governor, can the citizens of Florida trust such a person to care whether a few of them are killed by being innocents in the line of fire induced by Trump's MAGA herd of armed seditionists?
We sent troops to Mississippi in the '60's. We can do it again. Mississippi did not ask for them.
Fay. There is Northcom a army military unit formed in 2002 and based in Colorado, which does integrate National Guard personnel into its ranks and will respond to domestic crisis. It is yet to be seen how that plays out fully.
That's a relief, but Colorado is not exactly a neighbor of Florida, could they get there in time to prevent an armed attack on the Courthouse?
I’d bet they’re already there. We see this one coming.
you said: "Nations don’t go to war over whether they like or hate specific leaders. They go to war over the ideologies, religions, racism, social classes, and/or economic policies these leaders represent.
But Trump represents nothing other than his own grievance with a system that refused him a second term and is now beginning to hold him accountable for violating the law."
i reply: trump is a cult. he no longer is a human, he is a cult.
Dr. Reich: I wish I had your confidence that these tRump indictments, trials, possible imprisonments will not cause a civil war. We have been fighting a cold version of the same Civil War we have been waging since the 19th century. The people who support tRump do not care whether or not they can find pplausible defenses. tRump is really not the subject of contention for his "supporters." tRump is their excuse to engage in evil rhetoric and behavior and they wuld probably have done so ooner, or later, regrdless of whether tRump ever enggaed in politics. tRump is a convenient symptom for engaging in a violent civil war that they have been hoping to wage for over a hundred years, but more so since the beginning of the greed era with the election of Reagan.
Spot on!
He does represent the ideology of the confederacy... this should not be taken for granted. And we are less intelligent & educated than before...
Yes I agree. Uneducated people.
I am a retired, disabled veteran. I am well-educated.
I live in Florida. I am an independent and a socially progressive thinker.
I support gun ownership but oppose personal ownership of automatic weapons.
I struggle with wanting to engage politically but live in fear of these "psychotic" Trump supporters. My vehicle would be destroyed in the Publix parking lot if I put a liberally minded bumper sticker on it.
Yes, I agree that there will not be a Civil War, but how is that defined? Florida is already at war.
While I understand the rationale for a Florida venue for the Trump trial, I fear the Florida judicial system will disable the process.
Just remember, there are many of us in Florida who support democracy, equality, voting rights, and the right to healthcare, and we are searching for a way to have our voices heard.
I’m one in what feels like a sea of far right nuts..I do have a few like minded friends. Wish I knew more existed out there, but we are forced to be careful.
It is soooo bad now that even in 'blue sea' areas, even the in the minority Nazi SCUMpers now feel emboldened to vandalize cars with any left leaning/anti-SCUMp stickers on them (as mentioned above pertaining to bright red fascist majority areas).
Possibly why I only see said stickers on older, much more beat up, or uncared for appearing rides around here. ;)
Hook up the camera and take to court anyone who destroys your vehicle
Good real time advice, but these days any license plate can track you down.
It's not really Florida's judicial system -- it's federal, and happens to be in the district that contains Florida. It's a slam-dunk, open and shut case -- that will take MANY MONTHS to resolve.
Yes, it is federal. But it is my understanding that the applicable federal judge could throw the case out or disable it in a number of ways. Theoretically, it is a "slam-dunk" but Trump appointed judges know how they got their job. And...what about a Florida jury???
Jack Smith decided on the Florida venue -- since that's where the crimes mostly occurred. (A DC venue with a jury pool that's 90% democratic would have played into MAGA's hands.) Yes, I realize you're well aware of this.
And yes, Smith faces real obstacles in this should-be slam-dunk case. But this simply demonstrates how corrupt our justice system is and how without-honor we have become as a society in general. I'm a Navy vet with Vietnam service and it pains me to say this, but we're getting what we deserve through passive acceptance of what is unacceptable.
I hesitate to delve into what we, baby boomers, should feel collectively guilty about, but I grew up trusting our government to uphold the tenets of our democracy. Some responsibility for our current "condition" should be attributed to the escalation of corporate power, and the greed of Congress to please corporations instead of actively "listening" and acting on behalf of their populace. Our voices are muted. Yes, I vote.
I’d say about 100% should be attributed
Agree 100%! You can follow every issue down to money and greed.
Martha D. ; As a resident of a very liberal northern state, I have decided not to put progressive stickers on our car after my husband was opposed to it. There are MAGA voters here, too, and it does not feel safe even if they are in a minority here. They are a minority in the general population of our entire country and look what they have managed to do to destabilize us.
I was raised in New York...upstate I might add.
I think it is admirable that, as a group, we progressive minded folks feel a responsibility to respect others, not speak too loudly, and let the "others" have their due. But I have a gut fear that this not enough....my mind courses with how to shout out that to MAGA minded folks that they are being herded.
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Martha D. ; Thank you for your service! My husband is retired from the Air Force, and was raised in a conservative home. What is happening now in The USA is unlike any of us has experienced in our lifetimes. It must be challenging to live in Florida these days.
Thank you for your comment. It is hard to live in Florida right now.
WTF happened to Florida??
Did every single REICHwingnut yahoo and peckerwood in this land flock there to elect their effing Mussolini?!?
I understand that the north, and rural parts always were, and always will be the 'Confederate South', but when did the metropolitan areas become fascist?
Is every single person of Cuban descent in the southern part of that state a 'reactionary/reflexive' right winger solely due to their resentment of, and backlash to the cruel, evil dictator who was in power there self-proclaiming to be a 'communist'?!?!
I am trying to understand your message, but there are so many cliches, I am not sure what you are trying to communicate.
I have lived in Florida for 8 years, employed and retired, and Florida was once considered a somewhat politically blended state in some areas. I agree that it seems that it is no longer a free Florida, but we can thank DeSantis for that. I am trying to figure out how to show my opposition. For many of us, it is unsafe to do so.
My point is just what you gave stated above, that it USED TO BE a somewhat 'mixed' state politically, yes, save for the 'still fighting the Civil War rebel' types in some areas.
My question was just how powerfully influential (and in actual numbers) is the hardcore rightwing Cuban descendant populace in SOUTH Florida currently, and are they even a majority of Cuban background voters there??
I label them 'reactionary right wingers' simply because their vehement (and quite justified) loathing of Castro and his self-proclaimed 'communist' regime seems to be the major rationale/impetus for their hardcore conservative (to put it mildly) bent, although maybe not the ONLY reason(s).
…and what is your suggestion regarding conservative Cuban Americans?
NO 'suggestion', merely a question based on your (or anyone else's) observations there, that's all.
Anyone else think "weaponize" is the most overused and meaningless word of the year? And "witch hunt" means going after the innocent, not prosecuting criminals. The distorted, manipulative use of language -- endlessly repeated and not analyzed, exposed or corrected by the press -- is far more dangerous than we realize. I don't see civil war, but i see far too many fellow Americans unthinkingly swayed by the drama and the b.s., unwittingly following a malignant narcissist who would destroy our country, and this worries me a lot.
If MAGA wants to start a "civil war", insurrection or some sort of civil strife, there's no more appropriate place to do it than Florida. Let them deal with it. What would DeSantis do? If they can't handle it, or they handle it inappropriately, then send federal troops to put things back in order. At least it will become clear to any rational people still in doubt what a threat Trump & MAGA are to our peace, security, unity & democracy.
My understanding Jaime, is we cannot employ federal troops unless there is a declared insurrection. The National Guard is the first line of military defense in a State, and that is called up by the Governor of said State. I suppose Miami can call up the Dade Country Sheriffs, maybe even the State police , but I'm not even sure of that. January 6, 2021 is our only precedence and you saw how well that went.
Florida has sent most of their National Guard to Texas boarder and I would love to see him have to ask for Biden’s help again just like he did after the hurricane. We bailed out Florida even after they have squandered their money for flying immigrants elsewhere and for all of the money spent on ridiculous lawsuits.
Look up desegregation and you will see that federal troops were used against states that refused to follow federal laws. The Fed does not need permission to send the troops. The President can make the decision and as I recall, he does not need Congressional permission. I could be wrong, but like the T-shirt says, it's unlikely.
You are correct, I had forgotten about the use of Federal troops to protect children entering a school building from the hordes of maniacal racists. I suppose if the MAGA cultists started a violent insurrection in Miami Biden could send in Federal troops. But would he have the time. The reason so much damage occurred at the Capitol Building was Trump refused to allow the call up of the National Guard or to call off his dogs until the damage was completed, and then only because he realized his minions couldn't find Pence and Pelosi.
Fay Reid ; Wow! what a show of intent that was!
Ah, yes. So if DeSantis refuses to keep order, or actually sends law enforcement or his private army to help the insurrectionists, that'll be quite a mess. At some point, if it gets completely out of control, it seems that the federal government has to get involved.
Jaime, this is the same problem as DC on January 6. These actions are so unprecedented there is no protocol. The Federal Government cannot on a moment's notice enter a State until the State requests assistance. The same applies to natural disasters, FEMA cannot offer help until the Governor of the State declares a National Emergency and requests assistance. These rules were made to prevent the Federal Government from encroaching on State sovereignty and worked well for 240 years. Trump ruined a lot of things for us. History will sort it all out, but he is among the worst disasters to happen to a formerly free Country.
It seems evident that the MAGAs and their 'fearless leader' are employing the same M.O. here as was used on Jan 6th. I hope there is some readiness! the 'Governor' of Florida is certainly not interested in protecting Democracy or the rule of law ; unless it's his personal rule of law. This looks bad.
Jaime Ramirez ; I wonder how long it will take for President Biden to send help to Florida in the event of a violent attack?
My guess is that it won't be immediate. Supposedly he hasn't constitutional permission to do so. But if it persists, & gets bad, with heavy casualties, I think the pressure would be great to intervene.
Then how did President Kennedy send troops into George Wallace’s Georgia?
The federal government does not need the excuse of insurrection to move in and takeover. If they feel that federal law is being broken, they can send in the troops, all of them.
It IS a FEDERAL indictment and TRIAL, after all. ;)
But one has to wonder whether the wannabe Mussolini (DeSatan) would attempt to stop said troops from protecting the courthouse in order to curry favor with it's MAGAt Q'aNAZI base in it's nomination bid.
David G Hinkes Thank you for reminding us that this is a Federal Case!
So scary that the governors of states would be the only ones to call in the National Guard! that nobody could envision that a Governor could not be part of an attack on Democracy.
It is scary. But the men in the late 18th Century - by the standards of their time - were honorable men, they abhorred authoritarianism of any type. No, they could not envision DeSantis or Trump. By today's standards, the Founders were imperfect, they were white, landowners, they compromised over slavery. But could you and I have envisioned American citizens trying to overthrow democracy in favor of a religious dictatorship twenty years ago. I couldn't even imagine Trump being elected in 2016. I was shocked to learn he had been duly elected because some people were so opposed to Hillary they didn't vote at all.
Fay Reid ; Is the governor the only one who can declare an insurrection?
This is what you get when you believe that the First Amendment protects OBVIOUS, PROVEN LIES to be loudly, angrily and repeatedly broadcast over mass media. A significant part of the electorate will inevitably BELIEVE the lies, and vote accordingly. America is getting the results it deserves. A fundamental change in attitude toward truth is needed. And don’t fire back that “who’s to say what truth is? No one can!” That is not a argument to use when a terrorist is holding your family hostage. It is in fact a propagandist’s ploy. See “false dichotomy,” “fallacy of perfectionism,” and “slippery slope.”
There are three kinds of beliefs: true, viewpoints/opinions, and false. The first amendment protects the first two, NOT THE THIRD. Obviously some will believe (have the opinion) that the truth is false. The burden on that viewpoint is to provide persuasive reasonable evidence. Those who will not and cannot do that should be silent until they can do so. If instead they angrily insist that black is white and white is black and their saying so is proof enough, should be relegated to soap boxes in the parking lot. NOT BROADCAST INTO MILLIONS OF HOMES.
There has to be a way of holding those who promulgate dangerous lies at societal scale accountable. The government as representative of the people has a role to play.
Sadly, this is their plan. Always look for who benefits...as I mentioned before, Congress is driven by power and greed. If you do not embrace climate change, you will need to find yourself a safe island haven to buy. They are expensive.
So far, I will try to support those legislators whom I feel are constituent minded and are preservers of the democracy. It feels like so little to do.
I know my truth. I do my research and read, read, read. I choose my own TV channels.
While truth is a hallmark issue here, we are beyond that. Many of us who seek the truth now want to quietly engage and try to understand. It is not easy and the opportunities are few. We must not imitate their rage as these "people" are being manipulated, and I cannot help but believe they will realize they are not well-served.