In his final address to the nation last night, President Joe Biden issued a warning that “an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power, and influence that literally threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedoms, and a fair shot for everyone to get ahead.”
"sworn he will not do, on a text he's never read, that contains a religious ethos that is the polar opposite of everything he believes in or practices."
Don't worry, he and EloX signed the Bible he's swearing on and he's not a Christian so not sworn to tell the truth or uphold the law especially now that he has SCOTUS support. We're not "going to lose this country". We've already lost it.
If only someone could convince him to open that Bible and read from it. Let's start with the Old Testament, where Micah tells us that our role in life is to do justly, love mercy and walk humbly.
“Power always thinks it has a great soul and vast views beyond the comprehension of the weak; and that it is doing God’s service when it is violating all his laws.”
Lady, I am not sure he does anything that the rest of us would call thinking. To me he is the reptilian brain hissing and striking at anything and anyone who comes near. As the 20th nears, I feel a heavy sickness coming on. I do like the idea that the flags will be at half staff (in most places, Abbott and little Johnson). it is MLK Day which strikes me as some kind of irony. And I do think that that the national football championship is that day also. I also like the idea that certain people will not attend the travesty of his inauguration. I saw a headline from The Telegraph this am that seemed to be castigating Michelle Obama.
The Telegraph is slightly more Right Wing than Genghis Khan. It's owned by Redbird, a US group mostly funded by Abu Dhabi. Hardly surprising that it's not a fan of Mrs. Obama. "Any stick to beat a dog with."
Trump has Papa Putin’s applause. Maybe watch for Trump Tower Moscow. With the Chinese at the Inauguration the new world is looking like 1939. Sadly most Americans have no idea how they have voted for a pack of lies.
I will not buy from Amazon. I will not ever buy a Telsa. I will not be a consumer for buying products enriches the billionaire class. At least as much as I can I will not spend to help the economy grow.
John Adams drew a conclusion and found conclusion-confirming evidence. I could do that—even when it was obvious in hindsight that I was wrong—when I was 5. It probably wasn't until grade 5 that I changed. Now I draw a conclusion and look at the evidence to discover if it confirms or refutes my conclusion, and I think it's made me even smarter than that 5th grader.
I understand what Adams meant, but if power is always as he describes, then there is no hope. Don't be naively optimistic, but cynical pessimism is a self-fulfilling prophesy. Instead, be pragmatically optimistic.
If you're looking for a valid reason to be optimistic, or if you just want me to know I've overlooked relevant evidence, subscribe to my weekly no-fee newsletter.
Yes, that's a favorite. And for those who like to beat us over the head with the Ten Commandments, let's add: "I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another." (John 13:34)
You know all that "love stuff" is really for "suckers and losers".
It is all about how much we can TAKE! It is all about power! Forget about the future ....children....the elderly....the helpless.... Forget about friends all over the earth and our trusted alliances with them...friends who have respected us for...our reputation and character....that stuff is for those who are weak!!!!
Let's see: take from the citizenry....take from the earth....take from our water systems.....take from the air....we can even take from one another until only the most evil and deceptive of the wealthy population are standing.....after all "only the strong survive"!
.....they will destroy everyone and everything they can....for selfish gain!
Barbara Stumpf - "let's add: "I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another." (John 13:34)"
This commandment is similar to Leviticus 19:18, but it applies to anyone.
Huh? He understands. Surely you jest. People channeling what he believes, what he will do , could do well to understand he is a Crazy Maker of the very highest order. All forms of power, and chaos are aimed solely by him, at you, at us. The US he hates Trump is essentially the alien we fear. The seemingly invincible bag of skin he is enclosed in appears to be Trojan horse uniform. Walk into the fire boldly. After the air clears when something goes wrong, you will forever be able to say "I've seen worse, far worse!"
The niece of Donald t, Mary Trump, wrote a sequel to her first book, *Too Much and Never Enough*. The new one is entitled *Who Could Ever Love You*. She shows how damaged her uncle is, how he emotionally damaged her and others, and finally how she recovered. By implication, Mary has wise counsel for those under t's psychic domination--and all voters who want to regain democratic liberty.
Trump does not understand justice, mercy much less love & much less anything else. F-Elon34X latest tactic is to appoint two (2) "Ambassadors to Hollywood". Not a joke but, I can think of a few.
Friendly correction: THREE ambassadors to Hollywood: Mel Gibson, Sylvester Stallone and Jon Voight. jeez. Is this his idea of a Ministry of Propaganda?
I firmly believe that trump loathes America - and is trying to do everything in his power to make it a world wide laughing stock. And then destroy it. . .
All those "nasty" comments about him over the years have turned him into a bitter old man.
Hah.. Ms MisTBlu, a million here a million there, no biggy. As for you an me, we miss onemore payment on that rusted out Nissen Pathfinder and the repo-man/woman/TG/etc is gonna click onto it and haul it back to the bank. No love lost there.
Nope. Cave is exactly the right word. If she remembers her oath, she will not vote for him. If she has a shard of integrity, she won't vote for him. She has no integrity and has no oath but to her own aggrandizement.
Oh piffle. Read what I mean, you never know if the author misspelled, or if autocorrect autocorrected badly, and you might mis something important while focusing on the wrong thibg,you know what I mean? That sort off cognitive rigidity results in many misunderstandings. And the willingness to discount a message because of spelling errors mainly suggests looking for any excuse to discount the message, didn't it?
Whoa! Dial back on the coffee, Notes! I was simply complimenting you on your correct spelling - I don't give a shit if people use "tenants" - it's just nice to see that someone got the right word!
Jeez, I'll stop saying nice things to people in future. . .
I disagree, Notes. Sometimes people are unaware of, for instance, that tenents and tenants describe different things. Or unaware that a flag flies at half mast only aboard a vessel on the water; it flies at half staff on land. Or that Republican is both a noun and an adjective, while Democrat is a noun and Democratic is an adjective.
When someone, like an earlier poster, uses the noun, Democrat, instead of the adjective, Democratic, I can hear the Cult spitting out Democrat like an insult. You may be generous and think that it's a typo. You may even be generous and think that it's a lack of education. But I can only hear it (or read it) as something intentionally mean and malicious.
Reading the Bible is only valuable if one pays attention to what is being read. I'd suggest "thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself", followed by the story of the good Samaritan.
First, that assumes he can read… second, the actual Christian part of the bible would be appropriate, despite it seeming to be foreign to right wing so called ‘Christians’- the message, over and over, is ‘Love Thy Neighbor’
Stop asking yourself Rhonda how this happened, rather ask how someone like Mu$k,that made 170 billion in 40 days since election day ,vowed to cut 2 trillion from the US budget even if it inflicted "hardship" on the American people.
Ricardo, I've been saying for a few weeks now that, in order for a massive shift away from trumpism (and its attendant oligarchy, etc.) to happen in this country, we must collectively endure hardship. The Guardian just published an opinion piece stating the same, and suggests that Congressional Dems no longer help out the Republicans-- no more votes to keep the country funded, or for any other purpose includong Senate confirmations. Let them try to govern on their own. Yes, hardship will ensue, but given that that's what they want, perhaps voters will finally get it and vote them out in 2026 and 2028.
I believe that my prayer will be answered: the GOP will self-implode. I see the schism already taking place--the egos at play are truly large and unhealthy....
Thank you, Notes On Useful Beauty. I've been convinced from the very beginning that Harris won. And there are other sites analyzing the data that clearly show something was amiss. My question is why this hasn't been made public by people who could make things happen to get things corrected. With each passing day, my heart sinks further. We are living a Shakespearean tragedy and are being forced into a nightmare that was a cleverly executed con job of the highest order that probably included outside forces (countries) as well. My philosophical self says it is happening for a reason of a higher order we cannot possibly understand right now. Hoping I can live long enough to see the shift happen towards a better planet for us all. In the meantime, we have to stay safe and do well unto others.
I don't know why this is not being picked up by major media. I just keep pasting it everywhere it seems even slightly appropriate. Hopefully the right eyes will see it sooner or later. I have sent it to many public figures who have email addresses. Please help spread the word.
It's not being picked up because it is speculative bullshit. To suggest some kind of massive vote counting fraud across ALL the precincts in North Carolina is such BS that it doesnt deserve any kind of response.
How would that even happen without a massive conspiracy? Voting machines are carefully guarded and there are literally thousands of them.
And IF you were going to conduct that kind of conspiracy WHY would you ONLY do it in the Presidential race and NOT in the AG race and Governors race too? Those are important statewide races so if you COULD fix the Presidential race then might as well while you are at it get your GOP governor and AG in too.
The obvious answer is that people in NC wanted the Democratic candidates for Gov and AG and didn't want KHarris as President. That just MIGHT be a better and more accurate explanation for a statewide trend that voted for the local Democrats but not for the national one.
Another reason is TRUMP is famous and has already been President and people wanted him (not sure WHY but obviously they did) but didn't know or like the GOP candidates for other offices.
Get over it. There was no conspiracy. There almost never Is a conspiracy except a conspiracy of ignorance. It's tough to accept but the majority of people in the US voted for Trump.
Time to move on and start worrying how to save our country rather than fretting over what you can't change.
If that 'Ark' will float.., then get it floated. That'll be the take-down of the century. But, right now, it looks like another cure for ED... 6 bottles for$49. Better to Stop/Look/Listen.., cause a train-wreck is going to occur, one way or another.., "Wait for it".
Of course it happened. It happened the same way Biden beat Trump in 2020. People voted. 7 million FEWER people voted for Harris than Biden. You don't make that many votes "disappear" by magic. They disappeared because people were pissed at Biden and by implication Harris and decided to sit this one out.
And oh yeah, she's black and a woman. That sadly had SOMETHING to do with it too.
I'm a student of history and I can see how it happened. It's not that I'm any sort of historian. The basics are always the same. It's only the names and some of the techniques that change. We're going back to the 1920s (or maybe the 1850s) socially and economically. We came close to second revolution in during the Great Depression during the 30s. FDR prevented it with the New Deal even though the rich fought him. I don't know if we'll be that lucky a second time.
I learned about the Holocaust in grade school and asked the same question. Leafing through Life Magazine I remember coming across a photo of Hitler and thousands of people saluting him, thinking: they all look so normal, how could they possibly not see the evil, certainly this could never happen here. And yet, here it is happening in real time. What is truly indigestible is that it happened via God-given free will....
Words of Benjamin Franklin……. “I think a General Government necessary for us, and there is no form of government, but what may be a blessing to the people if well administered; and believe further, that this is likely to be well administered for a course of years, and can only end in despotism, as other forms have done before it, when the people shall become so corrupted as to need despotic government.”
Democracy works if we can keep it and “we” have let our guard down.
The final sentence is the most telling. The GOP abandoning financial support of public education, coupled with the passage by SCOTUS of the Orwellian-named “Citizen’s United” has created the voting block that twice now have rejected competent female leaders when contrasted with a side-show huckster.
Forehead slap!
We are living once again, in the long arc of the moral universe bending….towards the amoral
We may not be laughing but what are we doing about it. That moron is in favor of martial law and thinks Tienmen (sp) Square was a good way to treat peaceful protesters. It's time for another revolution.
The first revolution was against an overseas monarchy that used muskets and sailing vessels (motorized boats hadn't been invented yet).
A current revolution would be against a resident monarch (or dictator is you prefer) that has a 2 million strong military with nuclear weapons, machine guns and jet fighters.
It's not a fight I think we could even START let alone win.
The only way to beat these folks is with words. And it won't be easy.
Yassss.....the bible on which he will swear his oath, will be, no doubt, one that he sold to the Chief Justice with the fake leather binding of which he so glowingly crowed. They may just as well not use a bible; let him simply say that: "I promise to do all that stuff that you guys expected my predecessors to do. That should suffice." (Of course, except one of his predecessors, which was him.)
In a perfect world, or fantasy world, the moment that criminal puts his hand on that Bible, held by the supreme crooked justice, the crowd would call out, in one voice …. LIAR!
He will probably have his Bible to swear on which further brings out his lies because supposedly he has the constitution in the Commandments in there the commandments are in the Bible, but he doesn’t know how to follow any of that. He is never true to his word, he’s an fuxxing 🤥 liar
We been having a growing oligarchy since the Regan 's years Mary. The gap between them and us growing bigger even under democratic administrators. We are as guilty as they are for "what tragic day for America "
except - as Heather says in this column and many others - that Biden and Harris have NOT beeng just as guilty. They have been working to turn it around, and did start to turn it around. Unfortunately, that turn is about to be reversed.
FDR, with his long tenure in office, was able to see some of the good of his policies come to life. He had the very able assistance of Frances Perkins.
John, unfortunately President Biden was no physically fit to complete another four years and his policies didn't bear fruit yet. Had he and Kamala Harris able to keep administrating this country, it would be comparable to the Roosevelt years.
Widow of opportunity. Maine. “Do you want to set a $5,000 limit for giving to political action committees that spend money independently to support or defeat candidates for office?”
This will be appealed. Since Buckley v. Valeo in 1976, the Supreme Court has allowed contributions to be regulated when there is a risk of “quid pro quo” corruption, essentially a favor for a favor. In the case of elections, if there is a risk someone could be making a donation to a candidate in exchange for a favor, only then can Congress regulate that contribution. In 2010, the Supreme Court extended this reasoning to corporations and unions in Citizens United v. Federal Election Campaign Act.
Three months later, in SpeechNow.org v. FEC, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld that contributions to groups making independent expenditures can’t corrupt or create the appearance of corruption. That decision essentially created the “super PAC,” which can receive unlimited contributions but can’t contribute directly to candidates. Other lower federal and state courts followed suit, and the ruling was never reviewed by the Supreme Court.
In 2012, SCOTUS reversed a decision of the Montana Supreme Court that had upheld a Montana state law prohibiting corporations from making expenditures supporting or opposing candidates or political parties. The Court held that the Montana decision was inconsistent with the high court’s ruling in Citizens United. Montana state law prohibited corporations from making contributions or expenditures in “connection with a candidate or a political committee that supports or opposes a candidate or a political party.” Under that law, corporations may instead establish political action committees (PACs) known as separate segregated funds in order to make political contributions or expenditures.
The worst example is the Colorado ballot case -- Anderson. 10th Amendment: The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
Voting is a state matter. Not preempted. All the rules relating to voting according to SCOTUS precedent are state matters unless discrimination is involved. E.G. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gill_v._Whitford
I understand that 83 billionaires made donations to Kamala Harris's campaign so although it's doubtless true that some uber-wealthy tycoons are likely to exert a more profound influence on the policies of the incoming administration than ever before there is clearly a much bigger problem with American politics. The Citizens United case in 2010 opened the door to new avenues through which these people were able to bankroll their pet politicians to advance their own interests, but this was already happening as more and more wealthy people established ersatz charitable foundations (Scaife, Koch, DeVos etc.) that are used to channel support to right-wing think tanks and lobby groups. The whole enterprise is covered in great detail by the New Yorker's Jane Mayer in her book, 'Dark Money'. I would also recommend historian Nancy MacLean's 'Democracy in Chains'. They make for some chilling reading. A change of political control isn't going to fix this.
The horrible political situation we are now in is definitely a result of Citizens United. The pieces of this robber baron takeover have been assembled a little at a time, until they spring their trap. Wresting the government back from these evil folks will be long, difficult, and dangerous. They are the “planter class” of the 21st century. They have the same mindset as James Henry Hammond with his “mudsill theory.” You know, some people are just meant to be on the bottom of society. Others, like Hammond were better and meant to be on top. Google John Henry Hammond.
Russell it's undoubtedly true that there's a problem with America politics. Those 83 billonathat donated to the Kamala campaign most likely did the same to the other party, a common practice just in case. It's also true that Citizens United made the influence of money in politics much worse.
Thanks for your rational replay and the information provided.
False Equivalence Russell. The office is called the Executive and what we would prefer is voting in someone who is offering to provide service and efficient management to the country. Harris was that candidate, Trump was there to save himself from jail and to line his pockets. One was a genuine candidate and the other was an outlaw. If billionaires were hedging their bets, that sucks but that is the state of politics now...MONEY, either way.
I apologise for not making myself clear. What I meant was that it seems to me that neither of the two political parties is serious about meaningful electoral reform. What one can do as citizens is to demand that your representatives take this issue seriously by raising the issue in public forums. I know this will seem a little glib, but you will need critical mass to achieve results. Look. for instance, at what happened when the Republicans sought to remove key benefits from the Affordable Care Act last time Trump was in office - there were angry town hall protests up and down the country and Trump wisely dropped the bill like a hot potato. Trump and the Republicans have actively encouraged Americans to be distrustful of government and other institutions but this is like grabbing a tiger by its tail - you can't let go for fear of being eaten.
You are 💯 % correct Russell. People will finally react to the results of the billionaires policies and we have to be ready for that moment. We have to pressure our leaders and legislators in Congress to be ready as well.
It's kind of an iron rule of populism that to remain successful a populist has to continue to be popular. Trump manages to avoid the pitfalls of populism by blaming others for his own failings and sadly they mostly seem to accept the blame. Many members of his previous administration are now publicly rueing their fecklessness, some even to the point of denouncing him.
If history is an indicator, then a total economic and social collapse of the American Empire is the only event that will bring about change.
Keep in mind that tycoons are not vivifiers, but parasites on a society. When the host is no longer viable, they will also expire or move on to another host.
We've had an oligarchy for some time. Now, they control 99% of the pie, rather than just 90%, and limitless hubris has led a few of them to 'go public'. The corruption will be astounding. Hang on to your loved ones, your sanity, and your wallets.
Another "Royal F---ing". Howz that.? The "royals" screwed the people in England and Europe and the "people" came to America to let their asses heal. Now look what has happened.., we have a royal shithead in charge. Bend over, Rover is taking over.
It's way too early for cynicism. Trump won because of inflation. He did not win by much. People want to know what oligarchy means. I can relate. I didn't really know what it meant until I read Synder's piece comparing Trump's team to Gilligan's Island. Resistance + administrational dysfunction are going to be on our side. Do not give in to cynicism. Self-care!
"Musk’s investment has paid off: Faiz Siddiqui and Trisha Thadani of the Washington Post reported that he made more than $170 billion in the weeks between the election and December 15."
The 'good news'? All oligarchies are unsustainable because capitalism is inherently unsustainable. The pressing issue is how to combat them, minimize their damage, and restore democracy. Read Timothy Snyder's body of works starting with Tyranny. Then Google: ''Resourceism'' (with two E's) for a way to both preserve democracy and improve it.
Which is why he doesn't sell it. He just uses his companies to pay for everything and take loans against the value of his stocks. It's all a game to them.
An interesting interview I watched on dw.com. 🤔 The author of a book -- using a broader definition of oligarchy -- on America's gaping divergence of wealth stated his belief that the United States started out as an oligarchy. 😲The struggle we face today, albeit acute, is one with which the Republic has had to contend for two hundred, fifty years. 🫣 Part of our national story. ✍️
One sobering point about three men with a trillion dollars of net worth. That combined wealth is larger amount than the G.D.P.s of all but seventeen countries; it corresponds to the level of the Netherlands. That is comparing apples and oranges in comparing a balance sheet (i.e., net worth) with an income statement (G.D.P.). It serves to illustrate the scale of wealth. ⚖️
Mr Bessent is qualified and should be confirmed, though I do not welcome his answers. He strikes me as having the integrity to stand up to Trump when the chips are down, much like for Attorneys General Sessions and Barr ultimately did.
(Oligarchy has been a long time coming. Building strength and concentrating forces in industry Since 1981. It’s this new merger with information technology and social media that has cemented their power. They now have direct power over the masses with unregulated mass communications and military grade persuasion targeting and tools at their fingertips. The Mining of personal data is the new currency. The Tech Reich is upon us.)
I love that last sentence. "Last night, after President Biden’s warning, Google searches for the meaning of the word “oligarchy” spiked."
Social contracts, governments of one kind or another and other forms of rule and control: Oligarchy. Patriarchy, Authoritarianism, Hegemony, Autocracy, Totalitarianism, Theocracy, Imperialism, Dictatorship, Despotism, Monarchy, Fascism, Dystopian whatever, Republicanism, Communism, Socialism annnnd the thing that most of the developing world gravitated to: A Liberal Democracy. Unfortunately that form is vulnerable to most of those previous forms. Me, I guess the best examples of what I would like see would be what the Scandinavian countries have developed but they are just as vulnerable to being torn down by the far right and disaffected populations as any of the countries that are succumbing to the right wing nowadays. We (America) wanted to proselytize Liberal Democracy, sell it to all the rest of the worlds' countries but we have succumb to the avarice of the few wealthy. The richest man in the world can put $200,000,000. down on a "bet" and not think about it, see it as a cheap investment. AND HE IS NOT AN AMERICAN!
Mary - or we could look at this moment as our great awakening to remedy this farcical scenario by going forth in unity to defend our democracy without fear or favor. Hail. Hail. The liberty bell for freedom rings across all the world for the light of truth and justice for all and in this moment our faith and courage prevail 🥁🇺🇸🗽❤️🕯️🌻🕊️
Dear Mary - Indeed the oligarchy begins. I've finally landed upon an article that describes where the nation is headed beginning this month. It is entitled "Countering Nationalist Oligarchy." This particular passage captures perfectly what we can expect, "Oligarchies remain in power through two strategies: first, using divide-and-conquer tactics to ensure that a majority doesn’t coalesce, and second, by rigging the political system to make it harder for any emerging majority to overthrow them. " The election rigging is already underway in red states and the rigging is desperately trying to gain prominence in blue states. This cannot be good for the majority of Americans.
The President’s speech did not contain any surprises, but was an apt warning.
What is more disturbing, and indicative of things to come, is the arrogance the Trump nominees have displayed thus far during their confirmation hearings. The disingenuous smiles, the smirks, the confidently evasive non-answers, the continuing denial to confirm the outcome of the 2020 Election.
The only confirmation taking place is that of the neutering of the United States Senate – a neutering in which the Majority party is complicit: They are collaborators, with all the evil that term conjures.
Until about a month ago they controlled the U.S. Senate. If they'd called a vote, they could have ruled the orange felon legally disqualified from ever again holding any public office. The Constitution is most explicit on that.
Article 14, Section Three says a vote on disqualification may free from it anyone who gets 2/3 of both houses of Congress voting for that freedom. If either house votes but does not reach the 2/3 for that freedom (in this case, simply the U.S. Senate), that person, by that vote, remains legally disqualified.
Yes, R Dooley, the current majority party "is complicit," as you say.
But by their failure to affirm disqualification per Article 14, Section Three, Dems, too, "are collaborators, with all the evil that term conjures."
What happens when a Democratic President, working for the greater good of the people goes against the Silicon Valley Oligarchs? His nomination is rescinded. His accomplishments and achievements are tarnished and buried under lies. There is a delicate dance of complex forces necessary to win and then more to sustain the reality. To say Dems are Culpable of over supporting business into oligarchy is true but it’s also oversimplifying.
Ted, here's a brief grammar lesson. In English, we have nouns (person/place/thing) and adjectives (modifiers of nouns). A Democrat usually espouses democratic values, but anyone who believes in democracy, regardless of party affiliation, can self-identify as a democrat rather than as an autocrat.
Not sure you got my point but caught a typo. Biden got hosed because he stood up to Elon and the Zuck to protect the average citizen. Thus became the victim of a $250 million plus disinformation and influence campaign about the economy and identity politics issues. Oligarchs wielding that much power, Democrats are outgunned, out financed, and democracy is in existential peril. ( I’m less worried about my grammar, but sure, thanks for the lesson)
Apparently, disqualification via section 3 of 14th amendment can only be imposed if the person has been found guilty of insurrection. Because Trumps case was never brought to trial, and those who were sentenced for Jan 6th crimes, were not charged with insurrection, it could not be held as a precedent.
The video below outlines this in more detail - you can skip the history lesson and jump ahead 10mins to how it applies to Trump.
Phil, I spent a lot of time researching that. The language of the 14th and the definition of the word "insurrection" do not mention any formal adjudication for insurrection. I suspect that there is a procedural way for a finding of conduct that supports the action of insurrection, and I firmly believe that the lack of any adjudication is what the sticking point is with any findings of insurrection or conduct of insurrection.
The text of the 14th Amendment is very clear, and I firmly believe that a final decision on defining the conduct of January 6 would have to be made by the $upreme Court.
Both houses need to give 2/3 approval to free an insurrectionist of disqualification. Any one house of Congress that denies that 2/3 vote thereby leaves that insurrectionist disqualified from public office.
Supreme Court -- clearly per Article 14, Section Three -- has nothing to do with it.
Phil, I think the sticking point lies in what is insurrectionist conduct and how the conduct is “proved” to be that of insurrectionist behavior.
We get muddled up with definitions, and who decides what constitutes insurrection. In my opinion, what I saw on January 6th was 100% an attempted insurrection. I think this topic is worthy of further study and perhaps establishing some guidelines for identifying such conduct.
The problem with this response is that it utterly ignores the two Supreme Court decisions that disallowed the use of Article Fourteen, section 3 to take Trump off the stage for good. Absent those decisions, we very likley wouldn’t be in this destructive place.
The U.S. Senate, James, could have, should have voted.
Article 14, Section Three vests all power in the houses of Congress finally to decide disqualification. Nobody else. The language is precisely clear. The Supreme Court must honor such expressly clear language. Not even the corrupt Clarence Court can arrogate itself above the highest law of the land.
The d's are complicit through their fears and their inability to actually see what has been going on for 45 years! And if they did see it they were and are completely paralyzed to do anything even when they had the opportunity and the power. Clinton was all in on courting the corporations for money - and the beat goes on and regular people pay and suffer and decline...the next four years will be a living hell for poor people, women, LGBTQ folks and the middle class, not to mention the environment and all the creatures of the Earth.
I appreciate Biden and I think he did a decent job, but let’s face it. The guy is kind of milk toast. He’s old-school. Trying to reconcile with the unreconcilable. we need to go after these people they’re criminals they’re corrupt. And the corruption starts at the head and it’s rotten and it stinks and it needs to be said over and over and over again by every single person who can speak or write.
Unfortunately not only those who hold powerful offices within our government but so-called good religious folk have in my opinion "mysteriously" fallen under the spell of Trump.....or have been terrified at the loss of their jobs or of their life or of having unsavory secrets revealed...if they oppose him.
These are strange times. I have always believed that amongst the hoards of humanity in the USA, we had heroes.
When my little brother and I played "cowboys" we each took turns at being "the bad guy" or " the good guy." The bad guy was always to be defeated....neither of us wanted to play "the bad guy". In today's society...standards have switched!!!!
Rather, Pax, it did not have the 2/3 to convict impeachment.
Article 14, Section Three does not say 2/3 are necessary to prove disqualification. It says, instead, anyone wanting release from disqualification needs 2/3 to release (from both houses of Congress).
Article 14, Section Three was written at a time when everyone knew who Lee was, and Longstreet, and the other Confederate generals.
In our time we all know who the Proud Boys were, and the other "Christian nationalists, and fascist knaves. We all know what the orange felon spent all his time doing prior to Jan. 6. We all know what he did (and didn't do) that day.
The 14th amendment need not specify jury trial or any other normal legal means to designate these in our time insurrectionists. It need not do that. Does not do that. It only provides remedy for anyone wishing release from disqualification. And -- clearly -- anyone getting voted on for such release, and failing to reach the 2/3 constitutionally stipulated for release, remains disqualified.
Phil, the one dream I have is that the people wake up and see that the R’s and the D’s both have major issues. Pointing out that D’s missed the boat on many issues that they could have acted on and didn’t makes me want to create a brand new party. I would call it the Peoples’ Party.
No, John, read it. Read Article 14, Section Three.
The 2/3 vote is required to free one from disqualification. It is not required to disqualify.
Were any insurrectionist innocent of insurrection, a 2/3 vote of both houses of Congress could confirm innocence.
Either house voting less than 2/3 on one's wish to be freed of disqualification legally imputes that person as remaining disqualified from any public office.
Read the actual words, John. It's law. The highest law of the land.
Phil, I feel your frustration in trying to explain this. It seems so clear, but the problem is that the mainstream media countered what is true, stating it was impossible to use the 14th amendment, section 3 to disqualify Trump, purposely misleading people. And most people are going with that argument, even though it doesn't hold water. What bothers me is how the Congress did not do their job on January 6th, when this simple act could have saved us all from Trump. And the fact that they chose not to only reinforces what people believe.
''Until about a month ago they controlled the U.S. Senate. If they'd called a vote, they could have ruled the orange felon legally disqualified from ever again holding any public office. The Constitution is most explicit on that.''
To which provision of the Constitution are you referring?
No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may, by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.
No need for conviction, just “engagement” is sufficient to deny holding office to participants in rebellion.
My question is what explicit language in the Constitution states that the Senate has the power sua sponte to make a ruling under the 14th amendment or any other provision of the Constitution.
That is the statement to which I was referring. It is the statement I quoted above my question.
I see what you are saying. The 14th just addresses the removal of a disqualification by 2/3 vote. I’m not a lawyer, but the 14th doesn’t say a conviction is needed for insurrection or giving aid and comfort to the insurgents to be a disqualifying issue.
SCOTUS would need to clarify. To me, the “defendant” would possibly have recourse through the Court after being disqualified by the 14th. Yet, that ruling could nullify the Amendment itself.
Remember the fight over whether the wording applied to the President or just every other office holder other than him.
I wonder why we can’t prevent Trump from holding office. The 14th doesn’t refer to election, just holding. But then we would have a major Constitutional crisis and probably major violence.
As Rick Wilson has Brilliantly put it.... 'Everything That Trump Touches Dies'... DJT has Broken the 'Rule-Of-Law', Torched The Constitution. and the USG....
I also saw the evidence that the nominees displayed an arrogance unlike I have ever seen before. The hearings were rigged to only allow one 7 minute question period without additional turns. So, as per the Trump legal strategy, they ran out the clock with non-answers and irrelevant talking points. These candidates were obviously told to “entertain” the base and Trump will ensure their appointments.
tRump never wins unless it is rigged. He cannot win in court unless he has a judge that is corrupt- Cannon - SCOTUS. When faced with a judge that actually upholds the law and or a jury of his peers - HE LOSES. Smith's report proved that.
“… only confirmation taking place is that of the neutering of the United States Senate,” thanks for aptly describing what was happening in the confirmation hearings, they were nauseating to watch.
With the exception of Rubio’s, the hearings were like witnessing a real time meltdown of any remaining bits of character or integrity. As hard as I tried to hear a legitimate Republican question or response, there was not a single one.
The absolute fury Sen. Duckworth must have felt when questioning Hegseth is unimaginable, someone who gave so much (and continues to serve with such honor) for someone who deserves so little (and has no honor).
Charlottesville, New Orleans, Las Vegas, any given school shooting. We are already at war. Myanmar is a good place to look how fast things can deteriorate.
Inequality is a choice and it is determined by our elected officials. I think the unhealthy state of the US economy resides with the Republican party - it undermines the power of workers and eviscerates regulation, which effects health and safety. How to govern the oligarchs and their monopolies so they don't continue to be exploitative, and which have no application to the practical life of normal Americans.
It’s remarkable to me how easily Americans are manipulated by Trump’s lies. Musk has caught on and is likewise spreading lies and misinformation to his vast X following. Zuckerberg allowing lies to spread on FB, Bezos, Murdoch, et al, buying up media and controlling the narrative and info we receive. In spite of our robust economy, thanks to Joe Biden, the media told us that we’re broke because of inflation, but like a miracle, the day after the election. now everyone was feeling much better financially.
I’m still stunned that he was elected president again after literally trying to steal the 2020 election and found guilt of sexual assault and a convicted felon, oh and let’s not forget the two impeachments. He lies as easily as he breathes. WTF?? Everyone lives in their media bubble, but there is zero critical thinking going on right now in our country. That’s where we lose our democracy. I guess our country as we know it has 3 days left.
What i have seen is a bunch of nominees who have been unfairly attacked by lying liberals like Adam Schiff yet have held their composure and clearly indicated that they are ready to start fixing the mess that Biden and company have made.
I do as well Daniel.....shrinking of the federal government, end to lawfare, securing the border, lower inflation, higher real wages, the end of identity politics and dei, return of law and order and the most kick arse military in the history of the world. How can any of that be bad for the lawful citizens of the USA?
I could get into a 'discussion' with you, theff, but I have a treatment to attend to right now. I'll just say, you show signs of possibly emerging from the cult, and I pray you can. The inversion of your above statements is what we'd like for you to look closely at, and then apply them to the real world of today. The hoped-for epiphany may be the final lever to release you from the hold the cult still has on you. Should you agree to accept this self examination, that is. Best of luck.
I hope your treatment goes well Daniel....I say that with all the sincerity in the world as my wife went through dozens of treatments this past year that unfortunately stopped in Sept at age 52. I will pray for your health sir....
Thank you kindly, theff. And my heartfelt condolences. Mine is controllable, as long as I can continue receiving my health care. Sadly, in today's America, that is not guaranteed, particularly beginning next week. For what it's worth, I have a dear friend who leads a wonderful group, and you may be interested. Here's the link: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=9633896239972157&set=g.570328579738314
I hope that will take you to the correct page; I'm a bit of a techno-idiot!
I'm not sure in a theoretical sense many if not most would agree. Few want government to over-reach, as when government dictates what health care is available to women. Few want lawfare, from either side, but the creation of a "blacklist" of political enemies has never ended well. The rest? OK let's agree on those, DEI went too far (not all white people are evil), identity politics has a negative side (math is not inherently racist), and the world needs us to have an effective military. But what makes you think Trump is the one to do these things? Why didn't he do these in his first term? What is bothersome is the man has no principles, no ethical grounding, no credibility.
I do believe that Trump has the absolute best chance of accomplishing these things of the 2 candidates. Do you believe Kamala Harris recognizes that dei went too far taking into consideration the fact that she wanted to offer incentives to black people only to start businesses? I use that just as an example. I'm not saying he is perfect but I do believe he loves this country.
I do believe that Trump has the absolute best chance of accomplishing these things of the 2 candidates. Do you believe Kamala Harris recognizes that dei went too far taking into consideration the fact that she wanted to offer incentives to black people only to start businesses? I use that just as an example. I'm not saying he is perfect but I do believe he loves this country.
Yes, I believe Harris was better equipped and more capable to address the issues. Listening to her acceptance speech and interviews it was clear she was a moderate on cultural issues and better on economic ones. we are doing well economically, better than most. Let me know what specific program you are referring to? I am a70 year old white middle class man retired after 30 years of service in law enforcement, the son of white collar middle class WWII combat veteran. And I recognize that I had advantages others did not. I will not say I am privileged as it makes me cringe being a term often misused by those who don't understand the difference between advantage and privilege. Yet, I recognize in a nation dedicated to the proposition that all are created equal, we should do what we can to live up to what we say we are. Details would help, but generally I have no problem with programs intended to further our American Ideal. I suffer no guilt nor am not slighted when others are helped.
Susan to answer your question I am a hard working middle class American who is hopeful that this nation can become great again. I know you must hate trump but surely you would like to see the bloated federal bureaucracy reduced.....surely you want at least some of the things I mentioned to happen....right?
I'm curious what bloat do you see in the federal government? What specific programs or services would you cut? I am of the mind that we should always be frugal when it comes to government spending and everything can be reformed, updated, or examined to determine if it is relevant, effective and efficacious. It's why we have a OGA. I ask because we have heard this from politicians from every side, but the devil is in the details. We agree no one wants bloat, waste or fraud. But how can one argue we need to cut 2/5 ths of the budget without having a plan?
Gary I do agree that the devil is in the details and it seems like have 2 very successful businessmen who's success can be attributed at least to some extent to controlling and where appropriate eliminating cost to specifically look at cutting costs is a good idea. As for me I would cut any expenses that have to do with diversity, equity and inclusion for starters.
Now since I have addressed your question can you address this....do you believe that the federal government is run efficiently?
Do I believe the federal government is run efficiently? Overall, yes. Consider the administrative costs of the VA and Medicare to those of private health plans. Could we do better? Probably. The problem is people confuse improving efficiency with conceding there is bloat or fraud, or that improving efficiency means the system is inefficient as it exists. Because I want to make a car faster doesn't mean it's slow. So, Why would one think being a successful businessman makes for a good government leader? They are very different entities with very different goals. How is creating DOGE efficient? Creating a commission to do what is already being done. Kind of like creating a Space Force to do what the USAF already did. No, I am not interested in a self serving businessman being the leader of a government meant to serve the people.
My response to this letter highlights the core question of this era: will Americans rise to meet the challenge of preserving democracy against an encroaching oligarchy? Heather Cox Richardson’s analysis underscores a stark historical parallel—each time a concentrated elite has sought to commandeer government for its own enrichment, a coalition of everyday Americans has fought back, insisting on a government that serves the many, not the few.
From Lincoln's fight against the "money-kings" of the antebellum South to FDR's battle with the "organized money" of the Great Depression, history shows that collective action can overcome entrenched power. But history also teaches that such fights require clarity of purpose, solidarity across diverse groups, and a willingness to take on systems designed to divide and conquer the public.
Today, with billionaires like Musk, Bezos, and Zuckerberg aligning themselves with government power, the stakes couldn’t be clearer. These individuals are not just influencing policy—they are reshaping democracy itself to serve their interests, masking their consolidation of power with the same culture wars that have distracted Americans for generations.
Biden’s warning was not just a reflection on the present but a call to action. His administration’s success in narrowing income inequality, creating full employment, and strengthening the social safety net demonstrates that policy matters. But these gains will mean little if Americans do not "roll up their sleeves" once more to resist a government increasingly steered by a tech elite intent on austerity and profit at the public's expense.
The question is not whether Americans can fight back—it’s whether we will summon the collective will to do so. This means standing up to policies that prioritize billionaires over workers, rejecting culture war distractions, and organizing in every community to reclaim a government that is truly "of the people, by the people, and for the people."
As i have written to Richardson, the need for a refresher on the tactics of robber barons and modern oligarchs is clear. History is repeating, but the story is not yet written. The fight against oligarchy is not just a political struggle; it’s a moral one. Will Americans meet the challenge? The answer lies in whether we are ready to do what previous generations did: organize, act, and refuse to accept that democracy can coexist with unchecked plutocracy.
The future of democracy is in our hands. Let’s not waste the moment.
Elaine all of this. Thank you for your eloquence. Here are the roadblocks for actually engaging the people who voted for the Felon in Chief or are complicit in his election by failing to vote. [1] The Progressive Era was super beneficial to white men. It did not include women, people of color, immigrants from southern and eastern Europe. All of us (and I am a female whose southern and eastern European near ancestors arrived in the middle of that era) were locked out. It preserved and strengthened patriarchy by appealing to white men of the working classes. The current tactics of the christofascists to promote white male supremacy at the expense of everyone else actually reflects the values of the Progressive Era when it comes to the rest of us. [2] This is an extension of point [1]. The contraction of the abyss between rich and poor that occurred before the Reagan Era covers only the people who were employed. That means that all of the people mentioned above--who now make up the majority of the work force--are not included in any statistical analysis of the historical range of incomes and wealth. And that means that the christofascists can BLAME us for the widening disparity between rich and poor. [3] Ironically, the greatest point of contraction between rich and poor was the Great Depression because so many people who got rich from a completely unregulated stock market lost everything. But the hardships of the era, which FDR's New Deal attempted to moderate, were embraced by the Other Side (Republicans), who saw the Depression as an opportunity to promote the kakocrats. But because the emphasis of the New Deal was on enriching poor white men, FDR had support from them. This is not the case today.
I love that HCR uses historical analysis to provide examples of how we have been "here" before. But it is also important to understand that things are different today, not because of changes in technology but because of changes in society. We are now fighting a far larger monster, one that has historically been embraced by both sides: PATRIARCHY. If we cannot entrap, limit, and destroy PATRIARCHY we will not be able to accomplish anything. And that requires the re-education of a whole lotta people. I am not hopeful.
I like this assessment, Linda. Bringing in "the rest of us" threatens white men like they have never been threatened before. In a reply sometime this week, I postulated that a reason for the utter loathing and fear of gay men by straight men was the fear that another man could do to them what they routinely do to women with regard to sexual conduct/activity. **insert obligatory "not all men" here, just in case you don't think this doesn't apply to you** (and I will discuss what consent really means some other time).
And there it is! We have a great example of these requirements in the person of Eugene v. Debs. Clarity of purpose, striving toward solidarity and willingness and commitment to action, no matter the personal cost. He went to jail for it and ran for president from there- convict No. 9653. It would do us well to study this man.
"The question is not whether Americans can fight back—it’s whether we will summon the collective will to do so. This means standing up to policies that prioritize billionaires over workers, rejecting culture war distractions, and organizing in every community to reclaim a government that is truly "'of the people, by the people, and for the people.'"
This sounds "great" but look at the energy that so many of us expended to rally around and support the campaign of Kamala Harris and that, along with President Biden’s record of successful policies was not enough. We no longer have a leadership group that is strong enough to rally around. In a few days trump will have unlimited power handed to him by the SCOTUS, he will be the "commander in chief" of the most powerful military in the world (including a nuclear arsenal that can vaporize "civilization"), and an endless supply of money with which to buy, threaten, and bully whoever or whatever group of citizens or country he chooses. . IMO we're not going to get out of this by "bringing a knife to a gun fight". Democrats have been playing by the rules and the republicans have not.
We only need to look at Russia and China to see how it all works under a dictatorship with oligarchs in control. These dictatorships do not end well but to topple them will take decades with a lot of bad things happening in the interim. trump and his gang are not a benevolent group, and they will not relinquish power through any democratic processes.
Democracy, in order to survive, must have systems in place to protect it. America's Founders decided to let the voters decide hoping that the voters would be the vanguard against a tyrant. What they could not see was the methods of information delivery we have nor the dissolving of the media. They left the possibility of a tyrant being able to ascend to power due to no safeguards to prevent a tRump from ascending. They left that up to the people. The political parties became the vanguards and one party has decided to leave to the voters and made it possible for this conman to take over because it benefits them. The Lewis Powell Memo is the framework with Project 2025 is the plan. We are in for an Atlas Shrugged time. Lots of suffering and lots of wealth gathering.
[Published on the op-ed page of The Brunswick News on December 21, 2024]
Restoring common sense to serve the common good
As Americans suffer unnerving decline in objectivity and respect for facts – including irrational rejection of science – our growing inability to build consensus is hampering political decisions essential to progress. Due to this growing suspicion of truth, our capacity to understand and agree upon issues, priorities and corresponding remedies has become severely impaired.
Many observers have concluded that a major reason for the provocative distortion of reality is the corrupting influence of online social networks including Facebook, “X” [Twitter], and TikTok. Through these networks, biased, sometimes malicious, opinions are often fabricated as rumors, which are then transformed into unfounded conspiracy theories, spreading doubt and distrust among millions of users. The owners of social-media platforms are accused of profiting from algorithms guiding their operations, which encourage discord created by escalating rebellion against facts.
At the Center for a Sustainable Coast we firmly believe that the subversive disintegration of shared reality must be overcome if we hope to achieve the clarity of common sense vital to serving the common good. Like other non-profit organizations genuinely seeking to support the public interest, we are concerned that the reckless war on facts, left uncorrected, will paralyze [or corrupt] our institutions, preventing actions needed to resolve critically urgent challenges.
We agree with many assessments asserting that the social cohesion essential to a functional democracy must be restored. Until nominal objectivity can be achieved, we will remain vulnerable to those who profit by propagating disinformation, concentrating their power by impeding consensus crucial to advancing the common good.
Elaine, the Americans you have in mind won't rise to preserve democracy but they will, if we organize and help them if none of their expectations are met ,soon. When they feel the pain in their pockets, in the grocery shop, the gas pump, the rent, the social safety ner no responding etc. That's the moment we have to be ready to do our best.
Elaine you say that zuck has aligned himself with government power....yet just yesterday he said on the rogan show that officials from the Biden administration would regularly call his employees and cuss at them to take down content that questioned vaccine side effects. Can you explain that??
We need to spread the word that the top caste is writing the laws to build their wealth and power. Pay attention to the grocery prices and gas prices today and, when they go up, commiserate with your friends on the other side of the aisle “I wonder when Trump will lower prices like he promised!”
Paul Krugman, Nobel Prize Winner just said that the Working Class that Voted for DJT were Brutally Scammed which is DJT's MO.... Krugman, a former MIT and Princeton University professor and New York Times columnist, zeroed in on grocery prices. Trump said during his campaign that he would reduce them, but he's walked that claim back in recent weeks. When this Sinks-In, who will these People Blame, and what will they Do?
I have to disagree with the esteemed Mr. Krugman on this one. They CHOSE their horse in this race. After all of this time, his history, his lack of accomplishments in his last term, and his disdain for the "little people", why they would ever think he would help them is beyond comprehension. Their sources for information is on them, and which and which elites they decide are in their corner. The one thing I fault the Dems and the Biden Administration for is that their PR is terrible. They need a new marketing strategy pronto. Bang that drum of success! We are on the side of the working and middle class and no one seems to know it.
Trump is going to blame Biden for everything. He will blame Biden and the Democrats for prices that don’t go down and other promises he made that fail. We must remind our elected officials it’s Trump
"I have all the votes I need - I don't need anymore votes. The Speaker and I have a little secret." tRump never does anything without knowing he has the edge. Losing casinos was a tell tell as he was out of his league on them. You don't bankrupt casinos! He cannot win without rigging. It was how we won 2016 and would have 2020, but for his incompetence handling the pandemic.
Democracy and voters rose up, but the right decided voters cheated and proceeded to shrink the voter pool through the countless legislative moves throughout the states. Then comes Musk and here we are. Couple Musk with the Russian cyber skills and you get the 1.49% landslide. Surgical manipulation of buying votes (unethical, but not illegal), surgical propaganda (2016) at an even higher level then before.
Apache, you will be surprised at how well oiled their spread the BS machine is. They'll find a guilty someone to deflect their own guilt but only to a point. We have to have a similar machine ready for that moment, and that moment is coming.
The friends on the other side of the aisle should have read already that trump will not be able to lower prices for the everyday American, because it is 'too hard to do'. Just one of his many broken promises, broken even before he gets back into the White House.
This is another one of Trump's paradoxes. Hundreds of times, he whined about grocery and gas prices zeroing in on the expense side of household budgets.
But he rarely if ever mentioned the income side. He was asked at his McDonald's photo-op if he supports raising the minimum wage three times. And three times he refused to answer. As Heather points out --
"At his confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Finance today, Trump’s nominee for Treasury Secretary, billionaire Scott Bessent, said that extending the 2017 Trump tax cuts was "the single most important economic issue of the day." But he said he did not support raising the federal minimum wage, which has been $7.25 since 2009 although 30 states and dozens of cities have raised the minimum wage in their jurisdictions."
So the average billionaire and 1%er get an AVERAGE tax cut of $50K while up to 10 million people would benefit immediately from raising the Federal minimum wage to $15/hour.
And Trump and his boot-lickers want to repeal the ACA which would take away health care for millions of Americans and force many into bankruptcy when they experience a serious illness.
The 99% need to address the INCOME side of people's budget and tune out the MAGA noise of inflation.
Gary, great points. If a person was paid minimum wage and worked 40 hours a week that is $1160.00 in a 4 week month. Minus taxes and SS, im guessing take home around ~ $800. Who can live on that??
Marti, they don't read, they watch Fox propaganda so they don't know yet what felon 35 said about "too hard to do" but they are being bombarded with "news" about how bad the state of California is managing the fires 🔥
My friends on the other side are so imbedded in their disinformation that they will never, ever see that they have been lied to.
Early on, I had hoped that cognitive dissonance would emerge at some point. It was only recently that I realized that they were basing their entire world view on lies, disinformation, and what they were told by their preachers.
Bird flu ,consolidation off business and the immaturity of the American people for complaining but not stopping buying eggs for a week and find substitutes.
I disagree with referring to Vivek Ramaswamy as a pharmaceutical entrepreneur. He didn’t invent the phony pharmaceutical product, he bought and hyped it to pull all of his money out just before it was announced that it was a fraud. He’s just another Flim Flam man like everyone involved in the next administration.
I concur, and now there’s talk of putting him in Vance’s old Senate seat. I can’t stand car salesman Moreno, detest Vance (whom Peter Thiel bought for us,) and Ramaswamy is ridiculous. Ramaswamy may have to choose between a senate seat and the DOGE committee.
I read an opinion last night that DeWine would appoint his Lt. Gov instead, no longer beholden to Trump for votes. DeSantis didn’t kowtow either, putting one of his own faithful in Rubio’s Senate seat.
Jon Husted is the fascist leader of Ohio politics. One of the most corrupt politicians in the history of corrupt politics in Ohio. He probably has DeWeenie by the short hairs on this. There should be a firing squad in Husted's future, not a U.S. Senate seat.
Welcome to The Most Corrupt State of Ohio, the fascist laboratory of the U.S. If the DOJ were to investigate politics in Ohio, they would determine a giant wall around the state is the only way to attempt to contain the corruption.
As is Texas, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, W Virginia, Tennessee,....MAN, it's a long list!! But as one subjected to the fascism of Ohio, I stand by my assessment. But the race is definitely neck and neck. Sad, isn't it?
Quote: "At his confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Finance today, Trump’s nominee for Treasury Secretary, billionaire Scott Bessent, said that extending the 2017 Trump tax cuts was "the single most important economic issue of the day." But he said he did not support raising the federal minimum wage, which has been $7.25 since 2009 although 30 states and dozens of cities have raised the minimum wage in their jurisdictions." -Of course, the billionaire needs to have more money, more, more, more ... no doubt he will be confirmed soon. Why?
"Of all the preposterous assumptions of humanity over humanity, nothing exceeds most of the criticisms made on the habits of the poor by the well-housed, well- warmed, and well-fed." - Herman Melville
This is Putin's revenge for losing the Cold War. Trust me, he has a huge effect on Trump. The Chinese are working on replacing the US as the dominant world power and are well on their way. They will cooperate with the West as long as it serves their economic and political ends. After all, the reason they have so much wealth and technologt
technoloy is because we gave it to them through offshoring. Trump will cut business deals with them and will send even more of our wealth their way. Between them and the bloodsucking oligarchs here, the rest of us will be crushed.
Imagine any public official or media figure speaking for eight minutes or more, or writing 800 words or more – that this person would always key a character from a novel, biography, history, or memoir to whatever the message written or broadcast.
For human, personal literacy.
Schools teach the opposite now. For standardized testing and its oligarchs, abstracted categories count most. Packages. Groups. Numbered, chronological, or otherwise linear causalities. Reading segments always short – for tests, all must be shorn of larger context.
Imagine instead we put the person back in schools, key to all.
Unfortunately Phil nothing happened to correct the huge gap between the 1% and We the People during the Clinton and Obama administration and the extraordinary try by President Biden didn't have time to bear fruit. No much difference between the two parties since Regan and here we are, in the hands of a demagoge an billionaires that would make the gap even greater. 50 trillion dollars transferring up since 1980? . Just wait and see....
Dems happened to remain stubbornly, blithely out of touch with America's working classes.
Dems could have quoted from many apt novels, films, songs, memoirs, and other arts, and so shown their human, neighborly concern for so many millions and so many former industrial communities devastated by the predatory mass offshoring of U.S. jobs.
Dems could have "done" that.
They chose instead regularly to appear as wonk, abstracted, out-of-touch elites.
And then, to cap things off, they chose not to vote to enforce the Constitution's disqualification clause (last lines of Article14, Section Three). They chose, in other words, to ally themselves with all the worst oligarchs now gobbling up, poisoning, betraying the rest of America, endangering the health and privacy of American women, and threatening the dissolution of N.A.T.O. and the lives of democracies across the world.
“Get out of it? Imagine its opposite set of qualities?”
Position/opposition (opposite position) is exchanging one trap for another.
As Bucky Fuller said, you can't solve a problem at the level of abstraction it was created by. You have to take a step up in your abstracting.
In this case you are trying to solve the trap of positionality by taking another position which is just more positionality. It's the same as slacking your thirst with sea water. Good for a moment but deadly over time.
Figuring out anything within the same context yields only more of what that context makes visible, makes available.
Doing the intellectual work to arrive at that space beyond the intellect, the space of source which is before space, before time, which gives rise to space and time is from where (really nowhere) each one of us can generate a new paradigm of reality for our selves.
Only this paradigm is not the substitution of one paradigm for another paradigm like trading one position for another but rather moving into that space where you are responsible for whatever paradigm you are functioning in. This paradigm is the paradigm of paradigms.
I know that boggles the mind. Mind-boggling is needed to discover that which lays beyond the mind.
This is work that requires an unusual degree of openness and commitment to get pass the frustration encounter by dealing with what at first appears to be nonsensical.
If we’re only willing to deal in that which is immediately understandable we remain fixed in the paradigm and the contexts that particular paradiym reveals as possible or declares as impossible.
Being unwilling to engage in the work of thinking the unthinkable leaves us in that place that Shakespeare was speaking of with “Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow…”
What body/group/attractor could function as Secretary of Education that would hold this view alongside what currently is so that everyday people who might not be reached with Bern's words might also be brought into a state of 'yes'? A concept that before space and time might not be a long 'time' (clock time) ago but is always available? Betsy -- that's where your suggestion took me.
Exercising to 'loosen' the grips of what has been as a way of stretching to get more vivid possibilities into the space between what is and what might be.
January 21, 2025, marks 15 years since the Supreme Court’s ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, a controversial decision that reversed century-old campaign finance restrictions and enabled corporations and other outside groups to spend unlimited funds on elections. And the rule change that provides Fox News and social media no accountability.
The People's March, this Saturday, organized across the country presents the possibility of widely spreading understanding of what is at stake in the communities that have organized the event. Local speakers, local leaders, e.g. city council members, local and state legislators, can begin to mobilize resistance. We must cooperate to sustain each other in resisting these oligarchs. Just look at the wave of resignations from legacy media. We can forget a new path, one step at a time.
Carmen, if you're on a computer you can click the three dots on the right margin opposite your name, and get an "edit" function. If you're on an iOS device (unsure of any other mobile platform issues) it is hit and miss if you can edit a comment.
The people of Israel have been out on the streets of Tel Aviv EVERY DAY since January 2023. Will Americans do the same? Netanyahu is allowing Trump to claim responsibility for the cease fire. Let's see how long it last. If you do not know the answer. History has a few chapters about it...
Every day for two years, and Netanyahu is still in power. Marching is not enough. In our own country, we need to be attending, participating, speaking up, and running for office in town and city councils, school boards, and other local government bodies, and state legislatures, etc. The GOP was good at that; we can learn how, too. Speak to the needs of the marginalized and the poor, as well as teachers, healthcare workers, and small business owners.
It’s unbelievable isn’t it? My understanding is that after the election, the two most googled questions were “what is a tariff and who pays it” and “how do I change my vote”
Am I missing something when I note that Bernie Sanders has been raging on like a voice in the desert about much of this? FOR YEARS. None of this is new except for the fact that shameless big money is in open control today and blatantly bringing the oligarchs out of the shadows and into the White House having already bought SCOTUS and many state governments. This will make the job immensely harder. And a plurality of regular Americans voted against their own interests. Again.
Bernie should’ve been our 45th president. The DNC screwed us and forced Hillary down our throats. (Yes, of course I voted for her). But Bernie had a MASSIVE following. He was BELOVED. His message of wealth inequality and climate change resonated with millions of us. I blame my party for Trump now; it seems clear as day. They didn’t want Bernie. Establishment, money grubbing DEMOCRATS didn’t want Bernie. They shot themselves in the foot in their arrogance and stupidity - and that’s why we are a fascist oligarchy today. Am I wrong? No. I don’t think so.
Francine-Your comment is short but powerful. It’s always been about capital vs labor. The “ruling class” established systems and invented racism to insure that they can continue to divide and conquer labor.
When we learn about the details involved with Bacon’s Rebellion in the 1600s, slavery over 250 years and the excesses of the “gilded age”, we can clearly see how we got to this place. Reagan, the Powell memo, Citizens United etc are just continuations of our past. Only the truth about our nation’s history can set us free.
Aside from wishing that politicians would solve our problems we the people should be joining together to eliminate the divisions that give wealthy people control. Labor “unions” can play a role-so can education that is based on truth.
This election was a clear indication that America is not ready for change. We are reaping what has been sown for generations.
Good on you, Gregg. I was union for my entire career (except the motel maid/convenience store clerk, and pizza driver days). Our local Teamsters are on strike against our largest soda/beer distributor, and have been for months. I will not buy the products they deliver until the strike is settled.
This is good Ally! Simple support of solidarity. It is tangible and real. With solidarity of purpose there are opportunities. Without it there are none.
I really think that billboards are the last hope for America. MAGA will not watch, read or listen to anything but MAGA propaganda. If we had billboards with a picture of Musk, Bezos, and Zuckerberg all across Red states, with the words "These are OLIGARCHS!" written underneath, perhaps the message might start getting through.
I agree with you! I’ve been thinking that billboards will be our message board. Low tech, a few words, impossible to avoid seeing a billboard. Not necessarily cheap but…
Pulled Quote: "Trump’s nominee for Treasury Secretary, billionaire Scott Bessent, said that extending the 2017 Trump tax cuts [to the VERY rich, not you and me] was "the single most important economic issue of the day." But he said he did not support raising the federal minimum wage, which has been $7.25 since 2009..." And he said this out loud and with a straight face. It's revolting.
And so the oligarchy begins. What a tragic day for America.
So next you have a man who is going to swear on the bible that he will not do what he has already sworn that he will not do.
And then in the end he did it.
And he is going to swear in the very place that was stormed by his thugs.
The world looks on aghast
It is not funny, we are not laughing.
"sworn he will not do, on a text he's never read, that contains a religious ethos that is the polar opposite of everything he believes in or practices."
There, fixed it for you.
Don't worry, he and EloX signed the Bible he's swearing on and he's not a Christian so not sworn to tell the truth or uphold the law especially now that he has SCOTUS support. We're not "going to lose this country". We've already lost it.
If only someone could convince him to open that Bible and read from it. Let's start with the Old Testament, where Micah tells us that our role in life is to do justly, love mercy and walk humbly.
“Power always thinks it has a great soul and vast views beyond the comprehension of the weak; and that it is doing God’s service when it is violating all his laws.”
– John Adams
Not sure that's what trump thinks. I reckon he just thinks "Heh! Heh! Heh! - got away with THAT again!
His stay out of jail card.
Lady, I am not sure he does anything that the rest of us would call thinking. To me he is the reptilian brain hissing and striking at anything and anyone who comes near. As the 20th nears, I feel a heavy sickness coming on. I do like the idea that the flags will be at half staff (in most places, Abbott and little Johnson). it is MLK Day which strikes me as some kind of irony. And I do think that that the national football championship is that day also. I also like the idea that certain people will not attend the travesty of his inauguration. I saw a headline from The Telegraph this am that seemed to be castigating Michelle Obama.
Michele, I noticed yesterday that the flag at our local Catholic Grades 1-8 school was flying at full staff. I am utterly and completely disgusted.
I saw a headline that said that because of the cold, the inauguration will be held indoors. I guess that limits the crowd size lies...
The Telegraph is slightly more Right Wing than Genghis Khan. It's owned by Redbird, a US group mostly funded by Abu Dhabi. Hardly surprising that it's not a fan of Mrs. Obama. "Any stick to beat a dog with."
And no Guardrails THIS time! ( of course he capitalizes guardrails)
Trump has Papa Putin’s applause. Maybe watch for Trump Tower Moscow. With the Chinese at the Inauguration the new world is looking like 1939. Sadly most Americans have no idea how they have voted for a pack of lies.
Look for statues of Putin and Robert E Lee on the National Mall.
e.g., what Scott Bessent said at his confirmation hearing.
I will not buy from Amazon. I will not ever buy a Telsa. I will not be a consumer for buying products enriches the billionaire class. At least as much as I can I will not spend to help the economy grow.
But I will accumulate wealth and only spend it with small business owners,
Bill Katz, as a fellow boycotter, let me give you a laugh today: thanks to the John Birch Society, I still boycott Carnation.
John Adams drew a conclusion and found conclusion-confirming evidence. I could do that—even when it was obvious in hindsight that I was wrong—when I was 5. It probably wasn't until grade 5 that I changed. Now I draw a conclusion and look at the evidence to discover if it confirms or refutes my conclusion, and I think it's made me even smarter than that 5th grader.
I understand what Adams meant, but if power is always as he describes, then there is no hope. Don't be naively optimistic, but cynical pessimism is a self-fulfilling prophesy. Instead, be pragmatically optimistic.
If you're looking for a valid reason to be optimistic, or if you just want me to know I've overlooked relevant evidence, subscribe to my weekly no-fee newsletter.
Link: https://substack.com/home/post/p-154848354
Yes, that's a favorite. And for those who like to beat us over the head with the Ten Commandments, let's add: "I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another." (John 13:34)
Barbara Stumpf,
You know all that "love stuff" is really for "suckers and losers".
It is all about how much we can TAKE! It is all about power! Forget about the future ....children....the elderly....the helpless.... Forget about friends all over the earth and our trusted alliances with them...friends who have respected us for...our reputation and character....that stuff is for those who are weak!!!!
Let's see: take from the citizenry....take from the earth....take from our water systems.....take from the air....we can even take from one another until only the most evil and deceptive of the wealthy population are standing.....after all "only the strong survive"!
.....they will destroy everyone and everything they can....for selfish gain!
Emily, yes, and in the end not even heaps of money will save them from the destruction they have wrought on the planet.
That, of course, was Jesus’s sole commandment. The others come from the old testament.
Barbara Stumpf - "let's add: "I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another." (John 13:34)"
This commandment is similar to Leviticus 19:18, but it applies to anyone.
“𝑌𝑜𝑢 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑣𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑜𝑟 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑎 𝑔𝑟𝑢𝑑𝑔𝑒 𝑎𝑔𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒, 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑛𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑏𝑜𝑟 𝑎𝑠 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓.” --Leviticus 19:18 (kjv)
Is the problem a lack of self-love? True self-love, security in one's actions and beliefs, not self-adulation or the need to be adored by others.
Amen
Trump may know the words but he has no ability to understand the concepts of justice, mercy or love.
Trump reads English the way I read Spanish. Yeah, I can sound them out but I only understand a few of them.
Eva, thank you for my first smile this am. I bet I could do a word salad in German without having any idea of what i am talking about.
Boy, is that a great analogy. Brought a smile to my face!
Huh? He understands. Surely you jest. People channeling what he believes, what he will do , could do well to understand he is a Crazy Maker of the very highest order. All forms of power, and chaos are aimed solely by him, at you, at us. The US he hates Trump is essentially the alien we fear. The seemingly invincible bag of skin he is enclosed in appears to be Trojan horse uniform. Walk into the fire boldly. After the air clears when something goes wrong, you will forever be able to say "I've seen worse, far worse!"
The niece of Donald t, Mary Trump, wrote a sequel to her first book, *Too Much and Never Enough*. The new one is entitled *Who Could Ever Love You*. She shows how damaged her uncle is, how he emotionally damaged her and others, and finally how she recovered. By implication, Mary has wise counsel for those under t's psychic domination--and all voters who want to regain democratic liberty.
Trump does not understand justice, mercy much less love & much less anything else. F-Elon34X latest tactic is to appoint two (2) "Ambassadors to Hollywood". Not a joke but, I can think of a few.
Friendly correction: THREE ambassadors to Hollywood: Mel Gibson, Sylvester Stallone and Jon Voight. jeez. Is this his idea of a Ministry of Propaganda?
I firmly believe that trump loathes America - and is trying to do everything in his power to make it a world wide laughing stock. And then destroy it. . .
All those "nasty" comments about him over the years have turned him into a bitter old man.
Hah.. Ms MisTBlu, a million here a million there, no biggy. As for you an me, we miss onemore payment on that rusted out Nissen Pathfinder and the repo-man/woman/TG/etc is gonna click onto it and haul it back to the bank. No love lost there.
He has no concept of justice, mercy or love. He only loves himself.
Trumps take on that would be _ "OK for thee - but not for me. . . "
And "do as I say; not as I do"
Man! It's been a long time since I've heard that one! So good. right there!
As against the other view point - "What's yours is mine - and what's mine's my own. . ."
Yes. My Dad used to say those two expressions!
What’s mine is mine. What’s yours is mine also. I got mine; you get yours the best way you can.
Just curious, Lady Emsworth, do you think Joni Ernst will cave and vote for Hegeseth? Maybe i shouldn't have used the word "cave".
Nope. Cave is exactly the right word. If she remembers her oath, she will not vote for him. If she has a shard of integrity, she won't vote for him. She has no integrity and has no oath but to her own aggrandizement.
Ernst already announced she will vote for him. Nothing new there. Hegseth is going to head the US military which is beyond any possible belief IMHO.
How low we have sunk...
Well, she's already said she WILL vote for him - and, as you know, Republicans never lie. . .
Lady, the bells of hell....
If he were to open it and read it, he would only twist the words to favor himself.
The parts he couldn't do that with, he would claim the Bible was weaponizing against him.
1. He probably can't read well enough to understand new ideas.
2. He doesn't believe in the tenets of the Bible. The one you mention would be anathema to him.
3. Given those points, now what do you suggest for dealing with him?
Oh, how nice to see "tenets" used - rather than "tenants"!
I've also seen "anathema" spelled "anasthma" as in "an asthma"!
Autocorrect is as mindless, and as evil, as AI.
Oh piffle. Read what I mean, you never know if the author misspelled, or if autocorrect autocorrected badly, and you might mis something important while focusing on the wrong thibg,you know what I mean? That sort off cognitive rigidity results in many misunderstandings. And the willingness to discount a message because of spelling errors mainly suggests looking for any excuse to discount the message, didn't it?
Whoa! Dial back on the coffee, Notes! I was simply complimenting you on your correct spelling - I don't give a shit if people use "tenants" - it's just nice to see that someone got the right word!
Jeez, I'll stop saying nice things to people in future. . .
I disagree, Notes. Sometimes people are unaware of, for instance, that tenents and tenants describe different things. Or unaware that a flag flies at half mast only aboard a vessel on the water; it flies at half staff on land. Or that Republican is both a noun and an adjective, while Democrat is a noun and Democratic is an adjective.
When someone, like an earlier poster, uses the noun, Democrat, instead of the adjective, Democratic, I can hear the Cult spitting out Democrat like an insult. You may be generous and think that it's a typo. You may even be generous and think that it's a lack of education. But I can only hear it (or read it) as something intentionally mean and malicious.
Thatsa Beauty. /Much bette then saying anything.
Join a labor union, as soon as possible!
Gregg, I'm retired and work for my wife now. The boss says no to any unions, apart from marital.
Reading the Bible is only valuable if one pays attention to what is being read. I'd suggest "thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself", followed by the story of the good Samaritan.
Dave, as well as what Jesus said about rich people and much more that is never practiced by mega preachers and their acolytes.
That might be awkward, lot of eye for an eye stuff in there... he will take it literally because he sees himself as god...
It would take a miracle for 45 to open the Bible and take its words to heart. His pathology is too deep and strong for that.
Betsy, one problem with your solution. He can't read and most bibles don't have that many pictures.
Doubt he would ever read it and if he did, doubt it would ever make an impression.
Or quite simply where Jesus tells his followers to love one another-and that that’s how they’ll be known to be his followers-by their LOVE.
First, that assumes he can read… second, the actual Christian part of the bible would be appropriate, despite it seeming to be foreign to right wing so called ‘Christians’- the message, over and over, is ‘Love Thy Neighbor’
Ha ha Betsy. That is a good one. Winner of the internet, and before dawn! If wishes were horses beggars would ride.
He would not know what any of it means.
And I keep asking myself, “How could this possibly have happened?”
Stop asking yourself Rhonda how this happened, rather ask how someone like Mu$k,that made 170 billion in 40 days since election day ,vowed to cut 2 trillion from the US budget even if it inflicted "hardship" on the American people.
Ricardo, I've been saying for a few weeks now that, in order for a massive shift away from trumpism (and its attendant oligarchy, etc.) to happen in this country, we must collectively endure hardship. The Guardian just published an opinion piece stating the same, and suggests that Congressional Dems no longer help out the Republicans-- no more votes to keep the country funded, or for any other purpose includong Senate confirmations. Let them try to govern on their own. Yes, hardship will ensue, but given that that's what they want, perhaps voters will finally get it and vote them out in 2026 and 2028.
I believe that my prayer will be answered: the GOP will self-implode. I see the schism already taking place--the egos at play are truly large and unhealthy....
💯 % on target Doug. Let them own the consequences. Thanks
Look at this site for a possible explanation. https://open.substack.com/pub/smartelections/p/so-clean?r=dvl80&utm_medium=ios
Thank you, Notes On Useful Beauty. I've been convinced from the very beginning that Harris won. And there are other sites analyzing the data that clearly show something was amiss. My question is why this hasn't been made public by people who could make things happen to get things corrected. With each passing day, my heart sinks further. We are living a Shakespearean tragedy and are being forced into a nightmare that was a cleverly executed con job of the highest order that probably included outside forces (countries) as well. My philosophical self says it is happening for a reason of a higher order we cannot possibly understand right now. Hoping I can live long enough to see the shift happen towards a better planet for us all. In the meantime, we have to stay safe and do well unto others.
I don't know why this is not being picked up by major media. I just keep pasting it everywhere it seems even slightly appropriate. Hopefully the right eyes will see it sooner or later. I have sent it to many public figures who have email addresses. Please help spread the word.
It's not being picked up because it is speculative bullshit. To suggest some kind of massive vote counting fraud across ALL the precincts in North Carolina is such BS that it doesnt deserve any kind of response.
How would that even happen without a massive conspiracy? Voting machines are carefully guarded and there are literally thousands of them.
And IF you were going to conduct that kind of conspiracy WHY would you ONLY do it in the Presidential race and NOT in the AG race and Governors race too? Those are important statewide races so if you COULD fix the Presidential race then might as well while you are at it get your GOP governor and AG in too.
The obvious answer is that people in NC wanted the Democratic candidates for Gov and AG and didn't want KHarris as President. That just MIGHT be a better and more accurate explanation for a statewide trend that voted for the local Democrats but not for the national one.
Another reason is TRUMP is famous and has already been President and people wanted him (not sure WHY but obviously they did) but didn't know or like the GOP candidates for other offices.
Get over it. There was no conspiracy. There almost never Is a conspiracy except a conspiracy of ignorance. It's tough to accept but the majority of people in the US voted for Trump.
Time to move on and start worrying how to save our country rather than fretting over what you can't change.
If that 'Ark' will float.., then get it floated. That'll be the take-down of the century. But, right now, it looks like another cure for ED... 6 bottles for$49. Better to Stop/Look/Listen.., cause a train-wreck is going to occur, one way or another.., "Wait for it".
Exactly, did it really happen? I’m not convinced ….
Of course it happened. It happened the same way Biden beat Trump in 2020. People voted. 7 million FEWER people voted for Harris than Biden. You don't make that many votes "disappear" by magic. They disappeared because people were pissed at Biden and by implication Harris and decided to sit this one out.
And oh yeah, she's black and a woman. That sadly had SOMETHING to do with it too.
I'm a student of history and I can see how it happened. It's not that I'm any sort of historian. The basics are always the same. It's only the names and some of the techniques that change. We're going back to the 1920s (or maybe the 1850s) socially and economically. We came close to second revolution in during the Great Depression during the 30s. FDR prevented it with the New Deal even though the rich fought him. I don't know if we'll be that lucky a second time.
Regarding how this happened, maybe the answer is that maga Republicans are a laud orde and democrats are a quiet herd . That needs to change.
Laud orde? You mean Loud Herd??? 🙃
You made your point clear Jon 👌
I learned about the Holocaust in grade school and asked the same question. Leafing through Life Magazine I remember coming across a photo of Hitler and thousands of people saluting him, thinking: they all look so normal, how could they possibly not see the evil, certainly this could never happen here. And yet, here it is happening in real time. What is truly indigestible is that it happened via God-given free will....
Words of Benjamin Franklin……. “I think a General Government necessary for us, and there is no form of government, but what may be a blessing to the people if well administered; and believe further, that this is likely to be well administered for a course of years, and can only end in despotism, as other forms have done before it, when the people shall become so corrupted as to need despotic government.”
Democracy works if we can keep it and “we” have let our guard down.
The final sentence is the most telling. The GOP abandoning financial support of public education, coupled with the passage by SCOTUS of the Orwellian-named “Citizen’s United” has created the voting block that twice now have rejected competent female leaders when contrasted with a side-show huckster.
Forehead slap!
We are living once again, in the long arc of the moral universe bending….towards the amoral
You encapsulated the hypocrisy spot on….
Now the word, hypocrisy, needs to be goggled by the masses.
Oaths are the domain of honorable people
Why bother with this charade?
Bang !!!
It would be great if he swears to uphold the constitution and the Bible spontaneously combusts into flames.
We may not be laughing but what are we doing about it. That moron is in favor of martial law and thinks Tienmen (sp) Square was a good way to treat peaceful protesters. It's time for another revolution.
The first revolution was against an overseas monarchy that used muskets and sailing vessels (motorized boats hadn't been invented yet).
A current revolution would be against a resident monarch (or dictator is you prefer) that has a 2 million strong military with nuclear weapons, machine guns and jet fighters.
It's not a fight I think we could even START let alone win.
The only way to beat these folks is with words. And it won't be easy.
I keep wondering if it'll be one of his Bibles that he'll then auction off, or demand it be put in a special case at the Smithsonian.
Sadly, their "oath" is just words on the page. They could not even define the meaning of the word. That is the CONservatives.
I'm a minister (Presbyterian, ret.), and I wish they would use something other than a Bible for the occasion. It's almost sinful!
In my opinion it is unconstitutional. The language of the oath gives the option to either "swear or affirm" but why on a Bible?
Yassss.....the bible on which he will swear his oath, will be, no doubt, one that he sold to the Chief Justice with the fake leather binding of which he so glowingly crowed. They may just as well not use a bible; let him simply say that: "I promise to do all that stuff that you guys expected my predecessors to do. That should suffice." (Of course, except one of his predecessors, which was him.)
In a perfect world, or fantasy world, the moment that criminal puts his hand on that Bible, held by the supreme crooked justice, the crowd would call out, in one voice …. LIAR!
No, and we need to be ready to fight. It will come to that if the traitor has his way. He needs to be imprisoned, not awarded.
And we must not give up on our Democracy. Ever.
FRIDAY MORNING 10 AM Eastern:
SCOTUS has UPHELD the Tok Tok Ban in an unsigned Opinion. The case is Tok Tok vs. Garland.
Note that many users have already migrated to 'RedNote' -- no pun intended.
He will probably have his Bible to swear on which further brings out his lies because supposedly he has the constitution in the Commandments in there the commandments are in the Bible, but he doesn’t know how to follow any of that. He is never true to his word, he’s an fuxxing 🤥 liar
We been having a growing oligarchy since the Regan 's years Mary. The gap between them and us growing bigger even under democratic administrators. We are as guilty as they are for "what tragic day for America "
except - as Heather says in this column and many others - that Biden and Harris have NOT beeng just as guilty. They have been working to turn it around, and did start to turn it around. Unfortunately, that turn is about to be reversed.
FDR, with his long tenure in office, was able to see some of the good of his policies come to life. He had the very able assistance of Frances Perkins.
John, unfortunately President Biden was no physically fit to complete another four years and his policies didn't bear fruit yet. Had he and Kamala Harris able to keep administrating this country, it would be comparable to the Roosevelt years.
Widow of opportunity. Maine. “Do you want to set a $5,000 limit for giving to political action committees that spend money independently to support or defeat candidates for office?”
https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/21-a/title21-Asec1015.html
This will be appealed. Since Buckley v. Valeo in 1976, the Supreme Court has allowed contributions to be regulated when there is a risk of “quid pro quo” corruption, essentially a favor for a favor. In the case of elections, if there is a risk someone could be making a donation to a candidate in exchange for a favor, only then can Congress regulate that contribution. In 2010, the Supreme Court extended this reasoning to corporations and unions in Citizens United v. Federal Election Campaign Act.
Three months later, in SpeechNow.org v. FEC, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld that contributions to groups making independent expenditures can’t corrupt or create the appearance of corruption. That decision essentially created the “super PAC,” which can receive unlimited contributions but can’t contribute directly to candidates. Other lower federal and state courts followed suit, and the ruling was never reviewed by the Supreme Court.
In 2012, SCOTUS reversed a decision of the Montana Supreme Court that had upheld a Montana state law prohibiting corporations from making expenditures supporting or opposing candidates or political parties. The Court held that the Montana decision was inconsistent with the high court’s ruling in Citizens United. Montana state law prohibited corporations from making contributions or expenditures in “connection with a candidate or a political committee that supports or opposes a candidate or a political party.” Under that law, corporations may instead establish political action committees (PACs) known as separate segregated funds in order to make political contributions or expenditures.
So, state's rights only apply when it is beneficial to those currently holding the control levers.
So far.....
The worst example is the Colorado ballot case -- Anderson. 10th Amendment: The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
Voting is a state matter. Not preempted. All the rules relating to voting according to SCOTUS precedent are state matters unless discrimination is involved. E.G. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gill_v._Whitford
YES! And anywhere else in the world, that 'decision' would have brought the masses into the streets. But here, alas...
'Twas ever thus.
But hopefully with our vigilance, the turn will be temporary. We can do this if only we don’t give up
I understand that 83 billionaires made donations to Kamala Harris's campaign so although it's doubtless true that some uber-wealthy tycoons are likely to exert a more profound influence on the policies of the incoming administration than ever before there is clearly a much bigger problem with American politics. The Citizens United case in 2010 opened the door to new avenues through which these people were able to bankroll their pet politicians to advance their own interests, but this was already happening as more and more wealthy people established ersatz charitable foundations (Scaife, Koch, DeVos etc.) that are used to channel support to right-wing think tanks and lobby groups. The whole enterprise is covered in great detail by the New Yorker's Jane Mayer in her book, 'Dark Money'. I would also recommend historian Nancy MacLean's 'Democracy in Chains'. They make for some chilling reading. A change of political control isn't going to fix this.
The horrible political situation we are now in is definitely a result of Citizens United. The pieces of this robber baron takeover have been assembled a little at a time, until they spring their trap. Wresting the government back from these evil folks will be long, difficult, and dangerous. They are the “planter class” of the 21st century. They have the same mindset as James Henry Hammond with his “mudsill theory.” You know, some people are just meant to be on the bottom of society. Others, like Hammond were better and meant to be on top. Google John Henry Hammond.
Yes, I think he must have been a fan of Plato's 'Noble Lie' i.e. the so-called myth of the metals.
Russell it's undoubtedly true that there's a problem with America politics. Those 83 billonathat donated to the Kamala campaign most likely did the same to the other party, a common practice just in case. It's also true that Citizens United made the influence of money in politics much worse.
Thanks for your rational replay and the information provided.
You're very welcome, Ricardo.
False Equivalence Russell. The office is called the Executive and what we would prefer is voting in someone who is offering to provide service and efficient management to the country. Harris was that candidate, Trump was there to save himself from jail and to line his pockets. One was a genuine candidate and the other was an outlaw. If billionaires were hedging their bets, that sucks but that is the state of politics now...MONEY, either way.
Didn’t read Dark Money but Democracy in Chains is a horror story.
If a change in political control won't make a change, what will?
I apologise for not making myself clear. What I meant was that it seems to me that neither of the two political parties is serious about meaningful electoral reform. What one can do as citizens is to demand that your representatives take this issue seriously by raising the issue in public forums. I know this will seem a little glib, but you will need critical mass to achieve results. Look. for instance, at what happened when the Republicans sought to remove key benefits from the Affordable Care Act last time Trump was in office - there were angry town hall protests up and down the country and Trump wisely dropped the bill like a hot potato. Trump and the Republicans have actively encouraged Americans to be distrustful of government and other institutions but this is like grabbing a tiger by its tail - you can't let go for fear of being eaten.
You are 💯 % correct Russell. People will finally react to the results of the billionaires policies and we have to be ready for that moment. We have to pressure our leaders and legislators in Congress to be ready as well.
It's kind of an iron rule of populism that to remain successful a populist has to continue to be popular. Trump manages to avoid the pitfalls of populism by blaming others for his own failings and sadly they mostly seem to accept the blame. Many members of his previous administration are now publicly rueing their fecklessness, some even to the point of denouncing him.
If history is an indicator, then a total economic and social collapse of the American Empire is the only event that will bring about change.
Keep in mind that tycoons are not vivifiers, but parasites on a society. When the host is no longer viable, they will also expire or move on to another host.
We've had an oligarchy for some time. Now, they control 99% of the pie, rather than just 90%, and limitless hubris has led a few of them to 'go public'. The corruption will be astounding. Hang on to your loved ones, your sanity, and your wallets.
They control the pie - and the pie cutter.
Our wallets will be empty soon. Thanks for your advice anyway Steve 👍
Or at least becomes official. This coronation has been in the works at least since the Powell Memo.
Coronation is a poor word choice, with too many connotations of prior legitimacy. What's a better word for what you mean?
Another "Royal F---ing". Howz that.? The "royals" screwed the people in England and Europe and the "people" came to America to let their asses heal. Now look what has happened.., we have a royal shithead in charge. Bend over, Rover is taking over.
I don't know about better alternative for "coronation" but maybe I have a better title for the job, King Felon the 34.
The google report of the spike in “oligarch,” definition surges explains why oligarchy triumphs.
People voted for harmful concepts they didn’t understand.
Oligarchy has quietly been going on for decades. A SCOTUS decision here or there, tax cuts for the wealthy, Citizens United, etc.
It's way too early for cynicism. Trump won because of inflation. He did not win by much. People want to know what oligarchy means. I can relate. I didn't really know what it meant until I read Synder's piece comparing Trump's team to Gilligan's Island. Resistance + administrational dysfunction are going to be on our side. Do not give in to cynicism. Self-care!
- Pulled Quote -
"Musk’s investment has paid off: Faiz Siddiqui and Trisha Thadani of the Washington Post reported that he made more than $170 billion in the weeks between the election and December 15."
The 'good news'? All oligarchies are unsustainable because capitalism is inherently unsustainable. The pressing issue is how to combat them, minimize their damage, and restore democracy. Read Timothy Snyder's body of works starting with Tyranny. Then Google: ''Resourceism'' (with two E's) for a way to both preserve democracy and improve it.
How did Musk make that $170 billion? What was the source of that money...and why?
I suspect it was in stock valuation.
Which is why it won't be taxed...
Which is why he doesn't sell it. He just uses his companies to pay for everything and take loans against the value of his stocks. It's all a game to them.
Increase in the price of the stock he owns on his various companies.
An interesting interview I watched on dw.com. 🤔 The author of a book -- using a broader definition of oligarchy -- on America's gaping divergence of wealth stated his belief that the United States started out as an oligarchy. 😲The struggle we face today, albeit acute, is one with which the Republic has had to contend for two hundred, fifty years. 🫣 Part of our national story. ✍️
At least people searching the meaning of oligarchy now know what to call where we are headed. Tragic, indeed.
Yes, I was shocked by Senator Sanders's questioning of the Treasury Secretary designate, Mr Scott Bessent. Here is that exchange. 😳
https://www.c-span.org/clip/senate-committee/user-clip-senator-sanders-and-treasury-secretary-nominee/5149763
One sobering point about three men with a trillion dollars of net worth. That combined wealth is larger amount than the G.D.P.s of all but seventeen countries; it corresponds to the level of the Netherlands. That is comparing apples and oranges in comparing a balance sheet (i.e., net worth) with an income statement (G.D.P.). It serves to illustrate the scale of wealth. ⚖️
Mr Bessent is qualified and should be confirmed, though I do not welcome his answers. He strikes me as having the integrity to stand up to Trump when the chips are down, much like for Attorneys General Sessions and Barr ultimately did.
(Oligarchy has been a long time coming. Building strength and concentrating forces in industry Since 1981. It’s this new merger with information technology and social media that has cemented their power. They now have direct power over the masses with unregulated mass communications and military grade persuasion targeting and tools at their fingertips. The Mining of personal data is the new currency. The Tech Reich is upon us.)
Actually, reading this Letter, I’m thinking that just maybe the oligarchy is soon to be exposed and brought down.
I love that last sentence. "Last night, after President Biden’s warning, Google searches for the meaning of the word “oligarchy” spiked."
Social contracts, governments of one kind or another and other forms of rule and control: Oligarchy. Patriarchy, Authoritarianism, Hegemony, Autocracy, Totalitarianism, Theocracy, Imperialism, Dictatorship, Despotism, Monarchy, Fascism, Dystopian whatever, Republicanism, Communism, Socialism annnnd the thing that most of the developing world gravitated to: A Liberal Democracy. Unfortunately that form is vulnerable to most of those previous forms. Me, I guess the best examples of what I would like see would be what the Scandinavian countries have developed but they are just as vulnerable to being torn down by the far right and disaffected populations as any of the countries that are succumbing to the right wing nowadays. We (America) wanted to proselytize Liberal Democracy, sell it to all the rest of the worlds' countries but we have succumb to the avarice of the few wealthy. The richest man in the world can put $200,000,000. down on a "bet" and not think about it, see it as a cheap investment. AND HE IS NOT AN AMERICAN!
Mary - or we could look at this moment as our great awakening to remedy this farcical scenario by going forth in unity to defend our democracy without fear or favor. Hail. Hail. The liberty bell for freedom rings across all the world for the light of truth and justice for all and in this moment our faith and courage prevail 🥁🇺🇸🗽❤️🕯️🌻🕊️
Dear Mary - Indeed the oligarchy begins. I've finally landed upon an article that describes where the nation is headed beginning this month. It is entitled "Countering Nationalist Oligarchy." This particular passage captures perfectly what we can expect, "Oligarchies remain in power through two strategies: first, using divide-and-conquer tactics to ensure that a majority doesn’t coalesce, and second, by rigging the political system to make it harder for any emerging majority to overthrow them. " The election rigging is already underway in red states and the rigging is desperately trying to gain prominence in blue states. This cannot be good for the majority of Americans.
Thank you, Professor Richardson.
The President’s speech did not contain any surprises, but was an apt warning.
What is more disturbing, and indicative of things to come, is the arrogance the Trump nominees have displayed thus far during their confirmation hearings. The disingenuous smiles, the smirks, the confidently evasive non-answers, the continuing denial to confirm the outcome of the 2020 Election.
The only confirmation taking place is that of the neutering of the United States Senate – a neutering in which the Majority party is complicit: They are collaborators, with all the evil that term conjures.
Don't let Dems so easily off the hook, R Dooley.
Until about a month ago they controlled the U.S. Senate. If they'd called a vote, they could have ruled the orange felon legally disqualified from ever again holding any public office. The Constitution is most explicit on that.
Article 14, Section Three says a vote on disqualification may free from it anyone who gets 2/3 of both houses of Congress voting for that freedom. If either house votes but does not reach the 2/3 for that freedom (in this case, simply the U.S. Senate), that person, by that vote, remains legally disqualified.
Yes, R Dooley, the current majority party "is complicit," as you say.
But by their failure to affirm disqualification per Article 14, Section Three, Dems, too, "are collaborators, with all the evil that term conjures."
In fact, when you understand how the corporate Dems undermined and marginalized Bernie Sanders, the complicity is clear.
What happens when a Democratic President, working for the greater good of the people goes against the Silicon Valley Oligarchs? His nomination is rescinded. His accomplishments and achievements are tarnished and buried under lies. There is a delicate dance of complex forces necessary to win and then more to sustain the reality. To say Dems are Culpable of over supporting business into oligarchy is true but it’s also oversimplifying.
Ted, here's a brief grammar lesson. In English, we have nouns (person/place/thing) and adjectives (modifiers of nouns). A Democrat usually espouses democratic values, but anyone who believes in democracy, regardless of party affiliation, can self-identify as a democrat rather than as an autocrat.
Not sure you got my point but caught a typo. Biden got hosed because he stood up to Elon and the Zuck to protect the average citizen. Thus became the victim of a $250 million plus disinformation and influence campaign about the economy and identity politics issues. Oligarchs wielding that much power, Democrats are outgunned, out financed, and democracy is in existential peril. ( I’m less worried about my grammar, but sure, thanks for the lesson)
Apparently, disqualification via section 3 of 14th amendment can only be imposed if the person has been found guilty of insurrection. Because Trumps case was never brought to trial, and those who were sentenced for Jan 6th crimes, were not charged with insurrection, it could not be held as a precedent.
The video below outlines this in more detail - you can skip the history lesson and jump ahead 10mins to how it applies to Trump.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykPx58YK-tY
Article 14, Section Three does not say the things you claim it says, Kazz.
Phil, I spent a lot of time researching that. The language of the 14th and the definition of the word "insurrection" do not mention any formal adjudication for insurrection. I suspect that there is a procedural way for a finding of conduct that supports the action of insurrection, and I firmly believe that the lack of any adjudication is what the sticking point is with any findings of insurrection or conduct of insurrection.
The text of the 14th Amendment is very clear, and I firmly believe that a final decision on defining the conduct of January 6 would have to be made by the $upreme Court.
Ally, its text clearly leaves it to Congress.
Both houses need to give 2/3 approval to free an insurrectionist of disqualification. Any one house of Congress that denies that 2/3 vote thereby leaves that insurrectionist disqualified from public office.
Supreme Court -- clearly per Article 14, Section Three -- has nothing to do with it.
Yes, I believe that that should have taken place at the impeachment trial, precluding Trump from ever again holding office.
Phil, I think the sticking point lies in what is insurrectionist conduct and how the conduct is “proved” to be that of insurrectionist behavior.
We get muddled up with definitions, and who decides what constitutes insurrection. In my opinion, what I saw on January 6th was 100% an attempted insurrection. I think this topic is worthy of further study and perhaps establishing some guidelines for identifying such conduct.
I’m only going by the video, is that what you’re referring to Phil.
Phill Balla: I gather you have not heard the breaking news: Trump has the SCOTUS in his pockets.
Not exactly "breaking" news, Veronica.
More so slithering, putrescent oozing, multiply-perjured, stewing corrupt.
I wonder how many legislators of all types come home after work and declare to their families, “Why didn’t we impeach him??”
The problem with this response is that it utterly ignores the two Supreme Court decisions that disallowed the use of Article Fourteen, section 3 to take Trump off the stage for good. Absent those decisions, we very likley wouldn’t be in this destructive place.
The seditionists on the sc are criminals.
The U.S. Senate, James, could have, should have voted.
Article 14, Section Three vests all power in the houses of Congress finally to decide disqualification. Nobody else. The language is precisely clear. The Supreme Court must honor such expressly clear language. Not even the corrupt Clarence Court can arrogate itself above the highest law of the land.
You seem to have missed the meaning of Marbury v Madison.
sounds simple, but it is not that simple. They did not control the senate as you had Sinema and MAnchin who would have sided with the repubs.
No need to control the Senate, Rickey.
Add up all the Republicans, throw in Sinema and Manchin, and there's still not the 2/3 necessary to free the orange felon from disqualification.
Good point, Rickey.
The d's are complicit through their fears and their inability to actually see what has been going on for 45 years! And if they did see it they were and are completely paralyzed to do anything even when they had the opportunity and the power. Clinton was all in on courting the corporations for money - and the beat goes on and regular people pay and suffer and decline...the next four years will be a living hell for poor people, women, LGBTQ folks and the middle class, not to mention the environment and all the creatures of the Earth.
except for Biden, as HCR's column today, and many other days, points out.
I appreciate Biden and I think he did a decent job, but let’s face it. The guy is kind of milk toast. He’s old-school. Trying to reconcile with the unreconcilable. we need to go after these people they’re criminals they’re corrupt. And the corruption starts at the head and it’s rotten and it stinks and it needs to be said over and over and over again by every single person who can speak or write.
Phil Balla,
Unfortunately not only those who hold powerful offices within our government but so-called good religious folk have in my opinion "mysteriously" fallen under the spell of Trump.....or have been terrified at the loss of their jobs or of their life or of having unsavory secrets revealed...if they oppose him.
These are strange times. I have always believed that amongst the hoards of humanity in the USA, we had heroes.
When my little brother and I played "cowboys" we each took turns at being "the bad guy" or " the good guy." The bad guy was always to be defeated....neither of us wanted to play "the bad guy". In today's society...standards have switched!!!!
Religion is just a tool of oppression and control, esp of women and our reproductive system, but also of the mass of ignorant people.
An impeachment hearing already acquitted the man of insurrection.
Rather, Pax, it did not have the 2/3 to convict impeachment.
Article 14, Section Three does not say 2/3 are necessary to prove disqualification. It says, instead, anyone wanting release from disqualification needs 2/3 to release (from both houses of Congress).
Article 14, Section Three was written at a time when everyone knew who Lee was, and Longstreet, and the other Confederate generals.
In our time we all know who the Proud Boys were, and the other "Christian nationalists, and fascist knaves. We all know what the orange felon spent all his time doing prior to Jan. 6. We all know what he did (and didn't do) that day.
The 14th amendment need not specify jury trial or any other normal legal means to designate these in our time insurrectionists. It need not do that. Does not do that. It only provides remedy for anyone wishing release from disqualification. And -- clearly -- anyone getting voted on for such release, and failing to reach the 2/3 constitutionally stipulated for release, remains disqualified.
Weren't there confederates who were reelected after the Civil War? Did they have to apply for release from disqualification?
Phil, the one dream I have is that the people wake up and see that the R’s and the D’s both have major issues. Pointing out that D’s missed the boat on many issues that they could have acted on and didn’t makes me want to create a brand new party. I would call it the Peoples’ Party.
and the chances of a 2/3 vote in the Senate disqualifying Trump were ... how great, again?
That’s right. He WAS impeached twice and republicants — eye witnesses to the insurrection—failed to do the right thing.
No, John, read it. Read Article 14, Section Three.
The 2/3 vote is required to free one from disqualification. It is not required to disqualify.
Were any insurrectionist innocent of insurrection, a 2/3 vote of both houses of Congress could confirm innocence.
Either house voting less than 2/3 on one's wish to be freed of disqualification legally imputes that person as remaining disqualified from any public office.
Read the actual words, John. It's law. The highest law of the land.
Phil, I feel your frustration in trying to explain this. It seems so clear, but the problem is that the mainstream media countered what is true, stating it was impossible to use the 14th amendment, section 3 to disqualify Trump, purposely misleading people. And most people are going with that argument, even though it doesn't hold water. What bothers me is how the Congress did not do their job on January 6th, when this simple act could have saved us all from Trump. And the fact that they chose not to only reinforces what people believe.
No, John.
The 14th Amendment, Section Three, does not require a 2/3 vote to disqualify.
It requires a 2/3 vote to free an insurrectionist from disqualification.
If Dems any time had held a vote, that would have legally sealed Trump's fate.
''Until about a month ago they controlled the U.S. Senate. If they'd called a vote, they could have ruled the orange felon legally disqualified from ever again holding any public office. The Constitution is most explicit on that.''
To which provision of the Constitution are you referring?
14th Amendment, Section 3:
No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may, by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.
No need for conviction, just “engagement” is sufficient to deny holding office to participants in rebellion.
I am familiar with the 14th Amendment.
My question is what explicit language in the Constitution states that the Senate has the power sua sponte to make a ruling under the 14th amendment or any other provision of the Constitution.
That is the statement to which I was referring. It is the statement I quoted above my question.
I see what you are saying. The 14th just addresses the removal of a disqualification by 2/3 vote. I’m not a lawyer, but the 14th doesn’t say a conviction is needed for insurrection or giving aid and comfort to the insurgents to be a disqualifying issue.
SCOTUS would need to clarify. To me, the “defendant” would possibly have recourse through the Court after being disqualified by the 14th. Yet, that ruling could nullify the Amendment itself.
Remember the fight over whether the wording applied to the President or just every other office holder other than him.
I wonder why we can’t prevent Trump from holding office. The 14th doesn’t refer to election, just holding. But then we would have a major Constitutional crisis and probably major violence.
Interesting times.
Article 14, Section Three, R Dooley.
Read its last lines particularly.
As Rick Wilson has Brilliantly put it.... 'Everything That Trump Touches Dies'... DJT has Broken the 'Rule-Of-Law', Torched The Constitution. and the USG....
Our country will be another thing Trump wrecks for his convenience. Rick Wilson is right about Trump destroying everything he touches.
I also saw the evidence that the nominees displayed an arrogance unlike I have ever seen before. The hearings were rigged to only allow one 7 minute question period without additional turns. So, as per the Trump legal strategy, they ran out the clock with non-answers and irrelevant talking points. These candidates were obviously told to “entertain” the base and Trump will ensure their appointments.
tRump never wins unless it is rigged. He cannot win in court unless he has a judge that is corrupt- Cannon - SCOTUS. When faced with a judge that actually upholds the law and or a jury of his peers - HE LOSES. Smith's report proved that.
100%
“… only confirmation taking place is that of the neutering of the United States Senate,” thanks for aptly describing what was happening in the confirmation hearings, they were nauseating to watch.
With the exception of Rubio’s, the hearings were like witnessing a real time meltdown of any remaining bits of character or integrity. As hard as I tried to hear a legitimate Republican question or response, there was not a single one.
The absolute fury Sen. Duckworth must have felt when questioning Hegseth is unimaginable, someone who gave so much (and continues to serve with such honor) for someone who deserves so little (and has no honor).
That is when I realized...we, as a nation, are so, so screwed. I believe we will see war on our soil.
That thought has crossed my mind, I hope not!
With a foreign nation.
Charlottesville, New Orleans, Las Vegas, any given school shooting. We are already at war. Myanmar is a good place to look how fast things can deteriorate.
You hit the nail right on the head.
The pain is soul-crushing! If only those aliens who were expected at Rancho Santa Fe could really pick us up...
Nooo! I like life here on Earth!
Those aliens can pick TRUMP up instead - with their probes and suckers, they might be able to work out what is REALLY wrong with him. . .
Inequality is a choice and it is determined by our elected officials. I think the unhealthy state of the US economy resides with the Republican party - it undermines the power of workers and eviscerates regulation, which effects health and safety. How to govern the oligarchs and their monopolies so they don't continue to be exploitative, and which have no application to the practical life of normal Americans.
It’s remarkable to me how easily Americans are manipulated by Trump’s lies. Musk has caught on and is likewise spreading lies and misinformation to his vast X following. Zuckerberg allowing lies to spread on FB, Bezos, Murdoch, et al, buying up media and controlling the narrative and info we receive. In spite of our robust economy, thanks to Joe Biden, the media told us that we’re broke because of inflation, but like a miracle, the day after the election. now everyone was feeling much better financially.
I’m still stunned that he was elected president again after literally trying to steal the 2020 election and found guilt of sexual assault and a convicted felon, oh and let’s not forget the two impeachments. He lies as easily as he breathes. WTF?? Everyone lives in their media bubble, but there is zero critical thinking going on right now in our country. That’s where we lose our democracy. I guess our country as we know it has 3 days left.
What i have seen is a bunch of nominees who have been unfairly attacked by lying liberals like Adam Schiff yet have held their composure and clearly indicated that they are ready to start fixing the mess that Biden and company have made.
I hope, theff, you get everything you voted for.
I do as well Daniel.....shrinking of the federal government, end to lawfare, securing the border, lower inflation, higher real wages, the end of identity politics and dei, return of law and order and the most kick arse military in the history of the world. How can any of that be bad for the lawful citizens of the USA?
I could get into a 'discussion' with you, theff, but I have a treatment to attend to right now. I'll just say, you show signs of possibly emerging from the cult, and I pray you can. The inversion of your above statements is what we'd like for you to look closely at, and then apply them to the real world of today. The hoped-for epiphany may be the final lever to release you from the hold the cult still has on you. Should you agree to accept this self examination, that is. Best of luck.
I hope your treatment goes well Daniel....I say that with all the sincerity in the world as my wife went through dozens of treatments this past year that unfortunately stopped in Sept at age 52. I will pray for your health sir....
Thank you kindly, theff. And my heartfelt condolences. Mine is controllable, as long as I can continue receiving my health care. Sadly, in today's America, that is not guaranteed, particularly beginning next week. For what it's worth, I have a dear friend who leads a wonderful group, and you may be interested. Here's the link: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=9633896239972157&set=g.570328579738314
I hope that will take you to the correct page; I'm a bit of a techno-idiot!
I'm not sure in a theoretical sense many if not most would agree. Few want government to over-reach, as when government dictates what health care is available to women. Few want lawfare, from either side, but the creation of a "blacklist" of political enemies has never ended well. The rest? OK let's agree on those, DEI went too far (not all white people are evil), identity politics has a negative side (math is not inherently racist), and the world needs us to have an effective military. But what makes you think Trump is the one to do these things? Why didn't he do these in his first term? What is bothersome is the man has no principles, no ethical grounding, no credibility.
I do believe that Trump has the absolute best chance of accomplishing these things of the 2 candidates. Do you believe Kamala Harris recognizes that dei went too far taking into consideration the fact that she wanted to offer incentives to black people only to start businesses? I use that just as an example. I'm not saying he is perfect but I do believe he loves this country.
I do believe that Trump has the absolute best chance of accomplishing these things of the 2 candidates. Do you believe Kamala Harris recognizes that dei went too far taking into consideration the fact that she wanted to offer incentives to black people only to start businesses? I use that just as an example. I'm not saying he is perfect but I do believe he loves this country.
Yes, I believe Harris was better equipped and more capable to address the issues. Listening to her acceptance speech and interviews it was clear she was a moderate on cultural issues and better on economic ones. we are doing well economically, better than most. Let me know what specific program you are referring to? I am a70 year old white middle class man retired after 30 years of service in law enforcement, the son of white collar middle class WWII combat veteran. And I recognize that I had advantages others did not. I will not say I am privileged as it makes me cringe being a term often misused by those who don't understand the difference between advantage and privilege. Yet, I recognize in a nation dedicated to the proposition that all are created equal, we should do what we can to live up to what we say we are. Details would help, but generally I have no problem with programs intended to further our American Ideal. I suffer no guilt nor am not slighted when others are helped.
Are you a Russian, Chinese, or North Korean troll?
Susan to answer your question I am a hard working middle class American who is hopeful that this nation can become great again. I know you must hate trump but surely you would like to see the bloated federal bureaucracy reduced.....surely you want at least some of the things I mentioned to happen....right?
I'm curious what bloat do you see in the federal government? What specific programs or services would you cut? I am of the mind that we should always be frugal when it comes to government spending and everything can be reformed, updated, or examined to determine if it is relevant, effective and efficacious. It's why we have a OGA. I ask because we have heard this from politicians from every side, but the devil is in the details. We agree no one wants bloat, waste or fraud. But how can one argue we need to cut 2/5 ths of the budget without having a plan?
Gary I do agree that the devil is in the details and it seems like have 2 very successful businessmen who's success can be attributed at least to some extent to controlling and where appropriate eliminating cost to specifically look at cutting costs is a good idea. As for me I would cut any expenses that have to do with diversity, equity and inclusion for starters.
Now since I have addressed your question can you address this....do you believe that the federal government is run efficiently?
Do I believe the federal government is run efficiently? Overall, yes. Consider the administrative costs of the VA and Medicare to those of private health plans. Could we do better? Probably. The problem is people confuse improving efficiency with conceding there is bloat or fraud, or that improving efficiency means the system is inefficient as it exists. Because I want to make a car faster doesn't mean it's slow. So, Why would one think being a successful businessman makes for a good government leader? They are very different entities with very different goals. How is creating DOGE efficient? Creating a commission to do what is already being done. Kind of like creating a Space Force to do what the USAF already did. No, I am not interested in a self serving businessman being the leader of a government meant to serve the people.
My response to this letter highlights the core question of this era: will Americans rise to meet the challenge of preserving democracy against an encroaching oligarchy? Heather Cox Richardson’s analysis underscores a stark historical parallel—each time a concentrated elite has sought to commandeer government for its own enrichment, a coalition of everyday Americans has fought back, insisting on a government that serves the many, not the few.
From Lincoln's fight against the "money-kings" of the antebellum South to FDR's battle with the "organized money" of the Great Depression, history shows that collective action can overcome entrenched power. But history also teaches that such fights require clarity of purpose, solidarity across diverse groups, and a willingness to take on systems designed to divide and conquer the public.
Today, with billionaires like Musk, Bezos, and Zuckerberg aligning themselves with government power, the stakes couldn’t be clearer. These individuals are not just influencing policy—they are reshaping democracy itself to serve their interests, masking their consolidation of power with the same culture wars that have distracted Americans for generations.
Biden’s warning was not just a reflection on the present but a call to action. His administration’s success in narrowing income inequality, creating full employment, and strengthening the social safety net demonstrates that policy matters. But these gains will mean little if Americans do not "roll up their sleeves" once more to resist a government increasingly steered by a tech elite intent on austerity and profit at the public's expense.
The question is not whether Americans can fight back—it’s whether we will summon the collective will to do so. This means standing up to policies that prioritize billionaires over workers, rejecting culture war distractions, and organizing in every community to reclaim a government that is truly "of the people, by the people, and for the people."
As i have written to Richardson, the need for a refresher on the tactics of robber barons and modern oligarchs is clear. History is repeating, but the story is not yet written. The fight against oligarchy is not just a political struggle; it’s a moral one. Will Americans meet the challenge? The answer lies in whether we are ready to do what previous generations did: organize, act, and refuse to accept that democracy can coexist with unchecked plutocracy.
The future of democracy is in our hands. Let’s not waste the moment.
Elaine all of this. Thank you for your eloquence. Here are the roadblocks for actually engaging the people who voted for the Felon in Chief or are complicit in his election by failing to vote. [1] The Progressive Era was super beneficial to white men. It did not include women, people of color, immigrants from southern and eastern Europe. All of us (and I am a female whose southern and eastern European near ancestors arrived in the middle of that era) were locked out. It preserved and strengthened patriarchy by appealing to white men of the working classes. The current tactics of the christofascists to promote white male supremacy at the expense of everyone else actually reflects the values of the Progressive Era when it comes to the rest of us. [2] This is an extension of point [1]. The contraction of the abyss between rich and poor that occurred before the Reagan Era covers only the people who were employed. That means that all of the people mentioned above--who now make up the majority of the work force--are not included in any statistical analysis of the historical range of incomes and wealth. And that means that the christofascists can BLAME us for the widening disparity between rich and poor. [3] Ironically, the greatest point of contraction between rich and poor was the Great Depression because so many people who got rich from a completely unregulated stock market lost everything. But the hardships of the era, which FDR's New Deal attempted to moderate, were embraced by the Other Side (Republicans), who saw the Depression as an opportunity to promote the kakocrats. But because the emphasis of the New Deal was on enriching poor white men, FDR had support from them. This is not the case today.
I love that HCR uses historical analysis to provide examples of how we have been "here" before. But it is also important to understand that things are different today, not because of changes in technology but because of changes in society. We are now fighting a far larger monster, one that has historically been embraced by both sides: PATRIARCHY. If we cannot entrap, limit, and destroy PATRIARCHY we will not be able to accomplish anything. And that requires the re-education of a whole lotta people. I am not hopeful.
I like this assessment, Linda. Bringing in "the rest of us" threatens white men like they have never been threatened before. In a reply sometime this week, I postulated that a reason for the utter loathing and fear of gay men by straight men was the fear that another man could do to them what they routinely do to women with regard to sexual conduct/activity. **insert obligatory "not all men" here, just in case you don't think this doesn't apply to you** (and I will discuss what consent really means some other time).
Excellent response, Elaine!!!
Democracy cannot exist with unchecked plutocracy or oligarchy - this past election proves that!
And there it is! We have a great example of these requirements in the person of Eugene v. Debs. Clarity of purpose, striving toward solidarity and willingness and commitment to action, no matter the personal cost. He went to jail for it and ran for president from there- convict No. 9653. It would do us well to study this man.
"The question is not whether Americans can fight back—it’s whether we will summon the collective will to do so. This means standing up to policies that prioritize billionaires over workers, rejecting culture war distractions, and organizing in every community to reclaim a government that is truly "'of the people, by the people, and for the people.'"
This sounds "great" but look at the energy that so many of us expended to rally around and support the campaign of Kamala Harris and that, along with President Biden’s record of successful policies was not enough. We no longer have a leadership group that is strong enough to rally around. In a few days trump will have unlimited power handed to him by the SCOTUS, he will be the "commander in chief" of the most powerful military in the world (including a nuclear arsenal that can vaporize "civilization"), and an endless supply of money with which to buy, threaten, and bully whoever or whatever group of citizens or country he chooses. . IMO we're not going to get out of this by "bringing a knife to a gun fight". Democrats have been playing by the rules and the republicans have not.
We only need to look at Russia and China to see how it all works under a dictatorship with oligarchs in control. These dictatorships do not end well but to topple them will take decades with a lot of bad things happening in the interim. trump and his gang are not a benevolent group, and they will not relinquish power through any democratic processes.
Democracy, in order to survive, must have systems in place to protect it. America's Founders decided to let the voters decide hoping that the voters would be the vanguard against a tyrant. What they could not see was the methods of information delivery we have nor the dissolving of the media. They left the possibility of a tyrant being able to ascend to power due to no safeguards to prevent a tRump from ascending. They left that up to the people. The political parties became the vanguards and one party has decided to leave to the voters and made it possible for this conman to take over because it benefits them. The Lewis Powell Memo is the framework with Project 2025 is the plan. We are in for an Atlas Shrugged time. Lots of suffering and lots of wealth gathering.
[Published on the op-ed page of The Brunswick News on December 21, 2024]
Restoring common sense to serve the common good
As Americans suffer unnerving decline in objectivity and respect for facts – including irrational rejection of science – our growing inability to build consensus is hampering political decisions essential to progress. Due to this growing suspicion of truth, our capacity to understand and agree upon issues, priorities and corresponding remedies has become severely impaired.
Many observers have concluded that a major reason for the provocative distortion of reality is the corrupting influence of online social networks including Facebook, “X” [Twitter], and TikTok. Through these networks, biased, sometimes malicious, opinions are often fabricated as rumors, which are then transformed into unfounded conspiracy theories, spreading doubt and distrust among millions of users. The owners of social-media platforms are accused of profiting from algorithms guiding their operations, which encourage discord created by escalating rebellion against facts.
At the Center for a Sustainable Coast we firmly believe that the subversive disintegration of shared reality must be overcome if we hope to achieve the clarity of common sense vital to serving the common good. Like other non-profit organizations genuinely seeking to support the public interest, we are concerned that the reckless war on facts, left uncorrected, will paralyze [or corrupt] our institutions, preventing actions needed to resolve critically urgent challenges.
We agree with many assessments asserting that the social cohesion essential to a functional democracy must be restored. Until nominal objectivity can be achieved, we will remain vulnerable to those who profit by propagating disinformation, concentrating their power by impeding consensus crucial to advancing the common good.
David Kyler, Co-Founder & Director
Center for a Sustainable Coast
Saint Simons Island, Georgia
Elaine, the Americans you have in mind won't rise to preserve democracy but they will, if we organize and help them if none of their expectations are met ,soon. When they feel the pain in their pockets, in the grocery shop, the gas pump, the rent, the social safety ner no responding etc. That's the moment we have to be ready to do our best.
Elaine you say that zuck has aligned himself with government power....yet just yesterday he said on the rogan show that officials from the Biden administration would regularly call his employees and cuss at them to take down content that questioned vaccine side effects. Can you explain that??
Anymore of these lies I will cuss at you too
Great summary and call to action!
We need to spread the word that the top caste is writing the laws to build their wealth and power. Pay attention to the grocery prices and gas prices today and, when they go up, commiserate with your friends on the other side of the aisle “I wonder when Trump will lower prices like he promised!”
Paul Krugman, Nobel Prize Winner just said that the Working Class that Voted for DJT were Brutally Scammed which is DJT's MO.... Krugman, a former MIT and Princeton University professor and New York Times columnist, zeroed in on grocery prices. Trump said during his campaign that he would reduce them, but he's walked that claim back in recent weeks. When this Sinks-In, who will these People Blame, and what will they Do?
"a Federal Trade Commission report earlier this week found overcharged cancer patients by more than 1,000% for life-saving drugs."
I wish that Democrats had had more to say about "Greedflation".
J L ,they have more to say but they are not saying and that's the biggest problem we are facing internally. 😡
I have to disagree with the esteemed Mr. Krugman on this one. They CHOSE their horse in this race. After all of this time, his history, his lack of accomplishments in his last term, and his disdain for the "little people", why they would ever think he would help them is beyond comprehension. Their sources for information is on them, and which and which elites they decide are in their corner. The one thing I fault the Dems and the Biden Administration for is that their PR is terrible. They need a new marketing strategy pronto. Bang that drum of success! We are on the side of the working and middle class and no one seems to know it.
Trump will lay the blame on Biden - and some people will believe that bull-hockey
Trump is going to blame Biden for everything. He will blame Biden and the Democrats for prices that don’t go down and other promises he made that fail. We must remind our elected officials it’s Trump
Bingo!!
"I have all the votes I need - I don't need anymore votes. The Speaker and I have a little secret." tRump never does anything without knowing he has the edge. Losing casinos was a tell tell as he was out of his league on them. You don't bankrupt casinos! He cannot win without rigging. It was how we won 2016 and would have 2020, but for his incompetence handling the pandemic.
Democracy and voters rose up, but the right decided voters cheated and proceeded to shrink the voter pool through the countless legislative moves throughout the states. Then comes Musk and here we are. Couple Musk with the Russian cyber skills and you get the 1.49% landslide. Surgical manipulation of buying votes (unethical, but not illegal), surgical propaganda (2016) at an even higher level then before.
Apache, you will be surprised at how well oiled their spread the BS machine is. They'll find a guilty someone to deflect their own guilt but only to a point. We have to have a similar machine ready for that moment, and that moment is coming.
The friends on the other side of the aisle should have read already that trump will not be able to lower prices for the everyday American, because it is 'too hard to do'. Just one of his many broken promises, broken even before he gets back into the White House.
I think someone called it "The Dumbing Down of America."
I think "merikkka has always been dumb - arrogantly so.
This is another one of Trump's paradoxes. Hundreds of times, he whined about grocery and gas prices zeroing in on the expense side of household budgets.
But he rarely if ever mentioned the income side. He was asked at his McDonald's photo-op if he supports raising the minimum wage three times. And three times he refused to answer. As Heather points out --
"At his confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Finance today, Trump’s nominee for Treasury Secretary, billionaire Scott Bessent, said that extending the 2017 Trump tax cuts was "the single most important economic issue of the day." But he said he did not support raising the federal minimum wage, which has been $7.25 since 2009 although 30 states and dozens of cities have raised the minimum wage in their jurisdictions."
So the average billionaire and 1%er get an AVERAGE tax cut of $50K while up to 10 million people would benefit immediately from raising the Federal minimum wage to $15/hour.
And Trump and his boot-lickers want to repeal the ACA which would take away health care for millions of Americans and force many into bankruptcy when they experience a serious illness.
The 99% need to address the INCOME side of people's budget and tune out the MAGA noise of inflation.
Gary, great points. If a person was paid minimum wage and worked 40 hours a week that is $1160.00 in a 4 week month. Minus taxes and SS, im guessing take home around ~ $800. Who can live on that??
No one, unless you live in your parents' home and don't pay rent.
Marti, they don't read, they watch Fox propaganda so they don't know yet what felon 35 said about "too hard to do" but they are being bombarded with "news" about how bad the state of California is managing the fires 🔥
Blame the democrats!!!!
Since that will never happen, you can start talking to your friends on the other side now. We have a midterm election to win.
Go for it Ricardo! Let’s keep spreading the word, inviting new folks to throw their hats in the ring!
I'll go for it Carol but,as Hillary Clinton would say, we "need a village" to contribute. Thanks for your reply 👍.
My friends on the other side are so imbedded in their disinformation that they will never, ever see that they have been lied to.
Early on, I had hoped that cognitive dissonance would emerge at some point. It was only recently that I realized that they were basing their entire world view on lies, disinformation, and what they were told by their preachers.
That might change if they feel the pain of those wonderful policies implemented while they watch cartoons. It should happen. Thanks for your reply 👍
You're welcome. I enjoy your posts!
😄
Really? Watch it disappear...
Exactly. There will no longer be any honest elections. They have power and intend to keep it.
$9.00 for a dozen eggs! Due to bird flu?
Bird flu ,consolidation off business and the immaturity of the American people for complaining but not stopping buying eggs for a week and find substitutes.
Too much to ask.
I disagree with referring to Vivek Ramaswamy as a pharmaceutical entrepreneur. He didn’t invent the phony pharmaceutical product, he bought and hyped it to pull all of his money out just before it was announced that it was a fraud. He’s just another Flim Flam man like everyone involved in the next administration.
I concur, and now there’s talk of putting him in Vance’s old Senate seat. I can’t stand car salesman Moreno, detest Vance (whom Peter Thiel bought for us,) and Ramaswamy is ridiculous. Ramaswamy may have to choose between a senate seat and the DOGE committee.
Peter Thiel didn't buy Vance for us, he bought him for him. He made Vance the perfect Manchurian Candidate. 😡
I read an opinion last night that DeWine would appoint his Lt. Gov instead, no longer beholden to Trump for votes. DeSantis didn’t kowtow either, putting one of his own faithful in Rubio’s Senate seat.
Jon Husted is the fascist leader of Ohio politics. One of the most corrupt politicians in the history of corrupt politics in Ohio. He probably has DeWeenie by the short hairs on this. There should be a firing squad in Husted's future, not a U.S. Senate seat.
Welcome to The Most Corrupt State of Ohio, the fascist laboratory of the U.S. If the DOJ were to investigate politics in Ohio, they would determine a giant wall around the state is the only way to attempt to contain the corruption.
I would say that Florida is in the running for that title, too.
As is Texas, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, W Virginia, Tennessee,....MAN, it's a long list!! But as one subjected to the fascism of Ohio, I stand by my assessment. But the race is definitely neck and neck. Sad, isn't it?
Quote: "At his confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Finance today, Trump’s nominee for Treasury Secretary, billionaire Scott Bessent, said that extending the 2017 Trump tax cuts was "the single most important economic issue of the day." But he said he did not support raising the federal minimum wage, which has been $7.25 since 2009 although 30 states and dozens of cities have raised the minimum wage in their jurisdictions." -Of course, the billionaire needs to have more money, more, more, more ... no doubt he will be confirmed soon. Why?
Marti, when you have obscene amounts of money, you start longing for power and access and that's what felon 34 promised the oligarchs. Power over us.
"Of all the preposterous assumptions of humanity over humanity, nothing exceeds most of the criticisms made on the habits of the poor by the well-housed, well- warmed, and well-fed." - Herman Melville
Boy, is that spot on, JL.
More likely that’s what the oligarchs promised 45, perennially shut out from the circles he most wanted to join.
Atlas Shrugged. Watched it last night and these people really believe it.
Ayn Rand's books are terrible in every way. I couldn't even read them because her prose is so terrible. I say that as a BS degree holder in Writing.
Actually Marli, this kind of cruel billionaire need power to have more, more, more as if they need more.😡
This is exactly how Putin came to power.
This is Putin's revenge for losing the Cold War. Trust me, he has a huge effect on Trump. The Chinese are working on replacing the US as the dominant world power and are well on their way. They will cooperate with the West as long as it serves their economic and political ends. After all, the reason they have so much wealth and technologt
technoloy is because we gave it to them through offshoring. Trump will cut business deals with them and will send even more of our wealth their way. Between them and the bloodsucking oligarchs here, the rest of us will be crushed.
Heather’s today on oligarchy shows the abysmal history we're deeply pathetically in.
Get out of it? Imagine its opposite set of qualities?
Yes. Let's do. Let's imagine instead Americans literate.
Humanly. Personally.
Imagine any public official or media figure speaking for eight minutes or more, or writing 800 words or more – that this person would always key a character from a novel, biography, history, or memoir to whatever the message written or broadcast.
For human, personal literacy.
Schools teach the opposite now. For standardized testing and its oligarchs, abstracted categories count most. Packages. Groups. Numbered, chronological, or otherwise linear causalities. Reading segments always short – for tests, all must be shorn of larger context.
Imagine instead we put the person back in schools, key to all.
Unfortunately Phil nothing happened to correct the huge gap between the 1% and We the People during the Clinton and Obama administration and the extraordinary try by President Biden didn't have time to bear fruit. No much difference between the two parties since Regan and here we are, in the hands of a demagoge an billionaires that would make the gap even greater. 50 trillion dollars transferring up since 1980? . Just wait and see....
Except, Ricardo, something did happen.
Dems happened to remain stubbornly, blithely out of touch with America's working classes.
Dems could have quoted from many apt novels, films, songs, memoirs, and other arts, and so shown their human, neighborly concern for so many millions and so many former industrial communities devastated by the predatory mass offshoring of U.S. jobs.
Dems could have "done" that.
They chose instead regularly to appear as wonk, abstracted, out-of-touch elites.
And then, to cap things off, they chose not to vote to enforce the Constitution's disqualification clause (last lines of Article14, Section Three). They chose, in other words, to ally themselves with all the worst oligarchs now gobbling up, poisoning, betraying the rest of America, endangering the health and privacy of American women, and threatening the dissolution of N.A.T.O. and the lives of democracies across the world.
“Get out of it? Imagine its opposite set of qualities?”
Position/opposition (opposite position) is exchanging one trap for another.
As Bucky Fuller said, you can't solve a problem at the level of abstraction it was created by. You have to take a step up in your abstracting.
In this case you are trying to solve the trap of positionality by taking another position which is just more positionality. It's the same as slacking your thirst with sea water. Good for a moment but deadly over time.
Figuring out anything within the same context yields only more of what that context makes visible, makes available.
Doing the intellectual work to arrive at that space beyond the intellect, the space of source which is before space, before time, which gives rise to space and time is from where (really nowhere) each one of us can generate a new paradigm of reality for our selves.
Only this paradigm is not the substitution of one paradigm for another paradigm like trading one position for another but rather moving into that space where you are responsible for whatever paradigm you are functioning in. This paradigm is the paradigm of paradigms.
I know that boggles the mind. Mind-boggling is needed to discover that which lays beyond the mind.
This is work that requires an unusual degree of openness and commitment to get pass the frustration encounter by dealing with what at first appears to be nonsensical.
If we’re only willing to deal in that which is immediately understandable we remain fixed in the paradigm and the contexts that particular paradiym reveals as possible or declares as impossible.
Being unwilling to engage in the work of thinking the unthinkable leaves us in that place that Shakespeare was speaking of with “Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow…”
The problem, Bern, is that we no longer have a legitimate media in this country. So how do we disseminate the required information to the masses?
Be unpredictable.
Can I nominate you for Secretary of Education?
What body/group/attractor could function as Secretary of Education that would hold this view alongside what currently is so that everyday people who might not be reached with Bern's words might also be brought into a state of 'yes'? A concept that before space and time might not be a long 'time' (clock time) ago but is always available? Betsy -- that's where your suggestion took me.
What good is "imagining"??
Accompanied by action, to do as John Lennon said may be very good, very fine, Veronica.
Exercising to 'loosen' the grips of what has been as a way of stretching to get more vivid possibilities into the space between what is and what might be.
An oligarchy running a kakistocracy that runs on loyalty to a nincompoop. What could possibly go wrong?
Brava/Bravo, MisTBlu!! I'm afraid we have a front row seat to the answer to your question.
👏👏👏 Brilliant.
Two major decisions are taking hold here
January 21, 2025, marks 15 years since the Supreme Court’s ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, a controversial decision that reversed century-old campaign finance restrictions and enabled corporations and other outside groups to spend unlimited funds on elections. And the rule change that provides Fox News and social media no accountability.
My bones chilled with that ruling. That was the one Thomas was bought to deliver.
The People's March, this Saturday, organized across the country presents the possibility of widely spreading understanding of what is at stake in the communities that have organized the event. Local speakers, local leaders, e.g. city council members, local and state legislators, can begin to mobilize resistance. We must cooperate to sustain each other in resisting these oligarchs. Just look at the wave of resignations from legacy media. We can forget a new path, one step at a time.
*forge a new path - darned predictive or autocorrect.
Carmen, if you're on a computer you can click the three dots on the right margin opposite your name, and get an "edit" function. If you're on an iOS device (unsure of any other mobile platform issues) it is hit and miss if you can edit a comment.
I really hate predictive text.
Thanks Ally. One my phone. And the options do not include edit.
Carmen:
The people of Israel have been out on the streets of Tel Aviv EVERY DAY since January 2023. Will Americans do the same? Netanyahu is allowing Trump to claim responsibility for the cease fire. Let's see how long it last. If you do not know the answer. History has a few chapters about it...
Every day for two years, and Netanyahu is still in power. Marching is not enough. In our own country, we need to be attending, participating, speaking up, and running for office in town and city councils, school boards, and other local government bodies, and state legislatures, etc. The GOP was good at that; we can learn how, too. Speak to the needs of the marginalized and the poor, as well as teachers, healthcare workers, and small business owners.
So as we came into Nov 5 warning about “oligarchy” nobody knew what the heck that even meant — and then voted for it!!
Ignorance has never proven to be bliss. We all have work to do!
Yes, and use smaller words when explaining things! Sheesh. : )
It’s unbelievable isn’t it? My understanding is that after the election, the two most googled questions were “what is a tariff and who pays it” and “how do I change my vote”
Am I missing something when I note that Bernie Sanders has been raging on like a voice in the desert about much of this? FOR YEARS. None of this is new except for the fact that shameless big money is in open control today and blatantly bringing the oligarchs out of the shadows and into the White House having already bought SCOTUS and many state governments. This will make the job immensely harder. And a plurality of regular Americans voted against their own interests. Again.
Bernie should’ve been our 45th president. The DNC screwed us and forced Hillary down our throats. (Yes, of course I voted for her). But Bernie had a MASSIVE following. He was BELOVED. His message of wealth inequality and climate change resonated with millions of us. I blame my party for Trump now; it seems clear as day. They didn’t want Bernie. Establishment, money grubbing DEMOCRATS didn’t want Bernie. They shot themselves in the foot in their arrogance and stupidity - and that’s why we are a fascist oligarchy today. Am I wrong? No. I don’t think so.
So much for "populism" when they'll keep the tax cut for the 1% and deny increase the minimum wage from 7,50 to something reasonable.
Slavery never ended…
Francine-Your comment is short but powerful. It’s always been about capital vs labor. The “ruling class” established systems and invented racism to insure that they can continue to divide and conquer labor.
When we learn about the details involved with Bacon’s Rebellion in the 1600s, slavery over 250 years and the excesses of the “gilded age”, we can clearly see how we got to this place. Reagan, the Powell memo, Citizens United etc are just continuations of our past. Only the truth about our nation’s history can set us free.
Aside from wishing that politicians would solve our problems we the people should be joining together to eliminate the divisions that give wealthy people control. Labor “unions” can play a role-so can education that is based on truth.
This election was a clear indication that America is not ready for change. We are reaping what has been sown for generations.
Join a labor union today! Si! se pueda!
Good on you, Gregg. I was union for my entire career (except the motel maid/convenience store clerk, and pizza driver days). Our local Teamsters are on strike against our largest soda/beer distributor, and have been for months. I will not buy the products they deliver until the strike is settled.
This is good Ally! Simple support of solidarity. It is tangible and real. With solidarity of purpose there are opportunities. Without it there are none.
It is sado-populism.
I really think that billboards are the last hope for America. MAGA will not watch, read or listen to anything but MAGA propaganda. If we had billboards with a picture of Musk, Bezos, and Zuckerberg all across Red states, with the words "These are OLIGARCHS!" written underneath, perhaps the message might start getting through.
How about a billboard like this
MAGA
DONT MAKE ME COME DOWN THERE AGAIN
JESUS
Meh - Jesus wasn't smite-y enough. How about "MAGA - DONT MAKE ME COME DOWN THERE! - GOD."
Though they'd probably think it was a message from Donnie. . .
I agree with you! I’ve been thinking that billboards will be our message board. Low tech, a few words, impossible to avoid seeing a billboard. Not necessarily cheap but…
Pulled Quote: "Trump’s nominee for Treasury Secretary, billionaire Scott Bessent, said that extending the 2017 Trump tax cuts [to the VERY rich, not you and me] was "the single most important economic issue of the day." But he said he did not support raising the federal minimum wage, which has been $7.25 since 2009..." And he said this out loud and with a straight face. It's revolting.