Oh, I don't know. Henry Kissinger won it, which led political humorist Tom Lehrer to retire, saying that in a world where Kissinger could win the Nobel Peace Prize, "political satire has become redundant."
I can only imagine the songs Lehrer would have written about this crew. Or the cartoons Herblock would have drawn.
Will Bunch in the Philadelphia Inquirer is carrying Royko's torch, just in a Philly sort of way. I live in the L.A. area but subscribe to the Inquirer online just for Bunch. Cheers.
And I also read Royko! Molly Ivans!!!!! Now, ‘newbies’, Heather Cox Richardson, JVL…. Used to have Washington Post, NY Times….. used to have……. Always HOPE…. At 89…. I gotta….
We in the Philadelphia, South Jersey area HAVE a NEWSPAPER! WE DO…Philadelphia Inquirer with editorial pages and amazing folks who deliver in the AM!!!!!!!!!!!!! A seriously very good NEWSPAPER!!!
And let us not forget Jimmy Breslin, Pete Hamill, Jack Newfield and Murray Kempton. Nor the late and yet much lamented New York Herald Tribune, then the best English-language daily on the planet, which had the 24-karat chutzpa to run Breslin's anti-Vietnam-War disclosures down the left-hand column of Page One. Hamill and Kempton were always the first opinion writers to whom I turned in Dorothy Schiff's defiantly leftist New York Post, and Newfield -- who eloquently foresaw the permanently inescapable ruin (including the death of the Republic) inflicted by what later would be labeled "identity politics" -- was by far the most astute political analyst not only in the (original) Village Voice, but in the entire nation. Best of all, as the associate editor of Taxi Weekly, Les Peterman's tabloid that served the NYC cab industry, I got paid to read every word those guys wrote -- this in the middle of the blessedly pre-gentrification 1960s, when my birthplace and home town was still so proudly what James Baldwin celebrated as "Another Country." (Which is why the Trump Regime wants all 99.9 Percenters of my generation dead: we remember all the beneficence and promise the predatory plutocrats have stolen, the humanitarian essentials they now deny us forever.)
It’s a royal mess. I always felt that NATO should have appeased Putin with a no nato response to Putin. It didn’t happen. Chechnya why didn’t the West object when Russia decimated it? I call it spheres of influence. Eastern Ukraine is largely Russian. It doesn’t excuse the aggression of Putin. Just a point. Ukraine was never a good candidate for NATO. Never so end that discussion. Today Ukraine is the sacrificial lamb between east and west. The US is missing in action so it’s upto to Europe if it wants to support Ukraine with munitions and armies because weapons will no longer suffice. Russia is extremely weakened. It’s a 2nd rate nation. It only has atomic weapons and if Putin were to use them, I dear say Moscow would be turned into melted glass. He won’t use them ad mad and deranged as he is.
Bill, we all want peace and I hear you. But I vehemently disagree with you. IMO, Ukraine should have been accepted into NATO at the earliest possible moment. Russia would have been stopped in his tracks.
Russia is Putin. Putin is ambitious beyond words. He is a corrupt murderer and a liar of epic proportions. If Ukraine had "agreed" to "No NATO" ever, Putin would have seen that as the weakness it was. Putin has never met an agreement he would ultimately honor. He only respects one thing: POWER.
You are absolutely right that Russia is a second rate nation - on its way to bankruptcy and less relevance. Russians don't like 800,000 casualties and international embarrassment that a three day war is still being waged years later. Russian oligarchs are alarmed that their enterprises are teetering and they are pariahs around the world. Russia is now weaker than it has ever been in our lifetimes. Time for the knock out punch - not a capitulation.
And what will revive the monster who is still the KGB agent he always was? Our f**king president and his lackeys. Putin is on the ropes. Blood clouding his eyes and OUR traitor to democracy and Western values putz of a president is bringing a towel to wipe his face and a bottle of water - no, some Gatorade.
What this administration is doing about Ukraine is chaotic, without principle, cruel and a betrayal of American and United Nations law and values. It is criminal. It is grounds for impeachment. It is collusion with our long time enemy. Full stop treason.
"It is grounds for impeachment. It is collusion with our long time enemy. Full stop treason." If you go back a decade or so, a long list of things that are happening today with this cabal of an administration would be grounds for impeachment. And Trump is behind it all. The trifecta that Republicans won last November has had enormous implications for this country and will continue to. We are seeing the self immolation of American democracy, thanks to American voters. Why so many Americans didn't see it coming is the question historians will argue about for a very long time.
So many are blind. Yesterday on Nextdoor someone with the first name Tiberius praised muskrat and someone else gave the site where people could read his lies. Everyone was all in for finding "waste" and one wanted it at the state level. I guess these people are not feeling any pain....yet. I was too tired to get in the fight.
Michele, it was good you were too tired to pick a fight. You can't winn against stupidity, a chronic condition with no known cure. Don't waste your time and mental health 😌
Can't you report people for political commentary on Nextdoor? I go to that mental wasteland only rarely because it skews so heavily towards, "you can't tell me what to do!" even if it's a matter of law.
Yes, Bill, Ukraine's treatment is among the many glaring grounds for impeachment. Where are all the congressional republicans who were supporting Ukraine through Biden's presidency? Even Mike Johnson was among them. We need them now, our elected representatives, to stand up to Trump!
Trumps betrayal is based on his loyalty to Putin AND his payback/vengeance tour against Zelensky whi would not help him find fake "dirt" on Biden. We have a pouting devil child as president.
It may be time to admit that the politicians that make up todays GOP are not and have never been pro-democracy people. They don't care about an agreement made in 1991 to Ukraine to honor their souvren territory made by The US, UK, and Russia in exchange for Ukraine shipping all of the nuclear weapons left by the Soviet Union when it collapsed back to Russia. We should fund Ukraine and provide weapons until Russia leaves Ukraine including Crimea. Keeping Russia constantly depleting their war machine is worth it and if Russias economy collapses, Putin would be ousted.
The collapse of our democracy is progressing rapidly, and it doesn't look like waiting for the next election is going to work out. The administration has taken many steps to reduce the chances of free and fair elections.
We need to rise up as a nation and end this fascist takeover before it becomes impossible.
I wonder how many people have the courage that will be required to save our democracy.
The Trump-Rubio-Manafort plan is basically trying to position the U.S. as participants in what can only be called the rape of Ukraine. It's shocking and morally repugnant.
Putin will not stop at Ukraine. He and his minions are busy all over the world. If he can find valuable minerals, gold....anything of value , he is going after it.
His goal is to take over not only Ukraine but every country that was once a part of "Old Russia"...and the riches within them. At this moment, he is taking "a small bite"....his hunger for power....his hunger for achieving his goal will not be stopped. He has been patient...he will be patient....he is KGB through and through.
Zelensky is a mighty hero. He stands out in history now as he did when he left the work he loved to give himself to fight for his country against the giant Russia.
No amount of "barking" from Rubio or Vance will tarnish Zelensky's character or his devotion to freedom for the country he truly cherishes.
Trump is a fool to "play" with Putin. Putin is ruthless and he will win...if allowed!
Trump will bow before Putin and beg to receive any if the minerals held within the Ukrainian soil. Trump will "sell out" our country for what he perceives as personal gain/power....the whole time he is being used.
Trump is trying to play with the big, bad boys...and we.....citizens of the United States of America have our eyes closed because..."that could never happen to us".
We could never be "TAKEN" without a trial and whisked off to El Salvador or another country Trump has "paid with US dollars" to imprison anyone he finds "troublesome" in keeping him from achieving his goal to become DICTATOR of our country! He is testing the law and he is testing the character of the American people.
Many are not paying attention to Trump's actions. They believe him because they too are prejudice and have no respect for the law unless it effects them personally.
I think Putin won't stop until the English Channel (eventually) unless he's stopped at Ukraine. Poland and Slovakia will be next if he gets Ukraine. He'll take the old Soviet counties and keep on going slowly.
Not only that. What does this really mean, locking people up “forever”? Is this some new demonic way of killing people and one where a weird legal situation has been created such that the those who dreamed it up cannot be held accountable? How else would they dare do such a thing? And guess who is supposed to be paying for the upkeep of the banished people? You and I.
I'm not quite 100% sure about never using nukes. You only need to look at Jim Jones to see where delusions can lead.
And who knows maybe it might be "our very own stable genius" that will strike first seeing that he shoots/bombs first & then asks questions/aims later.
We've seen what mental illness can do to one person with a "long gun". We need only multiply the effects of those shooting by a huge number to get nuclear war.
Bill, in my experience, having visited Sevastopol, even though the population is of Russian heritage, they were much happier than the people we met who lived in Russia. At the time I did not know of their Russian heritage - something I just learned in the last couple of years. I do not for one minute believe that anyone should appease Putin. That is caving to him, just like some of the law firms and universities are caving to trump. Appeasing people like trump and putin just makes them want more. Not a good idea, IMO.
My memory may be off, but under and until Stalin, Crimea for many many centuries was populated by ethnic Tatars and Turks In the 1930s (??) they were deported wholesale to other USSR Asian republics, primarily Khazakstan. Then and thus, Crimea was opened to be colonized by Russians.
Very interesting. Thank you for the education. Having experienced the difference in people of the same heritage living in different countries, it's difficult to believe that the Russian ethnics who live in Crimea really want to be part of Russia. IMO, nobody in their right mind would want to be taken over by Russia.
I agree, Bill. As far back as 1999, Russia was promised that Poland would be the last nation West of Russia to go NATO. That promise was broken with the admission of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania. My feeling, in spite of Yeltsin's rise, was that we were still in a "cold war" atmosphere just before 2000. We were essentially poking the bear by letting those nations into NATO. Other arrangements for security could have been made without NATO admission(s). Although Putin is a throwback from the USSR days and his invasion of Ukraine does not pass the smell test of his assertions, there were other options for the security of the Eastern European nations should Russia encroach on their borders. Sanctions could have been ratcheted upwards and economic instability would have been a warning shot across Russia's bow. Other options such as carrot and stick measures could have been employed. I remember Kennedy removing Jupiter missiles from Turkey when negotiating with Khruschev over the Cuban missile crisis. We could threaten to add or decrease missiles in Poland when negotiating with Putin. We were too quick to push NATO into Putin's face.
Right. A bully only understands one thing--a poke in the eye. We know that maxim to be true, yet we seem powerless to act on it. We suffer Trump mainly because McConnell was a moral and political coward; nor could GOP elected politicians in sufficient numbers be roused to possibly sacrifice their office (and thus power) to do the right thing. They all had two bites at the apple. They all "obeyed in advance" to use Prof. Snyder's formulation. The American electorate was also conned twice. I don't excuse it, but one would think that our elected leaders--most highly educated, most of substantial means and well connected (and thus secure in life), and most with an above average measure of political "street smarts"--would be better and do better. So sad.
I will only support politicians and a party that will make democracy the most critical issue and pushes to strengthen our democracy by ending the Electoral College, making it easy to vote for everyone, and take the money out of politics.
The only good that could possibly come from this trump catastrophe would be to make the population see the need to pass a constitutional amendment to create a democracy that works for all of our citizens equally.
Apparently, sanctions are having an effect as Putin is lobbying Trump to remove them. He's already made several overtures to that effect. However, that is not my main point in answering your concerns. You are not wrong in naming Putin a Stalin wannabe; my main argument in my initial comment, was a reflection of what brought us to this point. You'll note that I invoked Poland and 1999 and the admission of the Baltic States soon afterwards. My point: had we not been in a hurry, especially after promising Putin that NATO would not expand beyond Poland, we may well not be in the position we now are. Now please don't mistake me on Trump. No doubt, he's effectively ruined pretty much everything regarding balance between Russia and the West. Without question, he started doing this even before his first presidency. Putin, as thuggish as he has proven himself to be, was reasonably, to well, managed by the last 4 previous administrations (maybe not so much with Bush as he was the one who "looked into his eyes and saw his soul" and we all know what the result of that was - nevertheless, Bush managed Putin a damn site better than Trump ever would.) As thuggish as Putin is, my contention is that up to Trump's WH occupation in 2017, Putin was being managed, and then by Biden, assertively challenged. Therefore, my contention is that as much as Putin may be a problem, the real problem here is not Putin, but Trump. And I stand by my statement that the West and especially the US, was in fact, "poking the bear" regardless of what "poking" Putin has done. Ukraine, bordering Russia and being a NATO member was bound to raise the ire and hackles of someone we needn't have disturbed on this point. I well understand what Fred Krasner is saying regarding the bully. I would remind anyone agreeing with Fred's statement that "a poke in the eye" is the only thing a bully understands, respectfully saying, would be an overstatement, as this bully has nuclear weapons. It is to this point that I respect Biden (and it's not that I agree with him on many of his foreign policy decisions - another issue and discussion for another time) for his decision not to send boots on the ground in Ukraine as one had suggested. This, would no doubt, have raised the risks for a nuclear war as Biden himself suggested.
Finally, I would suggest that none of us here are being "childish." Why we comment on such matters revolves around a desire to understand and see our way through a malaise that only politicians of the world impose on all of us. It is for this reason that I, you, and almost anyone writing on this post by HCR would dearly love to see this hack of a "president" get exactly what's coming to him: a disgrace from impeachment and a chance for this nation's population to tell this cretin: "*you're FIRED!*"
Herblock and Tom Lehrer would have to develop a sharp edge that their respective arts didn't display. Maybe a Paul Szep cartoon or 3 could drip enough acid.
Herblock's edge was plenty sharp. Remember his cartoon of Nixon climbing up out of a sewer? That was extremely nasty for that time. As for Lehrer, I think I agree with you. His humor was pointed, but always on the verge of being genteel.
My parents introduced me to Tom Lehrer as a child, and I believe he would indeed have written some great songs about trump & co. His songs were unforgettable.
Herblock would have had a field day. He would have so much material he would submit a cartoon a day just to use it up. Our Republican President, simultaneously a source of tears and high humor. I speak of the humor generated by his regime (clown show), not his sense of humor.
The Nobel Museum in Stockholm is well worth a visit. I'm sure many of you would have been. And if you like Italian food, there is a fantastic restaurant a stone's throw away from the steps of the Museum.
Trump is not a draft dodger; his doctor diagnosed him with bone spurs and found him too physically weak to serve. Bottom Line: Trump is a weakling not a draft dodger.
Trump is a draft dodger. Those phony “bone spurs” were obviously bought and paid for. They never showed up when he was at the Military Academy? They never showed up when he was cosplaying for decades as a playboy in NYC? His bone spurs scam is right up there with his phony ‘bullet to the ear’ scam.
Trump did not go to “the Military Academy “. He went to a private, high school level place that calls itself New York Military Academy. The US Military Academy at West Point is a very different institution.
There are clips on YouTube from major media outlets interviewing his now deceased long time doctor who followed his father into the practice. Somewhere there are articles written by good journalists on how Fred Trump got the doctor involved to write letters about bone spurs. There should still be there somewhere. 5 times!
Proverbially cutting to the proverbial chase, and speaking as someone well-enough versed in human history to be aware of its darker aspects, I find it sufficient to say that Trump -- his regime rendered genuinely omnipotent by technology -- is our species' first (and probably terminal) manifestation of truly Absolute Evil.
Traitor is the word that came to my mind, Michael. A traitor to the Ukrainian people, to Democratic ideals, and to human decency. I am disgusted by Trump and Rubio and their betrayal of the Ukrainian people. But from them, I expect it. The Republicans who support Trump have sold their souls.
Yes indeed, he thinks that a peace prize going to a warrior is so appropriate. Yes, he sees himself as a warrior. Heis just the best con artist this country has ever seen. And we’ve had some doozies…
I am sickened by Trump as Russian asset, and coconspirator. This is what Putin has been holding out for, and either the EU gets it together or the planet will be overrun by these evil men.
Martin Belderson's Substack always gives me hope about Ukraine. In his Ukraine: The Under Reported War weekly postings.
Trump is no Henry Kissinger, although my admiration for Kissinger was not robust at that time. Would the Nobel committee actually value and honor a world leader whose aggressive vocabulary, nihilistic sophistry, manipulation of the truth - we can go on and on - are so embedded in his character and world view?
You can dare; giving aid and comfort,let alone political and economic support to the enemy is the definition of treason and Trump is a poster boy for it.
Michael and other commentators. I watched the movie years ago “QB 7” Queens Bench 7 about the trial of Dr. Joseph Mengala from Auschwitz and what I loved hated about the movie was that he was awarded a half a pence in that trial, which was the lowest that he could be awarded for all his horrific acts of sedition during the concentration camps. So Trump should be awarded less than a penny if we had something less. Peace has no place in his whole life. He has no clue what peace means.
Michael, he wants it because Obama got it for doing basically nothing—it was a political gesture after the Era of Shrubbie Bush. The Nobel committee is an interesting bunch.
The world has gone mad, and we are definitely living in a dystopian nightmare where the FELON does and says as he pleases with the expectation that everyone will fall in line and believe the endless lies and delusions that pass over his lips daily. I can barely stand to read most of the Substacks that I've subscribed to over the past ... 9 ? years?
I take some comfort from reading HCR, Joyce Vance, Robert Hubbell and Jess Craven. I weep for the future of our children (and grandchildren if I were to have any to which my kids have said "nope" in this world).
Add, JustRaven, the Substack to which Timothy Snyder posts.
Correct you are in the meantime as to a world gone mad. Now, for more madness, the U.S. is "led" by a convicted criminal, throwing over everything the U.S. at its best has long stood for, only for that stooge orange felon better to serve his criminal allies Putin, Orban, Netanyahu, Kim, Bukele, Milei, Xi, Erdogan, Sisi, and Mohammed bin Salman.
We made the grave mistake of allowing a felon rapist to run for president in the first place. The most powerful position in the world, he has not one iota of integrity nor competence to be on the world stage. I can't think of one good thing to say about him. Not one.
Sad and horrific that a majority of Republicans - not just the fringe but mainstream - have embraced the villainy. Can a country hold itself together in this kind of environment of disinformation, etc. etc. There are no longer any gatekeepers to control the crazies!
So much this, Stephanie. I am stunned at my former cop cohort that support a felon as president. The mental gymnastics they display is something to behold. It is obvious to me that their "information sources" are feeding them a line of...garbage... for them to believe the stuff they tell me.
Ally, your former cop cohort would support anyone who is not "woke". They seemed to me to be a bunch of misogynists for starters and of course, they are gun-toting macho males.
Remember the words of Mitt Romney to his biographer McKay Coppins, several years ago: 'A very large portion of my party really doesn't believe in the Constitution'
To his credit, our next door neighbor, a former R Marion County Commissioner, does not support this nonsense. Even our pork guy last Saturday said he did not like death star. He was very misinformed about muskrat however and we tried to inform him about what that creep is really doing....and not for free either.
My comment seems to have evaporated. You make several good points, Stephanie, particularly whether a country can hold itself together. While I don’t wish ill on the maga crowd, they are feeling the affects of the crazies happening now. If Medicaid and Medicare disappear, as well as Social Security, there isn’t a maga who won’t be rolling their eyes back into their heads. FAFO, maga crowd.
Nope.....me either! The domestic cuts, the way he treats people and places must NOT be a reflexion on our half of the country.
The whole premise of making America healthy again is a total joke with cuts to research, organizations (like Planned Parenthood) education, and so much more. It will all come back and bite us you know where. So stay healthy, and meditate daily.
Trump is no spring chicken.....he will pay for it all in spades.
The devastation we will see from what will become a measles epidemic is the loss of confidence in vaccines that was apparent during the felon’s last term. It was evident with the Covid vaccines and that they wanted to take Dr. Fauci over the coals. All the research on autism that has shown autism and vaccines is not related has done little to boost confidence for many, with more studies yet to come, that will show the same results.
He always tells on himself. The fact that he wrote, that is a distraction because he really is Russia in our country. I wish people in government would wake up.
I was about to write the same thing, Ricardo. Many of the Republicans are fearful, as Lisa Murkowski admitted. I doubt there are many who truly "embrace Trump's villainy." If I felt that way, it would be difficult to hold onto any hope for America.
Ian Bremmer was recently interviewed, and he asserted that we (Trump) have permanently and irreparably damaged our relationships with most of the rest of the world. Even if a Dem should win, there will surely be another MAGA to occupy the White House soon after. And his damage to the economy will make Brexit look like a walk in the park.
I read today that Germany had expected just a small amount of grown this year as in the past 2 years but this year because if the felon, they are expecting none.
I have not become him. I don’t even consider him my president. He is a complete disgrace. I call him bone-spurs felon rapist, because that is what he is.
And here’s the worst part, Phil; over 40% of those polled in this country still, STILL, support the criminal madman, think he’s doing a “good job.” That is the hardest thing for me to wrap my head around. Almost half of this country is in the tank for fascism. Un-f***ing-believable.
Yes john, I agree. I have been trying to take a different approach to discussions around folks who may be in that 40%. For instance, I was able to insert a discussion on Due Process with my sister-in-law who happens to be among one of the most diverse families I know. She is white and her husband is Mexican-American (American born-his parents immigrants of Mexico). His daughter co-habitats with an African American and has 3 young boys with him. A niece in the family is trans and now identifies as male. She has often told tales of their travels where the TSA frequently pulls her husband aside (racial profiling in my opinion) to search his bags and a pat down. She claims they were all born here! When I said “how would you feel if they pulled him and took him away-send him to a gulag in El Salvador or something…She said -he was born here. I said if they get away with sending Kilmar away with out due process-they can do it to her husband-and get away with it. I think a light bulb went off in her head.
Jane, I have not been on the White House website. Thank you for providing the link. It is sickening, nearly at the top of the list is blame at Dr. Fauci followed by so much disinformation. And on and on it goes. People, particularly the maga crowd, will eat this right up.
My understanding is that DT numbers continue to fall per Rachel maddow. I think many people are getting a civics lesson — in due process, voter integrity etc
Even when 40% approval means he is underwater by 10 points, it blows my mind that anyone other than his racist, misogynistic, and fascist base of mouthbreathers approves of anything this administration and disgusting President does.
More substacks do not solve much of anything. I pay, read, and so little changes. Our media is complicit. And I am broke. Still can drag to protests, but need a million man (and woman) march
I gave yours a "like," JD, because I feel where you're coming from
I pay for four Substacks (Heather's Rebecca Solnit's, Timothy Snyder's, and Johnny Rochat's). I know several others are eminently worthy, too.
Time paying attention factors for me, too. But your voice, like most of the others commenting, counts much to keep me going -- so many good voices, so much evidence of and hunger for decency keep me going.
We have these diverse voices, we still have what the fascists are trying to take away.
Yes, so many wish I had time to attend to all. Gregg Olear meshes history and literature so brilliantly and tcinla knows so much history, details I never heard. He had gone to the source for so much. Glad I am retired but I feel like it’s Ghostbusters and a repeat of my distress in 2016. How can this be happening again.
Consider the media outlets, and who owns them. The Washington Post used to be a decent paper, but it was purchased by Bezos. What do you expect it to publish? X is totally full of crap. Owned by the Musk rat. Even Morning Joe and Mika are Trumpers now... Hitler would be proud.
On April 5, we had over 5 million Americans peacefully assembling in over 1400 locations to protect/restore democracy. On April 19, which was a day off for the organizers of the larger marches, nevertheless 2 million peacefully assembled in over 700 locations, including many who had not participated before. It’s a very good start. Check 50501.org or indivisible.org for events near you, or start your own. Not all gatherings are registered.
Yes, I've noticed that ("not all gatherings are registered"). After April 19th, I was surprised to learn that rallies were held in many smaller cities and towns not far from where I live. I'm no longer on Facebook, so unless these events are posted on the sites you mention or on Bluesky, I don't hear about them beforehand.
I was not in my hometown (Eugene) on the 19th; I found one in the coastal town that I was visiting (Newport) which had a huge turnout lining US 101 for about 1/2 a mile, both sides of the road.
If you're involved with a local democratic party group, you might get information that way.
I went to several protests organized by Indivisible. Two in Az, one close to home in Evanston, Il. I would have gone April 19 too, but I’m presently overseas and was flying that day.
My sentiments exactly! There are no barriers to societal dissolution. People have succumbed to the wrong storytellers - Trump, Qanon, Christian fundamentalists.
We need a million man march and we need sane voices from all past Presidents and Democratic and Republican Officials to unite with one voice, their outrage at what is happening to our democracy, constitutional rights, our status in the world, our humanity, etc, etc, etc.
We spend so much time reading and commenting here, while the chaos and destruction continues, while the fake news and lies continue. WHERE ARE OUR HEROS WHO COMMAND THE ATTENTION OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE AND THE WORLD.
Appreciate your comment! ....the best we could do as American Citizens...."the light of the world", "A safe haven for the poor and those escaping wars and violence" was to elect a criminal as our President....and not a smart one???
Thank God for heroines ie Heather Cox Richardson, Joyce Vance and others who are boldly sharing their love for this country with their great and powerful intellect and TRUTH!
Somehow we have to delegitimize and denormalize political outcomes for sale. With sufficient focus we could have stopped pervasive corruption from getting this bad. It is inimical to everything our system of governance is supposed to be. Enough of us either demand a more evidence-based society or the vision recorded in the Constitution will come to an end.
Denormalization of rethug behavior would require deprogramming millions of Americans who prefer corruption to the rule of law when it allows the continued persecution of people they don’t like. A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 78% of Republicans agree that “Trump should keep deporting people despite a court order to stop.” Changing the view of any one of those individuals, when it is possible at all, requires hundreds of hours of serious conversation. The time and manpower for such a project does not exist. It might be possible to outvote them in 2026 and get a legislature with enough decency to get the rule of law back on track. Not likely, mind you, but not totally infeasible.
I’m counting in the failure of many of his policies to start having an effect. Remember, he’s not a deep thinker, so we will see that his agenda will fall apart.
Rex, don't dismiss the facts that his popularity faded and continues to fade. Recall that he was only elected by what... 30 percent of the vote ? Keep reminding folks of those facts as well as his many campaign promises past and present; None of which were full disclosure to begin with, as well as the promises he absolutely failed to deliver. I think we have to keep hammering on all that.
Yes, we have to hammer with all the strength and stamina we can muster, but that’s not gonna be enough. We need boots on the ground in all seven swing states. Roughly 14M people voted D in those states in 2024, and roughly 4M likely-D people stayed home. That’s 18M people the Democratic Party needs to muster to win big. From my boots-on-the-ground experience (scattered unevenly over the past 60 years), I estimate that a trained, paid organizer could manage a “precinct” of 500 likely-D voters, so we’d need about 40,000 get-out-the-vote workers to spread the word and get people to the polls. They would need to start pretty much now and work, say, 15 hours a week on the average for the next 18 months. At $20 an hour, that comes to about a billion dollars. Raising the billion isn’t easy, but that’s not the hard part. The hard part is finding, training, and managing 40,000 GOTV workers. Who would do that? I don’t know. What we need is few effective leaders with charisma and unbounded energy to get the project moving, plus a bunch more to build it and keep it going. Not easy. Not likely. But not totally infeasible.
We really are saddled with massive damage from those tens of millions who cheer and vote for criminality.
But I pause to note Timothy Snyder, from his “The Road to Unfreedom.” He has something key to consider for our future, lest our schools keep producing such tens of millions (page 35 of the Tim Duggan Books paperback):
“Are we individuals who see that there are many good things, and that politics involves responsible consideration and choice rather than a vision of totality?”
Those dictators with whom the fat orange criminal allies himself all serve totalitarianism. And that, rather than the many more "good things," and openness to more "choice," all pathetically results -- it's guaranteed -- when so many go to school to learn the terrible group think where questions have but answers 1), 2), 3), and 4) – with always only one correct answer.
These schools allow nothing personal. Nothing complicated. Just hunger for group think with, worldwide, the same fools on stages always with but one answer, always but various iterations of one or another same group – and so much to hate outside of that.
Where did you go to school, Phil? Your description doesn’t fit my public primary, secondary, university or graduate school education. (1970-2006). The only people accusing my schools as promoting group think were staunch conservatives who continually saw their “solutions” dumped onto the ash heap of bad ideas. Good ideas were many, and evaluated through a lens shaped by the American values enshrined in the Bill of Rights. I sense a bias in your universal slam of education and educators.
Not that these same educators haven’t been maligned by the right and right wing media for decades (since Nixon?), but I wonder how much of that KoolAide you have consumed.
Born 4th day of Jan., 1947, Ian, I had nothing but good schools '50s, '60s.
I graduated from the U of Michigan two years before 1971 Powell memo.
There was a war. I served (Viet translator/interpreter 2 Sept. 69 -- 4 Apr 72). During grad ed after the war I began to see the far right foundations' war on ed. You can read of this in Diane Ravitch's "The Language Police."
You are, unfortunately, correct. To have any Republicans support the denial of human rights and constitutional rights to anyone is a sign of abject failure. I’ll be retiring early in 2-3 years abroad. Until then I’ll dedicate time to activism with the hope of getting a better person into office, but I don’t think the damage to our democracy, environment, and the economy is repairable over the long term when so many are so easy with cruelty. Somehow, hate has one out, and stolen our future.
Sheri, "hate seems to have one (won?) out and stolen our future" is a profound statement. I think that hate and anger are the "easy" emotions. Studies have shown that self-identified conservatives utilize the midbrain for decision-making, while self-identified liberals utilize the frontal cortex. The midbrain assess things as threats, ergo the success of using hatred and anger to deliver the critical information used to make decisions.
Rex, that Reuters/Ipsos poll reflects what I see in my MAGAt cohort of retired cops. They are "all in" on breaking the law as long as those "criminals" are "removed". It is absolutely disgusting to me, and if you've read things I've written over the past several years, you'll note that I no longer call them "friends". They have demonstrated that they are not to be trusted, and that they no longer believe in the rule of law, or have an iota of common decency.
Yes, Ally, I’ve noticed that we often see things about the same way. You’ve had a lot closer contact with the other side than I have, however, so I pay attention to the nuances in your comments.
What I have sadly noted is that the USA "The Land of the Free and Home of the Brave" has elected a President who has never "broken a nail" serving this nation.
His greatest contribution has been to "McDonalds"!
Well, many things to combat: Trump, through his rallies, has beguiled and misused the masses into believing he alone can lift them from their depression; uses any means to winning adherent to his cause; fanned the flames of hatred and has aroused them with exaggerated hopes. Then you add people's superstitious approach to natural explanations - This is a lot to overcome.
Each one of those human beings has a mother and a father...possibly a family of their own. We must provide the manpower. This action should have NEVER happened!!!
We must always check ourselves even as our lives may be full or if we have clothed ourselves with the attitude of "don't bother me with THOSE people".
Tomorrow someone may knock on our door or take us off a street corner...us, or someone we may know. We could easily become "one of THOSE people".
In this country EVERYONE is innocent (legally) until proven guilty in an HONEST court of law.
Taking a mass of men to El Salvador was not legal according to law.
If removing persons without an individual and fair trial can happen to these men...it can happen to anyone of us!
These actions need to stop! It doesn't matter the cost! This is THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!
We have been proud to say, "Welcome to America! You may bring your family, your faith, your gifts and talents! We thank you for your willingness to help us with the difficult and humbling jobs NO ONE ELSE wants to take! We thank you for the long hours you are willing to work in our fields, with few breaks and minimum wages. We thank you that with your hard working spirit you share your beautiful music and dance and art!
We sang a song in Sunday School when I was a little girl, "Red and yellow, black and white...ALL ARE PRECIOUS IN HIS SIGHT.....JESUS LOVES THE LITTLE CHILDREN OF THE WORLD.
You can wear crosses but those objects are an insult to the ONE you say you represent!!! They are merely being used as a "brainwashing" technique. True believers should know better!!!
My reading choices, too, were made after migrating to them through a process of elimination: three grandkids, a boy and two girls. The girls now have less freedom compared to what I have had in my lifetime.
Marilyn, sad but true about freedom to read. Do you listen to Ali Velshi's banned book segment Saturday mornings on MSNBC? He usually has the author discuss their work and he's single handedly sold lots of books.
Yes it provides some very cold comfort to know that others agree, something that bolsters an opinion that we are not mad ourselves. However, the dreadful conclusion is that we are living in a world full of madmen.
That’s what’s bad about trump’s leadership he can’t concentrate on anything for long so a lot will not get done, plus, I think people will see how unstable he makes everything he touches. We always have a number of madmen around because people don’t think hard until they feel the pain on their wallet. This is a big country, plenty of madmen, and niw that we elected one president we see how it goes. Change is coming…don’t despair
As long as his minions are given unvetted power, money and have their egos feed as part of the "gang" at Mara Lago, their life dreams are being fulfilled.
They are "living the life".
Thank you Christine, I hope you are correct..."Change is coming..."
It takes little concentration to break complex things. The big question for many is how much will he break before there is change. Nonetheless, I appreciate your optimism, Christine. There are big challenges ahead.
Well, things are not going as well as trump hoped, are they? There are many court filings that have to be obeyed…yes, it’s time consuming but it bodes well that trump is not getting his way…even Wall St is rebelling. And his appointees are falling apart….just as we knew would happen..
I revel that SCOTUS is finally forced to go rule against Trump. And Trump isn't backing down. SCOTUS may end up capitulating to Trump and the oligarchs but hopefully Robert's has to eat his Trump has immunity for official acts sophomoric decision.
Brian Tyler Cohen, his face getting thinner and more anxious as the weeks pass, and he tirelessly asks the right people the questions they are equipped to answer.
And those delusions of grandeur are all-consuming. One thing (out of very many) that drives me mad is the way he keeps turning up where he hasn't been invited, and then flaunts the diplomatic correctness with which he's received as proof of his worth. He must have been such fun as a schoolboy (not).
It has indeed, JustRaven. Your four Substacks are mine as well. I get a few others, but barely skim them these days. I'd add Timothy Snyder if you can. He's great.
Since Paul Krugman left The NY Times in December, 2024, he has added over 300,000 subscribers. You can check him out for free. Plus, he posts a different song from YouTube every day and they are very eclectic.
Just raven. I’m with you! I have stopped reading many of my subscriptions as it’s just too much. I always read HRC, Dan Rather, Mandi “Zeato”, and I balance it out with Fr. Richard Rohr!
For at least 3 decades, we have heard the compound adjective, "self-loathing," associated with closeted gay men. But today, self-loathing applies to me. I am a native-born citizen whose eyes have always filled with tears upon hearing any of our patriotic songs. But now, I loathe the United States, for what we've become in the world: a force of despoilment, disruption and division; a force of pure evil. Whatever redeeming qualities we may have had, have been vaporized by two of the worst "men" (for lack of a better noun) ever to draw breath, breath neither of them deserves to draw.
I am stuck in an abusive relationship with these men, and millions more who think they exemplify what the United States should be. I loathe every one of them.
I want to flee this "shithole country," but no other place on the planet wants me, nor do I have the finances to pay for admission.
So I wait. For Donald's death or mine, whichever comes first.
While I wait, most of the comments here console me with the knowledge that there are still some decent people in the world.
Oh, Jane! That was the best! His well-crafted lyrics echo my profound sadness. It was smart to superimpose them on the video because some spellings enriched the meaning, as did his facial expressions while singing and playing.
Also add Olga Lautman's Substack posts - she is a "Researcher/analyst: Russian hybrid war Senior fellow: Center for European Policy Analysis Senior Investigative researcher: Institute for European Integrity"
Is there no one in the regime with enough intelligence to understand that there will be no peace in Ukraine until Putin is pushing up daisies? Trump is prepared to recognize Crimea as part of Russia: the act of a traitor. He must be removed from office; I care not how Congress or the courts do it, but it must come to pass.
Let the US walk away! tRump's proposal is not a 'peace deal' it's a booby trap. The clause 'that Ukraine does not join NATO' indicates exactly what Ukraine should do. The opposite choice is always 'the' choice with these two snakes. Damn them both to hell.
We have to continue to work for peace, but it must not be at the expense of any part of Ukraine. This is a death match, and the T**** regime is siding with the enemy, to our everlasting shame.
Yes, completely shameful. I believe we need for Ukraine to join NATO and that should be a consideration because that's the last thing Putin and the felon rapist want. I have been overseas for a few weeks now visiting family in two countries. I thought I would feel a sense of being unwelcome but Europeans know it is the felon rapist at the helm. Many thumbs down for the felon.
If the US won't back Ukraine, then Europe needs to start shoveling in weapons as fast as they can. There are signs that Germany and France have finally woken up.
The answer to your question of how, Robert, is that the court refused to stand up to Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, even when at least two states had voted to use it.
One of Trump's biggest broken promises was to end the Ukraine War on Day 1. If anything, Ukraine is kicking more ass, and Russia is killing more civilians.
Putin is backed into a corner and things are getting worse for him by the day, as they seem to be for Trump.
IMHO Ukraine/national security is Trump's fatal flaw with Congressional Republicans. This needs to be pounded on them daily. https://jerryweiss.substack.com/
CBS tried it and Trump is ready to pull their license. I wonder if we'll ever find out what Putin has on Trump. The pathetic part is the Republican Senators and Congresscritters that hate Putin but won't back Ukraine because they are fucking cowards.
As you suggest, "we" may never know all that Putin has on Trump, and in turn, what he has on the congress critters. But knowing Donald's background sheds some light.
As Fred Trump built his slum/laundromat fortune, he preferred to do business with outfits associated with Bratva, the Russian mob. Donald inherited these relationships – and mob methodology – when Fred passed the Trump Organization baton to him.
Keep in mind that Donald is learning-disabled and was not Fred's choice for successor, but Fred, Jr. wanted no part of the family business. Because of Donald's limited intellect, he failed in all his ventures, and survived only because Fred bailed him out. When Fred died, Donald cheated his siblings out of parts of their inheritances, or in Freddy's case, all of it.
Still, Donald lost all the money he inherited, and stupidly plunged his company deeper and deeper into staggering debt, to such an extent that U.S. banks wouldn't lend to him. Through his Bratva associations, Donald had become a subject of Kremlin interest. Russian oligarchs stepped into the financing breach and lent Donald unknown amounts of rubles laundered into dollars. Given the scale of Trump's businesses and certain losses, his debts likely total in the billions.
Donald has picked up a few million here and there, through grift and fraud, but he has undoubtedly not satisfied his financial obligations to the Russians. While U.S. lenders can be staved off with court delays or bankruptcies, Russians are not so easily discouraged from collecting. Donald knows this and so must do what is required to satisfy his Putin-backed Russian creditors.
Another feature of Bratva "business practices" is terrorism, through blackmail and threats of violence. These are the tools Donald uses to keep his party operatives in line. For example, it's likely that Donald has a thick folder on Lindsey Graham. Every time Lindsey says something uncomplimentary toward Donald, he recants the following day. Other Republicans who've led squeaky-clean personal lives can still be brought to heel with threats of violence against their families.
Senator Lisa Murkowski let the cat out of the bag. Maybe she didn't think her comment would be quoted so widely.
I believe Donald's shadowy henchmen have been demonstrating proof-of-concept to those who doubt their capabilities. The attack at the Pelosi home, the firebombing at the PA governor's mansion, and even the so-called "assassination attempt" in Butler, PA all appeared to be random. But all mob terror actions are made to appear to be random. That's how they keep getting away with it.
The point isn't to scare Democrats; it's to scare everyone. These were demonstrations to show that any politician can be attacked. Without warning. In creative ways.
What Putin has on Trump is his number. Putin, unlike the Maga crowd and the right wing media, understands the egotistical, narcissistic, insecurity of His Royal Orangeness and plays to his insatiable ego. You don’t need to have anything on a creature like Trump, just an understanding of his base nature.
They are complicit, as they could possibly be, with the destruction of our government and our democracy.
Just because they can manipulate the House and Senate so they don't have to take votes that show their complicity, they constantly show their lack of respect for this nation and our people by not standing up for us all.
They are "drunk" on all the money they are stuffing in their pockets, money that should be going to the many excellent government employees who have been fired!
There are a lot of names on the list of "those in office who should be removed for actively supporting the regime" and an even longer list of "those who should be removed from office for standing idly by and letting all this happen". My congress critters (McGovern, Warren, and Markey) are not on either of those lists. But I still give them encouragement to stand up and fight.
Sadly, I'm in the Most Fascist State of Ohio, where virtually EVERY member of Congress, and the Senate, are on said list. We The People have a LOT of work to do
Some might say it's Texas. Others would argue for Idaho. Then there are those touting Arkansas. It's an insidious competition, for sure. I always argue that, after the fascist try something in Ohio, and it works, they then ship it out to all the other fascist states. And I love it that you called Florida "Shirley"!!
number one. It’s the home state of the tangerine tyrant, Ron DeSantis is the governor elected by 60% majority of voters, they can’t pass any Democratic initiative with less than 60% of the vote, and they are the furthest thing from a democratic state we have in the US. Sure Abbott, a crook and a fascist, as our many of the others, but, as Sefan might say: “Florida has everything!”
Ukraine should tell the US to walk away and not let the door hit the US on the way out. As long as 45-47 is in office and Putin is in power, the world is in danger.
Trump and his repetition compulsion. True, President Obama appeased Russia in 2014. That was as likely to be inevitable owing to war weariness after Operation Iraqi Freedom. Simply admitted, the American people were not emotionally prepared to go to war over Crimea.🥺
True, President Biden dithered in 2022, failing to break Putin and to brake Russia's belligerent culture. Yet he did do a lot, if not in a timely manner. President Biden created an effective N.A.T.O. defensive perimeter.🛑
False, Trump has ". . . . nothing to do with Russia, but [has] much to do with wanting to save, on average, five thousand Russian and Ukrainian soldiers a week . . . ."🖕
True, Trump is betraying what the United States of America used to mean, at least aspirationally, to humankind. 2025 will be a dark year for U.S. history. True, Trump will win the peace prize, but not the one in Stockholm; it will be the peace prize below. 😡
Trump and Vance are traitors to America and the World Order They demonstrate it by how they are throwing Zelensky and Ukraine under Putin’s feet. They need to be forced to walk the gangplank off the edge of the earth in iron leggings and hands tied behind.
The United States is NOT working primarily with Russia. TRUMP AND HIS THUGS are working primarily with Russia.
C’mon Congress. Get with it. Stop this Putin ass-kisser. Help us save Ukraine
Oh, Trump knows very well that he is Putin's asset. Everything Trump has done with respect to Ukraine points in that direction. When he imposed the "reciprocal" tariffs, he exempted Russia and Belarus, because "they are in a war". However, even though Ukraine is in the same war, not of its making (and Belarus is not), that did not stop Trump from imposing a 10% tariff on Ukraine. Not that we needed more proof that Trump is in Putin's pocket, this decision on tariffs reinforces that assessment. And now this "peace proposal", which provides everything that Putin wanted from the beginning.
It seems that he will be in shock when his idea of an undisclosed, yet rather strongly suggested agreement, he seemingly believes they have, turns against him. If that situation comes to pass, there will be no place for the current believer to turn.
Did you know that you can donate directly to Ukraine? This is the official government donation link. https://u24.gov.ua/ By all means, do your own research about this, but I donated after Jessica Craven recommended it.
I have a bias for action, so figuring out something I can actually do is a lot more satisfying than reviewing all Trump’s many faults.
Ukraine cannot trust both Russian and the USA (since both have broken promises to guarantee its security). But Ukraine can trust NATO.
I propose NATO give Ukraine a modest supply of nuclear weapons (of the kind it once had or newer), in order to return the security dynamic back to what it once was.
Ukraine was foolish to give up its nuclear weapons the first time. I believe NATO should help it recover from that tragic mistake!
I just want to return things to the way they were. I would expect Putin to exit Ukraine while the nukes are being delivered by NATO. Think this is a crazy idea? Well, we live in a crazy world.
Putin will only exit Ukraine when he's dead. But the chance of him taking umbrage at NATO giving nukes to Ukraine, and then upping his war effort to take out those nukes, is pretty high. He's not a coward like T****; he'd act more like a cornered rat.
NATO would be taking the chance that Ukrainian nukes would be safe in Ukraine - and we know that Putin has missiles that can reach anywhere in Ukraine. It would just up the ante, giving the mad Russian another excuse to violate another cease-fire.
I agree. "Inside the box" ain't working any more. Trumpty-Dumpty has obliterated normal parameters by ignoring the Constitution, thumbing his nose at the courts and issuing Executive Orders like they are holy writs.
The same for the "wait for the midterms" approach to our own situation. That's off the table.
I wonder if NATO countries would consider invading the White House?
That'd be a good example of "outside the box" thinking in action.
If Ukraine had nuclear weapons, it may stop Putin from using his nuclear weapons first.
Putin's threats to use nuclear weapons is the reason the allies didn't rush to provide Ukraine with all the weapon systems they needed to push out Russia at the start of Russia's aggression. Give Ukraine the ability to strike back.
I just want to return things to the way they were. I would expect Putin to exit Ukraine while the nukes are being delivered by NATO. Think this is a crazy idea? Well, we live in a crazy world.
I rather think that Putin would see such a move as a vindication of everything he has said about the aggressive territorial ambitions of NATO and you would have a reprise of the Cuban Missile Crisis with the key difference that you're now governed by the biggest idiot ever elected as president. It would be extending the parameters of 'crazy'.
His claim somehow fittingly goes all the way back to Ivan the Terrible. Vladimir the More Terrible's essay was followed up by an open letter from Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, Dmitri Medvedev, describing Ukrainians as "people who do not have any stable self-identification" who were "prey to rabid nationalist forces" and "absolutely dependent people". He concludes that "it makes no sense for us to deal with these vassals".
It's pretty clear that Trump's deal of peace based on the existing front line is not likely to be respected by Russia for very long, especially as in the meantime NATO would be prevented from re-arming the Ukrainians and sanctions would be lifted on Russia allowing another military build-up by Putin.
NATO was pursuing that alternative strategy before Trump returned to office. The one criticism that could be made was that that it was not being pursued vigorously enough. However, it did have several very damaging effects on Russian foreign policy interests -
and on it's economy as well with half it's reserves frozen by allied powers and it's GDP some 7% lower than pre-war forecasts according to the IMF.
Furthermore, it has suffered terrible losses on the battlefield: around 100 casualties for every square kilometre of Ukrainian territory taken. Public spending is at unprecedented levels with some 40% being spent on the war (and 10% of GDP). Interest rates have been hiked up and inflation is high.
Use this spreadsheet to call/email/write any of our representatives as often as possible. Not just your own state reps, reach out to those in other states. Be as loud as you can and share this. Use your voice and make some “good trouble.”
Thanks for sharing your spreadsheet with good contact information. But - what a punch in the face to call out representatives with the title of “The Honorable “! Nothing Honorable about the spineless Republican cowards and a few of the Democrats aren’t much better.
Oh I 100% agree. However if you look up how to address a letter to send to a rep, it says to put “The Honorable” and I was worried if it doesn’t have that, does it get tossed out, I’m not sure. When I email, I definitely don’t write that for any of them. I just use “Dear Senator ____”
I followed that protocol when I addressed my letters to my Senators and Congressional Rep. In the body of the letter, I used "Dear Senator" and "Dear Representative." Granted, all three are Dems.
My sense is that no matter what, the MAGApublicans will toss the letters if they don't like what they say.
Yeah, my guess is not many get read, however the volume itself that they receive hopefully speaks loudly for some working there. Maybe. Maybe. I did hear that if you fax things that takes extra manpower. I might add all the fax numbers I can find to the sheet next 😅
Have you gotten letters back? I don’t use the title when I email, but written letters supposedly going to the Washington DC address are supposed to have The Honorable
True, there’s little that’s honorable in horsetrading.
However, the intent of these letters presumably would not be to chide,or deride, or shriek. Despite that may be how you feel at the moment. The purpose of your letter is to encourage action and for that to be effective one needs to attempt to appeal to the congress person’s better angels, and to do it by all available means. Certainly, appealing to the vanity of position seems a trifle. Certainly there are other levers to employ.
Thank you this is awesome! I live in DC and have been very frustrated that I don't have a voting rep or senator. I've read that if you're not a constituent anything from you gets tossed. But I'm encouraged by the comment that volume matters.
BTW your last name rang a bell. The only other Rothery I've ever "known" is the Canadian actress Teryl Rothery who has a pretty extensive body of work, and has settled in with the Hallmark film enterprise. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0745186/
Oh how fun, I love Teryl Rothery but had no idea her last name was the same as mine! I’ll have to share that with my in laws and see where Rothery might trace back to on their side!
Yesss volume matters! I’ve heard some in Congress saying that. There’s also a note on the sheet where the addresses are titled on both Senate and House pages about using an in state/district address. I do not know how I feel about it, however I have used the addresses to email. Because I personally feel like many in Congress are not upholding our democracy or the Constitution and they deserve to be called out on it at a larger scale. It’s not a “what do my constituents need” problem anymore, it’s a “we need to save our nation need” so they work for ALL of us when it’s this severe of a national emergency (in my opinion 🙃)
Oh, that is fun!! I'd love to hear what you discover. I was never a Hallmark fan until I "fell in love" with Canadian actor Niall Matter and have been following him ever since. I'm not a sci fi fan, but I am stuck like glue to Eureka, a series he was in from 2007-20012. That's also the youngest Teryl I've ever seen. She appeared in S 2, E 10 as a young, somewhat mad scientist. She also had a supporting role in Niall's first Hallmark movie, a comedy, "Stop the Wedding."
And this is one of the major ways I take a break from what's going on in our country, and what I'm working harder for in my 70's than I ever did when I was a young hippie!!! I even led kids singing Kumbaya with my guitar!!!!
I agree with you about calling out Congress. My heart sank when I saw that clip last month of Rep Jeffries shrug and say something about being in the minority and what can we do. I think that has changed somewhat...but not nearly enough yet. My vision (stronger than hope!) is that the protests across the nation continue and grow, and our Congress folks can't help but respond. Blessings,
Can anyone offer some technological help? I try to print this, enlarging to the maximum of 200%, and it is still so tiny that I can't read it. I'd love to have this printed out.
Trump's ego depends on the idea that he, the "hero" of The Art of the Deal, can outsmart Putin, with his KGB background. From the start, Trump was an easy mark for the Russians. And if that long-desired Trump hotel can be had in Moscow for the price of tens of thousands of Ukrainians and their territory, then that's a good deal for Trump. The immorality, or maybe amorality is a better word, is deplorable and disgusting.
I am sick inside. Ukraine is our friend. You don’t treat friends this way. The world watches and understands the United States cannot be trusted. I’m heartbroken for Ukraine and for my country. If the regimes goal is to destroy the credibility of the U.S., it has succeeded mightily. If the goal is to make the U.S. hated by the world, they’ve done that. I believe most Americans are ashamed and appalled.
We have always appreciated what this country has done on its better side, while still being ashamed of some of its flaws that we have been too slow to address (or admit). One long delayed eye opener for me, though, was finally seeing the James Baldwin debate with William F. Buckley, Jr., that took place in Feb 1965 at the University of Cambridge in England. See https://www.npr.org/2020/09/20/914548619/reimagining-the-james-baldwin-and-william-f-buckley-debate
I had a bit of dislike for Buckley before, but would still listen to his more typical debates while still disagreeing with him. Finally hearing and seeing that debate in 2020 easily more than tripled my dislike of the appalling way Buckley acted in that form of debate. It even turned me against the way winners could be selected by stacking audiences (not in that debate, but, in many my old party seemed to have rigged the audiences in).
I was deep into technical training back in February 1965, so I didn't see it until 2020. The intervening years, and at least some important progress, made it seem all the more appalling. It is particularly moving to me, right now as we see the shameful attempts to interfere with voting rights and real, practical access to the polls for perhaps a 3rd of would be voters (women who took their husband's names, and so many other that never had to go to such lengths to prove they were eligible to vote in the past).
Liars can’t be trusted and Zelenskyy knows this. Donnie was impeached when he asked and then threatened Zelenskyy to tell a little lie about Biden. And the spineless repubs refused to convict him. Donnie’s superpower is holding a grudge. He never intended to do anything to help Zelenskyy.
The first impeachment was the first time we became aware of trump's use of extortion to help him hang on to power at all costs.
I'm confident that if he lives until 2028, he and his fascist party will do anything and everything to allow trump another term if they haven't already made him President for life.
Zelensky’y has more moxie, more courage than Donald Jessica Trump (kudos to Randy Rainbow!) will ever have in his diaper!
Was Rubio reprogrammed or something? Is he actually one of the robots Elon alleges he has invented? MARCO where did you go? But then we now have the pleasure of DJT’s real estate buddy, Steve Witkoff, meeting almost weekly with Putin! His lack of everything knowledgeable was being laughed at by the Russians, right in front of him. Why? Because he commented on how the gold in the meeting room was what Trump had placed in the Oval Office. Suffice it to say, those fake gold lame pieces in the Oval were bought at Home Depot!
J.L, yes. The old spiritual writers have a word from the Greek. acedia.....it means " soul sickness". It literally means not caring about anything. Remember Melania's jacket?
It's like one of those myths of divine punishment - the Gods have granted Trump power but not endowed him with the capability to use it effectively so nothing he does works like he wants it to. His volcanic outbursts against others are projections of his own impotence and those around him suffer his wrath despite their repeated abasements. Well, at least it's a more comfortable idea than facing the fact that essentially you've got yourselves into this unholy mess.
Lil Marco has ALWAYS been a self promoting lying little weasel with zero substance. It is just more on display now because of the bigger focus on him. Look no further than when he was in the state house and pilfering GOP credit cards to pay for repairs to his minivan. A total weasel always ready to prostitute himself on behalf of self promotion.
Lots of people have written about the curious transmogrification of Marco Rubio. Perhaps he will find some consolation in hearing that Musk is 'getting the Hell out of DOGE' as Issie Lapowsky memorably put it in yesterday's Vanity Fair.
Jr is said to have bragged about it too, though he now denies it.
From Vanity Fair:
>>Dodson had planned to play nine holes with Trump and Eric, along with pro golfer Greg Norman and Trump’s bodyguard, and when he got there, Dodson asked where Trump was getting money. “He just sort of tossed off that he had access to $100 million,” said Dodson, whose curiosity was piqued:
“So when I got in the cart with Eric,” Dodson says, “as we were setting off, I said, ‘Eric, who’s funding? I know no banks—because of the recession, the Great Recession—have touched a golf course. You know, no one’s funding any kind of golf construction. It’s dead in the water the last four or five years.’ And this is what he said. He said, ‘Well, we don’t rely on American banks. We have all the funding we need out of Russia.’ I said, ‘Really?’ And he said, ‘Oh, yeah. We’ve got some guys that really, really love golf, and they’re really invested in our programs. We just go there all the time.’ Now that was three years ago, so it was pretty interesting.”<<
From Politico:
>>The Washington Post has reported that at a real estate conference in New York in 2008, Donald Trump Jr. said that “Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets.” “We see a lot of money pouring in from Russia,” he added.<<
I agree Carolyn, Putin has repeated many times ….proximity ( Strategic Depth and Response Time ) is a major factor in Russia's concerns regarding American missiles in Ukraine.
Russia views this as a potential threat - Ukraine shares a significant border with Russia, and deploying missiles there, especially long-range ones like ATACMS, would drastically reduce Russia's strategic depth and warning time in case of an attack. This means Moscow would have less time to react and defend against potential strikes originating from Ukrainian territory.
I'd agree that's 'some' of the rationale spouted by Putin, but not the whole story. A plain fact is that Russia cannot regain the splendor of empire without Ukraine. He's satisfied only for now; We saw that plainly when he took Crimea and it wasn't enough. Given the new territory, he'll only be satisfied short term again. No, appeasement has ever worked for people like that. To my mind, this is even worse than the devil's bargain made by Chamberlain with Hitler !
Right Emily. When someone 'tells' you who they are, Believe them. This is nothing more than the ancient ills of imperialism, quest for dominion and empire.
Now, I want to make this clear that I for one am not willing to go down that slippery slope of adopting another "domino theory rationale" either. This is far different. This situation is clear breach of commitments by Russia, period.
He is also a puppet of vainglorious US oligarchs; but there is no one on the planet that Trump would not betray if he saw or imagined some personal advantage in it.
Trump is so clearly a Russian Asset, can we all please start using that term in reference to him rather than any other name or term? While we’re at it, by having named his social media platform, “Truth Social”, he is forcing us to validate it as truthful, which it clearly is not. Let’s just call it either “Trash Social” or simply his “social media platform”. Language! It influences the way we think about everything!
**I am still trying to maintain decorum here at LFAA and NOT give in to my second language, which is profanity, and in which I am quite fluent. Sarcasm is a very close third, and the two flip/flop occasionally, depending on the audience.
Yet Trump lusts after the Nobel Peace Prize, which tends not to go to cowards, collaborators, or, dare I say, traitors.
Oh, I don't know. Henry Kissinger won it, which led political humorist Tom Lehrer to retire, saying that in a world where Kissinger could win the Nobel Peace Prize, "political satire has become redundant."
I can only imagine the songs Lehrer would have written about this crew. Or the cartoons Herblock would have drawn.
YES! And Mike Royko. I still have an old faded newsprint of his column on Phyllis Schlafly; best use ever of Supertramp's "Goodbye Stranger" lyrics.
Loved Royko. Miss the old truth tellers. Schlafly was a poor excuse for a women, and a human.
Being a Chicagoan, I remember Royko well & boy do I miss him. I can only imagine what he'd write these days about this crew in DC!
Royko was who got me to start reading a daily newspaper as a teenager.
Will Bunch in the Philadelphia Inquirer is carrying Royko's torch, just in a Philly sort of way. I live in the L.A. area but subscribe to the Inquirer online just for Bunch. Cheers.
My sister worked at the same newspaper as Royko. It was always a point of pride with me to tell others that. Ah, the good old days.
James, i loved Royko and reading him every day when we still got a real am paper with editorial pages.
And I also read Royko! Molly Ivans!!!!! Now, ‘newbies’, Heather Cox Richardson, JVL…. Used to have Washington Post, NY Times….. used to have……. Always HOPE…. At 89…. I gotta….
We in the Philadelphia, South Jersey area HAVE a NEWSPAPER! WE DO…Philadelphia Inquirer with editorial pages and amazing folks who deliver in the AM!!!!!!!!!!!!! A seriously very good NEWSPAPER!!!
And let us not forget Jimmy Breslin, Pete Hamill, Jack Newfield and Murray Kempton. Nor the late and yet much lamented New York Herald Tribune, then the best English-language daily on the planet, which had the 24-karat chutzpa to run Breslin's anti-Vietnam-War disclosures down the left-hand column of Page One. Hamill and Kempton were always the first opinion writers to whom I turned in Dorothy Schiff's defiantly leftist New York Post, and Newfield -- who eloquently foresaw the permanently inescapable ruin (including the death of the Republic) inflicted by what later would be labeled "identity politics" -- was by far the most astute political analyst not only in the (original) Village Voice, but in the entire nation. Best of all, as the associate editor of Taxi Weekly, Les Peterman's tabloid that served the NYC cab industry, I got paid to read every word those guys wrote -- this in the middle of the blessedly pre-gentrification 1960s, when my birthplace and home town was still so proudly what James Baldwin celebrated as "Another Country." (Which is why the Trump Regime wants all 99.9 Percenters of my generation dead: we remember all the beneficence and promise the predatory plutocrats have stolen, the humanitarian essentials they now deny us forever.)
I miss Royko.
Kissinger and Nixon flim flamed the country and played by current evil rules
It’s a royal mess. I always felt that NATO should have appeased Putin with a no nato response to Putin. It didn’t happen. Chechnya why didn’t the West object when Russia decimated it? I call it spheres of influence. Eastern Ukraine is largely Russian. It doesn’t excuse the aggression of Putin. Just a point. Ukraine was never a good candidate for NATO. Never so end that discussion. Today Ukraine is the sacrificial lamb between east and west. The US is missing in action so it’s upto to Europe if it wants to support Ukraine with munitions and armies because weapons will no longer suffice. Russia is extremely weakened. It’s a 2nd rate nation. It only has atomic weapons and if Putin were to use them, I dear say Moscow would be turned into melted glass. He won’t use them ad mad and deranged as he is.
Bill, we all want peace and I hear you. But I vehemently disagree with you. IMO, Ukraine should have been accepted into NATO at the earliest possible moment. Russia would have been stopped in his tracks.
Russia is Putin. Putin is ambitious beyond words. He is a corrupt murderer and a liar of epic proportions. If Ukraine had "agreed" to "No NATO" ever, Putin would have seen that as the weakness it was. Putin has never met an agreement he would ultimately honor. He only respects one thing: POWER.
You are absolutely right that Russia is a second rate nation - on its way to bankruptcy and less relevance. Russians don't like 800,000 casualties and international embarrassment that a three day war is still being waged years later. Russian oligarchs are alarmed that their enterprises are teetering and they are pariahs around the world. Russia is now weaker than it has ever been in our lifetimes. Time for the knock out punch - not a capitulation.
And what will revive the monster who is still the KGB agent he always was? Our f**king president and his lackeys. Putin is on the ropes. Blood clouding his eyes and OUR traitor to democracy and Western values putz of a president is bringing a towel to wipe his face and a bottle of water - no, some Gatorade.
What this administration is doing about Ukraine is chaotic, without principle, cruel and a betrayal of American and United Nations law and values. It is criminal. It is grounds for impeachment. It is collusion with our long time enemy. Full stop treason.
"It is grounds for impeachment. It is collusion with our long time enemy. Full stop treason." If you go back a decade or so, a long list of things that are happening today with this cabal of an administration would be grounds for impeachment. And Trump is behind it all. The trifecta that Republicans won last November has had enormous implications for this country and will continue to. We are seeing the self immolation of American democracy, thanks to American voters. Why so many Americans didn't see it coming is the question historians will argue about for a very long time.
So many are blind. Yesterday on Nextdoor someone with the first name Tiberius praised muskrat and someone else gave the site where people could read his lies. Everyone was all in for finding "waste" and one wanted it at the state level. I guess these people are not feeling any pain....yet. I was too tired to get in the fight.
Michele, it was good you were too tired to pick a fight. You can't winn against stupidity, a chronic condition with no known cure. Don't waste your time and mental health 😌
Can't you report people for political commentary on Nextdoor? I go to that mental wasteland only rarely because it skews so heavily towards, "you can't tell me what to do!" even if it's a matter of law.
Yes, Bill, Ukraine's treatment is among the many glaring grounds for impeachment. Where are all the congressional republicans who were supporting Ukraine through Biden's presidency? Even Mike Johnson was among them. We need them now, our elected representatives, to stand up to Trump!
Trumps betrayal is based on his loyalty to Putin AND his payback/vengeance tour against Zelensky whi would not help him find fake "dirt" on Biden. We have a pouting devil child as president.
It may be time to admit that the politicians that make up todays GOP are not and have never been pro-democracy people. They don't care about an agreement made in 1991 to Ukraine to honor their souvren territory made by The US, UK, and Russia in exchange for Ukraine shipping all of the nuclear weapons left by the Soviet Union when it collapsed back to Russia. We should fund Ukraine and provide weapons until Russia leaves Ukraine including Crimea. Keeping Russia constantly depleting their war machine is worth it and if Russias economy collapses, Putin would be ousted.
The collapse of our democracy is progressing rapidly, and it doesn't look like waiting for the next election is going to work out. The administration has taken many steps to reduce the chances of free and fair elections.
We need to rise up as a nation and end this fascist takeover before it becomes impossible.
I wonder how many people have the courage that will be required to save our democracy.
The Trump-Rubio-Manafort plan is basically trying to position the U.S. as participants in what can only be called the rape of Ukraine. It's shocking and morally repugnant.
Absolutely agree!
Bill Katz,
Putin will not stop at Ukraine. He and his minions are busy all over the world. If he can find valuable minerals, gold....anything of value , he is going after it.
His goal is to take over not only Ukraine but every country that was once a part of "Old Russia"...and the riches within them. At this moment, he is taking "a small bite"....his hunger for power....his hunger for achieving his goal will not be stopped. He has been patient...he will be patient....he is KGB through and through.
Zelensky is a mighty hero. He stands out in history now as he did when he left the work he loved to give himself to fight for his country against the giant Russia.
No amount of "barking" from Rubio or Vance will tarnish Zelensky's character or his devotion to freedom for the country he truly cherishes.
Trump is a fool to "play" with Putin. Putin is ruthless and he will win...if allowed!
Trump will bow before Putin and beg to receive any if the minerals held within the Ukrainian soil. Trump will "sell out" our country for what he perceives as personal gain/power....the whole time he is being used.
Trump is trying to play with the big, bad boys...and we.....citizens of the United States of America have our eyes closed because..."that could never happen to us".
We could never be "TAKEN" without a trial and whisked off to El Salvador or another country Trump has "paid with US dollars" to imprison anyone he finds "troublesome" in keeping him from achieving his goal to become DICTATOR of our country! He is testing the law and he is testing the character of the American people.
Many are not paying attention to Trump's actions. They believe him because they too are prejudice and have no respect for the law unless it effects them personally.
Wake up!!! It IS effecting us!!!!
I think Putin won't stop until the English Channel (eventually) unless he's stopped at Ukraine. Poland and Slovakia will be next if he gets Ukraine. He'll take the old Soviet counties and keep on going slowly.
And Finland...
Not only that. What does this really mean, locking people up “forever”? Is this some new demonic way of killing people and one where a weird legal situation has been created such that the those who dreamed it up cannot be held accountable? How else would they dare do such a thing? And guess who is supposed to be paying for the upkeep of the banished people? You and I.
Exactly!
I'm not quite 100% sure about never using nukes. You only need to look at Jim Jones to see where delusions can lead.
And who knows maybe it might be "our very own stable genius" that will strike first seeing that he shoots/bombs first & then asks questions/aims later.
We've seen what mental illness can do to one person with a "long gun". We need only multiply the effects of those shooting by a huge number to get nuclear war.
Ukraine is not Russian. Listen to Timothy Snyder’s course in Ukraine on YouTube.
Bill, in my experience, having visited Sevastopol, even though the population is of Russian heritage, they were much happier than the people we met who lived in Russia. At the time I did not know of their Russian heritage - something I just learned in the last couple of years. I do not for one minute believe that anyone should appease Putin. That is caving to him, just like some of the law firms and universities are caving to trump. Appeasing people like trump and putin just makes them want more. Not a good idea, IMO.
My memory may be off, but under and until Stalin, Crimea for many many centuries was populated by ethnic Tatars and Turks In the 1930s (??) they were deported wholesale to other USSR Asian republics, primarily Khazakstan. Then and thus, Crimea was opened to be colonized by Russians.
Very interesting. Thank you for the education. Having experienced the difference in people of the same heritage living in different countries, it's difficult to believe that the Russian ethnics who live in Crimea really want to be part of Russia. IMO, nobody in their right mind would want to be taken over by Russia.
I agree, Bill. As far back as 1999, Russia was promised that Poland would be the last nation West of Russia to go NATO. That promise was broken with the admission of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania. My feeling, in spite of Yeltsin's rise, was that we were still in a "cold war" atmosphere just before 2000. We were essentially poking the bear by letting those nations into NATO. Other arrangements for security could have been made without NATO admission(s). Although Putin is a throwback from the USSR days and his invasion of Ukraine does not pass the smell test of his assertions, there were other options for the security of the Eastern European nations should Russia encroach on their borders. Sanctions could have been ratcheted upwards and economic instability would have been a warning shot across Russia's bow. Other options such as carrot and stick measures could have been employed. I remember Kennedy removing Jupiter missiles from Turkey when negotiating with Khruschev over the Cuban missile crisis. We could threaten to add or decrease missiles in Poland when negotiating with Putin. We were too quick to push NATO into Putin's face.
I respectfully submit that it is naive to think one can negotiate for peace or expect treaties to be honored with a Stalin wannabe.
And sanctions have been tightened and tightened with little or no effect.
The only one "poking" is Putin. And we now have his asset running the US of A. We have been infiltrated.
It is childish to think Putin can be contained by anything other than overwhelming force and opposition.
Right. A bully only understands one thing--a poke in the eye. We know that maxim to be true, yet we seem powerless to act on it. We suffer Trump mainly because McConnell was a moral and political coward; nor could GOP elected politicians in sufficient numbers be roused to possibly sacrifice their office (and thus power) to do the right thing. They all had two bites at the apple. They all "obeyed in advance" to use Prof. Snyder's formulation. The American electorate was also conned twice. I don't excuse it, but one would think that our elected leaders--most highly educated, most of substantial means and well connected (and thus secure in life), and most with an above average measure of political "street smarts"--would be better and do better. So sad.
I will only support politicians and a party that will make democracy the most critical issue and pushes to strengthen our democracy by ending the Electoral College, making it easy to vote for everyone, and take the money out of politics.
The only good that could possibly come from this trump catastrophe would be to make the population see the need to pass a constitutional amendment to create a democracy that works for all of our citizens equally.
Bill,
Apparently, sanctions are having an effect as Putin is lobbying Trump to remove them. He's already made several overtures to that effect. However, that is not my main point in answering your concerns. You are not wrong in naming Putin a Stalin wannabe; my main argument in my initial comment, was a reflection of what brought us to this point. You'll note that I invoked Poland and 1999 and the admission of the Baltic States soon afterwards. My point: had we not been in a hurry, especially after promising Putin that NATO would not expand beyond Poland, we may well not be in the position we now are. Now please don't mistake me on Trump. No doubt, he's effectively ruined pretty much everything regarding balance between Russia and the West. Without question, he started doing this even before his first presidency. Putin, as thuggish as he has proven himself to be, was reasonably, to well, managed by the last 4 previous administrations (maybe not so much with Bush as he was the one who "looked into his eyes and saw his soul" and we all know what the result of that was - nevertheless, Bush managed Putin a damn site better than Trump ever would.) As thuggish as Putin is, my contention is that up to Trump's WH occupation in 2017, Putin was being managed, and then by Biden, assertively challenged. Therefore, my contention is that as much as Putin may be a problem, the real problem here is not Putin, but Trump. And I stand by my statement that the West and especially the US, was in fact, "poking the bear" regardless of what "poking" Putin has done. Ukraine, bordering Russia and being a NATO member was bound to raise the ire and hackles of someone we needn't have disturbed on this point. I well understand what Fred Krasner is saying regarding the bully. I would remind anyone agreeing with Fred's statement that "a poke in the eye" is the only thing a bully understands, respectfully saying, would be an overstatement, as this bully has nuclear weapons. It is to this point that I respect Biden (and it's not that I agree with him on many of his foreign policy decisions - another issue and discussion for another time) for his decision not to send boots on the ground in Ukraine as one had suggested. This, would no doubt, have raised the risks for a nuclear war as Biden himself suggested.
Finally, I would suggest that none of us here are being "childish." Why we comment on such matters revolves around a desire to understand and see our way through a malaise that only politicians of the world impose on all of us. It is for this reason that I, you, and almost anyone writing on this post by HCR would dearly love to see this hack of a "president" get exactly what's coming to him: a disgrace from impeachment and a chance for this nation's population to tell this cretin: "*you're FIRED!*"
Third rate. WE are second rate.
Herblock and Tom Lehrer would have to develop a sharp edge that their respective arts didn't display. Maybe a Paul Szep cartoon or 3 could drip enough acid.
Herblock's edge was plenty sharp. Remember his cartoon of Nixon climbing up out of a sewer? That was extremely nasty for that time. As for Lehrer, I think I agree with you. His humor was pointed, but always on the verge of being genteel.
Cheers.
“Once the rocket goes up who cares where it comes down?
“That’s not my department.” said Wernher von Braun.
Tom Lehrer
My parents introduced me to Tom Lehrer as a child, and I believe he would indeed have written some great songs about trump & co. His songs were unforgettable.
Herblock would have had a field day. He would have so much material he would submit a cartoon a day just to use it up. Our Republican President, simultaneously a source of tears and high humor. I speak of the humor generated by his regime (clown show), not his sense of humor.
Good point!
Oh, Trump will get his peace prize, not in Stockholm. He will be awarded the Lenin Peace Prize. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenin_Peace_Prize
Exactly, he would likely be tarred and feathered in Oslo.
Or maybe arrested as a war criminal and sent to the Hague.
Now, we are talking! ⚖️
The Nobel Museum in Stockholm is well worth a visit. I'm sure many of you would have been. And if you like Italian food, there is a fantastic restaurant a stone's throw away from the steps of the Museum.
These days, in the bucket list of my dreams. 😢 Honestly, I would have liked more to have visited Norway. 🙂
We could hope.
Stockholm is in Sweden. But, for a long period, Norway was to Sweden what Ukraine has been to Russia.
Gee, I never knew.
And then be called the Q-Anon shaman, Sr, of Oslo. 😉
lol. Good one.
Thank you, Bill. 🤝
They could create a new one just for him. Nobel prize for 'acing' dementia tests?
Or draft dodgers
Trump is not a draft dodger; his doctor diagnosed him with bone spurs and found him too physically weak to serve. Bottom Line: Trump is a weakling not a draft dodger.
Trump is a draft dodger. Those phony “bone spurs” were obviously bought and paid for. They never showed up when he was at the Military Academy? They never showed up when he was cosplaying for decades as a playboy in NYC? His bone spurs scam is right up there with his phony ‘bullet to the ear’ scam.
Trump did not go to “the Military Academy “. He went to a private, high school level place that calls itself New York Military Academy. The US Military Academy at West Point is a very different institution.
Which is why it is referred to "West Point" in most colloquial terms, or in more formal terms" USMA at West Point"
True, but an unnecessary, pedantic, observation.
There are clips on YouTube from major media outlets interviewing his now deceased long time doctor who followed his father into the practice. Somewhere there are articles written by good journalists on how Fred Trump got the doctor involved to write letters about bone spurs. There should still be there somewhere. 5 times!
Trump is both a weakling and a draft dodger, among many other things. None of them good.
He’s all that and worse. A worm.
That’s insensitive to our Worm-American brethren!
He can be both.
They are not mutually exclusive. Quite the opposite.
What side of the bed did you get out of this morning——another case of drinking the cool aid!
So you don't think Trump is a weakling?
Proverbially cutting to the proverbial chase, and speaking as someone well-enough versed in human history to be aware of its darker aspects, I find it sufficient to say that Trump -- his regime rendered genuinely omnipotent by technology -- is our species' first (and probably terminal) manifestation of truly Absolute Evil.
AND THE RESOLUTION OF ABSOLUTE EVIL.....?
Traitor is the word that came to my mind, Michael. A traitor to the Ukrainian people, to Democratic ideals, and to human decency. I am disgusted by Trump and Rubio and their betrayal of the Ukrainian people. But from them, I expect it. The Republicans who support Trump have sold their souls.
Yes indeed, he thinks that a peace prize going to a warrior is so appropriate. Yes, he sees himself as a warrior. Heis just the best con artist this country has ever seen. And we’ve had some doozies…
I am sickened by Trump as Russian asset, and coconspirator. This is what Putin has been holding out for, and either the EU gets it together or the planet will be overrun by these evil men.
Martin Belderson's Substack always gives me hope about Ukraine. In his Ukraine: The Under Reported War weekly postings.
https://underreported.substack.com/
Linda Weide,
This must be the season: "We are the blind being led by the blind...and weak and uneducated "want-a-be-leaders.....EMPTY VESSELS".
WE need to get it together!
Trump is no Henry Kissinger, although my admiration for Kissinger was not robust at that time. Would the Nobel committee actually value and honor a world leader whose aggressive vocabulary, nihilistic sophistry, manipulation of the truth - we can go on and on - are so embedded in his character and world view?
Not to mention his cruelty and vindictiveness!
If they can be bought, we can give up
You can dare; giving aid and comfort,let alone political and economic support to the enemy is the definition of treason and Trump is a poster boy for it.
Michael and other commentators. I watched the movie years ago “QB 7” Queens Bench 7 about the trial of Dr. Joseph Mengala from Auschwitz and what I loved hated about the movie was that he was awarded a half a pence in that trial, which was the lowest that he could be awarded for all his horrific acts of sedition during the concentration camps. So Trump should be awarded less than a penny if we had something less. Peace has no place in his whole life. He has no clue what peace means.
Michael, he wants it because Obama got it for doing basically nothing—it was a political gesture after the Era of Shrubbie Bush. The Nobel committee is an interesting bunch.
Maybe Elon can buy it for him
Peace?
If you want more war, then GROW A PAIR and go fight. You ARE A COWARD if you
want to someone else to DIE.
I would not mind giving Trump Nobel Peace if he succeeds Putin to give up everything he has taken so far including Creamier and let Ukraine join NATO.
Do well put
The world has gone mad, and we are definitely living in a dystopian nightmare where the FELON does and says as he pleases with the expectation that everyone will fall in line and believe the endless lies and delusions that pass over his lips daily. I can barely stand to read most of the Substacks that I've subscribed to over the past ... 9 ? years?
I take some comfort from reading HCR, Joyce Vance, Robert Hubbell and Jess Craven. I weep for the future of our children (and grandchildren if I were to have any to which my kids have said "nope" in this world).
Add, JustRaven, the Substack to which Timothy Snyder posts.
Correct you are in the meantime as to a world gone mad. Now, for more madness, the U.S. is "led" by a convicted criminal, throwing over everything the U.S. at its best has long stood for, only for that stooge orange felon better to serve his criminal allies Putin, Orban, Netanyahu, Kim, Bukele, Milei, Xi, Erdogan, Sisi, and Mohammed bin Salman.
We made the grave mistake of allowing a felon rapist to run for president in the first place. The most powerful position in the world, he has not one iota of integrity nor competence to be on the world stage. I can't think of one good thing to say about him. Not one.
Sad and horrific that a majority of Republicans - not just the fringe but mainstream - have embraced the villainy. Can a country hold itself together in this kind of environment of disinformation, etc. etc. There are no longer any gatekeepers to control the crazies!
So much this, Stephanie. I am stunned at my former cop cohort that support a felon as president. The mental gymnastics they display is something to behold. It is obvious to me that their "information sources" are feeding them a line of...garbage... for them to believe the stuff they tell me.
Ally, your former cop cohort would support anyone who is not "woke". They seemed to me to be a bunch of misogynists for starters and of course, they are gun-toting macho males.
Remember the words of Mitt Romney to his biographer McKay Coppins, several years ago: 'A very large portion of my party really doesn't believe in the Constitution'
To his credit, our next door neighbor, a former R Marion County Commissioner, does not support this nonsense. Even our pork guy last Saturday said he did not like death star. He was very misinformed about muskrat however and we tried to inform him about what that creep is really doing....and not for free either.
My comment seems to have evaporated. You make several good points, Stephanie, particularly whether a country can hold itself together. While I don’t wish ill on the maga crowd, they are feeling the affects of the crazies happening now. If Medicaid and Medicare disappear, as well as Social Security, there isn’t a maga who won’t be rolling their eyes back into their heads. FAFO, maga crowd.
"Not one." Joanna Denis, I agree with your comment above - 100% in agreement. And, thanks for sharing.
You’re welcome, Brenda.
Nope.....me either! The domestic cuts, the way he treats people and places must NOT be a reflexion on our half of the country.
The whole premise of making America healthy again is a total joke with cuts to research, organizations (like Planned Parenthood) education, and so much more. It will all come back and bite us you know where. So stay healthy, and meditate daily.
Trump is no spring chicken.....he will pay for it all in spades.
The sooner, the better.
The devastation we will see from what will become a measles epidemic is the loss of confidence in vaccines that was apparent during the felon’s last term. It was evident with the Covid vaccines and that they wanted to take Dr. Fauci over the coals. All the research on autism that has shown autism and vaccines is not related has done little to boost confidence for many, with more studies yet to come, that will show the same results.
Joanna, that is because there is nothing good about him. He is just a festering cancer destroying everything.
Spot on, Michelle!
Exactly right, Joanna. He is the only public figure of whom it can truly be said possesses no virtue, yet is composed of all vice
Yes, Daniel.
A t least he is a good deflector as in "I have nothing to do with Russia"
He always tells on himself. The fact that he wrote, that is a distraction because he really is Russia in our country. I wish people in government would wake up.
They awake, awake and very afraid o.f speaking up
I was about to write the same thing, Ricardo. Many of the Republicans are fearful, as Lisa Murkowski admitted. I doubt there are many who truly "embrace Trump's villainy." If I felt that way, it would be difficult to hold onto any hope for America.
Repeat as nauseam
Ian Bremmer was recently interviewed, and he asserted that we (Trump) have permanently and irreparably damaged our relationships with most of the rest of the world. Even if a Dem should win, there will surely be another MAGA to occupy the White House soon after. And his damage to the economy will make Brexit look like a walk in the park.
I read today that Germany had expected just a small amount of grown this year as in the past 2 years but this year because if the felon, they are expecting none.
Yet he is the American President. He is what we have become. Just look at Television and other “ popular “ forms of entertainment.
I have not become him. I don’t even consider him my president. He is a complete disgrace. I call him bone-spurs felon rapist, because that is what he is.
This is why I never refer to him by his name.
Dump or Drumph are good alternatives.
Yes I feel similarly
And here’s the worst part, Phil; over 40% of those polled in this country still, STILL, support the criminal madman, think he’s doing a “good job.” That is the hardest thing for me to wrap my head around. Almost half of this country is in the tank for fascism. Un-f***ing-believable.
Yes john, I agree. I have been trying to take a different approach to discussions around folks who may be in that 40%. For instance, I was able to insert a discussion on Due Process with my sister-in-law who happens to be among one of the most diverse families I know. She is white and her husband is Mexican-American (American born-his parents immigrants of Mexico). His daughter co-habitats with an African American and has 3 young boys with him. A niece in the family is trans and now identifies as male. She has often told tales of their travels where the TSA frequently pulls her husband aside (racial profiling in my opinion) to search his bags and a pat down. She claims they were all born here! When I said “how would you feel if they pulled him and took him away-send him to a gulag in El Salvador or something…She said -he was born here. I said if they get away with sending Kilmar away with out due process-they can do it to her husband-and get away with it. I think a light bulb went off in her head.
This is a great story! People respond when they see themselves in the picture.
Some people won't get it until it directly affects them.
As I've said before, blame Fox Spews. People are blind to what's happening because it goes unreported.
Faux Spews is the tip of the iceberg. There are other "information" sources that are worse.
The regime is now using the government websites to spew their propaganda. Have you seen the new one for covid? covid.gov
Jane, I have not been on the White House website. Thank you for providing the link. It is sickening, nearly at the top of the list is blame at Dr. Fauci followed by so much disinformation. And on and on it goes. People, particularly the maga crowd, will eat this right up.
My understanding is that DT numbers continue to fall per Rachel maddow. I think many people are getting a civics lesson — in due process, voter integrity etc
It's clear that half the country is absolutely blind to reality, still... Republican/Red State Civics classes will do them no good anyway.
When the shooting starts, I’m out of here. Who will do the shooting? See: “Brownshirts”, except this time it will be local yahoos in pickup trucks.
I worry about this too.
With GOOD reason!
Even when 40% approval means he is underwater by 10 points, it blows my mind that anyone other than his racist, misogynistic, and fascist base of mouthbreathers approves of anything this administration and disgusting President does.
It’s worse than that, Mystic. He’s not as low as an even 40. The last 2 I’ve seen have him at 44, 45. Who the hell are these people?
John, I think those who continue to support Trump have not seen or felt the consequences yet.
John, it’s mind boggling 💩
More substacks do not solve much of anything. I pay, read, and so little changes. Our media is complicit. And I am broke. Still can drag to protests, but need a million man (and woman) march
I gave yours a "like," JD, because I feel where you're coming from
I pay for four Substacks (Heather's Rebecca Solnit's, Timothy Snyder's, and Johnny Rochat's). I know several others are eminently worthy, too.
Time paying attention factors for me, too. But your voice, like most of the others commenting, counts much to keep me going -- so many good voices, so much evidence of and hunger for decency keep me going.
We have these diverse voices, we still have what the fascists are trying to take away.
Phil, well said.
I am with you.
We are with you.
Further, you are spot on. We need diverse voices.
Each one of us has a perspective.
We need all of these views to help us build a more true picture of the reality we all face.
We may argue, but that is good, and productive.
I learn so much from the comments/conversation and the many diverse ways of looking at where we are, how we got here and what we have to do.
Same here, Ellen. I feel as if I have lots of "friends" here, even met a couple in real life.
Yes, so many wish I had time to attend to all. Gregg Olear meshes history and literature so brilliantly and tcinla knows so much history, details I never heard. He had gone to the source for so much. Glad I am retired but I feel like it’s Ghostbusters and a repeat of my distress in 2016. How can this be happening again.
Consider the media outlets, and who owns them. The Washington Post used to be a decent paper, but it was purchased by Bezos. What do you expect it to publish? X is totally full of crap. Owned by the Musk rat. Even Morning Joe and Mika are Trumpers now... Hitler would be proud.
You nailed it, I do believe that the only book chump ever read was Mien Kampf. Probably about the time Roy Cohn was teaching his master class.
On April 5, we had over 5 million Americans peacefully assembling in over 1400 locations to protect/restore democracy. On April 19, which was a day off for the organizers of the larger marches, nevertheless 2 million peacefully assembled in over 700 locations, including many who had not participated before. It’s a very good start. Check 50501.org or indivisible.org for events near you, or start your own. Not all gatherings are registered.
Yes, I've noticed that ("not all gatherings are registered"). After April 19th, I was surprised to learn that rallies were held in many smaller cities and towns not far from where I live. I'm no longer on Facebook, so unless these events are posted on the sites you mention or on Bluesky, I don't hear about them beforehand.
I was not in my hometown (Eugene) on the 19th; I found one in the coastal town that I was visiting (Newport) which had a huge turnout lining US 101 for about 1/2 a mile, both sides of the road.
If you're involved with a local democratic party group, you might get information that way.
I’m not on Facebook either. You can find a local group and local postings of events. This is your first step toward action and contributing to change.
Right. Just go to indivisible.org
I went to several protests organized by Indivisible. Two in Az, one close to home in Evanston, Il. I would have gone April 19 too, but I’m presently overseas and was flying that day.
My sentiments exactly! There are no barriers to societal dissolution. People have succumbed to the wrong storytellers - Trump, Qanon, Christian fundamentalists.
We need a million man march and we need sane voices from all past Presidents and Democratic and Republican Officials to unite with one voice, their outrage at what is happening to our democracy, constitutional rights, our status in the world, our humanity, etc, etc, etc.
We spend so much time reading and commenting here, while the chaos and destruction continues, while the fake news and lies continue. WHERE ARE OUR HEROS WHO COMMAND THE ATTENTION OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE AND THE WORLD.
Or a national strike for a week...
Yes, we need a million man march
Phil Balla,
Appreciate your comment! ....the best we could do as American Citizens...."the light of the world", "A safe haven for the poor and those escaping wars and violence" was to elect a criminal as our President....and not a smart one???
Thank God for heroines ie Heather Cox Richardson, Joyce Vance and others who are boldly sharing their love for this country with their great and powerful intellect and TRUTH!
Will check out recommended posts.
Phil, and Elon, his cash cow!
Somehow we have to delegitimize and denormalize political outcomes for sale. With sufficient focus we could have stopped pervasive corruption from getting this bad. It is inimical to everything our system of governance is supposed to be. Enough of us either demand a more evidence-based society or the vision recorded in the Constitution will come to an end.
Denormalization of rethug behavior would require deprogramming millions of Americans who prefer corruption to the rule of law when it allows the continued persecution of people they don’t like. A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 78% of Republicans agree that “Trump should keep deporting people despite a court order to stop.” Changing the view of any one of those individuals, when it is possible at all, requires hundreds of hours of serious conversation. The time and manpower for such a project does not exist. It might be possible to outvote them in 2026 and get a legislature with enough decency to get the rule of law back on track. Not likely, mind you, but not totally infeasible.
I’m counting in the failure of many of his policies to start having an effect. Remember, he’s not a deep thinker, so we will see that his agenda will fall apart.
Rex, don't dismiss the facts that his popularity faded and continues to fade. Recall that he was only elected by what... 30 percent of the vote ? Keep reminding folks of those facts as well as his many campaign promises past and present; None of which were full disclosure to begin with, as well as the promises he absolutely failed to deliver. I think we have to keep hammering on all that.
Yes, we have to hammer with all the strength and stamina we can muster, but that’s not gonna be enough. We need boots on the ground in all seven swing states. Roughly 14M people voted D in those states in 2024, and roughly 4M likely-D people stayed home. That’s 18M people the Democratic Party needs to muster to win big. From my boots-on-the-ground experience (scattered unevenly over the past 60 years), I estimate that a trained, paid organizer could manage a “precinct” of 500 likely-D voters, so we’d need about 40,000 get-out-the-vote workers to spread the word and get people to the polls. They would need to start pretty much now and work, say, 15 hours a week on the average for the next 18 months. At $20 an hour, that comes to about a billion dollars. Raising the billion isn’t easy, but that’s not the hard part. The hard part is finding, training, and managing 40,000 GOTV workers. Who would do that? I don’t know. What we need is few effective leaders with charisma and unbounded energy to get the project moving, plus a bunch more to build it and keep it going. Not easy. Not likely. But not totally infeasible.
And despite a recent study, suppressed by Stephen Miller, showing that immigrants bring in to the economy much more than they receive in benefits.
I admire your sagacity, Rex.
We really are saddled with massive damage from those tens of millions who cheer and vote for criminality.
But I pause to note Timothy Snyder, from his “The Road to Unfreedom.” He has something key to consider for our future, lest our schools keep producing such tens of millions (page 35 of the Tim Duggan Books paperback):
“Are we individuals who see that there are many good things, and that politics involves responsible consideration and choice rather than a vision of totality?”
Those dictators with whom the fat orange criminal allies himself all serve totalitarianism. And that, rather than the many more "good things," and openness to more "choice," all pathetically results -- it's guaranteed -- when so many go to school to learn the terrible group think where questions have but answers 1), 2), 3), and 4) – with always only one correct answer.
These schools allow nothing personal. Nothing complicated. Just hunger for group think with, worldwide, the same fools on stages always with but one answer, always but various iterations of one or another same group – and so much to hate outside of that.
Where did you go to school, Phil? Your description doesn’t fit my public primary, secondary, university or graduate school education. (1970-2006). The only people accusing my schools as promoting group think were staunch conservatives who continually saw their “solutions” dumped onto the ash heap of bad ideas. Good ideas were many, and evaluated through a lens shaped by the American values enshrined in the Bill of Rights. I sense a bias in your universal slam of education and educators.
Not that these same educators haven’t been maligned by the right and right wing media for decades (since Nixon?), but I wonder how much of that KoolAide you have consumed.
Born 4th day of Jan., 1947, Ian, I had nothing but good schools '50s, '60s.
I graduated from the U of Michigan two years before 1971 Powell memo.
There was a war. I served (Viet translator/interpreter 2 Sept. 69 -- 4 Apr 72). During grad ed after the war I began to see the far right foundations' war on ed. You can read of this in Diane Ravitch's "The Language Police."
You are, unfortunately, correct. To have any Republicans support the denial of human rights and constitutional rights to anyone is a sign of abject failure. I’ll be retiring early in 2-3 years abroad. Until then I’ll dedicate time to activism with the hope of getting a better person into office, but I don’t think the damage to our democracy, environment, and the economy is repairable over the long term when so many are so easy with cruelty. Somehow, hate has one out, and stolen our future.
Sheri, "hate seems to have one (won?) out and stolen our future" is a profound statement. I think that hate and anger are the "easy" emotions. Studies have shown that self-identified conservatives utilize the midbrain for decision-making, while self-identified liberals utilize the frontal cortex. The midbrain assess things as threats, ergo the success of using hatred and anger to deliver the critical information used to make decisions.
Rex, that Reuters/Ipsos poll reflects what I see in my MAGAt cohort of retired cops. They are "all in" on breaking the law as long as those "criminals" are "removed". It is absolutely disgusting to me, and if you've read things I've written over the past several years, you'll note that I no longer call them "friends". They have demonstrated that they are not to be trusted, and that they no longer believe in the rule of law, or have an iota of common decency.
Yes, Ally, I’ve noticed that we often see things about the same way. You’ve had a lot closer contact with the other side than I have, however, so I pay attention to the nuances in your comments.
Ally,
What I have sadly noted is that the USA "The Land of the Free and Home of the Brave" has elected a President who has never "broken a nail" serving this nation.
His greatest contribution has been to "McDonalds"!
Well, many things to combat: Trump, through his rallies, has beguiled and misused the masses into believing he alone can lift them from their depression; uses any means to winning adherent to his cause; fanned the flames of hatred and has aroused them with exaggerated hopes. Then you add people's superstitious approach to natural explanations - This is a lot to overcome.
Promises based on lies and delivered with the pablum of hatred of "others" that seem to drive a whole lot of folks.
Rex,
Each one of those human beings has a mother and a father...possibly a family of their own. We must provide the manpower. This action should have NEVER happened!!!
We must always check ourselves even as our lives may be full or if we have clothed ourselves with the attitude of "don't bother me with THOSE people".
Tomorrow someone may knock on our door or take us off a street corner...us, or someone we may know. We could easily become "one of THOSE people".
In this country EVERYONE is innocent (legally) until proven guilty in an HONEST court of law.
Taking a mass of men to El Salvador was not legal according to law.
If removing persons without an individual and fair trial can happen to these men...it can happen to anyone of us!
These actions need to stop! It doesn't matter the cost! This is THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!
We have been proud to say, "Welcome to America! You may bring your family, your faith, your gifts and talents! We thank you for your willingness to help us with the difficult and humbling jobs NO ONE ELSE wants to take! We thank you for the long hours you are willing to work in our fields, with few breaks and minimum wages. We thank you that with your hard working spirit you share your beautiful music and dance and art!
We sang a song in Sunday School when I was a little girl, "Red and yellow, black and white...ALL ARE PRECIOUS IN HIS SIGHT.....JESUS LOVES THE LITTLE CHILDREN OF THE WORLD.
You can wear crosses but those objects are an insult to the ONE you say you represent!!! They are merely being used as a "brainwashing" technique. True believers should know better!!!
Quite succinct.
Bravo.
My reading choices, too, were made after migrating to them through a process of elimination: three grandkids, a boy and two girls. The girls now have less freedom compared to what I have had in my lifetime.
Marilyn, sad but true about freedom to read. Do you listen to Ali Velshi's banned book segment Saturday mornings on MSNBC? He usually has the author discuss their work and he's single handedly sold lots of books.
I weep with anger and dread.
If we don’t manage this totalitarianism Trump is attempting to foist on us, we and all of our children will be in chains.
I choose to think we can, and we will turn this totalitarian trend away from us and our children.
No, doc -- they'll be in an imagination so stupid they'll never see or feel the chains.
It may be all they know
Yes it provides some very cold comfort to know that others agree, something that bolsters an opinion that we are not mad ourselves. However, the dreadful conclusion is that we are living in a world full of madmen.
That’s what’s bad about trump’s leadership he can’t concentrate on anything for long so a lot will not get done, plus, I think people will see how unstable he makes everything he touches. We always have a number of madmen around because people don’t think hard until they feel the pain on their wallet. This is a big country, plenty of madmen, and niw that we elected one president we see how it goes. Change is coming…don’t despair
Christine Maciel,
As long as his minions are given unvetted power, money and have their egos feed as part of the "gang" at Mara Lago, their life dreams are being fulfilled.
They are "living the life".
Thank you Christine, I hope you are correct..."Change is coming..."
It takes little concentration to break complex things. The big question for many is how much will he break before there is change. Nonetheless, I appreciate your optimism, Christine. There are big challenges ahead.
Lunatics, Liars, Abject Corruption, and Fascists. Lovely...
John and ignorant 🤬
Well, things are not going as well as trump hoped, are they? There are many court filings that have to be obeyed…yes, it’s time consuming but it bodes well that trump is not getting his way…even Wall St is rebelling. And his appointees are falling apart….just as we knew would happen..
I revel that SCOTUS is finally forced to go rule against Trump. And Trump isn't backing down. SCOTUS may end up capitulating to Trump and the oligarchs but hopefully Robert's has to eat his Trump has immunity for official acts sophomoric decision.
Brian Tyler Cohen, his face getting thinner and more anxious as the weeks pass, and he tirelessly asks the right people the questions they are equipped to answer.
I can’t believe DT believes in anything but his delusions of grandeur
And those delusions of grandeur are all-consuming. One thing (out of very many) that drives me mad is the way he keeps turning up where he hasn't been invited, and then flaunts the diplomatic correctness with which he's received as proof of his worth. He must have been such fun as a schoolboy (not).
!
It has indeed, JustRaven. Your four Substacks are mine as well. I get a few others, but barely skim them these days. I'd add Timothy Snyder if you can. He's great.
Since Paul Krugman left The NY Times in December, 2024, he has added over 300,000 subscribers. You can check him out for free. Plus, he posts a different song from YouTube every day and they are very eclectic.
Just raven. I’m with you! I have stopped reading many of my subscriptions as it’s just too much. I always read HRC, Dan Rather, Mandi “Zeato”, and I balance it out with Fr. Richard Rohr!
For at least 3 decades, we have heard the compound adjective, "self-loathing," associated with closeted gay men. But today, self-loathing applies to me. I am a native-born citizen whose eyes have always filled with tears upon hearing any of our patriotic songs. But now, I loathe the United States, for what we've become in the world: a force of despoilment, disruption and division; a force of pure evil. Whatever redeeming qualities we may have had, have been vaporized by two of the worst "men" (for lack of a better noun) ever to draw breath, breath neither of them deserves to draw.
I am stuck in an abusive relationship with these men, and millions more who think they exemplify what the United States should be. I loathe every one of them.
I want to flee this "shithole country," but no other place on the planet wants me, nor do I have the finances to pay for admission.
So I wait. For Donald's death or mine, whichever comes first.
While I wait, most of the comments here console me with the knowledge that there are still some decent people in the world.
A new, very sad, patriotic song from Billy Simons Jr. -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nflg8qlqWZg
Oh, Jane! That was the best! His well-crafted lyrics echo my profound sadness. It was smart to superimpose them on the video because some spellings enriched the meaning, as did his facial expressions while singing and playing.
1. The world hasn’t gone mad - just the U.S.
2. HRC? She, and her Corporate Conservative Democrats, are a big part of the problem for America.
Huh? Not sure I comprehend your statement.
Instigator Alert. Nothing to comprehend there except for stirring a pot.
Yup- that's the attitude, the arrogance, that caused the Democrats to lose in 2016 and 2024.
Do you have something articulable that you find biased? I am curious; it seems to me that what was written today was based on available information.
Do you have specific bias to present?
Also add Olga Lautman's Substack posts - she is a "Researcher/analyst: Russian hybrid war Senior fellow: Center for European Policy Analysis Senior Investigative researcher: Institute for European Integrity"
https://open.substack.com/pub/olgalautman/p/the-kremlins-payoff-russia-prepares?r=flasu&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
The only reason I'm reading them is in the hope I can dodge and weave around some of the blows.
I relate
Is there no one in the regime with enough intelligence to understand that there will be no peace in Ukraine until Putin is pushing up daisies? Trump is prepared to recognize Crimea as part of Russia: the act of a traitor. He must be removed from office; I care not how Congress or the courts do it, but it must come to pass.
Let the US walk away! tRump's proposal is not a 'peace deal' it's a booby trap. The clause 'that Ukraine does not join NATO' indicates exactly what Ukraine should do. The opposite choice is always 'the' choice with these two snakes. Damn them both to hell.
"We all know that even when we satisfy one demand, Mr. Trump will come back with another, bigger demand. That’s not diplomacy; it’s blackmail."
- Jean Chrétien
well, English is not Mr Chrétien's first language, so he is allowed some imprecision. It's not blackmail, it's extortion.
Bully-mail!!
As he did with Columbia University.
We have to continue to work for peace, but it must not be at the expense of any part of Ukraine. This is a death match, and the T**** regime is siding with the enemy, to our everlasting shame.
Yes, completely shameful. I believe we need for Ukraine to join NATO and that should be a consideration because that's the last thing Putin and the felon rapist want. I have been overseas for a few weeks now visiting family in two countries. I thought I would feel a sense of being unwelcome but Europeans know it is the felon rapist at the helm. Many thumbs down for the felon.
Moreover, how was a felon even permitted to be an option for one to cast their vote? So, atrocious!
If the US won't back Ukraine, then Europe needs to start shoveling in weapons as fast as they can. There are signs that Germany and France have finally woken up.
The answer to your question of how, Robert, is that the court refused to stand up to Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, even when at least two states had voted to use it.
Well stated!! You are so correct!
Yes, Kazz M. it definitely is a booby trap.
One of Trump's biggest broken promises was to end the Ukraine War on Day 1. If anything, Ukraine is kicking more ass, and Russia is killing more civilians.
Putin is backed into a corner and things are getting worse for him by the day, as they seem to be for Trump.
IMHO Ukraine/national security is Trump's fatal flaw with Congressional Republicans. This needs to be pounded on them daily. https://jerryweiss.substack.com/
If the US walks away from Ukraine, they will lose support for superior US intelligence and satellite surveillance.
No doubt trump will walk away.
No, no one will criticize putin to trump.
CBS tried it and Trump is ready to pull their license. I wonder if we'll ever find out what Putin has on Trump. The pathetic part is the Republican Senators and Congresscritters that hate Putin but won't back Ukraine because they are fucking cowards.
As you suggest, "we" may never know all that Putin has on Trump, and in turn, what he has on the congress critters. But knowing Donald's background sheds some light.
As Fred Trump built his slum/laundromat fortune, he preferred to do business with outfits associated with Bratva, the Russian mob. Donald inherited these relationships – and mob methodology – when Fred passed the Trump Organization baton to him.
Keep in mind that Donald is learning-disabled and was not Fred's choice for successor, but Fred, Jr. wanted no part of the family business. Because of Donald's limited intellect, he failed in all his ventures, and survived only because Fred bailed him out. When Fred died, Donald cheated his siblings out of parts of their inheritances, or in Freddy's case, all of it.
Still, Donald lost all the money he inherited, and stupidly plunged his company deeper and deeper into staggering debt, to such an extent that U.S. banks wouldn't lend to him. Through his Bratva associations, Donald had become a subject of Kremlin interest. Russian oligarchs stepped into the financing breach and lent Donald unknown amounts of rubles laundered into dollars. Given the scale of Trump's businesses and certain losses, his debts likely total in the billions.
Donald has picked up a few million here and there, through grift and fraud, but he has undoubtedly not satisfied his financial obligations to the Russians. While U.S. lenders can be staved off with court delays or bankruptcies, Russians are not so easily discouraged from collecting. Donald knows this and so must do what is required to satisfy his Putin-backed Russian creditors.
Another feature of Bratva "business practices" is terrorism, through blackmail and threats of violence. These are the tools Donald uses to keep his party operatives in line. For example, it's likely that Donald has a thick folder on Lindsey Graham. Every time Lindsey says something uncomplimentary toward Donald, he recants the following day. Other Republicans who've led squeaky-clean personal lives can still be brought to heel with threats of violence against their families.
Dale Rowett,
Agree and appreciate your comment. Thanks for giving time and thought and concern to share!
“Other Republicans who've led squeaky-clean personal lives can still be brought to heel with threats of violence against their families.”
Pence comes to mind…
Senator Lisa Murkowski let the cat out of the bag. Maybe she didn't think her comment would be quoted so widely.
I believe Donald's shadowy henchmen have been demonstrating proof-of-concept to those who doubt their capabilities. The attack at the Pelosi home, the firebombing at the PA governor's mansion, and even the so-called "assassination attempt" in Butler, PA all appeared to be random. But all mob terror actions are made to appear to be random. That's how they keep getting away with it.
The point isn't to scare Democrats; it's to scare everyone. These were demonstrations to show that any politician can be attacked. Without warning. In creative ways.
Awesome summary. I think this is accurate.
Window of opportunity. Don Bacon can lead the way. We only need a few.
What Putin has on Trump is his number. Putin, unlike the Maga crowd and the right wing media, understands the egotistical, narcissistic, insecurity of His Royal Orangeness and plays to his insatiable ego. You don’t need to have anything on a creature like Trump, just an understanding of his base nature.
They are fascist; all they care about is power!
They are complicit, as they could possibly be, with the destruction of our government and our democracy.
Just because they can manipulate the House and Senate so they don't have to take votes that show their complicity, they constantly show their lack of respect for this nation and our people by not standing up for us all.
MysticShadow,
They are "drunk" on all the money they are stuffing in their pockets, money that should be going to the many excellent government employees who have been fired!
Because trumputin.
James, everyone's saying that it must come to pass, and then avoiding eye contact.
There are a lot of names on the list of "those in office who should be removed for actively supporting the regime" and an even longer list of "those who should be removed from office for standing idly by and letting all this happen". My congress critters (McGovern, Warren, and Markey) are not on either of those lists. But I still give them encouragement to stand up and fight.
Sadly, I'm in the Most Fascist State of Ohio, where virtually EVERY member of Congress, and the Senate, are on said list. We The People have a LOT of work to do
The “Very” Fascist state. The “Most Fascist” State is surely Florida.
Some might say it's Texas. Others would argue for Idaho. Then there are those touting Arkansas. It's an insidious competition, for sure. I always argue that, after the fascist try something in Ohio, and it works, they then ship it out to all the other fascist states. And I love it that you called Florida "Shirley"!!
They hate it when I call them “Shirley.” 😉
number one. It’s the home state of the tangerine tyrant, Ron DeSantis is the governor elected by 60% majority of voters, they can’t pass any Democratic initiative with less than 60% of the vote, and they are the furthest thing from a democratic state we have in the US. Sure Abbott, a crook and a fascist, as our many of the others, but, as Sefan might say: “Florida has everything!”
You are blessed, James.
Ukraine should tell the US to walk away and not let the door hit the US on the way out. As long as 45-47 is in office and Putin is in power, the world is in danger.
There will be no peace in America until drump is pushing up daisies
No peace in America until drump is pushing same
B.L.U.F. (bottom-line, up-front)
2014 = Appeasement;💔
2022 = Hesitance; and,😨
2025 = Treason.🤢
=============
Trump and his repetition compulsion. True, President Obama appeased Russia in 2014. That was as likely to be inevitable owing to war weariness after Operation Iraqi Freedom. Simply admitted, the American people were not emotionally prepared to go to war over Crimea.🥺
https://lnkd.in/e-httjM3 (Written March 2014)
True, President Biden dithered in 2022, failing to break Putin and to brake Russia's belligerent culture. Yet he did do a lot, if not in a timely manner. President Biden created an effective N.A.T.O. defensive perimeter.🛑
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6963114645016461313/ (From mid-2022, in-country)
False, Trump has ". . . . nothing to do with Russia, but [has] much to do with wanting to save, on average, five thousand Russian and Ukrainian soldiers a week . . . ."🖕
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJh9t9h6Wn0
True, Trump is betraying what the United States of America used to mean, at least aspirationally, to humankind. 2025 will be a dark year for U.S. history. True, Trump will win the peace prize, but not the one in Stockholm; it will be the peace prize below. 😡
Trump and Vance are traitors to America and the World Order They demonstrate it by how they are throwing Zelensky and Ukraine under Putin’s feet. They need to be forced to walk the gangplank off the edge of the earth in iron leggings and hands tied behind.
The United States is NOT working primarily with Russia. TRUMP AND HIS THUGS are working primarily with Russia.
C’mon Congress. Get with it. Stop this Putin ass-kisser. Help us save Ukraine
Yes, David! Trump IS a Russian asset, whether he knows it or not.
If Trump KNOWS he is a Russian asset, that's EVIL.
If Trump DOESN'T KNOW he is a Russian asset, that's WORSE!
Virtually EVERY decision Trump makes can be predicted by asking yourself WWPD - What Would Putin Do?
Donold is Krasnov to Putin.
Oh, Trump knows very well that he is Putin's asset. Everything Trump has done with respect to Ukraine points in that direction. When he imposed the "reciprocal" tariffs, he exempted Russia and Belarus, because "they are in a war". However, even though Ukraine is in the same war, not of its making (and Belarus is not), that did not stop Trump from imposing a 10% tariff on Ukraine. Not that we needed more proof that Trump is in Putin's pocket, this decision on tariffs reinforces that assessment. And now this "peace proposal", which provides everything that Putin wanted from the beginning.
Trump owes Putin his first election but Putin is also holding something else over Trump’s head. what is it?
It seems that he will be in shock when his idea of an undisclosed, yet rather strongly suggested agreement, he seemingly believes they have, turns against him. If that situation comes to pass, there will be no place for the current believer to turn.
Did you know that you can donate directly to Ukraine? This is the official government donation link. https://u24.gov.ua/ By all means, do your own research about this, but I donated after Jessica Craven recommended it.
I have a bias for action, so figuring out something I can actually do is a lot more satisfying than reviewing all Trump’s many faults.
The right-wing has already proven to be in league with Putin and Russia.
What more proof do we need?
Trump owes Putin his first election but Putin is also holding something else over Trump’s head. what is it?
Feathers of Hope.
NEVER trust ANYTHING trump or putin says! The are consummate liars. They are now and they always have been.
EVERYTHING trump TOUCHES DIES.
And Vance, look at what happened to the Pope when he was touched by Vance.
It does make you wonder
Stop wondering Helen, he is a poisonous snake, worse than the scumbag president, if that's possible. :)
Ukraine cannot trust both Russian and the USA (since both have broken promises to guarantee its security). But Ukraine can trust NATO.
I propose NATO give Ukraine a modest supply of nuclear weapons (of the kind it once had or newer), in order to return the security dynamic back to what it once was.
Ukraine was foolish to give up its nuclear weapons the first time. I believe NATO should help it recover from that tragic mistake!
Steve, nukes to Ukraine would not be used. Zelenskyy is sane; Trump and Putin are not.
I just want to return things to the way they were. I would expect Putin to exit Ukraine while the nukes are being delivered by NATO. Think this is a crazy idea? Well, we live in a crazy world.
Putin will only exit Ukraine when he's dead. But the chance of him taking umbrage at NATO giving nukes to Ukraine, and then upping his war effort to take out those nukes, is pretty high. He's not a coward like T****; he'd act more like a cornered rat.
Yes, but might they help as a deterrent to further aggression by Putin???
NATO would be taking the chance that Ukrainian nukes would be safe in Ukraine - and we know that Putin has missiles that can reach anywhere in Ukraine. It would just up the ante, giving the mad Russian another excuse to violate another cease-fire.
As long as they are used as a deterrent, ala the Mutual Assured Destruction Theory, maybe that would work.
I actually think NATO can muster enough non-Nuke weaponry to get Putin to pull out of Ukraine.
Thank you. I'm "thinking outside the box"... because nothing within "normal parameters" (involving the USA and Russia) has a prayer of working.
I agree. "Inside the box" ain't working any more. Trumpty-Dumpty has obliterated normal parameters by ignoring the Constitution, thumbing his nose at the courts and issuing Executive Orders like they are holy writs.
The same for the "wait for the midterms" approach to our own situation. That's off the table.
I wonder if NATO countries would consider invading the White House?
That'd be a good example of "outside the box" thinking in action.
Not bad, Bob. I never thought of that; of course that means I haven’t considered it either.
But If T**** invades Greenland, Denmark, or any other country, maybe we the people should request NATO to invade DC.
Yeah, I know. I never thought I would live to see us in the state we are in now.
Hell, even a year ago I couldn't imagine it.
But here we are.
It might just take some out of the box solution to get us out of this.
NATO involvement might seem far fetched now. But if we haven't shaken this plague by the end of the year, who knows?
If Ukraine had nuclear weapons, it may stop Putin from using his nuclear weapons first.
Putin's threats to use nuclear weapons is the reason the allies didn't rush to provide Ukraine with all the weapon systems they needed to push out Russia at the start of Russia's aggression. Give Ukraine the ability to strike back.
Yikes, Steve!!
I just want to return things to the way they were. I would expect Putin to exit Ukraine while the nukes are being delivered by NATO. Think this is a crazy idea? Well, we live in a crazy world.
I rather think that Putin would see such a move as a vindication of everything he has said about the aggressive territorial ambitions of NATO and you would have a reprise of the Cuban Missile Crisis with the key difference that you're now governed by the biggest idiot ever elected as president. It would be extending the parameters of 'crazy'.
Like he is the one to talk about "aggressive territorial ambitions."
Putin wants to restore the old Soviet Union. Like Make Russia Great Again.
In 2021, he posted an essay on the Kremlin website setting out why he believes that Ukrainians and Russians are one people -
http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/66181
His claim somehow fittingly goes all the way back to Ivan the Terrible. Vladimir the More Terrible's essay was followed up by an open letter from Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, Dmitri Medvedev, describing Ukrainians as "people who do not have any stable self-identification" who were "prey to rabid nationalist forces" and "absolutely dependent people". He concludes that "it makes no sense for us to deal with these vassals".
https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/5028300
It's pretty clear that Trump's deal of peace based on the existing front line is not likely to be respected by Russia for very long, especially as in the meantime NATO would be prevented from re-arming the Ukrainians and sanctions would be lifted on Russia allowing another military build-up by Putin.
If you have an alternative strategy to suggest, I'm all ears.
NATO was pursuing that alternative strategy before Trump returned to office. The one criticism that could be made was that that it was not being pursued vigorously enough. However, it did have several very damaging effects on Russian foreign policy interests -
https://lansinginstitute.org/2025/02/24/war-and-its-ripple-effects-how-russias-invasion-of-ukraine-is-reshaping-the-world-order/
and on it's economy as well with half it's reserves frozen by allied powers and it's GDP some 7% lower than pre-war forecasts according to the IMF.
Furthermore, it has suffered terrible losses on the battlefield: around 100 casualties for every square kilometre of Ukrainian territory taken. Public spending is at unprecedented levels with some 40% being spent on the war (and 10% of GDP). Interest rates have been hiked up and inflation is high.
It also suffers from collapsing infrastructure - https://www.dw.com/en/why-are-many-russians-freezing-in-their-homes-this-winter/a-68025856
and growing social unrest met with further erosion of human rights - https://therussiaeye.com/forecasting-developments-in-russias-ethnic-republics-2025-7441
In other words, the strategy was to some extent working, even though at a heavy cost to Ukrainians. Trump's return has reinvigorated the Russians.
Bad idea to proliferate nukes
That’s an interesting proposition.
Thanks!
Keep being loud!
Use this spreadsheet to call/email/write any of our representatives as often as possible. Not just your own state reps, reach out to those in other states. Be as loud as you can and share this. Use your voice and make some “good trouble.”
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/13lYafj0P-6owAJcH-5_xcpcRvMUZI7rkBPW-Ma9e7hw/edit
Thanks for sharing your spreadsheet with good contact information. But - what a punch in the face to call out representatives with the title of “The Honorable “! Nothing Honorable about the spineless Republican cowards and a few of the Democrats aren’t much better.
Oh I 100% agree. However if you look up how to address a letter to send to a rep, it says to put “The Honorable” and I was worried if it doesn’t have that, does it get tossed out, I’m not sure. When I email, I definitely don’t write that for any of them. I just use “Dear Senator ____”
I followed that protocol when I addressed my letters to my Senators and Congressional Rep. In the body of the letter, I used "Dear Senator" and "Dear Representative." Granted, all three are Dems.
My sense is that no matter what, the MAGApublicans will toss the letters if they don't like what they say.
Yeah, my guess is not many get read, however the volume itself that they receive hopefully speaks loudly for some working there. Maybe. Maybe. I did hear that if you fax things that takes extra manpower. I might add all the fax numbers I can find to the sheet next 😅
Also you can't help seeing what's on a fax as it comes out of the machine.
I always have received responses here in Maine, sans “The Honorable”. Althought both Senator King and Gov Mills deserve the title
Have you gotten letters back? I don’t use the title when I email, but written letters supposedly going to the Washington DC address are supposed to have The Honorable
Yes I always receive responses.
True, there’s little that’s honorable in horsetrading.
However, the intent of these letters presumably would not be to chide,or deride, or shriek. Despite that may be how you feel at the moment. The purpose of your letter is to encourage action and for that to be effective one needs to attempt to appeal to the congress person’s better angels, and to do it by all available means. Certainly, appealing to the vanity of position seems a trifle. Certainly there are other levers to employ.
Honorable: Horrible, Onerous, Noxious, Obsequious, Repugnant, Apathetic, Banal, Loony, Egregious.
It's a secret code!!
THIS IS FABULOUS!!! everyone please download this and use it....THANK YOU!
You’re welcome! Share share share as much as you’d like and can! Thanks for using your voice right now!
Brava Megan !
Thank you this is awesome! I live in DC and have been very frustrated that I don't have a voting rep or senator. I've read that if you're not a constituent anything from you gets tossed. But I'm encouraged by the comment that volume matters.
BTW your last name rang a bell. The only other Rothery I've ever "known" is the Canadian actress Teryl Rothery who has a pretty extensive body of work, and has settled in with the Hallmark film enterprise. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0745186/
Oh how fun, I love Teryl Rothery but had no idea her last name was the same as mine! I’ll have to share that with my in laws and see where Rothery might trace back to on their side!
Yesss volume matters! I’ve heard some in Congress saying that. There’s also a note on the sheet where the addresses are titled on both Senate and House pages about using an in state/district address. I do not know how I feel about it, however I have used the addresses to email. Because I personally feel like many in Congress are not upholding our democracy or the Constitution and they deserve to be called out on it at a larger scale. It’s not a “what do my constituents need” problem anymore, it’s a “we need to save our nation need” so they work for ALL of us when it’s this severe of a national emergency (in my opinion 🙃)
Oh, that is fun!! I'd love to hear what you discover. I was never a Hallmark fan until I "fell in love" with Canadian actor Niall Matter and have been following him ever since. I'm not a sci fi fan, but I am stuck like glue to Eureka, a series he was in from 2007-20012. That's also the youngest Teryl I've ever seen. She appeared in S 2, E 10 as a young, somewhat mad scientist. She also had a supporting role in Niall's first Hallmark movie, a comedy, "Stop the Wedding."
And this is one of the major ways I take a break from what's going on in our country, and what I'm working harder for in my 70's than I ever did when I was a young hippie!!! I even led kids singing Kumbaya with my guitar!!!!
I agree with you about calling out Congress. My heart sank when I saw that clip last month of Rep Jeffries shrug and say something about being in the minority and what can we do. I think that has changed somewhat...but not nearly enough yet. My vision (stronger than hope!) is that the protests across the nation continue and grow, and our Congress folks can't help but respond. Blessings,
Can anyone offer some technological help? I try to print this, enlarging to the maximum of 200%, and it is still so tiny that I can't read it. I'd love to have this printed out.
If anyone has any suggestions, please help.
Have you tried highlighting just the cells filled out? If you highlight a section, then you could print just the selected cells I believe.
Another option would be to highlight in chunks, save/download as a PDF selected cells (if that’s an option), and then print the PDF.
Please note I’m still working on email links and a mailing address for House reps, but the Senate page is done ❤️
Thank you, I will try that tomorrow. I'm up waaaaay past my bedtime.
Me too. I’m a teacher and am thinking eek almost 11pm 😅
Hopefully it works for you tomorrow!
Trump's ego depends on the idea that he, the "hero" of The Art of the Deal, can outsmart Putin, with his KGB background. From the start, Trump was an easy mark for the Russians. And if that long-desired Trump hotel can be had in Moscow for the price of tens of thousands of Ukrainians and their territory, then that's a good deal for Trump. The immorality, or maybe amorality is a better word, is deplorable and disgusting.
Immorality, Betsy. This is deliberate evil. You had it right.
If ONLY he wouldn’t pretend he’s a Christian ! ! !
"Putin? Never met the man..."
Never heard of 2025 either. Time to clear the air.
Trump doth protest too much, methinks...
Absolutely. Nothing to do with Russia.
I am sick inside. Ukraine is our friend. You don’t treat friends this way. The world watches and understands the United States cannot be trusted. I’m heartbroken for Ukraine and for my country. If the regimes goal is to destroy the credibility of the U.S., it has succeeded mightily. If the goal is to make the U.S. hated by the world, they’ve done that. I believe most Americans are ashamed and appalled.
I stand with Ukraine. I admire its President.
At least half of us are ashamed and appalled at least.
We have always appreciated what this country has done on its better side, while still being ashamed of some of its flaws that we have been too slow to address (or admit). One long delayed eye opener for me, though, was finally seeing the James Baldwin debate with William F. Buckley, Jr., that took place in Feb 1965 at the University of Cambridge in England. See https://www.npr.org/2020/09/20/914548619/reimagining-the-james-baldwin-and-william-f-buckley-debate
I had a bit of dislike for Buckley before, but would still listen to his more typical debates while still disagreeing with him. Finally hearing and seeing that debate in 2020 easily more than tripled my dislike of the appalling way Buckley acted in that form of debate. It even turned me against the way winners could be selected by stacking audiences (not in that debate, but, in many my old party seemed to have rigged the audiences in).
I was deep into technical training back in February 1965, so I didn't see it until 2020. The intervening years, and at least some important progress, made it seem all the more appalling. It is particularly moving to me, right now as we see the shameful attempts to interfere with voting rights and real, practical access to the polls for perhaps a 3rd of would be voters (women who took their husband's names, and so many other that never had to go to such lengths to prove they were eligible to vote in the past).
Ditto, Ginni. Thank you for expressing it.
I feel exactly the same Ginni
Liars can’t be trusted and Zelenskyy knows this. Donnie was impeached when he asked and then threatened Zelenskyy to tell a little lie about Biden. And the spineless repubs refused to convict him. Donnie’s superpower is holding a grudge. He never intended to do anything to help Zelenskyy.
"Liars can’t be trusted and Zelenskyy knows this."
I wish a whole lot more of other people did.
They are learning but very slowly.
As in good part of our voters J L?
Yes, but the price of eggs....
<sarcasm font>
Donnie’s superpower is holding a grudge. Says it all
The first impeachment was the first time we became aware of trump's use of extortion to help him hang on to power at all costs.
I'm confident that if he lives until 2028, he and his fascist party will do anything and everything to allow trump another term if they haven't already made him President for life.
Zelensky’y has more moxie, more courage than Donald Jessica Trump (kudos to Randy Rainbow!) will ever have in his diaper!
Was Rubio reprogrammed or something? Is he actually one of the robots Elon alleges he has invented? MARCO where did you go? But then we now have the pleasure of DJT’s real estate buddy, Steve Witkoff, meeting almost weekly with Putin! His lack of everything knowledgeable was being laughed at by the Russians, right in front of him. Why? Because he commented on how the gold in the meeting room was what Trump had placed in the Oval Office. Suffice it to say, those fake gold lame pieces in the Oval were bought at Home Depot!
Marco Rubio is dead inside. Just look at his face ..it says it all. Melania looks the same.
They show now on the OUTSIDE what happens when you let trump corrupt your INSIDE. EVERYTHING trump TOUCHES DIES.
Death of the "soul'.
J.L, yes. The old spiritual writers have a word from the Greek. acedia.....it means " soul sickness". It literally means not caring about anything. Remember Melania's jacket?
It's like one of those myths of divine punishment - the Gods have granted Trump power but not endowed him with the capability to use it effectively so nothing he does works like he wants it to. His volcanic outbursts against others are projections of his own impotence and those around him suffer his wrath despite their repeated abasements. Well, at least it's a more comfortable idea than facing the fact that essentially you've got yourselves into this unholy mess.
Admit an unholly mess, “find somebody else to blame” was his quote in 2005.
It's a plan that has worked for him again and again because there's always someone or something at hand he can blame when things go belly-up.
If they aren’t at hand, he will accuse anyway
Soulless, worse than Stepford cretins.
Lil Marco has ALWAYS been a self promoting lying little weasel with zero substance. It is just more on display now because of the bigger focus on him. Look no further than when he was in the state house and pilfering GOP credit cards to pay for repairs to his minivan. A total weasel always ready to prostitute himself on behalf of self promotion.
Well said
He wants to be president someday?
Prostitution is exactly a perfect way to describe what Marco has been doing.
Lots of people have written about the curious transmogrification of Marco Rubio. Perhaps he will find some consolation in hearing that Musk is 'getting the Hell out of DOGE' as Issie Lapowsky memorably put it in yesterday's Vanity Fair.
But Texas trio of evil has created a DOGE for Texas. Abbott is never outdone by chump’s evil.
Florida has also created a version of DOGE - https://www.flgov.com/eog/news/press/2025/governor-ron-desantis-announces-florida-doge-efforts
Some colleges in Florida have made arrangements with ICE to authorise campus police to question and detain undocumented immigrants.
A number of Republican legislatures have been all too eager to get on board with the administration's policies -
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/republican-led-states-rush-align-trumps-maga-agenda-rcna190540
Given by the MAGAt at Home Depot. A supporter from the git go. PS, MARCO HAS ALWAYS BEEN A WEASEL.
Actually, the gold pieces were all part of the WH collection, used in in other places separately, but he amassed them all to the height of tacky.
Lair of Smaug.
I think we now see who Rubio always was.
Rubio is an example of who all right-wingers are.
What if anything do we know about money "pouring in from Russia" Trump's family talked about?
admitted by Eric, but ignored by everybody else.
Jr is said to have bragged about it too, though he now denies it.
From Vanity Fair:
>>Dodson had planned to play nine holes with Trump and Eric, along with pro golfer Greg Norman and Trump’s bodyguard, and when he got there, Dodson asked where Trump was getting money. “He just sort of tossed off that he had access to $100 million,” said Dodson, whose curiosity was piqued:
“So when I got in the cart with Eric,” Dodson says, “as we were setting off, I said, ‘Eric, who’s funding? I know no banks—because of the recession, the Great Recession—have touched a golf course. You know, no one’s funding any kind of golf construction. It’s dead in the water the last four or five years.’ And this is what he said. He said, ‘Well, we don’t rely on American banks. We have all the funding we need out of Russia.’ I said, ‘Really?’ And he said, ‘Oh, yeah. We’ve got some guys that really, really love golf, and they’re really invested in our programs. We just go there all the time.’ Now that was three years ago, so it was pretty interesting.”<<
From Politico:
>>The Washington Post has reported that at a real estate conference in New York in 2008, Donald Trump Jr. said that “Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets.” “We see a lot of money pouring in from Russia,” he added.<<
It was the Jr comment that I thought I heard about. Thanks for this
I hope that the US does pull out of the peace talks for the sake of the Ukrainians. The EU could then (hopefully) craft a stronger and fairer treaty.
I agree Carolyn, Putin has repeated many times ….proximity ( Strategic Depth and Response Time ) is a major factor in Russia's concerns regarding American missiles in Ukraine.
Russia views this as a potential threat - Ukraine shares a significant border with Russia, and deploying missiles there, especially long-range ones like ATACMS, would drastically reduce Russia's strategic depth and warning time in case of an attack. This means Moscow would have less time to react and defend against potential strikes originating from Ukrainian territory.
https://www.youtube.com/live/-MxJf4EDeko?si=nIbN9YxpJFkmYOCX
I'd agree that's 'some' of the rationale spouted by Putin, but not the whole story. A plain fact is that Russia cannot regain the splendor of empire without Ukraine. He's satisfied only for now; We saw that plainly when he took Crimea and it wasn't enough. Given the new territory, he'll only be satisfied short term again. No, appeasement has ever worked for people like that. To my mind, this is even worse than the devil's bargain made by Chamberlain with Hitler !
D4N
Putin has said many times years before now that he wants to restore the countries that were once a part of "Old" Russia to present day Russia.
He watches for opportunities to accomplish his goal. Trump will be a great aid.
Right Emily. When someone 'tells' you who they are, Believe them. This is nothing more than the ancient ills of imperialism, quest for dominion and empire.
Now, I want to make this clear that I for one am not willing to go down that slippery slope of adopting another "domino theory rationale" either. This is far different. This situation is clear breach of commitments by Russia, period.
Won't happen under Trumputin's watch.
trump is nothing but a puppet to putin and xi. THAT is why trump is so dangerous to America.
He is also a puppet of vainglorious US oligarchs; but there is no one on the planet that Trump would not betray if he saw or imagined some personal advantage in it.
Yup.
Trump is so clearly a Russian Asset, can we all please start using that term in reference to him rather than any other name or term? While we’re at it, by having named his social media platform, “Truth Social”, he is forcing us to validate it as truthful, which it clearly is not. Let’s just call it either “Trash Social” or simply his “social media platform”. Language! It influences the way we think about everything!
Donold aka Krasnov to Russia and the KGB for the last 40 years.
Love Trash Social. But Goebbels still rules the fools
TS: Total 💩
**I am still trying to maintain decorum here at LFAA and NOT give in to my second language, which is profanity, and in which I am quite fluent. Sarcasm is a very close third, and the two flip/flop occasionally, depending on the audience.
Trumputin.