475 Comments
Aug 10, 2022·edited Aug 10, 2022

The way the Republicans consistently play this game is to explode with outrage without an iota of curiosity about the facts. It's like watching a really bad movie over and over again. If we learn that the FBI agents found evidence of a serious crime, the GOP lackeys will claim it was either planted or create a charade of lies about some other issue to deflect.

It's very intriguing if the 10 boxes contain material not returned to the National Archives, and it includes classified documents. Even more intriguing is if the Department of Justice has evidence that Trump has used any of them for nefarious purposes. One can dream.

I do wonder if any of the GOP, in their heart of hearts, regret being drawn into this endless cycle of lies and hypocrisy — all while accomplishing nothing of substance for their constituents. Why wonder about things for which I already know the answer?

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So tired of the never-ending reruns of the worst movie ever. Why, oh why, can’t the networks run a story about chump’s evil without his orange arse on my screen. His voice makes me heave. When Joe was declared the winner, I thought now there is hope that chump will fade away. He will be on the screen, in our history books, and in all our nightmares for eternity, it seems. At least he is no longer behind the presidential seal. But that taste of power was the get-out-of-jail free card for him and all the flies he attracted. We MUST save America. Go Joe

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There needs to be a revolution, indeed-we the people must rise up to condemn and oust these traitors who are the GOP.

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I thought about this earlier - picturing a rising up of millions of US who are fed up with scoundrels and their scandals.

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Aug 10, 2022·edited Aug 10, 2022

Yes, Jean-Pierre. It’s called Election Day. Tuesday, November 8, 2022.

Mark your calendars. See you there.

Unita. 🗽

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YES VOTE!

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Yes Vote! And be sure every person you are related to or consider a friend votes. I live in a "safely blue" state. But I want this whole nation to show up and record this as the greatest turnout in history. I want the fringe called Republicans to be more than defeated - I want them to be pounded back into the holes they crawled out of.

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They're on the defensive now. We need some indictments to keep the momentum going!

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Muy bien! De mach! Horoshaw! Ching ching! KaChing$$

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Jen:

"...rise up..."

to vote intelligently, well informed! And help as many others as humanly possible to do the same!

Please!

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Absolutely! But I also pray for a groundswell of truth speakers to quell the constant flood of lies which have brainwashed so many. The news media needs to do better and individuals must speak truth with decency and intelligence and boldness.

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This is a power struggle. You are absolutely right that MSM needs to self-examine and stop elevating turmoil and fear, but that won't affect the brainwashed. The groundswell needs to be one of voters, enough to overwhelm the monopoly of the public stage by the purveyors of lies and fear. That would create the foundation on which to effectively counter the radical Right.

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Truth speakers? Yes. Our Senators and Congress people.... And just where in hell are they? All we get is MTG and Lindsey Grahams' sickening puss to look at. Where's Angus King? He is sharp and has shown he can speak intelligently. Speak up!

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We've been saying the "news media needs to do better" for months, if not years, now...and nothing much changes. Even when we watch PBS, we wait for what new skepticism Judy Woodruff will express toward the Biden administration and its accomplishments.

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Aug 10, 2022·edited Aug 10, 2022

Ann, PBS was accused of being a left-wing mouthpiece, so their focus became proving that they were unbiased. They now insist on playing the "on the other hand" game, terrified that the right will accuse them of bias. Well, sometimes the "other hand" is poisonous. What has happened for years with McConnell is that he has packed the Supreme Court by denying Democrats' choices of candidates; Trump's ignorance and criminality have been on display for years; it is obvious that oligarchs in this country have tainted the press; and the list goes on, but PBS is mute on these anti-democratic behaviors. That is not "balanced reporting."

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Link to a George Will piece today re the media.

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One small step at a time: So in my old age, I ride a community bus for disabled. Most of us are low income and sometimes low-brow. Today, for example, a conversation started about the stimulus being blamed for all the lost jobs, and the increase in loafing and begging, et al. I promised myself not to get wild. Calmly, I said the stimulus helped me move to a place where I could get care during Covid and unemployment is as low as before Covid began. Well, at least there was silence. I'm not sure if anyone was convinced.

It never ceases to astound me that these are the opinions of those who benefit from social programs and community assistance.

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They probably have their TVs tuned to Fox all day.

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MSM exists for.... profits!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Not in the biz of ethics, morals or honest info. That's it. Tells us all we need to know.

Truth speakers are ONLINE... and independent. Not corporate shills. They do exist... promise.

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Got my prayer wheel going right now!

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Your absolutely correct Jen! The opening battle will be fought at the Ballot Box…commencing with the Midterms! This battle…if lost…could signal the end of American Democracy as we now know it! The malignant tRump version of the GOP is America’s most dangerous enemy!

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Bob:

"...could signal the end of American Democracy as we now know it!"

WRONG BOB!

If this Mid Term battle is lost then American Democracy WILL CEASE TO EXIST!

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I’ve heard them calling for this for what now, seven years?! It’s time we push back on that. The more the truth comes out, the less appeal a “revolution” will have, I believe. The hard-core white supremacists will still want it, but the hangers-on and the just-annoyed-about-liberals will tone it down, I think, when justice acts justly. Calling for revolution is MUCH different than living it and sustaining a life in anarchy and chaos. Call their bluff.

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Listening to Heather's History chats, she has told us that before the colonists took up arms that we have come to know as the American Revolution, there was a revolution of ideas circulating among the colonies. Perhaps this is the resolution Jen is calling for.

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I am with you, Jeri. The screechiness of his voice, the image of him being revered as a king by his “generals” is sickening and appalling. Let them rot in the excrement they have created!

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Jeri, you speak my thoughts. Flies attracted, indeed. Go Joe!

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Jeri, I am sitting here trying to think of the appropriate words to say what I fell reading your post. I can't come up with anything as eloquent, as succinct as what you posted but can only say, I AGREE 100%!!

I am so freaking SICK about hearing about Trump! He is like an incurable STD epidemic upon the nation. I wonder if I will live long enough to ever live through a day when there is not some mention of him, somewhere.

Some of the fine people of the forum here do not believe in God, and I respect their views and opinions. I personally DO believe in God and wonder at what purpose this nasty man has in the eternal plan. The hypocrisy of the GOP is just astounding (if anyone has not seen it I highly recommend googling Trevor Noah from yesterday. Worth the search.)

God help us all.

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Here it is and you are so right!!! This is brilliant. I'm going to look for Tweets from the 12 Republicans who met to support him and post this as an alternative view. Trevor uses humor to capture and highlight so much hypocrisy about this whole situation. https://youtu.be/AZFd8j16MAs

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Well I started with MTG (I assumed she was one of the 12 - haven't seen a list yet) and I was so sickened by the posts I had to go though to find one to reply to that I had to take a break. Ok that's not a good use of my energy. I need to find a way to make space for truth w/o getting emotionally sucked into the muck of the lies.

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The struggle is real.

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Thank you so much! Loved it! 😍

Normally, I watch him every night, but when the 4yo grandson is staying over, things can go off-kilter. 😉

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I remember! A few years ago I was occasionally an overnight host to my two great grand kids starting when they were 3 and 4. OMG, I needed at least two days of recovery....and they were just being adorable kids!!! Your grandson is blessed!

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Trevor is brilliant… thank you for the link!

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I am tired of this charade too. And yes, when I hear death star whine, I want to vomit. The best thing would be for that monster to depart this earth and then where would the Rs be. The Rs are all for law and order until they egregiously break all kinds of laws to stay in power. Bad news from Washington House District 3. The death star endorsed Joe Kent beat out the incumbent by less than a thousand votes, so it's the D and Joe in November. This could go to the Ds if people get out and vote and reject the nonsense that Joe is spewing, so it could be good for Ds. Btw, Palmer has a list of D House candidates who need donations and it's worth the time to look them up and donate. Lately, he has been putting up something about them individually. And a final bit of good not political news. We had a wonderful thunder storm last night accompanied with .59 inches of rain. It's been dry, so this is welcome. No watering today.

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Hey, Michele. Who is Palmer; and how do I get to him? I'm donating directly to many now, but I prefer to find ones that need donor dollars more than the others who are doing well in that department.

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The Palmer Report. It does have a liberal bias and makes that clear. The Wikipedia report on it is not accurate. He is showcasing people who are running in swing districts and may not be as well known. I think he also has a list of Senators, but right now his focus is on the House.

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Thanks, Michele. Will check it out.

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Lynell: https://www.palmerreport.com

He has added a few other guest writers but, his own posts are the best. He doesn't hold back and in my limited time to commit to all of this he is right on his predictions most of the time, esp about how the media (both sides) push Biden's credit down and maximize attention to TFG all for clickbait and ratings. Overall he is a positive voice for all of us to get the word out on all the amazing things Biden is doing just keeping his head down and working and to never believe that the DOJ is "doing nothing".

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Thanks for this. And I agree. It's nice to read an alternative to the usual media voices.

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Thanks so much, BK, for the link and the bio about him. Looking forward to visiting the site this a.m.

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Please search for Trevor Noah from yesterday. He addresses your 4th sentence.

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Jeri, here's a perspective we need to consider. Were "the media" to jump all over these scoundrels, it would add fuel to claims of "biased reporting" and "extremely unfair" treatment of their 'plight' by the US Govt ...annnd the media, not to mention the belief that the democratic party is the enemy.. The tailgators would jump right on that band-wagon and shake it to death. It is better that WE ask questions. But, what we really need is for some Senators or Congress persons to get their butts educated (read HCR) and speak out loudly. Because, you and I can't.

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We can.

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I so agree with you, Jeri. It's like watching a train wreck over and over again. I won't watch any more of it and, like you, seeing and hearing TFG makes me want to heave. So much drama over a crook. Just tank the ratings and support Joe Biden who is doing the hard, sometimes boring, and always challenging work of governing.

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I will be so happy when Trump ceases to be "news worthy". I just want him to go away. Can we just get back to "normal" political intrigue?? Without someone who is so needy for attention...and so totally lost. A worthy opponent would be a good thing.

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I couldn't agree more. This is just a big, boring bully having a temper tantrum at our expense. (And his tantrums are indeed expensive.) I too long for the day when this disgusting person is no longer deemed newsworthy.

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And when they show him speaking in his soft sing song voice! Gee...it chills my insides!

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And the media hasn’t learned a darn thing—devoting enormous amours of time on his latest antics and utterances.

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I also wonder, like Michael, who is paying those members of the "GOP" to meet with tfg and 'urge' him to get nominated again. And of course, we are all waiting for the disclosure of the search inventory, the additional 10 boxes of items that tfg illegally had transported to his home. That's an easy task for tfg - but maybe takes as long as producing his tax returns? And I wonder why those boxes have not been burnt or destroyed yet, similar to the disappearance of the secret service cell phone contents and other mysteriously deleted evidence. Who in their right mind cannot see the crimes of so many of tfg's followers, including those of his lawyers (!), when many of those fraudsters have asked for presidential pardon, knowing full well that they have indeed committed crimes? Let's see those reasons for the 'search' of Mar-El-Lago' - it was NOT a raid, and everybody knows that. It was a search with a warrant.

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Aug 10, 2022·edited Aug 10, 2022

Let's assume it was classified documents. He would only keep them if he saw a way to profit — for example, by selling them to foreign powers.

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Good point! So tfg's scribbles that could incriminate him were ripped up and thrown in the toilet, and the sellable items were kept and illegally transported to his living quarters, maybe with the 'best' ones kept in his safe. While I shudder with fear that this might point to high treason, there is also hope that tfg cannot get away with lying that he 'only' kept those important docs 'safe', but that there is proof he was in the middle of doing something categorized as 'treason'. Maybe that will give his followers eventually pause.

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Not while his official broadcaster is calling him President Trump.

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I noticed this faux pas of many broadcasters - sadly this is the haste-makes-waste society.

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I'd call it a tactic, not a faux pas.

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We call all ex Presidents by that title while they live.

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No. It won’t.

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Don’t count on that.

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Yeah.. cause it was obviously a 'set up' and so very unfair. Part of the inventory will surely include a couple boxes of Depens, some womens undies, but no Top Secret or Classified documents (they're hidden at Roger Stone's house.

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I've believed from the beginning; Trump ran for office solely for monetary gain and it seemed he was as shocked as anyone when he won. Once he got into office and understood how much power he had and how he could exploit this power for personal monetary gain, he became obsessed with power.

I don't know what more could have been done, but the key to stopping Trump was securing all his personal and business tax returns and exposing all his shady financial dealings and lies. Trump is possibly one of the biggest failed conmen in history. Nearly everything he was involved in was a failure to the point that no American bank would lend him money. It was widely reported he was in serious financial difficulty up to the time he ran for president. Before he became president he was known as a high stakes grifter, a conman and a loser! He was so toxic, he was forced to look for financing from nefarious Russian oligarchs. Trump was the proverbial house of cards and everyone knew that it was a matter of time before the house fell - again. I still believe if Democrats could have somehow exposed Trump for who he really was, all of this could have been avoided. It would not have taken much to blow down Trump's house of cards and the Republican Party along with it.

It is profoundly heartbreaking to think of all the lives lost and damage done to this country because of the insatiable greed of a relatively few sociopaths like Trump. And I'm well aware that the rot runs deep, and it pre-dates Trump by decades. Unless and until there is a serious and wide sweeping accounting for everyone who put their financial interests ahead of the welfare of the country and "We the People," our future remains in peril. At some point, you would think enough people would rise up and say STOP, enough is enough, and demand a reckoning. Nobody can win if we continue down this path including the greedy uber-wealthy robber barons.

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Hillary and Bloomberg tried to call it out Like Cassandra in the Greek myths, they saw and were ignored

George Bush ( another fool with a following who certainly "accomplished his mission" )and his cabal could have tried to speak out but remained faithful Republicans and issued NO WARNINGS

George Romney! How the hell does his live with himself? These people had a degree of credibility with the party faithful and they watched as Hitler marched into the White House. I just cannot believe this has all happened ...

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You mean Mitt Romney, right? As a Massachusetts resident, I can tell you he doesn't really have a working conscience in his bottom-feeding, predatory-minded body.

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clearly yu are absolutely right

Another weak illusion...smashed

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Mitt Romney has always been a smart but totally self-serving man. He's a shell of a man who maybe pandered better than most to improve his life and his self-worth. His father, George was a more honorable politician though not without vanity or personal ambition.

No one person or even a few people can save this country. American politicians chose to enter or stay in a system where money is the name of the game. It's a money-making profession, not a calling nor an honorable pursuit. We the voters are unwilling enablers. It is a system that was bound to fail. As we all know by now, the Constitution expected good people of good conscience to lead the country.

Politicians in general have become more craven and mercenary and there is nothing in the Constitution or the justice system to check this. It's on us, "We the People." United we stand, divided we fall. It's a catch-22 really.

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This is pretty much what my Argentine friend said to me when I asked how the country had fallen from the richest country in Latin America to the most indebted

He said. No one smart or of good character would enter politics

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Trump actually did us a favor. Pre-Trump, most people (myself included) went about their daily business unaware of the treachery going on for decades behind the scenes. We connected a few dots gleaned from the nightly news (Haliburton is using the war as a cash cow? Wow!) but were genuinely ignorant of the evil roots.

We took care of our families, went to work, paid our taxes, and volunteered in our communities. We researched our local candidates and felt we were informed voters.

Trump was too egotistical to keep up the charade. We citizens got an up front and personal look at the wizards behind the curtain. The corruption, manipulation, and evil intent. We naïvely believed our elected officials, at the very least had our best interests in mind.

As a wise teacher once said "Once you know, you can never not know." We can't do anything about the decades we wasted, but can absolutely change the future. We are voting as if our lives depend on it because they do.

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so utterly and sadly true

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There is no question that Trump ripped open the curtains on the Republican assault on democracy, the Constitution and the rule of law. Of course, by then the right-wing media had already set the stage by propagating lies and misinformation. Traditional Republican voters were already sucked into the evil den of iniquity, and few ever regained common sense. The tea party had made great inroads into the Republican Party leadership. Most people just weren't paying attention and the MSM kept portraying it as politics as usual.

As I have said many times, Democrats did not take the Republican threat seriously enough and failed to counter their attacks on democratic norms.

This is what happens when the Golden Rule is applied to politics. The wealthy played both sides to the middle for as long as they could. As people caught on, the robber barons placed most of their bets on the Republicans who unabashedly serve only the wealthy. The Democratic agenda isn't what most wealthy people can support.

You're right - there are a lot more people plugged in as evidenced by the last election. As you say this is a fight for the future and it won't be won unless every loyal patriotic American takes the fight to the neo-fascist Republicans. We are the majority and that should count in every election. There needs to be demonstrable consequences if Republicans dare to steal an election from the majority. People are right to expect every vote to be counted.

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Friendly correction: Trump is possibly the most successful conman in history. Yes, most of his endeavors failed and he was truly a terrible negotiator, but as a conman he succeeded wildly. He might have been the best salesman at the best used car lot in Queens but for a rich father who saw him as golden and showered him with the connections and financing needed for a great start. After all his failures he might have faded into obscurity if it hadn't been for Mark Burnett and those damn shows. Oh, who am I kidding? Trump was never going to fade away as his shamelessness knows no bounds.

When he took that trip down that escalator and started his campaign with those outlandish claims about Mexicans, he set off a frenzy that I suspect surprised even him. He spoke to the lizard brains of many, and Trump, whose ego was (is) ever ripe for flattery, found that he could be his most outlandish self and crowds loved him for it.

As for exposing Trump, many tried, for many years, most failed. David Cay Johnston reported on him for a couple of decades but the kind of people who love Trump aren't reading books or even newspapers. We know for a fact that he was stunned when he won but once he did, once he was exposed to all the flattery, all the "Sirs" that goes with being POTUS, he was totally in his element.

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Hold the Republican Party responsible.

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absolutely yes

and the the Dems for not doing the research to expose and publicize all the chicanery 24/7

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Or using them to threaten to release unless paid lot pf $$$

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Oops, Michael. My post above mirrors your more direct comment. Thinking alike, yes, we are.

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Leverage with the members of the military and DOD who won’t fall in line.

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Maybe he hasn't destroyed that stuff because it contains dirt on other rethuglicans - his secret source of power!

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Interesting point. It would explain a great deal of fawning behavior.

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I have been thinking along those same lines. Blackmail.

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Herbert Hoover maneuver

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Citizen60

Good one!

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I so wish the FCC was stronger at prohibiting the lies on Fox. They once were a powerhouse at making news curtailing what could or could not be broadcasted over the airwaves. Perhaps the FBI should seize Hannity’s and Murdoch’s phones. I bet they’d find some very juicy stuff.

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Cable is Privately owned and not subject to FCC regs

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You are right, unfortunately. Big sigh…

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Isn’t that the reason the talking heads are under the “entertainment division”? To avoid problems with not telling the truth. Entertainment is A1 protected is the explanation I’ve heard.

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No, matter what, it sucks.

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I agree that the FCC could be stronger but it wouldn't make any difference as they don't regulate cable television. Fox plays both sides to a fair-thee-well: they present themselves as news to their viewers but legally they claim to be entertainment.

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Should someone stand up and say: “Russia, if your listening. What’s on The Inventory List?”

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That those boxes have not been burnt or destroyed lends credence, maybe, to the idea that they'd be useful for nefarious purposes; think quid pro quo with foreign nations?

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His co-writer speculated that they aren't necessarily documents. That he took things to sell. That seems much more like TFG.

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I’m still wondering if it was Pompeo who took that expensive bottle of Japanese whiskey.

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IMHO: The traitor probably did not burn the papers and whatever because he planned to bargain with them or sell them to Russia, China or North Korea. Remember he would sell out the USA for a buck!

Wait and see what they have found!

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IMHO: people ascribe to Trump a degree of political intelligence and ability to strategize that he doesn't possess. We're very lucky that he was so ineffectual. If he'd had any real interest in governing, if he'd hired people for their ability rather than their loyalty, we might be living with a president-for-life. But we got very lucky because Trump is first, last and always a deeply shallow narcissist with a fragile ego whose only interest is Trump.

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What did Jared sell to the Saudis for $2BN?

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Wondering who is “paying” those scumbags to immediately gather to bow down before their golden idol? They’re there to seek powerful standing and recognition from him and safety from prosecution. This, of course, is just more proof of their stupidity, avaricious intent, and disloyalty to our country. They are traitors and obviously willing to destroy our government. Want to take bets on who was there? Or does the quote, “the usual suspects” cover it? It encouraging that the DOJ is now starting to pick them off one by one.

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I saw "selfie" of them this morning on the news; went by very quickly but safe to say "the usual suspects," and then some. All were from the House of Reps side, none from the Senate side.

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I read somewhere - WSJ? - that among stuff already taken were communications with Kim and the letter Obama left for Trump. Sounds like future eBay sales items to me!

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The SVR provides guidance so surreptitiously to vulnerable boneheads. And effectively too. It serves $$$ to plant the seeds of hate, dissension, and confusion regarding our system of government. MTG and Kate Hate come to mind.

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You're expecting an empty suit to be equipped with a brain and a sense of self-awareness?

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Good one. I keep relearning that there are people with no conscience, which to me makes them aliens from a distant planet where dishonesty is like oxygen.

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ironically, they believe they're patriots. to them, we are aliens... such is the great divide

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They call themselves a patriot just to clean the sh#t off their shoes!!

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I don’t believe at all they think they’re patriots. That’s not even in the mix…except at a MAGA rally.

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They are human all right, just consumed with malignant narcissism.

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I bet, TC, speaking of empty suits that one could fit a walrus in the girdle under the suit.

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We wonder about it, Michael, because we can hardly bear to believe that a dozen elected representatives would flock to Trump to kiss his ring and ass instead of meeting with the current president to further the will and well-being of the people. And that the media will immediately turn away from any news at all except to pander about any event concerning Trump. Why does one think that he was the one to reveal the news and present it as an illegal witch hunt raid demanding a revolution response and have the media report yet another damaging lie to the millions that slaver for another morsel from their despot? Who needs Twitter when one has the media to do their reporting. Wittingly or unwittingly.

And here we are distracted from sleep and work to save our country.

Ugh. It’s a trap of a sewer drain.

🗽

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I predict that there will soon be evidence so damning against tfg that even the screaming congressional sycophants will not be able to ignore and there will be serious back peddling and cries of “oh well, that crossed the line” and “I had no idea”, and of course Susan Collins will be “concerned”.

These will be others who know things and are complicit up to their eyeballs that will smoke screen and yell “Hunter Biden and Hillary” at the top of their lungs, all the while having terrifying night sweats in private as the DOJ gets closer and closer to the truth.

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We can only hope!

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Seems I saw something saying that TFG had declassified all the documents but Cipollone hadn’t filed the paperwork. Here comes the scapegoat.

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Not a chance. This would have come out when we first learned of the 15 boxes that the National Archives later recovered. But TFG and his minions are spewing out disinformation around the clock.

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heard an attorney who specializes in classified docs today say that it's a formal procedure and legal process to declassify... he can't just say it.

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A long and important article in The Atlantic quotes Trump as saying "Who cares about the law,". https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2022/09/trump-administration-family-separation-policy-immigration/670604/

Dictator-loving Trump has shown every indication of seeking absolute power, in concert with, to their (lack of) shame, the preponderance of the Republican Party. Trump pretends to hold imperial powers, and his party has backed him up nearly all of the time.

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Aug 10, 2022·edited Aug 10, 2022

In reading the article, it spells out that the idea of carrying out these abhorrent separations were already under way during Geo W.'s term. This should be made more public-casts a darker light on Republicans. (And don't forget-the umbrella organization that dealt w/ the trauma that was inflicted on the children is Bethany Christian Services-an organization that has been the recipient of hundreds of thousands of dollars of funds from various DeVos family members. That being said, Betsy DeVos is NOT an owner of Bethany Christian Services and doesn't receive financial reimbursement. However these donations do help the DeVos people to spread their Christian agenda.

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Ugh ugh UGH!! For that horrid separation alone, Chump should be in prison sharing a cell with Jeff Sessions and the real Nazi, Stephen Miller. Perhaps Betsy arranged the kidnapping, in her spare time, with Bethany Christian Services. Think about that.

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I am not a Christian but regard humble and compassionate Christians as good neighbors. The other "God is on MY side (not yours) seems to me to turn the central advise of Jesus on it's head; sociopathic inquisitions, genocides, witch hunts, slavery, etc. because MY God said so. The devil hath power to assume a pleasing shape (Hamlet) and it seems to me that the cruelest forms of malignant narcissism are what is traditionally called "evil". MLK and Desmond Tutu showed the opposite of that.

Family separations as a means of population control is close to as evil as it gets, short of genocide. The scale of this maliciousness wrought under our noses seems to get lost is the tsunami of right-wing abuses that have increasingly engulfed and beguiled our society since Watergate.

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Jesus wouldn't be a christian today.

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When I asked my friend who is an immigration attorney about this article, she said it is very well done, and:

"Yes!  My boards have been working on these cases and have been involved in reuniting families.  Here are two that I work with--https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org and cclsmiami.org.  Thank you so much for being interested in this work!  It is really devastating what happened.  I think that we will be judged as a nation for this."

Contributions can be made to support their work via these sites.

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So hard to "❤" this, so important to read. Never Again. Heartless policies by ruthless f**ks. I worked as an interagency coordinator for a bit, and had cases with Bethany - I found the care depended on the individual case workers, and most here (in Northern Michigan) were good.

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Thank You for posting this. It is crushing.

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From such a distance it is easy to forget the realities many people are facing. I have to remind myself of horrors that have (seemingly) little direct effect on me, that are nevertheless "crushing" as you put it, to the affected people. I have to think of Rev. Martin Niemöller, who initially welcomed Hitler, to be subsequently sent to concentration camps when he changed his opinion, and who wrote the famous passage that ends "Then the came for me...". And it' not just that. If the young people I know though my daughter are representative there is generational depression over the state of the world we are bequeathing them. How much suffering can we bear to acknowledge? And for what? The allegedly God-given right to bully? It could easily lead to our own extinction as a species.

Recalling the essay:

Though prominent child-welfare organizations have labeled the family separations carried out by the Trump administration “child abuse” and “torture,” Gelernt avoids such language, because he believes it risks causing people to tune out even more. But he struggles with the reality that so many people seem to have moved on. “The average American parent, when they leave their child the first time for one night with a babysitter, is worried every minute of it, or when they drop their kid off for the first time in preschool and worry what the child is going through or the first time a teacher treats them unfairly,” he said. “Do they really not think these families suffer the same way they would from losing their child?”

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Trump lackey Kash Patel claimed he heard Trump declassify the materials as they were packed away. Even if that is true (Patel offered no evidence of it), only mob bosses and dictators rule by decree. The US is still a system where a president’s statement only expresses an intention. Further action is needed to change a document’s classification (or appoint a special prosecutor, or whatever). So no, the stolen documents were not declassified as they were stolen.

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Patel sets up the image of trump standing over the boxes like the Pope and motioning his hand and saying: “I Declassify You! And You! And Especially You!” But I doubt it works that way.

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And in the process, Patel declared himself a witness to Trump personally choosing to steal all that material.

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I hereby declare myself the owner of the Brooklyn Bridge.

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Why stick with half measures? Sell shares in your bridge.

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But of course. Send your money now.

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this whole mess seems like a bad futuristic sci-fi thriller that is so convoluted that I can’t even follow the plot or see where it is headed. Normally I would just turn off the movie but I can’t…ugh

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Like it’s a magic spell or something? Kash Patel is adjacent to an awful lot of weird stuff. 🤔

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If he can/could declassify at will, then we have only seen the tip of the iceberg. I think that is true anyway.

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Jeri, he could only declassify while he was president, not now.

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The constituents of the Republicans are so far down the list of priorities that they are clinging to the bottom edge of the paper as countless ones fall off the list because they lack the strength to continue to hold on.

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May not have to dream Michael. WAPO has been following the National Security & Public Records Act violations since tfg left office. Yesterday, WAPO's Ashley Parker detailed the chronolgy of the Fed's investigation on MSNBC including reporting a Spring Meeting at Mar-a-Lago with tfg's Lawyers & briefly with Wreck himself. Certain documents were located then. Wreck's attorneys were advised to put a Lock on that room. That same Lock was busted by the FBI per the Warrant approved by the Federal Judge.

YES, Wreck does have an item-by-item inventory of the items recovered per the Warrant. The earlier "15 Box' inventory was over 100 pages long. We can do the Math. Evidence of other Crimes is allowed to be inspected & seized per Federal procedural rules. BUSTED. Superb journalism by Ashley Parker & the WAPO Team.

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HA! Ashley Parker and her team are brilliant. I think even “Wreck’s” lawyers might face disbarment, because they absolutely knew that he took documents that were not his to keep. Let his posse all shiver with fear and try scrambling about like ants. Big Bro is watching and will seize upon them.

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Aug 10, 2022·edited Aug 10, 2022

Bryan, I looked for a link concerning the Washington Post 'following the National Security & Public Records Act violations since tfg left office'. I did not find it after a very brief search. Can you help us locate this if it is organized as such?

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It was on n MSNBC the early afternoon show. The Chronology was a Graphic on the Screen. There was a substitute Anchor for Nicolle Wallace yesterday. No MSNBC transcript up yet. Ashley is @AshleyRParker. WAPO does have an "explainer" up now, "Mara-a-Lago Search ..." with 5 co-authors including the detailed & careful Jacqueline Alemany.

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Thanks, Bryan. I wonder whether contacting the investigative unit or news editor would make sense.

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Possibly, WAPO has a "MUCK ..." service, check it out.

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Thanks, Bryan. I will.

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"...12 Republican members of the House of Representatives met with Trump tonight, told him they stand with him, and urged him to run for president in 2024. "

Trump’s unpresidented predisposition’s faux campaigning for the 2024 “Brass-Ring’s” acquisition is inconsequential: he knows he can’t lose no matter the outcome!

If he miraculously deceives enough of the really stupidities to vote for the best candidate who should have been aborted 73 years prior…then he will become terrifyingly enraptured!

AND

All the while he is film-flaming his enrichment by sucking every drop he can of the life-blood out of the withering veins whose few remaining corpuscles exiguously attempt clawing their final few inches towards the shrinking slop in the heads of his most loyal buffoons.

HOWEVER!

America’s democracy even more miraculously emerges from the flames fanned by all those treasonous asses who would reduce the land of the free to ashes but instead begins to immediately flourish like a lovingly well-tended spring garden of Constitutional law’s integrity, governance, and mutual respect for each and every American in every way possible.

So!

He loses again…Really!

Please, somebody show me where is the evidence that his slaves of perdition would disbelieve his inevitable claim that he actually won?

His name would be in the rivaling headlines ad nauseum predominantly for his revealed lies precipitating the just deserts he deserves.

And

Damn-it !!!

I beg a modicum of mercy but alas it becomes truly obvious that the risk to his moneymaking apparatus increases exponentially if he capitulates his prospect of reinfecting the American White House with the most vial stench ever released into the atmosphere…trumprump!

HOWEVER #2

Always remember this…GOD’s love also includes HIS perfectly timed sense of humor!

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George, as I commented above, I do believe in God but wonder what purpose this nasty man has in God's eternal plan.

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Miselle:

The nastiness of such a fool has NEVER been part of GOD's plan.

Love is GOD's only plan for us.

God has given each of us complete free will...

each one of us can choose HIS will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven..

.or

we can become ever more distracted by our own conventions of wisdom and accede to the daily bombardment of deceptions as temptations' slaves

There are consequences for either choice

Some very good indeed!

Some eternally very bad

Christians are daily reminded in their prayers the wisdom of a love that passes our ability to ever fully comprehend until that final moment of our enlightenment...

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You've captured so much of what I've been feeling. Imagine being at a point in our history when "One can dream" refers to wanting to learn that T***p actually used classified docs for nefarious purposes. Sigh...I am grateful that there was also substantial good news in this letter. Messaging! Republican Senators voted against a bill that will bring $44 billion of manufacturing money back to US. There must be something that can be done with that!!!!!

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They don't care a bit about the welfare of this country or its citizens. They want the Democrats to fail, or convince everyone to believe they're incompetent, so that they maintain their grip on this country. They want power and the advantages that come with it.

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Yep! And we've got to make as many new people aware of this as possible!

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I'm working on that!

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Chaplain Terry Nicholetti

Indeed!

Vote intelligently after diligently reviewing all of the facts about each candidate, incumbent, and legislative issue...and then help as many others as humanly possible do the same, Eh!?

Please.

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I love to watch the feigned outrage on their faces as they fume over the way that the Democrats "politicize everything" and aim to "divide the country." No matter what they claim Democrats are doing, it is unfailingly described as exactly what the Republicans have done for years - as in "power grab." The right wing of SCOTUS has always behaved similarly - how many times have we been lectured about "activist judges" while they are denying our rights?

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Nancy Fleming:

What the minions of trump are doing is classified as "Projection." republicans believe we are just like them.

The power of our votes this November may enlighten them or perhaps not, Eh!?

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George, I'm familiar with projection, and agree that it is exactly what is going on. I doubt that we'll ever enlighten them - that amount of toxicity is difficult to overcome.

I'm hoping that, because they've overplayed their hand across the board, we, in the majority, will flex our muscles and drive them out of office. Perhaps I'm overly optimistic, but seeing the turnout at the primaries so far, I think it's possible.

I'm also hopeful that Merrick Garland will work at reversing Republican's criminal voter suppression and vote nullification dirty tricks that have been put in place since the 2020 election. Garland has proved that he's capable of quietly working at untangling the web that the Republicans have constructed - without a word leaking out.

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Nancy Fleming:

Precisely!

Garland will proceed in the only way he knows will fairly administer American justice and all those who believed they could rewrite the law of America to fill their own pockets with deceptions' self-aggrandizements' pleasures, all at the cost of others, will soon enough wish they never acceded to evil's twenty first century incarnation, Eh!?

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George, I'm so happy that the pundits (even those that I like) were so wrong about Garland. You know, it says something about our society's preference for style over substance. Regardless of Garland's bona fides for his education and intelligence, not to mention his good character, the doubt was almost universal that he had what it took to right the ship. Biden's been treated similarly - elderly, not a charismatic speaker, and despite his obvious good qualities, he, too, has been thrown under the bus by most of the media.

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Or they know we are not and it terrifies them!

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Watch, for example, the painful twitch upon McConnell's countenance as he sees it all slipping away with no way to prevent his very own well deserved self-destruction...

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Can't wait to see him pitched, head-first into oblivion.

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They already are claiming the FBI planted evidence. That’s their new grift.

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Me too. Why would they continue to support this creep and ignore their constituents? Why sell our democracy? It makes me sad, actually. It's as if everything people who involve themselves with TFG turn into dirt. We need to find out what TFG stole and why. It's important to us all regardless of what makes more money for FOX News.

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My guess is that they are all nearly as guilty as tfg and if he is elected they will all be saved at least for a few years!

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I suspect you're correct. Thanks.

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It's been the GOP way for a long time Michael. The way of McCarthyism, to the Ben Ghazi kangaroos and more recently Lindsey Graham's churlish outbursts during the Kavanaugh debacle, when faced with the continuing and tiring dialogue for which he had no logical answers, Sen Graham acted angry and raised his voice to try to put an end to the discussion. A puppy love tactic learned by many of us who came up in the fifties. Unlike Mr. Graham and the GOP, most of us have long outgrown that behavior.

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The Republican Party is like a hot air balloon that has become untethered and will rise until it eventually falls. There are enough good people to stay the course of our democracy, I hope and believe.

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Robin, I think that you're correct. With the crazies taking over the Republican party, it simply has to crash. I hope I live to see it. We must resist the temptation of slipping into defeatism.

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Why these items? Which in the safe? With Trump, one reasonable thought is how might they be monetized or leveraged.

Had they been previously selected and stored or the result of grab and go as they ran out the door?

Who selected the items at various steps.

I hope photo documentation is part of every step of the process of retrieving them and restoring them to the Archives.

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Thank you Heather. So heartening. So very heartening. You never left the fire line. Never. You always faced the flames with one foot in the black. They way forward is still steep and smoky but your sense of justice is clear and brilliant. A long time ago someone asked me who my hero was. I said no hero’s here. Over the coarse of my life I have finally been blessed beyond my wildest expectations to know and have lived in the same time in the same atmosphere as this heroic heroine who has upstaged the world and made herself known. My hero HCR.

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My heroine too. We are blessed. As women we know well the energy and courage it takes to be seen and heard in this culture where the power is firmly located in in the male culture. How else would our country choose Donald Trump over Hilary Clinton? What a sham the outrage over Hilary Clinton’s emails compared to Trump’s ethics.

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And if the popular vote is to be believe, our country did choose Hillary Clinton over that guy.

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HCR is my hero too Pat. Thank you Heather for reminding us that our history should be our history, yet can and does influence our present and future. So many are complacent and will accept whatever comes along and complain about it tomorrow. And we have a choice should be decided by us

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One of the biggest benefits for me is that she has allowed me to hear that there are real, normal, productive people who are sane happy and getting along in spite of this berserk attack on all of us. I’m even getting better vibes from government than I have in a while. Biden cheers me up with his quieter demeanor and intelligent governance. I would not be aware of the goodness flooding in from the hearts and minds of so many respondents on this forum if it had not come to pass. She has pulled us together so well.

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Pat, let’s not forget that our Heather was hand-picked by Biden to interview him! She unknowingly created quite a community while writing LFAA. I am so very grateful for the friendships I have made by being privy to her thoughts and facts. We are ONE here.

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So true, Marlene! There are wonderful people on this forum--yes, the occasional troll as well--but even when there are different opinions, people here engage and debate respectfully.

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No "unknowing" about it - our beloved Prof.Richardson quite deliberately set out to spread truth and ideas about the importance of, as she likes to say, human self-determination.

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Yes Marlene, “ our Heather “. If she were a crown you are one of her gems.

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Yes, the federal government accomplished a lot recently. The news of the passing of the CHIPS act for domestic chip manufacturing, the PACT act to support veterans exposed to toxic burn pits, the Senate finally passing serous action on climate change - it’s all highly significant, and being buried beneath the news of Trump ranting about being forced to return stolen government property.

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You're on a roll, Pat; and I'm right behind you!

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I couldn't agree with you more Pat. It helps me tremendously to know that I am not alone with my thoughts. I have learned so much from this forum. Not only from Dr. Richardson, whom I can't praise enough, but also from many of the comments that have me digging deeper into what's really going on. Thank you everyone for your input.

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Aug 10, 2022·edited Aug 10, 2022

Yup, Jeanne,I hear you. In fact I feel good to leave you and Marlene and Christine and Joan and Karen and Someone and TC and that wild Canadian Ukrainian on guard duty while I sneak off and pick huckleberries. I have not forgotten the rest of this bad bunch just gotta go. Oops, and Lynell.

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And Sandy and Lynell and MPSercu, and the really smart one from New York and those Texas Cyclone gals and that tuba player and ……..

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History is the record of how we got to now.

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Evil lurks in the hearts of some men, virtue rules in others. Americans are learning which is which. There’s no doubt about Donald Trump, all see this. Will a single Republican in 2022 demonstrate what Republicans led by Sen. Howard Baker and John Dean showed in Watergate?

Cassidy Hutchinson showed that some young women have what it takes. She saved the One Six Committee with the truth.

What Republican man has what it takes tonight?

Is there not one Republican that will tell the truth?

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Michael Dean Cohen tells the truth. About Trump. You can believe his every word.

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So weird that the committee believed all these other re canters. Barr being a lawyer like Cohen and so complicit in so much. Like Cohen. But Barr is scott free. Cohen in jail. But he revealed so much. No one “ thanked him for his service to our country” when he laid out the double dealing and the criminal activity did ON TRUMP’S BEHALF. Instead he was seen as a crook while these fine gentlemen who worked to bring the government down are lauded as patriots even as tbey depict their own traitorous complicity

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Exactly! And it makes no sense. He tells the truth, squeals on the crooks and lands in jail while they skate away free. Where's the sense in it?

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We don't know that Barr is scott free (where does that phrase come from, anyway?). We just know that his departure fro the Trump Administration was well-timed.

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The word “scot” in the expression dates back to the 1200s, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, and means money (or a tax) assessed against someone, or somebody’s fair share of an expense (for instance, a bill for drinking or entertainment). It’s derived in part from an Old Norse word, skot, and an Old French word, escot.

The expression was around in medieval times, when towns levied taxes in proportional shares for things like a poor fund. The tax was called a “scot,” and somebody who wriggled out of paying it got off “scot free.”

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Judith. He was not indicted. He was not tried. He was not convicted. By his own information we know he saw plenty and was facilitator for Trump. His lawyer more than attorny general. He is free to go get an ice cream cone while cohen sits in a jail cell.

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Yes, his complicity. But his political instincts are better than Cohen's, and so is his timing. Right now Barr is useful as is. You may be right, but let's wait and see. And Cohen (I just learned this myself) is out: https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-crime-new-york-manhattan-campaigns-3a0413202e80ab99c9f6377f97d07c04.

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I hope the committee has more luck than Socrates searching for an honest man or Lot searching for a virtuous one. I do believe such people exist, and are right in front of us. We will hear them soon.

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I believe Trump has stashed all of the valuable information that he can hold in his fat little fingers. He probably has and will commit espionage. Just waiting for the highest bidder or maybe the best safe haven. He is a Traitor

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Gym Jordan for the judiciary committee? He can’t even tell the truth about how short he is.

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The “Bedminster 12” is dreaming of a gop House takeover in Nov., which would make Gym the chairman of the Judiciary Committee as he’s already its ranking member. & yes, that is frightening.

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VOTE

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One of the Tweeters opined that he couldn't chair a soda fountain.

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Good one! I laughed when whoever-it-was revealed that tidbit about him being over the judiciary. His big loud mouth makes up for his height. Guess he always felt small...which he is.

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He's 5'7"...I looked it up. But yeah, not sure if there's some other significance to the comment about his shortness.

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Would someone please do a video of all the instances in which Trump and appointed minions illegally weaponized the federal government (Ukrainian shake down, military mobilization for BLM protests on public property, DOJ hijacking attempts, IRS audits of former FBI directors, Census scam-lies, Secret Service missing phone data...endless ENDLESS) against his 'enemies' and at the end remind people that as for the search warrant; GIVEN that 15 boxes of stolen classified materials Trump should not have had (including letter from Kim Jong-Un) were already recovered from his Club...errr....'home'...GIVEN that his own aids said he was illegally flushing documents down the toilet...GIVEN the HUGE gaps in missing records especially on Jan. 6th like call and visitation logs...the idea that there might be more illegally obtained missing documents in Trump's possession sorts sounds pretty reasonable! HUH!?!? So stop whining right wing hypocrites and liars.

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But whining is all they have done, it is all they know how to do.

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And then we get to hear it as news as if it is the truth on our news stories. What happened to investigative journalism? How did so many people drink the kool aid and believe Trump? The power of social media, Murdoch, Money has fed us with lies and has nearly destroyed us. Michael Bates accurately described the Republican playbook of outrage and no interest in the truth. How do people like Jordan get to be in power? Something is very wrong when there is no moral compass in our leaders.

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I fear behind them are the no-moral-compass voters who elected them to office.

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True TRUE…Whing & Lying, LLC. It’s their ‘area of specialization’ .

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Are they located in the same building as the law firm Dewey Screwum and Howe? 🤔

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... Michael Moore ...?

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Ever subscribe to The Lincoln Project? They’re pretty brilliant in their ads that they run.

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Yes! Yes! Yes!

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Why does DT call them witch hunts? Seems it would be proper to call them warlock hunts or has DT had a sex change? ... I'm sick of hearing about DT. At least the news people are showing Mar-o-Lago and we don't have to see his ugly face or listen to his voice.

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I see too much of his “Dorian Gray” image.

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Or Mitch, or Cruz. The ugly soul comes though.

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Actually, the last victim of a real witch hunt was exonerated in Salem, MA recently. https://www.historynet.com/salem-witch-exonerated/

I am tired of the term, too Cathy. I prefer the term "brought to justice" in this (Trump) context. :)

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Kudos to the Civics teacher who showed eighth graders they can make a difference. Great article.

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You and I both know Cathy, that Republicans thrive on 'red meat' and 'click-bait' - all the Trump and Republicon crapola is just another proven way to stoke the rage and anger, and of course, fund raise. As I said the other day, Trump is a magnet for suckers and losers or as Hillary framed it, 'deplorables.'

I had high hopes (that have since been dashed) that the media would have cut through the crapola and exposed the Republicans as a party without morals, principles or ethics. The party is a clear and present danger to the Republic and everyone with a lick of common sense understands the threat. The Fourth Estate in totality has failed mightily!

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Yes. I'm quite angry with the media -- all of it -- for spending so much time on DT at the expense of President Biden and all the things he has accomplished in under two years as President. As far as I'm concerned, the media is collaborating with the enemy of the People and needs to stop it. While negative stuff gets our brains's attention, what wins in the long run is positive things that increase our well-being. Hope over hate. We, the People, all of us this time!

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I know the journalistic clout of the WSJ provides Rupert with his bona fides as a newsman, but it also gives him cover for Fox propaganda network. It is really worth it, America? Other countries have said no. Next time anybody wonders why we are so divided, just tune in to one of their “opinion” spewers, all masters of the art of lying with conviction. No mystery, no where. Overcoming that is Joe and Dems biggest challenge…

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💯%! Faux feeds the lies, hatred and anger and now the civil war the seditionists are screaming for. Ban lying, inciting, hate machines like them from our airwaves.

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Is it time for another boycott of those who advertise on Fox Not the News? Since it was last tried a few years ago, things have gotten much scarier. Maybe worth another try now. Maybe even expand to all who advertise anywhere in Murdoch Land.

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Absolutely! Along with massive voter turnout, a boycott is the only proven weapon available for ordinary citizens to marginalize the fascist doomsday machine.

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Follow the money.

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The news these days is a mix of accomplishment and hope by Biden and the Dems, along with pure horror from the ( once loyal) opposition. What a roller coaster ride we are on.

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As I’ve implied here, Mussolini’s Knock Off will be investigated, charged, convicted and sentenced.. But will NOT serve much time in a US prison protected by Secret Service - which may also be charged - but he may well suffer a fate not unlike the King II of Belgium following his behavior in rubber in The Congo - see Mark Twain - it’s true.

I’d say the same fate will be dealt to Putin if they don’t kill him first. And I prefer the second.

Humans are the most disgraced and disgraceful of all God’s creatures in the animal kingdom. If we don’t clean it up, we will certainly destroy all life on the green planet Earth, blessed by photosynthesis, the Hand of God; we may be alone in the universe, we have not found another green planet, not one.

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Morning, Sandy. I like your turn of phrase to refer to the con man as a "Knock Off," not original in the least. A mere shadow of a copy of others who were and are superior to him in every way.

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Aug 10, 2022·edited Aug 10, 2022

Thank you, Professor for bringing us another big news day that gives us a picture of the future. In the coming elections Voters can decide if they want real progress, equality, environmental and climate change policies and laws, a possibility of Truth and Justice and how to get there. Or More years of trumpy repub drama, lies, corruption, and a road to Autocracy. Of those two choices: “[D]ecades from now, people are going to look back at this week, with all we’ve passed and all we’ve moved on, that we met the moment at this inflection point in history—a moment when we bet on ourselves, believed in ourselves, and recaptured the story, the spirit, and the soul of this nation.” President Joe Biden.

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HCR's letters stand firm, like pillars we can hold on to in the swirling floodwaters.

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President Biden's speech writer is cut from "plain cloth", a big step down from Kennedy and Obama... but that is a nice contrast to the "baffle-gab" of McCarthy, and Leslie Graham...

Those repubs who pledged, today, fealty to Trump...are saying, in effect, "we would back Hitler or Mussolini if they were living Americans.....They are the antithesis of Liz Cheney, I imagine that if she loses her upcoming election... we will soon see a New Centrist Party, which will shepherd the funeral of the formerly principled GOP.

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Thank you Heather.

The executed search warrant has created a monster. While running errands yesterday, I drove through a Walmart parking lot in Upstate NY to get to the main road. In the rear of the parking lot were 4 pick up trucks gathered together. All 4 had Trump flags on poles extending to the rear of the bed of the trucks. The drivers were huddled together talking. All were the typical 40 something thug Trumpers. Black teeshirts with vulgar slogans , headbands and leather vests. They were what you would see at any Trump rally or demonstration.

So, these people or cult members are prepared to fight back. Maybe this legally procured and executed search warrant of their saviors property was just enough to trigger their thought process that a Civil War is their rightful revenge.

What will they do, probably what they have done before, drive around with Lee Greenwoods song Proud to be an American blaring from a speaker in the back of their pick ups and a "caravan" as they call it and harass other drivers. Will they amp up their show? Who knows. I do know that the sorely understaffed Syracuse Police Department will do nothing, just like did last time. Likely leave it up to the NY State police as they sit back and watch these clowns exercise their 1st Amendment Rights even when they cross the line, the police look away.

Be safe. Be well. Watch your back.

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Yep. May we all watch our backs. Yet again, Linda. Saw a few trucks getting adorned yesterday. Eww.

🗽

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A disheartening encounter for you, Linda. You stay safe, please, and watch your back as well.

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Thank you Lynell. It was unexpected to say the least given it was in a sheltered area of the parking lot. Likely out of any security cameras gaze.

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They are everywhere! Sick and ignorant bastards. Don’t they have jobs?

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Watch your back indeed.

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Every time Lardo gets a "Put up or shut up," he always reponds "fold."

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He does scare me, however. He has friends in high places, those of whom we do not know their names. Remember, he’s part of the mob and I don’t mean the Italian mobsters. He was made to think he’s the smartest, the toughest guy in the room. He was born that way, to push people around. He must be imprisoned or we will be facing a Hitler incarnate.

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Qevin is worse than a wimp. He is a lyin’ scoundrel who allowed his king to play him

like a fiddle.

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Person. Woman. Man. Camera. Prison. The end.

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Disclose the supoena and inventory. If not, nothing but hot air.

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