Those of us who read your newsletter have seen this coming for a long time. Trump is helping those who haven't been paying enough attention so far to see his true intentions extremely clearly now. I've seen a few news outlets clearly tie Trump's rhetoric to Hitler's language, including NPR's Weekend Edition this morning. It's about damn …
Those of us who read your newsletter have seen this coming for a long time. Trump is helping those who haven't been paying enough attention so far to see his true intentions extremely clearly now. I've seen a few news outlets clearly tie Trump's rhetoric to Hitler's language, including NPR's Weekend Edition this morning. It's about damn time. Seems like maybe, just maybe, the major news outlets will snap into focus over this holiday break and come out with sharp, accurate reporting starting in January. All of your readers will keep doing our part to help everyone around us see the stark choice ahead of us, and tune out the distractions, of which there will be so many. Trump is telling us who he is extremely clearly; we'll keep telling people what that means for them, and what they can do about it, which is to vote out every single Republican in office, since they are Trump's foot soldiers.
I predicted this as he traveled down the famous elevator at tRump Tower. His father was a Ku Klux Klan member, so his belief system was to be expected. His father turned away many minorities, seeking housing in Queens. He was a racist and tRump's mother was absent in her role as mother. tRump was a poor student and his father had to pay a handsome sum to get him into Wharton. He is committing treason and the media has allowed him to get a foothold with those who are uninformed and those who are Nazi sympathizers. It's high time we call out his treasonous behavior and give no quarter to any rethuglican now in office. The sooner we send them packing, the better. The MTG's of the world need to be investigated. They are no better than the man that became President by hook and by crook. The electoral college has seen its day and that too should be thrown out with the bath water. Those of us who despise what tRump has done to our democracy, have allowed the media to give a platform to all of the scum who came crawling out of their caves. They need to think again! Let's Clean House!
The first knife in the back for democracy goes back at least as far as Reagan. FOrty years of anti-republic "Republicans" have sure made a mess of things, and we daren't let it go any further.
The thing I dislike most about President Reagan is that his words set apart the government from the people. Reagan said "The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the Government, and I'm here to help." It was a direct refutation of President Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. His address ends by reminding us that we are a self-governing nation: "...It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us, that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion, that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain, that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” Reagan and Prime Minister Thatcher were champions of the neoliberal movement, to shrink the size and reach of the federal government. In Grover Norquist's words, he would "starve the beast" -- he would "shrink the federal government until it is small enough to drown in a bathtub". They wanted to move away from being a self-governing democratic system, toward getting the government out of the business sector -- except when they needed the federal gov't to bail them out after their free-wheeling economic blunders. Reagan and Thatcher ripped apart the fabric of society, turning us into individual atoms, instead of being members of a society. And look at what we have become! The Republicans are so alienated from society, and from each other, that they have dropped all pretense of having a political platform on which to stand.
Our best hope -- probably our only hope -- is that the Democrats will clearly demonstrate that they want to help all of us rise up out of poverty, to achieve prosperity for All.
The Inflation Recovery Act (IRA) can accomplish several things. Congress authorized spending into the economy to improve various aspects of our infrastructure, including our homes and the buildings in which we work, while reducing carbon loading in the atmosphere to mitigate climate change. The Republicans say they want to reduce spending, apart from defense contractors. The Republicans are wrong in so many ways. By going all-electric, we are going to drastically reduce our lifetime cost of energy. By installing solar electric systems, and two-way heat pumps for heating and air conditioning, we will avoid the continually rising cost of burning fossil fuels, while doing something significant about climate change. The IRA is currently in the process of being implemented at the State level. Some discounts and rebates are already available. This is the beginning of making a HUGE improvement in our health, both financial and physical. The Republicans are living in the Twilight Zone. I wish we could avoid giving them any attention, and just concentrate on helping the American people, while we still can.
"The thing I dislike most about President Reagan is that his words set apart the government from the people."
Exactly, and that was the the key to what he was peddling, and what the once "Party of Lincoln" has become. Who is it that the government is BY, and who does it work FOR? Who is it that is being governed? Who now ignores the law with virtual impunity? Who is crushed or even shot for minor infractions? None of the will to corrupt we now see is entirely new, and the Southern wing of the Democratic Party was pretty execrable before Civil Rights Acts sent them running into the arms of the former party of Abolition (and the Confederate flag defenders began to have Rs next to their names); but Reagan struck at the core of democracy and the common weal. It was never "government" they intended to drown, just the Lincolnian strain of it. Reagan wanted plutocracy; Trump wants fascism. I'm not sure there's a lot of difference.
Back in the 1970s I was with a group backpack camping on the pacific coast, miles from any habitation or phone. Jerks in a dune buggy had built an oversized campfire that had spread to copious driftwood and the afternoon wind was carrying burning material to start new fires. just beyond the band of driftwood was tall dried grass and then dry-season forest. To make a long story short we put out a fire that was maybe 40' diameter by running like mad, clearing unburned from around it and throwing partly ignited material into the inferno. Satellite fires were extinguished with sea water and a soup pot. The thing is it felt great to work as a team and get it done. I think there is some of the same reward in war, but here there was no accompanying tragedy. Could we possibly unite and coordinate as a society to fight the fire we have unleashed on the planet and it's future? Could we provide jobs and a sense of solidarity in doing what needs to be done to rescue as much as we can of our sustaining web of life? I know Biden is making some progress in that respect, but we are way behind schedule, and need to focus.
What you suggest is what FDR tried to do with the New Deal policies. The Republicans have hated those policies ever since. They want government only to protect the property of the rich that their ancestors stole from the rest of society.
Feudalism. The system the Constitution replaced, and yet 12 presidents held slaves, slavery mimicking fiefdoms, but even more oppressive. The urge to gain by bullying others runs deep in human character; Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The ascetic, empathetic philosophy of Jesus turned to justifying slavery and genocide. The mission statement of the Constitution equated with totalitarian Communism, with totalitarian fascism glorified to replace it.
Jenn, there is a contemporary book, "The Case for a Federal Job Guarantee" by Pavlina Tcherneva. It is a slender volume, very elegant in its presentation of the idea that the Federal Government could create a system whereby anyone who wants to work can get hired, working for a living wage. A living wage would attract workers who have been struggling at the minimum wage level, thereby forcing the private sector to pay more to attract workers, obviating legislation to raise the minimum wage. It reminded me of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) that ran from 1935 to '43. I see it as a prudent investment in our fellow citizens. Our private sector is not set up to provide employment opportunities for everybody who wants to work. The public sector can get worthwhile work done that would not get done by the private sector, because it's not profitable. While it may not be profitable, it is nevertheless worthwhile. It may contribute to the common wealth of the community, or the nation. Professor Tcherneva explains it better than I.
Nicely stated. When those that run the government spend their time running it down, count on the government being the problem. CONservatives want to run government like a business they claim, so my advice is to avoid their businesses at all costs. They are only interested in themselves. I guess we could apply the old adage of "those who can't teach" to CONservative politicians :those who can't do business - govern". Something like that, except there are a lot of successful business people in government. But you get the idea.
Don't they see that those things are not the same, as they should have learned from "Sesame Street" ? No, they 'do not' - it's 'their way' or the highway (obstruction to traffic jams) to govern a democracy; their 'demand' is to rule. 'Their reasoned' - self justified conclusion is the need for only one party reign alongside a partisan 'Chairman of the Board' who settles all disputes or opinions in their favor; business board style. It don't and won't work. The 'business of the people' is not driven by the strictly profit / loss calculus of business decisions. Business and Governing are two entirely different 'constructs' created by humans for two entirely different purposes and aims. It's a damn shame to have to break these concepts down elementary school LCD's (lowest common denominator, aka addition / subtraction), but we must if we are to deal constructively with this brand of self righteous, self affirming, self flagellating, board rigging cretins that only recognize their own realm which is a self affirming echo chamber of delusions I mention and more ! Campaign finance must be - must be reformed drastically folks, and an improved, refined for our times "Fairness Doctrine" codified into Constitutional Law ! 'We' have to demand it, and likely we will have to do it ourselves in every state - I don't trust partisans to do it and neither should you. Ie., if the owner of a coal mine accounted for the great bulk of the campaign money support for candidate 'Croc', would I not expect candidate 'Croc' to play his vote for his benefit ? I think the average person, regardless of education level see's that plainly or certainly suspects that. *Money is not free speech. It's a taller soapbox or a louder bullhorn. Campaigns for government sway has to be about ideas and honor, not treasure. Where treasure wins, we the people lose; short and long term. I demand "cleansing sunlight" !
James Garner, who worked with him as a VP of SAG when he was president of the union in the 60s, had a good two word definition of Sainted Ray Gun: "amiable dunce."
And Reagan even abused that position with a corrupt waiver for his own company. Reagan has been a double-dealing piece of scum since the days he was called "Dutch" and before.
He was too kind. I did sense that, unlike Trump and the RNC, he maybe kinda believed some parts of his own barrage of BS, but massive BS fed into the Nation's navigational systems has been an ongoing invitation to disaster, and Reaganomics was always about enriching the rich at the public's expense. He projected an amiable persona, but was still a malignant narcissist; not really a very nice person.
"Trump holds a bachelor of science degree in economics from Wharton, earned after transferring in as a junior from Fordham University. Several early Trump profiles, including a 1973 New York Times piece, stated that he graduated first in his class at Wharton, but that has since been disputed. A 1968 commencement program does not list his name among students who graduated with honors." https://apnews.com/united-states-presidential-election-events-general-news-76a383d1b6e443a99831bf85a6d6cf3e
Nobody knows for sure if he graduated from whatever at Penn, since he gave them a big enough donation that his records are only released to a third party with his permission, which has never been given. The WaPo tried to get them in 2016 and reported that situation.
He should have been impeached over his blocking the hostage release to dirty Carter. A Texas republican gave a death bed confession to that effect. Guess he hopes that doing that would maybe get him into Heaven?
Again, so much to dislike about Reagan. Giving rise to the uber rich by slicing income tax rates from 70% to 38.5%. I took the HR Block tax course in 1986 just so I could understand all of the changes. The manager that taught the course asked me to work for them for that tax season. I agreed. I ended up doing over 100 returns working part time in the evenings. The poor people that came into Block. They were as clueless as I was before I took the class.
The following is from Wikipedia.
The first tax cut (Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981) among other things, cut the highest personal income tax rate from 70% to 50% and the lowest from 14% to 11% and decreased the highest capital gains tax rate from 28% to 20%.[1]
The second tax cut (Tax Reform Act of 1986) among other things, cut the highest personal income tax rate from 50% to 38.5% but decreasing to 28% in the following years[2] and increased the highest capital gains tax rate from 20% to 28%.[1]
At the time, people weren't substantially informed about the tax cuts, as an ABC News Poll in September 1986 showed that 63% of Americans didn't know enough about the Tax Reform Act of 1986 to say if it was good or bad.[3]
Nixon's "pardon" was a terrible, terrible precedent, as Trumps unaccountable corruption of the power of pardon clearly demonstrates. Even the nonsensical "pardoning" of turkeys offends me. I knew it was a terrible precedent the moment it was announced, as a betrayal of rule of law, and legitimizing an imperial presidency, but even then, I dared not imagine what we have come to accept today.
First we need a way to reconsider errors of the application of law, either in the law's application, or retrospective rejection of the basis of the law itself. That simply should not rest on the whim of a single person. It is an anachronistic holdover from monarchy, a repudiation of the principle of equal protection and due process.
Second, I don't even know how Nixon's "pardon" was considered legitimate; it did not correct an error, it shut down due process by granting impunity to Nixon, the very thing that distinguishes a tyrant; what the Magna Carta was about. Perhaps we could have chosen more of a "Truth and Reconciliation" approach to Nixon, but the truth and rule of law determination of guilt and transgression of acceptable behavior had to be firmly established in a way the made it clear that presidents too must answer to the law. "He suffered enough" by losing his job? What about Bernie Madoff?
The road we are now on is illustrated by the casually and defiantly Republican Senate declining to even go though the motions of considering the gravity of Trump's malfeasance; a kangaroo court indeed, in contrast to Republican's former willingness to convict Nixon in the Senate. The notion that great power entails great responsibility is old and fundamental, and needs to be even more strictly enforced for those with entrusted extraordinary powers than for the average citizen. Impacts upon lives, or even lives themselves can hang in the balance. We seem fairly vigilant, perhaps at times over-vigilant, about enforcing that standard on middle management and mid level practitioners, yet are too often strangely and vicariously over-protective of the fates of the very rich and famous. This ironically betrays our aspirations of "liberty and justice for all"
Very well reasoned throughout JL... Bravo Small i have maintained forever and still, that one only gets as much 'justice' as they can afford; cynical, but no less true for as long as I can recall. smh....
Thankfully, there still are significant exceptions, but the power of money to corrupt has never been sufficiently tackled and requires a reinvigorated effort.
“Laws are spider webs through which the big flies pass and the little ones get caught.”
Ah yes, Hence the establishments of that old euphemism Probable Deniability" allowing blame to flow down from the top. Kinda like Reganomics only a little different. (Sometimes affectionally referred to as Tickled on Economics.) Sorry I couldn't resist the opportunity to indulge in the "Theater of the Absurd."
The question for Agent Orange is, "who's your daddy now?" It's Putin! He misses Fred slapping him around so he replaced him with Daddy P. All warm and fuzzy hugs now.
Government is the problem. I can never let that go. Did you hear Maddow call out Cheney in the interview? Liz quietly said she did not agree, but you could tell that it made her feel very, very comfortable.
Thank you for the reminder about Reagan. That needs to be repeated to remind US of the “quality” of Republican presidents since Eisenhower: oil wars and trickledown.
My impression is that many of the thinking young are dispirited and angry about the condition of the world we are bequeathing them. Nixon was a terrible president, and yet he seemed to care about preserving the environment, or at least spoke and acted as though he did, starting, among other things, the EPA and appointing a credible person to run it. Carter also tired to reduce our burden on the environment. Reagan did his best to destroy the EPA and anything else having to do with environmental stewardship, and set the tone for Republicans to follow. I recall reading in the journal "Science" that Reagan officials were claiming that the "commercial value" of a species should determine the government's efforts to protect it.
What if we had been replacing fossil fuels for the last half century? What might it have saved us in terms of balance of payments, pollution, national security, and environmental sustainability? Would it not be liberating to not being held over an (oil) barrel by foreign and domestic monopolies? So why the hell not?
He didn't go to Wharton. He went to UPenn. His grades were too low to get into Wharton even then when their entry standards were low. Don't pass on his lie that he went to Wharton; he got to AUDIT classes there, for no credit. And one Wharton professor remembered him all those years later in 2016, saying "Donald Trump was the dumbest fucking student who ever walked into my classroom in all my career."
A friend of mine just told me yesterday how smart she thinks tRump is. Seriously?! Sad to say, the dumb F has convinced his maggots of his superior brain power!
I have to say that all my friends who surprised me back in 2016 when they came out in favor of Trump - shocking me like Michael York's character was shocked in "Cabaret" when his "good" German friend showed up in his SS uniform - that if you had asked me about any of them before that moment, I'd have said they were as smart as all my other friends, since I don't have any dumbass friends. Fortunately it wasn't very many, but even one was too many.
TC, I lost a decades old bff. In the long run, it was truly a toxic relationship that I was blind to. It's how I can "understand" why people support Trump. It was her support of him which opened my eyes and unraveled our friendship. So, I guess in a manner, the Sore Loser benefitted me in one way.
Carol Ann, some subset of folks are more susceptible to the attractive aspects of propaganda. Consider for a moment what numbers of Italians and Germans were seduced by the patently false promises and propaganda of Mussolini and Hitlers propaganda machines / organizations. All other forms to totalitarian are the same, so I could list them all by name, but if you reflect a moment on just those two examples, I think you'll get the gist. I for one would not have considered the majorities of Italians nor Germans to *be education challenged; and their history and cultures are much longer than ours.
Eadie Sharron, I did, too! I don't know anyone else who realized that, at the very moment he came down that escalator. When I told people, everybody just laughed.
My spouse who is an ex-pat American said that to me right away as well. I also tried to calm her down at that point. But Holy Cow, she was right from the beginning!
I actually thought it was some kind of practical joke when that corrupt baboon came down that escalator. I found out a few days later that it certainly was NOT a joke to my utter dismay. I thought to myself, ''this idiot is in no way qualified to be a President of the United States. It was a horrible shock to me when he actually, (with the help from Putin and the Electoral Reform College) won the election.
Yes.. and that wretched loud mouth, Jim Jordan, tried to drown out his testimony at the hearings. That was my first introduction to Jordan and I have detested him ever since.
The rules of order if evenly applied strictly, would have shut his mouth, put him in his seat or ejected him; consider that. I'm from Ohio and consider how ashamed he has had made me and others for far too long. Yet, his guaranteed district re-elects him.
“Seems like maybe, just maybe, the major news outlets will snap into focus over this holiday break and come out with sharp, accurate reporting starting in January.”
How about now! Not two weeks from now starting in January! Now!
There’s No reason to help/ aid his BS settle in and become normalized by major news outlets remaining silent for two weeks. Two weeks from now is too late. They need to start Now!!
I highly doubt that outcome George. For my part, 'so far' I'm watching my news on Scripps affiliates, then verifying the info Axios. com, Propublica, and various substack writers I've already vetted, like our good Dr. Imagine for a moment if we all did that with just our numbers on HCR's substack.... Ignoring, not tuning in to only an agreed to selection; I think the solidarity would be cautionary to all the rest, even if such a small number. That's what the powerful fear most; any hint of solidarity among any significant numbers of the electorate contrary to what they desire. They work overtime and spend fortunes keeping us divided, if not at outright odds with one another; that's the main game. It's an age old game too, just with added money and an amenable SCOTUS and division of congress critters.
Unfortunately I concur with you about highly doubting that outcome. My comment was meant to express the need is now, not two weeks from now or even later. However as many know the media coming around and “snap into focus” is no more likely now than it was before, regardless of tfg’s Nazi rhetoric becoming more transparent and obvious.
Yes, Vote everyone! We must start believing in democracy by exercising our right to vote! It really is that simple. Remember it only takes sunlight to kill germs! I end with Leonard Cohen, “Everything has a crack in it, that’s how the light gets in”.
We have to get past the thought that this is about Trump, or the GOP for that matter. Unless we address the ‘why’, and by that I mean, dig deeper than the simple racist, fascist, Nazi, white nationalist labels/explanations, and fix the underlying reasons that people are willing to vote for an authoritarian, we’ll continue to play whack a mole.
“After more than half a century of studying addiction, Bruce Alexander no longer separates compulsive drug use from other dependencies. He categorizes addictions to alcohol, drugs, food, gambling, power, a sense of superiority, and a litany of other things as responses to the same underlying pain.
Yet he does regard one flavor of addiction as distinct from all others.
“What’s the most dangerous addiction of all in the twenty-first century?” he asked in a conversation with one of us over Zoom last year. And then he answered his own question. According to the octogenarian professor who has devoted his life to addiction psychology, the most dangerous addiction today is the rising obsession globally with cult political leaders like Donald Trump.”
Interesting concepts, Tom. I know that in studies with rats held in isolation; when given the option between cocaine, and social time with other rats, they almost universally chose the social time over the jolt of the drug. Professionally, I have encountered many drug dependent people. The ones that I got to observe over time ALWAYS did better when they were in positive social situations that eased whatever their underlying pain was.
(Note: NOT in any way clinical observations. Just watching from my street cop perspective of when people did well getting off drugs, and when they didn't. )
Yeah, the ‘rat park’ experiment from Hari’s book, Chasing the Scream. One can chase almost every social ill we have as coming from childhood trauma, be it abuse or neglect, from parenting or outside forces. Trump is a case in point; his father was a monster. Not making excuses for behavior at all here. Clinton, Bush II, and Obama all had unresolved ‘daddy issues’, which led from wanting to be liked/loved (by peers) into ignoring logic and reason when it came to policy decisions which were detrimental to working people. America pays lip service to children; we treat them, and the elderly, poorly.
I hope you're right about the news outlets. But those who've been "riding the fence" or worse all along may only be concerned about the number of clicks any topic inspires. Let's not forget who owns them (in every sense of the word). You'd think this topic would wake many up and inspire clicks. However, I recently raised the topic of the orange dictator wannabe's true objectives to someone who HAD supported / voted for him in the past but a year ago identified him as an idiot. He is aware of tfg's current legal issues so is investigating other gop presidential candidates, but doesn't see the problem with delaying the cases till AFTER the election. He got angry & defensive when I told him why we can't allow that, and basically shut down, citing "Biden is no better". That reaction did not surprise me; I think he & many orange supporters have trouble with totally ditching tfg - or his gop enablers, possibly because they don't want to feel / admit they have been duped. So we all have our work cut out for us. I'm glad the administration is speaking out about this but think they're walking a fine line. However, it will not be good enough to make general statements as "attacks on our democracy and freedoms" but perhaps they are taking initial "baby steps". But I think specifics & real life scenarios that (mostly) everyone can relate to are required, just as are now broadcast regarding abortions. The same should be done with 3-4 other important freedoms, perhaps using real examples, described by real people, of what the loss of these specific freedoms is like living in a dictatorship. Far too many of us have no clue what it's like to do without rights we totally take for granted. And Biden's team must do a much better job highlighting all the good that Biden has accomplished, citing, again, real life examples, not just numbers as in "this will bring X number of jobs"). The only other thing that may be effective is for notable, respected gop people like Liz Cheney to begin doing exactly what Cheney is doing now. (I did sense a slight pause in my friend when I mentioned that "Liz Cheney is very concerned about tfg's motives".) And finally, Democrats also need to hire top notch marketing people who actually know how to do this, & immediately. What will it take for them to realize that their uninspired pablum DOES NOT WORK?
Those of us who read your newsletter have seen this coming for a long time. Trump is helping those who haven't been paying enough attention so far to see his true intentions extremely clearly now. I've seen a few news outlets clearly tie Trump's rhetoric to Hitler's language, including NPR's Weekend Edition this morning. It's about damn time. Seems like maybe, just maybe, the major news outlets will snap into focus over this holiday break and come out with sharp, accurate reporting starting in January. All of your readers will keep doing our part to help everyone around us see the stark choice ahead of us, and tune out the distractions, of which there will be so many. Trump is telling us who he is extremely clearly; we'll keep telling people what that means for them, and what they can do about it, which is to vote out every single Republican in office, since they are Trump's foot soldiers.
I predicted this as he traveled down the famous elevator at tRump Tower. His father was a Ku Klux Klan member, so his belief system was to be expected. His father turned away many minorities, seeking housing in Queens. He was a racist and tRump's mother was absent in her role as mother. tRump was a poor student and his father had to pay a handsome sum to get him into Wharton. He is committing treason and the media has allowed him to get a foothold with those who are uninformed and those who are Nazi sympathizers. It's high time we call out his treasonous behavior and give no quarter to any rethuglican now in office. The sooner we send them packing, the better. The MTG's of the world need to be investigated. They are no better than the man that became President by hook and by crook. The electoral college has seen its day and that too should be thrown out with the bath water. Those of us who despise what tRump has done to our democracy, have allowed the media to give a platform to all of the scum who came crawling out of their caves. They need to think again! Let's Clean House!
The first knife in the back for democracy goes back at least as far as Reagan. FOrty years of anti-republic "Republicans" have sure made a mess of things, and we daren't let it go any further.
I have always hated that Reagan is touted as one of the best President's.....when he should have been impeached over the Iran Contra deal.
The thing I dislike most about President Reagan is that his words set apart the government from the people. Reagan said "The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the Government, and I'm here to help." It was a direct refutation of President Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. His address ends by reminding us that we are a self-governing nation: "...It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us, that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion, that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain, that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” Reagan and Prime Minister Thatcher were champions of the neoliberal movement, to shrink the size and reach of the federal government. In Grover Norquist's words, he would "starve the beast" -- he would "shrink the federal government until it is small enough to drown in a bathtub". They wanted to move away from being a self-governing democratic system, toward getting the government out of the business sector -- except when they needed the federal gov't to bail them out after their free-wheeling economic blunders. Reagan and Thatcher ripped apart the fabric of society, turning us into individual atoms, instead of being members of a society. And look at what we have become! The Republicans are so alienated from society, and from each other, that they have dropped all pretense of having a political platform on which to stand.
Our best hope -- probably our only hope -- is that the Democrats will clearly demonstrate that they want to help all of us rise up out of poverty, to achieve prosperity for All.
The Inflation Recovery Act (IRA) can accomplish several things. Congress authorized spending into the economy to improve various aspects of our infrastructure, including our homes and the buildings in which we work, while reducing carbon loading in the atmosphere to mitigate climate change. The Republicans say they want to reduce spending, apart from defense contractors. The Republicans are wrong in so many ways. By going all-electric, we are going to drastically reduce our lifetime cost of energy. By installing solar electric systems, and two-way heat pumps for heating and air conditioning, we will avoid the continually rising cost of burning fossil fuels, while doing something significant about climate change. The IRA is currently in the process of being implemented at the State level. Some discounts and rebates are already available. This is the beginning of making a HUGE improvement in our health, both financial and physical. The Republicans are living in the Twilight Zone. I wish we could avoid giving them any attention, and just concentrate on helping the American people, while we still can.
"The thing I dislike most about President Reagan is that his words set apart the government from the people."
Exactly, and that was the the key to what he was peddling, and what the once "Party of Lincoln" has become. Who is it that the government is BY, and who does it work FOR? Who is it that is being governed? Who now ignores the law with virtual impunity? Who is crushed or even shot for minor infractions? None of the will to corrupt we now see is entirely new, and the Southern wing of the Democratic Party was pretty execrable before Civil Rights Acts sent them running into the arms of the former party of Abolition (and the Confederate flag defenders began to have Rs next to their names); but Reagan struck at the core of democracy and the common weal. It was never "government" they intended to drown, just the Lincolnian strain of it. Reagan wanted plutocracy; Trump wants fascism. I'm not sure there's a lot of difference.
Back in the 1970s I was with a group backpack camping on the pacific coast, miles from any habitation or phone. Jerks in a dune buggy had built an oversized campfire that had spread to copious driftwood and the afternoon wind was carrying burning material to start new fires. just beyond the band of driftwood was tall dried grass and then dry-season forest. To make a long story short we put out a fire that was maybe 40' diameter by running like mad, clearing unburned from around it and throwing partly ignited material into the inferno. Satellite fires were extinguished with sea water and a soup pot. The thing is it felt great to work as a team and get it done. I think there is some of the same reward in war, but here there was no accompanying tragedy. Could we possibly unite and coordinate as a society to fight the fire we have unleashed on the planet and it's future? Could we provide jobs and a sense of solidarity in doing what needs to be done to rescue as much as we can of our sustaining web of life? I know Biden is making some progress in that respect, but we are way behind schedule, and need to focus.
What you suggest is what FDR tried to do with the New Deal policies. The Republicans have hated those policies ever since. They want government only to protect the property of the rich that their ancestors stole from the rest of society.
Feudalism. The system the Constitution replaced, and yet 12 presidents held slaves, slavery mimicking fiefdoms, but even more oppressive. The urge to gain by bullying others runs deep in human character; Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The ascetic, empathetic philosophy of Jesus turned to justifying slavery and genocide. The mission statement of the Constitution equated with totalitarian Communism, with totalitarian fascism glorified to replace it.
Follow the money.
Indeed JL; How many times have you and I repeated that fundamental truth my friend ?
The struggle against subjugation never ends.
Indeed !!
Jenn, there is a contemporary book, "The Case for a Federal Job Guarantee" by Pavlina Tcherneva. It is a slender volume, very elegant in its presentation of the idea that the Federal Government could create a system whereby anyone who wants to work can get hired, working for a living wage. A living wage would attract workers who have been struggling at the minimum wage level, thereby forcing the private sector to pay more to attract workers, obviating legislation to raise the minimum wage. It reminded me of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) that ran from 1935 to '43. I see it as a prudent investment in our fellow citizens. Our private sector is not set up to provide employment opportunities for everybody who wants to work. The public sector can get worthwhile work done that would not get done by the private sector, because it's not profitable. While it may not be profitable, it is nevertheless worthwhile. It may contribute to the common wealth of the community, or the nation. Professor Tcherneva explains it better than I.
Or got as a Nobility Land Grant from the Monarchy so they could build their grand plantations providing work for their slaves to perform for them!!
Hl, I bow to your wisdom and prolific prose.
Nicely stated. When those that run the government spend their time running it down, count on the government being the problem. CONservatives want to run government like a business they claim, so my advice is to avoid their businesses at all costs. They are only interested in themselves. I guess we could apply the old adage of "those who can't teach" to CONservative politicians :those who can't do business - govern". Something like that, except there are a lot of successful business people in government. But you get the idea.
Don't they see that those things are not the same, as they should have learned from "Sesame Street" ? No, they 'do not' - it's 'their way' or the highway (obstruction to traffic jams) to govern a democracy; their 'demand' is to rule. 'Their reasoned' - self justified conclusion is the need for only one party reign alongside a partisan 'Chairman of the Board' who settles all disputes or opinions in their favor; business board style. It don't and won't work. The 'business of the people' is not driven by the strictly profit / loss calculus of business decisions. Business and Governing are two entirely different 'constructs' created by humans for two entirely different purposes and aims. It's a damn shame to have to break these concepts down elementary school LCD's (lowest common denominator, aka addition / subtraction), but we must if we are to deal constructively with this brand of self righteous, self affirming, self flagellating, board rigging cretins that only recognize their own realm which is a self affirming echo chamber of delusions I mention and more ! Campaign finance must be - must be reformed drastically folks, and an improved, refined for our times "Fairness Doctrine" codified into Constitutional Law ! 'We' have to demand it, and likely we will have to do it ourselves in every state - I don't trust partisans to do it and neither should you. Ie., if the owner of a coal mine accounted for the great bulk of the campaign money support for candidate 'Croc', would I not expect candidate 'Croc' to play his vote for his benefit ? I think the average person, regardless of education level see's that plainly or certainly suspects that. *Money is not free speech. It's a taller soapbox or a louder bullhorn. Campaigns for government sway has to be about ideas and honor, not treasure. Where treasure wins, we the people lose; short and long term. I demand "cleansing sunlight" !
David, great comment!!!! Thank you.
David H - everything you said. 100%
Wonderful Post! Than you so very much for this great reminder.
David, You have much correct. JL below fleshes it in a bit more focused. Consider his 'flesh' if you will. Love your shares.
James Garner, who worked with him as a VP of SAG when he was president of the union in the 60s, had a good two word definition of Sainted Ray Gun: "amiable dunce."
And Reagan even abused that position with a corrupt waiver for his own company. Reagan has been a double-dealing piece of scum since the days he was called "Dutch" and before.
He was too kind. I did sense that, unlike Trump and the RNC, he maybe kinda believed some parts of his own barrage of BS, but massive BS fed into the Nation's navigational systems has been an ongoing invitation to disaster, and Reaganomics was always about enriching the rich at the public's expense. He projected an amiable persona, but was still a malignant narcissist; not really a very nice person.
That comes across clearly in Rick Perlstein's "The Invisible Bridge" - his political bio of Reagan and Reaganism.
I 'knew' your memory worked great TC.
TCinLA, I believe you're incorrect. Washington Post disagrees.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/retropolis/wp/2018/05/20/its-the-50th-anniversary-of-the-day-trump-left-college-and-nearly-had-to-go-to-war/
Yes, the Washington Post never makes any factual errors. (/snark)
"Trump holds a bachelor of science degree in economics from Wharton, earned after transferring in as a junior from Fordham University. Several early Trump profiles, including a 1973 New York Times piece, stated that he graduated first in his class at Wharton, but that has since been disputed. A 1968 commencement program does not list his name among students who graduated with honors." https://apnews.com/united-states-presidential-election-events-general-news-76a383d1b6e443a99831bf85a6d6cf3e
Nobody knows for sure if he graduated from whatever at Penn, since he gave them a big enough donation that his records are only released to a third party with his permission, which has never been given. The WaPo tried to get them in 2016 and reported that situation.
AP just went with what they were told.
He should have been impeached over his blocking the hostage release to dirty Carter. A Texas republican gave a death bed confession to that effect. Guess he hopes that doing that would maybe get him into Heaven?
Like Nixon interfering with LBJ’s peace negotiations with Vietnam, promising a better deal if they waited till after his election.
MLM ! Another good memory !
Ah, Rickey, your memory is very good !
Amen
Amen
Amen, amen, amen.
Again, so much to dislike about Reagan. Giving rise to the uber rich by slicing income tax rates from 70% to 38.5%. I took the HR Block tax course in 1986 just so I could understand all of the changes. The manager that taught the course asked me to work for them for that tax season. I agreed. I ended up doing over 100 returns working part time in the evenings. The poor people that came into Block. They were as clueless as I was before I took the class.
The following is from Wikipedia.
The first tax cut (Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981) among other things, cut the highest personal income tax rate from 70% to 50% and the lowest from 14% to 11% and decreased the highest capital gains tax rate from 28% to 20%.[1]
The second tax cut (Tax Reform Act of 1986) among other things, cut the highest personal income tax rate from 50% to 38.5% but decreasing to 28% in the following years[2] and increased the highest capital gains tax rate from 20% to 28%.[1]
At the time, people weren't substantially informed about the tax cuts, as an ABC News Poll in September 1986 showed that 63% of Americans didn't know enough about the Tax Reform Act of 1986 to say if it was good or bad.[3]
Letting Nixon off the hook didn't help either!
let's go back even further - letting off the rebel leaders in 1865 did not help either.
Nixon's "pardon" was a terrible, terrible precedent, as Trumps unaccountable corruption of the power of pardon clearly demonstrates. Even the nonsensical "pardoning" of turkeys offends me. I knew it was a terrible precedent the moment it was announced, as a betrayal of rule of law, and legitimizing an imperial presidency, but even then, I dared not imagine what we have come to accept today.
First we need a way to reconsider errors of the application of law, either in the law's application, or retrospective rejection of the basis of the law itself. That simply should not rest on the whim of a single person. It is an anachronistic holdover from monarchy, a repudiation of the principle of equal protection and due process.
Second, I don't even know how Nixon's "pardon" was considered legitimate; it did not correct an error, it shut down due process by granting impunity to Nixon, the very thing that distinguishes a tyrant; what the Magna Carta was about. Perhaps we could have chosen more of a "Truth and Reconciliation" approach to Nixon, but the truth and rule of law determination of guilt and transgression of acceptable behavior had to be firmly established in a way the made it clear that presidents too must answer to the law. "He suffered enough" by losing his job? What about Bernie Madoff?
The road we are now on is illustrated by the casually and defiantly Republican Senate declining to even go though the motions of considering the gravity of Trump's malfeasance; a kangaroo court indeed, in contrast to Republican's former willingness to convict Nixon in the Senate. The notion that great power entails great responsibility is old and fundamental, and needs to be even more strictly enforced for those with entrusted extraordinary powers than for the average citizen. Impacts upon lives, or even lives themselves can hang in the balance. We seem fairly vigilant, perhaps at times over-vigilant, about enforcing that standard on middle management and mid level practitioners, yet are too often strangely and vicariously over-protective of the fates of the very rich and famous. This ironically betrays our aspirations of "liberty and justice for all"
.
Very well reasoned throughout JL... Bravo Small i have maintained forever and still, that one only gets as much 'justice' as they can afford; cynical, but no less true for as long as I can recall. smh....
Thankfully, there still are significant exceptions, but the power of money to corrupt has never been sufficiently tackled and requires a reinvigorated effort.
“Laws are spider webs through which the big flies pass and the little ones get caught.”
― Balzac
Ah yes, Hence the establishments of that old euphemism Probable Deniability" allowing blame to flow down from the top. Kinda like Reganomics only a little different. (Sometimes affectionally referred to as Tickled on Economics.) Sorry I couldn't resist the opportunity to indulge in the "Theater of the Absurd."
Absolutely JL. Reagan smiled and joked and spoke softly as he boiled us like frogs.
Unfortunately, right wing thinking is fast gaining traction throughout the world.
Think I understand now how people felt watching the WWII train careening towards them.
The question for Agent Orange is, "who's your daddy now?" It's Putin! He misses Fred slapping him around so he replaced him with Daddy P. All warm and fuzzy hugs now.
Government is the problem. I can never let that go. Did you hear Maddow call out Cheney in the interview? Liz quietly said she did not agree, but you could tell that it made her feel very, very comfortable.
Thank you for the reminder about Reagan. That needs to be repeated to remind US of the “quality” of Republican presidents since Eisenhower: oil wars and trickledown.
My impression is that many of the thinking young are dispirited and angry about the condition of the world we are bequeathing them. Nixon was a terrible president, and yet he seemed to care about preserving the environment, or at least spoke and acted as though he did, starting, among other things, the EPA and appointing a credible person to run it. Carter also tired to reduce our burden on the environment. Reagan did his best to destroy the EPA and anything else having to do with environmental stewardship, and set the tone for Republicans to follow. I recall reading in the journal "Science" that Reagan officials were claiming that the "commercial value" of a species should determine the government's efforts to protect it.
What if we had been replacing fossil fuels for the last half century? What might it have saved us in terms of balance of payments, pollution, national security, and environmental sustainability? Would it not be liberating to not being held over an (oil) barrel by foreign and domestic monopolies? So why the hell not?
SO well phrased. I'm So glad to be back among the living!!
Exactly.
He didn't go to Wharton. He went to UPenn. His grades were too low to get into Wharton even then when their entry standards were low. Don't pass on his lie that he went to Wharton; he got to AUDIT classes there, for no credit. And one Wharton professor remembered him all those years later in 2016, saying "Donald Trump was the dumbest fucking student who ever walked into my classroom in all my career."
How smart is a person who suggested ingesting bleach to cure Covid?
Smart enough not to have followed his own suggestion.
A friend of mine just told me yesterday how smart she thinks tRump is. Seriously?! Sad to say, the dumb F has convinced his maggots of his superior brain power!
No offense to you, but you must have some really stupid friends. They have a very low bar.
I have to say that all my friends who surprised me back in 2016 when they came out in favor of Trump - shocking me like Michael York's character was shocked in "Cabaret" when his "good" German friend showed up in his SS uniform - that if you had asked me about any of them before that moment, I'd have said they were as smart as all my other friends, since I don't have any dumbass friends. Fortunately it wasn't very many, but even one was too many.
We have several too. And relatives.
Social media manipulation from Trump and Putin is duping people.
TC, I lost a decades old bff. In the long run, it was truly a toxic relationship that I was blind to. It's how I can "understand" why people support Trump. It was her support of him which opened my eyes and unraveled our friendship. So, I guess in a manner, the Sore Loser benefitted me in one way.
That happened to a lot of us. It's amazing what we'll do in the name of "friendship."
Carol Ann, some subset of folks are more susceptible to the attractive aspects of propaganda. Consider for a moment what numbers of Italians and Germans were seduced by the patently false promises and propaganda of Mussolini and Hitlers propaganda machines / organizations. All other forms to totalitarian are the same, so I could list them all by name, but if you reflect a moment on just those two examples, I think you'll get the gist. I for one would not have considered the majorities of Italians nor Germans to *be education challenged; and their history and cultures are much longer than ours.
I believe it.
Thank you TC ~
Eadie Sharron, I did, too! I don't know anyone else who realized that, at the very moment he came down that escalator. When I told people, everybody just laughed.
My spouse who is an ex-pat American said that to me right away as well. I also tried to calm her down at that point. But Holy Cow, she was right from the beginning!
I'm in the same boat, Annie.
I actually thought it was some kind of practical joke when that corrupt baboon came down that escalator. I found out a few days later that it certainly was NOT a joke to my utter dismay. I thought to myself, ''this idiot is in no way qualified to be a President of the United States. It was a horrible shock to me when he actually, (with the help from Putin and the Electoral Reform College) won the election.
Ditto John
Thank you, D4N.
Both use social media manipulation powerfully, and well. Their power. Immense power actually.
In the back of the Mueller Report is a brief biography of Mueller and Trump. The contrast between the two men couldn’t be starker.
Yeph, one is a brave American hero who is a treasure.
Yes.. and that wretched loud mouth, Jim Jordan, tried to drown out his testimony at the hearings. That was my first introduction to Jordan and I have detested him ever since.
The rules of order if evenly applied strictly, would have shut his mouth, put him in his seat or ejected him; consider that. I'm from Ohio and consider how ashamed he has had made me and others for far too long. Yet, his guaranteed district re-elects him.
Hand me the insecticide!
Yes. The "Republican" Party is telling us they are in collaboration with the self-identified "wannabee dictator".
They are not only saying it. They are proud of it. A badge of honor.
CONservatives.
“Seems like maybe, just maybe, the major news outlets will snap into focus over this holiday break and come out with sharp, accurate reporting starting in January.”
How about now! Not two weeks from now starting in January! Now!
There’s No reason to help/ aid his BS settle in and become normalized by major news outlets remaining silent for two weeks. Two weeks from now is too late. They need to start Now!!
Sounds good to me.
I highly doubt that outcome George. For my part, 'so far' I'm watching my news on Scripps affiliates, then verifying the info Axios. com, Propublica, and various substack writers I've already vetted, like our good Dr. Imagine for a moment if we all did that with just our numbers on HCR's substack.... Ignoring, not tuning in to only an agreed to selection; I think the solidarity would be cautionary to all the rest, even if such a small number. That's what the powerful fear most; any hint of solidarity among any significant numbers of the electorate contrary to what they desire. They work overtime and spend fortunes keeping us divided, if not at outright odds with one another; that's the main game. It's an age old game too, just with added money and an amenable SCOTUS and division of congress critters.
And that's known as Critical Thinking. Bravo.
Unfortunately I concur with you about highly doubting that outcome. My comment was meant to express the need is now, not two weeks from now or even later. However as many know the media coming around and “snap into focus” is no more likely now than it was before, regardless of tfg’s Nazi rhetoric becoming more transparent and obvious.
Yes, Vote everyone! We must start believing in democracy by exercising our right to vote! It really is that simple. Remember it only takes sunlight to kill germs! I end with Leonard Cohen, “Everything has a crack in it, that’s how the light gets in”.
We have to get past the thought that this is about Trump, or the GOP for that matter. Unless we address the ‘why’, and by that I mean, dig deeper than the simple racist, fascist, Nazi, white nationalist labels/explanations, and fix the underlying reasons that people are willing to vote for an authoritarian, we’ll continue to play whack a mole.
https://tomdispatch.com/todays-most-dangerous-drug/
“After more than half a century of studying addiction, Bruce Alexander no longer separates compulsive drug use from other dependencies. He categorizes addictions to alcohol, drugs, food, gambling, power, a sense of superiority, and a litany of other things as responses to the same underlying pain.
Yet he does regard one flavor of addiction as distinct from all others.
“What’s the most dangerous addiction of all in the twenty-first century?” he asked in a conversation with one of us over Zoom last year. And then he answered his own question. According to the octogenarian professor who has devoted his life to addiction psychology, the most dangerous addiction today is the rising obsession globally with cult political leaders like Donald Trump.”
Interesting concepts, Tom. I know that in studies with rats held in isolation; when given the option between cocaine, and social time with other rats, they almost universally chose the social time over the jolt of the drug. Professionally, I have encountered many drug dependent people. The ones that I got to observe over time ALWAYS did better when they were in positive social situations that eased whatever their underlying pain was.
(Note: NOT in any way clinical observations. Just watching from my street cop perspective of when people did well getting off drugs, and when they didn't. )
Yeah, the ‘rat park’ experiment from Hari’s book, Chasing the Scream. One can chase almost every social ill we have as coming from childhood trauma, be it abuse or neglect, from parenting or outside forces. Trump is a case in point; his father was a monster. Not making excuses for behavior at all here. Clinton, Bush II, and Obama all had unresolved ‘daddy issues’, which led from wanting to be liked/loved (by peers) into ignoring logic and reason when it came to policy decisions which were detrimental to working people. America pays lip service to children; we treat them, and the elderly, poorly.
One size fits all, generalization fallacy is what that sounds like to me Tom. jmho... Are you 'Tom' of tomdispatch ?
Nope. Info here - https://tomdispatch.com/about/
I don't think the realization will really hit the meganazis until they run out if toilet paper.
Foot soldiers, no. Soldiers are courageous.
Try c*cksuckerz.
That's actually a bad use of a nice thing. Just call them scum.
Lol TC..
I hope you're right about the news outlets. But those who've been "riding the fence" or worse all along may only be concerned about the number of clicks any topic inspires. Let's not forget who owns them (in every sense of the word). You'd think this topic would wake many up and inspire clicks. However, I recently raised the topic of the orange dictator wannabe's true objectives to someone who HAD supported / voted for him in the past but a year ago identified him as an idiot. He is aware of tfg's current legal issues so is investigating other gop presidential candidates, but doesn't see the problem with delaying the cases till AFTER the election. He got angry & defensive when I told him why we can't allow that, and basically shut down, citing "Biden is no better". That reaction did not surprise me; I think he & many orange supporters have trouble with totally ditching tfg - or his gop enablers, possibly because they don't want to feel / admit they have been duped. So we all have our work cut out for us. I'm glad the administration is speaking out about this but think they're walking a fine line. However, it will not be good enough to make general statements as "attacks on our democracy and freedoms" but perhaps they are taking initial "baby steps". But I think specifics & real life scenarios that (mostly) everyone can relate to are required, just as are now broadcast regarding abortions. The same should be done with 3-4 other important freedoms, perhaps using real examples, described by real people, of what the loss of these specific freedoms is like living in a dictatorship. Far too many of us have no clue what it's like to do without rights we totally take for granted. And Biden's team must do a much better job highlighting all the good that Biden has accomplished, citing, again, real life examples, not just numbers as in "this will bring X number of jobs"). The only other thing that may be effective is for notable, respected gop people like Liz Cheney to begin doing exactly what Cheney is doing now. (I did sense a slight pause in my friend when I mentioned that "Liz Cheney is very concerned about tfg's motives".) And finally, Democrats also need to hire top notch marketing people who actually know how to do this, & immediately. What will it take for them to realize that their uninspired pablum DOES NOT WORK?