We have all earned a break for this week, but as some of you have heard me say, I write these letters with an eye to what a graduate student will need to know in 150 years.
Keep in mind that Joni Ernst voted for Kavanaugh knowing that he is a sexual predator. She has admitted before the vote that she had been raped and yet she still supports sexual predators, apparently all of the Republican ones at least.
Hopefully Hogsbreath will show up drunk in public and the ensuing scandal will be the end of his public career.
I'm afraid even that wouldn't matter to the MAGA Congress. I'm not sure what would. I have a feeling that if Hegseth, Trump or any of the rest of the would shoot and kill someone on live TV that they wouldn't even bat an eye. So much information right at everyone's fingertips and they still remain ignorant and brainwashed.
Good luck with that idea. We've just elected a felon and rapist to the Presidency. In comparison, "drunk" seems like a minor item indeed.
Except, of course, for the potential massive loss of life of our uniformed service people, men and women. Because of a drunk's ill-informed, uncaring and muddled decisions.
I take exception to your declaration that "we" just elected a felon and rapist. "We" did no such thing. The Electoral College, which misrepresents the will of the people through the distortions of gerrymandering, elected said felon and rapist.
Sorry to disagree, but we -- the United States voters -- DID just elect a felon as president. Majority rules, just as "we" elected Biden, the Bushes, Bill Clinton and so forth. I think Trump is a disgusting, incompetent grifter, but he is our president, like it or not. Let's just hope that the Democrats in leadership (and I have no idea who that is anymore) take note and work to reduce the Republican domination, starting in 2026.
The House is gerrymandered, not the Electoral College, which is based on population and is winner take all. In addition, EC aside, Trump won the popular vote, so it is the case that a plurality of those who voted chose Trump. It wasn't all of us, as you note, but it was enough to win, however we look at it.
Just wait for it. The Chair is black, which means a DEI hire in Trump's reptile brain. He already ejected the female head of Coast Guard, so he's on the hit list. Trump is anything but subtle.
The guy wants to shoot people. They’ll send the military after the minorities, and the “libs”any chance they can make an excuse for. They’ve already sent them to the border.
Perhaps DJT should have asked himself when considering Hogsbreath (love that!) if he would have hired his own brother, a reserve pilot and, sadly, an alcoholic, to head Defense. Fred Jr never kissed his brother’s big butt, so no, he wouldn’t have ever been considered. It makes me wonder, though, if Donnie will ridicule Pete behind his back because of the drinking. He considered his brother weak because of it. Time will tell.
Of course he will. He knows what he’s doing. He is malicious. He put the guy there because he is without a rudder and will shoot to kill before he asks questions. We all have to stop thinking that the orange turd thinks like a normal caring person. He is Hitler reincarnated. I don’t know how much more people have to see happen to understand this.
She also refused to vote for the VAWA for a very long time because it punished domestic partners and not just spouses. The party of life who allows men to kill their pregnant partners over allowing an abortion.
Mr. Loft, I believe that is what will happen--sooner rather than later. Hegseth is an alcoholic and they seldom can "just quit". The pressures of a job for which he is wholly unqualified and completely unprepared is sure to be the most pressure he has ever had to handle and I'm pretty sure he will be turning to the bottle "for relaxation".
They will feed him benzos I guarantee it so he can be inebriated without smelling like a brewery. They didn’t put him there believing for one freaking second he was going to sober up.
All Republicans who voted for Hegseth let Americans down. Don’t single out Ernst because she took longer to get to yes. 50 of them had no qualms about their vote. Also, Wicker’s comment is astonishingly ignorant, even for MAGA, about what the SecDef job is.
I agree. It wasn't Ernst alone. But her vote does highlight the terrorism that is swirling through the ranks of the GOP. I gotta believe, that if Hegseth had been put forward by George Bush, she would have been leading the "No" votes. It's that she's scared out of her wits.
A lot of them are scared out of their wits. They all are threatened not just with political retribution but with threats to their families and, if they have them, their businesses. It’s like the mafia. I just get tired of women being singled out and judged more harshly when it’s the legions of cowardly and/or greedy men who got us here. Case in point: If McConnell had led his faction to convict after Jan 6, we wouldn’t be here now.
Oh, McConnell tops my list. What really gets me about Ernst is that she is a Veteran, and knows best what an unmitigated disaster this guy will be as SecDef. She violated two oaths, her Officer's oath and her Senatorial Oath. She is an Oathbreaker.
That thought had crossed my mind. I suspect if the threats were directed at Senator Ernst alone, she would have cast a thumb's-down. It may be that her loved ones were threatened, too, by Trump's new brown-shirts. Should one call them red shirts? I like Jimmy Kimmel's term: storm-trumpers.
Amen. If they are too scared to do their job then fucking resign. She represents around 3 million people and is a coward. Why the heck did she run for reelection if she's a coward?
Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins and Mitch McConnell had voted against Hogsbreath and I'm sure they get death threats as well.
Did Ernst go public about the threats? Did she inform law enforcement officials? If someone had done that to me I would have called every agency possible and had a press conference revealing what had happened.
Sorry, Ernst may have felt fear for her family. But I feel fear for the nation and the world with Pete Numbnuts running the DOD. This nomination is insane and EVERY Senator knows it. They are obeying in advance. They are cowards and fools.
Please! No props for Moscow Mitch. As Borowitz so adroitly said.....his vote is like Hannibal Lecter becoming a vegetarian on his death bed.
Whatever his reason, you can be certain it was for his perception of what is good for Mitch, not that Hegseth should never have been nominated, much less confirmed.
And freaking stand up and make it public! If Trump and his goons are threatening elected officials, then we need to know about it. Go on your beloved Fox and tell those devoted fans what is happening and see if this is the America they want.
I hate McConnell; he trashed the Supreme Court. However, he gets credit for this vote. Lisa Murkowski continues to be creditable and worthy. As for Collins....meh!
Weak, yes, and certainly not representing the people she was elected to. I won't call her trash, because fear is palpable. But weak, yes, and because of that, not fit for office.
As I read through so many of the above comments....why do I keep thinking of the mere three weeks it took for a famous German to consolidate his power and take over the government??? Fortunately his reign ended with his suicide. Our issues may be more systemic, as it has been percolating for decades???
She chose public life. If any criminal can make a phone call with a death threat and change who the Senate confirms to run our military, our democracy is lost. Last night I was talking to a buddy who explained that, due to his cop brother-in-law who arrested a bunch of violent corrupt cops in a big case, he was not allowed to play in the front yard. The house was under security protection, there had been death threats. The cop didn't back down! He had 3 young kids. The Senator put the NATION at risk because she is a coward after CHOOSING BEGGING for the job in public life. She is a hypocritical coward. RESIGN!
There is something deeply wrong when death threats become a normalised part of government procedure. Bishop Budde received death threats. Who is making these calls? Where are the guardrails if the people installed to keep things in check are scared for their lives?
Citing alleged or actual death threats gives gutless Republicans “cover” to acquiesce to ANY Trump demand. How can government function if cowards cave in every damn time? Elected officials living in fear instead of standing up are abdicating their responsibility to represent the people who elected them. I honestly don’t give a damn about her fear. If she is too afraid to do her job she should just resign.
I understand that she is not suitable to be a Senator if she can be intimidated by anyone. I thought she was tougher stuff. When you swear to uphold the Constitution and assume the role of United States Senator...NOTHING should stand in the way of voting sensibly and responsibly. The people hired her to represent their best interests, She is an utter failure. All of the Senators who voted for Pete the Putz are failures. Cowards.
Senators have all the tools at their fingertips to obtain the best security and protection. They can ask Fed LE to investigate threats and prosecute them. There is no excuse. It's not like any of us can get that kind of protection from our local LE organizations.
The reality being.., had she screamed, she'd have been chalked off as having a mental problem. She would've had NO support from her spineless colleagues. She should never had the job in the first place.
I would really like to encourage all the sane, reasonable and good people here to be careful with our words. We need to always push the truth to the top of we are going to beat fascism. There are reports of her receiving political threats but I find nothing about death threats. It’s a huge span. Please please please can we all make an effort to be careful with our words. We have to be the adults in the room. Thank you. “Speaking Thursday at the centrist group No Labels’ “Power to the Middle” conference in Washington, Republican Utah Sen.-elect John Curtis said he had “talked to a sitting senator today who has what feels like the entire world coming after her, because she may or may not support one of the Trump nominees.”
“She's being plummeted with threats, with all sorts of things that don't belong in political arena, and her staff is. And so you talk about pressure, right?” Curtis continued, without mentioning Ernst — or any other senator — by name. “And speaking with her, she has to worry about things like, ‘Well, if I vote against this nominee, what happens to my state when I need something from this administration?’”
Those threats, he quickly added, had been “never directly said. It’s implied.””
Easy their folks. Anyone have indisputable proof, regarding these "death threats". Or is this some more creative crap, like Haitians snacking on pets? Ernst is just another Senator who happens to have served in the military to her credit. What else? She's a rape victim, and so are a lot of other men and women! They just don't talk about it. She's not the problem.., just a symptom. Pay to Play is the problem. Nobody wants to piss into that wind! Huh?
There may be some confusion as is usual. There are reports of threats of her being primaried and maybe more… “"Joni Ernst received so many threats and attacks outright, you know, threatening her, saying that they would primary her all the way through to threats against her own security," Duckworth said.” https://www.alternet.org/amp/republicans-hegseth-threats-2670991952
Thanks for the links Linda. Ann is amazing. I can only imagine how many people in Trump's administration are trying to shut down Substack.
Trump's dementia is progressing nicely. It's only a matter of time before he no longer can speak even marginally coherently. And he will NEVER allow anyone to overshadow him.
Obviously, one of the conditions for Zelensky and Putin to "allow" Trump to negotiate an end to the Ukraine War (which Trump said he would end in a day), is to publicly say that he won the 2020 election.
Now that they both have, the War should be over today. /S
As you would likely know, it's very seldom that I disagree with you Daniel. In fact, not ever before as I recall. This time I do. The tat's might suggest something, but I don't know for sure exactly what. I don't have any (yet, lol) but I refuse to put folks in tiny boxes for my easy understanding. I do agree that I don't like - in fact repulsed by what I do know of him, and he's damn sure not qualified to be Sec. of Defense.
In addition to the harassment, she fears being “primaryed” at the end of her current term…and she does not want to have what happened to Liz Cheney, happen to her!
Now THAT is cowardice! Why should she be afraid she can't get the voters who elected her last time to elect her again? Because she knows how personally vicious the attacks would be against her? Maybe she associates with the wrong people ...
I think MAGA thugs should be called Red Caps. If does loose the Brown Shirt analogy but it is accurate. Plus they get set off as easily as a cap gun and with about as much intelligence. Yet, they are still very dangerous.
Apparently, Wikipedia shows a lot of definitions for redcaps (one word) and red caps. The most telling would be a type of malevolent, murderous goblin found in folklore of the Anglo-Scottish border region, who dips his cap in his victims' blood, thus turning it red.
However, there was also an earlier Negro baseball team called the Red Caps, and a town in California by that name,, and some other benign appellations, so no disrespect is intended towards any of them.
Also, Trump has a threat on his head from Putin was discussed the other day on Prof. Ruth Ben-Ghiat's Substack Zoom meeting, by Prof. Brook Harrington. If Trump does not destroy the US from within, Putin may have him offed. So, what Putin wants, Putin gets.
Linda, if that's true, then, as much as I'd love to piss on his grave, the threat of his assassination by a leader of an adversary nation is chilling, and should frighten us all.
Doug, there has been a 1 million dollar target on Trump from the Ayatollah for a while. That was reported in Spy Week. So, what is chilling to me about this is that
1) With Donald Trump firing the entire National Security Administration staff before his replacements can even get into office and his refusal to vet the people he is hiring through the FBI, we have opened up all of our departments to FSB agents and other agents coming in and posing as people with backgrounds friendly to Trump, but this is not necessarily true.
2) Putin is not going to be his adversary because Trump is doing a good job of destroying the US for him. Our concern should be that he needs to keep doing a good job for Putin, and is trapped into it.
I am from Chicago and raids on immigrants were supposedly started today. It is very clear that it will not be limited to people who have committed crimes, who are targeted for law enforcement anyway. Lots of showmanship to terrorize people who are helping make the economy of a Blue City in a Blue State run. These are measures that help destroy the US too. Going after our citizenry, and using the military to do it, as we heard happened in New Jersey in an ice raid, they picked up a US Vet "accidentally." And I have read that they picked up Native Americans too, who did not have ID on them. I expect more of these "accidents" to happen, so that Americans from certain communities cannot feel safe, and ultimately Americans cannot feel safe.
Ruthie.., are you kidding. Right now one can't be sure of who they can talk to. In addition to the usual sycophants, a lot of police-people voted for trump. They're still laughing as we bounce off the walls. We got nuthin! But, our dignity. We've got a mess to clean up and no 'new land' to sail to.
The difficulty with this question is that I do not know how I would react. I think I would gut it out if I alone were threatened; even there, I can not be 100% sure. If my loved ones were threatened? Much tougher call, especially if I suspected that Trump would pull protection.
She lives in southwest IA somewhere around Red Oak (where the Everly Brothers are from). According to wikipedia she was threatened in 2018 on twitter. She is divorced and there is no mention of her having kids.
She has never been afraid to vote for controversial nominees in the past, so I doubt she gives a damn about anyone close to her being threatened.
She was elected to the Senate when Tom Harkin retired. When I was in college at Iowa State, Tom Harkin was our neighbor. Occasionally we used to have a beer with him and listen to his adventures as a Congressman. Unlike Senator Grassley, he knew when to quit.
After visiting the Harkin Center and reading about his incredible career, it is hard to fathom how the people of Iowa went from someone who worked for them to one that no longer does.
Ned, if she and/or her family was threatened, I hope she had the good sense to report it to the FBI (I've not read anything about this story, perhaps she did.) But if threats of death are the way this country is going to decide our future, then we have no future.
with the number of CONServatives in the FBI, we can no longer count on them for protection. In pretty much all the law enforcement is populated by a bunch of people that believe the opposite of what we expect them to do. Look at how few of the officers stood up following J6. I have a former colleague in TX, retired blue, that refuses to take issue with the release of the cop beaters. This film says it all https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2uwOZhqGS0&ab_channel=MeidasTouch
Well, she didn't do it alone. 46 other GOP Senators also caved for a completely unqualified nominee. So much for their empty words about support for the military in uniform and for veterans.
Years ago, I worked at the corporate headquarters of a national discount retailer. It was discovered that about half of the buyers were accepting bribes from vendor representatives in the millions of dollars. Suddenly, men in black suits were seen walking the corridors of our building as the FBI launched a massive investigation. The CEO had to send his family to a safe house in a different state and hire a professional driver skilled at evading assassination attempts.
The CEO didn't cave and say, "Let's not do this investigation, shall we?" He did what had to be done to keep himself and his family safe. Ernst had the duty to do the same. Cowards do not belong in the military nor in the legislature, and yet, there they are.
The word around here is primary threats. Kari Lake was in the state dropping those and one well listened to radio host was talking smack about running. Her response to her staff "how do I make this stop?" She most likely will still face some lunatic primary challenger as these people feel invincible.
I’ve heard that Trump is controlling the Republican senators by threatening to “primary” them: pour large sums of money into a competitor in the next primary ahead of the 2026 election. Trump has plenty of money from supporters like Elon Musk. It seems to be working. Expect anti-vax RFK Jr to be confirmed at Health too.
Ya know Ginni, you may be right. And, be that the case with so many individuals, it will only be a matter of time before we have a non-debunkable book or documentary which defies the "laws" of grave-ity, that calls out the truth. If, there is anything to that. People like MTGreene and Bowbear are oblivious to such. The fear-factor, blunt or subtle, lives in ones imagination. affecting behavior..., the road we choose. one can only imagine how this will play out. Having a "spine" and the moxie to use it, like "The Bishop" is to be admired. I wish Mayor Bass, would have told Trump to "shove it" and told Melania to remove her gottdmned hat. But, I'm not wearing her shoes. She did OK.
She was never anyone I'd have held in any degree of respect outside of when she was in the room and military courtesy required it. If she was the best the worthless Republicans could come up with, god help us.
Ernst! WHAT did they have on her to get her to vote yes? Just mind-boggling the lack of spine and integrity we are seeing in these Senators. They have to know what they are doing to our democracy in short order with these confirmations. And he was an easy one. I just read some posts on her FB page and her voters are livid. Maybe it will change her status, come election day. We must not let them forget....
Its embarrassing to see people like you lie about Hegseth's resume. None of you could hold his jock strap. How many tours did you do on the front line infrantry fighting?
I (like many others here) had blocked you in the past and yet, here you are.
Unlike many of the people here who have different points of view and discuss them reasonably, your post always intend to inflame. I find your taunts to be amusing, as I seriously doubt you have served in the military. Your claims of being an "intellectual" have been previously called out, as that is a characteristic generally bestowed upon people by others, not proclaimed by themselves.
Your claims about his qualifications are as valid as a McDonald's line cook going from table cleaner, to cashier to the grill and thus being qualified to manage the entire McDonald's corporation. He was ousted from his positions with veterans groups. I guess if that McD's line cook sets the building on fire, that's okay, right? After all, he was a line cook for years.
I am sure people reading my reply will think I am overreacting to you, and perhaps in regard to this particular post, I am. However, I know that it is quite likely you have more posts, ones you intend to be nuclear, and I don't intend to read them.
Don't bother to respond. By the time you have read this, I will have already blocked you again/
Do you think the SecDef needs to be on the front? Or that the SecDef actually strategizes the battles? The secretary isn’t even the COO but above that as the chief executive. The SecDef actually need to know who belongs to ASEAN, for instance, and why it matters to the US.
3bitchy, Joni coveted the “Susan Collins Medal of Compliance”. Learning lessons are always painful in hindsight. And as much pain experienced is not nearly enough
JennSH from NC: God is really busy right now protecting Denmark & North Carolina.
THE HILL's Laurel Kelley reported a "fiery" 45 minute call from Wreck to the Danish Prime Minister, Matte Fredericksen that "spiraled" into a confrontation.
The Financial Times, citing Euro sources, reported that Trump ... wait for it ... ah shucks, you guessed it ... threatened our NATO ally, Denmark with Tariffs.
More noise than shock certainly not awe but, as to the Danish PM, her kids Magne & Ida are really pissed.
Trump has an uncommon fondness for tariffs. Unfortunately they drive up the cost of imported products and Trump has promised his voters lower prices. They’re going to be disappointed.
If I was the leaders of Greenland and Panama, I'd start bolstering defenses against attack/invasion. I think Trump thinks he can just walk in unopposed. If they make it clear that they will make any attackers pay dearly, he may back off. I hate to say it, but all Trump respects is force.
Welp.., trouble is 50,000 soles on the snow in Greenland are no match for the Trump-wagon. That's less than half the population of Maine, and you think they are going to resist the $$$,$$$,$$$,$$$.00 they can get letting the Mining Industry mine the hell out of their beautiful hillsides, piling toxic waste in heated pools. C'mon. I mean, Greenland is doing so well..., they even have "homeless" people. You gonna tell me they're not ripe for us to rape them. And, we damn sure know how to do that. I wonder how long it will take before that B757 has a hangar all to itself up there?
Medias should take a poll on this confirmation. "In an Associated Press/NORC poll released yesterday, only 12% of those polled thought the president relying on billionaires for policy advice is a good thing. Even among Republicans, only 20% think it’s a good thing." Medias should keep taking polls about Trump actions. Such measures will alert Trump supporters who otherwise keep believing everything he does as in their favor. They need to wake up, and polls for Trump actions do the work. Keep fighting every inch.
I'm thinking Fox was relieved Pete found another job so they wouldn't have to fire him. It looks like the Peter Principle may have been named after the wrong Peter...
True observation though I don't think it's related to Fox. The Peter Principle is that people who are good at one job, eg, sales, or, in the case of Hegseth, soldiering, get promoted to leadership positions that they don't have the skills for. Hegseth's case doesn't qualify as he already had not one but two management positions that were too much for him. I take comfort in the though that there are enough principled people in the Pentagon to undermine Pete's worst instincts.
The statement is Wicker's way of kissing ass. Why get upset about it? Per Dr. Richardson's statement on the confirmations "they illustrate President Donald Trump’s deliberate demonstration of dominance over Republican lawmakers."
The larger and most urgent concern is the dismantling of the Federal Government. We can either get bogged down in outrage over the "he said"/"she said" stuff or we can issue a call for Democrats to stand up. Right now, I do not see Democrats doing much at all.
BTW. None of this is trump. Everything that is happening is a play by play from Project 2025. This is why everything is moving so fast and hard. The architects of Project 2025 are telling him every move to make.
And if you watch videos they made, and conversations they had prior to the election, they were very clear about their 180 day plan. Hit hard and fast with these policy changes, consequences be damned. We knew the terrible fallout. And we tried to tell people, but they wouldn't listen.
It seems to me that in order to communicate the threats faced by the country to the troops and President, the Defense Secretary must first UNDERSTAND those threats. Hegseth does not appear to understand much of anything. My guess is the first time he shows up drunk or hungover, he'll be out of there.
In Trump's quest for Money, Staying out of prison and Revenge, he has become an out-of-control wrecking ball.
As a former senior Army officer, Hegseth may be Trump's worst decision yet, potentially leading us into another terrible war; one it's possible we might not survive.
''It should go without saying that a candidate like Hegseth could never have been nominated, let alone confirmed, under any other president. But Republicans caved, even on this most vital position for the American people's safety.''
Once you know the ''Why" —then you know the "Reason''.. .
It would be very difficult to communicate something you know little to nothing about. He can't double talk to people who knows more than he does. Of course, trump does it daily.
It is sad that Senators place a priority of their chances of reelection over their obligations to the American people in approving an incompetent man as the Secretary of Defense. Senator Ernst, I' m speaking especially about you. Senator Cotton, supposedly a defender of military, you also.
LINDA FORCE - I read recently that the House Republicans had not passed any legislation. This was posted on DAILY DOSE OF DEMOCRACY. They sure have it easy. Do no work and get paid. No wonder they try so hard to protect their positions!
We are certainly well down the road to an authoritarian government now. The next step will be sham elections in which the billionaires alone determine who governs and your vote becomes meaningless because you have no real choice. Or do we have that already?
Yes, hard to believe but ... personal friends, law school roommates at UVA, specific issues with Rhode Island’s health care system that apparently need regulatory flexibility from HHS. (that hasn’t been enough of an issue to shift the state’s senior senator, Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI), who remains firmly opposed to Kennedy’s nomination.)
Yes, hard to believe, but ...Sanders has not ruled out supporting Gabbard, who was a top House ally in her past political life as an antiestablishment Democrat and nominated him at the Democratic Convention.
I’m sickened by the GOP’s endorsement of this dangerous nomination, but keep in mind that Trump (the felon guy) just wants someone there to do his bidding. See Noem, Bondi, etc. His replacement might have been worse. See Patel.
The threat of being primaried overrides the concept of doing the right thing. All about power. However the power is being used for personal gain not for the benefit of their constituents. They really don’t deserve their positions, IMHO.
I wonder if any of those who sold their souls to avoid being replaced in the GOP primaries have considered that they might be replaced in the 2026 general election?
Re Hegseth, it's the plan. Trump wants cardboard nothings he can "own" 100%. Even more, Trump wanted a purposely awful candidate, so he could break the will of the Senate, humiliate them, and prove the Senate has heeled. He "owns" a lot of the judicial branch, and is moving to break down IGs and guardrails inside DOJ and the military ... making him the King with absolute rule, all not by accident.
He isn't "moving to break down IGs and guardrails". It's done. The people who are actually behind all this - Thiel, Musk, and the rest, with their insane world views - are just getting started. They've had 4 years to solidify their plans, and now it's blitzkrieg time.
The Donvict is doing for us what Putin did for Russia; making us weak and corrupt. Any military with such an incompetent, walking security risk at its head is being set up to fail, weather that is the intention of the spineless Senators who voted to confirm or not.
The Convicted Orange Felon surely wants to be king, but at the moment, he is more like the fat kid who would bomb his big bullying ass into the sand castle that took you hours to build with your friends in kindergarten, stomping around and laughing maniacally all the while. He could become King Nothing within a few months...
The SC pretty much ruled that this “president” can break as many laws as he likes, so long as they are part of his “official acts.” So the question is will the toadies acting on his illegal orders be immunized as well, or will they just have to wait for their daily pardon memo to keep at it?
I am trying to figure what to do next - being angry or depressed or just writing about grievances is not enough. All my Senators and Reps are anti Trump.
We need a two million man March.
I have been arguing with Texas people who love what is happening and love the Hegseth hire. Instead of writing back in shock - interpreted as a whine by them, I have been asking them two questions: would you hire that man to run your company? If you hire him what will your board and majors donors say? The people who believed Trump about there was no Project 2025 still won’t believe the truth - and we have only started chapter two of the horror novel.
I asked a former Sergeant of mine who does background checks for the county we worked for if he’d pass Hegseth on a background check. His reply was “well, I’d need to interview people”. I asked if being fired for mismanagement of money in two organizations, a signed NDA regarding sexual abuse, and a promise to stop drinking weren’t enough… He wouldn’t answer.
Hegseth has an alcohol problem. No one without an alcohol problem has to promise to quit drinking if they are appointed to a certain office - a promise doomed to failure, if history and the nature of addiction are any guide. That is a security risk in and of itself.
We've appointed a 3rd string JV squad high school player who has been out of the game for 30 years to manage the entire NFL. Holy crap.
Yes - This is what I’ve been saying. Someone with an alcohol problem/history of alcohol abuse, should want to stop drinking on their own/for the sake of their family - FULL STOP. Not “ if they get the job"
I blocked "Rick" so unsure if he's around. It's wonderful to not see him. However, I'd blocked "James A" and somehow, he appeared in my feed today. I re-blocked him. I appreciate the respectful discussions that come up here between people of different opinions. "James A" are not (he had some other handle before, so some might not recognize this one, although I think it's been awhile.) It's hard to pinpoint exact what makes his opinions a troll, I think it's like the old definition of porn--you know it when you see it.
Ah yes, on another cruise with his many friends that the tour company booked him with. I blocked him. They want to interject but refuse to answer questions posed because there is no valid reason to support the menace in chief.
Because he is full-blown MAGAt, even though he sounds very reasonable (most of the time). He has been corrupted by the information sources that he chooses to exclusively consume. Some time back, he was trying to argue that doctors were performing "post birth abortions". I told him that besides being not true, homicide is defined as a "person" meaning (by statutory definition, at least for now) as a person who was "born and alive at the time of the act." His reply? "Not so if the woman asks for an abortion". I kid you not.
You may just have forced me to switch from coffee to bourbon at 8:06 in the morning. We really do have a lot of work to do, don't we? Just signed up for The Back Row; looking forward to it!
As someone long in the field of conflict negotiation, rather than arguing with the right, let’s aim to strengthen opposition and resilience from those who either didn’t vote or are more moderate…..And Strengthen women! Time to get over our codependent enabling. Our children’s future depends on it.
Susan, you're accurate with this assessment. One of the tenents of hostage negotiation (a completely different type of conflict negotiation) is that you cannot reason with unreasonable people; and an absolute is that you do not negotiate with terrorists.
In March, 2016 the senate majority leader Mitch McConnell blocked the confirmation of President Obama's SCOTUS candidate, Merrick Garland. At that time, I called for mass demonstrations to protest the senate action. I did so publicly in many places including FB pages of U.S. representatives, etc. I keep excellent records, knowing that honor and trustworthiness has been in short supply for a very long time. Nothing came of it obviously. Other than John Q. Citizen, who am I to say this is the last straw and incite a peaceful demonstration ? It seems one has to be an "A" list 'somebody' to be heard / taken seriously.
Besides the many places you posted on, did you reach out to any of our known Pro- Democracy organizations? Which ones?
Do you have any contact with any of them? Sometimes established organizations have phonelines, addresses, established connectors that can assist in reaching a committed audience.
No Rachel, I didn't reach out to organizations. That's a great and constructive idea that I'll use in the future. At that particular time, I was still working like a workaholic - 12 hour or plus days, raising and nurturing teenagers, caring for and overseeing care of my dependent parents - Alzheimers and vascular dementia respectively. Thanks for the suggestions.
Having given him the trifecta, we have few tools to launch an offense. Marches may feel good, but have limited impact - especially with someone like Trump. He's also not above sending the military to attack Americans. It's so depressing!
WisDems have been fighting since the failed 2012 Walker recall. When Walker did to state employees what Trump is doing to federal employees. They've won and held the governor's office. They finally flipped the Supreme Court and are rolling back GOP injustice. But the court is in danger.
If Trump/Musk (or Muskrump) cheated to steal Pennsylvania, what makes you think election turnout will mean anything. The problem seems to be that nothing can be done to stop this train unless an investigation into election results assures that our votes were/will be counted. Why are the Democrats so lost? It's like they are dumbfounded, leaving us to watch as the country burns to the ground.
While E-lon’s auto-pen guy Donnie continues building himself a fortress made of sharpied proclamations to keep MAGA happy, the press compliant and the rest of the world slack-jawed, the real Government Takeover is in full-swing stealth mode under the newly named: US DOGE Service (formerly the US Digital Service organization).
This Musk-scripted technological coup is supposedly designed to “improve and simplify” the government’s digital services.
In other words, the guy who brags about being able to hack anything (including PA voting machines), is about to burrow dozens of his algorithmic AI specialists into every inch of the federal government. Already, hundreds of governmental web services have disappeared: from immigration, from HHS, from offices including the WH Office on Gun Violence Prevention. Spanish-language versions of all sites are gone, as are sign-language versions, and sites spelling out legal rights in areas including reproductive health care and compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
One hopes that the National Archives can retain copies of this vast array of adulterated and disappearing data before all of it is dissolved into nothing but reams of Project 2025 gibberish.
Very interesting article that will require more follow-up study for me. Thanks! I want to understand more fully, and maybe this is what Trump referenced (??) but probably not. As my friend pointed out "he lies about everything, why would you believe anything he says" - point taken.
Still; something has to be done before the 2026 election if we are to have a chance. That said, appears we have to know exactly what that "something" is to rectify.
lin*, I ordered 100 postcards on Friday, but I feel less enthusiastic about the good it will do, as it's claimed that postcards may influence "up to 1.3%" of voters. But maybe that will be the margin of victory, so I'm all in.
I wrote and sent about 800 postcards before the 2024 election. A lot of time invested. Not sure it mada a dent. I spoke with friends who did call lines and door to door (I am too deaf ;0). They had about a 1.3 satisfaction rate.
Rachel, I salute you for your efforts! I wrote and mailed 200 to Michigan, but was disappointed in the statewide results. I got them through Postcards Across America, and they were supposedly targeted to Democrats. Great in theory: each voters was supposed to receive 3 postcards in timed mailings. I know that the response rate for mailings is low, but if these were sent to Democrat voters, then it must be higher than “up to 1.3%”, right? I remain hopeful.
People are getting their political guidance from somewhere and we need to tap into that. Social media, for better or worse, will help us reach far bigger audiences. Look at Substack and all of these new voices that we are hearing.
Thanks for this info, Lin. I’m in the wilds of Northern Canada right now (even here HCR’s voice comes through) but will start writing post cards as soon as I get home.
Pardon me while I barf or die, whichever is easier. Seriously, friends of mine in Europe are urging to go to the United Kingdom or France. Some are even offering me -- as I am a nostril above poverty -- a place to live and a job. I will not abandon my belovèd, violated United States of America; she needs me now; she need all of us now.
We have to stay and fight - but my wife said if he changes the Constitution we are gone. Here is the real thing - we all grew up with an aura about the U.S. and for many of us we had latched onto America Exceptionism - at least in some of its more lofty forms. How many of us still have that shining luster, the City on a Hill, versus how many of us now see the U.S. as just another country? Very sad. I am not done and will fight but much has already been lost. A huge apology for our generations before us who were willing to give the ultimate sacrifice for a great country. We are failing what they built and preserved.
Really powerful commentary, there, Steve. Many thanks. Ten years ago, I wrote some essays on the restoration of American Exceptionalism based on the writings of Jacob Needleman and what I perceived to the end of the American Century and insolvency.
While the second and third elements are obviously open to discussion, what I really desired is that we not equate American exceptionalism with economic or military power but on the republican thought.
The Enlightenment thinking made the United States one of the first countries, if not the first, founded on an idea. The essays are okay, but Dr Needleman's book, 'The American Soul', is far-seeing, easy-to-read, and engrossing book.
The good news outside our borders is that American exceptionalism, really our human example, still arouses enthusiasm among young and aspiring peoples around the world. The weapons? Not so much.
I know of Jacob Needleman from a statement he made that "the group is an art form of the future". "How do we come together in order to touch or be touched by the intelligence we need?"
It was in an intro to a Fetzer Institute-funded report on "collective intelligence and spiritual wisdom" in 2000 that was based on 60ish phone interviews with leaders and change agents around the world about their peak experiences with groups. The stories and principles extracted were compelling yet unrelated to how power and money usually move.
Not everything is lost Jeanne, if we can get there, if they don't cheat, if they don't create an incident to justify a state of emergency or invoke the insurrection act, we have a midterm election to winn. That's the turning point as I see it. Keep the faith and call your legislators in Congress either to put pressure on them if not doing their job or to support them if they do.
It's the factor that keeps me from seriously looking for another country as my home. I would likely never be able to return and they would be lost to me - and I to them. Also, right wing activism is global, so where is the safe space? A friend just returned from a cruise during which she met a Canadian woman who is terrified Trump will invade her country. His poison is sickening people worldwide.
Steve, if it were just my wife and me, I think I could convince her to do it. But we have 3 kids (one in the fight of his life against cancer) and 3 grandkids, and we wouldn't have the resources to move them all; nor would we leave them in the hellspace.
The Constitution is hard to change and that is why the Founders constructed it that way. The Heritage traitors have been finding ways around it to get their pieces in place. They are working around the need to change, just making it words on paper that are just suggestions.
No contract, social or business, works if one party or several parties do not live its spirit. What I find among trumpers is disillusionment. The ones I have spoken to strike me as not giving up on the republican experiment but feeling that the experiment has given up on them.
I know that feeling being a Midwesterner. But fascism is not the answer. I am trusting the enough of the trumpers understand that and will turn things around in 2026 (if that is not too late) or join us in the resistance (if 2026 is too late).
I am hoping that Republicans get scared as they realize that Trump is destroying the US for the pockets of the Broligarchy, a group which he wants to join. As the US is diminished, so is their power.
Oversimplified, yet an interesting lens for agreeing wiith you Ricardo, I once heard that there are two fears: losing what you have and not getting what you want.
Agreed, J L. But I also think (putting possible death threats -- 😱 aside for now) that Republicans eventually won't want to cede all of their power to the felon. Not that their power will be used for the good of America, mind you. I think there will be eventual pushback by some who believe they weren't elected to be marionettes.
Were I cursed to be a Republican I think I would want to hang on to some measure of leverage considering how easily Trump throws his former toadies under a bus. Those who screw unto others will just as likely screw unto you. I expect Trump and Elon give each other frequent sidelong glances.
There have been calls for safe-guards across the decades yet Congress is not held accountable for "doing the work" as the culture disolves our Constitution disolves.
Barrasso can kiss my ASS-O! I like the fact that the inspector generals who were fired, are not going softly into the night. Instead, they are saying FU and are going to fight for their jobs that they were hired for. Integrity and character count. They are not obeying in advance.
Marlene, yes, I believe I will. I'll also tell them that they must not cooperate any further with an administration hellbent on destroying democracy, so no more votes for his nominees or for Republican bills (unless truly bipartisan in nature.)
I'm so incensed I can't think straight. I feel betrayed. I actually worked on his campaign when he was a congressman. And I gave him money for his bid for Senate this time. I'm furious!
I get your point. Now you should write to him via snail mail or email and call his offices to voice your anger. Don’t let your emotions bog you down because you are one of his constituents and he needs to explain himself.
I agree with Marlene. Demand an explanation. Josh Riley, my new Rep, voted for the Laken Riley bill. I'm going to push him, because his first reply did not clarify whether he understands the reach of the bill.
I doubt it with Wyden and Merkley. I would guess it is some sort of Senate game, saving no votes for Gabbard and RFK,jr. In other words, they are picking their battles. Yes, I know this sounds like weak tea, but they are not likely in the kowtow to death star group.
Certainly I have no hope of Republicans returning a favor, but it is possible that that there is some strategic advantage to not saying "no" to all of their unqualified picks. It's possible, but I have yet to grasp it. It would be nice to discover that there is something there to grasp, but I wouldn't bet the farm on it.
Yeah, Kristi Noem only got picked by trump because she made herself over to look like Hope Hicks.
Well, at least she probably won't have to worry about leading disaster relief since trump wants to do away with FEMA. Sure why not, there aren't going to be any more disasters, remember he's got a direct line to god so we're good, well unless some state governor's pisses him off.
return to.....good catch about the Gnome makeover. Putting her in charge of homeland security is like putting the fox in charge of the henhouse. Of course, that is true about all his nominees. I do hop that Pete Alcohol gets really drunk and has to be publicly carried out of a strip bar. All of our enemies are applauding. They don't have to fire a shot as death star destroys the country.
If he, not FEMA, controls the money given to states, then he gets to be the hero - and he gets to choose which states to aid. He's already playing games w/ aid to L.A. after the fires.
Trump got a lot of advantage from gumming up the legal process nuisance procedures. Surely those with far better grounded complaints can give the Teflon don a dose of his own medicine.
Trump, like all thugs, bullies, and authoritarians, is testing people -the public, his accomplices and funders, and the legal system - to see how much he can get away with. So far, it's everything.
No one enforced the law when he broke emoluments rules his first term, so why not make cryptocurrency for his wife and himself. SCOTUS has given him a green light, so why not rewrite the Constitution. Congressional Republicans are too ideological, intimidated, power-hungry, or unprincipled to put the country ahead of Trump, so why wouldn't he amuse himself by seeing who's willing/eager to cave to him.
Yes, and all this ”the constitution this the constitution that”. Is useless now. Because we let him get away with one thing against the constitution and now that he sees we are impotent to enforce “the law” from the constitution on out what’s to stop him or his anointed buddies from doing whatever they wish?? During T1, I calmed down my panic by telling myself at least he had did not have Military strength to back him up. Now, he seems to be working on that. He has the beginnings of his own army now and is working on subverting the existing military to his ends. People in these Substacks are saying to organize and do something do something do something! Do what? Where are the people who really have power and influence in our government and society? Why aren’t they doing or even saying anything? Soon it will be too late.
Who? The state attorney generals, federal judges, federal workers who refuse to leave . . . Us! We are the opposition. And as Trump continues down this path, reality may hit the cultists: the opposite of democracy is the end of the world as they’ve known it.
Yes I agree Patricia! And have been asking, where are our Dem leaders?? Or any leaders from any party against the lawlessness that has been allowed for way, way too long!! Is Bishop Mariann Budde the only one with the nerve to speak truth to lies directly to his face!! God help us!
For sure, but also (speaking only from personal experience) it seems to me that we as a society make too little effort to promote civic responsibility for the fate of our own society. Political claims of "only I can fix it" should be a red flag no matter who says it. Failing to vote in a thoughtful way (and I have missed a few minor elections along the way, which I know are important in their own way) is allowing our fate to drift; and given the dynamics of politics over the centuries, that often has put us up Defecation Drainage Ditch without a paddle. PSAs I have heard or read since childhood often seem to emphasize personal choice as a motive to vote over sharing responsibility for outcomes of our choices, well informed, or not, carefully considered, or not, affecting our lives, as well as those of innocent others. If we don't wisely choose others will choose for us. Freedom to make and enable responsible choices is the genius of our own independence.
"Accustomed to trample on the rights of those around you, you have lost the genius of your own independence, and become the fit subjects of the first cunning tyrant who rises." - Lincoln
Maybe what I understand least is why, after so much human pain, and so many past examples of what not to do because it's toxic, we, at least as aggregated humans fall in more or less the same holes again and again.
Following the HCR Letters reveals the path the country is following is too familiar throughout history. Lessons must be learned, that entails being taught which is lacking in our education system, governing leadership and public awareness
I share the same thought, but with Hegseth in office, I expect the response will be major violence against the citizenry by the military. We should not fool ourselves about that. Urban warfare is brutal and leads to high casualties. Ask those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.
As we read the step by step implementation of P2025, is it a suprise.
Trump and Musk were both saying out loud - not hinting - weeks before the election that Trump's supporters didn't need to worry about the votes - that they had enough votes. And we all heard, I hope, Trump thank Musk for knowing so much about with the voting machines in Pennsylvania; that was the night before the inauguration at his PA rally.
Do you really think he carried all seven swing states? Why isn't anyone talking about the Dems failure to have forensic audits of the swing state votes? Are we going to keep letting him announce his intentions - and being surprised at the outcome?
The oligarchs won the class war decades ago. And now they have the entire federal government. The guardrails are failing. I have heard that it took 53 days from assuming the Chancellorship for Hitler to dismantle the German constitution. How long will it take the MAGA to dismantle ours?
Thanks for the reminder Annabel. Trump is no “Hitler” regardless of the fact that he would like to be. Although he has Project 2025’s todo list he has several situations or facts in evidence that aren’t a mirror of the conditions existing in Germany when Hitler rose to prominence.
To wit: Germany was sinking into the worst inflation an economy has ever experienced, it was attempting to pay a staggering debt imposed on them by the treaty of Versailles which eventually took 91 years till it was paid off, additionally their government (previously a monarchy) was then a fledgling republic. 15% of the male population had been killed in WWI.
Although politics here and now are distorted by a tsunami of dark money and corruption Trump and his sycophants have to deal with a well educated middle class and a MAGAT base that want power and money in return for their support and votes. Not sure how long it will take before they realize that Trump isn’t their god appointed savior but I have a hunch they already realized they weren’t welcomed at the inauguration and his cabinet is stuffed with billionaires. Those two polarities will likely never coexists for long and I think we all know that Trump will cast his lot with the billionaires and walk back his promises to lower the cost of food and fuel ⛽️.
The wild card here over the long haul is how the climate crisis plays out especially as Trump Admin 2
tries to cancel the Inflation Reduction Act in Red States. Not sure Elon is happy with Trump’s executive order to stop the buildout of recharging stations. The battle between Tesla and Big Oil will be another balancing act that Trump is ill prepared manage. He’ll likely take money from them both.
Hitler was pure evil, but I think he had some self discipline, and Trump has virtually none. King Trumpty is throwing the weight of his title around, but that might grow tiresome for many even before the excrement collides with the impeller.
I know many who aren't. I'm certainly not. Maybe you need to change your social circle. That's not an insult, it's a recommendation. Those people are not your friends anymore. I think we're going to see squealer phone lines soon a la Stazi.
But half the population didn’t vote for Trump! He didn’t manage to win even 50% of the vote. And a third of voting age population sat out the election.
Not even half the people who voted. He only got 49.?%. Millions didn’t vote because they couldn’t bring themselves to vote for a woman. Hillary showed us that. Then of course Kamala wasn’t white.
Professor Wolff makes a good point that no one is talking about the US Debt, and Trump is so reckless with our taxes…good YouTube here. You can hear his students at his lecture - they all love him…
Global Capitalism: What Trump 2.0 Means | Dr. Richard Wolff
Who is the most likely person to repudiate the national debt but the bankruptcy king? The world would be in another great depression within 24 hours. That alone could cause a war with China, as they hold a large part of the US debt.
How have I missed Dr. Wolff? I’ve added him to my list of reads and watches. What he says here is often uncomfortable to admit about ourselves, but in a sense it gives me some comfort as well and clarifies where we actually are.
I write an email to someone in Congress every single day. No one responds. Not even my own senators. My representatives are self proclaimed election deniers and I still write. Silence! Once again, no one is listening or cares.
It's about mutual control Judy, each side try to control the other but the billionaires knows trump is in rapid decline physical and mental. It's a matter of time. They have the time .
I wonder how Senator Ernst is feeling now that she knows she's been played? Iowa was trending toward Harris in October, which still makes me question the tampering of votes. This time it seems like Trump is planning to collapse the US Government within a month-- all because the spineless GOP Congress (and 'Justices') think they will stay in power. They are just toys to him. He's angry at everyone and determined to take us all out. Sorry to be so negative, but I don't see how this ends well when they let Hegseth through, and Tulsi Gabbard, the Russian tool, is up next.
I think it's the same thing. They aren't thinking for themselves, they are thinking of staying in power through his good graces-- thinking OF themselves. Complicit = spineless. And greedy.
Ernst was not played. She was presented with a credible (to say the least) threat to her livelihood and found that she valued her job more than her integrity. She knew what would happen after the confirmation.
I am angry at Ernst too, but most of the senators who voted her in were male. Where is your vitriol towards them? I object to reading a rape survivor being called a whore, even if her vote - no more than her male colleagues' - was despicable.
Ernst does. She served with distinction in an organization that requires an understanding of integrity. But when it came to a choice between showing integrity or losing her livelihood, she made the choice most people would make rather than the following the more honorable path. She was far from alone. Forty-nine other senators and a VP followed her lead. Of course, any person who decides to vote Republican has left not only integrity but also human decency far behind. There’s that.
Someone else said Stephen Miller but I expect the real string puller is Peter Thiel. That has always been his modus operandi, stay in the shadows and pull the strings. He has tens of billions (maybe not as many as Musk but most of his are in solid cash and Treasury notes, and he has way more skill manipulating organizations).
Really on target Jon, but his investment grooming Vance and money spent points towards the near future. Too much competition trying to influence trump. Nobody else is behind Vance now. Thiel it's smarter than the rest. The time for Vance will come soon and he'll be the puppeteer master.
Ricardo, you say it better than I could. I believe that is why we haven't seen anything of Vance until he took his oath of office (I'm assuming he did; I didn't watch and haven't seen any "news" coverage on it.)
It’s interesting to listen to him try to explain them. “We’re gonna look into that very hard.” Seems a consistent reply. He is flinging things off the wall. Hopefully the aggregate will be so egregious it will lead to another impeachment.
Dear Mitch McConnell - You enabled the Trump Frankenstein. You did not vote for his impeachment in spite of having cowered while the mob rampaged. Too late, too late to rein him in. Perhaps now you are thinking about your legacy and pretending that you have a spine. (NB: McConnell was one of only three Republican Senators to vote against Hegseth)
Thx, Edith, I've been waiting for comments on McConnell's vote against Hegseth. I noticed how late his decision came in -- a courageous leadership move would have been to announce it in advance. He might have swayed some other Republicans to vote no.
Superb Letter! - Dear Mitch McConnell post. I disagree a bit about referring to him as Trump Frankenstein ....... rather, I'd call him Trump Godzilla or one of the POD People!
From The Guardian's First Thing newsletter yesterday morning-
Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s pick for defense secretary, endorsed an extremist Christian doctrine that envisions civil government being subordinate to Old Testament law in a series of podcasts released last year.
The doctrine of “sphere sovereignty”, a position rooted in the extremist beliefs of Christian reconstructionism (CR), calls for capital punishment for homosexuality and strictly patriarchal families and churches. In the recordings, published over February and March 2024, Hegseth also lashes out at public schools, claiming they implement an “egalitarian, dystopian LGBT nightmare”. He even rails against democracy, which he says “our founders blatantly rejected as being completely dangerous”. The Guardian contacted Hegseth with questions about his beliefs on the separation of church and state, and sphere sovereignty, but received no reply.
Yes, Barbara, the classical Christian concept of “sphere sovereignty” as espoused by that podcast, hosted by Joshua Haynes and with Pete Hegseth’s direct quotes, needs to be front and center of discussion within our family and community.
That Guardian article and Jason Wilson’s related article: “Revealed…Trump Pentagon nominee extremist Christian doctrine on podcast” posted just before the congressional vote was taken shocking!
In over 5 hours of recordings in February and March 2024 Pete Hegseth and Podcast host, Joshua Haynes, castigate our public schools for being “one of Satan’s greatest tools”.
Where is the defense of our public schools by teachers, former teachers, and dedicated educators? Educators do not see their chosen careers as a pathway to riches in a material sense. We are committed to educating our children to be good, decent human beings who will contribute to building a better world for everyone…that is our mission and our pathway to riches beyond material riches.
As a retired educator, I am deeply concerned that public schools are being made the scapegoat of society’s blind sightedness to the onslaught of religious fanaticism. Especially, as churches use the simple message of Jesus Christ to do so.
Love how these hypocrites pretend Christianity as their North Star when they are the farthest thing from what Jesus commanded. They believe in nothing except power and control…
I was in the Air Force for 21 years, proud of the country I served. As Trump wreaks havoc on our nation, I feel sickened. Pete Hegseth is an abomination selected to serve as our Secretary of Defense. The only person I feel would be more loathsome in that position would be Trump himself. They are both imminently unqualified, and 150% untrustworthy in terms of integrity and intelligence--to say the very least. I cannot believe the atrocious acts Trump commits on a daily basis--and we're only one week in! Isn't there someway, even at this point, that he can be impeached? With his choice of unsuitable candidates for cabinet positions, his pardoning of January 6 criminals, his attempt to erase the privilege of birthright citizenship, his obvious efforts to enrich himself financially on blatant display, the firing of Inspector Generals in complete disregard of the rules, shutting down the NIH, and adopting a billionaire as his very own, there has got to be a way to put a stop to this before the country becomes completely unrecognizable. He cares nothing about us, this country, the characteristics of integrity, compassion, and charity, or the potential dangers of playing "shuffle the money" with powers in other nations--not all of them friendly by any stretch of the imagination. Somebody please tell me something we can do. Or at least give me some reassurance that we can survive this with the U.S. intact. And forget the high regard with which we've been viewed--he has already trashed that completely with his threats to Canada, Mexico, Greenland, and the Panama Canal! God save us.
Thank you for your service, and for what we can do, you are in a particularly good position. On Heather’s Facebook/YouTube Chats, she regularly advises that we speak up, make our voices heard, write, yell at our elected officials, talk to our friends, family, and neighbors. Change happens at the margins, and there are going to be more and more people in the military raising eyebrows at what’s to come.
Jessica Craven lists calls to make with scripts on her Chop Wood, Carry Water Substack that she writes most weekdays, and she does demo calls on Instagram.
You're welcome! And thank YOU for sharing this information. I had heard about some of the things we can do to push back against the things this administration is doing, but you've added quite a bit to my list. I appreciate you taking the time and effort to send it to me. I'll put it to good use, and will definitely pass it along to others!
He hates democracy. Hates having to adhere to laws. Hates government.
The entire Republican party goes along with his reckless nihilism, because most of them are there only for the money and power office gives them. That and as revolving door toward serving the corporate more directly as lobbyists, as opposed to toadies and sycophants as they are now.
Sad thing is, Dems remain impotent, so out of touch with working class people outside of Washington D.C. as to be but pulled along inside D.C. by the corrupt Republicans, their criminal-in-chief, and his covering corrupt Clarence court.
I understand that some of the Rs in D.C. are going to go after what they perceive as power no matter what, but how can so few of them learned after this many years that he has loyalty to NO ONE?
People empty inside, void of humanities, by definition have "loyalty to no one."
They follow groups, packs (and pacs), abstractions, packaged behaviors, corporate lemming habits, and as much sociopath criminality as lawyers can fine tune for them.
Fortunately for those of us still in debt to individuals who taught us many shades of love we know and can name our many good, necessary, vital human debts.
For me it was Pasternak in my teens; Faulkner, Melville, James Agee, Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, Wendell Berry, Jim Harrison, and Willa Cather in my 20s; Joseph Brodsky, Wystan Auden, C.P. Cavafy, A. J. Liebling, E. B. White, and Eugenio Montale in my 30s, Czeslaw Milosz, Miklos Radnoti, Milan Rufus, Pavel Vilikovsky, Anna Swir, Jaroslav Seifert, Wislawa Szymborska, Tomas Venclova, and Adam Zagajewski in my 40s and 50s, Natsume Soseki, Junichiro Tanazaki, Minae Mizumura, Akiko Yosano, Miyuki Miyabe, and Natsuo Kirino in my 60s and 70s.
But I've always leavened these with America's great crime writers -- so many so fine, men and women, since the days of Hammett and Chandler.
And we need them, as American schools, all dehumanized, have only cleft open the mass crime spree we all inhabit now.
Like he hates the courts, especially jury trails. He loses almost every time when facts are presented. HE would have had to face guilty verdicts had he faced actual trial.
Among all the important points you mention Phil, the more relevant is that democrats remain out of touch with the working class, so out of touch that they had only trump to listen to. Hence the result.
What kind of “top notch communicator” is Pete Hegseth? Wasn’t he on Fox on weekends because he wasn’t ready for prime time? God help us!
His top notch skills amount to "That’s a grat idea, Mr. President! You are always right".
Joni Ernst, you may be a veteran, but you let down every person currently serving in therm military as well as veterans by having in to Trump.
Keep in mind that Joni Ernst voted for Kavanaugh knowing that he is a sexual predator. She has admitted before the vote that she had been raped and yet she still supports sexual predators, apparently all of the Republican ones at least.
Hopefully Hogsbreath will show up drunk in public and the ensuing scandal will be the end of his public career.
You would have to find a Repub with a grain of humanity. They are gone, gone, gone
Republican in Name Only.
I prefer Repubnazis now.
These cretins make republican and conservative into the worst slurs.
Scandal!?! There will be no scandal because there no longer is any shame.
No shame and now no Inspectors General oversight. These are such scary times.
Close enough!
I'm afraid even that wouldn't matter to the MAGA Congress. I'm not sure what would. I have a feeling that if Hegseth, Trump or any of the rest of the would shoot and kill someone on live TV that they wouldn't even bat an eye. So much information right at everyone's fingertips and they still remain ignorant and brainwashed.
They would say it was part of their duties.
That's optimistic. If sexual predation and incompetence aren't enough to end his public career, I doubt that public drunkenness will do it
Besides of which they’ll just load him up with Benzos to keep him happy and not smelling like a bum
Good luck with that idea. We've just elected a felon and rapist to the Presidency. In comparison, "drunk" seems like a minor item indeed.
Except, of course, for the potential massive loss of life of our uniformed service people, men and women. Because of a drunk's ill-informed, uncaring and muddled decisions.
I take exception to your declaration that "we" just elected a felon and rapist. "We" did no such thing. The Electoral College, which misrepresents the will of the people through the distortions of gerrymandering, elected said felon and rapist.
Yeah! And the creep didn't even put his hand on the Bible while he was being sworn in. What does that say?
Sorry to disagree, but we -- the United States voters -- DID just elect a felon as president. Majority rules, just as "we" elected Biden, the Bushes, Bill Clinton and so forth. I think Trump is a disgusting, incompetent grifter, but he is our president, like it or not. Let's just hope that the Democrats in leadership (and I have no idea who that is anymore) take note and work to reduce the Republican domination, starting in 2026.
The House is gerrymandered, not the Electoral College, which is based on population and is winner take all. In addition, EC aside, Trump won the popular vote, so it is the case that a plurality of those who voted chose Trump. It wasn't all of us, as you note, but it was enough to win, however we look at it.
Be very interesting to see how things work out with the Joint Chiefs... more carnage?
Just wait for it. The Chair is black, which means a DEI hire in Trump's reptile brain. He already ejected the female head of Coast Guard, so he's on the hit list. Trump is anything but subtle.
The guy wants to shoot people. They’ll send the military after the minorities, and the “libs”any chance they can make an excuse for. They’ve already sent them to the border.
https://apnews.com/article/troops-border-deploy-active-duty-09324578d2b89db5c44e0ba08f42df47
And in the nuclear chain of command. But then Trump is at the top, so the incremental damage is probably slight.
This is how unhealed trauma works
🎯🎯🎯
Gary, let's call him Hogsbreath-alyzer, because he should be tested every 6 hours.
Perhaps DJT should have asked himself when considering Hogsbreath (love that!) if he would have hired his own brother, a reserve pilot and, sadly, an alcoholic, to head Defense. Fred Jr never kissed his brother’s big butt, so no, he wouldn’t have ever been considered. It makes me wonder, though, if Donnie will ridicule Pete behind his back because of the drinking. He considered his brother weak because of it. Time will tell.
Of course he will. He knows what he’s doing. He is malicious. He put the guy there because he is without a rudder and will shoot to kill before he asks questions. We all have to stop thinking that the orange turd thinks like a normal caring person. He is Hitler reincarnated. I don’t know how much more people have to see happen to understand this.
What we do know is that understanding will be too late.
Margaret, I had that thought and posted it, but you expressed it much better than I.
As long as he's in charge, Trump doesn't really care. Hegseth is there only for camera readiness.
She also refused to vote for the VAWA for a very long time because it punished domestic partners and not just spouses. The party of life who allows men to kill their pregnant partners over allowing an abortion.
It’s gonna happen, it’s just a matter of time.
Mr. Loft, I believe that is what will happen--sooner rather than later. Hegseth is an alcoholic and they seldom can "just quit". The pressures of a job for which he is wholly unqualified and completely unprepared is sure to be the most pressure he has ever had to handle and I'm pretty sure he will be turning to the bottle "for relaxation".
They will feed him benzos I guarantee it so he can be inebriated without smelling like a brewery. They didn’t put him there believing for one freaking second he was going to sober up.
Was Ernst's service in the military only blah? Was she mediocre? How does she reconcile her betrayals to women and to the military with her votes?
Political loyalty prevails!
Looks like "Joni" is gullible. Leave it at that. Poor thing.
gullible or greedy?
That would be nice!!!
Serious question: How can cabinet secretaries be removed? Impeachment?
Joni Ernst completely folded. She let down the country, she let down women. Time for her to turn in her papers.
All Republicans who voted for Hegseth let Americans down. Don’t single out Ernst because she took longer to get to yes. 50 of them had no qualms about their vote. Also, Wicker’s comment is astonishingly ignorant, even for MAGA, about what the SecDef job is.
I agree. It wasn't Ernst alone. But her vote does highlight the terrorism that is swirling through the ranks of the GOP. I gotta believe, that if Hegseth had been put forward by George Bush, she would have been leading the "No" votes. It's that she's scared out of her wits.
A lot of them are scared out of their wits. They all are threatened not just with political retribution but with threats to their families and, if they have them, their businesses. It’s like the mafia. I just get tired of women being singled out and judged more harshly when it’s the legions of cowardly and/or greedy men who got us here. Case in point: If McConnell had led his faction to convict after Jan 6, we wouldn’t be here now.
Oh, McConnell tops my list. What really gets me about Ernst is that she is a Veteran, and knows best what an unmitigated disaster this guy will be as SecDef. She violated two oaths, her Officer's oath and her Senatorial Oath. She is an Oathbreaker.
And yet everybody here voted for a semi cadaver, and then the cackling kneepad lady. Who couldn’t put Together a coherent sentence.
And you have the audacity to laugh at Joni Ernst wow
I read that the death threats scared her.
That thought had crossed my mind. I suspect if the threats were directed at Senator Ernst alone, she would have cast a thumb's-down. It may be that her loved ones were threatened, too, by Trump's new brown-shirts. Should one call them red shirts? I like Jimmy Kimmel's term: storm-trumpers.
Death threats are not an excuse to betray your sworn oath. She is trash! Let someone else do the job.
Amen. If they are too scared to do their job then fucking resign. She represents around 3 million people and is a coward. Why the heck did she run for reelection if she's a coward?
Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins and Mitch McConnell had voted against Hogsbreath and I'm sure they get death threats as well.
Exactly.
Did Ernst go public about the threats? Did she inform law enforcement officials? If someone had done that to me I would have called every agency possible and had a press conference revealing what had happened.
Sorry, Ernst may have felt fear for her family. But I feel fear for the nation and the world with Pete Numbnuts running the DOD. This nomination is insane and EVERY Senator knows it. They are obeying in advance. They are cowards and fools.
Please! No props for Moscow Mitch. As Borowitz so adroitly said.....his vote is like Hannibal Lecter becoming a vegetarian on his death bed.
Whatever his reason, you can be certain it was for his perception of what is good for Mitch, not that Hegseth should never have been nominated, much less confirmed.
And freaking stand up and make it public! If Trump and his goons are threatening elected officials, then we need to know about it. Go on your beloved Fox and tell those devoted fans what is happening and see if this is the America they want.
McConnell knew their would be enough votes to confirm him so his no was performative. Otherwise he would have swayed others to vote no.
I hate McConnell; he trashed the Supreme Court. However, he gets credit for this vote. Lisa Murkowski continues to be creditable and worthy. As for Collins....meh!
Weak, yes, and certainly not representing the people she was elected to. I won't call her trash, because fear is palpable. But weak, yes, and because of that, not fit for office.
I call her an oathbreaker x 2: Officer's oath and Senator's oath.
As I read through so many of the above comments....why do I keep thinking of the mere three weeks it took for a famous German to consolidate his power and take over the government??? Fortunately his reign ended with his suicide. Our issues may be more systemic, as it has been percolating for decades???
I think she is awful but I also understand if death threats were made against her children.
She chose public life. If any criminal can make a phone call with a death threat and change who the Senate confirms to run our military, our democracy is lost. Last night I was talking to a buddy who explained that, due to his cop brother-in-law who arrested a bunch of violent corrupt cops in a big case, he was not allowed to play in the front yard. The house was under security protection, there had been death threats. The cop didn't back down! He had 3 young kids. The Senator put the NATION at risk because she is a coward after CHOOSING BEGGING for the job in public life. She is a hypocritical coward. RESIGN!
There is something deeply wrong when death threats become a normalised part of government procedure. Bishop Budde received death threats. Who is making these calls? Where are the guardrails if the people installed to keep things in check are scared for their lives?
Citing alleged or actual death threats gives gutless Republicans “cover” to acquiesce to ANY Trump demand. How can government function if cowards cave in every damn time? Elected officials living in fear instead of standing up are abdicating their responsibility to represent the people who elected them. I honestly don’t give a damn about her fear. If she is too afraid to do her job she should just resign.
I understand that she is not suitable to be a Senator if she can be intimidated by anyone. I thought she was tougher stuff. When you swear to uphold the Constitution and assume the role of United States Senator...NOTHING should stand in the way of voting sensibly and responsibly. The people hired her to represent their best interests, She is an utter failure. All of the Senators who voted for Pete the Putz are failures. Cowards.
I think that if there are threats against her, she should make them known loud and clear, as should all of these people who are experiencing that.
Senators have all the tools at their fingertips to obtain the best security and protection. They can ask Fed LE to investigate threats and prosecute them. There is no excuse. It's not like any of us can get that kind of protection from our local LE organizations.
The reality being.., had she screamed, she'd have been chalked off as having a mental problem. She would've had NO support from her spineless colleagues. She should never had the job in the first place.
I would really like to encourage all the sane, reasonable and good people here to be careful with our words. We need to always push the truth to the top of we are going to beat fascism. There are reports of her receiving political threats but I find nothing about death threats. It’s a huge span. Please please please can we all make an effort to be careful with our words. We have to be the adults in the room. Thank you. “Speaking Thursday at the centrist group No Labels’ “Power to the Middle” conference in Washington, Republican Utah Sen.-elect John Curtis said he had “talked to a sitting senator today who has what feels like the entire world coming after her, because she may or may not support one of the Trump nominees.”
“She's being plummeted with threats, with all sorts of things that don't belong in political arena, and her staff is. And so you talk about pressure, right?” Curtis continued, without mentioning Ernst — or any other senator — by name. “And speaking with her, she has to worry about things like, ‘Well, if I vote against this nominee, what happens to my state when I need something from this administration?’”
Those threats, he quickly added, had been “never directly said. It’s implied.””
https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2024/12/12/congress/joni-ernst-trump-hegseth-00194070
Joanna -- see Bill Alstrom's comment.
I’m sorry, she didn’t go public about the death threats. Now what’s happened the whole country at risk! She’s no safer.
Easy their folks. Anyone have indisputable proof, regarding these "death threats". Or is this some more creative crap, like Haitians snacking on pets? Ernst is just another Senator who happens to have served in the military to her credit. What else? She's a rape victim, and so are a lot of other men and women! They just don't talk about it. She's not the problem.., just a symptom. Pay to Play is the problem. Nobody wants to piss into that wind! Huh?
There may be some confusion as is usual. There are reports of threats of her being primaried and maybe more… “"Joni Ernst received so many threats and attacks outright, you know, threatening her, saying that they would primary her all the way through to threats against her own security," Duckworth said.” https://www.alternet.org/amp/republicans-hegseth-threats-2670991952
Ann Telnaes says it best. https://open.substack.com/pub/anntelnaes/p/trump-pardons-the-jan-6th-rioters?r=f0qfn&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
Thanks for the links Linda. Ann is amazing. I can only imagine how many people in Trump's administration are trying to shut down Substack.
Trump's dementia is progressing nicely. It's only a matter of time before he no longer can speak even marginally coherently. And he will NEVER allow anyone to overshadow him.
Obviously, one of the conditions for Zelensky and Putin to "allow" Trump to negotiate an end to the Ukraine War (which Trump said he would end in a day), is to publicly say that he won the 2020 election.
Now that they both have, the War should be over today. /S
War is not over. Putin is refusing to cooperate.
I trust the Vice President (i.e., liar-liar-Vance-on-fire) even less.
"storm-trumpers". Lol... I like that too.
The tattoos should have disqualified him.
As you would likely know, it's very seldom that I disagree with you Daniel. In fact, not ever before as I recall. This time I do. The tat's might suggest something, but I don't know for sure exactly what. I don't have any (yet, lol) but I refuse to put folks in tiny boxes for my easy understanding. I do agree that I don't like - in fact repulsed by what I do know of him, and he's damn sure not qualified to be Sec. of Defense.
YES!!! That is what I thought, too, Daniel!
Concur Ned, 'storm-trumpers' it is.
If so, they should have been made public. This is the only way to begin to stop this.
In addition to the harassment, she fears being “primaryed” at the end of her current term…and she does not want to have what happened to Liz Cheney, happen to her!
Now THAT is cowardice! Why should she be afraid she can't get the voters who elected her last time to elect her again? Because she knows how personally vicious the attacks would be against her? Maybe she associates with the wrong people ...
If the is true about being primaried, then Senator Ernst with at least twenty other Republicans really was a coward.
He's got lots of ex cons to draw from
I think MAGA thugs should be called Red Caps. If does loose the Brown Shirt analogy but it is accurate. Plus they get set off as easily as a cap gun and with about as much intelligence. Yet, they are still very dangerous.
Apparently, Wikipedia shows a lot of definitions for redcaps (one word) and red caps. The most telling would be a type of malevolent, murderous goblin found in folklore of the Anglo-Scottish border region, who dips his cap in his victims' blood, thus turning it red.
However, there was also an earlier Negro baseball team called the Red Caps, and a town in California by that name,, and some other benign appellations, so no disrespect is intended towards any of them.
I am sure that Democratic senators have also been threatened and yet, they continue to do their job. How spineless and feckless is Ernst!
I hope we will get that information one of these days.
Great insight, Adele; thank you.
I wonder if she’ll get any threats from this vote? Craven, stupid coward.
Also, Trump has a threat on his head from Putin was discussed the other day on Prof. Ruth Ben-Ghiat's Substack Zoom meeting, by Prof. Brook Harrington. If Trump does not destroy the US from within, Putin may have him offed. So, what Putin wants, Putin gets.
Nahhhh...Putin can not get Zelensky much less Trump, before we talk about an American response for such an assassination.
Linda, if that's true, then, as much as I'd love to piss on his grave, the threat of his assassination by a leader of an adversary nation is chilling, and should frighten us all.
Doug, there has been a 1 million dollar target on Trump from the Ayatollah for a while. That was reported in Spy Week. So, what is chilling to me about this is that
1) With Donald Trump firing the entire National Security Administration staff before his replacements can even get into office and his refusal to vet the people he is hiring through the FBI, we have opened up all of our departments to FSB agents and other agents coming in and posing as people with backgrounds friendly to Trump, but this is not necessarily true.
2) Putin is not going to be his adversary because Trump is doing a good job of destroying the US for him. Our concern should be that he needs to keep doing a good job for Putin, and is trapped into it.
I am from Chicago and raids on immigrants were supposedly started today. It is very clear that it will not be limited to people who have committed crimes, who are targeted for law enforcement anyway. Lots of showmanship to terrorize people who are helping make the economy of a Blue City in a Blue State run. These are measures that help destroy the US too. Going after our citizenry, and using the military to do it, as we heard happened in New Jersey in an ice raid, they picked up a US Vet "accidentally." And I have read that they picked up Native Americans too, who did not have ID on them. I expect more of these "accidents" to happen, so that Americans from certain communities cannot feel safe, and ultimately Americans cannot feel safe.
Clear since 2016.
I wonder if the power of death threats would be diminished if the threatened person informed the police and the press.
didn't you hear? 45/47 is eliminating the FBI and all guardrails against his dictatorship
Ruthie.., are you kidding. Right now one can't be sure of who they can talk to. In addition to the usual sycophants, a lot of police-people voted for trump. They're still laughing as we bounce off the walls. We got nuthin! But, our dignity. We've got a mess to clean up and no 'new land' to sail to.
Different ball-game if her family was threatened.
Nahhhh....she violated her oath. FBI's duty to protect her, find the perps.
The difficulty with this question is that I do not know how I would react. I think I would gut it out if I alone were threatened; even there, I can not be 100% sure. If my loved ones were threatened? Much tougher call, especially if I suspected that Trump would pull protection.
She lives in southwest IA somewhere around Red Oak (where the Everly Brothers are from). According to wikipedia she was threatened in 2018 on twitter. She is divorced and there is no mention of her having kids.
She has never been afraid to vote for controversial nominees in the past, so I doubt she gives a damn about anyone close to her being threatened.
She was elected to the Senate when Tom Harkin retired. When I was in college at Iowa State, Tom Harkin was our neighbor. Occasionally we used to have a beer with him and listen to his adventures as a Congressman. Unlike Senator Grassley, he knew when to quit.
After visiting the Harkin Center and reading about his incredible career, it is hard to fathom how the people of Iowa went from someone who worked for them to one that no longer does.
Ernst doesn’t know when to quit either.
Gary -- do you have any theories then on what could possibly motivate Ernst's behavior?
Ned, if she and/or her family was threatened, I hope she had the good sense to report it to the FBI (I've not read anything about this story, perhaps she did.) But if threats of death are the way this country is going to decide our future, then we have no future.
No, it’s not.
with the number of CONServatives in the FBI, we can no longer count on them for protection. In pretty much all the law enforcement is populated by a bunch of people that believe the opposite of what we expect them to do. Look at how few of the officers stood up following J6. I have a former colleague in TX, retired blue, that refuses to take issue with the release of the cop beaters. This film says it all https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2uwOZhqGS0&ab_channel=MeidasTouch
Really..? Howzzat?
Aww, best reason to stand firm. She needs to get out of Congress if she puts the country at risk, and she surely has.
Well, she didn't do it alone. 46 other GOP Senators also caved for a completely unqualified nominee. So much for their empty words about support for the military in uniform and for veterans.
Just listen to the lying bastards. It’s enough to make Goebbels proud.
Years ago, I worked at the corporate headquarters of a national discount retailer. It was discovered that about half of the buyers were accepting bribes from vendor representatives in the millions of dollars. Suddenly, men in black suits were seen walking the corridors of our building as the FBI launched a massive investigation. The CEO had to send his family to a safe house in a different state and hire a professional driver skilled at evading assassination attempts.
The CEO didn't cave and say, "Let's not do this investigation, shall we?" He did what had to be done to keep himself and his family safe. Ernst had the duty to do the same. Cowards do not belong in the military nor in the legislature, and yet, there they are.
Another perfect reason why the pardons were so appropriate, eh? A whole cadre of right wing nuts to do the dirty work!
I wish we could know just how common death threats are to public officials and how much their numbers have spiked.
The word around here is primary threats. Kari Lake was in the state dropping those and one well listened to radio host was talking smack about running. Her response to her staff "how do I make this stop?" She most likely will still face some lunatic primary challenger as these people feel invincible.
Wow. If primary threats are the reason Rebublican senators folded, that is really pitiful.
Excellent observation, Dan.
Death threats would be illegal. I doubt that story.
It doesn't really matter if they are illegal, does it?
If death threats are part of tfg’s official duties, like using Seal Team 6 to kill a political rival, they’re ok.
Really, they wouldn’t lie would they. Damn, it’s all they do.
If so, that should be the head story in every media outlet.
I’ve heard that Trump is controlling the Republican senators by threatening to “primary” them: pour large sums of money into a competitor in the next primary ahead of the 2026 election. Trump has plenty of money from supporters like Elon Musk. It seems to be working. Expect anti-vax RFK Jr to be confirmed at Health too.
Of course they would frighten anyone. She succeeded in doing it to us all with her dangerous complicity! It really is up to us!
Ya know Ginni, you may be right. And, be that the case with so many individuals, it will only be a matter of time before we have a non-debunkable book or documentary which defies the "laws" of grave-ity, that calls out the truth. If, there is anything to that. People like MTGreene and Bowbear are oblivious to such. The fear-factor, blunt or subtle, lives in ones imagination. affecting behavior..., the road we choose. one can only imagine how this will play out. Having a "spine" and the moxie to use it, like "The Bishop" is to be admired. I wish Mayor Bass, would have told Trump to "shove it" and told Melania to remove her gottdmned hat. But, I'm not wearing her shoes. She did OK.
She was never anyone I'd have held in any degree of respect outside of when she was in the room and military courtesy required it. If she was the best the worthless Republicans could come up with, god help us.
Joni Ernst is a combat veteran, who swore an Officer's oath, then a Senator's oath. She is flat out an oathbreaker.
And cowardly scumwad.
Ernst! WHAT did they have on her to get her to vote yes? Just mind-boggling the lack of spine and integrity we are seeing in these Senators. They have to know what they are doing to our democracy in short order with these confirmations. And he was an easy one. I just read some posts on her FB page and her voters are livid. Maybe it will change her status, come election day. We must not let them forget....
Liked your comment, bitchybitchybitchy, but I also laughed with glee when I read your ‘name’. Thanks for the Sunday smile!
Joni Ernst has publicly announced she was raped, and touts her military service.
There are No Words.
And Ernst, and Republicans, just told every active serviceman that physical or other abuse of women is A-Ok with “The Top Brass.”
Joni Ernst betrayed EVERY veteran, woman, and especially All victims of abuse.
She has proved to be a despicable coward and sycophantic surrender monkey.
Shameful.
George Will in WP- all those that voted for PH are unfit for office.
YES TOP NOTCH skills
BA - Princeton
MA - Harvard
Infantry Officer - Major
2 Bronze Stars
2 Tours of Duty
Military Think Tank
Advocate for Military
Its embarrassing to see people like you lie about Hegseth's resume. None of you could hold his jock strap. How many tours did you do on the front line infrantry fighting?
I (like many others here) had blocked you in the past and yet, here you are.
Unlike many of the people here who have different points of view and discuss them reasonably, your post always intend to inflame. I find your taunts to be amusing, as I seriously doubt you have served in the military. Your claims of being an "intellectual" have been previously called out, as that is a characteristic generally bestowed upon people by others, not proclaimed by themselves.
Your claims about his qualifications are as valid as a McDonald's line cook going from table cleaner, to cashier to the grill and thus being qualified to manage the entire McDonald's corporation. He was ousted from his positions with veterans groups. I guess if that McD's line cook sets the building on fire, that's okay, right? After all, he was a line cook for years.
I am sure people reading my reply will think I am overreacting to you, and perhaps in regard to this particular post, I am. However, I know that it is quite likely you have more posts, ones you intend to be nuclear, and I don't intend to read them.
Don't bother to respond. By the time you have read this, I will have already blocked you again/
Do you think the SecDef needs to be on the front? Or that the SecDef actually strategizes the battles? The secretary isn’t even the COO but above that as the chief executive. The SecDef actually need to know who belongs to ASEAN, for instance, and why it matters to the US.
WTFAY James? When'd you arrive on terra firma?
Ernst is an absolute traitor to her oath to the Constitution. She is a coward.
3bitchy, Joni coveted the “Susan Collins Medal of Compliance”. Learning lessons are always painful in hindsight. And as much pain experienced is not nearly enough
JennSH from NC: God is really busy right now protecting Denmark & North Carolina.
THE HILL's Laurel Kelley reported a "fiery" 45 minute call from Wreck to the Danish Prime Minister, Matte Fredericksen that "spiraled" into a confrontation.
The Financial Times, citing Euro sources, reported that Trump ... wait for it ... ah shucks, you guessed it ... threatened our NATO ally, Denmark with Tariffs.
More noise than shock certainly not awe but, as to the Danish PM, her kids Magne & Ida are really pissed.
Trump has an uncommon fondness for tariffs. Unfortunately they drive up the cost of imported products and Trump has promised his voters lower prices. They’re going to be disappointed.
The autocracy has placed 25% Tariffs on Columbian coffee, bananas & every other Colombian product imported by American consumers.
Spoler Alert: Columbians fight back.
I wish more in the US had Anders Vistisen's, a Danish member of the European Parliament, cojones. https://youtu.be/VGCcIOF9qGE?si=7hZNneV-J2pxKjbf
@Kim1017 🎯
If I was the leaders of Greenland and Panama, I'd start bolstering defenses against attack/invasion. I think Trump thinks he can just walk in unopposed. If they make it clear that they will make any attackers pay dearly, he may back off. I hate to say it, but all Trump respects is force.
Buy your Havarti now, folks!
Darn. I love those tins of Danish cookies.
Welp.., trouble is 50,000 soles on the snow in Greenland are no match for the Trump-wagon. That's less than half the population of Maine, and you think they are going to resist the $$$,$$$,$$$,$$$.00 they can get letting the Mining Industry mine the hell out of their beautiful hillsides, piling toxic waste in heated pools. C'mon. I mean, Greenland is doing so well..., they even have "homeless" people. You gonna tell me they're not ripe for us to rape them. And, we damn sure know how to do that. I wonder how long it will take before that B757 has a hangar all to itself up there?
Medias should take a poll on this confirmation. "In an Associated Press/NORC poll released yesterday, only 12% of those polled thought the president relying on billionaires for policy advice is a good thing. Even among Republicans, only 20% think it’s a good thing." Medias should keep taking polls about Trump actions. Such measures will alert Trump supporters who otherwise keep believing everything he does as in their favor. They need to wake up, and polls for Trump actions do the work. Keep fighting every inch.
I'm thinking Fox knew he couldn't reliably show up sober five days a week so they limited him to Saturdays.
I'm thinking Fox was relieved Pete found another job so they wouldn't have to fire him. It looks like the Peter Principle may have been named after the wrong Peter...
True observation though I don't think it's related to Fox. The Peter Principle is that people who are good at one job, eg, sales, or, in the case of Hegseth, soldiering, get promoted to leadership positions that they don't have the skills for. Hegseth's case doesn't qualify as he already had not one but two management positions that were too much for him. I take comfort in the though that there are enough principled people in the Pentagon to undermine Pete's worst instincts.
I assume that taking a breathalyzer test is a daily requirement of his employment. And posting results with all major news/media outlets.
The standards have certainly been lowered for his unqualified hire.
Bonnie, not only that, but he’s another of the orange slime’s ‘male prostitutes’ w really bad hair plus all the other obnoxious qualifications.
We definitely need a shadow cabinet asap.
Yes, that's a bizarre thing to attribute to him.
It's an ignorant, cowardly thing to attribute to him.
He is a disastrous choice.
The statement is Wicker's way of kissing ass. Why get upset about it? Per Dr. Richardson's statement on the confirmations "they illustrate President Donald Trump’s deliberate demonstration of dominance over Republican lawmakers."
The larger and most urgent concern is the dismantling of the Federal Government. We can either get bogged down in outrage over the "he said"/"she said" stuff or we can issue a call for Democrats to stand up. Right now, I do not see Democrats doing much at all.
BTW. None of this is trump. Everything that is happening is a play by play from Project 2025. This is why everything is moving so fast and hard. The architects of Project 2025 are telling him every move to make.
And if you watch videos they made, and conversations they had prior to the election, they were very clear about their 180 day plan. Hit hard and fast with these policy changes, consequences be damned. We knew the terrible fallout. And we tried to tell people, but they wouldn't listen.
That time scale fits with Nazi Germany.
It seems to me that in order to communicate the threats faced by the country to the troops and President, the Defense Secretary must first UNDERSTAND those threats. Hegseth does not appear to understand much of anything. My guess is the first time he shows up drunk or hungover, he'll be out of there.
Nah, they will circle the wagons.
The Chief Executive lacks a certain wisdom
Because he lacks a brain.
And empty vessels make the most sound. Q.E.D.
His cranium is largely empty of anything except sociopathy, sadism and narcissism, and increasing dementia.
What could go wrong?
No Schitt Sherlock. There is not one surprise since Jan 20.
A "certain" wisdom?
More like ANY wisdom.
Or brains.
It's just New GOP Speak.
In Trump's quest for Money, Staying out of prison and Revenge, he has become an out-of-control wrecking ball.
As a former senior Army officer, Hegseth may be Trump's worst decision yet, potentially leading us into another terrible war; one it's possible we might not survive.
That's my fear and MAGA will welcome it as their "Armageddon." Self fulfilling prophecy.
- Pulled Quote -
''It should go without saying that a candidate like Hegseth could never have been nominated, let alone confirmed, under any other president. But Republicans caved, even on this most vital position for the American people's safety.''
Once you know the ''Why" —then you know the "Reason''.. .
If he were such top notch communicator he should get a job as spokesperson for the DOD. And even so would be a stretch .
Compared to trump's communication skills, I suppose hegseth is top-notch.
It would be very difficult to communicate something you know little to nothing about. He can't double talk to people who knows more than he does. Of course, trump does it daily.
It is sad that Senators place a priority of their chances of reelection over their obligations to the American people in approving an incompetent man as the Secretary of Defense. Senator Ernst, I' m speaking especially about you. Senator Cotton, supposedly a defender of military, you also.
LINDA FORCE - I read recently that the House Republicans had not passed any legislation. This was posted on DAILY DOSE OF DEMOCRACY. They sure have it easy. Do no work and get paid. No wonder they try so hard to protect their positions!
We are certainly well down the road to an authoritarian government now. The next step will be sham elections in which the billionaires alone determine who governs and your vote becomes meaningless because you have no real choice. Or do we have that already?
And this is only day FIVE. It is said it took HITLER 54 whole days to dismantle Germany's post WWI government.
It appears Trump is trying to break a record.
well on the way
JMHO Jack: We are there. Lots of questions.
We have that already in MT
Wasn’t their given surname ‘the do nothing congress’?
Round 2 ?
And get paid by us. They are all on the dole.
Weekly Schedule of Senate Hearings
US Senate Hearings & Meetings
Thursday, 30 January Triple Header
1. Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Secretary of Health and Human Services
.https://www.help.senate.gov/.
Chair Bill Cassidy
.https://www.cassidy.senate.gov/contact/.
(202) 224-5824
Ranking Member Bernie Sanders
.https://www.sanders.senate.gov/.
202-224-5141
Committee Member
Susan Collins
(202) 224-2523
Democrat of Concern: Sheldon Whitehouse
.https://www.whitehouse.senate.gov/contact/.
(202) 224-2921
Yes, hard to believe but ... personal friends, law school roommates at UVA, specific issues with Rhode Island’s health care system that apparently need regulatory flexibility from HHS. (that hasn’t been enough of an issue to shift the state’s senior senator, Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI), who remains firmly opposed to Kennedy’s nomination.)
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/dems-worry-sen-whitehouse-considering-vote-for-rfk-jr.
2. Intelligence
Tulsi Gabbard
Director of National Intelligence
.https://www.intelligence.senate.gov/.
Chair Tom Cotten
.https://www.cotton.senate.gov/contact.
(202) 224-2353
Ranking Mark Warner
.https://www.warner.senate.gov/public/
202-224-2023
Committee Members
Angus King
(202) 224-5344
Susan Collins
(202) 224-2523
Democrat of Concern: Bernie Sanders
.https://www.sanders.senate.gov/.
202-224-5141
Yes, hard to believe, but ...Sanders has not ruled out supporting Gabbard, who was a top House ally in her past political life as an antiestablishment Democrat and nominated him at the Democratic Convention.
.https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/01/23/senators-watch-trumps-nominees-come-vote/.
3. Judiciary
Kashyap Patel
Director FBI
.https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/.
Chair Chuck Grassley
.https://www.grassley.senate.gov/.
(202) 224-3744
Ranking Membet Dick Durbin
.https://www.durbin.senate.gov/.
202.224.2152
Thank you for making these handy.
lin*, I'm betting all get confirmed, even if by party line votes. Gaetz was the sacrificial animal; now it's automatic approvals.
If they confirmed hegseth, they will definitely confirm the others.
That's how I see it as well, Karen.
thank you, lin. Packaged for action.
I’m sickened by the GOP’s endorsement of this dangerous nomination, but keep in mind that Trump (the felon guy) just wants someone there to do his bidding. See Noem, Bondi, etc. His replacement might have been worse. See Patel.
Correct. He’s picking people based on loyalty. It’s his only consideration.
The threat of being primaried overrides the concept of doing the right thing. All about power. However the power is being used for personal gain not for the benefit of their constituents. They really don’t deserve their positions, IMHO.
Unless you’re a Republican voter she doesn’t care what you think.
I wonder if any of those who sold their souls to avoid being replaced in the GOP primaries have considered that they might be replaced in the 2026 general election?
Democrats ought to start campaigning on that now.
No surprise with either
Tribal, 'party rules' what was that Mitch vote supposed to mean? NO ONE followed his lead, how the "mighty have fallen"
Re Hegseth, it's the plan. Trump wants cardboard nothings he can "own" 100%. Even more, Trump wanted a purposely awful candidate, so he could break the will of the Senate, humiliate them, and prove the Senate has heeled. He "owns" a lot of the judicial branch, and is moving to break down IGs and guardrails inside DOJ and the military ... making him the King with absolute rule, all not by accident.
He isn't "moving to break down IGs and guardrails". It's done. The people who are actually behind all this - Thiel, Musk, and the rest, with their insane world views - are just getting started. They've had 4 years to solidify their plans, and now it's blitzkrieg time.
It is all in Project 2025, folks!
Hello - Watch this - Trump is waiting for Clarance to retire and then appoint Aileen Cannon to the SCOTUS
Undoubtedly Linda.
I expect him and Alito to retire at the end of the current court session so he can appoint people just as radical and much much younger.
Your expectation Cissna, looks like a nightmare to me. Terrifying.
Thanks for your reply 😊
Me too.
He’ll want to do it while he still has the Senate.
Bob, they are just implementing Proyect 2025. It's like a cancer spreading.
More like poison.
Since both are deadly, you can pick the one you prefer 😉
The Donvict is doing for us what Putin did for Russia; making us weak and corrupt. Any military with such an incompetent, walking security risk at its head is being set up to fail, weather that is the intention of the spineless Senators who voted to confirm or not.
The Convicted Orange Felon surely wants to be king, but at the moment, he is more like the fat kid who would bomb his big bullying ass into the sand castle that took you hours to build with your friends in kindergarten, stomping around and laughing maniacally all the while. He could become King Nothing within a few months...
The SC pretty much ruled that this “president” can break as many laws as he likes, so long as they are part of his “official acts.” So the question is will the toadies acting on his illegal orders be immunized as well, or will they just have to wait for their daily pardon memo to keep at it?
Someone HAS to do something ASAP - (it’s us ) -
I am trying to figure what to do next - being angry or depressed or just writing about grievances is not enough. All my Senators and Reps are anti Trump.
We need a two million man March.
I have been arguing with Texas people who love what is happening and love the Hegseth hire. Instead of writing back in shock - interpreted as a whine by them, I have been asking them two questions: would you hire that man to run your company? If you hire him what will your board and majors donors say? The people who believed Trump about there was no Project 2025 still won’t believe the truth - and we have only started chapter two of the horror novel.
Fascinating that you ask that question, Steve.
I asked a former Sergeant of mine who does background checks for the county we worked for if he’d pass Hegseth on a background check. His reply was “well, I’d need to interview people”. I asked if being fired for mismanagement of money in two organizations, a signed NDA regarding sexual abuse, and a promise to stop drinking weren’t enough… He wouldn’t answer.
Hegseth has an alcohol problem. No one without an alcohol problem has to promise to quit drinking if they are appointed to a certain office - a promise doomed to failure, if history and the nature of addiction are any guide. That is a security risk in and of itself.
We've appointed a 3rd string JV squad high school player who has been out of the game for 30 years to manage the entire NFL. Holy crap.
Yes - This is what I’ve been saying. Someone with an alcohol problem/history of alcohol abuse, should want to stop drinking on their own/for the sake of their family - FULL STOP. Not “ if they get the job"
The entire NFL with weapons.
Has anyone noticed the complete ABSCENCE of comments here by that supposed "troll" who "assured" us all that Trump would be "fine" and not to worry?
Methinks even he may have been taken by surprise at the bold and outrageous extent Trump is willing to go to violate not only norms but actual laws.
He is lurking…
Lots of starstruck Trump fans are defending Hegseth. They have no shame.
I blocked "Rick" so unsure if he's around. It's wonderful to not see him. However, I'd blocked "James A" and somehow, he appeared in my feed today. I re-blocked him. I appreciate the respectful discussions that come up here between people of different opinions. "James A" are not (he had some other handle before, so some might not recognize this one, although I think it's been awhile.) It's hard to pinpoint exact what makes his opinions a troll, I think it's like the old definition of porn--you know it when you see it.
That was SCOTUS justice Potter Stewart!
Rick is traveling in Southeast Asia.
LOL
Ah yes, on another cruise with his many friends that the tour company booked him with. I blocked him. They want to interject but refuse to answer questions posed because there is no valid reason to support the menace in chief.
I blocked him. They don’t deserve our thoughts.
Jon, if it's who I think you're talking about, I blocked him, or "Returned to Sender".
He was here yesterday, and said he "wouldn't be around here" in another week and a half.
We'll see.
Good riddance.
He has been around occassionally - last week, in 1 day, he posted numerous comments.
I just press the 3 dots
You can block him. Click on his NAME, and when that pops up, go to the three dots and you can choose to block or mute him.
Our troll is a chat bot that can comb the internet with its own search engine. Rest assured it is reading these comments - all of them, every day.
An astonishing response, Ally. Do you have any idea, given his experience in background checks, why he wouldn't answer?
Because he is full-blown MAGAt, even though he sounds very reasonable (most of the time). He has been corrupted by the information sources that he chooses to exclusively consume. Some time back, he was trying to argue that doctors were performing "post birth abortions". I told him that besides being not true, homicide is defined as a "person" meaning (by statutory definition, at least for now) as a person who was "born and alive at the time of the act." His reply? "Not so if the woman asks for an abortion". I kid you not.
You may just have forced me to switch from coffee to bourbon at 8:06 in the morning. We really do have a lot of work to do, don't we? Just signed up for The Back Row; looking forward to it!
What ? !
They can’t even define an abortion. 🤦♀️
As someone long in the field of conflict negotiation, rather than arguing with the right, let’s aim to strengthen opposition and resilience from those who either didn’t vote or are more moderate…..And Strengthen women! Time to get over our codependent enabling. Our children’s future depends on it.
Susan, you're accurate with this assessment. One of the tenents of hostage negotiation (a completely different type of conflict negotiation) is that you cannot reason with unreasonable people; and an absolute is that you do not negotiate with terrorists.
In March, 2016 the senate majority leader Mitch McConnell blocked the confirmation of President Obama's SCOTUS candidate, Merrick Garland. At that time, I called for mass demonstrations to protest the senate action. I did so publicly in many places including FB pages of U.S. representatives, etc. I keep excellent records, knowing that honor and trustworthiness has been in short supply for a very long time. Nothing came of it obviously. Other than John Q. Citizen, who am I to say this is the last straw and incite a peaceful demonstration ? It seems one has to be an "A" list 'somebody' to be heard / taken seriously.
Question-
Besides the many places you posted on, did you reach out to any of our known Pro- Democracy organizations? Which ones?
Do you have any contact with any of them? Sometimes established organizations have phonelines, addresses, established connectors that can assist in reaching a committed audience.
No Rachel, I didn't reach out to organizations. That's a great and constructive idea that I'll use in the future. At that particular time, I was still working like a workaholic - 12 hour or plus days, raising and nurturing teenagers, caring for and overseeing care of my dependent parents - Alzheimers and vascular dementia respectively. Thanks for the suggestions.
This Texas person hates what is happening, but the Texas trio of evil is 100% mAGAT
We've only seen the prologue...
Having given him the trifecta, we have few tools to launch an offense. Marches may feel good, but have limited impact - especially with someone like Trump. He's also not above sending the military to attack Americans. It's so depressing!
Musk is planning to 'Pennsylvania' Wisconsin to skew the crucial April state elections.
"Our Supreme Court race, in just 67 days, will determine the future of freedom in the Badger State. "
Write postcards
https://turnoutpac.org/postcards/
Support WisDems
https://wisdems.org/
WisDems have been fighting since the failed 2012 Walker recall. When Walker did to state employees what Trump is doing to federal employees. They've won and held the governor's office. They finally flipped the Supreme Court and are rolling back GOP injustice. But the court is in danger.
I Donated.
If Trump/Musk (or Muskrump) cheated to steal Pennsylvania, what makes you think election turnout will mean anything. The problem seems to be that nothing can be done to stop this train unless an investigation into election results assures that our votes were/will be counted. Why are the Democrats so lost? It's like they are dumbfounded, leaving us to watch as the country burns to the ground.
While E-lon’s auto-pen guy Donnie continues building himself a fortress made of sharpied proclamations to keep MAGA happy, the press compliant and the rest of the world slack-jawed, the real Government Takeover is in full-swing stealth mode under the newly named: US DOGE Service (formerly the US Digital Service organization).
This Musk-scripted technological coup is supposedly designed to “improve and simplify” the government’s digital services.
In other words, the guy who brags about being able to hack anything (including PA voting machines), is about to burrow dozens of his algorithmic AI specialists into every inch of the federal government. Already, hundreds of governmental web services have disappeared: from immigration, from HHS, from offices including the WH Office on Gun Violence Prevention. Spanish-language versions of all sites are gone, as are sign-language versions, and sites spelling out legal rights in areas including reproductive health care and compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
One hopes that the National Archives can retain copies of this vast array of adulterated and disappearing data before all of it is dissolved into nothing but reams of Project 2025 gibberish.
https://www.gregpalast.com/trump-lost-vote-suppression-won/
Very interesting article that will require more follow-up study for me. Thanks! I want to understand more fully, and maybe this is what Trump referenced (??) but probably not. As my friend pointed out "he lies about everything, why would you believe anything he says" - point taken.
Still; something has to be done before the 2026 election if we are to have a chance. That said, appears we have to know exactly what that "something" is to rectify.
elmo needs termination. Of the "with extreme prejudice" variety.
lin*, I ordered 100 postcards on Friday, but I feel less enthusiastic about the good it will do, as it's claimed that postcards may influence "up to 1.3%" of voters. But maybe that will be the margin of victory, so I'm all in.
I wrote and sent about 800 postcards before the 2024 election. A lot of time invested. Not sure it mada a dent. I spoke with friends who did call lines and door to door (I am too deaf ;0). They had about a 1.3 satisfaction rate.
We must just keep trying but it is sad and hard.
Rachel, I salute you for your efforts! I wrote and mailed 200 to Michigan, but was disappointed in the statewide results. I got them through Postcards Across America, and they were supposedly targeted to Democrats. Great in theory: each voters was supposed to receive 3 postcards in timed mailings. I know that the response rate for mailings is low, but if these were sent to Democrat voters, then it must be higher than “up to 1.3%”, right? I remain hopeful.
I received two postcards ahead of the 2024 election. I live in a Republican-controlled state and really appreciated those postcards.
People are getting their political guidance from somewhere and we need to tap into that. Social media, for better or worse, will help us reach far bigger audiences. Look at Substack and all of these new voices that we are hearing.
Musk rules the fools. From now on, just ask what muskrat wants
Thanks for this info, Lin. I’m in the wilds of Northern Canada right now (even here HCR’s voice comes through) but will start writing post cards as soon as I get home.
You are 100% right on this!!
No one is listening or cares!
Not true! I’m not from Wisconsin and I care deeply!!!
What? What shall we do?
Pardon me while I barf or die, whichever is easier. Seriously, friends of mine in Europe are urging to go to the United Kingdom or France. Some are even offering me -- as I am a nostril above poverty -- a place to live and a job. I will not abandon my belovèd, violated United States of America; she needs me now; she need all of us now.
We have to stay and fight - but my wife said if he changes the Constitution we are gone. Here is the real thing - we all grew up with an aura about the U.S. and for many of us we had latched onto America Exceptionism - at least in some of its more lofty forms. How many of us still have that shining luster, the City on a Hill, versus how many of us now see the U.S. as just another country? Very sad. I am not done and will fight but much has already been lost. A huge apology for our generations before us who were willing to give the ultimate sacrifice for a great country. We are failing what they built and preserved.
Really powerful commentary, there, Steve. Many thanks. Ten years ago, I wrote some essays on the restoration of American Exceptionalism based on the writings of Jacob Needleman and what I perceived to the end of the American Century and insolvency.
While the second and third elements are obviously open to discussion, what I really desired is that we not equate American exceptionalism with economic or military power but on the republican thought.
The Enlightenment thinking made the United States one of the first countries, if not the first, founded on an idea. The essays are okay, but Dr Needleman's book, 'The American Soul', is far-seeing, easy-to-read, and engrossing book.
The good news outside our borders is that American exceptionalism, really our human example, still arouses enthusiasm among young and aspiring peoples around the world. The weapons? Not so much.
I know of Jacob Needleman from a statement he made that "the group is an art form of the future". "How do we come together in order to touch or be touched by the intelligence we need?"
It was in an intro to a Fetzer Institute-funded report on "collective intelligence and spiritual wisdom" in 2000 that was based on 60ish phone interviews with leaders and change agents around the world about their peak experiences with groups. The stories and principles extracted were compelling yet unrelated to how power and money usually move.
I appreciate Yuval Noah Harari's books for their contextual sensemaking. This Coursera blog post on A Brief History of Humankind helps to view now from a zoomed-out point of view: https://blog.coursera.org/history-began-when-humans-invented-gods-and-will/
Love the brief history book; accessible, loaded, and wise.
Ar the same time Steve we have to apologize to future generations for what we didn't do to preserve democracy in this country and all over the world .
This is the really heavy part, what kind of a world are we leaving for our children and grandchildren?
Not everything is lost Jeanne, if we can get there, if they don't cheat, if they don't create an incident to justify a state of emergency or invoke the insurrection act, we have a midterm election to winn. That's the turning point as I see it. Keep the faith and call your legislators in Congress either to put pressure on them if not doing their job or to support them if they do.
Thanks for your reply 👍
He is already declaring emergencies to justify whatever he wants to do. The question I always reach is: Who is going to stop him?
It's the factor that keeps me from seriously looking for another country as my home. I would likely never be able to return and they would be lost to me - and I to them. Also, right wing activism is global, so where is the safe space? A friend just returned from a cruise during which she met a Canadian woman who is terrified Trump will invade her country. His poison is sickening people worldwide.
Steve, if it were just my wife and me, I think I could convince her to do it. But we have 3 kids (one in the fight of his life against cancer) and 3 grandkids, and we wouldn't have the resources to move them all; nor would we leave them in the hellspace.
The Constitution is hard to change and that is why the Founders constructed it that way. The Heritage traitors have been finding ways around it to get their pieces in place. They are working around the need to change, just making it words on paper that are just suggestions.
No contract, social or business, works if one party or several parties do not live its spirit. What I find among trumpers is disillusionment. The ones I have spoken to strike me as not giving up on the republican experiment but feeling that the experiment has given up on them.
I know that feeling being a Midwesterner. But fascism is not the answer. I am trusting the enough of the trumpers understand that and will turn things around in 2026 (if that is not too late) or join us in the resistance (if 2026 is too late).
Steve, I'd also extend an apology to the children of the present as well as all future generations. We may have royally screwed things up.
*He* can't change the Constitution, but the MAGAfied SCOTUS has shown no reluctance (in fact some desire) to issue new interpretations.
I can heard champagne popping up in Moscow...😓
Oh, Ned. Can you face the worst?
I am hoping that Republicans get scared as they realize that Trump is destroying the US for the pockets of the Broligarchy, a group which he wants to join. As the US is diminished, so is their power.
Linda, do you think they don't know?
They are scared already but not about what trump is doing, it's about them loosing their jobs and perks.
Oversimplified, yet an interesting lens for agreeing wiith you Ricardo, I once heard that there are two fears: losing what you have and not getting what you want.
Quite right Joan. Thanks for your reply 👍
I Trump craters the US, I don't think they'll escape the blowback. Not even the tech bros.
Cratering is happening as we post
Agreed, J L. But I also think (putting possible death threats -- 😱 aside for now) that Republicans eventually won't want to cede all of their power to the felon. Not that their power will be used for the good of America, mind you. I think there will be eventual pushback by some who believe they weren't elected to be marionettes.
Were I cursed to be a Republican I think I would want to hang on to some measure of leverage considering how easily Trump throws his former toadies under a bus. Those who screw unto others will just as likely screw unto you. I expect Trump and Elon give each other frequent sidelong glances.
They are already scared, but they are holding onto the belief that by rolling over and giving them their soft belly, they get to stay in power.
Nuts.
He will throw them under the bus in time. Apparently his and Melania's cryptocoin annoyed those guys. He just doesn't care. He doesn't need them.
Linda, this is what I'm hoping for.
Herblock (of blessed memory) Nixon cartoons.
From when most of the GOP were still concerned about what it looked like having a criminal in the White House.
https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/herblocks-history/crook.html
Herblock was one the titans. He and Thomas Nast made it into my 1950s history schoolbook. And the Washington Post was still a Newspaper.
Thank you for the link.
There have been calls for safe-guards across the decades yet Congress is not held accountable for "doing the work" as the culture disolves our Constitution disolves.
As the USSC has shown, all the laws and guardrails in the world are useless if no one will enforce them.
History repeats itself. Only difference is that back then we had a more normal republican party.
great cartoon comments
Barrasso can kiss my ASS-O! I like the fact that the inspector generals who were fired, are not going softly into the night. Instead, they are saying FU and are going to fight for their jobs that they were hired for. Integrity and character count. They are not obeying in advance.
On the other hand, it was shocking to me that 6 or 7 Democrats voted for Kristi Noem and some of them who I liked shocked me! See this: https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5106903-democratic-senators-kristi-noem-homeland-security/
I can't believe that any of them voted for her. But even more so, I can't believe that Senator Andy Kim voted for her. What an f-ing disappointment!
Kathryn, as well SD my state of NH's 2 senators, Shaheen and Hassan.
If Dems are to be the opposition party, they must OPPOSE. No more Mr. Nice Guy -- it's time to act on principle and not on tradition.
I know!! Write and call their offices, Doug. Give them a piece of your mind!
Marlene, yes, I believe I will. I'll also tell them that they must not cooperate any further with an administration hellbent on destroying democracy, so no more votes for his nominees or for Republican bills (unless truly bipartisan in nature.)
His, especially, blew me away also, Kathryn!
I'm so incensed I can't think straight. I feel betrayed. I actually worked on his campaign when he was a congressman. And I gave him money for his bid for Senate this time. I'm furious!
I get your point. Now you should write to him via snail mail or email and call his offices to voice your anger. Don’t let your emotions bog you down because you are one of his constituents and he needs to explain himself.
And tell him exactly why. In plain language. We're past politeness.
Plain and stern, but Adult. Ferocity with dignity.
Like in, when they fly low, we fly just a little bit higher.
I agree with Marlene. Demand an explanation. Josh Riley, my new Rep, voted for the Laken Riley bill. I'm going to push him, because his first reply did not clarify whether he understands the reach of the bill.
Dems must change their "game plan" to act not react. The GOP knows how they react. The GOP outsmarts the process as "we the people" gasp!
I too was surprised. Dems don’t need to support stupid choices.
Even Senators Wyden and Merkley of Oregon abstained. Is there something in the DC water that robs people of conscience?
Seems like it. Or maybe it's money. Invasion of the Conscience Snatchers.
I doubt it with Wyden and Merkley. I would guess it is some sort of Senate game, saving no votes for Gabbard and RFK,jr. In other words, they are picking their battles. Yes, I know this sounds like weak tea, but they are not likely in the kowtow to death star group.
I devoutly hope there is some "gamesmanship" going on with those abstentions. Otherwise, I am sorely disappointed in them.
Certainly I have no hope of Republicans returning a favor, but it is possible that that there is some strategic advantage to not saying "no" to all of their unqualified picks. It's possible, but I have yet to grasp it. It would be nice to discover that there is something there to grasp, but I wouldn't bet the farm on it.
I emailed their DC offices about my dismay. It seems wildly out of character of both of them to have abstained instead of just voting no.
Thanks; I am going to do the same.
Yeah, Kristi Noem only got picked by trump because she made herself over to look like Hope Hicks.
Well, at least she probably won't have to worry about leading disaster relief since trump wants to do away with FEMA. Sure why not, there aren't going to be any more disasters, remember he's got a direct line to god so we're good, well unless some state governor's pisses him off.
return to.....good catch about the Gnome makeover. Putting her in charge of homeland security is like putting the fox in charge of the henhouse. Of course, that is true about all his nominees. I do hop that Pete Alcohol gets really drunk and has to be publicly carried out of a strip bar. All of our enemies are applauding. They don't have to fire a shot as death star destroys the country.
Trump did a heckuva job on COVID.
As did the Gnome. My husband has Lakota ancestry and one of his relatives has kept track of how many people in South Dakota have died from CO-VID.
If Trump does away with FEMA why in hells name do blue states keep making our oversized contribution to red states. Time to stop.
His god is Putin. His dealer is Musk.
Does anyone remember what happened to Cari Lake? I shed Ambassador to Mexico? Can someone remind me of what she is up to?
I believe she was named to run Voice of America in Europe, so she can tell Europe how persecuted she was in Arizona
Good way to put it, Frank! I think Kari will fail bigly.
Or VOA will, which I suppose is the point.
If he, not FEMA, controls the money given to states, then he gets to be the hero - and he gets to choose which states to aid. He's already playing games w/ aid to L.A. after the fires.
! ! !
I recall one woman saying she voted for Trump because he sent everyone checks.
Thank you Marlene. I’m calmer now. He will definitely be hearing from me.
Thatta girl!!
Jeanne Shaheen? Tim Kaine? How very disappointing.
Including Michigan senator gary peters and Elisa slotkin! They’ll hear from me!
My two Michigan senators are going to get an earful. We must not trust anything this administration promises in their hearings. They are proven liars.
Trump got a lot of advantage from gumming up the legal process nuisance procedures. Surely those with far better grounded complaints can give the Teflon don a dose of his own medicine.
Trump, like all thugs, bullies, and authoritarians, is testing people -the public, his accomplices and funders, and the legal system - to see how much he can get away with. So far, it's everything.
No one enforced the law when he broke emoluments rules his first term, so why not make cryptocurrency for his wife and himself. SCOTUS has given him a green light, so why not rewrite the Constitution. Congressional Republicans are too ideological, intimidated, power-hungry, or unprincipled to put the country ahead of Trump, so why wouldn't he amuse himself by seeing who's willing/eager to cave to him.
Yes, and all this ”the constitution this the constitution that”. Is useless now. Because we let him get away with one thing against the constitution and now that he sees we are impotent to enforce “the law” from the constitution on out what’s to stop him or his anointed buddies from doing whatever they wish?? During T1, I calmed down my panic by telling myself at least he had did not have Military strength to back him up. Now, he seems to be working on that. He has the beginnings of his own army now and is working on subverting the existing military to his ends. People in these Substacks are saying to organize and do something do something do something! Do what? Where are the people who really have power and influence in our government and society? Why aren’t they doing or even saying anything? Soon it will be too late.
Pray that the lawyers and attorneys general tie him into knots.
! ! ! ! !
Who? The state attorney generals, federal judges, federal workers who refuse to leave . . . Us! We are the opposition. And as Trump continues down this path, reality may hit the cultists: the opposite of democracy is the end of the world as they’ve known it.
Yes I agree Patricia! And have been asking, where are our Dem leaders?? Or any leaders from any party against the lawlessness that has been allowed for way, way too long!! Is Bishop Mariann Budde the only one with the nerve to speak truth to lies directly to his face!! God help us!
Ol’ Mitch finally did the right thing but it was a day late and a dollar short
1450+ days late and billions of dollars short. What a travesty.
What I don't quite understand is why so many people did not vote. I was anticipating the largest turn out in our history.
"What I don't quite understand is why so many people did not vote. I was anticipating the largest turn out in our history"
Ans. Psy ops. .
For sure, but also (speaking only from personal experience) it seems to me that we as a society make too little effort to promote civic responsibility for the fate of our own society. Political claims of "only I can fix it" should be a red flag no matter who says it. Failing to vote in a thoughtful way (and I have missed a few minor elections along the way, which I know are important in their own way) is allowing our fate to drift; and given the dynamics of politics over the centuries, that often has put us up Defecation Drainage Ditch without a paddle. PSAs I have heard or read since childhood often seem to emphasize personal choice as a motive to vote over sharing responsibility for outcomes of our choices, well informed, or not, carefully considered, or not, affecting our lives, as well as those of innocent others. If we don't wisely choose others will choose for us. Freedom to make and enable responsible choices is the genius of our own independence.
"Accustomed to trample on the rights of those around you, you have lost the genius of your own independence, and become the fit subjects of the first cunning tyrant who rises." - Lincoln
Maybe what I understand least is why, after so much human pain, and so many past examples of what not to do because it's toxic, we, at least as aggregated humans fall in more or less the same holes again and again.
Rupert and Muskrat for starters. Dems only focused on abortion, At least in Tx
Agents or willing idiots?
We need to get to these folks. All of us, work in them….
That’s because they couldn’t duplicate those 13 million fake votes from 2020
Following the HCR Letters reveals the path the country is following is too familiar throughout history. Lessons must be learned, that entails being taught which is lacking in our education system, governing leadership and public awareness
They will blame dems
I share the same thought, but with Hegseth in office, I expect the response will be major violence against the citizenry by the military. We should not fool ourselves about that. Urban warfare is brutal and leads to high casualties. Ask those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.
As we read the step by step implementation of P2025, is it a suprise.
Trump and Musk were both saying out loud - not hinting - weeks before the election that Trump's supporters didn't need to worry about the votes - that they had enough votes. And we all heard, I hope, Trump thank Musk for knowing so much about with the voting machines in Pennsylvania; that was the night before the inauguration at his PA rally.
Do you really think he carried all seven swing states? Why isn't anyone talking about the Dems failure to have forensic audits of the swing state votes? Are we going to keep letting him announce his intentions - and being surprised at the outcome?
The oligarchs won the class war decades ago. And now they have the entire federal government. The guardrails are failing. I have heard that it took 53 days from assuming the Chancellorship for Hitler to dismantle the German constitution. How long will it take the MAGA to dismantle ours?
Thanks for the reminder Annabel. Trump is no “Hitler” regardless of the fact that he would like to be. Although he has Project 2025’s todo list he has several situations or facts in evidence that aren’t a mirror of the conditions existing in Germany when Hitler rose to prominence.
To wit: Germany was sinking into the worst inflation an economy has ever experienced, it was attempting to pay a staggering debt imposed on them by the treaty of Versailles which eventually took 91 years till it was paid off, additionally their government (previously a monarchy) was then a fledgling republic. 15% of the male population had been killed in WWI.
Although politics here and now are distorted by a tsunami of dark money and corruption Trump and his sycophants have to deal with a well educated middle class and a MAGAT base that want power and money in return for their support and votes. Not sure how long it will take before they realize that Trump isn’t their god appointed savior but I have a hunch they already realized they weren’t welcomed at the inauguration and his cabinet is stuffed with billionaires. Those two polarities will likely never coexists for long and I think we all know that Trump will cast his lot with the billionaires and walk back his promises to lower the cost of food and fuel ⛽️.
The wild card here over the long haul is how the climate crisis plays out especially as Trump Admin 2
tries to cancel the Inflation Reduction Act in Red States. Not sure Elon is happy with Trump’s executive order to stop the buildout of recharging stations. The battle between Tesla and Big Oil will be another balancing act that Trump is ill prepared manage. He’ll likely take money from them both.
Hitler was pure evil, but I think he had some self discipline, and Trump has virtually none. King Trumpty is throwing the weight of his title around, but that might grow tiresome for many even before the excrement collides with the impeller.
Sadly many of the uninformed believe The Felon when he says the economy is in the toilet.
Maryland, that's why they are uninformed but I would call them chronic ignorants.
I think Elon doesn’t care because it is undermining their EV competition
Elon is undermining his brand. Trump is undermining the rationale to purchase an EV.
“Well-educated middle class”. Really, the ones I know are MAGAts
I know many who aren't. I'm certainly not. Maybe you need to change your social circle. That's not an insult, it's a recommendation. Those people are not your friends anymore. I think we're going to see squealer phone lines soon a la Stazi.
MAGAt friends gone, family on the way. When you are old, your “social circle” undergoes a warp…
Trump is no Hitler, but those behind him are.
Dark thoughts Annabel, but very real.
When obscene wealth assumes that only its voices matter, the wealthy are generally in for a rude awakening.
Musk made an appearance at an AfD rally in Germany this weekend.
Isn't it time for Germany to call in our ambassador and have a little discussion about meddling?
Was he there to get the German Nazi’s to stand up for Trump? Didn’t he just spends days telling us that wasn’t a Nazi salute? What a POS.
Good point Sharon - I agree. But remember half the population voted for that POS!
But half the population didn’t vote for Trump! He didn’t manage to win even 50% of the vote. And a third of voting age population sat out the election.
Not even half the people who voted. He only got 49.?%. Millions didn’t vote because they couldn’t bring themselves to vote for a woman. Hillary showed us that. Then of course Kamala wasn’t white.
As bad as that is, at least he is not here causing trouble and my experience with Germans, they won't buy what he is selling.
Yes!! We absolutely must make our voices heard, immediately and vehemently, and continue to do so until they listen!!!!
Professor Wolff makes a good point that no one is talking about the US Debt, and Trump is so reckless with our taxes…good YouTube here. You can hear his students at his lecture - they all love him…
Global Capitalism: What Trump 2.0 Means | Dr. Richard Wolff
https://youtu.be/9u4A0D_Wc9c?si=HLHsEW-GuQGlP_cP
Who is the most likely person to repudiate the national debt but the bankruptcy king? The world would be in another great depression within 24 hours. That alone could cause a war with China, as they hold a large part of the US debt.
How have I missed Dr. Wolff? I’ve added him to my list of reads and watches. What he says here is often uncomfortable to admit about ourselves, but in a sense it gives me some comfort as well and clarifies where we actually are.
I write an email to someone in Congress every single day. No one responds. Not even my own senators. My representatives are self proclaimed election deniers and I still write. Silence! Once again, no one is listening or cares.
Cherry, if we keep talking among ourselves only us would listen, nobody else. Pressure our representatives and senators in Congress and our leaders.
They should lead with our support. Call them up,email them, knock at their doors if necessary. They ger more attention than us.
It's about mutual control Judy, each side try to control the other but the billionaires knows trump is in rapid decline physical and mental. It's a matter of time. They have the time .
I wonder how Senator Ernst is feeling now that she knows she's been played? Iowa was trending toward Harris in October, which still makes me question the tampering of votes. This time it seems like Trump is planning to collapse the US Government within a month-- all because the spineless GOP Congress (and 'Justices') think they will stay in power. They are just toys to him. He's angry at everyone and determined to take us all out. Sorry to be so negative, but I don't see how this ends well when they let Hegseth through, and Tulsi Gabbard, the Russian tool, is up next.
They’re not spineless; they are complicit.
I think it's the same thing. They aren't thinking for themselves, they are thinking of staying in power through his good graces-- thinking OF themselves. Complicit = spineless. And greedy.
Cause and effect!
They are both Kristy. Because they are spineless, they are complicit .
Ernst was not played. She was presented with a credible (to say the least) threat to her livelihood and found that she valued her job more than her integrity. She knew what would happen after the confirmation.
That's it Rex, real simple, she is a political whore!
I am angry at Ernst too, but most of the senators who voted her in were male. Where is your vitriol towards them? I object to reading a rape survivor being called a whore, even if her vote - no more than her male colleagues' - was despicable.
Note word 'political' before 'whore'.
What is the name for the men who purchase the services of a woman, 100panthers?
Political services or other?
Marsha Blackburn, Katie Britt, Shelley Moore Capito, Deb Fischer, Cindy Hyde-Smith. Cynthia Lummis, and Ashley Moody are whores.
Brava, Jean, for your post!
I'm not accusing her of having integrity. But she was played. They're all being used as toys.
If so Rex, and it is as you described, she should have resigned.
That would require integrity.
Rex, they don't know the meaning of integrity.
Ernst does. She served with distinction in an organization that requires an understanding of integrity. But when it came to a choice between showing integrity or losing her livelihood, she made the choice most people would make rather than the following the more honorable path. She was far from alone. Forty-nine other senators and a VP followed her lead. Of course, any person who decides to vote Republican has left not only integrity but also human decency far behind. There’s that.
Rex, I doubt the 49 other senators “followed” her lead. That would mean they were hiding behind her skirt!
My impression is that Trump lacks the IQ to come up with all the decisions he’s made in past week. Who is behind these decisions?
Someone else said Stephen Miller but I expect the real string puller is Peter Thiel. That has always been his modus operandi, stay in the shadows and pull the strings. He has tens of billions (maybe not as many as Musk but most of his are in solid cash and Treasury notes, and he has way more skill manipulating organizations).
Vlad when all is said and done
Really on target Jon, but his investment grooming Vance and money spent points towards the near future. Too much competition trying to influence trump. Nobody else is behind Vance now. Thiel it's smarter than the rest. The time for Vance will come soon and he'll be the puppeteer master.
Ricardo, you say it better than I could. I believe that is why we haven't seen anything of Vance until he took his oath of office (I'm assuming he did; I didn't watch and haven't seen any "news" coverage on it.)
Yes. The Manchurian Candidate Vance did take the oath in a more private place. I didn't have the stomach to watch anything that day.
Thanks for your reply 🙂
Who ever spoke to Trump last.
Stephen Miller.
" Who is behind these decisions?" And if we know, what do we do about it?
We are subjects of the 'billionaire era'. The difference between us and the pawns of the gop is that they are 'happy subjects' and we are not.
And the answer is....the guys sitting in the front row during the inauguration.
Vlad and project 2025
Hi Bonnie, those were my exact thoughts as well and who is hiding behind the curtain? Who is the Wizard coaching him?
Project2025, Bonnie.
Easy answer Bonnie, the creators of Proyect 2025 and Elon Musk.
It’s interesting to listen to him try to explain them. “We’re gonna look into that very hard.” Seems a consistent reply. He is flinging things off the wall. Hopefully the aggregate will be so egregious it will lead to another impeachment.
Dear Mitch McConnell - You enabled the Trump Frankenstein. You did not vote for his impeachment in spite of having cowered while the mob rampaged. Too late, too late to rein him in. Perhaps now you are thinking about your legacy and pretending that you have a spine. (NB: McConnell was one of only three Republican Senators to vote against Hegseth)
Yup, McConnell birthed this crappy SCOTUS and MAGA2.0. 'Never have so few, harmed so many, so terribly'.
Thx, Edith, I've been waiting for comments on McConnell's vote against Hegseth. I noticed how late his decision came in -- a courageous leadership move would have been to announce it in advance. He might have swayed some other Republicans to vote no.
He can count
He knew that 3 could vote no.
So why the vote?
Everyone sees he has no integrity
Superb Letter! - Dear Mitch McConnell post. I disagree a bit about referring to him as Trump Frankenstein ....... rather, I'd call him Trump Godzilla or one of the POD People!
How about tfg baby daddy ?
Doesn’t appear that Mitch tried to convince any other Senators to vote with him.
Did you send it? Go for it!
From The Guardian's First Thing newsletter yesterday morning-
Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s pick for defense secretary, endorsed an extremist Christian doctrine that envisions civil government being subordinate to Old Testament law in a series of podcasts released last year.
The doctrine of “sphere sovereignty”, a position rooted in the extremist beliefs of Christian reconstructionism (CR), calls for capital punishment for homosexuality and strictly patriarchal families and churches. In the recordings, published over February and March 2024, Hegseth also lashes out at public schools, claiming they implement an “egalitarian, dystopian LGBT nightmare”. He even rails against democracy, which he says “our founders blatantly rejected as being completely dangerous”. The Guardian contacted Hegseth with questions about his beliefs on the separation of church and state, and sphere sovereignty, but received no reply.
Yes, Barbara, the classical Christian concept of “sphere sovereignty” as espoused by that podcast, hosted by Joshua Haynes and with Pete Hegseth’s direct quotes, needs to be front and center of discussion within our family and community.
That Guardian article and Jason Wilson’s related article: “Revealed…Trump Pentagon nominee extremist Christian doctrine on podcast” posted just before the congressional vote was taken shocking!
In over 5 hours of recordings in February and March 2024 Pete Hegseth and Podcast host, Joshua Haynes, castigate our public schools for being “one of Satan’s greatest tools”.
Where is the defense of our public schools by teachers, former teachers, and dedicated educators? Educators do not see their chosen careers as a pathway to riches in a material sense. We are committed to educating our children to be good, decent human beings who will contribute to building a better world for everyone…that is our mission and our pathway to riches beyond material riches.
As a retired educator, I am deeply concerned that public schools are being made the scapegoat of society’s blind sightedness to the onslaught of religious fanaticism. Especially, as churches use the simple message of Jesus Christ to do so.
Love how these hypocrites pretend Christianity as their North Star when they are the farthest thing from what Jesus commanded. They believe in nothing except power and control…
No reply? He'd run out of prepared words.
Of course not!
From what we know, Hegseth is an unconvincing Christian.
Thanks Barb ~
If Sen. Wicker really wanted a "top-shelf communicator" as the Secretary of Defense, he would have lobbied for Pete Buttigieg.
Liked your comment Elizabeth.
Also if this moron is such a good communicator his job should be spokesperson for the DOD.
Agreed. Thx for taking time to leave a note.
😄
I was in the Air Force for 21 years, proud of the country I served. As Trump wreaks havoc on our nation, I feel sickened. Pete Hegseth is an abomination selected to serve as our Secretary of Defense. The only person I feel would be more loathsome in that position would be Trump himself. They are both imminently unqualified, and 150% untrustworthy in terms of integrity and intelligence--to say the very least. I cannot believe the atrocious acts Trump commits on a daily basis--and we're only one week in! Isn't there someway, even at this point, that he can be impeached? With his choice of unsuitable candidates for cabinet positions, his pardoning of January 6 criminals, his attempt to erase the privilege of birthright citizenship, his obvious efforts to enrich himself financially on blatant display, the firing of Inspector Generals in complete disregard of the rules, shutting down the NIH, and adopting a billionaire as his very own, there has got to be a way to put a stop to this before the country becomes completely unrecognizable. He cares nothing about us, this country, the characteristics of integrity, compassion, and charity, or the potential dangers of playing "shuffle the money" with powers in other nations--not all of them friendly by any stretch of the imagination. Somebody please tell me something we can do. Or at least give me some reassurance that we can survive this with the U.S. intact. And forget the high regard with which we've been viewed--he has already trashed that completely with his threats to Canada, Mexico, Greenland, and the Panama Canal! God save us.
Thank you for your service, and for what we can do, you are in a particularly good position. On Heather’s Facebook/YouTube Chats, she regularly advises that we speak up, make our voices heard, write, yell at our elected officials, talk to our friends, family, and neighbors. Change happens at the margins, and there are going to be more and more people in the military raising eyebrows at what’s to come.
Jessica Craven lists calls to make with scripts on her Chop Wood, Carry Water Substack that she writes most weekdays, and she does demo calls on Instagram.
https://chopwoodcarrywaterdailyactions.substack.com/
https://www.instagram.com/jesscraven101?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==
You're welcome! And thank YOU for sharing this information. I had heard about some of the things we can do to push back against the things this administration is doing, but you've added quite a bit to my list. I appreciate you taking the time and effort to send it to me. I'll put it to good use, and will definitely pass it along to others!
He hates democracy. Hates having to adhere to laws. Hates government.
The entire Republican party goes along with his reckless nihilism, because most of them are there only for the money and power office gives them. That and as revolving door toward serving the corporate more directly as lobbyists, as opposed to toadies and sycophants as they are now.
Sad thing is, Dems remain impotent, so out of touch with working class people outside of Washington D.C. as to be but pulled along inside D.C. by the corrupt Republicans, their criminal-in-chief, and his covering corrupt Clarence court.
I understand that some of the Rs in D.C. are going to go after what they perceive as power no matter what, but how can so few of them learned after this many years that he has loyalty to NO ONE?
Cowards complaining about the lack of masculinity making it clear that they have none.
All of 'em, HarrisWalz, have zero humanities.
People empty inside, void of humanities, by definition have "loyalty to no one."
They follow groups, packs (and pacs), abstractions, packaged behaviors, corporate lemming habits, and as much sociopath criminality as lawyers can fine tune for them.
Fortunately for those of us still in debt to individuals who taught us many shades of love we know and can name our many good, necessary, vital human debts.
For me it was Pasternak in my teens; Faulkner, Melville, James Agee, Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, Wendell Berry, Jim Harrison, and Willa Cather in my 20s; Joseph Brodsky, Wystan Auden, C.P. Cavafy, A. J. Liebling, E. B. White, and Eugenio Montale in my 30s, Czeslaw Milosz, Miklos Radnoti, Milan Rufus, Pavel Vilikovsky, Anna Swir, Jaroslav Seifert, Wislawa Szymborska, Tomas Venclova, and Adam Zagajewski in my 40s and 50s, Natsume Soseki, Junichiro Tanazaki, Minae Mizumura, Akiko Yosano, Miyuki Miyabe, and Natsuo Kirino in my 60s and 70s.
But I've always leavened these with America's great crime writers -- so many so fine, men and women, since the days of Hammett and Chandler.
And we need them, as American schools, all dehumanized, have only cleft open the mass crime spree we all inhabit now.
"Sad thing is, Dems remain impotent" What scares me just as much is that THEY SEEM TO BE CLUELESS about their almost complete lack of power!!
I'd like it if people stopped calling him "Sir". I mean, really stopped.
Like he hates the courts, especially jury trails. He loses almost every time when facts are presented. HE would have had to face guilty verdicts had he faced actual trial.
Among all the important points you mention Phil, the more relevant is that democrats remain out of touch with the working class, so out of touch that they had only trump to listen to. Hence the result.