Carol, if his reputation hasn't yet been destroyed by his misanthropy and multiple misdeeds, then even I, an avowed agnostic, am willing to beseech whatever gods that may exist to intercede. My wishful message cast to the heavens is for a lightning bolt out of the blue to strike him one day as he plays golf. If that were to happen, I think I'd become a believer after all.
@ Doug. Here in Baghdad By the Sea they sell Trump voo doo effigy dolls and pins so you can inflict pain on the part of the anatomy you deem appropriate.
Can one get them mail order to Europe? Last night several of my friends went to Hamburg where there was a debate held between a member of Democrats Abroad and a Republican Abroad. According to a short clip a friend posted to the website, the Republican defender was saying that he was a Republican and a Patriot. I said, "Isn't that an oxymoron?" Supporting a party that is trying to destroy our constitution, the underpinnings on which our nation is based is the opposite of patriotic, it is supporting treason. That calls for some voo doo effigy action.
Taking this seriously, if there were now a Constitutional Convention convened to re-write the Constitution, I don't think we'd get the best aspirations of Enlightenment thinkers. We'd get whatever oligarchy-protecting corporate-sponsored drivel the highest bidder wanted. I'm pretty sure there would be a less-restrictive version of the 2nd installed (who needs to be "well-regulated" anyway?).
Mine was from Jr. saying and I quote “ Jeri, I’m not going to play this game anymore. My father and I need…”. Piss on you Jr and the cretin who sired you
I still get Ben Carson’s Cornerstone/ Little Patriots BS. Trump requires a weekly dumping of the 100 or so that populate my spam folder. Epoch Times had too many paywalls. These people are nuts.
Robmail xxxx Richard, i guess you are entertaining yourself perversely lol. I signed up for the ultra paranoid Heritage Foundation's newsletter, i suspect ill ditch the signup before long.
Hsun Tzu, on the Art of War, opined that if one knows one's enemy, in 100 battles one will win 100 victories. I often wonder how in the name of reason people can believe TFFG's words. TFFG is a completely dishonest thug, a cipher, lacking any worthwhile human qualities.
I just did a quick check. Etsy and Amazon have many trump voodoo dolls to choose from. I might get one for laughs and will probably give a couple as novelty gifts. Maybe I can even find one that will give profits to a worth cause.
Under pressure, when he can’t lie and scream, and he is forced to face the truth, Trump falls asleep. The wrong man to have in a crisis. The wrong man to leave alone with your daughter.
Exactly but I would rather pray for a real interventionist. Where's Lee Oswald or maybe Kyle Rittenhouse will have a change of heart or have a heart period.
So? Do you really think the MAGAts and militias aren't going to do anything when tRump loses? He's already framed himself as a martyr. Sorry Doug, but I think the die is already cast.
Trump had a very bad case of COVID before the vaccine was ready. He may have died, as he was overweight, but the doctors saved him. Human intervention.
Doug, I too am a devout agnostic. I beg you not to pray for his death, although I doubt the efficacy of prayers and thoughts in any instance. I make this request because I believe his living collapse would be better for America than his demise. I believe a slow crumble of all he has pretended to be could disrupt the whole MAGA movement. I'd like to see the last of him, to be sure, but a deathblow to them even more. Whomever forbid they march on behind a new standard bearer. Bannon? Flynn? Miller? Ecccchhhh!
Doug, as an avowed atheist I might become a believer also if out of the BLUE lightning would be attracted to his golf club in his back swing and it would be the end of our nightmare.
LOL!!! Seriously though, if I had to guess, his lawyers probably put a 'sed-a-give' in his drink so that he didn't wind up in contempt of court and hauled off yesterday.
I wish that you were right, Jack, but "the MAGA thing," i.e., the KKK, has been around since Reconstruction and Jim Crow. If you haven't yet, Timothy Egan's book, "A Fever in the Heartland," about the rise of the KKK in the Midwest in the 1920's is a must read. There will be no doubt in your mind that MAGA is the 21st century version of the KKK: white Protestant nationalism now, white Protestant nationalism forever.
Heather has a bit to say on the rise of the KKK and a then widespread effort to promote the myth that the South went down for a "worthy cause". I don't think today's societies, even in the South, are up for that again, considering among other things, the widespread removal of Confederacy statuary over the past 20 or more years.
Frank, while some of the Confederate statues are coming down, that appears to be motivating the millions of die-hards to fight ferociously to save "the cause." TFFG is the face of this ugly condition. In retrospect, a more fitting figure could not have been imagined: egotistical, dishonest, cruel, mendacious, cowardly, lazy, malignantly narcissistic and more.
To be realistic all I could hope for is that MAGA would be forced to fly low and keep their heads down with no more hate rallies with the crowd cheering on a lunatic speaker.
It could be that the former political party known as Republican will dwindle down to permanent minority status. However, the wealthy oligarchs will continue to fund the media to sow discord with wedge issues (abortion, immigrants [xenophobia], gay rights, women's rights, etc.)
The only "yard" I see him being placed in for his own protection is the 'pet relief area' at the DC Zoo. His security detail needs to be posted right outside the fence. Don't waste money on signs. Just grab one that says 'Don't feed the monkey'.., that ought to do it. Of course we could get Kellyanne to have one made up that says "ALTERNATIVE - Pet Relief Area". Or maybe "Don't piss into the wind". You choose.
That must be where "20-20 hindsight" came from. In those 'olden days' one had to go to the library to dig up stuff from the previous 80 years or so. Today..., we can just Google it.., or browwwwwwzzze the web. So, there is no excuse for not being able to "did up" what the gerrymanderers have done to 'screw us' mere mortals. No excuses. None. I think we have finally reached a reckoning point here in our Country. Provided we survive it.., I say it needed to happen, right next to: This wouldn't have happened had Hillary been elected. The fusion would have continued to build beneath the Confederate flag mentality. So much has come-to-light during these six years. Try this: "It's an ill wind, that blows no good." (shortened by me. See Cambridge Dictionary - John Heywood proverb, 1546). Old sayings - So appropo.
trump has taken matters into his own hands in destroying his reputation--no need for God's intersession here. The moment I learned that he won in 2016 I prayed that the GOP would self-implode (in progress). I am now praying that he goes broke and goes to prison (in progress). Please join me in prayer....
"The Kingdom, the Power and the Glory" by Tim Alberta has highly readable interviews with Trump's MAGA-Christian Evangelical supporters. Most fail to see the irony in that they think America has gone off its rails because of secular liberties but deny or diminish Trump's criminal behavior.
Is The Book of Job not real? It’s great prose. Metaphor or prophecy, it’s the Bible’s Last lesson, trial and the eternal question: God and the Devil duke it out as we the people watch - and vote virtue and faith or whatever cynicism Man can muster. Job is surely tested as Trump the Devil is testing we, the people - our flocks, savings and children are threatened, warming threatens, The Eclipse was total, and that experience was proof of our existence, our utter insecurity, insignificance and vulnerability. The rocks in space and Don’t Look Up will do it if Trump v. Biden doesn’t, it’s Evil and the Devil facing goodness and the good, and we all are called to vote to preserve the right to vote. Ontological, yes. Truth stands against Lies, President Biden offers again, and Trump threatens again. We are living out our days like Job and Creation did in the Good Book. For our country and our children, VOTE. Job voted. And he was saved.
The eternal truths are found in the Bible. The Tower of Babel is vital. Tolerance and love matter.
April 15th will matter in the public square and in federal court.
Trump will be tried and convicted and jailed, or Evil wins and Democracy loses. The Court is Law and a good judge and justice will challenge the Jury of 12.
It must be unanimous. Devil has his candidate. Warmly supported, he falls asleep in open court. His contempt is on display. The rules don’t apply to the Devil. He’s spending other people’s money.
A republic if you can keep it, said Ben Franklin.
To be or not to be was Shakespeare’s lesson in Hamlet.
We are living The Book of Job.
We have choice and must give choice back to women. They now vote and they love the child.
Hey SB, people who enjoy being proselytized at sit in church or listen to insipid bible-belt a.m. radio broadcasts, but ultimately nobody with any critical thinking skills enjoys being proselytized to, especially with tired cliches thrown in. Thanks, but no thanks.
Why use the Bible at all? Stories written by men, all sharing similar origin stories intended to diminish and control women and minorities. The assault of fantasy and myth.
Job - A book in which God and Satan make a barroom bet tisee how much suffering one guy can take before he breaks. On top of the cruelties that God lets Satan deal out, Job has to put up with every two bit preacher in town telling him that the real problem is sin in his life. When Job finally gets an answer from God it's a loud and thunderous "I take the fifth." But God doesn't leave the stage without telling Job that the two bit preachers were wrong.
If there's a lesson there, but mostly it's about not listening to two-bit preachers.
I like Enigma better, SB - something for everyone plus George Carlin. Hamlet was considering suicide, by the way, not when the deity might intervene in human affairs. Your conclusion is the only intervention we need - VOTE. I'll light a votive candle for it, or maybe a voodoo one. Maybe both.
Theodicy is one of the great unsolved mysteries about God, how would "he" let bad things happen to good people and let the bad sometimes go unpunished. Lots have dropped their faith in "God" over it. Fictionally, that happened in Contact. In the case of "God", lack thereof. Just the same, most of the faithful cherry pick when the deity intervened with a miracle, common with near misses from tornadoes, not that i dont well wish them for their good luck!
True. There's all kinds of "god's" out there, assuming they all still exist. And, one can only wonder how "they" might have.., or indeed are right now, viewing #45 's behavior. Personally, having boarded with many families of varied religious bents while growing up, I find I can't "believe" in any of it. However, there is one thing out there in 'the heavens'.., meaning the universe, referred to as "black holes". So, in regards to numbnutz, I BELIEVE that's what "black holes" exist for.., POS's like him. Perhaps those "black holes" are calling him when he dozez' off. And, it's only a matter of time before some 'concerned citizen' jumps on 911. Hopefully his wife will have misplaced the "do not resuscitate" paper. I like to "believe" she has. Is that just me? Huh! Have faith pilgrims.
I still remember when access Hollywood hit the media and I thought for sure it would expose him for the misogynistic buffoon he was. None of the males in my life talk like that, even in the locker room. Makes me seriously wonder if releasing this information at the time would have had an impact on the good "Christian" people who worshiped him. Even if he eludes conviction a prolonged exposure to public scrutiny may have more impact on his image than all the accusations currently pending.
It does seem contradictory, out of character, that is, Christian support of the "Fallen One." But, their desire for white Protestant Christian nationalism is so strong that they see God working in strange and mysterious ways, selecting TFFG as His Messenger. If this were fictionalized, it wouldn't sell. This is a simple, clear case of the first error in attempting to exercise critical thinking: confirmation bias.
Let's face it Cameron, we have become a "Tabloid" society here. Simply, sex sells. We've descended into a sort of cesspool officially with #45... clearly a Nat'l Enquirer fan. Look at how toilet humor has prevailed on TV with ti"tt"allating humor at best. Check the intentional display of 'cleavage' we had for quite a spell on all the talking NEWS-heads (huh? you didn't notice?). Hahahaa.. Jackie Gleason, All in the family, and the Jeffersons, were pretty benign.. then along came Susanne Somers (nice tits) and enter #45.., the emperor with no clothes. Pretty-much sums it up.
To quote whoever designed the poster for the film version of Chicago: "If you can't be famous, be infamous!"
The Booth family was a showbiz institution of the day. There is actually still a Broadway theater named after them. Nutty to think that someone could be driven to alter history through misplaced anger resulting from not being as talented at monologues as his bro.
John Wilkes Booths' brother, Edwin Booth, saved Robert Lincoln from being struck by a train in Jersey City some months before.
Robert Lincoln, in effect, saved Edwin, who was severely depressed and unable to work, by acknowledging Edwin's saving him though Edwin probably didn't recognize who he was he was (Robert knew who the famous Edwin Booth was, though).
Personally, I think much if not most of what we believe or think, is simply internalization, ie from others, by one means or another. That would include "critical thinking". Of course, this can and does readily work in reverse, such as a prophet who's seen the light and passes it along. Social creatures thus we are.
I was vaguely aware of Edwin. John's grandiose narcissism seems evident to me in his delivery of a hammy line in the act of murder. It appears to me that terrorism is the height of malignant narcissism. Some, like Trump are calculating opportunists, while fanatics (such as the 9/11 hijackers, are willing to die for it. We all, of necessity, pursue self-interest, but some of us spin out into thinking only our agenda matters. I recall the comment of an American soldier ordered to kill defenseless native women and children that it was God's will. I think that fame and fortune carries risks for intensifying malignant narcissism. That's not a given, but it often afflicts the rich and powerful, and has throughout history. Or so it seems to me.
Additionally, I think that cults are designed to control people by trapping them in narcissistic circular thought patterns, enforced by flattery ("Master Race", etc.) and implicit or explicit threats. "Thoughtcrime".
“The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and of your ears. It was their final, most essential command.” - Orwell
In full agreement but I beseech us all to ask what has turned off such a large percentage of Americans? What have we done wrong? If we can’t answer this question and find remedies, then we are doomed to possibly bow to the New Snazzy Nazi American Way.
It’s not enough to get out the vote. This is a call to move to the center as repugnant as it may sound to some folks.
Interesting question. I think it is multi-faceted, and has as its sides the declines in our educational system (intentional) and the corresponding rise in the private/home schooled "student" populations (also intentional), the movement of family wage jobs overseas creating the evaporation of the true middle class, the uncontrolled explosion of "the internet" and all that it has become today, and the dominance of "social" media in our lives. The destruction of the fairness doctrine, and the disappearance of independent local news stations and newspapers is another. Starting in 2000 (in earnest, the beginning was in the late 1960's) the country has seen the elections of two Republican presidents who did not win the popular vote, one of whom was put in office after a recount was stopped that would have given him the electoral college majority and the first Black president. That 20 years of turmoil has led to the divide we see blatantly in our country today.
Or… unlimited money in politics is the biggest wound. Big money chooses leadership that bows to their desires. It’s the unending pursuit of money that has done it. At least in the 1890s there was a great progressive republican president that broke up the Trusts. Today, no such thing exists. Social Media the huge monster that it is has a free rein except in Europe. We can’t even complete the ban on Tik tok as it’s now held up in the senate. Again, money doesn’t talk it screams.
First sentence is incomprehensible. You are partially correct. This began in the 1960s when the progressive plans of LBJ — a great leader, as a reaction, sent the mostly working class white to the right into the waiting arms of republicans. Which of course was the wrong place to be. I’m very in favor of all Americans getting a piece of the pie. But something has done gone wrong. You are correct about the speed of change. The white working class have felt left out even as they witness those of other cultures non European arriving. No one group should feel left out. But they do. I wouldn’t bet which way this election is going. There seems to be a perfect storm brewing for a cataclysmic change.
People who thought they knew what to expect, People who planned to do what their parents had done, People who were born in the same town or neighborhood their grandparents were born in, all these people, mostly white and male especially, believe that they have been cheated because their expectations were not met. Because a thousand little butterfly changes created a wave that washed away the world they thought they knew.
Meanwhile, people who did not have those expectations; people like women and immigrants and minorities, saw the changes as opportunity instead of obstacle.
I think Steve Bannon was correct. Trump has hopefully established the floor for awful charlatans who managed to ascend to the presidency. If elected again, he'll set the floor even lower as he continues his grifting and his leaning in towards autocracy. He'll be good for no one, not even the billionaires.
Not always indeed, and Lincoln's murder was especially problematic since it gave Andrews an opportunity to roll against what Lincoln likely would have promoted had he lived. Bannon has minimal/nil credibility on anything. Early in his media career he put out a godawful apocalyptic video showing the "end of things"... too bad Bannon didn't manage to follow suit, figuratively mind you!
That all this is a possibility just boggles my mind.
That America as #1 at one point has fallen to …18th?
That the country everyone felt was the land of opportunity is now held hostage by a minority of Putin loving extremists?
That the half of Americans (who we hope has fallen to 25% ) stood defiant beside a known con man …and still yet the streets of the nearest town I live by are currently filled with signs they will vote that way again. And who doubts half of those would ever admit regardless of the cookie crumbled how they backed the Fall of Democracy Coup?
The love of money, power, and control is pride goeth before the fall.
It shocked me to realize along the incredible education I received from these writers -Heather, Joyce, Simon, Steve, Dan et al ..that 35-40% was the voting numbers ( a rare 66% in 2020).
I can’t say I haven’t been amused , but being shocked by the conspiracies carried , the lies repeated, the undergrowth I never knew there -white supremist, racism, proved I too was not paying attention/ had become complacent. I worked my whole career for the underdog and didn’t see the forest through the trees.
My apology is surpassed only by my own naivety.
It near unbelievable that so few can hold the world hostage over minuscule petty issues while no secret is there striving to become rich, power scum lords backed by evil minded entities.
I applaud the Biden/Harris Team with their class-act leadership in near insurmountable chaos.
I encourage you to …💙VOTE ALL THOSE COMPLICIT OUT💙
Thank you for referencing this was the day of Lincoln’s demise and the Boston Marathon bombing. That bombing involved my neighbors where the mother was a participant and her two children, a boy and a girl, and husband were anxious observers. One of those bombs caused shrapnel to penetrate near the son’s groin. He was in the hospital for quite a few weeks. He had been standing near another child who was injured also. Obama visited with the families and I know my neighbors really felt the warmth and sincerity he projected. The family was, of course, traumatized for years but the son I mentioned, is graduating from Annapolis Naval Academy next month. He plans to stay in the military. I saw him a few months back when he was home for the holidays. He called out to me and gave me a big hug. I have known him since he was a wee lad and now he is this tall handsome man who has his future ahead of him. I truly wish this for every child and for them to grow up knowing Biden and Harris have their backs. Those like Trump and Company must be put out to pasture. Thanks, Heather.
Personal stories like yours, Marlene, are part of the reason I come back every morning. And a reason to keep on keeping on. We are not alone. There are wonderful people out there, like yourself, and the young man you mention. What a day April 15th has turned out to be.
We are not alone, so true. I may not know any of the Readers here in real life, but my 20 or so years of "on line involvement" (first through subject matter fora, and these days via various Substack and Facebook accounts) I know I could meet people in person and we'd become fast friends in the "real" world.
Tears, present, at your touching reminder, not only of the personal reach and impact of that tragedy, but also, that even horrific tragedy can be overcome with decency, courage and community reaching deep into generations of personal stories. ❤️
That is excellent news about the young man injured in Boston, Marlene. I listened to that whole event unfold on NPR, since we were driving a long distance and mesmerized by it.
We are witnessing a very interesting and ongoing story, presented in split screen, of the contrast between how two separate strains of American culture/psyche informs what leadership style we seek.
Everything tfg does smacks of the need to be as cartoonishly big and loud as possible, in a caveman-meets-grade-school-playground sort of way. Like many a wannabe dictator, he gets off on overpowering through both force of presence and threat of force itself, and his crowds follow him because they get off vicariously on the display. The all-American twist here is the trashy vulgarity with which he deploys this malevolence. The stupid pointy fingers and teensy fists, the gaping mouth spitting incoherent bile, the vanity of the pose, the jeering nicknames, the inability to ever react in any way other than childish petulence and contrariness (even when it means making a loss more likely)... Those who see through the act are disgusted at all the lowest and most dangerous human impulses together in one person. Yet so many people who have the most to lose see a "one of us" kinship because he taps those dark impulses and they are loving having them tapped. Poor people who have nothing in common with the owner of an actual gold toilet see him as "one of us" because he's stupid and mean in the same way they are and he treats those he dislikes with the contempt and viciousness with which they would if given the level of power he has.
President Biden is the opposite. Here is a person who exudes a simple yet obvious decency and integrity. Here is someone who has no need to be the biggest or loudest, but instead the lifelong motivation to simply attain a privileged position in order to do good with it. He is sure of himself and his experience enough to trust it will speak for itself, and respects those around him enough to listen to their voices rather than drowning them out with his own. When he presents himself, he does so with a calmness and carefulness befitting the office, coupled with a clear enthusiasm for people. The genuine smile, the slight stoop of the shoulder, the hands alternately folded and open-palmed... Everything about the man is unaffected and unpretentious. He has many moments of, uh, colorfulness and awkwardness galore, but don't all humans? People who gravitate toward his brand of leadership do so because in his affect they see a reminder of the Dad who helped run your Boy Scout or 4H Club. Rather than being inappropriately galvanized by something base, his supporters see him as "relatable" and "down-to-earth" because he provides a good example of how they would like to conduct themselves if given the chance to lead: with an eye toward bringing people together by meeting them where they are, imperfections and all.
Two most different forms of "strength": one loud but contrived and awful, versus another, quiet but assured and steady. One which demands subservience, and one which commands collaboration. Scowls versus smiles. Which will win in the minds of the public? I know which way I go!
Will. You have done it again. I love your comments!
You have offered up a perfect comparative description of two men. One leads with anger and petulance. The other leads with compassion and calm performance of duty.
I must add that when thinking about who should be our president, wouldn't one of the first characteristics be that he or she would be a role model for our children? How do TFG supporters explain that?
Love reading your comments, Will. Thanks for aptly nailing a shared sense of the irony held in the character of these two men and those who choose to stand behind them.
Will, thank you for once again putting our thoughts into words! President Biden reminds me of the quiet teacher who, at their funeral, is found to have quietly rescued so many students while making sure that their dignity is preserved. Look at how he has focused on providing good jobs rather than just handouts—that Pennsylvania upbringing taught him some important lessons that he chose to make part of his being.
Will, your characteristic reply is spot on, enlightening as it is entertaining … but I must comment on sentence, “Poor people who have nothing in common with the owner of an actual gold toilet see him as "one of us" because he's stupid and mean in the same way they are…” Yes, I agree, many of tfg’s supporters are attracted to him because they see themselves in him, but not all are “stupid and mean in the same way” and this is the part that leaves me beyond dumbfounded. I have several lifelong friends and unfortunately in-laws who are fervent Republicans and supporters of tfg— no matter what. Aside from their political ideology and persuasion these are kind and generous people, and quite a few of them are ultra smart. This dichotomy boggles the mind. I truly believe that they’d be a Liz Cheney type of Republican, but no, they remain ardent followers of tfg. Needless to say, the past eight years have placed an increasingly immense burden on our relationships. The one constant I find among them is they are all influenced by Fox News and it’s truly frightening to see the continued stranglehold it still has on them in spite of their otherwise equally gentle and astute nature. Trying to reach through to them strains our relationship further. Now, I focus all my efforts on encouraging Democratic and Independent voter turnout, but I’d be remiss to not point out that not all of tfg supporters are stupid and mean.
SAT 12, I look at the ardent followers of fpotus amongst my retired cop friends, and I see a level of meanness and hatred that was not present several years ago. It used to be that I could dialogue with them; now, it is nearly impossible. I had one go of on a meme that I posted that said, essentially "when a drag queen kills a kid with a copy of "To Kill a Mockingbird", I will then support your ban of both in the schools. He (almost always "he", but more and more "she" these days) went off on both the dangers of homosexuality and the need for guns everywhere, and the higher capacity magazines the better. I asked him if he thought of me that way, and he said "of course not." I'm still in shock over that.
Idiotic people cannot be reasoned with, Ally. It is like they have all caught the same disease. Not to acknowledge your preferences is ignoring you as a person. Ugh…these individuals are so unnerving!
I'm a bit late responding but just wanted to say that I appreciate this note, which is obviously from the heart. I too have family and former friends who fit what you describe, as do almost all of us here, I am sure. I want to say that I don't think people can be put in boxes clearly marked "smart and/or kind" and "stupid and/or mean." People contain multiple dimensions, and can practically become different people based on their relationship to another person. My conclusion I have come to is that it is impossible after this many years for a person to support tfg and his ilk without having a serious mean streak that they are happy to have activated, or ignorance they are unable or unwilling to correct. That does mean that they are precluded from being kind to the people who are actively in their life, only that they harbor various levels of unkindness toward other people in their country that they feel comfortable expressing one way or another. At minimum, cruelty and bigotry is not a deal-breaker for them. That is what I meant, and I find it impossible to ignore. Yet the world exists in shades of grey and people can change, albeit slowly, so how we navigate these harsh truths and conflicting signals is up to each of us to decide.
Will, another insightful venture into “Will is putting my scattered thoughts into coherent words”
I took a number of courses in college related to interpersonal communication, one of which was Leadership Styles. Among those styles was Authoritarian, which was the least effective due to the nature of coercive loyalty it required. The most effective in the long run was the Emergent Leader, the person people willingly followed, not because of the position he held, but rather the skills, work ethic, empathetic behaviors he demonstrated simply in the way he went about his job. People admired this snd wanted to emulate the aura
Thanks for putting the contrasting styles into focus
Will, thank you so much for explaining the clear contrast between these two men. I never realized until November 2016 how so many of our fellow citizens admire the type of person Trump is. Still haven’t gotten over that.
Will, thank you for this post. I love your writing, and you always get right to the heart of the matter. I firmly believe that the election of Barack Obama in 2008 ripped the scab off the badly healed wound of racism and let the hatred of the "other" stream out in all its puss filled glory. That is what gave fpotus the 2016 election.
“ I “ in lower case … ) but you’ve written so well I’ve tied to celebrate your comment! Have a happy day and keep writing AND talking w everyone you meet!
Some legal commentators on Threads said that his behavior was less about being bored and fatigued and more about showing his disdain for the justice he is at last facing.
He covered that in his address to the press corps before entering. Said he was proud to be there. A doze or two is the sleep of the just. The brave, honest man! It's all a witchunt. A scam, I think he said too.
My favorite line here, that "only a few dozen of his supporters showed up at the court today."
The fat, pampered, ever-grifting orange liar had called out for his supporters massively to storm the proceedings. They didn't show. Lawrence O'Donnell on his evening show also dwelt on this.
Dems haven't even begun to get together, running for office in the November elections. It'll be wonderful when they do. But we may be looking at MAGA fatigue. Millions may be realizing they've been hearing the same lies, the same braggadocio, the same relentless, self-pitying victimization.
Pathetic while it lasted. But the dictator allies and mass murderers are still at it abroad. U.S. billionaires are still at their schemes in America. Clarence court still can't read the Constitution's Article 14, section three. And Dems, so aided by legions of good women across the land, are still yet to come alive as historic tide should turn finally this year.
II am not certain any demographic knows enough to UNITE and vote Trump out. It will depend on us all joining together to use our vote strategically to take power. By voting for Biden.
These people have such loud barks, but when it comes time to bite they most frequently do nothing but dribble and slobber. That's why they need the fabricated image of a vengeful strongman to to do the supposed biting for them. Pathetic indeed.
Next question -- Are the appropriate authorities entrusted with preserving public order up to the task? Whom can we trust? How well do you know your local sheriff and country prosecutor? Are they making plans for suppressing riots and de-escalating confrontations? How dedicated are they to preserving freedom of speech and assembly?
Are there actions that individual citizens or groups of citizens can take now to help keep the mayhem to a minimum during the next eight months?
Just read a report that Kari Lake is toying with her supporters in Arizona. She suggests that this election season will be an approriate time to "strap on" your Glock.
My question may be getting more urgent by the day.
That is a scary thought Doug, but certainly a possibility. The only positive outcome COULD be that his supporters who choose and chose violence on 6 January will recognize who is in jail and who is not!!
And the House is imploding. Please, please, please let us see more Republicans leave before November. Really, as HCR said yesterday, fear of retaliation is the only thing keeping so many of them in line, but when it comes to the privacy of the voting booth, do they, like Putin, prefer Joe Biden?
"MAGA fatigue". Wow. Ultimately, if TFG keeps up his recent "performances" he may actually bore his followers enough they will stay home and play video games rather than vote.
There is often a turning point when a crowd realizes that a bully is becoming weaker and less entertaining - the crowd thins, the bully continues to stumble...ultimately just fading away.
I wish all this could wrap up like the last scene of the Sopranos.
Phil, we need to work hard to defeat those like Governor Sununu who want the Republican model(take care of the rich guy and dump on the 99%) so badly that they’ll embrace ANY Republican that can win the office. “ But he said it shouldn’t surprise anyone that a Republican governor would support a Republican nominee, and suggested that Mr. Stephanopoulos was out of touch with public opinion if he thought concerns about democracy or felony convictions would sway voters.”
Curious thing, Mary, I'm currently viewing "King of Comedy."
It's a Martin Scorsese film from 1982, with Robert DiNiro as complete fantasist. Very black humor. But, given that so many tens of millions of Americans flocked to the fat orange fantasist we've had helping the rich to kill our democracy, in the expression "very black humor" I see no humor.
Today also happens to be the day, 80 years ago, that my uncle, Walter Kattenburg, age 24, and my aunt, Sophia Kattenburg-Polak, age 22, were murdered at Auschwitz. I was 3 years old then, and would never get to know them. Today, I’m burning memorial candles to honor them.
Kinda weird, that the criminal orange hemorrhoid from Queens is trying to return the United States to those days.
May Walter’s and Sophia’s souls rest in peace, along with the souls of the millions of others murdered by the Nazis and the millions more that gave their lives in the war to defeat them. WWII was one of humanity’s worst episodes but also one of its best.
Amazingly look at the relationship between the US and Germany and the US and Japan today. Very sadly we are backsliding here every other election.
But I might get an opportunity to travel to Nagasaki, Japan through my orchestra. St. Paul, Minnesota and Nagasaki are sister cities, and our orchestras also have a sister relationship. In my opinion the best is yet to come!
I'm a little nervous in that regard. Is the Nagasaki Symphony a professional orchestra? We in the St. Paul Civic Symphony are amateurs, although many-a-time there are professionals donating their time.
And praise to you, six years older than me, that you remember, you praise, you light candles.
I hate, loathe, despise the U.S. rich who now so universally side with the Nazis, bribe whoever they have to bribe (hello Clarence, hello Speaker Howdy Doody, hello all the white trash fellow Nazis in Congress).
How did U.S. ed cave so completely to these of the quisling class? Sic the standardized testers on K-12? Set all "higher" ed into neutered silos, group identity soporifics, and tens of millions of indebted to the banks?
Sorry, I get carried away, Robert, when your Walter and Sophia had no idea how mortally evil was descending on them.
Phil Balla, thank you for hitting Ed K-12. It has given US MTG, Matt Gaetz, etc, who have no idea what democracy is about and do not care to learn. They were elected by their peers. Can we get past this nightmare of the groupies of Putin?
We may not "get past this nightmare of the groupies of Putin."
They cohere thanks to our dark money billionaires, who are organized, who hate democracy, hate education with anything personal or any humanities in it.
They invested early in the commodifying, numbering, packaging of all life -- and the killing of humanities that did otherwise.
It started in the U.S., then spread to the world. Almost everywhere now teachers teach to the test -- machine gradable, so there's zero human about any of it.
Worse, tests have devolved to neuter anything local, regional, or otherwise human in language. See Diane Ravitch, "The Language Police" (2003) and Minae Mizumura "The Fall of Language in the Age of English" (English edition Columbia University Press, 2016).
But the profit-taking from the standardized testing death industry has been just as great as that from the billionaires spreading hate and divisiveness -- around the world -- from social media algorithms.
We must unite to fight climate change with every means at our disposal while becoming progressively civilized and aware of the whole world. Total education, including civics and history, languages and basic sciences are essential.
Horrors! It’s even worse than I thought. Yesterday, in a flash, OBJECTIVITY followed by SOURCES! Taught research by guys on the GI bill who were getting degrees in Musicology (UNC-CH, Glenn Haydon, Renaissance Music) and who were merciless about the latter, I spent years with my head in a microfilm reader transcribing every note of the works of an English organist which had to come from
England. My second master’s thesis was less physically demanding (French), but sources included reading articles in Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish. But the most important story from my work in medieval French is from Urban T Holmes, international medievalist who was reputed to know 15 languages, including Finnish. Holmes left Harvard with a PhD at twenty, “while Harvard was still a university~~the year before they put in the Business School.”
The sooner billionaires are paying 90% federal income tax the way they were in the 1940’s the better. Time workers have 40-hour workweeks and vacations with pay again. Far too many don’t have either.
Love it, Virginia, especially your notes on other languages.
Can you imagine any of our white trash in Congress at all ever aware of how the world indeed has other cultures, other cuisines, other languages -- with their riches of novelists, poets, memoirists, travel writers, naturalists, and historians?
America, with the billionaires, corporations, standardized testing, and dumb-downed schools has become a clown show of the fantastically dumb, dehumanized -- as you said earlier, "groupies of Putin."
Thank you for putting your personal touch on that horrible time in history. I have a friend whose mother lived through the war years in France as a Jew. She and her family fled many locations, subsisted on scrounged food, and managed to evade several very risky situations. When my friend delivered her eulogy, she shared that she had never known of the terror or the horror, only the stories of the lilacs and lavender that they picked and held.
Every year since hearing that, I gather a bouquet of lilacs in the spring, and lavender in the late summer for her. I will light candles for your aunt and uncle today.
What did Haberman say about the courtroom -- it smells slightly off? Given what's been reported about trompy's own emanating odors, that's likely to get much worse.
Evidently Trump has demanded to participate in the Bench discussions, where prospective jurors provide the judge and lawyers with private information. Sounds like potential jury intimidation.
On one hand, the events of today are historically sad, in that it really has come to this.
On the other hand, the events of today are historically promising in that 12 ordinary jurors and a few nerdy lawyers get a fair shot to nail their country's slimiest scumbag, and there ain't nothing more he can do about it.
"Although news from Manhattan took up most of the oxygen today, the Commerce Department also made a major announcement: through the CHIPS and Science Act it is investing up to $6.4 billion in a Samsung Electronics chip manufacturing and research cluster in Taylor, Texas. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said the two proposed factories will create at least 17,000 construction and 4,500 manufacturing jobs."
TFFG's idea of capital investment is urging the fossil fuel industries to drill, mine, pump and pollute. And he investment over $20 billion dollars in the TRUMP wall which has been breached well over 5,000 times and continues to be breached. TFFG couldn't have chosen a worse design and to top it off he ordered it painted black so it would be too hot to touch during the day time when nobody was crossing anyway.
And also, he figured trickle down would work with insane tax cuts for the rich and corporations. But, of course they didn't. In the last week TFFG has promised the billionaire class that he would give them more tax cuts if he's reelected.
In the words of Stephen King. "Trump, what a dimbulb."
One has to wonder how Trump will hold up, sitting at the defense table for week after week and seething. How will his demented psyche handle the growing realization that prison awaits? An epic meltdown seems inevitable. It’s all going to be messy and fraught as justice, finally, arrives.
"How will his demented psyche handle the growing realization that prison awaits?"
Poorly.
The man is hollow at the center, to put it mildly. He's a flesh suit disguising a black hole. He has no real reason to be proud of himself, as he has no values or integrity to uphold. If he can not crush those in his way and compel attention while doing so then he is nothing. (E. Jean Carroll said as much.) After flailing about endlessly in a desperate mime display of phony bigness, an ongoing attempt to prove he is *something* in the ugliest ways possible, he is about to become absolutely nothing.
A quick demise will cheat us out of our childish desire for retribution, TC.
A stroke leaving him with profound aphasia and a complete lack of intestinal control is my puerile hope for this sack of woe. Leaving him speechless and stinky is all he’s entitled to after what he’s put himself, his family and this benighted country through.
May he live many years as a gibbering, noisome wretch.
Derek, what leaves me sad is that “we” feel our human empathy slipping as our thoughts veer toward wanting retribution in form of vindictive harm to this pitiful example of humanoid cells
Seeing him have justice served upon him should be enough, however our lessor selves waver into the dark spaces we might hope to avoid
Its a conundrum and I keep thinking, “I should better than this”
Disclaimer: I am not casting aspersion upon those that share my thoughts, but rather, I wish I didn’t have to have them at all. Evil has a way of replicating itself
Trump's whole MO has been to lie or buy his way out of accountability for anything. That's been looking shakier these days. Expect more grasping at straws.
You mean "Sleepy Donnie." Must have his naps. Why would anyone trust this guy with the trigger of our nuclear arsenal?" I wouldn't trust him with my TV remote.
Although Nicholson's character was an undoubtedly awful person who deserved what he got, he did have a bit of a legitimate point, in a twisted way. (There is a reason that monologue is what everyone remembers from the film.) In contrast, Tfg really has none.
I always appreciate the historical context you provide. After a day spend reading admittedly very good legal analyses of events from Joyce Vance, Chris of Law Dork and many others, a bit of history to add depth is a welcome breath of fresh air.
"Biden, First Lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff all released their taxes, revealing that their salaries make up most of their income."
It seems to me that this is one of those "If you can't take the heat..." things that ought to go with accepting a powerful public office. History indicates that maintaining adequate separation of what one in such a position does to benefit their private interests that may have negative tradeoffs (cough, cough) on the public interest they are obligated to serve, is an ongoing challenge, and not one that is always adequately observed. Personal privacy is a right, but less so when one chooses to impose impacts on others., legally or not. If our representatives are to serve a government of, by and for the people, we have a right to demand enhanced transparency concerning what they are up to. If you what to be a private citizen, fine. If you want to be entrusted with sweeping public powers, expect greatly increased supervision. That power remains the property of the public.
It gives me a warm feeling simply to know that the man is being compelled to sit silently (mostly) in a chair for 32 hours per week while someone else commands the spotlight and directs the proceedings. Perhaps the only two things the man cares about; money and votes, are both flowing away between his fingers. His stock continues to sag and the poll numbers are now moving in a direction that doesn't favor him. And, there are still 7 months to go before November. I believe he's in a slow-motion death spiral as a public figure.
Yup, he touched the Republican party, and poof! - dead. He also touched the presidency, it did not die, but it got very I'll. The same for the federal government.
I've written half a dozen emails to Senator Collins asking her to become an Independent. Crickets.
I've asked her to quit working for her boss -- "Mitch McConnell." Crickets.
We the people of Maine begged her not to vote for Kavanaugh. And we got 20 minutes of gibberish. And she voted for him anyway against the will of her constituents turning her back on several hundred thousand women.
Some things I can't forgive in a politician. Voting for Kavanaugh is one of them.
Thank you Gary. I too wrote repeatedly to Collins in similar fashion. Also: crickets. She has been an embarrassment to her constituents from the beginning of her too long tenure.
Collins has done that to you guys since she first ran for the office and said she believed a senator should only serve for two terms. A big HAH! to that!! She calls herself "moderate" and yet votes for every far right thing the GOP proposes. Which means she's actually far right in her effect.
I wonder whether our republic is exhausted. Everything about Trump seems to be rotten to the core, yet he has a following. Pro-Putin Republicans, about eighty in number (at most) obstruct aid, the denial of which saps the Ukrainian will to fight. Russia then butchers a free, proud, democratic people.
What is it about these M.A.G.A. people? what do they see in the tripe of Putin and Trump?
(EDITED from a tasteless statement motivated by my sense that there is a homo-erotic element to Trump's affection for strongmen.)
The bail bond is flimsy, like everything else about Trump. The slide in Truth Social stock pricing proves what it really is: a massive political contribution channeled through a conduit in the capital markets. That money raised can now circumvent limits of donors by obscuring the dark money. The whole thing stinks. Can not accountability be faster and more agile?
It's about uniting, winning The Supreme Court, and putting their principles in practice. You may not agree with their principles. But their strategy is flawless.
I would give money independently to Ukraine if this were allowed. Is it? Is there a big pot that Ukraine could use to defend itself, that you wouldn't get in big trouble to donate to?!
In 2013, my daughter was standing between where the bombs exploded while she was a student in Boston. She was unharmed but it took her years before she told me how close she was right those who were injured.
My question is this: assuming a jury can be selected, and that Trump again ignores the gag order after being warned on many occasions of the possible consequences, can't the judge lock him up for the duration of the trial?
Second question: assuming the evidence warrants a guilty verdict (for felonies) when all is said and done, is it possible he might be sentenced to jail time? And would this not technically be a first offense? Do first offenders usually get jail time?
I know several of you out there are lawyers and know all the answers.
David, in a "first ever" trial of an ex-president for election interference, I cannot see how a guilty verdict would net anything other than a jail sentence. BUT... with the courts, you never know.
I do know that there should be a lot of jail time involved in his theft and subsequent retention of classified documents that, more likely than not, have resulted in a number of deaths of agents of the government(s).
I read somewhere that the judge isn't required to order jail time for Trump and could give him probation. Yeah, I don't see that happen with 30+ charges against him in the NY case.
I would like to see Trump get house arrest with no access to the Internet or social media. And if he violates those terms it would be prison. He wouldn't make it a day.
Almost eighty years to the day, during the second week of April, two of the most transformative American presidents died, Abraham Lincoln and FDR.
In 2016, Steve Bannon boasted the Donald Trump would be the most transformative president ever.
He might be, but the other two presidents transformed American democracy by expanding it. Trump will transform America democracy by destroying it.
Transformation is not always a good thing.
I pray God will intercede and destroy T’s reputation such that even diehard followers will decide not to vote for him at all.
Crumble his ego and leave his tatters floating somewhere …
Carol, if his reputation hasn't yet been destroyed by his misanthropy and multiple misdeeds, then even I, an avowed agnostic, am willing to beseech whatever gods that may exist to intercede. My wishful message cast to the heavens is for a lightning bolt out of the blue to strike him one day as he plays golf. If that were to happen, I think I'd become a believer after all.
@ Doug. Here in Baghdad By the Sea they sell Trump voo doo effigy dolls and pins so you can inflict pain on the part of the anatomy you deem appropriate.
Can one get them mail order to Europe? Last night several of my friends went to Hamburg where there was a debate held between a member of Democrats Abroad and a Republican Abroad. According to a short clip a friend posted to the website, the Republican defender was saying that he was a Republican and a Patriot. I said, "Isn't that an oxymoron?" Supporting a party that is trying to destroy our constitution, the underpinnings on which our nation is based is the opposite of patriotic, it is supporting treason. That calls for some voo doo effigy action.
I have a Trump voodoo doll.It is really a cat toy that looks like Trump.I have used several pins and so far, nothing has happened.Sigh.
Spice up the catnip and let the kitties have a romp with it!
Damn, my cats need one of those.
I too have one. I pulled it out of the closet yesterday and will hope it works it’s voodoo magic
I have a T damn it doll. Right now he is dangling from his throat by a large, fuzzy spider's leg.
Well, look at the bright side. If they destroy the Constitution, no more 2nd amendment to protect their cherished weapons.
Taking this seriously, if there were now a Constitutional Convention convened to re-write the Constitution, I don't think we'd get the best aspirations of Enlightenment thinkers. We'd get whatever oligarchy-protecting corporate-sponsored drivel the highest bidder wanted. I'm pretty sure there would be a less-restrictive version of the 2nd installed (who needs to be "well-regulated" anyway?).
Amazon and Etsy have them. Amazon even has one where you pull his finger and he farts, not unlike what he's been doing to all of us from the start.
Daniel, I am on TFFG's email list. I get 5, 6 or 7 emails a day from him asking for donations. He is, without a doubt, the Begging Billionaire.
Mine was from Jr. saying and I quote “ Jeri, I’m not going to play this game anymore. My father and I need…”. Piss on you Jr and the cretin who sired you
I get the emails too!
Or "Billionaire Beggar" for those billionaires enabled by Citizens United/country dis-united.
The Begging Billionaire -- I love that! Wouldn't that be a great idea for a TV show that he could pitch?
Oh, wait. He'll be in prison sooner or later. Hopefully sooner.
Now that would be a show I might watch! A day in the life at federal prison.
Even better; he could pitch it from his cozy little jail cell
I still get Ben Carson’s Cornerstone/ Little Patriots BS. Trump requires a weekly dumping of the 100 or so that populate my spam folder. Epoch Times had too many paywalls. These people are nuts.
This one of the latest from TFFG today:
MESSAGE FROM TRUMP:
Can you believe this, Richared?
I’m actually on trial AS WE SPEAK!
My crime? Putting YOU, the AMERICAN PEOPLE, ahead of the COMMUNISTS, MARXISTS, AND FASCISTS that want to see our country DESTROYED.
The Epoch Times is the favorite fodder of my MNJ friends.
Robmail xxxx Richard, i guess you are entertaining yourself perversely lol. I signed up for the ultra paranoid Heritage Foundation's newsletter, i suspect ill ditch the signup before long.
Hsun Tzu, on the Art of War, opined that if one knows one's enemy, in 100 battles one will win 100 victories. I often wonder how in the name of reason people can believe TFFG's words. TFFG is a completely dishonest thug, a cipher, lacking any worthwhile human qualities.
Lorena Bobbit available?
Maybe that guy that sold ginzu knives ... Lorena'd have heckuva time applying scissors to the tiny mushroom dick the giant orange dick sports.
I just did a quick check. Etsy and Amazon have many trump voodoo dolls to choose from. I might get one for laughs and will probably give a couple as novelty gifts. Maybe I can even find one that will give profits to a worth cause.
Under pressure, when he can’t lie and scream, and he is forced to face the truth, Trump falls asleep. The wrong man to have in a crisis. The wrong man to leave alone with your daughter.
"Dozo the Clown" - Jimmy Kimmel
Now that is a good one!
Does he really deserve the gift of passing while doing something he loves???
I'm with you, Doug. If there were a god then surely s/he would have stricken the angry cheato long ago....
Yep, I would bow down to the golf God
Exactly but I would rather pray for a real interventionist. Where's Lee Oswald or maybe Kyle Rittenhouse will have a change of heart or have a heart period.
And you will have created a martyr, along with a bloodbath in the name of vengeance.
So? Do you really think the MAGAts and militias aren't going to do anything when tRump loses? He's already framed himself as a martyr. Sorry Doug, but I think the die is already cast.
Margaret, I already suggested this outcome in another post today.
Doug, I am smiling at the lighting bolt....maybe Thor or Zeus...or even
the god of Gangrene although she would probably say it was a Jewish space laser.
Trump had a very bad case of COVID before the vaccine was ready. He may have died, as he was overweight, but the doctors saved him. Human intervention.
Exactly so...
Doug, I too am a devout agnostic. I beg you not to pray for his death, although I doubt the efficacy of prayers and thoughts in any instance. I make this request because I believe his living collapse would be better for America than his demise. I believe a slow crumble of all he has pretended to be could disrupt the whole MAGA movement. I'd like to see the last of him, to be sure, but a deathblow to them even more. Whomever forbid they march on behind a new standard bearer. Bannon? Flynn? Miller? Ecccchhhh!
Doug, as an avowed atheist I might become a believer also if out of the BLUE lightning would be attracted to his golf club in his back swing and it would be the end of our nightmare.
Make sure the door is locked.
LOL!!! Seriously though, if I had to guess, his lawyers probably put a 'sed-a-give' in his drink so that he didn't wind up in contempt of court and hauled off yesterday.
Nice! I see a Yorgos Lanthimos movie in the making.
He's the guy that directed Poor Things and the Favourite. I love Poor Things, definitely worth a watch. I think it's on Prime.
Divine intervention is almost certainly not forthcoming. The ball is in the American people's court now.
ThankYou. Exactly.
Vote Biden!
GOTV Blue Wave 2024
Talia. Yes will mega Americans finally realize what a self-centered, lying, thug their idol is???
Only if his minions ever see what the rest of us see. Fox, OAN, etc, will make sure his followers never see the real Trump.
Agreed.
@ Carol O. This whole MAGA thing may crumble, without the defendants fanning the flames. They don’t allow press briefings from the prison yard.
I wish that you were right, Jack, but "the MAGA thing," i.e., the KKK, has been around since Reconstruction and Jim Crow. If you haven't yet, Timothy Egan's book, "A Fever in the Heartland," about the rise of the KKK in the Midwest in the 1920's is a must read. There will be no doubt in your mind that MAGA is the 21st century version of the KKK: white Protestant nationalism now, white Protestant nationalism forever.
Heather has a bit to say on the rise of the KKK and a then widespread effort to promote the myth that the South went down for a "worthy cause". I don't think today's societies, even in the South, are up for that again, considering among other things, the widespread removal of Confederacy statuary over the past 20 or more years.
Frank, while some of the Confederate statues are coming down, that appears to be motivating the millions of die-hards to fight ferociously to save "the cause." TFFG is the face of this ugly condition. In retrospect, a more fitting figure could not have been imagined: egotistical, dishonest, cruel, mendacious, cowardly, lazy, malignantly narcissistic and more.
To be realistic all I could hope for is that MAGA would be forced to fly low and keep their heads down with no more hate rallies with the crowd cheering on a lunatic speaker.
It could be that the former political party known as Republican will dwindle down to permanent minority status. However, the wealthy oligarchs will continue to fund the media to sow discord with wedge issues (abortion, immigrants [xenophobia], gay rights, women's rights, etc.)
Where will the dozen Secret Service guards abide while frump's in jail ?
The only "yard" I see him being placed in for his own protection is the 'pet relief area' at the DC Zoo. His security detail needs to be posted right outside the fence. Don't waste money on signs. Just grab one that says 'Don't feed the monkey'.., that ought to do it. Of course we could get Kellyanne to have one made up that says "ALTERNATIVE - Pet Relief Area". Or maybe "Don't piss into the wind". You choose.
With all the shite he flings, it's necessary to have a solid wall between him and the viewers.
God leaves it to us I think
and old fashioned saying was "God helps them who help themselves"
Seems that God created a bunch of helpless creatures that can only prey on those more helpless. Surprise to God too, I would presume.
That must be where "20-20 hindsight" came from. In those 'olden days' one had to go to the library to dig up stuff from the previous 80 years or so. Today..., we can just Google it.., or browwwwwwzzze the web. So, there is no excuse for not being able to "did up" what the gerrymanderers have done to 'screw us' mere mortals. No excuses. None. I think we have finally reached a reckoning point here in our Country. Provided we survive it.., I say it needed to happen, right next to: This wouldn't have happened had Hillary been elected. The fusion would have continued to build beneath the Confederate flag mentality. So much has come-to-light during these six years. Try this: "It's an ill wind, that blows no good." (shortened by me. See Cambridge Dictionary - John Heywood proverb, 1546). Old sayings - So appropo.
trump has taken matters into his own hands in destroying his reputation--no need for God's intersession here. The moment I learned that he won in 2016 I prayed that the GOP would self-implode (in progress). I am now praying that he goes broke and goes to prison (in progress). Please join me in prayer....
Carol, Professor Richardson quoted Haberman as saying that Trump might not be able to "project an image of grandeur."
His followers have been in awe of his "grandeur."
He is no more Grand than the I am. :)
The poor man's image of grandeur is nothing but Delusions of Grandeur.
Yeh... we're talking about the Emperor (choke) sans clothes. No pity for him. POS*
(* piece of s--t)
Isn't that the truth?
"The Kingdom, the Power and the Glory" by Tim Alberta has highly readable interviews with Trump's MAGA-Christian Evangelical supporters. Most fail to see the irony in that they think America has gone off its rails because of secular liberties but deny or diminish Trump's criminal behavior.
And those supporters also deny and diminish T’s own antisocial behaviors e omen, but also w men to belittle and control them in every encounter.
Yes, near Bin Laden's.
Why, one must wonder, did god joke with us by giving this “Job-test”?
Is The Book of Job not real? It’s great prose. Metaphor or prophecy, it’s the Bible’s Last lesson, trial and the eternal question: God and the Devil duke it out as we the people watch - and vote virtue and faith or whatever cynicism Man can muster. Job is surely tested as Trump the Devil is testing we, the people - our flocks, savings and children are threatened, warming threatens, The Eclipse was total, and that experience was proof of our existence, our utter insecurity, insignificance and vulnerability. The rocks in space and Don’t Look Up will do it if Trump v. Biden doesn’t, it’s Evil and the Devil facing goodness and the good, and we all are called to vote to preserve the right to vote. Ontological, yes. Truth stands against Lies, President Biden offers again, and Trump threatens again. We are living out our days like Job and Creation did in the Good Book. For our country and our children, VOTE. Job voted. And he was saved.
The eternal truths are found in the Bible. The Tower of Babel is vital. Tolerance and love matter.
April 15th will matter in the public square and in federal court.
Trump will be tried and convicted and jailed, or Evil wins and Democracy loses. The Court is Law and a good judge and justice will challenge the Jury of 12.
It must be unanimous. Devil has his candidate. Warmly supported, he falls asleep in open court. His contempt is on display. The rules don’t apply to the Devil. He’s spending other people’s money.
A republic if you can keep it, said Ben Franklin.
To be or not to be was Shakespeare’s lesson in Hamlet.
We are living The Book of Job.
We have choice and must give choice back to women. They now vote and they love the child.
Let not the law dictate, let women decide.
Democracy or Putin, Trump, and the Devil.
Vote. Color blind, vote. Denial is Death.
Vote.
Hey SB, people who enjoy being proselytized at sit in church or listen to insipid bible-belt a.m. radio broadcasts, but ultimately nobody with any critical thinking skills enjoys being proselytized to, especially with tired cliches thrown in. Thanks, but no thanks.
Well at least he is using the bible against trompy, rather than in support of him, as so many so-called Christians do.
Why use the Bible at all? Stories written by men, all sharing similar origin stories intended to diminish and control women and minorities. The assault of fantasy and myth.
Strong letter to follow?
Job - A book in which God and Satan make a barroom bet tisee how much suffering one guy can take before he breaks. On top of the cruelties that God lets Satan deal out, Job has to put up with every two bit preacher in town telling him that the real problem is sin in his life. When Job finally gets an answer from God it's a loud and thunderous "I take the fifth." But God doesn't leave the stage without telling Job that the two bit preachers were wrong.
If there's a lesson there, but mostly it's about not listening to two-bit preachers.
I like Enigma better, SB - something for everyone plus George Carlin. Hamlet was considering suicide, by the way, not when the deity might intervene in human affairs. Your conclusion is the only intervention we need - VOTE. I'll light a votive candle for it, or maybe a voodoo one. Maybe both.
Theodicy is one of the great unsolved mysteries about God, how would "he" let bad things happen to good people and let the bad sometimes go unpunished. Lots have dropped their faith in "God" over it. Fictionally, that happened in Contact. In the case of "God", lack thereof. Just the same, most of the faithful cherry pick when the deity intervened with a miracle, common with near misses from tornadoes, not that i dont well wish them for their good luck!
True. There's all kinds of "god's" out there, assuming they all still exist. And, one can only wonder how "they" might have.., or indeed are right now, viewing #45 's behavior. Personally, having boarded with many families of varied religious bents while growing up, I find I can't "believe" in any of it. However, there is one thing out there in 'the heavens'.., meaning the universe, referred to as "black holes". So, in regards to numbnutz, I BELIEVE that's what "black holes" exist for.., POS's like him. Perhaps those "black holes" are calling him when he dozez' off. And, it's only a matter of time before some 'concerned citizen' jumps on 911. Hopefully his wife will have misplaced the "do not resuscitate" paper. I like to "believe" she has. Is that just me? Huh! Have faith pilgrims.
Energy cannot be created or destroyed. I believe in that.
How it transforms, that's the mystery.
Sorry, gods. We don't ned you.
I still remember when access Hollywood hit the media and I thought for sure it would expose him for the misogynistic buffoon he was. None of the males in my life talk like that, even in the locker room. Makes me seriously wonder if releasing this information at the time would have had an impact on the good "Christian" people who worshiped him. Even if he eludes conviction a prolonged exposure to public scrutiny may have more impact on his image than all the accusations currently pending.
It does seem contradictory, out of character, that is, Christian support of the "Fallen One." But, their desire for white Protestant Christian nationalism is so strong that they see God working in strange and mysterious ways, selecting TFFG as His Messenger. If this were fictionalized, it wouldn't sell. This is a simple, clear case of the first error in attempting to exercise critical thinking: confirmation bias.
Let's face it Cameron, we have become a "Tabloid" society here. Simply, sex sells. We've descended into a sort of cesspool officially with #45... clearly a Nat'l Enquirer fan. Look at how toilet humor has prevailed on TV with ti"tt"allating humor at best. Check the intentional display of 'cleavage' we had for quite a spell on all the talking NEWS-heads (huh? you didn't notice?). Hahahaa.. Jackie Gleason, All in the family, and the Jeffersons, were pretty benign.. then along came Susanne Somers (nice tits) and enter #45.., the emperor with no clothes. Pretty-much sums it up.
Sad, but true
Many Trump followers only hear the interpretations provided by Trump of Fox ( and their clones). They do not see or hear the background facts.
John Wilkes Booth was transformative, but not in a good way.
To quote whoever designed the poster for the film version of Chicago: "If you can't be famous, be infamous!"
The Booth family was a showbiz institution of the day. There is actually still a Broadway theater named after them. Nutty to think that someone could be driven to alter history through misplaced anger resulting from not being as talented at monologues as his bro.
John Wilkes Booths' brother, Edwin Booth, saved Robert Lincoln from being struck by a train in Jersey City some months before.
Robert Lincoln, in effect, saved Edwin, who was severely depressed and unable to work, by acknowledging Edwin's saving him though Edwin probably didn't recognize who he was he was (Robert knew who the famous Edwin Booth was, though).
Toxic ideas sadly have a way of producing toxic results, often consuming both perpetrator are victim alike.
“The ancestor of every action is a thought.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
Personally, I think much if not most of what we believe or think, is simply internalization, ie from others, by one means or another. That would include "critical thinking". Of course, this can and does readily work in reverse, such as a prophet who's seen the light and passes it along. Social creatures thus we are.
I was vaguely aware of Edwin. John's grandiose narcissism seems evident to me in his delivery of a hammy line in the act of murder. It appears to me that terrorism is the height of malignant narcissism. Some, like Trump are calculating opportunists, while fanatics (such as the 9/11 hijackers, are willing to die for it. We all, of necessity, pursue self-interest, but some of us spin out into thinking only our agenda matters. I recall the comment of an American soldier ordered to kill defenseless native women and children that it was God's will. I think that fame and fortune carries risks for intensifying malignant narcissism. That's not a given, but it often afflicts the rich and powerful, and has throughout history. Or so it seems to me.
Additionally, I think that cults are designed to control people by trapping them in narcissistic circular thought patterns, enforced by flattery ("Master Race", etc.) and implicit or explicit threats. "Thoughtcrime".
“The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and of your ears. It was their final, most essential command.” - Orwell
Plenty of that pattern vividly displayed of late.
Today we had Yawn Wilkes Booth.
In full agreement but I beseech us all to ask what has turned off such a large percentage of Americans? What have we done wrong? If we can’t answer this question and find remedies, then we are doomed to possibly bow to the New Snazzy Nazi American Way.
It’s not enough to get out the vote. This is a call to move to the center as repugnant as it may sound to some folks.
Interesting question. I think it is multi-faceted, and has as its sides the declines in our educational system (intentional) and the corresponding rise in the private/home schooled "student" populations (also intentional), the movement of family wage jobs overseas creating the evaporation of the true middle class, the uncontrolled explosion of "the internet" and all that it has become today, and the dominance of "social" media in our lives. The destruction of the fairness doctrine, and the disappearance of independent local news stations and newspapers is another. Starting in 2000 (in earnest, the beginning was in the late 1960's) the country has seen the elections of two Republican presidents who did not win the popular vote, one of whom was put in office after a recount was stopped that would have given him the electoral college majority and the first Black president. That 20 years of turmoil has led to the divide we see blatantly in our country today.
Or… unlimited money in politics is the biggest wound. Big money chooses leadership that bows to their desires. It’s the unending pursuit of money that has done it. At least in the 1890s there was a great progressive republican president that broke up the Trusts. Today, no such thing exists. Social Media the huge monster that it is has a free rein except in Europe. We can’t even complete the ban on Tik tok as it’s now held up in the senate. Again, money doesn’t talk it screams.
Excellent points.
A move to the center for the Democratic Party would be a move to the left.
However, I don't think the pain that led to MAGA is political. I think it's actual pain caused by change and the speed of that change.
First sentence is incomprehensible. You are partially correct. This began in the 1960s when the progressive plans of LBJ — a great leader, as a reaction, sent the mostly working class white to the right into the waiting arms of republicans. Which of course was the wrong place to be. I’m very in favor of all Americans getting a piece of the pie. But something has done gone wrong. You are correct about the speed of change. The white working class have felt left out even as they witness those of other cultures non European arriving. No one group should feel left out. But they do. I wouldn’t bet which way this election is going. There seems to be a perfect storm brewing for a cataclysmic change.
People who thought they knew what to expect, People who planned to do what their parents had done, People who were born in the same town or neighborhood their grandparents were born in, all these people, mostly white and male especially, believe that they have been cheated because their expectations were not met. Because a thousand little butterfly changes created a wave that washed away the world they thought they knew.
Meanwhile, people who did not have those expectations; people like women and immigrants and minorities, saw the changes as opportunity instead of obstacle.
Actually, FDR died on April 12, 1945. So, close, but....
He said “during the second week in April”.
I think Steve Bannon was correct. Trump has hopefully established the floor for awful charlatans who managed to ascend to the presidency. If elected again, he'll set the floor even lower as he continues his grifting and his leaning in towards autocracy. He'll be good for no one, not even the billionaires.
Herb, both Bannon and 45 have said that they want to destroy the democracy.
https://www.gq.com/story/steve-bannon-shadow-president
Jury Duty Interview
Court: Mr Cats, are you well read on current events?
“Yes ma’am I am.”
Court: Mr. Cats, do you think you would make a good, impartial juror?
“Yes I do.”
Court: Mr. Cats, have you written anything on the topic of Orange Fat Baby recently?
“Nope.”
Court: Welcome Mr. Cats, you are confirmed as juror number 1.
Not always indeed, and Lincoln's murder was especially problematic since it gave Andrews an opportunity to roll against what Lincoln likely would have promoted had he lived. Bannon has minimal/nil credibility on anything. Early in his media career he put out a godawful apocalyptic video showing the "end of things"... too bad Bannon didn't manage to follow suit, figuratively mind you!
That all this is a possibility just boggles my mind.
That America as #1 at one point has fallen to …18th?
That the country everyone felt was the land of opportunity is now held hostage by a minority of Putin loving extremists?
That the half of Americans (who we hope has fallen to 25% ) stood defiant beside a known con man …and still yet the streets of the nearest town I live by are currently filled with signs they will vote that way again. And who doubts half of those would ever admit regardless of the cookie crumbled how they backed the Fall of Democracy Coup?
The love of money, power, and control is pride goeth before the fall.
It shocked me to realize along the incredible education I received from these writers -Heather, Joyce, Simon, Steve, Dan et al ..that 35-40% was the voting numbers ( a rare 66% in 2020).
I can’t say I haven’t been amused , but being shocked by the conspiracies carried , the lies repeated, the undergrowth I never knew there -white supremist, racism, proved I too was not paying attention/ had become complacent. I worked my whole career for the underdog and didn’t see the forest through the trees.
My apology is surpassed only by my own naivety.
It near unbelievable that so few can hold the world hostage over minuscule petty issues while no secret is there striving to become rich, power scum lords backed by evil minded entities.
I applaud the Biden/Harris Team with their class-act leadership in near insurmountable chaos.
I encourage you to …💙VOTE ALL THOSE COMPLICIT OUT💙
BOGGLES MY MIND!
I believe this week will destroy him.
Herb - Amen.
Amen.
I cannot hit the mute button fast enough when “himself” comes onscreen.
Trump ties to destroy democracy, but we can see to it that he fails. Again.
Thank you for referencing this was the day of Lincoln’s demise and the Boston Marathon bombing. That bombing involved my neighbors where the mother was a participant and her two children, a boy and a girl, and husband were anxious observers. One of those bombs caused shrapnel to penetrate near the son’s groin. He was in the hospital for quite a few weeks. He had been standing near another child who was injured also. Obama visited with the families and I know my neighbors really felt the warmth and sincerity he projected. The family was, of course, traumatized for years but the son I mentioned, is graduating from Annapolis Naval Academy next month. He plans to stay in the military. I saw him a few months back when he was home for the holidays. He called out to me and gave me a big hug. I have known him since he was a wee lad and now he is this tall handsome man who has his future ahead of him. I truly wish this for every child and for them to grow up knowing Biden and Harris have their backs. Those like Trump and Company must be put out to pasture. Thanks, Heather.
Thank you Marlene for this wonderful post. I am so happy that the young lad survived and has thrived.
Personal stories like yours, Marlene, are part of the reason I come back every morning. And a reason to keep on keeping on. We are not alone. There are wonderful people out there, like yourself, and the young man you mention. What a day April 15th has turned out to be.
We are not alone, so true. I may not know any of the Readers here in real life, but my 20 or so years of "on line involvement" (first through subject matter fora, and these days via various Substack and Facebook accounts) I know I could meet people in person and we'd become fast friends in the "real" world.
Tears, present, at your touching reminder, not only of the personal reach and impact of that tragedy, but also, that even horrific tragedy can be overcome with decency, courage and community reaching deep into generations of personal stories. ❤️
That is excellent news about the young man injured in Boston, Marlene. I listened to that whole event unfold on NPR, since we were driving a long distance and mesmerized by it.
Yeah, that day will live on in infamy.
Marlene, thank you for your news about the little guy who was injured.
Thanks for sharing that personal story, Marlene.
Thanks for sharing this story, Marlene.
Busy day. Thank you for the summary.
The doddering old fart falling asleep in his trial should be featured in a split-screen commercial with Biden actually governing at the same time.
We are witnessing a very interesting and ongoing story, presented in split screen, of the contrast between how two separate strains of American culture/psyche informs what leadership style we seek.
Everything tfg does smacks of the need to be as cartoonishly big and loud as possible, in a caveman-meets-grade-school-playground sort of way. Like many a wannabe dictator, he gets off on overpowering through both force of presence and threat of force itself, and his crowds follow him because they get off vicariously on the display. The all-American twist here is the trashy vulgarity with which he deploys this malevolence. The stupid pointy fingers and teensy fists, the gaping mouth spitting incoherent bile, the vanity of the pose, the jeering nicknames, the inability to ever react in any way other than childish petulence and contrariness (even when it means making a loss more likely)... Those who see through the act are disgusted at all the lowest and most dangerous human impulses together in one person. Yet so many people who have the most to lose see a "one of us" kinship because he taps those dark impulses and they are loving having them tapped. Poor people who have nothing in common with the owner of an actual gold toilet see him as "one of us" because he's stupid and mean in the same way they are and he treats those he dislikes with the contempt and viciousness with which they would if given the level of power he has.
President Biden is the opposite. Here is a person who exudes a simple yet obvious decency and integrity. Here is someone who has no need to be the biggest or loudest, but instead the lifelong motivation to simply attain a privileged position in order to do good with it. He is sure of himself and his experience enough to trust it will speak for itself, and respects those around him enough to listen to their voices rather than drowning them out with his own. When he presents himself, he does so with a calmness and carefulness befitting the office, coupled with a clear enthusiasm for people. The genuine smile, the slight stoop of the shoulder, the hands alternately folded and open-palmed... Everything about the man is unaffected and unpretentious. He has many moments of, uh, colorfulness and awkwardness galore, but don't all humans? People who gravitate toward his brand of leadership do so because in his affect they see a reminder of the Dad who helped run your Boy Scout or 4H Club. Rather than being inappropriately galvanized by something base, his supporters see him as "relatable" and "down-to-earth" because he provides a good example of how they would like to conduct themselves if given the chance to lead: with an eye toward bringing people together by meeting them where they are, imperfections and all.
Two most different forms of "strength": one loud but contrived and awful, versus another, quiet but assured and steady. One which demands subservience, and one which commands collaboration. Scowls versus smiles. Which will win in the minds of the public? I know which way I go!
Will. You have done it again. I love your comments!
You have offered up a perfect comparative description of two men. One leads with anger and petulance. The other leads with compassion and calm performance of duty.
I must add that when thinking about who should be our president, wouldn't one of the first characteristics be that he or she would be a role model for our children? How do TFG supporters explain that?
Love reading your comments, Will. Thanks for aptly nailing a shared sense of the irony held in the character of these two men and those who choose to stand behind them.
Will, thank you for once again putting our thoughts into words! President Biden reminds me of the quiet teacher who, at their funeral, is found to have quietly rescued so many students while making sure that their dignity is preserved. Look at how he has focused on providing good jobs rather than just handouts—that Pennsylvania upbringing taught him some important lessons that he chose to make part of his being.
Will, your characteristic reply is spot on, enlightening as it is entertaining … but I must comment on sentence, “Poor people who have nothing in common with the owner of an actual gold toilet see him as "one of us" because he's stupid and mean in the same way they are…” Yes, I agree, many of tfg’s supporters are attracted to him because they see themselves in him, but not all are “stupid and mean in the same way” and this is the part that leaves me beyond dumbfounded. I have several lifelong friends and unfortunately in-laws who are fervent Republicans and supporters of tfg— no matter what. Aside from their political ideology and persuasion these are kind and generous people, and quite a few of them are ultra smart. This dichotomy boggles the mind. I truly believe that they’d be a Liz Cheney type of Republican, but no, they remain ardent followers of tfg. Needless to say, the past eight years have placed an increasingly immense burden on our relationships. The one constant I find among them is they are all influenced by Fox News and it’s truly frightening to see the continued stranglehold it still has on them in spite of their otherwise equally gentle and astute nature. Trying to reach through to them strains our relationship further. Now, I focus all my efforts on encouraging Democratic and Independent voter turnout, but I’d be remiss to not point out that not all of tfg supporters are stupid and mean.
SAT 12, I look at the ardent followers of fpotus amongst my retired cop friends, and I see a level of meanness and hatred that was not present several years ago. It used to be that I could dialogue with them; now, it is nearly impossible. I had one go of on a meme that I posted that said, essentially "when a drag queen kills a kid with a copy of "To Kill a Mockingbird", I will then support your ban of both in the schools. He (almost always "he", but more and more "she" these days) went off on both the dangers of homosexuality and the need for guns everywhere, and the higher capacity magazines the better. I asked him if he thought of me that way, and he said "of course not." I'm still in shock over that.
Idiotic people cannot be reasoned with, Ally. It is like they have all caught the same disease. Not to acknowledge your preferences is ignoring you as a person. Ugh…these individuals are so unnerving!
A foundational line in the hostage negotiations community: you cannot reason with unreasonable people.
SAT12, thank you for sharing your family experience..yes, it’s the people with “their otherwise equally gentle and astute nature” that baffle me also
Perhaps Jung’s concept of the shadow — aspects of ourselves that are socially unacceptable and thus hidden/repressed — can be of some help here.
I'm a bit late responding but just wanted to say that I appreciate this note, which is obviously from the heart. I too have family and former friends who fit what you describe, as do almost all of us here, I am sure. I want to say that I don't think people can be put in boxes clearly marked "smart and/or kind" and "stupid and/or mean." People contain multiple dimensions, and can practically become different people based on their relationship to another person. My conclusion I have come to is that it is impossible after this many years for a person to support tfg and his ilk without having a serious mean streak that they are happy to have activated, or ignorance they are unable or unwilling to correct. That does mean that they are precluded from being kind to the people who are actively in their life, only that they harbor various levels of unkindness toward other people in their country that they feel comfortable expressing one way or another. At minimum, cruelty and bigotry is not a deal-breaker for them. That is what I meant, and I find it impossible to ignore. Yet the world exists in shades of grey and people can change, albeit slowly, so how we navigate these harsh truths and conflicting signals is up to each of us to decide.
You’ve raised excellent points. Navigating harsh truths is never easy, these days it can feel impossible.
SAT12, you took the words right out of my mouth!
Will, another insightful venture into “Will is putting my scattered thoughts into coherent words”
I took a number of courses in college related to interpersonal communication, one of which was Leadership Styles. Among those styles was Authoritarian, which was the least effective due to the nature of coercive loyalty it required. The most effective in the long run was the Emergent Leader, the person people willingly followed, not because of the position he held, but rather the skills, work ethic, empathetic behaviors he demonstrated simply in the way he went about his job. People admired this snd wanted to emulate the aura
Thanks for putting the contrasting styles into focus
"coercive loyalty"
That is a hell of a statement.
That’s the essence, “Love me or die”
Beautiful, Will. And know that I am going the same way!
Will, thank you so much for explaining the clear contrast between these two men. I never realized until November 2016 how so many of our fellow citizens admire the type of person Trump is. Still haven’t gotten over that.
I love the way you describe these men, and what draws people to them. Well said.
Will, thank you for this post. I love your writing, and you always get right to the heart of the matter. I firmly believe that the election of Barack Obama in 2008 ripped the scab off the badly healed wound of racism and let the hatred of the "other" stream out in all its puss filled glory. That is what gave fpotus the 2016 election.
You’ve dotted all the “ eyes “ (can’t get just
“ I “ in lower case … ) but you’ve written so well I’ve tied to celebrate your comment! Have a happy day and keep writing AND talking w everyone you meet!
We have a huge crowd we need to engage😃
I am old enough to remember the book The Ugly American.
Trump is truly an Ugly American.
It's important to remember that those Ugly Americans were far from poor; they were the people who could afford to travel abroad.
Some legal commentators on Threads said that his behavior was less about being bored and fatigued and more about showing his disdain for the justice he is at last facing.
Doug….lipstick on a pig.
🤣
He covered that in his address to the press corps before entering. Said he was proud to be there. A doze or two is the sleep of the just. The brave, honest man! It's all a witchunt. A scam, I think he said too.
Well scripted lines written by a publicist, to cover the fact his lawyers slipped a horse tranquilizer into his morning coffee.
OK, that is funny!!
Doug, it appears some legal analysts are gaslighting spin doctors
Nevertheless, he looks terrible, and the photos show it, Sleeping sitting up.
My favorite line here, that "only a few dozen of his supporters showed up at the court today."
The fat, pampered, ever-grifting orange liar had called out for his supporters massively to storm the proceedings. They didn't show. Lawrence O'Donnell on his evening show also dwelt on this.
Dems haven't even begun to get together, running for office in the November elections. It'll be wonderful when they do. But we may be looking at MAGA fatigue. Millions may be realizing they've been hearing the same lies, the same braggadocio, the same relentless, self-pitying victimization.
Pathetic while it lasted. But the dictator allies and mass murderers are still at it abroad. U.S. billionaires are still at their schemes in America. Clarence court still can't read the Constitution's Article 14, section three. And Dems, so aided by legions of good women across the land, are still yet to come alive as historic tide should turn finally this year.
That and the kids coming of age know enough to stand up and vote the bastards out.
II am not certain any demographic knows enough to UNITE and vote Trump out. It will depend on us all joining together to use our vote strategically to take power. By voting for Biden.
Please support it.
FT6 is shooting to add 13 million nonregistered people who trend heavily Democratic to the rolls, especially in swing states.
https://www.fieldteam6.org/mission
Democrats are also invited to attend Focus for Democracy's informational meeting for the 2024 election cycle on:
Thursday, April 25th at 8PM Eastern/5PM Pacific.
https://danielsolomon.substack.com/p/youre-invited
I’m going! Thank you :-)
These people have such loud barks, but when it comes time to bite they most frequently do nothing but dribble and slobber. That's why they need the fabricated image of a vengeful strongman to to do the supposed biting for them. Pathetic indeed.
I think it more shows how many of his followers are aware of the consequences they would face, given what happened on Jan 6.
But I think we can be sure that the more dangerous among them are developing plans of militant mayhem for later this year.
Mr Gagne:
Next question -- Are the appropriate authorities entrusted with preserving public order up to the task? Whom can we trust? How well do you know your local sheriff and country prosecutor? Are they making plans for suppressing riots and de-escalating confrontations? How dedicated are they to preserving freedom of speech and assembly?
Are there actions that individual citizens or groups of citizens can take now to help keep the mayhem to a minimum during the next eight months?
\Vince S
Error correction --
Should read "county prosecutor
"
\Vince S
Just read a report that Kari Lake is toying with her supporters in Arizona. She suggests that this election season will be an approriate time to "strap on" your Glock.
My question may be getting more urgent by the day.
\Vince S
That is a scary thought Doug, but certainly a possibility. The only positive outcome COULD be that his supporters who choose and chose violence on 6 January will recognize who is in jail and who is not!!
My worry is that they start with the prosecutors, DAs and judges with chilling effects.
Not solo. They'd have to organise.
Yes, absolutely -- and I believe they already have and are preparing. Scary times.
The right united to win the Supreme Court. And they did!
What's pathetic is all those following Putin Gal Stein and Banon Boy RFKJR et al.
Exactly so, lin. To fall for either of those liars is on its face uninformed, and at its root absurd.
The faces under the red hats in the "campaign" pictures are looking more and more bored and droopy.
And the House is imploding. Please, please, please let us see more Republicans leave before November. Really, as HCR said yesterday, fear of retaliation is the only thing keeping so many of them in line, but when it comes to the privacy of the voting booth, do they, like Putin, prefer Joe Biden?
"MAGA fatigue". Wow. Ultimately, if TFG keeps up his recent "performances" he may actually bore his followers enough they will stay home and play video games rather than vote.
There is often a turning point when a crowd realizes that a bully is becoming weaker and less entertaining - the crowd thins, the bully continues to stumble...ultimately just fading away.
I wish all this could wrap up like the last scene of the Sopranos.
Thomas was absent from SCOTUS for today’s events. Roberts covered the absence with a word jumble but no explanation. I hope this continues to develop.
That is an interesting tidbit of information!! Thanks!
I heard that yesterday. There were internet rumors (wishful) that he was suddenly I'll or worse (when worse = better.)
True!
Phil, we need to work hard to defeat those like Governor Sununu who want the Republican model(take care of the rich guy and dump on the 99%) so badly that they’ll embrace ANY Republican that can win the office. “ But he said it shouldn’t surprise anyone that a Republican governor would support a Republican nominee, and suggested that Mr. Stephanopoulos was out of touch with public opinion if he thought concerns about democracy or felony convictions would sway voters.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/14/us/politics/sununu-trump-insurrection-2024.html
Massachsetts' Republican Gov Charlie Baker and Maryland's Rep Gov Larry Hogan did not support or vote for tfg.
Curious thing, Mary, I'm currently viewing "King of Comedy."
It's a Martin Scorsese film from 1982, with Robert DiNiro as complete fantasist. Very black humor. But, given that so many tens of millions of Americans flocked to the fat orange fantasist we've had helping the rich to kill our democracy, in the expression "very black humor" I see no humor.
Bill Barr feels the same way as Sununu.
Today also happens to be the day, 80 years ago, that my uncle, Walter Kattenburg, age 24, and my aunt, Sophia Kattenburg-Polak, age 22, were murdered at Auschwitz. I was 3 years old then, and would never get to know them. Today, I’m burning memorial candles to honor them.
Kinda weird, that the criminal orange hemorrhoid from Queens is trying to return the United States to those days.
NEVER AGAIN!
May Walter’s and Sophia’s souls rest in peace, along with the souls of the millions of others murdered by the Nazis and the millions more that gave their lives in the war to defeat them. WWII was one of humanity’s worst episodes but also one of its best.
Amazingly look at the relationship between the US and Germany and the US and Japan today. Very sadly we are backsliding here every other election.
But I might get an opportunity to travel to Nagasaki, Japan through my orchestra. St. Paul, Minnesota and Nagasaki are sister cities, and our orchestras also have a sister relationship. In my opinion the best is yet to come!
Oh, yes! the Japanese orchestras are wonderful. And the conductors.
I'm a little nervous in that regard. Is the Nagasaki Symphony a professional orchestra? We in the St. Paul Civic Symphony are amateurs, although many-a-time there are professionals donating their time.
Matt, I wouldn't worry. I think St. Paul will do just fine!
Many of the Civic Symphony players may be Suzuki method students! That would highlight the importance of the trip.
Condolences, Robert.
And praise to you, six years older than me, that you remember, you praise, you light candles.
I hate, loathe, despise the U.S. rich who now so universally side with the Nazis, bribe whoever they have to bribe (hello Clarence, hello Speaker Howdy Doody, hello all the white trash fellow Nazis in Congress).
How did U.S. ed cave so completely to these of the quisling class? Sic the standardized testers on K-12? Set all "higher" ed into neutered silos, group identity soporifics, and tens of millions of indebted to the banks?
Sorry, I get carried away, Robert, when your Walter and Sophia had no idea how mortally evil was descending on them.
Phil Balla, thank you for hitting Ed K-12. It has given US MTG, Matt Gaetz, etc, who have no idea what democracy is about and do not care to learn. They were elected by their peers. Can we get past this nightmare of the groupies of Putin?
Thank you, Virginia.
We may not "get past this nightmare of the groupies of Putin."
They cohere thanks to our dark money billionaires, who are organized, who hate democracy, hate education with anything personal or any humanities in it.
They invested early in the commodifying, numbering, packaging of all life -- and the killing of humanities that did otherwise.
It started in the U.S., then spread to the world. Almost everywhere now teachers teach to the test -- machine gradable, so there's zero human about any of it.
Worse, tests have devolved to neuter anything local, regional, or otherwise human in language. See Diane Ravitch, "The Language Police" (2003) and Minae Mizumura "The Fall of Language in the Age of English" (English edition Columbia University Press, 2016).
But the profit-taking from the standardized testing death industry has been just as great as that from the billionaires spreading hate and divisiveness -- around the world -- from social media algorithms.
We must unite to fight climate change with every means at our disposal while becoming progressively civilized and aware of the whole world. Total education, including civics and history, languages and basic sciences are essential.
Horrors! It’s even worse than I thought. Yesterday, in a flash, OBJECTIVITY followed by SOURCES! Taught research by guys on the GI bill who were getting degrees in Musicology (UNC-CH, Glenn Haydon, Renaissance Music) and who were merciless about the latter, I spent years with my head in a microfilm reader transcribing every note of the works of an English organist which had to come from
England. My second master’s thesis was less physically demanding (French), but sources included reading articles in Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish. But the most important story from my work in medieval French is from Urban T Holmes, international medievalist who was reputed to know 15 languages, including Finnish. Holmes left Harvard with a PhD at twenty, “while Harvard was still a university~~the year before they put in the Business School.”
The sooner billionaires are paying 90% federal income tax the way they were in the 1940’s the better. Time workers have 40-hour workweeks and vacations with pay again. Far too many don’t have either.
Love it, Virginia, especially your notes on other languages.
Can you imagine any of our white trash in Congress at all ever aware of how the world indeed has other cultures, other cuisines, other languages -- with their riches of novelists, poets, memoirists, travel writers, naturalists, and historians?
America, with the billionaires, corporations, standardized testing, and dumb-downed schools has become a clown show of the fantastically dumb, dehumanized -- as you said earlier, "groupies of Putin."
I owe “groupies of Putin” to the congressman from SC whose name always eludes me when I need it.
May their memories be a blessing, Robert.
Wow. I've no other words.
Robert, we will never forget.
Thank you for putting your personal touch on that horrible time in history. I have a friend whose mother lived through the war years in France as a Jew. She and her family fled many locations, subsisted on scrounged food, and managed to evade several very risky situations. When my friend delivered her eulogy, she shared that she had never known of the terror or the horror, only the stories of the lilacs and lavender that they picked and held.
Every year since hearing that, I gather a bouquet of lilacs in the spring, and lavender in the late summer for her. I will light candles for your aunt and uncle today.
A shonda! My best to you and yours, Robert.
Imagine this: Trump having to sit quietly at a table...for hours a day, four days a week...for to up to 6-8 weeks.
Wonderful.
What did Haberman say about the courtroom -- it smells slightly off? Given what's been reported about trompy's own emanating odors, that's likely to get much worse.
The smell of fear....
“The NYC rat is in the corner, watching the proceedings and represents Maggie’s comments that the room smelled “slightly off.” 🐀😡
I follow Liza Donnelly, a cartoonist for the New Yorker.
https://open.substack.com/pub/lizadonnelly/p/trump-nods-off?r=fqsxl&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Evidently Trump has demanded to participate in the Bench discussions, where prospective jurors provide the judge and lawyers with private information. Sounds like potential jury intimidation.
lin-, exactly. I think that this permission is a very short leash that will be rescinded at the first sign of intimidation.
Yeah, where's the My Pillow guy when he needs him?
Zzzzzzzzzzzzz.........
Jack, my Grandpa was Jack Dalton and I’m sure he’d get a kick from your comment
Missing the opportunities to hear constant ego strokes, the air that keeps him alive.
On one hand, the events of today are historically sad, in that it really has come to this.
On the other hand, the events of today are historically promising in that 12 ordinary jurors and a few nerdy lawyers get a fair shot to nail their country's slimiest scumbag, and there ain't nothing more he can do about it.
Thanks so much Like the trial within context of prior history So appreciate all the work you do for the good for democracy and for we the people 😀💐🙏
We all owe to Professor so much about our history. She is a hero.
"Although news from Manhattan took up most of the oxygen today, the Commerce Department also made a major announcement: through the CHIPS and Science Act it is investing up to $6.4 billion in a Samsung Electronics chip manufacturing and research cluster in Taylor, Texas. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said the two proposed factories will create at least 17,000 construction and 4,500 manufacturing jobs."
TFFG's idea of capital investment is urging the fossil fuel industries to drill, mine, pump and pollute. And he investment over $20 billion dollars in the TRUMP wall which has been breached well over 5,000 times and continues to be breached. TFFG couldn't have chosen a worse design and to top it off he ordered it painted black so it would be too hot to touch during the day time when nobody was crossing anyway.
And also, he figured trickle down would work with insane tax cuts for the rich and corporations. But, of course they didn't. In the last week TFFG has promised the billionaire class that he would give them more tax cuts if he's reelected.
In the words of Stephen King. "Trump, what a dimbulb."
One has to wonder how Trump will hold up, sitting at the defense table for week after week and seething. How will his demented psyche handle the growing realization that prison awaits? An epic meltdown seems inevitable. It’s all going to be messy and fraught as justice, finally, arrives.
"How will his demented psyche handle the growing realization that prison awaits?"
Poorly.
The man is hollow at the center, to put it mildly. He's a flesh suit disguising a black hole. He has no real reason to be proud of himself, as he has no values or integrity to uphold. If he can not crush those in his way and compel attention while doing so then he is nothing. (E. Jean Carroll said as much.) After flailing about endlessly in a desperate mime display of phony bigness, an ongoing attempt to prove he is *something* in the ugliest ways possible, he is about to become absolutely nothing.
He won't cotton to it. Poor baby.
Please let his massive fatal myocardial infarction happen sooner than later.
A quick demise will cheat us out of our childish desire for retribution, TC.
A stroke leaving him with profound aphasia and a complete lack of intestinal control is my puerile hope for this sack of woe. Leaving him speechless and stinky is all he’s entitled to after what he’s put himself, his family and this benighted country through.
May he live many years as a gibbering, noisome wretch.
Derek, what leaves me sad is that “we” feel our human empathy slipping as our thoughts veer toward wanting retribution in form of vindictive harm to this pitiful example of humanoid cells
Seeing him have justice served upon him should be enough, however our lessor selves waver into the dark spaces we might hope to avoid
Its a conundrum and I keep thinking, “I should better than this”
Disclaimer: I am not casting aspersion upon those that share my thoughts, but rather, I wish I didn’t have to have them at all. Evil has a way of replicating itself
I think we all agree with you, Dave. I never ever used to think of death as appropriate for any other president, not even Nixon.
TC , a couple of things come to mind
“God Bless and keep da czar, far away from us”
“Hate ta see yeah go, but I’m glad ya went”
Derek, you are much more eloquent than I am in this matter. THANK YOU!!!
Derek, one question, would his followers notice?
I'm hoping for a completely incapacitating stroke that leaves him alive and 100% unabled.
Trump's whole MO has been to lie or buy his way out of accountability for anything. That's been looking shakier these days. Expect more grasping at straws.
Oh yeah! The messier the better.
You mean "Sleepy Donnie." Must have his naps. Why would anyone trust this guy with the trigger of our nuclear arsenal?" I wouldn't trust him with my TV remote.
Gary, how about “Drowsy Donnie” or “Dosing Don”?
My wife heard someone call him "Don Snorelione".
Kinda reminds me of Jack Nicholson in his role in the movie, “A Few Good Men.”
Although Nicholson's character was an undoubtedly awful person who deserved what he got, he did have a bit of a legitimate point, in a twisted way. (There is a reason that monologue is what everyone remembers from the film.) In contrast, Tfg really has none.
No talent? Agreed. And his script's not so good, either.
I always appreciate the historical context you provide. After a day spend reading admittedly very good legal analyses of events from Joyce Vance, Chris of Law Dork and many others, a bit of history to add depth is a welcome breath of fresh air.
I agree, Sioux. The professor's post is a breath of fresh air!
Morning, Lynell, and well said.
"Biden, First Lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff all released their taxes, revealing that their salaries make up most of their income."
It seems to me that this is one of those "If you can't take the heat..." things that ought to go with accepting a powerful public office. History indicates that maintaining adequate separation of what one in such a position does to benefit their private interests that may have negative tradeoffs (cough, cough) on the public interest they are obligated to serve, is an ongoing challenge, and not one that is always adequately observed. Personal privacy is a right, but less so when one chooses to impose impacts on others., legally or not. If our representatives are to serve a government of, by and for the people, we have a right to demand enhanced transparency concerning what they are up to. If you what to be a private citizen, fine. If you want to be entrusted with sweeping public powers, expect greatly increased supervision. That power remains the property of the public.
Maybe Melania will release them. Or maybe there is a clause in her pre-nup that says she's not allowed to release any documents to the press.
Do you think her fingerprints are on any of the boxes of top secret documents Trump stole?
Why don't they indict her? It's like she's not a real person.
I think she is a Russian operative….
It gives me a warm feeling simply to know that the man is being compelled to sit silently (mostly) in a chair for 32 hours per week while someone else commands the spotlight and directs the proceedings. Perhaps the only two things the man cares about; money and votes, are both flowing away between his fingers. His stock continues to sag and the poll numbers are now moving in a direction that doesn't favor him. And, there are still 7 months to go before November. I believe he's in a slow-motion death spiral as a public figure.
Ditto. 🤞🤞
Rick Wilson is right. Everything Trump Touches, Dies.
Abso-f**king lutely!!
Yup, he touched the Republican party, and poof! - dead. He also touched the presidency, it did not die, but it got very I'll. The same for the federal government.
I've written half a dozen emails to Senator Collins asking her to become an Independent. Crickets.
I've asked her to quit working for her boss -- "Mitch McConnell." Crickets.
We the people of Maine begged her not to vote for Kavanaugh. And we got 20 minutes of gibberish. And she voted for him anyway against the will of her constituents turning her back on several hundred thousand women.
Some things I can't forgive in a politician. Voting for Kavanaugh is one of them.
Thank you Gary. I too wrote repeatedly to Collins in similar fashion. Also: crickets. She has been an embarrassment to her constituents from the beginning of her too long tenure.
Collins has done that to you guys since she first ran for the office and said she believed a senator should only serve for two terms. A big HAH! to that!! She calls herself "moderate" and yet votes for every far right thing the GOP proposes. Which means she's actually far right in her effect.
I wonder whether our republic is exhausted. Everything about Trump seems to be rotten to the core, yet he has a following. Pro-Putin Republicans, about eighty in number (at most) obstruct aid, the denial of which saps the Ukrainian will to fight. Russia then butchers a free, proud, democratic people.
What is it about these M.A.G.A. people? what do they see in the tripe of Putin and Trump?
(EDITED from a tasteless statement motivated by my sense that there is a homo-erotic element to Trump's affection for strongmen.)
The bail bond is flimsy, like everything else about Trump. The slide in Truth Social stock pricing proves what it really is: a massive political contribution channeled through a conduit in the capital markets. That money raised can now circumvent limits of donors by obscuring the dark money. The whole thing stinks. Can not accountability be faster and more agile?
"What is it about these M.A.G.A. people? "
It's about uniting, winning The Supreme Court, and putting their principles in practice. You may not agree with their principles. But their strategy is flawless.
I would give money independently to Ukraine if this were allowed. Is it? Is there a big pot that Ukraine could use to defend itself, that you wouldn't get in big trouble to donate to?!
You may donate to Timothy Snyder's Safe Skies, which is part of United 24.
The funds cover the cost of 2500 sensors and will help protect Ukrainians from drone attacks.
https://snyder.substack.com/p/safe-skies-8a2
https://snyder.substack.com/p/good-news-on-safe-skies
https://u24.gov.ua/shahedhunter
Matt:
Talk to your investment advisor. There is nothing illegal about buying Ukrainian government bonds. See https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ukraines-sovereign-dollar-bonds-rally-133947852.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly9kdWNrZHVja2dvLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAANeb4enLnFAcyjWf4dEye1_ZK1u27dKb6Zouid7we2zf_Tw34TQKmMxkU91uErwImZmkwaSEqqDGZI76WKCVVURqgFzxaehN_1Qqk_qJfLYgygJycn6GYRCEprCnOJCmkJOlKPfIkl2xFDHEmwrzvnuXZ7JvS4fcakRs4TkwYDxO
\Vince S
There are a number of small go fund me accounts that raise money for small drones, etc.
But it seems like you could get into big trouble there. Maybe supporting humanitarian organizations is a better way to go.
Check out Razom
https://www.razomforukraine.org/how-were-working-together-towards-victory-in-2023/
Go to Timothy Snyders substack. He lists them. You dont need to subscribe to read him.
In 2013, my daughter was standing between where the bombs exploded while she was a student in Boston. She was unharmed but it took her years before she told me how close she was right those who were injured.
My question is this: assuming a jury can be selected, and that Trump again ignores the gag order after being warned on many occasions of the possible consequences, can't the judge lock him up for the duration of the trial?
Second question: assuming the evidence warrants a guilty verdict (for felonies) when all is said and done, is it possible he might be sentenced to jail time? And would this not technically be a first offense? Do first offenders usually get jail time?
I know several of you out there are lawyers and know all the answers.
Thank you.
David, in a "first ever" trial of an ex-president for election interference, I cannot see how a guilty verdict would net anything other than a jail sentence. BUT... with the courts, you never know.
I do know that there should be a lot of jail time involved in his theft and subsequent retention of classified documents that, more likely than not, have resulted in a number of deaths of agents of the government(s).
In my humble opinion, I think the documents case is by far the most serious of his offenses.
Agreed!
I read somewhere that the judge isn't required to order jail time for Trump and could give him probation. Yeah, I don't see that happen with 30+ charges against him in the NY case.
I would like to see Trump get house arrest with no access to the Internet or social media. And if he violates those terms it would be prison. He wouldn't make it a day.
Ans to all questions. It depends. Anything is possible.
Guess I have to wait for the lawyers to wake up and read their daily HCR.
Beat me to it.
And where, exactly, is Baghdad by the Sea?
Between hither and yon, a/k/a Miami. Florida.
https://www.amazon.com/Miami-90-2Paths2-Murder-Novel/dp/1977222374
Gotcha.
Greetings from southwest of you. What happened to the Miami Herald’s comment section?
Mostly removed. Gets worse daily.
I miss it! Love Fabiola Santiago. And her now absent trolls.
My local paper got rid of the entire editorial page.
Holy sh*t! How was it justified?
Jay Kuo (writes the Status Kuo) covered some of this yesterday.
https://statuskuo.substack.com/