We all have an obligation speak out to every politician who represents us. I wonder where is Joe Biden condemning lies and misrepresentations. The next four years will be the most challenging to this country since the civil war. Thanks Heather again and again!!!!
We all have an obligation speak out to every politician who represents us. I wonder where is Joe Biden condemning lies and misrepresentations. The next four years will be the most challenging to this country since the civil war. Thanks Heather again and again!!!!
We have the obligation to resist! Heather is an inspiration. To the Letters from an American community: I am a federal government worker whose career is in danger from MAGA/DOGE fascism.
Can anyone recommend any pro bono services in Washington that might assist those who find themselves in legal quagmire with the trump administration? Demonstrations and so on.
Just got a solicitation for a donation from Common Cause with this reminder: "WeтАЩre fortunate to have amazing legal partners who often provide pro bono services..." so add them to the list of possible pro bono sources.
Betsy, I broke with the ACLU long ago when they supported a Nazi parade thru a Jewish neighborhood and in NYC they supported the operators of gay public steam baths. They can not distinguish "right" from "legal".
George, I started contributing to the ACLU in 1997. The Nazis were proposing a peaceful march in Skokie, wearing uniforms, but not carrying weapons, and with no speeches. They were being deliberately cruel and antagonistic to the Jewish population of Skokie, many of whom were Holocaust survivors. But our Constitution does not forbid cruel and antagonistic behavior. It allows freedom of speech and peaceful assembly to all.
Definitions of "right" vary. We have the Constitution to help us with definitions of "legal." When a Hamas leader talks about the land from the river to the sea belonging to the Palestinians, how do you respond? When Bibi Netanhayu holds up a map, using the same words, "from the river to the sea," to claim that land for Israel, how do you respond?
Voltaire may or may not have said, "тАЬI disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it,тАЭ but that is the basis for our understanding of freedom of speech. Unless, of course, you make the distinction that what is free for me is not free for thee.
Do you not know about Democracy Docket, the conglomeration of lawyers who will be defending from TrumpтАЩs depredations? Warren(?) Elias is the founder and head.
Direct contact with Marc Elias or his Team Members is probably best in order to protect your personal Attorney Client privilege if necessary.
And, to preserve Marc Team's "Work Product privilege" which belongs to lawyers & their staff. Only clients get what their lawyers are thinking & that is protected by the above.
That's "AC" for short: Attorney Client Confidential & Privileged, AC. Do not show AC to UN-privileged 3rd parties.
IMO, Democracy Docket is becoming more of smart Law Platform which is тЪЦя╕ПЁЯСН
What if we hols our democratic public officials accountable instead? Where are their social media post? in NC in the last 10 years we have given 614 million to the voucher system, that takes away from public schools. I dd not see one post or campaign mention this in local elections, not even in state elections. Rarely mentioned in the presidential campaign and mentioned it a way not really demonstrate the danger. I have yet to see the top ten accomplishments for Biden. It is not them, it is us.
Matt 5:44 Love your enemies and pray for them. DJT is stuck in quicksand. Don't shoot him, throw him a rope and pray for him. Beyond Salvation is just BS !
No, he isn't, but he's already proving to be a national embarrassment and once again a disgrace to the presidency.
Here's a thought. Why don't you not respond to my posts to other people, and I will bet back to you on January 20th of 2026 so we can discuss the mess he's made of the country and the economy.
They don't eat rope? What was I thinking? Besides, there's always a chance the sharks get caught in the rope and the quicksand can suck it in like a meatball in spaghetti.
I am a retired state employee. I understand what you are going through due to working for many years under hostile state and federal government. I am also so proud to see you claim your public servant status. We make a choice to serve our country. It is more than just a job. Thank you for all you do every day.
i do hope that folks like you, Defender, are not simply painted as тАЬsubversiveтАЭ and demonized by the government-haters.
We need principled, experienced, honest, and dedicated people to keep our government functioning in ways that laws have decreed so far тАж LetтАЩs hope we have enough such people who survive TrumpтАЩs plan to fire as many government employees as he can manage to fire тАж
Nominal "government" hating is a bogus "GOP" concoction. They claim to hate "government", while maneuvering by hook and crook to totally dominate it, and a very heavy handed and intrusive way at that. It's ONLY government of the people, by the people, for the people that Reagan so intensely ridiculed and defamed. It's a play at governing of everyone BUT them; by the richest, for the richest.
DOMINATION is our species tragic flaw. That strategy may have had it's place in evolutionary development, but as our evolved primary guidance has shifted from instinct to learning, and understanding, so too has our awareness of justice and extended consequences. Moreover, our technologically amplified "reptile" impulses could easily end our species just as (compared to era of dinosaurs) we have begun. There is much to admire in human nature, but we have qualified as our own worst enemy.
Politics is all about whose will prevails, but that can be cooperative, reciprocal, or domineering. Families and friendships inevitably involve political transactions, as well as all other human organizations.
"As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master. This expresses my idea of democracy. Whatever differs from this, to the extent of the difference, is no democracy." - Lincoln
I'm a retired federal employee and fully support any resistance you can put forth. This is all so disgustingly sad. A bunch of lunatics running the nuthouse.
A best defence is an offence, especially for Trump. He was elected for promising inflation control. Now he says it is too difficult for him. He was not elected by promising annexing Panama and Greenland. Now he is calling for it. His election is therefore not justified anymore. File a law suit against his legitimacy of the elected.
Resistance will not get you far but education will. Unless HCR letters are broken down into smaller messages for social media we will still not reach those that need to hear.
What can Biden do? He can lead us down a path that has some chance of success. Or call on others in the party to do that. The minutia of normal operations (appointing judges, commuting sentences, etc.) are nice but will not stop the oncoming train of destruction. In many comments you will hear repeated calls to "resist" and "fight back".
Emotionally understandable but utterly wrong. Like the advice Iran has been giving to Hamas, Hezbollah and the West Bank to go throw themselves into the killing fields of Israel. Trump has multiple steel swords all primed to slice us. While, on the surface at least, all we have is a piece of paper (the constitution) poorly supported by a population disgusted by 3 decades of failing government (especially a House that is no longer "the peoples house"). So frustrated that they have changed some major piece (House, Senate or President) almost every two years for 2 decades.
Calls to "resist" are missing the power, and narrow, but golden, opportunity, we really have. Read
But then stop and think. What does Trump want? To make the world angry at him? No! According to his niece, Mary Trump, what Trump MAINLY wants is applause. Approval. And now, having messed up nearly everything in his life, stripped of any shred of wisdom by his cruel, abusive father, he also wants to avoid jail after his term and to keep most of the money he has stolen (or add more). Compared to the democracy we are on the verge of losing, what Trump wants are mere baubles.
Instead, the democrats can offer him a path to true approval. Popular approval based on wise choices.
How? The last 3 decades of bad policy (especially the failure to control big banks, leading to 2008) can all be traced to a Congress (of both parties) dominated by the need to spend all their time dialing-for-dollars from special interests and upper income elites.
Thereby losing touch with the 80%.
By going hat-in-hand to Trump with a fat offer, we could get Trump to support Campaign Finance Vouchers (similar to those used in Seattle and addressed in my other essays). With those in place for the 2026 election, the Democrats can free members of both parties to break the fat-cat stranglehold they live under. And Trump, no longer needing campaign finance money, could brush off the "successful" fat cats he envies and hates. And pave the way for wise policies to be addressed after 2026.
A Slam dunk option? Of course not. Do any of you have a better option? (I can update my essay to incorporate any pushbacks that I have not or inadequately addressed.)
Nope. There is NOTHING we could offer Trump that would induce him to act like a logical, normal, thoughtful person. You can't reason with angry cruelty. And if we did get him to support some new law or measure, he would just change his mind if it suited his twisted purposes. He has already tossed in the towel on "fixing inflation". Remember, he really believes he could get away with shooting someone on 5th Avenue. You can't make deals with the criminally insane.
And WE might think of him as a lame duck president because of term limits....but he doesn't think his term is limited. He thinks he is above the Constitution. I wonder if there will be a law enforcement agency that will lawfully escort him out of the White House on or before January 20, 2029.
Of course, there is no limit to the ambitions of JD Vance. Perhaps a 25th Amendment play? Invading Greenland, Panama...annexing Canada? This is not even funny.
Trump will be haunting us with bizarre thinking and brutality as long as he breathes. And millions of adoring fans will support him no matter what he says or does. That "train of destruction" is now unstoppable. Our only hope is that it will go off its tracks and implode.
Our strongest defense for now is in the states. I wake up every day grateful to live in a blue one where the leaders (imperfect as they are) are civilized, respect women and actually believe in equality, democracy, and freedom from religious extremism.
It would help to offer the knowledge the people need to understand why democrats are so much better. If we spent 1/4 of the time promoting (with clarity) our plan and information as we do critiquing trump, we would have won. Recently there was a post from Congressman McGovern that the latest budget fight was really about Trump wanting the debt ceiling raised so he could blame it on the democrats and Musk wants to control the US Trade with China. Those were the real issues. Musk had over 150 social media post in one day.
That was the real story. Follow the money. Musk got what he wanted for both Tesla -- no restrictions on his Chinese investments that also outsource critical US technologies while leaving US vulnerable to industrial and governmental espionage and both Tesla and X -- elimination of pesky car crash reports of which tesla self driving cars make 30+% and the shutdown of the 120 person foreign disinformation office that was tracking foreign disinformation since 2016. Musk's social media platform has been a firehose of disinformation since he bought it.
A reasonable response. One I attempted to address in the essay. Would he be willing to say "Yes" to a better deal than what the fat cats and MAGA followers' emotions are driving him to?
Impossible to be sure, but what is a better plan?
I do not think "the states" have a prayer of doing anything more than slightly delaying what he currently promises. The roaring bull is charging a balsa wood fence. We will do better with an attractive cow in heat to divert his path.
What about 25th amendment and JD Vance? That would simply put us back where we were for the past 3 decades (not having campaign vouchers, so not having addressed the root of the problem, a frozen House), only this time with a far smarter autocrat and a bunch of angry MAGA supporters even more ready to tear the place down. And a general population with even less faith in that ragged piece of paper, the constitution.
The red states have been quite effective in protecting their тАЬvaluesтАЭ. They have blocked Medicaid expansion - to Hell with the health of their less affluent citizens. They have starved their school districts financially ensuring a production line of bigoted young people who couldnтАЩt explain what тАЬcritical thinkingтАЭ is. They have gerrymandered the voting system to keep their Confederate descendants in power forever. States do a lot. Red states have effectively erected a firewall against equality, decency and science. States can do a lot. I am so glad to be in a Blue Zone.
If Trump were to vanish (return to another time as in a Netflix series) - what and who would fill the vacuum? Could anyone command a crowd of angry drooling red hatted nutters the way he did?
Yes, they have some power for good and ill. But I don't think they have enough power to fend off this particular bull. I favor trying to turn him aside. In such an endeavor, the blue states have an important supportive role.
Nice Missive Michael... Sincerely... However DJT feels that He will Live Forever... With DJT, it is always, "ME!!!, ME!!!, ME!!!".... The 'Dark Siths Around Him Will Not Want To Lose Any Power.... DJT is their Dream Puppet...
Apache, ironically I just happened to be thinking the same thing - but about Putin - after reading HeatherтАЩs Letter. HeтАЩs 72, trump is 78 and Biden is 82.
I feel that one of BidenтАЩs biggest regrets is that he did not seek the PartyтАЩs nomination in 2016. Had he and Hillary run and won, we could possibly be saying President-Elect Hillary Clinton - whoтАЩs 77. Yes, I know that these ages are a bit depressing and I also know that the Party likes to reward longevity and loyalty - but look at how Madame Speaker passed or handed-off the gavel to Hakim Jeffries. Our Party does appear to have a deep bench, but within the next two years, letтАЩs see the тАЬcream rise to topтАЭ!
Hello J L ... I hope that You are Right... The Gavels must be passed to Younger Blood... It is also Necessary that they Bring Fresh Thinking with them... USA Civil Society is Breaking Down, A.I. will become a Threat to the Work-Force, and the Evil Siths are Pillaging the National Wealth... For Example, Elon Musk was willing to have an USG Shutdown so he could build his Massive A.I. Facility in China... Where is Elon's Loyalty?...
Yes, to Fresh Thinking, and we never know from where that will come. It's not always about old blood versus young, but often about insiders versus outsiders. Those Fresh Thoughts may be at the perimeters awaiting recognition, welcome collaboration, and adaptation to change before penetrating whole complex systems.
Apache, I too, question MuskтАЩs loyalty - but a subject matter for another time - possibly?!? What weтАЩre looking for and need are people who can offer a different perspective - who тАЬthink outside of the preverbal boxтАЭ - and yes, often times that may come from a younger person. Many progressive thinkers from the democratic side of the U.S. Congress awhile back, did not want Madame Speaker to have a second go round at the Speakership - but who could have done it better than she, during trumpтАЩs first term? Nancy Pelosi was superb!!!
Our Party is not only fortunate to have a pretty well rounded and deep bench of potential POTUS candidates, but a pretty good group of young, smart and energetic up and comers waiting in the wings. There are things that we as a party must do to hold on to them and not let them become too complacent or we or we somehow lose them. Timing and transitioning [possibly a poor choice of wording] is important to our - the Democratic Party - success!
Yes, Apache, he can be a puppet. Hardly a comfortable one, given his erratic nature.
But why not up the bidding and offer him a better deal? One that offers a path to criticize both those тАЬdark SithsтАЭhe envies and hates AND the Dems who attacked him. AND a path to real popularity.
Right now we are doing nothing that has any realistic chance to succeed.
Pardoning Trump is one of the stupidest ideas out there.
There are lots of ways to resist. Think of jiu jitsu, the self-defense technique that uses the enemy's energy against him.
Besides, to accept a pardon means you accept that you are guilty. Trump wouldn't do that. He also wouldn't have to accept the pardon. He believes he has everything he needs. In his mind, he has the country by the throat.
Please pause & dig deeper. Yes, sounds stupid. Makes one want to gag. READ my essay (no need to subscribe unless you want to post a comment there). The essay proposes a form of jiu jitsu, in that it uses Trumps strength and MAGA supporters against not him but his euphoric, selfish fat cat funders.
Then get back to me. There are bound to be weaknesses in my argument and there is very little time until the hurting starts. Our Dem leaders are all running around with no plan. Their "No Kings Act" will go nowhere and just drives Trump closer to pulling a Sampson and Delaila in the Temple act.
With all due respect, our current problems in my view started when Geralf Ford pardoned Richard Nixon. By the time Nixon died, he had largely rehabilitated his image. Had he been put on trial, successfully prosecuted and jailed, then January 6th might arguably not have happened.
What Trump did on January 26th is not Joe Biden's to pardon because it includes all of us, myself included. I will not "pardon" Donald Trump's traitorous attempt to hold onto power by having his mob violently attack and desecrate the Capitol, which is my house as much as it is the house of any other American.
Right now it is arguably only the right wing, the Republican Party, and some hacks on the federal bench and the SCOTUS who are protecting Donald Trump from the consequences of his actions. I will damn to hell any Democrat who does the same.
I guess I'm more concerned about the "Hell" climate change is condemning my 4 grandchildren to.
Without active participation by the US, there is no possible way we (or probably our species) can escape what is coming. That participation runs through Congress. And Congress is currently frozen.
Is that justification for letting a criminal walk free and, on top of that, rub his freedom in my face and the face of every schoolchild in the world?
Yes, but only if we acknowledge openly that we did it to ourselves. For the last 3 decades we acted as if freedom was something we could subcontract, via campaign donations, to special interests and the elites.
How well did that work for everyone? I suppose I am an "elite" since I have enough income to make modest donations to the Dems and can afford to subscribe to Heather. I retired using 401(k), that federal program to subsidize the successful that basically leaves the 80% to retire on that poverty program called Social Security. Other advanced countries have rethought that. But we, our Congress, did not.
Until Trump woke me out of my self-satisfied slumber, I thought we were doing just fine.
Now, we are trying to find a way to scramble a way out of the increasingly hotter soup we are floating in.
First of all Biden can be a lot more vocal and a lot more informative. Do you hear any democratic leaders talking about these issues in a way that reaches the masses? We have to start explaining things in a way that promotes our cause on social media. We need to offer something besides how bad Trump is....that is not getting us anywhere. We need proof democrats and better for the economy and the country.
Exactly. While Biden's policies were good, his (and Harris's) focus of attention was on the donors: the special interests and elites who could donate campaign money. That is why they were so shocked when the public was not sufficiently moved by talk about "threats to democracy." Many voters could look around and wonder what "democracy" had been doing for them lately.
Just as Biden and Harris had a hard time seeing the public dissatisfaction, Congress has been forced to concentrate on policies that please donors but leave out the interests of the 80% who are not donors.
I have been pushing campaign finance vouchers with my writing for the past 3 years, this year switching to Substack. Why vouchers? They can put small (but cumulatively large) amounts of donation power into the hands of ALL voters, instead of just the upper 20%. Then Congress will be free once again to spend some precious time listening to ordinary voters.
Trump, if turned by the Dems towards doing something truly popular, would now take great pleasure in excoriating both parties for doing so poorly. And then whip out, with great fanfare, "Vouchers!" as a Brilliant Idea to Fix Everything that he would claim he invented. Many other Republican politicians would be forced to go along (reluctantly at first, since almost none of them have ever worked outside the dialing-for-dollars world). The fat cats and special interests would howl in outrage since "donation power" is their meal ticket.
My Substack (this essay and earlier ones) is an attempt to lay this out.
I have been working this issue since 2016. And I have a lifetime of being interested in public policy. Given that, I should be embarrassed at my utter cluelessness before Trump burst on the scene. But I have lots of company.
There was fat and happy Mike Foxworth of mid-2015. Compare that to the mystified Mike Foxworth of mid-2016 wondering why Trump was cleaning up the Republican primaries and trying to find some argument to stir my fellow citizens to join me in campaigning for a Hillary (a really weak candidate, I thought).
Yes, this is all quite complicated.
If I wanted you or anyone to get anything out of this, please try to understand that for 3 decades we have let campaign finance donors rule our government. And those donors, mostly good people (even most of the "special interests"), are in no position to accurately speak for those who do not have enough income to be donors. We let this situation fester for 3 decades with increasingly bad results.
I argue campaign finance vouchers would help change things for the better. We have tried other fixes and utterly failed.
Regardless, though, to fix things we need to always keep in mind the source of the problem.
Yes Sandra, it's up to us to hold them accountable by voting for them or not. Unfortunately the voting record of the American people is a mixed bag, but that's how the process works. Thanks again Sandra.
Moderate Republicans from the house would have to rely on Democrats to get any bill passed. Mega Republicans alone couldn't pass a bill by themselves. I believe there are 22 members.
I agree that Biden's strategy has been a good one - but I think this Trump outburst requires a deafening response in my view -- from every elected official who can get in front of a mic.
I agree that Uncle Joe may have left Merrick Garland alone... I think that Uncle Joe operates from a Very Old Fact Deck... 'Gaza' is one Artifact... I also believe that Joe Biden misjudged the 'Political Calendar' not realizing how slow the Wheels-Of-Justice can Turn, and DJT's Evil Feralness...
Without the European Union and the Pax Americana Europeans are going to go back to their usual clan mentality and start again a vicious circle of killing each other as since prehistoric times culminating in tha 20th century at industrial proportions .
BTW: Last Night 3-Babies Froze To Death In Gaza, Including A Newborn... Those Children had Absolutely Nothing To Do With The 7-Oct-2023 Attack By The HAMAS Militant Brigades...
Last Christmas in Jerusalem, a Lutheran Pastor gave a sermon titled "Christ in The Rubble".
This year, a short walk from the real Church of the Nativity, someone created a Holiday Season Shock Art: The political street art was a plastic 'Baby' nestled down in a collection of stone rubble not Away-in-a-Manger.
The 'Baby' was wrapped in shiny silk, 1/2 in silken white the other 1/2 the same but, partially wrapped in a silk print of a black Chain Link fence where the 'Baby' laid eyes open.
Actually, Joe Biden is a brilliant Statesman. A good example of this is his 2024 SOTU. He actually cornered the MAGA into admitting they wouldn't touch "entitlements." I recommend you watch it. His ability to negotiate bipartisan Bills is unmatched. His international reputation is excellent in his strengthening of NATO.
What brought us all down was a toxic brew cooking for decades: Russia, MAGA courtesy of Newt Gingrich, Murdoch, covid, and a spoiled, ignorant bunch of voters. The behind the scenes efforts of Russia and Iran to concoct the Gaza tragedy in order to undermine Biden is a significant part of all of this.
So. You can see politics today is complex as hell.
Agreed with your description of Biden's ability to negotiate bills in Congress or make excellent deals in the international arena. America and the world are better places thanks to Biden. But times fly and our minds follow.
Merrick Garland was appointed, yes. But beyond that, the timetable was in AG GarlandтАЩs wheelhouseтАФand he was too slow. He thought heтАЩd prosecute the тАШlittle guysтАЩ of the insurrection first and by doing so close in on DJT, common tactic with Mob prosecutions. Unfortunately DJT way is to stall, throw sand in the DOJтАЩs gears and with the help of the right wind SCOTUS it worked.
I don't think Merrick Garland ever considered going after the big fish in the pond. He knew his strategy would fail and he wanted it to, otherwise he is an idiot.
And in fairness he was rewarded by VERY cautious judges. IтАЩm not claiming they were siding with tfgтАЩs theory of the case necessarily. But some were ideological BFFs and others wanted to be EXTRA careful. And here we are.
Yes , that was a major mistake for Biden. Attorney General Garland dragged his feet on this critical investigation. Biden should of fired Garland immediately right after the hearings.
I like that Barbara - I too, have long adopted this form [trump] when referring to our тАЬuseless idiotтАЭ or liar-in-chiefтАЭ! Biden has been a stalwart [and not used here as a reference to a former faction of the Republican Party] of and for our Party, our Country and the worldтАжand yes, he must still continue to have nightmares of not seeking the PartyтАЩs nomination in 2016 - and yes, I know that there were some other forces and factors helping him make that decision - but!?!
I don't think Biden should ignore Trump but not get down to his level either. Someone needs to show how badly the internet is full of misinformation. I think if Kamila took a pointer and went down some of those line items of how much better we were with Trump, it would have helped. Grossly misrepresented info. Also, look at what Biden did when he exposed the plan to defund social security. He said this in a major speech, said Republicans want to stop funding social security. Was there news coverage, were there tweets going wild about this. He said there was a bill on his desk from the Republicans requesting this but where did this info go? People don't believe Trump wants to cut social security and medicare because we have really not pounded home that issue.
ThereтАЩs a unique intent to disrupt the status quo and pointedly has been for the Republican mobsters for quite sometime. The WE fail to articulate this enough. Most of us The Blue Team and a few of The Red - rovers red rovers come over, though the facts what stands out most is the LIE granted followed by more (lies) by the feral few who wish to disrupt . Given are several in our midst who like myself see our own mistakes and admit this needs changed ( and about time).
That Heather тАШs ability to pen this, or talk the sense, carries along lines of decency and an approach of common truths we HAVE been through these times and survived тАжis now mixed with the ridiculous circus barking of kayfebe even -equating it with wrestling тАШs history is a summed up accuracy if not brillianceтАжAND IT WORKED FOLKS!
This approach has pointed out our flaws like none other and captured those soap opera mentalities of America.
Clever is as clever does, right ..Forest?
The cons jumped right on that band wagon long before The тАШApprenticeтАЩ ending its pilot (program) showed its ass. They recognized it for its worth and disparity became the hollowed out middle class resultтАжlaws be dammed while duping JQP caught on and around the world history got repeated.
Complacency costs like mirrors and smoke screens do too.
I looked at тАШThe Russian are comingтАЩ heard since I was a child with a pointer now..once command was established people silently fell out of windows/off boats as is deported as is theyтАЩre building detention centers already as is the bark now has far more a plausible biteтАжthere is no gulag here?
Whether itтАЩs the rantings of a mad man/narcissist or patient clever puppeteerS still boils down to how to stop it.
IтАЩve been wondering the same. IsnтАЩt Biden is still president till January 20? What is this trump $hit getting so much airtime? Why isnтАЩt Biden responding?
Do we really want President Biden to spend his last days in office publicly responding to every whackadoodle thing Trump says? Or, do we want him doing everything he possibly can to Trumpproof our government before he leaves? Like commuting death sentences, forgiving more student debt, appointing every last possible judge, and issuing permanent rules to protect our government employees and programs.
Joe knows more about how the government, especially the executive branch, works than perhaps any other modern POTUS. HeтАЩs doing, diligently and quietly, everything he can to create some sort of sustainability before he leaves office.
Biden could call Chuck Schumer and ask him to bring a vote in the Senate to settle the orange felon's status as an insurrectionist.
The Constitution's Article 14, Section Three says no insurrectionist can take any public office, with its last lines specifying that, if there's any doubt, Congress can settle it if 2/3 of both houses vote to release one from that status.
If either the Senate or the House of Representatives does not clear Trump by that 2/3 necessary, he remains legally an insurrectionist and cannot be sworn in to any office, even one to which he may have been elected.
Biden should have called Chuck Schumer to have had this vote long ago. He ought do it now, in the few days left before the new, 119th Congress comes in.
Ahhhh...do you think paying off a porn star is insurrection?
Black's law dictionary:
"Insurrection shall consist in any combined resistance to the lawful authority of the state, with intent to the denial thereof, when the same is manifested, or intended to be manifested, by acts of violence."
Strongly agree. He is more knowledgeable and cunning than many will give him credit for. I'd place serious money (if I had any) on him quietly working every lever he can pull before he leaves office. Publicly commenting on every trump pipe dream would be a massive waste of time and energy.
My genuine fear is that once trump occupies the WH, he will obliterate any and everything Biden has and is doing and no one is going to stop him.
I never thought in my lifetime we would end up in this situation where we are going to find out what it is like living in an evil, totalitarian dictatorship. People continue to resist to no avail and/or eventually acquiesce. We only need to look to any totalitarian government to see what happens to protesters . . . it is a lot easier (and safer) for the masses to just go along. It is beyond sad and didn't have to be this way. I hope beyond hope that I live long enough to see the tide turn without incurring an actual violent revolution (which is how these things typically end).
The one perverse hope I have is that Trump is too lazy and stupid to really follow through on his craziest ideas and pronouncements. He needs committed acolytes who truly believe in him and have the power to do things like an invasion of Panama, for example. Many of the wackiest ideas of the first term never came to pass. The fear I have is that there are now people coming to power who are willing to carry out the evil deeds.
As I might've said earlier, Terry Trump has no plans or compunctions to take over Panama. Read his book art of the deal as I know you guys are big readers. Try that book. Maybe you'll understand his rhetoric
However, as we know, Tony Schwartz actually wrote the book. As he has explained over the years, donald didnтАЩt have the attention span to finish even a paragraph let alone a thought.
BidenтАЩs talking is not his strong suit. He needs other orators to stand up in his stead. People just won't get the required urgency and motivation from Joe, even though what he says (when I can understand it) is valid and on point.
It falls back on the old Campaigns Inc rules for political campaigns: " the average American doesn't want to work consciously at being a good citizen. There are only two ways to get Mr. or Mrs. America interested in a candidate. (And always sell the candidate, not the policy.) They like a good hard fight first; but if you can't invent an enemy for a fight, give 'em a big, entertaining show. If the show is good enough, Mr. and Mrs. America will turn out to see it."
Clearly, the WWE and kayfabe also followed plenty of these successful 1950's era political campaign rules. All the while, America has turned to childish entertainment instead of sober maturity.
Good point and I agree. IтАЩm just so frustrated that the orange nightmare is already commencing. I thought we had another month before the shit show started.
Surely you do NOT BELIEVE this is Trump's agenda! He is being used by a much larger and much more dangerous entity and he loves the power and position he has been given.
Thank you to the men and women who are doing all they can to protect our Democracy.
We must find a way to do our part. If we lose this great nation.....it is US who will bear the blame. We have not been on guard!
how do you know that? The mainstream media have NEVER publicized what Biden was doing, however significant, because Trump is more 'interesting'... however lunatic. Sanity is not as interesting, apparently.
John....spot on. The msm only wants clicks. Notice that the feel good stories are always at the end of a news broadcast. We are mired in nonstop bad news which can break our spirits if we let it. I am glad to know that government workers like Public Servant exist. Notice the use of Public Servant...something that death star and his band of criminals and rich egos do not understand. Mostly they like being at the public trough.
2 of those Justices prejudiced themselves & should have recused themselves from that decision. 3 of those Justices had written dissenting opinions. 3 State Supreme Courts DID DiSQUALIFY Trump. It is is section 3 of the 14th amendment. ItтАЩs not too late to disqualify him.
Plus he cheated. The data in the swing states is proof. Read below тАЬNine Ways To Prove the 2024 Election Was Stolen.тАЭ
Grow up, sir, and acknowledge that our system failed us all by not doing what it should have to bring Trump to justice quickly and appropriately. That problem sadly falls on the shoulders of Biden and Garland. Trump is just the beneficiary.
However that failure doesn't justify trying to use extra-constitutional means to violate his right to be elected. I certainly wish it was, but it's not.
Nothing has meaning for the SOB: only his self interest. He would throw his children and wife under the bus if that were to benefit him.
Repugnants and autocratic leaders know this and have used the knowledge to pull the strings of the puppet with false praise.Behind his back it is a VERY DIFFERENT STORY.
Daniel Solomon, Trump will lie. Just like he always does. And he knows his followers will do the same. I took the oath of office on my first day of employment with the federal government at the age of 21. It was a solemn oath and I meant every word. It pains and terrifies me to know that anyone could say it without meaning a word of it.
I've answered your Q separately here, Daniel, in reply to Margaret MacKenzie, above.
That is, "How can an insurrectionist take the oath of office?" has its answer in the Constitution's Article14, Section Three, whose last lines say an insurrectionist can take public office if both houses of Congress by a 2/3 say it's OK.
If either house votes and does not give the 2/3 necessary, Trump is legally an insurrectionist and may not take any public office.
Why haven't Dems thus acted to clarify the orange felon's insurrectionary status?
I'm going to say it's easy for them to take the oath.
First, they have no integrity so an oath means absolutely nothing to them. Second they'll cross their fingers & put their hands on a trump bible & that'll protect them. If you cross your fingers & out your hand on a trump bible it absolves them from EVERYTHING!
Professors Baud & Paulsen don't think he can. Professor Laurence Tribe agrees. But ChatGPT thinks he can since, according to ChatGPT, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously reversed the Colorado Supreme Court's declaration that Trump engaged in insurrection; it ruled that States "lack the authority to disqualify federal candidates under Section 3; only Congress holds that power."
No where in Constitution does it say only Congress has the authority to adjudicate who is an insurrectionist - they just made this up.
The other weak link is Sec 3 of the 14th Amendment doesn't categorically state that a person who swore an oath as President is prohibited from taking the oath - only "members of Congress or an officer of the United States" or State officials.
In the end we all know where this challenge would end up . . . Heads they win, tails America loses.
The Clarence court, ASB, did not go anywhere near his status as insurrectionist.
That status remains with Congress to settle. If either house votes and does not by 2/3 majority clear him, that vote affirms his insurrectionist status -- preserving his disqualification from any public office.
Biden and crew have been mum on this, deliberately, I think, Carol.
I think -- admittedly with little evidence -- Dems are negotiating with Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Lisa Murkowsky of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine, Mitt Romney of Utah, Joni Ernst of Iowa, and various other Republicans.
On January 6 Congress must certify the election. I think we'll then see them invoke the disqualification clause concluding the 14th Amendment, Section Three.
Lacking 2/3 majority to override, disqualification will stand.
Who IS тАЬTin Foil MattтАЭ or, at the very least, what are his qualifications for offering such technical analyses and/or inferences? I admit these allegations run in alignment with my shock at the election results. However, this opens far more than an electoral can of wormsтАЭ. Perhaps an тАЬoceanтАЭ?
I think the right question is how can any ethical jurist administer the oath of office to any convicted felon and traitor and do so with a straight faceтАж
I wonder that too.How can someone take the oath of office, hand on Bible, swear allegiance to the Constitution and the American people when he is actively trying to destroy the world order and our democracy?It doesnтАЩt make sense and appears to be a national emergency to me.
Chuck Schumer hasn't called for a vote in the U.S. Senate, Syd.
That vote -- failing to get 2/3 required to give a pass to the orange felon -- would have kept his disqualification legally in place.
Could it be that various people in Congress might have a way to show on Jan. 6, 2025, that the constitutionally necessary 2/3 do not give him a pass on that day, and so at that time the disqualification is demonstrably final?
It is indeed 'Bread & Circuses'.... Isn't Linda McMahon serving in DJT's Administration again? Only two substantial acts occurred during Trump 1.0... They were his massive Tax-Cuts for the Rich, that Cratered the National Debt, and the utter failure of DJT to manage COVID... I have Served with Genuine 'Tough-Guys', and DJT is definitely not One-Of-Them... Indeed DJT, Is A Drama-Queen...
Apache, yes bread and circuses while death star and his minions destroy as much as they can and create chaos while stealing from the public trough. And the response to COVID when we are one mutation away from bird flu becoming a pandemic. I just read a long article today about how we have done virtually nothing to stop it particularly in dairies. Yesterday we had our Christmas dinner and we had four oldsters and three younger people. All the older people were glad that they were as old as they were and were worried about what younger people will face. So while we enjoyed each other, laughed a lot, and ate good food, there was this uneasiness about the future.
Michele, Good Points... I Agree... My Family is scattered thru the U.S.... When We gathered at my Thanksgiving Table, the Sentiments were Similar... I tell my Children that the Public Mood was Hopeful in the '60s for the most Part, Hopeful on Y2k, and Grim ever since... Read Paul Krugman's Last Editorial for the New York Times... Seems that Paul Krugman is preparing for the Coming Storm...
Mostly circuses. Trump is a con man who inherited a huge fortune to play with. The $$$ made him flashy enough to successfully pose a veneer of legitimacy, at least in the eyes of many. That, and his sociopathic ability to lie without the slightest flicker of shame.
Hello J L ... DJT also stole a portion of his Inheritance from his Family Members Inheritances... Ask Mary Trump... DJT is indeed a Remorseless Sociopath...
I remember being in 1st or 2nd year Undergrad and thinking. This guy is totally over leveraged and dumb as Stubn├дgel. Nothing changed over the 53 years since then., except he is now also a convicted felon and rapist.
J L, our cleaner lived in Queens for a while and she says that he was hated there and known for what he is, a crook. It's too bad that so many others have been fooled. Unfortunately, I think he also speaks to worst impulses of many people.
yeah, I love that analogy. I had never thought of Trumpian politics that way. I never watch TV, so I missed WWE altogether. I did see though that the Dumpster took Elon and Useless to the WWE match the other day. Maybe it was a strategy session?
Bruce, IтАЩve only seen WWE in passingтАж.SO not my schtick. I am unable to stomach even legit boxing, wrestling (bullfighting), etcтАжtoo тАЬgladiatorтАЭ for me. I did know, perhaps via a vid, that TFFFG was a fan & even saw one of him outside the ring тАЬtaking downтАЭ some personтАФof course it was fake and all for showтАжjust like he is
Yeah, JL, thatтАЩs why I put it in тАЬ тАЬтАж..faux new is NO news. IMHO I donтАЩt think any information site should be allowed to blatantly lie, opinions, yeah, but lyingтАжno. Maybe should be called Prop News aka Propaganda News! Or maybe Fox Noise?! CanтАЩt stomach the channel & have never been able to watch it for more than a few (very few) minutesтАФnot that I wanted to, but sometimes is good to have the experience & to see it for myselfтАжbut ЁЯдо!
I asked the same question. The most common answer is because our bought Supreme Court majorit has said that Congress has to enact a law to make Section 3 of the 14th ammendment to the Constitution invocable in this case. It has never been invoked before, therefore there is no precedent.
As far as I can tell he had never been adjudicated to be an insurrectionist. Maybe he should have been brought to trial by Garland much more quickly, but he wasn't. "Innocent until proven guilty" was the mantra most of us learned in school so despite all our beliefs that Trump IS probably guilty of those crimes, he has only been proven guilty in one case involving payoffs to Stormy Daniels, hardly the work of insurrection.
I am disgusted by that outcome but my disgust or yours doesn't permit us to unilaterally declare Trump guilty of a crime he hasn't even been charged with, let alone convicted.
I am actually, although non-practicing. So please enlighten me why you think anything I've said suggests an ignorance of the law. All I've said is that to consider someone guilty of insurrection would require either a trial AND conviction or a successful impeachment, neither of which, to my knowledge, had ever happened to Trump. If you are actually aware of anything that would suggest otherwise (like a court precedent), I would love to be enlightened by someone more knowledgeable than me.
Not a criminal standard, The 14th Amendment Paragraph 3 has been posted here many times. The burden shifts to the office seeker. That;s what Mario, Phil, Syd et al were sayin'.
Actually Trump had an administrative hearing in Anderson, the Colorado case, and they found that he was an insurrectionist, as set out by statute, but SCOTUS decided that states can't enforce the Constitution. Congress can. They should have but haven't so far.
All of this has been laid out here many times.
It could also be that the Colorado fact finding is viable.
Highly aware and of course u am not ignoring the decision by the Supreme Court of the United States which said the state had no right to litigate this issue. That is reserved for federal courts and maybe Congress via impeachment and its power to certify presidential elections. But there is no power of a state court to decide on the ability of a presidential candidate to be elected, not even in their own state.
You seem very focused on picking and choosing which court decisions to read and which to ignore. In the US you hopefully remember, the US Supreme Court has precedent over state courts. What the Colorado Court decided was overturned on appeal. And so it is meaningless until the US courts change their minds.
Good point and I agree. IтАЩm just so frustrated that the orange nightmare is already commencing. I thought we had another month before the shot show started.
Everybody, I have reported 'Sender today & asked Substack Inc to go to their favored Mediator JAMS SF to get a confidential & lawful read on their 9/24 Terms of Use (TOU) which is not ready for Prime Time or 2025.
Substack Inc has counsel I respect, Wilson Sonsini. Substack Inc is located right around the corner from JAMS SF & my old Law Office in SF. We are all close neighbors.
You would think Substack inc would want know, yes or maybe, whether their legal defenses are evaporating. Substack Inc is vividly aware of the legal trend since 2022-- a strong current against digital Platforms.
I will keep the Community & "Authors" updated when relevant but, others & I have asked politely for yet another revision of Substack's 9/24 DOA, Terms of Use (TOU).
the acronym AWOL It's a military term. And there you have your reason that Biden isn't responding. You must realize, of course that Biden is less coherent, substantially less coherent than he was during the Trump debate
In fact, even many people from the Democratic Party are wondering who's running the country
What really matters now is that, once the Groper-in-Chief takes Greenland and the Panama Canal Zone, America Will Be Great Again and we will never again have to vote. And the Groper-in-Chief can pay for taking over Greenland and the Panama Canal Zone with the money left over from the check that Mexico sent to pay for the wall.
Joel, Rick Sender is a bot. It's writing style has changed markedly over the past several weeks - something humans rarely do. Engage if you like, but no one is home.
Carole, if anyone wanted to find out about Biden's competency, MEIDAS would be the last place anyone in the right mind would look. If you haven't seen the Wall Street Journal article with all the Democrat pundits legacy media and X supporters chime in realizing that he's been in mental decline since right after his election. It's a shame that they hid it for so long or they could've had invoke the 25th amendment like they were talking about with Trump and then they would've had a viable candidate to run in his stead, but why do you think they pushed him out? Why do you think they actually had a coup in America?
It's tough for Biden. The media presents him as senile though he's far from it. Russian misinformation wants him seen as senile, so the republicans and right wing media follow their lead.
You know Russian disinformation didn't work well for you guys during this campaign. It's not gonna work well for schiff nor Hillary or the 51. Group. Perhaps you should change the channel and see what's really happening or just take a look at the latest Wall Street Journal analysis.
There is good and bad just like there isn't every news organization, although there is much suffering and loss of viewership and readership right now in the liberal precincts. The Washington Post apparently has lost $77 million this past year. The New York Times has lost a great deal of its credibility based on the backing of stories that turned out to be incorrect or extremely biased.
Legacy media has lost its legs
CNN and MSNBC are probably going to be sold and at least one of them is going to have to change its network name
Salaries there have already been cut
Los Angeles times has come to his senses it fired the entire editorial board in favor of a balanced coverage.
Are you in denial here? Obviously, I have a point I wouldn't be getting so many responses and so many protests and so many one-sided posts that obviously have not looked at alternative opinions, and other perspectives, which is why I got here in the first place by mistake because somebody sent me an email that I couldn't believe.
Maybe you would like to respond to some of the points I made unfortunately too many of them are true.
Just support your president and America
BTW Did you happen to watch the ARMY NAVY GAME?
See if you see a point here in this analogy
Before the game each team had one of their leaders speak to the media. They were both asked the same question about the outcome of the game
Both men independently and without knowing what the other said, basically said the following, we will fight like hell we want to win this game badly
But then, without having been questioned? both independently without knowing what the other had said, added the following
BUT AFTER THE GAME NO MATTER WHO WINS WE ARE ON THE SAME TEAM. WE ARE BROTHERS WHO LOVE THIS COUNTRY AND WILL SUPPORT AND DEFEND IT.
Tim, I have explained this before however I was having a discussion with a friend of mine about extreme right and extreme left-wing sites and while posting on a right wing site, he mentioned sub stack of which I had never been involved and in fact the site I was texting on or posting on was not a social media site. It was a news site. And he mentioned sub stack and for some reason I stumbled on Heather posts. And c'est la vie.
Yes share the email. Trump has no morality, integrity or intelligence. Or he wouldnтАЩt have: 1. cheated on 3 wives; 2. blackmailed Ukraine to find dirt on Biden; 3, sexually molested multiple women; 4. stole, kept & lied about top secret classified documents; 5. threatened to sue any school that revealed any information about him while at school; 6. demanded heads of the FBI, etc. be тАЬloyalтАЭ to HIM when they are supposed to act INDEPENDENTLY; the list is endless.
Two answers no he didn't and no, he didn't and the only people that violated our constitution where the people that stage a coup de etat our own country, removing Joe Biden and our president and placing in a imposter
And when the January 6 committee gets investigated by the incoming administration, you're going to see how little of a role that Donald Trump actually played in the January 6 protest how much was covered up by both the committee and the FBI how old Nancy Pelosi and Muriel Bowser were involved.
How he was denied the 10,000 extra soldiers that he requested and now Muriel buyer refused to assist Trump in providing police as well
But there's gonna be a lot more
Plus, you should read my post about the real insurrection in this country that happened with Officer Chauvin and George Floyd
Where somewhere between two and $4 billion of damage was done to multiple cities in this country burning down police precincts taking over of cities and the killing of 25 policeman.
Now imagine these two things and then one more I will add as a holy crap
What if George Floyd was white what if officer Chauvin was black? Would anything have happened. ?
And after you answer those two questions remember that officer Chauvin was convicted of his crime and yet they didn't wait for the conviction they went and destroyed this country anyway.
I'll tell you the difference, Sean. Most of the people here are talking about the word. RESIST. That's you guys the guys on the other side of the aisle so to speak are using this
SUPPORT. IF I'M NOT CORRECT HERE, FEEL FREE TO TEXT ME BACK, BUT IF YOU READ ALL THESE POSTS, THEY'RE ALL MAKING NEGATIVE ACCUSATIONS ABOUT TRUMP AND HE HASN'T EVEN TAKEN OFFICE YET.
I am now and will forever be actions over words. People can talk and talk and talk and talk, but it's what they do that counts.
Rick, history has demonstrated our country is only strong when the middle class is strong (Read Robert ReichтАЩs тАЬThe Common GoodтАЭ).
Trump is only helping his wealthy friends, not the people that need help.
тАЬThe 2017 Trump Tax Law Was Skewed to the Rich, Expensive, and Failed to Deliver on Its Promises
A 2025 Course Correction Is NeededтАЭ
тАЬWas expensive and eroded the U.S. revenue base. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated in 2018 that the 2017 law would cost $1.9 trillion over ten years,[3] and recent estimates show that making the lawтАЩs temporary individual income and estate tax cuts permanent would cost another roughly $400 billion a year beginning in 2027.[4] Together with the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts enacted under President Bush (most of which were made permanent in 2012), the law has severely eroded our countryтАЩs revenue base.тАЭ
First of all I don't read socialist human beings. I know what they stand for. I continually read what they say, and they should belong somewhere else not in the United States, who believe in capitalism, unlike Robert Reich.
Regarding President Bush, he had one good quality and a number of bad ones one good quality is that he loved America his bad qualities included being a dim bulb and not increasing his understanding of why wars are bad. Ok?
And finally much to your chagrin, Donald Trump is the course correction that is needed. Sorry
Why not sit back and watch and learn. And if he's wrong, call me out no problem. But a lot of liberals are negative in advance.
Well, you've done absolutely no research. About 4 billion of the increased deficit was caused by a little tiny virus called Covid, which leaked from a Wuhan lab with participation from the United States and Dr. Anthony Fauci.
The rest of it went to saving over 100,000 businesses from closing and over 2 million jobs that will just answer one of the points I read in your post more to come
Biden will be revered in history. The historians have ranked him high. He has accomplished a great deal. Biden is a man of integrity, intelligence, and class.
And President Joe Biden issued a statement concerning RussiaтАЩs Christmas bombardment of Ukraine to cut heat and electricity for Ukrainians in the dead of winter. тАЬLet me be clear,тАЭ he said, тАЬthe Ukrainian people deserve to live in peace and safety, and the United States and the international community must continue to stand with Ukraine until it triumphs over RussiaтАЩs aggression.тАЭ
Unquote
Pretty clear to me. He's responding to actual events.
As far as responding to Trump's latest on absorbing other countries is concerned, we've all seen that going after Trump's outrageous comments is like wrestling in the mud with a pig... after a while, you realize the pig likes it.
The appointment of 235 federal judges is not an insignificant move to counter Trump's legalised unlawfulness. The Supremes are a mess and there's every likelihood that Thomas and Alito will step down allowing Trump to appoint at least two more younger illiberal judges. However, the appeals courts alone handle more than 50,000 cases each year. Since the Supreme Court hears arguments in fewer than 100 cases each year, almost all of these lower-court decisions will be final. Trump cannot expect the Supremes to come through on all his crazier policy ambitions.
Christopher, Biden does speak out and has during his entire presidency. The problem lies in the fact that not enough of us listen. Yes, he's a poor communicator and he has tried to behave like a statesman and not wrestle in the mud with this showman, but that belies the fact that he's worked feverishly to right the ship and help all of us. The loss of Kamala Harris to the proven evil idiot who aims to move us to Putin's camp has to be even more heartbreaking to Biden than it is for those of us who didn't vote for Trump. If Americans need a daily recitation of all of Trump's outright criminality when he uses a megaphone to rub it in our face, whose fault is that? Perhaps if more members of the GOP stood up against him, we wouldn't be facing Armageddon.
I agree with what you are saying but nobody from the GOP will speak out and who will? I agree and believe Biden has been the best president in decades no question about that but you can be both statesmen and fighter.
Christopher, I agree with you and often wished that Biden would publicly refute Trump's lies, but there are many people who just refuse to listen and would probably have insisted that Biden's pushback wasn't worth listening to, since "all politicians are alike." Of course, I'm speaking from the viewpoint that I never could have believed that this ignorant grifter and racist never should have made it to the White House -ever.
I donтАЩt understand why Biden isnтАЩt actually supporting UkraineтАФwith long range missiles, adequate ammunition, fighter jets, etc etc. he seems to want you not to lose, but also not to win. Democracy in the world is at stake there.
He released 20 million dollars of seized Russian assets to Ukraine to help them purchase weapons and has provided them with the actual materiel you mentioned, I believe. This is the problem - no one knows what BidenтАЩs doing because the media is too busy reporting on TrumpтАЩs latest nonsense.
The war has been going on for nearly 3 years. Biden has been very, very timid and cautious. Only in the last two months as Ukraine been able to shoot any US missiles into Russian territory and then only in one specific spot and the supply of those missiles thatтАЩs available to Ukraine is minuscule. Meanwhile, Russia is Bombing and targeting with missiles, shopping centers, hospitals as well as military targets. IтАЩm a big Joe Biden fan but on Ukraine this last effort is way too little and way too late.
I recommend the sub stack of Phillips Obrien. Is in authority on matters of Ukraine and war.
Try imagining what is on the presidentтАЩs plate! He has been doing all he can to protect Ukraine money and weapons from the Putin/Trump combo. Trump, however, takes orders from Papa Putin instead of being a grown up patriot and supporting freedom for Ukraine.
We do not have four years. We have three weeks of Biden presidency. Trump is calling for invasion of other countries against UN resolution, thus inviting Russians follow. Biden should call martial law to take over the country.
Christopher, you wonder where is Joe Biden speaking out? I think it's because the media (who has complied in advance of Tump's presidency) doesn't cover him, but hangs on every word (tweet) Trump spews 24/7. I think Kamala Harris faced the same thing during her campaign. I expect the next four years will be a battle to find the truth with the daily performance and chaos Trump and his propaganda machine will scream from every microphone and media outlet they control and bully. I'm depending on forums like this to continue to speak truth to power.
''...тАЬThe ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the convinced Communist,тАЭ she wrote, тАЬbut people for whom the distinction between fact and fictionтАжand the distinction between true and false no longer exist.тАЭ...'' AND to do this:
''...If Trump "really wants to stop the third world war,тАЭ he said, тАЬthe way out is simple: dividing up the world into spheres of influence."...''
My question is where is Kamala Harris? I can empathize with her disappointment and pain - we all feel it - but leadership is about putting that behind you and marching forward. Churchill said it best: ""Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm."
It all depends on the GOP senators and representatives. Yes, we can resist and protest, but really this insanity and its consequences are on them. We can't just complain about Trump. The responsibility belongs to the GOP. They can control this or they can let it all go to hell.
The tradition that presidents , after leaving office , become mute IS NUTS. President Biden needs to speak out loudly about these ramblings of Trump. He needs to keep speaking after leaving office . ALL present and former sane (operative word ) politicians who care about the future of the country and humanity must speak out. And yes we all have an obligation to speak out .
President Biden is not a dictator. He is closing down the official days of his Presidency, working at all the things he can do while in office and preparing the way for the Elected upcoming President. I am sure he has done and will continue to do what he is able to do to protect us from the rising tide of hell and chaos that is soon to catch up to us!!!!
George, we have minds. eyes and ears and may I add hearts of our own. As a nation this is what WE the PEOPLE have allowed. We as a nation will pay the consequences. Our friends and allies will also suffer.
Everyone of us....children born and unborn and their MOTHERS who are often left alone after the "fun" is done.....no matter the danger of her life or the life in the womb.....often abandoned by the "father". No matter the life of the mother,
whether married or not....whether raped or not (0f course that would really be all her doing anyway).
I will add...we do not know all that may be going on to protect us and the world, as each day comes and goes.
We too as citizens must do our part...."do something for good"............no matter our circumstance.
We all have an obligation speak out to every politician who represents us. I wonder where is Joe Biden condemning lies and misrepresentations. The next four years will be the most challenging to this country since the civil war. Thanks Heather again and again!!!!
We have the obligation to resist! Heather is an inspiration. To the Letters from an American community: I am a federal government worker whose career is in danger from MAGA/DOGE fascism.
Take heart that many public servants like me will do everything we can do resist Trump: https://democracydefender2025.substack.com/p/public-servant-democracy-defender-introduction
You and your fellow federal workers have my full support as well as the support of 75M Americans.
I am all in with FULL RESISTANCE! I want a boycott. I want a work stoppage. I want every stick in every hump spoke!!
Can anyone recommend any pro bono services in Washington that might assist those who find themselves in legal quagmire with the trump administration? Demonstrations and so on.
I don't know about pro bono, but to start, I'd recommend:
The ACLU
The NAACP Legal Defense Fund
Southern Poverty Law Fund
CREW (Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington)
The Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law
Just got a solicitation for a donation from Common Cause with this reminder: "WeтАЩre fortunate to have amazing legal partners who often provide pro bono services..." so add them to the list of possible pro bono sources.
Thank you. In my case, ACLU might be most relevant.
I agree with Betsy Smith & there are many other pro-bono JD's.
FYI, There are more attorney's per square foot in DC than any place on Earth.
Hey Bill ... now I'm supporting you with my end-of-year donation to the ACLU. Heck, I'm even a Member of the ACLU : ---)
Add Democracy Docket (pro bono).
Betsy, I broke with the ACLU long ago when they supported a Nazi parade thru a Jewish neighborhood and in NYC they supported the operators of gay public steam baths. They can not distinguish "right" from "legal".
George, I started contributing to the ACLU in 1997. The Nazis were proposing a peaceful march in Skokie, wearing uniforms, but not carrying weapons, and with no speeches. They were being deliberately cruel and antagonistic to the Jewish population of Skokie, many of whom were Holocaust survivors. But our Constitution does not forbid cruel and antagonistic behavior. It allows freedom of speech and peaceful assembly to all.
Definitions of "right" vary. We have the Constitution to help us with definitions of "legal." When a Hamas leader talks about the land from the river to the sea belonging to the Palestinians, how do you respond? When Bibi Netanhayu holds up a map, using the same words, "from the river to the sea," to claim that land for Israel, how do you respond?
Voltaire may or may not have said, "тАЬI disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it,тАЭ but that is the basis for our understanding of freedom of speech. Unless, of course, you make the distinction that what is free for me is not free for thee.
In both cases legal was also right. ACLU was correct to protect them both.
A good place to start planning your life Jan 18-20........this is NOT our last chance to go to the streets and support Gerorgia!!!!!!!!!!!!!
https://www.peoplesmarch.com/?akid=21996.2931636.E_ev3W&rd=1&t=4
Adding on:
Lawyers for Good Government (https://www.lawyersforgoodgovernment.org/)
National Lawyers Guild (https://www.nlg.org/)
Do you not know about Democracy Docket, the conglomeration of lawyers who will be defending from TrumpтАЩs depredations? Warren(?) Elias is the founder and head.
Marc Elias ;-)
Direct contact with Marc Elias or his Team Members is probably best in order to protect your personal Attorney Client privilege if necessary.
And, to preserve Marc Team's "Work Product privilege" which belongs to lawyers & their staff. Only clients get what their lawyers are thinking & that is protected by the above.
That's "AC" for short: Attorney Client Confidential & Privileged, AC. Do not show AC to UN-privileged 3rd parties.
IMO, Democracy Docket is becoming more of smart Law Platform which is тЪЦя╕ПЁЯСН
Thank you. Face is familiar, but as often remembering the тАЬaтАЭ vowel but not surrounding consonants.
What if we hols our democratic public officials accountable instead? Where are their social media post? in NC in the last 10 years we have given 614 million to the voucher system, that takes away from public schools. I dd not see one post or campaign mention this in local elections, not even in state elections. Rarely mentioned in the presidential campaign and mentioned it a way not really demonstrate the danger. I have yet to see the top ten accomplishments for Biden. It is not them, it is us.
Try MSNBC. I heard a number of them yesterday there.
You mean MSRIP? Or we're history channel. In case you haven't heard they're being spun off and having to change their monitor.
Matt 5:44 Love your enemies and pray for them. DJT is stuck in quicksand. Don't shoot him, throw him a rope and pray for him. Beyond Salvation is just BS !
If I threw Donald Trump a rope, it would have a heavy - a really heavy - weight attached.
Hope it's worth the effort.
Nice. So sick. He's not even in office yet. Wow.
No, he isn't, but he's already proving to be a national embarrassment and once again a disgrace to the presidency.
Here's a thought. Why don't you not respond to my posts to other people, and I will bet back to you on January 20th of 2026 so we can discuss the mess he's made of the country and the economy.
No on the rope. Quicksand's gotta eat, too.
Unfortunately, quicksand doesn't kill people in the real world like it does in literature and entertainment.
But it does kill people. And it may not be where you expect it to be. Like Alaska.
They don't eat rope? What was I thinking? Besides, there's always a chance the sharks get caught in the rope and the quicksand can suck it in like a meatball in spaghetti.
I want to exhaust my peaceful options first, of course.
And yes Herb, IтАЩm in as well.
Thanks for your service!!!
Thank you. Do your best & hopefully you & your family will be safe.
I am a retired state employee. I understand what you are going through due to working for many years under hostile state and federal government. I am also so proud to see you claim your public servant status. We make a choice to serve our country. It is more than just a job. Thank you for all you do every day.
i do hope that folks like you, Defender, are not simply painted as тАЬsubversiveтАЭ and demonized by the government-haters.
We need principled, experienced, honest, and dedicated people to keep our government functioning in ways that laws have decreed so far тАж LetтАЩs hope we have enough such people who survive TrumpтАЩs plan to fire as many government employees as he can manage to fire тАж
Nominal "government" hating is a bogus "GOP" concoction. They claim to hate "government", while maneuvering by hook and crook to totally dominate it, and a very heavy handed and intrusive way at that. It's ONLY government of the people, by the people, for the people that Reagan so intensely ridiculed and defamed. It's a play at governing of everyone BUT them; by the richest, for the richest.
No?
JL Graham,
As usual....your comment is clear and accurate! .....DOMINATION!
DOMINATION is our species tragic flaw. That strategy may have had it's place in evolutionary development, but as our evolved primary guidance has shifted from instinct to learning, and understanding, so too has our awareness of justice and extended consequences. Moreover, our technologically amplified "reptile" impulses could easily end our species just as (compared to era of dinosaurs) we have begun. There is much to admire in human nature, but we have qualified as our own worst enemy.
Politics is all about whose will prevails, but that can be cooperative, reciprocal, or domineering. Families and friendships inevitably involve political transactions, as well as all other human organizations.
"As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master. This expresses my idea of democracy. Whatever differs from this, to the extent of the difference, is no democracy." - Lincoln
Thank you for Lincoln quote. Feels especially pertinent in
This moment.
Lincoln also said people are as happy as they make up their minds to be
They dont hate govt they hate waste. EOS
if you ask a thousand people honestly if the govt wastes money. How many woukd answer no?
I'm a retired federal employee and fully support any resistance you can put forth. This is all so disgustingly sad. A bunch of lunatics running the nuthouse.
A best defence is an offence, especially for Trump. He was elected for promising inflation control. Now he says it is too difficult for him. He was not elected by promising annexing Panama and Greenland. Now he is calling for it. His election is therefore not justified anymore. File a law suit against his legitimacy of the elected.
His word is his lie.
Resistance will not get you far but education will. Unless HCR letters are broken down into smaller messages for social media we will still not reach those that need to hear.
Please тАШbreak it downтАЩ for me too.
What can Biden do? He can lead us down a path that has some chance of success. Or call on others in the party to do that. The minutia of normal operations (appointing judges, commuting sentences, etc.) are nice but will not stop the oncoming train of destruction. In many comments you will hear repeated calls to "resist" and "fight back".
Emotionally understandable but utterly wrong. Like the advice Iran has been giving to Hamas, Hezbollah and the West Bank to go throw themselves into the killing fields of Israel. Trump has multiple steel swords all primed to slice us. While, on the surface at least, all we have is a piece of paper (the constitution) poorly supported by a population disgusted by 3 decades of failing government (especially a House that is no longer "the peoples house"). So frustrated that they have changed some major piece (House, Senate or President) almost every two years for 2 decades.
Calls to "resist" are missing the power, and narrow, but golden, opportunity, we really have. Read
https://michaelfoxworth.substack.com/p/biden-should-pardon-trump
Yes, gag at the title.
But then stop and think. What does Trump want? To make the world angry at him? No! According to his niece, Mary Trump, what Trump MAINLY wants is applause. Approval. And now, having messed up nearly everything in his life, stripped of any shred of wisdom by his cruel, abusive father, he also wants to avoid jail after his term and to keep most of the money he has stolen (or add more). Compared to the democracy we are on the verge of losing, what Trump wants are mere baubles.
Instead, the democrats can offer him a path to true approval. Popular approval based on wise choices.
How? The last 3 decades of bad policy (especially the failure to control big banks, leading to 2008) can all be traced to a Congress (of both parties) dominated by the need to spend all their time dialing-for-dollars from special interests and upper income elites.
Thereby losing touch with the 80%.
By going hat-in-hand to Trump with a fat offer, we could get Trump to support Campaign Finance Vouchers (similar to those used in Seattle and addressed in my other essays). With those in place for the 2026 election, the Democrats can free members of both parties to break the fat-cat stranglehold they live under. And Trump, no longer needing campaign finance money, could brush off the "successful" fat cats he envies and hates. And pave the way for wise policies to be addressed after 2026.
The "resist" option? Trump has 100% power to mess stuff up permanently. In a crisis (like another 2008) he could stop fair elections (see Orban). Or use an obscure bit from the Constitution to adjourn Congress and never restart it (see https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/12/16/donald-trump-andrew-jackson-recess-senate/).
A Slam dunk option? Of course not. Do any of you have a better option? (I can update my essay to incorporate any pushbacks that I have not or inadequately addressed.)
Nope. There is NOTHING we could offer Trump that would induce him to act like a logical, normal, thoughtful person. You can't reason with angry cruelty. And if we did get him to support some new law or measure, he would just change his mind if it suited his twisted purposes. He has already tossed in the towel on "fixing inflation". Remember, he really believes he could get away with shooting someone on 5th Avenue. You can't make deals with the criminally insane.
And WE might think of him as a lame duck president because of term limits....but he doesn't think his term is limited. He thinks he is above the Constitution. I wonder if there will be a law enforcement agency that will lawfully escort him out of the White House on or before January 20, 2029.
Of course, there is no limit to the ambitions of JD Vance. Perhaps a 25th Amendment play? Invading Greenland, Panama...annexing Canada? This is not even funny.
Trump will be haunting us with bizarre thinking and brutality as long as he breathes. And millions of adoring fans will support him no matter what he says or does. That "train of destruction" is now unstoppable. Our only hope is that it will go off its tracks and implode.
Our strongest defense for now is in the states. I wake up every day grateful to live in a blue one where the leaders (imperfect as they are) are civilized, respect women and actually believe in equality, democracy, and freedom from religious extremism.
It would help to offer the knowledge the people need to understand why democrats are so much better. If we spent 1/4 of the time promoting (with clarity) our plan and information as we do critiquing trump, we would have won. Recently there was a post from Congressman McGovern that the latest budget fight was really about Trump wanting the debt ceiling raised so he could blame it on the democrats and Musk wants to control the US Trade with China. Those were the real issues. Musk had over 150 social media post in one day.
That was the real story. Follow the money. Musk got what he wanted for both Tesla -- no restrictions on his Chinese investments that also outsource critical US technologies while leaving US vulnerable to industrial and governmental espionage and both Tesla and X -- elimination of pesky car crash reports of which tesla self driving cars make 30+% and the shutdown of the 120 person foreign disinformation office that was tracking foreign disinformation since 2016. Musk's social media platform has been a firehose of disinformation since he bought it.
Bill, thank you.
Hey, you sound like me. lol.
A reasonable response. One I attempted to address in the essay. Would he be willing to say "Yes" to a better deal than what the fat cats and MAGA followers' emotions are driving him to?
Impossible to be sure, but what is a better plan?
I do not think "the states" have a prayer of doing anything more than slightly delaying what he currently promises. The roaring bull is charging a balsa wood fence. We will do better with an attractive cow in heat to divert his path.
https://michaelfoxworth.substack.com/p/biden-should-pardon-trump
What about 25th amendment and JD Vance? That would simply put us back where we were for the past 3 decades (not having campaign vouchers, so not having addressed the root of the problem, a frozen House), only this time with a far smarter autocrat and a bunch of angry MAGA supporters even more ready to tear the place down. And a general population with even less faith in that ragged piece of paper, the constitution.
The red states have been quite effective in protecting their тАЬvaluesтАЭ. They have blocked Medicaid expansion - to Hell with the health of their less affluent citizens. They have starved their school districts financially ensuring a production line of bigoted young people who couldnтАЩt explain what тАЬcritical thinkingтАЭ is. They have gerrymandered the voting system to keep their Confederate descendants in power forever. States do a lot. Red states have effectively erected a firewall against equality, decency and science. States can do a lot. I am so glad to be in a Blue Zone.
If Trump were to vanish (return to another time as in a Netflix series) - what and who would fill the vacuum? Could anyone command a crowd of angry drooling red hatted nutters the way he did?
Bill
Yes, they have some power for good and ill. But I don't think they have enough power to fend off this particular bull. I favor trying to turn him aside. In such an endeavor, the blue states have an important supportive role.
Nice Missive Michael... Sincerely... However DJT feels that He will Live Forever... With DJT, it is always, "ME!!!, ME!!!, ME!!!".... The 'Dark Siths Around Him Will Not Want To Lose Any Power.... DJT is their Dream Puppet...
Apache, ironically I just happened to be thinking the same thing - but about Putin - after reading HeatherтАЩs Letter. HeтАЩs 72, trump is 78 and Biden is 82.
I feel that one of BidenтАЩs biggest regrets is that he did not seek the PartyтАЩs nomination in 2016. Had he and Hillary run and won, we could possibly be saying President-Elect Hillary Clinton - whoтАЩs 77. Yes, I know that these ages are a bit depressing and I also know that the Party likes to reward longevity and loyalty - but look at how Madame Speaker passed or handed-off the gavel to Hakim Jeffries. Our Party does appear to have a deep bench, but within the next two years, letтАЩs see the тАЬcream rise to topтАЭ!
Hello J L ... I hope that You are Right... The Gavels must be passed to Younger Blood... It is also Necessary that they Bring Fresh Thinking with them... USA Civil Society is Breaking Down, A.I. will become a Threat to the Work-Force, and the Evil Siths are Pillaging the National Wealth... For Example, Elon Musk was willing to have an USG Shutdown so he could build his Massive A.I. Facility in China... Where is Elon's Loyalty?...
Yes, to Fresh Thinking, and we never know from where that will come. It's not always about old blood versus young, but often about insiders versus outsiders. Those Fresh Thoughts may be at the perimeters awaiting recognition, welcome collaboration, and adaptation to change before penetrating whole complex systems.
Apache, I too, question MuskтАЩs loyalty - but a subject matter for another time - possibly?!? What weтАЩre looking for and need are people who can offer a different perspective - who тАЬthink outside of the preverbal boxтАЭ - and yes, often times that may come from a younger person. Many progressive thinkers from the democratic side of the U.S. Congress awhile back, did not want Madame Speaker to have a second go round at the Speakership - but who could have done it better than she, during trumpтАЩs first term? Nancy Pelosi was superb!!!
Our Party is not only fortunate to have a pretty well rounded and deep bench of potential POTUS candidates, but a pretty good group of young, smart and energetic up and comers waiting in the wings. There are things that we as a party must do to hold on to them and not let them become too complacent or we or we somehow lose them. Timing and transitioning [possibly a poor choice of wording] is important to our - the Democratic Party - success!
Yes, Apache, he can be a puppet. Hardly a comfortable one, given his erratic nature.
But why not up the bidding and offer him a better deal? One that offers a path to criticize both those тАЬdark SithsтАЭhe envies and hates AND the Dems who attacked him. AND a path to real popularity.
Right now we are doing nothing that has any realistic chance to succeed.
Wisdom is needed.
Pardoning Trump is one of the stupidest ideas out there.
There are lots of ways to resist. Think of jiu jitsu, the self-defense technique that uses the enemy's energy against him.
Besides, to accept a pardon means you accept that you are guilty. Trump wouldn't do that. He also wouldn't have to accept the pardon. He believes he has everything he needs. In his mind, he has the country by the throat.
Please pause & dig deeper. Yes, sounds stupid. Makes one want to gag. READ my essay (no need to subscribe unless you want to post a comment there). The essay proposes a form of jiu jitsu, in that it uses Trumps strength and MAGA supporters against not him but his euphoric, selfish fat cat funders.
https://michaelfoxworth.substack.com/p/biden-should-pardon-trump
Then get back to me. There are bound to be weaknesses in my argument and there is very little time until the hurting starts. Our Dem leaders are all running around with no plan. Their "No Kings Act" will go nowhere and just drives Trump closer to pulling a Sampson and Delaila in the Temple act.
Hi, Michael
With all due respect, our current problems in my view started when Geralf Ford pardoned Richard Nixon. By the time Nixon died, he had largely rehabilitated his image. Had he been put on trial, successfully prosecuted and jailed, then January 6th might arguably not have happened.
What Trump did on January 26th is not Joe Biden's to pardon because it includes all of us, myself included. I will not "pardon" Donald Trump's traitorous attempt to hold onto power by having his mob violently attack and desecrate the Capitol, which is my house as much as it is the house of any other American.
Right now it is arguably only the right wing, the Republican Party, and some hacks on the federal bench and the SCOTUS who are protecting Donald Trump from the consequences of his actions. I will damn to hell any Democrat who does the same.
I guess I'm more concerned about the "Hell" climate change is condemning my 4 grandchildren to.
Without active participation by the US, there is no possible way we (or probably our species) can escape what is coming. That participation runs through Congress. And Congress is currently frozen.
Is that justification for letting a criminal walk free and, on top of that, rub his freedom in my face and the face of every schoolchild in the world?
Yes, but only if we acknowledge openly that we did it to ourselves. For the last 3 decades we acted as if freedom was something we could subcontract, via campaign donations, to special interests and the elites.
How well did that work for everyone? I suppose I am an "elite" since I have enough income to make modest donations to the Dems and can afford to subscribe to Heather. I retired using 401(k), that federal program to subsidize the successful that basically leaves the 80% to retire on that poverty program called Social Security. Other advanced countries have rethought that. But we, our Congress, did not.
Until Trump woke me out of my self-satisfied slumber, I thought we were doing just fine.
Now, we are trying to find a way to scramble a way out of the increasingly hotter soup we are floating in.
First of all Biden can be a lot more vocal and a lot more informative. Do you hear any democratic leaders talking about these issues in a way that reaches the masses? We have to start explaining things in a way that promotes our cause on social media. We need to offer something besides how bad Trump is....that is not getting us anywhere. We need proof democrats and better for the economy and the country.
Exactly. While Biden's policies were good, his (and Harris's) focus of attention was on the donors: the special interests and elites who could donate campaign money. That is why they were so shocked when the public was not sufficiently moved by talk about "threats to democracy." Many voters could look around and wonder what "democracy" had been doing for them lately.
Just as Biden and Harris had a hard time seeing the public dissatisfaction, Congress has been forced to concentrate on policies that please donors but leave out the interests of the 80% who are not donors.
I have been pushing campaign finance vouchers with my writing for the past 3 years, this year switching to Substack. Why vouchers? They can put small (but cumulatively large) amounts of donation power into the hands of ALL voters, instead of just the upper 20%. Then Congress will be free once again to spend some precious time listening to ordinary voters.
Trump, if turned by the Dems towards doing something truly popular, would now take great pleasure in excoriating both parties for doing so poorly. And then whip out, with great fanfare, "Vouchers!" as a Brilliant Idea to Fix Everything that he would claim he invented. Many other Republican politicians would be forced to go along (reluctantly at first, since almost none of them have ever worked outside the dialing-for-dollars world). The fat cats and special interests would howl in outrage since "donation power" is their meal ticket.
My Substack (this essay and earlier ones) is an attempt to lay this out.
https://michaelfoxworth.substack.com/p/biden-should-pardon-trump
Hmmm. DonтАЩt know enough about all that is written here.
Carol, my sympathies.
I have been working this issue since 2016. And I have a lifetime of being interested in public policy. Given that, I should be embarrassed at my utter cluelessness before Trump burst on the scene. But I have lots of company.
There was fat and happy Mike Foxworth of mid-2015. Compare that to the mystified Mike Foxworth of mid-2016 wondering why Trump was cleaning up the Republican primaries and trying to find some argument to stir my fellow citizens to join me in campaigning for a Hillary (a really weak candidate, I thought).
Yes, this is all quite complicated.
If I wanted you or anyone to get anything out of this, please try to understand that for 3 decades we have let campaign finance donors rule our government. And those donors, mostly good people (even most of the "special interests"), are in no position to accurately speak for those who do not have enough income to be donors. We let this situation fester for 3 decades with increasingly bad results.
I argue campaign finance vouchers would help change things for the better. We have tried other fixes and utterly failed.
Regardless, though, to fix things we need to always keep in mind the source of the problem.
Keeping you and all public servants in my prayers. It's going to be a rough couple of years for you.
I stand with you in head & heart.
The minute there is any question of ridding the government of its workforce, we will go to the streets and force MAGA to back down!
The 73 million plus who believe in Democracy will support you and challenged this nut who is unfit and seniel to lead this country.
On the other hand you could choose to support your president AND your Country
" I wonder where is Joe Biden condemning lies and misrepresentations. "
From Day 1 of his Administration President Biden has largely ignored trump. It is a brilliant tactic. President Biden was busy and he still is.
To engage in the cesspool of a madman's ravings is endless and a particular hell all of its own.
Should be up to Congress to stop this madness. Thanks again Barbara.
It is up to us to hold them accountable.
Yes Sandra, it's up to us to hold them accountable by voting for them or not. Unfortunately the voting record of the American people is a mixed bag, but that's how the process works. Thanks again Sandra.
Moderate Republicans from the house would have to rely on Democrats to get any bill passed. Mega Republicans alone couldn't pass a bill by themselves. I believe there are 22 members.
Congress is doing nothing
You are right as long as Congress is dominated by Republicans. In two years we'll have a chance to revert that.
I agree that Biden's strategy has been a good one - but I think this Trump outburst requires a deafening response in my view -- from every elected official who can get in front of a mic.
Unfortunately, it seems Uncle Joe told Merrick Garland to ignore DJT as well... Now look at where we are... :-(
I believe Biden left Garland alone. Biden's fault is not judging the times and matching the right AG with them.
I agree that Uncle Joe may have left Merrick Garland alone... I think that Uncle Joe operates from a Very Old Fact Deck... 'Gaza' is one Artifact... I also believe that Joe Biden misjudged the 'Political Calendar' not realizing how slow the Wheels-Of-Justice can Turn, and DJT's Evil Feralness...
But it's not and never has been JUST DJT. It's a network of Putin, Orban and Netanyahu, with busy yapping dogs Bannon and Farage.
Current objective is the destruction of the European Union.
Without the European Union and the Pax Americana Europeans are going to go back to their usual clan mentality and start again a vicious circle of killing each other as since prehistoric times culminating in tha 20th century at industrial proportions .
BTW: Last Night 3-Babies Froze To Death In Gaza, Including A Newborn... Those Children had Absolutely Nothing To Do With The 7-Oct-2023 Attack By The HAMAS Militant Brigades...
OMG I saw that on the news - so horrific. Froze to death. It's murder.
Last Christmas in Jerusalem, a Lutheran Pastor gave a sermon titled "Christ in The Rubble".
This year, a short walk from the real Church of the Nativity, someone created a Holiday Season Shock Art: The political street art was a plastic 'Baby' nestled down in a collection of stone rubble not Away-in-a-Manger.
The 'Baby' was wrapped in shiny silk, 1/2 in silken white the other 1/2 the same but, partially wrapped in a silk print of a black Chain Link fence where the 'Baby' laid eyes open.
100% agree--a rarity for me for sure.
Thank-You Barbara...
Old fashion Biden against the gangster ways of maga. Not a good match.
Actually, Joe Biden is a brilliant Statesman. A good example of this is his 2024 SOTU. He actually cornered the MAGA into admitting they wouldn't touch "entitlements." I recommend you watch it. His ability to negotiate bipartisan Bills is unmatched. His international reputation is excellent in his strengthening of NATO.
What brought us all down was a toxic brew cooking for decades: Russia, MAGA courtesy of Newt Gingrich, Murdoch, covid, and a spoiled, ignorant bunch of voters. The behind the scenes efforts of Russia and Iran to concoct the Gaza tragedy in order to undermine Biden is a significant part of all of this.
So. You can see politics today is complex as hell.
Agreed with your description of Biden's ability to negotiate bills in Congress or make excellent deals in the international arena. America and the world are better places thanks to Biden. But times fly and our minds follow.
Can you suggest a better match?
Any decent person or movement would be a better match and then I won't use the word "against"
You are on a roll Barbara.
Merrick Garland was appointed, yes. But beyond that, the timetable was in AG GarlandтАЩs wheelhouseтАФand he was too slow. He thought heтАЩd prosecute the тАШlittle guysтАЩ of the insurrection first and by doing so close in on DJT, common tactic with Mob prosecutions. Unfortunately DJT way is to stall, throw sand in the DOJтАЩs gears and with the help of the right wind SCOTUS it worked.
I don't think Merrick Garland ever considered going after the big fish in the pond. He knew his strategy would fail and he wanted it to, otherwise he is an idiot.
We have a different justice system for rich white guys - no one can deny that at this point...
And in fairness he was rewarded by VERY cautious judges. IтАЩm not claiming they were siding with tfgтАЩs theory of the case necessarily. But some were ideological BFFs and others wanted to be EXTRA careful. And here we are.
Yes , that was a major mistake for Biden. Attorney General Garland dragged his feet on this critical investigation. Biden should of fired Garland immediately right after the hearings.
"Madman's ravings ...."Thank you once again Barbara Mullen particularly when MSM republishes the neokayfabe.
I like that Barbara - I too, have long adopted this form [trump] when referring to our тАЬuseless idiotтАЭ or liar-in-chiefтАЭ! Biden has been a stalwart [and not used here as a reference to a former faction of the Republican Party] of and for our Party, our Country and the worldтАжand yes, he must still continue to have nightmares of not seeking the PartyтАЩs nomination in 2016 - and yes, I know that there were some other forces and factors helping him make that decision - but!?!
I don't think Biden should ignore Trump but not get down to his level either. Someone needs to show how badly the internet is full of misinformation. I think if Kamila took a pointer and went down some of those line items of how much better we were with Trump, it would have helped. Grossly misrepresented info. Also, look at what Biden did when he exposed the plan to defund social security. He said this in a major speech, said Republicans want to stop funding social security. Was there news coverage, were there tweets going wild about this. He said there was a bill on his desk from the Republicans requesting this but where did this info go? People don't believe Trump wants to cut social security and medicare because we have really not pounded home that issue.
Ignoring him clearly did not work.
Thank you , Barbara
ThereтАЩs a unique intent to disrupt the status quo and pointedly has been for the Republican mobsters for quite sometime. The WE fail to articulate this enough. Most of us The Blue Team and a few of The Red - rovers red rovers come over, though the facts what stands out most is the LIE granted followed by more (lies) by the feral few who wish to disrupt . Given are several in our midst who like myself see our own mistakes and admit this needs changed ( and about time).
That Heather тАШs ability to pen this, or talk the sense, carries along lines of decency and an approach of common truths we HAVE been through these times and survived тАжis now mixed with the ridiculous circus barking of kayfebe even -equating it with wrestling тАШs history is a summed up accuracy if not brillianceтАжAND IT WORKED FOLKS!
This approach has pointed out our flaws like none other and captured those soap opera mentalities of America.
Clever is as clever does, right ..Forest?
The cons jumped right on that band wagon long before The тАШApprenticeтАЩ ending its pilot (program) showed its ass. They recognized it for its worth and disparity became the hollowed out middle class resultтАжlaws be dammed while duping JQP caught on and around the world history got repeated.
Complacency costs like mirrors and smoke screens do too.
I looked at тАШThe Russian are comingтАЩ heard since I was a child with a pointer now..once command was established people silently fell out of windows/off boats as is deported as is theyтАЩre building detention centers already as is the bark now has far more a plausible biteтАжthere is no gulag here?
Whether itтАЩs the rantings of a mad man/narcissist or patient clever puppeteerS still boils down to how to stop it.
Game on!
IтАЩve been wondering the same. IsnтАЩt Biden is still president till January 20? What is this trump $hit getting so much airtime? Why isnтАЩt Biden responding?
Do we really want President Biden to spend his last days in office publicly responding to every whackadoodle thing Trump says? Or, do we want him doing everything he possibly can to Trumpproof our government before he leaves? Like commuting death sentences, forgiving more student debt, appointing every last possible judge, and issuing permanent rules to protect our government employees and programs.
Joe knows more about how the government, especially the executive branch, works than perhaps any other modern POTUS. HeтАЩs doing, diligently and quietly, everything he can to create some sort of sustainability before he leaves office.
Everything, Margaret?
Biden could call Chuck Schumer and ask him to bring a vote in the Senate to settle the orange felon's status as an insurrectionist.
The Constitution's Article 14, Section Three says no insurrectionist can take any public office, with its last lines specifying that, if there's any doubt, Congress can settle it if 2/3 of both houses vote to release one from that status.
If either the Senate or the House of Representatives does not clear Trump by that 2/3 necessary, he remains legally an insurrectionist and cannot be sworn in to any office, even one to which he may have been elected.
Biden should have called Chuck Schumer to have had this vote long ago. He ought do it now, in the few days left before the new, 119th Congress comes in.
And тАж he could tell the archivist to publish the ERA, thereby making it law.
I don't know enough to know if Biden could do this, but it's a very interesting idea.
Ahhhh...do you think paying off a porn star is insurrection?
Black's law dictionary:
"Insurrection shall consist in any combined resistance to the lawful authority of the state, with intent to the denial thereof, when the same is manifested, or intended to be manifested, by acts of violence."
Jan. 6 and the planning for it was the insurrection, 100Panthers.
Strongly agree. He is more knowledgeable and cunning than many will give him credit for. I'd place serious money (if I had any) on him quietly working every lever he can pull before he leaves office. Publicly commenting on every trump pipe dream would be a massive waste of time and energy.
I sure hope so.
and instructing the National Archivist to enter the Equal Rights Amendment as a live constitutional document.
Now, John, THAT I would like to seeтАж.have waited too damn long to see it come to fruition.
Exactly.
Trumpproof our government!
My genuine fear is that once trump occupies the WH, he will obliterate any and everything Biden has and is doing and no one is going to stop him.
I never thought in my lifetime we would end up in this situation where we are going to find out what it is like living in an evil, totalitarian dictatorship. People continue to resist to no avail and/or eventually acquiesce. We only need to look to any totalitarian government to see what happens to protesters . . . it is a lot easier (and safer) for the masses to just go along. It is beyond sad and didn't have to be this way. I hope beyond hope that I live long enough to see the tide turn without incurring an actual violent revolution (which is how these things typically end).
The one perverse hope I have is that Trump is too lazy and stupid to really follow through on his craziest ideas and pronouncements. He needs committed acolytes who truly believe in him and have the power to do things like an invasion of Panama, for example. Many of the wackiest ideas of the first term never came to pass. The fear I have is that there are now people coming to power who are willing to carry out the evil deeds.
All the Project 2025 people, Terri, are organized to destroy our government.
As I might've said earlier, Terry Trump has no plans or compunctions to take over Panama. Read his book art of the deal as I know you guys are big readers. Try that book. Maybe you'll understand his rhetoric
However, as we know, Tony Schwartz actually wrote the book. As he has explained over the years, donald didnтАЩt have the attention span to finish even a paragraph let alone a thought.
Yikes. How gullible. Do you ACTUALLY think Trump is gonna take over The Canal or even try ? .
Besr news America has heard in nearly four years.
Just about everything Biden did hurt this Country here and abroad
Well said Riversong Pond.
It sure doesn't do Biden any good to just talk....when he is working and has worked for 4 years to save our county that that tffg wants to destroy!
BidenтАЩs talking is not his strong suit. He needs other orators to stand up in his stead. People just won't get the required urgency and motivation from Joe, even though what he says (when I can understand it) is valid and on point.
It falls back on the old Campaigns Inc rules for political campaigns: " the average American doesn't want to work consciously at being a good citizen. There are only two ways to get Mr. or Mrs. America interested in a candidate. (And always sell the candidate, not the policy.) They like a good hard fight first; but if you can't invent an enemy for a fight, give 'em a big, entertaining show. If the show is good enough, Mr. and Mrs. America will turn out to see it."
Clearly, the WWE and kayfabe also followed plenty of these successful 1950's era political campaign rules. All the while, America has turned to childish entertainment instead of sober maturity.
Good point and I agree. IтАЩm just so frustrated that the orange nightmare is already commencing. I thought we had another month before the shit show started.
Sharon B in ATL,
Surely you do NOT BELIEVE this is Trump's agenda! He is being used by a much larger and much more dangerous entity and he loves the power and position he has been given.
Thank you to the men and women who are doing all they can to protect our Democracy.
We must find a way to do our part. If we lose this great nation.....it is US who will bear the blame. We have not been on guard!
And getting the ERA published as an amendment to the Constitution (in which the word 'woman' is still not mentioned one time).
We live in scary times
Putting poison in all of the cups of the incoming cabinet
Finally someone rational. ЁЯСН
Biden's doing neither. None of them are. Expect nothing from Democrats.
how do you know that? The mainstream media have NEVER publicized what Biden was doing, however significant, because Trump is more 'interesting'... however lunatic. Sanity is not as interesting, apparently.
John....spot on. The msm only wants clicks. Notice that the feel good stories are always at the end of a news broadcast. We are mired in nonstop bad news which can break our spirits if we let it. I am glad to know that government workers like Public Servant exist. Notice the use of Public Servant...something that death star and his band of criminals and rich egos do not understand. Mostly they like being at the public trough.
And pardons to J6 committee
Both
Of we do. However, once this mad man is president, we don't know what he's capable off.
Doing what President Biden can for ERA, any foot hold can help!
How can an insurrectionist take the oath of office?
It's easy with a bought and paid for Supreme Court.
2 of those Justices prejudiced themselves & should have recused themselves from that decision. 3 of those Justices had written dissenting opinions. 3 State Supreme Courts DID DiSQUALIFY Trump. It is is section 3 of the 14th amendment. ItтАЩs not too late to disqualify him.
Plus he cheated. The data in the swing states is proof. Read below тАЬNine Ways To Prove the 2024 Election Was Stolen.тАЭ
https://open.substack.com/pub/tinfoilmatt/p/nine-ways-to-prove-the-2024-election
This video below explains it very clearly:
https://youtu.be/fF22jp2VBJg?
Grow up, sir, and acknowledge that our system failed us all by not doing what it should have to bring Trump to justice quickly and appropriately. That problem sadly falls on the shoulders of Biden and Garland. Trump is just the beneficiary.
However that failure doesn't justify trying to use extra-constitutional means to violate his right to be elected. I certainly wish it was, but it's not.
he puts his hand on a Bible and lies.........just like he always does.
bluesyfish,
The Bible means nothing to him....
Hey! Don't say that! They mean $59.99 to him every copy he sells!
Nothing has meaning for the SOB: only his self interest. He would throw his children and wife under the bus if that were to benefit him.
Repugnants and autocratic leaders know this and have used the knowledge to pull the strings of the puppet with false praise.Behind his back it is a VERY DIFFERENT STORY.
:-(
Daniel Solomon, Trump will lie. Just like he always does. And he knows his followers will do the same. I took the oath of office on my first day of employment with the federal government at the age of 21. It was a solemn oath and I meant every word. It pains and terrifies me to know that anyone could say it without meaning a word of it.
I've answered your Q separately here, Daniel, in reply to Margaret MacKenzie, above.
That is, "How can an insurrectionist take the oath of office?" has its answer in the Constitution's Article14, Section Three, whose last lines say an insurrectionist can take public office if both houses of Congress by a 2/3 say it's OK.
If either house votes and does not give the 2/3 necessary, Trump is legally an insurrectionist and may not take any public office.
Why haven't Dems thus acted to clarify the orange felon's insurrectionary status?
I'm going to say it's easy for them to take the oath.
First, they have no integrity so an oath means absolutely nothing to them. Second they'll cross their fingers & put their hands on a trump bible & that'll protect them. If you cross your fingers & out your hand on a trump bible it absolves them from EVERYTHING!
Professors Baud & Paulsen don't think he can. Professor Laurence Tribe agrees. But ChatGPT thinks he can since, according to ChatGPT, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously reversed the Colorado Supreme Court's declaration that Trump engaged in insurrection; it ruled that States "lack the authority to disqualify federal candidates under Section 3; only Congress holds that power."
No where in Constitution does it say only Congress has the authority to adjudicate who is an insurrectionist - they just made this up.
The other weak link is Sec 3 of the 14th Amendment doesn't categorically state that a person who swore an oath as President is prohibited from taking the oath - only "members of Congress or an officer of the United States" or State officials.
In the end we all know where this challenge would end up . . . Heads they win, tails America loses.
Exactly, they are IGNORING our constitution. Those that voted to allow him to run should be impeached and Trump should be disqualified!
The Clarence court, ASB, did not go anywhere near his status as insurrectionist.
That status remains with Congress to settle. If either house votes and does not by 2/3 majority clear him, that vote affirms his insurrectionist status -- preserving his disqualification from any public office.
Hmmm interesting. How to make this happen?
Biden and crew have been mum on this, deliberately, I think, Carol.
I think -- admittedly with little evidence -- Dems are negotiating with Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Lisa Murkowsky of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine, Mitt Romney of Utah, Joni Ernst of Iowa, and various other Republicans.
On January 6 Congress must certify the election. I think we'll then see them invoke the disqualification clause concluding the 14th Amendment, Section Three.
Lacking 2/3 majority to override, disqualification will stand.
Too late for that question.
Daniel Solomon -- He Who Shall Not Be Named (or HWSNBN if you like) has not been confirmed yet. Let's see what happens on **his** January 6th!
This gives me hope. I think there is hope Biden/Harris are going to тАЬDo Something!тАЭ
Read Tin Foil MattтАЩs Substack below.
https://open.substack.com/pub/tinfoilmatt/p/biden-and-harris-cancel-holiday-plans
Who IS тАЬTin Foil MattтАЭ or, at the very least, what are his qualifications for offering such technical analyses and/or inferences? I admit these allegations run in alignment with my shock at the election results. However, this opens far more than an electoral can of wormsтАЭ. Perhaps an тАЬoceanтАЭ?
I think the right question is how can any ethical jurist administer the oath of office to any convicted felon and traitor and do so with a straight faceтАж
I wonder that too.How can someone take the oath of office, hand on Bible, swear allegiance to the Constitution and the American people when he is actively trying to destroy the world order and our democracy?It doesnтАЩt make sense and appears to be a national emergency to me.
He can do that because he is a liar. He lies about everything. I bet Putin has something on him. He is a narcissistic psychopath.
By rights, and by the Constitution, he is disqualified.
https://thehill.com/opinion/congress-blog/5055171-constitution-insurrection-trump-disqualification/
Chuck Schumer hasn't called for a vote in the U.S. Senate, Syd.
That vote -- failing to get 2/3 required to give a pass to the orange felon -- would have kept his disqualification legally in place.
Could it be that various people in Congress might have a way to show on Jan. 6, 2025, that the constitutionally necessary 2/3 do not give him a pass on that day, and so at that time the disqualification is demonstrably final?
It's WWE!
It is indeed 'Bread & Circuses'.... Isn't Linda McMahon serving in DJT's Administration again? Only two substantial acts occurred during Trump 1.0... They were his massive Tax-Cuts for the Rich, that Cratered the National Debt, and the utter failure of DJT to manage COVID... I have Served with Genuine 'Tough-Guys', and DJT is definitely not One-Of-Them... Indeed DJT, Is A Drama-Queen...
Apache, yes bread and circuses while death star and his minions destroy as much as they can and create chaos while stealing from the public trough. And the response to COVID when we are one mutation away from bird flu becoming a pandemic. I just read a long article today about how we have done virtually nothing to stop it particularly in dairies. Yesterday we had our Christmas dinner and we had four oldsters and three younger people. All the older people were glad that they were as old as they were and were worried about what younger people will face. So while we enjoyed each other, laughed a lot, and ate good food, there was this uneasiness about the future.
Michele, Good Points... I Agree... My Family is scattered thru the U.S.... When We gathered at my Thanksgiving Table, the Sentiments were Similar... I tell my Children that the Public Mood was Hopeful in the '60s for the most Part, Hopeful on Y2k, and Grim ever since... Read Paul Krugman's Last Editorial for the New York Times... Seems that Paul Krugman is preparing for the Coming Storm...
Mostly circuses. Trump is a con man who inherited a huge fortune to play with. The $$$ made him flashy enough to successfully pose a veneer of legitimacy, at least in the eyes of many. That, and his sociopathic ability to lie without the slightest flicker of shame.
Hello J L ... DJT also stole a portion of his Inheritance from his Family Members Inheritances... Ask Mary Trump... DJT is indeed a Remorseless Sociopath...
I remember being in 1st or 2nd year Undergrad and thinking. This guy is totally over leveraged and dumb as Stubn├дgel. Nothing changed over the 53 years since then., except he is now also a convicted felon and rapist.
J L, our cleaner lived in Queens for a while and she says that he was hated there and known for what he is, a crook. It's too bad that so many others have been fooled. Unfortunately, I think he also speaks to worst impulses of many people.
Bruce, IтАЩve long thought of Fox News as the WWE of тАЬnewsтАЭ coverage!
yeah, I love that analogy. I had never thought of Trumpian politics that way. I never watch TV, so I missed WWE altogether. I did see though that the Dumpster took Elon and Useless to the WWE match the other day. Maybe it was a strategy session?
Bruce, IтАЩve only seen WWE in passingтАж.SO not my schtick. I am unable to stomach even legit boxing, wrestling (bullfighting), etcтАжtoo тАЬgladiatorтАЭ for me. I did know, perhaps via a vid, that TFFFG was a fan & even saw one of him outside the ring тАЬtaking downтАЭ some personтАФof course it was fake and all for showтАжjust like he is
About right, except that they call it "news", which is fraud.
Yeah, JL, thatтАЩs why I put it in тАЬ тАЬтАж..faux new is NO news. IMHO I donтАЩt think any information site should be allowed to blatantly lie, opinions, yeah, but lyingтАжno. Maybe should be called Prop News aka Propaganda News! Or maybe Fox Noise?! CanтАЩt stomach the channel & have never been able to watch it for more than a few (very few) minutesтАФnot that I wanted to, but sometimes is good to have the experience & to see it for myselfтАжbut ЁЯдо!
Easily Daniel just turn on your TV on January 20.
I asked the same question. The most common answer is because our bought Supreme Court majorit has said that Congress has to enact a law to make Section 3 of the 14th ammendment to the Constitution invocable in this case. It has never been invoked before, therefore there is no precedent.
maybe the March 4 demonstration will change the Awareness. Too bad it isn't January 4.
Excellent question
As far as I can tell he had never been adjudicated to be an insurrectionist. Maybe he should have been brought to trial by Garland much more quickly, but he wasn't. "Innocent until proven guilty" was the mantra most of us learned in school so despite all our beliefs that Trump IS probably guilty of those crimes, he has only been proven guilty in one case involving payoffs to Stormy Daniels, hardly the work of insurrection.
I am disgusted by that outcome but my disgust or yours doesn't permit us to unilaterally declare Trump guilty of a crime he hasn't even been charged with, let alone convicted.
Hope you're not a lawyer.
I am actually, although non-practicing. So please enlighten me why you think anything I've said suggests an ignorance of the law. All I've said is that to consider someone guilty of insurrection would require either a trial AND conviction or a successful impeachment, neither of which, to my knowledge, had ever happened to Trump. If you are actually aware of anything that would suggest otherwise (like a court precedent), I would love to be enlightened by someone more knowledgeable than me.
Not a criminal standard, The 14th Amendment Paragraph 3 has been posted here many times. The burden shifts to the office seeker. That;s what Mario, Phil, Syd et al were sayin'.
Actually Trump had an administrative hearing in Anderson, the Colorado case, and they found that he was an insurrectionist, as set out by statute, but SCOTUS decided that states can't enforce the Constitution. Congress can. They should have but haven't so far.
All of this has been laid out here many times.
It could also be that the Colorado fact finding is viable.
Why, Jon, so unaware of the decisions of a Colorado state court and then final adjudication by its Supreme Court?
Highly aware and of course u am not ignoring the decision by the Supreme Court of the United States which said the state had no right to litigate this issue. That is reserved for federal courts and maybe Congress via impeachment and its power to certify presidential elections. But there is no power of a state court to decide on the ability of a presidential candidate to be elected, not even in their own state.
You seem very focused on picking and choosing which court decisions to read and which to ignore. In the US you hopefully remember, the US Supreme Court has precedent over state courts. What the Colorado Court decided was overturned on appeal. And so it is meaningless until the US courts change their minds.
He has responded but they don't cover him.
Would we know if Biden has been responding. The air time goes to DT.
What for? What do you want him to say?
Barbara you are definitely a rational person. We have to stay focused, all the rest is distraction. ЁЯСН
: )
Please, that's not the point. Don't create distractions. There's only one to blame and the ignorants happily following him .
I understand President Biden not responding. What I DO NOT UNDERSTAND is tRump and his SA ho acting as if they were officially in charge. WTF??
Good point and I agree. IтАЩm just so frustrated that the orange nightmare is already commencing. I thought we had another month before the shot show started.
The media has been focused on Trump mostly for quite some time. They pretty much ignore Biden. Sad.
Everybody, I have reported 'Sender today & asked Substack Inc to go to their favored Mediator JAMS SF to get a confidential & lawful read on their 9/24 Terms of Use (TOU) which is not ready for Prime Time or 2025.
Substack Inc has counsel I respect, Wilson Sonsini. Substack Inc is located right around the corner from JAMS SF & my old Law Office in SF. We are all close neighbors.
You would think Substack inc would want know, yes or maybe, whether their legal defenses are evaporating. Substack Inc is vividly aware of the legal trend since 2022-- a strong current against digital Platforms.
I will keep the Community & "Authors" updated when relevant but, others & I have asked politely for yet another revision of Substack's 9/24 DOA, Terms of Use (TOU).
More later.
I donтАЩt think Joe is home.
Who cares? Stay focused on the real problem.
From what Matt says - the lights are definitely ON! https://open.substack.com/pub/tinfoilmatt/p/biden-and-harris-cancel-holiday-plans
You mean like the lights are on but
Are you familiar with the term Awol
the acronym AWOL It's a military term. And there you have your reason that Biden isn't responding. You must realize, of course that Biden is less coherent, substantially less coherent than he was during the Trump debate
In fact, even many people from the Democratic Party are wondering who's running the country
What really matters now is that, once the Groper-in-Chief takes Greenland and the Panama Canal Zone, America Will Be Great Again and we will never again have to vote. And the Groper-in-Chief can pay for taking over Greenland and the Panama Canal Zone with the money left over from the check that Mexico sent to pay for the wall.
ЁЯдг
IтАЩm familiar with asinine words of liars.
Joel, Rick Sender is a bot. It's writing style has changed markedly over the past several weeks - something humans rarely do. Engage if you like, but no one is home.
So you're familiar with Joe Biden and Kamala Harris and alejandro Mayorkas "meanderings". Yikes
Anyone who questions BidenтАЩs coherence should see BidenтАЩs interview with Meidas Touch a couple of weeks ago.
Carole, if anyone wanted to find out about Biden's competency, MEIDAS would be the last place anyone in the right mind would look. If you haven't seen the Wall Street Journal article with all the Democrat pundits legacy media and X supporters chime in realizing that he's been in mental decline since right after his election. It's a shame that they hid it for so long or they could've had invoke the 25th amendment like they were talking about with Trump and then they would've had a viable candidate to run in his stead, but why do you think they pushed him out? Why do you think they actually had a coup in America?
My feelings precisely.
It's tough for Biden. The media presents him as senile though he's far from it. Russian misinformation wants him seen as senile, so the republicans and right wing media follow their lead.
I am so sick of seeing that ugly orange face, no matter what the story is. ЁЯТйЁЯдбЁЯОГЁЯдоЁЯдоЁЯдоЁЯдоЁЯдоЁЯдо
You know Russian disinformation didn't work well for you guys during this campaign. It's not gonna work well for schiff nor Hillary or the 51. Group. Perhaps you should change the channel and see what's really happening or just take a look at the latest Wall Street Journal analysis.
You mean the Rupert Murdoch-owned font of unbiased analysis. ItтАЩs reliable of course if you say so.
There is good and bad just like there isn't every news organization, although there is much suffering and loss of viewership and readership right now in the liberal precincts. The Washington Post apparently has lost $77 million this past year. The New York Times has lost a great deal of its credibility based on the backing of stories that turned out to be incorrect or extremely biased.
Legacy media has lost its legs
CNN and MSNBC are probably going to be sold and at least one of them is going to have to change its network name
Salaries there have already been cut
Los Angeles times has come to his senses it fired the entire editorial board in favor of a balanced coverage.
Do you actually have a point?
Are you in denial here? Obviously, I have a point I wouldn't be getting so many responses and so many protests and so many one-sided posts that obviously have not looked at alternative opinions, and other perspectives, which is why I got here in the first place by mistake because somebody sent me an email that I couldn't believe.
Maybe you would like to respond to some of the points I made unfortunately too many of them are true.
Just support your president and America
BTW Did you happen to watch the ARMY NAVY GAME?
See if you see a point here in this analogy
Before the game each team had one of their leaders speak to the media. They were both asked the same question about the outcome of the game
Both men independently and without knowing what the other said, basically said the following, we will fight like hell we want to win this game badly
But then, without having been questioned? both independently without knowing what the other had said, added the following
BUT AFTER THE GAME NO MATTER WHO WINS WE ARE ON THE SAME TEAM. WE ARE BROTHERS WHO LOVE THIS COUNTRY AND WILL SUPPORT AND DEFEND IT.
There is my point in this particular case
Rick,
Can you share the email please? Just the part you couldn't believe that led you here.
Best to you,
Tim
Tim, Rick means no harm. We just need to let him do some intelligent reading which he has promised. HeтАЩll turn out all right. Trust me.
Tim, I have explained this before however I was having a discussion with a friend of mine about extreme right and extreme left-wing sites and while posting on a right wing site, he mentioned sub stack of which I had never been involved and in fact the site I was texting on or posting on was not a social media site. It was a news site. And he mentioned sub stack and for some reason I stumbled on Heather posts. And c'est la vie.
Yes share the email. Trump has no morality, integrity or intelligence. Or he wouldnтАЩt have: 1. cheated on 3 wives; 2. blackmailed Ukraine to find dirt on Biden; 3, sexually molested multiple women; 4. stole, kept & lied about top secret classified documents; 5. threatened to sue any school that revealed any information about him while at school; 6. demanded heads of the FBI, etc. be тАЬloyalтАЭ to HIM when they are supposed to act INDEPENDENTLY; the list is endless.
Trump is untrustworthy.
What about love our constitution? Trump participated in an insurrection! People died. He shouldnтАЩt even be running, he is UNQUALIFIED!
And now he wants to take other countryтАЩs land.
Two answers no he didn't and no, he didn't and the only people that violated our constitution where the people that stage a coup de etat our own country, removing Joe Biden and our president and placing in a imposter
And when the January 6 committee gets investigated by the incoming administration, you're going to see how little of a role that Donald Trump actually played in the January 6 protest how much was covered up by both the committee and the FBI how old Nancy Pelosi and Muriel Bowser were involved.
How he was denied the 10,000 extra soldiers that he requested and now Muriel buyer refused to assist Trump in providing police as well
But there's gonna be a lot more
Plus, you should read my post about the real insurrection in this country that happened with Officer Chauvin and George Floyd
Where somewhere between two and $4 billion of damage was done to multiple cities in this country burning down police precincts taking over of cities and the killing of 25 policeman.
Now imagine these two things and then one more I will add as a holy crap
What if George Floyd was white what if officer Chauvin was black? Would anything have happened. ?
And after you answer those two questions remember that officer Chauvin was convicted of his crime and yet they didn't wait for the conviction they went and destroyed this country anyway.
Right Rick you will turn out all right.
You rick! Who are you guys, and who are we guys. I am an American ЁЯЗ║ЁЯЗ╕, what bullshit cool aid are you drinking?
I'll tell you the difference, Sean. Most of the people here are talking about the word. RESIST. That's you guys the guys on the other side of the aisle so to speak are using this
SUPPORT. IF I'M NOT CORRECT HERE, FEEL FREE TO TEXT ME BACK, BUT IF YOU READ ALL THESE POSTS, THEY'RE ALL MAKING NEGATIVE ACCUSATIONS ABOUT TRUMP AND HE HASN'T EVEN TAKEN OFFICE YET.
I am now and will forever be actions over words. People can talk and talk and talk and talk, but it's what they do that counts.
Rick, history has demonstrated our country is only strong when the middle class is strong (Read Robert ReichтАЩs тАЬThe Common GoodтАЭ).
Trump is only helping his wealthy friends, not the people that need help.
тАЬThe 2017 Trump Tax Law Was Skewed to the Rich, Expensive, and Failed to Deliver on Its Promises
A 2025 Course Correction Is NeededтАЭ
тАЬWas expensive and eroded the U.S. revenue base. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated in 2018 that the 2017 law would cost $1.9 trillion over ten years,[3] and recent estimates show that making the lawтАЩs temporary individual income and estate tax cuts permanent would cost another roughly $400 billion a year beginning in 2027.[4] Together with the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts enacted under President Bush (most of which were made permanent in 2012), the law has severely eroded our countryтАЩs revenue base.тАЭ
https://www.cbpp.org/research/federal-tax/the-2017-trump-tax-law-was-skewed-to-the-rich-expensive-and-failed-to-deliver
First of all I don't read socialist human beings. I know what they stand for. I continually read what they say, and they should belong somewhere else not in the United States, who believe in capitalism, unlike Robert Reich.
Regarding President Bush, he had one good quality and a number of bad ones one good quality is that he loved America his bad qualities included being a dim bulb and not increasing his understanding of why wars are bad. Ok?
And finally much to your chagrin, Donald Trump is the course correction that is needed. Sorry
Why not sit back and watch and learn. And if he's wrong, call me out no problem. But a lot of liberals are negative in advance.
Well, you've done absolutely no research. About 4 billion of the increased deficit was caused by a little tiny virus called Covid, which leaked from a Wuhan lab with participation from the United States and Dr. Anthony Fauci.
The rest of it went to saving over 100,000 businesses from closing and over 2 million jobs that will just answer one of the points I read in your post more to come
Well, guess what the Democrat party has lost the middle class and that's why 77 million Americans voted for Trump
NY 49 out of 50 states turned red or or more conservative this election cycle.
If you wanna know the truth about Trump's administration, try this if you're at least
Intellectually honest Google Trump administration, accomplishments it's gonna take you a while to read it all
Do you understand the implication of trump intentions?
Not trying to implicate Biden, I am begging him to speak out!
And say what? what should Biden say?
He should go on the attack on issues like threatening the sovereignty of other nations for a start!
Biden will be revered in history. The historians have ranked him high. He has accomplished a great deal. Biden is a man of integrity, intelligence, and class.
Where is Biden?
Did you read Dr Richardson's letter tonight?
Quote
And President Joe Biden issued a statement concerning RussiaтАЩs Christmas bombardment of Ukraine to cut heat and electricity for Ukrainians in the dead of winter. тАЬLet me be clear,тАЭ he said, тАЬthe Ukrainian people deserve to live in peace and safety, and the United States and the international community must continue to stand with Ukraine until it triumphs over RussiaтАЩs aggression.тАЭ
Unquote
Pretty clear to me. He's responding to actual events.
As far as responding to Trump's latest on absorbing other countries is concerned, we've all seen that going after Trump's outrageous comments is like wrestling in the mud with a pig... after a while, you realize the pig likes it.
This is not the time to implicate president Biden. It's all trump and his deranged followers fault.
I agreed with you Christopher that we will be tested during the "most challenging times since the Civil War"
Ricardo Grinbank and others -- Remember this?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RujOFCHsxo
The appointment of 235 federal judges is not an insignificant move to counter Trump's legalised unlawfulness. The Supremes are a mess and there's every likelihood that Thomas and Alito will step down allowing Trump to appoint at least two more younger illiberal judges. However, the appeals courts alone handle more than 50,000 cases each year. Since the Supreme Court hears arguments in fewer than 100 cases each year, almost all of these lower-court decisions will be final. Trump cannot expect the Supremes to come through on all his crazier policy ambitions.
Christopher, Biden does speak out and has during his entire presidency. The problem lies in the fact that not enough of us listen. Yes, he's a poor communicator and he has tried to behave like a statesman and not wrestle in the mud with this showman, but that belies the fact that he's worked feverishly to right the ship and help all of us. The loss of Kamala Harris to the proven evil idiot who aims to move us to Putin's camp has to be even more heartbreaking to Biden than it is for those of us who didn't vote for Trump. If Americans need a daily recitation of all of Trump's outright criminality when he uses a megaphone to rub it in our face, whose fault is that? Perhaps if more members of the GOP stood up against him, we wouldn't be facing Armageddon.
I agree with what you are saying but nobody from the GOP will speak out and who will? I agree and believe Biden has been the best president in decades no question about that but you can be both statesmen and fighter.
Christopher, I agree with you and often wished that Biden would publicly refute Trump's lies, but there are many people who just refuse to listen and would probably have insisted that Biden's pushback wasn't worth listening to, since "all politicians are alike." Of course, I'm speaking from the viewpoint that I never could have believed that this ignorant grifter and racist never should have made it to the White House -ever.
I donтАЩt understand why Biden isnтАЩt actually supporting UkraineтАФwith long range missiles, adequate ammunition, fighter jets, etc etc. he seems to want you not to lose, but also not to win. Democracy in the world is at stake there.
He released 20 million dollars of seized Russian assets to Ukraine to help them purchase weapons and has provided them with the actual materiel you mentioned, I believe. This is the problem - no one knows what BidenтАЩs doing because the media is too busy reporting on TrumpтАЩs latest nonsense.
The war has been going on for nearly 3 years. Biden has been very, very timid and cautious. Only in the last two months as Ukraine been able to shoot any US missiles into Russian territory and then only in one specific spot and the supply of those missiles thatтАЩs available to Ukraine is minuscule. Meanwhile, Russia is Bombing and targeting with missiles, shopping centers, hospitals as well as military targets. IтАЩm a big Joe Biden fan but on Ukraine this last effort is way too little and way too late.
I recommend the sub stack of Phillips Obrien. Is in authority on matters of Ukraine and war.
AI Bot.
I hesitated to engage. for actual fear of the unknown repercussions.
But - ┬л┬а DonтАЩt agree in advance┬а┬╗ has stuck with me since I first read On Tyranny.
Try imagining what is on the presidentтАЩs plate! He has been doing all he can to protect Ukraine money and weapons from the Putin/Trump combo. Trump, however, takes orders from Papa Putin instead of being a grown up patriot and supporting freedom for Ukraine.
We do not have four years. We have three weeks of Biden presidency. Trump is calling for invasion of other countries against UN resolution, thus inviting Russians follow. Biden should call martial law to take over the country.
Stop the nonsense with each post to become more disassociated with reality in my opinion
Christopher, you wonder where is Joe Biden speaking out? I think it's because the media (who has complied in advance of Tump's presidency) doesn't cover him, but hangs on every word (tweet) Trump spews 24/7. I think Kamala Harris faced the same thing during her campaign. I expect the next four years will be a battle to find the truth with the daily performance and chaos Trump and his propaganda machine will scream from every microphone and media outlet they control and bully. I'm depending on forums like this to continue to speak truth to power.
- Pulled Quote -
Exactly this:
''...тАЬThe ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the convinced Communist,тАЭ she wrote, тАЬbut people for whom the distinction between fact and fictionтАжand the distinction between true and false no longer exist.тАЭ...'' AND to do this:
''...If Trump "really wants to stop the third world war,тАЭ he said, тАЬthe way out is simple: dividing up the world into spheres of influence."...''
My question is where is Kamala Harris? I can empathize with her disappointment and pain - we all feel it - but leadership is about putting that behind you and marching forward. Churchill said it best: ""Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm."
ASB,
Don't be concerned regarding Kamala Harris....she loves this country and is serving.
The vote is past. Her patriotism has NOT!!!
It all depends on the GOP senators and representatives. Yes, we can resist and protest, but really this insanity and its consequences are on them. We can't just complain about Trump. The responsibility belongs to the GOP. They can control this or they can let it all go to hell.
The tradition that presidents , after leaving office , become mute IS NUTS. President Biden needs to speak out loudly about these ramblings of Trump. He needs to keep speaking after leaving office . ALL present and former sane (operative word ) politicians who care about the future of the country and humanity must speak out. And yes we all have an obligation to speak out .
George,
President Biden is not a dictator. He is closing down the official days of his Presidency, working at all the things he can do while in office and preparing the way for the Elected upcoming President. I am sure he has done and will continue to do what he is able to do to protect us from the rising tide of hell and chaos that is soon to catch up to us!!!!
George, we have minds. eyes and ears and may I add hearts of our own. As a nation this is what WE the PEOPLE have allowed. We as a nation will pay the consequences. Our friends and allies will also suffer.
Everyone of us....children born and unborn and their MOTHERS who are often left alone after the "fun" is done.....no matter the danger of her life or the life in the womb.....often abandoned by the "father". No matter the life of the mother,
whether married or not....whether raped or not (0f course that would really be all her doing anyway).
I will add...we do not know all that may be going on to protect us and the world, as each day comes and goes.
We too as citizens must do our part...."do something for good"............no matter our circumstance.
g