Yes, Joe’s adherence to the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution (as every president except Trump has done) was very nice. Now Trump’s company is poised to break the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution again by leasing the same hotel in which foreigners paid exorbitant room rates to curry his favor. And the grift continues.
I thought tRUMP had lost the lease on the hotel all his secret service agent's were forced to stay in and they removed his blighted name from it and "TRUMP TOWER" and changed it to a more appropriate name: ALCATRAZ
This morning my state Senator is having a "Coffee with Constituents." I'm going to print out Heather's newsletter highlighting Joe's employment accomplishments.
Contrast that to the net loss of 2.8 million jobs under Trump and a peak unemployment rate of 14%, Trump.
We can all rub this in the faces of our MAGA friends.
Do they really care? They are all delusional living in an altered reality. Some people can't be so gullible as to believe the nonsense necessary to belong to the tRump cult.
Unfortunately, his many accomplishments will fade to insignificance unless we find a way to persuade Trump to throw aside his plutocratic funders and seek true popularity. Trump doesn’t care what policies are enacted as long as he feels appreciated, keeps his money (the only thing he measures success by) AND stays out of jail and pretends to be in charge. He has no agenda. The democrats can offer true popularity if they can get him to take it. This is what I have been writing about.
I admire your efforts, Michael, but I think you miss-consider the degree of dangerous psychopathology residing in 45/47. See Dr. Bandy X. Lee for extensive reference. <> The decades long rise of 45/47 as an avatar of tough guy extractive capitalist is a natural and necessary feature of fascist mafia state operation, building the critical mass of deluded followers. It has been psychological warfare on the USSR/Russian political technology model. Adam Serwer’s thesis, “The Cruelty Is The Point” is both accurate and firmly established. 45/47 is mentally diminished but I think his savant lizard brain for crimeing will keep him balanced on his rolling log of malevolent chaos in the river of fascist mafia state bullshit, until the decades of junk food and narcotic stimulants shuts him down.
If only that junk food would stop him in his tracks soon like January 19 2025 or soon thereafter. My other hope is blizzard like weather in DC on. January 20. He's a weather freak.
Joe Biden accomplished much as POTUS but utterly failed to communicate that to the American people. And he failed in his most important task—preventing Trump from regaining power—because of hubris and ego. His insistence that he would’ve won had he remained in the race is not only galling—it is also incredibly insulting to the entire Democratic Party, and Kamala Harris in particular, whose opportunity to prevail in the election he actively undermined.
The Orange guy hasn’t even entered the WH yet and his ideas are unraveling as are his brain cells! I take this as a good sign that MAGA will have a breakdown when they realize Orange Demento cannot deliver their wishes. Thank you Heather, for following the political news while I follow what is happening in our state. The lower half of CA is bracing for more Santa Ana winds and that is alarming seeing that only one fire has been 35% contained. Y’all here in HCR land…please send cash donations, if you can, through the many legally acknowledged agencies in LA to help people out. We can’t save everyone but we can sure as hell try! ❤️
"Trump’s lawyer Mike Davis warned: “Right now the Democrats think they’re the hunters. And guess what? On January 20th at noon, they’re going to become the hunted.”
Davis is a big fat dick and another liar. Let’s see how long he lasts. Did you Eric Swalwell filed a lawsuit against Trump the last time he and his family were threatened? It’s ongoing.
Oh they have been saying junk like that for years. Paper threats. We'll see. I am sick to my core of crazy people making these kind of school yard bully threats and the media picking up the ball and running with it.
On the other hand. We need to look into the serious behind the scenes threats that are happening to good people like Adam Kisinger. They refer to them but never say what they are.
The only profession that seems to benefit from tRump are the lawyers. Those that defend him and those that help other in defense against him. Since there seems to be no criminal alternative defense, it seems that only civil defense can be used against him I.E. E.Jean Carroll.
On shore winds in the LA Basin permitted planes & helicopter to join the fire battle with some success. ABC News cameras went on aerial ride with the Cal Fire Chief to survey conditions. ABC News via the "2020" program broadcast clear images Friday night of home & structure losses plus video of smart fire fighting efforts in Topanga Canyon in "Ferndale" area. Crews are working around the clock.
President Biden has increased federal LA Fire Relief from 75% to 100% for 180 days into June 2025. The state California also has a sound structure for dollar donations.
I read with anger and sadness the statement that the American people "may not want what [Trump] is delivering." Anger because though most of us DON'T want what he will deliver, is there anything we can do about it, as MAGA controls all three branches of our government?? Sadness, because our democracy, which we have taken for granted, is going to be supplanted by autocracy, which half the country doesn't want and the other half doesn't care about.
If his supporters don't care that he is a convicted criminal, then they surely won't care what he delivers. Unbelievable.
I believe they will care when it starts hurting them. I believe it will affect them worse as it will also affect them psychologically. They are not fit to walk among us.
With the Rethugs pushing the SAVE Act, they are finding more and more ways to eliminate the opposition voters from being able to vote. They can pursue the P25 agenda with impunity as they will face a weaken opposition voter pool.
Much Appreciated... UnFortunately, The-Orange-Jabba-The-Hutt wants to declare an Economic War on both of them... Seems that DJT Brains are Melting like his Makeup...
More superb writing! It's a pleasure to read, even though it's also horrifying. I just love how you ended your letter:
And today the figure the “Pizzagate” conspiracy was designed to put into the highest office in the land, and that the Fox News Channel hosts’ lies were intended to keep there, officially became a convict.
We need all the hope we can muster for this dark period. You provided it in your last paragraph. Thank you!
TC, I don't think his legacy would be more in line with Jeffrey Epstein than with.... hmmm. Come to think of it, it's still in line with Jeffrey Epstein as well as Benito and Adolf.
We are 9 days out from the first Felon-auguration in our country’s history. The road ahead is narrowing and riddled with potholes of revenge. It’s going to be a bumpy ride for Truth and Justice. We must strive to insure that "The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature."
The 25th Amendment only applies to his Cabinet... His Ultra-Loyalists will never do that... Maybe they would be fearful of a Rampaging MAGA Mob? The Senate did not Convict DJT in 2021 because of such fears... Divine Intervention? Force Majure?
If you read the 25th Amendment you'll find that it's a very arduous process. It requires the VP, a majority of the cabinet and 2/3 of both chambers of Congress. Ain't gonna happen.
I'm wondering if he can't be impeached yet again for the theft of national secrets. If only DoJ would dismiss the Laura and deOliviero cases, we'd get that info too.
oh, they won't remove him. he will "delegate" things to them and hit the golf course. He will be the new Nero - rather than fiddling while Rome burns, he will be watching from behind a wall of protection that we pay for, playing golf and eating wonderful chocolate cake.
This is a great letter, HCR! And I am sick to death about the lying and nonsense about the Democrats.
To this end, I would like to suggest a pushback campaign. Every time Trump misbehaves - I am thinking about him trying to blame Newsom for the LA fires - we all collectively say Stop that. Or Just stop that. Or, just stop that, you. Wherever you can. It’s so full of shit, him and his cohort doing that.
We do this by posting that response everywhere, including to reporters, on X (Twitte) and other social media, making the point to debunk the claims. I would love to see the slow drip drip of this take hold.
since the major social networks refuse to fact check the incorrigible liar, posting responses may be one option. However, in 2024, my Facebook account was dinged multiple times for sharing memes critical of the convicted felon. I left X when Musk bought it and fired most of the staff, making it a noxious cesspool.
We MUST get MSM to STOP allowing djt to be the lead headline every day, and to stop reporting on everything from HIS talking points. Start covering REAL ISSUES that affect people, not who uses what bathroom.
Correct. I also blame our liberal leaders that passed this practice off thinking in their idealistic way the our better angels would prevail. People, no matter how smart, will eventually succumb to propaganda if that is all they here. Our minds will eventually begin to accept a new reality. The Dominion suit settlement should have included a requirement they rule for at least 30 days the results on a screen banner 24/7 and the lying host should had to admit daily on thier shows that they lied.
On Bluesky yesterday Mueller, She Wrote posted: "Don’t get me wrong. I’m working to exit like I did with Twitter. I’m just now worried about the new problem of isolation that creates."
I replied: "What if we all logged on those sites once a day and reposted and liked assigned (you&other high profile accounts could list here) posts and then quickly signed off. I am currently abstaining from those sites, but wonder if there might be another way to attack this problem."
I like that idea but here's a problem.. how many MAGA regular people are on social media at all? I have distant relatives who are only on social media to talk about how they celebrated birthdays or attended weddings or funerals. We need to get back into smaller newspapers in local papers too. And boost the purchase of the Washington Post away from Bezos as Swisher proposes. In other words it can't just be social media.
The orange felon "totally innocent," as Heather reminds us he's always been saying?
I recommend Timothy Snyder's great recent book, "The Road to Unfreedom."
I was back in the U.S. last week, and got a copy there, so could follow the perverted ways the worst characters in history today excuse, rationalize, and bid cover up their criminality. And key to all this -- always -- is their feeling innocent -- their feeling that some parts of the world are out to get them.
It's a justified feeling. Putin and his fellow oligarch criminals all know they enriched themselves by stealing public assets from the Russian people. They know further, too, that they have all had people murdered to pursue their larcenous and other sociopathic crimes. They live in a fantasy world, which Timothy Snyder meticulously examines.
Trump just follows the same logical perversions. Where Putin and his fellow criminals scapegoat the West (all those gays, all those uppity women), Trump and his many fellow sick U.S. billionaires scapegoat the U.S.'s free press and what they see as Dems and libs turning loose on the U.S. hordes of murderous, raping, cat-&-dog-eating, non-white immigrants.
Snyder's great in his detailing the ways the most criminal all really hate democracy's institutions, those giving the people health care, education, environmental protection, or basic justice. But he's even better in keeping the focus on how all the worst sociopaths grow the wealth gap, with the U.S. now in spirals of perversion as bad as the Russia of the oligarchs' poisonous stews of 30 years ago there.
Also, I must point out, HG Bush sent Milton Friedman to Moscow to "help" them move from their communist/socialist structure to the "free market" economy where he helped direct the fire sale. Friedman was also used in South America in the same way. Not one single success to point to in his free market, just kleptocracy in practice.
Thank you for highlighting the competing interests of the various MAGA constituencies and how these people are fighting among themselves. Which factions are likely to prevail?
The Biden administration did a remarkable job, they not only averted a recession but created more jobs than the last 3 presidents. We have had 4 years of smooth sailing after the chaos of trump but now we are heading into an oligarchal storm more forceful than any we have experienced, one that could sink the ship.
You can’t really call it smooth sailing since it was 4 more years of tffg’s LIES. 16 years— birther lies, Supreme Court lies, tax lies, Covid lies. Enough is enough is enough.
It's incredible to me that there are so many who are ignorant of the reality of this country's economy under the Biden administration. My sister who despite earning a doctor's degree is a MAGAt was complaining about how terrible the economy has been. By now I've given up on her and the other siblings who are looking forward to the return of tffg - somehow they are living in a different reality than the rest of us. It's sad how we are 1st gen Americans yet they want to keep out any future immigrants to this country, but if our parents hadn't immigrated over here they probably would've never met and we their children would not exist here today.
I just don't know what to say anymore, other than avoiding contact with them since their true colors came out several years ago.
I am thankful for the courage of Judge Merchan who persevered and was able to get tffg sentenced this week, even though there will be no apparent consequences for him other than the designation of "Convicted Felon" - and then the next four+ years of chaos begins in earnest on Jan. 20. It is beyond frustrating that even though not in office yet, tffg is already pushing the Rethugs hard to do his bidding, and the broligarch billionaires are obeying in advance.
======================================
"In a statement, Biden noted that when he took office, economic forecasts projected that it would take years for the country to recover fully from the effects of the coronavirus shutdown. In fact, the U.S. economy has grown faster and created more jobs than any other country with an advanced economy. Working-age women are now employed at record levels, and the gap in employment between Black Americans and their white counterparts is at the lowest level on record. The administration has brought the inflation of the early recovery back down almost to target levels, while incomes have increased about $4,000 more than prices. The administration, Biden said, has “achieved the soft landing that few thought was possible.”"
It does not appear that Rep. Arrington is familiar with the concept of the third rail. I wonder how many of his constituents receive Medicaid or food stamps. But he's young, at 52. On his third marriage. Supported the Muslim immigration ban, wants to put work restrictions on SNAP benefits. He's got a lot to learn.
I lived in his district for 40 years. He has like an 85% approval rating because he "owns" the libs. He voted against the 2020 certification and got an enormous amount of approval. His district is extremely bigoted, loves their guns and enjoys their bigotry. They all think those cuts he is making will have no effect of them except to put more money in their pockets. He is a true two faced politician. He epitomizes "I am from the government and I am here to help you."
As everyone enjoys the inevitable, “gotcha,” that was part of Mango V 1.0; this time the goons are prepared to activate their agenda. It’s no longer a fantasy. It’s with a fully-loaded Congress and complicit SCOTUS. As a lawyer, I hate to say litigation is the only answer, I really do, but get ready for a LOT of lawsuits, a LOT of nothing happening, and a LOT of misinformation about it all.
I really believe that the Founders of our Republic believed in the concept of ‘good faith’.
That concept was sacred until Mitch and his cabal hijacked it and manipulated it, creating culture wars that were never a part of government. It worked. Democrats got blindsided, albeit over 40 years, but also ignored a huge part of the electorate and are now ‘shocked’ that they lost the people.
It’s not ‘wokeness’ or progressive agendas that matter; it’s the failure to connect the party to people. An even more curious disconnect is the fact that the Conservative message machine has somehow connected the “rich and disconnected” to the Democratic Party when they are the ones who would hollow-out the protections for the very people that voted for them.
It makes no sense to me. Until you apply the notion that the electorate, at least 50%+1, seems to be swayed by entertainment, rather than government. Our electorate has been wooed by a fascist.
It will be an, “I told you so,” but the consequences of it could be catastrophic. We will have to defend government, public institutions, public engagement and the very concept of our core for the next four years.
They have knives-out for all of what our Country is. We simply can’t let that happen.
I was calling MAGA a cult back in 2017 and many of the people in TX (Arrington's district) where i lived told me I was too extreme. Well, since many of them are my age (nearly 70), they are going to find out how right I was.
Thanks Joe. We're going to miss you.
Yes, Joe’s adherence to the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution (as every president except Trump has done) was very nice. Now Trump’s company is poised to break the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution again by leasing the same hotel in which foreigners paid exorbitant room rates to curry his favor. And the grift continues.
https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/trump-organization-talks-repurchase-washington-181149615.html
Well, shoot. I guess José Andrés will have to find another place for The Bazaar.
Right now, his teams are busy feeding folks in CA. I've just donated to them again.
Grifter-in-Chief. How blatantly self-enriching could one be.? Attention and Money are tRump's primary motivators.
I thought tRUMP had lost the lease on the hotel all his secret service agent's were forced to stay in and they removed his blighted name from it and "TRUMP TOWER" and changed it to a more appropriate name: ALCATRAZ
This morning my state Senator is having a "Coffee with Constituents." I'm going to print out Heather's newsletter highlighting Joe's employment accomplishments.
Contrast that to the net loss of 2.8 million jobs under Trump and a peak unemployment rate of 14%, Trump.
We can all rub this in the faces of our MAGA friends.
Unfortunately, I am not sure that they are interested in facts.
They are interested in facts - alternative facts.
Do they really care? They are all delusional living in an altered reality. Some people can't be so gullible as to believe the nonsense necessary to belong to the tRump cult.
Agreed. 👍
Unfortunately, his many accomplishments will fade to insignificance unless we find a way to persuade Trump to throw aside his plutocratic funders and seek true popularity. Trump doesn’t care what policies are enacted as long as he feels appreciated, keeps his money (the only thing he measures success by) AND stays out of jail and pretends to be in charge. He has no agenda. The democrats can offer true popularity if they can get him to take it. This is what I have been writing about.
I admire your efforts, Michael, but I think you miss-consider the degree of dangerous psychopathology residing in 45/47. See Dr. Bandy X. Lee for extensive reference. <> The decades long rise of 45/47 as an avatar of tough guy extractive capitalist is a natural and necessary feature of fascist mafia state operation, building the critical mass of deluded followers. It has been psychological warfare on the USSR/Russian political technology model. Adam Serwer’s thesis, “The Cruelty Is The Point” is both accurate and firmly established. 45/47 is mentally diminished but I think his savant lizard brain for crimeing will keep him balanced on his rolling log of malevolent chaos in the river of fascist mafia state bullshit, until the decades of junk food and narcotic stimulants shuts him down.
“Fascist Mafia State Model”
Tying it all together
If only that junk food would stop him in his tracks soon like January 19 2025 or soon thereafter. My other hope is blizzard like weather in DC on. January 20. He's a weather freak.
You dream
Dream on. Although it is never beyond tRump to take credit for something he had nothing to do with.
His agenda is cruelty
Sometimes former presidents are remembered more for their failures than their successes.
Sad to say, Biden may die soon and get a funeral full of tributes, like Carter's.
Joe Biden accomplished much as POTUS but utterly failed to communicate that to the American people. And he failed in his most important task—preventing Trump from regaining power—because of hubris and ego. His insistence that he would’ve won had he remained in the race is not only galling—it is also incredibly insulting to the entire Democratic Party, and Kamala Harris in particular, whose opportunity to prevail in the election he actively undermined.
The Orange guy hasn’t even entered the WH yet and his ideas are unraveling as are his brain cells! I take this as a good sign that MAGA will have a breakdown when they realize Orange Demento cannot deliver their wishes. Thank you Heather, for following the political news while I follow what is happening in our state. The lower half of CA is bracing for more Santa Ana winds and that is alarming seeing that only one fire has been 35% contained. Y’all here in HCR land…please send cash donations, if you can, through the many legally acknowledged agencies in LA to help people out. We can’t save everyone but we can sure as hell try! ❤️
- Pulled Quote -
"Trump’s lawyer Mike Davis warned: “Right now the Democrats think they’re the hunters. And guess what? On January 20th at noon, they’re going to become the hunted.”
When they warn you, believe them the first time.
Davis is a big fat dick and another liar. Let’s see how long he lasts. Did you Eric Swalwell filed a lawsuit against Trump the last time he and his family were threatened? It’s ongoing.
Believe them the first time…
Oh they have been saying junk like that for years. Paper threats. We'll see. I am sick to my core of crazy people making these kind of school yard bully threats and the media picking up the ball and running with it.
On the other hand. We need to look into the serious behind the scenes threats that are happening to good people like Adam Kisinger. They refer to them but never say what they are.
The only profession that seems to benefit from tRump are the lawyers. Those that defend him and those that help other in defense against him. Since there seems to be no criminal alternative defense, it seems that only civil defense can be used against him I.E. E.Jean Carroll.
On shore winds in the LA Basin permitted planes & helicopter to join the fire battle with some success. ABC News cameras went on aerial ride with the Cal Fire Chief to survey conditions. ABC News via the "2020" program broadcast clear images Friday night of home & structure losses plus video of smart fire fighting efforts in Topanga Canyon in "Ferndale" area. Crews are working around the clock.
President Biden has increased federal LA Fire Relief from 75% to 100% for 180 days into June 2025. The state California also has a sound structure for dollar donations.
Be Safe All
I read with anger and sadness the statement that the American people "may not want what [Trump] is delivering." Anger because though most of us DON'T want what he will deliver, is there anything we can do about it, as MAGA controls all three branches of our government?? Sadness, because our democracy, which we have taken for granted, is going to be supplanted by autocracy, which half the country doesn't want and the other half doesn't care about.
If his supporters don't care that he is a convicted criminal, then they surely won't care what he delivers. Unbelievable.
I believe they will care when it starts hurting them. I believe it will affect them worse as it will also affect them psychologically. They are not fit to walk among us.
They are a stain on our good name, Americans.
With the Rethugs pushing the SAVE Act, they are finding more and more ways to eliminate the opposition voters from being able to vote. They can pursue the P25 agenda with impunity as they will face a weaken opposition voter pool.
On it, Marlene. Don't forget IFAW for the animals. You stay safe now.
Can you recommend credible agencies Marlene? Thanks
Canadian water bombers are hard at work on the fires around LA. I wish we had more to send. What a terrible fire.
Thank you! Your (and Mexico’s) firefighters are deeply appreciated.
Much Appreciated... UnFortunately, The-Orange-Jabba-The-Hutt wants to declare an Economic War on both of them... Seems that DJT Brains are Melting like his Makeup...
Thanks to Canada, Mexico and all of the countries that are willing to help us in our time of need.
Are the evangelicals and the Catholics as willing to help as our neighbors are?
The Catholics? Evangelicals?
What a good human. Thank you and your compatriots.
More superb writing! It's a pleasure to read, even though it's also horrifying. I just love how you ended your letter:
And today the figure the “Pizzagate” conspiracy was designed to put into the highest office in the land, and that the Fox News Channel hosts’ lies were intended to keep there, officially became a convict.
We need all the hope we can muster for this dark period. You provided it in your last paragraph. Thank you!
Thank you, HCR. What a week! 50/51 to go!
This doesn’t end in 4 years with an election, I’m afraid.
Fear is appropriate
A very real possibility if his hyper-loyalist appointees are confirmed. Or another MAGA-Lago conformists will take over.
I'm afraid he won't need the appointees to crash the government. Dictator on Day One, a hundred executive orders ready to go.
Think how nice life would be if - 50 years ago - the boyfriend of some girl he was bothering in Studio 54 had blown his fucking head off.
TC, I don't think his legacy would be more in line with Jeffrey Epstein than with.... hmmm. Come to think of it, it's still in line with Jeffrey Epstein as well as Benito and Adolf.
Convicted Felon President Trump - what a win for justice and the rule of law.
Everything that DJT Touches Dies!!!
Donald Trump and the richest Americans are absolutely above the law.
sadly, true
We are 9 days out from the first Felon-auguration in our country’s history. The road ahead is narrowing and riddled with potholes of revenge. It’s going to be a bumpy ride for Truth and Justice. We must strive to insure that "The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature."
His Orangeness now assumes the extraordinary Office of First Felon.
Heather, please remind us of exactly how a President is removed from office for, say, dementia?
I think his Cabinet can remove him, but he won't install a cabinet that would do that.
How does overt incompetence work through the Congress?
The 25th Amendment only applies to his Cabinet... His Ultra-Loyalists will never do that... Maybe they would be fearful of a Rampaging MAGA Mob? The Senate did not Convict DJT in 2021 because of such fears... Divine Intervention? Force Majure?
And we end up with Vance!
Yes, not exactly an option to look forward to.
Vance is definitely growing on me. Rumor has it that he is beloved by his fellow Senators like Matt Gaetz was in the House.
Of course, many of them would grovel at his feet like Ted Cruz did with Trump, but I just don't see him achieving the level of deference Trump enjoys.
If you read the 25th Amendment you'll find that it's a very arduous process. It requires the VP, a majority of the cabinet and 2/3 of both chambers of Congress. Ain't gonna happen.
I'm wondering if he can't be impeached yet again for the theft of national secrets. If only DoJ would dismiss the Laura and deOliviero cases, we'd get that info too.
Of course we'd have to get the House back.
oh, they won't remove him. he will "delegate" things to them and hit the golf course. He will be the new Nero - rather than fiddling while Rome burns, he will be watching from behind a wall of protection that we pay for, playing golf and eating wonderful chocolate cake.
This is a great letter, HCR! And I am sick to death about the lying and nonsense about the Democrats.
To this end, I would like to suggest a pushback campaign. Every time Trump misbehaves - I am thinking about him trying to blame Newsom for the LA fires - we all collectively say Stop that. Or Just stop that. Or, just stop that, you. Wherever you can. It’s so full of shit, him and his cohort doing that.
We do this by posting that response everywhere, including to reporters, on X (Twitte) and other social media, making the point to debunk the claims. I would love to see the slow drip drip of this take hold.
since the major social networks refuse to fact check the incorrigible liar, posting responses may be one option. However, in 2024, my Facebook account was dinged multiple times for sharing memes critical of the convicted felon. I left X when Musk bought it and fired most of the staff, making it a noxious cesspool.
We MUST get MSM to STOP allowing djt to be the lead headline every day, and to stop reporting on everything from HIS talking points. Start covering REAL ISSUES that affect people, not who uses what bathroom.
And how, nobody stopped Rupert as he showed our MSM how to monetize the news. It’s a tad late
Correct. I also blame our liberal leaders that passed this practice off thinking in their idealistic way the our better angels would prevail. People, no matter how smart, will eventually succumb to propaganda if that is all they here. Our minds will eventually begin to accept a new reality. The Dominion suit settlement should have included a requirement they rule for at least 30 days the results on a screen banner 24/7 and the lying host should had to admit daily on thier shows that they lied.
I experienced the same on FB. Posted facts of fascism and got it removed several times.
On Bluesky yesterday Mueller, She Wrote posted: "Don’t get me wrong. I’m working to exit like I did with Twitter. I’m just now worried about the new problem of isolation that creates."
I replied: "What if we all logged on those sites once a day and reposted and liked assigned (you&other high profile accounts could list here) posts and then quickly signed off. I am currently abstaining from those sites, but wonder if there might be another way to attack this problem."
I like that idea but here's a problem.. how many MAGA regular people are on social media at all? I have distant relatives who are only on social media to talk about how they celebrated birthdays or attended weddings or funerals. We need to get back into smaller newspapers in local papers too. And boost the purchase of the Washington Post away from Bezos as Swisher proposes. In other words it can't just be social media.
The orange felon "totally innocent," as Heather reminds us he's always been saying?
I recommend Timothy Snyder's great recent book, "The Road to Unfreedom."
I was back in the U.S. last week, and got a copy there, so could follow the perverted ways the worst characters in history today excuse, rationalize, and bid cover up their criminality. And key to all this -- always -- is their feeling innocent -- their feeling that some parts of the world are out to get them.
It's a justified feeling. Putin and his fellow oligarch criminals all know they enriched themselves by stealing public assets from the Russian people. They know further, too, that they have all had people murdered to pursue their larcenous and other sociopathic crimes. They live in a fantasy world, which Timothy Snyder meticulously examines.
Trump just follows the same logical perversions. Where Putin and his fellow criminals scapegoat the West (all those gays, all those uppity women), Trump and his many fellow sick U.S. billionaires scapegoat the U.S.'s free press and what they see as Dems and libs turning loose on the U.S. hordes of murderous, raping, cat-&-dog-eating, non-white immigrants.
Snyder's great in his detailing the ways the most criminal all really hate democracy's institutions, those giving the people health care, education, environmental protection, or basic justice. But he's even better in keeping the focus on how all the worst sociopaths grow the wealth gap, with the U.S. now in spirals of perversion as bad as the Russia of the oligarchs' poisonous stews of 30 years ago there.
Spirals of perversion- perfect
Also, I must point out, HG Bush sent Milton Friedman to Moscow to "help" them move from their communist/socialist structure to the "free market" economy where he helped direct the fire sale. Friedman was also used in South America in the same way. Not one single success to point to in his free market, just kleptocracy in practice.
Thank you for highlighting the competing interests of the various MAGA constituencies and how these people are fighting among themselves. Which factions are likely to prevail?
The Musk Faction until his Hallucinations catch-up...
Money talks!
The Biden administration did a remarkable job, they not only averted a recession but created more jobs than the last 3 presidents. We have had 4 years of smooth sailing after the chaos of trump but now we are heading into an oligarchal storm more forceful than any we have experienced, one that could sink the ship.
You can’t really call it smooth sailing since it was 4 more years of tffg’s LIES. 16 years— birther lies, Supreme Court lies, tax lies, Covid lies. Enough is enough is enough.
It's incredible to me that there are so many who are ignorant of the reality of this country's economy under the Biden administration. My sister who despite earning a doctor's degree is a MAGAt was complaining about how terrible the economy has been. By now I've given up on her and the other siblings who are looking forward to the return of tffg - somehow they are living in a different reality than the rest of us. It's sad how we are 1st gen Americans yet they want to keep out any future immigrants to this country, but if our parents hadn't immigrated over here they probably would've never met and we their children would not exist here today.
I just don't know what to say anymore, other than avoiding contact with them since their true colors came out several years ago.
I am thankful for the courage of Judge Merchan who persevered and was able to get tffg sentenced this week, even though there will be no apparent consequences for him other than the designation of "Convicted Felon" - and then the next four+ years of chaos begins in earnest on Jan. 20. It is beyond frustrating that even though not in office yet, tffg is already pushing the Rethugs hard to do his bidding, and the broligarch billionaires are obeying in advance.
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"In a statement, Biden noted that when he took office, economic forecasts projected that it would take years for the country to recover fully from the effects of the coronavirus shutdown. In fact, the U.S. economy has grown faster and created more jobs than any other country with an advanced economy. Working-age women are now employed at record levels, and the gap in employment between Black Americans and their white counterparts is at the lowest level on record. The administration has brought the inflation of the early recovery back down almost to target levels, while incomes have increased about $4,000 more than prices. The administration, Biden said, has “achieved the soft landing that few thought was possible.”"
It does not appear that Rep. Arrington is familiar with the concept of the third rail. I wonder how many of his constituents receive Medicaid or food stamps. But he's young, at 52. On his third marriage. Supported the Muslim immigration ban, wants to put work restrictions on SNAP benefits. He's got a lot to learn.
I thought the third rail would spare us the hell we face today.
I lived in his district for 40 years. He has like an 85% approval rating because he "owns" the libs. He voted against the 2020 certification and got an enormous amount of approval. His district is extremely bigoted, loves their guns and enjoys their bigotry. They all think those cuts he is making will have no effect of them except to put more money in their pockets. He is a true two faced politician. He epitomizes "I am from the government and I am here to help you."
And it can only get worse.
As everyone enjoys the inevitable, “gotcha,” that was part of Mango V 1.0; this time the goons are prepared to activate their agenda. It’s no longer a fantasy. It’s with a fully-loaded Congress and complicit SCOTUS. As a lawyer, I hate to say litigation is the only answer, I really do, but get ready for a LOT of lawsuits, a LOT of nothing happening, and a LOT of misinformation about it all.
I really believe that the Founders of our Republic believed in the concept of ‘good faith’.
That concept was sacred until Mitch and his cabal hijacked it and manipulated it, creating culture wars that were never a part of government. It worked. Democrats got blindsided, albeit over 40 years, but also ignored a huge part of the electorate and are now ‘shocked’ that they lost the people.
It’s not ‘wokeness’ or progressive agendas that matter; it’s the failure to connect the party to people. An even more curious disconnect is the fact that the Conservative message machine has somehow connected the “rich and disconnected” to the Democratic Party when they are the ones who would hollow-out the protections for the very people that voted for them.
It makes no sense to me. Until you apply the notion that the electorate, at least 50%+1, seems to be swayed by entertainment, rather than government. Our electorate has been wooed by a fascist.
It will be an, “I told you so,” but the consequences of it could be catastrophic. We will have to defend government, public institutions, public engagement and the very concept of our core for the next four years.
They have knives-out for all of what our Country is. We simply can’t let that happen.
Look up cult mentality
I was calling MAGA a cult back in 2017 and many of the people in TX (Arrington's district) where i lived told me I was too extreme. Well, since many of them are my age (nearly 70), they are going to find out how right I was.